Truth Beyond the Desert Sand

**Characters** | Michel Brycian
Vanessa Le Roy
Guildmaster Alessia (Mentioned)
Rogue (Vanessa's Weavile)
Wolfe (Michel's Midnight Form Lycanroc)
Rose (Vanessa's Gardevoir)

**Description:** While on a recon mission to the Sand Continent in order to locate the rumored time gear there, Michel Brycian and Vanessa Le Roy reflect back on their past together as the duo slowly realize the truth of their feelings towards each other.

**Truth Beyond the Desert Sand**
"Hey Michel? Can we take a break? I think Rouge needs a break before we continue."

Vanessa helps her partner Weavile over to what was once a building, Rouge taking a seat against it as her trainer fishes in her bag for a bottle of water. Vanessa keeps her hood over her head, protecting herself against the the muggy weather, handing the water over to her pokemon and standing back up again.

"I forgot how harsh the weather can get here. Rouge, are you sure that you don't want to return to your pokeball for now? I can have Rose accompany me." Vanessa asks worriedly. "The sand continent is unforgiving to ice types. . .even i have to protect myself a bit."

Rouge sighs after taking a drink of water, looking at Vanessa sadly. "At this rate I might as well swap out. Rose will be able to handle this weather better than I would. I'm sorry Vanni." She says.

"Sure. We can use the time to rest for a bit before moving on." Michel nods as him and his Midnight Form Lycanroc, Wolfe join with Vanessa and Rogue.

He sighs before crossing his arms and leaning against a nearby wall.

"Yeah. It's real rough round here for ice types such as yourself. Michel and I are used to their area." Wolfe states as he turns to Michel, "Why didn't you use Flynn to fly around?"

Michel glances at Wolfe before shaking his head.

"Vanni here wanted to walk and explore instead so I decided to have you watch my back." He answers, chuckling, "Is that a problem?"

Wolfe shakes his head before he smiles.

"No, not at all. I'm actually glad to have some time with ya." Wolfe responds before turning to the duo, "Will Rogue be all right?"

"Yeah, she just needs to rest. Don't worry, she's tough."

"Are you sure you don't want to keep going Rouge?" Vanessa asks sadly, taking out her Weavile's pokeball. "I can give you a hood just like mine if it'll help.

Rouge shakes her head tiredly, the sad smile on her face still. "I'm sorry Vanni. I need a break. Let Rose come out for a bit." She answers.

Vanessa nods, returning Rouge to her pokeball, then taking out a Love ball and letting her Gardevoir out. Rose looks at Vanessa with a smile, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Rouge couldn't take the muggy weather anymore?" She asks her trainer.

"Unfortunately not. Rouge loves to explore the sand continent, but I guess it's too muggy today to where she couldn't handle it." Vanessa answers, getting up from her spot. "I'll just have to make sure to find something special for her collection that she has at home."

Michel and Wolfe watch as Rouge gets swapped out with Rose, her Gardevoir.

"You think she can take the heat better than her teammate?" Wolfe asks Michel, glancing up at him.

"Rose is very used to this area as well. Compared to Rouge, she'll be better off here." Michel answers before sitting against the wall as Wolfe joins him.

He takes out his canteen, opening it and taking a sip before passing it to Wolfe.

"Here, it is very muggy out there..."

Wolfe nods as he gives a smile, happily taking the canteen and taking a few sips.

"Thanks. You don't really have to worry about me..." Wolfe replies before smiling, "Thank you, Michel."

"You always treat us like family Vanessa." Rose smiles. "It's very thoughtful of you to think about getting something for Rouge while you're here. I'll be no more than happy to keep an eye out myself for anything nice."

Vanessa nods and takes a drink from her own water bottle, then putting it away as she looks to Rose. She smiles a bit in return, crossing her arms.

"Of course I treat you all like family. You're my pokemon, so of course you would be such." She says, looking over to Michel, her gaze softening a bit when she watches him pass his canteen to his Lycanroc. "Michel is the same way too. The both of us growing up always had a passion to be loving and nurturing trainers. While my parents and I did research, and when we had to move the lab to a different region, we made the promise of training hard and helping out any pokemon in need. . ."

