Chapter 20: Resonate

June 5

Skyarrow Bridge

When Nate woke up that morning, Rosa wasn't in her hotel room. The receptionist said that she had checked out an hour earlier, asking questions about Skyarrow Bridge. That's where he found her and her Pokemon, looking through the safety fence at the bay below. "Good morning," he said.

"Morning," she said, looking over at him. "I hope I didn't make you worry. I just..."

He went up by her and looked over the bay. "You didn't go far. Look, that ship is leaving." He pointed out to the docks where that odd frigate was turning itself in the right direction. The sun was just over the horizon, its rays glinting off the low mist hanging on the water.

"Yeah. I never did find one of its crew to ask about it. Anybody I thought to ask didn't know anything either." She watched the ship for a moment, then asked, "Are you mad at me?"

"No," Nate said. "You're okay. Are you still bothered about yesterday?"

Bringing her lip, she nodded and gripped the fence. "Yeah."

"Currrrooo," Bard said, bumping his head against her hip.

She patted the Dewott's head. "Thanks. I wasn't sure what to think about it. I mean, it sounds ridiculous, the kind of thing that would be in some kid's storybook. There's all sorts of things that shouldn't make sense... like if I am Keldeo, and Keldeo in his usual form was locked up in that house until two years ago or so, how does that work? We were in two different towns at the same time, but not that far apart. Shouldn't there be some kind of problem with that? I mean, you caused a spatial rip in our house when you arrived."

Nate shrugged. "Maybe you were far enough apart? Or maybe there was something keeping your power locked down so that it didn't interfere with your older self. But really, I don't think your mom would lie about that; she told us what she knows. You can only find out for yourself by finding the places significant to you, and finding your memory." He paused. "Like I have to do. Strange, isn't it? I could have ended up anywhere in Unova, but I arrived right next to someone who might have a problem like my own."

Crossing her arms across her chest, she nodded and paced around. "Yeah, that is strange. Maybe someone arranged it, like Hilda maybe? But how would she know about me? I've never met her. Or maybe... depending on what powers brought you here, maybe we resonated or something which drew you to me."

"Resonated, huh?" He paused, raising an eyebrow at some thought. Ruby looked at him, sniffing in curiosity.

And what were they going to do about all that was going on? They were going to find the truth and kick Plasma's butt for daring to come back around again! Rosa grinned and clapped her hands together. "Yeah, we do! Maybe we don't know who we really are, but does it matter? No! We're here and we're going to pursue the cause of justice, liberty, and honor! In the past, Team Plasma sought to corrupt the meaning of the guardians of Unova by twisting truth and ideal to their greedy ends. They were defeated, but now they rise again from the shadows, seeking revenge for their defeat. But we will make sure that they will not prevail, even if the original heroes are no longer here. We resonate with purpose; we will find what lies in our shadows and then we will trash Plasma once and for all to preserve the glory of Unova, for we are Rosa and Nate, fighting against evil and defending the rights of humans and Pokemon!"

"Reso," Nate started to say, then burst into laughter. "Hah hah... and, hah, what do the three, hehe, I mean four sword legends stand for?"

What did he mean by that? "Huh? They defend the glory of Unova and stand for justice, liberty, and... WAIT, maybe I am Keldeo!"

"M-m-may..." Nate was then laughing too hard to speak clearly, leaning against Ruby for support. The Pignite seemed puzzled, but soon smiled and patted his head. Most of the other Pokemon were laughing too, although Patience looked bewildered and River slapped her forehead.

Briefly, Rosa felt nervous, bringing her hands to her chest. She had slipped into that so easily; the attitude felt right even if it wasn't who she thought she was. But looking at him now, she recalled the pictures from his old world, where people looked weary with grief even as they tried to smile. This happiness and laughter was genuine. Whatever Hilda had thought she was doing, she had the right idea in sending him here.

Once he had calmed down a bit, she put her foot down. "Well it's not like I remember anything about that. Something else might still be going on. Maybe I just resonate with Keldeo's ideals... what's so funny?"

