Their world went white.

“What the hell do you mean ‘their world went white’?” Emilie’s voice pierced through my skull as she all but shrieked directly in my ear. “And what exactly is the point of telling us ‘The Tale of the Toppled Titan’ if you don’t even tell us what happened to EVERYONE! You skipped all the important people and went straight to the dragon lover. There was an army of Sandshrew and half a dozen humans in that cave when the doors opened up. What the hell happened?”

‘I have told you all that I can. Be thankful I was able to share that much, Brat.’ She sneered up at my passenger.

An image flashed through my head, and I took in a deep, shuddering breath as a wave of phantom cold coursed through my veins. White, frozen statues. Lifeless caricatures of my friends staring back at me as my own skin hardened into a frozen prison cell.

‘All you need to do is win.’

Those words echoed around inside my skull, alongside the image of my own apparent defeat.

Emilie leaned forward, her face red as she glared down at the wizened old Mawile. “They had a damn fire type with them! A strong one too; how the hell do you expect me to believe that she’s frozen solid? That’s not how science works, you-”

Lele stepped forward toward me and put his hand on Emilie’s shoulder. ‘Maybe she didn’t explain, because she can only comment on what she can confirm.’ He turned toward their host. ‘Is that the case?’

Mawile didn’t respond.

Brawly sighed. “Either they got away and are somewhere in this frozen cave, locked behind a wall somewhere, or they met the same fate as the girl with the dragon. Neither option is great.”

‘With the second option being more likely, if Lea’s vision is to be believed.’ Toa nodded before leaning down, picking up a few stones.

‘Can we not believe her visions?’ Sol asked, her voice strained. ‘I know that’s rich coming from me, but future sight is shoddy at best and misleading at worst.’

Emilie nodded, her jaw set in a frown.

‘Regardless of if our host is to be believed, in either instance, we just have to beat the big scary ice monster and all our problems go away.’ Joern walked closer to the fire type as he talked. ‘Before we move on, though, I feel the need to say that I was in fact right about sending the dragon trainer after our friends and that you’re all way too paranoid.’

“Right.” I swallowed down my nerves and nodded at Joern.

I wasn’t a statue, frozen and alone at the bottom of a frozen over cave. Everyone was alive at the end of the Aggron fight and that was what mattered. Just breathe. Forget that you’re in a stupid fucking cave again with monsters that want to turn you into an art exhibit, and just breathe.

Sol approached and leaned against my legs, her soft fur warm and soothing. ‘You alright in there?’

I froze for a second longer before nodding and running my hand through some of her fur. “Sorry, I just... got a bit overwhelmed. Thanks.”

‘No problem.’ Sol smiled at me, before slightly shifting her gaze and smirking.

I turned to see Emilie’s teasing face instantly shift to something more innocent, before looking back and seeing Sol’s tongue pull back into her mouth.

Children. I’m surrounded by children. “Behave, the both of you.”

‘I’m wholly innocent.’ Sol lifted up a paw and pointed up at Emilie. ‘She was being rude.’

‘I just thought the scene was cute,’ Emilie said.

‘The last thing the cap needs is you lot acting like a couple of addlepated swabbies.’ Apollo dove down and landed next to Toa. ‘Now pipe down.’

The two looked at each other before nodding, both muttering a quiet apology.

The imposing fire type turned and glared before beckoning his trainer over. ‘If you idiots could hold it together for like... five minutes so we can plan, that’d be really helpful.’

‘I-’

I cut my starter off with a glare before walking over to look at a bunch of rocks, haphazardly thrown about on the floor. “Feng Shui?”

Toa blushed before glaring at me. ‘I like visual aids and all we have is rocks and that’s not the point so shut up.’

I giggled before getting nudged by Crash. “Shutting up. I’m guessing you got more from that than ‘big scary ice monster can freeze people and make giant ice trees’?”

“A few things, actually.” Brawly leaned forward and knelt down, before tracing lines through the dirt with his fingers. “We know that there’s a city underground, and that will likely be our battlefield. We learned the Pokémon can control ice beyond what usually fits into normal move pools.” Brawly sighed, before glancing up at the grumpy furnace. “And we learned it can freeze with just a glance. Do you think-”

‘Sheer Cold.’ Toa nodded, his face grim. ‘I’ve never heard of a Pokémon mastering it to such a degree, though. Glacia’s Walrein would be the closest, but that monster still needs longer than a focused glance to trap her enemies in a prison of ice.’

“Sheer Cold?” Emilie asked.

‘The height of an ice type’s skill set.’ The markings on Crash’s mask of feathers distorted as her eyes widened, and she slowly glanced away from Toa to stare up at my starter. ‘The user focuses on his opponent’s exact location and drops the temperature to absolute zero, freezing them on the spot.’ She shivered.

My stomach felt hollowed out as I stared at her with wide eyes. “That... doesn’t sound survivable.”

