Dreamwalker Special 3
For the better part of an hour, the truck continued to drive its way through the city streets. Assorted milk canisters shook along with the bumps in the road and the air smelled of mud and steel. Occasionally, the flaps of the tarp would blow open to the wind, letting in a ray of light which blinds the two with its intense presence in the dark. Eventually, they no longer weaved the busy streets of the city, instead going on the highway out of the city. Ceailean would occasionally peek out the back only to see Lumiose tower slowly disappear over the horizon until it was no longer visible. The whole ride, no one uttered a word, as they tried to process the gravity of the situation. Ceailean kept to himself mostly until he heard a slight sob. It was very subtle and quiet, but it was enough for him to suspect something was up.
“Marie? Where are you?” he asked. No voice spoke up amongst the rattling of the truck. Still, he squinted around trying to see her, but saw nothing, it was still too dark. With nothing left to do, he decided to search through his duffle to find anything that might light up the truck. After shuffling around for a bit, a crystalline light dimly glowed from within. Its fiery color barely let Ceailean see the outline of his own hand, but was enough to see that Marie was no longer directly across from him. He fished out the light source out of his duffle and figured out that it was actually the fire gem Reese had given him just earlier that day. He looked through it, seeing the truck in an orange hue and someone shuffling towards the front. Realizing who it was, he slowly crawled over to her, the fire gem’s orange glow guiding the way.
“Marie?” he asked once more, reaching his hand over and placing it on her shoulder.
“No!” she cried, reacting unexpectedly. She shuffled a little farther away and curled up into her legs. “Stay away from me.”
Ceailean kept his distance, but was still looking to comfort her. He put down the fire gem and said, “Marie, we’re gonna be okay-.”
“No, we’re not!” she sobbed. Her head remained buried in her legs as she cried. “I...It’s my fault. We wouldn’t have been here in this situation if I hadn't acted so selfishly.”
“We couldn’t of guessed what would of happened, you don’t have to-”
“How could’ve it have been anything other than my fault?” argued Marie. Fennekin looked at her. A shallow feeling of guilt shown on its face. “If I hadn't just taken Fennekin, not to mention me. I also came with you for selfish desires.”
“How could coming along with me on a journey be selfish for you?” asked Ceailean, confused at the idea.
Marie turned her head and glanced at Ceailean with only one eye. She covered her face once more and said, “You...wouldn't get it.”
Ceailean slumped back, never taking his gaze off of her. After a moment he said, “So what if it's your fault.” Marie tensed up at him saying this. “I forgive you.”
Her breath became shaky, “W-What?”
“I forgive you.”
She brought her head up slightly, “Why?”
“Marie, you’re my friend, I can’t sit here and watch you beat yourself up over one mistake. Granted it was a mistake that has us running as wanted fugitives, but that’s besides the point.
Marie shot over to Ceailean’s face and argued, “That’s the entire point! I ruined your, our lives. We can’t just go back and hope that they forget about us. What’re we supposed to do?”
“I don’t know.” he said calmly. Marie simply sits back down on her side of the truck at his response.
She looked down sorrowfully and said, “I shouldn’t have ever come with you.”
A moment passes. A hand reached over onto Marie’s shoulder. “Don’t say that!” said Ceailean assertively. “We’re finding ourselves in a situation we don’t know how to deal with. But I’m willing to adapt, and so should you. I would hate to think what could happen if you went on your own. So please, come with me, and we’ll figure this out together.”
Marie began to tear up again, “You’d really want me to?”
He gave her a thumbs up, “No one left behind.”
She then started sobbing loudly. Tears ran down her face as she tried to quickly wipe them away with her sleeve. Ceailean held out his arms, offering his embrace. She quickly accepts and unloads all her grief into his chest. Ceailean held her close and stroked her hair, comforting her to the best of his ability. Fennekin joined the effort by walking up and nuzzling her. They shared their embrace for what felt like forever, until the truck shook violently, causing Marie to quickly back off of Ceailean. She sensed that if it were to go on any longer, she wouldn’t have been able to control what might have come next.
She wiped her eyes again and asked, “So, what’s the plan.”
Ceailean grew serious, “Let’s start with what brought us here. Fennekin led us to this truck for a reason, so maybe something is wrong.” Fennekin nodded its head. It sniffed around for a bit and ended up facing the nearest milk canister. Ceailean was confused when Fennekin brought attention to it by jumping up and trying to knock it over. “What is it? Can’t be anything other than milk.”
