Chapter 8: Helpless
August 12, Pallet Town, Kanto, 8 am…
Blue slowly woke up from her sleep, feeling quite relaxed and well-rested, having had a pleasant dream. After that rather uncomfortable sleep last night followed by the stressful kidnapping of her juniors, having such a nice sleep had been tremendously helpful in restoring her mood.
She didn't sit up yet, as she wanted to enjoy the comfort for longer. … There was a risk that she'd fall right back to sleep if she closed her eyes for an extended period of time, so she'd have to watch out for that. … Although… was falling asleep again so bad? What was the worst that could happen from sleeping in a bit longer? No one would be waiting for her, so…
Blue opened her eyes again as a thought occurred. 'Oh that's right… the juniors are here too… And they're going to need food, which they're not going to make themselves without the homeowner's permission…'
With a short sigh, she slowly turned to her side, towards the source of warmth lying right next to her… which she had been using as a pillow once again. Red was still fast asleep, lightly snoring with a content smile, as if he didn't have a care in the world. She stared at his rather adorable expression for a while, delaying having to get up for as much as she could. Her mind wandered towards the conversation she had with Platinum yesterday, and the decision she had to make very soon.
'Does Red actually like me in that way?' Blue wondered, staring intently at his peaceful expression.'Or is he simply being very nice to me because he's just a kind person and we've been friends for a long time? … He offered me a place to live when I had nowhere to go. He offered me so much warmth and kindness when I was left alone. I owe him so much. I love him so much. … I might darken his life, but… what if he does like me too? Platinum's right. I'll hurt him more by hiding my feelings and fears from him. For better or worse, I should let him know…' She slowly reached towards Red with her hand, but stopped before her hand could get remotely close to him. She could feel her heart beating a lot faster now as if she was about to deeply regret her decision, and pressed her other hand over her heart. '… This anxiety can't be good for me either. If I don't tell him, I'm greatly hurting myself, and even hurting him too. If I just tell him how I feel, everything might work out for the best. All I have to do is tell him. All I have to do is confess. All I have to do is act…' With a nervous gulp, she sat up and crawled over closer, with the intent of giving Red a kiss on the cheek, just like she had tried the first morning of her living with him. But once again, she stopped before she could actually kiss him. 'No, no! Wait! I… can't do this right now! What if he wakes up from the kiss? What do I tell him then? It'll be so incredibly awkward… I have to look for a better opportunity. Confess first, then act. I can't rush this…' Blue clenched her eyes shut and groaned quietly for a bit before she pulled back. 'Damn it…' She pulled back completely and crawled off of the bed. Putting some distance between herself and Red seemed to have calmed her nerves a bit, at the very least. She glanced at him once again and took a deep breath. '… But… I'll tell him sometime today… … or so I tell myself now, but who knows when I'll actually succeed…'
…
When Blue made it downstairs after getting ready for the day, she found out that not everyone was awake. As usual, White was wide awake, staring blankly out the window as if she had no idea who she was or where she was anymore. Black was fast asleep next to her, snoring as loud as construction equipment.
Diamond was happily sleeping away still, while Pearl looked as if he was contemplating on whether he should plug his ears or Black's throat. Blue had no idea when the two boys usually woke up, but from Pearl's expression, he appeared to have been awake for quite some time, while Diamond looked as if he could stay asleep until the afternoon. Platinum remained fast asleep on the couch, and appeared to be in deep sleep still. Given what the heiress had gone through, it was probably best to leave her be until she woke up on her own. Y was still asleep as well, as she had gone through the same thing. Blue decided to leave those two alone.
"Morning," Pearl greeted, impatience embedded in his voice.
White finally noticed that Blue had come downstairs and smiled at her. "Good morning."
"Good morning, you two," Blue said with a wave, keeping her voice down. "I thought I should wake up so I don't keep the juniors waiting around, but from the looks of things, I think I could've gotten another few hours of sleep."
"I would've died of hunger if you did that," White said with a groan. "If all three competent chefs are asleep, breakfast is doomed. And I normally get breakfast two hours ago."
"Okay, okay. I'll get started on breakfast," Blue said with a chuckle. "Maybe the ruckus and the smell of food would wake up the others, huh?"
