The sun scorched the buff sand of Eclo Canyon, burning the soles of Wes' feet more than before, only this time he felt the burning all over his body – his knees, his arms, elbows, hands, shins – all over where the sand touched it felt like bores in his skin. But the most excruciating was the heat from the sun intermixed with the heated sand that flaked into his wounded back, where his injuries were most severe. Wes again fell to the floor out of breath, cowering, covering his head with his bruised arms, as the long-braided leather snake whip penetrated his skin once more. He tried to cry out, and opened his mouth to scream, but he was voiceless. He could not escape Gonzap's wrath. He couldn't see but he knew he was bleeding from the welts and cuts caused by the steel-ball on the butt of the whip. His punishment was most heavy this time, with the weighted braided leather, eight feet in length and an inch thick that easily lifted the flesh from his back. With each lash he could feel the tiny particles of metal set in the tip. If there was a God, He would surely bestow His mercy and let him die under its blows for his foolishness self-righteousness.
He could hear his Eevee cry out as they witnessed the beating.
Wes felt two barbarous hands remove his arms from around his head and roughly pick him up. No sooner had he been picked up that he felt the whip hit him across his face, opening up a long ugly gash across his cheek.
In agonizing pain, Wes flopped onto his belly clawing at the ground trying to crawl away, but the unrelenting sting of the snakewhip stayed with him. He cried out as he felt a sharp kick in his side knocking him straight into a wall of one of the cliffs surrounding the base. He grasped his stomach firmly as he felt the presence of his boss above him. He weakily looked up to see him standing above him, a grim and savage look on his face.
"You worthless ungrateful maggot! You dare defy me?!" he yelled as he whipped the young boy again.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Wes cried out as he felt Gonzap land a powerful punch across his face.
"Sorry? Boy, you think sorry is enough to cover up your actions?!" he said as he kicked Wes in his side. "Do you have any idea what you've done?! What you've cost us?! The time you've wasted! How much you've set us back?!"
Wes struggled to see as his tears blinded his vision. He struggled to get up on his knees. "I'm sorry…I…I didn't mean to –" Wes was cut off as another kick in his stomach sent him skidding across the dirt.
"Oh yes you f-king did! Sorry don't mean nothin' to me, boy. Lying piece of shit!" Gonzap sneered.
"Gonzap…I…I didn't want to –"
"Shut up!"
Wes instantly began cowering again as the large man approached him once more.
"I told you this was a grown man's business before you signed up, didn't I? I warned you on several occasions, didn't I?!" he bellowed as he whipped Wes right across his back, causing the youth to fall helplessly to the ground once again.
"You think that just because you're 10 that you're exempt from all the consequences following your actions? Huh?" he said as he delivered another powerful blow into Wes' side causing him to curl up in a fetal position pain. "You're just a fellow worker to me just as Wakin, Biden, Agrev, and all the other grunts are!" he bellowed as he kicked Wes again. "I own you! You don't defy me! You don't disobey me!" he said as he slashed the snakewhip directly across Wes' back.
Wes cried out in pain as he tried to crawl away once again from this demented man's wrath.
"You going somewhere, boy?"
Wes struggled to get to his feet as he started run. He was unsuccessful as both Biden and Agrev roughly grabbed him and slammed him into the cliff wall, causing him to scream out in pain.
"Big mistake, boy," Gonzap said as he began approaching Wes.
Wes heard his Eevee cry out as they desperately tried to escape Wakin's hold on them. He stood off to the side, clutching them by their tails as he restrained them, following his orders.
"Shut up!" Gonzap yelled as he stared at the mammalian creatures.
"Gonzap, Leader, what should I do with them?" Wakin asked.
"Keep them there. I want them to see their trainer suffer for his insolence." He said as he once again began approaching Wes.
"You little shit," he said as he snapped his whip, "Trying to leave was a big mistake."
Wes looked up in horror as he saw Gonzap lift the whip high above his head. "And releasing those pokémon was damn near a death wish."
Biden and Agrev stepped back. He heard his Eevee scream as they looked on at the display.
Withering in pain, Wes started to holler.
"Please, Gonzap! Please! I'm sorry!"
Wes' plea fell on deaf ears as he saw the whip begin to fall as it got closer.
"No, Gonzap! Please! Please! No more! Please!" he shrieked.
Team Snagem's leader struck him harder with each determined descent of the whip. Wes gave a piecing scream as the whip came down even more powerful than before. His back erupted in ineffable pain, as if a dozen mines exploded on his back. Wes shrieked and wailed until his voice left him again. Each slash of the whip against his flesh took more breath out of his lungs and away from him. He laid there on his stomach, unable to resist any further.
