Chapter 136:
Eyes Wide Open
I woke up feeling a searing pain crashing through my body that I could only describe as my nerves being tossed into an ice bath. White cold throbbing pain washed over me and it felt like two jagged icicles had been driven through my eye sockets and straight into my brain.
"My eyes!" I jumped up in a frenzied panic, my entire body awoke with an electric jolt.
The sensation slowly faded away, yet my heart was pumping like it wanted to jump out.
"Fuck." I gasped for air and clutched my face. I felt my soft fingertips brush over my smooth, unblemished skin. There were no flashburns or horrid scars.
I tentatively moved my hands up my face until they passed over my eyes and I couldn't see anything for a brief moment. I released a sigh of relief as the white spots that danced in my vision began to fade away.
"Well shit…" I sighed as the memories of that horrible sensation also began to dissolve. Fuck you Arceus. FUCK YOU!
My breathing calmed down at last and I moved my hands down, allowing myself to see around.
"Is it Darkrai?!" A sharp voice lashed out.
I was finally able to see, and being able to see allowed me to detect that I was in my bedroom, or well the Pokémon Center's guestroom, but it felt like mine and it was a private area.
The second thing I noticed was that I was naked and standing on my bed.
The third, embarrassing thing, was that I could see Hylla sitting in the corner of the room, looking at me.
I met Hylla's gaze straight on. Although I felt really disorientated, I did know I couldn't show a single sign of weakness. "What? Jealous?" I asked without faltering.
Fuck, that doesn't even make sense. I cursed myself, dropped down onto the blanket and swiftly covered myself with it. Still, trying to act relaxed, I gave her a neutral look. "Okay, yeah. That was awkward. Hilarious, but we're both mature enough to drop it."
Hylla, like she was some kind of goblin, had apparently made her camp in the corner of the room. I wasn't sure when exactly she had arrived, but she already had a laptop set up and plugged into the wall, a sleeping mat lay on the floor and junk food wrappers littered her dirty hobo corner.
Hylla for her part also didn't blush or anything. Instead she just raised an eyebrow. "Okay, yes, let us pretend that didn't happen."
"Thanks." I relaxed a little.
The corner of Hylla's mouth curled up. "Though, there's nothing wrong with jealousy."
I refused to reply to that. Instead I focused on my rightful anger. "Good morning. What are you doing in my room?" The last thing I knew was hitting the floor after Darkrai's warning. How did she get here?
Hylla was dressed very modestly, wearing nothing but a gray sweater and joggers, her purple hair had been tied into a bun and as always Hylla looked like she was high on caffeine.
Light slipped through the blinders on the windows, I looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It read 12:04, I had slept in a lot.
"Afternoon to you Dust, are you alright?" Hylla gave me a skeptical look, though she didn't make a move to get up from her hobo corner. "Did your Darkrai plague you with nightmares?" She narrowed her eyes.
Oh, the familiar feeling of loaded questions. It's been a while since I had had to deal with them and honestly, it felt nice.
"Not my Darkrai," I answered, which was technically true. Luna wouldn't tell Hylla shit without sticking to a script and Darkrai was very much an introvert, so he also wouldn't introduce himself. Or at least, that's what I had hoped would have happened. I couldn't be sure but I had to think fast and make some guesses.
Darkrai wasn't someone who'd show himself without a very good reason, so I could at least work with that. "I don't know where he is, but in case you're wondering. He's not hostile, or at least, not anymore. I just had an awful dream," I tried to look traumatized, which wasn't hard. It was a dream I didn't particularly enjoy. Never before had I experienced such pain in a dream, was this how Darkrai felt when I detonated the dream nuke?
I scratched my head. "It's been a rough few days."
Concern coloured Hylla's face. "Well, did you go to the therapist? As I suggested many, many times?"
"Of course not." I huffed. "I am mentally stable as can be. The others though, they have a problem."
Hylla looked at me, I couldn't read her expression.
"Fine, I'll make a visit!" I conceded. "I know someone and I could combine it with something else I wanted to do."
