Music in media: A Matter of Time by The Killers

Arc 2 | Shadows of Tomorrow
(by Madvillain ft. Quasimoto)

18 March, Friday, 1:15 p.m. | Spring

It would be too much of a hyperbole to say that Rae, Cheren and Lenora were wracked with confusion and anxiety the extent of Tornadus's wreckage on Mistralton City. Insensitive. Invalidating. Lacking—empathy.

But that's probably what Icosa would say if he saw the state they were in. Could he even bear to acknowledge his mentor, the one who seeks the right path, who was at the moment jittery and fidgeting with his tie and staring at the clock, trying to make sense of it all? Cheren sat cross-legged with a cup of triple shot espresso beside him, surrounded by the blue soundproof walls of the Mistralton City Pokémon Centre's Calm Room, a space Skyla had constructed since the music perversion began so her citizens could meditate or distress in private. The bonsai by the locked door wiggled every once in a while but it was, thankfully, no Sudowoodo. Cheren had let his Pokémon roam about as they please, far away from him. When was the last time he let them out anyway? Was it even possible to pinpoint when such a time was?

"Darn it..." With a scowl, he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. His attire was stifling him despite the air-conditioning as much as he hated admitting it. Being right most of the time was difficult enough but it was manageable. Somewhat. Though now it was more delusion than truth.

He had thought long and hard about it. Many, many times, really. Doing the right thing meant everyone would be happy, or at least most people and Pokémon would be. Which was to say, Cheren was living up to utilitarian standards of his choosing. If he could minimise harm and maximise happiness, then that thought, word, deed could not be anything far from right.

But nothing was right. The time wasn't right. His belief that Icosa would spew such a statement wasn't right. Perhaps Icosa had more empathy than Cheren credited him for. Perhaps Cheren was projecting his insecurities. Denial was the first step to leading a life that could do no wrong—this he believed to a tiny degree, but beliefs and actions were hardly coherent things.

Absent-mindedly, he dropped the tip of his tie into his espresso. Absent-mindedly, he tucked his legs out and heaved a long sigh worthy—well, it had to be—of eternal damnation and knocked the cup over. Absent-mindedly, he ruffled his hair and laid on the floor. Absent-mindedly, he thought it was sweat that his shirt was soaking up. Absent-mindedly, he reached out, gaze fixed on the ceiling, for his espresso, only to touch the emptied cup.

Then Cheren was present, struck full-force into his present dread and lack of self-control and order and awareness. It was as Skyla said. Like he had jetlag upon stepping into Mistralton City, like he wasn't really in Unova or he had been in Unova and now wasn't or he thought he was in Unova before Chargestone Cave but perhaps not and this place wasn't quite like Unova either or what was Unova supposed to look like, smell like, sound like, taste like and feel like?

Worst of all, he had no inkling to where Icosa might be. Where else could he have run to if not Mistralton City? Was there a place he didn't know existed? His head spun with half-baked theories, one after another after another, creating and denying and creating and denying till he found himself creating denial and denying each and every creation, the master and servant to his guilt. He could have done better taking care of Icosa.

But that was a full-grown, albeit young, adult he was worrying about. Icosa was capable of making his own choices and decisions and must certainly own his mistakes and responsibilities and any pleasant outcomes—was there a particular word for that?—and therefore, Icosa wasn't the actual source of guilt.

No, it was his other travelling companion, Aomine Rae. Somehow she had been dragged into this mess and had been actively contributing. Really, though? Wouldn't it be faster to gather the badges from the remaining Gym Leaders, go to their cities and strike the crown? Wasn't it selfish of him to make Rae take on the Unovan League under these strenuous circumstances?

Yet why was it a selfish thing when this was a choice she made, something she wanted? It was why she was here in the first place. She could have just trained with Whitney in Johto but she chose to come to Unova. Though... He was curious to see how she would fare against the Gym Leaders, Elite Four and Champion. He wanted to see the standards of the Johto League. A tiny part of him wanted to be convinced that Unova's trainers were stronger than Johto's after all.

A tiny part of him wanted to know why his sweat didn't quite smell like sweat and why they stuck to his skin and felt like a mucky puddle. He got up mechanically. His shoulders sagged. He heard a crack as he twisted his body and glanced at the floor. The tiles could be cleaned later. He could use a bath. A bathtub to sink into would be a nice escape. He stared at the floor with a burn in his chest.

"So much for a Calm Room."

♪

After her call with Hawes, Lenora realised something vital: on the other side of Chargestone Cave, which was to say, Southern Unova, it was still January, still Winter, still a day after Blue Monday. Meanwhile, she was in Spring, time fast forwarded to March, at the end of the work week. As she penned that detail down on the whiteboard Skyla had provided her in a corner of the Pokémon Centre's cafeteria, she felt the audacity to laugh, to snort, to cry. With what emotion she did not know. It was as though she was a figment of obstinate winter encased in the winds of spring, very much melancholy amidst rebirth. The black marker squeaked against the whiteboard. She looked up in case anyone sent disapproving glares her way. Of course no one would do that. She was alone in the cafeteria.

