Characters: Zinnia, Steven, Renee, Wallace, Aster
Warnings:
Violence, stalking, attempted murder
Renee was worried. So was Steven. Zinnia had promised she would come back to give more information on her whole Rayquaza plan, but ever since Steven had been taking it easy at home due to his nose, the two friends hadnāt heard so much as a word from her. Renee thought of it as odd that Zinnia didnāt give her a phone number to keep in contact with, but she had just assumed Zinnia was already tracking the two somehow.
Maybe itās because we havenāt really left the house? Renee thought to herself as she lazily sat in bed, looking out to the evening sky. She was lethargic, knowing of the worldās impending doom, and had mostly been loafing around Stevenās house for the past couple of days.
Outside of the guestroom where Renee was staying, Steven and Wallace were sitting on the couch trying to pay attention to a movie that was on the TV, making smalltalk with each other to try and take their minds off the meteor. After a period of this, Steven sighed and got up.
āItās around time for dinnerā¦ do you feel like making anything? I was going to go out and grab something quick from the Pokemart.ā
āThatād be nice, but you donāt have to; we have quick and easy stuff here.ā Wallace replied.
āI know, but I feel like going outside – Iāve been stuck here feeling useless for 3 days! Iām going a bit stir crazy if you ask me.ā
āYouāll be alright, though?ā
āOf course, itās only about a 10 minute walk, of course I can make it.ā
āAlright. I love you.ā
āI love you too, Wallace.ā
With that, Steven was off. He didnāt really have much on his mind during the walk, other than the over-saturated anxiety of what was going to happen tomorrow. It was almost overwhelming – he had to stop himself during his walk at multiple points to catch his breath, as he had been holding it unconsciously.
Is my last dinner really going to be some cheap convenience store food? he thought, finally making his way to the doors of the Pokemart.
The doors wooshed open as he stepped up to them, and Steven made his way inside, bathed in fake fluorescent light. Looking around, he could see the brightly-lit store was completely empty, save for the cashier, who didnāt even notice Steven come in, as they were reading some of the tabloids available near the counter. Steven made his way to the freezers containing the frozen foods, and slowly examined the assortment in front of him.
Finally, he reached to grab an assorted-topping pizza from the freezer, only to notice the doors to the store open with a short jingle. He didnāt pay much mind to it, and went over to the cashier.
The sound of Steven walking towards the cash alerted the cashier, who put down their tabloid. The workerās tired expression suddenly lit up upon seeing Steven, and they excitedly asked the champion in pajamas if they could have an autograph. While exhausted emotionally, Steven agreed, the cashierās face lit up as he wrote his name on a scrap of receipt paper with a cheap pen. The cashier thanked him profusely and waved him goodbye, though all Steven could give back was a weak wave.
He walked past the other person in the store while leaving – it was someone in a black hoodie pulled up over their face, holding some kind of small pokemon he was unable to identify as he walked by. Leaving the store, Steven put tucked the frozen pizza box under his arm and made his way home.
It was quiet on the walk home, as it had been on the way there. The streets were completely empty, which was normal for Stevenās neighborhood at this time, but something about the underlying knowledge of the meteor made it seem eerie. When stopped at a crosswalk, Steven noticed what looked like the same person in the hoodie on the other side of the street. He still couldnāt see their face or the pokemon they were holding, but he did notice they were moving with a limp. Still, he didnāt think much of it, and assumed they lived nearby.
But as Steven kept walking, he began to notice the mysterious person was following him. When he stopped, they stopped, and when he moved onwards, they would continue walking as well. Steven was uncomfortable, and wanted to text Wallace or Renee – but he had forgotten his phone at home.
Steven hastened his pace, and as expected, the person following kept up – though he noticed they had a visible limp. As Steven approached his home, he broke into a sprint, keys in hand, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see the person sprint towards him as well. Even with their limp, they seemed faster than him, until all of a sudden Steven felt them crash into him as he was suddenly pinned on the ground.
Finally getting a closer look at the personās face, he could see it was no one other than Zinnia – and she looked awful. Her expression was twisted into one of desperation and rage, and she was breathing heavily. With one hand, she pinned Steven down by his chest, and with the other, Steven began to panic as he could see her withdraw a hunting knife. Steven struggled against Zinniaās grip, but it was futile, as she seemed to be much stronger than him.
