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The islands had been under siege lately. Well, not siege, so much as an odd tsunami of bodies that just refused to let up. They would swap which island they would go to, seemingly at random. Yellow Point, Blue Point, Red Point, it didn't matter. The ghosts would stop for a short time after being sent back home–read: evaporated–and then start again like nothing happened. It was wreaking havoc on everyone's sleep schedule. That's not including the nightmares, which were just a whole other level of nonsensical.

Being a legendary, dreams usually meant something. Some forewarning from Arceus, or a hint as to some big event coming up. There'd even been times where a dream had shown him where he'd misplaced an item. Very convenient!

But now, they were nothing but a mess of rainbow swirls. Holes in things that didn't have holes, giving way to rippling walls of colour. Shadows that seemed to linger just out of sight but there was no malice to them. Flashes of a round object of sorts, indistinguishable from the darkness around it.

No one could make sense of it. At least, there wasn't any urgency to them. Things were relatively peaceful and calm, all things considered.

Well… Except for the waves of ghosts he was in the middle of fighting back. Normally this would be a breeze, but a lack of sleep and a very distracted fighting partner made things… unpleasant.

"I just feel bad about having to leave them suddenly," Mew sighed. She twisted uncomfortably in the air, and curled her tail around to grab it, giving it a little squeeze. "I just wish I could help them more, you know?"

"You could help me by focusing, Mew," Zapdos grunted. He flapped his wings hard, sending a stream of lightning bolts screaming downward, impacting the water with explosions of steam.

"I mean, they've both been through a lot. Artemis's village was destroyed, she was adopted by literal heroes, and fixated on criminals because of that. Then her parents went missing, and now she's stuck with Silvally." Mew shook her head and let out a sigh, her tail going limp in her paws.

"Mew, please. I need you to focus. There's more coming." Zapdos twisted to the side, avoiding a shadowy ball of energy streaking past, followed by a lance of fire grazing the tip of his wing.

"And don't get me started with Silvally. He lost his memory and was hunted for two years. I can't believe he's not more broken. It's a pleasant surprise, but I'm really worried about it." Mew released her tail, and threw up her paws in confusion and frustration. "I've known Pokémon who've gone crazy from less!"

"I'm going to go crazy if you don't start helping…"

"And now that they're both together, I'm just really worried. Silvally is scared of her; Artemis is scared of hurting him. Sure, it seems like it's kind of working, but the whole thing is unfair. Both are stuck with their own personal demons and now-"

"I SWEAR TO ARCEUS-"

Mew interrupted Zapdos with a flick of her tail, narrowing her eyes at the legendary bird. Without a word, she raised a paw and pointed it out at the ocean, a yellow glow starting to form in the center of her paw. The glow grew brighter, and a loud hum started to emanate from the growing ball of electricity. It grew larger, louder, the building electrical field causing Mew's fur to stand on end, and caused Zapdos's own electrical field to surge in response, streaks of light forming between the two Pokémon.

Once the ball was larger than Mew, it collapsed in on itself, leaving nothing more than a glowing speck at the center of her tiny paw, almost indistinguishable from the stars of the night sky around them. A thin beam of yellow shot forward from the speck, streaking toward the ocean fast as lightning. Upon impact with the water, light exploded outward, rippling across the surface of the sea and expanding rapidly. Arcs of electricity sparked across the surface, lancing upward to strike at the horde of Ghost Pokémon from beneath, causing them to stop their advance across the ocean.

The electrified water continued glowing, the terrain effect lingering, causing sparks to dance over the various ghosts, slowing their movement to a halt. The army of ghosts shook and strained as they were electrocuted, the combination of elements wreaking havoc on their forms.

"Well?" Mew asked. She crossed her arms and looked at Zapdos, her tail giving an irritated twitch. "Go on, do your thing. I swear, you have no patience."

Zapdos sighed and rolled his eyes, used to Mew's chaotic antics. He turned his attention to the horde of ghosts struggling to make their way forward, watching their bodies twitch from the water-induced electrocution. He flew lower, shifting to the side, avoiding a lance of ice shot toward him.

The electrical charge rolling from his body spiked, and his flight-feathers glowed with immense power. He was finally able to focus enough, no longer worried about the individual ghosts swarming his island, and empowered by the lingering electrical field. The charge grew, lightning streaked out from his body, and he flapped his wings forward, releasing all the stored energy.

A wall of lightning rained down upon the horde of ghosts, frying them instantly, evaporating their essence, sending them back to Ghost Island. It shot over the group, and in the blink of an eye, the wall of approaching ghosts was no more. All that was left behind was a cloud of steam rising up from the flash-boiled water, and the lingering wails of ghost-types as they scattered to the wind.

"There. That was all you had to do. Was that so hard?" Zapdos asked, turning to face Mew once more.

"They were all going for you—I just needed to wait until they were close together," Mew explained with a wave of her paw. "Now are you going to let me talk, or are you going to interrupt again?"

Zapdos sighed, his head dropping in reluctant acceptance. She wasn't the one being hounded by ghosts for days and plagued with nightmares—instead she got to gallivant around the forests and hang out with her new friends, troubled as they may be.

Hopefully, the static electricity on his island would make her fur itch enough to get her to leave. All Zapdos wanted was a nap.

~{O}~{O}~{O}~

Artemis padded her way through Treasure Town, her spirits high. She'd slept well, ate well, and Silvally had agreed that they both needed a day off to just exist—to properly restock the supplies they carried. Neither wanted to repeat yesterday. Not when rope would have solved damn-near everything.

She was also rather glad Chatot had refused to even look at her when she passed by. Revenge was a dish best served warm and goopy, it seemed.

As she walked, she couldn't help tossing a glance over her shoulder, checking for her indentured shadow. Silvally wasn't there, of course, but paranoia was something most experienced explorers picked up. This was her home, her safe place, and where she was waiting for her parents to see her, or leave a note, or something. She couldn't take chances, because even if Silvally was a good Pokémon, it just felt… wrong. Bringing someone who'd been on the wrong side of the law for so long to her home? Someone she hunted down for months?

Not a chance.

