Arc 1, Chapter 22: I’ll Face Myself
by owryintheblindforest“Well?” Mya asked, “Does it sound interesting to you?”
“You, uh, haven’t explained what the trial is yet,” Amadeus pointed out. “Could you do that?”
“I will explain once we are there,” Mya said, steadfastly refusing to elaborate.
“Yeah, sure, why not?” Haruhi said suddenly. Haruhi, why would you do that? We get a chance to rest and you immediately want to jump into some crazy trial? We don’t even know if we’re entirely safe here! All we have to go on is their word! If Amadeus thought about it more, he would’ve realized that Jack would’ve had ample opportunity to come kill them, but he was still in a rather skeptical mood.
“Haruhi, are you sure about this?”
“Come on, Amadeus! What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Something terrible, if you’re going to say that out loud. If storytelling tropes are to be believed, anyway.”
“Don’t try to be genre savvy! Besides, it’s not like she’s trying to hurt us!”
“You— Haruhi, can we just take a breather for one second?”
“We are taking a breather. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Fun?”
“Yeah. Fun.”
Amadeus was silent for a minute as he considered this. “…Alright, fine.”
Haruhi turned to Mya, appearing strangely excited, at least to Amadeus. “So, where’s the place?”
“I see at least one of you finds this a joyous occasion. This should be interesting.” Mya turned to leave the room. “Follow me.”
Amadeus jumped down from the hospital bed, followed by Haruhi. Haruhi marched right after Mya, but Amadeus lingered, giving Fudo’s still-unconscious body a look before following.
Inner Meade itself was rather impressive compared to its counterpart. Paved roads, what appeared to be working street lamps, and several tightly-packed buildings made it feel more like a city than a town, despite the fact that it was decidedly town-sized. It felt almost modern to Amadeus, even more so than a place like Hakken no Machi had been. Off in the distance, there was a large building, which seemed to be producing most of the smoke Amadeus and Haruhi had been tracking yesterday. Amadeus assumed it was a factory, but it could’ve been the Academy elm mentioned, and his vision was too blurry to tell for sure.
“Nice town…” Amadeus muttered. “How come Outer Meade didn’t get this treatment?”
“Mostly because Outer Meade is a front to maintain this place’s secrecy. Everyone who lives out there already has living quarters somewhere in here as a requirement for living out there. Elm doesn’t want to attract more prying eyes than strictly necessary.”
“Why do you have to keep all of this a secret?” Haruhi asked. “If you can do crazy things like heal broken bones in a few hours, then why don’t you share that with everyone else?”
“To answer your second question, we already do to some extent. Do those scarves you’re wearing happen to be enchanted?”
“Just mine,” Amadeus replied. “Haruhi’s is a normal scarf that happens to be warm. Are you saying…”
“Indeed. Most enchantments that work their way into the outside world originate here. As do the wands that certain explorers use. And the first healing berries were originally cultivated here nearly six centuries ago.”
Amadeus and Haruhi were both silent for a while. It was something that they’d taken for granted, but it didn’t feel completely unbelievable, given what they’d already seen. “…And my first question?” Haruhi asked.
“Hm. Say, if you had to make an educated guess as what is required to wield this magic, what would you say?” Mya asked, completely glossing over the fact that she’d directly called it magic.
“You have to take the trial, right?” Haruhi blurted out. “That’s why—”
“Incorrect,” Mya sharply interrupted. “Consider the fact that this is a Partner’s trial. If everyone had to take it to study here, than how’d so many people get here? More importantly, think back to what Elm and I said. I specified unless.”
“So there are other ways to get it,” Amadeus said, following Mya’s chain of logic.
“So the answer is… it depends?” Haruhi answered, voice dripping with a lack of confidence.
“Yes, but it’s a bit more nuanced than that,” Mya confirmed. “We’re looking for individuals who have been through something… truly extraordinary. That is what is required to have the potential to learn.”
“I still don’t see why—” Haruhi started, before getting cut off again.
“Naturally, if you were a human previously, that would suffice,” Mya said, as if this was a completely normal and everyday thing.
Last Amadues checked, it definitely wasn’t. “What do you mean, human?!? That’s a myth!”
“OHMYSWEETARCEUSAREYOUAHUMANMYA? What’s the human world like? Is it true that you can run forever? Do you really not have fur? Do all humans like swords? Who is Julius Caesar and did you meet him? What’s the Ultimate weapon? Is it true that you can turn Pokémon into energy? What’s an Einst—”
“Relax, relax, I am not a human,” Mya said with a laugh. “But yes, a sizeable portion of those living here are humans.” Mya glanced to what looked to be the middle of town to their left. There appeared to be a large crowd gathered, presumably from the evacuation of Outer Meade. “Try not to bother them, alright? This line of questioning can be… exhausting.”
“O-oh, sorry!” Haruhi said quickly. “It’s just, you know, I’ve always loved those stories as a kid, and it’s kind of a personal fantasy of mine to save the world alongside a human, and… Ah, I wanna know about the human world so bad… It’s so cool-sounding!”
“If that’s what you’re after, prepare to be disappointed. Lada knows I have,” Mya responded dryly. “Besides, I wouldn’t concern myself with humans to much if I planned on taking the trial.”
“Fair point…” Haruhi replied. “Okay, Amadeus, new plan. We take the trial, and then learn everything we can about humans while we’re waiting for the whole Dumas situation to blow over.”
“I am in utter shock right now,” Amadeus responded. “How do you even know they’re humans?”
“I can read minds and all of what they tell me lines up well,” Mya responded. Her tone of voice indicated that this had become mundane to her. “It’s not too difficult.”
“O-okay…” Amadeus couldn’t help but feel he was the victim of some elaborate prank. That somehow, someone had arranged for him to travel alongside a human fanatic to a place that claimed to house humans.
He would be left waiting for the punchline.
As the sun started to set, the trio made it to what looked like a temple of some kind, on what appeared to be the highest point nearby town. It was clearly well-maintained; the grass was well-trimmed, and the stone columns smelled recently cleaned. There were an imposing set of double doors in the front of the building, with the eighteen-sector chart engraved into them with an immaculate care, large enough for Amadeus to see without his glasses. Here it is again… did it originate from Inner Meade as well? And if that’s the case… is there something else special about it?
“We are here,” Mya began, pushing the double doors open, “And as such, I feel it is appropriate to explain just a little bit more. The Academy has been around for nearly as long ago as a century before the Natural Disaster Incident, but this temple has been here longer. In fact, the Order of Lada helped found the Academy.”
