Desperation

Chary imagined what Concord and Adam were thinking of him right now. He said he would only be gone for “a little bit,” but he found himself following the Hypno for more than an hour, waiting for him to choose a spot for his lunch.

Finally, despite some part of Chary wishing he wouldn’t, The Hypno did eventually decide to take a break. The place was standard. They sat on a bench by a brick building, with an alleyway within earshot. An alleyway where some would sleep to get away from the late-night hecklers and noise. Ever since Chary had that fateful run-in on the beach, he noticed it hadn’t been used as much. However, in a stroke of luck for Chary, there was still a lone Formantis. Whether it was because they ran away from home, just got lost, or something else entirely, it didn’t matter. No matter what, it was perfect for what he was going to do.

‘Is this really what I want?’ His plan was sketchy at best, and impossible at worst. ‘If they just kept him in prison and gave me the credit, I wouldn’t have to go this far.’ 

A million similar thoughts raced through Chary’s head as he paced in the alleyway.

‘Even if it doesn’t work, at least I’ll be remembered. They’re cold and shivering anyways, signs of being on their deathbed, so why not make it for a noble cause?’ 

Chary began to quiver with worry before pulling the blast seed out of his bag. ‘Every plan of mine has failed. It’s not my fault.’ 

He stared at the seed as he tried to overcome his fear. ‘Of course, this is what I want. It’s been my life goal, above everything else. It’s all-important, above my parents, above my brother, above others, and now-’ 

He sighed as he counted down the seconds. ‘Three… two… one…’

‘Above life.’

The result was just what he expected. A loud explosion erupted, sending rubble and blood spraying everywhere. The Fomantis that had just been shivering in their sleep a moment ago now laid motionless, a broken, blood-soaked heap of dead, charred flesh.

“What was that noise?” Hypno shouted in a panic. As anticipated, the horrible act drew attention. Chary rounded the corner, running over to confront him just as the wall collapsed on where the Umbreon once was

“Freeze! Hypno, you’re under arrest!”

“Drat! Another miss!” Adam groaned, smacking the crossbow in frustration. There wasn’t much sunlight left in the day for him to keep messing up. Adjusting the arrow’s chamber to the left, shifting a limb upwards, and balancing the stock — getting every component just right was crucial for achieving consistent shots. Yet, even if he had the best crossbow ever made, consistency meant nothing if he couldn’t compensate for the shakiness in his hands. He just had to get better.

‘Practice, practice, practice! And I’ll get better.’ The Eevee repeated to himself, leaving his words to echo throughout.

“Maybe you should move the target closer?” Concord suggested.

Chary had gone out to do something, but left him and Concord in the dark about what it was. Adam by no means would blow up the house if he was left alone, but the Buizel still insisted on watching him anyway.

“Yeah, right,” he scoffed. “What am I supposed to do in an actual fight? Yell ‘Hey, come over here so I can shoot you!?”

“Maybe the target isn’t supposed to move, but you are,” she corrected herself.

Adam thought about it — she made a good point, after all. But Adam couldn’t move that fast with a stiff leg brace holding him upright. At least, not at the moment, and taking it off and putting it back on again for every fight would be too slow. 

‘How much effort am I going through to make this work, how many times have I tried to convince myself to keep going this day alone?’ Adam thought. What would it be like tomorrow? Next week? Next month? He tried to push those thoughts away, instead trying to solve the problems in front of him. ‘The legbrace stops me from running, but I need the legbrace to use the crossbow.’ He effectively rammed his head into a brick wall over and over again trying to think of a solution.

Adam put down the crossbow, having lost all hope in getting it all working.

The Hypno entered, struggling against Chary’s grip. It was a small space, just a room with a desk, a chair, and a back wall replaced by two cells, one bed, and one toilet inside each. It was bare, lacking even the most basic of details. The harsh and hard gray bricks gave no sign of life having been here, but that was a good thing. It meant the cells had never been used frequently enough to warrant any overhaul.  (Even if said overhaul was much needed for security) 

“Oh let me guess, you two are a few prankster teenagers here to pester me?” A Vaporeon leaned forward in his chair. Chary had to admit that they both looked young enough to pass as teenagers, but he had other things on his mind at the moment. “Well, beat it! I’m not going to ‘Move the prison to outside so it would be more secure.’, I am not going to partake in your fantastical roleplaying, and no, nobody named “Fart Eater” has been here recently!” There was a pause. Chary spoke first.

“Officer, I’m being serious! I have apprehended a murderer!” Chary declared.

“I didn’t murder shit!” The Hypno retorted, continuing to struggle against Chary’s grip.

“Who’d he kill? The Vaporeon asked.

“Officer Aza? Is that you?” Chary stopped for a moment, thinking about the paper. “This Hypno here… he committed murder, alone in a dark alley with no witnesses. It seemed like the perfect crime until I showed up. When he noticed me, he attempted to arrest me for the murder!” Chary lied.

“Oh, did he? It hasn’t been long since his release!” Aza leaned forward in their seat.

“Released? That implies he was a criminal before this! He must be guilty! I say guilty!” Chary gasped. “Aren’t you glad I caught him again? We can’t have someone like that on the streets!”

“Actually, we released him due to lack of proof. Do you have any?” Chary’s face tensed with frustration.

“Well, uh, you see, I was in such a rush that I didn’t grab any!”

“I didn’t do it; you did!” The Hypno shouted angrily.

“Little Hypno, do you have any proof this Umbreon did it?”

“Uh, I saw him do it, and-”

“Well, you’re both free to go then. Let me know if you find anything to prove their guilt,” Aza said to both of them. They slowly walked out, moving in opposite directions before sprinting away from each other and out of sight.

Aza sat back down, awaiting the next case. “Hah. I bet those teenagers were just having a spat. I doubt they’ll be returning soon.” A Lurantis sprinted into the room, slamming the door wide open.

“Officer, help! Someone killed my son!”