Work Text:
Tape Recorded Interview
Courtney [REDACTED] / Eyewitness Akamatsu Senri (Norman Akamatsu) / Champion Steven Stone
21/2/03
GUARD: And I’m going to just… It’s on, Mr. Stone.
SS (Steven Stone): (muffled) Ah, no, you don’t need t– okay. (clearer) Thank you, sir.
GUARD: (muffled) No, thank you for your service. Good luck, Mr. Stone.
(Sound of a doorknob clicking open.)
(Sound of a door creaking closed.)
SS: Good afternoon. Norman, and Ka…
C (Courtney): Courtney. Just Courtney.
SS: Sorry, I didn’t catch your name earlier.
C: No problem. Think we were all a little distracted with the two gods destroying the region. Is that a tape recorder?
SS: Yes.
C: You’re the interrogator?
SS: Yes. (clears throat) One second, please. This is Champion Steven Stone of the Hoenn region. The date is Wednesday, 21st February, 2003, the time is 3:32 P.M. This is a taped interview with Courtney [REDACTED] and Norman Akamatsu as eye witness. Date of birth of Courtney [REDACTED], [REDACTED].
SS: Um. Due to her accused felonies directly contributing to the Hoennian Cataclysm of 2002 and her disappearance after the event, she will be assumed as having attempted to flee the region to escape law enforcement.
SS: Okay. Courtney, where were you during the Hoennian Cataclysm on September 18th, 2002?
C: I was dead.
SS: …You were dead.
C: Norman can testify to that. We had a nice chat about it.
SS: When did you have the conversation with Norman?
C: When I was dead.
SS: Norman?
NA (Norman Akamatsu): We did.
SS: (haltingly) You had a conversation at time of death.
NA: We did.
SS: Uh. Alright. What did you… do during the events of the Cataclysm?
(pause)
C: You sound very unsure about this interrogation. As a whole.
SS: I was with the Elite Four on a mission. I wasn’t anywhere close to the main battle.
NA: Didn’t you–
SS: It went poorly.
C: I remember. Wallace took up the Champion’s Cape. (whistle-exhales) You didn’t make it back, did y–
SS: How would you know that?
C: I told you. Norman and I had a chat.
SS: (hushed) Norman, why would you–
NA: I didn’t say anything. We saw him with the cape.
C: Okay. Look, no offence, Stone, Mr. Stone, whatever, why are you the interrogator? I thought they’d pick a member of the police force. Someone who knows the situation.
SS: As one of the highest-ranking terrorists behind the incident, you are a highly sensitive and confidential case. And I was on the field, same as you and Norman, while the majority of the police were sent to civilian areas to assist in the mass evacuations.
C: I don’t think you were on the field for long.
NA: Courtney.
C: (laugh) I mean, same goes for the both of us. I just can’t understand why they’d pick you, of all people, unless– (scoff/gasp) Does the police force not know you died?
(pause)
SS: Ms. Courtney–
NA: (Loud laugh) As sharp as the force warned us she was.
SS: (muffled) Norman, do you really trust her?
NA: (muffled) She (unintelligible) under the city. And we talked a bit.
C: Ha.
SS: …Courtney. Can you describe the experience of dying?
C: Static. Like brown noise. Like–
NA: She’s curling her hand into a claw.
C: And you could see the surface above, while you were in the earth.
(pause)
SS: You weren’t lying.
C: (laugh) No, I’m not!
NA: Did you think I was covering for her?
SS: No, but you’re just… a man of few words. I didn’t know that’s what you meant. (hushed) I didn’t know you also – I thought I was the only one. The Elite Four and Wallace knew, but they didn’t actually–
NA: The reporters never got a hold of it. Who was on the field then? It might’ve just been Ruby and Sapphire.
SS: (rushed) I might be wrong, but did you see that Mythical Pokemon–
NA: Celebi.
C: Celebi.
SS: I thought I had lost my mind. I didn’t even tell Wallace. Isn’t it Johtonian?
C: Blame Ruby.
SS: What?
NA: So. The officials have covered up your death so well that nobody knows it even happened?
SS: It would be a giant blow to the region if people knew its champion had died during the battle.
C: Mm. I don’t know. I think it’d sound pretty noble to the citizens. Self-sacrifice.
