Chapter Thirty-Four: The Water Temple

Accemenla stalked down the gritty alleyway angrily, tail swishing behind her. The stray growlithe that had been nosing through the rubbish that lined the dank side street glanced eagerly up at the sound of her approach, got a good look at the dark and wrathful expression that contorted her face, and slunk off hastily, ragged tail between his legs. Psychic tension seemed palpable in the air as Accemenla paced back and forth across the narrow alleyway, lost in dark and bitter thought.

Even in her anger, she had remembered to take refuge on one of the main street's narrow offshoots; you never knew who might be watching, after all. Not that the alleys were really that private, but only the truly the powerful had the gall to let their watchers roam the main streets. She could deal with whomever sent their servants to lurk quietly near such an ill-favored road as the one she had left. Once, this quick assessment of risk would have been unconscious, so habitual that it was carried out by instinct. The fact that it had actually given her momentary pause only darkened her mood further; she had been away too long. Too long, and not long enough at all.

Ugh, that human. The tarsix let her breath hiss through her teeth and slumped back against the wall of one of the buildings that backed up to the alley, feeling the rough, grimy surface of the bricks through her short fur. Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes, outwardly appearing to relax but clutching the minimized pokéball in her hand all the tighter. She wished that she could just crush it, there and then, and be done with it, but of course it wasn't as easy as all that. At the same time, she dearly wanted to release the creature held inside—for she could feel the faint pulse of life even through the pokéball's metal skin—but knew she could not risk it. It was too dangerous to indulge her curiosity.

The boy could have locked anything away in it, and knowing him, it was almost certainly dangerous. Accemenla opened her eyes, staring blankly up at the patch of blue-gray sky overhead, framed by the dark walls of the alley. The sickly sun that hung within was a harsh reminder of where exactly she was. She was back home, back to walking a dangerous line between treachery and self-preservation. The murky light from above was a balm to her sensitive eyes, offended by the blazing sun of Johto, but not to her soul.

And so he had hemmed her in again. It was almost comical the way the boy blundered through life, unwittingly upsetting carefully laid plans and disrupting the balance of powers that she didn't even believe he was aware of. Probably a sign of the true danger.

For a moment, staring up at the tail end of a puffy, slate-gray cloud that drifted by overhead, she wondered. Was it really necessary?

But the thought was gone in an instant, the tarsix's lips twisting into a snarl as she tore her gaze from the sky and transferred it to the pokéball in her hand. Sentimentality. Weakness. She would do her duty.

This creature, though, she thought, rolling the minimized pokéball between thumb and index finger, this creature had never seen her. It would never suspect.

You can end it now, she chided herself. Stop trying to run. If you stay with him, he will only drag you down with him in the end.

She did not know how long she stood there thinking, mind coldly running over facts and weighing options, treading a circular patch of logic once again. It was probably not long at all; the minds of psychic-types work very quickly. At last, she was resolved.

Tossing the pokéball into the air with a casual flick of her wrist, she caught it neatly with her mind, leaving it to hover in the air near her head. She turned to face the wall that she had been leaning against and stepped back, craning her neck to try to gauge the distance to the roof while flexing both now-free hands absently. Bending her knees, she leapt, a tiny touch of psychic energy sending her soaring impossibly high. Hooked claws found the gutter and shrieked against metal as they sought for purchase, caught the edge and held. Accemenla swung her legs up and clambered over the edge, ignoring the alarming way that the gutter tilted beneath her weight.

She scrambled up to the peak of the roof, claws scrabbling across crumbling roof tiles, and paused for a moment, scanning the area with keen eyes. Spotting what she was after, she started off again, clambering up and down the pitch of roofs and easily leaping the gaps between buildings, the pokéball ever bobbing along in her wake.

Roof, roof, down, up, air, up again, and there they were: two grimy, surly-looking pidgey, huddled at the peak of a roof and absorbed in an argument of some kind. Smirking, Accemenla increased her speed and was soon upon them. The birds, wrapped up in their trivial affairs, saw the tarsix coming too late. One halfheartedly raised his wings as though to attempt a takeoff, but then thought better of it. Accemenla skidded to a halt in front of the pair in a rasp of claws, straddling the roof's peak awkwardly, and picked the left bird at random.

