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Cara Normal: Yeah, my writing's pretty confusing at first. I'm hoping I'll be able to wrap everything up by the conclusion.
We barely made it back to the Union before sundown. Although I hated to admit it, I had begun to miss my long, meandering walks from town to town, something I knew I wouldn't be able to find here. Even if I didn't truly have a home, it didn't help offset the fact that I did, in fact, feel homesick. I wondered how much longer we would be here, hiding from a personal goal we had now abandoned twice. As soon as I get back, I promised myself, I was going to finish what I started.
But I knew that I would have to stop after the eighth gym. The elite four offered me no benefits for challenging them: I didn't WANT to be idolized. I didn't WANT to have my name be broadcast across the world as the latest upstart trainer. What I really wanted?
All I wanted was to be acknowledged as having tried, and in the face of all opposition, succeeded.
These thoughts consumed my mind as I returned to the lab, crystals safely in my pocket.
I knocked, waited a moment, and was eventually let in. This time, I could see that everyone inside was busy, so I sidled down the wall, and asked one of less important-looking staff instead.
"Did you know that those ruins over there are of the same make as a ruin we've seen in Sinnoh?"
One of the assistants looked up from his task of sorting paperwork to answer me.
"Really? We assumed they were one of a kind. I suppose then that the ruins in your region are also well known?"
"Only in legends and fables, really. But I've been there; they are both hewn from the same stone, and both located deep underground. The one I've seen is just better preserved."
Nil filled in the piece of information I omitted.
*And full of traps. One of which we blindly stumbled into.*
"I would assume so, since ours was the unfortunate victim of a renegade mining operation. Few things survive after the fatcats scent money, it seems."
"Also, is this thing a charged crystal?"
I retrieved the larger of the two crystals from my pocket, and placed it upon a desk.
The assistant came over, still shifting paperwork about with his hands.
"You probably found a little crystal that someone missed. Let me take a look."
He quickly glanced towards it, before continuing with his duty.
"Yup. Pretty rare, those ones."
He stopped shuffling papers for a moment, and began staring straight ahead.
"Wait… What?"
He turned back towards the crystal.
"Holy cow, that's a huge crystal, let alone a charged one! Let me call Nicole, she probably wants to have a look at this thing."
He spoke quickly as he went to get the geologist. "Oh, and by the way, sorry in advance."
Within what seemed to be a second, a very excited looking geologist came charging from the back of the room at full speed and accosted me with questions.
"Where did you find it? Was it exposed, or did you have to dig to get it? How did you find it in the first place? Do you mind if we take some samples? Can we keep it?"
I couldn't help but compare the Geologist's reaction to Jack, but waved it off. Everyone is allowed to have an interest, no matter how strange.
"I found it in the ruins. I tripped over a rock, and fell onto it. It was loose, and I managed to remove it with just my hands. Please calm down."
A few seconds later, I continued.
"When I fell onto it, it was more or less pure, besides a few wisps of energy. As I walked about, however, it slowly shifted in color, eventually becoming pitch black."
"So you found a way to charge the crystal?"
"No clue. I'd like to keep it though."
The geologist opened her mouth to reply, before cutting herself off.
"I… Suppose so. Would make a really nice centrepiece, I do admit."
"Well, anyway. Was I needed for anything?"
"No, not really. Everyone's back to work, besides me. I was on coffee break."
"So basically the only thing coming back here did was bother the assistant."
"Well, you did give me pretty definite proof that we should keep that place locked up tight, at least. If those things are down there, or if they're able to be charged… We don't want another Miniremo Crisis."
"Everyone's talking about that crisis, but what exactly was it?"
"Oh. Yeah. You're a tourist, right? We don't exactly advertise what it was. To describe it quickly, a particularly gifted scientist discovered a method of controlling Pokemon using a wireless device some odd twenty years ago, which was quickly stolen and abused by a criminal organization, previously known as Dim Sun. Long story short, the rangers ended up wiping out the gang's main leaders, while the scientist was brought over here. He made several advancements, but never truly recovered from what he did."
"So it was bad?"
"Real bad. They're still not releasing details about what happened to the general public. I'm only telling you this much, because you're carrying one of the keystones to that very device, and with all honesty, I doubt you'd try and build one of the devices. Not like you'd be able to do so by yourself anyway."
"The guards said there was a gigantic crystal down there before. Where is that now?"
"Oh. That? That's a huge tourist attraction now. They managed to purify it, and now it's just a gigantic pale crystal. From what I can tell, they took the big crystals from the historical sites too, and those are orbiting around it now, too. It's at the top of Altru Tower. If you're not doing anything else, I'd recommend checking it out, it's pretty breathtaking, especially at night. Heck, you can see it gleaming all the way from Pueltown Harbor!"
"Well, I suppose I don't have anything else planned. Still, I think I should rest the night, do you guys have an empty bed I can borrow?"
I shake my head. I spent far too much time running about, never any truly enjoying what I had, what I had earned. Instead, I kept striving for more, giving up my possessions in a constant gamble for further gains. I… never thought… never thought I would lose it all.
There was a saying in the old world that you never truly appreciate what you have until it is gone. The saying died with the people who coined it, but it has never been more true. Every moment of every day, I grieved for the mistakes I had made, the branches I had cut short.
