Watcher of Arceus
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Only the idea and OC's.
Author Notes:
-X-This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.
~xXx~ This will identify where each paragraph breaks.
"Human Speech" 'Character Thought' {Pokémon Speech}
Co-author: Catsithx
The following is a total and complete Reboot of the story "Watcher of Arceus".
~xXx~
Chapter 27 : Twin Sickness
Two loud yells of surprise and two sudden thuds of people falling down broke the soft quite feeling around them. The hard surface of gravel hidden under grass that was far too thin didn't help things and gave both Sarah and Xent a sore backside, the two quickly looking around to see if they were caught or anything. Even Thomas was looking around, but his personal experience with teleporting, while still a bit jarring didn't have the same effect as last time he was teleported away, but it still held the same questions of where now.
They were near a city, but there was no shocked silence around them. They could hear some machinery in the far off distance, the sounds of wild pokemon like birds squaking at the sudden intrusion and even splashing water. A single car could be heard going by, but otherwise it was a nice enough quiet.
It was a weird choice though, being on what appeared to be a utility road and long under used one beside what looked like a small shipyard. At least, maybe it was a shipyard, there were a number of small boats in various states of build on platforms around them, and plenty of stacked wood and other supplies behind a chain link fence.
There weren't any people though, or so Thomas thought as he pulled out his pokedex to check the location. His map showed them on the edges of a town called Terracotta Town as he helped Xent up, Suicune already helping Sarah up to her feet.
"Hey! HEY!" A voice yelled out, and someone was starting to rush up towards them. As soon as the man rounded one of the boats though, Dahlia's eyes flashed once more as she just looked at him, before just holding Radara a bit more as she got up.
The man's eyes went a strange color, a soft pink and blue as he looked on waving a cane around. "Damn it boy, I said the front gate, the FRONT gate!" The man yelled, shaking his head, only to shake his head as he moved up shook his head. "Damn kids and their lack of respect, can't even follow simple directions."
"Fine, just fine, whatever, get in here already." The man grumbled loudly as he moved to the chain link gate between them and then opened it up, letting them all inside. He didn't even seem to care about Suicune or anything.
"The boat's ready, fully stocked on the basics and non-perishables... and yes, I got the damned ice cream cups and pocky like you wanted." The man stated as he started to walk them into the small yard. Thomas was right, it was a kind of shipyard, but what looked like a small one for custom made boats. Still, not wanting to take any chances, Thomas called back Suicune who understood the need to hide right now.
As soon as he did though, Dahlia ripped the pokeball from his hand and just held it in her hands beside Radara, wanting to keep her close still. Thomas didn't argue as Dahlia called back Flare and Zia on her own to the surprise of Sarah and Xent. Xent was quickly to try and release Zia again, but Thomas stopped him.
"Sorry Flare... but I guess we do need to hide right now." Sarah said, looking up slowly now, only to be stopped and not have a chance to ask questions.
"What's going on?" Xent asked now, trying to figure out what was on as Sarah just checked her belt and made sure that Flare's pokeball was there, even going so far as to check her pokedex to make sure he was still okay.
'Quite. Its hard enough to do this right now and I won't let myself get taken again.' Dahlia stated firmly in his head.
Thomas gave a small nod and just barely motioned for Xent to stay quite as for a few, only for Sarah to about throw up behind him, Thomas instantly turning to catch her. "Woah, easy, easy." Thomas stated, only to see the old man staring now. "Just a minor case of food poisoning." Thomas quickly lied, helping Sarah stand up fully, while also trying to help her breath. Looking to Xent, Thomas could tell that his stomach was in a knot as well, only just now feeling it as full feeling returned to him. The first time teleporting was always strange, and feeling could take a moment to return. It was only when feeling returned that the ill effects would be felt, and not everyone took well to it.
"Learn to cook your food right... stupid trainers these days. You'll have fun cooking on these new electric burners." The old man grumbled, waiting a moment for until Sarah was ready, and then continued along. "The Lunar Blessing is ready to go right now, hurry up with the paperwork and you can get out of here Mr. Falston. Making me work overtime like this, can't even take the time to set up a proper arrival date."
Dahlia just kept walking forward and was clearly still in charge as she walked along with Radara still in her arms, finally rounding the corner. None of them really knew what to expect, only that Thomas was apparently getting a boat now. As they rounded one more corner and came up to the water's edge, there were a few boats in the water though.
Two of the five boats were just custom made small fishing boats, with plenty of fishing gear on them, and a few men working on them, starting to unload a few traps and other things and that instantly ruled those boats as the one Thomas was going to get. The third boat was a small custom made speed boat, shaped like a gyarados, but it was just a four seater boat just meant for being on the water and going fast.
That meant that Thomas appeared to be getting the fifth boat that was there, just instantly skipping over the fourth one thinking that it couldn't be the boat that he was supposedly buying. Behind its large form, he could see what the rear end of a large pontoon boat, only for it take off.
"The Lunar Blessing was definitely one of my largest works, and a strange one. What's with you trainers and making such weird choices anyway?" The man continued as they all looked to the fourth boat again, in a bit of shock. It looked like a giant pokeball if stretched out a bit held in a giant flat inner tube, that was painted like a luxury pokeball, being mostly black and gold in color, with a large red strip near the top that circled the whole thing.
It was a lot larger then Thomas was expecting and sure enough, now actually looking at it, the name "Lunar Blesssing" was painted in a bold red text, with golden highlight. It wasn't fully round, but it was large, at least twenty feet long from the side that they were looking at it.
"Bedrooms are on the under level, one master and three guest like requested, kitchen and partially stocked pantry, well fully stocked on non-perishables, all electric with gas backup for the engine and everything else including stove and furnace are fully electric, full sized bathroom with shower... make SURE you take care of the septic tank and empty it regularly, and a medi-center, one of those Type D Models, 5.1 variation just like you very clearly explained to make sure it was the right one... Picky much?" The man grumbled as he walked past it and pointed it out.
