Hey everyone, The Carillon now has over 1200 hits (which makes me super excited and happy), so thank you all for reading! Enjoy the newest chapter!
Evil shall not prevail-
As long as you persevere.
With the laden atmosphere of tranquility surrounding the mansion, Eusine took the poignant time to settle down in the depths of his favorite couch, perusing the Ruins of Alph book Keiko had managed to acquire for him. The past week had seen many bouts of chaos, mostly caused by Lance and Keiko's screeching (which could reach surprisingly high decibels) as they acted like rotten children, arguing about random things that held little use for anyone or anything.
The researcher had figured part of the tension seething along the landscape was due to the unknown; no one had the slightest clue as to how Keiko was supposed to gain enough power to persuade the Clear Bell to do her bidding. No matter how many books Eusine read or whom the team conversed with on the topic, naught contained anything concerning such a matter.
Unfortunately, the longer it took to grapple for a source of evidence, the more the Carillon and Champion argued.
All thoughts of either retaining any amount of maturity had flown out the window in the preceding days. There had been more fights than Eusine could count, though he was glad they had not yet resorted to throwing food at one another over dinner (but he couldn't be sure if this was out of respect to the maids), as they usually just glared at each other while eating. Lately, each quarrel had been more foolish than the last, as though they were eager to unleash any particular frustration out on one another.
At first Eusine had thought they truly disliked each other; that the bickering and quarrels were methods of showing their hatred and animosity, but now, he regarded it as strangely normal and nothing more. The feuding had become an everyday occurrence, and it wouldn't be a full day if a maid hadn't been sent running to cower in a hiding place due to their ridiculous antics.
The researcher found the proceedings very odd, for not once had he been privy to such spectacles before the arrival of Keiko. Lance had always been a bit arrogant, but nonetheless cordial and polite to Morty and himself, but with the child, it was a whole other story. He wasn't sure if the actions from both trainers were some sort of crude bonding ritual as a way to show their respect for one another, or if they truly enjoyed acting like spoiled brats in front of everyone. Maybe they found it an easier way to bond, crossing any thought of niceties out and allowing various explosions to culminate as a means of kinship.
He couldn't understand it. As a man of research, he tried to construe logic into the frays, but would constantly end up with nothing. They were absolutely nonsensical in their dramatics. Had Lance not rescued the Carillon, even apologized to her? Had she not given him a gift to justify her regret? Apparently it had been wrong for Eusine to even assume that they would all get along after messes had been cleaned up. Perhaps, as the researcher attempted to surmise, they were rising to the challenges each set. A snide comment made by Keiko could only be approached with an equally, or much more maddening, reply by the dragon master, and thus the cycle would continue and bring the wish for serenity to anyone around them; a stupid game orchestrated by immature idiots.
A heavy sigh filtered along his chest and out into the warm air as the man nestled against the arm of his sofa, fingering the pages of the novel lightly and enjoying the peaceful silence. The early morning was always a serene time for him, and without Morty around (who had gone to his gym to receive a recent challenge), there was no need to entertain or divulge into clues around the Carillon; he could simply relax for an hour or two.
For several minutes Eusine could only wonder and speculate the oddness of Lance not being up as he always took a dawn ride on one of his dragons, yet, here it was almost seven and the Champion hadn't made an appearance. Staring into space for another moment, Eusine crinkled his brow in thought, trying to decipher the suspicious silence before giving up and allowing his eyes to linger back over the containments of his book.
Unfortunately, all was to be interrupted by a scream.
A series of angry yells and retorts seemed to fly in a fury above Eusine's head, causing his attention to be pilfered off towards the winding staircase, where the commotion seemed to be brewing. Only two people in the household could even begin to cause such a ruckus, and so, Eusine allowed another heavy sigh to break across the air and watched as the peace dissipated.
"Stop being so lazy and get up!"
"Stop being so annoying and leave me alone! Hey, don't come in here!"
