The Messanger of Time

Chapter 21: Retracing Steps

You know what song I've always wanted to play, Vincent?

What's that?

Storm... It's so fitting, given everything that's going on. Don't you think?

That's a rather dim way to look at things.

I know... It's silly.

No, if that's what you want to play, then play it, Christina. Let the feelings out. I'll support you the whole way.

Right... I'll try. Thanks, Vincent.

- - - - -

Eriah flies over Slateport with Vincent in search of anything that draws his attention. He feels for some reason that his sisters and everyone else would stand out to him. He remembers distinctly that Christina had wanted to perform after they arrived, but despite what they just experienced, he hopes she sticks to the idea.

But so far, he finds nothing in particular. And it starts to bring his hopes down of finding them. Perhaps they're not even here? Perhaps they landed somewhere entirely different, and he may never find them.

He growls and shakes his head. He knows he shouldn't think such things, and he continues searching. He's looking over the various city lights, hoping any specific area would give him a hint. He remembers the market Christina spoke of. Supposedly it's to be found in the western part of the city, so he goes to look in that area. And as though by chance, as soon as he comes over a large, open area with numerous tents and makeshift buildings lit up by various different sources, he can hear the faint sound of electric guitars and drums in the distance. He follows the sound, and soon, amongst the instruments he can hear a familiar voice... singing over a loudspeaker.

He finally comes to the spot where he can see an entire setup of drums, guitars, amplifiers and speakers stationed around a raised, circular stage. It's as if they'd found the perfect spot to perform. And after their short break, he can see Christina, Melissa, Raven... and even Umbros taking the stage again and playing music. He finds it slightly amusing to see the Umbreon pounding in the drums in such a way with his four limbs. And in the background, the four dragons can be seen displaying various moves as special effects.

He watches on from the sky as they perform. It's almost as if they were naturals at this, playing various different types of music- though most of it seems to fit the metal genre, as it's been their preferred style for many years. And they appear to have drawn a rather sizable crowd as well.

Vincent finally taps Eriah and motions for her to land behind a building. They're using the performance to keep the crowd's attention away from them while they descend. Vincent feels as though he needs to show himself finally. And he's using this occasion to do it. For Christina's birthday... he will join them for one final performance before the end of their concert.

As Christina and the others are winding down after their final song, Vincent makes his way up onto the stage behind them. For now, no one can see him, and he starts by summoning his own instrument, the keyboard which he's used in many performances in the Spiritual Council.

Christina begins to bid her farewells to everyone, before suddenly, she is cut off by the echoing of a loud piano being played in a string of rising and lowering notes, as though it were broadcasted over the same speakers they've been playing over... which immediately grabs everyone's attention. The crowd looks around, unaware of where the sound is coming from, and then, as though knowing exactly what it is, Christina and the others turn back to see Vincent standing behind his set of glowing keys.

They all stare in shock at him, and he gives them a faint smile. Christina is wanting immediately to run over and hug him, but he gives a subtle wave of his hand and a nod to her. She then realizes what he's trying to do, and smiles with a small nod. She and the others turn back to the crowd and she steps forward to the microphone stand, taking a deep breath before speaking into it.

"It looks like we have one more song to play for you all. This one in particular is one I've wanted to do for some time, so I hope you like it!"

The crowd is heard murmuring in anticipation for what's coming next, and Christina looks at Raven with a nod. And soon, Vincent begins the with a simple piano melody, followed by Christina's singing.

Can you see the storm coming closer now?
Tell me how it feels being out there.

Soon, the band breaks into a full play of Raven's bass guitar, Christina's electric guitar, Umbros' drums and even the occasional strum of Melissa's accoustic guitar to go along with the music.

Raven, as the secondary vocalist, approaches his own microphone and begins to sing, his voice being warped by a distorter built in it.

A moment's glimpse of his vignette,
As he shone the light on the falling wall.
Instant pictures of shattered persons,
Wherever he leaves there's a tainted mark.

The song goes on with Raven's continued singing, along with the play of the different instruments which takes the crowd's attention like a vice.

Flashbacks of his stark sleep filter out through smoke,
Revoking from past things less provoked.
Any which day, there is no relief,
Adhesive words, spoken silently...

The song cuts for a split second, and then with four powerful strikes of the drums, Raven finishes with, The shattered man.

And as though by a signal of the last strike, a field of darkness spreads from Umbros, covering the entire stage and releasing a gust of wind through the entire band which almost catches Vincent off guard. But as if planned, he continues to play with little hesitation, proceeding with the song.

