5 Mothers and cops

Blaze was running in the woods. Behind him, cops, dogs and flashlights, screaming and barking hard on his tail. He did not understand why but he felt sluggish, he was knocking himself on all the branches he passed and tripped so many times his hands were bleeding from breaking all those falls.

Still, he ran, sometimes, a bullet passed near him, once one burnt a trail grazing his shoulder.

Where was Gilly? He couldn't find her. They had to escape but he absolutely couldn't go without her.

A dofiger jumped from nowhere and bit at his left arm. It felt so heavy and painful. He tried to shake it off but it did not work. As he was about to punch it in the nose, he heard a scream. It was Gilly, she was nearby, hidden just behind a tree. He ran there, dragging the dog with him.

He found her, knocked to the ground, trying to desperately fight off another dog going at her throat. Around her, a bunch of corpses, the Houndy, Dawnshield, four or five other dofiger. Were they dead or just badly hurt and fainted? It did not matter at all to Blaze. He could only see Gilly in danger. She was about to have her throat ripped out.

He screamed of rage and jumped on top of both, punching the dog with all his strength but the dog would not let go. He punched twice, trice but even if he felt the satisfying sensation of a powerful hit, the dog still did not give up. As it was closing its murderous jaws around her he panicked and passed an arm around the dog's neck. He started to choke the dog with his left to protect Gilly while his right continued to punch.

Nearby, his father was laughing at him for some reason. Gilly was pleading to him weakly, please she was saying, Blaze please. The other dog that was biting his arm earlier was scratching his arms with its fangs but Blaze refused to let go, he had to protect her at all cost. He had to choke that bastard of a dog. "Leave her be!" He screamed. A police man came running at him and kicked him in the head making him loose his grip and waking him up instantly.

He was laying inside the tent, just in front of him, there was Gilly. She had escaped his choking grip by smashing the back of her head against his face. She was in the process of taking deep breaths, trying to bring back oxygen to herself. She had dug bloody marks on his arms with her nails trying to escape him. It did not take him long to realise what he had just done.

He had almost killed his own girlfriend in his sleep while trying to protect her in his nightmare. He felt the worst he had ever felt. He had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do now.

His mind was spinning, he got out of his nightmare so fast he still felt confused and scared. He wanted to help her and ask if she was alright but he felt like he didn't have the right to do so, he was the one who had harmed her after all. He felt so bad for her, how could he ever redeem himself. He felt so lost, dismayed, so angry at himself.

"I'm so sorry."

What was he even saying? It was nowhere near enough for what he did nor for what he felt. Should he hug her? It felt like the worst idea.

"Blaze..." She said with a broken voice.

"I feel so bad, I don't... I didn't mean to. I'm the worst."

"Yes... you are."

"Did I hurt you badly? Is it really bad? Can you breathe right? Do you want me to do something?"

"No, don't."

"This is the worst I ever felt in my life! I will never be sorry enough!"

"Blaze stop."

"Do you want me to go away for a second? I should go away."

He was about to scramble up and leave the tent but Gilly gripped his harm.

"Don't you dare leave."

He laid back down and waited for her to say something.

It seemed wrong to feel worse about this than how he felt about the whole nuclear bomb thing but he couldn't help it. The bomb really wasn't his fault, he had nothing to do with it. Having hurt Gilly on the other hand was entirely his fault. He always ended up hurting her in his sleep. He should have known it was dangerous. He shouldn't have slept so close to her. He already felt guilt when he threw his elbow at her face is his sleep. This was way worse. Finally, she spoke to him, looking straight at his eyes.

"I know you are sorry, I know you didn't mean to. You feel guilty but I should have known too it was a bad idea to wrap a sleeping you around me. You do this kind of thing every night. I just didn't think it would be this much more dangerous to be in front of you than behind you. I even hoped you would calm down with me in your arms but it didn't work out."

Blaze opened his mouth to apologize once again but Gilly stopped him.

"Blaze you're crying."

That was right, he was crying. Was it really weird to feel so hurt if she was the injured one? He didn't answer.

"What were you dreaming about? You were much more violent than usual. You really scared me. You punched me really hard, I'll have bruises all over."

He didn't feel like telling her. It was what made him feel even worst. He hid his face behind his arm.

