Im 'etiam hic
Chapter 20:
Lost to time
"…Geez, I wouldn't have expected anything like this to have happened to this town! It was such a nice place as well!"
"Well, I guess, Captain, that's what happens when we set one of our bases near by. Other pirates and sailors come to take either our bounty or our gold! Tis a shame though….."
"You're right, Moka. We shouldn't have set out base here. It's our fault…"
"Hey, CAPTAIN!"
"GANON, STOP SHOUTING!"
"Sorry, Captain, but you need to see this!"
"…This…is…?"
Envchill suddenly woke up, having dozed off at some point. Looking around sleepily, she realized that she's in Spirit-Realm's guild hall, with a large group of Pokémon on the opposite side of the room, near the entrance, talking about something. Smirking to herself and still rather tired, the Time Weavile Corruptor then dozed off to sleep, oblivious to what's being discussed.
The group consisted of Lucy, Kiri, Jack, Abby, Intoxiquer, Stringslicer, Marcus, Ivory and Cherfryst. The first five members of the group had come in after the incident with Wrathfire at the abandoned house, along with Envchill. The latter members stayed behind on Intoxiquer's orders.
"….I can't believe that Wrathfire was at THAT house!" Ivory remarked, looking startled. "Me and Stringslicer hang out AT that place a lot! To think the strongest, scariest Corruptor in town was at my favourite place to hang out at! It makes me…..want to giggle! HEHEHEHEHEHE!"
Intoxiquer gained an anime-styled sweat drop, looking unsure of what to say. "…Yeah….." he went, looking around. His eyes soon land on Envchill, who was fast asleep. "….the whole incident at that house was so unexpected! To think Wrathfire and a Corruptor that I thought didn't exist turning up at the same place at the same time….that's not a coincidence."
"Hmm." Marcus went, fiddling with his bandana around his neck. "Ghoulk once told me that Wrathfire absolutely hates Fougueux Forest. Isn't that right, Cherfryst?"
"…That's correct…." Cherfryst stated with a quiet and calm tone, remembering what her husband told her. "…..Since Wrathfire has been…sealed there for years….and repeatedly been sealed…..when he got out twice before….He would escape the forest…as soon as he…could."
"So, why would he stick around that house?" Abby questioned, frowning as she thought hard. "It's a bit weird that he's in a house in the middle of a place he hates….."
"He got caught in the Seal trap we laid there for Yellow Corruptors….." Kiri replied, half looking ashamed for herself and half angry. "….he tricked me and I freed him….if only I knew! I'm such a bakayarō!"
Intoxiquer flew a little bit forward, with a reassuring look on his face. "Don't worry about it, Kiri, my dear…..You didn't have the right information about him at the time…" the Crobat went, with a kind smile on his face. However, Kiri didn't seem satisfied.
"But it was my fault that he got free and beat, as you say, the living hell out of Lucy!" Kiri retorted back, looking angry as the said Kirlia stood there in silence, with a sad look on her face as her pink quartz cross hung around her neck and the Stringslicer mask that appeared earlier in her hands. "If it wasn't for me, Lucy wouldn't have been nearly KILLED! I'm such a MANUKE!"
Kiri headed towards the entrance ladder, looking furious as she began to climb. "Kiri, where are you going?!" Intoxiquer asked, concerned by this. Halfway up the ladder, Kiri turned her head to glare at Intoxiquer.
"I'm gonna find Wrathfire…and I'm gonna capture him…as payment for what he done under my watch!" she bluntly remarked angrily, turning her head back and climbing out of the guild, exiting out from the entrance. The rest of the group stayed silent, bewildered by this.
"…..Hmmm…." Intoxiquer sighed, looking somewhat exasperate as he flew over a little towards the table with his eyes close. "…I'll let her be. Can't argue with her when she's made up her mind….."
"….Marcus, we…..should go alert the others…..about what happened…." Cherfryst stated somewhat seriously. "…..we need to let them know that...well, what happened at the house…."
Marcus nodded, saying nothing as he's normally a Pokémon of few words. With that, he and the eyepatch-wearing Froslass go off to the communications room, to alert the other members of Spirit-Realm, leaving Lucy, Abby, Jack, Stringslicer, Ivory and Intoxiquer left. The Crobat in charge then turned to Abby, with a reassuring look.
