Chapter 4: Isolation
The Stage for Change
~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~
Aelita and Will continued building up the training schedules, continued training their Pokemon. The evening after the Midnight Raid on the Wispy Tower, they went on a long slow-distance run back to the caravan they'd passed back on their journey towards Goldenleaf Town. Much to Will's surprise, the caravan was still there, though they were in the process of breaking camp.
"Let's take a closer look, see if they've got anything new," Aelita suggested.
Will saw no reason to refuse and every reason to take a breather. They wandered into the clearing, where the workers had already stripped that big carnival tent of its outer layer, revealing the massive, steel skeleton underneath.
"Excuse me!" Aelita said, waving at one of the guys sitting in front of a large carnival booth. "Are you still open?"
The large, muscled man peered at Aelita in confusion then knocked the "CLOSED" sign off of his booth. "'Course missie! Haven't seen people here the past few days anyway. Whatcha want?"
Literally the first thing Aelita wanted to do was one-versus-oneing the boxing machine there. "Come on Will, let's show you how it's done!"
She took a stance, her feet at shoulder width, her right foot slightly inched forwards, and began jabbing at the ball like she was trying to take its head off. With bare knuckles, she landed a trio of solid jabs and then followed up with a sudden left hook, ramming the ball all the way up into its frame where it remained stuck. A loud jingle began playing and Aelita cheered. "Yay!"
"That took you only one attempt!" Will exclaimed. He'd thought for sure that the machine was rigged. "Remind me never to piss you off."
"Heh! It would take a lot for you to get on my bad side!" She cheerfully said. "That was fun. Hardly a challenge. I guess it's all in the technique, your positioning."
"So uh…do you think you could teach me?" Will asked.
Her eyes lit up. "Oh! I would love that! Yeah, that's such a cool idea! I think Combusken would love to see that, too!"
Combusken would laugh at him.
But that was alright. Aelita was a badass and while she'd vowed to stick by his side, he liked to be able to defend himself whenever Team Xen got too close to him again. Now that he knew they were willing to disregard their own safety to come after him, he had to find a way to keep up even if she wasn't around.
The majority of the carnival games had already been broken down, but Will did spot one he'd like to give a try himself. It looked like some sort of obstacle course. A big sign hung above its entrance: ROPE LADDER CLIMB PLUS.
"What about that one?" Will asked the operator.
The guy shrugged. "Eh. Normally, you'd have to pay, but I'm bored out of my gourd here. Tell you what, if you can win this one, I'll give you a prize. Deal?"
"Sure," Will said, turning to observe the inflatable obstacle course. He spotted the titular rope ladders, but also half a dozen other obstacles, including pulley and rope systems, an inflatable hopscotch section and a network of hanging ropes to maneuver around the area.
"See that there bell? You ring it once, you win. If you fall, the attempt doesn't count and ya have to start over."
"Fair enough."
Satisfied, the man took a folding chair and sat down somewhere at the side, where he'd be able to oversee the entire course.
"Oooh…seems like coordination and core strength are going to be important here Will," Aelita said, eying the obstacles. "Gonna have to be fast and decisive."
"Last time I did something like this, everything was on fire and I couldn't see," Will mused. "I think this one will be easy."
His attempt at a joke didn't seem to inspire much confidence in Aelita. She pulled a face, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Uh…I guess?"
"…I was joking," Will said.
"I know, I'm sorry! I just don't like dark humor, especially when it's something you went through yourself."
Will understood that. Of course he did. The Oceana still kept him up at night, and every few days he kept experiencing new things that would constantly resurface during his sleep. What kind of a person would poke fun at the things that gave them nightmares?
Well, a person who wanted to keep going despite the nightmares. Since he didn't want to sour the happy mood and seriously doubted whether he would be able to convey his feelings with words, Will decided against trying to explain that too much. "Bad things keep happening," Will said. "I can't stop that. But I can laugh at them."
"Huh…I didn't even consider that," Aelita said. "I'm not sure if that's the best way to go about it."
"If I find a better way to deal with it, I'll be the first in line to try it," Will replied. "If you'll excuse me, I have a head to fall on."
"Will!" Aelita snapped, though she did crack a smile.
Will considered that a victory.
It was the only victory he got in a loooooong half hour. Contrary to what he'd thought, the obstacle course was not, in fact, easy. He considered himself a decent climber with good reflexes and a sharp eye, but holy shit did he fall a lot.
At least the operator laughed the entire time, so there was that.
It took him more attempts than he would care to remember. Sometimes, he'd step on a false rung and the ladder fell apart in his hands. Sometimes he'd jump for it only to learn that the object beneath his feet wasn't as solid as he'd hoped. Sometimes the rope he grabbed simply detached itself.
Most of the times the stupid game was rigged and he did nothing wrong.
But he hadn't boogied in East Gearen City to stop slamming his head against the metaphorical wall here. As the old saying went, the twenty-sixth attempt was the charm.
Finally, after a struggle that was entirely too long for his liking, Will launched himself at the little rope that held the bell aloft. As the rubber floor gave out underneath him, he held on with all of his strength, pulled himself up and gave the bell a good wallop.
A second later he fell and bounced off of the soft cushions below.
"Yeah!" Aelita cheered. "That was the bell! You did it Will!"
"Hah, that was the most fun I've had all week!" The operator said. "Man, you really don't know when to give up."
People had told him that in the past, yes.
"Well, a promise's a promise. Come take a gander. We're breaking up camp and leaving, but we got all these Mystery eggs left. Ya rang the bell, so you get to take an egg."
"A Pokemon egg?" Aelita said. "Oh, wow! Now you can switch your team up before we head into Route 4."
Will had heard it explained that trainers couldn't carry more than six Pokemon with them because the electric signals from the balls interfered with each other or something like that. He could physically carry the egg with him, but once it hatched, he wouldn't be able to use the new Pokemon until he sent one of his team members back to Sheridan Village through the computer. The Poke Ball of his seventh member would shrink and lock up, keeping him from using it.
Thankfully the Eldest had seen that coming. Sheridan Village had a lot of room and plenty of retired people willing to take care of Pokemon. She'd said that, considering Will and Aelita had saved Sheridan from certain destruction, the people there would be more than happy to take care of their Pokemon should they need to change their team up for the future.
The operator took them to a smaller tent behind the main event, where he revealed a table with at least eight different kinds of eggs kept in glass casings.
"Well, time to pick one," Aelita said.
All of these eggs were the same color, with only the spots dotting the white shell signifying any difference.
Will picked the leftmost one, an egg with green blotches, and that was that. One Pokemon richer, Aelita and him thanked the operator and began making their way back to Goldenleaf once again.
"Hey, I'm sorry if I sounded snappy back then," Aelita said. "Bad things keep happening. Maybe I'm just overthinking it and I really don't want to be judgemental, but I just want you to be okay. Mentally, too."
"Hey, I'm doing better," Will replied, giving Aelita a reassuring smile. "I've got you and Ren and Miss Tesla to look after me. Venam doesn't hate me, and Narcissa got rid of another Xen Admin."
"Well, that is a big victory, and we did save another town in the process," Aelita said thoughtfully. "Okay, if you put it like that…"
When they returned to the terminal that separated Route 3 from Goldenleaf Town, they were pleased to discover that the people hadn't secretly raised the gate and changed the password on them. They made it back to the Pokemon Center without incident, and Aelita left to go help Narcissa.
Will set his new Pokemon egg down on his bed and stared at it. "Combusken, what do you think?"
