Welcome one and all to another chapter of Rise from the Ashes. When we last left off, we got a beginners' look at the fabled paradise that is Grand Dream City. But now that they've had their fill of pleasure, it's time for the heroes to get back to work.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, nor do I own Pokémon Uranium. They are the property of their respective creators.
Mika's Café
Mika's Café, one of the most popular eateries in the city was nestled to the left of the Central District. It was by no means a large place in terms of size, but its quaintness added to its charm. Rhodea was tapping her foot impatiently, checking her wristwatch occasionally as she soon saw the trio enter the café as a small frown formed on her face.
"About time, what took you three so long?!" She demanded an answer, the trio looking at her nervously.
"S-Sorry, Rhodea…it was my fault; I needed the boys help with some busi—" Lavender began.
"No, it was our fault as well. I—we agreed to help her with something of utmost importance." Huey pitched in for her as Rhodea's face softened.
"Relax, it wasn't that big of a deal to be honest. However, Cassandra called me and requested that I fill out more paperwork the festival. Which means that I'll have to leave you all on your own for a while. Just keep out of trouble, okay?" She flashed a wink at the trio.
"Loud and clear, ma'am." Julius replied, the older woman making her way outside the café as the trio saw Melia, Erin and Kanon sitting down at a table and opted to join them, with the young teen noticing that Venam was sitting by a much smaller table next to the group, a somewhat uncomfortable look on her face. Perhaps she hadn't finished her business yet but came along to join the group for a bit.
"Hey there, how's it going you two?" Melia smiled at the group, her gaze shifting focus to Lavender. "Ah, have we met somewhere before?"
"No, we haven't before. I'm Lavender, the Psychic type Gym leader." She introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."
"Heh, a Psychic type trainer? As an expert in Poison types, that makes you my arch-nemesis." Venam chimed in. "Anyway, I'm Venam; the white-haired girl is Erin, white-haired boy is Kanon, and the lovely blonde lady is Melia."
"Nice to meet you, Lavender!" Kanon called out eagerly.
"Charmed." Erin replied quickly.
"So what were you talking about while we were out?" Julius inquired.
"Nothing much to be honest. However, Erin was just about to tell us more details about Aelita—" Melia began.
"I wouldn't get your hopes up; she's not back at home before you ask. I like her, but she can really piss me off at times…" The white-haired girl interjected, sighing in frustration to herself. "Because of her, I'm not allowed back into the house until I find her. Why couldn't she stay put for just a few seconds? I've checked the entirety of Routes 7, 8 and 9 but I couldn't find a single trace of her."
"F-Forgive me, but who is Aelita?" Lavender inquired.
"Aelita…she's a close friend of ours, myself included. During a trek into Mount Carotos, she was cursed by Garufan magic during the retrieval of the Magma Stone, something which we needed desperately to save another friend of ours. Last we saw of her, she was taken by someone known as Crescent to get healed, at what I presume was Erin's place of residence." Julius informed her.
"I don't know about you, but I'd use the term "friend" quite loosely." Erin snarked.
"I see…so when'd you two get separated?" Huey asked the white-haired girl.
"We were on our way to Route 7 when we got separated, somehow. Don't ask me how it happened because I have no clue myself. Since then I've been spending my entire time looking for her." She explained to them.
"I guess that makes two of us then…Huey and I are also searching for someone we lost; his sister Rune." Lavender replied, shooting a sympathetic glance at her. "However, there's something the three of us need to share with you."
"Is this discovery the reason you three were late?" Melia inquired, the trio giving her a nod of confirmation. "In that case, do tell."
"M-May I explain it to the group?" Julius asked the duo before him.
"Go ahead, mate." Huey replied, knowing full well why his friend made that request.
"We were looking for information regarding Talon's fate in his penthouse, when we saw a brochure with tickets to the Magnolia Theater, and a letter stating that he won a date with Nan—my mother. Opting to investigate the place, we used the tickets to get a show, only to see two people masquerading as me and my mother. Their disguises were so genuine that it looked as though they were the real thing; I was genuinely horrified at what I was seeing!" The young teen explained, the group stopping in their tracks as their eyes widened in shock.
"S-Someone looked EXACTLY like Julius?!" Venam exclaimed.
"Oh Julius…it must've been hard for you to see your mother again, especially after what happened back then…" Melia shot him a look of sympathy.
"At the very least it solves one mystery; why that receptionist stated that she already gave me my shot. But why on earth would someone go through the trouble of disguising as me and my mother, knowing full well that it could've been shattered in a heartbeat?" Julius stated, with Erin raising her hand in the air.
"Not to be rude or anything, but what does this show have to do with Talon?" She inquired.
"Our bad; as Julius mentioned, we found a letter stating that Talon won a date with Nancy and was asked to meet her at Amber Park at the stroke of midnight. That was where I found him encased in stone." Lavender stated, a thoughtful expression forming on the white-haired girl's face.
"Uh-huh…so he actually went out to Amber Park at midnight because a letter told him to do so? I hate to break it to you, but that was idiotic of him. It was the most obvious bait in the world, and he fell for it hook, line and sinker." Erin stated bluntly.
"Well—" The young girl began.
"I'm sorry to cut you off, but I overheard something interesting." Another woman called out to them, the group turning to the side and saw a graceful woman with shoulder-length brown hair approach them, her outfit consisting of a black business suit. "Some of you said that you attended a show at the Magnolia Theater? If so, then I would like an interview with those that went there. As you can see, I'm a journalist who's trying to write a column on the Magnolia Theater's reputation."
"A-An interview?" Huey asked incredulously, the older woman nodding in response. "Ok, I guess. But who are you exactly?"
"Yes…for some reason you look…familiar; as if we met somewhere before." Venam chimed in, gazing at her suspiciously.
"Me? I don't recall meeting you all before, but if it helps ease your mind, the name's Valarie." She smiled as it soon dawned onto Julius; her face, her personality, her figure, it all came together. This was his friend whom he met during the escape from Blacksteeple Castle.
"V-Valarie?!" He exclaimed, running up to her and shook her hands. "Oh Valarie, I was worried sick about you when I heard that you disappeared. It's good to see that you're safe and sound!"
"Th-Thank you, I guess…? B-But who are you exactly?" She inquired, the young teen letting go and stepped back a couple feet."
"Y-You don't remember me; I-I'm Julius. You battled me in Terajuma Jungle and gave me the Dewdrop Badge." He continued, taking out his trainer card and showed it to her, but it didn't seem to work.
"Sorry, I'm just a journalist, not a gym leader. You must me mistaking me for someone else." Valarie stated quickly.
"O-Ok…" Julius replied sadly, putting his trainer card away. "S-Sorry for the mix up—"
"It's no mix up you made, it's the real deal, Jules!" Venam told him firmly, turning to face the older woman. "You recognize me and Mels, right?!"
"Calm down Venam, I'm sure this is just an honest mis—" Melia began, pausing momentarily as she took a closer look at Valarie and immediately saw the similarities. "V-Valarie!"
"Y-Yeah, that is my name. A-Are you three all right?" She asked the trio.
"We are alright; how can you not recognize us? Don't you remember Saki? Adam? Braixen? Please, remember us and all the good times we shared!" The blonde pleaded desperately, causing the older woman to back away uncomfortably.