The researcher could have sworn he heard a few objects flying and hitting against a wall or another human being (the thud was a bit hard to distinguish), and shook his head in sorrow. There went any chance of getting some good reading time in.
"I'll drag you out myself!"
"You wouldn't dare."
A string of curses and more screams soon followed, compelling Eusine to finally rise from his comfortable seat and cease the argument before the maids started complaining again. His stroll was not leisurely, long limbs carrying him up the stairs in a hurried motion, hoping to salvage one last bit of tranquility from the chaotic and foolish individuals intending to destroy it.
His eyes could only widen as he became witness to the scene. Lance had apparently forced his way into Keiko's room (the notion of privacy had vanished within the mansion as of late) in attempts to wake her up early for whatever reason and was now struggling to drag her out of the fortress. Random objects lay askew in various directions across the bedroom and out into the hallway, though luckily for Eusine, the girl had chosen to throw inexpensive wares at the dragon tamer.
Turning around the corner to view the rest of the chaos, the researcher shook his head in dismay as a teenage girl was besting the pride of the Pokemon League and Blackthorn City. While the Champion had her feet bound by his tight grasp, the child still had her arms wrapped around the headboard of her bed, refusing to let go in all her pajama-ed glory. As she squirmed Lance could only mutter proclamations of hatred and struggle to hold onto her legs, which were threatening to kick him in the face if he loosened his grip at all. He continued to tug on Keiko, thinking that if he pulled hard enough she would eventually have to let go of her precious bed, deciding to ignore her squeals and wails of protest. Even her Quilava was getting in on the action, trying to singe Lance's shoes.
Deciding to end the ridiculous quarrel, Eusine cleared his throat as he stood in the doorway, surprising both trainers, since they had been far too consumed in their antics to even notice his presence. Keiko had the mindset to be incredibly embarrassed, her face flushing and arms letting go of the wooden piece she had been holding onto for a length of time, hands straightening out her pajamas in order to maintain some amount of dignity.
"Sorry Eusi-"
Lance, on the other hand, decided this was a grand opportunity to execute his mission, cutting off the girl's apologies to the owner of the house. Noticing Keiko relax her position, or at least cower in embarrassment, he took the moment to grab hold of her lithe frame and throw it over his shoulder like a sack of grain, amidst sudden curses and beatings on his back.
"Let go of me! Put me down this instant!"
The Champion ignored the child's kicking and punching, walking over to the doorway and wearing a wide smirk that spoke of his recent accomplishments. Eusine arched a brow at the entire foray, incredibly curious as the girl continued to pound the daylights out of the individual who had captured her, and the latter acted as though nothing was wrong.
"Morning, Eusine. Sorry about the noise, the girl simply doesn't understand a thing about manners. A shame, she'd been working so hard on that."
"What? I don't have any manners?"
Keiko's retort went unheard as Lance proceeded down the stairs with the girl in tow, though Eusine managed to question the antics of the morning before the dragon master ran too far off.
"Might I ask what you're doing?"
The smirk, still wide and furnished to the Champion's face, was even more embellished as he turned to address the researcher.
"While the ghost trainer is away, the idiot shall train."
"Sheryl, the Boss wants to see you."
The young Rocket Grunt rose her head from the pile of papers she was currently filing away in a cabinet, instantly feeling the heightened sense of dread running through her veins. Managing to procure some formidable stare towards the other Grunt who had been charged to summon her, she walked towards the door, hands shaking vibrantly as she clasped onto the knob and swiftly turned it, allowing for her to escape into the hallway.
There had always been something sinister about their Rocket Boss, with his cold, dark eyes and gleaming smirk, as though he always had something up his sleeve and would never hesitate to unravel it, no matter how dangerous. He was not a man to be reckoned with, formidable in every sense of the word, always plotting, always twisting some scheme in his head.
The youth couldn't be sure if he had always been this way. Sheryl was aware that he had risen through the ranks at a young age, and now, in his late thirties, he had become the ruler of their regiment, which was of course, currently in charge of capturing the Carillon, and thus, adding Suicune to Team Rocket's large capital of Pokemon.
