Chapter 16
“There really is not much I can do if you don’t tell me anything you know.” Ethan was sitting at the banks at the bottom of the waterfall with Scylla laying coiled up on the ground in front of him. She had gotten better to the point where she could move about without too much problems.
“... This is not easy to do!” Scylla exclaimed. “I… just give me a little time... this is not easy to do…” Scylla said as she lowered her voice and looked down at the ground. Ethan had suspected that Scylla had some ghosts in her past for a while now. How she reacted to certain things, and her fascination about strength. Being strong was a good thing to work towards, but there was a point where it turned into something unhealthy, and the mentality Scylla had about it certainly was just that.
So Ethan had offered his help or rather expertise to Scylla should she need it. At first she had seemed reluctant just as Ethan would have suspected. If his assessment of her was correct she would see opening up about herself as somewhat of a weakness on her part. But after word about what had happened to Chii the other night had reached her and she had a small talk with Zoey about it… she changed her mind, much to Ethan’s surprise.
“Take all the time that you need… would you rather that I ask you some questions maybe?” Ethan offered as he watched Scylla squirm in place as she struggled to find the words. He did not think that this was a situation that Scylla was familiar or even comfortable with.
“...Maybe.” It was painfully obvious how uncomfortable Scylla was with the idea about talking about her past. Ethan had half a mind to talk to Zoey later to see if she had pushed her into it. But he would not overlook this chance that he got nonetheless.
“Well… Zoey mentioned that you were in a mercenary group called Checkmate.” Ethan purposely let out the fact that he knew that Scylla knew him because of a bounty. This session was supposed to be about her. “How was that? I mean… there must have been a reason for you to have joined, right?”
“Of course I was there for a reason!” Scylla immediately snapped at Ethan. He had grown used to these small bursts of anger she had over the past few days, even grown to expect them at times. “I fit in there! I was useful… I had a purpose.” Her voice had gradually weakened as she talked.
Ethan nodded to himself as he took mental notes of the words she had used and how she had used them.
“Why don’t you talk a little about your group? Leave details out if you want to, I'm sure that there are things that you don't want outsiders to know about.” Ethan told her as he continued to lead her on. He had wanted to continue to push her when she had mentioned how she was useful and had a purpose. It did not take a psychologist to see that there was some history behind that. But he figured that it would be better to take things slower with her.
“We were great!” Scylla started with a grin on her face. “But more importantly, we were strong! There were no job that we could not complete. We… not all the jobs we did was what you would consider good, but I did not care. As long as I could be of use to that person then everything was good.” There was that word again. That and Ethan noticed that she used the word person instead of Pokémon.
“Your leader I take it?” Ethan inquired. He remembered how Scylla had mentioned how he was a weak human when they had first met. She valued strength, that much he had figured out.
“Yes, not just a human but a fine leader. A strong leader!” Ethan winced as she went off shouting again. He really had to address that issue with her later. At least about holding oneself back when there were people or ponies in close proximity.
“So do you want to tell me a little about how you were before you evolved?” Ethan could see that Scylla froze for a moment before she looked away from him. It was common knowledge that Magikarps were not the most liked Pokémon. A lot of people would go so far as to say that they were absolutely useless, only good for their meat. That and with how weak a Magikarp was in the first place… it was no wonder that it was a sore subject for Scylla.
“I think we are done for now!” Scylla growled in a low tone as she uncoiled herself and began moving towards the water only for Ethan to jump in front of her, blocking her off.
“Wait we were making such good progress… I’m sorry for bringing up a touchy subject.” Ethan said as he held out his arms in a feeble attempt to stop her. He knew very well that she could just push on through him without even making an effort.
“I dont want to talk about it!” Scylla growled.
“And that is fine… I won't bring it up for now.” Ethan told her as he relaxed a bit and moved onto some more serious matters. “But you really do need to work on that anger of yours. You almost scared that pony to death when he came down with some food for you!” Ethan said as he raised his voice slightly.
“It was not that bad…” Scylla said as she looked away again.
“You screamed at him with full force!” Ethan remembered having to reassure that and multiple other ponies that Scylla was not a danger to any of them or the town.
