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Hey there everybody... it's been a long time coming and a rocky road getting here but it has finally come time for this circus to pack up...
For those of you who missed acts 1 to 5 they're linked below for your convenience
Part 1: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18411244/
Part 2: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18597400/
Part 3: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18964077/
Part 4: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/19180157/
Part 5: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/19574651/
The show is over, the stands are empty, and the circus three rings are clear... but not everything is resolved quite yet. While the match has been decided what will the ultimate result of the fight between Big Top and Team Pre-K will be? No spoilers here, read to find out...
And remember not all circus acts have happy endings.
So please enjoy, fav & comment, and have a great day! =D
Cody owned by
ozzie-boxer
Patrice owned by
takinoue
Other characters owned by me
Pokémon owned by none of us
The nurse’s station near the large arena was one of the largest in the PCA and for good reason. The large arena usually housed battles of the older students with some of the flashiest moves, and by the same token the worst injuries. The station had to be ready to treat almost anything when a match was going on. In the most extreme cases they were to try and keep a student stable till they could be taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. Fortunately that wasn’t the case today, even with six of the stations eight or more beds filled, none of the injuries were serious. In fact if someone who hadn’t been watching the match in progress were to walk in, the sight would almost be confusingly comical.
One side of the room looked like a pediatric ward with tiny forms taking up barely any room in their beds as a nurse checked the riolu, gothita, and pichu. Reapplying Potion to the tiny, exhausted forms as the kids slept to help keep bruising and soreness to a minimum. Beyond this the three morphs just looked like incredibly exhausted kindergarteners (or younger) who had finally just collapsed. The other side of the room looked a bit more like you’d expect from the PCA… but the contrast was stark enough to be comical. The furthest bed housed a big and broad gurdurr guy who seemed to just be casually waiting for something, no signs of fatigue and only the occasion wince as he moved giving an indication he’d been hurt. In the bed next to him was a Mime Jr. girl… who was sound asleep and snoring lightly, a stupid smile on her face. And last was a sealeo guy who was big enough he almost filled the bed completely and was laying on his side as a nurse tended to the multitude of scratches and bruises on his back and his legs… as the sealeo casually chatted with his gurdurr teammate completely unaffected by the stinging potions being applied to his back side.
“These little guys were a lot more prepared then we thought they’d be.” Roy said, trying to talk over Sophie’s snoring as she lay between him and Terrance “Never saw that tactic coming till it was too late, heh… they earned that one.” The sealeo’s tone was a mix of amusement and pride as Terrance just turned his head to look at his friend “Yeah, they worked hard for this match…” the fighting type said, before raising an eyebrow incredulously “Though you went easy on them didn’t you…? Not that I’m one to talk but still…” the gurdurr shrugged, shifting on his cot as he glanced over at Jules apparently thinking back on his match. “Naaaaaaaa, you’re still working on how strong you are since you evolved. Don’t worry about it.” Roy commented with a laugh, a sheepish grin on his face “But yeah… probably could have done better with that one… hope Patrice won’t be mad…”
As if on cue the door to the nurse’s office slowly opened and the familiar, to Roy at least, squeak of little sneakers entered followed by a nurse looking towards the door “I’m sorry, we’ve got injured here so if you’re not a teammate or family member you’re not allowed in.” she explained. The sealeo didn’t even have to try and look around the curtain to recognize the squeaky attempts at explanation. “The azurill’s my cousin, you can let him in.” Roy called out prompting an eyebrow lift from the nurse “Alright… and what about the pumpkaboo?” she asked as a second, unfamiliar voice reached Roy’s ears. He knew about the pumpkaboo girl Patrice was apparently friends with, he’d taken the two trick-or-treating before, but he didn’t know her well enough to be willing to lie for the ghost even if it was nice of her to accompany Patrice down to see him.
“Nope, no relation of mine.” He called, prompting a squeak of protest from the out-of-sight girl. Another Nurse moved to try and make the pumpkaboo leave, or at least that’s what Roy guessed she was doing, as he could hear the squeak of Patrice’s sneakers getting closer followed by a soft, rubber-ball like bouncing sound. A moment later the Azurill appeared, his head down and slightly hunched, as he walked to Roy’s bedside. His big, blubbery tail bubble bouncing along behind him and making the second noise. Still lying there, the nurse tending to his back having just finished, Roy looked to his cousin “Hey Poly.” The sealeo said lightly, partially drowned out by the protests of the pumpkaboo being forcibly ushered out in the background “Guessing you saw the match, huh?” Roy said with a weak shrug, his tone slightly joking despite the fact it was obvious Patrice wasn’t happy.
“Yeah, I watched all of it…” Patrice said, his gaze never leaving the floor once… but Roy could still tell he looked upset. The sealeo moved to sit up, groaning as he did so due to his injuries and the awkward position he’d been lying in the bed, and chuckled weakly “Yeah... kinda messed up out there..." Roy admitted, looking as apologetic as he could. Sighing Patrice finally looked up, his upset expression now tinged with guilt "...out there I felt you deserved to lose...for going easy on your opponent..." the azurill said, his tone getting squeaker with every word making it harder and harder for the inexperienced ear to understand. Naturally Roy could understand it just fine “Yeah… kinda had that coming…” he admitted, lowering his head in guilt while rubbing the back of it bashfully "Didn't feel right going all out on them with how they look and being freshmen, but seems like I didn't give them enough credit..."
There was silence for a moment as Patrice just stared at Roy, his expression unchanging… the sealeo hadn’t MEANT it to be insulting but his cousin did kinda fall into both of the “being a freshmen” and “looking like a little kids” categories. "...it's also looking down on their effort, their preparation, their planning...” Patrice said, his words measured and his tone level if slightly accusatory “The whole point of these combats is seeing how far we can get with our own skills, how can I...how can they find out if you treat them with kiddie gloves?" the azurill finished as “Point, little guy.” was heard from Terrance two beds over. Roy just winced, giving a slightly pained smile at the low key dressing down he was getting “Owch... yeah, see what you mean..." he mumbled, a mix of shame and embarrassment on his face "I get what you're saying, best I can do is say sorry and that it won't happen again. That good enough Poly?" the sealeo asked with a sincere tone as he gave his little cousin a weak smile. "Don't want to go making you look so upset and glum again, it doesn't suit you.” He added, trying to bring a little levity to the conversation.
It didn’t seem to work as there was silence for a long moment before Patrice finally spoke "...I don't want to root against you ever again, Roly." He said with a sheepish look on his face… his voice getting more confident as he steeled himself up and demanded "You better keep that promise forever!" as the azurill finally moved within arms-reach of his cousin. Which Roy took advantage of, scooping Patrice up and lifting him up high enough his big bubble of a tail was hoisted up onto the bed before setting Patrice down on the portable beanbag chair "Come on Poly, when's the last time I broke a promise to my loveable little cousin~?" the sealeo teased, finally managing a genuine smile "I'll keep my word, okay?"
Patrice just scrunched his face up “"What about when you promised to fight me without going easy?” he demanded “Or that time you ended in the hospital after telling me you weren't hurt...I want you to really mean your words." The azurill said, folding his arms as he gave his cousin a hard look.
"Come on, those were flukes is all." Roy said, letting out a light laugh as he smiled with amusement "Alright then, how do you WANT me to guarantee my promise beyond just saying it? Tell me quickly, looking at you make such a scrunched up face hurts worse that those knee punches~" the sealeo said, lightly poking his cousin’s puffed up cheeks as he implored "How do you want me to show you I mean what I say?" Patrice was used to this by now so it didn’t bother his concentration any "Hmmmm..." he pondered, obviously thinking it over before his face perked up as he seemed to have an idea. "If you really wanna be a battler, you'll always do your best. But if you ever go easy on an opponent again, it means you don't wanna be a battler, so you'll have to switch majors and do contests instead!” the azurill declared triumphantly, pointing a chubby figure at Roy “Can you vow that?"
Before Roy could answer there was a "Snnrk" sound over from Terrance's bed again as the gurdurr struggled to suppress laughter at the mental image this gave him. Despite that the sealeo seemed to be mulling the idea over. "You know, for somebody who claims he's a big boy you put that in adorably little kid like terms Poly~" Roy commented, a thoughtful expression still on his face as he smiled "Promise not to whine and pout if I go full strength during our practice spars from now on? You know, like the last few times~?" It was the azurill’s turn to be flustered as Patrice’s baby blue cheeks managed to cross the spectrum all the way to an embarrassed red as the Azurill babbled out "T-that's was really long ago! I-I'm an academy student now! I can take a hit now! ...c-consider it promised..." while trying to look as determined and confident as possible, and not really succeeding.