Wakin grimaced as he witnessed his boss' continued onslaught against Wes. Of all the punishments he had ever imposed, this was the most gruesome and gut-wrenching. It turned his stomach to watch. But there was nothing he could do at this point.
Gonzap hollered as he lashed Wes one final time. He heaved as he felt his anger fan out across his chest and throughout his body. He didn't know if it was the heat of Orre's sun baring down on them in the canyon or his own rage that had him sweltering. But if didn't calm himself soon, the spike in his blood pressure and cardiac arrest would do it for him.
Exhaling loudly, Gonzap straightened up and glared hatefully at the young boy laid out before him.
"You'll receive the rest of your punishment later. Agrev, Biden. With me now. Wakin, scrape that shit off the ground and make sure he's alert in a few hours."
"Yes, Sir," all three replied in unison. As Agrev and Biden followed Gonzap to the base, Wakin slowly approached Wes. He was still respiring asthmatically. His eyes bulged from their sockets, staring intensely at nothing but frozen in unbelievable shock and strain. His back, raw and riddled with numerous bloody streaks where the whip had cleaved him, to the point where he couldn't even discern where his flesh was, his back now a canvas of grisly crimson rivers that poured onto the hot sand on either side of him. And the sides of his body where Gonzap's boot struck him were bruised and blackened, the number of broken blood vessels indiscernible.
Wakin was thoroughly nauseated. And of course, he would be stuck with the cleanup. He was the only one of the grunts who actually maybe gave a shit about this pipsqueak, however little.
The Eevee in his hands cried and flailed violently. His compassion not completely lost, Wakin let them go and they dropped to the ground with a small thud. They tearily ran towards their trainer, burrowing themselves into him, themselves getting painted in his blood. The boy was unreactive and unresponsive.
Wakin grimaced once more. "Come on, kid."
Wes was nearly lifeless. He couldn't move. Every inch of his body burned intensely, his back feeling as though it was melting into himself. Everything around him seemed to fade away. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he could barely feel the ground underneath him. He felt like he was floating through a timeless space. White cloudy mists shrouded him as he sailed, before everything winked out to an abysmal blackness.
Wes' battered body laid placidly in Team Snagem's infirmary. His Eevee cried at his side as they remained curled next to him. The door to the infirmary squeaked opened as two individuals entered. The first was an old woman, her white hair braided down to her waist and covered with a pink petal oriental bandana tied around her head. She walked ahead of Wakin as she approached the bed in the rear where Wes laid. Her wrinkled hands flew to her chest and mouth as she gazed upon his violated body.
"Good Lord in Heaven! What have you done to this poor child?!" she cried.
"I don't need to hear your squawks, old woman. I just need to know if you can help him."
"I am a healer not a mage. I cannot perform magical feats or miracles. You have this poor baby nearly on his deathbed! I'm convicted to call Sheriff Sherles about what you heathens have done. This is child abuse!"
"Go right ahead," Wakin said, unfazed. "While you're at it, you can tell him about your dealings with Orre's underground and incarcerate yourself as well."
The elderly woman sneered.
"We're merely asking you to do your job. No one else has to get hurt."
"My Lord…If I didn't so desperately need this money –"
"I still hear your wretched squawking. Can you help him or not?"
"Humph." The old woman huffed. She once again peered down at Wes' maltreated body. She reached into her bag and pulled out a glass bottle sealed with a cork.
"Excuse me dears," she said to his Eevee. The teary female was hesitant to move, but as the male assured her that the woman was there to help, she painfully agreed to step away from Wes so she could tend to him. They both hopped off the bed but stayed close as they observed.
"Roll him on his side," she instructed Wakin. He moved to the opposite side of the bed and pulled the unconscious Wes forward towards him, further revealing his swollen and bleeding back.
Again the old woman cried. "Good Lord!…What have you done to this child?"
"Stop croaking old woman or we'll take care of you too!"
Shaking her head repulsively, she pulled the cork out of the bottle and held it over Wes and poured the transparent teal-hued solution over his body. The cool liquid reignited the fire in his back and Wes' face twisted in agony and he screamed as his injured body tensed in response.
"Shhh, it's okay, dear," the old woman soothed. "I know it hurts, but the ache will leave soon. The water in this medicine was purified by Sucuine itself, contains the nutrients of Blissey's egg and the healing properties of an Alomomola's special membrane."
As the soothing cooling water covered Wes' back, his body and face slowly relaxed. The woman stopped pouring the bottle and resealed it, with about half of its contents remaining. She then took various herbs and berries out of her satchel and mashed and mixed them together into a thick paste, covering Wes' back with the salve and spreading it on the gash across his face. Afterward, she wrapped his body heavily with gauze bandages and taped it secure with medical paper tape. She removed the bloodstained towels from under Wes' frail body and replaced it with a cool insulated cloth.
