Chapter Five: Whispers

With Every Legend, There's a Beginning

"What?" Confusion rang in my tone. The man I came out of my way to see was now…Well, deceased. The beginning of my journey really wasn't going well at all; and I had barely started.

"Yes…What's wrong with that?" A weird expression was painted on Sake's face. My tone had her just as confused as I was.

"There's nothing wrong with it, it's just…" I bit my lip. Should I tell her? Sake has proven herself trustworthy. I thought, deciding to explain myself. She deserved a good, true explanation; considering I just walked into her life suddenly. "While I was in Solaceon, I visited with Hilda and Hilbert, and I fell down and spent the night in the hospital, the next day I went to Hearthrome and the only reason I got in was because I needed to visit the doctor. But Hilbert told me to go to Oreburgh and meet his good friend Pete who would get me to Sandgem without going through Jubilife."

It took Sake a moment to process this. "Oh." She muttered. "He told you that, huh? Did he say anything else?"

It felt like centuries ago when I thought back to that day. "No." I finally said. "What else would he need to say?"

She shrugged. "Nothing. Well, that may be a problem…"

"Yeah." I said. "Do you know a way to get to Jubilife from here? Is there a route?" During my school, I had to be able to locate things through Sinnoh and try to memorize routes; there wasn't a direct one to Jubilife from here.

She shook her head. "No. People who live here are forced to live here and forced to mine. No route there. But…" She paused, "Yes, there is a way to get to Sandgem. Not Jubilife, but Sandgem. However, someone would need to escort you. We'll need to plan it perfectly, if we leave and a guard catches us, we'll be killed for sure." She said it so nonchalantly it made me taste something sour in my mouth. They dealt with that every day.

"I don't need to be escorted," I said, feeling a need to be independent.

She shook her head, "it's no bother, really. I'm sorry you got wrapped into all of this," she forced a laugh, "escorting you is the least I can do, and a walk outside the confines of Oreburgh? That sounds perfect, anyways."

"Alright, only if you're sure…" She nodded reassuringly, "so when are we leaving?"

"Right after lunch break. The guards won't be around. But now, let's go to sleep. It's been a long day." She said through a smile.

Nodding, I leaned back on the couch. She stood and blew out all the candles, leaving me in the dark.

The next morning Sake left off doing some errands before we would be leaving. I was alone in her house; it felt weird to be alone in a stranger's house. Yeah, she's a stranger. I reminded myself, realizing I had entrusted my life with someone I didn't know.

Soon she returned with fresh berries, and she mashed them in a bowl to make what seemed like mush. While she was doing that, I studied my Sinnoh map. "So, are we going to be cutting through the woods to get to Sandgem?"

She was silent for a moment. "Actually, we'll be going through an underground tunnel that starts in the mines."

My eyes widened. There was no way I would be going back into a mine after it blew up the last time I had stepped in one.

She turned around from her work and eyed me. "Are you okay, Cynthia?"

"Yeah I'm fine," I stated defensively, "the idea of going back into a mine is just…"

"I know, but, we'll be one-hundred percent safe down there. No bombs. I promise." Her voice was ridiculously reassuring, so I slightly smiled at her.

After we ate, Sake prepared for the walk. She wrapped her hair in a scarf and put the rest of the berries she had brought in a pouch and attached it to her clothes. When I mentioned saying goodbye to Ellena, Sake told me that probably wasn't the best idea and we needed to leave immediately. Assuming she was trying to protect this family she was close to, I didn't question her.

We reached the mine. A feeling of déjà vu rushed over me. It wasn't a happy feeling. My heart picked up speed and I felt anxiety nip at my sides. Somewhere deep inside I was convinced that a bomb was in there. And it would kill me. I stopped before skidding down the steep slope and entering the mine.

"It's okay, trust me." Sake said. "We might be seen soon, come on." I nodded, but I wasn't doing this because I trusted her; I was doing it to be brave. Don't be a wimp, Cynthia Marie! A quote from Ember; one he had used on me quite a bit. So I entered the mine.

We were down in the main area, a few workers looked at us; but none questioned our presence. There was a branching path to the left, one that was quite dark, and Sake started to walk down it—I followed at her heels.

"Are you—" I started.

