May’s POV

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The fresh smell of bacon grease over an open fire was what drew her out. It was a trick. The world was horrible and cold, and her sleeping bag was warm, and cozy. It asked nothing of her, and leaving this sanctuary would surely be a mistake she couldn’t come back from.

She unfortunately retreated to her cocoon a moment too late, if the new pressure against the side of her head was anything to go by.

May groaned before opening her eyes and glaring at the offending wooden spoon, tied to another wooden spoon, held by a man standing a solid five feet away.

“I made bacon and eggs?” Wayne asked, his voice small and terrified.

She sighed as she spied Jasmine, Wally, Nimue, and Ogier giggling as she slowly rose up from her sanctuary. “What are you doing?”

Wayne winced back and scrambled away from her. “Please don’t, I want to have kids someday!”

May just tilted her head to the side, her eyes unfocused. It was too early for this.

Wait, oh.

“Wayne, Emilie’s not here. Your manhood is safe, I promise,” May said, before frowning and glaring at the still petrified trainer. “And why the hell did you think I ordered her to do that? She’s Lea’s Pokémon!”

“I’m not taking any damn chances after last time. I couldn’t sit down right for like two days,” Wayne shouted back.

The giggling had evolved into full blown laughter. The pricks. She finished unzipping her sleeping bag before wincing as the cold air bit into her skin. Fire. She needed to get closer to the fire and grab her coat.

“I swear to fuck, it gets colder down here every day.” May moaned as the heat washed over her skin, and smiled as she took a seat next to a group of Sandshrew munching on some berries.

Samie popped out of the ground and nuzzled into his trainer’s leg. ‘The earth around the fire. It feels nice. How was your sleep?’

May rubbed the top of Samie’s jaw with a smile. “It was heavenly. I didn’t want to leave the sleeping bag. I don’t suppose any of your new friends among the tribe have anything helpful they can share?”

Samie shook his head. ‘Nothing beyond what the chieftain has shared. Steven Stone was last seen heading towards the Ancient Basin a few weeks ago.’

Leshy plopped down next to her and grinned at Samie. ‘I see your speech has improved a great deal.’

Samie’s eyes widened as he shifted his gaze toward the grumpy grass type. ‘Ah. Didn’t see there. Hi Leshy. How you now, friend?’

Leshy just started laughing. ‘That’s the worst acting I’ve ever seen. You don’t have to fake your progress, Samie. You being a source of intelligent conversation in this group just means I don’t need an excuse to hang out with you, calm down.’

Samie sagged in place before nuzzling his jaw against Leshy’s leg. ‘Thanks.’

‘Oi, none of that. You're ruining the moment.’ Leshy leaned back from the attention, a small smile on his face.

“Quit being a sourpuss.” May smiled before putting her hand on Leshy’s head. “You’re a big softy under all of that grumbling. Admit it.”

‘These slanderous accusations are a lie. I will hear none of it.’ Leshy closed his eyes and looked away from us.

‘You know, most Pokémon trying to save face would take this as an opportunity to storm off in a huff.’ Suzy ducked her head down between us and grinned.

‘It’s far too cold for that, and they are the ones who offended. By all rights, they should leave.’ Leshy nodded along as the words left his lips.

‘Uh-huh. Cool story, Mr. Sensitive.’ Suzy clucked once before turning to stare at her trainer. ‘You buying any of this?’

“Meh, I suppose the big, strong, surly grass type is above our tokens of affection.” She pulled her hand away and grinned as Leshy’s pleased expression shifted back to his trademark scowl.

‘...I didn’t say THAT.’ That particular thought was fairly quiet.

May glanced over toward Gawain and gave him a single, grateful nod. One which he returned with a light smile on his face.

Leshy narrowed his eyes before turning and glaring at the psychic type. ‘Quit broadcasting crap we don’t want you to broadcast. It’s rude.’

A small chuckle sounded through the link. ‘Fair enough, my comrade. I apologize, but it was a jape I couldn’t resist. Forgive me?’

Leshy groaned. ‘Can’t believe I miss the gremlin. Never have to worry about this crap with her.’

“I’ll let her know you miss her in my text to Lea tonight,” May said.

Leshy just grumbled and stared into the campfire.