“You’re throwing a lot of terminology at us, you know,” Amadeus pointed out.
“That I am,” Mya agreed. “The Order has a long and rich history, but the long and short of it is that Lada Mew founded it to study the bonds mortals share. To that end, they created the trial, and… arranged it so that Pokémon like me can watch over it.”
“Mew?” Haruhi said, almost enthralled. “Like, the legend? That Mew?”
“One of a few, in fact,” Mya confirmed. She then led them into a room in the very back. The room was cold, and made of stone. The only notable features were yet another depiction of the eighteen-sector chart on the back wall, and a raised platform with an altar at it’s center. There was something on top of the altar, but Amadeus couldn’t make out what.
“Is that a knife?” Haruhi blurted out. Good thing I have Haruhi to see for me…
Man, I feel so helpless without my sight…
“Indeed it is,” Mya said, stepping up to the altar, then lowering it down to Amadeus and Haruhi’s level. “Now then. Lada believes that before you can confront another, you must first face yourself. You will take the first stage of the trial individually. When you are ready, one of you step up here, and hold onto this knife. You will slip deeply into unconsciousness, and the trial will begin immediately thereafter.”
There was a brief pause.
“Well?” Haruhi asked, turning to Amadeus. “You go first, I wanna see what it’s like before I go.”
“What?”
“You will not be able to watch, unfortunately,” Mya interrupted. “In any case, take your time.”
“Just go, Amadeus,” Haruhi said, turning back to Amadeus. “it’s not like it’s dangerous.”
“Haruhi, that’s a knife!”
“She only said to ‘take hold’, not to stab yourself with it or anything like that. Just do it!”
“C-can you please give me a minute? Do you have any idea how much got thrown at us just today?”
“Oh, please, we’re safe here. Think of it like a favor! Besides, it’s not like we’ve been doing that much!”
“Haruhi, just today, we nearly died, learned humans are real, and found out where all of the magical stuff in the world comes from, and now we’re doing a ritual for some weird cult! Not to mention everything else that happened in the past week! Don’t you want to slow down in the slightest?”
“Oh, come on, isn’t that exciting to you? Sure, we’ve been on the run, and yes, we nearly died, but look on the bright side! We get to do and see so much in the process!”
“Do you even hear yourself right now? We could’ve died today, and a whole lot more than just us, by the sound of it!”
“Yeah, but we made it through! Do you really want to spend all day feeling bad about what could’ve gone wrong?”
“I just want to take a step back for a moment without having to worry about—”
“Be honest, Amadeus! Is there really a point to putting off doing this? She’s already hel——— us out so m———”
Amadeus didn’t hear the rest of Haruhi’s sentence.
Be honest
Be honest
Be honest
Amadeus
Amadeus felt his breathing become labored.
“H-Haruhi…” Amadeus felt his jaw clench.
“What?” Haruhi asked, seeming annoyed to Amadeus. In hindsight, she probably realized that something was wrong, and was more confused than anything.
“Could you shut up?”
“W-what? What do you mean?” Haruhi asked.
“I’ve been over here trying to not be useless while you drag me around by the scruff! Must be nice off in Haruhi’s fantasy land where everything is okay and we’re not having life throw the whole-ass kitchen sink at us! All I want is some peace! And here you are—”
“Could you calm down? I never said everything is fine, I just—”
“I said SHUT UP!” In a wild mania that Amadeus didn’t even know himself capable of, he lunged at Haruhi with a Bite. In what looked like a reflex, Haruhi immediately fired off a flamethrower. Mya quickly grabbed onto them both with a Psychic, but the duo was far too close together for her to prevent Amadeus’ face from getting singed. By the time she managed to put something solid between them, Amadeus was already badly burned.
“Alright, you two, just calm down…” Mya chided, placing Amadeus down with the altar directly behind him. “We’ve clearly had a bit of a failure to communicate here, so let’s just relax for a moment…”
Mya’s sudden intervention and subsequent words had succeeded in calming Amadeus down enough to pull him out of his blind rage.
Not enough, however, for his mind to leave the rather dangerous place it was in.
He looked at Haruhi, now visibly shaken. To Amadeus, however, she looked almost demanding. Accusatory, even. She still…?
He looked at the knife in the corner of his vision, now a short distance away from him.
He felt the searing pain of the burns on his face, biting and stinging away at him.
All kinds of dangerous thoughts flew through his head all at once.
“Haruhi, you want me to take the trial?” He asked, voice wavering.
“Y-yeah…” Haruhi responded, voice wavering just as much. “You—”
Amadeus didn’t let her finish.
“Fine then,” He continued. “I’ll take the fucking trial.” Suddenly, he grabbed the knife with his mouth. Immediately, he felt something strange and foreign flow through him. He ignored it, however, as he aggressively stabbed himself in the underbelly with it, feeling the searing pain flow through his body, even worse than his burns. As he slipped deeply into unconsciousness, he collapsed onto the floor.
Shit… Was the only coherent thought he could manage. He didn’t even try to work out what the murky voices of Haruhi and Mya were saying as he blacked out.
Amadeus woke up back in Mya’s clinic. At least, he assumed he was back there, if the smell was anything to go by. It was too dark to see anything, especially without his glasses. His nose also told him that Haruhi was somewhere nearby, but he was a tad afraid to talk to her at the moment.
H-How could I say those things to her? He wondered. What’s gotten into me?
I’m a horrible person. I should’ve just—
Am I in the trial right now? Amadeus, hesitantly, tried his best to look around. It did indeed seem to be the clinic. The dull pain in his stomach felt real enough, but Mya wasn’t clear about whether the trial was supposed to be a dream or not.
Haruhi was sleeping on the floor next to him in a sleeping bag.
How could I do that? I just up and attacked her, how does she even want to be near me? Amadeus felt tears of guilt welling up in his eyes. Am I just destined to turn out like Dumas? Was I always a horrible person, and I just didn’t realize it? Did anyone ever really like me at all, or were they just putting up with me, or using me?
I’m so awful…
Amadeus found himself crying. It was a small, pathetic cry, just loud enough to be audible, but not loud enough to really disturb anyone.
W-why am I crying…? I shouldn’t cry. My tears don’t matter.
Despite how he felt he should feel, he couldn’t stop himself.
