Chapter 20 – The End of Innocence
[A/N] I have to apologize to you guys here. I had horrendous writers block after I finished Erin's perspective in this chapter, so it's late and the Serena part is bad. I'm sorry. I will go back and rewrite the last part at some point, but I'm not sure when.
There's an announcement at the bottom of this chapter.
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Erin's Perspective – Geosenge Town
Erin and Ralts stared in horror at the spot where Cerys had been when the mountain began to shift and crack up underneath of their feet. "We have to get Paul and Korrina," Erin thought desperately.
Ralts nodded, and she teleported in the blink of an eye. Moments later, they were standing next to Paul and Korrina. The two teens were lying on the ground. Paul slowly got up, holding his head. "What just happened?"
Erin shook her head. "No time to explain. Give me Pidgeot." Confusedly, Paul tossed her Pidgeot's ball. Erin looked over at Ralts. "Can you teleport both of them?"
Ralts' eyes widened as she realized what Erin was about to do. "No, you can't! I can't leave you here!"
Erin shook her head grimly as the mountain started to crumble. "There are people around the evolutionary stone mines. They'll die if I don't help them."
"Fine." Ralts touched Paul and Korrina and they both disappeared. Erin took a deep breath and dashed out of the collapsing gorge. She released Pidgeot from his pokeball as she got to the edge of the cliff. Steeling her resolve, she jumped, landing safely on Pidgeot's back.
Unable to stay together after a barrage of powerful attacks, the mountain was disintegrating. Bits and pieces of rubble were quickly turning into a full fledged land slide. Erin gritted her teeth as she scanned the area around her for any people unfortunate enough to have been caught stranded on the mountain.
In a deep quarry, a man and a Machoke were dashing up a steep slope as fast as possible. Ralts teleported back onto Erin's shoulder, and she guided the majestic bird into a nosedive towards the man. Just as earth was about to overtake them, Pidgeot's claws dug into their arms and he swooped into the air with a triumphant caw. Erin nodded to Ralts, and she and the two men disappeared again.
In the next ten minutes, as the mountain started its slow collapse, Erin, Pidgeot, and Ralts saved fifteen more miners, as well as several Pokemon. Time was nearly up, however, as the rivulets of earth turned into a landslide covering the entire mountain. A flash of blue caught her eye, and she guided Pidgeot over to see what it was.
Near the top of the rocky path, a Mega Lucario was projecting a massive aura shield in front of several terrified hikers. Erin and Pidgeot zoomed towards them, and Ralts instantly teleported two away. As she neared them, the Lucario's trainer turned around, and Erin gasped. "Gurkinn?"
The old man turned. "Help us! Lucario can't hold up for much longer!" Sure enough, the Pokemon's aura shield began to falter, caving in against the massive wall of earth.
Ralts reappeared on Erin's shoulder. "I- I can't teleport anymore. I'm sorry."
Erin frowned. "We need to figure something out." Nudging Pidgeot's flank, Erin dove towards the two hikers. When they neared them, Pidgeot grabbed onto the men with his talons and flew back and down, leaving only Gurkinn and Lucario on the rapidly disappearing cliff.
Gurkinn frowned down at her. "Go! You can't hold our weight! We'll be fine!"
Erin shook her head wildly. "No! You have to jump!" Gurkinn shook his head, and Erin looked around wildly for an answer. She spotted a nearby hilltop that rose just above the cliff, and Pidgeot shot off towards it at blistering speeds. They reached it, and Pidgeot set the hikers down, before turning 180 degrees and flying back towards Gurkinn.
Just as they were about to get back to the cliff, Lucario fell to one knee and the aura shield disappeared. Erin screamed as the wall of earth slammed into the man and Pokemon, enveloping them and tumbling over the cliff before taking it with it. "No!" she shouted, and Ralts thought the same.
