- N - = Nicky's part

- J - = my part

Chapter 010 - The mystery of the beast

- J -

"Mmh, my parents are dead." Amethyst said, expressionless. "It happened when I was 9, and Emerald was 5. Neither of us really remember what happened, to be honest."

"Emerald was taken to an orphan in Hoenn wile I was taken to a relative's house, in Johto." The woman kept telling. "But I ran away because I wanted to be with my brother... But I truly had no idea where he could be, so I started wandering around..."

Amethyst sighed. For some strange reason, she wasn't sad. Since she didn't remember her parents pretty well, she simply couldn't be sad.

"After a few months wandering, I got to Kanto." She added. "I was almost 10, and there I met Red. Seeing the Kanto Dexholders gave me strenght to become a powerful trainer like them. That way, I could find my brother!"

"And so, it happened. A year right after becoming a Dexholder, I found him at the Battle Frontier. He had been wandering, too. No wonder we never managed to meet."

The purple-eyed woman smiled at Stephanie.

"But don't worry!" She exclaimed. "I've never been angsty about it, and the same goes to my brother, if you haven't noticed."

Amethyst winked and stood up.

"Thank you." She said. "In my opinion, being a Dexholder shouldn't be exclusively about battling, so even if I'm not the best battler, I always try to be helpful in some way."

The chestnut-head bowed. She wasn't usually that open to strangers, but Ms. Brown seemed to be a very trustworthy girl. Maybe because she reminded her of Emerald...

Suddenly, Stephanie found a slip of paper under the bottom of her shoe. Curiously, Amethyst took a look.

"someone's pokemon was eaten outside Oreburgh Mine"

Amethyst gasped, a hand on her chest.

"Oh, my-!" She screamed, horrified.

She covered her own mouth with her other hand. She didn't want the people in the kitchen to hear her.

The young woman trembled when Brown showed her the photography and put her eyes away hastily. It was too horrible for her...

She just kept listening at the teenager as she read the article.

"That's just... terrible." Amethyst stuttered, her eyes teary.

But, suddenly, everything made sense. An unknown pokémon... Didn't Serena have an unknown pokémon as well? And didn't she mention...?

"Wait a moment." Amethyst finally said. "Do you remember when... when Serena told us that one of her pokémon was eaten?"

Amethyst rubbed her chin, thoughtfully.

"She never mentioned her pokémon's name," Amethyst added. "but it could perfectly be one of these unknown pokémon from that Unova region. Why am I saying this? Because Serena's pink pokémon -or the 'ugly Chansey, as you call it- isn't really a Chansey, it's obviously a new pokémon."

Maybe she was making too much conclusions...? Nah, it couldn't be. Everything made sense!

"And this slip could belong to Serena." Amethyst said, pointing at the slip between Stephanie's hands. "And it would make sense why she's staying at Oreburgh! She's here to research and look for the pokémon who ate her pokémon."

Amethyst looked at Stephanie, firmly.

"I know this sounds crazy," She admitted. "but doesn't it make sense?"

The purple-eyed trainer started to walk in circles. There was something that was bugging her, though.

"But... didn't Riley mention something about a weird pokémon, too?" Amethyst said, still walking. "If so, that slip could belong to him as well... But why would he be so interested in this issue?"

"I mean, I know it's terrible and all, but the one who should be researching is Serena, not him... Aaaagh!"

Amethyst put her hands on her head and stopped walking. She was definitely making a mess of herself. Whose was the slip? Serena's? That would make perfect sense if the eaten pokémon was hers.

Riley's? Although the eaten pokémon wasn't his, he seemed the most interested in that issue.

If they asked Serena and the slip was Riley's, Riley could be in troubles. Otherwise, the results could be the same. These thoughts wouldn't stop appearing in Amethyst's mind. She finally sat down on the bed, near Stephanie.

"Why do I care so much, anyway?" She asked. "I feel sorry for the pokémon and its trainer, whether it's Serena or not, but it's not my business... And now my head hurts!"

A few minutes later, Amethyst stood up again.

"Mmh, shouldn't we go back to the kitchen?" She asked. "Our breakfast will get cold..."

She gave the slip a last glance.