"Shh!" Sake held up her hand. "We don't want anyone to hear." She whispered. We had to walk single-file down this dark hallway. I couldn't see anything until I heard Sake fumble around with something, and then light a match.

"Where are we, exactly?"

"This is an old place of the mine that hasn't been used for years. Come here." We walked over to a big boulder. "Let's just see…" She said to herself. She circled the rock and patted it. "How—" She paused and her head shot up.

"What?"

"Guards!" She whispered. I listened. I heard the mumbles of men in the distance. It was getting louder and soon I heard footsteps. I ran to Sake's side. We crouched behind the boulder. There was a small hole in the back of the boulder that Sake was digging her finger into. "C'mon, c'mon!" She whispered frantically. I heard someone yell.

"Hey, anyone down here? This place is off limits." The footsteps were closer.

Just then I heard a click. The big rock slid forward and revealed about a foot long hole. Sake about pushed me in and I knocked my elbow. I winced as I fell to the floor. I lost my footing and fell right on my back. Luckily my bag cushioned my fall. Sake was a little more graceful. She dropped down and landed perfectly on her feet and reached up and pressed a button. The boulder quickly slid back into place with one click. Relief filled me.

"That was too close." I said.

"Yeah," I heard her say, but she blew out the match in the process of falling, so I couldn't see her.

The next thing I realized was light. Light filled the room. Sake had somehow found and lit a lantern. She slid a box of matches into her berry pouch. "Alright. Now that we're safer, let's get going. This path will take us right to Sandgem. Ready? Oh, how is your elbow and back?" Honestly I hadn't thought about the pain I was in, and I wasn't going to start now.

"Great, let's go." Sake helped me up to my feet and took the lead yet again. I quickly glanced around the small room.

It had built-in shelves that lined the walls. They were filled with lanterns, mining gear, canned foods, towels and blankets, anything you would need to survive. That made me question why Sake knew about this and why this was even here. But I continued walking. Even though some thoughts on who Sake really was crawled through my mind, deep down I knew she was a nice person and couldn't be a bad person. Why would I doubt myself? Sake was a good person who helped me and didn't expose me to the guards. But at the same time, wasn't she also hiding from the guards? I didn't need to accuse her, but I also needed to stay cautious.

This situation suddenly became alarming. I was letting a stranger lead me through an underground trail that could ultimately lead me to my death. My instincts kicked in and told me to run like the wind, that I shouldn't be here, that I need to leave.

"So Solaceon's Center admits humans too?" Sake suddenly asked, and I pushed my thoughts away.

"Only because Hilbert made them," I answered. She started laughing obnoxiously.

"Well, Oreburgh isn't allowed to admit human patients. There is only one nurse there and she's from the Golden Cities, so she despises being here. She has an apartment in the back of the Center and she lives there free and gets better and more food then all of Oreburgh put together, but she only sees Pokémon, so all the workers who get illnesses are left to suffer until they die in their own homes. I go and check on them…But…I don't do anything but try and give them medicines. I don't have anything but herbs I can collect out in the forest and that's not enough to bring people back from the brink of death. Poor Essie, she could die, you know. Her illness can kill her. All because of Lea."

Essentially, Lea lets innocent people die. "No one helps the workers when they are sick? And yet they are forced to work? You would think the Golden Cities would share medicine just so they can have their coal and precious gold."

"You would think, wouldn't you? Or they would try to save children, at least males since they'll be forced to mine as soon as they turn fifteen, but no. They have no hearts. Just as long as they get what they want. It's horrible. I'm outraged." I believed her, it was unfair.

"If woman aren't forced to mine, how do you make money? How will Esmeralda make money?"

"What money? We have none. I had very little. And I mean very little. It was all taken from me after the bombing and deaths. I venture out into the woods and collect herbs, leaves and berries. I go and sell them to some families and they give me money or food or something. I also go and housekeep for an elderly couple. The man is retired from mining and is too ill to do anything, and the woman is held up in bed all day because of some bone and skin disease. Me and Esmeralda both work for them. We feel bad because we take all their money, but we treat them good. Their home is spotless and I normally tend to the couple while Esmeralda cooks, so they're not hungry. While I was out this morning I stopped by their place and gave them berries. That will last them while I'm gone. I don't expect Esmeralda to go over there." She sighed. "Now, Esmeralda will have to do what I do. She's too afraid to go out into the woods, though. She's afraid she'll get caught by a guard. So Ellena will probably do the selling and trading. I'll let Es take over with the elderly couple so she'll have that money coming in. And if Essie gets better…I don't know…She'll do something." Sake sounded distressed over this. You could tell how much she cared for Esmeralda and her family. This was probably the first time she realized that Esmeralda had no money anymore.