"It's been a long day, hasn't it? It's almost 5 in the afternoon, but it feels like it's night time due to what's happened so far….." he started tiredly, not sure of what to say due to how out of energy he was from his mad rush to save Kiri. "…..but….let's go see your husband and Ignatius, shall we? I need to check up on Ignatius, see how the big guy is doing….."
With a silent nod, Intoxiquer and Abby go off to check up on Noah and Ignatius, leaving the diminishing group to themselves. As Jack glance at the sleeping Weavile Corruptor with an unsure look, Ivory floated closer to Lucy, who was staring intently at the Stringslicer Mask. Stringslicer themselves looked at the mask with a cheeky look in their eye.
"Woah, a mask of a handsome devil such as myself….what are the odds?" they commented, looking somewhat arrogant. They then scuttled on the spot, becoming more serious, looking at Lucy. "Jokes aside, why was there a mask of me made when you turned me back into a Red Corruptor?"
Lucy shook her head, confused on why this mask came into existence. "I have no clue…Maybe it has to do with that song Mesprit put into my mind?" she asked curiously, not expecting an answer. Ivory cocked her head, in confusion.
"A song?"
"Aye." Jack started, looking unsure. "Lucy got a song put in her head by Mesprit, which she sang pretty good out loud. Whatever dat scumbag Wrathfire did to Stringslicer, it came out when Lucy sang dat song. Did scare me a wee bit!"
Jack cocked her head, trying to remember. "Methinks dat song is called 'A Requiem to Revive'….."
"'A Requiem to Revive'?" Ivory questioned, surprised at the mention of that song. "Now that's a song I haven't heard in a while…..Hehehehehe…!"
"Huh, you 'eard of it?" a surprised Jack asked, bewildered by this. Ivory nodded, then span around on the spot before gaining a serious expression, unlike of her.
"Yes, I have. I heard about it around the time I died, around one hundred and ten years ago…." Ivory replied, looking somewhat concerned. "There was an issue of a Yellow Corruptor who, like Wrathfire, had the ability to turn Red Corrupted in Yellows. Once that Corruptor had been exorcized, the task was to try and turn back some of the infected Corruptors back into Red. This was back when information about the Corrupted wasn't as much as it is today. But there was something used that was useful to purify Corruptors, which was music. Apparently, all Corruptors love music."
Lucy raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Music?" she questioned, surprised by this. Ivory nodded, still looking serious but also confused.
"I don't know either! Heck, not even Stringslicer could give me an answer to why that is, but that's not what's being explained here." Ivory stated, with Stringslicer murmuring to Jack about their answer to music. "The most important thing is that music was a wat to attract and help purify Corruptors. However, one song stood out from the rest, which was 'A Requiem to Revive'."
Ivory looked down, thinking back to when this song was still being used. "It was unlike any other song that the exorcist at the time used. Whilst other songs simply either lured or sooth infected Corruptors, spirits that were turning into Corruptors living Pokémon that were infected by evil power such as Corrupted magic or demonic powers, A Requiem to Revive actually cured anyone who hears it!" Ivory continued to explain, frowning a little. "If a Yellow Corruptor were to hear it, they would either be exorcized almost instantly after the song ends or turn into a Red Corruptor, though the former happened WAY too often than the latter. The latter only happens if they were infected to become a Yellow Corruptor in the first place."
Ivory then looked back up, still frowning. "Spirits that are being turned into Corruptors would be cured of their infection, and be given a chance to move onto the afterlife, or stay around to sort out some regrets they had." The oddly looking ghost Glaceon described. "I should know, that song cured me…."
She shook her head, eyes glassing over as she remembered from what happened in the past. "Anyway, and any who were to hear it when they are alive whilst under the effects of demonic or Corruptor magic will be cured." Ivory continued to explain, almost finished. "However, once the song was finished, a mask would be created from the Corruptors."
"A….mask?" Lucy questioned, before quickly looking at the Stringslicer mask. Ivory nodded, looking serious.
"Yes. A mask is created from all Yellow Corruptors, originally yellow or had been infected to become yellow, infected spirits and living Pokémon, all resembling the Pokémon that it came from." Ivory stated seriously, looking distant. "However, the reason why the song went out of use is because of the ability it had to create these masks."
"Why is dat?" Jack remarked, looking confused. Ivory sighed, looking tired.
