Pained Time Off

Roz and Terry arrived at headquarters bright and early at 7:30 the next morning. Archimedes hadn’t been very specific on what he meant by “first thing in the morning”, but neither of them was interested in taking chances. 

“The Head Rangers will see you in Cliff’s room,” Dulce informed them upon arrival. “Best of luck,” she added with a sympathetic grimace.

Most Rangers in the office area were only there briefly to check their list of duties for the day, which inevitably included setting up tents, gathering supplies, or other similar tasks. A few gave Roz and Terry looks ranging from pity to curiosity, but most were too busy to notice them at all. Kelly, the Sableye from the day before, was there as well. She noticed them, but the gemstones that served as her eyes made her expression unreadable.

After entering the head suite, Roz knocked on the door with Cliff’s name next to it. Archimedes’ voice answered. “Enter.” In stark contrast to the organized chaos of Archimedes’ room, the Tyranitar’s was mostly empty. He had a plaque on the wall proclaiming his Gold-rank status, an oversized desk bearing a few stacks of papers, and little else. Roz supposed he needed most of that space to accommodate his bulk. For the time being, the desk was up against the wall, leaving the middle of the room available for five chairs of varying sizes, three of which were currently occupied by the Head Rangers.

“Well, I suppose you’re punctual if nothing else,” Archimedes said. “Let’s get down to business. Cliff, Flint, what are your opinions on Roz and Terry’s actions yesterday?” he asked the Pokémon on either side of him.

Cliff spoke first. His left arm hung wrapped in a sling. “I’m not sure what they were thinking. If even we aren’t strong enough to stand up to a god, what chance did they expect to have?” the Tyranitar grumbled. “I would hope their experience yesterday can serve as enough of a punishment.”

Archimedes nodded and turned to Flint. “Y’know, I’ve been thinkin’ about this a bit.” The Charizard leaned back and crossed his arms, his flaming tail resting casually on the stone floor. “What you two did yesterday was as stupid as stupid gets. But I gotta admit it was brave. Not sure I can bring myself to vote to kick someone like that out. Not yet anyway. But I will if you try to pull something like that again.”

“I see,” said Archimedes. “And what do you two have to say for yourselves?”

“I-I’m sorry,” Terry sat with his eyes glued to the club on his lap, legs close together. “I knew Registeel was dangerous. I…I’ve always looked up to you three.” The Cubone’s grip on his club tightened. “I thought maybe this would be my chance to prove that I had a place with the Rangers. I’ve never felt very useful. I thought maybe I could change that.”

“As I stated previously, I believed this was an opportunity to observe Registeel directly,” Roz said. “I never intended to be noticed, let alone involved. I recognize that my plans should have been cleared with you in advance, but I did not have enough notice of your mission ahead of time to do so. I am unsatisfied with my rate of progress toward understanding what is going on. I had hoped this plan would expedite that progress.”

“So that is what you came up with.” Archimedes clasped his hands and paused to let his words hang in the air. He was terrifyingly calm, to the point where he almost looked bored.

“Cliff, Flint? Do either of you wish to change your stance in light of Roz and Terry’s statements?”

Cliff leaned forward in his seat and raised a brow at Terry.“You…actually wanted to protect us?”

“Wahahahah!” Flint burst out laughing, causing his tail swing about wildly. “Never heard that one before!” Terry appeared to be doing his best to meld with his chair. Cliff irritably swatted the Charizard’s tail before it lit his cast on fire. “Wait, you were serious? I mean, I’m flattered–no, more like mildly offended,” Flint corrected himself. “But what exactly was the plan here?”

Neither Terry nor Roz had an answer. 

“And you,” Flint gestured to Roz. “What’s this theory or whatever of yours that you were testing?”

“I think Lege–the gods may be causing the disasters,” the Elgyem replied.

“Right. Based on what happened with that Skarmory, yeah? What happened to him anyway?” asked Flint.

“We left him in the care of some Magnemite at an old human facility,” said Roz. “We checked in on him before returning to Crosswind Town from our assignment and found he was stable after removing him from the vicinity of Mt. Steel.”

“That is not your choice,” rumbled Cliff.

“Indeed, it isn’t,” Archimedes scowled. “Both of you should’ve known this, but especially Terry.” Terry squirmed in his chair.

But you seemed fine with it at the time, Roz thought.

