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Notes: Chapter Five's title is an idiom referring to something that is painful, challenging, or unpleasant. It is included as a chapter title because roses have thorns. There is a minor emetophobia warning for this chapter.

---

Bede went further into the woods to make the call and kept his voice down. Rose idled by the campsite, wondering if he could get close enough to eavesdrop, until Acacius called him over to help take down the tent.

"Help me hold this," Acacius said, putting a tent pole in Rose's hands.

Rose stood there while Acacius did the rest of the work. After a few moments, it was clear that his purpose here was not, in fact, helping with the tent.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" Rose asked.

"I mean, yeah." Acacius didn't cease work as he spoke. "I've been off the grid for a while. What exactly did you do that would have put you in prison?"

"Ah." Rose smiled. "I woke up a powerful pokémon that set off a region-wide catastrophe. I was very lucky there were no deaths from my actions. That's enough to put anyone in prison, isn't it?"

"Sure, but you wouldn't have been in so much trouble if it was an accident, right?"

"I didn't want to hurt anyone, but my actions with Eternatus were deliberate. I knew it would wake up, and I underestimated what was needed to contain it." He sighed. "It would have provided a nearly infinite energy source, had I been able to harness the power it generated. Galar's future would be secure for thousands of years. But, well, it didn't work out, and because I kept my intentions secret, many people no longer trust me."

"You did lie to basically everyone in Galar."

He frowned. "I hid the truth, yes. It was for the best. Many people would be facing charges along with me had I been honest to them."

Acacius took the pole from him and bundled it with the tent fabric. "But they feel betrayed," he said. "For their own good or not, it's like they weren't worthy of your trust."

"Really?"

"I'm just saying, it's probably how they feel."

Rose shook his head. "Why are you asking about this?"

"I need to know who I'm casting my lot with," Acacius said. "I mean, we're practically strangers, and both of us have a history of lying to people. Not much there to build trust on."

"You don't have to come with me."

Acacius shrugged. "Nah, I'm getting tired of camping in the woods, and there's no way Mable will let me use her hot water anymore. It's time to go back."

Rose spotted Bede returning to the campsite and decided to let the conversation die.

"The league is sending a flying taxi," Bede said while Acacius finished with the tent. "They'll hear you out. I can't promise anything else."

"Thank you, Bede," Rose said. "I'm sorry you had to get involved in this."

Bede crossed his arms and mumbled. Rose assumed it was something rude and decided not to acknowledge him.

"Remind me who the champion is again?" Acacius said. "It was Peony when I left, and last I heard it had been that Leon guy for a while, but someone else just beat him, right?"

"A new trainer, yes," said Rose. "Her name is Gloria. I met her once or twice."

"She'll be with the rest of the league," Bede said.

"Really?" Rose frowned. "She's a child."

"She's the champion," Bede snapped. "And she's the one who caught Eternatus, after both Leon and you failed."

Rose put a hand over his chest. "That was, ah…"

He couldn't finish the thought. Bede grimaced and averted his eyes.

"That's impressive," Acacius said. "Does she battle with it?"

"No," Bede said immediately. "That thing's barely a pokémon. She could never take it out in battle."

Rose looked away and tried to think about something else.

The flying taxi arrived quickly. Flapple flew down to alert Acacius, and Rose heard the flapping of the corviknight's wings not long after. The three of them stood up to meet it. Rose spotted a familiar face riding in the carriage. The former champion didn't look happy to see him.

The carriage landed, the corviknight settling on its roof. Leon stepped down and stood in front of them, his arms crossed.

Rose spoke. "Thank you for–"

Leon raised a hand to stop him. "Save it," he said. "You'll explain everything once we're at the league."

He wore a red suit instead of the champion outfit Rose was familiar with. He thought of the sponsorship logos decorating the cape; Would Leon's sponsors now be contacting Gloria, with her defeating the unbeatable champion?

Leon looked at Acacius. "Who is this again?"

Acacius held out a hand. "Used to be a gym leader, the name's Acacius." Leon didn't accept the handshake, so Acacius let his arm drop to his side. "Happened to be around to help out. You might've heard of me?"

"Bede mentioned your name. He didn't say you were a gym leader."

"Former gym leader. Misappropriation of gym funding, you know how it is."

Leon stared at him for a few moments. Finally, he said, "Just get in."

He got back on the carriage and spoke a few words to the ranger on the corviknight's back. Bede climbed on and sat next to Leon. Acacius and Rose took the seats on the other side.

