AN: This chapter took way way too long to finish and I'm sorry you all had to wait so long! My life has been a bit of a turmoil these last couple months and I kept hitting writer's block after writer's block. But finally, finally we finished this! And hopefully the next one won't take nearly as long, because I have better ideas for what to do with them.
But anyways, as is tradition, let us hit those review reviews!
Kuronicle: Heh, that's a way to put it.
MaMcMu: I suppose so! Unfortunately Cole might not make as many appearances as other characters, but I will make sure he has his time to shine!
Jeyko: Ooh, is that a new reader I spy?! Welcome to this wonderful world of chaos!
AnonChan1: Yup, Sherman is one of my favorite submissions for how flawed he is! Many people don't put nearly that many into their characters, probably because they want their character to be cool and awesome rather than development fuel. So it's gonna be quite fun working with him!
Expect plenty of celebrity bashing much like in real life. Poor Brock is only the beginning.
Hmm…maybe there are some closeted feelings in there, just maybe…
It will be a bit before you get all the answers to the Tori/Luna situation…and many of those answers won't be pretty. As for the Pokeball thing…oh that certainly won't pop up in a morally dubious situation later, oh no it won't.
Victoria will be fun. As for the sunglasses…that's just a secret agent specialty. Always with the cool shades as they cover things up or investigate coverups. Whichever side Victoria is on, though, is a different question.
Don't worry, Victor's fine. For now. He did grow up in a tundra environment. As for Dravilius…the mind of our local dragon master will always be quite the enigma.
Rescue Wolf: Giant text wall there! But yes, expect more funny shenanigans. Dravilius didn't mean to harm anyone, btw. He would've most likely pulled his mons back if things got too dicey. He was just experimenting there. Very strangely.
coolhuh0526: Man I wish I could push out 12 chapters in 12 months still. But oh well.
Yeah, the Nine Warriors dump was early, but I figured I might set them up now since they are gonna become relevant pretty darn quick. Best to have some groundwork in place so people can recognize them when they appear.
Hmmm…Ember certainly does have some lore with a Fire-type family…that we will not see for a while because welcome to how long my fics are.
Hmm, you think?
Alas, getting put into a bag is a necessity when you're small and need an easy place to be hidden. It's just convenient.
Oh don't worry, you'll get those answers one day…
Victor is only here because he needs certifications. He would do very well on his own if it weren't for that damn paperwork. He might have other reasons too.
I love subtle worldbuilding, it's my favorite thing to do. Easy, fun, and could potentially secretly foreshadow big things. Who knows.
Trust me, Cole's suffering has only just begun. As for Victor and Dravilius…well, someone needs to stick around to keep that boy in check.
Victor John Foxfire: Yes the choices for the houses were totally deep and on purpose like you say! Totally not a coincidence I swear!
I might make that scene a reality. Just another item on the stack of Grant's comedic failures.
Dravilius was always a bit unsettling. I just made it more noticeable.
Hyphenman: Yeah, Dravilius did not make a good first impression this time around. It's just who he is though. And I'm sure he'll start being likeable again soon enough.
Had to change the Normal specialist a bit because Pokemon stole my brilliant idea and created Larry. And since Larry is impossible to one-up, I took a different direction with my character. Unfortunate really.
Worldbuilding is always fun, especially since I get to see everyone trying to pick it apart! And fret not, we will be seeing Sherman a LOT more.
Silver's C. Jay: Gotta love the Dravilius support everywhere!
Anyways, that's all for now. You guys were delayed long enough. Let's begin the chapter! (-o-)
Evening was coming as Donovan quietly strolled towards the dorms, having just finished taking a stroll around the campus to refresh his memory. Boulton followed closely beside him, occasionally giving him a questioning glance.
Donovan had never thought he would ever see these buildings again, but now he could see them in all their splendor once more. One could be fooled into believing they would stand a thousand years.
Unfortunately he knew just how easily everything could crumble to nothing.
His mind drifted over whatever he could remember of the events that would happen over the course of the next few months and years. None were good. Only he had the power to stop them, and his memory was dimmed by years in the harsh wasteland of the future.
