Yo! Not a ton to say, so let's get into it!

Chapter 6

Eterna was homely.

Bianca wasn't really sure of what else she could say in regards to it. Every building in town – even the higher end ones – possessed a sort of rustic feel, and the actual homes that stood near the outskirts were even more so. It felt a bit like Nuvema town, in all honestly, albeit not nearly as recently constructed.

Bianca had known, tangentially, just how old Sinnoh was in comparison to many of the other regions, but this was doing a good job at putting that into perspective.

However, though she felt the city deserved more of her attention than it was really going to end up receiving, Bianca just couldn't help herself from instead turning her attention on the far more interesting thing in her general vicinity.

"So, uhm… Cynthia?" She murmured. "Are you… okay?"

"Totally fine, Bianca. What gave you the impression that I was not?"

"Well, you just… sort of…" Bianca gestured to Cynthia's entire body. "Bundled up?"

That was a fairly kind way of putting things, in Bianca's general estimation. Certainly, Sinnoh was a far cry, weatherwise, from Hoenn, and Sootopolis City in particular, but the jacket that Bianca had slung on was doing more than enough to keep her warm on its own.

Yet Cynthia had slung on heavy pants, a thick, bulky coat, a beanie that somehow managed to hide her luxurious mane beneath it, and a wool scarf that she'd wrapped around her mouth, so that the only thing that could be seen of her was her eyes.

Bianca was fairly certain she knew the why of Cynthia's current… fashion choices, but still, she wanted to confirm her suspicions.

"Are you taking up a disguise for a while, then?"

Cynthia's eyes briefly widened, before she let out a little laugh below her breath.

"Yes. I am. Suffice it to say that while I got away with a pair of sunglasses and a different outfit than normal in Hoenn, such would not suffice here so close to home for me. The people of Eterna know me rather well."

"I see." Bianca smiled, before, in a bid of confidence she never would've felt a week ago, she decided to try and tease Cynthia. "Perhaps I should ask them about you? See what they have to say?"

"Let's… not." Cynthia pushed out, and Bianca had to laugh. "Alright, well, the sun's rising, and we've got ground to cover before we make it to Celestic, including a trip through Mt. Coronet. You ready for the hike?"

Bianca hoisted the straps of the backpack she'd borrowed from Cynthia's stores aboard her private jet on her shoulders. "Ready and willing."

"Then let's make tracks." Cynthia stated, smiling, and away they went.

The road out of Eterna and towards Mt. Coronet was incredible, really. There were multiple mountainous ridges, grassy patches filled with interesting varieties of Pokémon, and even a few waterfalls that the occasional hiker was attempting to summit. Bianca found her mouth hanging open as they made their way up towards the entrance into Coronet itself, and as they did, she had to shake herself out of her own head in order to focus on what Cynthia was trying to say.

"The Pokémon in here can be a bit stronger than normal. They shouldn't be, to be clear; normally, the lower levels are inhabited by the lower-level Pokémon, but on occasion, a stronger one will filter in here from the top floor."

Bianca nodded.

"Keep my guard up, then?"

"Basically, yeah." Cynthia smiled. "Alright, let's move."

Coronet itself had quite a few interesting characteristics right off the bat. For one, it was surprisingly bright, which likely had to do with how often it was used as a passageway. There were lights installed all around, and even a few bright LEDs drilled into the ceiling that made the place glow an artificial white. It reminded Bianca of Professor Juniper's lab, almost.

The next thing was the few bodies of water that peppered the landscape. There were mostly stagnant pools, but she could hear running water coming out from somewhere. Obviously, because of the water, the place had a smell of mildew to it. It also smelled old, in that way that certain things did when they were left out for too long. Bianca found her face scrunching up somewhat as Cynthia laughed at her.

Bianca stuck her tongue out rather childishly in response.

"Shouldn't be much longer. We'll be coming out onto the eastern part of Route 211 in a moment."

That they did. Aside from the occasional Zubat nipping at her beret, the trip was largely uneventful as well. They exited out towards the 211 and stepped out into sunlight once more. Bianca raised her hand to block the light, and let her eyes adjust.

Somehow, it was almost more beautiful on this side.

A lot of the same landscapes that had made the western section of route 211 so appealing remained here as well, including the ridged mountains, the trees and the spotted nature of the snows. There were also waterfalls that they passed right next to; albeit a spray of water caught Bianca's leg, and she nearly shivered herself half to death by the time they were coming up on Celestic town, their eventual destination.