Lele chuckled. ‘Yeah... you’d think that. Surprisingly enough though, it’s almost never lethal. The move doesn’t give your systems a chance to respond to the drastic change in temperature. Your body just... stops. At least if done correctly. I imagine that’s the case considering our benefactor’s advice that this is reversible.’ He leaned down and stared at the drawn out battlefield.

Joern swallowed before glancing toward the powerful psychic type. ‘Can we... counter that at all?’

‘Really, I don’t much like the idea of being a frozen statue.’ Sol shivered.

‘It sounds like this creature requires direct eye contact, so at least we have that going for us. The attack can probably be intercepted by barriers.’ Lele looked up and smiled at his trainer. ‘I’ll make it a point to keep a barrier between us and it at all times, if I can. It’s going to be rough, considering we’ll have to stay mobile the entire time we’re fighting, but-’

“We don’t have a choice.” Brawly sighed.

Brawly’s shadow spread out across the room before solidifying around him in a protective shell.

The gym leader laughed. “Fair enough. Don’t bother shielding me, Lele. Tiki has got me covered.” He sighed. “Still. We’re going to have to limit the number of Pokémon we field at once, or we’re going to lose teammates that way too frequently for my liking.”

‘Which also means Lele needs to not engage it himself, if he can help it.’ Toa shook his head, before glancing my way.

His gaze felt damning, like a titan glancing down at an ant that had no right to be here. I was finding it hard to fault him.

“Should me and my team hang back, then? We’re obviously not strong enough to deal with whatever that thing is.” The words felt like ash in my mouth.

‘That-’

‘-would not be advisable.’ Lele gave Toa a grin as the fire type glared holy murder at his partner. ‘Granted, I can’t see much of the future. This entity seems to shroud everything in a rather unpleasant mist, and future sight was never my forte, but the futures where we leave you behind, in any capacity, seem far darker.’

I nodded, the words I wanted to say getting stuck in my throat as the idea of facing down that creature in any capacity started to take up all of my thoughts.

I could normally think of strategies, at least. Flooding the arena against the Space Rocks, using Emilie’s abilities to pull air into Suzaku’s embers to turn them into mini bombs, and turning the field into a quicksand pit against Brawly’s fighting types came to mind. Outside the box thinking was a good way to deal with opponents that were stronger and scarier.

At a certain point, though, I couldn’t really wrap my head around HOW to counter the enemy in front of us. How did you outmaneuver something that could control the world around them so effortlessly? That could freeze with just a thought?

‘Do you seriously expect me to believe that this, girl, is actually going to help us take that thing down?’ Toa stared at his partner like he had grown a second head.

Lele started laughing. ‘Of course not.’

I felt my cheeks heat up at how easily I was just dismissed. Just because I couldn’t picture it didn’t mean it wasn’t possible. That’s just rude.

‘There’s something beyond the ice giant. Something it’s trying to protect that only Lea is able to get to. I imagine it has something to do with her being the one to free her ghost type from his stone prison.’ Lele turned to me and smiled. ‘We need to make sure she can get there.’

‘Protect the Captain at all costs as she charts a course for parts unknown, basically.’ Apollo nodded once to himself. ‘Doesn’t sound too different from everyday life, honestly.’

Joern nodded with a grin, before glancing down at the boxes drawn on the ground. ‘The parts unknown are what’s worrying me; it’d be nice if we had a heading.’

Emilie groaned. “Oh, don’t you start with the nautical nonsense-”

‘The palace.’ The two words were quiet, barely above a whisper, but they echoed through my ears as Lucas slowly rose up from the ground, his eyes locked to the badly drawn boxes on the ground. ‘It’s... hold up.’

In a single sweeping motion, Lucas swept up the badly drawn map before slashing down into the ground. The group backed away as the sweeping motions got more precise and widespread, giving way to a much more detailed layout of buildings and roads. Five central paths diverged from a massive central square, before leading up to a massive structure that seemed to be twenty times the size of the buildings surrounding it. The main roads led off to smaller alleyways and smaller roads, but the city seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

Lucas stopped with a flourish, before quickly floating to the edge of his drawing, and carving a large circular border around the quickly drawn replica. ‘There!’

I stared down at the finished work with awe. It was still fairly abstract, but still. “Lucas, what-”

‘It’s an image that has been stuck in my head. Me gazing down upon a city from on high as the sun bears down on it. I can still see it vividly.’ Lucas floated down toward the map. ‘It’s a memory. A fragment from when I was still alive. It has to be. I haven’t seen anything like this in your memories.’

I nodded slowly before looking down and pointing at the wide open space in front of the large building at the edge of the drawing. “I’m guessing this is the palace, then?”

“Hard to imagine a place that big as anything but.” Brawly turned toward Lucas with a smile, probably already anticipating the answer. “How sure are you that this city Mawile talked about and the one in your memory are one in the same? I don’t think the sun has shined on this place in quite a long time.”

