"What are you doing in my room?" Callista demanded, one hand clenched on the doorframe. The man stood, his Liepard at his heels.
"I didn't think you'd be home 'til later." he said, in the pleasant, conversational tones of two people chatting about the weather. Daisy floated forward, bravely - the Liepard was eyeing her with disdain.
Taking advantage of Daisy's courage, Callista cut and run to the living room - when Beatrice was in high school, she and her father attended a baseball game in Nimbasa City; she later received, for her birthday, a bat signed by her favourite player ("favourite" in Beatrice's language meant, "the cutest one"). This bat was stored behind the couch, and Beatrice used to take a few swings with it in the living room before exams - a good luck ritual. It was this Callista headed toward, and when she turned the man had followed her, standing between her and the bedroom. His Liepard and Daisy were ominously absent.
"What do you want?" she asked, a betraying tremor in her voice; she gripped Beatrice's baseball bat like it was a lifeline.
"It's okay." the man soothed from behind his mask, holding up both hands. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Callista gave a strained laugh. "Well, then you shouldn't have broken into my apartment!" she exclaimed, transferring the bat to one hand so she could pull out her Xtransceiver. "I'm calling the police - "
"Oh, no." the man clicked his tongue sympathetically, and his Liepard sprang lithely into the room, Daisy nowhere to be seen. "No, no, you can't do that. Not yet."
Liepard crouched, ready. Callista steadied the bat, terrified. Could she hit a Pokémon?
Suddenly the man's eyes became unfocused, as his Liepard wobbled on her feet.
"Wait..." he slurred. "What - ?"
Then he toppled; his Liepard clung to consciousness for a few seconds longer, before she too slid to the floor.
Blinking, Callista lowered the bat. Daisy had floated in behind them, and her eyes were glowing strangely. Staring for too long, Callista felt herself being drawn into her Pokémon's hypnotic suggestion as well.
"Okay, that's enough." she mumbled, and Daisy cooed an apology, ceasing her Hypnosis and approaching her with worry. On the floor, the man and his Pokémon slept - Callista wasn't sure how long Daisy's Hypnosis lasted for, but she didn't want to wait around to find out.
Dialing the police, she carried her Xtransceiver in one hand as she scoured the apartment for something to tie the man up with.
"Castelia police - what's your emergency?" a stern-faced, dark-haired woman appeared on the Xtransceiver.
"There's a man in my house," Callista whispered as she rummaged through her kitchen cupboards. "He was tearing up my floor. My Munna put him to sleep though. Please send someone right away!"
"We're on our way." the policewoman promised, after Callista gave her address and information.
Callista moved to her bedroom; stepping gingerly over the mess of ripped up floorboards, she pulled several scarves from her closet. Returning to the living room, she procured a cheap folding chair from their makeshift dining area (four fold up chairs and a card table did not a dining room make, as she kept telling Beatrice!) and grabbed the man under his arms, pulling his dead weight laboriously up into the chair. Daisy tried to help - Callista appreciated the sentiment. She clumsily knotted her scarves, securing the stranger's hands and feet to the chair.
Glancing nervously at his Liepard (who was starting to stir in her sleep), Callista rummaged awkwardly in the man's pockets, pulling out Liepard's Pokéball and recalling her. As she placed the ball on the coffee table, something else fell out of his pocket, landing with a thump on the carpet.
It was a rock, just about the size of her closed fist - not something she'd entertain carrying around in her pocket but as she leaned over to pick it up she paused, frowning. It had a weird sheen to it, like a five year old had painted it over with glitter. When she picked it up, it felt like she was touching a machine; it almost seemed to vibrate.
That was impossible though, she reasoned. It was a rock.
She moved to put it back in his pocket but as she touched him the man's chin slid lower on his chest and he mumbled something; losing her nerve, she practically scrambled away from the chair, getting onto her feet and turning from him to pick up the bat.
"Okay." she took a few deep breaths, squeezing the weapon for courage. "Okay, okay..."
"...What the fuck...?" the groggy murmur behind her made her jump and yelp, and she turned back to see the man lifting his head, the confusion on his face deepening as he saw the scarves.
"What happened?" he demanded; then, "Where's Petra?"
Callista assumed he meant his Liepard, and she pointed at the coffee table.
Placated, the man's eyes went immediately to her hand - with a start, she realized she was still holding the rock.
"You have no idea what that is, do you?" he asked her quietly, making no attempt to even struggle.
"I don't care what it is." she replied with a bit of bite. "I called the police, they're on their way, and I just want you out of here."
