K_S
Unrepentent Giovanni and Rocket fan
- Partners
-
A BODY OF PROOF
Summary:
Trust was a puzzle, puzzling, alien.
And something about that realization made her scared, so scared…
Seeing her fear, Moon, who wasn’t Moon, offered to let her accompany him. Let his actions be a body of proof instead.
And it took time and patience, but in the end, the pieces fit. His actions never strayed from his narrative, and if everything he was saying was true...
Then the "truth" was horrifying.
Moon, or rather Giovanni Sakaki, was Lillie Aether's first complete puzzle, ever. And something about that realization made her sick.
Background: This is an accompaniment to my long fic "Transversal" set a little further ahead in the Giovanni arch than I have published on this site. It takes Lillie Aether's perspective and runs with it. You don't have to actually read the original work, it'll explain itself in time, but previous reading would help fill in some of the gaps.
Basically, all you need to know is that Moon's not Moon, but a transplanted, de-aged, and furious Giovanni from the SPECIAL manga. The Legends in the original fic had a sick idea of what Healing entails, and decide to play god, vindictive god, while they are at it.
This is the fallout from the perspective of someone who's tagging along and has no clue how bad things are going to get.
Lillie and the stories setting are from a distorted version of the Moon game verse.
This will probably be a three or four-shot.
PERSONAL GOALS: Can I actually introduce a fic that won’t be confusing as heck on entry… despite being inherently complicated? Let’s find out.
EDITED 1119pm on 1.29.2022
Chapter One
An introduction to madness:
or pick up your 'mon from the pokecenter...
“You’re such an odd little girl.”
So said the man who’s traded perfectly ordinary small talk, or barely socially acceptable awkward silence, for dropping one heck of a conversational voltob down and then proceeded to saying nothing else for a five hour hike.
Well he’d tried to say nothing.
They’d picked a path across the beach beyond the professor’s front door in perfect silence. Him ignoring the call of “see ya soon, Nephew!” tossed at their back.
And even though Moon was rude, Lillie was raised not to be. She wasn’t sure where the ethics met morals, but she looked back and saw Professor Kukui seeing them off. The over exuberant, tanned man, was waving an arm over his head. Smiling around his hollers like Moon’s apathy wasn’t a thing.
She waved, and the professor had waved back, and that’d been that.
And that was part of the weirdness. Professor Kukui was saying goodbye like he hadn’t been rudely snapped at for near ten minutes straight in his own home.
Moon’s “I’m not Moon, you’re delusional” and “I’m not a child” had been the start of Moon’s friction with the Professor.
Except friction wasn’t quite the right word.
Moon’s animosity had to hit against something for it to escalate to friction, and Kuki just never seemed to notice. Rattling on about things that barely made sense in context of Moon’s dogged denial of being Moon. Or just flat out ignoring the swears, because at the end Moon’d been swearing. Never mind it wasn’t in Alolian, Lillie could read the meaning from tone, and Moon had been angry, and desperate.
And trying to get a reaction, any reaction.
All Moon’d got was a fond farewell and a guild he didn’t want.
Everything about today was super awkward. Lillie was supposed to be guiding him, but he had a path in his head and wasn’t asking her anything. They were paralleling the road. It was a good ways away from said road, but it was the right way to Hau’oli.
And another aspect of the strangeness was that Lillie had offered to stay with Professor Kukui if she wasn’t wanted… But the Professor was having her go, no matter what. He’d all but kicked her out.
When Moon left she couldn’t think of anything else to do but follow.
So that’s what she did, Moon’d stopped, seeing her coming, and groaned like she was the last thing he wanted to see. Like she was a bit of gum off the sidewalk and she’d just stuck to his shoe.
Not being wanted wasn’t new, so Lillie followed and felt awkward about… everything.
They must of made quite the scene. Two trainers without visible ‘mon, poking across the sandy beaches that wrapped around the bottom of Iki, going the long way to Hau’oli. Moon tipping under the weight of his overstuffed cameo backpack when the ground got steep, her juggling an oversized white duffle with a mind of it’s own. The duffle bag’s topmost zipper was undone to allow her ‘mon, Nebby, to peek out without getting out.
Occasionally a coo sounded from within as Nebby was entranced by something he’d see.
Moon saw and cared about nothing, he was very much a one step in front of the other sort of traveler.
Nebby, who was a good boy overall, would sometimes giggle and roll around the bags confines. The mysterious ‘mon would whoop and squeak as her staggers made his world shake and rattle like the world’s softest amusement park ride. She’d told him to stop, really she did, but Nebby liked to play.
She’d yet to see Moon’s Beedril do anything but loom, chase Rattatas, and sharpen it’s blades. Actually, she hadn’t seen the bug for quite a while and Lillie wondered if Moon had withdrawn it. Was he keeping the ‘mon on his belt instead of flying free?
She didn’t like Beedrill, or dislike him, but the bug would have been company. It at least looked at her from time to time.
Moon didn’t even look back when she squawked, near fell as Nebby’s play coincided with Moon picking up the pace and Lillie was left having to run while her “starter” bounced around in his bag.
Nebby, having the time of his life, decided that he liking the sensation of her running and the world blurring from his little peephole. He went from excitedly bouncing, perhaps encouraging he to go faster, to try rolling while she was jogging.
Lillie overbalanced, falling flat on her face with an oomph. The only mercy was she’d landed on soft sand, not some rocks or other and that Nebby wasn’t tossed out of his bag.
Her falling, well the thud, made Moon stop. When nothing else could make him act considerate, not all the “please”s or gasping, or whimpers, her getting hurt turned the trick. He froze, stared at her as she twisted from sprawled to sitting up, and with a wince he returned.
The only nice thing about it was he ran as fast to her as he had been running away.
She looked up at him, sniffling a little, and he swallowed, some thought making his dark eyes gleam in the noon day sun.
And when normal people would have said “I’m sorry” or something like that… he slowed. Crossed the last few steps between them and eased down so she could use him to get up.
It wasn’t quite an apology, but he was careful. Like she was a deerling, and not someone he’d tried to run ragged and run off.
With his help she was up, and though she wasn’t hurt that bad he let her lean on him.
“I think it’s time we took a break.”
After a little bit more walking they found a series of black stones that he’d dubbed “probably not geos”. He then proceeded to kick the rocks, just to be sure they weren’t any weirdly shaped ground types.
“Why don’t you ask them if they’re ‘mon?” Lillie asked, a tiny bit worried.
After all you didn’t kick anything living.
Kicking creatures and people was wrong.
Lillie settled on a long low rock, picking it because he hadn’t kicked it, trying to make a point. He ignored her and after kicking a rock near hers three times “just to be sure”, he slumped down into his seat. He was up in a second, swearing in his weird way and with a grimace and some feeling about took his seat with much more care.
The rock wasn’t alive but he’d not seen some subtle point on the stone and gotten poked in a rude place as a result.
She’s smirked, not laughed because laughing at someone would be mean, and he responded to her kindness by acknowledging her. A lean sort of progress. Even if it was just to roll his eyes at her, and sigh.
He swung his packs off so they rested in the sands in front of him, flipping up the main flap, he drew out the canteen on top and took a drink. Done with drinking he set that on his leg and went to digging deeper.