You! I have a job for you! she snarled imperiously. The bird looked admirably fearful, though its companion merely gave her a sour, resentful look. Accemenla chose to ignore the slight for the moment and plucked the pokéball from the air where it had been floating near her ear. She held it out to the bird, who shuffled forward warily, bright eyes studying the strange device. Take this to the one of the southern islands as quickly as you can. Do not stop, do not drop it and, most importantly, do not tamper with it.

For a moment, it looked as though the flying-type might protest. He probably fancied he had something better to do, Accemenla thought with a sneer. Pitiful creature. She leaned in close to him, glaring. Of course, some most unpleasant people will hear of it if you fail to perform to my satisfaction, she hissed, and the pidgey's eyes widened with fright. Hastily he reached for the pokéball, and Accemenla shoved it unceremoniously into his talon. In a whir of wings he took to flight, his companion reluctantly following. The pair banked and began winging south at top speed.

Accemenla shifted to a more comfortable position, watching them go with a feeling of satisfaction. It was done, then. And it felt good, too; at last, some pokémon that knew their place. The creatures in Johto had forgotten the natural order of things, but here, in Waytar, you were still shown your proper respect, at least.

She was safe now. Safe, at least, unless the boy did something unreasonably stupid.

Accemenla's contentment faded. That was, she thought grimly, altogether too likely.

Tobias froze, blood humming in his ears as a wave of panic swept over him. It wasn't possible—there was no way someone could have recognized him! Not this quickly! But nevertheless, there it was.

Feeling a bit resigned, he stood up straight again, eyes sweeping up and down the street in search of whomever it was that had spoken. There was no sign of anyone, however: a few people were bustling past on the street, but no one who seemed to be paying any real attention to him.

"Where are you?" he muttered softly, not sure whether the person was near or far and if they would be able to hear him if he spoke up, anyway. He wasn't sure that he wanted them to hear.

Right HERE.

And before Tobias could react, something sailed through the air and landed next to him with a dull thud, apparently having dropped out of the sky. He jumped and instinctively started to back away, almost tripping over his too-large boots, until he saw who it was.

"Wait a minute, it's you?"

I should think so, Accemenla said, looking at him with a broad, toothy grin. My, but we're a jumpy one today.

"That wasn't funny!"

Accemenla just continued to smile and stood up on her hind legs, brushing a bit of sooty grime from her fur and watching him impudently.

"Where'd you come from, anyway?" Tobias asked.

Roof, Accemenla replied, with a vague wave over her shoulder and towards One-Eyed Jack's. Took you long enough. I must have been waiting up there for a good twenty minutes.

"So you, uh…?"

Yes. It's done.

Tobias sighed, relaxing a bit. Trust Accemenla to pull something like that. His headache was coming back, throbbing insistently behind his eyes, and he suddenly felt very weary. He pulled his new coat on and fumbled with the buttons on the front while Accemenla watched with amusement.

You planning to hibernate soon? she asked. I mean, it's only October. Last time I saw that coat, it was walking around looking for a den to bunk down in. Don't you think it's a little early for you to be holing up?

"Oh, be quiet. It's going to get cold here soon, anyway."

Not that cold.

"It's better than the league jacket, all right? After all, I don't want someone actually accusing me of being 'Johtoan filth', now do I?"

Nobody around here is going to recognize that coat for what it is, Accemenla said simply. Well, almost nobody, she added to herself. If it bugs you that much, just lose the jacket.

"I like the jacket," Tobias said defensively, squatting down to try to sort out his pack. Rearranging the cans somewhat, he managed to shoehorn his sneakers in and even wrestle the thing shut. It looked imposingly large and bulgy, especially now that his body was starting to reawaken to the fact that he had just traveled several hundred miles in the space of a couple moments and by very uncomfortable means. Hopefully it wouldn't be long before he could take a break, though. "Say, Accemenla, did you happen to see the Water Temple while you were up there?"

Yeah, the tarsix said. It's kinda hard to miss.

"Do you think you could lead me there? I'm pretty lost right now."

Probably, Accemenla said, and to his surprise, Tobias didn't think she sounded very grudging at all.

"Well, you're in a good mood today," he observed, swinging his pack up with a grunt.