Combusken stared at the egg, then shot him a look.
"Yeah, I think so too."
He placed the egg on top of his pillow and then covered it with his blankets. "There, better. Imma grab a shower. Can you keep watch?"
Combusken wordlessly plopped down on the chair next to the desk.
"Attagirl. Be back in a few minutes."
A few days went by like that. Will and Aelita got up early in the morning, either exercised or simply enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, then went to see if they could assist Narcissa with her project.
While Aelita helped out with the script and the other preparations, Will continued training with his Pokemon. He began familiarizing himself with Houndoom's new fighting style and abilities, and continued to gingerly coax Snorunt into participating in those sessions.
When he woke up on the fourth morning after Narcissa threw Geara into his time-out, Will found out that Aelita had left without him.
But she had left a note for him.
"Heya Will! We're almost ready. Drink your coffee while you can :) because today is your Gym Battle with Narcissa. I shoved the script underneath your door. No worries! :D you have no lines. Just be yourself. "
It wasn't often that Aelita invited him to sit back and drink some coffee. This morning was turning out to be of those exceedingly rare moments where Will could sit back and…do nothing at all.
It shocked even him. He sat down at the table in the hallway at the first floor of the Pokemon Center, picked up the most old-fashioned newspaper he'd ever seen and kicked back to read the news.
It was a new and fascinating experience. Felt a bit weird, too. Still, it was relaxing and a simple way to start the morning. No morning run. No townsfolk trying to mount his head in their front lawn, because he was tucked away in a little corner where they couldn't find him. And best of all, no Team Xen members trying to murder him with his Pokemon because he could simply put the newspaper up and use that as cover.
Why hadn't he thought of this before?
It was a perfectly serene way to start the morning that lasted perhaps five minutes before Aelita sprinted up the stairs, nearly spun out in the intersection and then spotted him in point three seconds.
"Will!" She said. "It's time!"
Will lowered his paper, surprised that she had found him. "Already?"
"Yeah, Narcissa had more than half already set up on her own. Your big moment has come!"
Will threw the paper over his shoulder. "Let's go!"
Aelita and him hurried towards the theatre. Once inside, Will was reminded of Venam's stage back in Gearen City. A purple carpet covered the floor from the entrance all the way to the back of the opening hall, which split off into two sets of staircases, one leading left and the other right.
Narcissa stood in the center of the hall. "Ah, Will, welcome. Things were just about to begin."
"Is this really going to work?" Ren asked from the first floor. He rested his arms on the railing and glanced at Narcissa with concern. "I mean, think about it. One play isn't going to change the hearts that have experienced years of pain."
"Better than forcing them," Aelita shot back. "We're not trying to go for immediate change. If we could at least get the ball rolling, I'd call that a win."
"Aelita is right," Narcissa said. "It will take many years to reverse things. I'm not even sure if it's possible to completely do so, but we must try something."
Ren looked away. "I understand that, but…" He sighed. 'Well, it's not like I want to stop you. I'm just skeptical, is all. Still, it's better than doing nothing. I do support this idea."
"Good to hear," Narcissa said. "That being said, I must get ready for the show. Aelita, come with me."
The two women took off, leaving Will and Ren alone. Once they were out of earshot, Ren walked back down the stairs and nodded at Will. "Be honest with me. What do you think about all this?"
"Honest?"
Ren nodded.
"I'm the worst person to ask. Can't make sense of most people on the best of days."
Ren snorted.
"Buuuut, this will have to work. If it doesn't…we have a big drawing table upstairs."
"Back to square one if not? Eh, I suppose that makes sense. Still, it sounds like you have faith in this plan. I'll support it, but I have my doubts."
Will shrugged. "Eh. People are complicated."
"Yeah, they are…eh. Whatever. We'll just have to see how this unfolds. Are you ready to perform in front of a live audience?"
"Depends. Do they still hate me?"
"I think I saw some of them sharpening their pitchforks already. Narcissa posted a sign politely asking them to leave their torches at home, though."
Will nodded. "How's my makeup?"
Ren peered at his face for a moment. "If this is you with makeup…"
They shared a laugh and Ren held out his fist. "I can't believe you're helping me fix this thing, Will. Good luck."
Will bumped his fist and then the two went their separate ways. People were already lining up to get their tickets and Will attracted more than a few dirty looks as he passed them by. Still, none of them pulled their emergency pitchfork from their pockets, which seemed like a good sign to him.
He made it past the dozens of Goldenleaf townspeople without anyone trying to stab hi - he didnt count the daggers they glared - and slipped through the door to the backstage.
"Ah…this might be a problem," he said once he got a look at what that backstage actually looked like.
It was a large, multi-tiered room with the one single set of stairs connecting the floors seemingly blocked off by theatre props. He spotted a door to the left of the staircase and a door to the right, both of them flanked by posters that gave him the creeps just looking at them. That Cloyster especially looked like it was following him…
Will entered the rightmost door, hoping that he wasn't about to get terribly lost.
A second later he entered the very same backstage room again, with the exact same posters and exact same set of doors.
He cocked an eyebrow at that. Whoever designed this place hadn't been the most imaginative banana of the bunch.
Will left through the door he just entered, hoping that the door to the left would be the correct one –
- and promptly found himself back at the main hall again, complete with angry but eager citizens getting in line to buy their tickets.
Will frowned. This…might be a bit more complicated than he'd expected.
~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~
Narcissa mentally counted down from seven. When she reached one, she sharply inhaled and wiped her trepidations, her apprehension and all of her fear from her mind. Her expression became the masque of the character, and when she stepped onto the podium she left her concerns behind.
"What a beautiful day today is!" She said, raising her voice in just the right volume to reach the hindmost guests without actually shouting. "The trees are blooming, the Pokemon are happy and the people are satisfied." She stepped closer to the edge of the stage, spreading her arms in a welcoming gesture. "How could one not appreciate today for what it is? Goldenleaf is in a new age of prosperity. A new age of love, peace and hope for the future!" She turned her side towards the audience – but never her back – and continued. "And on this lovely stroll, I s – "
"Narcissa!" Her fellow actress shouted from off-stage, before hurrying onto the podium.
"Ah, yes, hello darling," Narcissa replied. "Are you here to cherish this beautiful day with me?"
Her colleague turned towards the audience. "Oh, I really would adore that…but unfortunately I cannot afford that. You see…" She turned away.
"Yes?" Narcissa said, urging her on. "What holds your tongue?" With a quick pivot, she turned to the audience as well. "Could you perhaps have a message from the birds that sung?"
"Indeed they have given me a message. A warning, that is."
"A warning?" Narcissa repeated, taking a couple of steps to the right side. "On this pleasant morning? Where everything is beautiful and perfect?"
"Yes ma'am. They say to look out for Wispy Tower."
"Wispy Tower!" Narcissa cried out. "What could possibly be wrong at Wispy Tower? Surely they must have been mistaken!"
"Something evil has awakened!" Her colleague cried out. And on que, the entire audience hall quivered and shook, mimicking the effects of the tragedy that was about to unfold.
"What on earth was that quake?" Narcissa cried.
"Who knows, but the very presence of it makes me shake!"
Narcissa walked past the actress, gazing off into the distance. "Could it be? Off in the distance? Smoke?"
"It seems your streak of peaceful beginnings has broke…in the distance I see…Wispy Tower burning to the seam!"
"Hurry we must, for we must end this scheme!"
They ran off together, and the curtain lowered long enough for Aelita and the prop workers to rapidly build up the stage for the next scene.
