Disclaimer:

What does a fanfic truly need?

Would you ship? Then I have the words to bind hearts together.

Would you parody? Then I have the insight to poke fun at every plot hole imaginable.

Would you create anew? Then I have the characteristics to make your OCs shine!

What does a fanfic truly need?

That is for those who do not own their franchises to decide.

Chapter 49: The Price of Power

Shelligan

As much as we showmen want to deny it, entertainment is a two-way street. The most sorrowful sonnet ever penned will do nothing if it falls on the ear of one who refuses to be moved. As such, it is every performer's greatest fear to encounter the dreaded 'dead audience', that stone-faced mass of philistines who will not laugh, cry, or gasp in amazement at even the most wondrous of spectacles.

I say this, because the day we left Maxilla and began our trip to the border of Ginli, our band of brothers and sisters much resembled a tough crowd. Inigo trailed behind us farther than usual, keeping the company of none but Amber's Totodile. Axel had returned at noon that day, and was so Withdrawn he could pass for one of MY kind, speaking only when addressed in soft, curt phrases, and having difficult looking at Ms. Vanna. His demeanor had even affected Qwill, who curled up on Axel's shoulder and rested his eyes rather than running around and chattering as was his norm.

Most concerning of all, though, was Medici. The boy seemed to have been right on the cusp of a full recovery when we had arrived, yet now... Inigo's words had stirred something. He was quiet, reserved, eyes closed near constantly as he drug his guitar behind him. His face twitched at intervals, dancing in confusion and, though it may have been simply by imagination... horror.

He was remembering. I would need to be ready to comfort him.

Vanna, her Pokemon, and Amber seemed to be the only bright spot of our group: Vanna had recovered from the mortifying public airing of her dirty laundry admirably, and the sullenness of the rest of us was being balanced by her and Amber's consistent conversation. I found it odd that an incident like this had brought them closer rather than driving them apart, but it was a welcome development nonetheless.

"Have you ever been to Ginli before, Amber?" Vanna walked with her head held high, hands on Gardevoir's shoulders like a mother leading her young. "I should warn you ahead of time that it's big. Really, really big. I don't know if I can properly describe the scale of it without you seeing for your own eyes."

"I think Father took me to Jinford once, but I don't remember much apart from the Parthenon..." Amber had begun wearing her hair in braids, another unexpected development, seeing as she usually kept her hair tidy, but loose-hanging. "Apart from how it literally floats in the sky, I mean. That was hard to forget."

"Oooh, ok, I need to give you a crash course in Ginli customs then." She turned to face my trainer. "You listen too Axel, ok? We don't want you sparking another war while we're over there, hee~"

"That's... not funny..." Axel's response was so soft I doubt Vanna heard him, but the growl that accompanied the response... well, it was probably best that she were oblivious to it.

"So, in Ginli, it's customary for people to shake with both hands at once. Older generations may even take the offer of a single hand as a sleight, basically like you're saying they're only worth half of your effort. There's also the matter of lunch..." She giggled. "It's a little silly, but lunch, as the middle meal that's preventing people from getting back to work, is supposed to be quick and silent. No hour long breaks to chat!"

"Even if you don't have a job to go to?"

"Presumably, you're taking up someone else's time that does, so nope! There aren't even any restaurants that are open for lunch, you can typically go between six and ten to get breakfast, but then you have to wait until three to eat dinner."

"That is good to know. We'll have to make sure we keep stocked up on groceries, then, if we can't eat out in the city." Amber paused for a moment, playfully snapping at Cavendish's claws, only for the Dwebble to pinch back at her. "Um... I don't want to sound racist but... is it true what they say about Ginleans and... certain types of Pokemon?"

"Ah? Oh! Um... hehe..." Vanna's arms clutched Gardevoir tighter to her. "W-well... it's a stereotype, for sure, but... I've seen for myself at least one beauty magazine that's used a Gothitelle to showcase their edgier clothes lines. It's there, but you're not going to see anything crazy like a woman walking around with a Machoke on her arm." She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "Do be sensitive about that, though? You can't forget that's part of the reason our countries are at each other's throats all the time."

"Don't worry. I'll handle myself with all the grace and tact you've come to expect of me."

