Chapter 30: Talks with a Champion
The group started to head out of Export City, all of whom were chatting amongst themselves, though most of it was directed at Adagio. "Sorry if we're bombarding with talk, but we honestly didn't expect you to accompany us." Cherry apologized.
"It's fine, the company is nice and I do enjoy traveling with others." Adagio said, a small smile on her face.
"Still a bit weird to be traveling with the champion. I know it's not that weird in hindsight, but it's so odd to me." Sigma said.
"Adagio is a talkative and social champion. She likes to go around the region whenever she can and help out in whatever way she can or just hang out." Echo explained. Hibiki nodded in response as Adagio blushed and rubbed the back of her head.
"I'm not that social, I just make sure the region is running as smoothly as possible." Adagio responded, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
"Hey, an active champion doing stuff in the region is something that I respect. Better than what the champions we have back home." Sigma commented.
"Oh yeah, Paldea doesn't really have champions in the traditional sense, does it?" Hibiki asked.
"Correct, it's more a title that's given to people who can prove their worth. There are champions in the traditional sense mind you and it is still rare though, so take that with what you will." Sigma explained.
"Huh, now I'm more curious to visit Paldea. Later though, we have our own journey to get through." Echo said. Hibiki nodded and the group continued along for about an hour before taking a break on the side of the road to rest. "Man, I knew that there would be a lot of walking, but this is something else." Echo complained she rubbed her legs.
"Weren't you the one that always told me to get out of my room… even before the Surge?" Hibiki teased before adding that comment.
"Just because I preach it doesn't mean I follow it." Echo said as she laid on her back.
"Has this been a common occurrence?" Adagio asked.
"Somewhat, Echo does like to rest a lot." Cherry said.
"I'm not fit like the rest of you." Echo whined. Hibiki was going to say something when she heard a massive growl from everyone's stomachs.
"... Oh right, I forgot we haven't eaten breakfast yet." HIbiki realized.
"Yeah it is about to be 10, isn't it?" SIgma said as he looked at his watch.
"I mean, I'm cool with waiting for you all to eat." Adagio told the group. The others all nodded and set up their cooking equipment, letting out their Pokemon so they could all eat. As Adagio let out her Pokemon, she looked at the five teams of Pokemon in front of her and gave a sad sigh, which Cherry noted.
"Something bothering you?" Cherry questioned as he walked up to her.
"It's nothing, just thinking about old times." Adagio responded, a sad smile on her face.
"Back before the Surge?" Cherry asked.
"Yeah, during my adventure specifically." Adagio said as she reminisced.
"I wish I could have been there to see what you accomplished. I've only ever heard stories second hand from you and others." Cherry commented with a small smile.
"It was a pretty good journey." Adagio said, giving a little chuckle. The two women looked at Hibiki and Echo before sighing, Adagio specifically looking really depressed. "You know, I've always wondered if I could ever make it up to them." Adagio admitted, looking at the blue sky.
"You still blame yourself for it, don't you? No offense, but I doubt you could have changed anything." Cherry told Adagio, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"I know it's just… the mind loves to put those scenarios in my head." Adagio responded.
"Trust me, I think they know that more than anything else." Cherry said, motioning to the Hibiki and Echo. Adagio looked at the twins for a moment before shaking her head and putting a smile on her face. "If they held anything against you, I doubt they would have kept talking with you over the past ten years. I understand that you're doing everything you can to make sure everything is safe in the region, but take some time to care for yourself." Cherry comforted, with a caring smile.
"...Man, you really do know how to talk to people." Adagio said, her voice calmer now.
"Hey, you also have to know how to handle people in order to be a Pokemon Professor." Cherry told Adagio. Adagio and Cherry both continued to chat with each other as SIgma looked at the two adults.
"Adagio seems really nice." Sigma commented to Echo and Hibiki.
"She is a well liked champion for a reason." Echo said as she cooked the food for the group.
"What are your opinions of her? Not to insinuate anything, I'm actually just curious about that." Sigma asked the twins, a bit of nervousness in his voice.
