Chapter 10
I Don't Know You Anymore.
. . . . . . . . . .
16:45, June 4, Unified Year 4734 - Empire of the New Order, District Fourteen (Formerly known as the Region of Fiore), Winteroot town outskirts, Dirt trail
. . . . .
Despite everything that had happened to her over the past few days, all that Kiteki could think of as she briskly walked down the beaten path to her hometown was a single sentence, repeated over and over again in her head like a broken record.
'I have to be dreaming.'
Quite frankly, she was amazed by the fact that she still had the capacity to even be surprised anymore. After all, given everything that she had gone through, and in such a short span of time no less, she would be forgiven to assume that the novelty of being surprised would wear off on her.
And to be fair, to a certain extent, it has. The fact that she had finally managed to escape from the frozen face of Mt. Coronet, to the confirmation of the Bureau's existence and even the knowledge that the organization's chairman and her own father were close friends now seemed so… ordinary. But never did she expect herself to be returning home after what had happened all those years ago, especially so soon and in such a particular manner.
She glanced around as she briskly walked down the dirt trail towards Winteroot town. The reassuringly cold earth beneath her paws, the thick forests that surrounded her, and the sparkling whistle of the cool mountain breeze: it was all so familiar, and yet it captivated her like she was experiencing it all for the first time.
It had been years since she had given up all hope on ever seeing her old hometown again. But here she was, on the very road that wound up to the humble old town of Winteroot. She was close, so very close. She could feel it.
By all means, this should feel completely natural to her. If anything, this should feel the most normal to her after everything that she had been through.
And yet, from the moment that she had gotten off the submarine, Kiteki had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that not everything was quite what it was supposed to be.
There were, of course, a few obvious reasons that she could think. The dirt, for example. Though its sensation against her paws was a little different to how she remembered, there was no doubt that the change was more a result of her evolution than anything else. She was, after all, just an Eevee the last time she was here.
But to say that the changes sat right with Kiteki was far from the truth. Though nothing would appear to be out of the ordinary to the untrained eye, Kiteki couldn't help but feel a tense, uneasy chill run down her spine as she took a closer look at her surroundings.
She glanced around her, taking in the sight of all the other Pokémon making the same, slow trek up the hill towards Winteroot as she was. Were she to not think about it, the sight would appear to be perfectly normal. Besides, Winteroot certainly has the infrastructure to handle all these Pokémon. It was built with that purpose in mind, after all.
But that was in the past; a history that had long since left the town behind. No, to Kiteki, this was anything but ordinary.
She couldn't recall a single time the road to Winteroot had ever been this congested.
To be fair, she had been warned about the possibility of increased traffic in the area prior to arriving here. Now that the region of Fiore was under Imperial jurisdiction, it was obvious that the Imperials would want to get the region up and running in working order as soon as possible; something especially true now that a ceasefire had been called forth between the two battling nations. After all, no sane governing body would want to willingly keep hold of a piece of land that had such a huge upkeep and yet provided nothing of value in return.
So, it made perfect sense that the Empire would be sending a slew of labour and administration to the newly conquered area. The sight of mass migration that lay before her was, in most likelihood, not isolated to just Winteroot, but all the other towns that lay within Fiore.
And is there really any reason why it wouldn't be the case? Even ignoring the benefit that this would bring to the Imperial administration, there was no doubt that such a large undertaking would offer countless job opportunities to the citizens of the Empire: an obvious boon, if any, to both the country and its residents. No doubt that any Pokémon trying to find some work would be thrilled by the prospect of being able to come here.
'…So then why does everyone around me look so miserable?'
Looking about her, Kiteki's eyes were greeted with the weary faces of different Pokémon. A few scowled in anguish, while others still scrunched up their faces in contempt and even despair. Regardless, it was plain for her to see that nobody, not a single soul amongst them, was in any way eager to make their journey.
She frowned at the sight as she struggled to find a reason for their misery. She had paid close attention to the mission briefing, but in hindsight it was a wonder why she had even bothered. Hardly any background information was given to her with regards to the mission at hand that she might as well not have listened to it at all. There was no doubt a reason for this, but whether this was a deliberate act due to her presence or because the mission itself was put together in such short notice, she couldn't quite figure out. Whatever the reason, the result was that she had nary a clue as to who all these Pokémon were, why there were here and what they would be doing once they got to Winteroot.
Although, that being said, the same most likely wasn't the case for her escort.
Kiteki glanced over towards the Flareon who was walking a few paces ahead of her, his thick, bushy tail swaying with each determined step he took. For the most part, she had come to terms with the fact that Clay had evolved, but she would be lying if she said that his transformation didn't still amaze her. Gone was his once overweight proportions, replaced now by a ripped and powerful body, a dangerous and masculine energy radiating from him. Quite frankly, the changes that his body had gone through made him look so utterly different as to how she remembered him that, to a certain extent, she still found it hard to believe that the Pokémon before her really was the same Clay that she knew. If anything, he resembled more like a movie star, and one that she could easily imagine herself fawning over when she was younger and innocent still.
And yet, the way that the Flareon ahead of her walked, the way that he talked, and the way that his eyes seemingly pierced into her own; there was no denying that the stunning Pokémon before her could only be her old childhood friend.
Clay, having noticed the Glaceon's staring, turned towards her, his pace slowing down just enough to let her catch up to him. "What's up, Kit?"
"…Nothing." A long silence befell her before she finally spoke up with a question of her own. "I thought you said you went to the army."
Though Kiteki's question was, for all intents and purposes, meant to be serious, she only managed to get a familiar sounding chuckle in reply. "Marine corps, actually."
"Yeah, that." She had to admit, but the novelty of hearing that voice from someone who looked like he did hadn't quite yet worn off on her. Neither, for that matter, did the novelty of hearing that voice again in the first place. "Why didn't you tell me that you would become a Bureau agent?"
