Pokemon Virus Version Chapter 169: Time Before Time: Part 11
-Present Day Prologue-
"You know, I've been holding back my powers too." 15 remarked.
"What do you mean?" Yukiko asked.
"You haven't noticed it?" 15 questioned, "I've yet to use my virus power. As you've witness, I'm able to manipulate concentrations of darkness like Seth. However, I've never shown you what unique powers I possess."
15 was right. He did not use his virus power during their last fight either. When Seth and Froslass were dragged to the Realm Between Life and Death…that was all Dusknoir's powers as a Reaper.
The dark aura surrounding 15 began turning white. This white light quickly spread throughout the entire top floor of Circle N.
"What's going on?" Fear/Seth kept his guard up but was perplexed. The white aura surrounded everything…to the point where nothing was visible in Circle N. Not the equipment. Not the floor. Not the giant window. Not the view of the ruined city of Prypiat below. All that was visible to Fear/Seth was 15 himself.
"The power I possess will lock you within the confines of what Prypiat was 30 years ago. You and everyone you know will live in Prypiat. You will love. You will lose. You will lose what you love. It is up to you to build upon these connections to save Prypiat from the nuclear disaster that will occur. Do you have what it takes to save this town in 7 days?"
"!" The white light became blinding to the point where Fear/Seth and Yukiko had to cover their eyes.
'I hope you will learn to love Rose through this too…'15 didn't say this out loud. If Seth were to fight his way out of the Prypiat Disaster and defeat 15, this would be 15's parting gift to Rose…
What lied ahead for Seth? Only time would tell. Though time is something Seth will come to wish he had more of. Will Seth be able to overcome Prypiat's impending doom and defeat Commander 15?
-End Present Day Prologue-
4 Days Left.
Location: Shinku Secondary School
"Dustin." Mura called.
"Here." One classroom student raised their hand.
"Noah." Mura called.
"Present." Another classroom student raised their hand.
"Yumi." Mura called.
…
…
…
There was no answer.
Mura once again called Yumi's name."Yumi?"
Momentary silence ensues before Mura proceeds to the next student on the list.
"Haru." Mura called.
The mere mention of the class clown's name elicited whispering laughter from several classmates.
"Haru?"
The laughter continued.
"Haru." Mura sighed, "Both Yumi and Haru are absent."
The teacher, Mr. Mito, started to overhear gossip in the classroom.
"Yumi and Haru were called to the Principal's office yesterday, but we haven't seen them since." One student said.
"Did something happen to them?" Another student asked.
"I hope they're okay..."
Mr. Mito could only sigh in silence. He had spent yesterday evening waiting for his daughters Summer and Winter so they could go home. But they never came. Mr. Mito worried, and it wasn't until he received a call from the Police that he discovered what happened to them. Summer and Winter tried to save Yumi and Haru and ended up getting hurt as a result. All four students remained at home today. The twins would be okay, but there was an even more bitter question on Mito's mind: Was his son Willow really a terrorist? Mito could only hope the Nuclear Facility's speculation was just baseless accusations.
WherewasWillow anyway? He didn't come to the house often anymore...
…
Ms. Beatrice was taking role call in her class.
"Summer." Ms. Beatrice called.
There was no answer.
"Winter."
Once again, there was no answer.
"Seth."
Still no answer.
"Saki."
Nothing.
The four absent students abruptly excused themselves from class yesterday, but never came back. It was Mito who spoke with Ms. Beatrice this morning to let her know her students may not be in class today. When Mito explained what happened, Ms. Beatrice understood. With all four students absent, she sighed and began her lesson with the rest of the class.
…..
Location: Ginza District – Summer and Winter's House
It was another busy Ginza morning for Anju working in her restaurant. Today her daughters Summer and Winter were resting at home.
The twins were supposed to be in bed, but they weren't. They were in their room talking about their brother Willow. Was he really behind the failed terrorist plot at the Nuclear Facility? Why would he do such a thing?
They were dancing around the question all morning before Winter finally asked, "What do we do if we see Willow again? Do we turn him in for questioning?"
Summer became stressed, "After all he's done for us? Willow is like a second Dad to us. I love him..."
"I love him too..." Winter whispered, "But we'll get in trouble if we don't turn him in..."
"I know..." A cold, silent tear rolled down Summer's face. "No matter how much we love him, we need to do the right thing. Every life in Prypiat is depending on us..."