Lucas turned toward him, the eye in the base of his sword glowing vibrantly in the chamber. ‘I’d stake my soul on it.’

I leaned back at the serious tone of voice that inflected into my spook’s voice.

Lucas chuckled lightly. ‘I don’t... really have much else to gamble with, though. I’m quite certain that that’s something I still possess, at least. I’m confident.’

I sagged down, relieved at the slightly morbid joke, before walking gingerly on the drawing and standing in the big open space. “I think this is probably the only place on the map where a giant ice tree could shoot up from the ground and not destroy a ton of houses. Considering how hammy our storyteller was in spots, I imagine she’d mention wonton property destruction if it happened. That means our opponent is close to the palace.” I stared out across the drawing. “There are quite a few places a Pokémon might be able to hide.”

“You’re thinking of having me hide some of my team in houses to take some of the work off of Lele.” Brawly sighed. “I had been bouncing around the idea, and I could probably get away with Kahuna causing chaos at a distance, but I have a feeling this thing just needs us to have a connection to the ice to know where we are. At a certain point, a lot of Pokémon form a connection to the world around them with whatever element they decide to master. With this thing firing off Sheer Cold like it’s nothing…” He trailed off.

I turned around and glanced at the palace, my eyes wide. “Doesn’t that mean this thing would be able to track me once I got inside the palace?”

‘Not if we keep it focused on us.’ Toa slammed his fist into the palm of his other claw, a plume of fire pushing back from his wrists as he ground them against each other.

Brawly walked up behind the fire type and lightly smacked the back of his head. “Yeah... as much as I agree with the sentiment, we’re keeping our distance as much as possible. I don’t want to know what that thing can do if we get too close.”

A single white light engulfed the cave as a hulking mass of muscles and power formed. A low thud sounded as the creature slammed into the ground, his four arms flexed in various postures that seemed to defy anatomical sense as he swept his gaze across the room and focused down at the drawing he landed on, his feet scuffing the lines as he glared at his trainer.

‘The heck you mean we aren’t getting close?’ The whiny tone of this hulking behemoth contrasted drastically with his shape.

I glared up at Emilie, who lifted her arms up and smiled at me as I reached back towards my bag to grab my Pokédex.

“I haven’t been translating for a while. Been too nervous to really focus on it like I usually do, honestly. Lele’s been translating for everyone,” Emilie said.

I nodded slowly before smiling at the wave Lele sent me. Machamp. Capable of toppling skyscrapers and moving mountains with a flex of its mighty power. Throws two thousand punches in two seconds. God, who the hell wrote these entries.

“I’m sorry, Auma, but fighting at a distance is probably the best bet.” Brawly reached up and patted the big guy on his shoulder. “If it makes you feel better, you’ll be one of the first stringers. No way am I going to hold you back from the action.”

‘No, you’ll just do your best to make the strongest thing we’ve fought in months boring.’ Was the whiny tone getting worse? Auma lifted his arm up and pointed at Lele. ‘Quit screwing with my voice. I know you’re doing it. I can see Toa fighting back laughter.’

The fire type proceeded to lose it as Lele lifted up his arms in mock offense. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

‘Uh-huh, sure.’ Auma’s voice took on a much deeper quality in my head as he looked down at the drawing carved into the sand. ‘Hey, sword. How big are the buildings down there?’

Lucas leaned back. ‘Uh, a few of them are several stories, though a lot are smaller affairs.’

‘Can I throw them at the monster?’ Auma asked.

I wasn’t alone in doing a double take.

‘T-throw a building?’ Lucas fell back down into the dirt.

Auma scoffed. ‘Yeah! Brawly told me I needed permission to throw things that belonged to other people. Can I throw your buildings or not?’

Brawly had his head in both of his hands as he shrunk away from the group. A sinking feeling of dread started to pool in my stomach as the stark realization set in. The craziness wasn’t unique to me, and it didn’t go away as they got older.

Lucas puffed himself up. ‘My good man, nothing would bring me or my people greater joy than seeing a four-story tower careen through the air and slam into that ice monster at Mach twelve.’

Auma fist-pumped the sky with four different fists, an action that caused the very ground I stood on to rumble slightly. ‘Yes!’

Brawly sighed before lifting up a Poké Ball and recalling the fighting type, his eyes trailing after the receding red line with a certain exasperated fondness that I was all too familiar with.

“Out of idle curiosity, are the members of your team we’re currently hanging out with the sanest? Because I noticed that Kahuna was also a bit-”

“Does your Ralts ever shut up?” Brawly asked, his tone pleading.

I reached over and patted him on the shoulder. “I understand your pain.”

A small fist smacked the side of my head, and I turned to see Emilie pouting. “If you two are done, can we go back to planning? Lucas, don’t suppose you remember anything else that’d be helpful, do you?”