Erin spotted a bit of blue, and Pidgeot dove towards it. He grabbed Lucario with his talons and pulled him out of the earth and into the sky in the nick of time. The jackal-like Pokemon slumped in its clawed embrace, obviously exhausted. As they rose back up, the piles of earth collided with the deep gorge below, burying it in layer of dirt and rubble. As the dust rose, the mountainside was silent.
"Gurkin..." Erin whispered. She stared in shock as the implications hit her. "Gurkinn!"
Pidgeot spiraled downwards to land on top of the pile of rubble. Erin and Lucario jumped off and both desperately began to search. As neither of them found any signs of the man, Ralts levitated above Erin's head and her eyes glowed blue. "Found him." A spot of rubble glowed bright blue, before shifting slightly, causing a mound of rubble to collapse inwards, revealing Gurkinn.
The man was still alive, but barely. A giant wound to his head from a rock was bleeding, and he was covered in filth. He was obviously passed out. Erin stared at him with shock and bleak horror. "Is he… dead?"
"No, but he will be if we don't hurry."
Erin and Ralts quickly loaded the man onto Pidgeot's back, and Lucario jumped on beside them. The hikers Erin had dropped off were already on their way back to Geosenge town, and Erin shot past them on a desperate course for the Pokemon center. They flew past the ruins of the mines and filled in roads until Geosenge town came into sight. Hundreds of people had congregated in the main square nearby the Pokemon center, and Erin spotted several of the men she had save receiving emergency medical care.
With a massive caw, Pidgeot came in for a landing right in front of the center. A chorus of ragged cheers met Erin's arrival, but she ignored them and jumped off of the Pokemon's back. Lucario and Erin lifted Gurkinn off of Pidgeot's back and laid him on the ground next to the Pokemon center, where Nurse Joy had just exited. "Oh my!" she yelled as she saw the state that Gurkinn was in. "Stretcher! Take him straight to the emergency care unit!"
Nurse Joy disappeared with Gurkinn and Lucario into the Pokemon Center, and Erin collapsed onto the ground, both physically and emotionally exhausted. She didn't even have the will to cry. Ralts crawled into her arms, and they sat in front of the Pokemon Center not moving until Korrina and Paul ran up to her.
"What the hell just happened?" Paul asked. "Why was there a landslide? Thank god you're okay!"
Korrina looked desperately worried. "Why was grandpa's Lucario there?"
Erin looked up at her and burst into tears. She stood up and walked slowly into the Pokemon center after returning Pidgeot, ignoring the cries of her friend and Ralts' pleas to listen. Knowing Paul and Korrina were following her, she walked to where Gurkinn had been taken. The white door to the emergency unit was locked, but Erin walked up to the window, where she could see Gurkinn inside with Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff.
A shriek came from Korrina, who had walked up behind her. "Grandpa!" she screamed as she looked at the injured man behind the glass. Nurse Joy came over and unlocked the door in an effort to quiet her down, but she pushed past her and collapsed by her Grandfather's side, sobbing.
Erin stared at Korrina. She shouldn't have to suffer through this. This was her fault.
I should never have let him stay.
I should never have challenged Cerys to a battle.
I knew it was a test the whole time. Why did we go on the mountain in the first place?
We should have never left Ash.
I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't exist here.
I have to get away.
Erin took one hesitant step away from the window, then another. Her hands shook as she tightened them into fists, knuckles whitening. Erin could feel that Ralts was thinking much of the same thing. She turned on her heel and dashed down the long white corridor of the Pokemon Center, trying to get somewhere, anywhere but near the injured man and the sobbing girl.
Paul found her curled up in the corner of an empty room. Ralts was sitting next to her, unmoving. She looked up as he walked into the room. "Leave me alone," she muttered.
He stopped walking halfway into the room. "What happened on that mountain?" he deadpanned, oblivious.
Erin glared at him. She hated him – hated him for not understanding, for being such a selfish, unemotional jerk. "I said, leave me alone!"
Awkwardly, Paul stood in the middle of the room, obviously trying to come up with something comforting to say. "I – It wasn't your fault! Nobody knew the mountain was about to collapse!"
