//------------------------------// // Chapter 38 – Twilight Over Alola // Story: Pokémon Eclipse // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// “Are you kidding me right now?” Lillie was in distress as she spoke to Gladion through the screen of her mended Pokédex. “It’s not just Olivia’s forbidding them from leaving,” he responded through the screen, the interior outside of Olivia’s flat behind him. “The other ponies would also rather wait until he defeats Olivia and can leave with the rest of us.” “What about Twilight and Spike? They were just attacked by Prism grunts and really need their friends now.” “And we’ll bring them soon. Sam only lost his battle because his Pokémon fainted right before it could make its final attack. I’m certain with just a day’s worth of training, Sam will beat her without any problem.” “We don’t have a day, Gladion! Team Prism may be planning another attack on us right now and could take them by then!” Gladion closed his eyes, hoping his next words could finally pull her out of hysterics. “My apologies… I suppose Acerola and Guzma are already on their way back to Mt. Lanakila then?” Lillie gasped. “No, but–” “And has Professor Burnet returned to her lab in Heahea City?” “Gladion, I know what you’re doing here, but–” “You have two of Alola’s best trainers standing guard for you, Twilight, and Spike, and the wife of Professor Kukui himself as well. When I say that your odds of safety are greater than mine and the rest of us here, I speak candidly. Just hold on a little bit tighter. We’re almost done here.” Lillie hugged her free left arm over her chest, grabbing onto her right shoulder. “I don’t want to be here.” “I’m certain whatever you’re feeling, Twilight and Spike feel it twofold. You need to be strong for them, and I have to continue being strong for our lot here. I’ll hopefully see you soon.” Lillie let go of herself and deflated, knowing there was nothing more she could say to convince him further. “Okay, Gladion. I’ll talk to you soon.” Gladion’s face faded from Lillie’s screen as the call ended. Putting her Pokédex at her side, she took a couple of deep, calming breaths before she went back down the stairwell to the first floor where Twilight and Spike would be waiting. As she reached for the door handle that would bring her into the hallway, she received another ring on her Pokédex. Picking it up, she received a message as well as a live feed of the security footage outside the front entrance showing an old man swaying as he stood impatiently for someone to let him in. Lillie walked through the sliding doors to the dining hall, briskly walking through to see Twilight and Spike sitting next to each other while Acerola, Guzma, and Burnet sat at the end of the same table. While they all turned to face her, Acerola stood from her chair to speak. “So what’s going on? Are they on their way?” “You’ll have to forgive me, Acerola.” Lillie ran a few loose strands of her bangs back into her hair. “We all need to get caught up to speed.” “But... we’re all here,” Spike spoke bemusedly. “Who else do we need to talk to?” Lillie slid further into the room, followed by another set of feet stepping inside. Everyone else in the room looked fixedly over who would be joining them. To Twilight and Spike’s shock and Acerola’s instant disgust, Nanu came into view, his posture slouched and his hands in his pockets. “Nanu!” Twilight and Spike both shouted. The old man turned to face the alicorn and dragon at the table. “You look to have made yourselves at home. Good.” Acerola fell back into her seat, the sight of the Kahuna making her ill. “Dammit, Lillie, why the hell did you bring him here?” “He came himself,” Lillie explained. “I was notified when he showed up at the front door.” “And he’s half a day late about it,” she spat, shifting her gaze back at Nanu. “Yeah, you useless, decrepit fart! Team Prism already got chased out of here, no thanks to you!” Even though the words were not meant for them, Twilight and Spike could feel a strong residual sting radiating from them. What seemed to unease them more was Nanu’s defeated shrug and grumble, as if he had deserved it. “Why’d you even come here, Nanu?” Guzma responded. “Are you intentionally trying to piss her off now?” “She’d be pissed at me regardless,” Nanu spoke, “and I deserve every bit of mud you all sling at me, but I’m here now, and since I’m here, I want to help.” “Like the lady said,” Burnet came in, “there’s really nothing else to help out with right now. I mean, hell, it’s almost lunchtime. When did you get my message?” “In my defense, it was late last night and I was fast asleep…” Acerola reached over and poked Twilight in the shoulder, and once she got her attention, she mimed drinking from a flask and wobbling woozily, a gesture Twilight grimaced at. “And believe