Sarah just staring in awe as Dahlia just kept walking and went right for the dock, walking right onto it and then opening the door to get inside while Sarah just stared in awe. "What... what is this? Is that... Thomas... what?" She said looking over it, only to quickly move and follow Dahlia and Radara inside.
As impressive as it was and sounded though, worry began to fill in Thomas. This was a problem in his mind as he turned to follow the man. "Come on, hurry up and sign the damned paper work, or I'll charge the account another day's worth of rental and maintenance fees. I hate over paying customers as it is, always asking for change."
Thomas just followed along though with Xent choosing to follow him, the man quickly moving up to a computer and double checking the order before pulling out a clip board. The man also pretty much shoved Thomas's face towards the screen to confirm things. To Thomas, it was all just there and while he knew how to read an invoice, the detail on this was beyond him.
'Its all set and paid for. I've been planning this for months.' Dahlia's voice sounded in his head, and as Thomas looked everything, it all looked legit. Xent wasn't entirely sure though, until he finally noticed the logo when it scrolled back up slowly and then Xent nodded. Thomas was heavily worried about just stealing a boat, but if there were digital records showing that it wasn't stolen, that everything paid for, and then some, then the knights couldn't use that against him. Of course, his name on it was something that they could still track.
"Looks good to me." Xent added now though as he looked it over and finally realized who this was, taking a step back.
"You gonna sign this and get on your way already? I thought you paid well for the privacy and speed so those stupid guardians of yours couldn't steal your inheritance. Look, no one is tracking that boat alright. I personally made sure of it like you paid for." The man grumbled again, and things were starting to make sense to Thomas at least in some ways. Dahlia had clearly been captured, and she was planning her own escape. The call to Xent using his real name and the mention of a special weapon, of Radara, it was all for her own sake, to break herself out of the Knight's control. Of course, that still left one major issue though, and that was why. And then there was Xent, who as paranoid as he was, just admitted that it was good, and looked eager to get on the way now.
Thomas signed the paper work, was handed the key and large large folder of related paperwork, licenses, and three different manuals, before he opened his cash register and pulled out almost a dozen envelopes, shoving those into Thomas's hands as well. With that the man practically shoved them both out now though. "And don't forget.. you'll need WIDE docks to park that in any harbor, it won't fit in just any old dock." The man stated firmly, and then quickly went back to some large chair, putting his feet up on the desk and putting a hat over his face, already grumbling again about the company and disrespect for what was happening and all the hassle to fill the order.
Thomas just turned, and moved back to the boat, hopping down onto the ring and giving it a better look as he walked in. "We should go..." Xent stated quietly now as he walked in, seeing where the controls were and quickly moved up to them, looking them over. Dahlia seemed to agree, even as she was just sitting on a couch, legs curled up to her chest and lightly petting Radara who leaning against her a bit.
The key in Thomas's hand quickly flew to the controls, slipped into slot and a few switches were rapidly flipped, the entire control board lighting up. A few seconds later, the boat started moving, and then was heading for the river, the ocean already in easy view.
Xent just gave a small panic yell since it was under invisible control, and quickly started looking over things. He rushed up and took the wheel very firmly now as he looked around trying to get a feel of the boat. He saw all the basics and calmed down a bit, but not fully though. "I'll... I'll just get us out somewhere quiet."
Thomas took the chance to release Juno, and upon seeing her, Dahlia just laughed a bit, suddenly dragging the surprised ninetales to her. Juno was about to argue, only to see who it was. Even more, she instant knew what was going on, getting up on the couch beside her and then wrapping all of her tails very protectively around the gardevoir.
As they moved on, Xent just spared a glance back, only to see everyone almost crowding the gardevoir, still just sitting there carefully. "Does... she really need protection?" Xent asked quietly looking at Thomas who leaned down and gave her a small kiss to her cheek again before getting up and walking over to him.
"More then ever... How much do you know about gardevoirs..." Thomas asked.
"That they can get suicidal if their chosen mate dies. It usually only lasts for a few years though, and if they make it through that, then its fine. Their bond is powerful and takes a toll, but its only those early years that pose the risk of problems. Otherwise, the ones I've seen grow stronger, more powerful easily, just... grouchy and less social." Xent stated, Sarah moving up to listen too.
"Yeah, I've read a bit about them too. Often, those gardevoirs that most people have interactions with are the ones who bond with a trainer, but not always. I mean sure they need some kind of bond to evolve from Kirlia into Gardevoir, but it takes them a while after that for them to really make a true mated bond. The ones in wild who do have bond don't … usually fare well if they were captured as a gardevoir and its recommended that trainer's don't capture a gardevoir, but a kirlia or raltz if they want to train one." Sarah added, Xent giving a nod.
"Well, that's partially right. You get the idea anyway. That bond for Dahlia though, that bond was always with her brother, and Argyle has been dead for fifty-four years. For us however, that bond is so much more. What Dahlia is suffering from right now is what we have named Twin Sickness. It happens when just one of us are killed. Together, as a pair, we are in a way a single legendary pokemon ourselves. There's a very small, a week long window at most that we see our new lives, and our old life passes away, but that is how the cycle works. We are NEVER alone." Thomas started, sparing a few glances to Dahlia.
"We share our thoughts, our life, memories, and abilities even. Without the other though, we're nothing, literately nothing in our own minds. Things just start to fade, most of all the god-essense that allows us to reincarnate. If our twin dies, then the survivor is doomed to die with them. But it gets worse, a lot worse. When this happens, its like someone rips out a piece of our brain and poorly, and they rip off limbs and even sanity along the way. We lose the feeling of the world around us, and the longer we survive, the worse this gets. Now... think about that feeling, and the needy nature of gardevoirs having to be at the side of their chosen mixed together." Thomas explained slowly, and as he went on, panic was setting a bit in his voice.
