farawayplace | Ohritori Vacation!

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pc: ken (kenfrompokemon)

Ohritori Vacation!

[This morning, if you tune in to Ken's Pokemon Talk on the radio, you'll probably hear him announce the program will be on break for the next two weeks while he goes on vacation! And as soon as the program ends, he hops on a boat and is off to Ohritori Island.]

A. GATEWAY PORT

[You can see him arriving at Gateway Port in Turnbloom City, looking pale as he weakly hobbles off a boat and immediately falls onto his knees and hands on the pier, taking deep breaths and looking like he's been suffering from seasickness for the entire journey.]

It's finally over...! Ohritori Island, I'm so glad to see you...

B. POKEMON CENTER

[Once he's rested from his journey, he'll be sitting at the cafe in the Pokemon Center with an ice tea, glancing around somewhat restlessly. A green Ledyba is sitting at his table, eating Berry slices. Spotting you, Ken will smile and wave.

Excuse me, can I ask you a question?

C. ROUTE 1

[Later, Ken can be seen at Route 1 with his Cubburn. He'll find Professor Banyan's laboratory, he'll just wander near it for a while, glancing at the house sometimes like he's trying to gather the courage to approach. Eventually, he'll go up to the door, raise his hand to knock... then hesitates, lowering his hand again. His Cubburn looks up at him with a whine, and Ken sighs.]

I'll do it, just give me a moment...

D. WILDCARD

[Ken can also be seen wandering all around Ohritori Island during his vacation! He doesn't visit the more dangerous places deep in the caves or the forests, but he'll be checking out the tourist spots. Theater Hall, Stardust Beach, the different farms on Gilterrace Town, Route 2 and Route 3; and the Wildflower Cape. Meet him however you want! Also, feel free to recognize his voice from radio!]

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[Some time later, Gold drops in. Literally. Flown here from the Miltank farm in Gilterrace by Nerica, Gold lets go of her legs and lands from a safe height, right in front of the front door.]

"Thanks, Nerica!" [He calls out to the Togetic, recalling her into her Pokeball. Then, he turns around to go in... and blinks at the stranger sitting by the door. A guest of Banyan's? Whatever, none of his business.]

"Hey," [He greets him while opening the door, eyes already sliding away from the guest, ready to forget about him.]

[Ken startles when a kid literally drops from the sky. Even though the boy's facing away from him, there's no doubt in his mind. This is Gold. Finally... He's finally met him.

But Ken can't get a word from his mouth, just staring as Gold turns and finally sees him. It's his little brother, all right... But there's no recognition in his eyes. Ken knew it was likely to happen, but it still hurts.

Everything Ken imagined would happen, every conversation opener he imagined, flows out of his mind as he just stares dumbly at the kid, who stares back, and only when the kid opens the door does Ken get his wits back.]

Hey, wait! [He scrambles to get up from the chair.] G-Gold!

[Oh, a guy who knows his name. Gold pauses at the door and takes another look at him, but finds nothing familiar. Well, maybe something vaguely familiar, but nothing he recognizes.]

"You know another me or something?"

Yes! I, uh...

[Ken's struggling for words. How does he talk to someone who looks so familiar but feels so different? He remembers Buson's advice to treat is like his radio show, and it's the only advice he remembers right now, so he straightens his back and gives a bright smile. Confidence!]

I'm Ken, your brother from another world! Nice to meet you!

[...That kind of a fake smile really rubs Gold the wrong way, despite the fact he fake-smiles often himself.]

"Oh, okay. So?"

So I came here to meet you!

[This is... not working out, is it. Ken deflates a little, radio confidence fading. It's hard to keep it up in person!]

I mean... I heard about you, and even though you're not really my little brother, I wanted to meet you... To find out how you're doing, if you're happy, and, uh... Yeah.

[Gold narrows his eyes, suspicious.]

"I'm not your brother, so don't treat me like I am. How'd you know where I live? You stalking me or something?"

No! No no no no, not at all!

[Ken flails with his hands, shaking his head.]

I just asked from a friend of mine who's lived here in Ohritori! He told me places where I should... look for you...

[...Okay, that doesn't really sound good, does it...]

Look, I don't mean anything bad, honest! I'm just... I miss my brother, and I heard from my friend that you miss your dad, and I thought we could, you know, miss our families together and maybe be a little less lonely...

[Yeah, that's not a good answer, Ken! None of that is a good answer! Gold looks more on guard and bristling with every sentence.]

"Who the fuck is your friend and what the hell does he know about me?!" [Gold shouts.]

[The swearing stuns Ken. He's never heard his brother say anything like that, or glare at him like that... Of course. This isn't his brother. Ken knew that, but he was too naïve. He thought things would work out if he just believed in himself.]

