Chapter 6—Someone like me—
After Miku, Luka and I were done with our service assignment, we kept working until the next show was upon us. I was excited to see this one too! When it began, we saw the show's title was "A diligent daughter" and the main actor was Rin this time! In the show, Rin's parents had their anniversary coming up and Rin wanted to buy them flowers and surprise them, but she didn't have any money… so her solution was to work for it. Rin did yard work, dog walking, car washing for neighbors and similar errands until she had enough money to buy her parents a nice bouquet of flowers, which she gave them and they were very grateful for. It was a nice reminder of the importance of working hard and being self-reliant.
After the show ended, we prepared to move again. Once we were all ready, I got in a separate car with the others and we drove south… and yet, I couldn't help but feel uneasy, after what the others had said about the attacks that had been happening in southern Yamato… everyone else was pretty quiet too… finally, I said: "That last show was fantastic, Rin! I liked its message about working hard and honestly earning what you want. Where's the site of our next one?" "It's located in Borton, a big city. That's bound to be to your liking, right, Lucas?" Kaito said before I said: "You bet! I'm right at home in the concrete jungle!" And we all chuckled before I said: "Anyway, I hope you'll all forgive me for saying this, but… judging by the direction our car went when we left, we're headed south this time, right?" "Yes… right towards the attacks…" Luka said before Rin said: "What is Mr. Victor thinking? Getting closer to such a dangerous place has more than its fair share of risks… especially when we're performing at a public venue…" "Well those attacks are in the far south… though it's true that they've been creeping further north bit by bit, they're still pretty far in the south. Borton is a little further away, so hopefully we'll be safe…" Miku said before Meiko said: "But Borton is still in close proximity to bordering where the attacks are happening now… that isn't a good sign for what might come our way…" "We'll just have to finish our show before anything happens… I just hope Mr. Victor has factored that into our schedule…" Len said before I looked down. I didn't like seeing so many of my friends with worried faces… I never did. It reminded me of earlier days when I was still a young soldier, back at home…
"I'm sorry to have upset you all… forget I said anything." I said before I went on: "But don't forget that you're all ahead of the curve—you know how to raise and use Pokemon. That means you're in a much better position to defend yourselves and others and survive. Heck, you're probably more equipped to walk out of any situation alive than a police officer or a military officer, so don't worry about your well-being, okay?" And everyone looked up and smiled at me before Miku said: "Thank you, Lucas. You're really good at encouraging people and helping them keep things in perspective." And I smiled before we kept on riding.
After some time, we finally arrived in Borton—it was a pretty glitzy city, with lots of bright lights. In that sense, it seemed like a place where Miku and the others' next show could reach a lot of viewers and make an impression… though I was used to seeing high tech cities, I had never seen such a well-decorated one. It actually made me really glad we came here. We had received permission to build our tent outside the city, so not too long after we arrived, I got to work with the other crew members and once it was set up, we got some rest for the night.
The next morning, I worked for a couple of hours until I heard a: "There you are, Lucas!" It was Luka. I looked up and said: "Hello, Luka. Is this about our next service assignment?" "Yes. Mr. Victor wanted us to meet him in his office, so we'd better go. Are you ready?" She asked. "Of course. Let's go, then." I said before Luka and I left.
While we were on our way to George's office, I said: "So I note you said Mr. Victor said he wanted to meet "us" in his office. Does that mean it's just you and me this time?" "Well no… I suppose it's good that this came up when it did, because he's actually doing something unexpected this time…" Luka said before I said: "Something unexpected? Like what?" "He actually called all of us to his office… in other words, you, Miku, Rin, Len, Meiko, Kaito and I are all going on this next assignment together." Luka said before I said: "All the staff involved are going? That certainly is different…" "Yes… I'm a little concerned what it might mean…" Luka said before I said: "Luka, don't let your confidence waver. Remember what I said about us being ready." And she cheered up a little before we eventually reached George's office.
When we entered, I saw Luka was right: in addition to George, Miku, Rin, Len, Meiko and Kaito were all here too! When we stepped in, George said: "Good morning, Luka and Lucas! So glad you could come!" "Thank you, sir. Now what was the service assignment we had this time? Judging by what Luka has said, it sounds rather different…" I said. "Indeed it is, Lucas… as I'm sure you all know, attacks have been occurring in southern Yamato. That said, your assignment this time is to go investigate an incident at the border to the next city, where some civilians turned up dead…" George said before Rin said: "What?! You're asking us to go out into dangerous territory and investigate a murder?!" And then she went on: "You can't be serious! It's not fair to ask us to risk our lives for a service assignment!" And then I walked up and put my hand on her shoulder and said: "Rin… don't despair. Remember, we are in a position to do something like this with a much higher chance of survival than anyone else. If you have the power to help someone, you should. It could save people's lives. Those who have power have a duty to apply it for other people's benefit. That's what I think, anyway." And Rin looked up at me and said: "Lucas…" before George said: "Well said, Lucas. And that is the reality here."
