Okay, I originally plan to post this tomorrow for Easter, but decided to post it now for a couple reasons. One, cause Easter is already being celebrated in other countries now, and with me in California where the Pacific Time Zone is WAYYYYYYYY behind, I'm just going to post this now. XD Second, I just can't wait to post the ending of this story. :)
Before the main entertainment though, here's a fun treat for all of you. Now, since it's Easter (at least in some places), I got an Easter Egg hidden in this story. :D What kind? There's a reference to another fic in the forums. What I want you guys to do is find that quote and then name the fic that I referenced to. Whoever gets it right first wins this short hunt! I'll give one hint:
Thanks to both The Great Butler and DarkPersian479 for betaing! (Oh, sorry for changing a few lines and all on you two. I reread the chapter real quick and there were a few plotholes I didn't see, so I fixed it last minute by changing some lines ^^; )
Chapter Twenty-Three
Anxiety
Inside one of the lounge rooms in the Pokémon Center, Jenny was able to explain everything to Timmy and Lucas in private, while Arnold went to question the nurses. Like how Bunny told the story to Ms. Davis and Jacob, Jenny began to have an upset stomach more and more with every word she spoke. After Jenny finished the tale, she took a few deep breaths. Timmy and Lucas nodded at her and had their fingers on their chins.
"So all of what you said is true?" Lucas asked. Jenny just nodded.
Timmy sighed, knowing that Jenny would never forgive them for what they had done. He could tell by how Jenny used a cold and deadly tone when she answered their questions. Their reasoning though was of ignorance and lust for getting the criminal. Part of Timmy had been telling him though that all along he was wrong. He hated being wrong. In the end, they deserved to have her be angry at them.
"All right, we get it, you're right and we're wrong. Sorry we doubted you."
Jenny shook her head and yelled at Timmy, "It's not about who's right or wrong! It's more about how you guys almost jailed an innocent woman and not thinking of other possibilities."
The male officer grunted, knowing whatever else he would say would start and argument which would bounce back and forth. He then shook his head, knowing what he said earlier made Jenny lose her temper. Seeing that Timmy looked defeated, Lucas spoke.
"Jenny, it's true we didn't think the other way around, and we wish we weren't so narrow minded," Lucas apologized.
Jenny smiled slightly. Still, she wished the two men would have taken her idea into consideration so that she would not have had to take drastic measures. Maybe the journey would have been done without Bunny being wanted.
"I understand." Suddenly her frown disappeared, something else came into mind. "However, there's one question I want to ask you, chief. What you're going to do about my necklace? It is a piece from the plates and all."
The chief's eyes went wide, never thought about what to do with Jenny's necklace. When she told him how she used her necklace during her battle with Jacob, he could not believe it, but he was reminded when he encountered the former professor and he too used one of the plates. There was more to the plates than meets the eye.
There are two ways he could deal with that problem. One was to have it as evidence, even if the other plates were not found. However, in order for this case to be valid, Jacob must be found. On the other hand, because the necklace was from her uncle, she might feel uncomfortable giving it to him. After being silent for some time, Lucas smiled, teeth showing.
"Keep it. However, after we find Jacob and the plates, that necklace is going to be used as evidence. Don't want to take it away from you and all."
Jenny nodded. "Thanks, chief. I think I need to go take a walk now."
Both Lucas and Timmy nodded and Jenny got up to go to the door. However, Timmy gasped. There was something he had wanted to ask her for quite some time.
"Jenny, do you forgive us?"
The female officer turned around and her mouth opened slightly. For a while she had asked herself the same question after Jacob left her and Bunny. She then smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I have. You guys are just doing your jobs, even if it's risky. See you guys later."
As soon as she was gone, both Lucas and Timmy sighed in relief. They both knew what they did was wrong, but at least Jenny forgave them. For the next couple of minutes they were silent, reflecting back on what a rollercoaster ride the case was. The chief frowned though after he glanced at the clock.
"I'm so not ready for the interview coming," Lucas muttered while shaking his head.
***
Jenny got out of the hospital and kept walking without a destination. Her feet kept leaving huge footprints on the snow. When she sighed, mist blew out from her mouth.
Lucas and Timmy I can forgive, they were doing their job. Plus, they admitted their mistake. Jacob, on the other hand…
Jenny halted and clenched her fist, the memory of Bunny being shot by Jacob flooded back in her mind.
He almost killed me and had planned on taking down both Lucas and Timmy.