"Hold on a sec," Pearl said as he moved next to Diamond. "Hey, Dia! Food's getting cold!"
Diamond slowly opened his eyes and sat up. "Huh? What? … Food? Where?"
"… I can't believe that worked," White muttered. She moved to sit beside Black and shook him by the shoulders. "Hey Black, the Pokémon League Association wants to interview you!" Unfortunately for her, Black remained fast asleep and kept snoring as loud as a jackhammer. "… Rats. Didn't work."
"Let me fix that." Pearl walked over towards him and smacked him across the face in the same fashion as he'd hit Diamond during one of the comedy acts. "Wake up, you loud prick!"
Black's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up, rubbing his throbbing cheek. "… Ow… I'm up, I'm up…"
"… What is all this commotion about?" Platinum asked as she groggily sat up, appearing to be half asleep still.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Miss Lady," Pearl said. "I didn't mean to wake you. But now that you are… good morning!"
"Good morning," Platinum said despite not opening her eyes. She tiredly stretched her arms and rubbed at her eyes before opening them to a squint.
"How are you feeling, Platinum?" Blue asked as she sat next to her.
"I am feeling fine, senior. Thank you for your concern," Platinum said with a smile, forcing herself to open her eyes to full. She put her glasses on and gave her senior a polite bow. "Good morning, senior. Did you have a pleasant sleep?"
Blue smiled embarrassedly. "Yep. Sure did! Now, once you're ready, come to the kitchen so we can make breakfast."
"Yes, senior."
Now that there was just one person left sleeping… White plopped onto the couch where Y was still asleep, deliberately sitting on her feet. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead! Everyone else is up!"
"… Leave me alone," Y mumbled in her sleep, pulling the blanket up higher.
White poked her in the leg. "Wake up! Wake up! I'll keep doing this until you get up!"
"… Oh, eat my ass. I had a lot of sh*t happen to me yesterday," Y grumbled as she turned away.
White rolled her eyes. "Someone's certainly grumpy. Such respect for your senior, huh?"
"Y, wake up, please," Platinum said calmly.
There was a pause before Y let out a long groan. "Ungh… okay, okay… … There goes the dream…" She slowly sat up and kicked White off of her feet and off the couch. "Get off me."
White let out a huff and rose to her feet. "Well, come on. Let's go help with the breakfast setup."
…
Y tried to peek around her seniors' shoulders to see what was happening. The kitchen wasn't that big to start with, and with three people making breakfast, it looked pretty cramped. And Y really wanted to see what the chefs were doing, so that she could learn and maybe one day, be much better at making food. The best way to learn by seeing was to watch Diamond, but with Platinum and Blue standing next to him to watch the master at work, Y couldn't see anything.
"The noodle is ready," Platinum soon declared as she turned around to face Y. "Here you go."
Y quickly received the large plate filled with tasty looking rice noodles and quickly made her way towards the dinner table where the hungry Dex Holders were waiting. The dinner table wasn't big enough for all 8 Dex Holders currently present, so they had to divide into two groups. One group would get to sit at the dinner table. The other would have to sit on the floor in the living room, using the small table there. And it was decided that the Unova and Kalos Dex Holders would get to sit on the floor while their seniors got the dinner table. There were only 4 chairs, so Blue's Ditto would have to transform into one for its trainer.
Black and White temporarily joined Red and Pearl at the dinner table so they could get their share of the noodles. They left half of the noodles untouched for the chefs and the delivery girl, and divided up the remainder amongst themselves.
White lifted a couple of noodle strands and moved them towards her mouth, with the intent of savoring the taste and to take her time enjoying it while she waited for the rest of the food to arrive. Black, however, gathered all of his portion into a ball and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth at once, immediately filling his cheeks.
White stared at him in shock for a bit before she slowly shook her head. "Sheesh. Take it easy, Black. No one's going to steal your food, you know."
Black suddenly cringed and began to rapidly tap the table with his hand.
"Careful, it's quite hot," Blue called out from the kitchen.
Red chuckled as he watched Black suffering from the consequences of his actions. "Yep. Someone definitely noticed."
White rolled her eyes. "Well… you reap what you sow, I guess." She saw the tears in Black's eyes and sighed. "… Enjoying your food there, Black?"
