-Chapter Summary-
Sam and Dean have successfully helped Clemont escape the hospital and are now frantically making their way to Jody's. While Dean drives frantically down the street, Sam tries to strike up a conversation with their new 'friend'.
When they finally arrive at Jody's, they are both surprised by what they find there. However, the person they find is more than happy to see Clemont.
Chapter II
The Angel & the Reunion
As the trio are making their way towards Soix Falls, the atmosphere in the car is silent and tense. Dean sat silently at the wheel and kept his eyes focused on the stretch of road ahead. Sam, however, was watching Clemont through the mirror as the boy sat awkwardly in the backseat. He was fidgeting with the cuffs of his one piece nervously and looked just about anywhere else that wasn't in the brothers' direction.
It was kind of a sad sight.
Sam found himself looking to his older brother for help (seeing as Dean was better with kids), but was only met with more silence as Dean ignored him and kept his gaze on the road. The taller could only guess why since there wasn't a single car on the road.
Traitor, he thought.
Turning in his seat slightly, Sam looked back at Clemont. The kid just looked so miserable that it was unfair. Maybe a little bit of conversation would help.
"So...," he started hesitantly. He winces when the child jumps in his seat, clearly not expecting to be spoken to. When the boy's blue eyes settled on him, he continued, "What do you like to do for fun?"
Sam felt like punching himself in the face. The kid had amnesia! What if he didn't remember those kinds of things? Now he just sounded like some insensitive jerk who didn't care.
He was just about to apologize when a thoughtful look came over Clemont's face. He was clearly hesitant to answer, but shortly after, he responded with:
"I really like to invent and build things."
The answer was more than enough to peek Sam's interest. "Do you remember any of your inventions?"
Seeming to be searching his memory, the boy closed his eyes in concentration. Did he remember any of his past contraptions? Suddenly, one machine in particular popped into his mind, a pretty recent one.
"I built a system that keeps track of my sister in case she wandered off somewhere in the Gym without me." He didn't know why he thought of Gym with a capital g, but it just felt right.
Sam, however, was wondering why Clemont would go to a gym since he didn't seem like the type to work out. Maybe more questions would help the kid remember some more stuff.
"Where did you live?" That was a basic question, right?
"I live in Prism Tower in the Kalos Region." This time, the answer was less hesitant, more sure.
However, the answer confused Sam. He had never heard of the Kalos Region before and had never seen anything by the name on any map. "What is the Kalos Region? Is it an island or something?"
Clemont looked sad as he said, "I'm not exactly sure, but I know that it was beautiful." His voice had dropped, gaining a bit of a wistful tone to it that only added to his sudden melancholy mood. Once again, Sam was tempted to punch himself.
In what was a sad and desperate attempt to lighten the mood, the taller Winchester decided to ask a different question. "What about your family? What are they like?" As soon as the question was out of his mouth, he silently screamed at himself. Why did he ask that?! He was usually better at asking about such a delicate situation. Did his years as a hunter completely erase his inner lawyer?
Surprisingly, it seems to do the trick as Clemont once again adopts a thoughtful look, his previous mood completely vanishing. When he finally answers Sam, it's with a slightly more happy expression. It wasn't much, just a slight upturning of the side of his lips. Nevertheless, Sam counted it as a win.
"I have a younger sister named Bonnie that lives with my father in a house near the Tower."
Sam could practically feel himself deflate as he gave a mental sigh of relief. He was kind of happy to know that the kid's dad actually lived nearby.
Unknown to him Dean did the exact same thing. Despite his stubborn silent treatment earlier, he had been listening in on the conversation with rapt interest. That also brought a question to both brothers' mind at the same time:
What kind of parent lets their kid live alone in a completely different building?
It would have been different if his parents were going through a divorce, but the kid hadn't mentioned a mother and his sister lived with his father, so he had to be living on his own. But why would his father let him do that? Especially since Clemont couldn't be any older than thirteen!