"No, weren't you listening? Sensitive, Amber, sensitive!" Vanna giggled and ducked out of the way of Amber's forehand, then pushed the redhead on the back and started a mock cat-fight, pulling on Amber's jacket and wrestling with her sleeves. I looked back at Axel, hoping the sight would lift his spirits but... to no avail. He watched for only a moment, then scowled and moved his gaze back to the ground.

I felt a modicum of responsibility: had I been able to combat Champers our battle may have turned out differently. But even his fire punches had left marks on my shell, so grotesquely powerful that Superpower Pokemon had been, so I forgave myself. Additionally, it was Axel's duty to let his grievances go and move on, and no amount of effort on my part was going to change that.

As we were setting up camp that night, Medici came to me. His eyes were finally open, but only just, his face in a half-drowsy state of resignation. "Shelligan. You're my best friend, will you be honest with me?"

I sighed, setting down the bundle of firewood I was gathering and placing a paw on his shoulder. "Of course. What's on your mind?" As if I didn't already know.

Medici reached his hand out, and the sticks I had dropped began to float from the ground like puppets from a string. "This is something that all Meditites can do, right? Simple telekinesis."

"Of course. Not just all Meditites, I'd imagine most Psychic types can manage something like that."

Medici nodded, then let the sticks fall to the ground. He took a deep breath, then let out a grunt and flung his hand in the direction of a thicket of trees, and a pine uprooted itself from the earth and took skyward, hovering ten feet off the ground. "This isn't simple. Or normal. I know that." He gulped. "But I never questioned why, you know? I just thought I was born this way." The tree plunged into the ground, forced back into the hole it had left, kicking up some dirt as it tilted unevenly in its spot. "But that's not true, is it? Someone did something to me."

"I've no clue whether you were born this way or if you were modified." It was true enough, and was a convenient way of skirting the issue, but Medici refused to let it go. "But a certain someone... they did use me, right? Axel... he didn't catch me from the wild... he... "

Medici wobbled on his feet, grabbing his scar in pain, and I dove under him to catch him as he stumbled, lowering him down and letting him rest on my shell. "Medici... just don't. There's no point in digging any deeper on this."

"No." His fingers grasped for purchase on the ridge of my shell for a moment, and with a grimace he righted himself. "I've... been stupid. I should've figured this out a long time ago. Just... tell me? Please? I feel like it'll be kindest coming from you."

I retreated into my shell on instinct, letting out a sorrowful 'squirt'. "Medici... as much as I'd love to, I've sworn myself to silence on this. And a performer always keeps his promises, to his audience, yes, but especially to his friends." I glanced over to our trainer, who was slamming flint against steel to try and light the fire, swearing as he missed and jammed himself in the hand. "If you really want to go down this path, you need to talk to him. I'm sorry."

"I'm sure that'll be great for both our moods..."

"Medici..." I put on my best smile, doing my best to counteract the dour look on his face. "Why don't you take some time and just... sit with Gardevoir for a while? Perhaps over dinner? Don't go into this filled with nothing but pain and sadness, you've got a good life now."

"I can't.. are you kidding me? Now that I know... she's Psychic, she'll find out quickly enough, I can't hide anything from her. And if she was having trouble letting me be close to her before... how the hell will I have a chance if she finds out what I really am?"

I pulled out of my shell, clasping his shoulders. "Don't think like that. This is who you really are. Remember that. You are Medici, the overpowered, musically talented Meditite of Axel Jackson, and your are good... and blameless."

I'm sure his embrace would have crushed me if I hadn't a shell to keep me sturdy. "Shelligan... I don't know how the hell you can say that after everything I've done, but..."

"It wasn't. You." I was practically breaking my promise to Axel now, but it needed to be said. "You are Medici, and Medici..." I thumped him on the back. "Medici was born just over a year ago. And has been nothing but a friend and comrade to me."

His sobs shook my body, and my entire body felt cold as ice. Medici felt what he was doing and let go, his tears freezing on his cheeks as they fell. Granted, it was the middle of winter, but this was something more... an inability to contain the strength that had been granted him, even now. Emotion overriding his control.

