Chapter Text
Morning always came a bit too early, the Wingull outside already making a racket probably harassing some poor beachgoer for their food.
Steven had chosen to take this moment to go on a bit of a walk before he had to hop on Skarmory to be in one of those Arceus-forsaken Devon Corp meetings where he sure as all hell would be bored to tears by the end of it. His father insisted that he attend them because he had a reputation to uphold and Mr Stone wasn’t about to let Hoenn’s golden boy off the hook that easily, Steven had a company to run when it came time for crying out loud!
Steven hated it all, the stuffy offices, having to interact with people he honestly couldn’t give less of a fuck about ramble about office politics and don’t get him started on those old fossils that run the company that still to this day think he is still ‘just some egotistical teenager who thinks he’s at the top of the world’. He always had to remind them that he isn’t 16 anymore and hasn’t been for 9 years now but they never listen, they never do and never will.
He found himself staring out at the ocean again yearning to just leave this all behind and become a hermit in some forgotten mountain village living out his days in obscurity studying the geological formations in the area but sadly that would be impossible, he has responsibilities that he can’t exactly skirt without being scolded by the League Chairman again.
“This is all bullshit, I should be home but nooooo clearly waking up at 5:30 in the morning is clearly the best thing I could be doing with my life right now.” Steven angrily muttered to himself, not like there was anyone around to hear him and if there was he could just play it off with his signature polite smiles and go back to being a blank slate when nobody's looking. It wasn’t like he faked being happy, it's just that he hated having to put on a mask for the public because even the smallest infraction or misstep could spawn a hellish tabloid storm that he didn’t want to deal with.
He can’t even truly be himself even during interviews. It's well known that the Stone family has a very strong penchant for minerals but to Steven they’re far more than just simple flashy showpieces, they’re pieces of history that he personally values more than his own life at times. He can go weeks in a cave with no human contact just simply enjoying himself finding fossils and other precious gems to add to his collection but it always came with the downside that he would always without fail forget to eat. Last time he went caving he had come back out a week later scratched up to hell and back having forgotten to eat for two days and promptly passing out at the nearest Pokecenter.
He wishes he could enjoy the view of Mossdeep Shore a bit more with how the storm clouds are rolling in creating a beautiful scene with the rising sun painting the sky a lovely orange and blue, it would be even better with Wallace by his side holding hands looking lovingly into each other's eyes before passionately kissing-
Steven slaps himself, Focus you lovesick idiot he mentally chided himself Now isn’t the time to think about that. He had steel himself before leaving so he wouldn’t actually snap halfway through the meeting, he forgot what it’s even supposed to be for and that’s probably for a good reason.
He unclips Skarmory’s pokeball from his belt gently tossing it up watching as the giant metal bird materializes out from the sphere. She gives a loud screech stretching her wings as they let loose a light metallic clanging melody, almost like windchimes…very angry windchimes.
“I know I know, it's too early for this but Father requested that I be at Rustboro by 6:30 sharp” Skarmory gives an annoyed huff at his explanation clearly having expected to be told that she has the day off to go terrorize the local Magikarp population feasting endlessly on them.
“I’m pissed too girl, but I promise we can stop by the market after this is done and I’ll get you those Occa berries you like so much okay?” bribing Skarmory always worked and with the way that the bird’s eyes lit up at the mention of food it looks like Steven will be there in record time.
In mere seconds he was soaring through the skies watching as the water blurs below feeling the wind tousling his hair and whipping his jacket. He had opted to wear his old suit jacket today not bothering with his new one due to how bulky the cuffs were, it was much gaudier anyway since Wallace and Lisia had designed it for him. The one he chose was much simpler with the purple zigzags on the front and detachable arm cuffs that also double as a long range way to snag things that he can’t reach, it also has a zipper instead of buttons which is a nice little touch.