"I-I'm sorry, but you're making me uncomfortable. I've never seen either of you three, nor do I know who you're talking about; well I do know who Saki is but you're implying that we're close friends or something." Valarie retorted.
"Then you must know where Saki is!" Venam exclaimed.
"Hey, I'm the one who's supposed to be asking the questions, not you! I-I'm sorry, but I must go; all of this is giving me the creeps." She exclaimed back, apologizing for her outburst before quickly leaving the café as the trio watched her go.
"Valarie…" Julius muttered sadly to himself, wondering what exactly had happened to her that made her forget them, forget him. All signs pointed at Crescent, but he had no clue where she was or why she erased her memories.
"What the fuck was all that?!" Venam stated bluntly. "That was most definitely Valarie, but she acted as if she didn't know us."
"Clearly she didn't know who any of you three were." Erin chimed in, leaning closer to the trio. "Are you absolutely sure that woman was her?"
"Yes. Granted it took me a bit of time to recognize her, but Venam and Julius were able to recognize her almost instantly once the pieces were in place. That was most definitely Valarie, but she changed her appearance for some reason. It's almost as if…as if she had lost all her memories of us."
"What is going on in this city? All I'm hearing about is disappearances, doppelgangers and amnesiacs, with very little clues pointing towards a source!" Kanon exclaimed.
"I don't know mate, but this takes the cake for the most messed up places I've been to. Something seriously wrong is going on here, and I intend to find out." Julius stated.
"As for me…I've still got my business to finish off, but I can do that tomorrow. I…I need some rest urgently." Venam stated.
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea." Melia agreed.
"I hate to ask others for help, but does anyone mind if I shack up with you? As I said before, I've got no place to stay until I find Aelita." Erin requested.
"No worries Erin, you can have the room I was given. As for me, I'll sleep on the couch so you can have some privacy." Julius offered.
"Y-You sure?" She double-checked, the young teen nodding in confirmation. "T-Thank you…" She smiled at him.
"Well since we're all agreed unanimously, let's head back home for the day. Today was an eventful one, especially for a few of us." The blonde chimed in, the rest of the group making their way back to the penthouse to catch some well-earned rest. However, before she left the café, she tugged on Julius' sleeve, the young teen turning to face her.
"Is everything alright, Melia?" He inquired.
"Y-Yeah. I just wanted to say that if you ever want to talk to me in private, I'm more than happy to lend you an ear. You had a very rough day today, and I'm sure you mind is racing with various unsettling thoughts. Kinda like me to be honest; the last few nights have plagued me with a series of uncomfortable dreams. Hence why I'm not exactly looking forward to sleeping tonight." She consoled him.
"Is it something I can help you with? I'm more than happy to lend you and ear as well." Julius asked his lover, who shot him a smile in gratitude.
"I'm fine thank you very much, the dreams must be caused by built up stress, what with all I've been through these last few days. Still, thank you for worrying about my sake, honey." Melia reassured him, the duo exiting the café and made their way to their penthouse for the night so they can prepare for the next day.
0000
Julius had managed to fall asleep rather quickly despite sleeping on the couch, however he soon found himself in a pitch-black void on his own, as if he was caught up in a dream. The darkness didn't feel foreboding, so he knew it wasn't a nightmare, but that only meant that he would have another appointment with his "alternate self". But that illusion was soon shattered by a mysterious voice calling out to him.
"Familiar scene, familiar faces. Dream a dream so great…that it becomes a nightmare." It spoke to him.
"W-Who are you?" Julius called out to the void, only to get a response that he did not expect at all.
"Interceptor, oh Interceptor…what is your name, oh young Interceptor?" The voice requested, catching the young teen off-guard. That was the exact same thing that his alternate self called him back then; but what on earth was an Interceptor?
"J-Julius…" He answered uneasily, his eyes darting left and right.
"What are your dreams, young Interceptor?" The voice asked once more.
"T-To life a long, peaceful life with my friends, and the ones I love with all my heart." Julius answered once more.
"Which mind will you inhabit next, Interceptor?" The voice asked yet another question as it slowly grew on his nerves. Not only was this voice ignoring all his answers, but his last question made no goddamn sense; how on earth could he be inhabiting someone's mind?! "Ah…at a loss for words? The night fades slowly. We will meet again…to you young Interceptor, I ask of you to wake up…"
"Wake up…"
"Wake up…?"
"Wake up…!"
"Hey, I said, wake up!"
0000
"GAAAAHHHH!" Julius exclaimed in fear, falling off the couch and face-planted the floor and the blanket slowly fell on him to cover his body. Groaning in a mixture of exhaustion of pain, he got up off the floor and saw Erin quietly gazing at him.
"Quite the heavy sleeper, aren't you?" She quipped, taking a seat on an adjacent couch. "Anyway, Flora called Rhodea a few minutes ago. She wants us both to head on over to the Judicial District so that we can report what we found back then."
"Ah yes, our escape from that Bladestar base." The young teen replied.
"Indeed. Once you're ready, I'll take you to where the meeting's taking place." Erin replied, turning around so that Julius could get himself dressed in private. A couple minutes later, he had finished getting dressed and was about to leave, when he saw Rhodea enter the door with a clipboard in her hand.
"Morning Julius; your friends are out and about with their own private business today. By the way, did you order something yesterday?" She inquired, gesturing at the parcel in her hands.
"No…why'd you ask?" He replied, neatly adjusting the cap on his head.
"Because I just received a notification from SPU that they're delivering three packages later today. I asked the others, but they all denied ordering anything; a mistake I presume? Either way, we'll wait until everyone's back here before we deal with them." Rhodea stated.
"In that case, Erin and I will be out on some business of our own. Catch you later!" Julius shot her a smile, the older woman giving him a quick nod as he and Erin quickly made their way out of the penthouse and began the short trip to the Judicial District. Upon arriving there, they were surprised by the sheer number of police officers patrolling the area. Granted, a city of Grand Dream's size would require a large police force to manage the peace, but this felt a little…excessive. Asides from that, there were several tall skyscrapers in the area, with several offices dedicated to ensuring that the affairs of the entire city ran smoothly. Giving him a quick tug on his sleeve, Erin gestured at a particularly tall building near the center of the district with the duo making their way towards it.
Upon entering the large building, they were soon greeted by the receptionist. "Welcome to the District Building you two. Unless you have an appointment here, this is as far as you can go." She greeted them cheerily.
"Cassandra said she wanted to talk to us about something we witnessed a couple days ago. The name's Erin and Julius if you were wondering." The white-haired girl replied, the older woman quickly going over today's schedule as she found what she was looking for.
"Ah yes, you do indeed have an appointment with Cassandra today. Her office is the far left one on the 100th floor, enjoy your meeting!" She smiled at them, gesturing the duo to hop on the elevator, which they did. After an uneventful ride up, the duo arrived at the designated floor and made their way to the office, where they saw Flora and Florin sit calmly by a coffee table, the latter typing away on his laptop.
"And it looks like our final guests have arrived. Come, take a seat." A third person called out to them, gesturing the duo to take a seat. She was a fairly tall woman with long auburn hair that reached her back and wore a pristine silver business suit. "As you may have heard, I'm Cassandra; the mayor of this great city."
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Julius and this is Erin." He greeted himself and his friend, who merely waved at her quickly in disinterest.
