Metchi sat down across from Inyssa with a tray full of razz berry crowns and the face of someone who knew very well she was going to end up eating all of them. Not that she minded sharing, it's just that Inyssa didn't look like much of a breakfast person. Or a lunch person, or dinner person or 3 a.m. snack that only serves to make you hate yourself person.

At least the girl was having some hot cocoa. It wasn't much, but she'd need the energy for the last of their trek. Behind them, the old, crackly T.V. mounted on the wall showed scenes of what appeared to be Jubilife. Some sort of news channel. Great, just what they needed for breakfast, to be told how shitty everything was.

"Hey there. You're looking a bit brighter today."

Inyssa looked up from her mug, cheek resting on her palm, and raised an eyebrow.

"What? Dark grey is technically brighter than black."

"…Thanks."

She raised the mug and took a sip with the enthusiasm of a high schooler taking a tentative swig of Malort mixed with orange juice and having to pretend to like it in front of their friends. Not that Metchi had much experience with that. She was strictly an absinthe kind of girl, especially when the goal was to get as fucked up as possible.

God she missed clubbing. Turns out, there wasn't much room for that when you were trying to save the world and also babysit the world's most exhausted trainer.

"Speaking of the bright side, I got the nurse's number," she said, gesturing with her eyes back to the woman, standing near the Pokemon healing machine. "Her name's Rachel. She gets off work at five. She was really interested in knowing about us."

"We'll be gone long before that," said Inyssa. "Also you don't have a phone, or a Poketch."

"Yeah… I was gonna ask if I could use yours, but then I remembered we're leaving in a few minutes." She leaned back on her chair, sighing. "Being a hero is no fun."

A tiny smile formed on Inyssa's lips. "Tell you what. If we make it to next week alive, I'll let you use my Poketch. You can ask her out on a date. Or… whatever it is you do with the women you seduce."

"Right, most of the time it's… er…" Metchi frowned. "How old are you again?"

"Never mind, I don't want to know."

Inyssa shook her head and rolled her eyes, but Metchi saw the way her lips quivered in an attempt not to smile. She really was quite the tough audience. But that only made getting her to laugh or smile even more rewarding.

And Mew knows the girl could stand to laugh more, she thought.

They spent the next few minutes finishing their breakfast and discussing the remaining trek to Hearthome without the need to whisper or lower the volume of their conversation. Despite Inyssa's previous concern, not many trainers or people visited Solaceon's Pokemon Center. As far as they knew, they were the only ones there, besides the nurse and her Chansey. Besides, the sound of the news announcers were doing a good job of drowning out their conversation.

"Getting there won't be much of a problem," said Inyssa, taking one last sip from her mug. "But getting in will. Apparently there's Association guards posted in all the entrances. Their investigation of Fantina is still going on so they're not letting anyone in or out without good reason."

Metchi waved her hand, letting out a 'Pfft'. "Come on, what's a few guards for us? We can beat them up."

"Yeah, I'd rather not have a criminal record if that's okay with you."

"We can slip past them?" offered Metchi. "You know, fly over or use that teleportation of yours?"

"I'm sure they have a few flying Pokemon patrolling the area," said Inyssa. "And I'm afraid S.M.T. only works w–"

"Es-em-what?"

"Oh. It stands for Spirit-Magnetic Teleportation," she explained, then immediately a blush rose up her cheeks. "It's… the name I gave to that particular ability."

Metchi couldn't help but chuckle. "That's adorable, in a nerdy way."

Inyssa shot her a sour, cold look, but chose to ignore the comment.

"Anyway, that is something I can only use on my own. I could imbue a… pebble or something, have Enma throw it so it falls inside the town then switch places with it, but first off, I don't know where the pebble would land and second, I wouldn't be able to take you with me." She sighed, looking to the side. "And I never got the hang of real teleportation."

Damn, thought Metchi, impressed. This girl had been very methodical about studying and categorizing her own powers, as opposed to the reluctant, haphazard way she'd gone about it.

"Hmm… that sucks. Th–"

"Why don't the two of you work together to get past this hurdle?"

