Dinner in the Violet Palace

The Violet Palace lived up to its name. Arranged as a complement of several smaller buildings around a raised keep, the palace was a tiered building much like the Temple of Alph was: a series of one block built on top of a bigger block. Each area of exposed roof on the four tiers, as well as the tops of the adjoining buildings, was marked by a roof of a brilliant shade of purple that simply shimmered in the dusk light and reflected warmth across the burgeoning city.

And the Professor didn't exaggerate the food's worth. Claire was never a big fan of spinach, but even though the salad made from the bellflower leaves tasted very similar to the more common vegetable, it had an extra zest to it. She couldn't get her fill; not until her conversation got interesting. Seated at the table in the banquet hall next to Penta, the emperor's younger son, she bent his ear in all directions regarding the culture of the kingdom. She observed his body language as he spoke every response, she listened to his nuances, and she probed about everything her inquisitive mind could think of.

"You are curious for a woman," Penta told her, his expression a mix of amusement and disdain.

"I want to know it all," she admitted. "Forgive me if I'm being too pushy. Tell me more about being the country's prince."

Penta fidgeted uncomfortably and replied, "I'm hardly a prince. My brother is the true prince of the country. He is the one set to become emperor."

He was quickly interrupted by a woman who leaned over and scolded Claire with, "You're being too pushy." The woman Tia had a scowl on her face ever since Claire met her. The emperor put that scowl on her face by giving her a son after his first wife already had one; having the younger son meant this wife would never rise to the position of Empress. She was still lavished with royal treatment and given the emperor's attentions on a regular basis, but she would never be his top priority.

"I'm sorry. I intended no offense. I only want knowledge."

Tia frowned and said, "Women are meant to be seen, not heard. Do not speak anymore in the presence of royalty. You are lucky not to be punished for it already."

"Society will catch up to me one day," Claire replied.

But Tia's words left her suddenly with a distressing thought. She turned to the Professor, who was singing a terrible mockery of a jigglypuff into a bellflower in order to amuse the emperor's eight-year-old daughter.

"The acoustics of that bellflower make you sound like a meowth with its tail being pulled," she reviewed his performance.

With a giggle, the princess reviewed it differently. "He's funny."

"See?" the Professor asked. "I'm the funny one."

"No argument here. Just look at that ascot. Why does everyone speak English?"

"Don't insult the ascot. It won't be long before they make a fashion comeback."

"I don't care how many times you have traveled to the future, I will never believe that ascots are making a comeback."

He looked defeated. "I can't seem to convince anyone else, either, but I still hold hope."

Ignoring his pipe dream, she repeated her query: "Why does everyone here speak English? Shouldn't they all be speaking Japanese?"

"Well, that is certainly a valid question," he replied. "It has to do with your sudden connection with the Time Vortex." When she gave a blank stare, he realized, "Of course, that means nothing to you. You see, the TARDIS translation circuits automatically translate everything you see and hear into a language you understand; of course, it does the same for the people listening to you. You're actually speaking Japanese right now."

"Are you serious?"

"When have I ever not been serious?"

She simply stared back.

Understanding, he admitted, "Right. Probably best not to answer that."

"So what would happen if I spoke Japanese to them?"

"You speak Japanese?"

Stunned again, she reminded him, "I have a doctorate in linguistics and ancient languages."

"So is that a 'yes'?"

After rolling her eyes, Claire looked past him to the princess. "Sumimasen, hime-sama. Ogenki desuka?"

The princess giggled, "That sounds funny."

"That's code for 'gibberish,'" the Professor translated. "That didn't sound like any language. Don't worry about the language thing. I'm telling you, the TARDIS handles all of that for you."

"How?" Claire wondered. "The translation circuit doesn't affect me directly. There's no chip implanted in my brain. It doesn't make sense for everything to translate automatically. Biologically, nothing's changed in me."

"That's not technically true," the Professor argued. "Simply being in the TARDIS exposes you to time particles."

"Time particles? That's what they're called?"

"You prefer time cooties? Whatever you want to call them, being inside the TARDIS alters your biology in the grand scheme of time. You have a much closer connection to the time vortex than the average person does."

Claire sat back in her seat and looked a bit cross. "You know, this food is great and speaking with ancient royalty has been fun, but when are we going to delve into the ruins? I mean the temple. You know that. When are we going?"

"Come now. Patience is a virtue, is it not?" He motioned at the walls of the palace. "Enjoy the hospitality here. This is one of history's most beautiful palaces for the next few decades. The social atmosphere is—"

"Stifling," Claire interrupted.