Unfortunately, if the Boss had been heralded as cruel and malevolent before the past couple of weeks, Sheryl wasn't sure how to describe him now. With the rescue of the precious Carillon by her caretakers, the Boss was made to look like a fool. Not only had he been incapable of dragging the girl to their side while she was held in her cell, but he was also knocked out by the formidable Lance of the Pokemon League, who took the opportunity to pose as the Boss while the latter remained unconscious. Throughout the confusion and lack of orders from the head of their department, the rest of the Rockets had attempted to rally, but were quickly wiped out by the expert dragon master, losing their prize. The end result left the Rockets in a state of shock, and the Boss determined to get back what they had lost by any means.
This time, he had ordered different methods of gaining the Carillon. The week prior, he had issued the Grunts a decisive task: to steal the Clear Bell. Most had been ignorant to the status of such an artifact, but Sheryl was not among the confused. The daughter of a former Rocket leader, and hoping to eventually find herself in such a position, she had been taught various legends and fables amongst the Pokemon world for many years of her young life. This, of course, included the story of Suicune, his beloved Carillon, and the Clear Bell that tied them together.
While the other Grunts tried to figure out what the Clear Bell was, as they were often not given field jobs or even told the true inclinations of their departments, Sheryl had gone towards the Goldenrod Radio Tower, having heard rumors that the sacred chime was hidden there. Dressing in maid clothing, she managed to deceive the Director into believing she was a new worker, and quickly made her way into his office.
The only problem was that she had been unaware of where to look, and panicking when she heard voices minutes later; she dove for the first thing resembling anything legendary on the Director's desk. Clutching the book in her hands, Sheryl had torn off into the night, never realizing that she had been moments away from the Carillon and the unraveling of the Clear Bell.
In any matter, the young Grunt had figured the book would be of some use. When she returned from the field task she had handed it to her Supervisor, hoping that it would bring her good favor with the Boss. Now, a week later, she was surely going to find out.
Her hands wrung with trepidation, fingers gliding to her long, red hair and twisting it into various knots as she nervously meandered the hallway, taking as long as possible to reach the door to the Boss's office. Breaths were uneven and raspy, chest heaving with stress, trying desperately to calm her nerves.
Recently, those that had met with the leader often came out with their faces stained with tears or a strangled hold of fear written all over their complexion, and she certainly didn't want to be another victim of his cruel retorts or hostile dominion. Taking a deep, shaking breath, the girl raised her hand to the hilt of the door, ringing her knuckles on its surface.
"Come in."
The cold, hardened voice issued a shudder through her light frame, but the girl managed to swallow her fear away and open the heavy door, closing it gently behind her as she eyed the Boss, sitting at his desk with an impassive gaze resting on his features.
It was obvious where the Champion had struck him, for a yellow and green tinged bruise rested beneath his eyes, the bridge of his nose slightly cracked and trying desperately to heal. It appeared to give him an even more fearful and contemptuous gaze, and Sheryl made sure to not glance at him for very long, afraid of instigating his ire before anything actually happened. Instead, she opted to stare at the tiled floor.
"You are the Grunt that managed to procure this book, yes?"
Sheryl's eyes lifted to watch the Boss wave the old, decrepit book she had grabbed from the Director with his left hand, firmly nodding to give her affirmation.
"Yes, sir."
She witnessed the Boss lower the precious tome to his desk, opening the cover to reveal its contents. She had never actually viewed the text within the stolen object, and now that she was privy its hold, she found her heart racing, exploding in her chest with a fierce frenzy of nerves once again.
It was in a different language, a different time period, clearly incapable of being read by the normal, educated eye. She had messed up. Even with her best attempts, she had floundered and stumbled, faltered and come up with nothing worthwhile. The novel was useless, a waste of all efforts. Sheryl felt her face flush in embarrassment, heat rising to her head and coursing over the rest of her body like dancing flames, embers intent on glistening along the surface until smoldering ash had seized her.
