The Past Is Dead, Part One
It was a small, private affair, as most Pokemon memorial services were. The only mourners were Blacky and Tobias; Jennifer stayed home to look after the children, and Raticate... Well, Blacky wasn't surprised she hadn't shown up. When had she ever cared about anybody else on the team? In a way, Blacky was relieved the old rat stayed behind. Now she wouldn't have to listen to her insensitive scolding. “Crying won't do a thing to bring him back” or “Pokemon die, get over it.” She was probably due to die soon herself, and when she did, Blacky would be sure to honour her memory by not giving a shit.
...When did she become so bitter? When the school suffered hallucinations during the summer, Blacky's phantoms brought up points she'd never thought about before, but she couldn't stop thinking about them. With each passing day she became more and more angry about these things she'd bottled up for her entire life, and without realizing it she'd gone from pure, unconditional love for her family to... to...
Something she didn't want to give a name. But it was something she was well familiar with - when it came to certain other people, herself included. All of them were linked to Golduck's death, one way or another. All of them were to blame. And all of them deserved a slow and brutal death.
These realizations struck her as she knelt by the modest grave stone, still clutching the wilting flowers Raiden had given her just a few days prior. She could feel her heart flutter in her chest, her pulse doubling. What if she could--
Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand on her shoulder.
“Umbreon...”
That voice. That voice she used to so readily respond to, the one she once ached to hear say “I love you,” was the last thing she wanted to hear right now. She smacked the hand away with a snarl.
“My name is Blacky.”
It was the second time she'd ever struck him. Tobias held his hand defensively to his chest, taken aback, but he spoke quietly and patiently. “...Blacky. I know you're upset. I am, too. I wanted him back just as much as you did, but when he was returned he was just so...” He shook his head and closed his eyes. “This is better. He's not suffering anymore.”
“If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're the one who killed him.”
“Umb--Blacky.” His voice took on a sudden edge, something she'd never heard directed at her before. It hurt, but she refused to let it do anything but fuel her own anger. “Are you even listening to yourself?”
She snorted quietly and turned her head away. “I know exactly what I'm saying. I've never been in a more right state of mind. I'm going to kill that man, and...”
“No, don't. That's not going to change anything.” He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You shouldn't do anything you'll regret-”
“Don't tell me what to do! You're not my trainer!”
A lone old woman at the far side of the House Of Memories raised her head at the sudden outburst, giving the odd pair a clearly offended look. Blacky wanted to yell at her too, but quickly reminded herself that she had nothing to do with it, and this was a place to respect the dead. She would keep her cool for Golduck if nothing else.
Tobias met the woman's gaze and gave an apologetic nod before returning his attention to Blacky. “I may not be your trainer anymore, but I still care about you.”
“Bullshit,” she hissed, the unfamiliar profanity leaving a sour taste in her mouth. She dropped the flowers over the stone and stood up, pulling off her wide-brimmed black hat and letting her hair fall around her shoulders and down her back. “If you ever cared, you wouldn't have held me back for all those years. You wouldn't have released me. You would have kept him alive.” Her nose wrinkled in an unflattering way and her voice shook with choked back sobs. “You never cared about me, and I'm through caring about you. Goodbye.”
He was saying something in response, but whether he was begging for forgiveness or bidding her good riddance, Blacky didn't care. Or that's what she told herself. Not caring about the witness just a few meters away, Blacky dropped down to all fours after a split-second transformation and kicked off the rest of her clothing. She could hear Tobias' voice growing louder, and that of the now-panicked old woman, but still she refused to listen. She just had to get out of there before she really did do something she'd regret... and she had a feeling turning into an Umbreon in front of someone who'd never heard of such things was going to end up causing trouble. Then again, she knew Tobias would deny everything - she could at least count on him for that. The most that would happen was some trashy tabloid would run it alongside some article about the Zubat Boy.
She threw her weight against the door, forcing it open so she could escape. But where could she go from here? In her rage, she neglected to think that far ahead. She cast a look over the town - there was the house for abandoned Pokemon, but that was bound to be the first place Tobias would check. For a second her gaze hovered over the radio tower, and she growled. So many graves uprooted and moved, ghost types made homeless, and for what? Bad music? If it had still been there, there was a chance she might have seen Golduck again as a Ghastly or some other spectral Pokemon. Maybe it was for the best that she didn't.