The people I had been betrayed by, and the people that I had betrayed in return.
I could have stopped it. All of it. I could have stopped it right then and there, had I been more aware, had I paid attention, had I decided to seek help. Then… Then this all… could have been averted. Then things would have... would have turned out differently.
No. I couldn't have. I was weak then; I had no allies, and no reason to pursue matters I did not know about. There was... nothing I could do. Nothing I could do whatsoever. All my narrow-minded struggles would have done is guaranteed not only it, but the second one as well.
The one that we COULD do something about. The one that we had strived to stop, the one which we had devoted centuries to be strong enough to stand against.
Our second, and final chance at redemption.
Nil interrupts my turmoil.
*Vis, are you alright?*
*I'm fine.*
*Are you sure? You seem so distant... You've been doing this more and more lately, yet won't tell me why.*
*... How... how much do you remember about our past?*
*None of it, the last thing I remember is the first time I left for the new surface, not a hundred years ago.*
*Have you ever wondered why?*
*Huh?*
*Have you ever wondered why you were able to adapt so well to the surface, while I stayed behind? It doesn't matter. You'll understand soon enough.*
We were lent a bunk which we gratefully accepted. Unlike my last rest, this one was fraught with nightmares, strange dreams, and unease.
I subconsciously wrestled with everything I had experienced, everything I had seen. It manifested to me, as wraiths within my mind, whispering my doubts for only me to hear. I could see them, black, bodiless shapes, all sharing my face, all speaking in my own voice. I could hear them, but couldn't speak out in return.
"You're not human," one whispered.
"We don't know what this energy is… but it was the cause of the crisis…" another ranted, to an unknown listener.
"You don't belong here. You don't belong anywhere. You never belonged, and never will," yet another hissed, voice full of despair and hatred.
I resisted my own doubts, fighting back as their words clawed at my being. I attempted to strike back, to purge the thoughts from my mind. My efforts were in vain, as my voice drew no sound, and my body drew no power.
"What are you. What is your purpose?" the first wraith asked.
"Nothing you will do will matter," chuckled the second.
"Everything is pointless," spat the third.
"Fate itself despises you. Luck is your enemy. You are just a pawn. Play your part," spoke a fourth, this time in a voice not my own. Instead, it echoed of power.
"Something is wrong with all of this. Why can't you see it?" the first wraith despaired.
I could feel my mind slipping away, as the wraiths circled ever closer.
"You're a failure."
"Accept your loss. Give up."
"Go the easy road, you've already done too much."
"There is no such thing as victory."
"Your family never loved you. Never will."
"Give us your mind, and it will all be over. No more pain, no more despair."
"WHAT. ARE. YOU." screamed the first wraith, drowning out the rest.
In a final, desperate move, I gathered what remained of my quickly fading will, and swung my left hand towards the closest wraith, hoping desperately to find solace from the voices. This time, my body reacted to my desperate command.
The wraith exploded as my hand collided with it, causing all but the fourth to scatter in different directions. The remaining one turned towards me, its face now not my own, but rather, a twisted mockery of it. Cracks lined its... my... face, like a shattered porcelain doll. It spoke in three different voices, all mixed into a horrifying cacophony.
"Oh h҉o͠w ̧t̛his one͜ ̶f̷igh͜ts! ҉I͜ts̨ ̸m̷ind is ̧str͠on͠ge͡r͜ ͝t̨h͟a͘n ҉th̡e ̶o͡t͡hers!́ ͝ Wh͜aţ a͘ ̡t̸ręat i͟t wi͏l̡l̸ ͜be̶..͏. ͜ ͏W͢atch̴ yo͠u̷r̕ ́b̡a̢c̀k͏, hu͘m̧a͝n, ̴f͞or̢ m̸y͠ g̢ìf҉t ͞will͘ s̛oo̢n͏ ͟be ͘yours. ́ ͠W̵h̨eţh͝er̡ y͡o͏ù lik̸e̶ ̡it, ̷o̡r n̷ot."
I awoke in a cold sweat; muscles tensed, pulse racing. The voices still rung in my head, but were quickly fading.
The room I was sleeping in was now illuminated by a strange, pulsing, purple light, the same light that was emitted by the gates I had opened. I searched for the source, but found no trace of a gate.
It was when I reached to wipe the sweat from my brow that I realized where the light was coming from.
The hand I had swung, my left, now crackled with violet energy. Sparks of energy jumped from finger to finger, to the rhythm of my own frantic breathing. I mimed a throwing motion, to try and undo whatever… THIS was, but only succeeded in launching a small orb of energy towards the wall. The orb shimmered as it soared through the air. It collided with the wall, but seemingly did nothing to it.
I stared at my hand. What was this? How did it happen. The questions of the first wraith returned to my consciousness. How did this exist? How did I exist? What really was I?
What I did know, was that whatever I had done, it wasn't making me tired. In fact, I felt like I had not done anything whatsoever.
I clenched my fist, which seemed to dismiss the energy immediately.
Was this another effect of the ruins? If so, why had it only manifested now? Was it because of entering the Chroma Ruins? Or perhaps, had the wraiths unlocked something inside me? I didn't know.
The only thing I did know, was that shaking Nil awake to explain to her what happened was the first, and most important priority.