"Oh, I know who you are, Julius! You're the talk of the town it seems." Cassandra shot a smile at him.
"Yeah, that's cool and all but let's got to the point please." Flora requested.
"You have a point I suppose." The older woman replied, taking on a more professional approach. "Now, you all have something to report from beyond the city walls?"
"Yes; while on our walk to the Dreamyard, Florin and I have come across something…concerning." The green-haired woman started, trailing off on the last word as if she was in the middle of a bluff.
"Concerning you say? Oh my…what did you find?" Cassandra inquired.
"We found corruption; the exact same corruption that's present at the Badlands." Flora continued.
"I see…so there are barren patches located in Darchlight Woods?" The older woman wanted to double-check, causing Erin to shoot an odd glance at her.
"Correct. As you can see, we really need to start some sort of—" Flora began.
"Stop right there." Cassandra interrupted her. "We've gone over this before; we can't simply provide funds for the Badland Restoration Project. You've already restored parts of it yourself, right? And look what that gave you; a forest full of toxic substances and lethality. There's just no fixing that place, and if what you're saying is true…then it wouldn't matter anyway because we're safe inside these walls."
"But what about the people outside the walls, in places such as Gearen, Akuwa and even Terajuma Island?!" The green-haired girl protested fervently, slamming her fist on the table. "Surely you don't intend of leaving them to die…"
"On the contrary, it'll make Grand Dream City look even more beautiful!" The older woman chimed happily, oblivious to what she had just implied. "Besides, there's a perfectly good train citizens can use to get here safely."
"You're willing to—You know what?! I'm fucking done with this shit!" Flora snapped, getting off her chair and tossing it to the side in a fit of rage.
"F-Flora, calm down…" Florin pleaded.
"Talking to this woman is like talking to a fucking brick wall, only in this case the damn wall would actually give a shit. She doesn't give a damn about anyone but herself and her "precious" city. I'm done here. Fuck her and fuck this place!"Flora ranted, shooting an apologetic glance at both Erin and Julius before storming out the office. The young teen was a little impressed over her last stand as he began to put the pieces in his mind; was Cassandra's lack of empathy for outsiders the reason for Flora's allegiance to Bladestar? Was Bladestar's ultimate goal to save the Badlands from the corruption that plagued it?
"M-My sincerest apologies Cassandra. I know my sister can be a handful, but this is unprecedented." The green-haired guy uttered multiple apologies.
"Don't worry, as a mayor I've had to develop thick skin in order to deal with people like her. She'll see things our way someday…I just know it." Cassandra replied calmly, seemingly unfazed by Flora's previous outburst.
"That aside, we have something else to report. During our investigation, we stumbled across a Bladestar base hidden underneath Darchlight Woods, which was where we met Miss Erin as a prisoner." The green-haired man reported, catching the mayor off-guard.
"Really?! What did you find?" She inquired urgently.
"Well I personally found a computer holding live footage of the entire city, such as Mika's Café, the Scholar District and even the Botanical Garden. However, before I could get more information, someone must've sprung a program that deleted all the bases files, leaving us with nothing to show you." Florin told her, shooting a glance at Erin and Julius. "I brought these two here with me to talk about their experiences inside the base. So, Erin, Julius. What did you two find?"
This question had caused the young teen to think for himself; he knew that he and Erin didn't find much together so he didn't expect her to speak up that much, but he still had Flora's true allegiance in his mind. On one hand he was wanting to spill the beans and see how things played out, but on the other hand he was struck by a sense of…pity for her. This was someone who desperately wanted to help the people of the Badlands, who are going through some very rough times from what he heard but was unable to achieve said dream due to an uncaring mayor. It was then that he opted to make a decision; a decision that unbeknownst to him, would bite him in the ass in the near future.
"No…we did not find anything, unfortunately." Julius replied, with Erin gazing at him before nodding to support his claims.
"I see…so you weren't able to find anything of note? That's a little…disappointing." She told him, turning to face Erin. "And what about you, Erin?"
"Unless you have a thing for boxed uniforms and damaged books, I don't think anything in there would be of interest to you." The white-haired girl answered.
"A shame…anyway, I appreciate you all coming here to this meeting. I say we learnt a lot today. Unfortunately, I have a meeting coming up so I'm going to have to end this discussion here. Florin, tell Flora I forgive her for her outburst." Cassandra informed the trio.
"Will do!" Florin replied eagerly.
"As for Julius and Erin, I appreciate you two taking the time out of your busy day to be here. I hope you all have a lovely day in this great city." She smiled, the trio bowing in respect before leaving her office. As Florin was making his way to the elevator, Julius was halted in his place by Erin.
"So you decided to keep quiet and say nothing, right?" The white-haired girl asked him.
"Y-Yeah, you got me…" He replied, a sense of guilt welling up inside him for hiding something from her.
"I'm not going to tell you if what you did was right or wrong, as that's up to you to decide. But in my opinion, I felt you made the smart decision." Erin continued, shooting him a small smile.
"R-Really?" Julius exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah, you did. I don't know about you, but that Cassandra woman gave me the chills…mainly due to her coldness regarding Flora's pleas. Sometime the smart decision isn't always the right one, but it's what needs to be done. Besides, Cassandra slipped up." She continued. "I assume you know what I'm talking about?"
"Yeah, when she mentioned that the corruption was in Darchlight Woods. None of us told her where exactly the corruption was, yet somehow she knew." The young teen replied.
"Yep, seems like your silence wasn't a lucky fluke after all. The point I'm making is that she's hiding something, so we best be on our guard from here on out, yeah?" Erin suggested to him.
"Agreed. Right now, I need to check up on Venam, she seemed a bit off yesterday and I never got the chance to talk to her." Julius informed her, the duo making their way to the elevator, unaware that a familiar woman with red hair exited one of the other offices and made her way to Cassandra's office.
0000
There was a swift knocking on the office door, attracting the attention of the prestigious mayor. Taking a small sip of coffee, Cassandra granted the person permission to enter, the door opening as Madelis stepped inside the office before closing the door.
"Oooh! You're here at last Madelis. Come, take a seat!" Cassandra called out, gesturing the redhead to take a seat which she promptly did. "I hope you locked the door after closing it."
"Yes, I did lock the door." Madelis answered, a sigh of relief escaping from the mayor's lips.
"It's good to see you again, Madelis…good for me, that is. I'll admit that I was surprised by Neved's call from Headquarters; talking about how the high and mighty Madelis was demoted from her status as Admin of Team Xen. Serves you right if you ask me." She smirked, not even attempting to hide her contempt for the former admin.
"You say that as if anyone asked for your opinion." The redhead retorted, attempting to stand firmly before the powerful woman.
"Well at least you haven't lost your cheeky wit upon demotion; seems you haven't changed at all. Granted, you could say the same about me, but that would be a lie, wouldn't it?" Cassandra replied.
"Nah, you're still the same self-righteous woman that I remember." Madelis shot back quickly.
"Well my personality hasn't changed, but my position has. After all, I am your new boss, right?" The mayor smirked, with Madelis shooting her a glare in return. "Aw, what's with the long face? I'd like you to smile please, this is a momentous occasion for me."
"Two words; piss off!" The redhead snapped back, with her superior sighing to herself.