It was hard for her to imagine a professor would go to great lengths to not admit his mistakes. Now Jacob was on the loose and he could be in Kanto already. Jenny felt her heart beating rapidly and her breaths becoming slower but louder.
He deserves to be punished.
***
Outside the Snowpoint Pokémon Center, cameras flashed at Lucas. The brightness of them made him cover his eyes. Questions from the reporters just swirled into his mind.
"So the charges are dropped against Bunny?"
"How about Officer Jenny? Are you going to fire her?"
"Is the new suspect then Jacob Alexison?"
Too many questions. He bit his lip, not wanting to answer them. Was it from either annoyance or fear? The man was not sure. The questions though kept bouncing at him.
"Are you also going to press charges on him for the attempted murder of Matt Chiaki?"
"What are those 'plates' you talked about?"
A few feet away from the crowd, Timmy and Arnold gazed at their boss, feeling sorry that he had to go through this. Timmy chuckled.
Reporters never stopped asking questions, huh?
After that thought, the man frowned when he stared at one of the hospital windows.
Should have listened to Jenny.
The chief still bit his lip and still hadn't answered a question yet.
***
After the interview, Lucas went inside the temple and felt his heart sink in surprise and confusion. Everything was dull and damaged, like a cave. No icicles shimmered with rainbow light, as they were all broken. There were on the walls the pieces of a statue scattered everywhere. He grunted, knowing the damage was from Jacob.
All this time, Bunny was not the murderer. This complicates things, though.
There were past cases when his police crew went for the wrong guy. This was different, however. The wrong person was now injured. Lucas felt bad about it, and he thought he caused it all. He was the one that agreed to Timmy's idea of how to get her and wanted this search to keep going. Now there was a new direction that his crew must follow. He grunted when his mind thought about Jacob Alexison.
No doubt it's him. He's going to pay the consequences.
It was that former professor's fault both Matt and Bunny got injured. All along he was helping Bunny too. What shocked Lucas the most though was when Jenny told him Jacob was the real murderer. If he were in Jenny's shoes, he would not think the former professor was capable of doing that. He then thought about how he dared the man to shoot him, but Jacob was scared. When they met again though, Jacob almost shot his crew.
For some reason, Lucas wanted to know more about Jacob. True, he had to investigate more about him, but curiosity blazed high for that man. A professor having a criminal past was highly unlikely. Could it be something that made Jacob snap? Maybe that was why he wanted to know more about him, the chief admitted when he sighed.
"Chief?"
Lucas' eyes flickered when he saw both Vincent and Diana coming towards him. After he was out of his confusion, he smiled.
"Oh, hi you guys. I assume you two finished taking pictures?"
"Yep," Vincent answered. "Most likely the statue is a Regigigias. That's gonna cost Mr. Alexison."
Lucas chuckled. "Yeah. Good job you guys. I want you two to be with Timmy and Arnold for a while. I'll catch up later."
Both officers nodded and left Lucas alone. The chief stared down at the debris and sighed.
What's gotten into Jacob?
"Chief!"
Lucas turned around and saw Arnold dashing towards him. He halted and tried to catch his breath.
"Oh, hey! How are the two doing?"
Arnold flipped through his notes. "Well, Matt got shot on the neck while Bunny was hit on the leg. Both are still in ER, but they should be out of the operating room soon. We can start questioning them tomorrow late afternoon at the earliest."
Lucas' eyes were lowered and his hands curled into a fist. His thoughts went back to when Jacob began shooting them, almost a death strike. Would a nice and quiet man do that? Once again, his assumption was that Jacob snapped.
All of a sudden, Sandi popped out of her pokeball. The Kirlia gazed at her master with a miserable face. Both Lucas and Arnold gasped and froze.
"Sandi? Why are you out of your pokeball?"
Immediately, the emotion Pokémon hugged Lucas' leg.
"Lila kir kir kirlia," the Pokémon answered in a worried tone.
Arnold chuckled. "Looks like she's worried about you."
Lucas felt a tinge of pain inside his heart. These last few days were the most stressful he had in a while. He gave a toothy grin, finding it actually cute his Pokémon worried about him.
"Really, Sandi?"
The Kirlia nodded and Lucas bent down to kiss his Pokémon's forehead.
"Don't worry, I'm good. I guess you're right. It's just that this case is a really stressful one and many things have happened."
Sandi nodded and hugged Lucas tighter. Lucas sighed, hoping things would be fine from here on out.
