Chapter 16: Watchful of the Walker

A blank expanse.

A void of nothing.

This is where Ceailean was. Eyes closed, but still feeling the presence of his body.

“Is this him? The one that bears the hatred of that day?” said a voice.

“I am certain of it, this must be him. It is like I’ve detected before.” said another voice.

Both voices sounded as they were two honorable princes of lush kingdoms.

“W-Who are you?” asked Ceailean, slowly.

“Did you hear that? I think he heard us! You, can you hear me?”

“Y-Yeah.” answered Ceailean in a somewhat of a trance.

“Excellent, now this is important. Where are you, we must find you as soon as possible!”

“Why?”

“It is imperative in order to figure out how to free Kalos of its lingering pain, please!”

“I’m… in Lumiose City.”

“He’s no longer in Snowbelle. We were too late. Listen here, you are not to leave the city under any circumstance until we get there, understood!”

“Lumiose city, I came here on a journey. A friend came with me. Her name was… Marie. Heh, Marie. She’s… a great friend…”

“This isn’t good, he’s slipping away again. We must make our way to Lumiose city, with haste!”

“Gren!”

“You! This is important, do not let your hate get the bette-!”

The voices faded quickly as Ceailean was whisked away into another dream with another voice reverberating and becoming more urgent.

“Kid? Kid! Come on we need to go!” Ceailean opened his eyes in a daze, only to quickly realize he was back in Lumiose city. The building around him was collapsing. Walls cracking, electricity buzzing, steel snapping, and glass breaking violently. “Damn it kid! Get up! We are leaving!” It was the Weavile trainer, he was back in his 8-year old self in the Battle for Kalos. Weavile ushered him to hurry with Fletchinder in its arms.

Still in a dazed state, Ceailean felt himself get yanked up onto the back of the trainer. He made a break for it, Ceailean holding on for dear life. The building suddenly fell a small amount, causing even more destruction. “I’m gonna jump, brace yourself!”

“N-No! I-I can’t…!” Ceailean’s plea fell on deaf ears as the trainer ran full speed towards the window at the end of the hall. He could see the red sky, the vines dyed in red, the destruction being caused all around Lumiose on the outside. Fear took hold, making him want to just curl up into a ball and cover his eyes to hope everything would just go away.

The window grew closer, and Ceailean yelled, “NO PLEASE! I don’t want to be here anymore!” Weavile crashed through the window and Ceailean closed his eyes in anticipation for his jump, but it never came.

He slowly peeled his eyes open to see he was his old classroom. The outside was snowing, a familiar feature of Snowbelle he knew well. The drone of a lecture from a teacher slowly became more audible as he took in his surroundings.

“Mr. Crimis!” shouted the teacher.

Ceailean shot up in his seat, only to wince in pain. His left arm was in a cast. “Y-Yes?” he stammered.

“Perhaps you could explain why the Johto and Kanto regions have such a close relationship with each other, hm?”

“I… don’t know, Mrs. Jones.”

“Well, next time you best pay attention. That broken arm there isn't an excuse for you to be distracted in my class.”

“Yeah, sorry Mrs. Jones.”

Mrs. Jones began to drone on with the lecture. A few minutes in, Ceailean heard a small conversation happening behind him. “Hey, did you hear about that rich kid that just moved into town?”

“Rich kid? Oh ho, do you think I could get them to share some of that moolah?”

“No no, it’s not worth it. Rumor has it, they’re a good for nothing, spoiled little brat. They are so out of touch with normal people that it seems like they always talk down to you.”

“But maybe it’s werf…”

The conversation carried on for a bit before a paper ball whizzed by Ceailean’s head. “No talking while I’m talking!”

This startled the two students behind him, “Sorry Mrs. Jones.”

Nothing of note happened for the rest of class. Soon the bell rang, “Oop, time for recess. All of you, get outta here.” waved away Mrs. Jones, sitting down at her desk. The class rushed out towards the back of the building. Everyone immediately either went out to play or shuffled for a spot in line for lunch. Ceailean however, cared very little about either of these activities. Instead, he made his way to the front of the building, fully knowing that he was going out of bounds. There, he plopped himself down on the planter wall near the front entrance. Sitting in silence, he simply waited for the recess period to be over.