There wasn't much to worry about—Silvally was still sound asleep at the guild. Asleep, or in a food coma, either situation was completely possible. Honestly, how he'd managed to eat three plates without pause last night was staggering. It was like watching guild trainees running an obstacle course and piling up on top of each other. She wanted to help, or make it stop but… it was hard to look away. She just had to watch it all unfold.

Then again, the poor guy needed it, considering his size, and the state he was in when he was finally caught. Thankfully, his ribs weren't showing nearly as much now.

So, even though Artemis wasn't expecting to wake up before Silvally, she wasn't really surprised. Recovering from a rough poisoning like that wasn't easy, especially with only a Heal Seed. Sure, it cured it. It didn't really help deal with the after-effects though, not like a Pecha berry did. But with all that, plus just the general long day full of awkward and weird emotions, stress, and a bath that had no right to be that damn relaxing, she wasn't surprised that she was up first.

And yes, she'd checked to make sure he didn't die from residual poisoning, she wasn't an idiot.

Given this rare opportunity to be alone, Artemis's first order of business was to check on her home. She did her best not to hold out hope that something had changed with her parents, but… It was hard not to be hopeful. There was always that little chance, and she had to keep herself from running through town.

Upon reaching her home on Sharpedo Bluff, Artemis glanced over her shoulder again. Just in case. Properly alone, she turned back and shifted the boulder she'd settled over the entrance, exposing the wooden door. That too was opened with a tug of Psychic, allowing a gust of salty ocean wind to brush over her fur.

Fully alert, with perked ears, Artemis stepped down into her home, careful not to make noise on the off-chance someone decided to borrow the place while she was gone. As she walked down the stairs and into the only room, she couldn't help her tails from falling and ears from drooping.

It was empty.

She wasn't surprised, but the sting of being no closer to finding her parents than the day they went missing didn't seem to ease over time. It just reminded her that instead of looking for them like a good daughter, she was stuck babysitting.

Watching over a Pokémon she'd traumatized, and likely scarred for life.

Keeping her swirl of emotions buried under a forced smile, she made her way toward the bookshelf. It took seconds for her to find what she was looking for, pulling them off the shelves and stuffing them into her bag. Maps of each continent, an atlas, blank paper, quills, ink, and whatever else she might find useful in the coming months.

She stepped back from the shelf, the contents looking significantly more bare. She probably wouldn't be needing her parents' history books, or the specific laws and regulations of the Expedition Society. Or the snow globes, as cute as they were. 151 Gardening Tips likely wouldn't help with anything—unless Silvally liked gardening that is.

What did he even do outside of following her around, or learning to read? Draw maybe? She'd need to ask later.

Now that she thought about it, what did she do outside of work? Did fur care count?

…

Bah, hobbies were for people who didn't value their work or career. She enjoyed hunting criminals, rescuing Pokémon, and exploring. It was fun, exciting, and gave her something to look forward to.

…

Though, maybe she should visit Kangaskhan again for a bit of tea, and to talk about things the older woman was up to. She probably had some amazing stories to tell after years of work at the Depot. Arceus knows what crazy things she'd collected in storage.

…

After a second thought, Artemis plucked several older novels from the shelf as well—things she'd enjoyed when she had some downtime. There are only so many missions and criminals one could catch after all, and she would need something to do when Silvally was off doing his learning.

Artemis blinked.

Slowly, she put one book back. Just in case Silvally picked up reading faster than she anticipated. He didn't need to get his talons on that. Did Silvally know about, well, procreation and similar things? Was he old enough to?

… Oh, Arceus, was he still just a child? He didn't act like it, but, technically, he only had two years of memories.

"No. No no no, I'm not dealing with that. Mew can explain that shit," Artemis huffed to herself. That little pink menace could deal with the personal stuff. Who knew how awkward things would get if she did it instead. They'd just made progress and held a natural conversation. She'd not taint it with filth, thank you very much.

~{O}~{O}~{O}~

There was an odd wet feeling against his cheek, and his mouth was completely dry. Idly, Silvally wondered if he'd fallen asleep in a beach or desert dungeon again. He often sought out pools of water to sleep by, so he'd at least have fresh water when he awoke.

His fur wasn't gritty though, despite feeling like he had a mouthful of sand—an unpleasant experience he wouldn't wish upon anyone. He felt… heavy all over, but in a pleasant way. His eyes snapped open, quickly verifying that he was not falling victim to one of those ghosts who preyed on Pokémon in their sleep.

Silvally, for the first time in what had to be months—if not the first time ever—didn't feel that sharp pang of hunger when he woke. There was no annoying spike that rolled around his insides demanding he eat. As a bonus, his legs, shoulders, and hips didn't hurt either. That tea worked wonders—once his service was over, he'd be making trips to the city specifically for that.

With a soft groan he sat up, blinking heavily, clearing the blurriness from his vision. He found that his mouth was dry because his tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth. The fur on his cheek was soaked from drooling in his sleep.

It took entirely too much effort to reel his tongue back in, and Silvally slowly turned to look out the window, his sense of time utterly off. His eyes trailed along the shadows from the window, and he did a little math, unsure if he was accurate.

It was almost noon!

Silvally yawned hard, the sound trailing off into a high-pitched whine. He rolled his shoulders, flexed his talons, and stretched out his legs, working some life back into his limbs.

… That'd been a really good sleep.

Silver eyes roamed across the shared lodging, falling upon the empty bed of his 'partner'. It took a moment for the memories of yesterday to surface—they'd both agreed to take a day off, despite that extending Silvally's sentence slightly. They needed it, and honestly, Silvally was looking forward to having a day to finally acclimatize and think things over.

That, and he needed some space to himself without being constantly watched. Some time to just be himself and exist without worry.

With herculean effort, Silvally pushed himself upright, shaking out the lingering exhaustion. A practiced swipe lifted his bag from the floor, and he shouldered it, the heavy satchel falling into place at his side.

Silvally gingerly pushed the door open, making his way into the guild's living quarters. The halls appeared to be mostly empty, aside from a few Pokémon coming and going from their rooms. Apparently Silvally was no longer some novel sight, and he wasn't spared a second glance. The Pokémon that walked by appeared to give him either a quick nod, or a small scowl, before going on with their day.

