After falling on top of a very sturdy table and almost breaking his spine, the last thing Barry needed was to walk a mile uphill. Alas, with their only path back blocked by a mountain of rubble, they had no choice but to proceed onward.
Every step he took felt as if someone had exchanged his spinal cord with a burning iron rod, and the fact that he was covered in the dust raised by the Chateau's collapse didn't give him a very pristine look. His left arm was wrapped around Niss' shoulder, who had adamantly forced her aid on him, not letting him walk a single step on his own in fear of hurting himself more. She seemed to be struggling with part of another person's weight on her shoulders, but she hadn't complained once.
The hidden grotto behind the house led to a small, narrow path which ran up the hills at the east of Eterna City. The map didn't show it for some reason, and according to Niss' guess it should take them to the mountain path right past Route 206, letting them enter the city while bypassing any security around it.
As the minutes passed, Barry tried to subtly show Niss that he was getting better, putting more force into his steps and walking proudly, even though it hurt a lot. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy being so close to her, but he felt bad letting her do all the work when it came to their journey. After all she had gone through in the past days, he felt the need to step up to her. Not literally, because he could barely stand, but it was time he took things seriously. He wouldn't get to be Champion by letting Niss babysit him.
"Yeah, that's right..." he told himself, not realizing he was talking out loud.
"Wanna include me in your private talk with yourself?" Niss said at his side, breathing heavily. "What are you thinking about?"
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking how great it'll be when I kick your butt atop Victory Road and become the Champion. That kinda thing."
Niss shot him an icy look, sweat forming on her forehead.
"I could just leave you here, you know." She tried to sound nonchalant, though the exhaustion and effort made it difficult. "It would be easy, and no one would ever find you. Would be a nice way to get rid of a competitor for the throne."
"...Fair enough."
After a few more minutes they arrived at the top of the mountain path. Below them lay the distant shapes of Eterna City's buildings and houses, flashes of green and maroon mixed together with a tinge of yellow making it look like some kind of painting. A gust of wind hit him in the face and ruffled his hair, reinvigorating him with every breath he took. Below them. the dark stone of the mountain tilted down slightly, circling around the city in a path that would have been impossible to see unless one were looking from above.
"At least Metchi didn't lie about this," Niss said, relief clear in her tone. "We should take a break now, the downward path might hurt your back."
"What? No!" He jumped out of her arms and stood up as straight as he could. "Trust me, I'm as healthy as a Tauros. I could keep walking for hours. Heck, I could run for hours!"
"No you couldn't," she said, succinctly. "But if you say so, let's keep going."
He jumped down toward the base of the path, the pain from the impact almost making him pass out. Next to him Niss landed gracefully, while trying to clean dust off her red coat.
"I can't wait until our Starly evolve and can carry us around," he said, trying to distract her from his poor condition. "Flying with dad's Salamence was awesome; I want to do that with my Pokemon too."
"I wouldn't count on that any time soon, at least on my end." Niss sighed. "Steven hasn't been on a training mood lately. Not after... what happened in the Windworks."
He mentally cursed himself for bringing up that loaded topic. He looked around, trying to change the subject, but he couldn't think of much.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up," Niss smiled weakly. "We've been through enough shit already, we should think positively."
"Yeah! Like the next Gym!" He smiled cheerfully. "Man I'm so excited, you're finally gonna see me fight. Though I don't know what type they use."
"Grass, according to the guide inside the Pokétch," she said. "The leader is named Gardenia I think."
"Wow, talk about applying for the job you're made for," he said, and Niss had to stifle a laugh. "Grass is really easy though, it has a ton of weaknesses."
"You shouldn't base your Pokemon choice just on types," she warned him. "You need to put more thought into it if you want to be the Champion."
"Oh yeah? Then let me try to guess your team." He stroked his chin and frowned as if he were in deep thought. "Shadi, Steven and... Enma maybe? Wow, that was hard to figure out."
Niss looked away, pouting. "You don't know me. I could use... uh..." She bit her lip, considering her options. "Well... my new ghost buddy might be strong enough to surpass the type disadvantage."
