Chapter 4: Isolation
Goldenleaf Town
~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~
A blast of cold air, the sound of wheels screeching to a halt. His hair fluttered loosely in the wind. Aelita's face hovered above him, her expression laced with concern and fear. A woman he didn't recognize prodded at the back of his head, sending lances of pain shooting through his skull. Venam's voice as she argued with someone. Screams. Shouts. Cursing.
Time alternatively crept and flew by as Will drifted in and out of consciousness. Seconds minutes hours days. It came to him like snapshots that he couldn't quite translate into an order that made sense.
Sunlight streaming through a window. A pink Pokémon laying its hands on his shoulders. Aelita, again, her expression hopeful, her eyes gleaming. Her lips moved and formed words, but he didn't get them, and he tried to tell her, but she didn't get his either.
The ceiling was purple when Will next blinked himself awake. His thoughts - disordered and disjointed - surged back into his mind and things began falling into place. He stared up, slowly coming to the realization that this was Venam's room.
…why was he in Venam's room?
He reached up and felt for the back of his head. They'd shaved a portion of his hair at the base of his skull, but the rest was still somewhat long enough to fall over the wound. Below that, he felt bandages taped across something soft.
Glad that fever dream's finally over…he thought. Carefully, he swung his legs out of Venam's bed. His body was dizzy and weak, but his mind clearer than it had been in days.
He got up from the bed, carefully testing if his legs could support his weight.
Since he didn't immediately fall on his face again, he guessed he was good to go. He'd spent several days recovering, he knew he had, but how long had it really been?
"Aelita?" He called out. His throat felt like he'd gargled with nails for nine hours straight. He hesitated a bit, then added, "Venam?"
Something fell on the ground floor, followed by rapid thumping as someone came running up the stairs. Within seconds. Venam came within sight. She nearly stumbled into her room, catching herself on the doorframe just in time. She stared at him with uncertain eyes. "Will? You're awake! Walking already? Man, I didn't know Pokémon could have such a strong effect on humans after all! How are you feeling? Can you even understand me? How many fingers am I holding up?"
She rattled all that off in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, Will had just processed the fact that this was, indeed, Venam's room. It took him a while to register what she said.
"Two," he replied, "Rude, by the way."
She grinned. "Fuck, you had us scared man! Do you have any idea how fucking terrifying it was, back then? You lying on the ground, blood coming out of your noggin' and you staring at us with those wide, eyes like you didnt see shit – shit was wild!"
"Yeah, fun times for all. How long…?"
"Three days. First two in the hospital, trying to survive the media. They patched your head up, and one of their Audino was available to cut down the usual recovery time after a big whack on the head. You got lucky you didn't crack open your skull! How'd that even happen? Hold on, I gotta call Aelita, she'll want to see you…"
"Indriad," he replied. It all came back to him now. The mansion…Indriad's trials, Marianette's bravery and defiance at the end…"Right after Maria freed you,."
"You mean you're telling me you made it all the way back from that freaking room to fight Maria while bleeding from your skull? Damn. That's hardcore."
"Venam, we need to talk."
She pulled a face. "Eh, sure. What's up?"
If there was a way of putting this delicately, he didn't see it. "Why didn't you think things through?"
Her expression darkened. "Beg your pardon?"
"Back at the mansion. When I found you, you were standing out in the open. Did you have a plan?"
She crossed her arms. "Uh, yeah, the plan was to break into that goddamn mansion and find whoever was responsible for fucking up our city. What about it?"
Will sighed. "And you took Luca and Lenny with you?"
A shrug. "Of course. They're – ah, they were my friends – bunch of traitors left after this mess. They were both trainers and we needed to step up!"
Her response bothered him. Real friends wouldn't abandon someone after things got too bad, but…Venam had dragged them into that mess without thinking, without ever considering their safety. Luca and Lenny had been trainers alright. Just…not fighters. Or rather, not people who could take a hit and keep on going. Maybe it had been better if she'd never taken them. "And antagonizing Indriad like that?"
Venam uttered an impatient sigh. "That asshole was gonna turn on us anyway. This way, we managed to free Maria too."
At least she was optimistic about that. "And if Maria hadn't? If she never freed me to begin with? What would have happened to you? Your friends?"
"What are…look, if you've got something to say to me, why don't you just say it?"
Her hostility took him by surprise – but it also jumpstarted the anger that'd been building up the entire time in the mansion. His head hurt, he was disoriented and Venam didn't seem to get it. She didn't get how close they all were to nobody getting out alive, and that tore at him for reasons he didn't even understand himself. "You rushed in without thinking. Luca and Lenny got their souls ripped from their body, and they were aware and conscious of it the entire time. When I found them, they were crying."
His throat burned and itched, but some things needed to be said. Venam needed to know. At the very least, if her friends had abandoned her, she deserved to know why.
Venam bristled. She jabbed a finger at and snapped, "You too Will? Are you blaming me for that as well?!"
"No!" Will shot back. "But it did happen! Maria and I nearly got killed. Several times. And when we saved you, the first thing you did was make fun of her."
"I didn't mean anything bad by that – "
"You just didn't think. Standing in the open, cussing out a psychopath, insulting the girl who saved you – you kept running off. Why didn't you think?"
"Why weren't you faster!" Venam suddenly shouted, and her words spiked into him like few things had since Amethyst Cave. "Why weren't you stronger? Why wasn't I faster? Or stronger?" She spat a curse and slammed her boot against the frame of her door, hard. "We spent so much fucking time arguing and following bad leads! If we'd been faster, if we'd THOUGHT LESS! We could have fucking made it!'
Will sank back down on the bed, suddenly feeling exhausted and unsteady again. There it was; the blame and self-loathing he'd spent so long trying to come to terms with, on clear display with Venam.
And she didn't have Nim to cheer her up, or Keta to kick her into action. Or Aelita, to pick her up when she fell.
Who did Venam have?
Suddenly, Will felt like a huge jerk.
"Venam…damnit…it doesn't work like that."
"What do you know?" She snapped. "You were there with her that day. You got to fight, got to help. By the time I even knew something was off, she was already gone!" Another kick. "I didn't even get to say goodbye!"
"Yeah, I got to fight alright," Will said. And he'd never stopped fighting. "The thinking there's the same. If I'd fought harder…smarter…better…she wouldn't have had to run. Doesn't matter what you did. She's gone, so it'll never be good enough, right?"
Venam didn't say anything. She glared daggers at him, her chest rapidly rising and falling.
Those notes he read in Melia's room…the posters signed by Venam…she'd been friends with Melia for years. Now, with Melia and Ren gone…with Luca and Lenny gone too…who did Venam have left in her life?
"Someone important told me," Will continued softly. "The truth is, we fought to save Melia. Team Xen fought to end her. You can say "what if" a thousand times, but at the end of the day, they're the assholes. And we'll never stop fighting them."
Venam opened her mouth, then closed it. She worked her jaw, then shouted another curse and looked away, her eyes glistening with tears.
Will got up from the bed and closed the distance. "I know, Venam. But if you die trying to fix this…who's left to avenge Melia? Huh? Who's left to remember her?"
Venam lunged for him with a wordless scream. For a second, Will thought she was about to put him back into another coma. White-knuckled fists seized the front of his shirts, pulled him towards her…then Venam dropped her head against his chest and sobbed.
"I didn't mean to," she hoarsely said, her voice somewhere between an angry snarl and a plea. "I just…wanted to help. But everybody got hurt…and now they've left. Buncha fucking assholes…"
One day I wished someone to come rescue me, Maria had cried. And the next day you all showed up…
Fuck, loneliness was a silent killer.
He wrapped his arms around Venam's shoulders. "I just want people to be safe," he tiredly said.
"Fat chance…" she murmured. She pulled her head off his chest and pulled away, averting her face. "I ain't gonna change. Who needs people like Luca or Lenny anyway? They left you to dry as well. You're the one who took the hits…again."
"Someone has to," he quietly replied. "You good?"
"…no. And neither are you. But what else can we do?"
"You guys?" Aelita's voice came from down below. "You okay? I heard shouting."
"Venam…" Will started.
She shook her head. "You're right. But you're also wrong. I know things went wrong at that mansion. The fuck else was I supposed to do? Shit like that happens."
Did it? Was it supposed to?
Screw it. He was tired and he didn't want to hurt Venam more than he had. "Those two are gone. I'm still here. That won't change."
She stared at him for a moment, her eyes searching. "Won't it?" She said. "Fuck, I hope not."