She spread her long white dress around her so it’d dry as she rested. If it’s scales of sand and muck flaked off because she did so all the better. Regardless she wasn’t getting up soon, and he didn’t seem in a rush to get up just then, so they were good.
“Have a little faith in my experience, Ms. Lillie.”
It was the first he’d spoken in… well she didn’t have a watch, or a cell phone, but it felt like forever. And he hadn’t spoken at her since… right before the Island Challenge Ceremony at Iki. He’d offered her his Legend gifted stone, and she’d laughed it off. He was such a prankster she was sure. The professor had said Moon liked a good laugh.
Save this Moon didn’t.
And that conversation had been a little after breakfast, right after he’d beaten Hua’s starter with his bee.
“Alright, you’re older than me,” Because agreeing was nice, and though rude, Moon seemed like he needed some niceness in his life. Maybe it’d make him nicer in turn. “How old are you?”
Maybe thirteen, fifteen at most. He was smooth faced, no wrinkles, and he wasn’t tall enough to be an adult despite being a bit lanky. He was a bit long nose wise. But not ugly or anything, but anything like a large nose was weird in an Alolian, and his ears were a bit more predominant than she was used too. He didn’t stoop, not even when carrying half a stores inventory in his packs, so he wasn’t frail. And there was no white or grey hairs on his head. She had a good look at it since he stooped over his packs, rummaging up a snack bar and tearing it open.
Moon’s hair was so black it gleamed and he’d twisted it into a thick braid down his back.
Something about his hair style niggled Lillie’s brain. Even as she caught the bar he tossed at her. She broke it into half and slipped the larger pieces into her bag. Noming commenced and the bad distorted as Nebby ate, played with his food, and ate some more.
Lillie was not thinking of the royal mess inside of her bag, she wasn’t.
She was thinking of hair, and maybe staring just a little.
Long hair in boys was considered dated, and ages ago it had been an act of rebellion. But most of those people had worn flower crowns and sung around campfires, at least in the movies she’d seen. Moon wasn’t nice to rocks, Lillie couldn’t imagine him chatting up a grass type to get a flower anything. Still despite not being that sort of rebel Moon was rebelling against something, even if all it was was that he wasn’t Moon.
While she stared at him, he’d scrolled his dark gaze over her. Slow sweep done he tipped his head, considering something about her most seriously.
“I’m probably old enough to be your father…”
He looked like a regular fifteen year old.
There was nothing old about Moon, her eyes were working fine, he looked a little different, yes. But he wasn’t from Alola he was from… from somewhere else, she wasn’t sure where. But despite being different he looked like someone around her age…
But him saying he was as old as her father was crazy.
But you didn’t call crazy people crazy. That was mean. You said nice things. Things like you’d be there for them, or it didn’t matter, you’d still be friends…
So she said those things, the right things, and he stared at her in shock. A few moments passed, and when she suddenly didn’t take it back he stared at her a little more. Staring done he took a drink, a long one, and screwed the lid closed.
“I’m leaving after I let my Beedrill out to kill his lunch. It won’t be long, follow or not, your choice.”
Then he was up and walking away, picking a path away from the beach, towards the tall grass beyond the sand. A flick of his wrist and he summoned his bug. No fumbling to the motion like so many starter trainers she’d seen while living with the Professor. Moon tossed then caught the ball when it recoiled from the force of expelling the bug.
She could hear the catch, the twack of plastic against flesh, and wondered if that’s why so many professional trainers wore gloves.
“Try for something besides a Rat’, you know your typing as well as I do…” A buzz, nearly a whine, “just go kill a few slowpokes or something, you’ve got thirty minutes then we’re leaving.”
A ting, of blade scraping blade, she’d traveled with Moon long enough, for the sound to be kinda familiar.
“Get,”
Wings whirled, the swirl of its wing summoned a silver wind of sorts, as scales and toxins flaked off. And in the light of day, with the sun coming down just so… it was pretty, Lillie decided. Really pretty.
A few moments later and they were alone again. Moon staggered to his rock and slid into his seat. Feeling with a hand before slumping against the stone and shoveling his stuff in his bag.
Clearly he wasn’t quite used to having to travel so hard for so long.
“We don’t have to… It’s not like the city’s going to run off, you know.”
“I’ve only enough food and water for a day and a half, that’s unacceptably low.”
Lillie who hadn’t thought to bring water, just the clothes on her back, her wallet, and Nebby, blushed. If a day and a half was bad, nothing would likely be considered worse.
“Oh..” Moon let his eyes slide closed and Lillie considered saying nothing. Maybe if he napped she’d get to rest longer, but talk about water was making her throat twing a little. Reminding her that she was thirsty. “Um how much.. in your experience..”
“My old man experience?” His tone was not… well it wasn’t soft, or gentle, but his lips might of quirked. So maybe he was amused? “Three days minimum when traveling. Two weeks is ideal but hard to pull off with a regular starter ‘mon. That’s why most regions have their “traditional” journey starting points in well populated areas. You wouldn’t believe how many brats I’ve found courting heat stroke and dehydration in Viridian Forest every year.”
“Oh.”
Oh boy, no water was really bad then. Really bad. She winced, but Moon, eyes shut, didn’t notice, or care.
She told herself it was the first, and made excuses. He was tired, and rude, but that didn’t mean mean or sadistic.
Not always.
Cracking one eye open, watching her while she silently fretted, Moon straightened out of his sprawl. Face flushing as he thought of something. Then he was staring at Nebby’s bag, maybe now just realizing it only had Nebby in it.
“Where’s your water?”
Lillie couldn’t get a word out, not for anything, she just blushed and stammered and…
And flipping open his packs with a growl, swearing in his odd way, she heard Kukui’s name, and some Cel-something’s name a few times, he came up form his dig, canteen out, and tossed it at her.
“I’m not making my first stop in this… city… to the place’s emergency room to drop you off because your mentor decided to not let you get some water before he kicked you out.”
Sometimes mean did not mean bad, it just meant they didn’t know how to say kind things, or how to say them right. Taking her draw from Moon’s water, Lillie thanked him. She didn’t have much more than that, really, still he nodded. Acknowledgment was good.
It was progress.
She hummed as she shared a little water with Nebby. Something the sparkling fluff ball appreciated. While she tended her friend Moon turned from her to stare at the sea for a while.
The rest of the walk to Hua’oli was slow, Moon walked with a bit of a stagger. Cramps, he’d hissed after she asked. Surprised that she’d asked maybe, for he stared at her odd after. Though Lillie wasn’t quite sure how helping someone walk worked, Moon let her hover at his side and offer him an arm when they took the last few hills leading to the island’s main city.
“Want a tour?” Because she may of stopped at the last rise, to get the best view, and that seemed lik the best place to ask. And let him rest a little, while looking out, it might get his interest going. Maybe, she could really do the guide thing. The thought made her perk up a bit. “Hao’oli’s the best spot for…”
A waved hand from Moon made her fall silent.
“No. Where is Kukui at?”
Sometimes progress was slow, Lillie reminded herself, so she didn’t quite shrink away from Moon’s irritated tone.
“I can guide you there, but it’s not as nice as the rest of Hau’oli.”
“I’m here for business not pleasure.”
