Arisen Anew- a Pokémon Fanfiction

Chapter 29 - Switchboard

Not for the first time, I feel like a leech. A slew of nasty words and nastier thoughts tumbles around at the forefront of my mind, curling on the tip of my tongue. My thumb swirls at the smooth surface of the GS ball in my pocket as the brisk sea breeze tousles my hair, and something salty stings at my eyes. I allow myself to believe that it's merely sea foam.

The faces of Cryptobar Island's people plague my mind and ghost my eyes every time I close them. Alma's expression as she ushered us off the island, not allowing the grief to catch up to her as she moved with the urgency of a woman 40 years younger, is particularly vivid. Even the oldest, most composed residents of Cryptobar had fallen apart at the sight of Chinshu's headless body, parting wordlessly so that we could walk back to the docks.

"You've got to leave, you've got to make this right," Alma had said, repeating the words over and over like a mantra. "You've got to go, you've got to..."

Her wrinkled face had been so heavy, heavy with the burdens of grief and guilt. I'll never be able to understand what Chinshu meant to her, what he meant to this island. He was its protector, he was the psychic types' protector, he was her protector. And he was ours, until the very end. One more person who glimpsed a bead of hope in Team Rogue and believed in us despite everything.

Despite the fact that I am a parasite who takes what she can get from other people and then hangs them out to dry. Despite the fact that I reaped and still reap the advantages of places like Cryptobar Island, of the people of places like Cryptobar Island. The whittled Wooper figure in Cobalt's pocket, the shawl that rests across Rosá's shoulders, they are things we took. We have done nothing for this place and its people except take advantage of their hospitality, learn their lessons, eat their food. And now we leave, still offering nothing to them. I couldn't even stammer out a condolence.

Umbreon's sacrifice, Azura's sacrifice, Chinshu's sacrifice. Lives placed on the line for us, our cause. How on earth could anyone ever feel worthy?

Alma had pushed us onto the yacht, her spindly fingers trembling with urgency. "Go," she had hissed, her eyes shining with tears. The people of Cryptobar had waited by the dock, watching with eyes devoid of the welcome and love they held for us earlier. To them, we are the reason their protector is dead. And I cannot find it within myself to blame them.

"Make this right," Alma pleaded as the ship's engine roared to life, Rosá taking her place at its helm. "Please, you've got to make this right!"

Ever the wordsmith, Garnet had leaned over the side of the ship and grabbed Alma's shoulder. "You can count on us, Lady Alma. We will end this once and for all in Terabyte,"

And now we are here, on the boat, deep grey clouds rolling on the horizon. Wind lashes at my face and hair, sharper than any knife. The waves twist, toss and turn with tumultuous force, slamming into the side of the ship.

Cobalt takes Diamond's forearm as the weather turns rough, guiding her inside the ship's cabin. Green is quick to follow, and Rosá abandons the wheel at the forefront of the yacht for the one inside the cabin. Lynn is in there already, cradling Mime Jr in her lap. The only ones left outside are Garnet and I, and I get the feeling he remained on deck solely because I am here. Because he thinks I need something from him, whether it be comforting words or something else.

But the only thing I need now is an outlet for the black sludge of emotion I am feeling, and he is looking like an appetizing one.

"You saw her, didn't you?" I ask as he approaches me, my voice cold.

He looks puzzled by my tone. "Alma?"

"Azura."

I remember it so clearly. The cold, dark dungeons in the pit, the slop we were forced to eat, the heavy manacles and chains digging into my wrists. So deep that there are still scabs, though they are fading. Scabs from pulling against the metal, straining for some way, any way to free myself. Cobalt's defeated tone, the one he is secretly glad Diamond was not around to hear. His one moment of hopelessness, because there truly was no hope. We all believed that we were going to die down there.