No money meant no food; no food meant no life. I noticed how slim Sake was. Her face was almost skeleton-like, but not grotesque in any way. She was pretty, with silky hair and olive-toned skin. How many people die from starvation in Oreburgh?

"Why are you forced to stay in such a place of poverty?"

"Our town started to strongly disagree with Lea's ways of doing things…A group of citizens took a stand and rioted in the streets. Lea sent in a ton of guards…Some of them beat our citizens to death right in the streets, scaring everyone. Then, the guards became permanent, the fences went up, we were forced to mine and…Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't know this. Well, actually I'm not surprised. It's just like Lea to keep it some huge secret." I didn't know how to reply, so I didn't.

After a while, there was a strange noise. The two of us stopped and listened. It was odd, and quite unexplainable; but Sake reassured me that it was nothing. Still, I felt edgy. The sound was just…Alarming.

Then I felt something lightly brush my cheek and ear. I swiftly turned and looked around; of course there was nothing it could have been. Sake noticed my movement and cocked her head at me. I just shook my head and continued walking; dismissing the whole situation. Then something touched my shoulder. This time there was weight to it. It felt like some sort of hand. Quickly I slapped my shoulder, and I only hurt myself.

"What?" Sake finally said. I didn't answer.

Now something different and much weirder happened; I felt a presence at my side, right next to my face. It whispered: "Do not," it paused, "be. A fool." I could feel the puff of breath in my ear.

"Have heart." It continued. Then, I felt the presence leave. The hand on my shoulder left. The faint whispers stopped.

"What?" She repeated.

"Didn't you hear the whispers?"

Her eyebrows came together, "no. What are you talking about?"

"No, I heard…" I trailed off. "Nothing, I guess. I just had a moment. I've had weird moment ever since we walked into this mine. I'm very, very, very uncomfortable down here," my voice wavered. "Ready to continue?"

She paused. "Yeah, I am. But the real question here is, are you ready to continue?"

"Yes." As soon as the word slipped through my lips a wind, a real heavy wind, whipped around and blew out the rest of the lantern.

"Oh!" Sake gasped. The mine was very dark now. I felt something hit my shoe. The hand and the whispers! They're back! I darted in some direction. I let out a 'gah!' as I ran off. "Cynthia! Cynthia! Don't panic! It was just a berry!" She yelled. I stopped in my tracks and examined this. She probably reached in her pouch where she had both berries and the matches, and one fell out on my shoe. I moaned to myself. I had lost it. I was crazy. I needed to get out of there. A light lit up behind me. I turned and faced Sake. I slumped over to her.

"I'm so sorry, Sake. I-I…"

"Hey, the mines play with your head. C'mon, I can feel the breeze, we're close." She smiled at me. I nodded and followed her down the path. She started to make small talk. Normally, I despised small talk and talking in general, but this time I was happy she acted as if the last ten minutes hadn't happened.

She was right: We were close. Down the path was a ladder, somehow nailed into the cave wall, and the large hole at the top of it, with sunlight beaming in. We climbed out, Sake first, and the fresh, breezy air was amazing. We were in a forest, but I knew we were close to the beach because of the salty smell in the air. "Sake…I'm sorry for acting so odd down there. Will you forgive me and, please, forget?"

She laughed. "Oh of course I forgive you! And don't worry, I've already forgotten." She winked. "Okay, so the town is that way." She pointed east. "I hope you arrive safely."

"Wait, wait, you aren't going with me?" I asked.

She looked away and thought. "No. I need to be back with Es and all. I want to make her dinner. You'll be fine." She smiled. "I'll see you."

"Okay, goodbye. And thank you for everything."