“So, the Ancient Basin, huh? That’s the place that was always cold, right?” Jasmine plopped down next to May and handed her a plate, which she hesitated to grab. “Figured I’d cut my man a break.”

May turned and glared at Gawain, who looked away from her and levitated a few logs onto the bonfire. “It’s-”

“Look,” Jasmine said. “I know you’re freaked by what your girl saw. Not going to lie, the whole thing feels kind of creepy. But we’re here to find Steven, and all the signs are pointing us towards the colder part of the cave.”

May sighed before reluctantly grabbing the offered plate. “I know.” She stared down into the smoldering embers as she nibbled on a piece of bacon. “You sure we can’t just dive a few more cave systems? You might find someone else that wants to join your camera crew.”

“Aron.” The little guy nudged May at being mentioned before scampering back to Jasmine. ‘Cold cave weird, but fine. Big door not hurt anybody.’

“As adorable as this little guy is, we got a job to do.” Jasmine smiled as the steel type started crawling up her arm.

May sighed. “I’m just... not comfortable going down there, alright? The whole thing freaks me the hell out.”

“That’s fine. Wayne and I can drop in and take a look around. Maybe send Aron out with Skarmory to give the place a once over. If they don’t find anything, we can call it in for the week and go up top for a bit. I know we’re getting close to your girl’s rematch,” Jasmine said.

Wait. “What day is it?”

Jasmine pulled out her phone. “Let’s see, this’ll be day four we’re down here. It’s Thursday, by the way. Lea’s grudge match is the day after tomorrow, so we have time to run the area and bail.”

May kept her mouth shut as two large Makuhita filtered into the cave, before throwing four logs onto the fire. The embers surged at the new source of fuel, and May smiled as the glow of the fire lit up her face. “We run the area for one day. If no one finds anything or things go south, we get the hell out of dodge, got it?”

Jasmine beamed. “Don’t worry, we’ll-”

“Shrew...” The low cry echoed off the walls, and everyone turned to stare as a white skinned Sandshrew limped into the cave before collapsing forward, his skin lightly tinged red with fresh blood as Wayne rushed forward.

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Lucas’s POV

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Memories really were a gift. For most, basic things like walking through town or a meal with friends wasn’t really worth commenting on. His life from before was still a fragmented mess of places he didn’t recognize, people he didn’t know the names of, and actions he didn’t understand. He had no context to string the echoes together, and that was enough to drive him mad on some days.

Truly, a mind was a terrible thing to lack. Could he trade this ghostly body out for a more normal one? He supposed he should be grateful anyone from his past life was well and truly dead, especially if some of the more recent spooks were any indication.

What separated him from them? Why was he sane? What made him so special that he didn’t attack those around him in a blind haze?

If Misdreavus and Duskull had the same shattered memories of a former life he did, then only one thing made sense.

The second Lea took him by the hilt and freed him from his tomb, she bestowed upon him the greatest gift he had ever received. Her life laid bare as something he could cling to. References, feelings, people...

Blackmail.

He chuckled lightly from his spot in Sol’s shadow as she moved through the forest towards a familiar cliff. By all rights, he should be terrified, considering this was what he was trying to avoid earlier in the week, but the dark type was acting odd. Odder than usual, even. Which was really saying something. It takes quite a bit to get both sets of numbers involved.

As much as this place put him on edge, he couldn’t bring himself to let her wander off on her own. Especially if the newly born Duskull was even a third as unhinged as Jasmine’s Misdreavus.

For as much as she could be a bitch, no one should have to deal with something like that.

...come to think of it, did that word work wholesale as a way to describe Sol? For all that she denied it earlier, she did at one point want to drag him back to her dungeon and chain him up again, and Lea seemed rather insistent that she was a ‘dog’ Pokémon.

He’d ask Lea about it later. She was fairly smart when she wasn’t being an idiot.

Lucas lurched forward slightly, distorting the dark type’s shadow as she stopped and looked up at a familiar sheer rock wall.

Wait.

He couldn’t hop back into Sol’s shadow.

Why?

He heard Sol mutter a few things under her breath that he couldn’t quite catch before muttering a few choice words of his own. Sol’s shadow stretched out to three times its size.

