Chapter 6: Deep Concerns and Unruly Aftermaths
Feyera had made it about several hundred paces before he actually began to look around. Undoubtedly, he had been seeing where he stepped along the wooded path, but hardly with his eyes. He was livid. It was all just a blur. So hazy was his vision, that prior to this moment he could focus on nothing except Sanaria's behavior.
It took a physical toll on him. His vision was clouded in deep rouge as he proceeded further north. The figures of passing trees and small flower bushes were not even recognizable. He felt like blinders had been placed over his eyes forcing him to look ahead. Beyond angry at the way things had turned out, Feyera could not imagine doing anything but getting away from her. By doing so, he felt as if he were endorsing the force cogently persuading him to teach her a lesson.
It was simply unbelievable. She was unbelievable. Guile and emotional, her nature alone shattered any hope he had of feeling comfortable around her.
She was an emotional roller coaster. Always fluctuating, never permanent in her intentions, and, worst of all, irrational to the point of mild insanity. She was as evanescent as the wind itself. And like the wind, she wanted him to fold to her will like a sail. Everything had escalated way too fast and spun out of his control. From the impulsive kiss to the way she made him feel threatened, one thing was clear: she was out of his control. But was he out of her control?
Feyera kicked a small rock in frustration, sending it rolling on ahead. It bounced once then twice before rolling to a stop in a small bush of dahlias. Their twin blooms were blood red, a quality they had not had before. They were supposed to be rosy.
"Argh!" Edge said as he pulled on his light auburn hair in frustration. The world was being altered around him. The world was out of his control. It always had been, he'd been deluding himself. Yet how could he ever hope to confide in anyone ever again after the way Sana had mistreated him?
Anger had taken command, and whatever little control over his emotions he had left seemed to waiver away and flee into the still air. How had he gotten caught up in this mess? He sincerely thought things would become better in time. Sanaria seemed beneficial to him at first.
"…So…manipulative…" The problem was that things would become better, but only on her terms. She had led him to her. Sana had guided his actions through LDT dreams. When he met her at last here on Chrono Island, and they shared a hug everything was better for a brief moment. His shard stopped hurting. She gave him comfort. He knew things had been taken too far in such a short amount of time following that embrace. It was just that he never felt this way about anyone, the cacophony of various moods and emotions was utterly mind numbing for someone as inexperienced as Feyera.
He felt sick just from the exposure to such a volatile and manipulative creature. Everything about her screamed danger and he still had stayed with her. Why didn't he just leave when she first told him about Sephiteos? Why did he stay with her? What did he think that would accomplish? He could have pretended nothing happened and gone back to the mainland with Lorelei.
Then it dawned on him: would Sana have even let him go after going through so much to bring him here in the first place? Was she even letting him go now? Could he escape her possessive clutches? Or would she continue to antagonize him? Obviously she wasn't going to rip Seph's horn out of him. Heck even the best doctors couldn't do that. But did she have something worse planned in deceptively naïve mind?
Quickly, he spun around but saw nothing behind him save a few fruitless palm trees coated in rose from his recent anger. When colors overtook the environment, he knew that he was being emotional. Though he'd never admit it to someone who would take it upon himself or herself to exploit it—like Sanaria for instance—he did see things similar to the way the Gardevoir described as perceiving emotion. His own and those of others, it made no difference.
Feyera believed at best he could possibly try and reason the colors as being a part of his own emotions. For to say that he could read other emotions put him further along the path of empathy and similarity to Sana's species as a Gardevoir. And that was the last place he wanted to find himself, willingly or unwillingly.
"People psyonics probably have a similar effect," he grunted remembering how Fredrick was convinced that Feyera possessed human psyonics. "After all, Gardevoir and human beings, they even look alike!" Saying this served two purposes, it helped him to reason out why he had kissed her and also provided him with some assurance involving the root of paranormal powers. If humans like Sabrina of Saffron City could possess psyonics, then they must be linked somehow to the original mutation occurring in Psychic Pokemon. There had to be a connection somewhere. It was a stretch, but maybe the Reilken Mercurius did indeed graft a section of Delta-two onto preexisting undiscovered psyonics. Not bulletproof logic, but it was still better than the swiss cheese rationalities given to him by Sana.
Feyera's mind, switching gears to rationalization, became comforted. This is where he wanted to be, in a state of knowledge. Or if not in possession of said knowledge, at least on the pathway to obtaining it.
He lamented silently. If only he had his research notes on Psychic Pokemon. If only he could remember how to read his research notes. Then maybe with a little luck, the kind of luck he was all too due for, he could find the common denominator. But even that was out of reach as of now. Not just physically, after all the texts were stored in Pallet Town, but mentally he did not have the academic expertise to dissect the notes. He'd have to relearn everything from scratch as if he were back in undergraduate work. Once again, he was back to blaming Sana for clearing his mind of relevant information. Rubbing his sore eyes and feeling the stingy tightness behind their cavities, he arched his neck back and turned north again, stretching his arms out and letting out a loud sigh.
If she was following him, he wanted her to know that he did not approve. Edge wanted her to have meant what she had said. "Separation is necessary in so many ways," he grumbled. Displaying a small fraction of her larger agenda harmed his perception of her innocence.
Feyera tried to remember what he knew about Gardevoir as a species. Next to nothing. They were pure Psychic types and humanlike. Four limbs. Bipeds. Wore clothes like people, even though the attire was strange—uniform almost. They also had green hair. And…That's it. That was all he knew. He couldn't remember researching them during Evercrest thanks to Sana. And he was not about to admit that he was a fair sample of their species, even with his characteristics that said otherwise. How would he even categorize the anatomy on his chest? Where would he begin?
Feyera imagined presenting a thesis titled "Gardevoir Horns: How it Makes Me Feel" and nearly burst out laughing at the ludicracy. Ha…haha…Now that would be quality dissertation material, Chris.
Making jokes was not going to get him anywhere though. Think, Feyera…think. What's she got over you? he thought to himself. Come on. She's only a Pokemon. I'm a licensed trainer. Licensed wrongly thanks to his little stunt back in Celadon but that was fine, he still earned five League Badges just not conventionally.
She was absurdly light and lithe. If Sana wanted to, she could probably shadow him for hours and he would never know. Her quick and quiet stride had startled him in the past. She could even gently float off the ground for brief periods of time, and her feet were designed in a way to make as little noise upon impacting the ground: narrow and thin, totally incased in a tight white leg guard further cushioning blows. Another strange anatomy. He looked down at his black boots. Even though they came to a slanted blade like toe, they were quite different insofar as they supported a fully horizontal foot. Although he did have rather narrow feet. Fortunately, Alterieno brand boots were mostly thin leather straps and metal hoops allowing for various levels of tightness and—consequently—foot sizes.
Edge wasn't nearly as stealthy, but he had been able to benefit from not being overly clumsy thanks to his psyonics. They at least gave him some form of visual spatial enhancement. He was not sure if he had been naturally clumsy prior to unlocking his psyonics in Pewter. If he was, then little carried over. He thought about Prevoy's. Had he been a klutz there? Maybe at times, but then again he was much more apathetic during that point in his life.
Regardless, the use of psyonics depended entirely on his emotions, whether or not he admitted it, so if he was feeling enraged like he did now, they were inhibited. Or rather channeled down a certain avenue, much like his vision. Controlled. He felt debilitated, as if he was forced to manage feelings in order to use all powers he had grown semi-accustomed to employing.
Edge rolled his haloed rimmed eyes, "And aren't these psyonics just lovely?" He mimicked Sana's obvious infatuation with power.
Sana probably knew how difficult it was for him to maintain control. She' be more than likely to take advantage of it, like she had before. The question was: did he have any defense against her? Maybe not when she was in close proximity, but acute clairvoyance had alerted him in the past.
Feyera figured that it would be possible to sense her emotions if she got close enough to him. Or maybe there was something else that helped her locate him. Looking down at the shining Gardevoir heart, he scratched his head. Could that function as an extremely primitive shortwave radio? He wondered if he ever even had privacy anymore considering how 'linked' she was to Sephiteos.
It felt wrong to call part of himself a different creature. Especially now when it was giving him sensations of its own. Argh! He's dead I told her. She can't be linked to him if he's dead. Only physical anatomy remains. But even that… "Argh!" Jarring his head to the left, he found himself questioning exactly how he operated. How he, Chris Feyera with a Gardevoir horn, operated.