Steven can see Mt Pyre just to the left of him as Skarmory breezes past Lilycove City, Phoebe is probably already there making sure the local ghost types are doing alright along with the mediums and hex maniacs who call that place home. She was always a bit of an odd one, when Steven first became champion when he was 16 she had commented casually that there was always a woman that would come by every evening and would stay by him until he left Evergrande for the night. He never thought about it too much but he made a mental note to ask Phoebe more about that.
There was also Mauville, the city had expanded massively over the years now taking on a much more modern look. Wattson had gotten inspired by Kalosian architecture with the recent renovations that Lumiose City was undergoing and had gotten enough support to actually start construction. There’s much more housing and businesses opening in the city to where it has become a secondary economic hub next to Rustboro. Steven is still endlessly proud of Wattson for pulling all of that off while also being mindful of the surrounding routes and pokemon habitats, he had even constructed Zubat roosts up on the rooftops away from intense lighting which was wildly popular due to Pewter City in the Kanto region originally popularizing the concept.
Steven can see Rusturf Tunnel now flying clear over it, from what he remembers, that Wally kid that May and Brendan always hung out with lived in Verdanturf. He wonders how Wally is doing these days since the last time he saw the green haired boy he had left Victory Road in tears although he looked strangely happy. Brendan had challenged him not even a couple hours later just barely eeking out a win with his Mega Swampert but ultimately turning down the Champion title in a sudden moment of maturity saying that he doesn’t think he is ready for that level of responsibility and authority yet instead wanting to explore other regions before officially re-challenging the league to take the title.
Steven couldn’t help but to smile reminiscing on the past again, as long as those kids were out there doing their best, the future is in good hands. He can see the trademark stone-hewn buildings of Rustboro now, the giant skyscrapers of the business district, the quaint homes dotting the streets, the Trainer’s School and the Gym in close proximity. Rustboro is supposed to bring good memories back to the surface of his childhood but instead it gives him bitter indifference. He hadn’t been a bad kid or a troublemaker, quite the opposite actually but he had by no fault of his own seemed to draw the ire of all of the other children and adults around him when he was growing up. He didn’t understand why they treated him so differently assuming that it was because he was ‘one of the rich kids’ which was understandable until one particular day in class the teacher had called him something that deeply confused him, he remembers later that day asking his father what that word was and seeing him go pale for just a split second before reassuring him that it was nothing to worry about.
Looking back on it, it should have been obvious to himself much earlier. His aversion to certain noises and textures, how bad he would cry if his routine was disrupted and those periods of time where he had nothing but AP classes and just felt empty during all of them wanting to throw up and scream when he got home. It’s no wonder he was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder with all of the pressure he had piled up on him along with attending college a year early. He still to this day doesn’t understand why his father didn’t get him tested sooner, he supposes that his father just wanted him to live a ‘normal’ life but it only brought him pain thinking that there was just something fundamentally broken in him that couldn’t just be fixed with self help books and motivational TED talks.
His thoughts pause as Skarmory lands just by the front steps of Devon Corp, the massive tower extending clear into the sky as a monument to Steven’s family’s legacy. The street was already swarming with businessmen and women entering and exiting clocking in for the day, Steven is at least thankful that he isn’t relegated to being a salaryman for the rest of his life.
He quickly goes through the glass door narrowly missing another group of people. The receptionist happily waves at him and he waves back, she was always such a sweetheart which is why it pained him so bad to see her working here instead of the Flower Shop right outside of Petalburg Woods or some nice little Sinnohian bakery.
There are a couple of elevators near the back but Steven already knows which one he’s taking, he quickly swipes his ID card on the panel and it dings, the doors open up and he steps inside. The elevator is an exclusive one, it's rarely used but has become necessary ever since the Silph Co takeover by Team Rocket in Kanto years ago, it's a nice safeguard and Steven appreciates how spacious it is. He pushes one of the buttons and the door closes with a soft clunk, he looks at the mirrored wall fixing his hair and tie again so that he looks somewhat like he didn’t just come out of a hurricane.