***
After surgery, Bunny was sent to a well-lit hospital room to stay for a week. Luckily the bullet did not go through too deep and the doctors were able to get it out quickly. Still though, it would take time until the woman's leg would heal fully.
The next day, after Bunny was awake, she stared at the right side of the wall for quite some time and thought a lot about what had happened to her so far.
His fault.
She bit her lips at that. Yes, it was Jacob's fault. He was the one that hurt both her Ninetales and Jenny's Vespiquen. He also took the plates with him. Slowly, she started to get angry at him. Not hating him yet, it was too soon for that.
Bunny was interrupted when she heard a knock. The archeologist turned around and saw Nurse Joy, carrying a tray with some pokeballs on it.
"How you're doing, Ms. Spruce?" the nurse asked with a huge smile.
"Fine, thank you. Er…how is my Ninetales?"
"Balin? He's doing fine. In fact, here's his pokeball." The nurse grabbed a pokeball and gave it to Bunny, who smiled back.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Bunny said while putting the pokeball on the table next to the bed.
"You're welcome. All right, hope you feel better soon." Nurse Joy was about to leave Bunny's room, but before she did, she turned around to look at Bunny one last time. "Oh, you have some visitors today."
"Visitors?"
Nurse Joy chuckled and left Bunny alone. Not long after, Lucas, Timmy, and Jenny entered the room. Bunny's heart drummed with both excitement and anger.
"Hi, Buncan," Jenny said while waving and giggled.
The young woman chuckled, glad that she did not lose her sense of humor. Bunny's eyes squinted though when she noticed Lucas and Timmy with her. "Why are those two policemen here?"
"They're here to explain to you some things and also to ask you some questions. And don't worry, I talked to them and I forgive them." Both men nodded.
Bunny's mouth twitched for some time but then she nodded. Timmy and Lucas smiled right after they entered the room. All three both grabbed some chairs and sat close to Bunny.
Lucas spoke first. "The two of us are here to say that we're sorry we put you through this mess."
The woman's eyes went wide and she looked down, staring at her twitchy fingers. She would not expect police officers to admit their mistakes. From what she heard, they usually think they are above the law. When she gazed at Jenny, she grinned. Bunny slowly raised her head and smiled.
"That is fine. Glad you two admitted what you did wrong."
"The thing is what Ernest wrote really threw us off," Timmy said. "We didn't know what he wrote is something totally different and also that he's Jenny's uncle. I'll admit my idea on catching criminals is a bit on the extremes. I guess it's been a while since the police station really got a good case." After Timmy finished, he chuckled.
"So yeah, pretty much we'll be dropping charges on you but now we're keeping an eye out on Jacob. Speaking of that man, would you mind telling us of what he's like? We want to know as much about him as possible."
Bunny gasped and her eyes went wide. True, he did deserve to go to jail, being the true criminal. Still, she would never have imagined her favorite professor would be on the run from the law. She looked at Jenny once again, this time she frowned.
"I just told them how before the incident, he was a very nice and enthusiastic person to be with." After Jenny finished saying that, she smiled. "You know him more than I do, though."
Bunny stared at Jenny for some time. She knew that deep inside Jenny the officer was furious at Jacob, especially when she spoke in a slow and dark tone to her. This was not the right time to talk about this, though. That could wait. Instead she turned to face the two officers and nodded.
"I knew him since I was nine. He and my grandparents were great friends. I then entered the university he taught at and loved it there. He was one of my favorite professors and he lectures well. He was always the kind of person to be happy about everything and accepts you as a person."
She sighed and glanced at all three writing down what she said. Bunny would have talked about him in a more exciting manner, but because of the new situation she was in, it was hard for her to do so.
"What is his teaching style like?" Timmy asked.
"Besides lecturing us on historical facts, he would also tell us some interesting stories of the past and also would bring a lot of artifacts to show the class. He even rehearsed poetry and plays with us a few times."
Lucas nodded. "How about the plates? Did he mention anything about them in his lectures?"
Bunny felt she could not breathe. How could you tell someone about how important the plates were in telling the first stages of Sinnoh history? After some time, Bunny smiled.
"A couple of times, but not very in depth. He said how there is not much known about them. Let us just say however they are probably the most important artifacts around."
Lucas finished writing and smiled. "I think we've got enough info here. Again, sorry about all this mess. We'll talk more about this later as we now have to go talk to Matt. Jenny, you can stay here with Bunny a little longer. Timmy and I will be waiting for you. See ya."
Bunny nodded and after the two officers got out of their seats, they waved goodbye to her. After they left the room, Jenny went and hugged Bunny, which took her by surprise.
