I wonder how much things would have changed if I hadn't been influenced from the beginning.
A useless thought, I know. Nothing escapes nothingness, ironically, and even a Spirit as hardened and powerful as mine had small cracks through which the darkness of that nothingness –cast even larger by my own brightness– could slip through, infecting me.
Would I have done different? I'm not sure. Even without its influence, I cannot think of a course of events that wouldn't have culminated in me standing at the center of everything, both halves of Reality resting on my hands, unknowingly about to bring an end to the world.
In the end, my arrogance would have driven me to such a result regardless. I was strong. Unbelievably so. As such, I could not understand the feelings of those who hadn't been as fortunate as me, nor fathom why such circumstances would have, ironically, made them stronger in the end.
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The first thing Inyssa realized as she came back to herself was that her hands were tied behind her back. She gasped, but no sound came out. Someone had gagged her with a piece of cloth.
"Easy there," someone said behind her. "We don't want to hurt you. Stay put."
A pair of hands grabbed onto the rope tied around her wrists, lifting her up to her feet. The sudden movement almost made her pass out. The world was but a blurry and confusing cacophony of colors, too confusing to make anything of them. She tried to move, to free herself from whoever was holding her. There was a deaf thump on the back of her head and she almost went down, the world swimming around her.
"We told you to stay still!" yelled another voice, a girl's voice. Inyssa recognized her instantly. "Resist and you'll regret it, got that!?"
"Calm down, will you? She just got hit with a Thunder Wave, she's probably just confused."
"I don't give a shit how she feels!"
"Still. Boss doesn't want us to harm her, remember?"
"…Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Sorry."
Inyssa shut her eyes strongly, trying to focus her eyesight.
C-come on…
After several seconds of slow breathing, finally her sight began to focus, the world taking shape around her. Her head still swam. It felt as though most of her brain had dissolved into hot gas. Slowly, weakly, she lifted her chin and looked around, eyes going wide at what she saw.
Six or seven people stood before her. Some with their arms folded, some looking around with a bored look on their faces and all clearly shivering from the cold. They wore Team Galactic uniforms. And worse yet, they were by far the oldest-looking grunts she'd seen yet; the one closest to her –scratching his nose absentmindedly, one of his arms in a cast– had to be at least forty judging by all the scars and wrinkles on his face, not to mention the fact that he looked to be about six feet tall and probably thrice as heavy as her. The rest didn't look much friendlier. The girl with the ponytail at her right distractedly moved a folding knife between her fingers, gaze lost someplace else.
Feeling a sudden knot form in her stomach, she turned her head to look to the side, toward Barry. He'd been bound and gagged as well. Their eyes met and immediately a cold, sharp fear flooded from him toward her, perfectly reflected in his eyes. She felt her lower lip quiver.
I-it was a trap. Realization came to her with a shiver. I was such an idiot! if I hadn't been feeling so lightheaded… If I'd just thought things through…
She was tugged by the shoulder along with Barry, and both of them were handed to a big bald guy with a long, grey-ish beard. That's when the two who'd been holding them before came into view. It took Inyssa a few moments to recognize them, which was expected since she'd been delirious with pain and half-dead the last time she'd seen them.
The girl turned to look at her, the cold fury in her eyes enough to paralyze a Skarmory. It was Pyxis. Orion stood next to her, glancing between the two nervously.
"So you do remember us, huh?" Pyxis snarled. "That's a surprise. I would've thought a trainer of your caliber would be too busy to memorize our faces, Inyssa."
Never, not even from Cecilia or Mars or even Pyxis herself before, had Inyssa heard her name being spoken with such contempt behind it. It left her momentarily speechless. It was so clear and unabashed that it felt as though she'd been slapped open-palmed across her face just by the sound of it.
S-she was angry at me before but... what is this?
It seemed her lack of response –more due to shock than anything else– didn't sit well with Pyxis. Her eyes narrowed, teeth gnashing slightly. For a second it looked like she was about to take a step forward and punch Inyssa in the face, but she must have controlled herself at the last moment.
