Hydreigon flew Ruby Jane to Agate Village. She and Whitby got soaked in a burst of rare rain while they waited for the bus to the house, because there was no GPS to guide Hydreigon there. The bus never came. Ruby Jane asked a grocery store cashier if he knew the way. He pointed to a customer, whose face and hair were hidden by a baggy hood, raiding the reduced rack.
'He lives on Poliwag Creek Road. And he's the nicest guy ever. He'll take you.'
Hebon accosted the reduced raider before Ruby Jane. He told him that he might as well take his hood down because everyone recognised his Charizard, but Ruby Jane didn't until she heard that. She wanted to run away. Leon would know exactly who she was. Both he and Hebon saw her before she could turn to leave.
'She wants directions,' the cashier called, 'To Poliwag Creek Road.'
Leon looked horrified, but it wasn't because he was judging her.
'Directions? From me?'
'I've come to see... Chalcedony... at your house...'
'Oh! Your Pokémon can help me carry all this shopping, then. I'd get lost on my way out of the shop, but Charizard knows the way!'
Hebon shook his head. 'I'll just drive y'all. I don't even know how you're coping with all those guests, Leon. My own kids are more than enough for me.'
'I wouldn't say I'm coping as much as I'm cooking...'
Charizard and Hebon's Yanmega helped carry their bags full of tins and vegetables to his pickup truck. Leon politely made conversation with Ruby Jane on the short drive.
'Have you ever taken on any Pokémon Gyms? Your dad's told us all about how strong you are!'
'I have a few Unovan Badges... but it wasn't really for me.'
'Oh, well. There are all kinds of ways to love Pokémon.'
Feet thumping to pop music floated from the house's slightly ajar windows. Leon smiled.
'I hope your lad likes dancing.'
Jazlyn was with Lyric that evening. Before joining Cipher, she was a cheerleader and auditioned to dance for the regional football team, Orre Prospectors. Camden wouldn't let Alfie pass up on the cheerleading class. They both had pom-poms. Leon couldn't help laughing. Alfie was about to give him the middle finger before remembering there were three toddlers present.
Whitby didn't have any close friends. He was painfully shy. Ruby Jane was reluctant to leave him, even for a moment, but Chalcedony couldn't talk to her yet.
'Camden's Arena Trap!' he announced, 'Prevents escape!'
Ruby Jane hoped that if she joined in, Whitby would, too. He tentatively crept to Camden's side. There were no free pom-poms, but Camden shared one of his.
'We're gonna cheer for my dad! He plays football! He's the quar-ter-back!'
It wasn't clear whether Whitby was enjoying himself, or if he even knew whether he was or not, but he clumsily followed his new friends until Camden and Lyric fell asleep on the floor. Whitby accepted the Poké Ball-print blanket Leon offered to him. He fell asleep, too.
Chalcedony was as exhausted as the kids were. Ruby Jane sat at the foot of her bed.
'Wow... this is the goth chamber of my dreams.'
'My dad – Ruhul – painted everything. It was all pine when I bought it.'
'I'm glad you're on good terms with him.'
'Are you? With Ramiro?'
'No... he wants to speak to me, but I'm too embarrassed. And my mom just won't. My adoptive mom, that is. I know Sonia is disappointed in me... but she doesn't want to push me away like her gran did to her. She tolerates me.'
'I had no idea you had a son. I'm guessing this was all the signature "I never had a problem threatening a child?"'
'Partly. But I'm also partly to blame. Whether it was out of stupidity or actually being a dick, I am to blame.'
'I heard Jet's side of the story from Rustie. Or rather the actual story. Unless some of yours was true?'
'I'm the bigger liar, but he's not 100% the saint he claims to be. The reason I had a kid for Ardos to threaten was because Jet didn't want me to leave, so he moved my pills in case it was too late by the time I noticed. But, at the same time, I was obsessed with him. I was like "yeah, I'll marry you and have kids, of course I will." And we'd talked about kids. He knew I wouldn't have an abortion.'
'That's not an excuse for deliberately knocking you up without consent. Assuming you're not lying again, that is.'
'Oh, no. It's on my medical record. I ran up massive medical bills, seeing all kinds of different doctors and counsellors because I didn't know what to do.'
'In that case... Jet is still a massive cock. But how did you get from that to joining Cipher?'
'You've seen Gale of Darkness. You know what Ardos is like. When his half-brother – my dad – wanted nothing to do with Znider, who came to talk to us on his behalf, it was a deeply personal affront that called for revenge.'
'That's the "spy shack" guy, right?'