Hylla nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks, you know, I sometimes do really worry about you."
"Is that why you're in my room?" I looked at the sheets that covered my legs and lower body. "I'm naked, I take it that you helped me with that as well?"
Hylla gave me a bright cheery smile. "I came over last night, as I said I would, and found you passed out on the floor, lying in your own vomit. Your Pokémon didn't know what to do, so I helped out instead. Cleaned you and put you in bed."
I couldn't help but groan in embarrassment. Fuck Fate, yeah, why wouldn't you pick the worst moment to whisk me away to a dream.
"You know I'm a doctor right?" Hylla gave me a tired look. "Seeing naked bodies isn't something I'm averse to."
"You had to have cheated the exam somehow!" I retorted.
Hylla grinned.
"Talking about exams, where are my Pokémon?" Why would they leave me alone with you?!
"They're downstairs, eating lunch."
{I am monitoring you, if you panic, I'll teleport in.} I heard Luna's voice in my head. She was trying to reassure me that everything was fine. I kept my expression neutral. Why'd you leave me alone with her?!
{Hylla has a platinum card. There's cake.}
So she bribed them, how sinister. On the plus side, I could talk to Hylla without worrying about the others.
Hylla got up from her spot on the floor. I got a peek at her laptop, she was running some kind of program that seemed similar to DiScavenger. Before I could get a better look Hylla threw me some clothes.
"Here." She politely looked away as I, uncomfortably, tried to get dressed. While I was doing that, I tried to figure out my best angle here.
I owed Hylla some answers, considering I used her name while investigating the eyeless corpse on the second day of the festival. Also, the dream with Arceus, Aurum? It still bothered me. I hadn't been able to ask all the questions I wanted, and the single most important question I did ask, she herself couldn't answer.
Why was I in this world? Fuck knows, even God doesn't. Though I couldn't shake the feeling I was missing a small detail of our conversation, something important but it continued to escape my grasp.
I decided to let it go for now and focus on the matter at hand. Darkrai could be tracked down later, I had to give Hylla some of the answers she deserved, and answers that wouldn't put a big target on me. I couldn't have people think that I knew this was going to happen.
"Yes, that's better." I sat down on the side of my bed.
Hylla walked over to the desk and dragged the chair out from under it and sat down on it backwards, facing me. "So, what exactly happened in Alamos?" She turned serious and the laugh disappeared. "Nobody so far has been able to provide an answer. But I have the feeling you happen to get yourself all tangled up in this, am I correct?"
I nodded. "By chance," I lied. "I decided to hang out with Flamera. She seemed cool and skilled and I thought she would be a good friend. However, Flamera planned to let Alamos Town fall into ruins."
"Why?" Hylla touched her lip. "She hadn't shown any signs of being unstable or plotting anything."
"She was crazy," I said. "Batshit insane. Her motive was to recreate the circumstances of the Sinnoh Knight's legend and create a new one."
"The Sinnoh Knight? She thought she could-"
"Yes, that's why she summoned Dialga and Palkia. She somehow got her hands on one of the eggs."
"Eggs?"
I quickly explained the hidden bunker I found underneath that restaurant and then told her about the Shine in Jubilife city, which had been caused by a special egg.
There was no way to be sure since everyone involved with the plot died, but the Shine and the beacon of light I had seen before the sky broke were eerily similar and both attracted legendaries.
There was no direct link to Galactic but it had to be the same thing. Maybe Galactic had perfected their formula and improved them, though I wasn't exactly sure what they were even supposed to do. Maybe the entire shining beacon thing was a side effect? Another possibility was that Flamera's egg had been a normal one, but that Alamos itself was a special location, and because of that the Shine lured the gods of space and time.
"Galactic," Hylla murmured. "That's not good."
"Yes, it has to be Galactic, though I don't know how they could benefit from Alamos going to shit."
"I may have an idea, okay. So how is it that Darkrai is wrapped up in all of this?"
That was actually really easy to answer. "He knew of Flamera's plot, to an extent. He tried to stop her but failed to get close to her, so instead he hunted down people close to her. The eyeless victim, and as you saw online, me."