“Maybe there’s something inside.” suggested Marie. Ceailean shrugged and opened the canister to look inside. He then froze for a moment before hastily checking another, then another. “What is it? What’s in there?”
“It’s all pokeballs,” responded Ceailean, hastily opening one more. “Well, this one’s just milk but,” he opened another, “all the rest are pokeballs!”
Marie looked inside the canister near her too, “You’re right, all these have pokeballs inside them too. What’s going on?”
Ceailean thought for a moment, he then said, “Remember what Officer Jenny said, she charged us with an unreasonable amount of kidnapping for one pokemon. She also asked me if I knew where the rest was.”
“Well I think we found the rest right here.”
“That has to be it. The pokemon lab unable to give out starters, the N.G.P. getting canceled, that weird conversation between Meyer and Sycamore. It could only lead to only one conclusion, the pokemon lab was raided and all of its pokemon were taken!” Marie covered her mouth and gasped. Fennekin barked to confirm his statement. “We have to make this right, we have to stop them.”
Marie took out Snom gently and asked, “But how can we, Snom is in no shape to battle and Fennekin must still be tired from battling Clemont.” Snom was still unconscious in Marie’s hands and Fennekin was heavily panting.
“We got this.” pointed out Ceailean. He shoved the milk canister that was actually full of milk towards Marie. “This should be enough to get them both back to full strength. Might be a little awkward to drink out of, but hey it should still work.” Fennekin was excited and jumped on top of the canister and began to drink it.
“Hey Fennekin! Leave some for Snom.” said Marie. She brought Snom close to the canister and it jumped on top before she could even place it down. Looking at it sip the milk, she couldn’t help but give a slight chuckle and say, “Lazybones, glad to see you’re alright.”
The truck was shaking hard now, almost knocking down the two on the canister. This got Ceailean curious, “Where the heck are we anyway?” He crawled over to the back and looked through the tarp. There he saw that they were no longer on a paved highway, instead they rode along an uneven dirt road with unending forests on both sides. “Oh crap.” he said to himself. Just then, they passed by a person walking on foot along the path, his face expressed bitterness and anger. Ceailean recognized who the person was. “Cri-Crisis! Hey, help us!” he yelled to him, waving his hands to get his attention. Crisis looked at him, but his expression didn’t change, seeming as if he hardly cared. The truck kept going until Crisis was no longer visible. Ceailean gave up on him and slouched down. Then, a large clang followed by an, “EEEEP,” came from the front, scaring Ceailean. He scrambled to the front and found the milk canister knocked over, the milk spilling over and Marie was grossed out.
“Man, they got it all over my leggings.” she said lifting up her skirt, dripping milk everywhere. Ceailean laughed a bit and Marie pouted, “It’s not funny C! I’m gonna be all smelly and sticky now.” He laughed a little harder and Marie couldn’t help but laugh with him. This caught the attention of Snom, who crawled out of the canister and stared at Ceailean angrily. Their laughter was cut short when the truck made a sharp turn and stopped suddenly.
They listened as they heard the e-brake activate, followed by a door opening and closing with footsteps soon after. Another door opened and the grunt of a man struggling to do something and the door closing. The footsteps then slowly faded away could no longer be heard.
“What should we do now?” asked Marie quietly.
“We still have the element of surprise, we should try to stay low and gather information before we make any kind of move.”
“Got it.”
“But more importantly, are you two ready?” Fennekin and Snom looked back at him as if it wasn’t obvious. To show how pumped they were, Snom shot an icy wind on to another canister and half of it instantly froze. Fennekin then charged up and shot an ember at the same canister, shattering the ice that had covered it. Hot embers puffed from Fennekin’s nostrils as it scoffed at the canister. “I suppose you guys are. Let’s get out of here.” He tightened the strap of his duffle and picked up the fire gem before heading out.
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Ceailean hopped out the back of the truck and helped Marie down with his hand. They looked around a bit to gather their surroundings. They had arrived at a ghost town, complete with boarded up windows and decomposed buildings being reclaimed by nature. The streets were nothing but dirt roads and the wind blew in such a way that it could be mistaken as background noise of a city. Fennekin was next to drop from the truck, carrying Snom on its head on the way down.
“Hey Snom, I think it would be better if you traveled with me.” said Marie. Snom nodded in agreement. Marie took it and placed it inside her beanie.
“Fennekin, travel with me, we’ll go in pairs of two.” said Ceailean. Fennekin was hesitant though, looking to Marie for approval.
