Chapter 32: A Shock to the System

  Brockton Bay, NH, USAMonday, February 7, 2011Type: None

  “Hey, you! Listen!”

  “Shut up, Navi,” I groaned, spping the annoying pixie away. I heard a high-pitched squeak as something tumbled off my bed. I turned around, snuggling deep into my bnkets for warmth.

  I had about four seconds of peace. Then, my world became fire. Enormous gouts of fme towered above me as waves of heat made my bnkets unbearably hot.

  My body seized up as a psychic hand picked me up like a doll out of a crane game. Huge, blue eyes stared down at me. They glowed like searchlights, staring deep into my soul.

  “Listen here, you little shit,” Victini squeaked ominously.

  “H-Huh? Victini?” I stammered. I sat up and wrapped her in a hug. “What the hell? How are you outside?”

  “We’re not. You’re in your soulscape, dingus.”

  I looked around. “Huh. So we are.”

  My soul was… quite roomy, if I was being honest.

  The two of us were in a rge, open room with a domed ceiling so tall that it could comfortably host an Alon exeggutor. It looked like an atrium, or a huge cathedral.

  The dome and walls were absolutely covered in frescos and pockets of stained gss. Light shone through the gss, though where it came from, I couldn’t say.

  Many sections depicted a different Legendary, some minor, others major. Others were stories, pictorial records of the creation of the pokemon multiverse as I knew it. At the very top, the center of the dome, was an image of Arceus himself, looking down with a regal austerity no mortal king could hope to match.

  The floor was just as special. It was one, massive gear that turned a hand, not unlike a clock. Except, instead of the hour, the hand pointed and clicked against a set of eighteen doors spread across the atrium. I could see that the gear was jammed somehow, kept from moving forward at its intended pace.

  The doors each glowed with shimmering light, as if they’d been forged from crystals and gems. Types, I realized; these were the types of aura I could embody.

  At the center of it all, where Victini and I found ourselves, was a dias. There were inscriptions on it, simir to the unown script I’d learned to read in the Canave Library, but different enough to be unrecognizable. I had a feeling I knew which of the two was more ancient.

  “So… How are you liking your stay in Hotel Bke?” I asked awkwardly. “I mean, you don’t just sit here all day, do you?”

  “Of course not, silly. This isn’t my room; this is just the spiritual manifestation of dad’s blessing,” Victini said with a giggle.

  “Why is it a gear inside a cathedral though? It looks kinda random.”

  “Because it’s all you’re ready to understand.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “Silly human. It means that until you master dad’s blessing, this pce will always be a fwed piece of clockwork, something that ticks along each day to the rhythm set by Arceus.”

  “Wait, I can learn to control this?”

  “Of course you can! It’s in your own soul!”

  “I… I’ve really been neglecting my training, haven’t I?” I ughed ruefully.

  “Mhmm! And don’t you forget it, buster!” Victini chided. And, to be fair, I deserved that. “Aww, don’t look down, Bke. You’ve been doing a good job so far. It’s not like dad’s upset with how you’ve been using your power.”

  “Yeah, I guess Centipede-Satan’s yet to pay me a visit so he can’t be too disappointed in me.”

  “Exactly. That’s the spirit, though maybe stop calling the God of the Distortion that. He might get upset. You haven’t worked nearly as hard as you did when you were a trainer, but you’ve also kept the same, fun-loving spirit alive.”

  “I guess I have.”

  “Say, wanna see my room?” she asked, perking up into the air.

  “Your room? I mean, is it behind one of those type-door-thingies?”

  “Yup! Well, kinda. It’s both a part of your soul and not? It’s a little hard to expin, but I can access your soul through both the psychic and fire type aura gates.”

  “That’s going to get confusing.”

  “Transting the physical into the spiritual always is. Basically, the Hall of Origin isn’t just the pce dad lives. Legends can sometimes come and go and dad made a small pocket space that’s kind of a link between this pce in your soul and the Hall. That’s my room. I can use it to come into your soul or leave back to Unova.”