She walked over to the entrance. "No problem. You have fun now." She hopped down the ladder and disappeared. I followed her directions and walked east.

"Alright, I'm on my own again." I smiled at the thought; I liked this. "Now, no more trusting strangers, no exceptions. I'm going to see Professor Rowan and be on my way." I said to myself. "Great. Now I'm talking to myself. First the whispers, now this? I must be going crazy." The forest ended, and I happened upon a sandy beach.

The sand was hot. It felt nice. I looked up into the sky. It was deep blue with no clouds in sight; and Flying Types enjoying themselves. Not like home. I heard something. It was a mixture of sloshing water and wind. I looked to my left: off in the distance was dark blue water with waves that were splashing on one another. This was it: Paradise. I took off to the water with a smile painted on my face. I felt so childish sprinting to the water, but I didn't care at that time. When I reached the water I dropped my bag to my side, pulled up my black pants so they rested at my knees, and stepped into the foam. Then watched the warm water come to me and run across my feet and ankles, then fall back to the giant world of the ocean. It was an amazing sight. The water never ended.

Walking out of the water, I sat on the empty shore for a little while; allowing myself to soak it all in.

Afterwards I wandered into town. There were some kids running about, and a few parents keeping an eye on them. Sandgem reminded me of Solaceon, in a way. The homey atmosphere and the families running around made the two match. But there was also some Celestic thrown in, too; instead of the little homes in Solaceon there were cabins like Grandmothers. All the cabins were placed on the far side of town, near where the forest starts back up and away from the beach. This place was nothing like Oreburgh, however; Oreburgh's matching homes, all structured into organized lines, and dirt roads powdered with coal dust was all original.

There was seemingly one main street, which stretched from the route leading here until it abruptly ended at the forest edge. There were branching dirt paths that wrapped around clusters of houses, and sometimes inching into different places of the trees; probably leading to more homes. At the end of the street was a larger cabin, with an out-of-place addition slapped onto the side. There was a wooden sign out-front that read: "Sinnoh Laboratory: Place of Pokémon Discoveries"

That was my place. Walking up to the front door, I knocked. I know the lab was supposedly a public place, but since it was a house, I felt obligated to knock and not just waltz in uninvited. I stood there for a good two minutes, knocked again, stood for even longer, then decided to just waltz in uninvited. As I pushed the door open, it slammed into a large desk, making an empty glass fall over. "Whoops," I muttered, and put the glass back upright. I quickly looked around the room. It wasn't that small, but it was crowded with cabinets, shelves, desks, a glass case displaying a Pokémon egg model, and a large examination table placed in the middle. There was nobody here, so with a sigh, I turned to leave.

"Don't worry about it." I heard a male voice say. I spun around and saw an older man standing in a doorway across the room. "It happens all the time." Confused, I didn't say anything. Then I realized he was talking about the desk and door, so I quickly moved the door to examine it. There was a large gash in the wood in both the door and desk, that made me feel a little better.

He approached me. "I'm Professor Rowan, but most just call me Rowan. And who are you?" He reached his hand toward me.

Grabbing his hand, I shook it before quickly pulling away. "Cynthia." I said bluntly. I wasn't interested in talking to this man. He was older, probably in his forties or a little younger. His hair had a few strands of white around the almond brown. He had slight stubble run across his face and an almond mustache was growing above his lip. He didn't wear a lab coat, which was proof to me that he didn't do anything research related. I would tell Ember that later.

When I said my name his eyebrows smashed together. "Ah." Was all he said. "You don't happen to be…?"

"Actually I happen to be Cynthia Everheart. Winnie was my Grandfather. You knew him, correct? And my grandmother Carolina?" The sharpness in my tone seemingly didn't affect him.

His eyebrows went back to normal. "Oh, yes, yes. Winnie was a great friend of mine. How is he doing?"

Biting my lip, I tried to think of the words. "Actually…" I paused. He looked at me weird.

"What is this about, Cynthia? Why have you come here?" He sounded concerned.

"My grandfather died five years ago." I said, ignoring his last sentence.

He looked very surprise. He walked around me and took a seat at his desk. "Oh. How come I didn't hear about this?" He said. But he didn't look at me.

Not knowing the answer, I simply said: "I'm sorry no one told you."