Christina, after recollecting herself, proceeds with the main chorus, singing into her microphone over the sound of the guitars.

Can you see the storm getting closer now?
Tell me how it feels being out there.
I want to stay with you and I see clear now...
You're giving me no choice- let the rain pour down!

On the last note, Larisa releases a ball of mist into the sky, followed by Lasuno, who fires a brilliant beam of light at it and causes it to explode on contact. The combination of Mist Ball and Luster Purge actually creates a lingering effect of rain after the initial explosion, lasting several seconds as the song continues with Raven's singing.

He's holding for the moment of the fall,
Stolen knowledge by minds unformed.
Regulate the demolition of annexe for the differing thoughts,

Soon, Sierra begins to spread a mist into the sky, followed by a bolt of electricity from Aerthos, creating a contained display of an electric storm above the stage as Raven continues.

Discarded sparks left years ago,
Evoked a language much more austere.
Reverberating with figments,
He left a trace of translucence.

Both Larisa and Lasuno begin to use their psychic abilities to create distortions within the mist, causing various flashes and loud crackling while Christina repeats her chorus. And with the last line, they cause a contained explosion of electricity with the stormcloud which soon dissipates as Raven starts to finish the song.

Shattered man,
There's a shattered man in a shattered land.

As Raven repeats the lines, the dark field begins to spin and create a tornado of sorts around them, nearly veiling them during the last part of the performance. Christina sings the chorus one final time, and then, she and the others take hold of their necklaces except for Raven and Umbros, who finish the song with a short instrumental. And with this, they all release a powerful pulse of light through the area which disperses the dark field and covers the entire area, giving a soothing feeling across the crowd with the echoing of Raven's last strum of his guitar... a true finish to their concert, and with a bang at that.

After the performance dies down, the crowd makes a cheer much louder than any earlier, which shakes Christina, catching her with great surprise. She'd never expected to get such a reaction, and it almost brings her to tears. Vincent, whose keys have faded away now, walks over to her and gives her a hug from behind, comforting her. And now, she can't help but start to cry. This is better than anything she could've asked for, and through her shaken voice, she says, "Thank you, Vincent... Thank you..."

The crowd continues to cheer and soon, Raven takes over and bids them farewell after the end of the concert. He then looks at Vincent and Christina and can't help but feel happy for the siblings. And after everything has finally settled down and everyone has left, they all begin to pack the equipment to leave.

Soon, a few men come onto the stage and call them out, and they look at them curiously. Christina, recognizing them, is the first to speak up. "Aren't you the guys from the shop we got these from...?"

They nod and one of them responds, "Yeah, we heard you wanted to do a big performance. And we couldn't miss something like that from a group of dedicated musicians, so we decided to come see it for ourselves after we closed up shop. I gotta say you were just amazing, especially with that last song. I never expected you to play Storm, of all things!"

A small blush is seen on Christina's face as she smiles a bit. "Yeah... It's something I wanted to play for a while. My brother happened to come at the right time to finish with it..."

The man looks at Vincent and takes a step closer. "That was some trick you did there. How'd you make that keyboard come out of nowhere?"

Vincent blinks and shifts a bit. "It's... complicated. I can't really tell you."

The man folds his arms. "You some sort of magician too or something?"

"Uhh... Sort of. Like I said, it's complicated. I'd rather not go into it."

Another person pipes in. "Well, whatever it was, it was great. I can't wait to see more."

Christina looks at him with a blink. "What... You mean..."

The first responds, "Yeah, whenever you want to play, just stop by the shop and grab some instruments. It's on the house. And I'll see if I can't get a spot open for even a real concert stage around here if you really want."

Christina looks at the others, who smile at her and then she looks back at the men. "Thanks! That's great!"

They nod and the first man waves the others over. "Hey guys, let's help them pack up."

They all continue to pack, and after taking the equipment back to the shop, Christina and the others say goodbye to the workers and leave.

It is now late at night and they come to a park, sitting down around a table to rest a while. Christina lets out a deep breath. "Wow... What a night..."

Vincent looks at her with a smile. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Of course! I loved it!"

He makes a small chuckle. "I'm glad you did... Happy birthday, Christina."

She smiles a bit and nods slowly. "Thanks, Vincent... I'm glad you're here. And you should tell Umbros too. His was a few days ago."

He blinks and looks at the Umbreon, who fidgets on the table a bit, and he utters a small scoff. "Happy birthday to you too then."

Umbros' ears lower somewhat and he nods to him. "Thanks..."

After a while, Christina begins to get a concerned look and she speaks up again. "Hey... What happened, Vincent? Can you tell us?"