If it were up to him he would come in with his casual clothes but as his father constantly reminds him he has a reputation to hold yadda yadda yadda just the usual spiel. The elevator dings again soon after and the door opens. Steven steps out making his way through the hall catching glimpses of the outside view through the massive windows, it’s good but not nearly as good as the one in Mossdeep or better yet Sootopolis.
The meeting room is already packed full of people… Okay Steven thought a bit strange to have this many people show up this early
“Steven, so glad you could make it!” Mr Stone ushered his son over to one of the seats “Sorry for the short notice, you know how it is.”
Steven resisted rolling his eyes at that, at least his father didn’t try to come up with some half assed excuse this time. “Don’t worry about it.”
It was boring as usual, Steven tried to at least pay attention and give his input on some new project out in Pacifidlog Town trying to expand it but the logistics around the whole thing were tricky with how rough the surrounding water currents could get and potential damages. Steven was personally against their approaches to it; the natural rock formations to the north of the town could act as far better protection from the currents than whatever one of the executives had suggested earlier.
“...Now on the topic of future projects, we discussed the possibility of reviving Project Infinitum last week. R&D are fully onboard with the idea along with investors in Galar along with Unova and Kalos, if we are able to secure enough funding we could possibly see a future partnership with Macro Cosmos.”
That was enough to grab Steven’s attention fully.
Project Infinitum.
They’re actually going to try to revive it.
.
.
.
Bastards.
All of them.
Everyone in the boardroom knew how horribly it backfired with Sea Mauville.
Everyone in the boardroom knew what exactly it took to fuel the dimensional shifter.
Yet it was made apparent that nobody except for Steven actually gave enough of a damn to leave Project Infinitum buried never to be brought back.
Hopefully his father had enough sense to shoot the idea down instead of letting it fester again.
Steven himself was only made aware of the sins Devon Corp had committed over the decades very recently, no wonder Zinnia had been so hellbent on destroying the dimensional shifter. He was livid seeing her just throw away Hoenn’s only chance at avoiding certain destruction so flippantly but he soon understood that it wasn’t just a petty act of revenge, she was right all along. If the dimensional shifter was successful in launch it would have doomed millions of innocent lives in another world. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself, he already considered disavowing Devon as a whole after seeing that hellish device in the lower levels of the labs, the device that would convert Pokemon life energy into infinity energy.
Steven had reluctantly allowed his Metagross to be used for it, he could feel the psychic backlash once the device started up and how sick it made him feel afterward. He should have never done it, he hasn’t been able to look at Metagross the same way knowing that it will likely never be able to battle at full power ever again because of its trainer’s selfish actions. He wanted to step down as champion when Brendan defeated him so badly but no, fate had denied him even that.
The meeting had concluded while Steven was mulling over everything, at least he had avoided starting a fistfight with one of the board members but still…
He sees his father sitting up from his seat in his peripheral no No NO-
“Father, I need to speak with you.” the words spilled out before he even had the chance to stop them.
“Right, right, this must be about the Pacifidlog expansion! Personally I’m against the idea all things consider-”
“You said Devon Corp would never use infinity energy again.”
The room went cold, it was just father and son now.
Mr.Stone let out a sigh and sat back down already dreading this conversation.
“I’m well aware of what I said before regarding it, however recent events have made me question abandoning the project as a whole.”
“What exactly do you mean by that?” Steven could feel a knot twisting inside him already.
“I’m talking about the aftermath of Groudon and Kyogre’s awakening son, power was knocked out across half the region for weeks along with communication service. If Hoenn’s main power grid ran off of infinity energy instead of electricity then the likelihood of a complete grid collapse would be near zero!” Mr.Stone did have a point as much as Steven hated to admit it, Hoenn’s infrastructure took a significant hit during the rampage.
“There has to be another way other than using it, right? I mean look at Alola with their solar power technology and not to mention Paldea recently adopting it too-”
“Steven-”
“Lavaridge could also be a good candidate for geothermal energy conversion-”
“Steven please-”
“We could get Wattson on board with how much he knows about these things-”
“It won’t be enough!”