"Oh it's completely fine that you ask that. She's honestly really nice when you get to know her, very sweet and caring, always ready to go help those that need it. That being said, I think she is a bit of a work-a-holic and runs herself ragged very often." Hibiki told Sigma.
"Yeah that is basically the same for me. Honestly, I'm glad the two of us are friends with her." Echo said as she glanced over at their group of Pokemon.
"Honestly, about what I figured from you two. Obviously I haven't known her for long, but she seems like someone I would look up to." SIgma said. HIbiki and Echo both nodded as Echo finished cooking the food, calling everyone to come and eat. As they all sat down and Echo gave the Pokemon food she had cooked to their Pokemon, the mood was very lively and happy as they all talked amongst each other.
"Oh yeah, I've been wondering, has there been any trouble in the region?" Sigma asked Adagio, as Echo served everyone at the table their food.
"Aside from the usual problem causers, I've been getting told that there have been sightings of these soldier-like trainers from various places around the region." Adagio responded.
"That would probably be Neo Cypher. Are there any other details that you've heard about?" Hibiki questioned.
"Nothing pressing immediately comes to mind, the only things that I've heard is that they generally keep a distance from people and mostly just observe." Adagio explained.
"Interesting, I thought they would be more aggressive now that they're found out. Then again, keeping quiet is probably the best thing to do if they want to stay active for as long as possible." Sigma commented.
"Either way, I doubt that we're just going to be free of them easily." Echo said. Cherry and Hibiki both nodded in agreement as they all continued to talk amongst each other. As the group finished eating and proceeded to rest for a bit, Hibiki yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Had a bit of a sleepless night?" Echo asked.
"Nonsense, I think I got like… three or four hours of sleep last night." Hibiki told Echo, her eyes drooping closed before she opened them again.
"Sis, go rest and get some sleep. Alaria City isn't that far and I would rather you stay awake when we meet Professor Michael." Echo said with a smile. Hibiki wanted to retort back but simply nodded and walked off to go rest by a tree, with Melody following suit to watch her. Echo simply shook her head and sighed before smiling and walking back to the others. "Hibiki is going to get some shut eye for a bit, apparently she had a bit of a restless night." Echo told the others.
"Yeah I could tell, she was tossing and turning the whole night. I am fine when it comes to sleeping through that stuff, but I did notice it." Cherry commented.
"Well, I know we can get there in time, but I also don't want to just sit around and wait." Sigma said.
"How about this? I wait here with Hibiki while she sleeps and we meet you in Alaria City once she wakes up." Adagio offered.
"I guess that works, but I feel bad about leaving her like this." Echo said with a frown as she looked at Hibiki, who was fast asleep.
"Echo, you know Adagio is more than happy to help at any time. Let your sister rest up." Cherry told Echo. Echo paused for a moment before sighing and nodding in agreement to the plan. "Ok then, the three of us will see you in the IPP Headquarters." Cherry told Adagio.
"Got it, and don't worry about Hibiki. I'll keep an eye on her." Adagio reassured the nervous Echo. Echo simply nodded and the three continued down the path to Alaria City, leaving Adagio with Hibiki and her Pokemon. As Adagio looked towards Hibiki, she saw that Hibiki was already sitting down against a tree fast asleep while Melody was keeping a watch over her. This little moment made her pause for a moment as she thought about something that was on her mind. "Well, may as well see about that project of mine while I wait." Adagio thought as she got out a drawing notebook and pencil. Adagio then sat on the ground, turned to a blank page, and proceeded to draw something she had on her mind.
?...
Hibiki opened her eyes and found herself walking through an open field with a figure that resembled her grandmother walking beside her. "So Hibiki, how has your journey been going?" Symphia asked, her voice somewhat echoey.
"It's been going good all things considered, I met some friends I didn't expect to and am currently working on driving back an evil organization that is hell bent on taking over the world." Hibiki said in a confident tone.
"That's wonderful and it sounds like you're got a lot on your plate." Symphia said with a smile.
