Hey, guess who has two thumbs and isn't dead...most of the Earth's population, actually...point is, I'm alive.

I'm not promising anything...I said it before, I'll say it again, this story is important to me. I don't want to abandon it, but I also have so many other things I need to be working on. I'm trying to write professionally now which means most of my time needs to go to that.

...there's been talk between me and a friend about bringing him in to help me finish this, and I'm legitimately considering it so long as he's legitimately offering, though I'm very unsure if he will follow through with that. If he does, Still my plot, still my characters, just some help to get it down on paper. But I won't bore you with this anymore, so things might sound a little differently, I'll be sure to let you know if it happens

For the first time in a LOOOOOOONG time...

Adelante.


Goldenrod Women's Penitentiary, March 17

A good number of people have told me that I have an uncanny memory. Those people would be right. It kind of comes with the observation thing, there's no point in being able to notice the minute details of your everyday life if you couldn't remember them at a moment's notice, but truth be told I wasn't always this way. Like most kids and teenagers I was very self-oriented. Not selfish, mind you, no...that came later. But if it didn't pertain to me, it wasn't worth paying attention to.

...yes, I was that kind of jackass...people seem to think I'm much more intolerable now, but the former me makes my skin crawl in a way that nothing else could. That kind of attitude cost me a lot. ...my mother...my step-dad...my relationship with Jenny...all losses that could have been avoided if it weren't for me being unable to look out for anyone but myself. Though honestly, I don't see how it matters...now I find new ways to lose people I care about.

...I miss Rori...

I grimaced and began tapping my fingers on the hardwood table impatiently, hand sweeping a bit of my unkempt mane back over my ear as my fingers grazed over where the bluetooth translator used to be...it got melted in the fire and doctors removed it from me without even giving it a second glance...a million dollar piece of technology just down the fucking drain. Not that I had any pokemon to talk to now that she was gone.

I really needed to stop thinking about her...too much physical pain and mental strain to start worrying about emotional bullshit too...not here...not in front of mom. If I got all sappy she'd either want to hug me or slap me depending on whether or not the prison actually supplied her with her medication...yet another drawback of this underfunded anus of a place. Either of those reactions would get her in trouble...no physical contact allowed.

The visiting room was very cold and monotone, stone walls and white tables being the only notable trait other than the barred door on the other side of the room. All the visitors sat patiently on one side as they waited for their relatives and loved ones to sit on the other. I tapped my fingers on the table in front of me as I sat in the waiting area, eyes flicking between the empty seat in front of me and the open archway on the other end of the room. They took all my things, necklace, rings, cellphone, ipod, and anything I could hope to fidget with, leaving me antsy and anxious. I didn't even want to be here, but I was in Goldenrod now and I couldn't very well just...not visit. It was my duty as a son or...something...besides, I needed someone to talk to...even though I knew coming here would probably be a mistake, she was a familiar face and I needed that right now.

The room was filled with other tables set up just like mine, visitors on one side, prisoners on the other. No glass walls or phones to talk through. No, this was minimum security, inmates were seen as non-violent so they were allowed the privilege of seeing their loved ones without any degree of separation.

This was supposed to make things more comfortable, and for the inmates perhaps it did, but not for me, the crowded, loud atmosphere reminded me of my high school cafeteria. Although, to be honest, I can't really think of where I'd rather be, high school or prison...at least I was still a visitor...after that stunt I pulled I should have been in here with her.

At the thought, I pulled the sleeves of my hoodie down as far as they could go, grabbing the ends of them in my fists as I covered the bandages that now covered over two thirds of my body...getting blasted by a houndoom's overheat...as a human, I'm lucky to be alive. Although luck is...really relative at this point.

Despite making the sacrifice of wearing long clothes in the middle of the summer, a bit of them still showed on the side of my neck...though I figured I could just make up some accidental injury for that...mom would never have to know.

...speak of the devil,

Turning the corner into the archway, my mother came around, no handcuffs or restraints, no guard escorting her, just a bright orange jumpsuit to ensure that I wouldn't forget where we were and what she's done.

...as if I needed reminding...it's all we ever talked about anymore.

She took her seat across from me, her normal harsh expression a bit softer than usual, perhaps because I dropped by so suddenly. She probably thought there was some sort of emergency. In a way, I guess it was. Rather than start our normal awkward staring contest until one of us can't take the silence anymore, she spoke up right away.

