Chapter One

The sounds of drunken men asking for another cup, the liquid being poured and the shot glasses hitting the wooden counter filled my ears as I stared into the liquid that was in my own.

What now?

I released a heavy sigh and brought the cup to my lips, tilting my head back. The contents of the liquid traveled down my throat, leaving a burning sensation behind.

Tasted like shit.

But that was to be expected, this wasn't how you drank this kind of alcohol.

The cigar between my fingers continued to burn away, producing smoke that joined the others in the air as I continued to contemplate what to do with my life.

For six years I was married to the job, cutting off any contact with the outside world. Before that, I was just another one of the normal people.

I waved at the bartender, and the black-haired man poured me another shot.

I hummed came from my throat. Hopefully, David still had that offer up for me, otherwise, I would have to camp out.

Taking out my phone, I dialed the memorized number and put it to my ear, and waited. Three rings later, the call was answered.

{Hello, this is Campbell speaking.}

His deep, gruff voice reached my ears and I took a deep breath.

"Hey, David, it's Gray..."

There was silence for a bit before he spoke up again.

{Gray? Adam, is that you? It's been two years!}

He exclaimed, and I could imagine him putting a hand on his waist and throwing his head back as he did so.

"Yeah, it's me. Hey, uh... remember that offer you made me when you left? Can I still take you up on that?"

I heard a chuckle that transformed into a laugh and I had to get the phone away from my ear for a bit.

{Of course! Just come over to Hearthome and give me a call, I have a spare room you can crash in for a few days!}

I sighed a sigh of relief. Sure I had a shit ton of money, but buying a house wasn't easy, a lot of paperwork needed to be done along with choosing a good place and it was something that I didn't want to deal with right now.

"Thanks, Dave, I'm in Veilstone right now, do you mind if I come over right now?"

After getting an affirmative response, I hung up the phone and downed my cup again, paid what I owed to the bar, and left the establishment with my hands in my pockets.

Looking up at the stars, I let out another sigh and reached for my belt. Unlatching one of the spheres that were magnetically attached to it, I pressed the small button in the middle, making the ball enlarge and snap open.

A blue light jumped out, impacting the ground in front of me.

The light grew and dissipated, revealing a giant majestic black bird that looked at me with its red eyes. The giant raven leaned down and nuzzled me with its beak and I placed my hand on the metal armor that was covering its head.

"Corv~."

It cooed as I scratched its neck.

"Hey there girl, I need to get to Hearthome to see Dave for a few days."

I muttered as she rubbed my cheek for a moment before straightening up and cooing in excitement.

"I know, it's been a while since we've seen him, I'm sure he misses you too."

I chuckled as she spread her armored wings and covered herself for me to get on.

Climbing on her back, I positioned myself securely, and with a nightly flap of her feathers, we were off the ground and soaring through the clouds.

The flight didn't take long, a half hour at the speed we were going, it was relaxing, and the wind passing through my messy hair was pleasant enough for me to calm my agitated nerves.

In the middle of the flight, I got a message. Looking down at my screen, I memorized the address and pocketed the device again.

Sooner than I would have liked, we were there, landing in front of the entrance of Veilstone City. Getting out the same ball, I pressed the button again and a red light shot out, connecting with the giant armored raven and sucking her inside the red and white sphere.

Shrinking the ball and attaching it to my belt again, I walked inside the lively place and went to the address that I memorized.

Every unexpected sound made me twitch and I had to calm myself down and remember that I was in a city where there were civilians, non-hostiles.

Finally reaching a two-story house that had the lights on, I gathered my courage and knocked.

My ears picked up the footsteps that were most certainly not David which made me wonder if he had given me the wrong address until the door opened to reveal a beautiful woman with long black hair that reached the middle of her back.

I stared down at her for a few moments as she stared at me and an awkward atmosphere descended upon us.

"Hello?"

She asked more than stated, and I was relieved because I did not know how to start a conversation in this situation.

"Uh- is David here?"

I question and she perked up as if recognizing me.

"Oh! You must be Adam, come in, Dave told me a lot about you."

She opened the door wider and stepped to the side for me to go inside and I did so, looking around awkwardly.

"Who is it, Honey?"

A burly man that was most definitely David walked out of a door that most likely led to the living room. His black hair was cut short and his green eyes met mine before a wide smile spread across his bearded face.

"Adam! It's good to see you! Man, you look worse than you did two years ago!"

He got closer and flung a hand over my shoulder and I chuckled. I know I did, the bags under my eyes, the messy black hair, and my permanent slouch didn't make me appeal to people.

"Thank you for pointing that out."

I said, rolling my eyes and shoving my hands in my pockets.

It looked like he adjusted well.

"Let me introduce you two. Adam, this is my beautiful wife, Isabella. My beautiful wife, this is the man that save my life multiple times, Adam."

He slapped my back and I lurched forward slightly, getting a giggle out of his wife, Isabella, who just shook her head fondly at her husband's antics.

"Come on! I have one more person to introduce to you!"

I was unceremoniously dragged into the living room where the TV was turned on, showing a cartoon of this world which I didn't remember the name of.

On the couch, in front of the TV sat a small child holding a plushie of a yellow rat, hugging it tightly as he looked over at us curiously.

The two of us, the small child and I stared at each other. He was too shy to say anything, and I was too stunned to even speak.

"Adam, meet Adam."

I blinked, then blinked again, and finally let out a shaky breath.

David names his child after me.