Chapter Five: Breaking Point

Night had set in by the time Blue and I made our way into Pewter City. We said some quick goodbyes and then we went our separate ways. He ran off to find the Gym, while I went to the Pokémon Center and rented myself a luxurious room.

One hot shower later, I was wearing a nice, warm, fluffy bathrobe and relaxing in the room with a mug of lukewarm coffee. Gideon was out of his PokéBall and napping in the corner, resting his head on the empty pizza box that had once contained our dinner.

And everything was quiet. Everything was nice and peaceful. Some movie where four boys walked down a train track was playing muted on the TV. I took in a breath of that fresh hotel room smell and shuffled my feet through the thick white carpet over to the window.

Pewter City still shone brightly in the night. All the cars and streetlights and buildings kept the city illuminated. Mountains stretched out to both the east and the west, and a large waterfall in the distance fed into a river that ran through the city. I took some slow and calculated sips of my coffee as I took in the view.

Seeing it all made me feel… something. Being so far from home, in a strange new place, a huge new city, and the fact that I had made it here on my own. Well, with some help from Gideon and Blue, but… I guess a little bit of adventure never hurt anyone. Not even me.

But there's still no place like home.

I grabbed my PokéGear and called one of the two numbers saved in the contact list.

"Katori!" Mom chirped from the other end of the phone. "It's so good to hear from you! How are things? Are you doing well?"

"Yeah yeah, things are just great," I replied. "But I'm in Pewter City right now."

"Oh, how wonderful! My baby's made it all the way to Pewter City!" She sounded super-excited and proud, something I'm not used to hearing. "Why, it only feels like just yesterday you left home!"

"Um… it was."

"Oh…" Her tone dropped. But she quickly returned to her cheery self. "Still! Going all that way in such a short time! Why, I'll bet you have a ton of amazing stories to tell!"

Nope. "I got blasted in the face by sand, lost a battle, and nearly killed by giant murder bees."

"Murder bees? My my! Sounds like you're having quite the fun adventure!"

I want to smack her. "Mom, look… I made it to Pewter City. So I'm going home."

"Going home? Aww… you can't give up so soon! You haven't even gone that far yet!"

"What? No… I'm not giving up! We made a deal."

"We did?"

That's concerning. "Yeah. The whole thing with Oak's research project. You said that I only had to go to Pewter City."

There was a short silence on the other end. "Oh, right… that deal." Mom finally answered. "Sorry! I've been so focused on my work that my brain just forgot! You know how it is!" She chuckled to herself, but then let out a sigh. "Have you been filling in that research notebook of yours? You didn't skip out on that, did you?"

"Yeah… I've got a couple of entries." I only have two, but that is technically a couple so… "I didn't just skate through this."

"Well, I suppose that's the most I could've asked for," she said, with that all-too-familiar tone of disappointment returning. "Alright, then fine. I'll hold up my end. It's only fair."

Best news I've heard in a long time. "Great. I'm taking a taxi first thing tomorrow morning."

"Oh no, there's no need for that!" Mom quickly replied. "I'll just meet you there in Pewter City! Some colleagues and I will be working at the Pewter Museum tomorrow! We can talk in person there! And Professor Oak will be there too! He can check on your research project!"

"… or you can just leave a house key under the mat and-"

Mom scoffed. "Now now, Katori. You don't need to be in such a rush. Besides, there's something really important that I need to discuss with you. So take some time and enjoy yourself! Pewter City is such a gorgeous place! I'm sure there's plenty of things in that can keep you occupied. I hear there's even a Pokémon Gym there too."

"Yeah, I know. I ran into Brock – he says hi by the way – but I would really-"

"Brock? He's such a sweetheart, isn't he? He knows just how to keep all of our fossil Pokémon calm and quiet during their check-ups! I wouldn't know what we'd do without him!"

"That's great and all, but I would really rather-"

"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie! I have to go! One of my colleagues is calling me! It's super-important work stuff! I'm sure you understand!" Mom said, followed by the sound of shuffling papers distorted over the phone. "But I'll see you tomorrow! Have a good night! I love you!"

And then she hung up.

"Hrrrrnmph…" said Gideon, apparently having been awake this whole time.

I flopped onto the bed. "Yeah… hrrrnmph."

The following morning, Gideon and I made the most of our time in Pewter City. And by that, I mean we just grabbed some junk food from the Pokémon Center's cafeteria and holed up in our room watching Frasier reruns.

When lunchtime rolled around, I caught a taxi to the museum. As it turns out, it was really stupid to take a taxi at this hour. The traffic was terrible and slowed to a standstill several times. By the time I got to my destination, I was already late.

