Hi everyone! It's great to be back. I've got to apologize on two accounts:
1. The previous chapter was 24, not 25 (gave me some trouble when I edited)
2. This chapter has been ready for over 2 months and I just haven't posted ^_^;
I've been working a lot on editing older chapters and revising it to make it a more cohesive story on the whole while also writing new chapters. Updating will likely be much slower from here on out. But this fic will be finished! I won't let the last 7 years of writing this be for nothing! I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 25
Spires of ocean rock rose up all around him, their sides covered with aquatic plants and coral. They eventually gave way to craggy cliffs that formed underwater avenues. Herds of Sealeo, schools of Goldeen, and smacks of Tentacool floated by with the water currents while shoals of Relicanth and groups of Chinchou sat amidst the grasses and weeds on the sea floor. He swam onwards, looking through the water.
Blue.
It was all blue, all the time, except at night when it became black. He had seen it every day for several weeks—he hadn’t been inside his Pokeball for so long. He had forgotten how tiring it was to be out in the wild, always on the alert, aware that someone might try to attack you—and that you had to be faster and smarter than your prey, or else you would go hungry.
It was exhausting, but it was bearable. But what was
not bearable was how much he missed everyone. Lanturn, Sharpedo, Golduck, and Maressa… Where did they all go? He fought with Maressa, but panicked when he got caught in that Leech Seed attack and swam away. The vines eventually died and fell away from him, but he had left Maressa behind. When he went back to look for her, he couldn’t find her—or anyone—anywhere.
Where did she go?
She hadn’t been alone; she was with a Team Aqua submarine and a Team Magma ship. But Seaking lost sight of both of them, too.
Where was everyone?
He knew he shouldn’t have left. He was so scared and so sad and so
lonely when he realized they were gone. He looked everywhere for days, but only got so lost that he didn’t recognize his surroundings anymore.
Where was he?
And he eventually decided to ask some other Pokemon if they saw human ships. But wild Pokemon were so much different than domesticated ones—they didn’t like to be disturbed, and only minded their own business. And he was so scared. When he did pluck up the courage to speak to some, even other Seaking, they ignored him and went on their way.
He floated in the water. The surface was so far up, and the bottom was so far down. There was so much life in the ocean, but it felt so empty—so lonely.
He was lost.
But he couldn’t just give up! Maressa and the others had done
everything for him. He at least had to try and find them. And what if they were lost, too? He had to find them and make sure they were safe. It was his duty.
So he swam. He swam for a long time, and got really tired again. But then he noticed something long, and dark—it wasn’t a Pokemon, it was an underwater ship! Did it belong to Team Aqua? He decided to get a closer look.
As he swam closer, he got scared again—several Tentacruel floated idly outside the ship, their narrow eyes leering from their beneath their bulging bells. They had so many tentacles—Seaking thought he saw something stuck in one’s grasp. He shuddered;
these Tentacruel didn’t look friendly at all.
But what if they
did belong to Team Aqua? There was the possibility. So Seaking stayed nearby and floated after them, hoping that, soon, he could be courageous enough to talk to them.
=========================
Walrein pushed Archie out of the seawater and back onto the deck of their ship. When Wailord used body slam, he, Matt and their Pokemon had all been sucked beneath the water. It was a miracle the ship was still all right…
He spat out a mouthful of saltwater and breathed heavily. He looked around—the Wailord and that Gym Leader were nowhere in sight. He grit his teeth. They would have to move their location, and quickly, or else the Pokemon League would be hot on their tail.
He looked over as he heard splashing and saw Matt clamber out of the water, holding something in his hand. The large man pushed himself to his feet, resting his hands on his knees and coughing up saltwater.
“Get below deck,” Archie ordered. “They got away, which means we’ve got to move fast.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where’s the traitor?”
As if on cue, Huntail popped its head above the waters, holding Maressa’s unmoving body in its jaws.
“She still alive?”
The Pokemon spat her out on to deck. Archie checked his watch and made to go inside while Matt grabbed her wrist, feeling for a pulse.
“Yeah, she’s still alive.”
“Make sure she’s breathing and then bring her inside.” He looked over to see Matt place the object he was holding on the ground while he started chest compressions on Maressa. At the first one, she expelled a lot of water from her mouth and coughed heavily before lying still again.
“What is that?” Archie asked, gesturing to the object next to Matt.