"Look, I'm sorry." the man's voice was soothing, and behind the mask his dark eyes were attentive and focused, sizing up her reactions. "But it was the only way. I made sure I came when I knew you and your friend would be at work."
"That doesn't make me feel better!" Callista exclaimed with a fresh rush of fear. Had he been watching them? For how long?
The man laughed. "Don't you want to know what I was looking for?" he asked, slyly. "Let me go, and I'll tell you. I'll let you see. I guarantee, if you understood what I was doing, you'd let me walk out of here. You'd probably even join me."
This man was crazy, Callista realized. He was in her apartment, he was crazy, and there were only a handful of cheap scarves between him and her. Repressing a shudder, she backed up a couple of steps, the weight of the baseball bat reassuring. Daisy pressed herself into her owner's hip.
"Have you ever seen a god, Callista?" he asked, eagerly. "Have you ever wanted to? Maybe there was a reason I found that in your room." he nodded at the rock in her hand. "Maybe it's a sign it's time to open your eyes to the truth in this world."
There was a sharp rap at the door, and the announcement, "Police! Are you hurt?"
Callista could barely tear her eyes from the man's; his near-fanatical words had stunned her, but she came to life as the two police officers entered her apartment, one with her handgun drawn.
"Officer Jenny." the dark-haired officer flashed her badge as her fellow officer worked at untying the stranger, cuffs at the ready.
"Hi." Callista said, breathlessly, dropping the bat with a clatter. "Thank you for coming."
Jenny nodded. "Tell us what happened." she said; as her partner hauled the man to his feet, she reached over and took off his mask, tearing back his hood as well.
Underneath, Callista was surprised to see that the man was young; probably younger than her! He had a pinched looking face, like he was in perpetual discomfort, and the shock of hair on top of his head was pale, almost white. He made no move to fight the officers, and his face belied nothing but calm serenity. He kept his eyes locked on Callista as the officer tried to hustle him to the door.
"Officer Jenny." he said smoothly, as he was escorted. "Don't forget my Pokémon, if you please."
Officer Jenny shot him a cold look; as he nodded towards the coffee table, she picked up the Pokéball and pocketed it.
Then the man returned his eyes to Callista, a strange smile stretched across his face.
"My name is Paarce." he told her, simply. "Remember that, Callista."
"Shut up." the other officer said, jostling him out the door. Callista watched him go, a stunned look on her face; Jenny said, "Would you like to sit down?"
"I, uh - yeah." Callista sat down on the couch, putting a hand on her forehead. Daisy stuck close to her, cooing.
Jenny surveyed the apartment with a cool, observant eye.
"Well!" she said crisply. "Let's get a report filled out, shall we, Miss Fairweather?"
Callista, who just wanted to crawl into bed, groaned.
As the Entei took a calm, measured step towards her, Beatrice scrambled to her feet, skinned knee burning and head throbbing. She wasn't quite sure where to go from here...should she bow? Make a wish? Throw a Pokéball? Somehow she felt like the Entei could sense her hesitation, and when it took another step its whole body shimmered, like it was dissolving.
Instead, from behind its great paws stepped two little girls - twins, in fact, who lived next door to Beatrice in Icirrus City and whom she used to babysit when she was younger. Their names were Molly and Christine, tiny little freckled things, and there was no way they could possibly be here, in the middle of Route 12, with a legendary Pokémon.
"What the hell?" Beatrice murmured, stunned. "What are you doing here?"
The girls didn't seem to see her - their eyes looked straight past her, and after a second they began to clap and sing.
Icirrus City had many folk songs and fairytales, and Beatrice had often seen the twins outside their house, singing and jumping rope to the same chants Beatrice herself had sung with her friends when she was younger (her particular childhood favourite had been, "Snover, Snover, come on over")...but she didn't recognize this one. It felt solemn somehow, nearly tuneless, and the girls were clapping along with it; one of them had covered her eyes the entire time as she sang.
Behind them, the Entei stood perfectly still, and Beatrice felt confused.
So...was this a sign, or...?
"Excuse me," Beatrice said as politely as she could considering the circumstances, "But I think this is all going over my head. Perhaps you could explain with something that doesn't involve terrifying chants?"
The Entei tilted its head and the girls dissolved, suddenly, like paper being burned; as Beatrice let out a yelp, it too disappeared.
It was like Beatrice had blinked and the Entei had risen away with her eyelids. The road was empty, dusty, and behind her she heard her bicycle wheel rotating, creakily, in the dry breeze. She thought she could still hear clapping.
