February 2010 Cinnabar Mansion
Lance tugs at the collar of his jacket, despite the cool temperatures of the northern part of Kanto, Cinnabar is still sweltering and he realized it way too late. Considering he wanted to do this months ago, his attire would have been a bit more appropriate at that time in the height of winter in southern Kanto. Now, it's too many layers, especially with all the heavy lifting they're going to have to do.
The tournament was put on hold between the last two badges for a month and a half. Leaving trainers antsy to get to their four month break before the league. Lance needed to catch up on some training, usually his schedule is booked between his last battle and the New Year. With no Serena, he has to plan the party, get Gym Leader metrics in order from the previous year and set about their new goals and such. It's a long laundry list he has to get together in between ensuring his pokemon are in tip top shape.
The sooner he can train, the more ahead he can be for the next tournament.
Now, there's a wait list as the mass of trainers converge on the last two gyms. He should have seen it coming and yet, he can't help but hope Clair will have her lesson learned. Their grandfather had contacted him before the mess that a young trainer was denied her badge and told to head to the Den to take her test. Lance was not happy, and while he was surprised Lyra got a special dratini out of her, he emailed Clair Gym Leader policy to ensure it wouldn't happen again.
There was no use heading over there to do it in person. She's tossed him out of her gym on several occasions, never speaking with him directly and never even deigning to leave her office to see him. He's at a loss for what to do with her, if she won't speak to him how are they going to ever resolve this strife between them? He knows he deserves it though. What he did to Serena had an impact on Clair as well...
"Earth to Lance?" Layla waves her hands in front of his face.
He blinks a few times before smiling. "Sorry. What?"
"Morty figured out where the door is," she gestures to her boyfriend behind her.
Sabrina, Will, Morty and Layla agreed to meet up at the mansion, now way more dilapidated than it was when Lance was here with Serena. Years of storms, wind, pokemon and people poking their way around has completely destroyed the once ominous outline of the mansion. He knew the general vicinity of the door, but beneath all the rubble he couldn't remember if it was on the East side or West.
"Okay," he nods and turns to the crew he brought along to help clean up the mess enough to allow them to gain entrance to the basement.
The demolition crew sets work with machinery and pokemon at their disposal. Lance lets them work knowing there'd be no use in rushing them considering Team Rocket's disappearance, and the fact that the place could still crumble around them should they mess with it too much. He did invite everyone in the hopes that they would be able to explore it today and get the answers they so desperately need. But as he watches the crew pick their way through the first floor, careful to avoid widening the hole in the second floor and third floor, he knows it's going to be tricky.
Still...
"Ahoy!" a voice calls out and Lance feels the ground rumble.
He turns to see Blaine riding atop his Arcanine, the pokemon loping happily towards them as though its massive size didn't cause the ground to shake. "Hey!"
Arcanine comes to a stop, his tongue lolls out to one side as his trainer slides off his back and pats his side. The pokemon shakes out his fur and proceeds to trot around and investigate the area, easily ignoring the working pokemon and instead wandering over towards Layla. She squeals, running up to lose herself in his warm fur despite the hot air already. Morty watches on with a smile, while Will and Sabrina seem absorbed in some telepathic conversation.
"I heard what was happening here and wanted to join in," Blaine admits, walking up to Lance. Behind his dark glasses, his eyes gleam. "I'm tired of being a coward, and I know Fuji is swearing to silence, but if she was truly a child... Well, I can't live with myself."
Lance's shoulders drop and he exhales. "Thank you."
That seems to be the boost Lance needs to remain hopeful until well into the afternoon when the crew deem it safe to explore. He sends a quick text to his dad back at the league that they're continuing forward and meets the others at the entrance on the side of the museum.
"Okay, when you guys are ready," he glances between them.
"The energy's strong here," Sabrina comments, eyeing the entryway and then the hole in the ceiling leading to the other floors. "We will have to be careful."
"Should we not go?" he realizes he should have asked more questions about their part of the bargain.
She pauses, as if realizing his lack of information as well. "It depends. Will is going to have to stay back. The energy feels negative, something bad happened here or the creator is not good. If it's an Echo, we'll have to leave it for the creator of the energy to piece together. We cannot break through it."
