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Spinel lazily browses the recent news, and his Rotom Phone happily hands over everything its owner wanted to see. Over exaggerated and shocking articles flood the screen, eventually melting into one big lump of information, in unison speaking of the only thing that concerns society. The Kumuri Mountain Incident has become famous all over Paldea and people can’t shut up about it at all. This big resonance happened definitely not without his help, and as of now, he is the center of this chaotic mess. People are wondering about this place, people are speculating about what's happened here and why is it so important to put their trust into so-called Explorers in resolving all issues related to it.
Spinel couldn't help but smile as he scanned hundreds of comments under all these articles briefly. They were doubting, they wished they could believe yet hesitated still, others were completely against, sensing that sudden rise of a “hero” no one’s heard of before seemed too suspicious — almost as if it was a carefully threaded plan to gain influence and recognition. What united all of them is the need for answers. The need to know that Explorers and Exceed are indeed capable of providing them. Capable of keeping the situation under control.
Now Spinel barely had time to just sit idly like this, but such moments of complete loneliness and silence were his salvation in a never ending flow of countless events that required his attention. Such moments allowed him to carefully weigh all that happened. Despite the loss, despite the heavy feelings settled in him ever since he saw with his own eyes how Gibeon — the man he entrusted his very being and brilliant mind, faded into nothingness… he finally feels so free and unburdened. A crazy mix of grief and euphoria was what made his composed self not so composed anymore.
Yet, as usual, he always smiled at the cameras reassuringly. He spoke up on the matter before the journalists’ microphones with full confidence, not letting his well-thought facade slip. And his eyes gleamed with forced concern when he was talking about the dangers they have to deal with now because of the big bad evil in the name of Rising Volt Tacklers that made everything collapse.
How bittersweet was the downfall of these people, Spinel thought. It was nothing for him to declare them criminals. They were always a bunch of nobodies that stood in their way anyway. There's no one to defend them and no one to mourn their miserable finale. According to all the information he'd gathered, they've disbanded, no longer a threat for him and his goals. But as criminals, they should be tracked down and punished accordingly even if Spinel doesn't care at all, so he’s obligated to deal with these leftover inconveniences.
Cervantis also stepped down from his position as the director of Exceed a couple of days ago. The poor man witnessed how Spinel rapidly gained much more influence than him, basically forcing him to hand over his seat and step out of his position. Can he really blame someone when it's people that believe Spinel and are willing to follow him and not Cervantis? Spinel himself thinks that, perhaps, it's time for this man to finally fix the relationship with his own son, and too much work would’ve been an obstacle for that. Speaking of the son, Amethio, Spinel hasn't seen him for quite a while. Didn't he promise his beloved grandfather to inherit his will? If so, then why is it Spinel who's still carrying his dream? He simply was right all along — this pathetic pampered prince was never all that loyal to the ideals of Gibeon. Farewell to him, then, and Spinel better not see him around anytime soon.
To put it simply — Spinel thrived in his triumph. Things couldn't go better for him. He'd achieved everything he could and now strives for even more distant heights. He knows he's capable of it. He deserved it. He worked his ass for it, he waited patiently and paved his own way up. Yet in order to fly up high, one needs to let go of some excess weight… Which seemed to be a little too complicated of a task to his taste. Despite his brilliant act in front of people and even in front of his own full-length mirror, there was still something he couldn't quite get over with.
Tracing back to the Rising Volt Tacklers, Spinel knew exactly where each of them was. Liko was back in Indigo School, Roy went wandering all over the world, Dot went back home, Orla returned back to Hoenn, Murdock was somewhere in Galar, Mollie had a part-time job in one of Pokémon Centers in Paldea, old man Ludlow ventured to Johto. He allowed these people to live their lives as they wanted for a while until people would find out and hunt them down.
The only one that escaped Explorers’ overpresent eyes and ears was the commander himself. Friede, be that tricky man damned, was nowhere to be found. It seemed to him that the role model of the Rising Volt Tacklers who taught these people to be brave and never lose faith turned out to be a coward that escaped first and left them all behind. Spinel laughed. Honestly, he couldn't predict that. That's why he calls Friede the most amusing of them all. Even when Spinel believes he'd gotten to know everything he needed, Friede manages to do something that forces Spinel to reevaluate all his knowledge on that man. That pissed him off all the time so infuriatingly, but at the same time made him push himself harder. To outwit and finally strike him down.