Vincent looks at her with a furrowed brow, and then realizes what she means and sighs lightly.

"...After I got to the northern Flare Continent, where Dialga is, I found someone else there... I'm pretty sure it's the person manipulating him. But it really struck me hard, because we... the Spiritual Council... have been in a conflict with this person for some time. He's definitely not to be taken lightly. I only really heard his name once, as they'd just recently discovered it before I came on my task. But I just can't remember what it was..."

Christina looks down. "Well that's unsettling... So there's someone other than James out there to stop you?"

Vincent folds his arms on the table. "It seems so... But this is different. James and I fought a few of his people back when he first came to visit us in Pallet. It was in the Western Forest. And if they're here, that means this task just got a lot more dangerous. I don't know if I can risk having you get in that sort of danger..."

Christina looks back at him and then immediately pipes up with a sound of irritation. "You know that's not an option, Vincent. We said we'd come with you and that's that. So don't try and squeeze your way out of this now, just because it's suddenly too risky."

Vincent eyes her for a moment, then sighs. "Right... But for now, I think I will need to do this alone. There's something I need to find out, and it's best if I go by myself. Too many people will just make it harder to travel, and it's best if we split up for the time being to keep searching."

Christina stares at him with a look of exhaustion and shakes her head. "...Fine... But I want you to tell us as soon as you find something. We're going at this together. And I'll smack you if you don't, alright?"

He slowly nods. "I just need to return to Orre... I need to know something that happened there. I think retracing my steps will lead to some clues as to what happened to James, and how I can get him back. If I can find something there, maybe then he'll be able to help us again."

She looks at him with confusion. "But... He was sent on a task too, right?"

"Technically, that task was succeeded, with the help of an acquaintence of ours by the name of Lucas. If James weren't captured before then, yes, he would have returned to the Spiritual World. But I have the feeling something even greater is happening with him than I've already seen. But as a Messanger, he's not even supposed to be here now. Eventually that will come back on him. And I fear what may happen when it does..."

Christina nods slowly. "But how will you get there?"

"I have an ally..." Vincent looks up at the sky, and soon, Eriah can be seen flying down to them and landing by the table, looking at him, and then the others. And immediately, everyone backs off, as if afraid of her. But she eyes them with little movement, seeming to be used to this sort of reaction by now.

Vincent looks back at them. "She won't bite. She's perfectly tame..."

Eriah snorts at him and he smiles a little. "...As tame as she can be, that is. She's the one who helped me get away from Dialga. Her name's Eriah..."

Christina stares back at her and she eyes her back calmly. She then slowly nods and goes back to sit down at the table again. "Alright then..."

Vincent nods to Eriah. "She'll be going with me from now on. At least until my task finishes. She has ties to Dialga... So I know we'll need her if we're going to have a chance at this task."

Raven looks at Vincent and then at Eriah. "Some dragon..."

Eriah snorts again, this time puffing a blue smoke at Raven from her nose, which makes him cough and back off. "That wasn't an insult!"

Vincent shakes his head and lightly pats her muzzle with his hand. "She's... not like many we know. Don't take her lightly either."

Christina slowly nods, and he looks back at her. "We'll have to leave tomorrow. But let me know you're okay with your stone, okay?"

She nods back to him and smiles lightly. "Alright... You be careful too."

He looks back at the black dragon. "We'll sleep in the outskirts of the city for tonight. You should stay hidden until tomorrow. I don't want you to draw any unwanted attention from others."

She stares at him for a moment, before speaking in response, her calm voice catching the attention of the others. "Let me know when you're ready."

He nods and pats her lightly, and she then steps back, flapping her wings and taking off into the sky. He then looks back at the others. "Shall we then?"

Christina nods and they all get up, making their way just to the north end of the city, where they set up a simple camp and prepare to go to sleep. By the next day, they would be ready to continue their journey. Except this time, Vincent is looking for answers... And he won't stop until he finds them.

- - - - -

"...Let me go... Please..."

"But Serenity, we've only just begun. You haven't even experienced the full dose of shadow..."

"It hurts... No more...!"

A click of a button can be heard, and a machine starts running again, followed by a female's loud shriek which can be heard outside a massive, pyramid-shaped facility. And in response, Lucas descends down on his Salamence, looking inside with a low growl. He pats the dragon pokemon, telling him to wait outside, before running in, past a pair of guards which appear to have been put into a hypnotic state and don't notice him pass. The Salamence stares at them with a sort of glare, as if ready to attack them should they do anything suspicious...