Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Altered Bonds

Chapter 17 — End of a Beginning

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Atop a small cliffside in a clearing in the forest, there stood a cottage. And upon a tree branch nearby, there stood Eevee.

He watched, waited. Batted the pouch hanging on his neck. Grumbled to himself. Questioned.

Wondered why he trusted others. Pondered. Inside his head, Espeon scoffed.

You dwell too much on these matters. All will be fine.

And if it isn’t?

You hope Kabutops can make a miracle out of the human.

Very much true. Eevee didn’t know how Eira could bring him closer to a cure. He only hoped Kabutops knew what to do.

Espeon was skeptical, but still she listened to him, if only because she was stuck with him anyway. And because she hoped a little too. The others—

Eevee knew their opinions, but he couldn’t feel their thoughts right now. His siblings were in a drifting stasis of sorts, their strange equivalent for sleep. A side-effect of being spirits was that anytime they weren’t active — when they weren’t fighting or talking or manifesting themselves in the physical world — they became inert and fell into a mindless trance.

They were often like this. If they were up, it was for discussing matters or small talk, or short bursts of activity. For example, against threats like Aerodactyl. Or Lugia. Or Ariados, and they needed a Tiny Reviver Seed then.

As usual, only Espeon was awake. Barely. Go rest, Eevee told her, eyes sweeping over the clearing several times.

I do not need rest.

A white lie. Eevee felt her struggle, Espeon wavering between alertness and unconsciousness. She always did this, stubborn, loyal sister that she was, insistent on keeping watch with her psychic talents.

The others lacked her level of endurance. Eevee sighed, sensing their comatose states, and again lamented—

It is not your fault.

Eevee felt Espeon mentally wince at her cranky tone, Vaporeon stirring for the briefest moment before returning to her undeath. Eevee, for his part, didn’t argue back. His siblings had said this numerous times. Their unique mutation was something he couldn’t really be blamed for.

Yet Eevee couldn’t be content. He needed a cure. He owed his siblings a cure. And if Eira couldn’t help them?

But she has, Eevee. In a more pragmatic way.

Eevee leaned against the trunk of his tree, paws clamping against his branch. Yes, she had, hadn’t she? It was unintentional, but he knew of Aerodactyl and Mew, Abhorrents involved in a terrible plot. If not for Eira’s presence, perhaps he would’ve never learned.

He could hound them, and their allies. Their master even, whoever that was. Mew claimed he knew nothing about reversing the mutation, but maybe Kabutops could glean something from them.

Still. The human.

If Team Heavendust, Lugia, or anyone else does something to her, we will handle it. As we have before.

Eevee heard something condescending in Espeon’s voice. But for now, she continued, Team Heavendust isn’t our enemy. They are mortified at their deeds. Trust me.

Trust. Eevee didn’t like giving that out, but trust was valuable in the right hands. It was another thing Eira gave them: a group of explorers he could interact with.

Maybe they’d turn on him too, like his village friends. Then again, Team Heavendust already fought the human, realizing their wrongdoing afterward. The Shaymin seemed bent on mending the situation. Would she betray them still? Or was this the start of an alliance?

He risked a lot, doing this. The future was unclear, and the unknown scared him. He didn’t like the unknown. He didn’t like any of this.

But Vaporeon had insisted, and so here he was, negotiating with explorers who knew he wasn’t like Aerodactyl and his group. They had his human. And they could help.

Maybe.

Eevee took a deep breath. And then his eyes shifted, before widening. You didn’t see her? he questioned Espeon.

Who? There isn’t—

And then Eevee felt Espeon grow awkward, seeing through his eyes as Ariados appeared, moving across the clearing and up the hillside. Her right front leg moved gingerly, the matriarch eyeing her Warp Scarf before humming, insistent on walking despite the pain. Eevee smirked.

I said to rest, Espeon.

And Espeon obeyed, recognizing even she had limits. Her mind went hazy and her soul stilled, her presence receding until Eevee could only feel her fragile existence deep within him. Alone, he watched as Ariados clambered toward the cottage door.

She stood there. Caressed her injured leg. Moved it to tap at the door, before letting it hang there, uncertain. Her head drooped.

And then it stiffened. She looked up with subdued eyes. Right at Eevee.

The thick foliage covered him, but she saw through it. Eevee stared. Ariados stared back. The world seemed permanently still, the clouds stuck in their spots in the sky.

Ariados glanced away. “Abhorrent.”

“That I am.” Eevee felt his fur, locating where he’d been stabbed by a Fell Stinger. “Well?”

“The others aren’t here, it seems.”

A statement with a double meaning. Team Heavendust wasn’t around, yes, but she wasn’t just speaking about them. “No, they aren’t.”

“They accepted her?”

The matriarch knew Eevee wouldn’t have strayed from the human, and certainly not to just chat with Team Heavendust. And Eevee knew Ariados wouldn’t come here for no reason either.

“The human runs off with an Abhorrent, and they caught her. They knew.” Ariados grew slightly unhinged, chortling at some joke nobody else could hear. “And yet they accept her. They’re in town? Explorers would be at this hour. Did they curb the rumors? Stupid villagers, spreading trouble behind my back—”

Her words devolved into angry mutterings, to Eevee’s bemusement. Was he hearing this right? Did word leak about Eira and her appearance in Stringed Forest, and Ariados was mad about that?

For a while the spider quietly rambled. And then she turned, facing the entrance into the clearing. She waited, and Eevee waited. At some point he boldly hopped out of his hiding place, Ariados hissing but making no move against him.

They waited for the same person to show up. A person not from these lands, who wasn’t supposed to be on these lands. A person saddled with a cursed fate, whom he had staked his hopes upon, not realizing the burden he placed upon them both by doing so. “You realize what she represents, mutant?” Ariados said.

Eevee did. “An ill omen.”

“Yet you shelter her. It was you who gave her the wristband, wasn’t it? You gave her the transformation she needed to traverse her dark path.”

He hadn’t known that until Lucario told him. A small part of Eevee wished he could take it back — but he knew why he did the deed. “I wanted her for a cure, and I don’t want her dead. Do you?”

Something flickered in Ariados’s hollow eyes. It could have been revulsion. Pain. Angst. She leaned on her good leg, trembling, and brought up something that’d been on Eevee’s mind. Something he needed to know for everyone’s sake, and to quell his inner guilt.

“How do you fight a prophecy?” she asked.

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How do you fight a prophecy?

Togetic could hardly think about anything else. She flew silently through the dirt trail cutting through the forest, right behind Team Heavendust as they marched back to the cottage. She stayed a good distance back, feeling like a spectator thrust into a show she didn’t belong in.

The others were in their own moods. Lucario appeared to be contemplating, Gabite’s eyes were vacant yet calculating, Sky Forme Shaymin wore a taut face, and Vulpix — no, Eira — was stuck in her own world, more lost than even she was.

And Togetic was very lost. All these shenanigans with Aerodactyl, Lugia, Ariados, Mismagius, distortions, a real human in the archipelago that just so happened to be Vulpix herself—

It would’ve been nice if the only bombshell she had to swallow was the idea of good Abhorrents. Simpler times.

Literally yesterday at noon.

One encounter with Jumpluff and Eevee and then things escalated so fast. Now she was neck-deep in dilemmas she never imagined getting into. And all she could think of, beyond the looming threat of Lugia, the plots surrounding Aerodactyl and Mew, and the human she wronged, was a simple question.

How do you fight a prophecy?

Shaymin slowed her pace, drifting back until she reached the lone Togetic. The angelic broke out of her thoughtful stupor, Shaymin forcing a grin as she jabbed her. “Well?”

Togetic tried to smile. “Honchkrow would never let me hear the end of it.”

A chortle. Shaymin lazily eyed the countless trees they passed by and the clouds drifting overhead, though Togetic knew she was in fact being vigilant, watching for just about anything. “Your brother probably has every right,” she teased. “I know my elders would do the same. We go looking for adventure, and guess what we get?”

Shaymin waved at Eira the not-actually-a-Vulpix-even-though-she-disguised-as-one, doing so with a ridiculous elegance the Mismagius would’ve been proud of. She smiled a little harder, and Togetic saw the exhaustion behind her facade.

They said it together. “Her.”

Eira was human. That still wasn’t registering in her head, but it was true. A scared, timid girl had walked into her life, and she’d taken to her like a moth to a flame, wanting to understand her fears, her grievances, and heal whatever cracks were in her pure soul.

Then she outed herself as a human. And she hurt her. She hurt her! And for what depraved reason did she break her fake, meaningless promises about not judging her? Because she couldn’t handle the truth.

Because she couldn’t stand being lied to.

Because Eira obviously, obviously was a monster. But she wasn’t. The only monster here was—

“Hey.”

Shaymin jabbed harder, Togetic rubbing the spot she bruised. “Don’t blame yourself, we were all stressed idiots yesterday, yeah?” she said. “Lucario barged in at the wrong time, Eira was a bundle of nerves and couldn’t explain herself, Gabite’s got his issues, and even Eevee was having a bad day if I understand his story. But you know, we can fix our misunderstandings with Eira. Help her and make things right, yeah?”

Help her and make things right. Exactly what Togetic wanted to do, if only she knew how. But that was why she apologized earlier, right? Better than nothing.

Better than being an unrepentant monster. “You know me too well,” muttered Togetic.

Shaymin shrugged it off. “Nah, you just looked just like Eira does now. See her? She’s beating herself over things outside her control.”

She was. Now that Togetic noticed, Eira seemed haunted, her face but a mask for the whirlwind of thoughts in her head. She made that face when she brought up the prophecy, or when she stated that she didn’t deserve help.

She believes she’s a harbinger of destruction.

The girl was internalizing. That hurt Togetic even more than the broken promises she made. As if all the accumulated tragedies Eira lived through weren’t enough!

And she had to somehow help her escape her twisted destiny. “We’re caring for a human,” Togetic whispered, all but restraining the strangled laugh lodged in her throat.

Shaymin smiled even harder. “Yep.”

“We’re engulfed in things way bigger than the two of us.”

“Not to mention the nonsense we’ve learned about. Magic and humans? Evil sorcerers in dungeons? Porygon-Z and spacetime distortions?”

“And yet you’re taking all this in stride.”

But even as Togetic said that, she knew otherwise. Shaymin’s smile was too large, too disfigured, ready to fly off her face the moment someone pushed her a little too far. “Doing my best to not drown,” she said, a whine in her voice.