"Same reason your old man didn't tell you. We're about as secret an organization can get, after all." Despite the prying question, Clay displayed a nonchalance in his response that took Kiteki by surprise. He took a quick glance around him before continuing to speak. "By the way, you might want to keep your voice low if you're gonna talk about the Bureau out here. Y'know."
Having said that, he turned towards the Glaceon and flashed her a reassuring smile, intending to calm her down in case she got too concerned over it. Kiteki stared back at him for a few seconds, before quickly turning away, giving him an inexpressive reply. "Right."
Another silence fell upon the two before Kiteki finally spoke up. "So… You've evolved."
Clay grinned. "You noticed, eh?"
"How could I not?"
The cheeky grin still stuck on his face, Clay stopped his friend before beginning to slowly circle the Glaceon as he showed off his new and, arguably improved, appearance; the fur atop his head and his mane swaying in the cool mountain breeze in a way that made his fur seem to shimmer and sparkle under the late afternoon sun. "I think being a Flareon really suits me."
He stopped, his eyes gazing back at his childhood friend. "You like the new look, Kit?"
If Kiteki liked his new appearance, she showed no signs of it. The only semblance of interest that she showed was in her continued staring, her frosty gaze assessing the Flareon before her. "…I'm not sure, actually."
"Oh, c'mon Kit!" Clay took a step back, visibly stunned by her lack of enthusiasm or interest. "I had to go through hell to get myself looking like this!"
Giving him one last look, Kiteki began to walk off, Clay quickly catching up to her. "…You don't look like the Clay I remember."
"Well, you sure don't sugar-coat it, do you? I could say the same thing about you, y'know." He chuckled, glancing over to his side as his eyes quickly scanned her new appearance.
'Looks like some things never change. Even as a Glaceon, she's still small.'
His thoughts were interrupted as he caught a glimpse of the Glaceon glancing back at him. Though it was evident that she had noticed his staring, her ever emotionless visage made it impossible for him to determine whether she appreciated his attention or not. Nevertheless, Clay returned his gaze back towards the road up ahead, a firm look on his face. "…You look good, Kit. I thought you being a Glaceon would be weird when I read the report, but… Seeing you now, it fits you pretty well. How'd it happen?"
"…Spur of the moment, I guess." Kiteki replied.
Clay frowned as he looked back at her, clearly unsatisfied with her short response. "Want to talk about it?"
Kiteki paused, before giving him a bitter reply. "Maybe some other time."
She stopped, pausing for a brief moment before changing the topic. "You still haven't told me what happened to yourself either."
"Me?" Asked Clay. He pondered for a moment, trying to recall the events of the past three years. "Well, I mean, what is there to talk about? I've been with the Bureau all this time, y'know."
Seeing the exasperated glare of his companion, Clay laughed. "What, not satisfied with just that?"
"No."
Clay chuckled at Kiteki's blunt reply. "Alright, if you really want to know. Let's see… I went into training pretty much as soon as I got there."
Kiteki tilted her head slightly. "Training?"
"Yeah. Three months of training." Clay shuddered at the thought. "If you want to know what hell feels like, then nothing tops that. Nothing. Most of the new recruits end up dropping out or getting kicked out before they even reach the halfway point cause of how intense it is."
Kiteki nodded, grimacing at the prospect of having to do that entire ordeal. There was no doubt that, were she to accept Earnest's invitation, she would most certainly have to go through the same thing herself.
"But hey, it wasn't all bad," continued Clay. "I lost all that weight during those three months; got myself pretty damn fit if I do say so myself. I must have done pretty good cause they awarded me with distinction when I got out. That's how I got my hands on a Fire Stone."
"Wha- they just gave you a Fire Stone?" Kiteki's outburst of a question drew the annoyed looks of some of the Pokémon around them, to which Clay quickly shooed away. Despite that, given just how rare and, more importantly, expensive evolution stones were as of late, Clay could easily see why his words would cause her to cry out like that.
"They offered me more than that, actually." He shook his head, as if in disbelief himself. "Said I could take my pick out of any evolution stone they had that matched me. Fire Stones, Thunder Stones, you name it. Hell, they even have pieces of Moss Rock because of the Bureau's connections."
"But… How?"
"The Bureau's loaded, Kit. The Federation funds us so generously that we've got more money than we know what to do with it," said Clay in a matter of fact tone of voice. Clearly, this wasn't new information to him. "For the Bureau, sourcing and acquiring all those evolution stones costs pretty much nothing."
Clay paused upon saying this, realizing something as he turned towards the Glaceon. "Y'know, now that I think about it, they didn't have any pieces of Ice Rock. They said that they've all run out and that there's no more left out there, but…" He paused, studying the Glaceon in front of him before flashing her a big grin. "Looks like you've proved them wrong."
Kiteki nodded. She had to admit, but her encounter with the Ice Rock had really been out of sheer coincidence. The undeniable truth of the matter was that it would be near impossible for anyone to find it on their own accord. She in particular knew that to be true; she had tried more than a handful of times to relocate the Ice Rock again without any success.
Kiteki cleared her throat. "So then what?"
"What, after training?" Clay smiled. Her question seemed almost too naïve to be genuine. "I'm an Operative, Kit. What else would I have done?"
"So, you've actually…?"
"Sure did." Clay nodded in reply. "Don't mean to brag, but it turns out that I'm pretty good at this line of work. They've made me a Predator class Operative just two years after I began working here."
There was a touch of cockiness in his reply that made Kiteki frown. And yet, despite that, she couldn't deny that his quick ascension of the ranks was an undeniably incredible achievement. Tori had mentioned the previous day that roughly two thirds of all Operatives would never rank higher than Hex class, the lowest ranking Operative, before their retirement. It was a weird concept for Kiteki to follow at first, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. The Bureau isn't an army. Nor for that matter, was it even related to the Federal military. No, if anything, the Bureau was a well-oiled business; an organization based on the harsh truth of meritocracy. They prided themselves in the fact that they only ever promoted agents that were worthy of a higher rank. The fact that Clay had managed to get promoted in such a short span of time was, put simply, an astonishing achievement.