The Pewter Museum was a large white stone building of an older, more classic style architecture. Its roof was propped up by several massive yet elegant pillars – Corinthian or some fancy word like that like that. A wide staircase led up to the garden just outside of the museum, full of well-kept flowers and hedges and decorated with plenty of statues and fountains.

There were also a ton of people and Pokémon here. The line stretched from the door all the way back into the street, full of normal visitors and over-hyped tourists taking photos of everything. And it was moving so slowly. It seemed like only a few people were going in every few minutes. I was already an hour late, and it would probably take another just to get in.

But I still begrudgingly took up my position in line, and started scrolling through my PokéGear for something to read. Sadly, it seemed like my favorite website was down at the moment.

"Oh, Katori! There you are!" called out a very familiar voice.

One that was only familiar because I met its owner yesterday. "Oh… Brock. Hey."

"Your mother sent me to find you," said the Gym Leader as he walked up. "She told me you were running late and that she was starting to get worried."

"I know, I know…" I said, shoving my PokéGear back into my pocket. "I was just slow getting here. And this line isn't helping either."

"Well, just so happens that you're in luck. We had this made for you." said Brock as he pulled out a plastic card and handed it to me.

It was a Museum ID card on a lanyard, complete with my name and even a photo of me, taken from Mom's phone. I looked either tired or grumpy – or both. It was a bit surreal to see my face on something so official.

"Isn't this a little bit overkill?" I asked, looking over the card's front and back. There didn't seem to be any expiration date on it. "I mean… I'm only gonna be in there for, like, ten minutes."

"Your mother said that she wanted you to help out with the fossil exhibit more often, so we went for the full thing," Bock answered.

"Oh… right." I need to lose this stupid card as soon as I get home.

Brock led me through a staff-only door at the side of the museum, and into the nice wall of cool air contained within the interior. We passed through some offices, where dozens of people sat at their desk typing away at their computers. Past that was the museum's lobby, a large round room that stretched upwards two or three stories. At the center was another fountain, this one larger than the ones outside and featured beautiful sculptures of Magikarp and Gyarados.

Several doors lined the walls, each leading to one of the many exhibit halls. One was centered around space exploration, another on oceanic exploration, there was even one detailing the history of the Indigo Plateau Pokémon League.

The exhibit that caught my eye the most was the one featuring Pokémon created by different cultures all around the world. There was a large mural of these fictional Pokémon painted onto the wall around the door.

And finally, there was the main attraction. At the back of the lobby was the largest door, surrounded by fossils and statues of some fossil Pokémon; a Kabutops standing tall on a rock, an Omastar swimming through an ancient ocean below, while an Aerodactyl swooped through the primordial skies overhead.

But the door was roped off, and a curtain pulled over the door. "It's closed off for maintenance," said Brock. "Gotta make sure the Pokémon are all heathly and their habitats are in tip-top shape." He stepped over the rope and pulled the curtain aside and I followed.

The fossil exhibit was held in a massive room. It was all themed around the ancient world, with a bunch of old rocks and plastic recreations of long extinct plants scattered throughout. Tanks and habitats filled the scenery, some built into the walls, others shorter with an open top that allowed visitors to pet the fossil Pokémon within.

And it was also quite a chaotic state today.

Scientists and researchers darted between the habitats, taking water samples, scraping algae off of rocks, collecting dirt, stuff like that. Others were gathering up the Pokémon and taking them over to a group of cold metal tables for a check-up. Some of the Pokémon didn't seem too keen on the idea, especially one flat Pokémon with a hard brown shell that scurried past my leg, excitedly squeaking as it made a break for freedom.

"No, Kabuto! Come back!" cried a short and round man in lab coat, waddling after the living fossil. "It's just a little shot! It doesn't hurt! At least, not much! Come back!" He plowed through the curtain, chasing after the Kabuto.

Brock just shook his head and chortled. "These researchers might be smart, but they struggle to handle these Pokémon. And that's where I come in." He started after the wandering Pokémon and pursuing scientist. "Your mother is around here somewhere. You go find her, I'll catch up later."

Then I was left alone in this strange and unwelcoming land of fossils… and the people who – for some reason – enjoy them. I took a few slow and unsure steps into the room, eyes jumping around for any sign of Mom. All I saw were a bunch of people I didn't know. Occasionally, one would glance over at me, and I would just give them an awkward smile or wave or something.

And after a few excruciating minutes, Mom found me.

"Katori! You're finally here!" Mom came running over from the back of the room, smiling beaming across her round face. She was wearing the old lab coat that she's had for as long as I could remember, and her hair was tied up in a small bun to keep it out of her face. She then promptly squished me in a big hug. "You had me so worried! I thought you might've gotten lost!"

"No, I wasn't lost." Starting to wish I was, though. Everyone was staring at us, so I squirmed out of her arms. "I'm fine."

