AN: Going to briefly say that after this chapter comes out, M&T2 along with MM will be put on a massive hold due to me wanting to finish plotting the entirety of my two fics' chapters along with the latter three planned fanfics: M&T3, M&T4, and M&T5. I'm doing this because life keeps seeming rather unpredictable these days. So as much fun as writing these fics blind can be, I can't continue writing my fics like this. I don't know how long it'll take me to finish plotting the M&T series plus MM, but do know that I'll fight tooth and nail to get them plotted!
With that AN out of the way, enjoy Chapter 3 and see you all again whenever my fics are plotted into completion!
Chapter 3: Shinesek the Sun Praising Town!
The tips and taps, the walks and strolls—the grass rustling with each steps Scarlet takes. It's until she stumbles upon an upside down U entrance, a sign attaching to the top saying:
'Welcome to Shinesek!'
Silver nods within Scarlet's grasp. "We're here."
The trio enters the town: Buildings reside across the fairly large place, consisting of an accessory shop on one side to a food market on another and so forth. A fair bit of activity spread throughout, civilians moving along with each other—talking about their lives, eating their ice creams, eyeing the newcomers entering town, or even heading over to the amusement park located at the far north. Some people take photos of a large statue in the middle of the town, resembling the sun itself as it shines brightly—the dark sky replacing the real sun.
Scarlet eyes the sun statue, diving into curiosity before Silver grabs her shirt. "Hmm?"
"The Pokémon Center is nearby over there." The Snorunt points to the hospital sitting beside a few market places near the entrance. "We can wait there until Anne sick the authorities on us."
"Anne?"
Silver groans. "The prick who runs the Shinefits, aka the group you've beaten up."
"Ah, I see."
Just when they're about to move, footsteps quickly approach them. Eyeing beside, a group of blue uniform officers lie ahead alongside Anne and her misfits—the red haired lady points at Scarlet.
"That's them, Mayor!" the Shinefits leader screams.
The Snorunt grimaces. "Shoot…"
"Have them arrested for harassment!"
Silver snarls. The NERVE of her saying we're the harassers!
"Excuse me, please…" a smooth, deep voice says, the officers stepping aside to reveal the person in question: A tall, brown tyrannosaurus rex wearing her black suit, her blue tie swinging from her movements. Once the Tyrantrum stops in place, she stares down the trio—her blue contacts glancing with reverie. "Anne believes you three harmed her. Is this true?"
Silver shakes her head. "Lies, Odus: She picked a fight with us first!" She points back at the Shinefits before grunting. "I was only trying to help this Blipbug out while in the forest, ngh."
The mayor eyes over the Snorunt: Bruises littering across her cloak to her face. Odus then looks at Coleo, injuries spreading over the insect—a brief shiver and groan uttering from him, his eyes remaining closed. The Tyrantrum shakes her head.
"You should've known not to try getting those you've wronged arrested again, Anne."
The jacket-wearing woman gasps, hand to her chest. "But it's the truth, Mayor!"
Scarlet flinches. "'Again'?"
The Tyrantrum gestures her hand to the Shinefits. "Arrest those four."
"WHAT!?" Anne and her gang yell, the officers nodding before handcuffing the group instantly.
"You can't just believe what she said on the spot, oof!" Marilyn exclaims.
"Indeed, we're hurt too, ack!" Diane follows suit.
"I walk on fours, dumbasses! Easy there, grah!" Paula snaps, snarling at a Gothitelle cop. The cop rolls his eyes and snaps his fingers, encasing Paula in telekinetic energy. She huffs. "Much better."
Anne stares daggers into Silver. "You won't be lucky next time, Frossnerd." The Shinefits are then dragged towards the north, a police station sitting behind a few trees ahead. Odus releases a sigh.
"I apologize for their antics." She straightens her tie. "They love causing ruckus towards those they dislike."
"Especially in my case…" Silver mutters.
Scarlet quirks her brow. "Huh. Why's that?"
The Tyrantrum gazes down at Silver and Coleo. "It's best that I explain this while those two receive the heals they deserve."
Scarlet stares at the duo as well. "Ah. Fair enough then."
The four look towards the Pokémon Center and walk over.
. . .
Inside of the center, a few amount of people are at the counter talking with the nurses while some sit idling away on their chairs: Tapping through their phones, munching on a chocolate bar while looking out of the window, and even gaming hard on their Nintendo Switch 2. Sitting beside those people are Scarlet and Odus: The woman caressing her chin nodding and listening in on the things Odus says.
"Shinesek is a wonderful town that unfortunately has a myriad of issues needing to be addressed: Violence rear itself here and there, thievery being at a high time phase this month, and there's been general mistreatment such as what the Shinefits did to Silver. That group thinks they could do whatever they want thanks to the issues Shinesek has." Odus sighs. "Of course my officers and I are doing our best to apprehend all of this, but it does feel like it's never enough."