Taking the hint Lillie shut up. She led, and wordlessly Moon followed. Hands gripping the straps of his packs they looked irritated from the hold.
It was only a thirty minute walk from their rest spot to the school. But then schools in the Alola region were meant to be close to nature, with lots of opportunity to go out on long walks. It made the easiest fieldtrips. Short bright colored fences marked the schools property lines, and Lillie let her fingers run along it as they walked. Moon, keeping pace besides her, had let his death grip on his straps go. Sliding his hands into his pockets he slowed looked about. He took in the play yards, the signs of someone having dug about in a sand lot, and at the proof that clearly some small child having been about as a reason to freeze.
He was almost entranced, standing there, staring by the sight of colored a pail and small shovels and small holes like it meant something more than some little kid having left something behind.
A nudge got him to unfreeze, and he moved on. But not without craning his neck to look back until the view was lost. A screening wall of palm trees among thick bushes blocked the view back and forward so they followed the foliage for a while. Rounding a corner they found the front of the school. The doors, pale blue, not quite sky, were imperfectly framed by palm and berry trees. Grass and weeds speckled the dirt path leading up to the entrance.
And right by the doors, leaning against a grey donphan shaped slide, was professor Kukui. Arms crossed over his chest, checking is watch, checking a yawn. He looked bored. Like he’d been waiting forever.
Which considering Moon’s aversion to roads and straight paths… and other trainers, and catching ‘mon… forever probably was right.
“Hey cuz, ready to start your Island Challenge?”
“This is a preschool.” He’d noted it more to himself than her, still Lillie winced. “Why am I starting my gym challenge at a preschool?”
“Everyone starts here. The professor was explaining it to me and…”
And the Professor was coming towards them, smiling wide but with a warning.
“Ah, ah Lil’s! No spoilers for our Champ…”
Moon made a soft nosie that might have been scorn. Lillie was still trying to figure out his moods. Moon’s face moved so little and so fast, she was guessing more often than not.
Still that was not a good noise, it sounded somewhat akin to his angry words back at the Professor’s lab.
Drawing a deep breathe, then letting it out slow, Moon shook his head. Then tipped a glance at her, almost smiling.
“Ms Lillie.” Becsue she’d never told him her name, her last name, and that seemed to amuse him. “Thank you for your services. You can consider your service to em complete… and I won’t hold you to your… previous offer. I most certainly won’t hold you to it in an way.”
And those were the words he said in parting. Not a “goodbye” which she’d half expected.
His denial of her friendship was offered to her like a parting gift, a final one.
That made her sad. But she was old enough to be on her journey, nearly an adult, so that meant she was old enough not to be sad. She was big enough not to cry.
Daren’t.
So she didn’t.
She went quiet instead. Settling on a swing lodged in a patch of short grass. Legs kicking enough to make her rock but on the ground so she wouldn’t really swing. Lillie didn’t lift off, her white dress stayed tucked tight and close as she scratched a path in the sand and grass below her with white tennies.
With a show of bustle and enthusiasm a group of teachers popped out of the doors, perhaps summoned by Kukui’s loud greeting, and everyone ignored her. They swept around Moon, all cheer and smiles. He was anything but cheery in return, wincing back from a casual pat, near cringing form their attention. Surrounded, Moon was walked in.
Save he wasn’t Moon.
He told the Professor to his face he wasn’t Moon. He’d said a name in the fight, right before he switched langauges. Something long and a bit like a tongue twister.
The Professor had laughed when Moon had gotten insistent, saying that Moon was being a little weirdo, patting the young trainer on the head and shrugging off the resultant animosity.
And, a little meanly, Lillie thought, the Professor loudly told Lillie to “just roll with Moon’s moods”.
Like he couldn’t hear or something all of a sudden.
Clearly, someone had gotten a bit pat happy, because over the retreating babble Moon’s voice rose, cracking with outrage.
“No one touches me unless I tell them to.”
That’d been heard, and responded to at least. Some of the cheer leaving the group and the adults gave not-Moon a little more space. The cluster had evolved into a loose line. The head pulled open the door and beckoned the gathering in. There were questions being asked, adults trying to pry out thoughts about types, and names, and…
And normally any kid, heck even her, would have proudly flaunted their ‘mon. And asking any kid five on up was sure to get a regular answer of “My ‘mon is the best”.
Lillie understood the urge, but Nebby was the best even if the other trainers didn’t know that. Still, she’d smiled and nodded at a lot of ratattas and slowpokes when she hiked around town before. Trainers younger than young, and older than her, flushed with their first catch assured one and all. Thiers was the best.
“Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it and leave.” He snapped, irritation adding enough volume that Lillie could hear it through the closed door.
That sounded bad.
And the note to his voice reminded Lillie of not-Moon’s Beedrill, and how the bug loved to scrape it’s blades and loom. Both the boy;s voice and scrape had something to them that made Lillie’s skin crawl.
“Ambitious are you?” One of the adults crooned, not hearing the tone right it seemed.
Trainer he was meant to watch gone, job done, Professor Kuki adjusted his shades, happy to watch the winggul swing by. Tightening her grip on the swing’s chains Lillie watched the ground. She hunched into herself, hating how the back of her dress around her shoulders felt like it was burning. And the fringes felt heavy. And she nasty. It was so hot today and Moon had the water.
Except he wasn’t Moon, and Lillie was starting to, maybe, believe that..
A bit later, long enough to be sure she was sorta cooked but not cooked through, a door slammed. Looking up she saw the young trainer stomping towards them. His emotions were neither small nor fast just then.
Face flushed and twisted into hard, angry, lines, he was furious.
And it was something his drawn ‘mon was mirroring. Beedrill, perched on the short boy’s backpack, had it’s antenna slicked back, blades scraping almost dangerously close to the boy’s throat. The bee’s trainer snapped a word in a way Lillie didn’t get and the bug went still, tucked and turned until it was looming over the dark-haired boy but now no longer a risk of impaling or stabbing the boy if he moved too fast.
Looking down, seeing everything wrong, the Professor flashed his bright, white, smile, at the boy and his Beedrill.
“Ohf. Rough time in there, huh? Well, that’s fine, first battles can be a bit rough and all that. We can head to the center and heal your Beedrill and give it another go-“
But Beedrill looked fine, angry, but fine. The protest almost slipped past her lips but didn’t, and Lillie twisted the chains making them twang against her hands.
“I’m not in the business of making children cry to prove a point. So, no, I won’t be going back.”
“If you want to challenge the Kahuna you’ve got to earn our merits here somehow. Prove competency, and prove your worth in supporting the school here.” The professor seemed a little less oblivious, arms crossed over his chest, smile not so bright.
“So then you send a middle schooler to a preschool and have a day where the brats get their pets beat up, and that’s educational?”
Shifting his hat, so his eyes were easier to see, the Professor looked down at his nephew. There was enough a height difference that there was a lot of down. Despite being short boy and Beedril managed to seethe almost up to Kukui’s height.
“It’s how it’s always been done, little man.”
If looks could kill Moon’s glare would have been a perish song, but at the last note and he’d of lasted long enough to see the Professor go first.
“I’ve fully evolved my starter,” Moon hissed, waving a hand towards his Beedrill, “He’s obedient, in and out of battle.”