She could hear the door opening again behind her, so she took the nearest route out of the city, heading south.
She couldn't bring herself to look back.
TO BE CONTINUED...
...When did she become so bitter? When the school suffered hallucinations during the summer, Blacky's phantoms brought up points she'd never thought about before, but she couldn't stop thinking about them. With each passing day she became more and more angry about these things she'd bottled up for her entire life, and without realizing it she'd gone from pure, unconditional love for her family to... to...
Something she didn't want to give a name. But it was something she was well familiar with - when it came to certain other people, herself included. All of them were linked to Golduck's death, one way or another. All of them were to blame. And all of them deserved a slow and brutal death.
These realizations struck her as she knelt by the modest grave stone, still clutching the wilting flowers Raiden had given her just a few days prior. She could feel her heart flutter in her chest, her pulse doubling. What if she could--
Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand on her shoulder.
“Umbreon...”
That voice. That voice she used to so readily respond to, the one she once ached to hear say “I love you,” was the last thing she wanted to hear right now. She smacked the hand away with a snarl.
“My name is Blacky.”
It was the second time she'd ever struck him. Tobias held his hand defensively to his chest, taken aback, but he spoke quietly and patiently. “...Blacky. I know you're upset. I am, too. I wanted him back just as much as you did, but when he was returned he was just so...” He shook his head and closed his eyes. “This is better. He's not suffering anymore.”
“If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're the one who killed him.”
“Umb--Blacky.” His voice took on a sudden edge, something she'd never heard directed at her before. It hurt, but she refused to let it do anything but fuel her own anger. “Are you even listening to yourself?”
She snorted quietly and turned her head away. “I know exactly what I'm saying. I've never been in a more right state of mind. I'm going to kill that man, and...”
“No, don't. That's not going to change anything.” He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You shouldn't do anything you'll regret-”
“Don't tell me what to do! You're not my trainer!”
A lone old woman at the far side of the House Of Memories raised her head at the sudden outburst, giving the odd pair a clearly offended look. Blacky wanted to yell at her too, but quickly reminded herself that she had nothing to do with it, and this was a place to respect the dead. She would keep her cool for Golduck if nothing else.
Tobias met the woman's gaze and gave an apologetic nod before returning his attention to Blacky. “I may not be your trainer anymore, but I still care about you.”
“Bullshit,” she hissed, the unfamiliar profanity leaving a sour taste in her mouth. She dropped the flowers over the stone and stood up, pulling off her wide-brimmed black hat and letting her hair fall around her shoulders and down her back. “If you ever cared, you wouldn't have held me back for all those years. You wouldn't have released me. You would have kept him alive.” Her nose wrinkled in an unflattering way and her voice shook with choked back sobs. “You never cared about me, and I'm through caring about you. Goodbye.”
He was saying something in response, but whether he was begging for forgiveness or bidding her good riddance, Blacky didn't care. Or that's what she told herself. Not caring about the witness just a few meters away, Blacky dropped down to all fours after a split-second transformation and kicked off the rest of her clothing. She could hear Tobias' voice growing louder, and that of the now-panicked old woman, but still she refused to listen. She just had to get out of there before she really did do something she'd regret... and she had a feeling turning into an Umbreon in front of someone who'd never heard of such things was going to end up causing trouble. Then again, she knew Tobias would deny everything - she could at least count on him for that. The most that would happen was some trashy tabloid would run it alongside some article about the Zubat Boy.
She threw her weight against the door, forcing it open so she could escape. But where could she go from here? In her rage, she neglected to think that far ahead. She cast a look over the town - there was the house for abandoned Pokemon, but that was bound to be the first place Tobias would check. For a second her gaze hovered over the radio tower, and she growled. So many graves uprooted and moved, ghost types made homeless, and for what? Bad music? If it had still been there, there was a chance she might have seen Golduck again as a Ghastly or some other spectral Pokemon. Maybe it was for the best that she didn't.
She could hear the door opening again behind her, so she took the nearest route out of the city, heading south.
She couldn't bring herself to look back.
TO BE CONTINUED...