Nate was shaking with laughter again. "You, you don't hear it?" He put his hand on his throat. "I, I'm having trouble b-breathing..."

"Seriously?" she asked, frowning.

He paused to calm down, but couldn't keep himself from smiling. "It's okay... just don't say anything funny for a bit."

"How can I do that if I don't know what's so funny?" She turned around, being indignant in jest. But... she saw the forest again, at the other side of the bridge. Something about it was enticing.

"I'm not even sure why it's so funny, but it is," Nate said, coming closer to her. When he saw the look on her face, he looked to the other end of the bridge too. "Were you thinking of going that way?"

"A little," she admitted. "I dunno why. I mean, that forest has to have lots of Grass Pokemon and I'm not sure I want to deal with them."

"Even Virizion?"

Rosa made a fist and stomped her foot. "Especially not Virizion!" Then she laughed. "Well, maybe I wouldn't mind seeing her so much. But I don't even know where you're supposed to find Virizion if you want to meet her. Lenora's Gym was that way, and I think the Striaton one is still operating unofficially. Otherwise, we really don't have a reason to go south now."

"Then which way do you want to go?" he asked.

"What's with all the questions?" Rosa said. "Whatever, let's just go north. We'll make more progress that way."

Nate tipped his visor and gave a slight bow. "As you wish."

"Ooo, what's up with you today?" She ran north a short ways, then laughed as she turned back. "You're being weird, for you. Did you have like an epiphany or something yesterday?"

"Something like that," he said, bringing his bike out from storage. "I was reading one of those papers that the password unlocked and there was a note with one of them. It said, 'You can spend your life looking for answers and find that your life has been nearly spent. But look away to find life and the answers may come to you.' And it made me think that what I have now is a lot better than I had. So, I'm gonna enjoy things a little more." Nate had put Patience in the basket of his bike by then, and was getting on to ride. "Like I'm going to enjoy beating you to the other side of Castelia City."

"Not fair!" she said, scrambling to get her own bike out. Even so, it was a quickly turning into a fun day.

Mistralton Regional Prison

It was sixteen months now that he'd been in prison, ever since that girl Hilda had tracked him down and handed him over to the police. Giallo didn't feel angry with her, though. Instead, he spent a lot of time considering what had happened and what he wanted to do now. He cooperated with the guards and did what he could to prevent trouble, not cause it. Because of this, he was trusted with some degree of freedom within the prison. He was allowed to room with Gorm, for one thing, which was good because not many others understood what it was like being within Plasma. They had been peers as Sages under Lord N; this had made them true friends instead.

In the early afternoon, they were given a message that there was a visitor who wanted to see both of them. After making sure that it wasn't a reporter, they went to the visiting room to find that it was one of the other Sages. Not Rood this time. "We haven't heard much about you," Giallo said to Zinzolin.

He was sitting on the other side of the glass, with no signs that the guards were watching him. "I worked things out with a lawyer," Zinzolin said. "He wanted me to keep quiet for a while, but I felt it was important to get in contact with you two again. How're you holding up in here?"

"They've been treating us reasonably," Gorm said. "There's a lot of team members that have been excused through psychologists, provided they perform community service and agree to be monitored. The police are even hiding it on their records, save for those who abused their position."

Leaning with his arms on the table, Zinzolin said, "I asked about you two, not the others. I've heard about them."

"I've got no complaints," Gorm said, shrugging.

Giallo nodded. "We've got no reason to do complain. We agreed to serve these sentences in exchange for them guaranteeing what they've done for others, including Ryuko."

Zinzolin raised his eyebrows. "Ryuko, huh? What about him?"

"He initially was going to serve a full sentence with us," Giallo said. "We agreed that as leaders within the group, we should be held to a higher standard than the rest. But he fell ill early last winter. Between his age and the stress of adapting to this life, it nearly killed him. We negotiated to get him released early."

"And that worked?" he asked, skeptically.