Halfway through, he heard a bunch of “oohs” and “ahhs” in the distance. At first, he tried to ignore it, but they became slightly more obnoxious with each instance. One final “Woah!” made Ceailean’s curiosity get the better of him. He got up and began searching for the source. As he got closer, he heard the subtle cheers of excitement following up from small explosions. He rounded the corner to see someone sitting by a tree looking at what seems like to be a pretty intense battle on their phone. Every high point of the battle gestured another subtle cheer from the individual. Ceailean got closer and saw they were watching the most recent Kalos league matches on their phone. Inching ever closer, he made the mistake of not checking where he was going and snapped a twig.

Instantly, the person looked back swiftly and saw that he was there. It was a girl with blue eyes and short blonde hair that barely made it past their ears. She wore a Zigzagoon beanie, red coat, black leggings, and white tennis shoes. She jolted straight up and turned off the phone.

“Woah! When did you get here?” she asked.

“I just-”

“Never mind, just promise me you won’t tell anyone what you saw.”

“I guess but-”

“Okay, we’re good. I’ll see you around now.” She began to hastily walk off before being stopped by an authoritative voice.

“You two, would you like to explain why you’re out of bounds?” It was a hall monitor. A higher grade individual chosen to watch over the smaller children.

Ceailean sighed and tried to explain, “It’s just that-” But the girl next to him freaked out.

“Oh no! You got me caught… You! I am so sorry mister, I promise I’ll never do it again so please don’t write me up!”

“No can do, I’m gonna have to write you two up for detention.”

The girl’s face drained of color, “Please, there has to be something I can do? There’s no reason to write me up, my dad would kill me! Come on, just name your price, I’m sure I can change your mind?”

The monitor thought for a moment, then noticed the phone in her hand. “That phone, does it so happen to be the latest one?”

“Y-Yeah, why?”

“Then that must mean you’re the new rich kid everyone’s talking about. Surely you can just buy a new phone if you just hand me yours right now, can’t you?”

The girl thought for a moment, but quickly decided against it. “Umm… sorry, perhaps something else?” Ceailean was over the conversation already. He only stuck around to entertain himself until the bell rang.

“Come on now, you don't want detention, do you? What could be so special about that phone anyway?”

“I’ve some saved stuff on it that I don’t wanna lose.”

“Stuff? Care to clarify?”

“All you need to know is that it’s special to me.”

The monitor was starting to become irritated. “Just give me the phone and you won’t get detention, it’s that easy.”

“No”

The monitor physically reached over to the phone, “I said give it-”

The girl backed off. “No!”

The monitor was now angry. He grabbed the phone in the girls hand, “Just give it to me!”

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The girl held on with both hands, pleading, “NO! What’re you doing? Stop it!” Ceailean couldn’t just sit by anymore. Anger fueled his body, making him scoop up a pile of snow with his right hand.

He walked over and said, “Hey buddy.” The monitor only reacted for a second before a palm of snow to the face caused him to stumble back. The girl figured out what was happening and quickly moved behind Ceailean.

The monitor recovered, wiping his nose off with his thumb. “Now you done it, someone’s gonna get hurt today.”

The girl didn’t want to escalate things. She stepped forward saying, “You don’t have to do that, I can-”

Ceailean stopped her by blocking her with his arm. “Just let her be, man. We’ll even take those detentions if you’ll let her go.”

“W-What, I don’t want that!” whispered the girl behind him. Ceailean ignored her. However, listening closely, he heard a person whistling a tune around the corner. Knowing who it was, he could turn the situation into his favor. He kept his arm close to the girl.

“No, this is personal now. Prepare for a beat down!” The monitor rushed forward. In that instant, Ceailean pushed away the girl and braced with his left arm as a shield. The monitor pushed him down hard, making him slide a couple inches in the snow. The pain in his left arm was unbearable and Ceailean cried out in pain.

“Stop it!” yelled the girl. The monitor only chuckled and cracked his knuckles. Ceailean was hurting, but he knew his plan worked. The whistling had stopped, being replaced by rapid footsteps. Appearing behind the monitor was the janitor and his Rhyhorn, and after assessing the situation, threw a fit.

“You get outta here!” he yelled, throwing his broom like a javelin. It merely skidded beside them, but it was enough to chase off the monitor. “Damn kid!” said the janitor, kicking up snow in the monitors direction.

“Thank you for saving us, but please help him!” said the girl. Ceailean was groaning in pain on the ground.

“Let me see here.” he said, rushing over to Ceailean’s side. He crouched down and looked over him. “Okay, I’m gonna lift you up now. Be prepared.” Ceailean nodded. The janitor put his arms under Ceailean’s neck and legs, “1… 2… 3!” Being lifted up made Ceailean’s arm hurt a little more. “Rhyhorn, come here.” Rhyhorn rushed over to his side. The janitor placed Ceailean on its back and said, “Take him to the nurse.” Rhyhorn nodded in agreement.