But a darker thought haunted him. What if he couldn't change the past? What if all he did here was make things worse? Disrupt the flow of time and cause things to take an even worse turn?
Would it be better if he just did nothing at all?
No, it wouldn't do to think like that. He had to have some hope, even a little.
But it was hard to have hope after seeing what he'd seen the last few years…even when that stuff had yet to happen in this timeline.
In fact, that potentially made it worse, seeing as he knew what was coming…and was almost powerless to adequately stop it.
He was distracted by his thoughts by Boulton nuzzling him, the Tepig seemingly reading his dark and drifting thoughts. Donovan picked up the warm Pokemon gently, holding him close.
"We have quite the unique dilemma, partner.", he murmured, "Now we need to figure out what we're supposed to do here. There's so many different things that could go wrong. Doing everything once before helps a little bit, but who knows if a bad decision fixed now might mean a worse decision later?"
Boulton grunted quietly. The Tepig knew exactly what he meant.
"All time travel stories seem to agree that being sent to the past raises a million different problems and paradoxes. But no one's ever actually done it before, at least that we know of. Not even that time machine in Paldea gave us answers."
Donovan shivered upon remembering it. He realized they were going to have to stop the time machine again…
Then an even more troubling thought. What if, this time, the machine could help him? Would he risk destroying one of his only possible chances of answers?
Even if it could prove perilous to the world if he used it a bit longer?
Boulton gave him a knowing look. Donovan sighed.
"Yeah, there's countless risks this time. I can't make any decision without thinking it over very carefully. We have to make sure some events proceed as normal and fix others. We can't ignore everything, but we can't fix everything either. And only we can determine what's what.", Donovan continued.
Boulton nodded, then his ears perked up and he turned towards someone in front of Donovan. Donovan nearly jumped in surprise. It appeared he hadn't been paying attention and nearly walked into this man!
It was very obvious upon immediate inspection who it was. No one wore armor like Victor did. The young man stared at him coldly from under his helmet as Donovan stared up at him.
He had forgotten how short he'd been before his growth spurt. Standing before the mountain that was Victor gave him a harsh reminder.
However, he wasn't intimidated in the slightest. He'd faced down far worse than Victor.
"Good evening.", he greeted, "I'm pretty sure we're roommates. Are you on your way to dinner?"
Victor frowned. "Yes. What's your name, kid?"
"Donovan.", Donovan answered.
"Mm.", Victor said simply, "I guess we are roommates then. I saw your name on the roster. My name is Victor. And behind me…" He cast a look back with disgust. "Are the other two, Dravilius and Jeremy."
Dravilius made a deep bow. "Pleased to meet you, mighty whelp! I am looking forward to our continued correspondence."
Next to him, Jeremy peeked out. The young man wasn't much older than Donovan's current biological age, with bright blue eyes and a bald head hidden under a black baseball cap. He wore a simple orange shirt and blue shorts, as well as some new-looking black-and-blue sneakers. "Hello!", the boy greeted, "Nice to meet you! Although I'm not nearly as fancy saying that as this guy."
Donovan smiled softly. "Good to meet you.", he greeted warmly, doing much better at concealing how he already knew everyone here.
Then his eyes settled on a Pokemon peeking out from Jeremy's backpack, and his warmth was sapped away in an instant.
No.
No no no.
How could he have forgotten!?
Sitting in Jeremy's backpack was a Shuckle.
The subject of many of Donovan's nightmares.
This Shuckle looked perfectly normal at a glance. But its shell was darker than most, the color of blood, and a strange red and green tinge lurked within its cold eyes, which carried far far more cunning than any other of its kind. The air around it carried an aura of wrongness…as if it didn't even belong to this world at all.
Not that anyone else seemed to pick up on it. Jeremy carried it in his pack without any fear at all. He knew not what type of Pokemon he had inadvertently caught.
The Shuckle looked up at Donovan, seemingly picking up on his scrutinizing gaze. Its silent eyes stared deep into Donovan's, and he couldn't resist a shiver. The alien gaze was deeply unnerving, especially since he knew what lurked behind it.