Steven went quiet at that outburst immediately.
“Do you know how long it took for Wattson to even get the Mauville Revitalization Project off the ground? Steven, he has been trying to get it approved for decades now and you want to know why? The first time he tried it nearly fried Mauville’s power grid and his second attempt with solar power caused countless overheating issues and even then it wasn’t producing enough power for the city to sustain itself. Hoenn cannot go decades running on fumes whereas with Project Infinitum the integration process will take at the absolute most a couple years.”
“A couple years, father, that's wishful thinking! Where exactly will all of this infinity energy come from anyway since you’re already confident that there won’t be any shortages?”
Mr.Stone leaned back in his chair pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Steven… I tried, I really tried not to have to resort to this… all necessary energy required for Project Infinitum has been reached months ago. I talked Wattson into reopening New Mauville for the expressed purpose of reviving Project Infinitum, he had his doubts just like you but we discussed it thoroughly and he eventually understood how much it would mean for Hoenn along with any other regions that may want to adopt our new energy grid system.”
Wattson agreed to it? No, no, father had to be lying- Steven abruptly stopped that line of thought, but father never lies to me, he is always honest, but… if that’s true then… What else has he been hiding from me?
“-lease understand that this is the best for everyone involved, the trainers who volunteered their Pokemon to be used for the project were appropriately compensated and their Pokemon will be honored for their sacrifice-”
Steven shot up from his seat toppling it over in the process, it took everything in him not to scream bloody murder at his father.
“What the hell did you just say?”
“I’m sorry you had to find out like this son, if it means anything to you I can personally handle any backlash that may come from this.”
“That’s not what I meant! It’s all just a hypothetical anyway, both the Blue Orb and Red Orb are under constant watch so there really isn’t anything to worry about! I’m still champion, if for any reason something were to happen to them I can handle it-”
“Steven, I don’t want this to come off like I’m undermining your abilities but it wasn’t you who stopped Groudon and Kyogre, it was some 11 year old from Littleroot who had to do the heavy lifting. Maybe it’s time to reconsider your Champion status considering that it was said child who defeated you and the only reason why you still retain your title is because they turned it down.”
Steven was left dumbfounded simply staring at his father for what he just said.
“...is this what you meant when you told me all those years ago that you didn’t want me to be a trainer? It would be too much pressure on such a frail boy, your own words, right?”
No response.
“You’ve always called me unreliable behind my back, always showed thinly veiled disdain when I would call you after every gym badge I earned, hell even when I became champion I didn’t get so much as a ‘I’m proud of you son’ or a ‘I’m sorry for how I treated you’, absolutely nothing.”
That seemed to get something out of his father.
“You know what father, I’m sorry I even questioned you on Project Infinitum. You have everything handled, right? The last thing you need is your incompetent son coming in and ruining it.”
“Steven, you know that’s not what I meant-”
“Goodbye, father.”
And with that, Steven turned heel and walked out of the boardroom completely ignoring the voice calling out for him. He needs to leave this accursed building because clearly nobody here actually gives a damn about the ramifications of Project Infinitum. It’s not just the potential public backlash, no, it’s the environmental damage that is all but guaranteed to occur. Sure, Hoenn will have an abundance of energy but at the cost of hundreds if not thousands of Pokemon’s lives?
That’s simply not worth it in Steven’s eyes.
The Pokemon that do survive the process will be forever damaged, unable to live their lives to the fullest now being in constant pain with no treatment or cure.
Steven immediately heads inside the elevator, it feels too cramped now. Too polished. Too clean.
He has to compose himself before the elevator stops, can’t have anyone thinking that the precious heir is upset or anything.
Everything blurs for a couple minutes, he gives a short smile to the receptionist before exiting out into the open again. He vaguely remembers jogging far enough out to send out his Skarmory and leave as fast as possible before his father decides to send security out for him.
