Log 11: The heart of Reborn
After leaving through the Jasper Ward with my new team member in tow, I immediately rushed to the Grand Stairway. It was to the north of the Grand Hall. A large crowd had gathered there, all seeking answers as to what happened. The Grand Stairway had a massive hole in it and appeared to only be further breaking apart. The police who gathered there as well recognized me and let me through. However, my primary goal was not to inspect the explosion. I was simply passing through to the Lapis Ward to find Corey's body.
The Lapis Ward really stood out from the rest of the city. This seemed to be the wealthiest area, although why anyone would even try to raise a family here is beyond me. The Beryl Bridge was to the north of the ward, so I headed there quickly. A large building stood in the center of the ward, with the sign out front calling it an orphanage. Yet the way it's designed really reminds me of a hospital. As I went towards the north end, I saw a woman standing out in front of it. She mumbled something about "Revenge" and "The Doctor." Was she trying to take revenge on the fact that there was someone new playing him? Not my problem here, and not something I want to get involved with.
Lapis Library & Gym. That's what the sign read from what I could see, but a very large crowd of people had gathered. There was one recognizable face in the crowd, and it was one I was rather glad to see. Victoria saw me and called me over. Yes, Corey's body had landed behind the gym. It was a rather gruesome scene that I do not wish to describe or even recall. Blood is sadly one of the few things I fear and am nauseated by. It may be something I'm looking to overcome, but not something I wish to see happen again.
Victoria was trying to comfort a young girl who saw his death. She was clearly shocked, seeing something as horrific as this. Her name was Shelly and as it turns out, she is the Lapis Gym Leader. But now is not the time for a challenge. She said she knew the man who died as Heather's father, as they are close friends. There had been a lot going on lately, with Corey's death and the explosion at the stairs. Shelly said she needed to be left alone for a bit, so Victoria and I decided to check out what was happening there.
The police let us through again. I'm not an expert on demolitions, but there was no debris in the surrounding area. Seems like the bomb was somehow placed underneath the stairs so that when it was detonated, the debris collapsed down into itself. The police set up a ladder to the bottom and gave us permission to enter. Victoria went down first and I followed quickly after. Somehow, unbeknownst to most citizens of the city, a large network of caves lay under the ground. And I was correct in assuming that Team Meteor was involved, as the two admins from the factory, Aster & Eclipse, were there and had taken Victoria hostage. They said that I would need to follow them if I wanted to save her.
It truly was a maze of caverns down there. Although I didn't find anything too interesting, mostly just a few wild Pokemon but none I was looking to catch, I did find some cave explorers and someone training down there. He gave me the HM for Rock Smash, saying it would help me train myself as well. Not really sure how, but thanks anyway.
I eventually found my way to the bottom of the cave systems where they said they would be waiting. The first person I saw there though was someone I had never seen before. He simply spoke to me, said the city was filth and that it needed to be gotten rid of. There was a large door engraved with some weird runes which he seemed fixated on. Ruby, the seal of pain. Saphire, the seal of love, Emerald, the seal of faith, and Amethyst, the seal of the beyond. As he spoke those words, one of the runes lit up. Those are the the principles of reborn. I don't really know what he was talking about, or why he was telling me. Somehow, he saw it that it would be better if I knew, if everyone knew. I still wasn't sure what I was supposed to know, but he left without saying anything else.
Aster and Eclipse were also waiting down there for me, with Victoria trapped behind them. She and I teamed up and took them on. It was a pretty straightforward battle, although there Magby and Elekid evolved since we last fought. Otherwise, it was just a normal fight, with the two of us coming out on top. They fled after they lost. Victoria explained that whoever that man was, he only spoke to her as well. After making sure she was okay, we left the caves and made our way back to Shelly to make sure she was still okay.
We got back there and she was still in shock over what she saw. There was apparently a well-known psychiatrist in the ward, so Victoria asked me to find him in the hope that he would be able to help her in some way. I agreed to go find him to help the poor girl.
One final note before I close this log, I apparently joined a street gang. Some thugs approached me, looking to mug me as I was trying to find the doctor. They challenged me to a battle, which we won with no trouble. They then took me into an alley and had their boss meet me. Said they called themselves Team Aqua, and that I was now an honorary member. Don't really know if I want to be considered liked by these people, but I suppose they may somehow be useful eventually.
FINALLY entered another log here. Don't know if anyone reads this, but thanks for reading if you do.