~~~ Ch. 32 - Red Light ~~~

The last few days have been a shock for us all. I am with you on that. I have been looking for all I have achieved. It was all nearly entirely unwound in less than a few hours. Our entire efforts for a better Unova, a better world. It would have been gone in mere moments. I sound like a broken record by now, but search your heart. See how precarious our position is, and we use it to do what—perpetuate a cycle of violence and isolation from our neighbors? A weight has fallen upon our shoulders. It is a call to do better. And we must do better. But that does not mean we are demanded to be perfect. To be stronger, to improve, it does not mean perfection.

We all have our doubts. Even me. Every morning, when I get up, I look in front of me. I do an evaluation. Who am I? What are my goals? I review the tasks that we must complete in order to achieve them. I review the work we have to do. I feel like an imposter. I feel like a liar. I take a breath. I feel as though it could all come crashing down, and we lose all we’ve built and worked for. I recenter myself in a moment of quiet motivation. I am reminded, every morning, of all of you who have chosen to stand by me, as we work for a more fair Unova. Do not let your inner voice beat you from realizing true freedom. Do not be afraid of letting others know who you are— together, we will fight for pokemon. We must treat them better, we will be a better example. And we must not hide from the rest of the world.

To all of you who feel alone, or weak, or like you will be abandoned by friends and family for taking this higher road, I want to have a few words with you. You are not alone! And you are not crazy! Our society has been crafted this way, and to see the flaws and seek to improve them is natural. You are not alone in this! Along the way, you may or possibly do have doubts in your chosen path. None of you are truly isolated in this journey, though you may occasionally feel so, especially during times of tragedy like these. We will learn from these experiences.

I have learned from these experiences. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be retreating from my participation in Unova's business world and focusing my efforts on helping Unova improve. We will improve Unova. We will show the world a better path. We will demand better from our neighbors in return.

I am not alone.

You are not alone.

You will not be alone.

Join our cause and show the hurting pokemon of the world that they are not alone.

Be a part of the change that shows the world there is a better way.

We will end the circle of endless violence.

- Ghetsis, via FREEDOM RADIO

~~~

I cut through the air, jumping up, into the tree's branches, hooking my arm into the nearest tree-limb on the down swing, kicking my leg again, using the downward momentum and my hook on my upper branch to swing my legs up and around, straddling the branch limb. A slapping noise erupted from below, the sharp vibrations echoing from near where Lanky and Leaf had been, the echo and reverberations of each slap quickly muted by the litany of indoor trees. The slapping noise approached, then quieted.

I grabbed a couple leaves off the branches. Lanky and Oust both stared up at me. Wasn't about to redo the terrible patch-job on my left arm-blade, but I hadn't necessarily finished patching what remained, either. I was up, at approximately twice Lanky's height, and he was tall, generally a couple inches taller than most. I was a good height above the tree limb for the hammock we'd not finished. Lanky watching, I clicked my tongue in satisfaction, dropping down to the ground, my skirt first acting as a parachute, then flying up under the force of the air. Unfortunately, I wasn't as used to shoes as I'd thought— landing, I hit them off-center, rolling and falling into the thick clay-dirt of the gym floor.

Oust and Leaf had both watched, a saccharine scent rolling off of them at my quick, theatrical display. Standing, Lanky picked me up, putting pressure on the little appendages near where I'd taken my boots off. I approached my bowl next to his, Leaf's smell was tinged with a soft, yet confused, lemony tone. Lanky's metallic scent, by comparison, was strongly reinforced and strongly emanating. It's not as if human smells are the same as bug-scents. They're not. But they are different enough from bugs that I can tell.

Feeding Oust some more veggies and fruits, I finished off the bowl of veggies in moments. Lanky turned off the gym lights. Holding Oust, I climbed into the tree. Leaf's scent oscillated unpleasantly between sweet and a kind of unsure biting citrus. Oust held close to me, I laid down in the tree, above Lanky. Leaf climbed our tree, paused, stared at me. I stared back at him. He continued his pause. I reached my antennae out, tapping his in a soft, mutual dance. That citrine scent undergirded him. He was nervous. Quite nervous.