To not drown. Oh, what a struggle it’d be. Not only did they have to atone for their aggression against the human Lucario guarded, but they had to send her back to her homeland, for her sake and their own. And all the while, they had to protect her.

What a tall order. After Mismagius’s departure, Gabite and Kecleon had spoken at length about their situation, and the myriad of dangers they had to consider. The most pressing of those dangers?

Lugia, of course. Togetic looked at Shaymin, and she grimaced. “He’ll literally drown us,” she said, double-checking that the clouds in the sky stayed white, scattered, and few in number.

With every step they made toward the cottage, they came closer to the sea. Too close, and Lugia’s wrath would surely come upon them. Was the cottage in range? Togetic had brought it up in their discussion with Kecleon, but Gabite dismissed her concern, pointing out that he would’ve struck yesterday if that was true, while they were still recovering. The others hesitantly agreed that it’d be safe to head back.

But Togetic didn’t want to test that theory. She shifted to Gabite, the dragon-shark already eyeing her in expectancy. He moved his lips and—

And Lucario’s feelers snapped, eyes aflame with aura and flicking toward the incoming sidepath that split off from the trail, ran into the forest, and led to the cottage. Everyone turned at once, watching his scowl give way to a confused frown.

“Ariados,” he muttered. “She’s with Eevee?”

A moment passed with the others batting eyes. Eira sagged, a trace of worry hidden in her listless eyes. And then she actually sagged.

No, more than just sagged. Crumpled? Crashed against the ground? She jerked her head—

Her rather loud yelp threw Togetic into a panic. Her tails clutched her forehead, an action that told her everything. Oh, of course! Of course this happened, and their team leader thought they’d be—

Togetic instantly held onto Eira and glared at a wide-eyed Gabite. Shaymin joined her, shaking Eira until her eyes refocused. “M-my head — please! I d-didn’t—” the disguised human stammered.

Lucario growled a string of angry, incomprehensible words. His eyes sparked with blue aura, Lucario wincing as he stared intently at Eira, and Togetic found her own eyes glowing with pink light. Eira’s soul appeared to her, diffused throughout her body with a bright sheen of purity, and swaying ever so slightly from duress.

Yes, Togetic could see these things. But she wished she could see the things Lucario saw, like the words she knew were being shoved into Eira’s head—

Be careful of what you wish for, some would say. As Eira suddenly eased up and Togetic felt something shredding through her skull, she decided she needed to start listening to that old proverb.

WHAT? THEY KNOW OF YOU TOO?

Lugia’s words screamed like a thunderclap drowning out the crash of tidal waves. A mental Pressure weighed down on Togetic, and if not for everyone else sharing that weight, and if not for the distance, she might’ve straight up collapsed. As it was, it just made her feverish, Togetic unsure if Eira was leaning on her, or she who leaned on Eira.

SCANDALOUS. I WASTE ENERGY, HAVING TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU ALL FROM AFAR. I WASTED TIME AND RESOURCES, FORGING A MAKESHIFT PSYCHIC EXTENDER FOR THIS PURPOSE!

Gabite and Lucario grunted, and Shaymin pawed her head, more miffed than hurt. Togetic looked up, finding the sky no cloudier than before, the sun shining through. This was the voice of the majestic Lugia, who removed all other humans from the archipelago? It suited him.

THE GIRL DOES NOT BELONG HERE. DO YOU FOOLS NOT REALIZE HER THREAT? YOU GIVE REFUGE TO—

“A human,” Shaymin spat. “And?”

Everyone gawked at her. Even Lugia paused, Togetic getting the notion he was raising eyebrows at her brashness. YOUR MEAGER STATUS GIVES YOU NO AUTHORITY OVER ME, INSOLENT MYTHICAL, he warned. DO NOT SIDE WITH THE COMMONERS!

Togetic fervently shook her head at Shaymin, insisting to her to not anger Lugia further, but Shaymin only winked in return. “All I’m saying is you’ve got bigger problems than a human trying not to fulfill some dumb prophecy,” she said. “Like, you know, Abhorrents plotting to plunder your home?”

An even longer pause. Gabite’s brows arched before a sleazy grin overcame him, the dragon-shark nodding back at Shaymin. Lucario and Eira didn’t get it, however, and Togetic most certainly didn’t. What? Was she missing something?

SO YOU KNOW. When Lugia grumbled, it was a softer noise, like the faraway crackle of a storm cloud. A SIMPLE SCAN WAS HOW I FOUND HER. HER MIND IS UNLIKE A POKEMON’S. SHE THINKS IN HUMAN WORDS.

Eira shrunk into herself, groaning at Lugia’s admission. THE TRIFLING DISTANCE BETWEEN US IS TOO GREAT, mused the Legendary. THE LICH SURELY WAITS FOR ME, AND REGARDLESS, YOU WILL SIMPLY SCATTER. ALL I GAIN IS BANEFUL ATTENTION — I CANNOT FULFILL MY SACRED DUTY THIS WAY.

Command flowed into his voice. I WILL ASK THIS ONCE. OFFER YOURSELVES UP AND RETURN TO THE BEACH, ALONG WITH YOUR MONSTER EEVEE. FOR YOUR SAKES AND THE ARCHIPELAGO’S, I WILL SEND THE HUMAN WHERE SHE BELONGS, AND WIPE YOUR MINDS OF THIS INCIDENT. THIS ACCIDENT SHALL BE RECTIFIED IN FULL.

To another, that might be a tempting offer. Her latest experiences left Togetic’s mind aflame, and it would be soothing to let the madness stop. No more mind-melting knowledge, no looming prophecy, no furious Lugia, nothing. It’d be like Eira was never here.

But Togetic couldn’t forget. Wouldn’t. She refused to forget Eira, whom she so badly wanted — no, needed to mend ties with, regardless of what she was. She refused to succumb to a Legendary’s bloody demand.

She refused to let the human die.

“You have no right to take her,” she whispered, holding Eira a little closer. She peered at her, like a sinner staring at mercy.

It was worth the increased Pressure Lugia placed upon her. YOU SPEAK AS YOUR GROUP’S LEADER?

Gabite looked like he wanted to laugh. “I speak, as the team leader,” he declared.

“And as the kid’s personal guardian, so do I,” Lucario chimed in. He began to grin too, somehow figuring out what was amusing Gabite so much. “You’re not doing away with her, like you did with the other humans. Come back when she does an actual crime, would you?”

Stupid, unwavering defiance, in front of a force much greater than them. But there could be no compromise. Even Gabite, for all his baggage concerning humans, would not stand for murder.

Lugia naturally took offense. A PERSONAL GUARDIAN — A SERVER OF THE HARBINGER? he screeched. FIENDS! LUNATICS! HUMANS CANNOT REMAIN HERE, ESPECIALLY NOT HER! YOU ACCELERATE THE DEAD WINTER THAT MARKS OUR RUINATION BY ASSISTING—

Leave.

Togetic’s eyes widened as pink fog swirled overhead, swirling into the shape of an irate, spectral Espeon. Trees rustled at the same time, Eevee blasting out of the foliage and falling right beside Espeon. The Abhorrent and his cursed sister stared through Eira, as if witnessing Lugia himself.

“We’re already handling the human,” Eevee said with formal grace. “She’ll be out of your scales in no time. I suggest you consider the Lucario’s advice and return only if the prophecy gets out of hand, fair?”

YOU. Lugia’s voice grew garbled, Togetic reeling from his searing rage. YOU MAY BE UNLIKE THE OTHER ABOMINATIONS, BUT I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOUR ACT. YOU AND YOUR SPIRITS HAVE SINNED DEARLY BY ALLOWING THE HUMAN TO ESCAPE ME YESTERDAY! I WILL—

One more moment of silence, sudden and deafening. Lucario grumbled and turned, then Shaymin and Gabite, Eira sighing out as she looked over her shoulder at the disturbance. Eevee snorted, and even before looking over herself, Togetic already knew what happened.

For there she was, the matriarch of Stringed Forest. Ariados stood a distance away, face impassive, eyeing Eira with a heavy yet dull gaze. If Lugia was the greatest of their issues, she was somehow the least.

Ironic, for Lugia balked at her appearance. ANOTHER?

Ariados twitched at his voice. “Lugia,” she muttered. “You seek to fight destiny too? I tried.”

YOU TOO KNOW THE VERSES. Lugia’s panic condensed into a ball of throbbing anxiety. HOW MANY? HOW MANY HAVE FOUND HER?

Eira, Eevee, Espeon, and Ariados all shared a glance. A glint of understanding entered their eyes, leaving Togetic alone to wonder why everyone was acting up. And then—

Oh.

Lugia doesn’t know?

“Can you not see yourself?” asked Ariados, amused. “My whole village. They saw her. And—”

AND A KECLEON. AND A MISMAGIUS.

Lugia spoke mechanically, as if reading Ariados’s exact thoughts. As if he couldn’t be bothered to probe her mind for answers. Perhaps because he couldn’t, not from so far away? Or had he simply never thought to?

A rumbling sigh came from the Legendary. A pained one. THEN MATTERS ARE TOO FAR GONE. I’VE FAILED.

The pressure all but eased, allowing Eira to pull away from Togetic and Shaymin’s support. EVEN IF THE SECRET REMAINS CONTAINED, spoke Lugia, TIME WILL ERODE ITS VEIL. I CANNOT CLEANSE SO MANY. DO YOU THINK MY SEABOUND NATURE MAKES YOU IMMUNE FROM MY WRATH, HUMAN? THAT I CANNOT FIND OTHER MEANS TO COLLECT YOU? The Legendary let out a death-like hiss. YOU ARE AMUSED, MYTHICAL.

Shaymin had the gall to put on an obscenely large grin. “You don’t say?” she said, before jerking her head with a yelp.

TAUNT ME ALL YOU DARE! I DID NOT EXPECT THAT MY PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS WOULD BE SO FALSE, BUT IT MATTERS LITTLE NOW. YOU ALL COMMIT A GRAVE CRIME, ESPECIALLY YOU, JACKAL — A GUARDIAN OF MAN! THE SHEER IDIOCY, TO GIVE REFUGE TO THE ILL OMEN! BUT GO ON, AND PLAY THIS GAME OF YOURS. SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REJECT MY BENEVOLENCE AND FORCE MY WINGS.

YOU WILL REGRET THIS FOR THE REST OF YOUR PALTRY LIVES.

And then it ended. Togetic felt Lugia pull away, and the connection severed. Her ears rang, even though the cacophony had been all in her mind, and her head pounded. As did her heart.

Espeon was for some reason arguing with Eevee over the futility of sleep. Eira was resting her face against the ground. Shaymin?