“Alright.” Professor Kuki drawled. “But you caught and trained him outside of appropriate supervision. Before you start ed the Trial. Neither the Kahuna or myself can say we’ve seen proof of any of the progress. So, in short, Beedrill, doesn’t count.”
Deep breath, in, then out. Lillie could see the trainer mouthing something to himself. Maybe he was counting to ten but in a different way. The shapes didn’t seem quite right, but he repeated them, once… twice… Whatever done he drew a deep breathe and spoke, Lillie ducked her head, letting her hair fall forward to screen the view.
“I’m going to the pokecenter to withdraw one of my catches.” She could hear his teeth grinding. “Will that be acceptable for this gym challenge?”
“Nah. Counts as proof of catching if you use the PC. And catching’s good, encouraged even.”
Another deep breath, another count in… whatever... under his breath but just enough she could hear it a little. Looking up Lillie saw Moon unclench his fists and slide them alongside the edge of his shorts.
“Define seeing progress.”
“Proof of a move learned, we’re not expecting out and out evolution first week in or anything…”
Beedrill buzzed his wings, not quite lifting over the boy’s dark head.
Ignoring the threat display Professor Kuki pulled his glasses off, looking at the boy, dead serious.
“But someone’s going to have to see you pull the critter out of a pokecenter box and I gotta do an exam on the fellow before and after.” Brightening, acting like he’d just remembered something the Professor snapped his fingers, “Hey, Lil’s, you busy?”
Busy burning up in the sun, trying to sink into the ground, she was horribly busy wishing she wasn’t here for any of this. The walk from before had been nice, after Moon stopped trying to run her off, but everything else… She wished she’d stayed at the lab.
Still, she looked up. Because he’d all but asked her too, hadn’t he? She winced, but met both their gazes, neither seemed to notice her cringing though.
“Certainly if you doubt my integrity you’d personally want to tag along for this… errand.”
“Cousin cousin.. I don’t doubt you a lick.” The man’s smile was wide and bright. Showing how much he doubted, everything and every word. “But just to be safe have Lillie take you for a walk. At the end, if you withdraw an unevolved ‘mon, and bring it back, well and good, we’re halfway done. It’s not like you’ve got to do it all in one go. You got a week after all. And if you don’t have anything stored away, go catch something, we got the best ecosystem around.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” And the smile he cast up to the Professor was a yangoose’s, all teeth and promise of biting. “Ms. Lillie,” he smirked, gaining something of amusement back at her mysteries. “I do apologize for dragging you into this…”
Lillie shrugged, cracked a small smile.
“It’s fine, I’m the Professor’s ai- assis- help after all. I should probably help.”
She really hadn’t quite got the lying thing down. He smiled a bit wider, some of the anger leaving his face, humored at her failure she guessed. Still he offered his arm and seeing her freeze and stare up at Beedrill, ordered the ‘mon to “return to base” whatever that meant. Now, ‘mon free, he offered his arm and she took it. It was a old thing, what he did, and she’d been raised traditionally so she knew the motion and how to respond.
They walked around the professor who cheered “get ‘em pyroar,” as they went by, whatever that meant.
“I’m going to ruin that man, first opportunity.” And the boy who insisted he was not Moon was blushing. Not angry, but embarrassed. “I’d never…”
It seemed an assurance and made no sense at that.
“Never what?”
Black eyes widened, and for one moment his face was slack, his eyes were comically wide. Then the moment came and went, his face smoothed into no-tell lines as he drew her close. “Ah… nothing important.”
The walk to the pokecenter was quiet. And it felt… better… not to be around adults who expected things. Lillie was able to look up and look around a bit more as they went. Only hunching a little when she saw some adults lurking around the ‘center’s main lobby. He left her to get some water from a vending machine, then looking at her he considered something before he got some for her as well.
Taking a seat Lillie watched as he walked about, confused until he’d finally asked the nurse where the PC was.
The small slim portable model with it’s pokeball plate attachment had been walked by at least twice earlier. And he hadn’t like that, not one bit. Still, he picked it up, after asking if he could move it, and getting consent, brought it over to her table with a grimace.
“Have you ever?” It was almost hopeful as he wiggled the edge of the computer at her. Lillie sipping her water, shook her head.
“I don’t have any ‘mon.” She’d smiled. “I’m not a trainer.”
She might have looked at her sports bag and its napping inhabitant by accident, a tiny bit guilty because she’d only let Nebby out for one walk today and it was getting later.
Moon huffed, spinning the device between them, poking at it with one finger until he realized that the mouse pad had to scan his fingerprint first before it’d work. It didn’t work, not the first time. Whipping his hands dry he tried again, and when it worked he groaned.
Clearly, he was not expecting the sight in the box.
“I thought you had a cubone?”
“Silver must have needed him and swapped him out.”
He’d mentioned Silver, but she hadn’t met the other boy. It was just someone she knew he knew. She wondered hos Wilver felt about Moon not being Moon and about other things.
“I thought you liked ground types.”
“My son said this thing was, and I quote, “so lazy it can’t even curl yet.”
Another fascet of no-Moons crazy, that he could have a son. He wasn’t old enough to have a young baby brother much less a kid, but Lillie didn’t bring that up.
“He named it Rollie.” She noted, taking a sip.
“Hes five.”
She waited, hoped, but the trainer didn’t see the crazy in how that worked out, or rather how it didn’t work out.
Still, she was going to be nice, and not point it out. Friends did not call friends crazy; new as she was at all of this she knew that. And he must be tired of it; it’d explain his grouchiness a little.
Rollie was pulled out of the box and they made their way straight to the school.
Or rather they were meant to. Rollie, once out of his pokeball, was so lazy he didn’t walk. The sand mouse looked about, yawned, and once out of the center flopped in the center of the street. A sunny-hued, dusty, starfish.
Lillie knew most ‘mon were scary, with claw and teeth and everything, but Rollie was a lump. And not in a nasty muk sort of lump way. He just slumped onto the sidewalk, scrunched up his dark blue eyes, and threw a paw over those before and the other over his ears before rolling over, belly up.
While a few people around them cooed, one person stepping around them to snap a picture with their phone, Lillie tensed, waiting…
Not-Moon drew in a deep breath, let it out, did the count in whatever that language was he liked so. Lillie knew enough about tone to realize the words were definitely not repeatable in any company, ever.
“Watch him, I’ll be back.”
When the black haired boy returned with a stick Lillie’d been worried.
She’d heard tales of trainers hitting their ‘mon and he looked angry enough to start hitting and not stop. The boy poked and prodded around sandshrew’s spread hindquarters until, the mouse, with a startled squeak, curled its back legs to get away from the pokes. Almost half curling, like the attack curling, and the move, done poorly, shocked the mosue so it woke and wailed.
Stopping the pokes made the mouse unfold with a soft thump, and cut off the cries.
Mon’ looked up at humans, while the trainer tapped his stick against the pavement. Ignoring the tears to the creature’s eyes the boy the Professor called Moon, who was most definitely Not Moon bared his teeth in something too malicious to be a smile.
“You’re going to walk, without making a scene, or you will be rolled.”
A thwack of stick on pavement told of how.
Rollie was more than willing to walk, and not make a peep, the rest of the way to the school.
Summary:
Trust was a puzzle, puzzling, alien.