I gave him a couple distinct taps, in an attempt to reassure. Knowing it wouldn't work, I allowed him to climb and share the branch next to us. Despite his anxiety, his own state muted, entering into torpor. I turned my face back down, facing the floor directly, my eyes peeking over the edge of the branches. Oust in my arms, the kid had turned a grayish purple, a body of goop. I hummed, ever so slightly, in amusement. Lanky put away his tablet, all the lights which were not from the skylights gone, I laid on the branch, playing with the goop in my arms.

Oust continued shifting, returning to their primary form, turning into a patch of dark grey fur with red highlights, growing legs, but staying the same size and mass, a distorted goopy mass of fur. Holding them out while I lay down on the branch, a pair of eyes poked out of their gelatinous, fuzzy mass, no mouth or nose, before disappearing again.

That's not what they wanted, kid.

Lanky rustled, a sweaty, yet soft saccharine of anticipation diffusing into the air. Still laying down, I pulled Oust back up to our spot, causing the branch to wobble. Sleeping was something that just wasn't going to happen, and Lanky, rolling over, seemed to agree.

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If you do this, there really is no going back. They're not dumb.

Oust in one arm, I climbed down the tree, avoiding the noise for the silent, anxious, sleeping leavanny. Lanky watching, I skipped to the swing I'd made for Oust, picking up the leaf-sash I'd made for him, the light of my purple shoes lightly reflecting the light that came through the windows in the ceiling of the gym.

Doesn't mean he'll tell anyone. And even if he does, what of it?

I was pulled from Lanky, by individuals in black suits, Oust was gone. Being held in a room. I looked down at my arms and legs, they ended in plastic, red tubes, I was hooked into machine after machine, shoved through MRI's. Robotic arms picked me up and held me to a metal table as knives cut into and dissected my abdomen. Everything turned to leaves.

When I woke up, I was alone. I tried to move my head, but I couldn't. I screamed, a bug locked to an inhumane hospital bed. The vibrations of the world were gone, my blades were gone. The room was moving slowly, the tables, the desks, the lights in the ceiling were small. The detail, it was like… like the difference between standard- and high-definition televisions. I turned my eyes down. I couldn't see my body or thorax.

The room was turning darker, though the lights were already off. I turned my eyes right, the room ended in a growing dark. I raised my right arm. A ghostly white sheet lifted with it, before the strap resisted my movement. I flexed my forelimb, rotating it up. A meaty clump at the end rotated back to my face. The dark encroached on my vision, passing over my body and bed, turning my vision black. I stood, released from the restraints, the gym fading into view. Little drops of dark fizzled in the air.

That's not going to happen. That's… that's not how it works. Not how any of this works.

Putting Oust in the sash, I walked to Lanky in the dark of the room.

Please, Arceus.

It wasn't supposed to have been a gamble, anyway. I could already think of a bunch of things that I've done which implies I'm no bug. And I've seen Leaf and the swadloons do smart things. And I have talked with psychic types. Humans have to know that psychics have telepathy, right?

I paused, my little purple shoes reflecting off his shiny sleeping bag. The kid looked at me, as if to say "what?" It was a small change of plan. But I just went up to the door to the hallway, softly pushing on it, opening the door into the darkened halls of the night gym. Sleep wasn't going to arrive any time soon. I held the door open. Lanky glanced at the tree we'd left Leaf in, then grabbed his shoes and backpack. Lanky took the door and held it, slowly letting it click shut behind us, leaving Leaf in the atrium.

Lanky slipped his shoes on as I skipped through the halls, twirling and spinning, my shoes giving off the occasional squeak. We approached the door to the front of the gym, the night lighting up the street before us. He set down his backpack, his tone moving to soft apologetics as he put it on me. It was annoying, but if it kept me from needing to meet police officers again then I wasn't about to complain.