~~~~~~~(III)~~~~~~~
Will walked through the left door and entered a closet of sorts, where a small little Pokemon stood gazing at the wall. It looked like a Pikachu, but something was…off about it.
Frowning, he approached the critter. It spun around, revealing a creature that could have been a Pikachu if it had died and been left to rot for a couple of days. Its mismatched, black eyes bore into Will's, and it hissed at him with broken, barely understandable words. "M-Me…curse you…"
And then the Not-Pikachu straight up walked into the wall and vanished.
"…did I read the wrong script?" Will wondered out loud. He glanced at the plaque the Ghost Pokemon had been staring at.
One path leads to many doors. Many doors lead to one exit.
He blinked. Many doors led to one exit? The exit to the theatre?
Will decided to put that to the test. He left the closet, made his way to the exit and poked his head out.
It was still the same ticket hall.
He closed the door and then headed back to the door he'd entered before, which had dumped him into the replica of the current hall.
So when he walked into a dressing room instead, he began to realize that Narcissa might not have given him the entire script to begin with.
A couple of torches hung on the wall, clearly in violation of Narcissa's rule.
As he walked past a torch mounted on the wall, the fire just died as if extinguished by an invisible hand. The same went every other torch he walked past.
Somewhat perturbed, Will glanced around the room again. He didn't sense anyone there. He didn't smell any smoke. The mirrors in the dressing room were those special types, which were specially treated to show the reflections of inanimate objects and only inanimate objects.
The…the wonders of modern theatrics…
"Nah," Will said. He finished his little walk around the room and he left again, hoping that he'd at least still be in the theatre when he next exited.
~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~~
"Oh, the horror!" Narcissa cried out as she beheld "Wispy Tower". It had been painted and modified to look like it was on fire, but the artists only had so much to work with after all these years of inaction. "How could this be? Wispy Tower burning to its knees?"
"The tower, forever burning! The souls of innocents loudly yearning!"
"My husband…" Narcissa said, turning her back to the tower. "My darling husband is trapped behind the beams. Could that cry be his everlasting screams?"
Okay. That part stung her, more than she wanted to admit.
"What am I to do without my darling husband?"
"We must find the one behind this!" Her colleague cried.
"But who!" Narcissa exclaimed. "Who would do such a thing? The pride of this town lies within Wispy Tower. Our life ambition! And now here we lie, into complete submission."
"But afar!" Her counterpart shouted. "I see a figure in the cloak!"
That being her cue, another actress emerged from the Wispy prop. She beheld her audience, then fixed her gaze on Narcissa. She was a young woman garbed in all black clothes, her black hair tied into a long ponytail behind her back.
The woman she had seen that day. Well, an actress, but the resemblance was striking,
"Who are you?" Narcissa demanded. "Could you be the one behind all this? Or has my judgment finally become amiss?"
"Ah, but that is a face that is not quite clear!"
"Yet she gives off an aura that instills fear…"
"Wispy Tower is no more," the woman under the tower proclaimed. "Those who live here will no longer live with the beacon they so lovingly placed. Instead they shall endure pain that no other person has faced."
"But why, I implore you!" Narcissa said.
"No reason you need, for that would bore you. In fact, the most I will do is ignore you. I shall depart with my task complete. And leave a woman who is no longer forgetful. Remember me, the one who destroyed you. Let all of your rushing emotions continue the void through. For this isn't the end, but merely the beginning. For I will be the last one who is grinning. Goodbye, Narcissa."
With that, the representation of Narcissa's grief and sorrow walked off-stage, and Narcissa turned to address the audience anew.
"We welcomed outsiders with a loving gesture." With every word she spoke, she stepped a little bit closer to them, using the distance to accentuate her words. "Then they hide their evil intentions with a kind smile gesture! But no longer. This shall be the last time. For we shall purify our town of their grime. And enact an ordinance of isolation. One that will ward away any outsider who dares enter the town. Forever!"
~~~~~~~(V)~~~~~~~
Will heard Narcissa's muffled voice in the distance, followed by the audience applauding, and his nerves began humming with anticipation. There was no way the theatre itself wanted him to be late, was there?
With his other options exhausted, Will left the dressing room that hadn't been there before and entered the closet that had been there before. Where before had been a wall, now was not one anymore. A dark hallway beckoned him forwards
I'm not cut out for the showbiz, Will decided as he stepped into the gaping darkness. He emerged into a new room, a small corner with those fences people normally used to herd people along a certain path. He saw more creepy posters along the wall and another torch calmly burning away next to a small flight of stairs.
Up he went, straight into another dressing room with a painting of the most disturbing Slowbro he had ever laid eyes upon.
"Nah-ah," he said, heading straight to the exit.
Somehow, that translated to him getting out back into the main backstage area, but now on the second tier. The stairs suddenly weren't blocked off anymore, which was a good thing.
The stairs leading up to the third tier – the place he actually needed to be – were suddenly no longer there, which was a bad thing.
Down again he went, starting to recognize a pattern. He headed through the bottom-right door, where someone had glued another burning candle to the wall, and found himself back in the same dressing room as before.
All the torches from before were lit again.
Will shook his head as he wandered through the dressing room again. As he passed through that massive prop mirror, someone suddenly seized him by the back of his jacket and pulled him against the mirror –
"Graah!" Will cried.
Into the mirror, through the mirror and out into another room. Narcissa's Dusclops carefully put him back on his feet, then vanished into the mirror again.
Okay, he had to admit, that was a very cool trick.
He didn't recognize this dressing room. Evidently, someone had figured that this theatre didn't have enough candles yet. They had absolutely covered the dressing room with grimy white candles that burned with a purple flame. Will counted a dozen clusters with at least seven to eight candles each.
It seemed like a massive fire hazard to him, but he was sure that Narcissa had a grip on that sort of thing after Wispy Tower.
Will headed to the door, then stopped when he heard someone giggling to herself. He spun around and came face-to-face with a very eerie pale-skinned girl; her hair as black as the night and her skin as pale as a ghost. It was an interesting look and she would have looked cute, had she not reached out with hands as cold as a grave, laughing in his face with wide eyes. "Ah, look how far you made it! Let's bring you back to where you belong!"
Before he could even protest, the girl brought her face close to his and planted a freezing kiss on his cheeks. Will stiffened and his thoughts hitched for a second –
Her smile grew into a wicked grin and she shoved him backwards. He tripped over his feet and fell and fell and fell, down into a void of blackness…
Only to land on his feet back at the entrance of the backstage area again.
He brought a hand to his cheek. "…Narciss?" He called out. "We need to talk after this!"
~~~~~~~(VI)~~~~~~~
"How long has it been since that day?" Narcissa said, putting as much melancholy into her voice as she could. "The day that changed everything? I almost forgot myself…it was so long ago. Will you come back to dry my tears after a long night's grief? Will you tell me I'll be okay for hours, or will you be brief? None can say…an ordinance of mistakes. That's all I enacted. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Narcissa? There's someone at the door."
"What is it? A visitor you say? Bring them in then. I'll deal with them accordingly."
Aelita walked in from the left of the stage. Narcissa put on a bored, stoic expression, then regarded her visitor contemptuously. "What have you come to bore me with today, outsider/"
"I came to stop you from acting this way!"Aelita hotly said.
"And why should I listen to the likes of you? Perhaps you believe your values have the weight of two? Nothing you say shall change my mind. No matter what you say."