Roy smiled and nodded at that, obviously suppressing a chuckle "Alright, then I'll be juggling for contests if I don't take my opponent seriously again... on one condition~” he suddenly said, catching Patrice off guard as Roy held up a finger for emphasis “ If that happens you let me find a replacement for Big Top first..." a playful smile crosses the sealeo’s face as he suddenly slipped his hands under Patrice and lightly bounced him "Unless you'd like my spot~ What do you say Poly, you go along with Teddy during your playdate after all~" Caught off guard by the bouncing Patrice first stuttered out "...t-that's not a playdate..." before managing a more joking tone despite being bounced "and I guess I'd have to step in, wouldn't let you deface the family name that easy after all!" Roy finally let out a belly laugh at that "That's my baby cousin~" he teased, moving his hands to bounce Patrice tail and all up into the air, Pactice’s tail acting as a rubber spring to bounce the azurill even higher. “Knew I could count on you~ And yeah, not a playdate at aaaaaaaaall~" Roy said, using the tone of a big brother teasing his little sibling, as he bounced his squealing cousin "Just promise to play nice with Teddy if it comes to that, okay Poly~?"
"S-stop it! We're at school, remember!?" Patrice protested as he bounced, getting a momentary chuckle from Roy… before the sealeo groaned and buckled over a little. Teetering for a moment the ice type fell backwards into the bed, Patrice flailing midair and coming to land on his cousin’s big belly with another groan… this time from both of them. “You pushed yourself too much.” A nurse chided, sounding annoyed Roy had forgotten about his wounds “You’re still recovering after all.” Roy just lay there groaning instead of responding as Patrice lay there stunned and immobile for a moment before he mumbled out “… and neither that nor this are anything new…” under his breath. Still watching the cousins with interest Terrance chuckled before casually remarking “If that hadn't hurt him again I'd say you two are adorable siblings..." which made Patrice blush again as he tried to climb down off his cousin before… too late, the azurill let out a little squeak as the nurse gently scooped him up and set him down to sit on the side of the bed.
Patrice winced and blushed as his cheeks went all the way through the spectrum to red again. He could just FEEL a big neon sign over his head flashing the word “Toddler” for all to see. Sighing the azurill mentally crossing his fingers in hope that he wouldn’t be handed a lollipop… like the other times. At least until a weak groan from the other side of the room reminded him he wasn’t the only "Toddler" there. One of Team Pre-K seemed to be stirring… specifically the only member he actually knew, Andrew. Looking at the pichu, who seemed to stir momentarily before drifting back into an uncomfortable looking sleep, Patrice felt the urge to go make sure he was all right… but couldn’t leave his cousins side as he sighed and did his best to resist the urge. Until the door to the office was shoved open suddenly, catching his attention.
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Floating outside the nurse’s office door Terri sulked and pouted, The little pumpkaboo had her arms crossed and her cheeks puffed out as she bobbled lightly in the air, glaring at nothing in particular. She’d been nice enough to help Patrice hurry down here (though she had to tell him no when he asked her to use Trick-or-Treat on him to speed it up, even if he’d have been able to float and pass through walls as a ghost not leaving your clothes on the other side of the wall took practice… something she knew really well) and what had happened? She’d gotten shooed out! A fact she was currently handling with the grace of a 5 year old, stubbornly hanging around the door instead of going back to see the last fight of the match… as if they’d change their minds in a minute or two and let her inside.
As she floated there Terri couldn’t help but idly wonder how Petie was doing in the fight… even if he WAS a meanie for not letting her play with Jules she still hoped he was doing okay. A steady sounding thudding jarred her from her thoughts as she glanced down the hall to see that munchlax member of Team Pre-K heading this way… all by herself. Terri didn’t know the girl well enough to guess why she was coming to the nurse’s office before the match was over (or even to know her name for that matter), but if she had to guess it was probably to see Andrew since the normal type seemed to be glued to the pichu’s side. Shrugging it wasn’t like the pumpkaboo had any reason not to say hi to the girl… it would kill a moment of bored and frustration if nothing else.
“Hey.” Terri called as the girl got close “Here to see your pichu buddy?” she asked, having considered calling Andrew the munchlax’s boyfriend for a moment before deciding against it. The idea of baby evolution mon dating just sounded too weird and silly for her to say that with a straight face. “He’s my brother.” The munchlax said, voice flat and deadpan as could be and expression matching it, as she pulled the nurse’s office door open and vanished inside. Leaving Terri paused mid-air in mid-float as the gears in her head turned to process this. “Wait… they… they aren’t in the same breeding groups are they?” she asked aloud, turning her head a little “… are they adopted? Step siblings? Or are their parents…” the mental image of a snorlax and a pikachu crossed Terri’s mind for size reference and the ghost types cheeks went red as a look of disgust and embarrassment crossed her face.
The sound of Terri smacking her face to get that mental image out of her head echoed down the halls for several minutes after that.
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Craning to look Patrice saw the munchlax member of Team Pre-K, it took him a moment but he remembered her name was Jane, walking into the room. “I’m a member of Team Pre-K.” the girl said in a deadpan monotone, cutting the nurse off before she could ask the question she’d asked him and Toni earlier, before adding “I’m also Andrew’s younger fraternal twin sister, is my brother alright?” with a little more emotion in her voice… maybe, it was hard to tell to be honest. Especially since what she said sounded so weird that Patrice couldn’t tell if she was being serious or sarcastic, so he just stared in confusion as the munchlax went over to Andrew’s bedside. He did notice, as the nurse told her that Andrew would be fine, that Jane was incredibly short for a teenager and she had the same hair color as the pichu… but those were the closest things the two had to similarities. Fortunately Terrance spoke up and changed topics before the azurill could dwell any further on this.
“So… is the match over or what?” the gurdurr asked “Or did you just come here to make sure your… brother was okay?” there was a definite pause before he said brother letting Patrice know he wasn’t the only one questioning that. “I came to make sure Andrew was okay since I’m not fighting in the match.” Was Jane’s answer, a sentiment Patrice could understand since it was the same reason he’d come to see Roy (along with chewing him out)… the next thing she said though was where the munchlax lost him “I’m not really concerned with how the match turns out so there was no reason for me to stay, Andrew is what’s important.” Patrice just stared a Jane in shock over what she’d just said. He’d always imagined teams being pretty close or at the very least friends, despite having never been part of one himself, but the way she’d said that… it sounded like the munchlax didn’t care about the rest of her team at all!
“That… that’s an odd way to see things…” Terrance said, sounding utterly befuddled at the munchlax’s statement “Are you just really confident in your last fighter and think you’re gonna win or…” he trailed off, not wanting to openly say what Patrice was thinking. “Petie? No. He’s alright, he’s worked hard at least…” Jane said, not looking up from her brother “But no, I’m not that confident in him. He’s normally the alternate for a reason, several reasons. But he should be fine in this fight…” While he’d met Andrew in special attack class a couple times Patrice didn’t actually know Pre-K well enough to have known Petie was the teddiursa if it hadn’t been told during the match… but the azurill couldn’t help but wonder how weak or bad at fighting the bear had to be. He was apparently the designated bench-sitter on a team that were basically pre-schoolers as far as their physical appearance was concerned (even if Patrice qualified for that category too)… which really didn’t say much for the teddiursa. Of course… it said even less for Teddy since it mean Jane considered the lion cub LOWER on the totem pole than the designated bench sitter of team Pre-K. Patrice didn’t know the kid well despite having met him a few times, but this still was something to think on…
At least, to think on untill Jane continued talking and took his focus “What I meant was that we’ve made a good enough showing that even if we lose our grades should be fine, so winning the last fight of the match isn’t necessary. Now then, what about you?” she asked, turning her attention to Terrance. The gurdurr made a grunt of confusion, raising an eyebrow in query as he shifted in the bed. Patrice eeped a little as his cousin groaned, managing to sit up and turning his attention to Jane as well. Glancing between the two sophomores for a moment the munchlax continued speaking “You’ve made a poor showing and Teddy is your last way to salvage it… do you think he can do it?” Her question was deadpan and emotionless which almost made it sting worse than if it’d been accusatory “Our teams coach did research before the match and I looked through it, why is he on your team? You don’t seem to let him fight in matches normally so I don’t see why you need or keep him.” The statement and questions were delivered in an impossibly blunt manner… but the creepy munchlax had a good point as Patrice turned to see how his cousin would respond, wanting to know the answers as well.
For the most part though the guys just had a look of shock on their faces liked they’d been slapped with a fish as they sat there in silence. Their mouths opened occasionally before shutting as if reconsidering what they were going to say as you could almost see the wheels turning in their heads. “W-well…” Roy was the first to speak as he and Terrance exchanged looks “He’s Vanessa’s cousin and she wanted us to… um…” the sealeo mumbled before realizing what it sounded like and stopping, his chubby face falling. “… she wanted us to look out for her baby cousin, and we all said yes since she was our friend and we had an open spot to fill with her changing majors.” Terrance said, voice grim as he groaned a little while shifting in the bed to sit up properly. Apparently the gurdurr both understood what Jane was asking about AND was willing to admit to it as he continued “So we basically babysat him and kept him safe… but keeping him out of serious fights, that’s what you’re getting at… right?” Terrance finished as Roy’s whole body heaved, the sealeo letting out a large sigh… shifting the bed under him and his azurill cousin sitting on it.