  “So I’m like a vacation home you can visit whenever you want?”

  “Yup! Neat, huh?”

  “I don’t know how I feel about my soul being turned into a rental property,” I drawled.

  “Hey, I pay rent,” she huffed. “I get to explore a new world and you get to borrow my power. There’s a little pulse of aura that goes off whenever you call me, like a spiritual arm. It’s a little distracting sometimes.”

  “Yeah, that’s fair. Thanks for coming, Victini. I appreciate you.”

  “Aww, shucks. Anyway, let’s go!”

  Victini grabbed me in a psychic hold before dragging me through a door that shimmered like amethysts. The door didn’t open. We just passed through as the whole thing rippled with more power than I’d ever been able to bring to bear personally.

  My guide’s room was… Well, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

  The whole pce looked like a child’s pyroom. The floor was covered in bouncy foam. The walls were varying shades of beige and pastel orange. There were toy blocks and huge, cupcake-themed chairs. Victini had enough plushies and pillows to drown a grown man, all shaped like various pastries. Most common, of course, were macarons.

  This being the Hall of Origin, and therefore a space that didn’t really exist in the material pne, I assumed Victini could do whatever the fuck she wanted here. That most of it was filled with pastry-pillows didn’t surprise me one bit.

  I stared at her judgmentally.

  “Hey, don’t look at me like that,” she huffed. “I have needs.”

  “Macarons aren’t needs.”

  “Says you.”

  “Says nutritionists.”

  “The thousand year old Legend says they’re a crucial part of a Victini’s natural diet.”

  “I get the sneaking suspicion that this authority figure is biased.”

  “Lies and snder. It's the objective truth.”

  “Of course,” I ughed, plopping down onto a cupcake-chair. “So, not that I don’t appreciate visiting someone else’s soulscape for a change, but is there a specific reason you called me here?”

  “Several. Listen up, bucko,” she said, unusually seriously. “There’re a lot of things I need to tell you.”

  “Alright, hit me–” I ducked out of the way of a flying ecir, psychically tossed with all the precision of an olympic javelin-thrower. “Really?”

  “Really-really.” She sat down on my p before staring up at me expectantly. I knew that look. I indulgently began to pet her, rubbing the base of her ears and moving up towards the tips in a steady, firm motion. “Ahh, yes, that’s it… I swear, opposable thumbs are the greatest boons dad ever gave you humans.”

  “Not baking talent?”

  “That would be humanity’s greatest invention.”

  “Of course. So?”

  “So what? Oh, right. To start, you’re going to get other visitors in your soul eventually.”

  “I figured that was bound to happen. Any idea who’s up next? Normal pokemon can’t visit, right?”

  She waved a paw back and forth. “Ehh, sorta? I told you: Your power is connected to the Hall of Origin. Normal pokemon don’t usually make it that far, you know. Heck, most don’t even know that it exists.”

  “And the Legends can.”

  “Some easier than others, yeah. I mean, an entei is technically a legendary pokemon by human standards, but…”

  “It’s not a Legend.”

  “Right. They’re rare and powerful and all, and they have an important job keeping the bance of ecosystems, but they aren’t anchors of reality, lynchpins that support all of creation as dad made it. To be fair, neither am I, but I’d like to think I’m a little more important than an entei,” she said with a faux-arrogant smirk.

  “Fair enough.” I paused, a spark of hope filling me. “Wait, that means it is possible for a normal pokemon to come here! I made it to the Hall of Origin. There’s a gateway above Spear Pilr!”

  “That excited to meet your team again?”

  “Of course! You have no idea how much I miss them, Victini.”

  “Theoretically possible doesn’t mean likely, Bke. You’re the… second? Third? I’m not sure, but you’re one of a handful of humans to ever make it to dad, and those were exceptional circumstances.”

  “I know, but… Is there any way you can help ferry them inside?”

  She shook her head sadly. “No, not on my own authority.”

  “Then whose?”