Edge took a small breath of air in. He really was clueless. It did not take a genius to identify that was the problem. The important provision to his cluelessness was that Sana was not clueless in any sense of the word. She might even be playing some kind of twisted game with him. He would never know. All he could do is take her on her word and keep moving. But that didn't stop him from questioning whether or not she was trustworthy.
Maybe by pretending that he knew she was following him, he could ward her off. "I told you, I'm leaving for good!" he shouted at the trees. But there was nothing to be heard save the soft breeze and faint drone of insects buzzing amid the broad palms and ferns.
"I know you're following me Sana, but it's over! You can stop now!" Feyera said; his pace quickening. Uncertainty took control of his frail body.
Still no response. Maybe she had really just let him go. He didn't quite know exactly how possessive she was, but he knew that at the very least his human nature gave her something to worry about. Perhaps even something to fear if he played it off correctly. Based on their confrontation, she did want to be rid of his human nature one way or another. How she wanted to accomplish this remained an enigma to the man. She had kissed him after all, sending him through a myriad of pleasurable sensations. However, what was the purpose? She made it sound like she was trying to correct him to fit into her world or something. But he knew he didn't belong there.
Recalling primitive psychology, Feyera reflected on how Sana was probably well beyond being a little emotional following all the devastation she'd been put through, even before being a Gardevoir. "*Sigh…* No family, killed spouse, probably forgotten about entirely by her species. That's sure to screw with her head in more than one way. No wonder she kissed me." The various parallels to his own life were uncanny. Of course he never had a partner like Sephiteos was for Sana, but he could understand where she was coming from. Sympathy was another component that emerged as part of his essence.
But that was natural for Sanaria to be emotional, that's how she was as a Gardevoir. What worried him was how her mental psyches came out in sharpened ambition he'd never seen outside of a mirror. In many ways, this unprecedented revelation of her strangely organized motives without rationalized thinking was part of the reason why he feared her as a Gardevoir. Plus it had even rubbed off onto him to various degrees. Feyera even compared his own "bearing emotion" as if it were some type of ailment imposed onto him. It may have been initially triggered by the events of Semblance, and maybe further perpetrated by being with Pokemon and using psyonics, yet he was sure that Sana exacerbated the emotions.
Feyera spat on the ground, growling deeply like an Ursaring as he did so. A pain in the back of his throat pricked him, reminiscent of the sensation of swallowing something with a bad taste. There was no way to tell what exactly the flavor was, it just tasted rancid. Pungent even. Spitting up more of the stale saliva in tiny loogies, he groaned as his neck knotted from the perpetual hurling motion.
Darn it. Just gotta get something in my stomach.
He thought about the kiss they had shared and vehemently rocked his head back and forth looking down at the mushy brown soil. Stupid…what the hell were you thinking! he asked himself again and again. Idiot.
She was a Gardevoir. A Pokemon! He had to keep his hands off her in every possible sense of the idiom. It was so sickening that he had done such an atrocious thing that he managed to cause himself greater nausea than he was already experiencing.
"Bleh!" he said, picturing the kiss being spat up. He didn't want to have enjoyed it. Unable to physically retract what he'd done, systematic denial was the only option remaining for the overly rational ex-researcher.
"It was only a stupid act. I thought she was Lorelei," he said to the trees as he trudged along the sunny path. To a degree this was true, Sana was charading as Lorelei in his dreams and on the way to this island. Every time he came close to stomping out the action, a new possession of feelings overtook him and he felt everything from self-denial to guilt. It was as terrible as the unforgiving earthen taste deep in his mouth.
"I didn't know better…I never kissed before…that's why." He had denied himself long enough of any romance and that drove him to kiss her. After he rationalized that by saying his lack of memories gave him no option to be romantically involved in anything, he became swamped with the idea of being inappropriate and allowing his once sturdy fortitude to be overcome in an instance of lustful desire. Did that lust come from Sana's innocence? Did he find the childlike nature of her species attractive? What did that say about him if that was true?
"Why her?" he asked the ground, peering past his bright firebrick horn. It could have been that, he thought. Did the horn possess him to do that? Was it even possible that he could be controlled by it? If anything, it was intricately connected to his brain. It would take more than suggestion to control him.
"Sana isn't like that…she wouldn't want to…would she?" he asked in desperation. The whole time he knew her, she seemed innocent. Why? Was he simply trying to find someone as innocent as himself when it came to affection? Was he that pathetic? He could not be sure why he sought after such things.
Sanaria was not even fully chaste considering her history with Seph. Were they married? Did Gardevoir even marry? Have families? Why did he keep on comparing them to people?
"They're Pokemon," he told his Gardevoir heart unaware of how tongue-in-cheek this very action was. "Not people, not me."
His boot heel got snagged on a small weed's lengthy tendrils and he tugged out of it with a grunt. "Even so, they're not…innocent." Of course, Chris Feyera hardly knew the definition of innocence, but he could at least discern what was not innocent. "First Principle of Falsifiability, *sigh* thanks a lot inference logic."
As far as her innocence went, that could go in either direction with Feyera now knowing how effectively manipulative she was in response to wanting things a certain way. Her way. The way she seemed to present him as a mere means to an end made Feyera become wary of her intentions. She was not; she could not have been completely innocent. Edge could sense Sana wasn't telling something to him. What would she do with him? Anxious, he shuddered and pulled on his jacket's fat bronze metal zipper. The light bomber jacket's wide flaps opened and closed as he walked. He couldn't even fully close the front thanks to his exposed horn. It just was so wrong to be put through this as a person.
"Ugh…" he muttered as the collared shirt snugly caressed the base of it where it met human flesh. The more he thought about it the less he thought about food and vice versa. Feyera did not know which was worse. Both antagonized him physically and mentally. His ailments, his bliss, and his everything were always unified. Mind and matter, they could not be severed.
"At least she didn't make me like this. How can she be that foolish to believe in wishes?" he asked the Gardevoir shard, which incongruously defied all reason in and of itself.
The fact remained that Sana was a full Gardevoir, a pure and unblemished member of her species. She had no physical scars, but the psychological ones ran deep. Those were in all likelihood the more important of the two. Feyera was the exact opposite. He had been corrupted, tainted even. Scarred physically to the point of it effecting his emotions. The thought of being a part of something he didn't want to be drove him furious. Being somehow contained by his body's relatively new features harshly struck a very delicate part of his psyches.
Human in just about every way save for his Gardevoir heart and rimmed irises, Feyera remained confident in his ability to change the outcome of his inexplicable curse. The former attribute was certainly anatomically correct for Gardevoir, but the latter had been wrongfully inflicted upon Sephiteos—the Gardevoir whose shard he now bore day and night according to Sana. Maybe if it were just a generic horn she'd be off his case, but the young Gardevoir spoke with conviction that the heart emerging from his chest was Sephiteos'. And perhaps not only just an aspect of the late male Gardevoir, but also him as an entity.
"So what does she honestly think? That I—me Chris—I'm just a shell for her mate to live in?" he said clenching a fist and rubbing his knuckles against the foreign invader that had emerged from within.
"And she took advantage of my own insecurity too." Pride ran deep in Feyera's personality. It could be attributed to years spent in Academia. But all that pride could not help him here, and he foolishly let her know that. A major mistake for the researcher.
"It was only a freaking moment of self-doubt…" he said. He shuddered when he acknowledged his lack of confidence. And he had only let his guard down in a brief moment of sincerity and look what she did to him. All it took was a brief moment of weakness following the feedback fall. If only he hadn't vented. If only he had been able to keep a lid on his wretched emotions.
"Damn," he gruffly whispered as the sentimental rush overcame his body causing him to involuntarily shake. This coupled with ravenous hunger made him wince in pain.
Worry set in. Would his psyonics even be able to detect her? How did they work as far as revealing went? In the past, he only had acute hints of clairvoyance. Usually it was just a type of navigational skill akin to an internal compass of sorts. Did humans have a similar sense of direction that psyonics amplified? Or was this something different entirely like a Pokemon skill? He just didn't know. How could he?
Regardless of the augmented perception, it was in all likelihood a skill that required synergy with emotions. Everything did. That's how it worked. That's how this species of Pokemon worked. And that's how he was slowly finding himself to work. It was a curse in every sense of the word except for being an actual 'hex'. No one gave this to him, there were no magical incantations, the furthest he'd push it would be to say that the Reilken Mercurius had some type of radioactive properties forcing a strong psychic and eventually physical graft. A convergence as Fredrick had eloquently warned him of when dealing with the Mercury Relic now wrapped around his wrist.
