The Messanger of Time

Chapter 17: Setting Out

"Do you see anyone?"

Raven looks through the rear view mirror of the car and sees no one down the street as far as he can tell. He shakes his head and sits back in his seat. "Nope."

Christina nods a bit and continues driving, before Vincent points out a small restaurant just a short distance away. A sign in the lot titles it as, "Scarlet Shore Diner," a local seafood restaurant.

"We should be fine there, as long as we don't do anything to draw attention. Though the pokemon... They might have to try and stay out of sight. If they keep to the sky, people may not notice them very easily."

Christina nods again. "Right..." She soon pulls into the lot and parks in a spot right in front of the building. As they get out, the four dragons come down to them and they look at them. Hector jumps down from Aerthos.

"We staying here for now then?"

Vincent looks at him and nods. "Yeah... I think it's best that we try and plan a course of action. But we shouldn't stay very long."

Hector folds his arms and looks back at the dragons, and Lasuno nods in agreement. "We'll watch things until you come out."

As they go into the restaurant, they come to a table and sit down. Hector pulls out his phone to check it, then sighs and puts it down on the table, and Christina gives him a curious look.

"...Jack hasn't responded to my text in a while."

Vincent eyes him without a word, and Christina sits back in her seat with a small sigh. "Maybe he's busy?"

"He's always busy... Doesn't mean he wouldn't take the time to at least say that he is. I haven't gotten a word from him. I'm getting kind of worried. This whole bit with James really did a number on everyone, it seems."

Vincent finally butts in, sounding somewhat annoyed. "Look, can we not talk about James?"

They look at him in surprise, then Hector shifts a bit. "Sorry..."

There is a moment of awkward silence, before Melissa decides to speak up. "Hey... So what will we do now?"

Christina looks at her with a blink, then remembers what they were doing from the start. "Oh, right. Well we've got to find out a place to go from here."

She is then cut short when a waitress comes to the table with menus in her hands. The woman starts with a welcoming, before offering the menus to them. She then asks what drinks they want.

Hector responds first, "Just water, thanks."

Christina nods in agreement. "Same..."

Melissa, though, asks differently. "Berry juice, please."

Vincent then responds, "Iced tea, please..."

Raven then says, "I'll have a soda pop."

The waitress then walks off, and Christina looks around at the others.

"...So, where were we, then?"

Vincent rubs his face with his hand. "I think we're going to have to leave Kanto."

They all look at him, and he puts his arms on the table.

"I've been thinking it for a while. I didn't really want it to come to this point... having grown up here and all. Everything that's happened here. Everything that could've happened here. But if we're ever going to have any chance at doing the task, we're going to have to go to other places."

Everyone is silent for a time, until Christina finally makes a small nod. "That's true... We'll have to leave home, won't we?"

Vincent slowly nods and releases a small breath. He is clearly uneasy about the whole thing, but he knows there is no other choice.

After a brief moment, Melissa speaks up. "But where do we start? There's the whole world out there, and we're just on a speck of it."

Vincent sits back in his chair and looks in thought. "...I went to both Johto and Orre. They didn't seem to have anything that stood out to me." He sighs. "Unless... I'm missing something here."

Christina then has a thought. "Hold on... You said you met Dialga... right? But can't you go back there?"

Vincent shakes his head. "Yeah, except there are two problems, Christina. Firstly, Dialga's not exactly in the best state to sit down and have a little chat. And second, I have no idea where it is. I was unconscious when I got there. And..." He shifts awkwardly. "...I was unconscious when I left."

Christina blinks at that, and then sits back and mumbles. "Sorry... Just trying to help..."

Vincent sighs and looks at her. "Don't be... I'm just growing kind of irritated about this whole thing. You've no idea how much I'm stressing, trying to figure this out before it's too late."

Hector rolls his eyes. "Yeah, you're the one stressing."

Vincent squints at his sarcasm and stares at his older brother, who folds his arms nonchalantly.

"You don't think this is affecting us all? Come on, this is the world we're talking about. If we screw up, everyone's gonna be stressing. And that's not even the beginning of it. Vincent, we all have to work together in this. So don't act like you're the only one having it hard here."

Vincent shifts his gaze to the table, having no response.

Eventually, the waitress can be seen approaching them again. This time, carrying a tray with five tall glasses on it. She then sets them down on the table next to each one who ordered, and asks if they are ready to order.

Vincent shakes his head. "No, I'm not sure I'll be eating."

She looks at the others, who seem to agree and then nods, before walking away. Vincent then picks up his glass of iced tea and takes a drink.