"I'm sure you thought it would be sufficient enough to replace the Clear Bell."
There was no movement made on Sheryl's part as the dark man began his speech, knowing full well that her words were not necessary now. Her body threatened to shake like a leaf, hovering on the brink of running out of the room in terror and trying to be strong, have courage and believe that there could be some sort of reprieve.
"I'm sure you thought it would provide us with some great information in order to rekindle our efforts for the Carillon."
She dared not stir, dared not speak.
"Well, you were wrong."
The edge in his voice had only grown colder, a grating ice shifting against the girl's eardrums and coursing over her heart as it pounded in her chest. In one fell swoop the Boss picked up the book again, raising it high over his head, and let it fly across the room with an obvious rage. The text landed with a thud, falling apart at various portions along the seam, flopping onto the ground with a great wafting sadness, as though another portion to the great mystery of the world had just died, leaving behind no clues to trace. Sheryl could only look on in great misery as the Boss continued his tirade, his yells echoing across the office and shoved against her in some suffocating malice.
"The damn book is incapable of being read! It's in some ancient text that few can read and understand, which apparently doesn't include any of my Scientists! What am I supposed to do with this?"
The Grunt could only wonder if she was here now for his personal amusement, to watch her contort and ripple into some puddle of goo at his immense and intense fury.
"You orchestrated a brilliant waste of time. Not only did you have the opportunity to snatch the Clear Bell and failed at that, but rumor has it that the Carillon was coming into the office that day! You could have snagged both!"
Sheryl began to hope that the ground would somehow manage to open up beneath her and swallow her whole. Prior to this jaunt into the Boss's hold, she thought she had done a swell job at her first field assignment, managing to placate what had been lost.
Oh how very wrong she had been.
"However, I have another job for you. You'll certainly be able to make up for your blunder."
A shiver ran down her spine as she watched the leader's smirk widen.
The jaunt to their destination was, without a doubt, a dangerous time for Lance. He had been threatened with various warnings on potential beatings, torture, and the chance that he would never be able to bear children, all laced from the mouth of the Carillon. Unfortunately for her, she had not yet found herself capable of getting out of the Champion's grasp, wriggling and squirming with almost no power left in her reserves.
Upon arrival to Eusine's back yard, which could only be described as an overwhelmingly large field, the dragon master dumped the girl onto the lawn so that she landed with a supreme lack of grace and mighty thud, finally granted her wish. He leaned down towards her as she sat on the ground with some stunned look written on her face, smirking all the while.
"Ah, sorry about that. Forgot you were up there."
A string of curses was let loose from the child's mouth as she rose, pushing him out of her way and struggling to obtain any form of dignity, picking grass off of her pajama bottoms.
"Now now, that isn't very ladylike. Where on earth did you get such a potty mouth?"
Not rising to his current instigations, Keiko folded her arms in front of her chest, achieving an unimpressed look, furrowing her brows and locking onto the other amused trainer's eyes. She even managed to tap her foot, as though trying to achieve an impatient attitude.
"So what is this all about? Why on earth did I have to get up at the crack of dawn?"
Resorting to his cool, calm and collected stance, Lance shifted his hands into his pockets, leaning back and forth on the soles of his feet and watching Keiko twitch in irritation.
"Oh, guess you didn't hear me while you were screaming like a banshee, eh?"
Rolling her eyes and glancing away to see if there was any other distraction to tear her away from the current scene, Keiko grumbled to herself and awaited some form of explanation.
Assuming the silence meant he had the floor to speak again, or that she was mad at him (both very likely presumptions), the Champion raised a brow and continued.
"I figured since we were all unaware of how to get you to obtain power, I came up with my own solution."
There was a meaningful pause, in which the elder trainer waited for the girl's reaction, giving her a moment to stare curiously at him before raising his voice to a more dramatic decibel, longing for it to seem powerful and wise.
"Gaining badges."
His speech had the opposite effect, as the child began to giggle, pretending to snarl and responding through chuckles and a hand now muffling the jubilee.