  “I don’t know. Palkia, probably, but maybe Hoopa also? Space isn’t my domain.”

  “Any chance I can barter with them?”

  “If they show up? Maybe. I think you’d have better luck with Hoopa. You know how Palkia is.”

  “Obscenely prideful. Dismissive of lesser creatures. Massive hate-boner for his brothers.”

  “Yeah, that.”

  “So who’s next then? And what can I expect from them? I mean, I’ve met a lot of legendary pokemon, but not all of them.”

  “I’d be surprised if you had,” she hummed in thought. “I don’t know, to be honest. I know that some of my siblings were interested, but I don’t know who’ll poke their heads in first. I can see you getting along with a lot of them though.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, like the Swords of Justice. Cobalion and his posse have always been too stuffy for me, but they’re really big on the heroism stuff. And you’re kind of a hero, right?”

  “Right. So they’ll let me borrow their forms when they show up?” I asked eagerly. Sure, they weren’t the strongest Legends out there, but they were still incredibly powerful pokemon.

  “Psh, no way. They’ll probably give you a ‘heroic quest’ before they let that happen. You know, make sure you’re ‘worthy of carrying on our noble legacy,’” she said, stroking an imaginary beard. “And it won’t always be a form change like me. Others might give you something else if they decide they don’t want to be on-call whenever you need help.”

  “That’s a little disappointing, but I guess it makes sense. But why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why do all this? Why did Arceus set up this complicated system to let Legends cross worlds? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with the blessing, but he could have left it at that, right?”

  Victini looked up at me with a mencholy smile. “I don’t know, Bke. A part of me thinks there is some overarching mission that you’re expected to accomplish on Earth-Bet. Maybe, dad wants to remake the local dimensional cluster in his image. Or maybe, dad saw how bleak that world is and decided it needed more ughs. Not everything that has a grand design necessarily has a grand purpose.”

  “I guess you’re right. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. Train more. Make deals with the Legends when they show up. Everything else will fall into pce if I do that.”

  “That’s the spirit. Speaking of training, you should talk to Amy.”

  “Amy? What about her?”

  “Have you forgotten? I gave her aura.”

  I blinked. I had forgotten. That was only a few days ago, but so much had happened since then. “I guess I did. Is… Is she going to be an aura guardian? Is that what Arceus wants from me? To restart the order?”

  She booped my nose with a telekinetic finger. “No, silly. I told you. I don’t know what dad’s thinking either, only that this is fun for me. Dad told me that I should do what I wanted.”

  “That’s not helpful.”

  “No, and I doubt it’s supposed to be. Bke, you have something that very few pokemon have: Freedom. Train Amy like a growlithe until she pukes blood and wishes you were dead. Or don’t. Or something in the middle. Earth-Bet is your world now.”

  “I… You’re right, Victini. Thanks.”

  “Of course I’m right. There’s just one more thing I need to tell you,” she said as she leaned into my hand. “Your new housemate, the caretaker.”

  “Yeah?”

  “She has psychic powers. Well, not really, but kinda…?”

  “I… What?” I was confused. That wasn’t possible. Humans on Earth-Bet didn’t have aura. Or qi, ki, chakra, or whatever else they wanted to call it. Esoteric energies firmly belonged in the realm of fantasy to them. Even with the advent of superpowers, humans here firmly believed that everything could be expined through science. “Is she someone else from our world?”

  “Hmm? Oh, no, not at all. I mean, if she is, I wasn’t told. I’m saying she can control people’s emotions. She’s not using psychic aura. Instead, she seems to be maniputing people’s brain chemistry directly.”

  “Oh, I see. So she’s a master.” I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I’d been led to believe that I was a unique case so that didn’t surprise me. Then again, having another human who shared my experiences would have been amazing as well. “I’m not sure why you’re telli–Wait, has she used her power to make Mark and Derek like her?”

  “Hahahaha! No way, Bke. I mean, maybe a little? But let’s be honest, she wouldn’t need to try very hard. I don’t really get it, but she’s very pretty for a human, right?”