me, I felt terrible finding the message on my screen after waking up at the early time of ten in the morning, but I came over as soon as I found out.” “And what if we weren’t able to hold them off?” Acerola added. “It would have been all your fault!” “Okay,” Twilight huffed impatiently, “I don’t think that’s fair. I’m the one who tried to escape. If I hadn’t been so impatient waiting for my friends, none of you would even have to be here.” “To be fair, it was kind of nice to get an idea of what we were up against.” Acerola leaned back and rested the back of her head in her hands, then glancing to Twilight and Spike. “I mean, not that I wanted it at your expense or anything…” “No, I understand, and I thank you, Guzma, and Burnet for coming to our rescue.” “Not at all!” Burnet smiled wide. “I’ve actually been quite eager to face Team Prism myself since I first heard of them.” “And what about the others?” Nanu asked. “The ponies, I mean. There were more that landed on the other islands from what I heard.” “We were actually about to find that out,” Acerola loudly and sardonically proclaimed, “and then you showed up and derailed the conversation!” Twilight grumbled, losing patience with her. “The rest of them are on Akala Island,” Lillie replied. “Two of them landed there when we first arrived, the two that landed on Poni Island were escorted there by Gladion, and the last two were brought over by a pair of other trainers who found them on Melemele Island.” Nanu nodded once. “I see… thanks.” Acerola looked back to Lillie. “I thought you said they were all on their way here. I mean, that’s why we’re here right? Until they show up?” Lillie scratched the back of her head, Twilight and Spike already preparing for an unsavory answer. “They won’t be coming today.” “What?” the group, minus Nanu, shouted. “Why the hell not?” Guzma exclaimed, then turning to Burnet. “Didn’t you say those two younger trainers are the whole reason we know Team Prism even exists?” “I did,” she replied, “but even then, they’re still in the middle of their Island Trials. Hardly seasoned trainers like the rest of us.” Lillie explained further. “The reason why they haven’t left is because the older brother of the two hasn’t completed his Grand Trial against Olivia.” Guzma slowly turned to face Lillie. “… Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” “Guzma, language!” Burnet barked. Lillie shook her head once. “According to her, Dexio is also one of them.” Acerola and Guzma’s fuming disappointment instantly turned to shock. “Huh? Him?” he blurted. “You’re kidding!” Acerola exclaimed. Lillie shook her head again. “She apparently lost to him, and she and the ponies she was with were barely saved by Tapu Lele. She wanted to be sure that both of those trainers could beat her in a battle before she felt comfortable with letting them go off.” “And I assume his other…” Guzma suddenly realizied he didn’t have all the information. “Brother? Sister?” “Younger sister, yes. She defeated Olivia on her first try, and he only barely lost. Gladion assured me that he’d probably only need to train for a day or so before he was strong enough to go out. He even asked the ponies to go on without him, but they wanted to stay until he was ready.” Twilight made the slightest of smiles; her friends were indeed faithful to a fault. “How nice of them,” Acerola breathed. “So looks like we’re spending the night until they show up tomorrow… Hopefully?” “I bet Noah and Amy won’t have a problem with that,” Guzma chuckled. “I’ll stay too.” Nanu took a seat across from Twilight. “Won’t be much help back all the way at my place.” “Yeah, thanks and all,” Acerola responded with a sneer, “but we really can’t afford any dead weight here.” Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Guzma’s coaxing coos. “Hey, Ace, I know that you’re still upset about him, but the three of us together will spell huge trouble for Prism. Don’t let what he did–” “If he doesn’t sleep through it again, that is!” Twilight slammed her arm on the table, leaving everyone fearfully silent. “You know, Acerola? There’s something I never really understood, and it’s really been nagging me, even since I first met you at Nanu’s house.” The sudden curt tone of Twilight’s voice made Acerola look a bit afraid as if it was her she slighted. “Seriously, what has he done to you to make you be so nasty to him?” Acerola hardened her façade. “That’s none of your concern.” “If he’s offering to help us, and your hatred of him is making you drive him away, I think I have a right to know why!” “Why are you defending him?” “Because as far as I know, I know Nanu to be a friend who saved us, fed us, and gave us a bed to sleep in!” “And then he sent you and Spike here the very next morning and out of his hair. Some Kahuna he turned out to be!” Acerola shot