requiem

PART ONE

Alice flicked through the glossy magazine. Every page was filled with smiling celebrities and advertisements for the latest Pokemon accessories. She sighed, dropping it back onto the pile leaning precariously on the small, wooden coffee table. The magazines were at least five years old, anyway. She scratched her head impatiently. Her appointment had been set for two o’clock and it was already nearing three. After stretching her legs for the hundredth time, she tapped on the blue Poketech strapped to her wrist. Katie would be waiting for her; she had promised to be home in time for Abra Adventures. It was always the same story: Abra would Teleport to some exotic location where it would help a Pokemon in need, before Teleporting home again. Alice had never been overly fond of Psychic-type Pokemon, but Katie loved the show. It would be starting in a few moments. Alice sighed and typed out a short message on her Poketech – Still waiting, sorry! I’ll be home as soon as I can xx– and pressed send.

“Dr. Fern?” The receptionist called from the front desk. Alice’s gaze shot up, and she got to her feet. The young woman behind the counter smiled wanly. “Thank you for waiting, Doctor. Mr. Avery is ready for you now, please, come this way.”

The receptionist was younger than Alice, maybe mid-twenties. Her blonde hair was tied in a high ponytail and she wore large, black-framed glasses, which Alice believed were a fashion statement more than anything else. As they walked through a set of blue swinging doors and along a bright, white corridor, Alice began to feel nervous. She couldn’t stand places like this, so cold and clinical, not after what had happened ten years ago. But this was important. She had made a promise and she intended to keep it. She focused on her breathing, slow and steady, and counted the click-clack of the receptionist’s high heels on the polished white floor.

After turning a few corners, they reached a wooden door set back in an alcove. It seemed familiar to Alice, though she had never been here. Mr. Michael Avery, read the nameplate. The receptionist knocked before opening the door.

“Mr. Avery, I have Dr. Fern for you,” she said sweetly.

“Thank you, Ruby,” a male voice replied. “You can go.”

Ruby nodded to Alice before leaving, the clicking of her heels echoing away down the corridor. Alice stepped into the room, surprised to find dark blue carpet beneath her. An older man sat at a large, chestnut desk, while a small, gas heater whirred in one corner of the room. It was uncomfortably warm after the coolness of the corridor.

“Dr. Fern, a pleasure to see you after all this time,” Mr. Avery said grandly, getting to his feet.

Is that who I am to you now? “Michael,” Alice replied, a little coldly. He motioned for her to sit, so she shut the door and took a seat in front of the desk. The leather chair was still warm, and she wondered fleetingly about who had just vacated it. But now was not the time to ask. “I trust you know why I’m here,” she continued. She studied Michael’s face. He had changed a lot in the years since she had seen him. She couldn’t help wondering what he thought when he looked at her.

“Ah, Alice, always so impatient,” the older man smiled. “No time for pleasantries, I see. Some things don’t change.” He twirled one end of a greying moustache around his index finger while he studied her. For a moment, she felt like a student again, his subordinate. But that was no longer the case. She shook her head. She wouldn’t let him intimidate her. Not this time.

“I’m afraid I don’t have much time,” she said, a subtle rebuke for keeping her waiting. “I’m here because I require information. I need to know what really happened after the Kanto… incident,” she continued, trying to keep her voice calm, businesslike, as if she expected him to tell her without argument. It was a voice she often used on Katie, with mixed success.

He chuckled. “Kanto? Not this again, Alice. You know what happened. You were there, were you not? You were the one who failed to save the boy, after all,” Mr. Avery replied, his voice cool, cutting. Alice had expected this but it still hurt to hear the words said aloud. She had blamed herself for years, but some small, logical part of her knew it hadn’t really been her fault. To hear the accusation from someone else, though, someone she had once respected, shamed her. Heat warmed her cheeks as she struggled not to lose her composure.

“Be that as it may,” she persisted, trying not to grit her teeth. She would let that one go, at least for now. “There is plenty that I didn’t know. Until now. Now, for instance, I know you were funded by the Kanto government shortly after the fall of the Pokemon League.” You betrayed me, she wanted to say, but she refrained. “I know they were searching for the plates,” she continued, each word said with utmost care. She watched Michael’s face closely. She had spent enough time with him to know when he was lying.