"Did you - " she turned to see Mandy preening herself.
She was going crazy, she decided, stiffly righting her bike and clambering on. She was seeing things; she'd hit her head and now she was seeing things. Gingerly, she touched the sorest spot. Tender, but bearable; and no blood, which was always a relief. Mandy took flight as Beatrice began to pedal down the road.
Still, the encounter had unnerved her, hallucination or not. Signs and encounters of legendary Pokémon were taken very seriously, and in the past, Pokémon had been said to predict natural disasters, changes in environment and even, on rare occasions, a person's future, bringing message to humans of events that would, or had already, happened. Her mother, a fairly superstitious woman, had always told her to trust her gut, and to trust Pokémon; that whatever they had to say, she should listen.
Nicholas once told her a story about his great-uncle, who had sworn up and down his whole life that a pure white Lopunny had appeared to him while he was working in Oreburgh Mine minutes before his wife passed away - Lopunny was her favourite Pokémon.
Beatrice began to feel uneasy. She had returned to her parent's home in Icirrus for barely a week after university ended, before she had taken off for Village Bridge. Sure, she phoned pretty regularly, but how would Beatrice know if everything was fine at home?
Molly and Christine would be about eight now. What if...?
Nauseous, Beatrice pulled over onto the side of the road, pulling out her Xtransceiver and phoning her mother before she could really think about what she was doing. Every ring made her feel sicker, so the sight of her mother's face on the screen - open, friendly, free of sorrow - filled Beatrice with a sense of both relief and a bit of foolishness. Just what had she been expecting?
"Hello lovey!" her mother greeted her - with thin, blonde hair and light features, Irene Candlestar didn't look like she could be the mother of dark-haired Beatrice (it was a family joke; her mother always said, "If I didn't give birth to her, I would never have believed she was mine!"). "What a nice surprise!"
"Hi Mummy." Beatrice gave a little wave, talking fast with relief. "How's everything? How's Dad? How're you? How're the neighbours?"
Her mother laughed. "Fine, fine, fine, and...fine." she teased. "Honestly, you don't phone for a week and all of a sudden you're full of questions!"
"Sorry." Beatrice apologized, sheepishly. "Just...been feeling a bit homesick lately. Hey, weirdly enough, I was just thinking about those two girls I used to babysit. The twins. Have you seen them around lately?"
"Oh! Yes!" her mother snapped her fingers. "You know, they just came over yesterday, actually. Their mother got them each a Cottonee for their birthday, and they wanted to know if Rose would like to play with them. It was adorable..I took a picture, I'll send it to you!"
Beatrice smiled - Rose, her mother's fat, grumpy old Raticate, probably hadn't been too pleased when cornered by two excitable little girls and their Cottonees for a "play date".
"So...everything's fine?" she ventured. "All good? No news?"
"No." her mother frowned. "Is there something wrong? Why all the questions?"
"No, no, nothing's wrong!" Beatrice was quick to assure her. "Just...thinking of home, like I said. That's all."
"Oh." her mother still didn't look convinced, so Beatrice added, "Anyways, just wanted to call and check up on you! I'll phone you, proper, later. I'm actually on my way back to my place."
"Don't you have work?" her mother wanted to know.
"Yeah, but - shit!" Beatrice had completely forgotten about Nicholas - in her defense, it was hard to think of anything when confronted by an Entei and two eight year olds. "Shit, I totally forgot...sorry Mama, I'll call you back, I was going back because of Callista...oh man. I gotta go!" she hung up before her mother could really say goodbye, and started biking again, with fervor.
"Oh my God, Nick, if you're dead I am going to kill you."
By the time Nicholas finished up with the police and was able to leave the Library, it was well into mid-afternoon. Hawes had insisted he stay away from work for a week - "Or longer," the researcher had added, "If you don't feel ready".
Nicholas had a loft rented in Nacrene City, not too far from the Museum. It was in one of the renovated warehouses, and he shared the place with a guy a few years older than he was, named Alexsei - Alexsei had been surprisingly fine with Nicholas only renting for the summer. He had mentioned he had a problem keeping roommates for long, and Nicholas was quick to find out why. Alexsei spent most of his time working on bizarre concept art and fluctuated between overly friendly and a brooding hermit (with an emphasis on brooding). After getting past Alexsei's snappish and brusque exterior, Nicholas didn't mind him as a roommate - he was a bit messy, sure, but they both liked to keep to themselves and that suited Nicholas just fine.