Matt smiled as he held it up for Archie to see. It was a PokeNav covered in a water-protective case.
Archie frowned. “Where did you get that?”
“Took it off of that Gym Leader. You can find locations of contacts in this, and he has a pretty public relationship with one of the other League Members.”
Archie’s eyes widened. “Can you find her location through that?”
Matt nodded, still smiling. He flicked the top open and turned on the screen, scrolling through the contacts and stopping at one labeled “WINONA.” He tapped it; the image of a pretty woman with long, purple hair appeared on screen, along with an options that read “CALL,” “MESSAGES,” and “LOCATION.” Matt tapped the last one, and a map of Hoenn appeared—with a blinking dot just a few miles south of them.
Archie smiled. “Time to move.”
=================================
Steven rushed into the hospital room to see Wallace lying propped up on a bed. His torso and arms were covered in bandages; bits of bruised flesh peeked out from the wrappings. He wasn’t in as bad of a condition as Derek, but he still looked nasty.
Steven walked over to him, a mix of emotions coursing through his mind. He felt guilty and worried, but angrier at Team Aqua than ever before. He paused as his eyes rested on Wallace’s bandages.
“How are you doing?” Steven asked.
Wallace half-shrugged. “I’ll be okay. It’s painful, and the nurse said I have bruised ribs and that I shouldn’t be up and about for a bit… But it isn’t permanent.” He looked pretty despondent about it.
“I heard you met Team Aqua’s leaders when it was just you and Wailord. Where are the rest of your Pokemon?”
“We had agreed to meet up at a certain point at a period of time. Wailord took me back to you guys sooner than we had planned, but as far as I know, the rest of my team still met up. Wailord told me he would catch up with them after dropping me off. I expect they’re hanging in the waters around here somewhere.”
Wallace glanced out the window, and Steven followed his gaze. The window gave a view of Ever Grande City’s lush, green cliffsides leading down to a shimmering ocean. If Wallace believed his Pokemon were in those waters, then Steven figured he was right.
Steven looked back at Wallace. He sighed. “I’m sorry this happened to you. We won’t be sending out individuals anymore—I should’ve thought you guys might come across Team Aqua. Until we have things under control, everyone will be scouting in groups.”
Wallace nodded. “It’s all right; I knew things like this would happen, working for the League.” He looked up at Steven. “Has anyone contacted Winona or Juan yet?”
“We contacted Juan; he showed up here a few hours after Wailord brought you back. And we’ve been trying to get a hold of Winona, but she won’t answer her PokeNav.”
Wallace’s eyes widened. “She won’t even answer a call from you? While she’s on duty? That’s not like her—she doesn’t normally instigate conversations, but she always responds quickly.”
Steven paused, blinking several times. Wallace felt the tension in the air.
But his leader changed the subject. “When you came across Team Aqua’s leaders, what were they doing? Could you tell?”
Wallace closed his eyes. “They had a woman with them, dressed in a Team Magma uniform—at least, I
think she was. She didn’t have their red jacket, so I couldn’t tell, but the rest of it looked like a Team Magma outfit. Wailord actually first heard her—screaming,” he said slowly. “When he told me he could hear someone in pain, we followed the sound and wound up with Team Aqua.”
“Did you see what this woman looked like? Did she say anything?”
“She didn’t say anything, she was unconscious the entire time. As far as what she looked like…” His eyes roved about as he thought. “Let’s see… She had long hair—I think it was blonde, or maybe a light brown—hard to tell since it was wet. Her skin was damaged and scarred, but I think she was kinda pale.” He looked over at Steven; the Champion rested his chin in his hand, his eyebrows were furrowed.
“That sounds like it could be the woman Derek was worried about… But he left her with Team Magma. How could she be with Team Aqua?”
Steven stood there for a few moments, his thoughts wandering. After a bit, he snapped away from his train of thought and looked at Wallace.
“Anyway, I mainly wanted to check in with you, and I’m glad you’re not hurt.” When he finished the sentence, he paused, and Wallace felt the tension hang thickly in the air again. Steven spoke slowly. “Also, when Wailord returned with you, we didn’t find any of your personal belongings with you—no wallet, Pokeballs, or PokeNav.”
“They must have been washed away when I fought them.”
