Author: Kirshner Mortis
Genre: Drama
Date: Started 29th August 2004-08-29
Warnings: Depression, language (fairly mild),
Synopsis: Ace tries to deal with his recent accident, which has left him crippled, and the disappearance of his Pokémon. Meanwhile said Pokémon strive to rediscover their trainer, and in most cases themselves.
Comments: This idea formed, and I started writing within five minutes, which has worked rather well actually. So far so good, poor Ace. Oh, and yes, Ace is a total wimp. it's deliberate.
The title of this fiction is taken from the music of Kristian Leontiou, as are the chapter names. Because that's the kind of lame I am ::humps Leontiou's leg::
Chapter I – New Day Dawning
"It might take some getting used too,"
Ace wanted to say something disdainful, but fought the urge as he ran his hands over the wheels. There didn't seem to be any place for him to fit in anymore, he'd been enough of an outcast as it was, whoever heard of a Pokémon trainer who couldn't even walk?
It hadn't been all that long since he'd been found, sprawled and twisted on the rocks of Mount Pyre. It didn't seem to matter how long he thought about it, he had no idea what had happened. And what use was dwelling on it now anyway, the damage was there. He couldn't remember falling, or even how he got outside, but that was of no consequence.
Ace looked down at his legs, nothing more than deadweight's now. He'd never thought of himself as a strong person, but this was just too much. What did he ever do to offend anyone? His thoughts wandered briefly to Samuval, and he considered finding the boy later and trying to call some sort of truce to their feud. Maybe this was his punishment for being so petty-minded in the first place.
But now was not the time for such trivialities. Cautiously he tried to push himself forward.
"It's, ah... heavier than I thought it'd be," he admitted, before moving to the other end of the room. The lady they had sent to help him settle observed him quietly, a tall black haired woman whose kind eyes didn't seem to match her sharp features. He quite liked her, for all her mutterings and critical glances.
"Well, that is to be expected. Still, you have all the time in the world to get used to it, right?" she walked over to him, taking the handles and pushing him back to the centre of the room. He felt so helpless, anyone could take him anywhere against his will, in this state he couldn't make any sort of effort to stop them. "Now then, Ace Podoski, let's teach you a few things about how to steer, okay?"
And so they did, and that was how his life progressed. He guessed that they'd make him go home at the end of all this, there didn't seem to be much hope on him returning to the road. For the first week, all he'd done at night was cry, but that seemed to subside into the same kind of numbness that had taken over his legs, as if it had somehow crept up his spine until he just didn't care anymore. Now he was only concerned about one thing, the whereabouts of his Pokémon.
When he'd woken up in hospital, he hadn't had any Pokéballs with him. When he asked, they said that he wasn't found with any, and it seemed that the grim reality was thievery. That, or the Pokéballs had become dislodged as he fell, leaving him taken of everything that ment anything to him. It wasn't even like he could go and look for them, not now, and he didn't have any friend he could ask. The only friends he had ever wanted were his Pokémon; the irony was a bitter pill indeed.
If he'd known where Drena, his half-sister, was, he might have asked her, but as it was no one really knew what she was doing these days. Both of his parents were staying in Lilycove, waiting to take him home, although neither of them seemed overly keen to visit him, perhaps because they didn't want to bump into each other or perhaps because even now their grief for him was too fresh.
He still remembered his mother's words, the very same words that he always repeated to himself when times got tough, at times like this. They didn't seem to work anymore; Ace Podoski was not going to shine. Not now, not ever.
Veeto Sito winced as the light flooded his eyes. The Ludicolo glanced around quickly, finding himself surrounded by mist on some high point or another, almost certainly the strange haunted mountain. He suspected it was either dawn or twilight, although amidst this haze it was difficult to tell anything.
He heard an exasperated sigh, and turned to see Kimber's brown-red eyes glaring at him, apparently furious. She turned quickly and began rummaging around in the grass again, muttering quick furious curses under her breathe. Miknangelo was hovering over her, apparently just as out of the loop as Veeto.
Veeto Sito glanced around, looking for Ace but not seeing his trainer anywhere. He frowned a little, brushing at the long hair-thin grass blades that hung around his sombrero-esque head leaf.
"Kim, Mikn, what's goin' on here, where's Ace at?"