"That…sounds so mundane."
The Champion immediately heightened to some defensive posture, correcting his stance so despite them not being relatively close to one another, he was clearly the taller, more powerful creature within the domain. He narrowed his eyes, lacking the same amusement the girl had procured at his expense.
"I believe it's better than anything you've come up with, correct? Anyway, in order to gain badges, you have to train. Since Morty is the next Gym leader you face, I figured we would take this opportunity while he isn't present."
"Wait, you're going to help me train? What the hell, you'll knock me out in one move!"
The girl blanched at his decree, launching into some formulated pout and throwing her arms wildly into the air, hoping her disgruntlement would get across in the form of random gestures.
In response, a cocky smirk was laid back along Lance's face, widening as the child grew even more frustrated by the moment.
"Oh c'mon now, I caught low-level Pokemon simply for this very reason. Now…what do you need? Like, level 5?"
"Are you kidding me? I have three badges-"
The dragon tamer took that moment to laugh, leaning closer to the child and bringing a hand close to her face, yet, the girl took on only a defiant pose at his interrupting chortles. The arrogant snicker was followed by a playful flick to the girl's nose and a haughty, superior tone to his voice.
"You do realize three badges isn't very impressive to me? I believe I have…eight and a Champion title?"
"Oh shut up."
Unknown to the two trainers outside the hold of Eusine's mansion, Morty had already returned to the secretive palace, waltzing up the grounds with mail in hand. He paused for a moment at the door of the house, thinking he heard shouting coming from the other end, but shrugged it off and continued into the entrance.
Wandering into the living room, the ghost trainer found Eusine ensconced along the larger couch absorbed into the book Keiko had bought for him, oblivious to everything but the text. Raising an eyebrow, Morty allowed a short clearing of his throat to be heard and reverberate along the room, awakening Eusine to his presence.
Startled, the researcher set his book down before apologizing and allowing his grand smile to envelop along his face.
"Ah, sorry Morty, I didn't realize you had come back. I was just trying to get some reading done in the peace and quiet. I take it the challenge didn't take long?"
"Not at all – the challenger didn't really know what they were doing. Speaking of peace and quiet, where are the monsters?"
"You mean you didn't hear them shrieking in the back yard?"
Morty nodded his head, remembering the loud yells he had heard when first approaching the threshold before placing his bag on the floor and continuing the questioning further, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Oh, I should have realized…what are they doing?"
"Killing each other, I would imagine. I'll be sure to stop the bloodshed before breakfast."
As the banter of mocking Keiko and Lance ended and Eusine's calm gaze wandered back over to his book, Morty could only wonder, for a few brief moments, what it was like for the researcher to suddenly have so many people in his household (especially those with such loud and vigorous personalities). Sure, there were quite a number of maids and butlers within the mansion, but they were quiet and demure, providing their services and duties with humble smiles and reserved affection. The rest of them were bundled up in the shelter of the formidable mansion, offering nothing but their own frequent musings and in the case of the Champion and Carillon, childish antics.
Were they intruding on Eusine's hospitality? Didn't he miss the peace and tranquility, the serenity of being able to carry on his reading, studies, and research without being hampered by various interruptions? Weren't they a burden? These speculations ran rampant throughout the ghost trainer's mind, seizing all thoughts and continuing to build in fragmented webs, questions that would never be asked to the one being who could answer them.
Where would they be without Eusine's immense warmth and kindness? Surely Morty would be at his frail cottage in Ecruteak, bored and spending his days exploring the depths of legends with no real meaning fostered.
Lance would probably be at the Pokemon League or Blackthorn City, chasing after his beloved dragons and waiting for someone to come and challenge his status, only for them to realize the goal was futile.