He just sat there, crying for a while. Part of him wanted to puke from sheer distress, but he fought to suppress that much. Instead, he just cried, and cried, and cried.
Eventually, the tears stopped flowing. Amadeus rubbed his eyes for a bit, and sniffled. I’m so pathetic. Seventeen, and here I am crying over nothing. Amadeus stood up from the bed, and as quietly as he could, jumped out of it and sneaked out of the clinic, ignoring the throbbing pain in his stomach.
It was clearly very late at night. The streetlamps did a good enough job of providing vision, but Amadeus still didn’t have any glasses, so it was a bit difficult to see.
When he looked around, he didn’t see anyone. Presumably, it was late enough that everyone was soundly asleep. This didn’t help the empty streets feel any less eerie, however. It barely felt real.
Nothing feels real anymore…
Amadeus continued to stumble around town for quite a while, occasionally sparing the odd glance to a nearby building, or an occasional sniff of the air. At some point, he passed by a bakery. It made him a bit hungry, but there was nothing he could do about that. I could kill for some toast right now… His stomach grumbled a bit, and with it, a minor jolt of pain. Amadeus paused.
Why did I even do that? What was I thinking? Am I just… stupid? Amadeus felt his eyes well up a bit again, but he fought off the urge to cry.
He eventually wandered out of town. At this point, he’d completely lost track of what he was doing and was acting entirely on instinct. Logically, he knew that leaving town was dangerous, but he couldn’t be bothered to think about what he was doing. Slowly, he started cresting a hill.
He nearly walked right over the edge of a sharp drop.
He paused, taking in a sharp breath. He couldn’t really tell what was at the bottom, but he probably would’ve gotten hurt badly.
Amadeus didn’t notice, but the sun was starting to creep over the horizon behind him.
Would I die if I fell from this height?
…Would anyone even care? Amadeus stared into the fuzzy, murky haze that was whatever was at the bottom of the pit. Part of him wanted to jump right off and find out. Something about it called to him. I don’t even see why not… But I don’t want to die… right? Is there anything I really want to do with my life anymore?
What do I do?
Amadeus’ eyes started to water.
Why do I even care? He quietly began to sob. He felt horribly pathetic about it, but he couldn’t really stop himself from doing it.
This time, someone noticed.
“Are you alright, Amadeus?”
Amadeus nearly jumped right off of the cliff in fright and embarrassment, and whipped right around to see Mya, standing not too far away from him.
“W-What do you want?” Amadeus immediately asked, back to the cliff. He would’ve backed up if it wasn’t there.
“Just out for a morning stroll,” She replied calmly. “The temple’s not too far from here, you know.”
“I-Is it?” Amadeus asked, still very much on guard. He quickly looked around, and true to her word, there appeared to be a building he couldn’t make out nearby. He hadn’t even noticed in his haze from earlier.
“Amadeus,” Mya started, “Are you alright?”
“My injuries are feeling alright…” Amadeus quickly replied. “Whatever you did worked well enough.”
Mya quietly walked up to Amadeus and sat down next to him, letting her legs hang over the cliff’s edge. “I wasn’t referring to your injuries, you know.”
“I’m fine.”
“I don’t want to say that I don’t believe you, but…” Mya began, “You did stab yourself in the stomach.”
“It’s nothing…” Amadeus said, trying to brush her off.
“Nobody who’s fine brings such harm to themself like that.”
“Why do you care?” Amadeus asked. “You barely know who I am.”
Mya sighed. “I think you need help, and don’t know how to ask for it.”
Amadeus was silent for a while.
“Are you sure you’re fine?”
Amadeus felt more tears well up in his eyes. “Sorry.”
“For what?” Mya asked gently.
“That you have the see me being so pathetic like this. I shouldn’t be crying. I don’t deserve it.” Amadeus’ voice was starting to waver as he was on the verge of tears yet again.
“There’s nothing wrong with crying,” Mya said soothingly. “Everyone needs to cry once in a while.”
“I-I…” Amadeus began, desperately wanting to say something, but the words escaped him. Instead, he just started sniffling funny, before latching onto Mya and sobbing into her fur.
He expected to be thrown back, or scolded, but instead, Mya started gently patting his back.
“There, there, let it all out…”
Amadeus cried, and cried, and cried for what felt like forever. The whole time, Mya patiently waited for him to finish, never once expressing discomfort or judgement. When Amadeus looked up, the only thing he could make out through his blurry vision, now also covered in tears was Mya’s warm smile.
“Do you feel a bit better now?”
“Y-yeah…” Amadeus admitted, before laying the side of his head on her lap. “I feel like a baby, though…”
“It’s alright. No need to be ashamed of how you feel.”
Amadeus was silent for a while. “…I feel overwhelmed.”
“How so?” Mya asked, seemingly trying to coax Amadeus into opening up more.
It was working. “This past week has been hell to get through. It feels like nearly every day has had some new obstacle to worry about, and every day has thrown so much at me. I guess yesterday was just the breaking point, but I want to slow down so badly and stop having to worry about so much. Even just learning new things feels like it’s too much now…” Amadeus’ speech was almost mumbling and disjointed, but it was the most he could manage.
“I understand…” Mya said softly. “What you went through just yesterday would be a lot for anyone to handle, let alone what you went through in the past week.”
Amadeus was quiet for a moment. “Am I bad person for lashing out at Haruhi like that?”
“Of course not. You were stressed beyond what you could handle. It’s natural to have a bit of a reaction. Even if yours was a little… extreme. Perhaps you should’ve expressed how you were feeling a bit better, but that doesn’t make you a bad person.”
“Do you think she cared when I hurt myself like that?”
“She did. She was nearly inconsolable, even. She refused to leave your side as I was treating your wounds.” Mya paused. “She was terribly sorry about what she did, even.”
Amadeus was quiet again. She… cares about me? In hindsight, it should’ve been obvious, seeing as she’d spelled this out to him back at the guild hospital, but it still didn’t quite feel real to Amadeus. Like he didn’t deserve it.
“…She shouldn’t worry about a guy like me.”
“What makes you say that?” Mya asked.
“I don’t deserve it.” Amadeus felt tears well up just a little bit, but he didn’t quite feel the urge to cry.
“And why is that?” Mya asked.
Amadeus didn’t respond.
Mya exhaled and continued. “Caring for another is something that comes naturally, is it not? I don’t have all of the details, but it seems you two have spent quite a while together, and you’ve been helping her become an explorer that whole time. I think it’d be expected that you’d care for each other at least a little bit.”
