Chapter 48 - Polaris

“Oliver…? Is it…? How?”

As Rey blinked, his vision started to blur, and a shiver ran down his spine. Before him stood a figure… a man, perhaps?

The man let out a chuckle, shaking his head as he spoke. “You know better than this, Polaris,” he said, addressing no one in particular. His smile was radiant, capable of lighting up the world, and beneath the warm sun, his dark skin glistened. A strand of silver hair fell across his eyes, and he gently brushed it away. “I know you do…”

The wind grew stronger as Rey tried to say something. His words never came out. Whiteness overtook all.

“Oliver… please…”

—*——*—

When his eyes snapped open, it was darker, and there was no one around.

In the distance, Articuno screeched in pain and painted the sky with blinding blue bursts of power. Spikes of ice grew from craters on the ground and snow whipped Rey’s cheeks. With a frustrated groan, he sat down, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. There, his fingertips brushed against a crumpled piece of paper, and he let himself feel a tinge of relief.

How pathetic, Rey scolded himself, but his grip on the paper tightened as he realised Lite and Moody were nowhere to be found. His Capsakid would not deal well with this amount of snow and ice…

Taking a deep breath, Rey raised his voice, bellowing out for the missing Pokémon

No one answered, as he expected—if Moody was around, he would’ve already made himself known. Vanillite too, even though the Ice-type often did whatever the hell he wanted.

Still, he called out for them again. For Celeste and Luan too.

His voice, drowned by the wind, grew louder and angrier. What else he could do but to keep on calling? Moody could be hurt and the two idiots that came with him… were definitely in trouble, as often seemed to be the case.

Rey hated it.

This feeling of… powerlessness and lack of control.

He yelled again, angrier. And again, nothing changed. There were only the howls of the wind and the legendary in the sky.

Another groan escaped his lips, and he furrowed his brow in frustration. Just like his mother, lines appeared on his forehead. Although the years of worry had made hers permanently etched in her face.

Weak. Weak, weak, weak. He couldn’t quiet his mind down.

Not until he finally gave in and allowed his fingertips to grab the crumpled note in his pocket.

Silence fell, and it seemed like even the wind had stopped to watch him in judgment.

He was judging himself, too.

Rey’s hand was trembling as he carefully unfolded the note. Tears were forming around the folds and stains from the sweat of his palms were visible.

———————-

If you ever want to talk, I’m here. Always. Call me any time. (+34 01811202212)

-Love, Katy

———————

“I could use some advice now…” Rey let the words escape his clenched jaw. The perfectly crafted calligraphy, adorned with round cursive letters, and the lingering scent of vanilla that persisted after all this time, felt like a mockery. He didn’t want Katy in his life, yet she was infuriatingly present. Always.

“Perseverance,” he imagined her saying, a small, knowing smile on her lips as her gaze honed onto him. “I firmly believe in seeing a task through until you achieve the results you desire, no matter how frustrating it may get.”

He stared at the emptiness ahead, and the wind seemed to whistle at him once more. Somehow, the scent of vanilla felt bittersweet. The real Katy didn’t persevere, ironically enough. It was no wonder Rey preferred to hold on to the image he’d built of her in his mind instead.

“Keep going, sweetie,” he could almost hear the words he yearned for. “You can do this.”

It was ridiculous, but it worked. Rey felt his face relaxing, the tension melting away, and he tucked the note back into his pocket.

His resolve was back.

“Moody! Lite!” he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted once more. “Celeste! Luan!”

He would find them. He just needed to keep going.

Katy had said so.

—*——*—

It had been about an hour.

Rey’s body was growing stiff, and his voice had started to crack. He continued to call out for the others, but his efforts yielded no results.

“Cele—” he tried to begin again, but his vocal cords betrayed him, and his throat burned.

He needed water.

The distant sound of a nearby river’s stream caught his attention, and a smirk danced on his lips. “I’m still going,” he whispered, as if there were an unseen audience he had to prove himself to.

Was there?