Black squeezed his eyes shut in pain but nodded. "It's so good but… it burns," he mumbled out eventually. "… And I'm still hungry…"
Thankfully, before too long, the chefs and the delivery girl came back carrying the rest of the breakfast, allowing the hungry Dex Holders to get their desired share of food.
Once breakfast ended, the boys took their turns in getting ready for the day while the girls cleaned up. White and Y were on the cleaning detail, letting Blue and Platinum relax on the couch.
"So, what's the plan now?" Red asked as he went to sit next to them, having finished his preparations. "Are we all going to Viridian together before one group splits off to Johto, or do we all travel together to Saffron before splitting?"
"Hmm… well, we'll need to get some supplies in Viridian City first, so maybe we should decide there," Blue suggested.
"All right, then." Red stretched his limbs and let out a long yawn. "Let's hope this trip goes better than the last one, huh?"
"We will have to be more vigilant," Platinum said. She glanced at Blue a bit and over towards the kitchen, where White and Y were busy cleaning the dishes. With Black in the washroom and Diamond and Pearl doing some comedy practice just outside the house, there was no one else within hearing range right now. Platinum smiled warmly at Red. "Senior Red, I believe senior Blue has something important to tell you," she said as she rose to her feet, intending to give her seniors some privacy.
"Hm? Really?" Red said as he looked over at Blue.
Blue jumped in surprise as she realized what just happened and quickly grabbed Platinum by her wrist, holding her in place. 'Oh no, no, no. This is way too sudden! I can't say it right now! Damn it, Platinum!' "Oh, it's… um… nothing, really," she stammered out.
"Well, what is it?" Red asked.
Blue held onto Platinum's wrist tighter and pulled her down so that she's sit back on the couch. "Well… um… … It's really nothing. Just a silly little thought."
"… Let's hear it," Red said again, smiling at her.
Blue gulped nervously. "… Well…" She cringed a bit and gripped her hands tight as she failed to muster enough courage yet again. "… S – Suppose Platinum and I are both in trouble at the same time in front of you. … Which of us you save, if you could only save one?"
Platinum frowned as this was certainly not what she expected (and her wrist was hurting), and Red looked quite surprised at a question that he never anticipated either.
"… Huh," he said as he began to think.
Blue let out an embarrassed chuckle. "See? Just a… silly little thought…"
"Hmm… You know, that's the kind of question that'll keep me up at night," Red said as he frowned. "I… really don't know."
Blue put a hand on his knee. "I think… you should save Platinum in that kind of situation. You know. Save the juniors."
Red stared at her in surprise, and tried to gauge her reaction. After a few uncomfortable seconds, he shook off the troubled expression and smiled. "Well, that's all hypothetical anyways. I'll make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen to either of you. And if it happens anyways, I'll make sure to save both of you at the same time!"
Blue let out a sigh of relief. "That's the spirit, Red." She realized that she was still holding onto Platinum's wrist (pretty tight) and quickly let go. "… Hey Platinum, can you come and help me pack up now?"
Platinum rubbed her sore wrist and clenched her hand a few times to get the circulation back to her fingers. "Certainly, senior."
Blue got off of the couch and headed upstairs. "… That was too close," she whispered once she was out of Red's hearing range.
"Senior, I fail to see the purpose in your query," Platinum said as she followed her. "And I also do not understand the purpose of your response."
Blue shuddered. "Platinum… don't do that again. I wasn't ready, okay? And this… this isn't the right moment either. I'm going to tell him today, but I can't just… blurt it out. I have to build up to it."
"… I understand, senior. And I apologize," Platinum said with a sigh.
"Thanks for trying though. And for your concern. At least you weren't as blunt and blatant as those two," Blue said, referring to White and Y. 'But… now Red knows that I'm keeping something from him. He'll want to talk to me about this sooner or later. … So… it looks like I took my first step towards a confession, without me wanting to… So maybe this whole thing would work out for the best?'
…
August 13, Route 1, Alola, 12:30 pm…
…
Sun leaned over to the side of the Ride Pokémon and checked inside the plastic bag he had strapped to the side. The ordered snack (more like meal, given the amount…) looked to be in perfect condition still, ensuring that the customer would be fully satisfied with the delivery. … Even though he figured that the customer wouldn't really show said satisfaction. She wasn't really the type to express such a thing.