And something about that realization made her scared, so scared…
Seeing her fear, Moon, who wasn’t Moon, offered to let her accompany him. Let his actions be a body of proof instead.
And it took time and patience, but in the end, the pieces fit. His actions never strayed from his narrative, and if everything he was saying was true...
Then the "truth" was horrifying.
Moon, or rather Giovanni Sakaki, was Lillie Aether's first complete puzzle, ever. And something about that realization made her sick.
Profanity
Eventual discussion of child abuse
allusions of animal abuse
brainwashing and gaslighting
criminal activity
Eventual discussion of child abuse
allusions of animal abuse
brainwashing and gaslighting
criminal activity
Background: This is an accompaniment to my long fic "Transversal" set a little further ahead in the Giovanni arch than I have published on this site. It takes Lillie Aether's perspective and runs with it. You don't have to actually read the original work, it'll explain itself in time, but previous reading would help fill in some of the gaps.
Basically, all you need to know is that Moon's not Moon, but a transplanted, de-aged, and furious Giovanni from the SPECIAL manga. The Legends in the original fic had a sick idea of what Healing entails, and decide to play god, vindictive god, while they are at it.
This is the fallout from the perspective of someone who's tagging along and has no clue how bad things are going to get.
Lillie and the stories setting are from a distorted version of the Moon game verse.
This will probably be a three or four-shot.
PERSONAL GOALS: Can I actually introduce a fic that won’t be confusing as heck on entry… despite being inherently complicated? Let’s find out.
EDITED 1119pm on 1.29.2022
Chapter One
An introduction to madness:
or pick up your 'mon from the pokecenter...
“You’re such an odd little girl.”
So said the man who’s traded perfectly ordinary small talk, or barely socially acceptable awkward silence, for dropping one heck of a conversational voltob down and then proceeded to saying nothing else for a five hour hike.
Well he’d tried to say nothing.
They’d picked a path across the beach beyond the professor’s front door in perfect silence. Him ignoring the call of “see ya soon, Nephew!” tossed at their back.
And even though Moon was rude, Lillie was raised not to be. She wasn’t sure where the ethics met morals, but she looked back and saw Professor Kukui seeing them off. The over exuberant, tanned man, was waving an arm over his head. Smiling around his hollers like Moon’s apathy wasn’t a thing.
She waved, and the professor had waved back, and that’d been that.
And that was part of the weirdness. Professor Kukui was saying goodbye like he hadn’t been rudely snapped at for near ten minutes straight in his own home.
Moon’s “I’m not Moon, you’re delusional” and “I’m not a child” had been the start of Moon’s friction with the Professor.
Except friction wasn’t quite the right word.
Moon’s animosity had to hit against something for it to escalate to friction, and Kuki just never seemed to notice. Rattling on about things that barely made sense in context of Moon’s dogged denial of being Moon. Or just flat out ignoring the swears, because at the end Moon’d been swearing. Never mind it wasn’t in Alolian, Lillie could read the meaning from tone, and Moon had been angry, and desperate.
And trying to get a reaction, any reaction.
All Moon’d got was a fond farewell and a guild he didn’t want.
Everything about today was super awkward. Lillie was supposed to be guiding him, but he had a path in his head and wasn’t asking her anything. They were paralleling the road. It was a good ways away from said road, but it was the right way to Hau’oli.
And another aspect of the strangeness was that Lillie had offered to stay with Professor Kukui if she wasn’t wanted… But the Professor was having her go, no matter what. He’d all but kicked her out.
When Moon left she couldn’t think of anything else to do but follow.
So that’s what she did, Moon’d stopped, seeing her coming, and groaned like she was the last thing he wanted to see. Like she was a bit of gum off the sidewalk and she’d just stuck to his shoe.
Not being wanted wasn’t new, so Lillie followed and felt awkward about… everything.
They must of made quite the scene. Two trainers without visible ‘mon, poking across the sandy beaches that wrapped around the bottom of Iki, going the long way to Hau’oli. Moon tipping under the weight of his overstuffed cameo backpack when the ground got steep, her juggling an oversized white duffle with a mind of it’s own. The duffle bag’s topmost zipper was undone to allow her ‘mon, Nebby, to peek out without getting out.
Occasionally a coo sounded from within as Nebby was entranced by something he’d see.
Moon saw and cared about nothing, he was very much a one step in front of the other sort of traveler.
Nebby, who was a good boy overall, would sometimes giggle and roll around the bags confines. The mysterious ‘mon would whoop and squeak as her staggers made his world shake and rattle like the world’s softest amusement park ride. She’d told him to stop, really she did, but Nebby liked to play.
She’d yet to see Moon’s Beedril do anything but loom, chase Rattatas, and sharpen it’s blades. Actually, she hadn’t seen the bug for quite a while and Lillie wondered if Moon had withdrawn it. Was he keeping the ‘mon on his belt instead of flying free?
She didn’t like Beedrill, or dislike him, but the bug would have been company. It at least looked at her from time to time.
Moon didn’t even look back when she squawked, near fell as Nebby’s play coincided with Moon picking up the pace and Lillie was left having to run while her “starter” bounced around in his bag.
Nebby, having the time of his life, decided that he liking the sensation of her running and the world blurring from his little peephole. He went from excitedly bouncing, perhaps encouraging he to go faster, to try rolling while she was jogging.
Lillie overbalanced, falling flat on her face with an oomph. The only mercy was she’d landed on soft sand, not some rocks or other and that Nebby wasn’t tossed out of his bag.
Her falling, well the thud, made Moon stop. When nothing else could make him act considerate, not all the “please”s or gasping, or whimpers, her getting hurt turned the trick. He froze, stared at her as she twisted from sprawled to sitting up, and with a wince he returned.
The only nice thing about it was he ran as fast to her as he had been running away.
She looked up at him, sniffling a little, and he swallowed, some thought making his dark eyes gleam in the noon day sun.
And when normal people would have said “I’m sorry” or something like that… he slowed. Crossed the last few steps between them and eased down so she could use him to get up.
It wasn’t quite an apology, but he was careful. Like she was a deerling, and not someone he’d tried to run ragged and run off.
With his help she was up, and though she wasn’t hurt that bad he let her lean on him.
“I think it’s time we took a break.”
After a little bit more walking they found a series of black stones that he’d dubbed “probably not geos”. He then proceeded to kick the rocks, just to be sure they weren’t any weirdly shaped ground types.
“Why don’t you ask them if they’re ‘mon?” Lillie asked, a tiny bit worried.
After all you didn’t kick anything living.
Kicking creatures and people was wrong.
Lillie settled on a long low rock, picking it because he hadn’t kicked it, trying to make a point. He ignored her and after kicking a rock near hers three times “just to be sure”, he slumped down into his seat. He was up in a second, swearing in his weird way and with a grimace and some feeling about took his seat with much more care.
The rock wasn’t alive but he’d not seen some subtle point on the stone and gotten poked in a rude place as a result.
She’s smirked, not laughed because laughing at someone would be mean, and he responded to her kindness by acknowledging her. A lean sort of progress. Even if it was just to roll his eyes at her, and sigh.
He swung his packs off so they rested in the sands in front of him, flipping up the main flap, he drew out the canteen on top and took a drink. Done with drinking he set that on his leg and went to digging deeper.