That being said, knowing all that didn't make Kiteki any more accepting of his reply. If anything, it only served to make his reply that much more irritating to her. With a scornful look, she clicked her tongue, loud enough for him to hear.
"…Sounds like someone's had fun."
Realizing the true intentions behind her words, Clay wiped the grin off his face. "Yeah, well… I guess you could say that."
An awkward silence befell upon the two as they continued to walk in silence, something that Clay in particular was secretly wishing would end.
This wasn't quite the first time the two of them had spoken since meeting each other yesterday evening. Despite protocol dictating that personnel should keep contact with visitors to an absolute minimum, Earnest had approved Clay's request to briefly meet up with his old childhood friend, along with the accompaniment of Operatives Tori, Lee, and Hackett. At the time, he couldn't have been more thrilled by the chance.
Though, in hindsight, perhaps it would have been best had he not asked to see her at all. What was originally meant to be an opportunity for him to catch up with her ended sooner than expected, their conversation abruptly ending in a manner not too dissimilar to the one they had right now.
Clay sighed. For the past few years, he had frequently dreamed of the day that he would get to see his childhood friend. So often had he done so that, by the time word reached him that Kiteki was to finally come to the Bureau, he had already garnered a number of ideas as to how their getting-back-together would end up going. But never did he expect her to have changed so much over the years. Never did he expect things to go so… awkwardly.
"Clay."
Hearing Kiteki's voice, Clay turned towards her, tearing himself away from his thoughts. "Yeah?"
"What's that?"
He turned towards the direction that she was gesturing to, his eyes narrowing as he squinted to better see the newfound object that had appeared in the distance.
Clay blinked. A giant wall of concrete and stone, some thirty feet tall, stood before them, its cold, ugly walls staring back at them with imposing menace and authority. An unsightly, grey blockade, its top littered with outlook posts and sentry guards, the circular wall appeared just as determined to keep outsiders out as it was to keep in the inhabitants within; evident from the fact that many of the searchlights atop it were curiously pointed towards the confines within the wall.
Clay stopped, pausing to carefully inspect the barrier that he had found. He desperately wanted to check with the data tablet that was in the bag strapped to his back, but to pull it out now when there were all these Pokémon around them would shatter their cover in an instant.
"Shit… Did we make a wrong turn somewhere back?" He wondered out loud.
Stopping next to him, Kiteki inspected the wall herself. She had to admit, but the sight before her looked completely alien to her. The heavily fortified walls made the place look more like a fortress than it did an actual town that Pokémon would live in, let alone the humble, sleepy town of Winteroot that she remembered.
But a closer inspection proved her otherwise. Though she had failed to notice it at first, from behind the towering stone wall that bordered the town she could just about make out the top of the old clocktower by the train station. Despite its structure being heavily disfigured, substantial chunks having been blasted from its tower, the clock itself miraculously continued to run; something that became evident as it defiantly hammered its bell to signal the arrival of five in the afternoon.
'Five o'clock… The train for Capitol Hill always departed at five in the afternoon, didn't it…?'
But the piercing sound of the steam locomotive's whistle did not follow the clocktower's cries.
Kiteki shuddered. Hearing that sweet, familiar chime of the old clocktower bell from a structure that was so grotesquely misshapen made her fur crawl. The sound was as inviting as it was haunting.
She shook her head. "No... This is Winteroot. We're here."
"…If you say so, Kit." Clay said, giving her a questioning look before letting out a sigh as he turned his eyes back towards the Glaceon next to him. "If we're here, then let's go over our mission plan."
Kiteki nodded. Though they had both attended the mission briefing, the plan dictated that Clay would have a certain amount of freedom as to how they would approach and complete the mission objective; something that was inevitable due to the unknown circumstances with regards to the current state of Winteroot. Her ears perking up, Kiteki listened closely, giving him her undivided attention.
"Once we're in, we're heading straight to your old house," said Clay, a firm look on his face as the two began to walk towards the concrete wall. "I know this is Winteroot, but we can't afford to go sightseeing down memory lane."
"…Right."
"Once we get there, we gotta find that computer your old man made." Clay paused, before gesturing towards Kiteki's own backpack. "You got that pendant with you?"
"Yep."
"Good, keep that close. If what Earnest said is right, then you'll need that to access it."
Kiteki nodded. The fact that the pendant she possessed being some sort of a key was something that she had heard being mentioned several times by this point, but how that would be the case was something that still eluded her.
Clay continued to lay out his plan, handing her over a portable drive. "Once you're in, I need you to copy everything on it onto this drive."
"Everything?" Kiteki asked, stuffing the drive into her bag.
"Everything. When you're done, I'll come over and burn the computer and the rest of your house down myself."
"What?" Kiteki paused, faltering as if unable to comprehend what she had just heard. "You… You're going to burn my house!?"
"You heard me. I know you're not going to like it, but we can't have the Imps getting their claws on anything inside that place; your old man's too high-profile to risk it." Despite the harshness of Clay's plan, the tone of his voice held no sympathy for what they were about to do. "Until then, I'll be keeping watch. This place is crawling with Imp soldiers; we can't have any of them find out what we're doing."
Kiteki's body quivered upon hearing him. Though she showed barely any signs of it, she was burning on the inside, furious by both the outrageous plan and by the sound reasoning Clay had just given her. Exhaling slowly to maintain her composure, she continued. "Fine. Then what?"
"Easy. We book it outta here. The sub we used to get here should still be waiting for us when we get back. We use that to hightail it outta here before they figure out what's happened… If they figure out what's happened."
Kiteki sighed. Though she didn't like the plan one bit, she had to admit that she couldn't come up with a better one herself. "So, that's the plan?"
"That's all there is to it, Kit. As missions go, this one's a pretty easy one. Shouldn't take us more than an hour to finish up."
