Chapter 31: We Waste All Our Time Alone
“Is that the new one?”
“Why yes it is, young trainer! Have you come to-”
“I’ll buy it off you for 500,000 dollars!”
“What? It’s not-”
“5,000,000? 50,000,000? I assure you my father can pay the price!”
“Please listen-”
“500,000,000! I MUST HAVE IT!”
“Alright enough! If you keep insisting that Fennekin is for sale then I will have to ask you to please leave the lab.”
“Pfft! Whatever! I’ll get my hands on the Fennekin one way or another. Be sure of that Professor Sycamore.”
The steps of this individual echoed across the lab halls with one final slam of the large front doors sending one last shocking sound throughout the building. The soft rain fell from the gray clouds softly pattered on the skylights. Sycamore let his hand run down his face as he sighed.
“Only a day in and already we have peddlers such as this,” he said.
“It’s the thing you would expect,” said another voice.
Sycamore looked and gave a half-hearted chuckle. “How much did you see, Sophie?”
“Enough.” She walked down the stairs. “What do you plan to do?”
“I’m left with a dilemma. I could just offer it up randomly to any new coming trainer, but who’s to say that those hounds wouldn’t give the money to them. I’m sure something like that would be very convincing for a ten year old.”
“Perhaps they would actually give them a nice home.”
“I appreciate the optimism, but I think we should play it safe for now.” Sycamore walked down the hall.
“As you wish.”
From the corner of his eye, Sycamore saw something quickly move around the corner. He stopped and stared. “Fennekin? Is that you?” Nothing happened. Sycamore sat down on the floor and crossed his legs. “Come now, take as long as you need.” His voice was soothing and inviting. For almost a minute he sat there in silence. The soft rain pattering in the background. Eventually, he saw a red eye peek around the corner.
“There you are.” Sycamore outstretched his arms, “It’s okay. You have nothing to fear.” The eye blinked and came closer, eventually becoming two eyes. The veil of shadow unwrapped itself from the black fur of Fennekin as it slowly approached. Sycamore waited patiently as it stopped just inches away and gave him a few sniffs. After a few moments, Fennekin only sat in front of him, still a couple of inches away.
“That’s okay. You do what you're comfortable with.” Sycamore leaned back on his arms. “Were you watching that?” Fennekin gave the subtlest of nods. “I see. I know those kinds of people are scary.” Fennekin’s head drooped. “But I want to assure you something.” Fennekin looked back up. “I will make sure that you will not have to leave unless you’re absolutely ready. We’ll find you the perfect trainer.” Fennekin shook its head. “No?” Fennekin came closer and brushed it’s head against Sycamore’s leg. Sycamore gave it a scratch behind the ear, giving a little startle.
“I know leaving with a trainer seems scary. So many things you don’t know. But believe me, in time, everyone finds one reason or another to leave the nest. I’m sure you’ll find your reason one day.” Fennekin laid down against Sycamore looking away. It’s thoughts were so clouded with uncertainty. It felt like closing its eyes and sleeping was the only way to escape. As it’s eyes closed everything became black. But then they opened back up and it was somewhere else.
Fennekin stirred, yawning and stretching as it did so. The evening sun poured through the white curtains and the air was brisk. Looking around it saw that it was in Marie’s room. This time it was all orderly and clean. Then it remembered, Solga! It jumped up ready to battle but there was nothing. It was hard to remember what happened. Everything seemed to fade into black. That is when the head pains came back. It scratching it with its hind legs only to find that it was wrapped up in bandages again.
Waiting for the aching to go away, Fennekin flopped back down on the soft cushions of Marie’s bed.
“Yeah…!” shouted a voice from down the hall. It then devolved into a bunch of voices arguing. Fennekin rolled its eyes and became curious as to who would be making such a racket. Reluctantly, it dragged itself away from the warm soft bed and jumped down to the floor, went through the open door, and walked down the hall. That is where it saw Ceailean, Marie, Crisis, and Vertant all sitting in the circular couch bickering with one another.
“You’re such a lil’ cheat!” shouted Marie.