An hour ago, Moon asked him to get her something good to eat while she was still stuck working away in Prof. Kukui's lab. Even though Hau was going to come by and deliver some malasada to her and Lillie, Moon had said that she preferred something a bit… less Alola. So now here he was, delivering a nicely packed fruit salad, a few burgers, and some doughnuts. He figured that she'd greatly appreciate some Sinnoh stuff, but there were no such things within arm's reach in this region. Not that he had an inkling of what even was "Sinnoh stuff" anyways. Well, he'd find out shortly if he had somehow failed this very unspecific errand quest. … Hopefully not, as he'd rather not anger Moon any more than necessary.
As he approached the route, he could see a thick pillar of smoke reaching up to the sky. … Did a campfire go out of control or something? Sun eyed the smoke as the Ride Tauros kept running. And before too long, he realized that the smoke was coming from Kukui's lab.
Sun tapped his Ride Pokémon to go faster. There was no reason for smoke to be coming from the lab. Certainly not this much, at the very least. This amount of smoke could only mean that the whole lab was on fire. Was it an accident?
He could feel the heat of the fire on his face before he could see the burning lab. And the moment the Tauros turned around the edge of the forest to get a clear view of the lab, Sun realized that this couldn't have been an accident. The lab was completely engulfed in flames all around. An accidental fire had the strongest flames in the source of the accident, and parts of the building would've been unscathed as the fire wouldn't have spread there yet. But the lab was completely engulfed, as if the source of the fire was all around the lab.
Sun snapped out of his shock when he realized that no one was standing outside. So were Moon and Lillie still… in there? And where was Hau? He would've gotten here by now, so was he… also in there?
Sun quickly sent out his Wishiwashi. "Baht, put the fire out as fast as you can!"
The school of Wishiwashi shot forth a huge burst of water at the burning lab to try to douse the flames out. The entire structure had been drastically weakened, so the water ended up punching a hole through the wall.
Sun ran up towards the large hole and peeked inside. Because the roof was starting to fall apart, the inside of the lab wasn't filled with smoke, so he should be able to breathe (albeit just a bit) while inside. He took a few breaths to ready himself before entering the burning lab.
"Miss Customer?! Are you in here?!" he yelled out while keeping low to avoid the smoke. He soon noticed a small wet trail that led from around the corner and away from the strong flames. He followed that trail towards what used to be the living room. And there, he spotted Moon lying crumpled on the floor near the corner, with her Toxapex and Vikavolt lying next to her.
Sun quickly crouched next to her to check on her condition. Her lab coat had burned off completely along with most of her clothes, and her skin was covered all over with severe burns, though some burns were wrapped up with a thick layer of string. So it seemed that her Vikavolt had tried to wrap up some of her injuries with String Shot. The Vikavolt itself wasn't moving, however. Its wings had scorched off and it had severe burns everywhere as well. Did it try to fan the flames away with its wings, until flaming debris collapsed onto it from the ceiling? And it now lay immobile on the floor, its carapace burnt and its whole body rigid as a rock.
Sun put a hand on Moon's bare burned shoulder and could feel moisture. Her Toxapex had doused her with water it seems, probably to put out the fire that engulfed her. And it must have tried to fight the fire in the vicinity as well in order to save its trainer, until it was dehydrated to the point of no return. Its bunker-shell legs were limp and lifeless and it simply lay on the floor like a severed mop head as it didn't have the strength to stay upright anymore. What little water was left in its body was leaking out, creating the faint wet trail that Sun had spotted upon entry.
He carefully lifted the Toxapex up to see its face. Its front legs sagged away to reveal its main body and it managed to look up at him. Upon recognizing him, it let out a faint sigh-like sound and smiled faintly, as if it was glad that it had succeeded in its final job. Sun frowned as what little tension he felt in its body had faded away. The Toxapex was now completely limp.
"… You did well…" Sun mumbled as he set the Toxapex on top of its trainer.