"Turns out the mask can do two things that all exorcists guilds at the time considered to be dangerous, since the masks became quite popular." Ivory said, looking somewhat amused but mostly down. "The first is that if you were to wear a Corruptor Mask, you'll gain some abilities from the Corruptor that the mask is based on, which sounds cool until you find that your body will physically change to resemble a hybrid between your normal species and the species the Corruptor is or was."
"So, wait!" Jack interrupted, looking surprised. "If I were to wear dat mask, I'll be a cross between a Luxio and an Ariados?!"
Ivory nodded, looking grim. "Exactly that." She stated with a frown on her face. "These masks became somewhat popular amongst exorcists to fight Corruptors, but turned weak-willed Pokémon in monster hybrids, and they became banned because of their dangerous use. The second one wasn't as dangerous as you expect, but it was a good factor in why A Requiem to Revive was lost to time."
"Which was?" Lucy went, trying to prompt Ivory into revealing what was left to know.
"The masks could be seen by non-Seers, which means the masks could be worn by then and turn into hybrids." Ivory concluded, looking serious. "If they managed to get the mask off, they'll become Seers, as their blood will be infused with spiritual power, enabling them to see the dead and naturally, the Corruptors."
"Aye, I see now why da song had to go away." Jack remarked, looking calm but still serious. "To keep da general population unware of da Corruptors is a 'ard job as it is, those masks and dat song would make da whole world banjaxed!"
Ivory nodded, smiling a little. "Exactly. That's why the song went out of use, all information about it was burnt or destroyed." The oddly looking Glaceon stated, with a small smile. She then frowned a little, remembering something. "Though there's still something that puzzled me and many exorcists around the time the song began to come into use. Nobody really knows where it came from…..it just appeared out of nowhere…"
Ivory cocked her head in confusion. "Might have to go ask Oddwald when he gets back. My question is, how did you learn that song? There's no information on what the lyrics are left!"
Lucy looked at Jack and Stringslicer with an unsure look, who the former nodded. Lucy then turned back to Ivory, and explained the vision with Mesprit earlier that day.
"Mesprit?" Ivory went, surprised with a spin in the air. "That's something I didn't expect at all! Hehehehehehe…Though, things have been very, VERY strange since this morning, when we heard….well, you know."
Not wanting to talk about Amos' death, Stringslicer stepped forward, looking confused as well. "Yeah, Wrathfire being at the house, the great Envchill wanting to save someone, the return of an old song that was lost to time and the re-appearance of a Legendary Pokemon!" the Corrupted Ariados stated with a click of their fangs. "Do you think it has to do with Amos' death?"
Ivory frowned, not sure herself. "We need to talk to Oddwald and Ghoulk when they get back. Maybe they could shed some light on this…hehehehe….." Ivory giggled to herself, beginning to floated towards the communications room. "Stringslicer, come with me. Oddwald won't believe me when I talk with him over our communications link, so come help me!"
"HE DOESN'T BELIEVE ME EITHER WHEN I TRY TO SHOW HIM NEW INFO!" Stringslicer screamed for some reason, as they scuttle over to the communications room with Ivory, leaving Lucy and Jack by themselves.
The Irish Luxio sighed, looking tired as she glanced over to the still sleeping Weavile Corruptor. "Methinks I should go take a rest….today was a bloody bad day….." she remarked, looking tired already and sounding quite down. She turned to Lucy, who was still looking at the Stringslicer mask. "Lucy, I need to say an apology to ya."
Lucy suddenly looked up, confused. "Huh? Why do you need to say sorry for?" she questioned, looking surprised.
Jack looked away, looking ashamed of herself. "It's my fault….dat ya almost died…." The Irish Luxio murmured softly, still looking away. "I…..was too cocky, thinking dat I could take Wrathfire by myself. I was such a tool to think dat, and I got knocked out straight away! If it weren't for me…..ya wouldn't got hurt…..I'm such a eegit."
"….Jack, it's okay." Lucy stated with a soft smile, after a short pause. "…..we didn't know what Wrathfire was capable of. Even I thought I could take him, despite everyone's warnings…."
Lucy took off her cross and looked at it with a determined look. "…..it looks like we'll both have to train more to reach Wrathfire's level." She affirmed, with a somewhat-surprising confident look. "If we get Kiri, Peter, Charlotte and Sam's help on taking him, we'll have a good chance."
Jack nodded, returning to her usual and cheery self. "Aye."