Barry felt his stomach drop at the mention of that... thing. Images of that pale girl and the stone tablet she'd given him flashed through his mind, and for a moment he could've sworn he heard a distant gust of wind. He shook his head and tried to reply.
"You haven't named him yet?"
There was a pause before Niss answered.
"I'm not sure about it. I just... I don't know how I feel about having that thing in my team. I don't even know what it is! And the Pokédex has no information about it either."
"Then it has to be a super rare Pokemon!" he offered. "Maybe a legendary, even."
"Wohoo, lucky me." She raised both hands and wiggled them. "Must be the shittiest legendary ever. I'll probably just ask Rowan about it later. He might know something about him."
There was silence as they continued walking downhill toward Eterna City. Both avoided the other's gaze, trying to ignore the Donphan in the room.
"So..." Barry crossed his arms, trying to appear casual. "Do you... wanna talk about what happened back there?"
"Not now," she replied, shoulders dropped. "Just... too much shit at once. Let me rest before we discuss Murder Ghost Funhouse again."
The path became narrower as they approached the base of the mountain, the enormity of the shadow falling upon them as the sun began to set hiding their presence. Barry could hear Niss' breathing get shallower, and he could swear she was walking faster than before as the dark swallowed the path; the same thing that had happened the last time they entered a cave. He did his best to ignore it and kept pace with her, wanting nothing more than to get to the city and throw himself at the first bed he found.
His body almost cried in relief when rays of sunlight hit him in the face as the hillside finally opened up. They emerged from the east near Route 211, close to the pumpkin and spinach fields spreading north on the edge of the city, which obscured the path completely.
"No wonder no one knows about this place," Niss commented, breathing heavily.
With utmost care they sneaked into the city and through the alleyways toward the road that led to the Pokemon Center, trying to get as few eyes on them as possible. Once they emerged into one of the side streets they were relieved to see that there was no security around, only a few civilians doing their last strolls before the sun went down. Niss grabbed him by the arm and they both started walking south.
Barry couldn't stop looking around, admiring the beautiful architecture of the city. Most of the houses were built on what appeared to be a mix of cobblestone and ancient rock, although they didn't look as old as those in Sandgem. The town still had a very traditional feeling to it. The colors around them were mostly cold; blues and greens and soft yellows which gave the place a very relaxed look, almost like the city itself was part of the nature around it. He was beginning to feel like himself more with every step he took, his bright smile returning to his face as he remembered the reason he set out in his journey, the wonders of the world being reward enough for him.
He turned to say something to Niss but found her looking at something in the distance, eyes narrowed.
"The hell is that?" She pointed south, beyond one of the old houses, and Barry got on his toes to see it more easily.
His eyes fell on a towering shape of bronze, standing out above everything around it. The floor beneath it was elevated, with shiny marble steps leading up to the statue from all sides. Glinting under the dying sunlight, it stood proud at about eight feet tall, its imposing shape seemingly attracting everyone's eyes to it, or at least theirs and the few people perusing the streets around them.
Without thinking, he approached statue, the stinging pain on his lower side seemingly vanishing into the back of his mind. He couldn't get his eyes off the shape itself of the statue, that of a massive creature he'd never seen before, and as it came within within arm's reach he could feel something stirring behind his eyes.
He stopped just a feet away, slowly shaking that feeling off his head and placing a hand against his temple. What... had just happened? He heard Niss stopping at his side, her eyes also set on the statue. It had the appearance of a dragon, with robust wings growing from its back and something which appeared to be armor covering the body, with big, strong extremities; arms raised towards the sky.
"It looks like a Pokemon," she whispered, eyes narrowed, "but I have no idea which."
He got closer and tried to read the inscription on the plaque at the bottom of the statue, but the engravings upon the silver surface were extremely faded, the words having been erased by time. The people around him, including Niss, were simply admiring the statue for its beauty, but something inside Barry told him there was something more there, he couldn't exactly tell what, but...
"Such pitiable, misunderstood praise."
His heart jumped at the sound of that voice, coming from the other side of the statue. He and Niss exchanged a knowing look, her face paling as realization hit her. As they looked over the towering shape of bronze they noticed another man staring up at the statue, hands behind his back.
