Wow, I can't believe this is the 50th chapter, fifty chapters from 50,000 Volts...that's a lot! This has been a very long journey, but we're still going strong with this story. As always, enjoy this next addition and lemme know what you think by leaving a review, thanks!
Chapter fifty: Darkness, then Light
I watched as the moon fell into the ocean for the night. I've probably stared at the glowing orb for hours, though it hasn't been that long actually.
Ugh…I think I'm starting to doze off…
Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I turn towards the person next to me…Lucas…who I'm watching over.
Why did this have to happen to him? He deserves to be human again…to live out his life the way he wants to…
After what happened in Bill's lab today, Lucas has been quiet, not wanting to do anything…only occasionally depreciating himself for something that wasn't his fault. I overheard what my human parents and Bill said…and apparently Lucas is depressed…
How can I help him? Everything the scientists did failed so far, and any attempt to make Lucas hopeful again is rejected by his frozen state. Watching over the human turned Pokemon for hours finally begins to influence me…and I soon, mistakenly, fall asleep.
The next morning comes and I wake up to see that Lucas is awake as well but is still in his saddened state. Rigel wakes up soon after as well, and looks across from him toward Lucas in the other bed, "Morning, how are you feeling?" Rigel asked, but no response came from the other mouse. We decide to let Lucas stay in bed for a while longer as Rigel and I made our way next door to our parents' room.
Here, we come across Bill, who is just as worried as the rest of us. He hadn't sleep much, in fact…he spent all night working: trying to find other ways to help Lucas. Unfortunately, as always, he came across nothing useful. The younger adult has bags under his eyes and looks exhausted…his clothes are unbuttoned, and his normally groomed hair is out of place as though he was in the middle of a hurricane!
"Rigel, how is he?" we both suddenly hear from father: George.
My brother/trainer shakes his head in response, folding his arms at dad. Everyone else just seems to emote the same posture and frustration, and then suddenly, Rigel looks up…an idea just crossed his mind, "maybe breakfast will cheer him up a little?" The adults look at one another, deciding to give it a try. They nod and decide to put the plan into action.
And so, after a few minutes: mom, dad and Bill headed down to the kitchen and without the help of the chef, who is going on vacation, they prepare a small feast. Human food such as waffles, strawberries, eggs, toast, oranges, and oats were being prepared.
When time came to go downstairs to eat, we catch sight of Lucas, still in bed…still low on energy. George walks to him, slowly and quietly moving towards the Pikachu, "Lucas, breakfast is ready." Lucas didn't respond, but George, my father as always, is adamant, "come on, just a quick bite and you can go back to bed."
The human adult removes the covers and carefully holds on to the former human. Normally Lucas would object to this, but all he did was look away silently.
Anyways, we led him out of the room and down the stone hallway, and down the claustrophobic spiral staircase…finally making it into the small dining room. Lucas, for a short moment from the corner of his eye, is interested when he catches sight of the carefully prepared food on the wide mahogany table. George puts Lucas down on an elevated seat and the rest of us took our places around the table. Bill, despite being exhausted, serves the food himself before father goes to help him. Once everything is ready, we all dig in…except for Lucas…he stares longingly into space, but he must also be thinking deeply about something…sure enough though he looks down at his plate of food. His black triangular nose picks up a scent and he finally gives in and grabs a handful of food. I stop eating to watch him, albeit inconspicuously. It's food that we know he likes, so it's hard for Lucas to resist. He slowly brings the matter to his mouth and chews.
I give a soft, satisfying smile, at least he's eating-
He stopped…one bite and his face recoiled with disgust and ultimately turns away, tears falling again. To Lucas, he must have felt as though eating the human food reminded him of his current dilemma. Rigel and I do the right thing by comforting him, we stand up and stay by his side. I ride up to rest on Rigel's shoulder as he and I pat Lucas on the back, "it's alright…"
Bill and the parents look on with dread, knowing how serious everything is right now. Lucas doesn't grab another bite, and when we're all finished, we escort the human turned Pikachu back to our room. Once Rigel lays him on the bed, he looks toward me with worry. I return the same expression back to him…darkness has enveloped Lucas…he can't fight it…he's becoming self-destructive…there must be something we can do to help him get better…
My trainer and I decide to just let him rest…we both exit the room and soon run into mom and dad down the hallway.