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" a familiar voice called out. Lucy and Jack turn towards the guild's entrance to see Charlotte jumping down from the hatch with Peter in her arms, and both Sam and Alastor falling down to the floor, which the said Poochyena bolting for the table.
"Eh?" Jack went, all confused. "What da feck is 'appening?"
"FIRST IMPRESSION!" a unfamiliar voice roared. Suddenly, a Golisopod bursts down through the entrance and crashes into the table, where Sam was hiding. Sam jumped out of the way and bolted behind Charlotte, Peter and Alastor, who looked somewhat panicked. Lucy and Jack jump back, causing Lucy to drop the Stringslicer mask.
"That!" Alastor declared, pointing at the Golisopod who was recovering from the attack. "THAT IS HAPPENING!"
"That blasted thing attack us out of nowhere!" Charlotte barked angrily, whilst holding a frightened Peter. "We'll heading to my family's shop to get some chocolate when that Golisopod attacked us out of nowhere! Scared Peter half to death with the sudden surprise!"
"Charly, I don't want to see the mean bug…" Peter murmured, hiding his face into Charlotte's body. Sam stepped forward, looking annoyed.
"That Golisopod is after me for some reason." He remarked, on edge a bit. "After it surprised us, it kept trying to attack me and was ignoring Charlotte, Peter and Alastor! I have no idea why it's attacking me, I've never met a Golisopod before!"
Alastor grimaced as the Golispod turned to them with a menacing look. "We tried to lose it but it kept following us. Sorry we've lead it into the guild."
Noticing that Envchill has awoken and is watching the scene with some amusement, Lucy was about to speak up before the Golisopod interrupted her.
"Yo, yo, yo, it's your girl, Sasha, back here in this guild ready to crush-ya!" the Golisopod rapped with a somewhat deep but husky feminine voice, moving her claws around like she was in some kind of rap routine. "The best Golisopod police officer you ever saw, so powerful that you cannot ignore!"
"What." Alastor bluntly and flatly remarked as a few seconds past as the group blankly stare as Sasha. Envchill however just smirked to herself, finding this amusing.
"Here to make an arrest, of a possible dangerous criminal, doing my best!" Sasha continued to rap, still doing her weird claw movement things. "So take a seat-ing as I metaphorically and literally give a beating! If you resist!"
Sasha then struck out a pose, to look intimidating. Lucy and the group still flatly stare at Sasha, wondering what the actual heck is going on. Envchill however like she's about to burst out laughing. Suddenly, a flapping of wings was heard, and Intoxiquer appeared, looking annoyed.
"Okay, what the hell are you kids do-" Intoxiquer began to ask, before cutting himself off as he looked at the situation, with the kids blankly looking the weird Golisopod and the broken table. "…What the f**k is happening?"
Sasha went into a neutral position, and began to pull out something from a fanny bag around her waist, which Lucy noticed as soon as the situation's tension died down. She then pulled out a police officer's badge, and showed it to Intoxiquer.
"Yo! I am Police Officer Sasha Zarya, twenty-three years old and part of Espectro City Police, currently on loan to Fougueux Ville for the investigation of Amos Lettigo's murder, former detective Intoxiquer Kōmori, yo." She stated, standing straight with a salute.
"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to remind me about my past…." Intoxiquer scowled, looking away for a second whilst bitter about the past. He then turned to Sasha, with a confused look. "….but why are you here? Why are you attacking one of the members of Spirit-Realm and breaking all our stuff? How has this to do with Amos' murder?"
Sasha reached into her bag, to pull out a notepad. "Well, Mr Kōmori, I can answer all of that with one statement!" Sasha went, looking through her notes. She then put her notepad back in her bag and then pointed at Sam as she turned to him.
"Samuel Barker, you are under arrest for the murder of Amos Lettigo, yo." Sasha stated seriously, causing everyone (par an very surprised Envchill) in the room to have their jaws drop in shock, apart from Sam, who began to pale rapidly.
"W-w-w-w-what…?" he managed to stammer out, looking totally shocked by this. "….I…I….couldn't…have….."
Sasha pulled out a restraining muzzle and a lead out of her bag, causing Sam to back away in fright. "You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence, yo." She seriously stated, moving closer to Sam. Intoxiquer flew in front of the two, looking concerned for Sam.