"I see," Hylla nodded. "Okay, so that explains how Alamos town became… displaced." It sounded like she wanted to use a different word but decided against it last second. "I'm sure at this point the League would be happy with any explanation for what happened here. I'll check out the bunker later, now there's a few more things I want to know." Hylla scrutinized my expression. I could feel the big question coming up, the one I was most worried about. "What exactly happened that made the 2 legendary Pokémon go away? From what I heard, even Claire couldn't get close to them."
I almost considered telling her the truth. Tell her about how I can speak to Legendary Pokémon, how I was able to walk through frozen time and how I was marked by Arceus. It would be so nice to have someone who could help me unravel the riddle of my existence.
But I didn't trust her, or the League. In the best case, I would be bothered on my journey and constantly watched and in the worst case they'd try to experiment on me or hold me captive.
The dream I had replayed in my mind. Aurum's advice had been not to play the game but to break it.
I wasn't sure what that exactly meant, but shackling myself to the League wouldn't be part of that.
I had to tell a lie, a lie that explained away all my contributions as something a normal, not Isakeid, person could do.
I grinned. "Me. I saved Alamos town."
"Y-you?" Clearly Hylla wasn't expecting that answer.
I smiled. "Have you ever heard of Oración? It's a song I found out about in the library. There are local legends about it as well. Inside the Space-Time towers there are discs inscribed with notes that can be played by the music device."
I looked out of the window. Through the blinders I could see the clear Alamos skyline, lacking its two hallmark towers. Good luck fact checking that.
"So following the legends, my team and I ran to the tower the moment Palkia and Dialga showed up and we carried the disc all the way to the top level and played the song. It calmed the two down, they ate Flamera and disappeared."
"A song?" Did she really just skip over the part where they ate Flamera? Well, I wasn't going to complain.
I shrugged. "It wasn't like we had a lot of options and considering Lugia's song is real, I thought it was worth a shot." I briefly explained to her how Oración and the music instrument in the tower worked, then I told her about the legend that the original architect of the towers supposedly had visions. Hylla was rapidly scribbling down some notes on a napkin, apparently she forgot about her laptop.
Turns out, the Darkrai movie was useful after all, if only for being a good cover story. From the way Hylla was going through notes, I could confidently say she was swallowing the story up.
It was definitely not impossible for it to be true and had been a back up plan. Although, I wasn't sure whether music would have worked against Dialga and Palkia in the first place, but considering the entire place had been razed through the ground it wouldn't be my concern anymore.
"So now that you know I saved the town, what's the bounty?" I nonchalantly asked. "I heard it was a B level threat." B level my ass. It should've been an S level threat, but apparently the League either didn't care or they were trying to keep the public from panicking. It didn't matter, the money I'd earn would be a nice bonus but I was more interested in getting my name out there with more important people.
Uptil now I tried to keep myself in the shadows and fly under the radar. I lived my life like that and I would've kept on living it like that, if not for the ominous dream with Arceus.
Whatever Fate was up to, I needed to become stronger and find more powerful allies.
I don't like having my name out there, but at least this story would hide the more private parts of what had transpired.
Hylla folded over the napkin. "I'll personally have to submit your case to the League." She tapped the napkin. "They'll be more than happy with all this information, though, I'll have to get back to you on that." Hylla's eyes glinted with excitement. "I'll get you your bounty, don't worry. And considering my part in the investigation, I will also be paid out for my investigation into the Alamos Incident."
"My investigation," I complained.
"We make a great team," Hylla smiled innocently. "Well, that just leaves one more thing I wanted to know. The sword, where is it? You and Flamera have last seen it."
"I don't know," I answered. "Flamera hid it, expecting someone to find it and defeat Palkia and Dialga."
Hylla furrowed her brows. "Didn't you try looking for it?"
"While Palkia and Dialga were rampaging through Alamos? Heck no." I laughed. "Flamera hid the sword where she thought the real knight would find it. Could be anywhere now."