His eyes involuntarily drifted upward. Articuno had drawn closer, though it hardly mattered.

Returning his focus to the sound of the water, Rey kept moving. “Perseverance, right?” he muttered, convincing himself that he would find his Pokémon as long as he pressed on.

And when he did, Moody would be fine—he had to be.

His team had been trained to stop at nothing, no matter the odds. It was the only way to become the best, and his young Grass-type would do well to remember that, even in this situation.

A tremor shook the ground, sending ripples through the still-standing trees. Bizarre ice spikes sprouted and began freezing everything in their path—rocks, bark… plants. Nothing seemed safe. Yet the spikes advanced slowly.

Moody… wouldn’t possibly allow himself to get caught by this, Rey repeated to himself. His hands hovered over the two other pokéballs clipped to his belt. His starter, a Larvesta, would be ideal for this situation, and the Eevee he’d acquired later would obliterate the ice with extreme prejudice. Why did it have to be the Capsakid that was lost?

Rey finally breathed a sigh of relief as he caught sight of the river. Clear and pure, its gentle flow seemed to carry on as if the world hadn’t been falling apart. For a brief moment, he thought he could clear his mind of all his troubles and simply watch the serene landscape.

“This is your home, Polaris. Why would you destroy it?”

Rey blinked and rubbed his head, searching for the source of the voice. No one stood before him, yet he could almost see the speaker as vividly as… as he could picture Katy. In the water, his reflection was not quite his own, though.

His image in the water ran his hands through his silvery hair as furrowed his brow to reveal deep lines on his forehead. “Don’t give in to the pain, old friend,” he—whoever he was—said.

Almost as if he was answering, Pola—Articuno screeched in the distance, jolting Rey from his reverie. He sensed that the legendary bird was in pain, yet he couldn’t help but scoff at the situation, ignoring another shockwave hitting the ground.

In the end, Rey’s primary concern was to find his Pokémon and the two idiots. Articuno’s struggles were not his problem. He’d already done enough by punching the hell out of that stupid poacher. If the Legendary couldn’t endure a few darts to the chest, it wasn’t on him.

When Rey finally dipped his hand into the water, the cold felt biting, yet there was something strangely alluring about it. The water flowed gently between his fingers, causing a prickling sensation that gradually turned into numbness. It offered an odd kind of comfort—the lack of feeling.

Rey couldn’t help but sneer at himself.

Since when did he crave the lack of anything? It was quite the opposite, really.

He splashed the cold water on his face and drank greedily. Even as the ground shook from another one of Articuno’s attacks, and water dripped all over him, Rey continued to drink.

Fame. Power. Recognition. Fans. A life filled with luxury and abundance, where people would see his face and instantly recognise who he was. That was what he desired.

That’s what he was owned.

With his fingers running through his silky silver hair, Rey forced himself to confront the cold head-on. Numbness was for those frigid ice-specialists Four Island loved to spit out.

And if there was one thing Ray Silverwind refused to be was another nobody from his hometown.

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“Moody!” he shouted once more, his throat burning, heart racing.

No one replied. The only sounds were the clanging of metal against rock.

As he shouted once more, Rey’s gaze honed in on the noise. A metallic collar, similar to the one the runaway Lapras had worn, had become ensnared in debris while floating downstream.

—*——*—

If a collar came drifting downstream, that could only mean one of the idiots had to be nearby.

Or perhaps Ryder.

He hoped it was one of his frien—idiots.

“Wait, Powds—don’t! Ahhh!”

The scream echoing not too far from him belonged to Celeste, Rey realised, springing to his feet.

Celeste was a magnet for chaos. She’d certainly found more trouble than she could handle and was in desperate need of a… Hero?

Upon reaching the spring in the centre of the garden, Rey could only gape at the sight before him. Celeste was suspended mid-air, hanging upside down, and having the occasional fit of laughter. Two Jynx appeared to be using their psychic powers to keep her afloat, while she assisted a Snom in bandaging a gash on a Lapras’s neck using... was that String Shot?