"I think... you're right." He bent down and picked up the firewood I had dropped, placing it back in my arms. "But I also think... that I can't be entirely blameless. I have to make amends." He smacked his palms against his sockets, chipping the ice away. "But first... I think I will see if she'll just hold me for a while. I didn't talk to her at all yesterday and it's been killing me."

I nodded. "A splendid idea. And hey, don't tell her I told you this..." I jabbed at his scar. "But this was an awful lot worse before she intervened. She's got some terrible power of her own, so I'm sure she'll understand."

Medici shook his head. "There's no way her power can be as bad as mine, buddy. But it's a nice thought, I suppose."

Skyler

Aaagne zone-mag maaaagnaz zone-egg zaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag

Unbusted, pipes never rusted, trusted

People wondering when Sky's gonna fire off his Musket

Just did.

Quit your cussin' and your fussin'

I'm blunderbussin' while wanderlusting

And there's no discussing that I'm pumping fire

Can't get no higher than the Skyler

The lyrical outlier with vocal chords like i-ron

Hike on and fight on and rhyme on

All the pressure turning this coal into a dia-mond.

"You're floating on air, Skyler. You know that right?"

"And why wouldn't I be, Lex?" It had been a while since I'd really let loose and spat what came to my head. Aggie's death had really done a number on me, but after securing Woodale's gym badge and having hiked all the way back past Severna in record time, the wounds were starting to heal over. The afternoon air may have been cold as hell, but the day itself was gorgeous. Clear sky, still air... beautiful weather and beautiful company. What else could I ask for?

"Because you're not supposed to draw attention to us, that's why." Lex pointed downwards. "I'm being literal."

She wasn't wrong. I'd gotten so caught up in my rhythm that I was hovering at the same level as Magnezone. The Fly HM that Aggie had sent me to get, her last request... it was working. I didn't even really understand how, it's not like it grew me wings or anything. The change I'd really noticed is that the air felt a lot more tactile. I touched ground again, though not without swooping around and cawing at my companion.

"Don't make me take out my birding rifle." It wasn't quite as threatening as it sounded, seeing as she was actively hiding the smile on her face. I briefly glanced at the thick brown case on her back, still awestruck by how many different firearms she'd managed to cram in there. Not to mention the two strapped to her leg holsters; when we were working together on missions, I'd never thought she had such a wide array... hell, she'd never needed to fire one before. Now, of course, with us technically being A.W.O.L. from Team Musket, we couldn't be too careful. HQ wasn't exactly going to back us up.

I tucked my arms into my sides and flapped my 'wings', taking advantage of Lex's mood to get her to snort a bit. Her face fell suddenly, however, and she put a hand up, her signal that I needed to 'shut the hell up if I want to live', as she'd put it. "Skyler..." she whispered. "Do you hear that?"

I closed my eyes, training my ears on the surrounding woods. It was... quiet. Really... really quiet. "Where'd all the Pokemon sounds go?"

"Exactly." Lexi pulled one of her handguns from beneath her skirt. "You've got that keen sense now, right? Do you see anything?"

I rose into the air a bit and scanned the area. It was a boreal forest, mainly, with patches of flowers growing wildly along the road. But there, in the distance... a Ranger cabin. And next to that cabin... blue. Sickly, pale blue. "Blue lights ten o clock, Lex."

"Shit..." She stowed her hand gun and quickly opened her case, pulling out a collapsible sniper rifle and screwing the barrel on quickly. "Get me up in a tree, now. That one." She nodded her head at a large pine, and I obeyed immediately, grabbing her under the arms and heaving her up into the air. She herself was pretty light, but with all that equipment it was one hell of a workout. With her stowed away in her bird's nest I coasted my way across the tree tops, sidling close to the ranger's station.

I gulped at what I saw. The local ranger was tangled in tree branches, being pulled four directions at once, mongol-style. But he wasn't dead. Not yet. The blue light I had seen was beaming from the single eye of a Trevenant, who was using its nervous system to control the surrounding forest. It Leered at the ranger, who struggled in vain.