"I see," Hylla let out a drawn out sigh. "Well, the Eterna museum isn't going to like that."
I shrugged.
"Well, I think that's it." Hylla got up from the chair. "You need something from me? Otherwise, I'm going to look for that bunker you described and get on with my day. We can eat something tonight."
"Actually, I was hoping to leave Alamos before sunset." I cut her off.
"Oh?" Her smile faltered.
"I just kind of want to leave this place," I said. "Going up against Darkrai and all this other crazy shit, I realize I am still not nearly good enough to be a match."
I definitely had to get stronger. Luna couldn't take on Greninja and my entire team combined couldn't take on Flamera's Charizard. At some point my luck was going to run out.
"You get in a lot of trouble for someone with only 2 badges and three non-fully evolved Pokémon," Hylla agreed. "You should probably focus on getting some rest and continuing the Gym circuit."
"I plan to."
If Fate would allow such a thing, that is.
"Oh, one more thing," Hylla's tone shifted. "You should know something, it's classified."
"I love classified information."
Hylla moved back to her hobo corner and picked up her laptop. "Yesterday someone hacked into the Sinnoh Emergency network and broadcasted the start of the Alamos Incident."
That hadn't been planned?!
In case of an emergency, all devices connected to the network can be remotely accessed to be alerted of the threat. Oracle had been connected to it by default, but I cut her off from it because I actually cared about my privacy.
"Yes, someone wanted to broadcast to the world that Alamos had disappeared. Later, after Alamos returned and you saved the world, Galactic released a statement."
She placed the laptop on my lap and pressed play.
A short video began to play.
My eyes widened. Footage of the town being ripped apart by space and time was being played underneath Galactic's words. I didn't care much for the message, but the fact there were video recordings was unnerving. Cold sweat began to form in the back of my neck.
Could they have recorded me talking to Palkia and Dialga?
Dialga turning back time should have destroyed all footage that was made during his little adventure in Alamos. Digital tape, aura infused data or whatever the world of Pokémon had, nothing was supposed to survive the wheel of time being turned.
"Galactic released about 40 hours of video material online. A lot of it is corrupted but still, not something the world should have seen." Hylla continued to explain. If she'd noticed my minor panic attack she didn't say anything.
"That's…awful." I muttered.
"One curious thing I myself noticed," Although I was looking at the screen, I could feel Hylla's gaze on my back. "You're not in any of it."
"W-wwhat?" I turned around.
Hylla's mouth was a thin line, her voice dropped. "Remember how I told you that I suspected someone at the League above me was leaking information?"
"Yeah." It had been a while ago. It had been a big part in my decision not to trust the League. Corruption could sprout anywhere.
"Well, I believe there's someone who can access the League's systems at will. That's the only way to explain why some emails aren't getting through, or how Galactic is able to read our movements."
I paled.
Hylla glanced at the window. "Back when you were in my hospital, I put a marker on your personal data. In case Team Rocket would try to go after you, that and because I was sort of responsible for your well being back then."
"I wasn't aware of this."
"Yesterday, after the Alamos Incident was over, that marker broke." Hylla looked into my eyes. "Watch yourself Dust, because someone out there is also looking for you."
A/N Fastest I uploaded a chapter this year! With this new arc having a bit of a more relaxed tone, and close all other plot threads from the last arc.
I hope to keep uploading shorter but faster chapters like this.
I've also been doing a lot of omniscient reading myself from a reader's viewpoint. So if I don't write a lot, it's because of that.
But also because of that, I also learned how annoying slow updates are. Like, I have to wait a full week for progression of the plot. That there, I tell you, is the real curse.
Anyway, thanks a lot to Rat the Muffin King for helping me with betaing the fanfic.
Also, on my profile page you can find a different fanfic dedicated to Omake's of this fanfic. Last week a friend of mine wrote a short one, and Muffin the Rat also wrote one special chapter for Halloween. Check it out if you have lungs, time on your hand and want more of this fanfic.
Delta, you still stink.
See you guys soon with another chapter of insane world.
-CaptainMoonShine-