“I was getting annoyed because he was too scared about how I looked to bring the food close enough!”
“That is still no excuse!” Ethan took a few deep breaths as he calmed himself down again. “See? just like that. But you have to understand. You look really scary to a lot of ponies and other Pokémon too. Just being riled up because of some little thing and screaming at them will only make things worse for you. I would like to teach you a few exercises to help control your anger issues.”
“I DO NOT HAVE ANGER ISSUES!” Scylla roared at him with such a force that Ethan had to use his arms to shield his face. He could even feel himself being pushed back slightly from the force of the yell. When Ethan lowered his arms he crossed them over his chest and looked at Scylla who were looking really guilty and was refusing to meet Ethan’s glance.
“We have some work to do yeah… See, here is what you should do…”
Zoey sat outside the warehouse. She was enjoying the feeling of the sunshine and the wind as it ruffled her fur there she sat. Brawly had helped her with all the Pokémon so that she did not have that much to deal with alone while Ethan had gone down to the lake to have a small session with Scylla.
“I should apologise.” Brawly said as he sat there besides her. He and Chii had gone out with her to get some fresh air. “I really did not know that he hadn't told any of you guys… He should have told you guys sooner. I should have made him tell you.”
“You couldn't have known… besides. It’s Ethan we are talking about here. He usually doesn't tell anyone anything if you don't push him to do it, or unless he got a good reason.” Zoey said as she shook her head.
“He means well… he is just… himself.” Zoey and Brawly shared a short laugh while Chii just huffed. “Still mad at me?” Brawly asked as he looked down at Chii.
“Yes.... everything was going perfectly according to plan until you showed up.” She said with as much effort she could put into her voice. She had been much less energetic than she usually was. Now she was just… tired.
“So that’s why you have been mad with me, eh?”
“Chii! You can't blame Brawly for that…” Zoey said. But from the looks of it, Chii ignored her; she just got up and walked inside the warehouse, leaving Brawly and Zoey alone out there.
“Just let her be,” Brawly told her. “I suppose some of the blame is mine to take anyway.” Zoey blinked and looked over at Brawly who were sitting back with one leg crossed over the other.
“What do you mean?” She asked, a little confused as to what he meant with that statement.
“It’s only a suspicion at this point… but I'm not as blind when it comes to these things as you or Ethan. I swear, the two of you are like two socially awkward butterflies!” Brawly let out a small laugh as he shook his head.
Zoey did not say anything, she just looked on Brawly and waited for him to continue. She was curious as to where he was going with his statement.
“The way you looked at him, I mean, your intentions were pretty obvious.” At that Zoey blushed slightly and narrowed her eyes.
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“I’m sorry, I meant no offence!” Brawly smiled as he held up his paws in defence. “But my point was that I have dealt with a lot of stuff like this before. And I'm pretty sure that Ethan has been looking at me the same way that you looked at him for a while now!”
Zoey blinked and opened her mouth to speak, only for her to close it immediately. She opened and closed it several times with a dumbfounded expression on her face as she really was not sure what to say, do or think in that situation. In the end she settled on a single word.
“W-what?” Zoey stuttered out.
“You heard me.” Brawly said as he looked up at the sky.
“B-but… are you sure?” Zoey asked.
“Not completely, but I have had my suspicions for a while now.” Brawly answered as the door opened and the two of them could see Chii who were dragging a small box. She dragged it out to the grass in front of where Zoey and Brawly were sitting and proceeded to jump into the box. It was small but it fit her really well, only her head was sticking up as she was glaring at Brawly from within her box.
“It’s her box… I'm not sure why, but it makes her feel safe, so don’t question it.” Zoey said as she could see the question that had been growing on Brawly`s face from the moment Chii had dragged said box outside.
“She’s a sweet little thing, ain't she?” Brawly smiled as he watched Chii rummage as she tried to find a comfortable position.
“That she is… but back to what we were talking about. How do you feel about it?” Zoey asked. Chii had not heard the beginning of the conversation so it would not make too much sense to her. She did not want to hide it from Chii per se. But Chii was not the best at keeping secrets either.