Sure enough, she could see the glisten of sweat forming on his bald head. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, she thought. Truth or lies.

“I… no, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mr. Avery insisted, glancing cautiously toward the door behind Alice. His voice remained steady but she could tell that he was shaken. “That was years ago. A fool’s errand. Mythical plates? Really? You, of all people! A scientist! Complete nonsense!”

“They found them,” Alice continued, undeterred by Michael’s denials. “All of them. Except for one.” It was a risk bringing it here, but Alice knew she had no choice. Michael was stubborn. He would never admit anything unless he knew she had the proof. Alice reached into her jacket pocket and retrieved a small, rectangular object. It was shiny, a metallic green. When she held it, she felt the hum of power enter her veins, flow up her arms. Her senses heightened until the fluorescent lights in the office burned her eyes. With the power came a wave of anger, a lust for revenge. Her heart beat faster. She could force Michael to talk. She could hurt him. Her heart was racing now. With difficulty, Alice contained the feelings, forcing herself to replace the plate into her jacket pocket. Once it left her skin, her heartrate returned to normal. She felt slightly lightheaded. Across from her, Michael was so pale he looked sick.

“The Meadow plate,” Alice replied. “You never found it, or at least, that’s what you’re going to try and tell me next,” she said coolly. She hid her shaking hands beneath the desk. After using the plate, she always felt drained. Though it offered immeasurable power, it also took something in return. Something irreplaceable.

“Why did you come here after all this time?” Michael was standing over her now, furious. “You don’t know what you’re doing! You’re going to get us both killed!” he hissed, his hands splayed out on the desk in front of her.

“Yes. I am,” Alice said matter-of-factly. “Unless you tell me what I need to know. Why was my daughter sent this plate?”

Michael slumped into his chair, defeated. Ten years ago, he had been one of the handsomest men Alice had ever seen. She had idolised him, perhaps she had even loved him. Now he just looked old and frail under the harsh light of his office.

“Alright, Alice, you win. I’ll tell you what you want to know,” he said, head in hands, “I’ll tell you everything.”


PART TWO

“It was a contingency plan,” Michael explained. He was now sitting upright in his chair again, some colour returned to his face. “It’s true, I was working for the government during the time that we… met. Kanto was still unstable. Team Rocket had recovered a number of mythical plates said to hold the power of the god Pokemon, Arceus. The government put together a task force to find the remaining plates before Giovanni could get his hands on them. I accepted a position on the team. In return, they would help me to set up my own clinic. I thought I was helping to save the world.

"I was tasked with tracking the Meadow Plate; the one in your pocket.” Michael glanced down warily, “I followed rumours to Viridian City. I took a job helping out in the Pokemon Center a few months before you arrived, hoping to pick up information from passing trainers.”

Alice remembered. Viridian City was where they had met. She had been broken after everything that had happened on her Pokemon journey, had returned to her birthplace to find answers, solace, something. She had met Michael there, the charming, older surgeon-in-training. Over months, he had taught her to heal Pokemon and in return she had told him of her adventures, good and bad. She hadn’t spoken about exactly what had happened on her journey to anyone else, not before or since. Not even Katie’s dad. Being with Michael had given her something to look forward to when she needed it most. Things had gotten better since then, and it was so long ago, that Alice was surprised how hurt she felt hearing that it had just been a job to him. Alice thought they had been friends, more than friends. But he had sought the plate, that was all. She clenched her fists, willing her hands to stop shaking.

“I was surprised when you told me about the plate,” Michael continued. “When you told me what you had seen in the forest, I realised you were after it, too. But why? You needed it to save someone, you said. You intended to trade it to Team Rocket for the life of a Pokemon.” Michael looked at her now, but if he was hoping for a reaction, he was disappointed. Alice’s features were stony.

“I tried to tell you that it was ridiculous, that the plates couldn’t exist, but you would not be deterred. I had heard what the plates could do to a person. I couldn’t let you take it.”

“Liar!” Alice growled, fists clenched. She had jumped to her feet now. “Don’t pretend you were trying to save me. You wanted the money, that’s all.”

