Your POV
You wander around a strange realm you've recently arrived in.
Some time later, you arrive in some sort of valley to see a Liepard, wearing nothing but a simple shirt and jeans, sitting on a couch, watching TV atop a hill. He looks to his right, and sees you at the bottom of the hill. He calls you over.
My Spirit's POV
Hey there, lost spirit.
Wandering around heaven?
Eh...I feel like I started that wrong. I should probably tell you my name. My name's Alex Vera. It's foreign, of course – you've probably heard it in Alola, if you've ever been there. And since it's foreign and somewhat royal, that means I have a bunch more names. But let's keep it to Alex.
Y'know, while I'm in heaven, I want to meet my grandparents. But I've been having trouble finding them. My parents told me that they were great people.
Eh, parents always say that. Not until you get older that you learn...interesting...things about them. I didn't really know them that well anyways.
Ah well, wherever I am is a pretty nice place. I like the valley stretching out beyond me, crashing into those mountains in the far distance. It's a bright and clear day, and according to the sun it's around noon.
Out of the blue, a piano in the distance starts playing music. Shortly after, a bass violin cuts in. Then a saxophone joins the cacophony. It melds together to form an abstract jazz piece.
That's new. Well, I like the music. It's a change from the usual birdsong that goes on around here.
Reminds me of home.
Speaking of home, make yourself at home. There's a couch, a table, a cooler full of drinks – I got every type of drink, so don't hesitate to ask for your favorite – and a TV. Yeah, it's old school. But I like it that way. Currently I'm watching my physical form...
Well, we're in no rush to get anywhere.
I beckon you to sit on the couch and get cozy. I'll keep you company...if you don't like it, then feel free to move on. Also, sorry if that sounded creepy...I'm not very good with words.
How about I tell you a story about my life? It's a long one, but hey, we have all of the time in the world. If you have a problem with that, feel free to interrupt me. We could talk about something else if you want.
Anyways, on the TV...what's...uh...playing there is...my death. Yeah.
...Wow. Even after what I've told you, you insist on staying and listening to me? You got guts...guess I'll explain what's going on.
I was a young man – it's a shame I died at the age of fifty-six, after all, I had so many years ahead of me. Age wasn't an issue yet – us Lucario live long lives, and I had a stable, highly profitable job as an electrical engineer. I worked as one for years, moving around Sinnoh and working for the Poketch Company. I designed some of their new products that you might've heard of. They're selling like hotcakes.
Then on July 15th, 2060, I died. If you see on the TV, my corpse is on the morgue table. Currently they're running an autopsy on my body, trying to discern my cause of death, what time I died...
I'll skip the details and tell you that I died due to blunt force. Broken bones throughout my body, bruises everywhere, and rope marks on my wrists and ankles. It was as painful as you'd imagine.
After I lost consciousness, I awoke to see...well the scene you see before you. I've spent no more than three weeks here, just looking around, feeling the cool breeze on my fur, and listening to those jazzin' tunes.
As for my physical body, it's probably buried by now. Initially, after I died, I was buried atop a mountainside, so that the police could never find my body. My corpse laid there for about two weeks, before a nearby camper discovered my body. The camper did the right thing, by lifting up my body and going to the nearest ranger station to alert the police. The camper talked about how he found a body which was rotting for days, and the horrible smell, and then relinquished my body to the authorities for them to take a look at it.
Afterwards, my siblings held a funeral. At first they were in shock to hear that I died, and the events prior to my death, but then they accepted my fate. They hadn't heard from me in weeks, possibly months. Maybe even a year. They probably suspected I died long before then. They buried my body, held the ceremony to say their goodbyes, weeped and mourned, and that was that.
Seeing that still shakes me to this day. I knew it was gonna happen, and I was stupid enough to cause all of this. I wish I wasn't such a fool.
The TV chimes, and the screen goes black.
TV went blank. Means it's gonna loop in about ten minutes. Y'know, I believe I've started off on the wrong foot here. Perhaps I should start from the beginning. Or, perhaps we'll take a more interesting route...
My POV
I want out.