And then he went on: "Now please don't think I don't have my own reservations about this; I am aware of the risk of asking all of my performers and my employees' only bodyguard to go on an investigation of this nature. But you all have what it takes to survive this and protect the people of this community. I also know that this is an unusual assignment and I by no means have any plans of making this the new norm. This is merely a bump in the road and I encourage you to look at it as such. That's why I want you to muster up the strength I know you have and stride forward with confidence. With Lucas at your side, I believe everything will be alright. Which reminds me, I have something important to tell you, Lucas…" "Yes sir?" I asked before he said: "I am placing you in charge of this assignment. That is to say, the others will answer to your orders and follow your instructions." "I am honored, sir. I promise they will come back safely." I said before George said: "Good. I believe that you will accomplish this successfully and you will return safely too. So go out, watch yourselves and do your best." "Understood, sir. We will be back as soon as we can." I said before he said: "Good. Then your next step is to wait out by the tent for a transport vehicle to arrive that will take you to the destination. Once it arrives, the driver will return in a few hours and wait for you to come. From there, you can conduct the investigation until it is resolved, across multiple days, if need be. Now go on!" before we left his office and exited the tent.
From there, we waited until the vehicle finally arrived and we all got in before the driver drove us to the border to the next city before we were dropped off and we started asking around, to try to gather information from witnesses. I could see Rin and the others were a little on edge as we went around—they were frequently looking around for any sign of someone dangerous. I could see this assignment was taking its toll on everyone's morale… I was going to have to work hard to keep everyone's spirits up. We asked passersby that we found, but as was expected, that didn't yield any promising testimony. We did learn the victims' names, though: Spencer and Erin Carson. From there, we searched until we entered the city itself… it turned out this city was called "Dorrin" and was also a big city, but not as big as Borton. Everyone looked a little better when we were inside, though they weren't letting their guard down just yet. As we searched, we eventually saw a young boy tossing a football to himself further down the street and decided to ask him. As we approached him, I said: "Excuse me, young man…" And he looked up and said: "Oh… aren't you guys in the Elysian Opera?" "We are, yes. Thank you for recognizing us—it makes us all happy." Rin said before the boy said: "Of course! I'd remember any group that has performers who are almost my age! That's really awesome!"
And then he went on: "Thanks for talking to me. Did you need something?" "Yes. We actually wanted to ask you if you knew anything about the disappearance of Spencer and Erin Carson. Any information you can provide would be useful, no matter how trivial." I said before the boy said: "Oh yeah, I know them! They lived in my neighborhood before they were killed by some dangerous people." "Dangerous people, you say? Do you know anything about them? We could use any information we can get." I said before the boy said: "Yes! I actually saw them when they were killed that night." "Then please tell us: what happened?" I asked before the boy said: "It was a small squad of spacemen. They were the ones who did it—" But I was shocked when I heard that! "Spacemen?! What makes you call them that?" I asked before he said: "Well they weren't exactly like spacemen, because they didn't have helmets and their armor looked almost plated… but they did have really cool, shiny space armor that had an awesome, silver sheen! And they had utility belts where they kept these awesome white beam guns that could fire green lasers!"
But hearing this was more than a little shocking… plated, silver armor, no helmets and beam guns… that sounded like standard attire for a soldier in the army I used to serve! I paused before I said: "I see. Then in that case, do you know where they went following Mr. and Mrs. Carson's murder?" "I was sneaking away, so I can't say for sure, but I thought I heard 'em talking about going back to the Streluga Plains." The boy said before I said: "Alright. Thank you for telling us all you did, young man. You've been very helpful." "Hey, thank you for taking me seriously! A lot of grown-ups I told that to just looked at me like I was crazy when I told 'em that or treated me like I was dumb. You're the first people who actually listened to me when I told you my story." The boy said before I said: "That's regrettable that they treated you so rudely, but we appreciate everything you've done. Thank you so much again." "Thanks, sir! You're a really nice grown-up." The boy said before I said: "You're welcome. We have to go now, but hopefully we'll meet again, preferably at a performance one day." "Aww, that'd be so cool! I hope we do!" The boy said before he went on: "I'll be watching for you then! Goodbye!"