“If I was, then why would they add it to the game?” Vertant leaned Marie’s face, “Huh?!”
Marie pushed his face away. “You can’t just counter and say ‘try something’ every time I try to attack you!”
Vertant raised his hands and gave a smug grin. “Oh yeah, well then stop attacking!”
“That’s not how it works! Nothing would get done!”
“Git gud.”
Marie clenched her fist hard. “One more game! I’ll show you!” Noibat and Scorbunny were chanting at the screen waiting for the next game to start.
“Fine then! But to start crying once your audience sees you get put down again!”
Marie growled. She pointed at Ceailean and Crisis intensely. “C! Crisis! Yall better get ready cause I’ll take all you down!”
Crisis sighed, Snom sharing his emotion laying upon the backrest. “This device intentionally creates conflict. I do not see its purpose outside of being detrimental.”
“What do you mean by that?” asked Marie.
Ceailean put his hand together and said, “It layman's terms he’s saying, ‘Is only game, why you have to be mahd.’”
Marie grabbed Ceailean by the collar and shook him around. “You know I hate that meme, C!”
Ceailean was chuckling mischievously and Vertant was holding his sides with laughter. “I kid! I kid! Please! Haha…” Ceailean’s head fell to the side. “Fennekin?”
Everyone stopped to look at Fennekin, adding anxiety to its already confused mood. Fennekin just sat there and awkwardly greeted everyone.
Marie’s face beamed with happiness. “Fennekin!” She ran over with open arms.
“Marie, wait!” shouted Ceailean. “Remember what Nurse Joy said.”
“Oh yeah. Um-” Marie slid down next to Fennekin. “Hi!” she said in a cutesy voice, clearly restraining herself from embracing the small pokemon. Fennekin couldn’t but be flattered at least a little bit. “Oh my gosh Fennekin we have so much to tell you! You-You passed out at the battlefield and I was so worried if you were okay. But now it looks like you are, so glad to see you’re okay! And-and-!”
“Marie, please!” said Ceailean. “One thing at a time.”
“Oh, okay.” Marie took a deep breath. “Alright. You remember Solga?” Fennekin gave her a ‘no duh’ expression. “Well, Officer Jenny took him to custody. He got attempted aggravated assault added to his charges ‘cause you know-” Marie knocked the top of her head and simply chuckled, “Interrogations start tomorrow and Officer Jenny said if he cooperates well, he and Sewaddle won’t be separated! They’ll only have to serve around 600 hours of community service.” Fennekin congratulated the circ*mstance. “And another thing, when we took everyone to the pokemon center, Nurse Joy gave me an earful. She went on and on about how I wasn’t supposed to let you battle, how dangerous it was, I should’ve just called Officer Jenny. But Jenny stood up for me, saying Solga could’ve gotten away if it wasn’t for us! Still she told me to not let you strain yourself for the next couple of days. Oh! Guess what-” A set of beeping noises came from the bathroom. Marie gasped, “It’s ready!”
She picked herself off the floor and ran over to the bathroom. From around the corner she tossed out various clothes and whatnot until she came back around the door. “Look what I got!” She then put her beanie on, fast and snug. “Look! I got my beanie back!” Fennekin couldn’t help but feel Marie’s infectious excitement and jumped around with her. “I got it back, Fennekin! I got it back!”
“It was found along with a bunch of other head wear inside of a bag where they found Solga and took him to the hospital.” explained Ceailean.
“Yes, but something I find curious,” said Crisis, “You had mentioned that the beanie was in fact the last thing your mother has given you. Would you care to elaborate?” The room went quiet. Everyone felt anxious as to what Marie would say. “I-It would be alright if it is a subject you would wish to not remember.”
Fennekin whimpered anxiously at Marie. “It’s alright.” she said, comforting it with a pat on the head. “The thing is, I never actually knew her.” Vertant and Crisis listened intently while Ceailean closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the ceiling. “She uh… passed when I was born. Dad said she always wore this beanie. Felt like it was something that was a part of her. So naturally, my dad gave it to me in order to remember her.” Marie's fingers glided along the hem of the beanie. “He says… I remind him of her a lot.”