She turned her attention back towards the wall as Clay gave her his assurances. By now, the two of them had managed to get close enough that they could hear the voices of Pokémon going about within the concrete borders, their voices mingling and mixing with the thunderous rumble of drilling and construction from within town.
Most of the noise from town was coming through an open gate of massive proportions; the only visible point of entry into Winteroot town that Kiteki could find along the expansive wall. Though sufficiently large to prevent a bottlenecking of the arriving Pokémon, a lengthy queue had begun to form due to the security checkpoint right by the front of the gate. Despite being heavily guarded, it was plain to see that the checkpoint was desperately understaffed, with only a single Nidorina assigned to go through the documentation of every incoming immigrant.
"Next," she called out, ushering for the next Pokémon to hurry over. Her voice and general body language rang with a lack of enthusiasm that was painfully transparent even at the distance she was at.
Kiteki stared, a hint of anxiousness clouding her eyes as she studied the checkpoint. She hadn't given it much thought until now, but the sight of Imperial soldiers guarding the gate to Winteroot made her gulp nervously. Regardless of whether they had evolved or not, each and every single one of them looked more than powerful enough to deliver a swift and painful death should the command be called.
'And if they're anything like the soldiers that invaded this place three years ago, then…'
Kiteki shuddered. The severity of what she was about to do started to dawn upon her, along with the consequences of what would happen should she fail. If their true identities were found out at the checkpoint, there would be no escape for what would come next.
To be fair, this wasn't necessarily the first time that Kiteki was finding herself in a dangerous situation. On the contrary, Kiteki couldn't remember a time in the past three years of her life when her existence was safe for any extended period of time. Life in the Empire's far north had been cruel and unforgiving to her, but like a child thrown into a pool, she had quickly learned to adapt. Within the first year, she had all but stopped counting the number of times her life was in peril due to the numbing regularity of it.
A majority of these incidents during the first few months on that frozen wasteland were a result of Ivan's uncontrollable rage. With intent to reduce the number of conflicts that she and Wisteria would get into, she had fought tirelessly with the Abomasnow to subdue him. But after having dethroned him from his position of being the strongest Pokémon on Mt. Coronet, her life had instead fallen into a gruelling routine of constant fights and battles; a dreadful influx of challengers arriving with the hopes of replacing the new, and arguably frail looking, Queen of the North.
To the average onlooker, the life that Kiteki had led there would have seemed like nothing short of torture. No doubt, the physical and mental fatigue of such a lifestyle would bring even the strongest of Pokémon to their knees. But to Kiteki, her tale of survival was nothing like the miracle many thought it was. Because deep down, Kiteki knew that she was always assured with the safety of being in constant control.
Every fight she had been in. Every engagement with another Pokémon. Every situation that she found herself in. She had always ensured that things would go her way. Be it studying a new challenger fervently before finally fighting with them, or mapping out an entire territory before allowing herself to risk searching for food in the area; she would never permit the chance of allowing anything that could surprise her or cause her harm.
But control was the one thing that she didn't have with her today. No, instead of having meticulously planned out each and every step she was about to take, she would instead be about to undertake what was perhaps the most dangerous thing she had ever done with nothing but a plan that her childhood friend had just made to guide her.
Though she showed no signs of it, Kiteki could feel herself about to go faint from anxiety. Never since having evolved did she feel as helpless as she did now, so out of control for what she was about to do. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly vulnerable.
Clay, on the other hand, showed not a hint of nervousness as he pulled her into the queue with him, his grip reassuringly firm and free of trembling. "Alright Kit, I want you to leave all the talking to me."
"Okay."
"But if anybody asks, you just tell them that we're married."
Kiteki turned to face him, her ears abruptly perking up. "…Excuse me?"
"You heard me." The grave look that Kiteki got in reply was all she needed to know that this wasn't one of Clay's old jokes. "It's the least suspicious answer we can give. The less attention we draw to ourselves, the better."
The cool and collected professionalism that the Flareon was displaying should have eased her mind. Quite frankly, had his partner been anybody else other than her, there was no doubt that his captivating gaze would have made anyone feel safe and secure.
But to Kiteki, Clay's unusually serious attitude only served to exasperate her anxiety. Doubly so since, up until this moment, he had shown a casual aloofness that could only have come from a disinterest and lack of care for the mission at hand.
Kiteki swallowed, her throat parched and her mouth painfully dry. "Clay."
"Yeah, Kit?"
She paused, her reply coming with uncharacteristic slowness. "…I've got a bad feeling about this."
"…Kit."
Clay turned, pausing for a moment as he stared at the Glaceon intently. Before she could reply, he reached up, holding her tightly by her sides as he stared into her eyes. Kiteki, startled, found herself unable to do anything but stare back into his piercing gaze as he spoke with reassuring confidence. "Relax. As long as I'm here, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Alright?"
Without a second thought, his body moving with natural familiarity, he reached up, placing his paw against her forehead, and gently pet her head. Though the azure blue crest that had grown on his childhood friend's forehead made the sensation feel undeniably alien, the very act of it brought forth a nostalgia in him that made him smile fondly at the Glaceon before him.
"Trust me."
Feeling that he had managed to successfully calm her down, Clay put his paw down and turned away, his focus returning to the checkpoint up ahead. But unbeknownst to him, Kiteki was anything but calm, shocked and speechless as she stared back at him, her eyes seemingly glued in place. Struggling to comprehend what had just happened, she slowly placed her paw atop her head, before bringing it down in front of her as she inspected it carefully.
'How… How do I even respond to that…?'
She stared at her paw, confused. Clay had always done that for as long as she could remember; right up to the last day she saw him three years ago. All that time, she had thought little of the gesture, finding it to be more of an irritating nuisance if anything; an unsurprising thought, given that Clay would oftentimes do so to tease or annoy her. By now, he had done that so many times that it shouldn't have made her feel any different. Or, for that matter, make her even care at all.
'Then why does it feel so different now…?'