“I saw you with the plate just now,” Michael explained calmly. “It was hard for you not to hurt me, wasn’t it? You wanted to. But you controlled it. Back then, you were so angry, so broken. The plate would have consumed you. You would have become a monster, just like the Pokemon you were trying to save.”

“Don’t you dare!” Alice yelled. “Don’t you talk to me about him! It was your fault! All this time!” Alice felt tears welling in her eyes, which only made her angrier. Why was she so weak? After all that she’d been through, she should be able to handle this.

“Believe what you want, Alice. I did it for you. And I did it to keep the plate from Team Rocket. Was there really a choice? You would have handed it to them. The power of a god!”

Alice looked him in the eye. “I was going to double-cross them,” she replied, sinking into her chair. “It was all planned. I had help. But you… you changed everything. How could you do that? After everything I told you. You knew how important it was to me.”

“Alice,” Michael replied gently. “I never wanted to hurt you. I thought I was doing what was best, for everyone.” He sighed, his hands folded on the desk between them. It seemed he had been waiting to have this conversation. He looked almost relieved.

“Once I’d taken the plate, I knew I couldn’t risk seeing you again. I had to get it somewhere safe. I couldn’t give you the chance to convince me otherwise. Our… relationship. It mattered to me,” Michael said, almost pleadingly.

At this, Alice scoffed.

“It always has,” Michael continued firmly, “So I never handed the plate over. I told the government I was unable to locate it. They assumed Team Rocket had already found it. All I could think about was you.” Michael watched her again, hoping to see something in her eyes, forgiveness, maybe.

Alice couldn’t look at him. He was a stranger now, nothing more. And he had taken something from her that could never be replaced.

“I studied the plate and I found that it had many powers, not just the ability to enhance senses and bestow physical strength. It can also heal. I thought if I could learn how it worked, could control it, that it might be enough to fix the broken girl I’d met. I realised I'd made a mistake taking it from you."

You did, Alice thought, but that wasn't it.

"I should have helped you," he continued. "So I hid the plate with friends in Unova. They promised to pass it on to you when it was safe to do so, once Team Rocket was neutralised. The government was watching you, though, after everything you’d been through. I couldn’t risk connecting you to the plate, so I used a fake name. You had told me it was your favourite name, that you might change yours, once things settled down, so that you could move on.”

“Katie,” Alice whispered.

“Katie,” Michael confirmed. “But, you remained Alice. So, I understand, it was sent to your daughter once she was born. A coincidence maybe, or something more.”

Alice took a moment to digest this. She was unsure what to feel, so for now she pushed all feeling away. There were only facts. Michael had taken the plate, along with any chance Alice had to save the Pokemon she had loved. Michael had left.

She got to her feet, reached into her pocket and extracted the Meadow plate. It hummed to life at her touch, but she resisted its call, placing it gently on the desk.

“I don’t need healing anymore,” she lied. “You can’t fix everyone.” But you could have then, she wanted to add. If you didn’t run when I needed you. Because after all this time, didn’t he understand that his betrayal, his loss had hurt her the most? She looked at him for the last time, blue-grey eyes flashing. Then she turned and headed for the door. As she closed it behind her, she heard the thump of Michael’s body hitting the floor.

It wasn’t until she reached her car that she could feel the weight return to her pocket. The familiar hum of the plate greeted her fingers as she reached inside. Warmth flowed through her body, awakening every nerve. It was a part of her now, as much as her heart or lungs. The plate made her strong, fearless. And over the years, she had only become more powerful. When she had first received the plate, she had studied it endlessly, she had unlocked its true power, not only to heal but to give life.

She grabbed a Pokeball from her belt. She could sense the Pokemon inside, eager, hungry, just like her. She clicked it open.

Her Tyrunt appeared in a flash of red light. His lithe body was skeletal, cloaked in leaves and vines, which seemed to hold him together. His eyes were a startling shade of green. By the time she had found him, he was almost beyond saving. Team Rocket had dumped his body in a shallow grave in the forest, along with countless others. But she had found him. She had brought him back.

“Ready for our next stop, Requiem?” she asked. She opened her arms and the dinosaur ran to her. His roar sent a thrill of electricity through her.

Michael had betrayed her, but he was only one of many. Nothing could stop her now. Alice smiled, green eyes gleaming in the waning light.



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Yeah it got weird. xD But it was fun to write.