"You can roll him back now." She said as she took two more wine-sized bottles out of her bag, both containing the same solution. "Put these in the fridge and pour it over his injuries three times a day. His bandages will need to be changed every time as well."
"So, he will be fine?" asked Wakin.
"Fine? Are you joking? This may help speed the recovery and slow the bleeding, but there is no guarantee he won't succumb to his injuries. And even if he survives, this child is scarred for life. And that's not even counting whatever psychological trauma you've inflicted upon him now that he will struggle with for the rest of his life."
"Nobody was asking you, old woman," a voice grumbled from outside. She jumped as she and Wakin looked to see Gonzap standing on the doorway. "Is the boy alive?"
"Y-Yes," she stammered.
"Then you've done your job. Wakin pay her and send her on her way."
"Yes, Boss."
Huffing, Gonzap walked away.
Wakin reached into his jacket pocket and pulled several hundred bills out and handed it to the slightly trembling woman.
"Here's your payment. We will send for you again if we need you."
The elderly woman sighed deeply. "May our Lord have mercy on your soul for all the atrocities you've committed against this child."
"I'm too far gone to be saved, lady. No one's asking for atonement." He glanced back at Wes, slightly grimacing once more. "Dammit, kid." He grumbled.
Wes achingly slit open his eyes, barely visible. His vision was blurry, only seeing slightly differing shadows and colors. He watched as a shadowy figure took a folded paper from a bag and placed it under the pillow where his head rested.
"Kami sama ga mamoru youni. Kami no gokago wo. Odaijini." She bowed and prayed. May God protect you. May the protection of God be with you. Take care of yourself.
To Wes, the voice sounded as that of an elderly woman.
"Come, Ms. Abe. I'll show you to the nearest station."
Wes recognized that of the voice of Wakin.
"Mm. Alright."
Wes, enfeebled and helpless, watched stoically as the two shadowy figures exited the room. His Eevee jumped back on the bed beside him and both snuggled next to him, burying themselves on either side.
Wes continued to stare at the closed door, not really seeing anything in the dark room. His gaze then shifted slightly up at the full moon shining through his barred window as a lone tear leaked from his left eye.
"Look Granma! Another one!" cried a young girl with bright orange hair done up in pigtails. She pointed excitedly at the flowing river that ran past the town.
"Yes, Rui dear."' Beluh said quietly as she continued knitting on their silver sofa. "The mighty river and flowing waters are why our little lush forest village is so abundant with flora in this arid region."
Rui shook her head resolutely. "No, not the water Granma. The pokémon! Didn't you see it? Didn't you see how the Quagsire glowed yellow like a Volbeat's tail and the Treecko, the violet energy that surrounds it? It's all so beautiful! So many colors!"
"Rui, sweetheart, Quagsire do not glow yellow. It's possible you're seeing the reflection of the Chinchou and Lanturn's antennae. And the glow of the moon on the cooling waters may create shadows around a small grass pokémon like Treecko."
"No, Granma! They are glowing! I saw them! I'm gonna catch one to show you." She declared hopping down from the loounge chair she was kneeling on to look outside.
"It's more than too late for you to go out at this hour, young lady," an old man remarked as he entered the living room. He had bushy white eyebrows that nearly covered his eyes, a bushy mustache, and long flowing white hair that came down to his waist as well as a long straight beard. Streaks of black ran through his hair, beard, eyebrows and mustache, suggesting his hair may have once been black before it changed with age. He was carrying a tray holding two hot cups of tea and a small plate of Stantler-shaped cookies. A round Pikachu with dark brown eyes followed behind him.
Rui folded her arms. "But Granpa Eagun! I really saw them! They were glowing. They were happy and playful and –"
"Hoho, maybe that was your own youthful energy reflecting on them, hm? You are so much like your mother." He said as he placed the tray on the small table in front of his wife. He handed her one of the teacups.
"Thank you, dear," answered Beluh as she set her knitting tools down on her lap and took the small cup of tea and saucer from him.
Rui stomped her foot. "But Granpa –"
"Its too late to go outside now, Rui. But if you still feel up for it in the morning, you can come with me while Pikachu and I go to gather some berries and check on the townfolk."
Rui sighed heavily.
Eagun sat down on the sofa beside his wife. "Now, why don't you help yourself to some of these treats before Pikachu here devours them all."
"Pika! Pikachu!" his partner said as he jumped on the table.
"I guess so," she muttered as she walked up to the small table and sat down on the carpet crossed legged, eyeing the tray of cookies sadly while resting her face in the palm of her right hand.
"Why doesn't anyone believe me?" she muttered softly, but loud enough that her grandparents could hear her.
