Chapter 100

PureBlueSky leaned against the wall of his suite while the human Machamp brought in his new end table. He towered over Sky, somewhere between six-and-a-half and seven feet tall. He was dressed simply in blue jeans and a sleeveless shirt to let all four of his arms move freely. Ordinarily, it must have been a two-man job, but those two extra arms and his inhuman strength made the Machamp-man invaluable.

The original table, that Tempest had put her fist through, was long gone. It had already been cleaned up and thrown out the previous night. Not a single splinter remained in the carpet.

"That look alright to you?" the human Machamp asked as he positioned the table.

"It's fine," Sky answered, disinterested. He honestly couldn't say for certain where the last table had sat.

"Alright," the Machamp-man nodded, unconvinced by Sky's answer, "I'll let you put it however you want."

"We'll just need you to sign this," a human man in his forties, and the Machamp's only partner, handed Sky a clipboard with a form attached. He signed it with his real name before handing it back

"Alright," the man nodded as he tucked the clipboard away, "and as a reminder, the damages for both this and the sliding door will show up on your hotel bill. But it's going to take a few days to replace the door."

"I understand," Sky nodded. He looked at the empty door frame. Like the table, any signs of damage were gone. All of the remaining shards of glass had been cleared from the frame and collected off of the floor. With the shards cleared away, the empty frame made it look undamaged. That was, until a breeze began to blow through the opening.

"You sure you don't want a tarp or something to help cover that up?" the man asked Sky.

"It's fine," Sky shook his head.

"Alright, then," the man and the human Machamp turned to leave, "let us know if you need anything else." Before he was gone completely, he added one more thing: "And good luck in the tournament, Mr. Emerald."

The door latched shut, leaving Sky alone.

The tournament. Pokémon. That was something he did. Something he had done for half of his life. And where did it lead him? To a hotel room in the middle of nowhere while everyone he ever cared about hated him.

He walked to the empty door frame. Remembering the cut on his thumb, he looked down at the Band-Aid. Flurry had insisted on it. Just like the hotel staff, she had wrapped up his thumb in an effort to put order back into the world. The splinters, the shards of glass and his bleeding thumb disrupted that order. They had to put it back to feel better. So that they could feel like they were doing a good job.

But Sky didn't feel any better. Cleaning the room and paying the bills were just motions he had to go through. They didn't solve anything.

Wincing as the adhesive pulled at his skin, Sky pulled the Band-Aid off of his thumb. The cut wasn't deep and was already starting to heal. Once it had healed and the door was replaced, then all of the damage that Tempest had done would be gone. As if she had never been there.

You're talking about her like she's dead, you moron, Sky thought at himself, a bit over-dramatic, don't you think?

Okay, he had to admit that. Tempest wasn't gone forever, but it felt like she was never coming back. There was so much hatred in her voice. Sky had seen her go half-insane with bloodlust, but somehow this hurt even more. She meant what she said and she hated him.

Tempest, the only one who believed in him, didn't believe anymore. How could he have hurt her so badly? How could he let himself do something so terrible?

A knock on the door brought Sky out of his thoughts.

How much time had passed? What day was it?

The knock came again.

"Uh…coming…" Sky put a hand to his head.

The person at the door was not someone he wanted to see. He almost let the door close again, but he noticed Claire standing by her father's side.

"What Silph?" Sky groaned.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked.

"Yes," Sky nodded, "but I don't think any good ones are coming up soon. So just tell me what you want."

"I need to talk to you."

"We're talking now."

"I need your help."

"With what?" Sky asked, "Pitfall's already helping to repair the field. You need more maintenance workers, or something?"

"There's been a murder."

"O-kay. That's not really my area…"

"A human Pokémon murder."

"Alright," Sky stepped back from the doorway to let Silph inside, "you have my attention."

"Thank you," Silph nodded. He took Claire's hand and entered the room.

Do you always bring your daughter along when you talk about murder? Sky thought.

"Your door's broken," Claire pointed across the room.

"It's nice to see you too, Claire," Sky muttered.

"Shouldn't you fix that?" she asked, missing his statement.

"Somebody's working on it," Sky said, loud enough for her to hear him, this time.

"What happened?" she asked, curious for details.

Sky sighed. Quite naturally, the less he wanted to talk about something, the more the small Skitty-girl wanted to know more.

"Tempest and I…had a fight," he admitted. He did his best to ignore how Silph's eyes widened with interest. "We…had an argument about RiverofTears and…Tempest got mad at me."

"She broke it?" Claire asked. She only asked out of curiosity. She wanted to solve the puzzle of how the door was broken. It didn't matter why.

"Yeah, she did," Sky nodded, "she yelled at me and…left."

"She yelled at you?" she asked. Getting yelled at was bad. She knew that much.

"Yeah…" Sky admitted, "I…did something to make her mad. Now I don't know what to do next."

"Did you say you're sorry?"

Sky thought back. Had he? Everything had happened so fast, he might not have said anything.

"You should say you're sorry," Claire declared, "that usually helps."

