Been a while, neh? Well, lucky for ye, We're finally out of the forest and into the frying pan. Lotsa different kindsa things happen in this chapter, trying to remedy some things I've left unattended to in this story so far. Also, two new followers, that's big pal, so thank you, especially the one that somehow managed to stumble onto me before the rest of the PokeWars universe, I'm kinda curious as to how you managed that.

In other news, the nonsense finally came out, and I'd check it out and leave some reviews, there's a couple of real gems in there. Also, Nobodiies Hiiro and Janus have been going wild writing for their stories, so keep an eye out for when they start dropping new chapters. Random Omness is getting onto something in his new story, and it's shaping up to be something cool, so I'd check that out while you're at it.


Robert, Rui and I sat still in the clearing, Scar having left us behind to scout ahead as soon as the first human structure had come into view, some sort of dome atop a mountain. We sat silently, left to our own devices as we enjoyed the mid-morning fog. Rui had begun nodding off again, Robert appeared to be deep in thought, tapping mindlessly on his sternum as he did so, and I began scratching into the dirt with a stick, drawing haphazard people and pokemon.

Robert stood up suddenly, and I watched intently as he reached into his vest and tugged with a great heave, pulling loose a large metal plate and dropping it on the ground, a large blemish evident where it had been hit by swift the day before. Catching my gaze he shrugged, "It was uncomfortable, I think the swift actually managed to chip it. I'll put it back on when we leave."

I considered the plate for a moment, when I observed something odd, "It's chipped, weird."

"It's a scary thought," Robert agreed "who would have thought such a weak move could do that?"

"That's not it" I dismissed, "Swift is supposed to be a wave, not a particle, so why would it chip it? It should have burned through it like a laser or something."

Robert furrowed his brow, "Is it? I thought swift's thing is that it's never supposed to miss, so it can change directions and all that, a wave can't change directions like that, can it?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but was cut off, "Mmmmm, it's a wave alright. But it's also a particle." Rui yawned and stretched, "I think that the Union dex said it was a ray, but with a common move like that not everything is going to pull it off in the same way. It makes sense that some pokemon use it more like a wave while others use it more like a particle."

"Quantum mechanics?" Robert asked, seemingly surprised "It applies to pokemon?"

"Something like that." Rui responded, "I didn't really pay attention, and Orre doesn't really teach it in primary school, or even university, I think, but I thought it was weird during my journey and I asked my grandfather about it and he said something along those lines."

"What does your grandfather do?" Robert asked, "You've mentioned him a few times, but you've never actually said that he taught you backwards and obsolete languages."

Rui opened her mouth to respond to the slight… and then promptly stuck her tongue out at him. "He's an elder and a scribe in Agate, and the tribe there. He was a pokemon trainer a long, long time ago, and very, very strong one."

That did explain… not a whole lot, really. But given my lack of interaction with either of them, so wrapped up in my own problems as I was, I didn't know very much about either of them, despite travelling with them for… a week? Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal then.

Robert only shrugged, not thinking much of the response, and opened his bag, "I managed to cut up some of the magikarp earlier, but not much. Practically impossible without a filleting knife. Here." Robert reached out, a something wrapped in plastic in hand, which I grabbed and unwrapped quickly, finding a large piece of raw fish, rich with the telltale red of magikarp meat. I sniffed it cautiously, recalling that it had been a full day since Scar had speared the fish, but couldn't find anything wrong with it. Robert handed Rui a piece of her own, unwrapping it for her, and adjusting her grip so that she could hold it, but the minute he let go she almost dropped it in surprise. "Yikes, is this raw?"

I looked at her in confusion, "Yeah, is there something wrong with that?"

"I mean, you wouldn't eat any other kind of meat raw, right? Why would you eat fish raw?"

I smirked a bit despite myself, "You'll eat a rattata or two in one sitting, but no, raw fish, that's were you draw the line?"

Rui poked the piece of meat with her free hand uncomfortably, "You'll eat raw fish, but won't eat cooked rattata?"