out of her chair and threw an accusatory finger at him. “Some guardian you turned out to be!” Spike stepped onto the table and put his arms up to try and keep her from going near him. “Hey, Acerola. Calm down!” “Hey, hey!” Burnet put her hands on Acerola’s shoulders. “Take it easy!” “And you don’t know him like I do! He used to mean the world to me, and then when I needed him the most, he abandoned me! JUST LIKE HE DID YOU!” “Nanu?” Even with Acerola’s screams, it was Nanu’s passive and ashamed silence that proved most deafening to Twilight. “You… you can’t just let her talk about you that way!” Nanu simply slumped further into his chair and buried his face into his hands. Acerola sniffled and wiped her eyes, breathing heavily. “Look at that,” she hissed. “He can’t even defend himself. So what makes you think he can defend you?” With a whipping turn, Acerola stormed to the other exit door, pulling the doors open fuller when they wouldn’t open up fast enough for her. As the echo of her footsteps grew softer in the distance, Twilight bit her lip to conceal her distressed rage, charging her horn to slowly lift Nanu into an upright position, the act surprising him greatly, along with Spike and Lillie. “Hey, hey,” Guzma shouted, “easy there!” Twilight only kept her focus on Nanu. “Okay, I really want to make this clear. I really thought I could trust you, but you just made it really hard for me to do that just now. If she won’t tell me, I want to hear it from you. What happened between you two?” Nanu, even as he was held in Twilight’s grasp, glanced down to the side. “Why do you want to know so badly? Are you ponies just not very good at leaving good enough alone?” “This may sound really crazy to believe, and yes, this is coming from the talking alicorn princess keeping you sitting up with magic, but it is my duty to not leave good enough alone! As someone who considers friendship the most valuable thing in the world, even this one, the only thing I want at this very moment, even more than reuniting with my friends, is finding out what went wrong between you two!” Nanu looked back at Twilight, their expressions refusing to change. Lillie clutched at the top of her shirt, completely unsure what would happen next. He then let out a deep sigh. “Can you please let me back down?” “Will you promise not to slump over if I do?” Nanu continued to look at Twilight, his stare lazy, but steadfast. Guzma and Spike looked on with muscles tightened, and Burnet held her hand over her chest. Finally, Twilight’s face calmed and relaxed, letting out a tired grunt as she relinquished Nanu from her hold. As requested, Nanu continued sitting the same way Twilight held her. Even Twilight’s breathing slowed, relieved that she looked to finally be getting somewhere. Nanu got up from his chair while continuing to look at the purple alicorn before him. “You wouldn’t mind if we went somewhere… private, do you?” He then looked around at Lillie, Guzma, and Burnet. “You all know this story, so–” “No,” Lillie interrupted. “It’s fine. We understand.” “Don’t leave any details out, though!” Guzma warned with a gun-shaped finger. “That shouldn’t be necessary.” Twilight began to walk around to join Nanu’s side. “We can talk in my bedroom.” Spike hopped down from the table as Twilight approached the Kahuna. “Spike, you don’t have to listen to this if you don’t want to.” “Well, I wanna’.” Spike walked beside Twilight as Nanu joined them to walk to the exit. “Nanu and Acerola are my friends too, and I want to know just as bad as you do.” “That may change once you hear it,” Nanu said under his breath. The doors opened for the three of them and closed behind them once they passed through. With Lillie, Burnet, and Guzma alone, a haunting silence now filling their space, Guzma was quick to slip out of his chair and walk to the other exit on the other end of the room. “Where are you going now?” Lillie’s query did nothing to stop Guzma from leaving. “Gonna’ have a chat with Ace,” he muttered. “If nothing else, I gotta’ let her know she’s going to have some more heavy healing to deal with.” Guzma waited patiently for the doors to open for him before he left through them. Sitting at a long table inside a modest Asian-themed restaurant, the ponies, along with Sam, Alice, Gladion, Olivia, Lady, and Comfey, chowed slowly on their fried noodle and vegetable bowls. While the dishes of Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Alice were nearing emptiness, Sam picked and stirred at his bowl’s contents, only occasionally picking out single noodles and vegetables at a time to eat. As Pinkie Pie licked her bowl clean of any remaining sauce, she turned and noticed Sam and his bowl still more than half-full. “Hey, Alice!” Hearing her whisper, Alice picked her head up from her meal to look up at her. “Is