She couldn't figure out what was so unique about today that made his gesture feel so different. Nor, for that matter, could she figure out what exactly it was that she was even feeling. Struggling silently and fruitlessly, she found herself lost in thought even as the two of them walked up to the checkpoint counter.
"Next," barked the Nidorina, her face buried in a stack of papers and documents. Kiteki couldn't tell if it was because they had gotten that much closer, or because of the amount of time had passed, but her voice seemed to have gotten even more agitated than before.
"Next… Oh?" The Nidorina called out again, finally looking up from her papers as she did so. The moment her eyes laid upon the Flareon before her, the weariness in her face all but disappeared.
Clay leaned against the table, flashing her a devilish grin. "Y'know, it should be illegal to have someone as gorgeous as you working all on your own like this."
Clay's advances drew out a series of disapproving grunts from several of the guards that were stationed around them, some of them even inching closer as they tried to intimidate the Flareon.
"Don't you think so too? All this work is making my skin wrinkle!" The Nidorina, on the other hand, giggled in reply, snorting in delight from the welcomed change as she set aside her papers to give him her undivided attention. "So, what can I do for you, handsome?"
"The name's Clay. Me and my sister just got here from District Eight. We used to be farmers, but… We're hoping to find some better work over here."
Kiteki's ears perked up, her frosty eyes staring at Clay upon hearing his explanation.
'Sister?'
Things were bad enough as it was, given that the plan they were executing was so hastily put together. To see Clay so easily cast that plan aside, and so soon after having come up with it no less, shocked her to her core, throwing her train of thought off its rails.
But, for some inexplicable reason, Kiteki found her mind being preoccupied with something entirely different; something so unimportant that it seemed ridiculous to her that she would even be bothered by it at all.
'Whatever happened about us being married?'
Kiteki frowned. She hated to admit it, but Clay's improvised response irritated her a lot more than she thought it would. Of course, nobody else could have known by just looking at her. Especially so for the Nidorina, who had seemingly all but forgotten the Glaceon's presence.
"Farming in District Eight?" She leaned in closer, her eyes hungrily scanning the Flareon before her. "No wonder you're so toned~"
Clay didn't seem to mind the Nidorina's advances. If anything, he appeared to reciprocate her actions as he leaned in closer to her. "Yeah, but the work just isn't for us. 'Specially my little sister…" He turned around to look back at Kiteki, an apologetic look clouding his face. "…She's too frail for that kind of life."
"Oh, you poor little thing!" The Nidorina, finally turning to face Kiteki, abruptly began to shower her in superficial sympathy. Despite the words that came from her mouth, it was painfully obvious to see that her act was fuelled by a desire to appease Clay as opposed to properly console his supposed sister. "It must have been hard living there like that, right little girl?"
Kiteki simply stared back at her. Though she was aware that Clay had advised her not to speak, her lack of verbal communication was, if anything, a product of her restrained concern that lashing out now would blow their cover.
'…This conversation is really starting to piss me off.'
Swallowing her anger, Kiteki simply nodded in reply.
The Nidorina must not have noticed, or simply not cared, because, without even waiting to hear her reply, she drew her attention straight back towards the Flareon before her.
"Well, big boy. I'm going to need to see your papers before I can let you in."
"Sure thing, sweetheart."
Pulling off his backpack, Clay pulled out a few documents and handed them over to the Nidorina, but not before gently brushing his paw against hers, which elicited a sly giggle from the poison type. Even as she inspected the documents, she would give the Clay unabashed, sultry glances. As a matter of fact, Kiteki began to wonder if she was even reading through the documents properly, or for that matter, reading anything at all.
"Let's see here… Clay, Kiteki… District Eight… Mhmm, it all checks out."
Clay smiled. "Sweet. You gonna let us in now?"
To his surprise, the Nidorina shook her head, putting the papers down as she idly leafed through the sheets. "I really hate to say this, but it looks like you don't have the necessary clearance papers."
Kiteki glanced up at Clay, fighting with herself to keep her growing anxiety in check.
'Clearance papers?'
Fortunately for her, Clay appeared to have some understanding of what was going on. "I know. We came here on our own."
"As much as I'd like to let you in, official rules state that I can't." The Nidorina sighed, seemingly dismayed that she had to say it.
Clay, sensing an opening, pressed her harder.
"C'mon, babe. Can't you make an exception for us? We may not look like it, but living in District Eight's made us pretty handy with rocks."
Seeing where Clay was heading, Kiteki nodded in unison. District Eight, found to the southwest of Mt. Coronet, was infamous for its terribly rocky terrain, being home to a giant, albeit now depleted, underground mine system. It was the perfect background for the two of them, given that intelligence had told them that Winteroot was being rebuilt and repurposed into some sort of mining town. Anyone with even a modicum of intelligence would be able to see that Pokémon from District Eight would be invaluable for a mining operation.
Binging his paw around Kiteki's shoulder, he pulled her in as he continued. "My sister in particular. She's too weak to dig, but she's a damn fine geologist if I do say so myself."
The Nidorina clicked her tongue, giving Kiteki a passing, uninterested look. To say that she was uninterested in what Clay had to say was, to put mildly, a severe understatement. "Mhmm, but we've already got plenty of geologists here. We don't need any more."
But Clay didn't wait to hear the rest of what she had to say. Slinking away from Kiteki's side, he slammed against the checkpoint counter with assertive intent, pressing up against it as he leaned up close to the Nidorina. The sudden act made both Kiteki and the Nidorina jump in startled surprise.
"But I don't have anyone anywhere near as stunning as you back home." Clay spoke with heated firmness, staring into the poison type's eyes with unabashed intensity. "I'm pleading with you here. I'm never gonna let myself down if I let a chance to meet a girl like you slip away."
Following Clay's outburst, several of the guards, already on edge from his overt forwardness, moved towards the Flareon, preparing themselves to drag him away. All of them stopped, however, once the Nidorina turned around and put her claw up, signalling for them to stay out of their conversation.