“Just curious.” Was the only reply Jane gave as the munchlax shrugged… then turned her attention to adjusting the pillow under Andrew’s head as if nothing had been said at all. Patrice meanwhile hopped off the bed and turned to look at his cousin and his cousin’s teammate, a look of personal shock and disappointment on his face. “Roly… is that true?” the azurill asked, looking at his cousin as Roy just hung his head and looked away. The sealeo being unwilling and unable to look his baby cousin in the eyes. “Is that true Roly?” Patrice asked again after the moment of silence “Don’t you think you guys went a little too far!?” he finally demanded, voice pitching up a little as he did so, making both older boy’s cringe. “I mean, going easy on a fight is a thing, keeping him safe? He's in the battle major!” Patrice continued, starting into a rant “If he couldn't afford taking a hit he'd be in a different one!” he continued, sounding more upset as he got into it. The two clowns just took the verbal lashing until Terrance finally spoke up. “… Vanessa always treated him like he was a toddler, we kinda just went along with it because he didn’t object…” the gurdurr mumbled, sounding like he wasn’t even trying to justify what they’d done so much as explain it.
At that explanation though Patrice just puffed up a little as if more offended than before. His voice had mostly returned to normal though as he continued without yelling… though the anger and disappointment was obvious in his voice “I don't know how he can put up with that, maybe you already convinced him that he can't do anything on his own...” he said, looking between the two teens “Think for a moment what it is like to live thinking so little of yourself...or that all your efforts are wasted and you can't accomplish anything without your hand being held by someone bigger...” Patrice continued, almost sounding like he was lecturing the two, as Roy still couldn’t look his cousin in the eyes and Terrance just sat there taking it silently. “I don't know if that's normal in teams but I wouldn't want to be in one that won't let me grow or learn..." the azurill finally said, trailing off into silence as neither of the awake member of Big Top would speak… and the rest of the nurse’s office lapsed into silence along with them. Only the sound of Sophie’s snoring and the quiet noise of the nurse’s working could be heard.
Finally someone broke the silence “No… no it’s not normal for teams… we’ve just messed up is all, messed up big time…” Roy finally said, looking across the way to Jane “Right? Your team doesn’t have this kinda trouble, does it?” the sealeo asked, sounding like he was more trying to reassure his cousin than make any kind of excuse for his own behavior. “Pre-K isn’t a normal team, don’t ask me.” Was Jane’s blunt and deadpan response… which obviously hadn’t been what Roy was hoping for. “Er… either way…” the Ice/Water type said, looking back to Patrice “Please don’t let this turn you off the idea of teams, okay Poly? We get we messed up and we’re going to try and make it right…” In response to that the azurill sat there in silence, mulling over and looking like he was grasping for the right words… before looking back at his cousin and speaking in a serious tone.
"If you really intend to change... let him choose what he wants, and live with his decision. Don't take for granted that he'll believe your promise." The tiny normal type demanded making the older boys pause. In any other situation a little kid making demands to teens twice his size would be almost comical… but Terrance and Roy looked to be seriously considering what Patrice said as they exchanged looks. Finally Roy spoke up "We got it and we'll do our best... so stop being so frowny, okay Poly?" the sealeo said in a slightly pleading tone before sparing a weak, pained chuckle "You glaring at me like that is just making this whole thing hurt worse..." though it was an obvious poorly done attempt at humor rather than a serious comment. Patrice sighed, finally relaxing his stare "Okay, now lay back down.” The azurill said as he looked up to Roy “You seem better enough and I need room to think, so I'm taking my leave." The sealeo just nodded, looking a tiny bit amused at being chastised by his baby cousin, before complying
Watching the two for a moment Terrance finally spoke up "Hey... anyone know how Teddy was doing?" the gurdurr sounded a touch concerned as he looked over to Jane since the munchlax would probably be the only one who knew "I've seen him fight other freshmen before... the match should have been done... should have been done for a while" before the fighting type could finish what he'd been saying, the door swung open and the arena-side medics carried two stretchers into the office, each with a small, battered form on them. "Teddy!" Terrance and Roy blurted out in stereo as they saw one of the small, battered forms. Both boys leaping out of their beds with a quick motion, apparently trying to get to their fallen teammate and demand to know what happened... and promptly crumbled to the ground with a loud, resounding THUD as their injuries reasserted themselves. Groaning at his cousin’s antic Patrice put his forehead in his hand before letting out a sigh and moving out of the way of the nurses coming to tend to the two, his plans to leave canceled.
The noise of Big Top falling, and the resulting shaking of the room, ended up jarring the three unconscious members of Pre-K into semi-consciousness, the freshmen groaning as they tried and failed to sit up, as Maddie and Sammi arrived pushing the just shut door open again. Filling the nurse’s office with noise as Roy and Terrance tried to demand answers to what happened in the round in between groans of pain, Pre-K’s confusion over having just woken up, and the actual nurses trying to maintain order and control of the situation on top of making sure Maddie and Sammi were actually part of Team Pre-K and had a reason to be there… not to mention having to almost throw Terri out since she’d snuck inside during the madness. Yet through it all though Sophie somehow managed to remain completely asleep… which Jane was the only one detached enough to notice.
“Must be part snorlax…” the munchlax said, completely missing the irony as she moved to make Andrew lay back down before he hurt himself like Roy and Terrance did.
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The three fire types with a fourth in tow were moving at a slower pace than they wanted… mostly because Rebecca and Amber where having to brace Vanessa to keep the vulpix from stumbling and falling over. Hugging Cody tightly, the growlithe’s expression showing he was millions of miles away at the moment, the multi-tailed fox was hiccupping and choking on her tears rendering what she was trying to say unintelligible. Not that her friends couldn’t guess it had something to do with attempting to convince herself that Teddy’s fight hadn’t happened and her precious baby brother hadn’t acted like that. Gently holding her shoulders the braixen and litleo exchanged worried looks as they led Vanessa down the hall way to the nurse’s office, dreading how the fox would react when she got there and saw Teddy in person. Or at least Rebecca was… Amber meanwhile was trying to reassure Vanessa and the lioness actually said “Don’t worry, we can ask Teddy what happened when we get to the nurse’s office okay? I’m sure he had a reason, okay?” in an attempt to calm the fox down.
Amber’s comment, combined with Vanessa’s tears running down her face and dripping on his head and muzzle, roused Cody from the gone state he’d been in… as he immediately began struggling weakly in his cousins grip. “No… no!” he fussed, voice still low and sounding shaken “I… I can’t go see Teddy yet, I can’t…” the growlithe mumbled, kicking weakly and squirming “I… I’m not ready to…” Vanessa didn’t seem to be aware enough to realize Cody’s words or struggles as she merely adjusted her grip on him… as Rebecca and Amber exchanged concerned looks again. The taller fire type clearing her throat after a moment “I’ll take care of Cody, he’s probably too upset to see Teddy right now anyway and needs a change…” she explained, more to Amber than the two cousins “You get Vanessa to Teddy… they need to work out whatever’s going on…” the braixen finished as Amber nodded despite the look on her face saying she only half understood what Rebecca meant.
Adjusting Vanessa to lean fully on the lioness it took a moment of struggling for Rebecca to slip Cody out of the smaller fox’s paws, Vanessa only sparing her friend a momentary look before nodding weakly confident Rebecca could handle Cody. For his part though the baby growlithe, once he realized this meant he wouldn’t have to see Teddy yet, let the braixen handle him like an infant as he slipped back into his unresponsive thousand yard stare. Rebecca stood their cradling Cody as she watching the two go, Amber struggling a little from Vanessa leaning on her despite how light the vulpix was. Finally when the two girls were down the hall and out of earshot as the fox magician looked down to the little bundle of baby fluff in her arms and let out a sigh as she said, in an exhausted sounding tone…
“Cody… I’m going to need you to tell me whatever you did to Teddy to make you feel so guilty… but first lets get you changed…”
Cody eyes widened in response to this as he let out a pitiful whimper and curled up more, pulling his fluffy tail around him, as the braixen carried him off to find the nearest place to change the growlithe’s full diaper.
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The arrival of the two fire-types actually did very little to add to the chaos in the nurse’s office as the nurses were too busy dealing with Terrance and Roy having reinjured themselves to even bother asking if the girls had a reason to be there. In turn the boys were too busy listening to Maddie’s description of what happened in the last round of the match in open-mouthed shock and denial as only Sammi’s confirmations kept them from accusing her of lying. The fact all the clatter had woken the first three members of Team Pre-K who were groggy, confused, and also in the dark about the last round and match results just added to the noise and confusion. Conveniently this proved to be the perfect distraction to keep anyone from notice one of the nurses in the back of the room working to change Petie out of his full diaper, which the teddiursa would have appreciated had he actually been conscious.