"Please Blaze, tell me. I just want to help. I'm not mad at you, I'm just worrying about you."

She nudged him and slowly removed his arm to once again pierce him trough with her bright but hurt look. He bit at his lip before finally resolving himself to tell her.

"You. I dreamed that you were attacked by a police dog. He was about to kill you! I panicked and fought against it to save you. I was beating the dog, strangling the dog but it turned out it was you all along."

There was not much else to say. They both felt really hurt about what had happened. She had wanted to help appease him but ended up traumatizing him. He tried to save her but had almost killed her instead.

"I'm sorry too." Gilly said.

They stayed there for a long time afterward. Half crying in the embrace of each other. Blaze did not feel really manly right this moment crying in his girlfriend arms after having beaten her.

After a while, when morning came, they got up, dressed up and went back outside. Both of their pokémon were fine, sleeping nearby. Blaze started back the fire to get them some toasts for breakfast.

"What do we do today?" Asked Gilly.

"Should we not go back on what appended last night first?"

"There is really nothing else to say, it was not your fault. We only have to make sure you aren't facing my way while you sleep and I'm not going to die."

"But I feel so stupid about what I did!"

"We can't change the past and it was neither of our fault really, there is nothing more we can do. It's not the end of the world, you just punched me by accident. There are problems in every relationship. What make them strong is how you get over it. Is it not a good thing that our only problem is your nightmares? It's not as if it came in as a surprise anyway."

"But still."

Blaze wasn't convinced at all. He had made an horrible blunder. When he made horrible blunders usually, he fixed them immediately. Apart from the bomb thing, he always fixed the things he broke, even incredibly complex mechanical things. He loved fixing things and did it very well. It felt relaxing building stuff back up like puzzles. Humans however, he did not understand. It did not work with a logic he was able to grasp. Even the physical parts he had a hard time understanding, all slimy and seemingly built at random. This was why, he had no idea how to fix his error and despaired to know how to do so. Gilly was the one to tell him what to do about human things usually. He just needed her to speak.

She on the other hand had no desire to talk about this further.

"Stop it already with the self blame. I'm the one who should feel bad about this! Not you! I was the one who proposed to sleep like that in the first place. I was also the one who insisted despite knowing how it could have ended and I was also the one who got beat up. I hurt everywhere now and I feel way more stupid than you. It's as if I put my hand inside a toaster five second after being told I would burn myself even though it had already happened multiple times!"

Blaze had no idea how to answer to that and feared she would start crying. Maybe it would be better if she cried again a good long while to get it out of her?

She followed without pause.

"I don't want to have to look at your guilty face all the time! Get yourself together! It wasn't your fault, I learned my lesson and we won't let you hug me in your sleep again. Everything is fine now."

"So wait, we both feel bad because the other feel bad?"

"Yes, I know you sometimes have a hard time understanding people Blaze but this should be quite easy to understand."

"So you are saying that if we both pretend to not fell bad it will fix the problem? It seems odd to me."

"It's like when you stub your toe on a table leg in the dark, however much you think about it you will never fix it, you just have to wait for the pain to go away. In this case, we can't fix it either as long as you will have those nightmares or we find a way to cancel them out somehow. Since embracing me is not the answer, I can't do anything to fix it."

"Okay, I guess it somehow make sense." He disliked her answer but he had nothing else.

"Of course it make sense. You are just scared that I will be mad at you but I'm not. I feel frustrated that everything I planned for your birthday went wrong. I feel disappointed that things aren't going my way and angry at your dad. And now, we talked about it so long, I feel like a bad TV drama character."

Maybe he should remind her that she was, in some way, really a character in a show for some god. He was about to say it but then, looking at her face, it was probably not the right idea.

"Got it, I'll stop now."

"You better not turn every little thing into a bad TV drama now or I'll slap you so hard you'll feel like you punched yourself in the face."

Blaze laughed at that.

"Fine, I just want to make sure my girlfriend feels alright."

"All wrong! Exclaimed Gilly while pointing at him. I did not become a different person from before, I am the exact same, you have to act like usual too. Also, if your goal is only to make me feel alright, you look like someone cheap and a underachiever."

"All this girlfriend thing is really complicated."