Aelita patiently waited for them outside of Venam's house. She leant against the wall, her arms crossed in front of her chest, then shoved herself off the wall when Will and Venam came outside as well.
"Will! Damn am I glad to see you're okay!" Aelita said. She bounced towards him, then stopped herself at the last moment. "Oops, probably not smart right now. Doctors said you have to take it easy for a while." She ran her eyes across his body. "You look better. You've looked more better in the past."
"I had an intact skull back then," Will quipped. "Ready?"
"Yeah, time to head out for Goldenleaf next! All that stuff with the mansion was weird as heck, but we have another mission to complete."
"It's gonna be sad to see you guys go, but I understand you have…things to take care of," Venam replied. "Whatcha gonna do in Goldenleaf again anyway?"
"It's more of a rest stop than anything. We're heading through Route 3, stopping for resupply in Goldenleaf and then heading straight for Akuwa Town!"
"What the hell? That's a long ass trip…why are you going to Akuwa Town again?"
"Remember that fight against Madelis I told you about?"
Venam's expression sank. "Yeah…"
"She broke the Snag Machine, and if we want to keep fighting Team Xen, we're gonna need to fix it. We heard there was a famous mechanic named Saki Blakeory there and – "
Venam's mood flipped from kinda concerned to full rage-mode in an instant. Her face flushed a deep shade of crimson and she balled her firsts so hard that her entire body trembled.
"Saki," she growled.
"Uh…Venam, you okay" Aelita asked, taking a little step back.
Will stared at Venam, wondering when he'd get to see the smoke pouring from her ears. He didnt think he'd ever seen her that mad before.
With a snarl, she spun on her heels and stomped away, shouting, "I NEVER WANT TO HEAR THAT NAME AGAIN! NEVER EVER EVER! NEVER NEVER NEVER!"
"Uh…sorry, I dint know Saki was a…sensitive topic…for you…" Aelita stammered as Venam stomped away. "Welp, she's gone. What was that about?"
Will pulled his shoulders up in a shrug. Some girls were just really complicated, he supposed.
"Anyway, I've found us a transport back to Sheridan. From there, we can start our hike through Route 3! Shouldn't be more than a few dozen miles to Goldenleaf. Ready to move out?"
"Sure. Lemme get my bag…"
~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~
With a heavy sigh, Madelis plonked down on one of the sofas, resting her head on its soft seat. "You know? I've been here for far too long. I want to go back to my room."
"Leaving already?" Nastasia said without looking up from her laptop. "But you only just got back to our team building exercise…"
"Don't try to fool me, I know that's not what you're doing on that PC," Madelis snapped. "I explained everything I wanted to happen and you just sat there and agreed with everything I said!"
"Mhm…"
Madelis shook her head. "Never mind. You've just proven my point already."
"Don't you ever get tired of being so self-absorbed? You disgust me."
That horrible, annoying voice could only belong to one person. "Jealousy is a disease, Geara. You should find the cure, quickly."
"The only thing that could clear up this sickness is blindness," Geara snapped back, stopping beside Nastasia's sofa.
"Then take a good look at me because I a T!" Madelis exclaimed. "The light from my beauty is enough to blind a dragon let alone a man!"
Geara scoffed. "Maybe that's why your parents tried shipping you back to the hospital when you were born! Your face was so ugly that their eyes instantly melted out of their sockets. It's all starting to make sense now."
"Y-You pig!" Madelis snapped. "You take that back right now!"
"No, I don't think so," Geara smirked.
"That's enough you two!" Neved shouted at them from the bar. He hopped the counter then marched towards them with quick, heavy steps. "I can only take so much childishness in one take."
Nastasia chipped in. "What Neved said."
"You could help me out too, you know? You're always so absorbed in your work!" Madelis said.
"Because this is something that actually matters," Nastasia said without missing a beat. "Why settle a feud between two babies when I know they'll just start again soon after? I don't have time for that." She typed in a string of commands, then added, "Fight away."
"Suits me fine," Geara said. "I like to fight."
"Tch. Fighting gives me pimples. I'm over it."
"Oh!" Nastasia suddenly said, suddenly sounding very interested. "I got an update on William's status. Only took a week to happen. Now…"
Everybody crowded around her. "Well come!" Madelis said, shaking her colleague by the shoulder. "Out with it!"
"Looks like he is heading in the direction of Route 3. It's a large road, but it only leads to one place. Goldenleaf Town."
"…Goldenleaf Town?" Geara repeated. "If that's the case, then let me handle this, Nastasia. I've needed an excuse to return to that hick town, so this is perfect."
"And just what exactly do you hope to accomplish?" Nastasia asked, frowning.
Snorting, Geara said, "What kind of question is that? Eradicate the problem of course! I thought you were supposed to be the genius of the group?"
"I was merely asking if you had a plan. Which, clearly, you don't."
Geara gave her a sly smirk. "I just might surprise you then. I'm heading out immediately."
With that, Geara took off, and Madelis was helpless to watch him go. "This isn't fair! This was supposed to be my redemption! I've been cooped up in this place for a week now!"
"Mhm…"
Neved looked at Nastasia, frowned, then said, "She's stopped listening. Might as well give up now."
Madelis sighed again. At the very least, she hoped Geara's plan would work out. He was a lot like Ztta in that regard. If he was going there to kill William, it would be nasty business but business nonetheless. Geara would get it done, Xen's big obstacle would be a stain on the floor and then they could all move on.
And that suited her just fine.
~~~~~~~(III)~~~~~~
They made it to Route 3 before sundown. From the terminal at the east to Sheridan Village straight into undiscovered lands.
For both of them.
"Even though I've lived so close, I've never been here myself," Aelita said as she pulled her backpack higher. "My dad never allowed me to go, after all. But now I have to carry out his legacy! It's a long way to Goldenleaf Town, but we should be able to make some distance!"
Route 3 seemed like a pleasant road to journey through. It was the opposite of Sheridan Village in that it seemed to slope down for miles. Several smaller routes trailed along the length of a river that occasionally ended in a cascading waterfall, where it picked up a few meters lower again.
Venam had told Aelita all about what went down in the mansion. How Indriad had ambushed them and sealed them away. How Will had been able to beat Maria and the price they had all paid for Idnriad's cruelty. How in the end, Maria had sacrificed herself to close the door to her world, with no going back.
"If you want to talk about it…" She offered.
Will shook his head, and that was it. Aelita respected his boundaries and didn't bring the subject up again, for which he was very grateful.
So instead, they talked about others things. Training and exercise, Aelita's upbringing, Keta's funeral rites, training and exercise, their Pokémon, exercise and training...
They let their Pokémon roam free as they traveled. Aelita, as it turned out, also had a Combusken. Hers was male and, compared to Will's, a lot more social. Most of Aelita's Pokémon were, actually. They'd spent the majority of their lives in Sheridan Village just like her, and they'd been with her a lot longer than his had.
But defying death together and surviving one team Xen fight after another had a way of bringing people together as well. Will hadn't spent years with his team like some had with theirs, but his Pokémon and him had endured hardship together. That tended to build trust.
Houndour stuck close to him as they hiked through the route, constantly looking around him, occasionally staring at the Pokémon that flew overhead.
"Which is why a wider position will work your serratus anterior more, which tends to see benefits in your neck and back muscles as well."
"My serratus whatnow?"
"Err, a lateral muscle lying closely against your rib cage. People often neglect it. Wide pushups will also improve your core strength, and I don't need to tell you why that's important, right?"
"I know. The next time I catch some shrapnel, it will simply bounce off my steel lats…"
'Har har. That would be your abdominals. Speaking of which…"
Will stopped. "What's that?"
Aelita cocked an eyebrow, then followed his gaze towards a little encampment in the distance. "Is that like a traveling fair or something?"
"Guess so."
"Hmm…wanna take a look? Maybe get something to eat?"
"I'm starving," Will replied, grinning. "Let's go!"
They hurried down the slope towards the fair. Will saw parked foodtrucks and improvised stalls and all kinds of performers. They'd set up a circus tent of sorts in the middle. Already, other travelers and trainers flocked to the camp.
"The Eldest gave me some money before I left, so I can afford to treat you to something!"
"I'd love that," Will said, vowing to treat Aelita to something next time.
The two of them stopped by an ice cream vendor. The owner saw them approach and plucked a little scooper from a bowl of water. "Good evening! How can I help you?"
"Let's see…my favorite taste is strawberry. Do you have that?"
"One strawberry cone coming up. Anything else?"
