//------------------------------// // Chapter 34 // Story: Old Scars, New Chances // by Arcticbrony //------------------------------// It had been over a full day in Neighagra Falls since the Pokémon Ranger had gone missing, but, the town was still calm and life went on like usual. It had started as a small rumor, but in a small town like that, it won't take long for just a single rumor to spread thoroughly. And thus, everypony now thought that Olivia had gone out of town for an unknown reason. There had been some talk about why she would leave in the middle of the investigation that she was helping the local police with… but other than that, no pony questioned it any further. And the source of this extremely convenient rumor? The local herbalist and expert liar, Vernus himself. While Zoey had said that Olivia occasionally went out of town, and maybe none of the towns ponies would question her sudden disappearance anyway. He thought that it would be better if they covered their tracks and made sure. But despite how good of a liar he was, he did not enjoy it one bit. Especially not when he had to lie and hide this from the rest of his family. Worse than that, Chii had apparently noticed that something was wrong and asked why her “Uncle Vernus” looked so sad. He had been sloppy. But luckily, Chii had accepted it when he had said that he had just been feeling a little sick and that it would pass soon. She was so insightful and so innocent at the same time, a horrible combination in some circumstances. And with how much that Vernus cared for her, he could not let her know what he or Zoey was doing. To let her be corrupted by their current actions. A necessary evil… that was what they called something like that. Vernus hated that particular line. He had always just thought that it was something that horrible individuals told themselves to justify their actions. Though… in light of the recent events, he could understand it a little more clearly. They had already kidnapped someone, and he was going to make drugs so that they could wipe her recent memory… He had swore that he would never touch or even think about making those substances again. Desperate times calls for desperate measures… or at least so he told himself. He would do anything to keep his family safe and protect them… but he did not have to like what they had to do. It bothered Zoey too. She was hiding it well, but he had known her for such a long time that he could see through her facade. She was so fragile, and he had to make sure that nothing severe happened to her, or anymon that she cared deeply about. Because if it did… he was not sure that she could take it. “Only a few more hours.” He told himself, that was all the time that he would need to complete that narcotic drug of his. It was a concoction of his own creation. The ingredients were all fairly common and harmless in their own right, but when combined and prepared in the right way, they could make something truly horrible. Memory loss was just one of the side effects when an overdose was taken. Needless to say, that was not the only negative effect that it had on the user. Heaven's Glow, that was the name that that particular drug had gotten. It had a psychedelic effect on the user, making them feel like they were in heaven, hence the name. But it was also horribly addictive, and the withdraw symptoms were… they were bad. It had taken years for himself to fully recover. Granted, Olivia would not be exposed to it for as long a time as he had been, so the after effects would not be nearly as bad as they had been to him, but still... “Arceus forgive us.” Vernus quietly muttered to himself as he looked up to the sky. But unknown to Vernus, not everypony was fully convinced of the rumor concerning Olivia that was going around town. One pony, was having doubts about the whole situation, and said pony was currently at Mary Care's house, talking to her about it. “I get what you are saying.” Mary said as she poured both her and her visitor a cup of tea. She was nothing if not a good host. “But she had done this before, correct? She has been looking for her partner, it's understandable that she wants to find him again, right?” Her horn lit up as she levitated the cup of tea to to herself and gently blew on the hot liquid. They were sitting in Mary's living room on opposite ends of the table that was laid out in front of them. The smell of the herbal tea creating a refreshing aroma throughout the room. “That may be so.” Protocol used his magic to lift of his own tea and took a small sip of it, despite how hot it was. “But we are in the middle of an important investigation… and she does not strike me as the kind of pony- I mean, the kind of Pokémon that would do something like that.” Protocol and Mary were old friends, which was why he had gone to her to talk about the current situation. “I am usually not wrong about somepony’s type of