  “She is. And she does seem nice… I mean, doesn’t everyone want to be well-liked? It’s a little dishonest, but I don’t have a problem with a nice person who wants to be a little more popur.”

  “Is that what’s really happening, Bke? What if I told you that she used her power on you too?”

  “Me? Why? When? I’ve barely been around.”

  “This morning, when you met her before school. She was using her power to make you like her. You thought she was pretty right? Witty, too, with a sympathetic backstory?”

  I paused. “Are you saying she was lying to me to make herself sound more appealing?”

  Victini shrugged. “I don’t know about lying per se; I wasn’t in control of your body so I couldn’t get much, but I did notice her tweak your emotions a bit. She’s good at it. Maybe a little one-note, but she’s got a lot of finesse. It’s what made me notice her, actually.”

  That was… worrying. Victini was a Legend. She might not be the single greatest psychic in the pokemon world, but with titans like Mewtwo, Hoopa, and Necrozma floating around, that wasn’t anything to be ashamed of. Throughout my old world’s history, how many humans could cim to have been complimented by a Legend for their own abilities, not their pokemons’?

  Few. Precious few. If Victini acknowledged her, Cherie wasn’t just your everyday master. Which raised the question: Why was she here? Why Brockton? Surely, someone of her abilities had better options…

  Then, the gears began to turn, both literally and figuratively. Though I was in Victini’s personal subspace, I felt as my soul adjusted itself. The singur hand of the dias shifted until it pointed towards a door made of brilliant, yellow crystal. Arcs of lightning, in shades of gold and purple and blue, crackled along its surface as if a zapdos had just passed through.

  Electric. It was a good type to have. And, like a bolt from the blue, I understood: A powerful master showing up literally at my doorstep just as I became aware of Heartbreaker’s children couldn’t be a coincidence. Powers ran in families; New Wave was the best example of this.

  Which meant “Cherie Lecroix” was a false name. She was a Vasil, the older sister who’d run away from home.

  Now that I considered the possibility, she looked a lot like one of the pictures of Heartbreaker’s older kids that Faultline gave me. Sure, a brunette who was on the short side with wavy hair and fair skin was about as common as a zubat, but it was one more piece of evidence.

  “Ah, you understand,” Victini said, nodding sagely. “I think she’s the one you’re looking for. Well, one of two, anyway.”

  “I feel so stupid…” I moaned.

  “There, thee,” she patted my knee. “That’s why I said she’s good at this. You like her. You think she’s pretty, smart, witty, and kind. So, you naturally didn’t even think to suspect her until I shoved the pieces of the puzzle in your face.”

  “I should have noticed something though. A caretaker showing up randomly was way too convenient.”

  “You raised a bunch of money for the orphanage. It wouldn’t have been weird for your matron to look for additional help now that she could afford it.”

  “Still, this is Brockton. I should have been more on-guard.”

  “Maybe. It doesn’t matter much, does it? You know now. Now what?”

  “I… I don’t know,” I admitted quietly. “I know the basics of her story, but I don’t really know her. Hell, with her power being what it is, I don’t think anyone can know her, not unless she wants them to.”

  A psychic finger flicked my nose. “Don’t think like that. Suspecting every psychic of malice is stupid. It’s the fastest way to become a paranoid wreck; you know that.”

  “You’re right, Victini. I… Is it wrong that I’m kinda rooting for her? I mean, I don’t know if she’s done anything bad–”

  “Nope. If I’m right, and I usually am, she’s also been messing with people’s emotions at the orphanage, not just yours. I said don’t assume she’s malicious, not that you should excuse her actions. She absolutely did something bad.”

  “Okay, fine. But anyone running from Heartbreaker is obviously making the right choice. Getting away from a father like that is a great thing. She might have come looking for me, for protection.”

  “And there’s that mama ursaring instinct of yours,” Victini sighed with a fond smile. “Let me ask you this then: Why hasn’t she revealed herself? You’re probably right. Someone like her has no reason to visit an orphanage like yours unless she’s somehow figured out who you were. So if she’s looking for protection and she knows who you are, why hide?”