That was certainly a different kind of reaction compared to the weeks prior. He didn't mind the passive pleasantries or aggression at all—he welcomed them. They were far better than direct confrontation, or being forced into conversation for the sake of being polite.

They were finally leaving him alone. That was all he ever wanted.

Now that these Pokémon—the ones he once thought of as criminals and cruel—were letting him go about his business on his own… Silvally didn't know what to think. He sort of understood their point of view, at least, from a very narrow lens. He was a big, scary Pokémon who'd been able to take down some of their elite fighters without being captured. That sounded criminal to him.

But, on the other hand, what they did was inexcusable. It was cruel, and they refused to listen to him, so he stopped trying to convince them. There were no second chances, and no mutual peace. He'd just wanted to live life free from conflict and pain, to no avail.

Some small, miniscule, infinitesimal part of him wanted to just refute everything. To hold onto that simple idea that he was right, and that everyone else was wrong for what they they were all abusive monsters incapable of anything other than harm.

But, as Silvally walked down the hallways of the guild, keeping to the right to give other Pokémon room, he couldn't help but notice things. The little smiles they sent to one another—even some to him. Small conversations, pleasantries, or something as simple as sharing a berry. He recalled how the folk in town referred to one another, helped each other, even when it wouldn't benefit them from doing so. Of the innocent smiles of the children and the adults watching over them.

This world was far too complex and nuanced to be something as simple as 'right' or 'wrong'.

… He just really hoped the Pokémon he was warming up to held similar views.

It took Silvally a moment to realize he'd reached his destination, and he stepped through the doorway into the study room Artemis spoke of.

Inside was rather cozy, but not cramped, with a number of short slabs—he was hesitant to call them desks—in rows through the room. Shelves lined the walls, holding a variety of brightly coloured books, clearly made to grab attention. At the front of the room stood what looked to be a chalkboard, and a small stack of books sat before it. An arrow drawn on the chalkboard pointed to the stack, and Silvally stepped forward, glancing at the cover. It depicted a rather childishly drawn classroom, with a pink blob at the front, beside a bird, while a number of various scribbles sat behind the depicted desks.

Two things were immediately apparent. One: Wigglytuff was a horrendous artist. Two: this had to be the learning material for Pokémon from 'the wilderness' that Artemis had mentioned.

Silvally leaned down and gingerly shuffled the top bundle toward the edge, and snatched it up in his jaws, careful to avoid spilling the precarious pile onto the ground. His steps were light, careful to avoid breaking the silence of the room as he moved toward the back corner, positioning himself near a window with his back to the wall.

The book fell from his jaws and onto one of the slabs, falling open, revealing the contents of the 'book'. This wasn't a book, and Silvally felt almost ill calling it such. It was a stack of paper with crude drawings, and rough penmanship. Comparing it to the little story that Mew let him borrow was almost insulting.

Still, it was learning material, and Silvally sorely needed it. He carefully leafed through the pages, finding the start, and paused. He narrowed his eyes, scanning over the page, and sighed. It was almost illegible. Instead, Silvally reached into his bag to pull out Mew's book, and the sheets that Artemis had tried to teach him on. At least these were easier to read.

Silvally adjusted the various pages on his desk, and got to work. He compared the images drawn (poorly) to the odd footprint runes below, his eyes narrowed, taking in the objects he knew and trying to associate them to the bad scribbles, then to the neat writing.

It… wasn't easy.

Not only was the difficulty of learning a new language taxing, but there was something about it all that bothered him on a deep level. It was rather disheartening, looking at a depiction of an apple, and struggling to even read what the lettering for it actually was.

Silvally knew he could read and write, he'd demonstrated it to Artemis, but she didn't seem to recognize it. It was as if something he understood at a fundamental level was just made up, and that irked him.

He took a deep breath in through his nose, closed his eyes, and breathed out, dispelling the rising frustration, replacing it with a cool numbness. He bit back the embarrassment of getting frustrated, the shame of being unable to do something as simple as read, and the emptiness of knowing he'd essentially lost an important skill. None of that mattered, and thus it was cast away into the corner of his mind, buried under all the other layers, pushed down and down until there was nothing left.

Then, he opened his eyes, and scanned over the pages again, his goal at the front of his mind.

Minutes passed by in complete silence, his own breathing nearly inaudible as he studied, taking in the symbols, shapes, accents, and little nuances of this written language. Small details that he missed at first glance, or how the angle of a letter changed the meaning of a word when he read through Mew's book again.

He was so focused on the words in front of him, committing them to memory, that it took several seconds for Silvally to notice the newcomer in the room. The movement of the sky-blue individual drew his attention, the quadruped waddling its way forward on two legs, looking around the room with its front paws held together. Silvally recognized it as one of those small poison-type Pokémon due to the large round ears and the little spikes on its back.

Silvally remained still, watching the small Pokémon. It glanced around the room, eyes drawn to the various bright colours of the books on the shelves, and eventually looked to the front of the room. Apparently, the drawn arrow worked, because the Nidorina made her way forward and picked up one of the books in her paws, and turned, looking at the pages in her paws as she wandered toward the back of the room.

Silvally's spot seemed to be the popular one in the room, as the Nidorina didn't even look up as she made her way toward him. Silvally started to grow uncomfortable as she drew closer, not wanting to reenact the poisoning of yesterday. Thankfully, he wouldn't even have to act, as her red eyes flicked up, locking onto his silver ones.

"O-oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't see- I didn't mean to interrupt!" She raised the booklet in her paws and gestured to it, taking a few steps back. "I, um, I think I'm in the wrong room! S-sorry! I was just- I'm just trying to-"

"Read?" Silvally asked, tilting his head. A shaky nod from the Nidorina was the only response. "Me too," he admitted.

"Oh, so this is the right spot. Sorry!" The Nidorina let out a small laugh, clutching the papers to her chest. "Um, I'm new to all this. I don't, uh, know if this is right. I just joined a team as an extra member to explore outside my home. I don't think they'll actually need my help with anything, though..."

Silvally didn't really have anything to add to that. So, he didn't. He tilted his head and blinked, regarding the Nidorina with a neutral expression. She appeared to wither under his gaze, the small Pokémon shrinking in on herself, ears falling flat, somewhat hiding behind the stack of papers in her grip.

