Arc 1, Chapter 14: Starts Right Here

In a dark room somewhere. Amadeus was alone with two other figures. One, a Snorlax with a plain brown cape and shirt, clashing with the golden medallion around his neck depicting a crown over a closed eye. The other, a Raichu unlike any he’s ever seen with dark brown fur, orange cheeks and ears, as well as a tail and pair of ears that are smooth and wavy instead of spiky. He’s wearing a gaudy leather jacket and a similar medallion, except this one has an image of a cartoonish flaming skull.

 

“Hey there, kid,” The Raichu begins. “You look lost.” He chuckles. “And yet, you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be…”

 

“Come now, Amadeus…” The Raichu says. He knows Amadeus’ name somehow. “No need to be so shy. In  fact, I have a gift for you…” He pulls out a golden medallion with a baleful-looking eye on it. “Take this, and your wildest dreams will come true…”

 

Amadeus pauses, then puts it on. It feels right. It feels ——————————————

 

 

---

 

 

Dumas woke up with a stretch. Why have I been dreaming of the past so much lately? And all of those little details keep getting omitted, too… Come to think of it, they did start when I first got reports of Amadeus coming here… A dangerous thought came to mind. Could he also be experiencing such dreams? If that’s the case, he could learn something I’ve been keeping a secret.

 

…I’m going to have to get him on my side, aren’t I?

 

Dumas brushed his teeth. For the sake of Project Light’s success, I’ll need to let him in on it sooner rather than later. Or else… Dumas didn’t want to finish that thought. It brought on a myriad of uncomfortable ideas that he’d rather not consider.

 

While he munched on his toast, he read the morning papers. It was a series of uninteresting headline and… Oh my Arceus. Someone is blaming the economic downturn on the Seer. I’m sorry? Do I look like the finance minister to you? Are you writing an opinion piece specifically to slander me? Arceus…

 

Dumas frustratedly put down the paper and polished off his toast, and then headed outside. It was a beautiful day outside, made less so by the smoke from the factories on the outskirts of the city. Dumas was only a little bit bothered by this as he headed down the back alley that connected his residence to his private study in the Guild of Honor. Then came the tricky part of actually climbing up into the window. With some effort, he managed to do it, but it was by far the most annoying part of the day, at least on slower days. How long has it been since I actually fought seriously? I should take a vacation to see Jack once I’m done with all of the nonsense that’s been keeping me busy as of late… He opened the drawer where he kept the Ultranecrozium shards he’d acquired so far. He’d gotten roughly three-quarters of the total Ultranecrozium he needed. Once he had that final quarter, he could finally put his plan into motion and… Best not to get ahead of myself. It’s taken three months to get this much, and it could easily take longer to get the final portion I need. And even then, I still have to be careful with how I use it in conjunction with the Medallion, lest it go wrong. That could set me back all the way to the beginning… Dumas closed the drawer and left his private study after grabbing a stack of papers he’d prepared the night before, alongside the smallest shard of Ultranecrozium he had.

 

“Good morning, Dumas,” said Nagisa, who just happened to be waiting for him in the hall outside his office.

 

“Good morning,” Dumas said in greeting. “Shouldn’t you be in the training room right now?”

 

“Ah, just wanted to let you know that your son was doing well. Heard from Shin that yesterday’s mission was too easy, they’re thinking of giving him a harder one the next time.”

 

“…He’s not my son.”

 

“Again with this?” Nagisa asked. “Nobody’s going to accuse you of nepotism, he’s genuinely doing well.”

 

“He’s not, okay?” Am I going to have to give this damn Milotic the same explanation I gave Akihiro? I’d rather not tell anyone else the whole story…

 

“Whatever you say, Dumas. Court of opinion’s been saying otherwise since he came here…”

 

“Just drop it already…”

 

Nagisa slithered off, leaving Dumas to keep heading towards his original destination: the throne room. He had a case to make. Just outside the door was an array of lights almost the size of Dumas himself. Next to it was a rather unassuming-looking bulb. He’d need both for this presentation.

 

He opened the door. Tokugawa was sitting on the throne, alone. I swear I never see him leave the Guild… I feel a bit bad for him now that I think of it… “Sir, I’d like to have a word.”

 

“This is concerning the case you claimed to be working on, yes? I’ve been curious all night.” The Guildmaster got up and walked right over to Dumas. “Show me.”