"But why?" Aelita shot back, turning to regard the audience as well. "Do you think you have the right to harm others as you see fit? Don't you think that's extreme? Not even a little bit?"
Narcissa saw Aelita chuckle to herself and it nearly ruined her well-composed air of contempt. Oh, teenagers…"Extreme as it may be, it is necessary for survival."
"There is nothing survival about it!" Aelita said, turning her full attention back to Narcissa. "I won't leave until you change your mind!"
"Is that how it is then?" Narcissa said, getting up from her chair. "If you wish to change my mind, then fight for it. The final battle between Goldenleaf Town and the world. We will see who is victorious. We shall see who is in the right!" She stepped past Aelita and faced the audience – her own people. "Only then will we put this problem to rest. A sample of your strength to the test. "
"Then we shall face you with our best!"
"But who will be your warrior? The one you hold so high? The one to make sure this way of thinking shall die?"
"Oh, I have a warrior," Aelita said, grinning slyly. "A warrior that shall win. A warrior who will bash you down that it will make shivers flow through your skin! Just wait, for they almost arrive! The one that will surely thrive!"
~~~~~~~(VII)~~~~~~~
Through the ever-shifting maze he wandered, entering doors and emerging into completely different sections of the theatre. At one point, Will even thought he saw himself entering another room the second he emerged from the current one.
Through it all, he followed the burning candles, which slowly seemed to multiply whenever he wasn't looking. At long last, he walked through the frame of another prop mirror and emerged at the top level of the backstage area.
This was it.
"Nice," he said, pumping his fist. He hurried through the door at the top there and emerged into some sort of waiting hall, complete with chairs, tables and what looked like a hundred lit candles scattered around the room.
A black mirror waited for him at the very end of the room, where normally the entrance to the play would have been. Will walked up the stairs and reached out for the mirror –
"Will, wait," Ren said.
Will turned around, watching his friend walk up behind him. "Hey. What's up?"
"I'd like to talk to you before you pass through the mirror," Ren said. "Narcissa said I shouldn't give up. And she's right. I've worked too hard to give up on my dreams now. Moving out on my own to East Gearen City…fighting against Team Xen…all these trials and tribulations were laid out in front of me so that I could become a better trainer. And even if I failed to stop Geara at the Wispy Tower…I still believe I have the heart it takes to turn this place around."
Will nodded, appreciating that Ren had finally found himself again. "Glad to see you found your confidence again."
"Call it confidence, or arrogance…" He scoffed. "The way I feel hasn't changed. So I came here to ask you if I could battle her first. Please…that's all I ask."
Without saying a word, Will stepped to the side, away from the mirror and out of Ren's way. "Go for it man."
"Will…" Ren quietly said. "I…thank you so much." He walked by him and laid his hand against the mirror –
Only to be repulsed as a wave of energy shoved him backwards.
"Wh-What?!" Ren exclaimed.
"What happened? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I…I can't pass through the mirror. I can't believe it…even after all this time. Narcissa still doesn't recognize me!?"
"Hey, it's not like that man," Will said. "Maybe she set it for one person, to keep others from accidentally entering – "
Ren didn't even hear him. "What the hell!" He shouted, slamming his fist against the wall. "I just don't get it…this is so fucking frustrating! What else do I have to do?"
"Ren, slow down," Will urged him. "You don't know that."
"I do!" Ren shouted. "I've poured everything into this just to be met with rejection at the very end. All my hard work!"
Will shook his head. "Your hard work is for you, Ren. Not for her. Not for me. For you."
Ren looked at him. He took a breath, visibly trying to reign in his temper, but it didn't loo like was convinced. "Narcissa has recognized you, Will," he hoarsely said. "Which means you have something I don't. I don't know what that is…"
"Ren, it's not like that!" Will urged him. "It's not up to you to fix this entire town!"
"So it's up to you then?" Ren shot back.
"Damnit, you know that's not what I meant!"
Ren looked away. "It's not up to me you say? Hah. Don't make me laugh. My father passed that wish on to me right before he died. To make this town healthy again." Ren scoffed, then walked away. "Little did he know he passed it onto a weak and incompetent child."
"Ren!"
"Good luck with your battle against Narcissa, Will. She's tougher than anyone you've met before. I guess…I was arrogant enough to think I would have stood a chance against her. I'll go…find a seat, I guess. Good luck, again."
His father…had asked Ren to fix the town before he died?
"God…I fucked up…" Will muttered to himself. He screwed up that entire conversation and now, Ren probably felt worse than he had before heading up.
Add to that his loss against Geara…
He would make it up to Ren later. Right now, he had to help complete the plan.
"You know, there is something very funny about change," he heard Narcissa's voice echo through the hall. "It's something we all want, but fear. Why is that I wonder? Is it because we fear what might no longer be the case? Do we fear the consequences it may have on us personally? Or maybe how our family and friends will be affected. But no matter how much we fear it, we cannot run away. In fact, we must embrace it, because that's when we will truly be free!"
The audience broke into a deafening applause. Will guessed that Narcissa had made her official appearance for the upcoming battle.
"Thank you, thank you! I believe it is time for our warrior to make their appearance!"
That's my cue, Will thought. Up ahead, he saw one final mirror. That had to be it, right? If Narcissa had another maze planned out for him…well, she'd be having an awkward improv session on the stage until he made it through, that was for sure.
"Our little town hero!" She called, and the audience applauded again. "Show yourself!"
"Here goes nothing," Will, before stepping through the mirror.
In a flash of light, he found himself standing amidst a well-prepared battlefield. He saw purple trees with pale bark, mushrooms of every size and color and the tried and true outlines of the Gym arena etched into the floor. The walls had extended all the way outward, giving them all the room they needed to battle.
How had they done that?
Narcissa stood on her side of the field, clad in a radiant, pink dress that looked absolutely stunning on her. Will wasn't sure if it was the lighting, the stage makeup or the blooming hope that things might finally change for the better, but Narcissa looked ten years younger to him.
"Will, we're ready to begin whenever you are," Narcissa smiled at him. "The crowd is waiting."
He shot a quick glance to the right as he took his own position. Hooo boy…that was a big audience. He'd thought the crowd watching him and Keta duke it out in Sheridan was big, but this audience was easily ten times as large. Hundreds of people were seated in the theatre hall.
No pressure...
He saw Aelita and Ren sitting in the front row. Aelita waved and cheered for him.
Losing here…wasn't an option. Everything depended on his victory here, but it wouldn't be given to him. This would be an official gym match, and if he lost…well, that simply couldn't happen. He'd promised Maria that he wouldn't break. This? It was nothing compared to what she'd been through.
"This is our moment warrior," Narcissa said. "Our hard work has led to this moment. This is the final standoff between Goldenleaf Town and the world. Show Goldenleaf Town what you're capable of!"
The lights, the audience, the pressure of the stage, all of that fell away when Will and Narcissa sent out their Pokemon. At that moment, it was just them and their trusted partners, fighting for a better tomorrow.
Straight off the bet, Will knew that this battle would be more than just a challenge. Nacissa's first Pokemon was Mismagius, but it didn't look anything like Sharon's had. This one was all green, with a mop of tangled, ghostly green hair atop its head and long, leaf-like protrusions hanging from its body.
"Snorunt, Icy Wind!" Will ordered.
His little Snorunt inhaled sharply and began breathing frigid, subzero temperature air throughout the arena. Will expected the Narcissa to keep Mismagius distant, attacking from a distance like Sharon had, so he wanted to get ahead of that tactic by making it untenable.