“I should go too.” said the girl.

“Okay, if you want. Tell them I sent you guys, I’m gonna try to find where he went.” The girl nodded and the janitor ran off.

Rhyhorn made his way to the nurses office. “Mrs. Johnson! We need your help.” the girl called out. The nurse looked over from her computer and saw the injured Ceailean.

“Oh my gosh, what happened?” she said, rushing over.

“A bully pushed him over on his broken arm.” explained the girl.

Mrs. Johnson picked up Ceailean off of Rhyhorn and placed him on a bed. “Does it hurt a lot? Do you think the arm got worse in any way?”

“No… I don’t think so.” groaned Ceailean.

“Okay, I’m gonna call your mother, alright. Can I have your name?”

“Ceailean Crimis.”

“Okay. Miss Visu, would you please fetch this man an ice pack.”

“Yes ma'am!” said the girl. She ran off and came back a short time later with an ice pack wrapped around in a paper towel. “Tell me where it hurts the most, okay.”

Ceailean pointed to his shoulder, “Right here.” The girl placed it gently on his shoulder, him wincing as she did so. Once it was fully placed, Ceailean calmed down a bit. He sighed as Mrs. Johnson made the call in the background. The girl sat down next to him in the meantime.

For a while, everyone waited silently, until the girl spoke up. “Hey, thanks for standing up for me back there.”

“Yeah whatever.” said Ceailean, feeling sour.

“That’s how you’re gonna be after I say thanks, you could at least say ‘you’re welcome’”.

“Mh-hm.”

A moment of silence befell the two. “Well, I’m willing to forgive your shortcomings in terms of manners and accept you as my friend. You should feel honored.”

“Didn’t ask, don’t need it, go away.” This feeling of sourness felt unnatural to him, it had to be coming from somewhere. But for some reason, he was afraid to figure out what it was.

The girl scoffed, “Why are you so mean? I’m just trying to be friends because you helped me.”

“It won’t matter. That guy will continue to bully and I can only save you so many times. Might as well dissociate yourself from me while I’m being targeted for the next few days.”

The girl gave him a confused look, “Dissociate? What does that mean?”

Ceailean sighed, “I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know what it means either. Just, stay away from me, okay.”

“Then why would you use that word if you didn’t know it?”

“I heard it from some guy back when I lived in Lumiose, it’s none of your concern. Now please leave me alone.”

The girl looked hurt when he said this. She turned around and said, “Fine then, it’s not like I wanted to be your friend anyway.”

“I’m sure you have plenty anyway.”

A moment of silence. The girl's voice became somber, “Actually, I don’t… have any.” Ceailean listened as she went on. “I’ve never been able to make any friends. Mrs. Johnson is the closest thing I have to a friend, but she’s an adult, she’s supposed to be my friend. I don’t have any friends that are my age. But when you showed up and stood up for me, I thought I could finally make a friend.” She began to sob, “But it looks like you don’t feel the same way. So I guess… you’ll just be like everyone else.” She silently sobbed, facing away from Ceailean.

Ceailean started to feel incredibly bad. Reluctantly, he said, “Alright, I’ll uh, be your friend, I guess.”

The girl turned her head slightly, “Really?”

Ceailean inhaled deeply and said through his teeth, “Yeah, sure.”

The girl turned around. “Thanks, you’re the best!” she said, giggling excitedly. Ceailean, releasing he had been duped, sighed heavily. “My name is Marie Visu, nice to meet you.” She held out her hand for a shake. Ceailean needed only to gesture to his arm with his eye to make Marie realize her mistake. “Uh, sorry. What about your name?”

“I’m Ceailean.”

“Ceailean? That’s gonna be a hard name to remember. So why don’t I call you, C?”

“Please don’t.”

“Anyway C, where do you hang out during recess?”

“I don’t wanna tell.”

“Aw come on, we’re friends now. You can tell me.”

“I’m not gonna tell you.”

Marie scrunched her nose, “What if I said, pretty please-”

“Mr. Crimis.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re being sent home for the day. Miss Visu, could you please gather his things from Mrs. Jones’s class.”

“Alright Mrs. Johnson, I’ll do it now.” With that, Marie left the office. Ceailean sighed once more. While laying there, he listened to the phone ringing o Mrs. Johnson’s desk. However, she didn’t make an attempt to answer it.