"It's not though." She said making him a smug face. "Do as I say, treat me like a princess but act like usual and don't treat me differently."

"Those are all opposites!"

"You see, you're doing just fine already. Now give me one of those damn slice of bread before they get moldy and get the list out."

"Do you want me to toast them on the fire for you first?"

"Oh, yes please. "

"Then you have to get the computer for me because we don't have a grate, I have to hold them."

"No problem, it's much easier to get the list than to make toasts on a real fire."

She crouched over the bags and got her glasses back before searching for the list.

"You know, it's not that hard to make toasts, you are supposed to be the one who's good at cooking here."

Blaze started to grill the bread over the fire camp, the smell quickly waking up their two monsters.

"Not with a real fire, give me real kitchen tools and I will make you real food. In the mean time, your burnt toasts will have to do."

"They aren't done yet, how do you know they'll be burnt?"

"Ho they will, you're a really bad cook."

"Thanks for the amazing support."

"They are burning right now, I can smell them."

"What? Oh shit!"

Blaze quickly got the bread away from the fire as the laughing Gilly finished pulling up the list.

"So the next point on the list was... to call our parents! Maybe mom has sobered up by now."

"I wonder if they got harassed by the police. Blaze said while handing her one of the burnt toasts."

"Don't give it to me like that! Put some jelly on it at least."

"Can't you do it yourself?"

"I can't, I'm calling my mom now."

"You aren't though?"

"I am look!" She said quickly whipping out her peargear from her pocket.

She threw her tongue out at the bewildered Blaze while composing the number to her mother's phone. She wanted to know what had happened to her, what was that about a psychiatrist?

She waited for the phone to ring, once twice, trice. Her mother wasn't picking up she thought. She was starting to worry when finally, after a long time, her mother answered.

"Gilly? Are you ok?"

"Yes mom I'm fine."

Blaze gave her the toast once again, with strawberries jam on it this time.

"Oh, thanks Blaze."

"So he is still with you."

"Mhn, oh course he he we me." (Of course he is with me) She said with her mouth full.

"Don't speak with your mouth full! What are you even eating? Please don't tell me you are doing that thing you wrote on that list!"

"What list and what thing?" Asked Blaze curious as Gilly almost choked on her bite.

"Mom! Of course not! It's a toast we got from a motel! How did you even find that list! Don't read it it's embarrassing! It's just nonsense! I'm not thinking anything I wrote down!"

She wasn't about to tell her mother that they were lost in the woods, that is why she lied about the toast. As for the list... (1)

"It's even more embarrassing than you think, I wasn't the one who found it, it was the police, they turned the house upside down after your tantrum yesterday."

Gilly turned bright red instantly.

"What tantrum?"

"When you screamed on the phone at the neighbor. Now they are accusing you of being an accomplice and are looking for evidences all around the house."

"I'm really sorry about that mom. Are you okay? Are they causing you trouble?"

"No, they are not a real problem but still, they think you are some kind of freak since they found the list, I'm sure they see me as the worst kind of irresponsible mother."

"What list?" Insisted Blaze.

"Forget about the list!"

"So tell me the truth Gilly Linton. What is going on? Are you really going out with him now?"

"Should you not be interested about the bomb thing instead?"

"I am but I have priorities. I want to know if you are as stupid as my best friend first."

"Yes, he really is my boyfriend now and who the fuck is your best friend? I didn't even know you had friends."

"That's rude Gilly, of course I have friends. My best friend is Wendy, Blaze's mother. I always felt she was an idiot to marry that guy and you are doing the exact same now with his son!"

"How is this even a surprise, you knew it would happen from the start! We are like one, of course we will end up together! Also, how is this stupid?"

"Wendy was always sticking to Craze. He hurt her many a time but she never left him. I could only watch from afar as she suffered. I would have butchered him if I had the strength. You know there is a good reason why everyone feared him in town right?"

"Wait, dad was beating mom!" Blaze had never heard of this before.

"He was." Confirmed Gilly's mom, overhearing him. "I was so glad when he finally decided to go away. Now, my very own daughter is making the exact same mistake!"

"Blaze isn't beating me!"

"Don't you dare lie to your mom! Every morning you come back with some kind of bruise! Do you dare tell me he did not hit you last night!"

