Pokémon Bloodstone | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 87: Letter

There were so many people at Abbey and Leon's house that every dinner was a feast that attracted Looker. He happily took Chalcedony's leftovers, but Abbey was worried. She had no appetite. When she finally dozed after hours of tossing, turning, getting up – as the family doctor advised, to do something boring – and going back to bed again, she was woken by blood-curdling nightmares. She shivered, feeling frozen, but was perpetually drenched in sweat. Flu was almost nonexistent in Orre, yet she somehow caught it and passed it on to Abbey, Alfie, Leon, Ruhul and Rustie.

The doctor diagnosed post-sepsis syndrome. He assured Chalcedony it would disappear on its own. Recovery seemed so impossible that she began to wonder, again, if she might not survive.

Despite new satellites launching, there were still problems. The house had no internet. There was a patchy signal just under a mile away, but Chalcedony couldn't walk that far. Flying made her sick.

Wyatt did stay for two days after she was discharged. There were no more Gym Challengers, but all the Gym Leaders helped clean up the mess Cipher left behind and, of course, there was Wyatt's army of baby Pokémon to care for. Chalcedony sent and received two letters before there was silence.

When Amber visited, she assured her that Wyatt barely had time to think and wasn't replying to Camden's scribbles, either. Common sense told her that was true. It didn't help. She was more anxious and self-conscious she ever imagined was possible.

At the Pokémon HQ Lab, the Purify Chamber was repaired to hold 10 Shadow Pokémon at once. There were hundreds. Trainers unaffected by auras, from Wes to Zane to Alfie, battled and walked with parties of six until they could be purified using the Relic Stone, but it was a painfully slow process.

Michael relayed the news to Lily and Jovi, both of whom were utterly unaware. Lily knew that Janie was Jude's first love, but not that they had children; let alone that their kids were Rui Vincent and Alfie Addison. The only person at the lab who knew the full story was Krane. Everyone told Michael he was like his father because he was a talented Trainer, but the cool emotional armour he inherited was from Lily. If she was upset or even surprised, it was impossible to tell. She continued work on the Purify Chamber as if it was gossip she was uninterested in.

Jovi didn't say anything to Michael. She was, however, more like Jude than Lily. Her wide eyes overflowed with a circle of disbelief, rage and distress. The sliding doors of her room were yanked aggressively shut that night. Something smashed. Zane, kept awake by his Shadow Pokémon, heard her screaming at the ghost of her father and Hop trying and failing to comfort her. When he passed the next morning, he saw that the smashed objects were the frames containing photos of Jude and his kids.

Zane felt weird himself. He was distant enough from Jude, knowing only his celebrated memory, to understand that he didn't intentionally deceive anyone. He genuinely feared Blitz or Cipher would kill Rui and Alfie. It wasn't like he continued seeing Janie while he was married, which was probably what allowed the news to wash over Lily; but Zane couldn't know if Jovi's fear that she was loved less than those two was rational or not. He didn't know Jude. He wasn't even a parent.

Abbey assured Jovi that couldn't be the case. If she could love Alfie and Chalcedony, and Leon and their kids equally, there was no reason to believe Jude loved either family more than the other. At the end of the day, though, she didn't know Jude either. The only people who could comment on that were Lily, who refused to discuss it any further and Krane, who gave vague answers; probably because years of fearing for the lives of his best friend's kids left him as stuck in place as the damp photos in the lock box.

The weird part for Zane was that Seth, one of his best friends, was his cousin. Lyndon was his cousin. Fire Agate was alive and she was his cousin, too. Alfie was his uncle. He admittedly never cared for the allegations against Alfie, even when the rest of his family still believed he tried to kill Leon because he was evil. He watched and enjoyed Alfie's movies, especially Gale of Darkness, regardless. As much as he complained that Alfie's eyes were the wrong colour and shape, he was the perfect Michael, from his voice to his mannerisms. It was still strange to discover they were both his uncles.

'It's nothing to do with them being related, though,' Chalcedony insisted when Zane visited, 'It's because he's literally the best actor in Orrean history, if not the best actor ever.'

'Fangirl!' Zane replied, 'He is talented. I'll give you that. But I think it's a bit of both.'

Ruhul's Machamp and Aggron were purified in time to help complete the attic. They painted Chalcedony's room black. Even in its weaker state after its Shadow experience, Machamp effortlessly lifted furniture up the stairs. The other two rooms were painted pink and green. Alfie thought they were too bright, but Abbey and Leon liked them. The pink room's first guest, Hanila, liked it too.

Camden liked them all. He made Chalcedony smile when he repeated her name until he could clumsily pronounce it. She even smiled at his enthusiasm when he encouraged her to dance to Baby Carvanha to get fit.

'Wow!' he exclaimed, 'You're the best Baby Carvanha! Ever!'

'My dad is just as good.'

'No. You! Can you do other dances?'

Alfie joined her to teach Camden the simpler dances from the musicals he starred in. Crobat and Salazzle could dance, too. They played any missing Pokémon in their 'musicals.' That was the most animated Chalcedony had been since the post-sepsis syndrome set in. Camden didn't want to leave. Trip struggled to coax him away from 'grandpa Alfie' and 'auntie Chal-ce-do-ny.' He was back with Lyric and Courtney a few days later. She wanted some dancing and singing lessons if they were on offer. Her neighbours were glad. Lyndon smiled when she warbled to pop songs, but no-one else did.

Chalcedony wanted to go back to Phenac City with them. There were two huge events: the official recognition of Orrean heroes and Ardos' trial. She wasn't well enough. Leon filmed the former for her. He had no reason to hang around for the trial, since he wasn't allowed in, so he returned to show the video to Chalcedony that evening.

Without Courtney flying all over to alert people to what was going on while the satellites were down, at risk of losing her baby, Ardos might have succeeded. She wasn't the first foreigner to be recognised as an Orrean hero. That was Cassia. She was, however, the oldest woman and first to accept the medal while heavily pregnant. She couldn't have done it without Lyric, who set the most impressive record when awarded a silver medal for bravery at two years old.

Gwin wasn't arrested, but she was removed from office. Even without accusations of abetting Cipher, she was in no fit state to govern. Justy was nominated as caretaker governor. It was the second time, after Verzant, that the party he once led was associated with Cipher. He was the only person the public trusted to clean up the mess.

His relationship with Jet was slowly improving, though he was about to leave for Alola. Abbey referred him to the University of Alola in Hau'oli City where she sometimes taught geology. It was a dream come true, but there was one problem. A paternity test confirmed Ruby Jane's three year-old son, Whitby Magnolia, was indeed his. Even after three months together, while Ruby Jane was jailed for impersonating her adoptive dad and recruiting for Cipher, Whitby didn't understand that Jet was his dad; but he was traumatised from being left with Cipher members while they sent Ruby Jane on missions. He wanted to go to Alola. She did not. The court ordered her to either go and live apart if she couldn't get on with Jet, or to let Whitby go with him.

Ruby Jane didn't know what to do. She still loved Jet. He still loved her, but he wasn't as forgiving as Wyatt. She adored Whitby. Letting him go would break her heart. She wanted to speak to the person who so quickly became her best friend, but she thought Chalcedony wouldn't want to hear from her. She got drunk to write and post a letter. The reply that arrived two days later was a surprise.