SS: The issue is the post-death. The Hoennian public might consider me a different person than before, and my current self a fake, or a zombie. They’d reject me. And that would be making the news, that the Champion is dead. Devon Corp would suffer major, major financial losses. And if Wallace supported me, the public would… The problem is that things did change.
C: What, like the Absol?
NA: You see it too?
C: Oh my god, I thought it was just me.
SS: Like the Absol. Out of the corner of–
C: Your eye. Watching you. Stalking you, everywhere. Even when I left the region. I thought it was trying to make me feel guilty. But if you both see it too–
NA: Absols appear around disasters. It could be that we’re living remnants of the Hoenn Cataclysm. They’re drawn to us.
(pause)
C: So the universe has classified us as walking disasters.
SS: Arceus.
C: (delighted) Ha! I didn’t know Steven Stone had swearing in his vocabulary.
SS: I hoped it was unrelated.
C: Would you prefer the Absol was having a premonition of an anvil falling on your head? …Oh. Uh. I…
SS: It– You’re fine, it just – I didn’t exactly have tangible evidence of my death, before. Especially with Celebi’s appearance… I think it was a logical answer to hope at least a bit that it was some kind of brain-injury hallucination.
C: We might be sharing a brain injury, then. ...Unfortunately I know I didn’t make it out of there.
SS: I’d almost prefer it to be a three-way brain injury– my apologies, Norman.
NA: But Wallace was there.
SS: He could’ve been wrong.
NA: Do you not trust his judgement?
(pause)
SS: He’s the true Champion. I can’t be dealing with knowing I’ve died and I’m still Champion.
C: For all it’s worth you made a great recovery. And nobody noticed. The police didn’t notice. That guard sure as hell didn’t notice.
NA: I doubt I would have read too far into it if I hadn’t seen Wallace with the Champion Cape.
C: Dying and holding it together is more of a feat. Especially because you were alone. I don’t know how you remembered to pick things up after you came back.
SS: No, I mean… nevermind. Thank you. A lot of dropped bottles. The rings help with remembering my fingers are solid.
NA: The rings are smart.
C: Very smart! Will be trying that. Considering this is a completely unique experience I think we’re all doing very well. Norman, how did that talk go with Ruby, actually, it’s been a while.
NA: The stop–transporting–mythical–creatures–cross–region talk?
C: Classic.
NA: Mainly hoping it doesn’t happen a third time.
C: Your, uh, wife?
NA: (lightly) Well. Your… life?
C: (hums) Going okay. Going good. Until now, but still pretty good.
NA: That’s… that’s good.
SS: Ah, the tape–
(Muffled audio & rustling)
SS: Our conversation. How do you turn this off–
C: We could just break it. Underfoot.
NA: The way it broke would be obvious.
SS: Exactly. That’d draw suspicion to you.
C: (laugh) I mean I’m talking to you right now because I’m considered a major terrorist threat. I don’t think I need to do much for the police to trigger the alarms. I just came back to see some Contests, they’re only upcoming where I live now, and the police dragged me out of the ferry in handcuffs.
SS: …I’m sorry.
C: Well. It’s fine.
SS: Where do you live now?
C: (lightly) Am I going to get arrested, or–
SS: No.
C: (slowly) Kanto.
SS: Alone?
C: …No. With someone else. A friend– a good friend, a good person.
SS: Okay. Okay. Look, if Norman vets you– Norman?
NA: Will you get in trouble again?
C: (scoff) I– no.
NA: Then I do.
SS: Right. (Rustling) I think the best thing is for me to keep this tape. I’ll transcribe it, cut the text up… give the police the non-confidential sections. You’ll be kept in Hoenn for a while. We’re going to keep meeting for interrogations, but next time you’ll be recording to prove your cooperation with Norman in the fight. Goal is, we wipe your suspect file and you get closer to regular citizen rights. Hopefully, get back to Kanto quietly.
C: Just because Norman–
SS: I trust the Gym Leaders’ judgements. Ah, thank you, Norman, you can go now. I’m sorry for the police calling you in.
NA: I wouldn’t mind if they called me again. (muffled) Doing good, Stone.
SS: Thank you. You too, Norman.
(Sound of a door creaking open)
(Sound of a doorknob clicking closed)
C: This wasn’t bad, actually. I’m very thankful you’re awful at interrogations.
SS: I can still retract my approval of you, you know!
C: (laughing)
SS: Alright. Turning off the recording in three… two… one.
This fic has been converted for free using AOYeet!