Metchi jumped, almost choking on the pastry she was chewing on. She punched her chest and coughed a couple times, looking up angrily at the empty space above Inyssa.

"Fucking… give us a warning before you start talking."

Inyssa pursed her lips in an attempt not to laugh, while Uxie stammered for a moment before replying.

"I… apologize. I assure you, it wasn't my intention to spook you."

"She's a grown girl, she can handle it," said Inyssa. "What did you mean about us working together, though? We were already planning on doing that."

"Yes, but you were disregarding one of your biggest assets. Metchi, you still carry some of Azelf's power with you, do you not?"

The sound of that name was enough to form a scowl on Metchi's face. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat for a moment, looking down in what appeared to be shame.

"Not really," she shrugged. "I still have golden eyes, yeah, and sometimes I can emit this… warm light? But I can't do anything on the level of what I could do before."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that before," Inyssa furrowed her brow. "How come she still has those eyes if Azelf was taken away?"

On one hand, Metchi wanted to hand-wave the matter or tell Inyssa to stop being so curious, but she couldn't deny that she'd been asking herself the same thing ever since she'd woken up that day, Azelf nowhere to be found inside of her.

"It is quite uncommon for Mesprit and I to leave the humans we've bonded with before their deaths. And in Azelf's case, it has never happened before. But in the rare event that it does occur… a part of us is left behind in them, and vice versa," explained Uxie. "When two spirits are so intimately merged together, it is impossible to perfectly separate them. That is the reason why your eyes are still golden. It is also why you can still access some of Azelf's more… esoteric abilities, those that draw from Willpower itself, but are unable to do the same regarding its psychic power, now that you can't use Azelf as an energy source for that."

Metchi needed a few seconds to process everything, brow furrowed in concentration. By the time she finally did, Inyssa opened her mouth and asked the exact question she was about to.

"Wait, what do you mean it's never happened with Azelf?" She frowned. "Didn't Azelf leave Cyrus after Mesprit erased his emotions?"

"Y-yeah, that," parroted Metchi. "And wait, hold on. If you leave a part of you behind every time you do this… shouldn't you be a lot weaker now?"

They heard Uxie laugh. It was a light, calm laugh that reminded Metchi terribly of a professor she used to have in high school.

"Those two questions actually have the same answer, believe it or not," it said. "Yes, we do leave part of us behind in such cases, but try to think of it as… adding an alcoholic drink to a dish. Through cooking, the flavor of the drink will permeate the dish, while the alcohol itself will evaporate into the air."

Both Metchi and Inyssa blinked a couple times, then exchanged a confused look.

"And that means…?"

"Once the person dies, the part of us inside them will separate from the rest, then come back to us. So no, barring entropy itself, time will not weaken us," said Uxie. Then it spoke up again just as Inyssa opened her mouth. "As for Cyrus… his is a special case. Technically, a part of him, a whole third of his Spirit, did die when Mesprit attacked him. Such incredible damage to a soul… it was more than enough to completely sever Azelf's bond with him, as well as burn away whatever remained behind."

Silence fell to their table for a few moments, after which Inyssa let out a tired sigh.

"Man… I know we discussed this before, but Mesprit's a real asshole."

"My siblings… well, all of us can be a handful at times, I admit."

More like a mindful, thought Metchi, snickering at her own joke. Or a soulful? Whatever.

"That explains the eyes and the weird shit then, I guess," she said. "You said we should work together to get to Hearthome. I… did use this power Azelf taught me about a couple times, the… shit, what was it called? Something dorky."

"The Monarch's Eyes?"

"Yeah, that one!"

Inyssa's eyes widened, and she whispered to herself something that almost sounded like 'Shit, that's a good one'.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing!" the girl hurried to say. "A-anyway, what did that power do?"

Metchi hesitated for a moment, making a face. "It… let me order people around. I'd tell them to do something and… most of the time they had no choice but to obey."

It took no time for Inyssa's curiosity to turn into shock and revolt. The change was immediate.

"Yeah… I wasn't a fan of it either. And it's not like it was that useful either," she scoffed. "Saturn shook it off like it was nothing."