“I also note that the pair of you recently wasted a day on a trip to Sinister Woods and blamed the affair on another Ranger,” the Alakazam continued, holding up Roz and Terry’s report on said incident. Roz tried to protest, but Archimedes cut her off. “You two demonstrate a pattern of disobedience, rule-breaking, and incompetence. Shirking assignments and blaming others is a childish behavior that I will not tolerate among the Rangers.”

“I’m particularly disappointed in you Roz. You assured me you were uniquely qualified to determine the cause of these disasters, yet here we are, weeks into your assignment, and you have given me nothing.” Again, he shut down Roz’s attempts to defend herself. “Under ordinary circumstances, you would both be terminated, but as it stands we need as many able bodies as possible. You’re both assigned to helping refugees until further notice, starting today as soon as you leave this meeting. If I were you, I wouldn’t expect that notice to come anytime soon, if ever. Dismissed.”

“Sir,” Roz began.

“I said. Dis. Missed,” Archimedes glared. 

The crackling of Flint’s tail flame created the only sound in the room. Terry followed Roz’s lead in getting out of his seat, and the two of them left in silence.

~~~

From what Roz gathered, most of the residents of Baram Town had found somewhere to take refuge; either in Crosswind Town or overseas. The rains off the coast of Baram still hadn’t let up; in fact, she’d heard rumors they were getting both stronger and closer. Fires, lightning strikes, and rock slides continued to ravage other parts of the continent, and the story was much the same the world over. Crosswind Town, mercifully, continued to be spared the worst of it, likely due to its position in a well-protected bay. Naturally, the Rangers wanted to stockpile supplies in case more Pokémon needed to shelter there.

The Elgyem didn’t need telepathy to understand her colleague’s silence as the pair of them hauled their handcart to one of the farms on the outskirts of Crosswind Town. Not that she had much of anything to say back. They’d gotten off lucky, in more ways than one. They just had to make it through a few days of manual labor, and everything would be back to normal. Yes, she just had to keep reminding herself of that. Keep the big picture in mind, don’t worry about the minutiae of the moment.

Roz could sense the resentment oozing off of the Mudbray farmer they picked up grain from. That gave her a pretty good idea of how the Rangers’ compensation compared to what he’d have been able to sell it for through normal channels. She was too preoccupied with other matters to ponder the moral quandary however.

Not the least of which were the sidelong glances of other Rangers trying to pretend they weren’t staring at her when she wasn’t looking. She normally found prying into other people’s minds distasteful, but their surface thoughts were boiling over to the point where it was almost impossible not to.

Is that her?

Did she seriously try to take on Registeel?

Can’t believe she dragged poor Terry into that mess.

She’s looking this way, she’s probably reading my mind right now!

And so their days went. Roz’s endurance training with Terry had definitely paid off, as she doubted she could’ve handled this much heavy lifting before. She and Terry had plenty of time to talk during the long days, and for once, it felt like they had a chance to get to know each other personally. Terry talked about a few of the more memorable places he’d visited around the Air Continent, including, notably, the Great Canyon. The Elgyem “couldn’t” share much about herself, but still brought up her appreciation for the Air Continent’s natural beauty. 

“Hey Roz, you doing okay?” the Cubone asked her one evening.

“I am…tired,” the Elgyem admitted. Yes, that was a good way to sum up her emotional and physical (technically mental in her case) state. “Though, I suppose I should be the one asking you that.”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine,” he grinned back. The grin turned into a grimace as he rubbed his back. “A bit sore, but we’re making a difference here. I know this isn’t what you’d hoped to be doing for the Rangers, so, for what it’s worth, thanks for being willing to help.” Roz nodded appreciatively. She was in for a surprise the next morning though. 

Dulce pulled her and Terry aside when they arrived at headquarters. “Good news; your leave request has been approved!”

Roz blinked several times. “What?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Terry piped in. “But I asked for a few days off to go to the Great Canyon.”

“You’re both scheduled to work today, but you’ll have the next week off.”

<Terry, I thought we agreed not to do this.>

<We can talk about this later Roz, but I think we both need this.>

Roz didn’t speak to Terry much during work that day. She wasn’t entirely sure how to feel. She wasn’t sure she would say she was angry necessarily. Maybe…exasperated? 

Why am I going along with this? Roz thought to herself as she and Terry departed the next morning. The trek to the Great Canyon would likely take around five days, so it wouldn’t be much of a break from physical labor. Since Ranger fliers were for official business only, they’d be making this trek on foot. Their path required them to circle around Crosswind Bay, and the end of the first day brought them to their favorite location, the Sinister Woods. Given what a delightful, mosquito-ridden place it was, they decided to set up camp a short distance from the edge of the forest.

Roz and Terry’s tent was crude but functional. Terry started a fire, and the two of them roasted some chestnuts for dinner. After eating, they laid down on the grass to admire the night sky. Roz had never slept under the stars before. Out here in the wild, away from even torchlight, it was truly a sight to behold. She’d never been able to look up at night and see a galactic arm before. Were any of the stars up there ones she recognized? Maybe one of them was even her own sun. She wished the quiet moment could go on forever, but knew there were things that needed discussing.

“What do you expect this trip to accomplish?” She made sure to keep her tone neutral and non-accusatory.

The Cubone stared silently upward as he contemplated his response. “I’ve heard those people talking about you behind your back, you know.” At least he didn’t have to deal with hearing them think about her behind her back. “No one who goes through what you’re going through could be as well-off as you claim to be.”

“I see.”

“Do you?” Terry turned his head to face her. “Roz, the lack of concern you have for getting your memory back is kinda scaring me to be honest. Let’s face it, the Rangers can carry on without us for a bit. 

Roz looked skyward again. “And what if we find nothing?”

“Then at least we tried.” Terry propped himself up on one elbow. “I don’t trust Specter any more than you do; probably even less. No, definitely less since at least you can look into his head and tell if he’s lying or not. But we’ve put this off for long enough already.”

“Terry, what if my past is better off forgotten?” Roz asked, still not looking at him. “What if the fact that I haven’t gone looking for it is my subconscious telling me that I should leave the person I used to be behind?”

Terry pulled himself up into a sitting position. “Do you think losing your memories would change who you are? And even if it did, would just knowing who you used to be change you back?” He picked up his club and fiddled with it. “I…wish I could forget my past sometimes. But I couldn’t handle not knowing who I am or where I’m from or anything like that.”

Roz sighed and telekinetically lifted herself upright. “I suppose I’ve given you the impression I do not care about my memory loss. That is not true. The reason I’ve been so opposed to this trip is that I suspect it’s a trap. Contrary to what you think I can’t just read someone’s entire psyche, but do you really think Specter means to help either of us here?”

“I don’t know what to think. But I do know that we have a real lead. And even if I don’t fully trust it, I can’t just not follow it. If we just assume it’s a trap, we’ll never know for sure.”