As the corviknight took off, Rose spoke again. "You've come to my aid once again, Leon," he said. "I am sorry you've suffered from my actions."

"You'll explain everything to the league," Leon said. "Do me a favor and stay quiet until then."

---

The ride was tense, to say the least. Acacius made two failed attempts at conversation, and then fell silent, staring out at the landscape as the corviknight carried them to Wyndon. Budew was recalled, to avoid the risk of her misbehaving on the trip. Rose tried to stay calm and entertained himself by identifying the landmarks they flew over.

They landed just behind the hotel and were swiftly ushered in a back entrance. Rose spotted a handful of league employees who had apparently cleared the area of pedestrians; the interior of the hotel was similarly empty. "We have a meeting room reserved," Leon said. "You'll stay there until the others arrive."

"Cool," said Acacius. "Does it have a shower?"

Leon glanced at him. "We'll figure out where you're staying later."

They went quickly through empty halls. "How many are here now?" Rose asked. "I imagine this was short notice."

Leon didn't answer. Instead, he led them into a room with people in it. Rose hesitated for a fraction of a second when heads turned towards him. Raihan, Sonia, Nessa…

The champion was there.

Gloria sat in a plush chair with two of her friends carefully balanced on the armrests. Rose recognized Piers' younger sister and Leon's little brother. Marnie had a right to be at the league, as the successor to the Spikemuth gym, but Rose imagined Hop was only there due to his relation to the previous champion.

And Gloria was there. She was mid-laughter, dressed in casual clothes instead of her league uniform. She didn't look like a champion, but Rose had caught a rerun of the championship match, and knew she had defeated Leon with only five of her six pokémon–without Dynamaxing, no less. If he was being honest with himself, it stung that the newest champion was insistent on not using the power Rose had worked so hard to make part of Galar's culture, but it certainly spoke to her ability as a trainer to have taken down Leon's Gigantamaxed charizard without it.

Marnie said something. Gloria looked up. "Bede!" she called out, and jumped to her feet.

Bede gave her a half-hearted wave as she ran over. "Are you good, Bede?" Gloria asked. "How the heck did you get kidnapped? I bet she fought dirty."

"There was no fight," Bede said dryly. "She took my pokémon."

Gloria gasped. "That's horrible! Oh my God, Bede–I hoped you kicked her butt when you got them back!"

Bede cracked a smile. "Hatterene one-shot her weavile. She ran before we could do anything else."

"Ugh! She better not show her face again! I'm aiming to train a fighting type next–she has dark types, right?" Gloria raised her fists. "I'll beat her up!"

"Calm down, Gloria. She wasn't even after me."

He nodded his head at Rose. Gloria followed the gesture, her brow furrowed.

"Right," she said. "That whole… thing."

Rose took the opportunity to walk over to her. "Good to see you, Gloria," he said, holding out a hand. "Congratulations on earning the Champion title. I knew Leon was right to see potential in you."

Gloria wrinkled her nose. She didn't accept the handshake. "Wow, Chairman," she said, "you almost look as bad as the last time I saw you."

"Excuse me?"

Acacius clapped a hand on his shoulder, startling him; he hadn't noticed the other man behind him. "We got wrecked in a Dynamax den," Acacius said while Rose recovered. "Haven't had the chance to clean up since, ha! So you're the new champion?"

Gloria tilted her head. "Yeah," she said. "Who are you?"

Hop and Marnie joined Gloria while Acacius introduced himself. Marnie examined him, her eyes narrowed. "I think my brother knew you," she said. "You had a flapple, right?"

"Yep! Still have him, too. He doesn't get the opportunity to battle much anymore, now that I don't have a gym."

"Because you stole a ton of money," Marnie said.

Acacius held his hands up. "Whoa, whoa, the money was basically mine, I just used it a little more recreationally than I was supposed to."

"Dang," said Hop. "Did you buy anything cool?"

"Hey, hey!" Leon strode over from across the room and put himself between Gloria and Rose. "Everyone's here, it's time to discuss the situation."

Rose nodded and braced himself.

The meeting room had too few chairs for the number of people, though not everyone in the league was there; the only gym leaders were Nessa, Opal, Piers, and Raihan–six leaders altogether, if Rose counted Bede and Marnie separately. Gloria, Hop, and Marnie ran to grab three of the remaining chairs, leaving Rose to take the last one next to Leon at the corner. Acacius stood behind him. Bede leaned against the wall.

"So," Leon said.

Before Rose could speak, Raihan cut in with, "I think I speak for everyone when I say, what the hell?"