Deaf to the nurse’s demands they get back in the beds before they hurt themselves more (and Patrice’s expressed concerns for his big cousin)Terrance and Roy turned to Vanessa, hoping for some answers… and stopped short to instead try and comfort the vulpix the moment they saw the state she was in, taking over from Amber. Able to tell they weren’t the ones Vanessa was going to talk to neither boy said anything and simply followed her over to the hospital bed where Teddy lay. The worst of his wounds had already been tended with Potions and Super Potion, highlighting how minor they’d been, meaning the worst affliction he had at the moment was exhaustion… but the litleo was still visibly a mess. His fur and hair was matted and disheveled, his outfit was torn up, and despite being unconscious he still managed to wince with pain each time the nurse moved him showing how sore the little cub was. Not knowing what else to do Vanessa, Terrance, and Roy just clustered around the bed with Teddy, Team Pre-K finding out from Maddie that they actually won the round and what had happened between Teddy and Petie providing background noise, as Team Big Top waited for their youngest member to wake up. Hoping he could give them answers about what had happened to make him act like that…
And scared what those answers might be…
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Meanwhile, oblivious to the people clustered around him, Teddy was in the grips of a nightmare. As the litleo lay in the bed, too weak to even thrash about, he was in the grips of a horrible nightmare. Grey featureless ground stretched to the horizon in all directions around him, a dark starless void forming the heaven above it as the cub ran blindly, his chest heaving and his body aching. Not even sure what he was running from or where he was running to as his paws slapped at the featureless earth frantically. All around him he could hear voices, booming and echoing in the void, surrounding him, suffocating him… “Teddy is too little to be in the battle major!” “Are you sure you want to go to the PCA baby cub? It is for big kids…” “Don’t worry Vanessa, we’ll keep your baby brother safe for you.” “Sit with me Teddy, we can watch them train since it’s too much for a little kid like you right now.” “Ah, ah, ah, no Teddy you’re not big enough for that yet~” “Little Teddy is so cute, especially when he thinks he’s a big boy~” Vanessa, his mother, Roy, Terrance… the voices started distinctive but blurred together as they continued on, devolving from specific words ingrained in the litleo’s memory down to simple babyish cooing and patronizing filling his mind and pounding at his ear drums as he shut his eyes tight and clutched the sides of his head.
“NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!”
It wasn’t a teens cry of defiance that ripped from Teddy’s throat, but a young child’s cry of panic at being scared and overwhelmed… devolving into a wordless cry of surprise and pain as the lion cub tripped over something he hadn’t seen and was sent tumbling. Groaning Teddy shook his head to clear it as he sat up to see what he’d tripped over… and promptly went pale as he stared in wide eyed shock at the seemingly innocent baby toy laying on the ground before him. Laying on the ground in front of him the brightly colored baby mobile, complete with tiny dangling plush toys (Pichu, Dedenne, Emolga, Pachirisu... Teddy remembered them well), was something the litleo hadn’t seen outside of vague dream like memories and home movies of back when he’d been a… a… baby. The litleo finally realized how absolutely quiet the world around him had gotten as he looked around in a panic to find things had changed. He was sitting nude as the day he was born on a soft, padded, pastel yellow plastic like surface and the rest of the world was inky blackness. Rather than embarrassment though all the cub felt was icy cold fear running up his spine as the familiar voice of Vanessa, distorted by sheer volume, boomed in the void around him.
“Poor little Teddy, he’s just not ready to be a big boy yet is he?”
Voice stolen from him by shock and fear Teddy made no noise as an impossibly big russet colored paw reached from the blackness and seized his ankles, lifting his bottom clean away from and plopping his upper body down on the only “Ground” he could find. “Yeah, he couldn’t even beat a little baby in diapers could he? It’d be better if he went back to kindergarten.” This time the booming voice was Terrance’s as a second russet colored paw, Teddy’s mind refusing to connect the dots to who it belonged to, carrying a massive bottle of baby powder began to powder the cub’s backside. “Yeah, it was a mistake sending him to the PCA. He’s just not ready or big enough for it.” Roy’s voice chimed like a church bell as Teddy teared up, well aware what was being done to him even before the giant, white, plastic method of his execution entered his view and Sophie’s voice sing songed the implement of his fate worse than death.
“Yep, back to the nursery… back to diapers for little Teddy~ He’s just too little a baby to do anything on his own~”
“NUUUUUUUU!! NU! NU NUU NUUU! I… I didn’t!” the lion cub wailed at the top of his lungs, past caring about the infantile pitch he was reaching, as he squirmed helplessly “I didn’t lose! I didn’t! I… I can win! I can! I’m not a baby! Nuuu!” he screamed, crying as his struggles amounted to nothing against the giant paws which easily fastened him into the diaper as if he was merely a fussing infant “I can win! I can win! I’m not weak! I’m not helpless! I didn’t… I didn’t lose!” Teddy repeated himself as the darkness receded to reveal the giant paws did indeed belong to a huge version of his cousin. The vulpix looming over the litleo with that sweet, horrible, patronizing smile… Vanessa distorted into something out of a horror movie in the apparently tiny cubs eyes as he looked away in desperation… and found no relief from the horror before his eyes no matter where he cast them.
He was laying on a huge changing table, the baby mobile… HIS baby mobile… was dangling overhead, larger than ever seemed possible to the little litleo. All around him were the patronizing, soft, colorful, safe, and suffocating trappings of infancy Teddy had worked so hard to grow out of… to prove he was too big to need anymore. All around him were Vanessa’s friends, her teammates… HIS teammates… similarly twisted into huge, smiling, patronizing ogres like his cousin as the crying litleo found himself being passed among them like an infant as they easily manhandled and cooed to him. All the while Teddy keep repeating himself, clinging to his mantra of denial as his last lifeline.
“I didn’t lose! I didn’t! I beat Petie! I can beat Petie! I didn’t… didn’t lose to some baby in diapers! I’m not a baby! No! I… I’m a big kid! I’m a big kid! I didn’t lose!”
He cried out as the Vanessa monster playfully spun him like people do with infants, stopping in front of a mirror to let Teddy see what it showed. Which for a moment left the cub confused since a burning battle arena was reflected in it… as two familiar, small figures struck at each other, one tumbling to the ground from the blow and the other coming to sit atop the fallen triumphantly. Teddy’s lip trembled helplessly as his protests were reduced to a pitiful little series of “Nu nu nu nu” as the sound of the referee calling the match echoed off the nursery walls like a bomb blast “Petie of Team Pre-K has won the round! The winners of this match are Team Pre-K!” as the image dissolved to leave the mirror reflecting a chubby, infantile little litleo clad in only a thick diaper with a little sprig of reddish hair on his forehead, big tear filled and stained eyes, a toothless mouth set behind trembling lips as Teddy’s denial devolved into a wordless, high pitched cry he wouldn’t believe was coming from his own mouth if he wasn’t watching himself make the sound.
“Wa-waaa-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
The dream devolved into a maelstrom of sounds and images at this point as the kitten’s frayed mind could only take so much… him being laughed out of the PCA as he ran crying through the halls in just a diaper, his cousin Cody looming over him sporting new pull-ups as a now tiny Teddy sported a diaper, him watching helplessly from a baby bouncer as all his big boy stuff was taken from his room to be replaced by nursery furniture. A raging torrent of all the litleo’s fears about being treated like a helpless toddler, of what would happen if he failed, what would happen if his cousins and everybody were right about how useless he was… it was drowning him. Despite the pain it caused him the cub found himself thrashing violently, panicked voices just on the horizon driving his frenzy even further as he fought desperately to escape his nightmare. Until finally Teddy sat up with a choked scream before curling up in pain with a coughing fit, his torture throat not appreciating the strain he’d tried to put it through.
Blinking through tears and pain the litleo looked around frantically, confused and trying to get his bearings as he found himself in a strange place with Vanessa and Team Big Top clustered around him. It took the cub a moment to recognize it as a nurse’s office… and another moment for him to remember the match and realize the cruel, horrible reality he’d fled to from his nightmare. The realization sunk in even harder as Vanessa, face still tearstained and eyes pleading, reached out to comfort the coughing cub… but stopped short before biting her lip and pulling her hand back. Compared to Vanessa’s normal doting actions this might as well have been her striking him across the face as Teddy flinched the same either way. For a long moment no one said anything, Terrance & Roy apparently waiting for Vanessa to speak first, before the vulpix finally found her voice… which was as pleading as her eyes and trembled.
“Teddy… why… why did you fight like that…?”
The lion cub blinked in confusion, having expected demands… no, accusations about why he’d lost. He didn’t understand why she was asking that, what she was asking… but as his gaze moved from his cousin’s face to the faces of his teammates a horrible new realization started to slowly creep over him as the memories of the match played in his head as clearly as if he’d been watching it instead of participating. Teddy could feel his lip starting to quiver as images of him savagely biting and clawing at Petie amongst the flames, the multiple penalties he’d incurred, the shock and horror of the crowd… all of it came back to him capping off with a single fact that crushed all the was left of the litleo beneath it. All that he’d done in the name of proving himself, in the name of winning, all the bridges he’d burned… had been all for NOTHING. Despite all that he had LOST, meaning he now had to answer for what he’d done, try and prove he’d had a good reason to act like that, to try and justify it… to give them some kind of an answer…
And Teddy did. He gave them the only answer he could. The litleo curled up where he lay on the bed and cried softly like a little kid, eyes tightly shut as tears poured from them and paws firmly clamped over his head and ears. Teddy cried helplessly as his cousin and teammates just watched the pitiful sight, at a loss for what to do… or what would happen next…
The End…?
For those of you who missed acts 1 to 5 they're linked below for your convenience
Part 1: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18411244/
Part 2: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18597400/
Part 3: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18964077/
Part 4: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/19180157/
Part 5: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/19574651/
The show is over, the stands are empty, and the circus three rings are clear... but not everything is resolved quite yet. While the match has been decided what will the ultimate result of the fight between Big Top and Team Pre-K will be? No spoilers here, read to find out...