"I believe that's due to the way you used the power," explained Uxie. "The Monarch's Eyes don't work so well when coercing others against their will. They are most useful at convincing others to take a course of action they, deep down, want to take. It's supposed to inspire, not control."

"It's still pretty fucking sketchy," frowned Metchi.

"Yeah, no kidding," Inyssa muttered darkly. "Is… is there a version of that power for those who bond with you?"

"Indeed there is. The Sage's Eyes," said Uxie, a smile in its voice. "With some practice you should be able to subtly alter someone's memories, and by extension whatever notion or belief that sprouts from that memory."

It was incredible how, despite supposedly being one of the smartest Pokemon in existence, Uxie could so perfectly miss the forest for the trees, so to speak. It didn't seem to notice the growing discomfort on Inyssa's face, nor why its cheerful tone was only making it worse.

"If you two work together, you should be able to convince the guards that they've already checked your identities and decided to let you pass. It should be easy."

Metchi knew what Inyssa's reply would be even before the girl opened her mouth.

"I'm… not doing that."

There was a short pause. They could feel Uxie's confusion in the air. "What? But…?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I've already had enough of other people trying to dictate what I should and shouldn't remember," said Inyssa, voice cold and sharp like an icicle. "I am not going to do it to someone else."

"I… o-oh. Oh." Despite Uxie being invisible and never opening its eyes, Metchi could perfectly picture the 'Oh, shit' look on its face. "Oh dear, that was… terribly insensitive of me. I am sorry, Inyssa, I didn't mean t–"

"It's fine." Inyssa practically spat those two words, but then took a second to breathe and collect herself. "It's fine. I'm just not doing it. Sorry, Metchi."

Metchi simply shrugged and shoved another razz berry crown into her mouth.

"We can still go with my plan of beating them up," she assured her after finishing chewing. "Sounds a lot more fun, honestly."

Inyssa sighed. "Well… I've never been arrested before, so will at least be a learning experience."

"Eh, it's not as bad as you're imagining."

"Of course you'd kn–"

She froze mid-sentence in that way people did when their brain had to double-check something the eyes had seen. Her gaze moved up, behind Metchi, mouth forming a tiny O.

"What? What is it?"

Metchi looked over her shoulder toward the T.V., and immediately understood. It was the same news broadcast as before, though now they were showing live footage of what looked like a protest in Jubilife. The street was packed full, hundreds of people standing in place, yelling and chanting, their progress blocked by a neat row of what couldn't have been more than a dozen Association trainers.

But what caught their attention wasn't that. It was the solitary girl that had broken off from the protest, jumped over the police tape stopping their progress and was now strolling casually toward the Association trainers. Guts aside, both Metchi and Inyssa recognized her.

"Is that…?"

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

Pyxis didn't take her eyes off the Association trainer in the middle as she walked toward him, not a pinch of concern in her face. The people behind her went silent. Those in front of her froze, not because they were scared of her, but because they hadn't expected someone to actually cross the line they'd set. She figured she had a few seconds before they came back to their senses and tried pushing her back with the rest.

"So, did you wake up today and think 'Oh boy, I get to boss around civilians again!' or are you one of the spineless ones who hides behind the 'I'm just following orders' excuse? Personally, I prefer the former. At least they're honest about their intentions."

The man before her was wearing a face mask so she only got to see a portion of the face he made, though it was enough to let her know her comment hadn't been appreciated. His hand tensed over the Pokeball it was holding. The Koffing and Magneton behind him set their gaze squarely on her, as though waiting for instructions.

Pyxis wasn't as much playing with fire as she was soaking herself in gasoline and reaching for a cig to light. The dozen trainers accompanying this man and all the Pokemon behind them weren't really necessary. He was a couple heads taller and surely weighed at least twice as much as her. If he really wanted to hurt Pyxis, there wasn't much she could've done to stop him.

Good thing that wasn't her intention to begin with.

"Back behind the line," grumbled the man.

Pyxis folded her arms and laughed at his face.

"I got a better idea. How about you lot fuck off and let us protest in peace? Last I checked what we're doing is perfectly legal."