“Oh Marie, I’m so sorry,” said Vertant.
“It’s okay. It hasn’t affected me too much.” Ceailean cracked open an eye for a brief moment. “But that’s enough about me, it's getting a bit chummy in here.”
“Well then, what do you suggest we do?” asked Crisis.
Marie gave a small smirk. “We could play one more game?”
“Still thinking about that? Truly, you have a one track mind.” said Vertant.
“If you insult my pride like that I have no choice but to defend it! C, Crisis, get ready for a beat down!”
Ceailean grabbed his controller and held it on his lap. “Aight then.”
Crisis poised himself politely. “I shall partake in this conflict once more, but only because I am willing to humor you.”
“Hehe! That’s more like it!” Marie then looked down to Fennekin, who was looking curiously at the screen. “Fennekin. Allow me to show you the technique of a master gamer! You’ll cheer me on for the whole thing won’t ya?” Fennekin gave a determined nod. “Alright!”
“If anything, all the pokemon should cheer for me. That way you all don’t have to experience the loss along with your chosen player. After all, I’m technically an ultra master gamer!” Fennekin spit a small spark at Vertant’s face, startling him.
Marie started laughing. “I think that’s a no!” Everyone started laughing along with her as they booted up the next game.
() The evening sun quickly set under the horizon and the halls of the palace were eerily quiet. Marie walked into her darkened room without so much as turning on the light. Snom rested upon her shoulder as Marie cradled Fennekin. She felt around the room until she came up to her bed, placing down her pokemon on it before flopping onto it herself. A big stretch and a yawn later, she felt like she would just sink into it. Before she drifted off, Fennekin scooted over and snuggled up upon her side.
“Aww, Fennekin.” she said softly. She scratched the top of its head. “You’re so cool, you know that. You helped so much when trying to find Snom, I really don’t deserve it. So, thank you.” Fennekin’s ear twitched. Didn't deserve it? Snom was Fennekin’s friend too and Marie helped it at Tuviere. She deserved to have way more. Fennekin got up and pushed on Marie’s arm forcefully in an effort to change her mind.
Marie chuckled. “Alright alright! If you think I deserve it, then I’ll agree with you.” Fennekin flopped back down by Marie’s side, satisfied. Snom also took this opportunity to thank Fennekin personally, to which it was grateful.
Before Marie could say goodnight, her pokedex hummed. She sighed disappointingly and reached over to the nightstand to see who it was. Much to her surprise, it was Christianson. She had forgotten to block him again after her battle with Solga.
The messages read:
I know why you’ve unblocked me.
Something happened didn’t it
Something you could handle
Your father is telling you to come home-
Marie couldn’t read anymore. She quickly blocked the number again and set the pokedex back down on the nightstand. By scratching Fennekin’s head again, she found some more comfort.
“‘Night you two.” she said before drifting off to sleep.
()The next day. An abrupt knocking at her door pulled Marie out of her slumber. She rolled around to her pokedex to check the time.
“What the heck,” she groaned, “8:30?” The knocking continued. “What!?”
“I need to speak with you.” explained Crisis, “This matter involves Vertant.”
“Ugh.” Marie reluctantly sat up with her eyes barely open. However, she saw something interesting. She gave a small chuckle when she saw Fennekin sleeping upside down, legs in the air like it was swimming. She took this opportunity to snap a quick photo before answering the door. “What is it?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. “Is it serious?”
“Not particularly. I’m am just here to inform you that Vertant’s father, Culdaver, has arrived early this morning.”
Marie blinked slowly. “Is that all? I woke up for nothing?”
“Do not think that this is the time to rest again, Marie. Lest you have forgotten your original goal for taking this journey?”
“The Kalos League?”
“Precisely. Therefore, you must learn to keep a consistent and healthy sleep schedule. It is always best to travel early while we have the most amount of sun. The only reason I let you stay up to 2am was because of our victory against Solga. The group was in dire need of a morale boost.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
“I also suggest you wash up. Ceailean has already occupied the washroom. And if my knowledge is correct, you haven’t had the time to wash up since we’ve got to Camphrier. You know, just a thought.” With that, Crisis walked away.