"It's quite alright. How is Carolina? I hope she's well."

"Yes, she is. She's perfectly fine."

Rowan got up and walked to his examination table. I followed him. There were papers that he was shuffling through. He stopped and looked at me. "You know, I met you when you were just a youngling. Don't you remember? You were two, I think." He thought. "Ah, yes. Two. When Cassie-" He stopped.

I winced at my mother's name. I probably shouldn't by now, but I did. It was just a weird part of me I couldn't throw away.

"I am so sorry for your loss. I was never able to tell you that, you know."

"There's no need to be sorry. It's done. It's over." I said. He looked at me strange.

"I still am sorry. Cassie was my good friend." He sighed and looked back down at the papers. "You look just like her…" He didn't look at me. He conveniently turned away. "Everything except those eyes. She had pretty dark green eyes. Reminded me of the trees. And she loved plants." He laughed. "We used to go out and pick leaves. But that was a long time ago. When I was just a lab tech, when this laboratory was a place of wonder, and many people worked under this roof. I worked with your granddad Winnie, and Cassie was around the age of eighteen. I was twenty. She would come in to the lab every day and see her dad. She would sit up on the desk and tell him about her 'foliage findings,' as I called them. Which they weren't anything spectacular. To me, at least. But boy did she think everything about plants was the greatest thing. A lot of times she would drag Winnie out and show him things. Sometimes she would drag me along, too. We had good times, your mother and I. She soon met Chance. He worked at the lab, also. And they were married so quickly. Then she was pregnant. It shocked us all how quickly things went by. Then Winnie and Carolina moved and Cassie went with them. I saw them four years later. When I met you. You were only two. Apparently before you, your mother had a miscarriage. So sad that bad things happen to such good people. And then…" He trailed off and sighed.

Then my parents died, that's how that story ends. I paused, hoping he would say more. My grandparents never mentioned my parents. The words mother, father, Cassie and Chance were forbidden in my household. "Thank you." I had an urge to thank him. "I had never heard anything about my parents."

He looked at me. There were no signs of tears, but I could see the pity written on his face. "No problem. I thought you might like to hear something. Winnie was nothing like your mother or grandmother." He laughed. "What a jokester! A day at the lab wasn't a boring day let me tell you that." He began laughing, and a genuine smile crossed my face. He composed himself quickly, as did I. "Anyway, Cynthia, is there anything I can do for you? I always thought that Winnie would help you out when you decided to become a trainer…But…" He looked at me inquisitively, "You do want to be a trainer, yes?"

"Yes, I do want to become a trainer." I said. "What do I have to do so I can start battling gyms?"

"Well you need a Pokémon." He scratched his stubbly chin. "I'm sorry I don't have any to give you. But, never fear, I'll go catch you one." He reached for his coat and put in on.

"That's not necessary. As it happens, Grandfather left me a Pokémon. Is that all I need?"

"Well, yeah. But you need to know how to train and such. Come sit." He brought the chair from his desk over to me. I sat down.

Aggravated, I said: "I know how to train."

"Okay, good! Do you know how to use moves? Heal Pokémon? Catch Pokémon? You need a few to challenge gyms. I like to think it's my duty to make sure trainers know how to do it properly." He opened a drawer and pulled out a small piece of paper. "Here is a license. It's not as official-looking as one from a Trainer School would be, but it's still necessary. Plus it states that it's from the lab, brownie points." He winked, trying quite desperately to be funny.

"Wait, wait, wait, you like to think it's your duty?!" I stood up from my chair. "If it's not your duty then what do you do? Did I waste my time coming here?"

"Absolutely not, Cynthia. You needed to come to Jubilife anyways. So you just came a little extra way. And I'm glad you came and we had our chat." He was perfectly calm.

I started walking to the door. "Then I'm headed to the gym. See you later." I reached for the handle.

"Wait for me!" Rowan darted over to me.

"What?" I turned toward him.

"It's my duty to—"

"No. You like to think it's your duty."

"Right. I like to think it's my duty to make sure trainers are ready to go. Come on, I'll escort you to Jubilife then you will never have to see me again."

That didn't sound too bad. "Why do I need to go to Jubilife?" I thought back to Hilbert's words.