…..
Location: Yumi's House
Following last night's ordeal, Haru refused to leave Yumi's side.
'I've been a class clown all my life. I always flirt with girls and proclaim myself alady'sman. I joke about professing my love for Yumi, but last night...'Haru gave Yumi a cup of water as she remained in bed. 'Last night may have been the first time I've truly fallen in love with Yumi. With ANY girl. There has to be a way to get Yumi to take my love seriously...'
They were at Yumi's house, which was up the street from Haru's home.
'I have 4 days to ask her to the Christmas dance...'
….
Location:…
Yesterday, Woshis was confronted by Saki and Seth, and the resulting scuffle ended with the schoolboys getting their memories wiped…Well, that statement was only half true. Seth…when his memories were on the brink of being altered by Malamar, something else happened – the opposite of what Woshis intended. Not only did Seth retain his memories of the events of yesterday, not only did he retain his memories of his life in Prypiat…but other memories were unlocked as well; Memories that were previously locked deep within the outer reaches of his mind.
"What is this?" Seth was dreaming and was unsure of what to make of what his mind was showing him.
Scattered fragments of memory all surrounded Seth, but he was unable to touch a single one.
Seth saw himself standing opposed to Bastion. He was accompanied by a Froslass he affectionately named Yukiko. This was the vision he had yesterday – the one where they stood atop Circle N.
Next, Seth saw himself waking from a long slumber. Waking up, he found himself in the middle of a marshland. He saw himself opposed to Haru and Saki, and he manipulated darkness to ensure they couldn't take Rose away.
Next, Seth saw himself at a place known as 1,000 Kitsune Temple. He saw Summer and Winter turning into Vulpix, getting ready for a great battle with a long green haired man named Willow.
"Willow…" Seth recognized him as the person in the student record given to Woshis.
Next, Seth saw himself next to Rose, Yumi, and some other girl he didn't recall knowing...She was a Pokemon Ranger.
"What are these visions?"
Were these dreams he had? They felt too real to be dreams. But how could that be? THIS was Seth's reality: living in Prypiat with his Mother Flora and Sister Rose, and going to school with Haru, Yumi, Summer, and Winter. No matter how many visions he has, Seth kept reminding himself that he was an ordinary boy living an ordinary life. He almost lost two of his best friends in Yumi and Haru yesterday. He didn't want to lose those that were close to him. Was that something he learned from his sister? Rose...that's right...Christmas is only 4 days away, and he still hasn't gotten her a present. What was he going to get her...?
Seth woke from his dream.
Location: Prypiat – Seth's House
Just as Seth thought - He was at home, just like every other day in his life. Living in Prypiat was his reality...
Seth woke up in his room. The white rays of the cloudy morning sun were shining on his room.
10:42 AM.
How did Seth get into his room? The last thing he remembered was Malamar hypnotizing him on Albuquerque Bridge. Does Mother Flora know what happened? Where is Saki? What became of Woshis and Malamar? So many questions...Seth's mind was still in a haze as he crawled out of bed. He made his way to the hallway.
Upon hearing the door open and close, Rose immediately went to the hallway to greet her dearly beloved Brother with a smile. "Brother!" The two shared a hug. "I was worried about you!"
"How did I get home?" Seth asked.
"Mother Flora brought you home." Rose answered. "She told me everything – about how you fought to save Yumi and Haru…"
"I guess that means Mother is aware that I'm not at school today," Seth said.
Rose gives Seth one more hug "You're the best big brother ever..."
Fragments from a dream start coming to Seth's mind. These fragments were of Rose. In those fragments, Rose loved Seth more than anyone else in the world. She wanted nothing more than to love happily ever after with her big brother...but the later fragments show Rose looking at Seth with fear, sadness, and loneliness.
What could've happened in those dreams to make Rose like that? It made Seth sad...He couldn't control whatever happened in that dream, but he could at least make it up to Rose here in Prypiat. It is here that Seth told Rose, "I want you to get ready for today, Rose."
"For what?" Rose asked.
"It's a surprise. An early Christmas present."
Rose's eyes lit up. In no time Rose put on her black dress, while Seth dressed in casual clothes for the first time in a while. Just a black jacket and blue pants.
When Seth entered the living room, he froze. Sitting in the living room was Bastion - His next-door neighbor.
Bastion caught this change in facial expression.'Is the boy becoming aware of who I really am? His change in facial expression upon seeing me is telling...'