Of course this thing learned Shadow Sneak. Not like it was one of the easiest ghost type moves to learn. Why wouldn’t it figure it out?

Duskull’s blue eye lit up the clearing as his body lurched upwards. A chilling wind rolled across the ground as a light wail sounded out into the crisp night air.

Sol didn’t even flinch as she turned and glared at the new arrival. “Riiiiight. You must be the ghost that Lea somehow pissed off. I know you’ve got that whole vengeful dead thing going on, but I am waaaaay above your weight class. Go back to playing hide and seek with the shadows, maybe hit the gym, work on your cardio, and evolve into a Dusclops before trying to pick a fight, eh?” Sol tilted her head and grinned.

Lucas groaned. ‘Uhh, Emilie? Please tell me you can hear me and I’m not out of range.’

The ghost only tilted his mask slightly in the opposite direction. “You. Know you. Remember. Foggy.” The words came out as a dull hiss as the black miasma that made up Duskull’s body convulsed. “Fighting. Pain. So much pain.”

Great, he was right. His brain was a giant, scrambled mess. ‘Screw it, I’ll take either of you, honestly. Lea, I know you’ve been working on your telepathy. You’ve literally been living in our heads for like the last three days, please tell me one of you is listening.’ Lucas winced from his hiding spot as the Duskull’s body started to wobble. ‘What you were worried about is happening and I don’t know how to stop it!’

Silence. Fuck.

“Oh, you remember me? That’s different. I don’t think I’ve done much to, oh! Did I have you for dinner at some point? You’ll have to forgive me, but that doesn’t really narrow it down all that well, and you might also be thinking of my mom. We kind of look alike, so-”

“You. Enemy.” Duskull’s eye glowed brighter, and a single, disembodied hand rose up into the air from behind his back, a large black spike held at the ready.

He needed to do something.

Sol sighed before crouching down. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He needed to do something now. Damn it all. “Wait!”

For the second time in his afterlife, Lucas rose up from the ground and put himself between two violent Pokémon getting ready to tear each other limb from limb.

Well, glob from glob. Arceus, he was a moron.

Sol shifted in her dive and angled her mouth up, before biting around Sol’s hilt and dragging him back as the Duskull slammed the black nail into his own chest. His eye glowed red as a wave of malevolent intent permeated the area. His vision spotted for a brief moment as they blurred back, away from the revenant as a pulsing black miasma spilled out from the new wound on his chest, pooling down into the shadows.

Sol opened her mouth and glared. “The fuck did you do that for? Do you have any idea how bad that could have been?”

“I, I needed to stop-”

“Why!? It’s a random ghost you guys found in the wild. I was just gonna kick its ass and send it on its merry way. What’s the issue? These spooks pop up all the time on this island.” Sol turned away from me and glared, before wincing. “Fuck, get back!”

Lucas pulled away from Sol and slipped into the familiar motions to Aerial Ace backwards, away from the spiteful specter. The shadow it was feeding itself into warped and extended out after both of them as he came out of the move. He dipped into a separate shadow, before reappering at the base of the tree he just piggybacked into.

“What exactly is this?” Lucas asked as he sent out what felt like his fifth distress call to his psychic friends.

“Curse. Nasty attack. Don’t let its shadow touch yours or you’re done.” Sol leapt back before hopping to the left away from the writhing mass of black tendrils. “I thought it was a newer ghost, now I’m not so sure. It takes a lot of focus to manipulate shadows like this while you’re in that much pain.” A single purple ball started to form in front of Sol’s mouth.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Wait-”

Lucas winced as the purple orb launched across the clearing and slammed into the Duskull. An unearthly shriek pierced his nonexistent ears as Duskull’s body contorted around the energy. The shadows dissipated as he was swept back, before smacking into the cliff with a resounding glop. The poor ghost type slowly slid down before collapsing in a heap on the ground.

“There. Stupid little grim reaper wannabe. You alright?” Sol walked towards me at a leisurely pace, her eyes never leaving the downed ghost.

“I’m fine, thanks.” Lucas’s voice sounded distant to his own ears as he slowly levitated upwards. “Is it... alright?”

Sol snorted. “It’ll probably wake up in an hour or two, forget what knocked it out, and wander around looking for another random idiot to try and scare.” Sol sighed before finally taking her eyes off the ghost. “What are you doing out here?”

