Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A blur of red slipped through the streets, nimbly running across the sidewalkless streets while carrying a satchel about its size. The Cherubi’s energy was nearly unmatched, managing to outpace some other kids who were also scrambling to get home, attempting to gain headway with attacks but finding themselves barely able to pull off anything.

Ruby simply ignored the squirming behind her, following the other pokémon ahead. With how things had gone today, she was confident that things would be even better in years to come. Her aunt had said that the future is limitless, even if she was a weak Cherubi now.

La Colina was usually considered a quiet community, a few miles off the western coast of Keldamin continent, not too far away from Umar up north and Jumpluff’s Terminal to the southeast. For summer to now be over, leaving kids more erratic and loud having left school finally, it lay an unwelcome awakening to the adults who were used to the peace of the town.

A few shouts, hisses and squawks rang through the area, but they were soon out of hearing range as the group Ruby had followed began to scatter. Mons who were closer to their houses left the cluster, leaving her with a few others who were also yet to reach theirs.

Eventually, after a minute or two more of pacing down streets and a quick diverge from the rest of the kids, Ruby found her road. She sighed happily, spotting her aunt’s house farther down, brimming with anticipation.

A row of petunias graced the front yard of the small cottage home, spreading its warmth like an outstretched hand. The residence was only slightly shabby, blending in with the rest of the neighborhood houses and made up of a fine birch wood and concrete foundation. A cozy porch sat at the door of the house, led by steps to the entrance fence.

Ruby didn’t stop to hesitate as she stumbled in to bathe her stubs in the lawn up front. Something about the feeling of home that was invigorated in the grass, nurtured and treasured by her Aunt Jemma ever since she had bought the estate, was just so… peaceful. Ruby curled over to shake her satchel off, leaving it sitting where she stood.

Yeah… after touching uncomfortable gravely roads all day, this feels nice.

She soon glanced around, having noticed the lack of her aunt expectedly waiting for her.

Huh, she said she’d be at the door waiting for me when I got home. Maybe she’s out back?

Ruby abandoned her school bag, wandering off towards the gate that led to the backyard. With the entrance slightly open, it turned out she was right.

A beautiful Lilligant stood out by the garden ahead, spreading some sort of teal powder over a row of blooming roses. She exhaled to herself, before turning around and beaming as she noticed a familiar Cherubi scrambling forward.

Aunt Jemma welcomed Ruby in an embrace, wrapping her in leafy arms and holding her close. The two giggled and smiled, having glad to see each other well after a long day.

“Ruby dear” Jemma crowed, setting her down. “How was the first day of school?”

“It was really good! I met a new friend.” the Cherubi announced. “Her name is Tori, and she was really nice!”

“Do you remember what species she is?”

“Uhm…” Ruby fidgeted a bit, trying to remember. “Cottonee! That’s what the teacher told us.”

“I’m delighted that you had a good day.” Jemma yawned, turning towards the patio as she dusted herself off. “I’ve been hard at work all day making the house look nicer. Autumn is coming along quite soon, so I may as well take leisure in tidying up.”

“Oh, cool!”

“Is there anything else that happened at school you want to tell me?”

Ruby simply smiled. “No, I don’t think so.”

With that, they moved towards the back door, Ruby quickly snatching her bag from the front yard before following inside.

~

A quick swipe came and landed, sending a feral Mincinno towards the dungeon wall before it bounced off and scampered off down another hallway. It chittered in its retreat, swishing its tail as it moved.

Mallku, the Weavile who had barely been able to see the feral beforehand, sighed to himself, checking what damage was left from its prior tackle. It was barely much, as his body had endured much more than something so feeble as a misguided self-defense, but the small bruise caused him to frown regardless.

“Another thing you should know,” Mallku instructed to the Magby left of him. “Is that you should always avoid an attack if you can. Keep watch at all times, and you’ll never have to waste funds on a visit to the nurse.”

“I’m not weak” JP argued back, shaking the lantern. “It’s not like I’m going to get killed out here.”

“Yeah well, even if you don’t it’s not going to look funny.” Mallku readjusted his scarf, spotting a worn, gray staircase in the room ahead. “Oh, seems like we’re at the end of the dungeon. Any questions?”

“Why can’t this dumb training stuff be over with?”

“You won’t be successful if you don’t know how to do it right. Plus, you’re getting tutoring from a professional. I’m trying to help here, kiddo.”

JP kept quiet.

“Well then” Mallku replied. “Let’s head back to the guild.”

They pressed down the hall, reaching the end with no ferals in sight. JP set a foot up against the staircase, and in a bright flash the Magby disappeared. Mallku followed, teleporting outside the dungeon and onto the surface above, obscured in a small forest clearing right next to JP, who was begrudgingly fiddling with the lantern on a stump. He groaned, jolting back onto his feet.

“Is the dungeon supposed to be that short?” the Magby whined.

Mallku awkwardly smiled, throwing an arm over his shoulder. “When you get older the dungeons you explore tend to be longer. Don’t worry about that too much, only focus on the here and the now.” He crouched down to JP’s height, sympathetic. “I think your Embers were pretty good against those Diglett. You definitely have potential, you know.”

“Stop spitting fake compliments” the fire type muttered under his breath.

Mallku sighed once more, readjusting his posture. The guild was less than a few miles back, so he could relieve in knowing their mission would end on a soft note, despite JP’s childish and stubborn attitude. He knew he’d have to work with kids from the start of taking up this job, yet the Weavile couldn’t shake the isolation that every client seemed to want to elicit with him. The tutoring had gone decently smooth today, but JP seemed to act disinterested the entire time, only bothering to make lame comments at random intervals or attack while completely ignoring Mallku’s instructions, in an effort to drown out anything that wasn’t over-exciting or fun.

Either he was getting old and lost his touch years ago, or this was just how younger mons saw him- old, frail soul who missed death when it should have hit him.

I guess my efforts to make things fun just don’t work with kids.

They had begun walking now, heading home the way they came, through a shorter passageway Malllku had discovered thirty years ago during his team’s first mission. While the mons who knew about would have preferred going the guild-recommended route, this path had survived the effects of distortional landscape shifts throughout the years, and was quicker minus the threat of present ferals who may have escaped the bounds of the nearby dungeon. At least his clients were never opposed. Not that they ever said anything either.

Mallku glanced back. Still toying with the frame, JP was silent, trailing reluctantly.

“Sooo… anything else you want to know about being an explorer?”

JP remained quiet.

“Hm…” Mallku rose a claw to his chin. He had been around children countless times despite never having them himself, but they never seemed to quite act the same. Quiet-but-stubborn was a new combination of personality for him. “So what do you like most being an explorer?”

JP snorted a light smog, making a hissy-like noise. Uncomplacent behavior, to his disappointment.

Mallku resorted to glancing around the forest again. As much as he tried, some people just don’t want to cooperate. Not that he was getting paid to do that, not that he was being paid to fulfill the most important part of the job in building and establishing relationships.

It went like this for several minutes, before Mallku stopped in his tracks.

He glanced to the left of him, spotting something yellow poking out of a nearby bush. He squinted at first, recognizing it as a Pikachu with an oddly thick ear, but fully became perplexed when he saw a hint light blue along with it, noticing the end of the ear devoid of black.

Mallku held up a claw for JP to stop. “Stay here. There’s something weird I think I saw.”

The Magby didn’t argue, sitting where he stood.

Diving into the thick of the foliage, Mallku stumbled close to see if his eyes were deceiving him. At first he stiffened in panic, but completely lost all senses the moment he saw what else was actually under the bush.

Jirachi, Victini and Heatran- three pokémon he had only heard in passing myths and stories, were sprawled out in the dirt, looking harshly wounded with their bodies looking less or more dead.

Just lying there idly asleep, under the cover of the foliage happening to be surrounding them.

Yep. Just lying there.

Mallku choked, blinking, trying to snap awake. He wiped a tear, unsure of what to think, or feel, or do. He glanced between the mons and the way back to JP, before awkwardly shuffling out as if he never saw anything.

He had to make some sort of action.

Mallku glanced back. From the corner of his eye, they were still there.

Well…

There’s no harm in being a little curious, right?

If they’re still here tonight I’ll make a proper decision he mused, turning tail. Hell knows what I’m getting myself into.

~

Jirachi wiped off a stain of blood on their cheek, huffing as they looked up at Arceus. The god’s eyes were judgmental, condescending and full of contempt.

Exactly what Jirachi wanted- to finally have leverage after so long, to finally show what they were capable of.

Distant shouts and sounds of moves being fired lit up the area around the two of them, raging across the Hall of Origin with intense shockwave. Despite the type disadvantage, Heatran and Victini were cleaning up Palkia quite well- Bolt Strike after Stone Edge, the water type was barely able to keep up with the speed and reaction-time of them, taking blow after blow with little retaliation.

And with Dialga already down, all was left for Jirachi to take care of Arceus.

“You know we didn’t come here for nothing” Jirachi hissed, grinning violently.

Arceus hmphed. “What are you planning?”

“Oh, you know” the steel type monologued. “Just making the world better. Releasing Darkrai and Hoopa of purgatory. Taking control of the universe after getting rid of you and your stupid cronies. Elevating Heatran to mythical status. It’s a big list.”

Arceus rose their chin, starting to glow in a yellow hue. “I figure you’ve been working hard on it.”

“Oh, you know I have.”

Jirachi cackled, before realization hit. They noticed the glow emanating, and immediately twisted around. “Wait a second, you dirty-“

Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit teleported in a few steps away, immediately utilizing their psychic powers to materialize two large, chain-like appendages out of thin air. They cried out harmoniously, and at once the appendages flew towards Victini and Heatran, locking them by their limbs. The fire types fell to the ground, groaning and mumbling shouting.

Jirachi stopped cold, realizing their mistake.

They forgot about the guardian trio.

Hissing out a “Fuck!” Jirachi found themselves victim to the psychic’s grip not too long later, the collective hold of all three outweighing Jirachi’s own push to let loose. Arceus looked down affirmatively, dry of the glow from before.

“It seems you are not good at math.”

“Oh screw off!” Jirachi glared at Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie, grunting beneath bared teeth. “You’re all a bunch of fucking idiots!”

“Shouldn’t have pushed your luck. Maybe letting you go at a price will teach you something” Arceus retaliated, backing away slowly. “If Darkrai and Hoopa learned anything, maybe will you too.”

The psychic trio lifted their grip, and in a flash of lightning, Heatran, Victini and Jirachi were gone.

Chapter Text

By now, Ruby was barely keeping track of time, what with summer seeming to last forever. Time had blurred into an awkward strip of blind movement through the dark, with college and adulthood falling down on her like weights that she wasn't strong enough to carry on her own. Even today, despite taking a day off to walk around the city with Tori, she had fallen into the same vicious cycle of expecting life to make things interesting for her, as she was too stressed to do it herself.

The park lacked interest. The same boring trees and shrubbery was merely a flavor addition to the tasteless, everyday bite of this boring city, furthered by the lack of many pokémon in the area. Ruby slipped her eyes through a narrow curtain of petals to get a better look at the world around her, only to be stung by a bold slice of summer rays that forced the pupils back within her protective barrier.

A moment of silence passed before a soft but brazen voice spoke up in return, projecting from Ruby’s left.

“Not fun. Remember that Golduck…?” Tori's voice trailed off before sighing. “Fuck- can’t remember. It doesn’t matter though does it?”

Ruby kept her legs pacing in a straightforward direction, bag strung over her side and quivering around irritatingly, making sure not to trip over herself. It was a strenuous task, what with keeping any loose thoughts as far from her focus as possible.

“This bitch randomly stopped playing her instrument and started making a scene in front of everyone. Starting mumbling shit about not getting enough credit for last month’s performance.. like.. no one fucking cares about your stupid ego we’re in the middle of practice. Something about her and being annoying. I don’t get it. She's such a prick for no reason.”

Mustering up another bit of courage from inside her, Ruby peeked through her petals once again and got a better sight of the Whimsicott next to her, for the few seconds she could.

Tori was something else. Always fashioning fearless and glamorous eyes, unbothered despite the noise around them, wielding some sort of interest and passion that Ruby ached to have herself. For not being very known or rich or famous, she took things in stride regardless, and would often be seen as a stature by those close to her, caring deeply for those happy enough to be close in the first place.

“So I left. The people there are shitty and I decided I was fed up. Marty didn’t seem so mad about it though. But, I don’t know… it still kinda sucks I had to leave that dumpster fire...”

A weak cough bounced out of Ruby’s throat before a small "Hm?" caught her attention.

Tori stopped mid-walk to glance back. “Something up?”

Nearly tripping over herself and the bag strapped to her side, Ruby halted to a stop and forcibly nodded. “Nononono.. I’m fine I think.. It’s just hard to keep up with everything..”

“Fair enough.”

Tori didn’t continue walking though. Instead, she shuffled closer to Ruby and gave her a weak pat on the back. “I’m sorry for throwing my emotional baggage on you.”

Ruby sighed. “It’s fine. We all have our problems. Don’t make yours anymore.. not.. important..”

Petals closed in tighter around the embarrassed Cherrim, attempting to wash out anything that could make her anxiety worse. But she knew it was pointless.

“I wasn’t trying to make any of us more upset, believe me. Don’t be so hard on yourself. It was… my fault after all.”

A few seconds of awkward silence passed before Tori continued their path forward. “C'mon, there’s a little bench area up ahead, we can sit down and rest.”

“Thanks” Ruby blurted, trailing quickly.

The more I stay in this place the more I dread it.

The park area was mostly empty today but it was evident that this probably wouldn't stay that way much longer. Ruby turned to her left, peeking through her protective barrier to see a red-scarfed Weavile idly sleeping in the grass, sprawled out like a street feral. Huh. Didn’t know people could just do that.

She sighed to herself before the sound of Tori’s voice caught her attention again.

“Here!”

Tori plopped herself on the first bench she saw and slouched comfortably, littering small bits of cotton near the stools of the bottom wood.

It was a weak effort to lighten up Ruby. But instead of sitting on the bench too, she was staring out in the distance, almost frozen in place. Entranced by the horizon farther away and the skyscrapers, looming like thin, sharp spikes towards the clouds.

“…Ruby?”

Tori didn’t dare move.

“Hm?”

In an instant, Ruby immediately snapped out of whatever trance she was in and proceeded to trip over herself in panic. She tumbled straight into the grass, sending her bag flying away from her and landing somewhere behind the gates that guarded around the park.

Tori bounced out of her seat and nearly tripped over herself too, rushing to Ruby’s side.

"How did it go that far-"

Why do I keep doing this to myself..

Struggling to move, Ruby croaked with a hint of desperation. Awkward stupid mess I am. Coming here was a mistake.

It took her a second to realize that she wouldn’t be able to properly get up herself unless she unwrapped her budding outerlayer. Which she… couldn’t do. Not in… public.

Tori eventually helped her out.

“You… alright?”

“Sorry you have to deal with the embarrassing mess that I am…”

Ruby sighed and peeked around. The bag was no longer strapped around her shoulder. Tori eagerly went to fetch it, finding it scattered in a nearby bush, among a stray piece of plastic.

“Here it is.”

She laced the bag over Ruby’s side very gently, smiling as she finished.

“Thanks, I guess” Ruby mumbled.

“We can rush home if it’s okay with you. It’s getting dusk soon and uhm… there’s some smoothie shops on our way back…”

For once since this walk had started, Ruby was calm. “Sounds… good.”

Tori impatiently strutted in the direction behind them, not even paying attention to see if Ruby was following. Right as she passed the exit gate, she heard a short squeal from afar. She turned around quizically, only to immediately have her vision blocked by a large, hairy figure with black stripes swirling over yellow fur. Before Tori could move, black meaty hands gripped right for her neck and squeezed her, lifting her slightly towards an exceptionally ugly face atop the figure’s body.

“Give me the bag or the puffball is having it!”

She felt the grip on her tighten to the point of tears. Breath held, muscles strained and close to collapsing. Before she could try to use a move or look around her, the sound of a faraway groan caught her attention once again.

Magical Leaf or Grass Knot? Magical Leaf or Grass Knot? Magical Leaf or- Ruby swiftly avoided a Fire Punch from the Electivire only to trip on herself backwards due to lack of vision, tumbling against the grass.

Couldn't be more inconvenient.

The Electivire ripped Ruby’s bag from beneath her and straight into his empty palm, snorting. “I expected a better sensation out of robbing chics…”

He looked at Ruby, who wriggled on the ground as she struggled to get up. “You’re just pathetic, you know that… you piece of shit?” he snapped.

Finally, the Electivire squeezed on Tori's neck a little more before dropping her and storming off. She hit the ground cold, releasing small bits of cotton and coughing as a blurry figure slipped right past her.

Ruby managed to roll herself into a sitting position, squinting to see a familiar red-and-purple figure in the distance, with a feathered head and sharp, slick claws. The same Weavile who was lounging in the grass from before was now darting straight for the Electivire.

“Drop the bag!” he yelped before jabbing the mon right in the back of his head, causing the Electivire to spin back in pain, locking eyes with him.

He clutched the bag infuriatingly, snorting with a fiery breath. “Stop trying to play superhero, weirdo.”

The Weavile clutched the scarf around his neck, revealing an explorers’ badge from his palm.

“It’s not my job to be patrolling the city and doing jobs that most police officers won’t take..” He glanced back at Ruby with determined eyes, nodding, before turning back to the Electivire with a grin.

“But I know what’s wrong and I know what’s right. Drop the bag, now.”

The Electivire didn’t move.

“Fine then” the Weavile grumbled. Electivire coated his open fist in an orange flame and burst straight for him. Curiously, the ice type leaped straight over the punch and threw a soft kick over the back, tipping the jerk over and causing him to fly right into the grass below.

Weavile crossed his arms and scoffed, looking over the pitiful mon. “Look at who’s the pathetic one now. Someone better grab a broom and clean this up…”

Electivire roared in frustration. “Raaaahh, fuck you! You stupid little shit!”

Right as he was about to get back up, a hoard of colorful leaves struck him in the back, causing him to yelp again. Weavile raised his head and smiled at Ruby, who stood atop the electric type's back, ready to fire another.

By the time he stopped whining, Weavile leaped for the satchel under his arm and threw it towards the Cherrim from afar, catching it over her side.

“Thanks for the help! I uh.. didn’t catch your name did I? Mine is Ruby…” she announced, smiling from inside her petals.

“Mallku.”

“Oh… uh, thank you so much. It means a lot-“

“Yeah no problem” the Weavile interrupted, throwing his arm over his head and smiling sheepishly. “So uh, what are you folks doing out here? Just taking a walk or..”

Ruby nodded. “Yeah, we are.”

"Nice. Uh... stay safe I guess. I'll see you... around?"

Right as Mallku was about to turn around and head out another direction, Ruby bolted in front of him to catch his attention.

“Wait-“

“Hm? Oh-“ Mallku turned around and paused. “Something else you need? I can spare a minute.”

She sucked in her breath. “I know we just met but uhm- I saw your guild badge and it made me think-“

Despite not having anywhere to really go today, Mallku felt impatient. “Sorry, but my guild is at least four towns over. I don’t think I can really-“

“Fine” Ruby sighed.

“But-“ Mallku looked at Ruby, focusing his attention for a minute before coming to a groan. “Listen, I can still give you something that might not be a shot at a guild… but still something. Something that might... pique your interest from how you acted back there, if you're the adventurous type. At this point I don't really have any necessary qualifications for what I'm doing, but I'd at least like a little more info about you before we decide anything important" he continued. "Any help is appreciated."

If Ruby wasn’t listening before, she was listening now.

Mallku looked behind him and pointed towards the horizon. “In two days… Saturday yeah? I want you to meet me at the Disarming Voices… the uh… the diner. It’s two blocks down, then take a left, not hard to find. Meet me shortly after dawn. We can talk for a bit, and I’ll tell you my thoughts. Bring anyone you want, maybe even that Whimsicott over there. Just… not more than three. This is some sketchy business. Though, we would be getting into some much tighter spots without the extra hands, so hopefully this interests you enough.”

Hell knows what I'm getting myself into in such desperation he sighed.

With that, he slipped out of the gate in a moment’s notice, across the street and through an alleyway.

The wind chilled right through Ruby’s petals as he left, forcing her to tighten them a little more. We? I mean... I'll accept the offer but... that Mallku guy seemed strange.

Sketchy business. She peeked through her curtain to look around a little more. Best to leave before someone else notices. People always have the wrong idea.

“I heard everything. So… you really want to take this offer, huh?”

Ruby glanced back. “Y-yeah of course I do. I’m just… worried. I know I can defend myself, but I'm not sure how well given how easily he took down the Electivire.”

“Nah, you shouldn't be stressed. Anyways.. I’m coming with you regardless of whether you don't want me to.” Tori patted Ruby’s back.

"Thanks, it means a lot." Ruby lingered on the idea of leaving Blubluk and the mess of a city it is, and it surprisingly made her feel a little joyful. "Thinking about it now, maybe I do have a reason. I've been feeling like a waste lately, and... maybe this trip will help me find my purpose. What I really want to do. Maybe find myself beyond being an explorer and unhappy healthcare assistant, now that I've long found I'm not good at those at all."

Tori rose a brow. "Purpose? You hate college that much?"

"It's complicated" Ruby muttered.

"Fair, I guess. "We can go back to my house now, if you want.”

“Yeah, that's fine.”

I need answers, and some information to what this guy's deal is. Also a good job in the medical field would nice. College sucks.

~

“Fuck- I can’t remember. What berry did you say you liked?”

Ruby blushed out of view, unfolding her petals as they both walked into Tori’s dusty little home. “I’ve known you for… what? Fourteen years? And you say you don’t remember.”

Tori sighed, ruffling cotton all over the front door in irritation. “Can’t you just tell me!?”

“Kelpsy. B-but Rawst is fine too.”

The impatient Whimsicott nodded and darted down the hall towards the kitchen at the other side of the house, littering more cotton as she went. “I think I have some Rawst in here” she yowled. “Gonna have to check.”

Ruby tidied her flowery little dress a little more before dropping her bag off at the front door. Now that they were alone, she had decided she would take a break to relax. And get some quality time with Tori.

She nearly tripped over herself as she walked down the wooden hallway, glancing to her left to see a photo frame she didn’t recognize, causing her to stop. A Reuniclus along with Tori sitting on the tops of a copper-built roof at night while a Sinistea wearing a blue scarf floated in the background.

When was this? I… don’t remember these people.. who is.. Before she could think any longer, Tori’s voice snapped her right out of her thoughts.

“Gonna have to need a bit of help with this! Gabi keeps putting these things on the high shelves and forgetting I exist!”

She darted straight for the kitchen, finding Tori uncomfortably reaching for a cabinet while stray cooking ware littered around her. Ruby shifted forward to move her stubs under Tori’s feet to boost her up, giving her enough height to grab a few Cheri, Rawst and Oran berries from the top cabinets.

“Thanks..” she mumbled as Ruby let her down. “Next time I see Gabi I'm chewing her out.”

Ruby nodded. “Hey Tori?”

“Yup?”

“What’s with the frame near the front of the house? The one with the Reuniclus and Sinistea?”

“Oh… yeah, Gabi recently evolved two weeks ago from a Duosion. Sorry I didn’t tell you, she’s been out of the house with her new mentor so long that I must’ve forgot.”

“The Sinistea?”

Tori flicked a switch on the oven before glancing back. “Yeah uhm… Raya. She’s an old friend of Gabi’s. She recently had a big blowout with her old boyfriend, so she was just spending the night with us.”

She smiled a little, guilt draping over her body. “Sorry we didn’t invite you… I know you had that test and everything and I wasn’t one to bother.”

Ruby frowned sympathetically. “No no it’s fine.”

The two of them stood in awkward silence as small embers started to rise underneath the pan of berries. Slowly, they began to cook and shrivel as the heat roared from beneath.

Breaking the tension, Tori reached for a water cooler underneath a cabinet. “I’ll go boil some water. Can you go grab one of those tiny little cooking spoons and start moving the berries around a little?”

Ruby sighed. “I can do that.”

She’d have to trust Tori’s cooking expertise on this one. Quizically, she pulled open a drawer labeled “Silverware” and was surprised to see everything but spoons inside.

Meeting Ruby’s confusion, Tori coughed a little. “A fork should be fine. Gabi is coming back tomorrow, she can help me handwash the rest.”

A few minutes passed by of Tori cooking and directing Ruby to get or move around certain things, quieted by an air of silence lingering from an open window. After finally finishing the rest of it all, Ruby picked the conversation back up.

“Hey… Tori. You think Gabi might want to come along with us to find more about that Mallku guy’s offer?”

“I dunno maybe.”

“Gabi has been trying and failing to get into a guild for more than four years. And I… guess I just have this small hope that maybe this offer is close enough to what she’s looking for?”

Tori sighed and glanced back. “We barely know much about this guy, give us all a break. Hell, this guy might be trying to manipulate us into something worse than we could imagine.”

She crossed her arms. “But I still think you should talk to her. Take the shot.”

“Right, thanks.”

Chapter Text

The warmth of Solgaleo’s rays combed its light over the city, pouring through the cracks and weak points of dimly lit buildings, shying away from touching anywhere near the sewers or hoodlum-based refuges, those of which had already recieved their fulfilling darkness during Lunala's daily wake.

As if fighting back from the heat, a large gust of cold wind striked from the west, toppling over a Dolliv who stood quietly on the asphalt shingles of a small college dorm house. Unable to hold their ground, the flurry knocked them head-first onto a student’s open balcony, disturbing the guests in that same room shortly after and ruining their morning.

Hearing the sound but not paying attention to it, an anxious Cherrim moved through her small wooden room a few floors below, glancing back and forward to check if the other three students had woken up yet. But of course not, because there is no point in waking up early on the weekend, is there?

Ruby shuffled through her cabinets, pulling out a moldy Totter Seed she couldn’t quite remember ever collecting. Regardless, she stuffed it in her bag. If this guy gets into anything funny, I’ll at least have something to fight back with.

As sunlight slowly started to creep through her window, she folded her petals and strapped the bag around her side, walking past an obnoxiously snoring Skorupi towards the door.

When I move out, roomates will be nothing but a bad memory she reassured herself, kicking down the door and slamming it shut a few seconds later. She ushered herself to slip down the stairs at the end of the hall, shuffling with haste as she approached the stairway. Ruby tiptoed quietly, curious eyes awaiting the day through their small window of sight. A good reason to enjoy the morning. No one’s up yet.

She sighed and burst through the doorway, jumping slightly at the bright lights decorating the reception hall of the bottom floor.

A drowsing Morgrem sat behind the reception counter, writing a check on a small slip of white paper. Despite being concentrated on their work, they quickly noticed the Cherrim trying to slip out the doors without saying hello.

“Ruby!” he shouted, causing her to nearly trip, “top of the morning to ya! Didn’t expect to see you up so early, eh?”

Ruby sighed and turned around, walking back to the reception counter. “H-hi Curtis.”

The blunt mon grinned widely, revealing a charred left tooth. “Ay, ye been payin’ taxes much? Wouldn’ be expectin’ such a sweet girl such as ye to be diddlin’ alongside big ‘tina. Especially wit’ all t’e hoodlums in this city..”

“N-no I’ve been paying.” She straightened herself a little, trying to fake any bravery she could. “Plus, I don’t have any interest in you. I th-thought you knew that.”

Curtis chuckled. “Not today, eh? Guess ye must be upset.”

“P-please just move on.”

“Fair 'nuff.”

He turned around to shuffle some papers, turning to grab another stack. Then, he proceeded to sit on his desk, proclaiming his dorkiness to the world with a knee on the table. “Ah pardon me for t’is but eh.. ye much of a gossip person? Sorry if yer not, I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“N-no it’s fine go ahead.”

Curtis cracked his knuckles. “Three days ago a Growlithe kiddo got sellin’ illegal seeds on campus. Little jerk even tried to kill me, ended up wit’ a charred mouth and some burns around t’e lower end.”

He held up his left hand, revealing a dark-red bruise near the palm. “I don’ rem'mber what seeds t’ey were. But I know when bad is in front of meh and I called security right 'way.”

Ruby nodded as Curtis stared intently at his bruise. “You got extra pay as a reward right?”

“Nah. Di’nt get nothing. Folks first thought I was just tryin’ to cause mischief and target inn’cent students. That’s what a reputation does to yeh. The Pawmot lady up front managed to defend meh shortly aft’r; I owe ma job to ‘er.”

Right. Dark types always get a bad rep. Ruby frowned internally, before thinking of something to say. “Anyways.. W-wasn’t there some sort of news about human-based renovations around camp? I don’t read up on this stuff so I know very little.”

The Morgrem smiled at her, perching himself on the desk with a grin. “Hell yeh they did, girl. That big company sponsored us and got a bunch of former humans to create some nice lookin’ decorations from their world. Ye’d never believe how much’a difference it makes.”

Nervous but happy, Ruby smiled. “Oh, that’s nice. Funds are still rough, aren’t they?”

“Yup. But what’s special about us compared to ot’er colleges is we got intelligent folks who actually ben’fit society and make life a bett’r place.”

He winked at her, but Ruby dismissed the flirting quite quickly. “I see ye got that bag on yeh. Means ye goin’ somewhere right? Where to?”

“I got a meeting at a café somewhere in the city. I d-don’t remember the name but I know I remember the location.”

“Stay safe, girl. Can’t have such gorgeous mons like ye goin’ out and killing ‘emselves.”

Ruby huffed, turning to leave. One more second with this guy and I’m out of here.

Curtis crossed his arms. “See ye ‘round. I’ll get yer heart eventually, ye hear?”

She quickly darted out the entrance door, embracing herself in the morning sunlight, smiling at the lush, college garden that had recently felt the effects of a light drizzle. Ruby peeked around despite her limited vision, determining that she would only have to walk a straight line to get to the college gates.

As she paced down the sandy road leading north, she noticed a few neatly placed gardenias along the paths, with a few graves relating to pokémon who had died on campus or were connected to the college in some way. The sight felt... strange, at most. Did humans really just… burry their dead loved ones? Sounds painful to think about.

Eventually she made it through, sighing in acknowledgement that there would still be more to go. A Spidops along with a shorter-than-average Combusken guarded the gate, wearing a pinkish-red cape around both of their necks.

As the guards let her through the silver gates and into the streets, the Spidops spoke up. “Be back by dusk, don’t let anyone else in. You know the rules.”

“Yes sir.”

The gates slammed behind her, causing her bag to swing in the other direction and nearly let go of Ruby’s side. The shy Cherrim winced at the sound, but regardless stood as tall as she could in an effort to prove to herself that she could be brave.

Ruby opened her petal curtain a little more, taking in the sight and feel of the city.

The roads were a straightforward black path of smoothened and painted gravel, something that most former humans would have found strange due to the lack of “sidewalks”. But the dullness of the roads were what allowed pokémon of all sizes to pass through, with the occasional street entertainment or food stand being awkwardly plastered in the middle of it all.

Blubluk. Blubluk City. The fourth best place of business on the entire continent. A continent that… lacked a name unlike every other in the world, often due to the disagreements across cities of what it should be called. But the stupidity of that statement was what it made it stand out.

Blubluk was not much for large companies. At most, there was one big corporation while several thousand others loomed below it hoping to one day overthrow the crown. But.. most of these businesses barely lacked any flavor. Some were just the same logo or wares pasted over a million times over with a different name and different owner.

The idea of skyscrapers was barely new and only funded a hundred years ago by former humans, but with enough poor money management it ended up littering the city like berries in a stew.

Ruby took a moment to remember her path before darting right down the closest street, getting slowly more anxious as her legs led her right into a crowd of pokémon. They were yelling… something. She couldn’t quite recognize it, especially with the blood roaring in her ears and concerns of another breakdown scattering along the wave of her thoughts.

The electric tram was only a few blocks away, I just need to hold it in a little longer. She held her breath, weaving around city mons only to bump into someone near-immediately from behind.

Before she could voice an apology, a fervent but shaky shout interrupted her.

Ruby turned around and locked eyes with an Ampharos holding a sign with Unown-based lettering. “Ay Cheri legs, are you feeling out of it lately? Need some interest, or entertainment? Wouldn’t you be interested in a high quality comedy play about a Gurdurr who dreamed of being a pop sta-“

She ran as quickly as her legs would allow. A Porygon-2 yelling about their favorite new berry stand was knocked back into an Abra behind them, both screaming threats only to realize she was gone.

She barely managed to escape the crowd through careful maneuvering, tumbling right into a random bed of gardenias next to the road. Quickly, she leapt back onto her bruised stubs and surveyed the grass around her.

I.. survived the storm. Phew. The crowd was still in its same spot before, but as she looked around slowly she could see that it was more than just the area near campus- it was everywhere. To the point where most of the businesses were either closed or part of a very few that decided to be open.

Before she could make any more movements, a deep mechanical buzzer hummed behind her.

Ruby turned around, surprised to see the tram afar. A floating remnant of a human-made bus, as it had seemed, with a gray coat painted over the sides and all wheels removed. Instead, metal hooks were attached to the bottom, with several pokémon such as Magnemite and Klang at each of the hooks carrying it through some sort of electric wave or telepathy.

A Magnezone with a blue cap over their antenna floated ahead of the tram’s front. “You need a ride? Bzzz, 200 poké a ride.”

“O-oh yes, thank you.” Ruby squatted down to dig some cash out of her bag, opening her petal outer layer a little so that her small stubs could reach in. By the time she had dug enough out, the Magnezone’s magnets quickly sucked it up and dumped the money in a small sack attached to the front of the tram.

“Where to, zzzz?”

“The Disarming Voices. It’s u-uh, a café near the northeast section of the city.”

“Right away, zzz!”

Ruby hopped into the tram, immediately realizing the lack of a door, along with the lack of any sort of windows all together. The only other two mons in the tram, an Aipom and a Grotle, gave her weird glares as she took a seat near the front.

Two of the Magneton buzzed nervously. “S-s-zirr, h-h-how do we deal with the protests? We barely managed to zzcrape b-by the last trip..”

The Magnezone at the front laughed, spinning their magnets wildly. “Don’t be afraid to z-zcare them, if it means using your electricity. Z-z-zivilians will move away just fine, zzz. Anywayzzz, onward!”

Ruby held her breath as the tram started to levitate upwards.

~

The ride felt like a blur. Enough time to think but not to nap.

All chances at that sleep were crushed when the Magnezone spoke again, alerting everyone within the tram and surrounding area with their spiky but magnetic voice.

“Bzzz! Here we are!”

Ruby bounced off the exit of the door, reassuring her bag as she looked back at the steel types holding up the tram.

“Thank you!”

“No problem!” rang the Magnezone. “Alright budzzz! Off we go!”

The tram floated off towards a random angle under the mon’s directions, leaving Ruby alone in the streets of the city.

Like before, the streets here were crowded, too, but much more extreme. A few small gardens were plopped in obscure areas, some being in the middle of the street, while others were placed alongside the edges of the road.

Despite the lack of any city guides, she knew where to go in this haze of a land like this. Groups of pokémon were everywhere, behind her, to the left, and now swarming towards the trail of empty space left by the tram.

Is this supposed to be a common occurrence?

Much to her hesitance, she darted right into a random section of the crowd, moving past a Litten and several other pokémon she could not recognize. Still, Ruby kept her eyes to the sky to track the buildings around her, moving in accordance with the ones she recognized, shuffling awkwardly.

A few minutes of this went on until she ran into a wall of pokémon twice her size, smacking into a bulky, black body with a pink head and a white muzzle, who shouted something to a mon next them, of which Ruby struggled to make out.

As she tried to squeeze right through them, she felt herself get kicked in the stomach before bouncing right onto the ground sideways beneath her bag, getting constantly pummeled as if she was being beaten into the ground by massive hooves.

Bones compressed, blood rushing, breath tightened- it was all too much for her.

Until it stopped.

~

“H-hey, you okay there?”

…

“S-s-sorry you got crushed, but I managed to save you, r-right? Com’on, please be alive?”

Huh?

…

A moment of silence passed before Ruby felt her consciousness return, forming into an energy that caused her eyes to snap open. Desperately, she used her weakened arms to open a gap through her petals, finding herself in a different area than she remembered last being in.

Sun to the sky, somewhat cloudy but full of airiness. Both sides, beds of gardenias.

“O-oh thank God. I thought you were dead there. I’ve never seen something like you, so it’s funny to at least know you’re alive, ahaha!”

The warmth of that voice. Something she didn’t recognize but felt comforted by.

Her outer layer protected her from her bones getting crushed.. didn’t it?

“I-I’m not the most medically trained professional, but I kn..know some stuff!”

The bright smile of a friendly Chimecho floated over her, blocking out some of the sunlight but returning it with some light of her own, through her comforting presence.

“I managed to heal you up through my move uh… Heal Pulse. I think that’s what they call it. S-sorry if it goes by a different name around here… I’m new to the city.”

Ruby pulled out all her strength to say a word.

“H-hi.”

“Oh, we speak the same language, what a relief!”

“Wh-who are..”

The psychic type moved from her spot, using some sort of telekinetic force to help the Cherrim out. “I… I’m Alice! I’m a Chimecho!”

“I’m… Ruby..”

“Oh, such a sweet name! Does your species eat uhm… Oran Berries? My old medical teacher told me they work on nearly every pokémon.”

“Y-yeah. S-sorry for not…”

“N-n-no, please don’t cry!” Alice started to sweat a little before pulling a blue berry from a medical bag out of Ruby’s vision, levitating it down through her small opening for her to eat.

As she consumed it, Alice laughed nervously. “You won’t believe how many inconveniences you’d have to dodge…”

Through bites, Ruby was smiling.

“Oh!” Alice turned around, glancing back in forth. “So what pokémon are you? You seem to be a uh… grass type of sorts, but I don’t know for certain.”

“Cherrim” Ruby mumbled, finally finishing her food.

As strength seemed to flow throughout the mon’s body, Alice simply looked at her curiously. “O-oh, I see. What a lovely species!”

“I guess. Oh and uh.. thanks. I know words can’t describe feelings much, but that really did mean a lot…”

“You’re welcome!”

Ruby blushed behind closed doors, finally sitting up.

“S-s-so where are you off to, stranger? Got places to go?”

“Yeah… I got a meeting with a pokémon somewhere in one of the diners around here…”

“Okay” Alice replied, her eyes and smile relaxing. “Ah, stay safe then! I really hope we see each other again! And… hey, maybe we will!”

“I hope” Ruby mumbled. She glanced around. Her satchel wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

“Thanks- oh! Your bag, my bad!”

Alice teleported the Cherrim’s satchel around her side, nodding as the grass type slowly walked off from the garden around her and back into the greyness of the city.

“Have a good day!” she shouted.

“You too!”

Like that, I’m back on my way Ruby assured herself, feeling the sunlight get more intense as she headed back through the crowds, taking mental notes to not get run over this time. Can't let myself get stopped by inconveniences.

Through careful weaving and sticking to the sides of the streets, she eventually found herself in a shaded spot with multiple other diners, alongside the one she was looking for, right in front of her. A hazel colored building with magenta doors and purple-stained windows to the left and to the right. A sign, the same color to that of the windows, hung proudly over the building, fashioning a few colorful blotches underneath the text.

“Here I go” she whispered, stepping towards the front door of The Disarming Voices. Before she could even reach the door, it slammed open as a Sawk and Dedenne burst outside.

“Sorry, in a rush” the Dedenne slurred, panting as they disappeared in a chase against a mon twice her speed. They scurried out with haste, Ruby taking the opportunity to jump inside while the door was still open.

She barely managed to get in before it shut behind her.

Huh. Weird folks.

Before she could move an inch, a large gust of cold wind bit right through her protection, causing Ruby to cough without notice of the Naclstack waiting ahead of her.

“Ye come here to eat or…?”

“Oh! Yeah my bad-“

The Cherrim snapped out of her thoughts and peeked through her curtain to look around the diner. Thankfully, the pokémon sitting at the wooden tables, as few as there were, did not notice her. Colorful lights in shades of purple and pink lined the ceiling, casting a soft but eerie glow around the edges.

What did I come here for? Right, uhm..

“Guurl, you did not just come into a diner just to stare around and waste ma time!? Ye gonna eat something or do I need to kick your sorry ass out?”

The Naclstack was furious now, wearing a purple apron that Ruby didn’t originally notice. The two stood in a mental standoff, until a surge of bravery shot straight into her.

“I-I’m here for a table under the name of Mall… Ma.. Mallku. He’s a Weav-“

“Right this way” the rock type hissed. “Make a mess in here and it’s coming out of your ass.”

Ruby said nothing, following the mon as she led her to a table near the back, where a Weavile, wearing the same red scarf and egg-shaped badge from before, sat sharpening their claws impatiently.

He immediately noticed her, getting out of his slouched position and forcing a smile. “Hey! Good to see you! Take a seat.”

The Naclstack walked away angrily as Ruby plopped down on a spot across from Mallku but still close enough to chat. The leather underneath her was… soft, even if she could only slightly feel it through her outer layer.

“I’m surprised to see you early” he mumbled, smirking.

Ruby widened her gap a little more so she could get a full vision of him.

“I-It was a rough trip here, I assure.”

“You didn’t come here alone, did you?”

Ruby sighed. “N-n-no… Tori and uh.. a friend will be here soon, they live a bit farther away, plus Tori likes to sleep in and all.”

“I see.” Mallku nodded, sneakily taking out a glass with some sort of pink liquid from beneath the table.

The room was awkward for a few moments. Ruby, still taking in the sights and smells of the diner, was too afraid to say anything while Mallku was simply waiting for her to speak up.

Her eyes fell onto Mallku’s drink before he finally broke the silence. “You want some?”

“N-no I’m good” she replied in a trembling voice.

“Fair enough.”

Chapter Text

“Aw, no point in anything if we’re just waiting around here for nothing, right?”

“H-huh?”

Mallku looked her dead in the eyes. “You’ve signed yourself up for something much more difficult than you could ever imagine, you know that?”

“What are y-you rambling about now?”

“I want to talk” he groaned, pushing his mug to the side. “Get to know you better, maybe? I’ve been waiting for at least an hour here for you and I don’t want to wait twice as long waiting for someone else…”

“Okay” Ruby sighed. “Should I ask first question?”

“Of course. But for each question you ask me I have to ask you one back. Sound fair?”

“I guess.”

“Great! Go ahead.”

She sat there for a few seconds staring at the window before returning to revisit Mallku’s trusting glare. “So… you s-s-said your guild wasn’t around here?”

“Yup. I haven’t been there for at least a year though.”

“Oh, so you live in the city?”

“Correct” he announced, before slamming his claws on the wooden table. “Now! My turn!”

Does he always have this much energy?

“Who’s this other person you said was coming?”

“O-oh” Ruby slurred, sweating from within her petals. “We call her Gabi. She’s a Reuniclus, she’s a really good fighter I think.”

Mallku made no noise but smiled a little brighter. “Anyone else you brought?”

“N-nope. Just myself, Tori and Gabi. We had another friend named Coni but she said she wasn't interested..”

The more she talked, the more Ruby got nervous. But he was a good listener, and he seemed passionate with the way he returned discussion. “S-so my turn now?”

“It’s two for two.”

“Oh okay… so, are there any questions I’m not allowed to ask?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

“Fair enough” Ruby sighed. “Going back to the guild discussion from earlier, I noticed you had a weird badge… with the weirder flying egg...?”

“The same one I’ve had since I was a young Sneasel” he announced, some sort of sweet nostalgia flowing through his words. “My guildmaster was a Ninetales, a humble but extremely intelligent mon who helped me out during the worst of times…”

“Oh. Are you still on g-good terms…?”

“Yep. He’s got a few more hundred years left in him... at least, his words not mine. I may not live as long but I know I at least want to see him before I die. Tell him how I’m doing..” his voice grew more shaky, his eyes falling to the window. “Tell him I’m alive….”

Mallku chuckled a little before snapping his eyes back to Ruby. “S-sorry I got all nostalgic on you” he mumbled.

“N-no it’s fine. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

The way Ruby was so caring for him.. it reminded him of some sort of feeling that didn’t exist. A piece of history or memory floating within him that wouldn’t show itself. Something there, something in the void… with a blank face..

“M-Mall? You there?”

“Huh?” he arose from his drowsing state to find her waiting patiently in front of him. “Did you just… call me Mall?”

“I’m s-s-sorry if it’s too personal for you” Ruby blurted. “I just like to call close pokémon by a shorter nickname, it just helps m-me remember easily. It’s the same with Tori and Gabi…”

“Oh, I see” he nodded, with less concentrated eyes and a nervous grin. “Next question, maybe?”

“Whose turn is it?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot” Mallku groaned.

“Sorry Mall… I m-mean Mallku.”

“N-no it’s fine.”

The two looked at each other nervously, locked in an awkward stare. “S-so what no-“

“I was thinking we could-“

Mallku sat up. “O-oh sorry for interrupting you.”

Before Ruby could say anything, the loud sound of a bell interrupted them both.

Gabi and Tori finally arrived, thank Shaymin.

Mallku immediately turned away from Ruby to see who arrived. A Whimsicott and a Reuniclus followed a Naclstack towards the table they were both sitting at, chatting lightly as they talked.

The Reuniclus wore a stringed necklace, with a pink gem replacing the spot near the pendant area. The two of their eyes’ reflected each other, one focusing intently on the environment around them while making an occasional sarcastic or smart remark, while the other rambled non-stop, not even paying attention to scattering dust or cotton bits coming from their back.

They made good chemistry. Ruby may have known Tori longer, but Gabi got along much better and was more likely to meet her outgoing and extroverted energy.

Ruby hated that.

There were some moments when she almost felt... jealous of their friendship, even if the three of them were all friends. Like she would lose Tori if she kept being quiet around her, like the fairy would... move on, without her, if words were ever so worded wrong, like the tiniest slip would be the death of her.

“Are these the pokémon you were talking about?” Mallku whispered.

“Yeah..”

“Oh dear. You were right, these people are weird.”

“What do you mean?” Ruby replied, only to get her gaze rejected by Mallku’s avoidant eyes.

“Popular people” he whispered, leaning in and holding his left hand to his face. “Strange creatures, they are…”

Mallku chuckled as Tori and Gabi made their way towards their seats. Below the view of the table, the Naclstack grumbled. “Order something or leave.”

As the mon wandered elsewhere, Mallku spoke up. “Took you long enough.”

Gabi huffed. “Protests were out of our control.”

Tori nodded in agreement, before taking the spot directly next to Ruby and yawning. “It’s been a while since I’ve been with you.”

Ruby blushed as Tori smiled right into her soul. “Th-thanks for coming.”

“You know I enjoy it.”

Mallku said nothing as Gabi squeezed right into the seat next to him, causing him to shift towards the window and pushing the table forward slightly. With the four of them at the table now, Ruby couldn’t hesitate but to get nervous.

“Alright, spit it bucko” Tori threatened. “If you got words worth anything you better-“

“Chill” he hissed, holding up his palms to get them to stop. He quickly forced them into his lap a few seconds later. “Anyways, for the record, no I am not buying anything. I got limited money and I need to show y’all something later.”

Gabi sighed, crossing her arms. “Fine then. Let’s make this quick.”

“I’m glad you agree.”

Tori crept a little closer to Ruby. “So..”

“I said to chill.”

“Fine.”

Mallku simply turned his gaze away from Tori, now focusing on Gabi. “First off, I need to know, how much has Ruby told you?”

“Not much” Gabi mumbled. “Something about some sort of opportunity that’s better than a guild could ever be? Sounds like a lie but I won’t judge.”

“I see.” He pulled out his drink from beneath the table and sipped a little, causing Tori to look at him funny. “And I assume you all have a good idea on the degree of situation on which this is?”

“You barely told us anything. Stop acting like we’re the fools here” Gabi barked.

“Well, thanks for coming anyways.”

He glanced around the table with an adamant smile, meeting the confusion of the other three pokémon. “Here’s the gist: Before I even spill anything secretive, I want you to know that this opportunity is most likely going to require you not only travelling to a whole other continent entirely, but also..” his voice grew deeper as he spoke. “…battling mons twice your size.”

Gabi squinted. “Listen man, I’ve survived a landslide and graduated at the top of my class in dungeon-crawling expertise. I know stuff.”

Mallku merely smiled, taking another sip. “I’ve been a seeker for more than forty years. Looks like we both barely know each other.”

Ruby leaned down to Tori, whispering. “This guy scares me. But I don’t exactly know if I should feel afraid…”

Tori nodded, making no response.

“Well?”

The two of them sat up straight, finding Mallku to be staring at them both with interest. “Are you both still going to take a step forward?”

“Hell yeah!” Tori exclaimed. She held up a hand, shaking it aggressively. “This city has been getting really boring, I could use some adventure.”

She turned over to Ruby, shifting towards a pleading frown. “And you’ll come with us right?”

“Sure, s-sounds fun” she croaked.

“Great!” Mallku crossed his arms. “This is a dangerous expedition, life-or-death even, so I at least want to know you are all somewhat prepared for what’s to come.”

Oh. Life or death.

“But the rewards a-are worth it at least, right?” Ruby mumbled. “You mentioned expedition.”

“I guess. If you get anything good on your own, it’s yours to keep. Unless we run into problems and we desperately need you to sell it.” He smirked. “But that won’t happen. I have at least 100,000 poké saved up for all this. Don’t worry about costs or anything; but know that we will at least require a bit of assistance.”

“We?” Gabi queried.

“You’ll see. There will be a few other mons coming along with us.”

“Huh?”

“I think ‘few’ is an understatement, but it’s fine.” Mallku mumbled. “None of you are afraid of committing mild law-breaking or crossing bad terrain, right?”

“How bad?” Ruby shook a little at the thought, trying her hardest to not think too much.

He turned his gaze back to the rest of the diner, the other direction of the window. “Harsh desert, some mountain and maybe swamp if we get unlucky. We… haven’t fully charted the course.”

Gabi and Tori looked at each other, waiting for a response. Instead, Ruby spoke up.

“That’s fine. Should we worry about anything regarding dungeons or medical supplies?”

“Dungeons? No. If you have some Oran Berries you shouldn’t have to worry. We have a mon with some experience in healing wounds and the like, but I don’t think they have a degree in any of it. I know they’re trained by a professional healthcare assistant, but not much else.”

So I'm not the only one Ruby thought to herself.

He stretched a little before letting out a sigh. “Any other questions?”

“Nope.”

“Good, that’s exactly what I need to hear.”

Mallku leaped on to the table and slid off, landing directly onto his feet. “Follow me if you’re still interested and aren’t willing to step back. Don’t expect to me to slow down though.”

With that, he zipped towards the door, knocking over a chair as he went and darted straight outside. An angry Volbeat wearing an apron cursed at him as he left.

Tori glanced back at Ruby. “Well?”

She nodded. “Let’s follow him.”

The both of them raced out of their seats, Tori getting a headstart and headbutting the door open while Ruby scurried behind.

Mystery lies ahead, it seems.

~

The sky was slightly cloudier since she had last stepped outside. The summer wind had died down, however the protests did not. It was a scary realization as she ran right into the back of a steely hide, spraining her forehead area a little and bouncing back.

She looked up, meeting the face of a pissed Copperajah.

“S-sorry…”

The mon slammed its hooves towards her, barely missing and instead pounding into the heel of a Scizor, who proceeded to smack the quadruped back.

She could hear the muffled sound of a fight going on somewhere in the crowd, causing her to shrink away and walk through another subsection of the throng, determining that she had turned left of the restaurant. After a minute she managed to escape the claustrophobic area, ending up in an alleyway she didn’t recognize.

Ruby looked back, only to see a large, white and bipedal pokémon blocking the small gap that she had escaped from.

Guess I’m gonna have to find my way out of this now.

A long, shaded area full of rundown business and trashed streets, a sight she had only thought could be possible in stories. But no, this was real. This was the reality of every city or popular hotspot to ever be known.

She took a few steps forward, then a few more, looking over the rundown shops and forgotten buildings to her left and to her right. There’s a good chance that I could jumped at any moment.

She glanced back to her feet. The satchel was still with her.

Then Ruby stopped. She held her breath and stopped moving, noticing a puddle in front of her.

She crept forward, peeking with curiosity. A blurry, greyed reflection of her glanced back, body tilting lightly in the wind to get closer. A small gap in the middle of her front, just above the straps of a brown bag arched around her side. And the gap, despite how hard it was to see, hid eyes.

But they weren’t her eyes.

They were red and bloodthirsty, screaming terror.

She shrieked and jumped back, thudding onto the concrete and causing her bag to crush under her back.

Time blurred around her, fading in and pouring darkness right into her vision.

She could feel a heartbeat, pounding hard.

Silence. Two seconds passed and for a moment it felt like it wasn’t her heartbeat.

…

Her breath was cut short by the sound of movement.

“Ruby?”

It didn’t return right away.

“Did… something scare you?”

Whatever large burden crushing her down began to rise up and fly away.

She couldn’t see it, but she knew it.

“Breath.”

Breath.

“Do you… usually do this?”

The sound of a heartbeat started to become muffled, replaced by slow, mustered sighs.

And then there was heat. Some sort of wild inferno coursing through her veins. It hurt. But she could feel some sort of figure in front of her, tall and blobby and unmoving shape. The voice was… coming from it.

Ruby turned over her side, panting as a bright light burst into her eyes and struck more pain into her body.

“Shouldn’t have put Cheri Berries in your bag. I was about to eat some myself until I figured it might wake you up.”

Gabi.

Another figure shaped itself into vision, tall and thin and scary. “She’s alive?”

“She’s breathing now. Seems like it.”

Every muscle in her started to snap awake, coming out in the form of a large cough.

She was in the same place as she last remembered. The alleyway.

“The pud..” she mumbled.

She tried again. “Red… eyes.”

A force from behind pushed her up, causing Ruby to stand up awkwardly with slight trembling.

The sight of Gabi floated in front of her, confused but curious eyes. “You okay?”

“Ye-yeah..”

A sigh of relief chilled down her back, coming from somewhere else. “Do you know where Tori is?”

Gabi simply turned to her left. “Nah. She probably went shopping, knowing her.”

A familiar, masculine and snarky voice rang a laugh from behind her. “You’re right. Speaking of, I’m surprised Ruby got to the bunker before I did. I guess climbing up the building walls was just too fun for me, ahaha! I just had to show off the benefits of being a-“

“Shut it, wise guy. You can talk about how awesome you are later.”

"Alright. Do we go on ahead without Tori or-"

"Wait. She probably won't take long."

Mallku nodded, flashing a smile to make Ruby feel better. "Fine."

The both of them stood idly in the middle of the street as she tried to get herself to walk again, breathing matching her steps in a slow-until-faster pace. In a minute of doing this and getting used to the alley environment again, everything started to feel natural like before.

"Hey Ruby?"

"Y-yeah?" The shy Cherrim turned around, finding Mallku to be slouching against a brick building, surrounded by barrels and stacks of wood. "You need something?"

"What was... that you said before? About the puddle and the red eyes. Sounds familiar and I wanted to know if-"

"Where were y'all!?"

Tori ran through the street, nearly bumping into Gabi before reaching for the ground and panting. Sweat ran from her forehead, slowly stopping as she began to calm down and Mallku approached her.

“What’s up?”

“Some random Haunter weirdo was chasing me in the streets after I looked at him funny. I don’t know if he’s still after me-“

He shook his head. “Ruby here got jump-scared in the middle of the alleyway, but we found her and now she’s doing better. We were also… waiting for you for a while.”

“Sorry” Tori mumbled.

Gabi floated towards the two of them with Ruby following. “Everyone’s here. Want to get a move on?”

“Yeah.”

Mallku stretched his limbs a bit before looking around the alley. “Whatever you see, you aren’t allowed to tell anyone about. No words, no writing, no nothing.”

He looked at Tori dead in the eyes. “This is serious business.”

Impatiently, he led the way, jumping over a box crate and crawling inside a broken window of a nearby building. The sign was long gone, with only a cemented-in door and random boxes lying around the front. It was very hard to tell what sort of building it used to be, but Ruby didn’t care because she quickly bounced after him.

The floors inside were wooden and creaky, shunned by the lack of any light within the building.

“Watch your step.”

“Right.”

She followed his voice through the pitch-black darkness, smacking her bag against a wall once or twice before noticing a small light in the corner of her vision.

“Here it is.” Squinting as the light loomed towards her, the sight of a small wax candle held by Mallku blurred into vision. “Heh, knew I placed one in the back of one of these rooms.”

“Ow!”

“Looks like someone didn’t watch they were going.”

Tori eventually made her way over, meeting Ruby and Mallku along with the candle. “Why aren’t there any lights in this shitty dump?”

“Because,” the dark type sighed. “If people see light they get curious, and they venture deeper inside, which is not something I want. That’s why the light is hidden.”

He turned away from them and started to walk the other direction with both claws gripping the candle.

“I can’t be the only one who hates this” Tori hissed.

Chapter Text

The void, as ominous as it was, held great for that of being comforting.

Ruby took a step forward and quickly found herself dipping into knee-deep water, or whatever strange liquid coming from afar that she struggled to make out. This better not be a death sentence. There’s no way this guy is so kind but keeping such a deep secret away from anyone else.

The light was moving away. Slowly, down the tunnel, she inched after it, finding the dark to be worse as she got closer.

The liquid reached up to the bottom tip of her bag, slowing her movements like chunks of ice attached to her feet. Some sort of instinct told her that she was in a small tunnel, as water dripped from the ceiling and splashed over her side.

If Tori or Gabi were behind her, they were being awfully quiet about it. In the pitch-black of it all, it almost felt like she had… transcended right out of the city and into the void, like her feet had tricked her out of position and betrayed her out of sight.

Maybe the light was an illusion, too.

She couldn’t see her own feet in front of her, how was she supposed to know?

…Who even created these tunnels?

The question lingered, sending chills down her side. Something about hidden routes within her own city, just… keeping secrets as deep as this?

The orange light slowly drifted upward, soon stopping and fading into the dark like an ember. Ruby's feet lurched on instinct as a voice called out ahead.

“Y’all still back there? Or did one of you decide today was a good day to be a coward?”

She sped up, her stomach swirling in a cesspool of worry and anticipation as another light rose from a viewpoint ahead she hadn’t seen before. Similar to that of the candle, but with a fiercer ray that lit up the path in front of her.

Mallku stood in front of the light, one that burst right from an exit similar to that of a doorway. Mud walls covered all sides, below and above, with water trickling from a few holes cut through the bottom sides of the wall and stopping at the Weavile’s feet.

“I knew you had it in you” he smirked.

He stepped through the lighted exit with Ruby following.

“Remember, keep this a secret.”

The darkness stood at the edge of the doorway, forcefully staying behind in defiance.

“It’s a little messy, but it should be fine.”

Ruby squinted her eyes as they adjusted to the lights, coming from lamps placed around the room, some hanging against the walls and some on wooden tables. The room itself was small but compact and mostly empty, with the only ways out being through two tunnels, one that reached back to the surface and the other that led to the rest of the bunker. The walls, just like the same ones from the tunnel, were made of a concrete-like mud that held the wooden roof above them from collapsing. The floor was made of a similar texture to that of the ceiling, being wooden and keeping the same dark-brown color.

Mallku stepped forward to see if the lamps were still intact, glancing back a few seconds later after reassuring. Ruby and Tori stood awkwardly at the door, both too nervous to make a move or even check to see what was behind the other exit.

“Make yourself at home?”

Tori sighed, locking eyes with Mallku. “You sure this is even a home?”

Ruby shifted around the room as he shrugged. “It was the best I could find. Plus, it makes the environment feel safer.”

Gabi squeezed through the door behind Tori, causing her to have to move out of the way.

“Make a larger tunnel next time?” she hissed.

The room in itself was nothing interesting. From the way he was so secretive about all this, it was only right that there was a point in exploring the back room.

Mallku zipped ahead of the doorway before Ruby could walk through.

“Jeez..”

“I-I was just-“

He held up his hands and backed up a little.

“One second, okay?”

“Fine.”

Tori turned her gaze and was immediately caught off guard as an unfamiliar voice rang through the halls.

“Mallku!? Are you finally back!?”

“Y-yeah!” he mumbled.

He slipped inside, completely ignoring the other three behind him.

Ruby, Gabi and Tori waited impatiently by the front door until Tori decided she’d had enough and chased after Mallku.

“Wait Tori-“

She didn’t listen. Of course not, because who would?

Ruby leapt after her, only to trip over herself at the doorway and catapult towards the Whimsicott, smacking into her fluff and knocking them both onto the floor in a mess.

When she looked back up, she saw a different face.

One that nearly made her jump out of her petals.

“I told you three not to come in without my-“

“Chill, we weren’t trying to hurt you” Tori hissed.

The face simply scowled into a frown, one of both disappointment and confusion. A yellow, star-shaped head hanging three blue strips of paper, with blue markings underneath curious but baggy eyes, seemingly concealing some sort of vague familiarity. 

The more she looked at this thing, the more her body started to shake.

“What are you- oh.”

Tori helped her up, trying to figure out what was causing Ruby to be silent suddenly.

Then she looked to her left.

And she saw it, too.

“Stop staring at them weird!” Mallku snapped from the other side of the kitchen.

He shifted toward the pokémon’s side only to be swatted by their left hand.

And soon the both of them found out where the feminine voice was coming from. “Like what the Whimsicott said, chill out Mall.”

He sighed. “S-sorry, it’s just my protective instincts being alerted.”

He rose his claw behind his ear feathers, smiling shyly. “I didn’t properly introduce them did I?”

Ruby and Tori were still focused on the pokémon, standing there like bad house guests until Tori decided to speak up.

“A-are you… Jirachi?”

“Yup” the mon announced, smirking. That seemed to wake Ruby up, as she started to move again and glanced around the kitchen nervously.

“And you just kept this… mythical pokémon, told in legends and folktales throughout the centuries.. hidden beneath this random city in horrible housing, without telling anyone!?”

“Yeah!” Mallku remarked, crossing his arms. “Someone had to. And fate decided I was a pretty decent choice.”

Gabi squeezed through the door, quickly noticing Jirachi right away.

“What else?” Ruby mumbled.

Jirachi walked towards the countertops near the other wall, breathing slowly as they went. “Should we sit them down for a history lesson too?”

“Nah” Mallku replied. “But I’ll give you this. This isn’t someone’s old basement. It’s an abandoned bunker from a previous war that an old friend of mine happened to let me own, since he was moving to a different continent in search of a new place for his retirement. And when I needed somewhere to hide Jirachi I asked him if he had any ideas. This was his idea.”

The kitchen fascinated Ruby. If you ignored the weird placement and the mud walls, the bunker actually looked close enough to an actual home. “So… how did you find Jirachi?”

“It’s complicated. But I’ll just give you the rundown; I was walking back from a recently completed dungeon on my own when I found Jirachi starving in the middle of the forest, so I took them under my wing for a long while and told very few people. You three are part of those people.”

He sighed. “I was just as confused and afraid as you were.”

“Are you the only two here?” Gabi queried.

“Nope. Victini, Heatran and a former human live down here too, but they’re probably sleeping in the basement. I don’t want any of you disturbing them. That’s a threat.”

“Fine.”

Ruby had so many questions flowing through her head that it hurt. She could tell Gabi and Tori felt that way too.

“Anything else?”

Mallku leaned against a wall with his arms crossed, waiting patiently.

“Th-the legends I was told during school state that Jirachi could only be waken up for seven days and slept for at least a thousand years..“ she muttered. “How then did you-“

“That used to be the case” Jirachi interrupted. “But then humans got sent from another universe, fucking up my sleep schedule…”

“A-and what about wishes?”

Mallku’s face drooped into a concerned frowned, but Jirachi did their best to conceal their anger as they attempted to summarize the events.

“Arceus punished myself along with Victini and Heatran, causing us all to lose some sort of power within. I was punished the hardest. Losing both my ability to grant wishes and any form of psychic energy previously capable.”

As to demonstrate, they tried to teleport a far away chair towards them, only for nothing to happen and a burst of pain to course through the mon.

“You can see why. To make it worse I can’t float either…” they muttered.

Jirachi coughed a little as Mallku reached forward and picked them up, carrying them like a small child.

Tori smiled lightly as Jirachi yawned in his arms.

“Sleepy already?” he smirked.

“No it’s just-“

As he walked back, his eyes caught notice of something, causing him to stop and pause.

A tipped bottle of wine lay on the countertop, with a brown liquid leaking out.

“You got drunk while I was gone… again!?” he hissed. He held up Jirachi in the air, furious with rage. “Whe.. Where... Who are you even getting this from!?”

The small steel type scowled while the other three backed away slowly.

“Ari let me have some. He always lets me have some. Life is shitty okay!? I need to fuel my addictions…”

“No you fucking don’t. Does Victini know anything about this?”

“No.”

Ruby started to sweat a little, fearful of a side of Mallku that she, along with Tori and Gabi, had never seen before. It was… fascinating. The way he shifted into parent mode around Jirachi.

The annoyed Weavile let out a sigh before putting the tiny steel type down.

“If this was any other day you’d be put to sleep immediately. But… today you have guests and I want to be nice for once.”

He turned around, glancing back and forth between the other three. “From now on, you are all now in indentured servitude-ish to Victini, Heatran and Jirachi, unless I say otherwise.”

“Wha-what!?” Tori stammered. “We’re… slaves to you now!? You can’t do that!”

Mallku held up a claw. “Not slaves. You will have some freedoms but in return for the knowledge of Jirachi and everyone else in this household, you must follow us and work with us in our journey. And that means all the way. Be here by next Saturday in the afternoon.”

“Unless you want..” he used the same claw to do a small slashing movement. “For me to have to do things the hard way. By even going to visit me at the diner you have already confirmed that you are agreeing to let me chase you down and murder you if you do not comply with us, or regularly skip meetings.”

“And?”

Mallku lowered his claw before crossing his arms with an arrogant frown. “I advise you quit whatever jobs or programs you are currently in, now before things get serious. Even if it means college. You fuck with me, I fuck with you back. Deal?”

“Y-yeah” Ruby mumbled. An excuse to quit college. Finally!

“Sorry if that means leaving your family members too. Call it a pointless suicide mission, I don’t care. I care that you stick to your promise and don’t discuss this with anyone else. If anyone gets a hold of the location of these mons, everyone is going to feel the consequences. The power of a mythical Pokémon, especially two, could lead to another repeat of the human-natural disasters events, but worse, and I know none of you wa-“

Jirachi yawned. “Damn Mall, what next? Gonna recite an entire book to a bunch of mons who just got out of school less than five years ago? I think if you speak any longer you might destroy their attention spans and cause them to explode!”

An awkward silence filled the air shortly afterward.

“I…” Mallku shook his head. “They can take care of themselves, Jirachi. Speak any more or I’ll have to start pulling out the Sleep Seeds.”

“Damn right we can!” Tori muttered.

He simply laughed at the remark before putting Jirachi back in his arms.

“They didn’t explode. Amazing!”

“And I haven’t pulled out the Sleep Seeds.”

The small steel type yawned again, ignoring the cold gaze coming from Gabi. “I think the wine is starting to have its effects now.”

“I guess I should put you to bed then. You spoiled little rascal.”

“But it was a good drink!”

Mallku eyed the others with a slight grin. “Thanks for coming. I assume y’all can leave on your own while I take care of this little one?”

Gabi gave a thumbs up while Ruby nodded. “Of course.”

“Great. And make sure to be back here next Saturday for the first meeting. Regardless of anything else.”

He slipped into another room near the back, leaving the other three alone in the kitchen.

“W-wait, quit our… jobs?”

Ruby glanced back at Gabi. “That’s what he said?”

Tori groaned in response. “This is gonna be a weird week. Having to trying to make an excuse to my boss about why I’m leaving..”

The other two nodded. “Weird week for us all….”

Chapter Text

The week flew by fast. What came from Monday went to Wednesday, then Thursday, and in the blink of an eye it was already Friday.

Ruby glanced out the window of the dimly lit library, watching as rain scattered itself over the city. Few pokémon moved through the streets in rushed paces, mostly being water or grass type or having some sort of protection from the pressure. The drizzle itself was nothing serious, no thunder or grey clouds, but it showed no signs of stopping since late dawn.

Gabi flipped through a few pages of a book before placing it back on the shelf in a different place of where she found it. She shook a little at a nerve before turning her eyes back to the rain.

“You okay, Rubes?”

“I’m fine” she replied. “Rain just got me thinking is all.”

“Alright” the psychic type sighed. “Thanks for offering to let me go the library with you.”

“Y-yeah. You said Tori was on her last shift?”

“I think so. That and I was bored. I don’t get to talk to you much, so… y’know, I at least get to spend the day with someone else.”

Ruby looked around the library for ideas. She knew what she came here for. She came to get more info about mythical pokémon and maybe more, but… she hadn’t been here in at least two years, so trying to remember where things were felt like sorting through boxes from a distant past.

“H-hey Gabi?”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“C-can you go ask the front desk where they keep books on legendaries and mythicals? I’m too shy to ask them myself.”

“Yeah sure” she responded.

As Gabi floated away, Ruby took the moment to look through the nearby aisles for any subsections of shelves that might have info valuable to her.