Whatever those stringy threads were, Celeste’s arms were covered in it. Even the nasty cut she’d sustained earlier was entirely wrapped in a thick layer of the peculiar substance. Normally, Rey would find this strange, but in the few weeks he’d known her, he’d come to expect random bullshit like this.

“Rey!” she beamed upon seeing him, apparently unfazed by the legendary looming nearby. Her focus was firmly on the Lapras. “So... wow... glad you’re okay,” she said, rolling in the air. “This is way harder than it looks.”

On the ground nearby, Powder shot her trainer panicked looks. At every sudden movement, the Vulpix would bark, conjuring a surprising number of ice shards beneath Celeste. They formed a makeshift safety net the Rey doubt would actually work.

He didn’t linger on the jittery Ice-type for long.

Near Powder’s feet lay a shattered dart, no doubt plucked from the Lapras. Next to it, also draped in icy String Shot-like bandages, was—

“Moody?” Rey’s voice quivered as he rushed to his Grass-type’s side, abandoning the stoic facade he’d attempted to maintain. “I... you...”

He gently touched the string-bandages loosely wrapped around his Pokémon’s head. They felt cold and sticky, and certainly far from medically approved.

“What the hell is this?” was all he could say, feeling an annoyance that Celeste alone could bring out of him.

“A medical revolution?” Celeste grinned, but her smile faltered when Articuno’s distant screech pierced the air.

“Celeste?”

She signalled to the Jynx to lower her to the ground and gently placed the Snom beside Powder. The Lapras nuzzled her affectionately, and Celeste stroked its snout before returning her attention to Rey.

“What’s up?” She avoided his eyes, but forced the smile out again.

“What… are you doing?”

She glanced at her Pokémon. “I’m helping out, I suppose. You won’t believe how many stray Snom I’ve found.”

Rey raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, four,” she admitted, looking at the Bug-type. “This one is the fourth, actually. But that’s four more than I expected... See, a bunch of Pokémon got lost after Articuno started rampaging. I... left a few in a cave nearby, but somehow my party is growing again. These Jynx, they were...”

As loudly as he could, Rey cleared his throat, causing his frie—Celeste to interrupt her rambling. Not for long enough, however.

“I was worried,” she began again, this time pausing to breathe between sentences. She cast a glance at Moody. “He was hurt, and you weren’t around... neither was Luan. Or anyone else...”

“And then you got distracted by literally the first bug you found?” Rey rolled his eyes.

“First four, I’d say,” Celeste quipped. “Pay attention.”

Rey couldn’t help but groan at that.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” She raised her hands in surrender. “Look, the Pokémon were young and scared. They were looking for their friends, just like us. Can’t you empathise?”

Rey scoffed. His hands were too full for him to worry about every distressed creature that crawls out of a hole in front of him. This was a moment for strategy, not sentimentality.

Celeste, however, was persistent. “I wanted to take them back to the caves,” she admitted in a lower tone. “But the Lapras... The water passages around here have collapsed. I’m not sure what to do. Powder and the Jynx weren’t strong enough to clear it by themselves.”

Rey’s gaze fell upon the Water-type. “It’s a Pokémon. You’re a trainer. Use a pokéball.”

Celeste opened her arms. “Does it look like I have any spares?”

“What kind of trainer doesn’t have a spare pokéball?”

“The kind that has just escaped from prison,” she replied, faking indignation and stomping her foot. “But hey, since you’re such an awesome trainer yourself, can you do it? Use one of yours, I mean?”

Rey lowered his hand to his belt. “You mean waste one of mine? I know you and Lori are going to make me release it afterward.”

She narrowed her eyes. Her gaze, sharp as a Braviary’s, locked onto his belt, making his face redden as he slid his finger through it. Three balls were clipped in, one for each of his Pokémon. No spares.

“I might be out,” he mumbled, and Celeste let out an unnecessarily loud snort.

“What kind of trainer doesn’t have a spare pokéball?” She mimicked his words, her tone annoyingly aggravating.

“This is no time for joking, Celeste.”

