"No news today either. They've gone completely dark."
Zane closed his eyes, gave himself a moment not to lose it, and breathed in deep. It was okay. He could do this. Just… one more day, and then he would ring the alarm.
"I'll check our provisions," he said. "Make sure we can ration what's left of our food 'til tomorrow."
The Galactic grunt in front of him -Sonia he believed she was called- raised an eyebrow in that particular way young recruits did when they doubted his decisions. Which was becoming more and more common.
"Shouldn't we contact HQ?" she asked, shaking her head a bit as though it were the obvious choice. "I don't know if we can make the food last until tomorrow, Zane."
He opened his mouth, considering being mean for a second, but promptly closed it as reason came back to him. It wasn't her fault. This was just a shitty situation, one of the shittiest they'd had to endure. And just like every time before, he needed to be a leader and reassure his companions.
His gaze moved to the side, past the storage room door and toward what could be considered a lounge if a broke-ass college student were to describe it. Which he had been, to be fair. The rest of his small squadron sat around, looks of impatience and irritation clear on their faces. Zane had tried to keep them optimistic, all eleven of them, but with every day that passed it was getting harder and harder.
That was the thing, Zane thought with a heaviness which made his shoulders drop. He wasn't a commander though he probably worked as hard if not harder than one, he was just a grunt who'd been given the 'honor' –in the biggest quotation marks known to man– of leading Galactic's Solaceon squadron. Which, he'd been reminded many times, was the smallest group in all the region. Understandable, considering how… utterly unremarkable the city was. Before –he couldn't remember how long ago, since days passed so slowly nowadays– they had the task of keeping an eye on professor Willow and his research, but ever since the old coot's sudden death both Zane and his little passé had been left without much to do but patrol every few hours and see if they could recruit any willing youngsters to the team.
Normally, he would have relished such an opportunity. A job where he didn't have to do anything? What could be better? However, even without official missions there was still one task he'd been trusted with; to look over, take care and cheer up his squadron every single day, a task not easily accomplished considering none of them with exception of two were of age yet and he was at least ten years older than them.
It was hard to convince a group of idealistic teenagers not to jump boat after they'd been stuck in their damn hideout for so long without anything to do. It was especially difficult when food started dwindling as well. And it was downright excruciating when, on top of all that, their only channel of communication with HQ had been suddenly cut a few nights ago and they couldn't re-connect no matter how much they tried.
Not to mention…
"And… if Jessica doesn't come back…"
Zane sighed, rubbing his eyelids with thumb and middle finger. There it was; Jessica. The only other adult in the squadron and clearly the best liked out of the two of them. She had gone out the night before to try and find a way to contact HQ, yet hadn't returned since, which made things much more difficult for him.
He could only hope that she hadn't been captured. If that was the case, they were all well and truly fucked.
Zane shook his head. "It'll be… fine. I'll take care of rationing the food we have left so everyone's happy and then, when they're asleep, I'll go look for Jessica myself." He looked at Sonia with a 'please, let's drop it' look on his face. "I'll need you to help me with cleaning up. Is that okay?"
"Got it, boss."
He made a face, like he'd swallowed a piece of a Grimer. "Don't call me that."
Without another word he headed past the door toward the lounge. Here came the hard part. Mike and Pence were playing video games in one of the corners, while Sim lay with his head against a pillow, reading one of his many books. The rest simply sat around, staring at nothing and occasionally chatting amongst themselves.
Now, to disappoint all these poor kids for like the tenth time, thought Zane, pursing his lips. And hope to fucking Arceus that they don't decide to all leave tonight.
"Hey, y'all…"
All heads turned toward him. Okay, slightly intimidating, but he could do this. He'd dealt with that one piece of shit Randy back when he was at the base; he could do anything.
"Listen; I'm afraid we haven't been able to contact HQ tonight either." He clapped his hands together, frowning. He could feel the irritation and animosity exuding from the rest as soon as he said that. "But hey, it's fine. Tonight we'll have some nice dinner and then once it's morning we'll…"
The door slammed open. Zane froze for a second, but managed to react slightly faster than everyone else by grabbing his only Pokeball and pointing it forward, a sudden rush of adrenaline flooding his veins.
Then, he saw her. His eyes went wide with surprise and he spoke out her name before he could process it.
"Jessica?"
The entire room stood in silence as Jessica walked through the doors, her steps low and tentative. Mist escaped her lips erratically, accompanying her breathing. Streaks of her long, auburn hair fell over her face, covering her eyes as she tried to take another step forward, and failed.
A few of the closer grunts tried to get up, but Zane rushed over faster and grabbed the girl by the shoulders before she could fall. Her head met with the meaty part of his shoulder.
"J-Jessica!? Hey! What's going on?"
She parted her lips, eyes still hidden, and whispered; "I… found…"
The others soon joined, getting off their seats and rushing over toward them with looks of relief and panic alike. However, Zane paid no attention to them. All he could focus on was the long streak of dark red staining the chest of Jessica's uniform, running along a long cut in the fabric.
Without thinking he placed his free hand against the wound, and froze.