"Wh-what…c-can we do?" Rigel stammered in frustration.
"We should just give him space, do everything we can to make him feel comfortable and welcomed" mom replies, pacing back and forth as she says this.
"Rigel…Orion may be the one to help him the most during all this. I remember you telling me about all they went through these past few weeks" dad adds. My human brother looks down toward me as I cross my arms…yea…I guess he's right…
I nod back. I can talk to him, try to connect with him on a more personal level compared to everyone else here, and most importantly…share his pain…I must…
For now, we just decide to let Lucas rest some more, but after about an hour since breakfast it is time for us to have a bath. First, Rigel takes a shower and after he is done and dry: helps me retrieve Lucas. Our friend is still in bed…though he's not sleeping…Lucas is still unmoving. I approach him with softness in my voice and lightly shake his side to break his trance, "Lucas, how does a bath sound right about now?"
As if to be expected, he does not respond…
"Come on buddy…just a quick bath."
I turn and nod to Rigel who picks up Lucas and escorts him into the next room: a small stone interior with a fully prepared square bath, which is made of marble. It kind of has a fancy side to it if I may say so myself and having taken several baths in it, I can almost certainly guarantee he'll like it!
"Look, the water's just right" Rigel explains, using a free arm to test the water, then guiding Lucas's own to try it. The former human lets him, still frozen in place…staring off into the distance…
"Come on bud…" I try to encourage him, "it's a bubble bath."
Rigel carefully places the Pikachu in the bathtub…we expect a positive response from Lucas…but…we'll…he seems to be unaffected by it, even when Rigel helps scrub him clean. I watch from behind, but I can't take it no more! I jump up and land on the edge of the bathtub and help Rigel with Lucas.
My human partner scrubs Lucas's head while I help clean the rest of him. Before long, my trainer pours a bucket of warm water over the Pikachu's head. In response, they shake violently to dry as both Rigel and I chuckle; however, Lucas still doesn't share joy with us.
Nevertheless…we help the false Pokémon dry. His clothes, which he abandoned in the woods the night before were washed, but once we tried to help him dress…Lucas did not have the energy or motivation to put them on…
By now it's mid-day and Rigel and I are resting in the lounge area. After hanging around and doing little, we started getting bored, so I didn't protest when Rigel turned toward me and asked, "hey Orion, want to go to the beach?"
Soon enough I understood why he was doing this: to try and get Lucas to come, which…wasn't a bad idea…Lucas won't have to do much, and Rigel could carry him throughout the entire trip.
"Lu-Lucas, want to come swimming with us?" Rigel asked…Lucas, now in bed again, turned toward us. Much to our surprise…he spoke for the first time in a while!
"I'm-so…tired…" his speech is very labored, but it was mixed in with extreme sadness too…the depression made him struggle to talk…and that's when I finally understood just how trapped he was feeling.
Rigel, in the meantime, looked down toward me and I sigh softly, "okay Lucas…it's…okay" I mutter softly as I'm hit with sorrow. We ultimately leave him to rest…
…
Mom, dad and Bill are in the lounge inside the cottage…Rigel and I *cough* snuck out, the adults didn't really want us outside because of the rough waves hitting the beach. It turned out that indeed the waves were brutal, so he and I just walk parallel to the beach. Eventually, we stop at the edge of the cliff beside the cottage.
We both sit down, watching the waves offshore slowly approach as seagulls cry out above us. Rigel folds his hands, sighing softly, "nothing is working…Lucas seems to be getting worse, huh buddy?"
