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no…not this shit again…no, please…NOOOOOOOOOOO!
oh. i’m awake.
mom. dear god, mom again…
i have an actual parent now. i have a grandfather. i have a therapist who doesn’t do electroshocks. why am i still dreaming about that woman???
i don’t miss that weak-willed loser. i don’t. i don’t!
i don’t…
who’s knocking? oh, it’s gramps. right. decibel’s on night shift at the grand hall today.
“I heard you screaming, granddaughter. Do you mind if I come in?”
“don’t mind…” sniff
oh man. he’s such a good hugger. who knew the scent of musty scrolls and religious robes could be so comforting?
and now i’m staining his robes with my tears and snot. sorry gramps.
“hey gramps…mind if i ask two questions?”
“Go ahead, granddaughter.”
“you have nightmares, right? wait, stupid question, of course you do…”
“There are no stupid questions, Lindsey. And yes, I do have nightmares.”
“what are they like?”
“Hmm…they are intense. Especially when I was blind, they assaulted my senses with cacophony and chaos. Loud shouting; pungent scents of garbage; blizzards tearing at my skin. Even to this day, I feel my nightmares more than I see them.”
“oh…damn. somehow, i thought puppy would’ve protected you from nightmares that bad. even though he didn’t protect me when i had him.”
“Hohoho. Arceus gives us life and the will to survive. He never said it was going to be easy.”
“no, he didn’t. i just wish it was easy. damn it, we’re seeing a good psychiatrist, and i’m a gym leader now. why are my nightmares still so awful!?” sob
“It’s okay, young one. It’s okay. Let everything out. Your nightmares are yours, but you do not have to recover from them alone.”
sob hiccup “thanks gramps…”
“You said you had two questions. May I hear the second?”
“oh…well. i still don’t understand how you forgave me. decibel, i’m beginning to understand why. they’re a very forgiving person. but you? for a priest, you can be pretty vengeful, you know that? why not turn that vengeance on me?”
“Mmm. Yes. I have been a vengeful man for a long time. When it comes to certain people—especially that foppish fake chessmaster—I still am.”
“hehehehehe!” hiccup
“So you have noticed. But ever since both Adrienn and Decibel gave me a second chance, I’ve seen the error of my ways. I’ve seen how Arceus’ kingdom will truly come alive on Earth—not with a sword, but with peace. I’ve seen the pointlessness of perpetuating the cycle of revenge. And I’ve known how divine it is to receive Arceus’ greatest gift: forgiveness. I may not be able to forgive everyone I have grievances with, but I can forgive you, Lindsey.”
sniff “…he was your master. he was your master’s son. sure, taka came back to life, but you can’t resurrect a man who’s still alive!”
“You did kill Solaris and Taka. I haven’t forgotten that. But between how many lives Solaris destroyed and how many times Taka let atrocities happen to Reborn and her people…if not you, it would’ve been someone else.”
shudder “you think they had it coming, huh?”
“Solaris, especially. He always was too blinded by vengeance and anger to fully understand the teachings of our Order and his family…and so was I. Am I sad he didn’t find wisdom in time? Yes. Can I take cold comfort in the fact he has found peace at last? Yes. Do I think me becoming your grandfather is driving him to conniptions? Yes.”
“hehehehe…”
“We all had our reasons behind picking the sides and fighting the battles we did. Reasons, not excuses. All we can do now is pick up the pieces and rebuild where we can.”
“yeah…thanks gramps…love you.”
“Love you too, Lindsey… Are you ready to go back to bed?”
“not yet…stay with me longer, please?”
“As you wish.”
--
It took quite a while for Lin to fall asleep, but when she did, Elias couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
(Man plans, God laughs.) Perhaps this is why Decibel laughs so much and so often.
If you had told the Elias of almost a year ago that he would become grandfather to the girl who hijacked his Order and almost completely destroyed it, he would’ve sent out his Dragonite and smited you on the spot.