Hector soon pipes up once again. "So we've got a little issue here. Yeah, we need to leave Kanto. But here's the question... How are we going to leave? We have no transportation other than a car... And I find it hard to believe the dragons will be able to carry all five of us around."

Vincent looks at him curiously, then grunts a bit at the added complication they have to deal with.

"...I made it to Orre because Jack gave me a pass for the ship. I could actually use that to board any ship I wanted. But... that's just me."

Hector shrugs a bit. "I don't suppose he'd be willing to pay for our tickets too. He's not even answering me, so we're kind of out on a limb."

"I... could do one thing, but it's a little dangerous. I haven't actually tested it very much."

They all look at Vincent, who fidgets with his straw. "One of my abilities as a Messanger... was called Light Warp. It casts a strand of light in a single direction, and wherever it lands, that's where I end up. Anyone who has physical contact with me would be taken with me when I do it."

Melissa eyes him with confusion. "What, would you try to use that to take us somewhere else in the world or something?"

Vincent stutters at that. "Ahh- no... It couldn't possibly go that far. But I could use it to bypass a ship's security and sneak us on board. Although... the car would have to stay. It's much too large not to be noticed."

Christina immediately butts in. "That's illegal..."

On this, Vincent shoots a glare at her and says in a mocking tone, "Oh, but you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, sis? Breaking someone out of a crime scene and fleeing the city with them... Your past dealings with authorities in your earlier years. And stealing that car to begin with? Would you really miss it?"

Christina looks dumbfounded, then furrows her brows at him. "Those were with good reason! And how many times do I have to say, Aerthos scared the guy. It wasn't my fault he was a lunatic who decided to call the cops because he was paranoid!"

Raven looks over at her. "You told me that was because you didn't pay for the tub in full and had already eaten part of it..."

Everyone then stares at Christina, and Vincent smirks. "Busted."

Christina immediately becomes flustered at what Raven says, then reaches out and slaps him across the face... making a very audible SMACK that draws the attention of surrounding customers in the restaurant- as if his yelp in pain from it wasn't enough to do so.

"...When I need your input, I'll freaking ask for it, you tard..." She utters quietly in exasperation.

Hector and Melissa both look surprised at her reaction, but Vincent seems to have expected it and merely makes a small chuckle.

After a while, the group finally settles down and Hector decides to speak again. "...Back to the subject. Vincent's ability seems to be the only possible way to get somewhere. So I'm all in."

Melissa looks at Hector, then soon nods slowly. "Yeah... It'd probably be best..."

Christina looks between them, then back at Vincent, who takes another drink of his iced tea, looking at them all with a feeling of uncertainty. He knows that he has one chance to do it right, and if he fails, it could be disastrous for all of them. She soon sighs and makes a small nod. "I guess it's our only choice..."

Raven looks at them, idly rubbing his cheek from the lingering sting of his recent run-in with Christina's palm. But he then nods in agreement. "I'm in..."

They look at Vincent, who shifts in his seat, then nods back to them. "Alright... But know, that once we do this... there's no turning back. And after we get on that ship, all there will be is the road ahead. I don't know when, or if we'll be able to come back home. So remember that."

They nod in reassurance, then decide to move to the next topic. Hector takes a drink of his water, then speaks up again.

"So now we know how we're getting out of here. Next is to find out where we're heading to."

Vincent looks at him, then shrugs a bit. "That... I have no idea. We could go anywhere. There aren't even any leads as to where we should try either."

Hector picks up his phone and starts scrolling through menus. "Well, the ports have a couple more ships going out today... The S. S. Tidal leaves for Slateport in almost two hours. And then the S. S. Legion will be leaving to Tilt Village later this evening."

Vincent listens and thinks for a bit, then says, "I guess Hoenn would be a start. It may not be the most promising area, but I don't think there would be anything more in Oblivia either."

Hector nods. "Then I guess we take the S. S. Tidal. But we should go soon, or we might miss it."

Vincent nods to him, then soon finishes his drink, before standing up. "Are you all ready?"

They look at him, then proceed to get out of their chairs as well. Christina pulls out two dollars and places them on the table for the waitress, before the group leaves the restaurant.

As they come to the car, Larisa and Lasuno are seen flying down to them. The pair comes to their level, and they look over at them. Christina leans on the car and says, "We're planning on going to the port. We've decided that we'll have to leave the region and go to further places if we'll ever have a chance with Vincent's task."

Larisa blinks at this and looks at Christina, then over at Lasuno, who has a serious look. The Latios then slowly nods in agreement. "I figured this would come sooner or later..."

Vincent slowly nods. "We're going to have to sneak onto a ship to do so, however... For the time being, you and the others will have to keep in the air. At least until nightfall. I suggest we all try to stay hidden. If any of the ship's security comes across us, they may card us..."