your brother not hungry? If so, can I finish the rest of his?” “You could always ask me yourself,” Sam’s sudden interruption scared Pinkie Pie a bit. “How could you hear me?” “Just because you’re whispering to someone other than me doesn’t mean I somehow can’t hear you.” “Oh… are you still–” “Just let me take a couple more bites and it’s all yours.” “Sweet! Thanks Sam…” As she continued watching Sam eat, she began to slowly frown a guilty grimace. “Is something wrong? Why aren’t you hungry?” “Eh…” Sam scooped up two large pinches of noodles and vegetables and stuffed them all in his mouth, quickly devouring and swallowing both bites in a matter of seconds, leaving his bowl about two-thirds empty. After sucking his chopsticks clean, he passed the bowl across the table to Pinkie Pie, who licked her lips eagerly at the second helping she was provided. “I’m just pretty nervous about my next battle is all.” “What are you talking about?” Pinkie Pie’s words were muffled with the food stuffed in her mouth before she swallowed. “You almost won that one! Plus, your Pokémon are probably super duper strong enough now that beating her will be a breeze!” “Well, I wouldn’t say that much stronger… not to mention, I got super lucky that match. The fact that Fomantis managed to keep from getting itself paralyzed on its own or that Lycanroc’s Crunch didn’t make Honedge flinch…” “Oh, relax! None of those things happened, so it’s not like they’re definitely going to happen the next time…” She then looked sheepishly around. “And if they do, I’m sorry for the foreshadowing, hehe…” Before Alice could speak, Mallow appeared by the table, collecting Pinkie Pie’s two empty bowls. “Enjoy the food?” she asked. “Oh, yes!” Pinkie Pie chirped. “Everything was delish! I’m certain Sam liked it too, but he wasn’t very hungry so I finished his.” Sam grinned widely and awkwardly, feeling extremely embarrassed as Mallow looked down on him, unable to help but feel slightly insulted. “It’s… true, I wasn’t that hungry, but I did really like what I could eat. Where does the heat for the peanut sauce come from?” Mallow lit right back up. “Oh, we used pan-fried Cheri Berry and minced Serrano peppers! Helps mellow out their spiciness and adds a hint of earthiness! I’m glad you liked it, and thank you!” Mallow also took Alice’s bowl and began to walk away from them, leaving Alice with the privacy she felt she needed. “Alright, Sam? You’re really going to need to calm down about the battle. If you lose again, you’ll just have to keep battling her until you don’t. It’s the Grand Trial, after all.” Sam leaned close to his sister and whispered. “Yeah, and I appreciate the ponies for being so patient with me, but I can only lose so many times before their patience is going to run thin.” “So don’t lose!” Applejack butted in, Mallow taking her empty bowl. “Yer’ already close enough to beating her that it shouldn’t be hard to.” “And don’t worry about us,” Starlight said. “Just focus on winning and not so much on losing again.” Feeling a bit ganged up on, Sam flustered to get his words together. “Gyuh… when did you get in on this conversation?” “It’s like you said, sugarcube. Just ‘cause yer’ whisperin’ don’t mean we can’t hear ya’.” Applejack raised her hoof to allow Pinkie Pie to bump it. Mallow came over to Olivia at her end of the table. “Still working on everything?” she asked to the humans and ponies gathered there. “Yes,” Olivia answered, “but if you could still bring the check over…” “You got it, boss!” Mallow left the rest of the table to finish their meals, Olivia standing up and walking out to behind Sam, putting her hands on the back of his chair. “Child, please listen. You’re not going to win tomorrow if you keep focusing on your losses today. And you certainly aren’t going to have a focused mind on an empty stomach.” Sam glanced up to her, looking and feeling cornered. “I mean, I… wasn’t–” “I realize, I saw you give your bowl to Pinkie Pie. Just be sure to eat a nice, hearty dinner. You’ll also not want to sleep hungry either.” Mallow returned with a plastic booklet containing a long white receipt inside of it. In her other hand, she held several folded bills with a piece of receipt paper in the middle of them. “Here’s your receipt, Olivia.” After handing the black book to Olivia to open and look inside, Mallow bent down and swiftly slipped the money into Sam’s back pocket. Standing up, she snapped her fingers, her face instantly tensing as if she had just remembered something. “Right, and I’ll be back with some fortune cookies!” Mallow ran back into the kitchen, Olivia closing the book and walking to her seat. She looked to Sam, who seemed more focused on Mallow’s return to the kitchen than what she had just did before. “And Sam, one more thing?” Sam turned to face her, suddenly feeling