"I… found…"
There was no wound. No cut or blood rushing out or… anything to indicate that Jessica was hurt at all. Zane blinked a couple times, unable to process what was happening. Then he felt a sudden, familiar shiver down his spine and looked up at his partner's face.
The pair of red eyes that stared back did not belong to Jessica.
"I… found you." The smile that stretched across her lips looked like it had been carved with a knife. "It's not nice to stick your hand inside a girl's shirt, you know."
Zane gulped, realization coming to him.
"C-commander Mar–"
She moved like the wind, and the gleam of a blade was the last thing Zane saw before everything went black.
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Inyssa knew she would miss Canalave the moment they walked out of the Center for the last time, backpacks in tow and the excitement of possible new discoveries burning in their chests.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The city stood white and vibrant, like a carved pearl resting against the ocean. Brimming with activity, kids and adults alike walking with a confident step and a bright smile on their faces. The salty scent of the sea swirled through the streets, carried by a strong yet gentle wind. Inyssa breathed in, feeling reinvigorated.
So much had happened here. So many places, people and memories; as much as she wished to move on she was confident that this would be one of the first places she'd re-visit as soon as she became Champion. Wouldn't be a bad place for a celebration date, either. An embarrassed smile forming on her lips, she turned to look at Barry and found said smile dropping the moment she saw what he was doing.
"Hey! Cut that out!"
Barry, who until that moment had been humming to himself while making his newly acquired Mine Badge levitate and spin around his finger, startled at her sudden yell. The pink-ish glow covering the badge disappeared. Were it not for his fast reflexes it would have surely fallen to the ground.
"D-don't yell so suddenly!" He clutched his closed fist against his chest, looking offended. "What if it broke, huh? What'd you do then?"
"Nothing. It'd be your fault," she snapped back. "And stop using your powers in public, you dolt! I know you're happy that you won it but what if people saw you? They'll think you're, like…"
"A psychic?" offered Barry, his previous anger extremely short-lived. "You know, the first thing people would think of if they saw someone levitating stuff?"
"Oh yeah, I'm sure that'd satiate their curiosity. They wouldn't ask questions at all after you told them that!" She made sure to imbue her voice with as much sarcasm as possible. "What's the ratio of psychics to normal people again? Like one every three hundred thousand? And how many of those you'd say are proficient enough with their powers to levitate something without even thinking about it, while being only eighteen no le–"
"Fine! I get it already!" A creak formed on the boy's forehead and he let out an exaggerated sigh. "Sometimes you sound like mom, Niss. You know that?"
It was hard not to laugh while keeping her scowl firm. "Who do you think taught me? I gotta keep you out of trouble whenever I can, just like she did."
"Right… it's not because you're jealous that you can't levitate stuff like me. That'd be ridiculous."
Barry regretted saying that as soon as he was hit with his girlfriend's icy glare. Luckily for him, Inyssa was merciful. She didn't feel like being mad at him, so she figured she'd simply prove him wrong.
"Jealous? Why would I be jealous of your crappy powers when I can do… this."
She closed her eyes. Barry stopped as well, raising an eyebrow as he looked over his shoulder at her. Then, in an instant, the badge he was holding vanished in a pink light and materialized on Inyssa's palm as she came back to herself.
"See?"
"Wha– how'd you…" Barry gawked like a startled Meowstic. "That was amazing! How'd you do that?"
Letting out a smug Heh, Inyssa flipped the badge over to Barry as she began to walk again, hands in her pockets.
"Uxie trick," she summarized. "Learned it last week, remember? That night when…" A sudden heat rose to her face as the memory of that event re-surfaced. "…Never mind."
"That's so cool…" Barry stared in awe, oblivious as always. "So you are making progress with Uxie then! See, I knew you could do it."
"Eh… could be making a whole lot more," she said, tone sour. "That's part of the reason I want us to visit Snowpoint next. Maybe… maybe there's something in the temple in Lake Aquity that can help me figure out how to do this memory thing." She looked down at her hand, frowning. "There has to be a way."
Barry nodded absentmindedly, staring forward with his hands on his pockets. Doubt seemed to cross his expression for a moment.
"Then… we're really heading north next?" he asked. "Sorta thought you'd want less cold, not more."
"There's no helping it. The more we put it off the colder it'll get over there." She sighed. "Besides, Sunnyshore's leader is ranked as the strongest of the eight, right above Maylene and Fantina. I want to leave him for last."
"I can get behind that," said Barry. "But… how are we supposed to make it to Snowpoint? Isn't it super remote?"
At that Inyssa made a face. Yes. Yes it was. Part of the reason she'd gotten so little sleep last night was because she'd been busy thinking of a path toward the city that would take less than a week to traverse. Not an easy task, considering...
"There's a ferry in the port that can take us through the west Sinnohan river. It'll be a day to reach Eterna Bridge. Then it'll divert north to follow the path left of Mt. Coronet and after another day it'll leave us at the port just south of Route 216."
Barry's frown exacerbated with every additional word she said.