Much to his surprise, the Mismagius instantly went on the offensive, surging through the air in a spiraling pattern as it rushed towards Snorunt. It brandished long, curving claws that glowed with a dark shade, and Will realized in a flash that this regional variant had somehow adapted to close quarters fighting.
It easily dodged Snorunt's attack, then raked at it with those wicked claws. Up close, there was nothing Snorunt could do except take the hit, and the blow knocked Snorunt off its feet and to the ground, knocking it out in one hit.
Will's mind raced as he recalled Snorunt and sent out Pidgeotto next. He needed to save Mightyena and Houndoom to deal with Narcissa's other Ghost Pokemon. They'd learned how to reliably counter the many tricks these kinds of Pokemon used, and Narcissa was bound to have more strong, evolved Pokemon than just Dusclops.
Mismagius wasted no time in bringing its claws together in a flash of green light, before firing off a cluster of large seeds at Pidgeotto.
Pidgeotto narrowly dodged them and they impacted the wall behind him, where they promptly detonated with enough force to shake the ground.
Pidgeotto shot towards his foe, his wings glowing brightly. Mismagius rapidly surged backwards, zigzagging through the trees in sharp, irregular corners to avoid his Wing Attack. It zipped out from behind the tree again and fired off another cluster of Seed Bombs.
Quickly, Pidgeotto slammed his wings together to generate a powerful surge of wind, which blew the cluster of seeds right back at Mismagius.
The Ghost Pokemon quickly flung itself higher in the air to dodge the explosive seeds, but that put it squarely in Pidgeotto's sights. He whipped towards the Mismagius, moving too fast to escape, and Narcissa saw no other alternative than to order a counter-attack.
MIsmagius raked at Pidgeotto with a Shadow Claw, but Pidgeotto had much greater momentum and far more force. He physically battered the Mismagius's limbs aside and struck a scything blow with his wings.
The blow knocked Mismagius out of the sky. It recovered before it could hit the ground and pivoted in mid-air, blasting Pidgeotto with a burst of razor-sharp leaves.
Undaunted, Pidgeotto scattered the leaves with another powerful Gust attack, then shot after Mismagius. Before, it might have been fast enough to dodge, but the previous attack had left it winded and it couldn't quite pull off the same evasive maneuvers it needed to create distance.
Pidgeotto sore after his foe, tucked in his wings and rolled to the right to avoid another Seed Bomb, then slammed his wings together again to send a powerful gale of wind towards his foe.
The blast of wind knocked Mismagius off its course, and Will ordered Pidgeotto to close in and deal the finishing blow.
In desperation, Mismagius launched another series of Magical Leaves at Pidgeotto. Several of the leaves tore into his body, but his thick layer of feathers prevented them from cutting deeper. He struck the Mismagius with his wings, and this time the Ghost Pokemon didn't even have the strength to control its descent. It plummeted to the ground like a rock, although Narcissa recalled it before it could hit the ground.
Will barely registered the audience booing. He watched as Narcissa sent out that same, off-looking Pikachu he'd seen before. Its head hung at an odd angle,
The "Mimikyu" as Narcissa called it stood there, slowly waving its tail back and forth, as if waiting for Pidgeotto to act.
Will ordered another Wing Attack and Pidgeotto threw himself into a dive, once again pouring energy into his wings as he prepared to deal a hammer blow.
Pidgeotto's attack hit home, Will saw his wings impact, but the strike that could have shattered a man's arm merely seemed to bounce off of Mimikyu's body.
"Now! Play Rough!"
Before Pidgeotto could realize that his attack hadn't done anything, the Mimikyu leapt at him and cloaked the both of them with thick, white smoke surrounded by little pinpricks of light.
"Pidgeotto, fall back!" Will yelled.
After a few seconds of violence. Pidgeotto managed to throw himself into the air. His movements were slow and unsteady and it favored one of its wings, which meant that he was barely able to stay aloft.
Seeing that Pidgeotto was in no shape to keep fighting, Will recalled him. He eyed Narcissa's Mimikyu, realizing that it too seemed to favor close quarters. Unlike Mismagius, it didn't seem to have any ranged capabilities.
Will sent Nidorino into the fight next. Nidorino opened up with a Poison Sting right off the bat, but Mimikyu whipped its tail around to protect itself.
Its shadow suddenly zoomed forwards, reaching out to Nidorino and then behind him. Shadowy claws erupted from the ground and clawed at Nidorino, who was forced to pivot and leap away to evade them.
Mimikyu was on the move in an instant, sprouting more shadowy claws from its ragged body and swiping at Nidorino.
Those shadowy claws raked his body, heedless of his spikes, and Will wasn't sure if Nidorino could poison something as abstract as shadows. Nevertheless, Nidorino pushed on, charging at the Mimikyu and driving his horn into its body.
His large horn harmlessly passed through Mimikyu's ghostly body without doing any damage. Nidorino still hadn't learned how to imbue his body with the elemental force he accessed for his Poison Sting, so he couldn't hurt the Mimikyu after all.
Realizing that this wasn't going to work, Will switched out for Houndoom, striving to seize the initiative again.
The Mimikyu went on the offensive, stretching out its shadows to strike at Houndoom, but the newly-evolved Fire type was far too nimble. He leapt out of the way, then breathed out a thick, black fog from his maw, completely blanketing Mimikyu in poisonous gas.
"Mimikyu, get out of there," Narcissa ordered.
Frantic, the Mimikyu ran from the thick cloud, wobbling dangerously on its little legs.
Time to unveil the new move. He would have saved it as a surprise against Dusclops, but Mimikyu was far too dangerous to let go. "Houndoom! Inferno!"
Tongues of flame darted from Houndoom's nostrils as he inhaled, before unleashing a solid stream of blue fire easily the width of a human torso. Mimikyu didn't even have the chance to evade before the Inferno enveloped its body.
When the flames and the smoke cleared, Mimikyu was in no more condition to fight. Its body was singed and covered with burn marks.
"You have fought well Mimikyu," Narcissa said. "Return to me. I see no need to hold back any longer. Will, prepare to face the Pokemon who has been with me the longest. Come forth, Chandelure!"
If Will had to describe Narcissa's next Pokemon, it would be a Ghost-type Pokemon masquerading as a chandelier. Its central body was its striped, round head, dotted with two pupil-less yellow eyes. From a black spike underneath its body, four black arms curled upwards. Purple fire blazed from these arms, as well as the top of its head.
Fighting fire with fire, then? Why would Narcissa do that? She had seen that Houndoom had the ability to absorb heat. Her flames would not harm him. Then why - ?
"Chandelure! Trap him in a Fire Spin!" Narcissa ordered.
The Chandelure waved its black arms in an intricate pattern and an inferno of flames erupted around Houndoom, burning hot enough that Will felt the heat even from that distance.
And then it struck him. Narcissa was, at her core, an actress. Just as her main task as a Gym Leader was testing and not dominating, her objective here was not to defeat him at all costs, but to capture the hearts and the minds of her audience. This was her last stand against a warrior from the outside, not a Gym battle against the teen who had fought her son.
Fighting to win was a secondary concern. She would trounce him if he slipped up, but her true battle was not with him, but with her audience.
Houndoom broke free of the towering spiral of flames engulfing him and began sprinting towards Chandelure. He spat bolts of Ember flames at his target, but Chandelure seemed to absorb those flames as well. It spun its limbs around its body and produced several Will-O-Wisps around its body.
