Story Notes:
The 'dock' scene is only basic at the start. It builds itself up as Tom reminds himself more about it, and he discovers more facts behind that fateful day, all leading up to the truth.Tom also reminds himself of the events that happened in a summary. This recaps what he needs to find out, and allows you to have a guess yourselves.THE FAIRVIEW CHRONICLES IS LINKED TO THIS STORY, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE READ IT FIRST, OR YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND ALL OF THIS:http://agn.ph/fics/viewseries.php?seriesid=219Now with a prologue, explaining how Tom found Stacey!http://agn.ph/fics/viewstory.php?sid=3504
Chapter 8: Sad but true
23:55
Tom jogged through the building, trying not to wake up any residents.
'Time for the final confrontation, Chris. Time to find the truth.' Tom thought, approaching the entrance to the rooftops. It's metallic structure served as nothing more then target practice as he kicked the door open. Stumbling forwards accidentally, he hung onto the rails, catching his breath. He walked up the metal girder stairs to the rooftops, where a familiar person was standing, gazing into the distance. "...Evona."
She looked at him quickly, slightly surprised to see him there. Staring back across the plains, Tom kept his distance.
"Enough of the silent games. I think I've figured out just who you really are." Tom said, pointing at her. "Let's start with your name, shall we? You're not called Evona at all. In fact, Evona doesn't even exist. She's just a disguise to you, isn't she... Rina?"
She gritted her teeth at this statement. The same cloud of smoke Tom had seen in his subconscious nightmares drifted around her, and when it died away, there indeed was nothing more then a Gardevoir there. Not looking away from the plains, her eyes moved towards Tom. "So what if I am, Tom? What difference does it make, and why are you so hell-bent on finding about what Chris has been up to the whole time?" Rina had a faint voice, slightly frustrated at Tom's persistence.
"Heh. You finally speak. You see, I don't know if you ever found out, but the night you were in the hospital, Chris was shot."
"That's impossible. I saw the letter from him, he can't be dead."
"Oh, he's perfectly fine. He survived by jumping into the river. But the person that shot him... was me."
Rina took alarm to this, stepping backwards. "So, I was right. You ARE with Nile!"
"Nile? Oh please. I was with the detective squad back then."
"Then why did you shoot him? You must have some kind of motive!"
"Chris had-" Tom was interrupted by the presence of another man on the rooftops. "Well well, here he is himself. I got myself out of those nice little traps you set up. You make that whole place yourself?"
"Nope." Chris responded. "Just utilizing something a certain group of people put there. I have to say Tom, your work today was most... impressive. Here you are, trying to find out the truth behind one of the most elusive men in the region... if I do say so myself."
"Why did you kill him Chris? And who was it?"
"It was a simple job. Kill somebody from Nile and run. Or to the casual observer, that's what it was. This was a matter of revenge. I want to play a little game, Tom. I'm going to ask you three questions about the night. Get them all correct, and everything shall be revealed..."
"Shoot." Tom said confidently.
"Somebody was hospitalised that night, Tom. Have you figured out who it was?"
"It was Rina, wasn't it? But how did she manage to change into a person?"
"Indeed it was. You see, Rina's has powers beyond many other pokémon. Not the strongest, but pretty close to. Even now, her powers can still develop. Disguising herself is one of the newer ones."
"So, the reason you killed that guy was because Rina was 'dead'?"
"Exactly. Now, question 2, somebody else died that night. If you read the letter properly, you'll have a good guess who."
"This person called Alice, right? I don't see the connection here yet."
"There certainly is one. Alice killed herself. This would probably make much more sense if I recalled the entire scene..."
7th December, 2014
"I burst through the door, running in. Alice turned around to see him, before loading her gun.
"Alice! Don't do it!" I yelled out, a tear dropping from her eye. Her expression was sad, regretful. "It doesn't have to end this way!"
"It does Chris. I'm sorry. Sorry for everything. I can't believe I would lie to you about who I was truly working for..."
"Alice, Nile is trying to control you! Stand up to them for once!"
"I can't, Chris. I was ordered to kill Rina, and then you... I'd rather let you live then kill the man I love. One of us has to die, Chris. And I'm not going to let it be you. If only you had found out earlier..." She put the gun to her head. One hand remained in her pocket, and she closed her eyes. The world fell silent, almost seemingly in slow motion. I screamed out for her, as she pulled down the trigger, her lifeless corpse falling to the ground..."
5th November, 2015
12:05
"I felt helpless Tom. There was nothing I could do. Nothing... except take revenge. Now we have eliminated my motivation from the question, one final question remains. Who was the person I shot, Tom?" Chris asked.
Tom thought long and hard. Alice killed herself, and injured Rina, so that was Chris' motive. There was one more person that died that night. Surely... it couldn't have been?
"Chris... it was your father, wasn't it?" Tom said, hoping he was correct. Chris said nothing, and walked to the edge of the roof.