 

Dumas pulled out the shard of Ultranecrozium, and showed it to the Toxicroak. “This is one of a few gemstones I’ve found with some… extraordinary properties. Observe.” Dumas attached the shard to a pair of specialized coils connected to the array of lights, and the whole thing shone brilliantly.

 

“You know, it is difficult to observe something so blinding, Dumas,” Tokugawa commented dryly.

 

“Of course.” Dumas dethatched the shard from the array, allowing the occupants of the room to see again. “As you can see, I’ve been able to devise a way of using their apparent power.”

 

“You want help from our research and development teams to develop a way of using it as a source of power?”

 

“Eventually. However…” Dumas pulled out the much smaller bulb and attached the shard. “Get behind me for a moment, will you?” Dumas put a protect barrier between himself and the bulb once the Guildmaster obliged. The small bulb, as well as the wire connecting it to the shard, exploded with alarming force after several seconds, leaving behind burn marks all over the floor and walls.

 

“Arceus, that’s quite unstable.”

 

“Indeed.” Dumas sighed. “Any kind of equipment that processes it’s power can’t contain all of the energy for very long. It doesn’t take long before it explodes. I imagine the Guild would be a crater if I allowed it to run through that array over there. Fortunately, it take a specialized equipment to even begin that process, so it being weaponized would require the secret of how to do that getting out. Even so, connecting it to a major power system without having properly stabilized would be catastrophic.”

 

There was a brief silence as the Guildmaster absorbed all of this information. “You don’t think this could be what happened to Háo de Xiǎo, do you?”

 

“…That’s a definite possibility.”

 

“If true, then the severity of this matter is absolute. You had better stabilize it.”

 

“Quite frankly, I’m more concerned with getting my hands on more than daring to mess with it. If it’s out there and it can be weaponized, we need to have it.” Dumas brandished the stack of papers. “Which brings me to this. This is a complete list of individuals who might, based on my investigation, might be in possession of some of this material. I’m requesting access to all files related to their personal belongings, with a special focus on gemstones, crystals, and the like.”

 

“Granted already. I assume all of this is why you made similar requests for another group of individuals a while back?”

 

“It is, in fact.”

 

The Guildmaster looked around at the room at the fresh burn marks all over the walls. “This room is a few centuries old, you know.”

 

“I’ll pay for the damages.”

 

“That was a given. Also, please do not nearly destroy the entire Guild again.”

 

“Ah.”

 

A long pause followed. “Are you planning on making an offer for these gemstones, or…”

 

“I’m pursing any means necessary,” Dumas replied, also finishing the Guildmaster’s question for him.

 

“I thought so.”

 

Dumas chuckled. “You know me too well.”

 

“I’ll have known you for ten years in a week or two. You’ve done some remarkable work in that time, despite completely failing to hide your position as the seer. Keep it up.” The Guildmaster turned back to sit on his throne. “Anything else you wanted to mention to me today, or will that be all?”

 

“No, that will be everything.”

 

“Excellent. You are dismissed, expect those files in a few days.”

 

Dumas turned tail to head back to his office for a rather uneventful day. Maybe it was a good day to swing by the training area. That went well, all things considered…

 

 

---

 

 

Amadeus felt strangely refreshed that morning. Perhaps it was the sense of accomplishment from having his first job go so well, or maybe he just got a good sleep last night. Or maybe it was his new scarf. He couldn’t tell. Today was a strength training day according to his weekly routine, so he’d relegated himself to that section of the training area. He was mostly focusing on his core muscles today. Uneven surfaces, going from sitting to standing rapidly, and the like.

 

I wonder when we’re gonna get assigned another job. Hopefully sooner rather than later, we spent all of our money on the scarf for me… He paused his routine to tug at the heal scarf, his favorite pin pinned to it. I wonder how much this thing’s really going to help. I guess I feel a little more pleasant since putting it on? But maybe that’s just placebo. Teru got the other 600 poké, right? I bet he saved it… I wonder where he is right—

 

“Hey, Amadeus!”

 

Someone’s got good timing. Amadeus turned around to see a Minccino he recognized strutting right on up to him. “Hey.”

 

“How you doin’, man?”

 

“Fine.”

 

“Working out?”

 

“I have a routine I like to follow.”

 

“Cool, cool…”

 

An awkward pause followed.

 

“So, what do you like to do for fun?”

 

“Reading, usually. Or a board game, maybe.”

 

“Like chess? You like chess?”

 

“Yeah.” Amadeus took a brief sip of a water bottle he had with him. Hydration was important.

 

“Do you wanna play later or something?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Uh…” Teru looked around nervously. “Where’s Haruhi?”