She laughed her lungs out.

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“He didn’t find out that Porygon-Z also knows! Or that Lucario’s not just Eira’s guardian, but a foreign Pokemon too!”

Shaymin couldn’t help herself, grinning like a maddened loon. It was hilarious! Lugia hadn’t even realized they all knew of the prophecy until they referred to it, or that there was a whole flipping village that saw Eira! Not to mention that he didn’t notice Eevee or Ariados being around until the last moment. The big-wig Psychic Legendary stank at his job, ha!

The funny bird had made way too many assumptions, and he was too cocky to make sure all of them were true. “You still didn’t have to draw his ire,” Togetic told her, far less entertained. “He reminds me of what you were once like, you know?”

Their group was briskly returning to the cottage grounds, Gabite, Lucario, and Eira slightly ahead of them as they emerged out of the forest and into the clearing. “Nah, even I was better than that,” asserted Shaymin. “Lugia’s on a whole different level of silly. What kind of Psychic doesn’t do deep reads on his sworn enemies?”

Gabite nodded, wearing a little grin of his own. “It was only when Eira’s thoughts drifted toward us that Lugia realized we knew of her human nature,” Lucario noted, making the titular false vixen rub at her forehead, apologetic.

And it is only after Ariados thought of the others who’ve seen the human that Lugia learned of Kecleon and Mismagius. Togetic and Shaymin winced as Espeon, the ghostly pink cat with a red gemstone on her forehead, floated alongside them with cold, droopy eyes. Her anchor, the Eevee, hung a distance back. Lugia seems to check for surface thoughts, though perhaps he is not the most attentive.

It might’ve been his siblings, trapped within him as hive-mind apparitions, or his crown of colorful crystals that gave an eerie regality to his youthful form, but Eevee made Shaymin uncomfortable. Even more than Eira did. But yes, the Espeon was right. Lugia would’ve known of Porygon-Z too, but he had focused on the wrong person.

He was exactly how she thought Legendaries were: socially incompetent recluses who were all pomp and pride, and with no actual idea of how to effectively deal with their problems. Simply put, he was dumb.

And a coward. And a jerk. And a killer. And killing was dumb, so Lugia was super dumb. Not to mention he wanted Eira, and Shaymin was absolutely not letting Lucario’s human be more miserable than she already was.

All in all, Lugia was a poor excuse for what a Legendary was supposed to be. “I think I get why Lugia didn’t fight Aerodactyl head-on until the very end,” she brought up. “He’s super afraid of him, and of being mutated.”

Which was reasonable, but pathetic too, leaving explorers to do all the work of fighting the mutant. “He did mention that he made a psychic extender, though. I’m guessing Lugia knows how to craft simple artifacts to boost his Psychic powers.”

Eira flattened her ears. “And will that be a problem for us?” asked Gabite.

Unfortunately, it was. “Lugia may not be the brightest, but make no mistake, he’s still a powerful Legendary,” said Shaymin. “Him being able to make artifacts makes him far scarier. He’ll need time to prepare though — we’ve got a few days before we need to be further inland.”

There was plenty to unpack about the Legendary, and Shaymin was beginning to see a bigger picture. But for now, she felt like taking a break to worry about a lesser threat.

Like Ariados.

She was last to join them, trespassing into Gabite’s territory as if to challenge the dragon-shark to shoo her away. Lucario and Togetic kept a steady eye on her while Eira slunk back, tails twitching. “Right, you,” Gabite eventually said. “What’s the meaning of this, matriarch?”

Despite having been here with Ariados, apparently Eevee and Espeon didn’t know her reason for visiting either. “We have met before, Team Heavendust,” she replied. “Only Team Elementri precedes you in reputation around these parts.”

Shaymin resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Yes, they’d been in her dungeon before. Yes, they were reputable explorers. “And?” she questioned.

Ariados threw her a significant glance. “There was,” she said, pausing for a second, “an incident yesterday at my village. I know you faced one yourself, at the now-dubbed Stormsoaked Shores. Perhaps, dear Mythical—”

Her leg glowed and rippled, and the strangest object Shaymin ever saw phased out of her body, Ariados clutching it like it was her lifeline. “You might know what this is,” she finished, leaving the others in startled wonder.

Gabite almost threw himself forward in curiosity, but in the end he waved Shaymin forward. She could only gape as she observed the object, a dark blue chunk of some unknown material with glowing cracks of purplish-red traced throughout like veins. A black mist poured out of those cracks, engulfing the object whole like a possessive specter, and Shaymin gagged when she caught a whiff of its nauseating, polluted scent. Was the object moving? It looked like it was shaking about, leaving behind fuzzy afterimages—

It was distorting. The object was distorting, and the mist was not just mist. It was literal shadow, defiantly clinging on to the object despite the sunlight clashing against it. Shaymin moved to touch it, and to her surprise, Ariados allowed it, keeping a firm grip while she pawed the warping grooves and felt the inky, sticky substance of the shadow. Was it a gas or a liquid? A part of her almost wondered if this thing was toxic to the touch.

“Oh my,” whispered Eevee, Espeon rubbing her intangible eyes. Their gazes slowly fell to the anklet Eevee wore, and the Abhorrent Z-Crystal attached. An Eevium-Z mutagen, with barbed, blackened tips with haloed rings wrapped over them, and dried remnants of shadowy ooze inside.

Unsettlingly, the ooze seemed like a thicker, stickier blob of the shadows surrounding Ariados’s object. Shaymin and Gabite exchanged looks.

“Uh, Shaymin?” whispered Togetic. “What is that?”

Lucario gasped. “That thing Ariados has, it’s—”

“It’s what lets you control your dungeon,” said Eira, breathless.

It could be nothing else. And it gave Shaymin much to chew on. It broadened her horizons. Didn’t Eira say Aerodactyl wanted to take this from Ariados?

“It appeared during the formation of Stringed Forest, and I claimed it. Should I lose this shard, my village will cease to be. What remains of my humble people will scatter.” Ariados held the object close to her, before it violently shook, the spider hissing as it disintegrated into waves of red-purplish energy that flowed throughout her body. “You are amongst the few I’ve dared mention it to, and yet, the Abhorrent Aerodactyl and Mew who invaded my home — the human has told you, no? — knew I had such an item. More concerningly, the Aerodactyl spoke of it as a lesser version of the power he seeks.”

Lucario and Eira gave subtle nods of recollection, Shaymin’s distress peaking. The ‘shard’ was a fragment of distortion, meant to warp Ariados’s own dungeon. Were there others like it, for other dungeons?

And yet, the shard was a lesser item? Lesser?

Did the Legendaries’ power to alter any dungeon come from more powerful shards? thought Shaymin. My home, was it made using—?

Duh, it was. She always suspected something like this! Her elders always kept quiet about such things, but now she had evidence. The greater Legendaries had an enhanced version of Ariados’s shard, empowered to let them control any dungeon.

And Aerodactyl sought to steal such an artifact from Lugia.

Light filled Shaymin’s eyes, much to Ariados’s satisfaction. “You have gained something from my shard,” she remarked.

Many things. Where did the Legendary ‘super shards’ come from, though? Considering they could shape any dungeon without limit, it sounded like they didn’t naturally appear, but were instead made to subjugate Mystery Dungeons. Perhaps a master creator of artifacts from the Jade Age forged the enhanced shards? Or a Giratina from those times, or one of those humans that Mismagius said had once lived here? A Missing One? Well, surely not a Missing One, but—

“Then I will not waste any more of your time.” Ariados turned around. “My apologies for intruding.”

Shaymin tore herself away from her thoughts. “Wait!” she blurted. “You—”

“Excuse us?” Lucario took over for her, moving past her to confront Ariados. “That’s it? You just showed up to demonstrate your little shard thingy? You don’t even care what it means?”

Ariados shook her head. She rubbed her bruised leg, peering at the peeved jackal with a huff. Eevee’s mouth quirked with mirth.

“No, forget that!” Lucario laid bare his fangs. “Is this your way of pretending we’re all even now? That we should let bygones be bygones? After what you’ve done—”

The matriarch stepped to the side. “I didn’t anticipate the human would be with you,” she said to Gabite.

Lucario held his tongue, but continued to glare. “Your villagers and their gossip nearly landed us in hot water,” the dragon-shark commented. “Apparently, you had nothing to do with it.”

The spider confused Shaymin. The Mythical remembered seeing human Eira’s back, and the stab marks punctured through her clothing and skin — Ariados had been bent on the girl’s death. Now she lacked even a shred of malice.

She tilted her head at Ariados. She in turn faced Eira, whose brows slanted as she waited with bated breath. “You,” said Ariados.

Eira frowned. “Me.”

“You’re an ill omen.”

“I-I am.”

“You stopped the Aerodactyl from taking my shard.”

The false vixen and her Lucario guardian blinked, neither unable to reply. Ariados stared into the distance, an agonized melancholy simmering in her eyes. Turmoil too.

And a pinch of insanity. “You’re going to destroy us,” she said, chuckling to herself. “It’d be karma, if my actions brought you further down the road to doom. Look at you! You’re protected. I’m out of tricks. The prophecy continues. Why, human, must you complicate everything?”

Shaymin couldn’t unsee it. The way Ariados held herself — how would Togetic put it? — it was like an Archeops with its Defeatist Ability active. She could continue to fight, but what was the point?

“I can neither curse you nor thank you.” Ariados shook her head. “I thought to dissuade you, explorers, from wasting time chasing after the girl, but that seems unnecessary now. You seek to get her off these islands?”

She didn’t wait for their answer. “Go ahead. Change destiny. My villagers may not understand, but no one benefits anyway if the archipelago finds out about the girl. And yet, if you are left with no other choice, will you bring yourself to put down the ill omen before she destroys everything?”

Eira’s tails knotted themselves into a ball. A flash of whimsy reached Ariados’s face, and with it, a nervous laugh. A long, fearful laugh, one she didn’t seem to know how to stop. And then—

“Shaymin.”

The call-out made Shaymin’s grassy fur wither.

“Lugia holds a power greater than mine, I realize. That Aerodactyl — perhaps the Mew too — they will take it. You of all Pokemon would seek to stop them, wouldn’t you? And you, Eevee? Perhaps all of you?”

Ariados spoke solemnly, as if she’d gazed into their souls and known their deepest desires — her deepest desires — if only for a fleeting second. Shaymin trembled at her unspoken request, barely aware that she was nodding.