When she turned back around to face the two Eeveelutions, Kiteki noticed that the blush on the Nidorina's face had gotten several shades deeper, an almost bashful tone in her voice as she spoke.
"Well, if it means that I'll have someone like you to keep me company, then…" She paused, before pulling out one of several wooden stamps next to her. "…I suppose I could make an exception."
Kiteki stared at the Nidorina, stunned and relieved by what had just happened.
'I… I can't believe that actually worked!'
The Nidorina, on the other hand, shook her head to dispel any overly intense feelings as she began to calmly stamp the documents before her, the hint of bashfulness in her voice having all but disappeared in an instant.
"I'm granting you a Level C exception and giving you and your sister clearance for entry. If the both of you can't find work within forty-eight hours, then you'll be required to leave District Fourteen as per the Emperor's orders." Stamping the last document, she handed them back to Clay, a sly smile on her face as her eyes hungrily sought the Flareon's own. "That's the best I can do for you, hot stuff."
"You're an angel, you know that?" Clay grinned, packing the documents back hastily into his backpack, his intense gaze still glued to the Nidorina as he did so. "How 'bout you and I hit up a nice bar later tonight? You show me some nice places, and I show you a good time?"
The Nidorina giggled. "Well, aren't you smooth?" Smiling devilishly, she leaned in close and whispered into the Flareon's ear. "Nine o'clock. I'll be waiting for you at the plaza~"
Reciprocating her eagerness, Clay snuck in a quick kiss on the Nidorina's cheek, which made the poison type squeal in delight. Kiteki, shocked by Clay's newfound inclination for debauchery, found herself being able to only stare at the two as they flirted with each other.
"You're making me feel like a million bucks, miss. I've got to be the luckiest guy in town." Putting his bag back on, Clay flashed the Pokémon behind the desk a provocative grin, gently caressing his paw against the Nidorina's cheek as he moved himself away from her. "You gonna give me a name I can put to that sweet face of yours?"
"Adelaide," she said in reply. "And make sure you leave your sister at home tonight."
Clay laughed, giving her a casual wave as he set off through the gate, Kiteki following close behind.
"Well then, Adelaide. I'll see you there."
. . . . . . . . . .
18:15, June 4, Unified Year 4734 - District Fourteen, Downtown Winteroot
. . . . .
This Flareon next to me isn't Clay.
Or, at the very least, he's not quite the Clay that I remember from way back when I was younger.
Tori had warned me before I left for Winteroot that I needed to be cautious around him. Apparently, he's earned a reputation for being a real lady-killer, having slept with countless Pokémon, both agents and civilians. He's also become infamous for being the kind of Pokémon that enjoys getting into several relationships but hating being stuck in one, having never taken any of them seriously and having a tendency to break them off the moment he starts losing interest.
Quite frankly, he sounds like a total asshole.
Which is why I honestly thought it was all a little preposterous. Having grown up with him for the better part of sixteen years, I'd like to think that I at least know him well enough to know what he's really like. I can't remember Clay having talked to a single girl when we used to go to school together. Other than me, of course. The notion that he had become a massive flirt just seemed too ridiculous to be true. At the very least, the Clay I know most definitely isn't as promiscuous as what the Pokémon at the Bureau claim he is.
But having been with him now, having seen him out in the field, I'm dismayed to say that they were right. He's always been somewhat carefree, but never to this extent. The way that he flirted with that Nidorina back there made it look like he had done that about a thousand times by now. And that kiss… That kiss! How could he just kiss her so casually?
"Explain yourself, Clay."
I didn't expect my first words to him once we had gotten into town to be so confrontational, but he's really pulled my paw on that one. I was so dumbfounded by his display that, though it's something that I tend to avoid whenever possible, I couldn't help but confront him about it once we had gotten ourselves into Winteroot town.
"It's called experience, Kit." He responded to my question with a nonchalance that seemed simultaneously so wrong and so natural coming from him. "Saying that we're married wouldn't have gone down well with a girl like her. I'm just trying to get us the best chance at getting in."
"But, what about that date with Adelaide?"
Clay simply turns to me, looking at me as if utterly clueless as to what I was talking about.
"Who?" he asked.
"For God's sake, Clay. The Nidorina."
There was a genuineness in his look that showed he wasn't pretending to have forgotten, but the prospect that he could have cared so little for what he had just done seemed too outrageous and callous, even for him.
Unfortunately, Clay's answer did little to alleviate my concerns. If anything, his attitude seemed to all but confirm them. "Pfft, you really think I'd go out with a girl like her? We're gonna be long gone before nine."
"You're not seriously suggesting…"
"I am, actually."
"Clay." I stared at him in disbelief, appalled that he could do something as severe as that with such little consideration and concern. My voice becoming ever so slightly more animated than I would care to admit, I pressed him firmly. "You can't do that."
Despite my outcry, Clay simply groaned in response, dismissing my protests with a roll of his eyes. "Why not?"
I found myself at an utter loss for words upon hearing his curt reply. There were so many things wrong with his reply that I was struggling to figure out how to even begin reprimanding him. Nor, for that matter, could I tell if doing so would make any sort of a difference.
I had wished for them not to be, but it appears that the rumours regarding Clay really are true. I never thought that the Clay I knew could end up becoming someone like this; someone so callous, so… promiscuous. Was this why it felt so different when he petted me on my head earlier? Is this why being with him feels so unfamiliar? I'm honestly not sure anymore. Frankly, I'm not sure if my memory of Clay is even that accurate anymore.
"Fine. Have it your way."
I didn't talk much to him after that. I'm done with trying to comprehend what it is that's going on in that head of his. If that's the sort of Pokémon that Clay has become, then so be it.
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to feel slightly sorry for Adelaide. I'm not saying that I liked her; her unabashed eagerness for Clay's attention and open jealousy towards me… I just can't stand that sort of attitude. But having heard Clay's side of the story, even I'm starting to feel a hint of sympathy for the Nidorina.
