Hey everyone! Putting up a new chapter today since I will be going away this weekend tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 33: So, you think he's the one who wiped your memories, huh?
The sun was setting on what had been a rather chaotic day. Bow had made it back home safely, but some of the members of the rescue teams that had been involved in the rescue mission were now dealing with the effects of the curse the enemy had put on them. Some of the rescue teams had gone to the café to relax after this stressful day.
"So, still can't use your illusion powers?" Megara asked, looking over at Mirage.
"Nope," Mirage responded, shaking her head. "I thought it might wear off upon leaving the dungeon, but I guess not… Although, I'm not the one we should really be worrying about here."
Mirage looked over at Cordyceps with a concerned look, as the Parasect was staring at a menu with a somewhat panicked look.
"I… I don't know what to order!" Cordyceps said, shaking as he stared down at the different things on the menu.
"It's not that big of a deal," Mirage commented, trying to get her teammate to relax. "I can order for you, if you can't make up your mind."
"Oh, I've never been good at making decisions…" Cordyceps said, sighing. "That's why I let the mushroom do most of the thinking for me…"
"I'm sure we'll figure out a way to reverse whatever that Sigilyph did to you," Mirage responded, smiling at Cordyceps. "Until then, you can ask me and Megara for advice!"
"I… I appreciate the thought…" Cordyceps replied. "But… I wouldn't know which one of you to ask…"
Azure was helping take orders and serve drinks, although she seemed much less upbeat than usual. Frederick heard her sigh, and walked up to her.
"Still upset about your water moves being sealed?" Frederick asked.
"Well, that's obvious, isn't it?" Azure responded, sighing.
"Hmm… Maybe you could ask Giselle about it?" Frederick suggested. "She might know of a cure, or something."
"… Maybe," Azure responded, thinking about it for a moment. "For now, I think she's busy looking after Hercules, though."
"Oh, right," Frederick replied, tilting his head slightly. "He hasn't regained consciousness yet, has he?"
"Nope," Azure responded, shaking her head. "Hopefully he wakes up soon."
"Yeah," Frederick replied, nodding slightly. "I guess the other Pokémon working at the dojo will be able to handle things, though."
"Sure, but it's not really the dojo I'm concerned about," Azure said, crossing her arms.
"What do you mean?" Frederick asked.
"Well, he's Blitz's mentor, you know?" Azure responded. "And not only that, but it seems Blitz talks to him about a lot of things he's not comfortable sharing with anyone else."
"Oh… right…" Frederick replied, nodding slightly. "Blitz must be really worried about him…"
"Yeah…" Azure said, sighing. "Since there are others with bigger problems, I probably shouldn't be moping about my water attacks being sealed…"
"Hey, it'll be fine," Frederick commented, rubbing his head against Azure affectionately. "We will figure out how to get your water moves back, somehow!"
"I hope so," Azure responded. "Because… if I can't go on adventures, I… well, I'd get really bored, I guess."
"Why wouldn't you be able to go on adventures?" Frederick asked. "You have other attacks aside from your water moves, right?"
"Yeah, but… I don't think I'd feel comfortable going on adventures like this," Azure responded, thinking about it for a moment.
"Oh, okay," Frederick replied, nodding his head.
"… Thanks for trying to cheer me up," Azure said, smiling at Frederick. "You're a really good friend, you know?"
"Well, I try my best to be," Frederick responded, blushing slightly.
"And you're great at it!" Azure commented, grinning. "Anyways, I guess we should get back to work, huh? You take the orders, and I'll serve the drinks!"
"Okay, Azure!" Frederick responded, nodding his head.
And so, things were busy in the café, until the rescue teams went home and it was time to close up the café for the day. Hopefully, it would be a quiet and peaceful night in Fenix Town.
Chiaki slowly was making his way through the wet grass, rain falling all over. Lightning flashed, and he could hear the sound of thunder shortly after. However, even if it was pouring down, Chiaki just kept going. He felt as if there was somewhere he had to be, something he had to remember.
"… I know this place," Chiaki thought to himself, looking around at the trees. "This is… Meridian Forest …"
Chiaki looked around, and thought he could see something moving in the distance. He picked up the pace bit, trying to see if he could get close enough to see what was happening. As he got closer, he thought he could hear a voice.
"Where was it…?" Chiaki thought to himself as he kept running. "Isn't the place where I first met Blitz and Sera somewhere nearby?"
Caught up in his own thoughts, Chiaki almost didn't notice a row of trees blocking his path. Luckily, he noticed just in time and avoided crashing into them.
"W-What…?" Chiaki muttered, staring up at the row of trees. "This… can't be right…"
After taking a brief moment to catch his breath, Chiaki turned around and began running back the way he came, hoping to find another way to reach what he thought he saw. However, it seemed as if the forest was still changing around him, and no matter which way he went, it didn't lead anywhere. Chiaki eventually had to stop again, collapsing into the wet grass. He shivered from the cold as he looked around in confusion at his surroundings.