Marie smelled the inside of her shirt and confirmed that it was ‘musty’, to say the least. She gathered her new clothes and went out to wait for Ceailean.
() “Marie! What’s taking so long?” shouted Ceailean from the living room.
“Just a few more minutes!” echoed Marie’s voice.
“You said just a few more minutes thirty minutes ago!”
“Don’t exaggerate C! You wouldn’t know how to make yourself look good if it slapped you in the face!”
“Well your ‘good looks’ is keeping us from moving on to Cyllage City!”
“It would take a couple of days anyway! What is five more minutes?!”
“But you just-!”
“Alright,” interjected Crisis, “Let us not get caught up in an endless loop of conflict.”
“But-”
“Please.”
Ceailean sighed. “Fine.”
“I’m just about done anyway.” assured Marie. The lock to the bathroom clicked and out came Marie. She wore a gray short-sleeve t-shirt and a black vest. Down below were black skinny jeans and white shoes with pink highlights around the sides. Topped off with gray socks with a pair of red stripes running down the side. Marie’s blonde hair flowed down her body like a river and was capped off with her signature red and black striped beanie, the white pom on the top drooping to the side endearingly.
“C, so uh… how do I look?” she asked while crossing her legs nervously, blushing slightly.
Ceailean put his finger to his chin and examined closely. He bent up and down and said, “Bit tomboyish, colors are kinda basic except for the slight amount of highlighted colors, and you look like a delinquent I’d find hanging out in an alley because they think it's cool. But at least your mom’s beanie really brings it together. Plus you match the color palette of your pokemon.” Ceailean gave her a smile and thumbs up. “Six outta ten, nice work!”
Marie then threw a pillow at Ceailean face, making him fall back onto the couch. “I don’t even know why I asked you.” she said in disappointment. Ceailean’s muffled chuckling could be heard from underneath the pillow.
“Rest assured, Marie,” said Crisis with a bow, “I think you look marvelous.”
“Thank you, Crisis. See C! At least he knows how to compliment a lady!”
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“A lady? Where? All I see is a legal adult man, a joker of a teenager, and a pretween!” Ceailean laughed even harder at his jokes. He was then buried in more pillows. But no matter how many he was buried in, Marie could always hear his muffled laughter.
“That joke is gonna stop working in a couple months C! Just you wait!”
Crisis cleared his throat. “Let us move on shall we? Let us discuss our plan for Cyllage City.”
“Yes.” Ceailean rose from the mountain of pillows as if it wasn’t there. “But when I think about it, it just seems like walking until we get there right?”
“Yes, but we should have an allotted time for travel and a date for when we plan to get there.”
“Crisis, a journey is never as simple as that.” said Marie. “You’ll never know what’ll happen. We’re guaranteed to get sidetracked sooner or later.”
“Yes. look at the past couple of days. Suppose we didn’t expect that.” supported Ceailean.
“But if we can focus, these unexpected events should never happen to us again. Marie, if we plan accordingly, we could be entering Cyllage city in four days and you could have your gym battle on the fifth.”
“But I’ll need to train! If Solga already had such a strong Pokémon that could coordinate with his precognition for that long, who’s to say that gym leaders won’t be even stronger?”
“I hardly believe so. As far as I know your entire experience in battling was with criminals and one really strong wild Pokémon. I believe that would be a far greater accomplishment that you won each of those engagements than just winning a gym battle.”
“Just winning a gym battle? That comes with prestige and honor! They are the trainers that are the strongest of their respective towns and cities!”
“What good does that title hold compared to the scope of enemies you have battled? It should be significantly in your favor-”
“Alright!” interrupted Ceailean, “Before we go too far with this, I’d like to present a solution!”
“What is it, C?”
“Do go on.”