"Mmmh…what was it that Madame X said again? 'If Madelis screws up, even a little bit, call me and she'll be done', was that it? It's not 100% accurate, but I got the jist of it." Cassandra inquired.
"Yeah, I suppose it went something like that…" Madelis admitted, sighing in defeat.
"See? I knew I was right! So do as I say and smile!" The mayor ordered, the redhead slumping her shoulders slightly before forming a smile with her mouth, thought it was easy to see that it was a forced one. "Thank you, now that wasn't so hard, was it? You should smile, after all you're lucky that you're still functional, unlike poor Geara..."
This had set of an alarm in the redhead's mind; she never did get an answer for what happened to Geara from Madame X, so perhaps she'll be lucky this time around. "You know what happened to Geara?" She inquired.
"Obviously I know what happened to him." Cassandra replied bluntly.
"T-Then please, tell me what happened to him!" Madelis requested urgently.
"I'm sorry, but I do hope you remember who you're talking to. You better not be demanding an order from ME." The mayor shot a glare back at Madelis, causing her to step back in surprise.
"I-I'm sorry for my impudence, but may you tell me what happened to Geara, please?" The redhead requested, mentally cursing herself for taking a knee so easily to this woman before her, a smile soon returning to Cassandra's face.
"Thank you, see what is so hard to use manners ever now and again?" She chimed back, shooting a glance at the laptop on her desk, fishing out a USB from one of the drawers. "Alright then, time for a demonstration. See this USB in my hand? Say I want to stick it in to transfer something from this laptop onto it…like so." She continued, performing the steps as she described them.
"Okay, and…?" Madelis said, watching the process unfold before her, the progress bar filling up as files were being transferred onto the device.
"Now watch as the progress bar fills up like so, but oopsie daisy! I accidentally unplugged the USB." Cassandra yanked the USB from the port, just as the bar reached the halfway mark. "Now what happens when you take the USB out while it's undergoing a file transfer?"
"In most cases, the file becomes corrupted and stops working." The redhead answered, the mayor clapping her hands together.
"Correct! Which means you now have some sort of idea what happened to Geara!" She chimed happily. "That aside, I can't have you in my office forever. Therefore, I've given you a small job in the Shopping District to keep yourself occupied. May I suggest a disguise to keep your identity hidden? The fact that you came in here wearing that Admin outfit you do not deserve is downright horrifying; who knows what would happen if this gets leaked to the press. I did not spend years building my reputation just to have it shattered in seconds because of your idiocy!"
"G-Got it…" Madelis replied, quickly exiting the office and made her way back to the empty one to change into her disguise.
Shopping District: 30 minutes later
"And…done, that's Melia's birthday presents covered!" Julius smiled to himself, satisfied over a job well done. The young teen had managed to secure two presents for Melia's birthday next week and was satisfied that his gifts would please her greatly. This first one was a thick encyclopedia that contained a lot of information about Pokémon from outside the Aevium region, be they from Tandor, Urobos and even far away regions such as Rikoto. He got the idea from a casual comment she made the other day, how she's been wanting to research and learn about Pokémon from faraway regions, so he'd figured he'd get her a nice book to read. The second gift was a more personal one; a nice necklace that had a rose gold pendant decorated with various precious jewels. It was a rather expensive gift, one that took a chunk out of his savings, but he was confidant that she'd like it. As he was walking down the street, he saw that Venam was eyeing up a few nearby stalls, a worried look on her face. Seeing as how he wanted to talk to her over a few things, he'd figured that now was the time to do so. "Hey Venam, how's it going?"
"O-Oh, hey Jules. I see that you remembered Melia's birthday…" She replied, turning to look at the ribbons while the attendant was busy re-organizing her stock. "I was thinking about getting that ribbon over there for her birthday; the nice rainbow-colored one made from the finest silk available."
"That one? Yeah, that's a really nice gift; I'm sure she'd like that one a lot." The young teen smiled.
"Y-Yeah…so what did you get her?" Venam inquired, her eyes focusing on the book in his arms.
"This? Oh, it's an encyclopedia detailing Pokémon from faraway regions. But that's not the only gift I have for her." Julius replied, showing the brown-haired girl the small velvet box in his hands and opened it, revealing the necklace inside. "I figured that I'd get her a necklace as well. Do you like it?"
"Y-Yeah, i-it's looks s-so n-nice and…oh who am I kidding? Why did I even think I had a chance?" She stuttered, before breaking down into tears to the surprised reaction of Julius. His instincts kicking in, he reached over and embraced her, petting her back gently in the hopes of consoling her.
"There, there…please don't cry. Is something troubling you?" The young teen inquired gently.
"I-I saw you and Melia hanging out a-alone the other night, and you two looks s-so happy, so p-perfect that i-it realized that I-I have no c-chance with her…" Venam sobbed into Julius' shoulder, as a sinking feeling overcame the young teen; she knew about the secret relationship between him and Melia. They were hoping to reveal it when the time came for Melia and Venam to confess to each other, but it seems like that wasn't going to happen.
"Venam, I'm so sorry…neither of us wanted to hurt your feelings, you have to believe me." Julius apologized. "Both Melia and I care about you more than you realize…"
"Y-You do…?" The brown-haired girl sniffled, moving away from her friends as she wiped a few tears away.
"Yes; Melia and I care about you a whole, whole lot. I'm sure that someway, somehow, all three of us can find our happiness together." He pledged, before opting to make a most radical decision. "But if such a thing is impossible…then I will yield to you. After all, the chemistry you share with her is far greater than any other couple I've seen in my life."
"Jules…I-I'm touched that you would do that for me. But I can't accept it; it's evident that Melia cares for you a lot. Were you to break her heart, even for my sake, I don't think I'll be able to forgive you." Venam replied, a small smile slowly forming on her face. "Besides, I trust you when you say that it's possible for all three of us to find happiness. B-But I'm not quite ready to confess yet…"
"No need to rush. I'm sure that in the near future, the time will come when you're ready." Julius smiled back at her.
"Listen, this whole relationship drama is driving me insane. Just make up your mind and—" The attendant called out, turning around and saw Venam and Julius standing there before letting out a surprised yelp and quickly turned back around. Madelis sighed to herself in worry; had they figured out who she really was? "J-Just tell me what ribbon you two want and I'll give it to you for free, honest!"
"Is that so? In that case, I'll like the rainbow one please." Venam requested, with Madelis quickly taking it out of the display case before handing it to her.
"H-Here, now please leave me alone!" The redhead blurted, with the brown-haired girl shooting her a smile before the duo began walking down the road.
"You know…it has been a while since we last battled. Would a 3-on-3 battle help cheer you up?" Julius offered, a confident smile soon forming on Venam's face.
"Yes…I suppose a quick battle could help cheer me up." She replied, turning to face Julius. "Alright then, I accept. But don't start crying when I wipe the floor with you!"
"Now that's the Venam I know and love!" The young teen called out, quickly selecting his Pokéball as the brown-haired girl sent out a Scolipede, the large centipede chittering loudly. With a quick flick of the wrist, Julius sent out his first Pokémon, a mighty Feliger as his opponent raised an eyebrow in surprise at it. It was a large cat with a plump body coated in white, orange and brown fur with two tails wagging slowly in the air. Its paws were tipped with sharp claws and it sported an impressing brown mane around its head. But what was most surprising was that the large beast was sleeping without a single care in the world. "Uh…as you can see, he really likes his catnaps." He chuckled uneasily.
