Chapter 14: Visions of the Passed/Past
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Time.
Something that there was just too little of.
Air swished around me as I streamed ahead rapidly.
A deep aching rumbled through my entire body.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
My body shuddered involuntarily from head to tail. I continued my journey through the clouds, my whip-like tail propelling me forward.
Tick.
I begged my internal clock to slow. I begged time to slow. What I would give to be a Celebi…
Tick.
The ocean below glittered like ice in sunlight. Little ships were sprinkled about.
The land was behind me. Far behind.
As were my old problems.
Tick.
Never again would I clash with the clone.
Never again would I endure such a struggle for power.
Power was simply not worth it.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
My new self would be safe… if only I could make it.
The old land behind.
The new land ahead.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Another deep rumble.
The only problem—
Tick. Tick. Tick-tickity-tick. Tick. Tickity-tick.
Time was almost…
o o o o o o o o o o o o o
… a melody whistling through my ears. Soft notes caressed my fuzzy brain.
I was in two places.
A pair of eyes blinked open and I saw my own body relaxing in white bedcovers.
I yawned, or rather, the body I was in yawned.
A wave of surprise suddenly sent a shiver down the body's spine. {Hey! What are you doing in here?}
Oh.
I was in Apple's body.
{I honestly have no idea,} I replied.
Apple yawned again. {I just had the strangest dream…}
{Hey, me too!}
{I was flying above a big ocean—} Apple started.
{There was a melodious clock—} I said at the same time.
We both paused.
{You had it too?} we yelled at once.
{Yes!} we answered, again together.
To make the situation less awkward, I stopped talking. {That was some serious déjà vu,} Apple commented.
{This has happened to you before?}
{Kind of. Well, not the part where I wake up with you in my head too, but the actual dream… It just felt so real, realer than my usual dreams. Almost like a vision…}
A pause.
{Is that possible?} I asked.
{Maybe. I don't know…}
I came to a sudden realization. {Hey! The shape of the land, remember? The land that we were flying towards in the dream—that was Acceber!}
{Duh.} I felt her eyes roll.
{Well, sorry! Not all of us have the gift of your brilliance, Miss I-attack-anything-with-food.}
{Only if it's good food. Now, will you kindly return to your own body so I can rest in peace?}
{You're not dead yet,} I countered.
{Your lame puns are killing me.}
I was pushed from Apple's mind back into my own.
As I opened my actual eyes and shifted my legs, I groaned in pain. I felt awful. My head hurt and there were too many bruises below my skin for me to find any one in particular extremely painful. The worst was my right leg, which was bandaged. Every time I moved it, a sharp sting rushed from my toes to my torso. When I didn't move, it just ached.
"Hey, you're finally awake!"
I moaned at the voice… at Erin's voice. "Go away."
"You think I'm going to leave after waiting a day and a half for you to wake up?"
"Please…" I mumbled.
Erin abruptly changed the subject. "How do you feel?"
"Awful."
"Yeah, you were battered pretty badly, but at least you won! You should have seen Fiery! After you were down, he went crazy. He knocked out that other Flareon in just one hit, and then the gym leader never landed a punch or kick on him! He was like BAM and—"
"Eevee, Ee!" {Shut up!} Apple barked at Erin.
{Hey, you read my thoughts perfectly.}
{Well, I am psychic,} Apple answered. I turned my head. To my right, Apple was snuggling next to a snoozing Fiery on a white hospital bed identical to the one I was laying on. To my left, Erin was sitting in a chair and had clearly understood Apple's message because her mouth was clamped shut. Next to Erin, much to my surprise, was another figure.
Liam.
"What are you doing here!" I asked accusingly.
"He's here to support you! He's been really sweet, and he rushed back here after the battle. He was even playing a flute for you when you were asleep," Erin answered.
{Yeah, and I had to tackle the kid to make him stop playing that stupid instrument. I couldn't get an ounce of sleep when he was playing; you, on the other hand, slept through the entire thing,} Apple complained.
"Why are you defending him? Didn't he call you stupid the other day? Are you over your argument so soon?" I asked almost desperately. My hope of abandoning Liam was fading away too quickly.
"Nope, I still think she's a shallow idiot," Liam stated as he folded his arms across his chest.
Erin glared at him for a second. "I'll have his mind changed by the end of the day," she said stubbornly.
"Now I really need some painkillers," I grumbled.
"Oh, the nurse told us to come get her if you got up!" Erin announced as she jumped to her feet. "I'll be right back…" She ran out the door.