  I… I ran through a few possibilities, but none of it made sense. The only conclusion I could come to was that Cherie might not be here with good intentions. “She’s here to master me. If she’s looking for protection, she might have decided that the best way to get it is by controlling me while pretending to be a helpless civilian in the background.”

  “Probably.”

  “Thanks, Victini. You’re really good at this.”

  “I’ve been around, Bke. I’ve seen countless dynasties rise and fall. Humans have always sought me out, at times to beg me for aid, at others to control me.” She looked at me with eyes that were positively ancient. She chuckled, but it cked her usual cheer. It was heavy and somber, pressed down by the weight of history. “Every Legend has had this experience at one point or another. Congratutions, Bke, you’re the Legend in this scenario.”

  “So… What should I do then?” I asked, not the macaron-addicted pixie, but the legendary sage who had guided countless heroes and witnessed Unova’s greatest highs and lowest lows. “I’m not unsympathetic, but I won’t let myself become someone else’s pawn either.”

  “Well, the way I see it, you’ve got a few choices: First, you could take care of her preemptively. Right now, she doesn’t know that you know.”

  “I don’t know how I feel about just offing her. She at least deserves a chance to expin herself.”

  “Well, there you go then. That’s option two: Talk to her. I can’t say how well it’ll work this time, but you’re a very empathetic person, Bke. Heck, you even made that old grump, Yveltal stop being a jerk all the time.”

  “So… Talk to her, offer her protection, and then… arrest her siblings?”

  “Just about. Maybe have a few assurances, just in case. Remember, she’s not necessarily a good person just because she has a tragic backstory. Circumstances might expin one’s actions, but they will never excuse them.”

  “RIght. You can negate anything she tries to do to me, right?”

  “Of course. I mean, I said she’s good, for a human,” she replied with a pompous sniff, only to descend into a fit of giggles as I found the perfect pce on her neck to tickle her.

  “Fair enough. What about other people? What if she takes someone hostage?” I asked. If she did… Then I’d be forced to deal with her, permanently. “Could you stop her from messing with others?”

  “That’d be a little trickier because she isn’t using aura,” she admitted, “but I do know Safeguard.”

  “Perfect. Thanks again for your help, Victini.”

  “I haven’t done anything yet.”

  “You gave me advice and good advice is worth its weight in gold.”

  “But words don’t weigh anything.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “You humans have the strangest sayings…”

  We lounged around in Victini’s room. Any attempt to get up ended with me being shoved firmly back into the cushion so I could continue to pamper the overpowered rabbit. I didn’t compin too much. She deserved it for everything she told me.

  Author’s Note

  I feel like this chat with Victini was a long time coming.

  It’s a pity, but I couldn’t think of a scenario in which Victini doesn’t tell Bke about Cherie. Remember when I said I was actively trying to kill off Triumph during the Empire riot but the dice were being tipped by Arceus? This is another example.

  Cherie deciding that Bke’s a better manipution target than the S9 is something that’s been in the works for a long time now. And then, just days before Cherie goes to the orphanage, chat grabs Victini. If it was another, non-psychic Legend, I might have had grounds for saying they wouldn’t notice Cherie’s power, but I have no excuse here.

  Sure, as the QM, I could overrule their votes, but the challenge was writing with what I was given. So I guess that plot’s a bit of a wash.

  Note: Safeguard prevents confusion as well as paralysis, sleep, etc. Given this includes moves like Swagger and Captivate, which I assume might work via maniputing the target’s brain chemistry, I’m ruling that Safeguard works against Cherie as well.

  Thank you to everyone who paid for my groceries. I have a Patreon and Kofi with dozens of chapters written across my various stories. If you’d like to read ahead, receive more frequent updates, vote in monthly polls or even commission a chapter directly, check them out.

  Patreon: https:///c/user?u=83024152

  Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/fabledwebs