"Sure did," Gorm said. "But only because we delayed when we'd be eligible for parole ourselves."

"Why would you take such punishment on yourselves?"

Giallo chuckled. "Are you sure you should be asking us that? Weren't you the one who was still hiding out in Cold Storage?"

Zinzolin shook his head. "That's different. I was free to leave at any time. You've neutered your freedom in exchange for something that doesn't benefit you at all."

"That's the point," Giallo said.

"Is it?"

Gorm nodded. "We all got caught up in something that was wrong. And the six of us who were closest to Ghetsis and N should have recognized and accepted it sooner; Rood did, at least. But we went along with it and thus ruined the lives of many within and without Team Plasma."

"That includes N," Giallo added. And Hilbert too, he thought to himself. He should have known the organization was flawed, especially when Ghetsis insisted that he cut off all ties to the boy he had raised. Giallo had called Hilbert his nephew, but he really was more of a son. He should have done things differently But, it was past and the only thing to do now was to pay for the trouble he had caused. And keep the hope that Hilbert might contact him again, maybe forgive him.

Gorm said what Giallo wouldn't. "We fooled ourselves, so we're not victims. But those that we fooled, the people who bought into the dreams that N and Ghetsis spoke of, they were victims and we hate to see the innocent ones punished for what we perpetrated. We'll pay the price for them. As for Ryuko, we trust him. He would have stayed with us, but we'd rather not see him spend his final years in prison."

Zinzolin talked with them a little while beyond that, but he seemed disinterested in whatever brought him here. Once they had left the visitor's area, Giallo paused the guard who was accompanying them. "I suspect that he might have been trying to break us out, as well as any other former Plasma members held in this prison."

"What makes you think that?" the guard asked.

"He came to us with some purpose, but lost interest when we explained why we're here. Not only that, but there's been news and rumors that suggest that a group using the Plasma name has sprung up. You probably should tighten security for a while."

"Right," Gorm said. "Ghetsis was never caught and he likes big dramatic scenes."

"Sure, I'll pass the suggestion along," the guard said.

Route 4

One thing that River loved about being with Rosa was how the girl let her ride on the bicycle whenever she wanted. The Riolu had worked hard all her life to be a dignified and elegant fighter. Fun was undignified, something pups did to practice which wasn't nearly as effective as practicing seriously. Still, there was something that was just plain enjoyable about whooshing down the streets with the air blowing around her ears, all without doing any work besides helping to keep the bike balanced. The times they did this were a good balance to when River thought Rosa was not being serious enough as a Trainer for a serious Pokemon like herself. Weight was added further in how Rosa liked to have them out whenever reasonable, and in how she treated them so well without spoiling them. All in all, it came out in favor of sticking with Rosa , even without considering who she really was.

The bike rides always came to an end, but River didn't feel selfish enough to wish that it would go on, eventually tiring Rosa. Maybe someday she could make a bike go on her own. Nate had stopped ahead of them on Route 4, partly to check on Patience. "How'd you like that?" he asked warmly, petting her brown fur.

With her paws on the edge of the basket, the Eevee had her ears perked up. Her aura was still guarded, but it was opening up. "Oh wow that was fast, and, um, fast. I couldn't run that fast ever. I guess that was fun. Was it fun?"

"It's lots of fun," River said, hugging one of Rosa's arms as thanks.

"That's a good girl," Nate said. "I thought you might like it too, but I was worried you'd jump out."

"I'm good now?" Patience asked, swishing her tail slowly. "All right, you like me! I'll ride the bike if it makes me good."

"It's more like you're good if you don't jump out when the bike is moving and get badly hurt," River said.

"Oh, okay. But I'm still good now." She was pleased with this, nuzzling Nate's hand.

"You had a head start," Rosa said teasingly. "But wow, this place has changed."

"Has it?"