"Spectral Scream!" Narcissa ordered.
The Chandelure gathered energy. Before Houndoom could close the distance, a pulse of ghastly, terrifying energy burst from the Chandelure, sweeping through the arena. Its reach seemed to stop at the edge of the arena to spare the audience, but Will still felt the ghostly wail touch something primal and primitive within him. Whispers in the dark, a figure moving in the night, a stranger staring through his window –
Crescent straddling him, crushing the life out of him with her bare hands, whispering her final warning as she snapped the bones in his throat like twigs –
"Can you endure it?" Narcissa said. "The sorrow we've endured, the grudges we carry?"
Houndoom flinched in the face of the ghostly energy. His jaws parted in a silent snarl and he bowed his head as the scream buffeted his body.
Will took a deep, calming breath. "Keep pushing Houndoom!"
Chandelure gathered strength and screamed again. Another wave of destructive, ghostly energy cascaded through the battlefield and slammed into Houndoom like a physical wall. Will saw tiny cuts begin to form on Houndoom's body, his flanks heaving as he labored to breathe.
But he kept advancing, steadily putting one paw in front of the other as he pushed closer.
Chandelure continued its relentless Spectral Scream, corroding trees and scorching the grass below it. It punctuated every scream with a burst of purple flames, slowly ratcheting up the heat.
"Keep going Houndoom!" Will said. "You have to get in range!"
Slowly, steadily, bracing an unearthly storm of energy from a Pokemon many times its senior in experience, Houndoom plotted along. Flames poured from his maw as he clenched its teeth. Boiling drool seeped from his jaws, scorching the grass.
Narcissa's Chandelure paused to gather energy for another Spectral Scream and Houndoom moved. He kicked off with his powerful hind legs and pounced.
Chandelure detonated a shockwave of flames around itself, but Houndoom braced its storm and clamped down. His paws kicked and scratched as he struggled to find a hold even as Chandelure began levitating higher in the air, whirling and spinning around to get Houndoom off.
"Chandelure, prepare another Spectral Scream!"
Its round, bulbous body was too much for Houndoom to get a grip on, so Will switched gears. "Houndoom, use Snarl, right in its face!"
Houndoom did not hesitate a second. He blasted the Chandelure at point-blank range with a powerful pulse of dark energy that collided with the budding Spectral Scream. The resulting mix of volatile energy resulted in an explosion that got the audience screaming.
The two Pokemon slammed to the ground and Will had to fight the urge to run for Houndoom's side.
When the cloud faded and the outlines of the two Pokemon became clear, Will saw that Houndoom struggled to rise back to his feet.
Chandelure did not.
"So you bested my treasured friend…it shall not avail you," Narcissa said. She recalled her fainted Chandelure. "Dusclops, you shall finish what we started."
Her cyclopean Pokemon emerged from its Poke Ball, its gray bandages slowly billowing despite the total lack of wind.
There it was. Narcissa's ace.
"Houndoom, how much do you have left?" Will asked.
Houndoom threw his head in the air and howled. His body was covered with many little wounds and cuts where the Spectral Scream had rend his body. He wouldn't have much strength left after that. If he could weaken Narcissa's ace enough, Mightyena could finish it up, give himself an adrenal boost with his Moxie ability and clear the battle.
The two Pokemon attacked another at the same time. Dusclops's eye flashed with malicious intent and fired a black beam that streaked across the battlefield in a strange, irregular manner, as if already anticipating that it might get intercepted.
Houndoom blasted Dusclops with an Incinerate blast. Any sooner, Dusclops would have evaded it. Any later and the Night Shade would throw off his aim. It had to be simultaneous…even if it meant taking the hit.
The attacks struck home at the same time. A stream of all-consuming purple flames slammed into Dusclops's body, completely enveloping him even as the Night Shade threw Houndoom off his feet.
You're a freaking trooper, Houndoom, Will thought as he recalled his fallen partner. Now, things were going to get dicey. "Mightyena!"
The black-furred canine didn't hesitate a second. As Dusclops began launching Will-O-Wisps at him, he Snarled, intercepting the flames with his own ranged attack. The rings of dark energy slammed into the wisps and both attacks scattered, leaving the path free for Mightyena to charge.
"Dusclops! Hypnosis!"
"Mightyena, Swagger!"
Both Pokemon gathered power and poured it into the other in the form of suggestion. An invisible struggle ensued, during which one was capable of influencing the other. The tension broke, their moves failed and Mightyena shot forwards, readying himself to deliver a punishing bite.
Dusclops vanished.
"Stay sharp Mightyena! You know what's coming!" Will ordered.
Mightyena's fur stood on end and his ears moved around as he tried to locate his foe. One ear twitched and he threw himself sideways as a black, shadowy fist appeared from thin air, narrowly missing Mightyena's head as it shot past him.
Mightyena retaliated with a Snarl, but it missed, and Dusclops was free to launch several Shadow Punches in a row. Mightyena leapt, dove and weaved, but he wasn't able to avoid them all. One fist struck him in the gut, another struck his neck.
"Mightyena, use Odor Sleuth! You have to find him!" Will ordered.
Mightyena shook off the blows and opened his maw, preparing to render the Dusclops's advantage moot.
"There is no need. Dusclops, Spectral Scream!"
Dusclops materialized once again. It drew its arms closer, then the bandages around its chest opened up to reveal a gaping black void – a nothingness from which Dusclops fired off his own Spectral Scream.
Mightyena's Dark typing gave him a substantial resistance to Ghost-type attacks, but Dusclops was an experienced battler and Spectral Scream hit hard even through that disadvantage. The shockwave nearly threw Mightyena off his feet.
Wil didn't know if Combusken had what it took to fight against a Ghost Pokemon. He had to press his advantage here while he could! "Mightyena, get closer! Go!"
Mightyena took off sprinting again, speeding towards Dusclops in a straight line. Just as the Dusclops began gathering force for a second scream, Will yelled, "Sand Attack!"
Mightyena skidded to a sudden halt, scraping the ground underneath his paws. He pivoted and kicked up a cloud of dust and sand at the Dusclops.
Soul-snatching Ghost Pokemon or not, Dusclops had an eye for a reason. Since he only had one of them…
With a face-full of dirt and dust in its face, Dusclops reached for its eye with its hands, simply firing off Spectral Scream where he thought Mightyena would be.
But Mightyena had circled around to Dusclops's rear.
"Behind you Dusclops!" Narcissa ordered.
Duscclops whirled around, but Mightyena was a fraction of a second faster. As the Ghost Pokemon threw another Shadow Punch, Mightyena leapt, throwing the full force of his weight behind his blow.
Frantic, the Dusclops began throwing Will-O-Wisps everywhere. The burning orbs of fire arced around, impacting the area around them and scorching Mightyena's fur, but he didn't let go. His jaws found the area between Dusclops's head and the rest of its body.
Will didn't know how it worked. Not really. His guess was that Dark-type Pokemon had a certain authority over the darkness, which was the area Ghost types lived in. The same reason why Mightyena's teeth found purchase in Dosclops's body whereas Nidorino's horn could not. Perhaps it went deeper than that. Perhaps something about the Dark typing brought a vulnerability in the Ghost type to light. Something about a concept often considered "evil" punishing what others saw as a "departed spirit".
Whatever it was, Mightyena could hurt Dusclops – hurt him badly.
Dusclops gave as good as it took. As Mightyena bit down on him, he continued creating Will-O-Wisps, continued raining down Shadow Punches on the canine digging into his flesh.