“Not really sure,” Brawly answered honestly as he kept sending Chii funny faces, much to her anger. “We are friends, have been for most of our lives… But I'm not going to give it too much thought. Either he makes up his mind and confronts me ‘bout it, or he won't. I’ll make up my mind if and when that time comes. It’s as easy as that.” Brawly said with such a laid back attitude that Zoey just gawked at him. She really did not understand how anyone could think like that. But Brawly had always been the type to just take life easy and deal with things as they arose.
“What are you talking about?” Chii inquired from within her box. Zoey was about to make up a small lie, since she did not want to tell Chii just yet. But her fault came in that she paused for a few moments to think up that insignificant lie, and in those few moments Brawly spoke up instead.
“Whether Ethan likes me or not.” Brawly just blurted out.
Zoey just gaped at him, she had known Brawly for a while, for several years in fact. But his blunt and honest nature never stopped to surprise her. She wondered if he ever thought about the consequences of his actions of his words, or if he just did not care.
“W-w-what? N-no, I refuse to let that happen!” Chii yelled out as she jumped out of her little box and stood in front of Brawly with fury burning in her eyes. “I will not let you have our Ethan!”
Jenny walked calmly through the street with an air of confidence around her. The ponies around her constantly glanced in her direction and she had heard more than a couple of them whispering about her as she made her way through the town. Thankfully none of them did more than that. She had not seen many other Pokémon wander the streets as either, so she was more than a little out of place there as she made her way down the streets. There had been one incident with a foal that had wanted to play with her tails… but the foal’s mother had quickly gotten him, almost dragging the foal away from her like she was going to hurt it or something. She had apologised to the mother, but had not gotten any response in return. The mother had just gotten her foal and hightailed it out of there.
It had not taken that long for her to get to Hollow Shades. The train ride was relatively short, but still slow when she thought about how fast the transportation had used to be back on earth.
Jenny was searching for one particular place. The journal had mentioned a name and a meeting place. She had no hope for finding the pony in question that quickly, she would even consider herself lucky if he lived in that town. But she hoped to find some other ponies that either had seen the one she was looking for or knew who he was.
What she was looking for was a bar, the book did not mention a name but rather a description of the building.
“A darkened establishment with an inviting feel to it…” Jenny read it out loud to herself before groaning. “You were certainly cryptic enough Shady. It will feel so satisfying when I finally get to take you down.” Jenny tucked the journal back into her tails as she continued looking around. She was not sure what he meant with a darkened establishment. The whole town seemed a little darker than she was used to. But that was mostly because of the forest that literally surrounded the town.
If the forest back at Neighagra falls was light and playful, then this forest was gloomy and much denser too.
Figuring that she would get somewhere quicker if she asked for some directions, she walked up to a nearby earth pony that was tending to a small food stall.
“Excuse me, sir!” The pony blinked as it looked down at Jenny before it shook its head.
“Oh… what do you want?” The stallion answered, slightly unsure in his tone as he spoke towards her.
“I’m looking for a bar, are there many in town?” Jenny asked.
“Why do you want to know?” Jenny narrowed her eyes at the stallion. She had to deal with one wise guy on a daily basis, she did not need another one. She really wanted to chew the stallion out, but keeping a low profile also meant that you should not make a scene so she held herself back… for now.
“Why don’t you just tell me where they are and I'll be out of your hair?” She huffed.
“Hmm…” The stallion looked around for a moment before answering. “Ain't it a little early to start drinking?” Jenny just increased her glare and the stallion apparently understood her message as he swallowed and continued. She was no stranger to intimidating criminals to get what she wanted, a lone pony proved no challenge. “Right… one of them is down the street there, then you take a right and you'll see it. The other one is back at the other end of the town.” The stallion said while pointing to the locations as he talked.
“Thank you.” Jenny said before turning and walking away from the stallion that had given her directions. She was a little miffed that she had apparently walked past the first bar, but she was close to the other one so she would check out that one first.
It did not take long for her to get to where she could see the building in question. She had thought that the description of it was a little weird at first, but now that she saw it with her own eyes she noticed how well it fit.
The building itself was covered by the shadow of the forest behind it, while it at the same time, was bright with colors and lighting. All in all, it was looking very cozy and rustic for a bar.