Lucas looked away, a frown in place. ‘Need a bit under a whetstone to make the images a bit clearer cut, unfortunately.’

“That’s fine.” Brawly nodded toward the ghost once before looking Crash’s way. “I honestly think we’ve got enough for a good jumping off point. Crash, you okay with going with Lea through the palace? If there really is something important in there, then I don’t trust it to be sunshine and roses once we push past the monster.”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Crash eyed me up and down, before turning her ire back to her trainer. ‘You're getting me out of the way, aren’t you?’

Brawly winced. “Crash-”

‘I accept.’ Crash glared away towards the ground. ‘I’m not at my best in this.’

“That’s not it at all.” Brawly sighed before ruffling her feathers. “Out of everyone here, you have the most important job, and I trust you to look out for her and her team more than anyone else.”

Crash chuckled before pecking at the hand and smoothing out the feathers on her head. ‘If that were completely true, you’d be sending Tito.’

Brawly winced.

‘We haven’t seen a Tito yet, have we?’ I asked Emilie.

She shook her head no.

“You already know that mother hen isn’t going to let me out of his sight for this entire battle. I’m honestly surprised the big guy hasn’t let himself out to yell at me for coming down here yet.” A single ball on Brawly’s belt wiggled as he desperately tried to plead his case.

Lele smirked. ‘Tito understands your reasons, is mad at you for diving in without league backup, but is giving you space to not smother you like he usually does.’

“See!” Brawly yelled.

Crash sighed, before nodding. She pecked at a Poké Ball and returned herself before Brawly could say anything else.

Brawly groaned. “That discussion definitely doesn’t feel over, but... I guess we’ll take what we can get.” He turned to me and smiled. “You ready to dive?”

I froze for a moment before nodding. “Let’s go beat up an ice cube and save our friends.” I turned toward the stone arch, only to freeze again, suddenly becoming very aware of a voice that hadn’t said a word in this whole exchange. “Mawile?”

No answer.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Emilie snarled the words out as she teleported down and walked through the gate, only to fall forward in a heap on the other side. “Oi, you forgot to let us out, you stupid old crone!”

‘She said she was going to catch up with family once she got done with her story,’ Joern said, his voice distant. ‘I... sort of figured she’d wait for us to leave, though.’

Brawly glanced around the room. “Toa, I don’t suppose you... remember where we came in at, do you?”

Toa shook his head. ‘I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t even remember what this cave looked like before that Mawile changed it.’ The color started to drain from his face. ‘That’s bad, isn’t it.’

Brawly kicked at the ground a bit before walking over to the walls and placing his hand against the rock. “Yeah, that doesn’t feel right. Lele, can you-”

Lele’s eyes lit up, and a faint purple glow enveloped the wall. Large chunks of stone were effortlessly peeled away, only to show the same shear wall, completely unscarred.

“Yup, that’s what I was afraid of.” Brawly let out a sigh before falling down to the ground in a sitting position, his hands on his knees.

“Please don’t tell me we’re trapped in here until that old bat comes back and springs us.” Emilie looked toward Brawly with pleading eyes. “I know how much old fae like to talk. We could be here for weeks. I don’t think Suzy and the others have that kind of time.”

I gave my starter an odd look before turning back to Brawly. “Do you know what this is?”

“It’s hard to explain.” Brawly sighed. “Tiki’s looking for some kind of tether in the shadows to unravel. The really simplified version is that some Pokémon can sort of... bend the rules of reality a bit. You get these weird pocket spaces where physics kind of stop making sense.”

The crypt from last night came to mind. “Terrain?”

“Sort of? It’s a bit more in depth than that.” Brawly glanced down toward the ground, and I finally realized that his shadow was gone. “Like I said, Tiki’s looking for some kind of tether. He’ll overwrite this and we’ll be on our way in no time. Just... get comfortable in the interim.” Brawly closed his eyes and slowly leaned back, putting both hands behind his head as the chamber became quiet.

I groaned before glaring back at the wall. I had no clue how he could be taking it easy right now. I just... ugh. I needed to move. WE needed to move. The longer we were down here, the worse it felt like things were getting.

Why did I think following that stupid fairy type was a good idea? We could have just walked further in. Instead, we were stuck here, in this stupid little cave. What good did that stupid story do if we were trapped here? Why the hell did she just leave us?

‘Lea,’ Emilie said, cutting through my panic.

I froze before turning my head and looking toward the voice. Emilie was looking at me, her eyes meeting mine as she leaned up against the archway.

‘I… thanks,’ I said.

Emilie shot me a small smile before turning back to the arch and looking it over. ‘Just remember to breathe, okay? No sense and working yourself up considering we can’t go anywhere. And if you need it, don’t forget I’m always here.’