"Time and space, intertwined in a spiral around Sinnoh." He kept talking to himself, seemingly not noticing them. "To think they would try to hide the both of you so adamantly." He closed his eyes for a moment, and Barry felt like time began to move again. "All I ask is that you wait for me. I shall weave your powers into the ink that will pen the contents of our new world."
The man's eyes opened slowly, gaze falling squarely on Barry, whose chest tightened up as though he'd been stabbed with an icicle. He shivered at the icy blue in those eyes, like an endless blizzard.
"Pardon me," he said as he noticed them, his voice akin to white noise, a continuous line of sound. "Please, stand aside."
He walked between them, once again leaving them breathless as he disappeared toward the growing darkness of the now still city. The noise around them suddenly returned, and Barry could breathe again. He felt Niss' fingers wrap around his, and when he looked down at her he noticed her face paler than ever.
"It... it was him," she whispered, lower lip trembling. "The man in the lake."
"Y-yeah." He whispered, all energy gone from his voice. "What's he doing here? Does he just go around saying stuff like that near kids?"
Niss was standing still, her eyes still set on the place the man had disappeared to.
"I don't know and I don't want to find out either," she said. "Let's not worry about that; he's probably just a creep."
Barry heard her, but he didn't move an inch. He approached the statue, his hand gracing the metal in front of him, as if looking for something. He felt like he was being called to.
"Uh... Barry?" he heard Niss' voice behind him, almost distant. "What are you doing?"
He didn't respond. His fingers grazed the cold metal as he moved them from the Pokemon's shoulder down toward its chest. Something inside his pocket felt heavy, though he didn't worry about it at the moment. The bronze started feeling warmer and warmer as his fingers got close to the spot he was looking for. Finally he laid his hands on top of the core at the middle of the Pokemon's chest, and the moment he touched it he knew it was made of a different material, a lot rougher and colder than the bronze covering its body. Without thinking he grabbed the edges and pulled the stone rectangle out.
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"You broke it!" Niss' voice took him out of his trance, and he turned around to see her horrified face.
"No I didn't," he replied, voice unusually low. "This wasn't part of the statue."
She got closer and peered at what Barry held in the palm of his hand. A piece of square stone, flat and tinted in dark red, its sides engraved with strange symbols. Much like the one he'd found back at the Old Chateau. He looked at it for a moment, then over his shoulder at the few people still surrounding the statue, admiring it. None of them seemed to have noticed, weirdly enough.
"Isn't it just like that thing you got from... the house?" Niss was clearly about to mention the ghost girl, but she stopped herself. "What was it called? The Specter Plate?"
He nodded weakly, feeling the piece of rock with his fingers, "Yeah, seems like it. They both look the same and have those words written on them."
"Too bad we can't read them," Niss sighed. "Who knows what these things are, maybe we could sell them to a museum or something."
Barry paused, then slowly looked up at Niss, brow furrowed.
"What do you mean?" he asked , incredulous. "Is it too dark to read it or something?"
Niss gave him the exact same puzzled look, and a smile formed on her face.
"Unless you know the language it's written in..." She let out a laugh. "I mean, you did know Morse code so who knows."
"You mean Sinnish? Yeah I'm pretty sure I can read that," he spat back, not understanding Niss' sudden sarcastic tone.
Her smile faded, and slowly she opened her eyes, lower lip trembling. "W... are you serious? You can actually read those scribbles?"
Barry was completely lost. What did she mean by scribbles? The words were clear as day, almost like they were written on a white piece of paper. He took the other plate out of his pocket and held both of them in front of him, confirming that he could indeed read both.
"May this fourteenth key grant Them the blood of dragons, imbued with infinite potential." Once again he heard a distant gust of wind as he spoke. "That's what the one we got from the statue says, as for the other one..." He raised the other plate. "May this thirteenth key grant Them the peace of death, imbued with second chances."
As soon as he stopped talking, he felt a heavy silence set in around them. Confused, he turned to look at Niss and froze at her expression. Her face was pale as that of a corpse, and her eyes were wide and full of shock. The strange feeling behind his eyes suddenly disappeared, and Niss let out a gasp.
"What is it?" he asked, afraid that something was wrong with him.