The rest of the ride to Jody's was spent with more questions from Sam and Clemont's timid responses.
By the time they pulled up in front of Jody's house, they learned that Clemont was actually one impressive kid despite his age. He was good at not only inventing, but also cooking, designing, mathematics, science, and had a pretty good judge of character. He clearly had more than enough skills to live on his own, even though the brothers still had mixed feelings about it.
When Dean cut the engine, Jody came barging out of her door, a completely stunned look on her face. The man barely has enough time to get out of the car before she had enveloped him in a tight hug. Sam, also noticing her frazzled appearance gets out of the car. Walking over to the distraught woman, he placed a soothing hand on her back.
"What happened, Jody?" he asked. He made sure not to sound too worried as to not rile her up more, but when she moved away from Dean, her face was already looking more calm. She felt better just having the boys here, apparently. But what had put the woman in that state in the first place?
"There's this little girl in my living room. I don't know where she came from! One second we're eating at the table and the next, there's this light. When we went to check it out, there she was! Just standing there!" The woman's voice had began to rise the longer she talked, as if the panic was settling in again.
Sam and Dean share a glance before they hear the sound of the back door of the car opening. All three adult turn to look at Clemont as he climbs out of the backseat. He had a nervous expression on his face as he had his backpack slung over one shoulder. The brothers automatically notice how Jody looks the boy up and down. She payed specific attention to his eyes and hair before looking back at the house.
When she finally gave her attention back to the Winchesters, she looked like she had seen a ghost.
"Would you guys mind bringing your friend inside? I don't want to talk about this outside."
The brothers turn to look at Clemont, as if asking him for permission. When the kid gives a short nod, the four make their way into the house. They don't make it past the entryway before they hear the sound of a girl loudly complaining. The adults don't miss how Clemont seemed to perk up at the sound before picking up his pace to a jog.
When he comes to the living room, he freezes in the entryway.
When Sam and Dean walk up to him to see what was wrong with him, they also find themselves speechless at what they find. In the middle of the living room stood the little girl from Clemont's picture, Bonnie. She appeared to be arguing with Claire about something rather heatedly.
"Look, brat, you can't keep that rat in your bag! Just get rid of it already! It's disgusting!" Claire demanded. The brothers could tell she was trying very hard not to curse at the child. The teen did have quite a mouth on her.
The younger girl only seemed to puff up in defiance as she pulls the bag closer to her chest. She looked livid for a child her age and even Dean was slightly intimidated.
"I will never get rid of Dedenne!" she cried. "Dedenne is my friend and you can't make me get rid of it!"
Castiel just stood off to the side as he watched the argument with his almost permanent expression of confusion on his face.
"Alright, alright! Can somebody tell me what's going on?" Dean demanded. If nobody was going to play mediator, he might as well do it. Even though he had little experience with girls. At least young ones.
Claire speaks up and says in an alarmed voice, "She's got some weird rat or hamster thing in her bag and it shocked me!" The teen looked angry, almost completely livid. Not for the first time, Dean is glad that he doesn't have to take care of her. He loved the kid, but she was a handful.
When he turns to the small girl, Bonnie, he could see that she was also very upset. Her cheeks were puffed out and the Winchester was alarmed to see what appeared to be tears shining in her eyes. He wasn't very good with crying children, although babies were a different story.
He needed to derail this situation now.
"Can you show it to me?" he asked. Bonnie seemed to hesitate, so he added, "I promise I won't touch it. I just want to see."
Still looking slightly unsure, Bonnie loosens her grip on the bag and pulls the top open. From inside, an orange hamster looking creature poked it's head out shyly. It had what appeared to be two large rounded ears on the top of its head. On its cheeks were two antenna as well as two red pouches. While it didn't look harmful and appeared to be rather timid, Dean knew not to underestimate it.
Behind him, Sam had a look that was both equal parts curious and horrified as he asks, "What is that thing?"
Surprisingly, it was Clemont who answered.