"Yeah, I even met… you… is this a dream?" Hibiki asked.
"Wondered when you would figure that out." Symphia said as she grabbed a drink from thin air.
"I don't even know anymore, given that I encountered your ghost a few days ago. In fact, is that who I'm talking to right now?" Hibiki questioned.
"As much as you would appreciate that, no. Just a figment of your dreaming imagination." Symphia responded, ruffling Hibiki's hair a bit.
"Had a feeling." Hibiki said with a somewhat disappointed sigh.
"Hey now, just because we're in a dream shouldn't mean that you're disappointed. If anything, it's probably because you meet the spirit Symphia that you're dreaming of me right now." Symphia told Hibiki.
"True…" Hibiki said. The two stayed silent as they continued to walk, until they came across a beach that led to the ocean with an island in the distance.
"You're nervous aren't you? About everything that has happened so far?" Symphia asked in a motherly tone.
"Very." Hibiki said as she sat down in the sand.
"Well, why don't you talk with someone about it? It's better than keeping your anxiety bottled up and eating away at you."
"I've told Echo… well, told her parts of what is making me nervous." Hibiki responded sadly, a frown appearing on her face.
"Are you scared that she won't entirely get why you're so nervous or completely overreact?" Syphia said.
"Yeah." Hibiki said simply.
"I get that. Still, since you are looking for someone to talk to, why not talk to Adagio about all of this?" Symphia suggested.
"Adagio? I mean, the thought has crossed my mind, but I also feel like I would be taking advantage of her." Hibiki told Symphia.
"...She is literally a champion that is traveling with you and one that likes you. Are you just making excuses not to talk with her?" Symphia questioned in an annoyed tone.
"I know I am, but I just can't bring myself to do it for some reason." Hibiki responded. Symphia pondered that for a moment before realizing something and sitting beside Hibiki.
"You're still a bit bitter deep down?" Symphia questioned. Hibiki stayed silent for a moment before giving a heavy sigh.
"It's not like I don't get it, there was absolutely nothing that she could have done to save you. That being said, there's just some part of me that wants to believe that there was something that she could have done to save you." Hibiki said in a guilty tone, her hands digging into her knees.
"That is a feeling I completely get, but it's also one that is dangerous. I'm not going to force you, well more like I can't force you, but even if I could, I think you should at least talk with Adagio." Symphia told Hibiki.
"You're probably right, I just need to think about what I want to say." Hibiki responded.
"Well, why don't you just say what's in your heart?" Symphia suggested.
"That isn't a good idea, who knows what I'll end up saying to her." Hibiki said in response.
"Maybe that's all you need to do. Sure you will probably say something that you will end up regretting, but what does that matter if it gets the job done?" Symphia retorted.
"...Man, you really are made up of my own thoughts, aren't you?" Hibiki said, a small smile forming on her face.
"Hey, it is your dream." Symphia responded. The two laughed for a moment as the mood began to ease up and Hibiki looked happier.
"Why did you start talking to me anyway? I could have thought this wasn't a dream, at least to an extent, the whole way if you didn't speak." Hibiki questioned.
"About that…" Symphia said, looking out at the ocean. Hibiki tilted her head in confusion before looking out on the ocean and seeing a pillar of light coming from the island.
"Ok, why can I not just have a normal dream?" Hibiki wondered aloud as she got up.
"You are an Esper that is connected to both of the Legendary Pokemon in charge of dreams, normal went out the window a long time ago." Symphia told Hibiki. Hibiki simply gave a glance at Symphia before sighing and giving a knowing smile as a bridge rose from the ocean that lead to the island.
"Yeah, you're right." Hibiki said as she began to walk to the island. Symphia giggled as she waved goodbye and vanished into motes of light. As Hibiki continued to walk, her mind wandered and thought about what her "grandmother" just told her. "I wonder… if I am an Esper of the Dream Duo and I think I am about to talk to who I think I am, was that last dream on the boat also an attempt to communicate?" Hibiki wondered to herself. Hibiki's train of thought was interrupted as she saw someone lying on the edge of the beach.