"He's... You know him, his name's Buson... Or, uh." [Ken's drawing a blank at what other name Buson used. It started with an A and ended with an A... Ak... At... What was it?!] "He's got another name, you probably know him by it! He's, uh, blonde, muscular, wears sunglasses..."

"...Attila?"

[Gold says the name in disbelief. The guy from the cafe and the farm, and that one time at the noodle place? The obvious criminal? Ugh, Gold always thought he could handle him, but the guy actually went and found out where Gold lives, after only meeting him like three times? He thought they were on good terms, but he's a damn stalker?

It's not like Gold minds a bit of crime, even if the guy's in Team Rocket or something, but this isn't just his house. Ai and Professor Banyan live here too. It really freaks Gold out that the guy just found out where he lived and told somebody else, too.]

"...So you're not a stalker, you're just friends with a stalker," [Gold spits out, choked up. He takes out a Pokeball, holding it out threateningly.] "Get out!! And don't come back! And tell Attila to just... just... fuck off or something, I don't care!!"

Ai heard all of the shouting, although she'd been trying to stay away from it all, because it made her upset, and reminded her of what happened before her mother left her father. They never saw her again, after all that.

But it just kept happening. It hasn't ended and she can't just sit there and draw and pretend she can't hear all of that. Hiding and covering her ears didn't help.

It was upsetting and scary and made her heart pound, but finally... Gold was kicking him out? And yelling about someone else, too, a name she didn't really recognize. Her heart sank. It was going to be like when her mother left?

Ai peeked around a doorway, looking worried. She tried to blink back the tears, breath hitching a little in her throat, but, gathering up all the bravery she had, she ran towards the voices.

"Gold! Please stop yelling at Ken-san... he's not a bad person. I let him stay, I told him you lived here. He only asked about the Professor. I told him about everybody who lived here and that's when he recognized your name... so he started talking about the Gold that was his brother back in his world... he isn't a stalker! He didn't really know you live here," she said, shouting herself to be heard, even if she shed a few tears doing so. "If he were a bad person... if he were a bad person, if he didn't care about our safety—he wouldn't have cut the call after I talked about Giovanni."

Now, when did Ai realize Ken had done that on purpose...?

When Ai runs out, Gold's first instinct is to get between her and Ken, but he doesn't tell her to go back inside. She's talking, after all, so Gold listens. Gold is nearly tearing up himself, but he tries to calm down for Ai's sake. He didn't realize she was listening. He must've scared her with all that yelling. It's a horrible feeling.

Gold crouches in front of Ai as she's talking and offers his hands to hold for comfort. He doesn't want to interrupt her, so he just listens.

...If Ai thinks he's all right, maybe he's all right. But it seems like he really didn't know for sure Gold lived here until Ai told him. (Jury's still out on Attila, though, and Gold's definitely going to get back to him about that later.)

"Giovanni?" Gold asks after Ai's done speaking. The familiar name and the weight Ai seemed to put on it surprised him. "The, uh... ex-boss guy Team Rocket loves to talk about? What's he got to do with anything?"

Well, that's not really the important part of what Ai said, to Gold, anyway.

"Sorry if I scared you, Ai. If you think he's not a bad person, I'll hear him out." He gives Ai a soft smile, then glances at Ken with a look that says 'I'm giving you a chance, don't waste it.'

"Ai!" Ken yelps when Ai runs outside, startled. But just as Ai described, Gold is kind to her, and Ken stands still and watches, with a strange mixture of pride, longing, and alienation as Gold listens to her and comforts her, as if he wasn't yelling at Ken just moments ago. Gold really is a great big brother, isn't he...

Then Giovanni's name comes up, and Ken feels like he swallowed ice. Needless to say, it means a lot more to him than to Gold.

"You... you knew?" He'd been trying to keep Ai from realizing it, because he didn't want her to know she could've put the radio station, and herself, at risk. When did she realize?

Then Gold gives him a look, and Ken straightens his back, awkward. That's right, this is his second chance. He thought he'd screwed everything up permanently, but thanks to Ai, he can try again. He can't waste this. But what is he supposed to do? How can he act right around Gold? Ken feels paralyzed.

Ai looked a bit perplexed at Gold’s question.
“He isn’t an ex-boss yet… at least, where I’m from.”

As for Ken’s question…

“Not at the time,” Ai answered, more calmly now that the shouting had stopped, clutching Gold’s hands, but her expression turning more serious. “But the other callers spoke longer than I did and you never went to music so fast after so few calls in your other shows. I kept count. I thought about it and you stopped it right there, didn’t you, since no one else heard anything after… I tried to think of what was different about my call and realized it was the names. I gave my family name, too, and mentioned Giovanni… you were trying to keep us safe, right?” Ai asked gently. “Because maybe the experiment was supposed to be secret…”

Go on, Ken! Ai’s giving you the opportunity to explain.