Finally, as the Dusclops began moving slower and more sluggishly, Mightyena unleashed a Snarl straight into its face. The pulse of dark energy cascaded through its body and its arms went limp. Slowly, the cyclopean Pokemon toppled, and Mightyena leapt from its body and howled in victory.
"Your will is impressive, warrior," Narcissa said, calling her fainted Dusclops back. "You have bested my strongest Pokemon…but the battle is not yet lost. "Shall you remain steadfast until the end?"
Mightyena swayed on its feet. Like Houndoom, it had won at a serious cost, and it dawned on Will that Mightyena might not be capable of defeating Narcissa's next Pokemon.
"Gengar!"
Especially not a fully evolved one.
"Our final stand begins here," Narcissa proclaimed. "Gengar, we shall give it our all!"
Gengar opened its gaping mouth, flicked its tongue at Mightyena and then began throwing Shadow Balls across the arena.
Mightyena, already weakened from his previous fight, was in no position to dodge them all. Mightyena leapt over one projectile and Snarled, but Gengar merely flattened its body into a shadow, which quickly darted out of the way.
Gengar reappeared right behind Mightyena. Snarling, Mightyena pivoted and snapped at him, but Gengar disappeared into the floor again. When it reappeared halfway across the arena again, it stuck around long enough to spit a series of purple, boiling globules of poison around.
Mightyena moved to avoid them, but the poisonous fumes combined with the sheer effort of all that jumping were visibly tiring him out. He didn't have much more left in him.
Gengar reappeared from a distance and threw another Shadow Ball his way. Too slow to dodge the attack, Mightyena was forced to take it full on. He swayed on his feet, seemingly too disoriented to keep himself upright.
"That's okay Mightyena," Will said. "You gave it all you had."
So it came down to this after all.
Will sent out his last Pokemon, vowing to give this everything he had. "Combusken! Let's finish this!"
Gengar wasted no time. It immediately sank into the ground again, disappearing into the shadows like it had before.
Let's put a stop to that, Will thought. "Combusken! Bring the heat!"
Combusken inhaled, gathered heat and intent, and then blasted flames all around her in a circle. The Will-O-Wisps exploded when the flames touched them, setting fire to the entire stage – much to the horror of the audience.
Will hoped someone had a solid Water Pokemon at the ready somewhere.
Gengar emerged from the shadows behind Combusken .It wasn't laughing now; its crimson eyes flickered with annoyance and its toothy grin was now set in a scowl.
Combusken enveloped herself with flames and charged at Gengar. It, in turn, began launching waves of sludge all around the battlefield, dousing the flames and turning Combusken's path into a venomous, boiling puddle.
She came to a staggering halt amidst the poisonous fumes, struggling to pull her legs free of the gunk.
Pinned down as she was, Combusken wasn't able to make use of her superior speed, and Gengar wasted no time in pummeling her with another Shadow Ball. Combusken tried to intercept the incoming attack with a quick burst of fire. She surrounded herself with flames once again and heaved, pulling herself free of the gunk just in time to avoid the incoming darkness.
She landed safely on the other side of the gunk, heaving, one arm clutched against her chest.
Gengar fades away again, rapidly moving across the shadows to avoid Combusken's fire. It emerged once again, far too close to Combusken for it not to be a trap, then exploded into a burst of blinding, rainbow-colored light.
It knows Dazzling Gleam! Will realized with dismay.
The sudden burst of energy, that close, proved to be too much for Combusken. She was barely able to bring her arms up in protection before the attack hit her head-on, flinging her off her feet and back into the poisonous gunk. She tried to escape again, but the sticky goo had entrapped her legs, and she didn't have the strength to break free again.
"Come on Combusken!" Will shouted. "You can do it! Break their isolation wide open!"
She struggled, flames pouring from her body, but her form didn't have the strength.
Gengar slowly ascended from the shadows again several meters behind Combusken, preparing a massive Shadow Ball to end the fight.
"Combusken!" Will yelled, fear and concern clutching at his stomach. "Behind you!"
Combusken fell to her knees –
- and then began evolving.
Will watched with wide eyes as Combusken's body erupted in a bright, white flash of light, so sharp that it hurt his eyes simply watching.
Like Houndour before her, her evolution saw her growing twice, three times as large. When the light faded and the darkness of the haunted battlefield returned, everything about her changed. The majority of her body was now a deep shade of crimson with little beige accents, yellow and gray. Yellowish hair-like feathers flowed down her body, surrounding her chest and abdomen. Her mouth, shaped like a hooked beak, parted and she exhaled a tuft of flames. Her featherless, gray hands tightened into fists and she shoved herself upright again. She tore her shaggy, yellow-feathered legs free from the gunk with contemptuous ease.
"Yes!" Will shouted. "Yes! Kick his ass!"
"Gengar evade – " Narcissa started.
With utter, blinding speed, Blaziken threw herself in a flying roundhouse kick, her leg wreathed in flames. Her blazing leg connected with Gengar's face and the sheer force of the blow sent him flying across the arena and into the wall, through the wall, carrying a great amount of flames and debris with him.
For a second, everything was silent.
Aelita's going to lose her mind, Will thought. He corrected himself a second later; he was the one who was going to lose his mind. His little Torchic, his little fighter, fully evolved! Holy shit she kicked that Gengar so hard that every Ghastly in Goldenleaf Town was going to feel it!
Blaziken's sharp, blue eyes were fixed on the hole Gengar had left in its wake for a second before she uttered a deafening, piercing shriek of victory that left a ring in Will's ears.
Goddamn she had earned that!
Narcissa nodded to herself, then calmly approached him. Blaziken stepped aside to let the woman pass, and Will saw the audience watching their mayor with baited breath, as if they didn't dare react to her loss without knowing what she herself thought.
"You have shown yourself to be a worthy opponent, and friend," Narcissa said, and for the first time since Will had met her, she smiled. It was a luminous, earnest smile, lending a beauty to her face that no amount of stage lights, makeup or camera angles would be able to reproduce.
A second later, it was gone again, and Narcissa walked to the center of the arena, putting on an expression of resignation and grief. "Ah…and thus the curtains fall. The end is here. I have been defeated by you, Will. The warrior scaled even this mountain. Please, accept this as a token of your success."
She handed him the Phantsam Badge and the audience went mad. A thunderous applause shook the chamber, and above it all, Will heard Aelita scream, "LET'S FREAKING GO, WILL!"
It didn't last long. When the applause started dying down, the girl who'd sat a few seats away from Aelita and Ren leapt to her feet, and Will immediately recognized her.
"So what!" Sariah yelled. "I'm supposed to respect these creeps now? After everything they've done? I cannot forgive this!"
A heavy silence fell after her outburst. For a second, nobody spoke up, but then Narcissa approached the edge of the podium and glared at the girl. "After what they've done? If I'm not mistaken, you were the one who let Team Xen within our town. If it weren't for Will's effort, Goldenleaf Town would have been destroyed."
Will looked at her with surprise. They'd worked even that into the script? How – when - ? Damn, actresses like Narcissa were absolutely brilliant. And in just a couple of days, too?
Sariah seemed to wither and crumble under Narcissa's glare. "A-Ah, that's…well…"
"You've just used the past to justify your actions because you're a miserable girl. At this point, you're no better than the "outsider" you oh so despise."
Sariah's eyes flashed from Narcissa to Aelita, then to the audience for support. When none was forthcoming, she turned and bolted.
"And she's gone!" Aelita whooped.