"Ah, ha. So you reveal your true weakness. You don't much appreciate social settings, do you?"

"You sound like Belle."

"I hope you're referring to my singing voice."

"Hardly," she scoffed. "She always tells me to be more social but the fact is, there's nothing wrong with being studious, and studying is not a team sport. I can't acquire all the knowledge of the ancient world and build a rollicking social life."

"Sure. Knowledge is more important than friendship. Information can't let you down."

She looked back at him as if he were a mountain guru. "Exactly." He spoke like a man who experienced many similar life decisions.

The Professor forced a smile. "My screwdriver also serves as a flashlight. Maybe we don't have to wait for morning after all."

The Temple of Alph was quiet at night. Though guarded on three sides by the emperor's samurai and by a mountain on the fourth, no sound could be heard through the dull of night save the distant cries of a hoothoot hot on the trail of its evening meal.

Denyen, a young samurai with dreams of serving the emperor directly, stood outside the front of the temple with his sword at the ready, watching the environment carefully. Each time a rattata or a hoothoot passed by, he wondered about being able to control nature the way the emperor and his top generals did. He glanced at the rhyhorn—a rhinoceros pokémon with a rocky exterior—grazing in the field just to the east and wished that rhyhorn would respond in kind to his commands.

"Pokémon are fascinating creatures, aren't they?" Denyen looked into the eyes of Harris, his superior. His armor gave him size, but his mask gave him intimidation. But at this moment, his face appeared soft and gentle. Harris removed his mask at night when not in the presence of royalty.

"I was just wondering what it might be like to control them like the emperor does."

Harris smiled. "The Emperor is a god with powers we mere mortals can never have. It is best not to yearn for something which will never be yours. Simply enjoy the fact that the rhyhorn is an ally and not an opponent." When he considered that view, Denyen accepted his weakness in this regard.

A light, crackling sound came from inside the temple. Denyen stood and instinctively placed his hand on his sword. Harris was just as quick to stand tall and replace his mask, giving him a visage of a fierce rhyhorn.

"Did you hear something?"

"Yes."

A second crackling prompted Harris to signal all other guards to form ranks. Moving in three lines, the nine samurai filed into the temple and divided in three directions to investigate. Two ranks covered the hallway, divided by a line of rhydon statues, while the third rank maintained visual watch over the front of the temple including the surrounding grounds.

Denyen was in the second rank.

The hall was nearly pitch black. What little light there was trickled in from the windows high above the floor. Both ranks held positions for a moment while they awaited a second noise. On cue, another crackling sound signaled Harris to move both ranks through the ten-foot-high door into the second hallway. Heading back toward the opposite wall amidst another line of rhydon statues, Denyen attempted to view all corners of the darkness simultaneously. His eyes could perceive very little apart from the vague shadows of his unit.

At the end of the second hallway, the shadows were too heavy to see farther in, but the crackling sound occurred once more—louder this time. This time, the sound was accompanied by a soft, purple flash of light. Denyen wondered what could create that light so deep inside of darkness. He followed Harris's command to move through the next hallway and search systematically for the source of the sound.

The first team continued to search the third hallway, but the second team stopped at the stairway leading to the meditation room on the second floor. Denyen waited in silence and listened to the pitter-patter of samurai feet moving down the hall. He listened intently for the crackle, but this time, he heard nothing.

But he felt something in the air.

"Flare," he requested softly from the soldier leading his rank.

"You see something?"

Denyen deftly retrieved the flare and held it up, listening before determining when to light it. This time, his cohort also felt the air shift—like something was watching them. Denyen quickly ignited the flare, and promptly dropped it.

What he saw was approximately fifty centimeters tall and levitating more than a meter above the floor. Unidentifiable and unknown to Denyen, the creature had one massive, open eye staring him in the face when he lit the flare. It gave a soft cry when he saw it. With the light extinguished, Denyen drew his sword and prepared to strike if the creature tried anything.

"What was that?" another man asked harshly.

The animal cry repeated, but Denyen's head throbbed at the sound, as if it came directly from inside his head.

"Keep low! Light another flare!"

A second flare lit in an effort to locate the one-eyed creature, but it proved difficult. The light revealed creatures of variable shapes and sizes, each with one massive, unblinking eye staring back into the masked faces of the samurai. There must have been dozens of them, enough to blot out the ceiling.

"Oh, my."