Not for long. Just as she propped her chin on the marker, an Audino sashayed in with a remarkable grin on its face.

"Audiiii?" The Audino gestured at her heart and leaned forward a little before splaying its hands outwards as if making an imaginary rainbow. "Dino dino! Noooo?"

"Yeah, no." Lenora rested her left cheek on the table with her arms outstretched, her palms past the boundary of the table, her eyes not once leaving the Audino. Would be nice if it was Rae's but it was just another one of Nurse Joy's. Not that she would suddenly understand what the Hearing Pokémon meant. They could only guess at each other's meanings and intents based on simple gestures which could still be misconstrued.

"No no no?"

"Umm... No."

"Auuuu..." The Audino left with a pout.

Lenora half-expected it to perform one of those check-ins she heard of. Something about putting their feeler on her heart and responding to her emotions. Something about a healing touch in brief wordlessness. She wondered if Tabutabu would do something like that for Rae.

Her mind, however, soon drifted to the whiteboard. She had meant it when she said "investigation". To call this a journey was inaccurate. It felt more like detective work. Like those days when she used to play detective uncovering the meanings and intricacies behind various literary and historical works.

The most memorable one to date revolved around a young boy who wanted to know why people ardently looked back on the past and his quest to figure out the value of history in a nostalgia-inducing tale. It wasn't a time travel story despite feeling like one. In the end, he came to the conclusion that nostalgia was about dealing with a gripping pain and loss. Either one sought to restore the past or one reflected upon it.

"What was that line again?" She murmured to herself and sat up, straightening her posture and linking her knees and flattening her crumpled clothes against her skin, her expression vacant but waiting to be filled with the joy of remembrance, eyebrows that waited to be lifted, lips that waited to open for a gasp to slink through.

Then she jounced.

"I think it went like this: All was One and united till the Mind set things in supposed Order. And so the mind, responsible for splitting apart, paid no mind to the cavity it creates, for this outcome has no gravity. The mistake herein lies with its perception that the free-floating state zero gravity produces is liberation." Lenora balanced a precocious smile on her face. It wouldn't hurt to be a little happy in a tense time, would it? She chuckled. "Gosh, that was a mouthful."

The line came from a codex the boy found buried in his grandpa's backyard, five chapters in. Anyhow, the story's title was long and dated and Lenora couldn't remember it but she knew at heart this was a remarkable piece of historical fiction, set in the industrial ages of Unova.

"Now, the red shoe... Why would Thundurus and Tornadus have one each?" She wrote the question down, stared at it and erased it. "No, I should be pursuing a different direction. How do we trust the time we see from now on?"

Lenora sighed. The keepers of time, Dialga and Celebi, home to Sinnoh and Johto respectively, couldn't provide an answer when they were unreachable. But this music perversion was like a Roar of Time.. or worse. It wasn't just Hisuian Pokémon popping up but he passage of time was snipped into two.

"But what if all the side effects to the music were caused by the time warp? Genre aside, much of the changes had to do with tempo after all."

But she was no musician nor was she proficient in music theory.

More research needed to be done. She was glad there was some semblance to her answer now. She hoped so anyway.

♪

While the adults remained within the Pokémon Centre, Rae was wandering around the city with Noko-Noko perched on her shoulder, Tabutabu and Zorozoro flanked on both sides and Chilchil right ahead. In order not to stand out, they slowed down their pace. The music being sombre was one thing and the people looking like somnambulists was another. They looked happy and that was all there was to it. Mere appearances.

Back when she first set foot into Unova, the airport was lively, the city, too. She had met the self-conceited couple Ken and Karen who wished to be the first Champion Couple because they decided they could. She wondered where they were and how they were doing, especially with the music perversion ongoing. Would there be other trainers challenging the Gym Leaders? There didn't seem to be many, or at least, she hadn't the luck to bump into another challengers. It was different in Johto. Everywhere she went sprightly trainers would undoubtedly show up. She gave it more thought before concluding it had to do with the music. That or some unseen and unknown force had conjured a special and devious repellant. Though... she was certain she saw the couple at Elesa's Gym.

"It's really weird. I thought their muscles would have cramped by now but they are all still smiling."

Indeed, their eyelids fluttered as if to distract from the dark circles. Some of the people had thin and jaunt faces, almost bony while others made half-hearted attempts at conversation, barely registering what each other were saying, spilling only tales from their hearts like replies.