"I don't know what are we going to do with that." Amethyst said, somewhat worried. "We'll keep an eye on Serena and Riley, let's see if one of them seems to miss something."

Ha, as if it was going to be SO easy to guess if Riley missed something!

And the same went for Serena... She would have felt incomfortable if Amethyst or Brown were keeping an eye on her the whole day. Moreover, she didn't seem to be the type who shows her emotions.

Amethyst's Roserade, Dew, looked at the corridor, more specifically at the kitchen's door, a worried expression on her face. As if she felt some bad vibrations coming out from there...

- N -

She should have seen that coming. For a moment, Stephanie wondered whether she'd hurt Amy's feelings. No one likes to talk about a death in the family. At least, no one she knew.

"But don't worry! I've never been angsty about it, and the same goes to my brother, if you haven't noticed."

Relieved, Brown breathed out a sigh. Amy was probably one of the most good-natured people she'd had the fortune to meet.

"Do you still talk to them?" She asked, "Your relatives, I mean." She hadn't seen her parents in years – and didn't particularly feel any pressing urge to either – but still, it felt good to get a letter from them from time to time.

Stephanie knew, deep down, she had to count her blessings. Her parents were bordering on criminally negligent, not to mention absent throughout most of her life, but at least she still had a family intact. Besides, she had Gold, who was practically her dad, and half the dexholders on hand to make sure she knew what she was doing.

She wondered how long Amy had had her dex – did Red give her one, or did she work for hers? What had Amy done, she wondered, to earn her her pokedex? Wrestle an Ursaring?

Stephanie hadn't done anything at all – Oak had simply given her a pokedex and expected her to live up to the legacy of every other dexholder before her. And those were some very big shoes to fill.

"You're right," She nodded. "Battling isn't everything… but it's the only thing I can think of to prove that I'm worthy to have a pokedex," She felt slightly downtrodden at this realisation. There wasn't another talent she had – unless she counted the Brown Effect as a talent. "I don't know what to do, really. There's nothing I'm actually really good at…"

Still, she had to be strong. Not just for herself, but for Rodent. He was counting on her. And Amy – now that's he had a teacher, she had to show her that she'd be a great pupil.

As she read the clipping out loud, she watched Amy react to the news, tears welling in her eyes. She seemed surprisingly emotional for someone so experienced.

"Wait a moment. Do you remember when... when Serena told us that one of her pokémon was eaten?"

"I remember," She puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "Seemed like that was the only time Serena wasn't acting like a jerk."

It occurred to her that somewhere along the lines of creation, Serena Joy was a girl her age. She certainly seemed to miss that Pokemon, whatever it was… She imagined losing Rodent, and her heart nearly stopped. How would she ever survive without Rodent?

Losing a best friend like that, she supposed, would be more than enough to drive anyone a little off the edge.

Bemused, she watched Amy pace back and forth. She had a point – the slip could have been Riley's. She was never sure what he was thinking about, and he was always so mysterious. Why was he even in Oreburgh in the first place? It certainly wasn't just for the dance – he didn't seem like he had a date, plus he didn't seem like someone who liked to dance in the first place.

But, still, her mind drifted to Serena… And that notebook…

"Wait! Amy," She called, "Before we go back for breakfast, I gotta show you this."

Hesitating, she pulled out the notebook from the inside of her jacket.

"Last night, Serena's Audino attacked me and Rodent," She explained, handing the notebook over to the older trainer. "It was holding on to this. I was curious – it seemed so… strange… I didn't steal it or anything!" She waved away the thought, flustered and turning red, the last thing she wanted was to discredit herself in front of Amy so quickly.

She flipped the book open, showing Amy the drawings Serena had made of the mysterious dark four-legged 'subject'. A blurry photograph was taped to a page.

17th March – Full moon, 3am. Subject appears to operate purely on instinct – after midnight, subject does not respond to me calling his name. Subject will also react violently, growling, at my presence. Highly possible subject fails to recognise me as well. Attacks with dark type attacks – Night Slash is commonly used.

3rd April – Not full moon. Subject growls and whines in his sleep. Why have I never noticed that before?