"Uh, I'll be over here… Sorry for, uh- sorry." The timid Pokémon stepped backward, moving herself to the other side of the room. She positioned herself opposite Silvally, close to the door, giving him a glance over the shoulder before picking a seat.

Just like that, it was silent again. Nothing but quiet breathing and the shuffling of pages sounded out in the room, allowing Silvally's thoughts to fall to the work in front of him again. Letters and numbers and symbols all sprawled across the paper before him, mixing into a dizzying slurry of information.

Silvally shoved Wigglytuff's 'helpful' material to the side and grabbed Mew's book again, flipping it to the first page. Even if he couldn't tell what every single word meant on its own, he could figure out most of them given context, and with the extra information around him, he was more than certain he could figure it out.

The sad, frustrated sigh from the Nidorina ahead of him let him know she wasn't nearly as excited over the prospect. The muttered curses and struggles to pronounce words told him even more.

At least he had a full vocabulary to work with.

~{O}~{O}~{O}~

"Are you sure it's okay if I- we visit tonight? We don't want to be a bother." Artemis glanced up at the elderly Kangaskhan, tilting her head. She'd just come from her home, and was walking by when she spotted the elderly Pokémon at the Depot. She figured it was about time she tried to socialize a little bit, at least with the older Pokémon. The lack of things Artemis did outside of just working was bothering her. That, and it allowed Silvally some time with a Pokémon that was genuinely polite. There was also-

"Of course, Artemis, dear," Kangaskhan smiled, looking at her with those foggy eyes. "When you and Silvally come back to plan, don't forget the bag I made for him."

Artemis winced. "Right, sorry, we we've been a little, uh, busy with everything." She let out a small laugh, her tails waving uncertainly behind her. 'Busy' was certainly a way to put massive traumatic revelations, poisoning, exhaustion, late nights, and the immense amount of stress the two were under. "Give me ten minutes and we'll be back to come see you."

"I'll go find it for you, dear." Kangaskhan smiled and stood a little straighter. "I'll see you soon."

A shift in the shadows of the Depot drew Artemis's gaze, years of reflexes and hunting for criminals snapping her eyes to the source. There was a glint of light from an eye, the end of a thick tail, and a little shift of the curtains separating the front of the Depot from the entrance to the back.

It was Junior, Mrs. K's son. Artemis couldn't be sure, but it seemed like he'd been glaring at her. The unexpected look caught her off-guard, the hostility completely unexpected. Artemis blinked, but Junior was gone again, the only thing left was the bottom of the curtain fluttering. It could have been the breeze, but Artemis was certain she'd seen Junior lurking in the shadows.

"Oh, right! See you soon!" Artemis finally replied. Kangaskhan had already started to descend the steps from her little platform, hobbling her way to the back of the building.

…

Artemis shook her head, blinking several times, just to make sure she hadn't been seeing things. She and Junior usually got along well—in the way that a professional business employee and customer got along, that is—and there were never issues. Occasionally, he'd even congratulate her on catching another criminal, or pulling off a rescue.

Maybe she was just imagining things. After all, she'd been up before Silvally, so it was completely possible lack of sleep was getting to her. And she thought she'd been doing well too.

… Maybe a trip to the café for some coffee was in order. Now that the port was fixed, the Elixir of Arceus could flow once more.

The Ninetales pushed herself to all fours, stepping away from the Depot, and angled herself toward the Guild once more. The weight of books and other personal items from her home bounced against her side with each step, things she didn't necessarily need, but figured would make her life easier. Things such as that really expensive brush set the entrepreneurial Muk in a top hat gifted her and Silvally, as well as the two passes—she still had no idea what they really applied to.

As Artemis made her way through Treasure Town, she noticed something off about the general atmosphere. It was the odd, slightly sour aroma that lingered on the breeze, rolling up from the shore and lower areas of the town. The shadows seemed to grow longer, and feel darker than normal. There was nothing sinister about it all, just a general feeling that seemed to emanate from some types of Pokémon.

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The citizens around town seemed they were just a little more quiet than usual, and a tad quicker getting from place to place. Nothing like fear being displayed—it seemed subconscious, just a natural part of Pokémon telling them to get going just a bit quicker to avoid trouble.

Artemis kept her head on a swivel, not really worried, more so curious about who was causing the feeling. Either an extremely strong Pokémon was nearby, someone who, even when suppressing their abilities and power, could still cause others to feel them. That, or there was someone extremely incompetent and were unable to control their abilities… or they were doing it to be an asshole. She had a feeling it was the latter—the lack of terrified screams was a good indicator of that.

Artemis glanced to her left upon reaching the crossroads, gazing up the long staircase to the guild. It wasn't like she was going to be away for very long, and if things happened there were still dozens of Pokémon in the area who were more than capable of handling something. Maybe not to the extent she could, but still. She'd probably be fine to go get Silvally and then come back to plan things out properly.

After all, they didn't want a repeat of yesterday…

Artemis shuddered, the phantom sensation of her fur plastered down dragged to the front of her mind. She suppressed a gag, and winced, shaking her head as if physically dislodging the memory.

With haste—trying to keep herself distracted to avoid the nightmarish memories—Artemis turned and bounded her way up the stairs. Her quick steps startled a trio of Pokémon ascending the stairs, causing one to topple back into another, sending the three in different directions as they fell down several steps.

"Sorry!" Artemis called over her shoulder, glancing just to make sure they were okay, before continuing her quick jaunt through the guild. She kept up her momentum and jumped down the stairs, bounding off the wall and dropping down to the second floor with a thump.

Right beside Chatot.

The poor Pokémon let out a startled 'Squawk!' and launched himself toward the ceiling, the force of his wings flapping sending him in a careening motion across the room. Artemis wasn't even looking as a loud crash sounded out, large wood panels falling to the ground. No, she was already on her way down to the next floor, albeit slightly slower, trotting her way down the stairs.

The feeling down in the lower floor of the guild was light and airy, far from that uncomfortable sensation that floated on the wind in Treasure Town. So, it likely wasn't a guild Pokémon doing it. Her gaze flicked down the hallway, toward the barracks, and her heart skipped a beat.

