Chapter 20

THE JESTER

Is there anybody out there looking out for me?

Just say you want me, just say you need me

Is there anybody out there looking out for me?

Does anybody need me?

Is every last soul just fucking me over?

With tears on their shoes and ice on their shoulders

Is there anybody out there looking out for me?

- Badflower

I

The stadium fell eerily silent, with not a sound emanating from the thousands of onlookers as blood dripped from Beartic's claws. A pool of blood spread beneath the two halves of Brian as his legs spasmed. The sun streamed through the glass enclosure, casting a surreal glow on Ben, who held Beldum and trembled uncontrollably, his face smeared with Brian's blood.

The silence was eventually shattered by a piercing scream of agony from the stands. "Brian!" Emily's anguished cry encapsulated the moment before a thunderous applause erupted, drowning out her sobs. Erin, standing beside Emily, was frozen in place, absorbing the gruesome scene before him. Emily swiftly picked him up then turned to ascend the stairs, he caught a final glimpse of Brian's remains over her shoulder, the blood-soaked floor beneath him. Amidst the ongoing applause, it was nearly impossible to hear anything. Vulpix yelped loudly as she followed Emily out.

Erin found himself unable to utter a word, move, blink, or even take a breath; he seemed to have shut down completely. Emily's comforting hand on the back of his head slowly reignited life within him, though just barely. Barely enough for tears to stream from his eyes, and then barely enough to cry for Brian, for Charlotte, now sobbing for Flapple, for Staravia, and ultimately, unleashing everything for his mother, who became the primary focus of his lamentations.

II

Seth heard Emily's shriek, and it felt like his chest constricted around him. Brian's halves lay in front of him, with Sarah hovering between them, her blood mingling with Brian's on the floor. She started chanting, "You couldn't save him," and "You can't save him," alternating each chant, and it seemed as if the only vibrations in the air were the haunting echoes of her contorted, lifeless mouth. Seth attempted to scream and cry, but nothing escaped him; he was trapped, frozen, incapable of taking any action. The audience erupted in applause, louder than anything Seth had ever heard. Misty's screams and cheers, trying to goad him on, yet somehow, they sounded distant.

Breaking him out of his trance, Misty forcefully shoved him, her insane laughter drowning out Sarah’s screams. "That's what that damn bitch deserves!" Misty clutched her stomach, roaring with laughter. "Damn, that's incredible!"

Seth took a step toward Brian, then another. As he drew closer to the scene of his friend's death, toward his wife's lifeless body, everything seemed to fade into the background. Ben still trembled on the ground as Beartic returned to his trainer, the referee.

"I... I... I... Why... Why..." Ben appeared utterly shattered as Seth approached.

Brian's youthful charm had been drained from him, splattered on the ground between them. "Get yourself cleaned up," Seth ordered, averting his gaze from Brian and focusing on Ben, who still clutched the unconscious Beldum. "Then go to room 76 on deck D."

"Why... Why... Why... did he..." Ben stammered.

"RIGHT NOW!" Seth's scream jolted Ben from his trance, and he scurried away, tightly clutching Beldum.

The applause continued to roar, with chants of "Next fight!" echoing loudly overhead.

"I'm sorry," Seth muttered, his voice breaking as he fell to his knees, his gaze locked onto Brian's lifeless face. He moved over to the other half of his friend, his legs trembling beneath him. Finally, the spasms in Brian's leg ceased, leaving behind its cold, lifeless form. Seth carefully removed the three Pokéballs from Brian's belt and secured them on his own, hoping no one would notice. He then reached into Brian's pocket and retrieved Brian's badge case, opening it up. He stared at the Cascade Badge, despising himself for coveting it. He took the badge from the case and placed it in his own pocket.

Two Team Rocket members approached along the field where Seth knelt. "Get off the field so we can clean up," one of them stated. Seth looked up at them, a glare of hatred in his eyes at their insensitive request. "Get the fuck off, or you'll be the next one getting cleaned up," the Team Rocket member warned. Seth continued to glare at them but complied, returning Primeape and Noivern to their Pokéballs, both of which had moved up closer, ready to protect him.

As he returned to his position alongside Misty, whom he ignored, Seth watched as they loaded the pieces of his friend onto a stretcher, leaving behind the bloodstained battlefield.

"Now that the first battle has concluded, let's move on to the next one! Oliver Lewis and Daniel Rivera, please approach." The crowd applauded in agreement as Seth turned towards the doors. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to leave, and quite honestly, he didn't care. His battle wasn't until the following day, and he wanted, no, needed to see his son. The roar of the audience faded behind him as he walked away, leaving him alone in the dark staircase. There, he collapsed to his knees and allowed his emotions to pour out.

