Arc 5: Gods Among Us - Part 2

Chapter 104:

The Man of the Hour

Pokémon List:

Luna (Kirlia)

Fay (Riolu)

Midna (Zorua)

"I'm fine…" I muttered half-heartedly to the medic. She ignored my comment and continued on with her...well, whatever she was doing.

In retaliation she yanked out a small glass splinter from my arm. I clenched my teeth together and refused to look her in the eyes. Without any comments, she continued her check-up.

"Can I make a call?" I asked her.

"You know the rules." The blonde-haired woman shook her head. She wrapped a bandage around my wrists. Not sure what they would do about the bruises but I thought it looked at least like I was a professional brawler. "No leaving and no calls until the League says so."

"But I want to know if my Pokémon are getting proper treatment," I argued. "If you want you can even watch me make the call!"

The woman gave me a sympathetic look but still shook her head. "You can be assured that they'll receive the best treatment they can get."

She got up from her spot. "You are mostly fine, just bruised. Please stay here until you are told otherwise."

"Fine." I murmured.

She nodded and moved towards the next person in the room.

{Their lights are out.} Luna replied. {Wait, no Fay is slowly gaining consciousness.}

I glanced around to see if anyone was paying attention to me and Luna.

For an exhibition about dead legends and myths, this place was rather bustling with life.

People wearing tactical gear with big and scary-looking Pokémon had secured the perimeter and were keeping watch, medics and Chansey were going around checking up on people while some other lost-looking individuals were tasked to ask the people questions and give out orders.

I hadn't seen the League's official forces in action before, and today it appeared to be the same case. Again, they just showed up after I did all of their work.

I had already told them my side of the story, and had this confirmed by Sabrina. But I still couldn't leave the area until the 'investigation' was done. Now, that might sound impressive, if it wasn't for the fact that the investigation consisted solely of asking what the fuck happened and putting tape around the broken artifacts. As if they were big band aids that would heal all the damage.
They had taken away all my stuff as well. 'For investigation'. I really wanted to tell them to fuck off and investigate my nuts, but instead I followed along with all the orders like the good civilian I am.

Sabrina was allowed to make phone calls, and was exercising her right to do so very aggressively. She didn't look too happy and kept pacing around.

I turned to the Kirlia. She appeared to be very concerned.

"So, you think now would be a good time to talk?" I asked her. "Because I am really curious what your train of thought was."

Luna shrank and innocently tried to look at the floors. That might have worked and looked innocent if she hadn't ripped out that wall. {I just thought-}

"That leaving me alone while you knew I was up against a dangerous foe was a good idea?" I interrupted. "Because honestly, that idea was brilliant."

{I saved you!} Luna's eyes flared red with passion. {If it wasn't for me being there you would have died.}

I doubted that. Lovesick supposedly avoids killing people. Though, at that point she might have forgotten all her reasoning and actually have tried to end my life. Who knows.

"If you were just there, I wouldn't need to be saved."

Luna folded her arms in front of her chest. She tried to look angry I assumed. {If you just avoid situations like these you would have been safe all along.}

I glanced around, subtly making sure that no one was listening in. The cameras in the exhibit had been destroyed by Lovesick's dramatic entrance, and so far it seemed everyone was too busy with their own shit to pay attention.

"This is about the festival, isn't it?" I mouthed.

{It's about keeping you safe.}

I sighed. "I need to go there. And today, I needed to help Sabrina. You can't expect me to be kept inside, away from any harm." Also, it was not even her job. She wasn't my mom or something. If I wanted to do something insanely stupid, it was in my right to do so.

{And just like today you will risk your life, needlessly?} Luna asked sarcastically. {What good can messing with forces we don't understand possibly bring?}

"We don't understand anything," I agreed. "But unless I face those dangerous forces head on, I will remain in the dark. And the next time something happens, I can only react. And after everything I've gone through, I don't want to be the one who reacts and survives anymore."

Luna watched me with big watery eyes. Her voice lowered. {Why? When could you just spend your days having fun with us instead?}

"Because I need answers desperately, we both know I am not normal and Fate won't let me restl," I explained. "There's so much I need to know and learn about both myself and the future. And just the thought of blindly moving forward without knowing a single thing..." My nails dug into my palm. All the disasters that had happened so far. All the troubles yet to come. "That thought is just unbearable. I love you and the rest of the team dearly. And I would never force any of you to do anything against your will, but if I have to, I'll pursue that knowledge on my own."