"So this would be pointless?" He falters.
Blaine clears his throat. "Not entirely. If there is a lab down there, I can more than likely figure out what happened and what was studied."
So there was hope.
Lance nods, too nervous to speak some more and jinx the whole operation before anything else could happen. They make their way down the steps, the crew was kind enough to spray paint the ones they can walk on with no issue while they come up with plans to fix them for more use. He spies the door, its rotted frame, chipped and rusted handle.
Arceus, is it even going to open?
Layla pauses at the bottom of the step and Lance watches a shiver shake her body while Morty and Sabrina do the same. Whatever energy they can sense past the door, he has only a faint inkling of it. A foreboding sense of dread in his stomach, it could be his own conscience but the way it burrows deeper into his body he knows it's not his.
"This isn't good," Sabrina murmurs. She steps up to the door and turns towards Layla, her red eyes glowing in the broken light filtering through the floor above. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Layla grimaces.
She opens the door and they all step into a dark room, Morty lets out a shocked gasp, as if physically shocked by something. The motion gets mimicked between Sabrina and Layla as well, though Lance can't really tell why. He's been around Will enough to understand how energies work, how psychic type pokemon can leave their imprints in a place proportionate to how powerful they are. The same can be done by people too.
There's a tickle in his stomach as he crosses the threshold, the only indication of the energy flooding the room. It also scares him if he's going to be honest.
Even Blaine can sense it, his whole body shivering as an indicator of his knowledge.
"This isn't good," Sabrina voices what they're all thinking. "This isn't going to work with just us. This energy... It's bad."
"What do you mean?" Lance asks.
"Usually, these leftover energies are faint and hard to detect. Hence, why we brought Will," she gestures towards the opening where the man in question waits patiently. "But it's stronger here. Too strong. An Echo."
Lance had heard her use that word before, Echo, and knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to push the idea of deciphering it. He did get briefed on the terms and the consequences of trying things outside the rules of said abilities. Plus he's already seen what would happen if they push their boundaries, both from Will and Layla.
"Well," he turns to Blaine. "It's up to you."
Blaine grins, then makes a show of cracking his knuckles before calling out his Charmeleon and asking him to brighten up the room a bit. "Let's get cracking!"
Once the warm fire light flares up, the room goes from mysterious to confusing with all the machinery decking out the walls parts of the room. Lance immediately thinks back to the Viridian Gym, the same kind of cords and arms running along the back of the room. Down to the strange circular base he remembers Serena was being dragged towards...
"Oh," Blaine's voice comes out hollow and cold. "This is advanced equipment... Used for cloning."
Lance turns to him, his brows furrowed as the older man walks around the room and searches through the rubble for something. His movements are erratic as if trying to piece together a story that only he can see and Lance lets him. Any insight he can give to what happened here, what Serena was so close to uncovering years ago, is more than what he expected to happen today.
"This... isn't good," Blaine finally speaks after some digging and pushing some stuff aside.
He manages to clear a small space on a broken table as well as part of a desktop. The computer screen is cracked and looks as if it's growing its own ecosystem, so there's no use in bringing Clyde down to check it all. Still, Blaine seems to gather more than enough information through whatever heap of trash is in front of him.
"Okay, so more than likely cloning," he amends his earlier statement. "I say that because these tubes are generally used to keep patients in stasis in Creation Fluid. It's a rare liquid, the best place to get a fair price for it is Devon in Hoenn."
"I'm assuming this much of it would be carefully kept in books?" Lance glances at the two tubes in front of them.
Was Serena in one of these? For how long?
"Oh yes," Blaine nods. "Not only that, but if he was cloning something, it had to be powerful."
"Why?" Layla responds this time, the others have come in to wander while she has stayed close to Lance.
Blaine gestures to the machinery along the wall. "Restraints meant to act through the computer system alone. In labs, before regulation, it was used to stop pokemon from rampaging when enduring awful tests." The old man shudders to think of the times before regulation came about and pokemon testing was soon made illegal, or had to go through strict channels with constant supervision. He gestures again with a grim look. "They're not falling apart due to age, some of those marks... whatever they did to her, it may have stuck well."
Lance pales. "You think Serena did this?"