Eagun furrowed his bushy eyebrows. "Now, Rui, I don't want you to think we are not listening to you. But as we get older, we learn that the things we see may not always be what we perceive. And it is not a judgment on you at all."
"That's what you say, but nobody believes me. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there!" she cried. "Everyone here thinks I'm crazy!"
"Don't say that!" Beluh cried.
"Nobody thinks you're crazy, Rui." Eagun followed. "They think you're young –"
"And dumb." She finished for him.
"Rui!"
Rui sighed heavily. "I've lived here almost my whole life, and I'm still treated like an outsider."
Beluh and Eagun shared worried glances.
"Rui," Beluh began. "I know we don't talk about it enough…I know you miss your parents. We do as well. Losing our daughter to that blaze in Johto…It's been hard for all of us. Even though you were three when you came to stay with us, I know you still remember them even though you were so young. But Agate is your home as much as the one you had in Ecruteak City."
Rui slumped her shoulders and looked down. "Did Mommy and Daddy ever tell you they had visions? Or could see things others could not?"
"Not visions," answered Eagun. "They were as ordinary as anyone else. But they always remarked about how close you were with the pokémon there. How you seemed to see and connect with them more than anyone they ever knew."
Eagun stood up and took up his cup of herbal tea. "Perhaps what you see, Rui, is the very essence of the pokémon. Their purity, if you will. Pokémon after all are far more pure and innocent than mankind. Maybe you posses the ability to see them in a way we typically can't. Maybe you can empathize with them in such a way it feels like you can understand them on a deeper level. Your name does mean 'Tears of Affection' after all."
Rui looked up to her grandfather's Pikachu, who had already started wolfing down the baked goods.
"Empathy?"
"Everyone has different levels of empathy," answered Beluh. "It may lie dormant in a few where their actions seem cruel. Or it may be overflowing and abundant as the wide river here in the village. Your grandfather is foolishly trying to suggest you have the ability to somehow see a pokémon's feelings."
"I am merely saying our Rui is special, honey." He turned back to look at her. "Rui, what would you say about starting a pokémon journey?"
Her eyes grew wide. "A journey?"
"What better way to understand what you see with pokémon than to develop a connection with them and travel with them? It might help you understand and gain clarity in what you experience and maybe even answer a few of those questions you have that we can't."
"But, Eagun, she is much too young! She's inexperienced. She's never travelled before. She'll get lost! Possibly hurt!"
"Hey now, dear, no need to profess those negative fears into the air," he said holding his wife's shoulders. "She is nearly of age. She'll be ten in a few months. Let's go around town tomorrow as I suggested, Rui, and then maybe you and I can take a little trip around the region. You can see many more pokémon than just the ones here in the village. How does that sound?"
Rui smiled softly. "That sounds awesome, Granpa."
Eagun raised an eyebrow. "I sense a little sadness still flowing in you, Rui."
Rui let her hand fall from her face and straightened up her posture, taking a cookie from the plate on the tray. "I guess, I'm still just a little confused. I don't want to feel crazy. Weird."
"Weird is not a bad thing at all. How do you think your grandmother snagged a catch like me?"
"Eagun!"
Eagun chuckled lightly. "Whether the things you see are real or not, Rui, don't ever get yourself to think of yourself negatively. Weird is different. And being different is not bad. Whether you are different or not, you are still our beloved granddaughter."
Eagun collected his wife's and his teacups and Beluh resumed her knitting. Rui watch her grandfather's Pikachu scarf down several more of the Stantler-shaped cookies.
"Hey now! You better leave some for Santa, you old glutton," Eagun scolded his pokémon before exiting the room.
Rui watched Pikachu nonchalantly flip his tiny paw at his Trainer before going right back to devouring the cookies. As he did so, a magenta glowing aura surrounded him, only discernable by Rui.
Feeling the happiness and warmth emanating from her grandfather's impish Pikachu, Rui smiled softly, and her blue eyes glistened with hope. Even if it was weird, she liked that she was able to tap into what a pokémon was feeling. Maybe someday she'd be able to use this bizarre occurrence to help pokémon. She couldn't be sure. It was too weird. But it sure felt good to feel and share in Pikachu's joy.
A/N: Before anyone mentions it, I had this concept regarding Rui's powers before Life is Strange: True Colors was released and even in development. Since it is never explained canonically in-game why Rui posses her Shadow-seeing ability, I wanted to frame it in a way that she can read all pokémon's aura's and so because of that, she can detect the darkness of a pokémons's closed heart in Shadow Pokémon. I'll expand upon it more later but with the recent release of LiS:TC, I wanted to make sure I clarified this. Next chapter should be normal length.
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XyKPfan