Ceailean rubbed his hands together. “Okay, here we go. Raise your hand if you think we should take our time on the way to Cyllage City.” Ceailean and Marie raised their hands. Crisis sighed. “Now raise your hand-”
“No, your point has been made quite clear.” said Crisis, defeated. “Fine then, I shall follow your plans as to prevent further conflict.”
“Yes!” Marie cheered.
“So it’s decided. We’ll address anything that we feel like we should involve ourselves in. After all, we have all the time in the world right now.”
“We do, unfortunately…” Crisis mumbled.
“That being said, let’s pack our things and say one last goodbye to Vertant before we head out.”
“Sounds like a plan.” agreed Marie. Ceailean nodded and walked off to his room. Crisis was about to do the same when Marie said, “One more thing, Crisis.”
“I’m listening.” he said calmly.
“The thing you were going to say before, how battling criminals should give me the edge. That’s what I thought when I battled Solga for the first time. Look what happened.” She stood up with conviction. “I refuse to underestimate anyone else ever again! Be it gym leader or criminal! Remember that.”
Crisis was slightly taken aback at her determination. He smiled. “Well said.” Marie smiled back and went to go pack her things.
() The doors to the dining hall were opened and Ceailean, Marie, and Crisis stepped in. On the very corner nearest to the kitchen sat Vertant and another man.
“You guys!” Vertant waved, “Over here!” The group walked over. The man that sat across from him turned around and examined the group. He had a pot belly and wore stylish purple royal robes, contrasting Vertant's designer t-shirt and sports shorts. His goatee and hair were obviously dyed but his expression was very welcoming.
“Is it true, Vertant?” he asked him, “Are they the ones that participated at Tuviere?”
“The ones and only.” assured Vertant.
Marie looked over curiously. “Huh, who’s that?”
“Do you not remember?” asked Crisis. “I had told you of Culdaver’s return, Vertant's father.”
“I was knocked out no more than thirty seconds before you told me that. How was I supposed to remember?”
Ceailean reached his hand out to Culdaver and said, “I’m C-”
“Ceailean.” he finished, “And you're Marie, and you are Crisis. My son has told me a lot about you three. I must first give my gratitude for your efforts at Tuviere.”
Marie scratched the back of her head. “Man, the more people mention it, the longer it feels like it happened.”
“Yes, but it is a shame that Tuviere seems to be a hub for the criminal and unnatural.”
“What do you mean by that? Does it have a long history?”
Ceailean then remembered something. “Wait, no!” He pulled out his pokédex and started scrolling through his tabs. “It was actually something very recent! I saw it in the middle of that Solga fiasco, look!” He placed his pokédex down and showed everyone the article he screenshotted.
Utter Devastation: Tuviere Now The Victim Of A Second Incident. Leaving The Entire Town In Ruins Amongst The Jagged Earth
“By Arceus,” said Marie aghast, “Tuviere looked nothing like that when we left.”
“Yes, this incident occurred only five days ago. The town is now unrecognizable. Apparently there was this giant monster that appeared there and wrecked havoc all over. Thankfully, Team Harmonious was there to quell the beast's anger.”
“They were?” asked Ceailean, “Crisis, did you know about this?”
Crisis seemingly snapped out of a trance. “Um, no. I have not been informed of this in the slightest.”
“They’re really leaving you on your training journey huh?” said Marie.
“It would seem so.”
“Well, at least it doesn’t involve us anymore,” said Vertant. He then gestured to Crisis, “You know except…”
“My involvement only relates to the Team I am a part of, nothing more.”
“Just sayin’ anyway.”
“Let us not dwell on such past events.” said Culdaver, trying to cheer up the mood. “Oh! And do pardon my manners. My name is Culdaver Fraziure, I am humbled to be in your presence.”
“Oh-ho, no need to be so humble.” said Marie, “We’re just a couple of kids after all.”
“Nonsense! Not only were you crucial in Tuviere, you were here to correct my son’s mistake.”
“You need to point that out?” asked Vertant nonchalantly.
Culdaver slammed his hand on the table and pointed at Vertant, startling him and Marie. “It is necessary that you learn from this failure! I mean seriously! You hired war reenactors to guard the halls! How does that happen?”