personality, no… I don't believe that she would just leave when we were in the middle of this case. Especially not after Jenny got captured. It just does not seem like something that she would do.” He looked deeply into his cup of tea as he spoke, like he was hoping that there would be some sort of answer within it if he looked deep enough. “She had not been here that long, you know.” Mary said with a sweet smile. “Maybe you were just wrong about her? I mean… some of them are so close that they are like a family. Maybe that is why she wants to find her partner so strongly?” It was definitely an option, one that Protocol had considered for a little while. “Am I usually wrong about things like this?” Protocol asked and as much as Mary wanted to believe that the rumor was true… she had known Protocol for such a long time and knew him so well that she knew that he was probably right. “No… she felt too strongly about this case to just leave, of that, I am sure.” If there was somepony that would know something like that, it was Protocol, Mary was sure about that. “So… what then?” She asked, as she levitated her cup of tea back down and set it on the table. It was still a little too hot for her liking. “Of that, I am not sure.” Protocol shook his head. He had given the matter some thought, but without anything to go on, there was not much that he could do. “There is also too much else going on for me to put any resources into looking for her. Especially since we have no idea about what have happened. No, for the moment we will just have to wait.” That was the correct thing to do, at least that was what he had convinced himself. He had a feeling that something was wrong, a hunch if you wanted. But he could not act on a hunch alone. And until he found some concrete evidence, that was the course of action that he would follow. “I hope that you are right in that… But speaking of the case, Ethan came to me with some peculiar news about that. and I hoped that you could shed some more light on it.” Mary leaned forward in her seat as she spoke. “What about?” “About the fact that you requested assistance from Canterlot. Is it right that the Princesses felt that you could handle this situation on your own?” Ethan had found it really strange that they did not receive any kind of assistance in the matter, and Mary had in turn done her best to put his fears to rest and reassured him that everything was alright. She did this, even if she had not been completely convinced herself. “That is correct.” Protocol nodded. “There was of course more to it than that, but that was the gist of it.” But even with those words, Mary was not completely convinced. “...” Mary just looked at Protocol, staring into his eyes as if she hoped that she could spot something, anything in there that would reassure her. “I hope that you know what you are doing.” Mary let out a soft sigh as she shook her head. “Have you ever known me to do something that I was not sure of?” It was the sort of answer that she had expected from him. “More times than I could count.” She countered with the tiniest of smiles gracing her face. “Do not worry yourself about things that does not concern you.” That, however got an internal reaction out of Mary. That string of words… they, they hurt her. “You are my friend, so this does concern me!” Mary raised her voice to hide the hurt that was seeping into her words. Protocol was one of her oldest friends, but sometimes, he could just act like a real ass. Even if he did not mean it. “… I hope that you are doing the right thing.” Mary said, her voice reverting back to its normal volume. The two friends looked into each other's eyes, staring into the soul of the other. To any others it would seem like nothing. But to them, they were having an intense silent battle of wills. Protocol who was sure that he was in the right. And Mary, who knew that what he was currently doing was wrong, but desperately wanted to understand her old friend. And so, after a few seconds, that felt like a small eternity, Mary averted her eyes. “I trust you, Protocol… and I will keep your secret safe. But if things get any worse from here on, then promise me that you will swallow your pride and do what needs to be done… can you do that for me?” Once again, Mary and Protocol found themselves looking at each other, but this time, Mary was much more determined. A small fire currently burned within her chest, she would not step down this time. It was a little later during that day when Ethan found himself down at the waterfall along with Scylla, as they were having another one of their sessions. Ethan had been working very closely with her ever since they had the breakthrough after Jenny had been kidnapped. Scylla had shown some of the worst anger issues that he had ever seen in any Pokémon, though he had heard about some pretty bad cases regarding some dragon types. Still, he was more than qualified to help her get