Ariados respectfully nodded back, a tiny weight lifted from her shoulders. “Well, what more do you want, an apology?” she told Lucario. “They don’t mean much when it comes to murder.”

She left on that self-incriminating note, scuttling away with a forced smile. Down the hill, past the dusty field in the center, and into the woods she went. Ariados departed, done with playing her role on a stage she no longer wanted anything to do with.

“At least she realizes that,” muttered Lucario.

Shaymin fidgeted, Togetic and Gabite’s stares pressing down on her nape. She’d have to speak, of course. There was much to discuss. And Eevee—

The matriarch was here? Must’ve been quite the show.

It was the red Flareon spirit that spoke, him and the other Eeveelution ghosts rising out like smoke from the crystal structures on Eevee’s head, as if waking up from a deep slumber. Shaymin’s breath caught for a moment, the strange group catching her attention. The pink Fairy one was a Sylveon, right? Leafeon and Glaceon were the Grass and Ice ones, Jolteon the energetic, yellow Electric one, the fish-like Water-type was Vaporeon, and — Umbreon, was it? — was Dark. “Back from the dead, you all?” said Eevee. “Flareon, no straining Espeon’s mental powers for small talk.”

It is fine, insisted Espeon, her eyes drooping. I can manage—

Espeon, we have told you repeatedly not to strain yourself so, Vaporeon chided. To the rest of you, our apologies — we were in a state of rest. Have we missed much? I believe we are here for a discussion.

She and Eevee faced Shaymin, treating her like some sort of ambassador. The Mythical fidgeted some more, under the weight of the Eeveelutions’ presences.

—Eevee had matters of his own. His needs, Lucario and Eira’s, and the matter of Lugia and the Abhorrents all tied together in a jumbled mess, one she was qualified to sort out.

Unfortunately. “Just a second,” Shaymin said, making a face at Gabite and Togetic. “Will somebody get Eevee and his siblings up to speed? I need a moment to think this through.”

When both hesitated, Lucario and Eira pulled up to do so. They explained everything that happened on their end, while Eevee explained Ariados’s appearance to his formerly asleep siblings — they could sleep? — freeing Shaymin to do some hard thinking. Ariados hadn’t come here for Lucario, Eira, or Eevee, but rather for Team Heavendust.

Particularly her, the sole Mythical around these parts. Who else?

Shaymin wasn’t a master of deduction like Gabite, but she had enough of a brain to see a narrative. Why did Eira end up on the archipelago? Because of Aerodactyl and Lugia. There had been a storm—

Lugia was repelling a human ship. Aerodactyl seized the moment to attack.

The ship was destroyed in their fighting, and by some unknown circumstances, several humans ended up past the distortion fields and the human warding towers, reaching the islands. Aerodactyl had been defeated, but he got away with a few of Lugia’s feathers, leaving Lugia to clean up the mess.

He’s afraid of the fallout. He doesn’t want anyone finding a human and stirring a panic. Or for word to reach someone important, like a Legendary, or—

Or Their Highnesses? Regardless, Lugia was taking the human situation personally. As a guardian of the sea, it seemed likely that he felt obligated to ensure no humans could approach the shores.

He spoke of removing the humans as his duty. He knows the prophecy and even recognizes that Eira fits the bill, transfigured human and all.

The weirdest part about Lugia? He tried to hide it, but Shaymin was sure he badly wanted — expected — them to give up Eira peacefully. His whole spiel was just an intimidation tactic. Could Lugia really catch them if they went deeper into the island? He might have to show his face to do so, or resort to unreliable tricks. Lugia wanted a clean sweep, not a messy fight that’d attract unwanted attention.

But back to Aerodactyl. The Lugia pillars, Shaymin thought. He’s already placed one feather atop the pillar in Stormsoaked Shores. There were three dots inscribed on the pillar, and one was glowing.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

One pillar found, two to go. If the Lugia pillars weren’t some Legendary trial that would grant access to Lugia’s lair, Shaymin didn’t know what. Lugia has shards like Ariados’s, but far more powerful, she noted. The power to alter all dungeons.

The greater Legendaries had that power. Mew was not a greater Legendary.

“Aerodactyl’s getting Lugia’s artifact for Mew, isn’t he?”

A shaky Togetic had approached Shaymin, Gabite standing a little further back. “Except he’s not even the leader,” he muttered. “There’s someone else. Someone who might actually destabilize the dungeons, or worse.”

Worse. Shaymin eyed Eevee’s Z-Crystal and the ooze within, and wondered what worse meant.

Lucario and Eira had long finished talking about Gabite’s wizard humans, spacetime distortions, and Berrypark Town shenanigans to a pale-faced Eevee and his siblings, faces that grew grave once Shaymin shared her thoughts about Lugia and Aerodactyl. “Ariados’s right,” she told them. “I can’t ignore this. If the Abhorrents get Lugia’s shard—”

“We’ll have a crisis on our hands.” Veins bulged on Gabite’s face, infernal scenes writhing in front of his eyes. “That can’t be allowed.”

Togetic clutched her wing in a death-like grip, uncomfortable at the thought, but understanding how dire the situation was. As did Eira, pale Eira, the human girl who shouldn’t be wrapped up in such dangerous games. “You know how I feel about this,” growled Lucario, though his voice seemed subdued. “My human needs help, not more risks to her life.”

“Easy, Lucario,” said Gabite. “If I’m getting this right, Aerodactyl and his group need two more pillars, which could be located in any possible dungeon.”

Exactly. The pillars were hidden elsewhere. “Once Aerodactyl finds them, they’ll have access to Lugia’s lair,” said Shaymin. “Lugia can’t just disable that feature, I’m sure of that.”

“Pity.” Gabite hummed, flicking his claw toward his Treasure Bag. “The Kabutops person we’re looking for is in Swampblot Island. Being seabound, Lugia would likely hide his pillars in dungeons near an island’s shores. Not that we can cross the sea—”

We know a dungeon with a shortcut.

At the southern part of Grassbranch Island.

Leafeon and Glaceon spoke one after the other, Eevee nodding along. “I don’t like whatever Aerodactyl or his Mew friend are up to either,” he stated. “But I’ve got precious cargo to deliver.”

“Who said we have to chase them?” Gabite let out an amused puff of air. “I say we get this task of bringing the human to Kabutops over with, and along the way, we warn the locals about the Abhorrents as is needed. We find out what we can about local dungeons, which ones are likely to have the pillars, and maybe get some of the other explorer teams to scout around.”

Shaymin frowned, finding this plan a little too passive. “I can’t just—”

“And then, once Lucario, Eira, and Eevee are with Kabutops, safe from Lugia, the rest of us can focus on the Abhorrents,” Gabite assured her. “I can likely get Braixen in on this situation too — his team’s supposed to head back to Berrypark Town in a few days. Assuming Lugia doesn’t try pulling a fast one on us in the meantime, I’ll speak with them before we depart for Kabutops.”

Shaymin pursed her lips. Team Elementri was coming back? Those guys were veteran travelers and explorers. They’d be a big help.

It was a decent proposal, one that could satisfy all parties. It’ll do, said Umbreon.

The other Eeveelutions agreed in a mixture of voices, Vaporeon clearing her mental throat to quiet them. It is a boon that we have any sort of help. Eevee?

Eevee let out a thoughtful sigh. “Better if the human has explorers as her escort instead of an Abhorrent,” he said, adopting a little smirk. “Fine. We can work out logistics and details later. You help us a little with getting the human back, and I suppose we’ll help a little with thwarting the Abhorrents, yeah?”

Sounded fair to Shaymin. She nodded, and Lucario wearily consented to their plan, while Eira shrugged, content with any plan whatsoever. Togetic looked between them all, before rubbing her head.

“This is really happening,” she whispered.

“Our duty, Togetic,” Gabite reminded her. “I know you didn’t sign up for this, but something’s gotta be done.” His face grew wrinkled, weary at the madness approaching. “Blast it, Lucario, I wish I could keep you around. Even your human and her Disables, it’ll make things safer in case we get into a rough spot.”

The guilt-tripping wasn’t intentional, but Lucario seemed disgruntled, almost like he wished he could help fight the Abhorrents. Even more so with Eira.

“I just don’t know anymore,” muttered Togetic. “This shouldn’t be— could you all excuse me?”

She flew to the cottage with a fake smile, as proper and graceful as can be. The others watched in consternation, and Eira whipped around, paws shifting as if she wanted to chase after her.

Shaymin held up a paw. “Let me.”

Eira slowly sat down. “It’s not me, is it?”

“Nah. Course not.”

It was everything.

Trusting Gabite wouldn’t go bonkers while she was gone, Shaymin followed Togetic. Up the hillside, past the cottage door, and into the living room, with a little table and a few chairs atop a rather tacky rug. To the side, passing by the corner of the room that served as the kitchen. Then into a hallway, going past the washroom, before stopping at the ladies’ quarters.

Shaymin breathed, then pushed it open, the door creaking ever so slightly. In she went, admiring the far more elegant, flowery rug she and Togetic had adorned their room with, and the potted plants she took good care of, resting on the window sill and atop a few mahogany drawers. The wood color reminded her of home.

And there was Togetic, flopped over on her cushion bed, as improper and graceless as can be. The angelic had her face smushed against the fabric, arms and legs dangling to the side. She groaned.

“What’s someone like me doing here, Shaymin?” came her muffled voice.

Shaymin rested beside her. “A prophesied human’s enough of an ordeal,” Togetic went on. “Abhorrents out to take over the archipelago too? It’s like the world’s gone upside-down. Is this real? Are we actually doing this?”

She raised her head, breathing in a mouthful of air. Shaymin offered a paw, and Togetic clenched it, her grip murderous.

“It’s like a fever dream. Or a nightmare. Both.” Togetic fired a friendly scowl at Shaymin. “The consequences of befriending a Mythical, I guess.”

Funny how they met. Two dummies snuck away from their homes, one wanting to explore the world, and the other despising the idea of hiding away from it. Both had wanted to do something meaningful, be it a chance to do something good, to find the unknown, or to experience the thrill of a grand adventure to conquer.

Well, wish granted. Here it was, an adventure. And adventure sucked.

At least Shaymin could rub it in her fellow kind’s faces. Legendaries were creatures with special talents — they weren’t supposed to rot away in hidey holes and whatnot! What if danger reared its ugly head again? Who would deal with it, and would they do it quickly enough, before things went too far?

Everyone saw her kind as heroes. Ariados did. But guess where the Legendaries were? All in hiding, keeping their necks buried in the sand. All but a human-hunting Lugia, and—

“Mew does scare you the most, doesn’t he?”