Moon let out a faint gasp from the contact, but remained unconscious. She had to get out of his place and get medical attention as soon as possible in order to survive. Sun grabbed her partly scorched bag and gently lifted the girl onto his arms. He glanced at the Vikavolt, wishing that he could pull it out of the burning house as well. But the Vikavolt was too big and too heavy for him to carry along with Moon and Toxapex.
The hole in the wall was bigger than when he first entered, which made it easier for him to escape the burning lab despite carrying Moon in his arms. When he reached the outside again, he could see that a bunch of firefighters and medical staff have arrived, having seen the massive pillar of smoke. The firefighters were busy trying to extinguish the flames while the medical staff stood by, waiting. And upon spotting Sun and Moon, they rushed over to assist.
Sun allowed them to take Moon and Toxapex off of his arms, and he followed them away from the burning mess. He watched as the medical staff loaded Moon onto an ambulance and began the emergency treatment. Sun eventually turned his attention back to the burning lab, whose fires were mostly extinguished, and saw other medical staff carrying two stretchers, each with a body and a white blanket pulled all the way up. … Were those two…
Sun ran towards the stretchers and reached for the white blanket. A medic stopped him before he could make contact, however.
"You don't want to see what happened," she warned.
"Yeah. It's… not pretty," said another medic. "Are you related to any of these people?"
Sun glanced at Moon in the ambulance and the two bodies on the stretcher. "They're… my friends. … I was bringing food for them…"
"We'll have to contact the next of kin for these two. Do you know their contact information?"
"… Yes…"
…
A couple of hours later…
…
Sun waited outside of Moon's hospital room, sitting on a chair and waiting for something to happen. A few doctors had gone into the room over the past couple of hours, and from what he could gather, it sounded promising. Moon would likely regain consciousness pretty soon. And once she was awake, he would finally be able to find out what exactly happened. What happened in the lab was definitely not an accident. And Moon was the only survivor so she was the only one who could possibly know what happened. But after that… then what? What would she do next?
The door opened and the doctor came outside. He approached Sun and cleared his throat, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"She's awake. If you want to go talk to her, you can. But she needs to rest so try to keep it brief. And… try to comfort her too. A lot had happened."
"Okay. I'll do that," Sun said, getting up to his feet. Cheer up Moon? … A lot easier said than done, especially if she wasn't in the mood to be cheered up. And he figured that she would not be in the mood at all right now.
"Good luck to you," the doctor said as he walked off to tend another patient.
Sun opened the door to her room and stepped inside. He saw her almost covered in bandages but still sitting upright on her bed, staring blankly at the stretcher next to her bed. More specifically, she was staring at the bodies of her Vikavolt and Toxapex, lying immobile on the stretcher. Sun moved to sit on the chair next to the bed and tried to block her vision with himself.
"Miss Customer, are you… okay?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her face.
Moon didn't focus on him and kept staring blankly at the stretcher. She slowly raised a heavily bandaged hand, shakily pointing at it. Sun let out a sigh and reached towards the stretcher. He reluctantly picked up the dry stiff body of Toxapex and handed it over.
Moon held it in her bandaged arms and stared at it, her mouth slightly open. Her visible expression soon crumpled and she began to tremble violently, as if the situation was finally fully registered in her mind. She held the Toxapex close to her heart and buried her face into its lifeless body. And even though Sun was right there, watching her, she rapidly broke down into tears.
Sun put a hand on her shoulder as he could hear her muffled wails, trying to think of ways to get her to calm down. Maybe hearing some good news would help her, but… what good news? All he had was more bad news.
There was a sudden, loud commotion outside the door. Before Sun could walk over to check what was happening, the door burst open and Gladion barged in, looking quite haggard and very, very pissed. He momentarily stopped in his steps as he saw Moon silently crying into the body of her Toxapex, but still stormed over while the nurses tried to get him out of there.
"Lillie," he said, his anger preventing him from saying more than a few words at a time. "What. Happened. To her?"
"… I don't know," Sun said, since all he knew was what Gladion already knew. "I was on my way to deliver some food and when I got there…"
Gladion glared at Moon next, but visibly hesitated as he couldn't and shouldn't be directing his anger at her. He took a few quick breaths to try to calm down. "… Then… what happened to you?"
Moon didn't respond and kept her face buried in her Toxapex, as if trying to hide her unending tears. Sun put a hand on her trembling shoulder again.