"I won't ask again, Mr. German." The tree could talk. "Please cooperate. My Master has no quarrel with you." This was bad. Most of Death's Pokemon were mindless creatures, blindly attacking whatever human they saw. But this one... was it some sort of messenger? God forbid, a liaison? "On the contrary, Mr. German, my Master would rather not take your life. She harbors respect for those that commit themselves to preserving the natural order, rather than stealing Pokemon for their own needs."

"I'm not... going to fold..." The ranger struggled. "Ranger Danger won't ever give others up to spare his own life!"

"Mr. Danger, be reasonable." The Trevenant raised one of its wooden claws in the air, and the ranger let out a yell of anguish as his limbs were pulled farther apart. "It is cute that humans will defend each other with such reckless abandon, but look at what has been done here. What that poor Pokemon was forced to do by its trainer. Do you really think that punishment is not due for the ones who did this?"

The ranger's jaw trembled. "Danger... does not yield." He stared the Trevenant directly in its eye. "Just please... don't take Archimedes back to him. Let him fly free. Please."

I didn't need to hear anything more. I launched myself in front of the station, tossing Dino's Pokeball in front of the Trevenant. "Dragon Breath, now!" Dino burst from his ball and immediately laid in a furious assault, distracting the Trevanent enough for me to bring my hand down with a swift Aerial Ace and cut through one of the branches holding the ranger. "Magnezone, get out there too! Start bringing the thunder!"

The Trevenant growled and yanked on the branches, but I managed to cut another in time, so the ranger was pulled to one side and smacked against a tree, rather than being torn apart. Magnezone backed up Dino with a furious barrage of Thunderbolts, but the type match-up wasn't exactly favorable, and the electric shocks bounced off of its bark. The Elder Tree Pokemon disappeared suddenly, then appeared behind Magnezone and slammed into its back with a Phantom Force strike, sending my Pokemon hurtling through the station's window.

"Tangela! Help out!" I yelled, throwing my last Pokemon out while I freed the Ranger completely. "Get out of here, now! We need to..."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" My Tangela was barely out into the open air before the forest came alive on us, each tree reaching out and snaring us with thick wooden branches. Magnezone blasted the Trevenant with a Zap Cannon from within the station, but the monstrous thing just shrugged the blow off, disappeared, and Phantom Forced him into a tree, where he was rooted as well. "I am conducting business for my master and I will not be interrupted." I glanced over to Magnezone, and gulped as I saw an enormous dent on its rear. This thing hit hard.

"Why the hell are you talking? Since when does Death care about negotiating?"

"Since always, but there are few in the world who are worth trying to reason with. Yourself included." I felt the branches tugging at me limbs, felt my arms about ready to be pulled from their sockets... and then farther. "You are not welcome here. Your death will be swift and your Pokemon will be free at last, the way things should be. Now pray to..."

A single shot rang out, and I saw a bullet pass through the back of the Trevenant's head and straight through its eye. God damn you're hot, Lex.

The branches around us loosened, and I took the opportunity, freeing Dino quickly and throwing it at the creature. He charged up his breath and wrapped himself in fire, letting loose a devastating Incinerate attack onto death's servant. Tangela, pissed that she'd miss the opportunity earlier, crunched down on a Spelon berry and let loose a dark-typed Natural Gift, exploiting its ghost typing perfectly. The Trevenant growled, swatting at the two but missing.

I did the only thing I really could. Reaching for my belt, I grabbed one of our lab's Musket Balls and pelted the monster with it, yelling for my Pokemon to take cover. The outer shell exploded, and the Ultra Ball beneath forced the Trevenant inside... but no sooner had it touched the ground than it burst out, heavily wounded, but still plenty strong to avoid capture.

"You have garnered the Ire of Thirdblood, Archangel of Death. Your days are numbered, you blue-haired, bombastic buffoon." The tree Pokemon glanced at the Ranger. "Choose better next time, or you will share this one's fate." And before I could yell for my Pokemon to rally and attack again... it was gone. Vanished into thin air.

"Thank you." The Ranger climbed a nearby tree, fighting with the branches for a few moments before bringing down an injured Noctowl, cradling it and speaking to it softly. I reached into my bag and offered a potion, which he sprayed onto the Pokemon, perking it up a bit. "You saved my life, probably. So I won't arrest you for that Musket Ball of yours."

