This chapter was updated/revised on December 10, 2019.
The Desire to Know
"She heard those sirens screaming out
Her daddy laid there passed out on the couch
She locked herself in the cellar
Listened to the screaming of the wind
Some people call it taking shelter
She called it sweet revenge."
Carrie Underwood
Nolan, Lexi, Jake, Tyler, Viviana, Brodie, and Lucas set up camp a mile south of Viridian City, choosing a site near the locally famous hot springs.
It was now early in the evening and Lexi was bathing her Venasaur in one of those springs. She hummed contently as she poured bucket after bucket of warm, soapy, water over her oldest traveling companion, who was covered in a considerable amount of dust, dirt, and pollen. She was about to start bathing herself when she heard the footsteps of an impending companion. Both she and Venasaur turned around, poised to attack, but discovered it was only Tyler's Magmar, Maggie.
"What are you doing up here?" Lexi asked the Pokémon.
"Marrrrr," she replied.
"She's with me!"
Tyler and his Krokorok, Feraligatr, and Electivire came into view.
"I was hoping to find you here. I've been looking everywhere," he continued.
"For me or Maggie?" Lexi queried as Tyler sat beside her.
"You."
"Why?"
"I was hoping we could get some alone time together."
"Hm…'alone time'…"
"I don't mean it in a sexual way, I just mean like, to hang out. You spend so much time with Nolan and Annastasia that I think you forget that you have other friends."
"I never forgot; I've just known them the longest. We're neighbors. We went to the same daycare and school and entered the world of Pokémon around the same time. It's not personal. You jealous?"
"Of who?"
"Nolan or Annastasia."
"Nah. Don't need to be."
"Good, because I agree. What do you want from me?"
Tyler looked away. Lexi was neither nervous nor uncomfortable, but she was confused by his awkward actions. She wanted him to either spit his words out or leave her alone.
"I just want maybe…for you to think of me," he responded.
"Sure," Lexi replied.
XO
Day 44
It was the kids' first evening camping in Alola. The night was a steady seventy degrees Fahrenheit with a gentle breeze.
Most of them agreed that the auspicious weather was the only occurrence that transpired in their favor this day.
They spent hours searching for Pokémon only to get viciously attacked by every Yungoose, Koratta, and Pikipek that crossed their path. They lost their water bottles and ran out of snacks. Their trainer discount card had a chip error, which meant they had to pay full price for everything. There was no internet or phone connection all day and their map was burnt to embers by a stray Flamethrower. Now they were getting settled at one of the trainer campsites located on the island.
"I am sorry we didn't make it to Professor Rosedale's lab today," Annastasia sighed as they began setting camp. "I haven't been thinking too straight these past two days."
"It wasn't all your fault," said Amber.
"I can at least apologize for leading us in the wrong direction."
"It is okay," said Jay. "We don't mind."
The others echoed Amber and Jay's responses.
"Thank you for your understanding," she told the children. "Now, the more of you who help with chores, the faster we can eat dinner."
"I want Michio to cook," Jocelyn announced. "He can make a cool Alolan dish again!"
"Flaaaafy Fla!"
"We only have rice and vegetables," Michio responded. "So, I can't make anything good. Just boring regular food."
"I was hoping a few of you could help me change that," said Annastasia.
"What do you want us to do?" asked Takeshi.
"You, Jezz, and June can collect firewood. Amber, Lily, Maya, and Logan can get us some fresh fish to go with our vegetables and rice and fruit for dessert. Benny, Jocelyn, and Jay…you can help me and Michio get everything set up; we have to wash some of these dishes again because of those Koratta that swiped them earlier. They still have hair and dirt on them."
"Yuck," Jocelyn complained.
"Flaaa," Flaafy said with equal disgust.
"Uh, it' is a good thing we have soap," Jay gulped as Annastasia pulled out the soiled dishes.
"Sure is," she replied. "And that isn't the only thing I am prepared for. I am hoping that this weather will hold up, but in case it doesn't, I brought a new tarp. Michio is going to help me set it up. Everyone else, get moving!"
As everyone got moving, Lucario, who had been standing several yards away from the camp, approached her.
"What will you need me to do?" he asked.
"Same as usual," she whispered. "If you can keep Sandshrew under control that'll be more than good enough."