The loft was sparsely furnished in the common areas, but Nicholas was able to more intimately decorate his bedroom, which was small but cozy, with a little window that overlooked the unused tracks outside their building. His desk area was covered in photographs of his family and friends, and his bookshelf filled with novels that brought him comfort when he was away from home. His books for his research took up the space the photographs didn't, and he had a little Pokébed set up in the corner filled with blankets that Tarsi liked to cocoon himself in.
Alexsei was, surprisingly, outside his room when Nicholas let himself in through the front door; with a body frame that could only be described as "malnourished ten year old", tufty hair and almost cartoonishly big ears, Alexsei's only concern in life was his art and his cigarettes; the only thing Nicholas had insisted on when he agreed to rent with Alexsei was that he didn't smoke inside while they were living together. Alexsei had surprisingly agreed, with reluctance, but Nicholas was pretty sure he still smoked in his room, sneakily.
"You're back." Alexsei said, not looking up. "We have no more toothpicks."
Nicholas paused, kicking off his shoes.
"Why not?" he asked.
"I used them all." Alexsei continued arranging something on a garbage bag he had spread out across the floor.
"...Doing what?" Nicholas insisted; Alexsei hunched over his work, ruffling his light brown hair.
"Not important."
Sighing, Nicholas offered, "So I was taken hostage at work today. That's why I'm home early. In case you were wondering."
"Mm." Alexsei took a cigarette out of the pack and chewed on it plaintively - he often did this to attempt to guilt-trip Nicholas into smoking indoors, which never worked. Alexsei's Venipede Tanya, and his Whirlipede Vanya, were snoozing on the weird vinyl couch - Alexsei said it belonged to his uncle, but Nicholas felt like that was a cover up for what was obviously a couch pulled from a junkyard.
"Also," the artist added, "We're out of milk. So."
That was Alexsei's way of asking Nicholas to go get milk.
"So." Nicholas retorted, not in the mood for obliging his roommate, and went to his room.
Letting Tarsi hop out of his arms and onto his bed, Nicholas had to dig through his bag to reach his Xtransceiver, which had started to ring.
As soon as he answered, Callista, on the other end, screamed, "NICK! YOU'RE OKAY"
"Jeez...hi Callista." Nicholas asked. "I guess you saw the news?"
"Yes! I tried to call you, but...ugh. You're out now, though, so that's all that matters. What happened?"
She sat patiently through his rather winded explanation of it all, though he kept it short - talking about it still made him feel uneasy, as if that Druddigon was going to come barging through the door at any moment.
At the end, Callista made a weird noise.
"Dressed all in black?" she repeated. "With a mask, right? And they were just looking for a book?"
"Yeah. Something...Dual Duelling Dragons or something like that. He was really insistent." Nicholas scratched his nose, and absently touched the book in his sweater.
Callista's eyebrows were doing that weird scrunchy thing they did when she was upset. "I, uh - after I tried to call you, I went home, I was going to grab my bike and come to Nacrene. I'm still on my way, by the way," she added. "But I had a...set back."
"Set back?" Nicholas repeated faintly.
"There was a guy in my apartment." Callista explained, over Nicholas' exclamation. "I don't know how he got in...the door wasn't broken into or anything, obviously, or I would have noticed sooner. But he was dressed all in black...with a mask. And he was looking for...I guess a rock. Yeah. He was looking for a rock. But then Daisy put him to sleep and I tied him to my kitchen chair and the police came and arrested him. So I guess that ended well."
"Wait, Daisy put him to sleep?" Nicholas asked in incredulity, and looked over at Tarsi.
"You didn't do anything like that!" his accusation was playful, but the Swadloon still looked rather affronted. Nicholas reached over to pat him on the head as an apology.
"So - what, you think they were from the same...team?" he continued. "If that's even the right word. If they were dressed the same..."
Callista shrugged. "I mean, I guess anyone can put on a mask and some black clothes and rob someone, right? Doesn't mean it's related. I didn't see a mark on his uniform or anything so it could be coincidence."
Nicholas shook his head. "It just seems a little too much like a coincidence. And he wanted a...rock, you said?"
"Yeah! After the police left, I checked my bedroom...he'd torn up my floorboards, and there was this little space under it, with this metal box. It was empty, and this was the only thing I found on the guy." she held up the little, shining rock in front of the Xtransceiver. "I dunno, it could be like from a meteorite or something?"
Nicholas squinted at it. "Dunno - there's a meteorite at the museum, and it doesn't look like that. Maybe it's a collectible? You should get it appraised."