"Now hold on a sec, you don't need to use that thing on a four-legged Pokémon like Sam? Remember the whole police brutality thing?" Intoxiquer remarked a little bit nervously, trying to buy to buy some time to think of something. As Sasha was about to say something as she lowered down the leash and muzzle, the Crobat interrupted her. "Now, that we are now a bit calmer, are you sure it was Sam? After all, Amos was shot with a gun, and as everyone knows, four legged Pokémon can't use guns because it's nearly impossible for them, since they have no fingers to pull it. And besides, where would Sam get a gun? They're hardly made these days because everyone prefers to use moves, plus the fact he's still a kid! Heck, you should be investigating Team Spectrum! They had tons of illegal guns when we encountered them!"
"Yo, I have heard of this Team Spectrum that you're talking about, but Detective Haunts did mention it when my superior and I arrived here in Fougueux Ville, so we'll be looking into that as soon as I'm done here." Sasha said, looking cheerful. "However, yo, my superior and I know Sam's little secret, regarding his heritage and his powers, regarding his transformation stage."
"GRAGH…..!" Sam went, paling a lot. Lucy turned to look at Sam whilst this was happening also to see that Jack, Charlotte and Peter was also paling and sweating nervously. "Y-Y-Y-Y-You….k-k-k-k-know…a-a-about….. Hzn….?"
"How? HOW? How did you learn out about him?!" Intoxiquer demanded angrily, looking nervously shocked as he flew closer to Sasha. The said police officer Golisopod looked unfazed.
"My superior has her sources, and with the evidence found at the crime scene, all points to Mr Samuel Barker killing the victim." Sasha bluntly stated, lifting the muzzle and lease up. "Now, come along."
"Who the f**k is your superior?! I demanded a word with them! That information about Sam breaks privacy laws!" Intoxiquer demanded again, looking angrier as the accusations grow wilder.
"My, my, my…still have that foul mouth of yours, eh, Intoxiquer, darling?" a voice called out, taunting the said Crobat. Intoxiquer paled, as he turned to see the Pokemon he most loathes the most.
Right at the entrance of the guild, a Lopunny stood there with a callous smirk on her face. With a dark-red scarf around her neck, she played with her scarf in her hand with a somewhat dark grace as she smiled with dark intent in her eyes.
"Justine…..Case….." a somewhat calm Intoxiquer stated, hiding the building and fuming rage behind an uncanny calm face as he stared at Justine. The said Lopunny giggled mysteriously.
"Sasha, why haven't you arrested our suspect yet?" she asked, quite surprised at the fact that Sam hasn't been arrested yet. Sasha nodded, and proceed to head towards Sam, with everyone frozen with fear of what the police could do. Sam stood with terror as the Golisopod police officer came closer to him with every step.
"SAM!" Jack barked loudly, snapping Sam back in reality. "GET OUT THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"
Sam blinked for a moment, then nodded. Suddenly, a green aura appear around him, as his ability began to activate. "My Ability, Run Away, don't fail me now!" he declared, startling Sasha. Before she could react, Sam began to dig into the floor, using Dig to Run Away.
"Screw this crap, I'm out!" Sam yelled as he dug into the ground to flee from Sasha. The Golisopod pounced at Sam, but it was too late. Sam was too deep into his hole to capture. Sasha got back up and looked at Justine.
"I'm sorry Madam, yo, but he got away." Sasha said sadly, look ashamed of herself. Justine simply shook her head.
"It's okay, Officer Zarya. I'll simply call in the rest of our squad to perform a search of our little fugitive." Justine stated, rather calmly. She turned round towards the ladder. "Come. We'll begin our search for him."
Sasha quickly went to Justine's side and went up the ladder without any prompting. Before she left, Justine glanced back at Intoxiquer with a dark smile. "Though it was only brief, it was nice to see you again, Intoxiquer darling…." Justine remarked in a taunting manner. "…..but considering what the situation is, I think I'll get to play with you VERY soon….."
Justine then began to climb up the ladder and exited the guild, not before Intoxiquer yelled: "I AM NOT YOUR DARLING!"
"Heh, I know you don't like being called that, but it's SO fun to call you that. Anyway, a note of advice to all of you….." the Lopunny police officer stated, in a teasing manner as she climbed the ladder with grace. She then glared, with an ominous look in her eyes. "…..interfere with my investigation, and it's a one way ticket to a jail cell."
As soon as Justine left, Intoxiquer immediately turned to Jack with a serious expression. "Jack, I need you to go find Sam now! It's dangerous for him to be out there at the moment!" he stated, deadly serious about the situation at the moment. "Knowing Justine is investigating this case, it's more than likely that there's something bigger to this than we first expected!"