"Don't be difficult," he said, frowning. "Just get back with the rest."

The woman next to him chimed in. "We already told you why you can't take the protest past this street, we're just a couple blocks away from League HQ. I'm sorry, b–"

"Vanessa," hissed the man, turning his head sharply toward her. "Don't give her an inch. We already explained ourselves before."

"But…"

"Wow. Are those helmets cutting off circulation to the brain or something?"

Both of them, as well as the rest of the trainers, turned toward Pyxis and shot her pretty much an identical glare, which only served to put a smile on her face.

"We know where League HQ is. That's where we're going," she said with the tone of someone explaining a simple concept to a five-year old. "What's the point of protesting if those we're protesting against can't see us do it? I know you guys aren't the brightest Carbink in the lot but I'd have thought you'd understand the concept."

The trainers near her huffed or let out a derisive chuckle or made it pretty clear they were clenching their teeth under their masks. A couple let out whispers that sounded like some insults Pyxis was intimately familiar with.

"You're free to protest anywhere else you want, but you're not getting near HQ," said the man with a tone that made it clear there would be no further debate. "Get. Back. In line. We don't want t–"

"Where are you looking?"

He froze, snapping his gaze back to her, but Pyxis simply raised an eyebrow and smiled. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed the rest of the protesters were getting closer and closer to the police tape. Despite not hearing the conversation taking place, most were cheering for her.

"Right," she said, turning toward the man again. "Can't have them realize just how badly they outnumber you, huh?"

"This is your last warning," he whispered, tone anxious. "We don't want to use violence b–"

"But you will, if push comes to shove," said Pyxis, disgust in her voice. "So why should we listen to you?"

"If you don't get back behind the line we will push you back."

"Go ahead."

It was clear the man didn't expect that response, nor the sudden, unbridled anger filling her voice like venom. It burned Pyxis' smile away. All that was left behind was the kind of glare even a Gyarados would falter at.

"Try to push me back. See what happens," her voice seeped out, sharp and hot. "I'm not scared of pain; you and your lot are gonna have to get pretty rough if you want to stop me, so feel free. Beat me up in front of the cameras, in front of all these people. I'm sure that'll work out great for you."

That sure gave them pause. The man's grip on his pokeball seemed to loosen a bit. Those around him exchanged quick glances then looked back at him, like waiting for orders or even a reply from him.

Finally, it was the girl next to him that spoke first.

"Look… just protest around these streets, okay? We're all being filmed, of course the Association knows what you're doing."

"Vanessa–"

"What!? She's not gonna leave and we can't push her around either, can we?" she said, turning sharply to look at him. "Look girl, we can't let you pass and that's it. There might be Galactic members hiding in that crowd and–"

"Vanessa!"

The girl shut up immediately, eyes going wide, realizing she'd said more than she'd intended to.

"So that's how it is…"

Pyxis tried to smile and sound all calm and sarcastic, but it was getting harder and harder to keep the anger and bitterness from her voice. She was practically talking through grit teeth now.

"Right, because if civilians have a problem with you guys, they're obviously terrorists. Am I getting that right?"

"We're not answering you anymore," said the man. "Get back."

"Hell, even if there were some Galactic grunts back there, what do you think they'd do? They're not fucking monsters, they're just teenagers! Everyone knows all the important members are up there in Mt. Coronet."

"I said–"

"What, you think a fucking Elite four member like Lucian would have trouble against a bunch of non-trainers? For Mew's sake, do you people ever think anything through or do you rely on your Pokemon for that too? Zero logic or thought, it's like your neurons aren't even fucking connected!"

Deep down, Pyxis recognized the telltale sign of her anger slowly getting out of control. She knew she should have taken a step back and try to breathe. Knew that, when this happened, she often ended up saying something she didn't intend to.

Funny thing about anger, though. It also made it so she didn't care much about consequences.

"We are not letting a bunch of terrorists near League HQ!" hissed the man, her words clearly starting to get to him. "I don't care if they're harmless, they're still–!"

"There aren't any Galactic grunts back there you fucking idiot! I'd know if there were!"

It was too late to stop herself by the time she said that.

