What do you know? I'm updating before half a year has passed! Let's get Chapter Four on the road, shall we?
Ryoku had just finished a private meeting with Ghetsis when he walked out into the halls of the Plasma Castle and discovered King N muttering to himself. Like the other sages, Ryoku had grown used to seeing the young king pacing like this. Standing in a castle didn't suit the king at all, Ryoku decided. He was about to speak up when King N stopped and stared at his reflection in one of the hall's windows.
"I know I don't have the answers, my friend. You would, I'm sure..."
"My lord?" Ryoku inquired. Was N referring to Zekrom or one of his other pokémon friends he'd released? He cleared his throat again to make sure N heard him.
"Oh, Ryoku. How are you doing?" asked N.
"I am fine, my lord. It's you I'm wondering about." N was distracted, and that was a bad thing. He was the King of Team Plasma, of New Unova. He was the face of a new region that badly needed order and unity. If he could assist N in focusing on New Unova's major problems – riots in Virbank, criticisms of the knights, disgruntled questions floating throughout Castelia – then he would indeed be fine.
N turned back to his reflection briefly, then back to Ryoku. "I just… I just don't understand why my formula is incomplete."
That answer was about as clear as the mud of the Moor of Icirrus.
"Can I help?" asked Ryoku. N frowned.
"I think I need to ask… someone in particular. Sorry."
"There's no need to apologize to me, my lord." Ryoku smiled reassuringly. It was a smile he was well-versed in giving the king. He wondered if it appeared genuine anymore. "Can I help you find the person you need to ask?"
N said something so quickly that Ryoku couldn't make it out, so he waited patiently for N to repeat himself.
"I need to see the Light Stone," the king said finally. "Which room it it kept in?"
…
Doris was sure by the end of the day that, once again, her nature as a worrier had gotten the better of her. Everything was normal, or as normal as things could be after seeing a man she sort-of knew arrested. Things would go back to their usual flow and her attempt at playing… what? detective? secret agent? in the hallway of the school that morning was really, really silly. She did her best to fight back the embarrassment of getting worked up over something that never actually involved her and wasn't actually a big deal.
Then she left the school building.
Her mom was waiting for her with the car. Home was so close she only ever needed a ride when the weather was bad or she had a doctor's appointment or something after school. The weather was cold but otherwise fine, and anyway her mom was supposed to still be at work for the next few hours. She studied her mom's face for a moment. She could tell she was relieved to see her.
Doris hurried over to the car.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Dory," said her mom. "I just figured it would be nice to give you a ride since it's cold out."
"Don't you still have work?" asked Doris as she climbed into the passenger seat and dumped her backpack on the car floor.
"I have some time off I can use." She put the car into reverse and backed out of the parking space.
"So… uh… is that all?" asked Doris.
"No," her mom admitted. "I had… an interesting day. A pair of knights showed up at the pharmacy wanting to talk to me. I'm okay, don't worry. It's just… they came by because they wanted to talk about…"
"About me?" Doris guessed. Her mom nodded.
"You're not in trouble," she reassured her daughter. "Just… you're turning my hair gray."
Doris and her mom both chuckled at this. Her mom's hair had been gray for a few years already. It wasn't much, but it was enough to break the tension for a spell. Doris made a mental note about humor being good for stress.
"I saw Mr. Wilson get arrested on my way to school. He had a jol – a bug pokémon in his house. I happened to say what it was named so I was called into the office so they could tell me… not to do that."
"I see." Her mom turned the car around a corner.
"Is it bad to say pokémons' names?"
"It shouldn't be but… they're trying to cut down on stuff like that." Her mom's smile faded.
"Why?" asked Doris, slightly alarmed. There was no need to ask who "they" were.
"Well… Maybe the best way to put this is that knowledge is a type of power." Her mom looked like she was carefully considering what to say next. "So if you know something it can lead you to act differently. Like, if it's just a bug you leave it alone. But if it's something more… interesting you might want to try to get one for yourself. And they want pokémon left alone."