"According to the First Law of Thermodynamics, matter cannot be created or destroyed, meaning all this could be undone. Nothing gained, nothing loss. Just need to put forth the correct amount of work into the Equilibrium equation," Edge said gritting his teeth. Science at its best.
Feyera thought about how lovely it would be to study Gardevoir from a laboratory setting rather than firsthand, but then again that was the mentality which brought him to his current predicament. Sana was definitely right about calling it a predicament. It was a dilemma with a seemingly little definitiveness. Would he be able to undo it? The one thing Feyera never questioned was time. He always figured that he had all the time in the world to fix it; he was resourceful at one point, if anything, he could learn how to be resourceful again. And why wouldn't he? It wasn't like his body had undergone any radical changes since Progenitor manifested in his outer limbic rings.
The worst is over, he told himself again and again. The Gardevoir shard was out and not hurting like he remembered it during the dream memory of Operation Semblance. He'd been forced to remember Progenitor from a first person point of view, seen the massive splicing needle before its spokes drove in precise formation into Seph's eyes with jagged sawing razors. The thought of it still gave him the chills, and he dismissed it in rage, once again blaming the state of affairs he had been put into by the twisted hands of fate rather than what he had done to place himself in those situations.
"Relics…ancients…" he looked down at his left wrist encased in the gunmetal black armlet. The smooth caressing curve and shape of the bangle did not seem the same as he had remembered from the imposed memory. "The Reilken Mercurius…no….no…they…shouldn't…they don't…no…" He began to pant as his sweat glands unleashed flooding upon his smoothly curved face. His eyes burned as his face's natural contours allowed the deluge to freely enter them. With bangs now soaked, he sniffled uncontrollably as more of the warm bodily fluid dripped into his eyes. At least it wasn't his blood this time.
Feyera sure didn't believe in fate, but he was not willing to rule out the possibility that some sadistic being above him had been toying with his life. It could have been the Rockets, could have been Ein, heck it was easiest to say it was his father. Things were always done to him, rather than done by him. It was his own way to deal with responsibility. And it was a simple step: pull far away from it. Moreover, it was easy to do with all the tribulations he'd been put through. But for Chris Feyera to admit there existed a God, even a malicious one, went too far beyond the reach of rationality.
Grumbling, he felt his stomach which—in tandem—mirrored a similar gurgle. Why was he so hungry? When had he last eaten? In Fuchsia? At Doctor Fuji's house? Everything was a blur. He tapped the flat area below the shard. His stomach's complaining became more intense as he massaged the area.
"Damn," he whispered again, this time louder. Looking around he saw nothing familiar. Just tropical trees, indigenous flowers, and some low mountains in the distance. Feyera wasn't sure just how large Chrono Island was, it had two sections to it and right now he was in the northern one. Unsurprisingly, this was the part of the island he was least familiar with. The Evercrest facility had been located to the south west off the bay by the cliffs. Those cliffs—the same ones he fell from two years ago—were constantly pelted by the Southern Sea's powerful and warm Oceanic Stream. Here on the northern part of the isle, it almost felt like a wooded environment barring all the humidity.
Edge continued to walk north. His pace slowed down now that he was beginning to overcome rage. Why had she switched like a light? What was the big deal? Questions racked his brain. He felt like he was going crazy. Being by himself made him twisted.
"Alright, enough is enough. I'm not going to be alone like Sana. I've got my friends," he snidely said to himself. Reaching for his belt holster, he released his trusty companion Brucie. A bright flash of light followed by the conjuring up of his first Pokemon made him smile. The Charmeleon darted about for a few seconds, acclimating to the environment. Eventually he looked up at Edge.
[Master Chris?] the young reptile projected.
"Hey Brucie," Feyera said making a face.
[Where is Sanaria?] he asked, going right for the jugular of questions.
"She's well…umm," Feyera hated how right away the Charmeleon asked about the Gardevoir. He supposed it was innocent enough. All things considered, the scene in the cave was peculiar. "Well she's back there." He pointed south with a thumb as if he was hitchhiking.
[Why?] the Pokemon asked.
"Uhh…Well, we're taking a break Brucie." Edge nearly smacked his face in how coated in romantic scandal that statement was.
['We're'?] he asked picking up on his trainer's discomfort.
"Um yeah you know…" Feyera's gaze averted his Pokemon's large blue eyes.
[I don't sorry; is she coming with us like you said she would?] Brucie said, referring to the introduction he'd been given to the Gardevoir.
How strange it must been for Brucie to try and comprehend what his trainer was going through. Edge let out an extended exhale, tightly gripping his belt with a free hand. His elbow snapped at the ninety-degree angle.
"Yeah. You know. She's like…" Edge trailed off in confusion. What was she to him?
[Did she let you use a Poké Ball?] his starting Pokemon asked in wonder.
"A…One of my Poké Balls? Umm…what do you…? OH!" Edge felt like an idiot. He had forgotten completely that she wasn't really a person. The fact that she was similar to the Charmeleon he spoke to now made him woozy. Or it might have just been his hunger turning into delirium. He told himself the latter.
[Yeah…?] Brucie said leaning close to his trainer's knee.
"I guess she's like my Pokemon," Edge said with a false grin. He hoped that wouldn't come back to bite him, but in the moment it didn't really seem to matter. Whether or not he could go back to her was still up in the air. But he was leaning towards not doing it.
[You caught her?] he asked in surprise.
Edge knew he was lying but how else would he explain it? "Uh…yeah. Listen, caught is maybe not the best way to put it though…"
[Yeah like with me! A Poké Ball is like a home, when you go inside it's like sleeping for a long time.]
Feyera quivered at hearing this. For starters, it was one of those things he never really thought about on a regular basis. What was it like being in a Poké Ball? "Does it hurt?" he asked.
[What?]
Edge tugged on one of his short hair locks. "Going into the Poké Ball?"
[Hurt?] Brucie asked as he continued to walk softly ahead of his trainer, fire tail wagging innocently.
Feyera scratched his arm feeling a bug bite under his forearm. "Y—yeah like when we battle." He recounted how strange it was to link minds with his Pokemon in the heat of combat. He felt their pain while directing their motions.
[No, it isn't like that. It is a warm safe feeling, but when you take me out sometimes I forget what happened last.]
Edge froze up and stopped walking. It was just like his amnesia. How terrible.
[Hey, what's the matter Chris?] the lizard said as he turned around to face Edge.
"I…It's just that. You are okay with that?" Did Brucie even know any better?
[With what? Going to sleep for a few hours? At least I can catch a break and charge up for the next battle.]
"The next battle?" he asked in confusion. Would there even be a next battle? All things had been turned topsy-turvy recently. Was he still a trainer? Feyera's face grew paler with each passing second.
[You don't seem to be acting yourself. Where's the usual Chris itching for the next mission?]
Feyera figured now was a good a time as any to tell him. "There is no next mission."
[But the dreams? You mean Sanaria was only a dead end?]
He thought about the possible validity of the statement. Crunching a small potential outcome table in his mind, it seemed more than probable. He couldn't go on with her as things currently stood.
"Yeah, no more next mission stuff. Now we need to focus on just surviving until…" Feyera trailed off. What was he even saying? Survival? Was this becoming some kind of game to him?
[I thought you wanted to find out more about yourself, that's all. I thought that battles made you happy, boss.]
"Brucie…" he patted the lizard's head and touched his horn. The skin was taut and a little sweaty from the humidity. His species probably preferred the islands. Except during monsoon season. "…It made me happy for a while. The answers I got though, they make me wish I didn't know."
[You were a researcher though. Don't you want to know things? This is all coming across as uncharacteristic of you,] Brucie made a soft growl, [what happened?]
"I know it seems that way," Feyera started walking again. "But for now I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place."
[So you're underground?]
"Figuratively speaking."
[Then why don't you just reverse Dig?]
"Reverse Dig?" It took Edge a few seconds to realize what his first partner was trying to say.
[Yeah like how Sandshrew go underground and then come back up! If you are stuck under the rocks, do the second part,] he said with a smile. [Simple. They do it all the time.]