Breathe. I can do that. Just stop getting worked up and focus on the task at hand. Emilie’s right, there’s nothing we can do about it now but try to find a way out. Brawly’s shadow could do its thing while we looked for something up here. The walls had to have something. Anything.

I ran my hands up and down the stone surface, the rock far smoother than a cave’s surface should be. I idly wondered if I could dig through the damn thing; I was apparently good at that, if previous experience was anything to go off of.

Legends above why did I think that? Ugh. A chill went through my spine as I continued to run my hands along the walls.

A hand grabbed my shoulder. I whipped around and threw a punch, hitting air before another arm grabbed my wrist.

“Lea!” Brawly's voice was loud as he tried to hold me still. “Lea, it’s just me.”

I stilled, before backing away as Brawly loosened his grip. “Sorry.” I looked away, glaring down at the stone floor. It was getting colder here.

Brawly nodded once, before sighing. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for a bit. You looked… not great.”

Brawly moved and patted me on the shoulder. “It’s alright, I wasn’t exactly the pillar of strength I’m supposed to be in situations like this.”

I shook my head before taking a deep breath. “It’s fine. I just... How are you calm? I don’t get it. I was calm, I don’t know how, but I was, but the first time something goes wrong I fall apart and I just... How?”

Brawly chuckled lightly. “Years of experience?”

I imagined my eyes as deadly lasers and tried to will his head to explode with my mind. My brain very quickly reminded me that I in fact had psychic powers somehow and I looked away before I somehow made my fantasy a reality. “Anything helpful?”

Brawly chuckled. “Not really, but at least I know making you angry distracts you for a bit. Good to know for later, I suppose.” He sighed before walking over to one of the larger boulders and taking a seat. “I don’t have any advice for you, unfortunately. To be honest, over the years, I’ve just gotten better at hiding it.”

I froze. “Huh?”

“People think they need to be fearless to stand at the top. It’s a bunch of Tauros shit.” Brawly sighed before looking over at Toa, who was standing with Lucas, Sol, and Duskull. “Truth of it is that the world’s a scary place. It doesn’t matter how good you are, facing down something like this’ll get to you.”

“This... wasn’t the speech I was expecting to get.” I looked down at the gym leader with narrowed eyes.

Brawly shot me a grin. “If I fed you a generic ‘things will be alright, believe in me and your team and we can do this’ hope speech, would you buy it or laugh in my face?”

I sighed and shook my head. “The second one. In this case especially.” A groan pushed its way out of my mouth as I leaned back against the wall. “Thanks for not doing that, I guess.”

Brawly chuckled. “Yeah. I think out of all the new crop that’s popped up this year, you probably understand it the most. If you were staying with me, I still think I would have tried, but you’re not.” He glanced down at the ground. “You’ll be going on ahead, which means you need a good head on your shoulders. At the end of the day, fear’s a friend as much as it is a foe.”

My earlier thoughts played out across my mind, and I bit back a swear. “Yeah, right. Great friend.”

“Yeah, he’s an ass alright. I’ll give you that much, but once you push through his stupid ideas and force yourself to take the plunge, he’ll always be there, looking over your shoulder to help make sure you don’t fuck up.” Brawly turned up at me and grinned. “He’ll push you well past your limits, fight off every monster, win every fight he can, because at the end of the day, he knows you know what’s really important.”

‘Show me a beautiful world...’ Those words echoed around inside my skull, and I felt something shift in my own head. “I think it’s she, in my case.”

Brawly laughed. “Fair enough, probably be a bit weird otherwise.”

“I... thanks.” I smiled at him before taking a spot on the ground next to his rock. “What’re you putting it all on the line for then, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Brawly glanced around the room, his gaze heavy as his eyes slowly panned across everyone here. “I’ve been all over the world. Seen things you couldn’t even begin to imagine. Fought in all kinds of tournaments and ran through the league gauntlet of more than one region. Through it all, this island’s never left me. This place is my home.” He clenched both fists. “Anything tries to drop it with the gnarliest of waves, they’re going to have to go through me first.”

“Sounds like more than a good enough reason to me.” I smiled at him, before turning and pulling my legs up to my chest and waiting quietly for the world to shift.

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

Lucas POV

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

Looking down from a balcony on high, he could still see his city’s splendor, glinting in the midmorning sun. That was the mental image that plagued his mind. Why couldn’t he remember the specifics beyond that? He could visualize the entire town, but not what happened to it. It shouldn’t be underground, locked behind giant blue doors.

That old Mawile knew more, but she wouldn’t share. Why? The gaps were driving him mad. His friend’s needed to know as much as they could if the beast that slept down here was as strong as they thought. If he could just connect the dots, this would be so much-

“You still sane over here?” Sol asked.

Lucas instinctively flew away so fast that he phased through the back wall into... nothing? The world dipped down into a blank void that he couldn’t quite comprehend as a light buzzing played along his blade. He quickly floated forward and found himself back in the stone room he was in before. “Okay, note to self, don’t try to phase through the wall. Bad idea.”