"She could... commit suicide at any given second... is there even a way to stop her." Xent said, his voice almost a whisper and now entirely understanding.
"We... we have to help her, there has to be a way right?" Sarah quickly asked, looking to Dahlia now and then looking back.
"I don't know. I've never seen a case like this. Everyone else in her position was either killed or took their own life within years of losing their twin. Its... I can't tell you why she's still alive. When Suicune found Argyle's body all those years ago, we instantly knew the worst had come. Even if someone did capture her, she'd just starve herself, or do something even more drastic. Maybe if we reinforce the feelings of family, find someway to … I don't know, but she needs us, needs me and Radara, all of us right now." Thomas said, only to suddenly look up with a sudden though.
"All of us... She needs family. She can't feel us anymore, but there is a way that we can still give that to her." Thomas rapidly started to look over the controls and moving to the map, an idea sparked.
"How fast does this thing go?" Thomas grumbled, the manuals all zooming right towards him, and then entirely uncaring for the other two that just fell to the floor. Thomas quickly grumbled though, and just threw the book down on the space above the controls in the window seal though as he moved to map and then started to plot a course, a long one.
"There is a way to save her right?" Xent repeated as he watched Thomas plotting the course south.
"We have to get to Sinnoh." Thomas quickly stated, only for Xent to give him a very confused look.
"Then... shouldn't you be plotting that course east and then north?" Xent asked very confused.
"Too slow. Flying is much faster." Thomas countered as he kept charting the course south, hating the slow scrolling speed of the map as it finally reached the Orange Islands and continued down.
"You do know this is a boat right..." Xent asked now, suddenly very worried.
"They'll manage this easily. Lugia lifted a tanker and dropped it in a desert once..., the four of them will ensure us a smooth and very fast trip." Thomas replied as he finally finished charting the course, and then had to pick up the manual again to override the warning program for the auto-pilot since he plotted a course right for Ice Island.
Xent opened his mouth to speak, closed it, then actually spoke. "You really are one big family huh?"
"There use to be almost three hundred of us... While the legendary pokemon were never hunted, we are still family though." Thomas sighed heavily and then turned back towards Dahlia. "When we hit that red zone, slow down. It will take a day or more to get there, but if you know how drive this thing, be my guest. I... I need to help her."
"I've got a handle on it." Xent nodded then looked back to Dahlia. "They held her for literal decades. If there's a way to help with that sort of trauma, I'm not arguing."
"Hey Dahlia. The guy said something about a master bedroom on the lower level. Would you like to get some rest? Me and Radara will personally make sure its quiet, we won't let you dream a thing, it will just be peaceful slumber." Thomas offered, Dahlia giving a small nod, and Juno finally released the tails covering her. Thomas leaned down and carefully picked her like before, and looking around, found the stair case down stairs. Radara helped keep his balance as they descended and there was a soft beep like an electronic lock before a door opened, and then shortly afterwards closed.
Sarah just stayed up with Xent though, giving a loud sigh as she saw a bench in the room and sat down. "How... how can anyone survive decades with those people?" She asked, words finally forming coherently in her head at last as Xent grabbed manual and started looking through it.
"You'd be surprised what all you live through. Maybe they denied her the chance to kill herself, maybe they had her hooked up to some kind of machine that kept her on life support only waking her up when they needed her." Xent suggested, knowing that Team Rocket did a bunch of similar things. "We'll only know if she talks, but I'm not asking her about it. They would have kept her in a prison and I'm not going to torture her to ask questions that she likely doesn't know the answers to."
"Yeah... yeah she needs space." Sarah added as Suicune moved up between them, a ribbon on each of their shoulders.
"She will need help, from all of us." Suicune said softly, before looking up over the controls and towards the south were the Orange Islands awaited them. "I'm sorry, Xent. I did not want to believe you when you tried to reason your way into giving us hope, that the truth was there. I had searched myself, and knowing what Dahlia is, none of us though that she could survive alone."
"Nothing to be sorry about. Being right about something like this... I'm torn on it. On one hand, she's free. On the other... I'm not saying I know how she feels, but..." his grip tightened on one of the handles for a brief moment before it relaxed as a few of many memories flashed through his head. "I'm gonna read the manual on this boat. I'll let you know if anything comes up on the radar."
Suicune gave a nod picking up the other two books on the floor, she put them on a shelf and walked for the stairs, going to help comfort Dahlia right now leaving Sarah and Xent on the surface with Sarah.
~xXx~
Thomas started up the stairs and checked the clock that was above the door leading outside. It was well into the evening, the sun having set a while ago as they continued along. As he got up on the main floor, he could see a few islands around them so he knew that they were in the Orange Islands again, but he knew that they still had a ways to go Ice Island. The usual ferries were at least twice as fast as this boat as he turned the corner and saw Sarah the helm at the moment, sitting on a bar stool for as she looked over the controls.
"Hey Sarah..." Thomas stated, Sarah quickly turning around. "Have you seen Xent recently?"
"Right here... my coffee is almost done." Xent called out from around the corner in the kitchen. Verna quickly moved out as well, carrying a small tray with a pot of hot water and tea cups. Sarah just smiled at the cup of tea and took one, taking a sip and delighted herself with the result.
"Verna makes good tea." Sarah complimented, Verna giving a small nod, and then setting the tray down on a table behind her. Xent then walked out with a large cup with steaming hot coffee as he moved to the helm.
"You need something?" Xent asked as he checked the map once more time, and then turned towards Thomas.
Thomas approached Xent slowly, Xent wondering what was up only for Thomas to stop in front of him, and then give a full formal bow. "Me and my sister Radara owe you a thorough apology, Xent Crostavia. You had spoken words that we felt could only inflict hardened pain, to deny what the world had told us was truth. Dahlia choose not to call out to anyone when she was captured, she would not have let them use her as bait and so to the world, she was dead, lost to time and we believed that she had taken her own life, believing what our senses of the world told us, that she was not there." Thomas stated, still giving the bow before at last standing.