"Well...this is a surprise."

"What, a boy can't drop by and see his mother?"

"Not unless he's dying or in trouble. Are you dying?

"I...no"

"You hesitated."

The heel of my foot tapped against the linoleum surface as I scanned her expression. She pursed her lips, staring daggers at me...no, not me...my neck specifically.

"That's one hell of a hickey you got there..."

...she already knew. Why did I even try to hide it, she's a human lie detector...where I got it from, honestly

"I got hurt, it's not that serious."

She rolled her eyes in the way only an annoyed mother could before reaching across the table and grabbing my hand, pulling back my sleeve before I can even open my mouth to protest. My hoodie snagged against the tightly wound bandages on my arm, catching a few times but still remaining intact despite the harsh sting that accompanied such a rough treatment. I hiss sharply at the pain as she gazes at the burns, getting her eyes to snap up in my direction.

"Yeah, well, this is what happens when you stick your nose in shit that doesn't concern you." she states matter of factly before dropping my arm back on the table. It seems the security is a bit lax today, no one noticed that.

"How'd you find out?"

"Really Jace? This is a case with bestiality, illegal sex trafficking, and kidnapping, all being run out of a daycare center in the middle of one of the whitest neighborhoods in Jhoto. Your face is plastered all over the news, and I know I only get one hour of tv a day, but you honestly think I wouldn't hear about this?"

"Not thinking...hoping." My head drooped lower and lower as she chewed me out. If she saw the news, then I knew exactly the next thing she was going to say, just waiting for the words as I shrank in shame.

"So you're a cop now?"


Sacred Heart Hospital, March 8th (One week earlier)

"Mercer, hold still! You're going to rip your bandages."

"No, Fuck you! I'm gonna kill him!"

Dr. Schaefer did her best to hold my shoulders down in bed as I stared daggers at the moustached mother fucker with that smug ass grin. Normally the frail woman wouldn't be any challenge for me to get by, but the amount of painkillers I was on relaxed my muscles to the point where I couldn't do much of anything.

I don't even know what I was trying to accomplish in that moment. Even if I did manage to get out of bed, both Jen and her mother stood in between me and my mark, the older Jenny looking calm and collected as always as she just waited for me to tire myself out. Jen, however, was having none of that. Impatient with my bullshit as always, she stepped forward and smacked me across the face, leaving me dazed for a moment; just long enough to slap a pair of cuffs on me, chaining my wrist to the bed.

Seeing it was safe, my doctor jumped back and skittered toward the door, whether she was just waiting til they were gone or whatever, I don't know. I didn't really care to tell you the truth, even knowing it was a wasted effort, I still tried to lunge out of bed, only succeeding in tumbling out of bed at an awkward angle, arm yanked upward by the cuffs as I tugged at it; tugged at it until I felt pain in my arm. That shouldn't have happened, I was on enough morphine to tame a Rhydon. Knowing that, only then did I stop, breathing heavily as I resorted to glaring intensely, hoping that he'd burst into flames.

Jen crossed her arms, looking down at me like a child who just made a mess...hell, that's EXACTLY what I was...I fucked up bad, but this…

She spoke quietly, almost at a whisper, psychological tactic to get me to quiet down. "Are you done now?"

"Fuck you, you sold me out." I spat, calmer than my initial outburst, but still nowhere near enough to show them any sort of respect. She huffed as the corner of her mouth twitched, nearly smirking even as her eyes were filled with disbelief; she'd find this amusing if it weren't so damn heartbreaking for her.

It wasn't her that replied, but that well-groomed, moustached man standing at the door to my hospital bed. "Really now, they told me you were smart. You do realize if it weren't for them you'd be in jail."

My head snapped to face him as I practically snarled. "NOBODY ASKED YOU!"

I don't know why all of my anger was focused on him. Later on I would regret that this was the first impression I was making on my new boss, but in the moment, most of my hatred was funnelled into the least familiar person, as if my brain couldn't register that my closest friend and a woman who was practically my surrogate mother could be responsible for this level of betrayal.

...what I did was all over the news...the daycare had burned to the ground, though when they dug up the husk of the building, they found the underground bunker. All my accusations were now supported by heaps of evidence, but at no small cost.

...tampering with a crime scene, breaking and entering, arson...and that was just the tip of the iceberg...the pokemon I left behind in the cages...all but the fire types suffocated, choked to death on the smoke of the burning building...the rest died when the cave collapsed on then...I got people killed.

