"That was so cool!" Ariette fawned over the battle they had just seen as she left the coliseum. The sun was perched high above the city, baking the earth.
"I'm glad you liked it," Es Cade laughed, patting her on the shoulder. "One day, if you train hard enough, I'm sure it will be you battling Aki!"
"You think so?" She gave him a quizzical look. Ariette never really thought of herself as a battler but it was something she had wanted for as long as she could remember. Only now, battling was not about badges or championships, it was about revenge.
"Of course! I don't meet and greet just any visitor, you know," he added with a wink.
"What the Hell is with your Absol!" a raised voice could be heard over the general murmur of the crowd. Ariette and her partner turned to see Will advancing on Aki, backing him into the wall of a nearby house.
"...What's going on there?" she wondered aloud.
"Don't blame me for your Pokemon being weak," Aki scoffed. Even now he stayed emotionless, indifferent, cold.
"My Pokemon aren't weak! There's something about your Absol that isn't right. I know it." His face was bright red; it was evident he was trying to restrain himself.
Es Cade made his way over to the arguing pair as Aki's response was a derisive snort.
"What's going on here?" he questioned, sounding suddenly authoritative. Will turned to face the mayor. Aki merely glaced sideways.
"Sir, were you at the finals at all?" The plea began.
"I was indeed." Es Cade nodded but did not smile.
"So you saw what his Absol did? That's not...possible." Ariette barely registered the words. She was distracted by Aki: he had barely taken his eyes off her since they had joined the argument.
"What I saw was an amazing battle. Why taint that experience with poor sportsmanship?" Will stiffened.
"How can you say that! His Absol is blatantly...something. I dunno how he did it but there's something wrong with it!"
"My dear, would you please leave us for the moment? I think I need to speak with these two in private." Ariette was surprised to find Es Cade addressing her but she dared not fight. The situation was becoming more and more tense by the minute and even the intrigue of Aki was not enough to entice her to remain.
Ariette struggled to the edge of the main fountain. Her curiosity was begging to stay in earshot but she refused to allow herself more trouble. Looking back quickly as she let her legs fall into the soothing cool waters of the fountain saw Es Cade bearing down on the two teenagers, who were looking quite terrified.
Things were moving so fast. Could she really become as good as that Aki? What was with him anyway? Why was he so blasé about everything? And why did he keep looking at her?
The thoughts overwhelmed her mind. A mild ache brewed in her head as she wished she could share the burden with the second Ariette looking back at her from the water's surface. She was shaken from her brooding by a bright flame coming about behind her. Spinning around, Ariette was face to face with a bright-eyed, red-haired girl.
"Um...hi!"
"Hello?" she answered cautiously, not fully aware of who this stranger was.
"My name's Akarui! But everyone just calls me Rui for short." Her smile widened. It was quickly becoming creepy.
"Hi...I'm Ariette."
"Oh? That's cool! I'd never seen you around before so I thought I'd come say hi. It's a bit of a boys' club around here," she giggled.
"Okay then. Sorry, I was a bit surprised."
"No! That's fine! I totally understand!" She laughed again.
"Were you at the coliseum too?" Ariette asked, grasping at straws to make the conversation.
"I was! I love Pokemon and Pokemon battles! One day I want to be the best trainer in the world but I haven't even got a Pokemon yet..."
"Cool! I think I'm starting to become a battler but I've only my Shiftry here." Ariette ruffled the white mane of her Grass-type partner. Rui smiled so wide her eyes closed.
"I'm so jealous. When I get my Pokemon, I want a battle!"
"Okay, deal!" Ariette was warming to this new-found friend.
"So sorry about that!" Es Cade boomed, wandering over to the fountain. "Oh ho ho, and who is this? I don't believe I've had the pleasure," he added, catching sight of Rui.
"I'm Rui, sir," she beamed.
"I see. Well, would you care to join us? I'm showing young Ariette here around the town."
"I'd love to!" She grinned but a look of despair quickly took over. "..But I've got to help my mum pack. She's moving to Agate tomorrow." With a quick wave and another smile, Rui vanished into the crowd; all that remained was the sight of her bright orange hair bobbing through the mass of people.
"So what's next?" Ariette asked absent-mindedly, still watching the red beacon weave through the traffic.
"Come to my office. I'll tell you about the towns surrounding Phenac. Then we shall stop at the market on the way home."
Once again Ariette found herself in the immodest office of the town's mayor. Es Cade led his guest to a small desk that sat in the corner nearest his office space. The click of a switch brought up a hologram of the Orre region. The diagram zoomed in and focused on Phenac City.
"This is the entire region of Orre. Obviously, we're here." He pointed out Phenac. "The village you came from was somewhere in this area." He drew a red circle to the north of the city with his index finger.
"Hang on..." Ariette started, trying to quell her confusion. "How did you know where I came from?"
"...You told me, my dear." The short man looked back at her, matching the quizzical expression.