Rose nods, looking over as well as her own gaze softens a bit. "Yeah. . .you both have such a strong connection to each other, but a strong connection to the pokemon around you as well." She says. "It's no wonder why the both of you fancy each other."

Vanessa's eyes widen, her face flushing underneath her hood. "Rose. . ." She begins.

“Come on now, Wolfe. I think of all of you as family.” Michel smiles, "It may not seem like it at times but I do care for all of you.”

“I know Mate, we all think the same as well. We’re like a huge pack.” Wolfe replies, handing him back his canteen, "I remember that your mother was into breeding while your father was a researcher. Did you grow up loving us Pokémon? I know the answer but I wanna hear it from ya.”

“Of course. I always helped my mother with the Pokémon in her care and I learned a lot about them from my father.” Michel answers, glancing over at Vanessa, ”Her and I grew up loving Pokémon together which is why we’re very caring trainers.”

“Gotcha. So that’s how you and the Ice queen get along...” Wolfe states with a smirk, "You two are definitely close.”

Michel’s face grows slightly red as he hits Wolfe on the back. “Hush!”

"I'm just teasing you Vanessa. But it should be something that you two should discuss." Rose says, chuckling a little. "I can tell you two have been skirting around the thoughts for awhile."

Vanessa heaves a sigh, kicking the nearest pebbles over as she looks at the ground. As usual, Rose picked up her thoughts as well as Michel's whenever the two have been around each other. She gives a nod to her Gardevoir, looking back up and over to Michel and Wolfe after making sure everything was still in her bag.

"I know I have to. But it's the thought on what will happen that worries me if one or the other gets rejected. But I guess we will find out soon enough." Vanessa says, adjusting her hood a bit. "Hey Michel? You ready to keep going?"

“Relax Mikey, I’m only teasing. I heard quite a bit from... other sources.” Wolfe explains with a small laugh after he’s slapped in the back, "So... when are you going to ask her?”

‘Flynn... I’ll have to get back at you later.’ Michel thinks before he crosses his arms.

“When the right time comes, Wolfe. But I get it. I need to tell her my thoughts soon enough.” Michel responds before hearing Vanessa’s question.

He stands to his feet at the same time with Wolfe before stretching his arms.

“Yeah, ready when you are, Nessa.”

Vanessa nods, adjusting the strap to her bag as she looks over to the silhouette of the abandoned city they intended to go to next. From what Alessia gave her for Intel, there was a camp set up for the recon team they were helping, hidden within one of the buildings and out of sight of any enemy eyes.

"We still have a little bit to go, but at least we're getting closer." Vanessa says, looking over to Michel. "What do we know about this time gear location anyway? I know it's here on the sand continent somewhere but. . ."

“True. Though, we sadly don’t know much. All we know is that a time gear is near the recon team base.” Michel sigh as he repositions his bag on his back, “That’s why Alessia sent us out here.”

Vanessa nods, smiling a bit. "Well either way, I'm sure we'll figure it out. Maybe the team found something as we were dispatched. The more information the better." She says, starting to walk. "Come on, let's get going. We can still talk as we walk."

"Let's hope that is the case..." Michel sighs before taking out his pokeball,"Hey Nessa, did you want to fly the rest of the way there instead? It would be faster."

Vanessa looks over to him, nodding. "Yeah. . .maybe it would be a good idea. It would help cover more ground and it doesn't look like there's anything else for another few miles before the city." She answers.

"Exactly." Michel nods, grabbing Lycanroc's pokeball,"Take some rest for now, Wolfe. I'll take you out later when we arrive at the base."

"Of course." Wolfe nods as he returns to his pokeball.

Once Michel places Wolfe's pokeball back in his bag, he tosses Flynn's great ball up in the air.

"Come on out, Flynn!" Michel exclaims.

Vanessa returns Rose to her pokeball as well, tucking the pokeball safely back into its pocket.

"I'll probably do the same for Rose when we get there. Give her time to explore and maybe find something for Rouge." She smiles, watching as Michel releases Flynn from his pokeball.

“Good idea.” Michel nods as he puts Flynn’s ball in his bag.