"Had you not spoken those words and riled us up, we may not have forced ourselves to recklessly go to Xanadu Nursery so quickly, and had we waited, we may have only come to find a body after it was too late. We owe you more then you may ever know, and for at least giving us this chance to try and save our sister, we are in your debt." Thomas stated, his words formal and clear, with intent and meaning behind them.
Xent's eyes slowly grew wide with surprise as Thomas spoke, and didn't move or speak until several moments after he finished speaking. He crossed his arms and let out a deep sigh while shaking his head. "You don't owe me anything. The idea of someone being kept like she was for that long..." A tremor went through Xent's being as he tried imagining extending his own experience that long. He steadied himself before speaking again in his usual tone. "Now I can't call you two assholes anymore, great. Just great. Here I was ready to hold onto that forever but now you just hadda go ruin it."
Behind them, Zia had dropped her jaw in shock and was even shaking her head fiercely a few times, having thought things entirely different for Thomas and Radara. Verna was also shaking her head but at Xent's comment having openly admitting to thinking of Thomas and Radara as assholes, but she knew why he thought that being one himself.
"I told you Thomas was better then what you thought." Sarah stated, just sipping her tea again and keeping an eye on the controls.
"Yeah yeah." He rolled his eyes and before looking out the window. "I don't need to tell you, but I do things because I want to. This was no different. If you're gonna be stubborn on this, I wanna be there when you do this... 'solution' of yours, or at least let me see that it worked. I'll sleep a bit easier if it does." Xent stated as he took the wheel again, Sarah moving off to the couch nearby.
"Just so you know, this damn thing has a lot of extra safety features. As long as the door is closed properly, this thing could safely be fully submerged up to twenty feet under water and not care for a while, its got an entirely closed circuit security system that can't be remotely hacked because it has no remote access ports, there's no transponder to ping... and here's the parts you're going to love, if no one is at the helm, it will park itself after a few minutes and it wants to slow down once it gets too dark. I didn't want to go messing around in the configurations at the moment, and we apparently have solar panels on this thing if you don't personally feel like charging the electrical charge pads." Xent added.
"If that's the case, why don't you take a break. I need a bit of physical activity, Dahlia just clung to my arm and body too much, but I refused to disturb her until she let go herself. I also need a break from the mental strain, I'm still too young to have enough power to help her that much." Thomas sighed as Verna offered him a cup of hot berry tea now as well.
"Thank you." Thomas said a smile.
'Is... will she be fine?' Verna asked now, somewhat eagerly and worried.
"I hope so, but there's nothing else I can do right now. I could try, but that would put myself at serious risk of personal harm from the strain and if she thinks that I hurt myself just trying to help her, she may take it the wrong way. Radara is keeping her dreamless though, and she's happy to curl up in Juno's tails." Thomas explained.
"You can feel her pain though can't you." Thomas asked after looking her over for a moment. Verna just nodded as she looked down.
At this, Xent quickly turned back and double checked. "She... you can feel her pain?" Xent asked a bit worried and Verna merely nodded again, leaning back and taking a seat.
"Dahlia might be instinctively reaching out to anything nearby, searching for family or... or still begging for the mind of her brother. Gardevoirs are somewhat emotionally reliant, so I guess that you might feel that." Thomas sighed as he looked at Verna. "I'm sorry for that. You... you may find comfort in your pokeball, the silence that it can offer from this pain might be the only place that you can hide from it."
'Is there... is there some way I can help?' Verna asked, even biting her lip just a bit, worried and uncertain.
"I... I don't know. Be nice, help her if she asks for something... maybe... I don't, just don't know. If you can save yourself from harming yourself because of whatever she's unintentionally pushing onto you, you pay attention to her and keep her safe, let us know if she starts... gets worse..." Thomas said, looking down a bit, and then looking to map. They were maybe halfway to Shamouti island, and with it the three elemental islands. Ice Island was the destination, and the only island that Thomas knew that this kind of boat could have a chance of docking at.
"Has anyone checked the pantry? I mean usually people buy their own food, but I think I heard something about some kind of food when Dahlia teleported us over to the shipyard. Whoever that was who Dahlia took control of... the guy-" Thomas started, only for Xent to speak up.
"Mr. Rajin..." Xent quickly stated.
"Uh... what?" Thomas asked.
"Mr. Rajin... the elderly man who Dahlia purchased to hand craft this... this lovely boat. His name is Mr. Sake Rajin, and he builds boats for special clients, for people specifically looking to "run away". Remember how Mr. Rajin mentioned that you're supposed to be running for your guardians to keep them from getting your proper inheritance. People like that, or someone looking to run away from a disaster of a divorce, maybe someone looking to elope with the person who they are having an affair with, those kind of people who don't want to be found. I mean he charges top dollar and then some for the boats and the privacy, but his work is good. Like real good, I'm going to hate giving up this boat even if I have too." Xent said with a deep breath, still looking it over.
"Get rid of?" Sarah spoke up a bit concerned now.
"There's no way we can hide this. If we are being hunted, even if they can't find the proper registry on it, this thing will stand out. I mean sure Mr. Rajin can build a boat and make it hard to find, but I'm willing to bet that none of his former clients were running away from a very well funded and organized religious cult with a murder boner for the client." Xent explained, shaking his head clearly disappointed.
"I've been thinking about that too actually." Thomas said, looking it over a bit more, before looking back to Xent.
"And given what you just said, maybe we can keep it safely, we may kind of need to. Dahlia didn't call you to have us rescue her. She called us to get a weapon that she could channel what little god-essence she had to break herself out, it was the last thing she really needed. She's spent months actually working on this. Me and Radara have caught little glimpses into her mind where we could trying to figure out how to help her and right now she's just obsessed with this escape, to get away." Thomas explained.