Callista gave him an apprehensive look. "Yeah...anyways, I'm about to head over Skyarrow. I'll be about a half hour. I just need to wait for Jonah - I phoned him earlier but he's headed home from work now."
"You don't have to come over." Nicholas insisted, feeling sheepish.
"Trust me...the less time I spend in the apartment, the better." Callista laughed. "Honestly, it's no big deal. We'll get dinner together. Uh, Beatrice should be on her way too. I have no idea how she's getting here though. I'll see you soon, okay?"
"OK. Bye Cal."
When Nicholas stepped out of his room again Alexsei looked up.
"We're out of milk." he repeated, helpfully.
Nicholas sighed and went to go get his wallet.
The funny thing about Pokémon was Beatrice knew nothing about them. She was pretty sure half of Mandy's behavioural problems stemmed from the fact that she hadn't collected a single League Badge; it could also be that Mandy was a jerk, a sadistic one at that, but Beatrice was particularly reminded of her inexperience with the whole "Trainer" thing when she reached the Village Bridge, raced up the stairs to the room she rented, and dug the HM from her backpack.
"Well, shit." she said to Mandy, who was gnawing at her bedpost. "I think I need a TM Case."
Her friendly elderly renters didn't have one, but apparently their grandson was back in town and he had one, which sent her in a rush across the Bridge to where the grandson, Tyler, was visiting his mother before taking on the Pokémon League.
Tyler, who was twelve with a goofy freckled face and a faded baseball hat, and made her feel like the dumbest person alive, was more than happy to lend her his Case, and was polite enough not to laugh when she had no idea how to use it.
"Your HM goes in the slot here...see?" Tyler slid the HM into the top and the machine began humming. "Now, make Mandibuzz stand in front of it."
Beatrice complied, gave Mandy a quick pat, then backed away like it was a time bomb.
Tongue between his teeth in concentration, Tyler steadied the Case and pressed a silver button on top. Mandy blinked once, twice, as a great flash of light emanated from the Case, like a very weird, boxy camera.
"Okay!" Tyler said after a beat. "She should be good to go."
"That's it?" Beatrice gave Mandy a once over; she didn't look any different, except a bit more peeved-looking.
"Yup! She'll be able to fly you wherever you want. Er...are you going like that?" Tyler scratched his head, looking concerned, and Beatrice looked down at herself - nothing out of the ordinary, just shorts and a dark grey camisole.
"I'm kind of in a rush." she explained.
"At least wear a hat." Tyler advised with a wince. "Trust me. It can get cold when you're flying around, especially for a long time."
And, honestly, Beatrice had been convinced it wouldn't work. How could she expect a three foot tall Pokémon to carry her all the way to Nacrene? After saying a defeated goodbye to Tyler and wishing him luck ("Next time you see me, I'll be Champion!" the boy had vowed sunnily), she had headed out to the very east edge of the Bridge, where the packed rows of houses tapered off, and waited 'til Mandy had settled on the Bridge railing.
"Okay, listen," Beatrice told her Pokémon, imploringly. "Nicholas is potentially in a lot of trouble. You remember Nicholas, right? You liked him."
True, Mandy had found Nicholas quite tasty, and he could be counted on to slip her treats from time to time. She let out a shrill cry of agreement.
"Great. So, we need to get to Nacrene as quickly as possible. So I know neither of us have done this before - the Flying thing, I mean - so we have to try our best. Okay?"
Her apprehension must have been obvious, because the nibble Mandy delivered to her fingers was unusually tender.
Beatrice took a breath, and took a moment to make sure the backpack she'd brought had everything she needed for a stay over in Nacrene.
"Well, then...now or never. Fly, Mandy!"
Mandy took off with a powerful flap of her wings.
"Wait - no - with me!" Beatrice shrieked, but Mandy just seemed to be testing out her speed; she was a veritable blur above her head, and as Beatrice squinted up at her, her Mandibuzz took a sharp nose dive at a near-impossible speed and seized her by the shoulders with her scaly claws.
Screaming bloody murder, Beatrice was hoisted into the air with a shoulder-wrenching jerk.
"I changed my mind!" she bellowed, gripping her Pokémon's feet as the scenery began to speed by. "We'll take the bus!"
The sun was getting lower in the sky as Callista locked her bike up outside the modest bookstore that made up the bottom level of a renovated warehouse. In her bike's basket, Daisy poked her nose over the edge, looking like she had dozed off during the trip.