"Oh, hey there Shelly! I thought you were asleep!", Jeremy laughed, "Interested in the new guy? He's our fourth roommate!"
Shelly did not make any visible reply. He just sat there, staring silently as always. It left Donovan uneasy. It was very clear Shelly seemed to recognize something was off about him, much like he recognized there was something off about the Pokemon.
Donovan did not like the potential meaning of this.
"Anyways, we were heading to dinner. Wanna come with?", Jeremy continued, "I bet we'll be able to talk with some of the other students too!"
Donovan shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not."
"Excellent!", declared Dravilius, "Another companion joins us on our journey to the feast. I am sure we will embark on many glorious escapades and become as close as brothers!"
Victor rolled his eyes. "Dude, we're just walking to the dining hall."
"Anything could happen on our path there.", Dravilius replied calmly, "I would expect you to be ready for anything after your stellar performance in the game earlier."
Victor glared at him. "Game? You could've killed both me and the kid!"
Dravilius replied, "Once again I will remind you that no one was ever truly at risk. I would've called back my Pokemon at the first hint you were not capable of completing the challenge. But look, see, you were both perfectly fine! Your argument has no ground to stand on. No one can do anything with possibilities. After all, those possibilities never showed themselves, did they?"
Victor looked aggravated. "Just because they didn't happen doesn't mean they couldn't have."
"But that's my point.", Dravilius countered, "They didn't happen. There is no point in arguing about things that didn't happen. I'll just make sure to make my games tamer in the future. I doubt many are at your challenge level anyway."
Victor looked ready to argue further, then looked at Jeremy and Donovan staring at the two and decided against it. "Come on.", he grumbled, "Let's get moving."
As they walked along, Donovan held Boulton close. The Tepig made himself comfortable and started to zone out, and Donovan guessed his partner was reliving his days when he had always been small and holdable. He hoped Boulton was happy like this.
It would make at least one of them.
The dining hall quickly came into view up ahead. It was a large yet simple brick building, with hidden reinforcements for protection. It wasn't too rare for some wild Pokemon from the reserve to smell the food and try to nab it, so it needed plenty of protection to prevent damage. It was also strategically placed outside the main campus, so no rampaging Pokemon would damage the school grounds in its quest for food.
Unfortunately it was also a bit of a walk, something many on-campus cafes had taken advantage of.
The cafeteria, like the rest of the campus, had a Pokemon name. This one was known as the Snorlax Buffet, and two statues of the titular Pokemon stood outside the entrance, one holding a fork, the other a knife, and both were wearing a bib and had a big grin on their face. They had taken remarkably little damage during their long vigil, and Donovan suspected there was a secret about them few were privy to. But he didn't remember if that had ever been proven.
He had his suspicions though, and looked at the ground warily. He made a mental reminder to start looking for the tunnels. Better not let what was down there get discovered again. That would fix a lot of issues right away.
Unfortunately he couldn't remember how many there were or where they were. But he wasn't an investigator for nothing.
Donovan looked up again as they approached the doors of the dining hall, his stomach rumbling in anticipation. Boulton seemed excited - the Tepig had always liked food, especially when he was as young as this. The others looked pretty happy to get some food too.
Inside the Snorlax Buffet, it was quite crowded. Students and their Pokemon were everywhere, eating food and chatting. There seemed to be all kinds of people and Pokemon here - from all corners of the world. No one was quite alike.
Donovan's group found an empty table near the back, and got settled in. Dravilius lounged back in his seat, sending out his Flapple and ordering her to fetch some food. She immediately zipped off, flying over the heads of all the other patrons.
Meanwhile, Boulton started sniffing around, and jumped out of Donovan's arms. Donovan smiled as his partner immediately took off, hot on the trail of the best food in the buffet.
Victor simply sent out his Raboot, and asked her to hold his spot. As the armored man walked off, she leaned back and made sure to cover as much space as possible, shooting angry looks at everyone who got too close.