As Thomas reached the point about Dahlia not needing a rescue, Xent just grumbled and shook his head a bit. "Yeah... yeah that was no rescue alright."
"I think she's... obsessed with her escape right now, and while she needs us, her family, she might also need this boat. I'm... well I'm worried that even if we can help her, if we try to get rid of this boat, its going to effect her. It took everything she had just to break herself out and you saw how quickly she changed and fell apart once the immediate danger was gone, that she had won and it was just us there." Thomas continued.
"And its now kind of like a safety blanket for her. If we were forced to part with it for any reason, even our own safety, it might make everything even worse." Sarah said, thinking about it.
"Then we have to keep it if we want to help her... So much for doing our best not to be seen." Xent stated, realizing that it was a rather unwelcome lose-lose situation in many ways. "We'll have to avoid large cities still, and we'll need to be careful at any place we do stop." Xent started, only for his stomach to rumble, hunger catching up to him again. "You... had a question about the pantry?"
"Yeah, has anyone checked it. I'm sure we all need to eat, but Mr... Rajin?" Thomas started, Xent giving a nod. "Mr. Rajin said that it was supposedly full on non-perishables, but what exactly did that mean?"
"A large variety of box meals, spices, rice and premium curry mix. The freezer is stuffed full of those fancy ice cream cups in all sorts of flavors, and there's like a thousand boxes of pocky." Sarah said.
"There's also enough tea to last us until winter and that deluxo-coffee mate thing... top of the line and makes a deadly triple redline." Xent added taking another sip of his drink.
"Has anyone started a group dinner?" Thomas asked, Xent shaking his head.
"Sorry... don't really eat much when stressed out." Xent stated only for Verna to get up and lightly flick his nose.
Sarah just looked on confused, only for Verna to explain. 'This idiot would have gotten himself killed by something very stupid long ago if not for his baby sitters.' Verna stated as she walked back to the kitchen, Sarah moving along behind her to see about a meal.
"Love you too honey." Xent just gave a clearly fake sneeze as they walked past him. "So.. you've seen into her mind and her thoughts... How bad did they torture her? I can't image that they would be nice to her, and I don't want to bring up any bad memories. I'd like to know if I have to hide anything, like the replacement tazer and other gear I'll need to get at some point."
"I... I'm not sure. Radara's peeked at a lot more while keeping her dreamless and as I am right now, not fully evolved, I could only help. I saw glimpses of an office building or something, some kind of large CEO fancy office space, and constant … paper work maybe?" Thomas said, just thinking about what he saw.
"Paperwork... ech, that kind of work tortures the mind. Trust me, doing that for decades will kill a normal soul." He said while tapping a few commands on the control panel. "If she was in a large office... was she-" He stopped as a few scenarios related to trophy secretaries flashed through his head before he could stop it. "Ah shit." He muttered.
"She could have been a trophy for the Kings... A way to help encourage others that it can be done." Thomas said softly, looking down a bit. "It could also explain her access to funding to buy this boat quietly. They clearly wanted to keep her someplace secure and under constant watch. If she's been held hostage for decades in an office though, even just stealing small amounts here and there would add up. She clearly dominated someone to call us, she could have done it to other knights as well. People misplace money all the time, and the kind of funding that it takes for them to have get around as much as they do and more. Well it would be easy for small sums to get lost all the time."
"Oh, she had funds alright." Xent stated, walking over to the shelf behind them and pulled up one of the twelve envelopes that Mr. Rajin had forced Thomas into taking that came from the cash register. "See these... payment packets. She paid for another twelve weeks of storage and maintenance just in case. Each of these have about seven thousand pokedollars in them. I also checked the receipts. She's paid over a million already for this between labor, materials, and storage. Being next to the guy who signs the paychecks though, yeah, I'd take the chance to steal some cash to fund my escape too."
He closed the book shelf before returning to the controls and took another cautious glance at the surrounding horizon before looking back at Thomas. "She's done 99 percent of the work, I'll be damned if we don't do the last one percent."
Thomas just nodded a bit, sparing a glance at the packets. "Well, as far I'm concerned, it her cash right now, and I'm not about to deny her something unless its highly unreasonable. I just hope that she can recover. Those scars will the haunt her for the rest of her life... but we can at least make her comfortable and maybe she'll find some peace." Thomas said.
"What does Dahlia like to eat?" Sarah called out. "We got a meal planned out for the rest of us, but she needs something herself right now."
"She doesn't like spicy things at all, and avoid pepper, lemons, and bread. Well most types of bread, she hates the thick and hard crusts." Thomas replied. "She loves roasted mushrooms though... oh, and cornbread with a little sugar and vanilla in the mix."
'The grain crusts get stuck in her stomach and she's a bit sensitive to that isn't she... I get like that sometimes too.' Verna stated.
"Yeah. Fresh cornbread is just really easy and soft, but other hard foods can also some problems sometimes, some breads just really don't break down well with her." Thomas noted.
"Well, I don't see any mushrooms, but we do have cornmeal, I could make a small batch in this wall oven." Sarah called out, then came up a moment later, holding a bag of cornmeal. "Well... maybe I'll make a small batch. Xent have you seen any storage containers for food? This bag was the smallest one there, and I don't think I'll use all of it, that would be more cornbread then all of us might eat and if she wants it fresh, there's no point in making extra." Sarah, only for the control board to speak up.
"Hamlin Island approaching." The robotic voice stated.
"Oh yeah... it does that too. But no, I didn't see anything like that." Xent stated, having forgot about it thinking about other things and having ignored it when it spoke up about Cinnabar Island.