Doris couldn't help but think there was more to it than that but she pushed speculative thoughts out of her mind to ask another question.
"Why did Mr. Wilson have a pokémon?"
"I don't know. I'm not even sure he did." She turned the car down Acorn Street and pulled into their driveway. She turned off the car but made no move leave it. "He… he tends to be very critical of Team Plasma and the knights in his editorials and they've tried to get him on other things. I don't know so don't go saying this like it's fact. Or at all. But I wonder if… if the pokémon got into his house by other means and they took advantage of it."
Or they planted it, thought Doris. She squirmed in her seat. The knights her family talked about and the knights the school and her classmates talked about were always so different. She noticed her mom still had made no attempt to leave the car. The heat was fading.
"Did the knight at school ask you anything about Aunt Laura?"
"No. Why? Is she okay?" Aunt Laura was a journalist who'd moved to Kalos about four years ago. Why would the knights have anything to ask about her?
"She's okay. She worked on the same paper as Mr. Wilson before she moved to Striaton City and worked there, so I wondered. But she's in Kalos now so I doubt they'd care about that connection." Her mom finally opened the car door. "It's getting cold in here and you've got homework to do. Time to go inside."
Doris followed suit. Her mom hugged her just after entering the house. It was a strange mixture of comforting and unsettling, Doris thought. Sort of like how life was in general now. At school she was always uncomfortable but everything was fine and she was just overreacting to everything, at home she felt justified in her worries even though she was in the safest place there was. It was like everything was normal but also dangerous and more often than not she just felt lost and confused.
Homework. It wasn't fun but at least it would distract her.
…
The smell of dinner cooking while the television droned on was a familiar sensation to Doris. Her homework was finished and she took occasional breaks from doodling cartoon heroes to glance at the news her parents were watching. A press conference had been held by one of the sages regarding some court decision or other. While her parents watched with interest, Doris just felt annoyed that Ghetsis never seemed to actually answer the same questions that had been asked.
Just seconds after her dad had returned from the kitchen after stirring the spaghetti sauce, the phone rang. He sighed and walked back into the room he'd just left while Doris debated which shade of blue pencil best matched a character's hair.
"Oh no," said her dad. His tone of voice made Doris pay attention.
The conversation lasted a little longer before ending with "Yes, I understand. We'll be sure to be careful."
Careful?
Doris's father hung up the phone and took a deep breath before coming back to the living room.
"Mr. Wilson is dead," her father said at last.
"Dead?" asked her mom. He nodded.
"They told his family he had a heart attack." Doris looked from one parent to the other. Both looked similarly pale, tense, and grim.
"They told..." Doris repeated. She noticed her mom shoot her dad a warning look.
"He was in the knights' custody so they're the ones who told his family what happened." Her father was holding something back. Before she could properly process the unspoken implication, three loud knocks sounded from the front door.
Everyone fell silent for a moment. It was already dark out. No one went out after dark in Lacunosa. Whoever was at the door knocked again.
"Coming!" called Doris's mom. She opened the door.
"Good evening, Mrs. Jaboca," said a voice. "May we come in? We need to discuss your daughter." The speaker was one of two knights. Doris recognized him as the man who had spoken with her in the office earlier.
"Oh. Of course." She looked back into the living room with an expression Doris couldn't quite place. Doris felt her father move closer to her.
Doris's head raced with thoughts – did the knights kill Mr. Wilson? What did they want with her now? Were her parents in danger because of her? Was she in danger right now? Could she run if she needed to? What about her parents? She was a kid, and logic told her that if she was in trouble, her parents would likely be blamed for her behavior. She thought about the floorplan of the house. She would know it better than the knights would. She could fake a left down the hallway but head to the bathroom instead and maybe jimmy the window open to get outside… but would her parents run with her? Would waiting to see what they wanted from her cost her the chance to get away?