"Aw, don't be like that!" she said, throwing her arms around me again. And then she gave me a big kiss on my cheek. Right there in public. "I'm so glad that you're here! Come on! Let me show you around!" She grabbed my arm and started pulling me around, running her mouth about every little thing in there.

"The Omanyte tanks need to have enough clean saltwater for them to swim around in and enough places for them to hide away in their shells! Ooh, and the Kabuto like to hide down in the sand and mud, but some foreign bacteria can start growing there, so we have to check for that on a regular basis. And then there's the Anorith! Fun fact about Anorith; the oceans have changed so much in the hundreds of millions of years since they existed and now they can't survive there naturally! How sad! But we've been able to replicate that ancient composition of seawater right here in the museum, meaning they get to feel right at home! And the Lileep over here anchor themselves down on rocks, but sometimes they fight over the rocks and that's a bunch of drama – all of the researchers end up siding with their favorite Lileep. It's always a huge mess…"

"Okay, that's cool and all," I said, butting in. If I didn't stop her now, she could go on for days. That's not an exaggeration. "But when do I get to go home?"

Mom gave me one of her way too big, way too enthusiastic smiles. "I just need you to help me with some of my work here first. And then you're all free!"

"Mom…"

"No complaining! The more you complain the longer you stay!" she sunnily said. "But first, I want you to meet some of my co-workers! They've been dying to meet you!"

She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and dragged me over to the corner of the exhibit, where an older man was looking over a table full of charts and diagrams. Next to him was a girl about a year older than me, taking down notes on her tablet with a stylus.

The old man looked up, and a warm smile crossed his face the moment he saw me. "Now Kimiko… is this who I think it is?"

"Yep! I finally get to show her off!" said Mom, gently pushing me forward. "This is my daughter, Katori! My pride and joy, and one day we'll be working together in places just like this!" She then motioned to the old man. "And Katori, this is one of my dearest colleagues, Dr. Fuji!"

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," said Dr. Fuji, extending a hand out to me. He was tall and thin, with a head full of gray, wavy hair. A pair of round glasses sat atop his long pointy nose, and a thick gray goatee sprouted on his gaunt chin. "You mother has spoken quite a lot about you, you know."

I hesitantly shook his head. Something about him was… a bit weird. "Yeah, she tells everyone about me, apparently."

Mom gave me a loving squeeze. "Well of course! How could I not tell anyone about my amazing daughter!" She turned to the other girl. "Speaking of which…"

"Ah, yes," said Dr. Fuji. "This is my own daughter, Amber."

Amber looked quite a bit like her father, sharing his tall and thin shape. Though her face was less angular and her long, honey-brown hair had a few streaks of blue dye in it. She looked up briefly. "Hello," she said, her voice flat and monotone. Her eyes went back to her tablet.

"Of course, you've already met…Um…" Mom looked around the room. "Is Professor Oak still not here?"

Dr. Fuji shook his head. "No, Samuel is still absent. I'm not sure what's taking him so long."

"He probably took a taxi," Amber deadpanned. She locked eyes with me. "It would be stupid to take a taxi at this hour." She held the stare for several moments, but then turned back to her notes.

I furrowed my brow. That was weird.

"Oh, well! I'm sure he'll be along any minute now!" said Mom. She turned back to me. "Dr. Fuji runs a genetics lab on Cinnabar Island. His knowledge was invaluable to me when I was figuring out the process of reviving fossils!"

"Well, 'reviving' is hardly the right word," Dr. Fuji chipped in. "We are merely reconstructing the Pokémon's species in the modern era – not restoring the original Pokémon. They are long dead and gone. We have not conquered death."

"Yet," added Amber.

"You always take the magic out of it, don't you?" Mom said to the doctor, with a bit of a pout. But that didn't last too long. "And best part? Amber helps him out there! A real father-daughter team! Isn't that so cool?"

Ah. Now I see where this is going. "Yeah," I said, faking as much politeness as I could. "That sounds… really cool."

Dr. Fuji laughed gently. "Yes, yes. Though Amber's expertise has almost certainly exceeded my own at this point. In a couple of years, she'll be running the lab on her own."

"I already am," Amber said.

"And I believe it'll be much the same for you and your mother, Katori," Fuji went on. "Not a day goes by without your mother endlessly going on about how much you share her interests and passions. I'm very much looking forward to seeing it myself this fall."

"Yeah." Wait… "What?"

"The annual Pewter Museum Fossil Camp," Dr. Fuji explained. "They have one every fall. Your mother and I will both be instructors there, and we're both quite excited that you'll be attending this year."

What.

"Of course! Yes, we are," Mom said, with a bit of nervous waver in her voice. She tightened her grip on my shoulder. "Um… will you excuse us for a moment?" She dragged me off to an emptier part of the exhibit.