She spread her long white dress around her so it’d dry as she rested. If it’s scales of sand and muck flaked off because she did so all the better. Regardless she wasn’t getting up soon, and he didn’t seem in a rush to get up just then, so they were good.
“Have a little faith in my experience, Ms. Lillie.”
It was the first he’d spoken in… well she didn’t have a watch, or a cell phone, but it felt like forever. And he hadn’t spoken at her since… right before the Island Challenge Ceremony at Iki. He’d offered her his Legend gifted stone, and she’d laughed it off. He was such a prankster she was sure. The professor had said Moon liked a good laugh.
Save this Moon didn’t.
And that conversation had been a little after breakfast, right after he’d beaten Hua’s starter with his bee.
“Alright, you’re older than me,” Because agreeing was nice, and though rude, Moon seemed like he needed some niceness in his life. Maybe it’d make him nicer in turn. “How old are you?”
Maybe thirteen, fifteen at most. He was smooth faced, no wrinkles, and he wasn’t tall enough to be an adult despite being a bit lanky. He was a bit long nose wise. But not ugly or anything, but anything like a large nose was weird in an Alolian, and his ears were a bit more predominant than she was used too. He didn’t stoop, not even when carrying half a stores inventory in his packs, so he wasn’t frail. And there was no white or grey hairs on his head. She had a good look at it since he stooped over his packs, rummaging up a snack bar and tearing it open.
Moon’s hair was so black it gleamed and he’d twisted it into a thick braid down his back.
Something about his hair style niggled Lillie’s brain. Even as she caught the bar he tossed at her. She broke it into half and slipped the larger pieces into her bag. Noming commenced and the bad distorted as Nebby ate, played with his food, and ate some more.
Lillie was not thinking of the royal mess inside of her bag, she wasn’t.
She was thinking of hair, and maybe staring just a little.
Long hair in boys was considered dated, and ages ago it had been an act of rebellion. But most of those people had worn flower crowns and sung around campfires, at least in the movies she’d seen. Moon wasn’t nice to rocks, Lillie couldn’t imagine him chatting up a grass type to get a flower anything. Still despite not being that sort of rebel Moon was rebelling against something, even if all it was was that he wasn’t Moon.
While she stared at him, he’d scrolled his dark gaze over her. Slow sweep done he tipped his head, considering something about her most seriously.
“I’m probably old enough to be your father…”
He looked like a regular fifteen year old.
There was nothing old about Moon, her eyes were working fine, he looked a little different, yes. But he wasn’t from Alola he was from… from somewhere else, she wasn’t sure where. But despite being different he looked like someone around her age…
But him saying he was as old as her father was crazy.
But you didn’t call crazy people crazy. That was mean. You said nice things. Things like you’d be there for them, or it didn’t matter, you’d still be friends…
So she said those things, the right things, and he stared at her in shock. A few moments passed, and when she suddenly didn’t take it back he stared at her a little more. Staring done he took a drink, a long one, and screwed the lid closed.
“I’m leaving after I let my Beedrill out to kill his lunch. It won’t be long, follow or not, your choice.”
Then he was up and walking away, picking a path away from the beach, towards the tall grass beyond the sand. A flick of his wrist and he summoned his bug. No fumbling to the motion like so many starter trainers she’d seen while living with the Professor. Moon tossed then caught the ball when it recoiled from the force of expelling the bug.
She could hear the catch, the twack of plastic against flesh, and wondered if that’s why so many professional trainers wore gloves.
“Try for something besides a Rat’, you know your typing as well as I do…” A buzz, nearly a whine, “just go kill a few slowpokes or something, you’ve got thirty minutes then we’re leaving.”
A ting, of blade scraping blade, she’d traveled with Moon long enough, for the sound to be kinda familiar.
“Get,”
Wings whirled, the swirl of its wing summoned a silver wind of sorts, as scales and toxins flaked off. And in the light of day, with the sun coming down just so… it was pretty, Lillie decided. Really pretty.
A few moments later and they were alone again. Moon staggered to his rock and slid into his seat. Feeling with a hand before slumping against the stone and shoveling his stuff in his bag.
Clearly he wasn’t quite used to having to travel so hard for so long.
“We don’t have to… It’s not like the city’s going to run off, you know.”
“I’ve only enough food and water for a day and a half, that’s unacceptably low.”
Lillie who hadn’t thought to bring water, just the clothes on her back, her wallet, and Nebby, blushed. If a day and a half was bad, nothing would likely be considered worse.
“Oh..” Moon let his eyes slide closed and Lillie considered saying nothing. Maybe if he napped she’d get to rest longer, but talk about water was making her throat twing a little. Reminding her that she was thirsty. “Um how much.. in your experience..”
“My old man experience?” His tone was not… well it wasn’t soft, or gentle, but his lips might of quirked. So maybe he was amused? “Three days minimum when traveling. Two weeks is ideal but hard to pull off with a regular starter ‘mon. That’s why most regions have their “traditional” journey starting points in well populated areas. You wouldn’t believe how many brats I’ve found courting heat stroke and dehydration in Viridian Forest every year.”
“Oh.”
Oh boy, no water was really bad then. Really bad. She winced, but Moon, eyes shut, didn’t notice, or care.
She told herself it was the first, and made excuses. He was tired, and rude, but that didn’t mean mean or sadistic.
Not always.
Cracking one eye open, watching her while she silently fretted, Moon straightened out of his sprawl. Face flushing as he thought of something. Then he was staring at Nebby’s bag, maybe now just realizing it only had Nebby in it.
“Where’s your water?”
Lillie couldn’t get a word out, not for anything, she just blushed and stammered and…
And flipping open his packs with a growl, swearing in his odd way, she heard Kukui’s name, and some Cel-something’s name a few times, he came up form his dig, canteen out, and tossed it at her.
“I’m not making my first stop in this… city… to the place’s emergency room to drop you off because your mentor decided to not let you get some water before he kicked you out.”
Sometimes mean did not mean bad, it just meant they didn’t know how to say kind things, or how to say them right. Taking her draw from Moon’s water, Lillie thanked him. She didn’t have much more than that, really, still he nodded. Acknowledgment was good.
It was progress.
She hummed as she shared a little water with Nebby. Something the sparkling fluff ball appreciated. While she tended her friend Moon turned from her to stare at the sea for a while.
The rest of the walk to Hua’oli was slow, Moon walked with a bit of a stagger. Cramps, he’d hissed after she asked. Surprised that she’d asked maybe, for he stared at her odd after. Though Lillie wasn’t quite sure how helping someone walk worked, Moon let her hover at his side and offer him an arm when they took the last few hills leading to the island’s main city.
“Want a tour?” Because she may of stopped at the last rise, to get the best view, and that seemed lik the best place to ask. And let him rest a little, while looking out, it might get his interest going. Maybe, she could really do the guide thing. The thought made her perk up a bit. “Hao’oli’s the best spot for…”
A waved hand from Moon made her fall silent.
“No. Where is Kukui at?”
Sometimes progress was slow, Lillie reminded herself, so she didn’t quite shrink away from Moon’s irritated tone.
“I can guide you there, but it’s not as nice as the rest of Hau’oli.”
“I’m here for business not pleasure.”