“It’s okay, go ahead.” Fennekin then joined Ceailean’s side. “Hey, we could also see that he left tracks behind. They’ll probably lead us to wherever he’s going.” she pointed out. Ceailean nodded to her in agreement and followed them. The tracks immediately lead out of the town and into the forest, where the tracks were indistinguishable from the uneven soil.
“Fennekin, can you get his scent?’ asked Ceailean. It then got to work sniffing the tracks and quickly got a read, running ahead eagerly. “Wait for us!” loudly whispered Ceailean. They all followed it into the forest. Through dense foliage and wet ground they traveled, thinking would never see an end. That is until Fennekin stopped and sniffed the air suspiciously.
“What’s it doing?” asked Marie.
Ceailean held his hand out, “Wait, you smell that?”
Marie smelled the air, “Oh yeah. It smells, salty.”
“Yeah, it must mean we’re near an ocean.
“Why’s that important.”
“It could mean that he has reinforcements, or has a quick getaway out of the region. Either way, we need to act fast.”
Fennekin moved ahead more cautiously, being sure to not create too much noise on their approach. It wasn't much longer before they started to hear voices. They came across a clearing of cut down trees that was close to the ocean, and there were two people somewhat arguing. Taking cover behind dense foliage as close as they could to the two people, they listened in.
“-What do you mean I gotta wait an hour? I thought we had this perfectly scheduled!” complained one person.
“Well that’s your fault Boug, it ain’t my problem you just happen to show up early.” said the other.
The one presumably called Boug continued to complain, “Man, I was visualizing hanging out on a boat, drinking the drink, partying hard til the sun goes down. Why can’t he just be here now!”
“We aren’t in control of what the boss does. He’ll do things at his own pace and just have to wait.”
“But Jragon, I can’t just wait here! Hold on, I got an idea. I just stole this amazing milk from a coffee shop shipped in straight from Akala island from the Alola region. You just gotta try it!”
“I’ve got a better idea, why don’t you sit down and shut up! By Arceus, you’re annoying the hell outta me.”
“Why you gotta shit on any idea I come up with. All I suggested was a way for us to pass the time, but NO! Like, the hell’s your problem anyway!”
“My problem is the fact that you don't take your job seriously! You showed damn near an hour early! Why? Did you get bored!”
“Hey! I did my job like I was supposed to. Steele dropped the last of the pokemon off in my truck and I just started her up, turned on some tunes, and left like the boss told me to!”
When Boug said this, Ceailean noticed that neither of the two people were the person they had chased in the city upon closer inspection.
“That can’t be the reason why. He wouldn’t show up early like that with explanation. I think you’re lying to me!”
“I told you nothing but the truth! He himself told me to go early!”
“What’re you planning? Is this a set up?” Jragon began to get aggressive. He pulled out his pokéball and pressed the button, ready to throw it.
Boug got ready and took out his pokéball, “You wanna go? It won’t be my fault if the jobs botched cause of you!”
Jragon threw his pokéball, and out came a Dragalge, “Fine! You piss me off anyway!”
Boug then threw out his pokéball, revealing a Yanmega, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
They stared each other down for a moment, then Jragon yelled, “Dragalge, use-”
“Enough you two!” boomed a voice from the forest. Ceailean and Marie adjusted their hiding position as they saw a man come out of the forest. “Jragon! I’ve had enough of your unjustified paranoia. I told him to leave early, so sit down!” They recognized that this was the man they had chased.
“Y-Yes Steele, as you wish.” obliged Jragon.
“See, what’d I tell you-” started Boug.
Steele quickly cut him off and said, “Enough out of you as well! Get out of here and don’t come back till you start bringing the pokemon here!”
“Fine, whatever, geez.” Boug dragged his feet back into the forest with Yanmega.
“If you don’t mind my asking, why the sudden departure?” asked Jragon.
“Hmph! Bunch of dumbass kids exposed me with their Fennekin. Damn thing was shiny too if you could believe it. Looked like it just came from the lab, so we could have made quite a pretty penny out of it if we hadn’t missed it.”
This statement made the two’s skin crawl. Fennekin wasn’t doing much better, gritting its teeth and growling subtly.
“I haven’t actually heard much, what’s this job supposed to be?”
“Nothing important. Starter pokemon always flood the GTS so by default they’re practically worthless.”
Jragon grew somewhat angry, “So then why did we do this job if it ain’t worth nothing.”
“The boss will still pay us accordingly. As for what happens to the pokemon. They’ll probably be sold at dollar store prices or be sent to the gulag.”