"Not gonna struggle or look worried at all, eh? What, are you too good for that? Do you think you'll escape this as easily as you did last time!?" Her voice got louder with every word she spoke, eyes going wide with anger. "Like hell you will! We took your Pokemon and we immobilized you, how about that!? You'll come with us whether you want to or not, and this time you won't get away with any of your fucking tricks! Got that!?"
Orion placed a palm on her shoulder. "Fucking… chill, Pyx. There's no need to rub it in." He glared at Inyssa, and though it wasn't as strong, she could also sense spite in his expression. "She'll get her punishment regardless."
"…Right." Pyxis took a step back, breathing in deep. "She won't get away. Not this time."
What the hell's with her? Inyssa thought. No, it doesn't matter. If I can just use that trick Uxie taught me to teleport my Pokeballs back into my hands then I'll be able to open them, even if my wrists are tied.
She closed her eyes and let the world around her fade. Her consciousness rose from her body, weightless, and materialized into the mind-scape once more, freeing her from the cold and pain and lightheadedness she'd been feeling before. It was a wonderful feeling. She would have enjoyed it, even, were it not for what she saw as soon as she opened her eyes.
The endless, mist-flooded room wasn't there. Thick, black smoke surrounded her from every angle, spreading infinitely in all directions and leaving her less than a foot around her to move. Inyssa froze, unsure of what to do.
Uxie? Uxie! Are you there?
No reply. Out of options and feeling the panic building up within her, Inyssa raised her weightless hand and tried to touch the smoke surrounding her. A thundering pain came crashing down on her as soon as her fingers grazed the edge, so intense that she was torn apart completely, every speck of her breaking apart into formless mist.
Inyssa opened her eyes, finding herself back in the forest. She must have shook strongly, judging by the way everyone had turned to look at her.
"That's not going to work."
Slowly, every inch of her shivering violently, Inyssa lifted her chin to look at Pyxis. A smug and satisfied smile spread across her face.
"The boss warned us you might try something like that," she said, savoring every word. "What, you thought it'd slip his mind that you can do stupid psychic tricks like that now?"
And, before Inyssa had time to wonder what she meant by that, Orion raised one of his arms and whistled. The sound of flapping wings reached them. A black shape came down from one of the surrounding trees, perching atop the man's arm with its talons and tilting its neck back and forth, looking down at her with those blood-red eyes that she remembered too well from Celestic.
"The boss was kind enough to lend him to us," said Orion, a smidge of sarcasm in his voice. He didn't look too happy to have a huge Honchkrow perched on his arm. "He's using a low-power Dark Pulse at all times, so all psychic energy is completely suppressed as long as he's around."
"Get it now?" Pyxis lowered herself a little, so they'd both be on the same eye-level. "There's no escape this time, Inyssa. You're going to pay for what you did to Auriga."
Inyssa frowned. Auriga? The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't for the life of her remember whom she'd heard it from.
The girl playing with the folding knife spoke. "Yeah, 'bout that. Are you done monologuing, brat? Can we wrap this up and get back to base?"
"We can hope. Freezing my zhopa here," added the bald man holding Barry and Inyssa with a thick accent.
"I…" Pyxis' cheeks turned a deep crimson. "I'm your commanding officer for this mission!" she snarled, balling her fists. "Do not call me brat!"
Orion patted her on the shoulder. "Chill. She didn't mean it like that. And sorry, but we can't go yet." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "We have wait for Asta to come back. I already sent her the message though, so it shouldn't take long."
"Spica, you come with me to the big tent." Pyxis addressed the man holding them, a scowl on her face. "You and I will monitor Inyssa while the rest wait on the other side of camp." She turned to look at Orion. "Though we could all wait in the same place if we just get rid of him."
Inyssa felt a rush of fear as she saw her pointing at Barry, and immediately she tried to stand up and free herself, but the bald guy holding her squeezed the back of her neck so tightly that she almost passed out from the pain.
"We're not killers like her, Pyx. Cool off." Orion gave her a reprimanding look. "The boss told us to keep these two separated, but he didn't say anything about getting rid of him. We'll take him with us to the other tent, then let him go once it's time to leave."