And him. Primal Gear the Mew. Creator of not the mutagens, but the Z-Crystals containing them. Who made the Mega Stones then, the Yveltal-like Aerodactyl?

Never mind that. “A Mythical working with the Abhorrents? That’s worse than bad, Togetic. That—”

Dread, burning her veins. Making her skin boil. A Mew wouldn’t join such a defiled group, not without deep, disturbing motives. The Abhorrent plot was Legendary in scale. Maybe even worse, if Mew’s leader was something beyond Legendary.

And that was completely ignoring the fact that she had a human, a living, breathing human, to escort back home before a stupid prophecy destroyed the archipelago.

God.

This was why she left home. As a Mythical, she may as well be sworn to deal with such dilemmas. She practically sought them out.

I’ll never think of everyday explorer work as boring again.

Togetic pulled Shaymin closer, and suddenly her iron grip became soothing, a gentleness beneath its firm hold. “I know you can’t let this go,” she said with a sigh, strength returning to her voice. “I can’t either — it’s why we’re explorers, aren’t we?”

“For three months, Togetic.”

“Three months and a half. And we’ve traveled for much longer.” Togetic put on a loving smile, one that would raze all her troubles to the ground. “Don’t worry about me, sister. I’m afraid, believe me, so very afraid, but you know I’d follow you to the Distortion World and back. If we must fight Abhorrents, then I’ll be with you all the way. No matter the cost.”

Togetic always had a way with words. Shaymin absorbed her smile, and found it contagious. “And Eira?”

Togetic’s lips quirked. “Curse us if we don’t make up for what we’ve done to her. We’ll give her a happy ending yet, Grace.”

“Serene.”

For a moment, peace was shared between pseudo-siblings. A silent pledge too. They stared at each other, and found boundless loyalty.

“Just—” Serene the Togetic sheepishly scratched her cheek “—let me recuperate a little longer, okay?”

Grace the Shaymin laughed. Harder than she meant to.

“Take your time. I’m here for you too.”

----------------------------------------

Gabite grumbled. Leaves rustled to a calm wind, the sort that came before a storm, and the greenery of his cottage sanctuary seemed a little more yellowy today. As if it had overheard his group’s discussions, and feared the world was crumbling, piece by piece.

It just might, if Aerodactyl had things his way. Or the Mew. It was disturbing, this whole situation, especially for one like him.

The Abhorrents were a blasphemy, a blight. They were unnatural. Kind of like them, his human tormentors.

Never did he imagine himself teaming with an Abhorrent. Or stranger still—

Gabite almost turned toward her. Almost, but not quite. Even as a Vulpix, the timid human still made his scales itch like mad. Made his mind burn, and agitated the voices in his head. He couldn’t look at her straight.

The girl cursed with a darned prophecy.

He owed her a way back to her homeland. Of all the people to saddle such a burden upon.

She covertly watched him, equally as uncomfortable. Lucario was bolder, staring him down in expectancy, and Eevee was no different. Neither were his siblings, spirits chained to the Eevee to form a stranger kind of abomination. The kind that made people curious, even pitying, while still injecting a fear of the otherworldly into them.

There was an anklet on Eevee’s forepaw. A mutagen Z-Crystal was affixed to it, already used. Gabite could barely make out the dried ooze on it.

The Abhorrents look like that ooze in — what did Shaymin say the human called it? — their Distortion Frenzy.

And the shadows of Ariados’s shard looked a little like the ooze. Gabite hated the coincidence.

Lucario and his human seemed to understand his concern, eyeing the Z-Crystal with apprehension, and Eevee took stock of the group’s stares. “It better not mean anything,” he said, replying to an unspoken question.

Gabite was supposed to speak, he realized. He was Team Heavendust’s leader. With no Shaymin or Togetic around, the others expected him to continue the conversation. To say something, anything.

But he didn’t know what to say to an Abhorrent family, a human, and her human guardian.

Blissfully, Eevee threw him a bone. “The Mismagius’s teaching Eira magic, huh?”

In the corner of Gabite’s eye, he thought the human’s cheeks had reddened. Meek girl — why did she have a Vulpix’s form, instead of something like a Mareep? “It won’t interfere with our plans,” he replied.

Though regardless, he should warn Mismagius about their planned travels. “Hmph,” said Eevee. “She knows about me and my brethren.”

Slight indignation, but no real anger. “Nothing I can do about that, Abhorrent.”

“Whatever. This Porygon-Z person—” Eevee side-eyed Lucario with disbelief “—he’s a human machine?”

“Not your typical Faller, I’d say.”

Spectral, judging eyes stared him down, making him bristle. “Weird,” Eevee eventually said. “Guess some rumors about humans are true after all, like their tech. Or their magic, or the idea of them having lived in our lands before.”

Wisely, Eevee didn’t mention the prophecy. Not with the human present. The Mismagius would’ve taught us something, hm? the Flareon ghost stated. More than the stale junk you’ve found.

“Who asked, Flareon?”

The Mismagius. The things she knew. The things she said.

Things she said about humans.

They brought innovations we Pokemon never thought of, being the wild creatures we were then.

They taught us the tenets of civilization and technology, and we prospered for it.

Blasted irony. His captors tried to make a feral out of him. Like Aerodactyl did with the mutagens.

But the words haunted him. Was it true? That the Pokemon of Haven Archipelago were wild, like the ones in Lucario’s world, and they learned from humans? Were their lifestyles and customs — the cities they made, the economy they contributed to, the cultures they developed — all because of them? Humans?

Without them, were we just beasts?

Lucario wasn’t. But he’d been raised by a human. A ‘Pokemon Trainer’.

Gabite knew he was being ridiculous, but irrationality had a pull on him. He clutched his face, whirling over, and made himself face the human. Her stock-still Vulpix form branded his eyes.

A beast is all you ever were, the voices echoed.

Shut up.

“What are you?”

The human stepped back, eyes large. Gabite thought he felt blood trickle down his claw.

The spider and the silver bird knew better. She is your omen.

Shut up.

“What is she, Lucario? What are you, for that matter?”

Lucario’s stance shifted. A feral part of Gabite smelled a challenge to his dominance, the birthright of a Dragon.

The dog serves. He knows his place. You will either join him in his fetters, or—

Get out!

“I still don’t understand! How? How could you ever chain yourself to her kind? Why—”

Gabite moved forward, and so did Eevee and his siblings. He saw them and cowered, not wanting to be like those vile apparitions, controlled by— by—

They weren’t controlled. Eevee cooperated with his siblings. He ordered them like a leader, not an enslaver.

Did human trainers do that?

Porygon-Z had never answered him on that front, his spotty memory not knowing much about them. But Lucario implied they did.

Numbness. It felt foreign, distant. Gabite cocked his head at Lucario, his paw bathed in blue aura, then eyed the human one more time. Eira, she was called.

Strange name.

He breathed, ripping his gaze away. “Do we Pokemon need them?” he asked, in the calmest voice he could manage. “The humans?”

His claws shook. Gabite stilled them. Lucario seemed to understand, seeing his attempt to rein himself in from the madness within. He spoke.

“No.”

A pause.

“I chained myself to several humans, Gabite. I left all but one.”

That took Gabite by surprise. Several? Lucario had gone through the process of giving himself up to Pokemon Trainers multiple times, being exchanged from one human’s Pokeball to another?

The Abhorrents listened in too, enraptured, and Eira too swiveled her ears over. “You had other trainers?” she whispered.

Lucario smirked at her curiosity. “Did nothing I said in the morning click for you, Gabite?” he said. “Yes, Pokemon back home take up the wild life. Many of us like it that way. But some get the itch to see more, to do more, to explore beyond their little home — like a certain Riolu who left his tribe.”

His shrug was the kind an amnesiac Slowpoke would give. “I don’t remember the humans, but we didn’t mix well together. Some had an attitude I couldn’t get by, or a level of immaturity I couldn’t stand, or our interests simply didn’t align. They’d want to be a cook or a performer or a news reporter, and I just didn’t care for it. Eventually I’d go looking for someone else, or if the human was understanding, they’d hand me over to someone else who could better work with me.”

Gabite couldn’t wrap his head around that. He just left? Or the humans would allow him to go? It sounded too simple. What was the catch? Why—

“And Adam?” asked Eira.

Lucario’s smirk turned into a wistful grin. “Him,” he said. “I was soul-searching, Gabite. I never knew my love for fighting until Adam awakened it. Ever heard of the Pokemon League?”

Everyone but Eira batted an eye.

“Course not. Biggest battle tournament you’ll find in each region, for only the greatest of trainers and Pokemon to compete in. Adam was passionate, especially about the League, and he rubbed off on me. My skill’s the result of his coaching and direction, and my diligence.”

“You needed him.”

“Hardly, Gabite. But he pushed me. He cared.” Lucario shook his head. “It’s not that we go to humans to be civilized, for all the advancements and cleverness they have in lieu of raw strength. We’re just two races striving to learn from each other, and the ways we live. Adam made a point of understanding the Pokemon he worked with, and respecting their interests. I stuck around to understand him in return, and because I liked him.”

A sigh. “He’s gone.”

Grimaces all around. Even Gabite grimaced. Why was he doing that? It was just a human—

“Outdoorsy person, he was. Did plenty of camping trips near the Coronet Highlands when we weren’t focusing on the Pokemon Sinnoh League circuit. Loved exploring. Most of all, though, he enjoyed hanging out with us all — me, Torterra, Lanturn, Banette, Duosion, and Dragonair. Did activities with us, ate with us, read books with us, whatever.”

It was still well before noon, yet twin sunsets shone in Lucario’s eyes. “Is any of this reaching you? We’re not beasts for humans to tame and exploit. We’re creatures with great power who can live entirely without them, yet we choose to accompany them. Likewise, they’re beings that respect us, despite their dominance over the lands.

“They learn as much from us as we do from them, although Pokemon don’t teach humans about magic back home. We don’t need them, but we become something else through them. Humans, they seek to harmonize with us, to be our companions. Neighbors. Friends. Adam was that friend to me. He—”

A choke. Lucario’s eyes dimmed, sunsets setting.

“He meant everything.”

The Pokemon language was one that relied not on mere words, but rather subtle cues like pitch and emotion. And Gabite could hear the affection in Lucario’s voice, so raw he’d get food poisoning if it was edible.