I don't need to reply, my saddened face is all I need to answer back to him…I stare off…thinking of what can help Lucas's condition.
I guess at the time I could have stopped myself, but I had gotten up and marched back to the cottage. My trainer looks back with a long look of confusion running down his face, "Orion?"
I ended up inside the building where I approached Bill, who is by himself and hunched over in the lounge…overwhelmed by disappointment. I don't know what came of me, but I jumped and grabbed a hold of his vest and started scolding the man. Imagine a Pikachu…scolding a human…now that's something…
"Come on Bill, think! There has to be something you can do!?" Most of it was just me being annoyed by the fact that he still hasn't found a cure…but…all he could hear from me is:
Pika-Pikachu-Pi!
If only he could understand me like Lucas! Though, looking back, it didn't take a genius to understand the anger and utter frustration in my voice.
Then, it HIT me…maybe…maybe we can help Lucas another way! I thought of the person he loved most during his human life…Jen…Jennifer…the girl he kept talking about…MAYBE…if they saw each other again…and Bill explained the situation…having someone like her will inspire Lucas to hold on longer!
I decided to try another way to communicate…I found a random book on the shelf which I grabbed and then I got a pen: I sat down on the floor and started writing just as Rigel entered the room. The latter finds me writing something down and crouches next to me to investigate.
I struggle to find the right letters…but after all those lessons with Lucas…I think I got it figured out…I remember the pronunciations and arrangement of the letters…I remember him bringing up Jen during one of our lessons and showed me how to write her name. Her last name was the hardest part…I don't remember it…we'd have to ask Lucas…for now this will do…
Ultimately, I managed to write in the book: J E N
I showed it to Bill and he examined it carefully…clearly amazed by my newfound ability to write thanks to the transformed human. He, like Professor Oak and his posse, were so fascinated by the idea of Pokémon being able to learn human language.
The man thinks to himself as Rigel thinks too, raising an eyebrow while looking down toward me, "who is this, Orion?"
"Yes, who may this be?" Bill simply asked.
I try to play charades with them, trying to help them connect the dots, but it's hard…they can't understand me this way…I slap my forehead in frustration before writing more things down…
LUCAS
FRIEND
Rigel and Bill read what I wrote, and think to themselves before looking down towards me, "do you think you can ask him what her last name is? Perhaps I can try and find this person." Bill said and I nodded back…yea…hopefully I can ask Lucas…
…
Some time afterwards, as the sun begins sinking into the horizon, I quietly found myself standing in the doorway of our room: seeing Lucas resting by the window. At least he's out of bed finally, that's progress, but he's still in a melancholic blackout…I can sense he's still in despair…
I look closer to see Lucas has a portrait on his lap…wait…it's HIS portrait…of when he was human. He's just staring at it…deeply…never taking his brown eyes off, and he appears to not sense my presence in the room. By now I moved closer, and I hopped on the windowsill to sit next to him and join his pain.
Finally, he takes notice of me and mutters softly under his breath, "I should have never come back to Kanto…I should have just…stayed away…like I was supposed to…" I see his small yellow paw moving down the portrait as he continued staring at it.
"No…" I suddenly hug him out of nowhere…whether it was instinct or not it didn't matter if he didn't feel bad that I was doing it, "it's…not your fault, it never was…" I shake my head, "it was BARTOLI, and we'll find her…we WILL change you back, I swear!"
Lucas still focuses on the picture, as if I'm a ghost or a fleeting thought in his head, "that…won't happen…"
"Lucas" I lean forward so he can see me, but all he does in return is look away as tears fall from his eyes.
"I care about you, we ALL do…we want to see you happy again. I-I know things aren't looking good, and…not much has been done to help you…trust me…I gave Bill a mouthful about it earlier…" I silently form a smile at that last part to humor him, but of course he doesn't follow, "but you got to at least hope for the best, don't hurt yourself like this…you still have so much to look forward to…so many great things to achieve…so many places to see…so many people to meet…and Jen…"
Lucas remains silent, but once I bring HER up, he looks up towards me.