At the bottom of the stairs, Sarah's apparition floated in the darkness, her hollow, pale eyes piercing through the gloom. Half her body slumped to the floor, leaving her head that laid on, her left chest and side, eerily resembling Brian's lifeless form. Her mouth twisted, and the familiar chants began echoing once more.

Seth gripped his ears with his hands, burying his face in his knees, and began repeating, "No. No. No! No! NO! Please, it's not my fault he died!" He clutched the cascade badge in his hand, rubbing its metallic shape, pleading, "Leave me alone; it's for him, please, leave me alone."

He finally looked up into the darkness, hoping to see just the ordinary staircase. However, as his eyelids shot open, Sarah's twisted vertical grin materialized before him, her head tilted unnaturally to the side, mirroring the Team Rocket member Jimmy's snapped neck. "You couldn't save me!" her voice muttered. In his fear-fueled anger, Seth hurled the cascade badge through Sarah's collapsed skull, and she dissipated into the darkness.

III

The door to D76 creaked open, and Seth's eyes fell upon his son, sitting on the bed and staring at his feet.

"Hey," Seth said softly, giving Erin a small smile.

"Hi, Daddy."

Emily was sitting on the other bed, petting Vaporeon whose head rested on her lap as Seth closed the door behind them. "Did he see?" Emily's eyes were red, and her whole face was flushed. She looked at him and slowly nodded her head while averting eye contact.

"Why? Why didn't you hide it from him?" Seth's voice rose.

"Fuck you, I..." She stood up swiftly, pushing his chest and forcing him to take a step back. "I... I am sorry." She broke down on his chest, where Seth held her softly.

"I'm sorry too," Seth said quietly.

Erin continued to look down at his feet, tears welling up in his eyes again.

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

"No, and the fact that the stakes are this high. I don't know what I am going to do," he responded.

"Win. That's the only thing you can do."

"I have his Pokémon," Seth reached to his belt, picking up the condensed Pokéballs before gripping them tightly to expand them to the size of his palm, then placing them on the table at the back of the room.

"We have to tell them," Emily stated.

"I know we do. This room is too small. Let's go outside." He rubbed the Cascade Badge in his pocket. He didn't know why he couldn't bring the badge out. Logically, he had solved a problem; he had the badge, he could continue the league challenge without waiting a year, he could save his son faster. But it just felt wrong. "Will you grab the Pokéballs? I have four already, and with Vulpix—"

"You don't want Team Rocket to see you with over six, yeah, I got it." She grabbed the Pokéballs, placing them on her belt, as Seth turned around to open the door. Almost running into him, Ben stood at the other end of the door, his face frozen in fear as Seth looked down upon him.

"Walk with us," he said dismissively, taking his son's hand and entering the long hallway, making his way toward the stairs to reach the main deck.

Emily placed a hand on Ben's shoulder as she stepped out of her room. She gave a faint smile, but it was hard to focus on it with her red, puffy eyes stealing all the attention.

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"I'm sorry. I am here," he said, tears starting to form again.

"Don't be," Seth responded, not looking at him. The walk up the rest of the hallway and stairs was silent, but the warm ocean breeze was immediately felt. The clouds hung in the sky, blocking out the sun, creating a shaded atmosphere.

"You knew what this place was," he asked sternly at the kid resting on the railing. In the light, his shabby appearance was put in full view; the long jeans he wore seemed four sizes too big. The gray jacket draped over his hands fell to the back of his knees.

"Yes."

"Then why are you here?" Emily asked. "Why would you do this, especially if you knew what this place was?"

"Wait. Hold on." Seth took a Pokéball off his hip and handed it to his son. "Erin, Torterra probably needs to stretch his legs. Would you?" Erin took the ball without saying anything. Twenty feet away, Torterra emerged and began traversing the massive deck. "Go on," he said looking back at Ben.

"I was just born when the draft for the war started. My dad was selected, but before he went, he jumped from the Lavender Tower."

"Fuck, I am sorry," Emily said kindly.

"What does this have to do with why you're here?" Seth asked bluntly.

Ben carried on, acting as if he heard nothing. "After he didn't show up, they came back and forced my mom into the war, leaving my brother Chuck to take care of me. We scraped by for a while. He says he has been working since Team Rocket took over, demanding taxes. I think over the years, he just started to hate me for it. This year, I don't know, Chuck changed, started hitting me more, you know." Ben started to hold one of his arms for comfort, his fingertips barely making it out of the jacket. "I know he didn't have the money. I tried getting a job, but no one would hire me; they said my brother stole from them or heard that he stole from people. Chuck told me that he didn't have enough and forced me to the docks this morning, and said if I win, I could come back home."

"But how did you know the penalty for losing?" Seth asked.

"It's a known rumor in Lavender," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Two years ago, this tournament had its first one. They had over a hundred people join in, and a couple of Chuck's friends entered. We sent letters, but didn't hear anything back. Then the next year, the same thing happened."