Before Robert had a chance to respond, another voice interrupted us, "There is little risk of eating it as it is." We all diverted our attention, to the woods, finding the hulking form of Scar approaching through the trees. "There are no parasites in Johto, and the autumn rivers are cold enough. It is… not of good taste, but it will not hurt you."

Robert shook his head, "It tastes fine, you're just-"

"No." Scar interrupted, "It is not that, it is…ah, Rui?"

"It's a cultural thing." Rui chirped, "Kind of hard to explain, raw food is kind of like an insult, kind of like a curse. Bad luck, and all that." Scar nodded in affirmative, but Rui had already diverted her attention to the fish again, sniffing it cautiously, and then taking a large bite out of it, shuddering as she chewed, "So what did the park look like?"

"Good enough to camp for the night." Scar responded, "Empty, oddly so. There were signs that people were there, but it appears that they already left, heading in the direction we are. A few rattata lagged behind, but they were easily driven off."

That got my attention, "What does it have? Power? Water?"

"No power." Scar shot down, "But maybe water, if nothing else, we can find water that was left in the pipes- but it was an amusement park- there is some food most likely, and it is shelter. There is a cold wave coming, it is better not to test this forest further. We have overstayed our welcome."

Robert said nothing, having not looked at Scar throughout the entire exchange, and only inserted his plate back into his vest. Scar sought to break the tension, "It is good you have cut the fish, may I have it?"

Robert looked up at him slowly, with distaste evident on his face, "I didn't manage to cut up much more. It takes too long without a long fillet knife."

"The body then, I am not picky."

Robert wrinkled his nose and reached into his bag, pulling out a very large piece of plastic, and unwrapping it, revealing the magikarp, with about half of it's right side picked bare to the bone, and with a heave he tossed it at Scar, a somewhat pitiful attempt that fell short by several feet. Scar seemed to be unbothered, and knelt on the ground, shoving a hand into the part of the fish that was not picked clean, and fished around briefly, leaving me to watch in a sort of morbid fascination as the skin swelled wherever his hand passed. Without warning, Scar yanked his hand out, holding in it a small thin giblet, and tore it into thirds, and offering them- "The liver. It is more tasteful, and healthier. Leave the rest."

Robert looked at the offered fish cautiously, and then glanced between Rui and I. I grabbed the offered food and swallowed it quickly, and that seemed to be enough for Robert to do the same.

Rui was another story.

"I'm not hungry." Rui shuddered, "It really hit the spot, it was great, really."

"You will eat the liver."

"Maybe later, I can't eat too much to fast, or I might feel sick, you kno-"

Scar stepped forward, knelt down in front of her and slapped the giblet into her hand, "You will eat it now."

Rui opened her mouth to protest further, face twisted in disgust, but Scar interrupted her again, "If you act like a child I will feed you like a child. Eat your liver."

Rui gave the giblet an apprehensive squeeze, and then tossed her head back and swallowed the liver, no sooner had it passed her lips did she gag, and Scar clamped her hand against her mouth, holding her head still with his other hand, "Chew."

Rui scowled and did so, moving her jaw slowly with a small whine.

Scar then tilted her head back, "Swallow."

Again, Rui did so. Scar held her hand there for another moment before releasing it.

"BLAGH." Rui gagged, hunched over, and then began coughing, "It was bitter! And dry! And slimy! Ugh…"

"Eat it faster next time then." Scar lifted his hand from the back of her head, and the paused for a moment before withdrawing it. For a single moment I thought I could see his face shift beneath his bandages, and after a moment of hesitation he patted her on her head, and jostled her hair between her two pig tails, "You haven't eaten much recently. It is easy to put food in your belly, but harder to give it what it needs. A liver a week makes scurvy… weak."

Robert and I looked at Scar in surprise- the entire exchange was very much not Scar-like. It was…

For a brief moment, I recalled that cabin, that feeling that Scar forced on the room, that nebulous discomfort, the silence, that feeling a breath short of terror; and the question that started it all.

"You're not some kind of asshole father, are you?"

It seemed not, as odd as a sight as it was. To see the large, dirty soldier compelling a girl- well, young woman- to eat healthy food.