Accemenla just shrugged and motioned for him to follow, trotting off down the street. Tobias followed, trying to ignore the way that each step seemed to elicit another stab of pain behind his eyes. The pack already felt unreasonably heavy.

"It's not far to the Temple, is it?" he asked a little plaintively as they reached the end of the street and he followed Accemenla around a corner.

Oh, I don't know, maybe a half an hour away. Depends on whether we go the long way or the short way, I suppose. And with all the grief you've given me, I'd say the long way is looking more likely.

"Come on…"

You need to get back in shape, anyway. No more of that cushy Johtoan life for you, is there? If you ever plan to become a master guide, you'd better get used to some serious trekking and not expect a pokémon center to magically spring up for you to stagger into every time you need a break.

Tobias smiled despite himself at the tarsix's playful tone. "Yeah. It's good to be back, isn't it?"

Accemenla turned looked back at him, a funny look in her eyes. Whatever made you think that? He couldn't tell if the question was sarcastic or not.

A little put off and suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, Tobias followed after the tarsix in silence. Soon any thought of conversation was put out of his mind by his crushing headache and bone-weariness that seemed to eat to his very core. The city passed in a blur, and Tobias didn't even stop to admire any of its strange wonders, from the several great fountains that sprang up in small squares, depicting great figures of Waytar's past, to the wildly exotic wares being displayed in shops and on streetcorners as they drew nearer the city's heart. Tobias dully shoved past pesky vendors and urchins, his mind a haze of pain and fatigue.

Abruptly they were leaving the town's heart again, and Tobias's splitting head was grateful for the gradually decreasing din and distraction of the city, which was slowly sprawling out into quiet countryside.

Before he realized it, he was slogging up a path paved with broad stepping stones, its sinuous curves leading it around numerous small fish ponds and miniature streams that ran through carefully cultivated gardens. The air was still and serene, the low, steady trickling of water the only sound in the cool, fresh air.

The Water Temple was a long, low building that clung to the earth just as the Fire Temple had reared above it, built of dark, cold stone that displayed the remains of ancient sea creatures locked forever in its grasp. In Johto, such rock would be instantly set upon by eager trainers who recognized each fossil as a slumbering pokémon of ancient power and astronomical value, just waiting to be shipped off to a genetics lab somewhere and resurrected into a top battler. In Waytar, it was simply beautiful.

Not that Tobias was much in the mood for contemplating the place. He could only reflect on the dim memories he had of the Fire Temple, with its warm baths, nice beds, and good food and cajole his unwilling limbs and aching back to let him go a little farther.

Accemenla shoved one of the heavy doors to the temple open with a mental push and scampered in ahead of him. She appeared torn for a minute, then sighed and reluctantly held the door open for Tobias as he stumbled in after her.

The room beyond was dark and cold, and in here as outside the sound of dripping, trickling water filled the air, echoing from the shadowy corners of the room and seeming to come from all directions at once. Sunlight filtered down from small windows set high in the walls, shedding light over tapestries that, as in the Fire Temple, depicted Temple Masters of old and their noble pokémon. Tobias remembered the entry hall to that Temple as being silent and deserted, though of course, he had gotten there in the middle of the night. This room, however, was quite full, primarily with Temple acolytes lounging in the exquisitely carved wooden furniture and enjoying some time off from their numerous duties.

It was one of these that hastily rose and hurried over to Tobias. She was apparently the person currently in charge of welcoming in guides who had come to take the Temple's challenge. The young girl smiled at Tobias and said brightly, "Welcome to the Water Temple. You're here to take a challenge, I presume?" Her smile faded a bit as she allowed her eyes to sweep across Tobias (in the dim light, his attire was not altogether distinct, but the coat gave him a disconcerting bearlike look), but he didn't notice and could only nod dumbly in response to her question.

"All right, then. I, err, assume you'll be wanting to stay overnight and take your challenge tomorrow instead of right now?" she said. Tobias guessed that he looked considerably road-weary, despite having only come from the other side of the city. He tried to remain focused on the acolyte and what she was saying as he gave an affirmative response, but his mind seemed to feel inclined to wander off to places with warm blankets and nice pillows. The headache trampling his brain didn't do much for his concentration, either.