15th May – Full moon, 1am. Second attempt to test subject's humanity failed. Subject refuses to look at reflection in a mirror, despite coaxing. At 11pm, attempted again to call his name. Subject turned and attacked me, had to be forcefully subdued with Rampardos.

"See what I mean?" She pointed at the text. "It might be Riley's, but my money's on Serena. I don't trust her. She's hiding something."

- J -

"Eh? No, I haven't talked to any of my relatives since... I don't know." Amethyst said, trying to remember. "My parents were never attached to the other members of the family. In fact, the aunt I had to live with wasn't very fond of me..."

Amethyst shrugged.

"I simply do not know anything, nor I remember..." She said. "And not that I need it, anyway. Emerald is all the family I need, and when he isn't with me, I have my pokémon!"

The purple-eyed trainer patted Dew's head, happily, then looked at Stephanie.

"And I also have my friends, of course." She added.

Amethyst noticed that Stephanie was very pensive, something quite unusual of the teenager. She was looking at the older woman, as if she wanted to ask her something...

"I-I wonder what she wants to ask..." Amethyst thought, surprised. "I would have never imagined someone would be so interested in me..."

But Stephanie kept talking as if there was nothing bothering her. The chestnut-head smiled with sorrow when Stephanie said that she wasn't good at anything. Amethyst tried to think of some comforting words, but the topic of the conversation changed drastically and eveything turned more serious.

The young woman observed that Stephanie agreed with her. Good. Maybe she wasn't crazy, after all. And the teen seemed to support the 'the slip belongs to Riley' theory.

"But why... Riley...?" Amethyst thought, sighing as she stood up from the bed.

It was then when the blondie showed her the notebook. Amethyst flickered, perplexed. That young girl had EVERYTHING!

"B-but...! Ms. Brown!" Amethyst exclaimed. "How did you...? You... You could get in troubles for that!"

And she was her accomplice. Somewhat. The purple-eyed trainer bit her lip.

"Even if you didn't steal it,"Amethyst said. "you know that Serena is very hot-blooded... And she never liked you, which makes things worse."

Amethyst tried to think of an excuse that could get Brown out of troubles. Maybe she could say that she was the one who took the notebook? Nah, Serena knew that Amethyst was inside the bedroom all night long.

"Mmmmh." Amethyst muttered, looking at the notebook. "Full moon... midnight... violent... growling... Oh, my. Doesn't this sound like those werevolves myths?"

The chestnut-head shook her head. What the hell was she thinking?

"But werevolves don't exist!" She exclaimed. "On the other hand... Well, there are pokémon that certainly remind of wolves, and they stay on two legs..."

Amethyst kept turning the pages. She felt somehow guilty, but it was too strange to be ignored.

"Mmmh." Amethyst muttered again, reading the entries. "The 'subject' uses pokémon moves, so it has to be a pokémon, okay... But it's strange... Apparently, it attacks Serena... And what's up with all this 'transformation' issue? Just what the hell?"

The woman was reading the entries Stephanie had been reading last night. Amethyst went back to the first page the teen had showed her and kept thinking.

"Could it be..." She muttered. "A human turning into a pokémon? Nah, that's impossible! Maybe this is just a fairytale Serena's writing..."

That was what Amethyst wanted to believe, but it made sense. Didn't a beast murder one of the Joy's pokémon? But what the hell was that 'subject'? And why did it turn into a pokémon in the full moon?

...And why would Serena be with a 'subject' that is apparently the beast that ate her pokémon? So many questions, and no answer.

"This is crazy." Amethyst said, leaning the book towards Stephanie. "I'm tired..."

But suddenly, Amethyst remembered something she had read that had caught her attention. Brusquely, Amethyst took the book again and looked at the first page she had read.

"Subject turned and attacked me, had to be forcefully subdued with Rampardos."

"Rampardos..." Amethyst said, softly. "It can't be... Or it can?"

Amethyst snapped her fingers.

"I know!" She exclaimed. "I think Roark is helping Serena to find, or subdue, the pokémon (or beast?) that ate her Sawsbuck!"

Now everything seemed too easy... Roark and Serena were living together to hunt down the beast that had eaten Serena's pokémon. And Riley, being Roark's friend, had come to help them!