“Are you
sure? Do you know for a fact that Team Aqua didn’t get a hold of any of it? Because, if they did,” Steven slowly enunciated his words, and he could see the realization of them dawn on Wallace’s face as the Gym Leader stared at him with his mouth hanging open and his face turning pale, “then that means they have access to the locations of everyone in your contact list. That means all of the Elite Four members, all of the Gym Leaders—including Winona.”
Wallace immediately spoke up. “But—I don’t see how—they wouldn’t have recovered it from the sea—and they might not know what it is—or how it works—”
Steven’s PokeNav buzzed. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. It was a message from Winona.
“Hello!” the screen read.
Steven looked at Wallace to see him watching expectantly.
“It’s a message from Winona,” Steven said.
Wallace breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh,
good! Can you call her? I want to talk to her—what has she been doing out for so long?”
Steven stared at the screen. Something didn’t see right. Why was Winona only trying to contact him now? She should have reported hours ago. And why didn’t she try to call him? As he stared at the screen and ignored Wallace’s urgings, the unsettled feeling in his heart grew stronger.
“Yeah, I’m going to give her a call,” he said suddenly. Without looking at Wallace, he walked out of the room and into the hallway.
“Hey!” Wallace shouted. “Where are you going? Can I talk to her, too?”
Steven didn’t answer. He kept walking through the hospital hallway and past several rooms until he reached the lobby. Spotting a single-room bathroom, he walked into it and locked the door behind him.
He looked back at the PokeNav screen. There were a few more messages from Winona.
“Heyyyyy! Steven!”
“Steven! Are you there?”
“I have something important to tell you!”
Steven starred at the screen as his heat pounded in his chest. This wasn’t like Winona at all. A thought came to his mind—but he was afraid to dwell on it.
Choosing to bite the bullet and get this over with, he hit the “CALL” button next to Winona’s name.
The screen changed as the PokeNav rang. After a few seconds, a woman’s high-pitched cheerful voice sounded out.
“Hey! Steven? Steven Stone?”
Steven’s hand shook slightly—that was not Winona’s voice. Taking a deep breath, he asked, “Who is this? Where’s Winona?”
“Wha—aw, found me out, did you? I thought I could imitate her voice pretty well! Darn, I guess I need more work. Anyway, I suppose you’re calling because you want
them back, don’t you?”
“Who is this?” he asked more forcefully, though he already had a strong guess.
“Oh come on, do you really need me to spell it out for you? That’s not much fun.”
“I know it’s you, Team Aqua,” he said quietly. “And I promise—”
“TEAM AQUA?!”
Steven held the receiver at arm’s length away as the voice shrieked into his ear.
“How DARE you confuse us with those ocean-kissing scum?! We are SO much better than that! Have you even seen what they wear? WHY do all of their women feel the need to show off their midriffs? Can’t they just wear a normal shirt—“
“Let’s get to the point,” Steven cut across. “Where is Winona?”
The woman over the PokeNav sighed. “You’re no fun. Fine. We have them with us, split between our base and Team Aqua’s.” She let out a high-pitched giggle. “You know, they’ve been a lot of fun to have around. They weren’t too
keen on letting us in when we showed up, and that young boy wasn’t having it at all—he
still isn’t having it—“
“What? Young boy? Who are you talking about?”
“What do you mean? I’ve said ‘
them’ like five times—who do
you think I’m talking about?”
“I thought you were talking about Winona and the Team Aqua traitor.”
“Oh! So you haven’t—you haven’t noticed?”
Steven didn’t know what to say. The woman sounded genuinely surprised. Was there something he didn’t know?
But it might just be a ruse. Deciding to continue on, he said, “Tell us where Winona and the Team Aqua traitor are.”
“What, is this some
game to you? If you think that us going to 766 Moss Landing Way, 83266, Mossdeep City and inviting the inhabitants to come with us and then being a bit—shall we say—
assertive about their coming with us when they initially said no is a game to you, then sure!”
Once the woman said the address, Steven’s heart plummeted.
That was where his brother and parents lived.
How did they know?
When he said nothing, the woman continued, “It’s been so convenient having such a strong hold on Hoenn’s police force—we have access to all kinds of information we never thought we’d need! And—yes, Maxie?”
Steven stood, starring at the bathroom floor, not sure of what to do. He supposed he heard one half of a conversation, for the woman was still speaking periodically, but not to him.