“Each other?”
“Of course. You care for her, too, don’t you? Despite your grievances, you must care somewhat if one of the first things you thought to ask regarded what you did to her. In the very least, her well-being is important to you.”
“…I nearly hurt her.”
“And she’s already forgiven you. If not in words, then in actions.”
“She…” Amadeus trailed off. Something was on the tip of his tongue, a lingering doubt he couldn’t quite articulate. A few more tears fell down his cheek.
Suddenly, Dumas’ voice rang in his head. Or rather, his own voice.
Nobody really gave a shit about you
“I… never really had someone who cared like that growing up.”
“…I’m sorry to hear that.”
Amadeus laughed weakly. “I-It’s funny, actually…” He took in a deep breath. All of the sudden, speaking felt so much easier. “My dad treated me like an object, my mom barely interacted with me at all, even my sisters had to go out of their way to even see me… I guess I wouldn’t know what someone who really cared even looked like they hit me in the face, huh?”
“Amadeus,” Mya began quietly, “There’s nothing funny about having nobody to talk to.”
“I guess so, it’s just… I think I know why I did what I did now.” Amadeus took some comfort in the world making just a little more sense. He was feeling a bit better now. Amadeus stood up and looked at the rising sun. “How long was I out?”
Mya paused, as if she was almost disappointed. The she smiled. “The sun hadn’t risen when you awoke, I assume? I’d say around eight or nine hours.”
“So I missed that amount of sleep?”
“Well, being asleep is the same as being unconscious, really.”
“Huh,” Amadeus grunted. He walked closer to the temple. “That is the eighteen-sector chart on the front, right? I saw that in your house, too. What’s with that?”
“Oh, that? There’s a… certain special meaning to that. I could tell you if you finished the trial, though.”
“Did I…?” Amadeus trailed off.
“The trial ends if the participants become severely injured. In your case, it was probably canceled before it could properly begin in the first place.”
“Oh… sorry about that.”
“It’s alright, there’s no need to apologize for that.”
It never even started, huh? Amadeus wondered. “What’s it even like?”
“All I can say is that it’s a test of your relationship with yourself. And both of you must pass it before the second half of the trial can begin.”
Amadeus was silent for a while. “…How hard could it be?” He muttered.
“…You want to take it now?” Mya asked.
Amadeus took in a deep breath, before nodding slowly, a newfound confidence inside of him. “All I have to do is face myself, right? I… feel a lot more prepared to do that after that talk we had just now.” He paused. “Uh, thanks for that.”
“Don’t mention it,” Mya replied. “Just helping someone in need.”
“…Besides,” Amadeus continued. “I feel like it’s gonna drive me crazy if I don’t at least give it a try right now.”
“Are you sure?” Mya asked. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
Amadeus looked towards the town. Through his blurry vision, it seemed to sparkle in the morning light. “I’ll do it for her, then.”
“Alright,” Mya said solemnly. “Then follow me.”
The room itself felt a tiny bit warmer than last time. Amadeus wasn’t sure why exactly, but it was just enough to be noticeable, alongside the smell of cleaning supplies. As he walked up to the platform, there seemed to be what was left of a bloodstain on it. A few brownish-red traces remained.
“It was pretty hard to clean up, huh?” Amadeus asked.
“Don’t worry about that too much,” Mya replied. “It’s behind us now, right?”
“Right,” Amadeus nodded, before staring directly at the knife. For a moment, his breathing wavered. “All I have to do is take hold, right?”
“That’s correct. Then the trial will begin.”
Amadeus took in a deep breath, and then took hold of the knife. He felt that same alien thing flowing through him as he did. For a few moments, he waited in anticipation, wondering what he was about to experience.
Then everything was black.
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When Amadeus awoke, he was floating in space, and had his glasses back.
Briefly, he panicked, thinking he was suffocating. He flailed and clawed at his neck for a moment, before realizing he could breathe just fine, and was not actually in the vacuum of space. He took a moment to breathe in and out, confirming he was fine. The air was… thick.
Weird… Amadeus tried to gauge his surroundings, but he couldn’t make out much. Just a bunch of lights off in the distance that he assumed here stars and galaxies, but nothing that seemed tangible. Strangely, most of the lights were above him rather than below.
The one directly overhead seemed much closer. And brighter, for that matter.
Against his better judgement, and seeing few other options, he decided that was the best place to go.
He quickly realized that he had no clue how to move around. Flailing his legs around seemed to do nothing.
“Okay, okay…” Amadeus muttered. “How to move around while floating in space…”
Immediately, he noticed that talking a bit seemed to move him. Alright, let’s try that… “Ahhhhh…” he drifted very slowly to the side. Maybe breathing would be better? Is the propulsion moving me? Amadeus blew out in front of him, and it seemed to move him quite a bit more. Eventually, he settled on taking deep breaths and blowing out as hard as he could.
Amadeus felt himself moving. He slowed down his breathing, but it didn’t seem to stop his movement. Am I just gonna keep gliding through space like this? Amadeus looked up. Ultimately, he’d succeeded in moving the direction he wanted. Do I just wait? Guess I do…
So Amadeus waited.
And waited.
And waited.
He looked around. Most of the further-away looking lights seemed to have moved significantly, and yet the one overhead didn’t look like it was moving at all.
“What’s going on here?” Amadeus muttered. Clearly, some trial weirdness was at play. As far as Amadeus could tell, anyway. He looked beneath him. Guess that’s the only other way I could go…
With some effort, he managed to get moving downwards. Something about the inky blackness below felt deeply foreboding, but he needed to figure something out. Besides, he was already here. He had to see it through somehow.
After quite a while of not much happening, Amadeus suddenly found himself face-planting into something.
“Ow!” Amadeus slowly… stood up. Wait, I have gravity now? He looked around, and realized he was on a metal platform. Suddenly, an array of harsh electric lights switched on around him, allowing him to actually see where he was.
…Just a chunk of rock floating around in space with some lights and a floor on it.
“Weird…” Amadeus walked around for a bit, then spotted a box of some kind.
Upon closer inspection, it was a computer screen. Intrigued, Amadeus placed a paw on it gingerly. Immediately, it sprung to life, showing what looked like the inside of a house. Amadeus studied it for a moment, before realizing something.
This was his house.
He found himself suddenly quite a bit more interested. After a few minutes, the picture began to move. He was being shown something.
