To Bloom Again

Chapter 8: A familiar fabulous face

Steven and Wallace were deep into the depths of granite cave, in the hopes of seeking any rare stones inside. Meanwhile, Marina was in the middle of facing Brawly, the Dewford gym Leader, on her own due to all the seats having been taken.

As much as they wanted to be there to support her, to see how the blue-haired women they battle against Brawly, the two men had to sit this one out, no matter how disappointed it felt.

But it must have been a good thing, since Steven wanted Marina to gain her independence again, to experience all the wonders of traveling and self-discovery and to show everyone how strong she'll become.

Alas, it wasn't time for that yet, and Steven had to accept time while he was digging for rocks.

"Steven, look!" Wallace said to him as he pointed to a small, blue-violet heart shaped stone shimming beautifully.

"Holy shit, I've never seen a stone like that in my entire life."

Wallace gracelessly picks up the rock, handing it to his friend, "It's pretty, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes, it is." Steven glanced at the rock for a brief second before tucking it away in his backpack, attempting to find out what it was since it was a rock he had never seen before.

However, the colors reminded him of Marina's hair and eye color, "Hmm,"

Wallace places his hands on his hips, "Please don't tell me you're going to give that stone to Marina?"

"I mean, I was thinking about it." He teased.

"Well," the teal haired man smiled back, "The colors do look like her."

"That's what makes it so precious. I gotta give it to her."

Wallace begged, "Just not now. Wait until the time is right."

Steven bit his lip, "When's that supposed to be?"

Wallace placed his hand on Steven's shoulder, "When the time comes, you'll know. Now, let's get out of this cave. I'm sure Marina is waiting for us right about now."

Once out, they saw Marina and Grace cheerfully waiting for them.

"Did you win, hun?" Wallace politely asked her.

"Yep," she replied back, proudly while showing him the knuckle badge. "I swept his team thanks to Grace. She didn't take any damage at all."

"All that training must be paying off then."

Marina nodded, coyly, as she now brought her attention to Steven, "Where's the next gym?"

In which Steven replies, "Mauville city."

Marina quickly felt her heart sink. She was really hoping to avoid her hometown during her journey, as she was not ready to face her parents. Just even the thought of telling her folks what happened was anxiety inducing.

"I-I don't want to go." She mumbled.

Both Steven and Wallace can tell that she was uncomfortable about having to go back home. Not ready to face what's waiting for her over there.

"We don't have to go right now, darling." Wallace said to her in a soothing tone in an attempt to comfort her. "Instead, we can go to Slateport city to relax for a bit. How does that sound?"

"I guess that will be okay."

With that being said, Steven sent out his two flying Pokemon and they all made their way to Slateport city.

Marina, however, was still having second thoughts about this.

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