And he ran off before Miku giggled and said: "I never knew you were so good with little kids, Lucas. You really are full of surprises." And I smiled at her before Kaito said: "Well that was certainly some… unusual testimony. Spacemen? Plains? Do you think any of it was real?" "I think it was. We should go investigate immediately." I said before Meiko said: "Lucas, I understand wanting to follow a lead when every other piece of information we've gotten has been minor… but are you sure this is worth acting on? It sounds more than a little far-fetched." "Despite how it sounds, I believe it is." I said before Len said: "But how do you know? What are you basing that on?" And before I could answer, Miku said: "Hold up, everybody—Lucas is our leader. He gives the orders and we follow, remember? That's what Mr. Victor said." And then she turned to me and said: "So what do you say, Lucas?" "Let's go outside the plains that boy mentioned and investigate. We may find something if we're thorough enough." I said before Rin said: "But—" And Luka said: "What did Miku say? Lucas is our leader. We follow him." And Rin looked nervous before Luka said: "We'll go, Lucas. I just hope you know what you're doing…" "I do. Don't worry." I said before we left for the Streluga Plains.
As we started getting close, the sun was beginning to set. The plains looked beautiful bathed in the sun's red-orange glow. As we walked through the grass, Luka said: "Oh, the plains are so beautiful tonight…" And Len said: "It kind of reminds me of Garrows. Back when Lucas helped both Rin and I catch our second Pokemon." "Yes, I remember that, Len. That was a fun outing…" Rin said, but then I saw something swooping down from a nearby tree! "Everyone, duck!" I said before they did and I saw the creature that had swooped down fly in front of me before it turned around and made another pass before it was in front of me and I saw it… it had a silver torso shaped like an eggplant with blue-gray legs and talons, as well as a blue-gray tail like a lever. It had a blue-gray thin, long neck as well as a silver head with a horn on the top of its head and a pointy beak. It had silver wings with red interiors and yellow eyes with black pupils. It was tall too.
This creature… it was a Pokemon. A Skarmory, to be exact. Skarmory were rare steel and flying typed Pokemon that were difficult to harm because of their many resistances and few weaknesses. "SkarmoRYYY!" The Skarmory said before everyone got up and I took out Girafarig's Poke ball and said: "Go, Girafarig!" And I called her out before I said: "Girafarig, give that Skarmory a taste of your thunderbolt!" And Girafarig said: "Gira!" And she zapped Skarmory with a bolt of electricity that hit her hard! "Skar!" She said before she recovered and then said: "SkarMOR!" And she flew at Girafarig while spinning in a corkscrew motion before she crashed her beak into her and flew back across from her, but Girafarig looked hurt from her attack, even though it wasn't strong against her… this Skarmory looked pretty strong! "Girafarig, it's time to switch tactics! Use crunch!" I said before Girafarig ran up to Skarmory and when she got close, she swung her head on her tail around at Skarmory, which bit her hard! Skarmory still got up, but looked badly hurt… what a perfect opportunity! Skarmory attacked Girafarig the same way as she had before, and then I took out an apricorn ball and made it emit a red laser at Skarmory before it sucked her in! It rocked a few times in my grasp before it stood still! I had caught Skarmory!
"Yes! Great job, Girafarig!" I said before she said: "Girafarig!" And I looked down at Skarmory's apricorn ball and said: "And Skarmory… thank you. We'll make a great team going forward." And I put her apricorn ball away before Miku said: "Great job catching Skarmory, Lucas. You made that look easy!" And I turned to her (and the others) and said: "Thank you, Miku. I was fortunate to have a Pokemon that knew electric attacks—that's one of only two types Skarmory is weak to." "Only one of two types? That Skarmory must be hard to bring down…" Kaito said before I said: "They are. And that's only one reason why she's going to be a great ally going forward." And then I went on: "Now let's keep going—be sure to keep your wits about you, especially as it gets darker. We'll investigate for 30 more minutes and if we see nothing, we'll return home and try again tomorrow." And Rin gave a sigh of relief and said: "That's good… thank you for stopping before it got dark, Lucas. I was worried we'd be looking around after nightfall—" And then I said: "Of course not! I may be brave, but I have my limits. Now come—we don't have a minute to waste." And we kept going. We kept searching the plains for clues, but it wasn't long until we saw something in the distance… I ran behind a tree and gestured for the others to follow me and they did before we peeked out and saw what we had spotted:
It was a man wearing silver armor… it was just like the boy described (even down to having a beam gun) and he had short brown hair, a mustache and hazel eyes. But I recognized him…! This… this was…! "So the boy was right… there really are killers in fancy, spaceman-like armor… I never would have imagined…" Meiko said before I ran out from the tree and further ahead before Miku said: "Lucas!" And as I got closer, I said: "Ralph!" And he turned to me and when we saw each other, I saluted him and he saluted me back before he said: "Is that you… Major Hendrick? What a relief it is to see you alive!" "Likewise! You don't know how worried I was that there were no survivors besides me…" I said before Ralph said: "Yes, being brought to this world… it was all so disorienting. I'm relieved to see you alright, Major."