"Why wouldn’t Fuji tell us this?" Emily asked, looking at Seth.

"You knew Mr. Fuji?" Ben interjected.

"Yeah, what about it?" Seth responded bluntly.

"He is really nice, but nobody sees him very often unless you go to him. I doubt he would know anyone who got on the ships or talked to anyone about it," Ben answered. He now sat on the wooden deck, the railing behind him, with the vast ocean offering him a sense of freedom.

Seth looked over to his son and was happy to see a small smile on Erin’s face while Torterra carried him around the front of the ship.

"Seth, I am going to give him Ampharos to use in the tournament," Emily said, looking seriously at Seth, catching his attention.

“You can’t,” He answered.

"What, we're just going to let him fucking die, let Brian's fucking death mean fucking nothing!" She began screaming.

"No, and I think Ampharos would, especially after everything that happened to her. But we had to reveal our two Pokémon; he can only use Rattata and Beldum."

"I’m sorry," Ben repeated.

"Stop fucking saying that," Emily snapped. "His death meant something, damn it!"

"He smiled at me, right before." He got to his feet, stepping closer to her. "Why?"

"Because he was fucking too nice." Emily started to cry, but a smile also came across her face. "That bitch fucking smiled. Fuck you, Brian." Through everything, she started to chuckle a little. Even in the end, Brian kept true to who he was, and he didn't sacrifice his morals for a second time.

IV

"Release them," Seth instructed.

"Release who?" Ben asked. In answer, the crimson lights emerged from the three pokeballs on Emily’s belt and materialized in between them. Ampharos and Fraxure looked around confusedly, with Ampharos appearing more bewildered than Fraxure. Ceruledge, however, immediately fixed her gaze on Seth, and realization dawned upon her like a crushing weight. Her eyes locked onto Ben, and she walked toward him. The bluish-purple fire on her head and arms blazed fiercely.

"Stop!" Emily demanded, her arms raised over Ben as he cowered in fear, holding his hands over his face, waiting for a blow that never came. Instead, he heard a slashing, searing sound — one after another. Ceruledge was losing control, hacking and slashing at the ship's railing. Melted metal dripped off the now-shredded railing and fell into the ocean below, instantly cooling in the water from the heat of its attacker. She finally calmed down, sitting next to Ben with the destroyed railing behind her. She brought her knees up, her bladed arms resting on top as she put her head down, silently unable to release the sound needed.

The silence persisted for a while, with the waves created by the ship's cutting motion and the constant gusts of wind enveloping them. Erin, on top of Torterra, invaded the solemn space.

"Dad, I’m hungry."

"Come on, then. Let’s go find something to eat. Ben, you're more than welcome to come with us," Seth said, finally dropping the cold guard he had reserved for him. The Pokémon that were out continued to walk with them, creating an unusual group of different sizes and colors traveling the deck of the ship. Seth noticed the patrols walking up and down the deck, their black garb containing every inch of their presence, with expressions ranging from unawareness, seriousness, to overall disgust. What caught Seth's eye was their constant checking of the water or under the bow as if someone was hiding on the side of the ship or escaping.

The galley was massive, adorned with beautiful hardwood that led lines toward the windows along the back wall and on each side, allowing a pleasant light to filter in from the sun. A buffet of food was set up on tables on the right side of the room as they entered. On the left side was what truly shocked and lightened the grim mood: tables filled with vegetarian and carnivorous diets for Pokémon.

“Please find a table and enjoy,” a waiter, devoid of any insignias, spoke.

“Are our Pokémon allowed out to feast here?” Emily asked curiously, looking toward the left side of the room.

“Of course,” he responded. “Enjoy.”

Taking their seats at a middle back table against a window that provided a view of the retreating horizon, Vulpix and Fraxure grabbed whole Seaking fillets cooked with seasonings from a pile on a nearby table. Ceruledge walked toward the middle table where berries were scattered. Ampharos and Torterra were situated at the table where mountains of greens rested. Ampharos took an amount that could fit in its arms, while Torterra just lay on the ground, extending its head into the plethora of food. A red light filled the floor as Noivern, Vaporeon, Ditto, Primeape, Beldum, Lairon, and Rattata were released and stampeded toward their awaited meal.

Seth walked beside Erin, loading their plates from platters that held grilled Miltank steaks, boiled Krabby, Tauros ribs, and other dishes. Brian's corpse filled the bottom of one platter, his blood spilling onto the dark floor. Seth stood there with a serving spoon in his hand, Brian's face seeming to fixate on Seth's until his mouth creaked open, “You can’t save him.”

“Dad, come on,” Erin said, tugging at his father's shirt. “Daddy, look at the cooked Alcremies!” Sunlight filled the room once again, and Seth snapped out of his reverie, gazing at the tray of Slowpoke Tails.