"Right…" Sky agreed. Though he doubted it would be enough.

"Claire, why don't you go watch some TV for a little while?" Silph suggested, "I need to talk to PureBlueSky about something important."

"Okay," Claire agreed. She trotted over to the couch, found the remote and began searching for a cartoon channel.

"Let's go into the other room," Silph directed.

"Fair enough," Sky shrugged. He wondered what Silph could want. There wasn't much he could do to solve a murder. Still, he had never heard of a human Pokémon murder before. More than anything he was curious just to hear details.

Silph led the way back into the bedroom. Once inside, he let Sky walk further in while he remained by the door. He frequently looked back into the living room to check on Claire.

"How have you been?" Silph asked. The last time he had visited PureBlueSky was shortly after the tournament began. He had reserved two other suites for Aurum and EdgeoftheEarth, but Silph had yet to set eyes on them outside of their matches. Compared to them, PureBlueSky was incredibly easy to track down. If he needed their help, it was PureBlueSky he visited first.

Sky didn't answer with words. Instead he spread his arms and looked downward, gesturing to himself.

"You look terrible," Silph observed, trying to keep his voice passive, "how long has Tempest been gone?"

Sky thought about it. "A day," he answered.

Silph nodded. If Claire ever had a fight with him and ran away, he would feel exactly the same. He knew the bond between trainer and human Pokémon was strong, but…this was stronger. He wondered if Sky knew the reason.

"Would you mind hurrying up a bit?" Sky asked as he slumped into the desk chair.

"Of course," Silph agreed, "we've already started an investigation. The victim was a Meganium-woman, in her early twenties. Very pretty."

Sky began absently staring at the wall.

"A human Absol, Ninjask and their mutual trainer brought the body into the Pokémon Center," Silph went on, "one of the nurses was able to tell that she had been attacked with a combination of Dazzling Gleam and Psychic. So, we've been moving forward using that information."

"How exactly?" Sky asked, without moving his gaze from the wall.

"Well, uh…" Silph stumbled. He hadn't realized Sky was still paying attention, "we're compiling a list of Pokémon that could know both attacks. From there, we'll begin questioning trainers who possess human Pokémon that-"

"What if there was more than one attacker?" Sky interjected.

"It's a possibility," Silph admitted, "we're considering every scenario."

"Uh-huh…" Sky nodded, still disinterested, "and who's in charge of it all?"

"Davis," Silph answered, "I believe you've met him."

"Once or twice," Sky searched his memory, "I'm pretty sure he was an asshole."

"We could use your help," Silph ignored the comment, "nothing like this has ever happened before. These people need to know that they're safe. I don't want to put the entire tournament on lockdown, but if I have to, I will."

Sky doubted that. The tournament was Silph's pet. The only thing he loved more was Claire, and Sky was willing to bet that it existed for her. Without it, the Skitty-girl had no future. She'd just be Silph's strange, illegitimate daughter that he hid from the world. He would not stop the tournament for anything.

Of course, even out of the corner of his eye, Sky had noticed Silph check on Claire twice more since leaving her alone. The man was scared. That could be enough to change his mind.

"What do you expect me to do?" Sky asked him.

"I just want your cooperation," Silph told him, "nothing too demanding or strenuous. No heroics. Just meet with Davis and help however you can. It will help ease tension just knowing that you're helping."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sky asked. How could his mere presence help?

"Sky," Silph shrugged, "like it or not, but you, River, Edge, and Aurum are all celebrities to these people. Whatever you do, they'll follow. They just need a leader to show them the way."

They'll be very disappointed, Sky thought. He was neither a hero nor a leader. He was just a boy who trained Pokémon.

YOU RAN! Tempest's scream echoed in his head, YOU RAN AWAY AGAIN! All you do is hide and run and pity yourself and hope that everything will go back! Well it won't go back if you just sit here and rot!

"Are you alright?" Silph asked. Sky had shut his eyes and begun shaking.

This is why your only friends are Pokémon.

PureBlueSky's mind raced through ideas.

This was exactly what Tempest was talking about. Times like this when he could make a difference, but chose not to. Was Silph right? Would merely having the champion standing by help people be at ease? He still didn't see how it was possible, but what if it was?

The last thing Himitsu Island needed was for over three hundred human Pokémon to start panicking. Silph and his workers were the law here, but their hold was tenuous. They relied on the civility of the people to keep things running smoothly. If Sky could help to keep people calm, then why shouldn't he?

And what if he could do more?

He thought back to before Tempest had left; back to when Quickstep had brought a Leafeon-girl to his doorstep. If Team Deus were the ones responsible, then what if he had been able to stop it from happening? Could he have saved that woman's life? How many lives were at risk if they were ready to do something as bold as attack people in broad daylight? What could he do against people like that?

The weight of it was overwhelming. He had no idea how to be that. He couldn't be a champion for those people.

YOU RAN AWAY AGAIN!

"Dammit…" Sky cursed under his breath, what do I do? He was too weak.