through her problems and that was exactly what he was going to do. Over the first few sessions after the breakthrough, they had mostly just talked and discussed Scylla's past and her involvement within Checkmate. Ethan felt that it was important that Scylla felt that her situation was not her fault, rather a result of her biology and environment combining in an unfortunate way. That and they worked on several exercises that were targeted to help Scylla calm herself down if she ever felt like she was starting to lose control again. And while Scylla was having some trouble, it was clear that she was really, really trying. She had a goal in mind, and she was working hard to achieve that goal. Though they still had a few… incidents from time to time, and Ethan had found himself being thrown backwards from the force behind Scylla's voice, and even into the water a time or two. But unlike the other situations where this had happened before, Ethan could now see that Scylla had started regretted losing control, even if it was only for a second or two. And she actually apologized, that was a clear sign that she was taking those sessions seriously and that she was changing for the better. He had given it a little thought before, but Ethan also thought that the calm nature of the town had a positive influence on Scylla. She was no longer called out on missions all the time like she was when she was still in Checkmate. No, she was just spending most of her days swimming up or downstream, doing whatever it was that she did when she was not relaxing near the bottom of the waterfall. It was just a small influence, but in the long run, Ethan was sure that it would provide extremely helpful to Scylla's anger management issues. But today, Ethan had decided to try a small exercise to see how far Scylla had gotten. To see how much self control she had, or rather, how much it would take for that self control to snap. In other words, he would be purposely antagonizing her. Now… if there had been any other Pokémon psychologists there, they would most likely all have strongly discouraged Ethan's current choice. Saying that there were better ways, safer ways. Or that he was a fool to even try to calm the natural rage of a Gyarados. And he would have to agree, there were definitely safer ways, but not necessarily better. Different, yes. But better? That he was not so sure about. He had grown to know Scylla rather well over the time that she had been his patient, and he was positive that Scylla would benefit more from such a paws-on exercise. But, he was not the one that was riling Scylla up and trying to make her lose her cool. No, it would be much easier to observe Scylla if he was not running around for his life. So, he had gotten help from a friend of his who had a special knack for getting under other ponies skin, and at the same time, was extremely agile so he could dodge any of Scylla's potential attacks against him if it should come to that. He had asked Zephyr for help, and the pegasus had agreed almost instantaneously. He was more than happy to help, even if the task involved trying to piss off a huge Pokémon that could level a small town with relative ease. And so, it was such that Ethan found himself sitting on a rather comfortable stone near the water while Zephyr kept zipping around in the air with Scylla shouting profanities after him. “Get down here, you annoying little shit. I will tear off your wings and feast upon them!” To anypony that would be passing by it would seem pretty bad, but in all honestly, it was not. Scylla was annoyed at him, most certainly. But she was still in control, that and she had even restrained herself from attacking him… mostly, that was. She had fried a few Hydro Pumps in his general vicinity to scare him. “No, I’m good up here, thank you very much.” Zephyr said as he poked his head out from the little cloud that he was zipping around on. “Besides, the last time I even came near you, you tried to bite me.” Okay, so they still had some ways to go… but just like the Hydro Pumps, the bite had just been to scare the pegasus. At least Ethan was sure that it had been. He knew that Scylla would have been easily able to catch Zephyr had she really been trying. In the beginning, Scylla had remained fairly calm, having been able to ignore Zephyr or at least to block him out. But then Zephyr had gotten the same small cloud that he was currently residing on. And to the surprise of both Ethan and Scylla, he had begun to send small and rather weak bolts of lightning down from the cloud, hitting Scylla with each and every one of them. Needless to say, Scylla had not taken this development calmly. “Oh just you wait…” Ethan noticed the change of tone in Scylla's voice and was wondering exactly what it was that she was planning. “Don’t do anything stupid now.” He spoke up, warning her. But Scylla just looked at him with a small grin instead. “Oh, nothing