The first was quick to be disappointing. She widened the gap between her petals so her two small hands could reach through and pick off one by one. None of the covers of any books on the shelf seemed to be related to mythology at all, so Ruby dismissed it and leapt towards the second shelf right behind the first.

The second shelf was just as disappointing. She found herself grumbling as there was nothing but info on fossils and pokémon biology, her stem drooping in disappointment.

She walked towards the third shelf only to be stopped by a familiar green blob.

“Y-you found it?” Ruby mumbled.

Gabi revealed a small orange strip of paper hidden within their palm. “Yup. And it came with a free bookmark since it’s my first visit.”

“O-oh congrats.”

“Yeah no problem. You want it? I don’t read books much as you do, you might find it more useful.”

Ruby tilted to the left so that her bag was facing the Reuniclus. “Sure, you can put it in here.”

A wave of telekinetic force lifted the strap up slightly, with the bookmark flying in comfortably. The psychic energy then let loose of the bag, easing tension.

“Follow me” Gabi announced, floating past a few shelves towards the other side of the library.

Ruby was quick to run behind on her stubby little legs, pausing with anticipation as a Medicham passed by them, giving a weak bow before she turned away to find Gabi waiting near the designated area.

“You ready?”

“Y-yeah of course. U-uhm…”

“So… what are we looking for?”

Ruby tiptoed towards the ends of the aisles, finding Unown runes painted over the wood, to indicate where subsections and names were categorized by alphabetical order. “Remember what Jirachi and Mallku said about how ‘that used to be the case’? W-well, I want to see what the books have to say about it. I’ve only seen mythical and legendary pokémon in picture books. But we were never taught about much else.”

Gabi shook irritably, glancing around like a pest was bothering outside of her vision. “Victini was mentioned too? And there was someone else..”

“Heatran. But I don’t think it’s a mythical pokémon like Victini and Jirachi. There’s another type of classification, i-isn’t there?”

“Legendary?”

“Y-yeah. Can’t believe I forgot.”

Ruby sighed, looking back at the runes.

“So… we know that Jirachi, Heatran and Victini are just kinda… here, right?” Gabi sighed as she tried to remember everything from the following week. “And from what I remember, that’s supposed to not be the case? To think all this time we were wrong about these pokémon..”

“N-no, there’s something you’re missing” Ruby corrected.

Gabi frowned but said nothing more.

“S-so, as from what I remember, Jirachi said that the three of them were punished by Arceus, causing them to be sent down to our… planet?”

“Which means they had to have done something really bad” Gabi finished. “So… they had to have been punished from somewhere too, but then you get the issue of whether Heatran can actually fly or not, which makes no sense if you account that no laws of gravity would support-“

“W-wait!”

“What?”

Ruby inched towards a nearby corner. “C-can we speak a little quieter? I don’t want our secret out..”

“Okay” Gabi whispered.

They hid behind a shelf before Ruby picked up conversation again. “Right. So do you just want to search around this little area until we find any names that seem familiar?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Ruby darted towards the north end while Gabi floated towards the south end. They flipped through covers and read the spines, getting more dissatisfied with their results as they searched. The texts, despite being silky and highly fashioned, did not make up for the irrelevancy of their interior. A few deities and gods with etched-out names were plastered atop the front cover, but none that they were looking for.

“This is a lost cause” Gabi huffed, finishing the last row and slotting the book back. “Nothing that looks like Jirachi, Victini or Heatran. Mostly books about Keldeo and a few dusty ones about other legendary Pokémon, but the dusty ones seem to have a lot of ripped out pages.”

“I don’t think there any other libraries around here.”

“Fuck.”

Right as Ruby was about to think about packing up and going, a Ninjask carrying a large book twice its size approached her, wearing a pink collar above its claw-shaped arms.

“Yo, I’m one of the staff overseers. Your green friend over there said you were looking for books about mythical pokémon? Found this little critter in the back, think you might find it helpful?”

The Ninjask zoomed towards an empty table close to Ruby’s size and plopped the book down right as the other two followed them.

“Thanks” Ruby mumbled, tilting slightly.

“No problem!” the Ninjask responded, zipping back to the front desk to handle a line of customers.

The two of them waited in front of the table, patiently thinking.

“Well?” Gabi queried, teleporting chairs towards the both of them.

“We can try this out.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Ruby took the chair, opening the gap so her eyes could squint to see the writing while Gabi scooted the seat in. Giving a thumbs up, the psychic type used a wave of psychic energy to flip the book until the Table of Contents.

Even if you were illiterate, you could tell what the book was about. A watercolor drawing of a Celebi was glued to the front, with the first few pages of the book showing a few other mythical pokémon of various sizes. The both of them noticed it right away when they saw it. A drawing of Jirachi with a small yellow star floating in its palm and pink light booming around it, resembling a wish of sorts.

It was a shame they couldn’t grant wishes anymore.

If they could, Ruby knew exactly what she would wish for.

Much to both of their surprise, there was no Table of Contents. Instead, the pages after showed more drawings of the mythical pokémon, with one or two small paragraphs on each page, talking about each in accordance to the drawings.

Right away, Gabi flipped through the book until there was mention of Jirachi.

“Mind if I read?”

“Y-yeah” Ruby whispered.

“The book says here that Jirachi sleeps every thousand years but can wake up for seven days if woken by a voice of purity. Only two sights have ever been recorded, as it is said to live somewhere beyond our planet. When woken up, it can grant any wish desired, but like many other mythical pokémon, conceals a deeper energy that can be sapped and used for long-term destruction, or major societal development, depending on the needs for the energy. However, sapping this energy is said to lead to the death of Jirachi as a result.”

Ruby gulped, remembering Mallku’s wording. “What about Victini?”

“Hm…” Gabi flipped a bit more, stopping at a page with a fairy-like creature with V-shaped ears. “The pokémon Victini was discovered many hundred years ago by scientists conducting research on feral Parasect, but has since fled from its original spot, having never being seen again. Though Victini’s V ears do not relate to any words aside from its name, many religions have represented the V in shape of “victory”. Many other words have also been represented, such as “violence”, “vengeance”, and “victimization”, though origins are mostly unknown.”

Gabi let out a big groan after reading. “Yeah, reading time’s over. Let’s go home.”

“O-oh okay” Ruby responded, surprised to see her tired so quickly. “I guess we can maybe think more about this when we walk home.”

“Dunno Rubes. We got a meeting tomorrow with Malls, so I don’t think wasting time thinking about this is going to help your sleep schedule.”

“Right.. and I think he expects us to be able to get to the bunker on our own so…”

“Yup.”

“Good luck getting Tori out of bed.”

“Doesn’t matter, she’ll be late anyways just like last week” Gabi joked, chuckling under her breath.

The two of them moved out of their chairs, Gabi taking the book under her gelatinous arm while Ruby pushed in both of their seats.

“So… Rubes, do you think we got the info you wanted?”

“N-not much” she stumbled. “But I think we got a fair amount. I haven’t seen or heard much about what Victini is but I have now.”

Gabi used her open arm to force Ruby into a hug. “Any progress is good progress right? Com’on Rubes, you got to spend the day with me and we learned something really valuable! What a good day!”

“Y-yeah I guess it really was” the grass type mumbled, blushing.

“That’s the spirit.”

The two of them moved towards the exit, Gabi shouting a “See ya!” before opening the glass door so Ruby could move in before her.

“Thanks-“

“Of course.”

The rain had stopped by the time they had left. A few fire types started to slowly return to the streets, avoiding large puddles left from the aftermath. The good weather had come back in the form of sunshine, and Ruby was thankful.

There’s not many people here. Maybe letting loose would be okay. But… the college isn’t too far, I shouldn’t have to worry too long.

“You like the sunshine, huh?”

Ruby turned around, noticing Gabi’s smile. “Y-yeah I adore it.”

“So, why haven’t you transformed by now? That’s what a Cherrim does, right?”

“Anxiety” she mumbled, shaking slightly in her petals.

“Fair.”

The two of them moved through the empty streets in silence. Unlike the last week, the city was barren and somewhat quiet, the few pokémon left moving in rushed paces, completely ignoring any street ferals or beggars by the sides of buildings or entrances. The quietness wasn’t all too bad though, leaving a relaxed mood on Ruby and a comfortable-but-busy aroma on Blubluk.

It was a good change of scenery and mood. The protests had left a bad mark on the area, and the rain was what healed that mark. A few grass types were even positioned in the middle of the street, forming a little circle for them to photosynthesize while talking about the latest drama or natural disaster.

Ruby’s eyes eventually fell over Gabi, and she nearly jumped as she noticed that the psychic type was still carrying the book from earlier.

“You stole the book!?”

“Aw cheer up Rubes.”

Gabi placed her other arm around her, carrying Ruby off the ground and into her grasp.

“H-hey let me go!”

“Relax” she hushed. “I’m giving you a break so your stubs don’t get tired. Anyways, yeah, I stole the book. We’re never coming back. And think about this: Mallku said we’re going to a whole different continent, so we can take this on our journey and dump it in a dungeon or something and they won’t have evidence who stole it.”

“You’re squeezing me-“

“Fine.”

Gabi let Ruby down, shaking irritably as she got back on her feet.

“First off” she hissed. “They do have evidence who stole it! That Ninjask literally gave it to us and knows we were the ones who had it! You want to go to jail for stealing a book!?”

“We won’t be alone at least” Gabi joked.

Ruby groaned. “Unless we return it in the next week we may as well be on the run.”

“Tori loves stories. Maybe she’ll steal a book too and we can call ourselves ‘The Book Grabbing Gals’”.

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Aw, cheer up Rubes. Maybe Coni can join in on the fun and we can be a quartet. Or maybe Malls, and we can be a squad! Think about how fun that would be!”

“Why are you-“

“Listen” Gabi interrupted. “Malls said we probably won’t come out of this alive anyways. Gotta do some law-breaking every once in a while right? I’m taking this book with me whether you like it or not. Maybe it’ll be useful.”

“Fine.”

“I knew you could do it.”

~

One night again, Mallku found himself fighting insomnia.

It was a cruel beast, with sharpened, bloodthirsty fangs and blood-shot eyes. The creature was similar to Ari when he first met him, but different. It didn’t have wings and didn’t have this concealed drop of fear in its pupils. It didn’t fight with a hint of regret, it fought with hunger.

And unlike Ari, Mallku was afraid of this creature.

It was in no way a pokémon. No malicious deity could concoct such a monster. Insomnia had no sense of love or cherishment or anything that made a pokémon… a pokémon. It seethed on the stress of its victims, tiring the prey down more and more and more until they were no longer sane.

Mallku had seen a few victims in his life. Despite being mostly ferals, he saw it in civil mons too. He saw it in Jirachi. He saw it in Ari. He had seen it in his guildmaster once, and it poisoned the mon in a way that made that day so much like a nightmare.

Darkrai doesn’t have to be in the room to cause nightmares.

And yet, the cause was a polar opposite of Darkrai.

Shaking out of his thoughts, Mallku leaned over his left side and looked back at Jirachi.

The basement was cold and scary during the night. The wool blankets that Mall had bought from the department store a few months ago had eased both, but it was still omnipresent. Jirachi, like everyone else who was still asleep, wrapped snuggly in the blanket on the cold hard floor.

It wasn’t the greatest living conditions, but it was the best he could get. Thankfully, the other four rarely complained about this issue. Simply being protected from malicious hands was enough in itself to make them happy. Even at the cost of being stuck underground for months on end.

Mallku squinted his eyes in the dark, watching as Jirachi snored comfortably in the blanket. At least someone is getting some rest he thought to himself.

He had to admit, the steel type looked cute when asleep. The tiredness and mental struggle was fully concealed in their rest, being under-shadowed by a sense of youngness and innocence. Anyone who didn’t know the mon personally would be quick to assume it was just a toy for power, an easy-to-manipulate one at that.

But Mallku had seen them in their beer drinking days. He knew of the terrible things this mon has done and will do in the future.

But there will be many obstacles to jump over until then.

One being… meetings.

The Weavile turned to his other side, eyes locking onto his scarf and badge that he had set on the nearby countertop for the night. Victini and Heatran lounged in awkward mess near the corners of the room while Ari and his massive wingspan were sprawled out in the middle of the floor.

A… Roaring Moon. The first one to be documented, at least from what Mallku had seen himself. Despite being from a completely different universe entirely, this was still a pokémon. A failed lab experiment who had broken out its cage, confused and angry and frustrated to find itself in a body different to one that it claimed to be originally from.

Ari had found Mallku not too long after he broke out. The night was vivid and real as the both of they had remembered, one of fear and confusion and comfort.

The same poison keeping him up at night again was the same poison who helped him find Ari, in the streets, alone and cold and scary. Crazy thought, but a true one at best.

The sound of Jirachi sputtering and coughing caused Mallku to flip back to his other side.

The mon’s eyelids started to open as the coughing slowed down, lighting up at the sight of a familiar face awake.

“You okay?” he whispered.

“Night… mare” the steel type rasped.

Mallku reached for them and placed them into their lap, patting their star-shaped head lightly. “Shhh, I’m here. Don’t worry, I won’t let anything hurt you.”

“T-thanks… Mall.”

“Always.”

Jirachi looked around the room. The light was off and everyone else seemed to be asleep, so it was definitely not sunrise yet. “What are you… doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about taking a walk, but I didn’t want to abandon you all in case of emergencies.”

“Oh okay. So uhm..”

“The dream was scary wasn’t it?”

“Y-yeah” they muttered.

“Are you comfortable sharing?”

“I don’t know how much you can take.”

Mallku chuckled quietly. “Fate has put me through so much worse. Much worse. But if you don’t want to share I don’t mind that. It’s up to you.”

“Damnit, now you’re making me feel sad. I’ll share it. I need to establish my dominance quickly if I’m gonna lead a random crowd of pokémon to fight a literal god.”

Despite still having just woken up, Jirachi was quick to get back into their former self, stubborn and blunt and mildly immature despite their age.

“Go ahead kiddo.”

“Alright” Jirachi started. “Well, at first the start of the dream felt like a replay of old memories. The life at the Hall of Origin and all that bullshit. Well, I was walking towards Victini to ask if they heard about news regarding Meloetta, for… some reason. But when I saw them, they disappeared, and instead of Victini it was… you, and you started yelling at me a-about how much of a coward I was…”

The mon started to sniffle, showing tears. “And then you shouted at me to… eat a potato for some reason, and then you kicked me o-off the edge and into a live volcano…”

“Sounds wacky” Mallku smirked. “Especially that part about the potato. Looks like Monday really threw you off, huh?”

“It’s an annual thing” Jirachi lied. “Every time Mall cooks potato salad I have to throw a fit and make a mess on the floor while everyone is watching.”

“I don’t think that’s what ‘annual’ means.”

“Point is, I told you that I don’t like potatoes, but you keep cooking them anyways. Ari taught me that one, he says it’s targeted harassment.”

“I don’t think that’s what ‘targeted harassment’ means. Someday I’m going to have to steal a dictionary from the library and force you to read it. Maybe getting the responsible one to break some laws will finally shut you up.”

“Fine” Jirachi groaned. “You win.”

“I don’t care that I win. I care that you’re still somewhat well fed and taken care of with a responsible adult until the day I die.”

“You said you supported law breaking! That’s not responsible!”

“Only when I say it is” Mallku joked, chuckling.

“I’m older and have more experience than you. Plus, someday you said you were gonna give me the throne, huh? You know… let me make the rules, decides where things go, et cetera? When’s that gonna happen!?”

“The more you drink the more days I take off. That’s the rule, remember?”

By now, the both of them started to become tired, showing itself right as Mallku yawned. “Ugh” he groaned. “Look who’s the sleepy one.. now, hugh…”

Jirachi started to form a small smile, like a younger pokémon who knows something you don't. “But you’ll stay awake to talk with me some more, right?”

“We got a big day tomorrow kiddo. You need ‘ome sleep too..”

Mallku stretched a little before resting his head against the floor, moving Jirachi so that they were to the side of him.

“But I don’t want to..” they whined.

“I’ll cook up something for lunch with the Babiri berries I bought on Wednesday. But only if you go to sleep.”

“Bet.”

Chapter Text

A shadow emerged into the light, dusting off a bit of grime near the end point of the tunnel to fashion as a seat. Sewage poured out of a mon-made waterway into the river below, ruining the quality of the water and scaring away any pokémon that weren’t part-poison.

He had seen it many times before. The sewer wasn’t the most hospitable place imaginable, but it was at least a safe back-up exit. In case things got to worse, he could escape down these halls and follow the river west to the sea, where he could take a ship out to the Goji Continent.

Not his first option, but merely a back-up.

He picked at his scarf a little before pulling out a small badge, styled in the form of an egg with white wings on both sides. The metal was slightly dulled, but still reflected the morning sunlight, hinting at any left-over sheen that might not have faded over the years. It had lost its teleportation mechanics years ago, but it didn’t stop him from keeping it wherever he went.

It wasn’t just a memory retrieval tool. It was a token of friendship and loyalty.

Mallku had lived too long, that he knew well. A mon his species should have died at least twenty years ago before now, whether it be old age or accidents. He had survived dungeons, nearly gotten his head chopped off by a Machamp, watched his dearest friends die, and miraculously wound up finding a mythical pokémon in a poorly hidden growth of shrubbery.

For once, he wondered if his guildmaster had been through events as bad as this. He’s lived more than five hundred years, so it’s only fair he must have.

Like the Ninetales had done through the years, he found himself sitting in front of a body of water watching the sunrise. No reason, really. But some things just happen on instinct, and this was one of those things.

The city was quiet and beautiful in the morning. The feeling had always been there, but Mallku was only starting to realize the occupancy of it. If he ever gets back, he’s going to have to make a mental note to ask his guildmaster if they can watch the sunrise together. And… maybe perhaps look over old memories.

No matter what, Mallku would promise that to the best of his ability. But… for now he would be watching the sunset alone.

Well, no one said he had to, of course. Jirachi and Ari never mind it, but unlike Mallku, both of them got bored of sitting around longer than two minutes. That, and they both fear getting seen by unfamiliar strangers.

The Weavile sighed before getting up and stretching, yawning as another day came to fruition.

I guess it’s about time I make breakfast.

~

Under the shade of an awning connected to a small pub, a Forretress waited alone. Vulnerable and feeble, the mon looked around curiously from within its shell, making no noise or movement as the street refused to be anything but empty. Todd should have expected it, really. Nothing could stop him from looking like a dumb random, idly standing in front of a shop he didn’t own or work at. But… Proteus was taking much longer than hoped. Unnerving but also expected.

He pretty much depended on the Galvantula to be back soon. A multiped with ways of actual self-defense mechanisms… Todd envied it. Being gifted such power on the hierarchy while Todd was left scraping for the bottom.

He glanced around once again and quickly caught sight of a pokémon walking through the streets by themself. A small flowery creature with a brown bag around its side, one with hidden facial expression wrapped by a grassy shell… or, well, whatever it was. Todd wasn’t too familiar with the names of most species, but regardless his eyes widened in joy and amazement.

“Good morning!” he shouted.

The mon winced as they turned around, unsure of where the greeting was coming from. Maybe they thought they were about to be jumped, or maybe they thought someone was about to force them into a conversation, because they froze in their movements almost instantly.

“O-oh I didn’t mean to scare you! Sorry, my bad!”

The sound of a light bell rang behind Todd, averting his attention. Behind him, Proteus crawled out of the front door of the pub. A small backpack was thrown over his abdomen, with a small pink shopping bag being held in his left pedipalp. A crimson bandana was wrapped around his neck, failing to hide a cut mark between the neck and the mon’s mouth.

Proteus glanced between Todd and the pokémon across the street that was still frozen in place. “I got everything we needed. Whatchu up to now?”

“Trying to say a greeting to the mon over there” the Forretress sighed. “I don’t think they heard.”

“Oh, I see.”

Proteus adjusted their bandana before crawling towards the mon, with Todd rolling behind. Curiously, the Galvantula stopped and lent out his open pedipalp.

“Hello! Sorry if we scared you, are you alright?”

The mon looked up, tilting their head towards him. “Nonono it’s fine” they sighed, unstiffening. “You can call me… Ruby. I-I’m a Cherrim if you couldn’t tell.”

“Ah, so like the vegetable?”

“Th-the what!?”

“You say your name was Rhubarb? Honestly, I think that name is silly, but I won’t judge, ahaha! My mama used to make rhubarb pie all the time, it’s a shame that you can’t buy any around here.”

“U-uhm” Ruby sighed. “That’s not my name. ‘Rhu-bee’. Like the gem, not the plant..”

Proteus turned around, chuckling. “Oh, sorry about that. Anyway, apologies aside, I’m Proteus, and this is my buddy Todd. Call him weak, but he can land some really tough Gyro Ball attacks if you’re not careful!”

“No need to flatter me, hohoho!”

The two bug types started to laugh in unison, causing Ruby to smile within her petals. “W-well, it was nice meeting you two. Have a good da-“

The Galvantula turned his back, quickly interrupting her. “Ah, so where are you off to?”

Ruby froze right on the spot, once again. “W-well I’m not too sure if I’m allowed to disclose that information. B-b-but I do have a meeting with someone soon, so I should probably…”

“Same for the two of us. Your meeting doesn’t involve a Weavile mon, does it?”

“Why do you ask…?”

Proteus simply smiled. “Oy, looks like we’re after the same destination! How lucky! And since we don’t have to hide anything… you can follow us if it doesn’t bother you. Unless you got other pokés you’re waiting on.”

Ruby started to weigh in on her options. I’m not as likely to get attacked if I don’t go alone… and there’s not really any secrets to be hidden...

“Yeah it’s fine” she muttered. “So I assume you both have been to the bunker before?”

“No, but Mallku told us everything. Everything from Jirachi to Necrozma’s tail! I was surprised he trusted us so much. After all, we’re just a duo of lowly bug types.”

Ruby nodded. “Oh, okay. I knew he mentioned something about not being picky with extra members...”

“Dunno. But we shouldn’t have to worry” Proteus assured. He looked between both Ruby and Todd, trying to think of a decision. “Well? We can’t be too late, can we?”

“Y-yeah. Want me to lead the way?”

“Go ahead.”

Ruby nodded, turning left of the pub and taking a route straight down the alleyway. Todd and Proteus followed, the former spinning and the latter crawling with the bags still in his grasp.

The street became dimmer and more run-down as they traveled, large wooden tiles or metal ladders overhanging the roof above them, alluding to some sort of passageway along the tops. They were definitely in gang territory now.

An influx of robbed or closed stores lined the sides, with an abundance of trash and rotted wood. Nothing about it necessarily scared any of them; it was to be expected that when you have a deep secret, especially as deep as Mallku’s, you’d want to hide it in a place no casual mon would dare to look.

There was too many of these run-down feral nests to make it obvious.

Eventually they took a left of a perpendicular exit way, passing through a street that looked vaguely familiar to the street Mallku had stopped at the following week.

After all, this was the street.

“Say Ruby, how do you know how to get around here so easily?” Todd queried.

“O-oh I’ve sometimes crossed through these alleys to get to my job… the crime down here isn’t that bad. Once or twice I’ve had pokémon try to kidnap or attack me though…”

“How’d you escape them?”

“It’s not that hard” Ruby huffed.

“Fair enough.”

A few moments later she stopped in front of a random building, with several wooden crates around the entrance. No door, no sign, all dulled colors.

Looks about right.

Proteus creeped up the steps. “This is the place?”

“I think so.”

Todd turned around, noticing two blurry silhouettes in the distance from the opposite direction from where the three of them of them had come from. “Oh, looks like there are two other members coming this way!”

The figures got closer, revealing the shape of a Chandelure and a Gastrodon. They both moved very slowly but did so with a calmness to that of their expressions. They wore teal scarfs, one tied around a limb and the other worn below the mouth, where the neck was expected to be. The latter’s scarf seemed to blend in with the oceanic color of its skin, not fully becoming clear as a scarf until the mons got within a Farigiraf’s neck of distance.

Ruby and Proteus turned around, watching the two mons as they approached.

“Ah, hello” the Chandelure said. “Are you three here for the meeting?”

“Oh, but yes we are!” Todd assured, grinning from underneath his shell. “You may call me Todd, and you can call my two friends here Ruby and Proteus.”

The ghost type nodded. “I am Lucy, this is Andesine. He’s a shy one.”

Andesine blushed while frowning at the same time. “I am a Gastrodon, and Lucy is a Chandelure, as you can tell. We come from the southern portion of the continent but were dissatisfied by the lack of guildwork they have in this area. I’m sure you can understand our joy when we found out there was an long-unfilled request needing a specific level of explorers.. doing such a big job as to protecting a mon that’s traveling an entire continent…”

Proteus perked up. “We’re doing a travelling mission? Funny, Mallku never said anything about that to us…”

“Guess it’s different for everyone then.”

Ruby inched back, towards the old building. “Well, we should all get a move on.”

“Right” Lucy continued. “Let me provide some light so we can see inside.”

The Chandelure floated over the crates and through the broken window, followed by Ruby and Proteus, then Todd and Andesine respectively. The infinite fire provided from the top of her head made travel through the darkness much quicker and much more efficient, with the light exposing broken chairs and ash along the floor.

The scene was enough to say that it was once a diner of sorts, easy to tell. The inside was very small, small enough to be confused for a kitchen. What really caught Ruby’s attention was the placement of the tunnel, however.

First off, it looked mon-made. Like an Excadrill had randomly decided to drill a hole through the corner of the diner, arching down slowly away from the surface. Lucy floated immediately, reminding Ruby where they were actually headed.

The tunnel was just as dark and muted as before.

~

“You said you aren’t paying for clean water, how else do you get you have it then!?”

Mallku smirked in response to Mai’s glowering. “You’d be surprised.”

The Mienshao squinted her eyes. “You have your own Cleanse Orbs?”

“Nah. Too expensive.”

“So how do you have clean water then!?”

Mallku crossed his arms as Victini sagged into the room, eyes baggy and weary. “I get Heatran and Victini to boil my water. There are only three mons in the house who need it, so it’s not as bad. Sometimes I’ll go to the city bath to save some.”

“H-how…”

“I keep all my water in the cooler in the basement. There’s a large pot I keep right next to it, and at the end of the week I’ll get the two of ‘em to help me boil and clean it. Simple as that.”

Mai groaned, clearly frustrated. “How long have you been living this poor…?”

“Not poor” Mallku snapped. “I have to take care of four other mons in this household using money I saved up during my seeker years. Drains my pile pretty quickly. I don’t just have a job I can go to anymore, not with having to take care of these pokémon and myself, and having to manage everything so I can help them get the things they want.”

“B-but… you have a scarf! And a badge!”

Mai poked at her own pink scarf tied around her neck, pointing to the egg-shaped badge of her own. “Why can’t you just go back!?”

“First off, mine lost its use. Second, going back isn’t an option.”

The two of them locked eyes before Mai sighed and gave up. “Alright, fine… so who else are we waiting for?”

“Proteus, Todd, Lucy, Andesine, Ruby, Brunia and Louis. That makes seven.”

The Mienshao nodded as Victini stumbled towards Mallku. “Hey.. Mall” they slurred, seemingly half-conscious. “Where’s Jirachi?”

“Still asleep. Breakfast is on the table if you haven’t eaten already.”

“Okey, thanks…”

In the back of the kitchen, a small japanese-inspired, rectangular table stood close to the wall, short in height but long in width. Five pillows sat around it, with one taking up a longer side. On the other side, a small wooden bowl of sliced Pecha berries had been placed on the table. Yawning, Victini slumped towards the bowl.

The air became quieter as Mai and Mallku watched them, until a familiar voice echoed through the halls. The both of them turned their gaze towards the door that lead to the basement, noticing Jirachi clumsily crawling through.

Mallku raced forward to scoop the mon into his arms, holding them like a child. “How’d you sleep?”

“Fine. No… dreams though” they slurred, yawning.

Mai quickly took upon a relaxing smile. “Ah, so this is really it?”

“They” the Weavile corrected. “But yes. Kind of a gremlin, so be careful.”

“They? Hm… Sorry about that. Up until now I’ve barely put much thought into myths. Hell, I barely believed much of what you said when the two of us met you. It’s… astounding.”

“Sure is. Which is why I’m so secretive about all this. But I trust you; I trust everyone here to be careful with this news.”

“My father said once that all food as secretive as something like this should be met with quiet tongues. If people notice you’re eating something, they’ll ask what, then why, then if they can try it.”

“Sorta” Mallku murmured. “If anyone is betraying us, I have faith in you to notice it and tell me.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Aw, don’t go ‘sir’ on me. I thought I told you that before…”

“Sorry” Mai muttered. She looked around the room, to Victini, then to Jirachi. “I’m going to go check on the others in the main room to see if everything is still alright. Thanks for letting me talk, Mallku.”

“Of course. You’re not gonna say hi to Jirachi?”

“Nah” Mai remarked, dodging the steel type’s furrowed brow. “Sweethearts don’t stay sweet without their heart. If Liz stays any longer without me she’s going to end up in a bad mood.”

Mallku nodded as the Mienshao slipped through the door opposite of the table, the door that led towards the entrance tunnel. Jirachi smacked their lips a little, yawning again.

“Today’s meeting day?”

“Yup.”

In the main room meanwhile, Mai found herself in front of a different face than expected.

“Look who’s here!”

Mallku followed her in, smiling quickly as Lucy, Ruby, Proteus, Todd, and Andesine shuffled through the tunnel, surveying the room. The other mons greeted them only to be quickly interrupted by Ruby.

“T-Tori!? So early!?”

Gabi moved out of the way, giving Tori and Ruby some room to hug.

“Gabi woke me up before dawn. A bit too early to be honest, but it was fine.”

“Y-yeah. What a surprise.”

Tori released Ruby from her grasp so the Cherrim could take a look around, noticing two new faces, a Mienshao and a Roserade wearing badges, similar to the kind she recognized, hooked to the collar of the scarves around their necks.

“Well then” Mallku announced, still carrying Jirachi in his arms. “We have five new pokémon for everyone to be acquainted with, and two others on their way soon. Please follow me to the basement so we can start the meeting shortly.”

The Weavile backtracked out the door and into the kitchen, with Proteus, Mai, Liz and Todd following. Ruby moved away from the larger crowd around them to get closer to Gabi and Tori, blushing from within her petals.

“So” Gabi chirped. “Looks like we got a big group here. Larger than I expected, really.”

“Y-yeah. It’s a bit much.”

Tori smiled. “Mallku said we don’t have to remember all their names today. But he said we should still try to treat everyone with respect. I think. I wasn’t really listening.”

“Of course you weren’t.”

“At least I was honest.”

“You two…” Ruby sighed.

Gabi threw a glare at Tori, only for it to miss as the Whimsicott slipped through the kitchen door. “Last one there owes me a million!”

She skittered outside of view, the other two behind her.

“I stick to my bet that she’s gonna end up dying recklessly” Gabi huffed, glancing back at Ruby as Lucy and Andesine passed them. “Anyways, how was your morning?”

“I waited by your house for a few minutes, but f-figured it was best to just go ahead and let you go at your own pace. After that I met the other four on my way here.”

“Names?”

“P-Proteus the Galvantula, Todd the Forretress, Lucy the Chandelure and uh… I… I can’t remember the Gastrodon’s name.”

“Noted.”

“Yeah.”

Both of them waited in silence before Gabi spoke up again. “If we both make it late will neither of us owe her?”

“I hope.”

A minute later they made it to the basement door, tall and wide, leading to what Ruby suspected was the sleeping quarters. The sound of muffled chatter and excitement could be heard through the walls, echoing up the stairs that connected the rooms.

“Time to get comfortable, I guess” Gabi mumbled, floating down the stairs with Ruby following.

The basement was much larger than any other room from the inside, containing a few pieces of furniture and items scattered around. An ice box that reached toward the ceiling sat near the opposite corner of the room, with a large, gray cooking pot placed against the side. Multiple pokémon chatted between each other, in the middle of the room, against the wall, or next to the one or two wooden desks. All of the faces looked familiar, except for two.

A Chimecho and a yellow silhouette talking to Tori in the center.

From within her petals, Ruby’s eyes sparkled with hope.

She knew a Chimecho.

Like an Electrode on wheels, Ruby dashed straight towards her without delay. Tori quickly noticed and stopped talking mid-conversation, eyes averting towards the Cherrim as she rushed towards them. The yellow silhouette simply raised their horns in surprise.

By the time Ruby reached them, the Chimecho turned around and was met with awe.

“R-Ruby!?”

She opened the gap between her petals a little more. “Alice?”

Alice flew towards Ruby, squeezing her body around the Cherrim like a towel. “O-oh I didn’t expect to see you again! How’s it been!?”

Tori tilted her head in surprise, scratching one of her horns. “Huh? You two already met?”

“Yeah! I saved her from getting squished by pokémon in the city! It was a week ago, I think.”

“Oh, cool.”

Ruby sighed. Alice’s body was preventing her from seeing, with the way she was tightened around her now. “H-Hey, can you uh…”

“Oh! Sorry” the Chimecho mumbled, flying off of her and floating back to her spot from before. “Anyways, it’s nice getting to see you again!”

“Y-yeah.” Ruby tilted her head right, noticing the other pokémon. “Who’s this?”

The mon approached her up close, now becoming apparent that it wasn’t just one- it was multiple! Ruby nearly jumped back in surprise. She had heard of pokémon who came in group of smaller parts, but she had never seen them until now. This one seemed to be like a troop, with one larger creature leading five others behind its back.

“Hello!” the brass announced. “How great it is to be acquainted! You may call us The Joes; not just one Joe, multiple! I do most of the decision-making, while the others simply follow my lead. We are a fearsome force of a Falinks, I’ll have you know!”

The five smaller members made no noise back, standing still and focused and watching the brass’s movements. Do they even have brains? Ruby pondered to herself.

Hopefully this was the last name she’d have to remember today. Especially with the consideration that maybe the others have their own names, and likes and dislikes…

“Nice to meet you too.”

“We are fearless. Any threat will leave us never hesitating to fight!”

The brass jumped up into the air, followed by the other five in a smooth motion. The brass stabbed the air with his horns, and the troopers did the same.

“Us?”

“Yes! Teamwork is absolute!”

“S-so even if you charged into b-battle knowing you’re going to d-die, you would go anyways?”

“Yes!” The Joes exclaimed, stomping their feet in rapid succession. “Yes, fellow mon! We will fight the big fight as a team, and a team no less! Double the power, half the struggle! A mon does not need to learn simple math to understand how far teamwork can carry you!”

Tori nodded, turning her gaze to the stairs to see a Glimmora and a Slowking shyly sneaking in. “Looks like the other two are here.”

Mallku seemed to notice as well, because he immediately stopped his conversation with Lucy and transferred Jirachi from both hands to his non-dominant. He crawled onto a nearby wooden table and went right back to carrying the mon in both claws.

“Everyone!” he shouted, getting the attention of all mons in the room including the two new members. “Welcome, to our first meeting of the Arceus Slayers Association!”

Jirachi cringed a little at the mention of the name as murmured voices littered the small crowd.

“It has been a harrowing journey collecting members for this cause, but I assure you our little enigma will soon be the first checkmark on the bucket list of a brighter future! Thank you all for doing what you can to be here, taking a day out of your own and keeping as much of a secret as pokémonly possible.”

Heatran and Victini shifted towards the table, one on the left and the other on the right.

Forming a triangle, with Jirachi being the tip of it all.

“Now” Mallku continued, sweeping a claw over the crowd in dramatic effect. “Like what I said before, we have lived too long in this unjust world. I assume everyone knows the mythical pokémon Arceus, and if so, I applaud your knowledgeable attitude. Intelligent mons will only further our expedition! But soon, we will get back what this monster has taken from us. Soon, with the help of ordinary folks like us all, we can purge this feeling of powerlessness and start an uprising! Arceus will no longer rule the universe, and we will be able to live a life of peace forever on. By the talons of Lunala’s wings I say!”

Several pokémon cheered or raised their fists as Mallku held Jirachi to the ceiling for everyone to see. The mon’s face was full of boldness and determination, a fire lit by the hatred and anarchy floating around their heart.

“Now’s your speech” he whispered.

Jirachi nodded.

“And from now on!” they shouted. “You will fall under my command. A pack living divided falls divided, while a pack conjoined survives conjoined. Unless you follow my lead, a doomy desire will be spelt for us all…”

The mon sighed as Mallku lifted them down, giving way to a continued speech of his own. “We will soon find ourselves going beyond what is meant for mortals. In less than a few months we all, assuming we don’t all lose our chance beforehand, will be hopefully standing on the same ground as our creators, that dreaded wretch and his guards.”

He coughed in a shaky breath. “I am not doing this to scare you. You have all shown already that you are willing to push beyond what you see yourself capable of now. But I will make one thing clear: we do this as a team. We will seek justice for this planet by ridding of its creator as a… team. Jirachi, Heatran, Victini… everyone will get their revenge if we do this together.”

Heatran roared as the crowd kept up the excitement. Tori made the loudest cry of all, completely ignoring Ruby behind her.

Victini climbed up onto the table alongside Mallku, ready to give a speech of their own. “Now that we’ve laid out the basics, I guess we tell them our course of action?”

“We’re still kinda working on it but sure, go ahead Vic.”

“Alright then.” Victini faced the crowd with a furrowed brow. “As I’m sure Mallku has said before, we will be traveling to another continent in the following weeks. Unfortunately, we can not access the Hall Of Origin without an Azure Flute, and since ours have been confiscated, we must resort to stealing from other legendary and mythical pokémon.”

“Up ahead. There is a ruinous temple where Regigigas, the so-called ‘Mover of the Continents’ lies. We will sneak into the temple, and we will steal the flute while the mon slumbers. Any other changes of plan will be announced in the next meeting. But aside from that, we have nothing else to say.”

“Next meeting. Saturday at midnight. We will also make our departure that night, so please do bring any valuable or important items with you. Tents and food are highly recommended, as we will most likely not return.”

“Exactly what Victini said. Now, that concludes everything. Feel free to leave now unless you are Brunia or Louis.”

He pointed a claw towards the both of them. “You two! Meet me in the back of the room so I can talk.”

With that, Lucy and a few other mons exited the room, talking in muffled conversation. Ruby simply stood in her spot, with Gabi, Tori, Alice, The Joes and Proteus still near her.

Proteus readjusted his bags, ensuring nothing had fallen out of them. “What an interesting first visit. Pleasure meeting you all.”

“You too” Tori replied. “Hey, that reminds me- y’all should come to our house for the night. We’d love to have you over.”

“Oh, okay. Sure. Todd is busy tonight though, so he won't be able to come.”

Alice grinned. “I could come.”

The Joes made a stabbing movement in agreement as Gabi turned towards Ruby.

“What about you, Rubes?”

The Cherrim sighed. “I’d be cool with it.”

“Great. Let's head out now, then.”

Chapter Text

Now that Ruby was thinking about it, she was pretty hungry.

Shouldn’t’ve skipped breakfast she muttered to herself.

As city buildings slowly blurred into suburban neighborhoods, grass and plants become more of a common sight. The six of them moved down the street slowly, passing through rows of repeated brick houses with barely a different color or window placement. It was all the same.

Tori drifted to the right of her, chatting amiably with Proteus. “So what’s the cuisine like in southern Goji?”

“Better than here, at least. I’m not too familiar with cuisine specifically; my momma just bought whatever was being sold at the supermarket that day. Usually, it ranges from peppers to apples, and sometimes rice if the market is down. Call me feralistic, but we eat meat sometimes- just not unless it's a special day, like my birthday.”

“I wouldn’t really call eating meat 'feralistic'. It’s in their natural diet, what’s the fuss?”

“Don’t know. Some folks, too many of ‘em to be exact, just don’t care what you are if you’re eating meat. Shoutin’ hoopla about how it’s uncivil or is offensive to that kind of pokémon species or that it goes against Arceus’ laws.”

“I don’t think he would have seen it as going against his laws it if he made it that way in the first place.”

“Exactly. That’s like giving a poor mon money but then stealing it from him and calling him a petty thief or fool for accepting the bribe.”

“What meat does your family eat anyways?”

“Amoonguss limbs, fried Wimpod, et cetera. It’s not like there are people out there going and killing mons while they’re alive. All meat is usually killed naturally before being cooked. That’s what most folks refuse to understand.”

“Ignorant?”

“You could say.”

Gabi turned her body towards Proteus blankly. “Hey- Protes, mind if I ask you something?”

“What’s up?”

“Is there a reason for that bandanna around your neck? You’re not part of an outlaw group, are you?”

Proteus laughed, snapping Alice out of her thoughts. “You’re the fourth person I’ve ever met to ask that. I’ll have you know, this is merely an aesthetic preference. My older brother said it made me look tough once, so I wore it a lot when I was a young Joltik because being tough was what I thought I liked. Nowadays I just wear it because it’s comfortable.”

“Nice.”

And so the silence returned. Ruby found herself swirling in thoughts, walking down the street with little attention to the environment around her. Hearing Tori be quiet was… only doubling that confusion, though.

Gabi and Tori floated while Tori drifted in the wind, Proteus crawling and The Joes trudging on their twelve little feet, one after the other, as if preparing for battle. She found it a little fascinating how the five in the back followed the brass without hesitance or weariness. Ruby squinted a little, noticing how the brass had a blue glow in their eyes while the back five had… red eyes.

But only ferals had red eyes? The Falinks troopers seemed to lack the blood-shot vigor she had seen in ferals, but still had a vague resemblance that stood out.

Maybe the color of the eyes related to the amount of consciousness in a mon?

Looks like I’m gonna have to do some research later.

She glimpsed at the troops for a short while longer before she saw one of them tilting away from their current movement, staring right at Ruby, cold glare dead set watching her.

She turned her vision back to the road only to be immediately jump-scared as the sound of broken tambourines rung behind her. Everyone turned around, watching as The Joes lay in a messy pile.

The brass bounced out of the pile and stomped their feet angrily, being met by no reverberated movement. “Who of you messed up the line!?” he pouted.

Ruby winced. The troopers lazily picked themselves up, making no noise back and looking between one another, faces dry of any resemblance of guilt.

Maybe they won’t find out?

The brass sighed, shifting their shields around as if mimicking a defense order. “On with you all. If I see a further failure of a phenomenal formation such as that, one of you is getting chewed out!”

He stabbed his horn in the air, and the troop followed. They waddled behind him, attempting to recreate the line from before. Once everything was settled and the quiet returned, the other five carried on with their merry way.

Not too shortly after, they stopped at Tori and Gabi’s house, which blended in with all the other houses in the street. The front yard was completely bare of any flowering or plants, being the driest grass that Ruby has seen since she was invited to help move things in a year ago.

New guests. Right. I’ll… have to be patient with this one.

Gabi floated forward, opening the door with a telekinetic force. Proteus and Alice took the lead, Ruby following on her stubby legs. The Joes jumped up the steps after her, with Tori zooming ahead of them all as Gabi waited in the back, shutting the door.

The smell and warmth of morning light poured into the room from a nearby window, catching Alice in awe. She twirled midair, grinning as small little dots of fuzz floated around her.

“W-wow! What’s all this speckley stuff?”

“T-that's dustlight” Ruby answered. “It’s apparently the dust that flakes off Solgaleo’s fur when light passes through a room, a-and legends say that if you see it, you have a higher chance of having good luck.”

“Wow…”

Ruby tilted her head a little, alerting Alice to keep moving. They progressed down the hall, reaching the kitchen. Tori shuffled through her shelves before coming to a sigh.

“GABI!”

The Reuniclus floated into the room. “Something the matter?”

“When was the last time you went shopping?”

“I dunno. Three weeks ago?”

“We’re out of berries” Tori groaned.

“Fuck.”

Proteus and The Joes glanced between each other. “No food then?” the Galvantula croaked.

“I-it’s fine” Ruby assured. “If worse comes to worse we can always just order take-out… or something.”

Alice lit up. “This city has fast food!?”

“Y-yeah.”

Proteus nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“Wh-where should we go?”

“I know a place” Tori announced. “It has a buffet too. That way we can just order what we see and not fuss about menus.”

Change of plans then Ruby thought to herself. Not that Tori isn’t a bad cook, but eating out at least saves us some awkwardness.

Gabi floated back towards the door. “Sorry about that, Tori…”

“It’s no big deal. C’mon, let’s just go out and fucking eat something.”

“Fine.”

~

The Joes shuffled out the door one by one. Gabi closed it behind them, sighing with a shaky breath.

“I assume you know where this place is?”

“I do” Tori chirped. She drifted down the street, leading a way back to the city with Ruby and Alice following. “It’s got a large menu too!”

Gabi floated forward, reaching pace with her. “And what’s the name of this place, exactly?”

“Darm’s. I took you there once, remember?”

“No you didn’t?”

“I did though. We went a few months back to celebrate your birthday.”

“That’s not what happened?”

Tori scowled. “We went with Raya. How the fuck do you not remember!?”

“My birthday was a month ago, Tori. And I didn’t see you on that day, either. You’re sure you’re not confusing me with someone else?”

Ruby treaded silently behind them, rocking the bag strapped to her side bag in pace with her footsteps.

“Are they always like this?” Alice whispered.

Ruby glanced over, sighing. “Kinda.”

“What kinda ‘kinda’?”

“Huh?”

“You said they were kinda always like that. What kinda ‘kinda’?”

Proteus crawled in between them, interrupting conversation. “Y’all trying to make a new language or something? I couldn’t help but overhear…”

“N-no” Ruby muttered. “Alice was just asking a question.”

Alice nodded, chuckling awkwardly. “Sorry if that came out wrong.”

A wave of silence flew over the three of them before Proteus picked the conversation back up. “Since it looks like it’s going to be such a long walk, why not learn some more about each other? I’ll start. I’m from southern Goji, in a little town called Winkelen. What about you two?”

The both of them flinched. Alice glanced back to Ruby, who glanced back to her.

Ruby sighed. “U-uhm, I’m also from a little town, a bit south from here.”

“Oh. What’s the name?”

“La Colina. Came here with my aunt after a-“

She stopped moving altogether, breathing held short.

“Ruby?”

“Sorry” she croaked. “Bad memories.”

“Oh, okay.” Proteus turned towards Alice. “What about you?”

The Chimecho laughed softly, frowning. “U-uhm.. I-I don’t know to be honest…”

“What do you mean?”

“I… don’t remember having a home, or a family-”

“You don’t have a family?”

Alice choked out tears. “I wish I knew if I did.”

Ruby and Proteus stood there, puzzled. A mon without a home? Or mons to even come to that home to? No parents, or aunts or uncles, or anything…

“So like, how were you born then? You didn’t just fall out of the sky, did you?”

Alice sighed. “I don’t know… it’s… it’s very hard to remember.”

The three of them turned back to their walk in an effort not to dig deeper into Alice’s private info. Gabi and Tori floated ahead of them moving through the street past shops and hotels, still carrying on the conversation they had started back at the house. The suburban neighborhood they had came from had shifted back to the lively area of Blubluk, a transition that none of them had caughten aware of.

Tori glanced back. “Y’all still hungry?”

“Y-yeah!” Alice shouted.

“Good. We’re getting close.”

Proteus reassured the bag over his back, stuffing the smaller pink one inside it. “Can’t eat with my palps full” he joked.

They traveled through the streets quietly, following Tori’s navigation. A few minutes later they reached a small corner of the city with multiple restaurants built into city walls, a few open-air seats being scattered in the large space in the middle. Signs in Unown lettering hung over each of the doors, varying in color and size.

Tori directed towards a restaurant by the name of “Darm’s”, with a painted drawing of a hungry Darmanitan pounding onto the sign, spewing colorful flames around the lettering. The Joes kicked down the door, watching as it passively swung open and back, smacking two of the troops backwards.

The brass groaned. “Again with it!”

The troops picked themselves back up, pushing the door open with two holding down one side and three holding down another. The brass led everyone inside and up to the reception desk, where a Delibird with a teal apron waited behind the counter.

The troops all stumbled behind the brass in quick order as the Deilibird spoke up. “Welcome to Darm’s!”

Tori moved to the front. “Table for twe- six. Buffett.”

The Delibird frowned, holding a clipboard and pen. “Buffett isn’t until dinner hour, sorry. Would you be willing to try our casual dining instead?”

Gabi glanced back to Tori. “You’re serious!?”

Tori simply shook her head. “It’s fine. Casual dining is fine.”

“Alrighty!”

The Delibird hostess led them to a circle-shaped booth near the back, whistling as the two mons glowered at each other. The Joes hopped in first, followed by Gabi, then Alice, then Tori, then Proteus and Ruby.

“Menus will be out shortly.”

“Thanks.”

The hostess left, leaving Gabi and Tori locked in a death stare between each other.

“You said there was a buffet!”

“The hostess said there was but only at night! How was I supposed to know that!? I haven’t been here during the lunch hours!”

“You didn’t say anything about sitting down either!”

“Hey, it’s an honest mistake! Diners are the same thing, what’s the point!?”

“Stop fighting!” Alice interrupted. She glanced between the two of them, anxiously sweating. “W-we got here, that’s what matters. Please don’t fight…”

“Fine” Tori grumbled. She leapt out of her seat and onto the table, getting out of her current spot and sitting right next to Ruby, which made the mon blush in surprise.

As quiet brew over the table, a Bisharp wearing an apron approached, holding six menus in their palms. They placed them on the countertop, sorting the menus to each mon before heading towards the kitchen.

Proteus reached for one, flipping through the lists. “This is a pretty meaty selection.”

“Y-yeah” Ruby mumbled, passing a menu to Tori. “I g-guess I’ll just have some berries. I’m not really that hungry right now anyways.”

“Not hungry? But you just said before you were hungry? What’s the problem?”

“I’m not sure. Spicy food isn’t really my thing, and there seems to be a lot of it here…”

Gabi teleported a menu to The Joes, who grumbled in frustration. “Can’t even flip through these damn pages!”

“Need help?”

“I’m fine” the brass hissed, turning their eyes away from her. The troops stacked on top of each other, creating a small staircase so he could stand on the table and sort through the menu.

“Whatever.”

Alice sighed, levitating a menu towards herself.

“This is going poorly…”

“No kidding.”

Meanwhile, Proteus glanced back to Ruby, pointing to a heading labeled ‘Desserts’.

“Look at this!” he announced. “They sell rhubarb pie here! What a sweet coincidence, kek!”

“Y-you’re not going to eat a whole pie are you?”

“Oh don’t worry” Proteus chuckled. “I’ll give you a slice too, so you don’t miss out.”

Ruby sighed as the Bisharp waiter reapproached the table, carrying a slip of paper and pen. “Ready to order?”

“W-we are” Alice assured. “I’ll have the uh… potato tortilla.”

“Rhubarb pie” Proteus replied. He turned to Ruby. “What about you?”

“Kelpsy stew is f-fine.”

Tori slammed her fist onto the table. “I’ll have what she’s having.”

The Bisharp lightly nodded, scribbling on the piece of paper.

Gabi took her eyes off her menu, staring into the waiter’s soul. “Grilled Farfetch’d.”

“Right away.”

The Bisharp quickly walked back to the kitchen before The Joes could make a move.

“D-did he ignore us!?“ the brass screeched.

“It’s no big deal” Gabi mumbled. “I’ll let you have some of mine if it bothers you enough.”

“Fine.”

~

Proteus cut a slice out of the pie, placing it next to Ruby’s soup bowl.

“Well? You gonna try it?”

“Y-you’re sure about this?”

“If it’s as great as my momma’s it’s sure not to disappoint.”

Ruby sighed, opening her outer layer so her stubs could reach the pie. She took a bite, chewing slowly with her eyes closed, showing very little reaction.

“Well? Do you like it?”

“It’s not bad” Ruby mumbled.

“Great. Want more?”

“N-no thanks.”

“Alright.”

Proteus glanced back to Gabi, watching as she split apart the Farfetch’d wing into two with her psychic energy and teleported one half in front of The Joes.

“Any of you want to try it?” the bug queried.

Alice sighed. “I’m g-good sorry.”

“And you… two?”

“Let me fucking eat my own food first” Gabi hissed, throwing a glare at him.

The Joes looked away from Proteus, the troops instead staring at their plate with a fixed glare. They waited not for the brass’s order’s jabbing their horns into it furiously, hooking it on the tips and dropping it into their small mouths. A few small bits of the wing were scattered onto the seat only to be picked off again. The brass watched it all furiously, with a hint of a flame in his eyes.

“The brass gets the first bite! Ge… get out of the way!”

The troops proceeded to ignore him, continuing their hunger without a care about onlookers.

“Punishment it is then!”

The brass kicked the one in front of him, only to be stopped from continuing his rampage by Gabi, who quickly levitated him into the air.

“What kind of leader are you thinking you can mistreat your own crew!?” she snapped.

“I’m disciplining them! Is it not obvious!?”

“Chill the fuck out dude. If it bothers you enough just take a slice of pie and give your guys a break.”

“If I don’t keep a watch on them no one will.”

Gabi rolled her eyes. “Right now, I think you’re the one who needs watching.”

She let loose of her grip on the brass, sitting him in between her and Alice. Proteus passed a slice of rhubarb pie to him, which he quietly ate under Gabi’s eye. Tori caught sight of Ruby looking at them and smiled.

“You okay Ruby?”

“Y-yeah.”

Tori nodded. “Yo Proteus, mind if I try some?”

The Galvantula glanced back. “Of course, kek!”

Proteus cut another slice and passed it to Ruby, who passed it to Tori.

In one bite, she was enthralled.

“Damn, this is some really good shit.”

“Not for an easy price though” Proteus replied. “Yikes.”

“Something wrong?”

“Seven-fifty for a pie.”

“The fuck?”

“At least the expense was worth it.”

Tori glanced towards Ruby, completely forgetting about her slice. “How much money you got in that bag?”

“No need to be in a hurry” Proteus interrupted, holding a pedipalp in the air. “I’ll pay. I ordered the pie; I’ll cover the costs.”

“Oh… thanks.”

“Of course. Anything for friends.”

Anything for friends?

Chapter Text

The door creaked open, wafting in a burst of sunlight and fresh air. A small, bud-like pokémon creeped in, taking in the cold atmosphere of the gymnasium, lit up only by a small circle of wisps in the center. A row of benches lined up against the two longer walls of the room, reaching from the front to the back doors. The wall was seemingly made of a stiff bark-like texture, holding up the roof to a Milotic’s length in height.

“P-principal?”

The pokémon creeped towards the center across the wooden floor, noticing an Armarouge meditating within the circle of wisps. The psychic started to glow in an orangey pink color as more steps were taken, a clear sign that they could feel the approach.

The Armarouge’s eyes slowly awakened, widening at the sight of the other pokémon. “Ah, Ruby. You have come.”

“Y-you called for me?”

“Yes, yes, I did. Hush for one moment please, and close that door. One must be able to have peace to make use of it.”

“Yes sir.”

Ruby skipped back to the gymnasium door, shutting it quietly.

“So how has life been for you as of late? Have your friends been treating you well? Is there any strange activity around the school I should be aware of?”

“N-no” Ruby mumbled, returning to him. “My friends haven’t changed; it’s been rather uneventful.”

“Ah, I see then. Though it is not my duty to pry on your social life, it is still my job to care for my staff and students at this school, so they can live peacefully without fear of being hurt.”

“Yes sir.”

“Please, call me Austin. Take a seat young lady, meditate with me.”

With a wave of his hands, he moved the wisps out of the way, giving space so that she could move into his circle. Ruby awkwardly shuffled in, squatting in front of him.

“S-si- Austin, this posture is rather uncomfortable.”

“If it bothers you so much, feel free to unwrap your layer and loosen yourself of those... chains, so that you can be at peace. You are a Cherrim, no? A newly-evolved yes, but I’m sure it will not be an issue for you.”

“I’m still g-getting used to it.”

“As such with evolution. Now, you are awfully jittery this afternoon, so we shall meditate. That is an order.”

Austin shut his eyes and placed his hands on his hips, quickly radiating the same-colored aura as he had before. The wisps danced and fluttered in response, levitating back and forth in multiple directions. Ruby’s eyes widened from within her small opening, aweing as the principal’s aura and flames moved in sync, movements that could be unread from the psychic’s blank expression.

“The power of aura is impressive” Austin muttered, slowly opening his eyes again. He locked eyes with Ruby, who flinched as he saw her. “You did not meditate. Your aura did not seem calm in the slightest.”

The Armarouge stood up from his current sitting position, dissipating the wisps in a single snap of his fingers. The light shut out completely, but returned as the mon used their psychic energy to flip on a switch on the other side of the room.

Austin sneered, eyes locked with Ruby. “You have failed the first exam. But we must not dwell on past failures. Come, we will enact the second.”

Ruby stood up. “Th-this was a test?”

“Yes, young lady. Now, I need to ask.” He turned around and crossed his arms. “Did your aunt ever teach you any of your lessons?”

“Lessons?”

“Ruby, do not fool with me. Your aunt is your legal guardian. So I ask now. Did she ever teach you any of your lessons!?”

“S-sir, I do not-“

“Do not have attitude” he snarled. “Fine with it. Your emotions have clearly infected your thoughts. We will see how far they will carry you.”

Ruby got up, and Austin turned around. He spread his legs, his arms, and his chest, leaving room for an easy blow. “The second exam will be one of combat. Fail this, and you are a lost cause to me. I will use only the most basic attacks: dodging, light punches, kicks, and rolling. Meanwhile, I will allow you to use any moves of choice, as well as maneuvers or combo moves. I do not care in the slightest. If I knock you over, you lose and leave. If you knock me over, you pass.”

He snorted, continuing. “Weaponize your inner aura, and don’t disappoint your parents. Nor me for that matter.”

“Y-you can’t be a little easier on me?” Ruby sighed.

“Young lady, life gives the hardest lessons first. Now, enough talk. Go, launch your first attack, but you may feel free to start when it feels natural. Weaponize your aura and trust your instinct. Thinking too hard will lead you to tripping over yourself.”

Ruby backed up, staring Austin down. His eyes burned with a blue flame, waiting patiently for movement, equal to that of a Mandibuzz flying over a dead carcass. His stance was locked and straight, making scratches along his armor appear more noticeable. There was not a flinch in him. He was determined.

It had been a while since she had done sparring with something that wasn’t feral. The strategy was all different, as civil mons could learn quicker, and were not easy to trick. Nor were they predictable. Austin was a titan of a fighter, even with his self-inflicted handicap. No living organism had to breathe to understand the simplicity and trueness of it.

There were probably a few hundred fights he had been in that were never told.

Ruby held herself straight, and relaxed her outer layer, of which she was still getting used to and struggled at first. A battle of footwork and strategy would require relaxation, especially in such a disadvantage in this.

Every cell in her body would have to keep her from tripping over herself. The hardest battle of all: keeping and finding a rhythm.

Not her greatest strength.

After a minute or two of dull standing, Ruby snapped into movement with a Magical Leaf aimed at his face, quickly blocked off by Austin’s shielded arms. With the small distraction, she tried to trip him with a Grass Knot aimed under his feet, only to be avoided as the mon quickly barrel rolled out of the way.

A few floorboards were scathed as she missed another attack, avoided by another barrel roll to the left. Taking the small window of opportunity, Austin aimed for a dropkick but barely missed as Ruby spun away from him. He got up, shielding his face from another special attack.

“You’re doing decent!” he commended.

Ruby lit up at the praise, but was smacked in the back a second later, tumbling to the right as she noticed Austin had taken the distraction as an opener. She bounced out of the way, missing another Magical Leaf.

He shifted away slowly, taking a defensive stance as small leaves bounced off his armor. “Your current strategy is helping you none. I know you have other moves, young lady. Where are they?”

“I forgot them” she hissed. “No use.”

“Two years ago, you were using Tackle like a warrior. Nowadays it seems you only stick to those awful two. Your movement lacks flavor!”

Ruby huffed in frustration and darted straight towards him, aiming for an up-close attack. Austin saw her and slapped her away with the swipe of his hands, sending her spinning across the wooden floor.

Her mind was dazed, and she was at a worse disadvantage, but it didn’t matter anymore. She needed this guy to shut up and stop berating her.

“You are only proving my points, Ruby. You are predictable, and you are doing nothing to help it.”

She seethed with anger, letting out her rage in the form of another Magical Leaf, which sharply landed a scratch in his armor.

Critical.

But one wasn’t enough. She needed two.

“Enough with it!”

Ruby bounced forward, making the best use of her anger. Austin saw her and aimed for a dropkick but was blinded as a Grass Knot got too close to the both of them, launching in the form of a crackling echo. A hard dent was bit into Austin’s armor as the collision caused both of them to tumble against the hardwood floor, faltering.

When he got back up, he noticed a new scar on his left leg, and winced.

“No blood. But a scratch.”

“I-I’m sorry” Ruby mumbled, sitting upwards.

“This did not go the way I expected. Alas, this would have been a tie if this weren’t the second round.”

“R-round?"

Austin got up and dusted himself off. The gym was the same as it had been before, aside from a wrecked floorboard or two. Sighing, he walked up to Ruby, shielding his face.

“Go!” he snarled, pointing to the door. “You have disappointed me enough already! I’m sure your parents would be just as disappointed if they saw you here now, putting your potential to waste.”

“B-but I-“

“Go waste your life doing something else. You have shown me enough that important things don’t matter to you anymore. Keep pursuing medicine, or whatever stupid shit you’ve been fantasizing over for the past fifteen years. Throw me to waste, and I will do the same to you.”

He finally looked her in the eyes, kneeling down close and glowering with disgust. “Your father was an old friend to me back in the day. Yet here is his daughter, not carrying on everything he’s lived for, everything he’s cared for and held dear to him, and instead doing the exact opposite. May you and your aunt be damned.”

With that, Ruby scampered out the door, not wanting to talk further.

~

A Torracat lay quietly on a blanket under the porch of a fruit stand, watching as a Whimsicott and a Cherrim walked by. Noticing the bag around the latter’s shoulder, a clicking sound went off in their head.

“Heya folks! It’s a pretty hot day down in Blubluk isn’t it?” they shouted. “Wanna take a break from the heat and try out some on-sale Payapa berries!? That’s right! Payapa! The best selling Payapa parlor in the Na-“

“No thanks” the Cherrim interrupted. “We’re doing errands, so we’re kind of in a rush.”

The Torracat grinned with fake enthusiasm, meeting ‘eye contact’ with the mon. “Ah, but what some for the road? If Payapa ain’t your style, we got Oran and Pecha too!”

“I said we’re busy. C’mon Tori, let’s get out of here.”

The sound of a groan could be heard behind her as they ventured farther down the alley. The Whimsicott glanced back, eyes blinking with confusion.

“What was that about?”

“Berry sellers.”

“Oh, cool. How far is the college from here?”

“W-we’re real close” Ruby mumbled.

“Great. But wait- I thought you said we already moved your things back to my house? What are we coming back for?”

“I’m just gonna return my key, then I file a paper or two that shows that I’m no longer paying the college, a-and that I’ve dropped out of my courses. It might look bad on me if I try and sign up to a different college, especially since I dropped out of another, but I’ll probably be dead before I get the chance.”

“Right. Jirachi and shit. Hmm… now that I think about it, I don’t think me or Gabi have much to pack up.”

“N-nice. Maybe we can take a break tonight for ourselves, since we’re probably sleeping through most of sun-up tomorrow.”

“Hell yeah. We should organize a party for your college drop out.”

“H-huh…”

“Any chance for a party is a great one” Tori remarked. She looked around the city as the alley led them back into the heat of the streets. “And hey. If worse comes to worse and we end up dying on this old fart’s expedition, we’ll die together! Gotta think positive!”

“D-d-did you just call Mallku an old fart!?”

“His words, not mine.”

“I guess that’s true.”

Eventually they made it to the college gates, guarded by a Spidops and a Combusken. Their stances were firm and unmoving, completely ignorant of the heat. As Tori and Ruby tried to shuffle between them, they were quickly stopped as the Spidops snatched Tori by the arms.

“H-hey let go of her!” Ruby snapped, preparing to fight.

The Combusken locked eyes with her. “Guests aren’t allowed on college campus. Not my rules, so deal with it. Either leave her here or both of you don’t come here in the first place.”

“Fine” Ruby sighed, her stem drooping. “I’ll be back, I promise.”

“Alright” Tori muttered, crossing her arms, and leaning on the fence within the guard’s eye-reach.

Talk to Curtis, return the key, avoid all flirting, and sign the papers. Should be easy.

Ruby skittered towards the main building, shuffling down the dirt path and through the glass doors. Once she tumbled inside, she quickly recognized a familiar-looking Morgrem at the front desk chatting amiably with a Pawmot.

“I’ve been working on this new move I learned recently” the electric type chirped. “It works like a Reviver Seed, without the expenses. I-I’ve been studying with the health coach, and he seems just as interested. If we get a bit more time to study and practice it, we’ll be able to unearth a whole new level of scientific knowledge!”

Curtis grinned. “Ah, well then. Stay safe beautiful, I’ll see you around.”

She walked away, giggling. Curtis turned his head, and quickly noticed Ruby approaching the front desk. “Welcome back!”

“W-were you flirting with her?”

“I’m not” he huffed. “It’s simply called staying sharp, gurl. Wouldn’t expec’ someone like you to understand.”

“Like me to understand?”

Curtis glowered in response. “You clearly don’t know what yer watching. It’s called… keeping the ladies impressed. If I ain’t wooing them every chance I get, they’ll treat me lik’ a fool. And ‘onestly I don’t want that.”

“Huh?”

“I’m just… just tryin’ to keep things in check. Keep mons like you in check.”

“Excuse me?”

Curtis’ glowering turned into a desperate and thirsty plead in the snap of a claw. He leaped over his desk and mimicked a soldier begging for mercy, with his eyes fearful and palms clasped. “I’m sorry babe. I didn’t mean any o’ that. I’m just a little desperate, ye hear!”

Ruby stood up straight. “Curtis?”

“I can make it up to you, Ruby darling. I’ll take yeh down to the diner downtown and we can have a night for just the two of us. Just us, okay?”

“I came here to sign papers, not get flirted at!” she snapped. “How many times do I have to tell you this!? I’m not into you!”

“Fine” Curtis grumbled, a few fake tears streaming from his eyes. He got out of his current position and back to his desk. He shuffled some papers, sliding a document towards Ruby, winking as he went. “Not our wedding papers, but it should still be okay.”

“You make me sick.”

“Think about it” Curtis continued. Ruby scribbled on the paper with her stubs, using a pen she found on the desk, making out a signature. “We can get time to ourselves, and when no one’s in the house I can unwrap you like a present, and we can get funky with it. You’re my present, gurl. I bet you look even cuter without that nasty budding, don’t you?”

Ruby writhed at the thought.

“Keep talking and you ruin your reputation more.”

“Ruining my reputation at the cost of you? Darling, I’d pay that any day.”

“P-please, be quiet.”

“I’ll yap all I want, gurl” Curtis snapped.

After Ruby finished writing, she took a key out of her bag and placed it on the countertop. “I hope you treat other girls better than this.”

“Buzzkill.”

She swiftly exited out the doors she came, anxiously racing down the main path. When she caught sight of Tori at the front gate, her muscles and nerves relaxed.

That’ll be the last time I’ll see that guy again. For once, I can breathe.

Outside the college, the two happily reunited. Ruby reorganized her satchel strap, sighing with relief.

“I’m back. I had small difficulties, b-but it was mostly quick.”

“Nice” Tori chirped. “What was the difficulty?”

“The guy at the front desk was... harassing me, I th-think. I’ve told him for the past few months I’m not into him… b-but he keeps pushing my feelings aside and trying to make some sort of clever comeback to try and get me to love him. I don’t understand what his problem is. I know he does it w-with other girls too, I saw him talking with one of the health assistants and flirting with her.”

“Phew.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing. Sorry he was being such a shithead to you.”

“It’s okay” Ruby mumbled. “C’mon, I got one last errand. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

“What is it?”

“Saying… goodbye to my aunt.”

~

Through a turn off the main road, the street curved into a forested line of houses, leaning further down to other neighboring streets in the same area. The neighborhood was very humanized, with similar looking brick homes and cottages, all close in shape and design. Many trees and shrubbery were strewn along the grass, with a mailbox placed at every corner of the driveways.

“Southeast Blubluk” Ruby whispered. “A popular place for the elderly and the middle-class.”

“Your aunt lives in one of these houses?”

“She’s stayed in the same place as when we first moved in. Then I left for college, and the house became quieter. But she’s been doing pretty well on her own as far I’m aware. She has friends from her gardening club that keep her company.”

“Gardening?”

“Y-yeah? She’s a grass type also, so it’s only natural for her to want to.”

Tori sighed. “How old is this woman?”

“Don’t remember. C’mon, let’s be quick.”

Ruby led the way down the street, dashing along the side of the road with Tori floating behind her. They took a left at an intersection, passing down a few more streets before Ruby’s movements started to slow, and the neighborhood reeked of familiarity.

“Are we close?” Tori blurted.

“Y-yeah.”

“What are you slowing down for?”