I had no allusions about this, no way to justify it...full of guilt and fear and regret...and even accepting of going to jail if that's what it came to...I was looking at most of my life behind bars...I needed a way out of my situation, sure, but this was NOT an acceptable alternative.

Once again, Jen's mom vouched for me...like every other time I screw up she stepped in, but this time was different. This wasn't something she could just sweep under the rug like petty vandalism or theft, I didn't just get caught tearing up some jackasses front yard this time, she needed to do this above board...she told people I was a cop.

...and just like that, totally falsified employment records materialized...every officer in the city knew it was bullshit and had very little regard for me. I was a little pissant to them, but her family was respected enough for them to stick together and not ask questions. Of course I couldn't just walk away now...couldn't tell the truth...that would ruin them and despite seeing this as a betrayal, I still didn't want them to suffer...they were family.

The police chief's expression became far more stern as he towered over me in this moment. "Young man, I'm not particularly fond of this either."

"Then why? Why not just drop it, you don't give a shit about me."

He stopped and took a deep breath, exhaling a tired sigh as he spoke. "Because I owe this family a debt..."

I stared at his face...waiting for more of an explanation than that, or even just trying to get some sort of read on him, but he gave me nothing. After a long silence I finally dropped my head in defeat, staring at the tiled floor as my burned arm tugged at the handcuffs. He finally continued.

"You know not everyone gets a second chance. Once you calm down a bit, I think you'll realize how lucky you really are."

I laughed at that...a bitter, half-hearted laugh but a laugh nonetheless. "You...don't know anything about me, do you?" My eyes were still seething, though I didn't want to direct it at anyone anymore, regaining enough of my senses to at least realize that I could only make things worse at this point. Instead I stared at his shiny, black, dress shoes...why he wore them to a hospital I don't know, perhaps he just liked to keep up appearances everywhere he went.

His stance shifted and I looked up a bit, noticing that he was a bit more relaxed now. "Not much, no. They called in a favor, assured me that you'd be useful, and I didn't much question it."

Huh...he has that much faith in the chief? ...just how close are they? Still, he continued.

"But I did get a brief history...a cliffnotes version, if you will...I'll try not to jump to any conclusions." At that, his eyebrows knitted together in a stern look. He knew I used to be a troublemaker...hell I still am, what am I even talking about.

"Well, to put it simply, I don't like enforcing laws I don't agree with, and there are quite a few of them."

He gave me a smirk. "I'd be surprised if you didn't...I have a problem with a few of them myself...by that I'm assuming you're talking about the common misdemeanors...the things liberal arts students protest against, yeah?"

I nodded but didn't elaborate...

"Well let me assure you" he said, becoming serious again. "You'll mostly be working with things that no sane man would ever try to justify...we're partnering you with a detective to start with."

...detective? I blinked, staring at him in disbelief...how was I starting that high?

"Don't flatter yourself." He said immediately as he saw my expression change. "You're in no physical shape and have none of the training to be a beat cop. You're good at analyzing? Good, You'll be an analyst, and if anything ACTUALLY dangerous happens, you'll wait in the car."

I bit the side of my cheek , not sure if I should feel insulted or grateful for that as he turned and started walking towards the door. "Jen, Jennifer...I'll leave the rest to you...have him on his way to Goldenrod in the next two weeks at latest."

Jen's mother spoke up first, giving the moustached man a small hug as he walked past her. "It was good to see you again Thomas."

This surprised me. That was something usually reserved for relatives...in fact, I had only gotten one in the entire time I've known her...and that was after mom got arrested. These two were even closer than I thought. As they all shared their goodbyes, I crawled back into bed, laying back and sulking as my brain finally processed and accepted this new information.

This was...this was happening...no other way...no escape...this was my new life.

I slipped into my own little world for a few minutes, only coming back as Jen came to remove her handcuffs. "You going to apologize, or are you still going to be an asshole about this?"

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, seeing the anger on her face...I would eventually, but not now...if I did now, she'd just take it as an excuse to lecture me on just how much of an idiot I was, and I really didn't need that right now, so I shook my head and muttered. "Gimme a few days, maybe, then we'll talk."

She huffed at my response, though I knew she understood that things would get better...I could never hate her forever, after all, and I'd like to think she felt the same. Though, right now, talking was a bad idea. Putting the cuffs back on her belt and beginning to storm off before she stopped in the middle of the room. Something was still eating at her.

