Story: Meanwhile... Peeling Back the Time Onion

When the darkness fades, Alaric is met with what has been at the forefront of his mind. There’s no refuge from it, not in sleep nor waking hours, and nothing he can picture in his mind, a vision from Celebi or his own thoughts, can draw his attention from it.
The scorching heat, the colors of the flame mixing with the eerie darkness, a sea of reds and orange fusing with purples and black. The heavy smoke and the ash that fills his lungs and threatens to choke him, to steal his breathe from his lungs even as he tries to find more, just as they sting his eyes and weigh down his body like tar. The smell of death, the heavy pressure the beast exudes as if were an aura...
The Ho-Oh claims the skies before him once more, dark plumage making it so foreign to the bright golden avian that is depicted on their flag - a legendary creature that Alaric had always admired, even as a young Snivy, was now the usher of his fears. It screeches, a loud dreadful noise that makes Alaric flinch. He’s there again, at the end; all he loved is dead and gone. The bird readies to strike him once more -
This time, Celebi doesn’t come, doesn’t save him. Alaric’s own mind has trapped him with this twisted fiend, the forest spirit cannot help him here.
And, yet, he isn’t alone.
: AEEI!!!!
: G-go away! Scar- GO AWAY!
The tiny Elgyem waves their arms as the bulbs and markings on them light up brightly. The fire had stolen the voice from Alaric mere seconds ago, but it returns to him and he screams, voice sore and burning from the smoke. His head is pounding with an impossible pain - he sees flashes of so many things - lights, fire, smoke, energy - and he swears he can feel blood dripping down every part of his body, swears he can taste it on his tongue...
His screams draw the Elgyem’s attention back to the Serperior, and the young child hovers closer to Alaric.
: Make it stop!
: Make stop?
: I can’t- too much! Please-
: Make stop, will help? Take thoughts away?
: Anything! Please, make it stop! It’s too much!
The Elgyem nods and their arms flash in a multitude of patterns once again. A strange sequence of lights appears and surrounds them like a spiderweb of energy and, slowly, the sounds that once surrounded them die down until... silence.
The pain Alaric feels in his head is unbearable for a second, but it suddenly stops - it all stops. The change is so sudden that Alaric feels as if he’s been knocked over, but there is no pain, not anymore. Curious but hesitant, he lifts his head and sees Ene floating in front of him... the tiny Pokémon seems very pleased that he was no longer screaming.
: Help?
: I... yes (swallows)... yes, thank you. I can... focus again.
: Glad! Glad, glad, glad!!
: How are you... here? Or rather, how can I hear you and not...
: In head.
: (blinks) In my head? You fixed me, then? I thought you couldn’t do it so quickly, Mindaugas said-
: Fix?
: Ah... you, you sorted out my visions, didn’t you?
: Made stop - took away.
: What? They’re gone?!
: No gone, no. Made... barrier, sealed from you.
: But- but I need to see them!
: But too much? Hurt?
: Ah... yes...
: Perhaps if you helped me to view them one at a time?
: Can do it!
: Excellent!... where to start... (thinks) Bál, I need to see how he died, can you-
Before Alaric can even finish his sentence, Ene is waving their blinking arms once again. The energy around them dissipates, and the two are now in a different landscape: tall, rugged mountains surround them on all sides, and a small village can be seen not far to the north. The buildings are all of Sazanamese architecture, and a series of temples and shrines catch Alaric’s eye... faded markings and engravings adorn the walls.
The scene was almost beautiful, except there was blood everywhere - splattered on the ground, the buildings, the shrine - and bodies, riddled with arrows and wounds that had been left to fester, were lying abandoned on the ground. The stench of death was just as strong here, and Alaric had to swallow back the rising bile in his throat. His eyes finally fell on Bál’s body, several arrows sticking out of his back through his thick cloak, lying in front of a shrine...
: I... I’ve seen this place before, in other visions-
His surrounds begin to shift again.
: No, wait, not yet! I can’t- I can’t look at that thing again! I-
: Symbol?... Symbol!
Alaric doesn’t have the time to protest, the scene already fully changing... A strange, unfamiliar symbol glows on the ground; three shadowy beasts stand within it, but just on the outer edges - they are Entei, Raikou, and Suicune. In the center of the symbol are a heap of bodies and Alaric looks away with tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
He sees a Medicham kneeling on the floor in another area of the symbol, an insignia burned into their flesh. Above it all, the shadowy form of Ho-Oh flies above, and then screeches; the three beasts howl in return, and the Medicham howls in agony...
Or maybe it was Alaric who was screaming - he’s starting to lose control again. He reaches for Ene, desperate to get them to change their scene, but the Elgyem is staring at the symbol, completely absorbed, as if they can see nothing else of the scene in front of them... Ene’s eyes widen, and the scenery changes once again.