She felt her dad's hand on her shoulder. Calm down, she thought. He wanted her to stay put and he was an adult who certainly could read the situation better. The knights walked in through the front hallway and gestured for the family to sit down. Doris studied them. The older man from school seemed like the senior knight, taking the lead in the situation. She realized she hadn't gotten his name before. The other knight was a woman Doris thought might have been the one to take the joltik from Mr. Wilson's house. She wore her dark hair in a long ponytail and fiddled with something in her pocket.
Doris's mom picked up the remote control and turned off the TV.
"What brings you here this evening?" she asked as though the knights were old friends who unexpectedly dropped in from out of town.
"Some business, I'm afraid," said the man. "Nothing serious, as long as we nip things in the bud." Doris squirmed.
"A less ominous and more frank explanation might be better, Rick." suggested the woman. Doris judged her to be about college-age, like the knight from the school hallway.
The man nodded. "I'm Richard Woodard and my partner is Eva Cornn. We're here to discuss keeping your daughter out of trouble."
"But I didn't do anything!" Doris blurted out. "I just knew what a pokémon was called!" She closed her eyes and tried not to think about how unwise her outburst was. It was just unfair to be in trouble for that, darn it. And if Mr. Wilson really had been killed…
"You're the type that could get into very serious trouble. Stubborn. Smart but foolish," said Rick Woodard. "We want to prevent that from happening so you can be a happy, contributing member of society." He indicated that everyone should sit and the knights took a pair of chairs in the living room while Doris and her family sat on the couch, Doris in the middle.
Doris tried to sort out being called smart and foolish at the same time. Her parents both remained calm but she could feel their tension through a hand on each shoulder.
"Mr. and Mrs. Jaboca, we're here to enroll your daughter in the PAGE program." On the cue from Woodard, Eva Cornn pulled a pamphlet from her bag. The word PAGE was written on it in white letters outlined in blue and there were four pictures of kids and knights smiling at the camera together.
"PAGE stands for Pro-Active Guidance and Engagement," said Cornn. "We find kids who have trouble adjusting to New Unova and act as their councilors. We teach them. Essentially, we train them to become knights."
Doris wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't that. For a moment, no one in the Jaboca family spoke. Then Doris's mom cleared her throat.
"Is this really necessary?" she asked. "I don't really want Dory to –"
"According to her teachers, Doris has exhibited some troubling behavior before today," interrupted Woodard.
"What are you talking about? I don't get in trouble at school!" Doris protested. Unless they knew about her attempt to play ninja she couldn't think of anything she'd done that would be objectionable, and that was today, not before it.
Woodard cleared his throat and grunted and Doris immediately regretted her interruption. She felt cold and tensed up. She wanted to run but forced herself to be still.
If what she'd inferred from the phone call was correct, she could very well have just gotten herself and her parents killed.
After too long, Woodard spoke again. "Her teachers report that Doris is often alone during recess rather than playing with the other children like she should. She also –"
It was her dad's turn to interrupt. "You're saying she's in trouble because the other kids exclude her from their games?!" His face was red and his breath heavy.
"Dory has told us about wanting to play games with the other kids. They refuse to let her join, so she plays alone," her mom added.
Doris curled in on herself, thinking of a time when she worked up the nerve to ask to play tag with her classmates. They had all immediately stopped playing tag and hurried to the blacktop for a game of kickball they knew she was bad at and wouldn't want to join. Tears welled in her eyes, but she found herself surprised that they weren't her usual tears of sadness at being excluded or fear of 'what ifs', but anger. This wasn't fair. She tried to get along with the other kids and they laughed in her face or left her alone and confused about what she did wrong. Now she was in trouble with the knights because of whatever was wrong with her that she could never figure out and she began to wonder if this might not be her fault after all.
"–ris has also frequently asked to skip recess in the nurse's office, indicating further asocial tendencies."
It was her fault for getting stomach aches when thinking of how she'd spend another recess on the outside looking in? They were real stomach aches, darn it! Doris balled her hands into fists and her sobs became audible.