~~~

The two Pokémon emerged from an artificial tunnel through the Border Mountain Range into the Great South Desert. Their journey was now more than halfway over. According to their map, there was a town in the eastern desert known as Dustboro, but Terry said there was nothing worthwhile there, and it was too much of a detour anyway. 

Temperature-wise, the desert was surprisingly manageable. That was likely due to the near constant sandstorms. While strong winds weren’t unheard of in the area, Terry had never seen them this bad before. As a Ground-type, he was naturally unfazed, but Roz only made it because of the weather band he’d thought to pack.

The two spent nights huddled in shallow caves. Even though the sandstorms weren’t blowing at all times, they were prone to pick up again without warning. And while the days weren’t as hot as Roz expected, the nights were just as cold as she’d feared. Finally, on the evening of day five, with the sun just above the horizon, they arrived.

Roz had imagined the Great Canyon would be an exceptionally deep gorge. Instead, it was as if a chunk of land the size of a large city had simply been ripped from the ground. The canyon floor was probably hundreds of meters below at its deepest, but the whole thing was so big it was hard to accurately guess distance. Desert flora clung to whatever surfaces it could, making the whole canyon feel alive. Roz and Terry stopped at the canyon rim and simply observed for a while.

“Rather impressive, isn’t it?” Roz and Terry turned to see an aged Xatu behind them. Despite the specks of gray in his plumage, he maintained the straight posture and sharp eyes of his species.

“Yes,” Roz answered hesitantly. “Rather impressive” didn’t even come close to doing this place justice. 

“It’s even better than I remember,” Terry mumbled as he glanced back over the canyon.

“Not many people have made it out here recently,” the Xatu continued. “A shame really, but it’s not hard to see why.” Roz looked skyward, half expecting another sandstorm to kick up.

“Do you live here by chance?” she asked.

The Xatu nodded. “My name is Sier. I’ve called this canyon home for over 20 years now. But what brings you here? Surely in a time like this you wouldn’t travel all the way out here just for sightseeing. And while I could see a Cubone thinking of moving in, I’ve never known an Elgyem to live in a place like this.”