I've spent seven years preparing for this.
My skills in engineering have served me well. Working with radios and the like in that tiny little shop, and all the time spent not snoozing in college.
Tonight, I make my escape. I'm taking my son with me.
Alex, you foolish old man. You should've done this long ago.
I whisper downstairs, signaling to my drowsy son that I have something urgent to tell him, apologizing for any wrong I did towards him. I give him a letter, then I give him a final hug and a kiss goodbye. I just don't want to do this...
He instantly broke into sobs when he heard about my plan. I apologized, saying that I wasn't the father that I could've been, that this was a really risky gambit, and that it might not be safe.
He remained steadfast. Of course, what did I expect? He insisted he comes along with me...extremely reluctantly, I let him come along. I warned him not to think about our plan.
I put onto my head a headband, in order to block psychic waves from entering my brain. It was a clunky contraption, but it worked. I just needed time.
I hoisted my son onto my shoulders, and using the spare rope I hid, I threw the rope out the window. With a sound no louder than a soft tap on the ground, I knew I was safe. I rappelled down the rope, cursing my strength a bit. The wall was the rocks; the rope my cable.
Curse you, Mother Nature. You made the night so dark...but thank you for the fog.
Nonetheless, I knew I couldn't go into town at this time; it'd be too suspicious...
Perhaps suspicion is what I need. I need to signal a police officer.
Then fate gave me another bad hand. I lived across town from the police station. The most direct way was through a forest I barely knew, and I just couldn't run...curse my legs.
I suppose the long way around it is. I got into my car, put my son onto the passenger seat, and quietly backed out of the driveway. I drove away from the source of my agony.
I knew she could use Teleport...it was a matter of time before I was found. I just needed distance so she didn't know where I was, or at the very least she's left with a rough idea of my location.
Once I knew I was a safe distance away, I sped as fast as I could to the police station. I didn't turn; I drifted onto streets. To hell with the speed limit; the gas pedal is my lifeline. I mustn't hesitate.
I have no idea how much time had passed, but I briskly made my way to the police station. I burst into the doors, and wanted to call an officer's attention.
I've probably wasted too much time. I pressed the issue – damn this bureaucracy and the waits – I was going to die!
Quickly, I explained to the rather irritated officer about my case. The abuse, the threats, everything – then I told him what I was doing. I have no idea if it was legal, but I don't care about the law. I just need to get away.
Luck was on my side – they sent a squadron of police cars to my house, and they told me to get away. I knew where to go.
I sped towards Mount Coronet, quickly explaining to my son that it'll all be fine. Telling him lies and about the new life we'll have. We'll have a mansion, we'll own a monster truck, and yes we'll dominate the world. Yes we will...
Time passed. I didn't care only until I realized I made a fatal mistake.
The car sputtered and died on me all of a sudden, forcing me to pull over to the side. I looked at the fuel gauge, and the needle pointed at...
E.
Damn it.
Never mind this, I knew another way to the eastern end of Sinnoh. If I couldn't get there, I knew of a crevice barely wide enough for me to fit through. All these years of traveling through Mount Coronet...
I left the car in a pullout, took my son with me, and hiked up a small, craggy trail up the side of the mountain. The trail then opened up into a thin forest, and ahead of me I could see lights. A few yellow twinkles here and there.
Beyond the forest was Veilstone City. If I could make it there, I'd be victorious.
Flash!
It was almost like someone threw a flashbang at me. When my vision adequately recovered, I saw...her. How did she know about the escape attempt?! I did my best to seal my thoughts!
My lovely, lovely wife. She appeared only as a shadow to me; whether through psychic trickery or not I didn't care. I could tell by her figure and her body language that she was not appeased at all.
Chuckles permeated the air. I noticed after regaining more sense of my environment, that I had backed myself into a tree. My son was nowhere to be seen. If he had fled to Veilstone...then I'm proud of him.
But I was stuck here. My mind was split into four voices; one voice told me to give it up, perhaps death wasn't that bad. Another voice told me to speak to her, if she wasn't too far gone; stop her from killing her faithful husband. The third told me to fight her, plain and simple. The four told me to run.