the shape of the bills in his pocket and frowning in puzzlement, something Olivia giggled at. “Okay, it looks like you found them.” As Olivia sat back down in her spot, Sam sat up and pulled Mallow’s gift out from his back pocket. He pouted in mounting confusion as he fanned through ten ¥1,000 notes, finishing with the note inside of them. It simply read: Go to the TM stand at the marketplace. First one’s on me. ;-) – M Sam put the note down and went through the money again, gulping with remorse once he went through the tenth one. “What’s that?” Alice asked as she took notice of the cash. “Oh, hey!” Pinkie Pie stepped onto the table and peered straight down at the gift. “Are you taking care of lunch?” “Not at all!” Mallow appeared at the end of the table, placing a pile of fortune cookies down onto it. “Just a little something to help a friend in need. Thanks for coming in everyone. I’d say hope to see you again, but… well, you know.” “That’s quite alright, darling,” Rarity spoke in. “Thank you for the meal. It was delicious.” “Yes, you’re very welcome.” Mallow bowed and began walking back to the kitchen. As Sam looked to her, she stole a quick glance and winked to him before disappearing through the doors. With a final pinch on the money, Sam finally resolved to put it in his pocket, reaching forward and grabbing a cookie from the pile before Starlight and Rarity began passing them out to the others. Sam broke his open, revealing the paper slip inside. Pulling it out and putting it to his face, he read it through several times before smiling, feeling more relaxed than he had all day. Acerola sat on the edge of her bed, holding a white handkerchief to her mouth as she coughed so hard that it sounded as though she was close to vomiting. Her longer purple hair was bedridden and draped partly over her face, forcing her to pull her locks away. Taking a moment to breathe, she looked down at her cloth, seeing splotches of blood and mucus upon it. Sobbing and hyperventilating, she gripped at the handkerchief so tight that she could hear the fabric tearing. _____________________________________________________ “When she was fifteen, Acerola got sick.” Nanu sat in a chair, his legs spread wide while Twilight and Spike sat at the edge of her bed to face him. “Very sick.” _____________________________________________________ A clean shaven and more pristinely-groomed and dressed Nanu looked off to the side inside an office as Acerola screamed and wailed in her seat, rocking herself and hugging her chest tight as her only consolation. The doctor in the room stood at a distance from her, wanting to give the girl as much space and time as she needed. _____________________________________________________ “She had caught the disease just quick enough before it could be considered untreatable, but she knew, I knew… we all knew that even then, her survival was next to impossible.” “So, wait…” Twilight said. “You’re telling me Acerola has cancer?” “Had. Thank God.” Nanu ran his hand through his stubble as he sighed. “So, she’s all better?” Spike wondered. “Then what’s the problem?” “It’s not so much what the disease and her recovery did to her. It’s what it did to me.” _____________________________________________________ Nanu chucked a half-empty bottle of brown liquor against a wall where it shattered, spraying glass and liquid all over the kitchen. Grabbing a chair, he swung it into the table it was pushed under, shattering the legs of both and knocking them to the floor. He then picked up the biggest piece of the chair left and bashed it repeatedly against the side of the table until both were reduced down to shards. As his body settled down, he continued to breathe in heavy, animalistic pants as he failed to convince himself to break something else near him. Finally, his grief weighed too heavy on his body, and with buckling legs, he fell down on the floor, uncaring for the pieces of glass or broken wood his legs and hands pressed into as he sat down. Alone, he sobbed loudly as he looked up to the ceiling, almost as if he cursed whatever higher power looked back down on him and the girl it was trying to take from him. _____________________________________________________ Acerola sat in a small empty conference room with her back to the door. The place was pristinely white like everyplace else in the House, but it was silent and isolated, everything she needed now. She ran a hand through her buzzed hair, the once pleasant feeling the fuzz atop her head felt now feeling more like a freshly-scarred gash. _____________________________________________________ As Acerola showered, she scrubbed shampoo through her hair. As she moved her hands off to wipe the suds from her eyes with her arms, she couldn’t help but stop and feel a foreign weight that clung to her fingers. Rinsing