The ex-boss part was strange to Ken, as well, but with everything else that's going on, he just figures Gold defeated Giovanni and drove him away, just like in Ken's world, and doesn't pay it any mind. Gold and Ai are more important to focus on right now.

"Right... I guess I should've known you'd figure it out. I kind of panicked, so I didn't hide it all that well, huh?" He gives a shaky smile. "But, you're right... I know how scary Team Rocket can be, so when I heard you say the name of their boss, I tried to keep everyone safe. Not just you, but everyone at the radio station as well."

It might make Ken himself look better if he said it was all to protect Ai, but that doesn't cross his mind right now.

"I tried to keep it from you, because I thought you'd blame yourself if you knew you put us in danger, but I guess it was no use... I'm sorry, Ai."

He doesn't know how to deal with Gold, yet, so he's not even looking at him right now, focusing fully on Ai.

(Gold is just watching and listening right now, with a neutral expression. He holds on to Ai's hands, but his eyes are fully on Ken, analyzing.)

She smiled gently. "It's alright. It's very sweet and kind of you to think of me. It's not your fault... I really didn't think it was obvious."

She looked back at Gold again, with a sort of questioning look. Does Ken really seem like such a bad guy?

"... when you said you know how scary they can be, do you mean from stories or have you met them before...?"

"Oh, good... At least it wasn't that obvious." To Ai, at least... It was apparently obvious to Mayday, and Ken's still worried it might be obvious to somebody else, too.

At the question, Ken wilts a little, looking away, an obvious answer to the question. He figures there's no option but to talk.

"I've met them, yeah... Back home. They took over the last radio station I worked at, and took us all hostage. We were saved by..." He glances at Gold, then averts his eyes again. "My little brother."

Gold is staring because he doesn't know if Ken's a bad guy or not, and he's trying to figure him out! He stays silent, until Ken mentions the radio station.

"I saved you...?" he whispers, wide-eyed. The mention of the radio station taken over by Team Rocket is too close to home, and he ends up slipping in his words, talking like Ken's brother is actually him. It's the first time he's heard about another world with that event in common with his own, and he desperately wants to know more. But he doesn't want to ask Ken about it, not when he doesn't trust the man yet.

"The Gold in his memories saved him," Ai gently corrected, giving Gold's hands a squeeze.

She looked back at Ken and at Gold, considered her words, then...

"It might not be the same, because... before I was blessed with this body, coming here to Ultern... I was a man-made copy. My father, who worked for them to make Mewtwo... didn't set out to make a copy of the Legendary Pokemon, Mew. He just wanted to make me. But I couldn't live or grow properly, so I always died again."

She didn't explain that part, did she?

"The original Fuji Ai... died at eight years old, um... about eight years ago. In a car crash. My father needed money to fund his project, so he worked for that man. My father tried to clone me, twice, but I always died again after just four years... Mewtwo was the only clone strong enough to survive. Maybe because his DNA came from a Legendary Pokemon. I don't know.

"... but even though... I was a clone, deep down, I'm still Ai. I just lived a different life. The original Ai would be 16 now, but I never could live longer than four years, growing inside the lab, in fluid... like a baby that could never be born, I guess."

This is going to be the first time Gold gets to hear all of this, isn't it? She didn't want the spotlight on her or to make it all about her, it was embarrassing, so she avoided his gaze for now.

"... but. Even though my life and body was so different, there were things my soul couldn't forget, across lifetimes. I knew my father. I knew my mother, too, of course. I remembered... the sun, the moon, the wind, the stars... and the neighbourhood where I lived, even though I never saw it again. Maybe it's cell memory. Maybe it's my soul. Maybe it's both. A clone or copy is not a replacement, but its own unique life. I'm just the same as Ai, in looks, but the life I lived is different from what I would have lived if the accident never happened, right? Mewtwo looks very different from the Mew in that old drawing... so, please cherish each other as new lives, not just replacements, okay? I can't say for sure, because I'm not God, but I think that's why you two were made to meet each other, coming from different worlds."

Edited 2023-07-13 09:51 (UTC)

At the squeeze of his hands, Gold looks back at Ai.

"Right, yeah, of course," he replies with the look of someone who's not sure he actually wanted to be brought back to reality. He hasn't saved anyone. He's just been dreaming of going to that radio tower takeover and saving Silver months now. Literally dreaming, it's a frequently reoccurring dream that always ends just before he reaches Silver.

Gold is not the Gold that Ken knows, but for a moment, Gold can't help but wish he was.

But then Ai starts telling the story of herself, and Gold tries to focus on her. He always knew there was something about Ai's past that was unimaginably painful, and hearing this makes the pieces he's heard connect, but... Why now? Why now, when Gold's mind and heart are already in turmoil trying to deal with his emotions over this sudden brother and what he's talking about.