Bastion greeted Seth, who remained frozen for a minute.
Fragments of Bastion start coming together in his mind. This was the guy Rose called Uncle. She was very fond of Bastion. But for some reason, he and Seth always opposed each other in this dream. Were they enemies?
Seth rejects this. Those fragments were only a dream. Bastion is his next-door neighbor. He was one of the nicest people in Seth's life.
"Good morning." Seth finally returned his greeting.
"What brings you here?" Rose asked.
"I've come to apologize for the behavior of my employee Woshis yesterday." Bastion answered. "As of today, Woshi has been terminated from the Nuclear Facility and no longer works there. Woshis has also been arrested for his crimes, ensuring that he will never threaten you or your friends again."
"Thank you." Seth thanked Bastion, while Rose gave him a grateful smile.
Bastion saw that Seth and Rose are getting ready to go somewhere, and promptly excused himself from the house. After a few minutes of getting ready, Seth and Rose left the house as well.
…..
It was another cloudy day in Prypiat.
"Hey." Seth looked to Rose, who caught a couple of snowflakes. "It's snowing..."
"Not really. These are only flurries." Rose corrected her Brother.
"The weather channel said it will snow on Christmas. I'm sure you'd enjoy that, Rose." Seth said as he grabbed Rose by the hand.
Hand in hand, the two walked around the neighborhood. Rose was overjoyed by the fact that her Brother was home today and that he was taking her out to spend time together. From the Residential District, past the military base, and across Albequerque Bridge, Seth and Rose had made their way to the Ginza. There were sites to behold in the Ginza. One such sight was a class of Primary School Age girls singing Christmas Carols. They stopped by each store in the Ginza, hoping to get donations.
"I can't wait to start school next year." Rose smiled.
"I'd be walking you to school everyday." Seth remarked.
"Yumi, Haru, Summer, and Winter would be walking with us!" Rose added.
The group of six were very close knit. Seth knew that everyone would welcome Rose with open arms when the time came for her to go to school.
The Ginza was filled with all sorts of amazing stores. Convenience stores were in abundance, as were hotels which got a lot of business from foreign military members coming to and from Prypiat. Eventually, the siblings came to a stop.
"Hey…" Rose immediately recognized the store they stopped in front of. "I remember this place. This is the home of Summer and Winter!"
As Seth opened the door, out came a long green haired man.
"…"
"…"
They both exchanged long stares. Neither smiled, and neither wavered.
Seth once again started envisioning fragments of lost memories. The lost memory was of a great battle which took place. Seth, Yumi, and Rose stood on one end, while the green haired man stood opposed. Summer and Winter were in the middle, as were their mother Anju. A giant two tailed Fox spirit...was fighting a Braixen with command over a seemingly infinite amount of fox spirits...What WAS this?
Seth wasn't sure whether this was real or not, but these visions brought about a single name in his head. As Seth came to, the green haired man began walking away.
"Brother, are you alright?" Rose asked.
Seth looked at the green haired man and whispered "Willow?".
After a moment, Seth snapped back to reality. He grabbed Rose's hand and together they entered the shop.
"Good morning." Seth greeted Anju.
"Good morning!" As did Rose.
"Good morning." Anju smiled.
"May we get a table for two?" Seth asked.
…..
Location: Nuclear Facility
Bastion and Flora were seated across from each other in a secure room. It was among the highest floors located in the Nuclear Facility's Circle N Tower.
"I expect progress to have been made in the search for the alleged terrorists." Bastion started.
"I assure you progress is adequate." Before Flora could go into detail, she had questions. "About Woshis…"
"Woshis won't see the light of day for a long time." Bastion answered.
Flora shook her head. "Why? Why put your trust in Woshis? The man was a sociopath with a warped view on how the world sees him. Were you aware of this?"
Bastion goes on to explain "Woshis was a man who was given nothing in life. He had to scratch and claw his way up every of the way. The man came to Prypiat as a teenager with nothing but the clothes on his back. On one fateful winter day, I found the boy and his Inkay performing petty theft for food. But what deceit. What cunning. What calculation. Woshis had planned every step of the heist like a master tactician winning a war with overwhelming strategy. I watched from afar as he continued scrounging for food for years on end, and as he developed his reputation as the Prypiat Bandit. The day he targeted me was the day I offered him a job at the Nuclear Facility. As you know, the Second World War many years ago had sent many of the town's men to fight. With a lack of manning, the Nuclear Facility was starting to hire boys over the age of 16. Woshis stepped on many people and caused the end of several careers. But he never stopped chasing his goal of reaching the top. He made many enemies, and workers in the Laboratory Division probably celebrated his arrest."