"Fine by me; it enables me to have the first strike. Use Megahorn, Scolipede!" Venam declared, the Megapede Pokémon charging towards its slumbering foe, its sharp horns pointing at it as it jabbed its side roughly, causing the feline to growl in its sleep as it was pushed back a few feet. The Gym Leader jumped for joy over the direct hit, only to gulp quietly in surprise as she saw the Feliger wake up and glare at the centipede, its green eyes locked onto its foe. With a sharp meow of anger, the Fat Cat Pokémon got up on its hindlegs and slammed its thick torso onto the Scolipede, the invertebrate chittering in pain as it managed to wiggle out from underneath the cat after a few minutes. Panting quietly to itself, the Megapede Pokémon shot a viscous blob of poison at its foe, the large cat wincing in discomfort as the fluid seeped into the wound on its side, before following up by shooting a clear liquid from its body at the wound, the fluid reacting with the poison to cause an intense, electrifying pain to course the Feliger's body. Now past the point of infuriation, the Fat Cat Pokémon got on all fours and barreled towards the centipede, tackling it and sent it flying through a couple unoccupied stalls as the wreckage ensured the Bug type Pokémon. It soon crawled out from the broken stalls, only to collapse onto the pavement, to exhausted to continue fighting. "I see you haven't lost your touch yet."
"What can you say? I learnt a lot during my journey so far." He chimed back.
"Well I've spent quite a bit of time catching new Pokémon and training them up; why don't I introduce you to one of my new teammates?" She called out, recalling her Scolipede and threw her second Pokéball, an Alolan Muk oozing out of it. The sentient pile of sludge gazed at is foe before hurling a large ball of trash from its mouth, the attack striking Feliger head on and caused it to stagger back a few feet. Knowing that the poison flowing through its veins will eventually cause it to faint from exhaustion, the Fat Cat opted to doubled down on its offense and rear its forelegs in the air, slamming them down on the ground and caused a sizable tremor to rock the area. The Muk was weakened by the attack, quivering on the spot as it tried its hardest to maintain its footing, with Feliger using this opportunity to land a finishing blow onto it. With its paw reared in the air, it swung it down and slashed the Muk across its body, but not before it retaliated with a swift punch to the cat's stomach, it's fire-coated fist singing the fur on its underbelly. The two towering foes were pushed back from the attack, with Feliger letting out a weak meow before falling on its side and began sleeping once more. The Muk saw its foe fall and shot out a pleased chuckle before slumping forward and collapsed to the ground, too exhausted to continue fighting as well, leaving things off at a tiebreaker.
"Impressive…both our friends gave it their all in that battle. That's a nice Muk you trained up!" Julius commented, the duo recalling their Pokémon.
"I can say the same about you and that cat of yours; now I know not to give it a rude awakening in the future." Venam chuckled, quickly selecting her last Pokemon. "But here's where I make my epic comeback; Seviper, let's go!"
"Seviper? In that case allow me to bring out a serpent of my own; Dunseraph!" The young teen retorted, the duo sending out their Pokémon as the brown-haired girl stepped back in surprise.
"Woah! You didn't tell me that Dunsparce had an evolution!" She exclaimed in shock, her Seviper eyeing it you wearily.
"It's an incredibly rare occurrence for Dunsparce to evolve; to the point where some people brush it off as a myth. But allow me to show you that there's more to this myth than what meets the eye; Dragon Pulse!" Julius declared, the God Snake Pokémon flying up into the air and held its paws together, channeling its inner energy to charge up an attack before firing a pulsating beam of draconic energy at the serpent. The Seviper was able to dodge the attack in time, though the residual explosion did send it flying back a couple feet. Quickly recovering from the attack, it slithered up a lamp post and opened its maw, firing a rapid flurry of sludge at the majestic dragon. The attack struck Dunseraph's side, causing it to hiss in annoyance as it turned around and blocked the rest of the attack with its feathered wings. Once the incoming barrage was over, the God Snake Pokémon extended its legs towards Seviper, its wings flapping slowly as it lifted up the serpent with a mysterious air current. The Fang Snake Pokémon was startled by its new position and began wiggling fervently in an attempt to break free from its foes grasp, but to no avail as the air pressure began squeezing it momentarily before the Dunseraph lowered its legs, sending the Seviper hurtling towards the ground as it crash landed and caused a blanket of dust to get kicked up. When the dust soon cleared, it showed that Seviper was no longer able to battle.
"Damn…I thought I would've been able to make a comeback." Venam sighed in disappointment at Julius, the duo congratulating their friends before recalling them back to their balls.
"Sorry about that, I know you wanted to win but I had to give it my all, otherwise it wouldn't be as satisfying." He replied, his friend shrugging her shoulders.
"Don't be; I was hoping to crush you when you were at your best." She replied back, her mood improving greatly from before. "Besides, Tesla told me that I should get better at losing a while ago. I know, it's silly of me to bring her up when I still have her Charizard, but I swear I'll return it when I see her next."
"That'll be appreciated. Anyway, we should head back to the pent—woah!" The young teen began, only to get cut off as Venam embraced him in a warm hug.
"Thanks for cheering me up before, I really needed it." Venam thanked him, before moving away from him. "Hahahaha, you're blushing like crazy!"
"L-Like you're any different!" Julius shot back in embarrassment, his cheeks a vivid red as the brown-haired girl gazed into the nearest reflection and saw that he was telling the truth. But why were they blushing in the first place, unless…
'D-Do we have feelings for each other?!' She thought to herself, mulling over the situation in her head. On one hand it made little sense given how they both have feelings for Melia, but on the other hand it wasn't surprising that they liked each other given all they've been through together. If so, then it'll make their end goal a little easier as they won't have to worry about fighting each other for her. "I-I guess we really love each other, huh…" She broke the ice.
"Yeah, that seems to be the case." The young teen admitted, looking down at his feet uncomfortably. "But we can't get too close for now; I don't want Melia to think that I'm cheating on her."
"Makes sense. Best we keep it secret until I'm ready to confess to her." Venam stated calmly. "Speaking of secrets, we should keep our birthday gifts to her a secret. Spill the beans and I'll knock you senseless with that book you got her."
"Sounds like a plan! Oh, and as for the necklace…I'll say that it was your idea and I happened to pitch in half the fee, alright?" Julius offered.
"Really…?" The brown-haired girl inquired, the young teen nodding in confirmation at her. "Thanks mate, I appreciate that a lot. Let's head back and see what the others are up to." She continued, the duo beginning the quick trip back to their penthouse.
0000
"Who is it…?" Cassandra inquired; an eyebrow raised in curiosity given that she wasn't expecting anyone to come visit her in her office at this point in time. The door opened quickly, with Madelis stepping inside before closing the door behind her, a concerned look on the redhead's face. "Ah, it's you again. What do you want now? Your shift in the Shopping District doesn't end for some time."
"Have you lost your goddamn mind?! You didn't give me any heads up that Julius and his friends are walking about the city! It was a miracle they didn't notice me through my disguise!" Madelis ranted in frustration.
"Yes, they are. Why are you so concerned about it? You're just some cashier who's paid by the hour." The mayor retorted calmly.