“Guess I got it right the first time around.” Jenny smiled to herself as she walked up to the bar and entered. The inside was almost completely empty, only living soul she could see inside there was a unicorn that was standing on the other side of the bar counter, looking at her with a perplexed gaze.
“Um… we normally don't get customers this early… And certainly not of your kind.” The unicorn said as it kept looking at jenny. He had a few glasses in his magical grasp and was currently putting them on the counter behind him in an orderly stack.
“Yeah, well I'm not here for any drinks. I need some information.” Jenny said, in her experience being subtle had its uses, but this was not one of those times. Bartenders usually had a knack for picking up on small things, and she doubted that she could have managed to trick him into giving her information anyhow. Better to just be blunt and upfront about it.
“Well color me surprised, yer a talker. But ye want to do business, eh? Well, like all other things here, that costs.” Jenny figured that he would say something like that, and brought forth a small pouch she had hidden in her tails and fished out a couple of coins, dumping them on the counter.
“I’m looking for a unicorn… blond hair, gray coat-”
“-And a paper for a cutie mark, right?” Jenny narrowed her eyes at the unicorn but nodded. She really did not like being interrupted. “Well, what do ya want to know about him for?”
“That’s, as you would say, is none of your business.” Jenny told him before she pushed the coins over to him.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Less I know the better, eh? Well, fellow that you are looking for has a house here in town. Fellow’s name is Rigid Paper. He’s a famous writer, love novels and whatnot, I’m not into that myself. Travels a lot from what I know, but he’s in town right now.” Jenny blinked, she had hoped to find out some small amount of information about him at best, but she had hit jackpot.
“I see… and what about this pony?” Jenny asked as she slid over a sketch of Shady to the unicorn. “The two of them may have been talking…” The bartender scratched his head as he looked at the sketch.
“Well I don't know… my memory gets awfully fuzzy…” Jenny sighed and tok out a few more coins, dumping them on the counter. “Ah, now I remember! Yeah I saw the two of them together. It was a couple of days ago… little fuzzy on exactly how long ago, but I remember seeing the two of them in the corner talking. It’s easy to spot guys like that, they try so hard to avoid drawing attention to themselves that it works against them.”
“So you know what they were talking about?” Jenny pressed, but the bartender shook his head.
“Afraid not. You are awfully curious though if you don't mind me saying. Why are you interested in all of this?” He turned the question back on Jenny, something that she really did not appreciate.
“I'm… a reporter.” She said, though it came out a little forced.
“A reporter huh?” The bartender took a moment to look her over. “You certainly dont look the type… With your temper I would rather…” He quickly shut up as a ball of fire floated out of Jenny's mouth and hovered in between his eyes. He was giving her the info she needed, but that stallion was really getting on her nerves.
“As I said, I'm a reporter.” She growled at him.
“Right, right. For the bits you payed me, you can be the mayor of Canterlot for all I care.” He quickly regained his posture. “But if you are looking for him, then you shouldn't stay here for too much longer. I think I heard something about him heading out of town later this day.” Jenny silently cursed to herself.
“Here, a little extra for your good info and discretion.” Jenny said putting a few more bits on the counter. She had probably overpaid the stallion, but better to do that than to risk him ratting her out.
“Thank ya kindly!” The unicorn said before he gathered up the bits and went back to his work. “Good luck with that interview of yours and whatnot!” He waved Jenny off who just left without another word.
She had planned to get more information about the target before going back and informing the police. She could just go to the police in Hollow Shades… but she did not know them or if she should trust them. If that pony was a famous writer, then it would probably be even harder proving his guilt. But as things were, she just did not have the time to travel back to Neighagra Falls and back. Waiting was always an option… if he had a house there in town then he should return eventually… right?
But that would mean that there would be a lot of time left where something could happen to the Pokémon that he had bought. No, she had to act then and there. She had promised that she would not do anything rash or reckless, but she really did not have an option. At least she did not think that she did.
Jenny decided that dealing with the matter herself would be the best option. She had screwed up before, but she had learned her lesson from that and would not make the same mistakes this time around. So with that in mind she set off towards his house, hoping to find him there. She really did not want to scour the town for him, neither did she have the time to do so.