"Why can't I find it?"
"No… I shouldn't be here…"
"Try to remember…"
"Remember… remember… remember…"
Chiaki covered his ears to block out the sounds of the rain pouring down, the wind howling and the thunder booming in the distance. The maze still seemed to be constantly changing around him.
"It's no good…"
"Why can't I remember...?"
"What really happened… back then?"
"I know that I've forgotten something… really important…"
Chiaki glanced up, and thought he could see the silhouette of a Sigilyph hovering above him.
"… It was you, wasn't it?" Chiaki said, staring blankly up at the silhouette before it faded away. "It's all your doing, isn't it…?"
The forest itself began fading away into darkness around him, but Chiaki didn't react even as the ground disappeared underneath him and he fell. Chiaki just closed his eyes, falling through the darkness.
"I don't want this place to disappear…"
"The friends I've made… the friends I have yet to meet…"
"Why does he have to try to destroy it all?"
"…"
"I… can't… let… that… happen…"
Chiaki could still hear the sound of rain pouring down, and opened his eyes slightly. He was lying in his bed, Blitz asleep in the bed next to him. Chiaki sat up, and looked around. He briefly wondered if he was imagining things, but he quickly realized that it was in fact raining outside.
"Just a dream, huh…" Chiaki thought to himself, rubbing the side of his head.
Chiaki lay back down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling while listening to the sound of the rain outside.
"… I'm pretty sure… that I had heard Erebos' voice somewhere before…" Chiaki thought, trying to remember. "Back when I first met Stella… she mentioned a vision she saw in which a Pokémon was chasing a smaller Pokémon through Meridian Forest, didn't she?"
Chiaki closed his eyes, and thought about this for a while.
"I suppose… that's how it might be," Chiaki thought, opening his eyes again. "Maybe… I was there the night the crystals were stolen, and… Erebos chased after me, and then erased my memories…"
From what he had seen of Erebos, it certainly seemed likely that he could've had something to do with Chiaki's missing memories. Erebos did seal away Azure's water attacks and Mirage's Illusion ability, so why wouldn't he be able to seal away memories as well? It seemed to make sense to Chiaki, although he felt as if he was probably missing some important details.
"I should bring this up to the others tomorrow…" Chiaki thought to himself, yawning and closing his eyes. "But for now, I should get some more sleep…"
When morning came, it had stopped raining. Chiaki looked out the window, and noticed that it was still somewhat cloudy, but not much cloudier than the day before. Chiaki thought about Amethyst's weather prediction the day before, and how she according to Sera had predicted that it wouldn't rain until the day after this one.
"Guess she didn't get it entirely right, huh…" Chiaki commented, looking out at the sky. "I guess the weather might've changed its plans, and didn't bother telling Amethyst…"
Chiaki looked over at Blitz's bed, only to realize that Blitz wasn't there.
"… Did he already head out?" Chiaki wondered, tilting his head slightly. "I guess I should try to catch up to him..."
Chiaki stepped outside, and began heading into the town plaza. Things seemed to be fairly normal, although he could see a few of the rescue teams standing around, talking about what had happened yesterday. He couldn't see Blitz anywhere, though.
"Looking for someone?" a female voice inquired, and Chiaki turned to see Marietta looking over at him from behind her counter.
"Oh, hi there," Chiaki said, waving to Marietta. "Did Blitz come through here?"
"Yeah, he did," Marietta responded, nodding her head slightly. "He went to the rescue team HQ to check on Hercules."
"Ah, right…" Chiaki replied, remembering that something had happened to Hercules as well during the fight against Erebos. "Of course, he's worried about Hercules…"
"I'm worried about him too," Marietta said, sighing. "I want to go check on him, but I've got work to do… I just hope he recovers soon…"
"Yeah…" Chiaki replied, nodding his head slightly. "Well, I guess I'd better head to the HQ too and find out what's going on. Thanks, Marietta!"
"You're welcome," Marietta responded, waving to Chiaki as he headed off to the rescue team HQ.
At the rescue team HQ, a few rescue teams were going about their usual business. Some were looking at the missions on the bulletin boards, while others were discussing recent events in the area. In the room behind the pink curtain, Blitz was sitting next to Hercules, who had still not regained consciousness.
"I really don't understand this," nurse Giselle commented, shaking her head. "As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with him…"
"Then… why isn't he waking up?" Blitz asked, looking over at the Audino with a concerned look.
"I don't know," Giselle responded, sighing. "I've checked and double-checked just about everything I can think of, but everything seems normal…"
"Are you sure you've checked everything?" Blitz asked.
"Well, at least everything I can check without having to cut him open first," Giselle responded.
"I… I see…" Blitz replied, glancing down and rubbing his forelegs together.