As a result, he missed most of what the acolyte spouted off about meals and scheduling a challenge as she turned and led him away towards a room. He vaguely settled on getting Accemenla to tell him about it later and just dimly followed the blue swirl of the acolyte's robes as she cheerfully pressed on ahead.

It wouldn't have made much of a difference to him if he had been paying attention; the water temple was a labyrinthine place, and even Accemenla's ready mind got thoroughly confused by the maze of corridors and hallways that the trio traversed on their way to what was to be Tobias's room. The tarsix wasn't overly worried about having to find her way, however; surely the temple would be laid out so that guides wouldn't get totally lost on their way to meals or what have you, and if a bumbling human could find their way, well, certainly she would have no trouble.

The acolyte at last stopped in front of a nondescript door and bowed Tobias inside. He missed out on whatever sort of farewell she gave him and muttered what he hoped was an appropriate response, having eyes and mind only for the bed that he could see shoved up against the opposite wall. He managed to shed jacket, coat, boots, and backpack on the way there and, upon reaching it, promptly collapsed and was asleep within moments.

Accemenla, following behind with an expression of amused irritation, leapt up to the bedpost and perched there, coiling her tail tightly around it. She watched Tobias intently for a moment, a footclaw tapping pensively against the wood, and wondered.

Honestly, the boy acted like he'd been on a journey of a thousand miles or something, she thought exasperatedly. This, of course, reminded her of the infuriating fact that she still didn't know what had happened to cause his long stay in the hospital and, perhaps more importantly, how he had come to return to Waytar so quickly. What little information she had managed to glean from the magmar's mind was scattered and incomplete, and the linoone knew even less than that. And of course, she couldn't get into the boy's own head—whatever information was held there was at the moment irretrievable. A frown darkened the tarsix's face.

She watched Tobias a moment more, not that it was exactly an exciting or entertaining pursuit, then shrugged and turned away, unwrapping her tail from the post. The story would come out one way or another, she supposed. She'd just have to be content to wait. In the meantime, the boy wasn't going anywhere for a while, and the acolyte had mentioned something about lunch.

The tarsix leapt down from the bed and quietly exited the room, leaving Tobias alone with his rest.

Tobias awoke rather disoriented and confused, albeit quite comfortable. He simply lay where he was for a few minutes, allowing memories of the day thus far to lazily trickle through his mind and remind him of where he was and why he was there. This determined, he realized that there was really nowhere in particular that he had to go or anything he had to do for a while. In fact, there wasn't much reason at all to not just stay where he was for a while longer, enjoying a few peaceful moments to himself.

Except that he was hungry.

Tobias opened his eyes and raised his head, peering around blearily. He'd ended up sort of sprawled across the entire bed on his stomach, face buried in the coverlet and legs dangling off one side of the bed. Wearily pushing himself up, he winced as his feet touched the cold stone floor but forced himself to stand anyway.

Yawning expansively and stretching, he allowed his eyes to wander around the room as he slowly worked up the initiative to go and do something about getting food. Unsurprisingly, the room was sparsely furnished, though not lacking, with a dressing table at the far wall, as well as a rather old, cracked mirror. Interestingly, water trickled down from a hole in one wall, splashing down across a series of sculpted outcroppings and tumbling at last into a small bowl near the floor and vanishing from sight through another hole. Some sort of fountain-thing, Tobias decided. There must be piping running through the walls, then, to create a sort of fountain system in the various rooms. Tobias didn't really understand the point, but decided it was "atmosphere."

Still, at least this was an indication that the place had running water, as did the Fire Temple, and a quick check did indeed reveal a small bathroom, complete with a tub. Tobias winced at the thought of taking a bath, however; without natural hot springs to provide hot water, he doubted that the endeavor would be very comfortable. Though on second thought, it was probably the last good chance he'd have to bathe for a while if he planned to be setting out on a proper journey again. He didn't know why such normally unappealing thoughts were suddenly illuminated by a spark of excitement. The feeling of wondrous adventure would of course be crushed out of him after several long, weary, smelly days on the road.