He resented Friede with all his passion, but even more he resented the feelings he held for him. The feelings of subtle interest growing into intoxicating obsession, almost unbearable desire to possess. To claim him. And these disgusting, shameful fantasies he indulged in when Friede once told him they’ve had a chance to be together once the dust settles. A secret they've shared that maybe, just maybe, when the conflict is resolved, they can get together. He now believes it was nothing more than a mocking distraction from his actual goals. Gibeon was always right when he criticized Spinel's overblown interest in the leader of the opposing side, because he saw right through it. Right now the only thing Spinel wishes for is to kneel before him and apologize, apologize, apologize indefinitely, because he knew it all from the start. Yet with no one to ask for forgiveness, Spinel can make it up with his actions. If Gibeon in any way would be able to see the results of his own work that Spinel continued to gently polish and develop… He needs to make him feel proud of his actual successor.
Spinel sighed loudly at his own thoughts. They anchored him to the ground against his own will. If he continues to sink in them as if he has nothing better to do, he might actually drown. Something needs to be done about this.
He stood up from his chair and made a decision to walk a little. After all, some movement never hurt anyone. Quite the opposite, it made blood circulate through the body more intensively and not to sit in his upper half so extensively.
Spinel went through the Exceed halls, bright as a promise of a prosperous future. As he ventured further, the light slowly faded, transitioning instead into expensive black graced by neon glow. That's where actual Explorers resided, each of them operating from the shadows yet having a faint colorful gleam somewhere that was a reminder — they're always present. They're always watching.
As he made his way through, he entered one of the grandest halls to ever exist in this building. The room detected his presence and slowly lit up. Spinel walked closer to the center. He glanced over to the right, then to the left, overseeing exactly five Pokémon sleeping soothingly in their Laquium cells. The sixth cell was empty, a sneer at Spinel’s otherwise undoubted superiority. Perhaps he might call them his prized possession. Once belonging to one of the greatest adventures that ever walked Pokéarth, now they were nothing but rampaging forces threatening to destroy everything that might come their way. Not under Spinel's watch, sure. Because he kept everything in check. As he should. The only one that escaped him was the Black Rayquaza, but it’s not the first time he’d hunt it. He just needs a little more time to capture it and organize the reunion with its beloved friends.
Such an eerie place would've made anyone but him uncomfortable, but here Spinel felt at ease. In the end, everything was a result of his past actions, a reminder of his achievements, an inspiration to walk forward. But even though he enjoyed the silent company of Lucius’ Pokémon, he needed to visit some other places. After all, he still has some time left before yet another meeting.
Except Spinel didn't even get an opportunity to make a step before his Rotom Phone flew up with a notification. Spinel wanted to deal with it later — he was a busy man now, but he still deserved to have his moment of rest! Unfortunately for him, his eye caught a part of the message and curiosity took over him. He took the phone and proceeded to read it.
Perhaps he should've done it later. Perhaps he shouldn't have read it at all.
As he closely monitored each of the members of the Rising Volt Tacklers, it was only natural for information about their whereabouts to update from time to time. Spinel needed it mostly for formal reasons, but the obvious sign of their struggle made him very delighted anyway.
The thing is, he never really anticipated to get an update on Friede's potential location and state.
Spinel read everything attentively word for word. Most of the data was incomplete and consisted of theorizing based on the found cues, but the possible picture seemed logical enough to believe in.
Apparently, during the Friede and kids’ escape from Laqua, they tried to fly away on their airship. Kids successfully did so, but Friede couldn't make it and presumably fell to his death. Except that, In the theoretical place where he should've landed, no body was discovered. No traces of his Pokémon either. Only the subtle changes in the surroundings that made sure something indeed happened here.
Spinel put away his Rotom Phone. He took a deep breath, then another. And another. He felt strange at the realization, something uneasy creeping onto him with each passing second. Of course Friede is dead after this. Of course he couldn't make it out alive considering the distance between the ground and the highest points of Kumuri mountain. Even if he somehow landed relatively well, he would've been badly injured and wouldn't have survived long without medical help. And his body? Perhaps, wild Pokémon found their way to make use of it…
An image after image flashed before Spinel's eyes as if he actually imagined the scene. He froze in place as he saw the way Friede could’ve flown down, how the velocity pushed the capabilities of his body to its limits with no mercy and… Honestly, he never had this vivid imagination, so why all of a sudden…
He let out a bitter chuckle as he fought the feeling of tightness in his chest threatening to take over him.
“Why… Of all people… You're the one to meet such a miserable demise?”
He asked into the void. His own voice echoed deeply, bouncing out of the walls. The echo reached him in what seems ten times the loudness of his actual words. He felt a sharp pain in his head crashing over him, which made him collapse onto his knees. He hissed and held it, unbothered about ruining his hair with his shaky fingers. His head suddenly felt heavy, so heavy it could just burst out any second. The dim light also grew unbearably bright for his eyes, as if Spinel returned back to Exceed halls. He cut off his vision by shutting his eyes tight, wishing to get rid of at least one irritant. Instead, he made the biggest mistake. Once again each part of the horrifying scene went before his eyes, and he himself for a moment felt like falling. His trembling knees couldn't sustain him any longer, and he dropped down to the floor completely.