He couldn’t swallow it. Pokemon were still subordinates, used by humans for their labors, or for sport. Lucario had admitted that to him earlier. They catch us in balls and make us do what they want! he wanted to yell. Humans aren’t compassionate creatures! They control us, they rule over us, they—

But that was just irrationality talking. The part of him that still felt trapped in the underground chambers of the dungeon his humans had wandered. Humans that tried to reduce him to a mere beast.

He wasn’t a beast though. He was a thinker.

Plenty of Pokemon in the archipelago chose the wild life, but they were hardly animals. Wild, yes, but they had some sense of civility. And Lucario did say he lived in a tribe — his relationship with a human was far from just a silly need.

Nor was it a matter of compulsion. It was a matter of mutual benefit, and a friendship with an entirely different kind of creature. Lucario must’ve evolved under his human, thought Gabite. Adam.

Stranger name. Just as strange as the human-Pokemon dynamic. It wasn’t… bad, but it still sounded like Pokemon got the short end of the stick. They weren’t equals.

But the human, Eira. She herself spoke of Pokemon as spirits to be respected. That they would care for you if you cared for them. Gabite thought about that, and then—

“Human.”

Eira jolted, her anxiety rising. Meek, docile girl. “The spacetime distortions,” Gabite said, and her face squirmed, already hearing his question in advance. “They happened in your world. Your kind caused it, didn’t they?”

It’d been a hunch of his. “T-they—” Eira stammered “—I-I mean, most of u-us would never—”

“But there are humans who’d do such evils, yeah? People who abuse the powers of Pokemon for their own gain? Or at least common folk who mistreat their Pokemon subordinates?”

“S-some, yes, but—”

“I already said some humans abuse their privileges,” Lucario said in a cranky, worn-down tone.

True, he did. But it felt better hearing it from the girl. “You make them sound too wonderful,” Gabite said, his mood lightening. “Do they fear us Pokemon? The humans?”

Eira dared to peek at him. “We’re in awe of you,” she whispered. “Always have been.”

Awe. Wonder and fear. “What would happen if a human was to wrong a Pokemon?”

“Intentionally? Other humans w-would step in. Or the Pokemon would fight back.”

Gabite eyed his claw. It wasn’t bloodstained.

“That could get them killed.”

“Maimed. Or c-cursed, or something else. Everyone knows Pokemon shouldn’t be messed with.” Eira frowned, scratching her curly tuft of hair. “Why do people think humans are in charge, anyway? Does no one think about the wrath of a Legendary?”

Gabite smelled the underlying dread in her voice, borne from a knowledge of old fables and folktales. He never thought about the Legendaries, in retrospect. There are consequences, he realized. Checks. Limits.

Huh.

That made things interesting. There was an equilibrium of sorts, a layered structure to the relationship between humans and Pokemon. He could live with that.

“Maybe your world isn’t awful after all,” he replied, finding Lucario’s exasperated face to be priceless. Gabite flashed his teeth at him, before throwing Eevee a significant look. “You staying?”

“Huh?” Eevee sat up, his siblings cocking their heads. “Staying?”

“At the cottage, until we depart for Kabutops. No reason to be cooped up in that den of yours.” Gabite casually waved a claw around. “You know, I’m surprised you’re not being more possessive over the human.”

Eevee blinked. And then hacked out a laugh.

“Listen, pal. I don’t like your team having her, or the Mismagius for that matter,” he said. “But do we have a choice? We’re technically your captives, and besides—” Eevee waved his tail toward Vaporeon “—my sister here told me to back down.”

It is not worth gaining their ire, Vaporeon stated. I will take gambles as needed, and I believe this one must be taken.

Espeon nodded along, the others not contesting her and Vaporeon, though Gabite could see wary expressions from the Sylveon, Flareon, Jolteon, and Umbreon ghosts. Half the group, really. And Leafeon and Glaceon seemed to be on the fence, though they looked hopeful enough.

As weird as it made Gabite feel, he supposed he’d have to win them over. “Well, Eevee? You staying?”

Lucario and Eira eyed Eevee, choosing not to give their own input. Gabite began tapping his foot.

“You realize you shouldn’t be seen with an Abhorrent, right?” Eevee argued.

“You realize I shouldn’t be seen with a human, right?” Gabite shot back.

“Why the gesture, anyway? You’re paranoid of my sort.”

“Just like how you’re paranoid of us? Who said I’m not keeping you around out of paranoia?”

Eevee raised his brows. Gabite raised his own in return. They stared, and a smile touched the former’s lips.

“You’re not.” Eevee took in the scenery, before giving a shrug. “Our den’s nice enough, thank you very much. But we’ll visit often.”

Indeed. But enough — we need not prolong this discussion. Vaporeon glared at Espeon, the sleepy Psychic pointedly ignoring her. We will be in touch. Prove to me that I’m not wrong to let your team keep Eira, will you?

She vanished, the Eeveelutions reducing to mist that flowed back into Eevee’s crown of crystals. “Although,” stated Eevee, “the fact you’re doing any of this, despite having actual reasons to hate humans — that means something, doesn’t it?”

He brushed off dust from his anklet, then adjusted his pouch. He waved a tail, then left.

Gabite decided to do the same. “Good talk,” he told Eira, and specifically Eira, because it was fun seeing Lucario so flustered. “Oh, what a mess you’ve brought me. I’ll be inside, yeah?”

He took off for the cottage, walking the hillside and hiding a queasy smile. Him, fighting Abhorrents while working with an Abhorrent and getting some ill omen human off his homeland? It was like the antithesis of his existence.

But Eevee was right. He didn’t invite him to stay out of paranoia. Gabite was unsettled by him, and fine, maybe a bit wary himself, but more than anything—

Well, he was curious. He never spoke with an Abhorrent before.

Or a human.

----------------------------------------

The moment Gabite closed the door to the cottage, Lucario whirled upon Eira. “What did you say that satisfied him?” he spat. Eira just shrugged.

Unbelievable. He poured his soul out, made himself relive memories, and somehow a quick back and forth with the kid pacified Gabite. Because of course.

Lucario grumbled and sat down, hands behind his head. The sun shined wonderfully, the world a picturesque scene where he sat. A fragrance from the flower patch drifted his way, cattails swaying to a dreamy breeze that stirred the faintest of ripples in the pond they grew in. The trees kept stalwart, pleased at the day’s tranquility, as if nothing was wrong whatsoever. A dragonfly zipped in, admiring the gorgeous scenery, and for a still, immortal moment, one could think all was wonderful.

But it wasn’t. And the dragonfly understood, aware it had to move on to other things, and so it left this illusion of perfection. Lucario too understood, and yet he hesitated to leave.

He wished he could pretend things were normal. But nothing would be ever again.

“I’m sorry.”

Eira gazed up at him. Lucario sighed. “Gabite’s just messing with me,” he told her. “At least whatever you said worked—”

“I’m sorry about Adam,” Eira clarified.

Ah. That. “I’m sorry about your mother,” Lucario said back.

Eira’s face scrunched up. “Apologies don’t bring back the dead.”

No. No, they didn’t. But memories kept them alive in the hearts of the living.

“Byron.” Lucario felt his nerves spark with electricity, the name making his muscles tense up for battle. “Gym leader of Sinnoh, at the Canalave Gym. His son Roark leads the Oreburgh Gym — he was the first Adam fought, and a pushover for us. His father though? Anything but.”

Perhaps Eira knew nothing about the Sinnoh gyms, but only she could really understand what he was talking about. “He used Steel-types, built to withstand physical moves. Three on three, with only the challenger allowed to switch mid-fight, the usual standard rules. We thought it’d be more than doable, given Torterra’s Ground moves, Lanturn’s resistances, and my Fighting attacks. What good is physical defense when Aura Sphere bypasses it?”

A chuckle. “But he walled us, twice. The first time, his Steelix shredded Torterra with an Ice Fang and had me on my knees with repeated Earthquakes, and Lanturn couldn’t put up a fight against his Bastidon. The second one was far closer—”

Lanturn against Steelix. A matchup far more suitable, with both wielding super-effective attacks in a war that Lanturn narrowly won, before Byron’s Magnezone finished her. Torterra was in position to clean up — except that accursed Magnezone could use Magnet Rise to evade otherwise deadly Ground attacks, set up a Light Screen in advance, and even brought Torterra down with him in a grand Explosion. It still made Lucario fume, for if not for Light Screen, his Aura Spheres would’ve devastated Bastidon. As it was, their close-quarters brawl had been a narrow fight to the finish, with him falling in the end. Two losses for Adam.

The finer details he kept to himself, keeping things simple for Eira. “That fight exhausted us,” he said. “We thought to take a break, and Adam had gotten interested in a trip to Alola. He thought about obtaining a Z-Crystal if possible, but also wanted to sight-see for a little while.”

Eira was smart enough to see where this was going. “The Canalave Port,” she muttered. “Mother and I took a ship there, back to Alola.”

“So did Adam. And—”

“And—”

They stared through each other, and saw the voids in their hearts.

Eira pushed her face into her tails, huffing once. “The mid-winter season, right?” she said. “I heard Sinnoh’s annual League Conference happens then.”

So it did. “Weird time, considering the region’s naturally cold climate,” said Lucario. It was still late summer now, wasn’t it? “We were a little ahead, with five months to get our last three badges. Adam hadn’t been participating last year when I joined him, focusing on getting and raising a core team instead. I was the quick hitter, Torterra was our wall, Duosion focused on disruptions, Banette played an infiltrator role, Dragonair had weather control and forced pressure through Dragon Dances and immobilizing moves, and Lanturn served as a wild card. We had great synergy with Adam, and I daresay we had a shot at the League.”

Lucario clenched a fist, then unclenched it. His emotions felt volatile, and he applied his aura abilities upon himself, forcing himself into a state of calm. It was barely enough.

“But they’re gone.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have spoken. Ripping open the bandaid stung.

There was no danger now. No Abhorrents around. No Ariados or anyone else they had to hide from. Nothing left to distract him from what happened.

No Lugia. A part of Lucario seethed at the Legendary, but the rest of him just felt detached from the slaughter he’d done. He’d been tempted to yell at him for getting rid of all those humans who’d survived the shipwreck—

But wouldn’t the natives do the same thing? It doesn’t matter if they never had a chance.

“We’re the only ones left,” he said. “Well, excluding Fallers. But no other survivors.”

“No other humans,” Eira whispered. “The Pokemon—”

“—might've made it. But alive or not, my old teammates are as good as gone from my life. I won't see any of them ever again, Eira, I—” Lucario hung his head, clutching it. “Could I at least say goodbye to them? Is that too much to ask?”