“Come on, Amadeus. You will be late for school,” A voice said. Instantly, he recognized it as his father.
“Coming, dad…” His own voice. A glasses-wearing Shinx a bit smaller than Amadeus and a Luxray entered the frame.
I remember this day. Amadeus continued watching with intent as the Shinx quietly scarfed down some toast and the Luxray gently, if a bit hurriedly, nudged him out of the house. The Shinx gave the house one more look before walking forward on his own.
“Do I really have to go so far as to move out, dad?”
“It’s necessary for you to learn some independence if you’re to inherit the company.”
“And I have to move out to do that?”
“You’re getting more and more distracted by your older brother,” His father responded, referring to Samantha. “You might fail in your studies if this continues. And even if you don’t, he will drag you down in the long run. You must learn to be independent, and this is the start of that.”
“I… Okay…” The young Shinx looked to the ground, not sure of how to respond.
Back in the present, Amadeus said what he’d been wanting to say all of this time. “She was only distracting me from you, wasn’t she?”
The scene jumped to Amadeus, alone in the apartment.
He knew better than anyone how lonely that first night was.
Suddenly, the clip jumped back to the house. Is this another day now? A Shinx, a shiny Eevee, and a Flareon walked into frame.
“But why, mom?” The Eevee asked.
“Amadeus is your father’s child, and you two are mine. That’s what we agreed to when we had you all.”
“But I’m gonna miss him…” The Eevee complained, disappointed.
“It’s none of your business, sweetie.”
“He’s just worried about him, mom,” The Shinx said, quietly motioning for Samantha to back off.
“I understand, but he shouldn’t be. This is just how it is.”
“But—”
“No buts, Samuel. Just forget about him, and it won’t affect you.”
“I…” The Eevee sighed. “Alright, mom.”
The scene changed again to Samantha’s room. She was looking something up on the computer. Then it changed to Samantha talking to someone Amadeus didn’t recognize. Then it changed again to her looking at a bunch of apartments from afar. Finally, it changed one final time to her knocking on Amadeus’ door, and Amadeus answering, after the former had gotten up at the crack of dawn just to greet him in the morning.
I always knew it was a bit hard for her to visit me, but I didn’t know she had to go though all of that just to track me down and see me every morning…
The screen flickered off. Amadeus inhaled, and exhaled. She didn’t have to go through all of that just to find me…
But she did.
Amadeus looked around the area a bit. There was nothing else of note, so he walked over to the edge. Something felt wrong about jumping down, but it was apparent that he wasn’t going to make progress any other way.
Here goes nothing… Amadeus leaped downwards off the rock yet again, and deeper into the abyss. After a while, the vast majority of the lights were above him, making what was below seem even darker by comparison. It was almost chilling, but Amadeus tried to push those thoughts to the back of his mind. He could only wonder what was at the bottom, after all.
“One, ten, one hundred, one thousand…” He muttered quietly. Gotta stay calm…
It was almost impossible to avoid being slightly nervous, but in a strange way, the void of nothing below him was calming. He was getting closer to his goal.
Eventually, he landed on another platform, and this time, the lights that flicked on were noticeably dimmer, and flickered ever so slightly. Amadeus squinted in the darkness.
“Alright, where’s the screen this time?” He wondered aloud. Some roaming around the platform revealed that it had less of a floor than the previous one. And it was covered in… paper?
Amadeus managed to flip some over. It had a ribbon pattern on it.
It was wrapping paper.
Okay… Amadeus started sifting through the wrapping paper, and realized it was attached to the floor. He started tearing it up to reveal another screen, this one adorned with an infinity symbol. The symbol quickly changed to another scene. Also one he recognized.
A marginally younger Amadeus stood at the entrance to his old house, nervous. Today was his seventeeth birthday, and he’d come home for the occasion. The Shinx stood in front of the door for a moment, before taking in a deep breath, and knocking. Amadeus remembered the dread that caused his hesitation.
“Coming!” His mother responded from beyond the door. “Sam, where— Oh, it’s you.” His mother looked around awkwardly for a moment, before stepping aside to let him in. “Come in, I haven’t got all day to stand here.”
“Alright, alright…”
“Sam went out of his way to prepare his room for you. You’d better appreciate it.”
“I know…” Thinking back, talking to his mother didn’t even feel real at that point.
The Shinx paused before the stairs, before seeing his father out of the corner of his eye.
“Hi Dad…”
“Hello, Amadeus. Did you go look at colleges after school like I asked?” His father’s tone was already hostile.
“Um, no, not yet…”
“Well, why haven’t you?”
“I was going to, I just—”
“Just do it! How hard could it be to go up there and ask?!?” His father nearly yelled.
“B-But—” Amadeus’ past self stuttered.
“LISTEN TO ME!” his father interrupted, pouring an almost impressive aggression into his words. Even hearing it now, Amadeus flinched. “Every time you don’t go in there and look into colleges, I want you to hear me telling you to go there! Do you understand me?”
“I-I-I—” Something about looking back on this scene made Amadeus as angry as it made him sad. Something he wouldn’t have felt a few days ago.
“Amadeus,” his mother started, “You realize how you look right now, right? It’s rude to be looking somewhere else, you know. Eye contact. We talked about this. And stand up, for Arceus’ sake.”
His mother’s heartless interruption briefly calmed down the frenzy of emotions in the room. His father looked to his mother briefly, and back to him. “No breakfast next morning. Now go to your room.”
Amadeus watched as the Shinx nearly ran upstairs and locked himself in the room that used to be his, mumbling powers of ten, then got under his covers and tried to get sleep. Eventually, there was a knocking at the bedroom door.
“Amadeus?” Samantha asked.
“I’m fine,” the Shinx reflexively answered.
“Can I see you?” the Eevee replied.
Hesitantly, the Shinx got out from under the covers, and opened the door for her. “Hey.”
“Uh, happy birthday!” the Eevee replied, handing Amadeus a small gift box.
The Shinx slowly opened the present, revealing a pin with a rainbow-colored infinity symbol on it.
“Do you like it?” the Eevee asked. “I got it since you have autism, so I thought you might like it.”
“…Dad says I shouldn’t let a diagnosis hold me back.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you,” the Eevee responded.
The Shinx stared at the pin for a long while, before walking over and hugging Samantha, who seemed a little surprised at the gesture.
“Thanks, Samantha…”
“…You just called me Samantha.”
The Shinx paused. “Uh… yeah.,” he sheepishly replied.