Or is it natural for Pokémon to change this much in three years? Have we always changed this much, and simply never realized it because we were always next to each other? Mum told me a few weeks ago that I had changed dramatically compared to when she had first found me as an Eevee, though I'm still struggling to see for the life of me how that's true. So, perhaps, I really shouldn't be that surprised to find out that Clay isn't quite the same Eevee that I knew long ago.
Nor, for that matter, should I be surprised that Winteroot has changed. Given everything that had happened here, I should have expected this. But I didn't. And now here I am, caught once again off guard by all the changes around me.
Maybe surprised isn't the right word. To call this feeling from seeing how much Winteroot has changed isn't quite the same as surprise. Maybe it's disappointment. Maybe it's sadness. Perhaps even anger. But it isn't surprise.
What I can say for certain, however, is that the town I'm in isn't the same Winteroot that I had known before. I don't recall Winteroot town having ever looked so industrial in all my time here. Save for the destruction that befell upon this place three years ago, Winteroot had always been a beautiful and quaint little town, a peaceful oasis that had always been isolated from the hustle and bustle of the big cities. But now? It's so vastly different from how I remembered the town to look that I'm honestly struggling to see the resemblance.
Everything's disfigured. I thought that the old clocktower was in a poor state of repair, but now that I'm actually in town, I'm noticing that, as it turns out, everything is. Many of the Georgian buildings that used to adorn the town have been demolished, replaced with crude, concrete structures that have cast aside any form of artful beauty in favour of the cold grey hues of practicality. What few buildings that haven't been demolished still show the heavy scars of shelling when the Imperials first invaded.
The roads themselves seem to have suffered a similar fate as well. Craters from the invasion are scattered up and down the streets, potholes having formed on the road from the heavy use and lack of maintenance they suffered by the hands of their new masters. Gone are the gas lit lamps that decorated the streets, now replaced by the harsh light of the electric lamps that lit up the scars on the streets. Their yellow lights piercing and blinding, they had none of the calming serenity that the warm glow of their predecessor's flickering flame had.
But, perhaps, the worst hit of all, was the town plaza. The central town plaza was a place I would often visit during my sheltered youth. Open, spacious, and undeniably tranquil, I had many a times sought refuge under the great cherry blossom tree that stood in its centre. With its splendid and tranquil array of grassy fields and cobblestone paths, its relaxing atmosphere and soothing breeze always did good for me and my troubled mind.
It's a place that I remember with loving eyes, a place that I fondly hold dear to my own. So much so that, despite Clay having stated that we were to head straight to my old home, I was very much hoping to be able to see that place once again.
This isn't that place.
Gone are the grassy fields. Gone are the dainty stone paths and gone is that delicate chime of the mountain breeze.
Now, all there was in its place were holes; hideous craters dug right in the centre of town. Large sections of the plaza were uprooted, the pits that were dug in place of the grass like painful scars on what was once a beautiful face. The ground rumbled with the grinding of heavy machinery as the sounds of Pokémon slaving away against the cold hard earth filled the air. What little grass that did remain had all but shrivelled up and died, the luscious green blades of grass having now faded into a dull, lifeless grey.
It's all far too depressing to see Winteroot as it is now. I knew that the Imperials had turned the place into a mining town, but I never thought they would begin excavations in the middle of Winteroot itself. It's a disgrace, the way that they've defiled the town. The miners tirelessly labouring away down in the pits of the plaza don't seem too thrilled by it all, either. I don't recognise a single face in there, but they all look absolutely miserable.
It's then that my eyes wandered over towards a dead, shrivelled tree stump on a small mound of dirt next to where the miners were excavating. It appeared so out of place, a lone stump in the middle of an excavation. It took me a moment to realize, but no sooner I had done so did my heart sink, my chest tightening painfully upon the realisation.
They had cut the great cherry blossom tree.
I turned and looked away as the miners began to dig beneath the mound that the tree stump sat. There was a dull rumbling of the earth, followed by a loud crash as the dirt caved in and collapsed, bringing what left of the cherry blossom tree down with it. For a second, I heard the desperate screams of the miners working directly beneath it, their voices silenced by the heavy earth burying them alive. And yet, nobody seemed to care, the other miners going on with their own work as if nothing had happened.
"Clay."
"Yeah?" His eyes still glued to the scene that had just unfolded, Clay responded to me dryly.
"Let's go to the bakery."
I'm not sure why I wanted to go. As a matter of fact, if we were to stick to the mission plan, then by all means, we shouldn't be going. We had come across the town plaza because it just so happened to be along the way to my old house. The same can't be said for Mrs. Potts' old bakery. And yet, I still felt like I needed to go. My mind wouldn't rest easy until I had seen it with my own eyes, as if to confirm a suspicion that I didn't even know I had.
Clay didn't immediately say no. He stared at the plaza for a good moment longer before finally giving me a reply.
"Alright, Kit."
And that was that. We made our way towards the old bakery in utter and complete silence. The whole way there, it was clear to see that the enthusiasm Clay had at the start of our journey was slowly but surely draining from him; I could see it in his face. I can't blame him. This was his hometown too, after all.
Frankly, I wasn't really expecting the bakery to still be there. Especially not after seeing what had happened to Mrs. Potts. If the bakery hadn't been blown up by the shelling, then no doubt the store would have been demolished or, at the very least, repurposed for some other use.
But instead, as we rounded a corner, our sense of smell was hit by the powerful smell of baked bread as we came face to face with the sight of a familiar store.
Potts and Co. Bakery Ltd.
The sign hasn't changed. And, just by peering into the windows, the interior of the bakery hasn't changed either.
But the smell certainly has. The scent of bread isn't the same luscious aroma that I remember. If anything, the bread being baked smells terribly burnt.
Clay notices it too. He takes but a moment to sniff the air before his face scrunches up into a frown. "Fuck me, I've never smelled anything like that from this place before."