Donovan remembered her. She was one of Victor's two closest Pokemon, a bit closer than most trainers and Pokemon would get, and was very fierce and snappish. It didn't help that somehow, she had learned human speech. And she wasn't afraid to use it either.
However, she currently seemed mostly docile. Which was quite the relief.
Meanwhile, Jeremy took off his backpack and walked off to get some food of his own. After he left, the bag rustled, and several tentacles reached out, pulling Shelly onto the table. The Shuckle carefully analyzed his surroundings, completely unblinkingly. He did not otherwise move.
Ylva seemed to notice the rival Pokemon, and gave him a stern look. Shelly seemed almost amused by it. If that emotionless face could show that. For all Donovan knew he was deathly terrified by the rabbit or in love with her. There was literally no way to read this thing.
The others came back soon enough. Dravilius's Flapple whirled in for a landing, delivering a healthy mix of foods for her Trainer. However, he immediately went for the meat, seemingly ignoring the rest of the platter. The dragon sighed as she started eating some berries she had nabbed for herself.
Meanwhile Boulton arrived pushing a convenient wagon loaded with berries, plenty for him and his Trainer. Donovan smiled as he grabbed one, although he wouldn't have minded some more human-type food. But after surviving in the wasteland of the future for many years, he supposed he couldn't complain.
Jeremy had simply gotten pizza, which he happily started sharing with Shelly. The Shuckle ate slowly and precisely, savoring each bite it could take. As it ate, Shelly stared coldly at Donovan, as if attempting to intimidate him.
Donovan did not want to admit it, but it was working.
Victor showed up last, carrying a heaping platter of meat and bread and assorted vegetables, primarily cabbage and carrots. He immediately started digging in, Ylva eagerly joining the feast. Big man needed big fuel, Donovan supposed. And Ylva wasn't a small Raboot by any means either.
As they ate, Jeremy asked, "So what do you guys all think about this place so far? I think it looks pretty cool! I can't wait to meet the awesome teachers and learn all the fun stuff!"
Donovan chuckled mentally. The boy was in for a rude awakening. He shouldn't have joined the Ranger Course for those things.
Oh Arceus he was gonna have to do the Ranger Course again wasn't he. That would be fun. Sarcastically.
At least he'd be prepared for it this time.
Dravilius said, "I too find this place quite satisfying! There are so many more people here than I am used to, and they are all so very different and fascinating! It's almost as if we are different species! But of course that's not true. I am as human as the rest of you whether I like it or not."
Jeremy chuckled. "I suppose I can relate to the fact there are lots more people here than I'm used to. My family lived far away from others. I uh…dunno about that other stuff though."
Victor sighed. "The buildings are nice, I'll give this place that. But the people…something tells me they're a little lax about who they let come here." He gave Dravilius a pointed look as he said so. "Seems odd for such a 'prestigious university'. You think they'd try to send all the, ahem, unusual ones to Mesagoza instead. Eh, I don't really care. Just as long as the tuition is as advertised. Wouldn't want to have wasted those Pokecoins, heh heh."
Donovan noticed however his fist was clenched, and the laugh was a bit colder than normal. Victor was very very terrifying if he got mad.
Oh well, at least if Donovan remembered correctly he'd enjoy tomorrow's Ranger lessons. Even though virtually no one else would.
"What about you, Donovan?", Jeremy asked, catching him by surprise. "What do you think of the university so far?"
Shelly looked up into his eyes, staring at him with an intense curiosity. Like a Meowth staring at a Rattata, which was not at all how you wanted something as terrifying and scary as Shelly to look at you.
"I believe," Donovan said coolly, "That this will be a very interesting four years. Probably unlike anything we all would ever expect."
Victor scoffed. "Yeah, right. It's just a fancy school for higher learning. What could be interesting and unexpected about that?"
'Believe me.', Donovan thought, 'You'll find out.'
Jeremy shrugged. "I dunno, but I'm excited! We'll be able to do all kinds of cool stuff once we're out of here! Saving Pokemon, stopping disasters, roaming the wilderness…it'll be fun!"
Victor chuckled. "Well, at least this kid's enthusiastic in a good way. Dunno if that'll change or not."
