The Unyielding Façade

Part 4 - Eastern Island

I picked up my Pokémon and stormed off to the cold city, staring at the grey sky above.

...what did I just got myself into... I thought and sighed once again, but I already promised that I'd help... and it's not just about the others, I'm staking my reputation here. This is important.

Then again, how am I supposed to go about this?

I felt Froslass's Pokeball rattling on the arsenal. I looked down and put my hand over it.

"It's okay... it'll be okay..." I said, "I just need to pull Antonio to the side and tell him what's been going on, right? Shouldn't be too hard... I just have to distract Azul with something... then I'll talk to her some other time,"

But... doing things behind her back like this... I thought,

... should I just tell her what actually happened? 

But how much can I explain things to Azul? Would she even believe me? I thought and bit my bottom lip, the whole situation makes no sense at all. Most people would've said 'that doesn't happen. It makes no f*cking sense why a couple of idiots in power would do that'. She'll think I'm making up stuff and I have no proof.

But then... is that the right thing to do? Won't Azul be disappointed if I don't tell her?

Letting out a sigh, I took another step forward and looked up to the blue skies extending beyond my sight. White, fluffy clouds obscured the sunlight, making the place looking rather dull and grey.

It's going to be alright. It'll work out somehow, I told myself as I clenched my fists.

No, it won't. God, why did I do that back then?!

I walked towards the harbour, ready to go back to my hometown. With each stride, I felt my heart pounding harder on my chest. I stopped and let my feet guided me to a nearby corner. Resting my back against the wall, I hugged my arms.

This isn't helping. I decided on that because nothing will change for the better if I just let everything run 'as it's supposed to be', I thought and gulped, if I turn on my tail and run away back then, it's not like we'll have a happily ever after now. Whatever I chose back then, someone will end up with the short end of the stick. Maybe they'll still go after me anyway, even if I decided to end him right then.

I took a deep breath and put both of my hands on my cheeks.

I'm lucky enough to be in a better position than the rest of them. So I should help them however I can, I told myself.

I pushed my legs to take a few steps forward. And a few more. Slowly but surely, we're getting closer to the harbour. However, to my surprise, I found a long line of people queueing in front of the dock. If they are people - all I could see was thick coats and scarves in varying shades of grey. It was not just crowded, but it was also rather noisy. Almost everyone was talking at the same time, their speech directed to the person standing on a pedestal facing the crowd.

Is something wrong? I thought and stood on the tip of my toes.

"I've booked a spot from a month ago!"

"I demand a refund!"

"I want to go home..."

"This isn't what your refund policy stated!"

"Ma'am, sir, we are terribly sorry for this to happen, but-" the person standing on the pedestal said with his loudest voice, his hands were cupped around his mouth, "our ships are broken! We have no idea how, but the engine won't start!"