like that… even as much as I want to… no, I just thought that this little flier could need a little…” Scylla lowered her powerful tail into the water and Ethan watched as she tensed the muscles in it. “bath.” And with an impressive show of strength, Scylla threw her tail up towards Zephyr. With how deep her tail had been submerged and how she had positioned her fin, she moved a huge amount of water along with her tail and practically tossed it high up into the air, straight towards Zephyr whose eyes widened as he understood what was happening. “Oh shit…” But even though he understood it, did not mean that he was fast enough to dodge. The wave of water washed over Zephyr, dissipating his cloud as it did and taking him with it as it rushed back down into the lake below. Creating a small splash as he landed. “Was that really necessary?” Ethan turned to Scylla who had an extremely smug, satisfied smile on her face. “Very.” She huffed and both of them turned to look at the spot where Zephyr had landed, the water around it was still rippling and a small amount of bubbles was surfacing. “I was hard to keep cool at times there when he was going at it.” Scylla admitted. “But in the end, you preservered. You were angry, but you were still in control. Is that not a good feeling?” A few seconds had passed and Zephyr had still not resurfaced. Ethan had made sure to ask the pegasus if he could swim beforehand just to be sure, and he had gotten a confident “yes” in return. “It really is. It is a feeling that I want to keep.” Hearing that made Ethan smile a little more. She still was the same Pokémon that he had met over a week ago… but she had changed to much at the same time. “And it seems that he did not drown after all.” Scylla commented as a shadow could be seen nearing the surface at the place where Zephyr had landed. The pegasus broke the water surface and immediately gasped for air. His wings and hooves thrashing about for a moment or two before he calmed down. His mane was hanging down, clinging to his body because of the water, and covering his eyes in the process. After using one of his hooves to move it out of the way, he slowly and rather clumsily began to swim towards the shore where Ethan and Scylla were waiting for him. “Hate… you… so much… right now?” Zephyr spoke in short bursts as his face was quite often splashed with water from his clumsy swimming style. He could swim, he had not lied about that. But he was most certainly not a master at it. “Oh, don't be a baby about it.” Scylla just scoffed, and Ethan had to stifle a laugh as Zephyr propped himself up with his forehooves and climbed ashore. All of his fur and mane stuck to his body and made him look quite comical. “You totally deserved that after pelting me with electricity.” “That was kinda fun, yeah.” Zephyr grinned as his mood did a complete turnabout. “Still… I am going to need to do some serious preening after that rough landing.” He was holding out one of his wings and was inspecting it, gently pushing some of his feathers to get a better look underneath them. “Thank you a lot for your help, though.” Ethan thanked him. There was certainly a lot of other ways that he could have gone about to get the same kind of result. But in the end, he thought that it had worked out pretty well. “You up for something similar another time?” “And risk getting shot out of the sky another time by this crazy lady right here?” Zephyr looked up to the two of them, water still dripping from his wet mane. “Yeah, why not. I mean, it was kind of fun.” And just like that, Zephyr's mood had completely turned around once again. Ethan was sure that he just did that to mess with the two of them. It certainly seemed like something that Zephyr would do. “Not the getting soaked part, though… that sucked.” “Well, I am really appreciating your help, Zephyr. If we are doing something like this again, then I'll ask you.” It was certainly something that Ethan thought helped Scylla, at least it made it easier to spot her progress. But he did not think that it was something that they would too too often. Zephyr did not linger too long after that. He said that he had something that he needed to take care off before he made his goodbye and left, leaving a small wet trail after him as the water continued to drip off his tail. “You managed yourself quite well back there.” Ethan turned to Scylla once Zephyr was out of sight. She had restrained herself quite well, all things considered. And when she had decided that it was finally enough, she had done so in a calm and collected manner… well, mostly anyway. “And I still want to tear his wings off.” Scylla just growled in a low tone. The whole ordeal had put her in a bad mood. But that was understandable. “But you didn’t, and that’s what's important.” Not that he thought that Scylla would actually harm Zephyr. She just liked to keep up that tough facade; it was who she wanted other