“I don’t know about that,” she hummed. “Feels like it is.”

Articuno screeched again, drawing nearer. Rey knew Celeste was deflecting from the actual concerns that troubled her. However, her bravado was gradually giving way to cracks. With every cry from the Legendary bird or stronger gust of wind, she tensed as that was it. As if that moment would be her last.

Death by frozen lightning, her body consumed by ice spikes and broken into a million pieces.

He should also be terrified. Why wasn’t he?

Still, it was a statement to Celeste’s strength that despite her fears; she didn’t give up on helping the Lapras—or whoever came her way. If perseverance made a great trainer, then Rey was jealous.

Jealous that one day Celeste's stubbornness would make her the fucking greatest. He’d have to topple that at some point.

But now? It felt nice to have a frien—fellow trainer like her in this time of need.

Celeste soon resumed her never-ending chatter, and Rey immediately drifted off into his thoughts. His eyes were drawn to the Snom by the water’s edge. The tiny creature kept gazing skyward, and Rey found himself following suit.

Strange… he thought. The Snom wasn’t fixated on following Polaris, but seemed entranced by the emptiness above them.

“…risk it.”

“Huh?” Rey turned his attention back to Celeste, who had her arms crossed and was wearing a frown.

“I’m trying to come up with a plan,” she poked him. “Some help would be appreciated, you know? Should we hop on Lapras and search for Luan and Lite? It might be risky, but...”

Rey gave a non-committal nod and once more tuned Celeste out. The Snom appeared more important…

“Do we tell the Snom she won’t be coming?” he suddenly blurted out, interrupting whatever Celeste was saying and earning a blank stare in response.

“…she?” Celeste asked.

“She, they, whatever,” he pointed to the Snom. “It keeps looking up as if expecting someone to arrive. I think we should let it know Pol—Articuno won’t.”

Celeste opened her mouth, but hesitated. “It...” she squinted at the pokémon and sighed. “She’s lost, Rey. I think it’s hard for her... uh... family to find her right now...”

“Lost... or abandoned.” Rey masked his emotions with a stoic expression, yet his hand crept toward that damned crumpled note in his pockets once more. “I bet some selfish Frosmoth values their own security more than their child.”

“I don’t—”

“Don’t give me that look. It’s the oldest story in the world,” Rey’s voice turned cold. The weakness tried to resurface, but he was Rey Silverwind, and he wouldn’t let it. “Parent leaves, child. Child lets themself hope. Weakness fasters.” He shrugged. “It’s better for the Snom if he doesn’t waste his energy on that.”

“He..?” Celeste looked puzzled. “Rey...?”

Maybe it wasn’t the right time for that. But thoughts of Katy kept coming back to him.

“It had to be a bug,” he snorted, jaw clenching. “An ice bug, of all things.”

He brought a hand to his head, his chest heaving up and down. Why did the Snom matter? He didn’t care about it any more than the other random Pokémon in that place.

“Pathetic,” he mumbled, his gaze shifting from Celeste to the Snom, and then to his own Capsakid. “You’re all...”

“…ridiculous. You’re being positively ridiculous, my friend,” he heard the voice from before speaking in his mind once again—or was it Katy this time? Rey couldn’t tell anymore.

Whoever it was, it felt… awful.

Rey cried in unison with the mighty Polaris circling overhead. There was pain in their hearts, just as there was in the little Snom’s.

“I will stay with you. Always,” the voice insisted until Rey finally closed his eyes, giving in.

And then another screech from the sky drowned it all away.

—*——*—

His knees sank into the ground, and his nails dug deep into the snow.

With a gentle touch, Celeste reached Rey’s shoulder, helping him regain some stability. “Are you okay?”

She didn’t offer her usual banter, nor did she attempt to break the uncomfortable silence that hung around them. She simply stared at him, her fear and concern plainly written on her face. This silence was far more unpleasant than her jokes.

Moody also stood beside him, his big eyes wide towards his trainer.