"Aye!" Jack nodded, frowning as she began to leave. "I'll go check out every spot where me and Jack 'ide out at! He wouldn't belt it back home, so he's got to go somewhere!"
"Lucy, Alastor, Peter and Charlotte." Intoxiquer started, looking calm. "I'm going to alert the other members of the guild and head out to try and investigate what's happening with Sam, and try to find him as well. In the meantime, I need you four to stay here, just in case he comes back here. Ignatius and Noah are still out of it, so I'm taking Mrs Angelo with me. Charlotte and Peter, you should prepare a hiding place for Sam if he turns up here. The Library is a good place, Oddwald has hiding places for everyone else's snacks, so I think there is one big enough for Sam. Lucy and Alastor, I'm counting on you to keep a look out."
Lucy and Alastor look at each with uncertainty while Peter and Charlotte nodded with determination. Intoxiquer smiled somewhat tiredly, glad to see that his guild members understand. He then glanced at Envchill, who is watching with curious intent. He decided to leave it for now, as it appears Envchill could had left at any moment but chose to stay behind.
"Anyway, I'm off." Intoxiquer stated, flying over to the communications room. Charlotte and Peter proceed to head to the library to find a hiding spot for Sam, leaving Lucy and Alastor by themselves. A somewhat-bewildered Alastor turned to Lucy, completely unsure what's happening.
"Geez, that was frightening….But, to think, Sam being accused of murder?" Alastor questioned to himself. "That's….kinda hard to believe, considering what he's done for us and what he's been like over the last few days. And who the heck is Hzn?"
"Hmm….." Lucy went, thinking to herself. "It's a really odd name to begin with, especially by Corruptor standards. That Gosliopod mentioned Hzn had something to do with Sam's heritage, so could Hzn be a family member of Sam's?"
"Judging by how Jack, Charlotte and Peter reacted to Officer Zarya saying that, they obviously know who Hzn is." Alastor affirmed, looking happy as he realised what to do. "We'll ask Charlotte and Peter once they've come back!"
Before Lucy could say anything, Envchill floated over, looking somewhat annoyed. "Hold it, I want to ask something." She demanded suddenly, getting straight to the point. Lucy jumped in surprise at Envchill suddenly coming up to her.
"Let me guess, a Corruptor wants to talk to you." Alastor asked, somewhat rhetorically. Lucy nodded, causing her brother to sigh. "All right, I'll just be over here. I feel like a side character here…."
As Alastor goes off to the side a bit to investigate a strange mask that's on the floor, Lucy's attention is fully on Envchill. "Um….hello….I'm Lucy Angelo…thank you for saving me….." Lucy started off, hesitantly, to the Time Corruptor. Envchill clicked her tongue in annoyance as she crossed her arms.
"Yeah, whatever, you're welcome. I already know your name. I'm this town's Time Corruptor and I know everyone who is in this town, temporary or not. You know my name as Envchill, judging on how much that stupid Ariados kept on blathering on about me." Envchill bluntly stated, catching Lucy off guard with her rudeness. Lucy feels like there's more than meets the eye with this certain Corruptor.
"That's…..not very nice to say about Stringslicer about that." Lucy remarked softly, looking annoyed at Envchill's rudeness. The Weavile Corruptor frowned from hearing that.
"Frankly, I don't really care for that Corruptor, since I hardly know them….." Envchill began coolly, getting to her question. "…..which leads to my question; why do you care?"
"Huh?" Lucy went, taken aback by this. Envchill sighed, and stared at Lucy with yet another annoyed look.
"Everyone that you've met so far on your holiday here over the last few days, you've only known them for a short space of time." Envchill began to explain, digging right into the details. "Total strangers up until a few days ago but you act like you've known them for a long time. Take example, that Luxio's apology to you. You hardly know her but you took that apology like she was your best friend or something, knowing it was something out of your control. Now, it seems like you're trying to investigate that Poochyena's predicament despite the fact he attacked you and your brother when you first met him, and was a complete asshole to you up until the morning of today. Why do you care so much for Pokémon that you barely known for a few days?"