“What? Why do you—oh, but this was fun! … Well, I—no, not really—but I told him about his family! … Oh, okay. I’m not sure if I know how—let me fiddle with it…”
Steven heard several random
beeps as the woman on the other side messed around with Winona’s PokeNav. He tried to formulate a plan—if Team Magma knew his parents’ address, then they almost certainly had his family. And if they got a hold of his family—Steven didn’t know what to do.
How could he have been do distracted? Why didn’t he think to send people back to look after and protect them? Why didn’t he think to keep a close eye on them? And now, how could he possibly allow them to take the punishment for his actions—for his failures?
The PokeNav screen flickered and he saw the face of a woman with short, dark hair wearing a red hoodie. When she saw Steven, her face lit up.
“Oh, hey! I got it to work! Here, now I think we can all talk to him at once.”
The woman held the PokeNav at arm’s length and Steven saw a man with a thin, pallid face and bright red hair standing next to her. His red eyes stared coldly at Steven, and his face had a sort of perpetual sneer, as if he was always disgusted at something. On the woman’s other side was a man with short purple hair; he wore the same hoodie the woman wore, complete with grey horns on top. His dark eyes gazed blankly at Steven—the Champion couldn’t read his face.
“Hey!” the woman went on. “So, now you can see that it’s us, your friendly neighborhood Team Magma. I don’t think I’ve seen you before, have I? Anyway, I’m—“
“Enough, Courtney,” the man with red hair said coldly. The woman looked upset at being cut off but obeyed and stayed silent.
“So,” the man continued, “you’re the Pokemon Champion.”
Steven said nothing but stared back at the screen, his heart pounding.
“I am Maxie; I lead Team Magma. Now, I believe that your Pokemon League has something of great value and great interest to
us. And, as I heard Courtney tell you, we have something of great interest to
you.”
“What do you want for my family?”
“Let’s not play a game. Give us the Red and Blue Orbs if you want to see them again.”
Steven decided to lie—there was no way Team Magma could know that the Pokemon League had the Orbs.
“We don’t have those—nobody knows where they are.”
Maxie gazed back at Steven unblinkingly for a minute.
“From what I gather, the Team Aqua traitor gave them to her Pokemon and released them into the ocean. Now, Team Aqua is searching for them. Is your precious League searching for them as well? I haven’t heard anything about it. If you’re not looking for them, you must already have them.”
“Just because you don’t know about it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.”
“Oh, but I think it
does. There are scouts all throughout the south Hoenn sea—and though they’ve seen a few people with the Pokemon League, they’re nowhere near where the Team Aqua woman released her Pokemon. You’re looking for something else, aren’t you? Are you perhaps looking for the Sky Pillar, where the legendary Rayquaza lives?”
Steven’s heart pounded—he couldn’t think of anything to say as he stared back at Maxie.
“Yes, I am very familiar with Hoenn’s legends and mythical Pokemon,” Maxie continued. “Anyway, back to our deal. If you want your family, you’ll give us the Orbs.”
“We don’t have them,” Steven said forcefully.
Maxie raised an eyebrow. “No? If that’s the case, then your family is useless to us. And I don’t like to hold on to anything for too long.” He turned to the other Team Magma member. “Get rid of Steven’s family.”
“Wait—wait—wait—wait—wait,” Steven said quickly as the man with purple hair disappeared from the screen. “What are you going to do with them?”
“If you don’t have the Orbs, then there’s no use in us holding on to your family. But neither can I let them go. So, to encourage you and your League to search harder for those Orbs, we’ll keep capturing people important to you and disposing of them until you bring them to us.”
“Do not hurt my family,” Steven said quietly, the blood in his veins boiling. “If you do, I will find you and do the same to all of you.”
“Do you really think you can? I know your Pokemon are strong, and you have many of them. But there are many of us—and even if you
did take on all of us and succeed, that wouldn’t change the fact that, at the end of the day, your family is gone.”
Steven stared at Maxie and knew he was right. When it was only the Team Aqua traitor on the line, Steven had been willing to lie and hide the Orbs for as long as they needed to prevent the destruction Team Magma and Team Aqua would cause. But this was his family—how could he throw their lives away for a lie? And he had the slab and the three golems—he could guarantee at least a modicum of protection for a time.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll—I’ll get you the Orbs—somehow.”