'Yeah. So he went for me instead. Told me I was adopted and that he knew my dad, who could easily get me my dream job as a casting director, but he'd only help me if I joined Cipher. This is where I'm partly to blame. I knew he was full of shit. But I had a massive argument with my parents when I found out I was adopted. I wanted to get back at them. And I knew I really would get famous if Cipher actually succeeded, even if it was just notoriety.'
'How old were you, though?'
'18. Old enough to know better, really. So I told Jet I was going to Orre. I did lie that it was about cheaper living costs, but he wasn't having any of it. So I told Znider to fuck off. Then he offered Jet a job in the mines, via me. I swear, at that point, I had no idea Rose was running them. I encouraged him to take it because I thought it was a genuinely good opportunity. He still didn't want to go. It wasn't just because of his studies. He was the main attraction at his stupid frat parties where he showed me off like a trophy. Look...'
Ruby Jane wasn't lying. She showed Chalcedony photos of rowdy parties where Jet was clearly enjoying attention from both male classmates and girls who weren't Ruby Jane. She looked deeply uncomfortable.
'He's sounding like a total cock right now.'
'Honestly, to be fair, I can see he really isn't like that anymore. This all forced him to take a good, hard look at himself.'
'How did you convince him to go?'
'I didn't. I told him I had stuff I wanted to do and I wasn't going to hang around for a guy, no matter how much I loved him. I was going whether he was coming or not. First, he proposed, exactly like I told you on the Royal Unova. Then the pregnancy happened. I was pissed and upset about that and the frat parties at this point. So I said I was going anyway. He chose to follow. Sure, I misled him about the job, but if he says he left because of Cipher, he's lying. He might've felt guilty about it later, but back then, he didn't care if he was working for them as long as he was rich and successful. Rose was the problem. And like I said, I swear I had no idea he was involved.'
'The stuff you told me about the apartment and Sunset City... you never saw me in Unovan Idiot, did you? I should've seen that one coming.'
'No! Chalcedony, I swear, I did. I have photos of it! Ramiro is the biggest Blue Night fan, like, ever. He used to listen to the musical cast album all the time. It made me feel like I was at home.'
'I guess I'll find out how you ended up there.'
'I really did stay with Jet's parents. I felt like a homeless person and a fraud, because I knew I was in Cipher's "emergency force," who'd keep the syndicate running even if they went down. And Justy did get us an apartment because I was pregnant. Jet freaked out and threatened to leave when he found out I always knew my job was outright Cipher-ing. We argued every day. I really did want to go home. And it's absolutely true that I turned to sex work to make enough money to get away from the mess I got myself into. I went to Sunset City to get away from Cipher. And Jet, at that point, I guess.'
She sighed. 'I don't know how long he stayed in the mines after I left. We stopped talking. I did feel abandoned by him. I mean, I was pregnant with his kid and he was more interested in feeling morally superior than understanding why I joined Cipher and if I wanted to get out at this point. Because it was my fault that I joined, but it wasn't my fault that I couldn't get out once I realised I'd made a big-ass mistake.'
'Honestly, I don't know if you really can say no to Cipher. Especially if Ardos is involved. Did they follow you to Sunset City?'
'Yeah, because I knew so much, I was a "loose cannon" as long as I was out of sight. I'd had Whitby by then. "Never had a problem threatening a child" was definitely a thing. But Znider made an even bigger boo-boo than I did. He kept his promise. Put me in touch with Randal. Cipher thought he was still on their side, but as soon as I was born, he realised what an idiot he was. So I became a double agent. We waited until we had as much info as much as we could get and then he relayed it all to Alfie. You were in the car by then. I knew there was a small chance Ein and Theta would hurt you, but like I said... I also knew your parents would find you and the lair. And they didn't suspect me, so I was free to use Cipher's network when the satellites went down.'
'Wow.'
'If it's of any consolation... Whitby suffered in all this, too. The people who suffered because of my actions weren't people I didn't care about. Ardos did send me after you, because he suspected you were Fire Agate, but I really, really just wanted us to be normal friends, Chalcedony. I swear. And I liked Dirk and Rustie and Zileh, too. All the shitty things I did when I wasn't under duress... I did because I was a fame-hungry loser. And just like Randal, I know better now. I've paid for it in knowing I'm partly to blame for my son's suffering. And if you don't want to be my friend anymore, I've paid for it with that, too.'
'I'm too tired to hold grudges over the sepsis. It wasn't you who threw me in the sewer, anyway. I guess it might take me a while to trust you again. But all that stuff with Jet... ew. I'm not surprised you're fucked up. And, I mean... I said things I didn't mean to Wyatt. My dad said things he didn't mean to me. And I know my dad and me can be trusted now. So... whatever.'
'You can tell me to fuck off if you want, but I did have a great idea.'