Zinnia held the knife before Stevenās chest, and he wanted to scream and shout out, but he couldnāt. Steven was just frozen in fear. And while he could practically feel the rage seething out of Zinnia, he was able to see that she was afraid too – her hand shaking as she held the knife, her breathing unstable.
Suddenly, Zinnia cried out.
āIām so fucking tired of you and your stupid fucking dad! Do you know how it feels to have everything taken from you?! Do you know how it feels to be stripped of your dignity and love and livelihood and left with nothing?! Iāve been left with this disgusting grudge for years, and nowā¦ and now Iām finally fucking doing something about it!!ā
Just before Zinnia could do anything, a familiar voice yelled out from Stevenās doorway.
āMilotic, water pulse, now!ā
It was Wallace.
As his voice rang out, a blast of water threw Zinnia off of Steven. The water washed her out onto the street, and from behind Steven, Zinniaās whismur hastily ran to her and started nudging her to get up. As that happened, Steven shakily got to his feet and stood behind Wallace and his milotic, dripping wet with water. His eyes were focused on Zinnia.
Slowly, Zinnia got up, and spoke – she seemed to be speaking to her whismur.
āAsterā¦ noā¦ cāmon, we gotta get out of here, I fucked up big timeā¦ā
Her words were wavering. As she spoke to the pokemon, it ran over towards Steven and Wallace, murmuring. Zinnia mumbled to herself and tried to get up to walk towards Aster, but before she could fully lift herself off the ground, she collapsed once more.
Aster ran to her in a panic, itās murmuring growing louder and more concerned. When it nudged up against her, she didnāt move, which caused Steven to panic.
āOh my god, sheās not dead, is she?!ā
āShe looks like sheās in bad shape, sheās probably just passed out. Besides, she literally just tried to stab you!ā Wallace replied, gripping Steven by the shoulders.
āI know! But we canāt just leave her there!ā
Suddenly, Renee ran down the hallway and outside to the doorway to join the two.
āWHATāS GOING ON OUT HERE?!ā
There was a pause, and Wallace just let out a sigh.
āI can explain it to you later, Renee.ā he said as he looked to Steven, who appeared to be thinking.
āI justā¦ we could at least just lay her on the couch? It seems cruel to leave the two of them out here alone in the dark. We can just make sure that she doesnāt have the knife anymore.ā
āWHAT DO YOU MEAN, KNIFE?!ā Renee said in a shocked reply to Stevenās statement.
The three bickered for a bit before they came to the conclusion that they should at least bring Zinnia inside. Carefully, Wallace made his way down to Zinnia and checked her pulse – she was indeed still alive. He picked her limp body up, and the friends headed inside.
—
When Zinnia thought she woke up, she was in a field. The grass was wispy and green and there was barely a cloud in the sky. It didnāt take her long to realize that she was dreaming, but for some reason, this dream felt more lucid than normal. She got up, to see that the grass around her went on for miles. While something like this would normally get Zinnia uneased, an overwhelming feeling of calm washed over her as she looked around.
Suddenly, Zinnia spotted someone, and as soon as she laid her eyes on the woman, she knew exactly who it was.
The previous weakness having left her body in the world of dreams, Zinnia ran in a sprint towards the woman, and practically lept into her arms.
āAster!ā Zinnia cried out, as she held her in a tight embrace. It wasnāt long before Zinnia started to cry.
āAsterā¦ oh Asterā¦ā she said, Aster saying nothing in response just yet – just holding Zinnia and letting the moment soak in. Despite knowing it was a dream, the moment just felt too real to Zinnia, and she couldnāt stop herself from crying. After a silent moment between the two, Aster spoke.
āItās okay to cry! Let all your feelings out. Youāve been keeping them all inside for so, so long.ā
āI missed you so much! Every day it hurts so much but youāre here! I never want this dream to end, oh Asterā¦ā
After many tears were shed, the two sat down in the grass, watching the clouds – Zinnia curled up in Asterās lap. They had talked about a lot of things, mostly about the events of the past week – and for once, Zinnia was smiling. Not the crooked, confident smile sheād shown earlier, but a genuine, sweet smile. She was playing with Asterās hair, noting specifically how utterly divine she looked – almost like a goddess.
After some time had passed, Zinnia started feeling dizzy, and reality started to feel like it was fizzling away. Zinnia panicked, but Aster held her hand and looked her in the eye.