Dread settled into Roz’s stomach. Of course this whole thing was a set up. She was just about to speak up, but Terry beat her to it. “We were looking for you actually. My friend here lost her memory and we were told you might be able to help.”

“We were told that there were other Elgyem living here, actually,” Roz amended quickly. “It appears our source was mistaken.”

“Hmmm, no, like I said, there aren’t any others of your line here. But perhaps I can still help anyway. You went through the trouble of coming all the way out here after all.”

“We have taken enough of your time already. I did not expect anything to come of this anyway. We should return.”

“We can at least try Roz. Like he said, we’ve come all this way already. It’s not like you to give up this easily.”

“Terry, I…”

[I have a very bad feeling about this. I think Specter led us into a trap.]

“Your friend’s right,” said Sier. “Even if I can’t help, at least let me try. You have nothing to lose. Tell me what happened.”

Terry launched into an explanation of everything he knew about Roz, from the day he found her in the Tiny Woods, to her odd speech patterns, to that bracelet she wore that created images somehow. All the while, she thought frantically for a way out. She could teleport back to Crosswind Town, but that would leave Terry here on his own. She could grab him first, but if he fought against the teleport he would be left behind anyway. And he’d definitely realize she was hiding something from him. 

Then again, maybe Specter wanted her to panic. She couldn’t think of what might be here that the Gengar could use against either of them. What if the whole point was to get her to overreact in such a way that she lost Terry’s trust. Or maybe he just wanted the two of them out of Crosswind for a while. The more she thought about it the more plausible it seemed. Specter had it out for Terry for some reason, right? So it made sense he would try to hurt Terry’s friendship with her.

“That’s quite the story,” Sier said after Terry finished his explanation. “And yet…it’s a stretch, but I think maybe, just maybe, I might be able to help.”

“Really?!” Terry perked up.

Sier nodded. “I might be wrong of course, so don’t get your hopes up too high. I think it’d be better to show you than tell you though.” The Xatu proffered his wings. Terry eagerly touched his hand to one of them. Roz hesitated, her apprehension fighting with her curiosity. Still, she reasoned that it couldn’t hurt, and took Sier’s other wing, and all three of them vanished.

When the three of them reappeared, Roz hovered in place, motionless, because any sort of reaction would give her away. In front of them was a massive pile of twisted metal. Clearly it had been functional at some point, but that had changed when it slammed into the canyon wall at high speed.

Terry approached slowly. “What’s this?” He gingerly poked the heap with his club.

“It fell out of the sky several weeks ago,” Sier answered. “About the time Roz showed up by the sound of it. I don’t know if there’s any connection given how far away you found her, but the way you described that bracelet reminded me of it. Does it look familiar at all, Roz?”

The Elgyem took a moment to gather her thoughts and calm her breathing. She was just about to answer with the most confident “no, it does not” she could muster, when her bracelet and a light on the pile of metal lit up in unison with a small beep. Roz stared at her arm in horror, and a door in the wreckage slowly creaked its way open. She numbly floated toward the hatch as the other two watched. The entryway was crushed to the point of making access impossible.

“Roz?” Terry muttered.

“Yes,” she said at last. “It does look familiar. It’s how I got here.”

“Huh?”

She looked over her shoulder to see Terry with his head tilted to the side. No going back now. “I’m surprised you didn’t piece it together sooner. You noticed so many holes in my cover story. I made so many slip-ups.” The Elgyem squeezed her eyes shut, unable to face Terry.

“Roz, what are you talking about?” Terry asked desperately, clinging to the last threads of Roz’s lie.

Roz heaved a sigh, swallowed, and braced herself, trying to suppress the awful, guilty fear in her stomach. “I didn’t lose my memories Terry. This is…was my ship. It’s how I came to this planet.”

Something fell into the sand behind her. “Why.”

“My mission was to-”

“No. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because-”

“You could at least look at me!”

Yes. She owed him that much, didn’t she. Tears streamed down Terry’s scowling face. He stood rigid, fists clenched, his club on the ground next to him. “Well?” he asked.

“Because…because I knew you’d…react like this.” It sounded even more pathetic out loud.

“What kind of answer is that?!” Terry croaked. “I took you into my home! I got you a job! I did everything I could for you, and you were just using me the whole time?! Do you even care about these disasters?! About anything?!”

