Damn it, school, I'm trying to write a fanfic.
EkaSwede: You can pronounce it that way, but I just pronounce it the same way I do the English word pace. So it rhymes with ace, mace, face, lace, shall I go on?
kirby163: And a little more description, please. How do you expect me to make a character out of that?
Skroy Horitz: I mean for chapter 4. The original title was something really grim, murderer or something, so I changed it after reading your review. No, I've never played ToV. I only own a DSlite and a Wii. :(
DelinquentDuo: Yes. Yes, a thousand times over.
WoRS: Erm, an amusing character with amusing antics, but I feel like I need a better perspective to write her.
The book master: Like this.
And thank you, Jeanne Reveur, CIaD, and ShadowDragoon32 for reviewing! I'll just take your words for it that I'm a decent author.
About the OCs, SD32 and CIaD, I'm afraid to say that your OCs have been rejected, until you can give them actual personalities. Look at k163's response.
*sarcasm* Why yes, I do in fact own the entire pokémon franchise, and I'm only putting this story on a fanfic site because I'm awesome like that! *sarcasm end* Gawd.
"Kind of… unsanitary for a hospital, isn't it?" Pace asked, looking at the less-than-white walls behind him.
"It's the best we can do, unfortunately," The milktank sighed. "Now please hold still."
"Yeah, yeah…" He muttered. Luma and the larvitar both sat on some stools near the padded cart where Pace had been deposited, the former watching the proceedings warily.
The milktank brought her hooves around the cowbell that hung around her neck. "Heal Bell." The bell was surrounded by a pink glow then began to swing from side to side, creating a series of loud, but soft tones. Pace sighed as each toll ebbed away at his body's pain (much more effectively than the kirlia's recover had), removing a layer of the suffering he had experienced days before. In less than a minute, a wave of fatigue overtook him, and he closed his eyes. Soon, he was deep asleep.
The bell continued to ring a few more times before the glow faded away. The milktank used a cloth in the cart to wipe a few beads of sweat from her brow. "There," She finally said. "Now we will have to replace these bandages, and he should be fine by tomorrow. Whoever treated him first has certainly done a sloppy job, I must say," She muttered. "Now, if you two will excuse me…" She looked expectantly at the pair. Clay shrugged and began to walk away from the cart, towards the curtain that surrounded it, but Luma only stared silently back.
"…Excuse me, but I believe you should leave," The milktank said, unprepared for Luma's response.
"Why?" She simply asked. Clay paused as he shoved aside the curtain opposite the wall.
"Why?! Well, of course… It would be inadvisable to… Look, please just leave me to my work!" The nurse flustered.
"I'm not leaving," Luma told her.
"Now, look here…" The milktank muttered lowly.
"Just let her do what she wants," Clay said loudly. "You're only changing the bandages, correct? I don't see why that would require her absence."
"I… I…" The nurse stuttered, apparently not used to being challenged by patients or otherwise. "Fine then!" She shouted, and quickly turned towards the sleeping buizel. Clay again glanced at the pachirisu before crossing the thick curtain. Looking back at it, he read the large white symbols for 17D. He made a slight nod, mentally filing the information away, before walking down a hall lined with many similar curtains. If he was right, there was something he needed to check.
000
"Hey."
"AAUUUGH!!" A crash. "Don't scare us like that!!"
"You're too damn noisy. What the hell is scary about 'hey'?" Pace muttered, his eyes still closed.
"That wasn't it! You were just sleeping quietly and suddenly, you just say that out of nowhere!" One of the voices shouted back at him.
"I wasn't sleeping."
"Wasn't sleeping!? You don't think I can tell whether or not someone is sleeping!?"
"Sir! Please be quiet! There are other patients trying to sleep nearby!" The milktank told the owner of the voice rather loudly.
"Well he- Hey!! Ow!!"
Pace finally opened his eyes and turned his head to the side. The milktank's foot was currently grinding the head of the kirlia from earlier into the ground as Luma, the dratini, and the larvitar watched.
"Um, please stop," The dratini was saying. "This is a hospital…"
In response, the nurse lifted her hoof and kicked the bruised kirlia away. "Humph! You should be asleep, you know!" She said to Pace loudly, ignoring the victim. "Simple rest is all fine and well, but sleep is always the best cure!"