Vertant looked away nervously, “I… kinda just did it on a whim. I just saw war and I thought they were vets or listing off their past works-”
“You never need to take such drastic measures.” Culdaver said sternly. “If the crown is stolen, you only need to contact me.”
“But I wanted to take responsibility and try and get it back, maybe even save him.
“There is nothing you could have done. The fool had done it only to throw his life away.” Culdaver sighed, “Did he have family or anyone he cared about?”
“We don’t know.” answered Crisis.
“A shame. It will take me a while to track down anything related to him. Truly a damn shame.”
Everyone looked around confused. “What are you saying?” asked Ceailean.
“I’m saying I’d like to inform anyone who knew him of the actions he took on that day. Surely they’ll be wondering where he had gone.”
“You’re not implying he’s dead, are you?”
“C!” scolded Marie. Ceailean shrugged his shoulders.
“That is exactly what I’m implying. Is he not?”
“N-No,” answered Marie, “He’s being held up at the police station recovering from his injuries.”
Culdaver stood up. “That’s impossible.”
“What do you mean?” asked Vertant.
“Putting on that crown is a death sentence. There were many men who were put on the crown only for a mere glimpse into the future. They were to lose their souls only minutes after.”
Marie’s spine chilled. “What happens when they lose their soul?”
“They cease all mental function. Doomed to view every possible timeline’s future for as long as they remain. So it is our duty as the Fraziure family to do the humane thing.” Culdaver tilted his head away.
“You put them out of their misery.” finished Ceailean, his arms crossed.
“Yes. Most unfortunate.”
“But he’s still alive. He’s at the police station.” assured Marie.
“I know that now. Since the crown is here, I had assumed that Vertant had already done the deed.”
“What?!” said Vertant, surprised, “I would’ve never thought of such a thing!”
“Then how did you come to retrieve the crown from his cranium? The history goes back far and not even one time has anybody been successful at removing the crown without killing the individual that wore it.”
Marie perked up. “F-Fennekin got a hold of it.”
“...How?”
“I… don’t know.”
“There must be something. Not even the strongest of Pokémon could remove it.”
“Fennekin only used scratch on the crown and it was later on that we noticed that it was hanging around one of it’s ears.”
“Interesting.” Culdaver rubbed his chin. “May I see it?”
“Oh uh, sure.” Marie tossed out her pokeball and Fennekin came out curled up on the table. It woke up drowsily and looked around curiously. Culdaver pulled out a pokédex to scan it. Because Of Fennekin's drowsiness, it thought a hand was reaching out to it. Instinct took hold and it blasted the pokédex from Culdaver’s hands.
“Whoa!” shouted Culdaver. He caught the pokédex mid air before it fell on the ground. “Quite the lively one we have here.”
Marie quickly picked up Fennekin and bowed down. “By Arceus, I am so sorry!” Fennekin realized what was going on and bowed along with her.
Culdaver chuckled, “No need to apologize! I’ve dealt with my share of rowdy Pokémon.”
“Fennekin! Please try to calm down!” scolded Marie. Fennekin nodded guiltily.
“Now, where were we?” Culdaver scanned Fennekin with the pokédex. A little alert went off with a loud beep. “Oh my! It’s ability is magician!”
“Magician?” asked Marie, “What is that?” She pulled out her own pokédex and scanned Fennekin, it peering through the screen curiously. Fennekin’s dex entry popped up but its ability flashed blue with an exclamation mark. It changed from blaze to magician. Marie pressed the text to speech button.
Magician. A somewhat obscure hidden ability that allows a Pokémon to magically and inexplicably steal an item from an individual when any attack lands.
“Well that’s a bit cryptic.” said Marie.
“That must be it!” exclaimed Culdaver. “Magician must be why you were able to get the crown!”
“That would explain how it ‘magically and inexplicably’ appeared on Fennekin’s head.” pointed out Crisis.