"I… think I got all that," he said, unsure. "And from there…"
"We'll cross route 216 until we reach the White Pillar Path. There should be a facility just before that can tell us how to get through the blizzard and give us everything we need to make it to Snowpoint."
A tiny smile appeared on Barry's lips. "At least that part sounds fun."
"And dangerous," she added. "Do you have any idea how many people go missing in that path because of the blizzard and wild Pokemon? We need to be careful. The last thing I plan on doing is make a mistake and end up as a popsicle in the middle of the path."
Barry made a Mhmm sound, absentmindedly staring ahead as they walked. A thought came to him. Heading to Snowpoint meant that there wouldn't be much chance of meeting or communicating with anyone else until they were through with the Gym and came back to proper civilization. Which meant…
The back of his neck tingled with nervousness. Still, he had to ask. This wasn't something he wanted Niss to regret later.
"So… we're not gonna tell anyone about… you know." He gulped, ants running under the skin of his hands. "You know, Shadi? You don't wanna tell my mom or… anyone else that we saw her?"
To her credit, Niss barely reacted. He felt no rush of emotion crash against him as she heard his words, expression completely blank.
Then her eyes seem to droop a bit, and she spoke with a tired tone.
"I… wanna make sure before I do anything," she said. "If I tell Sarah and she has the Association try to chase her down, it might make things worse. I want to help her myself, if I can."
Barry bit his lower lip. "But what if… she does something bad?"
"She won't." Her reply was immediate. "I… I still trust her, Barry. Back in the S.S Anne, she never really intended to let the passengers come into real danger, it was just a ruse."
"But what she said…!"
"I know! I know Barry, I was there!" she snarled back, eyes flashing with anger. "Look. Even if she's… affected by that thing, and even if it's trying to lead her astray, I'll still try to help her before I sell her to the authorities." She shook her head. "She's still my sister. It's the least I can do."
The tone of her voice made it clear that was the end of their talk. So, despite his instincts yelling at him, Barry dropped it. The last thing they needed was to start fighting right before their trip to Snowpoint. Niss was probably right, anyway. She usually was.
Then why… Barry clutched his chest, feeling a deep discomfort inside. Why… do I have a bad feeling about this?
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The salty scent of the sea flooded Metchi's nose as they flew over the city of Canalave, bringing back a slew of memories she couldn't quite decide if they were painful or not.
In any case, here they were. The light of the sun fell down on the pearly white of the buildings below, reflecting upwards like they were made of snow. It reminded her of the mountain surrounding Sootopolis. That white, sandy stone, the constant, shining light falling upon the streets and making everything seem made of gold, even the squawks of the Wingull that dove down every now and again to take a piece of food or a shiny object from a citizen's hand. It was all so… familiar.
She didn't know whether to take it as a good sign or not, that the last place in Sinnoh she would visit was the one that reminded her more of the home she wanted to go back to. Feeling a painful pang of nostalgia in her chest, she swallowed and squeezed the base of Lyserg's wings with a bit more force, signaling her to go down.
The landing was… complicated, though at least no one saw as Lyserg –and the two riding on her back– almost crashed against the grimy wall of an abandoned alleyway between houses, stopping only inches before a garbage bin. A couple of startled Murkrow let out squawks of irritation as they flew off.
"'Ey! Lyserg, you doing good?"
The Tropius didn't reply, too busy breathing in and out as her body shook and her wings folded over her back. Metchi placed a careful hand on the back of her neck. The skin was rough, like sandpaper. A pang of guilt rose from her stomach to her throat.
"It'll be fine, I promise." She tried to imbue her voice with as much gentleness as possible. "I know you're tired and hurt but we'll get you to someone that can fix you up soon, okay?"
"Pi…piu…."
Lyserg formed a smile that seemed to say 'Don't worry about me' as she craned her long neck and rubbed her cheek against Metchi's. Which, strangely, only made her feel worse. God, what had she ever done to deserve her partner?
"Get some rest, champ. I'll bring you out when I find someone that can help."
Her body disappeared into light, pulled by the scratched, somewhat rusted Pokeball on Metchi's hand. She frowned as soon as she was gone. It was selfish, she knew, but she couldn't help but wish that Lyserg could stay with her a bit longer. What came next… it wouldn't be easy.
"So…" she whispered, closing her eyes for a moment. "You ready, fire boy?"
Monferno locked eyes with her, the flame of his tail bursting into a vibrant yellow as soon as he realized; the time had come.
"Ferr…" he snarled, a toothy smile stretching across his lips.
If only she could be that confident. Which, if she had to be honest with herself –and she often was– she should had been. What the hell was wrong with her? Stupidity, arrogance, being out of her element, staring death in the face, now those were all things she was very accustomed to. But having to meet with a real adult, a famed Pokemon professor no less, and telling him the truth about everything that had happened? The idea was horrifying to her.
And yet, like many times before, she knew that she just had to suck it up and press on. It was the least she could do. It was the only way to escape from all this… the only way to go back home.
So she steeled herself, tried to ignore the millions of ants running under her skin and –despite her fear and hesitation– took the first step out of the corridor, Monferno following behind her.
"Let's see where we can find this Rowan guy."