Ruby turned around, meeting her eyes. “I’m just… anxious. I haven’t seen my aunt in a long while. I don’t know how much has changed, wh-whether she sees me as a disappointment in my current state… I-”

“I’m here” Tori assured. Her smile was soft, becoming softer as the fairy patted Ruby on the back. “I’ll be here no matter what. You can always trust me, and even if you don’t, I trust you. If you don’t want to see your aunt, we can just go home, and that’d be fine also.”

A small sigh escaped Ruby’s lips. “Thank you for that.”

“Always.”

The Cherrim glanced away from Tori, looking back at the street ahead. “If she d-doesn’t love me anymore, and everyone else didn’t either, wi- would you?”

“I think that sounds a little absurd. But if that did happen I’d do my best to defend you. But I wouldn’t ever see that being more than a nightmare, to be honest.”

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

Ruby led Tori a little farther down the road, eventually stopping at a house that stood similar to the rest, though embracing a large bed of petunias below the front porch, making the house seem prettier as a result. A few other colorful flowers bloomed in the yard, providing a deep contrast to the rest of the estate and brick building behind them.

The two mons proceeded to the door.

“Should I wait out here and let you talk with her alone or go inside with you?”

“I-I should probably go in alone. I have a deeper relationship with my aunt, so it might be better if it’s a private conversation. I don’t know if she has guests or not, or if she’s even here.”

Ruby extended a stub to reach the door, wincing as it creaked open.

Welp, no avoiding now.

“You got this.”

“O-okay.”

Tori saluted her as she crept inside the house, slamming it behind her. The mustiness of wooden flooring and open windows quickly enveloped the Cherrim, causing her to let out a shaky breath. Ruby jolted off the carpet below her, glancing around the living room that connected to the entrance hall.

The house was vaguely similar to her last visit yet stuck out like a sore thumb the way slight adjustments had been made to noticeable parts of the room, from the placing of chairs to the rearranged shelves. The lack of potted plants on the windowsill was also unnerving, but Ruby made no further notice of it after a second or two. A part of her felt claustrophobic in the room, squeezing her like a thin strip of paper in a crumpled folder.

So much had changed to the layout of the house while she was gone. Like a mystery dungeon, but less dangerous. The question would remain unsolved unless she actually pushed herself to ask, though.

One more step taken is another less.

Ruby proceeded down the hall, moving through the living room until she reached the dining room. In the middle of the space was a short-but-stout wooden table, with several pillows around it. A hushed candle sat atop the table surface, silencing any trace of fragrance. The seats were empty, just like the rest of the rooms so far, but the curiosity within Ruby was just as much burning as her anxiousness, and it kept her going for as long as she could handle.

In the kitchen, it was just as silent. Several china dishes and plates were stacked inside one of the cupboards, a sight that seemed strange due to the fact that her aunt was never much of an antique collector during Ruby’s childhood, but it was here regardless, and it puzzled her. A glass door connected to the porch, but she was met with disappointment to find the yard barren, just like the others.

Ruby took a step back, trying to calm herself. She wouldn’t just leave a house unlocked without being here… too, would she?

This is my fault isn’t it? Had my selfish dreams really caused her to go insane? O-or maybe this was someone else’s fault… or she invited a friend that killed her and took possession of her things and reorganized everything… o-or maybe she got married and this is a result of that person taking control over her life… o-or… no, it can’t…

She turned around, and quickly noticed a figure behind her, a white amalgamation that Ruby almost didn’t quite recognize due to her current panicking, a creature bearing small wings and smaller, stubby limbs. Something that wasn’t her aunt... something that didn’t belong here…

“Oh? Who are you?”

Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin. “I-I’m sorry I-“

“Are you Jemma’s daughter?”

“Y-you know her?”

Behind the mon, the Lilligant quickly came into view, wearing a golden necklace fashioned from beads over her sepals. She let out a small giggle, standing next to the stranger.

“Ruby dear, how nice it is to have you! Did you come here to see me?”

Too many emotions, congested like a lump in her throat that was too afraid to spit out. The overwhelming of it all made Ruby dizzy, but it didn’t stop her from trying to make conversation.

“I-I-I’m sorry” she blurted.

“Sorry? What for?”

“F-for barging in without telling you I was coming. It-it’s…”

Jemma’s eyes softened. “Honey, it’s okay. As long as you don’t do it again, I’m happy to have you here, always. C’mon and give me a hug! I miss my little girl.”

Ruby stumbled forward, sighing as Jemma reached out and squeezed her. In a loving embrace, she felt at home, just like things used to be before she left.

“Th-thank you…”

“Thank you for coming. It’s been awfully lonely without you in the house.”

Once Jemma let her free, Ruby turned towards towards the other mon in the room. “Wh-who is this? A friend?”

The Lilligant chuckled. “More than a friend, dear. Meet Iris the Togetic, your new… ‘unct’.”

Now that Ruby was less anxious, her vision started to shape itself, revealing things she hadn’t clearly seen before. Her aunt was… older than she last remembered. A few wrinkles had shown themselves, very small but noticeable, pairing with the slight bagginess under her pearly eyes. The Togetic, as she could see now, looked to be slightly younger, but still had a hintable trace of middle age.

It was evident that she was an adult that things around her… were getting older, whether or not she could see it.

“I think ‘auncle’ suits me better” the fairy replied.

“Anything that makes you feel happier, honey.”

The dizziness weighed in, suffocating Ruby. “B-but, I thought you said relationships weren’t your thing… h-how then do you-“

Without skipping a beat, Jemma interrupted her. “Sometimes people can be wrong at first, dear. How foolish I was thinking that things would stay the same.” She sighed, looking towards the porch. “Things changed when I met Iris. Something within me that had never presented itself before started appearing, and it appeared only when I was with them.”

“B-but how-“

“I will admit I felt awfully guilty when I found out I did have feelings. Iris made me feel a... different kind of love, which was something I thought was impossible for me, as it had been years before. I felt scared and strange and uncomfortable.”

Iris looked Jemma in the eyes. “Thank Solgaleo you opened your heart to me.”

“Thank him indeed.”

Ruby felt defeated, looking up to the two of them. “I guess that means you’ll have someone to keep you company now.”

“I do, dear. I’m sorry if this upsets you but… I’m happier. I won’t have to constantly stress about keeping up a job and watching you, but I know time has passed and you can quite clearly take care of yourself. It’s a great feeling having someone to love this deeply, and I’m honestly surprised it took this long to feel.”

“S-so Iris is a part of the f-family now?”

“They are” Jemma replied, blushing. “You’d be surprised to find out about how we met.”

“I’m... okay with that. G-go ahead.”

Iris started off. “We met during a therapy class. The class involved a lot of group therapy sessions between strangers and… my first partner ended up being your aunt. We worked surprisingly well together, and after becoming great friends we eventually decided to meet outside of the office just for fun, since we both had nothing to do that day. I won’t go into further details but… I told her my feelings, and she said she was surprised, because she did too. We had some more time together, we closer over time, married and I moved in with her.”

“I didn’t want to move out of here because I didn’t want you to think I had died” Jemma announced.

It was all starting to piece together.

“B-but how did you feel love so late in life?” the Cherrim mumbled. “Isn’t that kind of a… paradox?”

“Dear, life is a mystery. Sometimes you just have to thank your god for any blessings given and move on with life.”

“O-okay. It’s different for everyone then?”

“As it is.”

Iris giggled. “I have a quote for this scenario, but I don’t think any of you would understand. Maybe not Jemma, but I know Ruby graduated school based on what I’ve been told, so she might.”

“You two… didn’t?”

“Nope” Iris replied. “Not as big as this generation, but we were still taught basic stuff like numbers and reading and a bit of math. Human knowledge was scarce until now, but now we get kids these days learning dark magic like calculus and geometry. I don’t know what any of it means, but I hear society is developing pretty damn fast with this new knowledge, so it doesn’t bother me at all.”

“Y-yeah.”

“And it never does stop changing, does it?” Iris continued. "But I’m getting off topic. You came here for something, didn’t you?”

Ruby sighed. “I did.”

Jemma inched towards the kitchen cupboards. “Would you like a snack while you chat?”

“No thanks, Aunt Jemma. B-but thank you for the offer.”

“Not even your own kid by birth but you still treat her better than any parent I’ve ever seen?” Iris sneered. “You’re something else, Jem.”

“I try my best. Now, let’s all have a seat, as I am sure she has had a long walk to get here.”

The three of them sat down quietly at the kitchen table, eyes fixed on Ruby, patient and attentive.

Deep breaths, deep breaths.

“W-well, there was something I wanted to tell you” Ruby blurted. “Tori came with me, but she was fine if I just talked with you alone. I… don’t know if I would even be here without her.”

“Bless her” Jemma whispered.

“A-a-anyways, I got an offer for a… job out of continent, but it required me to move away from college. I wasn’t really happy with my current standpoint anyways, and two of close my friends, Tori and Gabi, wanted to go with me, so I decided to take the offer.”

Iris nodded. “When do you suppose you’ll leave?”

“Tomorrow night. Sorry for not telling you… and Iris earlier. I know excuses are bad, but- I am sorry. I was busy with my final workdays… s-so I had to push in extra hours, a-and I was struggling to balance a few other things outside of school and work.”

“Tomorrow night?” Jemma repeated. “Ah, dear, it’s unfortunate you can’t stay with us longer. I’d love if you could get to know your new auncle a little better. But… work is important, and you have your friends with you, and I know you’re a tough one for your size. Even if you won’t be with us physically, you’ll be with us in our hearts.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know if I’m coming back alive or not.”

“Regardless, we’ll be praying for you.”

A few tears ran from Ruby’s eyes, soaking through her petals and drying on the pillow cushioning below her.

“Th-thanks.”

“Dear, you are my daughter in heart. You’re a brave soul, and I’m proud you’ve gone so far in life. Your potential is still there inside you, and I know it will lead you very far. Even if your mother and father aren’t with us, I am, and I wish you safe and happy travels, wherever your heart aches.”

“Even if it leads to my own death?”

“By Mew’s grace, please be more careful than that.”

Iris smirked. “You’re a great woman and mother, Jem. Now then Ruby, would you want to stay the night with us? We’d love to have you.”

“We would” Jemma added.

Ruby sighed. “I can’t sorry. Tori’s out there waiting for me, and I can’t just abandon her at a time at this.”

“That’s alright, dear. But would you at least hug me a little more before you leave?”

Ruby nodded, and her aunt quickly leapt into an embrace, laughing alongside her. Iris watched from the other side of the table, grinning. Jemma quickly noticed and extended a leafy arm towards them.

“Honey, you aren’t just going to watch and do nothing, are you? Join us, you are family now.”

The Togetic flew towards the two grass types and hugged alongside them. Despite feeling claustrophobic, Ruby still felt warm and at home, smiling from within her petals as the other two chatted amiably, talking about something that was too muffled for her to hear.

She almost felt like unfolding.

And yet, despite feeling like true family, she still felt like something was holding her back.

Not that she was fully aware anyway.

Chapter Text

Tori opened the door to the closet, taking out a small, unused journal. With a huff, she closed the door and skittered back to the kitchen, finding Ruby and Gabi packing up some of their own items.

“I’m taking this” Tori announced.

Ruby looked up and nodded. “Okay. H-How much else is left?”

“Not much, I think.”

Gabi yawned. “Gugh, should’ve slept a little more today. You two ready?”

“Not yet” Ruby blurted. “I’ve got books, m-magazines, a blanket, a few bits of medical supplies and back-up money, but I’m struggling to find the bow Tori gave me a few years back.”

“Don’t tell me you lost it” the Whimsicott groaned. “Well, if you’re gonna go look for it, can I at least help you?”

“I g-guess... sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Tori and Ruby shuffled back to the guest room, finding it mostly bare, except for a small glint of pink on the windowsill. Tori drifted towards it, thieving the bow off the perch, and giving it back to Ruby.

“How did you miss it?”

“I-I’m not sure. I guess I was just in a rush and forgot?”

“I hope this isn’t a common occurrence.”

“Again, s-sorry.”

“Whatever. Raya and her new boyfriend are almost here, let’s be quick.”

The two returned to the kitchen, finishing the rest of their packing until the doorbell rang from across the hall.

“That’s them!” Tori shouted, zooming to the front door.

Immediately as she peeked outside, she was met by two familiar faces, a Sinistea and a Banette, levitating three bags behind them.

“Welcome.”

“We came here as soon as we could” Raya chirped. She giggled a little, before leading the Banette behind her down the hall, bags floating behind. “Lovely place y’all have.”

Tori shut the door, catching up to them. “Thanks. Who’s... this?”

Raya spun around mid-float, coming into eye contact. “This is Cyril. We met recently.”

“Raya’s got a big heart, especially for me” Cyril cackled. “You can trust I’ll have great care in her.”

“Like I’d let you not!” the Sinistea teased.

“I’m better than that dipshit. You know that.”

“Oh, cheer up babe.”

Tori cringed slightly, before moving ahead of them to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Gabi slipped Ruby’s satchel over the Cherrim’s shoulder, making sure it was comfortable and tight enough.

“Hey, you said you’d let me help her this time” the fairy whined as she approached them, catching Ruby off guard.

Gabi avoided eye contact, snickering. “It’s not a big deal, Tores.”

Tori let out a frustrated groan, before glancing back to Cyril and Raya. The two ghosts floated forward slowly, whispering between each other.

Ruby stiffened her posture. “So, I guess we’re heading out now?”

“Not like we have much time anyways. The sooner the better.” Gabi whipped a key out of one of the bags and levitated it into Cyril’s palms. “Take care of the house; hell knows when we’ll be back.”

“Yes ma’am” the Banette smirked.

Gabi ignored him. “All of its yours unless we return.”

“Everything?”

“Yup. Don’t try looking around, you won’t find anything valuable.”

Raya smiled in thanks. “So where did you three say you were going?”

Ruby flinched in her spot, but Tori quickly jumped to improvise.

“We’re going on vacation!” she exclaimed, trying to bite a smile only to end up with a half-smirk. “Leaving the continent too! Just us uh... going to a popular spot near some ruins and relax, and maybe buy some souvenirs there while we’re at it.”

“Oh cool. What’s the name of the place?”

Tori froze.

She hadn’t thought that far.

“Can’t remember” Gabi continued. “But that’s not important, right Rubes?”

Ruby nodded. “Y-Y-Yeah.”

“Well, we’re kinda in a rush, so we should head out now. C’mon girls.”

Gabi drifted toward the door, with her and Tori’s two bags floating behind. Ruby followed, Tori giving a small apologetic wave as she drifted behind.

The Whimsicott sighed. “See ya.”

“Have a good trip!” Raya shouted.

Cyril faked a smile as he waved goodbye to the three of them. Right as Tori shut the door, she glanced back and saw him giving the stink eye, with his mouth in the form of a grin and his free arm around Raya’s side.

“Creepy 'mon,” the Whimsicott hissed.

Gabi snorted. “Don’t worry Tores, it’ll get interesting from here, I’m sure. From now on, we worry less about who’s taking care of our house and instead what adventure lies in the near future.”

“I still don’t trust that Banette. For fuck’s sake, I don’t trust any of Raya’s boyfriend choices anymore. This is the third damn time.”

“It’s also not our problem anymore.”

“I’m... surprised to hear that from someone like you.”

“Okay?”

“I dunno, you’re just... more imposing when it comes to this stuff? It’s weird seeing you let go so easily.”

“Whatever, we don’t have much time.”

“Fine.”

Gabi floated down the front yard towards the street, Tori shuffling behind. Ruby stood frozen at the porch, looking up at the stars through an opening of her outer layer. It was fascinating, and in a way, beautiful. The night was quiet and somewhat windy, but not windy enough to feel overbearing. The moon was close to half-full tonight, sending a shiny glow over the sky.

Looks like I don’t really have a chance anymore.

Ruby lowered her head away from the sky and down to Gabi and Tori, who waited patiently ahead.

No time for second thoughts.

She took a step forward, standing between the other two.

“I think I’m ready now,” the Cherrim said.

Tori smiled. “Great. Let’s get going!”

We do this together.

~

Mallku placed the large map onto the kitchen table, unrolling it with a sigh.

This is gonna be a hectic night.

He looked back up to Victini and Mai, who watched him from their side. Victini seemed mostly undisturbed, as with the Mienshao to the right of them, who focused intently, furrowing an ambitious glare.

The sounds of Ari and Jirachi yelling at each other could be heard in the basement, muffled out by the concrete walls of the bunker.

“What was going on down there?” Victini asked.

“The usual” Mallku answered. The dark type rubbed his eyes, groaning. “Augh... where were we?”

“You were talking about our routing?” Mai replied.

“Thanks. Uh... can you help me with this?”

Mai moved to Mallku’s side of the table, shuffling in quiet steps. She looked over the map he had set down, surveying it with her paws pressed on the edges to keep it from rolling back up. Ink drawings of two continents took up most of the space aside from the ocean around them, with a red line drawn from the middle of one continent and ending near the northern tip of the other, being the focal point of the paper. A few other small icons, resembling landmarks and points of interest, were also littered across the page in black ink, with one or two being intersected by the red line.

“Nice stuff you got here,” Mai remarked.

“It took me a while to find something like this that matched what we needed. Everything except the red line was there when I got it.”

“Where’d you find it?”

“Stole it from a shop. Not proud about it, but it was way too expensive even if I wanted to buy.”

The Mienshao smiled, giggling. “Don’t worry, I won’t pester you about this one. Your secrets are safe with me.”

Victini nodded, folding their arms. “We’ll be out of here in a few hours anyways.”

Mallku huffed. “You said it, Vic.”

“In only a matter of time, we’ll have our revenge. We just need to push forward for only a small of time, and before we know it...” Victini raised their balled fists, cheering. “Freedom for us! Freedom for everyone! Freedom from Arceus! Freedom from this accursed chain he’s dragged upon us all!”

“Keep up the enthusiasm, kiddo.”

“Think about it Mall! We’ll be heroes, spread by word of mouth as the ones who saved the world by killing its creator, who has done nothing but punish and punish and punish and make everyone’s lives miserable.”

Mai scoffed. “I think you’re getting too ahead of yourself.”

“Whatever,” Victini mumbled, looking away from her. “I’m just so fucking tired of this. Held up inside a basement for a year with mortals when I could be out there living life like how it was meant to be.”

“I feel you.”

“You understand my pain.”

“I do. But reckless explorers die the earliest. We can’t just push our way through every obstacle the way you want to now.” Mai sighed. “I’ve learned from the worse.”

Mallku nodded in agreement. “We have experience, regardless of your position, Vic. Being unable to age and having some sort of god-given power for free doesn’t make you any more better at tackling this sort of stuff.”

“We’re not just defeating one mon either. Who knows if there’s more to what we’re facing.”

“More?” Victini repeated. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t think Arceus would willingly throw themself into a fight against twenty other 'mons and let themself lose. They have guardians of some sort, don't they?”

“Yep,” Mallku chirped. “I’m sure Victini knows who they are. Not that we do.”

Victini nodded. “Dialga, Palkia, Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie.”

“Ah, those.” Mai looked up from the map, watching the door that led into the entrance hall. “Is anyone here yet?”

Right as she said that Lucy and Andesine shuffled inside, carrying two satchels on both of their shoulders. Lucy looked around the room until she noticed the three mons standing at the table, to which she floated forward.

“Greetings,” the Chandelure announced, gesturing in the form of a joyful spin.

“Heyo,” Mai replied, waving a paw. “Lucy, right?”

“Yes indeed.”

“Ah, great that you made it here. We were just talking about planning for our trip, mind helping us?”

Lucy floated next to Victini, eyeing the paper laid across the wooden table. “Fine work of art here. Cross continent travel, how interesting. How are we expecting to navigate the ocean?”

“In a ferry” Mallku answered. “Large enough for twenty. Assuming we keep on pace, we should reach the dock town a day early.”

“Intriguing. How about rations and general supplies?”

“We’ll be traveling for at least a month, as far as I’m aware. I think I have enough food to last us a while, but not enough. Even with the money I’ve saved up, I still expect everyone to pitch in what they can. I’m not just handing out free food for nothing, after all.”

“Of course, of course. Andesine and I brought some stuff with us, but not much. Though of course, we’ll be ready to help out when necessary.”

“Thanks. Now, onto travel.”

Mai let out a small hum. “So we leave tonight down this path...” She moved a paw across the page, following the red line. “Reach New Barcelona, take the ferry here, cross the ocean and end up at Lycan’s Dock... and then we... travel through the desert aimlessly? I don’t see any landmarks along the red line, past the shore.”

“We’re kinda trying to go through as little towns as possible” Mallku sighed. He traced his claw to the northern section of the second map, tapping it on a small mountain landmark. “Doesn’t say it here, but this is Mount Coronet. Must be outdated. Regardless, this is the most important part of our journey. Jirachi said it’s the only way mortals can access the Hall of Origin.”

“Oh, what’s that?”

“I’m not sure, I’ve only heard about it from Victini, Jirachi and Heatran. It’s apparently some sort of giant platform above the tip of the mountain, somewhere above the clouds, where the gods communicate in person.”

Victini nodded. “But you can’t get in unless you have an Azure Flute. Jirachi and I lost ours when we got kicked out.”

“Interesting” Lucy replied.

Liz walked up the basement stairs, smiling as the other four noticed her. The Roserade bolted forward, standing between Mai and Mallku.

“Whatcha’ll up to?” she chirped, leaning against the wood.

Mai smirked. “Not much. Just talking.”

Liz peered at the map placed atop the table, taking in the different places scattered across the two continents. “This looks fun. Are we doing much dungeon crawling?”

“No” Mallku blurted.

“Oh, okay. Sounds a little boring in my opinion, but I can deal with it.” Liz winked at Mai, before walking away, towards the entrance hall. “I hear chatter in the tunnels. Sounds like mons arrived.”

Lucy’s flames burned a little brighter, growing ever so slightly. “Let’s see, let’s see, we shall see” she whispered, following Liz away from the table.

Victini sighed. “I guess I’ll go check on Jirachi and Ari. Hopefully they haven’t killed each other by now.”

Mai squinted in confusion. “But wasn’t Liz just-“

The psychic left before she could finish her sentence.

Mallku stiffened himself into a better posture, groaning. “Goddamn it my back hurts.”

That caused Mai to smile, staring away from him. “Old mon.”

“You heard nothing.”

“I heard everything.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. You’re making me feel worse than I need to be.”

Mai glanced towards the entrance hall, watching as Todd, Proteus and Louis shuffled in. She stood there for a moment, staring at nothing in particular, until she eventually got up out of her frozen state.

“This is going to be a fun ride.”

The Mienshao moved slowly, stopping next to Liz on the other side of the room and jumpstarting a conversation with her. Mallku drew his eyes away from the rest of the mons in the room and slouched on the table with his arms folded under his head.

Should’ve slept in today.

I’m gonna need as much energy as I can tonight.

Yawning, he tried to close his eyes and rest, only to be immediately awoken by a familiar, childish voice.

“Mall? You there?”

“Let me sleep!” the Weavile grumbled.

Jirachi crawled onto the table, looking at him with discomfort and confusion. “You were supposed to sleep before sundown.”

“I was busy packing up.”

“You couldn’t’ve done that the day before?”

Mallku yawned. “Augh... I’ll be fine even without sleep. Maybe I’ll eat a Chesto Berry or something before we head out.”

Jirachi sighed. “You better not collapse mid-way.”

“I won’t. And that’s a fact.”

The psychic scowled, avoiding his eyes and crawling off the table. “Whatever.”

“I’m being serious.”

“If you were truly serious you would have slept when you could.”

“I was doing more-important things. Didn’t have time to rest.”

“And you won’t now, either.”

“Better than leaving late.”

Jirachi smirked. “We’ll see about that. I’ll let you drowse for now, but don’t get mad at me if I bother you later.”

“Deal.” Mallku let out a final yawn, going back to sleep.

~

The three of them were promptly embraced by the multiple pokémon who had already arrived beforehand. Ruby singled out Proteus first in the haze, despite the lighting from the candles around the room being difficult to get used to again. The Galvantula grinned under his bandanna, signaling others to make room with a wave of his pedipalps.

Todd and Louis moved to the right, giving a small area for Ruby, Tori and Gabi to squeeze through. Chatter drowned out the Cherrim’s thoughts as she met up with Proteus again later elsewhere in the room, away from others.

“Good to see you again!” he said.

Ruby tightened her petals, assuring her bag secure as her eyes jumped from one spot to the other. “I-It is.”

“So, what’ve you been doing this past week?”

“O-Oh, uhm...” she sighed, sweating nervously. “Not much. I did some packing, f-finished up my job, and said goodbye to my aunt.”

The bug seemed to be half-attentive, nodding and humming at every word. “Pretty similar to mine, kek.”

“I-I guess.”

“It’s been a pretty good week, even if it was boring.”

“I wish I could say the same.”

Proteus straightened, letting out a bit of stiffness in the form of a small static, which bounced off his hind legs. “Y’know, I think this ‘big mythical controversy’ Andesine told me about was a good change for all of us. It’s only been two weeks and I’ve already met such great friends.”

Friends?

“You consider us friends?” Ruby blurted.

Proteus stared at her, puzzled. “We aren’t?”

“N-N-No I just didn’t th.. think it would be so quick.”

“Oh. Okay, kek.”

Proteus’s chuckling caused Ruby to wince.

“S-Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize! I know it can be hard at first.”

“Th-that’s weird coming from you.”

“Is it?”

Shouldn’t have said that. “Y-You’re just much more sociable” she explained. “I mean... you make it look easy.”

The Galvantula lifted a pedipalp to his chin, just above his scar. “Hmm... that’s not something I’ve heard before.”

The two mons looked at each other, equally confused in different ways.

“Anyways, about what Andesine told me” Proteus continued. “Apparently the gods seem to fight a lot. I guess that’s what power does to ya, huh.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“It does make sense why we’re involved though.” He grimaced, coming into full realization. “Jirachi doesn’t seem to think highly of us...”

“D-Do you... think they only see us as a group of useless mortals?”

“Nah. Maybe not useless, but definitely not a big sacrifice worth worrying over.”

“Huh?”

He waved a pedipalp over the room like a scanner, pointing to all the pokémon who seemed mostly oblivious, making conversation. “Y’know Ruby, I don’t think my guess is too far off. Both of us, you see, we’re not professional fighters, but we still got involved regardless, meaning that any other mon could have gotten in too. The power requirement wasn’t high. That, and I don’t think we’re going to have much importance in the scheme of things, either.”

“D-Does that mean...”

Proteus nodded, lowering his bandanna, his tone becoming more serious. “Be careful. And if you notice any weird behavior, tell me. Mallku, Jirachi, Heatran, Victini... they could betray you at any moment, watch your back.”

Mallku!?

“A-And we’re just going to keep it between us? Shouldn’t I... shouldn’t I tell G-Gabi and Tori about this-“

The two of them crept farther towards the back of the room, sticking to whispers.

“Sorry, Ruby. But know that you can trust me. We’ll have to keep this between us if we want to make it out alive, kek.”

Ruby tilted her head slightly in confusion. “We’re running?”

“Nah” Proteus responded. “We’ll stick to see how this goes for now, but we can bolt in the night if things get scary. Just remember, they don’t treasure your life, or mine, or anyone else’s. We’re just a bunch of pawns ready to be thrown at the enemy, and they couldn’t care less if we die, so we shouldn’t have to care about them anymore if they mistreat us.”

She nearly jumped out of her skin. “W-Wait I-“

“Keep this between us. If our discovery gets shared to them, they’ll probably punish us in some way.”

“No b-but-“

“Sorry to break it to you. Anyways, I’m going to go check on Todd.” He turned around, crawling towards the other side of the room. “Stick this between us for now, got it?”

I...

A wave of guilt overshadowed her in that moment, leaning farther in as the bug left.

I can’t just keep this to myself.

She took a step back.

The fact that Mallku might just throw us away when the time comes-

She took another.

Just... pawns?

She could feel herself trembling, breathing slowly as her petals tightened a little more.

I shouldn’t have fallen for this stupid offer.

She took another step back, smacking against a mon and tripping. Her vision became blocked as she tumbled to the floor, bag crushed under her as someone shouted out of sight. She squirmed as claws gripped her side and pushed her upright. She looked up, met by the freakish glare of a teal, winged pokémon she didn’t recognize.

Ari gave her the stink eye. “Next time, watch it.”

The dragon reached down despite his massive size, nipping the strap of her bag and awkwardly placed it on her side, neither caring nor ignorant of the fact that it was the wrong way around.

“S-Sorry” Ruby blurted.

Ari sized her up, trying to get an idea of what he was looking at. “You’re not gonna spread pollen on me, are you!?”

“Huh?”

“Well? You’re some sort of plant by the looks of it. What do you do, try to attract every living bitch you see and spread your disgusting seeds on them? Yeah no, touch me once and you’re getting your shit beat.”

Ruby was at a loss for words.

“Listen” he snarled. “I never gave enough of a fuck in the first place to be transported to some degenerate’s dream made for kids and drop-out college students who don’t spend their time socializing outside the house.” There was a hint of anxiety in his breath, repressed by anger. “The more days I spend in this shitty paradise the more I see how fucking awful it is. I don’t want my ass pollinated by whatever dreaded monstrosities live down here, only to be eaten and served like a turkey at my uncle’s shitty Thanksgiving dinner.”

“I’m sorry I-“

“Stay the fuck away. I don’t want to know what vile or gore-distraught habits you or any of your species practice on the daily basis.”

Ari’s wings relaxed as Ruby winced, taking two steps back.

“I-I won’t” she promised. “I’m not feral, I swear. I’m a civil mon just like anyone else in this meeting.”

“Good” the Roaring Moon hissed. “Sorry, I haven’t had therapy since I got here. At least I still have beer in hell, hah! Don’t know what shitty things I did to deserve to be here in the first place.”

Ruby straightened, looking him in the eyes.

“Aside from being bisexual, probably” he joked. Ari relaxed, looking down at her with heavy contempt. “So what kind of Neopet are you?”

“Neopet?”

“What. Fucking. Species.”

“Ch-Cherrim” she rasped.

“Strange as hell name. Don’t know what I was expecting.”

“Sorry?”

He turned away, glancing around the bunker, towards other mons who were engaging in friendly conversation with each other. “Someday I’m gonna end up killing myself, ahahaha. Maybe I’ll go down like a pathetic idiot like most of the people here, or maybe I’ll die like I’m worth something, as if that’s anything other than nonsense. Or maybe I’ll do it myself, heh.”

“Goddamn it, where is therapy when I need it...” he muttered under his breath.

Ruby shuffled away, noticing the dining table and deciding to move towards it. “I’m g-going to go now.”

“Sure as hell you should.”

The chatter from other conversations died down as she walked away, but her focus was much more targeted towards reaching the end of the room, noticing a familiar mon there. Mallku drowsed in his seat, snoring completely unaware as she approached. Ruby widened the gap in her outer layer to pat him on the arm, but he simply grumbled and shooed her away with a light stroke of his claw.

“Mall?”

“Busy sleeping.” He yawned, smacking his lips.

“S-Sorry.”

“Is it already time?”

“I think so.”

Mallku sighed. “Fine. Give me a second, I’ll carry you in a bit.”

“Carry...?” Ruby repeated.

He raised his head, eyes snapping open at the sight of Ruby. His claws recoiled back, pupils squinting in confusion. “Oh! Sorry, I thought you were Jirachi for a second. My bad.”

She tilted her head slightly, wincing. “You didn’t get enough sleep?”

“Yep.”

“Okay. I just... thought I’d check on you. Didn’t realize you were sleeping.”

“It’s fine” Mallku muttered. He stood up, looking around. “Where did... they go?”

“Who is... they?”

“How about this.” He leaped over the table and raised a claw, squinting for any signs of Jirachi in the small crowd. “We’re about to leave. I’ll call everyone’s attention if you go make sure we have the proper head count. Make sure we have uh, eighteen. Can’t quite remember the exact amount, but it should be close.”

Ruby nodded. “Sure.”

She fixed her strap and moved through the room, counting to herself as Mallku yelled across the room, echoing through the walls and down to the basement for Heatran and Victini to hear.

This is going to be a tiring night she sighed internally.

Hopefully Proteus was wrong.

Hopefully.

Chapter Text

Out of the darkness, a tall, brooding figure staggered forward, licking a magenta ooze off their tongue and huffing as it drooped to the concrete floor. The mon turned around to the entrance way it had just exited, catching sight of the Mr. Mime trailing it, tapdancing as it walked and crumbing its path with small flakes of ice.

The psychic giggled, looking up into the Drapion’s irritated glare and smiling back. “Hey now! What’s with the look, boss?”

“This is serious business!” he snarled. “Quit it with the tapdancing.”

“Force of habit, heh!”

Letting out another grumble, the poison type moved toward a nearby switch and flicked it on. Light burst through the ceiling panels, illuminating the room like Volbeat on a night sky.

“One more word out of you is another step towards drivin’ me insane.”

“Insane seems a little overkill, don’t it?”

“Oh, shut up, boy.”

“It’s Herbert” the mime stated matter-of-factly.

“Whatever. Just because it’s overkill don’t mean it ain’t possible, especially when it involves you” the Drapion hissed, looking over his shoulder. His eyes wandered around the room, from the stacks of paper in the corners, to the poorly hidden glass containers that held colorful fluids inside, sitting along the walls. “Unorganized as always. Always hav’ta make a shitshow out of my money.”

Herbert danced in his spot. “Always trying to play hard-to-get, huh.”

“Shut it. I don’t need any more out of you.”

The mime imitated a zipper movement over his mouth as the Drapion motioned farther away, grumbling and murmuring to himself.

Eventually he spotted it: a cracked jar on one of the tables in the back, containing a green, glowing blade of grass, of which had no effort put into being kept hidden. He grinned avidly, snatching the jar into his pincers.

“Here. Look at this.”

Herbert took a few steps forward, keeping his mouth shut.

“A Celebi’s antenna!” the Drapion cackled. “This took ages to collect. Bought it off some rich shareholders while doin’ research near Trawl Coast, for about a hundred-fifty thousand or so. Took nearly half my pocket, but boy, this is more just an investment.”

The mime’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“The other workers here in this dump will tell ya about the wonders it can do, ‘bout how it can manipulate space-time to that rivaling the goddess Dialga, for being just a dumb antenna an’ all” he continued. “But it’s more than just time travel. It c’n pull creatures from other dimensions and warp reality.” His grin widened.

“Imagine that! Capturin’ aliens and sellin’ em off for millions.”

Herbert made a pointing movement towards the door, to which the Drapion turned around and came into eye contact with a Beheeyem, levitating through the door with a paper in their hands. Red-and-yellow goggles were worn over their eyes, strapped tightly to their head, as with the white jacket drooping below their feet and over their arm’s length. The psychic snorted as they floated forward, ignoring Herbert and turning straight towards the Drapion boss.

“Talos sir, the machine is ready.” The Beheeyem coughed into their left arm, head held high. “Once we have the antenna, we can begin the space-time distortion.”

A nod of approval was received. “Thanks Trist, I’ll be out there in a bit.”

“Shall I take you, sir?”

Talos sighed. “Augh... whatever. We can do this early, that’s fine.”

He held up a pincer as a signal for Herbert to stay, and at once the Drapion was led out of the room and into a much larger lab. A pillared glass chamber stood in the center against the wall, connected to various colorful wires and tubes that reached across different areas of the room. A few pokémon stood at stations monitoring the chamber, scribbling on paper with black ink or whispering amongst each other.

It smelled like damp metal, and Talos despised it.

“Ehem.” Trist looked up to Talos with mild dissatisfaction. “We’ve been working on this machine for the past few months. We hope that this should go smoothly at your will to keep funding this project, and this hope for a future in innovative technologies undermining what was previously defined in stone about this world.”

The Drapion snorted, spitting a bit of poison that made Trist wince. “Yeah yeah yeah, I give you the money, you do the work. No need to go all nerd on me.”

“Hah, you simply don’t know what you’re about to witness.”

“Nor do you.”

Trist huffed, rather irritated. “Only time may tell. Now, onto the machine itself.” He floated forward, wavering the dark type to follow. “Last-minute inspections have been done; no fluid leakage, no loose wires.”

Talos followed with the jar held tightly in his arm, examining the large chamber. “Seems a bit big.”

“Good observation” the Beheeyem mocked, rolling his eyes. “We don’t know what’s being sent through the rift, or how large it will be. Must be prepared otherwise we will all lose our heads, which includes myself, the overseer.”

“Rift?”

“Space-time anomalies, similar to those that’ve been sending humans into this world. I talked with the priest down the road, he said Arceus doesn’t seem to give a damn with the way things have been going this past century or so, judging by the lack of any change. Nor have the other gods obscured into dormancy. It’s only right to believe this was intentional.”

Talos squinted. “Whatever. So what’s this antenna even do that makes it so powerful?”

“Warps space-time, nearly a fraction to the power of Celebi itself, and Dialga” Trist answered. “As far as we know anyway. If we had the full mon we could perform much more destruction, but for now we will work with what we have.”

“Yeahh well, we’ll get it eventually.”

“When will you learn that throwing money at problems doesn’t fix them?”

Talos stretched a little. “We just need to hire the right mons to go out and find Celebi’s resting place, and then get a few more of ‘em explorers to capture it and sell it off to the resource team, or whatever shmucks are so obsessed with harnessing its time-travel powers. Celebi will look more like a toy than a fairytale by that time.”

“If that does happen, you owe me a part of the reward. My lawyers won’t let you take all the credit.”

The Drapion rolled his eyes, picking up on the Beheeyem’s sarcasm from earlier and making use of it himself. “Like you have the audacity to go out and get lawyers ahead of time. I’ve known you for a long few years Trist, you don’t fool me.”

“Ehem. Back to prior discussion.”

“Right.” Talos looked around the room, coming into eye contact with a few mons and throwing annoyed glares at each and every one of them. Most of them were either unnerved or caught off guard. “So about this machine... how does it work, and how do we know whatever is coming through here is... unconscious? That could really put a dent our work if it manages to break free.”

Trist laughed softly, averting his gaze. “The feralization will be easy, and without a doubt, unlikely to be needed. We have special signal beams that will be released if any of our team detects a hint of consciousness just in case, which will fully render the mon feral, with a power close enough to that of a mystery dungeon. But alas we do not know what we are facing. We could get an amalgamation, a monster as small as a Cutiefly, or a beast only thought of in dreams.” He snickered. “Or maybe an actual, physical, flesh-rotten human. It’s not impossible. If we can get only a fraction, who knows when or if we might be able to get the full piece too.”

The dark type sneered in response. “But how does it work?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Enough talk.” Talos handed Trist the jar with the antenna, glowing softly in a luminescent green as it rested at the bottom. “I want to see what if your nerd shit is more than just words on a page. Let’s see the real thing.”

“Ambitious” Trist muttered under his breath. Letting out a sigh, he tore off his goggles and dropped them to the floor, squinting at the lights around him. “Fine then, I’ll do it. I do all the work and you sit around doing nothing, leaving all the hard tasks for me, especially when you are more suited for the tasks thereof.”

“Who’s to say I have the easier job!” Talos barked. “You think you’re all that just because you’re a damn psychic.”

“And you think you can beat me just because you’re a dark?”

The two of them glowered at each other, until Trist finally decided to go back to his original activity. A few mons peered away from their papers to watch him as he floated towards the machine, unlocking a small metal box attached to the front of it and placing Celebi’s antenna inside. With one final snicker, he shut it closed and flicked a few switches directly next to it.

At once, the chamber and everything around it roared to life, firing electricity through the exiting pipes and tubes, and bursting small puffs of smoke out of the sides. Several mons ran out of the room, meanwhile Talos, Trist and the remaining few watched as it prepared to initialize.

“Truly beautiful” the Beheeyem remarked. Though it could not be seen, his smile curved into a smirk. “You know old Tal, your donations won’t be gone to waste. This is a warning to never underestimate science, I’ll have you know, especially when it can do such things as this.”

Talos rolled his eyes. He really couldn’t give a damn about science if he wanted to.

Blue light started to rapidly form out of thin air within the chamber, followed by light greens and violets. In the center, a small black dot grew rapidly, emitting pulses that grew the wormhole with each shockwave.

Trist almost felt like reaching for it. The aura emanating from the glass felt like home, and, at a moment, like it was calling for him.

Wind howled like thunder as glass shattered in all areas of the room, feeling the reach of the pulse.

Talos shrieked, jumping back and clearly frightened.

“What the-“ the Drapion looked around. As the space-time distortion started to form larger, Trist floated in front of him undisturbed, lost in both thought and stance as the wind, electricity and screams flew past him.

The light started to grow brighter, pushing outward, and squeezing against the glass like a trapped child.

Talos blinked once. He looked up, and almost thought he was dreaming when he saw Trist extending his hand, two steps ahead of his previous placing.

“This supposed to happen!?” he yelled, trying to catch the psychic’s attention.

Trist made no response.

The final other mon in the room, a Trumbeak, smacked into Talos’s shell on her way out and flew off before he could get her attention. He mustered out a sigh, turning back to the chamber and watching anxiously as the distortion started to grow too large for its container.

He could have run.

But at this point, it was his money, and he wasn’t just going to bolt before he could see the end product.

The Drapion spit out a bit of poison. He was staying. His decision was held firm.

Whatever was coming out of that distortion wouldn’t be that difficult to deal with if worse came to worse. After all, his armor was tough, and his father had taught him a few battle tactics in his teen years. So, what was the issue here?

Right?

~

In the darkness, he awoke, eyes closed and only hearing the sound of faint breathing.

His own. Cold, not whiffing of alcohol and... not... his?

In a matter of seconds, he could already feel it, something was off.

And so, he snapped his eyes open.

Only to be greeted by a sight unfamiliar to anything before- cracked, glass walls around him and a distorted, blurry view of two strange animals across the room, watching with horror.

Their voices were muffled.

“The discharger broke!”

“What is that thing!? G...Goddamn it Trist!”

Thing?

His head hurt, taking it all in.

Everything around him, distorted, swirling in purples and blues as the sound of shattered glass and howling wind bounced around him like marbles in a jar. The overstimulation bit into him like a vampire’s fangs, and it hurt beyond belief.

Without a single thought, he swiped forward and smashed apart the glass in front of him in a single blow, only to shrink back at the sight of blue claws, clearly his.

No. Not his.

He was... glued to a VR headset of sorts and forgot to take it off before resting, wasn’t he?

Yeah.

Sounded reasonable enough of an answer.

He... had a VR headset, didn’t he?

Or maybe he got too drunk last night and... got captured by freaky aliens who turned him into a furry-like abomination? Didn’t seem too out of place from what he was used to.

He shifted back to the sight ahead of him, taking it all in.

The first creature, seemingly floating via some sort of magic power, shuffled back a bit, clearly disturbed. There was fear in its alien eyes, blinking like a stoplight failing to make him react accordingly.

The one behind it, resembling an enlarged scorpion with honed claws, snarled. “We summoned a beast!” Its movement was perturbed, hinting anger but also fear. “Pray to Lunala it ain’t able to understand us!”

The former scoffed at this remark. “The signal beam discharging tech broke as the distortion summoned this... this... thing. Doesn't seem like Stun Seeds won’t work, nor Petrify Orbs, especially with the distortion. But it doesn’t seem to be moving yet, let’s get out!”

His thoughts were quite empty at the moment, but one word stuck out as he struggled to understand it all, firing at him like bullets out of a machine gun.

Beast.

Every nerve, every train of focus, every cell in his god-forsaken body was shot with a burst of adrenaline, and like a pit-bull running towards an unsuspecting pedestrian, he charged, he flew, he rocketed, he stormed, he swooped, he smashed into the first thing ahead of him with his barred jaws, biting down with a relentless force.

The scorpion-looking creature shrieked as that first thing happened to be Trist.

A weak Dragon Rush from the monster pounding the Beheeyem knocked the mon down with a small yelp. The creature prepared a Crunch next as Trist realized that he was pinned down, whiffing the nasty breath from its jaw, which was spiked by teeth akin to sharpened daggers.

Talos blocked his eyes as the beast bit right into Trist’s arm, becoming alarming as the Beheeyem let out a shriek in response. Talos’ eyes opened to blood below him, and the sight of the draconic beast continuing its biting.

“Get it off!” Trist screamed.

For once, the Drapion felt frozen in place.

No fight, no flight, just freeze.

Snarling, it attacked the Beheeyem more, biting and smacking through his sobs and cries and screaming.

Eventually, after Trist’s noises became quieted, its wings fluttered upward and left the psychic on the ground scarred and horrified, barely breathing as Talos shook awake from his stupor.

The creature looked around it, at the lab, at the remnants of the distortion, at the shattered glass along the floor, and at the chamber, at which it had awoken.

No thought was put into its next action as it leaned its head up at an angle towards the roof.

And howled.

Roaring, bellowing with such a wavelength that Talos almost felt himself losing a grip on reality.

With one final snarl afterwards, the creature smacked his tail against the roof and watched emotionlessly as debris fell to the floor, revealing the starry sky and the moon. Feeling drawn towards it like a magnet, it flew out of the building and into the night.

Gone.

More than thousands of dollars torn to waste.

A mon-killing creature out there, on the loose to go out and cause more damage elsewhere.

All because he was a coward.

So much had happened.

Talos looked down and reconnected with reality as Trist lay below him motionless, covered in scratch marks and bite marks, with a small bit of blood leaking out of a few of the wounds. He inspected him a little more and found that he was no doubt out of breath.

Like that.

Trist dying in front of him in just a few bites, right as he did nothing to help his associate, even though he could have done something to stop it, like he could have prevented the monster from escaping further from the lab and attacking more innocent pokémon... like... like this was all his fault, like this was his problem for messing with the powers of the gods above him, like he was so.. so stupid for letting this happen, for paying for this dumb and foolish dream, for... for letting Trist die.

His fault.

It was his fault.

Without a hesitation, Talos sprung to the floor next to the Beheeyem’s body, shaking.

And he cried.

That... draconic, alien monster was out there.

And he had done nothing to stop it.

~

He flew out of the lab and into the night, quickly caught off guard at the city around him.

Now that he was free, he had to think of somewhere to hide.

Mid-air, he looked down at his claws and snarled as they were still that stupid shade of cyan from before. He squinted at them under the moonlight and found that they were also enveloped in fur, reaching from his arm to his three-fingered palm.

Three. No thumb, no ring finger. Whatever fur suit he was wearing had sure as hell ripped him from the feeling in his other two, apparently.

He looked behind him, swishing his tail lightly.

The two weird looking neopets were right. He was a monster.

As he flew farther across the sky, he tried to remember something that hadn’t quite come to his mind earlier. His name.

...Right.

Ari.

He definitely hoped that whatever weird dream he might be in didn’t have any knowledge of him before he had woken up. He had seen things that were too imaginary for the real world, and too out-of-place for his own dreams. And yet, everything felt too real and scary to be virtual reality like he had initially thought. He could feel the numbness in his claws, the chilliness of the wind as it stroked through his fur, and smell of blood as he had attacked the traffic-light looking neopet.

Blood.

He had seen blood, hadn’t he?

Nononono... it was way too surreal for this to have happened.

He killed it. The creature was speaking his same language too... somehow, and he went out and killed it without thinking.

Ari looked around him. The city seemed to stretch on for miles, and there was a tingling sense of tiredness in him, as much as the night sky made him feel alive.

He needed to fly down somewhere and rest. If he didn’t, the chance of survival in this form would be unlikely, and he could...

Die. Everything was alive at this moment, and he wasn’t dreaming anymore.

This body was real.

He was no longer human. He had shape-shifted into a monster like the ones in those fake horror movies his uncle would use to scare his younger cousins. There was no doubting it.

He was alive, he was a monster, and he was in a world unlike his own.

Without a second thought, he swooped downwards towards the city to perch anywhere he could find. Not like he was opposed to the idea of sleeping in the streets, anyways. He had done it before, it wasn’t a big issue.

The rooftops were either not large enough or didn’t look comfortable, so Ari snarled in frustration and fluttered downwards to the streets, which were barren and lacking any sign of people or those funky-looking animals.

He’d just have to snooze for a little bit and fly away when something approached, he figured. At this point, he was too tired and didn’t consider the fact that it might be a bad idea to sleep in the middle of the road.

Immediately he went, and immediately he regretted.

His new body didn’t seem so akin to the idea, as Ari tried to rest naturally in a side-facing position against the concrete, only to realize he was sleeping on part of his wings and felt the small jolt of discomfort as he sat back up.

Right. Old habits wouldn’t be able to work anymore.

Ari was in a state of frustration. He couldn’t sleep like this, but he had no idea how to sleep in his body anyways. He was broken, in the wrong body, and tired, with no sight of normalcy anywhere nearby, except the city he had found himself in the middle of.

Because of course capitalism has to exist in nightmares too.

Ari made a loud groan as he surveyed the empty streets around him, only to be disturbed as he spotted a strange-looking creature from behind, only a few feet away.

It was just as peculiar as the two he had seen before. Bipedal, skinny, and fashioning a golden coin on its forehead, with some sort of red crown behind its face and a collar with the same design and hue. It seemed undisturbed by Ari’s presence, stopping its walk to study him.

The creature raised an eyebrow but seemed somewhat concerned. “You okay, mon? Your left eye is glowing red.”

Ari hissed, unable to think of any logical reaction. “I’m... fine. Can’t find a place to sleep in this damn place.”

“No kidding. You got mons you can visit, or are you just here alone?”

‘Mon’? Where had he... heard that word before?

“Alone.”

“Ah, well, I’d be willing to give you a place to stay for the night if you need it, as long as you don’t tell anyone. You definitely look like you need it more than I do. Anyways, my name’s Mallku, and I’m a Weavile.”

It reached forward with an empty palm, either oblivious or careless to Ari’s size and menacing appearance.

Clearly something was wrong.

Why wasn’t it... afraid like the other two? So quick to offer hospitality anyways?

Desperate and too tired to argue against, Ari reached forward with his own hand and clumsily shook, feeling the warmth of Mallku’s claws. Firm, but delicate and not at all exposing the roughness and anxiety in his own.

“So... what are you doing out here?” Ari grumbled. “Just taking a walk in the middle of the night like some weirdo?”

“Yep. Sometimes it just calms the nerves, especially since I’ve been having trouble in the recent few years sleeping.”

“Must be shit. The insomnia, I mean.”

“It is” Mallku sighed. “So what’s your name? You look like a Salamence, but I’ve never seen one like your species...”

“...Ari. I... don’t know what a Salamence is. Or a Weavile. You keep fucking throwing terms at me like I know what they mean.”

“Sorry ‘bout that. Are you new around here?”

“Sure am” Ari snorted, rolling his eyes. “Recently moved to the states from Europe until jackshit happened and I woke up in this dumb fursuit. At least I can fly I guess.”

“Europe?” Mallku repeated. “Like the human continent?”

What was this guy talking about?

“Human continent?”

“I guess that explains your lack of species knowledge then. You’re a former human, right?”

“Yeah? And what do you mean former!?” Ari snarled. “I just woke up in some stupid lab some hours ago. You’re telling me I’m stuck like this!?”

Mallku sighed, frowning nervously. “It’s always been happening to humans, especially in the last few centuries or so. You’re not the only one who’s been cursed this way. A lot of pokémon have tried to figure a way out and failed countlessly ever since. But that doesn't mean I can’t help you with other things. If you need a place to hide, I can assist with that.”

“I’m an abomination. When others see me, they’ll kill me, or get someone else to do it for them.”

“Why?”

Ari squinted at the stars, avoiding the Weavile’s eyes. “Shortly after I woke up I think I killed some alien-looking weirdo who called me a ‘thing’. I don’t know what happened, I just... I just... snapped. Like I had no control over it, and everything just turned off. Like someone else took over and did the murder for me.”

Mallku’s expression relaxed. “Sounds like you went feral mode without realizing it. Pretty familiar tale, especially with that left eye.”

“What’s so special about a damn eye?”

“It’s a sign of consciousness” Mallku answered. “The brighter the red, the more insane a pokémon has been turned. Seems like you have some sort of disorder that flips on and off between the two.”

“How do I prevent it?”

“I’ve... heard alcohol helps. A drink a day should keep you from going mad, at least from what I’ve heard.”

Ari snorted. “Looks like some things don’t fucking change.”

Mallku yawned a little, ignoring his response and stretching. As he shuffled past Ari, his eyes caught sight of something. “What’s this?” He plucked a shiny blade of grass that seemed to have clung to the mon’s feathers. “This yours?”

Ari took a quick glance. “Nah. Don’t know how it got there.”

Mallku crouched, dropping it to the ground for the wind to carry it elsewhere. “Weird. Never seen grass like that.”

Of course, as he got up, he spotted another thing clinging to Ari’s back. Mallku almost mistook it for a miniature time capsule, but relaxed as he got a closer look. A strange, rainbow-colored juice was stored in an orange-and-gray container taped to his wings, with faint writing on the plastic.

“Oh? Looks like there’s something else here.”

“Goddamn it.”

“Unown script... that’s rare.” Mallku squinted, reading the writing. “Booster Energy, Ari. Species, Roaring Moon. Only use when... necessary?”

“What does that mean?”

“Was this weird juice-box thing always here?”

“I don’t fucking know” Ari replied. “How was I supposed to see that?”

“Well, it says it’s a... Booster Energy.” Mallku sighed, ripping the container off Ari’s back to show him. “Says you do have a species. Roaring Moon.”

“Huh.” The dragon snarled, looking away. “Whatever, I’m getting tired. Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

The basement was just as musty as Ruby remembered, coming into full sense as she followed Mallku down the stairs, which creaked under her small stubs. She glanced around the room for a few seconds until her eyes pinpointed two figures in the middle of the room, Victini and Heatran. The fire types engaged in conversation, giving mixed and confused looks as they glanced towards the entrance. They didn’t seem awfully happy to see her following, Ruby figured.

She skipped a few steps ahead, walking timidly behind Mallku in an effort to not look intruding. Her bag flapped against her side as she moved, the weight of the small items feeling twice as much of a burden with the eyes focusing on her.

Mallku stopped in front of them, signaling Ruby to do the same behind him. “We’ll be going once everyone gets down here” he mumbled. The dark type looked between them both, trying to read their expressions. “Long trip ahead of us, better leave as early as we can.”

Heatran rose a brow in suspicion. “Are we packed?”

“We are” Victini interrupted. “I told you at breakfast.”

“You didn’t tell me shit.”

So this is what the other two are like Ruby sighed to herself.

Victini rolled their eyes at Heatran. “Anyways... we were discussing a bit about our trip, and we figured that we might need a bit more... firepower, if I do say so myself.”

Heatran snorted, unamused. “How long did it take you to make that pun?”

“Enough for you to shut up.”

Mallku groaned. “Just let Vic talk.”

“Exactly” Victini mocked. “Pun aside, we were thinking we might need more than the twenty or so we have here. We’ll need back-up in case Arceus has the audacity to send his goons after us.”

“Back-up?”

Victini grinned, a hint of malicious intent creeping into their smile. “Here’s the gist; we weren’t the first ones to be banished from the Hall of Origin. Giratina was the one who started the trail, followed by Darkrai and Hoopa, the last two before us. We just so happened to think that we might be able to get them on our side, considering our similar experiences.”

Ruby flinched. Making an alliance with Giratina!?

“Not bad of an idea” Mallku huffed. He raised a claw to his chin. “Sounds a bit rough though. It’s not far from our original path, is it?”

“It’s not!” Heatran barked. “We have the locations on where to recruit them. We’ll loot the Griseous Ruins to get Giratina and then meet Hoopa and Darkrai halfway to Coronet.”

Victini nodded. “Do you like it?”

Mallku fell to a sigh. “Ahuh. Anyways, how are these situations gonna work? And how did you... know their locations in the first place?”

Heatran shuffled back two steps, giving Victini a bit more room to talk. “Knowing Darkrai and Hoopa, they probably haven’t moved from their area in the last few hundred years. Even without having seen them in such a long while... we’ll be fine. And Giratina? The bastard hasn't moved out of their spot even if they wanted to.”

The Weavile rolled his eyes. “And if Darkrai and Hoopa attack us in response...?”

Victini scowled. “Hey! We have this all thought out. They won’t attack us, not when they realize the value in our force. They’ll see the opportunity, and they’ll help us take down Arceus faster and safer than without them.” The psychic scoffed. “What are they even going to get out of attacking us?”

“If you’re so insistent about all this, can we at least run it through with Jirachi later?”

“Fine.”

“I need Jirachi’s opinion before I do anything too risky. Also... I have to ask...” He looked Victini dead in the eyes. “Why couldn’t we have recruited someone more intelligent or trained to make an alliance with, like, I dunno, Keldeo or Manaphy? Maybe Meloetta has some guidance or something that could be valuable.”

Heatran laughed at that. “Keldeo is too busy being a goody-goody with the mortals down in their little baby jungle. Plus, the little shit would tell Arceus right away if they found out what we were planning. Manaphy’s too hard to reach. Meloetta isn’t worth the time.”

“We don’t have many straws to pull here” Victini added. “We need to pull the ones we can get.”

Ruby watched them curiously. She wanted to contribute but was unsure what to say. I wonder what Darkrai and Hoopa are like, if Victini and Heatran are like this...

“You know what happened the first time” Heatran murmured, leaning in. “We can’t let that happen twice. The sacrifice isn’t worth it.”

Mallku rose a brow. “First time?”

“They were going to get what they deserved” Victini hissed, looking away with balled fists. “We managed to get really close to winning, but then they sent out Dialga and Palkia and made them fight us instead. It wasn’t fair!”

Heatran snorted. “Exactly why we have this campaign. If they don’t want to play fair, we won’t play fair either.”

“Exactly.”

Mallku frowned. “We’ll move this discussion to a different day. Right now... we need to get moving.” He averted his gaze towards the exit leading upstairs, watching as several mons shuffled in. “The earlier the better.”

Heatran and Victini motioned elsewhere, leaving the other two by themselves.

“One more thing to worry about” the Weavile whispered to himself.

Ruby took a step forward, puzzled. “Hm?”

“Nothing.”

A light tap on the back averted Ruby’s attention, causing her to spin around and lock eyes with Tori, who pressed close to her petals. The fairy backed up and smiled as Ruby sighed in response.

“Still talking to that guy?” she bantered. “Would’ve thought you’d gone looking for me instead.”

“Sorry I-“ Ruby glanced behind her and found Mallku gone. “...Of course.”

Tori frowned. “Why are you so obsessed with talking to him?”

Ruby flinched. Obsessed!?

She backed up a little, recoiling away. “I-I didn’t think it came off that way-“

“Well, it sure did” Tori interrupted. She gripped her own bag a bit tighter, leaning a little closer toward her. “You’re not going to throw us away, are you? Wanting to hang out with everyone else but the ones you came with.”

Right as Ruby tried to mov farther away, Mallku’s voice caught both of them off guard. She darted her eyes away from Tori and bolted in a random direction, pushing past Alice, and stopping against the far wall of the basement to take a breath. A few seconds later she looked back to see if Tori was still watching, and regretfully recoiled away when their eyes locked.

That went awful.

Ruby winced. As the sound of footsteps drowned out her thoughts, she moved her gaze upwards and caught notice of the majority of the crew slowly shuffling out, through an exit she didn’t see before. Alice floated in front of her, waiting, watching the grass type with curious but concerned eyes. A cotton-fabric backpack floated next to her, sizeable enough to fit her head inside.

“Are you alright?” the Chimecho asked.

“Y-yeah” Ruby mumbled, strolling forward to join her.

Alice smiled. A soft, warm, and honest smile like the one she had when they first met. “Okay.”

Not pressing further. A breath of fresh air.

They followed the trail of the mons before them, moving through a large tunnel that was hidden by the freezer previously, which was now pushed aside. The passage sloped downward through an unlit tunnel, and Ruby felt herself uneasy as she trailed through the dark with Alice floating close by. A few seconds later the tunnel led into a sewer passageway with torches against the brick walls, a steel grille covering the floor as murky water flowed beneath it, flowing the same direction as where they were heading.

Ruby glanced back and sighed with relief that Alice was still at her side.

“I wonder where Mallku is taking us” the Chimecho pondered.

Ruby nodded. “Looks like we’re leaving through the sewers. Sh-shouldn’t be surprising knowing that we can’t afford to be seen.”

Ari brushed past them, reminding the two that they needed to keep going. They followed the line quietly, moving through the underground sewers to a place that Ruby was unsure of. She hadn’t heard much about where they were exactly going, but she knew they were leaving Blubluk.

She tried to remember as much as she could from the discussion before, replaying the conversation in her head. Giratina... Plan... Arceus... Coronet... Fight...

Fight.

It hadn’t quite occurred to her until now that Mallku was serious about fighting.

Fighting... what? He couldn’t have been serious about fighting legendary pokémon, could he?

And a bigger question, why an ordinary mon like herself? She had no experience with actual combat, she didn’t have a reason to be dealing with business outside of her realm.

...Or maybe Proteus was right.

She didn’t have a reason. She didn’t have any purpose in any of this.

Neither she nor anyone else around her were valuable pieces in any of this. She had no skillset or intelligence that would be worth saving for in the grand scheme of what was to come. If worse came to worse, she would be dead in an instant.

At least, that’s what she thought.

Anxiously, Ruby glanced over her shoulder but relaxed when she found that Alice wasn’t looking. Her facial expression alluded to some sort of dissociation, with her tiny arms flat against her body and the yellow windchime atop her head only making a soft note or two as she drifted. The Chimecho’s presence was soothing, and Ruby wondered how much that had to do with the bell.

“Alice?”

The psychic snapped out of her trance and spun her pupils around the tunnel, until they eventually found Ruby, the source of the voice, and softened. “Y-Yeah?”

Ruby locked eyes with her. “Do you ever... worry you’re going nowhere? L-Like, in a metaphorical sense?”

Alice returned with a look of concern. “Why do you ask?”

Maybe the worst question she could have responded with.

Regardless, Ruby pressed on.

“I... know I tend to feel that way quite often.” The Cherrim sighed, turning her attention to the murky water below them, a sickly blueish green that reminded her of the first few days when she moved to the city. She could remember the putrid sensation of smelling it for the first time, and the laugh that came from her aunt’s reaction. “It just comes natural nowadays to be honest. Like... I’m swimming at the bottom of the ocean with no sense of direction, and I don’t know where I’m going, or where I want to go, because it’s too deep.”

Alice nodded. “I understand.”

“Thanks” Ruby mumbled. It had been a while since she had been able to vent to another mon so freely, especially since she knew how awkward it was around Tori and her aunt, having to listen to the same story so often. “Do you ever... feel that way?”

A few seconds of pause followed, until Alice finally came up with a suitable answer. “Not usually, but I have a few times.”

“What do you usually do to cope with it?”

Ruby hoped it wasn’t too hard of a question. She was asking a lot from her already, she knew that Alice might have a hard time catching up with her.

“What does... cope mean?”

Not the answer she was expecting.

Ruby sighed. “Uhm... it means when you h-have a problem, so you try to do stuff to deal with it, like playing with friends. Usually, you use it when you’re talking about special stuff like depression, or anxiety, I think.”

Alice gasped in surprise, her bell making a small ringing noise. “Oh! Okay. Uhm... sometimes when I feel lost, I like trying to talk to other pokémon. Sometimes I’ll read, or I’ll try practicing my psychic powers for fun.”

Huh?

“But... isn’t that’s just avoidance? Y-You don’t help with a problem if you ignore it, right?”

“Avoidance?” Alice repeated. She tilted her head a little in confusion. “How so?”

Ruby felt herself in a losing battle, trying to put thoughts into words, only for them to spit back out like trying to a key in the wrong slot. She took a moment to focus on her speech, coming up with a response shortly after.

“Like... you know you have a problem, bu-but you’re not doing anything to help it. You know you feel like you’re going nowhere in life, but you’re not doing anything to figure out how to stop it or find your belonging. Like... you’re just repeating the cycle and n-not helping yourself.”

The concerned look returned, much to Ruby’s dissatisfaction. “You... seem to know a lot about that.”

Ruby winced. Phrased it wrong. Big mistake.

“I’m really sorry” she blurted. “I didn’t think it came out that way. Sometimes I let my emotions drown out my words, and I say things without meaning it-“

Alice paused for a few seconds, until finally nodding. Understanding. Non-judgmental.

“It’s okay. Life is hard, don’t beat yourself up about it. We all have struggles, and sometimes it helps to speak out. And, what you said...” The psychic smiled; big, happy, warm, familiar. “Yeah. Sometimes I... feel like I don’t know where I’m going. But then you find others going the same direction, and... you realize you’re not alone. B-before I moved to Blubluk, I had a teacher who taught me everything. She helped me find the courage to do things I love and help people at the same time, and n-not feel lost in it all.”

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it abruptly. She really had nothing to say to that.

”Realize you’re not alone.”

“Thanks” she mumbled. “Your words mean a lot.”

Alice returned with a grin. “Of course! I’m always here if you want to talk.”

“Y-Yeah.”

The both of them went back to silence shortly afterwards, carrying on through the tunnel passageways as they followed the rest of the mons ahead of them. Neither Alice nor Ruby said a word or attempted to, with their gazes fixated on either the grille floor or the walls, or the mons farther forward.

The sound of the rushing sewer water below them had completely overtaken any form of sound within the tunnels, challenged only by Mai and Liz’s whispers and giggles farther ahead. Ruby tried to listen in but struggled. Even her own thoughts felt hard to hear with the stimuli from her surroundings blocking them out.

Eventually, after what felt like nearly hours of travelling endlessly through the sewers, the line came to a stop, and all whispers died down to a hush. Ruby jolted awake in confusion, glancing between Alice and Ari, the one closest ahead of them, to see what had caused it.

“Why did we stop?”

Alice stiffened. “Unsure.”

“Do you think some pokémon found us?”

A moment later, the line continued its movement, though Ruby felt unnerved when she spied a small corner of light far ahead, at the end of the tunnel.

Thoughts racing, she leaned forward and called out to Ari. “Are we almost out of the sewers?”

The Roaring Moon turned around and squinted. “Yup. Had to stop so Mallku could check if was safe."

Alice nodded, followed by a smile. “Makes sense.”

Ari rolled his eyes, and the movement continued onward, until they reached the end of the tunnel. Ruby was promptly embraced in moonlight as she stepped off the steel grille and onto soft dirt, feeling her stubs in the short grass close by.

She looked behind her and found that they were no longer in Blubluk. They had left through a sewer tunnel that connected to the waste deposits miles out in the outskirts, in the middle of a large grassy plain with a river not far away, which snaked around the city like a Seviper coiling around a Dedenne prey, trees dotted along the water. The grey buildings behind them looked slightly smaller with the distance between, blocking out most of the view of the city behind it.

Alice floated close to her and shared the awe. “We’re really traveling. This is amazing.”

Ruby perked up a smile. “Yeah...”

Both of their shocked gazes were drawn away as a snap from behind caught their attention. They turned around and were promptly met by Louis the Slowking, shooting them an unsatisfied frown after watching them get distracted by the scenery.

“We must keep going. Wander not, must you get lost behind.”

Louis shuffled back to the line with discomfort. Alice and Ruby gave each other guilty smiles as they followed him, still taking moments to look back at the city in all its glory as they went.

We really are traveling.

~

The plains looked endless from the convoy’s perspective, stretching beyond the reach of the horizon with more flat, grassy fields behind it, with even more situated further on. Alas, when Ruby tried to squint to see what lay ahead, she found herself groaning in frustration afterwards, unable to see any farther due to the flat terrain and lack of hills.

The continent was much larger than expected, really. All of the maps she had seen through school and childhood made things like this look quick to cross, though even those could not truly describe the size they had to travel.

Through the night, silence became even more commonplace than in the sewers, aside from a few whispers. The plains rolled over all the same, with a lack of any difference in the fields the more they pressed forward. Few trees, few lakes, few rivers, and little-to-no signs of society, or buildings for that matter.

Ruby looked farther ahead of the line, and quickly darted her eyes back when she saw Tori and Gabi chatting with Andesine.

I’ll talk with Tori in the morning she sighed to herself. I’ve messed up too much tonight already.

Noticing her exhausted expression, Alice turned towards Ruby and offered a smile.

“How’s it going?” the psychic chimed.

“Fine. Just tired.”

The Chimecho nodded. “Y-Yeah, I guess that’s what a different sleep schedule can do to you. I’m sure Mallku will let us sleep until noon, h-hopefully.”

“But won’t we be seen if we leave again during the day?” Ruby mumbled.

Before Alice could reply, the line quickly halted to a stop again. Ruby and Alice looked at each other confusedly, until Victini moved out of the way so everyone could see them.

“We’re taking a stop for the night” the psychic announced. “Mallku’s about to collapse, we need all energy we can to make it through tomorrow. Bring up your tents and rest for now, we’ll set back out by mid-afternoon.”

Amazing timing.

Victini shuffled away, and at once, the line split up. Multiple pokémon set their bags down in the middle of the field, and Alice quickly jumped into a state of panic.

“I didn’t know we were supposed to bring tents-”

Ruby sighed, gripping the satchel thrown over her side. “Maybe Tori and Gabi will let you sleep in ours. C’mon, let’s go ask.”

The two of them pushed through the now-campground, finding the other girls elsewhere, not too far away. Tori gave Ruby an irritated glare when she saw her, making the Cherrim wince. Gabi meanwhile gave a weak wave, expression lacking much emotion.