"I can still hear you, ignorant human," Sandshrew's vehement telepathic voice echoed. "You believe that I am out of control? You haven't a clue of my capabilities."
"I didn't say you were out of control yet."
"You—"
"You need to learn that that destroying property, burning insects, and using Jay's makeup as ingredients for explosives is not something I am going to let you get away with."
"Those children started the fire, not me. Fool."
"I don't know if that is true or not, but still, you could have put it out. Instead, you made it bigger and ruined that poor man's vegetable garden AND made my precious siblings and their friends cry. That's not okay."
"They must become resilient."
"There are more humane ways of doing that. You'll see."
XO
As Sandshrew, Lucario, Michio, and Annastasia squabbled, and Amber and the cats hunted for fish and fruit, and the others tidied the campsite, Jezz, June, and Takeshi wandered several hundred yards from the campsite.
Though it was a cloudless evening, the trees and vines were thick.
"I fear I've lost sight of the campsite," Jezz said as he glanced in every direction. "I left all my Pokémon other than Chimecho back there, so I cannot ask Furfrou to lead us back."
"It's okay. June has Shaymin and Uxie with her. They can help us find the way," Takeshi assured him.
"Uxie!"
"Shayyy!"
"Very good," Jezz sighed.
June and Takeshi looked to one another while Jezz was turned, both with the same subject in mind: Jezz. This miniature excursion marked the first time they had been alone with Jezz, and they knew almost nothing about him. Neither of them wanted to ignore him, but they didn't know what to say either. June watched him curiously and quickly became impressed by the way he swiftly and easily gathered what they needed. He and Takeshi went to go help him, even though he didn't seem to have any trouble carrying the six heavy pieces of wood he had tidily piled in his arms.
"You've done this a lot before," June commented as she reached for one of the pieces in his hand.
Uxie used her psychic ability to lift some too. Jezz recoiled.
"I can carry this," he insisted.
"June and I are supposed to help too," Takeshi said as he followed June and Uxie's lead.
"You really do not have to help me…"
Jezz voiced trailed off and his eyes and ears focused forward. Takeshi waved a hand in front of his face.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I think we should go back," Jezz abruptly responded.
"We aren't in that big of a rush. How about we talk? Takeshi and I don't know you, Jezz. We only know the Amber-Jay-Jezz trio."
Jezz refocused again, then broke his concentration.
"I thought I heard something," he murmured as he neatly placed the firewood on the forest floor "Never mind. Annie will probably want us to go back. The firewood is required to cook dinner."
"Yeah, but I doubt Lily, Logan, Maya, and Amber got the other food already," June replied.
Jezz wasn't going to argue that she also had to cook the rice, which took longer, because he had a feeling they weren't going to listen. Then he thought of a solution.
"May we come out here later to talk?" he inquired. "This way we won't have to rush."
"Fine with me," she replied. "Takeshi?"
"That sounds good, so long as we don't get caught," he responded.
"Caught?" Jezz inquired.
"Annastasia doesn't want us to go out at night without one of the leaders," June explained.
"Oh yes. I did not realize."
Jezz bent down in order to recollect the firewood he had rested ground. Then he heard the faint sound of cracking wood and footprints treading steadily through the mud. The other two didn't seem to hear anything because they did not react. Jezz halted and silently urged June and Takeshi to do the same. Uxie and Shaymin trembled and scurried to their trainer.
"What's going on?" Takeshi asked, confused by their actions.
"Stand still and do not move until I say," Jezz whispered.
It was then that June and Takeshi heard the creature. It moaned volubly as it lunged in the direction of the trio. June and Takeshi nervously turned to Jezz. Jezz chucked a stone about the length and width of his foot to the left of the nine-foot Bewear. The Pokémon grunted and left to pursue the rock. Once it was several years behind them, Jezz gestured for everyone to run in the opposite direction. They immediately ran forward, dropping wood and tripping over themselves as they distanced themselves as far away as possible from the Bewear's territory. After they stopped, they caught some additional bad luck and found themselves further lost in the woods. At least two of them were internally panicking because the surrounding environment was entirely silent.
"That was scary," June breathed breaking their silence.
"How did you know to do that?" Takeshi questioned Jezz. "I didn't even sense that Bewear!"
"I have been alone in the woods before," he answered.
"Without your Pokémon? And you faced a Bewear?" June asked.
"…I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay," the couple replied together.