ponies and Pokémon to see her. But despite her efforts to make everyone think that she was just some though Gyarados, Ethan had gotten to see a different side of her over the time that they had known each other. But even if she did her best to hide it, Ethan could see that glint in her eye that showed him that she was indeed happy with how their session had gone. “So, now that we are done with that. Is there something that you want to talk about?” Ethan asked as he sat down besides Scylla's large form. She had done really well, but he still wanted to hear it from her if that was possible. “Not really…” Scylla trailed off, which was quite unusual for her. She was the type of Mon, that would either straight up decline or accept. This was certainly not like her, and Ethan found himself growing a bit curious as he sat there. She looked away and up to the waterfall after she spoke, and let her gaze remain there. “I need to go soon, anyway.” That was… interesting. Ethan had expected a lot of answers from her. But that had not been one of them. And such, Ethan found himself wanting to know more. He could and probably should have respected Scylla's privacy. But he just had an urge at times, an unseen will that pushed him forward. He wanted - no, needed to know what was currently going on inside of her mind. Because while it was not strange in itself that Scylla simply wanted to leave, to be done with their session, what was strange was the way that she said it, how she worded it, and the body language that she expressed while doing so. It was not like her, not one bit. “Got plans?” Ethan asked with a cocky smirk on his face. He was certainly moving into risky waters now. Poking his nose where it did not belong. “None of your business!” Scylla snapped, her teeth bared as she glared down at Ethan, who kept perfectly still with a calm look upon his face. Though he still felt that tinge of fear within himself, he knew that Scylla would not attack or harm him, not without a reason, at least. But he still knew how much power that body of hers held, and there was sort of a respect in that fear for her. But more importantly, she had snapped at him. She had not done that in a while, no, they had worked past the point where she would snap at him for no apparent reason. That probably meant that what he was asking her about was personal. Most likely something that Scylla had not wanted to share, if her initial reaction was anything to judge her by. “No need to be like that.” Ethan spoke in a calm and level voice, the same voice that he had used in their earlier sessions. He had figured out that it had a sort of, calming effect on whoever was listening. “I am here to help you, remember?” Scylla held her initial angry expression for a few seconds, before it slowly melted away. “S...sorry.” Her voice was low, much lower that what would seem normal for a Gyarados of her size. She never felt comfortable when apologizing; that, Ethan had already figured out. “I-it's nothing.” It was obviously something. “You don't snap like that anymore, not for nothing, at least.” It must have been something that she felt very strongly about. “You don’t have to say what it was about. But if you want to, then I am willing to listen. Maybe I can even help.” Help. Another word that Scylla still had some problems with. Strength was her personality and embedded deeply within her very core. So to admit that she needed help, was something that she still found difficult. To her, it was like admitting your own weakness. Ethan still needed to get her to realize that such a thing was not the case. But she had gotten better, and she was currently squirming under Ethan's gaze as she thought over his words. Her body language clearly said that she wanted to share her secret, but her mindset was working against her. In the end though, that mindset lost. “Promise not to tell anymon?” Scylla finally asked. And Ethan nodded in return. “Well… it is something that I have been doing for a while. What I have been doing every time I went upstream. Do you know of the lake above the waterfall?” And in fact, Ethan did know, Mary had told him about it. “Yes, I take it that is where you have been going?” And this time, it was Scylla's turn to nod. A gesture that looked a little alien on her, mostly because she really had no neck. “I told you about my past, the one I had before… before I evolved.” It was the part of her past that she really wanted to forget. But as much as she wished for that part of her past to never have happened. It was part of what had formed and molded her into the Gyarados that she was to that day. Ethan nodded as Scylla continued. “Well, I found something above the waterfall, in that lake.” A certain glint could be seen in her eye, a passion was burning behind them as she spoke. “A lot of other Magikarp had been gathering there, trying to hide in the waters from any potential predators. The waters