Erin had had enough. "NO, I DID! THIS IS ALL MY FUCKING FAULT! CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?"
The sterile white walls of the room rung as Erin's outburst filled the space. Paul walked the rest of the way over and sunk down on the wall next to Erin. Without Paul filling in the silence, Erin started to talk again.
"I left him, Paul. I left him on the cliff. There were the two other hikers, and I couldn't carry him, so I left him. I killed him. He's going to die because of me.
Paul's voice was barely a whisper. "Why did the mountain collapse?"
Erin's eyes flashed. "It was Cerys, Paul. She froze time, and then we battled, and she used earthquake and draco meteor. What does she want with me? Why is she screwing with me? I just want to go home."
Paul didn't know how to respond, but he awkwardly put an arm around Erin's shoulder, and she buried her face in his shoulder. "You want to go back to Vainville?"
Erin groaned. "No. I want to go back to my old life. I want to go back to the world where I was normal, where everything made sense. I want Pokemon to be a figment of my imagination again."
Paul pulled away and stared at Erin. "Wait, what?"
Erin sighed. She was done lying to Paul. "I come from a different world, where Pokemon is an animated TV show. I know every single detail of Ash Ketchum's life. I know everything about every battle you and Ash have ever had. I know about Reggie, and about Electivire. I know about you, Paul. One day, I woke up and I was here."
Paul's initial reaction was shock. He leaned back against the wall, disbelief plastered all over his face. Erin's face crumpled, and she mumbled, "Please don't hate me."
After some time, Paul spoke again. "No."
Erin looked up and over at him. "No? What do you mean, no?"
Paul shook his head. "You're wrong. You don't know anything about me. Four months ago, I woke up in a stranger's house with a Pidgeot and a Ninjask on my belt. I am who I have made myself out to be since then. Nothing more, nothing less."
Erin processed that. "So you believe me?"
Paul laughed. "My entire life is a lie already. Why shouldn't I go ahead and believe another one? It would certainly explain some thing about you."
Erin tried to muster a smile but she couldn't manage it. She then remembered something that Cerys had given her. "I can prove that I met Cerys." Paul looked over in interest as she dug the necklace that Cerys had given her out of her pocket. It was silver, with a tiny chain. Erin and Paul were both staring at a different part of it, however.
"Is that… a mega keystone?" Paul asked.
Erin silently nodded as she stared at the rainbow colored stone with a helix set into it. She undid the clasp on the back of the necklace and strung it around her neck so that it hung under her shirt.
"What else did Cerys do?" Paul asked.
"She said that I am here for a reason, and she showed me the sign with hidden power." Simultaneously, Paul and Erin both touched the back of their palms. "She said that she was from something called the Dialga Institute."
For a while after that, Erin and Paul were both silent. "We'll find them," Paul said softly. "First the Syndicate and now this. We'll stop J and find Cerys, and we'll both figure out why we're here. And after all of that..."
"What?"
Paul stood up. "I'll help you get back home. I promise. Now, are you coming?"
She was caught off guard. "Coming where?"
Paul frowned. "There are several hundred people standing outside waiting for the savior of the miners to come back out. You need to face them eventually."
As Paul said it, the feeling of guilt and dread Erin had managed to partially push aside flooded back in. She sank down further on the wall and shook her head.
Ralts clambered down off of her shoulder and onto her lap. "Erin, I – I think I can help you."
Erin looked down at her Pokemon and friend. "How?" she asked curiously.
"Well," Ralts began, "My species is called the Feelings Pokemon. It was how I was able to form our link. I think that I can take some of your negative emotions and trap them until you are ready to experience them."
Erin shook her head as soon as she said it. "No way. I'm not going to hurt you."
"It will harm you more if you keep them pent up inside."
Erin tried to think of a way to argue against that, but she was unable to come up with anything. "Fine, just… please don't hurt yourself."
Ralts nodded, and both her and Erin glowed a bright blue. Erin could feel some of the negativity drain from her thoughts, and she sighed in relief. It was like a weight had been lifted, and she could concentrate again. "Thank you."