Narcissa then addressed the audience in earnest. "I implore everyone and anyone who wishes to branch off…to do so. See the outside world. Let people into your hearts. We let these outsiders into our town, and they put themselves at terrible risk to save all of us. That is the true way to live life on this Earth. For the little time humans are given…"
Narcissa returned to the center of the stage. She clasped Will's hand with soft, velvet gloves, and smiled at him again. "Thank you for your help, Will," she said, soft enough that only he could hear it. She reached into the folds of her dress, and produced a dark, smooth-looking stone of sorts. "Take this, as a personal gift. I believe your Nidorino should appreciate this."
"Thank you," Will said, not sure what else to say. He was still wrapping his head around this victory. It had worked, hadn't it? They'd done it. They'd done it!
Narcissa raised her voice, and loudly said, "Because of you and Aelita…New hope has been established into this town. You are our little town hero!"
Again, the audience went mad with applause, and –
Will stiffened.
There, at the end of the theatre, right before the exit, stood his mom. Even from this distance, he could see her clear as day.
He couldn't say anything, couldn't form a coherent thought. He couldn't force the words out of his throat or even do anything else than stare.
Mom smiled at him and Will stared back. The glare of the lights became too bright, and he blinked –
And then she was gone.
Will clutched the Phantsam Badge tightly in his fist. He listened to the cheers, the screams and the thunderous applause, letting the noise wash over him.
~~~~~~~(VIII)~~~~~~~
Geara walked an endless road amidst a miserable, beautiful, blooming forest, stewing in his hate and frustration.
"You've gotta be freaking kidding me," he snapped. First he had to go through the humiliation of being defeated and subsequently pressured by William and his pathetic friends, but then Narcissa had to get the final word and throw him into some sort of alternate dimension? "Did she really have to drop me off in the Princess Garden Wonderland?" He took a breath, and then roared, "And does this path ever fuckin' end?!"
Nobody answered him, so he continued wandering on, fuming and burning on the inside. He swore, if he ever got out he'd –
Wait.
Wait just a goddamn minute.
…was that Zetta?
Geara sprinted the last hundred meters, seeing two very familiar faces before him. "Zetta?! Professor Jenner?! What are you two doing here!" He demanded.
Zetta, lying on the ground with a bored expression on his face, said, "I'm meditating, so if you could bring the volume down by a few notches that'd be swell." He paused, then leapt to his feet in surprise. "Geara! Did Crescent get you too?!"
"No, another rag-tag team of rejects did," Geara spat. "If Crescent put you here, then that explains quite a bit."
Zetta gestured offhandedly. "Welcome, I guess…there's not much to this place."
"Don't welcome me! I don't plan on staying here. You and that sorry Professor are helping me get out of here."
Zetta scoffed. "Good luck. We've tried escaping this place for far too long."
Geara noticed that Jenner wasn't saying a word, so he turned to address the man. "You're a Pokemon Professor, right? You should have some sort of idea where we are. "
Jenner looked at him with a truly empty, dead look in his eyes, before dropping his gaze again.
"Don't even bother," Zetta sighed. "The news about Melia broke him."
"As it should've! Things would have been different if he'd just cooperated with the plan. Maybe Madame X will go easy on you if you figure out a way to get us out of here. So stop being useless and stand up!"
Jenner leveled a glare at Geara. "You're telling me to stop being useless when you were also useless enough to be sent here? Give it a break."
Geara bristled. "You've got a lot of nerve, Jenner. Why don't you – "
Out of nowhere, a random girl wandered into their spat. Not much older than Geara, with tan skin, long, dark pigtails and a strange-looking purple dress. She was loudly chewing on some Gourmet Treats meant for Pokemon as she casually trotted into their group.
"Man, these Gourmet Treats are the best! Next time I see Will I gotta – " Her voice trailed off when she saw the three men standing in the middle of the path. "Ehhh?"
Jenner, Geara and Zetta exchanged puzzled looks.
"Who…the hell…are you?" Geara demanded.
~~~~~~~(IX)~~~~~~~
"Route 4 is known as "The Reservoir", Narcissa explained as she took them to the statue of Giratina the next day. "It's a massive route that was formed as a result of the calamity over half a century ago. Goldenleaf and Akuwa Town have made pact to ensure that it is safe and protected.
"How did Goldenleaf do that while staying in isolation?" Will asked.
"An apt question. Have you found the entrance to Route 4 while searching Goldenleaf, perchance?"
"Uh…no?"
"Ah!" Aelita said. "That explains why! There aren't any direct ways to access it, are there?"
"Indeed. While I usually don't allow people to freely walk through Goldenleaf…you are all my beloved friends. So I suppose I can make an exception."
Narcissa placed her hand on the mural below the statue, her fingers digging around the stone for a moment. Then, she seemed to have found what she'd been looking for, as the next moment the heavy slab retracted into the ground, revealing an entryway not unlike the one in Wispy Tower.
"Wow!" Aelita said. "I never would've guessed Route 4 was through here!"
"It's not quite that simple," Ren pointed out. "You still need to get through the Wispy Ruins first. But that should be easy enough for the both of you."
"You're not coming with us?" Will asked.
Ren wordlessly shook his head.
"Ren, what are you going to do then?" Aelita asked.
With a heavy sigh, Ren crossed his arms. "I wish I knew the answer to that myself."
"Perhaps you can help me out around town?" Narcissa suggested. "We've started a new ordinance, but like you said, it's going to take a lot of work to get things right around here."
"We'd love to have you with us too," Aelita added. "You'd be a great help for us as well!"
"Ah…sorry, but I think I have to figure out what I want to do on my own," Ren hesitantly replied. "I think it's back to Route 3 for some more training…at least for a little while."
"Just…don't forget you helped do this as well," Will said.
"You are always welcome home, Ren," Narcissa added.
"Yeah, thanks everyone," Ren mumbled in response. He kept his gaze on the ground as he spoke. "Guess I'll head off now."
With that, Ren walked off, leaving Will and Aelita to brave the depths of Wispy Ruins alone.
"This is where we part ways as well," Narcissa said. "Whenever your journey is finished, I would be happy if you two visited."
"Gotcha! We'll meet again Narcissa! Thank you for everything!"
Narcissa bade them farewell, then took her leave as well.
"...well, no time like the present," Aelita said.
Together, the two of them headed into the darkness once more.
~~~~~~~(X)~~~~~~~
AN: Hooo boy. Story Chapter 4 is finished…and that will bring us to Story Chapter 5: Imprisoned. I have been looking forward to Chapter 5. Let's just say that I've got something special cooked up to shake things up a bit.
Chapter 5 and onwards is where I think the tone of the story will shift by a lot. I made an ordinance to not go into spoilers, but the story really kicks it up a notch heading from Chapter 5. We have a couple of reasons why I decided to label this story as Mature, after all!
Reviews! I love them. Can't live without them. They're like jetfuel to my writing.
Lunar Cryptic, thank you so much for the review! To answer your questions in order: I'll have to replay that scene in particular to get a feel for how much time passes, but if I feel like it makes sense, I'll give the period the time span it deserves. Could be a few days, could be a month. I honestly can't say right now. Eizen: I feel like adding Eizen to the story makes the most sense, but I'm still a bit on the fence about Type:Null.
Finally, the missing children: I think Maman and Mosely are both important to the story, so I'll find a way to tone down the side quest feeling of their story and work them into the main story proper.
Anyway, 2800 total views already! Let's see if we can reach the 3000 next!