Stop it, she told her tears. She cried so easily and she hated it. Her tears didn't listen. Her mom rubbed her back and she cried more from the relief of a reassuring touch.
"My daughter is on your watch list because her classmates are bullying bastards?! What the hell?!" her dad shouted. It didn't seem like the right time to suggest that he put some coins into the swear jar.
Woodard continued, unperturbed. "She also produced… this." He nodded to Cornn and she took out a small stack of stapled pages of lined paper. Doris looked up and recognized her own beginner cursive writing on the front.
"This is a writing assignment for her English lessons. It contains some concerning themes," said Cornn. Doris blinked and stopped crying for a moment. What on Earth had she written that would be "concerning" anyway? The most recent project they'd done in English class was just writing short stories.
"What themes?" asked her mom.
"Animals don't talk." Cornn looked straight at Doris as she spoke.
"What?!" asked Doris. That was it?
"Animals don't talk. You're certainly old enough to know that."
"Wha… of course I know that! It was a short story. A made up one. Fiction!" Doris looked at her equally baffled parents.
"They do not possess magic powers either," Cornn continued.
"And gorgeous elf ladies waiting to be rescued from towers don't exist either. One of my classmates wrote about that. Is he in trouble too?"
"Magical animals are dangerously close to writing about pokémon, Miss Jacoba. The piece suggests you desire pokémon," said Cornn.
"Not really, no," protested Doris. "I just wrote about a girl who got lost and found a talking fox that helped her get home. How does that mean I want to catch pokémon?"
"The fox displayed abilities similar to a certain species of pokémon as well," Woodard said. He was now addressing her parents. "It could transform itself into different appearances."
Doris winced. Now that she thought about it, she was pretty sure she had heard of a fox pokémon that could do that. Zor-something-or-other.
"Sh-shapeshifting just seemed cool," said Doris in self-defense. Crap. She'd written about a pokémon by accident. "And anyway, pokémon don't talk, right? It was just a weird, magic fox because it seemed fun."
"Dory didn't mean to write about a pokémon. She probably remembered one without realizing it," said her dad.
"Intentional or not, the similarity is enough to raise concerns. Combined with her knowledge of the bug pokémon this morning, it paints a picture we cannot ignore," said Woodard.
"We searched your house earlier while you were at work and school and didn't find anything suspicious," said Cornn.
"You what?!" asked both of Doris's parents at once.
"Since nothing alarming was discovered, we decided it was best to simply take Doris under our wing to make sure she stays on the right path," Cornn continued.
"You understand, of course, that it would not be in your best interests to refuse the opportunity," said Woodard. "And being in the PAGE program has a number of benefits as well. It's quite possible Doris will excel in the program and earn scholarships. She could even be chosen to become a knight herself." He pulled out a form that was already filled out aside from signatures. "You just have to sign here."
"We understand if you want to read over everything first, but refusal really isn't a good option here," said Cornn. "There won't even be much difference to her life. She'll just have extra lessons with me once a week." For the first time since the knights had arrived, Cornn smiled. For just a second Doris felt reassured. Then she remembered Mr. Wilson. What would happen if they refused?
"I-I'll do it," said Doris.
"That's for your parents to decide, Miss Jaboca," said Woodard.
Doris looked at her mom and dad. They were adults. They would know how to handle this, right? Her mom was reading the paperwork carefully while her dad flipped impatiently through the PAGE brochure.
"You searched our house without us knowing while we weren't here," said her dad, struggling to keep his voice even.
"Yes. We found nothing of interest, and of course, you had nothing to hide," said Cornn. She said it like it was a simple, obvious fact.
Doris's mom bit her lip and took a pen off the side table.
"Fine." She scribbled her name on the line and handed the paperwork to her husband. Doris felt herself shrinking into the couch. Her father breathed hard and he read the form, but eventually signed it as well.
"Very good," said Woodard. "Eva will meet your daughter at school after her classes let out on Thursday." He and Cornn stood and Woodard offered a handshake to Doris's dad. Mr. Jaboca didn't take him up on it.