"Because I'm the only one here who's part of Team Galactic!" she spat out, furious. "And trust me, if I had a way to make my way through all of you, I'd have used it already!"

There was a short, silent moment in which both Pyxis and the trainers before her froze in place. Behind her, the rest of the protestors fell silent. She'd screamed loud enough for them, and possibly the news cameras, to hear it. The moment didn't last long, however, and with what seemed to be overwhelmed panic, the man took a quick step toward her.

"You're coming with us," he said.

"Wh–wait!" the woman named Vanessa intervened. "We can't…!"

"She just confessed!" snapped the man. "We have to arrest her!"

Pyxis snarled and stood her ground. "Just try me, asshole."

"You shut your–!"

"WH-FUCK-GET OFF ME!"

Hot, electric bursts of panic and anger shot up Pyxis' arm as the man grabbed onto it. She grit her teeth and pushed back with enough force to hurt herself, but his grip was too strong.

"Stop!" yelled Vanessa. "There's cameras, we–"

"J-just…!"

"G-GET THE FUCK OFF ME!"

It was a matter of only a couple seconds. A couple of heated, panicked seconds where no one was thinking straight and a punch to the face was all but guaranteed. There was a deaf thump as Pyxis' hand went a bit higher up than she'd expected in her blind panic and ended up hitting the side of the man's head. She cried out in pain and tried to step back, but he held on to her arm. He grunted at the punch and moved his arm almost by instinct, hitting his forearm against Pyxis' left temple with enough force to send her stumbling back.

"GHK!"

"S-shit, I…"

It all happened in an instant. At the sight of the man hitting Pyxis, the few protesters that had been gutsy enough to follow her example and jump over the police tape let out screams and insults full of indignation and threw themselves forward, their example soon followed by a good number of those behind them. The row of trainers tensed up, eyes going wide in fear as dozens and dozens of people started running toward them in anger. Most of them grabbed their Pokeballs, and the Koffing and Magneton behind them started spinning in place, ready to attack.

Pyxis herself stood there, frozen for a moment, before the pain came, soon followed by a rage so blinding she barely noticed as she turned around and bent her knees, readying herself to jump at the man still holding her by the wrist.

However, it ended before it could even begin.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The scream echoed throughout the whole street, so strident and air-shaking that it had to be amplified by something. Trainers and protestors alike froze in place, gritting their teeth at the loud voice, which gave its owner enough time to materialize out of nowhere in between the two groups of people, purple light bursting in a bubble around the spot where he'd just teleported in.

The man let go of Pyxis' arm in an instant, and as she looked over her shoulder she found herself mere inches from none other than the acting Champion and Chief Manager of the League Association, Lucian Dusk.

"Y-you…"

The man barely reacted to the heat in her voice, merely dusting off his burgundy suit with one hand and casually turning toward the row of trainers behind her. Next to him stood the strangest Pokemon Pyxis had ever seen. An odd, colorful bird with a round head and eyes painted onto its chest. A Xatu.

"What do you people think you're doing?"

Once again, his voice rang loudly through the air, amplified by his Pokemon's psychic power. Not only did it serve to make everyone around him listen, but it had the added benefit of utterly terrifying the trainers before him.

"Mister Lucian, I…"

"The right to protest is recognized and protected under Sinnohan law. There is no need to block these people's path," said Lucian, his tone commanding. "You shall all step away and meet me back at HQ. Are we clear?"

The trainer took a sudden step back, but for some reason he looked more confused than intimidating.

"B-but sir, you were the one wh–"

"Are we clear?"

"Y-yes, sir!" he spurted out, shaking in his boots. "Everyone, clear out! Quickly now!"

The entire street behind them cheered loudly and flung screams and insults toward the trainers as they reluctantly retreated toward the enormous building in the distance. All the while Pyxis just stood there, glaring at Lucian like she hoped it would hurt him. Since only his voice had been amplified by that Pokemon of his, no one but Pyxis had heard the trainer's objection before he'd been cut off.

B-but sir, you were the one wh–

Her fingers dug into her palms, teeth gritting at the thought.