And remember not all circus acts have happy endings.
So please enjoy, fav & comment, and have a great day! =D
Cody owned by
ozzie-boxerPatrice owned by
takinoueOther characters owned by me
Pokémon owned by none of us
PCA – Cleaning the Three Rings
Team Pre-K vs Team Big Top
Part 6The nurse’s station near the large arena was one of the largest in the PCA and for good reason. The large arena usually housed battles of the older students with some of the flashiest moves, and by the same token the worst injuries. The station had to be ready to treat almost anything when a match was going on. In the most extreme cases they were to try and keep a student stable till they could be taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. Fortunately that wasn’t the case today, even with six of the stations eight or more beds filled, none of the injuries were serious. In fact if someone who hadn’t been watching the match in progress were to walk in, the sight would almost be confusingly comical.
One side of the room looked like a pediatric ward with tiny forms taking up barely any room in their beds as a nurse checked the riolu, gothita, and pichu. Reapplying Potion to the tiny, exhausted forms as the kids slept to help keep bruising and soreness to a minimum. Beyond this the three morphs just looked like incredibly exhausted kindergarteners (or younger) who had finally just collapsed. The other side of the room looked a bit more like you’d expect from the PCA… but the contrast was stark enough to be comical. The furthest bed housed a big and broad gurdurr guy who seemed to just be casually waiting for something, no signs of fatigue and only the occasion wince as he moved giving an indication he’d been hurt. In the bed next to him was a Mime Jr. girl… who was sound asleep and snoring lightly, a stupid smile on her face. And last was a sealeo guy who was big enough he almost filled the bed completely and was laying on his side as a nurse tended to the multitude of scratches and bruises on his back and his legs… as the sealeo casually chatted with his gurdurr teammate completely unaffected by the stinging potions being applied to his back side.
“These little guys were a lot more prepared then we thought they’d be.” Roy said, trying to talk over Sophie’s snoring as she lay between him and Terrance “Never saw that tactic coming till it was too late, heh… they earned that one.” The sealeo’s tone was a mix of amusement and pride as Terrance just turned his head to look at his friend “Yeah, they worked hard for this match…” the fighting type said, before raising an eyebrow incredulously “Though you went easy on them didn’t you…? Not that I’m one to talk but still…” the gurdurr shrugged, shifting on his cot as he glanced over at Jules apparently thinking back on his match. “Naaaaaaaa, you’re still working on how strong you are since you evolved. Don’t worry about it.” Roy commented with a laugh, a sheepish grin on his face “But yeah… probably could have done better with that one… hope Patrice won’t be mad…”
As if on cue the door to the nurse’s office slowly opened and the familiar, to Roy at least, squeak of little sneakers entered followed by a nurse looking towards the door “I’m sorry, we’ve got injured here so if you’re not a teammate or family member you’re not allowed in.” she explained. The sealeo didn’t even have to try and look around the curtain to recognize the squeaky attempts at explanation. “The azurill’s my cousin, you can let him in.” Roy called out prompting an eyebrow lift from the nurse “Alright… and what about the pumpkaboo?” she asked as a second, unfamiliar voice reached Roy’s ears. He knew about the pumpkaboo girl Patrice was apparently friends with, he’d taken the two trick-or-treating before, but he didn’t know her well enough to be willing to lie for the ghost even if it was nice of her to accompany Patrice down to see him.
“Nope, no relation of mine.” He called, prompting a squeak of protest from the out-of-sight girl. Another Nurse moved to try and make the pumpkaboo leave, or at least that’s what Roy guessed she was doing, as he could hear the squeak of Patrice’s sneakers getting closer followed by a soft, rubber-ball like bouncing sound. A moment later the Azurill appeared, his head down and slightly hunched, as he walked to Roy’s bedside. His big, blubbery tail bubble bouncing along behind him and making the second noise. Still lying there, the nurse tending to his back having just finished, Roy looked to his cousin “Hey Poly.” The sealeo said lightly, partially drowned out by the protests of the pumpkaboo being forcibly ushered out in the background “Guessing you saw the match, huh?” Roy said with a weak shrug, his tone slightly joking despite the fact it was obvious Patrice wasn’t happy.
“Yeah, I watched all of it…” Patrice said, his gaze never leaving the floor once… but Roy could still tell he looked upset. The sealeo moved to sit up, groaning as he did so due to his injuries and the awkward position he’d been lying in the bed, and chuckled weakly “Yeah... kinda messed up out there..." Roy admitted, looking as apologetic as he could. Sighing Patrice finally looked up, his upset expression now tinged with guilt "...out there I felt you deserved to lose...for going easy on your opponent..." the azurill said, his tone getting squeaker with every word making it harder and harder for the inexperienced ear to understand. Naturally Roy could understand it just fine “Yeah… kinda had that coming…” he admitted, lowering his head in guilt while rubbing the back of it bashfully "Didn't feel right going all out on them with how they look and being freshmen, but seems like I didn't give them enough credit..."
There was silence for a moment as Patrice just stared at Roy, his expression unchanging… the sealeo hadn’t MEANT it to be insulting but his cousin did kinda fall into both of the “being a freshmen” and “looking like a little kids” categories. "...it's also looking down on their effort, their preparation, their planning...” Patrice said, his words measured and his tone level if slightly accusatory “The whole point of these combats is seeing how far we can get with our own skills, how can I...how can they find out if you treat them with kiddie gloves?" the azurill finished as “Point, little guy.” was heard from Terrance two beds over. Roy just winced, giving a slightly pained smile at the low key dressing down he was getting “Owch... yeah, see what you mean..." he mumbled, a mix of shame and embarrassment on his face "I get what you're saying, best I can do is say sorry and that it won't happen again. That good enough Poly?" the sealeo asked with a sincere tone as he gave his little cousin a weak smile. "Don't want to go making you look so upset and glum again, it doesn't suit you.” He added, trying to bring a little levity to the conversation.
It didn’t seem to work as there was silence for a long moment before Patrice finally spoke "...I don't want to root against you ever again, Roly." He said with a sheepish look on his face… his voice getting more confident as he steeled himself up and demanded "You better keep that promise forever!" as the azurill finally moved within arms-reach of his cousin. Which Roy took advantage of, scooping Patrice up and lifting him up high enough his big bubble of a tail was hoisted up onto the bed before setting Patrice down on the portable beanbag chair "Come on Poly, when's the last time I broke a promise to my loveable little cousin~?" the sealeo teased, finally managing a genuine smile "I'll keep my word, okay?"
Patrice just scrunched his face up “"What about when you promised to fight me without going easy?” he demanded “Or that time you ended in the hospital after telling me you weren't hurt...I want you to really mean your words." The azurill said, folding his arms as he gave his cousin a hard look.
"Come on, those were flukes is all." Roy said, letting out a light laugh as he smiled with amusement "Alright then, how do you WANT me to guarantee my promise beyond just saying it? Tell me quickly, looking at you make such a scrunched up face hurts worse that those knee punches~" the sealeo said, lightly poking his cousin’s puffed up cheeks as he implored "How do you want me to show you I mean what I say?" Patrice was used to this by now so it didn’t bother his concentration any "Hmmmm..." he pondered, obviously thinking it over before his face perked up as he seemed to have an idea. "If you really wanna be a battler, you'll always do your best. But if you ever go easy on an opponent again, it means you don't wanna be a battler, so you'll have to switch majors and do contests instead!” the azurill declared triumphantly, pointing a chubby figure at Roy “Can you vow that?"
Before Roy could answer there was a "Snnrk" sound over from Terrance's bed again as the gurdurr struggled to suppress laughter at the mental image this gave him. Despite that the sealeo seemed to be mulling the idea over. "You know, for somebody who claims he's a big boy you put that in adorably little kid like terms Poly~" Roy commented, a thoughtful expression still on his face as he smiled "Promise not to whine and pout if I go full strength during our practice spars from now on? You know, like the last few times~?" It was the azurill’s turn to be flustered as Patrice’s baby blue cheeks managed to cross the spectrum all the way to an embarrassed red as the Azurill babbled out "T-that's was really long ago! I-I'm an academy student now! I can take a hit now! ...c-consider it promised..." while trying to look as determined and confident as possible, and not really succeeding.
Roy smiled and nodded at that, obviously suppressing a chuckle "Alright, then I'll be juggling for contests if I don't take my opponent seriously again... on one condition~” he suddenly said, catching Patrice off guard as Roy held up a finger for emphasis “ If that happens you let me find a replacement for Big Top first..." a playful smile crosses the sealeo’s face as he suddenly slipped his hands under Patrice and lightly bounced him "Unless you'd like my spot~ What do you say Poly, you go along with Teddy during your playdate after all~" Caught off guard by the bouncing Patrice first stuttered out "...t-that's not a playdate..." before managing a more joking tone despite being bounced "and I guess I'd have to step in, wouldn't let you deface the family name that easy after all!" Roy finally let out a belly laugh at that "That's my baby cousin~" he teased, moving his hands to bounce Patrice tail and all up into the air, Pactice’s tail acting as a rubber spring to bounce the azurill even higher. “Knew I could count on you~ And yeah, not a playdate at aaaaaaaaall~" Roy said, using the tone of a big brother teasing his little sibling, as he bounced his squealing cousin "Just promise to play nice with Teddy if it comes to that, okay Poly~?"