"Just using it how it's intended to be used, Mr. German. With all due respect." I wasn't completely ignorant of what Musket technology has been used for in the past... but it was like anything else. In the wrong hands, it could be used for evil, but in the right hands it was a powerful, necessary defense. "What was all that about, exactly?"

The Ranger sighed. "There was... a fight here a week or so ago. A large one. A group of trainers helped some shiny Sawsbuck defend themselves against a group of desperate hunters. Alerted us all to the presence of the herd, too, they'll be posting way more Rangers out here now." He gulped. "Unfortunately... well, there was collateral damage. I saw and heard the thing myself, but I only realized a few days later what had happened."

"The Pokemon." The speed that Lex could scurry down a tree and sprint over to us... nothing short of amazing. "I saw a few from my perch up there that you probably haven't cleaned up yet."

"Cleaned up?" But now that I knew what to look for, my sharpened eyesight saw as well. Over in a nearby pond a few Poliwags were floating face down, and the forest floor was littered with Swellows. No marks, no signs of struggle. It's as if they'd just died in an instant, right where they were standing. "What in the hell..."

The Ranger nodded sadly. "Aye. There was a massive Tyrannitar that charged through here that tore one of the trainer's Pokemon almost in half. Dead for sure. But that Gardevoir..." His voice caught in his throat, and when he spoke again it came out as a whisper. "Did she know what she was doing? What the silence that followed her healing meant?" The Noctowl in his arms sprung to life a bit, the Potion finally taking effect. "I'm lucky she didn't drain you, Archimedes. I'd have given Vanna away to that Thirdblood in an instant."

"Vanna?" The name struck a chord. "Vanna Albright? She was one of the trainers who came through here?" I clenched my fist. Was he really tied to this as well? "Then... was there a man with her as well?"

The Ranger nodded. "Aye. A boy and a girl. The man's name was Axel, I think. And the girl... pretty redhead, great with medicine. Amber, I think."

Amber. She was traveling with Axel too? It was my fault too I bet... after I broke her heart and stood her up, the bastard had been able to weasel his way in and charm her along. If I didn't stop this guy, he'd assemble himself a damn entourage.

"You know, it's funny..." The rambled on, oblivious to my thoughts. "I remember when I saw her heal that Meditite friend of hers... I thought I was witnessing a miracle. I suppose even miracles have their costs, though."

Lex tugged on my arm, pulling me to the side and whispering. "What do we do? Do we just leave him here?"

I shook my head. "Death will come back for him, right? We need to get him somewhere safe. At least to Highbank."

She punched me in the arm. "You and your stupid heart. Fine, we'll pull escort duty."

I nodded. "Mr. German... do you want to come with us? We're not heading back to Severna, but we can accompany you to the Ginli border, at least. Hopefully throw Death off your trail."

The Ranger paused for a moment, eyeing the two of us with understandable suspicion. "Perhaps it is time to go. If you can spare some time for me to pack my things, I'll hike through the night to keep you two on schedule."

"Much obliged." Helping him was the right thing to do, of course. But if he knew this Axel Jackson and could get me in closer to him... all the better.

Medici

It turns out I've been underestimating Gardevoir. A lot.

She knew what was on my mind the moment I came to her after dinner. I saw the panic flit through her face briefly as the same realization that I was coming to hit her hard. She looked at my hands, so maybe she even saw some of the images that were coming back to my mind.

I started to speak. To echo back what Shelligan had told me, that it wasn't me who'd done those things. But I couldn't even get a word out before she grabbed me and tugged me into her chest, squeezing me tight. I felt her sobbing against me, her empathy throwing her into complete disarray, and I couldn't stop myself from crying too. This wasn't fair. It just wasn't.

Eventually, I pried myself off of her. I wanted closure that night, and I wasn't going to have Axel fall asleep before I could ask him. He wasn't too far off... in fact, from the looks of things, he'd seen Gardevoir and I and was just biding time, knowing that the conversation was coming.

"You two finally a thing or what?" He asked when I approached him.

"It's honestly the last thing on my mind right now, Axel. I'm sure you know that."

He crossed his arms and let out a long, low growl. "You really, really picked a bad time to start remembering, Medici. I was hoping to tell you this on my own terms, and not when I'm constantly holding back the urge to scream at someone."