"That may be so, but he didn't know that! If he had recognized me back there, I would've been in a lot of trouble right now." The redhead continued, with Cassandra sighing quietly to herself.
"You mean to tell me that you came all this way just to tell me something so uneventful? Oh come now Madelis, you can do so much better than this." She sighed in annoyance.
"All I'm asking for is a little courtesy. You know anything about that?" Madelis asked in a passive-aggressive tone, a hint of concern plastered in her voice.
"Let me answer your question with a question; why should I waste my time with meaningless requests? After all, you of all people have no right to ask others for some courtesy." Cassandra retorted sassily, with the redhead huffing in annoyance. "Now, now; this attitude of yours will not do, I'd like an apology right now."
"Apologize? For what?!" The redhead shot back, a small smirk creeping up on the mayor's face.
"Well I was just going to ask for a simple sorry, but that comment warrants an additional punishment. You are to beg for my forgiveness, beg me to spare you from Madame X's wrath. A shame that you still don't understand the situation you're in, thinking you have the right to ask me all these questions. You just DO as I say, WHEN I say it, got it? Now, get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness." Cassandra demanded, with Madelis flinching to herself momentarily before opting to swallow her pride and comply with the demand.
"P-Please…I beg of you to forgive me for my impudence—Gah!" She got on one knee and pleaded, the words feeling like week-old bile in her mouth, only to cry out in pain as her wound flared up once more.
"Hmmm, did you get slashed? I suppose Neved was telling the truth about that after all. You must've screwed up big time to have Madame X use physical violence as well. Come now, let's see how bad it is." The mayor requested, with Madelis getting back up and showed her the sword wound as the former 'tsked' to herself. "You know you're supposed to take care of wounds like these, right? I know you aren't that stupid. Very well, I'll arrange an appointment at the Hospital of Hope to take a look at you; should that would get any worse, I'll be down a slave."
Madelis shot Cassandra a quick glare before making her way out of the prestigious office, leaving the mayor to her own whims once more.
0000
Upon arriving back at the penthouse, Venam and Julius were surprised to see three large packages on the table, their friends sporting equally surprised looks on their faces. "Hey, who was the one who ordered all this stuff? Because it wasn't me so I'm not paying a single dollar for it." The brown-haired girl inquired.
"it wasn't me, that's for sure." Melia answered, taking a closer look at her friend. "At the very least, I'm glad you're a lot cheerier than you were the other day."
"Yeah, I was feeling a little stressed out over all the crazy things that's happened in this city so far. Luckily, Julius offered to battle me in order to get my spirits up; unfortunately, I lost but at the very least my worries were put to rest." Venam fibbed, not wanting to spill the truth out about what they talked about earlier.
"In any case, we've got these three packages to deal with, and they're all from the…the Toy Box?!" Rhodea exclaimed in surprise, examining the tags on the packages.
"The Toy Box? But that place isn't—" Lavender began.
"No one owns the Toy Box to my knowledge. However, these packages are labelled as such, right?" Erin interjected, the older woman shrugging her shoulders.
"I guess we don't have much choice but to open them and see what's inside." Rhodea stated calmly, making her way to the one on the right and reached for it, only for the box to jump up on the air, causing everyone to step back in surprise. "D-Did that box just jump, or am I going crazy."
"No, I saw the box jump as well so I might be going crazy alongside you." Julius chimed in, the box tearing open as a familiar face soon appeared on the table as a sinking feeling welled up within him. "K-Karen?! Oh no…"
*Yaaaaaawwnnn…* "Who the hell turned the lights on and why? I was having such a great nap. Now who on earth are all you peo—Little Dove, is that you?!" Karen called out, shooting a glance at Julius as everyone else turned to face him.
"Little Dove…? Looks like we have a new name for you, Jules." Melia smirked in amusement, with Venam and Kanon resisting the urge to begin laughing like crazy.
"Just when I thought this place couldn't get any worse, I'm thrown another curve-ball…" The young teen sighed to himself, slouching down on the nearby couch as he began contemplating his life.
"D-Don't throw in the towel yet Little Dove, I need you to help me fend off these criminals who are after my rock collection!" The auburn-haired woman protested, shifting her glance towards Rhodea. "And how could I forget about you, Rhodea?"
"Yes, how can I forget about you…?" The older woman trailed off.
"Y-You know this woman as well?" Melia inquired.
"Yes, this is Karen of the Elite 8…and a rather unstable person." Rhodea answered her query.
"Ah yes, the Elite 8. Boy it's been a while since I've done that job, it almost feels like foreveeeerrr!" Karen exclaimed, spinning on the table rapidly as the others started at her in complete bafflement.
"Can you at least tell me what you were doing in that box, or whether you've taken your pills yet?" Rhodea asked her, the auburn-haired woman coming to an abrupt halt and face her.
"My pills…? Momma always told me to take my pills or the man in white would take me away…" Karen mused to herself. "But who needs pills when I have Little Dove with me? Oh how I enjoyed our time in the Unown Dimension together with Little Duck!"
"I thought you were planning on staying in the Unown Dimension with—" Julius began.
"Jules, please don't humor her. Nothing she's said has made ANY sort of sense." Venam called out to him.
"Now come on, there's no need to interrupt such a good story. Now, where were we? Ah yes, Little Dove and I met two lovely people in the Unown Dimension; I chose to stay behind so I can become one with the Unown and spread my wings to fly into the sunset. Momma always told me she loved the sunset…" The auburn-haired woman rambled with Erin suddenly clearing her throat.
"Karen, if you were in the Unown Dimension, then why are you here all of a sudden?" She inquired calmly.
"I think we should do what Venam says and ignore her ramblings…" Huey began.
"If I enable her thinking, she may actually say something sensible for once." Erin replied back, turning to face Karen once more. "Your answer?"
"My answer…oh yes, I remember. Some man with a mask appeared and I asked him to by my new momma! But he gave me this rather creepy stare in response…rather spine-chilling if I say so. After that, everything was a blur but I'm here now!" She answered quickly.
"…I see. And what of these two people you and Julius met in the Unown Dimension?" The white-haired girl continued her questioning.
"Now that's a very easy question; so easy that your stupidity bores me to tears. I just wanna *sniff* cry a lot now. L-Like how…how?! How could you be this stupid?! I don't understand it!" Karen shouted back and began "crying" on the spot, but Erin knew that she was faking it.
"Just answer the question." She demanded.
"V-Very well…" The auburn-haired woman wiped her "tears" away and pointed a finger at the other two packages. "They're in these boxes."
Upon uttering those words, the two boxes jumped in the air and burst open, revealing a pair of familiar figures to the group. "A-Alice, Allen?!" Julius exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh my…what's going on? Where are we?" Allen inquired, his eyes darting all around the vast room.
"It seems as thought we've slipped through a pocket dimension, brother." Alice answered calmly, catching her brother off-guard.
"A pocket—wait, sister! We can interact with each other now!" The blonde man exclaimed with joy.
"Indeed we can, brother. Our souls have successfully been separated." The blonde girl replied with a similar amount of joy as the young teen figured out what they were talking about.
"So that explains why you two were never seen in the same room together back then." Julius chimed in, attracting the duo's attention.
"Ah, it's been a while hasn't it, Julius?" Alice smiled at him.
"Yes, I do believe it has been a while. I must say you're no longer as weak as you were back then." Allen shot a casual smile at him.