I turned to Apple and watched as she rested her head on Fiery's paw. {Since when have you and Fiery become so close? Are you two dating or something?}
Apple snorted, causing Fiery to twitch in his sleep. {You think Pokemon date?}
{…No…}
Apple grinned evilly. {What Fiery won't know won't hurt him. He's so big, warm, and fluffy now; it's really comfy to curl right up next to him.}
{He'll kill you if he finds you practically on top of him when he wakes up.}
{He can try,} Apple snickered.
{Whatever, it's your problem. Just don't seduce him or anything…}
{Are you trying to imply something?} Apple snapped.
{Nope. I don't know what you are talking about,} I replied too innocently.
{Why you little—} I blocked Apple's thoughts when she started swearing at me. I looked over at Liam, who was staring at me again.
"So… tell me something about yourself," I began, attempting to pull an Erin icebreaker.
"Everything is none of your business," Liam responded sharply. The teen narrowed his eyes at me. "How about you tell me something about your life."
I rolled my eyes. "Like?"
"Like your childhood."
"And why do you want to discuss my childhood?"
Liam shrugged. "I don't."
"Then why are you asking?" I practically yelled.
"To prove a point. Neither of us is willing to give private information to each other." Liam grinned knowingly.
If I was not stuck in this bed I would have punched him for his smugness… or tried to punch him. I probably would have ended up falling on my face. For the sake of disagreement, I replied, "Not true."
Liam's grin widened. "Then prove it. Tell me a childhood story."
"Fine!" I closed my eyes and recalled…
A typical salt-scented breeze swept through a typical alley on a typical evening in Goldenrod City.
A small girl with a lightly freckled nose and cropped brown hair crouched just outside the alley, leaning towards a fallen garbage can. In the girl's hand was a piece of bread.
"Don't be afraid," the girl whispered as she held out her hand.
There was a whimper from the garbage can. The girl inched closer.
"Hey, watch out!" a teenage boy on a bicycle suddenly cried. The boy struggled to get his bike under control as it swerved toward the small girl. The girl's violet eyes widened as she watched the bike hurtle towards her, and she let out a surprised shriek.
The biker thrust his bike to the side with all his might to avoid hitting the girl. Despite his best efforts, the bike tipped over and careened toward the girl while he was thrust in the opposite direction.
As the bike collided with the girl, she tumbled forward into the garbage can. There was a fierce growl and the garbage can rolled slightly. Then the ear-shattering scream of a six-year-old girl in pain.
A Poochyena leapt from the garbage can with a blood-stained piece of bread in its mouth. The hound didn't pause before scrambling into the dark alley. The girl continued to yell from the garbage can.
The teenage boy shakily picked himself off the ground and stumbled towards the garbage can. He thrust his arms into the fallen garbage can and swept up the crying girl. The girl shrieked even louder as the teen put her on the ground. The girl was covered in grime and her arm was smeared with blood.
"What's your name?" the teenage boy asked kindly as he scanned the area for anyone who might be able to help. It was a quiet Tuesday evening. Only a few ragged-looking beggars and one hurrying business man were currently on the street. The boy turned back to look at the girl to find she was already running down the street, still sobbing.
"I want Mommy!" the girl cried as she turned onto another street.
The teen looked at his watch. He was late; he couldn't afford to waste any more time getting to his job or he would be fired. The boy sighed, picked up his bike, and rode down the road. When he reached the corner, he glanced down the next road and saw the girl standing on the small porch of a run-down dwelling. With another sigh, the boy continued to pedal forward, trying to forget the girl. He succeeded before he reached work.
The girl, in the meantime, paced the porch of the too-narrow house while trying to muffle her sobs. The raised voices on the other side of the wall made the girl afraid to enter.
"Gav, you can't keep doing this to us! We've been here for nearly a year now and Anita's just started first grade! It's time to settle down!"
"Ellen, honey—"
"Don't you Ellen, honey me Gavin Arnold Parkwood! We talked about this. You told me this would be the last time— that you would find a steady paying job!"
"Ellen, look what they're offering me! We can't afford to turn it down! This will be our last move. We'll go to Acceber, I'll do my flashy trainer stuff to get the money, and then we'll get steady jobs."
There was a pause in the conversation. The girl too paused her pacing, trying to decide if it was safe to knock yet. Her arm was really starting to hurt. Soon she would have to go in even if they were still yelling. Red blood trickled down her arm onto the white porch, forever staining it.
"Gav, you know I love you, but we can't keep doing this. Promise me this will be the last time. Promise me you'll put your trainer career on hold, at least as long as our daughter is growing up."
"Ellen Samuel Parkwood, I swear—"
There was a quiet knock on the door. The small girl had decided it was safe to enter now that the loud voices were gone.