 

“She’s over by the training dummies, probably. I’ll probably go watch her after this.”

 

“You think you’ll be done that quickly?”

 

“Have you not worked out before? You can’t just work out for six hours.”

 

“No I haven’t, actually…”

 

“Just techniques?”

 

“I’ve been shape all my life, never felt the need.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“But I do know some cool techniques.”

 

Amadeus stretched after finishing another rep. “Let me finish this workout first, then you can show off…”

 

“What, are you not impressed?”

 

“How could I be not impressed? I haven’t even seen it yet.”

 

“Fair enough, fair enough…”

 

Another pause followed, and this one extended for a full minute, only occasionally broken by the sounds of Amadeus grunting from his routine.

 

“Does Haruhi work out too?”

 

“Not really, she doesn’t need it.”

 

“How come?”

 

“She worked the farm, and I didn’t for the longest time. Eventually I just started working out because I needed it.” Best to avoid diving into too much details…

 

“The farm? You grew up on a farm?”

 

“Yeah man, we ate berry-based meals for breakfast every morning. Beats the stuff they get here.”

 

“…You’re the seer’s son, right?”

 

“I don’t know why everyone thinks that, but go on.”

 

“Nah, just checking.” Teru scratched his chin. “Honestly, I believe you. It’s a weird rumor.”

 

…You’re very trusting. Another pause.

 

“Right, I’m gonna go bother Haruhi now,” Teru said with a sigh. “I guess we’ll talk more in a bit?”

 

“Yeah, catch you—”

 

“There you are, son.”

 

Their admittedly shallow conversation was suddenly interrupted by a newcomer, a Cinccino slightly taller than Teru. This must be Teru’s Dad…

 

Teru flinched a little. “Hey, Dad.”

 

“I hear the job yesterday went well. You working your magic, I assume?”

 

“Oh yeah, I totally led the team! Right, Amadeus?”

 

Amadeus immediately understood what was going on. “Oh, yeah, he totally carried us. He’s great.”

 

“Excellent,” The Cinccino turned to Teru. “Good leadership skills are important. Especially if you want to attract western women. They love that.”

 

Amadeus just stared for a second. “Uh, are you…?”

 

“Oh, pardon my manners. Avignon Cinccino’s the name. I grew up in the west, so I wanted to move back there with the family one day. That’s all.”

 

Amadeus decided to ask a potentially dangerous question. “…Why women specifically?”

 

“The Western Kingdoms do not have a large proportion of cocksuckers, unlike you easterners. We are quite proper.” Avignon muttered something about moving back earlier and then turned to Teru. “Now then, son. Keep up the good work, and you’ll make a good suitor. See you at dinner.”

 

There was another long silence as Avignon walked off.

 

“…Yeesh, your dad’s a dick.”

 

“…Yeah.” Teru looked deflated.

 

“Why’d he even have you join the Guild if he’s gonna take you back to his homeland, anyway?”

 

“He wanted me to look good, I think. He’s arranged me to be married off to some random Morpeko girl once I’ve made a decent splash, or whatever.” Teru sighed. “I’m pretty sure the only reason I even have an eastern name is because my mom picked it. But hey, at least I have my life decided already. I’ve already met her, and she doesn’t seem intolerable, at least.”

 

“I’m still wondering what he meant by ‘cocksucker’.”

 

“What do you think?”

 

“…Jerk.”

 

“You don’t like men, do you?”

 

“I like men and women.” The word ‘bisexual’ probably hasn’t be invented yet…

 

“Oh. Then…”

 

“Yeah, a little peeved. Didn’t think there were people like that still around, but here we are. Haruhi and I have been living with her uncles too, and they’re—”

 

“A couple?”

 

“Married.”

 

“Damn. You know, I really don’t get why my Dad has such a problem with it.”

 

“He’s stupid.”

 

“I wouldn’t say that…”

 

“No, It’s stupid.”

 

“Alright, that’s enough, man.” Teru stretched. “Thanks for covering my ass back there.”

 

“Don’t mention it, my Dad was pushy as hell. I know how to hide things from parents.”

 

“I thought you were an orphan.”

 

Shit, now I have to get detailed. “My Dad died when I was young, but one of the only things I remember was that he placed very high expectations on me, like yours.”

 

“Ah, okay.” Teru looked around. “Are you done with your workout there, or…?”

 

“I’ll be a little bit longer, you go on ahead like you were planning to.”

 

“Alright, see you in a bit.”