You're stronger than you think. You beat yourself up and say you're not good enough, but there's more to it than that, he remembered something else that Tempest had said, when her faith was still strong. You want to be better. You want to prove to yourself that you're good enough.

She was right. He wanted to be stronger. He wanted Tempest to come back. He wanted her to believe in him again.

"I'll…come back later," Silph said warily. Sky had been shaking and muttering to himself for almost a full minute.

"No," he suddenly sat up and looked at Silph, "I'm fine. I'll do it."

"You're sure?" Silph asked. His request was a simple one, but he expected PureBlueSky to refuse.

"Yes," Sky nodded, "I need to find Flurry and…Quickstep, maybe…but I'll do it."

"Glad to hear it," Silph smiled, "I'll let Davis know you're coming."

Sky nodded his understanding. It would be a small start, hardly anything that would make Tempest proud, but it was something.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to take care of," Silph turned and left the room, "come on, Kitten. It's time to go."

"Aww…" Claire's tiny voice drifted from the other room, "five more minutes! This show's almost over."

"Alright, alright, five more minutes," Silph conceded, "but not one second longer."

"Yay!"

Sky leaned back in his chair. He could feel it. It was time to start doing something. He just wished he knew what that was.

"I guess…" Lily spoke barely louder than a whisper, "we'll have to…take her home." She rubbed her hands over an empty Pokéball.

"Yeah," Silver said quickly.

"We'll need to leave…"

"Yeah."

"Is there…" Lily thought, "Someplace…special? Somewhere she'd…"

"Lilycove," Silver answered, "she liked the sea breeze. There're some cliffs overlooking the ocean there."

"Okay," Lily nodded agreement, "then we'll take her there."

"Yeah."

The two were silent for a few minutes. Shinobi was with them, but he hadn't said a word since they had found Aroma's body.

They waited in their hotel room. Though they had no idea what they were waiting for. The nurses and several different security guards had asked them a series of questions before finally letting them go. On the way back, a few passersby looked at them strangely, recognizing who they were. Word was spreading.

Psychic and Dazzling Gleam, Silver reminded himself, Psychic and Dazzling Gleam. How many Pokémon could know that combination? Who was it? Who was it that attacked Aroma?

"She would never go off on her own, like that," Silver muttered as he wrung his hands, "she knew how dangerous it was. She never would have done that."

"W-What are you-?"

"She was forced to," Silver nodded, "yeah…something made her go out there by herself. They used Psychic…can psychics do that?" He wasn't sure, but he was ready to believe it. "Then he was a psychic-type. He didn't just use Psychic, he is psychic! He was a psychic that used Dazzling Gleam…yeah…Psychic and Dazzling Gleam…"

"Silver?" Lily asked.

"It had to be them," Silver continued muttering, "Nobody else would've done something like that. She was sweet. She was nice. Why the hell did they…?"

He started to shake and cry all over again.

"Silver," Lily started again, "I think we should tell them…"

"Tell them what?!" Silver snapped at her, "that there's a secret lab right underneath their feet and they're too stupid to notice?! They'll think we're crazy!"

"A-Aroma's…" Lily almost started to cry again, but she bit her lip to stop herself, "she's gone. We have to try. We can't do anything alone."

"And you think they can?!"

"I don't know!" Lily couldn't hold back any longer, "I just want to take her home and feel safe again! What if they come after us?! I don't want you to die, too!"

"Fine, you can take her to Lilycove," Silver spat, "but I'm staying. I'll bury that whole place myself, if I have to!" Overcome with rage, he stood up and strode towards the door.

"Silver! No!" Lily called.

He ignored her.

Silently, Shinobi appeared to block his path.

"This again?" Silver sighed, "Move. Now."

The human-Ninjask said nothing.

"Oh, look at this," Silver scoffed, "can't say anything? Too shocked, like we are? Maybe you really do have some actual emotions stuffed in there somewhere. What's wrong? Can't even tell me what your orders are?"

"Stay here," Shinobi finally said, "Rest. Think."

"That's more like it," Silver sneered, "now, move. You can't stop me."

"I can and I will," Shinobi told him, "if I don't, you will die. Stay here. Rest. Think."

"Damn you!" Silver shouted, "I said 'move!'" He pulled his arm back and drew out his claws, preparing a Night Slash.

A moment later, he was on the floor. Blood seeped out of his chest where Shinobi must have hit him with X-Scissor. He was still awake, but the pain was too much. He wouldn't be going anywhere. Shinobi just saved his life.

Psychic and Dazzling Gleam, Silver reminded himself. It wouldn't be the same day, but he swore on Aroma's unfinished grave that he would find whoever killed her and rip his throat out.

AN: another long absence…

I've actually been working on a few short-story projects. I submitted two, but it'll be a while before I hear back. I might tell you guys if anything actually gets published, but I'd prefer to avoid shameless self-promotion. Particularly on a fan fiction that I write for fun and practice…

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Sky's finally starting to come around and Silver's ready to get some revenge. Mark and Maple will return next time.

Until then, thanks for reading!