"Y... your eyes," she whispered. "No... no, it's nothing, I must be way too tired." She placed a palm against her face, and took a deep breath. "Fuck, I really need to collect myself. I feel like I'm going crazy."
Barry put a hand on her shoulder. She'd been acting weird ever since they had entered that mansion, and that hadn't stopped after they escaped either. He wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what, giving the current circumstances.
"We should go to the Pokemon Center," he proposed, forming a warm smile. "I think we've been through enough trouble today."
A voice that wasn't Niss' answered him.
"Oh, I completely agree."
Oh... crap.
They turned around in unison toward the familiar voice, panic clear in their expressions. Sarah stood behind them, arms crossed and face like that of a furious Ursaring.
"I've been looking for you two." She spoke every word slowly, as if trying to hold back her anger. "Pokemon Center. Now. We need to talk."
----------------------------------------
Not a single word was said as they walked toward the Pokemon Center, the sun finally disappearing behind the mountains, the only lights illuminating the path being that of the lamp post lining the sides of the street. In front of them, his mother moved swiftly, her pale hands clenched into fists and the sound of her steps echoing inside his head. He felt an oppressive anxiety making its way up from his stomach, and one look at Niss told him that she was just as anxious. Sarah was not the kind of woman one angered lightly.
The doors of the building opened for them as they approached, the warm light inside filling him with something like relief, and the smell of fresh food making his stomach growl. He saw his mother stop momentarily, looking around the entire lobby, and then walking straight towards one of the nearby tables, where another woman was sitting. Barry's stomach made a small turn at the sight of her, and he felt his face getting slightly hot. Her hair was short and orange, with small streaks of black beneath it, and her bored eyes were a beautiful dark honey. She wore what appeared to be a green poncho which didn't cover her midriff, and her bright orange pants were very worn out and torn around the knees.
"I'm sorry for making you wait, Gardenia." Sarah's tone was cold and to the point, her eyes almost obscured by her dark hair. "I ran into my son and his friend on the way."
Something in the back of Barry's mind lit up. Gardenia? The name sounded familiar.
"Seems your efforts paid off, in one aspect at least." Gardenia relaxed back into her chair, lazily smiling at the older woman. "Finally found the little sprouts, eh? They seem like a couple of troublemakers, no wonder they made you work so hard."
"Wait, was that a plant pun?" he couldn't help but ask, and as soon as he did realization dawned on him. "Oh! You're the Gym leader, right? The one with the weird name?"
Niss facepalmed, letting out a sigh. "Oh my god..."
"The one and only, my pal." She rested the back of her head on her palms, looking as relaxed as a Slakoth. "You're Sarah's and Palmer's son, and that behind you must be Dawn Jr, second edition." She laughed at her own joke. "Nice to meet ya', I've heard of the two of you."
"Y...You have?" Niss asked.
"What are you doing hanging out with mom?" he added, trying to avoid his mother's eyes for as long as possible.
"Sarah and I have been in contact for quite some time now," Gardenia replied between yawns. "She's pretty much the only Association member I can stand, and we've been working together on that whole bridge business." She sighed. "We've made some progress but still have no fucking clue who did it. Haven't had to work this hard since I became a Gym leader, but helping investigations is in my contract, so what can I do, right?"
"Yes, quite." Sarah pushed her glasses up, her lips thin and pale. "Gardenia, would you mind giving us some space? I need to have a talk with them. We will review the police's documents tomorrow."
"Jeez..." Gardenia stood up and threw her hands up in the air, stretching like a Glameow. Barry tried really hard not to stare at the way her poncho was lifted up, revealing the woman's midriff. "Sorry kids, hope she doesn't scold you that much. I'll be in my Gym all day tomorrow, so feel free to come by."
She made a peace sign with her fingers as she left the Pokemon Center, leaving them alone with Sarah. Neither of them said anything for a while, until his mother finally sat down where Gardenia was previously and looked at them with a glare which could've paralyzed a Salamence. Without saying a word both kids sat down at the other side of the table, waiting. Sarah leaned back into her chair, closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When she opened them again they had lost part of the anger behind them, now only reflecting something akin to sadness.
"What were you two thinking?"