He can't handle this right now. It's too overwhelming. He wants to give Ai's story his full attention and he hates that he can't. And while he's hating himself, he realizes he's spaced out and barely heard half of what Ai's said, and spirals further into self-blame.

He's so selfish. After everything Ai's been through, all he can think about is himself? He tries to hold on to what Ai's saying. Clone? Man-made copy? Cell memory, soul? He doesn't get it, he doesn't get it at all. Ai is so smart. What she's saying sounds like she's trying to teach Gold something, but Gold doesn't get it at all.

You two were made to meet each other, coming from different worlds... Gold tries to hang onto that, at least. They were meant to meet. Okay. Cool. Why?

Gold's jaw shakes as he stares at Ai blankly, close to tears. And that's when another voice speaks up.

"I believe we should take this inside. Gold may be having a case of heatstroke, so let's let him rest and drink something for now," Umbar the Lugia's voice comes out tinny from the Lure Ball among the Pokeballs on Gold's waist, in human language. It's an excuse, a way to explain Gold's behavior away while giving him a chance to calm down.

Gold does not respond to it, still holding on to Ai's hands.

Ken's not sure what to take from Gold's statement about saving Ken. Was that disgust at it being Ken who was saved, or was there something else to it? Gold was so different from Ken's brother. He didn't know how to read him at all. It was eerie.

But then Ai began to speak, and Ken would never have expected any of that. He'd thought back on what Ai said to him when she called, and he picked up on the implications that Ai was cloned, just like Mewtwo and the other Pokemon, but he avoided dwelling on it.

A father who missed his daughter so much he ceaselessly tried to bring her back, again and again... Ken could understand that. The loneliness of being in Ultern, unable to meet his family, was enough to have him thinking it'd be enough to just meet an alternate version of his brother, just to see him again...

But it's not the same, is it? It's not fair to Ken's brother Gold, nor is it fair for this Gold he's only just met, to think of them as each other. Because Ai is not the original Ai, and Mewtwo is not Mew. They have different lives, thoughts, dreams...

Ken glances at Gold for the first time after avoiding looking at him for a while, wondering what kind of dreams he's got, and then does a double-take as he sees the look on the boy's face. His instincts as a big brother take over.

"Gold? Are you okay?" he asks, crouching to hover worriedly, then flinches back at the surprise voice, looking around wildly for the source. "Who's there?!" he asks. He agrees they should bring Gold inside, but who the hell was that talking when there's nobody else around? Was that a speaker hidden somewhere? Was somebody else watching them??

It was too much, all at once, wasn’t it?

Ai felt sorry for confusing and upsetting Gold and now, Ken looked frightened too…!

“Please calm down, Ken-san,” Ai said, voice slightly strained. “It’s only Gold’s Pokemon. Hello, Umbar.”

Ai politely acknowledged the Pokemon and tried to help Gold up, although she couldn’t do very much, being a lot smaller than him. She let go of his hands and tried to gently pat his head, stroking his hair.

“Ken-san, please listen to Gold’s Pokemon, okay? You can help Gold, I’ll get him something to drink.”

"His Pokemon...?" Ken repeats, then looks at Gold's Pokeballs. Gold had a Pokemon that could speak human language, too? Well, if Ai thought it was normal, then it must've been. "Ah, hello, Umbar, sir." He defaults to polite language, even bowing a little.

He wants to help Ai, but he's a bit uncertain about touching Gold, given how much Gold seems to distrust him. He just hovers awkwardly, until Ai tells him to help Gold.

"Right! Okay. Uh..." He looks at Gold, and at the Pokeballs. Gold still seems pretty unresponsive, so should he ask the Pokemon? "May I... carry you?" He ends up asking it from Gold after all.

"Hello, Ken," Umbar replies. He's not entirely sure of Ken yet, either, but Ai seems to trust him, so Umbar will give him a chance. Still, whether he's a good person or not, it's possible for him to hurt Gold unintentionally, so Umbar will keep an eye on him.

Gold's basically just mentally checked out of everything right now. He can tell everyone's fussing about him, and honestly? Let them. Gold kind of wants to just not think about anything right now. He's being selfish, yeah, and he's definitely showing a bad example to Ai, but maybe that's what he is! Anyway, Umbar's dealing with things. Gold will let Umbar deal with things.

(He has to ask Ai to tell him all of that again some other time. He's dreading that already. He doesn't want to make her have to repeat all of that because he wasn't listening, but he owes it to her to hear what she wanted to let him know.)

Then Ken asks if he can carry Gold, and Gold looks up at him. ...He looks kind of funny, fussing like that.

"Yeah," he says. Who cares anymore. Gold doesn't know what to think about Ken and he's too tired to think anymore. If Ken wants to fuss over Gold, he'll let him!

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[CW child death, traffic accident, vague references to religion]

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