Taking the hint Lillie shut up. She led, and wordlessly Moon followed. Hands gripping the straps of his packs they looked irritated from the hold.
It was only a thirty minute walk from their rest spot to the school. But then schools in the Alola region were meant to be close to nature, with lots of opportunity to go out on long walks. It made the easiest fieldtrips. Short bright colored fences marked the schools property lines, and Lillie let her fingers run along it as they walked. Moon, keeping pace besides her, had let his death grip on his straps go. Sliding his hands into his pockets he slowed looked about. He took in the play yards, the signs of someone having dug about in a sand lot, and at the proof that clearly some small child having been about as a reason to freeze.
He was almost entranced, standing there, staring by the sight of colored a pail and small shovels and small holes like it meant something more than some little kid having left something behind.
A nudge got him to unfreeze, and he moved on. But not without craning his neck to look back until the view was lost. A screening wall of palm trees among thick bushes blocked the view back and forward so they followed the foliage for a while. Rounding a corner they found the front of the school. The doors, pale blue, not quite sky, were imperfectly framed by palm and berry trees. Grass and weeds speckled the dirt path leading up to the entrance.
And right by the doors, leaning against a grey donphan shaped slide, was professor Kukui. Arms crossed over his chest, checking is watch, checking a yawn. He looked bored. Like he’d been waiting forever.
Which considering Moon’s aversion to roads and straight paths… and other trainers, and catching ‘mon… forever probably was right.
“Hey cuz, ready to start your Island Challenge?”
“This is a preschool.” He’d noted it more to himself than her, still Lillie winced. “Why am I starting my gym challenge at a preschool?”
“Everyone starts here. The professor was explaining it to me and…”
And the Professor was coming towards them, smiling wide but with a warning.
“Ah, ah Lil’s! No spoilers for our Champ…”
Moon made a soft nosie that might have been scorn. Lillie was still trying to figure out his moods. Moon’s face moved so little and so fast, she was guessing more often than not.
Still that was not a good noise, it sounded somewhat akin to his angry words back at the Professor’s lab.
Drawing a deep breathe, then letting it out slow, Moon shook his head. Then tipped a glance at her, almost smiling.
“Ms Lillie.” Becsue she’d never told him her name, her last name, and that seemed to amuse him. “Thank you for your services. You can consider your service to em complete… and I won’t hold you to your… previous offer. I most certainly won’t hold you to it in an way.”
And those were the words he said in parting. Not a “goodbye” which she’d half expected.
His denial of her friendship was offered to her like a parting gift, a final one.
That made her sad. But she was old enough to be on her journey, nearly an adult, so that meant she was old enough not to be sad. She was big enough not to cry.
Daren’t.
So she didn’t.
She went quiet instead. Settling on a swing lodged in a patch of short grass. Legs kicking enough to make her rock but on the ground so she wouldn’t really swing. Lillie didn’t lift off, her white dress stayed tucked tight and close as she scratched a path in the sand and grass below her with white tennies.
With a show of bustle and enthusiasm a group of teachers popped out of the doors, perhaps summoned by Kukui’s loud greeting, and everyone ignored her. They swept around Moon, all cheer and smiles. He was anything but cheery in return, wincing back from a casual pat, near cringing form their attention. Surrounded, Moon was walked in.
Save he wasn’t Moon.
He told the Professor to his face he wasn’t Moon. He’d said a name in the fight, right before he switched langauges. Something long and a bit like a tongue twister.
The Professor had laughed when Moon had gotten insistent, saying that Moon was being a little weirdo, patting the young trainer on the head and shrugging off the resultant animosity.
And, a little meanly, Lillie thought, the Professor loudly told Lillie to “just roll with Moon’s moods”.
Like he couldn’t hear or something all of a sudden.
Clearly, someone had gotten a bit pat happy, because over the retreating babble Moon’s voice rose, cracking with outrage.
“No one touches me unless I tell them to.”
That’d been heard, and responded to at least. Some of the cheer leaving the group and the adults gave not-Moon a little more space. The cluster had evolved into a loose line. The head pulled open the door and beckoned the gathering in. There were questions being asked, adults trying to pry out thoughts about types, and names, and…
And normally any kid, heck even her, would have proudly flaunted their ‘mon. And asking any kid five on up was sure to get a regular answer of “My ‘mon is the best”.
Lillie understood the urge, but Nebby was the best even if the other trainers didn’t know that. Still, she’d smiled and nodded at a lot of ratattas and slowpokes when she hiked around town before. Trainers younger than young, and older than her, flushed with their first catch assured one and all. Thiers was the best.
“Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it and leave.” He snapped, irritation adding enough volume that Lillie could hear it through the closed door.
That sounded bad.
And the note to his voice reminded Lillie of not-Moon’s Beedrill, and how the bug loved to scrape it’s blades and loom. Both the boy;s voice and scrape had something to them that made Lillie’s skin crawl.
“Ambitious are you?” One of the adults crooned, not hearing the tone right it seemed.
Trainer he was meant to watch gone, job done, Professor Kuki adjusted his shades, happy to watch the winggul swing by. Tightening her grip on the swing’s chains Lillie watched the ground. She hunched into herself, hating how the back of her dress around her shoulders felt like it was burning. And the fringes felt heavy. And she nasty. It was so hot today and Moon had the water.
Except he wasn’t Moon, and Lillie was starting to, maybe, believe that..
A bit later, long enough to be sure she was sorta cooked but not cooked through, a door slammed. Looking up she saw the young trainer stomping towards them. His emotions were neither small nor fast just then.
Face flushed and twisted into hard, angry, lines, he was furious.
And it was something his drawn ‘mon was mirroring. Beedrill, perched on the short boy’s backpack, had it’s antenna slicked back, blades scraping almost dangerously close to the boy’s throat. The bee’s trainer snapped a word in a way Lillie didn’t get and the bug went still, tucked and turned until it was looming over the dark-haired boy but now no longer a risk of impaling or stabbing the boy if he moved too fast.
Looking down, seeing everything wrong, the Professor flashed his bright, white, smile, at the boy and his Beedrill.
“Ohf. Rough time in there, huh? Well, that’s fine, first battles can be a bit rough and all that. We can head to the center and heal your Beedrill and give it another go-“
But Beedrill looked fine, angry, but fine. The protest almost slipped past her lips but didn’t, and Lillie twisted the chains making them twang against her hands.
“I’m not in the business of making children cry to prove a point. So, no, I won’t be going back.”
“If you want to challenge the Kahuna you’ve got to earn our merits here somehow. Prove competency, and prove your worth in supporting the school here.” The professor seemed a little less oblivious, arms crossed over his chest, smile not so bright.
“So then you send a middle schooler to a preschool and have a day where the brats get their pets beat up, and that’s educational?”
Shifting his hat, so his eyes were easier to see, the Professor looked down at his nephew. There was enough a height difference that there was a lot of down. Despite being short boy and Beedril managed to seethe almost up to Kukui’s height.
“It’s how it’s always been done, little man.”
If looks could kill Moon’s glare would have been a perish song, but at the last note and he’d of lasted long enough to see the Professor go first.
“I’ve fully evolved my starter,” Moon hissed, waving a hand towards his Beedrill, “He’s obedient, in and out of battle.”