"Right…" Cynthia stated as they were only ten or so meters from the town's entrance. "Time to face the music, I suppose."

That bothered Bianca; the way that Cynthia was putting visiting what was ostensibly her home town. She wondered if the two of them were close enough for Bianca to be justified in asking about it, and then concluded that they likely weren't.

…She then realized that her conclusion likely played largely off of the fact that she was a person who avoided conflict, and that she was likely just doing that in this exact scenario as well.

So, Bianca took a breath, and said, "Cynthia? Are you okay?"

Cynthia didn't seem to have expected Bianca to talk at all, let alone to ask her something like that, so when she turned around, she did so with slightly wide eyes.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine." She said, and the smile she conjured told Bianca that at the very least, she herself believed that to be a genuine answer. "It's just… my grandmother is… difficult to talk to, sometimes. She's just… from another time."

"Your grandmother?" Bianca couldn't help but be curious. "How old is she, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Are you implying that I'm too old to reasonably have a living grandmother, Bianca?"

Bianca felt a bit awkward about the fact that she'd definitely been implying exactly that.

"If you must know, she's going to be eighty-seven this year. My grandmother had my mother quite young, and my mother did the same. She passed away when I was very little, and my grandmother raised me."

"Oh, okay." Bianca felt a bit bad at having pried, now. "Sorry, I didn't mean to–"

"Don't apologize," Cynthia spoke through a laugh. "It was a perfectly innocent and reasonable question. Besides, I barely knew my mother, it's not some secret well of trauma."

Bianca nodded her head, still unable to hide that she felt a bit bad.

"For now… well, I'd let you come with me to meet my grandmother, but let me tell you that you do not want to do that, and leave things at that." Cynthia spoke, effectively cutting off that particular option. "If you want, how about you check out the cavern in the middle of town? There are some pretty cool old carvings relating to the history of Sinnoh's legendary Pokémon there."

Bianca nodded her head. It worked out for her that she had been a researcher for so much of her life, then, that she got a kick out of that kind of thing. "I'll go check it out, then. Good luck with your grandmother?" She offered somewhat hesitantly.

Cynthia just laughed. "Yes, well, I think I'm going to need it."

And so, Cynthia left.

Bianca was left standing in the middle of a town she'd never been to before, and just… having all the freedom in the world to go or do anything she wanted. Technically, Cynthia had given her the cavern as a destination, but it hadn't exactly been a demand or order. If she wanted, she could swing by a restaurant, maybe grab a bite to eat?

…

She ended up walking into the cave five or so minutes later feeling a small bit of defeat inside her heart.

She was interested, to be fair, but it was a muted feeling. It wasn't as if she'd planned to come here, after all. Perhaps on another day she'd have come in with genuine enthusiasm, but as things were, she was really only checking this place out to be able to relay back to Cynthia that she'd done it when they met back up.

To her surprise, however, as she stepped inside, and went to look for the carvings that Cynthia had described, she instead found someone else.

She was a woman older than Bianca, but younger than Cynthia. If she had to guess, she'd have placed her at around thirty-five, give or take a year or two. She had bright, crimson hair, was dressed warmly, but not terribly so, and was clearly investigating the ruins that Bianca had been sent here to do the same to.

She also hadn't noticed Bianca, so, in an effort not to scare her, Bianca cleared her throat, and called out to her.

"U-Uhm, excuse me?"

The person did, unfortunately, jump somewhat, but it was a minor enough thing that Bianca could at least feel she'd managed to limit it. The woman turned towards Bianca and regarded her with an eye that Bianca had seen quite a few times amongst the others back at Professor Juniper's laboratory.

It was like she was studying her.

"Ah, hello there." The woman stated as she brushed off the front of her outfit, and stood. She was perhaps slightly taller than Bianca, but not by much. "I don't believe we've met?"

"Oh, no, I only just recently got into town." Bianca stated, feeling a sort of quiet camaraderie with someone she recognized as being in a similar field to the one that she'd been a part of for a good decade and a half. "So, I don't think you've met me."

"Hah, I see. Then it's a pleasure to meet you," The woman extended her hand. "My name is Mars. It's nice to meet you."

"Bianca." She spoke as she shook the woman's hand. "Were you investigating the ruins here?"

"I was indeed." Mars confirmed, turning back towards the carvings on the wall behind her, which, now that Bianca got a chance to look at, were truly quite intricate. "They're fascinating. They seem to be some of Sinnoh's earliest depictions of the Lakebed trio; Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit. Of course, there's also the carvings in the stone outside depicting Dialga and Palkia."