Their door was open.

The first thought that sprang to Artemis's mind was that the criminal under her supervision had escaped, doing who knows what to innocent Pokemon. The tidal wave of shame nearly swept her off her paws, and she winced, another concerning thought replacing the unintentional slight.

Silvally was out on his own, with his rather lackluster social skills, and who knows how many enemies within the guild. Not that he couldn't handle himself—he could take her head on for Arceus' sake. It was just that, should he need help, it didn't seem like many Pokémon would willingly come to his aid. Not yet, in any case.

Artemis blinked, and shook her head, clearing out the thoughts. Today was a calm day off. Nothing was going to go wrong. Silvally usually behaved, and was polite, there wasn't much that would realistically happen.

When Artemis passed by the Guildmaster's open door, she glanced in, finding Wigglytuff in one of his thousand-yard-stare-naps, openly drooling. Classic Guildmaster.

Resisting the urge to run down the halls—she'd knocked over her fair share of Pokémon in her time as an apprentice—Artemis trotted toward her unwillingly shared room. She nosed open the door open further, in the event Silvally was still asleep.

He was gone.

Resisting the urge to find him, Artemis stepped into the room and dropped her Treasure Bag to the floor, using a paw to pop it open. A brief flare of psychic energy caused pink to glow from the inside of the bag, various writing materials, measurement tools, parchment, books, and even that lovely brush kit, all floated out of the bag, settling themselves on the floor in Artemis's corner. She shuffled them around with her paws, trying to stack them the best she could.

A little glimmer of light caught Artemis's attention, sunlight from the window reflecting on something inside of her Treasure Bag. She pulled it out and set it on the floor, eyeing the metallic cylinder, her tails swishing uncertainly behind her.

It was Silvally's file. That little tube contained every single encounter with an exploration team. All things of significant note that led to where they were today. The known fears, skills, and other dangerous information should it fall into the wrong hands.

Honestly, she should return it to the station. She'd found out what she needed to, and didn't have any more use for the thing.

But…

Wasn't it her responsibility to learn more? To figure out the little details written between the lines? Understand what made the former-criminal tick and try to adapt to what was written down? That sounded like the responsible thing to do… right?

Artemis tried to justify it all. No, it wasn't the guilt that gnawed at her insides when she looked at it that encouraged her to hang onto it. It definitely wasn't the intense desire to look through the part she played in all of it, and feed the little hole in her chest that told her what a failure she really was.

Artemis pressed the metal cylinder back into the bag, hiding it beneath some berries just to keep that little thing out of sight for a while longer. There wasn't really any risk with having it. It's not like she was going to lose it, or Silvally was going to suddenly progress in reading and writing too fast. She would just keep it for a little longer, that's all.

With her treasure bag empty of all the items she brought from home, she was more-or-less ready to return to the Depot and plan out their adventuring inventory. With Silvally, of course.

Her tails snagged the door on the way out, pulling the wood barrier shut with a solid thump. She wasn't worried about people going through her things—there was a sort of understanding between members of the guild, exploration teams, and the like. You don't mess with one another's personal belongings. With how insane the world was, keepsakes and small personal items were almost sacred—no one could tell what belonged to a lost loved one, family, friend, or other.

That, and the Expedition Society would likely strip your explorer rank and license. They were rather strict… when Ampharos didn't go around making or breaking rules wherever he saw fit, that is. Rules and regulations crumbled around him and Wigglytuff, as if they were exempt from reality.

A little smile graced her face as she turned down the hallway, recalling the antics of the Guildmaster. Artemis's paws tapped along the ground, trotting her way down the halls. She had a particular destination in mind to check first, considering she had mentioned it last night.

Though, just to be sure she wasn't missing anything, she ducked her head into the bath hall. There was a significant lack of underweight and visually unsettling chimeras, so she moved on with her search. She kept her ears perked, listening for any potential disturbances or odd noises.

But the guild was silent. Well, as quiet as Wigglytuff's Guild could get anyway. A little less screaming, shouting, and fewer explosions than normal.

Artemis nodded to several groups of Pokémon as she passed, receiving little greetings or smiles in return. She had no idea who half these Pokémon were, but they all knew who she was. It was an odd discrepancy she'd long grown used to.

Eventually, the room Artemis had told Silvally about loomed before her, the door wide open. It didn't sound like there was any noticeable commotion. In fact, the only thing Artemis could hear was a quiet voice struggling along.

Once again, Artemis's heart skipped a beat. Silvally couldn't have run off, could he? He wouldn't, not after everything and all the progress he'd made. She walked into the room with a little more speed than necessary, and took in the area—her concerns immediately withered away.

Silvally was laying down behind a table near the window, and on the other side was a small Nidorina, the Pokémon reading from a book between them. Silvally would occasionally interrupt and say something, pointing at the book, before allowing her to continue.

Artemis could feel her heart rate dropping. First, she'd been worried about letting him out of her sight for fear he'd hurt someone. Then it was concern over him being hurt, or ganged up on by others he'd run into over the years.

… Or that he'd hurt them too.

She approached the pair slowly, her paws silent on the ground. She must have been at a bad angle, because Silvally was either too engrossed in reading and correcting the Nidorina, or she was in some blind spot of his.

When Silvally finally noticed her, he froze. His eyes went wide, and his whole body tensed, muscles strained beneath wiry fur. For just a split second he looked like the Outlaw Artemis had been hunting for months—a powerful criminal who fought with brutal strength and precise strategy to dismantle exploration teams. Someone cunning, fast, and no doubt deadly if he so desired to be.

Then, he blinked.

It was as if it had never even happened. Laying there was just… Silvally. The quiet, polite individual who seemed like he was slotting himself into his role quite nicely. The Pokémon who got up to watch the sunrise, and refused to leave behind the massive slab of metal that had encased his head for Arceus knows how long, because that was all he had of his past.

"Sorry, I, um, didn't mean to startle you," Artemis said.

This caused the Nidorina to jump hard, the small Pokémon having been focused on sounding out a particularly difficult word. Poison quills shot outward, one whizzing by Artemis's ear and embedding itself in the chalkboard at the front of the room. The book she'd been reading flew into the air, landing on her face with a thwap of paper.