Not knowing anything was becoming more and more frightening to me. With every passing day, my meta knowledge becomes increasingly useless. And the world around me has proven to be far more complex than I originally thought. Also, there's this thing about the world potentially ending. Multiple times.

I need to grow stronger. I need to find more answers. I need to be more active, I can't just wait for the next bad thing to happen and hope I can deal with it.

Luna stared directly into my eyes. And past them. I could practically feel her scorn over my inner emotions as if they were an open book.

I didn't bother hiding anything.

I gave her everything. My selfish desire to know what happened to me, the desire to matter, my fear of this world ending with just a mere thought from a Legendary and my desire for greatness.

Luna closed her eyes and exhaled. She opened them again.

{And you think Alamos Town will bring you the answer?}

I grimaced. "Ask me again after the Festival. I promise, it will be worth it."

It has to, right?

{Then you should do everything you can to stay alive!} Luna suddenly teleported. She reappeared right in my face. Her red shining eyes were only centimeters away from mine.

{Promise you'll do anything to stay alive! No matter what. Even if it means leaving me behind-}

"Wh-"

I backed away but Luna pulled herself closer. Fucking freaky. {If you truly can not stray off that path, then you should at least promise me that.}

"Promise you what?"

{That you'll do anything you can to stay alive. Even if it means you have to leave the others behind.}
I wordlessly gasped, trying to find the right words, any words, to spit out. {Anything! Even if it means killing other human beings and Pokémon.}

"You can't just-" I muttered.

{Promise me. Or I'll leave right here and now!}

She wasn't lying! Holy shit. I've never seen Luna this sincere before.

"I promise! I'll do anything to survive!"

Anything, within my moral and realistic boundaries.

Luna carefully studied me, I could see the gears in her mind turning, trying to find out if I was speaking the truth or not.
Luna slowly backed away. Keeping her eyes affixed on mine. {Then I promise to not abandon you ever again.}

I stared at Luna. Again, unsure of what to say.
Luna smiled sweetly. {Glad we got that out of the way.}

I forced myself to remain calm, both for the sake of keeping up appearance and because Luna could read my emotions and I didn't understand what she was getting at a single bit.

Like, I am already doing everything I can to survive, right?

"Yes, I am glad we talked this out like adults." I said.

Awkward silence followed. I didn't really know what to say or to do, and considering I wasn't really supposed to leave my spot I could only really sit around.

I tried to draw up a few schedules in my mind for the coming days. See what else I could cram and get done before the Alamos Festival. Hopefully, a lot of extra training.

Sabrina was done with her phone call and marched towards me. She didn't look all too happy, but on the other hand, she rarely ever beamed.

"Ah, wrong number?" I joked when she finally put her Pokédex away.

"No," Sabrina replied dryly. "Just tidying up some loose ends, now our lovely target got away."

"With the Orb."

"Yeah yeah, with the Orb." Sabrina hastily added.

I was still convinced she didn't care about the Orb at all.

"So, are we free to go?" I asked Sabrina.

She frowned. "Why wouldn't you be? You're with me."

"They wouldn't let me leave until I got permission from the League." I pointed at the exit which was guarded by a buff-looking Ursaring and an equally masculine man.

"Come, take my hand." Sabrina pulled me up and dragged me through the room, past all the blockades and people blocking the way. Luna teleported onto my head and seated herself there.

With Sabrina's help I wasn't stopped even once. Either people recognized her, or her focused gaze was enough to keep all the questions at bay.

We finally reached the guy blocking the doors that led to the exit.

"Hold on," The guy pushed out his arm to stop me from passing through the doors. "The blue one isn't allowed to leave yet."

"He's with me." Sabrina stated.

"You are free to go," The man gave me a serious look. "But we are dealing with a high-profile criminal attack here. We can't just have people entering and leaving the scene."

"He works for me. Just undercover." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I can vouch for him. He helped me today with fighting the thief."

I didn't bother saying anything.

The guy hesitated. He looked at Sabrina, at me, and then at the Pokémon riding on top of my head.