Aelita turned to him. "What about you?"
"Uh…vanilla?"
"One vanilla ice cream cone, please!" Aelita said.
"And a vanilla, coming up. Here you go!"
Aelita gratefully took the two cones and handed Will his. "Here, this is yours. This is my thanks for everything you've done for the Eldest and I!"
"Ah, ice cream," Will hungrily said. Just what the doctor ordered!
Aelita took him to a wooden bench overseeing the rest of the route and sat down. "You really are cool, Will. I'm glad to be here and be your right hand gal!"
"I'm glad to have you. Really wasn't looking forward to going by myself, and you've been a big help so far."
"Hihihi. I've yet to start being useful! Anyway, once we get to Akuwa Town, what's the plan?"
Will sat back, chewing thoughtfully on his cone, savoring the chilly sweetness. "Fix the Snag Machine. Track down Team Xen's bases. Search for my mother. Rinse and repeat."
"Okay…do you have an idea where that could be?"
He shrugged. "So far, I've found them everywhere I went." Of course, staying on the defensive was the best way to lose. Team Xen needed only one good attempt to take him out. What he needed was a way to track them or take the initiative back. "But it's always been in reaction to their actions."
"So…no plan?"
"No plan yet," he corrected her. Very important, that distinction.
Aelita stared at her ice cream for a moment. "I can't think of anything better, to be honest. Best to keep our eyes and ears out and wait until they pop up again."
"Pretty much, yeah…"
They set up their camp nearby. A small, two-person tent with two sleeping bags, some water and food. Aelita sent a pair of her Pokémon to gather some firewood in the meantime, and Will tasked Nidorino with keeping watch. Mightyena and his new tiny packmate would ask as a rapid response group, ready to act quickly and aggressively should anything happen in the meantime.
Slowly, the sun started setting. Combusken lit a nice bonfire and everybody gathered around. They boiled water – Will made soup, Aelita hot chocolate milk, which made Will want to throw his soup away – and exchanged some stories.
They didn't stay awake too long. They would wake up quite early in the morning to make the most out of the day. So when they had wrapped up their preparations and cleaned their camping equipment, they bade each other a goodnight and went to bed.
The next morning, Will woke with a start when someone bumped against him and his mind exploded into action. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, carried by the sudden thunderous roar of his heart, and when he found he couldn't move his arms he thrashed around, breathing fast and shallow –
"Whoah, hey, take it easy!" Someone said, and darted to his side.
Aelita –
Aelita?
It took several seconds of frantic blinking and breathing before Will remembered where he was. The images of his dreams quickly disappeared, but the sickening sensation lasted, and he realized the reason he couldn't move wasn't what he thought it was.
It was just the sleeping bag. The zipper was stuck around his neck, and hadn't parted when he tried to move.
Of all the freaking -
"Will, what's wrong?" Aelita insisted.
For a single second that lasted an eternity, Will was too ashamed to answer. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. "O-Oh. I…got confused. In my sleeping bag. I-I forgot where I was, for a moment…"
Aelita looked at him with confusion. "Huh. Okay, yeah, I remember that happening to me a few before, in the beginning. Have you…not camped before? Or, not a lot?"
He literally could not remember if he ever camped before, still couldn't remember/ Indriad had taken those memories and even Maria, with her awakened abilities, had not been able to make him whole again. "Not a lot, no. Let's uh…let's get started, okay?"
Aelita nodded and her ponytail danced about her head. "Yeah, sure! Remember what we were going for?"
"Something about failure?"
"Ayup! I wanna know what we're working with, so we're going with the basics to failure. That means pushups until your elbows give out and situps until your abdominals cramp up. You wanna do it now, or a couple of hours after breakfast?"
Well. He was already awake, and his adrenal glands had had their warming up for the day. He didn't see a point in delaying this. "Let's go."
After a quick warm up and stretching exercise, Will dropped to the floor and Aelita placed her fist roughly beneath his chest. "Remember, it doesn't count if you don't touch."
"You're enjoying this way too much."
"Not often do I get such a cool sparring partner! Ready?"
"Sure."
As he started his journey to failure, Aelita gave him advice on his form, breathing and pacing. Then, she started getting cheeky.
"Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Twenty-two. Twenty-two."
"Whaddayamean?" Will hissed, sweat dripping into his neck.
"I don't feel you touching my fist, so the repetition doesn't count. Deeper!"
He went deeper. The muscles in his arms started to creak and his chest was on fire.
One more, he thought every time he shoved himself back up. One more –
"Thirty-six…come on, come on!"
Will grumbled something incomprehensible even to his ears and his arms simply stopped existing. He plopped to the ground and looked up at Aelita expectantly. "Thirty-seven?"
She snorted. "Because your eyes are so pretty. Roll over, situps time."
Situps time wasn't actually as bad as pushups time. Will felt like he did a lot better there.
"Don't pull at your ears, you're gonna cramp your need. Make sure to touch the ground with your elbows when you – yeah, just like that. Good! Come on!"
But failure was failure and failure, he eventually reached.
"Neat, forty-seven situps! Not many people get above the forty."
Will was pretty sure Aelita simply said that to cheer him up, but what the hell. It worked. "Thanks."
"No prob. Time for breakfast! Coffee?"
"Yesplease."
Now having established a new morning routine, Aelita and Will took an hour to sit down, relax, enjoy a breakfast out in the open and eventually break up their camp.
Next target: Goldenleaf Town.
After a couple hours of walking, the two of them finally came within viewing distance of the town. It looked like it had a terminal to separate it from the rest of the route like Sheridan had. However, the people from Goldenleaf had gone the extra mile and installed a big metal gate in front of the terminal, barring anyone from entering.
Because of course they had.
"Wait, what?" Aelita said when she saw that. "Why is an iron gate blocking our way? I know the Eldest said they don't like outsiders, but this is something else. What do we do?"
"We could break it down," Will mused. "Something tells me we won't be making friends if we do that."
"No…maybe someone around here can help us? Maybe someone local? Let's take a look around."
The area around the terminal did have some locals. One of them a dark-haired lady who glared daggers at them and all but bit Aelita's head off when she asked if she knew another way in, the other a guy who seemed far too pleased with the fact that Goldenleaf was now locked off.
"Buncha weirdos," Aelita mumbled as she and Will walked through the woods, trying to find a second entrance. "Seriously, who installs a big freaking gate in front of a public entrance?"
"…is that a campfire?"
"Huh? Where – oh, I see! Maybe someone there can help us out, let's check it out!"
Someone had erected a pretty large tent at the base of a pair of trees, a couple of meters away from a well-made campfire surrounded by rocks and stones. Will could hear someone rustling around in there.
"Hello?" Aelita said. "Is someone in there?"
"Huh? What? I reserved this tent for a little while…if you want to rent this tent you'll need to reach out to the community center in Goldenleaf Town! So yeah - "
Wait a minute…Will recognized that dependable voice! "Ren? Is that you?"
"You know my name? Wait, who are – " A young man emerged from the tent, with spiky gray hair and a dark red scarf wrapped across his shoulders. He looked apprehensive at first, but then his expression lifted when he saw his visitor. "Will!" He exclaimed.
"Ren!" Will yelled. "My man!"
The two of them embraced each other, shaking the other and smacking their shoulders in what was surely the manliest hug Will had ever experienced.
"I didn't expect to see you here!" Ren said. "I figured you'd be stuck in Sheridan for a while! Not because I wasn't confident in your abilities, but because Keta is just really tough. What brings you to Goldenleaf of all places!"
"Sightseeing," Will replied. "Why are you camped out here in a tent? Didn't you use to live here?"
Ren grimaced. "Yeah, I did. Not a big fan. Goldenleaf is…a pretty bad place even if you've lived there your entire life."
"Am I interrupting anything?" Aelita said, grinning in such a way that Will instantly began feeling suspicious. "You two need a moment together?"
"Right, sorry, Ren, this is Aelita. Aelita, this is Ren. He's the first friend I made in Aevium."
Aelita stepped past him and extended a hand. "Heya! Nice to meet you, Ren."
Ren gracefully took her hand. "Likewise. Aelita was it? Are you a friend of Will's?"
"You could say that," Aelita replied.
"Aelita's good people, Ren." Will said.
Ren smiled. "Good to hear that. Glad you're keeping an eye on Will here – he tends to need supervision at times."
Laughing, Aelita replied, "Yeah, I uh, noticed he tends to get into trouble at times."
"Hey, it's the trouble that gets into me," Will protested.
His friends shot him a look that said he made an error somewhere.