“I... I don’t know,” Rey replied slowly, leaning on his frien—Celeste for support as he rose to his feet. “I don’t know what happened. You couldn’t hear it, could you?”

She shook her head.

With a sigh, Rey made his way to the edge of the spring, seeking some more water. “I keep hearing this man speaking in my head...”

Katy, too, but Celeste doesn’t need to know about her.

“It’s strange...” he continued. “I feel like he’s familiar. But I never met him and he doesn’t even speak to me. It’s like he’s talking to Polaris.”

“Po-laris…?” Celeste asked, following Rey’s gaze towards Articuno. The legendary bird had paused for a moment but still circled the sky above them.

Rey approached the water. The small lake was calm, and he could see his muddled reflection in it. He was a mess.

Despite the cold, sweat clung to his skin, and his hair, usually tied-up, cascaded over his shoulders and into his face. He splashed himself with water and peered at his image once more. His dark skin glistened with the water droplets, and he gently brushed a lock of his silver hair away from his eyes.

Blinking, he said, “Fuck…”

People always said was the spitting image of…

Of Oliver Silverwind.

It… explained a lot…

“It’s Oliver,” Rey said suddenly. “The man I keep hearing in my head.”

Celeste turned to him with curiosity. “You think your great-great-great... great-grandfather is speaking to you?”

“That… no, that couldn’t be it... It felt more like Articuno was...” He narrowed his eyes. Then, with a sudden realisation, Rey stood up, his lips moist, and his eyes widened again. “Oliver is Articuno’s Katy!” he exclaimed.

Celeste tilted her head. “And Katy would be...?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Rey muttered. “Look, I keep hearing Oliver as Polaris recalls him. I must’ve reminded it of its... of his friend. That’s why I felt him calling to me when we got here.”

Celeste tuned her eyes upward, shifting her gaze as she processed this new information. “Why the rampage, though? If I were Articuno, I’d want to be your friend.”

“...you… you are my friend,” he replied with a small smile, only to turn away from her moments later. “You said we should have empathy, right?” he continued, walking away. “Well, from what I can see, Oliver isn’t just some old friend to Articuno, but… more… Someone he misses? If Ka—Imagine one day out of nowhere, I stroll up looking exactly like someone he longs to see...? What would that feel like?”

When he turned back, Celeste’s smile was warm. She didn’t quip this time, but went straight to the point. “I’d feel confused.”

Rey nodded. “Then, just after that, you get attacked and drugged. Because you are a fucking Articuno, the drugs won’t make you mindlessly angry or sedated, but they must still do something. Mess with his head, maybe?”

“Rey... you remember Articuno is a legendary, right?” Celeste crossed her arms. “I… might sound like Luan, but would a few drugs really mess with it? Sounds more of a stretch than assuming it got angry because it misses its buddy.”

Rey shook his head and closed his eyes. “Hear the way he’s crying and tell me I’m wrong.”

They remained silent for a few moments. The wind howled, and the ice crackled. When Polaris screeched again, it was as if a sliver of ice cut through Rey’s heart. The absence hurt—and Rey knew it too well. Old wounds could still bleed, it seemed.

“So… suppose you are right,” Celeste said, her face betraying her newfound conviction. “Now what?”

Rey raised an eyebrow and smirked. “You are the one with the bleeding heart, Celeste. Don’t make me say it.”

She snorted. “I don’t like to always be the one to suggest we help the Pokémon. Makes me seen one dimensional.”

“Oh well,” Rey shrugged. “In that case, may I also take your place in coming up with something ridiculously stupid?”

Celeste glanced at the Pokémon and forced out a grin before steadying herself. Her Vulpix didn’t seem pleased with this development, but she also moved to her trainer’s side. Moody, with more faith, puffed his chest and nodded at his trainer.

“Guess we’ll follow your lead, Rey,” she said.

The young Silverwind nodded. “Right now, call me Oliver,” he winked at his friend before turning his gaze up to the sky.

He really hoped he was right about this.

“Hey, Polaris,” his voice boomed like thunder. “We’ve got to talk… old friend.”