"Fin-"

"Hold it!" A voice cut through the noise and stopped Sabrina dead in her tracks. With a weary sigh, she slowly turned around.

I followed her tired gaze and instantly understood why she didn't seem too happy. I felt practically the same as her, but most likely for entirely different reasons.

Walking towards us, fully in business suit attire, was a man I had hoped to avoid for a long time.

It wasn't that hard to realize who he was. If it wasn't for his pointy short-cut grey hair, or his sharp jawline, then his eyes that were ready to murder someone would have tipped me off immediately that this guy was up to no good.

I had met him before, very briefly. I doubted if he remembered me.

Back then I hadn't thought much of him. But now I've been here for some time and after having seen the stuff happening down at the Red Orphanage. This guy terrified me.

This was the guy who thought torturing Pokémon and turning them into monsters was okay.

Good thing Midna was not present or she might have murdered him on the spot.

I tried to subtly move Sabrina between myself and the guy coming towards us.

He was traversing through the chaos the same way Sabrina had, but without any of the grace or subtlety. He wasn't pushing people aside, but he seemed to carry such a presence that the people automatically stayed clear off his path.

The man came to a stop in front of us. Giving me the chance to see him up close.

He was tall, that was the first thing I noticed. He towered above Sabrina and looked down on the Psychic with silver colored eyes. His lips were thin and pressed against each other tightly, almost as if they were stitched together.

He wore a light grey suit that looked extremely expensive, though I couldn't pin down why exactly.

{Is this the guy?} Luna's voice rang through my head.

I sent through a certain emotion I assumed she would understand. Fear.

"My name is Cyrus Steels." He introduced himself, without any of us even asking. "Correct me if I am wrong, but you are the famous Sabrina, right? The one responsible for all of this mess?"

He waved around.

Personally I thought that calling it a mess was an exaggeration. Nothing a day of clean-up couldn't fix, might even bring in some donations.

"That's indeed me," Sabrina replied, smiling through her teeth. "I am here on behalf of the Hunt, what brings you here?"
The question was phrased rather innocently, and although both were smiling, the hidden hostilities were very noticeable. Sabrina bit her lip slightly and Cyrus's eyes twitched a little.

"As you know," Cyrus answered, "The Cyrus Foundation funds lots of museums and other cultural hotspots in Sinnoh. As this museum's head sponsor, I immediately went to check on the damage. To see if everyone and everything is okay."

Unspoken were the words: I went to see if you fucked up anything.

Also, did he say he basically owns this museum?

"Well, there are no casualties and only minor injuries," Sabrina stated matter of factly, "and I am sure you'll be thrilled to hear that only one artifact was stolen."

"Which one?"

Sabrina shrunk. "The Lustrous Orb."
For a brief second, I really thought Cyrus was going to turn Sabrina to dust in a burst of rage. But his mask slipped on fast enough for me to have imagined that anger in his eyes.

"How?" Cyrus asked with a low voice.

"You can read the reports?" Sabrina suggested.

"I want to hear it from you yourself, tell me everything."

"There's not much to add." Sabrina shrugged. "I got a vision of the Orb being stolen by a Team Rocket Executive. I made a move to intervene but I failed. Now the Hunt will look into this matter."
Cyrus waited for several more seconds before realizing that Sabrina was done with her report. She really didn't look like she wanted to add more if she could.

"That's all?" He asked perplexedly.

Sabrina shrugged again, twirling a hair lock around her finger. "Yes."

Silver eyes wandered over Sabrina. She didn't look away and met his glare head-on. Unfortunately, he suddenly realized I was present. His eyes moved over from Sabrina to me.

"We've met before...right?" He asked, with uncertainty.

"-yeah, once at Lake Verity," I said, really not liking the attention directed towards me. I could feel Luna's anger boil inside her from atop my head.

"What are you doing here?"

"I recruited him," Sabrina laid her hand on my shoulder. "I asked his help when I foresaw the Lustrous Orb being taken. I hoped his special abilities would have given me a little edge."

Sabrina protected me! Hurray.

"Special abilities?" Cyrus narrowed his eyes.

I'm not a Psychic, but my senses told me Sabrina nearly spilled the beans.