Jragon smiled deviously, “Ha! The gulag? They wouldn’t stand a chance. I would love to see them desperately struggling for their freedom, only for them to be beaten down into a little pulp.” He made a gesture with his hands, imitating crushing a berry.
“Your tastes are your own. I care not for what happens. As long as I get paid.”
Unknowing to Ceailean and Marie, Fennekin was devastated by this revelation. It had a vague understanding of what the gulag was. And if what little it knew was true, it absolutely could not afford to lose its companions.
“The gulag? Whatever could that be?” asked Marie quietly.
“Whatever it is, it can’t be good. We have to find a way to end this, and fast.” responded Ceailean.
“We can’t do it by ourselves. Maybe we can go back to the truck and free all the pokemon and convince them to fight with us.”
“You see, that would have been a great idea if we had thought about it ten minutes ago. We can’t go back because that Boug guy-”
“Where’s Fennekin?” asked Marie, pointing at where it last was. An immense amount of fear suddenly filled them both when the next thing they heard came from the clearing.
“FEN! FENNEKIN!” screamed the small Pokémon. Its red tufts of hair in its ears were red hot and smoldering.
Steele smiled and chuckled, “Well ain’t you just a little hunk of joy.”
“Steele, is that the shiny Fennekin you were talking about?” asked Jragon.
Steele pulled out his pokéball, “Right you are, Jragon, Right you are.” He threw it and out came a Bastiodon. It towered over Fennekin, but never did it ever take one step back. “I reckon if you're here, then those meddling kids must be around here too!” shouted Steele towards the forest line.
Marie rose up to back up Fennekin, but Ceailean grabbed her arm and said, “No! It’s too dangerous!”
“He already called us out! We have to help!” she argued.
“Just wait! I have a pretty stupid, dumb idea. But it’ll buy us some time! Just trust me!” Marie looked to Fennekin, wanting to help badly.
“Well, I suppose the others have just straight up abandoned you. You’re here, all alone.” taunted Steele. Fennekin glanced back at the tree line, but stayed firm, growling relentlessly.
“Steele, let me get it.” said Jragon.
Steele waved him away, “No, this one’s mine. After all the trouble it caused me, I’m gonna personally beat it down! Bastiodon, no mercy!” Bastiodon stomped down, ready to battle.
Fennekin started first using scratch. It attacked and attacked, only to realize it had done nothing. “Such pitiful attacks can’t hurt Bastiodon!” cackled Steele. Fennekin then shot an ember as hard as it could at Bastiodon. It dissipated harmlessly across its face. Fennekin froze as it was unsure of what to do next. “Is that all? Fine then, it’s our turn! Bastiodon, use take down!” It then charged ferociously as Fennekin stood there and braced itself.
“Use icy wind!” shouted a voice. Icy wind blew past Fennekin and straight down on Bastiodon’s legs. It tripped on the ice that had formed and flipped over stunned. Marie ran to Fennekin and grabbed it saying, “Let’s get out of here!”
“I think not, Bastiodon use block!” commanded Steele. Bastiodon quickly recovered and physically blocked Marie from running away. She tried out maneuvering it, but it was just too agile. Steele chuckled, “So you came after all.”
Jragon stepped up and said, “Screw it, I’m going in. Dragalge use-OW!” A rock smacked him right on the face, with another hitting Dragalge, severely agitating it.
Ceailean rose to reveal himself and shouted, “Yo, Mr. Mcugly called and told me to give you his crown!”
Jragon was furious, “Annoying child! I show you your place. Come back here so I can leave you as a curdling mess.” Dragalge then shot poisonous sludge in Ceailean’s direction, causing the tree next to him to instantly dissolve.
Ceailean gave Jragon a quick glance and said, “Nope,” running off into the forest.
“Better run, I’m coming for you!” shouted Jragon, running after him with Dragalge.
Steele paid no attention to him, as he seemed all too delighted to be in the situation he was in. Bastiodon was slowly pushing Marie and co. closer to him, leaving her with only one choice. “We have to battle if we’re ever going to get out of here, alright! Let’s get ready!” said Marie. Snom agreed, but Fennekin was still frozen in fear. She placed Snom down facing Bastiodon, giving more attention to Fennekin's predicament. “Fennekin, please! We have to focus! It’s coming!” It’s expression remained unchanged and Bastiodon was getting ready to attack.
“Bastiodon, use Iron defense!” shouted Steele. A metallic like sheen flashed along its body as it stared them down, a red aura emanating around the area it occupied.
Marie looked at it, clearly scared. “Fennekin please…”
A wicked smile stretched across Steele’s face.