Ellen opened the door and gasped. "Anita! What happened to you? You said you were going around the corner to play at Kati's house! Come here, come here! Let's get you in the bath!" Ellen scooped the muck-covered girl into her arms.
"It hurts Mommy," the little girl, Anita, said as she pointed to her arm. "It hurts more than a normal boo-boo. It hurts like eighty boo-boos."
"Oh my! Tell me, what happened?" Ellen anxiously repeated as she dumped Anita into the bathtub and turned on the water.
"A doggy bit me when I fell in the trash can—Ow!" Anita exclaimed as her mother started to scrub her bleeding arm.
"Gav, this is worse than I thought! Call the hospital! She's bleeding all over!"
The girl's head was dizzy. Her arm felt hotter than fire.
Her eyes fluttered shut as confusing memories of black dogs and different towns swirled through her head…
I opened my eyes.
"Then what?" Liam asked… almost as if he cared. He was curious, at the least.
I snickered. "The rest is obvious. I went to the hospital, and they gave me stitches. It took my arm a lot longer than they expected to heal; I still have a scar. Then we moved to Acceber. Four months after we moved to Melonbi Town my dad got another offer in Cerulean City. My mom wouldn't move. They split up. My dad still writes occasionally, but I haven't actually seen him since he left. He's a true traveling Pokemon trainer at heart… never could settle down. My mom didn't take his absence well. She refused to even look at Pokemon for months after he left, and she still has some funny quirks."
Liam nodded absentmindedly.
"So what about you?" I asked.
"What?"
"It's your turn. Tell me something about yourself."
"I already told you it was none of your business."
"That's no fair! I gave you a childhood story so you should give me one!"
Liam shrugged.
I leaned my head back against my pillow. "Ugh, why are you so secretive? Do you work for the government or something?" I glanced slyly at Liam only to find he had averted his eyes. He looked at his shoes.
"I just don't like to talk about my past," Liam answered solemnly.
"You don't have one happy memory you are willing to tell me?"
Liam didn't reply.
"What about when you got your first Pokemon?"
Liam hesitated for a moment. He finally answered, "Fine. I'll tell you. My grandpa, like me, had a dark gift. He told my parents and my cousin's parents that he would give his grandchildren their first Pokemon when we first showed signs of having the dark gift."
"What if you didn't have the gift?" I interrupted.
Liam gave me a cold look. I wasn't the least bit deterred. "I wouldn't know. I'm sure my parents would have eventually given me a Pokemon anyway." Liam seemed to look past me. "It was a Sunday evening…
A family of three walked up a graveled path toward an old mansion. Gargoyles resembling Pokemon long deceased stared down at the family from the mansion's crumbling roof. Thick, pressing dew hung in the air.
"Dad, I don't want to go to Grandpa's!" a little boy whined.
"Hush. We do this every Sunday, Liam. You can play with your cousin," the father replied.
"But dad, Grandpa Willy's weird! He's always doing weird stuff!"
The father sighed and looked to his wife for help. She only raised her eyebrows and said, "It's your family."
"You're the one who married into it. It's not my fault I'm related, but you chose to become a part of it." The man smiled good-naturedly at his wife.
The wife grinned. "Did I make a mistake?"
The man leaned towards his wife and gave her a quick peck on the lips. He paused, as if considering the value of the kiss. "I don't think so," he muttered into his wife's ear.
The child looked away in disgust.
The family reached the large, wooden front door. Mysterious shapes and shadows were engraved upon the grand entrance. Not bothering to knock, the father opened the door and called, "Da! We're here!"
The main hall the family entered was dull and simple—an empty area of wooden walls and floorboards. An elderly man with scraggly white hair and a walking cane appeared from around a dusty corner. "Come in, come in," he said. "We're just eating appetizers. Ah, Liam, my boy, come give your granda a hug!"
Liam wrinkled his nose at the old-person smell that filled the room. However, he complied and walked across the stiff wooden floorboards to hug his grandfather. Somewhere in the house an old clock chimed, indicating that it was six-o-clock.
"Liam, what do you say you play with Tal a bit before dinner?" The old man patted the head of his grandchild. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a Pokeball.
Liam looked pleadingly at his parents. When they didn't respond, he said, "But grandpa, I don't want to play with Tal. I always play with him! Can't I play with Landon instead?"
The grandfather chuckled. "Landon can be there too, of course. We'll all go to the other room to play." The old man gave the boy a gentle nudge toward the living room.
The family entered a carpeted room. The brown couch facing the stone fireplace was well worn, as were the antique pictures scattered about the wooden walls. At a small table in the corner of the room sat another family of three— two adults and one boy who looked strikingly similar to Liam. On the boy's lap sat a tiny Houndour.