Edge looked at his Pokemon in wonder, was he always so connected with nature? It seemed contradictory because of Oak's domestication, but who was he to judge? Only recently had he begun to tap into a more emotional Chris Feyera. But then again it could have been a steady and long-winded process finally making itself known. Were emotions always there for him, just suppressed? Or had Seph's attributes taken hold of yet another part of his life?
"Since when do you know so much about wild Pokemon, Brucie?" asked Feyera.
[I'm observant. Oak had me raised on his reservation. There were all types of Pokemon there.]
"Oh," Edge said, neutering the flow of conversation.
[In any event, why don't you try and be more keen so you don't find yourself in a hole in the first place?]
"Eh…I don't know Brucie. Sometimes it isn't that simple. I feel like I've been put here. Someone or something did this."
[Well I coulda just said if you don't wanna find yourself underground then don't go digging, but since you are already there…]
Edge shook his head in disapproval, "Brucie, it is an expression. 'Stuck between a rock and a hard place' means to be trapped, frozen, unable to cope. Not literally trapped underground."
[Oh I know that, master. Haha, how would we be walking around if you were buried underground?] the fire lizard laughed. [Silly.]
Edge nodded, "Sorry I'm just hungry now and as snappy as a Krabby on hot sand."
[I can tell, you don't have any more of those delicious canned beans do you?] Brucie said sarcastically.
The trainer rolled his green eyes. "No. I was an idiot and left my bag with Lorelei."
[Oops.]
"Yeah, shame right?"
[Say, what's the deal with you and her anyway?] asked Brucie.
Edge blushed, "What do you mean?"
[Do you like her?]
"Who Lorelei?" asked Edge. As if there was someone else in his life.
[Yeah, is she pretty like Sanaria?] Brucie suggested for comparison's sake.
"Pretty?" Edge asked with a certain lag in his tone. "You think she's pretty? Sanaria?"
[Well yeah, she has no battle scars and is graceful. You're lucky to have caught her.]
Feyera fidgeted nervously. How could he "capture her"? The fact that if he really wanted to he could made him feel even worse about the lust-filled kiss they shared. To be fair though, she would probably not go down without a fight. The thought of him flinging Poké Ball after Poké Ball at her only to have them psychically reflected made him chuckle.
[What's so funny?] asked Brucie.
"Nothing, just…ah, don't worry about it."
[Why did she go away? I wanted to talk to her. Did you send her off to find food all by herself?] lampooned the Charmeleon.
"No!" Feyera exclaimed. "Of course not. That's not true. She's just off doing Gardevoir things now and I'm off doing people things, rather than Pokemon things."
[So that's why you released me? To do people things, rather than Pokemon things?] the lizard skeptically asked.
"*Sigh* Um...hmm. Well more like Pokemon trainer things."
[But isn't she your Pokemon? That means you are her trainer,] said Brucie.
"Umm, it isn't like with you and me. She's different."
[How?]
"*Gurgle!*" went Feyera's stomach, almost perfectly on cue.
"Just…different. I don't know. We need to go find food to eat for ourselves."
[But what about—]
"Brucie, I said don't worry about it," Edge insisted, his tolerance slipping.
The young Pokemon did worry though. One minute his trainer seemed to be warming up to a new Pokemon for their crew and then the next she was just gone. The only other time this had happened before was when Jill sacrificed herself to save them from Haunter without even a goodbye.
[Okay then, what do you know about this place?] Brucie asked with a childish tone.
"What? You think I've been here before on vacation?" Feyera snapped.
[Hey easy, I was just making conversation. We need to get our bearings straight if we want to find food,] Brucie apprehensively said. If Feyera wasn't behaving rationally then something was definitely off.
"It's hopeless…this place is practically deserted, the DBC cleared this place for ecological reservation and research."
[I'm sure something will turn up,] said Brucie. [You might have to get your paws dirty if you wanna find some grub.]
Edge adamantly shook his head in disagreement. "This is ridiculous. I'm not foraging like a Pokemon. I don't have 'paws'!"
[It was only an expression.]
"Ugh…Go, July!" Edge released his Gloom in a flash of white light.
[Hi Feyera,] she said with clarity.
"Hi July."
[Say—] the Gloom looked to the left and right of Edge [—where'd Sanaria go?]
He felt like he was going to lose it. "Why does it matter! She's doing her stuff and I'm doing my stuff!"
[Why?] she asked.
"WE'RE DIFF—ER—ENT!" Feyera belted, spitting slightly.
[I think he's grumpy and hungry July,] Brucie whispered behind an open palm.
[Yeah that or he misses her. Imagine what Despie would have to say! Ta ha!] she chuckled.
It was good thing Edge was too busy thinking about hunger to hear his Gloom's remark. "Are you going to help me or not? I'm starving." Edge's stomach groaned as hunger cramps overtook him forcing him to clench his gut.
[Sure we will boss, this is what we're good at doing right?] Brucie answered.
July smiled, [Yeah, I can find you some plants to eat if you would—]
"Ugh…plants? I need something more hearty than that July, I feel like I could eat a Ponyta".
[Haha I don't think those live here, Mister Feyera.]
"It. Was. A. Joke." Edge retorted, his patience at an all-time low.
[Alright. Alright. Let me think.]
"Take your sweet time; we got all day long…" Edge whispered noticing the sun slipping in the afternoon.
July tapped her root leg on the ground. [Well there might be some dwellerberries. Those are good. High in protein too.]
"I don't really care anymore; please, let's just find something," Edge said, "and soon."
They nodded. Then the two small Pokemon gracefully frolicked through the underbrush as the team marched north. He thought about releasing Desperado, but she'd probably tear down half the forest with one fell swoop from her seven foot tail. Plus taking her out of stasis would mean another mouth to feed. A big mouth too.
A few minutes passed and July was out of Feyera's sight. Brucie was staying much closer to him. That was just a display of their friendship dynamic. Edge knew Brucie longer than July. He confided in Brucie more than July. He loved them both dearly as his friends, but there was always a special something between a trainer and his or her first Pokemon.
The three of them together looked awfully out of place in the tropics. Actually, a Charmeleon and a Gloom could pull it off quite well. The real laughingstock was a skinny man wearing calf high black boots, dark denim jeans, a seashell collared shirt stained in sweat, and a black licorice bomber jacket. Culminating at the center of his torso was Seph's horn; gleaming and reflecting sunlight like some sort of anatomical mirror, completely contradicting the rest of his subdue attire. What a sight this must have been if anyone was watching. Especially Sanaria. He had been so miserably pathetic in the wilderness after all.
"Any luck?" he called out.
[Nothing yet,] growled Brucie.
"July…?"
[Hey, I'm still looking for berries and well there really aren't any around here,] she answered with a delay. Telepathy could sometimes lag based on physical distance. An oddity to be sure, but so was the entire concept of psyonic powers.
"What? I thought you said there would be dweeble berries or something," Edge groused.
[Ha ha,] he heard July laugh. [They're called 'dwellerberries', Feyera. They are called that because of the way they dwell like little hermits under their thick leafy stems.]
"*Sigh* Whatever July," Feyera snorted.
[My you're crabby.]
Edge bit his tongue; he was at the point where even he did not want to be with himself. The frequency of that feeling increased the more he found out about his past. The man was getting sick of himself.
[Oh! Okay here are some!] he heard July exclaim.
Edge ran over to where her voice came from, nearly knocking over Brucie as he rushed towards her. Edge squatted next to the bush his Gloom stood next to. She was not much taller than some of the stubby stalks.
They were small round burgundy berries, no larger than a thumbnail. They had hooks on their branches where the fan like green leaves emerged. The berries themselves were not numerous, but their white and carroty flowers certainly were.
Eagerly, he snatched a handful and shoved them into his mouth.
[Hey you don't want to eat them—] July said in vain. It was too late.
"Bleh!" They were hard and tasted like sour Miltank milk. Edge spat them up. "Ew what the heck July? You said I could eat them."
[I was trying to tell you that they were not ripe.] She shook her large head, [You have to find the ones with a wrinkled exterior, those are the ripe ones.]
Edge grumbled. "Can you find some ripe ones?" he asked the Grass Pokemon.
[These branches are picked over, guess the other Pokemon living here have already gotten to all the good ones.]
"Other…Pokemon?" Edge said. The thought had not crossed his mind. For a brief period in time, Sana was the only being that mattered on this island. She had all the answers. She had ways of making him comfortable. But it was all not meant to last.
[Ah wait here's one!] she said in excitement.