"Fate is a cruel thing. It forces you to become destined to do actions you don't want to do. It sets out your life. This was no exception. You're correct Tom. The man who was supposed to have died when I was nine, was still alive... yet I killed him, for real this time. I knew of the locations of a high-ranking Nile member. I'd tried holding off from assassination for months, but this was the last straw..."
7th December, 2014
"The harshness of winter was taking it's toll on me. I was on top of an abandoned building, peering through the metallic scope of my rifle. I used it to peer through the window of the one place he was in. I hid myself amongst the shadows, making sure not to make any kind of movement that would signify my location. He was sitting at his desk, drinking a cup of coffee, when he stood up, making his way towards the window. Gazing around the abandoned building, he looked down slightly. He pulled out a photo from his pocket, looking at it for a moment. He looked at my direction, instantly recognizing me. He yelled out my name, but it was too late. The bullet splintered through the air, landing straight In his skull. He tossed something small out the window, before dropping to the ground. I dropped my weapon, refusing to believe that I had just shot my own father. Picking up the scope and zooming in, I studied the photo. It was of me when I was a kid. It proved he was my father. My dad never died... it was just a cover-up while he joined Nile..."
5th November, 2015
"Do you see now, Tom? All the suffering I went through? Only to be shot by you?" Chris asked.
"I understand, Chris. It all fits into place now... I think I can fully remember what happened at the docks. But tell me, why are you so open to tell me all of a sudden? You tried to kill me!"
"I was willing to risk the entire truth on Whether or not you'd get out of there, Tom. Make it a final test for you. Or payback. But whatever I do, it's not going to change what's happened. Alice meant everything to me."
Rina seemed slightly alerted by this. "Wait, Chris, there's something I need to tell you on that matter. Alice told me once about how she feigns death. It's something she calls 'The Dead Ringer'. It's a device that, if held down at the right time, cloaks the user and drops a fake corpse."
"Wait... you don't suppose... Alice is still alive?"
"She wouldn't kill herself without considering it, Chris."
"I see... Tom, I still have to talk with Rina. You've heard what you wanted to, OK?"
"Wait, Chris! Is it true you have The Sapphire Star?" Tom asked. Chris, fumbled around in his pocket, before tossing the small diamond to Tom.
"Do what you want with it, it only serves as a painful memory of what I've done." Chris explained, before Tom walked off of the rooftops.
12:30
"And that's about everything on Chris. Hell of a story, isn't it Zoe?" Tom said, staring out the window, drinking a warm tea.
"Sure is, Tom. Oh, that reminds me - your client's just cancelled the order sheet. He's promised to pay the fees, however."
"Huh? Wait... that means the client must have been-"
"Sweety, it's getting late now. You're tired, even I can tell that. Get some sleep for the night. You don't want to overwork, especially after all you've been through. I'll see you tomorrow, handsome." Zoe said, before hanging up the phone. Tom stroked Stacey's head lightly.
"Well, that's a wrap."
Tom jogged through the building, trying not to wake up any residents.
'Time for the final confrontation, Chris. Time to find the truth.' Tom thought, approaching the entrance to the rooftops. It's metallic structure served as nothing more then target practice as he kicked the door open. Stumbling forwards accidentally, he hung onto the rails, catching his breath. He walked up the metal girder stairs to the rooftops, where a familiar person was standing, gazing into the distance. "...Evona."
She looked at him quickly, slightly surprised to see him there. Staring back across the plains, Tom kept his distance.
"Enough of the silent games. I think I've figured out just who you really are." Tom said, pointing at her. "Let's start with your name, shall we? You're not called Evona at all. In fact, Evona doesn't even exist. She's just a disguise to you, isn't she... Rina?"
She gritted her teeth at this statement. The same cloud of smoke Tom had seen in his subconscious nightmares drifted around her, and when it died away, there indeed was nothing more then a Gardevoir there. Not looking away from the plains, her eyes moved towards Tom. "So what if I am, Tom? What difference does it make, and why are you so hell-bent on finding about what Chris has been up to the whole time?" Rina had a faint voice, slightly frustrated at Tom's persistence.
"Heh. You finally speak. You see, I don't know if you ever found out, but the night you were in the hospital, Chris was shot."
"That's impossible. I saw the letter from him, he can't be dead."
"Oh, he's perfectly fine. He survived by jumping into the river. But the person that shot him... was me."
Rina took alarm to this, stepping backwards. "So, I was right. You ARE with Nile!"
"Nile? Oh please. I was with the detective squad back then."
"Then why did you shoot him? You must have some kind of motive!"
"Chris had-" Tom was interrupted by the presence of another man on the rooftops. "Well well, here he is himself. I got myself out of those nice little traps you set up. You make that whole place yourself?"
"Nope." Chris responded. "Just utilizing something a certain group of people put there. I have to say Tom, your work today was most... impressive. Here you are, trying to find out the truth behind one of the most elusive men in the region... if I do say so myself."
"Why did you kill him Chris? And who was it?"
"It was a simple job. Kill somebody from Nile and run. Or to the casual observer, that's what it was. This was a matter of revenge. I want to play a little game, Tom. I'm going to ask you three questions about the night. Get them all correct, and everything shall be revealed..."