"Well when you put it like that…" The young teen began as Melia abruptly raised her hand in the air.
"I'm sorry, but who are you two?" The blonde teen inquired, the duo turning to face her.
"Oh, pardon me for our rudeness! Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Alice and this is my brother, Allen." The blonde girl introduced herself with a curtsy. "We both hail from the Unown Dimension."
"Ah, the Unown Dimension. What a wonderful place it is…" Allen mused to himself as Erin shot the duo an odd look.
"…Goodbye." She called out abruptly, quickly making her way out of the penthouse with Alice waving her farewell.
"You say you two came from the Unown Dimension, but who sent you here?" Kanon asked the duo.
"Why the Puppet Master of course! They're a most wonderful person who lives in the Toy Box, opening the door to this world for us." Alice smiled at the white-haired youth, with Venam staring at the newcomers oddly.
"First Karen, and now these two? Everything I've heard today has been absolute nonsense. Between this Unown Dimension and that Puppet Master they're going on about, I have no clue where to even begin!" The brown-haired girl exclaimed.
"Now you know why I was late that day…" Julius commented to her.
"It certainly is strange, but we've seen and heard a multitude of strange things, right?" Melia asked her close friend.
"Well when you put it like that, you have a point I suppose…" Venam trailed off momentarily.
"So what do we do with them? After all if they were sent here it's likely that they have nowhere else to go." Huey inquired.
"Personally, I'd send them all back to that Toy Box or whatever it was called." The brown-haired girl suggested.
"We can't…return people though the mail, at least I think you can't." Lavender rebutted the proposal.
"Besides, it would be an impossibility. There is nothing in the Toy Box at the moment, just a solid block of brick and wood." Allen chimed in.
"But how did you three come from the Toy Box in the first place?" Venam pressed the newcomers, hoping to get some sort of explanation from this madness before her.
"Bleh, bleh, bleh! I'm done hearing your voice! Momma used to yell at me all the time, it made me so sad. The memory follows me wherever I go…CONSTANTLY TAUNTING ME…I CAN'T DO IT! I CAN'T! I CAN'T DO IT!" Karen began screaming, hopping off the table and ran out of the penthouse in a hurry.
"Uh…is it safe to let her run around freely?" Lavender inquired.
"I don't know and I don't care, as long as she's out of my hair that's all I care about." Julius exclaimed, sighing in relief that he was freed from her grasp…for now. "As for Alice and Allen, if I recall there is an extra room for them. Perhaps they can stay here until things get settled."
"This penthouse became crowded rather quickly, huh?" Rhodea chimed to herself in slight exhaustion. "They can stay here, UNTIL we get something sorted out."
"Oh thank you, thank you so much!" Alice thanked her profusely.
"Yes, thank you very much as well." Allen expressed his gratitude as well, with Rhodea suddenly remembering something.
"Ah yes, this envelope is meant for you, Lavender." The older woman said, handing the young girl a red envelope.
"F-For me?" Lavender exclaimed, eyeing it up wearily before accepting it from her elder. "T-Thank you…"
"Is everything alright?" Rhodea inquired, noticing her hesitation.
"Y-Yeah, everything's alright." The lavender-haired girl replied, making her way to her room as everyone else went their own ways to attend to their personal business, leaving Julius on his own. A sense of curiosity overtaking him, the young teen was about to check up on her when he felt a sudden wave of exhaustion throughout his body. Realizing that he was tired from the days events, he figured that it'll be best to head off to bed and made his way to the couch, preparing himself for what would hopefully be a good night's sleep.
0000
Venam was still up in bed despite everyone falling asleep earlier, her mind racing with various thoughts about what happened earlier today. Did she really like Julius that way, or was she just simply happy that there was hope for her after all? However, her thoughts were soon interrupted by Melia tossing and turning in her sleep, a few drops of sweat falling down her forehead.
"M-Melia, are you okay?" Venam whispered to her but to no avail. Perhaps she was having another nightmare, like she had told her the previous night. Giving her friend a quick hug of reassurance, she attempted to comfort her friend through whatever nightmare she was going through, before hopping out of bed to look out the window.
"For such a big city, it's pretty silent at night— wait, is that?" She began, her eyes focusing on something in the distance, which appeared to be Lavender walking through the streets on her own. Fearing the worst, the brown-haired girl quickly made her way out of the penthouse and made a beeline towards the young girl, catching up to her near a large fountain.
"V-Venam, what are you doing here?!" Lavender exclaimed, a look of surprise on her face.
"I should be asking that question to you; I saw you through my window walking through these streets, an odd thing to do for someone like you, especially at this time of night." Venam stated, the young girl shuffling her feet uncomfortably.
"V-Venam…you should leave." Lavender requested.
"I'm not leaving until you give me an answer on why you're wandering the streets tonight! There is absolutely no reason for you to be out here right now when people are getting turned to stone left and right. It's not safe and I won't have you going out here alone!" The brown-haired girl stood her ground.
"B-But why do you care about me? We've known each other for less than a day, it's impossible for you to feel this way." Lavender shot back in defiance.
"Feelings can work in a mysterious way; speaking of which I'm getting bad feelings from you right now. After all, your hesitance to answer me can only mean that you're up to no good. So Lavender, I'll ask you this one more time…what are you doing up so goddamn late?!" Venam demanded, the young girl sighing to herself before yielding to the demand.
"I suppose there's no harm in telling you what I'm doing. You see—" Lavender began, before a crashing noise came from behind the duo.
"Wh-What the hell was that?!" Venam exclaimed, but the darkness of the night shrouded the thing in total secrecy, the duo left totally helpless to whatever terror stalked them that fateful night.
The next morning
"Nnnngggghhhh…" Julius yawned, waking up from his slumber as he got up from the couch and scanned the nearby room, where he saw Melia and Rhodea having a cup of hot chocolate each.
"Ah, good morning Julius. Did you sleep well last night?" The blonde inquired.
"Better than last night, that's for sure." The young teen replied quickly, taking a seat beside her.
"On another topic, did Venam mention anything to you recently? Because when I woke up, she wasn't in bed beside me, and I know how much of a heavy sleeper she is." Melia asked him.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen her either. I was too busy tending to Alice and Allen to notice." Rhodea added, a look of concerned growing on the blonde's face.
"This is odd behavior from her; Venam always greets me first thing in the morning. For her to not do that and go somewhere without telling me is—" Melia began, only for the penthouse door to burst open as Huey rushed inside to alert the trio.
"Y-You three! You have to come to the Central Square, pronto! There's people panicking in the streets; someone else must've turned to stone!" He yelled at them, a sinking feeling welling up inside Julius.
"No…don't tell me…" He whispered to himself, quickly making his out of the apartment with the other two following suit.
0000
Life hasn't exactly been the kindest to Julius throughout his life; for every handshake he would receive, he could expect a punch to the gut to come soon afterwards. But this instance? This instance felt less like a punch to the gut, and more like a deep, painful slash; the sort that would disembowel him with ease. Standing in front of the fountain, with a familiar rainbow-colored ribbon beside her…was the petrified body of Venam.
"N-No…" Julius said weakly, his heart taking an emotional blow as he saw his friend, his potential lover petrified in place as the crowd watched in complete horror. But the one person who took this harder than him, was the one standing beside him, Melia.