I was so full of energy that I needed to burn, it didn't matter either way. I was not about to just…sit inside. When we exited the front door, I immediately looked south towards the docks. The night sky was black, the city's street lights managed to activate my leaves, if the effect was only incredibly slight. Looked to the north. What felt like endless buildings and high-rises, though at my height, any slight shifts in height of the land coupled with my shortsightedness made it hard to properly gauge these qualities. The slight salty scent in the air entered my antennae, acting as persistent reminders that we were a coastal town, and the gym was only a few blocks from what was the region's largest shipping and receiving docks.

Lanky did one last check on his shoes, then mine. Tugging my little velcro straps tight, he stood up, and we started a late-night jog through the drifting, chilly air. Floating past the first block of buildings, the first interesting change of smell was a faint floral chamomile. We continued, on our north, block after block, and it eventually grew stronger. A strong, soft bass entered into the air as we came upon the source of the strong smells.

I paused.

A strip of buildings, not quite high-rises, but at least three-four stories high. Humans, practically dancing in the street, neon red dancing around and in the story windows to the tune of human forms spinning in displays. The strong, perfumed scent mixed with strong tobacco. I was yanked forward, dragged. "Ley!" I shouted, almost involuntarily, as my dress did its job, keeping me from getting scraped. Lanky stopped, a half-second later. I stood back up, as the kid looked at me. The scent in the air was too strong. I turned back to the route we had come from.

Tonight wasn't the night. Maybe another one. I would investigate these smells and the curious vibrations. I'd heard what felt like music before, but nothing so consistent, nothing so caked in the floral scent. We began to walk again, Lanky taking the moment to catch his breath. The pockets in my abdomen were able to draw the air, cooling and recirculating around, practically autonomously.

We continued on our jog to the north. It went for blocks, and blocks and blocks. It felt like miles. We hit a large curve, and eventually, I found we were heading back down and to the south. From staying slightly faster than Lanky, to about even, he slowed down, matching my pace. I still felt like I was running at full speed. I was no wolf. There would be no long-term outrunning humans on bikes. And if the humans were fit? Lanky was fit. Probably fitter than most humans, if he could keep up with and out-endure a pokemon. Or, bugs just didn't have the endurance I thought that I'd had?

Lanky and I returned to the gym. Down in my satchel was Oust. Partially, anyway. They'd decided sitting half in my thorax was more comfortable, apparently. I hadn't even noticed. Were there side-effects to having a ghost sitting inside your body for a long time? Probably wouldn't be any worse than being part-ghost and eating a bunch of distortion, at least, I'd figured.

Lanky took the strap off of me as we entered the gym. He was rolling with salty sweat, but I was dry. Bugs don't sweat, you know. Yeah, I was aware. And yet I still hadn't heated up enough to need to breathe particularly hard through my mouth. Lanky let us into the atrium gym, where he decided to instead of joining us, return to the lockers. It was well enough. Walking out, letting Oust out of the sash, I set him on the ground.

The run was good, and we'd burned at least an hour or two, but I was still awake and had some more energy to burn.

Are you still there, Latias?

There was no response. It made sense— they had no reason to stick around. I went to climb the tree, and Leaf's red eyes looked down on me, lying down on the branch. The poor bug was still asleep, and the atrium door opening hadn't even awoken him. Climbing up the tree, I found my perch, watching to see what Oust would do. He waddled to the base of the tree, then looked at me.

Then, without any thought or perceptive effort, he practically floated up into the air, joining me on the branch. It wasn't long before I was dreaming of pleasant, hopeful dreams of our futures, including Oust, Leaf, Lanky, Tug, Bonk, and the rest of the swaddlies all in a greenhouse, growing and selling flowers and potted sunflora and more general flowers. Unfortunately, when I awoke to the smell of berries, I was greeted with the face of the professor, Lanky, and Aurea, and I felt the weight of the loss, as though that particular future was one I'd never have.