"Shoot." Tom said confidently.
"Somebody was hospitalised that night, Tom. Have you figured out who it was?"
"It was Rina, wasn't it? But how did she manage to change into a person?"
"Indeed it was. You see, Rina's has powers beyond many other pokémon. Not the strongest, but pretty close to. Even now, her powers can still develop. Disguising herself is one of the newer ones."
"So, the reason you killed that guy was because Rina was 'dead'?"
"Exactly. Now, question 2, somebody else died that night. If you read the letter properly, you'll have a good guess who."
"This person called Alice, right? I don't see the connection here yet."
"There certainly is one. Alice killed herself. This would probably make much more sense if I recalled the entire scene..."
7th December, 2014
"I burst through the door, running in. Alice turned around to see him, before loading her gun.
"Alice! Don't do it!" I yelled out, a tear dropping from her eye. Her expression was sad, regretful. "It doesn't have to end this way!"
"It does Chris. I'm sorry. Sorry for everything. I can't believe I would lie to you about who I was truly working for..."
"Alice, Nile is trying to control you! Stand up to them for once!"
"I can't, Chris. I was ordered to kill Rina, and then you... I'd rather let you live then kill the man I love. One of us has to die, Chris. And I'm not going to let it be you. If only you had found out earlier..." She put the gun to her head. One hand remained in her pocket, and she closed her eyes. The world fell silent, almost seemingly in slow motion. I screamed out for her, as she pulled down the trigger, her lifeless corpse falling to the ground..."
5th November, 2015
12:05
"I felt helpless Tom. There was nothing I could do. Nothing... except take revenge. Now we have eliminated my motivation from the question, one final question remains. Who was the person I shot, Tom?" Chris asked.
Tom thought long and hard. Alice killed herself, and injured Rina, so that was Chris' motive. There was one more person that died that night. Surely... it couldn't have been?
"Chris... it was your father, wasn't it?" Tom said, hoping he was correct. Chris said nothing, and walked to the edge of the roof.
"Fate is a cruel thing. It forces you to become destined to do actions you don't want to do. It sets out your life. This was no exception. You're correct Tom. The man who was supposed to have died when I was nine, was still alive... yet I killed him, for real this time. I knew of the locations of a high-ranking Nile member. I'd tried holding off from assassination for months, but this was the last straw..."
7th December, 2014
"The harshness of winter was taking it's toll on me. I was on top of an abandoned building, peering through the metallic scope of my rifle. I used it to peer through the window of the one place he was in. I hid myself amongst the shadows, making sure not to make any kind of movement that would signify my location. He was sitting at his desk, drinking a cup of coffee, when he stood up, making his way towards the window. Gazing around the abandoned building, he looked down slightly. He pulled out a photo from his pocket, looking at it for a moment. He looked at my direction, instantly recognizing me. He yelled out my name, but it was too late. The bullet splintered through the air, landing straight In his skull. He tossed something small out the window, before dropping to the ground. I dropped my weapon, refusing to believe that I had just shot my own father. Picking up the scope and zooming in, I studied the photo. It was of me when I was a kid. It proved he was my father. My dad never died... it was just a cover-up while he joined Nile..."
5th November, 2015
"Do you see now, Tom? All the suffering I went through? Only to be shot by you?" Chris asked.
"I understand, Chris. It all fits into place now... I think I can fully remember what happened at the docks. But tell me, why are you so open to tell me all of a sudden? You tried to kill me!"
"I was willing to risk the entire truth on Whether or not you'd get out of there, Tom. Make it a final test for you. Or payback. But whatever I do, it's not going to change what's happened. Alice meant everything to me."
Rina seemed slightly alerted by this. "Wait, Chris, there's something I need to tell you on that matter. Alice told me once about how she feigns death. It's something she calls 'The Dead Ringer'. It's a device that, if held down at the right time, cloaks the user and drops a fake corpse."
"Wait... you don't suppose... Alice is still alive?"
"She wouldn't kill herself without considering it, Chris."
"I see... Tom, I still have to talk with Rina. You've heard what you wanted to, OK?"
"Wait, Chris! Is it true you have The Sapphire Star?" Tom asked. Chris, fumbled around in his pocket, before tossing the small diamond to Tom.
"Do what you want with it, it only serves as a painful memory of what I've done." Chris explained, before Tom walked off of the rooftops.
12:30
"And that's about everything on Chris. Hell of a story, isn't it Zoe?" Tom said, staring out the window, drinking a warm tea.
"Sure is, Tom. Oh, that reminds me - your client's just cancelled the order sheet. He's promised to pay the fees, however."
"Huh? Wait... that means the client must have been-"
"Sweety, it's getting late now. You're tired, even I can tell that. Get some sleep for the night. You don't want to overwork, especially after all you've been through. I'll see you tomorrow, handsome." Zoe said, before hanging up the phone. Tom stroked Stacey's head lightly.
"Well, that's a wrap."