"Phrasing," Will amended.
"Hah. Anyway Ren, would you happen to know a way into Goldenleaf? It's barred by this big gate and we need to get in."
"I, uh, am native to Goldenleaf, so I technically know the code in…but Goldenleaf isn't safe to people like you. I'd feel awful letting you in and then learning you got hurt because of it."
"Will and I are strong! We've taken down another Xen base together while in Sheridan!" Aelita replied.
Ren's eyes widened. He glanced at Will questioningly. When Will nodded in affirmation, Ren whistled lowly. "That's not nothing," he said.
"They're creating more Shadow Pokémon. More Rift Pokémon. We need to get the Snag Machine repaired in Akuwa Town. So…" Will let his voice drift off. Ren'd get the meaning.
"Another Rift Pokémon? Man, that blows. I'm…sorry sounds so meaningless here. Hmm…here, let me write the code down for you. You can enter it on the pad near the lock and it'll lower."
"Gotcha, thanks Ren!" Aelita smiled. "Why don't you come with us? The more the merrier I say!"
Ren looked away uncomfortably. "…I appreciate the offer, but I can't return home just yet," he quietly said. It's embarrassing to say…I've been in this tent for a week now…I'm not where I want to be yet so I got some more training to do."
"If it's training you need, you should head to Sheridan!" Aelita said chipper. "That place will whip you up to shape in no time"!
Yeah, in more ways than one, Will thought, still feeling his poor stomach muscles every breath he took.
"Haha, I'll consider it. Thanks, Aelita."
"See ya later, Ren!"
It felt a bit weird to leave Ren behind like that. He'd been adamant about training for himself, and Will knew he wanted to make sure Team Xen never hurt anyone again, but working together in a group only increased those chances, didn't it?
He was overthinking things again. Ren was easily the smartest one in their group. He had his reasons.
"Alright, got the code here," Aelita said as she stepped towards the gate. "Let's put it in right away…" She tapped in a string of numbers at the keypad, frowned, then tapped in another one.
With a groaning shudder, the gate began retreating back into the ground.
"Ah! It worked like a charm!" Aelita exclaimed. "Goldenleaf, here we come!"
"Act cool…don't stand out…" Will said as he followed Aelita through the terminal into Goldenleaf proper. "We don't – "
Aelita hadn't heard him. "Ah…so this is Goldenleaf Town, hm? It's a beautiful town indeed!" She said, looking around at the autumn-colored trees, foliage and houses, speaking loud enough for the locals hanging around to pick up on in an instant.
A man sitting at a picnic table slowly got to his feet. A woman shoved herself from the tree she'd been leaning against. A pair of children dropped their ball and stopped playing. An elderly woman spat at the ground.
All of them turned to glare at the two obvious newcomers.
Will sighed.
"Uh…a beautiful town with people who give not so beautiful looks…" Aelita amended, her enthusiasm dropping several notches with every word she spoke. "Um…we're not trying to cause trouble, so please don't look at us that way. We're just trying to get to Route 4. Know where that is?"
"Yeah," the guy said in a gravelly, smoke-addled voice. "It's back from where you came from."
"O-oh…"
Just as Will was starting to fear that these guys would be pulling torches and pitchforks out of their pockets, he heard the rapid pitter-patter of approaching footsteps. He tore his gaze from the nearest woman –
"Hey! Make way!"
- just in time to catch a chestful of child. She bounced off of his chest and nearly fell on her can. She was a little thing that couldn't have been older than Maria. A dark-gray beanie with partially concealed her curly blond hair. Her eyes were brown and filled with suspicion, and her gray zip-up hoodie looked dirty and tattered. Holes dotted her black sweatpants and her red shoes were caked in mud.
"O-Ow!" She snapped, then leapt back to her feet and shot a fearful look over her shoulders. "Hey sorry dude, but could I use you as a shield real quick?"
She nimbly pivoted around him and then took cover behind him, clutching the back of his jacket and steering him to face down the vicious-looking teen who came running after her. "Hey outsider! Be a good bystander and hand that runt over to me now!"
Will raised an eyebrow. What was this about?
"If I'm a runt, then you're a c – "
"Why?" Aelita asked. "What'd she do?"
"I don't have to tell you a thing!" The woman snapped at Aelita. "Just do as I ask!"
"…I don't respond well to orders," Will calmly replied. He reached around his back, found the kid's shoulder and then gently pulled her further out of the woman's line of sight, just in case.
"We're not backing down! If you have intentions on hurting this child then you need to back off!" Aelita said, putting authority and force into her voice.
"Oh wow, the walking eggplant wants to be the moral compass!" The woman sneered.
"E-Eggplant!" Aelita gasped. Her shocked expression turned into one of outrage and she stepped towards the woman, bristling as she jabbed a finger at her chest. "Hey, listen here you jerk! You think you can go around calling people eggplants?"
"I'm not interested in you, go away," the woman haughtily said. She took a step to the side, then glared at Will. "You though…if you won't give that kid back peacefully, I'll just take her from you by force!"
She made a beeline for him. Will, who already had his hand on his Poke Ball, sent Houndour out. His newest team member shook his head, laid eyes on the young woman who'd probably been about to physically assault his trainer and immediately pulled his lips up in a snarl.
The woman skidded to a sudden halt, scoffed and then sent her own Pokémon out. Will didn't recognize it, but it looked like a walking, possessed tree. It shook its wooden limbs, then wasted no time shooting a flurry of razor-sharp leaves at Houndour.
Houndour acted immediately; he unleashed a torrent of Ember flames, blasting the leaves out of the air and pelting his foe with flames.
The opposing Pokémon – a Trevenant according to the Pokedex, scampered aside to avoid the worst of it. Its single, crimson eye narrowed. Roots erupted around its feet, snaking across the ground towards Houndour.
Under Will's orders. Houndour deftly avoided the closest ones, then blasted the others with fire. As the Trevenant attempted to crawl closer, Houndour Snarled, sending rings of black energy blasting towards his foe.
Roots erupted from the ground, intercepting the worst of the energy burst. Then, it launched a globular blast of blackish energy towards Houndour.
But Will saw an opening. "Houndour, different pattern. Ember first, then Snarl, followed by another Ember!"
Houndour barked in agreement. His foe prepared another blast of dark energy, but Houndour was faster on the draw. He peppered the Trevenant with searing bolts of flames, forcing it to bunch up and protect itself with its arms. Next, he darted aside to dodge the blind-fired counterattack and Snarled again. Like Will predicted, the Trevenant conjured more thick roots from the soil to protect itself.
Doing so, it left itself completely vulnerable to Houndour's own follow-up attack, and the storm of Ember broke through its rooty shield.
Trevenant shuddered, its wooden body groaning as smoke burst from its limbs. Houndour charged, getting perilously close to the roots, but in doing so he got within perfect range to unleash another Snarl. This time, the ring-shaped pulses of dark energy hit home hard, and the Trevenant collapsed.
"Wh-What the heck," the girl stammered as Houndour began stalking towards her with deliberate, careful steps, still snarling, his eyes focused squarely on her neck. "Why are you so strong?"
"That's what you get for trying to pick a fight with Will!" Aelita said, placing her hands on her hips as she sternly stared down the woman. "Anyone else? We're not interested in starting trouble, but we will finish it!"
"Will…" the young woman muttered. "You're William?"
Uh-oh.
"No. It's just Will."
Without another word, the woman turned on her heels and ran away. Will wasn't sure what that was about, but the situation didn't sit right with him. "Let her go Houndour. We've won."
Houndour, who was about to take off sprinting after the young woman, looked up at Will as he'd just been caught with his paw in the cookie jar. He gave a sad little 'urf!' and then plodded back to his position at Will's right side.
"Yeah get out of here you big bully!" Aelita shouted after her, letting the bloodlust rise to her head. "Keep walking! Next time learn who you're dealing with before you start trouble!" She turned to glare at the other citizens who'd been glaring daggers at them before. "Well?"
They all, without exception, returned to their business.
"Heh," Aelita said, breaking into a grin. Then, she turned towards the blond kiddo and asked, "Alright kid, fess up. What did you do?"
"Um…nothing!" The little girl was quick to reply. "Thanks for saving me, guys! I'll make it up to you two in the future! Promise!"
With that, the little thing raced off, fleeing into the terminal straight back to Route 3.
"Hopefully we did the right thing there…" Aelita muttered. "But that woman wanted to hurt her for something and that's wrong. Anyway, we got a plate full of unfriendly just as it was described as on the tin."