Lucy was taken aback by this, looking unsure herself. She took some time to think of a proper answer, wondering this herself. "I'm…..not sure myself, but….." she began to say, opening her heart a little. "…I don't really have any friends at home…. I got bullied a lot on what I thought was a mental condition which freaks out a lot of Pokémon….. Heck, the Pokémon I consider to be closest friend is Alastor…"
Alastor glanced over, surprised by the fact that Lucy considers him as her closest friend and that she gets bullied. An inkling of guilt falls deep into his chest as he continued to listen to what Lucy is say to the Corruptor he cannot see as he holds onto the strange mask.
"…..but everyone that I've met so far….here in Fougueux Ville…they've been so nice to me, so kind….." Lucy continued to say, looking happy. "….even if I've known them for a short space of time, I've been happy around them, to have them consider me their friend. So, for that fact, I'll believe in the good in them, even though I don't know them that well."
"Huh." Envchill went, looking away. Lucy could tell Envchill wasn't impressed by her answer. However, before she could speak up, Envchill turned back to her, with a very faint smile on her face. It was barely noticeable but it caught Lucy off guard, like it was a crucial clue.
"Listen, I appreciate your honest answer, kid." Envchill began, frowning again as she floated mysteriously in the air. "To believe in others is something that most Corruptors have forgotten to do since we've died. We can have relationships between each other but normally Corruptors don't trust each other, even though they might be the same colour as each other. To hear from a living Pokémon that she can trust and believe in others, it's a concept that's completely alien to Corruptors. Though they might be an exception, I bet that Ariados Corruptor doesn't fully trust the guild members here, but that's my line of thinking."
Envchill paused for a moment, then continued what she's trying to say. "What I'm really trying to say here is don't think you're something special." She harshly stated, catching Lucy off guard. "This world…..the world of exorcists, ghosts, monsters and the Corrupted. It's something that you are entirely unfamiliar with, despite your crash course over the last few days. You may think it's something simple, but to me, you're acting like you've jumped into a whirlpool to save someone despite the fact you don't know how to swim. To put it simply, you're getting yourself into something deep and dark, and by trusting your new exorcist friends, you're putting yourself into dangerous territory."
Envchill floated down a little, and became a little more comfiting, though her harsh words continued to speak out. "There's nothing wrong with learning how to be an exorcist, but you're rushing too much, acting like a pro." Envchill warned, rather bluntly.
"You're not an expert, you're just a kid playing pretend with a powerful weapon and risking yourself. Take a step back, learn a few things, learn how to control that weapon of yours and learn for yourself. It's a good thing that you got friends to help you, but even friends can turn on you. Sam, Jack, Charlotte, Peter, Kiri, Ignatius, Intoxiquer, your father, that Lucario and that Aipom, the members of this guild, Amos although he's dead now, heck, even your own brother have their own secrets to hide. Don't be surprise when their secrets cause them to turn on you. Maybe if what I'm saying is getting into your head, maybe you wouldn't repeat the same cocky thing you tried to so with Wrathfire, thinking you can take him. Be smart for once, and think things through."
Lucy was for a lost for words, surprised by Envchill's words. Despite being extremely harsh and down-putting, in some way, Lucy had to agree with her. The world of exorcists and the supernatural…..it was something completely new to Lucy and she was head-first into it without a second thought. Lucy looked at her cross with uncertainty in her powers. Was she good enough to an exorcist? Taking on Wrathfire was a stupid thing to do, but it was the only thing that Lucy could think of at that time. Was there another option to take at that time?
"That's something to think about later." Envchill started, changing the subject quite quickly with a smile. "It's time to get your mind on, kid, because we got a mystery to solve!"
"Huh?" Lucy went, confused by this. Envchill clicked her fingers, and Lucy's mystery novel suddenly appeared out of nowhere in her claws. Alastor jumped at the fact that Lucy's book appeared from thin air and is floating in the air without psychic powers.
"I know that you believe in Sam, despite the fact you only known him for about two days." Envchill remarked, smirking a little. "So, as his newest friends, you and your brother are going to solve your first mystery together, with a little help from me of course, because I simply find this amusing."
Lucy blinked, confused by what's happening as Alastor came over. "What mystery? What mystery are you talking about?" she asked, still confused by what's happening.
"Isn't it obvious?" Envchill started, an excited look on her face. "If you want to save Sam, we're gonna have to solve the mystery of 'Who Killed Amos Lettigo'!"
Lucy blinked again, shocked by this. "WHAT?!"
To be continued….
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please leave a review. It'll be a great help to me to know what I need to improve on! In the meantime, see ya later!