"Truly the voice of our generation," Nessa said.

Rose sighed and attempted a friendly smile. "I do apologize for my recent actions," he said. "I am very grateful for the opportunity to explain myself."

"Right," Leon said, glaring at him. "First thing, how did you break out of the hospital? You had Oleana's help, right?"

He took a moment to answer. In that moment, Bede spoke up. "I helped him," he said.

The table turned to him. "You did what?" Leon exclaimed.

Opal shook her head. "Don't be too hard on Bede," she said. "I was the one who suggested it."

And just like that, the attention was off Bede and onto Opal. Bede sputtered for a moment. "You didn't–"

"My exact words were, 'It would be easier to break him out of a hospital than a prison.' I'm not a fool, Bede. I knew what I was implying."

"To be fair," Gloria said, "I knew Bede was gonna do it, and I didn't stop him."

"I told him it was stupid," said Marnie. "I'm not a snitch, though."

Leon ran a hand over his face. "I changed my mind. I don't need to hear how Chairman Rose escaped. Apparently half the league was in on it!"

"I didn't know anything," said Hop, holding up both his hands. "I'm completely innocent."

"Only 'cause you didn't check the group chat until–"

"Gloria, not now," Leon snapped. "We'll distribute the blame later, okay?"

"Pardon," said Rose, "but I thought I was here to explain myself. Unless you already have that covered…"

The group fell mostly silent; Hop and Gloria were furiously whispering to each other. Leon clasped his hands together and leaned his elbows on the table. "So explain," he said. "What happened after you left the hospital?"

So Rose explained. He started at refusing Oleana's offer and meeting Mable at the energy plant, and continued to his attempt to leave her house. "I would not have escaped had Acacius not helped me," he said. "He told me that Mable and her associate were former members of the group that terrorized Kalos, Team Flare."

Leon's expression darkened. "So they chose Galar to hide out in, huh?"

"I only know of the two I saw, Mable and Celosia. I don't know if there are more."

"There probably are," Piers said. "Spikemuth caught one of them about two years ago. A woman named Bryony. She said there were three others, all high-ranking Flare scientists, but no one ever caught them."

"Huh," Acacius said. "That lines up with when Mable moved into that dump."

Piers frowned. "You knew and you didn't tell anyone?"

Acacius huffed. "Am I the one you're grilling?"

"Hold up," Leon said. "Chairman, what did she want with you?"

"I don't know," Rose said. "After Eternatus…"

The words died in his throat. He couldn't make eye contact with anyone. He had no pounding heart, no racing pulse. Was his blood moving faster? Was Dynamax energy flowing through his veins?

"After Eternatus attacked you," Leon said.

He recovered. "Yes. Mable is convinced the attack made me immortal. She intended to test that." His hand went to his throat. He pulled it away as soon as he noticed. "Acacius may have saved my life."

He glanced back at Acacius, who nodded.

"And what did she want with Bede?" Leon asked. "Just as a hostage?"

Bede answered. "She was only concerned with the connection I had to the chairman. Nothing else."

Rose straightened his back. "Mable threatens not only me, but anyone I have a relation to," he said. "I will say it plainly: I need help."

Leon lowered his head and stared at him. "And let's say we help you," he said. "We track down all the ex-Flare scientists and send them back to Kalos to face their punishments. What do we do with you then?"

"Must that be discussed now?"

"Oh, sure," Leon said. "I bet you'd love to put it off long enough to weasel your way out of consequences."

"I don't…"

Rose paused for a moment, searching for words. Would withholding information help him here? A lie? Usually he tried to avoid outright lying.

He settled for neither option.

"My lawyer advised me to accept all charges and turn myself in," he said, "and I would have done so, if it weren't for what Eternatus did to me. I want answers about why this happened, how this happened, and what it means for my body." He held out his hands. "Will the Wishing Star cease functioning in years, months, days, or never? Is it dependent on Galar particles, found only in this region and thus preventing me from leaving? Will my body age normally? Or, as Mable thinks, am I now immortal?"

He stopped to let his words sink in. No one spoke. Gloria had her eyes turned down to the table.

"I am aware of the damage to my reputation," he continued. "Had I gone to prison, I would have very little ability to negotiate research on myself; I imagine I'd be little more than a lab rat, if any research was allowed. That is why I left. If I was guaranteed agency in the studies done and unconditional access to the results, I would gladly accept all charges and face what punishment there is for me."

Silence followed. Rose folded his hands together and waited for a response.