 

One completed workout later, Amadeus was heading over to where Haruhi usually got her practice in, and spotted her making conversation with Teru.

 

“And your Dad’s going to marry you off to this random western girl you’ve met once for his own benefit?” She asked.

 

“Yeah, pretty much,” Teru said. “Oh, hey Amadeus. We were just talking about the thing from earlier with my Dad.”

 

“Oh, that?” Amadeus asked.

 

“Yeah,” Haruhi said. “We’re still trying to figure out the name of the girl. And her species.”

 

“I swear she was a Morpeko, it’s just that Dad thinks she’s a Dedenne because that’s what the father is.”

 

“You sure?” Haruhi asked a little teasingly.

 

“Yes, I’m sure. My Dad hasn’t even met her.”

 

“Wait, your Dad hasn’t even met the girl he’s going to marry you to?” Amadeus asked, a little shocked. “What is he even doing this for?”

 

“Okay, so—” Teru started.

 

“He wants money from the father’s company,” Haruhi said, cutting him off.

 

Teru gave Haruhi a genuinely annoyed look. “You were doing that yesterday with him, too.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Don’t do that, I was talking,” Teru said, frustration slowly creeping into his voice. “My Dad works as a biologist mostly for the Guild, but it’s the kind of research job that requires a benefactor. Recently, the Guild’s been scaling back that kind of work, so he’s starting to look elsewhere. Enter some guy who was looking to marry off his daughter to someone from the east with connections to the Guild to help facilitate his business, and my Dad just… jumps at the offer without even asking me. He’s getting a stake in the company, which means getting the dough for independent research.”

 

“So you’re just a pawn in your father’s ambitions, and that thing about ‘moving back there with the family’ was a ruse?”

 

“It’s more of a coincidence.” Teru paused nervously. “I don’t like to think of myself as a pawn.”

 

“Dude, you should just say no. Tell him you don’t wanna do it,” Haruhi asserted.

 

“You don’t think—” Teru started.

 

“He can’t, Haruhi.” Amadeus was feeling unusually worked up. “It’s a direct order from his father, he can’t just say no.”

 

“It’s his life, he should decide how he wants to live it!”

 

“Do you really think we’d be here right now if Haya had her way?”

 

“I—” Amadeus watched Haruhi freeze up as a mixture of negative emotions churned through her face, before she shot a veritable wall of fire at a nearby dummy. “…Why is it that I’m the only one with any balls around here?”

 

“I don’t know,” Amadeus replied. “But what I do know is that it’s not as simple as just saying no. If I had to hazard a guess, he’s already tried that and he was denied the chance.” He turned to Teru. “Well? Am I…” He trailed off as he saw Teru doing what looked like fighting back tears.

 

“New subject. Please.” Teru was breathing hard.

 

Amadeus walked over and patted him on the back. “Just breathe for a minute, buddy…”

 

After long pause, Teru spoke up again. “Hey, Amadeus?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Are you sure your Dad died when you were young?”

 

Shit, here we go… “Yeah.”

 

“The way you were speaking just now, it certainly didn’t feel like it.”

 

Amadeus gave a hard sigh. You know what? Screw it. “We’re staying at 147 Blossom street with her uncles. Come there tonight, we’ll tell you everything.”

 

Teru scratched his chin. “…Is it that complicated?”

 

“Yes. Yes it is.”

 

Haruhi seemed a little surprised. “Wait, we’re doing this? Tonight? Are you going to tell the others, too?”

 

“You know what? Yeah. I’ve been putting this off for a while, and they probably know quite a bit by now anyway. Tonight’s the night.”

 

“Can’t we have that discussion here?” Teru asked.

 

“It’s a very private subject. You’ll understand when you’re there.”

 

“…Got it.”

 

 

---

 

 

A couple of hours later, Amadeus was back home, standing next to Haruhi, and facing down Akihiro, Ryo, Fudo, and now Teru, who looked more curious than anyone. He’d ended up just heading back to the house with them as a guest, and had dinner with them. He’d barely even spoken to the others aside from Haruhi and Amadeus. Fudo, meanwhile, looked like he’d been waiting for this to happen, almost relieved. Ryo and Akihiro looked somewhere in between, and Kohana had already been sent to bed. Amadeus looked to Haruhi for a second. She nodded affirmatively. Hopefully she’d let him actually say his piece

 

“So,” Amadeus began, not really knowing where else to start, “How much do all of you know already?”

 

Fudo raised a paw. “Like I’ve told you before, Dumas has already told me a lot about who you are.”