"Landon!" Liam yelped when he saw his cousin.
Landon looked up and smiled. He picked up his Houndour and ran to greet Liam.
"Now hold on a second, boys," their grandfather said. "Liam has to play with Tal before you two can run off." The old man fingered his Pokeball and in a flash of red, an Alakazam appeared.
Landon promptly sat down on the torn couch. Liam grumbled about Landon not having to play with Tal anymore. Three Sundays ago Tal's tricks stopped working on the lucky boy and grandpa gave him his Houndour.
"Are you ready, Liam?" the grandfather asked.
Liam frowned but nodded. He tried to prepare his stomach for the awful feeling.
"Tal, use psychic," the grandfather demanded. The Alakzam's eyes grew purple in concentration. Liam closed his eyes and waited, dreading what he was to come. The feeling of toes leaving dusty, plush carpet; the feeling of helpless weightlessness; the feeling of no control…
The feeling never came.
Liam opened his eyes. His mother and father were smiling proudly. The grandfather raised a hand to stop Liam from running to embrace them. He narrowed his rust-colored eyes at the boy.
"Tal, mind reader."
Liam's heart sunk. He hated when Tal used that trick even more than psychic. It felt like he was being invaded, like his mind wasn't safe.
Liam felt wisps of a presence in his mind. It was different— not as overwhelming as usual. Then the presence was gone.
The grandfather frowned slightly. "Well, he definitely has the gift. Mind you, Tal can still delve into some of his memories so it's not as developed as Landon's, at least not yet."
"Dad, you know that the gift will develop as Liam develops. Testing how strong his gift is right now is pointless," Liam's uncle stated.
The grandfather sighed. "Of course, of course. Well, as promised, I'll give Liam his first Pokemon." He patted Liam on the head and then knelt down to Liam's height. "How would you like a new friend?"
Liam's green eyes shone brilliantly. "Like Landon's Buster?"
The grandfather chuckled at the Houndour's name. "A little different." The old man shakily pulled out a Pokeball and pressed the white release button.
An adorable dust-colored puppy appeared in front of the boy. Liam stared in amazement.
The grandfather handed Liam the Pokeball. "This Poochyena is yours now. You can name her whatever you would like."
Liam looked up at his grandfather. "Does this mean I don't have to play with Tal any more?"
The grandfather nodded.
Liam smiled and knelt to the scraggily Poochyena. He rubbed the pup behind her soft ears.
"I'll call you No-Tal. Notal."
The Poochyena licked the boy's face.
"It's nice to meet you too."
"I had just turned four. My grandfather died just two weeks later."
"What about the rest of your family?"
Liam's frozen eyes felt as if they would burn through my skull. "None of your business."
I rolled my eyes and daringly questioned, "Aren't we past this 'not your business' thing?"
{I would stop asking. He looks like he might kill you,} Apple suggested. {Interesting story, though…}
Liam just continued to stare at me, sending a shiver down my spine. I looked away and muttered, "Guess not."
Suddenly the door slammed open.
Fiery woke up with a bark.
"Oops. Sorry about that," Erin said, not looking the least bit sorry.
Fiery growled at her for a moment. Then he realized Apple was curled up next to him. {What the...?} His growl immediately changed directions. {What do you think you're doing?} he demanded.
Apple yawned. {Snuggling.}
{Why I oughta…} Fiery's tail lit up and he whipped it down at Apple.
Apple casually flicked her tail forward as it too lit up. Her tail easily stopped Fiery's. She yawned again. {I know that attack now, too.}
The nurse entered the room after Erin. "Excuse me! There is not to be any fighting in the hospital!" she scolded. She turned to me. "If your Pokemon cannot behave themselves, then kindly return them to their Pokeballs."
Apple unlit her tail and closed her eyes. Fiery growled under his breath, but he too unlit his tail. He walked to the other end of the bed and settled down.
The nurse glanced down at her clipboard and then turned her attention to me. "Aside from a severely bruised ankle and several deep cuts, you are perfectly fine. You're free to leave the hospital, but your foot will have to be wrapped for the next week to prevent further injury. I'll also give you some pills for the pain." She put her clipboard down. "Let me show you how to bind your foot." She nodded to Erin. "You watch, too."
After we observed how to wrap my foot up, Erin and the nurse helped me out of bed. The nurse filled a small container of purple pills for my pain while I practiced walking. When I was finally comfortable enough to walk without a limp, the nurse dismissed us and told us to check out at the front desk within the next hour.
