Linkage

29

Wes woke up in the desert sands of Orre. There was the famous Outskirt Stand, a cafe built into the rusted old hull of a train. Wes took his glasses and put them over his eyes. There were traces of water on them, tiny tears as if someone had sobbed all over them. He wiped the water off and walked on, walked on to a figure he saw out in the distance.

There was a red-haired girl who Wes thought he should recognize. But her name was lost in the desert winds. It was as if it were a whisper of time that was being kept a secret. But she looked beautiful. She had a long, purple dress on. The color looked so familiar, but he just couldn't think of what it was.

"Who are you? Why are you in such a wasteland?" He asked.

She smiled. "Don't you remember? You died. I'm here to judge you, in a sense."

"Judge what?" He asked.

The girl laughed and rubbed a moon choker that hung upon her neck. "Whether you get to live or not. You finalized your bond, but while you were dying. It's kind of a grey zone kind of thing. It's your choice, but I am the one who must execute it."

"I could go back to life? But why?" Wes asked. "It's so much simpler here."

"Aw come on Wes," the girl in the beautiful dress said. He wondered if this was some kind of test of temptation. " Arceus can bring you back, like how Cynthia's stab wound was healed. Don't tell me you don't remember her either? You know, the woman that loves you. I'm so glad she ended up with you instead of Steven. Like for real, he was such an ungrateful little shit, breaking up with her after she called him such nice things. You can be her new dreamboat."

Wes tilted his head at the girl. For some reason the faint feeling of a blonde came through his mind. But just as quickly as it was there, it was gone. Swept away by the desert winds for the most part. There was a trace of something that bothered him.

"Why are we here?" Wes asked the girl.

She smiled, as if she were waiting to answer the question. "This, Wes, is the place in which your path was defined. This is the moment in which you decided to become who you are now."

"And who am I now?" Wes asked, and for a moment he thought he knew the name of the girl.

She looked at him. "You are who you decide to be. You decided your path to this moment in time, and now you have to decide where you go from here. Where will you go? To wherever you see fit."

He didn't know where he was going or why he was there. The only choice in front of him was the simple one. Live or die? He didn't know why he wanted to live. It all seemed simpler just to stay with this beautiful woman in the purple dress. But somehow, that seemed impossible, it seemed wrong. He didn't know why it felt wrong, but did. Was there some reason to go back?

"I don't know Rui," he said. "I'm afraid of going back."

Wes was shocked that all of a sudden he knew the name of the girl. She seemed to be so as well. He tried to think of why to go back. All he knew is that there was this woman, Cynthia, who was waiting for him. Did she deserve his return when he could just leave now and be alright?

No, something in him told him that love was important. Because he didn't love this girl in the purple dress, Rui, once? That didn't make sense to him though. If this was about love, then it was simple. Why couldn't he just make himself happy and stay with her? Things would be simple. He wanted to stay with Rui.

But part of him still fought back. The part of him that wanted good in the world. The part of him that began to take over. He needed to go back. The feeling was so much stronger than anything else. It said that he still had something left to do, something for himself and for nobody else. Something he didn't understand, but something nonetheless. The feeling took over him until the decision was clear.