Her words hit him like a hammer. He was expecting her to yell at him, but somehow her disappointed tone was more hurtful than anything he could've prepared for. He glanced at his friend, who was similarly speechless, a drop of sweat running down her face.
"Do you know how worried I was?" Her shoulders dropped as she spoke, all semblances of rage disappearing from her face. "After I heard what happened in Floaroma I dropped my assignments immediately and had Palmer fly me there, but you were nowhere to be found. Then a couple hours ago I get a report that someone saw a massive cloud of dust and smoke rise up from Eterna Forest, and once they approached it they told me the Old Chateau had collapsed on itself, possibly due to someone's intervention." She made emphasis on that last word. "I want you to explain me what happened."
She crossed her arms, and waited. Barry opened his mouth to respond, but Niss managed to cut him out.
"It was my fault." Her words came out garbled, as if she wanted to get them out as fast as possible, "I convinced Barry to follow me through Eterna Forest, and I went alone to fight those Galactic thugs. He didn't have anything to do with it."
"Wh-huh? No, that's not true!" Barry slammed a hand on the table. "I would've followed you to fight those creeps if I knew, and we both decided to go through the forest!"
"You were just following me because I gave you no choice," she spat back, tone sour.
"Shut up!" he yelled, startling his friend, "I'm not your sidekick Niss, I'm a trainer like you! My decisions are my own, and if I want to go with you to do something dangerous that's because I do actually want that, because I like being around you!" He didn't realize the people around him could hear him, although he wouldn't have cared either way. "Stop blaming yourself for both of us. If we both act like idiots then we should share the blame, that's how this works!"
Niss raised her eyes to meet his, and he could see a trace of guilt in them. She bit her lip and clinched her fists, not saying another word. Sarah cleared her throat as to get their attention.
"Well, I see there's also plenty you two should talk about," For the first time Barry could make up a hint of a smile in her voice. "I'm glad to hear that you know what you did wrong, but that doesn't mean I can simply ignore it. You do realize that if anyone but me had found out about this, they would be required to take away your trainer card, right? You would not be able to participate in the League Challenge until you both cleared your names, which could take months," she explained, and could see the horror in their faces. "I will not turn you in, but I need you to understand that if it happens again, my hands are tied. I need you to promise me you will not do something so reckless again."
Barry could hear a Or if you do, don't get caught, in her voice, though he decided not to comment on it. They both nodded, heads low. Sarah then looked at Niss, and put one of her hands on top of hers.
"Inyssa, I know that I'm in no position to tell you what to do." Her tone was soft as she spoke. "But I want you to know that I do care about you as if you were my daughter. Please, don't put yourself in that kind of danger anymore."
Niss didn't say a word, simply looking away from Sarah as if she wanted to ignore everything around her.
"You are your own person and you don't have to live up to anyone's image. You're both already great trainers, and you'll only improve with time. I'm already proud of both of you."
Barry's eyes began to sting, and next to him he could see a small shine behind the shadows covering Niss' eyes. His friend opened her mouth and spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Can I go book a room? I'm really tired," she tried to say as plainly as possible, her voice breaking slightly.
Sarah took two things out of her pocket, one of them being a key, and the other a square piece of paper. "I already did that for you. I was also told to give this to you. Your mother sent you a letter."
She handed both objects to her, and Niss grabbed them weakly, her eyes moving towards the wax stamp in the front of the envelope which showed her family's symbol. She stared at it for a few seconds, until she finally saved it and the key in the pocket of her coat.
"Thanks." She said, barely any force in her voice. "I'll go to my room now."
"Have a good night. Tomorrow I'll escort both of you to the gym if you want."
She simply nodded, and without much fanfare she got up and walked toward one of the staircases heading to her new room. Barry was left alone with his mother, not knowing exactly what to say to make the situation less awkward.
"Mom... I..." He paused, trying to form the words. "...Sorry."
"As long as you've learned your lesson..."
"It really wasn't her fault, mom," he insisted. "I just wanted us to be on equal footing, I didn't want to leave her alone."