And Keiko-the ghost trainer had his doubts that she would be safe and secure. Maybe that was why Eusine was doing all of this. Despite all of the hazards laying along the surface, the threat of ruin and destruction lying in their wake, there was this girl that needed their help, their salvation, their guidance. Perhaps in the beginning it the notion of protecting her had been constructed out of guilt, since Lance and Eusine had managed to raise the alarm to Team Rocket, yet now, the girl had shown how much she needed each and every one of them beyond such measures.
It wasn't duty, but a simple necessity. Eusine opened his doors for all of them, simply so they could take care of a child that needed their support. Without them, there was no promise that she wouldn't be in Team Rocket's hold, or merely floundering in the wake of destiny. Keiko may have been strong with her defiance and gall, but together they were even mightier, a fortress difficult to crack and destroy.
Reminding himself that his musings may have left him silent and standing listlessly in the living room, the man reached into his pockets and pulled out the day's mail, distracting his thoughts to more pressing matters.
"Oh, I've got today's mail…Lance received another letter."
This proclamation caused Eusine's head to shoot up, the book now lacking his attention as he took the stack of paper from Morty's offered hand. He shuffled through the pile before coming across the same scrawl and print as before, removing it with speculative ease and narrowing his slits.
"Very interesting."
"Rocky, Rock Throw!"
A towering snake of stones dove across the makeshift battle arena, rampaging towards the tiny, cerulean Dratini on the other side. The massive Onix turned its tail swiftly, launching various boulders towards the small creature, roaring with all his might at the target, as the Dratini seemed to scrunch down in defense.
"Dratini, fight it off with Dragon Rage!"
The little dragon holstered itself back up from the ground, eyeing the huge beast as it continued to pierce the floor with its onslaught of rocks. It seized an open opportunity, at which Lance allowed a smirk to widen across his features as the demure Pokemon managed to land a series of smoldering flames upon the Onix's backside.
The Onix's trainer, the now panicking Carillon, screamed across the battlefield as her beloved creature suffered at the mindset of the Champion and his dragon.
"Shoot! Rocky, move!"
"You have to be quicker than that. Tsk tsk."
The training was abruptly interrupted by a movement at the back door, a gentle hand probing it open, followed by a familiar figure dressed in maid clothing. She bowed timidly after receiving the attention of Lance and Keiko, her face soon holding nothing more than shock as she looked at the view in front of her.
The two had managed to secure some portion of the backyard as a coliseum, flanking off various areas for their divided sides, complete with rubble and scorch marks laying across the once lovely patches of green grass. The trainers themselves were a mess, the Carillon bedraggled in her pajamas and the Champion's usually neat garb disheveled and wrinkled. The maid could only imagine what the wild beasts had been doing, her eyes bulging out of their sockets, appalled and surprised all over again by the antics of Keiko and Lance.
The aforementioned creatures could only look on in mild curiosity, turning to each other in speculation as to why the poor woman was fretting and looking so downright fearful.
"M…Master Lance and Madame K-Keiko, br. eakfast is ready…"
Obviously incapable of informing the idiots of the household that a wholesome meal had been sufficiently prepared, Eusine (ever the charmer) came to her rescue. Shaking his head the disturbing scene (and silently longing to cry over his ruined lawn), he poked his frame out of the back door and relayed the message again as the maid hurried back inside.
"All right demons, time for breakfast!"
Keiko needed no other opportunity than this one to escape, quickly returning her beast to his chosen Pokeball and shooting off like a rocket towards the door, where Eusine's warm hand ruffled the top of her head and tangled hair before she entered the mansion's hold.
Lance quietly muttered to himself as he picked up his forgotten cape and allowed his Pokemon to rest in the warming sun, following the Carillon at his own steady pace. He didn't look up from his slow walk until he noticed the researcher was blocking his entrance. Lifting his head curiously, the Champion found an annoyed gaze resting on Eusine's features.
In response, the charmer stuck a hand into one of his large pockets, pulling out a white envelope with the recognizable handwriting of Clair and the Pokemon League littered across it. He then proceeded to lift it to Lance's eye level, waving it in front of his face before the dragon tamer had a chance to snatch it from his grasp.
"So much for taking care of it, hm?"