Dravilius beamed. "I believe I am quite enthusiastic myself! I do wonder how one can be enthusiastic in a bad way, though."
Victor gave him a pointed look. Dravilius, however, did not take the hint.
Donovan couldn't help but smile to himself. He had almost forgotten how enjoyable the dynamic of his roommates was. It was almost enough to get his mind off what was coming.
But then his eyes glanced at Shelly, and the dark memories came back. He had to stop it from happening again. For the sake of his friends here…
And the entire world. (-o-)
Asher wasn't sure what they were expecting when they got back to their room. It certainly wasn't a bunch of flowerpots, though.
They were all gathered around the door, propping it open, while Asher heard lots of moving objects and talking from inside the room. The flowerpots were accompanied by assorted gardening supplies, and Asher guessed that their new roommate had a green thumb of some kind. That was certainly exciting! Perhaps they could help Asher catch up on their botany research. Asher knew they'd been falling behind on that, but studying the nature of inanimate object Pokemon had been far too fascinating.
Carefully Asher navigated past the assorted items and into the room, where they met their other three roommates at last.
The culprit behind the gardening supplies was instantly recognizable, for she was currently trying to organize some pots on the window in a way that could leave room for them all to grow while also still cramming as many there as she could.
She was about average height, with long brown hair styled into a side ponytail with pink highlights through it. She wore an open chef's coat over a pink shirt, which appeared to feature an absolutely adorable Shiny Eevee, as well as denim shorts, black leggings, and black boots. There was a bright pink Poketch on her left wrist, something Asher hadn't seen in a while ever since Rotom phones burst in popularity. As Asher finished entering the room, the girl turned to look at her, showing off her ruby Charizard head pendant and light green eyes.
"Oh, hello! Sorry for the mess, just trying to get my garden set up, heheh.", she greeted. "My name's Kagome. What about you?"
"Asher Atlas Aspen, at your service!", Asher cheerfully greeted, "Though you can just call me Triple A. Need help getting all these in?"
Kagome smiled. "Oh, I'd love that! Thank you!"
Asher happily started grabbing some of the ones by their feet, only to hear another girl grumble, "Oh great. Now there are two of them."
She was sitting on one of the beds, a massive green purse sitting next to her. She had deep, mysterious mossy green eyes staring out from behind large glasses, her face shrouded by her thick curly red hair although Asher could make out a spattering of freckles. She currently wore a rumpled green shirt and cargo pants, with a tan vest over it all. The pockets seemed to have a random assortment of items inside them.
Asher waved at her. "Hello! Why don't you help too? Also what's your name? You seem interesting!"
The girl sighed and stood up. "Name's Winona. I suppose if I help I can get more of these out of the way…this room is turning into a mess with all this garden stuff everywhere."
Asher beamed. "Sweet! Many hands make light work!"
Winona rolled her eyes as she walked over, grabbing a flowerpot and carrying it over to an out-of-the-way corner of the room, near where Asher guessed Kagome was going to be sleeping. Asher noted that they would most likely be taking the top bunk of that bed, because the other bed in the room had Winona's bags and the bags of someone else. This someone else was lying on the top bunk of that bed, seemingly trying to ignore all the stuff getting moved around.
In true Asher fashion, they warmly greeted them.
"Hey there! I'm Asher, as you most likely already heard! What about you?"
The girl sighed and sat up, revealing herself to be a rather pretty young lady. She had long blond hair currently tied into a ponytail, bright blue eyes, and a very smooth perfect face that would be the envy of most other girls. She was currently dressed in a simple white shirt and black skirt, with a battered red sweater thrown over it and a worn pair of flats.
"I'm Nancy.", she grumbled, "And before you ask, I don't plan on going anywhere near all that soil! I only just got here, gotta make sure I look nice for good first impressions!"
Winona muttered, "Well you might look nice but that attitude isn't gonna win you any good impressions."
Nancy glared at her. "I had a lot of trouble getting here, Winona! Of course I don't have the best attitude! You just aren't helping!"