The Gloom picked up a single berry. It was burgundy, almost a deep red wine color. The stem had corroded slightly, but the fleshy substance looked tolerable enough.
"Thanks," Feyera said taking the single berry, half expecting more. He popped it into his mouth and tasted it. It didn't taste that good. In fact it reminded him of an expired snack from the bottom of a pantry. The kind you forget about and neglect to check the expiration date before eating it. The trainer made a face and Gloom knew he wasn't happy.
[Umm how is it?] she asked in trepidation.
Edge chewed tasting the heavy floral notes and then swallowed. The creamy orangey juice stained his lips slightly. As the morsel descended down his throat he felt marginally better, at least his stomach would stop feeling like it was eating itself. "It was…umm…okay. Thank—"
Feyera closed his eyes as he felt queasy. His face flushed as the morsel's taste stung, mixing with his throat pain.
[Hey, you don't look well, master,] said Brucie.
Feyera felt rather sick. All the warmth in his cheeks suddenly dissipated. "I'm…urgh…urf…I'm fi—"
His face turned paler than a bleached bed sheet and he coughed up the berry along with thick saliva. "BLEH! *COUGH* UGH!" The man fell to his knees as he helplessly threw up.
With nothing in his stomach to begin with, he barely made a mess. Still both his Pokemon backed off unwilling to get Feyera bile on them.
[Hey take it easy boss! Maybe these aren't for you,] said Brucie patting his back after he had finished coughing up the minimal contents.
He shuddered. Did his psyonics now dictate yet another part of his life? "Guys I need to find something I can eat."
[We'll getcha something tasty buddy,] insisted Brucie.
Panic set in. "I think I'm starving."
[Don't be silly master,] July said trying to conceal her fear. He did not weigh much to begin with, and the fact remained that Edge hardly took care of his nourishment ever since his psyonics emerged. [We'll get food.]
[Yeah. Let's just think this out rationally right?] suggested Brucie, playing off his master's original strength.
"I—shoot," Feyera said, acknowledging how difficult it was becoming to remain reasonable and sovereign. His rationality was fading and it wasn't just because of the hunger. Yet so long as he had an inkling, he would never relinquish the power of logic. "Need to think…need to think!"
[Where is Sana? Maybe she knows where we can get food.]
"She doesn't know! She doesn't know anything Brucie!" shouted Edge.
Brucie put both his paws in the air, like a criminal, revealing his own skinniness. [Hey I was only trying to help ya. She's from around here right?]
"It doesn't matter; she doesn't know what I like to eat. She's a Pokemon I'm a human, there's a difference."
[How do you think we know what you want to eat then?] July asked with a sharpened tongue.
"I—I," he stammered in confusion. "Y—you guys don't understand." Edge felt tormented. Strapped between two worlds. Pulled and spun on a torture rack. Feyera half-expected knives to be tossed at him next.
[Obviously we don't!] Brucie stomped his fire tail on the ground. The young Charmeleon thought about bringing up how close Chris and Sana were in the cave but decided against it. He may have been immature but he wasn't stupid enough to walk into that trap. Best not to open that can of worms.
"I got it!" Feyera shouted and his voice cracking.
[What?] asked the two Pokemon.
"We go back to the yacht. *Sigh*" He patted his shoulder feeling the thin horn against his forearm as he did so. "Obviously. Lorelei must have a ton of food there. Even if she doesn't my backpack is still there."
Feyera had left his supplies in Lorelei's yacht before disembarking. He could probably pick them up if she was still there. That would show Sana who was the best at foraging. Edge might have had zilch connection to nature, but he was beyond resourceful as a human being. Problem solving was his specialty. Personally, he considered himself a problem eliminator. It was part of the reason he loved equilibrium equations.
[Why didn't you think of that sooner?] Brucie asked stupefied by the sudden seemingly apparent solution.
"Well I," Feyera began. "*Gurgle*" interrupted his stomach. "I—I can't think when I'm hungry." It was true. In times like these, his brain would usually think quicker but his hunger impaired him a great deal. However, there was another component. Ever since meeting Sana he never really considered the possibility of leaving Chrono Island. Things seemed too perfect here with her at first. He blamed first impressions and the fact that she had infiltrated his dreams through LDT since he left Celadon.
Feyera snapped his eyes shut and got up. How wrong he had been. Once again he had been duped into believing in a reality that did not exist. It was becoming quite frustrating for the young scientist.
[Well whose fault it that?] Brucie said, rubbing the site where he had to have the Toxic antidote administered—right below his appendix. [C'mon. You gotta eat master.]
Feyera could not take it any longer. "Do you honestly think I haven't thought about eating?"
Yet it was true. He hadn't been able to think about eating.
"I can't eat because of my—my—" he didn't know what to say. What caused the nausea? Was it the Gardevoir heart? Had his body begun to destroy itself even without using his abilities? He feared an exponential effect.
July padded Feyera's calf, right above his boot with her stubby arm. [It's alright Edge. We know,] she said pretending.
[C—Chris, you'll be okay. D—Don't worry.] But Brucie's lack of an even tone made him worry. It was as if the trainer's worry rubbed off onto his Pokemon. They had to struggle to perpetually overcome the frequent instances of repudiation he underwent. He was unstable and in hopeless denial.
Neither of them knew. Edge refused to tell them. How could he even tell them? They'd have to figure it out on their own, just like he had. He thought they already would have connected the dots. Maybe they just weren't as intelligent as him.
Hadn't it been obvious? Especially after that little scene when Sana was against him when they were introduced to her. Heck, even if they were not so close together, it still was obvious. They had exactly the same chest anatomy. Well maybe not the same. She was a female. The horn was the same though.
"I don't know. I'll tell you what I won't tell Sana. Brucie, July. I might not make it."
[Make it?] asked July.
[What?] Brucie exclaimed. [What are you talking about? You took down Haunter, you're a hero.]
[Our hero,] July tacked on with a lighthearted smile.
"It isn't about being heroic. The outcome of my life is uncertain. If I cannot find a way I'm afraid—"
[You aren't going to think in those terms bud. Psyonics won't kill you,] Brucie insisted. [They haven't yet.]
"It's not only psyonics, Brucie," Feyera said solemnly.
[Oh then what's the excuse this time boss?] Brucie asked, advancing towards his trainer. July tried to stand between the two of them.
Edge just stared at his approaching Pokemon's bright blue eyes, and he felt his own eyes quiver.
[I just wanna talk with him July, move out of my way,] Brucie gently shoved her,
[I said what's the excuse now? You cannot control them? Because that's a fat lie, I've seen you do it. I know you can do it Mister Chris!]
"Brucie," he graced his palm against the lizard's horn. It felt hot to the touch. Inflamed even.
[Don't 'Brucie' me. You aint gonna die. You know better than to say that kinda crap, Master Chris.]
"But…"
The Charmeleon pointed with a sharp nail to his trainer's belt holster, [Don't make me tell Des what you're saying or she'll have a fit.]
Feyera forced a laugh. It was true; Desperado practically adored him. She treated him like a mother would. A very overbearing mother with three-inch fangs and a blue serpentine body.
[We've been through worse,] July insisted. [Way worse.]
"Yeah I suppose you're right—"
[Just be honest with us why don't you?] suggested Brucie.
"I can't," Edge lied through his teeth. "Guys, I don't know what the truth is. I'm not sure what's happening to me and if it is permanent or not."
[Permanent?] they asked in confusion.
"Yeah, like what happens to me in the long run."
[What do you mean?] the two asked. His phrases sounded off; it wasn't like him to be so pessimistic when concerning his own abilities.
But the thought of being stuck was ransacking his mind at this point. "I—can't be sure. At least not yet. My mind is all jumbled up now."
[That's what hunger will do,] said Brucie. [Let's get to the shore then. Looks like the sun is going to set soon.]
They continued to walk further through the thicket and Edge heard a twig snap from behind him.
"AH HA!" he yelled turning around. "Sana—!"
But it was not who he had expected. Not a Gardevoir. Not even close.
"A-RAIDOS!" A massive spider had snuck behind the small group. It's large white pincers clicked together as it twitched its huge body. The orange red flesh contrasted with the Pokemon's elongated legs. The spider's abdomen was thick and fat, dragging along the jungle floor. It hissed and clattered as its numerous joints snapped along.
Feyera felt like he was going to faint. He hated bugs. But especially spiders. The way they crawled around along their silken webs never failed to frighten him.