"S-stop it! We're at school, remember!?" Patrice protested as he bounced, getting a momentary chuckle from Roy… before the sealeo groaned and buckled over a little. Teetering for a moment the ice type fell backwards into the bed, Patrice flailing midair and coming to land on his cousin’s big belly with another groan… this time from both of them. “You pushed yourself too much.” A nurse chided, sounding annoyed Roy had forgotten about his wounds “You’re still recovering after all.” Roy just lay there groaning instead of responding as Patrice lay there stunned and immobile for a moment before he mumbled out “… and neither that nor this are anything new…” under his breath. Still watching the cousins with interest Terrance chuckled before casually remarking “If that hadn't hurt him again I'd say you two are adorable siblings..." which made Patrice blush again as he tried to climb down off his cousin before… too late, the azurill let out a little squeak as the nurse gently scooped him up and set him down to sit on the side of the bed.
Patrice winced and blushed as his cheeks went all the way through the spectrum to red again. He could just FEEL a big neon sign over his head flashing the word “Toddler” for all to see. Sighing the azurill mentally crossing his fingers in hope that he wouldn’t be handed a lollipop… like the other times. At least until a weak groan from the other side of the room reminded him he wasn’t the only "Toddler" there. One of Team Pre-K seemed to be stirring… specifically the only member he actually knew, Andrew. Looking at the pichu, who seemed to stir momentarily before drifting back into an uncomfortable looking sleep, Patrice felt the urge to go make sure he was all right… but couldn’t leave his cousins side as he sighed and did his best to resist the urge. Until the door to the office was shoved open suddenly, catching his attention.
*******************
Floating outside the nurse’s office door Terri sulked and pouted, The little pumpkaboo had her arms crossed and her cheeks puffed out as she bobbled lightly in the air, glaring at nothing in particular. She’d been nice enough to help Patrice hurry down here (though she had to tell him no when he asked her to use Trick-or-Treat on him to speed it up, even if he’d have been able to float and pass through walls as a ghost not leaving your clothes on the other side of the wall took practice… something she knew really well) and what had happened? She’d gotten shooed out! A fact she was currently handling with the grace of a 5 year old, stubbornly hanging around the door instead of going back to see the last fight of the match… as if they’d change their minds in a minute or two and let her inside.
As she floated there Terri couldn’t help but idly wonder how Petie was doing in the fight… even if he WAS a meanie for not letting her play with Jules she still hoped he was doing okay. A steady sounding thudding jarred her from her thoughts as she glanced down the hall to see that munchlax member of Team Pre-K heading this way… all by herself. Terri didn’t know the girl well enough to guess why she was coming to the nurse’s office before the match was over (or even to know her name for that matter), but if she had to guess it was probably to see Andrew since the normal type seemed to be glued to the pichu’s side. Shrugging it wasn’t like the pumpkaboo had any reason not to say hi to the girl… it would kill a moment of bored and frustration if nothing else.
“Hey.” Terri called as the girl got close “Here to see your pichu buddy?” she asked, having considered calling Andrew the munchlax’s boyfriend for a moment before deciding against it. The idea of baby evolution mon dating just sounded too weird and silly for her to say that with a straight face. “He’s my brother.” The munchlax said, voice flat and deadpan as could be and expression matching it, as she pulled the nurse’s office door open and vanished inside. Leaving Terri paused mid-air in mid-float as the gears in her head turned to process this. “Wait… they… they aren’t in the same breeding groups are they?” she asked aloud, turning her head a little “… are they adopted? Step siblings? Or are their parents…” the mental image of a snorlax and a pikachu crossed Terri’s mind for size reference and the ghost types cheeks went red as a look of disgust and embarrassment crossed her face.
The sound of Terri smacking her face to get that mental image out of her head echoed down the halls for several minutes after that.
******************************
Craning to look Patrice saw the munchlax member of Team Pre-K, it took him a moment but he remembered her name was Jane, walking into the room. “I’m a member of Team Pre-K.” the girl said in a deadpan monotone, cutting the nurse off before she could ask the question she’d asked him and Toni earlier, before adding “I’m also Andrew’s younger fraternal twin sister, is my brother alright?” with a little more emotion in her voice… maybe, it was hard to tell to be honest. Especially since what she said sounded so weird that Patrice couldn’t tell if she was being serious or sarcastic, so he just stared in confusion as the munchlax went over to Andrew’s bedside. He did notice, as the nurse told her that Andrew would be fine, that Jane was incredibly short for a teenager and she had the same hair color as the pichu… but those were the closest things the two had to similarities. Fortunately Terrance spoke up and changed topics before the azurill could dwell any further on this.
“So… is the match over or what?” the gurdurr asked “Or did you just come here to make sure your… brother was okay?” there was a definite pause before he said brother letting Patrice know he wasn’t the only one questioning that. “I came to make sure Andrew was okay since I’m not fighting in the match.” Was Jane’s answer, a sentiment Patrice could understand since it was the same reason he’d come to see Roy (along with chewing him out)… the next thing she said though was where the munchlax lost him “I’m not really concerned with how the match turns out so there was no reason for me to stay, Andrew is what’s important.” Patrice just stared a Jane in shock over what she’d just said. He’d always imagined teams being pretty close or at the very least friends, despite having never been part of one himself, but the way she’d said that… it sounded like the munchlax didn’t care about the rest of her team at all!
“That… that’s an odd way to see things…” Terrance said, sounding utterly befuddled at the munchlax’s statement “Are you just really confident in your last fighter and think you’re gonna win or…” he trailed off, not wanting to openly say what Patrice was thinking. “Petie? No. He’s alright, he’s worked hard at least…” Jane said, not looking up from her brother “But no, I’m not that confident in him. He’s normally the alternate for a reason, several reasons. But he should be fine in this fight…” While he’d met Andrew in special attack class a couple times Patrice didn’t actually know Pre-K well enough to have known Petie was the teddiursa if it hadn’t been told during the match… but the azurill couldn’t help but wonder how weak or bad at fighting the bear had to be. He was apparently the designated bench-sitter on a team that were basically pre-schoolers as far as their physical appearance was concerned (even if Patrice qualified for that category too)… which really didn’t say much for the teddiursa. Of course… it said even less for Teddy since it mean Jane considered the lion cub LOWER on the totem pole than the designated bench sitter of team Pre-K. Patrice didn’t know the kid well despite having met him a few times, but this still was something to think on…
At least, to think on untill Jane continued talking and took his focus “What I meant was that we’ve made a good enough showing that even if we lose our grades should be fine, so winning the last fight of the match isn’t necessary. Now then, what about you?” she asked, turning her attention to Terrance. The gurdurr made a grunt of confusion, raising an eyebrow in query as he shifted in the bed. Patrice eeped a little as his cousin groaned, managing to sit up and turning his attention to Jane as well. Glancing between the two sophomores for a moment the munchlax continued speaking “You’ve made a poor showing and Teddy is your last way to salvage it… do you think he can do it?” Her question was deadpan and emotionless which almost made it sting worse than if it’d been accusatory “Our teams coach did research before the match and I looked through it, why is he on your team? You don’t seem to let him fight in matches normally so I don’t see why you need or keep him.” The statement and questions were delivered in an impossibly blunt manner… but the creepy munchlax had a good point as Patrice turned to see how his cousin would respond, wanting to know the answers as well.
For the most part though the guys just had a look of shock on their faces liked they’d been slapped with a fish as they sat there in silence. Their mouths opened occasionally before shutting as if reconsidering what they were going to say as you could almost see the wheels turning in their heads. “W-well…” Roy was the first to speak as he and Terrance exchanged looks “He’s Vanessa’s cousin and she wanted us to… um…” the sealeo mumbled before realizing what it sounded like and stopping, his chubby face falling. “… she wanted us to look out for her baby cousin, and we all said yes since she was our friend and we had an open spot to fill with her changing majors.” Terrance said, voice grim as he groaned a little while shifting in the bed to sit up properly. Apparently the gurdurr both understood what Jane was asking about AND was willing to admit to it as he continued “So we basically babysat him and kept him safe… but keeping him out of serious fights, that’s what you’re getting at… right?” Terrance finished as Roy’s whole body heaved, the sealeo letting out a large sigh… shifting the bed under him and his azurill cousin sitting on it.
“Just curious.” Was the only reply Jane gave as the munchlax shrugged… then turned her attention to adjusting the pillow under Andrew’s head as if nothing had been said at all. Patrice meanwhile hopped off the bed and turned to look at his cousin and his cousin’s teammate, a look of personal shock and disappointment on his face. “Roly… is that true?” the azurill asked, looking at his cousin as Roy just hung his head and looked away. The sealeo being unwilling and unable to look his baby cousin in the eyes. “Is that true Roly?” Patrice asked again after the moment of silence “Don’t you think you guys went a little too far!?” he finally demanded, voice pitching up a little as he did so, making both older boy’s cringe. “I mean, going easy on a fight is a thing, keeping him safe? He's in the battle major!” Patrice continued, starting into a rant “If he couldn't afford taking a hit he'd be in a different one!” he continued, sounding more upset as he got into it. The two clowns just took the verbal lashing until Terrance finally spoke up. “… Vanessa always treated him like he was a toddler, we kinda just went along with it because he didn’t object…” the gurdurr mumbled, sounding like he wasn’t even trying to justify what they’d done so much as explain it.