"I am an expert at anti-Pokémon and human combat," I lied. "That's why Sabrina thought that I could give her an edge. Sadly, Lovesick got the better of me as well."

"Indeed." Sabrina weakly added, realizing her fuck up.

"...Interesting." The man got closer to me, almost in my face, practically sidelining Sabrina. "So you are the one," Cyrus murmured after taking a very close look at me. "I heard you fought Lovesick in person?"

I grimaced and pointed at my knuckles. "Got her good in the face as well. Sadly, I couldn't stop her from taking the Orb."

"No, no no," Cyrus' voice softened. "You held your own against an international terrorist. You lasted in a fight against a freakshow like Lovesick."

Sabrina was glaring daggers from behind Cyrus' back.

Now his gaze was making me more uncomfortable, I wished he would go back to glooming. I felt Luna's anger almost radiate heat from atop my head. Sabrina noticed it as well, and shot the small psychic a cautious look.

"Dust WIldfire was your name right?" Cyrus asked. "I am interested in seeing more of your talents. If you are interested, I am sure I can find you a job that pays better than whatever you are doing now."

Did I just receive a job offer? From Galactic?

"Thanks?" I said carefully. "That's a really generous offer but at the moment I am not looking for work. I only helped Sabrina as a favor."

"I see." Cyrus said, raising his chin and grinning a fake overly polite smile.

He pulled a business card from his pocket and reached it out to me.

I took it.

"For later," Cyrus said. "If you ever change your mind, I could use your talents."

"...Sure." I tried to make it sound like I wasn't ever going to call that number. Even if he wasn't an omnicidal maniac, I wouldn't have considered it. Being around him just makes me feel nervous.

Cyrus took a step back and turned his attention to Sabrina. "I trust that any information regarding the Orb's whereabouts will be reported to me?"

"It's now under the jurisdiction of the Hunt." Sabrina shrugged. "I don't know."

"I see," Cyrus glanced at his watch. "Well, thanks for this enlightening conversation but I am afraid I'll have to divert my attention to other matters. Good luck with the investigation." He nodded at Sabrina. That last part was probably sarcastic.

"And maybe I'll see you later." He nodded at me.
And with those words, he turned around and pushed went back to where the fuck he came. I don't think the exit was that way at all.

"We are leaving," Sabrina said. I thought she was talking to me but the statement was directed at the guy guarding the door.

I had completely forgotten about him. Man, this entire conversation must have sounded so weird to him.

Seeing his nervous glance. He realized that he was most likely not meant to hear any of that.

"Please?" Sabrina asked the guard gently. A purple hue flickered around her eyes.

"S-Sure!" He pushed the door open. "Move it Dunkins."

The Ursaring named Dunkins moved aside as well.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Sabrina offered me her hand.

We left the chaotic room behind and were met with an empty hall. All the art pieces had been removed and instead, the place was stuffed with important-looking equipment.

The silence of Sabrina's bad mood was enough to fill the entire room. Her eyes were thunderous and my psychic senses told me she was boiling inside.

"So," I asked, trying to set the mood. "Who's that Cyrus guy and what is his deal?"

"He's an entrepreneur," Sabrina answered. "You don't know him?"

"I thought he was a comedian." I joked.

She sighed. "His company, Cyrus Industries, is the cornerstone of Sinnoh's industrial sectors." She grimaced. "If you buy anything in Sinnoh, he will most likely have some part in it. Because of his involvement with Sinnoh's economics, that guy's opinion is very important to the League."

Ah, glad to see lobbying is still a thing.

Also, how did I not hear about this guy before? This isn't at all what he did in the games, right? Galactic was supposed to be some energy company. Nothing else.

"You don't seem to like him." My inner psychologist said.

Sabrina's face darkened. With a whisper she said. "There's something wrong with him. I can't tell exactly what it is, but his presence…"

She shook her head. "Don't call him if you value anything in life."

"Wasn't planning on doing that."

"Besides, working with the Hunt is much more fun." She added with a wink.

"Again, wasn't planning on doing that."

We reached the exit of the museum.

Several vehicles were parked outside the exit. A giant Staraptor with a saddle on its back was sitting on top of the roof. That's something you don't see everyday.

"Well," I couldn't help myself. "I learned quite a lot from this museum."