"Ahhh!" he screamed like a girl. Backing off quickly in fright, he fell back over an exposed tree root, rolling straight onto his back with a loud "thump!".
The Ariados seemed to be enjoying his prey's extreme fear. It eagerly bounded closer to Feyera making sure to lift its large abdomen, juicy with silk, over the roots as its fine legs navigated it at lightning speed.
"B—Brucie, t—torch it!" he shuddered in fear as the Pokemon brought its rounded head up to his chest.
[On it!] shouted the Charmeleon next to him.
Ariados tilted its jointed head ninety degrees right before Brucie unleashed a lava hot stream of Flamethrower. In under a millisecond the large spider, whipped one of its front legs at Feyera's Pokemon. It was surprising how much reach those things had.
Brucie, ejecting flames at this point, spat them high into the air, way off balance thanks to Ariados' timely counter.
"JULY, Stun Spore!" Edge ordered.
Yellow green spores, countless as the stars, plumed out of the Gloom's bud. The Ariados seeing their approach quickly leapt into the air and scurried up a nearby tree. Its hook like claws dug into the chalky bark and the tree groaned as it supported the massive spider's weight.
Brucie released more fire from his maw, sending the creature higher up in a hurry. A few of the branches caught fire, but all the moisture of this environment counteracted the torch.
Ariados' large body squirmed and it quickly climbed higher than Brucie's flames could reach. The last thing they saw was its massive abdomen, seemingly ready to burst, filter into the upper canopy.
Feyera looked at the tree, frozen by being startled and helpless. An onlooker might have thought the Stun Spore hit him. It didn't even occur to him to use psyonics. The fright was too much.
As his breathing resumed his jaw quivered. He had no idea big Pokemon like this one lived on Chrono Island. It was an unpleasant surprise. Then again, the whole island was a reservation for Pokemon. That one was a monster though!
"Haa…haaa," Edge was mildly traumatized. The arachnid had stealthily snuck up on all of them. That meant one thing, his psyonics were shutting down. He was growing weaker.
[And stay up there!] belted Brucie. [Hey, everything all right Chris?]
"Y—yeah *huff* fine. I just wasn't expecting that," Edge rasped.
[Neither was I,] said July.
"This place really gives me the creeps."
Feyera pondered how Sanaria had stayed here for so long. She must have known about all the Pokemon that lived here. Furthermore, for her to have survived long enough and without any scratches was testament to her own abilities as a Pokemon. Edge paled in comparison. His Pokemon could do little more than ward the creature off by tag teaming it.
"What if it comes back guys?" asked Feyera.
[Yeah. I think we gotta keep moving. You know what they say about spiders.]
Edge was almost afraid to ask. However, his pride got the best of him; he didn't want his Pokemon to know he was afraid of them. "What do they say about spiders, July?"
[Well, wherever there's one, there's bound to be more. They multiply like crazy with all their babies,] July said making an audible "pitter patter" with her feet.
"Ugh…" Edge groaned. That was the last thing he wanted to hear. Insects in general were numerous. It was a fact he seldom had to confront inside buildings. The tropics had the highest number of bugs.
[Yeah, you're telling me! Being a Grass type, insects are quite a nuisance. They lay their eggs on your petals and if they stick to you, you're done. They'll hatch and if you don't have natural Poison typing it's all over before they even get to feeding.]
"OHHHH really?" Edge asked sarcastically hoping she would shut up. He had no interest in knowing about Ariados. Or any Bug type for that matter. But especially not arachnids.
July clearly did not pick up on his aversion to the subject. [Yeah did you see the size of that one's belly? Probably thousands of little baby Spinarak in there waiting to…]
"CUT IT OUT!" Feyera commanded. He fought the urge not to shriek at the thought of countless insects being birthed from Ariados' oversized womb. His whole body shook.
July stopped and looked down at the ground. [I was only trying to tell you about the wild Pokemon.]
Brucie shook his head, [Not now July.]
Edge never really liked insects; the way they crawled around just made his skin coil in revulsion. The more legs the worse it was. It was a miracle he even got through Biology without passing out when they dissected insects. A highly irrational fear to be sure. Brucie knew about this well-hidden fear since he first met Feyera. During their very first adventure in the Viridian Forest, a Weedle made Chris nearly jump out of his skin. When they were in the Pokemon Tower and he fell into a web, Brucie knew just how deep Feyera's fear went. It debilitated him.
[Let's go. C'mon Mister,] said Brucie extending a paw.
"Listen," Feyera said as he picked himself up, "I'm not scared or anything. I just wasn't expecting a wild Pokemon to come out of nowhere like that ya know?"
[Yeah don't worry about it,] Brucie said with a closed mouth smile. [She's gone now. You scared her off.]
They began to walk, and every few seconds Edge would nervously glance back at where the Ariados had jumped them.
[You still seemed frightened master,] July pointed out.
"Yeah well July," he desperately tried to find an excuse. "That was only because my psyonics weren't working. I can't detect a thing…since I'm hungry." This may have been a half-truth but it accomplished what it needed to do. July and Brucie had no idea what psyonics were like. The closest thing they could relate to was natural intuition. By comparing psyonics to a malfunctioning predator sense, he managed to avert further inquiry. "That is dangerous for all of us, but especially me. I don't belong out here."
[Was this the way back?] asked his Charmeleon, smoothly changing the subject.
"I—" Feyera looked left and right but the canopy of trees clouded his vision "—I think so."
The last thing he wanted to do, besides admit his fear of Ariados, was travel through the meadow he met Sana in. He wanted to cut off all ties. She'd revealed too many of her motives. In fact, she really only had one. It was the only one that mattered. The Gardevoir's ambition was to possess him as Sephiteos and be rid of Chris. That would be akin to killing him. Not all the blissful interaction they shared could compensate for her scheming.
[You seem confused now,] his Gloom observed from his emotions overflowing.
[July, he's delirious from hunger,] said Brucie. [Don't you ever get that way?]
[Well yes, maybe when my flower bud does not get enough sunlight.]
[There you go then. That's like what Master Chris is going through now.]
[But he's a mammal right?] asked July.
[I think so, but well I don't know. Do I look like a researcher who knows all about the world like Master Chris?]
[Ha, no, he's so much taller than you Brucie.]
Brucie laughed and then asked Feyera, [Are you a mammal?]
Feyera bobbed his head, "Yeah. Homo Saipan."
[What does that mean?] asked July.
"It means *cough* yes, July! Human beings!" the researcher clarified.
[But do the 'Homo Saipan' have your powers?] she asked, unaware of pluralisation.
[July, he told us no they don't. Why do you think he's so nervous?]
[I always thought he was going to find someone like him. That was the goal, not to be an outcast right?]
"So that's *cough* what I am now, an 'outcast'?"
Sensing his trainer's distress Brucie tugged on the denim jeans. [But wait, you aren't an outcast you have friends like us.]
"I never said I was an outcast," Edge lied through his teeth.
[What if he is just looking for a way to fit in again with the humans and it isn't working because of his powers?] July asked Brucie.
[Way to pick up on the subtle cues, July…] Brucie sighed.
[What? He doesn't tell me anything, 'Your Excellency King Bruce'.]
"Just…stop arguing guys," Feyera said. "I don't have the energy…any…*pant*…more…" The heat was getting to him and he begun to feel a fever setting in.
[Okay.]
[Fine.]
"Thanks *cough cough*"
The walked further along and eventually found themselves by a large toppled over tree. There was a huge path carved into the woods.
"Hold up everyone," he wheezed. Putting his arm in the air, he ordered a stop.
The Pokemon curiously peered down the path. Charmeleon went a few paces stumbling into a massive footprint as he went along.
[Whoa, what could have done this?] he asked reorienting himself.
It was like the forest itself had been bulldozed straight through. The trees were knocked out of the way and treads and footprints alike flattened the ground. None of the larger prints were human, but Feyera was pretty sure that Pokemon did not drive automotives. At least not that he knew of. Judging by the size of the path's width and the way trees were seemingly bent over like paper, it had to be something huge. What could be that massive? One of Cipher's vehicles?
Feyera leaned on a nearby palm, causing it to crack and bend further over. He recoiled before it snapped with a loud "Crack!".
Both July and Brucie looked at him skeptically. "Sorry. Didn't think it would snap," Feyera blushed.
The Pokemon continued to look at the mysterious recently made roadway.