"...lp me…" a voice called out.
Hibiki began to speed up and sprinted to the island, sliding onto the beach of the island as she got a better look at the pokemon. "I knew it." Hibiki said to herself as she saw Crescelia laying on the beach. As she walked closer, she grew more concerned as she saw that she was in pain and as she got close, she saw why. Crescelia's body was covered in various scars, some old and some relatively recent, and she looked exhausted like she was fighting something.
"Hello?" Crescelia called out weakly.
"Is that you Luna?" Hibiki questioned as she got closer.
"I only know a few people that call me name. Is that you, granddaughter of Symphia?" Luna responded, a small smile forming on her face.
"It's Hibiki, and I appreciate that you remember me." Hibiki told Luna, keeling by her side and putting a hand on Luna's body.
"I would never forget the kin of my chosen trainer, though as much as I would love to reconnect, I am not in the best state for this." Luna said, turning her head to look at Hibiki.
"I had a feeling about that. …I have so many questions that I want to ask, but I feel like I know the right one for this. Is there any way I can help you?" Hibiki said, a knowing acceptance in her voice.
"At least you ask the right questions. At the moment, there is no way to help me as you are. In fact, if you see me in the real world, run away." Luna responded.
"I… I understand." Hibiki said, a bit hurt and confused about what Luna had said
"Good, now I don't have much time to talk with you, so I want you to listen closely." Luna told Hibiki. Hibiki was quiet, nodding in understanding as she motioned for Luna to continue. "If you haven't guessed by now, or if it hasn't happened yet, you have more than likely been contacted by Darkrai in your dreams. More than likely if he hasn't contacted you, then you will have received a nightmare in some form that will have spooked you. I apologize for that, he isn't the most social of people, he'll get in touch eventually. When that happens and you can talk with him, come seek me out after." Luna continued, her voice getting more strained as she kept talking.
"I got it. I don't know what your situation is, but I will help you if it's the last thing I do." Hibiki responded
"Good, now let me rest." Luna requested. HIbiki nodded as she stood up and saw Luna start to disappear, making Hibiki feel a bit tense. As Hibiki turned to walk away, she felt something sinister behind her, almost swearing she felt a hand grip her shoulder tightly, before shaking the feeling off and walking away, the world around her turning to light.
Hibiki opened her eyes slowly and stretched her arms as she woke up, her eyes slowly adjusting to the sun. As she got a sense of her surroundings, she felt a small weight on her lap and looked down to see Melody staring up at her. "Morning sleepy head." Melody told Hibiki as she woke up.
"Morning Melody, I take it you were watching me as I slept?" Hibiki asked in a somewhat groggy tone.
"Yep, and I'm not the only one." Melody responded before looking ahead. Hibiki slowly looked up and saw that Adagio was sitting a good ways away, drawing some things in a book she had. She also saw the rest of her team mingling with Adagio's team that she had out, which consisted of a Stageon, a Kingambit, and a Azumaril.
"Oh, the others went ahead to Alaria City?" HIbiki questioned, looking around.
"Yep, Adagio offered to stay behind so you could rest in piece. Also so you don't just panic when you see no one here." Melody said. Hibiki gave a small smile as she patted Melody on the head, letting her go as she got up and stretched her back. Adagio looked up and saw Hibiki getting up, quickly putting her drawing stuff away as she got up and walked over to Hibiki.
"Had a good sleep?" Adagio asked.
"Yeah, how long was I asleep?" Hibiki responded.
"About an hour. Are you ready to go?" Adagio said. Hibiki thought about that for a moment and was going to say yes, but stopped as she remembered her dream.
"I am but… do you mind if we talk a bit first?" Hibiki asked.
"I mean, we can wait til we get to the city." Adagio told Hibiki.
"True, but I kind of want to talk about this privately." Hibiki said, a bit insistent on that point. Adagio looked at Hibiki for a moment before simply nodding and walking over to the tree Hibiki was under, the Pokemon walking back to their respective trainers. As they returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs, Hibiki paused when holding out Melody's Pokeball, earning a quizzical look from Melody.