“Perhaps that is the key, the magical aspect of the ability. Others have tried abilities and moves of a similar aspect to no avail. I cannot believe that I am here discovering this now! I must thank the three of you once again!”
“Well if it wasn’t for Vertant, we may not have been around to figure that out,” said Ceailean.
“Is that true?” Culdaver asked Vertant.
“I suppose.” he shrugged, “I did ask Kaust to bring them here.”
“Hm, do not let it get to your head. But I must acknowledge that you were at least partially responsible for this discovery. So I’ll forgive you slightly for your hasty actions.” He put his hand on Vertant’s shoulder. “You did well son.”
“Thanks dad.” he said with a smile. Marie watched and became slightly wistful.
“Now!” he slapped Vertant’s back, “Enough about us and our stories, how about you three. What do you three plan on doing next?”
“Well, we plan on going to the Cyllage City Gym and getting my first badge,” said Marie excitedly.
“Oh, going for the gym challenge huh? I’ll sincerely hope to see you there in the next league broadcast!”
“T-Thank you!” said Marie, slightly blushing.
“Should I get Kaust to drive you guys all the way to Cyllage city?” suggested Vertant, “It's the least I could offer for your guy’s help.”
“We’ll be happy to take you up on that request,” said Crisis.
“Uh, no we ain't.” interjected Marie.
“But he had just offered us the quickest way to Cyllage City, you would rather-”
“Remember the vote Crisis?” reminded Ceailean.
Crisis sighed. “Fine.”
Marie walked up to Vertant, “Sorry Vertant, we’re gonna take our time going to Cyllage. We gotta train and catch new Pokémon. We would like a ride back to Camphrier, if you at least grant us that?”
“Of course.” Vertant got up. “Why don’t you all head over to the lobby, I’ll call Kaust in a minute.”
“Yes. And to pass the time, why don’t you all tell me of your experience at Tuviere.” suggested Culdaver.
The group started to walk out. “I’m not sure if I can tell you anything interesting that the news hadn’t already spoiled.” said Marie.
“Haha! Nonsense! Everyone has their own story to tell! And I’m willing to hear every last second of it!”
Ceailean was about to walk out the door when a hand grabbed his left shoulder. He winced in pain.
“I need to talk to you first. Something very important.” said Vertant.
Ceailean took Vertant’s hand off his shoulder and turned around, “Regarding what?”
“The crown. You did something to it.”
“What? I-”
“C! You coming?” asked Marie from down the hall.
“I-I’ll be right there.” called back Ceailean, “Just give me a minute.”
“Okay then.”
“I’ll make it quick.” assured Vertant.
“Please do.” said Ceailean. They walked over to a table. “So what’s this about?
Vertant reached into his jacket and pulled out the crown. He tossed it onto the table and thunked around for a bit, red sparks flashing around as it did. Ceailean was slightly surprised.
“Is it supposed to do that?” he asked.
“Obviously not. I’m here to ask what you think happened to it.”
“Why would I know?”
“Because of what you asked it. Soon after you asked ‘who do I become’, the crown exploded with that red energy. It then lingered inside the crown ever since.”
“So it won’t go away?”
“I haven't tried to get rid of it yet. But it seems to be fading on it’s own. It’s not as bad as it was yesterday. Damn thing woke me up in the middle of the night with how bright of a spectacle it was making. It was shattering red glass in the air then reverting back to normal over and over again. And by Arceus I swear I heard it talking!”
“Yes okay, those are some unnatural things. But I don’t see how I can help you. It’s not like I gave it the energy.”
“But the energy is not its own. It had to have gotten it from somewhere-”
“Look, I don’t mean to be rude but I don’t want to deal with any more conspiracy stuff. Me and Marie had to deal with a lot in just the span of a month. I'd like to just try and have a normal journey from now on.”
Vertant backed up a bit, “I understand.”
“Okay, thank you. I’ll contact you again once I’m ready to discuss it.” Ceailean walked over to the doors.
“See you later… Dreamwalker.”
Ceailean stopped. A sudden flare of rage boiled up from inside of him. So sudden that he didn’t even know where came from. He turned around and said, “What? That dumb name coined by Bonnie?”