Tobias padded back into the main part of his room and sat on his bed, now seriously considering what time it was and what he should do about getting food. The light trickling in through his room's windows, small and set high in the wall, was the yellowish tinge of evening and cast a line of light far towards the opposite wall, indicating that it was late.

Unfortunately, Tobias could remember very little of his trip through the temple, and nothing at all of the careful instructions the acolyte had given him. Another cursory glance around the room confirmed that Accemenla wasn't up and lurking in a corner somewhere, either. Hopefully she had decided to return to her chime and wasn't wandering around the temple by herself somewhere.

To Tobias's immense relief, the tarsix appeared promptly when her chime was rung, yawning and fixing her guide with an irritable eye. It's a little early for me to be up, she said pointedly. I see the sun is still in the sky.

"It's almost dinnertime," Tobias said. "I think. Anyway, I need you to tell me how to get to the dining hall. You do know the way, don't you?"

The tarsix snorted softly. I had to go and get lunch myself, seeing as you had all the pep and vigor of a rotting log. Yes, I know how to get there. Left after you leave the room, right at the first corridor, right again at the next, and then a left. It's hard to miss. Just follow your nose.

Before Tobias could thank her, Accemenla had vanished back into her chime in a puff of grayish smoke. He couldn't help but smile as he set her chime aside, however. Whatever the tarsix was willing to admit, she really did seem to be feeling much better now that she was home. There had been that odd moment on the way to the temple, though.

Tobias shook his head slightly as he picked up Jinx's chime. He had been tired and distracted then. Surely he'd only misread what she had said. Even if he hadn't, Accemenla could be strange sometimes. One learned to just put up with it.

Tobias released Jinx and Chevron, both of whom were considerably surprised to find themselves back in their homeland. After Tobias told them where they were, Jinx had fluttered up to peer out of the window, as though not believing what his guide had said, then feigned disinterest and hopped back down to the bedpost. Chevron seemed merely contemplative. The last time he'd been in Waytar, he'd still been a zigzagoon just on the verge of evolution. Tobias wondered if what he felt now was akin to coming back to an old home that you had been away from so long it was nothing but a half-recollected fantasy, a place seen through the eyes of a child.

After allowing a few minutes for nostalgia, still slightly in awe of where he was himself, Tobias rallied his pokémon, and the trio headed out in search of the dining hall. Igneous' pokéball remained behind in the room, still concealed near the bottom of Tobias's new backpack. There weren't any magmar in Waytar, and Tobias felt it would be unwise to go flaunting his exotic friend. He felt guilty for, once again, leaving Igneous out of things, but vowed to bring food back to him and explain everything.

A faint queasy feeling assailed him. Yes, he'd explain everything tonight. He couldn't keep it a secret forever, after all, and it would only get harder to talk about it as time went on. Now was best, before it became some sort of rift between himself and his friends.

They found the dining hall without too much trouble. It was a little early for most people to be eating, and so they had the large, airy room mostly to themselves. Tobias didn't mind, as he had his pokémon for companionship, after all. The food that the temple served was excellent and in good supply. Tobias had some sort of spicy fish dish that was supposedly a Salt Bay specialty, along with some of the coarse biscuits and a plethora of vegetables, some of the last of the bounty of the harvest before everything would be mercilessly canned or dried in preparation for the coming winter. Chevron and Jinx got fish, too, albeit raw. They both seemed quite satisfied, though inwardly they wished that the fish could have been left out in the sun and air for a while in order to ripen properly.

Tobias managed to flag down one of the acolytes bustling around and cleaning up tables and explained that he had a pokémon in his room that was very shy and didn't want to come out to dinner, and could he maybe take some food back with him for it? This was not entirely a lie, he told himself sternly, because after all Igneous was generally a very quiet, secretive pokémon. The acolyte sympathized and helped him make up a plate to take to his pokémon, assuring him that he could just return it in the morning when he came to breakfast. So it was that Tobias returned to his room laden with various plates and dishes, as the acolyte had been very generous in terms of portions, not wanting the "poor, shy little pokémon" to go hungry. Actually, Tobias doubted Igneous would finish everything; not that this was a problem, as Chevron would be happy to clean up whatever was left over when he got hungry later, as he undoubtedly would.