"I... You know it's not his fault! How could you say that mom!"

"Every beaten women says that! Are you very sure you are not making a mistake? Is what they say the truth?"

Blaze had a very grim look on his face right now. He did beat her last night after all.

"No, we didn't do anything, we got tricked I swear! And no I am not making any mistake."

"Are you very sure that you won't change your mind?"

"I won't! And if you continue to say that sort of things I will get angry."

There was a tense pause before they heard Gilly's mother again. She took a very long and deep breath before continuing.

"Okay then. Since you won't change your mind, I will tell you. The police are here right now and they are trying to locate you with our call, they are saying they almost have you so you need to hang the phone right now.

"What?"

"They say I'm a bad mother but I'm not about to hand my daughter to a bunch of savages who want to execute her. I love you, don't do anything stupid, good luck."

And then the call was cut.

"Mom? What the fuck!"

Both her and Blaze were dumbfounded.

"Hey Blaze." Said Gilly after a long pause. "Can they really find out where we are with a phone call?"

"Yes but it takes a while and it's not super precise. What's more, since the signal was cut on time, they should have lost all their progress. Even if they did find out, which they didn't, we will be long gone before they get here. We just have to make sure we don't make long calls and we will be fine.

"Thank the creator mom decided to side with us. It could have been really bad."

"It could, but it didn't. She probably tried to make you appear like a victim to give you a chance to go back. Playing the card of the poor girl getting beat up by her boyfriend, you had no choice but to follow me."

"I don't think it would have worked out."

"But she had to try anyway right?"

"Yeah, mom loves me very much... I think you are right, she had always been kind to you before now. She probably just tried to trick the cops."

Blaze did not know what was the truth or the lie but he did not really need to know. Whatever the world thought of him, as long as Gilly was by his side, it did not matter much. Of course, if they could also live peacefully, he was sure Gilly would really love it but he could only try his best and offer her what he could.

"I should call mine too now before something happens and stops me from doing so."

"Yeah, I'll just wait for the next toast."

"Sure..."

Blaze picked up his own p-gear and dialed his mom's number. It did not take long for his mom to answer the call.

"BLAZE! I've never been this angry in my life before!"

Blaze winced hearing that.

"I'm sorry..." He said in a small voice.

"Tell me exactly what happened! You better not tell any lies!"

"Yes mom!"

Blaze was sweating profusely and Gilly hid herself behind the computer screen, wishing to be left out of this.

"You know how the neighbors were stopping me from getting a battle monster. I couldn't go on my journey. My old friends gave me some odd computer jobs because they knew I was good at it."

"I know all about that already Blaze, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well they always gave me small and easy jobs and paid for it. Plus, I knew them since forever, I trusted them. That one time, they gave me another easy job and said they would pay with a battle monster, I told you that already. So me and Gilly did the job, to us it felt as easy as usual, it took a bit longer but only the difference of a couple hours. The end result was a code, we just gave them the code so they could do whatever it was they wanted to do with it.

"A code like a password?"

"No, more like a computer program kind of code."

"I was sure that at worse they wanted to steal a bike!" Interrupted Gilly.

"You are not helping! Yesterday, after breakfast, we received their package. Turns out they worked for dad. they had never told us, we were sure they were small time idiots! How the fuck was I supposed to know we gave them codes to hack trough the military security? Dad tricked us, I swear!"

"How do you even know it was your dad!"

"He told us in the letter..."

It was then that something very important hit him like a truck. In their panic, they had burnt the letter as his father asked. It was the only proof they had against him! They had destroyed it themselves!

"FUCK! WE BURNED IT! HOW CAN WE BE SO DUMB! It was our only proof! Why didn't you think of this Gilly!"

"You didn't think of it either! How is it my fault!"

"Both of you shut up!"

His mother authority silenced the both of them. They listened in fear to blaze's mom verdict.

"You are saying that you helped your father blow up a foreign military base thinking you were helping small time thugs steal bikes and that you then proceeded to burn the only thing that proved you didn't know what you were doing!"

"Yes..." Blaze was clenching his teeth waiting for the inevitable.

"It doesn't surprise me from your father but you Blaze! You greatly disappoint me! I am very angry! Now come back here and apologize to everyone!"