Any sort of reasoning shut off at this point; I was in a grave situation. It was now time to choose between fighting or running.
I chose to fight.
Propping myself up from the tree, I positioned myself into a battle ready stance. I hadn't fought in a long time; I relied on instincts to guide me.
Her first move was to teleport. That was expected.
Using the powers of aura, I scanned the area in search of her. She continually teleported around me, giggling like a schoolgirl.
I fired off weak aura blasts in her general direction, in the hopes of hitting her, but then...
A ringing sound.
It felt like my mind was melting, like dropping butter into a hot pan. Damn it, why did I fight her? She's a psychic type!
I had limited time before my mind went blank, so I sprinted my way towards Veilstone...wherever direction it was.
Before I knew it, I was thinking gibberish, my mind began shooting aura everywhere, and any sort of control I felt in my body was lost.
I ran in the right direction towards Veilstone, but what I neglected to know was that beyond the forest was a slight downgrade grade, which became a slope, which became a cliff. Even if I survived the fall, there was still forest separating me from freedom.
The cruel mistress that was gravity was kind for the first few steps down the slope. Then, her leniency wore off. I was tumbling down the cliff, a mind-broken zombie.
Cracks and breaks and sprains.
As a form of torture, I survived the fall, but was in no shape to move nor fight. I was convinced at this point that my wife was controlling my mind in some way, as my sight and hearing still worked, but sense of direction and reasoning were lost. There was no point in resisting.
Woosh!
My wife teleported in front of me, to look at my sad sorry self. At this point, she used her psychic to mess with my body. Breaking bones, forcing me to punch myself...her sadistic torture session lasted for god knows how long. I'd lost track of time; all I know is that at some point, I think in the middle, I finally reached glorious, glorious death...I no longer cared about the pain or the tears. I couldn't even do anything; I was bound to the ground by her powers. All I could do was sit there.
I have no idea what happened to my son or my wife. All I have is hope for my son, and contempt for my wife.
As a parting gift, I decided to say my last words, just before I died. They were...
Journal Entry, the day before
This is journal entry...I don't care anymore. I stopped numbering these a long time ago. It's completely frivolous.
All I know is that this'll be my last journal entry. I will use these words to communicate my wishes and my last thoughts.
My name is Alex Vera, and I'm fifty-six years old. Today is July 14th, 2060 A.D.
I have been sexually, physically, and mentally abused for the past seven years. Today was the 7th anniversary of this glorious marriage with such a great wife. I'm kidding, of course.
If I survive this escape attempt, I will write about my success. If not, then I'll be dead if anyone reads this.
I have already assembled plans for an escape. I plan to take my only child from my wife, and flee across Sinnoh, in the hopes of evading her. I plan to start a new life.
I've said that so many times throughout the years...I believe that the results could best be described as the definition of insanity.
Nonetheless, I've been waiting for the perfect day. I've constantly been checking the weather forecasts, and on July the 15th, there will be dense fog at night. No full moon, no rain, nothing. That's the perfect moment.
I wonder how many times I've said the last of this or the last of that. It's probably uncountable, but I think that this seriously could be the last thing I write. I've probably said that a lot too.
Has it taken me this long to notice I'm retreading old ground? That I've schemed failed escape attempts before? All I've done was the write the same things, but different escape scheme.
Have I ever thought about marrying another woman? I should've done that.
Have I ever thought about...really anything in life? I feel like there's some higher order controlling me. Or maybe I've just snapped.
I'll do all of these things – ponder and reflect, find a new woman – once I get away from this hellhole. I've suffered too many broken bones here.
Happy birthday, by the way, you old dinosaur. Turning fifty-six, eh?
This is the last birthday I will ever spend in this house. Midnight is zero hour.
...And that's where we'll hit pause.
I felt like trying something new; you'll see in succeeding chapters.
I apologize for the hiatus; I planned to create several chapters in advance, but only finished this one. School got in the way. I also rewrote this story for the third time, because I didn't like how it ended up. Too much telling.
Once again, any and all advice is appreciated.