"Uxie, Shaymin, please lead us back to the campsite," June instructed.
"Uxxx!"
"Shaymmmin!"
The enthusiastic and now relieved Pokémon led the children back to the camp. They tiredly collected more firewood during their walk back, which was apparently much longer than they had anticipated. Almost an hour later they showed up at the campsite. Annastasia immediately reacted to their arrival.
"What happened?" she asked the three of them. "I was just about to ask Mewtwo to go find you. Were you attacked?"
"No, we are fine," Jezz responded as he brushed dirt off his shirt. "We became a bit lost, but nothing terrible happened to us."
June and Takeshi were surprised that Jezz didn't want to recount the story, but then silently agreed that they should just go along with it. And they did, smoothly, until Annastasia asked more questions.
"Then why are you covered in dirt and have leaves, sticks, and burrs stuck in your hair and clothing?" she asked suspiciously.
"We tripped," June swiftly answered.
"Yes. We tripped and that is all," Takeshi added rather nervously.
"Well, as long as you are okay, I have no reason to worry," said Annastasia. "Right?"
"Right," they responded.
Annastasia knew they were lying, but she let it go. She trusted they didn't do anything wrong anyway, and that they probably just got distracted playing around but didn't want her to think they were slacking on the chores, which she understood; it described about half of her childhood.
"Thanks for getting the wood," said Annastasia. "The bad news is that I have nothing to cook but rice with black beans and collards."
"That shall be plenty of food," said Jezz.
"I really wanted more though," Logan sighed.
"This place sucks for fishing," Lily complained. "These ponds had almost nothing in them, and when they did, they were just those tiny sardine things that are almost impossible to catch. We only got three of them after almost an hour."
"I sorta failed too," Amber admitted. "The only fruit I found were coconuts, which are kinda hard to knock down using arrows. So, I climbed up the tree to get my arrows that had got caught on the bark and then used a knife to cut the coconuts down, but when they landed it was into a big mud puddle that I didn't notice before. And they were cracked open a bit, so unless you want to drink muddy coconut milk, I got nothing."
"I appreciate the effort," Annastasia responded. "Sorry for getting your hopes up only to lead you to dissapointment. I assumed there would be lots of seafood and fruit available here, but I suppose I was wrong. You all have some snacks in your bags that we packed, and tomorrow we will stop by this little town that I saw and I will stock up on whatever food you like."
"Yes!" the Pokémon and children cheered.
"As long as you get something healthy to go with your junk food, I'll buy whatever you want."
"I don't spend a lot of time on this island, but usually the jungles are filled with fruit," Michio commented. "Dirty, hard to reach fruit that I would never eat, but still fruit. And I didn't know that the ponds had brownish-brackish water. It is unusual for Alola."
"I didn't hear anything about there being a shortage of food in the news but it explains why there aren't many Pokémon around."
"Except for Bewear," June whispered to Takeshi and Jezz, who gulped and nodded in response.
It was almost 8:00 pm by the time they got to start eating their dinner. They sat coupled on various logs around the fire while they talked about random things relating to television, Pokémon, movies, and video games. After dinner, the firefly Pokémon put on a light show. Later they got into their pajamas and stargazed until eleven.
"I hate to be a be the spoilsport, but we have to get to bed," Annastasia announced. "I don't want your sleep schedules to become too erratic, or else you will become too tired to travel and work on your training."
The group tiredly gathered their personal items and slumped into their respective tents, mumbling sleepy 'goodnights' as they passed by. Jocelyn was paired with Benny and Logan, Takeshi was with Jay and Jezz, and Amber and June were with Lily and Maya.
"One of the things I hate most about camping is the lack of really good food," Jay lamented as he entered his tent. "No more French food, no more Italian, no more five-star anything."
"I feel quite similarly. The food was probably the only thing I liked about my school," said Jezz.
"Whatcha mean?" asked Takeshi.
"I had to go to fancy schools and they always had good food."
"My school was okay if you didn't mind mystery meat."
Jezz and Jay nearly gagged. Then the three boys snuggled into their sleeping backs with their Pokémon surrounding them. When Jay was asleep, Takeshi texted June and then he, Jezz, and June met outside near a stand of trees. They were nearly invisible in the night, but one creature spotted them immediately.
"Naughty children," Sandshrew tsked. "You are disobeying your leaders."