“Hey Rubes” the Reuniclus greeted.

Ruby stiffened. “H-Hi Gabi...”

Alice floated forward, joining the conversation. “Hello! We had a uhm.. question if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead.” Gabi lifted her bag with a wave of psychic energy, taking out and unfolding tent poles from inside. “Hell, why not help us while you’re at it.”

Alice let out a shaky breath. “We were... wondering if you’d let me sleep in uh... your tent, since I didn’t pack mine, because I didn’t know I had to...”

Gabi spared a glance to Tori. “We fine with that?”

The Whimsicott sighed and nodded her head affirmatively, mouth closed shut and eyes avoidant.

Relief washed over Alice. “Thanks so much.”

“No problem. Always happy to help.”

Gabi sent up the tent poles into the air, placing them in a cone shape, with one in the center and four leaning against it in diagonal lines. Alice used her own psychic energy to lift the large wool cloth out of Gabi’s bag, draping it over the poles. With the tent finally held up, Ruby squirmed forward to secure the rods, assuring they wouldn’t fall down during the morning.

“Looks great, don’t it Tores?”

Tori rolled her eyes.

“Whatever” Gabi scoffed. “If you want to be a brat, that’s your problem. Right now, I’m pooped.”

The Reuniclus nabbed a blanket out of her bag before departing under the cover of the tent near immediately, taking most of the space inside as she leaned down to sleep. Tori gave Ruby a side-eye as she followed inside.

Alice leaned down to whisper. “Is she mad?”

Ruby sighed. “Looks like it.”

Let’s hope things go better tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Ruined.

The rain had ruined everything.

”Ruby?”

The Cherubi sat quietly under the shade of her front porch, grimacing with discomfort as Tori drifted closer. The downpour had left a hollow ambience on the neighborhood with each passing second, the silence becoming louder as the two pokémon came into eye contact with one another, through the beating of the raindrops against the roof above. “Please... leave me alone.”

Tori’s ears drooped. “Why are you upset?”

“I’m not” Ruby mumbled back.

“So why are you out here?”

“I...” She sucked in a breath of air, only to sputter it back out with a few coughs. “I... I don’t...” Rainwater flowed down the shingles of neighboring houses and poured into the streets. Her mind wandered past Tori, past the conversation, and towards the rain, which drizzled endlessly and never ceased. Her mind was like that rain for a moment.

It never stopped. It never stopped trying to avoid.

Tori shook a bit of cotton off her underside, which scattered onto the porch. “C’mon... tell me. Why are you upset?”

“I’m... I’m not...” Anger and frustration smoked into her words. “I...”

Decisions. Fear. Quick. Run.

Without a second thought, the Cherubi leaped out of her sitting position and darted past Tori into the rain, ignoring the fairy’s shouts, and scampering down the road without any sense of hesitance. She found herself reluctant to even think of going back, pushing through the downpour, and running wherever her small stubby legs could take her. She had no choice. She couldn’t go back. Everything was ruined.

The rain had killed her happiness.

It had killed their one day that they could play together.

She pushed forward. Easy, effortless strokes, like she had been taught in school. The more she tripped, the less she had a chance of running away.

And right now, she needed to run. As far as possible. Any direction. As long as it was away from here.

Her aunt was going to scold her for this, but she didn’t care. The rain would wash her away before the Lilligant could lay a leafy hand on her.

After running for a short while, Ruby came to a stop in the middle of the streets, coughing as dirty rainwater continued to slobber all over her, blinking in an effort to keep it out of her eyes. She looked down at the concrete and came to the realization that Tori wasn’t chasing after her.

She was a Cottonee. She hated the rain.

Ruby blinked again.

Now she was going to hate her too.

A mix of both tears and rain strewn from her face, splashing onto the road, and joining the rest down the creek.

The storm wouldn’t stop.

Nor would the tears.

Ruby held her breath.

She looked behind her and found that it was raining harder than she had initially thought. The water had risen to her stubs already, and she could see the effects of the damage slowly increasing in neighboring yards.

It looked like it was going to flood.

It pounded against shingles of the roofs, sloping into the flowerbeds below and carrying several small plants out of their roots and down the streets along the waterway. Small chunks of other material followed alongside them as dirt mixed in, creating an ugly soup-stream of waste that slowly inched its way towards her. It wasn’t just coming from a few yards. Every single house was being consumed in the damage.

Panic. Fear. Run.

Her instincts kicked in, and she moved. Ruby ran through the pressure despite the growing numbness of her skin, trying to find someone to call out for, but she saw none, except for a strange, thin figure just a short gallop ahead, standing in the middle of two intersecting roads between the street and another close by.

Any hopes of making out the sight were gone by the wayside. The rain had completely blurred her vision, leaving a desperate call-out for help as the only option.

“H-hey!” Ruby shouted. “M-Mister! Help!”

The figure twisted towards her as she ran, small gas particles starting to emanate around it as it raised a tentacle, seemingly made from a shadow-like blob, untouched by the rain. Water bounced off the creature’s skin, and Ruby nearly shrieked as it started to snake towards her.

She stopped in her tracks, watching in horror as her stubs started to shake on the concrete. Panicking, she hurried to run the other direction, only to be grabbed from behind. The amalgamation pinched Ruby by the stem despite her wriggling, holding her up in the air to inspect.

“Let me go! H-help! Help! Someone!”

She turned to face the creature and was met with horror as it craned its neck towards her. Mallku’s face was concealed from within the body, exposing itself and meeting her cry with a sinister grin, baring fangs that glistened in the darkness.

“No! Help! Help me!”

Without a second of hesitation, the monstrosity opened its jaw and plunged the Cherubi right in. From within the mouth, Ruby let out more shouts and shrieks as she fell through an empty void. Colored light started to rise from the depths, slowly enveloping her.

”NO!”

”No..”

”N-“

In a coughing fit, Ruby snapped awake, feeling herself tremble as her eyes reconnected with the sight of petal walls around her. A sense of closure dampened as her heartbeat raced for a few seconds, making sense of everything.

She was safe.

She was awake.

That was just a nightmare.

Releasing a sigh of relief, she opened her budding, finding herself back under the protection of the tent. Alice, Tori, and Gabi slept in their own corners, with Tori on the farthest side away from Ruby’s spot.

...Tori.

The events from the following night flashed into her mind, and at once, everything came back.

She really still must be upset...

Not that I can do much right now though.

Chatter echoed outside, and she quickly averted her attention to two muffled voices talking amongst each other beyond the tent walls. Only the shadows could be seen through the fabric, but Ruby quickly recognized the shapes. Two skinny, bipedal pokémon that she estimated to be Mai and Liz, giggled and circled each other as they spoke, making slow movements as they walked back and forth.

Yeah. Had to be them.

It was a difficult task moving outside, but she managed. Ruby scooted toward the walls of the tent and pressed her back against it, pushing her stubby feet downward against the grass, and her back upwards. She took a few tries before eventually reaching a standing position, wobbling towards the door of the tent, and thrusting her body through.

The sunlight was a little more intense than she originally expected. Ruby looked up toward the sky and confirmed it to be early morning, as the sun was bright and exposed. The air was fresh despite the lack of surrounding trees, and she found it pleasant as she shuffled through the small campground set up the night before.

Seven other tents sat in the area, aside from Ari and Heatran who were only an Arbok’s reach away from the site, snoozing with their bodies sprawled out in the grass. Ruby glanced back to see if Mai and Liz were still next to their tent but found them walking elsewhere. She followed them as they moved towards the center, where The Joes were busy cutting up logs with their horns.

Liz lifted her roses up to her cheeks, blushing under them with her gaze on the Mienshao next to her. “So, rant aside, I heard you’ve been studying aura lately.”

Mai grinned. “Yeah. For that move the Clawitzer was talking about- Aura Sphere.”

“What for? I thought your species was more skilled with contact-based attacks?”

Ruby listened in, her body stiffening as she widened the gap between her petals to get a better look at the two of them. The girls managed to both walk and talk at the same time, all with ease, lighting a spark of mild jealousy in the Cherrim.

“That’s true” Mai replied. “But I think Aura Sphere might be a good tool just in case. It’s a long-range attack, and it always hits its target. That’s what the Clawitzer said, anyways.”

Liz closed her eyes and smiled, shaking her head. “Always so envious of me” she scoffed.

“I’m not! I was just trying to be thoughtful, so I don’t have to rely on you and your special attacks. I thought learning one myself might ease your job a little.”

“We’ll see if that pays off for you.”

Ignoring Liz, Mai turned around and quickly recognized the mon behind them. “Oh hey! Looks like someone was following us.”

Ruby flinched in her spot, realizing she had been caught. The Mienshao skipped forward to meet her, receiving an exhausted frown from Liz out of view. The pink had washed away from the mon’s cheeks, seemingly defunct as she watched Mai approach Ruby.

“What an adorable species!” Mai trilled, squatting to meet the mon’s height. “So, what’s your name?”

The grass type stood cold and unmoving for a few seconds, before breaking out of her stupor. “H-hi... it’s Ruby.”

Mai, easing a bit of the tension. “It’s great to meet you! We were just about to eat breakfast, care to join us?” The Mienshao offered a paw forward, and Ruby anxiously accepted it with a stub. “Great! I’m Mai, and the pokémon behind us is Liz.”

The Roserade strolled towards the two of them, resting an arm on Mai’s back as she stood up. “Not even gonna ask for their species?”

“Oh! I didn’t, did I? Sorry about that.”

Liz giggled, turning towards Ruby. Her expression was calm and attentive, and the Cherrim nearly saw a hint of her aunt in those eyes, which had a slight shine in the morning dawn. The Roserade smiled softly, before asking, “Well?”

“R-right” Ruby mumbled. “I’m a uh... Cherrim.”

Liz nodded. “Roserade. Mai here is a Mienshao. Platinum rank seekers, the best you’ll find.” She pointed a rose to her scarf, a deep-pink hue that provided a contrast to the color of her roses. “Team RoseKick. It’s a silly name, I know. But you can blame Mai for that.”

Mai squinted, causing Liz to blush as she avoided the sharp gaze. “You agreed to it!” the fighting type snapped.

Liz sighed. “You’re such an embarrassment. At least you’re my embarrassment.”

“Damn right” Mai cursed under her breath.

Ruby took a step forward, eager to push onward with the conversation. “S-so what kind of breakfast were you thinking of?”

“Hm? Oh, right this way.” Mai slipped under Liz’s arm and ushered them both through the field towards the center of the campsite, where The Joes continued to stab at wooden logs with their horns.

The brass quickly noticed and turned around to meet them. “Ah, yes! Breakfast! More fuel for training!”

Three of the troops rolled a finished log away from the rest, having fashioned the timber as a proper log. Despite having a few sharp bits sticking out of the wood, it was suitable enough to sit on. The brass ordered one of the idle troops to guide the girls, and in a matter of seconds, the troop led them towards their seats.

Liz sat down and blew a kiss towards the Falinks individual, who bounced with happiness in response. Mai collapsed right next to her, wrapping an arm around Liz as the Roserade rested her head on the fighting type’s shoulder.

Ruby seated herself next to them quietly, giving a bit of space between her and Mai. The troops moved back to their orders, stabbing relentlessly into the bits of wood that they had collected with Mai an hour earlier. Their teamwork had noticeably improved, and the brass was much less condescending. Ruby wondered how much that had to do with Gabi’s outlash the week prior.

After a bit of watching aimlessly, Mai eventually remembered what she was planning to do before. “Hey, Joes!” she called out, too lazy to move out of her spot. “Mind grabbing my bag from the tent?”

The brass turned around, blinking, with the plates on their sides withdrawn. “Is that where the food is packed?”

“Yeah! Can ya go send your guys over there to grab it for me? Take a right from the center, it’s just outside the yellow tent.”

“Oh, okay.” The brass raised their horn and stomped their feet, looking towards two of the troops who had pushed the logs into place, now running to assist the ones that were preparing the next. “Ehem! You two! Go to the yellow tent nearby, there is food inside the bag! And take the whole bag! Be quick!”

The troops caught word of the command and nodded in unison, waddling past Ruby towards the directed area. A short while they came back later with the straps around their horns, dragging Mai’s backpack across the dirt behind them. They dropped it at the Mienshao’s feet before running off to slice more logs.

Mai frowned, turning towards Liz. “Sorry” she muttered. “I need to get up.”

The Roserade whined, squeezing against her arm tighter. “Why can’t we just relax a little longer?”

Frustrated, Mai bent down to kiss Liz on the cheek, making her blush a little before losing her grip on the mon. With the freed arm, Mai picked the backpack up and opened the middle zipper. Several types of berries were placed inside, still somewhat fresh despite having at least two days to rot.

Curiously, she glanced towards Ruby, who was busy staring off into the distance. “Got a preference?” she asked.

Ruby snapped out of her trance, a gasp coming out as her eyes frantically squinted through the small opening in her petals. Realizing it was just Mai, she relaxed.

“N-not really. But I like Rawst and Kelpsy berries... if you have those.”

“Ah, fonder of bitter berries, I see.” Mai chuckled, before withdrawing two Kelpsy. “Here, on the house.”

She tossed them into the air in the Cherrim’s direction. Ruby clumsily caught it, her stubs reaching out just before the berries could reach the ground. She placed one on the bench aside her, chewing on the other from inside the cover of her petals. The taste was less savory than expected, and part of her was somewhat thankful. The day had gone miserably yesterday, but Ruby felt much better after chewing the flesh of the fruit, somewhat wishing she had teeth in the process.

After handing Ruby hers, Mai reached into the bag and handed Liz a Bluk berry, to which the Roserade happily accepted. The Mienshao bit into a Pomeg berry of her own, closing the zipper and placing the backpack back on the ground.

“So” Mai began, talking through bites. “Ruby. What made chou want to chome with chus?”

The Cherrim sighed, looking upwards at the clouds. “I’m... I honestly don’t remember. These past few days have been stressful and... I... don’t really know why I even followed after Mallku in the first place.”

Liz nodded, joining in on the conversation. “We were nervous too, at first. Don’t feel bad about it.”

“Th-thanks, uh...”

“Liz.”

“Right, sorry,” Ruby muttered. She stiffened herself a little before turning towards Mai. She looked at the fighting type’s scarf, the image of meeting Mallku for the first time flashing in her mind. “Wh-what rank did you say you were?”

“Platinum,” Liz answered. She held off from reminding Ruby that she had told her that before, instead responding with a forced smile. Mai gulped down the rest of her berry, sputtering shortly afterwards. Liz squinted at the Mienshao, collapsing in her seat with her arms resting against her knees. “Wish you’d actually chew that.”

Mai responded with a sly grin. “Less eating, more sparring. Guildmaster would say that all the time.”

Liz sighed, looking away. “Whatever.”

“You know it’s at least partially true.”

“I know that you should listen to me for once.”

Ruby winced. “S-so how long have you been a team for?”

“At least six years,” Mai chirped, winking. “Now, you’ve heard a lot about us. I want to hear about you. Where are you from? What are your interests? Are you in any relationships?”

“Maybe shouldn’t have asked that last question,” Liz sighed.

“I-it’s fine” Ruby assured. “Uhmm... I was born in a small neighborhood town near Jumpluff’s Collis, until I moved to Blubluk after uh... we had to leave.” The nightmare wasn’t helping her forget the situation. “I like to study medicine sometimes when I can... b-but I don’t really know where I want to go beyond that.”

Mai nodded, taking in every detail. “Jumpluff’s Collis is southwest of Blubluk right? And you said you’re into healthcare stuff? Do you have a degree in it, or is it more of a hobby for you?”

Liz rested a rose on the Mienshao’s shoulder. “Hey... Mai, relax. Stop overwhelming the girl with so many questions.”

Right as Ruby was about to say something, their conversation was interrupted as the brass of The Joes came running towards them, stopping in front of Mai. The mon’s horns were held high, their eyes fixated, and their side-plates lowered.

“Is food ready?” he asked, almost innocently. “Troops are... hungry.”

Mai looked at the brass blankly for a few seconds, before smiling. “Yeah sure.” She reached for her bag, unzipping the berry pouch before pushing the backpack towards them. “Just don’t eat all of it. We need some for later.”

“Okay.” He turned around, eyeing the rest of the troops. “Breakfast! Breakfast is here!”

Each of the Falinks soldiers perked up at the words, quickly scrambling towards the bag one after another. As they ate, Mai resumed her conversation, turning towards the Cherrim next to her.

“Ruby, you said you were into healthcare, right?”

The grass type sighed. “Y-yeah...”

Mai nodded, adjusting a paw down on the the bench and slouching. “That’s cool. What university did you go to?”

“Uhm...” Ruby shrinked in her seat, looking despondently at the ground. “Blubluk Academy. It’s the only college in the city... b-but they’re planning to build more elsewhere.”

“What was it like? Were the tests tough? Did you get one of those fancy papers when you graduated?”

So curious...

“A-actually, I... dropped out.”

Mai slumped. “You did?”

“W-well, not really” Ruby mumbled. She raised her sight upwards to the sky, stubs fidgeting. “I left b-because of the offer with uh... Mallku and J-Jirachi. I was already struggling in college, and I didn’t like it as much as I hoped. I... th-thought this was a better opportunity.”

Liz got up, shuffling past Mai, and sitting to the left of Ruby. She forced a smile, leaning towards the Cherrim. “We’re thankful you came with us anyways. We may have only met you this morning, but I know we’ll be great allies here forward. You’re smart by the looks of it, and I think you could make a great fighter alongside the rest of us, if playing support doesn’t feel right to you.”

“Yeah!” Mai exclaimed. “We just... need to see how you work first. What your style is like.”

“S-style?”

“Yep” Liz answered. “Every pokémon has a natural flow of instincts in the way they fight. If we figure out yours, we can help you enhance it and see what works and what doesn’t.” She giggled, raising her roses to her cheeks, and blushing from behind. “It might take a long time, but it’s worth it. You can trust us.”

Mai nodded, relaxing her posture. “Would you want to try practicing now?”

Ruby stiffened. “N-no thanks.” The conversation with Tori replayed in her head, the Whimsicott’s frown frying into her skull. “I-I should probably be going anyways... I need to talk to someone.”

She bounced off the log, waving to Liz and Mai as she slowly walked away. The two seemed a little hesitant at the sight of her leaving but didn’t chase after her. They simply watched, before resuming the conversation about something else, too out of distance for Ruby to hear.

As the Cherrim trailed back to her tent through the campsite, she felt her nerves go stiff, her muscles tense.

Right. She was going to do something this morning.

She was going to talk to Tori.

The Cherrim passed Proteus’ tent, waving to him and Todd as they slowly woke up. Proteus noticed her and attempted to start a conversation, but hesitated when he saw that she was looking the other way, walking in small strides.

Eventually, Ruby made it to her own tent. The pink color was somewhat faded, and the silhouttes of Alice and Gabi were easy to see through the wool fabric. Gabi emerged shortly after, squirming past Ruby and stopping to grin at her.

“Mornin’ Rubes!”

“H-hi Gabi” the Cherrim squeaked. She looked left, then right, but found no sight of the mon she was looking for. “H-have you... seen Tori anywhere?”

Gabi hummed for a moment, her blank expression unchanging. “Nope, can’t say I have” she responded, frowning despondently. “Were you looking for her? Last night she seemed pretty pissed, maybe she’s taking a walk.”

Ruby sighed, smiling under the cover of her petals. “Oh... yeah, I d-didn’t consider that. Thanks. I’ll go s-see if she’s around here somewhere.”

As she shuffled down the opposite direction of the camp, she heard Gabi mumble “You go girl”.

~

The fields around them were in fact more than just empty. They were desolate.

Ruby paced the outline of the campgrounds, keeping her eyes wary. She saw no other pokémon or figures in the distance, nor much land that wasn’t more plains. It was unnerving, she had to admit.

If Gabi was right, Tori would be back by now.

Sighing, Ruby turned around, trailing back to camp. Surely, she would find her coming back, right? There was no way she would just... run, in the minutes that Ruby had gone to eat breakfast with Liz and Mai.

If she had run, it wouldn’t be the first time.

...and it wouldn't be the first time for Ruby either.

She sucked in a breath of air, eventually finding her way back to the tent. Alice was busy reading a book inside, from the looks of it, so Ruby made an effort to not disturb.

Her mind wandered a little, body leaned against the tent and petals shut closed. The sinking feeling of dread and regret lingered for a moment until she heard a peep, alerting her out of her stupor.

She squinted through her petals, seeing a white, spherical figure in the center of the campsite, talking with Liz. She did a double-take, and nearly tripped over herself as realization hit.

Tori.

Ruby bolted forward, sweeping across the grass. The fear of what she would say, the anxiety of seeing her-

Tori quickly noticed the sound of running and turned around. Ruby expected the fairy to frown, to shrink back in guilt, to run, or initiate some gesture that she was feeling guilty for her attitude last night. Like the mon she was used to.

Instead, Tori scowled, shed a few tears, and walked away.

Ruby stopped dead in her tracks.

“Tori!”

The Whimsicott ignored her. Kept walking. Past Liz, past The Joes, who were still working on the logs.

Tori...

The sound of Mallku’s voice echoed across the camp, but it failed to make its way to Ruby.

What had happened?

Chapter Text

The farther they traveled, the rougher the terrain leaned, slowly curving out of its flat expanse. Up ahead, Mallku could see a few trees dotting the edges of the horizon, jutting out like sticks in the sand. They had been traveling through hilly terrain for quite a while now, maybe even a few hours, but the trees ahead really made Mallku smile.

His old guild town was only a haul away. Not that he’d be visiting it ever again, but the idea of it made him feel a little nostalgic, and he was appreciative of that.

New Barcelona shouldn’t be too far from here.

Mallku looked down, reconnecting with the sight of Jirachi in his arms. The small mon looked a little agitated, somewhat tired, toying with the yellow streamers attached to their back. Like always, their eyes were baggy, and their smile was concealed under a frown.

So much had changed in the past few years.

“How’re you doing, kiddo?”

Jirachi flinched, looking up at Mallku with their brows furrowed. “Just tired.”

Not sure what else I was expecting. “We’ll be near the coast pretty soon. Once we get to the ferry, I’ll let you take as much of a nap you want.”

The steel type sighed. “Not what I meant.”

“Something bothering you?”

Jirachi turned their head away, letting go of their streamers. “I’m just... wishing I still had my psychic power shit. Having you forced to carry me everywhere is embarrassing. Makes me feel pathetic. I pity myself every day at this point for fuck’s sake!”

Mallku frowned. “Still got you down?”

“Of course it is. It’s been more than a year since. Do you know many years I’ve lived? You wanna know how much I still have left? That’s right! An eternity! As long as I don’t fucking kill myself first.”

“Please try not to.”

Jirachi snorted. “Can only do half the things now that I could before. It’s not fair! I didn’t deserve any of this!”

“Well... I’ll make it up for you, okay?” Mallku squeezed Jirachi a little tighter, wrapping the mon in a hug. “You can trust me. I’ll always be here.”

Jirachi felt a little doubtful but didn’t say anything. As Mallku loosened his grip, the two of them turned back to their walk.

They didn’t know how much longer they’d have this, but they weren’t going to give it up anytime soon.

The convoy continued their journey forward in silence, traveling down the slope of the hill towards the assortment of trees in the distance. The valley was just as bare as the land before it, but small signs of life were increasingly apparent the farther ahead, Mallku spotting the first as they reached the trees, which were situated just a few steps away from a small cliff.

At first glance, the trees seemed a little odd, sprouting here in empty fields with a lack of forestation or civilization around them. But then he saw it, then they saw it.

Without a moment of hesitation, Mallku carefully dropped Jirachi onto the ground, making sure that they didn’t fall too hard, then zipped forward, stopping at the edge of the cliffside.

Just over the valley was New Barcelona. A sprawling coastside situated along the edges of the Barschuft Sea, a town that Mallku had only been to once before, during a guild mission a few years back. But now, he could see the area had much more activity than before, with several flea markets and open-air vendors. There were a few hotels and taverns here and there, from the looks of his viewpoint, with colorful, wooden signs hanging over the buildings. Pokémon roamed the streets like tiny specks, pouring in and out of vendors in small crowds.

The port town was impressive. He almost wished he could stay here for the night.

Mallku spun around, waving to Heatran and Jirachi. “We’re almost there!”

Heatran snorted in response, Jirachi groaned. The mons behind them, Lucy, Mai and Victini, squeezed between the two, racing forward to see the view over the valley.

All this walking was nearly over.

Mai was the first to reach Mallku, gazing over the town with kindled awe. She loosened her bag off her shoulder, taking out a strange, goggle-looking item that seemed oddly familiar, though Mallku wasn’t sure where he’d seen it from. The lens and temples were purple, and the rims orange. Mai positioned the item to the sun, hooking its glare on the lens and pointing it towards the ground.

Mallku squinted in confusion, pointing a claw at it. “What... is that?”

As Lucy and Victini shuffled to the side, Mai smiled. Her eyes were fixated on the goggles in her paws, shying away from looking at him. “It’s called a Scope Lens. Inheritance from my Pa. It’s a good luck charm, but that’s about it. I just like carrying it around with me nowadays.”

“Have you... tried wearing it? Surely, it’s useful for something else.”

Mai scoffed, clutching the Scope Lens pensively. “Nah, it doesn’t fit me. Didn’t fit my Pa either, but that didn’t stop him. It was pretty expensive, and I’m not just throwing it away either.”

“If it’s from your dad, I could see why you’d keep it” Mallku replied. “Like a... way of remembering him?”

Mai sighed and nodded, keeping quiet for the remainder of the vista.

Lucy meanwhile stretched out her arms, doing a short twirl. “Ah this will be fun, will it not! Traveling! On boat!”

Victini frowned. “Yeah... in the middle of the ocean...”

Jirachi squirmed under Mallku’s legs, causing him to shriek and stumble back. “As long as Heatran doesn’t outweigh the boat with their fat ass” the steel type quipped. “We really don’t have any alternatives?”

“Nope” Mallku answered, reaffirming his prior stance.

“Shit.”

The group kept quiet for a few more seconds, watching the town below and the boats that circled in and out of the port. Small, dot-sized pokémon tugged them, nearly a third to the size of the boat being pulled. Mallku found it a little impressive, and he wondered what kind of boat they’d get to travel on. Of course, he wasn’t about to push his luck, but a lingering doubt ached for him to think about it.

There can’t possibly not be a boat for twenty... could there? Unless these ferries are meant for smaller, less compact groups...

Ferries...

“Crap!” Mallku spun around, racing towards Heatran. Two brown traveling bags were fastened to the fire type’s side, straps reaching over their body and holding tight in a clamp. Mallku reached into one of the bags, pulling out a large, white tablecloth and two black cloaks, having hoods that were too small for his size.

Victini inched forward, inspecting the garments. “What are these for?”

Mallku awkwardly smiled, holding up the cloak in front of them. “For you and Jirachi.”

“Wh... why would we need these?”

“So we don’t get spotted as easily” Jirachi snapped. The steel type took the cloak out of his hands, donning it with an exasperated grumble. The cloth fit them nicely, but they weren’t in the mood to say anything. “Just put the damn thing on and get it over with.”

Victini scowled, before taking the other. The cloak was slightly larger than Jirachi’s, having a larger hood to fit their ears, albeit fitting much poorly. It looked a little strange, Mallku had to admit, but it wasn’t like he had much else of an option. He was working with loose ends and beginnings from the start, so the cloaks would have to work. And if they didn’t, they’d improvise.

Heatran looked at the white tablecloth, just about ready to burn it up. “What about this stupid blanket?”

Mallku flinched, turning around. “That’s uh... for you, heh. I didn’t really have a choice, sorry.”

“For what!?” Heatran roared. An ember let loose of his breath, singeing the grass below their feet. “What do you mean for me!? Do I look like a fucking table to you!?”

Victini stepped forward in front of Mallku as the Weavile backed up. “Chill out. We were the ones who let you join us in the first place. Don’t take your anger out on him.” With a scoff, they whispered, “You whiny bitch.”

Heatran stared Victini down for a few seconds, before groaning. “Fine. Put the fucking tablecloth on me. Let’s get this done with.”

Mallku carefully reached for the blanket, draping it over Heatran awkwardly, reaching down to their legs, barely missing their feet. As Mallku backed up, he slowly realized how bad of a disguise it was.

Jirachi smirked. “So how do you suppose we move them?”

“I was thinking we could lie that they were cargo. M-maybe we could get mons on all sides to make it more believable?”

Victini stepped forward, inspecting the cloth. “We... could. But how are we going to get Heatran in the boat? Captain might want to move it alone.”

“Why not just push it ourselves?” Lucy offered, joining the conversation. They performed a delightful spin, flames dancing in colorful flickers. “After all, won’t taking care of the big things be the polite move?”

“The captain is going to insist to do it themselves, though.”

Lucy performed another spin, this one a little more joyful. “We’ll come up with something!”

Mallku held up a grasped claw, nodding with a smile. “We will, I’m sure of it.” He spun around, reaching forward and scooping an unsuspecting Jirachi into his arms. “Anyways, we... need to get going. We don’t have time for shopping or anything like that today, the port closes at dusk.”

“You have a reservation, right?” Jirachi queried.

“Nope. Just hoping we get lucky.”

~

By sundown, the seaport was in sight. Traveling through obscured streets off the trail of the main, they found secrecy much easier, moving with hushed tones and wary eye movements. Lucy and Mai guarded Heatran from the front, as Todd and Andesine shuffled from behind. Liz walked alongside them, surveying the surroundings on the alert. If anything jumped out, she would be ready.

Ari felt a little annoyed as Andesine moved so slowly up front, but never said anything. The water type was making travel more frustrating than it already was, having to constantly stop so he could catch up with Todd.

Mallku led them all through an underbrush, weaving his way down thick grass with Jirachi tight in his arms. The small forest situated next to the town was a little more difficult to travel through than expected, but he knew it would be short. Sunlight pierced its way through the leaves of the trees ahead, giving a source of relief through the denseness of the thicket.

As he moved, he felt a tap on his arm, and quickly turned around to see Ari shortly behind.

“Hey, Mallku?”

“Yeah?” The Weavile stopped walking, turning around, as with Jirachi, who scowled at Ari.

He ignored their expression. “How come I didn’t get any of the fancy shit you gave the others?”

Mallku frowned, perplexed. “W-what?”

“The cloaks?” Ari facepalmed and pointed to the one Jirachi was wearing. “These? Why didn’t I get something? I thought I was supposed to be in hiding too?”

“Uh, well...” Mallku anxiously smiled, backing up two steps. “I figured I c-could just lie that you were a Salamence? Your species is a bit strange compared to the kind around here, so maybe most wouldn’t think too hard about it?”

Ari sighed. “Y’know what I- nevermind.” He floated away, back to his previous spot in the line. “Let’s just keep moving” he snarled.

Right.

Mallku winced, spinning back to the road ahead. Jirachi yawned in his arms, and for a moment he almost felt sleepy himself.

~

Mai picked up Jirachi despite their bickering, holding them softly. “Shush” she hissed. “Not the time to be making noise. If any other pokémon see you we’re all in trouble.”

Despite some hesitance, the steel type eventually complied. Liz watched them, giggling.

“Is this what having kids is like?”

Mai flashed a smile at her. “Let’s hope not.”

Liz blushed, before turning her attention back towards Mallku, just across the space of the port. The Weavile argued with a Swampert as ships departed and returned around them, with several pokémon unloading crates and boxes. As the rest waited for him in the center, making sure to conceal Victini and Heatran as much as possible, Liz eventually decided she’d check on progress.

“I’ll be back” the Roserade chirped, setting down her bag. “Watch my stuff.”

“You got it!” Mai replied, saluting with an empty paw.

Liz strolled towards the two with as much elegance as she could muster, though neither of them noticed. Nor did they notice anything else, as it seemed quite evident that they were indulged way too deep into their conversation.

The Swampert, most likely the harbor pilot, rose a hand to his face with so much of a sneer that both Liz and Mallku were on the verge of feeling offended. “You want a ferry... for nineteen? What kind of crew are you taking with you!?”

Mallku sighed, pointing towards the badge attached to his scarf. “Listen, okay? I’m from a guild, I know what I’m doing. I’ve been an ace-level explorer for years. I have all the confirmation right here.”

The harbor pilot snorted curtly, before crossing his arms. “Hah, guildy shmildy. You got business or something? Merchants? We don’t just hand out ferries to filthy vagabonds or pilgrims, just because they have a dungeon-diver or two in the mix. Get a good reason or get a good going.”

Before Mallku could reply, the two mons quickly caught sight of an incoming Roserade, interrupting the conversation with so much of a gentle presence.

Liz cleared her throat, walking forward and resting a rose on Mallku’s shoulder. She stared the Swampert down with contempt, her scarlet eyes piercing through the pokémon’s amphibious skin and leaving a burn on his ego.

“Excuse me, sir” she gestured, hiding her mouth behind her other rose. “But I have heard of a commotion, and I have come to see what the issue was. Hopefully there is no issue, yes?”

Vines rose from behind Liz’s back like thin, green tentacles, stopping any interjection from the Swampert. “N-no, of course not miss. Never there would.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, not what I meant to say” he blurted. “I-I’ll get a ship for your group right away.”

The Swampert frantically paced in the other direction towards the docks, and Liz’s vines withdrawed back. Mallku sighed with both relief and assurance, returning a smiling to Liz.

“You’re welcome” the Roserade murmured, lowering her roses to her chest.

Mallku watched as the Swampert moved from mon to mon, asking if any had a ship that was large enough to fit twenty Pokémon, and nearing departure. He felt both secondhand embarrassment and irritation, being met with such hate and ignorance until someone else stepped in.

“What a jerk...”

“You know, I honor you with deep respect. Would’ve been impolite to leave you dealing with him alone.”

Mallku flinched, eyes widening, before scratching his head. “Really?”

“Yes” Liz answered, bowing. A small smile bloomed on her face, and her muscles relaxed. “We could have lost our chance there if I hadn’t stepped in. Alas, hopefully the pokémon leading our ship has a little more curtesy than him.”

“If we even get a boat...” Mallku grumbled.

After a few minutes of anxious waiting, the Swampert returned with a Grapploct to his left, carrying a white cap in his tentacles. The mon was quiet and relaxed, though Mallku became unnerved as the fighting type locked eyes with him. Disciplined and tough-looking, he could only assume that this was the pokémon who would be piloting the ship to Goji.

The Swampert spoke up, clearing their throat. “This is Bor. He will be your ship captain for the entirety of this fli- I mean cruise. Cruise.”

Bor, the Grapploct, reached forward and shook tentacle to rose with Liz. Mallku stretched open his claw next, only to be promptly ignored. The fighting type’s expression was unchanged as he did so, moving back to his spot next to the harbor pilot.

“Where are you lookin’ to go, and how far?”

“Lycan’s Dock” Mallku answered. “Goji continent.”

Bor rose a tentacle to his face, thinking. “Two days travel... ride along the edges of the coast... shouldn’t be too difficult. Hmph, quite dangerous if we get into problems with weather, with such a dense ship.”

“Will we be required of anything?” Liz queried.

“No, not unless it is an emergency.” Bor shook his head, crossing his tentacles. “But don’t mess with the gum-scrapers when the ship is moving. No feeding, no harassing, no nothin’. Don’t want more of a mess than needed.”

Mallku squinted. “Gum... scrapers?”

“It’s what I call the indentured servants that pull the ship” Bor barked. “Kombu, Giant, and Bull; Dondozo, Basculegion, and Sharpedo. Name ‘em after kelp ‘cuz they all real bitey. They workin’ off their debt by pulling my ship.”

Both Liz and Mallku were confused but didn’t say anything.

Bor looked behind him, watching the sun as it neared its descent. “We’ll sort out payment when we get aboard. Right now, we need to move.”

The Grapploct put his cap on, crawling back toward one of the ships near the eastern corners of the dock. Liz and Mallku look at each other, puzzled, before they eventually glanced back to the rest of the crew, who were waiting.

“We got the ship!” Mallku shouted to them. “Let’s get going!”

They went back and grabbed their things, then followed Bor with Jirachi in Mai’s grasp, and Ari carrying Mallku’s bag. The group travelled across the dock until they were caught up with the Grapploct, standing coldly in front of his boat.

It... wasn’t that big, but it seemed enough to fit everyone. The tail of the ship was much larger than the front, sitting the largest of the three sails. The boat was made of a dark brown wood across the entirety of its sides, wrapping around it like some sort of shell. It seemed mostly empty right now, except for three figures at the head, having a shaded perception of being tethered to the ship.

Mallku winced as Bor climbed up the walls of the ship with his tentacles. A strange, spongey sound could be heard as he moved, stopping once he jumped inside. A few clicks went off up above, and a large plank was set down against the surface of the dock, providing a small platform for everyone to walk up into the ship.

Mallku quickly went up first, avoiding Bor and heading straight for the other side. His claws gripped the railing tight, gripping tighter as he looked over the edge. The waters were clear, not as salty as they would be if they were farther out in the ocean.

The air felt both fresh and calming. For the next three days, he mused, he’d be able to relax. For a short while longer, they’d have their break from walking sunrise to sunset.

Finally.

Mallku looked back, watching as the rest of the group spilled onto the ship. Bor and Liz were held over discussion in front of Heatran and the cloth blanketing them. He turned forward, joining the conversation to see what they were talking about.

Bor reached a tentacle towards the blanket, only to have it smacked away by Liz. The Roserade looked at him frustratingly, before faking a smile. “We’d uh... rather not have you touch it. It’s really valuable, and uh... kinda private.”

The Grapploct raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “What? I’m not going to break it. I just want to make sure ye weirdos didn’t bring anything that could harm the ship.”

As if on instinct, Lucy floated forward and blocked Bor from moving further. “Oh, but please, sir! Are you not the captain? Why don’t we take care of this for you?”

Mai shuffled in between Lucy and Liz, nodding in agreement. “Yes! Might we offer a back massage while we do the hard work?”

“Surely you are tired after working so effortlessly!”

Bor paused, before groaning. “Fine, damnit. Just... pay me for the trip and I’ll get the ship started up.”

Mai immediately glanced to Mallku, snapping him out of his trance with an ushered nod. He scampered towards his bag, which was still being held by Ari, and dumped out a pile of yellow coins from the front pocket. He clumsily picked them up, handing them to Bor. The Grapploct snatched his cap off from his head and poured the coins inside it before leaving for the front deck.

Mallku let out a sigh, turning back to the rest of the crew.

“You can all get yourself situated now.”

In the snap of a claw, everyone else scattered towards the stairs, which led down to the cabins below the surface of the deck.

~

Ruby trailed the crowd from behind, Alice to her left. Unlike the others, she was in no rush to assure her own nest on the ship. She wasn’t dissuaded with sharing one with Alice, since they got along just fine. What really unnerved Ruby was who she would be bunking with.

As she moved down the hall, she considered her options. Tori would be a deathwish, especially after this morning. Liz and Mai would be good. Proteus would probably be okay, but the Galvantula has a habit of being talkative. Gabi or anyone else wouldn’t be awful.

She saw Mallku skid ahead, and she immediately stopped. The Weavile stood in front of the crowd with his claws up, gesturing to them for them to wait.

“I’ve already kinda assigned rooms” Mallku sighed. Everyone else groaned in response, until he pointed to the door farthest right. “This is Mai and Liz’s room only. I don’t want anyone else going in there.”

Mai and Liz pushed to the front of the crowd, nigh on cue, waving thanks before taking their stuff inside and shutting the door. The rest looked at Mallku with pleading eyes, stiff with anticipation.

The Weavile cleared his throat, before pointing to the three doors on the left side of the wall. “These rooms are for you all. Filter in as you like, just don’t bicker. Remember, first come first serve.”

As the remnants of the crowd shuffled into the three rooms, Ruby saw Tori still standing in front of Mallku, arms crossed. The Whimsicott squinted, before demanding “What’s the other room on the right for?”

“That’s for Jirachi, Victini and me.”

Tori fumed. “And how come Mai and Liz get their own rooms but we don’t!? That’s unfair!”

“They contributed the most to this expedition” Mallku barked. “Plus, they’re a couple. Let them have their peace.”

“So the rest of us are just pawns to you, huh? Is that how it is? Picking favorites just because you happen to like someone more than another?”

Mallku backed up. “What!? No, that’s not how it is. Stop making assumptions just because you don’t like how things are. I treat you with just as much respect as anyone else here.”

Tori continued the death glare until Proteus’ voice rang from behind, averting her attention.

“Hey Tori! I saved you and Rhubarb a nest” the bug announced, crawling out of the second door on the left. “They’re right next to each other, kek! That way you can get close, both physically and literally! Thought you might like it.”

Tori’s mouth lay agape, before swerving a ninety and locking eyes right with Ruby. The Cherrim flinched, and right then, she knew.

This situation is about to get much worse.

Chapter Text

Not too shortly after dinner, most pokémon on the ship had gone to sleep. With only a single candle to provide light, which was located on a lampstand near the far wall, and Lucy in a different room, all traces of illumination were nearly devoid. Tori sat awake watching the ceiling, frustrated.

She was by no means tired, despite the long day. Was she dealing with insomnia? She didn’t know.

The boat was completely quiet, outside of the rocking of waves, which could be heard if you pressed yourself against the easternmost wall, opposite to the lampstand.

The ship was moving, Tori could feel.

She watched the others in the room with boredom, slouched in her nest. The bed was a little uncomfortable- she hadn’t slept in non-personalized beds in so long, so seeing one that was meant for more than just her species, with the generic sticks and wool cushioning, was a strange feeling.

Tori almost wished the boat crashed so she didn’t have to sleep like this much longer.

Aside from the troubling thoughts, she was mostly relaxed. Ruby lay propped against the wall next to her, in this weird flower-like pose that she had once told Tori was a natural sleeping position for her species, much to her confusion. The Cherrim was snoozing on her feet so nonchalantly, petals wrapped tight and stem drooping, that you couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not.

Tori sighed and turned her gaze to the rest. In the southeastern corner was Proteus, who was sprawled out over his own nest, much too large for the bed’s size. Near the far wall, right next to the lampstand, Gabi slept. Like Proteus, her bed was too small for her. The psychic took up a large amount of room on the floor but didn’t make too much of a disturbance. Meanwhile, to the right of Tori’s viewpoint, was Alice, nestled cozily in her own nest and snoozing softly.

Watching the others, Tori started to feel a little irritated. She wasn’t quite sure why; everything had gone smoothly until this point.

Well, except for the conflict with Ruby.

Guilt crept in, and she felt a pang of anger. Recalling the events from the morning, and the night before, it itched. The memories gave a bit of a sting, one that Tori couldn’t seem to shake away. The pain was mesmerizing, and yet she was eager to distract away from it.

She glanced towards the door, still clasped shut into its frame without a creak. Her eyes wandered from the steel hinges to the doorknob, a single thought slipping into her mind.

She wasn’t stuck in here.

If she wanted, she could sneak out, and no one would notice.

No one would notice.

Tori quickly stood up, dusting herself off and any dirt or loose twigs that might have stuck to her cotton. Slowly, she crept towards the door, bouncing her eyes back and forth to see if anyone had woken up. By the time she reached it, she let out a sigh of relief.

Tori grasped the knob and jerked it open, jolting back in surprise as the door made a small hiss.

She took a glance back.

No movement.

She relaxed.

Anxiously, she moved out of the room and quickly shut the door behind her. The hall was empty as darkness lit up the night, held by utter silence. At the end of the corridor, Tori could see wooden stairs leading up to the surface deck of the ship.

She took another quick glance towards the other dorms to see if she was being watched and paced up the stairs. The air was cold and reeking of bitterness, but it simply passed Tori by as she made her way across the deck. She stopped at the railing, peeking over the water.

At last, she felt calm.

Distracted, relaxed, and most importantly... away from her troubles.

The emptiness of the night was oddly soothing, listening to the sound of waves and wind. She watched below as feral water types splashed below the surface, noticing a tiny Finneon rising up to the top alongside a much larger Lumineon, who Tori presumed to be the mother. The two pokémon chittered to each other in a language that was beyond anything she recognized, before noticing the hunk of a boat beside them and quickly diving below.

Tori sighed, resting her arms on the railing.

What was she even doing out here?

“This is all pointless” she muttered to herself. She glanced around the boat, trying to find something interesting, before hearing footsteps from behind.

She winced, darting her eyes back and forth, pressed against the railing. Had someone found her...?

Tori wanted to curl up and shut out the world, fearful that Ruby was trying to find her, but refrained. She slowly saw a shadow come out of the stairwell, moving at a skittery but gentle pace. Confrontation would be inevitable if she didn’t hide- she had to, she needed to. She glanced around the boat anxiously, trying to find a suitable spot.

However, she barely got a chance to even move the moment a voice called out her name.

“Mornin’ Tori. Up so early, eh?”

She looked back to the stairs.

A short, yellow figure crawled out. It was Proteus.

Her body slumped, and she let out a big breath of relief. As the Galvantula crawled towards her, Tori felt her racing mind finally slow down, giving herself to process everything.

“Hi” she blurted.

Proteus moved past her towards the railing, too short to raise his head over it. He moved his eyes over the deck, taking it in. “So what’cha doing out here?”

“Nothing” Tori mumbled, following his eyes back to the view of the sea. She leaned on the rail cooly. “Just needed fresh air.”

“The air really is fresh out here, huh.”

Tori rolled her eyes. “Sure is.”

“Would be a nice night for a walk, too.”

“Yup.”

The two of them stood there uncomfortably. Proteus’s breathing was cold and unnerving, reverberating a chilly feeling around Tori. The Galvantula was watching her, she could sense, despite not directly looking at him, rather focused on the tiny groups of pokémon in the distance, swimming along and under the surface of the ocean. Time seemed to be frozen in their spot, mocking Tori as she silently wished Proteus would leave.

“So how have you been lately?”

Tori jerked her head to the left. “What?”

“How have you been?” Proteus repeated. He looked her in the eyes, brimming with curiosity and pure interest. “Anything on your mind lately?”

“No?”

“Hm, alright then. Mind if I ask another question?”

Tori groaned. “I’d mind if you left me alone.”

Proteus hummed out an “Okay.” A few seconds of silence passed by, before he eventually spoke again. “I wonder how Ruby’s doing. She seemed pretty down this morning; didn’t even come to talk to me when I saw her.”

“She’s probably fine.”

“Yeah... and you’re close with her, right?”

“I dunno” Tori muttered. “I guess.”

“How long have you known her?”

“Few years.”

Proteus nodded. “It’s kinda impressive how good of friends you two are. Even with Todd, I’ve only known him since I moved here, but you and Ruby... wow. Your bond is something so strong... I don’t think I’ve seen anything as great as it before.”

“Yup.”

“Do you think you might be able to help her?”

Tori flinched, her eyes wide and bulging in utter disbelief, trying to make sense of his words. “W-what!?”

“You said you were great friends” Proteus replied. “Am I wrong?”

“No I-“ Tori rested a stub on her chest, feeling her heartbeat. It slowed with the help of a few deep breaths, reversing its culmination into eventual serenity that dampened her thoughts. “Sorry, I just- I wasn’t thinking right.”

“Is that why you’re out here?”

Tori looked around, before sighing. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Oh, kek. Are you doing fine now?”

“Kinda? Just... can’t sleep. Got a lot on my mind lately.”

Proteus twitched. “I heard the sound of a door closing and was wondering if it was daytime yet. But having a nice chat with you isn’t bad either. I like the peace of the night.”

“Thanks, I guess. It... feels good to be out here.”

“Yeah.”

They looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds, before soon returning to silence. Tori found herself somewhat lost in thought, watching the night sky with both of her arms resting on top of each other, leaning on the railing. She tried to connect the stars as if they meant something- spinning fabrications with a trace of a stub, visualizing anything that she could convince herself were deliberate.

As if they weren’t just illusions.

As if they weren’t just desperate attempts at trying to predetermine fate.

...As if they weren’t just herself slowly going insane.

“You okay there?”

Tori snapped awake of her stupor, blinking. “Uh... yeah. I’m fine.”

“Fine?”

“That’s... what I said.”

Proteus squinted in response, all six eyes in unison. “You sure ‘bout that? You seem a bit upse-”

“I said I’m fine” she bit back in gritted teeth.

“You’re really sure you’re okay?”

Tori scoffed, spreading out her arms. “Do I look okay!? Seriously, after all the shit I’ve had to deal with in the last who knows what!? After Ruby decides to fucking betray me for other friends!? After this weirdo of a dark decides he can boss us around just because he can!? Seriously Proteus. Read the fucking room. We’ve only been out travelling for two days and I’m already about to snap. Do I look okay!?”

“I-“

“Don’t apologize. Just... stop fucking doing things without reading the room first, like with earlier and the nests. That really pissed me off.”

Proteus stood quietly for a few seconds, waiting for Tori to cool down, before speaking. “Yeah... that was my bad. Sorry, kek. I didn’t know you were angry at the time.”

“It’s fine” Tori groaned. "But please. Next time.”

“You got it.”

Silence returned to the air once again, but only lasted for half a minute as Tori shattered it.

“This is just getting dull. I’m going off to bed. Good night.”

“G’night” Proteus chirped.

Tori slipped back towards the dorms, passing the captain, who gave her a suspicious glare, and down the main deck of the ship, until she reached the stairs.

She knew tomorrow would probably be worse.

But at this point...

She couldn’t care less.

Tori opened the door to her dorm, shutting it just as hastily.

She was about to dive straight into bed, eager to be done with this horrible night, when she noticed something. Ruby, snoozing in the same spot as before, to the right of her nest. Tori stood, watching for a moment. She blinked twice- something was different this time.

Without thinking, she sat close to Ruby, completely ignoring the comfort of the bed that she could have slept in. Tori wrapped an arm over the Cherrim, pulling her close and pressing her own face against Ruby’s petals. The feeling was cozy and homey, emanating a warm emotion that Tori wasn’t quite sure she’d felt before- something else... something different, something fresh.

She felt safe.

And... at last, despite everything, she slept.

Chapter Text

Another day had begun, and Mallku was eager to get it started.

The bedroom was quiet as he was the only one up yet, but he knew there was no rush to wake the other two, Jirachi and Victini, since it was just going to be a relaxed day today. No travel, no worry. Bor would do the traveling for them.

He reached for his scarf off the wooden drawer in the room, running his claws through its red, silky wool. He felt his sensations relax, taking the moment to get a good feel for the scarf and its lack of complexity.

The lack of complexity was something he really needed right now.

Years ago, he would’ve seen this item, and all the power it bestowed, as merely a right. A right that he dutifully deserved. In a time where working for the guild was less of an obligation and more of a job to keep himself alive and busy, in a time where the hard work and strain was built into an effort to keep the guild from having second thoughts about having hired him, so young and inexperienced and merely a Sneasel with uninhibited dreams.

And yet, now... it was more than that. It was a show of his determination, his luck, his prowess, his ability to outlast all the others he’d worked alongside through the years. It was more than just closure- it was a symbol, it was a sign of everything he’d endured, and much more.

But there was one thing about living so long that many, ironically, don’t survive far enough to realize- that everything starts to simmer off after a while, that you never really grow more mature like the books say, that loneliness and constant repetition cycle in and out like hunger pangs and tiredness, that everything starts to feel blurry when you aren’t straining yourself to look at all the things going on in this rapidly changing world, and that you feel yourself waiting anxiously, unsure if you should live life riskier or even more riskless then the state of your own dilemma, torn between two unstable bridges.

Mallku had felt every step of it all.

And yet, the pain wasn’t just physical.

It was mental, too.

Diving out of his headspace, Mallku took the scarf and started tying it around his neck. The comfort was doubtless, as it had always been. The badge attached to the front reeked of nostalgia just as much, secure and tight as he finished up the binding.

I wonder how this looks... he mused. I brought a mirror with us, didn’t I?

He turned to the back of the room, passing a snoozing Victini in their nest and reaching for a brown bag right next to them. He zipped open the largest pocket and shuffled his claws through the various few items inside- orbs, wands and seeds, small bottles that contained Ari’s alcohol, and finally, a small mirror that was about the size of Jirachi’s head, which Mallku quickly pulled out and placed it on the wooden drawer near the door.

He took a good look at his reflection in the clear glass. He wasn’t necessarily one to care too much about his appearance or string it to his self-worth, but with the look of the red scarf and badge that was proudly attached to it, and the emotion that boomed within his determined expression, Mallku felt amiable. He hadn’t washed in quite a few days... not doing it before departure was one of his bigger mistakes no doubt, but his fur felt clean enough that any specks of dirt or waste were hard to pinpoint without a good eye.

He felt happy. He felt good. He felt fresh.

The sound of a yawn averted his senses, and Mallku quickly spun around to see who was up. His gaze wandered over the room before settling on Jirachi, the psychic making weak grumbling noises as they clawed their way out of bed. Their eyes were still brittle and baggy, matching the slowed and rigid movements that dulled with each motion.

“Good morning kiddo” Mallku beamed.

Jirachi sluggishly faked a smile, yawning. “H...hey Mall. What time is it?”

“It’s still dawn.”

“Damn.” They moved towards the drawer, looking up towards the mirror. “We’re not allowed outside the room, huh?”

“Nope. Gotta keep you three away from the captain. If he sees you, he’s gonna get freaky and mess up everything. It’s too much of a risk.”

“Of course you say that.”

Mallku crouched down and softly laid a claw on Jirachi’s shoulder. “Hey now, I’ll find something to do. You won’t be stuck in here all day. Not without having some fun, at least.”

Jirachi groaned. “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re not going to make me do old pokémon things, are you!?”

“You’ll find out in a bit” Mallku teased, standing up and moving towards his bag near Victini. He reached in and pulled out a white bottle that was about the size of his palm, fashioning a green gummi on the foil wrapped around it. “I’ll be back to deliver Ari’s alcohol. Stay inside the room while I’m gone, I don’t want you two gremlins making a mess.”

“Fine” Jirachi mumbled.

With a wave, Mallku departed out the door, closing it gently. He turned towards the dorm that was farthest right of the wall across from him, moving in a hushed pace. Daybreak permeated the sky from the world outside of the stairway hall, providing light and a relaxed atmosphere as he reached the door.

It creaked a little, but not enough to wake someone up. Inside the bedroom, Mallku spotted four faces- Andesine, Lucy, Todd, and finally, Ari. Everyone except Todd was still asleep, as the Forretress was mindlessly reading a book without notice of who was coming in. Lucy and Andesine were directly next to each other in the southeast corner, with Ari sprawled out in the middle of the room, just like in the basement before.

Mallku crept along the west wall, medicine in hand, until he reached the dragon. He carefully tapped Ari on the shoulder, and after a few seconds, Mallku heard a grumble. He tapped again, and this time, Ari finally awakened.

“I’m here with your medicine.”

Ari grumbled again. He made a stiff flap of his wings, claws extending from underneath as his body turned towards Mallku. The dragon’s eyes were coarse and droopy, flaked with small, red pigments- hints of a potentially dangerous feral conversion that would be reversed with the help of some alcohol, for right now anyways.

“Give.”

“Yeah sorry, just wait a second.” Mallku unscrewed the lid and revealed a syrupy liquid inside. “Just remember to not to drink too much at once. And uh... be light with it.”

“Whatever” Ari hissed. He snatched the bottle and started chugging it, making gurgling noises that made Mallku wince.

“If you’re going to vomit, do it over the railing. Drinking water helps too.”

Ari merely rolled his eyes. As he drank, the red pigment from his pupils started to fade.

“Well, I’m gonna head out now I guess.” Mallku took a quick glance at Andesine and Lucy, before turning to the door. “See you later.”

“Bye.”

Shutting the door, he sighed.

Today’s gonna be a long day, huh.

Mallku shuffled up the steps into the open air of the top deck, soon immersed in the bright sunshine of a new morning. It was mostly empty right now, he surmised, looking around. He had very little of an idea of what most pokémon would be doing today anyways, most likely sleeping in or staying in their rooms until the ship reached Goji.

He was about to turn tail back to his own dorm, when he happened to spot Ruby near a group of barrels in the middle section of the boat. He raised his claws in the air as he raced towards her, surprised that she was already awake.

Ruby barely saw him before flinching on sight, nearly as surprised. She backed up two steps, until hesitating and deciding to talk. She tightened her petals, reassured that her bag was still on her, and sighed as he came close.

“H-hi Mall.”

“Good to see you!” the Weavile chirped. He stopped before crossing his arms, wearing a dorky grin. “So, how’s it been?”

“O-oh... it’s fine. Not much going on.”

“Well, it’s going to get a little more interesting from here, trust me.” Mallku looked toward the horizon, eyes sharp and gaze focused. “Our next destination is pretty close, ya know. After we hit Lycan’s Dock tomorrow morning- heck, maybe even tonight, we’re gonna be passing through a mesa of sorts. And that’s not even a third of the trip. Crazy, huh?”

“Y-yeah it sure is.” Ruby was just about desperate to make an escape.

“I hope you don’t mind a bit of fighting. I mean, you did sign up knowing you’d have to at least once, right? Which means you’re okay with that.”

“I guess.”

“Now that I think about it, I bet you’re a good fighter” Mallku gushed. “Maybe I’m just getting ahead of myself though. I still haven’t seen you do much at all when it comes to combat.”

“Wh- huh?”

“Ruby, I’ve been saying that since I met you. You’re not seriously blind to your own potential, are you?”

“U-uhm...”

“Hey now, relax. My guildmaster said the same thing to me all the time.” He chuckled. “Would you want to do some practice sparring? It really gets the mind and muscles focused, and it’ll be fun!”

Fighting? At this time of day? “But... you’re an ice type right? I’m a grass type, and I’m weak to your moves... plus, you’re much more experienced than I am. We can’t d-do this some other time?”

“If I promise to go really soft, will you at least give it a try?”

Memories of the fight with her principal, all those years ago, flashed in her mind. The failure of a fighter she presented to him, her lack of focus, the sheer embarrassment of it all...

Nono, I can’t do this... she sighed to herself.

“I’m good, thanks.” Ruby backed up slowly. “The captain w-will get mad at us, and we might wake pokémon up...”

Mallku deflated. “Oh, okay then. Sorry about that. It’s just been a while since I’ve had to do anything related to fighting, since I’m not working the rescue team job anymore. Do you at least want to talk some more then? Get to know each other mo-“

Ruby backed up a bit too far and smacked into a pole, groaning as she tripped over herself. Mallku bolted forward and made sure she was okay, sighing with relief that it was barely any damage. He attempted to console her with some soothing back rubs, but only ended up making her more uncomfortable.

“Th-thanks?” Ruby mumbled.

“No problem.” Mallku relaxed his claws on his sides. “So uhm, you know moves right?”

“Yeah?”

“What moves do you know? If we know each other’s abilities, we could probably know each other’s strategies more too! And uh... that way we can work together easier.”

How long is this guy going to go on? “Just Magical Leaf and Grass Knot I think.”

“Grass moves, not sure why I’m surprised.” Mallku chuckled a few times, before lifting up his claws so Ruby could see. “As for my moves... well, I’ve been trying to get better at this cool move called Knock Off that works kinda like a utility-based option and gets rid of anything a pokémon’s holding. I already know Slash, Pursuit and Triple Axel... but I think Knock Off might give me an extra alternative.”

“Oh. Cool.”

“Want me to show it off? I’ve been working really hard to perfect it.”

Is this guy serious? “Uhm... no thanks.”

“Please?” Mallku begged. “I won’t use it on you. I’ll test it on a barrel or something while you’re out of the way.”

Ruby glanced behind her, anxious that Bor might be watching. Seeing no sight of him, she mustered out a “Fine.”

“Thanks.” Mallku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He separated his legs and flexed his claws, feeling the aura in them like a pulse. Ruby stood watching through her petals, unsure of what he was about to do. The move Knock Off didn’t sound familiar, or at least, whatever move he was about to use was probably called something different to her. Based off the fact that Mallku was also part dark-type, she could only assume it was like a stronger Pursuit.

He stood focused for a solid ten to thirty seconds, before deciding he had enough stored energy ready to be launched into an attack. At the speed of a thunderclap, Mallku snapped his eyes awake and darted towards a nearby barrel, sitting just underneath the mast of the ship. His claws emanated the smallest of black sheens, until he jumped up into the air and pierced them into the wooden barrel directly blow his feet.

The attack was so quick that Ruby nearly missed watching it. With the strength of Mallku’s claws, a large tear ripped into the barrel, sending wood chips and scattered bits flying everywhere in all directions, pelting the surrounding area after the blow. A few went so far as to drop into the ocean over the edge of the ship, a height that was quite unexpected, given that the move was merely contact, and nothing like a Hyper Beam or Psychic.

Mallku marveled at the impact as he recovered on the ground, impressed by the damage. When the wood stopped falling, and the bare emptiness from inside the container showed itself, he looked back at Ruby and grinned.

“Thoughts?”

“H-how did a physical move do that much!?” She was in utter awe. “And that was just a regular attack?”

“Knock Off seems pretty strong, huh? One strike and everything went flying- that’s why it’s so good. It doesn’t just work on any old objects too, it can work on special stuff like scarves and items that pokémon might be carrying on them, or even orbs and seeds. Heck, it can even work on bags and send everything spilling out. It’s tough to learn, but it has a very high reward.”

Ruby looked around the boat. The only other person, or group for that matter, up on the deck was The Joes, doing short hustles and exercises on the other side, but they didn’t seem to notice the attack. Nor did they seem to hear the sound of its damage- the troopers were merely unfazed.

How then-

“I know what you’re thinking” Mallku interrupted. “I’m not lying to you. It’s the utter truth- aura and moves can do a lot if you put lots of effort and time into perfecting them. You want to learn, huh? You seemed pretty interested when we first met, would you like to train now?”

Ruby paused.

In all her life, she had never really heard much of what pokémon were truly capable of. She had lived in areas that were mostly devoid of talk about ferals and dungeon diving for the majority of her life, growing in tightly knit neighborhoods built by the affections of previous humans and sleeping in spaces where talk about legendary and mythical creatures was mostly ghetto.

She found it a little funny as she thought about it now- she was literally existing in short range of mythical pokémon, among explorers and seekers. So why was it so hard to conceptualize the power of it all? Why was it so hard to conceptualize that a single move could tear down a single shack, that a short punch could knock out a pokémon completely?

She knew moves.

She had evolved on her own.

And yet, she found herself in utter disbelief.

If this was just one attack... then what would-

“Ruby?”

She snapped awake- now remembering that she had accidentally blanked into nothing but thoughts, caught up in her own mind. She looked up, reconnecting with Mallku’s now concerned look, arms crossed and hinting at mild distress.

“Sorry” she blurted.

“I didn’t do anything bad, did I? Sorry if I...”

“No no it’s-“ She glanced in every direction, until her eyes locked onto one of the fallen barrel chips. “I-I was wondering if you could help me uhm... make my Magical Leaf attack better?”

Mallku’s grin returned. Phew.

“I’d love to!”

“So... how do we start?” Ruby was acting a little jittery; she tried to hide it, tried to straighten herself the best she could, but it was pointless. Mallku didn’t seem to notice thankfully, moving towards the most open space at the center of the deck, making sure there was enough room for practice.

“We’ll start in a minute.” He turned to face her. “I want to see you use the move first, so I can get an approach on what your style is.”

“Style?”

“Basically just the flavor you might add to your attacks. It’s something that’s completely unique to you and will help me know what teaching method works best.”

“Oh... okay. S-so do I just...”

Mallku pointed to his feet. “Step here.”

Ruby moved accordingly as he walked to the side, standing in a spot where he could coach but also not get hurt in the damage.

“Good, now close your eyes. Take a deep breath... if uh, grass types do that, heh.”

Ruby followed.

Her breathing was a little sputtery, admittedly a bit coarse, coming out closer to the dying puffs of smoke of a train than the actual respiration she should be doing. She winced, already realizing that she had struggled on the first step.

“Don’t worry about mistakes. This is all part of learning.”

This is all part of learning.

Deep breaths, deep breaths. Just like with seeing the bunker the first time. Just like with saying goodbye to her aunt...

No...

Ruby felt a sharp pain in her side and twisted- nearly tripping over a barrel chip. She looked up and found that Mallku was standing closer to her, expression full of distress again. It wasn’t out of agitation, more out of deep concern.

Why was he acting concerned all of a sudden?

“Ruby, are you sure you’re okay? You keep dissociating at random.”

She had nothing to say. Utter bafflement took over, decorated by awareness and anxiety.

“Sorry, it’s just been so long since I’ve done any fighting.” Half the truth. “I’m just not used to having to fight like this.”

Mallku tried to look supportive. He wanted to; he knew he had to. “It’s okay, don’t worry. Getting used to the strength of aura and what it can unleash is a hard part of training, but we’ll get better over time, trust me. Should I try moving you through some easier activities?”

“Th-that would be nice. Thanks.”

The Weavile smiled. Genuine, honest smile. “No problem! Here, let’s try this...”

He walked back a few steps in front of her, ready in case she faltered. “My guildmaster taught me that aura is the culmination of your soul. It’s what drives the powers of moves. Some attacks, like Aura Sphere, directly tie into that energy. While most pokémon like us can only use the most basic aspects of it, we can still use it to a sense. Powerful mons aren’t just powerful because they are strong- they also tend to have tough auras.”

Ruby tried to listen as much as she could. The topic was a bit more different than she was used to, but the concept didn’t seem too hard to grasp. She heard a little about auras throughout childhood- about pokémon like Lucario and Gardevoir that were very well known for their aura-related abilities. Mai had also said something about it... right?

Mallku cleared his throat. “Now that we know that, I have a question for you. How... does it feel when you use an attack?”

“H-huh? What do you mean?”

“Do you feel a strain? Do you feel you can use Magical Leaf, or any move for that matter, automatically without much thought?”

That’s a weird question.

“I feel it s-sometimes.” Another half-truth.

Mallku rose a claw to his chin, another on his hip. “Hmm.. Is it a strong strain? Does it happen with only one of your moves, or all?”

“Uh...” Ruby sighed, tightening her petals. “It’s not usually that strong, b-but it does feel like my stronger moves have more strain than weaker ones. Grass Knot can be hard to pull off if I don’t have a good environment for it.”

“That sounds pretty natural” Mallku replied. “So, what do you usually think of when you picture grass-type moves? A forest? A field full of flowers?”

“I mostly think of flowers, yeah.”

“That’s good.” Mallku flexed his claws. “Alrighty now. We have the imagery, now we can make the actual image. Ready?”

“Ready for what?”

“To guide you through the move, of course!”

Huh? “B-but didn’t you say we’re not using the move yet?”

“Not quite. But we will be picturing ourselves using Magical Leaf. You said it’s the easiest, so we’ll start with that.”

“Uh... okay.” No objections yet.

“Now, let’s try again. Close your eyes, take a deep breath. This time, try not to think. And if the thoughts come anyways, try fixating on something else.”
Both of them relaxed and followed through his instructions. Ruby wasn’t quite sure what she was doing anymore; after all, she only came outside to watch the sea. And yet she found herself stuck talking to Mallku with no way out, not wanting to act rude by not accepting his offer but also wanting to avoid any conversation possible.

I’m still thinking.

I need to stop.

Fortunately, it wasn’t for very long. She peeked through her petals fully aware that she was doing what she wasn’t supposed to be doing, and just as quickly withdrew them.

“Now, I want you to picture a field of flowers.”

Flowers... flowers...

“Think of colorful meadows and oozing colors, all on a large hill. Orange, red, purple... feel the softness on your stubs. The sun is bright, there’s not many clouds.”

Somewhere familiar. Petunias, poppies, and sunflowers...

Lush grass...

“The air is crisp. You’re by yourself, the landscape ahead is beautiful.”

By... yourself?

“Do you feel it? Do you feel calm, at peace?”

No...

Ruby couldn’t help it. She attempted to turn around, trying to get out of this strange and unorthodox place, feeling strangled by the fake reality of the field and its counterfeit nature. The flowers weren’t real, nor was the sense of serenity, nor was the sky depleted of clouds...

Behind her, was a forest, blanketing the rest of the hill. A large, mass of cherry trees blocking all other directions. It started to pull forward, suffocating with so deep of a chokehold that Ruby felt suppressed outside of the daydream too, reaching its wooden tentacles over her like a predator, tightening its grip on her bottom stubs to make sure she couldn’t escape.

This was a panic attack. She needed out.

I need out.

Ruby tried to snap out of it but failed to do nothing but struggle. She thrashed violently, but paused when she saw the face behind her- All breath became blanketed, every movement held to a pause.

Tori.

Nonononono-

It was all coming over again.

Finally, she jolted out of it. She found herself lying on the floor of the deck panting with her petals wrapped tightly around her.

Suffocation.

She opened them up slightly- she was desperate, and yet still a bit patient despite- letting out the biggest sigh of her life as Mallku rubbed her back.

“That was a panic attack?”

“Yeah” Ruby croaked. “I-I’m really sorry. I’ve never had it as bad as this.”

“I’m just glad you’re alright” Mallku chirped, grinning in an effort to lighten the mood. “I’ve been in some pretty bad spots too before. What do you think caused the uh... oh, nevermind. Want to head back to the dorms and do something else for a change? You seem pretty dizzy, or maybe you’d like a nap?”