He doesn’t remember the flight but he does come to when Skarmory abruptly lands near the wooded outskirts of Verdanturf. Steven is confused, Skarmory has never done this before.
“Skarmory, what’s wrong, why did we land?”
Steven slides off of the bird, she squaks at him, clearly upset at him.
She must've felt how angry I am… Steven mentally beats himself
“I’m sorry, I shouldn't have taken off so suddenly without calming myself first. I know how you get…”
That seemed to calm Skarmory down, she still eyes her trainer knowing that he is hiding something.
“Father is… he told me something that deeply upset me and I don’t think I can look at him the same again.” actually saying that out loud made him feel sick again. “I know he means well but still… I can’t help but to wonder if he has really thought about the ramifications…”
Steven leans back against the nearest tree sliding down suddenly feeling too weak to stand.
“I need to do something about it before it’s too late…I know it’s a bit rash but I can’t just sit and act like nothing is happening!”
He sighs, Skarmory plops down beside him in solidarity. Steven considers sending out Metagross to ask about their input on the whole mess having far more intellect than he could ever dream to have but stops himself, he doesn’t want to burden his partner with this. Metagross has already been through enough as is and to drag them into essentially dismantling a megacorp would be too much of an ask.
Asking for anyone else’s input is also a complete no-go. Roxanne, she would rat on him immediately. May and Brendan, they’re children they wouldn’t understand. Any of the other champions are just as much as a no-go.
Wallace?
Absolutely fucking not.
Steven doesn’t want to ruin his chances with him by casually going up to the one man he has ever loved and go ‘hey Wallace, do you want to help me dismantle my father’s corporate empire? I also found out that he orchestrated the deaths of hundreds of Pokemon behind my back and I may have by proxy allowed it to happen, anyway do you want to make out with me?’ absolutely insanely horrible idea.
Steven has nobody else to turn to.
He needs to nip this entire situation in the bud before it gets any worse than it already is.
“Skarmory… I’m sorry but we need to go home, I have some preparations I need to make.”
.
.
.
.
The night sky is cloudy, perfect. Skarmory wouldn’t be detected with the moonlight being blotted out. Steven already made his decision, a sling bag over his shoulder with all the tools he needs, his old travel jacket is still warm as ever along with the gloves, hat and mask. He had plenty to spare no thanks to how garbage his immune system is.
If everything goes well no alarms should be tripped and Steven can sneak into the server room on the 15th floor, erase every file he can find related to Project Infinitum and sneak back out. Security cameras could possibly detect him but he knows they have blind spots, that would also mean he would have to sneak into the security room and hope no guards are on duty before disabling all of the necessary cameras.
Worst case scenario he trips the alarms on his way out and has to run the risk that he gets caught before Claydol is able to teleport him out. The psychic residue left behind could possibly be traced back to his Claydol but hopefully it should be diluted enough by the time anyone is able to analyze it.
Skarmory quietly lands far enough away to not be detected before Steven recalls her to her pokeball. It’s now or never.
The back entrance is preferable, plenty of shadows for Steven to hide in while he picked the lock. A soft clunk and the door eased open, the hallway was completely empty as he slowly opened the door trying to make as little noise as possible. No security cameras, from what Steven could deduce he could safely make it to the security room no problem.
Hugging the walls and peeking behind corners was going to be his saving grace tonight, so far so good Steven thought to himself.
That was until he got to where the security room was and saw a camera pointed directly at the door… well there goes that plan, the moment that thing detects him the alarms are going to start screeching.
Plan B it is then.
Screw the security room, just make it to the 15th floor via the exclusive elevator but first need to snag an ID card from the receptionist’s desk. The receptionist always forgets to put them back in the proper container, in any other situation he would be gently chiding her but right now her forgetfulness is a blessing.
Just stay ducked down far enough in the lobby, hop the desk and snatch a card. The landing was a bit rough but at least he didn’t make that much noise. Of course right by the PC monitor is that shiny blue card with the Devon logo on it, jackpot.