her hands in the water stream, she looked down at her feet, slowly horrified to see strands of her hair falling down on them and settling over the drain. As if she couldn’t believe her senses, she rinsed the shampoo from her hair and looked back down to see even more of her hair be carried to the drain and join the rest. After turning off the water, she wiped down the moisture from the steam off the glass wall, revealing her sink and countertop. With harder, sadder breaths, she stared at the drawer where she kept her scissors. Nanu slowly ran the razor over Acerola’s scalp as she sat on the edge of her bathtub and he stood inside of it, taking off the last patches of hair and shaving cream that her scissors could not cut short enough. With the deed finished, Nanu forlornly ran his hand over her now smooth, bald head. “Are you done?” Acerola asked with a quiver in her voice. “Mmhm,” he grunted. “I want to see it.” Not wanting to disrespect her wishes or her new appearance, Nanu grabbed a mirror from her counter and held it to her. As she would have imagined, her long purple locks were all gone, replaced by only a dome of skin. It was still too much for her to bear, and crumpling over and dropping the mirror, she sobbed as silently as she could into her hands. Stepping out of the tub, Nanu sat down beside her and wrapped her arm across her back and pulled her toward him. Though her crying wouldn’t stop, she laid her head against his shoulder, accepting his company and support. _____________________________________________________ Twilight and Spike stared up at Nanu, both engrossed and sickened by the gruesome, melancholy detail of his story. “I… don’t understand,” Twilight said. “You sound like you took very good care of her.” “Yeah!” Spike concurred. “It doesn’t sound like she has any reason to be a jerk to you!” Nanu took a deep breath. It seems the hard part was about to come out. “For a time, when hopes were still high, I did everything I could for her. But as she continued fighting, I began to give up.” _____________________________________________________ Acerola napped in a large reclining sofa with her chemotherapy being fed intravenously into her right arm. Nanu stood inside the doorway to the room, unable to help but stare at her limbs and how skinny they became. Even with the purple snood hat that helped conceal her baldness, it was no substitute for her beautiful hair that he helped shave off. After months of seeing this sight only getting worse, Nanu slunk outside of the room, leaving Acerola unaware of her loneliness. _____________________________________________________ “I went to a nearby bar for a drink to help take the edge off. One drink became two, and then two became three then four, five… I was in such a drunken stupor that I hailed a cab to drive me back to my house. Completely forgot all about Acerola and the chemo and the hospital.” Twilight and Spike’s eyes slowly widened, beginning to understand it all. “You… you abandoned her. Just like she said.” Twilight’s eyes welled with tears as she choked her words out. “How could you?” “You apologized, right?” Spike begged. “Please tell me you tried to make it up to her!” Nanu began to hang his head low, but picked it back up to give Twilight and Spike the attention they deserved from him. “I offered to take her back the following month.” “That’s not an apology,” Twilight responded. “You trying to brush off leaving a teenaged girl fighting for her life alone in a hospital is the farthest thing from an apology.” “What I did was unforgivable, I know. And I feared that if I tried to apologize to her and she rejected me as she had every right to, I could never live with myself, so I… stupidly thought I could try and forget it happened… and pretend like I never made the mistake to begin with.” “But she clearly didn’t forget, and she hates you for it, and frankly Nanu, I now completely understand why she does.” Nanu couldn’t keep his head up anymore, and as he was about to rest his face on the palm of his hand, Twilight’s magic brought him to sit upright again. “No! No more feeling sorry for yourself, mister!” “It’s time you be sorry to her!” Spike started confidently, then became unsure if he made any sense. “Or… say you’re sorry… to her, that is.” “I can’t… She’ll never forgive me!” “You won’t find out until you try! Come on!” Twilight picked Nanu up to his feet and began to walk him to the door, her and Spike following behind him. Nanu grumbled as he was forced out the door, just barely looking natural in his stride. “You ponies and your inability to leave well enough alone…” “And don’t make me force you up to her. I expect you to mean what you say and do.” Nanu continued being led down by the alicorn. At the very least, it was a relief on his aching feet. Guzma stepped inside