"I…what?" Will said, not following.
"Let's just look for a way to Route 4. Do you feel comfortable splitting up? To cover more ground?"
"That's okay. Better to hurry this along," Will replied.
"Right. Good luck and stay safe!"
With that, she was off, and set about searching Goldenleaf Town on his own.
Searching for a way out of a town that wasn't much larger than Sheridan shouldn't have been difficult, but the constant stink-eye the people gave him as he walked through the Town made that difficult. Still, he mapped out a few places that might be significant later.
First, the Pokémon Center, such as it was, served as the Town's community hub, just not for the community Will had been expecting.
Pretty much everybody who didn't belong in Goldenleaf Town was holed up there. Apparently, the people in this place weren't above using physical violence to turn away outsiders.
Also apparently, there was a Gym located somewhere in Goldenleaf. Since Gym Leaders tended to be highly respected people in the eyes of their people, with the majority holding considerable sway and influence, Will wanted to check it out.
He didn't make it a few hundred meters before someone jumped him. Thankfully, since Will already had Houndour out, what could have been a sudden ambush turned into more of an open attack, and said attacker only had two Pokémon on their team.
"What is your deal?" Will demanded after a short and frustration-laden fight.
"You are my deal," the man shot back. "Outsiders ruined our city. Now you're here to gloat?"
"What happened here? What did outsiders even do?"
So the man told him. Maybe the fact that Houndour had flames billowing from around his canines as he glared at the guy helped him with that consideration, Wil didn't know – his mother was the social butterfly, not him.
Years ago, Goldenleaf's mayor – the Gym Leader, Narcissa – married the director of a large radio tower built to strengthen Goldenleaf's ties with another city. The man and his people had been outsiders, but since the radio tower attracted so many other outsiders to the town, it helped push business and provided an economic boon of sorts. Things were good. One day, the director hosted a massive party to commemorate how good things had gone. Almost everyone attended the party, Narcissa included.
The radio tower had burned to the ground. Dozens of people either died in the fire, or were left scarred by the calamity. Narcissa's husband had not survived the inferno.
It…explained the enormous size of the graveyard when compared to the relatively small town. Nevertheless, Will had questions and he was fairly certain at this point, only the Gym Leader could answer them.
So he made his way to the Goldenleaf Gym. For once, it looked like luck was on his side; a woman with middle-length purple hair and an elegant, black dress looked like she was about to either open the gym up or lock things up. Nevertheless, Will approached her.
Before he could even introduce himself, the woman said, "If you're looking for a performance, I'm sorry to say that you've missed your chance. By quite a few years, I might add. But I can't fault you for that."
Will cocked an eyebrow, Performance?
Having finished whatever she was doing, she turned to leave –
- only to stare at him in shock. "You…you're Willow, the "little town hero" from East Gearen!"
Well, crap. When Venam said they'd been battling the media, she didn't say in what way. People knew his face? Oh man, that was not going to work out well in the future. "It's ah, it's Will. Willow is…a nickname someone close to me gave me."
The woman nodded in understanding. She looked like she was around his mother's age. Somewhere late forties, early fifties. "Ah, I see, so Willow is like a stage name. Then I shall simply call you Will. I hope that is alright?"
"Yes, thank you," he said.
Her dark eyes narrowed for a moment, and she seemed to hesitate before saying, "I see. Will, it seems like fate has brought us together."
Will fidgeted nervously. The last time someone talked to him about fate, things hadn't ended well. "Uh…"
Narcissa's eyes focused on someone behind him and Will turned around to see Aelita approaching them.
"Ah, it seems fate has more in store for us," Narcissa cryptically said.
"Hey Will," Aelita said. "Found the Gym I see?"
Narcissa crossed her arms over her chest. "Tell me, what have you two come here for?"
"We're just looking for a way to get to Route 4. We heard there was supposed to be a way to get there through the town, so…" Aelita's voice trailed off and she looked expectantly at the woman before her.
"You have heard correctly," Narcissa said. "Once, you would only need to take a train from East Gearen to get to Route 4 and Akuwa Town. But with the shutdown of that system, I've seen an influx of people coming to Goldenleaf in hopes of getting to Route 4." She exhaled a little sigh. "Allow me to offer a proposition. Please visit me in my home. I will explain there."
"Uh…okay?" Aelita said, watching with some puzzlement as Narcissa turned and walked away, her dress gently billowing behind her despite the total lack of wind. "Was that Narcissa? If so, then this is perfect! But I wonder what she wants us to do?"
"How bad can it be?" Will said.
"Yeah…can't be worse than the rest of this town. Let's meet up, see what she means!"
The two of them followed Narcissa up a hill, where a large house stood overlooking a sizable portion of the town. There, above the front door, hung the skull of a large creature with a pair of horns almost as wide as Will was tall. It was the same skull he'd seen hanging above the gym. If the people of the town wanted to convey a certain image, they'd accomplished that particular mission.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Narcissa said when Aelita opened the door and walked in, Will close on her heels. The woman sat reclined in an old-fashioned chair, positioned to watch the entrance. Her eyes were tired, yet sharp, and Will got a distinct feeling that this woman could somehow pierce straight him.
Aelita looked around, noting the many bookshelves, crystal oddities and statues. "Wow, you got a lot of cool stuff, Narcissa. They all look like antiques."
"Hmm…are you calling me old, perhaps?" Narcissa said, standing up to lead them through her living room towards the stairs.
Will shot a curious look at Aelita, who seemed mortified at the very suggestion. "Oh, goodness! No, not old, uh, just cultured!"
Damn that was a solid save. Just cultured…he needed to remember that one in case he ever fell into the same trap.
Narcissa's expression relaxed somewhat. Though she did not smile, something in her eyes seemed to soften. "Ahah. Funny you should say that. Anyway, I was just teasing. These are the trinkets I've gathered while I traveled the world."
"You traveled the world?" Aelita exclaimed. "That's so cool! Wanting to see the world is something I can get behind."
"Traveling the world is fun, but I didn't necessarily do it for the leisure. I was an actress. A very famous one at that."
Aelita's eyes grew as large as dishes. "An actress?! Like in the movies and TV shows?"
"Well, I was in a couple of those, but I mostly performed in plays."
"Huh, interesting…"
"Anyway, please, this way."
She took them up the stairs, emerging in a little hallway that was plastered with old posters and promotional material. Will didn't recognize any of them, but maybe Aelita did, since she immediately began marveling at them. "Whoah, are these the posters of the plays you've been in?"
"Yes," Narcissa replied without a hint of emotion. "Some of my favorite performances are displayed here."
"Now I'm curious about your career. Can you tell us a bit about it?"
"I thought you'd…" Narcissa dramatically produced a fan and covered her face with it for a moment, before flicking it sideways in a grand gesture. "Never ask!"
Narcissa took them on an imaginary journey through the depths of Aevium's film and entertainment industry, describing vividly how she rose through the ranks. "A beautiful lass who rose from the shadows took the world by storm. A star rising through the mist, a new light shone through. Johto, Kanto, Sinnoh, Hoenn, the list goes on and on. I've performed in many places in my life. Those posters were some of my first works. They were good, and they gave me experience. However…" She flicked than fan to a particular poster in red. "The Lady in Red was my magnum opus. It was because of that play that my name truly became known. Once the ball started to roll, it was like nothing could stop me! My passion for the arts overtook me. It felt like I was guided down a path outside of my own free will."
That was a particularly ominous way of phrasing that, wasn't it? Or was that simply the way the showbiz worked?
"But I never doubted it. I embraced it. I loved it. I cherished it, and I miss it." She ran her gaze across her posters again, seemingly lost in memories as she spoke. "Ah, those were the days…eventually, I resettled back in Goldenleaf Town and built my own theatre in town. I found a husband, and then…well."
Will looked away. If he understood things correctly, that was where everything fell apart for Narcissa.
"Well?" Aelita urged her, likely not even knowing about the tragedy that befell the town yet.
Narcissa took a breath. "Anyway, we're where I wanted to go. Just out here." Without another word, she walked through the door to the right, which led to a terrace at the front of her house,
"I wonder what that's about…" Aelita said.
"I bet you're about to find out," Will quietly replied.
She smiled nervously. "Kinda just wanted to get to Route 4, haha. But I guess this is alright too.
They joined Narcissa on her roof terrace, where she'd already set down a tea set on her large, wooden table.
Will eyed the tea with suspicion. If Narcissa was a connoisseur of local herbs like the Eldest, he was in for a wild ride.