It's clear to see that, despite first impressions, this bakery isn't the same bakery that the old Snubbull used to run. And yet, whoever owns this place now has done nothing to change its appearance. It's been three years since the Empire had taken over the town. There's no excuse for this sign to still be here. The only reason I can think of as to why this sign hasn't been replaced by its new owner is that, whoever it is, they just simply don't care.
"You two gonna buy something or what?"
A gruff voice bellowed from deep within the bakery, followed soon after by the emergence of a rather enormous Pinsir, stomping out the front door as he hurriedly wiped the flour off his claws with his apron.
"Who… Who are you?"
"What, you seriously don't know who I am?" The Pinsir roared upon my question as if having just taken great offence to it. "Name's Pete. Pete of Pete's Baking Company."
"Pete?" I asked, gesturing towards the old signboard.
Taking a moment to see what I was looking at, Pete grunted, dismissing the sign with a wave of his claw. "Yeah, forget that ol' thing. I really need to take that ol' piece of scrap down, but nobody cares, and I can't be assed."
Turning around, the Pinsir made his way back into the bakery, stopping briefly upon realising that neither Clay nor I were following him in. With an irritated voice, he bellowed at us again. "If you aren't gonna buy something, then scram. I ain't got time to piss around with some little girl and her brother."
"Wait." I called back out to him, more out of a gut response than because of any rational thought. Pete turns around and stares at me as I slowly came up with a request of my own.
It takes me a while, but I finally decided upon something. It wasn't necessary by any means, but seeing Mrs. Potts' old sign filled me with a melancholic nostalgia that made me desperate for something in particular. Chances are that it isn't going to be the same as it was before, but I still had to try it.
"Do you have any cinnamon rolls?" I asked.
"Cinnamon rolls?" He stares back at me oddly, before gesturing for me to wait in place. "You got some weird taste, little girl. But, yeah, I've got em'."
He came back soon after with two cinnamon rolls, handing them over to us once we had paid him in coin. I can't help but notice that the prices he was asking were substantially higher than what Mrs. Potts would have charged.
I don't even get the opportunity to thank him. No sooner had he taken our coin did he slam the bakery door to our face. Not that I wanted to anyways. Frankly, with that kind of attitude, I'm amazed that he's getting any business at all.
"Nice guy." Clay remarks.
His joke only manages to elicit a sigh from me. Practically everyone we had met in town had been less than accommodating, and in some cases, downright rude. Gone is the warm and welcoming atmosphere of Winteroot town, replaced by a cold animosity of an unfamiliar neighbourhood.
This isn't home. Not anymore.
My thoughts were interrupted by the clocktower, its sorrowful chimes piercing the silence of the streets to herald the arrival of six in the evening. Though it would be hard pressed to call the current time as late, hardly anyone was out on the streets, with what few Pokémon there were hurriedly scurrying to their concrete homes. Nobody seemed at all interested in enjoying themselves after working hours. No, every Pokémon around us seemed desperate to retreat for the night as soon as possible, as if deathly afraid to stay out in the streets.
"Kit, let's eat up now and hurry over to your house." Clay took a glance around us, before turning his attention towards me. Though he didn't look in any way afraid or fearful, there was an undeniable look in his eyes that told me he was growing concerned by the town's unsettling atmosphere. "I don't think it's a good idea for us to stay out here much longer."
"…Yeah."
Stopping by a streetlamp, I opened the paper bag, taking a cinnamon roll out from within before handing the other to Clay. The pastry was cold as a stone, having none of the warmth associated with freshly baked bread.
I tore a piece off, giving it a careful look before popping it into my mouth. Clay too begins to eat his pastry, taking a hearty bite into his cinnamon roll. The look on his face as he began to chew all but confirmed that he felt the same way about it as I did.
The pastry was doughy, the cinnamon and spices within the roll dull and lifeless. There's a bitter toughness to the bread that made it utterly unpleasant to eat, and the whole thing had an overwhelmingly burnt smell to it.
I swallowed, somewhat forcefully. There's a lump in my throat that's making the pastry even harder to eat.
"This… This tastes atrocious." I muttered.
Clay swallowed, taking another bite from his roll before tossing what was left of it in the bin, a frown clouding his face. "It's not Mrs. Potts' bakery anymore, Kit."
He's right. That wasn't Mrs. Potts' bakery. Nor was this Winteroot town. Not anymore. My eagerness to see my old hometown had all but transformed into a fleeting hope that the town I was in was, even to the slightest degree, still the same town that I had grown up in. But I know now that this place no longer has anything for me. Nothing but a painful, sentimental value.
I looked down at the cinnamon roll within my paws, squeezing the coarse, hard pastry as I did so. I never thought I'd ever grow to dislike cinnamon rolls; I had always adored the sweet pastry for as long as I can I remember. But this one, I'm starting to hate.
I hate how bitter it is. I hate how tough it is. I hate how it's masquerading around, pretending to be Mrs. Potts' famous cinnamon rolls when it's actually an abomination all of its own. I hate Pete's Baking Company for tarnishing the good name and reputation of the late Mrs. Potts, and I hate that stupid concrete wall that surrounds this settlement of abject misery.
I hate this town.
And yet, I can't let it go. Because it's not the town itself I hate, but what it's become.
The way the Empire destroyed it.
The way the Empire defiled it.
I hate it.
With a sigh, I brought my gaze up to the twilight sky, the stars beginning to emerge through the darkness of night, sparkling and shining in the heavens above. Despite everything that has changed here, the night sky twinkled and shone with the same radiance that I remember. I'm sure that, once night fully descends upon this town, I'll once again see the mesmerising clouds and swirls of the stars in the great expanse far beyond. But those lights will never again reach the town that I so fondly remember. It's a realization powerful enough to bring a tear to my eye.
I turn towards Clay, staring at him solemnly. He gives me a concerned look, to which I simply nod in response.
"I know."
Putting what was left of the cinnamon roll back into the paper bag, I threw it into the bin as well.
"I'm just… Disappointed."