"But I AM helping.", Winona replied, holding up a flowerpot, "I don't see you doing that."
Nancy countered, "You weren't helping either until that new girl asked you directly!"
She then gave Asher an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. This girl is just doing her best to get on my nerves. I would happily help if there wasn't so much…dirt. And if I wasn't so tired."
Winona grumbled something unpleasant.
Asher cheerfully replied, "That's fine! It seems we're mostly done anyways!"
Kagome nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I have a lot of garden supplies but not THAT many. Thanks you two for helping!"
The last couple of flowerpots were moved in, and the door could finally close. As Kagome made sure to space the pots in a way that they could all get sunlight from the window, Asher asked, "So what do you plan on doing with all of these?"
Kagome beamed. "I'm trying to study the use of Pokemon in agricultural applications! I'm gonna be growing lots of berries and other plants with these, experimenting with different Pokemon, climates, and materials to see what works best in which situations! I'll also be cooking a lot with these ingredients, since I highly doubt the food at these restaurants can compare to true homecooked recipes! I'm sure you all are gonna love it!"
Asher beamed back. "Oh wow, that's so fascinating! I haven't studied those fields much myself, I'd love to learn all about your research! Maybe I could even help with some of your experiments! I am very good at tracking data, and I'm sure Arlen would happily help you with growing some of the produce!"
Kagome looked thrilled. "Ooh, you're really that interested? That's amazing! I have all my notes right here in my bag, just gotta find them…"
She started rustling through her stuff, and Asher waited patiently yet full of excitement. This was going to be a most amazing addition to her vast collection of knowledge!
Unfortunately it seemed the other two girls weren't nearly as interested. Nancy had flopped back onto her bunk, while Winona had sat back down and was intently sketching something in a notebook. Asher hoped that they could get to know each other better soon. They were certain they could all be good friends if they tried!
Unfortunately it didn't look like any of them were interested in trying right now. But that was okay! Asher was certain they'd come around eventually.
Right? (-o-)
While most of the students were enjoying hanging out and getting to know each other, there was one girl who wasn't. Instead, she sat alone on a rock near the pier, legs crossed as she stared out at the sparkling moonlit sea.
She was rather short, only about 5 feet tall, and was dressed in a way meant to be unassuming. She wore a bulky punk sweater over a black skirt loose at the fringes, with short white hair styled into a bob and bright red eyes. Her skin was unnaturally pale, and it seemed like she had hardly seen the sun.
This girl's name was Jennifer, and she hadn't ever been comfortable around people. So the first chance she had gotten, she had headed away from the crowds and was now sitting here, admiring how different the sea looked at night and thinking about her new life.
She knew that the next few weeks were gonna be rough as she acclimated to all the strong and constant emotions. There were so many moody teenagers here it would be impossible not to. She hoped, however, that once those first hard weeks passed she could branch out and perhaps finally make new friends.
It was very hard to be as emotional a person as herself and not have anyone to share it with.
She supposed she had one friend, though. The friend who had offered to get her a spot here, a very mysterious woman who had helped her in her lowest moments. However, Jennifer wasn't exactly sure if they could be considered friends. They weren't very close at all and had rarely interacted face to face. She wasn't even sure what they did for a living, other than the fact that they had to travel a lot and were astonishingly rich.
Still, she wasn't going to turn down her first real opportunity to have her own life in years.
As she sat there, she ran her graceful fingers over her Pokeballs. She had brought all her team here, and wondered how well they'd acclimate. Probably better than she would, although they had all become outcasts in their own ways. It felt quite strange to have so many rejects band together like this.
Then again, they all had the same goal. To prove themselves despite what the world threw at them. To become more than the nothing everyone treated them as.
Too bad it felt so real all the time.
Jennifer noticed her Ralts sitting in the sand next to her rock. Mary wasn't really a part of the team, much as she had expressed she didn't mind battling, because she was so close to Jennifer and meant so much to her. Jennifer would do anything to keep her safe, including using her in battles as little as possible. Many nights Mary had helped comfort her, remind her why she was still here.
"Beautiful sight, isn't it?"