"Miss Customer… that wasn't an accident, was it?" he asked, phrasing it so that she only had to nod or shake her head to respond.
Moon shook her head, indicating that what happened was indeed not an accident.
Gladion ran his hands through his hair and glared at the two. "… You two are coming with me to Aether right now."
…
Several hours later, Aether Foundation, 10 pm…
…
Moon stared out the window, quietly looking into the pitch darkness. Her body ached all over being forcefully transported to Aether Foundation instead of resting at a hospital, but she didn't care. She had calmed down a little during the trip to Aether, and now, after she had explained all that had happened in the lab, her sorrows were steadily being replaced by a single, cold determination.
She looked down at her bag on the floor next to her. The bag was severely burnt in quite a few places, destroying a lot of the stuff inside, including her spare clothes. So she was currently stuck wearing an Aether Foundation uniform that was provided to her. And she really didn't like it. She would have to go to the clothes store soon and get a replacement.
… And speaking of replacements… Moon closed her eyes as she thought about her beloved Toxapex, and how it had sacrificed itself to save her. Her Vikavolt sacrificed itself as well, but the pain of losing a Poison type was too much to handle. She now only had two Pokémon. And she didn't know if she had it in her to get more. But… she had to, if she wanted to fight back against her enemies.
An investigation was currently underway to find those responsible for the tragedy. The Kahunas and Trial Captains were on the lookout for any suspicious research staff, and were particularly vigilant on harbor cities that connected Alola to the other regions. And in the meantime, Aether Foundation was using its technological advantage to try to locate the signal of the Rotom Dex. Even though most of its scanners were designed to locate Ultra Beast frequencies, they only needed slight adjustments to locate other signals. Unfortunately, no one knew the specific frequencies of a Rotom Dex, so had to extrapolate using the signals of a regular Alola Pokédex, which greatly hindered accuracy.
Moon clenched her hands into fists. … If only there was a person who was technologically capable enough to determine the exact frequency of the Rotom Dex… There was one person who she was aware of, but that person was all the way in Kanto. And talking to her about this problem would inevitably spread the news to-
"Miss Customer?" came Sun's voice from behind.
Moon slowly turned to face him, her expression still quite scary, as some would say. "What?" she said, her voice still weak and hoarse.
Sun visibly flinched at her cold expression. "Uh… well, there's a room fully prepared for you now. So come on, let's go."
Moon didn't move. "… I'm not going there."
"Huh? … Okay then. Where are you going to sleep?"
"I'm going back to Melemele Island," Moon said, picking up her bag.
"Wait, what?" Sun yelled as he quickly stepped in front of her to stop her from going anywhere. "… What are you going to do in Melemele? Are you going to look for this enemy?"
"Of course I will," Moon replied.
"You can't expect to be able to find and chase this enemy right now, do you?" Sun asked. "I mean… how are you even going to find them in the first place? I don't think you'll do a better job than all of Aether Foundation. And even if you do find them… what then? How are you going to fight them?"
Moon clenched her teeth in a sudden burst of anger, caused by her own helplessness and uselessness being exposed. "… I'm not going to just stay here and do nothing! Not after what they did to me!"
"… We'll have to contact your other Dex Holder friends," Sun suggested. "With their help, we might be able to-"
"No!" Moon shouted hastily, so quickly that she began to cough violently from straining her injuries. "No… we can't tell the others… we must not…"
"Why not? You can't expect to accomplish anything all by yourself. We'll need help."
Moon shook her head. "No. We can't let any of them know about what happened… lest she finds out. I can't let her find out about what happened to me."
"… Who?" Sun asked. He soon realized who she was referring to, and frowned, wondering why. "But… why not her?"
Moon glared at him again. "No. … I want to make her proud, damn it. Not disappoint her with my failures and inabilities or make her worried about my well being. While I can't keep this thing hidden from her forever, I can't let her find out about this while I'm in this pathetic state."
"… So then what are you going to do? You don't know how to find the enemy. You can't physically fight either. So what can you do by leaving Aether Foundation?"
Moon cursed under her breath and looked down in shame. "I… … I have to get stronger. I'll have to do a lot of training as fast as possible. And then someday soon, I will get my revenge."