"So glad you're all right," she whispered and then let go of her.
Bunny chuckled. "I only got shot in the leg, not in the chest."
Jenny laughed in embarrassment and rubbed her head. "True, Buncan." The two laughed out loud, enjoying the moment, but it was short lived. Jenny frowned. "Still, you could have died. I could have died too if you had not saved me."
"So you hate him now?"
Jenny gasped, which made Bunny stare at her. The archeologist was not sure where she got that question and then felt bad for asking it.
"Yeah," Jenny answered straight out while clenching her fist. "I don't think I can forgive him for what he did to us."
Bunny could tell in Jenny's furious eyes that the officer was serious about this. She could understand her friend's feelings, but it still scared her Jenny would now make Jacob her enemy.
"How about your uncle?"
Jenny let out a huge heavy sigh. "After what has happened these last few days, I might. I'm just not sure what's going to happen now at this point." Even though she spoke in a mournful way, she smiled. "Don't worry, though. I'll be fine." Jenny paused. "We'll be fine."
The woman at first tilted her head in confusion, wondered why Jenny said that. Realization then hit her. Bunny nodded.
"Thanks. Even though this journey was stressful on us, we will make it through."
Jenny winked and chuckled. "Okay, I'll be going now. Take care, Bunny."
After she was gone, the archeologist sighed when her mind went back to Jacob. Now she was torn apart in hating him or not.
How can he save me and then almost kill me?
Part of Bunny restrained her from thinking how Jacob used her. Before the incident back at Route 210, he seemed like he was helping them. But the gun? He did say it was for the police going towards them and right now they are still at him.
Would he go that far to save us and himself?
She bit her lip at that thought, the words
us and
him. It seemed logical, though irrational. However, if the policemen were killed then Bunny would still be wanted. Was that helping or getting away at the end?
Bunny sighed, knowing only Jacob could answer that.
Do not want to draw conclusions again.
Part of her did not want to lose Jacob. True, what he did was wrong, but she did not want to lose Jacob forever. From time to time she thought she was more mature than some people, but at the same time did not want to hold grudges to the people she knew and loved for so long. She felt that bond would be worth nothing if that were to happen.
Probably he was too passionate over the plates, that is all! That is all! That is all!
Bunny screamed, letting all her frustration out, and then cried softly until she fell asleep.
Not far from Bunny's room, Jenny shook her head and felt her heartstrings being pulled by some puppet master. That scream would haunt her for some time.
***
Matt stared at the window for quite some time that day. For the past couple of hours since he awoke, there was nothing much to do but watch the news and shows that dealt with either archeology or technology. He was fine by that, but after a while he felt like he needed some time to think.
He touched the bandage on his neck and bit his lips, the pain still stinging him slightly. The doctors told him he could leave after a few days but that he should come back often for his neck to be checked.
Professor Alexison.
Was Jacob having a split personality? At first Matt thought Jacob was a humble and kind person, as he always imagined, but after hearing about him running away from the law, things changed.
Appearances can be deceiving.
Just recently he watched the news in which Jacob had shot Bunny Spruce and now there were charges against him for the murder of Ernest Norrison and two attempted murders. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered why that well respected man would go to great lengths in trying to find the plates.
I've studied his work and he doesn't seem to be the person to do anything risky.
The young man's thoughts were interrupted though when he heard a knock.
"Come in!"
The door was opened and Matt's eyes went wide when he saw Lucas, Jenny, and Timmy.
"Matt Chiaki, I'm Chief Lucas McMane and those two are my officers, Timmy Darouse and Jenny Emblem."
The man gasped and pointed his finger at Jenny. "Jenny Emblem? The wanted officer?"
Jenny gave a soft laugh. "Don't worry, Matt. I talked to those two about what really happened and we're cool now."
After Jenny finished saying that, her smile faded slowly. Looking at Matt in this state made her want to leave the room and go find Jacob.
That man didn't do anything. Why would Jacob shoot him too?
"We're here to ask you a few questions," Timmy said, pen and notepad ready.
Matt was speechless at first. It would be very hard for him to talk about Jacob. They were the police though and they had the right to know.
"Sure, go right ahead."
Timmy gave Matt a warm smile. "So, I heard you're both a scientist and an archeologist. I assume you knew a thing or two about Jacob before you met him, right?"
Matt nodded. "Yes. I studied a lot of his work and they're quite good. Also Jacob has studied my grandfather's works, my grandfather who also was an archeologist. I actually enjoyed his company before I found out he was a criminal."