"So, letting your subordinates take the blame?" she asked, barely hearable over the voice of the people behind them. "Well, not like I expected much more."

Lucian simply cleared his throat and adjusted his tie with one hand, his back to Pyxis.

"I will do anything I need to in order to prevent things to escalate further."

"Y-you lying sack of s–!"

The moment she took a step toward him, that bizarre bird Pokemon instantly turned its head to look at her, eyes going unnaturally wide. Pyxis froze in place. There was no hostility in its expression and it wasn't using its powers to stop her, but for some reason she found herself unable to take another step, a cold shiver running down her back.

She gulped, feeling a sudden dryness in her throat.

"I believe that is all for now," Lucian broke the silence. "I will take my leave. Feel free to continue with your protest."

Pyxis' lips pursed. That was enough to shake her out of the state she was in, words clawing their way up her throat dripping with heat and venom.

"You heard what I said before. You know I'm a member of Team Galactic. Why don't you try to arrest me?"

Lucian simply sighed. Then, for the first time since arriving there, he looked over his shoulder and their gazes met. There was something… oddly captivating about the pale purple of his eyes, something that made Pyxis shiver. Despite that, there was no irritation or anger behind them. From what little she could tell, he just looked… exhausted.

"You know very well I am not going to do that."

Pyxis scoffed. "So that's it. then. You're admitting the law only matters if you want it to."

"So it seems. Deplorable, don't you think?" There was no mocking in his voice as he said that, there wasn't much of anything at all. "No choice of words from me will make things right, I'm afraid. I promise your voice shall be heard, but unfortunately, I must make sure my home doesn't fall apart before that can come to fruition."

Lucian snapped his fingers, and instantly both him and his Pokemon were enveloped in a purple mantle of light.

"W-wait!" yelled Pyxis. "Don't you dare–!"

"I'm sorry. Truly. But I suppose that's no consolation."

There was a flash, a thinning of the air, and then both man and Pokemon were gone. Pyxis' eyes went wide, hands balling into fists.

"Y-you coward!"

But there was no one to hear her scream amidst the hundreds of other voices drowning it out.

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

When the broadcast ended, Inyssa bit her lip and frowned while Metchi let out a sharp whistle.

"God damn, is that really lil' Pyxis?" she said, shaking her head, smiling. "I mean I remember her being that angry all the time but still, good for her."

Inyssa said nothing, looking down at her empty mug, face scrunched up with something akin to guilt.

"Quick thinking on Lucian though. Still, guy's got some fucking nerve," Metchi kept talking to herself, eyes on the T.V. "Like what the fuck did you people think was gonna happen? They think they're gonna stop Team Galactic and that's it? The protests are just gonna stop?"

It wasn't that Inyssa had nothing to say on the matter, but like she'd experienced before, she clearly didn't know as much about all this as she used to think she did. So instead, she tried to change the subject.

"So… you know her, then? Pyxis."

"Hm? Oh yeah, I mean we weren't friends or anything but we used to…" Metchi stopped. Then she turned to look at Inyssa, frowning disapprovingly. "Wait, no. What did I tell you? No more feeling sorry for her; you've got other things to worry about."

Inyssa looked away, shoulders dropping. "That's not it. I just…"

She shook her head and sighed, the green of her eyes seemingly turning paler.

"I just wish things didn't go the way they did."

Metchi simply stared, shooting her a glare that could have either been pity or annoyance, maybe both.

"Well… things did go that way, and now Pyxis is most likely thinking of a way to kill you so that Cyrus can have Uxie," said Metchi. "Not much we can do about that but avoid her."

"Wow… thanks. You really know how to make a girl feel better."

Metchi shrugged, nonplussed by the sarcasm in Inyssa's voice.

"So I've been told," she smiled. "But come on, we should get going. It's a couple hours to Hearthome and we don't wanna be late, do we?"

Inyssa nodded. "Yeah. And if we're lucky, we can use that time to come up with a way not to get arrested as soon as we reach the city gates."

The fact that Metchi didn't seem to mind that possibility much didn't give Inyssa much confidence in their prospects. Then again, it's not like they had much choice anyway.