Swipe the card on the reader, the alarms shouldn’t go off considering he used the card. Just keep my head low and hit the damn button, just stay calm and it’ll all be over. 15th floor… just a little bit longer.
…DING
The server room should be the 3rd door on the right, Steven cannot afford to mess this up now. His ears start to ring from anticipation and for a moment he thinks the alarms went off. There doesn’t appear to be any cameras pointed at the server room, Steven goes to pick the lock but starts to feel a sense of dread wash over him, why do I feel like something bad is about to happen?
The door squeaks open, rows upon rows of server towers are lined up filling the room but they’re not exactly what Steven is looking for.
He’s looking for the main terminal.
That’s the key to going in and gutting Project Infinitum from the inside out, he even packed a USB pre loaded with a nice little piece of malware that will hopefully hit anything he missed and then some. The terminal is near the back, nicely tucked away and unassuming. Steven takes a screwdriver out from the sling bag and unscrews the bottom panel revealing all the USB ports along with the wires if he has to yank them out himself.
Popping in the USB immediately woke the terminal up, the homescreen lights up and Steven gets to work digging into every file he can. Delete a file there, scramble and save a file here… just a bit more-
The alarms go off.
Steven jumps at the sudden noise, what the hell tripped them?!
No, he still has time, just a couple more files, he’s so close he can feel it!
The intercom goes off next, no more time.
Steven practically bolts out the room ditching the USB, let it do more damage while security is too busy chasing him.
…DING
What?...No…No that was the elevator, how did security get here so fast? Unless…
He was so stupid.
Of course Devon security would be this fast and Steven was a fool to believe otherwise, he was too rash and too naive to go at this with a barebones plan and now he is facing the absolute worst case scenario.
“HALT!”
Damnit, those are the ones with the Manetric! Steven skidded down the hallway towards the stairs only to slip on the first step tumbling down now feeling a sharp pain in his ankle but he can’t stop now twisted ankle or not. He hobbled down the stairs as fast as he could down to the 14th floor.
He only made it halfway through the hallway before being cornered by another security guard with a sparking Magneton floating by her.
“WE HAVE YOU CORNERED!”
Steven backs up on instinct, turning around to see the Manetric security guard at their stairwell now with his Manetric out by him also sparking.
He goes to reach for his belt to hopefully still be able to teleport out with Claydol but-
BZZZZZAAAAAPPPPP
His entire body feels like it's being torn apart from the inside out, every muscle seizing and his thoughts freezing completely.
.
.
.
.
Steven doesn’t remember much after that.
He regained some degree of awareness a day later laid up in a hospital bed cuffed to the bed rail. It fizzled out again right after.
He knew he had a history of disassociating under high stress but if anyone asked him if he could even remember the past few weeks… he simply couldn’t.
Apparently during questioning he had thrown himself under the bus.
Said that he himself was the one who orchestrated the revival of Project Infinitum behind his father’s back, that he knew of all of the safety violations and undocumented experiments he had supposedly engaged in using Devon’s name.
All of the files Steven had destroyed were enough to perfectly frame himself as the perpetrator of it all, Wattson’s name had been scrubbed away from the project so he was in no danger of getting caught up in the hellstorm Steven caused. He doesn’t even remember much of the trial either, just that he pled guilty.
He was officially blacklisted from the Hoenn League soon after he was sentenced, Trainer’s License and his Pokemon revoked, his Pokemon would be under the League’s care until further notice. His father visited only once just to say how disappointed he was in him, Steven got a letter a week later notifying him that Mr.Stone disowned him.
The sad thing is that wasn’t even the part that broke him, it was trying to justify to himself that what he did was the right choice.
Steven spent weeks hammering it into his own head that he deserved this and that he was doing everyone a favor by preventing Devon from going under from all the backlash.
He gained awareness again curled up on the floor being kicked by a former Magma grunt who remembered him, they clearly wanted revenge and Steven couldn’t really blame them, he’d kick himself too.