"Ha ha ha." Sabrina pretended to laugh.

We left the museum behind, walking past the cars and the small crowd that had gathered outside.

The road we walked was, just like this morning, devoid of life. It was as if the town had fallen asleep again.

I looked back at the Eterna Eternal History museum that had grown smaller in the distance.

A small bird Pokémon flew up towards the giant Staraptor and carefully approached it. The big bird itself only gave them a passing glance, before fixing its eyes on the setting sun.

We passed through a small flower park.

"So, want to discuss strategies and theories with me?" I asked Sabrina. "Luna and I need to check up on Midna and Fay but after that we can find a nice place for dinner and discuss the aftermath of today?"

"I can't."

I came to a stop.

"Eh, what?"

"I need to go back to base," Sabrina turned her gaze to the Staraptor on the roof. "Now that Team Rocket has made a move, Galactic will most likely follow with one of their own. We'll have to prepare for the next few missions and…"

"Just say no if you don't feel like it." I said.

Sabrina and Luna shared a look.

{She isn't lying.} Luna telepathically shared.

"I literally can't stay right now," Sabrina said. "I am on a timer, Blink should teleport me back any moment now."

Blink, the teleporting Slowking. That dude had both the power to long-distance teleport, and to long-distance cockblock.

"What about the language thing? I still need answers." I tried. Honestly, I wasn't even sure why I brought it up. It was something important that completely slipped my mind after Lovesick showed up.

"What about the language thing?" Sabrina asked.

I tried to find the right words to formulate my question without revealing my extradimensional origins. "The weird mirror stone at the museum, why could I read that? What language are we speaking? Why did that Orb knock out everyone but me?"

Sabrina frowned. "I had actually hoped you would be able to answer those questions." She narrowed her eyes. "But you claim to have no clue either."

"I don't know anything about that, I swear."

Sabrina touched her chin. "Well, you appear to be fluent in at least 4 languages."

"I am what?"

Sabrina smiled. "My last sentence was spoken in Galarian, with an accent. You replied, in the same language, using the same Northern Accent."

I blinked, almost losing balance. My head started to spin and a slight searing headache was edging on my mind.

"...How?" I muttered. Feeling extremely conscious of my own voice.

Sabrina shrugged. "Maybe we can figure that out next time?" She glanced at her phone.

"Or, you could just answer my messages." I rolled my eyes.

"You keep sending me those weird images!" Sabrina's voice suddenly rose.

"They are called memes, don't worry. You'll understand them soon enou-"

Sabrina was gone. Flashed away. Leaving behind a patch of trampled grass and more questions left answered.

I pondered in silence for a good minute.

{And she is gone.} Luna said. She teleported off my head and reappeared in front of me. {So, did you finally get the answers you wanted?}

"Only one." I said. Still looking at the spot Sabrina stood only seconds ago. "But now I have even more questions."

{Will it ever end?} Luna sighed. {This quest of yours for the truth?}

"I don't know." I answered truthfully.

Maybe Alamos Town would hold the final puzzle piece. Or maybe it would reveal an even bigger incomplete picture.

"Let's get Midna and Fay." I said.

In the distance, the Staraptor flapped its wings.

A/N What? I can't split an arc into two parts and make a part 2, heh? Attack on Titan got away with it, so I should too. Besides that, I thought it might be more reasonable considering Arc 5 would be way too long in comparison with the other arcs. Anyway, I hope to shake things up this arc. I think I am in the right headspace and finally found the time to write this damn thing.

On the other hand, I just stole a ps3 so I might have to reschedule a lot of stuff.

Ah well, who needs sleep anyway?

Thank you all for reviewing and favoriting and reading and stay around and shiz. We just reached 5000 reviews!

Reviews:

Lin Starfire: Thanks for the kind words! Although I disagree with this being flawless I am thrilled to know you've enjoyed it!

Shadyxlr: I hope a good direction.

TheHarsh:

bro it's been too long without some lowkey Pokémon battle where he wins with some fancy tricks that are fun to read.

A: Well one Gym challenge is certainly on the horizon.

Loveless

A;¯\_(ツ)_/

Well that's it for the reviews. Don't want to spoil too much after all ;-)

The chapter is over. You may rest now.

-CaptainPointless-