What did she want?

“I... I could use a nap.”

“Great. I’ll help you up.”

Right as they were about to head back, they heard a shriek. They looked around the ship to see where it had come from, and soon found out.

Fire.

Embers started to swell farther back, arising around the hatch that led to the storage room, just in front of the tail of the boat. The flames were growing rapidly, eating away at the surrounding area with very little stopping it.

“Th-the boat is on fire...”

“That’s distressing. Heatran’s down there.”

“Sh-should we contact the captain?”

Mallku merely sighed and jumped into action. “It’s really better we don’t, not with the likelihood that telling the captain will only make him want to investigate further. Anyways, I’ll go get Victini and Jirachi, and tell Lucy to stay behind and watch Heatran. There’s no stopping a fire once it starts.” He sighed and pointed towards the dorms. “Go grab a lifeboat or something and warn the others.”

“B-but won’t you-“

“Just go. I’ll keep myself safe.”

No objections.

Ruby turned around and headed for the bedrooms. It was near the middle-front area of the ship, so there would still be time, but very little.

Fortunately, several pokémon were already crawling out of their rooms to see what was happening. Ruby found a box crate lying underneath the mast and jumped atop it. She reassured her satchel before shouting.

“Th-the boat is on fire!” She watched as more pokémon started piling out, noticing her. A few even had their bags. “The lifeboats are at the front! Run while you can!”

It only took a few seconds before the rest started realizing. She saw Todd and Brunia leading the crowd towards the supplies closet, and she quickly followed the rush. When she glanced back, Mai and The Joes were the only mons going the other direction.

There were only a few vests and rafts in there from the looks of it, as Ruby was promptly pushed back in the small crowd. When she tried to peek in, the room was bare and everyone else was bolting over the guardrails whether or not they could swim.

Brunia was the only one still waiting, as Ruby reached the edge.

Glimmora are weak to water. Figures.

She looked over the rails and noticed that there were mons already moving their rafts away from the ship. She tried to pinpoint Tori in the waters, before hearing a voice call out to her.

“Ruby!”

Proteus’s voice.

She saw him and Gabi barely floating on the surface of the ocean, waving their arms and pedipalps far below. With the rest of the rafts already departing, she was confused as to why Gabi and Proteus were waiting for her specifically.

The ship was in flames.

There was no time to stall, she had to take the risk and escape.

She had to jump.

Now, Ruby didn’t mind the other two, nor did she mind riding the raft out to nearby land, assuming it would come to that. What really unnerved her was the sole fact that there wasn’t any easier way to get off the boat, as Bor was likely unaware at the moment and wouldn’t be able to send the drawbridge down. She looked down at the murky teal waters through her petals and grimaced- she didn’t know how to swim.

Well... she wouldn’t be able to swim anyways. Her body wasn’t fit for that.

Ruby looked down again. They were still waiting.

If I fall Gabi should be able to catch me anyways.

Anxiously, she jumped onto a crate that had helped Todd previously reach over the guardrails and sucked in her breath. Without much choice, she leaped.

And plummeted.

And plummeted.

And plummeted.

~

The splash was like a thunderclap, sending a powerful wave that reverberated through the surrounding area. She missed the raft and fell deep into the water, body outright obscured under the surface. With her petals blocking her vision, she could do nothing but thrash blindly in the dark, the ocean water slowly sinking her down to the bottom.

If Gabi didn’t save her, she could drown.

Drown...

Drown...

Ruby felt a tightness again, a hold, constricting her stiffly. This time, it wasn’t from her own body though, as she could feel it getting lighter, slowly... slowly...

Proteus let out a sigh of relief as Gabi lifted Ruby onto the raft. The Cherrim was in a coughing fit the moment she broke air, though the sputtering only lasted half a minute as she slowed her breath. Ruby lay in the middle of the lifeboat, miraculously still bearing her satchel despite the fact that it was completely soggy now.

“You okay, Rubes?”

”Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

Proteus looked up at the boat, towering over them. More than half the boat was ruptured in flames now, sending tons of smoke into the air as parts of the ship slowly fell and sank off one by one.

“Kinda crazy how fast it happened, huh?” he remarked.

Gabi responded with a “Yup!” before glancing around the nearby waters to see if anyone else had fallen. She spotted Alice bobbing on the surface not too far away, and immediately pulled the raft towards her with a wave of psychic energy.

“Are you okay!?” Gabi yelled.

“I could use some help!” Alice shouted back, smiling awkwardly with everything but her head submerged.

Gabi outreached a hand and gripped the Chimecho by her wind chime, pulling her onto the raft directly next to Ruby. Gabi did one last circling glance but couldn’t find anyone else excluding those who were already moving away in different rafts, far too distant to reach.

“Is the boat really on fire?” Alice queried.

“It is. Dunno where Tores is, she probably got lost in the split.”

Ruby looked back up at the ship. And then realization hit.

He’s still up there.

She shifted closer to Gabi, who was balancing the raft. “I-I was with Mallku before... when the fire started. He said he’d go get Lucy, and th-then left.”

Proteus nodded. “What do you think caused the fire in the first place?”

“It was probably Heatran. That’s what he said” Ruby mumbled.

The four of them continued to stay on the lifeboat as the ship continued to become smothered in growing embers, watching from below. A Basculegion and Sharpedo passed them, zooming by with no notice to the raft. As a soft ambience hung over the area, and the ship slowly began to sink into debris, Proteus turned towards Ruby.

“Do you think Mallku will still make us follow him?”

“Probably.” Ruby looked up at the sky, wishing for reverie. “If he finds us, he’ll definitely make us come back.”

“If he doesn’t find us?”

“S-society is miles away. We’ll probably be feral before we get there.”

Gabi snorted. “When we hit land, we’ll spend the night and then go searching. The group is split up, so maybe it’s better to wait.”

“That’s true” Proteus chirped. “I’m sure no one expected this to happen. Didn’t expect everyone to be so calm either, but that’s just life.”

“I don’t think anyone was calm at all” Alice retorted, giggling.

The four of them let out collective sighs, mixed in with a few chuckles and laughs.

Hopefully Tori is safe Ruby thought to herself. With Gabi and Alice nearby and Proteus close to ease the tension and tell a few jokes, she at least knew she’d be fine tonight.

Even with everyone else potentially missing.

~

Everything was a mess.

Mallku darted down the stairs, panting. He ripped open the door to his dorm right off its hinges, finding Jirachi and Victini huddled in a corner with opened bottles and wooden debris on the floor. The flames were starting to reach this room already, and he knew that he needed to get these two somewhere safe.

He reached in and grabbed Jirachi, ignoring the delpeted wine bottles and the steel type’s guilty expression. Victini weaved after him, snatching the blankets from their nests and stuffing it all in the nearest bag. They reached for anything else they could save- the mirror, the cloaks, and a Slumber Orb hidden behind the drawer, and then proceeded to stuff them in for later.

Victini nearly avoided a falling wood plank before exiting the room. By the time they were out, there was no going back in.

Mallku led them to the deck and stopped to breathe. He glanced around. The ship was mostly deserted, caked in nothing but flames. Smoke littered the air, a clear sign that there was no point in going after Heatran anymore, not with the massive risk.

“It’s too dangerous to go back now” Victini commented, carrying the bag on their left shoulder.

Mallku sighed. “You’re right. We just need to hope that Heatran can do on his own. It’s not a big loss... is it?”

Jirachi and Victini shook their heads simultaneously.

“Welp, let’s go search for Mai and Liz then.” Mallku ushered them towards the front of the boat, pointing to an escape hatch, right next to the captain’s quarters. “Bor won’t mind if we take his raft, right? After all, he’s a water type, and he can survive well without it.”

Victini was about to correct him, but then stopped. “Yeah, you’re right. No risk vandalizing and destroying his ship if we’ll be dead before he can find us.”

They all collectively agreed. As they hurried down the hatch, Jirachi took one final glance back, squinting.

“I swear that was intentional.”

Chapter Text

After being forced to jump ship and separate from Mallku so quickly, Ruby wasn’t quite sure she’d be able to properly process it.

Alice coiled directly next to her in the tiny, plastic lifeboat that Gabi and Proteus managed to snag in time, which floated serenely in surrounding waves under the four mons’ combined weight. White foam and soft blues splashed against the lifeboat’s side- gentle in presence but distressing in volume. Ruby could feel herself being watched by the water, knowing deep well that things get a lot scarier if she happened to fall over the rim.

All afternoon, the raft slowly coasted in obscure directions, rocking away from the course of the other crewmembers and finding themselves stranded in an oceanic forsaking, with the only slivers of land being far over the distance. The four that happened to be left were now more than ever lost as the sun began to set from noon to dusk, sending nerves and distressed chills down every back.

Bor’s wooden ship was completely gone by early afternoon, with the only remains coming in the form of random scatters of driftwood left on the surface of the water, where the boat once was. The hull of it was completely submerged, excluding any parts that were burned off in the flames.

Anyone who hadn’t escaped in time would likely have been dead, Ruby mused.

By the middle of the afternoon, they were even more deserted than before, coasting northwest. The waves were animated and lively, rocketing a small push with every passing minute. No one was quite sure what was causing the pulse, but no one insisted on finding out either. Unease overcame the raft- there was too much worry and confusion in the air to summon words.

A Wingull or two would pass by, and Proteus would have an unrelenting urge to shock them down. Of course, he didn’t- no one except Gabi would be able to eat the carcass anyways, and swimming underneath the water to grab it was far too risky. There was also the fact that it wouldn’t be unlikely for mystery dungeons to be obscured near the ocean floor, hidden underneath kelp and oceanic plant life, meaning that straying too close could separate them all, and potentially end with one mon as a feral.

And so they continued to drift... four pokémon, Ruby’s bag, and a random, brown backpack that was found floating all alone in the aftermath, a few hours after they found Alice. The backpack was a little soggy but still intact, heaved towards the middle of the lifeboat so everyone could reach it safely. Gabi checked the compartments and found no name, which was mildly concerning, but chose to open it anyways.

Despite the lack of ownership, they found something relieving. Twelve Oran Berries, a Starf Berry, a glass flask with no water left, a pokémon encyclopedia with many different pages missing, an empty paperweight notebook, a small container full of ink-based pens, and a Warp Seed were found inside, spreading interest and wonder around the body of the raft.

Alice picked up the notebook with a small wave of psychic energy, marveling at it. “I-I wonder who was keeping all this...”

Ruby reached for the encyclopedia, flipping through it with her stubs. “Seems old, and in pretty bad shape too...”

“Chill out y’all” Gabi piped, watching them fill through the contents. “Don’t get too hasty, this is probably someone else’s stuff. Thankfully there isn’t anything personal, but still.”

“I wonder who would just keep a Starf Berry in their bag like that, kek.”

Ruby sighed, resting her back on the eastern edge of the raft, right next to Alice. “Who do you think this belongs to?”

“Could be Mallku” Proteus suggested.

“I d-don’t think he would just leave a bag behind like that...”

Gabi snorted. “Y’know, we did. But we were all in a rush, and there was no time to risk our asses back there. Especially Proteus, who’s weak to fire.”

“But you aren’t? You could have gone and grabbed them for us” Alice murmured.

The Reuniclus crossed her arms. “I was just being safe. One of my old teachers told me that you should never run back into danger during an evacuation. Even if it’s something as simple as a fire, it can still pose a health risk. And in mystery dungeons, it’s twice as important.”

Alice frowned. “Wh-what about if a pokémon is back there? Aren’t explorers and rescue teams supposed to be selfless? I-isn’t that their job?”

Silence brew over the raft, lingering with awkwardness. Gabi was hesitant to make an justification to her words, meanwhile Proteus and Ruby exchanged concerned glances. No one really expected Alice to make such a comeback, especially with one so thought-provoking. Gabi winced, before admitting defeat.

“You’re right... I didn’t check to see if anyone was behind me, I was too busy trying to save myself. Maybe if I had checked the room before I left, Tori would still be with us. She’s somewhere else completely now. We don’t know if she’s dead or not.”

Ruby huffed. For a moment, she could sense a lie, but held it off.

“I think it’s my fault too” the Cherrim mumbled. “I didn’t check either. I was too worried about my own safety.”

Alice nodded, half-smiling. “I was going to make sure we had everyone, but then someone smacked into me from the side and I fell overboard. I don’t remember who it was, but I know they were really large...”

“Was it Ari?” Ruby questioned.

“Wh-who?”

“Roaring Moon, I think. Big wings, kinda looks like a Salamence...”

“Oh, I’ve never heard of those pokémon, sorry. But th-the description about the wings sounds about right.”

Proteus yawned. “By the way... I saw Tori while I was crawling towards the closet. She gave me a freaky glance before moving the other direction. Looked a little mad.”

Ruby reeked of twisted guilt. Thankfully, no one else could smell it.

“Yeah, she’s been pretty pissed alright” Gabi remarked. “Dunno what ticked her off. She’s been like that since we left Blubluk.”

Alice nodded. “Do you think she’s homesick?”

“Doubt it. She was always eager to leave the city, so it’s gotta be something else.”

Something else?

“Y’know, I probably shouldn’t be revealing this info” Proteus mentioned. “But I’ll say it anyways. I happened to run in with Tori last night too. We had a chat, and she said something about Ruby was betraying her, and then another thing about being bossed around.” He cleared his throat, blinking. “Gugh, seems like even she doesn’t know what to get mad at.”

Ruby flinched. “B-betraying!?”

“Apparently so.”

“That’s odd” Alice muttered.

Proteus looked at Ruby curiously. “You’ve known her the longest, right? So maybe you know what’s going on.”

“I don’t” Ruby sighed, shrinking with embarrassment. “I wish I did.”

“Do you think talking to her would help?”

“I... can’t. Every time I do she just... cuts me out. Pretends I’m not there.”

Gabi nodded. “She’ll get over it eventually. Don’t worry, Rubes.”

“Th-thanks, I guess.”

Proteus turned his eyes ahead as the girls exchanged more tentative glances. He almost jumped as he spotted a large silhouette not too far off in the distance- a green, lush body of forest that expanded eastward and westward, dotted with large boulders and stones that cluttered the beach in front of it. The land looked untouched and free of unnatural irregularities, like a mystery dungeon had never even stepped within miles of its radius.

It wasn’t too far away, and just about what they needed. If they attempted to push their way there, the raft could reach the shore before dusk. Ruby noticed where Proteus was looking, and ushered Alice and Gabi to get a view also.

“We’re saved!” Alice cheered.

“Nuh uh, not yet” Gabi reprimanded. “Even if we find a place for the night, we’ll need a way to get fire.” She turned towards Ruby. “Nothing in the big bag… that’s concerning. Rubes, you at least have matches right?”

“I don’t sorry.”

“Bummer.” She sighed and reached her arms under the body of the raft. “C’mon Alice, help me out here.”

“H-how do I do that?”

Gabi furrowed her... brow, unable to tell if the Chimecho was being sarcastic. “You’re a psychic type. Use your mind or whatever and help me move this thing before sundown.”

“O-oh, right sorry.”

Alice moved to the back and began channeling her psychic abilities into the boat, lifting it ever so slightly as Proteus moved out of the way. He and Ruby sat in the middle, backpack between them, watching as the two psychics struggled to pull the raft towards the beach, fighting against its own weight and the lively current.

“Pull harder!” Gabi yelled.

“I-I’m trying!”

Ruby looked up. The sun was about three-quarters of the way towards dusk.

The psychics continued to strain. Their combined energy wasn’t quite enough to lift the raft off the water, nor pull it very fast, but the efforts were making progress, albeit quite slowly. Gabi, being the heaviest, was the biggest hurdle, as all of her energy was focused on pulling the lifeboat, meaning she was barely levitating, making the weight needed to pull even greater. Ruby watched the waters, anxious that a feral might catch them off guard and attack from behind.

Proteus glanced back to the beach. “We’re halfway there” he chirped.

Gabi groaned. Alice nearly let go, shrieking unwarily.

“Get a better grip, Alles!”

“Sorry!”

“Stop saying sorry and just do the job, for fuck’s sake!”

Ruby winced. She wasn’t quite sure if Gabi was angry at Alice, or something else was bothering her. Regardless, the two continued to do just about the same for the next few minutes- a cycle of Alice getting overloaded and struggling to keep up pace, Gabi chastising her for it, Alice feeling bad and trying to catch up, only to fail and repeat the cycle again.

The four did eventually reach the beach though, albeit not when they preferred. Alice let out an exhausted chime, before flopping onto the raft right in front of Proteus and Ruby. She was about to snuggle down and sleep, only for Gabi to snap at her to stay awake.

“I know you’re tired, Alles. But we can’t settle down yet, especially not out in the open.”

“Why can’t we just...” The Chimecho yawned. “Take a short nap...”

Gabi groaned, then looked at Ruby hesitantly. “Rubes, can you carry her for me?”

“You- h-huh!?”

“I dunno, let her coil around your body or something. It’s only a small favor, and it would help a lot if you could pitch in.”

“Okay” Ruby muttered.

“Thanks” Gabi replied, before turning to Proteus. “You’re carrying the backpack. I’ll take the lifeboat.”

“Roger that, kek.”

Ruby anxiously leaned over the edges of the raft, watching the land that surrounded them, and the expanse of nature that she wasn’t quite used to for most of her life. A stretch of trees made up the forest ahead, dotted with fallen logs and burrows neatly hidden between bushes and ferns, all within the cover of overlaying leaves. A soaring Pikipek flew by, landing on a branch that held several Grepa Berries.

It was all natural. Nothing urban about it.

She glanced back to Alice. The Chimecho was teetering with sleepiness.

“D-do you want me to carry you?”

No answer.

Sigh.

Ruby bunny-hopped off the raft, caking her stubs in the grittiness of the beach sand (and thankfully avoiding tripping in the process). Alice followed, drifting in the air wearily- before collapsing onto the ground. She tumbled in front of Ruby, eyes shut, body curled up, and snoozing. She hadn’t even made it to her before flopping.

Proteus snagged the large backpack off the raft, watching. “Girl’s really knocked out, eh?”

Ruby sighed and lifted Alice up. She tried wrapping the Chimecho around her own body, memorizing the first meeting where they had reunited and attempting something close to it. Alice was a bit longer than Ruby expected- the process of coiling her was a task in its own, confounded with the struggles of finding somewhere to rest Alice’s head while also keeping her upright.

Eventually, Ruby opted to balance her with her small, stubby arms. Gabi was carrying the lifeboat in the air by then, and Proteus was tugging the backpack across the beach into the forest.

Gabi sighed, floating after him. “Wait for us, man!”

“You said it yourself; we don’t have much time!”

Ruby stumbled on their trail, balancing Alice on her... “shoulders.” Pray to Shaymin that we find shelter....

Proteus was the fastest, even with the heavy weight sagging behind him. He crawled through the underbrush, pushing past branches and strewn leaves. Gabi was a little less than happy for him to go on without her consent, pursuing his mess of a trail while also ensuring Ruby and Alice didn’t get lost or left behind.

Like a maze, everything in the forest seemed to jumble together, looking all the same. Gabi could have well blended in with the greenery if not for her grunts and rushed movements. She followed Proteus all the way to a clearing, where the Galvantula had stopped all together, looking up at the branches above. She was about to yell at him, but hesitated.

“Ruby?” She glanced back, seeing no trace of the Cherrim. “Alice!?”

No reply.

Proteus set the backpack down and glanced back to Gabi. “You lost them?”

“I didn’t lose them dumbass” she barked. “They lost me! They’re probably following the wrong trail because you decided it would be a good idea to go wandering without talking to us about it first.”

“Nevermind.”

“What?”

“Turn around.”

Ruby popped out of a bush behind them, still weighed down by Alice.

“I’m here” Ruby squeaked.

Gabi let out a sigh of relief. As she did so, Alice awakened, still retaining some of her sleepiness with a small yawn. The Chimecho let go of Ruby, floating on her ownsome.

“Are we... setting up camp?”

Gabi toyed with her necklace, biting back an annoyed frown. “Wanted to go a bit farther, but the area here feels fine. We can set up camp now.” She pointed north, deeper into the forest. “And then we’ll think about looking around later.”

“H-how do you suppose we set up a fire?” Ruby queried.

“Dunno. We need dry wood, but I don’t know how to get any.”

Proteus looked down at his pedipalps, then back at Gabi. “You think some sparks could light a fire?”

“No, dumbass.”

“Oh okay.”

Inattentive to the conversation at hand, Alice wandered around the clearing, staring through the breadth of filtered leaves that blanketed the sun above them. She reminisced of a faint memory, a story about someone- a blobby, hazy figure who was stuck on an island alone, who attempted to light a fire using glass, two sticks and sunlight. She couldn’t quite piece together the visuals... much of it was lost among stray reminiscences and fragments of loose comprehensions, more of which were random or unrelated to anything else.

She tried to picture the memory of a man making a fire but faltered. How did he do it?

Unless...

The glass managed to capture heat somehow… which came from the sun, since light emits warmth?

There was no other way. That had to be it.

“Guys, I think I have an idea!”

Gabi, Proteus and Ruby immediately turned around.

“What is it, kek?”

“Uh...” Alice glanced nervously between Ruby’s satchel and the bag that was found drifting on the water before. Immediately she felt herself lose confidence. “D-do we have any glass on us?”

“We do” Ruby replied. She reached into the bag and pulled out the flask, before unsteadily handing it off to Gabi. “Why do we need it?”

Alice sighed, trying to look convincing. “I was... thinking we could rub some sticks together and make a fire? Then uhm.. use the glass to catch the sunlight to ignite it, since the heat is reflected by the surface? I-it’s mostly a small shot, but I was thinking it might work.”

“So you want us to make a fire, without a fire type?”

“Does that sound weird?”

Gabi shook her head. “No, we can try it. No harm in not.”

“Here, I’ll grab some sticks” Proteus announced, turning away from the group and disappearing behind some bushes, leaving the girls by themselves in the clearing.

They stood for a moment watching, before Gabi had the spirit to speak up, annoyed by Proteus’s constant impulsiveness. “Y’know I’ve always said Tori’s one to watch out for, but I think Protes might be up there too. So damn reckless that you’d think he’ll get himself killed before lasting a minute alone.”

Ruby simply frowned internally. She glanced at the brown backpack that was seated in the heart of the clearing, then back to Gabi. “Hey, that reminds me. Gabi?”

“Yup?”

“You... said you survived a landslide when we were at the diner with Mall. What was that about?”

The Reuniclus snorted, crossing her arms with the flask clutched to her chest. “An old friend of mine said that the best way to impress someone is by making a statement about yourself so ridiculous and irrelevant that they don’t even question it. That’s how you get people to be amazed. They’ll get too wrapped up in the statement that they’re pretty much stunned, and completely forget everything else said before.”

“So, your tactic is to... confuse them?”

“Yep! You’ve gotten their attention to the point where they’re invested. Won’t even question if your statement was correct all along.”

Ruby winced. “But then did you tell Mall that you graduated at the top of your class? Unless I’m.. missing the point?”

“There was never a point” Gabi quipped back.

Alice began to back away, pushing past the topic. “We should probably start the fire now.”

“Fine. Is Protes back yet?”

“Nope” Ruby murmured.

“Goddamn it.” Gabi groaned, furrowing her brow. “I’ll be back. You two stay here.” The psychic dropped the flask onto the dirt and floated down Proteus’s trail through the shrubbery, following the path where he had taken off. Neither of the other girls attempted to stop her, glancing between each other hesitantly.

“Do you we?” Ruby queried.

Alice shook her head. “We can just stay back here. It’s better we stick together than lose everyone.”

“B-but won’t Gabi be lost too if she doesn’t find Proteus!?”

“Well uhm.. I guess that’s true” Alice mumbled, sighing. “But-“

“So, we should follow her.”

“No!” Alice cried out. The Chimecho floated in front of Ruby, blocking the Cherrim from racing ahead. “We can’t. Gabi can go by herself; we’ll stay here.”

Ruby was unmoved, turning her back away. “I... don’t know, Alice.”

“Why? What’s wrong!?”

“Nothing. I just... it’s too risky without the others. We need to follow them.”

Alice anxiously moved closer, just about expecting her to run off. “And get lost?”

Ruby pushed past her. “We can’t lose Gabi. She’s the strongest and smartest out of all of us- if we stay behind without her, we risk being attacked by ferals.”

Alice bit the edge of her mouth, twisting her gaze between the bag and the bush. “But... what if Mallku finds only one of us and we have to tell him everyone else is missing? We can’t let that happen.”

“If it does, we’ll just go searching for them. Everyone should be able to defend themselves well enough to live long past a day.”

Alice frowned. “Are you sure? This is uncharted territory, Ruby. Everyone is defenseless alone, even if they’re strong.”

“I-“

“We need to stay together, in a group... please.”

“But then we leave Proteus and Gabi by themselves...”

Alice moved forward to wrap her body around Ruby, offering the best of anything close to a hug. “Let’s… just stay here, okay? They’ll probably come back soon, and if they don’t, we can go searching together later.”

Ruby sighed. “Okay...”

Alice smiled. “Thanks.”

“Right. So, how are we going to make a fire exactly?”

“Oh uhm... we rub the sticks and then heat it up using the glass... I think.”

“Heat it up using the glass?”

“Yeah. The sunlight passes through the glass, and then it sends warmth toward the sticks.” Alice let go, moving ahead while facing Ruby. “The sticks are... flammable, which is what makes them good for making fires. You can heat them up and they produce sparks.”

The Cherrim nodded, but she could feel a lingering air of doubt breathing itself into her lungs. Would the flames really be strong enough to last a night?

“You’re sure about this?”

“Of course!” Alice reassured, smiling. Her enthusiasm was fake, but it was the best, and likely only way, to lighten the mood while also beating around the bush. Alice cleared away a little space to start the fire, drooping onto the ground next to Ruby.

“We don’t have sticks.”

“Oh!” Alice winced, embarrassed that she forgot about the most important part of the fire. “Sorry, it slipped my mind.”

“It’s fine” Ruby mumbled. She turned her body up to the overhanging tree branches, peering through her petals. “Do you think you could get the ones up there?”

“Sure.” Alice shook off the red on her cheeks and flew towards the branch Ruby was looking at, snapping it from its tree and dropping it down. She snapped a few more, before returning to her spot on the ground.

Ruby filtered through every one of them in a pile, finding that they were way too large to use. “We need smaller ones.”

“You want me to break them up?”

“Actually..” Ruby’s stem drooped, paired with a short easing of her muscles. “This is fine. How do you we get the fire started?”

Alice lifted the flask that Gabi had previously dumped onto the dirt, teleporting it just above the pile of sticks. She positioned the bottle in the air, trying to hook the sunlight filtering through the leaves above. When she finally caught some of it, she stopped moving the flask and wobbly held it still in the air, focusing all of her energy onto it. Ruby moved out of the way, watching Alice curiously.

“I don’t understand why Proteus had to leave for wood. We’re practically surrounded by it.”

“Y-yeah” Alice agreed, albeit nervously. “That was a bit weird.”

The two of them observed the pile of sticks for several minutes, silently skeptical about the idea as time started to wind towards dusk. Ruby inched towards her satchel and sat down against it, pulling out a Totter Seed and feeling it in her stubs. She glanced back at Alice, who was still holding the flask with a psychic wave and witnessing an unfortunate lack of resemblance in flames, before putting the seed back in the bag. She could feel herself getting impatient but decided to shove the feeling aside, instead trying her best to be relaxed.

Just a bit longer.

A few more minutes passed by. Alice started to get weary from levitating the flask for so long, the lack of heat becoming even more distressing in part as dusk penetrated its dark and toned claws across the skylines, feeding growing anxieties. The sunlight had been pointed at the sticks for a while now, but not once did a single ember show itself.

Alice eventually gave up, letting go of the flask and drifting downward onto the ground. The flask fell with a clunk, tipping over and residing next to the brown backpack.

“What am I doing wrong?” Alice murmured to herself, growing uneasy.

Ruby looked up, opening the gap in her petals a bit more as her eyes dilated in the dark. The sound of flying types chittering and wailing echoed through the trees, hidden from all angles in the obscurity of the night. Any one of them could be feral- loose in this unfamiliar, hard-to-see landscape, bent on attacking if the two of them weren’t careful.

The punishment just wasn’t worth it, especially now.

“Alice?”

The Chimecho was a little shaken to hear her name called, shrinking back on instinct. She had to squint to see Ruby in front of her, nearly not recognizing the Cherrim in her frazzled state.

“Come here. We should probably stay closer together.”

“Uh... okay.” Alice floated towards Ruby, resting on her... lap, body in fetal position and eyes peeled. Ruby leaned down to pull the psychic closer, back against her satchel.

“I guess the fire’s out of the question now.”

“I-it just wasn’t working” Alice whispered. “I don’t know if we didn’t have enough sunlight, or we just did it wrong, or...”

“It’s going to be fine” Ruby interjected. “We can still go on without fire, I think. But we still need help, and there weren’t any signs of it on the way here...”

Alice was once again unconvinced, sighing in defeat. “I really wish I had thought to grab my bag.”

“We still have mine.”

“Yeah but...” A tear bulged in Alice’s eye. “I had so many useful things in there. Like medical supplies and blankets, that I’ll never be able to get back. What if we get hurt and I can’t do anything because I lost it all. I-“

Ruby squeezed the Chimecho a little tighter. “You had no control over whether that fire started. We were all panicking, it’s not your fault.”

Alice sighed. The darkness of the night felt louder now that everything, including anything directly in front of her, was hard to see. The two of them sat in silence, huddled together under the safety of the trees and nightfall, eager to whisper to each other but refraining.

If Proteus and Gabi were out there, they couldn’t have gone far- likely trudging through the same distant screeching of ferals and rustling of trees that were also enveloping the area Ruby and Alice were stuck residing in, wandering through foliage, fractured timber and pokémon droppings.

If anyone was nearby, it would only make sense for them to call out for help. Alas, neither of the girls could hear the voices of the other members, as they were likely separated far enough that any chance of finding the pokémon were crushed to dust.

...Until Ruby had an idea.

“If we turn back to the beach, we might be able to see signs of people better.”

Alice thought the idea through for a few seconds, before showing signs of uncertainty. “Do you know where we came from?”

“I do! C’mon, get up and follow me.”

Alice moved out of the way as Ruby stood up, shaking dust off herself and throwing her satchel over her shoulder. Alice lifted the other backpack with a wave of psychic energy, following Ruby as she trudged deeper into the woods.

“The beach is this way” Ruby directed, pointing ahead. “We’ll notice when the slope starts to curve downwards.”

Alice was a bit doubtful but decided to take her word for it, staying close behind as Ruby pushed through the forest.

“So, I guess we’ll edge along the beach until we see signs of people?”

“Yeah. Th-the beach is a lot more spacious, so if we run into trouble, we’ll have more room to run. Or... fight if we need to.”

“But how do we know where we’re going if we don’t have a compass?”

“Just... follow your instincts and stay close.”

“Okay.”

Ruby continued to lead the way, passing through more shrubbery and foliage. The sounds of feral pokémon began to die down as the two moved farther in, combined with the growing scents of damp moss and pine that lingered and refused to leave. The slope of the terrain curved upwards slightly, a bit unnerving despite Ruby being positive that they were going the right way- she was sure she had turned the direction they had come from.

And yet...

“I th-think we’re lost.”

“We’re not” Ruby hissed. “It’s just ahead. Be patient.”

Alice sighed. “Okay...”

They moved farther into the forest. However, even despite Ruby’s persistence, the ground wasn’t starting to level any lower, and the area wasn’t starting to get any more familiar- only more obscure.

They weren’t headed towards the beach at all.

Alice stopped in her tracks. “Ruby!”

The Cherrim turned around, huffing within her petals. “What!?”

“We’re completely lost.”

“N-no we aren’t.” Ruby stiffened, on guard. “It’s just up ahead, over the hill. Be patient with me.”

“But I’ve been patient this whole time. N-nothing’s changed.”

“W-well, I-“ An urge to run, and yet her stubs held loyal, nipped by instincts and submerged fears but refusing to move. “Why can’t you trust me on this!?”

Alice sighed. Her breath was pungent with exhaust, and her pupils were boiled with fear. While her smiles could light up a room, her frowns just about did the opposite- Ruby had seen the same in her aunt multiple times before infact, but the circumstance was different. The both of them were wandering in the forest alone, anxious and uncertain, detached from their friends (and crew) while at the same time not knowing who might be alive and who might not. Everything was a daze, everything was a mess, and everything was washed to shreds.

There was no point in arguing. Ruby was delusional, and they were both lost.

Alice leaned closer, levitating down to the other’s height. “It’s n-not that I don’t trust you, it’s more so that-“

“No” Ruby interrupted. She just about wanted to bury herself underground for her own stupidity. “I was delusional. I-I’m sorry.”

The two of them proceeded to imitate their first hug from the first meeting, no words necessary- Alice graciously wrapping her blanket-like body around Ruby, tightly but comfortably. It was a soft hug, not applying too much pressure due to the, again, circumstance at hand. But they both reveled despite, smiling out of each other’s view and not saying anything, less out of being tired and more out of wanting to let the moment last.

As the feeling started to linger however, it came with negative thoughts.

The hug felt more like a chokehold now- the squeezing was starting to remind Ruby of the panic attack from the morning before, leaving no room to breathe as she kicked and writhed and twisted below the depths, strangled by fear and anxiety and-

Nonononoonono-

Ruby squirmed free as fast as she could. She broke free of the grip and flew loose, knocking down head-first into the dirt and causing Alice a brief moment of shock. The Cherrim’s vision was fully blocked by her own petals, which tightened subconsciously in the panic that she felt was trying to strangle her to death.

Alice flinched watching her, a bit confused and worried. At first, she thought she did something wrong, but found the answer more relieving as she flew down to help Ruby.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

The Cherrim’s breaths were muffled. Her body was shaking slightly, but motionless beyond that.

Ruby lay there for a few seconds, taking it in.

“W…was I squeezing too hard?” Alice whispered.

“I-I-I need a moment-”

Ruby attempted to pick herself up, resorting to kick her feet up against the ground, but ended up getting bailed out by Alice. The Chimecho leaned her against a nearby tree, sitting both bags on Ruby’s left and herself on the right.

“I’m so sorry” Ruby blurted. “I-it just happened without my control.”

Alice pricked with concern. “But you’re okay?”

“I think so.”

The latter nodded. “Do you want to stay here, or keep moving?”

“We can s-sleep under the tree.”

“Alright” Alice whispered, huddling closer.

The thought of Tori, Gabi and the others being in true danger started to scare Ruby more than ever now. And yet, through her muffled breaths and sudden panic just a minute before, she could feel herself getting a little tired. Maybe the exhausting day was starting to have its effects. Maybe it was because Alice being right next to her made her feel safe.

“I wish Tori was here” Ruby croaked. “She’s usually the one to comfort me.”

Alice nodded softly. “It’s too dark to go now, but we can go searching again in the morning, okay?”

“Yeah. Wh-when was the last time we ate?”

“I think it was in the afternoon, when we were in the raft. Not that we should eat now though, it’s probably better to save our berries for morning.”

Ruby silently concurred. The forest had seemingly quieted since they began talking under the tree, but the feelings of anxiety remained. She flipped through a hundred different possibilities of what happened to everyone- Proteus, Mallku, and some of the rest she could only remember the names of, all in the span of a moment. She turned her shoulder, hopeful that she could talk with Alice a little more, before finding that the Chimecho was already asleep, head resting against her petals.

I guess there’s no point in staying up and worrying anymore.

With a short prayer to Shaymin above, Ruby pushed herself and Alice against the leathery comfort of the bags, slowly letting herself doze off under the protection of the trees, and the safety of the stars. It wasn’t as pretty as most nights, that part true, but at least she wasn’t alone.

Not too long after, rain fell, and what came with it would change everything.

Chapter Text

The flames ate the ship violently, ripping its wooden hull into fueled embers and unleashing its wrath along the deck, stretching downwards and outwards, eating anything else it can or could. As disaster poured in above, three pokémon prepared to set sail beneath the stern, hidden in the captain’s quarters with the entrance sealed shut and blocked with several wooden crates. The mons- Mallku, Victini and Jirachi- looted the room as fast as they came in, stealing an extra bag found behind the captain’s desk and anything else they could find. Seeds, stashed food, books, business papers, of which listed plentiful info about ship routes, and other “treasures” in Bor’s cabinets and shelves.

No traces left behind Mallku repeated to himself. He scrambled around the room before finding a switch behind a cabinet, flicking it and prompting a chnk! sound that bounced from the other direction. All three looked to the source, radiating collective awe as the flick triggered a secret latch- opening a small, secret door that leads outside the interior of the ship, pouring sunlight into the room. Jirachi inched towards the exit to get a better look, finding that the ocean surface was just a foot below them.

“Well, we got an escape hatch at least” Jirachi imparted. “Now we just need something to escape on.”

Mallku nodded as he finished up ransacking the last of Bor’s file cabinets. “Don’t worry, there’s something here we can use.” He pointed to a fairly-sized wooden boat that was stacked against the far east wall, next to a bookshelf. “By the way guys, keep any books you can. Don’t throw them away just yet, they might be useful later.”

Jirachi rolled their eyes in reply. “But most of it’s just a waste of space.”

“Not when the shelf is full of survival guides” Victini chimed in. They pulled up a book about how to deal with getting lost in mystery dungeons, shoving it in front of Jirachi’s face obnoxiously. “And if they’re not much help, we can use them as campfire fuel!”

Mallku facepalmed but didn’t argue.

“Well, I’m not carrying any books” Jirachi insisted with a hmph!, arms crossed. “If you two are so obsessed with reading then that’s your problem, not mine.”

The other two responded with mixed shrugs and sighs, going back to their work of looting the room. They made sure to check everything- even the parts that might not seem immediately obvious, like the trash can, the act of which search was quickly proved helpful as an old pocket diary was found buried at the bottom.

Victini flipped through the pages, finding nothing but random numbers and ruined receipts, scribbled over with some sort of black pen. “What’s this supposed to be for?”

“Probably business stuff” Mallku groaned, heaving the wooden boat off the wall.

“Hm, okay.” Victini stuffed the diary in their bag before mentally checking off everything they’ve scoured. “So, Mall. How does it feel now that we’re castaways? Or is pirates the better word?”

“Uh...” The Weavile sighed, rubbing his arm. “I’m n..not exactly sure right now. But we need to move out of here fast, so let’s get going.”

Mallku reassured the small boat was ready and stable, before pushing it off the floor directly onto the ocean surface. Victini followed, throwing two bags they found in the back and plunking themselves onto a seat. Jirachi crawled in next with a bit of help, taking the bag strapped over Mallku’s shoulder.

“Did we loot everything?” he queried.

Victini checked each of the bags for the final time, before handling off an affirmative nod. “Yeah! No compartment left unchecked.”

“Good. And no traces, right?”

“There won’t be traces left when this ship sinks into the ocean.”

“That’s true I guess” Mallku sighed. “Some disasters come with miracles, I suppose.”

He let out another deep breath before pushing the boat forward, jumping inside with the others and causing it to rock a little. He grabbed a paddle from underneath the seats and began the strenuous task of moving the boat farther away from the ship, painting each stroke with a push that boosted them northward.

“Do any of you know Helping Hand!?” Mallku shouted back, straining between strokes.

“No, sorry” Victini replied.

“Alright. If you see anyone struggling in the water, tell me.”

“Got it, cap.”

Victini and Jirachi watched Bor’s ship slowly collapse from the safety of their boat, bickering and disputing over what (or rather, who) started the fire as Mallku continued rowing back and forth with his single paddle. Victini argued that a lit match from one of the recruited mons caused the flames, meanwhile Jirachi was contending that Heatran sabotaged the voyage in an attempt to delay the trip.

Of course, neither were able to prove any points beyond one or two claims. They ultimately gave up and turned their backs, doing their own separate things by themselves, letting silence fill the space instead.

Frothy white foam swathed around the boat, coming in large waves that rippled from the direction of the larger ship. The air in general was salty, likely resulting from the large clouds of smoke that obstructed the sky past the ship, growing more expansive through the minutes and scaring away passing flying type pokémon.

Eventually, the ship behind them started to sink at an alarming rate- much faster than before, tipping on the front side and plunging deeper into the ocean. Victini, quickly thrilled by the sight, tried to shake a napping Jirachi awake, but to no avail. Mallku only replied with a sad “Yep” to the fire type’s excitement, indifferently pushing the boat with more mindless, continued motions.

“But isn’t it so interesting?” Victini crowed, disappointed that no one else shared their enthusiasm. They scanned the horizons dejectedly, before (almost immediately) lighting up as they noticed two figures floating in the water not too far away. They grabbed Mallku’s arm and jerked it, pointing to the figures and shouting “I see people! I see people!”

Mallku yanked his arm away with an irritated scowl, but paused when he saw what Victini was pointing to- Andesine sitting on a raft that was barely floating under his weight, and Liz next to him clutching the edges, with everything below her shoulders submerged.

From the looks of it, the mons appeared distressed about something beneath them.

On instinct, Mallku cupped his claws over his mouth and shouted “Are you guys okay!?”

Liz turned her head and spotted them, yelling back a “Everyone’s scattered!”

Mallku didn’t know what she meant by that but didn’t hesitate rowing towards them. When the two groups came within four meters, the Weavile jumped into the water and swam after the inflated raft, burning with unease and mild enervation.

Andesine frowned when he couldn’t spot Lucy in the boat. “None of you are with her?” he asked.

Malllku rose a brow, coming within arm’s reach. “Who?”

“Lucy?”

“She’s with Heatran” Liz answered, turning towards him. She glanced back to Mallku, smiling awkwardly. “I’m a bit weak right now. Do you think you could help me swim over there?”

“Sure. Andesine is a lot heavier, so I’ll move him after.”

“That’s fine” the Gastrodon lamented.

Liz threw an arm over Mallku’s shoulder as he helped her towards the boat, moving slowly with small strokes in case she was injured from the flames.

“Thanks Mall.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

When they reached the boat, Victini helped them both up. Liz sat down a drenched backpack onto the seat next to her, sighing with exhaustion. Mallku fetched an Oran Berry from one of their own bags (one they stole from Bor) before sitting down across from Liz.

He offered the berry to her, smiling as she accepted it. “What happened with you guys?”

Liz sighed. “Everyone split off in different directions when they saw the fire. Some went west, some went east, and some might have drowned or been badly hurt.”

Mallku grimaced at the thought.

“But I think everyone who was able to escape saw the coast up ahead” she continued. The other three looked at her puzzled, to which she answered with a rose pointed northward- pointing to a beach that snaked across the horizon not too far away, maybe reachable before dusk. “I saw Joes floating on a raft in the beach’s direction. I tried to call for them, but I figure they didn’t hear me.”

“Were there all six?” Victini queried.

“Looked like it.”

Mallku rose a claw to his chin, thinking. “I guess that covers shelter and a place to recuperate. Too bad half our crew is missing.”

“I’m sure we’ll find most soon” Liz sighed. “Problem is a bunch of them left their stuff behind, and I was only able to save my own things.”

“Dumbasses” Jirachi cursed under their breath.

Victini held up a stolen bag, showing Liz everything inside they stole. “Hey, don’t worry! We nabbed a bunch of junk from Bor, so we’ll be fine. Look at this.” They pulled out a can of dried Persim fruit. “Who knew the old man had so much cash? Lot better than eating trees, am I right?”

Liz grabbed the can with a quick vine, stared at the fine print for two seconds, and nodded politely (albeit awkwardly) before handing it back.

“Let’s just assemble Andesine and see if we can find anyone on our way to the beach” Mallku decided. “You three stay here.” He quickly jumped off the edge of the boat, swimming off towards the raft and leaving the others behind. A bit of a pause followed, only to be broken up as Victini scooted closer to Liz.

“So,” Victini chirped. “How are you?”

Liz gave the mythical a confused glance, while Jirachi simply snickered.

“I’m... fine?” she replied.

“Mm.” Victini closed their eyes, nodding. “That’s quite good to hear~”

“Uh- you?”

“I’m doing well myself, hmhm~”

Jirachi made an obnoxious snoring sound, dodging an annoyed glance from Vic at the same time. Liz looked between the two blankly, unsure how to move forward.

“Don’t mind them” Vic whispered, attempting to clear up confusion. “Rachi’s a little pissy sometimes, but they’ll get over it.”

Liz nodded politely, still confused.

She turned her shoulder, glancing over the waters and noticing Mallku struggling to push Andesine towards the boat. Without needing a command, she sent down her vines and tethered them to the edges normally meant for hooks, jerking back and pulling the raft much closer. With her help, the group was able to get Andesine in the boat not too long after, checking nothing was missing and that they had everyone who was in the surrounding area.

Seemed like it was good to go.

Mallku let out a heavy sigh, standing at the bow with a paddle in hand. Liz stood close behind, ready to row alongside him.

“Ready, Captain?”

He knew he wasn’t, but he also knew there wasn’t much other choice. They were in a race against time now, fighting against an approaching dusk and a night that could spell out the days ahead.

Assuming there would be days, anyways.

This is for the greater good Mallku thought to himself.

With that, he began paddling. Liz, at his back, made the process towards the beach more bearable, what with the helping hand. Andesine and the mythicals argued and chattered all the meanwhile, picking up conversation topics that Mall himself wasn’t quite sure he remembered hearing before.

Regardless, they pushed forward-

All through the overlapping waves of the sea, the white seafoam that came with it, and numerous anxieties that nipped at Mallku’s mind. In the tastelessness of manual labor, a memory of Ruby would randomly come up once (seemingly out of nowhere without reason), cause him to hope that she was still doing alright after the panic attack, and fade back before resurfacing not too long later.

And speaking of memories and pokémon, Mall… wasn’t quite sure about his connections when it came to most of the crew. He had only really talked to Mai, Liz and Lucy so far for the most part, even though Andesine was also an explorer and part of Lucy’s team. Other mons, like Proteus and The Joes, he had tried to talk to and failed, whether it be because they were (possibly, potentially) purposefully ignoring him, or he was just bad at socializing.

But he had gotten along with Ruby so well? Er, well, sort of. A lot of his interactions with her had been somewhat awkward, much to his dismay. Was she just talking to be nice? She always seemed like she was being forced to socialize. Or… maybe it’s just a matter of circumstance? Maybe there were no hard feelings and it just happened to not be the best time for things to come up the way they did.

Regardless, regardless, regardless… he would just have to wait and see.

Right now though, he would resolve to see something else: a wide beach snaking around a large, expansive forest, separating the land and the ocean, only this time closer now that they were in range. It was just a few paddles away, and hope burst through the ceiling when he also spotted three figures- Ari, Tori and a jumble of Joes waiting for him up ahead, with two drenched bags next to them and a “HELP” sign carved below their feet.

Unsurprised by the childishness of the sign and enthralled to finally see more members of his crew, Mallku dropped his paddle into the ocean and swam towards the beach, taking no hesitation as the others in the boat rose with surprise. His mind raced through arm strokes and the feeling of salt water on his fur, a sensation that would’ve been irritating if not for the fact that he was focused on other things.

Mallku breached the shore and let out a joyous sigh, running towards Ari, Tori and the Falinks group struggling to get into proper formation. He had an itch to hug someone as he approached, but shoved it down and greeted them with a smile instead.

“Good to see you all surviving well!” Mallku chirped.

Tori noticed his dumb grin, returning with silence and a short roll of her eyes. Meanwhile, the leader of The Joes stepped forward without hesitation, followed by his troopers, who clumsily moved around in a haze trying to follow their leader.

“We do not just survive, we thrive!” the commander stated triumphantly. “No separation can stop a team from winning, not even us.”

Mallku offered a short nod, moving his gaze over the Falinks and spotting Ari floating towards them. The Roaring Moon looked a little more grumpy than usual, which was a hard statement but true at best, given his furrowed brow and uninteresting posture. The mon would’ve been more intimidating if he was a bit more awake, but the aftereffects of the morning alcohol had left their crumbs with a few pinches of drowsiness.

“Did any of you see what caused the fire?”

“Nope” Mallku replied, crossing his arms. “It seemed like an intentional attack though. Fires don’t just start by accident in the middle of the morning.”

Ari snorted. “That’s just pathetic. Likely someone from our own group, but I doubt anyone would purposefully sabotage unless they only joined to be a shithead.”

“Bor was steering at the front, so we know it wasn’t him.” The Weavile grimaced. He never got bad senses from anyone just yet, so the thought of disaster happening so soon rendered him uneasy. “It had to be one of the fire types. Matches aren’t strong enough to take down an entire ship.”

The crying of a Wingull bounced from the shore, a sign that the boat had finally caught up. Liz hurried over to join in on conversation, wasting no time to deal with annoying mythicals. “I’m sure we will find the answer later… assuming Heatran and Lucy haven’t separated. For right now we should begin setting up, before nightfall.”

“Well… I’d love to not have sand on my skin, but the beach is probably better for safety reasons” Mallku murmured. “Not that we need more bad luck than we already have.”

Tori passed by carrying several sticks, eyeing all three of them with partial disinterest. “I think we’ve run through everything life can hit us with.” She looked up, finding the sun just above reaching the early stages of sunset, followed by clouds beckoning an upcoming storm. “I’d personally stay away from sleeping in the open, but lightning can only strike us once.”

“It’s not going to storm” Mallku retorted, growing annoyed as the Whimsicott slowly walked away. “Whatever. We’ll be fine. There’re trees close by, and we’ll see the rain before it hits us.”

Liz frowned out of concern but chose to stay quiet.

Mallku scanned over the rest of the group- The Joes, who were busy practicing formations farther down the shore, Tori, gathering sticks and dumping them into a pile close by, Jirachi and Victini, who were still arguing to each other in the boat, and Andesine, who seemed to be enjoying the beach as he looked towards the horizon of which they came.

Nine… ten missing? The numbers were rough and a bit annoying considering what they meant, but the likelihood of the rest not being too far away had to be big- or at least somewhat high. Maybe if he didn’t ask Ruby to tell everyone to scatter, things wouldn’t’ve turned out the way they did.

But there was no time for regrets now. Nor dwelling on mistakes.

Mallku sat down pensively, crisscross and deep in thought. He tried to think of his priorities- they obviously needed a fire to warm up and alert nearby stragglers, which they could do with Victini’s flames, heating up the stick pile Tori had organized. Then they’d need food of some sort, whether it be the kind stolen from Bor, food they brought themselves, or berries found in the forest somehow.

There was… also the option of feral meat, but Mallku knew that Ari would be the only mon willing to eat it, and even then, it was still too much of a hassle for one person. Another problem was that they were in severe lack of spices and ingredients, which was more of an issue than it sounded- no doubt that there was likely a lack of cooking expertise throughout the group.

But there was no harm in asking, right?

Mallku turned towards Liz, making a sweeping glance around the group. He straightened, attempting to look as impressionable as possible. “Ahem, it uh.. has occurred to my attention that we do not have much selection of food on us, however I was hoping that one of you might be experienced with making meals.”

All the other mons glanced between each other curiously, before Tori sighed (quite disappointedly) and stepped forward. She did her best to cover her embarrassment with impatience; if she had feet like Mallku’s, they would be tapping.

“I have some experience” the Whimsicott muttered. “Mostly self-taught with the rest learned from my dad. Don’t expect anything fancy.”

“Some experience is better than none, at least” Mallku remarked.

“Yeah uh… sure, whatever.”

“Aside from cooking…” Tori looked at him skeptically as he waved to get Victini’s attention, before shouting, “Hey Vic, can you handle the fire while we prepare dinner?”

“You got it, Mall!”

The mythical rushed to fulfill their instructions as Mallku directed Tori towards the wooden boat. Inside were five bags- two that he brought himself, two that he stole from Bor, and the one Liz was carrying.

“Find whatever food you can and try making a meal out of it, if possible” the Weavile directed.

Tori was bewildered. “That’s all!?”

“Yeah?”

“No directions on what to cook?” Her skepticism was only fueling her suspicion. “How the fuck did you feed them if you’re just giving the most bare-bones instructions imaginable?”

Mallku scratched his head awkwardly. “I don’t know what we have. All I’m asking is you make something.”

“Fine” Tori blurted. She got to work right away, much to her regret. She shuffled through flaps and pockets trying to find berries and things to work with, only to find the process much harder than initially expected.

That was easy Mallku thought to himself, walking back. Much simpler splitting up the tasks now that I have more mons to do them.

He wandered over to Liz and The Joes, coughing into his arm to get their collected attention. “You two are on straggler watch. I want you to go out into the forest looking for pokémon and come back when it’s dark.”

“Got it!” the commander Joe proclaimed, stabbing his horn in a forward motion (which the troopers behind him repeated). Liz softly bowed without saying much, turning towards the forest as The Joes led the way.

And that meant there were only three left.

Andesine, Ari and Jirachi.

Mallku sighed. But it’s not like I really have much I need them to do anyways...

Andesine wouldn’t be able to do much work without the arms or speed needed for it, Ari would likely disregard his instructions, and Jirachi wasn’t fit nor required to any labor. The group was mostly on waiting watch until about everyone was found, so there wasn’t much to do except maybe hypothesis and pre-plan while Liz and The Joes were searching.

Mallku sighed to himself, finding a nearby tree to sit under.

Ruby’s gotta be okay, right?

Chapter Text

Something about the way the morning sun struck the trees’ leaves in the dawn of the third day, slipping its oozing light through the branches to the forest floor and leaving little room untouched, felt near-familiar. In the brewing departure of fallen darkness, a shining radiance would come to wake once again, returning justice and peace on golden paws.

“Solgaleo- the beast of the sun, the king of virtue, the loyal hope that resides in those who live in the day and falter in the night- he who fears no person, no object, no thing that exists, no creation, no creator. Whose noble roars were once said to cast light into the world, so that pokémon may live peacefully, safe under his guard and protection. The one who lives in the heart of every morning, keeping every living mon safe from Lunala, the winged goddess who fights to spoil the world with darkness. It is said that the two still to this day carry on in spirit, balancing the rise and fall of every night and morn.”

Tori had heard Ruby’s aunt, Jemma, repeat the lines a few times when she had occasionally visited their house early. A beautiful Lilligant pressed against the edge of a kitchen window, singing hymns and psalms, mostly about mythical and legendary pokémon she worshipped. Although her singing was a bit muddy coming from the other room, Tori learned to eventually take leisure in it, cotton fluff pressed against the wall while chatting or playing games with Ruby.

Up until the disaster, everything was good. Life was just about everything she ever needed back then, filled with playing with friends after school and coming home to her parents shuffling around the house, worrying about nonsense. Dad was a bit of a nutcase; Mom was always a little eccentric. Tori could remember them stressing about her constantly being on her own, even though she was more than capable by herself.

So she ended up hanging out with Ruby more than she liked, but after a proper few weeks, the two became inseparable. Many other friends came and went before and after moving, but the two remained together. Even when Tori’s parents had a different area in mind that was a long while away from Ruby’s… she still managed to be able to go to the same high school, albeit at the cost a thousand or so more steps.

When Tori and Gabi managed to rent a house together, squeezed in between a quiet neighborhood in the outskirts of Blubluk, she still found a way to be connected. Despite a disappointing band group that ruined her enjoyment of music, and a lousy first half of the summer altogether, they found themselves anything but distant.

At one point Tori wished they could just stay friends forever, but she knew it was only going to be some point before one of them got married and things would crumble apart- like a vase with its cracks glued together by Wurmple mucus, pressed hard by careless hands, bound to snap. Fate would forcefully separate them, whether it be their own decisions or someone else’s.

So when some weirdo Weavile guy offers a funky exploration trip to Mt. This Decision Is Probably Going to End Up as A Suicide Mission, why not take the shot? Ruby was growing more distant already, and Tori decided it was about time for them to bond more, now that they’re dumping jobs and the rest of basic, normal life. Ruby couldn’t be taken from her if she couldn’t be taken away at all. There was also something in the contract about beating up strong pokémon and breaking laws for “the greater good”, but whether there was or not didn’t matter to Tori, not now.

Gabi would be with them as company, and the other strangers they had met at the first meeting hadn’t seemed too bad. Of course, they were merely distractions from the real purpose at hand, as the trip was actually meant to revitalize her friendship with Ruby- even if that meant she had to pressure her a little more to realize that.

But… then things felt apart. A mistake. Something she missed.

Why wasn’t Ruby as happy to have more time to hang out with her?

Was their childhood for nothing?

All a waste?

Wandering off towards other pokémon instead, when they arrived that night? Not looking for her when the ship was burning? Ruby had looked for Gabi, but not Tori… the one who was loyal to her since childhood and brought her into this in the first place?

It had all just… happened, only taking one fallen chip to send the rest down with it.

If the friendship had turned into anything, it was like pleasant sunlight morphing into harsh rays, all in the blink of an eye. The rays were biting at her physically, more than just emotionally- stepping from underneath the cover of the forest and down to the beach, where the sand under her stubs burned of sudden heat.

Her sinuses pricked but were otherwise fine, in an ever-closer autumn. Tori wished it didn’t have to come so early, especially since her species wasn’t great for the cold, but she knew it was going to happen someday.

It was early enough to call it morning but late enough that it was strange for no one else to be awake. Tori’s guess had been on the nose last night; rain had come. Forced to make sleeping quarters out of the undercover of trees, her chances of relishing in Mallku’s shame soured down with the dissatisfaction of being there too. She wasn’t about to mess up her cotton fluff, so she was forced to comply with hard labor.

If Ruby or Gabi were there, she would have at least had someone to talk to.

Tori grunted, kicking a small pebble towards the water.

But of course not…

Forgotten in the dust for hell knows what. It seemed fine with Gabi, so why was she doing this? And why had Proteus of all people disappeared with them? He seemed like the kind of guy to find Tori and start bothering her instead.

Nothing made sense.

Maybe she could go searching on her own for Gabi and Ru… no, she had zero clue where to look. Even if she bothered to steal all the supplies from Mallku, Tori would still be wandering through the forest anyways. She needed to dump these mons without fully getting rid of them. She may have been stuck with weirdos and idiots, but at least there was some brain in the shared idiocy swirling around the rest of the group’s heads.

Tori paced farther down the beach, feeling a light breeze catch by and tickle her skin, prompting a small scowl. Loneliness seemed to find a liking to her today, caught dryly in the wind and brooding about.

And yet…

“Hey!”

She could never be alone for too long. How ironic.

Tori decided not to walk away this time (as much as she had the urge to), rolling her eyes as Mallku raced towards her. Of course, the Weavile could have done the normal thing in his approach, like being casual and not running so goofy, but today must’ve been the wrong day for that sort of sense- arms crossed, sharp eyes, and energy surprisingly high for this hour.

Someone would have to take over Proteus’s job, apparently.

“How’d you sleep?”

“You serious?” Tori muttered under her breath.

Mallku winced, picking at his scarf. “Re…peat that again?”

“Sorry.” Tori met his eyes, not even bothering to hide her apathy, or her ticking impatience. “Tired.”

“Oh, I get it. Yesterday was a mess, I didn’t mean for you guys to have to deal with that.”

“It’s…” Fine? Not a big deal? In the past now? All your fault and you owe me for it? “Whatever.”

“Alright.”

Tori went back to sparing eye contact- her mind was in other places anyways. The ocean was much more interesting than any of this nonsense. I mean, look at those waves? The way they lap back and forth so smoothly, bringing white mush with each cycle, the way they circuit without ceasing, like a beautiful Primarina spending hours practicing a gentle melody. The waves were setting its own course in its own little circle, free of distraction.

“H-hey, can I ask you a question, while we’re here?”

But pokémon aren’t the ocean, and they can’t ignore problems.

“Only if you let me ask one back.” Not that Tori was expecting him to, anyways.

“Oh alright” Mallku replied. “So uhm… have you noticed anything out of the ordinary lately?”

Tori rose a brow, swerving her head. “What?”

“Anything.” The Weavile started fidgeting with his scarf again. “Last night, I was thinking about the day I introduced you guys to Jirachi, with the diner and all. I think I remember Ruby passing out that day after seeing something, probably from shock or distress, but I don’t remember what she said she saw. Gabi said she was found lying on the ground unconscious, and when she woke up, she just kept mumbling.”

“Why are you asking me this?”

Mallku’s expression began to show signs of concern- maybe he wasn’t expecting that answer. “I dunno, you were the only other pokémon there. Thought I’d ask before I forget.”

Tori sighed. “I don’t know, man. Ruby probably has more info than I do on whatever wackshit she found; you’re better bothering her about it.”

“And I assume you haven’t seen or heard anything else strange, right?”

Tori scoffed. “Don’t get me started.”

“Huh?”

“Real answer is no.”

“Oh! Gotcha. You said you wanted to ask a question too?”

“Yeah uh…” Oh, right, duh. “Speaking of the diner.”

“Hm?”

“Was that death threat true? Or were you bluffing?”

Mallku nearly choked, clearing his throat. “It was an empty threat, don’t worry.” He put an arm behind his head, scratching anxiously. “Y-you guys didn’t think I was serious, did you?”

“Son of a bitch liar” Tori muttered.

“My bad, I know. I figured you all would’ve been smart enough to understand my intention.”

“So you’re saying we’re dumb?”

Mallku groaned, giving Tori the moment to smirk. Another win for the Whim.

“That’s not- whatever.” He sank to the ground, choosing to sit in the sand. Someone seemed upset, but at least it was somewhat deserved (in Tori’s eyes anyways). “How did Ruby react?”

“How she should have” Tori hissed.

Mallku started sketching in the sand with his claws, causing Tori to lean down and inspect. A bunch of stray dots scattered in several groups, separated by lines with just about no pattern. As to why he started doing this, his expression was unreadable.

“Is this some weird hieroglyphics I’m not getting at here? Or are you just being a dork?”

Mallku groaned. “You can’t be a little nicer at this hour?”

“Like it’s not warranted” Tori shot back.

“Regardless-“ The Weavile circled a group of dots located to the far left, counting eight. “This is us.” He dragged his claw further right, pointing to a more-scattered group not bounded by lines. Two dots were in their own pair, while the rest were dispersed by themselves. “This is everyone else.”

He drew a question mark in the middle of them, resting his chin in his other hand.

“Who are those other two?”

“Lucy and Heatran… if I’m correct. I told her to watch after him, but I’m not sure how they got off the boat if they did. Your friends probably found each other hopefully, but I can’t be certain.”

Oh, right. They did.

Without her…

“So what’s your plan now?” Tori queried.

Mallku turned his head, glancing back to see if Liz or The Joes were up yet. Unfortunately, neither were- causing him to return to sketching in the sand.

“If you want, you can join Rose and ‘links to go searching this morning. Unless you want to stay here. I’m not doing much for a long while, mostly just preplanning and taking care of the mythicals. Not that I’d think it would bore you, but the help would mean a lot in making things go faster.”

Tori did a double take. “Are we just… wandering around? That’s all it is?”

“Yup.”

“Fine” the Whimsicott muttered. “They don’t bother me that much; I figure I’ll go.”

Tori began turning tail towards the small camp area they had set up, brimming with hesitance- but also hope. “I’ll go wake them up!” she shouted back.

She would get something out of this… surely.

~

The one thing that never fully sinks into your brain when living around strangers is how odd sleeping habits tend to get. Especially with different species, where body shapes and behaviors vary greatly.

And that was just about how it was, having to mull over different ways the day might go as Tori pushed past Ari. Sleeping in the dirt so feralistically, so unkemptly, so rudely with no sense for pokémon moving by. Until yesterday, common sense was common- but nope... not today, not anymore.

At least the others were somewhat civil in comparison. Tori found Liz huddled against the bark of a tree, snoozing lightly as she rested with her bag by her side. Tori wasn’t quite sure how to wake her, as she was almost always the one to wake up late, and she never had to bother Gabi or her own parents about that sort of thing. Maybe the Roserade would get up on her own, but the likelihood was slim.

Tori leaned down and lightly tapped Liz’s arm, frowning. “Hey.. are you uh, willing to go searching with me?”

Liz snorted, catching Tori off guard. With the sudden response, she slowly backed up as Liz began to wake, mustering the energy to open her eyes and stretch.

Safe to say, she didn’t expect a sudden response either. Liz was a little disturbed to be caught defenseless and alone (especially since she wasn’t quite used to the feeling), but recognition of a familiar face eased her anxieties. She shuddered for a second, taking the opportunity to compose herself.

“Uh… hey” the Roserade said in subdued breaths.

“Hi” Tori replied.

Liz glanced around her awkwardly, albeit nervously. After a few seconds of doing so, she slowly got up, stretching and dusting herself off. She turned once again to Tori. “What was it you said you wanted to do?”

The Whimsicott crossed her arms. “Go looking for a bit, preferably with the little yellow guys. Preferably also soon.”

Liz nodded. “Oh, I see. Leaving early shouldn’t be a problem; I’d just like to eat first before heading out.”

“Alright” Tori muttered. She began moving southeastward towards The Joes, who were collectively standing on the stony side of the beach, kicking and stabbing rocks while flinging them into the air. “Meet me by the shore in a minute.”

“Got it” the Roserade answered back, but Tori was out of earshot by then.

The fairy was frothing in vigor as she paced down the beach, feeling the weight of the morning slowly lift off and flutter away, potentially to bother someone else and leave her alone.

Liz and The Joes weren’t hard to get along with, she mused, a reason and an excuse as to why she was doing this in the first place. Justifications aside, that wasn’t the only good thing they were good for- they were fresh pages despite earlier interactions the days before, and more people she could lean on if her world turned to shreds.

Liz was polite enough that becoming friends would be less of an issue as would getting on her good side. Just the way she looked so nervous after waking up- something was off, but Tori wasn’t quite going to push it. The Joes meanwhile were dumb enough that speaking to them was like making friends with rocks, limiting the chance of any hindsighted error.

When she actually came close to them however, she was starting to have doubts. Not that she was doubtful of them accepting good terms with her, but doubtful that she would have much meaningful interaction in the first place.

“Smack ‘em harder!” The leader Joe shouted from the top of the pile. “Evaporate those rocks with your horns!”

The other five pointlessly kicked and jabbed pebbles without much weight, sending some flying and others towards each other. The troops were rarely fazed whenever they were hit, however, shaking it off and continuing their “training”.

It looked less like training and more like failed coaching, in the end.

Tori walked up the brass, signaling his attention. “Hey Joes, we’re going searching this morning. Up to join?”

The brass stood for a moment before stomping his feet, furrowing his brow. “But we already did that last night!”

“Are you going to join?”

“Well I-“ The mon tried to think of an excuse, but stammered. “We could use a walk anyways. Fine. I’ll go. But that’s because I- we were already planning to!!”

Tori sighed. “Just follow me.”

“Got it!” The brass roared, stomping his feet again. “Positions, on order!”

He bounced down onto the sandy beach, and the troops began to line up behind him. They collectively followed Tori as she traveled down the shore, passing Mallku, who was standing with his feet half-dipped in cold saltwater.

They stopped when Tori met up with Liz, waiting under a tree at the center of the camp. Liz was carrying her bag over her shoulders, smiling as she reunited with the others.

“I’m ready” the Roserade affirmed, doing her best to look sharp and organized.

“Yeah, yeah…” Tori mumbled. “Where are we headed now?”

Liz turned her gaze west, opposite direction of the grounds where The Joes were kicking rocks, and likely direction of where the rest of the convoy would have ended up. Hope was hard to come by, but she was positive that they would be able to find someone if they kept on the lookout, proving that yesterday’s failures weren’t for nothing.

“We were going through the forest last night, that’s why we never found anyone” Liz huffed. “So we’re trying the beach instead. Keep going in the same direction, that way we can turn around at any moment without getting lost.”

“That works” Tori replied.

The Joes absentmindedly grunted in confirmation, swinging their horns like swords as they danced in their spot. Two Falinks troopers smacked into each other, and everyone else fell like dominoes as a result. Liz sighed, watching them distantly from the corner of her eye.

“C’mon” Tori ushered, signaling with a wave as she began moving down the beach. Liz quietly followed, and The Joes eventually picked themselves up, trailing the others. The group took to the side, walking at an adequate pace. The beach trailed for miles, so they’d cover what they could today- even if there were no explicit desires to be done by today. Everyone knew they wanted to- there was just no impulse to vocalize or think about the matter, especially when they all knew what would come with it.

They walked for about an hour or so, quiet pacing with each mon to themselves.

Although Tori wasn’t the most enthusiastic about walking in silence, she wasn’t exactly against it per se. After doing it nearly all day on Sunday- a bit absurd now that it was Tuesday, having done so much in so little time- one would think she’d be exhausted of it. But now that it was just with two other pokémon, no stress over the future or what was to come, it felt much, much more leisurely and enjoyable.

Again, fresh pages, right?

Today will be fine. Her worries would be saved for tomorrow.

Despite all that, though…

Tori feared the worst, knowing she was well deserved of the worst. She pictured Gabi and Ruby looking at her so distantly, their rereuniting destined to cut their friendship apart, diverging like cracks in a forgotten rift. She pictured herself on the other end of a wide fissure, looking over a vast void that collapsed to her own mistakes.