Maxie smiled, and his red eyes lit up with excitement. “You
do have them. Very well. Meet us at Monsu Island tomorrow night at 10 p.m.”
“
But,” Steven said aggressively. Maxie and the commanders looked at him curiously. “I want my family, Winona,
and the Team Aqua traitor. Or the deal is off.”
“Hmmmm,” Courtney said thoughtfully. “What if you don’t hand over
all of them? What if we decide to keep Winona for ourselves but still hand you back your family? What will you do then?”
“Enough, Courtney,” her boss said. “I’m not interested in playing speculative games.” He looked at Steven. “Agreed. Your family, the Gym Leader and the traitor for the Orbs.”
“Hey,” Courtney suddenly cut across, “is Derek with you?”
Steven nodded. “Yes, he’s here.”
“Can we speak with him? Wait, I can’t ask that—I
demand you let us speak to him!”
“Why?”
“Oh, you know, just for old friends to catch up and see what’s going on. I bet he wants to talk to us, too—wait!” Her eyes suddenly lit up and she smiled. “Have
him be the one to meet us at Monsu Island and give us the Orbs!”
Maxie’s eyes narrowed as he considered Courtney’s words. “I think that’s a better idea—send Derek to meet us instead of you coming yourself.”
“OH! And he has to agree to hand himself over to us and be our prisoner.”
“No,” Maxie said firmly. “I’m done dealing with prisoners. This conversation is over.”
“Can’t we just speak with Derek? I want to taunt him! And, realistically, we need to make plans for him to meet us.”
Maxie sighed. He looked at Steven. “Fine. Let us speak to Derek.”
Steven felt like his conversation with them was over and decided to comply with their request. Turning off the camera in the PokeNav, he exited the bathroom.
Derek lay on his back, looking over the edge of the bed to where Golduck lay curled up. The Water-type spent a lot of time visiting Derek in the hospital, though he didn’t attempt to communicate much. Though Derek couldn’t understand Golduck like he understood his own Pokemon, he could tell that Golduck was upset about not being taken along to raid the Team Magma base. When Derek was wheeled in, covered in bruises and blood, Golduck had flown into a rage of lots of loud quacking and slapping his tail. Derek got the message: whenever they were doing anything that could potentially save Maressa, Golduck wanted in.
Golduck didn’t really speak but he made good company. Dererk wasn’t sure why Golduck chose to stay with him; perhaps he didn’t know of anywhere else to go, or didn’t have anyone else to spend time with. Maybe staying with Derek was some way for him to stay connected with Maressa, as Derek was the only other one who knew her.
At the thought of Maressa, Derek’s heart clenched with guilt and horror. How she could have been left behind, what she was going through…
The medic clenched his eyes then turned to look at Golduck, who was staring up at him curiously—and sadly? Derek wasn’t sure. The Pokemon’s expression was difficult for him to read. Feeling sorry for Golduck, Derek decided to strike up conversation.
“She talked about you a lot,” he mentioned. Golduck perked up, still staring at Derek. “She mentioned how you two made a great team—that you fought a lot with each other, but always stuck through your disagreements.”
Golduck kept staring eagerly at Derek, wanting to hear more about Maressa. Derek went on.
“She told me about the time you two fought a trainer with a Persian—how she told you to attack from a distance with water attacks, and you wanted to fight with physical attacks. You ended up getting clobbered and slashed to pieces by the Persian, but no one expected you to get back up and finish the Persian off anyway.” Derek smiled. “She said you were better about listening to her battle orders after that, and she learned more about how strong you really are.”
At the mention of his strength, Golduck’s gaze fell, and he placed his head on the floor, looking mournful. Derek’s heart panged—
Golduck feels he wasn’t strong enough to protect Maressa, he realized.
“Don’t feel bad.” Golduck looked up at him. “Maressa told me what happened, and it was
not your fault that she got captured—it was no one’s fault. No one thought Jirachi would be there. No one is powerful enough to fight off Jirachi—that thing is a god, it’s stronger than all other Pokemon. And
she released
you—not the other way around. Maressa knew… knew what she was getting in to.”
