Chapter 36 – Find them!
Standing on at the edge of the ocean, Alphonse could just feel the waves splashing over his feet. Cool, wet, fizzy and sticky. He could hear the distant cries of wingull and the hum of people talking in the distance.
He had believed that if he ever lost his ability to understand and speak with Pokémon, he would have gone insane. He had thought that being cut off from everything he had known, everything he had been, would have driven him to try to reclaim it and to attempt the impossible.
He believed that he would have ended up like the Leader, if not locked up.
Somehow, that hadn't have happened. The truth disturbed him as much as it relieved him.
He didn't want his power back.
It felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.
For once, he could only see what he could with his eyes, feel what he could feel with his body, hear what he could hear with his ears, his sense of smell had seemed to dim and his sense of taste had grown.
He felt right. No longer did it feel like he had been pressed into the tight skin of a human, unable to fit. He couldn't hear thousands of voices clamouring to be heard. No one was talking about gathering food, creating shelter, the presence of humans, or anything else.
Even so, he was aware that it wasn't that the world had changed but him. Pokémon probably still chattered away, he just couldn't hear or understand it.
"How are you feeling?" Dustin asked, coming up behind him.
It surprised him a little and a small smile came to his face, it was nice to not be able to sense people sneaking up on him.
"Strange," he answered, a little absent-mindedly, "I didn't even realise it, but I probably wasn't even human until a few days ago. There's no name for what I was. Something similar to a Pokémon stuck in the skin of a human, perhaps."
"I know I've asked this before but, what's it like being human?"
Alphonse thought about it.
"Shouldn't you know?"
Dustin laughed.
"I don't think I ever heard you joke," he said, "every time I visited, you just glared at me."
Alphonse remained silent. The tranquillity of the moment was gone.
Lilly sat and waited. She couldn't leave if she was the only one still there; how would Alphonse get back in? She was stuck.
She sat. Then she shifted so that she was lounging around the chair, moving every few moments.
"Why do I have to wait?" she cried out, throwing her hands into the air. She sighed and let them fall. It was still strange to feel gravity pull at her limbs.
An idea fluttered through her mind.
"Cam?" she called out.
She had found out that her Pokémon were still with her, even after all the events of the previous days. Out of her Pokémon, only the shadowy, black robed Duskull had been released. She couldn't summon up the courage to release her other Pokémon.
It had been hard enough when she realised that she couldn't communicate with Cam any more. The Pokémon had nudged her a few times, perhaps believing that she was doing it on purpose.
She could only be thankful that Cam still responded to its name.
"Could you guard the house while I go out?" she asked.
The Pokémon floated around, almost spinning in the air. Its playful attitude told her that it didn't understand her.
She sighed. She was bored.
She never got bored as a Pokémon. Pokémon didn't have to worry about leaving a house unattended. They could explore as much as they liked.
Idea! She jumped off the sofa. There was nothing stopping her from exploring this house. She ran from room to room, trying to decide which one looked the most interesting.
The kitchen appeared normal. There was a bench in the centre, separating the kitchen from the dining area. The wall was lined with appliances; ovens, dishwashers, a fridge, everything needed to make food the way humans liked it. There was a back door on the far wall which led out into an unkempt, tiny, garden.
The lounge was the place she had spent most of her time. It appeared to be the centre of the house, with doors leading to the guest room, the laundry, the kitchen and outside as well as stairs leading up to the master bedroom, bathroom and other rooms; such as the training room she found with nothing on the floor but weapons lining the walls.
After running around for a while, just exploring, she found herself shuffling through the bookshelves. She didn't understand much of the written language but loved to look at the pictures. On the bottom shelf, tucked in the corner, was a small, black, leather album. It was filled with pictures. The ones at the start were of a younger Dustin, often surrounded by Pokémon. The first one showed him with a Cyndaquil, standing outside a house in one of the cities. Then there was one of him and the same cyndaquil outside of the ruins. After that, more Pokémon started appearing in the pictures.
An unown shaped like a letter 'A' was the next to appear.
Then a Mareep joined them in the next picture.
She saw pictures from all around the Johto area as the Pokémon grew and changed, as did their trainer.
Thirteen pages in, the unown vanished. This shocked her as the small Pokémon had been in every picture up to then. The first one where it was gone had been taken in a place filled with orange leaves. It had been labelled 'Ecruteak City'.
She flipped through the pages, now searching for something specific. She found it, only a few photos later.