"We only want to talk," June replied. "Please don't tell A. She is probably asleep or trying to fall asleep."
"I will wake her."
"No please! That isn't nice."
"I won't wake her if you will do me a favor."
"What would you like us to do?" Jezz asked politely.
"Yes, what would you like?" June asked the Sandshrew, trying to not sound as irritated as she was at the creature. It had spent half the day making fun of her, and the eleven-year-old was convinced it hated her more than any of the other kids despite her always being nice.
"I get your desserts for the rest of this trip," Sandshrew proposed. "All the treats. Every single one."
"That's not fair," Takeshi whined.
"But A makes stuff especially for us," said June. "You can get your own portion."
"No deal then," Sandshrew replied. "I will wake her now—"
"—Fine," June interrupted. "I'll do it."
"Me too I guess," Takeshi muttered.
"I will do that as well," said Jezz.
The Sandshrew left the three of them alone, and they finally had an opportunity to talk. The sat in a circle together and ate some of the chips and candy that they had packed from home.
"Sandshrew isn't going to get its claws on this stuff," Takeshi said proudly. "Right, Jezz?"
"Oh, yes," Jezz replied. Jezz reached forward and took some candy. "This is very good. These are my favorite brands. I have always enjoyed the chocolate and peanut butter combination. I very much appreciate you sharing it with me."
"Jay said that you really like traveling with us," said June. "Did you have a group that you used to travel with before?"
"I never had an official group, other than my Pokémon. I never stayed with one group for more than a week before."
"How come?" asked Takeshi.
"I…well…I often have difficulty with maintaining good relationships."
"I find that hard to believe," said June. "Everyone likes you. You are so sweet."
"Oh, thank you…I have never been in a situation quite like this one before."
"So, tell us about your past families. I bet you have a lot of interesting experiences. There was a girl in my class who was a foster child, and she had a lot of cool stories to share."
"I am sorry, June, but I do not like to talk about my past."
"That's okay. I'm sorry I brought it up. I—we—just want to get to know you better. We didn't mean to make you feel offended or uncomfortable."
"Please don't feel that way. I am not offended, I just have more bad memories than good memories, but I don't want anyone to feel sad about it."
"We can talk about our Pokémon," Takeshi suggested.
Jezz smiled. "Yes, I have many great stories about my Pokémon…"
XO
Back in their tent, Benny and Jocelyn were also dodging sleep in favor of conversation.
"I miss home already," Benny confided. "I kinda wish Mom and Dad were here."
"It's going to be okay," Jocelyn said confidently. "Sometimes things are easier without your parents around."
"Flaaa," Flaafy agreed.
"Like what?" Benny asked.
"Well…just cuz I can't think of anything now, it doesn't mean I won't later," she replied.
"Fla," said Flaafy, rolling his eyes.
"It's different for me," said Benny.
"How?" said Jocelyn.
"You got to spend more time with your parents for the last two years compared to me. And Tamaki and I have never been apart for this long."
"Let's talk about something else."
"Flaaf, fla, fee," Flaafy suggested.
"Yeah! The first contest is coming up in Firestone Village. Since we are both eight now, we can both compete. I am super excited! I have my whole routine already planned out. Also, Onēsan and Mewtwo think that I will probably be able to walk perfectly by tomorrow!"
"Feee!"
"Great," said Benny.
"C'mon," Jocelyn said as she gently pushed his side. "Cheer up."
"I'm happy, but also tired and anxious. Mostly tired."
"But doesn't the idea of doing a contest sound exciting?"
"I was never sure about contests but now I feel ready to try and see. So, yeah: I'm excited for them."
"Jezz told me that he absolutely loves contests, even more than Pokémon battles and that last year he did both and still managed to win the Grand Festival and make the top ten at the Indigo Plateau."
"I don't know if I'll be any good at this…I have no idea what I'm going to do for my routine yet," Benny confessed. "Jackson and I have been trying to think of something really fun to do but I can't think of much since I only have one Pokémon."
"I only have one Pokémon too though."
"Flaaaa," Flaafy emphasized.
"We'll help you get more," Logan assured him as he entered their tent. "And we can help you practice."
"And I will be supervising this," Sandshrew asserted.
Everyone jumped; they didn't expect Sandshrew to just teleport in behind them.
"You scared me," Jocelyn whined.