"Please, have a seat," Narcissa bid them, gesturing at the elaborately carved chairs. "Would you like some tea?"
"We'd love some tea!" Aelita said before Will could even think about how to politely refuse. "Now that we're here, I'm curious about your proposition."
Narcissa didn't immediately answer. She poured three cups of tea, carefully handed two of them to her guests and kept one for herself. She took a slow sip, carefully savoring the taste as she looked out over the town. "This is a quaint little town, isn't it?" She said, and Will knew she was leading them on.
He reached for the crystal cup – totally without shaking or feeling any hint of trepidation – and brought it to his mouth. He believed it best if Aelita did the talking, here.
"Huh?" Aelita said, looking at Narcissa with a puzzled expression.
Or maybe not.
"Hmm…who would think that such a cute little town like this would be so ferocious and hateful. Did you know that this town used to be a fortress for a gang of thieves?"
"I didn't know that, actually," Aelita said. "Did you?"
Will wordlessly shook his mouth. He took a sip of tea and waited for the inevitable. When that didn't happen and he continued breathing, he shrugged and took another sip.
"And did you know, that it was your father who disbanded them?" Narcissa continued, her eyes probing Aelita for her reaction.
"Huh!" Aelita exclaimed, nearly dropping her cup in the process. She barely caught it, hastily put it down on the table and asked, "Wait, you know who I am?"
Narcissa stifled a humorless laugh. "Of course I do. Keta and I were acquaintances. Since Sheridan and Goldenleaf Town are neighbors, we came to an agreement some time ago. You see…"
As Narcissa explained how, back when she last met Keta, she'd proclaimed an ordinance of isolation, Will drew his gaze across the town. So many people had been sucker-punched to the ground by their grief. So many people chose to remain there, in despair, or in isolation, or in mad fury. Everybody had their own life, their own story, of course, but so far he'd only found grief and suffering everywhere he went. From Gearen City all the way to Goldenleaf…was it all because of Storm-9?
"An ordinance of isolation?" Aelita said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Isn't that a little extreme? Of course the people are mean here! They grew up learning to hate outsiders!"
"Something that only I can be blamed for," Narcissa quietly said. "However, this ordinance is not something I put up without reason. It's been over a decade now, but I received a letter. Within this letter was a threat. A threat that – "
"Narcissa!" Someone yelled from below, stopping her mid-sentence. "Answer me! I'm here to finally face you!"
Narcissa frowned, looking at the edge of her roof terrace.
"I know you're up there," the voice continued. "You're not exactly quiet."
"Ren," Will sighed. "You're my bro, but your timing sucks."
"Ah," Narcissa said, walking to the edge of the terrace to see who was visiting her. "Ren. Your timing is fortuitous. Instead of explaining, I think it'd be better to show you."
"What? Who are you talking to"
"My guests, of course."
Seeing that as his cue, Will walked to the edge of the roof as well, followed closely by Aelita. He waved, and Aelita said, "Hey Ren!"
"Aelita? Will? What – "
"Yes, as I was saying," Narcissa interrupted. "Could you please take these two and show them you know where?"
Her comment took him aback. "Wh…What? You want me to bring them there? What for?"
"Show them this town's history," Narcissa cryptically said. "They'll understand then."
"Wait – "
She held up a finger. "Anything you have to say, I'll acknowledge after you escort them, deal?"
Ren sighed and half turned away. "Alright, fine, if that's what you want. I'll take them there. Keep in mind, it won't change things."
"It might not," Narcissa conceded. "Nevertheless, this is my wish."
"Um, where exactly are we going?" Aelita asked.
"To the west of the town is Wispy Path. Take that route and then head north. You'll then run into a place called Wispy Tower. That is where I want Ren to bring you."
Wispy Tower…if this place was so important to the history of Goldenleaf, Will could only imagine one possibility.
He'd go with Ren to that place. It was the right thing to do.
"I don't really like going there," Ren said on a more subdued note. "But…I'll do whatever I can. We should get moving."
"But…the proposition?" Aelita protested.
Narcissa drank the remainder of her tea. "You have a one track mind. Just like Keta. Don't worry, we'll get there. I promise."
"Aw…alright, let's get going then. "
~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~
Sariah made it back to her house in record-time. Panting, she pulled the door to her home open and barged inside. She locked the door tightly, then burst into her living room. "Hey, are you still here? Come out, I'm alone!" She yelled.
A swirling portal deposited that same man into her home. Dark clothes, red and black hair and cold, calculating eyes. It was him. "I'm here. You don't need to yell like a brat."
"What you said was true!" Sariah exclaimed. "William really did come! He tried to deny it, but it was him!"
"Told ya you could trust me," Geara said. "If William is left unattended..." he slowly walked towards her. "Goldenlesf will suffer the same fate it did over a decade ago."
"No…" Sariah whimpered, recalling the suffering, the untold suffering that her town had gone through already. She couldn't allow that to happen! Never again!
"You can stop it, and I can help," Geara said, his voice full of sympathy and understanding. "We can stop him together. What do you say?"
"I won't let him…get his way!" Sariah snapped. "Tell me what I have to do!"
Geara smiled.
~~~~~~~(V)~~~~~~
"I'm going to be honest here Will," Ren said as he took them through Wispy Path. "I wish you hadn't come here. This place…it has too much hate. It can't let go of past grudges. It's going to chew you up and spit you out."
Will couldn't think of a better way to get indigestion than that. "Hah. You're concerned."
Frowning, Ren replied, "Of course I am. You're my friend and you keep getting yourself into trouble. Raiding Xen bases? I don't need to remind you what happens if you lose even once, right?"
"We didn't have a choice!" Aelita protested. "We only learned Xen was involved when we were inside, and by then it was too late. We…we know the prize of losing. We know it really well. But we can't let that stop us."
"Maybe," Ren said. "But that's against a clear enemy with right conditions of good and wrong. Here in Goldenleaf…well, you met the locals. It's not a situation you can brawl your way out of. This way, we're nearly there."
They passed through another terminal and emerged into a clearing that, a decade later, still bore the marks of devastation. The roads were scored with numerous gouges and ancient scorch marks that had yet to fade under the passage of time. Up ahead stood Wispy Tower. A massive, burnt-out husk of a building towered over them on the other side of a shattered, overgrown fountain. All of its windows were shattered. Not a single floor along the tower's side remained intact. It –
Will froze. There, a few meters above the entrance, three Vivillon with transparent wings fluttered around.
Butterflies of Fate.
He stared. The last time he saw those things was back in Amethyst Cave, back when…
"Will, you coming?" Aelita said.
"What?"
"I know, gnarly, isn't it?" Ren said. "It surprises me how it still remains standing. I was told that the fire was so intense that it melted the road. So many people died here…come, this way."
"Fire?" Aelita said, tearing her gaze from the ruined frame of the tower long enough to glance at Ren. "Is that what happened here?"
"Disaster struck here," Ren said, taking them inside of the tower. Its interior looked like an earthquake struck sometime ago. Fallen sections of collapsed floor had smashed into the ground at several places. Makeshift crosses lined the entire ground floor. It looked like the people had built a new fountain in the middle of the room. Roughly shaped in a U-form, it looked like the centerpiece of the town's remembrance. Dozens of flowers, single and entire bouquets, floated peacefully atop its surface. A large tombstone stood in the front, right in front of a statue of a Pokémon.
"The tower burned down," Will quietly said. "How many…?"
"Too many," Ren said. He turned to face them, his expression heavy with resignation. "This tower was intentionally set on fire."
Aelita gasped. Will closed his eyes and shook his head. Who would do something like that/ Condemn possibly hundreds of people to die a slow, horrible death amidst the flames and ashes?
"It was said that an outsider came to this tower and set it ablaze. Narcissa's husband, Sirius, was killed in the blaze. It wasn't just him; thirty-four people from Goldenleaf died in the fire alone. Dozens more succumbed to their injuries later on. Third degree burns, smoke inhalation…a total of sixty-one people lost their lives that day."
"Oh…" Aelita murmured.
"I was just a child, but even I felt the horror that that event struck into the hearts of our community. That's a day we will never forget.
"Ren…" Aelita started.
Ren turned back to the central tombstone. "But it was because of that event that Narcissa enacted that terrible ordinance. And it's been that way ever since…but not for long."
"Not for long?"
Still facing the tombstone, Ren said, "There's a little tradition we have here in Goldenleaf. A rule that Narcissa made herself. If a member of our community is unhappy with the current state of Goldenleaf Town, they may challenge the current Leader for their title."