Mikn seemed about to answer, the Dustox looking bewildered, when a fourth Pokéball was opened with a flash, and suddenly Corvenash was among them, blinking his odd black and purple eyes and sniffing the air, the black pearls adorning his head seeming to reflect a light that wasn't there. He didn't have time to get his bearings however, as Kimber leapt on him from behind, flipping him around and pinning him down, as Veeto and Miknangelo looked on in shock.
"You bastard!" she growled, the Absol's fury plain to see, "I don't care what excuse you come out with, that kid never did a damn thing to you!"
Veeto stepped forward to pull her back, when she turned her gaze on him warningly. He froze, holding his hands up entreatingly. Veeto had always heard that Absol's were unruly, malevolent creatures, but Kimber had always struck him as a very calm, wise figure, and he'd gained a lot of respect for her during his time in her company. This however seemed to have fled in an instant. She interrupted him before he had a chance to speak.
"I wouldn't defend him if I were you, neither of you," she looked up at Mikn then back again, "he killed him! This wretched bastard's killed Ace!" Kimber's claws were pressed down tight against the flesh at Corvenash's throat, a fact the Grumpig seemed acutely aware of, from the look on his face. Despite his situation however, he still managed to look at her with a condescending air.
"Oh clever girl, well done, and what makes you think I did tha-"
He gulped back the rest of his words as her claws bit into his skin, "It's true! You walked him over the mountain, for no reason at all! You're a sick sadistic excuse for a Pokémon, it's a wonder this didn't happen sooner! Well I'll tell you now, you are not getting a chance to do something like this again-"
"Now hold on there Kim!" Veeto cried, still not certain what had occurred but knowing that despite what others thought of the Grumpig, Corvenash had always been a friend to him, "Stop it right now! Give him a chance to defend himself! This is probably one big mistake!"
Miknangelo hovered down to land lightly in the grass, apparently continuing the search for the last two Pokéballs, "I have NO idea what is going on here, but Vee Si has the right of it, let's find the others and do this right." The Dustox sounded out of sorts, Veeto decided, remembering that he had been Ace's very first Pokémon.
Kimber backed off, still looking furious but seeing sense, as Veeto knew she would. Corvenash struggled into a sitting position, rubbing at his neck and shoulders with a dark grudging look on his face.
It didn't take long for them to find Linton, the Pelipper immediately seeking out Kimber and looking for all the world like he knew exactly what was going on, although he obviously didn't, and only another moment to find Clancy, the surly Wigglytuff looking disdainfully at the sombre party, red eyes glistening in the filtered morning light.
"Where's Ace?" she questioned offhand. Kimber shut her eyes for a moment, before looking intently at the Grumpig, who had now risen to his feet, and was leaning against an old tombstone, the inscription long worn away.
"Yes Corven, tell us all, where is Ace?"
The Grumpig shook his head for a moment, for all the world looking as if nothing was wrong, "Come now, ladies first. Care to try and validate your accusations?"
If Kimber was uncomfortable, she didn't show it, "I needn't, we all know what you're like. We know how you've been using him, controlling him. I don't know why, I don't understand why you do the things you do, but it's true enough. Do you deny that?"
Veeto Sito hadn't known any of what Kimber had just stated, and noted the alarm on both Mikn and Clancy's features, although the Wigglytuff quickly concealed her surprise behind a lazy half smile. Linton however didn't seem at all shocked, just haughty as ever. So this was what he and Kimber were always talking about.
"Yeah, sure. I've played around a little I guess, he seems to think it's okay to mess around with our lives, can't see why we shouldn't be allowed to do the same. Can't see how that makes me a murderer,"
For the second time Clancy started in surprise, "This is a murder trial? Ace is dead?"
There was a silence, no one seemed to want to confirm or deny anything. Kimber looked as if she was about to weep, from grief, rage or both, "The last thing I remember was walking through the mountain's inner morgue with Ace and him," she nodded towards Corvenash, not even looking his way, "Then he got bored, and decided it was time to 'play around'. He had Ace return me, and that's it. I woke up, and he was gone, everyone was. I could see a path down the mountain, a bit away from the ledge I was on, it looked like..."
"He fell...?" Miknangelo asked quietly, his voice betraying his demeanour.
"I think someone had him walk," Kimber finished, turning her auburn gaze back on Corvenash.