She came to a stop at a bench and sat down. Her four Pokémon crowded around her, watching as she whipped her phone out. To think it had been two months or more since her last phone call home! Wasn't that irresponsible of her? Yet no one contacted her or berated her. Did they know?

Her phone vibrated against her ear. Better this tone than the slow tempo of Mistralton's music. It was like walking out of Slumberland only to see things barely progressed. Which could be good, considering the way these people she was observing had once rushed ahead without a care, briefcases slapping against their thighs, photocopiers flickering at late night still, weary smiles of customer service and waitstaff dealing with entitled patrons... Well, no one was venting their anger and stress on any other person or Pokémon now.

"Oh? Imouto-chan?" Kyo's voice slipped into her ears.

"O-Oniisan."

"You're calling because something's wrong, yea?"

Rae pressed the phone closer to her ear. "U-Umm... yes. I did not call for two months."

"You didn't." She heard him sneeze. He apologised and added, "But we understand. You're busy saving Unova."

"Oniisan, you're not wrong but the thing is, there is a time issue." She briefly explained what she meant. "So I didn't know so much time passed."

"That's alright. You know we always trust you and love you. I'm not an expert and Meta is just good at transforming and attains bare minimum knowledge. Kaspar might know something."

"About that..." Rae blushed and mentioned the Driftveil incident.

Kyo coughed. "Go call him. He just left our house."

"Has he been coming over often?"

"Yeah." Pause. "Hey, do you want some food? I think we can deliver them through the PC Storage System."

"Isn't that just for Pokémon?"

"Kaspar tried it. You know how his Teddiursa is in Hoenn."

"Oh yes, right." Rae kicked the air and leant back. "Some food from home would be nice. I miss the all of you. I miss being home."

"Finish your journey quickly and come home then. We will continue to pray for your safety every day."

The call ended after they bade farewell and Rae dialled her mentor, Kaspar Wolfram. While waiting for him to pick up, she glanced at her Pokémon and caught their curious gazes. They didn't know much about her, come to think of it. If only she could understand them like N...

But if N could do that, what about Icosa? They were cousins after all. And did he genuinely believe N to be the problem? Back in Driftveil, N said it was a diversion tactic to get the people heated and awaken them once and for all. And wouldn't there be a special way to communicate with Meloetta? Then again, the poor Pokémon was probably caged and controlled by the Shadow Triad. But if Team Plasma was involved and the Shadow Triad swore fealty to Ghetsis, wouldn't Ghetsis have had a hand in this somehow? She doubted the trio would be that proactive.

She averted her attention to the greenhouses and natural patches of grass and plants. Much of the city was dominated by the runway so the nature stood out. Hydroponics, gardening, cargo transportation. Mistralton had a lot going on. Most of the people must be working in the cargo service or farms, one way or another.

The line tutted. Rae frowned and tried again. She hoped she wasn't bothering Kaspar.

Silence. And then—

"Rae-chan?" squeaked a husky voice.

"A-Ah! Kaspar-sensei!" The suddenness of his voice caused her phone to slip and she caught it before it hit the ground. She squeezed her eyes, timing her slow breaths for ten seconds. When he called her name again, asking if all was fine and dandy, she said yes a little too quickly, then shot up and shouted 'no'. Why she would be extremely jittery or excited she did not know.

"It's time dilation," said Kaspar at last when she finished explaining the situation. "Time feels awfully slow despite passing at the same pace."

"But that's a feeling, right? What happened was real. It affected the clocks and everything."

"It literally manifested then."

"So... What now?"

"I don't know but if Meloetta's involved, it's highly likely the doing of Relic Song. But I don't know why Hisuian Pokémon are appearing. In any case, you got yourself a great Pokémon."

"Yeah."

Silence.

Was it always so difficult to continue the conversation? So awkward? Her throat burned.

Rae felt like it was a struggle to speak, to breathe, to live. Perhaps she was overreacting. Perhaps she was just overwhelmed. It did feel like she was starting to lose interest in battling, in holding a conversation... in so many things, even things she had never done in her life. Like throwing a Master Ball at a Bidoof.

"You're zoning out, aren't you?" Kaspar mumbled. "Please take care, Rae-chan. I can't tell you to stay safe because that's not possible at all."

"Is it weird? Growing up?" Rae swallowed her saliva. "I mean... Is it weird to suddenly feel like everything is changing, me included?"

"I would chalk it up to being more aware. But that's just the way I see it."

Rae hmmed. "Kaspar-sensei, can we continue another time? I'm sorry but I don't feel like talking anymore."

"That's fine. We can end here. You don't have to be sorry about it at all." She imagined him beaming.

The call ended.

Her arm fell to her side.

Suddenly, she understood the crowd. She didn't feel as a detached observer would anymore. She was one of them.

A glass smile had never felt so easy.