"Don't worry about me, just have your talk with Adagio. Something tells me that you need it." Melody told Hibiki with a smile. Hibiki simply nodded in understanding and returned Melody to her Pokeball before looking at it and taking a deep breath.
"OK, so what was it you wanted to talk with me about?" Adagio asked curiously.
"Well, I think it's more something that I've been wanting to get off my chest. Something about the Surge that has been eating away at me." Hibiki said, a bit of frustration in her voice. Adagio was quiet as she let that sink in before nodding in understanding.
"What would that be? Just general frustration?" Adagio questioned.
"I guess so. I'm not 100% sure what I want to talk about, but I just want to talk with you." HIbiki told Agaio.
"Got it, then I suppose I should start with this, I want you to punch me as hard as you want to and speak your heart." Adagio said, tossing her bag on the ground. Hibiki looked up at Adagio, not exactly sure she was hearing what Adagio had said correctly. "You heard me right." Adagio confirmed.
"How?" HIbiki questioned, a somewhat pained tone in her voice.
"Simply put, because my gut is telling me that you have some feelings about me that you don't want to admit." Adagio responded. Hibiki said nothing as she stood still and clenched her fist before sighing and giving a smile.
"Do you have to be so on the nose?" HIbiki asked.
"Part of my job, now come on. I can tell this is probably going to get personal and I want to get this out of the way." Adagio said, bracing herself for the punch. Hibiki made no movement at first, but quickly ran up to Adagio and gave her a good punch in the gut, making the champion fall back on the ground.
"Why!? Why couldn't you do anything to save her!? You looked up to her so much, idolized her, and this is how you repay her!? I know that there was a lot out of your control, but why couldn't you do anything!? I just… I-" Hibiki vented, a fury unlike her in her voice. As Hibiki stuttered, something clicked in her mind as she fell to her knees and began to cry. "I just… miss her so much." Hibiki finished in a soft voice. Adagio massaged her gut before looking at the crying HIbiki with a look of understanding and pity.
"Yeah, I had a feeling that's what this was about." Adagio said as she got off the ground. Dusting herself off, Adagio walked up to Hibiki before grabbing the younger girl and pulling her into a hug. "Being completely honest here, I've been asking myself the same things for the whole time I've been champion. There is nothing more I would have liked than to save Symphia, but I wasn't able to and I have lived with that regret these past ten years." Adagio comforted, patting Hibiki on the back. Hibiki kept sobbing for a bit as Adagio led the two to a tree where they both sat down, Adagio keeping a hand on Hibiki's shoulder the whole time. After a few minutes, Hibiki managed to collect herself and wiped the tears away as she looked at Adagio.
"Thank you for letting me do that… and I'm sorry." Hibiki told Adagio.
"It's all good, though I should be the one apologizing for letting you keep that bottled up. Had I known about it sooner, I probably would have talked with you or even done this." Adagio responded.
"That might have helped. How are you feeling by the way? I punched you pretty hard and I'm worried I might have broken something." Hibiki asked.
"I'm doing good enough, very thankful that I decided to take up the same training that you did." Adagio said as she rubbed where Hibiki had punched her.
"Really?" Hibiki said, a tad surprised at that fact.
"Yeah, Champions get a surprising amount of free time to themselves." Adagio commented.
"Huh, good to know. Speaking of that, how was being made champion after… you know?" Hibiki questioned, not wanting to say the last part.
"It was very much an emotional roller coaster for me. It was only two months after we started to recover from the surge when I got the news. You can imagine my surprise, guilt, excitement, and all of that when I heard that I would be named the Champion for the League that year." Adagio replied, a hint of reminiscing in her voice.
"I remember that day, both how furious I was that the title was moved on to you so soon and how relieved I was to learn that it was you that got it." Hibiki said.
"Yeah, I still can't believe that I almost lost that year. It was a pretty close one and your mother put up a good fight." Adagio said.