Eira crept a little closer. Lucario noted the pain in her eyes, eyes that yet managed to hold an undying flame in them, despite the silent grief. “Life just goes on, doesn’t it?” she said in a wispy voice, the kind a soft-spoken sage might use. “I miss my Mother, Lucario. I miss her very much. But—”

“Yeah, yeah, you can’t dwell on it forever.”

“Er, there’s that. But also that people always leave us. Why cry so much over what was lost, when it was a gift to have anything at all?”

Lucario stirred, the words poking deep into his flesh. “Wise, aren’t you?” he said.

“I cried and mourned for years over Father. Mother did too. It was unhealthy.” Eira grew solemn, a warning plea in her heart. “You’d do the same, wouldn’t you, Lucario?”

He would. Had he lost Eira too—

Never.

But he understood her point. To heal, you had to accept what was lost. “All the same, however,” he said, “emotions are natural. You should let yourself grieve a little.”

“I’ve grieved enough for Mother,” Eira insisted, shifting topics before Lucario could respond. “You know of Team Galactic?”

And what a topic change it was. The phrase echoed in Lucario’s head, faintly resonating with memories too faded to remember. It had a taboo air to it, the kind of thing his teammates would rarely and unwillingly speak of in nightly talks, the ones he particularly avoided. Yet when they did, it was with utmost seriousness, and—

He shivered, fur standing on end. “The Spacetime Pandemic?”

“T-they caused it. I heard they were some terrorist faction that wanted to reshape our world or something.”

What a goal to chase after. Really? Some upstart humans tried messing with cosmic forces because they felt like rewriting reality? Ridiculous.

And dangerous. Unspeakably dangerous. “Swarms of maddened Unown,” he thought aloud. “But was it just Unown?”

Eira’s silence told him that she didn’t know, that nobody in the public knew. But her bleak face told him that she feared to.

Sinnoh was known for its spacetime legends. Unown were powerful together, but their power was localized. On the other hand, if one were to tamper with a Legendary that existed to keep the fabric of the world stable?

The ripple effect would be horrendous. Even the Abhorrents weren’t that bad in comparison.

“Father’s gone because of them. And Mother’s gone because of Lugia and Aerodactyl.” Eira put on a crooked smile. “What about me?”

The ill omen. A girl condemned to accidentally bring about a disaster. Ariados thought it was inevitable, didn’t she? That, or the girl had to break. No other way.

And yet, Lucario wondered if she wanted to be shown otherwise — that things didn’t have to follow a script.

Well, challenge accepted. “What about you, kid? We change destiny.”

Eira’s smile straightened a little, going from crooked to uncertain. “Change destiny,” she echoed in wonder.

The circumstances were entirely different this time. They had a Lugia watching them, but a cast of allies too, and a Kabutops waiting for them. They had a chance, and Lucario wouldn’t squander the precious gifts he had. Never again.

For the girl’s sake.

Lucario yawned and stretched, pulling himself up. “Everyone else’s gone,” he said. “Why don’t we rest? We might not get much of that in the near future.”

Not when they were fleeing from Lugia and his punishment. “Uh, no thanks,” Eira said, watching the clouds. “I’ll stay out.”

“Sure?”

“I’ll be fine.”

She would be. Lucario would never get Adam back, nor his teammates, but he had Eira. In memory of Adam, she’d live on — his sense of justice would see to it.

I’ll do for her what I couldn’t for you, old friend.

The resolution brought warmth to Lucario’s scabbing heart. He left toward the cottage, starting anew once more.

----------------------------------------

And then there was one.

One girl. One survivor. One changeling. One omen.

Eira.

On a whim, she went to the pond, brushing aside surrounding tallgrass to stare at the water. The reflection of an Alolan Vulpix stared back. She dipped her paw into the water, and the reflection reached out, touching back.

She felt her inner cold, ever soothing. Flexed her tails and wiggled her ears. Tapped into her very spirit, at the core of herself, and felt the energy emanating at its gates. Hers to control.

It pulsed, telling her its strength. Level 14. All in a day, from fighting Aerodactyl and Ariados. Still less than she’d like, but no reason to complain.

She delved into herself, and felt her Ice typing. Her Snow Cloak Ability. The moves she knew. Spite was the newest, a terrible power that channeled hatred to sap another’s energy. She used it on Aerodactyl, and nearly on Lucario.

She was not proud of that. Nor of the fact that the move felt perfectly right to her. A Vulpix thing? Ninetales were known to hold grudges and be vengeful.

Troublesome. She wasn’t a real Vulpix, but her charred wristband made it as if she was. Even in personality, perhaps? She prayed not.

Although, her human self was already compromised to a degree. Were she to transform back, she wouldn’t feel all these things, but she’d still have her spirit. And if she tapped into it, she’d cast magic.

Magic. Was this how it started? How she’d become an ill omen?

Maybe so, maybe not. It was ludicrous either way. A week ago, she’d laugh at the idea of her turning into a Vulpix as a mere fantasy.

Now here she was. Her Mother gone and a Lucario by her side, she had faced a life that was very much a fantasy. She’d been spirited away to a hidden Pokemon civilization, met an Eevee who wished to bring her to a Kabutops who could help her get back, gained a Pokemon disguise and a corresponding language, adventured inside Mystery Dungeons, and faced off against bandits and mutants. She had a prophecy plaguing her, a Lugia after her, a formerly hostile team of explorers that were now allies, a Mismagius that intended to teach her literal magic—

And the Abhorrents were attempting a terrible plot to gain an artifact that could control all dungeons. It sounded almost as bad as Team Galactic.

Who was their leader again? A man with sociopath issues named Cyrus? Eira tried to remember the image she saw on newspapers, with a stern face and spiky blue hair, and found a tiny grudge snarling within her head. It held no sway over her.

He had been responsible for the Spacetime Pandemic, or as Pokemon here called it, the Ruptures. Officials never said how he did it exactly, But the damage he caused was inconceivable. Because of him, Father was gone.

But it was an indirect cause, and Eira just couldn’t care. Unlike with Aerodactyl, a monster whom she had met firsthand. Lugia, well, at least she could excuse him for his fears over a prophecy being fulfilled. The humans he killed were goners anyway.

Still, he might’ve struck down dear Mother. Or Lucario’s trainer Adam.

Eira rasped, her breath creating a thin layer of ice over the pond. Was it the prophecy’s fault that she got to this point? Was that why she lived? With how she kept getting into the most ridiculous of situations and escaping death by the skin of her teeth, one could think—

Oh.

Oh no.

Was this an actual fantasy story?

Are Lucario and I main characters?

Eira burned with such intensity she feared she’d transform into a Kantonian Vulpix. All these twists and turns, it was like a story! The amount of plot armor she had to be smothered in right now! The drama she was drowning in!

This was it, the ultimate joke. She spent her life as a bookworm, and now she was paying for her reading crimes. Mother would laugh and tease her so hard if she was here. And then Eira could tease her back for using her novelist powers to do this to her. Then Mother would feign innocence and blame her for having an imagination so powerful it had rewritten reality, and Eira would argue that she’d never put herself in such a horrible situation, and, and—

Her face plunged straight through the ice, and into the pond water. Nobody would find her tears here.

I don’t want to cry I don’t want to cry I don’t—

She pulled out her head, a whimpering mess. Her breathing almost sounded like hyperventilating. Everything hurt.

I don’t want to hurt anyone I don’t want to hurt—

She was going to be a monster, and she had no choice. She wished Mother would comfort her. Wished with all her heart and soul.

I don’t I don’t I don’t I—

Eira plopped down and clasped her beating heart, forcing herself to get a grip on her mind. She could do that. She did it all the time.

Must keep going must keep going—

A young adult. That’s what she was. She could manage herself just fine, but a child still dwelled in her. The child wanted to cry forever. She didn’t.

She wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

Lest she break again.

It’s hard, Mother. So hard.

Breaths. Deep, steady breaths. One step at a time. Wasn’t it a gift that she had Mother at all? She had been wonderful, and did the best she could for her. It would be rude if she threw it all away and—

“Sweetie?”

Eira jumped into the pond by accident. She coughed out water, her head somehow afloat and her fur an instant soggy mess. Her face flushed.

An equally embarrassed Togetic pulled her out, Eira the false Vulpix crawling onto the bank with a huff. “Hey, easy now!” Shaymin said, her face stuck between silent mirth and serious concern as she flew beside her. “You good? It’s only us.”

The girl pouted. Great going, Eira, she chided herself.

Once on drier land, the duo began addressing her. “Seriously, we saw you acting up,” said Shaymin. “You need anything?”

Mother. But she wasn’t here. “I’m fine,” Eira said.

Togetic and Shaymin exchanged looks. “You’re not,” said the former.

“Obviously.”

Eira winced, regretting the bitterness in her voice. “S-sorry,” she told the duo. “It’s been a week, I guess. I didn’t mean—”

“We know, sweetie.” Togetic nudged her. “How about you lie down?”

She did. In hindsight, it wasn’t Mother being dead that was making Eira tear up. It was all the bad things she faced ever since, fears and foes she had to brave without her support. Who could blame her for not keeping herself together after everything she’d been through? Especially when the person she relied on most couldn’t share her pain?

Eira let her nose rub against grass blades, an insignificant distraction from her agony. Togetic stared on, as did Shaymin. All of them waited, hesitant.

“Yeah, I don’t know where to start.” Shaymin shook herself, volunteering to blast the mutual awkwardness between them into smoking smithereens. “You being human makes this weird, no offense.”

“This all must be strange to you, isn’t it? Having to hide amongst Pokemon and talk to them and all.” Togetic managed a shaky smile. “How is it? Being one of us?”

Eira shrugged. “Not so bad.”

“Yes? Go on.”

“I-it’s amazing.” The words slipped out, and Eira couldn’t help herself. She wanted to admit it. “I don’t know a human who didn’t want to be a Pokemon. To speak their tongue, have special powers — I always dreamed of being an Alolan Vulpix. To actually be one—”

“It must be literally cool, huh?” said Shaymin.

Eira blinked, then gave Shaymin a flat look. The Mythical sheepishly looked away, snickering at her bad pun. Her eyes though, and Togetic’s — they reflected a quiet astonishment.

They never expected humans could have such yearnings. “Your kind want to be like us?” Togetic said. “Pokemon?”

“In passing. But yeah.” Eira put on a stoic smile. “I just wish it didn’t come with consequences.”

Somber hums came from the duo. It was weird, talking freely to them like this. Wondrous, really. For once, it really felt like she was sitting down and having a proper chat with a Pokemon.