"… Or you," Artemis added. She took a step back and sat down, looking at the two Pokémon. The poor Nidorina had its thorns fully extended, and her fur was on end, looking more like a Quillfish than anything.

"Oh, s-sorry! I didn't notice you! I was just- we were reading and I was having trouble with the big words and I've never seen these before but he was helping me pronounce them and we just-"

"It's okay," Artemis interrupted the small teal Pokémon, who was desperately trying to smooth down her fur. "Nothing to worry about, accidents happen. Was the stuff in here helpful?" After she received a nod, Artemis turned her attention to Silvally. "We should go plan out our kits for other jobs. I don't know about you, but I don't want to repeat yesterday."

Silvally's eye twitched at the brief reminder, and he type-shifted for just a moment, his feathers, eyes and tail becoming a sickly purple colour. It was gone seconds later, replaced with the calm, cool, neutral expression he always wore.

"Nice to meet you," Silvally said to Nidorina. The large chimera Pokémon climbed to his feet, stuffing various papers and a couple books in his bag, tucking them away. He shuffled his way out from behind the desk, and Artemis stepped back to give him room. All he gave her was a slight nod to indicate he was ready.

"W-wait!" the Nidorina protested. She pushed herself upright and turned to Silvally, clasping her paws together. "Thank you. You helped a lot." She turned her attention to Artemis—with no noticeable reaction, Artemis noted—then back to Silvally. "I… I think if all explorers are this nice, I don't need to worry."

Out of the corner of her eye, Artemis caught Silvally's talons clenching, deep grooves carved into the packed dirt and rock. He took a small breath, and relaxed, shifting his footing to cover up the damage.

"You'll be fine." Silvally spoke. Whether it was to himself, or to the Nidorina, Artemis didn't know. "Good luck." He gave Nidorina a dip of his head, and then turned to face Artemis, his eyes focusing somewhere behind her.

As Artemis stepped back, leading Silvally toward the exit, she couldn't help a soft smile from forming. The Nidorina was waving to them—albeit in a shy manner. Artemis raised a paw and waved back, before turning, slipping through the doorway. The heavy, familiar thuds of Silvally's steps sounded behind her.

"Who was that?" Artemis asked after several seconds. She glanced over her shoulder, idly noticing Silvally was almost within range of her tails. "She seems nice. I haven't seen her around."

Probably because you never bothered to look before. You never cared about who else was around, as long as they didn't get in your way.

Artemis winced.

"I don't know," Silvally said.

"Oh."

…

"She's from the wilds," Silvally clarified, breaking the momentary silence. "Needed help learning. It's difficult."

"Oh, I see. That's really nice of you." Artemis faced forward again, weaving her way past several Pokémon in the guild halls. As she approached their room, another thought crossed her mind. "How did you know she was from, uh, outside the cities? Did she tell you, or…?"

"Both," Silvally replied. At Artemis's confused glance, he continued. "She said. There were signs: nervous indoors; jumpy; tense around strangers-" Silvally's voice caught in his throat, and he grimaced. An annoyed huff escaped him, and he rubbed at his throat with a low growl. "Illiterate," Silvally bit out.

Artemis nodded. Silvally was more observant than she gave him credit for. She knew he kept an eye on everything in a room, much like criminals she'd dealt with in the past. But, he was able to identify key behaviours in a complete stranger in an hour at most.

Her tails swished and swayed with agitation as she nosed her way into their room. If he could read that well into someone brand new… What did he see in her? Did she dare ask? Sure, they had a natural conversation last night, and things weren't as tense anymore. But, asking someone she'd hunted what his opinion of her was—what her traits and flaws and features were…

Bad idea.

The bed rustled beneath her as she sat, and Artemis tugged her Treasure Bag off. It fell to the ground between their beds, opening up and spilling its contents onto the grass below. Everything but the metal tube that held Silvally's records—she kept that locked in place with a little psychic energy.

"Let's figure out what we need." Artemis looked up at Silvally, who'd seated himself on his bed, across from her.

A small nod was all the response she got. Silvally grabbed his Treasure Bag and gingerly pulled Mew's book, several sheets of paper, and another book from his bag. He upended the satchel and allowed the contents to spill out, several berries, an orb, a couple seeds, and-

THUD!

His helmet.

Artemis's gaze settled on the object for several seconds, taking in the sharp edges, the brownish stains of dried blood, odd gems, and some sort of writing at the base of the helmet. She glanced up at Silvally, their eyes meeting for what felt like entirely too long. Artemis could already feel it, the suggestion on her lips, ready to ask him to leave the helmet behind—to be practical and make room for more important things.

Important to who, though? Her? Him?

She said nothing.

Instead, she worked with him to take inventory of what they needed. There were obvious things, like rope, or berries for curing poison, healing burns, or treating frostbite. Heal Seeds took care of those to an extent, but nothing beat the real deal—they did save space though.

Artemis did notice that Silvally went through a lot of food when they were on their jobs. That would be something else she'd need to take into consideration. At least now she knew roughly what she'd need from the Depot, and what she might need to purchase as well.

Honestly, Artemis felt a little silly she hadn't done this earlier—she was used to needing the bare minimum going out on her own. She was learning, however. Artemis was determined to avoid making the same mistakes.

Neither of them wanted to repeat yesterday's rather horrific experience.

~{O}~{O}~{O}~

Silvally had to physically resist his hackles rising. There was something nearby that was unsettling to him, but oh-so-familiar. He could almost visualize what was causing the feeling, or at least what had happened in the past—it was on the tip of his tongue, and the inability to make the connection annoyed him.

It was something in the air; causing the shadows to flicker and dance in the corner of his eyes. A scent on the wind that lingered and just caused everything to feel wrong. He knew he wasn't alone—any Pokémon who wasn't an explorer seemed to be moving a little faster place-to-place. No one was panicking though.

He could tell Artemis was much the same—the little glances, ear twitches, or flicks of her tails, it told him she was aware too. At least he knew he wasn't being paranoid, and there was something actively here.