He gave me a weird look. "You have to be interviewed. It's required by Champion Lea. 'Every trainer must have a televised interview in Jubilife and must be escorted to the first gym.' Don't you know that?"

If I have to go to Jubilife, why would Hilbert tell me not to? I thought. "I can't just go challenge the gym?" I asked.

He shot me another look. "No. You can't get to Oreburgh on your own."

Hastily I tried to cover myself up, "oh, is that so? I didn't know that. Okay then, to Jubilife." I smiled at him.

He stared at me. "Okay…?" He walked into another room. Then, a huge bird flew out of the room. It flew towards me, and fluttered right in front of me. It had huge muscular wings and beefy legs and feet. It was gray, white with some brown. It had a broad chest and long beak.

"I hope you don't mind if we take him along. He's my only Pokémon. He's a Staraptor. Champ is his name." He laughed. I laughed too. He held a weird bag in his hand. It looked like a giant pouch. He noticed me looking at it. He leaned to the side and put the bag behind him. I pretended not to notice and turned toward the Pokémon.

"Alright Champ," He cocked his head at his name. "Are you ready to leave?" He spread out his wings and crowed. I laughed again. "Okay, let's go." I opened the door and he soared out. I watched the magnificent bird soar up to the heavens and swoop around.

"He's a beauty." Rowan said.

"Yeah he is." I agreed.

He suggested we walk to the Pokémon Center and heal my Pokémon. I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Gible checked out and fed.

We walked in to the Center and up to the counter. The nurse greeted Rowan and took my Pokéball. She took the ball into another room and Rowan and I sat on a sofa.

"So you only have one Pokémon?" He asked me.

"Yeah. Grandfather left me a Gible."

"Do you know what level he is?"

"She. And I don't know. She's not very tough." I said.

"And you think you're ready for a gym?"

"Yes." I shot him an odd look. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"First of all, you need your Pokémon at level ten at least to challenge a gym, second of all you need to be familiar with his—"

"Her."

"Right. Her moves. Do you know what moves she knows?"

"I know she knows Tackle and Growl." I said. "I'm not too sure what level she is."

"If we train, I'll be able to tell. We have to get out of the town limits, of course."

"Okay. I guess I need to train more." Even though the last training session wasn't very successful.

"You guess? You need to. You're going to train a lot, Cynthia. Understand? Wait here. I'm going to go get something from the lab." He walked out of the Center. Sighing, I thought: How legitimate are his practices, anyway? When he works in a lab all by himself? What Pokémon discoveries does he actually make?

Rowan returned soon after the nurse handed Gible back to me. "I got a few more Pokéballs, a potion, and this." He held it up. It was a small silver bell.

"Why do you need that?" I asked.

"It's a soothing bell. You said you have a Gible, they're dragons and very, very hard to train. A soothe bell will be the trick." He put the bell in his pocket and handed the other items to me. I stuffed them in my bag.

"Alright then, let's go train." We left the building. Champ was up in the air soaring happily.

Rowan whistled. The Staraptor swooped down and landed in front of him. I wonder if Gible will ever get that trained. I thought, then quickly shook my head and smirked.

We walked with Champ at our side out of Sandgem. There was slightly wet grass under our feet, and a spring breeze that brushed the grass and leaves gently. A few deep green leaves blew past us.

"It's so beautiful out here." I said.

Rowan nodded. "Indeed. I'm so lucky to live here."

The sky was so clear and the colors were unreal. It made everything from Celestic seem bland. I nodded my agreement.

Rowan stopped and looked around. "Alright Miss Cynthia, I think we can train here." He put down his things and grabbed the silver bell.

"I must warn you Rowan, she doesn't train easy." I got her ball out of my bag.

"I'm beginning to think you have no faith in me. I have trained many Pokémon in my time." He held his hand out for the ball.

Don't trust him! "I will do it," I assured him, then threw the ball in the air. "Gible!" I yelled, calling her out.

My Pokémon manifested from the light, and her Pokéball dropped to the ground nearby. She spun around and faced us, then glared at me and growled.

"Here you are, Gible." Professor Rowan reached down towards her and she snarled.

Then, before we could react, she jumped up and tackled me.

*This chapter has been hardcore edited/rewritten