She was desperate to keep things together- if they didn’t, she might just fall apart herself.

Mallku, the mythicals, Proteus- they were all just temporary distractions from the bigger problems, the bigger picture, the friendship she swore to heal since the beginning.

And yet now it seemed like fate was intervening, too.

Tori looked to her left. Liz was calm and incisive, walking with confidence at such leisure despite knowing what she was yet to face. It seemed a little fake at first- the reality of this mon acting so normal in such an imaginary time, combined with the idea that the rest of her life could be just as real, just as real as anyone else’s… but then Tori looked down at her own body, how her own movements were straightforward yet awkward, how she could barely pull off a poised smile like she used to, how she could barely stay sane for longer than a minute without boiling in regressive thoughts.

Everything was imaginary at this point.

What was she thinking?

Tori turned to the right. The stark contrast showed itself immediately, blooming in an intrinsic way that unnerved her, shining between two widely different pokémon. The Joes were disheveled, jumbled, and reckless, but their energy and aura were front and center- no hiding. They showed their power proudly and adamantly, even if their flaws showed up too.

…And Tori was stuck between both sides, having neither the elegance nor adamance in each.

She sighed, carrying on in being stuck in her headspace. They still had a long while to go, and they had barely gone much at all so far.

Ruby had ended up somewhere this way, right?

Tori remembered Mallku saying something along those lines.

She imagined herself having an awkward conversation with Ruby the moment they found each other again, followed by many different possibilities and outcomes: Ruby running away, Ruby being heartbroken, Ruby attacking out of anger, Ruby being quiet and slowly avoiding her more and more until eternity-

What was she thinking!?

Tori tensed, eyes locked to the ground as she walked. She was growing insane by the minute- if things didn’t go right today things never would. She had to drill it in her head so many times by now that she didn’t recognize it when someone tapped on her shoulder.

“Are you ok?” Liz asked, offering a concerned sideways glance.

Tori suppressed those thoughts, returning eye contact. “Oh, uh…”

“Nervous?”

The Whimsicott smiled awkwardly, keeping her stubby arms to her side. “Just feeling erratic.”

“Anxiety, I get that” Liz whispered. She sighed, trying to contain her own emotions. “Yeah, that’s what happens when bad things get out of our control. I could deal with it any other day, but… no, not like this, not where I am now.”

Maybe there was a valid reason to interact with these pokémon after all, if knowledge and alliances were anything short to come by.

“What do you mean by that?”

Liz closed her eyes, holding her roses to her chest. “Mai… I’ve been with her for so long. She means everything to me, and yet I struggle to survive without her. I’ve grown so attached, so connected… I wonder if I’ve grown so close, too close that the sole lack of her is enough to break me.”

Tori nodded. It sounded a little familiar, but not enough to completely understand. “Fair enough. Love’s not really my jam.”

Liz seemed a little surprised but kept quiet. She kept to her pace, to her lane, looking up to the route ahead. “I could see that. I’m sure romance is different for everyone- you don’t have to like it if you don’t like it. The Joes seem completely fine doing by themselves.”

The Falinks leader swerved their head, shouting a “What!?”

“We weren’t talking about you” Tori hissed.

“Well, we were actually-“

“Whatever.” The fighting type brushed the mention aside.

Tori glanced back to Liz, grimacing. “So uhm, what were you saying?”

The Roserade shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now.”

Doesn’t matter now…?

“If it didn’t matter, then why did you talk about it?”

Liz opened her mouth to say something but hesitated. “Maybe I’m just spilling mindless grievances. I don’t know.” Her speech became quiet, her eyes turning detached and remorseful. She looked like she wanted to cry but had no tears to bear.

“No, we’re all grieving” Tori griped. “Everyone has problems. Thanks for sharing your own, I guess.”

“Do you want to talk about yours?” the Roserade offered.

Crap. The conversation immediately propelled into reverse, sending Tori into a deep sigh. “Uh… I don’t know if you can handle it. My burdens might be too heavy.”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think I could carry it.” Liz rested a rose on the Whimsicott’s shoulder, smiling like a mother to her firsthatch. “Please, I’ve carried the burdens of many others before. You can trust me.”

Tori glanced over to The Joes. At least there would be someone else who could help if things turned to worse.

At this point, she seemed trustworthy enough, and there was no point in holding back for what could probably end up as a positive outcome.

Hesitantly, Tori gave in.

“It’s kind of a long story” the fairy started. “You know Gabi and Ruby, right?”

“I know Ruby, yes.”

The irony hurt, but just by a little.

“Well, they’ve been acting weird all of a sudden” Tori grumbled. She crossed her arms, cursing under her breath. “Ignoring me for no reason.”

After a moment of silence, Liz replied with “Do you think you did something to hurt them?”

Tori thought through all of the previous days, counting her interactions. Leaving home with the girls and witnessing Ruby betray her to go with Alice instead. Waking up in a messy state with chaotic emotions and having to walk away from an interaction with Ruby, only to get into a heated argument later with Gabi.

…Being the only one left behind, stuck with Mallku and a bunch of other weirdos she barely knew.

Tori stopped walking altogether, sitting down and wrapping her stubs around her knees. Pausing, she faced the ocean, closing her eyes and trying not to reveal tears.

“…H-hey, why did she stop?”

Arceus, what was the point anymore!?

Liz and The Joes halted briefly, watching her with concern.

“Sorry” Tori muttered. “I just need a moment.”

“Do you want us to wait, or should we keep going?”

If she told them to keep going, she wouldn’t be forced to deal with anyone anymore.

Getting lost didn’t sound that bad now that she was thinking about it.

But then again, what was the point?

Tori wiped her tears through shaky breaths- for once, the loneliness was starting to really sting, piercing her fragile, unprotected skin in ways it never had before. Regardless she forced herself to get up, turning around to face Liz.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes” Tori hissed. She continued the trek down the beach, silently grunting through steps. Her movement was somewhat shaky, but she paid no attention to it, pushing on.

The other two glanced amid each other once more, before following in silence.

And that was how it was for a while. Tori was done tearing over bitter regressions; if Ruby or Gabi wanted to talk, they would talk. If not, she was fine with a simple diverge. She was so tired of having to deal with… people, obnoxious pokémon that she would never be able to harmonize with, meaninglessly forced to interact with.

Was she the problem?

Tori shook the thoughts aside. Nothing was in her control anymore.

Nope, not today. Not anymore.

Minutes of restrained silence continued. Liz feared it would be that way for the rest of the journey, until the silence proved helpful in ways no one would have expected.

It started with a simple glance.

“Guys?”

Tori stopped to turn around. She traced the Falinks leader’s gaze, and nearly choked.

Smoke.

Rising into the air, farther north, emerging from a spot deep in the forest. While The Joes were only short enough to see the smoke itself, Liz was tall enough that she could spot hints of flames too, spreading rapidly. The heat seemed to be rising from a single point, its core most likely, and taking down anything flammable around it- which unironically happened to be the entirety of the forest.

Abruptly, their previous mission was dropped, and they now had something serious to worry about.

“Lucy” Liz muttered under her breath. Her expression was filled with bubbling panic, emotion that Tori could feel herself pick up on also.

“But we’re grass types” the Whimsicott argued back. “No shot I’m running into a fire and burning my skin off. Not even the little guys should consider running in there.”

“It would help to get closer and scout, in the least.”

The Joes stabbed their horns in agreement. This was the adventure they wanted.

Tori groaned, throwing up her hands. “Both of you, seriously?”

“Well…” Liz held her roses to her chest, musing. “There’s a high likelihood that others may have seen it too, and if not, we may still find Lucy and Heatran.”

“No wild fire type is capable of stuff like that!” the Falinks leader shouted. “It’s most definitely them.”

“If things get bad, we can always run, after all” Liz suggested.

“And fight if we need to!”

Tori facepalmed. She could already picture them regretting this.

“I’ll… trail behind” the Whimsicott muttered.

“Good! Onward- to the rising smoke!”

The other Falinks troopers anxiously waddled behind as their leader rushed ahead, into the thick of the forest. Liz waited to make sure Tori was following, before dusting herself off.

“We’ll be alright” she assured, smiling.

“You lie.”

Liz frowned, shaking her head and trailing The Joes. Tori tentatively walked behind.

She made sure to keep her distance this time, reciting previous statements that these friends were only temporary. They’d start seeing the fire when they were within range of it, but the beach was far on the outskirts of where the flames were first seen, and there wasn’t much other ground that they could cover the distance with. Tori stepped over fallen branches, roots, and logs as she made her way through the route that The Joes had muscled through, zigzagging randomly and having to push past leaves and plants. Going directly through the overgrowth with only a single direction and no predetermined path in mind was less than ideal, especially since the terrain under the shade was so complicated and challenging.

At one point, she stopped hearing The Joes’ shouting. At first, she figured it was because he was too busy running through the forest like an idiot, but then she looked up ahead and noticed Liz was out of sight too.

Huh.

Tori turned all directions, scratching her horns. All forest, no familiar faces. She reached for her bag, only to immediately remember it was left behind at camp.

Great. Now she was lost.

The Whimsicott proposed to just continue forward and carry on, as the others would likely find her naturally, but then she hesitated- fire spreads quickly, and it would likely outpace her even if she tried to run. She had heard stories about these kinds of incidents. There was no denying what she was up against.

It was probably just better to head back to the beach, anyways.

Tori crossed her arms and sighed. Guess she’d wait it out after all.

She wearily paced the direction she came, just about done with the morning. Done with all the idiots she’d been forced to interact with, done with having to clean up the messes of others, done with pokémon dumping her like a pile of shit!

And yet…

Tori stopped moving.

She still didn’t know if she was willing to give up on everything. A small part of her hoped it was all misunderstanding, that things were only like this because of complex emotions, that the mistakes of yesterday meant nothing to dull the promises of now, for what few there was left.

She stopped to sit down in the dirt, no real reason other than instinct, comforting herself by pulling together nearby leaves and making something close to a little spot she could sit on- reminiscent of earlier days but washed in with the pointlessness of the present. In coarse times, one could cope. And so that’s what she figured she’d do, left with not much else…

…now that life felt more despair than life after the flood, back when she was only a Cottonee, young enough to not quite process it all. Even though it happened so long ago, Tori still had trouble processing it now- it had blurred so much over the years that it was hard to keep up. Hard to keep tracks of the lines, carved into the sand with no answers to their angles.

Everything was so… different back then.

Not exactly better by any means, but-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a distant shriek, sending Tori’s nerves into alert. It didn’t sound familiar at all, but not quite unfamiliar either. Not like The Joes, not like Liz. Something was up, but Tori just couldn’t put her stub on it.

Right as she went back to staring remorsefully however, she heard another sound- the sound of a large crack, piercing through the treetops. She turned right, wondering where it came from, only to be tackled from the left- random, intensely and without warning.

She groaned, muttering curses, slowly processing the sudden attack. Dirt bled into her mouth and stained the cotton surrounding her body, mildly infuriating but better than being injured. Tori was about to shout back, but quickly paused when she saw who had bumped into her.

“I’m so sorry, I w-wasn’t looking where I was-“

Ruby.

Combining the most beautiful part of a golden sunset and the most awkward part of a family reunion, Tori had found the most rosy-but-miserable way for things to be, right then and there. All her emotions exploded; all her sensibilities left remaining in the dirt that she had previously collided into, exhausted of anything remotely sane. She wanted to run, she wanted to spring forward, she wanted to get knocked unconscious- she wanted to be anywhere but here, she wanted to loose herself in an embrace, she wanted to realize today was all a dream, that nothing in all of distortion could hurt her like the hurt she was feeling now.

But most importantly, she wanted to know why.

Why of all things… this?

This sickening turn of events?

Why couldn’t she just-

Tori immediately became self-conscious of what she was doing. How long was she staring? She awkwardly backpedaled in the dirt, fearful that her stupidity had spoiled another of few chances.

Ruby seemed mostly unperturbed, though, the Whimsicott soon noticed.

Things were different.

Tori opened her mouth to say something, but immediately withdrawn. Maybe she was worried she’d say the wrong thing, maybe she was worried that Ruby would take it the wrong way.

She glanced both directions, spotting an encroaching fire to her left, just across the span of the forest. So soon, so quick already?

“Oh my god, T-Tori, are you okay?”

She didn’t have much time, did she?

“R-Ruby I-“

“Tori it’s…“

Pause. Silence.

Neither of them made any sudden movements.

Both knew what they wanted. Sitting here with labored breaths, staring at each other, too afraid to be the one to do or say something first. After the past few days, after the constant struggles and miscommunications, they both wanted the same thing, they both know they wanted to…

“H..have you seen Alice?”

Oh.

Alice.

Seriously!?

Alice wasn’t even here and she was more of a concern than someone she’s known close to her entire life!? A single question if she’s okay and nothing else!?

Tori stood up, looming over Ruby. On instinct, she felt an extreme anger enter her veins, slowly built up from everything to this point, every bit and piece lingering in the air.

“Am I… nothing to you anymore?”

“Wh-huh?”

Tori backed up slowly. She wasn’t going to fight, but she needed to do something, something to express her frustrations. “You run into me and don’t even ask if I got hurt!?” The Whimsicott balled her stubs, filled with tears. “I-I… I thought you cared about me…”

Uh oh.

“B…but I do?“

“SERIOUSLY!?” Tori shouted. After all they’d been through, after everything…

Ruby was more interested in other things now.

Nothing mattered anymore.

“Just leave me alone!” Tori hissed, running in the other direction.

The Whimsicott zipped through the forest into the foliage, leaving Ruby’s sight within seconds. She had barely much time to say anything and Tori had run off right away- no hesitations, no explanations.

Like that. A single question, and she bolted.

Did Ruby do something wrong…?

The Cherrim got up, assuring her bag. With the random burst of anger, Ruby was unsure whether it was the best decision to provoke things further. Maybe later they could talk it out when they both weren’t emotionally charged, but, for now…

She’d have to prioritize Alice. Between both decisions, it was the only one that she couldn’t be sure of.

With that, Ruby began pacing the direction she came in, albeit hesitantly.

Chapter Text

Am I sure this is a good idea?

Ruby asked herself this question repeatedly as she attempted to retrace her steps, looking for familiar shrubbery and landscape, for familiar trees and branches and patches of sunlight filtering through the overhead leaves. She was tentative to go towards the beach at first, just like they had suggested yesterday, but now it was less of a matter of where and more so when- any means to find Alice was a means enough.

And so, it was decided she’d venture through the forest, despite being well aware of the risk factors bound to come with it.

The forest was awfully quiet. Much, much more compared to before they had noticed the smoke, and leaving her less, less unsure of what she was even doing anymore. Everything was happening so fast and yet, despite the lack of time to take it in, Ruby found herself only driving the situation farther up the wall.

Miscommunication after miscommunication.

At some point it was going to get tiring; at some point she was bound to fold under the rug.

And yet-

Ruby paused in her tracks, looking around. A hint of smoky yellow and oranges was slowly rising out of a nearby stump farther away, corrupted by flames that had taken it and a few other trees as victim. The space around the embers had turned charcoal grey, dying in the rot.

That could be me.

The Cherrim motioned away, cautiously glancing around.

I can’t risk any more failure than I’ve already had to deal with.

Despite this though, she felt euphoria to get going. Everything hurt, especially with the mess she had stumbled herself into from the beginning, but the fire was a warning and a reminder that she had priorities. Ones she couldn’t ignore, ones that mattered most.

She needed to find Alice, and then either try to search for Tori or hope for help some other way.

Ruby glanced down at her satchel. The four Oran Berries she had snuck from the nameless bag, along with the encyclopedia, were still in there. If Tori was around with nothing on her, surely that meant someone else had to be by, who did. Proteus and Gabi’s chances were still noted as uncertain, but the opportunity of Mai and Liz- or even any other pokémon from the group- was more probable.

Tori would have answers, but there was no chance Ruby would get something out of her now. Not that the risk of turning tail was worth it either.

The Cherrim glanced back up. The fire was moving slowly, miles slower than when she had encountered it before, seemingly having a tough time clawing its way up the bark of a tree close by. Ruby watched as the fire flickered slowly, going at a Shuckle’s pace trying to spread across the shortgrass.

Huh.

I’ll have to remember to note that later.

Ruby took a deep breath, loosening her petals enough to reduce the tension in the air. She turned right, moving in a straightforward line.

I need some sort of plan if I’m going to be doing this...

Ruby needed to find people, but she didn’t know where to look. She was flat on supplies, but she had no clue where to go.

The Cherrim wandered aimlessly for a minute before stopping at a familiar clearing, finding her path blocked off by growing flames. The section ahead was constrained too, much to her dismay. She could somewhat see the fire slowing down a little, albeit moving at a much more focused pace.

Something, again, was off.

She turned in the other direction, taking mental notes. Ruby attempted to retry routing her way to the beach, thinking she might find Alice there, but was soon confronted by flames again, starting to cave in as the embers began to catch prey of neighboring trees. Smoke fogged out several corners of her vision, making it hard to figure out which direction was which.

The sound of rustling branches came barely out of earshot, alerting Ruby to dodge out of the way as a burning branch narrowly fell from above. She stumbled back, heart pounding as the fire spread to the grass where she was previously standing, turning it to ash.

“Close,” she murmured under her breath.

Ruby quickly spun around, preparing a Magical Leaf. A flash of small leaves materialized in the air, hurling towards obstructing foliage like light blades. They made small cuts in the vegetation, but not enough for her to completely push through it. Ruby groaned, sensing the smoke at the tip of her petals.

Isn’t the heat supposed to feel more intense than this!?

She tried again, focusing more of her energy into the attack this time. The leaves came out sharper, more precisely, making a larger dent than the previous move and giving Ruby enough room to pass through. She zipped out with pained reprieve, narrowly dodging another falling branch.

Ruby took a breather after moving a decent distance away from the fire, thankful that she had somehow gotten out mostly unscathed. A bit of the smoke and ash had tracked onto her petals and stubs, but the beach wasn’t too far away, so cleaning up wasn’t an issue. She glanced down at her bag and was eased to find it at the same fate as herself.

“I should’ve known getting close was a bad idea,” she sighed. “I’m fine now, but still…”

Ruby shook herself off a little, before recoiling as she heard a voice abruptly call out to her, right off guard.

“Ruby!”

She turned to the right, alleviated as she noticed Liz, Lucy and Alice rushing towards her from the corner of her vision, from the direction of the beach. Alice was being carried by Liz, while Lucy was pulling two bags behind her (likely her own and the one they found yesterday). They didn’t seem to be running from anything, but they absolutely looked concerned, racing their way towards her.

“Alice!” Ruby blurted out.

The Chimecho mirrored her relief, happily jumping out of Liz’s arms. “Heyy!”

Alice spun over Ruby, wrapping around her the same way as many times before, squeezing her to the crux of flushed emotions.

“I-I’m really sorry about having to leave you behind,” the Cherrim muttered.

Alice squeezed harder. “Hey, i-it’s okay! I got out of there by myself. You aren’t hurt, right?”

“N…No. I’m mostly fine.”

Liz watched them close by without obstruction, but suddenly felt the pressing urge to comment after hearing Ruby’s response, glancing at her waist. “Ruby, are you… sure? There’s a burn mark on your-“

The Cherrim cringed on reflex. “I didn’t touch the flames!” she burst out, interrupting her.

Alice loosened her grip, stricken with sudden apprehension. Even Lucy stopped what she was doing, floating closer as if she was preparing to defend against something.

“Don’t worry, I-I just got cornered,” Ruby choked out. “But I was able to escape, only tracking some of the ash on my way out.”

Alice and Lucy became a little more at ease.

However, Liz frowned. She held her roses to her waist, looking empathetic. “You’ve got to be more careful than that. We were all looking for you.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I forgive you as long as you won’t do it again.” Liz looked to the sky, squinting against the sunlight. “Matters aside, we currently have a large issue at hand, and I think it’s best we leave now before the fi-“

“How long ago was this?” Alice interrupted.

“I-It was barely a minute before I saw you.”

Lucy nodded. “Hm.” She stood pensive, thinking to herself. She eventually glanced back up to Ruby, breaking free of her thoughts. “Have you seen Tori or The Joes? I was told by Liz that they seemed to have gone missing earlier.”

“I saw Tori,” Ruby replied, mumbling through her petals and the hold Alice was putting on her. “Ran off. Barely got a chance to talk.”

“Where did she head?”

The Cherrim stumbled a little under Alice’s weight, turning southwest. Opposite direction of Mallku’s camp.

“Gotcha, thanks,” the Roserade replied.

Ruby was a little self-conscious having revealed that information, fearing that Liz would press further. Thankfully there was no additional response after a few seconds of silence, and neither Alice nor Lucy chose to speak up about it.

The whole situation was embarrassing and confusing. Right now, Ruby just wanted to push the memory away. Her streak of constantly making stupid mistakes was starting to wear on her, as much as everyone else was so… oblivious- either ignorant or blind to the dent slowly caving in on her conscious.

I have no excuses. I should be doing better, but I…

The phrase rang in her head like an itch she couldn’t shake away.

No excuses.

No excuses.

No excuses.

“Ruby?”

She felt a bit of her weight lift off her shoulder, unexpectedly catching her attention. Ruby opened the gap in her petals to Alice staring curiously, swaying in the wind as her mouth curved again into a small smile.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here.”

“I know,” Ruby sighed, back hunched. “But I still can’t shake off the feelings.”

Alice leaned closer to whisper. “Do you want to talk about it? Lucy and Liz are already having a private conversation, so they won’t be able to hear us. I’ll keep anything you tell me a secret.”

Ruby complied right on the notion, relieved it was just them. “Yeah. I-I’m okay with that. I’m still not really comfortable around anyone new, that isn’t you or Mai. Proteus and Mallku are okay to a certain extent.. but they’re not here right now.”

Alice tilted her head. “Okay. I understand.” Her bell made a weak chime. “So, what’s on your mind?”

The Cherrim thought about it for a moment. She had joined this strange adventure purely for dropping college to find her true passion, but it seemed she was completely out of luck after the events that had unfolded so far. Her best efforts to help and be supportive were crushed to a pulp, and her connections had been tangled in a mess she couldn’t find herself to make sense of. She was on the verge of giving up, but she hadn’t taken the chance when it came, and now she was stuck as deadweight delaying the bigger goal behind.

It was going to come back biting any day now, but the “when” was uncertain.

“Well… I feel like a burden to put up with,” Ruby began. “These past two days have made me f-feel pathetic. I can’t even talk to Tori. I can’t even prove to Mallku that I’m worth having around. Someday he’s going to throw me away, I know it. I hate the facade he’s been putting up.”

She grimaced. “I can’t fight well, and I barely know how to do much as a medic- especially since I dropped college. Even my best points I’m not great at. Like I’m deadweight… almost.”

Alice made a small gasp, looking the most dejected Ruby had seen since she had met her.

Regardless, whether or not the Chimecho was going to say anything negative, it was at least helpful to get the hurt off her chest.

“Why do you believe that?”

Silence.

“I don’t know,” Ruby griped under her breath. “I just do.”

“Is anyone making you feel this way?”

Ruby stiffened a bit. “No one in particular.” The words came out coarse, awkwardly, but the truth was there.

Alice drifted to the ground, wordlessly directing the Cherrim to sit with her. “Well, can I help at all?”

She smiled, but Ruby knew there was some untruth in the look. At least there was some attempt she supposed.

“I-I know you’ve been struggling with this ever since I met you,” Alice continued, beating around the bush. “You’ve been really quiet about everything and haven’t said much about what’s been going on. B-But you said you feel like you haven’t had a chance to prove yourself, right?”

“I guess.”

“Then maybe you just need to prove yourself to them! I’m sure Mallku and Jirachi would be delighted to see you do that.”

“H-Huh?” Ruby looked at Alice directly in the eyes, even if the Chimecho couldn’t see hers. “Prove myself? Alice I… Y-You realize what we’ve been doing for the past few days right?” She gulped. “Proteus said it himself. They treat us as pawns… as assets. And even if they didn’t, i-it doesn’t matter. It doesn't matter if we’re valuable to keep because they’ll throw us away anyways.”

Alice’s resolve remained mostly unchanged. “W-What? But didn’t you just say you felt like a burden? Shouldn’t proving your usefulness… help with that?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Then what are you implying?”

It was a weird feeling. Ruby hadn’t felt it in a while, and for good reason. It had it coming- even when she graduated high school, she knew she hadn’t really thought it through much. She said she’d decide by the end of the month, but when that came, she was forced to hastily pick a career she only slightly liked the idea of- short on time but not wanting to choose something that would disappoint her counsellors and teachers.

If she wasn’t so pressured by their insistence to enter college early, maybe she would’ve found something she genuinely enjoyed.

Then again… that was the excuse she’d been telling herself for the past few months now.

Just like with last night, trying to find the beach. Denial. Moving blindly in the dark.

Ruby could have dropped out of college at any point before in order to figure out her true motivations. And yet, it wasn’t until some random stranger defended her in the park from getting robbed to finally act on that truth.

Why did he bother doing that anyways? Was that just… one of Mallku’s strange traits? Getting into fights he has no business being in?

The sound of chirps and screeches echoed again, reverberating around the forest, riding the wind. Pokémon running from the fire, pokémon trying to survive. Parallel to how the fight went, almost. Ruby was just trying to survive- from the Electivire, a passionate, raging fire trying to crash itself in on her day.

Well… we were at a disadvantage there, and he’s part of a guild, so it can’t be that far off really.

And yet, Mallku did what was right, even though it wasn’t his problem in the first place.

Reconnecting with the world around her, Ruby continued the conversation. “I just… I tried with Mallku. But he’s been giving me mixed signals recently, so I’m not really sure about him. Tori hasn’t let me talk to her at all since we set out.” Ruby sighed. “Even if they weren’t the problem, I still have issues with other things, like with myself.”

“Yourself?” Alice doubted.

“Yeah I…” Ruby’s voice dropped a little, coming out about as stiff as when she originally began speaking. “Remember when we were in the sewers, and I said I felt like I was going nowhere?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“It’s similar that. Motivations and all.”

“R-Ruby?”

The Cherrim glanced up, stuttering. “Y-Yes?”

“Pardon the irony, but…” Alice leaned slightly closer, softly observing Ruby. “You seem oddly confident about how unconfident you are? Are you sure you’re okay? You said it doesn’t matter if you prove yourself, b-but also that you feel like a burden- which you aren’t. Am I missing something?”

Ruby tensed. Huh… maybe there is a contradiction.

“It’s complicated.”

“I get that,” Alice assured. “But… if you’re going through those problems, can I at least try to help? I know you trust me more than most of the pokémon here, and I want to be there for you even if no one else is. Heck, I think Tori and Gabi would want to be there too. Maybe even Mallku, Liz and Proteus, even though you don’t completely have faith in them.”

The Chimecho smiled lightly, blushing. “You know we care. We all want to be there for you, Ruby. You still have a chance to show what you’re capable of. Mallku said before that we’re barely a fourth through the journey, remember? There’s still a chance.”

Waitwaitwait- not even half!?”

Ruby stood stunned in her place, astonished to find out that the trek from Blubluk to New Barcelona and the ride on the ferry, even combined, were only a small fraction of what they would experience to the supposed place Jirachi was so destined to reach. Her eyes leapt around the forest, feeling her weight gravitated by some sort of… dizziness. While it was not physical in effect per se, it weighed on her consciousness like a stack of Copperajah trying to reach a high shelf.

Like some sort of new lens, almost.

Ruby had barely traveled much at all to this point. The most was La Colina, her hometown, to Blubluk, but that was out of action of oblige, not out of personal interest. She felt a little homesick for a brief, fleeting moment, but the feeling sunk back not too long after it surfaced, replaced with anxiety.

“Sorry to break the topic but… did you say only a ‘fourth’!?”

Alice’s expression quickly surged with alarm. “D-Did you not know?”

“No? I don’t remember hearing anything related to that.”

“Well… he wasn’t very explicit about it, so I guess you’re not wrong for being unaware,” Alice sighed. She shook her head, turning back to see if Liz and Lucy were still talking. Sure enough, they were chatting much louder despite being barely within earshot under a nearby tree, just across from the dell. “Ready to go check with the others?”

“I guess. Hard to be ready when we’ve got big problems at hand, though.”

“Hm. I guess you’re right. We should really head back, but the rest of our friends and apparently Heatran are still somewhere around here. There’s also a forest fire that happened by accident…” Alice muttered nervously. “If we don’t stop it soon it could wreck the camp that Mallku set up a few miles east and hurt all the pokémon living nearby, according to Liz.”

“If we’re gonna start taking this whole adventuring thing seriously, we may as well stop the fire as soon as possible,” Ruby argued.

Maybe I need to act to the fire like how Mallku acted to us.

Alice’s bell made a small chime, shaking in the wind. “Yeah! Even if it’s not our fault, we should still do what’s right!”

“Are you sure we can even do this? We’re… at a type disadvantage, and we don’t have experience to handle the fire I think.”

“Just because we don’t have the best typing doesn’t mean we can’t still contribute,” Alice replied, beaming. “That’s what we have ranged moves for! What matters is we don’t get hurt, and that we try our best.” She looked at Ruby directly. “Right?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Maybe.

“C’mon, let’s go talk to Liz,” Alice ushered, leading the way. “She’ll have some insight.”

The Chimecho twirled, floating towards Lucy and Liz with the sea bag in tow. Ruby silently followed, observing the girls as they spoke from afar. Liz’s arms were crossed, keeping eye contact with Lucy as she drifted back and forth absentmindedly. The Chandelure’s flames danced in an innocent sapphire color, shifting between several varying hues of purple. A few tiny wisps glided around the flame on her head, fluctuating between emerging from the fire and absorbing back in.

As they finally reached Liz and Lucy, Ruby felt an impulse to ask about the wisps, but was stopped when Alice’s disruption drew away their attention.

“Are you two ready!?” she shouted. The Chimecho’s bell reverberated her energy, coming out like ringing squeaks. “Ruby and I were discussing the fire and wanted to know what we’re going to do next!”

Liz turned her head, one arm on her hip. “Oh, yeah. Dealing the fire soon is a good idea most likely, but we still need to find your friends.”

Ruby stood by, idly listening in as she wandered around the area, eyes scanning the forest environment.

“I’m sure they can’t be too far,” Alice reassured. “I know they’ve been gone for a long while, but I don’t doubt they could survive well on their own!” She turned to Lucy, the Chandelure also remaining on alert. “What about you, Lucy? What do you think?”

“Not right now,” Lucy commanded, balancing her gaze. “There’s some strange feeling in the wind. I don’t like it.”

Ruby nodded. “Y-Yeah. It’s been strangely peaceful in the past hour.”

Alice frowned. “Oh. What do you think it i-“

“From the sky!” Lucy shouted.

Ruby jerked out of the way as she heard a shrilly squawk bound from the cliffs of the treetops, stumbling back as a rocketing figure, a blur of white and black feathers, barely grazed her petals. Alice jolted to the left, barely getting a glimpse of the shape as she hid for cover, coiling on the ground with her body wrapped around her head.

Ruby immediately turned around against her better judgment, finding the source of the feathers.

“Trumbeak!”

The pokémon missed in its attempt to nosedive Liz, smacking into the bark of the tree with an angry squawk. The Roserade had barely seen it out of the corner of her eye, panting as she ducked a second before it would have hit her. With no time to fire a retaliation, she quickly rolled out of its line of sight, heading for a tree that was less in the open.

The enflamed Trumbeak roared in a flurry of feathers, recovering as it quickly glanced around. Not seeing Liz anywhere, it prepared to attack the next best thing- Ruby. A small sheen graced its wings, shining in the glare as it soared towards her, its eyes full of a blooming red.

“Get out of the way!” Lucy shouted.

A blob of ghostly energy hit the Trumbeak on point, knocking it back slightly in the air before the pokémon could attack. It barely did much damage, only barely scratching the tuft of its torso, but it did its job, knocking its attention away from Ruby (who had only barely gained the power to run out of the way) and straight to Lucy. The Chandelure met the feral’s piercing look with a glower of her own, preparing another Shadow Ball.

“Come at me! I don’t fear you!” she hissed.

Ruby scurried over to Alice, huddling close as the two watched the feral Trumbeak eat another attack to the chest, crying out once more. As Lucy charged up another attack, the Trumbeak took the opportunity to fly higher into the air, gaining a better scope of the field. It certainly seemed occupied with Lucy, but Ruby feared its erratic behavior.

If it’s attacking out of self-defense, it sure doesn’t seem to be concerned with the fights it’s getting into. Shouldn’t it be running?

The Trumbeak began to strike up a whirlwind with its wings, screeching at the top of its lungs. Ruby ushered Alice to move, allowing the Chimecho to wrap around her. Despite the weight she was forced to carry, they soon found themselves meeting up with Liz under a tree close by. The three huddled close, watching as Lucy and the wild Trumbeak remained in stand-off, waiting for the other to strike first.

“Shouldn’t we help out?” Alice whispered.

“Lucy has it under cover” Liz answered, not looking away from the fight. “Ruby and I aren’t the best type for this fight, and I don’t want you getting injured. Lucy is strong, and she doesn’t seem to be struggling handling the feral.”

Alice tilted her head out of confusion. “Why doesn’t she just use fire type attacks? The move she’s using now doesn’t seem very effective.”

“Probably not to cause any more fires,” Ruby replied. “That’s my guess.”

“Oh, okay.”

In a swift, sweeping moment, the Trumbeak immediately broke free of the stand-off, flying straight for Lucy and avoiding a Shadow Ball that soared overhead. Ruby tensed as it gained the ground between her, shrieking as it slashed the Chandelure with its talons. Lucy seemed only slightly bothered, but a follow-up strike caused her to back up, attempting to shake it off in between the Trumbeak’s fervent screeching.

Lucy doesn’t seem to be doing very well up close, especially without the ability to use fire-type moves Ruby deliberated, on the edge of the seat. Maybe if I can get the feral away from her it won’t stop honing on her weakness.

“The feral seems oddly bright” Alice whispered, frowning.

Ruby sighed. “We need to get it away from her. Surely there’s some sort of orb or seed I can-”

She cut herself off, quickly glancing down to her bag. She hadn’t ever used that Totter Seed she brought along with her to the diner, had she?

Ruby took the satchel off her shoulder and placed it on the ground, fishing through the pouch. As the sound of squawks and blasts bounced around the field, she eventually found it and raised it up for Liz and Alice to see. The girls looked at her confused, torn between watching the battle and what Ruby was about to say.

“Liz, can you run out there and distract it for me?” she pleaded.

“I…” Liz sighed. “That’s really risky. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“It’s better than leaving Lucy on her own,” Ruby answered, even if some of that confidence was a bit fake. She needed to trust herself on something, and this was one of the few opportunities where she would be able to properly do so. “You catch the feral’s attention, I’ll throw the seed. E-Even if I miss, Lucy will still have the time to fire an attack.”

“I trust you.” Liz stood up, dusting herself off with an expression too complex for Ruby to read any emotion out of it. The Roserade gracefully walked forward into the open, motioning with a rose behind her back to tell Ruby to prepare.

Just need patience the Cherrim repeated to herself, clutching the Totter Seed in a stub.Too hasty and this might end up more than poorly.

Lucy, meanwhile, was standing her ground only somewhat. Despite being relentlessly pecked by the Trumbeak nonstop, she was taking its hit decently well, preparing a Shadow Ball from underneath that exploded the moment the feral paused to scream. Lucy jumped back from within the small blast, readying another attack immediately as the Trumbeak flew into the air, chittering and squawking to itself.

It glanced around, randomly deciding that it had had enough of fighting Lucy. The Trumbeak flew higher up, scanning the ground and screeching when it spotted Alice in the bushes- standing out compared to the foliage and grass types around it. When it began darting downward, Ruby immediately realized her mistake.

“Abort!” Liz shouted, taking the initiative. She twirled around, forming a pink light from the edge of her roses. When she regained her position with a finishing wink, the garnered light shot towards the Trumbeak like a cannon, knocking it off balance and nearly making it fall.

“Nice hit!” Lucy yelled from afar.

Ruby steadied the seed, unsure whether to throw. She glanced to Liz, who replied with a quick, affirmative nod.

Patience.

She spun her stub back a bit before finally throwing with all her might, sending the seed arching over the trees. She nearly gasped as it flew much higher than she expected, looking to miss the Trumbeak only to hit it right in the eye- a fair shot, sending it into dazed aberration. It dropped from the sky like a meteor, plummeting into the dirt a few steps away from Lucy. Alice cheered as the others approached the feral, inspecting it cautiously.

“So much effort for just one.” Lucy sighed, but it came out more like a groan. “Well, sorry about that. Are you two alright?”

“I’m okay,” Ruby replied.

Liz nodded. “What should we do now?”

Lucy turned her gaze northward, spotting smoke rising from the trees just a while away, blocking out some of the sun. “Dungeons are made up of their environment, so there’s a likely chance that there’s one around here and it got caught victim in the fire. If so, I’d assume a bunch of agitated ferals would have escaped that way.”

That explains why it was so prone to attacking the first thing it saw Ruby mused. Maybe the Trumbeak isn’t the only feral out here ready to attack us.

“I’m surprised the fire hasn’t been spreading faster,” the Cherrim said. “Is something delaying it?”

Lucy turned around, affirming with a half-smile. “Yes, yes, it is. You see, fire types like me are able to inhale copious amounts of carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen- usually in the form of flames- to boost our attacks through an ability commonly referred to as Flash Fire. To put it in common terms, we’re able to suck most of the energy out of flames to slow down the chemical processes that make it spread quickly, even if it is a bit of a straining thing to do. Most of the process is done instinctually, but it is possible to do it voluntarily like I’ve been doing.”

Most of the words barely flew through Ruby’s understanding, but she got the gist of it. Fire types can absorb fire through chemical means. She was fairly certain she had heard about it in regard to a lesson about human sciences in school, but the amount of knowledge in such compact lesson about something so in-complexity was… well, complex. She was tempted to ask several questions, but kept it to one.

“So…” Ruby looked down at her feet, standing cozily in the grass that she could only imagine had its fate predetermined. “B-But aren’t we grass types? Surely, we would feel the effects of the processes? I mean… we exhibit breathable air, which is fuel for fires, right? Unless I have that wrong-”

“Dual lungs,” Lucy interrupted. “You have dual lungs, both plant-like and animal-like. You wouldn’t be able to move without them.”

“So is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Liz asked curiously, stepping forward.

“Good, as far as I’m aware. But either way, I’m keeping you two as far from the fire as possible. I’ve had enough disaster for today,” Lucy huffed, glancing back and forth. “There’s a small river not too far away from here. My plan is to cut it off there so it can’t spread to the rest of the forest.”

“How so?”

“The rain from last night is helping a lot with softening the blow of the flames. Think of it like a virus. We weaken it enough, then mantle it so it can’t affect those around it.”

Like a virus?

“So we should get moving right away,” Liz stated.

“Immediately.” Lucy began moving northeast, as the other three were soon to follow. She took a wide path, floating at a reasonable pace as she led them towards the river, keeping cautious eyes as the sounds of chittering and screeching popped up every now and then. The forest was vacant, but she knew anything could happen at any moment.

“So what’s the plan once we get to the river?” Alice asked, striking everyone by surprise with the reminder of her presence.

“Corner the fire,” Lucy replied. “We take down a few trees, then move them out of the way so the flames won’t be able to reach them. Without Andesine, we don’t have many options.”

Liz nodded, kindly resting a rose on the bark of a tree as she passed. “It’s better to risk the lives of a hundred than a thousand. Though, it stings me to see all of this happen.”

Lucy sighed. “Fair enough. Some mistakes just happen.”

As they continued through the forest, Ruby picked up the pace, walking next to Lucy.

“S-So what was the experience with Heatran like?” she asked.

“Well…” Lucy paused the thought for a moment, groaning. “First off, he was a giant coward. I expected something out of him with how he kept rambling about how he ‘nearly conquered the gods’, only for the idiot to nearly sink us twice and start the huge fire we’re having to deal with right now.”

Coward!?

“That’s barely the worst of it,” Lucy continued. “He was a big complainer the entire time- kept barking about how I wasn’t treating him with enough respect, how I wasn’t doing enough to keep us safe, how he thought all the others were stupid for prioritizing themselves. Honestly, I was about to drown him for saying that. Separate me from Andesine and leave me with a hypocrite and I would’ve left him to die too.”

“That’s a harsh way to put it,” Ruby mumbled. “I don’t think anyone was openly meaning to let everyone else get hurt when they jumped off the ship.”

“You get the point.”

“I guess.”

“I think what she means, Ruby,” Liz replied, holding her roses to her waist. “Is that-“

“N-no, I get it. I just… I’m not exactly certain that everyone had the worst intention when it happened. I’m sorry Lucy was left behind with Heatran, but at the same time I d-don’t think anyone was wrong for prioritizing themselves?”

Liz listened quietly, withdrawing from speaking. At the same time, Alice leaned in closer, intrigued by the topic.

“That’s like what Gabi said before, right?” the Chimecho asked.

“M-Maybe?”

“Hm…” Alice’s bell made a few chimes as she lost herself in thought, drifting around Ruby’s head without much notice. “Oh! Yeah, I remember! Gabi and Proteus said something about not checking behind us, I think? And feeling bad about it.”

Ruby recalled that conversation being strangely short, back in the raft, feeling dubious of Gabi and the way she phrased her apology. Then again, she was the one who moved the conversation to a different topic, never getting the chance to question Gabi further.

I’m sure she was honest about it. Maybe when we interact again I can ask her.

Ruby glanced ahead, noticing the slope curve gradually downwards before stopping a while away. She could see a hint of white through the foliage, hearing a stream roaring mixed in with a strange gnawing noise- one from a pokémon that Ruby could barely make out.

“How did you know the river was here?” the Cherrim asked, turning to Lucy.

“Passed it when Heatran and I were searching for everyone. It’s not hard to miss.”

Liz moved ahead of the group, squinting as she perched a rose over her brows, to block out the glare of the sun. “There seems to be a few pokémon guarding it.”

“Oh?” Lucy got a better look, before relaxing at the sight of what lay ahead. A group of fuzzy, brown blobs lounging by the river’s edge, sleeping and cleaning each other. “Ah, just Bidoof and Bibarel. Shouldn’t be an issue if we don’t bother them.”

“But won’t they attack since they’re feral?” Ruby followed up. “Just like the Trumbeak?”

“Only ferals that caught in mystery dungeons do that. Unless it’s a territorial kind of course, but my limited research of these pokémon proves otherwise. Regardless, they shouldn’t be an issue. I know my material, I’m equipped, I’m well prepared.”

Ruby sighed, being the first to follow Lucy towards the stream.

“So… don’t provoke them. But what if they attack first?”

“They won’t,” Lucy huffed. She floated slowly, aiming to keep a neutral expression as the small Bidoof and Bibarel population began to notice them, lazily watching with dopey expressions. Alice sticked close to Ruby, nervously shuffling between her and Liz from behind.

“What type are they?” Alice whispered to Lucy.

“Water and normal... err, basic, depending on your dialect.”

“So you’re the only one with a type disadvantage?”

“Basically,” Ruby answered for her. The population seemed mostly peaceful, though she did spot two or three backing up. The rest, however, stayed in their spots, oblivious and unaware. “But Lucy is strong. I’m sure she can handle a few hits.”

“I hope,” Alice whimpered.

Lucy ordered them to halt when they reached the edge of where the dirt bled into the gravelly shore, taking a few wide scans around the area to make sure they were both prepared and safe. After a moment of silence, she allowed everyone to set their things down and rest. Everyone set their things next to a group of stones, except for Ruby, who continued to carry her satchel like always.

Liz took the moment to stretch, straightening in several strenuous poses that made Alice curve her mouth into a ‘o.’ The Chimecho turned to Ruby, bubbling with excitement.

“Liz is so cool…” Alice whispered. “She’s super amazing!! And really strong and impressive… and stuff, oh wow.” Alice recollected how Ruby threw that seed at the Trumbeak earlier, and how she made sure she was safe the entire time last night, protecting the Chimecho from getting hurt, even in the dark. Alice didn’t know Ruby could be that tough and caring, but she was happy to see this side of her! “And you are too! Thanks for taking care of me yesterday. And Lucy… I didn’t know she was that strong until today! I knew she was strong, but… oh wow.”

Ruby was stunned to hear the complement but nodded gratefully. “Y-Yeah, you too. I think you have a lot of potential to be strong also.”

Alice grinned, letting a few happy chimes ring from her bell. “Huh, I wonder how Gabi and Proteus are doing? And we still haven’t found Tori and The Joes yet, huh. I hope they’re still somewhere close by.”

Ruby’s smile drooped instantly at the mention of Tori. Thankfully, her petals concealed her sulking.

She turned to Liz, who was crouching by the edge of the river, splashing water onto her face while making an occasional groan.

“How’s it going?” Alice asked, following Ruby as the Cherrim moved ahead of her.

Liz nearly jumped out of her skin, startled. Soon after she sighed to herself, wiping her face. This wasn’t the first time she had been jumpscared today.

“Sorry, I’m fine,” Liz muttered. She stood up, attempting to dust herself off a little as her eyes darted around for Lucy. “So… starting from the top, we have the fire to attend to, a lot of missing Pokémon.. one of them being my-“

“Guess who showed up!” Lucy shouted from farther down the river, interrupting Liz. The yell caused a few Bidoof to scamper away, alongside a few out-of-range flying types soaring off. Ruby spotted the Chandelure relatively quickly, spotting a yellow and white blur of color alongside her, which she almost didn’t recognize if it weren’t for...

Her heart stopped. The scene of being forced to jump ship, splashing down into the water, feeling her breath seemingly taken from her, nearly drowning- it flashed before her eyes, weighing with a sense of dizziness. Ruby stumbled back, trying to right herself.

“Tori! Joes!” Alice cried out. The Chimecho flew forward, aching to speak with them. Ruby simply remained in her spot, wobbly failing to find her balance.

Of all people…

Why do I keep getting thrusted into these situations!?

Ruby felt like she was about to melt, both mentally and physically. Her body was heating up. Why was she so nervous?

Why can’t I just-

Her emotions were quickly eased by a sudden comforting sensation, breaking free of her stupor- Ruby found Liz in front of her, one rose rubbing the Cherrim’s back and another on her knees. The Roserade looked troubled, blocking out most of Ruby’s vision so she could focus on just her.

“How’re you feeling? Can you see, feel, hear anything?”

“I-“ Ruby choked on her words. “J…Just a bit dizzy.”

Liz nodded, smiling softly.

“At least I’m handling it better than before.” Ruby opened up her petals a little, taking a few deep breaths, the usual. “I… I wish I could just be done with the day and not have to deal with all this.”

“I can understand that,” Liz replied. She continued to rub the Cherrim’s back, not moving or shifting away. “It’s rough adjusting so quickly. Not all of us are ready.”

A light breeze skimmed Ruby’s petals. But we need to do something about it… she thought, finishing off the sentence in her head.

“It’s not just the fire, is it?”

“No, it isn’t,” Liz sighed.

“Then what?” Despite slowly recovering from the dizziness, her body still shook irritably.

The Roserade finally stood up, turning her back. With her expression concealed under a rose, she observed the others- talking amongst each other just down the shore.

“The road ahead. Jirachi. The chance of death, for however imminent it is depending on who you are. There are bigger things we should be worrying about than a simple forest fire. Still, the fire is important. We need to stop it before it reaches the camp, among other things.”

“Among other things?”

“Right, the earlier we get it to it the less damage it causes,” Liz murmured, trailing off. “Let’s go hear Lucy’s plan.”

“Huh?”

Liz walked off, leaving Ruby behind.

“H-Hey, why are you being so vague!?” the Cherrim cried out, racing after her.

~

“If we knock down a few trees from the north side we have a better chance at cornering the flames,” Lucy announced. “That way it can’t spread and Heatran and I can weaken it until it dies out. The stream runs down to the sea, so the south and east are covered by default.”

The other five stood around her, glancing between one another vacantly.

“What about the west?” Ruby wondered.

“Yeah!” Alice backed up. “It can spread that direction and circle its way around, right? So we should prepare for that too.”

“Hmm…” Lucy paced around, thinking. “That’s fair, very fair.” After a few seconds, they came to a conclusion. “How are we going to cover that much land without someone powerful enough to tear trees down in a matter of seconds?”

The Joes’s brass squirmed, roaring agitatedly. “You’re not saying I- we’re weak are you!?”

“You don’t have to make ridiculous assumptions like that.”

Tori sighed. “How are we expected to take down these trees anyways? You kinda underestimate how pathetic most of us are when it comes to fighting.”

“Do we have any items that could help us?” Alice asked.

Tori rolled her eyes, kicking the sand under her stubby feet. “Gee, I sure wish some magical orbs and seeds could pop up out of thin air. If only.”

“Quit it with the sarcasm,” Lucy rebuked. “This is serious matters. We will make with the resources we have.”

“Okay, sure, fair enough- but what resources!?” Tori retaliated. The Whimsicott’s growing tone was unnerving, causing Lucy to reinstate with a step forward as Tori took one to match. “Most of us are tired and can’t give a shit about this stupid disaster when there’s a million other things going horrible right now.”

“Harsh, much?” Liz criticized, standing by.

Tori tossed a glare at her, backing up slightly.

Lucy groaned, looking her firmly in the eyes. “If you don’t want to help, you can head back to camp.” Tori didn’t budge. “But for everyone else here, taking care of this forest fire means just about everything to ensuring the safety of thousands of pokémon. If you don’t want to help out, that’s not my fucking problem.”

After what felt like an eternity of a standoff between them, Tori finally gave up and walked away.

“Fine, I’ll help,” she hissed, a hint of embarrassment seeping through her tone.

“I’m glad you could come to that conclusion.” Lucy scanned the group, analyzing the various strengths and weaknesses of the mon around her. “We’ll split into two. Falinks and I will tackle the sturdier trees on the northwest side, and the rest of you will safeguard the area from stream to the beach. Do not harm or attack any of the wild pokémon unless they provoke first.”

“On it!” Alice cheered, followed by a nod from Ruby.

Tori glanced over her group with a scowl. “Great…”

As Lucy and The Joes headed off the opposite direction of the sea, Liz collected her and Alice’s bag, strolling back the group. The Roserade appeared content, smiling as she handed Alice her things.

“What’s the plan?” Ruby mumbled.

“Knock down some trees and roll them out of the way so they can’t be impacted,” Liz answered. “Even if it takes all four of us to take down one.”

“Alright.”

~

Soon after the time they had started, it was apparent who of the group was stronger and had more stamina, and who was skillful enough with their attacks enough to deliver precise blow after precise blow without much trouble. Of course, the trees were thankfully not too thick, allowing for the process to go by relatively easier than expected.

With each trial run, Liz would spend three attacks at minimum to start knocking the tree into a nearly-crooked state, followed up by a few of Ruby’s Magical Leaf, and then Alice and Tori would finish it off with a Psychic Noise and a Moonblast, usually knocking the tree off its stump. After half a minute of rest, Alice and Tori would begin drag it away, dumping it into the bottom of the stream, and the cycle would repeat.

It was a tiring process. After seven or eight fallen trees, they had to start expending the Oran Berries. After twelve in total, Liz decided to call it a break, resting on a stump.

“We’ve spent half of our food,” Alice murmured.

“At least it’s for a good cause,” Ruby replied.

Worth keeping everyone else safe.

“Do you think Proteus or Gabi got caught in the fire?” she asked, after a brief silence. “They’ve been absent for a long while.”

“Proteus is probably leading them off a cliff,” Tori mocked.

“Yeah, he’s always acted strange,” Ruby sighed. “Maybe it wouldn’t be too out of character for him.”

Tori did a double-take. “What?”

“Those two… they’re the Galvantula and Reuniclus right?” Liz asked, glancing over.

“Yeah!” Alice answered. “They’re both our friends. Proteus is funny and clever while Gabi is really strong and smart. When we see them again, you should totally get to know them!”

“If,” Tori corrected.

The others looked at her baffled, but Tori shrugged it off.

“Y’know, I get we’re supposed to be dealing with this fire and all, because blah blah wild pokémon greater good and all but is knocking down a bunch of trees actually going to do anything meaningful?” The Whimsicott stood up with crossed arms, slowly backing away. “Think about it. There are water types here,” she scoffed, gesturing her stubs to the Bibarel still resting on the shore of the stream.

Liz sighed. “Don’t you think it’s better we move this conversation until aft-“

“She’s got a point,” Ruby interrupted. “We’re mostly just wasting time out here.”

“How are you agreeing with me all of a sudden?” Tori muttered under her breath, hiding an apologetic glance.

Liz stood up, cautiously resting her roses on her chest with her eyes facing the ground. “Are you sure it’s safe to chase after Lucy when we don’t even know where we’re going? Not that I don’t trust you, because I do, but-“

“We’ve got a job to do?” Tori finished, rolling her eyes.

“Yes,” Liz confirmed. “That is what we were assigned.”

Ruby shook her head, huffing. She turned her gaze to the right, to the stream and the Bibarel and Bidoof resting silently, to the forest far on the other side and the foliage behind. If Tori was so insistent that they would be able to do something when the fire came, the odds looked low. The four needed to stay, else everything crumble due to one simple mistake, one they couldn’t afford to happen.

Then again.

She turned her gaze to the left, to the side of the forest soon to be ravaged by flames, to the thick foliage too weak to overcome its fate. The truth hurt, but it was real. There were mistakes enough. There was enough damage already. At this point, it was better to make a hasty decision than fall flat on a calculated one.

Not just for the greater good.

Stopping this fire was more than just damage control. It was more than trying to prove herself. It was more than anything she had faced up to this point.

“Heeeeeyyyy!”

Ruby turned around, freezing.

…Proteus? They’re both alive!?

Proteus and Gabi calmly strolled down the edge of the river, in a similar state to how they were when they had split up from Ruby and Alice, only looking a little more shaken up. Proteus’s hair was completely frazzled, meanwhile Gabi lacked some of her commonly adamant expression, moving leisurely albeit irritably.

“Guess who didn’t die!” the Galvantula shouted as everyone turned their attention towards them. “Got into a real bad fight or two but we shook it off like it was nothing! Wouldn’t expect less from us, eh?”

“Don’t act like I didn’t do most of the work,” Gabi bickered.

“Oh, you would say that huh?”

“You’re on thin ice, bud. Don’t push it.”

“When am I not, kek?”

Ruby was the first to run forward and meet them up close, stunned. “G-Gabi! How did you two-“

The Reuniclus waved the question off before she could even finish. “Nah, don’t worry about us. Proteus was a chore to put up with, maybe the biggest hurdle I faced, but nothing else I couldn’t deal with.”

Proteus concealed a smile, noticing Tori and Liz following in the corner of his vision. “Found other pokémon, I see. So what have you all been up to?”

Ruby sighed. “We’ve kinda got a problem on our hands right now…”

Gabi rose a brow. “Oh? What?”

Ruby nervously paused, finding the words. She glanced back and forth, feeling the tension sizzle on her stubby feet.

“D-Did you two… ever notice any smoke before?”

Chapter Text

“D-Did you two… ever notice any smoke before?”

Proteus and Gabi looked at Ruby expectedly, making no reply. The Cherrim sighed, preparing to explain, only for a voice to cut her off before she could sound a word.

Tori stepped forward, standing on Ruby’s left, crossing her arms. “We’re trying to deal with a dumb fire that broke out. Have either of you seen it?”

“Uh… we got lost in a dungeon?” Proteus replied.

Tori groaned. “Is that a yes or a no?”

“It means no,” Gabi said. “Whatever you’re talking about, we never saw. That’s it.”

“Great.” Tori turned tail, shaking her head. “We need help right now and you two just happened to show up at the perfect moment.”

“But shouldn’t we stay here!?” Liz shouted as the Whimsicott carelessly passed her, gesturing to the river.

Tori ignored her. She began the trek down the beach, tuning out anyone else.

Ruby took a few steps after her. “Tori?”

The fairy kept walking.

Still acting strange. I wonder why she’s not being so hostile to me now, even though she was before.

“Welp, she’s not going to be stopping any soon,” Gabi moaned. “C’mon gang. Let’s follow her.”

Gabi led the pack as Proteus and Alice trailed shortly behind, muttering off about Tori’s sudden charge to command and her behavior. Liz remained as they walked away, staring at Ruby half-incredulously, clutching her roses.

I should really talk to Tori.

Ruby strode up to her slowly. “Are you nervous?”

Liz nodded. “Just a little, but that may be an underestimation.”

Figures. The forest around them was still oddly quiet, save for Gabi’s chattering slowly dying out. The Bidoof and Bibarel by the stream’s edge remained in blissful rest in the meanwhile, lounging about or crunching through bark, taking no mind.
The peace was unnerving. Almost painful.

“It’s not just us.”

“I’m well aware,” Liz sighed. “But that’s not what scares me.”

Ruby looked at her quizzically. “Huh?”

Liz shook her head, gazing over the sky. The Roserade stood tautly, letting her cape drift slowly in the wind.

“I’m not sure, honestly. Maybe I’m scared of death, or grief, or growing connections with you all only to lose them. It’s a terrifying idea, and I’d rather prevent that from happening.” The way she expressed it felt evocative to Ruby, almost like there was a sense of
knowingness in them, fully conscious of its ordeal. “I’d do anything to prevent it, if I could.”

“I-I’m sure those are some valid concerns.”

“Real ones, too,” Liz whispered. She took a deep breath and began walking ahead, beckoning the Cherrim to follow. “Let’s go. It’s better none of us become split up.”

As if we haven’t had enough of being separated.

Ruby moved to Liz’s right, strolling alongside her.

~

“Do you see them yet!?” Proteus shouted from behind.

Tori cringed, stopping herself from responding. The answer was an obvious, hard “no” but they didn’t need to know that just yet.

The stream eventually ceased at a dam guarded by a group of Bibarel and Lotad- Tori deciding on taking her own route through the forest. Yeah, she didn’t really know where she was supposed to find Lucy or The Joes… but that wasn’t a big issue, right? They couldn’t have traveled too far.

“Tooorii!”

Ugh.

She began to pick up the pace but was stopped when Alice flew over her, nearly causing the two to collide.

“Hey uh, Proteus is calling to you!”

“I know,” Tori groaned.

Alice frowned. “Oh.. sorry then. I just came over since you d-didn’t seem to hea-”

“Stop.” The Whimsicott held up her stubby arms, trying to hide her annoyance. “I haven’t seen them yet, okay? Trying not to be rude, but it’s…”

“Sorry,” Alice murmured, looking down.

Tori moved past her, squeezing her eyes shut. “It’s fine. Just… please don’t apologize, it only makes things worse.”

“Uh, okay.”

Tori shook off any lingering agitation, pushing forward.

~

“Well… if you’ve got something on your mind, we could talk about something else,” Ruby mumbled.

Liz faintly smiled. “That would help, I suppose.”

“What things would you like to talk about?” Ruby asked.

“There’s one thing that’s been on my mind recently.”

“Oh?”

“Mai and I haven’t really done much planning for the big fight yet,” Liz confessed. “We studied some before we left but haven’t any discussion over battle tactics.” “Tactics?” Do we really have to be talking about this?

The Roserade stopped walking, glancing over her shoulder. “Yes?”

“Why do we need to talk about battling? I thought Mallku had it under cover already.”

Liz sighed, placing a rose on her hip. “Ruby… we still need to be prepared.”

The Cherrim shifted back. “I-I get that, but I’m still conflicted. Isn’t the fighting stuff only a small part of the journey? Shouldn’t we worry about… more important things?”

“But this is important.”

“More important than treasuring our time while we have it?” Ruby could feel the sting in her throat, crawling through her words. She looked around frantically- to the sky, to the pokémon on the edge of the river, to the grass yet to be singed.

So delicate, so fragile.

“D-Don’t you think preparing is needless? Nothing’s going to change even if we spend hours spending the effort.”

“We need to train to overcome those odds when we face them.” Liz’s expression weakened a little, but she stood firm. “We don’t get any free passes with this, I’m sorry.”

“I just… think you’re focusing on the wrong things?“

Liz held up a rose, sighing. “Ruby, I think that’s fine if you’re scared. But I think you’re sticking too tightly to your guns. If we delay the inevitable it’s only going to come to bite us later. We need to be ready.”

“I’m not trying to create conflict.”

“I know that.”

“I-I’m on your side here,” Ruby blurted, kicking the dirt under her stubs. “I just think you have the wrong idea.”

“Then what’s your idea?” The Roserade beckoned with a rose. “Tell me.”

“Uh…”

“It’ll be fine. I won’t judge.”

“Okay.”

A memory of Proteus’s wild, concentrating eyes flashed in Ruby’s mind. Like an itch to her skin, the memory was there in full vividness, full clarity, unable to be shaken off. She could never quite pinpoint what was strange about the Galvantula’s behavior- he was always so discrepant.

In the least, he had made some good points before they left the city. Like how there was only so much trustworthiness in this group. Ruby needed to decide quickly who she was in good terms with, in case such a matter was necessary.

“Surely there’s peaceful alternatives?” Ruby groaned. “What are we even fighting for? Do you even know?”

“Uh…” Liz awkwardly looked to the side, holding her roses behind her. “No, I don’t know.”

“So then what’s the point? Wh..Why do we have to be involved?”

Liz shook her head, staring wistfully. “I’ll have to ask Mallku later. For right now, we’ll keep up the pace.” The Roserade joined back in stride, adding, “We can talk later, okay?”

“Okay…”

~

I guess there’s only so much I can do, then.

Ruby made her way towards Proteus, treading carefully with her eyes peeled through her petals. The hanging scent of distant smoke made it hard to pay attention to focus on the walk ahead of her, but she remained concentrated.

Up ahead, Gabi was still talking with Proteus and Alice.

“Do you have any more conspiracy theories you’d like to share?” the Reuniclus asked, smirking.

“I have a few. But I’ll talk about them later, kek,” Proteus said.

“Bet.”
Alice hummed as she listened, drifting overhead, barely paying attention as her eyes wandered about. Eventually her gaze found Ruby trailing them, and her lips curved into a smile as she waved to the Cherrim with her tail.

“Hey Ruby! How did it go with Liz?”

“It went okay,” Ruby answered, approaching. “She was d-definitely trying to help, but I don’t think she was as certain as she sounded...”

“Oh?”

“Mallku and Jirachi are the only ones who know the true intentions behind the journey, I think.”

“I thought it was just to beat up some powerful pokémon?” Gabi said, turning around. “Is that not what it is? Did those weirdos lie to me?”

“No, we’re not sure,” Alice stated calmly. “Maybe Lucy knows?”

Proteus shook his head. “You keep asking the wrong people and you’re never going to get any valid answers.”

“Well, we’ve got try somewhat.. right?”

Ruby pushed ahead, squeezing through Gabi and Proteus. “I want to go talk to Tori. It’s been on my mind ever since I last saw her. I have to try to get something out of the conversation.”

“Good luck,” Proteus chirped.

“You know her the best,” Gabi added with a fist bump in the air. “Go knock some sense into that girl.”

Alice paused, flying ahead. “Wait! D-Do you even have a plan? I can uhm… come with you if you’re feeling afraid.”

“I think I can handle it,” Ruby mumbled. “I’ve.. known her for most of my life; I’m somewhat experienced with reading her emotions. I know she often has a hard time properly expressing them though.”

“O-Okay,” Alice sighed. “We’ll be behind you in case anything bad happens.”

“Thanks.”

Ruby ran ahead, drawing a breath, the others letting her pass on the way.

I just need to find her, talk to her, and figure out where we’re going.

She just hoped that they wouldn’t have an argument for the second time today. Ruby and Tori had some small disagreements many times before, but nothing this tense.

With orange hues peeking through the trees, she kept a steady pace, being careful not to accidentally zigzag off Tori’s trail. The sunlight and foliage around her were renewing, yet her breaths were labored.

“Tori!?” Ruby shouted.

All she got was a weak noise back- a crinkling of leaves, somewhere nearby.

“Tori!?”

The crinkling came up again, and Ruby could immediately tell its direction, twisting her head around to see the Whimsicott kicking up a pile of leaves in proximity. Her stubs made the move impulsively, completely forgetting to call back the others.

“H-Hey, are you alright?” Ruby blurted, slowing down once she was a steps away, offering for an awkward stride instead.

Tori sighed, rubbing her arm. “I’m not going to run away, you know.”

“Uh, thanks. I’m… sorry for making you feel upset.”

“It’s not a big deal, Ruby.”

Why did she call me out by name…?

“Is there something you want to talk about that I’m not getting at?”

Tori sucked in a heavy breath, maybe even tears alongside it. She itched at her arm a little more, shutting her eyes before finally saying, “What do you mean by that?”

“I know w-we’re supposed to be fighting something more important right now, but uh..
You’ve also been acting really strange these past few days. So I thought I’d let you know that your teamwork matters just as much as anyone else? And we do like having you around? We’re not trying to kick you out or anything… sorry.”

“Is that it?”

“Did it c-come out wrong?” Ruby whimpered.

Tori stood silently for a few moments, before finally exhaling.

“I’ll concede. I think you’re missing the point, but I haven’t really been doing much aside from sobbing it up and being bitter all morning and afternoon.”

“Point?”

“It’s been a long day; I don’t fucking know.”

“Okay.” Ruby walked forward to hug Tori, only for her to instantly jolt away.

“Uh, still not really over it,” the Whimsicott replied with a frown. “Just... give me some space, okay? And no need to apologize all the time. You and Alice do it constantly and it just makes me feel worse.”

“Okay.”

They stood in silence looking at each other, before Ruby spoke up again.

“So, do you know where Lucy and The Joes went?”

“Somewhere around here,” Tori sighed. “I heard their footsteps before but not anymore. They have to be close though. They’ve been gone for at least an hour, I bet. Surely that gives them enough time to wrap up the smoke.”

“Alright.” Ruby turned around, noticing Liz, Alice, Proteus and Gabi on their trail. “The rest have caught up.”

Tori didn’t make a reply, instead wandering about with her attention shifting back and forth. Eventually, she began moving without a word. Ruby followed, with the rest in tow.

“Hey uh, Ruby,” the Whimsicott muttered back.

“Y-Yeah?”

“You don’t.. have to stop apologizing. I uhm, like it when you do it actually.
Shows you’re sincere, and I really do appreciate it. Like, a lot.”

Ruby sighed. “Okay.”

The rest was silent. Whatever Tori was using as a guide, Ruby wasn’t sure, but she wanted to have trust that she knew what she was doing.

Even if yesterday and today had been a bit shaky.

After some time, Tori came to another stop in the middle of climbing a gradual slope.

“I hear them.”

She turned to her right, pointing a stubby hand towards a thicket of foliage partially blocked off to view. The Whimsicott beckoned with her other, quietly pacing towards the shrubbery.

As Ruby got closer, Lucy’s view stuck out, loud and clear.

“I’ll come back tomorrow to check again, but for now I think we’ve covered most of the damage.”

Followed by a smaller voice, yet stronger and more commanding.

“Hmph! And to think the rest of those layabouts did nothing but whine and chat all day!”

The Joes.

“How should we go up to them?” Ruby whispered to Tori.

“Just watch for a bit.”

Tori gestured to her to hide in the bushes, crouching between the foliage. Through the leaves they could see Lucy and The Joes firing off moves at a patch of smoke, just on the other edge of the slope.

Would they be mad if they knew we were here?

Well, maybe Lucy would. She told us to stay put after al-

“What are you two doing?” Gabi shouted from behind.

Ruby and Tori immediately froze as Lucy and The Joes spotted them from afar, Tori glaring at Gabi with a soundless groan.

“Gabi!?” Lucy called out, barely recognizing the Reuniclus.

Proteus, Liz and Alice appeared shortly after, waving and giving greetings. Ruby meanwhile sluggishly got up, already feeling another argument about to unfold. As everyone else moved towards the middle, she simply braced herself.

“What are you doing here?” Lucy demanded. “I told you all I had the fire under control, and still you disobeyed my directions.”

“I tried to warn them,” Liz sighed.

“Yeah, why are you pissed?” Gabi reprimanded, pushing forward to confront Lucy. “All we did was check on you to make sure you didn’t die and suddenly we’re the assholes?”

“Hypocrite, much?” Proteus added.

Ruby winced as Lucy’s flames instantly flared, backing up.

The Chandelure floated forward, meeting Gabi’s eye level.
“Hypocrite? Is that the only thing you think of me as? I was given the command by Mallku to steer you from death, and it is my duty to keep you all in line. I cleared up all of this mess by myself. I had to deal with stupid Heatran for hours. And yet, you choose to treat me like rubbi-”

Proteus yawned, turning tail. “So where did you say camp was?”

“Do not interrupt me!” Lucy boomed, scaring Alice and Ruby. “Unless Mallku or Jirachi are around, I make the rules. I tell you when you leave.”

As Tori rolled her eyes, Gabi only got angrier. “Listen man, Proteus can be a little annoying sometimes, but you’ve got some nerve pushing the rest of us around. If you’re so full of yourself, then how about a fight, just you and me? I’d love to crush your dumb ego to a pulp.”

Does she always have to do this?