A terrain of rock and desert stretches as far as Alaric can see, and, though he remains still himself, everything seems to be moving too fast. The scenery changes suddenly to some sort of ruins - the perspective is weird, as if Alaric is lying on his back. Seconds later, he can see a Murkrow, Scraggy, and Croagunk moving out of the ruins, and his body seems go with them. The trio make their way to a Krokorok wrapped in white linens, and Alaric catches a flash of a Tyranitar out of corner of his eye before his vision blurs and distorts.
: These aren’t... Of course, these are your memories.
Ene doesn’t respond, but their scenery changes again... and again, and again, and again, and- Alaric is sure he must be screaming now, and the pain in his head has returned in full-force. He can’t focus on any of the visions - they’re going too fast and his head hurts too much - but he can recognize bits and pieces... Ene is searching for something, frantically shifting through Alaric’s memories and Celebi’s visions...
The world stops spinning around him and Alaric feels relief once again. He doesn’t get as much as a second’s pause before he watches, wide-eyed and mouth agape, as a gigantic structure stands in front of him. The days and nights change in mere seconds before him, and he watches as the structure is dragged beneath the sands, hidden by the passage of time.
: Home?
: What? This vision was from Celebi, so-
: Home. Home, home, home!!
Their scenery changes once again, and Alaric finds himself now inside of the structure - another vision that Alaric recognizes. Towering bookcases reach far towards the ceiling, and piles of sand litter the corridors and grounds.
: A library?
: Library!! Home!!
The sand begins to dissipate, but not completely - it becomes slightly translucent. The lifeless library is suddenly bustling with activity and many Pokemon, primarily Elgyem and Beheeyem, roam the room and tend to the books on the shelves; they all share the same translucent property of the sand.
: Are you... mixing your memories with the vision?
Ene doesn’t answer. They float up and around the room, chanting “library” and “home” and even throwing in the word “friends” every now and again. Alaric looks around himself, and his gaze falls on a wall in the back of the library; in a flash, he stands before it - he recognizes it from one of Celebi’s visions, but to think that it was hidden underneath the desert...
Upon the wall, the Symbols of Wisdom, Will and Emotion are inscribed.
: Ene? Ene, can you please take a look a these? If this is... was? your home, can you tell me about this wall?
Ene doesn’t answer though, and, when Alaric looks back to find them, there isn’t anyone there - nor anything. There is only white, as if the library itself had been ripped from existence. Alaric’s own vision goes white, and then black, and then he blinks: he’s back in Gaius’ cabinet...
On the opposite end of Aether, Guinevere fights back her own flash of white. She blinks, trying to clear her eyes and offers a smile reassuringly to the young Pichu who apologizes to her. It took her a while, but she eventually found a combination of medicines that was working wonders for the sick orphans, though it seemed it wasn’t without its side effects - each dose of medicine caused the little kids to use one of their moves at random, but at least the Pichu only surprised her.
The Meganium hums, content to let the Pichu rest on their own, and exits as slowly as she can - the foundations of the builds are so poor, Casey had told her, that if she were to run too fast she might risk bringing a wall or two down. The sound of laughter catches her attention and she pauses for a second to look into the one open bedroom of the orphanage: she catches the shiny Hawlucha from before with orphans climbing all over him as he runs and plays with them; Atuf still wasn’t back.
The nurse sighs but continues exiting the orphanage. She has to squint when she leaves, the bright light of day harsh against her eyes after hours, if not days, working to help the sick children by candlelight. Matron Seba is outside, fiddling with something in her beak, and Guinevere approaches her gently.
: Matron?
: Ah! (she cranes her neck around) Hello, Guinevere! How is Leighton?
: If the other orphans are anything to go by, he should be healthy again in two or three days - any longer though, send a runner to me and I’ll come back and look at him.
: Thank you again. Truly, I can’t express how grateful I am for you helping the children as you have.
: It was my pleasure.
: I’m sorry it took so long for anyone to take notice... and for Amabilis, and young Atuf.
Seba’s smile wavers, and the bird has to force herself to keep it up, but Guinevere doesn’t comment.
: I’ll be leaving soon, I have my duties to return to.
: Of course, yes. Thank you-
Guinevere hums, as she had taken to doing whenever the Mandibuzz thanked her excessively. Ever since the night of the murder, Seba had been more protective of the children, more grateful to those who assisted them, and less attentive to herself; Guinevere could hope that the bird would take a long nap after the last few children recovered.
: Lady Guinevere? You’re still here?
: Hmm?
: Welcome back, Tucker. Guinevere will be leaving soon.
: Ah, that makes more sense! You’ve been here for days, I thought you would have gone home and rested by now.