āYouāre waking up, Zinnia. I promise, Iāll be with you. I believe in you – you can save this world.ā
āAsterā¦ I promise, once itās all overā¦ Iāll be with you again.ā
With Zinnia saying that, Asterās expression grew concerned, but she didnāt have the time to say anything. The world felt like it was stretching, and Zinnia reached out for Aster in desperation as her dream faded out into an inky blackness.
—
Steven sat on the couch opposite to the one Zinnia was asleep on, waiting. Wallace had managed to recover the frozen pizza from the box unharmed, and Steven had already eaten his slices. Wallace was likely reading in bed, and Renee was sitting at the table nearby, watching Zinnia as well.
When Zinnia started to stir in her sleep, Stevenās posture went from slouched to alert. Her whismur Aster, who had been sleeping just above her head, quickly woke up and started nudging Zinnia.
āAsterā¦ā Zinnia groaned as she moved from laying on her back to laying on her side, facing away from Steven.
āAster? Your whismur? Sheās right there with you.ā Renee replied from the table, as she put down the book she was reading and walked towards the couch to sit with Steven.
āNoā¦ noā¦ wrong Aster, not Asterā¦ god damn itā¦ā Zinnia said, her voice sounding pained.
The three sat around in silence for a couple of minutes before Zinnia spoke up again, her voice wavering as she spoke.
āWhy are you doing this to me? Iāve done nothing but hurt you. You shouldāve left me out there to freeze.ā
Renee, with a distressed look on her face, spoke up;
āDonāt say that, Zinnia! Yes, youāve made incredibly poor decisions, but that doesnāt mean youāre not deserving of compassion. I believe in you Zinnia. Even if your methods havenāt beenā¦ orthodox, I believe we can do this to save the world.ā
Zinnia snickered a bit.
āOf course youād say that. Youāre too sweet Renee, you really are.ā Zinnia turned around to face the two on the couch opposite to her, and her smile quickly turned to an annoyed frown when she saw Steven.
āWhy. Why are you here? You have no reason to feel empathy towards me – your family has wanted mine dead for generations. Iāve been nothing but hostile towards you. I LITERALLY just tried to stab you! So why! Why are you treating me like this!ā
Steven looked concerned, and his gaze drifted to the side slightly as he tried to find the right words to say to Zinnia. Finally, he spoke up.
āIf you donāt believe me, thatās fine, but Iām not like him, I promise. I know how cruel he is – heās been awful to me, too. I want to distance myself from him and his shadow as much as I possibly can.ā Steven let out a deep sigh.
āAgain, Iā¦ canāt make you believe me, and I donāt think I can come close to comprehending the pain heās put you through, but Iām not someone who wants to hurt youā¦ I promise.ā
Zinnia huffed and sat up, putting her palm to her head with an āowā. Renee asked if she needed anything, to which Zinnia replied with āFood. Food would be nice.ā
Renee nodded and went to microwave her some of the leftover pizza that had been left out. Zinnia sighed and slouched over, putting her head in her palm.
āYaknow, if you really want the truth, I can tell you. I have nothing left to loseā
āThe truth?ā Steven asked in response.
āAbout me. About who I am. About why Iām here. I figure if anyone is even willing to listen, I might as well go off about it.ā
āSure, go ahead.ā
Renee finished heating up some pizza and handed it to Zinnia, before sitting down on the couch with Steven to listen.
And so, Zinnia told them everything with the confidence of someone who had nothing left to lose. She told them about Aster, her death, the trial and Joseph’s interference, how everyone was gone afterward. She told them about her struggles and how the prophetic dreams she had gotten gave her a newfound drive to move forwards, and how she was really just holding out until the 4th at this point.
While they couldnāt say much, Steven and Renee nodded along and gave supportive words when that could. By the end of her rant, Zinnia was practically sobbing, and she could only say one thing;
āThank you.ā
It was late, so the three agreed itād be best if they all got some rest. Zinnia was fine sleeping on the couch for the night, so Steven went off to his room and Renee made her way to the guest bedroom.
That morning, at around 6:50 am when Renee woke up, Zinnia was nowhere to be seen, and neither was her whismur. Looking around, Renee eventually noticed a piece of paper that had been left on the couch. Looking at it, it appeared to be a letter from Zinnia.
—
April 4th, 2005
4:44 am
0 days
Dear Renee (this is for you only),
Iād like you to meet me at sky pillar at approximately 10am. Itās important, thereās someone I want you to meet.
Iām not sure if you and your buddy at the Space Center have any fancy space stuff, but maybe bring that? I dunno. Just come alone.
Thank you.
Regards,
Ī
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