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The tremors came about 3 months in. He couldn’t stim properly without a guard or someone else yelling at him, even when he was just rocking on his cot it was supposedly too much of a distraction to everyone else. He wasn’t allowed to hum to himself anymore no matter how quiet it was. Wrapping himself up in his blanket was also apparently one of the worst things he could possibly do, Arceus forbid he wanted a safe spot because the lights were too bright and the constant yelling were keeping him on the verge of shrieking every waking minute. He had been taken to a psychiatrist who kept insisting that he was just being dramatic, that was until staff realized that he had been mute for about a month now.
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.
He couldn’t eat properly anymore at 6 months. He already had to be hospitalized once due to this, it wasn’t for long, just long enough until the warden deemed him well enough to return to his personal little hell. He had been put on watch and eventually moved to solitary for his own safety. Steven improved ever so slightly no longer having to deal with nearly as much noise but the constant buzzing of the overhead lights nearly drove him mad.
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9 months in and his memory started to have noticeable gaps, not just his disassociating but full on repressing memories. The headaches were annoying along with the new chronic pain he had developed from not being able to move much let alone willing his body to get up most days. He slept most of the time regardless.
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.
Nearly a year in and a guard slides a letter in through the slot of the door.
It’s addressed to him.
A release notice.
All charges had been dropped against him in a recent court finding.
Devon is now in hot water along with his father.
Steven was supposed to be happy, he can go free in a week from now.
Steven wasn’t happy
He was miserable.
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.
.
“Damn, you really look nothing like your old pictures huh?”
The man working the front desk tried to joke but Steven just stared blankly at the forms he needed to sign, he wasn’t in the mood for this.
“Uh… well anyway, your things should be brought out after you sign the rest of these. Didn’t have much on you at the time anyway.”
Steven’s penmanship had significantly worsened over the past year but at least it was somewhat legible. He wanted out of this place for good. He got a brief look at himself in one of the wall mounted mirrors when he went to sit back down.
His hair is quite a bit messier than he ever remembers it being, it had also completely lost its sheen now looking closer to grey than silver. His eyes look dead especially with the dark purple circles under them, just a simple washed out blue fitting for someone like himself really. His clothes aren’t particularly remarkable either, just a simple T-shirt and sweatpants that were given to him. He had also been given a jacket due to how bad he was shaking, the person at the desk probably thought he was just cold instead of Steven’s nerves being shot to hell and back.
Steven didn’t bother thanking the desk worker when his things were given back, it’s not like he wasn’t thankful or anything, he just simply couldn’t bring himself to speak.
The sunlight hit him like a slap to the face, too warm, too bright too… everything.
He needed to get to the Devon Corp building, he didn’t want to but after having spent the past week reading his release notice over and over again he had the feeling that his release wasn’t just simply charges being dropped. He feels awfully out of place among all of the poshly dressed people around him, he caught a couple people giving him dirty looks which made him want to curl up and die on the spot.
His legs ached by the time he got there, he just needed to see his father or at the very least leave a message for him. Hell he half expects security to take one look at him and drag him off the property. Steven tries to walk up the steps but he freezes up… he can’t.
He can’t make himself move any closer.
Every muscle in his body is screaming at him to run away.
A salary worker must have noticed him staring ahead wide-eyed and hyperventilating.
She touches his shoulder to snap him out of it-
Steven screams.
He immediately bolts back down the steps and back out into the street. He can’t think right, RUN RUN RUN.
Steven stops right at the gate to Route 115 completely out of breath and teetering threatening to fall over.
I can’t stay here… everyone hates me… I’d just be a burden… it’s best if I just…
“Leave.”
His voice is too raspy, Steven hasn’t spoken more than a few words in months now and it shows.
He only has his old phone and a cheap solar charger that was given to him.
He doesn’t have any money on him.
.
.
.
Fuck it.
Steven gives one last look out at Rustboro City, the city where he grew up in, the city that he gave everything for, the city that destroyed him…
The city that he now despises…
And begins walking away.