At that explanation though Patrice just puffed up a little as if more offended than before. His voice had mostly returned to normal though as he continued without yelling… though the anger and disappointment was obvious in his voice “I don't know how he can put up with that, maybe you already convinced him that he can't do anything on his own...” he said, looking between the two teens “Think for a moment what it is like to live thinking so little of yourself...or that all your efforts are wasted and you can't accomplish anything without your hand being held by someone bigger...” Patrice continued, almost sounding like he was lecturing the two, as Roy still couldn’t look his cousin in the eyes and Terrance just sat there taking it silently. “I don't know if that's normal in teams but I wouldn't want to be in one that won't let me grow or learn..." the azurill finally said, trailing off into silence as neither of the awake member of Big Top would speak… and the rest of the nurse’s office lapsed into silence along with them. Only the sound of Sophie’s snoring and the quiet noise of the nurse’s working could be heard.
Finally someone broke the silence “No… no it’s not normal for teams… we’ve just messed up is all, messed up big time…” Roy finally said, looking across the way to Jane “Right? Your team doesn’t have this kinda trouble, does it?” the sealeo asked, sounding like he was more trying to reassure his cousin than make any kind of excuse for his own behavior. “Pre-K isn’t a normal team, don’t ask me.” Was Jane’s blunt and deadpan response… which obviously hadn’t been what Roy was hoping for. “Er… either way…” the Ice/Water type said, looking back to Patrice “Please don’t let this turn you off the idea of teams, okay Poly? We get we messed up and we’re going to try and make it right…” In response to that the azurill sat there in silence, mulling over and looking like he was grasping for the right words… before looking back at his cousin and speaking in a serious tone.
"If you really intend to change... let him choose what he wants, and live with his decision. Don't take for granted that he'll believe your promise." The tiny normal type demanded making the older boys pause. In any other situation a little kid making demands to teens twice his size would be almost comical… but Terrance and Roy looked to be seriously considering what Patrice said as they exchanged looks. Finally Roy spoke up "We got it and we'll do our best... so stop being so frowny, okay Poly?" the sealeo said in a slightly pleading tone before sparing a weak, pained chuckle "You glaring at me like that is just making this whole thing hurt worse..." though it was an obvious poorly done attempt at humor rather than a serious comment. Patrice sighed, finally relaxing his stare "Okay, now lay back down.” The azurill said as he looked up to Roy “You seem better enough and I need room to think, so I'm taking my leave." The sealeo just nodded, looking a tiny bit amused at being chastised by his baby cousin, before complying
Watching the two for a moment Terrance finally spoke up "Hey... anyone know how Teddy was doing?" the gurdurr sounded a touch concerned as he looked over to Jane since the munchlax would probably be the only one who knew "I've seen him fight other freshmen before... the match should have been done... should have been done for a while" before the fighting type could finish what he'd been saying, the door swung open and the arena-side medics carried two stretchers into the office, each with a small, battered form on them. "Teddy!" Terrance and Roy blurted out in stereo as they saw one of the small, battered forms. Both boys leaping out of their beds with a quick motion, apparently trying to get to their fallen teammate and demand to know what happened... and promptly crumbled to the ground with a loud, resounding THUD as their injuries reasserted themselves. Groaning at his cousin’s antic Patrice put his forehead in his hand before letting out a sigh and moving out of the way of the nurses coming to tend to the two, his plans to leave canceled.
The noise of Big Top falling, and the resulting shaking of the room, ended up jarring the three unconscious members of Pre-K into semi-consciousness, the freshmen groaning as they tried and failed to sit up, as Maddie and Sammi arrived pushing the just shut door open again. Filling the nurse’s office with noise as Roy and Terrance tried to demand answers to what happened in the round in between groans of pain, Pre-K’s confusion over having just woken up, and the actual nurses trying to maintain order and control of the situation on top of making sure Maddie and Sammi were actually part of Team Pre-K and had a reason to be there… not to mention having to almost throw Terri out since she’d snuck inside during the madness. Yet through it all though Sophie somehow managed to remain completely asleep… which Jane was the only one detached enough to notice.
“Must be part snorlax…” the munchlax said, completely missing the irony as she moved to make Andrew lay back down before he hurt himself like Roy and Terrance did.
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The three fire types with a fourth in tow were moving at a slower pace than they wanted… mostly because Rebecca and Amber where having to brace Vanessa to keep the vulpix from stumbling and falling over. Hugging Cody tightly, the growlithe’s expression showing he was millions of miles away at the moment, the multi-tailed fox was hiccupping and choking on her tears rendering what she was trying to say unintelligible. Not that her friends couldn’t guess it had something to do with attempting to convince herself that Teddy’s fight hadn’t happened and her precious baby brother hadn’t acted like that. Gently holding her shoulders the braixen and litleo exchanged worried looks as they led Vanessa down the hall way to the nurse’s office, dreading how the fox would react when she got there and saw Teddy in person. Or at least Rebecca was… Amber meanwhile was trying to reassure Vanessa and the lioness actually said “Don’t worry, we can ask Teddy what happened when we get to the nurse’s office okay? I’m sure he had a reason, okay?” in an attempt to calm the fox down.
Amber’s comment, combined with Vanessa’s tears running down her face and dripping on his head and muzzle, roused Cody from the gone state he’d been in… as he immediately began struggling weakly in his cousins grip. “No… no!” he fussed, voice still low and sounding shaken “I… I can’t go see Teddy yet, I can’t…” the growlithe mumbled, kicking weakly and squirming “I… I’m not ready to…” Vanessa didn’t seem to be aware enough to realize Cody’s words or struggles as she merely adjusted her grip on him… as Rebecca and Amber exchanged concerned looks again. The taller fire type clearing her throat after a moment “I’ll take care of Cody, he’s probably too upset to see Teddy right now anyway and needs a change…” she explained, more to Amber than the two cousins “You get Vanessa to Teddy… they need to work out whatever’s going on…” the braixen finished as Amber nodded despite the look on her face saying she only half understood what Rebecca meant.
Adjusting Vanessa to lean fully on the lioness it took a moment of struggling for Rebecca to slip Cody out of the smaller fox’s paws, Vanessa only sparing her friend a momentary look before nodding weakly confident Rebecca could handle Cody. For his part though the baby growlithe, once he realized this meant he wouldn’t have to see Teddy yet, let the braixen handle him like an infant as he slipped back into his unresponsive thousand yard stare. Rebecca stood their cradling Cody as she watching the two go, Amber struggling a little from Vanessa leaning on her despite how light the vulpix was. Finally when the two girls were down the hall and out of earshot as the fox magician looked down to the little bundle of baby fluff in her arms and let out a sigh as she said, in an exhausted sounding tone…
“Cody… I’m going to need you to tell me whatever you did to Teddy to make you feel so guilty… but first lets get you changed…”
Cody eyes widened in response to this as he let out a pitiful whimper and curled up more, pulling his fluffy tail around him, as the braixen carried him off to find the nearest place to change the growlithe’s full diaper.
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The arrival of the two fire-types actually did very little to add to the chaos in the nurse’s office as the nurses were too busy dealing with Terrance and Roy having reinjured themselves to even bother asking if the girls had a reason to be there. In turn the boys were too busy listening to Maddie’s description of what happened in the last round of the match in open-mouthed shock and denial as only Sammi’s confirmations kept them from accusing her of lying. The fact all the clatter had woken the first three members of Team Pre-K who were groggy, confused, and also in the dark about the last round and match results just added to the noise and confusion. Conveniently this proved to be the perfect distraction to keep anyone from notice one of the nurses in the back of the room working to change Petie out of his full diaper, which the teddiursa would have appreciated had he actually been conscious.