Scarlet caresses her chin, nodding. "I see." She stares off. "That's pretty unfortunate."
Odus sighs, rubbing her temples. "I don't let the issues hinder me." Frowns. "I'm always willing to get to the bottom of it, although it's always difficult to do so because of the...complications."
"How so?"
Odus holds her hands together. "Criminals here kept escaping jail mere days after their arrest." She eyes up. "It makes locking them up pretty difficult because they kept bypassing the system."
"The system, huh…"
Odus nods. "Yes. There be cases where just when I thought I find the culprit of this whole escapade…" The t-rex grips her fist. "Another issue arises some days later to undo my efforts: Essentially putting me back to square one." She caresses her head, groaning.
"Ah…" Scarlet eyes down, the woman caressing her camera. "That is pretty complicated, it seems."
The Tyrantrum stares out of the window, gazing at the sun statue. "I hope someday to bring Shinesek out of these unfortunate circumstances." Once the statue glows brighter than earlier, a few people hangs around it: Mesmerized by its aesthetic. Odus smiles. "This town deserves better: It deserves waking up to the sun for a better day, having a fascination for its symbol."
Scarlet looks at Odus with intrigue. "Symbol?"
"Yes: People of Shinesek sees the sun as hope and beauty, reigning a positive reminder to them." The t-rex closes her eyes. "I respect the thought process wholeheartedly, hence why I've become the mayor of this town."
The pale woman gazes at the statue, radiating with vibrance—brightening itself enough to exude gracefulness within the dark. She becomes entranced, smiling. "Understandable. The statue does have that beauty to it after...all…" The woman goes silent, her lips still: Contemplating. She gazes into an image in her mind—a tired-looking woman eyeing her down, glaring.
"This isn't true beauty."
Is all the woman says before Scarlet returns to reality: Jumping back, gasping. She grasps all over herself, touching her arms and then her face, panting. Odus lifts a finger.
"Are you alright?"
Scarlet regains her composure, eyeing the statue again: The civilians dancing around and praising it, laughter rising. A brief tear surfaces up her eyelid, the woman shaking her head. "Yes, I'm…" She takes a breather. "I'm fine, thank you for asking."
Odus flinches. "Are you cert—"
"Do you have a place I could stay in? Perhaps a hotel or something?" the woman suddenly asks, adjusting her hat.
The Tyrantrum blinks briefly, pointing towards her right. "Erm, there's a hotel over there by some markets and houses."
Scarlet jolts up. "Thank you." She speed walks to the exit.
Odus lifts a finger. "Would you like to visit your friends the next day or—"
"I will!" the Sorcerous quickly says before leaving.
The Tyrantrum stares into concerns. "She clearly seems distressed about something..." She sighs, standing. She stomps her way over to the Pokémon Nurses' counter—mindful of her height. The nurse behind it looks up at the dinosaur, shivering at the mere height differences alone. Odus takes notice of this and laughs nervously, scratching the back of her head. "Thank you for always providing your service to Shinesek."
"Uh, yeah! No problem!" The woman simply smiles. "We do our b-best to take care of anyone here, free of charge due to the upcoming ceremony!"
Odus nods, snickering. "Right." She closes her eyes, moving her tie. "As the brave and confident mayor, I'll give the best of speeches: Ensuring people's safety will be continued, bettering the prosperity of Sunny Shinesek!" She winks, snapping her fingers. "You can count on me, heh."
The nurse caresses her arm, eyeing off. "Hopefully it'll be different this time. The amount of patients I have to take care of due to the crimes here…" She eyes up the Tyrantrum. "Please make sure that it's different, Mayor Odus."
Odus' smile fades instantly when the nurse tells her that, nodding. "I'll...do what I can."
"...I-I should note that you're holding up the line, by the way." The nurse gestures behind the Tyranturm. The t-rex turns: A few individuals sitting by looking at the duo, waiting.
Odus nods. "My apologies. I'll head over to my office, anyways." She looks back at the nurse. "Provide me updates on the Snorunt and Blipbug whenever possible."
The nurse simply nods, prompting Odus to leave the center. The dark brown woman sighs, ruffling her black hair. "Man I keep forgetting how tall the mayor is."
. . .
Scarlet traverses through Shinesek, passing by a decent portion of people—even spotting one man juggling some bowling pins with a male Oinkologue balancing on twos, the crowd being mesmerized by the performance. Scarlet stops briefly and thinks about smiling to the wonderful sho—
"Smiling isn't beauty, Scarlet."
"...Tch." The woman frowns, continuing onward to the large hotel ahead: Wide with an array of windows containing each guest's rooms, double doors residing in the middle of it all. Pushing the gray doors open, she gets the hotel's interior.
White and blue walls spread throughout the place, a reception desk on the right along with two doors: One of them being by the receptionist themself while the other is parallel from the first door. There's some blue furniture on the left along with double doors that leads to the hallway displaying rows of rooms, a candy machine sitting idly beside it.