"No…No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Melia cried out, running up towards the statue with Julius beside her, the blonde holding the statue firmly in her hands as tears began streaming down her face. "Oh God, Venam! Why did it have to be you of all people?! This isn't fair, this isn't fair at all!"
"M-Melia, please calm dow—" Rhodea replied, extending a hand only for Melia to smack it away.
"Don't touch me! G-Get away from me!" She shouted back hysterically. "J-Just leave me alone! G-Get the hell away from me!"
"M-Melia, we only want to help you. Please, trust us, trust me…" Julius pleaded, opting to reach out to Melia like Rhodea did, only this time instead of a slap she simply buried her face into his shoulder and began sobbing profusely.
"Why…why did this happen to her?! I-I don't understand how this could've happened. I-I promised her that I wouldn't let anything like this happen to her, a promise that above all else, I would keep her safe from those who would harm her. But I failed her; I failed her when she needed me the most. W-What good am I if I can't protect the ones I love?! I'm so sorry Venam, I'm so, so sorry…" The blonde continued sobbing, the young teen rubbing her back to comfort her, no matter how little it did.
"Please don't cry…we'll find a way to save her, I know we will." Julius reassured her, as an ambulance arrived at the scene with a nurse hopping out the driver's side door.
"I'm sorry, but we need to bring her to the Hospital of Hope, immediately." The nurse informed the duo.
"Please…take me, take us with you then." Melia requested, with Julius taking the time to quickly scoop up the fallen ribbon and tuck it safely into his pocket.
"If I may, can I accompany Melia with you to the hospital as well?" Julius requested, the blonde shooting him a grateful look as the nurse yielded to their requests.
"Very well, but just the two of you. There won't be enough room for anyone else." The nurse agreed, opening the back doors as the trio helped pick up Venam's body and place it safely on the stretcher in the back. Once that was done, both Melia and Julius took their seat in the back with Venam, the nurse hopping back into the cabin as she revved up the engine and began the quick drive to the Hospital of Hope as Rhodea, Kanon and Huey watched the ambulance drive off.
As they were about to leave the scene, Huey noticed something else on the ground and took a closer look at it, only to recoil in shock and horror. "N-No! T-This is Lavender's bow! T-That must mean…I-I'm coming Lavender!" He cried out, quickly running off to the north.
"H-Huey!" Rhodea called out to him, but to no avail. "Kanon, can you go fetch him for me? As you can see, now's not the time for us to be running off on our own."
"Got it!" He promised, quickly running off to catch up to the distressed redhead, his trail taking him to the front of the Scholar District. Soon enough, the white-haired youth caught up to Huey and saw that Lavender was sitting still by the sewer entrance, her eyes closed as if she's in a peaceful sleep.
"L-Lavender, what happened to you? Are you okay? Speak to me!" Huey pleaded, the young girl's eyes fluttering open as she began breathing erratically. "Ah, your asthma pump? Do you have it on you? Gah! Forget it, I'm going to get the paramedics to help us out here."
"Let me give them a ring." Kanon replied, taking out a spare CyberNav Melia had lent him a while ago and dialed in the emergency number. Shortly afterwards, a second ambulance arrived near the scene, a pair of nurses picking up Lavender's body and placed her on a stretcher, wheeling it into the ambulance before closing the doors. Before Huey could even ask to join then, the siren blared as the ambulance quickly drove off to the Hospital of Hope, leaving the two men on their own.
"How…how did this all happen? We all went to bed safe and sound but look what happened; Venam got petrified and Lavender is barely breathing. How did it all get to this point?! Argh…if only Rune was here, she'd know what to do!" The redhead cried out in frustration, punching a nearby lamppost.
"Now's not the time to get all worked up, we need to make our way back to the penthouse so we can work something out with Rhodea." Kanon told him.
"Yeah…I can see your point. I didn't feel like wandering the city today, anyway." Huey replied, the duo quickly making their way back to the penthouse for a much needed break.
Hospital of Hope
Julius was at a complete loss on what to do at this very moment, asides from comforting Melia during this most trying ordeal, the duo in the room with Venam's body was hooked up to an assortment of various medical machines. He knew just how much she meant to the blonde, and how her petrification affected her, as well as how it affected him. Just when it seemed like life would finally give them a break, it throws this in their path. His hand firmly held Melia's in a comforting grip, reassuring her that he'll be there for her during this point in time. The blonde shot him a look of gratitude for being here with her, a few dried-up tears on her cheeks, as the young teen's pocket started vibrating, indicating that his CyberNav got a text message. Uttering a quick apology to her, he took out his CyberNav and began reading the message quietly to himself.
'Hey Julius, I heard about what happened to Venam. Me and Allen extend our sincerest condolences for what you're going through and hope that she makes a swift recovery. By the way, have you tasted the food in the freezer back home? It tasted really nice, though my brother thinks otherwise. It was then that nice Rhodea lady scolded us for eating them all, claiming that those "tv dinners" as she called them were meant to be heated up. Guess that explains why they were cold; personally, I thought they were from the magical frozen galaxy of snow, where everything is covered with snow and ice! Anyway, the Puppet Master wanted to meet you inside the Toy Box. Don't be afraid, they're a very wonderful person; they'll tell you all you need to know! But you can't enter the Toy Box from this world Mr. Silly; you can only enter it in the world of dreams, but it has to be a nightmare. One so grand that it'll scar you for the rest of your life. Luckily, you can get yourself a Nightmare Medallion to ensure that you'll get one, though I'm not sure where you can find one.
Best wishes: Alice'
"S-So what was the message about?" Melia inquired cautiously, with Julius putting the CyberNav away.
"Supposedly the Puppet Master Alice mentioned yesterday wants to speak to me, but I don't know what they want to talk about. She did say that they know everything and can answer every question, so—" The young teen began.
"Then you must speak to them! Th-They might know how to save Venam!" The blonde requested urgently.
"There's just one small problem; I can only speak to them during a nightmare. She said something about a Nightmare Medallion—" Julius began, only for Melia to begin digging through her bag quickly and handed him what looked like a purple and gold medal that while beautiful, carried what felt like an air of unease around it.
"Here, take it! I got that thing during my first day here; it's brought me nothing but bad luck ever since I got it." She stated quickly, the young teen holding it carefully in his hands. "Once you're done with it, just throw it away. I don't want to ever see it again!"
"As you wish, my lady." He replied, noticing an unoccupied couch in the room and made his way towards it. "I hope you don't mind if I fall asleep right here; I want to save Venam as soon as possible."
"As do I, Julius. As do I…" Melia spoke softly, watching him make himself comfortable on the couch before he fell asleep a few minutes later. "Please be careful, I don't want to lose you as well…"
Talk about a sad cliffhanger, I'll admit that it broke my heart a little when I first saw Venam getting petrified hence why writing about it was a little hard. But I'm sure we all know what happened to her in the latest episode. Speaking of which, I do apologize if she was a little OOC during the ribbon scene, but I hoped I was able to convey her grief in a realistic way. Anyway, the end part of this chapter is a little different from the base game, but I felt that it fit the story I've wrote so far. Finally, I've heard that Episode 13 had made some significant process in development which is wonderful given how great Episode 12 was. Anyway, thank you all for reading my fic, I'll see you all in the next chapter.