"I did?" Ariette cocked her head to one side. "Oh, sorry! Now I remember," she lied, trying to laugh to cover up the holes left by her memory.
"Anyway," he continued. "To the north-east is Pyrite Town. There's another coliseum there that's linked to the same circuit as our own. Rumour has it that a second city exists underneath Pyrite itself. Some people say there's yet another Coliseum there that's linked to ours; others say there are two coliseums."
"But, how can there be two?"
"From what I've heard, under this subterranean city is an independent coliseum operated by the most talented and reclusive battler in Orre's history. This is all just rumour and innuendo, though."
"Um...what happens if you win at these coliseums?"
"I'm very glad you asked, my dear! A private company, a mega-corporation, is bank-rolling the construction of a tower dedicated purely to battling. At the top of this monumental structure is the final coliseum in the Orre circuit. If you win at the cities, you are invited to the top."
It all sounded too good to be true. It was as though Orre was encouraging her to train, to fight back, to destroy those who are nothing more than a stain on its soil. One day she would. She would train to battle them. She would train to beat them. For the first time since the incident, a ray of hope shined down upon Ariette's future. This was the beginning of a new era: her era.
She threw her jacket down on the couch and closed the door lazily. There was a lot to take in today; Es Cade had shown Ariette the marketplace and basically everything there was to do in Phenac City but nothing was more interesting than the coliseum.
But the coliseum brought more than battling; it was also the place she found Aki. Hours had been wasted pondering this boy and yet Ariette could make no sense of him. Will might have been right about the Absol. She had not seen many battles but surely Pokemon should not be able to teleport through ice like that?
"What do you think, Shiftry?" she asked, getting into pyjamas and crawling into bed.
"Shhhhif." It shrugged and jumped onto the couch, curling into a ball for the night.
"You're probably right. If there was something wrong with it, the judges would know."
Finally, the first day of the rest of her life came to an end as the blur of sleep descended on her vision.
Ariette sprawled out on the luscious grass once more. The sun above her was different to last time. The grass, the trees and the air were the same but the sun and the sky that hung overhead were those that belonged to Phenac, not her village.
Footsteps came from the distance. She looked around from atop her hill but there was no one for miles. Puzzled, Ariette lay back down on the grass, enjoying the sun. The footsteps grew louder and they were joined by another noise: whispers. Her heart sped up but she tried to ignore it, marking it down to the wind rustling through the grass.
A third noise joined the symphony of the out-of-place: the sound of metal on wooden floorboards. The grass had become black, the sky darkened as the sun faded from view, replaced by an inactive light.
Ariette sat upright. The house was still; footsteps were silent, no whisper and the only noise came from Shiftry's rustling mane.
"God, I have to get over this." She lay back on the pillow, closing her eyes and revelling in the comfort. She was safe now. One final footfall sounded from outside her bedroom door. Someone was in the house.
Heart pounding against her ribs painfully, she threw herself from the bed. Adrenaline and panic clouded her mind like a thick fog as she peered through the darkness, catching sight of a doorknob revolving on its own.
The door swung open slowly and a black leg stepped into the room. The stench followed its owner. The smell was not unpleasant but those associated with it were. This was a smell she had only experienced once before: in an office of her village's town centre. The lock on the door clicked as the stranger, obscured by darkness, turned to face his prey.
"Remember me, darling?" The voice was deep, ominous. Paralysed by fear, Ariette recognised the man as the one who had come for her that the morning, the one who had led the dancing, the one who held the flame that was meant to kill her.
"What are you doing her?" she choked out. Her heart was in her throat now. Breathing was difficult.
"You were supposed to be our sacrifice to the Gods. I've come to take back what we were sacrificing."
"I won't go back with you!" Her skin was alight, burning with the fury of the rage within.
"It wasn't YOU we were after." His words reached Ariette only a second before his hands did. Pain erupted in her head as she was pushed against the wall. A tongue dragged itself like a knife along her neck.
"...it was your purity."
Instinctively, Ariette tried to push him off, burying her fists in his stomach but he merely swatted her arms aside. His lips traced the same line as his tongue along her jaw and collar before the back of his hand collided with her cheek.
The bed that, moments before, held feelings of safety and comfort was now a scene for brutality. Fists and elbows winded her; each shot bruised her. The taste of his tongue was obscured only by the taste of her own blood.
His hands created their own trail to her breasts. She kicked back, trying in vain to remove him. Every resistance, every snarl was just encouragement to him: his aphrodisiac. Blood lubricated her body as the stained pyjamas were thrown aside, torn. One hand muffled her voice. She screamed screams that no one heard. She begged for mercy from the merciless. She wept tears that no one would see.
The twinkling of the stars above, the trickling of the river below and the peaceful slumbers of Phenac's residents went undisturbed. Disinterested in the demons that had descended upon Ariette's house, the town rested.