But that’s not entirely true, is it? Our Order’s decay did not start with Lin joining us. It didn’t even begin with the murder of Solaris’ parents, or with Solaris’ rebellion.
No, the Order had been going down the wrong path even before then. How could a church ostensibly dedicated to spreading the good news of Arceus’ love and liberation have condemned one of their own for a disability he’d had no control over?
In his darkest moments, Elias could still hear the jeers and laughter of both his peers and his teachers ringing in his head; feel punches and stones thrown at him from bullies, who claimed to be merely checking if he could see the future; feel the despair he felt every time Taube and his father, well-intentioned men they were, said some variant of “It’s beautiful, boy! Sorry you can’t see it…”
Solaris had been practically the only man in the Order who’d treated him as an actual person and not a freak of nature or a liability; as someone worthy and capable of bringing about Arceus’ will on Earth. And he’d done this, even knowing he would be punished for daring to approach the “freak.”
And then he gave me the Emerald Key and gave me sight. How could I not follow him after that?
It was why Elias had been so zealously loyal to him, even as he set about committing acts of terror against Reborn and her people. It was why—when Solaris ordered him to infiltrate the Reborn League and bring it down from the inside—he took up the task, first becoming a Gym Leader, then rising to Elite Four. It was why he imbibed Solaris’ rhetoric about Reborn City being a blight on the region, even though he knew—as he traveled the region to find Luna and recruit people to Meteor—it was their corrupted Order that was the true blight.
And Lord Decibel stepped forward to cleanse us. But even as they punished us for our foolishness and willful ignorance, they still gave us another chance.
Even if Decibel hadn’t been the avatar of Arceus, Elias still would have pledged his service to them. Their courage and coolness even as they walked into the fires of hell, their compassion for the downtrodden, their mercy for defeated enemies…even if they’d never read one letter of the Order’s writings, they were the embodiment of their spirit.
But Decibel was indeed the avatar, never mind that it was apparently a prank. Precarious as Julia Wilde’s grasp on reality might be, her intuition could shame a general.
No wonder they defeated us so thoroughly.
Solaris had been the one to cure his blindness, but Decibel had been the one who made him truly see for the first time. How could he not pledge his life to them after that?
“If you choose to serve me for the rest of your life, you understand Lin will be part of that package, right?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Elias, you…this is Lin we’re talking about. Lin!”
“I know, my Lord. But you ensured my daughter’s safe return. You saved my old master’s son. You allowed me a glimpse of this region’s future. You protected us all. I will follow you, even if following you involves caring for the girl who killed Solaris and hijacked your will.”
“I…you’re crazy…this is…thank you can’t possibly be enough…”
“If you are so concerned about thanking me, young Lord, please: let me help you. If I may be so bold: I can at least tell you how not to raise a child.”
After a few moments, both himself and Decibel had broken down laughing and crying.
Yes, those first few days living with Lin had been as difficult as Decibel had cautioned. The fact that he was now caretaker to a murderer was never far from his mind.
But I’m no stranger to setting people up to be killed, so I can hardly toss the first stone, can I? Additionally, Lin only decided to play Devil because the people who should’ve raised her were the Devils in her life. That sounds incredibly familiar, if you ask me.
And on a selfish note…he would be lying if he said he wasn’t grateful for a chance to not repeat the mistakes he made with Luna.
Well. Enough Mareep wool-gathering. I won’t have enough energy to serve my Lord tomorrow if I don’t sleep. Hope you don’t mind me sleeping here for the night, Lindsey.
In…hold…out…in…hold…out…in…
Zzzzzzzzz…
--
Decibel was eager to get to bed.
Maybe taking on the night shift was a mistake, even if all I’m doing is organizing paperwork…how are Lin and Elias doing?
Oh…that’s adorable. Perhaps the night shift was not a mistake.
Did they leave space for me on the bed on purpose?
Well, even if it wasn’t on purpose, I’m still thankful for this.
Good morning, family.
Zzzzzzzz…