Alice stuck close to Ruby as the Cherrim backed farther away, stopping next to a curiouseyed Proteus, who was all but concealing a grin, proud of the damage he’d successfully managed to stir up.

“I’m not looking for a fight. Even I was, my type advantage would be the end of you.”

“Type advantage-shmantage,” Gabi blabbered back, performing a strange gesture with her hands. “I’ll have you know I graduated at the top of my class, survived a landslide, and have won numerous gold medals and trophies. You think you’re better than me because you memorized some stupid chart?”

“Yeah!” the brass of The Joes egged, reaffirming his presence.

“It’s like every time she says that she adds another random stunt she didn’t do,” Proteus whispered to Ruby, snorting.

“She never brought up the trophies before,” Ruby mumbled.

“One more reason to not take anything she says seriously.”

“At least she has a good heart.. kinda.”

Proteus looked at Ruby directly, a mischievous gleam glistening upon his several irises.
“Proving my points, isn’t it, kek?”

“Huh?”

“You simply do not understand…”

“Proteus, what are you on about?” the Cherrim sighed.

“It’ll make more sense tomorrow.”

Ruby glanced back to Lucy and Gabi, who were still arguing, before turning to Proteus again. “N-No, tell me now. What do you mean by ‘proving points’?”

“Do you really need me to spell it out for you?” the Galvantula jested.

“If it m-means you’ll explain.”

“Fine then.” He took a heavy breath, taking them both to a spot a little bit farther than the rest of the group. “I’ll be straightforward. I like you and Alice, you’re not easy to rile up. Tori, sorta in the middle. Gabi however? She takes everything personally, even if she’s not the one involved. Do you see her back there, fighting a war I started?”

“Yeah…?”

“I like to keep her around, and not just as a toy for me to play with. She fights my battles, as you’ve seen, no matter how pointless or stupid. Lets me get away with things I shouldn’t be allowed to.”

“…Okay?”

“Do you see where I’m heading?”

“No, not really,” Ruby sighed.

Proteus lightly chuckled, closing his eyes. “Would you bet Gabi would want to fight the creator of the universe, if she’s so bold as to pick a fight with a Chandelure? I’m serious. Answer me.”

“Uh… maybe she would?”

“Good. Keep an eye on her, as I am with you. People can have rather interesting behavior sometimes.”

Ruby felt a chill as he said that, checking to make sure she still had her belongings. Why did he have to say that so creepily?

“I’ll be keeping an extra eye on you though,” Proteus whispered. “I’m of course still good friends with Todd- but considering that he didn’t jump ship with us, he’s probably after his own adventure.”

“What about Gabi?”

“She’s just a little antsy today, and I don’t blame her. She’ll be good as happy tomorrow, ya hear?”

“I guess.”

“Good, good. Hey Tori! Alice!” Proteus called out, flashing a renewed smile. “Ready to go?”

Tori perked up, redirecting her gaze as Alice flew over with brighter positivity. Ruby could also see Liz behind them, who was quietly picking up her bags as The Joes scooted around Gabi and Lucy.

“Hey!” Alice chimed, drifting between Ruby and Proteus. “Are we heading out now?”

“I guess so,” Tori said. “But I don’t know remember the directions back to camp. You’ll have to ask Liz; navigation’s not my thing.”

“It’s quite shrimple actually,” Proteus jested.

“God, your terrible puns make me want to krill myself,” Tori moaned.

Alice let out a light giggle as Ruby winced, giving Proteus all the amusement he could ask for.

“You’ve gotta be squidding me. Shark my words, I’ll get a better reaction out of you three next time.”

Ruby loosened her petals. “I-I think you can stop with the puns now..”

“Damn right!” Tori barked. “Let’s get going. I’m tired.”

Ruby and Alice agreed, before Alice flew off to ask Liz for directions back to Mallku’s camp.

“I hope we can find Heatran and make it back safely,” Ruby mumbled, as she crouched against the bark of tree next to Tori.

~

And to make a long story short…

They did.

As with tradition, Heatran was not in the spot Lucy had told him to stay at. The legendary was simply wandering around the beach, firing Flash Cannons into the water. To make it worse, he was being nothing but vague, meaning any disaster could have existed without anyone else knowing, giving Lucy more of a reason to come back the next day.

Ruby and Liz were nervous about the smoke, but Lucy had given every reassurance that she would make sure everything was under control, boosted by Alice’s overwhelming positivity, which eased the tension for tonight.

Proteus was extraordinarily mischievous, Tori was tired and groggy, and Gabi was restless. The Joes were surprisingly quiet, and Heatran was complaining the entire walk back, as usual.

It was about half past midnight when they arrived at camp, spooking Mallku out of his slumber.

The shipwreck accident’s impacts had once again come to full tension, as without most of their supplies, everyone was forced to sleep outside. Tori completely conked out under a tree near immediately after reaching camp, leading Liz, Gabi and Alice to assemble a decently-sized shelter around her, made of sticks and various tree branches.

Ruby helped bloom some of the leaves around them a little, using the foliage as a soft cover and padding, while Proteus used Bor’s business papers as “floor”. Additionally, Mallku offered to let Ruby borrow his blanket for the night, which surprised her.

“You’ll need it more than I do,” the Weavile said with a dumb grin.

Mallku held out the blanket for Ruby to take, only for a wave of psychic energy to envelop it instead, drifting upwards as Alice flew by.

“I’ll get that for you!”

Mallku waved back. “Hey, thanks!”

“You’re welcome!” Alice sang back.

As the Chimecho flew inside the shelter, Ruby returned to the prior discussion.

“Hey, Mallku?”

“Yeah?” the Weavile replied.

“Liz reported to me that you never told her the plan for the trip.” Ruby sighed, trying not to sound upset. “Have you?”

“About that…” Mallku awkwardly scratched his head, his grin faltering with subtle nervousness. “Jirachi does all the thinking stuff for me; people just think I know because I’m the leader.”

“Has… Jirachi ever told you?”

“Only through angry murmurs,” Mallku deadpanned.

That answers one question, Ruby mused. “What did they say?”

The Weavile crossed his arms. “We’re headed through the desert next, I think. Then we find Darkrai and Hoopa, right before robbing Regigigas’s shrine.”

Good to know.

“Well, I’m gonna go check on the others,” he said. “Y’all stay safe, ok?”

“Y-You too.”

But finally, the tent was done, somewhere around an hour after midnight.

Gabi rested alone on the other side of camp, while Alice, Ruby, Tori and Proteus were to sleep inside the makeshift tent. With the other three already heading off to bed, Ruby offered a farewell to Liz, standing in front of the entrance.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done to help us,” she said, shuddering from the cold.

Liz put a rose on her hip, smiling. “Of course. It pleasures me to know you all have survived well.”

“I hope Mai shows up soon...”

“It’s barely been more than a day. I’m sure she’s toughing it out on her own.”

“You know her better than I do, so you’re probably right.”

“Don’t forget to sleep in,” Liz remarked, winking. She turned her head to the beach, dusting herself off. “And take care. Good luck with Tori, I’m sure she means well.”

”Good luck”?

“I’ll s-see you tomorrow.”

With that, Ruby moved back inside the tent, resting between Alice and Tori after setting down her bag. It was a little uncomfortable, but Ruby was far used to it.

Let’s hope for the best, she thought to herself, moving the blanket over some.

Chapter Text

”Ruby’s still asleep, eh? Hm, I’ll come back in a bit then.”

…

”Tell her Ari and I are out checking debris from the shipwreck. Should be back around noon.”

Ugggghh…

Ruby squirms in the comfort of Mallku’s blanket, right as she feels something- perhaps someone else- tug it away from her. She lets out an inaudible groan, frustrated as her anatomy prevents her from reaching forward and yanking it back, prompting further squirming and moaning.

Still, she has at least some part of the blanket, and her stubby feet kick the dirt beneath her to catch up with the rest of it. Her petals collide with something soft and fluffy, and for a moment she thinks she’s had it, before the feeling rolls away and she’s back in the dirt. Her feet once again kick for an answer, only to hit something different- crinkly and sharp, causing a brief rebound.

Eughh..

With the blanket suddenly taken away from her, Ruby stopped moving, letting herself melt into the floor in the form of a piteous puddle.

Tori...?

She groaned again, feeling something jab into her consciousness like an itch. She rolled around some more, trying to find the soft, cottony feel from before and rub the itch away- only to find nothing, except the bitter taste of dirt and… paper?

Ruby jolted awake, finding herself front-facing the ground. After a few seconds of hesitation she stirred onto her feet lazily, groaning as she stretched about, getting into a proper standing position. The orbit of sleepiness still had her in arrest, but she was able to scramble her way out slowly- adjusting to the hue of morning light poking through the exit and the tiny holes in the walls of the tent.

Already morning?

She took up her bag- which was resting outside of the tent and hung over a thin branch- before departing outward. Ruby had no direction in mind for the moment, so she headed towards the beach, moving at a gradual pace. The grass under her feet, the trees overhead and the silence of the morning filtered through her mind, as her thoughts were elsewhere, replaying the past few days in her head like a TM recorder.

Ruby felt somewhat nauseous reliving the memories, but she knew she had to toughen up if she was going to survive, like Proteus said.

Proteus said...

No. She needed to stop listening to him. He only feeds lies and paranoia.

Ruby toughened up her walking speed. The more her stubby feet were used to running, the more she would be able to get away from danger, like when Malllku was going to.. eventually kill her…?

No… stop. Bad thoughts.

She shook it off, moving on, guiding her eyes elsewhere. In the distance, Andesine and The Joes were head-to-head in combat, firing Water Pulse after Rock Smash after Earth Power after Uproar. On the beach, Andesine had the advantage, as the environment around the blue Gastrodon allowed himself to stay stationary while also boosting his Ground-type moves.

Ruby scoped the fight when in proximity, taking light notes of it, standing in the grass out of harm’s way.

The Joes, despite their power in numbers, were anticipatedly a miserable synopsis to a story. The brass barked orders at random while half the time the troopers barely listened, either standing around or eating attacks. Andesine kept each and every member of the Falinks under his radar, occasionally blocking their attempts with a quick move that sent them tumbling.

Right when Ruby was about to leave, Andesine spoke up.

“Do you see what I did?” the Gastrodon said, giving the Falinks a moment to recuperate after blinding them with a blast of sand.

“Huh?”

The Joes picked themselves up while Andesine inched closer to Ruby, stopping where the grass and sand met.

“The fight. You were watching. Did you see what I did?”

“Uh… n-not really?” Ruby replied, backing up.
“It’s called environmental move capability. My moves were in the right surroundings, so they became stronger, and I was able to use them more quickly. The beach gave me the power for that to happen. Does that interest you?”

“I… guess?”

Andesine nodded. “It’s hard to manage well in a fight if you aren’t actively focused on what’s going around you. Good instincts and intuition help with that.” Andesine gestured to The Joes. “It’s not just about moves or strength.”

Ruby politely nodded back.

“Sorry for the intermission; I know you must have woken up only a few minutes ago. Where are you headed? Lucy and Liz left to check on the smoke. Proteus hasn’t been seen all morning. Mallku and Ari are examining the remains of the shipwreck. The rest are asleep.”

“I was just planning to photosynthesize today.”

“I see.” Andesine relaxed, his horns twitching. “Not in the mood for training? How long do you plan to photosynthesize for? The Joes are probably tired for now, so I could give you a few pointers.”

“I’m good, thanks,” Ruby answered. “I should really build up some energy for tomorrow."

“Shame. Can we at least talk a little more before you leave? I want to get to know you more.”

Ruby sighed, reassuring her satchel. “What is it?”

“Well, we only met recently, and who knows how little time is left before we never will again. What are your strengths, so that I can assess your skillset? Do you have something about yourself that I can remember you by? You seem to be good friends with some of the other pokémon amongst the caravan- what about them?”

Not this again.

“Uh…” Just be honest. “I’m… not really a fighter, sorry. And as much I’d like to talk, I’m not feeling it right now.”

Andesine frowned. “Shame.”

“Sorry,” Ruby murmured. She awkwardly stepped away, progressing further down the beach to get as far away from him as possible. A few seconds later, the sound of fighting stirred up again, and Andesine and The Joes’ voices were no longer within earshot.

Meanwhile, Ruby kicked a stone into the ocean, watching as it bounced from her stubs down to the surface of the water and later below, sinking to the shallow floor. It made a short splash before drowning out, soon to recovered by the recurring waves.

This is going to be a common occurrence huh, she sighed, making a short glance back to assure Andesine wasn’t following.

She found a spot cornered between the overhead sky, the deeper edge of the forest, and the beach- far away from everyone and out of sight. There were a few small flowers and plants situated around the area: dried beachgrass, sea rockets and beach bur basking in the sunlight. The gathered flora came with a sweet, sour smell, though Ruby was mostly blind to it, maneuvering herself into the environment with cautionary steps, as to not insult the rest of the vegetation.

The spot was as pleasing as home. With all of the foliage around her, she felt connected, finally at ease, able to let her body sink into it all.

Ruby stood in the center, resting her petals. She closed her eyes, digging her heels into the dirt, letting her body handle everything else.

Just for a few hours. Then I’ll come back to camp for lunch.

The wind whistled past her, causing her stem to flop over itself.

And then Tori and I could spend the afternoon together.

Her petals fluttered in the sunlight, restraining herself from blooming.

And Gabi and Alice could be there too… maybe...

Colors swirled around Ruby as she dozed off, dancing over her eyelids as she succumbed to the light.

When she woke up again, there was only a haze.

Ruby found herself standing in a vibrant abyss, distant fog blocking a view of the horizon in all the directions. She stumbled a bit, unsure of her location.

A dream?

“H-Hello?”

She walked a few steps ahead, feeling her weight tremble beneath her.

Was this some sort of mindscape?

The Cherrim looked around, searching for other pokémon that might be here with her. Lucid. That was what it was. Now that she realized she was dreaming, she needed to figure out why.

“Mallku!? Tori!?”

The two most obvious answers. And yet, seconds after she shouted, there was still no answer.

She winced, assuring that the void around her wasn’t crumbling. The neon hues of the abyss drifted indifferently. The fog remained still, no figures came into view, and she was still standing.

Albeit abnormally.

Why else would she be dreaming?

“Proteus?”

Nothing changed.

“Alice? Gabi? Liz? Joes? Anyone else?”

Maybe she was just alone this time.

Ruby took a heavy sigh. If no one was responding, then this is probably a nightmare.

She was still photosynthesizing right?

“Hey.”

Ruby turned around to see Proteus standing a few steps away from her, with his usual creepy smile and absorbed eyes. He scratched at his red bandanna, waiting.

“You’re really gonna ignore me, just to photosynthesize in the open where I could easily find you?”

Ruby took a step back, trembling. “How are you here? This is my dream.”

“No response? Heh.” Proteus inched forward, causing Ruby to prepare a battle stance. Instead, he simply walked right through her.

“Huh!? I-“

“And you’re not in your sunny form? You’re quite the queer one, aren’t you? Maybe if you wake up, you’ll talk to me.”

“Proteus?”

The Galvantula closed his eyes and shook his head. “Being immune to your species’ natural responses, being oddly stubborn at times, never being truly honest with me… wow, Ruby! I think that means I’ll have to keep several eyes on you. Maybe it’s not my responsibility, but I’ll accept it anyways, kek.

“I know you can’t hear me yet, but what’s with Tori? You two seemed like good friends before. Is she emotionally abusive, or is this a one-time thing?”

Emotionally abusive!? Wait- how is he speaking here?

Ruby attempted to grab his attention by moving in front of him, but he made no response. “Proteus! Can you hear m-“

“Rise and shine, Ruby.”

The Cherrim woke up to the sound of lightning, causing her to jump and flop over herself in the flowerbeds. Proteus towered over her, blocking out the sunlight.

“Did a shy Thunder spook you that much?”

“A Thunder!?” Ruby cried.

“Yeah? Practicing. I just didn’t know you were there, kek.”

Liar.

“I was photosynthesizing,” Ruby moaned. She picked herself up, wincing as she trampled the flowers in the process. She was a little surprised to see her bag still on her though, as she swore she had sat it down before. “You didn’t hurt anyone with your attack, did you!?”

“Of course not,” Proteus said. “I already had breakfast- caught a tasty Poliwag and Nymble; snatched them both in a web after a short chase. Pretty juicy and didn’t taste too raw. Took me an hour for both.”

Caught…? Taste…?

“You… Y-You just ate harmless pokémon!? Why are you even saying it like that? Do you not have remorse for who you killed!?”

Proteus stared blankly. “What? You eat plants all the time, and you’re a grass-type. And I don’t eat meat that often, you know? What’s wrong with me hunting just once?”

Ruby was a step away from pluming with rage at his audacity, yet found herself only mouth agape, both shocked and unsurprised. Was there anything that wasn’t out of character for him!?

“Anyways,” Proteus continued. “What’s going on between you and Tori?”

“We’re working it out.”

“Really?” Proteus rose a brow. “You’re lying to me. I can smell it.”

Ruby sighed. “She got a little iffy when we were leaving. I think me sticking with Alice combined with the new environment just caused her to freak out and think irrationally.”

“Jealous, is she?”

“Of…?”

Proteus smirked. “You know why.”

“Do you always have to be so vague?” Ruby cried.

“Hey now, relax.” The Galvantula attempted to pat Ruby on the back, but she instantly lurched.

“Don’t touch me.”

“What’s got you so mad today?”

“Do I need to spell it out!?” Ruby jeered. “You wake me up when I’m photosynthesizing, k-kill innocent pokémon like it’s no big deal, try to paint Tori as abusive, and now you pretend like we’re friends? Why are you always trying to ruin my life!? I never asked to be with you!”

The Cherrim huffed, taking a few steps back, continuing. “Are you going to apologize, or are you going to make a dumb excuse like you usually do?”

Proteus stood unemotional for a few seconds, expression unreadable, before making an awkward cough.

“Ruby, I never did any of those things.”

“Huh?”

“You’re not understanding the full story. We promised to talk today, remember? The pokémon I hunted weren’t innocent either, they ate other pokémon at some point too… what makes someone innocent anyways? And I never called Tori abusive, just asked if she was.”

Ruby’s breathing slowed, watching him incredulously. “Explain.”

“About?”

“The final part. And preferably everything ele.”

Proteus smirked. “I think you two have a fine relationship. You said she was just thinking irrationally, which I can understand. If you think you two treat each other well, I’d believe it. It was just… strange, kek. To those of us who weren’t familiar with her. Which is why I try to talk to Tori when I can, because I want to know how she really is on the inside, so I can defend her when we’re backed up against the wall.

“And regarding the hunting- am I wrong for it? I mean, we live in a society where corporations thrive on the shaming of carnivores and the sales of berries and herbs, but there’s so much more to that. Pokémon survive by consuming nutrients, and pokémon just so happen to be filled with nutrients. There’s no difference between eating the stalk of a rhubarb and the skin of a Gogoat. You’re still killing life either way. And you need to kill to survive. Why’s that bad?”

Ruby hesitated. “But pokémon can think and feel emotions? Their lives are more important.”

“Does capitalism care about feelings? Hah, was saving that one.” Proteus made a short chuckle. “Joke answers aside- in the end, it doesn’t matter. If you don’t want to eat meat, good for you, your consciousness is probably doing yourself some good. But as someone whose natural species is primarily carnivorous, I’ll eat as much as I care for.” His voice grew low. “I bet Mallku probably thinks that too.”

“Don’t bring him into this,” Ruby whined, kicking the dirt under her stubs in an act of irritation. “He’s not as bad as you are.”

“Defending him, too?” Proteus teased.

Ruby hated his dumb smirk.

“Let’s move on.” Ruby turned her view to the ocean. “Did you have any plans today? You’ve already ruined mine.”

“Not really,” the Galvantula replied. “Do you want to go bother Jirachi with me? I figure we can nab some things from them when they’re not looking. I saw a Slumber Orb before. And if I don’t get my pedipalps on it today, I’m stealing it tonight.”

Ruby frowned internally. I should be fine if Proteus is with me. Anyone else would be better, but there’s no turning back now.

“Ready?”

“Why do I let you drag me into these things.”

Proteus led the way, heading back to camp where Andesine and The Joes were still practicing. Mallku, Ari, Jirachi and Gabi were nowhere to be found- Tori and Alice were still asleep, Liz and Lucy were still out inspecting the fire- but they did find Victini reading a book under a tree, while Heatran fired attacks into the ocean yelling insults and curses.

“So what do you want to do again?” Ruby asked as Proteus rested on a log, seated around the hushed campfire. “You wanted to annoy Jirachi? They’re not here.”

“We’ll find a way.”

Ruby sighed, glancing back towards Andesine and The Joes. “Are they with Mallku?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Then where would they be?”

“Couldn’t have gone far.” Proteus’s ears flicked about. “Mallku and Ari are inspecting the shipwreck. We still don’t know if Mai, Todd, Brunia or Louis are alive, and the others don’t want us to look. So that’s off the table.”

“Should we ask Victini?”

“Sure.”

Ruby and Proteus strolled towards the tree that Victini was sitting under, where the mythical was reading a book, lightly humming.

“Hey, do you know where Jirachi and Gabi are?” Ruby asked.

“Hm?” Victini looked up, smiling. “Oh, nah. But if you want to make yourself useful, you can clear out some trees and gather sticks. Or just collect berries.”

Proteus turned towards Ruby. “Well? Does that sound good?”

“I guess.”

“Let’s go then, kek,” the Galvantula beckoned, heading north, deeper into the forest. “I’ll enact my plans later.”

~

Cool wind whipped through Mallku’s fur as Ari flew higher into the air, lightly gripping the Roaring Moon’s back. He wasn’t entirely happy to be so far from the ground, but this was his only way of transportation, bound by the safety that Ari would catch him if he fell.

“Here’s the plan,” the Weavile declared through gritted teeth. “I’ll dive below and bring stuff back up to the surface, and you’ll fly back and forth between the wreck and the camp, bringing anything I find back.”

“Isn’t that reckless!?” Ari shouted underhead.

The Roaring Moon sharply descended towards an area full of drifting planks on the ocean’s surface. He landed wobbly, resting on a small lifeboat which must have been abandoned. The lifeboat sunk a little under his weight, causing some water to flood inside and lap at his claws.

“We’re here,” Ari grunted.

Mallku looked down nervously, picking at his scarf. “I haven’t gone swimming in over a year. I think this might be a bad idea.”

“I can take you back.”

Mallku sighed. “No, we can’t. I’ll… I’ll be fine. The ocean can’t be that deep.”

Ari nodded quietly, patiently waiting before the Weavile jumped off, splashing in the water. His head bobbed back up to the surface, filled with a reassuring-yet-uncertain smile despite his struggle to stay afloat.

“Don’t die.”

“I won’t!” Mallku promised.

“I hope so,” Ari hissed. He began to flap his wings again, preparing for take-off. “I’ll be back.”

He soared off, flying back to camp, leaving Mallku alone with the debris.

“Alrighty then,” the Weavile murmured to himself. “Dive down to the bottom, grab anything I see, don’t die like Ari said, make it back. Should be simple enough.”

He took one heavy breath before swimming down.

How deep is the ocean anyway-

He immediately winced as he glanced below him. The ocean floor was only barely viewable in the depths, covered in kelp and algae. Everything felt bizarre under the surface, like Mallku was thrown into a strange new perception of the ocean, only able to see from the energy that pierced the sea above him, scattering light over his surroundings.

As he descended deeper, a Lumineon and a group of Finneon swished by, chittering but ignoring him in their exodus. Further below, he could see Krabby and Goldeen, and in the distance, Arrokuda, which slashed at Clauncher in their chase for prey.

Ugh, he couldn’t get distracted! He swam back to the surface for a minute of fresh air before diving back down again, deciding to ignore the pokémon around him this time and remember his mission.

His diving was a little awkward, but it worked, moving with each stroke as he looked for hints of supplies that still might still be in good shape, hidden in the kelp and buried within the sand.

He scrambled for the bottom when he saw a hint of brown, soon nipping it by its straps and heaving it from its sandy chains, scaring off nearby Krabby as his feet kicked the kelp around him.

He almost opened his mouth when the bag let loose, freeing itself to his guidance. With his remaining strength he threw the bag over his shoulder, using the soft, earthy ground as a launch pad that bounced him upwards after some pressure from both his knees. He thrashed for the surface, pushing past three Remoraid on his way upward.

The weight was so heavy that Mallku felt his life-force being sucked apart, combined with the lack of a nearby Jirachi or Victini that would’ve lended their aura to steady his energy supply a little longer.

Don’t give up! he shouted internally.

When he broke the surface, he nearly collapsed.

Mallku threw the bag onto a drifting plank in a coughing fit, hacking and feeling his throat dry up with a stinging itch. With one arm, he unsteadily laid himself on the plank, resting head-up only for his eyes to be pierced with a blinding ray, his fur jumping in the raging heat that dried not only his fur but also some of his scarf, which was now soaked into a darker red and badge burning with noticeably duller than before, depleted of its colorful luster.

“That sucked,” he gagged, washing his tongue in the fresh air around him. A light gust swept by and shocked his fur, making it stand on edge as the plank beneath him rocked gently. “Jeez…”

After a few seconds, he sat up, making a low murmur. He wasn’t fond of being underwater for so long, but he knew he would have to go again to make any worthwhile progress.

Mallku lightly unzipped the bag in front of him, uncovering the supplies within. A name was written on the inside- “Gabi”- and one thing stood out immediately among the rest, as he dug into the compartments.

The Weavile pulled out a plastic bag. Inside was a heavy book, with vibrant colors on the covers and a firm spine securing it altogether, protecting the pages. Mallku held his breath, pulling the book out.

A drawing of a pokémon was on the front cover.

Celebi.

Why did Gabi have this?

He flipped through a few pages, finding more watercolor art of the mythicals, from Manaphy to Mew to Meloetta. Mallku kept his breath hitched, glancing between the words and the art, to the tiny footnotes on each page and the wondrous, imaginary tales spurred by pokémon throughout centuries of age. Many of the words were barely relevant, only adding to the fictional fantasies that danced and spilled their ink with lopsided grace, adding to Mallku’s confusion.

Finally, he reached the page.

“Jirachi: The Wish Giver”

His throat lurched, leaking something that was somewhere between a sigh and a groan.

He traced his claws over the drawing of Jirachi, who held a shining star as pink and yellow surrounded… it. The page was pretty, but not in a way that satisfied Mallku, who looked down with solemn remorse.

Jirachi sleeps every thousand years but can wake up for seven days if sung to with a voice of purity.

None of that was true…

Jirachi had been awake for more than a year, or at least when Mallku found them.

When woken up, it can grant any wish desired, but like many other mythical pokémon, conceals a deeper energy that can be sapped and used for long-term destruction, or major societal development, depending on the needs for the energy.

Mallku… wasn’t sure about that part. He had done a good job keeping the mythicals (alongside Ari and Heatran) hidden, but he was never truly conscious of how bad it would be if the wrong person knew.

He had put so much trust in the pokémon he only recently met. He knew people could do bad things, but betrayal? Why hadn’t he considered that?

Mallku nervously glanced towards the ocean surrounding him, feeling on edge. He promptly shut the book and returned it to its home in the plastic bag, which was then shoved back into Gabi’s bag.

I’ll leave this here for now and go back down. No one will steal it, so Ari should see it and know I’m alive.

He took another heavy breath before descended.

This time, he was more decisive about his route, choosing to make a straight line down and a straight line back up, where he hopefully wouldn’t have to risk the fear of drowning. More pokémon bounded the ocean floor however, which came as a surprise.

Maybe my appearance triggered their interest?

Two Corsola were bunched up by a half-buried mug, inspecting it with their feelers and chittering about. One of them bit into it, sounding a large crunch while the other Corsola began playing with nearby seaweed, catching the attention of several Remoraid.

Soon enough, more pokémon had started to come closer, crowding around the surface and blocking Mallku’s view.

Welp, Mallku sighed. Let’s do this again. No time to stall.

As he swam his way back up however, the environment began to go quiet, and the sound of distant rumbling began to slowly rise and rise from somewhere distant as the chittering of Corsola and Remoraid became absent, distracting Mallku.

He looked back down, and suddenly, all of the pokémon were gone.

He rose a brow, but didn’t question it further.

The only distant rumbling grew louder as he made his way up, however. Soon he could hear it so well it was the only thing he could focus on. Remoraid and Magikarp that were swimming close by before were either swimming away now, or gone altogether.

I wonder what’s causing all of thi-

A roar screeched itself into his ears, causing Mallku to wince as a large fin struck his back, blaring with pain. The Weavile rocketed a few strokes away, trying not to release his breath as his wounds ached with fervor.

Mallku looked up, finding the jaws of a massive Sharpedo in front of him.

His mind went blank.

…

…

Mallku was walking with his guildmaster. The Ninetales chatted eagerly as the two moved down the town street, watching a setting sun overcome with clouds, over the horizon.

Mallku’s stride was stiffer than normal.

“I really don’t know anymore,” he said, clutching his guild badge. “I tried everything.”

His guildmaster nodded, eyes digressing. “How much of everything?”

“Well, I…” The Weavile groaned. “There are no teams that would invite me. They’re either preoccupied, or just don’t want me. I think it’s because I’m too old.”

“There’s no such thing as that, Mall.”

“Listen, I’ve… been thinking.” He stopped, rubbing his arm. “My teammates were all so supportive of me- they trusted that I could defend them. And, y’know, now that they’re not here anymore I-“ He gasped, shaking off the thought. “I…” He steadied his breath.

“You’re the only friend I have now,” Mallku finally murmured.

His guildmaster looked at him expectedly. “No one else? Not even Pixel and Vector? Cannab only says good things about you.”

“They only do it to be nice.”

“Mallku…” the Ninetales sighed, his neutral expression becoming more despondent. “You have to stop being so hard on yourself. None of it’s your fault, you have to stop feeding into the anxiety. I get your reasoning for being miserable, but I don’t think any of it’s justified.”

“Justified?”

“Mall, I’ll be real with you.” The guildmaster looked him dead in the eyes. “I’ve lived a long life. I’ve gone through much, much more grief and self-loathing than you ever will.

“When my first husband was severely wounded in battle and only had a few days left to live, I wanted to jump off a cliff and bury myself alive. I thought it was my fault for not watching his back. I thought it was my fault for a lot of things. I cried myself to sleep the day before he died.

“But there was one quote he always said that stuck with me.” Suddenly, the Ninetales’s expression grew warmer, softer, and more sympathetic. “He told me the next day. To keep it with me for the rest of eternity.”

Mallku scratched his head. “A quote?”

“When danger tears your world to ruins, you live and learn. And sometimes, when things are falling apart, they’re actually falling into place.”

The guildmaster smiled- big, warm, happy, passionate. “And now I pass it onto you.”

And almost immediately, Mallku remembered his name.

Solar.

Mallku went quiet for a few seconds before returning the smile, albeit shyly. “Thanks, Sol.”

“Why, I’m glad you talked with me! I may not be as bright as you are, but my age shows, and so does my wisdom.” The Ninetales threw back his head, laughing passionately. “I won’t be dying any time soon, so don’t feel bad about talking some more, ‘kay? Cannab and I may run the guild, but we still have plenty of time to spare.”

“What does the Grafaiai get up to when he’s not working?”

“He talks about RV parks and parking garages,” Solar said, pawing at the ground. “I’ve told him we don’t need to waste our reserves on that, but he’s oddly insistent about them.”

“Are those human things?” Mallku asked.

“They are. But I’m getting off topic.” Solar exhaled heavily before smiling again, meeting the Weavile’s eyes once more. “Mall, please don’t give up because of your friends. You still have so much to be happy for. Live and learn, remember? Learn from your past, live to correct your mistakes.”

“Live and learn,” Mallku repeated.

“Live and learn,” Solar agreed.

The Ninetales leaned in to give him a quadrupedal hug- rubbing his head against the Weavile- as much as he wanted to go for a full-blown tackle. Mallku took it respectfully, patting Solar on the back…

Patting Solar on the back…

Mallku blinked.

His vision returned.

He was still underwater, staring down the jaws of a Sharpedo about to tear him to shreds. His body hurt like hell, but he was able to move, and instinctively, energy pulsed into his claws, giving the energy for a surprise attack.

The Sharpedo lunged forward, only to be slashed in the eye after a quick swing, roaring and swimming away. Mallku was forced backwards due to the wave caused by the stroke of its fins, a second later clumsily reeling up to the surface as a large shadow flew over the surface.

He broke air.

How long was he holding that breath? He could have drowned!

“Ack!”

Mallku pathetically spat out the saltwater foaming in his mouth, freezing in the heat. His eyes glanced back to the water below him, and he was relieved to no longer see the silhouette of a massive Sharpedo lurking beneath.

“Mall!” a voice shouted overhead. Mallku looked up, recognizing Ari in the skies, descending.

The Roaring Moon swooped down, nabbing Gabi’s bag in his talons and letting Mallku jump onto his side. As Ari ascended upwards, Mallku weakly climbed onto his back, stumbling a little.

“Oww..” the Weavile cringed, clutching his own back. “Thanks man.”

“What the hell happened there, mate!?” Ari shouted back.

“Sharpedo. Big one, too. Smacked a fin into me, but otherwise I’m fine. An Oran Berry should be good enough.”

“We’re getting a doctor.”

Mallku frowned, still wincing from the pain. “Why? There’s still stuff I missed.”

“Stay calm for a second, I’m almost at the camp goddamnit.”

Mallku groaned, not complaining further.

~

Ruby and Proteus returned to the campground by lunch. Their foraging didn’t really lead to much, as conversation was mostly absent (only light remarks or discussion about the hunt, with a majority of the words from Proteus) and there was little success overall with the value of the earns. Ruby barely bothered to count what they found.

When they stepped into the resting area, they found no pokémon in view.

“I wonder where they are…” Proteus said.

Ruby glanced around.

Distantly, she could hear chatter.

They’re at the beach.

Ruby took the first step ahead.

Proteus grinned, following. “Going without a word, eh?”

“I can hear Tori’s voice,” Ruby replied.

“Oh really now? So good that you can hear her from a mile away?”

“Proteus.”

“I’m just messing with ya, kek.”

They reached the shore soon enough, finding a few familiar faces there chatting.

“Well isn’t that a sight?” Proteus said.

Mai, Todd and Brunia were talking with Alice, Tori, Gabi, Victini and Andesine.

Somehow, the Mienshao, Forretress and Glimmora were alive.

“And best of all,” Proteus chirped. “Todd is here.”

Ruby released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She glanced to Proteus, who simply shrugged.

“Liz is going to be so happy when she sees th-“

“Don’t be too thrilled,” Proteus interrupted. “We’re still one short. However that doesn't matter, because Mai is alive, meaning the show has to keep going.”

Ruby stood baffled, both confused and unnerved by Proteus’s interruption.

“What do you mean one short? Everyone is here.”

“We’re missing a Slowking.”

“Huh?”

“What? You weren’t paying attention? I can’t blame you, no one else was either.”

Ruby began to prepare a rebuttal, but Alice’s voice stopped through her opportunity.

“Rubyyyy! Proteuusss! Everyone’s alive!”

“See?” the Galvantula whispered.

Ruby huffed. “Can you ever just accept that people want to be happy sometimes!? Leave me alone!” she jeered, before walking away.

Why does he always have to be so negative?

Ruby stepped into the circle that the gathering had made, squeezing in between Alice and Tori. Tori’s expression remained neutral (though her brows rose curiously), while Alice gave a welcoming smile.

Mai, Todd and Brunia were still in decent shape from their appearances, however Mai and some of Todd’s shell had taken a few cuts and scratches. Mai’s eyes looked exhausted but she appeared optimistic, paws against her hips with a smile as two bags were thrown over her shoulder.

“It was a rough two days,” the Mienshao began. “But we survived well, even if I did most of the work.”

“Hohoho!” Todd replied, looking up at her. “Don’t do us any disservice! We tried our best too!”

Brunia looks away, the Glimmora murmuring something in the middle of her sulking.

Victini looked at Mai with wonder. “So how did you do it?”

The Mienshao lifted her chin proudly, looking to the sky. “Well, I was in the ship pondering to myself before the fire erupted, and when I moved to check I heard a distant shout from what I presumed was Ruby. When I came out, I could only find Todd and Brunia, so I grabbed what I could and ran with them, and we took a dreary boat over the horizon as-“

“Medic!” someone shouted overhead. Ruby and everyone glanced up to see Ari flying above, someone on his back. “Right now!”

Ruby turned to Alice, whose face filled with worry.

“I-I’ll, I can do it,” the Chimecho murmured.

The Cherrim nodded. “I’m here to help you.”

As Ari landed close by on the beach, Alice and Ruby dashed towards him- Tori, Gabi and the others following.

“Who’s hurt?” Alice asked.

Ari gestured to the Weavile on his back, who was struggling to get off.

“I said I’m fine,” Mallku spat, nervously clutching his wounded back.

Ruby raced forward to support him, standing by his side so that he could lean an arm on her. The Weavile moved sluggishly, assisted by Ruby as she guided him to the log benches further up ahead, where he was carefully sat down with the help of Tori.

“One second,” Alice said, floating closer as the group moved towards the site around the campground.

Alice wrapped her body around his waist, holding her breath as she felt the blood prick on her skin. Ari watched warily, settling a bit farther away so Ruby and Alice could do their job.

“I’ll do one round of Heal Pulse,” Alice notified. “Then we’ll give you berries so that you have something to eat. Ruby, do you know Aromatherapy?”

“My teachers tried to show it to me once,” Ruby murmured. “I never really understood how to activate it.”

“Okay. I’ll opt for Heal Bell instead.”

A soft, green glow emanated from Alice’s bell as she closed her eyes, making soft chimes which circulated outward. Mallku flinched at first, but gradually shifted to the sound of the bell. All of the pokémon close by began to warm up to it too, freeing from the tension.

“No need to worry~” Alice sang. “I’m here… Ruby’s here… we’re all here to keep you safe. I may not be perfect, but I am doing my best.”

Eventually, the bell stopped ringing, and a wave of relief washed over Mallku.

“Thanks,” he whispered. “Can you uh, let me go no-“

“We’re not done just yet,” Alice replied, keeping her eyes closed. “I haven’t used Heal Pulse.”

“Oh.. uh, right.”

“Ruby?” Alice chimed.

The Cherrim hesitated. “Y-Yes?”

“Can you grab some berries for me?”

“I’ll get them,” Tori interjected, moving in the way to dig a stubby hand through Ruby’s bag. She pulled out two Oran Berries, answering, “It’s much faster if I do it.”

Ruby frowned internally. I could have gotten them…

Alice hummed quietly for a few seconds, before replying with a tired “Okay”.

Heal Pulse was similar to Heal Bell, as Ruby had seen before. It started off with the gentle ringing of Alice’s bell, though the light that emanated was much more of a pink, softer color, and moving in a path instead of every direction.

The rest of the process was straightforward.

Victini had a few concerns and questions about the cause of the injury, though they were still content even when Mallku gave a vague answer. The crowd began to break up afterwards- Proteus, Tori, Ruby, Ari, Victini and Alice were the only ones to stay with Mallku. Gabi stayed for a minute, but later left to chat with Andesine and Mai elsewhere.

Soon enough, the questions had become another conversation.

“A Sharpedo?” Tori inquired.

“Yeah,” the Weavile said, moving his arms around to represent its jaws. “Or at least I think so. It looked abnormally big, but I easily avoided it like the expert I am.”

“Expert and yet couldn’t watch where he was going, kek,” Proteus jested.

Mallku sighed, arms sagging. “Give me a break, okay!?”

Tori shook her head pensively.

Proteus snickered. “I think that fake confidence is going to be the death of you, dude.”

“It’s not fake!” Mallku whined, crossing his arms. “I have to sound assertive if I’m going to be a good leader! It’s something my dad taught m-“

“Moving on,” Tori interrupted. “Are we leaving tomorrow? We have everyone. Liz and Lucy should be back soon.”

Ruby could feel Proteus’s pupils immobilizing her.

Victini nodded. “Tomorrow.”

Alice smiled, bowing her head. “Thank you all. I hope you are feeling better soon, Mallku.”

“Thanks.. uh hey wait a second-“ Mallku glanced back to Ari. “The bag! Do you still have it!?”

Ari revealed the soaked luggage under his paw. “It belongs to Gabi,” the Roaring Moon grunted.

He moved forward to give it to Ruby, who accepted it with a nod. “I-I can give this to her Thanks.”

Mallku nodded. “As always.”

Ruby turned towards Alice, Proteus, and Tori. “…Do we find her?”

Proteus smirked. “Do we not?”

“We’ll give it to her,” Tori muttered. She glanced over her shoulder, noticing Gabi by the beach. “Let’s go, gang.”

“Oh so we’re a gang now,” Proteus said.

Tori facepalmed. “It’s a figure of speech, dude.”

“A figure?” Alice asked, snapping out of a trance. “Who?”

“No one. Let’s get moving.”

~

Mallku and Ari were watching the sunset later that day.

“You’re so much like him,” Mallku sighed, toying with a pebble.

Ari rose a brow, the Roaring Moon digging his claws into the sand. “Who? Your guildmaster?”

“No, not Solar…” Mallku shook his head. “…I wish you got to meet him. Them both.”

“Both?”

“Oh, sorry, I’m rambling.”

“Whatever you say, mate,” Ari grunted, directing his gaze away.

Chapter Text

The time had come.

Purple light began to cast from the edges, followed by the teal glow emanating from within the shaped ridges that covered the floor. Stars shined overhead, twinkling across space.

The beloved Hall of Origin.

The area was completely invisible from outside view, unrelated to the fact that the platform was positioned at the peak of the skyline, towering over the Earth directly below.

Bubbles began to rise from thin air, swirling around a burst of blue light in the center of the hall. The surging wave slowly rose and dipped, crashing onto the heaven’s surface, revealing a small, blue pokémon within.

Manaphy.

They looked around but found the area around it empty. Of course, they knew this was all a guise. Manaphy groaned, slowly ambling down the hall.

“I can tell you’re there, you know.”

A flash of rapid color blinked across Manaphy’s gaze, coming to expose itself in front of them. Mew sulked, swishing their tail lightly.

“I didn’t think you would notice so soon.”

“You were the one who organized this,” Manaphy contended. “I know your tricks.”

Mew shook their head. “Eh, some other time I’ll get you.” They began to drift, thinking. “Are Celebi, Meloetta or Keldeo coming?”

“Keldeo, no. Timezone is different farther south. They said they were busy.”

“But the pantheon isn’t even that far away,” Mew whined. “And I gave them the ability to teleport too. Kel doesn’t have any excuses.”

“You say that and yet you’ve forgotten the most important part.”

“Hm? What?”

Manaphy crossed their arms. “We have our people to take care of, unlike the rest of the mythicals. Societies of ordinary, nonspecial pokémon. Our legions, our countries. If Keldeo values their community that much, they shouldn’t need to owe us their time. It’s their decision.”

“That’s dumb,” Mew murmured.

Manaphy sighed.

“If I had that amount of time, I would be doing something meaningful,” Mew said. “Arceus is such a chore to be around.”

“Something like...?”

“I-” Mew momentarily paused. It had been a while since they had reconnected with the other mythical pokémon, ones that weren’t Arceus. Over that time, many of them had seemingly picked up new hobbies, despite Mew’s bitter warnings.

Still, the others had proven their consistent trustworthiness, despite all else and events to concur, so it couldn’t be unlikely that they were doing it in rebellion.

Mew finally sighed, meeting Manaphy’s eyes with a tinge of misery. “I don’t know.”

“Fair,” Mananphy mused. “I’ve tried asking Keldeo what their opinion on an alliance is, but they said they just want their country to be left alone. Said they’re just fine by themselves.”

“Why would they not ally with you!? Your connection is the only way we can prevent Keldeo from rioting behind the scenes. Did you do something to annoy them!?”

“Not that I remember,” Manaphy murmured.

“Is Keldeo even aware of the risks they’re taking by staying out of conflict?” Mew fumed. “Are you?”

Manaphy grew silent.

If the pantheon wasn’t so high above the Earth, they could see the northern lights. Alas, there was still tranquility to be found in the atmosphere, still beauty in the darkness around them dotted with stars. A peace focused and kept, attune to one destined for eternity. To keep that peace, Mew could only imagine the ripple it would cause, trying to prevent disaster from ever springing forth as it is now, with Jirachi on the loose and everyone else complacent, bound for corruption to spill itself amok with no resistance.

Eventually, the water type spoke up.

“I don’t use mortals as comfort.”

“Thankfully not.”

“Excuse me?”

Mew furrowed their brow, clutching their feet in their small, stubby paws. Slowly, the recent events had left increasing amounts of a disturbance the longer time went on- culminating bit by bit. “You know mortals,” Mew muttered. Their voice grew soft, daunted. “So much turmoil. So much war. Mythicals like us were selectively created by Arceus for, you know, more than just engaging with those below us! We keep the peace. We keep the balance. We serve infinitely more purpose than just a temporary displeasure.”

“Temporary… displeasure?”

“They cause so much chaos in such a short time period!” Mew hissed. “It’s hard to take control of them when they reproduce and die so quickly. Plus, killing them doesn’t even provide any purpose, only stalls the inevitable before another one of their offsprings continues their path of destruction. They cannot be contained, cannot be weakened, cannot be wiped out- even if we do exterminate them, we win nothing and lose everything. And Arceus would get rid of me if that happened.”

“Is… this still about Jirachi?” Manaphy questioned. “They’re powerless now. Victini and Heatran alone aren’t enough for them to come back, I’ve said that before. I don’t know why you’re still so irritable about something so small.”

“I know.”

“Then what the hell are you on about?”

Mew shrinked back, furrowing their brow. “Is it not painfully apparent!?” They hated to see themselves argue like this, but someone had to say something. “Jirachi’s going to take advantage of mortals next!”

Manaphy gave Mew a disturbed gawk.

“It’s the most obvious course of action. Just because you and Keldeo lead them for a good cause doesn’t mean Jirachi will too. This is why I hate interference! It causes so much trouble, for so little of a-“

The sound of angelic singing cut through the hall. They turned around, spotting Meloetta at the entrance lightly singing to themselves, clutching their hair as they twirled in song.

“How late was I?” Meloetta asked, halting their chorus to walk up to Manaphy and Mew. They walked with elegance and at a curious pace, flashing a soft smile that made Manaphy shrink back warily. “I was vaguely unaware the meeting was this instant until one of my acquaintances asked me otherwise. My apologies, I should have planned a bit better beforehand.”

Mew rolled their eyes. “You missed nothing.”

“Huh,” Meloetta sensed the blatant sarcasm but didn’t pry. “Well then. What’s the occasion?”

“Melo, you have strong contacts with Keldeo, right?”

“Strong might be an overstatement, but yes, I do.”

“Why aren’t they here!?”

Manaphy groaned, holding Melo off from answering. “We don’t need to continue this conversation. I’ve already answered, they’re busy right now.”

“Oh.” Meloetta glanced between them. “Should I be concerned at all?"

“Can we just… move on from this?”

Mew scowled, holding back the desire to shout. Manaphy stopping them from answering questions was annoying, if not irritating. Still, Mew kept their mouth shut, holding the peace for just a little while longer.

“Fine. We can move on.”

“I appreciate it.”

“As we were saying before you arrived,” Mew continued. “We believe Jirachi to be going after the mortals. I’d hope to keep an eye on them, but no one is certain where they are.

“If Arceus does, they haven’t told us, but that’s not important. We think Jirachi is going to use mortals as a tool to take over the Hall of Origin- especially after the latest incident that happened very recently. The... one that caused them to get banished.”

Meloetta held a hand over their mouth, gasping. “Banishment!?”

“Yes, that’s what happened. And if Jirachi takes control, we’re all in danger.” Mew looked frustrated, swishing their tail arrhythmically. “However, I don’t think killing the mortals is going to sprout any solutions. We need a much safer, more ethical way of going about this.”

“Well, I can agree against the murder part.” Meloetta began to stroke her hair, closing her eyes. “Do we not have the power to stop them in other ways? Perhaps forcing them to split up? Taking the chance of reaching the Hall out of their hands.”

“How would we do that?”

“Yeah,” Manaphy said. “We would need someone close to their destination to intercept their line.”

“...But we don’t know where that line is,” Mew groaned.

“Could we get Keldeo to do it?” Meloetta suggested. “They are on the other side of the continent, but it’s closer than the rest of us are.”

Manaphy groaned. “Always gotta shove the blame to Kel…”

Mew shook their head. “Why do you always have to be so defensive of them? They barely help us! If Keldeo has to take one for the team, then so be it!”

Meloetta sighed. “Let’s not have this right now, okay?”

“Fine.”

“I’m sure we will find ways to have a chat with them, but they seem to be busy at the moment. If they are barely present hereforth, we may discuss their absence.”

“...Where were we again?”

“Stopping Jirachi before they can reach the Hall?” Manaphy replied.

“Right, uh… I guess you’re correct, we don’t have any strong solutions right now.” Mew groaned. “This is all so tiring and we never get anywhere. I hate it.”

Meloetta nodded, holding her hands to her chest. “Well, let me know if there are any updates. I must leave now, take care.”

“But you just got here...?”

“I know, and I’m sorry.” The psychic sighed, turning back to the entrance. “Take care. Do not let Jirachi come a paw near this place.”

“Stay safe,” Manaphy said.

After a brief pause, Meloetta teleported out, leaving Manaphy and Mew alone.

“Wasn’t this the most productive meeting I’ve ever been in,” Mew grumbled, crossing their arms. “Go on. I know you have places to be.”

Manaphy shook their head pensively. “Keldeo, I expected, but Celebi? They’re the entity of time travel. How are they late?”

“They’re probably wandering into trouble again. You know they’re always clumsy with how they move about, always careless.”

“I suppose,” Manaphy sighed.

The two mythicals looked at each other for a brief moment, before Manaphy conceded to Mew’s word and awkwardly departed, leaving a trail of bubbles in their wake.

~

“C’mon, try again, try again.”

Jirachi ripped another piece of paper, throwing it into the bonfire’s blaze. “No, no, no...”

Use grass types as distraction since their type isn’t that necessary; let Arceus waste their attack on them. Strike that stupid idiot from behind with help of Mallku and Victini.

But Mallku is emotionally attached to one of them! He’ll hate it if that happens!

Urgh, try again.

Giratina as a distraction? Not for damage, but to keep Arceus occupied.

No, Giratina’s too valuable to throw away. If there are pawns that need to be sacrificed, then mortals should be the first option- you can’t just throw away a chess piece you spent months bargaining for!

But not every piece can risk being thrown away.

Sometimes bishops and rooks can be just as valuable as kings or queens. An essential rule in chess.

Maneuver the mortals so Ari, Darkrai and Mai take on Dialga and Palkia. Mallku helps focus Arceus. Victini and Hoopa take care of Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf. Mortals are used as bait and additional help, except for the Cherrim who stays put in a corner.

...Because if it dies, Mallku gets upset and loses focus, giving the opportunity for Dumb Idiot to take back the board, and if Mallku crumbles everyone crumbles, because that’s how the game works and it’s impossible to see it any other way.

Jirachi hated the empty space that was left after sorting out each of the roles, but ever since that stupid Grass showed up, Mallku had begun acting weird. Suddenly it was no longer about the big plan or making sure everything went right.

Suddenly, he was absorbed in a game of becoming friends with this pawn, for seemingly no reason at all! Even though he was told that he couldn’t get attached to any of them.

Less time for plans. Less time for strategy. More time for fooling around and useless friendship bracelets and talking about the weather while roasting berries and singing dumb songs about cool sticks you find on the ground and splashing in puddles in the rain and scribbled drawings of each other and stories about pointless fictional adventures and and and and and…

Just thinking about it made Jirachi bitter. Really bitter.

Why was Mallku acting so weird suddenly?? None of it made sense!

The psychic looked down at their notes, tracing the curves of the letters on the page. Writing. Writing of plans. Writing of plans that they didn’t even like at all but were forced to comply with anyways, just so Mallku wouldn’t be mad or distressed and everything wouldn’t fall apart.

Jirachi knew that ever since the day they had met the Cherrim, they would not get along. It was the same for the Reuniclus. And the Whimsicott, of which Jirachi had made a cautionary note that she would make a great meat shield, from her cotton fluff to her face that screamed and begged for a punch to the face.

Of course, Mallku was the only one there that had given Jirachi a sense of restraint that day- even if Jirachi knew they really wanted to test the Whimsicott out in advance. For... educational purposes of course.

The mortals are just tools. The mortals are just tools. The mortals are just tools.

Mallku is a tool.

Jirachi roared, ripping the paper apart and throwing the remaining wad into the fire. The psychic panted heavily, desperately looking around in the dark, relieved that no one was around to watch their panic spiral, and yet also angry that they were alone having to think up this all by themselves.

Try again. New piece of paper, better ink.

Distract Arceus with a conversation, Victini attacks from behind.

No, that failed last time.

Play defensive. Whittle them slowly over time.

Stalling is only going to give them more time to react. Terrible idea, there needs to be more offensive.

Throw everything at once without warning. Attacks, items, anything.

If they somehow manage to shrug it off, all hope is dead.

Let Giratina lead the fight, go from there.

But Jirachi needs to be in the lead. If Giratina accidentally gets the final hit on Big Idiot, everything done up to that point will be pointless, and Jirachi’s quest for power will be futile. What if Giratina randomly attacks the wrong side?

Try original strategy from last time, but keep Victini and Heatran out of the fight against Dialga and Palkia.

What if the mortals aren’t strong enough to take on Dialga and Palkia themselves, and there ends up being more casualties than necessary? Victini and Heatran need to be ready for that.

Same strategy bu-

Jirachi groaned, crossing the words out before the ink could reach the ‘t’.

Okay, no more same strategy. New ideas. Bigger ideas. Greater ideas. More details.

Whimsicott as meat shield against Palkia? Use Falinks as bait for trio? Ari and Liz then take care of Palkia, while Darkrai, Hoopa and Galvantula take care of trio, with Galvantula also useful as an emergency sacrifice in case things go bad. Then Mai, Heatran and Gastrodon fight Dialga. Leaving Reuniclus, Chandelure, Victini and Mallku for prerequisite chip damage against Big Idiot, with Forretress and Chimecho as emergency sacrifices. Cherrim sits in a far corner to not upset Mallku, but can be a fair sacrifice in case the fight goes horribly and needs backup. Giratina is an additional option for damage.

Jirachi tapped their pen on their head, hesitating. It was a good plan. More details was the play after all. There was enough coverage for every pokémon that they expected to fight, with six extra inconsequential pawns for emergencies. If any were to betray, Jirachi still had enough monpower to crush their attempts before true destruction might be unleashed.

At most, Mallku, Victini, Darkrai, Hoopa and Giratina were the only ones that really mattered to save. Heatran might be good to keep alive too, but his worth only amounted to so much.

Jirachi surveyed the paper once more.

Truly, it wasn’t bad.

With a half-hearted grunt, the mythical stuffed the paper into their bag, which was propped up against the side of the log they were writing on.

One day, Arceus will fall, Jirachi mused.

No, Jirachi knew.

And it will be by Jirachi’s hands.

Chapter Text

Mallku and JP returned to the town about an hour later, finding it not quite sundown, but close. They moved down the hill, passing an Ariados guard who stopped them for a quick check before letting the two continue in.

Despite being called a town, Supernova Shore was more of a settlement than anything else. It was too large to be a village, especially after recent years, but the efforts to improve it as a living space (rather than a home for commercial institution as Solar had always intended) were never quite able to prosper long-term.

As such, it had found its footing on viable business ground.

Soon, Mallku and JP had reached the main road, passing many more pokémon and the countless houses and buildings lined around the dirt pathways. Mallku waved to a few friendly faces, receiving a few gestures in return.

The Weavile pointed to a site where several pokémon were at work constructing the frame to a large shed. “Solar says they’re going to be expanding the town to build more independent trades. Although the guild runs the economy, he thinks that allowing for more financial independence will draw in more craftsmon.”

JP merely sneered in response, the lantern sagging in his claws.

“C’mon, it’s not all boring!” Mallku groaned, throwing up his arms. “There’s some fun to it!”

The Magby exhaled a puff of smoke. Mallku pitifully shook his head.

And yet, the truth was… he was right.

Supernova Shore was just under a century old, founded by Solar and his wife after they left a prior guild.

”I wanted a change of pace. I wanted to make an impact in slow times. Did you know this area used to be considered ‘cursed’ before I came here, Mall? Everyone thought I was delirious. And then we made one of the best guilds in the continent. No one judged me after that.”

“When I was a kid,” Mallku continued, ignoring JP’s dismissiveness. “I dreamt of working here. It was the one thing I wanted most.”

JP remained quiet.

“It took a lot of bravery t-“

“I don’t care,” the Magby spat, avoiding eye contact. “Just stay quiet, old man.”

“I-“

Mallku had a response coming but didn’t say it. He rubbed his arm, looking away.

The rest of the walk to the guild was silent.

The building was a step-up in quality compared to the majority of the town, with brick walls and tall windowpanes lining the exterior. An Espurr passed as Mallku and JP slipped inside, meeting cool air which wafted around them as they entered.

“You’re back so soon,” the Inteleon at the counter said as they made their way forward. He brandished a pen with a click, straightening his tie and the badge adorned on it. “What do you have for me today?”

Mallku scratched the back of his head. “I wasn’t planning to go very far. Just a quick trip into the dungeon nearby.” He pulled out a pair of damaged glasses, placing it onto the counter. “Fickle Specs, Maria Jigglypuff, second floor.”

Vector accepted it before quickly jotting down on a piece of paper. “The client will be alerted right away. I’ll handle your rewards and points by tomorrow morning.”

The Weavile nodded, softly smiling. “Thanks man.”

“It’s part of the job,” Vector replied with a chuckle.

Mallku turned his attention back to JP, his shoulder slouching as he sighed. “I guess I have to take you back home too, huh?”

The Magby grumbled, walking away. “Like I need you to watch me.” He turned around, spitting towards Mallku before continuing on his way. “Get a life, old geezer.”

Once the kid was completely gone, Vector awkwardly coughed into his arm. “Where’d the kid learn that insult?” the Inteleon murmured, shuffling papers.

“I thought I’d grow on him by now,” Mallku groaned. “Guess not…”

“Kids can be jerks every now and then. I hate to see a kid grow up to a bully, but there’s only so much you can do, I’m afraid. You can always talk to his parents if it becomes a recurring problem.”

The Weavile nodded, crossing his arms. “I’ll think about it.”

“As you will.” Vector organized all the documents on his desk before stretching and leaning back. “Why does Pixel always give me the hard paperwork? That Ribombee can fly around town delivering letters, spreading news and helping organize events but can’t spend a single minute in here correcting documents with me...”

“Your sister must be pretty busy, huh.”

Vector shrugged. “Our dad never gave us breaks when we were kids anyways. Always making us work, even past sundown.” The Inteleon sighed, mopping his face with a rag. “Did I seriously have to get the desk job? Pixel goes out and commutes with the locals while I’m stuck in here filing papers and signing off manuscripts. I suppose that’s what having a half-sister is like,” the Inteleon murmured under his breath, a muted laugh following.

Mallku scratched at his scarf. “You don’t have anyone who can do the job for you?”

“Bingo. As busy as this place gets, there’s not many who are actually around to keep it operating behind the scenes. Solar’s always overseeing the town, Cannab’s always managing the funds, Chili’s always keeping track of names. The list goes on.

“And you see how lively this town is, and you think ‘Hey, maybe there’s someone who can fill in for you when you’re not there!’, but nah. I’m the only one with the desk job,” Vector said with a shake of his head. “Pixel wonders why I’m always so tired, but I don’t think she sees how long and boring my shifts get when I’m cooped up in here every day.”

“I guess that makes sense, yeah.”

Vector got up, opening and exiting the gate attached to the desk. He looked slick when he wasn’t slouching, but the uncomfortable movement of his hands said otherwise.

“Speak of the devil,” the Inteleon said, gesturing to the door.

Pixel pushed open the glass with all her might, the Ribombee just barely managing to squeeze through with the doll-sized bag thrown over her shoulder. She panted as she flew towards the counter, landing next to Mallku and Vector.

Pixel’s voice dribbled out a low mutter as she righted herself. “Snow is preparing to arrange a marriage with her fiancée, Jasmine said the freight ship should be here by Tuesday, Thomas has plans to build a tent near the outskirts of town...” She gathered her bearings with audible fatigue, taking a deep breath. She turned to Mallku, in which her eyes immediately lit up. “Oh! I didn’t see you there! How did the training in the dungeon go?”

Vector smirked, crossing his arms. “Ask the grumpy kid that just left.”

“It could have gone better,” Mallku admitted.

“Where have you been?” Vector questioned. “We were just talking about you.”

The Ribombee dusted herself off with a satisfied smile. “I flew downtown to the market to talk with Snow, and we had a long discussion over tea.” The fairy’s eyes appeared to glimmer as she recounted the details. “I’ve received the role of administrator in her wedding, and I’ve prepared a priest and several matchmakers to help me organize it. Snow’s girlfriend will be assisting us too.”

Vector smirked. “A wedding?” He turned to Mallku. “Well? Will you be there? Or am I going to be the only odd mon out?”

Pixel’s cheeks puffed with annoyance. “Come on, guys! It’s a town celebration! Everyone here knows each other, so why not show your enthusiasm by going?” She closed her eyes, turning away. “Plus, both of you are always working, never out in the sunlight. That especially goes to you, older brother.”

The Inteleon rolled his eyes. “I didn’t ask for this job, Dad assigned it to me. Guildmaster doesn’t like me taking breaks anyway.”

Pixel sighed, placing her nubs on her hips. “I need to convince Solar to give you a new position.” She giggled, hiding her smile. “Maybe somewhere by the fields, next to that cute Lurantis you like.”

Vector groaned. “I don’t. Have. A crush on her.”

“That’s what they all say,” Pixel teased with a wink. She turned to Mallku. “Sorry you have to get in between our little sibling banter. Mr. Stuck-Up here just needs someone to keep him alert, hehe.”

Vector facepalmed, hiding his embarrassment. “Whatever you say, sis.”

Pixel flew to hang her bag up against the employee’s coatrack before returning shortly after. “Now then. I imagine you have places to be Mr. Mallku? Are you heading to your dorms for now?”

Mallku immediately thought back to Jirachi. I can’t just leave it there alone tonight…

“This is unrelated but, can I take food with me outside the cafeteria?” he asked nervously.

“I don’t see why you can’t,” Vector answered. “Just leave some for the rest ‘s all.”

Can gods starve!?

“Thanks.” The Weavile took a deep breath, moving towards the door. “I’ll uh.. be back. Going to the forest to collect something.”

“Stay safe!” Pixel cheered.

The movement of doors fell silently, and soon, Vector and Pixel were talking with each other.

~

The Poltchageist behind the counter was giving him an uncomfortable stare.

“What have it, you…”

“Some bread and a few berries, nothing more,” Mallku answered.

The ghost drifted back to the table behind them, covered with all types of prepared food and parcels. “Much, how… specific, yes?”

Mallku tapped his claws. “Uhm, probably no more than three?”

“Berries, what...”

“Huh?”

“Type.”

“Uh.. dark and ice…?” the Weavile mumbled.

The ghost only grew more annoyed. “Berries. Kind. Name.”

“I don’t know wha-“

The Manectric next to Mallku turned over his shoulder, groaning. “They’re asking what berries what you want. Just answer, my god. You’re holding the line up for everyone else.”

“O-Oh, whoops.” Mallku was suddenly more aware of the pokémon around him. “Any is fine, sorry. Can I have the food to go, by the way?”

The Sinistcha dropped the plate in front of him, grumbling as they moved to serve other guild members.

Mallku held up a claw. “Wait, but I didn’t ask for a pla-“

His voice died in his throat.

“S-Sorry, nevermind. It’s fine.”

He awkwardly shuffled out of the cafeteria.

I guess I’ll have to find my own bag, then.

~

Soon enough, he was already there.

A gentle claw brushes over a patch of shrubbery, revealing a hidden path off the beaten trail.

Mallku glances back and forth before eventually sighing, covering his tracks with a few swipes and drags of his feet. After returning the spot to its original appearance, he urgently followed down the path, clenching his teeth.

“Do gods like bread? Surely, they’ll accept it right?” he wondered.

What happens if I mess up with this?

He shuddered.

What happens if the guild finds out? Am I danger? What if they find Jirachi before I do?

Strung over his arm was his worn guild bag, storing three loaves of bread and several Mago berries. If he was smarter, he would have bought food from the town’s market. Instead, like the creature of habit he was, he shopped at the guild’s… salad bar.

I mean, it is just bread. Plus, even if they don’t like it, they can have the Mago Berries I brought alongside me. And everyone likes sweet food!

Yeah. Of course that was a good decision; why would he think otherwise?

Right?

Mallku’s eyes flickered about as he recognized a sign up ahead- the one leading to the dungeon. His feet skyrocketed, nearly missing a root that was just a step ahead.

“Gotta be somewhere around here!”

The sign was mostly snapped apart, but from what of the remaining ink was readable, he was able to make out the warning bound to the text.

Vag ant’s Hollow- C tion for Disto tions! Explor s/Rescue s Only

Right. Dungeon hotspot.

Have to be wary for glitchy terrain and signs of a space-time leak.

Mallku picked at his scarf, glancing around. Though he felt like something was about to jump him, the forest was calm, and there was no indication of possible mystery dungeons from what he could see.

I hope they didn’t get caught in the dungeon while I was gone, he sighed.

Mallku stood in front of the sign for a moment before turning around, searching for the three he had seen earlier.

What were they even doing there? I thought gods were supposed to be hidden from pokémon? Did someone else put them there?

His questions were held to a pause as his ears flicked, signaling a brief stop.

“Nghh..”

Mallku assumed a defensive pose, trying to find the source. The voice was.. young, yet stark, and he almost wouldn’t have believed there was a noise at all if he hadn’t seen a weak ember fly out from underneath a bush, scorching a small flower.

“Who’s there?” he shouted, prepared to throw off his bag and fight. All he got was a responding grunt, almost as if ignoring his question. “I uh… I’m not afraid to fight!”

Mallku waited for a few moments before relaxing as no further noise was made. He cautiously stepped towards the dying ember, recalling the real reason he came as his eyes recognized a blur of yellow and orange.

The… “gods”. Right.

Jirachi.

“Hey, uh, you alive…?” the Weavile asked, brushing away a leaf to reveal Jirachi, Victini and Heatran. Filtered sunlight leaned on their bodies, which were just as bruised and beaten as an hour earlier. Out of all of them, Jirachi seemed the most awake, grunting in its slumber as its muscles appeared to twitch. It yawned, throwing an arm to reach for something-

Mallku winced, jumping back as it nearly grabbed his foot.

Too close.

“Uh… I’ll just leave this here,” he mumbled. He set his bag down, preparing to take out the slices of bread and Mago berries before hesitating.

If I just leave the food in the open, it’ll be gone before they wake up. Some feral might take it.

Mallku glanced back, watching as Jirachi coughed and snorted, lazily grasping a handful of dirt in its sleep. The dirt rested on the hand before falling back, returning to the soil.

“I can’t just leave them alone either.”

One of Jirachi’s eyes opened, frightening Mallku with a gasp. His feet swerved, slipping over a root and sending his face right for the ground. The thud came like a shockwave, waking the rest of the mythical up.

Crap!

“Nghh…” Jirachi yawned, wiping dirt from its face. Its head gradually rose, glistening like a corpse from the grave. “Arceus…?” it said, eyes fluttering in unfamiliar light.

Mallku stumbled back, brushing off loose dirt from his fur. “H-H-Hey, uhm…”

Jirachi’s expression grew with shock and fury as it saw the Weavile in front of it.

Its mouth opened, but no sound came.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up!” Mallku shouted in a panic. He tossed a loaf forwards, which landed at Jirachi’s fingertips. “You can eat bread, right? Here, h-have some.”

The mythical gave him a confused stare, before snatching up the loaf.

“Damn Arceus…” they muttered under their breath.

Mallku scratched at his scarf, glancing back and forth. “O-Oh. So you can eat it or…?”

Jirachi groaned, throwing up their arms. “Stupid mortal! For fuck’s sake, either leave or stop making this awkward! Do I look like I’m going to hurt you!?”

“Sorry?” Mallku responded.

For a pokémon this size, it sure talks greater than its size. There's a legendary pokémon made up of a buncha smaller guys that transforms into an even bigger guy, right? I sure hope this little one isn't like that, yikes.

Jirachi turned away, munching on their bread. “Whatever, thanks for the food.” With no manners at all, the mythical ravenously gulped down a large bite. “I’m not in the mood to be captured right now, so fuck off, will you? I’ve seen enough to know that you mortal freaks are only ever capable of destruction.” They grumbled some more as they ate. “Baiting me with food, huh? You’re already a step smarter than the last guy.”

“Come again?” Mallku asked. What are they on about?

Jirachi glanced back to shoot a mean stare at him. “Let me spell it out for you, mortal. You’re not worth my time. Scram.”