"I understand." Sarah nodded. "Inyssa has her family's fire inside her. Her father was the same, as were Johanna and Shadi, although in a different manner of course. And I just need to look at your father to understand why you did what you did. You two are like flame and spark, and the entire world around you is made of gunpowder."
He couldn't help but smile, remembering what had happened at the Chateau. "Well... you're not wrong."
His mother put both hands in the table, and with difficulty she helped herself up, exhaustion reflected in her eyes.
"I have to go back to work now." She scowled at the prospect. "But I'll be back in the morning to see how you're both doing." She walked towards him and put her hand on top of his head, ruffling his hair. "Take care, alright? I would sleep better at night knowing that you're not in trouble the moment you're out of my sight."
Barry smiled brightly at her, and put both arms around her. Sarah returned the hug with twice the strength and planted a kiss on top of his head.
"I love you. Stay safe, and help each other."
----------------------------------------
Almost an hour later Barry was laying on his bed, eyes set on the roof and mind restless. In a chair next to him were his orange and white jacket and his green scarf, waving with the wind from the open window like the leaves outside. After a hot meal and a cold shower the pain on his back had almost completely disappeared, now only a numb feeling. He thought he'd be asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, but something was keeping him awake, the thoughts inside his head overpowering his exhaustion.
He reached with one hand to his pocket and retrieved both strange plates he'd gotten recently. Something told him there was a certain significance to them, like a riddle hiding an answer that he couldn't quite reach yet. The strange girl in the Chateau, that feeling when he approached that statue, the way Niss reacted to him reading aloud the inscriptions... something was off, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
A knock on his door got him out of his trance, as he put the plates back in his pocket and looked towards the dark wooden frame. Before he had time to respond the door opened and through it appeared the shape of Niss, the light at the other side illuminating everything but her face. She was missing her usual coat and hat, her short hair freely covering part of her face.
"Niss!" he yelped, surprised by her sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't really sleep." He heard the smile in her voice as she approached him. "And I wanted to see how you were doing."
She walked towards the chair close to his bed, throwing his things on top of the nearby table before sitting on it
"Rough day, huh?" she sighed, smiling. "Man, how embarrassing. Between the Chateau and your mother I've been getting my ass handed to me nonstop. That's not like me."
Barry didn't exactly know what to say, and he felt like he shouldn't interrupt. Niss stood silent for a few seconds, and then began to speak again.
"Sorry for what I said before." Her head hung low. "I didn't want to imply that I didn't respect you as an equal or anything. I just... didn't want you to get in trouble with Sarah."
"Oh... yeah, don't worry about it." Barry waved his hand and tried to smile. "I got a bit emotional too."
"Sometimes I feel like our friendship revolves around us trying to out-stupid each other and then blaming ourselves for it."
"I think that's what it's always been about," he said. "But hey, I've gotten more fun out of these past few days than everything we did back in Twinleaf. And I have you to thank for that."
The light coming from outside illuminated Niss' eyes, and he could see the warmth in them.
"Yeah, I guess we've been part of some strange stuff. The whole Chateau incident was sort of like that horror movie we saw that time when we were kids. The one with the poltergeist in the kitchen, remember?"
"Oh yeah! You mean Pastrygeist!" He smiled, memories of them watching the movie together on Niss' couch flooding his mind. "Yeah it was kind of like that, except we were missing the food puns."
"Well, our journey is still young, so who knows."
They couldn't help but laugh, which sent pain rippling through Barry's back. After a few seconds Inyssa got up, eyes still set on him.
"So, we're cool?"
"Yeah... we're cool," he replied, giving her a thumbs up.
"Great, then get ready for tomorrow, because it's time we get our second badge."
She began to make her way towards the exit of the room, and stopped just before putting her hand on the doorknob. She stood there, considering her words, and finally turned towards Barry.
"You know..." she whispered, choosing her words carefully, "being around you, going in dumb adventures together, it reminds me of why I chose to be a trainer rather than anything else." Her voice was warm and clear, and it made the knot inside Barry's chest disappear. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... thanks. For putting up with me."
And before he had a chance to respond Niss walked out of the door, her face tinted red. The boy lay there on the bed, repeating her words in his head. His lips slowly curved into a smile.
A few minutes later he was sleeping as soundly as a Snorlax.