"Dedenne, the antenna Pokémon and an electric-fairy type. Dedenne uses its whiskers like antennae to communicate over long distances using electrical waves. It can soak up electricity through its tail."
He answered as if reading from a pamphlet or some kind of animal bio sheet. Even as he finished, his eyes were wide in shock as if even he were surprised he knew that.
It's also in that moment that Bonnie turns and finally notices Clemont. Upon seeing her big brother, her face practically split in half in a wide smile. Running over to him, the young girl buried her face in the elder brother's stomach.
"Big brother! Thank goodness! I was so worried ever since you disappeared after the strange light."
Clemont felt himself tense at the sudden touch. Even though he knew this child was his precious sister, the last twenty-four hours had left his already confused mind in a whirl. However, when he looked down at the top of her blonde head, he noticed something very startling. Her shoulders were shaking and he could feel a wet spot growing on the front of his suit.
Pulling himself from her grasp, the preteen knelt down and took a look at his newly-found sister's tear streaked face. Her eyes were beginning to puff up, gaining a red hue as tears continued to trickle down her face. The sight caused something deep within him to stir and pull inside him.
"Please," she whispered, her voice much lower than her previous boisterous tone, "don't let them take Dedenne away." Suddenly, her voiced raised again, straining as it cracked with emotion. "It's my first Pokémon! I don't want to lose it!"
Around them, everyone else gave each other confused looks. Clemont had just mentioned the word Pokémon before, but Bonnie had just proved that there were probably a lot more. Her "first" implied that she had planned to get more.
Were Pokémon supposed to be pets?
Clemont himself seemed to share their confusion. His brow was furrowed as he appeared to go into deep thought. A rustling sound caught his attention and had him looking down at the bag hanging across his sister's shoulder. The same creature from before, Dedenne, had flipped opened the top and was now staring at Clemont. Suddenly, it's face appears to light up before it jumps out of Bonnie's bag and onto Clemont's shoulder.
Everyone seemed to tense at the spontaneous movement, especially Dean. Clemont only stares at the Pokémon curiously before it gently starts nuzzling itself into his cheek. The soft fur tickled the boy's face, causing him to let out a giggle, in turn causing Bonnie to giggle as well. The tension seemed to drain away as the Winchesters and their friends watched the siblings laugh together.
However, Clemont's next sentence seems to bring it right back.
"Where did you get it?"
Abruptly, Bonnie's laughter came to halt. Complete and utter shock seemed to have taken over her features as she stared at her brother. It was like she was waiting for him to say that he was joking.
"What are you saying, Clemont?" Her voice was starting to shake again, as if she right back on the edge of crying. "You caught it for me, remember?"
"How did I do that?"
Her eyes began to glaze over with the threat of a new flood of tears. Reaching out, Bonnie took her brother's face between her small hands. Her gaze was almost desperate as she gazed into eyes identical to her own. Clemont almost shivered at how warm her hands felt against his cool skin.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Clemont feels his heart break the more she spoke. While he still had a bit of a headache, he didn't feel like it was anything to worry about.
"I'm fine."
Behind him, Dean rolled his eyes. He was right about this kid practically being another Cas. That was actually going to be a problem if the kid was just as bad as Cas.
"Y-You do know my name, right?"
Clemont nodded and Bonnie seemed to deflate with relief. At least her brother hadn't forgotten her name. Then she remembered the Pokémon he had used to catch Dedenne.
"What about Bunnelby? You remember it, don't you?"
Sadly, the only response Clemont gave this time was a shake of the head. The look on his sister's face was that of a child who had just had their dreams crushed right in front of them.
Dedenne jumped back to Bonnie as it sat on her shoulder. As she cried again, the small hamster-like Pokémon tried to calm her down with a hug. This seemed futile, however, as it only made her wails louder.
Guilt wrenched at Clemont's heart as he watched his baby sister fall apart. It was his fault that she was feeling this way. All he could do was pull her back in and hold her tightly, as if doing so would keep her from breaking any further. Bonnie just threw her arms around his shoulders as she buried her head in his neck, muffling her cries.