"Oh right, she did make it to the finals that year. Didn't she also berate you during the battle about how you were acting?" Hibiki questioned.
"I completely forgot about that, but that did wake me up and get me back to my usual self. I would like to think that I've done a good job keeping the reputation of Symphia alive over the years." Adagio replied, a small smile on her face.
"I would say that you have done that part very well." Hibiki said. The two stayed quiet for a moment, a bit unsure about what to talk about next, when Hibiki coughed and started to speak up.
"I'm grateful that you offered to let me vent my frustrations out on you, even if it was a bit violent. Honestly, it did make me feel a bit better compared to how I was two days ago." Hibiki told Adagio, a more relaxed tone in her voice.
"No problem. …Oh right, I was meaning to ask, did you have a good sleep?" Adagio said.
"Kind of, had a weird dream though." Hibiki responded nonchalantly.
"How much of it do you remember and was there anything notable about it?" Adagio questioned.
"Well, I met Luna if you can believe that." Hibiki told Adagio.
"Really?" Adagio said in a somewhat shocked tone.
"Yeah. I'm a bit bummed that I keep having these dreams, but I guess I'm going to have to get used to it." Hibiki said as she sighed.
"Hey, Symphia said she had those dreams constantly as well. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, but I am a bit concerned now. What did Luna talk with you about?" Adagio commented.
"Not much sadly, though it looked like she has been through a lot, like she had… been… tortured." Hibiki said, slowing down towards the end as she started to think about something. Hibiki remained quiet as she thought more about what Luna had said along with how she had looked while Adagio remained quiet, letting Hibiki think in silence.. "…Ok, I think I might have a theory as to what's going on with her, but I want your opinion on it after you hear what she told me." Hibiki spoke up, a hint of concern in her voice.
"Hit me with it, I want to hear this no matter what she said in the end." Adagio said, curiosity in her voice.
"To keep it short and simple, she basically said that she is in a position where we should not try to help her, but we will know when to go see her. Yeah she really didn't say much." Hibiki told Adagio.
"Yeah, that is very little. Why did she say so little?" Adagio pondered.
"If I'm right, it might be because she's in the hands of Neo Cypher." Hibiki said, a grim acceptance in her voice. Adagio immediately looked at Hibiki with a look that questioned if she was serious before thinking about what was told to her.
"Given how you said it looked like she was tortured and how to not go look for her, that is entirely plausible. Add on to that the fact that no one has ever seen her for the past ten years, or Darkrai for that matter, and that theory makes a lot of sense." Adagio responded, in a somewhat panicked tone.
"I figured it would, which means we should probably follow her advice. If she is in Neo Cypher's hands, then there's not much we can immediately do if we can't find their base." Hibiki said.
"True enough." Adagio said.
"Anyway, that's enough talking for now. We should go meet with-" Hibiki began to say before being interrupted by the sound of an explosion and rumbling. When the rumbling faded, the two girls looked at each other before running in the direction of the explosion. As they got closer, they saw a pillar of smoke coming from a dome in the middle of a field, the source being from a hole in the top of the dome.
"Oh, an explosion at the Desert Terra Dome is not good. Come on Hibiki, this takes precedence over the meeting." Adagio said as she ran ahead. Hibiki put a hand out before sighing in acceptance and following behind Adagio as the two ran to the dome entrance. When they arrived, they saw several people, both tourists and workers, outside running away, some of whom were screaming. "What's going on here?!" Adagio called out to one of the workers.
"Champion Adagio! Thank god you're here, we have a massive problem. Team Noise entered the dome an hour ago and we think they're responsible for that explosion earlier." the worker responded.
"Great, just what we need right now. The two of us will head in to get them out, you and the other workers make sure the people are safe." Adagio told the worker. The worker nodded and ran off before Adagio turned to look at Hibiki. "Sorry for dragging you into this." Adagio said with a sympathetic tone.
"Better that I come along anyway, since Team Noise had Shadow Pokemon last time." Hibiki said, a small smile on her face. Adagio simply nodded, a knowing smile on her face, as the two entered the Desert Terra Dome.