Duskull floated out of Sol’s shadow and loomed over him. “You alright?”

“I’m fine, just... jumpy, I guess. Kind of hard to imagine considering I don’t have any feet, but I guess the feeling doesn’t need them.” He floated back toward the two of them and gave them a shaky smile. “Don’t worry about me.”

“So long as you aren’t driving yourself mad.” Sol sighed before glancing at Lea as she paced along the walls. “I think Lea’s a lost cause.”

“She’s worried.” Duskull glanced toward Emilie as she continued to look over the arch in the middle of the room. “We all are, I think. Some of us are just handling it better.”

“Yeah, that’s an understatement. Still though, you’ve been off since you drew the map.” Sol leaned forward, her paws moving over the outer edge of the map. “You aren’t going to go crazy on us like my old man, are you?”

Lucas floated back slightly before shooting Sol a glare. “We’re all crazy for being down here in the first place, but as far as losing it and attacking people goes, I think we’re good.” He floated above the open space in front of the palace. “Mostly I’m just angry. I have to know more about what’s going on. I lived there, for fuck’s sake! Surely I’d remember a giant ice monster being baked into my people’s history.”

“Your memory is just as spotty as mine, though.” Duskull floated down toward the map. “Random pictures connected by broken memories and regrets. You’re not much older than me, I’d imagine.” Duskull glanced up at Sol as she raised an eyebrow. “Well, spectrally speaking. I imagine you’re quite a bit older than all of us, considering-”

Lucas cut him off with a laugh. “Don’t worry so much. I look good for my age, I know. Quite trim with no wrinkles, how do I do it?” He stopped before pointing towards a few small squares around the square. “And to answer your question, I do remember more than a few random pictures. Those stalls over there served the best soup in the city and were a favorite of me and my...” Lucas stopped and sunk down lower, before catching himself and resting the tip of his blade into the ground. “My wife. I had a wife.”

The light behind Duskull’s mask dimmed slightly as he floated down and rested a hand on Lucas’s hilt. “I understand the feeling.”

“You would, wouldn’t you.” Lucas sighed before looking back down. “Over here is a guardhouse. I was trained to fight here. I... I’m fairly confident the Poké Ball hadn’t been invented yet.” He sighed. “If it had, it hadn’t made its way to us yet. Would have made life a fair sight more bearable, I can tell you that much.”

“How so?” Sol asked. “Were you at odds with the Pokémon in the area?”

“No, I...” Blank. Life beyond the wall didn’t exist, as near as he could tell. “I don’t know. I just know it was hard. Something attacked us, I just... can’t remember what it was or how often.” A single image flooded through his mind, and he gasped. “Absol.”

“Hmm?” The dark type tilted her head. “What?”

“No, I remember now. Absol were a mainstay in the city. They were our allies and helped keep us safe. We... I was very close with the leader of the order.”

“The order of what?” Duskull floated back to give him some space.

“I don’t know!” Lucas pulled himself up and glared down at the drawing. “I’m so close to something important, but I just can’t push myself the rest of the way there. It’s so... Ugh!” He brought his blade down on the map as she screeched out, and carved a long, black gash through the middle of the drawing.

A wave of heat pushed through the area, and he froze as a set of claws wrapped around his hilt and held him in place. Lucas cast his eye up and froze as Toa stared at him with glowing green eyes.

“I... I’m sorry. Don’t quite know what came over me.” Lucas looked away as the fire type let him go.

Toa nodded once. “I know you want to help, but don’t push yourself to remember. We have a decent enough plan, and Crash is more than capable of keeping you lot safe if we’re keeping the big guy busy.” Toa smiled. “Let us do the heavy lifting, alright? We’re more than capable.”

“I, fine.” Lucas frowned. “Guess I was living up to my role as a spooky ghost, huh? I wish I had your confidence.”

Toa laughed. “Just got to keep the faith. We’ll kick this ice monster’s ass and be home in time for dinner.”

“Assuming we ever get out of this cave,” Sol muttered.

“Tiki’ll have us out soon, don’t worry. Granted, the cave might get a bit spookier, but we’ll be able to leave.” Toa glared down at the shadows. “Assuming that hothead doesn’t get distracted.”

Sol sighed at the message before looking over at her father. “You alright, dad?”

Duskull shook his head and met his daughter’s gaze. “Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

Lucas grinned before floating over. “I know you’re a bit floaty, but try to keep your head out of the clouds, would you?”

Duskull huffed and floated away from him. “You’re just mad that I can pull off aloof pondering better than you can. I don’t look like an edgy teenager while I ponder the meaning of my existence.”

“If anyone’s going to know edge, it’s going to be me.” Lucas chuckled dryly before shifting his focus to Sol. “Though I think your daughter knows a fair sight more about the edgy teenager phase, if we’re being honest.”