"Those must be newer," Bianca tapped into some of her knowledge about these things. "If they were as old as the one's inside this cavern, then they'd have long-since been weathered away by Sinnoh's climate."

Mars regarded Bianca a bit differently, then. "Most scientists and researchers feel the same. I have to ask, are you a researcher yourself?"

"Oh, well, I was." Bianca explained. "I worked underneath Professor Juniper back in the Unova region."

All of a sudden, Mars' face lit up. "Truly? How was working under Professor Juniper?"

"Oh, it was lovely. She's a terribly dedicated Professor, and those of us who worked underneath her never had anything but good things to say."

"I'm glad. I was meant to be working on studying some of the ancient murals around Sinnoh in conjunction with Professor Rowan, but unfortunately, he retired this year. Even still, the little I learned from him was fascinating."

Bianca nodded her head. She'd heard about Professor Rowan's retirement, albeit in passing. It hadn't seemed very relevant to her overall life at the time, and so she'd gone about her days as normal without thinking too hard about it.

"So, you said you used to work for Professor Juniper? Do you not anymore?"

"Oh, yes, I uhm… I left the laboratory about a month ago now. I'm trying to make it again as a Pokémon trainer."

Mars' eyes widened. "Really? At your age?"

Bianca felt slightly demeaned by the words, and Mars must've been able to tell, for she immediately looked like she'd just kicked a Growlithe – which was a rather unfortunate comparison for Bianca, really.

"I-I'm so sorry, that was terribly inappropriate for me to say!"

"No, no, it's fine," Bianca held up her hands in surrender. "Honestly, you're not wrong; I'm certainly a lot older than a lot of other trainers."

"So… when were you last a Pokémon trainer?"

"Oh, well… fourteen years ago?"

Mars' eyes widened to galactic proportions this time.

"Y-Yeah, that's kind of how I feel about it, too."

"Wow. That's… wow." Mars muttered under her breath. "That's impressive. If I might ask… why'd you go back?"

"Well, I…" Bianca bit down on her tongue, although not hard enough to draw blood. "I…"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be prying so much, I–"

"No, really," Bianca rushed to calm the woman. "It's fine. It's just… a bit of a sensitive topic."

"Then I won't ask."

"Actually… I think maybe talking about it might help, if you don't mind?"

"Oh. No, of course not. Are you sure you want to share it with someone you just met?"

"I… kind of think that's why I can share it, if that makes sense?"

Mars smiled. "It does."

"Then…" Bianca took a breath. "Where to even begin…"

She wasn't going to tell Mars all of it; or even most of it, but she could say a few things, she felt. Just enough to be able to vent.

"Let's say… when I was a younger trainer… I wasn't very good at it. I disappointed everyone around me, to the point that the only person who believed in me was my best friend. She… disappeared some time ago, about a decade back, and was never found."

Mars didn't comment, instead just nodding along.

"Eventually, well… I made a mistake. Something happened with my Pokémon, and… it was my fault. Because of me… they died."

"I see."

"So, I guess, I…" Bianca hesitated. "I guess I want to try going back to the person I used to be." Bianca said, and Mars' eyes shone. "She… she was confident, and outgoing, and… I guess she was everything that the current me wishes she was. But… I can't go back. So… I guess I just have to try and change myself in the here and now."

Mars nodded, seemingly almost enraptured in what Bianca was saying.

"That… yeah. I understand that. That desire to go back and start over." Mars smiled, but it was a sad thing. "More than you know."

Bianca nodded.

It was humorous to Bianca, in a way, how well the rapport between the two of them had grown already. It had been all of ten minutes, and she felt like she could talk to Mars forever. This must've been what it was like to meet a kindred spirit. She'd heard others talk about such things before; but had never really experienced it.

Perhaps once, with Hilda, but… well, times had gone by.

"Oh, sh– crap," Mars corrected somewhat guiltily. "I have to go. I wasn't even really supposed to be here, I have a meeting at five, and I should probably already be getting ready for that."

"Oh, well… good luck!" She called to the woman as she stood from her spot on the ground, and began hurriedly gathering her things. "It's been nice speaking with you."

"Likewise, Bianca." Mars stated, smiling. "Perhaps you and I could speak again sometime? Are you in this area often?"

"Ah, unfortunately I'm just visiting."

"I see. Well, can I have your phone number?"