Silvally kept his head held high, subtly scanning his surroundings as he and Artemis walked through Treasure Town. Despite the wrongness in the air, it didn't make the walk any less pleasant. The Pokémon around town seemed used to him. There weren't many glares now, or hushed whispers. More often than not he was greeted or given a wave. The worst of it was muttering or simply ignoring him. Being around this many Pokémon still felt odd, like any one of them could just attack him at any time.

But, they didn't, and he greatly appreciated it.

The Depot quickly came into view, just past the market square. The area was relatively silent, seeing as it was both a school day and early afternoon. Everyone would either be in school, working, exploring, or traveling. Save a few stray Pokémon, Artemis and Silvally were relatively alone here. Several dock workers stepped off the freight elevator near the cliffside, hauling materials to the stands beneath the array of tents and fabrics in the market. The vendors who weren't busy resupplying their inventory were talking with one another, chatting near the center of the market. Silvally was pretty sure he saw Leafeon in the mix, but it was hard to tell without getting closer.

"Good afternoon, Junior," Artemis said, stepping up to the Depot stand. "Is your mom in the back right now?"

…

There was no response from the younger Kangaskhan. He seemed preoccupied, shuffling through a stack of papers, shaking his head every so often. Artemis sat up a little higher and looked over the lip of the Depot stand, glancing into the back of the building.

"Pieces of shit…" Junior mumbled under his breath. He shuffled through a few more papers, and his eyes flicked to Silvally for a moment, his half-scowl deepening. Finally, he lowered the papers, looking down at Artemis with what almost looked like a sneer. "Oh, didn't see you there."

"Right…" Artemis didn't sound like she believed him. "Uh, is Mrs. K around? If she's still in the back looking, we can talk with her later."

"You should leave, she'll be looking for a while." Junior's lip twitched, and he lifted up his papers again, rifling through them. He continued looking through the paper for several long seconds, glancing over them at Artemis, raising an eyebrow, as if surprised they were still there.

Silvally merely sat back and watched the exchange take place, tilting his head to the side.

"Um, okay. I'd still like to get things from my storage." Artemis's tails twitched with irritation, thudding against the ground. "I need a couple of Pecha Berries, a Warp Seed, two Heal-"

"Let me stop you right there," Junior interrupted. "I'm not helping either of you. You should go." He lowered the stack of papers, holding them at his side. There were several faces clearly visible on the pages, as well as what looked like a large sum of money beneath them.

Wanted posters.

Silvally took a half-step back, the temperature around Artemis rising several times over. Little wisps of steam rolled from her fur, and Silvally decided he wanted no part in any of that.

"I'm sorry, what?" Artemis stood and glared up at Junior, the Kangaskhan quickly averting his gaze. "Did I do something to you that I'm not aware of?"

"It's what you're not doing, Artemis, and it's pissing a lot of Pokémon off," Junior said smugly. He raised the stack of paper and shook it at her, several sheets fluttering to the ground between the two. "There're twelve more active criminals than there were two weeks ago. It's been going up for the last two months. There's more Pokémon in the hospital than normal, and the hospital needs supplies more often."

"I- what!?" Artemis blinked and shook her head, her claws sinking into the ground below. "How the fuck is any of that my fault?" Her tails rippled in an aggravated motion, stirring up the grass below.

"Because you've been slacking. While you're here pretending to 'help', real explorers are out there risking their lives to keep regular folk safe. Locking up criminals like they should be." The younger Kangaskhan finally turned to glare at Silvally, turning the pages in his grip to let Silvally's old wanted poster show. "Pokémon don't change. Believe them when they show you who they really are."

Silvally didn't rise to the bait. There was something about the odd aggression that just… didn't bother him. It felt like Junior was trying to get a rise out of him—to say something that would make Silvally snap and prove the biased Pokémon right. Of course, Silvally merely blinked, and other than a little twinge of annoyance, he didn't react. He was used to explorers hunting him down and trying to say things to throw him off.

Artemis wasn't quite so calm about it…

The amount of heat that rolled off the Ninetales caused Silvally to flinch, the air around her wavering with the intensity. The grass immediately withered, turning a sickly yellow, brown, then black, the moisture boiled away, leaving a slowly growing sphere of dead vegetation around Artemis.

Silvally took a hesitant step back, his fur tingling uncomfortably. An angry Artemis he was starting to be able to handle—it didn't take much to really make her upset, and the bursts didn't tend to last. He could handle a little bit of heat and fire—it was natural, and forest fires happened all the time.

Artemis furious while heat licked at his form? He could already feel the phantom pain of fire eating at his fur, burns bubbling over his exposed skin while he tried desperately to avoid the attacks. Trying to type-change to something else in an effort to ease the pain, even slightly.

He could see Artemis's mouth moving, her red eyes locked onto Junior, who, for just a moment, looked hesitant. There were clearly words being spoken. Angry shouts and gestures, expressions of contempt, tails thrashing about.

Silvally couldn't hear any of it over the ringing in his ears; the sound of his heart trying to beat out of his chest. He tried to take a breath, going through the motions of calming himself. All he took in was warm air, humid and smoky. All associated with memories of fire and pain and agony. Struggling to escape the ruthless thing chasing him down, night and day, learning, adapting, coming closer to ending him with every encounter. Those furious red eyes glowed in the darkness of the dungeon, peering at him no matter where he went, always looking for the chance to-

THUD!

A powerful thump caused the ground to shake—normally an imperceptible thing, but to Silvally's panicked state, it felt the same. His eyes snapped to the left, passed Artemis and Junior, and settled on a group of Pokémon stepping off of the freight elevator that led up from the docks. Multiple well-built Pokémon stepped off, carrying large crates overflowing with berries, or sealed containers in tall stacks. It seemed that the elevator lurching to a halt was what caused the sudden impact through the ground.

Silvally took the distraction for what it was, and staggered toward it. He was far enough from Artemis and the yelling-match that he could take a few greedy gulps of air, doing his best to maintain composure. It wouldn't do well to have a former criminal in a panicked state making his way toward heavy equipment and the docks, now would it? He was more than certain he'd get in trouble for even just using the elevator without someone accompanying him.