Lucas winced. “I, uh. Well, it seemed like a lovely evening and, uh...” Lucas wilted slightly under Sol’s narrowed gaze. “Alright, fine. I was worried about you wandering off on your own, so I tagged along in your shadow.”

Sol leaned away before throwing her head back and laughing. “I’m sorry, you,” Sol waved her head forward and shook her horn in his direction. “Were worried about ME?”

Lucas looked away, the sides of his sheath feeling hot. How the fuck did that work, he didn’t fucking have blood to blush! “Shut up. Last time that happens, don’t worry.”

Sol rushed forward and leered down at him. “Aww, don’t be that way, it’s adorable.”

“Is there a point to this, besides mine?” Lucas floated away and made it a point to not stare directly into Sol’s mocking face. Stupid dark type. Can’t ever just be grateful or nice, nooooo. Everything has to be looked at through the eyes of a tsundere. Arceus above, he was so happy this era had a phrase he could use for it. “It wasn’t exactly obvious that you would have been fine, alright? Your track record hasn’t exactly been stellar.”

Sol instantly stopped giggling and glared viciously, though she failed to hide the faint tinge of red that dotted her cheeks. “I’ve been off my game recently, alright? Not my fault most of you morons are battle freaks.” Sol shivered. “Apollo can be terrifying when he wants to be.”

Lucas shivered. “Aye, that be true. I haven’t quite gotten used to his brand of companionship.”

“I know, right? He’s great to talk to, but sometimes he just-” Sol stopped abruptly before glaring. “Stop trying to change the subject and tell me why the hell you jumped between two fighting Pokémon. Again.”

Lucas wilted before sighing. “You’re not going to believe me.”

Sol raised an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

Lucas let the question hang for a moment, taking a moment to look Sol up and down. Despite the fact that she just downed an angry ghost on a mission, she didn’t look much worse for wear. She was calm, relaxed even.

He sighed before lifting himself up and sheathing himself. “Because you’ve yet to believe Lea.”

Sol looked down in thought for a moment before freezing. Her gaze hardened as she turned back toward Duskull, her shoulders tensed. “So, you expect me to believe that that’s my old man? No offense, but uh... even in a new, ghostly body, he’d wipe the both of us. In like ten seconds flat. In which the first nine is him laughing his ass off at how pathetic we are.”

Lucas winced at the mental imagery, and briefly looked up to the sky and thanked every legend that was out there that this ghost didn’t retain his battle prowess. “No, I expect you to believe that it used to be.”

Sol didn’t move, nor did she open her mouth to speak.

Lucas sighed, wondering what the best way of explaining this would be. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if what he was about to say was right. Lord knew he wasn’t the best example for how normal everyday ghosts acted. “Before the change, Lea was gifted visions of a life not her own. Moments in time your father deemed important, primarily to help you through the worst of your grief.”

“She did an ass job,” Sol said listlessly.

“I don’t know about that. A few days ago, you’d have shut me up already.” Lucas grinned. “Some might even call you pleasant to be around.”

“Can you hurry up and get to the point?” Sol growled.

Lucas’s grin widened. “I usually do.”

Sol groaned. “I hate you. So much.”

“I don’t believe you. After passing the memory of his death, your father changed into the form you see in front of you.” Lucas sighed before glaring down at the ground. “I don’t really remember my change. I think I was sealed when it happened, but I for sure know what it was like waking up. My mind was a scattered mess, I had no idea where I was or what I was, I couldn’t remember my life or even my own name.” Lucas sighed. “For a brief moment, all I had were my regrets, and a feeling of loss.”

“And yet you’re still an annoying practical joker goofball that likes to make puns.” Sol glared at him before pointedly looking at the Duskull. “I wouldn’t go so far as to call you sane, none of your group is, but you’re a lot better than this thing.”

“If it wasn’t for Lea, I wouldn’t be.” Lucas sighed again as he glanced around the clearing. The sun had fully gone down at this point. “When she took hold of me, I gained clarity. The memories I watched weren’t my own, but they grounded me. It took a while for me to fully come out of my haze, but I found the new me somewhere in the chaos.” Lucas grinned.