around there was calm enough so that they would not be swept downstream. But it was not deep enough to protect them from all threats. I… I had to do something.” Her voice was getting louder once more, but there was a different kind of rage behind it now. “I know what it is like for them, to be that weak, to hope, beg that you can survive until you evolve. So, that lake is now under my protection.” Scylla rose up as she said that last part. She was a different kind of mon in that exact moment. Not some rage-filled Gyarados, not some mercenary of Checkmate. But instead, a protective matriarch, a role model who would do anything in her power to make sure that the ones under her protection remained safe. It was a look that fit her. “That is a very noble thing to do.” Ethan positively beamed as he looked up to Scylla. “But why keep it a secret?” Of course he had a few thoughts about why, but he wanted to hear it from her. “I did not want anymon else to find out. A lake full of Magikarp would be considered an easy meal for so many. They would die before they even got close,” A low, guttural sound escaped from her throat as she growled. A sound that easily raised the hairs on Ethan's neck, sending a short chill down his spine. She was deadly serious. “But I did not want to take that chance. The fewer that know, the better.” It was a sound argument, one that Ethan could agree with. Scylla kept glancing over at the waterfall during their conversation, she was eager to get going. He had indeed held her for long enough. “I will keep it a secret then.” Ethan slowly nodded. He respected what Scylla was doing and wanted to support her, even if only slightly in his own way. Perhaps he could do more later. “You just get going. They are waiting for you, are they not?” Scylla held her gaze on Ethan for a moment, her eyes meeting his. It was a silent agreement between the two of them. Ethan knew that even despite everything that he had done to help her, Scylla would not hesitate to hurt him should he break his promise to keep her secret. And in return, he hoped that Scylla would sense his sincerity. A nod. That was all the answer that Scylla gave before she slipped back into the water, her powerful form rippling below the surface before she leaped up to conquer the waterfall, forcing herself up against its constant pressure. Climbing a waterfall is no easy feat, especially not one that big or powerful, but Scylla made it look easy, like it hardly took any effort at all on her part. In just a few seconds, Scylla had climbed the humongous waterfall and slipped over the edge, only for her head to pop back over the edge, looking down at Ethan once more. And just like before, Scylla gave him a single nod of respect before she turned and continued upstream. It had been an unusual session, but even so, Ethan thought that they had made significant progress that day. And he found himself smiling as he continued to look up towards the top of the waterfall. He felt like he had gotten to know Scylla a little bit more. It was a good day. Ethan was not sure how long he simply sat there and thought about everything that had happened. With how quick they were making progress, he would have to do things a bit different in some of their future sessions. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he did not notice that he was no longer alone until someone spoke up right next to him. “Ethan, there you are.” Ethan's whole body suddenly tensed up for a moment from the surprise, but just as quickly as it had come, it faded away. He recognized the voice after all, and turned to see Jenny's Growlithe. “Ah, yes. Sorry, I was lost in thought.” Ethan excused himself, taking one last look at the top of the waterfall before shaking his head with a small smile. “So, what can I do for you?” He asked the Growlithe. It had been a few days since the last time they had seen each other, before the Growlithe was sent out on his mission. In fact, if he was back then that could mean... “I came to find you as soon as we got back to town.” The Growlithe said, he seemed to almost be shaking with excitement. “Glider went to report to Protocol, but I wanted to fill you in as well. We got a fresh lead.” Those five words made a shiver go through Ethan's body, all the way from his toe up and out to the very tip of his fluffy ears. It had been what they had been waiting for. “I'll fill you in on the details later, but we may have gotten the location of another one of their bases. And somepony had spotted a unicorn frequenting that area. And the description fits Shady to the letter.” Sharing his excitement, Ethan stood up with a huge smile on his face. This was the lead that they needed, they were finally catching up on those poaching bastards. “Maybe we will even find Jenny there.” Ethan had been wrong, it was not a good day, no. “Let's head up to the station then. We got no time to lose.” It was a great one.