"Feee," Flaafy complained.
"Good," Sandshrew replied.
"As if we need a supervisor. You'll see. Annastasia is the most responsible person ever," Jocelyn added.
"Fla," Flaafy agreed.
Sandshrew shrugged. "She is only human."
"She's a super-human," Jocelyn bragged.
"No. Such. Thing."
"You're mean!"
"Feee!" Flaafy scolded the Sandshrew.
The kids argued with the Sandshrew for a while. Plusle, Minun, and a few of the other Pokémon joined in, and Annastasia and Michio tried to break it up when they heard it getting loud. Before they were successful, Annastasia's cell phone rang.
"It's probably our parents wondering how our first night is going," said Jay. "It is sooo like them to call this late."
"It's…Rita," Annastasia responded, a bit surprised herself. She answered the phone and then got up to leave the tent. "Hey, Rita."
"Good, you picked up. I know it's past your bedtime, but can we chat?" she inquired.
"Sure." Annastasia turned her traveling companions. "I'll be right back. Try to go to sleep."
"Yes, Mother," everyone but Sandshrew and Michio responded in unison.
"Tarrria?"
"Lilli?"
"You can come," she told her two partners.
Annastasia walked away from the campsite. After a few minutes, she let Rita know that she was ready to talk.
"I have Rumika here with me," said Rita.
"Oh, hi Aunt Rumika, how are you?" Annastasia inquired.
"Very good. How is everything on your end?" Rumika responded.
"Good. Mewtwo and Lucario have been a really big help. I had to ask them to help less so that the kids could do some of the work. I still want them to know how to build and campfire and such. We haven't caught any Pokémon yet today, but we are hoping that our bad luck will change for tomorrow."
"Good. I am happy that things got off to a—almost—good start."
"What did you want to talk about?"
"This is about Jezz. I tried going back through his records, but there is almost no information on him, so Rita talked to a few of his former foster homes."
"The first couple I talked to had Jezz from age eight until just after his ninth birthday," said Rita. "They said that they gave Jezz up because he was too expensive. When I asked what they meant, they said that the money the state was giving him wasn't enough to pay for his medical bills, and they said that it was just too hard to keep him around."
"Perry and Hauana didn't mention any medical conditions, only that he tended to get sick often and that I should keep that in mind while we are traveling. Anything I should know about?"
"We don't know any specifics yet. They weren't allowed to tell me much about that…I figured if it was important to us than someone would have let us know already…"
Both Annastasia and Rumika sensed something between apprehension and progressing restlessness in her disposition, but neither commented on it.
"I want to do what's best for him," said Annastasia. "Hopefully everyone else who gets involved with this will feel the same. What else do we know?"
"They didn't have much else to tell me," Rita replied.
"Though they were also disturbed by the lack of background information on Jezz," Rumika added. "Jezz's record is slender when it should be colossal for a child his age who has been transplanted over a dozen times."
"Hm…Rumika, you said before that you spoke with another couple. What did they have to say?"
"The same things mostly. They only had Jezz for a few months and decided that he was too much an 'encumbrance'. The family before that said that Jezz acted strange compared to other kids. He only lasted a month in that home."
"What do you mean he 'only lasted'? Did he do something to get kicked out?"
"I asked them why Jezz left and they said it was because they didn't want to deal with the burden of hosting a child with medical and psychological issues."
"He was so young—just six—maybe a bit older, but not by much. How could they give up so quickly?"
"Not everyone's like us," Rita mumbled. "Not everyone keeps caring after it gets tough."
"Indeed," Rumika somberly agreed. "We need to tell you about another thing they all mentioned. Rita, would you like to explain it?"
"…Sure…I can give you a summary but I can't explain it all to you…"
"I'll listen to whatever you got," Annastasia replied.
"…So, we found an unusual document in Jezz's record. It seems official, but we aren't sure if it is. It contains some random information about him. He was born to Kantonian citizens in Viridian City. He goes by 'Jezz Tonaka'. His first assigned guardian, a person he was expected to stay with forever, died sometime before his first birthday. The rest of the information cuts off—like it's ripped or blurred or something."
"It's blocked by a code that neither I nor my team of nerds can rack," Rumika said tera Rita's voice trailed off. "This means we don't know what happened to his parents, or when he was born, his full name—like if 'Jezz' is short for something or if he has a middle name—because there is no form of identification, not even a birth certificate, that exists, let alone trustworthy; there is no proof that he exists outside of this document."