Roz squeezed her eyes shut. “At least let me try to explain.” Terry’s eyes begged her to do so. Roz glanced at Sier out of the corner of her eye. The Xatu avoided her gaze. “Sier, if at all possible, could you leave Terry and me alone for a moment? This is between the two of us.”

“No,” Terry interjected. “Stay. I need you to tell me if she lies to me again.”

“Very well,” she conceded. “But this is very sensitive information.”

“Yeah, apparently,” Terry snorted.

“What do you know about humans?” Roz asked both of them.

“What does that have to do with anything?” asked Terry.

“Everything.”

“That…thing…is human-made, isn’t it?” said Sier.

She tilted her head back and forth. “Partially. Humans came up with the original design, but it was modified by Pokémon. I know Terry knows about the time humans visited this planet, I assume you do as well Sier? Specifically about how they supposedly abducted a number of Pokémon as they left?”

Sier’s eyes widened. “Are you saying you’re one of those Pokémon?” he asked with a hint of awe in his voice.

“I’m descended from them, yes.” Roz turned to Terry. “There were a number of Pokémon who considered us traitors for associating with humans. By some accounts, we were lucky to make it out alive. I didn’t know what the people of this world thought or knew about that incident today. None of us did. There were so many of us who wanted to come back here, but we didn’t know how you’d receive us.

“So when you asked me where I was from, what was I supposed to do? For all I knew you’d kill me on the spot! So I did the only thing I think of on such short notice. I told you I’d forgotten everything. If I didn’t know who I was, I’d have an excuse to not tell you anything. To not tell anyone anything.”

Terry’s shoulders slouched as a few of his tears stained the sand. “And even after all the time we spent together, everything we went through, you still didn’t trust me enough to tell me?” 

“If you knew I’d lived with humans, it could’ve completely changed what you thought of me. That’s what I thought anyway. And the longer I didn’t tell you, the more I worried you’d react well…like you did.”

“You actually lived with humans?” Sier asked. “And you got away?”

“We were never abducted. We chose to go with them.”

“So, the stories of what they did to Pokémon aren’t true? They didn’t imprison you in strange devices and take away your ability to speak?”

Roz looked at Sier in confusion for a moment before it clicked. “You mean the ferals, don’t you? Somehow, Pokémon also exist on the humans’ world, but they’re not like us. Humans never took away their ability to think or talk, they were simply always like that.”

“You’re sure?”

“Well, I suppose we can’t be completely certain, but-” she trailed off as she saw Terry pick up his club and walk off. “Terry, where are you going?”

“Back home.”

“We need to be back to work in two days. It took us five to get here; you’ll never make it.”

“I’m sure the Head Rangers will understand I needed to take a few extra days off to get over having my trust completely betrayed.”

Roz gave a small sigh. “At least let me take you back home.”

“Why, so you can rub it in that I can’t do anything without your help? I already know I’m just a tool to you. I can get back without you.”

“Terry, I…no, I didn’t just use you.”

The Cubone rounded on her, his voice gradually raising. “Then how is it that you never realized I would’ve listened to you if I found out where you were from? How is it that everything you told me was a lie? Ranger work was never anything more than a chore to you. Even when we followed the Head Rangers to face Registeel, and I thought you were doing it because you were worried about them like I was, you were just using them and me.

“I’ve never been anything more to you than free room and board, and happy-go-lucky muscle to get beat up for you when you couldn’t be bothered to learn how to fight yourself. Well what I’m not gonna be is someone you can cheat and lie to, then turn around and do one tiny favor for so you can feel better about yourself! Yeah, I get it,” he said coldly. “I don’t have psychic powers. You can stop reminding me. By the way, your stuff had better be out of my house when I get back. I’ll hold onto the key since you can just teleport inside whenever you want.”

“Terry, aren’t you being a bit unfair here?” Sier protested.

“Oh don’t you start on me too! Have you two been talking to each other telepathically this whole time? Going on about how hilarious it is that poor little me can’t join in on any of this? You’ve probably been in touch for a while now, haven’t you? What, did you teleport her into my path that day so you could share a laugh at me wasting my time trying to help her? Well here you have it!” Terry spread his arms to his side. “Rot in the Void, Roz.” With that, tears still flowing freely, the Cubone stomped off. Roz fell to her hands and knees. She raised a fist and pounded it into the sand.

~~~

Wow, she didn’t even tell the kid, huh? Still, looks like I was right. Kekeke! Man, that worked out better than I could’ve hoped!