The Weavile sighed, standing up. With it looking like the polite approach wasn’t working, he tried something different. “L-Listen okay, I’m not here to take advantage of you! I only saw you lying here earlier, so I came back to bring something to eat. I don’t know much about legendary pokémon, but I saw someone in need of help, so I came.”

“First off, it’s mythical. Second, I don’t even need your-“

Jirachi paused.

“What did you just say?”

Uh.. crap, how do I respond?

“I brought you food because you were in need of help?” I guess I’m trying the honest approach.

The psychic stopped for a moment, staring down at their bread.

Expressionless.

Mallku’s lip curved.

“Why would you help me?” Jirachi asked bitterly. “Mortal.”

Mallku sat down next to them, rubbing their back. “Because that’s what I do. I help people. I help all kinds of pokémon.” His smile was soft. “And I helped you, y’know. If I hadn’t seen you out here, you could have starved.”

Jirachi’s eyes went wide for a moment.

“Starved?” they repeated.

“Yeah?”

Jirachi shook it off, hissing. “God! If it wasn’t for that damn son of a-“

They attempted to float upwards, but nothing happened.

“Huh?”

“Is something wrong?” Mallku asked.

“I can’t fucking levitate!?” Jirachi screamed. They threw their loaf of bread into a bush, panting. “No no no nononono, what did those assholes do!?” They tried to use Psychic on a nearby branch, but the branch didn’t move an inch. They squirmed. “What happened to me!? Why can’t I use moves!?”

Jirachi turned their attention to a Skwovet overhead, which was climbing up a tree. They held up a finger to Mallku, saying, “One damn second.”

A flash of grey light burst from their fingertips, firing directly towards the feral. It hit it directly on the nose, creating a short explosion of color as the feral dropped dead on the ground in front of them, recoiling from the hit.

Jirachi panted, wiping some sweat off their brow. “Okay. I can still use Flash Cannon. That’s one.”

Mallku, of course, still had no idea what was going on.

He stood up, rubbing his shoulder.

“Did you like, lose your powers or something?”

Jirachi hissed. “Damnit, looks like I did.” They turned to him, looking slightly annoyed. “Listen, mortal. I’m in a really tough spot right now, and I don’t have time for bullshit. Since you know I’m here, you may as well help me.” They scoffed. “What’s your name? Answer.”

The Weavile tapped his claws. “Uh.. Mallku. Sorry for the bad introduction by the way.”

Jirachi shook their head. “It’s whatever.” They glanced back to Victini and Heatran, who were still asleep. “What the hell am I going to do with these freaks…” they muttered.

“Come again?”

“Nothing,” Jirachi replied, as they coughed into their arm.

“Okay.”

Jirachi flexed their fingers, staring down Mallku. “Let’s get something straight, mortal. You are not above me. And you will never be above me.” Talking down to him made Jirachi smirk a bit, but Mallku felt that the mythical was hiding something. “From now on, you’re under my rule, mortal. If I tell you to do something, you do it. A whiny asshole stole everything from me, and now I’m using you to help me take it all back.”

Mallku was still confused, but nodded? How am I so calm about this!?

“Look at me bullying peasants around,” Jirachi muttered under their breath with a larger smirk, quiet enough that he couldn’t hear. “Wouldn’t Keldeo be proud of me? Stepping down to that idiot’s level, how pathetic.”

“Anyways!” the mythical said, reaffirming their tone and staring at Mallku. “Let’s not make this a weird, pet thing. Because… unlike a certain someone… I don’t engage in imaginary fetishes, and that is exactly why we’re staying on strictly business terms. No ‘master’, no freaky power dynamics, none of that, that’s disgusting,” they finished with a sickened groan.

Mallku looked at Jirachi blankly. “So uh… like friends?”

“Sure, whatever, just don’t make it weird,” Jirachi muttered. “Another thing I’ll have you know. The only reason I and my two other freakers are stuck like this is because that damn asshole Arceus wrongfully banished us.”

They took a step forward, making Mallku wince. “I hate Arceus. They took everything and more from us. They ruined our lives. They do nothing but ruin the world they created, like some sort of freaky puppet master with no emotion or empathy. And it won’t be long before they ruin yours too.”

“I…” Mallku rubbed his arm, awkwardly smiling. “Uh, okay. So he’s like the bad guy? Huh, I didn’t know the creator of the universe was such a mean pokémon. I guess I was wrong about that the entire time, huh.”

Jirachi’s grin grew voraciously.

“You’re learning. You’re learning quick. You’re already the most perfect mortal I’ve ever met.”

“Uh, thanks,” Mallku murmured. “So what can I do to help you then? I have some money and good contacts if that’s anything. You three looked pretty beaten up earlier, it’s the least I can do.”

Jirachi played with their tassels, thinking. “Good, good. We’ll collect some disposable pieces, and we can finally take back what’s ours.” Their eyes locked in on Mallku. “You will never regret what you have done after all this.”

“Uh… okay.”

“But we need power,” Jirachi argued. “Riches, pokémon, strength, a way to crawl back into the Hall of Origin. I can handle that last one, but the rest is going to be up to you.”

Mallku gave an uneasy smile, nodding. “I’ll try.”

“Trying isn’t enough.” Jirachi held up a handful of dirt, balled up in their fist. “People will do nothing but beat you into the ground and call you worthless. They’ll take everything from you, lock your friends away, and destroy your very world. Do you seriously want that? Are you really going to tolerate ANY of that!? We need to kill Arceus. It’s the only way we can stop them for good.”

Mallku tilted his head, confused. “…What happens if we kill them?”

This is a lot of weight to bear. Am I seriously capable of going through with this?

Jirachi chuckled apprehensively. “I become the ruler of the universe, obviously, and all the evils of the world die with Arceus. It’s the only way that makes sense. It has to be. The world will be better under my rule, anyways. And oh, don’t worry. You’ll be at the right hand of my throne, commanding all mortals to bow down to me.” Jirachi snickered. “You’ll be the last person I ever think of throwing away, promise. Don’t you want that? To do good? This is the best way you can achieve that dream. By helping me achieve mine.”

Jirachi dropped the dirt in their hand, letting it fall to the soil before rubbing it in with their foot. “From now on, we beat people into the ground. But we can’t do that if we play nice. Not when pokémon betray you and laugh at you with their greedy tongues, those wretched, poor excuses of bastards. Azelf, Mesprit, Uxie, Dialga, Palkia. We need them dead to truly save the world. All gone. Forever.”

Their voice suddenly grew cold, their stare colder. “Do you understand, Mallku?”

The Weavile backed up a bit. “Uh…”

What have I just gotten myself into?

~

It was the next day when Mallku was knocking at the guildmaster’s doorstep.

“Come in! Come in!”

He twisted the knob lightly, feeling the sweat unravel from his claws as he opened the door. He turned to see Solar reading a book at his desk, the Ninetales wearing his reading glasses as he flipped a page over with a paw.

“Your excellency, sir.”

The room was dimly-lit, softly illuminated by the rays of oranges that pressed their way through the window blinds on the other end of the room. Solar’s desk sat on the left wall, amongst the many books and shelves scattered around him.

Solar looked up from his book, smiling. “Why, if it isn’t my good friend Mallku. Have you come for updates on the new recruits? You’ve been doing an exceptional job teaching them the ways of the guild, I’m thoroughly impressed.”

Mallku began biting his claw, glancing away. “Er, i-it’s something else actually.”

“Oh?” Solar said. He lifted his book away with a wave of psychic energy, placing it back on its shelf. “Come forward, have a seat,” he beckoned.

He levitated a bar stool cushion that was located across the room, sitting it down just in front of his desk.

“Th-thank you,” Mallku replied, taking the seat.

“Now, what brings you here?”. Solar put a paw on his desk, leaning forward. “You can always tell me anything.”

The Weavile rubbed his arm. “Uh… I had a question. I-I also came for some advice, I suppose.”

Solar nodded. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s er… a little complicated.” Mallku sighed, holding up his claws. “And you promise you won’t tell anyone? Even if it’s a problem that’s uhm, larger than ourselves? Does that make sense?”

“Larger than ourselves…?“ the guildmaster repeated under his breath. For a second Mallku thought he had completely lost the Ninetales in his confusion before relaxing when Solar’s proud expression returned. “I know you trust me the most out of everyone in this guild, which is why I must say that although you may be nervous, I only have as much faith as you do in yourself.”

His look was brazen. “If you came here to speak to me and me only about this subject, then you must surely believe that I am the person whom you should talk to.”

Mallku glanced back down at his badge, holding it in a claw.

”You must surely believe that I am the person whom you should talk to.”

He placed it back on his scarf.

“Well uhm, about that. You know I don’t have anyone else to turn to, anymore.”

“I understand.”

Mallku shook his head. “I just don’t know if I do.” He glanced away, feeling his neck burn with an unprecedented itch. “Do you know about the pokémon Jirachi?”

“Hm, not very much. Are you talking about the one from the books?”

“I uhm-” Mallku’s voice went low. “I-I-I found them in the forest yesterday. Just sleeping on the ground. I talked to them when they woke up. And I kind of... need help?”

Solar only looked the slightest bit surprised. “O-Oh, is that… not a normal occurrence? What do you need help with?”

Crap. Am I in trouble?

Mallku sighed, still looking away. “L-Listen, I won’t burden you too heavily. I just need some advice and maybe some time away from the guild. That’s all.”

Solar closed his eyes, musing. “I imagine this Jirachi character must be giving you a problem.” He sat straight, gesturing towards the Weavile to look him in the eyes. “Is this anything I should be concerned about myself?”

“N-No, I don’t think so. I would prefer if it wasn’t, honestly.”

“Alright, then. I will leave it at your discretion and yours alone. While you’re here, however. I must put into question, what do you need of me?”

“Uh, nothing big,” Mallku mumbled. He tapped his claws on his chair. “Well, I guess having somewhere to move Jirachi would be a good start. I can’t just leave them in the forest, but moving them into town might draw some suspicion. And th-they’ve got two friends I saw yesterday- even though they never woke up even after Jirachi went back to resting, so I guess I’ll have to factor them in as well.”

“I just don’t know where to move them,” he admitted, continuing. “Based on what I talked with them about, they seem pretty weak at the moment, so they can’t fly or anything or teleport away. If I take them anywhere, we’ll have to move on foot.”

Solar took it all in, nodding along. “And remind me again why this pokémon is important?”

“It’s a-apparently because they’re a mythical pokémon?” Mallku faltered. “I don’t really know the details. It’s not something the average mon knows about, anyways. I was really shocked myself to see Jirachi too.”

“So you’re telling me I’m only hearing about this now, huh?” Solar laughed. He got off of his seat, drinking from a bowl of herbal tea by the window. “I suppose we barely know anything more than we think.”

Mallku got up as well. “Yeah, I guess so. Should I uhm. Open the blinds?”

“Nono, keep them closed, I like it that way, ahaha.” The Ninetales took a big sip as Mallku leaned on the sill, directly next to him. “I’m sure we can work something out, Mall. You seem to deeply care about this issue as you have gone about it.”

Mallku sighed, looking outwardly. “I guess so.”

Solar took another sip from his bowl. “Care for tea?”

“I’m good,” Mallku responded awkwardly, holding up his claws. “I ate this morning anyways.”

“Never doubt a ghost who can cook,” Solar countered with a smile. “What? Too modest to partake in a drink with your guildmaster? You know I don’t bite.”

Mallku sighed again, more nervous. “I.. don’t know.” Jirachi’s smirk flashed in his mind. “I’m just a little lost right now. And I, well, it looked like Jirachi was more serious about this than they were implying. And I can’t just leave them behind. They looked pretty hurt, it was hard to say no.”

Solar took a sip. “Hm, I suppose you’ve found a new path then?”

“I… guess so,” Mallku replied, hesitant. “It’s something I’ll have to figure out.”

Chapter Text

It was around three hours after midnight when Proteus was crawling through camp, weaving around sleeping bodies as what little darkness was left cloaked him. He snuck gracefully and moved quickly, avoiding any snoring pokémon or any change of terrain that might stall him.

His smirk grew when he passed Victini.

After a minute of glancing around- he spotted the mon he was looking for. The color yellow was as obvious as ever.

His pedipalps carefully loosened a bag from Jirachi’s grasp, a stupid grin on his face as he dragged it away underneath a bush. Cautiously, he opened it up, revealing the contents.

His eyes surveyed the items before quickly deciding what he wanted- a Slumber Orb and a few papers- and disposing of the bag by dropping it next to where Jirachi was sleeping.

“My, my…” he whispered, rolling the orb away with the papers stashed in his bandanna. “A successful heist. Slow but steady increments, and they’ll be none the wiser.”

He left the orb stashed behind the makeshift tent, half-burrowed so it wasn’t immediately obvious it was there. Soon after, he wandered farther away from the camp, dumping the papers in a cozy alcove between the roots and an overhanging night sky and sitting down with a chuckle.

“Alright. Let’s see what those ruffians had planned, kek.”

He flexed his pedipalps, releasing a breath and holding the first paper up to his eyes.

List of potential threats.

Proteus was already interested.

Chandelure: lesser authority, strong and fast, always has issues agreeing to plans
Reuniclus: does not comply to orders
Falinks: does not comply to orders
Galvantula: creepy and suspicious

“You really couldn’ta have given me a better description, eh?”

He skipped to the next paper.

Plans for meeting Darkrai and Hoopa.

“Now we’re going somewhere.”

Arrive sometime in the afternoon. Allow them to come to us. In the meantime, train pokémon and gather resources. Leave the following noon if things go as planned.

He soon skipped to the third page. At this point, he began skimming.

Enter the pantheon at Mount Coronet. Steps for when we get there:

Proteus yawned, moving onto another.

Goals achieved so far:

“Nah, screw it.” He took the papers out of order, placing them all separately on the ground so he could survey them, laid out all at once. His eyes glanced over each of the pages before (finally) catching onto the one he was looking for.

“Ah, here it is.”

Whimsicott as meat shield against Palkia? Use Falinks as bait for trio? Ari and Liz then take care of Palkia, while Darkrai, Hoopa and Galvantula take care of trio, with Galvantula also useful as an emergency sacrifice in case things go bad. Then Mai, Heatran and Gastrodon fight Dialga. Leaving Reuniclus, Chandelure, Victini and Mallku for prerequisite chip damage against Big Idiot, with Forretress and Chimecho as emergency sacrifices. Cherrim sits in a far corner to not upset Mallku but can be a fair sacrifice in case the fight goes horribly and needs backup. Giratina is an additional option for damage.

Proteus smirked- no, he grinned.

“They’re going to regret leaving such valuable information so unoccupied.”

The Galvantula gave it another few quick reads, all to assure himself that he wasn’t dreaming.

“So they want to use Tori as a meat shield. Hilarious. Well, now that I know, I definitely won’t give them any chances, kek.”

Carefully, he folded the papers back up before turning back to the camp with the documents in his pedipalps.

~

“We don’t have all day, gang! Let’s get a-wakin' and a-packin’!”

Victini’s excessive shouting thundered across the campgrounds, reaching mons as far as the shores. From a bird’s eye view, it could be seen that Victini wasn’t just yelling out commands but also doing some work themself.

All the while, Ruby dithered in front of her tent with Tori in front of her, dusting her off.

“I feel so sleepy...” the Cherrim murmured, yawning.

Tori put her stubs on her hips. “Better to be well-rested than well-exhausted.” The Whimsicott looked to the sky. “Take it easy today, okay? I know I kinda freaked out the days before. I… I took it too personally, and that was my fault.” She shook her head. “God, I need to work on voicing my emotions.”

“I’m always here if you need it.”

Ruby unveiled a stub, reaching for Tori’s arm.

“You know you don’t have to do it alone.”

Tori turned away impishly, crossing her arms as she hid her blushing. “You care too much...”

Their aside was put on hold as a familiar psychic levitated towards them, catching both grass-types’ attention. “Yo! Rubes, Tores! Are you two packed yet?”

“There’s not really anything to pack,” Tori replied. “Ruby and I have just been talking for the past few minutes. Alice is washing her face by the shore, and we haven’t seen Proteus.”

“Strange,” Gabi said, putting a hand to her chin. “Well, should we try to round them up? Everyone’s forming into their own little groups at the moment, so we best form our own too.”

Tori shrugged. “That sounds fine.”

Ruby nodded in agreement. “We can do that now. M-Mallku would be disappointed if someone went missing.”

Gabi gave a thumbs-up. “Cool beans.”

At Gabi’s gesture, they followed her down to the beach towards Alice and Lucy. The Chimecho and Chandelure appeared to already be talking when they arrived, as their conversation stopped when they noticed the trio.

“Hello, hello!” Alice chimed.

Tori gave an awkward wave, Gabi gestured finger guns and Ruby made a short nod.

“Uh, hey. Ready to go?” Ruby asked.

“Just about,” Lucy said. Her eyes had a soft glow to them, a magenta lighter than her flames. “It’s much warmer up north, so be prepared. That shouldn’t be a problem to you grass types, but the desert is dangerous without knowing what to expect.”

Before Ruby could respond, Mallku’s distant voice interrupted her.

“We’re heading out now! Everyone meet up at the campfire right away!”

“Uh, that was quick,” Tori murmured. She glanced to Gabi. “We’ll go grab our things, wait for us there.”

“You got it.”

The Whimsicott led the way, Alice and Ruby following.

“So, what have you been up to with Mallku?”

“Hm?”

“What’s he like? As in, what have you been up to?”

Up to...?

“Uh, he’s fine,” Ruby murmured. “But he keeps trying to talk me into battling.”

“How much is he around you?”

How much?

“I d.. don’t know. I don’t mind him, but I wish he’d just talk to other pokémon instead.”

Tori’s muscles relaxed a bit. “So, he just talks to you?”

“I’m not sure.”

The Whimsicott sighed. “Okay.”

There wasn’t much to pack up of course, so they were done less than a minute later. On the way to the meet-up, they found Proteus sleeping behind a tree, who joined the group shortly after. The rest of the division had already settled by the campfire, talking amongst themselves while sharing supplies or general chatter.

“And that’s everyone!” Mallku shouted, leaping down from the log he was standing on. He threw a bag over his shoulders and scooped Jirachi into his arms. “No time to waste, let’s go!”

Welp, I guess that’s the signal.

As Ruby exhaled a nervous sigh, she turned to Tori. “D-Do you want to lead us?”

“Uhh.. sure?”

Victini and Andesine trickled behind Mallku, with Mai and Liz following suit and Ari flying overhead. Heatran sulkily headed to the back of the line near Lucy, while the rest funneled into the middle, creating an awkward stroke that pushed Ruby between Gabi and Proteus.

The foliage was profuse and thick, as she would soon learn several minutes into the trek, and every time Ruby would crouch under a branch, she would quickly be confronted with another, even with Gabi waving aside most of the obstacles. A trail of sticks and leaves fell behind the Reuniclus as she pushed forward, an inconvenience for the rest behind her.

“Do you really have to make it harder for us?” Ruby murmured.

Gabi snorted. “Ha, I’m only making it easier.”

Given that the forest was dense, it was also fairly shaded as well. A low fog hung faintly in the distance, brewing with a warning of caution that made the line slow down, causing a temporary bump near the back. Wading through the mess, Ruby found herself tense.

As the group picked up the pace a few minutes later however, she felt more relieved.

“Is there supposed to be such heavy fog?” she murmured.

Proteus heard her and laughed. “Are you scared?”

“No…”

Mallku’s voice rang from ahead. “Seems like we’re entering a buckle, keep your eyes peeled gang! Watch your step too, I don’t want anyone accidentally falling into a dungeon!”

A dungeon…?

“Oh right, this area is familiar,” Proteus said. “We were in one as you know, somewhere around here. Gabi couldn’t see from all the fog, we ended up getting lost, and winded up somewhere completely different. It’s pretty bizarre, kek.”

Ruby tucked in her petals. The slope curved around a flat brook, the line now forced to follow through due to the large trees obscuring the rest of the forest. All of this among hanging vines and the tall grass they were forced to weed around.

“Wh..what was it like?”

“The dungeon?”

Ruby nodded. “Y-Yeah. What um, did it look like?”

Proteus was no longer crawling behind her now. He moved to the Cherrim’s left, against her reluctance.

“It was strange, for one. I didn’t even realize we were inside a dungeon until Gabi pointed it out to me, kek. It looked exactly like the forest, yet oddly narrow, with straight corridors and unbreakable walls made of vines and bark.”

Just like how the books described it, Ruby pondered. But why are the walls unbreakable? How does the distortion break apart some things, but bind together others?

“Did you see any other pokémon?” Ruby asked.

“We found a Skwovet and Tangela,” Gabi answered. “They looked pretty freaked up and attacked us on sight. I bet they were in the dungeon longer than we were, which made them go crazy.”

“Freaked up?” the Cherrim mumbled.

Proteus tapped his pedipalps on the ground. “Bloodshot eyes, unpredictable movements, malnourished bones. Pitiful creatures. Thankfully, we killed them before they could land a hit, ahaha.”

“Did you really have to use the word kill!?” Gabi jeered. “Hey now, you can’t be sayin’ that shit around Alice, man.”

“My bad, kek.”

Ruby sighed before glancing back. Alice was completely unaware, looking elsewhere.

“Don’t worry Ruby,” Gabi followed up. She lagged behind a little to pat the Cherrim on the back, extending a reassuring nod to her. “Your girl here always cares about the safety of others, and that’s why I always do what’s right, rather than what’s easy. Unlike what this guy may lead you to believe, we didn’t actually hurt those wild pokémon at ALL.”

“Don’t act like you weren’t the one wh-“

“Hush, pest.”

“I’m no pest to you,” Proteus teased.

Tori groaned from the front. “Just quit it you two. We don’t need this every day.”

Phew.

Gabi and Proteus finally shushed.

The walk was silent for a while. Ruby was dismayed that the bickering had cut short her quest for answers from Proteus, admittedly. Fearing it could happen twice however, she decided not to ask again, instead conceiving as the group led their way around the distortion’s sphere of influence.

Still, as the Cherrim would learn, the malformation of the area was far more complex than she could imagine. Along the way, many of the ridges and lenticels on the bark of trees almost looked… warped. The patterns found on the wood was unnatural, in strange shapes that couldn’t possibly be formed on the trees’ own nature- straight lines, spirals, perfect circles, stars. Too perfect for a pokémon to have made them. Whatever power laid in the hands of the distortion was... unfathomable. That was what Ruby believed.

Which was precisely why she was astonished when she saw what was past the fog.

“The distortion created all of this?” Tori gasped.

Alice huddled close to Ruby, hugging her side. As the forest grew more spacious and the fog became less and less, the ground was also much craggier and more varied, with steep slopes connecting to several small openings of deep, dark pit holes. The forest greatly opened up at a certain point, revealing a large, bountiful clearing further ahead.

Ruby pushed to the front of the crowd to see it herself, standing at an overhang where Mallku and Victini had stopped at.

Ferns jittered upon moss-ladened stones that appeared to be intertwined with tree roots, creating strange, earth-crusted groundings. Many wild pokémon- Bellsprout, Sentret, Spinarak and Anorith- were out and about, pursuing their lives with natural indifference.

Ruby glanced to Mallku, who was just as confused as her. “Are there supposed to be so many pits here?”

“No, and I can’t imagine pokémon having done this either…” the Weavile moaned, resting his claws on his forehead. “Space-time distortions can really warp the environment to varying degrees whenever they pop up, and I think this is an example of their damage.”

The twisting of the environment was incomprehensible. Vegetation had completely overtaken the forest from bottom to top- while there was more empty space here, the ground was just as weeded and dotted, which seeped into the caves as well.

It was… scary.

”Can’t imagine pokémon having done this either…”

“How did it happen?” Ruby asked.

“It’s because there’s an imbalance,” Liz replied, sitting down cross-legged. She dug her roses into the dirt, creating what looked like a pulse into the ground- a flow of green light budding from the tips and shooting outwards in all directions- which hit a nearby tree root and made it crinkle. The Roserade closed her eyes, resuming a calm posture. “The energy created by the distortions is so overflowing that it seeps into the surrounding area, creating unevenness in the environment.”

Mai traced her palm on the bark of a tree completely engulfed in moss. “Why does that happen?”

“All this nature, it gains more energy than what is normally healthy,” Liz replied. “The plants and trees grow to enormous sizes, and their roots dig far into the soil.” The Roserade pointed to a wild Yanma buzzing above them. “It can often lead to pokémon being hurt or trapped in dungeons, which is not good for the ecosystem. That does not even mention other issues, such as water scarcity, which can happen as well.”

Ruby inspected the tree root that had been affected by Liz’s pulse. “Wh-Why does the dungeon create so much energy?”

“No one knows,” Victini shrugged. The mythical flexed their paws. “Dialga and Palkia know about the dungeons but have never done anything to stop it. I bet it’s not enough of a concern for them, eh.”

Mallku shook his head pensively. “But if innocent pokémon are being hurt, shouldn’t they be doing something? Don’t they care?”

Jirachi groaned. “Don’t expect those idiots to care about anyone other than themselves.”

Liz gave Jirachi a skeptical glance.

Alice hid closer to Ruby, looking worried. “Are you alright?” the Chimecho whispered.

Ruby nodded, turning to her. “Yeah, j-just thinking at the moment.”

Alice nodded back. “Are you thinking about the distortion?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey Ruby,” Mallku interrupted, walking up to them. “Can I have you for a moment?”

Alice and Ruby glanced to each other with expressionless concern before the Cherrim spoke up.

“Uhm. Sure. What d-do you need help with?”

Liz appeared behind him, holding an orchid flower.

“How good would you say you are at manipulating floral energy?” the Roserade asked.

Ruby winced. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never had to.. do that? No one really taught me.”

“But you can use grass-type moves?” Jirachi grunted.

Mallku hugged Jirachi tighter, against their squirming. “Hey, relax.”

“It’s fine,” Liz said. The sound of Mai swatting at Yanma nearby made her smile with embarrassment. “I... could maybe teach you sometime. I figured that since you are more closely related to flowers, and were specifically chosen by Mallku, you would be more knowledgeable than me.”

The Weavile rose a claw. “Well, er, uh about th-”

“So are we going!?” Ari shouted above.

Ruby completely forgot the Roaring Moon was still with them.

“Yeah!” Victini shouted back.

Liz nodded, sounding a low murmur. “We can discuss this some other time, then.”

The walk picked up once more. Ruby and Alice decided to stay up at the front behind Liz, as Mallku led the line through the clearing. Few wild pokémon took notice of them.

When they came down the slope, the effects of the dungeon were much clearer. They passed a few holes- Mallku made his best effort to avoid them, but was occasionally forced to circle around them due to the tallgrass nearby being much worse to claw through. The holes were deep and crooked and everything else Ruby expected. She spotted a Noibat sleeping somewhere down there, hiding in the obscurity.

The pokémon in this environment were none like she had seen before. Wild, indifferent and completely absent of society. Uncultured, but maybe not savages, she imagined.

She wished her aunt was here so she could see how beautiful this place was.

Jemma was always a living jewel. What would happen do if she...

If she...

Ruby stopped. Mallku noticed and stopped as well, looking confused.

“Hey, Mallku?” the Cherrim said.

“Yeah?”

The others stopped. She shouldn't be making a scene, but this moment was too thoughtful to ignore.

“Do you uh, mind if I t-take a souvenir?”

“A souvenir?” Victini mumbled.

Alice’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh, can I take one too!?”

Mallku set Jirachi on the ground and held up his claws. “Uh…. hey, wait hold on. We can’t just stop now, r-right? At this pace, we won’t make it out of the forest befo-”

“I disagree,” Mai interrupted, pushing past the Weavile. She playfully winked at Ruby, who froze with surprise. “Why, if she wants to take a ‘souvenir’, why shouldn’t she be able to?” She squatted to Ruby’s eye level, rubbing her back affectionately. “So, what do you have in mind?”

“Uh...” Ruby trembled as all eyes laid on her, suddenly unsure about what she was about to say. “M-M-Maybe like a colorful f-flower or a g-gemstone? There’s uhm.. someone I want to give it to when we’re done.”

“Works for me,” Victini responded.

Jirachi, however, was furious.

The psychic glared at Mallku, fists tightly clenched. “But we ca- You can’t just..” They let out a tense breath, only growing more angry. Their eyes jumped to Mallku. “WE HAVE A MISSION, MALL. Do you seriously care about anything!? Because from the way you’re acting right now, you clearly do not!”

Victini smirked, indifferent to their anger. “Relax, Jirachi.”

“And now you’re against me too!?” Jirachi roared. “Are you seriously letting these dumb mortals stop our mission because one of them wanted to pick flowers!? Do you not care about what Arceus did to you, how they ruined yours and everyone else’s fucking life!?”

Mallku frowned, holding his claws up. “Hey, hey. No need to be upset. It won’t be long, I promise. We’ve been walking all day; we can have one break.”

Jirachi spat at the ground before promptly storming off.

“Awkward,” Todd mumbled.

Mallku scratched his head, turning to the rest of the group. “Welp, I guess that means we’re on lunch break. Uh…. as for rules, don’t stray too far, don’t get into too much danger. I’ll announce when we get back on the road, I guess.”

The Weavile defeatedly scurried down Jirachi’s path, with Victini following.

It was silent for a moment.

But then,

“Hey, nice job!” Mai cheered with a raised paw, turning to Ruby.

“Uh.. wh-what did I do?” the Cherrim stammered.

Tori hugged Ruby tight. “You pissed off that guy so bad we get a free break! You saved us!”

A small blush flashed across Ruby’s cheeks. “Uh, I mean I guess I-“

Ari landed close by, groaning. “Good riddance. Well, I’ll be back. Mallku owes me a drink. Literally.”

And he flew off.

“Well?” Mai asked.

“I’ll get some food going,” Liz offered.

Todd spun in delight. “And I shall help, hohoho!”

Ruby, Tori and Alice were left alone as everyone else split off. Some went to start making lunch in the center of the field, some ran off into the wilderness (perhaps out of their own business), and others remained to chat. All of it happened in what felt like a second, and Ruby barely had any time to process it.

“Well, that was fast,” Alice said with a smile.

“Thankfully so,” Tori debated.

Ruby shook her head. “Why was Jirachi so angry?”

“Must’ve not slept much,” Tori shrugged.

“And you’d be exactly right, kek.”

Gabi and Proteus appeared, waving their hello’s. “I found some important info this morning that I think you’d be interested in,” Proteus said, with a sneaky grin.

Tori gave a confused glance to Gabi. “…Did you know about this?”

“Nah,” the Reuniclus answered. “Bro only starts talking about secrets when other people show up. Kinda rude if you ask me.”

“I don’t apologize,” Proteus snickered. “Anyways... hey, Gabi, look in your bag.”

“Why?”

“You’ll understand.”

Gabi rolled her eyes. “Whatever, nerd.”

She took off her bag, unzipping it. Inside, she revealed several pieces of paper (ignoring the not-suspicious orb underneath them), which given her expression were definitely not there before.

“Papers, please.”

Gabi grunted. “You’re not the boss of me.”

“Did I say I was?”

“Pfftt, you sure act like it.”

Tori let out a roaring groan, facepalming. “Just pull them out.”

Gabi passed the papers to Proteus.

“Now then,” the Galvantula gestured. He passed the ground with his pedipalps before rubbing them gleefully. “Say, how much do you know about Jirachi’s plan already?”

Tori rose a brow. “That it’s a load of Rapidash shit?”

“Close. It’s actually a load of Arcanine shit, but I don’t the think the specifics matter here. Point of the matter, I stole several papers from Jirachi last night, which all appear to be plans for the future that Jirachi is leading us to believe. I won’t explain too much, but the ideas are… frightening.”

Tori rolled her eyes. “What’s frightening about some pieces of paper? If they make us do dumb stuff, we just won’t do them. Simple.”

“One idea plans to use you and your “stupid face” as a pillow.”

“What.”

“To put it shrimply, we are all in danger.” His eyes turned to Ruby. “Mostly.”

It was at that moment when Tori realized Ruby had completely gone quiet.

“Talk about frictionless vacuums,” Proteus remarked. “You’ve spaced out.”

Gabi glared at him. “And that’s an astronomically bad pun.”

“I wish I could tell jokes as good as you all,” Alice quietly chimed, making her presence known. “You’re all so funny…”

Ruby was still quiet.

Tori rubbed Ruby’s back. “Hey, you awake?”

The Cherrim stumbled a little, kicking the dust under her feet in her stupor. In a low voice, she mumbled, “Yeah.”

“Is something bothering you?”

“Uh… no, not really.” Ruby fluffed her petals. “I’m just... thinking again.”

Alice wrapped her body around the Cherrim in an affectionate hug. “Well, you always have us if you want someone to talk to!”

Ruby nodded quietly.

Proteus shuddered. “If you want me to stop talking about Jirachi, I don’t mind, kek.”

“Alright.” She sighed, quiet for a moment, before speaking. “Hey, do you mind if I leave for a few minutes? I won’t go far, I just... want some time to myself.”

Alice released from the hug, floating. “O-Oh. You’re not hurt or anything, or...”

Gabi flexed her fingers. “Let her go. We’re probably tiring her out. Every girl deserves some time to relax.”

Proteus nodded. “Be careful of ferals!”

Tori held her breath, hesitant. One day, she wanted nothing to do with her anymore, and the next, she hated to see her gone for even a minute.

“Stay safe” was all she said.

“I’m going to collect some flowers,” Ruby said, turning towards the greater expanse of the forest. “If I find any pretty gems, I’ll let you know.”

“Goodbye,” Tori whispered, arms crossed.

The four watched the Cherrim walk away, bag over her shoulder. They glanced between each other shortly after before, finally, Tori came to a decision.

“I’m... going to go collect some flowers, too.”

~

What kind of crystals would Jemma like?

Ruby waded through the underbrush as two Pineco hopped away, hoping that she would find a cave somewhere despite all of the foliage.

Well… there are peridot and emeralds, for one. Both are green, which are the same color as her. They might blend well with the plants at home too, so maybe she could hide them half-buried in the petunia garden by the front yard. Or she could use them in the path to the door, but I can’t quite remember if she even has one or not…

All these thoughts circled through her head as she continued searching. She scrambled onto a boulder roughly half her size, using the platform to survey the area.

All leaves and branches…

Ruby sighed. “I guess this won’t be easy,” she muttered.

Still, she didn’t want to give up. This would probably be her final chance to find something special to bring back home. At least, for a while.

She didn’t even know when she’ll come back home.

Well… if she does.

I can’t waste this opportunity.

She sent up a whirlwind of leaves to slice through the lichen in front of her, revealing more of the trail. Ruby wandered aimlessly, searching for hints of grey or black in the area. She knew she shouldn’t be going so far, but a part of her felt that maybe this was important, and maybe that she knew what she was doing.

Maybe.

The sounds of the forest were... peculiar.

Although it was mostly quiet, a few noises flew within the radar. For this time of day, it was expected that wild pokémon would be out and about hunting, or building homes, or preparing for winter, or whatever sort they would get up to- all white noise, all easy to tune out.

Except footsteps.

Footsteps?

Why did she hear footsteps?

The steps became louder. Ruby glanced back.

Did someone try to follow me?

Nope. There was no one behind her. She was imagining it.

Still, that wouldn’t explain wh-

“JIRACHIIIIIIIIII!”

Ruby nearly tripped as Mallku’s voice came ringing like a Whismur. She turned to see him running through an obviously poisonous berry bush, panting as he plucked thorns from his fur. He saw Ruby and waved, clawing his way out of the barbs.

“H.. Hey,” he said in between panting, “How’s it going?”

Ruby inched a step back. “D-Did you just run through all of that!?”

“Yeah?” the Weavile answered. He groaned, falling to his feet. “Augh, that run really sapped the life out of me. I should really look into exercising more. I haven’t had to move like that since my days in the dungeons. Who knew cardio was so exhausting?”

“Uhm-”

“Have you seen Jirachi or Victini?” Mallku asked.

Ruby relaxed her petals. “Uhh.. no."

“I lost ‘em in the creek.” He rubbed his eyes. “Anyways…. what are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you uh, be with your friends? It’s a good thing I found you, because I was a little worried about ya, even if I knew you could handle yourself well.”

Ruby wanted to explode. “O-Oh, really?” was all she could say.

“Yeah!” The dorky smile returned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Why do you... care about me so much? I don’t understand.”

Mallku’s confidence ebbed. “Did I not make it clear before...?”

Ruby sighed. She should really be out searching right now instead, but it was hard to force herself to lose the conversation. She had a choice in the moment, and while her impulsiveness usually made decisions for her, this time....

“N-Not really.”

“Oh.” Mallku stood up, dusting himself and his scarf off. “Maybe I just didn’t make it obvious. The truth is, I think you have a lot of potential! You’re really strong, and you’re a great friend too! I can see why Tori and Alice are always so happy around you.”

Tori...? Always so happy around me?

Well, she did kind of explain herself when we were finding Lucy, I guess.

But is she really not upset anymore?

“I still don’t understand.”

Mallku scratched his head. “Sometimes I don’t either.” He shrugged, smiling. “Life can be confusing. But you don’t always have to be so hard of yourself, though. Take a break from being so anxious all the time! I don’t want you to end up like I was, heh.”

“End up like you were!?”

“Yeah.” He coughed into his arm. “Uhm... I don’t want to get too into it right now, but I used to be anxious all the time as well. For a while that is, when my uh, I lost my… partners. It was a pretty dark period for me. But then I found Jirachi, and I remembered why I work at a guild- to help other pokémon!” His expression grew more cheery. “Sometimes you just need to remember your passions to remember why you exist!”

Just like what Alice said…

“I hope the advice helps,” the Weavile said, nodding. “And uhm… that, maybe you give our friendship a chance?”

Ruby stood there unmoving. It was hard to read her expression from here, but Mallku had to trust that she didn’t ignore him.

“But why?” Ruby murmured. She stiffened. “Why do you care about me more than anyone else?”

“Ruby, I just said wh-”

She sighed. “Maybe I just… can’t wrap my head around it. Maybe I’m too stubborn about this.”

Mallku crossed his arms. “Do you want some time to take it all in? Do you want some space?”

Ruby shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Mallku walked forward to rub her back. “Hey, you always have your friends to talk with, too. And me, I’m willing to help, but I don’t want to pressure you about it if you can’t handle it.”

Ruby wanted to cry. “Th-thanks,” she muttered.

“Don’t mention it,” Mallku replied, winking. He glanced back up at the sky, realizing what time it is. “Uh… crap. I completely forgot about Jirachi and Victini.”

“Are you leaving?” the Cherrim asked.

Mallku picked at his scarf. “I think I might have to. Jirachi and Victini probably don’t know where camp is, so if they get lost it really puts a dent in our plans.” He shook his head. “And just when I thought we were finally on the road. It feels like no matter what, we always lose someone...”

Ruby nodded. “I’d uhm, go with you, but I had different plans out here, sorry.”

“Oh? What kind?”

“I wanted to get something nice for my aunt when I see her again,” she murmured. “There are cave openings around here to find gems for her, but I don’t think any of them go deep enough to ores.”

The Weavile frowned. “Why would she need any jewels? Doesn’t she already have you?”

Ruby went red hot. “M-Mall..”

“What?”

“She uh, I saw her new partner had given her a necklace the last time I said goodbye.” She looked away, suddenly less confident. “I don’t th-think a flower would last. This is my only chance at bringing something from my travels to show her.”

Mallku rubbed his chin. “Say, don’t Gabite carry treasure?”

“Y-Yeah? Why do you…”

She saw what he was pointing at. Out in the open, a Gabite just so happened to be attacking a wild Deerling, preying on it. And on the ground, right next to the dragon, was a pile of small jewels.

One of them stood out. A sleek purple, so vibrant and mesmerizing it shocked her eyes. Large, powerful and greater than the rest, completely overshadowing anything around it.

Amethyst.

The Cherrim was suddenly filled with great courage.

“I-I need that crystal,” Ruby insisted.

“Do you need my help?” Mallku replied. “My ice moves can knock out that pokémon in a single hit, if you’re planning on fighting it.”

“N.. no, you’ve already done a lot for me.” The more the Gabite attacked the Deerling, the more Ruby realized that she needed this. She couldn’t save the Deerling, but maybe she could make it out with the amethyst. It was selfish, but there wasn’t any better option. “Go find Jirachi. I’ll be okay.”

Mallku sighed, turning to leave. “Alright. Don’t push yourself too hard. That pokémon might know Fury Cutter, which is a bug-type move, so you should make sure to keep yourself out of attack range.” He smiled. “Hit ‘em up with a good Magical Leaf!”

Ruby nodded. “Uh, sure.. thanks, Mall.”

I need to distract the Gabite, Ruby thought to herself. That’s easy, but how am I going to put the crystal in my bag before it attacks? It might be stronger than me, so I should stay out of its range.

Mallku ran off, shouting, “Be careful!”

“Thanks!” the Cherrim shouted back. With him gone, she could now focus on what was in front of her. The Gabite was digging into the poor Deerling’s corpse by now, just across the forest grove, so she had to act fast.

If I hit it while it’s eating, it won’t have enough time to prepare a retaliation.

Ruby dusted herself off, reassuring her bag, before her stubs kicked into motion.

~

Now!

In a fast, sweeping move, several colorful leaves shot towards the Gabite, swinging it off its footing and causing it to tumble back into the dirt. Its gems were left alone, giving Ruby the opportunity to seize them.

“You shouldn’t have attacked that Deerling!” Ruby shouted. Her heart raced as she watched the Gabite stumble, inching her way towards the crystal.

No time to be slow!

In a sudden steer of plans, Ruby bolted as fast as she could, ignoring the Gabite as it propped itself back up. She dropped to the ground next to the Deerling corpse, feeling the bravado drain from her lungs as she desperately reached for the amethyst- the largest of the pile- and haphazardly tried to fit it into her bag.

It’s not fitting! Wh.. Why isn’t it working!?

The Gabite fired a Dragon Breath as Ruby dodged out of the way at the last second, stumbling on her heels.

Even without being hit by a Mud Slap, she could barely see the thing coming.

Why do my petals always have to get in the way-

Ruby ran out of there. Through the tall grass, down the slope, through the creek, through the..

Ruby panted.

She glanced back.

No Gabite.

Somehow, she had managed to juke it.

Ruby stopped nearby, resting on a small boulder at the shores of the creek. She carefully set down her bag next to her, reassuring herself that everything was fine.

“Maybe that wasn’t the best idea,” she admitted with a sigh. Ruby took the amethyst out of her bag, gazing upon its beauty. “H-How did a Gabite get its hands on this though?” She clumsily moved it around, eyeing all sides.

In the reflection, Ruby could see a little face. She almost didn’t recognize it- as it was not at all her own. The figure had a serpentine-like neck surrounded by three gold rings, and black, spectral tendrils behind its head, tipped with three sharp, red claws on each arm.

No, she had seen this before.

There was, undoubtedly, something to be recognized.

The face from the puddle.

…Giratina.

Ruby shrieked, jumping and dropping the crystal out of her stubby hands. It splashed and clattered against the ground, landing in the creek.

“The gem is corrupted the gem is corrupted there’s a-“

But not once did the crystal jump out and attack her.

Ruby steadied her breath. She picked the amethyst back up. Giratina was still there in the reflection, staring at her quizzically.

“What are you… how did you get there?”

Giratina blinked.

“A-Are you trying to talk to me?”

A shake of the head.

“I-I don’t know what that means,” Ruby whimpered.

Based on the expression she was given, it appeared Giratina didn’t know either. Something was… off, and certainly unexpected at that. Ruby flipped the amethyst back and forth, but the dragon was still there in the reflection, unafflicted.

It didn’t look trapped in the reflection however, which was definitely the biggest concer-

“Ruuubyyyy!”

The Cherrim froze. Quickly, she shoved the crystal back into her bag, zipping it up as well.

She turned around to see Tori walking towards her, a relieved look in her eyes.

“You’re still alive, great.”

“H-Hi Tori,” Ruby mumbled back, trying to look completely unsuspicious.

The Whimsicott stretched, yawning. “Hey. Collected anything cool yet?”

She glanced back to her satchel. “Uhm… I guess.”

I’ll think about Giratina later.

“You don’t have to show it to me, don’t worry. I’m just here to check on you.” Tori approached the Cherrim, rubbing her back. “Since everyone’s making lunch and all, I wanted to ask if you’d like to eat together?”

Ruby perked up. “O-Oh, yeah, I don’t mind.”

Tori smiled. “Great. Let’s go!”

Ruby’s hand practically fell into hers.

Chapter Text

’You wake up, and nothing feels real.’

Nothing feels real.

Nothing feels real.

Ruby is standing in the hall as a door opens in front of her, knob clutched by a slim, motherly figure: a Leavanny, whose aging cheekbones stretch widely as she smiled. The bug carefully closes the door behind her before approaching Ruby, a clipboard pressed to her side.

Ruby was fifteen at this time. Having only evolved three weeks earlier (which happened a week before she talked to the principal), the Cherrim was still walking sick with anxiety, still stumbling about trying to make sense of her new world.

New world.

The Leavanny leaned forward to massage Ruby’s back- a brief, passing, peaceful moment- before the comfort was snapped away and the bug began walking down the hall, gesturing behind her.

“Let’s not waste time now, dear.”

“Y-Y-Yes ma’am,” Ruby murmured.

She followed.

“Say now, miss.... Ruby? How has your life been recently? Are you enjoying school? Tell me about yourself.”

Ruby felt her throat twist, tangling into a mess of emotions that were crammed under her petals like clothes in a suitcase. Trapped, censored, ignored. Like tiny steps in circular motion, dancing to a distorted rhythm, trying not to falter to the music whipping apart the dancers’ heads.

“I’m… f-fine, thank you.”

The walls towered over Ruby as she faintly followed the Leavanny’s steps, tiny and circular.

There was a truth that never fell unnoticed around Ruby; the fact that she hated being seen. Always avoiding mirrors, always sitting at the back of the class. If life itself were to dissect her own brain it would conclude that she was being watched, even when she wasn’t conscious of it, dainty little eyes protruding from every shadow and every light source. Always watching. Always making her feel seen.

She turned around, checking if one of the other students had become too curious.

“Welcome to my office.”

The counselor’s office was small but crowded- a tiny, insignificant corner of the school Ruby had never seen for herself until now. Having packed with so many books and diversely sized furniture, the living space was less than ideal, but it was an office regardless, Ruby couldn’t deny that. She noticed that there were so many papers and tissue boxes that it even blocked some of the window light from seeping in.

“Have a seat, dear,” the Leavanny said.

Ruby took the only available chair not occupied with books, struggling to position herself. The seat itself was... fine compared to her petals, which uncomfortably scrunched in her posture.

Ruby watched as the Leavanny sat down, organizing several papers and moving things between filing cabinets. All in an orderly manner, all with purpose. Ruby watched as the Leavanny took a drink before sitting down at her desk, offering a gentle smile as she set down several papers in front of her.

“I am afraid I never had a proper introduction for myself. My name is Mrs. Cassia,” the Leavanny stated. She made a small gesture with her hands. “And you are Ruby?”

“Y.. Yes, ma’am.”

“Good, good. It is a pleasure to meet you, dear.”

Something about the tone of the room made Ruby feel less distinguished in the counselor’s office. Maybe it was just the size of the room, maybe it was the fact that no one else was here aside from her and her counselor. She had made enough of a statement of her presence when the Leavanny came in during class, but somehow, that had worn off when they left.

“Do you know why I have brought you here?”

Wait. Did she do something wrong?

“N- uhm, uh…”

Mrs. Cassia laughed. “Do not worry, dear. You’re not in trouble, you seem too sweet for that. Your aunt specifically asked for us to meet today.” She pulled out a large binder from underneath the desk, which trembled under the struggling grip of the Leavanny’s hands, falling onto the counter with a heavy thud.

It was then that Ruby was made aware of the several books on the desk.

“I’m sure evolution has been difficult for you so far,” Mrs. Cassia began, flipping the pages. “It was for me the first time, and the second time as well. Did you know that Leavanny evolve twice? First from a Sewaddle into a Swadloon, then a Swadloon into Leavanny…”

Mrs. Cassia’s voice was sweet, but it all sounded like a drone to Ruby.

“…we have noticed several declines in your academic prowess post-evolution, which is why my colleagues have discussed with your legal guardian to perhaps put you on medication, to ease your rising hormone growth and increased pressures…”

Ruby’s eyes wandered and quickly caught onto the spine of the nearest book.

Female Pregnacy and Motherhood in the Eyes of Rising Adolescents

H-Huh?

Her breath tightening as she glanced around the room, passing her gaze over every book and binder.

How to Walk Your Child Through Puberty and Premature Evolution

Wh..What was she being dragged into?

Grass Type Anatomy and Biology: A Resource

Was Mrs. Cassia going to…. do something to her?

Ruby trembled, her focus straining as she quickly turned back to the Leavanny talking in front of her. She saw the mirror of Austin’s eyes staring down back at her coldly, a flame hiding in his irises.

“…evolution is scary, dear, but we will be there with you the whole way. Your growth was untimely, and rightfully unexpected, but I think that is only a sign that you are stronger than you would like to believe. Which is why we want to make this process as painless as possible, so you can enjoy life in your new body without worrying about hormones getting in the way, and to succeed in school as well…”

There was, something, something important, that Ruby felt like she had left behind in this room of sorts. Not any physical item, but something maternal, words that could never dry in any desert, a promise meant to last and never be broken until it had realized itself.

However, with all of the weight this room was chaining to her, it was hard to imagine the possibility of that promise. If she could even imagine the promise itself, that is.

They were the only two pokémon in the office.

Ruby felt eyes creeping up on her.

She held her breath.

“Are you listening, dear?”

Ruby nodded. Forcefully.

“Would you like to discuss this some other time? We may prescribe your medication early, if you would like.”

Ruby nodded again. She didn’t even know what kind of answer she was giving.

“Thank you, dear.” The Leavanny scribbled something on a piece of paper, packing it into a small suitcase and standing up to stretch. Ruby was still huddled in her seat, looking down at the floor.

“Your legal guardian will be informed at once,” Mrs. Cassia continued. “This plan will be added to your student needs arrangement, once everything has been laid out. We will let you know ahead of time.”

Ruby felt... dizzy, hearing all this. It sounded jumbled no matter which way she positioned it, a scramble of words and phrases and meanings discombobulating in her head.

Did she need medication?

And why was she being given it? She was feeling perfectly fine now.

“Wh-Who’s paying for this?” was all she could mutter.

Mrs. Cassia answered quickly. “Your aunt, dear. The school does not have the funds nor the permission for giving students pills, even when there is consent to do so.” She shook her head. “Your aunt was the one who suggested you begin taking it in the first place. I suggest you ask her when you get home.”

The dizziness began to wear off as she got out of her seat, approaching the door.

She was still anxious though, glancing at the books on the desk.

The counselor noticed.

“O-Oh! Don’t worry about those, please.” The Leavanny held up her hands, waving them with a concerned look. “I was gathering some information before you got here. Those were in case you were hesitant about the decision, of which I’m very grateful that you accepted.” She stepped from the desk, kneeling directly in front of Ruby. “It will be alright, yes dear? You shouldn’t have to worry about pregnancy or adulthood just yet. You are only fifteen, and you are still young for your species. From what I’ve researched, most Cherrim do not lay until twenty or thirty years. It will likely not happen to you for a long time coming.”

That... wasn’t what unnerved her however.

Ruby held her breath.

It was the fact that it could happen to her.

“Y-Yes ma’am,” Ruby choked.

“Oh, sweetie.” Mrs. Cassia rubbed the Cherrim’s back like she had earlier, a love that Ruby didn’t realize she needed at that moment. “I’m sure your parents would be very proud of you.”

The room became silent. Ruby felt the colors spilling in her head, all awash.

“Shall I let you leave early? It is not under my permission to dismiss you freely, but I can sign a slip stating that you were sick,” Mrs. Cassia said. “Know that the chance is open to you if you desire to take it.”

Ruby gazed into her eyes. Not out of shock, but out of reflection.

She tried to imagine her future but saw nothing.

‘You wake up, and nothing feels real.’

She saw millions of tiny little eyes, watching her.

Tracing her every move.

Ruby felt her heart squeeze.

“I-I-I'll go home, y-yeah. Th..Thank you,” was all she said before she ran back to class to collect her bag, leaving the door open.

~

In the present, everything that happened after Tori found her felt like a blur. She would struggle to recount the details later that night, but processing the day was least of her concerns, at least as she walked back to camp.

Once Tori and Ruby arrived, Ruby took a short nap. The Cherrim found an empty spot where the sun was still peeking through the leaves, and photosynthesized.

When she woke up, she found Tori and Alice talking on the logs, with Gabi and Ari in proximity as well.

She inched forward, listening in.

According to Alice, there had been some group activity after Ruby and Tori wandered off, as apparently Mai and Liz gathered everyone else into one big group to gather supplies and collect food while also keeping an eye out (in case Ruby, Mallku, Tori, Victini or Jirachi stumbled across them in the meantime).

“A-At one point, uhm,” Alice continued, “S..Some of us felt satisfied, so Gabi suggested we rest, but then Mai was determined to gather as much as she could, so w-we left while the others went further, I think.”

Tori groaned. “...Aren’t we supposed to stay together?”

Gabi shrugged. “Mai said that as long as we keep the big group, we can scatter the numbers as far as we need to. Whatever. I can handle myself.”

Ari grunted, nodding along. He appeared to be preoccupied, looking around, but he was listening.

Turning away from the conversation, Tori noticed Ruby and smiled, waving. “Hey! Alice and Gabi are back.”

“Well, not Proteus,” Alice whispered, concern creeping into her voice. “I don’t know why. He usually follows us. Did we do something bad?”

“Well, he’s also with Todd,” Gabi stated. “And he met Proteus before we even met him, so I bet he knows a thing or two.” With only half a second of silence after speaking, she added, “If he’s not with us for once, who cares?”

“…I think he’s creepy,” Ari muttered.

Ruby winced, sitting next to Alice. “I-I wouldn’t say that. He’s b-been nice to me.” Lie.

Am I really defending him?

Alice smiled, trying to find some consolation in Ruby’s words. “Y-Yeah. He always helped us, even when we were alone after the ship burned. I don’t think he’s bad.”

Ruby remembered when a conversation like this happened about Tori, when the four of them were floating on the raft and they were talking about Tori’s recent behaviors. And how Ruby thought that maybe this behavior wasn’t usual, how she had never seen anything like this from her before, even when she knew the Whimsicott since she was a little kid.

But Proteus was still new. He was a completely different case. Ruby knew him for less than a month, even.

...And yet, she felt that they had been talking for years.

“Maybe I’m just too hard on the little freak,” Gabi supposed, rubbing her chin. “I pick on him, and tease on him, and treat him like a pest sometimes, but it’s all play. That’s just our relationship.” She coughed into an arm. “With that in mind, he’s a real nerd, and I swear someday he’s going to drive me so mad that I end up crushing him.”

Tori rose a brow. “Crush him?”

“Not important,” Gabi dismissed. “What were we doing? Talking? What are we talking about? The weather? The economy? Let’s switch topics.”

“Uh, okay,” Alice mumbled. She looked to Ruby and Tori. “How was your walk? Did you find anything nice?”

Ruby flinched. She still had the amethyst, sitting in her bag.

Do I tell them? Giratina was in the reflection of the gem, so what if it’s cursed? What if I’m hiding something that could possibly kill all of us?

“You know how it is,” Tori answered for Ruby, waving her hand. “It’s all plants and trees and dirt. I didn’t even find any flowers. Terrible.”

Alice nodded, smiling compassionately.

Ruby turned to look at Ari, watching as the dragon sniffed the ground. He was a real figure, with massive, fluffy wings and a restless, irritable look. He was huge, and despite his signs of malnourishment, extremely husky.

What was he thinking in all of this?

“What’s got you staring at him?”

Ruby found Tori peering over her shoulder, eyes full of gold. She had moved from her log to sit next to Ruby, except her body was facing the other side, leaning in.

“U-Uhm, thinking. I don’t mean to stare at him,” Ruby mumbled, looking at the ground. “Some stuff is on my mind. M-My eyes just kinda wander.”

Tori stood up, stretching. She made sure Alice wasn’t listening before whispering, “I’m here if you need someone to talk to.”

Why do I always keep things to myself?

“You’re always that someone,” Ruby whispered back.

Tori flashed a cute smile.

“It’s what friends do for each other.”

Why do I always have to space out?

“Yeah.”

Ruby never felt so alone.

~

After somewhere close to half an hour of nothing but sitting around, Gabi requested they simply go (and meet up with Mai and the rest) themselves, since Mallku was more likely to find them first, and he hadn’t showed up since Ruby last saw him.

...So that’s what they did.

Ari flew overhead, while the other four walked on foot (or air, in Alice and Gabi’s case). This would be the last time Ruby would see the grounds, and the last place they would settle down for the afternoon.

She steadied her breath.

It was a quiet trip.

Maybe it was just the lack of a Proteus to spark conversations, but things were surprisingly silent. Alice and Tori kept to their own, and Gabi simply never said a word.

Ruby felt restless.

She looked up to see the sun, but all she saw were overarching trees, reflecting their shadows.

Why am I like this?

They found a trail eventually, Ari sniffing it and pinpointing the direction they should head. As they moved farther, Ruby saw less trees and more shrubbery, but thankfully they still found the other group’s track- indicated by the line of felled foliage- and didn’t have to clear out too much themselves.

Soon, they found pawsteps, both prints with three triangles pointing out.

“These are Mai’s,” Ruby said.

“Good eye,” Gabi commented.

They were getting closer.

Ari’s voice called out overhead. “Get ready to start shouting.”

Ruby turned to Alice, the Cherrim’s stem tilting.

“What do you think we’ll do if Mallku isn’t with them?”

“I don’t know,” Alice murmured.

They continued on, but Ruby couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“I see them,” Ari later shouted. His tail swished and slapped the bark of a tree, alerting those below. He flew ahead, leaving them behind.

“Wait- goddamn it,” Gabi moaned. She sighed, gripping her bag. “Let’s go, girls.”

They slipped through some thick brambles and dead branches, spotting Ari through the foliage.

Ruby could feel the change in temperature the closer they got, slowly.

Gabi ripped apart the branches around her, pushing through the muck. Ruby, Alice and Tori struggled to catch up.

Then, they reached Ari.

The dragon stepped aside, revealing Proteus, Todd and The Joes. They cheered as the girls arrived, Todd bouncing up and down and The Joes raising their horns.

“Hey!”

“H..Hi.”

“What’s up?”

Ruby’s conversation with Proteus was awkward as soon as it begun, Ruby unsure what she even could say after not seeing him for only barely an hour, basically no tine at all. She expected Proteus to move first, as he always does, but instead, he was silent.

All six of his eyes were staring at her.

“Have you guys seen anyone else?” Tori asked, breaking the tension.

Proteus nodded. “Mallku is busy chewing out Jirachi. Mai told us to wait here and give them a minute.”

Gabi rose a brow. “...So then, where’s Mai?”

Proteus turned around, gesturing up ahead.

“Got it, let’s go.”

“Wait!” Todd shouted. He bounced in front of Gabi, blocking her. “Shouldn’t we give them some space? That’s what we were told after all, ho ho...”

Gabi grumbled, pushing Todd aside. “Get out of the way, NPC. I got business to attend to.”

As she pushed ahead alone, Proteus snickered.

Alice, meanwhile, glanced to Ruby with a frown. “What’s an ‘NPC’?”

“I don’t know,” the Cherrim mumbled.

The brass of The Joes swiped at the air with his horn, and he commanded his troops forward.

At least we’re together again...

Tori hummed with crossed arms, looking at Ruby. Was she thinking the same thing, Ruby wondered? Or maybe she was just waiting for an answer.

“We keep moving,” Proteus said. There was no tone in his voice; his words were straightforward. “No questions, no answers.”

Ruby frowned internally as everyone complied in sync.

Mallku’s voice could be heard clearer as they got closer, adjacent to a harsher, more critical voice, recognized only as Jirachi’s. Soon, they heard other voices too, when they approached an outcrop and saw everyone else in conversation farther below, where the ground looked much drier.

Ari landed between Proteus and The Joes, snarling as he plucked burs from his claws. “Here we are. Get ready to be yelled at.”

“Yelled at...?” Tori repeated, only to be answered right away as Jirachi stormed up the hillside in an angry mess.

Proteus smiled voraciously, watching the mythical approach. “Well! Look what the Purrloin brought in-”

“YOU!” Jirachi screamed, pointing at Ruby. They shook violently, eyes bursting with burgundy. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! All my plans were lost and ruined because you dumb mortal d-”

As Alice and Tori leapt in the way to protect Ruby, Mallku sneak-attacked Jirachi from behind, throwing his hand over the mythical’s fat mouth as he scooped them up. He gave Ruby a guilty smile as Jirachi thrashed in his grip, trying to keep the mythical from exploding.

“Sorry!” he yelled, struggling to keep his balance. Liz arrived to take Jirachi from him, wrapping the mythical’s mouth with vines that sprouted from her back. Mai appeared soon after, whistling.

“Good grief,” Ari hissed.

“Now imagine having to deal with this every day,” Mallku moaned. He collapsed to his feet, falling like a bag of marbles.

Mai stood mouth agape, before shaking her head and clasping her paws together, expression bright. “Funny isn’t it, how things fall into place, haha? You all must be so exhausted! I know I sure am~”

Tori shrugged. She turned to move out of the way, yawning.

“So, is anyone going to provide any leadership yet?” Proteus snickered. He glared at Mai, eyes passing over Mallku on the way. “Is this what we signed up for, kek? Getting lost and wasting time trying to find each other, until we inevitably get lost again? Seriously, is that all you have?”

“I’m trying,” Mai sighed, strength faltering. “Give me a break, I can’t keep track of everyone.”

“But you can still do better...”

Ruby glanced to Mallku, who was now doing... push-ups? on the ground, grunting as he exercised, much to Ruby’s bewilderment. He got up, wiping sweat off his brow.

“Okay,” Mallku began. Lucy, Andesine, Victini, Heatran and Brunia arrived as the Weavile gathered everyone’s attention, gazing with admiration. “We still have a few hours of sunlight. How much longer do we walk for?”

Mai picked at her scarf, looking at the ground. “Er, uh... we did just take a quick stop, so maybe we should still go as far as we can. We can walk until we find a town, or it starts to get dark.”

Mallku turned to Jirachi. “Any objections?”

Liz loosened her vines, giving the mythical some room to talk. “We should already have the Griseous Orb by now,” Jirachi complained. “I don’t think we’ll find the ruins by tonight. Let’s stop somewhere in the desert. We’ll need to keep pokémon on guard duty, but it’s in a better place than these musty badlands.”

Ruby gripped her bag, feeling the pressure of those words.

Why would we be attacked in the desert?

“I seriously doubt we’ll find any towns,” Lucy argued. “This climate is too hot and sterile to make a living out here. Unless we somehow find an entire city of only Numel, there’s no point in trying to look.”

Andesine agreed. “I like Jirachi’s idea of guard duty though. It wouldn’t surprise me if tribes of Brambleghast or Cacturne ambushed us in the night. I’ve heard awful stories about these lands from clients.”

“It’s settled then,” Mallku announced. He gestured the way forward, and Mai led the line.

As pokémon began moving, however, Ruby couldn’t shake off the question.

She glanced to Tori very briefly, before looking the other way when her head moved- instead trying to look distracted by lagging to the end of the line, where she privately pulled out the amethyst.

Ruby held the gem in her hand, studying its texture.

She tried to search for Giratina in the reflection, just as she had before, but they never appeared.

~

The moment happened so quickly.

It started when Ruby was walking home, when she spotted a familiar shape exiting a shop. She watched as a Cottonee struggled to carry a brown bag due its weight, heaving and grunting as she opened the door with all her might.

A... Cottonee?

The Cherrim froze.

Tori quickly noticed her, brow furrowing. She drifted forward, making Ruby feel small.

“…Why are you out of school?”

“Th-The counselor said I could l-leave early,” Ruby stammered. Foolishly, she asked, “A-Aren’t you supposed to be in school too?”

“Both of my parents are sick. They told me to stay home, so I went out to grab groceries for them today.”

Ruby’s petals stiffened.

They hadn’t talked for a month. Not since Ruby evolved.

They had always made a promise that they would evolve together. That was always the dream. A dream since they were little kids, unable to imagine a future that they were too scared could be real.

A future where one of them evolved early, in the process of pursuing making the other happy.

A future where one of them was too scared to admit their dreams were always unlikely to turn out true.

A future where one of them would feel guilty for something out of their control.

A future where one of them would hold too close to their acrimony.

A future where one of them would hold too close to their anxiety.

A future where both of them would avoid confrontation.

A future wher-

“I’m sorry,” Ruby mumbled out loud.

“Don’t apologize.” Tori turned away, heading home. “Whatever. Later, traitor.”

“W-Wait!” Ruby shouted. She stumbled on her heels, feeling overwhelmed. “D-Don’t you want to talk? I didn’t know you were still mad.”

“Of course I’m still mad.” Tori didn’t even bother sparing a look at her. “You broke my trust. You evolved before me, even when you promised we would evolve together.” The Cottonee’s voice grew resentful. “Now you’re stronger, and bigger, and can carry stuff with your hands. But I’m still weak and small, just as pathetic as before.”

Ruby held her breath. “Just because I evolved doesn’t mean I hate you.”

Tori grunted. “Well, you still hurt my feelings, damnit.”

It always stung more than it hurt.

They reached an intersection at the street, passing by a Mudbray-pulled carriage. Ruby saw a Nidoking and Grimmsnarl sitting in the passenger’s seat, toasting and laughing between each other, expressing warmth.

She glanced back, and Tori was already forty steps ahead.

“Hey!”

She chased her down the street, only to be intercepted mid-way by a passing couple, Rabsca and Wormadam glaring down at her.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, shuffling by. She paid the women no more attention as she continued her chase through the busy streets, trying to find that sight of white fluff she knew.

She realized she had never gone this deep into the city.

Ruby huffed as her feet struggled to keep up with Tori’s ability to ride the wind, spotting the Cottonee again only to find out she was way above her, drifting as high as the clotheslines that hung between buildings.

The paper bag she was carrying, however, was not so compliant.

It quickly fell from Tori’s grip, landing somewhere in the crowds. From below, fear could just barely be seen overwhelming Tori’s expression.

Ruby had her chance.

She dashed through the streets, pushing past more couples and bystanders, squeezing through the gaps. It felt like she was a Cherubi again, except this time she was much stronger and much, much faster.

She felt a million eyes watching her, but somehow, she only felt they were empowering her.

Ruby found the bag in the middle of the street, topped over and spilled of its contents. A Toedscruel was tasting one of the berries when Ruby got there only to run off when he saw her.

Ruby panted, dropping to the ground and picking up what was spilled.

Tori’s voice came into range, the Cottonee freezing when Ruby stood up, locking eyes.

Ruby handed the bag to her.

“Is this the one?”

Tori grunted, throwing her head under the straps. However, when she floated back up, it fell off in a second.

Tori moaned.

“Fine. Just carry it.”

Ruby held it in her stubs, eyeing it softly, before throwing the bag over her shoulder.

“Remind me what did you want to talk about?” Tori asked, though it sounded more like a command, as she had already begun moving.

Ruby was silent for a bit, before she finally responded, “I just wanted to catch up.”

Tori was silent.

“A-And, I feel like things have really been harder recently,” the Cherrim continued. “Today I got called in to see the counselor. Sh-She talked about medication and puberty and evolution, and my h-hormones or something…”

Tori stopped, trying to understand what she just heard.

“…Hormones?”

Ruby nodded.

“She said since I apparently evolved early, my hormones are in flux, a-and that I might need pills to keep it in control.”

“And evolution is causing this?” the Cottonee questioned.

“Yeah,” Ruby whispered, as they passed a cluster of elderly mon. As both of them quietly picked up pace and turned through an alleyway, her voice resumed. “I.. think ‘premature’ was what she called it? Basically m-my evolution happened earlier than usual.”

Tori nodded along. “I think I’ve heard a story like that before? I don’t think it’s uncommon.”

Ruby readjusted her petals. “Point is, my aunt is going to try to put me on medication now, I think. Not just for physical changes, b-but also mental changes…”

A murder of Murkrow flew above as Ruby and Tori exited the alleyway, staring from the edges of the shingles. Ruby expected any of them to swoop down and attack- seeing that there was indeed food in the bag- but they never moved, they simply watched.

She turned to watch them directly, and immediately, they stiffened.

Even when the ‘krow had the number and type advantage, none of them budged an inch.

“Something up?”

Ruby flinched, glancing to Tori. “They’re not attacking.”

“The Murkrow?”

“Yeah. Are they just scared?”

The Cottonee blinked. “Maybe they think you’re stronger than you look.”

Ruby took one passing glance at the murder, before ushering Tori along. “C-Come on, let’s get you home.”

As they reached another intersection at the end of the street, it was Tori who asked the question this time.

“So, are you going to take the meds?”

Ruby paused, before shaking her head. “I… don’t know.” She held her breath. “Do I even deserve to have them? After everything?”

She glanced back.

The Murkrow were flying off, preying elsewhere.

The thought from earlier came back to her.

‘Nothing feels real.’