“…I’m glad.” Samantha looked from side to side for a second. “There’s a stash of snacks beneath the bed, by the way. Figured you’d be hungry.”
“Thanks…”
The screen flicked off. Back then, she had my back. And now she’s gone. Amadeus was still holding onto the vain hope that she’d come back twice just like he did, but at the same time, there was a bit of an urgency to move on. Is that why I care about Haruhi? Because she’s playing the same role in my life now that Samatha did?
Or is it more than that? Quietly, Amadeus took solace in the fact that in the very least, he had Samantha back then.
He stared out at the seeming emptiness below the platform. It was calling to him. He was getting closer to the end of the trial, and he knew it. Something was waiting for him at the very end.
He leaped down again, and let that weighless feeling take over. By now, the air was decidedly much thicker than before. In fact, it was getting a bit hard to breathe. At this point, Amadeus took it as just another sign that he was getting closer.
By the time he landed on the next platform down, every single light was overhead, and now, they were much dimmer. The ground he landed on felt like dirt. Granted, that was something he was used to by now, but it still managed to catch him off-guard by breaking the pattern that’d been established.
This time, the entire thing was illuminated by a single lightbulb, hanging from seemingly nothing. The thing flickered constantly, and it was hard to tell where exactly the platform ended and open space began. There was a single wooden table, with what looked like a closed notebook. Cautiously, Amadeus opened it. Inside was what would be the final screen Amadeus discovered that night.
The screen showed what appeared to be the inside of Haya’s house, in the dining room. Haruhi, Haya, Sakura, and Mayumi were all sitting around a table.
“So as I was saying,” the Umbreon began, “Haruhi’s control has been very good as of late.”
“That’s good to hear, but what about using psychic moves?” the Delphox replied with a question.
“Well…” the Fennekin started.
“We’re still working on it,” the Umbreon cut in.
“No progress? None at all?” the Delphox had a distinct hint of worry in her voice.
The table was silent.
“…I know it’s not supposed to be this hard, okay?” Haruhi said defensively.
“It’s alright, child, you’ll figure it out eventually.”
“…I don’t think she wants to,” the Leafeon interjected.
“What is that supposed to mean, Sakura?” Haya asked, sounding almost suspicious.
“Well, I’m not always watching, but she does seem quite a bit happier when she’s working on her fire side…”
Haya sighed. “When you’re a fire and psychic type, you can’t go through life relying only on fire.”
“…But I can’t use psychic moves. Or do anything with it,” Haruhi said, frustrated.
“You have to keep trying, Haruhi,” Haya replied calmly. “If you give up, you’ll never—”
“I’m trying, okay?” Haruhi yelled. “And nothing is working!” Haruhi angrily got up from the table and marched outside into the farm, little puffs of smoke leaving her mouth as she did. Amadeus heard her grumble under her breath as she did.
“I know I have to do it, dammit, I’m trying…” She muttered. “Why can’t I just be good at fire? It’s not like I’m gonna burn the town down! Why does everyone—” She paused, noticing the muddy ground, and made a disgusted noise. Then she looked up at something just out of view of the frame, and looked rather angry.
“HEY!”
The scene panned over to a Shinx in a ruined suit, who happened to be reaching for a berry.
It suddenly occurred to Amadeus in the present what he was witnessing.
“Asshole! I’m talkin’ to YOU! Don’t move, you damn thief!” the Fennekin stormed closer to the Shinx, when the latter suddenly collapsed, prompting the former to stop in surprise.
“…What?” the Fennekin started poking at the Shinxes’ unconscious body cautiously, as if this was some elaborate trap. She eventually started taking a closer look, and then backed off in what looked like horror. “Oh, Arceus…”
The scene cut back to the inside of the house, where a brief discussion had started.
“At this point, I’m starting to think she needs—” the Umbreon started, before getting cut off by Haruhi dragging Amadeus’ body through the back door.
“He’s hurt!” she yelled.
The adults in the room all looked at the unconscious Shinx, then back at each other with worry.
“I’ll go get Hirohito,” the Umbreon quickly said, dashing out of the house.
“What in the world happened, kiddo?!?” the Leafeon said as she rushed over and looked at the Shinx with a worried expression.
“I don’t know!” the Fennekin replied. “He was snooping around the farm, and when he saw me, he just collapsed!”
For a while, the scene kept cutting between various adults being very concerned for the random Shinx they didn’t even know. Amadeus saw Hirohito working for hours tending to his wounds. He saw Haya tidying up the empty room for him to move in.
And he saw Haruhi, staring at the place Amadeus seemed to fall from the sky in something close to wonder. He saw her map out the exact path he took, and he saw her studying what she managed to salvage from the crash site with intense curiosity. He saw her personally make sure his glasses got fixed, and he saw her checking in on him every day to see if he was awake.
The scene cut to Haruhi, alone in her room. She pulled out what looked like a diary. She turned to a blank page, and started writing.
‘Today, I met someone incredible’.
Amadeus couldn’t help but wonder who she really cared about back then. Part of him said she got invested in him because of a fantasy. And yet, she helped him the moment he was in need, before she could come to that conclusion.
They all did.
Amadeus watched as the screen finally shut down, and took in a deep breath. He knew he couldn’t be much further from his goal. Below the platform, there was nothing but inky blackness. He could feel a certain looming dread, but at the same time, he found himself feeling a small amount of optimism.
You can do this, Amadeus… He took one final deep breath, which was especially hard with how thick the air had become, and leap downwards into the unknown. Of course, it wasn’t going to stay unknown for much longer.
For a while, Amadeus felt himself falling down, just waiting for something to happen. Finally, he felt himself landing on something… granular. It was difficult to see much further than a few body lengths away in the darkness, but it looked almost like sand. And wherever he was, it was far too big to be called a platform. And it sloped downwards.
Amadeus slowly walked down the slope, unsure what he was about to see. He managed to kick up just a little bit of dust with every step, and it all seemed to be falling towards something.
Then, he heard breathing.
And saw a tail.
And two eyes, staring right back at him.
What he saw looked just like him, a Shinx. Except it was pale, almost devoid of color. Like it hadn’t seen the sun in forever. It looked him directly in the eyes for a brief moment, before turning around.
“Why are you here?” The Shinx asked.
Amadeus paused for a moment to think. “I’m here to take the trial.”
“Why? All you’re doing is checking a box and maybe looking good for a bunch of people who don’t care.”
“…I care about them.”