Bianca blanched somewhat; feeling that familiar anxiety filling her as she thought about simply doing as she'd been asked. It should've been easy, but she couldn't bring herself to–

She…

She…

Bianca reached into her back pocket like a Magcargo, inching along at a horribly sedated pace, and eventually drew it out of her pocket.

"Uhm… I'll text you?"

"Ah, cool!"

Mars quickly rattled off a set of digits, which Bianca copied down. The woman smiled, then, and waited for the text Bianca had sent to come through.

"Awesome. Hey, it was nice meeting you, really. I'll talk to you later!"

"Y-Yeah!"

And Mars was gone.

Bianca was left alone in the cave, staring down at the carvings that Mars had been intricately studying. And yet… she found her mind elsewhere, focusing instead on the feeling of accomplishment welling up within her.

Because she'd done it. She'd interreacted with someone without Cynthia by her side. She'd genuinely made a… could Mars be called a friend?

Perhaps not yet, but she was at least an acquaintance, and someone who was in a similar field of study to her. That had to count for something!

She'd lost track of how long she'd been there around that point, lost in her fantasies, and so even though she felt she'd been in the cave for quite a while, she'd actually really only been there for about twenty or so minutes.

So, as she made her way back out, and began to look for Cynthia to tell her what had happened, she accidentally stumbled upon something she was fairly certain Cynthia hadn't wanted her to see.

"–And you won't settle down with anyone, or get married, despite that I keep telling you that–" An older woman's voice sounded out, before being interrupted by Cynthia's own.

"I've told you before, mother. The only thing I plan on being married to is my work."

"That's not what my girlfriends around town are always saying. Do you know what they say about you? That you're–"

"I'm not having this conversation with you right now, mother."

"Oh, fine, run off and go galivanting across the world while you leave your poor grandmother here all by herself–"

"You're not helpless, so stop trying to guilt me. If you wanted to leave this town you could at any time."

"Pah, where do you get that attitude of yours, I wonder? It certainly wasn't from your mother! She was always so kind, and caring; everyone around town always–"

"Oh, yes, you've told me about how utterly perfect she was, and how all the men fell at her feet, and she could never do any wrong. Yes, go ahead, tell me again how–"

Bianca made herself scarce after that.

Her face was burning red; not out of embarrassment, but out of shame. She hadn't meant to catch Cynthia in an argument with her grandmother, and especially not one as personal as that had been.

It sounded like Cynthia and her grandmother… didn't particularly get on all that well.

Which… well, it didn't necessarily shock Bianca, given that she'd sounded quite resigned as the two of them had decided to fly into Eterna, and visit, but even still, hearing anyone talking to Cynthia that way, the woman who'd helped her so much…

It had Bianca well and truly upset. If she'd been a more confrontational person, she might've even stormed in on their conversation and leapt to Cynthia's defense.

She didn't, however. All she did was make for a nearby pizza place and order herself two slices of pepperoni. They were delicious; not the best she'd ever had – those being from her local place back in Nuvema, which had the most delectably soft crust – but certainly a solid eight or nine out of ten. She was absorbed in thinking about the variety of things she'd encountered thus far that day when, about twenty more minutes into her eating her food, Cynthia suddenly walked up from behind her, pulled up a chair, and sat down across from her, all in one great, frustrated motion.

Cynthia… did not look happy.

"…I'm uhm… taking it your conversation didn't go well."

"Hah, figured that out, did you?"

Bianca shrunk in on herself, and Cynthia must've seen it, for her eyes briefly widened, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, it's not you I'm frustrated with. My grandmother is… well, frankly, she's an old woman stuck in the past; one whom I'm contractually obligated to give a shit about."

Bianca imagined there was a lot more familial feelings there that weren't very apparent at the moment due to their recent fight, but she didn't try and call Cynthia out on it or anything.

"I'm sorry things didn't go well."

"Thank you, Bianca." Cynthia smiled, albeit she felt it was mostly for show. "I do appreciate it. It's just… I keep having to have the same age old conversations that that woman seems determined to not let die. Sometimes I think she's determined to die before they do."

Bianca felt that particular statement was a tad bit morbid, but ultimately didn't question it.

"On other matters, did you end up looking into the cave?"

"I did. The carvings were quite intricate." Bianca stated, before smiling a bit shyly. "Also… I ran into another researcher whilst I was inside. She and I hit it off, I suppose."

"That's wonderful!" Cynthia said, and whether or not she was changing the topic of conversation simply to distract from her own problems, Bianca was content to let her. "Did you get her name?"

"Mars, she said."