"Have an excellent evening," said Cornn. The knights left. Doris stared out at the dark sky for a second before her mom closed the door. The knights apparently weren't afraid of the monster that was supposed to come out at night.
Then Doris cried again. She couldn't help herself this time. The knights were gone and the decision was made. There was no immediate danger anymore. She cried more because she was mad at herself for crying.
"It'll be okay," said her mom. She hugged Doris and rubbed her back. That just made Doris feel worse. She wanted it to help her feel better so she sobbed again. What was wrong with her? Why was she like this?
"I-I'm – I'm sorry," Doris squeezed out between gulps of air and tears. "I didn't – I'm – I didn't mean to –"
"You didn't do anything wrong. Those bastards are just throwing their weight around," said her dad.
"Petty power is the worst kind," said her mom, hugging her tighter. "But we'll be okay."
"I don – don't want to be a knight. They're not the good guys. They killed Mr. Wilson, didn't they?"
Her parents looked at each other. Doris tried to pull away from her mom's embrace to read their expressions.
"We don't know that for certain…" started her dad.
"Doris. It will be okay. Listen to Miss Cornn when you have to, but stay…" Her mom paused to find the right words. "Stay yourself. Stay kind and aware. If they want you to do something bad, refuse. Don't worry about us. I don't think it'll come to it, so just stay you. It. Will. Be. Okay."
Beep, beep, beep, sounded the timer from the kitchen. Doris's mom released her embrace and pulled back to smile at her. "The spaghetti's ready. I hope this didn't ruin your appetite." Doris's dad stepped into the kitchen to mix the pasta with the meat sauce. Doris could hear him muttering under his breath as he stirred. Some of the sauce had burned onto the pan.
Dinner was as normal as it could be, Doris decided. She initially picked at her food but managed to finish it. Conversation turned to every topic other than the knights and the new activity she'd have to deal with in two days. She laughed and made a joke or two.
After dinner she and her parents sat in the living room longer than they usually would. They talked. They were silent. They talked again. It would be okay.
…
Faster! Faster! She flapped her arms with as much force as she could summon. She needed to find somewhere safe to hide. The chilly air crept closer, as did something… big. She didn't dare turn to see what it was.
She dodged a tree branch and turned hard to the right. There were buildings ahead. Familiar buildings, just seen from above. The school, her house, the police station, the community center… surely one of these places would be safe. She soared over the bridge by Mr. Wilson's house. It must be unoccupied now, she thought, as no lights shone from inside. Was there a way in?
She flailed her arms in the air hard to stay aloft as she scoped out the house. A hole in the roof. That would do it. She dived inside and searched the attic for a good place to rest. Boxes upon boxes covered in old sheets and dusty webs greeted her. She swooped down between two large crates and held her breath. Cold. It was so cold. Something large and dangerous flew through the dark.
…
Doris's eyes shot open and she pulled her sheet tighter around her. It took a second to realize she'd just had a nightmare. It was easy enough for her to figure out why her nightmare had involved feeling cold; some of her covers had fallen onto the floor while she slept. She turned to her alarm clock.
2:16 am.
Doris groaned and retrieved her covers. It didn't take much analysis to understand why her dream involved trying to escape something either.
Mom and Dad say things will be okay, Doris told herself. They're usually right. I get worried about everything but it turns out to be nothing. It'll end up all right.
A beam of streetlight poked through the curtains. Even Lacunosa Town, where people never went out at night, had streetlights. It was funny, in a way. She pulled the curtain aside to look out. It was lightly snowing. The first snowfall of the season. Doris felt her shoulders fall and she sat on the floor to watch the snow. It reminded her that the holidays would be soon and she'd get two weeks away from school in a little while. She wrapped the covers around her and let herself be hypnotized by the dusty flakes lit by the streetlamp.
It'll be okay.
Her eyes wandered and she caught sight of the top of the wall keeping the monster from the Giant Chasm out of Lacunosa Town.
She felt trapped.