"Speaking of which, how did you find out he was the man we faced off with at Solaceon Town?" Lucas asked.
"From an article online.
The Pokémon Times, I think. The man in the picture looked exactly like him."
Lucas thought quickly how Jacob looked and his clothes and then that article. He sighed in disbelief.
"I see. One question, though. Why you didn't just call us instead of confronting Jacob, especially knowing he had a gun?"
"I wanted to talk to him first before making a rash decision like that. I thought there was something more to that story than him suddenly becoming a criminal. I was shocked when he mentioned something about history and the plates."
Lucas had one eyebrow raised. "Really?"
History will come alive.
That phrase came back to haunt him. There was more to Jacob than meets the eye.
Matt nodded. "Yes, I don't get it."
"Were you able to see the plates?" Jenny asked. "Jacob actually had the first few plates with him."
Lucas and Timmy stared at her for sometime, wondering why she would blurt that out. Jenny saw that, but she did not mind. She really wanted to know if Matt indeed saw the first few plates or not. When everyone looked at Matt, he gazed at the officers with confusion shown in his eyes.
"Um…no," Matt stuttered. "I wasn't aware he had the plates with him. Then again, I'm not the one who traveled with him," he said that last phrase with a nervous laugh.
Jenny's fingers twitched and she looked at him, once more feeling sorry for him. Jacob did not even let him know about the plates until the end.
"Don't worry, Matt. I too wasn't aware of the plates until I met him too," Lucas said with a smile. Matt nodded and sighed in relief.
Timmy finished writing down the notes. "Okay, looks like we got everything. Should we go back to the station, now?"
"Yes, we should."
Timmy nodded and left. Before leaving the room, Lucas grinned at Matt. "Thanks again, Matt. We really appreciated it."
Before Lucas left, Jenny grab his arm, which took him by surprise.
"Is it okay I talk privately with Matt for a few minutes?" she whispered.
Without a second thought, Lucas nodded. "Go ahead."
After Lucas left, Jenny went to grab a chair and sat next to Matt. The man gave a small smile.
"Again, sorry for being scared when you entered, you also were a wanted criminal too."
Jenny chuckled. "That's all right. It's a long story."
"Hah! I already know pretty much what happened from reading that article. You saving a murderer? Then again, reports confirm Bunny's not the real criminal but Jacob."
"Matt, I want to personally say I'm sorry that this happened to you. Bunny and I knew Jacob was the murderer after that incident from Solaceon Town, but we weren't able to stop him."
Matt grinned. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. If anything, it's my fault. Perhaps I should've just called the police instead of confronting him." After a pause, he gave out a shuddered sigh. "So, how's Bunny?' he asked, changing the subject.
"She's doing well and will be making a full recovery."
"That's good to hear. Maybe I would like to visit her one day. Another history or science buddy is a good thing."
Jenny could not help but smile. "I'm glad you're okay too. Hope you make a full recovery. Would love to stay longer, but got a lot of work ahead of me."
Matt nodded. "I understand. Good luck to you too."
The two hugged one another and soon after Jenny waved goodbye and left. Matt stared at the door for sometime before shaking his head in disappointment.
"Wonder what's going to happen to Jacob now?" he asked to himself.
***
Four days later…
The past four days was a busy time at the police station. Reporters still asked about the Bunny case, whether it be in person or on the phone. Most of the officers were busy tracking down Jacob, but nothing. There had been a few phone calls of sights of an old man with a Xatu, but in an instant, the two disappeared. A few officers were also looking through Jacob's records to see if he committed any other crimes, but they was completely clean.
While the hustle and bustle was going on, Jenny had been thinking about her uncle. It was unusual to her that she held a grudge on her uncle for four years and now she missed him all of a sudden. Part of her did not want to completely erase Ernest from her life. Throughout this journey she understood Ernest better.
She held her chest tightly. The last time she felt her heart beat like that was when she saw some paramedics carrying his dead body. This time though, it was a joyful beat, so Jenny smiled.
Uncle, you old fool.
Her mind soon thought of another topic, the plates. Why would he be obsessive over them? She took a quick glance at her necklace and felt the song beating slower. Again, feelings of remorse came in. Jenny felt her tears becoming watery, happy tears.
Guess he can't help it, the plates being one of the most sought-out artifacts out there.
Like Bunny, her uncle was crazy when it came to artifacts. It was very interesting to see old objects withstand time. The plates were no exception.