...Too easy, in fact. There was still something that bugged Amethyst.

"But we don't know yet what this 'transformation' issue." She said, rubbing her chin. "I don't know... what to think, honestly."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Brown." Amethyst said. "I can't come up with any... reasonable conclusion. There's always something that bugs me."

"Humans turning into pokémon? That's impossible." The young woman added, looking at the pink ceiling. "But this beast pokémon... -Zoroark was its name, wasn't it? We don't know anything about that pokémon! And I'm afraid that, as long as we don't know anything about that pokémon, we can't be sure of ANYTHING."

Then, Amethyst noticed that Dew was pulling the bottom of her dress, somewhat worried.

"What happens, Dew?"

"Rose, roseeee." Dew said, pointing at the kitchen's door. "Roserade!"

Amethyst knew that something was wrong, but she didn't want to make Stephanie worry, so...

"Oh, we know the breakfast will get cold, don't worry, Dew. But thank you!" Amethyst said, happily.

She turned to the blondie that was behind her.

"Ms. Brown, if you don't have any question more, I think we should go back to the kitchen." Amethyst said. "Oh, and let's act as if nothing had happened, okay?"

- N -

"Trust me," Brown wrung her hands. "The last thing I want to do is get Pinky any more annoyed at me than she already is. But this… this is so weird… I couldn't help but take it! You agree with me, Miss Amy, don't you?"

"I know! I think Roark is helping Serena to find, or subdue, the pokémon (or beast?) that ate her Sawsbuck!"

That made incredible amounts of sense, Stephanie couldn't help but nod vigorously. Still, it didn't explain why Roark wanted to help Serena. Serena probably wanted revenge for the beast eating her pokemon, but what did Roark want with it? Or Riley, for the matter?

She scratched her head, equally confused. Amy was right, there still was the issue of the 'transformations'. Were they real transformations or some elaborate fantasy Serena had decided to embellish her story with?

"You might be right, Miss Amy! I'm sure Roark has something to do with this! I bet we'll find out if we… uh… maybe we'll need to find some more clues first?" She suggested. "We can go look for clues at the mines later when we go training? What do you think?"

Agreeing with Amy's idea to keep mum, she mimed dragging a zipper over her lips.

"I won't say a thing, Miss Amy, but I wanna get to the bottom of this." She looked earnestly at the older trainer. "Will you help me?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"I planned everything," Serena whispered in disbelief. "I… I wrote down moon cycles, I have it checked on a calendar for Arceus' sake! How could I forget the full moon is tomorrow night? How'll Roark lead the First Dance if he's a growling maniacal hellbeast?"

"Audino…"

"Shut up! Nothing you say is helping!" Serena snapped. "All I wanted to worry about today was how to alter that stupid dress – and now I've got something else to worry about. If I don't get this right, we probably'll never need that dress at all. There won't be a dance! We'll be found out! Roark'll be sent off to questionable laboratories to be experimented on in the name of science! I'll be homeless! We'll be scraping dirt off the floor for food in a few weeks, you'll see, and then…"

"Audino!" The pink pokemon stomped its foot.

"You're right… You are absolutely right. I'm over-reacting. There's no reason why we should panic… We just have to hide Roark… on the one day he's supposed to be seen by everyone. With his axe-crazy blue suit friend hunting him down."

"Audino…"

"We're all going to die." Serena leaned her head back, until her skull came into gentle contact with the kitchen cabinet. "We're never going to survive tomorrow night and I blame you."

"Audino!"

"I don't care if you didn't do anything – you were holding on to the notebook! I blame you for all this. I bet Riley's thumbing through it right now as we speak."

"Serena?" Riley put his coffee down and looked across the kitchen. "Did you call me? Do you need any help?"

"Oh nothing," She answered, smiling and flustered, "nothing at all! We were just… ah… talking."

Riley raised a brow, but said nothing. The Aura user looked unconvinced.

"Amethyst and Stephanie should be back soon," He craned his neck to look for them in the hallway. Nothing yet. "Their food's getting cold. Not to mention that we should start training early if we want to get them dresses before tomorrow night."