Dustin was standing outside of a familiar looking house. Mr. Pokémon was standing at his side, with a beautiful woman wrapped in a decorated cotton dress. Both the woman and Mr. Pokémon had their hands resting on the shoulders of a young child, who was obviously not thrilled to be in the photo.
She tried to imagine what it might have been like for Alphonse back then, but all she could think was that he was adorable when small.
He appeared in a few more photos, appearing older and older in each. He didn't appear any happier, giving the camera a glare each time.
It was a different side to the Alphonse she knew. He might have been harsh, and rarely smiled, but she hadn't ever seen him glare like that.
Smiling a little, she settled into a comfortable position and kept flipping through the book.
Zeannah paced the small cell. Larry had gone ballistic after his proclamation of his sister's death and attacked the town. Zeannah had only just managed to escape his wrath, thanks to some quick thinking on the part of her Pokémon. They had protected her against the angry blue Pokémon.
It had taken half-an-hour to calm Latios down. Some people were outright trying to defeat him and some were trying to make sure he would keep a slither of his HP.
A trainer who they had met when asking Oswald for help; she couldn't remember his name, had finally brought Latios down. His Pokémon weakened Latios and his Pokémon ball finally captured the exhausted Pokémon.
Then he had arrested her and locked her in a cell somewhere underground.
"Oswald!" she cried out, noticing the man jiggling the keys in the lock.
"Sorry about this," he said, "but, it was for your own safety. We needed to have the situation under control before explaining things to you."
"What's going on?" she asked.
Oswald lead her out and down the hall.
"No one has been injured. The damages will be paid for by me, with some contributions on my employer's part."
"I'm sorry," Zeannah said, meaning it.
He shook his head and told her it wasn't her fault.
They chatted a little as they walked through the building. Finally, Oswald opened a door which led into a small office. Larry was sitting on one of the chairs before the desk and the trainer was sitting behind it.
"Welcome," he greeted her with a smile. "I'm Mr. Rolf, but you may call me Phil."
"Zeannah," she said, sliding into the seat next to Larry.
Larry was staring at the ground, his silver hair falling around his shoulders and face. He was the very image of depression.
"Question," Phil said, "do you believe Latias is dead?"
"No," she answered instantly. She wasn't going to believe her friend was dead just because Latios had told her so.
Phil was obviously pleased.
"That's good," he told her, "because we may have a clue to where she is."
Larry's head bounced up so fast Zeannah was certain she heard his neck break.
"Where is she?" he demanded to know.
Phil held up a hand.
"I said, 'a clue'. You could find her alive, or dead. It's even possible that this clue won't lead anywhere."
"Doesn't matter," Zeannah said, not taking her eyes off Larry's form. "We'll follow it to the ends of the earth if we must."
He smiled and showed them a picture. It was of a man who looked a little like an older Alphonse. There were a few differences, like his dark eyes, but it appeared obvious that they were related.
"His name is Dustin Wiggs," Phil explained, "many years ago, one of his Pokémon almost died when it By-passed its PowerPoints."
"'Almost died'," Larry repeated, "that means he's still alive?"
Phil nodded.
"It's a well kept secret. We've directed much money and resources to keeping this from the public."
"Didn't do a good job of it," Larry muttered maliciously.
"We're only human," Phil said with a shrug. "Anyway, it's likely that he might know where Latias is."
"Why would he know that?" Larry asked.
"Alphonse might tell him," Phil told them, "or, at least, Alphonse might stay with him."
"If we find Alphonse, we find Latias," Zeannah commented.
Phil nodded.
Larry growled.
"I'll release Latios when you get back above ground," Phil continued, "you're free to do as you wish, just stay away from Mahogany Town for a while."
Oswald walked back in, to help guide them towards the exit.
"Where will we find this guy?" Zeannah asked, standing up.
"Olivine City," Phil answered, "he works in the post office there. Here, take the picture."
Zeannah took the picture and thanked him. She followed Oswald out with Larry walking slowly behind. They had appeared to be in some kind of underground base, but when the elevator doors opened, they found themselves in a very eastern style building. The floors had mat designs and the nearby exit was covered with a red silk fabric possessing a floral design.
Pushing the fabric aside, Zeannah found herself in a place she knew quite well; the Kimono Dance Theatre. She loved the dancing and battle styles of the Kimono girls who worked there and had spend many hours watching and battling.
Oswald ignored all her questions about it, but wished her luck before vanishing behind the elevator doors.