Blaze wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Gilly answered faster than him.

"It really isn't a good idea mom." She said.

"Why not?" Asked the cutting voice of miss Sherwood.

"Well, they changed the bounty on us. Now they want Blaze dead, even if by some miracle they catch him alive, they'll put him on death row immediately."

Gilly turned the computer screen toward Blaze to let him see the bounty on them with their pictures.

"WHAT? What is this about wanting him dead!" Screamed his mother to someone else near her.

"Don't talk to us while you are on the phone with the suspect." Said a whispering voice.

"MY SON ISN'T A TERRORIST!"

"Calm down ma'am, we are just doing our job."

There was a small pause where everyone was tense and before his mom had the time to scream at the cops any more, Blaze changed the subject.

"Mom, why did you not tell me that dad was beating you?"

There was another pause, a much longer and heavier one.

"How did you?"

"Gilly's mom told us earlier. She compared me to him."

"You are nothing like him! You are my very precious son and I love you very much! Don't ever compare yourself to him. You are everything I wanted him to be. I tried to fix him for so long but I was never able to. You are much better than him in everything trust me. Nightmares cannot make you evil."

"Then why did you let him come and go as he pleased? Why are you always sad when he goes away? Why do you kiss him to welcome him back?

"I do love him, he is my husband after all and he gave me my most precious son. But every time he goes away I know, he is up to no good. I try to stop him, I always tell him to stop, don't do this, don't do that but he never listens and gets angry at me. If I had been just a little stronger, none of this would have happened.

You on the other hand, you are a very good boy, you always do what you are told to do. Your only real problem is that you are really bad with peoples and you only start thinking when the problem has already happened instead of before like a normal person would. This must be your only common point with your father, you don't think at all."

As her speech was progressing, she was tearing up more and more.

"I'm so worried about you. I don't know how to help you. If only I stood up to the mayor beforehand, if only I stopped your father, if only I paid better attention! All those people..."

"Mom please... I'll be fine, I will find a way, Give the phone to the cops, I want to talk to them."

"Okay." His mom said weakly. Before she gave the phone to someone else, she asked. "Gilly?"

"Yes mom?" she said.

"Good job, I knew you could get through to him."

She gave the phone to a guy with a gruff voice.

"My name is Gray Blackseas, I'm in charge of the surveillance of your mother. What did you want to say?"

"Why the fuck do you want me dead?"

"You are a known terrorist that killed hundreds of citizens and military. This is a war crime or at least a mass murder. The president of Florence and many other officials want your head for this and are willing to send troops to get you themselves if our police force isn't quick enough to catch you. This is an international incident, a war could start because of your actions. Furthermore you are the head of a known criminal organisation called Dragonlaw that have committed numerous crimes against the nation, it's citizens and other countries."

"Wait what was that about Dragonlaw? You said I was the head?"

"Yes, you cannot hide it any longer boy. One of your goons spilled the beans, you are in possession of the commanding badge. Your lies won't work on us, you ordered the bombing, you were no stranger to it."

"What!"

He remembered the badge instantly. That fucking asshole of a father used him as a scapegoat! To kill a snake, cut the head they said so his father found them a head to cut. That bastard sent him the badge by mail, how horrendously stupid was that! What if he threw it away? Too late, the cops were already after him. Maybe he could use it to fuck up Dragonlaw by exercising false authority on random thugs?

"You won't be able to hide forever, the police forces from all around the world are after you and Florence's special forces are probably already on the move. You should surrender now and face the lawful consequences of your acts before shaming your mother and our country further."

"But what if I find a way to prove my innocence?"

"This seems highly unlikely considering you already admitted those were your codes, that you are the son of a known terrorist and that we have testimony against you. The least you'll get is a perpetual jail sentence and even that would be a miracle, no, a catastrophe for every party involved aside from you."

"But what about Gilly?"

"She will get the same sentence as you though if you surrender now we may be able to barely save her skin and leave her in a peaceful prison cell."

"I see..."

He looked towards Gilly but she told him clearly before he even thought of the possibility seriously.

"Don't you dare consider that as an option, we both get out or we both don't."

He nodded at her words and got his attention back on the gruff cop.