And then he looked up and said: "And who are these people?" And I turned around to see Miku, Rin, Len, Luka, Meiko and Kaito (and they all looked very surprised) before I said: "Oh, they're my friends." And Ralph suddenly looked surprised as he said: "You made friends with those people?" "Yes. But back to where we were… what happened, Ralph? How were we brought here?" I asked. "The current speculation is that it happened when the researchers were experimenting on the ARK… that was about when that strange wave of light swallowed our world up, anyway. Did you see it, Lucas?" Ralph asked. "I did. My soldiers and I were in the field when it happened." I said before Ralph said: "Ooh, that's tough. That must have been frightening, then…" "It was, but that's by no means my top concern anymore. Even so, it's amazing to think my own speculation about the ARK being the culprit may have been true…" I said before I went on: "Ralph… are there any other survivors with you?" "Yes." He answered. "How many are there?" I asked. "There are a little over a thousand, the emperor among them. Considering our population, not many people made it… it's very distressing." He said back.
"Wait… His Excellency is with you?!" I said before Ralph said: "Yes. We were lucky he made it." And I gave a sigh of relief before I said: "That's so great! But even so, supporting over 1,000 people has to be tricky in this world… how have you been getting by?" "Well how do you think, Lucas? We've been conquering territory for our people. That's what we've been doing all this time." Ralph said.
"What?! You mean… you mean the attacks on the south of this continent… they've all been from our people?!" I said before Ralph said: "Exactly. As was expected, news has spread further north, I see." "Who gave the order?!" I asked before Ralph said: "The order was given by His Excellency himself." "What?! Emperor Christophe said that?!" I asked before Ralph said: "He did. That's why our campaign has begun." And I looked down out of disbelief… to think my people were responsible for all this conquest and all these deaths of innocent people… I didn't want to believe it!
"You seem rather surprised at all this, Major. I must say, your reaction is a little… unexpected." Ralph said before I sighed and he said: "Major Hendrick?" And I couldn't respond as he said: "Anyway, why don't you come with us? All your old comrades would be happy to see you, I'm sure." And I didn't respond before Ralph said: "Lucas?" And I shook my head before he said: "You're refusing? Why?" And I finally said: "…Major Simmons… it's not that I don't trust you… but I don't want to act too rashly. Before I do anything too extreme, I need to confirm the truth…" And Ralph paused before he said: "I'm not sure why you're like this… but very well. But you should watch your step, Major—even if you don't believe me, you should be careful what side you take in this war. If you play your cards wrong, then the next time we meet, it could be as enemies."
And I saluted him before he saluted me and I said: "Goodbye, Major." And he nodded before he went off… I felt so drained now as I watched him go… when he was gone, Rin said: "What… what was that?!" And I turned to see everyone was in total disbelief before Kaito said: "Lucas, you look so depressed and drained…" And Miku said: "Lucas? Would you mind talking to us about it?" "No, not at all. You're my friends, after all." I said before I went on: "But this place isn't safe. Let's get back to the city we started in before we proceed with this course of action. "Okay, sure. If that's what you need…" Meiko said.