"W-What happened to you?"
All Clemont could respond with was a mournful, "I don't know."
Feet pounded the ground as the large lion continued its search. Wind whipped through its mane as it raced down the street, following the faint scent that it had been following for the past twenty-four hours.
It had caught the scent of their boy back in the previous town at a human healing center. It had almost rushed in before it had caught the scent again, fainter, leaving the center again. The kidnappers who had taken it from the building before had taken him again. Immediately, it took off after the scent, not taking much time to rest itself.
The two companions that were still riding on its back were now holding onto its mane for dear life. Their friend was running at an astonishing speed, faster than they had even known it could do! The green creature, which felt like it was about to fall off, begged for its friend to slow down. However, its friend ignored it as it kept on running.
Its legs had begun to burn long ago, it's paws sore and its strength tried to leave it. But it remained determined to keep going, it wouldn't stop until it had found its boy. It had one thought driving its actions.
It had to find him before they did.
The sun had long since set as Clemont had laid his sister to sleep on the couch. The girl had refused to sleep anywhere else that wasn't with her brother, forcing Clemont to share the couch with her. He had refused any of the beds, uncomfortable at the thought of taking someone's bed from them.
Dedenne had long since settled itself in Bonnie's hair, a comforting pressure that - along with her brother's warmth - sent her straight to dreamland.
Clemont was just about to nod off himself when he feels the tingling sensation of being stared at. Looking up, he noticed the man from earlier (who had introduced himself as Castiel) watching the three of them silently from the doorway. Instead of feeling threatened, Clemont noted that he felt oddly calm and watched as the man entered the living room and sat on the edge of the couch at their feet.
"So... How are you doing?" The man's voice was deep and slightly scratchy, matching well with his gruff appearance. The concern in the non-human's eyes appeared to be genuine, showing that he was truly concerned about the children laying on the couch.
"I'm fine." Even as he said it, Clemont wasn't sure if he meant it. His headache had gone down, but it was still throbbing faintly at the back of his skull. It was like a nagging itch that refused to go away.
Cas gave a soft sigh and couldn't help but wonder if this was it felt like whenever he said the same to Sam and Dean. Deciding to shelve that thought for later, he turned his full focus back to the boy before him.
"Do you have any of those... Pokémon... with you?"
He almost gave a sigh of relief when the preteen gave a negative shake of his head. While he did find the creatures interesting, he wasn't sure if he could deal with more of them right now.
"When I woke up, I was alone in the hospital. I don't know if I even have any." Clemont was actually surprised to find himself deeply saddened at the thought. His sudden melancholy didn't go unnoticed by Castiel.
"Do you want me to help?"
His question caused Clemont to perk up. Looking into the man's eye, he couldn't help but sound slightly desperate as he asked, "Can you really do that?" Could this man help him recover the memories he had lost? He could feel hope blossom in his chest when Castiel nodded.
The angel points to his head and explained, "I can look into your memories if you let me. I may even be able to find the memories you don't remember." Clemont barely even thinks before he blurted his answer.
"Yes."
Castiel adopted a concerned look as he took in the sudden change in the child. He still remembered how Dean and Sam had reacted every time he "zapped" them. He didn't know how this would affect a child, let alone one as young as Clemont.
"Are you sure?" he couldn't help but ask.
Clemont seemed to hesitate, suddenly unsure. Why was he so eager to do this again? What if there was a good reason he lost his memory? He didn't remember a lot, sure, but he still remembered how to do normal things. He knew how to cook, clean, and pretty much everything else that he needed to take care of himself. So why did he want his memory back so badly?
Feeling Bonnie shift on his side, he looked down at her sleeping face. It had scrunched up in her presumably restless sleep, her brows furrowed and her mouth pressed into a firm line. Unconsciously, Clemont ran his fingers through her hair, careful to avoid Dedenne. Soon, her face smoothed back out as a soft smile took place of her frown. Burrowing herself into her brother's side, she let out a content hum.