the conference room, the sudden break of tranquility jolting Acerola out of her meditation. “Oh, sorry!” Guzma took a second to allow her to recognize him before he approached. “Didn’t realize you were calmed down already.” “No, not really,” Acerola muttered. “I honestly haven’t felt this upset since he left me at the hospital. I mean, what, were you expecting me to be throwing a tantrum or something?” Guzma took the seat next to her. “Mm, no. I just wasn’t expecting it to be so quiet in here.” “Right, well… What’s going on? What did I miss?” “Nothing much. Nanu’s telling his side of the story to Spike and Twilight, and–” “Probably going to be a self-pity party, isn’t it?” “I wouldn’t count on it, Ace. The old man has clearly been beating himself up over this thing. I wouldn’t expect him to be so biased.” “Please… don’t tell me you’re–” “Listen, I realize what he did to you was the shitty thing to end all shitty things, but me and my squad back at Po Town are still indebted to him, and I can’t really knock him for that.” Guzma then surprised Acerola by leaning toward her and giving her a hug around her chest and upper arms. “And don’t get any ideas that Hala letting me take his place here wasn’t one of the best things that happened to me… to both of us.” _____________________________________________________ Acerola sat in the front passengers seat of a jeep driven by Guzma, his hair cut short and spikey and wearing a white tank top and black sweatpants. Her eyes were red and wet and she looked as if she had ran two back-to-back marathons. Guzma grumbled as impatient cars passed them on the road, a handful of them honking angrily as they did. It didn’t matter. All he needed to do was get Acerola and himself back home safe and sound. “Thanks…” Guzma glanced to her, only now starting to register her bald head as she used her snood as a makeshift pillow. After realizing what she said, he focused back on the road. “Ah, don’t mention it. It would be pretty whack of me not to pick you up after… that.” “Still… thanks.” Guzma nodded, taking small glances back at the side of her head as he continued driving, becoming visibly more fascinated with each look. “Please don’t stare.” Acerola sounded close to crying again, but even Guzma could tell she was too weak to now. “I’m already really self-conscious about it, and–” “Hey, hey!” Guzma laughed. “Don’t get me wrong, I think it looks kind of neat.” Acerola stirred just enough to be able to look at Guzma. “R… really?” “Hell yeah! I’ve always kind of liked women with shorter hair.” Acerola, even as half-baked as she felt, felt a natural smile creep onto her face. “Actually, now that I think about it… didn’t you use to be the leader of Team Skull?” Guzma smirked and shrugged, unable to deny it. “I think we’ll have a lot of free time to get to know each other.” _____________________________________________________ “Yep,” Guzma nostalgically sighed. “Good times.” “Maybe not the right choice of words, but I get what you mean.” Acerola stood out of her spot. “Come on. It’s getting close to lunchtime, and I think a certain couple of kids would really like to see us.” “Hmm, I heard that. May help take your mind off of it too.” Guzma let Acerola lead the way out, and the two of them walked back into the hallway to return to the dining room. Acerola and Guzma walked through the doorway, instantly feeling nonplussed to find that the room was exactly how they left it, right down to Nanu, Twilight, and Spike standing between them and Lillie and Burnet. “Hey!” Acerola shouted. “Guzma said you were talking to Twilight and Spike!” “We did!” Twilight defended. “And after hearing what he had to say, I want to tell you that–” “Stop.” Even with his soft voice, his command silenced Twilight almost instantly. “You’re right. This is my peace to try and make.” There was a moment of silence as Nanu glanced out, trying to find the best way to say what he needed, annoying Acerola. “What are you talking about, Nanu? I don’t want to hear–” “I’m so sorry, Acerola!” Even to hear the words come out of his mouth, Acerola stopped talking and her body froze. “I abandoned you, and I thought I could make it all go away if I pretended like it never happened… like, you never happened.” Twilight smiled proudly, happy to see the curmudgeonly Kahuna let it all out on his own volition. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, and you have every right not to, but at least let me say that I’m done running from you. Done running from your pain, the pain I caused you. Even if I’m five years too late, I don’t want to make it any later. I’m sorry. I’m sorry a thousand times, and I’ll always be sorry a thousand more. Please give me one more chance. Please, if you can, let me be there by your side again.” All eyes were now on Acerola, who kept standing stiff as she processed the words she never thought she’d hear for the rest of their lives. Two tears came down from both eyes as she relaxed herself, wiping her cheeks dry with her thumb. Acerola sniffed, clearing her nose and throat to sound as clear as she could. “Thank you, Nanu. It’s good to finally hear you say that.” Nanu let out a breath, his lips just barely curling and about to smile. “It’s just… I can’t forgive you quite yet.” Nanu’s expression melted back down into one of bitter defeat, and Twilight and Spike behind him patiently waited for her to make her case. “You… really hurt me, Nanu. You say you’re sorry, and I know you are, but you really don’t know how bad it hurt waiting for you back in that room and to not hear from you until after I went into remission. I still hurt from that day, and no amount of playtime with Noah and Amy with Guzma will make me forget the pain I feel from what you did.” Now everyone looked back to Nanu, who still stood dejected and crushed over her response. Despite expecting this, Twilight and Spike looked up pitifully at him, her ears drooped sympathetically for him. He then slowly picked his head up and stood straight, almost proudly, much to Guzma and Twilight’s surprise. “I understand, Acerola,” he huffed. “Heh... To think I was foolish enough to think you’d be calling me uncle again after that.” Acerola couldn’t help but glower, ironically agreeing with him. “Though, my apology still stands. I want to be back in your life again. If that takes a month, a year, or even another five years, so be it. I don’t need you to love me, or even like me, I just want to be the Kahuna that I always should have been to you.” Even with the tensions as high as they’ve been all day, there was something in Nanu’s rebuttal that earned looks of respect from all except Acerola. Even with the lack of change in her expression, Nanu’s face also refused to change, respecting her position. “Well, anyways. I think it would be best if I gave you some space now.” Nanu turned back to leave, stopping as he was about to pass Lillie. “If it’s all the same, I’d like to eat alone someplace.” “Oh, sure!” Lillie exclaimed. “I can have someone direct you to a bedroom!” “That sounds nice. Thank you. I’ll wait outside.” Nanu stepped out of the room, Acerola watching his every move with benign interest before the door closed on him. Nanu laid on his back on his bed, a dirty plate and silverware resting on the bedside table, the leftover ketchup on them already crusted over. He had no idea how long he had been laying down, but he certainly had a lot to dwell on and more time to do it. As badly as he wanted to look at the time, he let the thoughts leave his mind, breathing in deep breaths to calm his muscles and ease his mind back to his headspace. As more seconds passed, he found that he couldn’t wait any longer, shooting up from his bed and pulling the drawer from the table out. Grabbing his Pokédex and holding it up to his face, he was instantly greeted with the time: 5:49. Nanu hummed, both amazed and impressed for how long he had been able to rest for. Pinching the end of his chin, the prickle of his stubble felt sharper than ever before, and on running his hand through his hair, his stomach churned over how greasy it felt. Even as he rubbed his thumb over his fingers, it still felt like a thin layer of popcorn butter. He knew what needed to be done now, and he stood from his bed and made a beeline to the bathroom door. “Honedge, Shadow Claw!” Honedge faced a log set on the stump of a tree facing the sea south of Konikoni City, soaring itself out with the right side of its blade glowing with a purple flame. As Sam wound his right arm in, Honedge shifted to the left to follow its trainer’s moves. With a swing to the right of both Sam’s arm and Honedge’s blade, Honedge sliced the log clean down the middle and knocked the pieces away. “Yeah! Nice one!” Sam held his fist up as Honedge returned to him, gently slapping its blade against it. Both Alice and Olivia watched discreetly behind him from a distance, both glad to see him take his training and preparation for the next day seriously. Nanu let the faucet pour water into his cupped hands and splashed it on his face once they were half-full, massaging the oil off his brow and the shaving cream from his cheeks, chin, and jawline. Grabbing the towel hanging from the wall to his left, he dried his head and slowly looked up into the mirror, slowly moving the towel down to let him see his washed hair and his now smooth, shaven face. Wiping the counter down and turning the faucet off, he stared at his new appearance. With another stroke of his hair followed by another of his chin, Nanu grinned back at the best reflection of himself that he had seen in years. A reflection that he could finally respect.