: I don’t think I could have brought myself to sleep if I had wanted to before I was sure the children were all healing.
: (nods) I understand. Things have been so awful lately - the murder, Francišek, Adil. (sighs) It doesn’t help that he got away...
: What?! He-
: Ah- did you not...? Um, well, the barrack’s prison got roughed up sometime after un- uh, Sir Osmund arrived. Adil managed to slip out in the chaos, we don’t know where he is now... The king hasn’t been able to order anyone to do anything about it because Sir Osmund, Bál, and a few others are helping him with his... mind thing today, an-
Guinevere doesn’t wait another second; she’s already off up the street, moving a pace that is very swift for one as large as herself. Tucker watches in surprise as the nurse runs off, and looks to Seba for even the smallest hint of an explanation. The Matron seems equally as surprised though, but does offer the Chespin a smile when she notices him looking at her.
: Will you be joining us in the Outskirts a little longer, Tucker?
: Uhh, yeah, just until Aitor is well again though.
: You should stop by sometime, I’m sure the children would be happy to see you.
: Okay!
The two ‘mons exchange a few more pleasantries before Tucker has to run off to his post. Once alone, Seba sighs and looks down to the item she held with a wing. She steadily makes her way inside of the orphanage, and can’t fight off a smile when she sees Hanakahi playing with the children. As much as she hates to interrupt, this conversation is better had without the presence of the children...
: Hanakahi?
: (looks up) Hello.
: May I speak to you in the kitchen for a moment?
: Yes.
The Hawlucha takes a moment safely returning the children that had climbed upon him to the ground, and another to give Hendrick - now adorned a cute little crown that the bird had given him - a bow before he exits the room. The two adults slip into the kitchen.
: Do you need something? A favor?
: (chuckles) In a way, I suppose.
The Mandibuzz extends her wing for the Hawlucha to see: she held an amulet, made of two rib bones, decorated with greenstone, and held together with red ocher thread; there was a very clear marking on one of the bones. Hanakahi looks between her and the amulet for a second, but, when she did not retract her wing, gingerly takes the amulet so he could inspect it.
: I want you to have this, for everything you’ve done for the orphanage.
: Thank you. (he inclines his head) It’s lovely.
: You bet!
The Hawlucha starts at the sudden, unfamiliar voice and looks around for its source: there’s no one around in the kitchen other than himself and the Matron though. His good hearing is probably just picking up bits of conversation from the other rooms, so he continues.
: What is it?
: An amulet, made of Amabilis’ bones.
: Ah.
: But why though?
: Tradition, mostly - in my old home, you would take the bones of a loved one and bind them with red thread and green stones as a way to honor and, some believe, immortalize the dead.
: Amabilis’ death... it was awful, the poor boy didn’t deserve that. (smiles sadly) No child deserves to have to be stuck here.
: That’s not true...
Hanakahi blinks again. The voice is clear, as if its source was right next to him, but the Matron continues as if it isn’t there at all.
: Amabilis’ death was especially cruel, though. He was the oldest of the children here, and the one who worked the hardest to see the rest of the children weren’t miserable. He was a little bogart, yes, but he had a sweet and loving heart in him...
: He only died because he wanted to do something nice for me, after all...
: Mommy...
The voice was getting louder, and more distressed, as Seba spoke, and Hanakahi could feel the amulet in his talons begin to grow warm, as if it had been held near a fire.
: He deserved so much more, to escape this place and see the world like he always wanted...
: That’s why I want you to take this. (she gestures towards the amulet) I’m so... indescribably grateful that you found his murderer and ensure they saw justice, regardless of the accident. And I’m so grateful that you took the time to help the children - to play with them and give them a light in this dark time - and... (she smiles softly) it just reminds me of what Amabilis did in life.
: So, please, take him with you and honor him. Let him see the world as he wanted, and continue doing what he was best at: bringing comfort to those who needed it.
: I realize... it’s something of a selfish request...
: I am honored to receive something of such worth. I will keep it safe. I will keep him, too.
: Thank you... thank you so much. (she pauses and then ruffles her feathers) You should visit here as well! The children like you a great deal, Hendrick especially.
: I will, I like the children great a deal, especially his Royal Highness King Hendrick the First.
: (chuckles) And Hanakahi, please be careful... wherever you go.
: I will.
: You don’t need to sound so serious, Hanaka-hehehe~
The voice was back again, but it sounded more cheerful than before. The amulet was warm again, but this time, it was a soothing warmth.
: Bad things have happened - they may still happen - but I’ll be there to give you a warning - I know things now! For mommy’s sake, I’ll keep both of us safe, so smile~
 Meanwhile... I'll be Dammed
Category:Meanwhiles
Category:Arc 2
Category:Aether