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"Tsk. Fine."
Inyssa stopped struggling, eyes going wide.
Wait… they don't know that Barry has Mesprit with him? She turned to look at him. Judging by his expression, he seemed to have realized that as well. Then Shadi… she didn't…
"Oh, and we'll take her with us too."
Pyxis pointed at someone Inyssa had forgotten was there until now. The pale, frail-looking girl was still on her knees. Still shaking. Her eyes were hidden by the sheets of white hair falling upon her face.
"Worried about her?" asked Pyxis, seeing the look on Inyssa's face. "Don't be. Cold won't affect her, but this guy will." She smiled at Honchkrow. "So she'll behave, won't she?"
The girl stopped shaking. Slowly, she looked up at the young girl and simply stared with such fear in her eyes that Inyssa felt as though a pair of hands had wrung out her heart. She nodded, then slowly got up to her feet, eyes glued to the ground.
"Good. Let's split; we'll leave as soon as Asta comes back." She smiled at Inyssa, though it looked more like a wild Pokemon baring its fangs. "I'm not letting this go wrong like it did last time."
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The tent Inyssa was dragged off to –along with Pyxis, Spica and the mysterious white-haired girl– had to be the worst fucking lodging she'd ever dealt with, being tied and gagged notwithstanding. It was barely bigger than a living room. There was no fire or any other source of heat and the only light came from a portable LED lantern that tilted the inside of the tent with a sickly red glow.
It was probably pretty damn cold too, but Inyssa couldn't feel it. Her skin was so hot she wouldn't have been surprised if steam had started coming off her pores. She felt like she was sweating her weight away. That certainly would have explained the light feeling all throughout her body, as though a stiff breeze could blow her away into a million pieces like the seeds of a dandelion.
Eyes barely open, she looked up to find a blurry Pyxis glaring daggers at her, while Spica stood next to the door, arms crossed.
I have to… need to… escape… Barry needs me…
The cogs in her brain felt flooded with some sticky, stuffy substance. It was incredibly hard to stay conscious, much less formulate some kind of plan so they could escape.
Finally, after a couple minutes of not being able to think of anything, she resorted to the only thing she could do. Pyxis frowned as she started to groan and tried to talk past the piece of cloth lodged into her mouth.
"Didn't I tell you to stay quiet?" she asked, tone frigid. "Do you want to make your case? You think it'll change anything?" Her voice trailed off as she said that, brow furrowing. "…You know what? Why not. I'm actually curious as to what kind of bullshit you'll try to spin in order for me to let you go, so here."
Inyssa breathed in relief as the cloth was taken off, her jaw feeling quite sore. Though of course Pyxis didn't seem very worried for her comfort, judging by the brusque way she accidentally hit her on the back of the head a couple of times while untying the cloth.
"There you go." She threw the cloth across the tent, dusting off her hands. "Go ahead. I can't wait to hear how you're going to justify yourself."
Inyssa looked up, the mere effort of speaking leaving her short of breath. Her voice came out strained.
"Who… who's Auriga?"
There was a blur of movement and Inyssa's vision went white. The sound of the slap clung in the air, echoing off the thin walls of the tent, and only a couple seconds after did her cheek stung. Only then did she realize what had happened, eyes wide and face tilted the other way, almost completely covered by strands of her hair. She could taste a bit of blood in her gums.
"Oi, lass." She heard Spica take a step forward, tone stern. "You know what the boss said about-"
"You just wanted to insult me, huh!?" Pyxis hollered, seemingly unaware of the man behind her. "I don't care if it's against me but don't fucking dare speak her name with that filthy mouth of yours! I'll…!"
Through blurry vision she saw Pyxis raise her hand once more, but Spica caught hold of her wrist just before she brought it down on her. She glared at the man. However, before she could protest, Inyssa spoke again.
"I'm sorry."
Both grunts turned to look at her, equal looks of surprise on their faces. Pyxis opened her mouth, but only a stutter came out the first time, and when she finally forced a single word out Inyssa was surprised at how much contempt and disgust was packed behind it.