"Rita, you and I've volunteered at places like Spectrum Youth and the KYMCA. I never heard of anything like this, have you?"
"No, not at all, A," Rita replied.
The anxiety in Rita's voice was still present, and Annastasia began wondering what she was hiding. She felt the desire to know, but at the same time trusted Rita enough to let it go for now.
"I dunno," she murmured. "Well, everyone has parents, it's sometimes just a matter of figuring out who they are. Rumika, do you think his mother is your sister?"
"Then his last name would be 'Winchester', not 'Tonaka'," said Rumika.
"Unless he was assigned his father's surname."
"That is a possibility, but I had researched my family history for both my and your mother's sake, and we found no other relatives."
"What about my mother's parents?"
"What about them?"
"They had to have existed. Miyamoto's surname was Winchester originally, but did she change it after—if—she was married?"
"Jessie's father's last name is Tonaka. We already knew this."
"Well, I wasn't sure about it."
"That would mean Jezz and Jessie are siblings," said Rita. "That doesn't sit well with me at all."
"Or me."
"Or me," said Rumika. "But it doesn't have to mean that. It could be a coincidence; 'Tonaka' isn't necessarily the rarest surname. Or maybe Jessie's father had a much younger brother whose records are also obscured."
"You've really thought a lot about this."
"Thinking's a huge part of my career."
"It means a lot to him, and to me. I mean that for both of you, Rita and Rumika, and for all the others helping behind the scenes."
"We'll pass along the message," Rita assured her.
"I want to figure this out for him. He wants to know. He deserves it. Is there anything I can do?"
"The results from the genetic test were supposed to come in this afternoon," said Rumika. "Lucy took care of it and said she would send me the report once it was ready. I can email it to you so that you can read it yourself, then you can talk to Jezz about it."
"That would be great, but that won't tell us who his parents are."
"If we had any inkling of who is dad or mom might be, we could test him that way…getting a warrant wouldn't be hard…we don't know where to start…I hope he doesn't have high expectations for who they are because it's more likely than not they abandoned him. He doesn't need to hear that, especially at his age."
"But Rumi-sama, we do know where to start."
"That doesn't mean we should."
"We all knew what we were getting into when we started this endeavor. If we have the power to help than it's our responsibility."
"I'm with you, but Rumika made an important point," said Rita. "Perhaps…well, at least…it's a good thing you're with him. You are gentle, empathetic, nonjudgmental—that's what we all need."
"I'm glad you feel that way."
"You should tell Jezz about this conversation so that he can understand what is going on since he really seems interested. Maybe he knows more than he realizes. He might know something that we don't."
"I will. Thanks for doing all this and for keeping me updated."
"No problem," said Rumika and Rita together.
"This actually quite interesting. I'm learning things about my family that I never knew before, things I will tell you more about later," said Rumika. "I'll let you go."
"Thanks again," Annastasia replied. "Bye."
"Bye," and "Good luck," Rumika and Rita said before hanging up.
Annastasia, Bleu, and Lil-G walked back to the campsite and headed towards the tent she was sharing with Michio. Just as Michio and Peruva joined her, Jocelyn peeked her head out of her tent.
"What did Aunt Rumika want?" Jocelyn queried.
"She, Rita, and I are working on a project together," Annastasia responded. "I'll tell you about it later; we haven't got very far yet."
"Oh."
"Fee," Flaafy added, also disappointed.
"I promise I will tell you about it later," said Annastasia. "I always do."
"I know," Jocelyn replied.
"Fee, fee," said Flaafy.
"Good, now go to sleep," Annastasia requested. "It's late."
"Your sister is distressed. I thought you didn't keep secrets," said Sandshrew, emerging from the darkness.
"First off, I'm not keeping permanent secrets. It's just hard to explain right now. Secondly, Jocelyn is not distressed. If she were, we'd all know."
"It's true," Jocelyn confirmed. "When I'm upset, I let everyone know."
"Feeee," said Flaafy, nodding his head vehemently.
"I admit to throwing tantrums…"
"Fla."
"Next time Lucario and Mewtwo do their own thing, you should go with them instead of fucking with us," Michio told Sandshrew.