"Hamlin island... No, no let's hold off on the cornbread, I've got an idea that might help right here and now." Thomas stated. "There's this little bakery near a tourist hot spot on the beach east of New Hamlin City that we need to stop at." Thomas quickly adjusted the course.
"Is this really the time for snacks?" Xent asked, not really arguing but still very curious.
"So... just put the cornmeal away then?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah. If you still willing, make us dinner, but there's a treat at the bakery that we'll get as many as we can from." Thomas explained. "They call it a paradise bun and I got some last time I was here on Halmin Island. Its not the real real deal, but its close enough. Basically, its a rice dough bun, filled with pulled pork that was drowned in honey, and topped with thick sweet berry paste before you close the bun up and then cook the whole thing." Thomas explained.
"I thought you said she didn't like the crusts?" Xent asked.
"She'll pe-. No, I'll peel the crust off and give it to her afterwards, but the thing is based off of something that one of our sisters made first, Zansuu. Gali would make them for everyone and everyone would help her make them. It was a family treat, something that we always bonded over when we made them. The bread is very soft on the inside and its something that she would love, all of us who didn't eat minerals loved it." Thomas explained and quickly changed course.
'And this will help her.' Verna asked quickly now.
"I was here a few weeks ago and when I got them then, Radara, Suicune and Juno all chewed me out something bad for not getting enough to share because it was kinda a family thing. I was having a bad night and shared with Rebecca, and in hind sight, it was very greedy and wrong of me to not get enough to share given the meaning that they hold to us." Thomas explained, before taking a few deep breathes, and then taking the last pokeball from his belt.
"Well then, where's the bakery?" Xent asked, pulling up his pokedex and then turned on something else on the control board.
"Its was little tourist plaza on the beach, east of New Hamlin City. I never got the name properly, I was just looking for the treat back then and found one of the bakeries that had it. It was a twenty-four hour place, so they'll still be open even now. I think it had a tourist pier and a dock for small ships. I don't know if it will hold this though... but we'll find out." Thomas explained, only to suddenly pull out his pokedex.
"Wait, no there might be better places. Let's see, let's see. Hamlin Paradise Bun..." He searched the term and got results from the food app that he had installed a few weeks ago and then forgot about. "And nope, the only one by itself not in New Hamlin City is the one on that pier, The East Thunderstone Pier."
Xent just nodded, and quickly pulled it up. The whole pier was a tourist hot spot and was much more crowded then the last time that Thomas was there. "Well, looks like it does have docks, and more importantly, a half hour dock time limit to encourage boats to not clog up the beach, and they have room for large boats. It would be a chance to grab a few supplies while you get these, uh what you'd call em?"
"We know then as Zansuu... Gali just named them that because she thought it was a funny sound. There was a childish side to the dragon that she was." Thomas stated, still holding the pokeball finally steeling him at last.
Taking one last breath, he finally called out Rebecca. As she materialized, she quickly looked around, only to find strange surroundings. 'Thomas... are... are we on a boat?' She asked, seeing the water outside the windows, and seeing the controls as she looked around, but this was just too fancy for them. Thomas always preferred to travel very very modestly, but this looked like a strange mix of home and boat, and it wasn't part of a ferry or anything.
As soon she turned around and faced him though, his aura was a disaster of sorts. He was holding himself together for now, but his aura was wild and shifting. Sorrow, a bit of despair, hope, joy, need, a rush to have to act, and so much more were spilling back and forth over each other, and looking around, everyone's auras were a twisted mix of emotional problems as well.
"Rebecca... I know that I promised you more time, and now I can give you a lot more time, but something happened. If we aren't with near any other city, and we're inside this boat, I won't stop you if you want to hug or hold me as long as it doesn't cause me to drop something or crash or anything like that." Thomas started, Rebecca getting a bit worried now, but with full permission to hold him, she took a step forward and leaned into him, giving him a hug while being careful of her chest spike.
"But I can't give you all my time. More, there's someone else here with us now, and... and she needs my help. One of my sisters is still alive, and Dahlia is on the verge of total collapse. She needs me, she needs to know I'm there, to hold me, to feel my mind, to feel me, to have me there at times and I can't refuse her. I thought she's been dead for over fifty years, but she's alive and she's not well." Thomas explained, gently holding Rebecca now.
Rebecca just whined loudly, her ears folding back as she saw his aura turn dark and worried again, more and more as he spoke. 'You mean, another legendary?' She asked, but Thomas shook her head.
"One of my personal sisters, and Radara's. She's a god-child, and she's a gardevoir, but her brother was killed when we thought she died too. You've commented that me and Radara practically share aura at times, and that's not exactly wrong. Without her brother though, its like she's only half here. Her mind is fighting itself and while she looks physically fine... you'll see what I mean later, I can't image her aura is easy to look at." Thomas continued, starting to gently rub her ears.
"I don't know if she'll even survive right now, and honestly, if she doesn't... I don't know how I'll manage. We're doing all we can to help her right now, but..." Thomas said, just holding her close again, taking a chance to take a few more breathes. Rebecca just held him a bit closer, and nuzzled him lightly for now.
'I'll... try to help you however I can. I can see how much this means to you...' Rebecca said, holding him and trying to calm him.
"We're maybe two knots from that pier according to the map by the way. We'll be there in about ten minutes and I'm short on cash. I assume you have something to cover this?" Xent asked, Thomas nodded.
"Where's my trainer safe?" Thomas asked, Xent pointing to the book case again, beside the manuals and the envelopes with Dahlia's change. Xent handed it to Thomas, and Thomas set it down on top of the control consoles and opened it. Inside there was still a large sum of cash, and Thomas pulled some out, knowing that he just needed to pay cash at the moment. He pulled out a out a few thousands and handed it to Xent. "Here... I hope this replaces some of what the knights cost you." Thomas stated, before taking some cash for wallet as well and even double checking the Lover's Crest within.