Barely turning her head enough to even glance at me, she grumbled. "Sorry about handcuffing you to the bed...that was probably too far."

Feeling a bit childish and seeing her mother holding the door open for her, I took the cheap shot. "Wouldn't be the first time."

It had the desired effect. Her mother shifted uncomfortably as I could practically see the steam rising from Jen's head, grabbing a box of tissues on a nearby nightstand and chucking them at my head. In that brief moment, I could see her cheeks flushed red as a tomato before she retreated out of my hospital room, her mom following her soon after. It wasn't true...we never did anything even remotely like that, but the opportunity was too good...I needed revenge in some way shape or form, no matter how petty and this was as good as I was going to get. She would get over in about ten minutes, even if it was in front of her mother.

...shit...mom.

I covered my face with my hands as I thought about my own mother...and what she would say when she found out...what she would think of her traitor son. No, she didn't have to know...I could keep this from her.


Goldenrod Women's Penitentiary, March 17

...Why did I think I could keep this from her.

She sat back in her chair, tapping her foot impatiently. She and I shared the quirk as my nervous leg bouncing and her tapping away shook the table a bit. She hadn't interrupted my story even once, though I could see her getting angrier and angrier as it went on. I shrank with each passing second until she finally spoke.

"Have you apologized to her yet?"

"Yeah."

"Good, cuz this whole mess is your own damn fault and no one else's."

"Yeah...I know." Just like always...was it never NOT my fault?

...that wasn't it...I knew her...I practically was her, she needed to be angry, angry at something, anything, and even though I was a victim being forced into something against my will, I was her only outlet right now.

Her lip curled up a bit, almost like she was baring her teeth, as she went on. "What even possessed you to go creeping about that daycare anyways?"

I grimaced at the question. I knew the answer of course. Guilt. Horrible, burning, not letting me sleep at night guilt over what I did to Rori. "I was just being stupid."

"Yes, I know THAT much, but you're not off the hook that easy." she turned back to me with a scowl. "I'm your mother, Jace, I know you don't do anything without there being a fire under your ass, so who or what got you to go down there."

"I was doing it for a friend, she needed my help."

"She?"

Shit...I shouldn't have said that.

"...Who's she?"

Fuck...okay, I can't lie to her, she'll just pick up on it...half truths, go for half truths.

"No one, okay. She was friends with the man who was burned alive at the daycare, she was grieving, and I wanted to help."

"Bullshit...there's more to it than that, you don't go sticking your nose in other people's problems, you had some personal interest in this."

Dammit...there was really no way around this was there. She'd just keep digging until she got the full truth. With a heavy sigh I dejectedly told her what I was leaving out. "She's been staying with me ever since he died...she um...she kind of belonged to him."

This made her raise an eyebrow as she finally put the pieces together. "...a pokemon?"

"...yeah."

"Well I'll be damned...finally getting over your little phobia, huh?"

I grit my teeth angrily. Of course she would bring that up, this is exactly what I wanted to avoid. "I don't have a phobia, stop making shit up, they're just so touchy feely all the time."

"Oh please, don't feed me that shit, you won't even let one get near you ever since-"

"You fucked the neighbors Gallade and got your ass hauled off by the cops? Gee mom, I wonder whose fault is tha-"

I never got to finish as a sharp smack rang through visitor's center, everything happening very fast after that.

"Inmate! Stand down!" One of the guards, while not pulling a weapon, approached her threateningly as she immediately put her hands up, complying, yet not at all sorry at what she'd just done. My cheek grows warm as the stinging sets in, though I don't hold it or rub it. It's even the same side as the burn on my neck, making it especially painful, but I'm not letting her have the satisfaction of showing that she caused damage. as the guard grabs her by the arm and starts dragging her away, another one approaching me from the side and gripping my shoulder tightly. "Sir, you need to leave now."

"Yeah yeah, I'm going."

I stand up and roll my shoulder, letting him know that he can take his hand off of me as I walk back towards the front desk to retrieve my belongings, grabbing the plastic bag full of my things out of tray I left them in and storming out.

...coming here was a mistake.

...

I barely even pay attention to where I'm going or what I'm doing as my brain plays through the fight that would have happened had we not been intercepted by security. Things I would have said...rants, finally letting her have it. She never let me get the chance, every time we even raised voices at each other, she was whisked away...still, that was the first time she actually struck me...maybe I deserved it.