"I think Team Rocket, and Fuji, did something inhumane to her. Whether she was the cause of this or not, she's powerful. I remember her headache."
"She's not a clone," Lance speaks through grit teeth, thankful for Layla stepping up to stand beside him. "There's no way."
"I don't think she is, but it has to stay a possibility on the table," Blaine reasons. "I'm not trying to sound disrespectful, I'm trying to think logically. All this stuff is here for a reason and she's our only lead. The best thing we can do is scrub this entire place from top to bottom to really understand its function."
"How long do you think that will take?" Layla frowns.
"It could take months to years," he replies. "The faster we get started, the better. I don't want to leave the Earth not knowing the answer to this mystery."
Lance soaks in the info, his body feeling numb as he replays their words over and over again in his mind. They're another step closer, but still don't understand what's going on and just what it is they're looking for. There's no sign of Serena or Team Rocket, his only connection to what's happening, his pathfinders.
It feels as though a huge wave is threatening to crash over him, the rage, guilt, confusion and more just waiting to bear down on him. Crush him and take him away so h e can never do anything harmful ever again.
"Lance," Layla reaches out to touch his elbow. "It'll be okay."
He can't shake the numbness away, but he manages to turn to Layla with an appreciative smile. If he can't bear the optimism, he will let her take over for now. Until he can do it once again. "Okay. Let me make a few phone calls."
OoO
The crisp, cold air of Blackthorn forces Lance's senses to relax as he huffs and puffs on the way to his parents house. He had made calls to the G-men HQ requesting a team do a thorough sweep, and by thorough he stressed it should take a long time to get through it all, while Sabrina tried her best to find other hints and clues before Will took a crack at it. He and Layla were able to create some illusions of the machinery with the help of Blaine's insight.
Speaking of the fire type specialist, he knew quite a bit of the equipment in the room, mostly preliminary information that would require more study. It burns a bit of hope in Lance's chest as he remembers watching the team spread out in the area and begin categorizing items. Sabrina offered to return to help as much as she can stand to be in the room, while Morty and Layla offered their services as well.
Will decided he would take in the preliminary findings and report to Lance what he should know, considering the upcoming Championship Tournament, his mind needs to be focused on that. No matter what Lance would say to Will, the psychic type user won't budge and that's for the best.
What kind of friend would he be if he let his own guilt be the cause for his downfall?
"Mom? Dad?" Lance calls into the house, stomping his feet to shed the snow piled up on his boots.
"Son," Wesley rounds the corner, putting on a hat of his own. "Right on time. We're heading to Rowan's."
"Why?" he frowns, not because he doesn't want to see them...
"For dinner," his mother replies, twisting a scarf around her neck.
The look on her face finalizes her words and he doesn't argue any further, only swallows the argument in his throat and turns to gesture for them to lead the way. Back out in the cold, Lance can barely feel it this time around. His mind swirls with memories and unwelcome thoughts as they climb the steps to the house he'd often called his second home.
The sound of some light music and conversation can be heard through the door, Lance doesn't let himself get excited for one second. If she were home, his parents wouldn't be this calm, they loved her so much. Clair would be here and they would be fighting each other to see her first.
The Lockwood's have other guests.
Despite the anxiety coursing through him, he finds himself embracing the warmth that swallows him up and protects him from the outside air. The three of them shed their winter clothes while Rowan sweeps into the entryway with a gentle smile on her face. It brightens when she spots Lance, it's been months since his last visit, around New Year's if she remembers correctly.
"We have other guests eating with us tonight," she warns them. Her eyes fall to Lance. "Play nice."
He grimaces, opening his mouth to ask when Lyra rounds the corner with a question part way out of her mouth. She spots Lance and immediately closes it before scurrying back into the kitchen.
"Oh."
Wesley snickers at the young girl's star struck face before continuing into the house to find Aaron and Silver on the back patio talking more than a few feet away from each other. He and Lance pause just past the island, the smell of Rowan, Lyra and Ethan's cooking enveloping them as they study the two. Silver looks tense, but his lips are moving fast and jagged, much like his voice when he gets agitated.
Lance can just hear the venom now.