“No… Not… Now…”
He muttered under his breath, unable to restrain himself from laughing that sounded more like choking. He laughed at himself, at how pathetic he was for having such an intense reaction to his own enemy's death. That was the best outcome for him, wasn't it? The one who he promised to push away once and for all is no longer a burden, right? To Spinel he's nobody but a threat, a stubborn buzzing noise, a flickering too bright and inconsistent to ignore, nothing but the one to ruin everything.
Ruin… Him, too?
Friede ruined him, indeed. Because of him Spinel is now fighting the urge to throw up, trying to breathe to calm himself down, yet nothing helps. The pain in his head might've dulled, but his chest now was the main bother. His heart was pounding so fast Spinel wasn't sure his body could handle it, his lungs felt too small to contain the required amount of air to stay alive and well, and at the same time too big to be kept inside his ribcage. No matter how deep was his breathing, no matter how fast he exhaled and inhaled back, nothing seemed to work. He tried to at least wipe down hot tears running down his burning cheeks, but his unsteady hand had no intention to obey.
So what's now? Is he going to die now too? Is he really dying? How long does he have left until his heart stops? All of that just because he couldn't cope with the loss of this bastard? Was everything for nothing? Was all this mentality he built up specifically not to falter that unreliable in the long run? Why, why does he have to be the one experiencing this? Why does Friede still make his heart ache so bad, why does he still pierces him with these unwanted emotions? Is this his way to take revenge on him? What a cruel man he is, then. So cruel, cruel, cruel, cruel, cruel.
The word repeated itself in his mind until anything else could be formed in there, anything at all. He felt so dizzy and nauseous, he felt so horrified and so lost. He can’t die now, but he can’t cry for help, and he can’t be seen like this either. He trembled in a silent scream as he felt all his senses betray him one by one. The light he couldn’t stand finally started to fade out.
In mere seconds, everything went pitch black. He wasn’t able to stay conscious anymore. If this is what he deserves…
Spinel heard a distant voice somewhere. Is there someone to meet him in the afterlife? Something’s glowing, too… What was it? Is he dead? Is he alive?
The muffled voice gradually became a little more clear. He could finally hear actual words even if he didn’t fully comprehend them.
He risked it, slowly but surely opening up his eyes. What he saw first was white ceiling high above. Oh, no, he’s definitely alive, just so exhausted and drained. And not in the room where he’d collapsed, and with his hair down and his clothes partially removed.
“Spinel.”
He’d heard someone calling him by the name. He forced himself to turn his head to the side at the source of the voice. His hazy gaze met with a figure of a familiar woman. Her silhouette grew clearer, but Spinel couldn’t yet decide he was glad to see her or would’ve preferred to wake up alone, as alone he fell unconscious.
“Chalce?” he called for her in return softly.
She walked closer and glanced over him with her concern slipping through the indifferent expression.
“You’ve fallen unconscious. I brought you here.” She explained calmly just in case.
“...” Spinel didn’t answer, trying to avoid her eyes.
“Did you have another panic attack?” Chalce asked cautiously, receiving nothing in return. Spinel couldn’t force himself to answer, but his silence was speaking for him instead.
She sighed loudly and then sat at the side of the bed he laid on.
“I’m not surprised. Seeing the amount of responsibilities you’ve taken upon yourself, I can only wonder how far you would’ve gotten before snapping from such an amount of stress.” Her cold yet soft words made Spinel uncomfortable. He didn’t seek comfort, but he believed Chalce could avoid being so straightforward with him considering what happened.
“How long have I been unconscious?’ Spinel finally asked. He genuinely didn’t know.
“About half an hour has passed since I stumbled upon you. Don’t worry, I’ve already informed everyone that all your meetings must be postponed until tomorrow, if not later. You’ll make a statement on it as soon as you’ll recover. ”
Spinel wanted to argue, but his completely apathetic and weak state didn’t allow him to do so.
“Thank you.” Despite everything, he was glad that she dealt with it. He held Chalce in high regard and knew he made the right choice by letting her stay by his side.
Her presence distracted him a little from all these thoughts about Friede that still lingered. Heaviness resided in his chest too. Not only he probably won’t have a good sleep in a while, but now, when his brilliant facade has cracked for the rest of the world, he might lose a part of its trust. His sudden refusal to attend another interview must cause even more questions and… Oh how he wished for this problem to resolve itself, but he’ll take this responsibility. Just… not yet. Chalce didn’t know the full picture, but she never needed to anyway. The thing she was right about is that Spinel must allow himself to recover.
If he ever will.