"That's…an intense rule!" Aelita replied. "Way different from Sheridan's culture."
"Dangerous too," Will chimed in. "A good trainer isn't necessarily a good leader."
"Just a good trainer, no," Ren said. He turned to face Will. "I intend to take Narcissa up on this rule and take her status. This is the reason I went to East Gearen. Trained underneath Professor Jenner's guidance…back when that still meant something to me." He looked away for a moment. "All that training was for this moment…and I'm finally ready."
"Your intentions have always been known to me."
Will nearly jumped a foot in the air when he heard Narcissa speak up behind him. He hadn't heard her approach!
She brushed past Will and Aelita. "Long ago, shortly before this event happened, my husband and I received a letter. Within this letter was a threat. I'll always remember what it said." She inhaled sharply, then recited: "Goldenleaf's darkest day is coming. I will be the one to take everything from you.". Shaking her head, Narcissa quietly continued, "Even though we took the letter seriously, we could not prevent that tragedy."
"Do you know who sent that?" Will asked.
"No. From then on, I vowed I would never let anything like this happen again. As a result I enacted the ordinance of isolation."
For the first time since Will knew the guy, Ren lost it. "So what you're saying is that you're just a coward?" He shouted, balling his fists and taking an angry step towards Narcissa. "If someone intended to harm the town they'd do so! Ordinance or not!"
Was this why Narcissa had wanted to meet up with him and Aelita in the first place? To set right what she had done? If so, how? What were her plans here?
"You're right," Narcissa said, undaunted in the face of Ren's anger. "But I wanted to cut the probability by a considerable amount."
In a town ravaged by such a tragedy, what had been Narcissa's alternative? What else could she have done to soothe her grieving people? To satiate what would have been a public demand for justice, if not vengeance.
Especially after she had lost everything herself, in an event her loved one had organized?
Will didn't know. It sounded like Narcissa would have failed regardless of what she tried.
"It was a rash decision I made in the moment of fear, anger and despair," Narcissa quietly continued, still meeting Ren's gaze head-on. "After far too long, I've decided to bring on the help of you all to change this."
"Help?" Ren demanded. "Why do you need our help?! You can just change it!"
"She can," Will said. "But will her people accept it?"
Ren shot him a look of frustration, but something in his gaze changed, and Will knew he understood.
"The pain of our people has been ingrained in our culture. Change is far more difficult than it seems"
"Force them to change!" Ren shouted. "You have the strength to do it! I've seen it firsthand!"
"The outcome of forcing people to change will be far worse. That, I can say with certainty."
"I'm done with this," Ren spat. "I did what you asked me to do. I expect that you will accept my challenge."
"Challenge accepted," Narcissa replied without blinking.
Ren, all but trembling with anger, took a moment to process that. "Good. It's decided tomorrow then." With that, he brusquely marched off, refusing to meet anyone's eyes as he stormed off.
Will watched him go. With Narcissa, the object of Ren's frustration and anger, still present, there wasn't anything he could say that would not hurt Ren. But he'd drop by the second he had the chance. Ren had managed to remain level-headed and rational even after Melia's death. For him to just lose himself like this…a decade of pent-up emotions could do a lot of damage in a short window of time.
"Ren is determined," Aelita weakly said.
"He's just like his father. Ren has a strong sense of justice. But he may be a bit too determined. Strength is not everything."
"…your proposition was to help remove the ordinance, right?" Aelita asked. "I have to bring up what Ren said before. Why can't you just remove it yourself?"
Wearily, Narcissa turned to the tombstone as well, and Will wondered if her husband had been buried here as well. "Even if I were to remove it, it would be for nothing. There needs to be a natural change of heart within the people of Goldenleaf. It's an issue that has grown into something much more than I can handle."
"I see…so that's why you needed our help specifically…"
"Precisely," Narcisaa said, looking back at Aelita. "I needed a little town hero, like Will. If you help me, even if we're not successful, I'll show you the way to Route 4."
Will sighed. What he had done to get that title had been nothing short of a miracle achieved by Maria's bravery, by Maria's strength. Nevertheless…this was Ren's home. Ren's trauma. Ren's determination to make it change. After everything that Ren had done for him…how could he refuse? "I accept," Will said.
"Yeah, I accept too!" Aelita happily joined in. "I want to see change for this place! After all, you said it before! Sheridan and Goldenleaf are neighbors, in times of need we need to stick together!"
Narcissa blinked a couple of times. "My…I didn't expect a response like that from you. I'm grateful for your support. Regardless, we'll have to think of something by tomorrow. That is, if Ren is able to beat me in battle. I do not intend to lose, but something is different about him this time."
"I'll…try to see if we can buy more time, stall if we have to," Aelita promised.
"Thank you. In the meantime, I'll go ahead and make staying arrangements for you two at the Pokémon Center."
"Awesome!" Aelita exclaimed. "I love camping, but a nice warm bed will do!"
"We'll reconvene tomorrow. For now, I'll turn in."
"Got it. See you tomorrow, Miss Narcissa!"
The Gym leader bade them farewell, then took her leave.
Will and Aelita watched her go. She'd given them a lot to think about. In the meantime…
"So…wanna go for a run?" Aelita asked.
Will did not, in fact, want to go for a run. So an hour later, after they'd gotten situated in their own room in the Pokémon Center, they went on a run.
Again, it was just like Aelita'd promised. Simple and relaxing, with casual banter to keep it entertained and the promise of a warm, hot meal at the Pokémon Center to keep them going. The sun started to set by the time they left and by the time they came back – in Will's case, more ragged and tired than he had left – the last rays of light crept in from behind Narcissa's abode.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Will joined Aelita downstairs. There, much to his surprise, Ren had already joined Aelita at her table. "Hey Will," he said timidly. "Look, sorry about earlier. I got really heated, and things got uncomfortable."
"Heated, yeah. Uncomfortable? Nah," Will said. "Sometimes, big things require big emotions."
"That's an…interesting way of putting it," Aelita said. "Eldest always said that extraordinary events require extraordinary reactions."
"Yeah." Will reclined back in his seat. "What I said."
Ren laughed. "Glad to hear you guys could handle that. In the meantime, I hope the town hasn't been treating you guys too harshly?"
"Eh. We stick together and fend off those people who get too angry," Aelita said. "Nothing we can't handle. Say…Ren, I've been meaning to ask…"
"Yeah?"
"If you're going to challenge Narcissa tomorrow, could you give her some more time?"
Ren scoffed. "She's had over a decade worth of time. I'm done waiting. "
"I know, but she's actually trying her best right now. She's reached out to us and we're working togeth –"
"Sorry," Ren interrupted. "But I'm pretty set on this. Narcissa's been in power for far too long."
"You're talking about inheriting the key to the entire town, Ren," Will said. "A couple thousand people. Are you saying you're ready to start taking care of…all of them?"
"I've got to start somewhere," Ren said. "Rescinding that stupid ordinance is the first step. From there, we'll see where it goes."
"All we're asking for is a chance," Aelita urged him. "Let's work together! For a better future."
Ren uttered an explosive sigh. "You're not leaving me alone about this, are you?"
"Not until I get my feelings across."
"Alright…fine."
Aelita all but leapt from her seat. "Heck yeah! Score! You're not going to regret this Ren! So I was thinking – "
The door to the Pokémon Center flung open. Three locals stepped inside – a woman, a man and that young girl from before.
"Alright, alright, listen up outsiders!" The girl shouted and the steady buzzing of the conversations around the center died down. "It's time for you all to pack your things. We, Goldenleaf, have decided that we've had it with you all being here!"
Will swore under his breath and reached for his Poke Balll. Aelita, meanwhile, actually leapt from her seat to confront the three. "Hey, what's the big deal! This is a Pokémon Center!"
"Oh, wow, I didn't know that!" The young woman shot back, sarcasm dripping from her every word. "Thank you, Eggplant Head!"
Ah, crap.
Will lunged for Aelita before she could snap. He got one arm behind her waist and the other around her shoulders right as she sprain for the girl with lethal intent.
"One good punch!" Aelita screamed. "Lemme have one! Trust me! It'll do her good!"
"No!" Will grunted, fighting with all his might to keep Aelita's wiry form from wriggling out of his grasp and punching someone's head off. But damnit, Aelita might have been lighter than him, but she was freakishly strong! He could barely hold her! "Bad! Idea! Stop! REN!"