Jenny grinned and chuckled. Now she could safely say she forgave her uncle.
"What? You think you just saw Jacob?" one of the officers suddenly screamed on the phone.
Jenny gasped and glanced at her surroundings. Everyone was busy now. There were few mentions of Jacob's name, which made her heart heavy and changed to a different song. She hated him—he lied to them, betrayed them, and left them.
Bunny's scream back at the hospital came back in Jenny's mind. How that cry made her hate Jacob more. If only he could hear he had hurt one of his favorite students.
"I'm going to get him," Jenny muttered to herself. She turned around though when she heard Lucas' voice.
"Jenny!" he yelled cheerfully while waving. He then was a few feet from her and had his elbow rested on her desk.
"Hi, Chief," Jenny smiled weakly. "How's the case going?"
He coughed. "Well, just moments ago Vincent and Arnold came back from his house and found a book with articles dealing with Ernest's research. Seems your uncle was also studying something else besides the plates."
Jenny gulped. So that was how Jacob tracked down her uncle, or at least one of the ways. Lucas frowned, knowing what he said made Jenny feel uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry, Jenny. I didn't mean to."
"No, it's all right, Chief. Just a bit stressed over Jacob. I still can't believe he almost shot you."
It was Lucas' turn to gulp, but silently to himself. He too was surprised that man would not hesitate to shoot.
"Me too. Didn't know that man was Jacob in the first place. Don't worry, though, we'll get him soon enough."
Lucas looked at Jenny with a smile, but he saw her still frowning. He knew no matter what, Jenny would not stop thinking about Jacob. The awkward silence still held for a few more seconds until Lucas thought about something else to say.
"I just want to say I'm sorry for the loss of your uncle," Lucas suddenly said, changing the subject. When Jenny heard that, her eyes went wide in confusion. "I should've done the background check and everything first before focusing all my energy on Bunny. I know how it feels to lose someone."
"Really?" Jenny asked, interest peaking.
"My wife. She died from a drunk driver not long before you joined in the Jubilife Police Force. I was so upset I couldn't come to work for a week. However, I got over it and realized that everything would be fine as long as I still remember her." He chuckled. "Cliché, I know, but it works."
Jenny felt pain aroused inside her heart. "Wow, didn't know that about you. The thing is though, I was mad at my uncle until after this journey."
"Well, I'm telling you this because I think everyone should remember the good times they had with their friends and loved ones instead of mourning or holding a grudge against them."
Jenny could not help but grin. Over the three years she had worked with Lucas, she never thought he could be this deep. True, he cared for everyone and would know if there was something wrong with them, but on the job he would be tough and would do anything to get a case solved.
"Thank you, Chief."
"You're welcome." All of a sudden, his eyes went wide. "Oh, almost forgot."
Lucas took out two pokeballs and gave them to Jenny. The woman gave a confused look.
"Are you promoting me or something?"
Lucas laughed. "No actually they're your uncle's Pokémon. I was originally going to try to find a relative of Ernest to give them to, but since you're one, you'll do fine taking care of them."
Jenny stared at the pokeballs. She almost dropped them, her hands shaking. Her, taking care of her uncle's Pokémon? The officer was uncertain if she would take care of them well. However, she did actually know those two really well, so maybe she could be a good trainer to them. She grinned and clipped the pokeballs on her belt.
"I'll do my best."
Lucas nodded, glad that was settled. "Okay then, I'll see you soon. Need to get go check on the other cases." The chief waved and was about to go back to his office, but seconds later he turned around and stared at Jenny's necklace. "Sorry, but there's one other thing I want to ask you."
Jenny blinked. "Yeah?"
"That necklace of yours Ernest gave you. Again, is it really from one of the plates?"
Jenny nodded and smiled faintly. "Yeah. I guess he accidently dropped it and decided to give a piece to me."
"I'm glad at least that necklace didn't give you powers from Pokémon techniques and then take over your mind," Lucas mused with a grin. "If that were to happen, you would suddenly destroy everything!"
Jenny laughed out loud. "No, the plates' powers aren't like that, although it would be interesting if that were the case."
Lucas chuckled. "Yeah. All right then, see you in a bit."
The two waved each other goodbye and then Jenny put her head down. The female officer was thinking back over Jacob again. Even Lucas was confused over what to think about him. Now she wondered when she would stop thinking about him.
Don't know why Jacob would even think of killing us…
***
All was quiet in Celestic Town. No Pokémon nor trees stirred. The night air became cooler than it had been earlier.