Nicholas' place was on the top level of the warehouse, and to save them tromping through the store every day, there were a set of wooden stairs built against the side of the building that led to the apartment's front door. As Callista ascended, she caught sight of Nicholas' roommate, Alexsei, sitting on the railing, smoking.
"Hi." Callista greeted brightly, Daisy in tow. "Is Nicholas around?"
Alexsei jabbed his thumb at the door.
"Inside." he grunted, and she had to awkwardly maneuver around him, into the apartment.
Nicholas was in the kitchen with Tarsi, boiling water for tea, and the two friends hugged each other tightly - Callista felt the urge to cry. Tarsi greeted Daisy with a friendly pat.
"Well...today will make a good story to tell the grandchildren, right?" Nicholas asked as they separated; he poured water into the teapot.
"Sure." Callista laughed weakly. "A real nail-biter. But...the guys who took the library hostage escaped, didn't they? Aren't you worried?"
Nicholas fiddled with the sugar spoon. Truthfully, he was worried. The book was still wrapped in his sweater, in the laundry hamper (a little excessive, he knew), and he hadn't told anyone - Hawes, the police, not even Callista - that he had taken it. He obviously planned to return it to the library, and he felt guilty about taking it in the first place, but the sheer urgency of Sebastian's search for it had made him unusually curious. Just what was so important?
"Yeah." he admitted, finally, adding, "But I gave a description to the police, so I don't think it'll be long before they get arrested."
Callista looked like she wanted to say something, but Alexsei chose that moment to poke his head through the front door.
"A girl just crash-landed out back. Do you have a bandage?"
Callista and Nicholas exchanged glances.
Beatrice was lying flat on her back on the grass behind the bookstore, Mandy perched on her stomach, making irritated squawking sounds. Beatrice's face was bright red, whipped raw by the wind, and she was breathing hard in between gasps of either laughter or sobs.
"Bee!" Callista scampered down the stairs, Nicholas on her heels; Alexsei remained at the top, lighting another cigarette.
Beatrice sat up, and Mandy immediately leaned forward and bit her owner on the nose.
"Shit!" she swore, still winded. "That was - ow! Mandy!"
"Are you okay? You're all red - oh!" Callista had touched her; Beatrice was ice cold. Coming down from her adrenaline high, the curly-haired girl started to shiver.
"I'm never doing that again." she declared. "That was too crazy!"
Then, unprovoked, she snarled, "That kid was right - I should've brought a hat!"
Once she had sat down with hot tea and a blanket, Beatrice explained - "She picked me up with her claws, I thought I'd just be awkwardly dangling the whole time to Nacrene. But then all of a sudden we were moving so fast and the wind was in my face and I couldn't see - ugh. I should have brought goggles or a scarf or something. I'm frozen." Beatrice touched her lips, which were extremely chapped.
"How long ago did you leave?" Callista asked, adding a teaspoon of honey to her tea.
Beatrice craned her neck to check the microwave clock.
"Fifteen minutes ago." she admitted, sounding shocked; Nicholas and Callista echoed the sentiment.
"I mean, I can definitely see why people love Flying with their Pokémon," she continued. "But a bigger Pokémon would be necessary, for sure. I'm pretty sure I'm never Flying with Mandy again unless it's an emergency. Maybe if I had something like a Druddigon..."
Nicholas gave a little shudder, and suddenly Beatrice seemed to remember why she was there in the first place.
"You're alive!" she exclaimed, reaching over the table and grabbing Nicholas' hands with her own, ice cold ones. "What the fuck happened?"
Obligingly, Nicholas repeated his story, and Callista chimed in with her own home invasion. At the end, Beatrice leaned back in her chair, looking a little troubled.
"What a weird day." she said, rubbing absently at her cheek.
"Are you okay?" Nicholas asked. "Your face..."
"Hm? Oh." Beatrice poked at the tender scrape. "I fell off my bike."
She was suspiciously short on the matter - Beatrice had a tendency to ramble when she was nervous or upset, but Nicholas brushed it off to the frantic experience she had earlier.
Instead, Beatrice sighed and scratched Mandy's head - the Pokémon had stuck unusually close to her ("She's sulking." Beatrice explained. "She didn't like Flying with me any more than I did with her!") and was sitting on the back of her chair.
"Arceus," she swore, "and you had someone break into the apartment, Callista? I bet you're not too thrilled to go back there..."
"I was going to ask if I could spend the night." Callista ventured hesitantly, looking at Nicholas for approval. "I don't want to stay at my place. Not tonight, at least."