Feyera brought his hand to his rather undefined chin and tapped it anxiously. "I don't like the looks of this guys."
[Do you think Despie could do something like this?] asked Brucie.
"No. Not unless she was in a rage and even then…" he put his hand over his eyes and peered into distance where the path led. "It must have been Cipher. They're the only ones on this Island."
[Cipher?] asked July.
"The bad guys," Feyera muttered for simplicity's sake. He could not remember whom he told and whom he didn't. His stories were becoming blunter as time went on.
He gripped the Gardevoir horn on his chest. "They caused all of this."
His Pokemon thought that he meant the pathway, but he was referring to the situation as a whole. If it were not for Cipher there would be no Evercrest, there would be no Chris Feyera working for them, no experimenting on Delta-two, and most importantly, no Operation Semblance mission giving him these repulsive Gardevoir attributes.
[Oh. Are they people?]
What a silly question, thought Feyera. "Yes of course they are people July. What did you think they were? Pokemon?"
Brucie spoke up, rubbing his paw on one of the deeper footprints that was at least as large as his tail, [But some of these trails are made by Pokemon. Big ones. Unless Cipher's got some kind of machine with hooves.]
Feyera shook his head. This island was more dangerous than he thought. It was a big surprise that he hadn't run into Cipher yet come to think of it. At least there was something working in his favor.
"Wait, why did you ask if they were people?" asked Feyera suddenly realizing that his Pokemon might have been on to something.
July bowed her head and shrugged, [Well they probably have food. Like people food.]
"July, I don't think you understand. Cipher did bad things to—him—me," he said awkwardly. It was true in either case really. Obviously, Cipher had given Sephiteos the Progenitor virus, and by extension, Edge. However, they had also hired Chris to work under their wings in the Evercrest Programme.
[Bad?]
If not for that then none of this would have…happened to me, he thought. "Very bad. Inhumane even."
[Did they do experiments on your psyonics?] the Gloom asked her trainer.
Brucie answered for Feyera, [No July, Chris was just a normal trainer when I met him.]
"*Sigh…* You know Brucie, July is kinda right."
[Wha—how? You never used the powers before did you? Or do you not remember? I sure as heck don't remember you doing any of that Psychic Pokemon stuff when I met you at The Professor's laboratory.]
"Psyonics, Brucie, they are called psyonics," Edge insisted unwilling to become further tied into the Pokemon world. "Since I'm a human, that's what it's called pal."
Brucie nodded, and July shot the Charmeleon a glance. She whispered sarcastically, [Right, I forgot so many people have them.]
He pretended not to hear her. "They might have been the ones who gave the psyonic powers to me."
[So? Why don't you have them help you out?] asked July with a faint grin.
Edge thought about Ein. He would certainly not be helping Feyera unless the definition of helping out had suddenly changed to 'conducting ruthless and inhumane experiments on'.
No, Edge could not rely on 'Ein'. Even Team Rocket wanted to protect Feyera from Ein and his clutches. The jury was still out on whether or not there was an ulterior motive to this seemingly protective nature.
Edge didn't trust the Rockets, but they were essentially an assimilated section of Cipher ever since Semblance. Although he did wonder exactly where both organizations fit on the scale of evil. Was one worse than the other? He hardly knew anything about Cipher except that they were scientists and he had worked with them. He knew a little more about Team Rocket due to actually encountering their operatives in Kanto. While Brad, Laurie, Engelhart, Archer, Drew, Jeffery, and Regina were without question malicious people, from what he had heard, Cipher was worse. That seemed impossible.
The young trainer grappled with his belt for a few seconds. He could not determine where everything stood in the grand scheme of things. Everything he had come close to an answer, it was sadistically snatched away. He knew that he was doing all he could though considering his circumstances he had been unjustly thrown into.
"They are all bad guys," Feyera said dryly. But could that be for sure? He had witnessed his own change of heart through the dream memory. Rallsen had saved him too, and judging the dream memory, Tim was not the worst member of Team Rocket out there. Maybe he was like Chris in that regard. Ever since his father had left him, Feyera always was trying to find paternal relationships to satisfy the lack of one in his life. Fredrick was the closest person to filling that role, and yet he had screwed that up by using unshackled psyonics to tear into the IPF agent's mind.
Feyera knelt down and analyzed the trail up close. It seriously looked like whoever had made it was in a hurry to get somewhere. Judging from the direction of the footprint's nails, the caravan of beast and machine was heading south. Feyera thought about Sana. His mind literally forced him to. …South, that's where Sana is.
[Sana?] Brucie chimed in, happy to hear the Gardevoir's name.
"Yeah. But we are going to go north and find Lorelei's boat."
[Are you sure? What if she's in trouble?]
Feyera shook his head; just how much he was fighting the urge to turn back caused his clenched fists to shake. "She'll…she'll be okay on her own. She lived here for two years, maybe longer. I'm sure she knows how to deal with anyone who gets in her way." Edge thought of himself. She had antagonized him to the point of forcing himself to leave her. She didn't even badger him, she manipulated his thoughts. "She's a Pokemon."
[Feyera, she's YOUR Pokemon though!] shouted Brucie. [These contraptions might really hurt her.]
"She knows how to lay low…she's a clever little girl."
[Girl?] asked Brucie.
Feyera coughed, "Female Pokemon. Like you July."
[You never called me a—]
"Forget it! Hunger is making me delirious. Let's get to that freaking boat for Pete's sake," Edge said getting up unsteadily.
[O—okay,] July murmured.
[You the boss, boss.]
"If we don't get some food soon, there will be no one left to call boss, Brucie," Edge quipped.
[Hey, quit talking and save some energy then? I can almost taste the ocean. Hmmmm!]
Edge nodded, forced a smile, and clutched his gut with two hands.
The small group went back into the thick forest, leaving the trail behind them. Along the way Feyera felt the oppressive humidity begin to dissipate. It could have been the approaching night. He thought about Sana's warning to not stay out past dark. While he did not like the idea of going back into the forest and running into more spiders, he never intended to go back. Even if he did, then it would be after a nice comfortable night on the Elite Four member's yacht.
What was he thinking? He couldn't go back.
The trainer then realized why the humidity was beginning to wane. A crisp ocean breeze buffeted trainer and Pokemon alike, shaking the foliage as well.
"We made it!" Feyera shouted as the deep blue sea, aglow from a recent sunset came into sight. The team ran onto the sand dune and began running towards the water. Brucie and July followed close behind their reinvigorated trainer, dodging a collection of Shellder-sized white seashells.
Once they got to where sand and sea kissed, Feyera gasped. Nothing was in sight. In fact, the ocean was completely vacated. Edge had figured a high tide would allow the grounded yacht to be pulled back into the water, but he must have been mistaken.
[Where's the boat Chris?]
"*Gasp* I…*pant*…don't' know, Brucie," stammered Feyera.
[I thought you said Lorelei was here?]
"I—she was. Darn it. Where could she have gone?" Edge pulled on his collared shirt's excess fabric near the horn.
[Do you think we're on the wrong part of the beach?] Brucie pondered.
Edge shook his head. "We're at the northern point. There's a meadow to the south, we skirted around it on our way here. I'm pretty sure this is it."
[But this is a big island, maybe we are just a little off?] suggested July.
"Okay, wouldn't be the first time I screwed up…I have an idea then."
[You do?] asked Brucie.
"Go, Desperado!" Feyera exclaimed releasing his Gyarados into the mild water. She dove into the water.
*Blub* *blub blub* A few bubbles surfaced from where she had submerged. With a loud clap, she leapt out of the water with a grand splash. [Aww gee that feels great! Howdy there Edgie, how's your day goin?]
Feyera forced a tight smile. At least she didn't ask him about the Gardevoir. "I've been bette—"
[Say where's your lil friend, Miss Sanaria?]
Spoke too soon.
"Des, argh…*grumble* I need to find food, I'm starving."
[Well what do you want? Fish are off the menu, I'm not sure what I can prey upon down here in the tropics.]
Edge stamped his Alterieno boot into the sand in frustration, "You can't be serious…*gurgle* You're a Gyarados. You're a predator. You're 'The Harbinger of the Sea'. You're on top of the food chain, Des!" Just saying the word food made his mouth water.
She gave him a bighearted smile. [Aw thanks sugar. Suppose you must be hungry based on your cranky mood. Maybe I can fetcha a lil morsel of Remoraid.]