Lasuno stares at Vincent. "I hope you know what you're doing here... You realize what would happen, should you be caught."

"It's a risk we have to take. If we have to keep this world at peace, we can't play by the rules of... the people here."

Larisa then gets a smirk from his statement, and he eyes her intently.

"You're starting to sound like Christina..."

Christina blinks and stares at the Latias, who breaks into a giggling fit. She folds her arms. "Oh, shush! We all get the idea already!"

Larisa pokes her tongue out at Christina playfully, who shoots a sharp glare at her in response, and Vincent looks between them with a small chuckle.

"Okay... We should probably get to the port soon before it's too late. We have less than two hours before the S. S. Tidal leaves. So we need to get going."

Larisa looks at him, and then nods slowly. "Okay..."

Christina opens her door to the car and gets in, looking out at them. "Alright then... Let's get going."

The others then nod and get into the car, and Hector waves to Aerhos and Sierra in the sky, calling the two down before patting them. He then looks at the Dragonite. "Are you ready to go?"

Aerthos snorts and nods to him, lowering down and Hector climbs onto his back. "We'll be going to the port. I'll tell you two about the plan on the way."

Sierra looks at Hector, then at Aerthos with a soft chirr, and Aerthos responded in a small rumble. Hector then looks down at Christina, who has her head out the window to them. "Ready when you are."

She nods and starts up the car. "We'll see you there."

The four dragons move out of the way as she backs up, then they take off into the air as Christina drives off towards the south, where the Vermilion Port is.

About half an hour later, they come to the seaside and look out at the ocean, seeing various water and flying pokemon around the area. They begin to hear the sounds of low horns or ships in the distance, signaling that they are nearing the port. As Christina looks at the time on the radio clock, she learns that they have just over an hour before the ship is scheduled to leave, and continues down the road.

A few miles down the road, they finally reach a large parking lot in front of the massive port of Vermilion. Here, they get the view of numerous ships, large and small, and even boats docked at the bridges and along the port.

Christina comes into one of the parking spots and stays there for a while. She seems almost reluctant to turn the car off and the others look at her. Hector eyes the car as he brings Aerthos down next to it, along with the other three dragons. He then jumps down and goes over to the driver's window, looking in at her curiously.

"You okay, sis?"

She nods and rests her hands on the steering wheel, sitting back in her seat. "Yeah, it's just... This is really it. This is where we leave. And we may not come back for a long time... if ever. I don't know if..."

Melissa then reaches over to put her arm on her sister's shoulder, and she sighs.

"Oh, Christina... I know it's hard. It's hard for all of us, I'm sure... I mean, yeah. We've been around the region. We've even been to Johto a few times. But this time, we're actually leaving altogether... Look at everything we're leaving behind, too... This is where we were all born and raised. And now, within a day, we're going away."

Hector squats down by the window so he's more to their level. "Yeah... But just think. We're never really that far, are we? We're still connected to the things that keep us all together." He takes his stone necklace with the back of his hand and holds it out. The polished, teardrop-shaped stone gleams yellow in the evening sun.

She looks at the stone and then slowly nods, clutching the steering wheel in her hands. Vincent puts his hand on her seat and leans over from behind it. "Hey... It's gonna be okay, Christina. We'll make it back here someday. This isn't gonna be the end of it. I promise."

She takes a deep breath, then looks out at the port through the windshield for a moment.

"...Right. I guess we should go then..."

She turns off the car and then opens the door, Hector moving out of the way as she does. The others get out at the same time and stand by the car. Christina runs her hand along the roof and slightly smiles. "You know... I'm gonna miss this thing. The rides were kind of fun."

Vincent chuckles lightly at that and shakes his head. "Well, for what it's worth, we could always come back and get it if they don't tow it away."

Melissa rolls her eyes. "You know they will after it's been here a few days."

Vincent folds his arms. "Well... True. But we can always steal another one, right?" He teases.

Christina turns around and pushes him, shooting a glare in his direction. "Hush!"

The others get a laugh at that and she grumbles. Vincent then gets his footing again and looks around the lot. "Well, we should go soon. We'll have to find the ship first."

He then looks at Hector. "I also think one of us should actually board. The less of us who actually sneak on, the better, I think. It'll at least give us one cabin to hide in."

Hector slowly nods. "Right..."

Vincent reaches into his bag and pulls out the international ferry pass he'd received from Jack before, and hands it to Hector. "We'll meet you in your cabin later. Do you think you can handle getting on from here?"

Hector nods. "Of course I can. You just be careful until we meet up again."