"We haven't given up on you Lucas, and we never will, I never will!" I mutter to him.
"Jen…I wonder…" Lucas mutters just as silently.
"What's her last name Lucas, we can find her for you…they can explain everything…she can be here with you…help you…"
"Her…last…name…" Lucas looks away, "I wouldn't want her to see me like this…"
I shake my head, trying to reassure him. I give a soft sigh in response, "if there's one thing you've taught me Lucas…is to never give up on yourself or your friends…" I stand up and head for the door, "it hurts seeing you like this…it really does…"
After I leave, Lucas just looks down, and ponders on what I had said…as well as the name I dropped.
"Jen…" he says to himself softly.
…
Later that evening, we all sat down to have dinner, and halfway through, we see Lucas come in. Without saying a word, he takes a seat and George stands up and asked if Lucas is hungry. All he did was nod in response, but it was enough to make everyone smile softly. And so, father says 'okay' and serves the Pikachu a decent amount of food from the table, and the latter quietly eats some as we all return to our plates.
Good, at least he's eating something now, I was worried he was going to starve himself…
Suddenly, during the middle of our meal…Lucas mutters softly to us, "Jenson…"
"W-what was that?" George asked and Lucas said it again, "her last name…is Jenson…Jennifer…Jenson."
We look towards one another, understanding now…Bill gives a nod to Lucas and says, "okay, we'll see if we can contact her for you tomorrow."
George nods back, "agreed, I'll assist him in finding her for you Lucas."
"Me too!" Rigel suddenly jumps in, smiling happily in confidence as I jump in as well…emulating the same emotion as my brother/trainer.
Mom nods back, "we are all here for you Lucas."
Lucas seems to be overwhelmed by the support from all of us and drops a tear before we all get out of our chairs to surround and hug the human-turned-Pikachu. He can't help but accept our presence and smile softly, even if I barely managed to catch it…I KNOW he's feeling better…
Later, after dinner, Rigel and I get ready for bed. I tuck myself in before I hear a whisper:
"Orion…" I hear Lucas say as I turn to face him, "I…" he stops mid-sentence. I nod to him in a manner that calms him, "it's okay Lucas…I understand, you're trying your best and we can all see that, and that's all one has to do, right?"
He turns away whilst staring at the ceiling…I could have sworn I saw him nod slightly in approval before closing his eyes.
I too do the same afterwards…
You can't give up Lucas…I know you're fighting your sadness; all you have to do is to keep fighting it…and I won't stop helping you…
The next day comes and early in the morning after breakfast, Rigel and I help Bill in the garden while mom and dad clean the kitchen. Lucas had actually joined us…though he was quiet most of the time, but at least he's finally opening up again. The four of us make efforts to trim the hedges and help Bill collect some fruits.
Then, dad comes out and we all look up towards him.
"Bill, there's somebody calling from your PC" he says before Bill puts down his shears, "I'll be right back 'gents" Bill leaves with George, returning to the cottage before the three of us look at each other with confused faces.
Not too long afterwards we hear the door open frantically and we look up in surprise! It's Bill and he's looking straight at Lucas himself…
"They told me there's-there's a young woman that arrived in Kanto from Sinnoh just a few days prior…they've been looking for Lucas…her name is indeed Jennifer!"
We all gasp, but Lucas is obviously the one who is most surprised by the news as he takes a step back, arms outward in shock.
"I explained everything…she…didn't believe initially what I had to say…but she has agreed to meet us in Cerulean City tomorrow!
We all turn to see Lucas's reaction and he begins to tear up, body shaking…
"J-Jen…she's…here…?"
…
Oohh boyyyy! Here we go! Jennifer Jenson, Lucas's love interest, finally enters the story again after Chapter 1. How will this all play out, how will she react to him being a small yellow mouse now? That will all be answered in the next chapter! Until then, take care readers!