Once back in his room, Tobias sat back down on the bed and set the plate of food down next to him before bending over and pulling his backpack towards him, digging around for Igneous' pokéball. Chevron set off cheerfully to explore their room, and Jinx sat himself on the bedpost again, looking sleepily content.

Finding Igneous' pokéball, Tobias tossed it lightly to the floor, picking up a plate of food again as the fire-type materialized out of a scintillating burst of energy. "Here, Igneous," he said, handing over the meal. The magmar looked at him with confusion, though he was clearly tempted by the food.

"We're back in Waytar now," Tobias explained to him. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be able to let you out in public that much, because they don't have any magmar here and I don't want to attract too much attention. The rest of us went to have dinner, so I brought you back some."

The dead look that Igneous gave Tobias in response was far more hurtful than any outward expression of indignation and anger. "No, Igneous, I don't mean it that way," Tobias said hopelessly. "It's just that I can't be seen around you in public. I'll still let you out plenty when we're not in town and stuff. I don't want to risk somebody realizing what you are, that's all." Well that does sound awfully pleasant, Tobias thought woefully, feeling horrible. Almost as soon as the thought had crossed his mind, though, another rose in its place. Why couldn't Igneous just understand? Not everybody was out to get him, after all. What was his problem?

"Listen, I have some stuff I've got to talk to you about," Tobias said, handing a salad bowl over to Igneous. "And all the rest of you, too," he added in a louder voice. Jinx shifted on his perch and glared reproachfully at Tobias, offended by the noise. "Let's just wait until after you have dinner, okay?" the boy tried hopefully. Igneous shrugged noncommittally and seated himself on the stone floor, quietly starting in on his food.

As the magmar ate, Tobias swung his legs up and lay back in bed, fumbling the old guidebook out of his bag and flipping open to a page at random. The next few minutes were quiet and serene, save for a moment of excitement when Chevron, investigating the bathroom, found out that the heavy metal towel bar protruding from the wall was loose while he was using it for support as he tried to peer into the sink. The ruckus caused when the bar gave way and sent Chevron tumbling to floor woke Jinx up and startled him so much that he almost lost his grip on his perch as well, and he gave Chevron a scathing glance as the linoone slunk into the room a moment later, forcedly casual and with his fur puffed up a bit for all that he pretended the incident had never happened.

At last Igneous set aside his food, which was still half-finished and which Chevron watched with a considering eye, and looked pointedly up at Tobias. The boy had been reading a section on medicinal plants, though not really seeing most of the words and absorbing none. With a sigh, he shut the book and swung his legs over the side of the bed, facing his pokémon with some reluctance. He reached for Accemenla's chime in the same motion and rang it.

The tarsix looked much more alert this time as she was let out of captivity; her large eyes went to the fading sunlight streaking the wall and she appeared appreciative. Her gaze then turned to her companions, finally flicking to Tobias as he slid off the bed and sat cross-legged on the perimeter of the ragged circle formed by his pokémon. Chevron stretched out on the cool tile, watching Tobias expectantly, while Jinx lent him a tired, uninterested eye, still perched high above on the bedpost.

"Listen, guys, there's some things I've got to tell you," Tobias said with some reluctance. "About why you had to stay in the pokémon center like that and how we got back to Waytar and stuff." It was an uncomfortable feeling to have his pokémon's eyes on him like this, even more uncomfortable to think that he shouldn't be feeling this uneasy in their presence. He was still reluctant to relive the past couple of weeks, though they already seemed strangely distant, separated by who knew how many miles and the Shield; how strange it was to think that that very morning he'd been discharged from the hospital and sent to wander wherever he would.

"Like you know, I went and entered that Lighthouse Challenge thing a couple weeks ago. I was hoping Jinx would get enough experience that he could learn faint attack and take us back to Waytar, right? Well, it turned out that there was…other stuff…going on at the tournament. Team Rocket was using it as a front for one of their scams, trying to steal pokémon and then…" he trailed off, trying to suppress a shudder and not quite making it. "…well, they were killing their trainers, I guess," he said, still almost not quite able to believe it himself, for all that he'd seen it himself, heard it on the news, had it lurking in the back of his mind for all the time that he'd been consciousHe didn't wait to see how the news would affect his pokémon, however, rushing hurriedly on to the story of what had happened inside the lighthouse, rolling over events as quickly as he could, as though by spitting them out so fast he wouldn't have to really think about them, wouldn't have them sitting reflected in the eyes of his listeners, understood and yet not comprehended; he doubted that he could ever do the tale justice enough that anyone would ever really know what it was like.