They had passed through the gatehouse, which usually led to a new area. But in this case, it was almost as if they hadn't left Castelia at all. They were surrounded by tall buildings that lined the street; not quite the skyscrapers in Castelia, but still over ten stories tall at least. The pavement seemed fresh and smooth. Everything this way was coated lightly in brown sand, even the air itself. Peering between some buildings, River could see patches of sand and the bay on the far side. Perhaps it was only this street that was built up.

"So is this part of Castelia or Nimbasa?" Nate asked, looking around still.

"Castelia, as far as I know," Rosa answered. "Nimbasa's some distance further north, although it won't take us nearly as long as crossing the city. Want to take a break?"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." They got off their bikes, so River jumped off and stretched before following the humans into a store.

"This is a cool place," Rosa said, her aura tinged with delight. It was a different kind of store, River thought, at least compared to others she'd seen. While there were a great many food items, it wasn't a grocery store. While there were various clothing items, it wasn't a clothing store. It had Pokemon accessories and treats, but not enough to be a store focused on Pokemon. It had a lot of interesting objects for sale, but there was also an area to sit and chat.

There wasn't a person at the register, but there were two men and a woman sitting near the front. While they had been chatting, they all tensed as the two teens and two Pokemon came on. "Oh, welcome to my store," one of the men said, smiling. "We have a little bit of everything, so I hope you find what you're looking for."

"We're looking for truth and justice, but I don't think we can buy those things," Nate said in a more serious tone than he felt. It made Rosa laugh.

"There's a dictionary for sale," the store owner said, getting in on the joke and causing his two friends to relax and join in the laughter. "It's at least honest."

"Can't argue with that," Rosa said.

"Well..." Nate said, tilting his head. "You could, but I don't feel like it. Dictionaries aren't worth the effort since they'll just define all your arguments."

"We're taking a break, so we're just gonna look around," Rosa said.

"Feel free." He then started talking to his visitors again.

Rosa and Nate went to look at the drinks that were for sale, thinking to buy some. In the meantime, River noticed that Patience was walking quietly in another direction. That could be trouble, so River followed her more quietly. The Eevee stopped in front of a bin full of colorful socks and stood on her hind legs to get a better look at what was in there. Her emotions seemed conflicted, clashing with different intents. Definitely trouble in the making.

"You should leave those alone," River warned her.

Patience's fur fluffed up in fright and she whirled around back onto all fours. "O-oh, it's you," she said, trembling. "You scared me."

"Better I scare you than what could have been," the Riolu said. "This is a store, so we need to leave things be. The humans will settle things."

Her eyes soon went back to the sock bin. "But they look so soft. Nice presents."

"They're not nice when you take what's not yours in the first place," River insisted, putting her paws on her hips. "We don't own them, and our Trainers don't own them. The store does, and the humans need to play their bartering game to change ownership. Stealing's not a good thing."

"But sometimes stealing things is good," she said, her ears twitching.

"It's never good. It's like someone taking the food you stored for winter."

"That bad?" Her voice quivered and she crouched down.

"That bad," River confirmed. "But if you don't touch them and let the humans do their thing, then it's good. Is that clear?"

"Um, I guess. So I can be good if I just don't do it." Patience sighed, then tilted her head. "So, um, what's the bartering game? Can we do it?"

River shrugged. "If you can understand it. I've never figured it out entirely. The humans have a supply of metal, paper, or imaginary items that aren't worth anything practical, but they're worth something because the humans say they have worth. Then they trade the worthless items with worth for actual items of worth. They do this with nearly everything."

"Um, what? That's really confusing." Patience shook her head, then pawed her nose. "Who thought it made sense to give imaginary items worth? Paper and metal maybe, but imaginary?"

"I got as far as learning numbers up to one hundred, and it got harder from there," River said. "They even have a number for nothing. The numbers play a big part in their bartering game. Like I said, leave it to them and if you really must have something, try to get their attention and point it out."

Hearing footsteps, they both looked up to see Nate walking towards them. His attention was in a book, though, one with a rough tan cover. Rosa wasn't with him at the moment, making River wonder where she was. Before she could determine that, though, Nate looked to them and crouched down. "You two being good?"