"I've pretty much spent the last two days sleeping," Pace growled. The milktank grumbled as she ducked down to grab something from under the cart and turned away.
"…Well, Pace," The dratini said, giving him a smile, "We haven't introduced ourselves yet! My name is Lynn! The larvitar is Clay, and the kirlia is Valas," She told him, pointing to each of them with her tail. "Valas and I finished our mission and decided to give you a visit."
"I see," He said, looking over them. The three of them looked… he couldn't find a word that would describe all three of them. Definitely not the kind of group you'd find everyday.
"Here," The milktank shoved a mug of milk in front of him. "Drink up. It'll help you heal."
He took it and quickly downed the lukewarm drink before he could dwell too long on its origin. "Thanks," He muttered. "So where the hell am I?"
Just about everyone in the room blinked at him. "Um… in a hospital…?" Clay answered slowly.
"I meant the name of this area. I had amnesia a few days ago," He told them.
"Oh, amnesia, is it?" The milktank said. "We can help with…"
"You can tell your psychics to stay the hell out of my head," Pace snapped, giving her a dangerous leer.
"P-Please don't be so mean," Lynn stuttered.
"Just answer the question," The buizel growled, shutting his eyes again as he leaned back on the cart.
"My, aren't we polite?" Valas mumbled. "You're…"
"You're in the city of Jigsaw, in the Steel District, of the Ikona Region. Does that help?" Clay interrupted him.
"Not at all," Pace answered, as Valas shot the larvitar a glare. "What kind of name for a city is Jigsaw?"
"Most cities are named after the nearest mystery dungeon. In this case, Jigsaw Sky."
"…Steel District of the Ikona region…" the buizel mumbled. "Never heard of it."
"Hm…Wait, you've never heard of the Ikona region!?" Clay shouted, losing his composure for the first time. "It's the only one of two developed regions in the world!"
"Two?" Pace repeated with a tone of incredulity. "Only two? Are you serious?"
"Why does that surprise you?" Valas asked him.
"Only two developed regions…" he mumbled, ignoring the kirlia entirely, "what about the rest of them?"
"In the more undeveloped areas, the wilds are somewhat stronger than the ones you find here, and mystery dungeons cover almost a third of the land in those areas, so settling is pretty hard," Clay explained hesitantly, still unsure what to make of Pace's ignorance. "Plenty of explorers have wandered and mapped most of the regions, but we only have a few establishments.
Pace was silent. "…I don't get it. I know that before my amnesia, there was far more than only two developed regions in the world…"
"You knew something from before your amnesia?" Valas asked. "Just how would that work, exactly?"
"…I don't know," he sighed.
"So you don't remember anything?" Clay asked. "Like- where that scar came from?"
Pace blinked at him. "What scar?"
"That one over your eye."
He reached at his face with a paw. Now that it had been mentioned, he could feel a short bare line over his right eye. But still, he still had no idea how he could've gotten it.
"So you don't remember anything," Clay said.
"What do you think amnesia means?" Pace growled. "And why are you so persistent about it?"
"Um… I-I'm sorry that… that you can't remember anything," Lynn said, before Clay came up with an answer. "It must be terrible to not know where you're from…"
Pace glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry for what? Did you take my memory or something?"
"What!? N-No! I…!"
"Calm down, that was completely rhetorical."
"You shouldn't be so rude," Valas grumbled, "she's just-"
"Second, are there any humans here? I haven't seen any at all so far." The kirlia fell over at the interruption.
"Why in the world would you ask that?" The miltank asked.
"I also know that before I had amnesia, I lived in an area pretty much dominated by humans," He answered simply.
"Humans don't really dominate anywhere," Clay said, interrupting Valas even as his mouth started to move. "Not enough to. They're a pretty rare sight."
"…First the undeveloped regions, and now, no humans," Pace grumbled. "Just where the hell am I?"
"Um... I don't think you should ask about humans, that much..." Lynn said quietly.
"Why?"
"They've recently... um... became kind of... Well, no one really likes them..." She answered, rather hesitantly.
He didn't respond.
"…Eh…Did he fall asleep?" Valas asked after a while.