“You do know it’d be exceptionally easy to leave you down here to die, right?” Sol leaned forward, her teeth glinting in the faint red glow of Toa’s fire. “Be reaaaaal easy to make it look like an accident, too.”

Lucas floated away before leaning up against the wall. “Meh, you like us too much to do that now. We grew on you.”

“There’s always a line-”

“If... you don’t mind my asking.” Toa lifted up his hand and interrupted the would be brawl before it could even get started. “I’ve heard you call Sol this Duskull’s daughter more than once. I don’t suppose that’s a story you lot would be willing to share, would it?”

“I... if they’re alright with it. It’s their story to tell, after all.” Lucas glanced back toward his companions, giving them a wary glance as the two debated silently. Sol nodded once.

“Are you sure-”

“It’s a hard tale, but the story has a happy ending now, doesn’t it?” Sol asked, cutting her father off with a shaky grin.

Duskull paused before nodding hesitantly, the ember behind his mask glowing brighter.

“Well, if you want the truth of it all, it started quite a long time ago, right here on this very island,” Sol started, her voice strong.

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

Emilie POV

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

This archway had to have something special about it. It was the damn centerpiece of the room, no way in hell was it not important. She could practically feel the energy pooling off of the damn thing. She just needed to figure out how to make the damn thing work and they could leave.

She knew coming down here was a damn mistake. They’d spent close to an hour listing to the old bat take the most winding route possible to tell us what they actually wanted to know, only for the stupid wiry crone to fucking leave!

She wanted to throw boulders at the damn thing until it was a pile of rubble, stupid piece of crap. Damn it, nothing was responding to her in this damn hellhole! She just wanted out.

“You know, those rocks aren’t going to spontaneously combust if you glare at them hard enough.” Lele was suddenly there, and Emilie bounced back as she glared at the hunched over figure.

“Do you have any idea how condescending that is? I’m small, I get it, stand up straight and talk to me like a damn normal person.” Emilie huffed before turning back to the stone arch.

“Except I’m not a person?” Lele tilted his head, before bouncing up and rising to his full height. “I get what you mean, though. What are you up too, trying to piece together the puzzle that is this room?”

“Wanna help? We might get out of here quicker.” Emilie placed her hand against the stone and focused, only to get a headache.

“Quicker than Tiki finding the anchor points of this space and commandeering them?” Lele smiled. “Ambitious little thing, aren’t you?”

“Ugh, forget it. Should’ve known. Legends above, all the members of our species that dream of becoming a Gallade have white noise between the ears,” Emilie bit out, before wincing as something thwacked her on the back of her head. “Ow. Quit with the child abuse.”

“Then quit with the rude remarks. I know you’re worried about your little fire type, but we’ll find them, don’t worry.” Lele leaned back and crossed his arms in front of him. “Unless this is a more personal debt?”

Emilie rubbed the back of her head before glaring up at her aggravator. “Nah, you just remind me too much of the stupid Gallade that beat me in my gym fight. Bastard had a mean right hook.”

Lele’s face lit up. “Yeah, he does! Oh, I’m so proud of my boy. He’s come a long way in such a short time.”

Emilie sighed. “Right. Your boy. Look, it wasn’t exactly my best performance and remembering it bothers me. Nothing personal, alright?” She turned away from him and went back to inspecting the arch, pulling at it with her mind to try and understand-

“You’re forgiven,” Lele said.

Emilie felt herself get lifted up into the air as Lele grabbed her by the back of her neck and turned her around to face him. “I rescind my apology. Put me down.”

“Why would I when I’m doing what you ask? I never said no to helping you, just that you were too ambitious, especially considering the fact that you’re going about this all wrong.” Lele grinned at her before reaching out and placing a hand on the arch. A faint blue glow enveloped the structure, before fading instantly as Lele backed away. “You’re trying to push through the wrong half of the equation and logic the inner workings of this world. That’s the wrong approach.”

Emilie huffed. “Alright, Mr. Know it All. If you know how to make the damn thing work, why don’t you do it?”

Lele winced, a pained grimace passing his features as he glared down at the ground. “I can’t anymore, unfortunately.”

Emilie leaned back. “So... it’s a fae thing?”

“In this case, yes, though that’s just because that’s the type that set this up. Since no one’s here to actually maintain it at the moment, it’d be fairly easy to influence with the right approach. Sadly, I think you’re the only fairy type in the group.” Lele frowned as he finished.

“I’m... not really all that skilled at controlling that half of my abilities.” Emilie frowned at the understatement.

“Hence the ambitious comment.” Lele nodded once before setting her back down on the ground. He shook his head once before sighing. “Sorry, I guess you’re not the only one on edge.”

Emilie looked away before frowning. He only really got testy after the Gallade comment... “Did you... maybe want to talk about it?” If she couldn’t piece together how this damn arch worked, she might as well work on something else. Wouldn’t do for one of their frontliners getting distracted in the big fight. Totally.