"Definitely." Nicholas agreed without hesitation. "You too, Beatrice." he added. "I'm guessing you're not Flying back?"
Mandy made a weird hissing noise.
"I think she'd kill me." Beatrice offered with a sheepish grin. Then, "Hey, are you guys hungry? I could eat a Ponyta."
Mandy bit her on the ear.
"Okay do I have to spray you every time you do that? Owww!" Beatrice whined.
"Food sounds good." Nicholas agreed. "Maybe you should put disinfectant on that scrape first, though."
"Good idea." Beatrice said, and got up to rummage in the bathroom for the first aid kit.
Callista tickled Tarsi under her chin while Nicholas finished the last of his tea. His thoughts strayed, again, to the book in his sweater. He couldn't keep this just to himself, and Callista and Beatrice were as good as anybody at keeping a secret, at least when it mattered.
"Let's go to Café Warehouse," he suggested when Beatrice meandered back into the kitchen, patting her face gingerly with a cotton pad. "They've got great pasta. I'll grab my sweater."
Once they were tucked away in a corner booth at Café Warehouse, a popular restaurant close to Nicholas' apartment, the trio was nearly done their respective dinners before Nicholas worked up enough courage to pull the book from its hiding place.
"I may have kept some things from you." he admitted. "This is what those guys were looking for today. This book...Sebastian, the guy I talked to, was really insistent about finding it."
"So...you stole it instead?" Beatrice asked, sliding it over to her side of the table and flipping through it. Nicholas bristled.
"I didn't! I'll give it back!"
"I was kidding." Beatrice assured, weakly, pushing it back towards him. "Okay. So. You want to find out why they risked their necks to steal this. And you're sure this was the only thing they wanted?"
"As far as I know." Nicholas replied, fiddling with a fraying corner. "He wanted it bad, too. I have no idea what it is, I haven't had a chance to read it, and I've never heard of it before. Not through my research, or anything."
"Hm." Beatrice propped her arms up on the table. "So...you two think it's connected to the guy who broke into Cal's apartment?"
Callista and Nicholas exchanged looks. "They were wearing the same thing - all black, masks...but that doesn't mean much." Nicholas offered.
"On the same day?" Beatrice pressed. "Near the same time, both looking for specific things that aren't really of great value to anyone?" she crinkled her nose.
"Seems fishy."
"Very fishy." Callista agreed, lowering her voice as the waitress passed. "The guy who broke into my apartment...he got arrested, and for what? A rock? It doesn't make any sense. And the way he was talking - it was like he knew my work schedule. Jonah's too. Like he'd been watching us, waiting for us both to be out."
"Ugh." Beatrice stuck out her tongue. "Creepy."
"I suppose it'd be too much of a coincidence if something had happened to you today." Nicholas half-teased, and didn't notice when Beatrice busied herself with the dessert menu. "No break ins to report to us, Bee?"
Beatrice laughed his comment off.
"They have cheesecake here?" she exclaimed instead. "Neato! Anyway, Cal, if you want to stay with me for a while...it's not much, though maybe it would be easier to just go back to your mom's place..."
"I'll think about it." Callista said, quickly. "I still need to think about work..."
"Nick?" Beatrice asked. "Want to take a tour to fabulous Village Bridge? I've only been begging you to visit since forever."
Nicholas gave a half-smile. "I'll think about it." he echoed, demurely.
"So lame!" Beatrice threw up her hands. "You two are impossible. Both had your lives endangered and you're content to stay where you are."
"How dramatic." Nicholas teased, laughing when Beatrice stuck her tongue out at him.
Sobering, he asked, "So...what do you think I should do? About the book, I mean."
Callista shrugged. "Read it?" she suggested.
"There we go." Beatrice snapped her fingers. "Get a one up on this guy who tried to rob you, give the book back to the library, carry on with your day."
At Nicholas' blank look, she continued, "Well, don't ya want to know? What someone would risk jail for? Must be one hell of a book." she grabbed it again and flipped through it.
"It's buried in the Wall." she said.
"Sorry?" Nicholas paused as the waitress refilled their water glasses.
"Oh." Beatrice looked up, sheepishly, scratching her forehead. "That's what it says in this passage, sorry. I was reading aloud. 'It's buried in the wall'..." she paused, frowning. "Where have I heard that before? What wall?"
"Um...there's a wall around Lacunosa, in the east." Callista offered. "It's a town not too far from Undella. It's all walled in. There used to be a lot of ghost stories about it, to scare us as kids."