Still, there was a strange sort of comfort in the rush of words and the vaguest flickers of dark memories in his mind's eye before they vanished, pushed aside as the next was dragged out for brief contemplation. It was as though something was slowly draining out of him along with his breath. Not the horror or the darkness that the past contained, but perhaps the horror that had been surrounding it, keeping it wrapped in its own dark shroud in his mind, ever-threatening and clouding his other thoughts.

His pokémon made it easier for him, too. He realized at some point that he hardly noticed their presence other than the vaguest feeling that they were there; his eyes were unfocused, turned inward as the room dissolved into the sunlight-bathed expanse of the water level of the lighthouse, or the bizarre emptiness of that last fateful level. Only occasionally did he temporarily snap out of his reverie, see the reactions of those he was speaking too. Chevron looked properly horrified and anguished, while Igneous' expression was stolid as ever, his billed face inscrutable as he took in Tobias's words without outward sign of comprehension. Tobias had to smile incongruously one point as he noticed that Jinx had fallen quite unabashedly asleep, head buried under one wing and chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm. Even Accemenla didn't interrupt, her eyes glimmering with the reflected light of Igneous' fiery body as the sunlight slowly ebbed from the room, night creeping upon the listeners and speaker unawares. If anything, she looked the most attentive, not stirring in the slightest as she listened intently.

At last, the worst was over, as Tobias wrapped up the time he had spent at the hospital and moved on to earlier that very morning. "…so that's when I went to get you guys," he said, smiling around at his pokémon. "I missed you a lot, you know. But after I picked you up I didn't really know where to go, until I got an idea that I might know of a way to get back to Waytar."

Here Accemenla shifted slightly, startling Tobias, though he didn't quite know why. The intensity of concentration on her face seemed almost unsettling as he continued his story; he put the matter out of his mind, however, as he so often did with Accemenla. Psychic-types were strange.

At last the tale came to a close. "So then I kinda staggered over here and Accemenla helped me get a room for tonight. Tomorrow we're going to be trying for another medal here, okay? So I guess we should probably get some sleep or something, if we're going to be any good at all tomorrow.

His pokémon took the hint and shifted, stretching and yawning and shaking themselves. None spoke or moved very quickly. They were still contemplating the story, turning it over in their minds and trying to make sense out of the dark tale.

Tobias stood slowly, surprised at how tight and cramped he felt; he hadn't noticed any discomfort as he sat there, relating his story. He felt almost inexplicably cheerful; it was as though some hazy barrier of suspicion that had come between himself and his pokémon had evaporated, returning them to the relative state of peace and mutual friendship that they usually enjoyed.

The uneasiness had almost entirely gone, but there still remained the nagging feeling that he should say something more to Igneous. The fire-type was looking as weary as any and quite ready for a good night's rest, but Tobias approached him anyway. "So you understand a bit now?" he asked anxiously. "I mean, about why I asked you to attack Jenny. I was scared, and I thought I might, well, that I might die," he admitted. Igneous nodded slowly. "Not that it made it right or anything," Tobias added hastily. "But… I just wanted you to know that… I'm sorry, and I won't ever ask you to do something like that again. In fact," he said with a weak smile, "you can go ahead and use a fire punch on me instead."

Igneous might have smiled; his expression changed, at least, but Tobias still wasn't very good at telling what the fire-type was thinking. "So, uh, friends?" Tobias asked, thinking that the phrase sounded even more ridiculous aloud than it did in his head. Nevertheless, when he extended a hand to Igneous, the magmar took it and shook it gravely, his palm almost painfully warm despite the conscious effort that had been taken to reduce his body temperature.

"Mag," the fire-type said quietly, with a gesture that was something like a shrug, as though it were nothing.

The warmth of the magmar's handshake managed to make its way to Tobias's heart somehow, and he grinned broadly. "Thanks, Igneous," he said, not really sure why but feeling that it was the right thing to say. It seemed that the issue was resolved, or at least that Igneous had accepted Tobias's apology. Either way, things were looking up.