The miltank looked over his lightly breathing figure. "It certainly does seem so…"
"Of course I'm awake."
"AAUUUGH!" Another crash.
"Damn it, what the hell is wrong with all of you!?!" Pace barked at them, sitting up. Even Luma had fallen over in surprise.
"We could ask the same of you!" Valas shouted back.
Pace sighed as he leaned back over. "Finally, my last question. What are Watchers?" He growled out.
"Ah, you see, we already summed it up for you," Valas smirked, as if the incident a few seconds ago had never occurred.
"Helping others isn't the most descriptive term one could come up with," He mumbled.
"Well, we are…"
Clay interrupted him again. "The term Watchers came from the word watchmen. We are, as the name implies, all-around peacekeepers in this region. We hunt active criminals, protect civilians, and take on many other such missions."
"So you lot are kind of like police?" Pace asked.
"We pretty much are the police around here," he answered. "But there's more organization up in the government's Guardians..."
"Come on! Stop interrupting me, you!!" Valas finally roared in the larvitar's face.
"You just happen to be in the middle of talking when there are more significant things to be said," Clay shrugged.
"More significant things!? I…" The miltank stomped him again.
"I've already told you, other patients are trying to sleep!"
"Then you stop shouting! All of you!" Lynn said, trying to catch their attention.
"Peacekeepers, huh?" Pace sweat-dropped, blankly looking at them. "More like annoying bastards," He sighed, closing his eyes again.
Luma sat on a stool well away from the others. She, too, had trouble understanding these "Watchers." They help others… She dully thought as she watched the miltank tug at Valas' face. "I'm hungry," She finally piped up. The suddenness of the statement paused all activity in the small space.
000
"Watmel, watmel… cheri," Obsidian sighed. "So close. Just one spot off… Okay, then, how about this!?" He jammed two more bronze tokens into the slot machine and pulled the lever. Three small icons of various pokémon sticking their tongues out appeared in the top row with a buzzing sound. The sableye stared blankly at the machine through half-lit eyes. A small display above the wheels declared that the next five rounds would require a double input of tokens.
"Shoot. That second coin. Bad idea." He mumbled, holding his head in his hands. A few other gambling pokemon glanced at him apathetically before looking back at their own slots. Further away, huddles around the roulette and the few card games going on ignore his sighs completely, making too much noise to hear him anyways."Fine then!" He shouted at the machine. "I don't care!" He slammed six tokens into the slot. "Three coins doubled! Take that!!" He shouted dramatically, cranking down the red lever. The reels spun rapidly, the blurred symbols reflecting in Obsidian's anxious eyes. He gulped, watching the flashing colors as each slowed one by one.
Eventually, they came to a stop. "This is…" He gasped. He stood up on his stool. "JACKPOT!!" He roared, laughing out loud for the whole (small) casino to hear. "Victory! I am king of the casino! Fortune is with me! I have conquered the slots! Lucky lucky luck-y! Lucky lucky…"
"Those are cheri berries, not sevens," A voice behind him dead-panned.
Obsidian fell off the stool mid-dance. "Humor me, will you?" He groaned, as the other gamblers, momentarily stunned by his outburst, began to chuckle among themselves. A few clinks could be heard behind him. The sableye stood up and grabbed the five tokens from the small tray. "I can still…"
Valas cut him off, kicking him down the lane of slot machines. "What do you think you're doing, gambling again!?!" He shouted as he dashed after him. "I already told you what we would do to you if you lost any more money!"
"Just- Just give me a minute! I'll win it all back! I'll…"
"Don't you give me that!!" A cloud of dust rose.
000
Luma blinked as she looked at the jet-black sableye, whom Valas had just dragged in the inn.
"Why does he have rocks for eyes?"
Everyone at the table sweat-dropped.
"Well… because that's how his species is…" Lynn answered in a mutter.
Luma nodded. She silently assumed that shadowy wisps that trailed from his body were also a result of how his species was. Technically, they were, but in the same way bruises were for many other species.
"So, Luma," Jaden, in Land Forme, began, "When did you meet Pace?" The buizel in question wasn't present. To their annoyance, the hospital staff had firmly decided that he was unfit for any further exertion that day. He had only sighed and waved Luma off, telling her to go herself. It had taken some convincing to get her to follow through.