It was about halfway there that Jenny spotted the pony that she was looking for. It appeared that he was just out, buying some groceries and supplies from what Jenny could see. The problem then was how she would deal with him. She couldn't just go up to him and accuse him in broad daylight, and she couldn't do much else with that many other ponies nearby either. She was the outsider there, if they would believe anyone or in that case anypony, then it was him.
Without much other choice Jenny decided to keep her distance and follow Rigid Paper. Hopefully an opportunity would arise before he would leave the town. If he got on the train then there was pretty much nothing she could do.
She followed him for a while, always paying great attention to her surroundings to make sure that she did not seem out of place or got too close. After a while Jenny saw her chance and hurried after the stallion as she had seen him disappear into one of the alleys nearby. She thanked Arceus for her luck. She had no idea why he would travel down that path, as she was sure that it was a dead end but she was not about to question her little luck streak.
As she rounded the corner she could see that Rigid Paper had lit up his horn and was using some kind of magic on the wall next to him. Jenny knew next to nothing about magic, other than what she had encountered first hand during their fight with Shady. But she remembered Mary telling them that it required concentration and in most cases time. Time that she would not give him.
Jenny lunged forward with much more speed than she thought that she was capable off. She had just heard a small creak from the wall that he was using magic on, and she swore that she could see it move slightly, as if there was some kind of hidden passageway behind it. But she did not give him any more time to perform his magic as she collided with him, slamming him into the wall that was the end of the alleyway.
“W-what the-” Rigid Paper started. But Jenny had learned her lesson during her previous fight. She was much smaller and easier to overpower, so she would have to press any and all advantages that she might have. So she let her inner fire burn freely, flames lighting the insides of her mouth and escaping between her teach, burning the fur on Rigid Paper`s chin as she leaned in close.
“If another word comes out of your mouth then I will burn you!” She growled in a low voice as she tried to look as threatening as possible. She did not have any bad cop nearby, but she figured a bad cop would have to do.
“As if!” He tried to use magic as his horn lit up once more. But unlike the battle with Shady, this time Jenny was ready for him.
She let her flames loose, using an Ember that connected directly with his horn effectively cutting off any concentration that he might have had as pain seared through his body.
“Y-you… stupid bitch!” Rigid Paper groaned as he staggered around a bit, clutching his horn. “D-do you have any idea about what you h-have done?” He fell to the ground as he kept clutching his head and moaning in pain.
Jenny was just about to start questioning him when the strangest thing happened. His form started flickering for a few moments, before something happened that made Jenny jump back in surprise.
His whole body was suddenly covered in green flames, and just as sudden as they had come they vanished. Leaving behind something that Jenny had never seen before nor had any idea what she was going to make heads or tails of. Instead of a unicorn, a black bug type creature laid before her.
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Loved the chapter, and I certainly can't wait to see the next one!
nice author's note story.... i think?
btw CHANGELING!!!!!
the changelings are between us
pinkiecrazy:
dun dun DUUUUUUN
hmmmn, what kind of Pokemon could attract the interest of a Changling?
5725344
I know. I did not write it like that intentionally, but I thought it fit really well after my editor pointed it out.
5722129
Ditto?
Hnnng... fan art! I demand fan art!
Moldy, what kind of drugs were you on when you came up with that scene in the Author's Notes, and where can I get some?
5725396 I think it's called "ohgawdIreadtoomanytrollfics", but I might be wrong.
Actually… it's probably just Wuttcrack™. I have too many things in my stash, but I could probably hook ya up.
5728790
Perfect! I simply find LulWaht (TM) just doesn't have the same oomph it used to.
I'll have my guy call your guy, mkay?
5729053 It's a deal…
Yeah, after Wuttcrack™, I'd recommend Glorsehue (© 9001 kekek Inc.) afterwards. It's pretty hard to contact time travelers, but it's worth it.
I’m finally back to reading this after binging A Brave New World, and here’s my thoughts on the story as a whole so far. (I skipped the crossover bonus chapters because I don’t want to be spoiled on this, but I did read your segment in chapter 48.)