Lele grinned. “Angry kid worried about their friends one second, concerned therapist the next.” He leaned down and ruffled her hair. “You’re not anywhere near as prickly as you like to present yourself, are you?”

“You’re deflecting.” Emilie grinned at the wince.

“Sharper than you let on, too.” Lele sighed. “It’s... Brawly caught me as a fully evolved ‘mon, shortly after I had broken my bond with my former trainer.” He looked away before sitting down. “He very much wanted a cool and knightly Gallade, and I very much wanted to evolve naturally into a powerful and elegant Gardevoir. Neither one of us left that relationship getting what we wanted.”

Emilie winced, suddenly feeling absolutely horrible. “I am so sorry, I didn’t-”

“Know, I know. It’s alright. I’m not mad at you.” He stayed quiet for a bit before looking back toward the archway. “Brawly’s been a great help in getting me acclimated to my new life. He’s... honestly trained me as a Gardevoir more than a Gallade. It’s odd, I know, but it works, and it makes me happy. I know it’s odd for a fighting specialist, but he... put my wants ahead of his own. It’s a nice change of pace. Still though, I miss it. That connection. Learning to live without that part of me has been... not without difficulty.”

Emilie nodded once, before leaning forward and patting him on the leg. “I kind of get it, I think.”

Lele snorted. “Really?”

“I’m jealous of the male members of my species.” Emilie looked away. “That never leaves this conversation.”

Lele put his hand over his mouth and gave her a thumbs-up.

Emilie laughed. “You dork. I wish I had the same choice. I like getting up close and personal. I’m overjoyed that Lea seems all too content to let me. If I had the same choice, I’d probably take your form over what I’m eventually going to have. So... I know it’s not the same, but-”

“It’s not that different, either.” Lele smiled grimly. “Not having a choice and having it taken away both kind of suck, honestly. Sorry for getting on your case.”

Emilie smiled. “Thanks for understanding.” She looked back toward the arch with a frown, before turning back to her new friend and grinning. “You know, if it’s really as easy as you say it is to take the reins of this place, you could show me how it’s done.”

“I-I can’t-”

“Just walk me through it. You don’t have to do anything, just tell me what to do.” Emilie shrugged. “Worst thing that can happen is we fail and, Tiki, was it, busts us out of here in a little bit.”

Lele stayed still before looking down and nodding his head once. “Right.” A smile spread across his face. “So, your empathy’s actually going to be a big help here. Your emotions need to be open, and you need to direct them toward the construct. In this case, the arch.”

Emilie nodded before closing her eyes and placing her hand up against the archway. She let the worry drip through. Her fear and anger. Her happiness and hope.

“Exactly like that. Let it flow through and saturate the area. I know it feels weird to do this with what feels like an inanimate object, but the world is more alive than you realize. Just keep up the flow, and... pull back.”

The same emotions she put out into rock came back to her with interest, as new feelings welled up from her fingertips to her toes. It was overwhelming, intoxicating even, as hundreds of small, terrified voices passed through her mind. Joyful reunions, quiet goodbyes, half-formed thoughts frozen and incomplete...

They washed over her like a tidal wave, and she struggled to maintain contact with the archway.

“Perfect. You’re doing exceptionally well.” Lele’s voice rose in pitch as she opened her eyes.

Pink smoke had pushed out from the gate, dispersing toward the ground as a low wind ripped around her.

“You’ve got the world’s attention. Now make your request, one from the heart!” Lele shouted.

Emilie focused forward and gazed through the archway, focusing on all the people she wanted to save. May going full nerd, Wayne and Jasmine wrapped in a tight embrace on the couch, Wally playing cards, Suzy throwing her down into the sand when she was being an idiot...

“Take me to my friends... Please.”

The smoke stilled as the earth in front of her began to bulge and move. Rock walls shifted of their own accord as the cave extended outward, small torches lighting the path before brown gave way to ice. The chamber opened out into the world, and through its opening, huge alabaster doors coated with ice stood strong, a bitter chill billowing forth as snow surged out from the chamber beyond.

Everyone from the room had hopped up from their spots, their eyes wide as the way forward made itself known. Emilie swallowed as she begrudgingly tore herself away from the connection, only to have a hand proudly pat her on the back.

“You did it!” Lele stared down at her, his smile so wide and proud that Emilie worried it might break his face.

“I... I did.” She couldn’t believe she could say that. “Did you-”

Lele nodded, before lifting her up and pulling her into a hug. “I did, and... thank you for sharing. It was nice to feel that again.” He pulled back before sighing and looking toward the way forward. “You ready to get your friends back?”

It took a second for her to register those words, but she nodded once, a grin of her own spreading across her lips. “Let’s go kick his ass.”

The overwhelming confidence and hope that pushed through the new bond she had just formed almost made her pass out.