Jacob was at the Celestic Ruins, his back resting on the wall. For a while he stared down at the plates inside his bag, all sixteen of them. He actually now had the chance to keep them. Something made him hold back in embracing the plates though, like someone about to drop an object down a mountain. For Jacob, it was something like that, but a little extra.
"You heard me! Did you want the plates from him while he was still alive? For four years you tried to track him down, right?"
Officer Jenny.
"The plates did change your personality! What happened to trying to save us and having the plates as proof of my innocence? You know what, you are a coward, Jacob!"
Bunny.
Those two girls, those two girls he helped. He loved being around with both of them. Why did he leave them in the first place?
Cowardice.
He ran away because he did not want to go to jail. He did that to the girls because they found out he murdered Ernest, even by accident. When he found the plates, he almost killed them with his gun. He thought it was a good idea at the time. If they died, they would not be able to rat him out. Again, it was all from the same reason he left them. One thing bugged Jacob, though. Did the plates really change him? Everything went haywire after he left them. Maybe the plates did change his personality, in a way.
"The Jubilife City Police are now giving a ten thousand dollar award to anyone who can give the whereabouts of the murderer of Ernest Norrison, Jacob Alexison. Before Bunny Spruce was accused of the murder, but then charges were dropped. Now she's at the Snowpoint Pokemon Center, recovering from a bullet wound on her leg. More on this as it develops."
Jacob had gasped when he heard that news not too long ago while hiding at Veilstone City (and having his Xatu Teleport them to another city before being caught) and felt he could not breathe. Thinking back about that news report suddenly made him unstable again. His legs began trembling and it was a while until he kneeled down and made whimpering sounds.
"No, it can't be…" he muttered.
After Jacob wiped a few tears, he suddenly remembered how he almost killed her, which made him feel guiltier inside. He punched the ground, not paying attention to the pain. Jacob was more focusing on his two sides. His one side wanted to save Bunny while the other wanted to save his reputation.
In a way, I'm selfish and childish. I'm not admitting my crimes.
After he wiped his tears again, the old man turned around and gazed at the wall. There was a carving of the three pixies forming a triangle. In the middle there was shining beacon looked like the wheel attached to a certain deer like Pokemon's back. Jacob's heart skipped a beat.
Arceus.
Jacob gasped and his heart raced faster when he saw the three pixies and the beacon glowed. He opened his backpack and saw the plates were glowing too, his fingers twitching.
"What's going on?" he asked aloud.
One would think the plates summoned the three little legendaries from their sleep, the plates being Arceus' power. Jacob thought the same thing. One thing calmed him a bit, though- the pixies were known to not be of Pokémon bringing down judgment. Still, what got his mind lingering in anxiety was that he was disturbing the pixies. They would soon roam free and fly all over the region (and maybe the world) in frantic confusion.
Even if they're not going to destroy the region, it's still unwise to wake them like that.
How a few seconds felt like forever sometimes. Eventually, both the plates and the carved painting stopped glowing and the man sighed in relief. Not long after, Jacob looked at his backpack and once more he did not want to embrace it. He knew what must be done.
History shall not be repeated.
He quickly got out a pokeball from his bag and had his Xatu out. The bird Pokémon moaned and landed on the ground.
"Tu?" the Pokémon asked and gave a death glare at Jacob.
Jacob lowered his head in shame, knew why the Pokémon was mad at him. He sighed before he began speaking to him.
"I'm sorry, Xatu, for putting the plates on you. I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what I was doing. I guess I suddenly want those plates. Please, forgive me."
At first, the Xatu still gave him the death glare. On the other hand, one look at his trainer's eyes made him realized he was really apologizing. The Xatu whimpered, actually feeling sorry for his old friend. The Pokémon smiled and nodded.
Jacob gave a faint smile. "Thanks for forgiving me, pal. Okay now, I got an idea of how we can make this up."
The old man was about to say his plan, but then he heard footsteps.
Thump, thump, thump.
Jacob got up, turned around, and pointed his gun at both Brenda and her Misdreavus. The man's eyes went wide.
"Brenda? Misdreavus?"
Brenda mouth twitched and she felt her whole body froze. Misdreavus took deep breathes and many loud whining sounds.
"So it's you that shot Bunny and Matt."
Jacob gulped and felt sweat streaked down on his cheeks. "How did you know?"
"I heard it from the news just recently."
The man bit his lips and gripped the trigger. Part of him wanted to shoot her for finding out that information. On the other hand, he was reminded of what happened to Bunny and Matt. Shooting Brenda would just put another count of attempted murder. He instead put the gun back in his coat's pocket.