"You knew all of this yet and still sent him to gather information on the terrorist." Flora jumped to the conclusion that Bastion knew Woshis was the only one willing to go through such lengths to expose the terrorist. "You used Woshis as a scapegoat to catch the terrorist, and ultimately save Prypiat..."
"In the end, I guess he got what he wanted. If we track down Willow, Woshis will have saved the city." Bastion had no tact when offering this rebuttal.
It was here that Flora's emotionless mask began to crack, "My son was nearly killed by Woshis' hands...what would you have told me if Seth didn't live to see today? To the families of Yumi and Haru? And everyone else's lives he threatened." Flora's gaze was ice cold.
It pained Bastion to see Flora look at him like that. Flora looked so much like Rose. The only thing he could say was, "Nobody in this city understands. Perhaps this is the proper path Prypiat and its people are destined to follow. Maybe I'm just here to guide everyone to their correct places. The world is a complex place. Sometimes your destiny is determined by events that are out of your control." Bastion was aware of the false reality before him.
A long silence ensued before Flora begrudgingly slid Willow's record across the dining room table before telling Bastion, "If you involve my son in this antiterrorism mess again, I'll have no problem changing your destiny with my own two hands."
"Is that a threat?" Bastion raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, it is." Flora was blunt and to the point.
"If that's the case, protecting your family should provide you plenty of motivation to solve this case." Bastion then digressed, opening the file before him. "Willow. He is above average height, has green eyes, and sports long green hair." Bastion was concocting an accurate description of Willow based on the information provided in the record.
As information about Willow's family could be found, the eyes of Flora and Bastion both narrow. Summer and Winter...Flora knew Summer and Winter as close friends of Seth, but she hesitated to say this out loud.
This did not go unnoticed by Bastion. "You know those girls, don't you?" Bastion unearthed photos of the mother and father.
"The father, Mito, is a teacher at the school. And if memory serves right, the mother Anju runs that restaurant over in the Ginza. That restaurant is where Willow and his family live..." Flora knew the next words to come out of Bastion's mouth, but she asked anyway. "To the restaurant?"
Bastion gave Flora a nod. " We depart for the restaurant immediately."
…
Location: Summer & Winter's House
Anju approached Seth and Rose, who had just finished their breakfast. "Did you kids eat well?"
"The meal was delectable!" Rose gave Anju a curtsy in gratitude.
"Are Summer and Winter at school?" Seth asked.
"No." She answered. "Did anything happen yesterday?"
Anju wasn't smiling. She seemed concerned about something. Was it about the fiasco with Woshis last night? Seth couldn't tell. He had to imagine that Summer and Winter were brought home by either Anju or their Father last night. With Anju in the dark, it was presumed that Mito brought them home. Mito was probably at school teaching. But Willow...Seth wondered if it was the right thing to tell Anju about how Willow was being accused of terrorism. Ultimately...it wasn't in his place to tell Anju about Willow because there was no undeniable evidence to back up Woshis' claim.
Seth ultimately told Anju, "Summer and Winter saved my life. They saved Yumi and Haru as well."
"We haven't seen Yumi or Haru today." Rose noted.
Anju was relieved to hear about Summer and Winter's heroic deeds, but a hint of worried remained in her eyes.
It is here that the front door opened. Entering the restaurant was Flora and Bastion.
…
Location: Albuquerque Bridge
Willow stood alone at the center of Albequerque Bridge.
"The boy who crossed paths with me when I left the house…I recognized him. He was one of the people I was looking for…" Willow was talking about his brief encounter with Seth. "Confronting him would've been a bad idea due to witnesses. He came with a sister. Not to mention Mother Anji and the restaurant patrons could've opened the door at any time. To take matters into my own hands right then and there was too risky…However, the boy's partner in crime remains fair game."
Willow continued walking Albuquerque Bridge until he reached the end. At the end of the Bridge lied Prypiat's Central Residential District. This Residential District was rife with Apartment Complexes. Willow wandered the neighborhood until stopping in front of a single door. On the other side of this door, lied Seth's partner in crime: Saki.
To Be Continued…