Beatrice was still frowning. "Wall, wall..." she murmured. "The wall..."
"Lacunosa has a lot of legends." Nicholas piped up. "I did a bit of research on it, they have some stone carvings on display there - of some sort of legendary Pokémon; it's not really been confirmed yet or anything."
Callista grinned. "It always seemed a little creepy to me," she admitted. "When I was a kid, we used to sing a song about it. Let's see..."
To Beatrice's surprise, Callista began to clap quietly.
"Little child behind the wall," she began in a tuneless rhyme. "Take good care when darkness falls
"Should you hesitate or pause
"You will meet the monster's jaws."
Beatrice had frozen in her seat. "...Are you kidding?" she asked, visibly upset. "That's the song?"
"Yeah?" Callista looked confused. "Why, what's wrong? Do you know that one?"
Beatrice touched the side of her head, as if bewildered.
"Never heard it before today." she muttered. "Ugh, I need a drink." she flagged the waitress down for a beer; after a confused beat, Callista ordered one too. Nicholas asked for a coffee.
"Are you okay, Bee?" Callista pressed cautiously after the waitress had left. "You said you hit your head...maybe you should go see a doctor?"
Beatrice laughed. "Honestly, Cal, it's nothing. I'm more tired than anything." she busied herself with the book.
"Huh." she said. "Listen to this: 'speculation of the location of the prince's remains includes three popular theories. Undella Greens, the graveyard by the sea; remains found by workers in Twist Mountain (now housed in League archives); and a folktale of a burial within the wall of Lacunosa have all been claimed as their resting places'."
"The two princes?" Callista repeated, bemused. "Wasn't that just a myth, though?"
"Apparently, someone thought differently." Nicholas interjected; after a beat, he added, "Maybe the robbers were among them?"
"So...then, they were looking to find the bodies of the princes?" Beatrice made a face. "What for?"
"Well, it would be a great archeological discovery - they'd be famous." Nicholas pointed out. "That's if you even believe in the princes existing in the first place. A lot of people think they're just metaphors to tie humans to the legend of Zekrom and Reshiram."
"Besides, if there are only three 'rumoured' locations, I'm sure everyone and their grandma have thoroughly investigated each of them already." Beatrice piped up, flipping idly through pages. "Oh, whoops."
Her flipping had dislodged something from the pages, a piece of thin, near see-through notepaper. It looked like it was full of writing, and hurriedly she stuffed it back in the book.
As they paid for their dinner and pulled on their coats, Beatrice handed back the book to Nicholas.
"Sorry, man!" she chirped. "Maybe he just wanted to steal it because he was a dick?"
Nicholas laughed, despite himself. "That might make the most sense." he said. "He didn't look too much like an archaeologist."
When the three of them returned to the apartment, Alexsei met them at the door, just going outside to smoke - there was a folded piece of paper on the kitchen counter, and as Nicholas approached it his roommate snapped his fingers and said, "Oh! By the way, a guy came to see you earlier."
"What?" Nicholas asked, frowning. "Who was he?"
"Dunno." Alexsei shrugged, flicking his lighter. "Er...it was about twenty minutes ago? He said he was your friend and I said you were out so he said to tell you..." Alexsei furrowed his brow. "I wasn't really listening. But he left that!" he pointed at the paper.
Nicholas shook his head as he unfolded the paper, more amused than anything by his roommate's disregard for taking messages; however, his blood ran cold when he read the note:
'Nicky,
Thanks so much for keeping my book safe! I'll be back to pick it up later. Your friend seems like a nice guy, he let me in and let me take a look around. Love the photos of your sister in your room. How old is she?
I'll see you soon - Druddigon just can't wait to see you again. Neither can I.
-S.'
END CHAPTER TWO
Author's Note: Thanks again, and as always, for reading!
Er, a note about "Fly" - it's a little tricky considering game canon, since even Vullaby, a Pokémon that is a foot tall and is said to be flightless, can learn Fly - I was sort of trying to keep it sort of realistic considering the different sizes. My idea about Fly is that it does give the Pokémon increased strength and speed - so one can fly across the country in no time at all - but comes with all the realistic consequences. For example, Flying in shorts and a t-shirt? Yikes. Expect some discomfort. So yes, Flying's good in a pinch but definitely not the most efficient way. Maybe for energetic eleven year olds...
Anyways, I think that's all I wanted to talk about for this chapter. If you have any questions or if I didn't make something clear, please feel free to ask me! Thank you!