"What?"
"I'm sorry," she repeated. "A-Auriga… you said I did something to her. Right?" Her voice strained further with every word she spoke, leaving her panting after only a short sentence. "I… it probably happened… when Uxie bonded with me. After I saw into its eyes. I don't… remember anything after that, but I must have escaped somehow. Until now I… hadn't thought much of it, but after what you said…" She straightened her back and locked eyes with her. "What happened? What… did I do?"
A multitude of emotions flashed through Pyxis' face, and for a moment it looked as though she'd lost the ability to speak. Behind her, Spica let go of her wrist. His gaze moved from the girl to Inyssa and then back to her, looking confused. He probably hadn't been told of Uxie.
"You… don't remember." Pyxis finally said. Her voice trembled with anger. "How stupid do you think I am? Do you really expect me to believe that?"
"No. I d-don't imagine you would," said Inyssa. "But it's the truth. Please, I need to know. If I…"
What am I saying? a part of her asked, incredulous. What am I apologizing to these people for?
"This woman, Auriga, you make it sound like… like I…"
They kidnapped me! They attacked a bunch of innocent people! No one would blame me for defending myself!
"You're… making it sound like I killed her."
Pyxis' eyes widened, but she didn't say anything else. Despite that, Inyssa knew. It was written all over her face; in her pursed lips, in the way her nostrils flared with barely-contained anger and most of all in the deep, crushing sadness behind her eyes and the way they had started to water the moment Inyssa had said that. Pyxis realized this and turned away from her, quickly wiping her eyelids with the fabric of her sleeve.
Inyssa, meanwhile, sat frozen. Part of her was happy that her mind was in such a delirious state due to her fever, as bearing the full weight of such a realization might have been too much at any other time.
Not that it wasn't now, of course.
I… killed someone? She looked down, the tightness of the ropes tying her wrists together suddenly intensifying. How could I have…?
"I know what you're doing."
She was shaken off her stupor as Pyxis glared down at her once more, all semblance of sadness or weakness now gone from her face. Inyssa couldn't help but squint. She was terrible to look at. Knowing what she knew now, holding her gaze against Pyxis' was like trying to stare at the sun.
"You're trying to convince me. Like you did all those people." She shook her head. "I heard what you said after your fight with Byron. 'Someone this region can be proud of' my ass. That Selena woman had your number. She said it best: people don't change so easily." She set her jaw, fulminating Inyssa with her eyes. "I won't fall for it. Not this time."
Inyssa's lips parted. "T-this time?"
"All you trainers are the same," Pyxis ignored her. "You lie, cheat and take advantage of people who can't defend themselves, all the while claiming that you're the defenders of the people. It doesn't matter if you knew what you were doing or not."
Inyssa squinted, stammering a bit before she could get the words out.. "I… don't get it. Why do you hate trainers that much?
"…Really?" A small, ironic smile formed on her lips. "How conceited can you get? If you've been a trainer for so long… hell, if you've met the Champion so many times and you still don't know the answer to that then you're beyond help. It's 'cause of people like you that the system is rotten to the core." She turned toward the door of the tent. "Ugh, why am I even talking to you about this? Screw it. I need some air."
As she took a step toward the exit Inyssa sat up suddenly, the length of the scars on her back flaring painfully.
"W-wait…"
"Keep an eye on these two," she told Spica. "I'll give Asta a call. See what the hell's taking her so long."
"Wait! I…!" Inyssa shuffled forward a bit, a sharp pain shooting up her back. "Please, I just want to talk. If you…"
Pyxis was out the tent before she could finish her sentence. A gust of frigid wind entered before the cloth flapped closed once again, muffling the sounds of the gale outside. Inyssa simply sat there, not knowing what to do or say. She felt like she'd been slapped on the face with a hand made of pure ice.
"Stay put and behave like you were told, lass," Spica told her, scratching his beard absentmindedly. "That girl's angry at you, sure, but she won't hurt you unless you provoke her. Same for the boss. Been told that he'll let you go after he gets what he wants from you, so just endure it a little more, yes?"