"Sariah, what the hell are you doing?" Ren demanded
The girl's eyes widened when she saw him, and suddenly her bluster and commanding confidence was just gone. "O-Oh…Ren, it's you! I didn't know y-you were back in town…"
"Just got here recently," Ren said, crossing his arms. "I see you haven't changed at all. Why are you attacking people in a Pokémon Center now? Are you really that desperate for attention?"
Aelita stopped bucking, and Will felt confident that she wasn't about to assault someone who was distracted with a conversation.
"Only if that attention comes from you Ren, deary," the young woman said teasingly, her cheeks reddening. "I need you to step aside now."
"No way. You want to cause trouble? You're going to have to go through me," Ren said, loud enough for the other goons to hear him too.
"Gotta go through me too! You're starting to really get on my nerves!" Aelita growled.
"F-Fine! If I have to, we'll go through all of you!" The girl, Sariah, yelled, and in that instant everybody sent their Pokémon out all at once.
Hawlucha, Frogadier and Houndour hit the ground already running – or flying in Hawlucha's case. Their foes, a cluster of Doublade, Misdreavus and a Duskull, quickly fanned out and began unleashing ranged attacks everywhere.
Trusting that his friends would handle themselves, Will singled out Sariah's Doublade. The bladed Pokémon zigzagged through the air, phasing too intangible for Hawlucha's normal attacks, and Frogadiers was too occupied with the other enemies.
Which meant that Joundour had to navigate through a hot mess of fighting Pokémon just to get to his foe.
Doublade, basically composed of two possessed swords acting as one entity, excelled at both defense as offense. One of its blades whirled towards Houndour, tracing an elaborate attack pattern that saw it slicing several times in quick succession at places around Houndour's face.
Houndour flinched, then blasted the blade away with a quick Ember burst. The other blade came in with blinding speed and whirled around, intercepting the bolts of fire with quick, deliberate slashes. Houndour sprang at the Doublade, baring his fangs to get in a good chomp, but the other Doublade half enveloped itself with a bright, metallic color, and when Houndour bit down he couldn't get a grip. Will ordered him to let go and create some distance.
An attack came in from the side and Houndour narrowly avoided a pulse of water that Frogadier had thrown at the Duskull. Seeing the opening herself, Sariah ordered Doublade to close in and press the attack.
"Now, use Ember!"
Before the Doublade could contact, Houndour blasted it with a series of superheated bolts of fire, stopping it in its tracks. Houndour then charged through the flames, completely unaffected by the heat, and struck - clasping the Doublade between his jaws. Mimicking Mightyena, he began violently shaking his prey, swinging the Doublade in every direction as he clamped down harder and harder. Darkness leaked from his teeth as he infused dark energy into his canines, and cracks began forming alongside Doublade's edge.
"No!" Sariah cried. "Doublade! Damnit!" With a pained expression, she recalled her Pokémon again. She was helpless to watch as Aelita, Ren and Will made short work of her two flunkies.
"Grgh…why can't you all just leave us alone!" Sariah yelled, and Will was surprised to hear a hint of fear in her voice. "We don't want you, and you don't want us! So let's just keep it separate!"
"But why!" Aelita demanded. "What do you get from separating yourself from the outside world?"
"Absolutely nothing," Ren said with disdain. "Being hostile to people will get you nowhere as well. So grow up. Or I'll make you."
Will was so glad that Ren hadn't stopped being so freaking cool -
"You'll make me?" The girl repeated, laughing hysterically. "That's laughable, even for deary ol' Ren."
"Wanna back that up?" Will said. "Round two?"
The girl hesitated, looked at her flunkies and spat, "We'll leave! For now. This isn't the end."
The three of them scurried away, and Will took a moment to let his breathing and heart rate go back to normal. Even after all this time, confrontations like those were hard to get used to.
"Well, way to prove my point," Ren grumbled. "Things are getting worse by the day and you want me to wait? It's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. Aelita, if Narcissa doesn't do something within the next twenty-four hours, I'm continuing with my plan. I'm heading back to Route 3. I need some last minute training."
"I understand," Aelita said, looking dejected. When Ren left, she turned to Will. "Ren's right…things are getting way too violent, way too fast. But what can we do?"
"Hope Narcissa has a plan," Will replied.
"Yeah…let's hope so. I'm heading upstairs. What about you?"
"Me too. Got some sleep to catch up on…"
The two of them headed up to their bedroom. They'd had a long and exhausting day; it was time to turn in.
Will brushed his teeth, got undressed and draped his clothes over his chair. He took a moment to inspect the wound in his side – healing nicely – and then laid down for some serious sleeping. Like they always did, the memories and impressions of the day came flooding into his mind, and the intrusive thoughts started mumbling in his thoughts. Maybe it was the exercise he'd gotten that day, or the social pressure of having to deal with an entire town of people who hated his guts, but he didn't struggle at all with unwinding and drifting off. Slowly, the darkness took him…
"Psst…hey Will, are you awake?"
Will blinked his eyes open. It took him a moment to catch his bearings and process the words. "What's up?" He mumbled.
"I was just thinking…you know, on ways to help Narcissa? Taking her talent into account, what's the best way to convey how she feels?"
"Err…singing?"
"…No? She's an actress. I think the best way to have a heart to hear with her people is through her art. If we collaborate with Narcissa on an impromptu play or somethin', maybe…maybe we can reach a peaceful resolution. I dunno. Sorry for waking you up. Guess I shouldn't ramble. Goodnight, Will…"
"Night…"
Again, slowly, with more difficulty than before, Will slowly drifted away…
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
An ear-splitting scream pierced the silent night and Will all but rolled out of his bed. He landed heavily on the ground, jerked towards his chair and pulled his pants towards him.
"What the hell!" Aelita said, catapulting upright and clutching her blanket to her chest. "Did you hear that?"
"The hallway!" Will's body yelled while his brain worked overtime to work out which leg was supposed to go through which arm-opening in his jacket.
"Right! Don't look, I'm putting on my clothes!"
"On it!" Will yelled, struggling to get what had to be his pants off of his head. They got dressed in record time and Aelita burst into the hallway, with Will close on her heels.
What he saw didn't track with his mind. He spotted Ghost Pokémon speeding through the halls, going room by room and chasing people downstairs. A strange, hazy smoke filled the hallway as well, making it hard to see. The air looked fuzzy and strange, blurry even.
"This place is suddenly infested with Ghost Pokémon now!" Aelita said. She bit her lip, and then shot Will an uneasy look. "M-Man, I don't do well with Ghosts. They're my counter!"
"I am the counter!" Will said. He put the facts together – at the moment that didn't constitute more than a half-sleeping brain putting together that Houndour and Mightyena would eat Ghost types for breakfast – so he sent Houndour out.
They rounded the corner and immediately came face to face with a Ghastly.
"Take downstairs! There's people there!" Aelita said. "I'll take this one!"
"Tch…why are you such a pain!" The Ghastly said.
Which…Will was sure meant something, but he was still working everything out while trying to wake up the old fashioned way.
"Dude, did this Ghastly just talk? Is my fear giving me hallucinations now?"
Still running primarily on instinct, Will ran downstairs, running after Houndour as he struggled to take in what was happening. Slowly, his mind began waking up, and he realized how weird this all was.
On the ground floor, a trio of Ghost Pokémon was haunting the other guests. They ran around, throwing things, breaking the furniture and tearing up the place.
"This isn't right…" Will muttered to himself. "Houndour!"
Houndour sprinted to the middle of the room, regarded the situation and then enveloped himself with an aura of dark, hazy energy. Then, he howled.
The sound was more than ear-splitting, went deeper than the marrow. Will felt it reverberate through the deepest recesses of his mind, felt the howl settling within his gut. it spoke to something primal within him, an animalistic fear that the mind only reserved for the most dire situation.
The closest Pokémon – a Haunter – fell to the floor. The hazy mist grew fuzzy and vague, then the image of the Haunter resolved itself into a different form…
The form of a Team Xen Grunt.
That sobered Will up instantly. Adrenaline and fear mixed into something incoherent.
They were here. They'd found him, and they were here. Everywhere they showed up, someone died, and things only got worse from there -
"No," he whispered.
Her eyes darted to Will and narrowed in recognition. Her hand went to her own Poke Ball even as the other two illusionary Pokémon resolved faded away, revealing another two Xen Grunts readying themselves for a fight.
"No more playing around now," the woman menacingly said. With that, she, along with the other Grunts, sent out their own Pokémon, and the battle was joined.
~~~~~~~(VI)~~~~~~