After they filled their plates, they took their seats at the table, surrounded by their Pokémon scattered around the galley, until the doors jolted open and Daniel Rivera’s arrogant presence began spilling into the galley, tainting the food and atmosphere like a plague. His smug aura drifted toward them, and after making eye contact, Houndoom and Absol closely followed behind him.

“So,” slamming his hand down on the table, making eye contact with Ben inches apart, “looks like I get to kill you the day after tomorrow. How would you like me to do it?”

Seth swiftly took Erin away from the table, with Torterra, Vulpix, Primeape, Noivern, and Ditto forming a protective barrier around him, blocking him from the tense situation. Ben slunk down, putting his hands to his face as if to defend himself from the onslaught of words pouring out of Daniel’s mouth.

“Would you like Houndoom to incinerate your bones, or possibly Absol to slice you in half?” Daniel sneered. Ben was trembling so intensely that the shared table was beginning to shake with him. “Or I could destroy your pitiful existence now, you pathetic worthless—”

In a flash, Daniel was flat on the floor, clutching his bleeding nose. Emily stood over him, rubbing her fist with her hand. Houndoom growled loudly, met with an equally loud roar reverberating from Lairon. A dark pulse oozed out of Houndoom, immediately dimming the entire galley. Houndoom leaped forward to pounce on Emily, but a steel skull bashed it into a nearby table. Lairon charged to Houndoom's collapsed form, pressed its heavy foot against its chest, bit its head, and tore it clean off its shoulders, its spinal cord following behind.

“Get. The. Fuck. Away,” Emily said, kneeling at eye level with a trembling Daniel. Absol stood protectively at his side but made no intitave to share Houndoom’s fate.. Lairon walked over and dropped Houndoom's head in his lap. “Finish off his Absol for good measure.”

A flash of red lights swept over the galley as Team Rocket members poured into the cafeteria. “Cease all hostilities!” The older man from the Competitor Sign-Up booth stepped into the forefront of the small army. He looked down at the petrified Daniel and then to Emily, who had her friends behind her. “I would ask what happened, but having the unfortunate chance of meeting this shit here, I can already surmise. Recall your Pokémon and get out,” he said to Emily.

“Sure thing,” she answered, her gaze still fixed on Daniel, the bloody, lifeless head of Houndoom still dripping blood onto him.

Seth covered Erin's face with his flannel shirt, shielding him from the horrors that had just unfolded before him. "I am sorry, Seth," she said as five lights shot from her belt, recalling her and Brian’s Pokémon. She held out her hands and took Erin from him.

"It's okay. We had everyone out, ready to guard him. That ass deserved it," Seth replied, watching Erin hold onto Emily tightly, still positioned away from viewing anything. "Let's just get out of here."

V

"I am going to take Ben with me to the viewing area and see what's going on. Can you watch Erin? I'm sorry to keep putting you on babysitting duty," Seth asked Emily as the stairwell doors closed behind them.

"It's okay. Ben, I'm really sorry I couldn't get his Absol too," she said, showing him a genuine expression that caught him off guard.

"Thank you," he said, a smile taking over him. Had anyone ever done anything to look out for him before?

Seth gently placed his son on the first step of the stairs. "You listen to Emily, okay?"

"Don't fight, Daddy."

"I'm not fighting today. I promise."

"Please, don't, Daddy." Erin wrapped his small hands around his father's neck. "Don't."

"I love you," Seth replied to him without providing a verbal answer. Emily took his hands, and they separated when they reached their floor.

The light flooded in as they entered the battlefield through the competitors' doors. The bracket hanging over them from the other side showed that Henry Davis and Harper Martinez, Lucas Anderson and Mia Hughes, and Lacey Gross had won their fights and would be battling eachother in the coming days.

What immediately caught their attention was Misty standing behind her Starmie, feeding off the crowd's excitement. A Victorybell was suspended in the air, with Starmie's red gem flashing rapidly. Suddenly, its top leaf, acting as its mouth, was ripped off. Both of its leaf appendages followed, and a thick purple substance oozed out of its injuries. "Now, Starmie!" Misty called out excitedly.

Noah Harris, a young black man with short hair, was lifted from the platform and gradually floated under his Pokémon, despite his loud pleas and screams for mercy. Victorybell's body suddenly ripped in half, as Starmie's red gem flashed faster and faster. The purple ooze fell on top of Noah with screams of horror. His flesh fell from his bones almost immediately, his eyes disappeared, and his stomach as the acid ate away every part of him. His screams were muffled by the toxic sludge drifting down his throat. A pile of melting bones sat in the middle of the purple sludge, as Victory Bell's husk of a corpse fell away to the side of its deceased trainer. The crowd roared loudly in approval, but not as loudly as Misty's hysterical laughter, rising to the level of thousands.