Cynthia's eyes widened, before her smile broadened. "Ah, Mars, huh?"

"Really? You know her?"

"I do. In fact, she's the scientist I was called here to speak with. I'll be meeting up with her later to discuss her findings. She's been in and around Celestic quite a bit for the last year or so. As much as my grandmother annoys me, I do attempt to visit quite often, so we've had time to get to know one another."

"I think that's admirable, that you visit even if your grandmother gives you trouble."

"That's what I tell myself." Cynthia said with a chuckle. "Anyways, I ran into Mars one day while I was moving through the center of town. She had just exited the ruins. She was actually planning on working with Professor Rowan before he suddenly retired."

"She told me that."

"Ah, okay. What did you two talk about?"

Bianca gave a brief recap of the conversation, leaving out the fact that she'd told Mars a bit more of her own past than she'd yet to even confide in Cynthia.

She… well, she didn't quite feel ready to give the full story to her… mentor? Well, whatever Cynthia was to her, she felt that she might be ready sometime soon in the future.

She wanted to tell it, in all honesty. No one had ever heard it that hadn't been there to experience it with her, which basically boiled down to Professor Juniper, and her parents. Technically a few of the others who worked with her at Professor Juniper's lab might've also been in the know, but she hadn't interacted with any of them too terribly much at the time, and so didn't truly consider them such.

"Well, I'm glad the two of you get along." Cynthia stated, before her expression grew somewhat more serious. "Mars is… a complicated person. She's nice, and polite, and always willing to lend a helping hand, but… I believe that comes from her guilt about who she used to be."

Bianca's raised eyebrow must've been enough of a question, because Cynthia stated directly afterwards, "She was a member of Team Galactic; one of its commanders, in fact. I don't know if you've heard of them…?"

"I had. They… tried to summon the Pokémon Dialga and Palkia to remake the world, or something to that effect, correct?"

Cynthia nodded. "Basically. This was all at the behest of their leader, Cyrus, who ended up being swallowed up by the powers of Ghiratina, the last of Sinnoh's legendary trio. Suffice it to say that Team Galactic didn't last very long after that. And… well, their members had quite a difficult time fitting back into society after what they'd done. Some went to prison for a few years, others were given more lenient sentencing for helping to disassemble the organization itself."

"What about Mars?"

"She fell into the former category, truth be told. She was in a prison in Veilstone City for around two years. That was at least a decade and a half ago, I believe?"

"Wow… I… guess I didn't really get that vibe from her at all."

"She was quite loyal to Cyrus' ambitions, which was why she, unlike her fellow commanders, chose to face a prison sentence rather than try and help bring down the organization her leader had created. In the end, however… she changed. I'm not telling you all of this to get you to doubt her; far from it. Just to give you some perspective."

Bianca nodded her head. "Yeah, I didn't get any ill intentions from her at all."

Cynthia seemed to agree. "She's been nothing but kind during her time here in Celestic, and she's working with a few other former disciples of Professor Rowan in order to learn more about the legendary trio of Sinnoh; more specifically, she's been focusing on Dialga, like I said yesterday."

"Why Dialga?"

"You'd have to ask her." Cynthia stated, shrugging. "I never did myself. Our interests simply aligned, and so I chose to sponsor her efforts."

Bianca nodded.

"Now, onto other topics; where to next?"

"Hm?"

"We'll probably only be staying here in Celestic for a day or two, just long enough that I can speak to Mars about her findings, and so that my grandmother wants me out of her hair. After that, though, the world's our oyster."

"Oh, I see." Bianca paused a moment, before the kindling of an idea began to take shape within her head. "…Actually, I have an idea, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not. Where did you want to go?"

"Well… a long time ago, when I was going on my first Pokémon journey, I was… well, I was one of many trainers who got their Pokémon stolen away from them by Team Plasma. It was… a frightfully common sight at the time. Hilda and Cheren both dealt with them en masse, but I… I never had as much luck. I often had to rely on the help of others in order to retrieve my Pokémon whenever they were taken from me."

Cynthia nodded.

"So… if you don't mind… I think I'd like to pay a visit to one of the Gym Leaders who helped me to retrieve my Pokémon so very long ago."

Cynthia smiled.

"Then… where to?"

Bianca nodded, swallowing a bit nervously, before she spoke their next destination.

"Castelia City!"

End Chapter 6

Alright, we have our heading for our second arc! We're off to Castelia.

We're also introduced to Mars, who will be another major character in this story. I'm excited for what's to come, and I hope you all are too!