Sol remained quiet as she glanced up at me.

“I know that without that anchor, without that shining light in the sea of chaos and scattered dreams, I would have been no different than this listless husk, wandering the island in a haze and hopelessly trying to piece together the fractured remains of my mind as the world continued to change around me.” Lucas turned and floated towards the fallen Pokémon. “I don’t know if you believe us or not, but-”

“I do, now.” Sol swallowed dryly before glancing at Lucas. “A ghost telling tales is honestly a fair sight more believable than a human pushing past a dark type’s natural immunities. I’m just... having trouble reconciling how this thing was once my father.” She glared down at the grass.

Lucas chuckled. “If anyone from my past was still alive, they’d probably say the same about me.”

“I, honestly, I think seeing him like this is worse than knowing he’s gone. At least then, I could think that he found peace.” She chuckled. “Guess I worried him too much for him to pass on.”

Lucas winced. “It’s not exactly easy, and it definitely takes some getting used to, but life after death isn’t all that bad.”

“Yeah...” Sol’s tone sounded anything but convinced. “You said Lea gave you clarity? I don’t really understand how that works, but do you think she could help him? I know he’s not exactly him anymore, but... anything sounds better than letting him wander around the island aimlessly not knowing who he is or what he’s doing.”

Lucas nodded. “It’d be worth a shot, though she wasn’t exactly cognizant when she helped me. It’ll probably take a bit for her to help.”

Sol nodded back, before shifting her gaze back to Duskull.

Lucas frowned at the scene before letting himself fall into the ground below. “How about you run and grab her, and I’ll keep watch.”

Sol winced. “I-”

“-am not doing great,” Lucas finished. “No reason to torture yourself like this. Grab Lea. I’ll keep watch over him for you.”

Sol stood still for a while, before a small smile spread across her lips. She nodded her head once and rushed out of the clearing.

Lucas smiled back before shifting his stance to watch over his fellow ghost, before freezing at the very chilling realization.

He wasn’t there anymore.

A single stabbing pain permeated his core, and the world went dark.

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Normal POV

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I stared down at Wally’s phone and sighed. Still no text back. It was getting late. She usually texted me by now.

“Don’t worry so much.” Emilie patted me on the head consolingly from her usual perch as we lounged around in the Pokémon Center Foyer, waiting for Joern and Apollo’s checkup to finish. “She’s been fine for the last four days, and she’s with a bunch of really strong Pokémon and trainers, a few of which she trained herself. She’ll be fine.”

“Should I tell Suzy the nice things you said about her?” I turned and smiled at her.

“I was talking about Leshy,” Emilie deadpanned. “Honestly, Samie’s been impressing me recently too. His ground control’s looking really good, and he’s carrying conversations a lot easier than he did before.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, he’s gotten bigger, too. Guess it helps now that he’s getting good food on a consistent basis. Do you think he’s getting close?”

“Close to what, evolving?” Emilie frowned, before looking down at the table. “I dunno. He’s way stronger than what he used to be, but... he evolves into a dragon.” A sour look crossed Emilie’s features. “Those take forever to evolve, lord knows how long he spent down in that cave.”

I nodded. “Yeah. It’d be cool though. I’ve only ever seen the one dragon. That massive Salamence that the girl in the woods had. It’d be cool to see one and not worry about it trying to eat me.”

“Cool, but Vibrava aren’t as cute as Trapinch,” Emilie said before turning her nose up. “And dragons are lame.”

A snort left my lips before I could stop it. “There’s not an ounce of type bias in that statement at all, right?”

Emilie’s lips were sealed, and she made it a point to turn away from me.

I smiled. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

Emilie turned and glared at me, her cheeks red. She opened her mouth, before snapping it shut as the doors into the center pushed open, and a familiar dark type came into view.

“Hey, you're back. How was your walk?” I asked as Sol bounded toward us. “Did Lucas behave?”

‘He was an idiot, that’s beside the point. I need you two to come with me.’ Sol instantly turned around and moved back toward the door.

My shoulders tensed as I took in the sullen look on her face. I got to my feet and started jogging behind her. “I’m guessing you two ran into trouble.”

‘I... Something like that.’ Sol sighed as she picked up the pace. ‘Your Duskull found us.’