 

Akihiro was next, alongside Ryo. “Dumas explained the nature of your relationship with him to me after I pressured him to, but he was tight-lipped about the details of your past. That pressure mostly came from Mayumi explaining the bare minimum, leaving me to draw my own conclusions. Ryo also knows what I know.”

 

“And I know nothing,” Teru chimed in. “Seriously, what is all of this?”

 

“Buckle in guys, this is going to be a doozy,” Haruhi said confidently. She then turned to Amadeus. “Go on, tell them.”

 

Amadeus took in a deep breath. Come on, they’re all waiting on you. No backing down now. “Let’s start from the beginning. I am, most definitely, not from the Daylight Continent. In fact, I’m not from any of the continents around the world. I am from the very far future.” He paused, inadvertently creating a dramatic effect. “And so is Dumas, for that matter. Because he is, in fact, me.”

 

There was another pause. “This is difficult to believe,” Akihiro said, breaking the silence for a moment, “But it is more or less what Dumas said.”

 

“I’m more curious about how it even happened in the first place,” Fudo said, leaning forward a little. I mean, I believe you, but I want to know the how.”

 

“I don’t think you even told me that much…” Haruhi pointed out.

 

“That’s mostly because it’s not crazy interesting,” Amadeus said, a little nervously. “But I’ll try my best. Basically, it was a pretty average day, and my dad wanted me to come with him to this… Conference? Is that the right word? It was some guy who was part of the company he owned, and he wanted me to take over the family business when he retired, so I was always going to business stuff with him to ‘learn the ropes’. And the guy… He claimed to have a time machine, and, well, I drifted too close, and…” Amadeus grimaced. “I woke up in a puddle of mud with my glasses shattered, and I was bleeding pretty bad, I think. The details from that night are fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure I would’ve died if I didn’t stumble across Haya’s farm. I ended up collapsing from exhaustion right in front of Haruhi, who just… Now that I mention it, why were you out there?”

 

“I think Sakura said something that rubbed me the wrong way, and I just ran outside angrily,” Haruhi replied.”

 

“…Makes sense,” Amadeus observed. “Any questions, or can we keep going?”

 

“…This is wildly beyond anything I could’ve expected,” Teru began, “But you’re saying that this was a freak accident, right? You weren’t chosen to do the time travel, or you didn’t have a job to do, or…”

 

“Nope,” Amadeus confirmed. “Totally accidental. But funny you should mention that, because—”

 

“I’m never gonna live this down, am I?” Haruhi grumbled.

 

“Eh, it’s not like we’re shouting it out to the whole world right now.” Amadeus stretched. He was still a little sore from his workout. “But anyway. Haruhi apparently was a big fan of all of those human stories growing up, and I tried to hide who I was by saying I didn’t remember anything, so she, uh, put two and two together, and…”

 

“I basically insisted that he was a human, and got crazy invested in the idea. I even got really mad when I found out he wasn’t, haha…” Haruhi looked deeply embarrassed. She was looking off to the side, unable to even look at the other occupants in the room.

 

“Yes, that was… interesting. But you’re getting a little ahead of me there. Basically, after a few days, Dumas shows up in town because he’s already heard about me and he’s very curious, and that night, Haruhi tells him that I’m human, which he and I both already knew wasn’t true at that point, although I didn’t know who he was yet. So, he offers to let us join the Guild, which was Haruhi’s dream, so of course we accept. I’m pretty sure the real reason was that he either wanted to observe me more closely, or just saw potential in Haruhi, or both? He never really made that clear to us…”

 

“And this is where that Umbreon comes in?” Fudo asked.

 

“Yes, Mayumi. This is where she’s important.”

 

“Who’s Mayumi?” Teru asked.

 

“Dumas’ ex, apparently. She met him when he first arrived—remember, Dumas is technically me— and was able to figure out what was really going on before I even did. She’s the one that actually made me tell Haruhi the truth, and in turn, she was able to somewhat explain what Dumas was doing and who he was. She escorted us to the city, and well, the rest is you guys.”

 

There was a long pause as everyone digested the pile of information they were given. It was probably a lot to swallow. There was no way they—

 

“I believe you,” Teru said, breaking the silence.

 

“…You do?” Amadeus asked nervously.

 

“Sure thing. It tracks better than what you first told me, anyway. Besides, there’s no way you’d lie about something that crazy, right?”

 

“I… Thank you.”

 

A while later, Amadeus was feeling much better. Something about saying it all himself made him feel… good.