The last part was a lie; Maressa did
not know what she was getting in to, and definitely was not ready to handle it. Her tear-stained, hysterical face flashed before Derek’s eyes, and his gut clenched. What she could be going through…
But he remembered Claydol’s advice: Tabitha was just, and wouldn’t have any unfair punishment dished out to Maressa. But what if it wasn’t Tabitha who decided her fate—what if it was Maxie? Or Courtney? And what if Tabitha said was true, and Maressa was now with Team Aqua? What were their admins like—would they show her any mercy?
And in his heart, Derek knew that no, they would have no mercy for her. He knew that treatment for traitors was ruthless, even by the teams’ standards.
The two of them lay in the silence, processing guilt and grief, until they were snapped out of their thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps. They looked up to see Steven Stone approaching.
Steven held up the PokeNav. “They want to talk to you.”
He turned the camera back on and Derek saw Maxie, Courtney, and the other Team Magma member. His gaze hardened and his nostrils flared slightly.
“Derek!” Courtney said excitedly with a big smile. “Long time, no see! I’ve
missed having you around here—it’s been a lot less exciting! Also—” She moved closer to the PokeNav’s camera—“are you in a hospital bed? HA! Tabitha, look what you did to him!”
“Where’s Maressa?” Derek asked.
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Am I supposed to know who that is?” Her head turned to the side and Steven vaguely heard someone’s voice. Courtney turned back to the PokeNav, her face lit up. “Oh, that woman you left after you
threw a door on me, told us you were a traitor, knocked out my Ninetales, and tried to set her free again? You know, it’s a real good thing your family is all the way in Johto, or else I would have gone after them and taken them in as hostages instead.”
“Courtney, stop,” Maxie said. He looked at Derek. “Your
Pokemon Champion has agreed to exchange the Orbs for our prisoners. So we want you to meet us tomorrow at 10 p.m. at the south shore of Monsu Island. You, and you
alone.”
Derek looked up at Steven who merely nodded back.
“Who am I meeting?”
“Me, Archie, and whatever commanders we decide to bring. I strongly advise you to
not attempt any tricks.”
“Then you’ll bring us Winona and Maressa
alive and
unharmed.”
Maxie stared at Derek, his red eyes narrowed. “Do you honestly believe that neither Maressa nor Winona are harmed at this point? Both have been held prisoners by Team Aqua. Winona was captured in the middle of the ocean when out with her flying Pokemon. You abandoned Maressa when she found a traitor. How can you possibly expect them to be unharmed? You’ll be lucky to get them back alive. We’ll see you tomorrow at 10.”
With a final
beep, the PokeNav screen turned black. Derek looked up at Steven.
“You’re really giving them the Orbs?”
Steven nodded. “We have the slab to control the golems and we’ve discovered their locations. They can at least protect us until we find Rayquaza and finally put a stop to this insanity. We’ll—we’ll manage.”
“You’re doing this for Winona, aren’t you?”
Steven didn’t look up. He turned his face away.
“Team Magma has my family. I would normally think they’re lying, but they read out the address.”
“Because of the members in the police force?”
Steven nodded again. He exhaled deeply and looked up at Derek. His grey eyes were partially closed, and Derek noticed how tired he was.
“I’m sorry you have to be the one to do this. It—it wasn’t my intention.”
“No, don’t worry about it. I think it’ll work out better this way, anyway—I’m more familiar with their tricks and what to do if they try anything.”
“Will you be well enough to go?”
“Sure. I mean, at this point, I have to be, don’t I?”
Putting his hands next to him, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, wincing noticeably. He looked at Golduck, who watched him expectantly.
“You wanna come with me tomorrow and get Maressa?”
Golduck quacked immediately—Steven could only assume it was an eager “yes.”
“Hold on,” Steven said. “They told you to come alone. How are you going to bring Golduck with you? He doesn’t even have a Pokeball.”
Derek pondered that for a moment. “I think they were vague enough about what ‘alone’ means to give me some leeway. For some people, they would expect me to include Pokemon. But with Maxie…” He shrugged. “I think his main concern at this point is getting the Orbs. He probably wasn’t mentally separating the Pokemon from their trainers when he told me to come alone, anyway.”
The two of them stayed silent for a bit. Golduck got up off the bed and restlessly paced on the floor. Steven looked at Derek; the former Team Magma member leaned back on his hands, his eyes staring straight ahead as though he didn’t take in anything he saw.
“Are you feeling okay?” Steven asked him. “I mean—emotionally prepared for this.”
Derek’s eyes dropped.
“I never was.”
“Me, neither.”