This went on for a few minutes until Ceailean said out of annoyance, “Hey, are you gonna pick that up?” But, no words came out of his mouth. Ceailean was confused, until he began to feel like he was falling. He fell faster and faster until he jerked himself awake back in his hotel. He was breathing heavily, his arm felt sore, and his glasses were heavily smudged, he had slept with them on. In his confusion, he heard the phone ringing on the nightstand.

He turned on the light and answered, “Hello?”

“Hello, this is the front desk. We have a Marie Visu here to see you. Will you come up and retrieve her?”

Ceailean looked at the time. 5:43 am. “Y-Yeah, I’ll… I’ll be right there.”

“Thank you. Goodbye sir.” tone dial. Ceailean got up from his bed and made his way to the bathroom, wiping his glasses off on the way there. He turned on the light and looked at himself in the mirror. He was a mess. He quickly brushed his hair to the side and adjusted his jacket. Thinking it was good enough, he made his way down to the lobby. There he saw Marie sitting on a bench, wearing a cast on her right foot with a pair of crutches next to her.

“Marie.” called Ceailean. She noticed him and immediately picked herself up with crutches, moving in his direction. “Listen, I-”

“Let’s go…” said Marie, bluntly. She passed him, heading straight for the elevators.

“Marie? Wait!” said Ceailean, going after her. She waited outside the elevators. “Marie please-”

“Shh! No talking until we get to the room.” Ceailean was anxious. The anxiety only grew as Ceailean led her all the way to the room. He opened the door for her, where she then sat herself down on the other bed, avoiding eye contact with Ceailean. Ceailean sat himself across from Marie on his bed, staring at here for what felt like an eternity.

“C…” she said, finally.

“Marie…” Ceailean said back.

At the same time they said, “I wanted to say I’m sorry-” Both of them were stunned

“What, I’m the one that’s sorry, why are you sorry?” asked Marie.

“Me? Because you were infuriated with me back at the town for leaving you.”

“I know that, but-” Marie struggled to gather her thoughts. “AHH! It’s so hard to talk to you!”

“Cool, I’ll go first. I’m sorry for-”

“No, shh, shut up!” stammered Marie, covering Ceailean’s mouth with her hand. “I… I…” Marie was about ready to break down. Ceailean gently took her hand off his mouth and held it with both hands.

“It’s okay. I’ll let you go first. Just say what you need to say.”

Marie calmed down and took a deep breath. “C, I’m sorry for being mad at you, and acting the way I did. I was just so worried, not for me, but for you. You kept wanting to leave me behind to fight the bad guys by yourself, you thought I couldn’t do anything. But I was willing to fight, fight for all those Pokémon with Snom and Fennekin. When you left me behind, each time I thought, what if you got hurt, and if you did, could I have done anything about it. I wanted to be there to make sure you were safe. But, you ended up being fine in the end, you didn’t need my help. Instead, you just kept helping me.”

“Now I know for a fact that isn’t true.” assured Ceailean.

“Huh?”

“I don’t know if you saw, but I was really panicking against Boug and Jragon before you showed up. If you hadn’t showed up at the last second, I would’ve lost.”

“Yeah, I guess but-”

“Look, I’m sorry I doubted you. I should’ve realized that you were there to fight for all those Pokémon also. But, it was hard for me to accept that. I didn’t want to lose anyone again.”

“It works the other way round, C. I didn't want to lose you either. In order to make sure that we never lose each other is to work together. All I ask of you is to just... believe in me.”

A moment of silence befell the two. Marie turned her head away anxiously. Then she felt arms wrap around her in a hug. “I’ll make a promise to you. Never again will I go off on my own. I’ll put my faith in you, one-hundred percent.”

A wave of warmth spread through Marie’s body. She hugged him back. “Thank you C, I’ll do my best.” They remained in embrace for what felt like forever.

Ceailean finally stepped back and asked, “So uh… the leg, does it still hurt?”

“Mmm, not as much as before. Doctors say that it’ll be a week before I can walk semi-normal again. Oh. that’s right, check this out.” Marie pulled her beanie off her head, revealing a sleeping Snom underneath.

“Woah, it looks so much better now.”

“Yeah, it was so happy once it got out of the Pokémon center.” Ceailean poked Snom with his finger, making it slightly annoyed, prompting it to scooch away from him slightly.

“It’s actions would seem contrary.”

“You would’ve had to have been there.”

Ceailean sighed, “So we have to stay in Lumiose for the time being, huh. That’s not too bad. Professor Sycamore invited us to the lab yesterday.”

“Cool, what shall we do while we wait?” Ceailean paced around the room, scratching the side of his head.

“Well, I guess we could…”