On the other hand, Aaron seems relaxed and calm, his arms at his side while he faces Silver but his eyes trace the horizon in the distance. It took Rowan and his mother to explain to Lance that men of authority made Silver the most uncomfortable, and he actually felt threatened by them. It made complete sense as to why he got so violent when he spoke to Lance the first time.
When Wesley turns away to let the two talk it out, he follows suit and smiles at the other two in the kitchen. Serena would have liked Lyra for sure, her chipper attitude and the way she raises her pokemon lovingly, the two would get along in a heartbeat. Ethan is just as strong, much like his friend, his pokemon are quick and Lance wonders which of the two would win in a battle.
Luckily, he'll get his answer soon.
"They've been talking for almost an hour now," Ethan comes up beside Lance, his voice laced with worry. "We've never seen Silver so... unnerved before."
Lance glances down at the younger boy with a gentle smile. "Silver has a lot of things to deal with that most adults wouldn't dare touch. I'm just glad he has you and Lyra to support him."
With that, the two pull away from the intimate conversation happening outside and rejoin Rowan and Lyra in the kitchen. He helps get the dishes out for the food, staying well out of Rowan's way as she teaches Lyra secret techniques in the kitchen. The smell of food helps settle his nerves as they finally gather around the table.
Silver and Aaron come in moments after Ethan takes the first serving of food followed by everyone else. The conversation doesn't pause, it's a marked continuation of Lyra's question to Lance about the upcoming battles, he wonders how many times had Rowan or Aaron talked with Silver.
"I won't be giving away anything, but, I will be training in the Den a couple times a week if you'd like to join me," Lance replies to her.
He loves the den and its crashing whirlpools and dragon types lurking in the depths. When he trains there, it's mostly physical training with his pokemon, as in he swims and practices underwater maneuvers with them. It's tough considering swimming isn't his favorite sport, but it's beneficial for the water type battlefields he'll no doubt have to deal with.
"What days?" Silver perks up at that, his eyes are hard. The red almost like blood as he's desperate for control of himself.
"Tuesdays and Thursdays to start with. I'm still juggling some things at the league, so those two are the best I can do right now."
"Better than nothing."
Silence settles in as everyone digs in, the clinking of dishes fills the void as Lance tries his best not to talk about Cinnabar. That wouldn't be appropriate with these three at the table, even with Silver's relation to Serena. Until he can know that Silver is ready, he's not about to throw him to the wolves like his father did.
Thankfully, Rowan is the master at conversation and she manages to pull the three of them into some topic they'd been discussing prior to their arrival. Leaving Lance's father and mother to converse with Aaron while he listens at the edge of the conversation. It's not unlike their childhood, except Serena and Clair were there to have conversation with him.
His heart aches at the memories of him and his cousin getting along, there was always the blanket of rivalry put on by their grandparents, it was the early days. He and Clair had a lot of the clan traditions drilled into them at a young age. Their family line has been here since the first settling of Blackthorn, the original seven families, and so they have to set the example for the rest of the city.
Meetings, studying and training with the other six families to ensure they stay within the lines. Serena's family never had an entry, and Lance had always wondered what happened to them. He'd only heard of Rowan through talk at his grandparents table, whispers of a betrayal and an outsider coming in. Clan rules made by ancestors stated the seven should marry other dragon tamers and those specifically selected by the Elders.
When Serena came back, when her family stirred up trouble and his and Clair's family backed them up, he realized how messed up their traditions were. They still do the arranged marriages and the old rules are still upheld. It's suffocating and he knows Clair should be his ally as they move forward and try to bring the clans into modern society.
But this rift…
It feels like a chasm between them, the person he once turned to for trouble and have his back, now won't even look at him. It's often frustrating at Gym Leader meetings when she ignores him or snaps back at him. A lot of the other leaders don't like the disrespect, but as long as she continues to meet her goals and improve the gym, he won't complain. Even if she didn't, he would let a few things slip without telling her.
Which would make things worse. She's always hated handouts.
He pushes the thought of her finding out he helped her away and decides to finish his meal quick. He excuses himself with the promise to be back soon, his parents eyes burn holes in his back as he disappears to the front door. They know what he wants to do, and there's no way they'll join him to feel her wrath.