Ralts nodded, and Erin slowly stood up after she made sure that Ralts was firmly placed on her shoulder. If the tiny Pokemon hadn't been tired before then, she definitely was now, and Erin could feel that her psychic powers were nearly exhausted. Paul had left the room after she had started to talk to Ralts, and was patiently standing outside of the door to the empty room as Erin emerged. She nodded to him, and they walked down the hallway towards the stairs.
Erin slowed to a halt as the passed the sterile emergency room where Gurkinn had been taken. Nurse Joy was still trying to revive the old man. His Lucario sat vigil at his feet. Behind them, Korrina sat blankly looking off into the distance. Tear marks stained her face, and she looked absolutely desolate.
"Come on," Paul said. "There's nothing we can do for them right now."
Erin stole one last glance at the room before tearing her eyes away and walking down the carpeted stairs at the end of the hallway.
The lobby was chaos. Erin and Paul pushed past a pair of Jennies to find at least fifty people crowding around the help desks for whatever reason. The duo pushed past people until they reached the front of the line. A very haggard looking assistant was standing behind the counter fending off questions.
"Excuse me, Ma'am?" Paul asked politely. "Do you have any idea where they put the men who were saved?"
The woman nodded curtly. "Hotel Marine Snow. Next!" Erin pushed past the mass of people and they exited the center.
"Why are there so many people?" Ralts asked. "Shouldn't they all be in their houses?"
"Maybe," Erin responded. "I think that they are all worried about the landslide."
Tons of people were milling around outside of the Pokemon center, and Paul and Erin were unable to make out any signs.
Erin tossed Paul Pidgeot's pokeball. "We're never getting anywhere like this. Can he fly us there?"
Paul nodded, and Pidgeot appeared in a red flash. Cries of astonishment came from the assembled crowd as Erin and Paul mounted the giant bird and took to the sky. The hotel roof was easily recognizable from its light blue color, and Erin and Paul landed in front, where a jenny was guarding the entrance.
"Kids, I'm sorry, but you can't go in unless you have a connection with any of the men recovering inside," Jenny said, barring the door with her arms.
Erin stepped forwards. "I helped to save a lot of these men, and I'd like to see them."
Jenny frowned as she looked at Erin. "What's you're name? I'm inclined to believe you, but I have to know for sure."
"Erin."
Jenny nodded. "Alright, Erin, go ahead. I think there's a woman inside who was looking for you. You might want to go and talk to her."
Erin nodded and walked through the door. As soon as she did, however, she was assaulted by a familiar face. "Alexa?"
The Lumiose News reporter smiled grimly at Erin. "Hey. Is it true that you saved twenty lives today?"
Erin nodded, and Alexa scribbled something down on a little notepad. "Mind if I hit you up with an interview?"
Serena's Perspective – Route 27
"There it is!" Ash exclaimed.
Rising high above the rural route was a massive stadium obviously constructed for tournament use. Four tiers of stands were covered with a wall of concrete and steel. Posters on the side of the building announced a "Tournament Extraordinaire! Come to see the best trainers compete!"
Serena looked around the base of the building for the Pokemon Center where they had reserved lodging as tournament competitors. She spotted it and pointed. "Look, there's the Pokemon Center!"
"Yay! Let's go!" Bonnie cried, running ahead of the group.
Elle gave a relieved sigh. "Well, it will certainly be nice to sleep inside for once."
The group walked over to the Pokemon Center that Serena had spotted. Outside, however, a small crowd had gathered around a TV on the side of the building. Serena frowned. "I wonder what's happening."
The TV was showing a broadcast from Lumiose City News. A frantic looking reporter was sitting behind a desk onscreen. "Breaking news from Geosenge Town! Massive landslides were reported on the northern end of the town after the mountain literally collapsed without any warning."
Serena gasped as the TV cut to aerial footage of the mountain. For about five seconds, the mountain was fine before suddenly collapsing without any warning. "That's horrible..." she whispered to Elle, who nodded.