Deaf to the nurse’s demands they get back in the beds before they hurt themselves more (and Patrice’s expressed concerns for his big cousin)Terrance and Roy turned to Vanessa, hoping for some answers… and stopped short to instead try and comfort the vulpix the moment they saw the state she was in, taking over from Amber. Able to tell they weren’t the ones Vanessa was going to talk to neither boy said anything and simply followed her over to the hospital bed where Teddy lay. The worst of his wounds had already been tended with Potions and Super Potion, highlighting how minor they’d been, meaning the worst affliction he had at the moment was exhaustion… but the litleo was still visibly a mess. His fur and hair was matted and disheveled, his outfit was torn up, and despite being unconscious he still managed to wince with pain each time the nurse moved him showing how sore the little cub was. Not knowing what else to do Vanessa, Terrance, and Roy just clustered around the bed with Teddy, Team Pre-K finding out from Maddie that they actually won the round and what had happened between Teddy and Petie providing background noise, as Team Big Top waited for their youngest member to wake up. Hoping he could give them answers about what had happened to make him act like that…
And scared what those answers might be…
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Meanwhile, oblivious to the people clustered around him, Teddy was in the grips of a nightmare. As the litleo lay in the bed, too weak to even thrash about, he was in the grips of a horrible nightmare. Grey featureless ground stretched to the horizon in all directions around him, a dark starless void forming the heaven above it as the cub ran blindly, his chest heaving and his body aching. Not even sure what he was running from or where he was running to as his paws slapped at the featureless earth frantically. All around him he could hear voices, booming and echoing in the void, surrounding him, suffocating him… “Teddy is too little to be in the battle major!” “Are you sure you want to go to the PCA baby cub? It is for big kids…” “Don’t worry Vanessa, we’ll keep your baby brother safe for you.” “Sit with me Teddy, we can watch them train since it’s too much for a little kid like you right now.” “Ah, ah, ah, no Teddy you’re not big enough for that yet~” “Little Teddy is so cute, especially when he thinks he’s a big boy~” Vanessa, his mother, Roy, Terrance… the voices started distinctive but blurred together as they continued on, devolving from specific words ingrained in the litleo’s memory down to simple babyish cooing and patronizing filling his mind and pounding at his ear drums as he shut his eyes tight and clutched the sides of his head.
“NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!”
It wasn’t a teens cry of defiance that ripped from Teddy’s throat, but a young child’s cry of panic at being scared and overwhelmed… devolving into a wordless cry of surprise and pain as the lion cub tripped over something he hadn’t seen and was sent tumbling. Groaning Teddy shook his head to clear it as he sat up to see what he’d tripped over… and promptly went pale as he stared in wide eyed shock at the seemingly innocent baby toy laying on the ground before him. Laying on the ground in front of him the brightly colored baby mobile, complete with tiny dangling plush toys (Pichu, Dedenne, Emolga, Pachirisu... Teddy remembered them well), was something the litleo hadn’t seen outside of vague dream like memories and home movies of back when he’d been a… a… baby. The litleo finally realized how absolutely quiet the world around him had gotten as he looked around in a panic to find things had changed. He was sitting nude as the day he was born on a soft, padded, pastel yellow plastic like surface and the rest of the world was inky blackness. Rather than embarrassment though all the cub felt was icy cold fear running up his spine as the familiar voice of Vanessa, distorted by sheer volume, boomed in the void around him.
“Poor little Teddy, he’s just not ready to be a big boy yet is he?”
Voice stolen from him by shock and fear Teddy made no noise as an impossibly big russet colored paw reached from the blackness and seized his ankles, lifting his bottom clean away from and plopping his upper body down on the only “Ground” he could find. “Yeah, he couldn’t even beat a little baby in diapers could he? It’d be better if he went back to kindergarten.” This time the booming voice was Terrance’s as a second russet colored paw, Teddy’s mind refusing to connect the dots to who it belonged to, carrying a massive bottle of baby powder began to powder the cub’s backside. “Yeah, it was a mistake sending him to the PCA. He’s just not ready or big enough for it.” Roy’s voice chimed like a church bell as Teddy teared up, well aware what was being done to him even before the giant, white, plastic method of his execution entered his view and Sophie’s voice sing songed the implement of his fate worse than death.
“Yep, back to the nursery… back to diapers for little Teddy~ He’s just too little a baby to do anything on his own~”
“NUUUUUUUU!! NU! NU NUU NUUU! I… I didn’t!” the lion cub wailed at the top of his lungs, past caring about the infantile pitch he was reaching, as he squirmed helplessly “I didn’t lose! I didn’t! I… I can win! I can! I’m not a baby! Nuuu!” he screamed, crying as his struggles amounted to nothing against the giant paws which easily fastened him into the diaper as if he was merely a fussing infant “I can win! I can win! I’m not weak! I’m not helpless! I didn’t… I didn’t lose!” Teddy repeated himself as the darkness receded to reveal the giant paws did indeed belong to a huge version of his cousin. The vulpix looming over the litleo with that sweet, horrible, patronizing smile… Vanessa distorted into something out of a horror movie in the apparently tiny cubs eyes as he looked away in desperation… and found no relief from the horror before his eyes no matter where he cast them.
He was laying on a huge changing table, the baby mobile… HIS baby mobile… was dangling overhead, larger than ever seemed possible to the little litleo. All around him were the patronizing, soft, colorful, safe, and suffocating trappings of infancy Teddy had worked so hard to grow out of… to prove he was too big to need anymore. All around him were Vanessa’s friends, her teammates… HIS teammates… similarly twisted into huge, smiling, patronizing ogres like his cousin as the crying litleo found himself being passed among them like an infant as they easily manhandled and cooed to him. All the while Teddy keep repeating himself, clinging to his mantra of denial as his last lifeline.
“I didn’t lose! I didn’t! I beat Petie! I can beat Petie! I didn’t… didn’t lose to some baby in diapers! I’m not a baby! No! I… I’m a big kid! I’m a big kid! I didn’t lose!”
He cried out as the Vanessa monster playfully spun him like people do with infants, stopping in front of a mirror to let Teddy see what it showed. Which for a moment left the cub confused since a burning battle arena was reflected in it… as two familiar, small figures struck at each other, one tumbling to the ground from the blow and the other coming to sit atop the fallen triumphantly. Teddy’s lip trembled helplessly as his protests were reduced to a pitiful little series of “Nu nu nu nu” as the sound of the referee calling the match echoed off the nursery walls like a bomb blast “Petie of Team Pre-K has won the round! The winners of this match are Team Pre-K!” as the image dissolved to leave the mirror reflecting a chubby, infantile little litleo clad in only a thick diaper with a little sprig of reddish hair on his forehead, big tear filled and stained eyes, a toothless mouth set behind trembling lips as Teddy’s denial devolved into a wordless, high pitched cry he wouldn’t believe was coming from his own mouth if he wasn’t watching himself make the sound.
“Wa-waaa-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
The dream devolved into a maelstrom of sounds and images at this point as the kitten’s frayed mind could only take so much… him being laughed out of the PCA as he ran crying through the halls in just a diaper, his cousin Cody looming over him sporting new pull-ups as a now tiny Teddy sported a diaper, him watching helplessly from a baby bouncer as all his big boy stuff was taken from his room to be replaced by nursery furniture. A raging torrent of all the litleo’s fears about being treated like a helpless toddler, of what would happen if he failed, what would happen if his cousins and everybody were right about how useless he was… it was drowning him. Despite the pain it caused him the cub found himself thrashing violently, panicked voices just on the horizon driving his frenzy even further as he fought desperately to escape his nightmare. Until finally Teddy sat up with a choked scream before curling up in pain with a coughing fit, his torture throat not appreciating the strain he’d tried to put it through.
Blinking through tears and pain the litleo looked around frantically, confused and trying to get his bearings as he found himself in a strange place with Vanessa and Team Big Top clustered around him. It took the cub a moment to recognize it as a nurse’s office… and another moment for him to remember the match and realize the cruel, horrible reality he’d fled to from his nightmare. The realization sunk in even harder as Vanessa, face still tearstained and eyes pleading, reached out to comfort the coughing cub… but stopped short before biting her lip and pulling her hand back. Compared to Vanessa’s normal doting actions this might as well have been her striking him across the face as Teddy flinched the same either way. For a long moment no one said anything, Terrance & Roy apparently waiting for Vanessa to speak first, before the vulpix finally found her voice… which was as pleading as her eyes and trembled.
“Teddy… why… why did you fight like that…?”
The lion cub blinked in confusion, having expected demands… no, accusations about why he’d lost. He didn’t understand why she was asking that, what she was asking… but as his gaze moved from his cousin’s face to the faces of his teammates a horrible new realization started to slowly creep over him as the memories of the match played in his head as clearly as if he’d been watching it instead of participating. Teddy could feel his lip starting to quiver as images of him savagely biting and clawing at Petie amongst the flames, the multiple penalties he’d incurred, the shock and horror of the crowd… all of it came back to him capping off with a single fact that crushed all the was left of the litleo beneath it. All that he’d done in the name of proving himself, in the name of winning, all the bridges he’d burned… had been all for NOTHING. Despite all that he had LOST, meaning he now had to answer for what he’d done, try and prove he’d had a good reason to act like that, to try and justify it… to give them some kind of an answer…
And Teddy did. He gave them the only answer he could. The litleo curled up where he lay on the bed and cried softly like a little kid, eyes tightly shut as tears poured from them and paws firmly clamped over his head and ears. Teddy cried helplessly as his cousin and teammates just watched the pitiful sight, at a loss for what to do… or what would happen next…
The End…?
Category Story / Pokemon
Species Pokemon
Size 756 x 371px
File Size 54.5 kB
When darkness consumes your very mind and heart, a goal that seemed selfish but without realization and once all of that anger and sadness finally lifts away is only when you realize what you have done and it only sends you into further despair. I don't think its so much that Teddy lost to Petie but more of, he was defeated by himself and his own ambitions, at least that's my own interpretation from the series.
Great story, it does beg the mystery if Teddy will be able to redeem himself someday or will he be stuck in a cycle of nightmares.
Great story, it does beg the mystery if Teddy will be able to redeem himself someday or will he be stuck in a cycle of nightmares.
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