Some things never changed, even now.

Scar remained on his knees until Rui recovered from her disgust, and then helped her up to her feet. The large man looked between Robert and I, and spoke, any affection or care gone from his voice, "We should leave now. The place has not been searched completely, and we may still find things worthwhile before dark, if we do leave now."

I looked down the hill range, watching as the dome peeked out from the fog that rolled between the peaks. We would be crossing the peaks soon enough, to reach the building.

From where we sat, dirty and cold, it looked like a triumph of human ingenuity- large and impractical, visible even from where we were now.

What was it now?


The walk was again quiet, but there was something beneath the silence- the tense discomfort and wariness of whatever we were walking towards was still present, but it was less stifling. Instead there was an air of curiosity. I had wondered it before, and evidently, I hadn't been the only one.

'What was left?'

The path disappeared gradually, and the forest changed. The sprawling roots disappeared, their numerous knots disappearing into the Earth, and the half-alive shrubs were replaced by larger bushes and- to my surprise- short palms that grew up to my waist and stretched out across the dark earth. The sudden changes changed my excitement to unease, and I constantly looked over my shoulders, my eyes interrogating every leaf brushed by the wind, every falling twig, and every small misstep.

But Boo had been silent, so I was safe.

If I had been right to place trust in an apparition.

"Was this the way you took to get to the park before?" I asked Scar quietly as he simply walked through another only for it to whack me in the face on it's return. "It's a bit, well, inconvenient."

"No." Scar answered. "I climbed the hill to the North, but this path is easier, and safer, and…" Scar trailed off, and I noticed hat Rui bristled on his back, as she realized why Scar chose to inconvenience himself with every palm that he allowed to strike him in the face, and I realized why his choice was the correct one.

More rustling caught my attention to the right, and I turned suddenly, finding only empty palms. Suspicious I continued scanning the vicinity, and caught Scar doing the same, but I found nothing out of place, and if Scar did, then he chose not to speak about it, and resumed looking straight ahead clearing a path through the autumn jungle with his face.

The atmosphere was more uncomfortable though, and it showed in small ways. Rui rolled her shoulders and fidgeted, Robert pounded a fist against his body armor and coughed awkwardly, and Scar sniffed loudly, as if so familiar with danger that he could smell it approach.

'Maybe he could.' I chuckled a bit at the image- Scar as a growlithe, bandages and goggles and all, gruffly growling at anything and everything.

The chuckle earned me a few pointed stares, and I quieted. And Robert turned his eyes elsewhere, tracking something I couldn't see, and I caught Scar following his gaze, and suddenly Scar was gone, and Rui fell to the ground with a yelp. I stood there frozen, not sure what had happened.

Then the world spun, and I found myself flailing in the air as a shrill shriek split the air. When I finally hit the ground I continued to roll, away from the road and away from the tangle of green, brown, and gray that appeared to be fighting.

And by the time I rolled to my feet, six seconds later, Scar was standing over the broken form of some sort of large brown crustacean that reminded me of a scyther.

Scar raised the axe, and brought it down.

Crunch.

And again.

Crack.

And again.

Scrape.

And again.

Bang.

Scar paused, panting, and for the briefest moment his free hand traveled to his injured rib. Scar looked upon his handiwork, rendered into many, many small pieces, and then backed away, as if repulsed, and hissed. I approached the mess of body parts slowly.

It was an odd looking pokemon- or it was supposed to be- it looked like a rock type of some sort, maybe a rock/bug type? It was tall, with long arms tipped with scythes, long legs, and a triangular sized head…but it was made entirely out of metal and plastic; a machine.

"Okay, what?" I asked, feeling somewhat weirded out by the robotic pokemon, while Scar appeared to be almost offended by the mangled mess of metal. Thankfully, Robert seemed to have a better head on his shoulders.

"Calm down, think about. This is an ancient pokemon amusement park. What we have here is a kabutops made of metal. It's part of the attraction. What, did you think they'd have actual living, breathing, extinct pokemon?"