"I'm trying," Patience said, keeping her paws close together as she sat there.

He petted the Eevee a moment, then looked at River. "Hey," he said, softening his voice. "I was wondering... can you tell if those people can be trusted?"

"Well," River looked back to the three adults, caught in their own conversation. Their auras were colored with alertness. Nothing was obviously bad, but they each had a little nervousness of being caught. When River glanced at Patience, she noted that she had the same kind of nervousness, down to the color and degree. Perhaps it was a fear of punishment for a wrong they didn't entirely mean to commit. "Maybe. A Lucario could tell better." She shrugged her shoulders.

Nate seemed to be thinking on it, then stood up. "I guess I'll take a chance on them. Hey." He walked over to the sitting area.

"I wonder what he's up to now," River said, following him over. The more mysterious parts of Nate's aura, which she was still figuring out, were particularly strong now. Now that they had confirmation that Rosa was Keldeo, she wanted to figure Nate out too.

"Does he know something he shouldn't again?" Patience asked, deciding to follow him too.

"Yes, is there something you need?" the store owner said.

"I don't mean to trouble you, but I have a way of knowing things. Were you three formerly in Team Plasma?" Nate wasn't accusing them of anything; he was simply asking the question.

But it still caused a great deal of worry among the three. They didn't seem suspicious at first, as they weren't wearing anything out of the ordinary. But they feared retaliation and shame. "Well," the store owner said, looking to his two friends for support.

At the same time, Nate glanced down at her. River didn't notice anything threatening about these adults. They were being threatened just by the question. Because of that, she nodded to him. They were trustworthy.

"I don't mean you ill by that," Nate reassured them, looking at them again. "My friend might not like it, but I'm fairly new to the region. It doesn't bother me."

"You don't seem so bad," the woman said, relaxing some. "The Plasma we followed is gone now. We've been contacted by those trying to revive it, but their aim is completely different so we declined them."

"That's good of you," Nate said, taking out his wallet while holding the book under his arm. "I was hoping to run into others. A few weeks ago, I encountered another former member in Aspertia. He said that he hadn't had any contact with others from Plasma since it broke up, so I thought you might like to get in contact with him. Here it is; he gave me a business card." He passed over the card.

"Good, there's some things he should hear about," the store owner said, taking it and looking over the information. "I'll copy this down and we'll get a hold of him. Thanks for this."

"No problem," Nate said with a smile. "Oh, and I was wondering about these hymnals you have on sale. They seem really old, more appropriate for antiques."

"Those books were excavated from a site just north of here," the other man said. "The building crews uncovered and damaged some old structures that were hidden under the sand. Lots of scholars were upset and we've managed to get them to stop development temporarily. We're raising support and awareness for the rest of the ruins to be preserved, but we need the money and there were hundreds of those books in one area. But how do you figure that it's a hymnal?"

He went over to sit in an open chair, opening the book up. "That's what it is, isn't it? Just look at the format of this; the music notation is unusual, but someone might be able to interpret it. And..." he flipped a page, running his finger along a line. "Some of this this I can understand."

River was puzzled by that, since the book was browned with age. The others were equally curious. "That language is over two thousand years old. We're still trying to find a scholar who can translate it. How can you read it?"

Frowning but with troubled eyes, Nate shook his head. "I don't know. I just opened it and saw that some phrases were kind of familiar. Like this, it's giving thanks to a god. Listen." He then started to read the book aloud, using odd words that River didn't immediately understand.

"How does he do that?" Patience asked.

"No clue," River said. Rosa was coming back, but the conversation was now about the book. For a minute, the Riolu wondered if it was right to not tell her about who these people really were. But it could be like not indicating that Patience had been considering taking socks. Nothing had happened, so nothing needed to be said.

Kinda short, but that's what was needed. Anyhow, I like how resonate can be used to connect the 'default' names of the two MCs. It's a nice touch.