Erin, Liam, Fiery, Apple, and I left the room and walked toward the exit. Surprisingly, a small evil smirk danced across Erin's face. I peeked into her mind.
{Liam won't know what hit him—} was all I heard before a bellow interrupted my mindreading.
"THEY DID WHAT?"
Erin, Liam, and I all exchanged glances. We knew whose voice that was…
"WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY TELL ME?"
Aden.
We rushed toward the room around the corner the voice was coming from. Aden was lying in a hospital bed… yelling at a nurse.
The nurse sighed. "This is the very reaction we were trying to prevent. Your body is not healthy yet, and we don't want you overexerting yourself. Believe me, Officer Jenny is hot on the case."
"What happened?" Erin asked curiously as she entered the room. I followed. Liam was nowhere to be found. Funny, I thought he was right behind me.
"Oh, hello there, you two. I was just discussing why nobody bothered to tell me my city was robbed yesterday."
{Discussing? Yeah right… more like bellowing,} Apple commented.
"What was taken?" I asked.
"Most of the new exhibit on Mew at our city's museum along with a couple of rare gem stones. It was Team Glop'emm; we caught their uniforms on tape though their faces were covered," the nurse explained, exasperated. "By the way, visiting hours are three to six; you aren't even supposed to be here."
Aden ignored the nurse and continued, "Team Glop'emm has been fairly active in this city within the past year. I think they might have a base here. If I were allowed out of this dratted bed I would be hunting them down—"
"I already told you not to worry, sir. Officer Jenny can handle it. Now if you two will kindly leave…" The nurse pushed us out the doorway. I waved to Aden who grinned at me.
"You have a pretty fierce Flareon!" he called. "Did a real number on me, that one! Take care and good luck, Anita! Oh, and your friend, Erin, has your badge!"
"Out," the nurse ordered. She pointed down the hall to exit.
We scurried down the hall until the nurse stopped glaring after us and turned down a different corridor. Erin suddenly pulled me to a small niche and looked around suspiciously.
"What are you doing? Do you think—" I started.
Erin shushed me and said, "I need you to find Liam and then go to the northern outskirts of Tinted Town. I'll meet you there. This is yours." Erin handed me a golden-red badge in the shape of a small flame. "It's called the Blaze Badge. Now see ya!" Erin started to walk away, but I grabbed her arm.
"Wait! What are you doing?"
"A few errands…"
"Does this have to do with finding those robbers? I want to come, too!"
Erin gave me a funny look. "No, of course not. You should leave Team Glop'emm to Officer Jenny—its best not to get involved. I'm going to be getting back at Liam… Now don't say a word to him!" Erin hissed. She then glanced down the hall and was gone in an instant.
I blinked. {Where do you think Liam went?} I asked Fiery and Apple.
Fiery sniffed the air and sneezed. He trotted down the hall towards the exit and sniffed again. Apple and I followed as he veered to the right just before the door leading to the check out counter. He stopped in front of a door.
{Figures,} Apple snickered. {Bathroom.}
Just then Liam walked out of the bathroom.
"Why didn't you tell us where you were going?" I asked accusingly.
"What, now I have to ask every time I need to take a dump?" Liam retorted.
I folded my arms and started walking to the door to the checkout counter.
"Where's Erin?"
"She had some 'errands' to do," I answered. "She said she'd meet up with us in the northern outskirts of the town. Humph…" I paused just before the door, a new plan formulating. "Hey, do you want to see if we can help look for the Glop'emm robbers?"
{Anita, I don't think that's a good idea—} Apple started.
"Why would you want to do that?" Liam scoffed. "You think you're going to be able to do a better job than Officer Jenny?"
"Well, I can use my gift—"
{No,} Apple cut me off. {Anita, you're already hurt. The robbers have nothing to do with you! It's just plain stupid to get involved. Do you want Team Glop'emm hunting you down? And what if they discover something about me?}
Apple had pulled the putting-your-Pokemon-in-danger card. How evil… but she was right, unfortunately.
{Since when do you care so much about who knows about you? You would transform back into Mew right here if I weren't around.}
Apple smirked. {That's right—I don't care, but you do. So you won't put me in danger.}
I grinded my teeth, annoyed.
"What did she say?" Liam asked.
"She agrees with you," I muttered.
"Good. Then you're overruled." Liam held the door open for me. He was looking rather pleased with himself for no apparent reason.
{I hope Erin gets him really good,} I growled to Apple. {Wipe that stupid smirk off his face…}
{Oh, believe me, she will. Didn't you read her mind?}
{No.}
Apple grinned. {Just you wait. The fun is about to begin.}