A bit of heat ran to my face to meet my embarrassment and indignation, but I was smart enough to hold my tongue- it did not matter that I did not recognize the ancient pokemon, it simply was what it was. I accepted that, and decided to move forward, and my foul feelings faded.

BANG

Scar's boot made brief and violent contact with the head of the machine, sending it flying off into the forests, to places unknown. Scar turned away from the remains of the machine, snorting, and stomped off, only barely pausing to pick up Rui with several muttered apologies before continuing to march away with indignation. Robert looked to me, his face carrying some confusion and ample curiosity, to which I could only shrug. There was something there, but it was none of our business, and I had no desire to unpack what would distress a man that had faced down a giant Ursaring with an axe.

"So, what did the kabutops look like, anyways? I've never seen one before." Rui asked, and Robert and I glanced up the road, finding the two to be further ahead than I expected, and we both jogged to catch up.

"Well what did you expect?" Robert replied, "They ARE called ancient pokemon for a reason, they all went extinct a long time ago."

'Didn't exactly answer her question…'

"Pretty big actually, I think it came up to my chest." I offered, "Think about a scyther, if it was a rock type."

Rui tilted her head to the side, any number of different, incorrect ideas passing through her head before she seemed to realize something. She muttered two words to Scar, who nodded.

'I'm tired of being left in the dark because these two refuse to speak common except as a last resort.'

And so, for the first time I asked, "Did you realize something Rui?"

Rui started for a moment, seemingly surprised, "Uh, the kabutops has a brown shell, long arms, and a triangle shaped head, right?"

Robert himself seemed surprised, "You managed to get all of that from that crappy description?"

Rui laughed- not one of her common chuckles or snorts- a sound more like chimes bristling in the wind.

"Calm down lovebird."

'Shut up.' I thought back. Really, she was quiet through the machine popping up, and now spoke up to say THAT? Not exactly what I had in mind when I asked for her help.

"It sounds a lot like a kind of bed time monster we had back in Orre. Old legend, you know, the kind that used to mean something, and mothers use to keep kids from sneaking out of bed at night."

"They tell such stories for a reason." Scar said. Rui looked as if she was going to respond, but bit her lip at the last second, thinking better of it.

Screeeeeeeeeech!

All of our heads darted up to the sound, watching as a large purple pokemon circled above us on large wings, unleashing unearthly shrieks as it did so. I stiffed, but this one I recognized- Aerodactyl- another long extinct pokemon, and so another animatronic.

Scar did not seem to care, and again, Rui tumbled to the ground, and again, I blinked, and somehow Scar had managed to wrench the creature from the air and proceeded to hack it into many small pieces with his axe, before settling down, and wrenching its head from it's shoulders with a grunt and a heave.

We encountered seven more animatronics that day, and Scar dropped everything to tear one to pieces with his bare hands seven more times.


"Now this, this is a park."

I was inclined to agree. The forest finally parted, the whole of the park could be seen. There were indeed two roller coasters, and numerous metal domes- like the one I had seen from the base of the mountain- dotted the park.

And yet it was all quiet and mechanical, like a cruel parody of what an amusement park should be.

A massive quadraped animatronic with a long neck that limped along in circles, and a large biped with a large head lay on its side, mechanically moving its legs as its head bumped into a tipped over cart of some sort. Kiosks were abandoned, trash lay in the streets where it had fallen, and rides contented themselves to lie on their tracks. Rattata appeared and disappeared sporadically, steering clear of the animatronics that meandered about, sniffing at trash, observing us, though Scar would open his bag to any that wandered too close, revealing the head of a kabutops animatronic, and the creatures would scatter to the wind.

"Where would be best to shelter?"

The question caught me off guard, was he asking me? I looked to Scar but as per usual, his face and body betrayed nothing, sternly facing ahead. I scanned about the park-the rides with their buildings were a certain no, there appeared to be some sort of water ride which could be good for water but not shelter, the domes could work, but they didn't seem to have many windows or entrances, and something about them seemed…off.

"That building, over there." Robert pointed towards the opposite end of the park- to a building that was old and faded, a two-story concrete block thing that sprawled over the opposite end of the park. Robert continued, "Concrete block is sturdy, and it doesn't appear to have any open holes, unlike some of these domes. The second floor gives us vantage points over the rest of the park, the stairwells will be difficult for the rattata to climb, and if they try, we can funnel them through them, and failing that, we can escape by jumping from the windows."

I glanced about the park, and saw that, yes, many of the domes had some holes near the top, where something or another tore through them, and some had long tears in their lower panels.

'What did that?'

Comparatively, yes, the concrete building was more intact- if dated and ugly. But even then…

"And your thinking?"

I turned, dragged back to reality, and taken aback. I scrambled for the first idea to come to mind, "This is an amusement park, so most of the buildings are made for amusement, not defensiveness. Nobody thinks a fortress is amusing, so go to the building that looks like it doesn't belong." I blurted out, and immediately regretted it. Robert, raised an eyebrow (and, admittedly, knowing that he could do so dropped my opinion of the young soldier), while Rui cocked her head at my odd logic.

"Regardless, the building will be our camp. Let us clear it, and then search for things of use to us."

Things got out of hand quickly.

Truth to be told, I had never actually seen Scar enter a building, and hadn't given much thought to exactly what he meant when he said 'clear'.

His first action that should have tipped me off was that he dropped Rui off at the door, and pushed her against a wall, instructing her to stay. A flurry of hand signals followed, and Scar placed a hand on the door that barred his passage- two doors side by side, cast from heavy metal, only pulling them would give entrance, and so pull he did- and the door flew open.

And then Scar was in motion, entering he leaned around the door frame pointing his rifle at the ceiling and then in either direction in the hallway. He then flew across the hall to the nearest door, attempted to open it, and after that failed he kicked the piece of wood off it's hinges, again aiming around the corner and entering, and after a few seconds he exited, and was again flying down the hallway in a green blur, I blinked, and he was gone, leaving only the echoes of his footsteps and several kicked in doors.

Robert grumbled muffled curses under his breath, forgetting the rest of us and running down the hallway after him. "Wait!" I yelled after him, but my warning was lost beneath the pounding of his footsteps. I felt a growl crawling up my throat.

"Why split up the group? NEVER split up the group. It's a bad idea."

"They should know better." I spat, "They do know better!"

"Uh Crescent?" I felt a tug on my sleeve, and remembered I still wasn't all alone.

"What." I looked to Rui who was mouthing words and pointing behind me.

'Oh no…' I groaned internally and spun, finding several Rattata inching closer to us, now that the constant threat of Scar was missing.

"Run."

The rattata pounced, running towards us, a quick count revealing maybe eleven in total, scrambling over one another in a frenzy, straight towards the door. Panicking myself, I threw open the door and grabbed Rui by the first thing I could get a hold of- her bright orange hair, and ignored her yelps of surprise as I dragged her through the door behind me.

The door slammed behind us, leaving us in the dark.


"Owwwww, what the heck Crescent?" My head was suddenly jerked to the right in the darkness and I yelped myself as I felt a strong tug on my ear. "Does that feel good?"

"That's my EAR Rui!" I protested, swatting her hand away.

"Really?" her tone inflected a bit here, betraying a hint of curiosity that made me extremely uncomfortable surrounded in the inky blackness.

Suddenly, I felt pressure on the top of my head, and felt something running through my hair. "Stop that," I squirmed and slapped the hand away, feeling my personal space seriously infringed upon.

"Oh don't be such a big baby, let me get a good look at you…and stop gritting your teeth, you'll wear them down like that." I managed to sit still for a minute as she continued to feel her way around my head, "Huh, I thought I felt that your hair was shorter the other day when you carried me, but I coulda have sworn it was longer before. Did Scar give you a haircut?"

"It's a long story, and this really isn't the time." My patience exhausted, I finally grabbed her hand and forcibly shoved it away from my person. "Stop that."

"Oh whatever…" Rui finally stopped her prodding, "Where are we?"

"Good question."

"Exactly, that's why I'm asking you." I felt something passing back and forward through the air between us, and figured she must be gesturing to her eyes, "Use those eyes, help me out."

"I would, but it's too…" I trailed off as a slither of light opened up in the dark, and I shielded my eyes briefly. When my eyes adjusted, I looked into the light, and saw…

I stepped back quickly in shock, bumping into Rui as I did so, and accidently knocked her aside. One of the rattata had managed to pull the door open slightly and had managed to squeeze its head through the door to prop it open.

Before my mind could process what I was doing, I pivoted on one foot and slammed my other foot into the door, slamming it against the things neck, causing it to squeal and squirm as it's eyes nearly bulged out of it's head. The same foot came down on the thing's skull, silencing it with a wet crunch as the heel of my boot came down, and then my leg extended, shoving the disformed mess back out of the dark, and pushed the door closed.

I froze, the wood of the door feeling cold to the touch. Had I done that? And so quickly? Not a week prior I had shuddered to put down a rattata nearly torn in half, but now the briefness of the event almost convinced me to believe it hadn't happened at all, if not for the stickiness of the floor.

'When did this become alright, let alone easy?'

"Uh…ow, what was that all about?" Rui's voice echoed in the darkness, somewhere below me, dragging me from my thoughts.

"Nothing much." I decided. "Rattata managed to get the door open, had to kick it out. Sorry for that."

"No worries, it's not the first tumble I've taken, can you help me up?"

"I would if I could" I assured, "But I can't see anything, no light."

"Oh, why didn't you say so? Give me a second…"

'I tried, over and over again' I thought silently, and suddenly a small flash of orange blinded me, forcing me to close my eyes. When I opened them again, I saw Rui sitting on the ground, holding a small lick of flame in her hand, "Help me up." She said simply.

"How are you doing that?" I asked, in awe.

Rui opened her hand slightly, revealing a somewhat ornate lighter, gold with unique engravings. "A lighter, duh."

'That is not nearly as interesting,' I berated myself mentally 'of course it was a lighter, what was I expecting? Magic?'

'Would these weird Orreans surprise me with magic?'

'Probably not, at this point.'

I shook away such thoughts and took her hand, helping her up to her feet with a grunt that I tried (and only partially succeeded in) concealing. Rui elbowed me on her way with enough force that it could not have been an accident. "You know, I think this is the longest I've ever heard you talk, well, except for mumbling to yourself." Rui said simply.

'Was that so?' I pondered. I hadn't made much an effort to speak, I realized, but with good reason, what was there to talk about? Oh yes, remember the Goldenrod contest? (No), remember the last baseball game? (also no), do you believe we will meet our ultimate demise today? (the odds were strong on that one, it was only a matter of time before something bigger than rattata or more plentiful than Ursaring showed up, and Scar could not save us). 'Why talk?'

I stayed true to such, "I suppose."

"You should try it more," Rui concluded. "You have a nice voice, and it would probably make you feel better if you talked to some living, breathing people."

An alarm suddenly went off 'Living breathing people? How much does she know?' I swallowed my panic, "What do you mean feel better?"

"It's not good to be stuck in your own head so much is all." Rui clarified, "Wes was like that too, well, even worse than you, really. I don't think I heard him say more than ten sentences in the first week I traveled with him, it eats at you. Sometimes just hearing your own voice can help you think about some things, really."

'Wes, Wes, Wes…who was he again? She's mentioned him a few times. A friend? A boyfriend?'

I looked at Rui again, looking at her as if for the first time. She was pretty, certainly, not beautiful, but definitely very, very pretty, even through all the dirt and grime she had picked up in the last few weeks, despite the pale eyes, despite the dirt dulling the vibrancy of her bright orange hair.

"Calm down loverboy, she's probably taken."

'Probably.' I agreed, "Who?"

"Oh, right, you never saw him at the camp, he was always working. You could say he's my knight in shining armor. This is his lighter actually, he gave it to me as a gift."

'That's fairly definitive, not the best time to get infatuated anyways.'

"Better luck next time loverboy…what kinda guy gets his girlfriend a lighter for a present anyways? What else does he give her? Compasses? Cigarettes? Knives?"

I tuned out the baseless speculation, "Speaking of, could you hand it to me, it'd make it eas-"

"No."

I looked down in surprise, Rui's face was flat and emotionless, but her knuckles turned white as she strengthened her grip on the lighter, and she pulled her hand closer to her, almost as if intending to shield it from me.

"Okay, okay, calm down." I looked up and down the hallway, not sure what to do. The lighter did little to illuminate the hallway, but even I could see that it was largely empty, with only a couple of chairs lining either side of the hallway, against the cinderblock walls, and some sort of skeleton propped up on a stand, reminding me heavily of the kabutops animatronic. "You know Scar better than I do, do you think we should just wait here by the door for him to come back?"

"…I don't know how much fuel is left in this lighter. You should at least try to find a window, or a light switch or something."

That at least, seemed logical, and began racking my mind for where the windows were. There didn't seem to be any in this hallway, so there must have been doors and rooms facing the outside of the building. I'd have to go right, down the hall, then right into a door, and look for a window.

And then, as if fate had been tempted by Rui's warning, the light flickered out.

"Rui, the light just went out."

Several clicks rang out in the darkness, "That's not good."

I groaned in frustration, 'figures'.

"Here, no worries, I'll just…" I heard Rui move in front of me, and then felt her grab my hand and place it on her shoulder. "Where do you think the nearest window is?"

"Room's on the right wall from here." I said, thrown off a bit.

"Alright, other hand on the right wall then." And she began shuffling forward guiding me along, leaving me embarrassed.

'Arceus, here I am, getting lead along by a blind girl.'

"Stop that." Rui said suddenly.

"Stop what?"

"Scowling. I can practically hear your face scrunching together. Do you want it to freeze up like that?"

I said nothing, and we shuffled along for a minute, Rui striking her lighter periodically, interrupting the silence.

Suddenly Rui stopped, and I heard her knocking on something that sounded an awful lot like wood, and I heard a door open, and we continued walking, and walking, and walking, and walking along the wall.

I heard some sort of scraping, and suddenly the room was awash in light. I squinted for a moment, and when I opened my eyes was greeted by the sight of Rui holding a chain for some blinds, having pulled them open for the window. Rui turned her head so she was facing me, "Is that better?"

"Yes, yes it is." I assured her, and removed my hand from her shoulder, taking in our surroundings.

'Interesting.' I noted. It was a small room with long tables stretching its length, upon which stood many apparatuses of varying complexity- scales, forceps, chemical reagents, some sort large desks with large plastic desks, strange yellow lamps, and more. Stools littered the room, and off to the walls there was a large row of various plants, while on the opposite wall had a rack covered with various lab coats and goggles.

"It looks like some kind of research lab." I informed Rui, who cocked her head, "What would a research lab be doing in an amusement park?"

'Very, very good question.' I thought, eying the plants, unlike any type I had seen before, "I don't know, looks like there's some plants here they were studying."

I glanced out the window, there was still perhaps two hours of sunlight left, but the Rattata seemed to have dispersed, their potential meal out of sight and mind, and driven elsewhere by their ravenous hunger, "I suppose we should wait here while Scar finishes storming the castle then?"

Rui tilted her head in consideration, "Probably. Ah, we should leave the door open, but I think it swung closed behind us, could you get it-" Rui paused, "Do you hear footsteps?"

I looked at her in confusion, and strained my ears, "I don't hear anything. Maybe it's Scar or Robert?"

Rui shook her head, "No, no. Scar DOESN'T make noise when he walks, and Robert is way too loud." Rui closed her eyes tightly, seemingly focusing intensely, "I think it's…" Rui's eyes bolted open quickly, and she finished her thought in a hurry, seemingly panicked, "I don't know."

The last time I had seen Rui panicked was when I picked her up during Scar's Ursaring fight (though, I felt it more keenly than I saw it, my legs trembled slightly at the memory), and I could not recall seeing her uneasy at anything so far.