"That doesn't sound all that substantial you know. Several flaws in fact. For a start, you have no idea what happened, it's all guesswork. Then there's the fact that you have no evidence at all that he fell, it just appears that something did. For all you know he's just abandoned us-"
"No," was all Mikn said, yet Corvenash seemed to take it in.
"Fine, misplaced us or something, whatever. We might have been stolen, then dumped here. Regardless, I didn't do what you claim. I guess I ought to confess something to make you feel a little better about yourself however, all amateur detectives start out somewhere, eh?" Kimber glared daggers at him, "Fine. After Ace returned you, we headed up the mountain, right up near the very top. And you really want to know what I did, Absol girl? I had Ace throw your Pokéball over the side. You really are an irritant sometimes, I'm sure you can sympathise to my actions to some extent. After that, I thought about having him dig up one of the graves, call it morbid curiosity, but I changed my mind, and that was the end of our little escapade. I went back into my Pokéball, not wanting to assist in the hunt for you, and I can only guess that he fell down sometime after that," he shrugged ruefully, "I guess that technically means I'm still responsible, huh?"
Linton spoke up, "How can you expect us to believe you, you've not exactly proven to be the most trustworthy so far, have you?"
Yet Kimber was shaking her head, looking perplexed.
"I found you all in Pokéballs..." she looked across at the Grumpig, who was smirking now, and nodding her along with sarcastic helpful winks, "He must be telling some sort of truth. Unless he climbed down the mountain, found Ace's... found Ace, took his Pokéball and placed himself in it afterwards, then... so Ace fell on his own accord..." Kimber bowed her head, looking equal parts humiliated and indignant, "It seemed that I was wrong, although I don't forgive you for what you did do," she fell quiet after that, deep in thought.
A silence fell over the group for a moment, each of the six with their own thoughts. It was Miknangelo who broke the stillness.
"So Kim, you were thrown down the mountain, and you caught some sort of rock or something, right? I mean, you were released. Then you came looking for all of us, and you what, just found us here in the grass?"
Kimber nodded her head, "I was looking for Corvenash, blinded by rage I suppose," she seemed so ashamed now, Veeto felt sorry for her, "I arrived here, and you guys were all scattered around this area. I... I'm not sure where Ace is..."
Corvenash gave her a withering look but said nothing.
"Allow me," Linton took to the sky, soaring upwards and circling around the area. The others watched, afraid of what news he may bring. When the Pelipper returned, he didn't seem happy, "I can't see anyone nearby. Ace isn't here, and Ghosts don't eat people. Either he's gotten up and walked away, or someone else has taken him somewhere. It looks like he's gone."
Clancy was quick to state the obvious question, "So we're free? He's dead, or somewhere, and we're here. We can go?"
Miknangelo turned on her instantly, "So you want to just go, that's all well and good, see how much we care. Ace used to say he lived in that funny town by the Volcano, he took us there a few times. That's where I'm going, and if that doesn't work out I'll try something else. The more of you who come the better, but I'm not making any of you."
Kimber glanced up, "If you'll grant me the chance to redeem myself, I'll gladly help."
Veeto was about to tell her she had no redeeming to do, when Linton interrupted, "I will obviously be coming, although it sounds like an impossible task. Still, you'll need me along if you want a chance, simply put."
"I'm with you as well," Veeto added. The group turned towards Clancy and Corvenash, the two of them glancing at each other intently. Veeto suspected Corven was saying something psychokinetically, but didn't know how to ascertain this. However, Clancy nodded.
"Fine, I'll come along, but this strikes me as a fools errand. We should be running whilst we can, instead of returning to that juvenile,"
Corvenash observed this with apparent distaste, "Well, you may all do as you see fit, but I am quite fed up with accusations and scorn from those clearly too stupid to see past their own noses. I shall be leaving you children to your games, and I do not expect to be seeing you again."
And so it was that they went their separate ways, Corvenash watching them leave with a quiet sense of foreboding. This had been a most strange and unexpected occurrence, he wasn't overly keen on any situation that he didn't see coming, or have any control over. If anything, he wished he had walked Ace down the cliff, at least then he'd have had some sort of plan.
Alas, he'd simpily have to see how things panned out from here. Could be fun enough.
Chapter II – Call It OverWhen his mother walked through the door, he was looking out of the window, frustrated and miserable. It was strange how at times he felt like he was adjusting, and at others he wanted nothing more than to just close his eyes and never look upon what he was missing ever again.