I winced. “I... how did that go?” I picked up the pace a bit. “I’m guessing not well?”

‘I kicked his ass and felt bad about it afterwards.’ Sol glared down at the ground as the sand shifted to dirt. ‘Lucas explained after I knocked him out. He didn’t recognize me. Well, he did, but he didn’t know who I was. This is hard to explain and I’m tired. He tried to curse us.’

I smiled consolingly. “I’m guessing you got out unscathed, considering you don’t look half dead.”

“Where’s Lucas?” Emilie asked.

‘Standing guard over Duskull’s unconscious body. I tagged him with a Shadow Ball after he tried to curse us. I doubt he’ll be up and about till tomorrow morning, honestly.’ Sol turned up and looked at me with hopeful eyes. ‘He said you might be able to help.’

I stopped for a second, staring after Sol’s moving form. “What the hell can I do?”

Sol stopped. ‘He said your memories are what grounded him in the cave.’ She looked away from me as she kicked at the ground. ‘I, I know that you probably weren’t exactly aware of what you were doing at the time, and I know it’ll probably take time and even if you manage to do something, he won’t be the same, but-’

“I’ll do my best.” I smiled down at the stammering Pokémon before running up next to her and ruffling the fur on top of her head. “I have no idea what my best is going to look like, but I’ll do it.”

Emilie smiled at the two of us before glaring down at the ground. “Where exactly did you leave them at?”

Sol sniffed slightly as she batted my hand away with one of her front paws. ‘It was by the cliff that hides the king’s tomb.”

“Oh, good, then we’re fairly close. I can just-” I froze as I came to the sudden realization that Emilie came to. “Can you?”

“No.” Emilie’s tone put ice in my veins.

Sol kept shifting her gaze between the two of us. “Is something wrong?”

I sprinted ahead, pushing past Sol as fast as my legs could carry me. “Yeah, we’re almost right on top of them and I can’t reach out to Lucas at all.”

“Why exactly did you think Lucas of all Pokémon would make a good guard dog? That goofball’s got three working moves to his name and the attention span of a garden gnome,” Emilie shouted, before teleporting down onto Sol and whacking her on the head. “You’re literally called the disaster Pokémon! How the hell didn’t this idea ping your fucking danger sense?

‘Well, little miss perfect, I was thinking he was capable enough to deal with whatever random chaff that’s hanging out above ground long enough for us to get back. No way that Duskull’s awake yet, he got hit head on with my best Shadow Ball.’ Sol growled. ‘Besides, he insisted. Didn’t want me to have to sit with my undead, unhinged dad.’

Emilie winced. “I, it was still a bad call, apparently, because-”

Emilie’s words died on her throat as I stopped, a light breeze freezing me to my core as I took in the sight. A melted, shadowy glob had melted into the ground, and the grass around it had shifted to a sickly brown color. A foul smell filled the air as I slowly walked forward.

“I, what is that?” Emilie stared at the sunken mass with wide eyes as her voice shuddered. “You don’t think-”

‘You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.’ Sol snarled as she stalked forward toward the mass. ‘Of all the moves you remember from when you were alive, the fucking party trick is the one that sticks!’ She slammed her claw into the broken mass with purpose, dispelling the sludge with minimal effort and a healthy amount of rage.

I snapped out of my daze and frowned. “I’m... guessing you know what that was, and that it wasn’t either ghost passing on?”

Sol whipped her head around and hissed at me. ‘It was a fucking Substitute. I got played!’

I sucked in a sharp breath before jogging forward and joining Sol. “So, where’s the-”

“Guys...” Emilie muttered quietly before slowly lifting her hand up and pointing at the cliff. “Why is the door open?”

Oh.

It is.

I didn’t even notice.

Sol growled before hopping forward towards the cave. ‘Dad...’

She sounded so far away. So quiet.

Dark. Very dark and cramped. Blood. Blood and pain and darkness and make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it-

“Lea!” Emilie shouted right in my ear.

I jumped up, suddenly hyper aware of everything around me. Light buzzing still filled my ears, and goosebumps spread across my skin as a cool breeze chilled me to my core. “Y-yeah?”