“You care, do you? Is that why you tried to kill yourself in front of her? Because you cared? You just wanted to hurt her.”
“I only did that because I was scared,” Amadeus replied. “I just got overwhelmed.”
“You know how I know you’re lying?” the other Shinx asked. “I’m you. And I know for a fact that nobody really cares about you, and you know it.”
Amadeus was silent for a while.
“It’s probably true that not everyone around me really cared about me,” Amadeus admitted. “But that’s not true of everyone. There really are people in our life that care about us.”
“And you scared the living shit out of one of those people in an act of petty revenge.”
From a certain point of view, Amadeus agreed with that assessment. Even so… “Maybe we could ask for forgiveness, then.”
“…And what if that doesn’t work?”
Amadeus knew that feeling painfully well. “It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”
“What? No it isn’t! In the worst case, she might reject you completely, and never want to see you again! You might get hurt!”
Amadeus sighed. “I’m… tired of getting in the way of my own happiness because I’m worried about what someone else might do or say. I know I’ll probably never be free of doubt, but I don’t want to run anymore.”
“But it’s safe to run…”
“The only way to feel better is to try.”
Amadeus could feel some tears welling up in his eyes. The other Shinx turned back to Amadeus, tears in his eyes.
“…Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Amadeus nodded. “I’m sure.”
Amadeus gave the other Shinx a hug, and leaped into the air with all of his might. Upwards they swam, Amadeus holding on tightly. The lights began to get brighter again, and started to surround them, with the one overhead now shining brighter than ever before. Until finally…
Amadeus stuck his head above the waves.
Amadeus looked up at the night sky. The stars were beautiful, glistening and shimmering in all of their majesty. The moon overhead glowed a deep yellow, making it almost trivial to see in the night. Amadeus swam as best he could over to a nearby island, and carried his other self onto dry land on his back. The beach was small, but the bubbles floating through the air and the shockingly calm water made it feel almost welcoming.
“We’re gonna be okay, right?” the other Shinx asked.
“Right,” Amadeus replied with an affirming nod.
Suddenly, Amadeus realized that he was glowing. He felt a strange energy coursing through his body. Something… stronger than he was used to. And something different. In a way, it reminded him of something, but he couldn’t place quite what. He felt himself growing, and the weight on his back lightening. By the time the glowing stopped, he felt distinctly different. He wasn’t quite sure what until he caught his reflection in the water.
A Luxio was staring back at him.
“I… evolved,” Amadeus muttered breathlessly.
Indeed you did, a voice responded. It sounded calm, refined, and androgynous. And I’m very pleased with your performance.
“W-who said that?” Amadeus said, jumping in place.
Tee-hee. Quite easily startled, are we? The voice’s tone wasn’t quite mocking, only playful. Not that I blame you. I’d expect to be alone in here too.
“…That doesn’t answer my question.”
Well, let’s just say I’m the one running the show around here, and I’ll let you try and put the pieces together before we properly meet after stage two of the trial, hm?
Amadeus paused. “…You’re Lada.”
Wonderfully quick on the uptake. I love it.
“…Can I see you?”
Sadly, this part of the trial isn’t designed to let me do that. Not that I ever intended to. Seeing me is supposed to be a reward for clearing the whole thing, you see.
“Ah. Well did you have anything else you wanted to say, or is that it?”
Just a little congratulations for getting past what I believe to be the harder part of the trial. I’d say you passed with flying colors, if this result is any indication. The voice paused for an uncomfortably long time. Amadeus nearly interrupted Lada again before they continued. Oh, and it’s been a while since anyone quite as interesting as you took the trial. I didn’t expect to meet a time-traveling Shinx today. Or Luxio, I suppose.
Amadeus spared another glance at his reflection. “Uh, thanks. Wasn’t sure if I had it in me.”
And yet you did. But enough chat. You have someone to talk to, don’t you?
“I think I do, in fact. It was nice meeting you.”
We’ll talk again once you clear stage two with your partner. And I have a funny feeling I know exactly who that is! The entire world around Amadeus started glowing a brilliant white. Good luck!
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Amadeus woke up with a start, almost in a haze. He still seemed to be a Luxio, but it seemed that, unfortunately, evolution did not cure his bad eyesight.
He had a split second to process all of this before Haruhi tackled him.
“Amadeus!” She shouted, hugging him tightly.
“H-hi, Haruhi…”
“Oh my Arceus, Amadeus, I was so scared!” her breath was a bit smoky, and shaky. “Amadeus, I… I… I…”
“Haruhi?”
“…Yeah?”
“I’m sorry.” Amadeus took in a deep breath. “For everything. For putting myself first, for getting us hurt so badly earlier, for getting mad at you… and for making you worry so much.”
Haruhi was silent for a while. “I… wasn’t mad. You don’t have to apologize.”
“You didn’t want me to say I’m sorry?” Amadeus asked, genuinely a bit confused.
“Amadeus, if anyone should apologize, it’s me. I’m the one who put all of that pressure to go first. Hell, we wouldn’t be in this mess if I didn’t call you a human and ask Dumas to let us join the Guild back when we first met him.”
“You… shouldn’t apologize for that. That’s your dream.”
“Amadeus, I—” Haruhi paused, before tightening her embrace a bit. “The point is that you have nothing to apologize for, alright? We’re fine.”
“Well, while you’ve got me here…” Amadeus started. Am I really about to tell her this? Should I?
…No time like the present. “I want you to know that I love you!” Amadeus nearly forced out the words. It was terrifying to say it, but he knew he had to do it there and then.
For a while, the room was dead silent. Amadeus’ confession was something neither he nor Haruhi quite expected to come, which made Amadeus think, that for a terrible moment, it would fail.
Fortunately, he was wrong.
Amadeus felt tears rolling down his back. Happy, happy tears. He was starting to get a little misty-eyed himself.
“I love you too!” Haruhi nearly squealed, planting a kiss behind the back of his ear.
For a while, the two of them didn’t let go of each other, just soaking in the happiness of the moment. Eventually, however, it had to end. Mya, who had been awkwardly watching this transpire the entire time, chose to be the party pooper.
“Ahem,” she said just loudly enough for the both of them to hear.
Amadeus and Haruhi responded by quickly drawing away from each other, looking quite embarrassed. Amadeus knew he was. I can’t believe I just did all of that in front of Mya…
“Don’t look too embarrassed about that,” she said, clapping softly. “I do enjoy a good confession of love. But, as much as I hate to point it out, a handful of formalities are in order. Amadeus Luxio?”
