Chapter Nine
The Master's Son
The sun was sinking toward the horizon, suffusing the sky with crimson, by the time Feldspar reached the train station. He could have been there a lot faster, if not for the gritty tears that blurred his vision and the sadness that made his steps drag.
"It's not Dad's fault if he can't have me around," the Larvitar repeated fiercely to himself. "He's busy. Gah! He's always busy. But the Stadium Master thing was important to me! He should've given me a chance to explain! I mean, couldn't he have at least listened instead of jumping in and…and…"
An insistent grumble made Feldspar put a paw on his empty stomach. "Guess I should probably eat before I leave," the Larvitar sighed, wincing as a second growl issued from his belly. Looking resignedly around, he headed for a candy vendor hawking his wares beside the sidewalk.
Five minutes later, Feldspar had a box of Pink PokéBlock nestled in his paws. Stuffing one of the sweet cubes into his mouth, the Larvitar wandered down the walkway, searching for a spot to finish his meal. Not too far away, there was a bench overlooking the Verdant Stadium. Unfortunately, somebody was already sitting on it.
Closing the distance in a jog, Feldspar made out the bowed head of a Human girl. She was dressed in a simple, sleeveless white shirt and had wisps of unkempt hair falling over her forehead. And from where Feldspar was standing, he could see the blue ring encircling the girl's neck. She was probably the Ringed servant of some wealthy Master, he reasoned. Corundum would have warned his son not to interfere, but the girl looked so sad that Feldspar couldn't help but jump onto the bench beside her.
"Hi!" the Larvitar said. "You don't happen to be hungry, do you?"
The young girl mumbled an answer so soft that Feldspar couldn't hope to make it out. Her fragile hands shifted in her lap, the Larvitar noticed instead, and her head sunk down lower than ever.
"Here, have some." Smiling, Feldspar pushed the cardboard carton of candy in the girl's direction. "They're really good. Taste just like marble chips, only lots sweeter!"
This time, the girl's head slowly rose an inch. "Never had marble chips," she said quietly. She extended a bony finger and nudged the PokéBlock back towards Feldspar. "You can have 'em. I'm not very hungry."
"Neither am I!" Feldspar fibbed. "And you're not gonna make me eat all of this by myself, are you…er…what's your name, by the way?"
At last, the girl looked up, a tremulous smile flickering onto her face. "Eppie."
"I'm Feldspar. Shake?"
Nodding, Eppie took Feldspar's paw. The Larvitar shook vigorously, a grin illuminating his rocky features. "Do you live here in Verdant? Me, I'm from the Midnight Mesa…well, that's where I go to boarding school, anyway. But I've been there for so long, it kind of feels like home!"
"You came here to…see the battles at the Stadium?" Eppie asked, lowering her face again. A tear trickled down her cheek and fell onto her folded hands.
"Oh, no way! Not in a million years!" Feldspar yelped in response, shaking his head violently. "I don't want anything to do with those! Making Ringed Pokémon and Humans cut each other to threads with those scary swords and claws…I mean, how uncivilized can you get?! Honestly, I'd rather stay at school than come out here to watch a bunch of Ringed bleed to death! You're probably thinking I'm all squeamish and sentimental, but that's how I feel! I'm not going to change my mind about those battles, not for anything or anyone!"
Even, Feldspar fumed to himself, for you, Dad.
When Eppie's voice came again, it was barely more than a whisper. "My big brother's a Ringed. He's fighting in a battle now."
Feldspar resisted the urge to kick himself in the head, settling instead for a disgusted mental chastisement. Way to go, Feldspar Earthshaker! Like Dad always said, your lack of tact's gonna get you killed someday!
"Heh, um, excuse my big mouth; it's not like I know anything about Stadium matches!" the Larvitar said hastily, forcing a giggle. "I mean, I don't even go to them! I don't have the right to judge anything…even though I sometimes get all riled up anyway. But that's because I…well, what I mean is…gah!"
Clamping his jaws together before he could blurt out any more inane blabber, Feldspar gulped, then took a deep breath. "Sorry. Just ignore me," he said, nodding his head forcefully. "Yep, I'm just crazy."
"S'okay," Eppie replied with a half-hearted giggle, still averting her gaze from the abashed Larvitar. "Everybody's a little crazy. Or else, people think they are."
"You look sane enough to me."
Another tear fell soundlessly into Eppie's lap. "Thanks for being nice," she answered with a strained smile. "But, sometimes, I think I'm not. Not sane. It makes my big brother mad, when I try and do the things I think are right. Only…only, they can't be right. Not if he gets mad at me." Two more tears plopped down, one after the other. A stray breeze blew the salty droplets away, splattering them onto Feldspar's horn.
"I don't want him to be mad," Eppie went on, head hanging ashamedly. "If he tries to battle when he's mad, he won't be able to concentrate. He'll get hurt. I don't want him to get hurt, Feldspar."
The Larvitar nodded his agreement. "You've talked to him, right?"
"Sometimes." Eppie's fingers tightened, gripping the flesh of her thighs. "Sometimes I try explaining my dreams and Epiphany. But that just makes him mad. A long time ago, he used to listen to me, but that was before Epiphany came. Cro doesn't believe in Epiphany, so he doesn't believe me."