“Alright.” Professor Kuki drawled. “But you caught and trained him outside of appropriate supervision. Before you start ed the Trial. Neither the Kahuna or myself can say we’ve seen proof of any of the progress. So, in short, Beedrill, doesn’t count.”
Deep breath, in, then out. Lillie could see the trainer mouthing something to himself. Maybe he was counting to ten but in a different way. The shapes didn’t seem quite right, but he repeated them, once… twice… Whatever done he drew a deep breathe and spoke, Lillie ducked her head, letting her hair fall forward to screen the view.
“I’m going to the pokecenter to withdraw one of my catches.” She could hear his teeth grinding. “Will that be acceptable for this gym challenge?”
“Nah. Counts as proof of catching if you use the PC. And catching’s good, encouraged even.”
Another deep breath, another count in… whatever... under his breath but just enough she could hear it a little. Looking up Lillie saw Moon unclench his fists and slide them alongside the edge of his shorts.
“Define seeing progress.”
“Proof of a move learned, we’re not expecting out and out evolution first week in or anything…”
Beedrill buzzed his wings, not quite lifting over the boy’s dark head.
Ignoring the threat display Professor Kuki pulled his glasses off, looking at the boy, dead serious.
“But someone’s going to have to see you pull the critter out of a pokecenter box and I gotta do an exam on the fellow before and after.” Brightening, acting like he’d just remembered something the Professor snapped his fingers, “Hey, Lil’s, you busy?”
Busy burning up in the sun, trying to sink into the ground, she was horribly busy wishing she wasn’t here for any of this. The walk from before had been nice, after Moon stopped trying to run her off, but everything else… She wished she’d stayed at the lab.
Still, she looked up. Because he’d all but asked her too, hadn’t he? She winced, but met both their gazes, neither seemed to notice her cringing though.
“Certainly if you doubt my integrity you’d personally want to tag along for this… errand.”
“Cousin cousin.. I don’t doubt you a lick.” The man’s smile was wide and bright. Showing how much he doubted, everything and every word. “But just to be safe have Lillie take you for a walk. At the end, if you withdraw an unevolved ‘mon, and bring it back, well and good, we’re halfway done. It’s not like you’ve got to do it all in one go. You got a week after all. And if you don’t have anything stored away, go catch something, we got the best ecosystem around.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” And the smile he cast up to the Professor was a yangoose’s, all teeth and promise of biting. “Ms. Lillie,” he smirked, gaining something of amusement back at her mysteries. “I do apologize for dragging you into this…”
Lillie shrugged, cracked a small smile.
“It’s fine, I’m the Professor’s ai- assis- help after all. I should probably help.”
She really hadn’t quite got the lying thing down. He smiled a bit wider, some of the anger leaving his face, humored at her failure she guessed. Still he offered his arm and seeing her freeze and stare up at Beedrill, ordered the ‘mon to “return to base” whatever that meant. Now, ‘mon free, he offered his arm and she took it. It was a old thing, what he did, and she’d been raised traditionally so she knew the motion and how to respond.
They walked around the professor who cheered “get ‘em pyroar,” as they went by, whatever that meant.
“I’m going to ruin that man, first opportunity.” And the boy who insisted he was not Moon was blushing. Not angry, but embarrassed. “I’d never…”
It seemed an assurance and made no sense at that.
“Never what?”
Black eyes widened, and for one moment his face was slack, his eyes were comically wide. Then the moment came and went, his face smoothed into no-tell lines as he drew her close. “Ah… nothing important.”
The walk to the pokecenter was quiet. And it felt… better… not to be around adults who expected things. Lillie was able to look up and look around a bit more as they went. Only hunching a little when she saw some adults lurking around the ‘center’s main lobby. He left her to get some water from a vending machine, then looking at her he considered something before he got some for her as well.
Taking a seat Lillie watched as he walked about, confused until he’d finally asked the nurse where the PC was.
The small slim portable model with it’s pokeball plate attachment had been walked by at least twice earlier. And he hadn’t like that, not one bit. Still, he picked it up, after asking if he could move it, and getting consent, brought it over to her table with a grimace.
“Have you ever?” It was almost hopeful as he wiggled the edge of the computer at her. Lillie sipping her water, shook her head.
“I don’t have any ‘mon.” She’d smiled. “I’m not a trainer.”
She might have looked at her sports bag and its napping inhabitant by accident, a tiny bit guilty because she’d only let Nebby out for one walk today and it was getting later.
Moon huffed, spinning the device between them, poking at it with one finger until he realized that the mouse pad had to scan his fingerprint first before it’d work. It didn’t work, not the first time. Whipping his hands dry he tried again, and when it worked he groaned.
Clearly, he was not expecting the sight in the box.
“I thought you had a cubone?”
“Silver must have needed him and swapped him out.”
He’d mentioned Silver, but she hadn’t met the other boy. It was just someone she knew he knew. She wondered hos Wilver felt about Moon not being Moon and about other things.
“I thought you liked ground types.”
“My son said this thing was, and I quote, “so lazy it can’t even curl yet.”
Another fascet of no-Moons crazy, that he could have a son. He wasn’t old enough to have a young baby brother much less a kid, but Lillie didn’t bring that up.
“He named it Rollie.” She noted, taking a sip.
“Hes five.”
She waited, hoped, but the trainer didn’t see the crazy in how that worked out, or rather how it didn’t work out.
Still, she was going to be nice, and not point it out. Friends did not call friends crazy; new as she was at all of this she knew that. And he must be tired of it; it’d explain his grouchiness a little.
Rollie was pulled out of the box and they made their way straight to the school.
Or rather they were meant to. Rollie, once out of his pokeball, was so lazy he didn’t walk. The sand mouse looked about, yawned, and once out of the center flopped in the center of the street. A sunny-hued, dusty, starfish.
Lillie knew most ‘mon were scary, with claw and teeth and everything, but Rollie was a lump. And not in a nasty muk sort of lump way. He just slumped onto the sidewalk, scrunched up his dark blue eyes, and threw a paw over those before and the other over his ears before rolling over, belly up.
While a few people around them cooed, one person stepping around them to snap a picture with their phone, Lillie tensed, waiting…
Not-Moon drew in a deep breath, let it out, did the count in whatever that language was he liked so. Lillie knew enough about tone to realize the words were definitely not repeatable in any company, ever.
“Watch him, I’ll be back.”
When the black haired boy returned with a stick Lillie’d been worried.
She’d heard tales of trainers hitting their ‘mon and he looked angry enough to start hitting and not stop. The boy poked and prodded around sandshrew’s spread hindquarters until, the mouse, with a startled squeak, curled its back legs to get away from the pokes. Almost half curling, like the attack curling, and the move, done poorly, shocked the mosue so it woke and wailed.
Stopping the pokes made the mouse unfold with a soft thump, and cut off the cries.
Mon’ looked up at humans, while the trainer tapped his stick against the pavement. Ignoring the tears to the creature’s eyes the boy the Professor called Moon, who was most definitely Not Moon bared his teeth in something too malicious to be a smile.
“You’re going to walk, without making a scene, or you will be rolled.”
A thwack of stick on pavement told of how.
Rollie was more than willing to walk, and not make a peep, the rest of the way to the school.
Last edited:
