~ Chapter 34 ~
The Truth Revealed
"Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it. That's what someone once told me. As true as it is about many people I've met in my many years, it surprised me the most the first time I saw something like this happen before my eyes. When I first heard this quote, I once believed it was nothing but the pessimistic teachings of a cranky old hermit who had given up all hope in humanity and society, opting for seclusion instead of emersion. But when I saw it, witnessed it…with one of the most surprising people in the world…I couldn't help but feel the same. Shattered—my faith in that person was anyway—and betrayed. Even at my current age, I still find myself hurt by this truth—I suppose even I would rather run from it than face it, even now. Then again, something like this, who wouldn't?"
"Well, I'm glad to hear he's all right," said Professor Rowan with a pleased look on his face, "I'll be sure his mother hears this right away—she'll be back soon."
Alyssandra smiled thankfully. "Thank you, Professor," she said, "It's been great talking to you again, even though we just saw you earlier this week."
"Well, I'm always happy to speak with you four," chuckled Rowan, "How was Cycling Road? Did you go to the caverns beneath the route?"
Alyssandra nodded. "Actually, I wanted to talk about that next," started Alyssandra, "Something really weird happened down there."
"What do you mean?" asked Professor Rowan calmly, stroking his moustache.
"Well, we got chased by a Garchomp because Sam captured one of its offspring," explained Alyssandra in a hushed tone, "And well…Jeremy fell down, that's when he hurt himself, and as he did, Sam jumped in front of him and tried to protect Jeremy from the Garchomp, and right before the Garchomp attacked him, it stopped and started acting as if Sam was his best friend. Is this normal for Pokémon? That thing was huge, and ravenous, I didn't think they could just turn around like that."
Professor Rowan looked stoically at the nearby wall, this time stroking his beard into a pointed shape, something he always did when something troubled him.
Alyssandra had noticed this back during Sam's battle against Gardenia the other day. He stroked his moustache in thought or habit, and his beard when troubled. This must've been something big—or maybe she was just overthinking this.
"Well, I can't really explain it," said Professor Rowan, with a small smile, "Perhaps it was distracted by Sam's necklace? Some Pokémon are soothed by shiny objects."
"Do you really believe Pokémon to be that simple, Professor?" asked Alyssandra, not pleased with that response.
Professor Rowan chuckled. "I'm sorry Alyssandra, I don't have any precedence in this matter to back it up with facts or research," explained the Professor, "I wasn't there to witness it, and I have never heard of something like this before. I wish I could be of more help."
Alyssandra sighed, she really didn't expect much—well she did, but she was getting ahead of herself. She expected that just because Professor Rowan was an expert he had all of the answers; something she should've known was impossible.
"No, it's all right," she said, "I suppose it was a long shot anyway, besides—"
"Lyss! Guess who I just met at the dinner table!" cried Niya as she entered the call Centre.
Alyssandra turned around to face her but wasn't given the chance to answer as Niya responded regardless. "Professor Alexios! He's in there; he wants to see you and Sam! I told him Jeremy's out of commission right now so, he'll leave him alone…actually it seemed like he was most interested in seeing Sam—that reminds me, where is he?"
Alyssandra shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't seen him since breakfast this morning," said Alyssandra, "But is Professor Alexios still there?"
Niya nodded, but Professor Rowan, who coughed and looked at them with his eyebrow raised, cut the news of their former teacher's arrival short.
"Professor Markus Alexios?" asked the Professor.
"Yes, what about him?" asked Niya with a hint of concern.
"Well, I'm surprised he's still being called Professor," said Professor Rowan.
"He's working for some large company apparently," explained Alyssandra, "I don't know which one, but he mentioned that he was studying the creation myths of Sinnoh and trying to find evidence behind them."
Professor Rowan stroked his beard again in his troubled way, and then looked back at the girls with issue.
"What's wrong?" asked Alyssandra.
"He was discredited by the scientific community many years ago," explained Professor Rowan, "This was the type research that got him thrown out. He had his license and degree taken away and was denied research grants from all companies and educational institutions in the five regions."
"So, what are you trying to say, that he's a fraud?" asked Niya.
"Well unless he's been given back his license and degree—which he hasn't, by the way," said Professor Rowan simply.
Alyssandra looked back at Niya, and Niya back at her. "Do you think he has an ulterior motive?" she asked.
Niya shrugged. "I don't know but I'm worried now…do you remember how he disappeared after we saw him that day outside Oreburgh Gate?"
Alyssandra nodded, then added to Niya's theory. "He'd just been a few hours ahead of us, we should've seen him, but no one in Oreburgh had seen him. Not the Mining Museum, not the Pokémon Centre, not even any of the Hotels. It's like he was never there."
"What if he wasn't?" asked Niya, "What if he went somewhere else?"
"Well he did disappear for a long time until now," Alyssandra said, mulling it over aloud, "And he just happened to come in here after us…what's going on?"
Professor Rowan shrugged. "I'm not sure, but don't let the man know you're aware of this information," said the Professor, "If he knows you know…there's no telling what he can do. He's quite mad if I remember. Niya, go distract him. Alyssandra get your Pokémon and Sam, either of them might be able to scare him off."
"Hey! Aren't we big enough to scare him off?" asked Niya, "We're strong too!"
"He's a large man, you'll be nothing for him. Besides he has years of training experience that you don't," explained the Professor, "You won't be able to beat him."
"Then how can Sam—" started Niya, but Professor Rowan looked at her with his hard eyes.
"Don't argue just trust me! Go! Make sure Sam shakes his hand!"
Niya nodded and returned to the dining hall, while Alyssandra said a quick goodbye with Professor Rowan as she ran up to the groups' room.
She threw open the door and looked around, and it was only when she calmed down and looked thoroughly that she realized Sam was out on the balcony. She didn't want to seem too eager or scared, so she breathed deeply, calmed herself, and walked gently out onto the balcony to speak with Sam.
"Hey," she said softly, trying to not to worry him too much at once, "Jeremy's going to be okay, we'll be here for a few days though while he's healing. Niya was right, there was only a sprain and some bruising. He'll be in a bed and cast down in one of the patient rooms until he's healed. We can visit between nine and nine each day."
Sam nodded; he was bent over a thick, black leather-bound book that looked old and worn. He had a pen in his hand and was scrawling furiously on to the pages of the book. "That's good," he said simply, not looking up, still writing.
"What are you doing?" asked Alyssandra, as she sat herself down on the arm of the lawn chair Sam was using and tried to see what he was writing.
"I'm writing," said Sam, after a few more words he placed the pen between the two pages and closed the book, throwing it onto the footrest at his side. He looked up at Alyssandra and yawned. "I've been writing down every day of my life since I was nine. After my grandfather died, I started documenting things. I even wrote about my life before my grandfather passed on; my childhood, my early teenage years, and even our travels."
"Why?" asked Alyssandra, "That sounds so tedious."
"I want to publish it one day," he answered, "I want to be a writer, as well as Champion and Pokémon Master. Palmer's written several books in his lifetime, and he sort of inspired me to do the same. I want to pass on my experiences and values to other young Trainers who need advice. I'll be their Niya, only inanimate and not so much annoying."
Alyssandra and Sam chuckled. "Do it again!" they said imitating Niya, "Keep your Pokémon focused on their opponent! Don't show fear! Be strong and your Pokémon will be strong!"
They laughed together and Alyssandra almost fell off the chair chuckling. It was now or never, she needed to break the news to him. "Sam, there's something I need to tell you…Professor Alexios is a fraud. I spoke to Professor Rowan, he says he had his license removed and was discredited many years ago, so he can't be working for any large company. Professor Rowan says he's a little warped in the mind and…well, he's here now. He wants to see you, Niya, and I and we think there's something wrong with that now that we think about what the Professor said. Remember how he disappeared in Oreburgh?"
Sam paused silently, and then looked up at Alyssandra. "Is Professor Rowan absolutely sure?" asked Sam.
Alyssandra nodded. "He asked us to come get you," she explained further, but quickly, "He said to come get you because we weren't strong enough. He said grab our Pokémon just in case, and then he said you needed to shake his hand."
"Wait what?" asked Sam as he grabbed his notebook and returned to the room, with Alyssandra close behind him.
"He wasn't entirely clear why, or at all…but he said that we had to trust him, and that you had to shake his hand," said Alyssandra as she strapped on her Poké Ball Belt and handed Sam his.
"All right, I'll trust him," said Sam strapping his own belt on, "I don't know much about this, but I know Professor Rowan has never led me wrong, and he's always done right be us, so the least we can do is trust him. Besides, he probably knows more about the scientific community than us. Let's go, Lyss!"