Scarlet walks towards the Bayleef receptionist, withdrawing cash from her pocket and setting it on the desk. "A room for myself, please." She briefly gazes at her pockets while the green-leafed dino takes the woman's money via their vines, a sigh leaving her. I really need a backpack. Photos, cashes, her wallet, and other stuff are piling up within her pockets.
The Bayleef hands her a key. "Room 213 straight behind you," the individual says, their voice hazy yet calm.
The woman takes the key. "Thank you." She then walks down the hallway behind her as a couple walks up to the receptionist desk, eyeing down her key. She succumbs to the appearance of it, adoring its simple yet exquisite shape and feel. Wow...I really like how this key looks. She brings it close to her face, unaware of something approaching close to her. It almost looks be—
"It's not beautiful."
"…" Scarlet sighs, her eyes closing. Right. I almost forgo—
BUMP!
"Uff!" Scarlet and the person in front of her fall to the ground, the two groaning. The woman's camera snaps off her strap, crashing down before breaking apart. The woman stares at it, sighing—rubbing her head. "Just my luck…"
"I'm very sorry about that, ma'am!" the individual ahead says, revealing to be a light skin man with a green shirt and black shorts. His eyes seem to be always closed, the woman notices—spotting his red sandals, too.
Scarlet shakes her head, standing. "No no, it's fine. I was the one who ran into you, anyways. I didn't pay attention." Sighs. "I apologize."
The man grabs the front lens and the main camera itself, standing as well. "I can fix it for you." His head lowers. "Or at least can help you find another one."
Scarlet eyes the fella, caressing her hat. "That's rather kind of you. I appreciate it." She grabs hold of the broken machine. "May I have your name since you're willing to help me?"
The man nods. "Li Cheng." He smiles. "Yours'?"
"Scarlet Bellerose. A pleasure meeting you, Mr. Cheng."
"Did you recently moved here?" Li asks.
Scarlet nods. "Yeah." She twiddles with her broken camera. "This place seems to really like the sun."
Li lays a hand against his chest. "It's one of the most valuable parts of our lives." Smiles. "It helps people and Pokémon alike continue on in life, waking up to a new tomorrow—one that's better than the previous. And if not," he presses an arm against his chest. "At least there's always another shot at a different tomorrow."
The woman stares at him briefly before saying, "Right."
Li slides his hands into his pockets as a few group of people pass by. "Haven't you seen the statue, too? It's pretty magnificent and beautiful, leaning close to the intent of what the sun represents."
Scarlet flinches, her movements coming to a halt. Is it beautiful…?
Li smiles once more. "The people of Shinesek made a wonderful tribute to the sun with that statue, conveying how far they'll honor the light it provides." He stares up. "Now that's the kind of care and honesty I appreciate."
The woman eyes down the camera. "It all sounds quite lovely. I agree." After a brief silence between the two, she nods. "Well. I'll be heading to my room now. It's dark out after all, and I'll need all the rest I can get."
Li smirks. "Likewise." He provides a two-finger salute. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Bellerose."
The woman provides a soft smile. "Scarlet would do just fine, you know?"
Li blinks. "Ah. Fair enough then." He turns, his hands behind his back. "Let's hope we can get that camera fixed tomorrow."
Scarlet nods. "Agreed."
From there, the two go their separate ways: Scarlet continuing further down the hallway until she eventually reaches her designated room to the left. Inserting the key into the locked door, she opens and enters: A large bed to her right, with two lamps sitting on top of drawers to occupy it. A decent-sized TV is to the woman's left, resting on a wide drawer as the closet is on the right side, the bathroom being on the left. And then there's the wide window ahead of Scarlet, blinders shielding across it—showing off bits of the outside.
Once her door closes, she heads over to the desk: Setting her camera there. Scarlet then turns her attention towards the brightly lit statue outside the window, intrigue painting her. It vibrant and glistens like earlier, people gathering around still awing at it: Some even pulling out their phones to snap a photo of it along with each other.
The woman tilts her head slightly, her hands holding together—caressing one another. "Wow…" The kids chase each other around the sun statue, one of them even plays a flute alongside a Dusknoir: Glee smearing across them. Scarlet watches the people of Shinesek sharing their joys, a warm feeling circulating throughout her. "The statue...the people…"
She lays a hand on the blinds. "It all does look beautiful. The sheer happiness and joy coming from people's celebration is wonderful. Sorry, mo—"
"Mo...ther…"
"…"
Her gazes remain, feeling as though it's been there for a long time: Days, weeks, months, years—centuries, even. Her hand rests on the blinds, her eyes being as still as a Deerling by the crossroad. Scarlet soon closes the blinds, remaining in her spot for a brief more minutes before walking over to her bed. She lies on top of it, curling—shielding her face.