"We don't have to waste too much time on it, I just want to hear it." There was a part of me that was still refusing to call it what it was. I could talk around and about it with myself all I want, but to actually say it... I needed him for that. I didn't know why.

Axel sunk down to the ground, sitting cross-legged to get closer to my eye level. "Well, I guess I'll just be out with it then. You were one of Death's Pokemon. Like Dragonette, or Inigo. I captured you with the B-Button just like I did them."

There it was. It sounded almost trivial when he summarized it so briefly, but the words echoed in my mind... terrible truths that I was better off never knowing about. These hands of mine... musician's hands, I thought. They were drenched in blood. "Who knows?"

"Qwill, Shelligan, and Inigo all know, of course, because they're the ones that helped me catch you. Professor Redwood knows because he helped with your rehabilitation." He cracked his neck. "The only person I've actually told is Amber, because I tell her everything."

"Amber-chan? She knows? For how long?"

"She's known this whole time, man. It was one of the first things I told her when she found us in Cliffkiln."

I could have sworn my ears were failing me. Amber had known that I'd been a murderous beast of a Pokemon the entire time she'd known me? But she'd treated me so well, and I never detected fear from her unless I was on the verge of going blue.

"How... um..." I wanted to crush my hands. Make it so that they never touched another person again. "Do you know... how many?"

Axel paused. "I have... an estimate. Amber leafed through a bunch of newspaper headlines when she returned home to Pembrook. She put together how many of Death's reported killings matched your M.O."

A lump formed in my throat, threatening to choke me like a wad of gum in a straw. "Well?"

"It's only an estimate, ok? We don't know if there are other Pokemon that use the same techniques, or if all the reports are accurate, so..."

"Damn it, just tell me! I know it's a lot! I'm starting to see the faces! Just tell me, Axel!"

"Seven hundred and forty three."

I saw them. Every single one of their faces etched with perfect detail on the plate of my mind. Seven hundred and forty three twisted, tormented faces. My fault. No. Death's fault. But my hands.

"Medici. It wasn't you, ok? I'm sure you've been hearing that all day, but it's true."

"I know... I just..."

"It wasn't. You." Axel was right: he was in no mood to be comforting, and the abrasiveness that he handled me with made me flinch.

"Fine. I guess I'll just forget all about it then. Sorry to have bothered you."

"Medici... come on, I didn't..."

"No no, it's fine, it's fine. We shouldn't mix our sulking anyways." I forced a laugh. "Hell, I'll probably even get over mine first. I'm not really to blame for my issues, after all, am I?"

It was probably way too mean, and far out of line for a Pokemon to handle its trainer with. He glowered at me briefly, then walked off, presumably to crawl into his sleeping bag and curse himself to sleep.

… Damn it all.

Author's Note:

So I'm a stats guy at heart. I love to look at data and try to pick out meaningful patterns from the chaos. This site is really good about giving insight into viewer counts and all, so I enjoy that immensely.

Some interesting patterns are the 'first and last chapters' effect, as I like to call them: the last few chapters on either end of the story have more views than the swath in the middle. It's interesting to try and come up with plausible explanations for this scenario: the first chapter will of course always have a huge amount of hits, because it's the landing page. People maybe only read through chapter 4 before giving up because that's Qwill's chapter, and Qwill is difficult as all hell to read. The last few chapters having more hits is possibly due to people skipping ahead just to get the latest content, or the story's followers receiving alerts and catching up.

There is one random outlier that I find interesting, though, and have no real explanation for. Chapter 37: Afraid to Live, is a chapter in the middle of the story without any special properties to it: it was a pre-timegap chapter, so it's been on the site for a good three years. Yet over the last month, it has received 37 unique viewers and 94 hits. For comparison, the chapters around it only have about 3 visitors and 3 hits each.

I have no explanation for this. So I'm asking anyone out there who may know: what's the deal with this chapter? Is there something about it that struck a chord with some people? Is it externally linked from somewhere? And why do people keep coming back to read it? I'm flattered, and I'd love to understand what I did right here, so if you could either PM me or leave a review, I'd most appreciate it.

Viva la feminism?