When Flynn, his Flygon appeared, he stretches and turns to Michel.

“About time you called, Mikey.” Flynn teases before Michel glares at him, "I was going to take a nap...”

“Really Flynn? I figured that I would have my wingman with me.” Michel chuckles back, "Good to see you’re well rested.”

“Definitely. And hey, I was just kidding with ya.” Flynn smiles at the same time they fist bump, "So whatcha need?”

“We need a ride and I think it would be a good time for you to enjoy this weather here on the Sand Continent.” Michel replies, "You up for it, buddy?”

Flynn nods as he lowers himself a bit so him and Vanessa can hop onto his back.

“You kiddin'? I love this continent! It’s feels like heaven to me!” He says happily lowering his wings, "Hop on!”

Michel nods before he jumps onto his back before extending his hand to Vanessa, “You ready for this?”

Vanessa takes his hand, smiling in thanks as she also hops onto Flynn's back.

"Ready when you are Mikey." She chuckles. "Let's get going."

Michel smiles once she hops on behind him before fishing his hand into his pocket to grab a spare pair of goggles.

“Here, you’ll need these.” He offers, turning around, "It’s for safety purposes...”

Vanessa nods, taking the goggles from Michel and slipping them over her eyes. She then makes sure her bag is shut tight, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Thank you. Bad idea to get wind burn at a time like this. Especially in this heat." She says. "I'm glad the hood is actually keeping me cool too. . ."

When Michel feels her arms wrap around his waist, his face reddens slightly before he pulls down his goggles and slips them over his eyes.

“You’re welcome. And you won’t have to worry about the heat, there will be plenty of wind.” Michel replies, holding onto Flynn’s neck before he starts to spread his wings, "All set Flynn. Let’s go!”

“Right! Hang on tight!” Flynn answers before the Flygon takes off quickly from their spot to the sky.

Vanessa gives a slight laugh, holding on tightly to Michel as they soar through the air. She looks at the vast wasteland below them, even looking at the landscape as they travel to the recon camp.

"I forgot how much fun flying is!" Vanessa says, the smile never leaving her face. "It's been a long time since I've done something like this."

Michel hangs onto the top of Flynn's neck tight as he feels them ascending into the sky, the wind smacking against him. He smiles widely once Flynn begins to steadily soar through the air, especially when he glances around the vast wasteland below and the mountains that are further away from them. He turns his head towards Vanessa as he nods.

"Well maybe you should join sometime when I go on recon. It's usually Flygon and me out here, surfing through the high winds and accelerating through the sky.  There is no natural wind, but flying up here provides it for us. Reminds me of Orre..." Michel responds before heaving a sigh for a moment when he thinks of home before shaking his head, "But flying is a lot of fun. It's one of things that I look forward to now when I get sent out on a mission."

"I forgot that we used to do that a lot in Orre when we were younger. . ." Vanessa sighs, leaning her had against Michel's back. "It was when Flynn first evolved into Flygon. In celebration, he gave us a ride on his back. The view was gorgeous."

She remains fixated on the horizon, smiling a bit.

"I'll definitely have to take you up on that though. Flying has always been fun."

"Yeah, I remember that too. It was a lot of fun on our first ride... Isn't that right, Flynn?" Michel says with his face slightly red from Vanessa's head resting on his back before Flynn nods his head.

"I remember that! It was my first memory that I had as a Flygon!" Flynn responds happily, "I was finally glad that I could carry you both on my back!"

"The view of Gateon Port was so beautiful that day..." Michel reminisces as he thinks back to that day for a brief moment when the image pops into his mind.

Vanessa nods, still looking out longingly at the horizon.

"The sun was setting, and the way it reflected off of the water was absolutely gorgeous." she says. "It really was a wonderful day."

“When the world is back to normal, we’ll have to go back there together... I could also bring you somewhere else like Alola. That would somewhere I would bring you too... You would love the ocean breeze and the tranquil forests there.” Michel smiles while they fly over the muggy desert below, not knowing that he said it out loud for Vanessa to hear, “It would be the perfect place to go together...”

-More Coming Soon-