"Listen, no fish, just find us a big white yacht."
[Excuse me? Pardner, what is a 'yacht'?]
[Des it's a big human boat!] exclaimed Brucie.
[Like the S. S. Anne?] asked July.
"No, much smaller than the S. S. Anne. Maybe about as long as mmm…say, three of you, Des."
[I'll be! That ain't small! Well that shouldn't be too hard to find. Ha ha, although I haven't been growing all that much. I'll reckon some Gyarados out there are about the size of a 'yacht'.]
Don't remind me, Edge thought, now aware of Synchronize's less desirable consequences, namely, siphoning his Pokemon's strengths every time he exerted psyonic control over their bodies.
[Huh? What was that?]
"Err…nothing," Edge said sweating, "don't worry about it. Listen, the boat probably ran aground. So just swim up and down this beach and see if you can find it before it gets too dark to see."
[Tee hee, okie dokie. Not a problem my lil captain,] she said plunging into the water. Her long body graciously danced with the tiny wavy crests. The way she curved in S shapes, entering and exiting the ocean, made Feyera think of a mystical dragon.
"Thanks Des," he called out as the Gyarados headed east.
July tugged on one of her trainer's flared leather bootstrap. Alterieno boots had two of them projecting from both ankles. Fashionable yes, but also for size adjustment.
"What is it July?" Edge asked.
[You can eat those,] she pointed to a few palm trees that bordered the perimeter of the beach, where shore met jungle.
"Those?" Feyera asked quizzically. He looked up and his jaw dropped. For even in the evening sky, his eyes could see the rich chocolate hair surrounding them.
[Yeah…] the Gloom gave him a funny look. [You like coconuts?]
"Like coconuts…?" Edge said dreamily. The truth was he loved coconuts. Everything from the way they could be made into milk, juice, or even dessert flakes. And it wasn't only their taste, they also made great soaps. However, the trainer especially loved the smell of them. It didn't take him more than a second to remember the beautiful aroma that Lorelei wore. That coconut cream perfume was simply decadent temptation. It made his olfactory senses go into overload.
With a start, he ungracefully rushed over to the nearest tree, stumbling in the uneven sand, buried in desire.
[Guess he does,] snorted Brucie.
[Ta ha, yeah,] said July.
Edge was far ahead of them when he reached the tree. He clutched the flaky latte colored bark with both his hands, almost possessively. Ravenous hunger made him yearn for nothing more than to eat one of his favorite foods.
But then he was confronted with a problem. A big problem. His face drooped in disappointment and he pressed his bang covered forehead against the tree's rough hide. "How the heck am I supposed to get up there?"
[You can always use your Psychic Pow—I mean psyonics,] July said correcting herself a little too late.
"I—" Feyera started to say, remembering the time in Celadon where he had tried to manipulate a slot machine into making him win. "—I'm afraid I can't do that."
[Huh?] the two Pokemon asked.
"They don't work like that. I cannot just move things with my mind Brucie," the trainer said with a scowl. Saying this made Feyera uncomfortable because that was usually what 'human psyonics' entailed. In fact, manipulating the physical world usually got you in trouble concerning the authorities. True he could, but it was less refined. He wasn't about to rip open a hole in space to eat a measly coconut. Or maybe he would at this level of hunger. He fantasized it, and then remembered how solid steel I-beams were crushed by the gravitational vortex. Plus they destroyed him just as much as they destroyed everything around him.
[How do they work?]
"Umm…" Feyera nervously kicked some sand with his toe.
[Magic?] July asked. Edge hated that word. There was no such thing as magic. Every trick, every illusion, always had a cause. Psyonics were no exception. Fredrick seemed to have been convinced of that when they met in Celadon. If he could just reach the stage of academic enlightenment he had before Sana cleared his mind then perhaps he could come up with a suitable response to why psyonics actually manifested. Until then, he could only resort to the shallower understanding behind their existence.
"…Emotions," Feyera admitted, rather shamefully.
[You say it like it's a curse,] said July.
Brucie made a growl, [Is it like when you're talking to us?]
"Yes, *cause it is*," Feyera whispered, "and yes."
July chuckled, [Emotions…He he…Why don't you use your crabby mood to get the coconut then!]
Edge looked up at the tree and squinted his eyes. He saw his target. A group of coconuts, at least nine in total. They were about twenty feet up in the air, at most twice the length of Desperado head to fin.
"F—fine. I guess I can try. Umm, back up a little guys, I dunno what this will do."
[Okay sir,] shrugged July as she moved backwards, swaying slightly.
[Hey, have some confidence boss; what it'll do is get you a nice milky coconut!] said Brucie as he played off his trainer's apparent desire for this particular food.
"I spy with my little eyes…" whispered Edge, as glistening ruby ink began to cover his sight. Its silken form closed in from the perimeters, encapsulating the man's eye sockets with a translucent sunglasses-like shield. When his sight became fully blanketed, he felt a rush of energy hit him in the chest and expand outwards, feeding into his mind and then to his extremities like heated blood. It surged forth in vigorous pumping, infiltrating every part of him with the Gardevoir horn's expansionary power, drenching him with the heart's heat.
He lifted his left arm into the air, towards the batch of coconuts.
July and Brucie watched from nearby, their mouths open in awe and with dazed eyes eager to absorb the spectacle. The spectacle of their trainer using Psychic Pokemon power. It didn't matter what he referred to it as, this was clearly not driven by any human derived abilities. Instead, it came from emotion, as purely raw desire begging to be satisfied in the physical world.
The bracelet-encased arm reached higher and higher until Edge fully extended his reach, pointing straight up at the coconuts. His eyesight honed in, tightening on the exact thing he wanted. The peripherals were the first to disappear from view, and soon the rest of his sight narrowed and focused to a very specific geometric locus.
Smells gradually heightened, Feyera could almost taste the brine water from behind him, and feel the mighty pulse of the ocean. The branches shook from shore wind, but also rattled amid themselves for another reason. His right hand groped the tree's bark and he continued to point his piercing gaze at the succulent drupes beyond physical grasp, but not out of psyonic grasp.
As he stood there like a statue, he felt himself becoming closer to the tree, percolating its essence to the point of finding a strange unity with it. It no longer felt like a separate entity as he continued to focus on the fruit it bore. Within their secure dry husk lay hidden treasure. In this moment, Feyera could pay attention to little else in the world.
Suddenly, there was a loud snap from overhead as one of the leafy frilled branches bent towards the ground, facing down towards him. Drawn to him.
Brucie and July simultaneously jumped back in surprise.
Edge tried to maintain concentration, but the glowing aura coating the area directly outside his physical eyes began to reverberate. He would almost call it a humming noise, although since the crimson aura was pressed right up against his eyes, he actually felt the gentle purr of power. This paved the way for increased amounts of feedback reconnaissance in the annexes of his mind. This search for positive feedback proved fruitful, and soon Feyera was experiencing the self-sustaining pleasure of feeling the same things over and over with increased attention to every detail each time. A simple biological action had metamorphosed into a beautiful crescendo. The sensation rubbed into his mind, and the images continued to coat themselves in an inflamed scarlet majesty.
"…!" Feyera gasped but no air came out as his left arm began to vibrate and twitch uncontrollably. His fingers seemed to be clattering against each other, violently bashing their joints together. Eventually the numbing tingling became too much to tolerate.
Edge took his eyes off the coconuts for a moment to see what was going on with his left arm. As he did so, the aura immediately shifted with his eyes, and a vicious pressure seemed to surge forth from behind his eyes. Everything blurred and faded into red mist. He felt himself fall backwards.
The second his rear hit the soft sand, the thud resonated throughout his body. It was beyond a mere fall; it was a tremble that had his body feeling everything as if it were some type of feedback relay. He felt like he had just activated every nerve in his body as the plume of impact spread into every crevice of his essence. Over and over the reverberation of collapse coursed through him.
Next, the images in front of him came back sharper than ever. They flooded in from all directions. He blinked a few times, utterly stupefied. His eyelids were contained inside of the aura, as he did so. The aura began to dissolve, folding upon itself into the corners of his eyes until it vanished and regular unblemished sight returned.
"Urgh…" he moaned. The flood of sensation racked his brain, and he struggled to keep up with the racing thoughts and emotions they evoked.
Feyera intuitively raised his left hand to eye-level and gasped in undiluted horror.
"…!"