Emilie frowned at me, before sighing. “That was... probably the fourth or fifth time I called your name. Are you- That's a stupid question.”

I chuckled lightly before slowly walking towards Sol. I could feel my heart beat louder as I got closer to this cursed place. “Lucas and your dad are in here, aren’t they?”

Sol nodded. ‘If Lucas was right, then dad’s running on bad memories and regret. He hated that cave more than anything, I think. Thought our family gave up too much to watch over it.’ Sol turned and looked at me. ‘He’s probably got a picture in his head and no idea what it means.’

“So he’s trying to recreate it to see if something shakes loose,” Emilie finished with a groan. “And to do that, he needs tall, dark, and pointy. Great.”

“I... that feels like a bit of a stretch,” I whispered out. “A-are you sure he’s in there?”

Sol winced at my tone, before looking up at Emilie. ‘I’m guessing you got a feel for the old man when he turned? I know you said you got attacked by the ghost, but I don’t know how much of that was Tauros Shit to spare me having to deal with it.’

Emilie closed her eyes and lifted a hand into the air. “It was mostly honest, we just left some stuff out. I can’t feel him either.”

‘Then yeah, they’re in there. Probably in the chamber if you still can’t feel anything at all. He didn’t have enough time to clear your range, especially if he’s got Lucas in tow. Fucking hell, how is his terrain still active, I haven’t been by to feed it in weeks.’ Sol sighed. ‘How the hell did he find it if he doesn’t remember anything?”

“Instinct mixed with muscle memory. Spend enough time in a place and I doubt it’ll ever leave you, even in death,” Emilie said.

‘And yet he couldn’t remember me.’ Sol glared down at the ground.

I had to go inside. I had to go back. Dark.

‘Lea,’ Sol barked out. ‘You and the gremlin stay here.’

I felt the tension slowly bleed out from my shoulders before cursing quietly to myself.

Emilie teleported down and got right in Sol’s face. “If you think for a second that I’m going to let you go down there by yourself, you’ve lost your damn mind. I know Lea’s a wreck right now, but you’re not much better. You’ve been shaking for like the last two minutes.”

I winced. Legends above, I really was pathetic, wasn’t I? One of my own was in trouble and I can’t even keep it together enough to plan. It was a newly born Duskull and I was acting like it was the end of the world going down into this cave to deal with it.

‘And leave the catatonic human up here alone? Did you forget how useless you are down there? No way. I’m more than capable of handling myself. This place was my home for most of my life. I can deal with an uppity ghost on its last legs,’ Sol growled.

Lucas was terrified of ending up down there again. He still came out here to keep an eye on Sol and volunteered to stay so she didn’t have to deal with it.

Emilie ground her teeth. “Do you think you’ll be able to attack that Duskull now that you know?”

Sol winced, before looking back and nodding. ‘I don’t have a-’

“Emilie.” The word came out a lot calmer than I felt.

Both Pokémon stopped arguing and turned to look at me.

“I need you to teleport back to the center, pick up Joern and Apollo, and teleport back. It’s probably overkill, but I don’t want to take any chances.” I smiled shakily at the two before walking forward. I stood in the base of the cave and took a deep breath before pushing on. “When you get back, we’ll all go down. Together.”

Emilie stood still for a moment before nodding once and disappearing.

Sol looked me up and down, a frown etched into her face as she stared deeper into the cave. “Sol? Absol.”

I chuckled. “I didn’t understand a word you just said, but I think I know what you asked. I don’t know if I’m ready to do this, but you said it yourself. I have to be. Emilie’s right, you going down alone is a horrible idea.”

Sol growled, pulling a laugh from my lips.

“I made you a promise, several at this point, honestly.” I joined her in looking back into the cave. “I said I’d go down with you, regardless of hang up. I meant it then, and I mean it now. We’re getting Lucas back, we’re getting your dad, and we’re going to help him.” I nodded once at her. “No big scary cave is going to stop us.”

Sol smiled for an incredibly brief moment. If I wasn’t staring directly at her I would have missed it. She huffed and looked away from me, before lying down on the ground.

Stupid Pokémon.

Emilie reappeared on my shoulder, a pair of poke balls in hand. I grabbed them both, squared my shoulders, and marched as our guide took the lead into the abyss below.