The biting cold of early evening demands his attention as he makes his way across the city to the gym. According to Clair's records, she stays here late into the night training or doing random upkeep.
The lights of the gym greet him at the apex of the city, looming right before the den as if a final barrier before the great meeting place of the clan. Her building is grand and intimidating, no doubt her intention for potential opponents. He had no issue accepting her plans for expansion, though working out the lava pools was difficult, but his hired engineers were up for the challenge.
At the front door, he feels a looming sense of dread pulse through him, this isn't going to end well. He has to try, but there's no way Clair will speak to him and if she does, it won't be nice.
And maybe he deserves that.
Taking a breath, he opens the door and faces the heat of the roiling lava far below the cobblestone paths leading to the battle arena on the other side of a small maze. Throughout different spots in the maze lay smaller battle fields, very much meant for one on one battles. Each trainer then unlocks a different part of the path by twisting the battlefield to connect to ends of the path.
A well thought out design, he was proud to see on his desk.
"What are you doing here?" Clair's voice jolts him out of his admiration.
He turns, surprised to see her dressed and ready to go home. "I was looking for you."
"Why?" she responds, her blue eyes narrowed at him.
He sighs, anyone else would have caved under the ice in her voice, the aggression in her stance. Clair has always been taller than most women, her high heeled boots only accentuating that feature, she's unpredictable.
"I wanted to try talking with you," he tries.
She scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Again? Why don't you just leave me alone?"
"Because," he steps up, straightening his back. "I'm trying to move forward. I'm trying to do better, and I want to be friends again."
"Friends?" she sneers, glaring at him. "Is that what you want? Friends? Or do you want to feel better about what happened?"
"Don't bring that up," he replies in a short tone. "That is between Serena and I."
"Is it? It affects me too!"
"It's not about you," he takes a deep breath. "I understand you're hurt too, but to hate me for something I said to someone else isn't fair. If I could talk to Serena I would apologize."
"Apologize for what?" Clair demands, crossing her arms. "What did you say?"
His breath rushes out of him, and he refuses to go back to that night. He stares at her, unable to breathe, think or even talk.
"Yeah, must have been real shitty if you can't even say it now," she mutters. "You were always let off easily and look at you, a champion."
"I have been holding the title for a couple years now, I think I'm starting to work for it," he snickers. "Come on, Clair. What do I need to do?"
"Leave. Me. Alone." She enunciates each word with a pointed step towards him.
"No," he replies in a deep tone. "I'm trying to reach out an olive branch, I'm sorry for pushing Serena away, I'm trying to make up for it. What else do I need to do?"
"Are you kidding me? Making up for what? Being spoiled? Being handed things? You always got what you wanted and I had to work for it. Next to you everyone thinks I'm a joke, I'm a bitch and you never helped me growing up. Sure, we started out as partners, but you got greedy," she swings her arm out. "Power and fame, you put Serena through hell being an Elite Four member and did nothing to ease it. I worked hard to get to where I am, while you fucked."
It hurts like a slap to the face and he clenches his fists. "That's not fair."
She stares at him before bursting into cruel laughter. "This is rich. You're lecturing me on what's fair?"
"I never imposed clan rules on you, I wasn't handed everything! I can hold my own, why do you think I'm the champion?" He snaps back. "You're the one living in the past, no matter how much I try, I can't make up for the past."
"Don't you dare try and belittle me. You're not the high and mighty one here!" She stands up straight, her eyes blazing. "I'm still here in Blackthorn actually trying to make the change the three of us promised while you mope around the league. Serena aside. You've just done nothing but throw away what's given to you. Without Serena would you have been champion? Think about your battle with her, the last command you made. Did you make time? Or was it there waiting for you?"
Lance starts at this; thrown off by the sudden change in direction. He thinks back to that day, the slight inkling he had about their battle. She was so sure throughout its entirety and then... she had paused. And he knew, if she was going to say what he knew what she was going to say, he'd be done.
It fills his chest with dread, threatening to make him spiral into more before he shakes his head.
"So, you're never going to forgive me?" He states. "I'm here to talk and all you want to do is deflect and try to make me mad."