"You could have tried to lie to me to get me to come back no?"

"I could, but one of us needs to say the truth or this talk won't ever go anywhere. Besides, we both know it wouldn't have worked anyway."

"You are right, it wouldn't have worked."

"And I suppose you don't intend to deliver yourself to us either right?"

"Well, you are after all saying that I am dead if I do so. So no, I don't."

"Right, nothing you do matters now in regard to your punishment."

"Of course not, it wouldn't be a challenge to survive ten years if it wasn't so. Fucking adventure..."

"Ten years? You won't even last a week. I pity your mother, she did her best but raised a monster."

"Everyone raise monsters but I am not one of them. Although they say that a man with no options left becomes like a beast."

"What do you mean to say?"

"Whatever I do now will have no further consequence than what I already suffer. Since I am already in for my life might as well go in for everything. As a cornered beast, don't blame me if I raise my fangs against those who try to take my life."

"Is this a treat? You already blew up an entire military base, you can't do much worse. It will only urge us to catch you faster."

A powerful music was slowly raising up as he was speaking. That basket gift was absolutely worth it, he made it heard by everyone.

"Then do. They say the last star shines the brightest but I disagree. The brightest star is the sun, it is both the first and last. I will show you all its blazing glory and cut through the night the world gave me like dawn.

"Where is this music coming from?"

"I am the Dawnbreaker and I will burn the brightest of them all. My father can't hide in the shade he created and you will burn your wings going after me."

"Some people just want to watch the world burn I guess."

"I only want to rise like the sun or go out in a blaze of glory. Now I have to hang up, just know, you have been warned."

Blaze cut the call and felt really proud of what he said until Gilly spoke.

"That was soooooo corny. How did you even think of those things?"

Looking at her proud boyfriend she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Why is it so funny!"

"How come the police didn't laugh? It's so funny! It's like you where trying to copy a character from a bad action movie. And he went with it too!"

"But that is how I really felt!"

"You didn't have to say it in that crazy way! Now they will all think you are some kind of mustache twirling villain. It's so funny!"

"Fine, you'll do the talking next time. We'll see if you can do better than me or the screaming furry of last night."

"Good, I accept this challenge, next time, I will come up with lines so corny people will ask for popcorn around us."

"I thought you wanted the opposite?"

"No, I love it, this is the funniest."

"The cops, the army and the government want us dead and you think it's funny?"

"Oh come on, the talk was funny, admit it. The situation has nothing to do with if the lines were fun or not! And with the music too! You even presented yourself as Dawnbreaker!"

"This is my nickname after all, why not use it?"

"Because it's a funny internet name, it's not supposed to be used in real life. My usual username is Firstlight but I never used it for serious stuff."

"I'm quite proud of my name, I chose it for a good reason. It's a cool name and it represents me well I think. That make me think, Why did you call yourself Firstlight?"

"Don't wanna tell."

"Why not? Come on tell me."

"No, it's too corny." She complained.

"You were the one loving all that corniness just now. I looked stupid enough already, share all that embarrassment with me so I won't look like an idiot alone."

"Mhn fine." She said. "But don't laugh. When you decided to call yourself the Dawnbreaker, that's when I decided to call myself Firstlight. Because every dawn needs its first sun-ray and if you were to bring dawn might as well be the light you desire. I wanted to shine for you and only you."

"Really?"

"I know! It's terrible! It's so bad!" She exclaimed hiding behind the computer.

"I think that's crazy cute."

"Please don't, let's get on to the next point."

Blaze laughed and sneakily kissed her cheek.

"I do hope you'll be my light forever."

"Enough already, I am dying of shame! Make us some more toasts while I make some kind of inventory."

Blaze smiled and turned back to the fire to burn some more bread while Gilly made a bunch of lists.

***

(1) The list was there for a joke but got evolved later into a story vector somehow. Now that I am correcting those chapters, I feel like I should not have imagined that list XD. More on that list in my thoughts.

() In a certain amount of chapters, Aurora and Blaze will meet up, everyone knows that. At that point, I am wondering if I should start making some large time skips and only keep Badge battles and large story events or keep the smaller stuff in, like getting new monsters and daily life shenanigans. Let me know if you have an opinion.