I tore out of her grasp. "Mom."

"This is that important thing I wanted to talk to you about," she replied, forcing a smile. "They asked me to be one of the instructors and I just had to accept. And I even managed to get you in as well! Isn't that great?"

"Mom."

"It's a true once-in-a-lifetime experience! And we get to share it together! Mother and daughter, together working to solve the mysteries of the ancient world! Oh, I just can't wait!"

"I thought you said you weren't gonna sign me up for anything else."

"Not for the rest of the summer," Mom clarified. "The Fossil Camp is in the fall."

I really want to smack her. "Well yeah, but… it's still… I just… so?"

"So I didn't violate our agreement." she replied, so matter-of-factly. "I have still upheld my end."

Oh, I hate her. I really hate her. "You're still getting me the new graphics card, right?"

"Oh, right… your computer thingy." Mom just shrugged. "I did set some money aside for it but… well, the Fossil Camp is more of an exclusive type of thing, so there was a pretty hefty registration fee. So we'll have to settle up on that later. Maybe the holidays?"

I should've known she was going to do something like this. She always does stuff like this. Stupid Mom. Stupid me. Stupid stupid stupid Katori. You should've seen this coming a mile away. My fists balled up tight, and I could feel a fire starting burning in my veins. I want to scream so much. And I was about to, but I managed to settled for a huff. "Why are you like this?"

"Like what?"

"Breaking your promises! Making me do stuff I don't want to do!"

"Well, you don't take the initiative yourself, so-

I stomped my foot. "I don't take the initiative because I don't want to do those things!"

"Katori, calm down," Mom snapped back, trying to keep her voice down as everyone in the room was starting to turn their attention toward us. "You are acting like a child."

"I don't care!"

"Well, I do!" Mom put her hands on her hips. Her face softened and her voice toned down. "You might not always like it, but… you need to get out there in the world and try new things. But you never do anything, so I have to give you a little push, that's all. As your mother, I just want what's best for you."

She put her hand on my head and ruffled my hair up a bit. "But this camp is all about fossils! And you like fossils, right?"

I slapped her hand away.

"Katori," said Mom, sharply.

"Is that all you care about?" I was already gone, looking around for something to hit, or punch, or kick, or whatever. There was a sturdy-looking display case containing a stupid fossil. One of the dumb spiraly ones. Perfect.

"It's always 'fossil this' or 'fossil that' with you! That's all you talk about! That's all you care about. And I'm… so… sick of it!" I lashed my foot out and kicked the display case.

It was not as sturdy as it looked.

The case toppled over and the fossil within flew off the top, crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces on the tile floor.

That fire inside of me completely died. "I'm… I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

Mom stared mortified at the rubble of the fossil, but then turned to me with eyes of anger. "Katori!"

Tears started forming in the corners of my eyes. "I didn't… It was… I'm... I'm sorry!"

Mom grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward. "That was museum property! And a valuable piece of the ancient world! It's not just some rock that you can kick around!" She sighed. "I thought I raised you better than this…"

That fire reignited in me. "Well, you didn't!" I shouted back, yanking free of her grip. "You never cared about me! About what I want!"

"Katori, stop-"

"And I hate this! I hate all of this!" The words were just coming out as my mouth was running faster than my brain. I kicked over a trash can."I hate your stupid archaeology!" I kicked the side of the Omanyte tank. "I hate your stupid fossils!" I turned back to Mom. "And I! Hate! YOU!"

It was like someone dumped a whole bucket of ice-cold water on the fire. I clamped my hands over my mouth. I didn't mean that… did I? "Mom, I'm…"

Mom's face was a mess of emotions. Like she was trying to decide whether she was sad, angry, confused, or disappointed. "Katori…" She just trailed off, quietly shifting her gaze back to the ruined fossil.

Everyone in the whole room was quiet. I could feel dozens of sets of eyes staring into me, all focused on the scene I had made. All judging me. All thinking that I was a terrible daughter.

I didn't want to be there anymore. I had to get out of there. So I turned and ran.

I ran out of the exhibit, pushing past Brock and the researcher returning with their Kabuto, pushing past other visitors and tourists and janitors and whoever else was clogging up the lobby. I pushed through the doors and back outside, into Pewter City and the heat of the sweltering sun above.

I could've stopped there. I should've stopped there. But I didn't.

I kept running.

Because I always run away.

Author's Note: If you've read up to this point, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my story. I really appreciate it. I also want to thank everyone who has taken the time to leave a review. As someone who constantly second-guesses their own work, the kind words and feedback really do mean a lot to me and have helped keep me going.

Next time: Katori and her mother both have to deal with the fallout of her outburst, and a fateful encounter has the potential to change everything...