"Yes, feel the anger I've felt this whole time," she sneers. "Don't come around here like you're the bigger person. It's just a mask, you're on a pedestal built by others, come back and talk when you understand that."
She turns on her heel then and disappears down a tunnel towards her office. Leaving him fuming, hurt and confused. His heart beats against his chest as he leaves the gym without looking back, his mind racing with all the words said and all the memories rushing back to him. Ryu, sensing his distress, pops out of his pokeball. He doesn't flinch at the sight of his pokemon forming in front of him, only continues walking into his embrace.
The pokemon grunts at the collision, but folds his arms around him and leans down and takes off into the sky. Flying low, above the houses, Lance lets his pokemon do so, knowing that being at home will be the best way to.. Brood.
That's what he's going to do, brood about it. He's the best at it and maybe Clair is right.
Ryu grunts as they land outside the front door. The overcast skies grow dark as night moves in. It only improves his sour mood, the food that was once nice and warm, now hard and cold in his stomach as he returns his pokemon to his home.
Inside the dark house, Lance doesn't bother flipping on any lights and instead drags his feet up the stairs, down the hall to the bathroom connected to his room.
Thoughts of his battle against Serena swirls around his mind. Ty and Varia in the heat of the battle, their last pokemon down to the dregs of their energy. His heart was hammering as he watched Serena try and figure out what her next move was. Lance had his plan set from the beginning, something he prided himself on when he battled. Having a basic strategy set so he could rely on it when the going got rough.
The moment he thought he made up was real. Clair confirmed it. Serena's hesitation cost her the battle, a moment only him, Clair and Serena herself noticed. He never asked her about it, he assumed she was thinking, not something she did on purpose.
He tries his hardest to remember what she looked like then. Her face at the time is just a blur in his mind's eye, however. No way to figure out if Clair was pulling his leg or not.
"Fuck," he swears under his breath, inhaling the steam from his shower.
Either she said it to make him spiral or she really thought Serena let him have the win. It would make sense, in hindsight, she would have more freedom to work on her other projects. Then is that bad?
If she let him win, and he's able to still hold the title, should he feel bad? Confusion joins the mix of emotions and he stares up at the ceiling in exasperation. There's so much happening, he just wants to hibernate for the next few years. Wakes him when Serena comes home and lets her take the title back and tell him she never wants to be his friend ever again.
You're on a pedestal built by others... The words cut deep in his chest, he's always known this and never admitted it. Yeah, he can do the work, but without Serena where would he have gotten his chance. Elijah noticed his strength and offered him the position, but Serena furthered his position in the league with her work and vouching for him.
Would his strength alone have helped him?
Questions continue to swirl long after he gets into bed and stares at the ceiling, a creeping numbness slowly makes its way up his body; binding him to his bed. So many unanswered questions and mysteries. Today's been too much, he needs a break from it all. Even if he doesn't go far for the sake of the league. At least until the tournament starts, he could catch a break from everyone and focus on himself and his pokemon.
He sits up and glances out the window at Mt. Silver far off and the rest of the land behind it, untouched by man. It's a trip he's done before with his father, especially growing up, venturing into the woods and living off the land. You and your pokemon, fighting against countless other pokemon stronger than those encountered here.
It'd be perfect.
The relief from his decision floods his body, allowing him to finally feel fatigue as he lays back down and grins. Being a trainer never left him, the thought of the wilds, the battling and pokemon, still keeps him going. He'll have to let the others know in the morning, but then he'll be off and, who knows, if he loses the tournament he can go back for as long as he likes... and maybe even leave to find Serena.
No, he can't.
What would he even say to her?
I'm sorry? Yeah, that would be rich.
Would it be enough? Maybe for him, to finally get it off his chest. Is that selfish?
It's all a confusing mess in his head. He squeezes his eyes shut, his brain forcing him to relive the hurt look on her face as he yelled all the wrong things at her. No matter what he does, he always brings himself back to that moment. Nothing will overshadow what happened that night.
"I have to say it, then she can be done with me if she wants," he says it out loud to banish the memory from his mind.
The chill outside brushes against his window, calling to him and he falls asleep deciding to get stronger and better for her return. So that, whatever happens, he can finally move on and do something different with his life.