Jennifer shrieked and leaped away, startling her Ralts as a young man seemingly appeared from the shadows, his eyes focused on the sea and not even seeming to recognize how scared he had made Jennifer.
He was rather tall and thin, and just as pale as Jennifer was. His black hair reached down to his shoulders in messy spikes, as if he had been too lazy to finish styling it and had only done a half job. His eyes were empty, filled only with dark blue, and he seemed unfocused, hollow. He wore a long black coat over black pants and battered shoes, with a Crobat pin on his chest and some decorative chains hanging loosely from his pants and coat. An antique bronze watch glittered on his wrist, half hidden by the sleeve of his coat.
"Do you, too, hear the beckoning song of the sea?", the strange man asked curiously, his eyes not leaving the horizon.
Jennifer tried to calm her breathing, but she felt uneasy and wary with him so close. How long had he been there? Why was he here? And why couldn't she sense ANYTHING off him?
Mary stood close to her leg, giving her a reassuring look. Jennifer pressed a hand to her chest and took a deep breath.
"Wh-who are you?", she asked warily.
The young man nodded softly. "Ah, right. My name is Vladimir. I am a new student as well. It seems we both wanted to evade the crowds. The sun doesn't vibe well with me anyway."
He continued standing there, and Jennifer decided to just sit down on the sand where she was. She was getting a very strange aura from him and didn't want to be close. It was almost like he was a ghost, although those never took the form of a human as far as she knew.
If he noticed her discomfort, he didn't say or do anything. He simply walked closer to the water and stared up at the moon, his empty eyes glittering with the silver light.
"I was always drawn to the water.", he murmured, "What secrets could lay beneath it. What the lives of its denizens were like. How strange and different it was from the surface. It could be quiet and calm, a peaceful serenity. It could just as quickly turn violent and turbulent, a raging storm drowning those who fought it. Such duality…it drew me into its embrace. And here I am."
His lips twitched into a memory of a smile. "I am here to learn to be a researcher, to dig up the secrets from the depths. To completely dissect and understand what has enthralled me for so long. Perhaps then I can finally rest in peace."
Then for the first time he looked towards Jennifer, and asked, "But what brings you here? What drove you across the land and over the seas to a place like this? After all, surely everyone has their own long and treacherous story that took them here."
Jennifer was a bit taken aback by the sudden blunt and personal question. "Well, uh, umm…."
She realized with a shock that she didn't actually know the answer. Or at least have a satisfying one. What *had* brought her here? What had drove her to come all this way, into a stressful and unknown environment that she'd be in for years?
Vladimir was staring at her expectantly and patiently. She felt very very nervous, looking around worriedly. Mary gave her an encouraging pat on the leg, the young Ralts looking up at her.
"Well, I suppose it's because I wanted to live a new life.", Jennifer responded, a little more confident, "To get away from my past, and allow my ideas to see the world. So that I wouldn't be another forgotten trampled soul…I think?"
Vladimir nodded. "An excellent motivation. It bears almost a striking resemblance to my own. Perhaps we could even become acquaintances. I imagine there is much we could tell each other."
He gave a soft sigh. "Of course, you don't have to make a choice now. We did only encounter one another five minutes ago. But something about you intrigues me. I would greatly appreciate it if we could speak to one another again."
Jennifer looked at Mary curiously. The Ralts nodded.
"I suppose I wouldn't be against it.", Jennifer answered.
Vladimir nodded. "Wonderful. I look forward to our next meeting."
Then he turned and walked away, vanishing over the dunes of the beach.
Jennifer wondered just who he was, and why he felt and talked so strange. He was unlike any other man she had run into before. Which was perhaps a good thing, she realized. Most men she had met were horrible people.
Since this one felt different…perhaps this time things could turn out different as well. Perhaps they actually could become friends.
She just knew that no matter what, she could not let him know what she was. For that knowledge seemed to turn everyone and anyone into her enemy. And she did not want to have to run away again when this was her first and potentially only chance to actually live a life worth living.
She supposed only time would tell how everything would go down. (-o-)