“Yes?” Just being called a Luxio felt surreal, even if he knew that it was true now.
“Congratulations on passing the first stage of the trial.”
“…Wait, how can you tell?” Amadeus asked.
“Ah, that’s not voluntary. I just happen to know when. In any case, you should get some fresh air while Haruhi attempts stage one. Although if you would prefer, you’re more than welcome to stay by her side while she takes it.”
“Given that she did the same for me, I think I’ll do exactly that.”
“Very well then,” Mya replied. “But step down from the altar, if you please.”
“Ah,” Amadeus said. “Will do. Good luck, Haruhi,” he said, stepping down from the altar.
“Now, then, Haruhi,” Mya started. “Are you ready?”
Haruhi nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
The previous night, in Dumas’ private study…
“What do you mean they slipped away, Jack?” Dumas was barely able to keep his voice down as he angrily spoke to Jack through a special communication device created by the medallion. Dexter was watching on, as he usually did. Not lifting a finger to help. I swear to Arceus, I feel like I’m his personal entertainment sometimes… “How’d that even happen?”
“Dude, I don’t know. The Fennekin used fire and some kind of orb as a smokescreen. They must’ve hid in the bushes somewhere. I’ve been looking all day. I’ll try again tomorrow.”
“Jack, do you have any idea where the hell you are?”
“Uh… up north?”
“You’re near Meade, Jack.”
“Oh… Yeah, I destroyed the town nearby to blow off steam. They weren’t there. Nobody was, actually…”
Dumas’ heart sank. “Arceus, do I have to remind you what the problem with Meade is?”
“Oh. Right. There’s a secret part of the town, right?”
“Yeah. Big ‘oh’, buddy. Now they know you’re there, and—”
“No biggie. Just circle back, and—”
“You can’t get in, dumbass! And if my other self and Haruhi are in there, which is extremely likely, I might get connected to you!”
“…Damn.”
Dexter snickered.
“Oh, put a sock in it, Dexter…” Dumas muttered. “In the worst case, Elm could contact Tokugawa directly. If that happens…”
“At this point, you should just cut your losses,” Dexter suggested. “You’re not getting that gem back.”
“The second I steal the other shards back, the whole Guild’s going to figure out what I’m up to. Then I have to defend the bomb for a few minutes. And it absolutely has to detonate in this room to cause the kind of massacre we’re looking for.” Dumas sighed. “It’s way too risky to try.”
“Suit yourself,” Dexter said with a shrug. “I just don’t see a reason to wait if the larger gem’s gone.”
“I want to be sure of that before I try anything,” Dumas replied. “Quite frankly, it’d be easier to just run if I wanted to cut my losses.” Dumas raised the communication device to his mouth. “Jack, turn the area surrounding Meade upside down. Look for any weak points in their defenses, and burn the place to the ground if you find any.”
“Rogger that.”
“Good,” Dumas said, tossing the communication device aside.
“Shouldn’t you teleport him in if things get desperate?” Dexter asked. “Seems like a good form of insurance.”
“Are you insane? What if we both get captured?”
“Having him here would make that less likely, no?”
“And if it fails, we’re down two members and Calamity gets exposed to the world.”
“Yeah, but—” Dexter started, before pausing with a thoughtful expression. “You’re playing this way too safe. And remember which one of us is smarter?”
“I don’t think—” Dumas began, before getting cut off by the sound of knocking. Dexter looked at the door, grinned, and mouthed ‘don’t say I didn’t warn you’, before teleporting away. “Who is it?” Dumas asked, exhausted.
Nagisa opened the door. Dumas had a moment to wonder how a Milotic even managed a proper knocking noise before she began to speak. “Someone’s been out here waiting for you for the past hour.”
“Who could possibly be here this late at night?”
“They said they used to know you and were called here specifically because of you. I’m guessing they’re supposed to be a witness, but…”
“Well, shit. You go do whatever you were doing before this, I’ll deal with her.”
“Ah, you know her?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Alright, I’ll be letting them in now, if you don’t mind…” Nagisa slithered back towards the door to the office, and opened it to reveal none other than Mayumi.
Nearly a full minute of intense staring followed.
Seemingly sensing the open hostility in the room, Nagisa decided to leave the two of them behind. It was a while later before Mayumi finally decided to break the silence.
“Do I call you Amadeus or Dumas?”
“Dumas, you daft bitch.”
Mayumi looked taken aback after being insulted to her face immediately. “So we’re gonna make no attempt to get back on good terms, huh?”
“Don’t pretend you ever cared about me, asshole,” Dumas seethed angrily. “Why the hell are you even here?”
“Because I was stupid enough to want some closure, apparently.”
“How’d you even get here this fast? It’s been maybe four days since the Guildmaster called you here.”
“I got lucky with a barrier dungeon and I was already leaving by the time the message got to me, what do you want from me?”
“Personally, I would be very happy if you left and never returned.”
“Well I can’t do that, since apparently you murdered someone? And they found shit in your house? Were you smuggling drugs… Dumas? They wanted to know who you were seeing as a teen.”
“Hell no. Can you please get on with why you’re here?”
“You kept interrupting me, but whatever. How the hell did you survive what happened in Háo de Xiǎo?”
“I was outside of town at the time, dipshit. What the hell do you want from me?”
“Arceus, I just wanted an answer!” Mayumi exclaimed, exasperated. “You’re like pulling teeth, you know that?”
“Well, you have the answer you were looking for, you stupid bitch. Now get the hell away from me before I puke.”
Mayumi stood there for a moment, looking almost hurt. “By the way, Akihiro wanted to know where his son is.”
“I don’t know. Now get the hell out.”
Finally, Mayumi left the room silently, leaving Dumas to himself.
Damnit, now they know for sure that I was with people like Jack when I was younger. What now? Do I just have to run? Should I steal the shards and activate the bomb now?
Nope, still too risky to try. Dumas walked back into his study and shut the door behind him. It was almost terrifying to be backed into a corner like this, but he had to cope somehow.
He needed to calm down. “One, ten, one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand, one million, ten million, one hundred million, one billion, ten billion, one hundred billion, one trillion…”
Dumas had learned a long time ago that old habits tended to die hard.
I don’t think the necklace corrupted him. It was the people around him, it was just brought to him in a bad place and circumstances made him spiral. Or it it corrupted him, it wasn’t totally its fault.