Clemont felt like something had snapped into place within him. Just one piece of a puzzle that was yet to be finished. He could only hope that the picture was a beautiful one.
Turning back to Castiel, he put on his best façade of bravado. It would be lie to say he wasn't nervous - heck, he was terrified! But he knew that he couldn't run away from this.
"I want to remember." He turned back to the girl next to him, his gaze fond. "For her."
He and Castiel locked eyes again, his sky blue against the angel's deeper ocean blue.
"I don't want to make her cry anymore."
To say that Castiel was surprised would be an understatement. This boy was showing an amazing amount of maturity for a kid his age. He knew what it felt like to wake up one day with no memory of who you are. He and Clemont were similar in that aspect. And just like he did, Clemont had someone very precious to him that needed him there with them. Someone falling apart without him there, even though they were in the same room.
Rising from the couch, Castiel knelt next to Clemont. Bonnie still had her back turned to him, dead to the world outside her dreams. Giving Clemont one las reproachful look, Castiel asked one last time.
"Are you sure?"
Clemont let out a shaky breath, but nodded, resolute in his decision.
With that final confirmation, the angel lifted his fingers to the boy's forehead.
When Castiel opened his eyes, Jody's living room had been replaced. All around him was what appeared to be a laboratory of some sort. Machines were scattered all over the floor, unfinished inventions yet to be completed.
It was quiet as he gazed around the lab. After a moment of searching, he found Clemont on the far side of the lab. He was hunched over a desk sketching something with deep concentration. When the automatic door suddenly slid open loudly, Clemont nearly jumped out of his skin.
Turning around to see who the newcomer was, Castiel isn't very surprised to see Bonnie rushing in. Dedenne was on its usual place on her head and two slightly bigger creatures were following closely behind her.
Were they Pokémon too?
He watched the memory play out as Bonnie ran up to her brother and began to chatter excitedly.
"Hey, Clemont!" Even after that run, the young girl wasn't even slightly out of breath. "Can I have some more Pokémon food for Chespin and Bunnelby?" The green creature at her side made a loud noise of approval, its appetite clearly not sated by the previous meal. The brown rabbit next to it simply nodded calmly.
Castiel is surprised when a bright smile takes over Clemont's features, wiping away the last remnants of seriousness from his face. It was a stark difference to how he was acting earlier.
Getting up from his seat at the desk, Clemont made his way over to a large cabinet he had installed when he first moved into the Tower. Opening it, he grabbed and pulled out three cans, one for each of the Pokémon present. Dedenne let out a cheerful cry at the considerate thought of also getting food.
"Make sure not to over feed them, okay Bonnie?" When she nodded enthusiastically, he finally handed her the cans. If it were even possible, she seemed to light up even further. Running over to the door, Bonnie stopped short of leaving and turned back to her brother.
"Do you want to play with us, Clemont?"
Clemont seemed startled by the question before he looks back at the desk, hesitation clear in his actions.
"Oh, come on!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Please? Stop being such a workaholic! You can plan for the Challenger later!" Puffing out her cheeks, she pouted as if it would get her point across. "You've been up here all day!"
Clemont scratched the back of his head bashfully, a light blush settling on his cheeks. "Okay, okay. I guess I could use a break."
Cheering loudly, Bonnie moved the three cans into only one of her arms (although how she was balancing them, Castiel didn't know) and used her other one to loop around her brother's, effectively grabbing hold of him and running out the door. The two Pokémon behind her follow behind making cheerful noises of their own.
Castiel couldn't help but wonder what could have possible happened to such a happy family.
To Be Continued...
A/N: If I go any farther, this chapter would probably go on forever. This a wrap on this chapter folks! In the next chapter, we'll finally see the attack on Prism Tower. What were they after? Did they attack Clemont on purpose, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Find out next time in An XYZ Catastrophe!
- Addict