Sam and Alyssandra dashed from the room and down towards the dining hall. Alyssandra held tightly onto Niya's Ball Belt, as they travelled. Finally, after dashing down the stairs, they reached the main hall, and skidded to a halt outside of the dining hall.
"Do you remember what to do?" asked Alyssandra nervously.
Sam looked down at her. "Are you serious? I shake his hand, how hard is that to remember?"
Alyssandra nodded and out of instinct grabbed onto Sam's arm tightly. "Right, let's go," she said.
Holding Sam's arm was helping her keep calm, so Sam said nothing. Together, the two of them traveled into the dining hall and as they reached the table, Alyssandra slammed Niya's Ball Belt down on the table, which Niya gratefully took and slapped on.
"Oh! Sam, Alyssandra, how nice to see you!" exclaimed the old Professor.
Sam scanned him over, and noticed he looked more gaunt and tired than before, and he looked as if he had been overworked for days on end. His beard was shaggy and long, and his hair was a mess, tied back into a rushed and messy ponytail. If Professor Rowan was telling the truth, Professor Alexios was proving it right now.
"It's been a long time," said Sam carefully.
"Yes, I know. My apologies for not meeting you in Oreburgh," said the Professor wiping his glasses and placing them back on the crooked nose of his, "I was busy, and didn't get a chance to meet with you."
"Funny," said Sam, "Because we checked everywhere. The Museum, the Hotels, the Pokémon Centre. No one had seen you, or even heard about you."
Professor Alexios scratched his forehead and gave a forced laugh. "What are you trying to say my boy?" asked the old man, "You don't believe that I was busy?"
"No, no," said Sam, "Not at all, I just…no you're right, my apologies. I'm just tired…can we make it up with a handshake?"
Sam extended his hand out to the man to take, and there was a small pause. Markus looked down at the hand and, after a brief moment of thought, reached out, warily and with hesitance, grasped it firmly and shook Sam's hand.
For a split moment, time seemed, to Sam at least, still, and what felt like a thousand voices shot through his skull, and into his hand, working its way into Markus's mind.
Markus gasped and grabbed his temple, pain surging into his mind. He let out a short scream, and all of the truths he had been hiding, the ones that Sam had just found out, began to haunt his mind.
Sam looked into Markus's eyes, and said simply. "You lied to us, and I don't know why you came here…I don't know who you work for…but your mal intent…I feel it now."
Sam soon realized, as he tried to give his own opinion, that it was not him speaking. Whoever was making these words come out of his mouth, and voicing them, was not Sam. These words…they weren't his, they belonged to someone else, one of the many thousands of voices from before—or maybe all of them.
Sam didn't know why, but he was confused, and scared, and had no idea what was going on.
Then, as quickly as it started, it was over.
Sam was standing in the same position as before, still hold Markus's hand, looking deep into his eyes. The two kept their locked gaze for a few minutes until Alexios broke it.
"Forgive me, all of you, I'm tired," he said with a faint smile. Age and exhaustion rushed to his face like blood, and he suddenly seemed so much older than he was, "Until we meet next."
And with that, Markus squeezed from the booth and walked, briskly, from the dining hall until he had left the Pokémon Centre entirely.
Sam sank down in the seat, his face still frozen, and pale as sweat dripped from his brow.
"What's wrong Sam?" asked Alyssandra as she looked at her friend with worry, "Do you need to rest? Or see a doctor?"
Sam shook his head. "No, no, I'm all right." Sam wasn't all right. In fact, he felt like vomiting, and he would probably have done it if he weren't in public. "I just…well, rest would be good right now."
"I'll take him," said Niya gently, "Here, let me help you walk—Lyss, go call Professor Rowan, let him know the Professor is gone. Tell him we're done, and we did what he asked."
Alyssandra nodded hollowly, and still watching Sam and Niya walked him from the hall, sighed heavily and walked towards the call Centre.
"What happened?" asked Niya after she had exited the dining hall and entered the entrance area with Sam's arm on her shoulders.
Sam shook his head weakly. "I don't know…just, I need to rest before I pass out for three more days—I'll explain after okay?"
Niya nodded and carried her friend up to their room. She was no better than Sam, but, not as pale. She was just as shocked and appalled by Markus's actions. His lies were uncalled for, especially since he was once so dear to her and her friends.
But what her father once told her suddenly rang through her ears. "Most men ignore a hard truth rather than face it,"never had he been so right as now.