"He has a point," Nessa said.

All heads turned to her. "Really?" said Raihan.

"I mean, yeah?" She frowned. "He's right that we don't have answers for him, and he's right that prison won't exactly help find any. I'm not the acting chair, but if the league helps negotiate a sentence, maybe we can work out a situation where he has access to a lab while under house arrest."

"House arrest?" Sonia said. "Seriously?"

"Let's be real," said Piers, "it's not like the super-rich chairman of the Pokémon League and CEO of Macro Cosmos was going to get anything more than a slap on the wrist."

"I wouldn't say that," Rose said with a chuckle. No one else laughed.

Leon slammed his hands on the table and stood up. "We deal with the ex-Flare scientists first," he said. "I'll contact the Kalos league. Piers, get someone to go with you and check out the house Mable lived in. As for you–"

He jabbed a finger at Rose, who met his eyes without flinching.

"You are not leaving this building," he said. "If you try, you can forget about any sort of negotiation. I'll make sure you go to prison and stay there."

"Understood," Rose said. "I am sorry to have earned this animosity from you."

Leon squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. "Sonia," he said, turning to her, "could you talk to the hotel staff? These two need to clean up."

Acacius let out a loud sigh. "You said it," he said, "not me."

---

Sonia returned with a keycard. "I got a room for you," she said to Rose and Acacius. "Two beds, but you'll have to be okay sharing a bathroom."

"That's workable," said Acacius. "Where is it?"

She turned her back to them. "This way. There's an elevator."

They went in the elevator to an empty floor. When they reached the designated room, Sonia handed them each a bundle of clothes and informed them that someone would fetch them in the morning. Until then, under no circumstances could they leave. Upon receiving their verbal agreement, she shut the door and left.

"Huh," Acacius said. "Guess we're stuck here. Where'd they get these clothes?"

"I'm not sure. These aren't mine." Rose shrugged. "They'll fit, at least. Do you want the bathroom first?"

"You go ahead. Like I said, I can wait."

"Very well."

In the bathroom, he took off his shirt. His clothes were filthy; Rose had no doubt the rest of him was, too. He glanced in the mirror.

The scar over where his heart had been was redder than the rest of his skin, and no hairs grew on it. His left nipple was missing. The patch of off-color flesh stretched over half his chest, almost down to his abdomen, the mark of a wound no human could survive.

He put a finger to his neck. He had no pulse.

A similarly colored scar was across his throat. When he took his hand away, rust-colored flecks came off with it. Blood, he realized. Dried blood, from when the weavile had cut his throat. It must be mixed with the grime on his clothes, too. He was covered in his own blood.

The room spun. His ears rang. Rose couldn't tear his eyes away from his reflection until nausea overwhelmed him and he puked in the sink.

A few hard knocks on the door. "Hey, you good in there?"

He couldn't answer.

Acacius came in. He looked over the scene, at Rose's scarred, filthy, bloody body, and said, "You look bad. Sit down."

He sat on the toilet lid. Acacius ran the sink until the vomit was gone and grabbed a washcloth off the rack. "Here," he said, running the faucet over it. "I'll get some of this off you. Stop me whenever you want."

Rose nodded, unable to summon the energy for words. Acacius took it as permission and started washing the grime off him.

He started with the shoulder. Rose felt droplets run down his arm and torso. Acacius rubbed off the bloodstains bit by bit, his touch firm, but not painful. At the collarbone, he paused, his hand hovering by Rose's neck. "It's fine," Rose managed to say. "Do what you need to."

"Alright," said Acacius.

He cleaned Rose's neck swiftly and moved to his chest. If Acacius noticed the scar's unnatural warmth, he didn't comment. He paused to rinse out the washcloth, then instructed Rose to lean forward so he could wipe down his back. Rose shivered, the air suddenly cold on his damp body.

Acacius stopped. "I'm not going below the belt," he said. "That should be the worst of it, though. You good to do the rest?"

Rose nodded, slowly. "I think I'm fine," he said. "Thank you, Acacius."

"Don't mention it," Acacius said. "I'll let you do your thing."

He put the washcloth on the counter and left, closing the bathroom door behind him. Rose sat there for a moment until Acacius called back: "Let me know when you're done, 'cause I do have to shower at some point."

"Understood," Rose said, and summoned the willpower to move.

After washing himself and getting dressing in fresh clothes, Rose left the bathroom in a daze. He chose one of the beds by virtue of it being closest and lay down. Acacius didn't speak to him.

Eventually, he fell asleep.