Inyssa grit her teeth, every muscle in her arms and back feeling as tense as iron bars, the pain flaring through her scars bringing just enough lucidity with it that she was finally able to think somewhat straight. Of course. This man didn't know what was at stake, what Cyrus wanted to take from her. She doubted the leader of Team Galactic would be stupid enough to reveal that to anyone but his commanders and those who'd been present during her first capture, reason why he'd looked surprised when she had mentioned Uxie. To him and most of the other grunts, she was just a spoiled brat causing trouble for them.
Pyxis and Orion know the truth, she thought, but they hate me too much to care about what happens to me or Uxie.
It was the same as back then, when Mars had captured her and taken her to the outskirts of Veilstone. Pyxis had almost shot her. And when Orion had stopped her, had objected when Mars tried to do the same, it had been only due to his reluctance to be part of something so horrible, not because he garnered any kind of sympathy for her.
Back then, had she tried to be more understanding, had she even considered to ask those two why they hated her so much, why had they gone as far as to join Team Galactic, would it have changed anything? It hadn't now. Though to be fair, she hadn't tried all that hard, nor did she have much time to be making friends, considering the situation.
It's 'cause of people like you that the system is rotten to the core.
Hadn't Metchi said something similar, the last time they'd met? Cyrus targeted young people who were unhappy with the system and gave them food, shelter, friends and a sense of purpose. Was it any surprise that he'd managed to gather such a staggering number of recruits? Maybe if the man's true plans weren't so twisted, if his methods hadn't been so violent, some form of dialogue or understanding could have existed between them and the Association, and by extension the rest of Sinnoh.
No, Inyssa thought, frowning. Even before they started committing acts of terrorism, there was no chance of something like that happening. I… we dismissed them outright. We didn't even try to ask what their goals were before we labeled them as criminals and started hunting them down.
She bit her lip, still tasting a bit of blood on her inner cheek from when Pyxis had slapped her. Hindsight really was a bitch. Then again, even knowing all this, Inyssa doubted past her would have cared. If she had, if Cynthia, the Association and the rest of Sinnoh had…
Pull yourself together! Inyssa shook her heard hard enough to make herself dizzy. This wasn't the time to have a revelation. It didn't matter how sad these kids' situations were because she and Barry were still being kidnapped. They needed to find a way out of this.
Barry has the advantage of the other grunts not knowing that he has Mesprit, she thought. But is that enough? What if Honchkrow's Dark Pulse still reaches to where he is? What if he tries something and he gets hurt? I have to try something here too!
She frantically looked around, but there was nothing she could realistically use to free herself from the rope tying her wrists together. All that was inside the tent were the LED lamp, Spica and the pale and white-haired girl still laying face-down next to her, weakly sobbing. None of that was useful to her, and in Spica's case he was pretty fucking detrimental, what with him staring at her like a hawk just in case she tried anything.
A wave of dizziness washed over her and she wobbled back and forth, vision going blurry, before finally regaining her balance. Shit, the pain from her scars was starting to fade. As annoying as it had been, it was the only thing keeping her consciousness from drifting back into that horrible haziness born from her exhaustion and high fever. If she went back to that, it was over. She would barely be able to keep herself conscious, much less come up with a way to escape.
Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes and summoned forth Uxie's power. In the mind-scape she wouldn't see or hear what happened outside, but at least she'd be able to think more clearly. Her consciousness rose free from her body, and once again she was met with that thick and endless wall of black smoke surrounding her. However…
If she'd been able to furrow her brow, she would have done so. The smoke wasn't as close as it had been before; now there was enough space to fit a few people between her and it. Was it because Honchkrow was farther away? It wasn't nearly enough to give her anything to work with, but still she found it s-
Someone sobbed behind her. Inyssa froze, then turned as fast as her incorporeality allowed her to, half-expecting to come face to face with that shadowy creature once more, unconsciously shrinking herself in preparation.
It was nowhere to be seen. Instead, all she saw was the white-haired girl. Still laying down on the floor, still sobbing. Still fully visible, unlike everything else.
W-what… what are you doing here?