"I don't think I'll be able to figure this one out on my own," Giselle said. "There are some things I can't look into myself, after all…"
"… You mean, like how you couldn't determine what had caused Chiaki's amnesia?" Blitz asked.
"Exactly," Giselle replied, nodding her head. "This is why I'm hoping they'll soon hire a psychic type qualified for this kind of work to help out with things like that…"
Blitz nodded his head slightly, looking over at the sleeping Heracross beside him.
"You and your friends probably have work to do," Giselle said, comfortingly patting Blitz on the back. "Just leave Hercules to me."
"He'll get better soon… right?" Blitz asked.
"I'm sure he will," Giselle responded, trying to give a reassuring smile. "So, you and your friends just handle the missions as you usually do."
"Okay…" Blitz replied, nodding his head slightly.
He began heading out, only to suddenly stop and turn around.
"Oh, I almost forgot…" Blitz said, taking out a card and handing it to Giselle. "Marietta asked me to bring this to Hercules."
"Ah, a "get-well-soon" card, I see," Giselle responded, examining the card.
"Yeah," Blitz replied, nodding his head. "So, um… I guess I'll be going now."
"Good luck with today's missions!" Giselle said, waving good-bye as Blitz exited her office.
Upon leaving Giselle's office, Blitz met up with his teammates, who had been waiting for him outside.
"How is he?" Sera asked.
"Still the same…" Blitz responded, looking down at the floor.
"Wonder how long he'll be sleeping?" Frederick said, tilting his head slightly.
"Who knows," Azure responded, shrugging slightly. "This is all so weird…"
"So… Should we find some missions?" Chiaki suggested.
"I don't know," Blitz responded, rubbing his forelegs together. "Not really in the mood for exploring…"
"And I still can't use my water attacks," Azure said, shaking her head.
"… Hey, is it just me, or is this place a bit more crowded than usual?" Sera asked, looking around.
While some of the rescue teams had picked out some missions, they weren't going anywhere. It seemed as if they were waiting for something.
"Oh, right!" Azure exclaimed. "It should nearly be time!"
"Uh… What are you talking about?" Blitz asked.
"Well, Stella sent out this message asking everyone to gather in the center of town," Azure explained. "Apparently, there was something important she needed to tell everyone."
"Oh? What could that be?" Sera wondered, tilting her head.
"Hmm… I guess it's about Erebos," Blitz responded. "Remember, Stella said she would explain everything she knew."
"Speaking of Erebos…" Chiaki said, clearing his throat. "I… think I may have met him before…"
"Huh?" Azure replied, blinking a few times.
"What do you mean?" Sera asked.
Blitz, Sera, Azure and Frederick listened to Chiaki while he explained his theory about what had happened that stormy night in Meridian Forest.
"Hmm… I see," Azure said, nodding slightly. "So, you think he's the one who wiped your memories, huh?"
"Makes sense to me," Frederick commented, nodding his head.
"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" Chiaki responded, smiling.
"Certainly wouldn't surprise me," Azure replied.
"So, we might be getting closer to solving the mystery of your lost memories," Sera commented, smiling. "That's good news, at least!"
"Hmm… I don't know…" Blitz said, looking to be thinking about something. "There's something that doesn't…"
Before Blitz could finish his sentence, a voice was heard throughout the area.
"Everyone, please come over to the center of town!"
"Oh, I guess it's time!" Azure exclaimed. "Come on, let's go!"
The rescue teams exited the building, and headed back into town. Soon, almost all of the Pokémon who lived in the town were present in the center of town. Some of them talked amongst themselves, wondering what was going to happen. It didn't take long before Stella and Bow showed up, and everyone went quiet as Stella prepared to speak up.
"Thanks for coming, everyone," Stella said, looking out over the crowd. "I asked you all to come here today because I have some important things to tell you all."
"So, you all need to listen closely to what my mother has to say!" Bow added.
"Yes… It's about the thief who stole the crystals from Axis Tower," Stella said, sighing. "I… probably should've told you this the moment I was absolutely sure, but…"
"She's been busy!" Bow commented, nodding her head slightly. "She's had work to do!"
"Right…" Stella responded, clearing her throat. "So, anyways… I know that many of those who live here come from different parts of this continent, and for that reason, you might not be familiar with the history of this town."
A few of the Pokémon in the crowd exchanged confused glances, and whispering could be heard between some of them.
"Sera, do you know what Stella is talking about?" Blitz asked.
"Um… I think I may have heard a bit about it before…" Sera responded, thinking for a moment. "But… I can't really remember much."
"What about you, Azure?" Chiaki asked, looking over at the Marill. "You know anything about it?"
"Nope," Azure replied, shrugging slightly.
"Oh," Chiaki responded, turning his attention back to Stella. "I guess Stella is about to explain it, so let's just listen to her."
"I really wish we had some popcorn about now…" Frederick commented.
The crowd went quiet once more, and listened as Stella began explaining how it all began, the beginning of a story that wasn't over yet…
End of chapter 33