Feldspar stared into space for a moment, scratching his stubby horn in confusion. "You know what I think, Eppie?" he said at last, filling his voice with firm resolve. "This guy, Cro, he's your brother, right? Then he's family, and family's got to be one of the strongest bonds you can have with someone. 'Cause no matter what, he's your brother. And he can't shake the fact that you're his sister." The Larvitar looked to Eppie for acknowledgement. Receiving a little bob of a nod, he went on.
"So…I say you might as well try again to explain how you feel. If he doesn't understand and gets mad, just keep on trying. After a while, being mad will wear off. And maybe then, he'll try to get what you've been trying to say."
Feldspar took in a huge gulp of air before rushing animatedly on. "The important thing is that you can't back out! Else you're just making life miserable for yourself, which'll probably make life miserable for him, too. Just hang in there and don't let that brother of yours shake you. You're not doing it to make him angry. You're doing it so you and him can finally see eye to eye –to make things happier for both of you!"
As his small speech wound down at last, Feldspar found himself panting slightly and flushed from the effort. "Heh," he laughed weakly, lowering the paws he had been gesticulating wildly with moments before. "There I go again, talking my head off! You must think I'm a real boulder-brain, spouting off all that silly, trite…"
He stopped short, realizing that Eppie was looking at him. The girl's large amber eyes shone in the middle of her face, tinged a glittering red from crying.
Feldspar gulped, then tried to laugh off his comments once more. "Don't listen to what I said. I couldn' shut up even if I want to!" he blurted. "See, even now I'm having trouble trying to…!"
The rambling Larvitar was cut off again, this time for good. To Feldspar's uttermost surprise, Eppie had bent down and flung her arms around his neck.
"Thank you," she whispered, kissing the Pokémon on the forehead.
"Hey, where're you going!" Feldspar called out as Eppie leapt off the bench.
This girl bore little resemblance to the one Feldspar had first tried to cheer up. Despite the same crudely cut clothes and grubby countenance as before, this Eppie was bursting with renewed energy. Her face was suffused with a radiant smile, and her amber eyes sparkled not with tears, but grateful joy.
"Back to the Stadium," she told the anxious Larvitar. "Thanks for helping me, Feldspar!"
Her step was light as she strode across the road and towards the great marble building, as if Feldspar's words had lifted a sizeable burden from her skinny shoulders.
Puzzled, Feldspar slid down as well. All thoughts of the candy tray still on the bench were forgotten as he stood there, staring at Eppie's retreating form. "She makes it seem so easy," Feldspar muttered wistfully. "Heck, I've spent my entire life trying to take my own advice. All she had to do was hear it once."
Still shaking his head, Feldspar tore his gaze away from the distant Stadium. He had to go back there as well, he realized with a pang. He'd left his presents from before in Corundum's hallway.
Is Dad's having a fit about those? the Larvitar thought gloomily. Nah, Dad wouldn't get angry about a couple of boxes in the hall; he's probably already gotten someone to take them to the train.
He's pretty great, when you come right down to it. A great father, who just wants me to do what he thinks best. But I know I'll make a lousy Stadium Master. Dad doesn't seem to realize that…or maybe just doesn't want to. And how the heck am I supposed to change his mind?
The words Feldspar had spoken to Eppie circled back now, echoing in his head. The important thing is you can't back out! Else you're just making life miserable for yourself, which'll probably make life miserable for him, too.
"What do I know about anything, anyway?" Feldspar asked himself disgustedly. "Nothing, that's what! Honestly, what's the point of sticking around here?"
Sighing, the young Larvitar started trudging down the sidewalk towards the Magnet Train Station. It was getting late, and Feldspar had an obligation to keep to Uncle Obsidian. A pebble he booted out of the path went flying over his head, back in the direction of the Verdant Stadium.
Feldspar kept on kicking the small rocks from the cement, forcing himself not to look back. But for some reason, the little pieces of gravel all seemed to follow the same backward arch as the first.
Even in his secluded office, Corundum could hear the chants of the crowd awaiting the first Stadium match of the evening. Filing away the last bit of paperwork, the Tyranitar made to shut his desk drawer. The oblong black box from Tiamat was still nestled there, half-hidden by a stack of papers and a box of paperclips.
Corundum extended one claw and flipped the box open. The iridescent feather glimmered back up at him, sparking even in the dim light of approaching night. Snapping the lid back in place, Corundum reached for the phone hooked up to the monitor. Something he saw on the desk, however, stopped him.
One of the cookies from Feldspar's overflowing tin had fallen onto the desk's surface. Grasping it delicately between his claws, Corundum examined the dessert carefully before taking a small bite from the corner.
It was overly gritty and cloyingly sweet, but Corundum forced himself to finish it all. He supposed he'd have to eat the rest of Feldspar's cookies, too, all the ones that he had salvaged after Himeka had run yowling out of the office. After all, they were his son's Festival present. But on second thought, he should just throw out the entire lot. Feldspar would never know, and what he didn't know surely couldn't hurt him.
Swallowing the last of the horrible cookie, Corundum picked up the phone and dialed his last number for the day.
"What d'ya want?" demanded a coarse, scratchy-sounding voice from the other end of the line. Corundum smiled amusedly to see that the speaker kept himself well out of the monitor's viewing range.
"I have a job for you, Allegard," the Stadium Master started. "This one may be rather difficult, but I'm willing to pay the price."
"A challenge, huh?" the voice said mockingly. "Keep talkin,' Master Corundum. Null Allegard's listenin.' "