"I guess you're going to report me to the police, huh?"
Brenda stared at Jacob for some time. True, now would be her chance to report him. On the other hand, she was confused as to why Jacob got separated from the girls, ever since she heard the news. Maybe that could be cleared out now.
"Perhaps. Why are you here, though?"
Jacob chuckled. "I never got the chance to visit the Celestic Ruins, sadly. Been busy with a lot of things. However, how about you?"
"My husband and I are visiting his relatives for a reunion. I swear, I hate his sisters." After a sigh, she decided to change the subject. "However, I'm curious. Why are you three separated?"
Jacob felt his heart leaping out of his chest and shoulders stiffening. Should he tell Brenda the truth? Then again, Brenda already found out he shot Bunny. Might as well. He sighed.
"If you must know, they found out I murdered Ernest Norrison and then things went downhill from there."
Despite already hearing charges pressing against Jacob, Brenda shivered. This was the first time she was confronting a murderer. She never thought about how she would react to that revelation.
"Heard that on the news too," she finally said and coughed. "That explains, I suppose."
"It was an accident though. I let rage overtake me, so I punched him. Next second, he fell down on the stairs and died."
"What for?"
Without hesitation, Jacob opened his backpack and showed the plates to Brenda, who gasped.
"Those are the plates, huh?"
Jacob nodded. "I don't know if you ever heard of the Michiina City myth, but the plates are from Arceus itself. At first I just wanted to see the translations of the first ever recorded history of Sinnoh, but one thing led to another, I've gone crazy over them."
Long moment of silence. Brenda gazed onto his eyes, filled with guilt. It was hard for her to believe this man could do harm and harder to believe he would be heartless. No, that was not who he was, a heartless runaway criminal. He was just—
Human. A confused one at that.
Somehow she could look into that man's heart. Jacob was sorry for everything he had done and wanted to make up for it. The old woman now felt sympathy towards Jacob.
"You heard of how one of the Sinnoh myths is that the egg of Arceus came from Chaos, later the Torn World. After that, the alpha Pokémon came and soon the other legendaries were created, including Giratina, assumed to be in the Torn World at this moment." She paused and gave a soft chuckle when she saw Jacob and his Pokémon showing confused looks.
"Of course I heard of
The Original Story!" Jacob yelled, hands shaking in anger. "I'm no fool. Why you're telling me this?"
"As a person that can be able to tell the feelings of the deceased Pokémon, I can see why they're furious with you. They're afraid you'll do something bad to them. However, I think you're fine now." Brenda gave a genuine smile, which made both the Xatu and the Misdreavus look at her with one wide eye. "So you'll apologize to the girls and Matt?"
For the first time in many days, Jacob grinned. "Indeed. Was just talking with my Pokémon how I'll going to do that."
The woman smirked. Even though for the most part she believed him, she wanted to make sure.
"Prove it to me."
Jacob's eyes went wide. "What?"
"Prove to me you are going to do that. That is, unless you're lying."
"No, no, no! I do plan to apologize to the girls…"Jacob paused and said the last words rapidly and in a low whisper, "But I'm not sure how I'll prove it to…"
The man grinned, thought of something just like that. He opened his backpack, took out his Sinnoh flag, and stared at it for a while. That flag represented the Region Fights, which was when the plates started to be fought over. A chain reaction soon occurred. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Jacob broke the flag in half while lifting his leg and threw the two pieces on the ground. The Xatu could not help but cheer.
Brenda chuckled softly and clapped. "That's good. Okay, I guess Misdreavus and I are heading out now."
The old lady waved her hand and then the two walked towards the stairs. Jacob glared at them in confusion.
"Wait!" he screamed.
The two turned around and looked at Jacob.
"You're not going to report to the police?"
Brenda gave a heartfelt smile and shook her head. "No, I'm not. Want to give you a chance to meet with them one last time, Jacob."
Both Brenda and her Misdreavus nodded at Jacob and the two went out. The former professor stared into space at first, but not long after turned to face his Xatu and sighed.
"I do plan to apologize to them, but would they accept it?"
The Xatu smiled and nodded. Jacob could not help but smile too.
"Perhaps you're right, my old friend."
***
Urgh, a bit iffy if I had Jenny forgave her uncle too fast. I might rewrite that part or something before I get the last chapter posted, but we'll see. Hope you guys enjoyed it though! I'll try to have the last chapter and Epilogue really good. ;)