He was left wondering if showing that to Dahlia would help or not giving the meaning that it held to all of the family. It was once a source of joy after all, a way to invite new members into the family, but right now he couldn't tell if it would help or not as he closed the safe again.
"If there's any form of dollar store on the road or anything like that, head in, grab some food storage containers, the best miltank milk they have, at least two gallons, and set of cooking gear. We could be spending a day or more trying to help Dahlia and it will be a hike from the boat. Oh, and the biggest thing of quality Vespiqueen honey you can find." Thomas explained, Xent just nodding.
"I'm postponing your allowance ban. I'm not going to risk torturing you if you can feel what Dahlia is feeling, you need something to help you." Xent added while resting a hand on her shoulder. "Dahlia will be fine, she's gone this long, and now she's with family. Not to mention she's more stubborn than me."
"So... here's how this should work. Clearly you still want to draw attention away from the Tree of Beginnings. We'll go with Rebecca and Verna, because shiny pokemon do stand out and we "need" to be seen on at least a few cameras. Don't make it a point to stand out, but don't make it a point to avoid them all either. Crowded place like a tourist pier is going to have people, let them talk, but ignore them. We'll park on the far end, in a dark spot with the lights on inside so people know we're here, but won't be able to make out the boat proper." Xent explained as he they approached, only for a new light to appear, suggesting an auto-dock function since it appeared to detect a dock monitor that it could dock in.
"And turn that off, I'll park myself right now." Xent grumbled before continuing.
"Once we get there, we'll have thirty minutes. Set a timer on your pokedex for twenty just in case so that we have time to get back without a dock hand coming back to ask us to move and getting a better look while they are at it. Pay cash only right now, and try not to make a scene. The bakery is likely packed full right now, so just worry about these pastries your after." Xent stated as he carefully moved up to the docks, the radar showing all the boats around, and even outlining docks that could hold it and had the digital dock monitor. A full assortment of water proof lights on the docks though made it easy to see the docks even in the dark though and Xent just parked it easy.
"Let's hurry up and make this quick, we shouldn't leave her alone for too long to begin with. Even if you don't see me, just get to the boat first when your done. She needs you more right now." Xent finished, and Thomas just nodded.
"I'll say here with her and finish working on dinner. If anything starts to happen, I'll send an emergency text to your pokedex Thomas." Sarah added as she walked out and help throw a rope onto the dock to keep the boat steady and in place. "See you when you get back." She said, Zia already at work hiding the boat, making other things that it was a pontoon boat or something similar.
-x-
Thomas walked into the bakery once more with Rebecca at his side, the place packed now with an easy dozen people. The case of paradise buns were even more full then last though and Thomas was thankful for that. This time though, he had taken a chance to steady himself before going in and made sure he looked proper and wouldn't stand out. As his turn came up, the same clerk from the other day was there again and instantly recognized Thomas.
"Oh, hey hey again. Looks like you picked a good day this time, just had the weather report, pollen count is low." The man smiled. "You here because your pokemon want another batch of paradise buns?"
"Yeah, six of everyone kind you got, and all of the oran and bluk berry ones." Thomas said.
"Training hasn't gotten any easier in two weeks at all then." The man laughed, Thomas just nodding and going with it.
"Hey Katty, could use a hand with this one." The clerk called and someone came out from the back.
"Yeah, what's up." The new clerk asked as she came out to help.
"Six of each of the paradise buns and all of the oran and bluk berry ones." The clerk stated as he rung up Thomas. "T.B.T. again?"
"Cash this time. Pokedex got sand in it." Thomas replied, pulling up this wallet and seeing the amount. "Just keep the change." He stated, pulling out four hundreds and fifty, just wanting to get back to the boat.
"Thank you, thank you." The clerk stated, about to cash when someone drew gun and pointed it in the clerks face.
"Cash... all of it in bag." The man stated, tossing a bag on the counter. The clerk just froze a bit, and then slowly started to put the bills Thomas handed him in the bag. "And you... wallet. Shouldn't be flaunting all that cash." The man stated quickly turning the gun on Thomas. Rebecca quickly went to move, but found herself frozen as Thomas put his hands up slowly.
"Woah... easy there. No one needs to get hurt." Thomas stated, acting several times more cautious then usual given why he was even here.
"I said... wallet, in the bag... and the lucario for trying to sass me." The man stated knowing what a shiny pokemon was worth.
"Easy... just easy, we can talk." Thomas stated, starting at the gun carefully, and then flipping the safety on it without the robber noticing.
"Listen pal, cops will be here in four minutes. That gives me two minutes to get my hard earned cash. Now either you put the wallet in the bag and call back the lucario, or so help me, I'll just shoot you bo-" The man stated very aggressively, shoving the gun into Thomas's chest, only for it to get ripped for his hands.
It flew up into Thomas's hand to the surprise of everyone, Thomas not taking any chances now, not willing to be threatened like that with very mentally strained and rediscovered sister back on the boat.
Thomas wasted little time after taking the gun and holding it by the barrel and smashing the grip into the robber's nose knocking him back. Just as quickly, he ejected the mag tossing that into the trash along with the round in the chamber before setting the now empty gun on the counter.
"I do not have time for this..." Thomas stated clearly now, uncaring if he just used his psychic openly. It wasn't like he would be staying and it would give the knights somewhere else to look for him anyway.
The robber just yelled out and held his broken nose, only to quickly pull out a knife. "Oh, I'm gonna gut you l-" He started before the knife was also just ripped from him as Thomas let Rebecca go who stepped in front of Thomas now, growling and loudly.
Even without his knife though, the man rushed forward, grabbing the tip jar to smash into Rebeca who easily used ducked under it, and let Thomas just move after the swing to grab his arm and just completely topple the man.
"Listen you, I do not have time for you pathetic antics right now." Thomas stated in anger, kneeling on the robber and keeping the fool pinned hard to the ground. Thoams removed his belt and put his pokedex and Rebecca's pokeball in his pocket. "I have nearly suicidal sister waiting for me to get something to try and help her and so help me, if she does something while I'm not there because I took too long because of your sorry ass looking to make a quick buck..." Thomas stated firmly, trying to keep in control, but it was clear that he was mad as he roughly flipped the man over and hog tied him with his belt, very tightly in front of the whole group.
Although Rebecca was mad with the man as well though, she did pull Thomas off of him seeing his anger and didn't want him to really hurt the thief. Looking back at the counter and to the group around them all, Thomas just took a few deep breathes.
"You... you sure your okay there dude?" The clerk asked, and Thomas and pulled out his wallet again uncaring if he had to pay again, he was in a rush now and there was no telling if Dahlia was even watching him right now, if she could tell that he was in trouble.
"I really need those paradise buns please... Now, please." Thomas stated, the clerks both nodding having heard his comment about a suicidal sister. Not wanting to hinder him and understanding the urgency, the two quickly took to help him with just a gentle mental push and a pleading look.
"Yeah, we'll get you those buns... but keep the cash, you already paid after all." The clerk stated.
They both hurried up with putting the paradise buns in bags for Thomas as the robber just whined a bit, his head jarred a bit still, only to start struggling. "You bastard. I'll find you and when I do." The man started, only for Thomas to look down at him, and seeing a stungun in his back pocket, quickly leaned down, pulled his shirt up and pressed it hard against his back, the sound of sparks going off. Thomas didn't even use the stungun, and instead shocked him directly faking using the stun gun.
The robber when limp quickly and then just staying like that, drooling a little even as Thomas stopped and got up, and then set the stungun on the counter as well. "If he tries anything before getting up, press it to bare skin." Thomas explained, taking the bags, and handing two to Rebecca, then taking the other two, before rushing out the door, in a rush.
"What just happened?" Xent quickly demanded meeting him at the door with Verna, only to see the robber on the floor.
"Let's just go... now." Thomas stated, before rushing down the pier, Xent moving with him quickly.
As they left though, the one clerk just tried the stungun for himself, at least testing to see if it worked, but nothing happened as he tried to test it. He took a moment to look it over as the police finally rushed up. "Hey... hey, wait a minute. This thing doesn't even have a battery in it... what just happened?"
-x-
The four of them rushed back to the boat, the scene getting more and more attention. Word was spreading and Rebecca was getting a few more looks with the mention of a shiny lucario possibly involved, so they doubled the pace.
Getting back to the boat, they walked through the illusion wall that Zia was keeping up, faking their boat as something different as far as people were concerned and they made it just in time. As as they got in, an officer moved up and quickly dropped down, Sarah moving up with Zia who was still hiding the boat and now Xent, Thomas, Verna, and Rebecca.
"Excuse me miss, have you seen a shiny lucario move pass here? We've got some questions for the trainer." The officer asked, Verna helping to keep things calm.
"Nope, sorry. I just finished making something to eat and put it in the mic to warm up. I heard the commotion though and came to see what's going on." Sarah quickly lied as she looked around outside.
"Uh... sorry, I got to go." Sarah quickly stated, hearing something behind her, the officer just nodding with the quickest glance of Dahlia who forced her way up the stairs, several things on the boat suddenly starting to slowly float up from the power.
'Who... who hurt him? Who hurt my brother!' Dahlia's voice sounded in their heads as everyone around them seemed to suddenly calm down. Behind her, Radara has to move to get past her and once again tried to stop her, leaning up on her hind legs and trying to stop her by leaning into her, gently and carefully nuzzling her chest horn with the added height of a few steps.
Still behind her, Suicune had wrapped her ribbons still around carefully around her chest. Thomas just dropped his bags and ran up, carefully pulling Dahlia up now into his arms and chest, hugging her carefully. "I'm fine, nothing happened, its all okay. I'm still here, I'm perfectly okay." Thomas stated, holding her and carefully holding her head against chest and shoulder.
"Its okay, calm down. I'm still here, I'm not going to leave you." He reassured her, gently rubbing her back and then looking to the bag he dropped. "Xent, hand me one, any of them." Thomas asked and taking a chance to sniff the air, Radara knew at once what was so important.
'Dahlia, look. Zansuu, Thomas got some zansuu!' Radara quickly chimed in as Xent picked up one and handed it to Thomas, as well as pulling out the new pocket knife he got. Thomas just shook his head though, and began using his mind to rip the pieces of crust off the snack, leaving only a little on the bottom to be held.
'Za-zansuu?' Dahlia's voice quivered a bit, only to give a weak smile and then reached out to grab it, seeing it already "peeled" for her. Taking it and looking up to Thomas, he just nodded.
"I've got plenty more, all you want to eat." Thomas said, looking to Xent and nodding for him to go to the controls and get them out. Xent didn't need to be told twice, and started things up right away to get back on route to Ice Island, picking up right where they had left off.
"Dahlia... there's someone I would like you to meet..." Thomas said as Dahlia just nibbled on the treat, a few tears in her eyes, but Thomas just kept holding her as he gently pulled Rebecca forward. "This is Rebecca... the.. the first lover I've had in a long time. Mew even tried to throw us a wedding."
'H-hello.' Rebecca said.
'Reb-becca... Rea Beck Ann... Rea Beck Ann... I knew you had a crush on her all those lives ago.' Dahlia gave a small laugh, still nibbling on the treat. Seeing that she was fine again though, Suicune and Radara let her go.
'Rea... Beck... Ann?' Rebecca asked now, looking a bit confused.
"Another lucario that I knew in a past life. She earned a full proper name in a time when humans were in a questionable time and kingdom, bestowed upon her by the emperor... and no, Rea had a crush on me." Thomas said just slightly shaking his head, but happy that Dahlia was remembering the past.