Or at least, one who wasn’t Lucario. “Alola’s your home region, right?” said Shaymin. “I was thinking about it. If humans did live here long ago, they’re probably why we refer to Pokemon with alternate variants by human regions, yeah?”

“Or because of displaced Pokemon or wanderers from the sea spreading the terminology around. Maybe both.” Togetic rubbed her cheek when Eira gave her a baffled look. “Oh, nobody mentioned that to you, did they? The Fallers are the vast majority of the Pokemon who are foreigners here, but there’s always been tales of Pokemon getting warped in by accident. And there’s ocean Pokemon who come around the archipelago too.”

Huh. That made sense to Eira. Had the opposite ever happened?

“Not an important tidbit, honestly,” Shaymin said. “But you can see where some of our human rumors come from. Crazy stuff about human tech and Pokeballs and whatever.”

It was almost pleasant, being with these two and hearing them jabber on. It kept Eira from thinking of her woes. More than that, it just felt nice, in a way she didn’t fully understand. To think they were enemies just last night — and now they were her allies. People who wanted to help her.

People with names. “Didn’t you call each other something before?” Eira said, her tongue working without her permission. “Serene and Grace?”

Togetic and Shaymin snapped to attention, the words holding power over them. “We were given those nicknames when we were young,” the former said.

“Needed one in my village of Shaymin. But apparently out here, custom is to not use nicknames except in serious cases, or for denoting closeness.” Shaymin stared hard at Eira. “But it’s not like that for a human, is it? You use them all the time, like we do in my village.”

“It would be strange to call you ‘human’, I’d think,” added Togetic, her nubs clasped together. “You’d prefer to be called Eira, right?”

Eira nodded. “But Vulpix works too.”

For when they were in public, where a human name would come off as unusual. Togetic smiled, and Shaymin smiled, and suddenly Eira couldn’t help herself.

“Why?” she asked.

Togetic came closer, her eyes twinkling with sorrow. “I suppose I could stop beating around the bush,” she said. “Er, do humans use that expression? Never mind — Eira? Can you forgive us?”

Forgiveness? For what? “O-of course,” said Eira, “but—”

Closer still. “Good, good,” Togetic said, taking solace in her answer. “That means everything to me. Look, I mean to make up for what’s happened to you. I want to help you, the real you.”

“Things got a little messy between us, but we get it now.” Shaymin approached too, determination in her eyes. “There’s still a lot we don’t understand about your world, or you. And we’re not gonna learn if you keep quiet, you know?”

They were too kind to her, Togetic and Shaymin. Why were they sticking their neck out for her? "A Lugia's after me," she whispered. "I-I'm an ill—"

Shaymin forced her lips shut. She huffed.

"You fret too much," she said. "Forget the prophecy. Forget Lugia. I haven't seen anything more messed up than your life, and as a Mythical who intends to deal with super messed up stuff, I ain't quitting until I have your gratitude for eternity. Got it?"

Togetic worked up the will to caress her back, Eira shuddering at the tender touch. "Lucario must've been a great guardian to you, but you didn't have friends, did you?" she said. "Well, no need to hide from us anymore. Until the day you can finally go back, you'll be welcome with us."

A ladylike laugh. "We never really got to know each other. Maybe we can start from the top? I'm Serene, but I go by Togetic."

"Grace, but Shaymin's good enough."

They waited patiently. Eira felt herself tearing up again, but for an entirely different reason. They were intentionally distracting her from her woes, she knew it. Trying to keep them out of her head, and replace them with happier thoughts. And it was working.

Friends. She didn't want to make more bonds, especially knowing she wouldn't hold them forever. Not if she became the ill omen, nor if she did succeed in going back. But she couldn't resist.

Eira smiled, full of gratitude. The dark clouds in her head seemed far away, and the emptiness abated, just a little. Despite the impossibility, she thought she just might have a shot.

Maybe I'll make it through after all, Mother.

"I'm Eira. Nice to meet you."

It felt like the end of a beginning.

----------------------------------------

Mew Teleported. Aerodactyl hissed, sprawled over like a dead lump of darkness. He glared at him.

A simple forest clearing surrounded them, their destination. Grassy, noiseless, and tranquil. But not empty.

This afternoon, it was a meeting place. “Was he hard to find?”

The voice came from where the air burned, with no discernible source. The heat moved, creeping up to his side and warming Mew’s armor, though he barely felt it. “Annoying,” Mew corrected. “He was messing with villagers.”

“Truly?” Another voice spoke, coming from flashy green eyes hiding in the forest’s darkness. “How quaint. Oblivion Matter, the horrific hunter of a Lugia, playing games with everyday people.”

Aerodactyl rolled his eyes, fiddling with a rather important pouch hung around his neck. His bones were reforming, white pieces floating in his injured shadow body. Mew had been forced to make him rest and heal, lest even a simple Teleport harm him.

Utter nuisance. News of his fight with Lugia had quickly spread across islands, the only reason Mew had found Aerodactyl so fast. Even Their Highnesses wouldn’t ignore such a matter.

Of course, it was not the only news that was spreading. “I was in Mellowpetal Town,” came the voice coming from the burning air. “They know of you, Gear. How were you spotted?”

A pity his mutation left him unable to Transform, but his invisibility worked fine. Mew had checked Berrypark Town in the late morning, and as expected, his name was on the wanted list too, beside Aerodactyl’s. In a day or two, that name would reach the other side of the archipelago.

Fine by him. “I saw no reason to hide, Rainbow.”

“What?”

The air rippled, and Bitter Rainbow the Froslass materialized, gaping. Far from the snowy humanoid ghost she should’ve been, her dress-like body was a searing scarlet, with a light blue sash around her torso and demonic horns on her ghoulish head. Fanlike arms attached to said head swished in perplexion, her fiery yet apathetic eyes scrutinizing him. “You’d never do such a thing,” she said.

“There were Psychics and a Lucario present. Besides—” Mew tapped Aerodactyl’s head “—things have changed.”

A growl came from the forest. Hyper Meteor thrust his snout forward, the Lycanroc peering out of his shaded spot to ensure Aerodactyl could see his full ire. His blue coloring often threw off people, making them think he was a Shiny Pokemon, but what they mistook for sparkles was actually tiny electric sparks fizzling in his fur. “What have you done?” he asked. “So help me, Aerodactyl, if you have compromised this operation—”

His green eyes began to flash red, only to revert as Mew signaled him to hold. Dusk Form, they called his sort. Calm and collected, until someone unleashed the vicious animal inside them. “He has not compromised much, Meteor,” assured Mew. “Though I do believe the Mistress will not be pleased—”

“Are you all done mocking me?’ snapped Aerodactyl. “What do you understand about the Mistress anyway, contract worker?”

Contract worker. Hah. “What would you do, were I to depart with Bitter Rainbow, and thus deprive you of free Z-Crystals?” asked Mew, Froslass scowling with plain distaste beside him.

“It is not easy to make Mega Stone mutagens, must I repeat this? The cost and labor of finding enough Evolution Stones to craft them—” Aerodactyl shook his head, smirking. “But go on. Tell them.”

Mew harrumphed. It was almost disappointing that he had to do this. “You nearly mutated a Lugia—” he began.

“Mutated?” Lyranroc cut in, horror overriding his rage as he reared away. “Rainbow, you didn’t—”

“There was no mention of this!” Froslass said back, equally as appalled. “Mellowpetal’s Explorer Board only reported there was a clash! I knew not—”

“You nearly mutated a Lugia.” Mew held up a gauntleted hand, silencing the twosome. “You were unauthorized to even be here in Grassbranch Island, never mind your continued sloppy conduct for spreading the mutation.”

His multicolored eyes glowed with glittery light, and Aerodactyl’s pouch opened. Out came a fistful of silvery, shiny feathers, their sparkle inspiring awe in Lycanroc, and muted intrigue in Froslass.

“But.” Mew put on a humored expression. “You did get these.”

Lugia’s Silver Wings. Tools that could open a passageway to his lair. Just having them was half the battle. “You even found one of the corresponding locks to Lugia’s domain, a pillar in an unsuspecting dungeon. There are two others left, it seems.”

Lycanroc couldn’t look away, his rage abated by the magical sight. “Lugia’s hoard,” he said, exhaling. “There couldn’t be a better opportunity. Are we already this close? So soon?”

Aerodactyl grinned. “I remembered what you said about Lugia, Mew. It was luck, but when I realized he was nearby—”

“Your misconduct will still be reported,” Mew stated, making his grin crack. “Not that I expect your darling Mistress to punish her loyal servant. But you did do something right, if it means anything.”

He returned the feathers to Aerodactyl’s pouch, pleased. A part of him still wondered at what lured Lugia out to begin with, but his research hadn’t turned any clues. Regardless, the Legendary knew they were coming for his treasures. Several of the strange shards that altered the dungeons, that he and the Mistress sought, were ripe for the taking.

Lycanroc kept staring on into the distance, thinking of what it all meant. “So much work saved,” he whispered.

“It does change much, doesn’t it? We will finally progress,” said Froslass. A smile touched her face, one that made Mew’s day.

The girl seldom smiled. “Secrecy was never meant to last, little one,” he replied. “The world has already opened its eyes to the Altered Ones. Us admins will be noticed soon after. Even the Mistress may be marked in due time.”

He allowed himself a cackle. “The existence of an Altered Mythical will cause quite the shock, I presume. But no matter. We have what we need now.”

Once Lugia’s shards were theirs, everything would truly begin.

His mind wandered back to that village where Aerodactyl had been. There’d been a commotion, come to think of it, surrounding that Lucario, Vulpix, and Altered Eevee there — he had sensed it in the air, but didn’t choose to pry. He didn’t bend the rules of morality that far. Would those three chase after him?

Perhaps. It was far more likely than the Legendaries waking up and lending aid to Lugia. The hopeless fools wouldn’t lift a finger in this age. Even Lugia wouldn’t care, beyond the theft of his items. Their arrogance, their seclusion, their refusal to be present in the world abroad and do their job, it would come back to haunt them.

A pity that I must be the one to fix their blindness.

Mew’s crystalline claw curled into a fist. The Legendaries would reap the consequences for their silence. Change was coming, and even he didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But who could stop him? Nay, who could stop her, the Mistress?

No one.

Perhaps I sin, brethren. But I do what I must.

Come. Do something! I dare you all.

Maybe then you’ll realize the world already crumbles under our feet.

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{END OF VOLUME ONE: COVERT CASTAWAYS}

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