I open the car door and slump into the driver's seat as I lay my head back, sitting for a few seconds before groaning. Of course I deserve it, I basically just called my mother a whore, the fuck even was that. I angrily slam my fist against the steering wheel, immediately recoiling in pain as I had completely forgotten about my burns for the time being, crying out and shuddering in a way that would probably be comical to someone else were anyone watching. I needed to calm down, I still had one more stop I needed to make before I got to my motel and I can't show up there all flustered and crazy.

Bzz bzz

My phone vibrated quite loudly as it reverberated against my ipod and I dumped the bag's contents onto my passenger seat.

...something bounced off the side of the chair that caught my attention...something that definitely wasn't there before, as all my other things were accounted for. Slipping my hands down the crack of the seat, my fingers came to rest on...that...that can't be...

I pulled it out slowly as my heart skipped a beat, finding another bluetooth in my hand...same design as the one I had lost in the fire. Where did...where did that come from.

Again my phone buzzed, although not quite as loudly this time, and with the screen facing upward, I could see the new messages...from a contact I had never seen before.

Desmond

Temper, temper Jace. You're going to seriously hurt yourself if you keep doing that.

I clutched my phone in my hand so tightly that the edges left imprints on my fingers. Someone was watching me...HE, the old man with the cane, was watching me. Not reading the second message, I opened the door again and stood up in a fright, gripping the edge of the car tightly as I desperately looked around for someone watching me, any cars with tinted windows, any figures darting around behind vehicles...but I found no one.

With a shudder I looked down at my phone again.

And do try not to break this one, would you? They're cheaper than you'd think, but still VERY costly.

Keep in touch.

Paranoid, I opened the back of my phone and ripped the battery out...the power button being to slow in a moment like this as I chucked the pieces into the back of my car, turning in all directions as I looked around desperately, both hands running through my hair and gripping it in frustration. He was stalking me...what's more, how did he get this in my bag without anyone noticing...there was a person at the front desk watching all our stuff...if it were on the street, it'd be one thing...still creepy, but at least plausible, but HERE!

Still not finding a single person in this parking lot, I ducked back into the car and jammed the keys into the ignition, starting the engine and unintentionally revving the engine as I'm in such a hurry to get away that I forget to take my car out of park for a moment. Fixing that mistake, I pull out of the parking lot, approaching the front gate and nearly ramming through it as I fumble around for the parking ticket I had received upon getting here. I hold it out the window to show the guard so that she'll let me out. She smiled and laughed at me.

"Whoa there...relax buddy. People might think you're an escapee if you're so eager to get out of here." She giggled at her own joke, though I was not in the mood. Wait a minute...there was a guy here last time...I was only in there for 45 minutes, there's no way there was a shift change.

I have to be paranoid, but... "Hey um...where's the other guy?"

She punches my ticket and smiles. "He's off getting coffee and I'm filling in for him for 15 minutes."

...of course...duh, Jace, you really are an idiot sometimes. The gate opens and I breathe out a sigh, trying to calm myself, though my hesitation leaves the woman confused, giving me a puzzled look as she stoops down to look through my window.

"...Everything alright, Jace? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah, I just-" My blood runs cold as I realize what she just said...she...she called me by name. I grip the steering wheel and stare straight ahead as I urge myself to just go, a cold sweat running down my back as I glance back at her one last time.

...her eyes flashed over red.

Tires screeched against the road as I slammed my foot down on the accelerator, burning rubber as I got as far away from there as possible, the lithe guard woman becoming smaller in my rear view mirror as I sped away from her. As I glanced at her in my mirror one final time, I could see her waving at me, and then she was gone, though this did nothing to slow me down.

...what they just did...they shouldn't have been able to...that was a government facility, a shitty one sure, but an official government facility none the less...no one noticed...did he have people on the inside? And if not...how? ...I racked my brain, wanting to know but scared to find out...though one thing was for certain.

...He was watching me.


This has been the first of two interlude chapters, don't know how long it'll take the other one to get made, but here is hoping it's sooner than the last update.

For all of those who have been patient, or prodding me, and even all the new arrivals who have somehow managed to dig this story up years after it had been untouched. A collective thank you is in order. I can't promise anything from here on out, but...I'm alive...so there's that.