Vincent nods back to him, and he pulls out his phone, then starts scrolling through the menus. "It says the ship should be... right over there." He points at the large, white ship a short ways off. Two red stripes can be seen across the bottom, the top one lighter than the bottom, and they form a curved pattern in the rear of the ship.

The others look towards it, recognizing it from previous television presentations they'd seen before. And Vincent nods to Hector. "Alright. We'll see you on-board."

He then looks towards the dragons. "Will you all be okay?"

Larisa nods in response. "Just don't get in trouble..."

Vincent goes over to her and strokes her neck softly. "We'll be okay... We'll see you tonight, alright?"

She coos softly and nods slowly, and then he looks over at Lasuno, who smiles to him. The four dragons then take off into the sky, and Vincent looks at Hector. He puts the pass in his pocket and steps back. "See you guys soon."

He then walks off towards the dock, and Vincent looks to the others. "Ready?"

They all nod to him and then head off towards the ship. But instead of going to the dock, they go to a small shack located a short ways from the ship.

They all go around behind the shack, and Vincent speaks in a low tone. "It's a bit far... But at least I can see the ship from here. I just need to find a place that isn't going to draw attention to us once we get on."

Melissa looks at him. "The roof?"

He shakes his head. "I can't see the roof from here..."

Christina points out a spot near one of the rear vents of the ship. "I don't see anyone there. They're probably all inside. We'll have to go inside and try to blend in if we do that though."

Vincent looks at the area and then nods. "Yeah. Alright, is everyone ready?"

They all nod and then put their hands on his shoulders. Umbros places one of his forepaws on Vincent's foot, and he looks down at him with a small chuckle. "Right... Let's go then."

He then looks at the rear vent. "I have to do this carefully... Too far to the left and we land in sight of everyone. Too far to the right and we wind up in the ocean."

He takes a deep breath, then thrusts his hand ahead, sending a silver streak of energy that shoots forward at high speed. It forms a straight and narrow path of light over the water and onto the ship. In a mere second, it strikes the right edge of the vent, just where it curves to the side. And before he can sigh in relief, the party is whisked off onto the ship in the exact spot where the spell landed.

As they appear on the ship, Vincent immediately pulls them back behind the vent to make sure no one sees them. He then leans back against the vent and sighs quietly. "That was close... I've never done that with other people with me before."

Christina looks at him. "But we made it, right? So there's nothing to worry about."

He nods slowly. "Yeah, for now. But we'll have to wait until everyone boards before we can move and find Hector's cabin."

She nods to him and they all sit down to rest. After a while, Vincent looks out and sees that most of the line has boarded now. "Hector's not there... I think he's on the ship now."

He pulls out his phone and sends a message to Hector, asking if he's in his cabin yet. And a moment later, he gets a response with the number 136.

"136... That's what we have to find."

He then gets another message with a picture of the ship's layout, and one of the cabins is highlighted in red. He gets up, with the others, and they go to the edge of the vent. As they look out, they see that no one is looking in their direction, and dart inside the ship.

Here, they find themselves in a hallway, surrounded on both sides by numerous doors. Vincent follows the map while keeping an eye out for anyone else coming their way. And once they find cabin 136, he lightly knocks on the door.

A moment later, it opens and Hector is seen standing on the other side. "About time. I thought they found you."

Christina rolls her eyes. "Please, it was only five minutes."

They begin to hear footsteps around the corner and Vincent rushes them all inside, then Hector shuts the door behind them.

Vincent looks back at the door, hearing the foorsteps soon fade off, and takes a soft breath. "Okay, I think we're safe..."

He looks around the cabin, seeing that it's a fairly small room with one bed, a nightstand next to the headboard, and a desk with a chair across from them. A round window is seen on the wall, looking outside. They go over to it and look in, seeing the port down below them.

Christina stares at the port intently for a moment, growing more anxious with each passing second. "...I guess this is it them. We say goodbye to Kanto..."

Vincent looks at her and nods slowly, then reaches over and puts his arm around her in a hug. "But we'll come back... Just you wait."

She slowly nods, and they hear the horn of the ship blow, signalling that they're about to leave. Vincent steps back and looks at his necklace, then puts his hand around it. And soon, all the others start to glow the light-blue color of his.

On the sight of this, Larisa, Lasuno, Aerthos and Sierra look at each other while in the sky, circling the ship. With the sound of the horn, they know that it's time to leave. And so they look back at the port one last time, before the ship starts to move and head off.

Vincent and the others look through the window at their homeland and notice it starting to move away from them. They watch port leave behind them as they move out into the ocean, towards their new destination... the Hoenn Region. And it would be there that they make a new start. The first step on the journey to take on Vincent's task...

...as the Messanger of Time.