"Mewtwo and that Lucario are terribly annoying," Sandshrew replied.
"And you're much worse," said Amber, joining them in the dimness of the dying campfire.
"What are you doing up still?" Annastasia asked her.
"I heard everyone talking…and a few people are missing…just sayin."
"Who's missing?"
"Jezz, Takeshi, and June."
"Pika pi Pikaaa," Pip tried to explained.
"Tarrrr," Bleu responded.
Lil-G barked, indicating for the others to follow her as she trotted towards the forest. They found June, Takeshi, and Jezz sitting on the ground, gorging on peanut butter cups and potato chips. Amber felt a pang of betrayal, but it went away the moment she noticed Jezz's happy, relaxed face. Of course, his face sunk a bit when Annastasia approached, as he expected some harsh reprimanding, but true to her character, she just laughed at them.
"Jezz, you are a child after all," Annastasia giggled.
The three of them stood up, half ashamed, half confused.
"You aren't going to scold us?" Jezz queried.
"You shouldn't be sneaking around and eating candy this late at night," she told the kids. She picked up a few of the candy wrappers. "But since this is your first offense, I can let it go."
"Thanks, A," said June and Takeshi.
"I appreciate your kindness," said Jezz.
"It's no big deal," Annastasia replied. "Remember to re-brush your teeth, unless you want cavities."
The children nodded them went back into their tents in order to grab their hygiene supplies. Annastasia watched them all brush their teeth, then they all went to bed.
XO
Later that night, Xatu projected his Future Sight capabilities onto Jezz's resting conscious. Unlike most other times, the vision was not terrifying, but sustaining and wholly mystifying:
Jezz was in yet another unwonted boudoir. Glancing around the shadowy bedroom, Jezz noticed collections of his favorite books, as well as his trophies and ribbons, displayed on the multiple shelves. He rolled out of the insanely comfortable bed and stretched, unable to recall a time when he had been better rested.
He walked down the stairs and discovered many of his friends waiting for him.
"Jezz!" Annastasia's friend Nolan called from across the room. "We were wondering what happened to you."
"I was catching up on sleep," he heard himself reply.
Soon everyone was there, including the Rose and Silver, but they were older; three or four he guessed.
"We were going to play Swinub's Pace Race with Rosie and Sil," Annastasia announced as she placed the board game on the coffee table.
"They aren't tired of playing that game yet?" Jezz asked. "We played it over ten times yesterday."
Jezz was confused; his current self never heard of that game before, but his future self-seemed to know it all too well.
"B-but it'ss m-my fav-r-rit. W-we have t-to p-play m-more," Silver insisted.
His voice was soft and a bit shy, like Jay's but trebly and with intervallic falters.
"It's the only game they both like," Lexi sighed.
"The twins said that we all have to play," said Nolan. "Want to join?"
"Sure," he responded.
The dream ended, but he didn't wake up. Instead, the scene changed and he found himself sitting in a field, alone except for Amber, who was using his lap as a pillow. He was playing with her hair. He noted how different she looked, and concluded that this scene was also something from the future.
"Chances are I will no longer be a redhead by the time I am an adult, but mom says anything can happen," she told Jezz.
"Do you want me to braid it for you? It's kinda messy," he responded.
"I like it messy."
They both laughed. The future Jezz seemed to get it but present Jezz thought it was a strange remark to laugh at.
"You also like it when Jay or I do it for you," Jezz pointed out. "I just thought I'd offer. I bet you never learned how to do it on your own."
Amber paused for a moment. "I never bothered learning how to be stylish or whatever because of Jay...and you."
"I can teach you. Or give you a makeover. There is time, we have all day."
"You giving me a makeover—wow, that'd be a first."
"Who better to test my potential skills on?"
"I dunno, a rat?"
"Please?"
"Why?"
"Cuz I'm still in debt and I think you'll like it."
"Well, you are the master of disguise. I accept."
After that, he woke and was utterly confused by the vision. Xatu's visions were not always precise, and he was yearning to know if this was true, especially after Amber's last sentence.
"She called me the 'master of disguise'," he thought. "Does that mean she knows?"
XO
In the Next Chapter:
- The geo-catchers and frontier-goers
- Victimized by the rain
- Pistachio
XO
Trivia:
- The lyrics at the beginning of this chapter are from the Carrie Underwood song 'Blown Away'.