"Several hikers, as well as several miners, were present on the mountain, but a heroic trainer was able to save many of their lives. Several people are missing, and one elderly man is in critical condition. Our reporter is on the scene with the trainer now. To you, Alexa."
"Hey, Alexa is reporting about this!" Ash exclaimed as he watched the broadcast.
The woman and her Helioptile appeared on the screen. She was holding a Lumiose City News microphone. "Thanks, Malva. I'm here in Marine Snow Hotel in Geosenge, where the rescued hikers are currently being held. With me, I have a young lady who, along with her Pokemon, saved many of their lives. This is Erin Yvonne."
Everybody gawked as Erin appeared in the camera. "What?" Serena asked in a tone that sounded somewhere in between a squeak and a groan.
Alexa turned to Erin on screen. "So, tell me, how did you save all of these people?"
Erin frowned. Serena noticed Ralts sitting on her shoulder. They both looked incredibly tired, and Erin had tear streaks on her face. What happened? "We were on the mountain when it happened. Ralts and Pidgeot and I just teleported as many people as we could away, I guess."
"So do you have any clue what happened?"
Erin hesitated, then shook her head. Serena frowned as Erin's hand went to something hanging around her neck, and her other hand touched the back of that hand. "No, I- it just happened, all of a sudden."
"She's lying," Serena murmured to Elle. "Why is she lying?"
Elle shook her head. "I don't know."
The broadcast moved on, changing to another topic. Serena and the group went into the Pokemon center, and got ready for the night, but they all had Erin on their mind. Serena and Elle shared a room, and Ash, Bonnie, and Clemont shared a room.
Lying in bed, Serena only had questions floating through her head. She was worried about Erin, and she couldn't help but to wonder what trouble she had managed to get herself into this time.
She's hiding something. She's been hiding something since I met here. I just wish I knew what.
Her spinning thoughts lulled her to sleep.
Later
Ralts teleported into her room at midnight.
She crawled over Serena's back until she reached her head, and she carefully shook her awake.
Serena shot straight up, startled by the appearance of the Pokemon. She looked down at Ralts, and frowned. "Aren't you Erin's?" she asked.
Ralts nodded and handed her something. It was a letter, but something was attached to it. Just as soon as Ralts had come, she disappeared again, leaving Serena in the darkened room with only Elle's soft snores.
Serena frowned. "That was weird." She pulled the object off of the letter and looked at it with a gasp.
A beautiful golden locket shaped like a heart hung from a long chain. Serena opened the heart to find a picture of Erin smiling staring back at her. Her mouth dropped as the looked at her gift. "Thank you," she whispered, even though she knew Erin couldn't hear her.
With fingers trembling, she opened up the letter. The neatly folded piece of paper of then to reveal careful handwritten paragraphs. The letter went like this:
Dear Serena,
I don't know if you heard about what happened in Geosenge town. Actually, for that matter, I don't know anything anymore. So much has happened over the past weeks.
Something is happening, Serena; something big. I wish I could tell you everything; how I got here, why I ended up in your house, but I can't. In truth, I never knew in the first place. Just… be careful, okay?
Hopefully, the locket will remind you of me while I'm gone. Summer camp isn't that far off. We'll see each other again soon, I'm sure.
Your sister (sort of),
Erin.
END OF PART ONE
[A/N] And so part one concludes.
This story will have three parts. The next on will go from Shalour to Coumarine City, before [SPOILERS REDACTED] I expect it to be about 30-35 chapters, but it may be shorter depending on how it goes.
And now, an important announcement.
My summer is crazy busy. Unfortunately, this means I wont have much time with WiFi access. So, expect updates to be VERY ERRATIC until August.
THIS IS NOT A HIATUS. I will be taking this time to get a couple chapters ahead. Right now, I just post as soon as I finish my chapters. This will give me more leeway to post on time. I will try to get two or three chapters out over the next two and a half months. Thank you for (Hopefully) understanding.