'Something weird with it's gait? Quadrupedal maybe?' I asked myself. I approached the door cautiously.

"Something is taking care of those plants, you know?"

I paused and jerked my head back to the plants- they were clearly non-native, and clearly flourishing, despite being locked in a lab in the dark.

I walked briskly up to the door and swung it open, quickly scanning down the left of the hallway for trouble, and saw nothing.

Then I heard the heavy footsteps approaching from my right, very close, very heavy, pounding to the rhythm of a sprint.

'Oh no.'

My dread only had an instant to turn to panic before I felt something crash into me, then felt myself thrown into the door frame, heard the back of my head crack against the cold metal, and then saw only black.


The pile of mail had seemed unimposing, the result of several days of neglect in the pursuit of other projects, but easily attended and sorted. The paper upon the ink had weighed nothing.

And then I saw the symbol on the envelope, and suddenly the letter seemed to weigh a hundred times what it had, and my arms trembled and strained to hold it. Everything else crashed to the ground. I glanced about the small room panicked but calmed as I remembered I was alone- the other people that inhabited this place were on the other side of the city, the museum and the workshop respectively.

My hands shook as I opened the letter, and read the first line, "On behalf of the University of Goldenrod, we would like to congratulate you…"

I froze, and read the line again, and then again, mouthing the words.

The shock faded, but the surprise did not-I was not supposed to be accepted, I shouldn't have been, as things had been for me. They shouldn't have accepted me, couldn't have.

And yet, the paper with black scrawlings said otherwise

The second feeling I felt was excitement- I had beaten the odds, it was a boon, my goals, my fears, all these and more could move forward.

Then it ended in an instant.

The third feeling was dread.

I looked about the room I was in- the old furniture, the warmth, the ornate window, the paintings, the charcoal drawings, the smell of the sea, the small kitchen, and felt my anxiety swell. This was home.

This was not Goldenrod.

I had a similar letter, with a much different stamp- it would also serve my needs, not as well, but I would still smell the sea, feel the sun, hear the voices of people that truly mattered. The chapter wouldn't have to end quite yet.

'Burn it.' The words had been so clear and tangible I glanced about the room, forgetting I was alone, and not quite recognizing the voice that said it, and before I knew what had happened, I was standing over the kitchen sink, a lighter in one hand, the letter held just above the flickering flame.

'The other letter is cheaper, easier, closer. This letter you don't have the excuse to-'

'Excuse.'

A laugh.

'How foolish.'

The lighter falls.

A door opens.

I drop the letter in the sink as well, and spin on my heel to pick up the other papers before the person entering can see what I was doing, the footsteps are light, and familiar "I thought you'd be at the museum by now."

A laugh, like bells in the wind, "So did I, but I forgot my charcoal, and I can't stand around in there without my vice. I see your own work is going just as well."

"Better, actually." I banter back, "I can see every item with them arranged this way." I struggle to reach for an envelope out of reach, pain radiates around my shoulder in protest unexpectedly, causing me to hiss.

The girl approaches, and I drop my gaze, too ashamed to look her in the eyes, "You need to rest, don't strain yourself." Her voice is scolding, but her voice is kind, as she helps me to gather up the papers.

"I'm fine," I attempt to reassure, "It was just a tiny-"

"You. Will. Rest." The kindness and warmth is still there, but all pretenses were gone- this was not a request.

"Fine, fine." I relented, "I'll rest as soon as these papers are finished, allow my pride that much, at least."

That papers gathered, I walk to the small table and stand over them in a way that I blocked the kitchen. A few minutes and a bit of banter later, she is at the door, and then back out of it.

No sooner did the door close behind her did I rush to the sink and pocket the letter- it was not my decision to make- it was for her sake as much as my own.


Not sure how I feel about this one, like I said, tryna whole lotta different things here. So if one of you folks feel like giving me pointers or thoughts, well, that would be appreciated. An Orrean Ranger's guide for beedril should be up in one or two weeks, and if you're at all familiar with the ongoing trope we've had with them, well, it's bound to be something.