"Yesterday," she answered.
A quiet hiss could be heard from the wide pan in the center of the table.
"Ah, I see…" Even Jaden was surprised.
"Don't you believe you are a mite too… attached to him?" Valas asked. Luma only shrugged.
The hiss became a steady bubble.
"It's too quiet…" Tadayo said in his usual dreamy tone.
"Well, sounds like the stew is ready!" Jaden said loudly. "Dig in!"
Clinks were emitted as bowls and utensils were passed out while Valas shut off the small stove built into the short table. All the pokémon sat on the floor or a short chair around the round table, besides Jaden, who, being too short, sat on the table itself. Soon, each of them received a ladle or two of the spicy stew, though Tadayo simply sipped straight from the pan with a straw.
Jaden sighed as he nibbled at his portion, which, like Lynn's, was more leaf and rice than soup. The team usually talked more than this during dinners. The presence of the solitary pachirisu seemed to act as a buffer. Speaking of whom, Luma seemed to be confused about the meal. She glanced around at the others, watching as they handled their chopsticks.
"Here," He told her as he moved closer. He managed to fit the chopsticks into her paws, showing her how to use them. "See? It's simple!"
She looked at it curiously, moving her claws slightly. The ends of the chopsticks moved much more than they should've. She brought them to eye level for closer inspection.
"It's a simple process," Clay explained from her other side. "A few psychics got this idea and started empowering simple human tools for pokémon without the hand dexterity to operate them. Those chopsticks, for example, will move efficiently with minimal willpower and effort and won't let you drop them on accident."
Luma started to look at him oddly rather than the chopsticks. "Just grab the food with them. It's simple," Obsidian told her plainly. She understood that well enough, and was quickly stuffing the vegetables in her mouth.
"Hey, don't eat that quickly!" Clay shouted as the pachirisu finished the solid portion and lifted the bowl to her mouth. "You'll throw up at that rate!"
Luma slammed the bowl down after draining the last of the broth. "Give me more!" She shouted. They all sweat-dropped again.
"Please, don't talk so loudly," Lynn said. "You're kind of attracting a lot of attention…" Many other pokémon at the inn's restaurant had stopped their own meals to look at the group.
"Who cares?" Jaden laughed. "We usually make this much noise anyways!"
"Yeah, thanks to Valas," Obsidian mumbled under his breath.
"Me!?" The kirlia shouted indignantly. "You weren't exactly the quietest soul back when we found you carelessly wasting away our funds!"
"Neither are you," Clay said as the sableye stuttered out a protest.
"Say that again, will you!?"
"You guys, stop it!" Lynn told them.
"Ha ha hah, they never will," Jaden laughed again.
Luma, tired of her empty bowl being neglected, decided to ladle herself more stew alone. Still holding the bowl, she stood up on the table and before anyone could protest, grabbed at the ladle. Her clumsy attempts at the transfer, along with the other's shouting at her, resulted in her slipping and somehow falling off the table.
"Ah, it's noisy again," Tadayo said as all the others quickly stood up and rushed to Luma's side.
000
Pace rested in the dark ward, completely alone except for soft snoring from the curtains on either side of him.
I don't get it. Only two developed regions in this world and no humans. It's the complete opposite of the world I know. …That I thought I knew. Did that world… even exist? …Everything I thought I knew could be completely obsolete. What if I've never even been a human? What if I had no life before the amnesia? My very name could be completely off.
He shuddered. Damn it, stop creeping yourself out. You'll never accomplish anything like that. No, I have to keep moving forward. I can't see the path behind me, but I'll never be able to move forward if I keep mucking around in it. Maybe things will get clearer further ahead. He sighed. Yeah, I'll do that.
Not much really happens this chapter. Can you tell I'm influenced by Asian culture? Also, I decided that if Obsidian likes to use metronome, he'd make a good gamble-happy character. And so the casino scene was born. By the way, the last scene, don't let it get to you. I was just having trouble deciding where his thoughts would lead. Good night.
Review!
Edited 10-24-09
Pace's inquiry has been lengthened a bit with a important details shoved in, and his final thoughts have a bit more focus to them.