“Who?”
Ceailean doesn’t even know why he mentioned her. “I… she is a friend of ours.” The rage subsided. “Where did you hear that name?”
“The crown talked like I said. Almost as if it's been trying to talk to you for a long time. It didn’t tell me much outside of that term. So I assumed it was simply answering your question. Who you would become.”
Ceailean felt his stomach sink. Why was he so flustered at the prospect? Was it the unknowns of being such a thing? He began to breathe heavily and sweat slightly.
“Hey, whoa! Are you having a panic attack? Do you want me to get some help-”
“No! Just… stay away from me!” Ceailean shouted, looking at only the ground.
Vertant looked at him curiously. “That wasn’t for me, was it?” Ceailean then looked him in the eye. “Look, I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on. Maybe the crown affected you in some way. It showed me more things than it told me. Lightning, snow, green flames. I have no idea what the other two were about but Olympia had a similar vision about five years ago that involved those green flames. That prediction turned out to about Zygarde-”
Ceailean thrust his arm out. “Stop!” Vertant took note of Ceailean’s now red tinted eyes. “No more! I’m not this… this Dreamwalker thing. Okay? I’m gonna go, we’ll talk about this later.” Ceailean walked out of the room.
“So be it.” Vertant said to himself. “I’ve seen all I’ve needed to.”
() Outside, Marie and Crisis wait for Ceailean to arrive. Ceailean walked out of the large front doors putting his fingers on the bridge of his nose.
“What took you so long, C!” Marie complained, “And you complain about me taking so long.” Fennekin swung around in her arms, seemingly bored of being held for so long
Ceailean smiled slightly. “So you admit it?”
“What I- ugh. Whatever C! Shut it!”
“Hehe. I only had to talk to Vertant for a bit.”
“What did you guys talk about?”
“Mmm-stuff.”
“Wow, so interesting.”
“It’s a secret.”
“Why don’t you tell me then?”
“Mmm-no.”
“Come on!”
“Be as curious as you want, this will be a secret I keep.”
Crisis looked between the two as they had their conversation. “Truly, I cannot understand how you two are friends. Given how much conflict you create with each other.”
“It's what friends do.” Marie said with a smile.
“We do a lil’ trolling.” added Ceailean.
“Plus, doesn’t Rival do that with you?”
“Perform mischievous acts within every sentence uttered? No, I wouldn’t believe so.”
A car pulled up to the group and out came Kaust. His eyes were lively and his hair was neat.
“Wow, you look a lot better than you did before.” pointed out Marie.
“Marie!” Crisis said, thinking she had insulted Kaust.
“No no, it is quite alright. I admit I was in quite the dire state a couple days ago. Being caught up with that Solga stuff.” responded Kaust. “I needed only a day's rest and I’m good as new!”
“Well, nice to see you back.” complimented Crisis.
“Likewise, master Crisis. So, shall we be heading off?”
“Shotgun!” shouted Marie.
“Shot-! Ahh, dang it!” shouted Ceailean.
“My turn in the front seat C!” teased Marie.
“Yeah, whatever.”
The group got into the car. “Next stop, Camphrier,” said Kaust.
“Cool, we’ve never even got the chance to explore the town!” said Marie excitedly. “Let’s do that before we leave guys.”
“Sure.” agreed Crisis.
Ceailean remained silent as he looked out the window. He then saw Vertant and Culdaver come out from the front doors. “Hey look, it’s Vertant.” he pointed out as they started driving away.
“Really? Hold on.” Marie rolled down the window and stuck her head out, waving goodbye. “See you guys! Vertant, Culdaver! Hope you two do well!”
“Likewise Miss Marie.” shouted Culdaver, waving back. “As for the rest of you, Mr. Ceailean, Mr. Crisis! May the path ahead be bright for you all!” Vertant only waved.
Ceailean only kept looking out of the window, staring at Vertant. It felt like he was staring back the whole time.
“Tch! Dreamwalker.” Ceailean mumbled to himself as they made their way to Camphrier.