To his surprise, only Igneous wanted to retire to his pokéball for the night. Accemenla, of course, was eager to start her nocturnal ramblings and Jinx was already asleep. As Tobias climbed into bed, however, Chevron leapt up next to him, lying down with his head on Tobias's chest as his guide lay back. Tobias scratched the linoone's head gratefully; Chevron clearly felt bad for him and felt like he needed comfort. It was touching, Tobias thought, and reminded him of the days when Chevron was still a zigzagoon, happy to curl up and sleep with his guide. The linoone chirred quietly as Tobias scratched, the sound slowly dying away as Chevron fell asleep, appearing quite content.

Tobias tried to do likewise, comforted by the warm presence of his linoone and at last getting his secrets off his chest, but found that he simply couldn't get his mind to quiet down. Though he'd learned to sleep like a log in strange places while out on his journey, the cold stone walls of the Water Temple seemed even more alien than usual. Tobias reflected that some people supposedly found the sound of gently falling water soothing, whereas he thought it distracting and annoying; his room's fountain was driving him nuts, and he doubted there was any way for him to turn it off.

He lay in bed, helplessly looking up at the ceiling, his gaze occasionally wandering around the room to take in the glistening motes of moonlight that now stretched luxuriously across the floor or the dark shape of Jinx on the far end of the bed. Accemenla had gone, disappearing into the temple proper in pursuit of whatever entertainment she could find.

It was probably the fact that he'd more or less slept the afternoon away, Tobias thought irritably. Of course he couldn't fall asleep now; he wasn't tired. There was something more than that, though. He didn't want to admit it even to himself, but it ran as an underscore to his restless thoughts, always lurking behind whatever his mind was busying itself with at the moment.

While he was away in Johto, he'd been very homesick at first. After the initial shock had worn off, however, it became an abstracted, almost wistful feeling. The extreme distance between himself and his home had made the separation easier, in the end; he knew that there was no way for him to go back. Home could hold no real power over him, as it lay so far beyond his reach that it was not even worth fantasizing about. Forced to accept the way things were, he soon forgot about his nostalgia, save for the occasional wistful moment when he'd remember something his mother had said to him or caught the sudden flash of a memory of himself playing with Kevin. The feeling was wrapped up in the general longing to be back in Waytar, and troubled him no more than that.

Now, though. Now he was so close. He could go home now if he really wanted to, he realized. It would take him a while to get back to Firstseed, especially around this time of the year, but it was actually within his reach once again.

But what would he have to go back to? His family probably thought he was dead, by now, or barring that, some kind of horrible criminal. He closed his eyes, trying to turn his mind to some other matter. The thought was painful, a burning combination of guilt and regret settling in his chest as it rattled around his mind. Surely they couldn't really believe that, though? They knew he wasn't a bad person. No, surely they couldn't believe that of him. Though his attempts at redirecting his thoughts were unsuccessful, he was soon freed of them by a slight rustling sound from the far end of the bed, a welcome distraction.

Jinx was awake, looking clear-eyed and altogether too alert. He hadn't been asleep, Tobias realized, and wondered how long the murkrow had been feigning slumber. Jinx stretched his wings for a moment, moonlight gleaming darkly across his feathers, and then folded them again, glancing towards Tobias, who immediately pretended to be asleep himself, watching Jinx through slitted eyes. He felt a little guilty for trying to deceive his pokémon, but he was intrigued; Jinx was acting strangely, a little too furtive and a little too uncertain, and Tobias wanted to know what was up.

Surely Jinx wasn't fooled, Tobias thought; he knew he didn't exactly look like he was asleep, and he hadn't been pretending at all up until now, and if Jinx was awake earlier surely he would know that Tobias hadn't gotten to sleep yet, either.

But the murkrow appeared satisfied and turned away again, leaping off the bedpost and flapping quietly up to one of the windows. There were faint rasping noises and finally a metallic click as Jinx unlatched it and quietly pushed it open. For a moment he simply sat on the narrow window ledge, a ragged shape silhouetted by the intense moonlight. He then shot another quick glance back at his guide, spread his wings, and disappeared into the night.