And then we backtracked all the way to the city where we had started before we got into a rather quiet plaza before we all got together and I said: "Thank you, everyone. I appreciate you being willing to wait for the right time like this…" "Of course, Lucas. Now what was the deal with that guy you knew back there?" Len asked. "…He is a soldier in the army I used to serve. He was the other soldier to hold the rank of Major besides me. As you heard in that conversation, I was originally from another world before I came to this one… it was an artifact that we seized from our defeated enemies in a war that brought us here. That was the 'ARK' we were referring to—" I began before Meiko said: "So you're from another world… it seems impossible to believe, but on the other hand, it explains so much… how you aren't familiar with our currency, how you didn't know the name of this continent, how you know how to use all of these new technologies and understand Pokemon and Voxort… it's amazing, yet it makes perfect sense…" "And you got the ARK by winning in a war? What were these people you defeated like, Lucas?" Rin asked. "They were evil! Their soldiers killed my parents for no reason and had been fighting my people for as long as I could remember. They also invented the technology that creates the Voxort—implanting chips into the brains of corpses that causes them to mutate and revive as monsters who they control the behavior of by what they programmed into the chip. In other words, a slave soldier class. And they did it all because we were winning the war! They committed such terrible atrocities all for their own selfish whims!" I said before Luka said: "I see… you're right, that does sound unthinkable…"
"I guess that does explain a lot… but if I'm being honest, there's still one thing I don't understand." Miku said before I said: "Let me guess: you want to know what I plan to do next, right?" "Well no, that's actually not it… Lucas, you said you wanted to find out the truth about what your emperor is planning, but if that's the case… why didn't you go with that Major Ralph guy? Why did you stay with us? If you wanted to know what they were planning, wouldn't it have been faster to go with him?" Miku asked. "Because I didn't want to do anything stupid. It was painful to doubt one of my own people, sure, but you're all inherently valuable to me. You're all my dear friends. That's why I have to get confirmation first before I do anything—if this isn't true, I don't want to get tricked and do anything I would regret later. But on top of all that… I don't want to believe what he said. You all are my friends and I don't want my people to fight you. I want us all to get along. You're all special to me." I said. "We're special to you, huh?" Miku said before she giggled and I suddenly felt embarrassed as Rin said: "Oo-hoo, are you blushing, Lucas?" And they all laughed (and I couldn't help smiling) before Luka said: "Well I'm glad Miku asked that, because it makes me happy to know you feel that way—and I doubt I'm the only person here who feels that way. Thank you for telling us that, Lucas." And Kaito said: "All friendly teasing aside though, it is heartening to know that's what you think, Lucas. Now come on—we'd better catch that van and go home before it takes off without us." "Guys…" I said before I went on: "Thank you. I'm so happy and relieved you still accept me, even after what you heard Ralph say. You really are the best." "We're happy to, Lucas. But even so, that still leaves the matter of how we're going to report this to Mr. Victor and the agency on whose behalf we're investigating…" Len said before I said: "Yes… that will be important. But we've got a whole car ride back to think about that. For now, we'd better get to the van, like Kaito said." "Yes, I'd say you're right. That will be plenty of time and it's still getting darker. We don't want Mr. Victor to worry, either." Meiko said before I said: "Exactly, Meiko. Now come on! Let's get to our ride before the sun sets!" And we picked up the pace as we went back to the van.
Eventually we found it where we had started—thank goodness the driver was still there! We all got in and he drove us back to Borton, outside the tent (we arrived well after dark) and we tipped him generously for being so patient before we hurried back to the tent and went in before we went to Mr. Victor's office. Miku knocked on the door before he said: "Come in…" and we all entered (and he looked up) before he said: "Miku, Rin, Len, Luka, Meiko, Kaito and Lucas! Finally, you're back!" And then he went on: "You shouldn't have worked this late! It's dangerous to work until this hour of night!" "Is it really that late, sir…?" Len asked before George said: "It's past 9 o'clock, Len! All of you are supposed to be off the clock now!" "We're sorry, sir. But at the very least, we do have something good we can report: our investigation has concluded." I said before George said: "Already? Let's hear your results, then."
And I told him everything… about Spencer's and Erin's murder, the culprits, the location they were hiding away at, their plans for this world and I even told him they used to by my people… I thought of omitting that detail, but if George ever found out before I told him, I was certain it would not bode well. Finally, he said: "So a group of humans not of this world has appeared here and is responsible for the attacks in southern Yamato… and you were once one of them, Lucas?" "Yes, but only before my arrival here, sir. I have never taken the life of any person in this world." I said before he said: "This story is certainly incredible… and hardly seems plausible." And then he turned to the others and said: "Is all of this really true?" "It is, sir. We saw the enemy admit it with our own eyes." Miku said before George sighed and said: "Very well… then I suppose I'll have to think over how I'll explain it to the agency I'll be reporting to." And then he went on: "In the meantime, you'd all better get to bed. Rest up as much as you can for tomorrow." "Yes. Thank you, sir." Kaito said before George said: "Good. Then you're dismissed." And we all left.
When I returned to my room, I tried to get some sleep, but unfortunately, it was just eluding me… today had been too harrowing, with all I'd heard… my people were responsible for the people of this world's suffering and deaths… looking at these circumstances, I wanted to stop it if I could, but that hardly seemed likely… and it raised the question… what would happen when my people's interests and the residents of this world's interests collided…?