Standing at the edge of the lift, Silvally watched the platform steadily descend. The sound of running water grew louder, as did the creaking and groaning of wood under pressure. Silvally tried to calm his beating heart, and took slow, deep breaths, caught off guard by the sudden panic. He focused on looking at the massive wooden gears turning as the elevator moved instead, following them down to a flow of water spinning one of them, the motion going through various stages for more torque. A complicated system all to raise and lower things.

Silvally laid himself down at the ledge of the sharp drop, the cool grass against his belly helping to counter the phantom sensation of burning alive. His talons dangled over the edge, and he merely watched the proceedings below, the Pokémon on the docks already loading up the elevator for another shipment to the market.

Minutes passed like this, occasionally tucking his talons up to avoid having them crushed between stone and wood. His mind quit its frantic rush of emotions and memories, and his heart stopped trying to crawl its way out of his throat. The awful burning sensation along his body eased, and all he was left with was the cool touch of grass against him. Idly, he noticed the shouting off to the side had stopped, and the few Pokémon who'd gathered to watch had dispersed.

There appeared to be a lull in the amount of material coming up from the cargo ships, and in the distance Silvally could see various boats leaving port, and other ones starting to appear on the horizon. It was in this quiet that his ears twitched, and he caught the faint sound of paws ghosting through the grass. He knew that particular sound by heart, through no intention of his own.

"I didn't realize you left," Artemis said. "We, uh, won't be getting anything from storage until Miss K. is back… Fuckin' asshole." She muttered several choice words under her breath. "I can't believe he- I've done so much for this stupid place. The fucking nerve-" Artemis stopped and took a breath, and let out a long, breathy sigh. "Whatever. Let's just go to the market, it's better than waiting around and watching Junior act all smug."

A nod was Silvally's only response. He stood to face Artemis, the two looking at one another across that several step distance that was permanently placed between them. Artemis tilted her head and opened her mouth to say something, only to pause, and turn around without a word, leading the way into the market.

Silvally followed along, silent as always.

"Oh, right. Kangaskhan invited us over this evening for tea. She said we're both welcome, but if you don't wanna go, that's okay." Artemis glanced over her shoulder, addressing him. "I know you're not big on talking, and we're going to the café tomorrow anyway, so…" She let out a little awkward laugh, and her ears half-folded.

Silvally just tilted his head, and nodded. He liked the older Pokémon, and listening to her stories might give him more information that could be useful in the future. Besides, if her son didn't like him, that was all the more reason to just visit her instead.

He wasn't sure why, but there was a tiny, infinitesimal part of Silvally that wanted to prove him wrong. It was like an itch, and though he had no problem ignoring it… Something, for some reason, encouraged him to scratch it—to fix the issue.

After all, it was a practicality thing. Less waiting and fewer conflicts. That meant more efficiency and fewer dangers…

Right?

~{O}~{O}~{O}~

Emerald drummed her claws on the desk, the repetitive tapping giving her something to focus on. She was exhausted—her disaster sense had gone off in the middle of the night, interrupting her sleep. It'd been slightly more active since Silvally came to town to work off his community service sentence, but most explorer-type Pokémon had that. There was usually an air of danger about them, meaning they were going to encounter something mildly dangerous at some point, or be involved in a disaster in the far future.

This was different. Last night, it was like something was clawing at it, imminent danger, something on the cusp of happening. A disaster was mere moments away, and would have happened any second.

But… It was silent.

She'd woken up Lucario in his sleep, and paced in front of the house for nearly an hour, keeping an eye out for trouble, before he finally dragged her back inside to go back to bed. Luckily his warm embrace was somewhat soothing, as was the reassurance that he'd sensed nothing wrong with his Aura.

Yet, the feeling lingered. It wasn't nearly as intense, but it was enough to keep Emerald on edge, analyzing each Pokémon who stepped into the library with scrutiny.

But again, there was nothing wrong. Either she was losing her mind…

Or something was avoiding her detection.

The Absol's head jerked upward once the door opened, the late afternoon sunlight glinting off the glass in the door and shining over her eyes. She blinked the stars from her vision, and she couldn't help the little flutter of her heart when she saw Lucario stepping into the building. Emerald remained as professional as she could when all that muscled fatherly figure stepped toward her, and she definitely didn't drool over the way the evening light glinted off his fur.

That would be unprofessional. She also definitely didn't turn red, no matter what Aurum would claim later. That little fiend was always just trying to say silly things to embarrass her, and she was definitely not smitten and 'making kissy faces' with his father.

"Hi Emer- oop!" Aurum stopped his run into the building, and slapped a paw over his mouth, his ears folding back sheepishly. "Hi Emerald," he whisper-yelled, padding up to the counter. The Riolu placed his paws on the edge of the desk and peered up at her, his gold-streaked tail swishing happily.

"Hello, Aurum." Emerald flashed him a smile, and reached forward, ruffling up his head fur, much to the child's chagrin. "How was school today?"

"It was good!" He seemed to have already forgotten about being quiet. "We did a lot of math today—it was hard. But, I still did it! I was the first one done in my class." Aurum hopped away from the desk and smiled proudly up at Emerald, his tail wagging faster.

"Aurum did well today," Lucario said, stepping closer and planting a paw on Aurum's head, further ruffling up his noggin. "I need to get some extra practice books for some of the students, and Aurum is out of things to read… Again."

"You raised a clever little book-worm," Emerald laughed.

"You're a bad influence," Lucario shot back with a smile.

Once again, Emerald didn't turn red, and she definitely didn't focus on Lucario's steely red eyes, or the white toothy smile on his face. There was no way her tail twitched against her desk when he leaned forward to rest his elbow on her desk, causing his arm to flex just right. That'd be silly.

The door to the library opened again, the light off the glass flashing across her eyes, blinding Emerald. Her danger sense shot upward, and she whipped her head around, her horn telling her that something was coming. The silhouette in the doorway was large, on all fours, and tall. For just a second her heart skipped a beat, and Emerald wondered if he had found her.

But then the light cleared from her eyes, and she was met with a sight she was starting to get used to. Artemis padded into the library, with the heavy thump-thump of Silvally's footsteps following behind her. They maintained their normal distance, and once again Emerald was wondering just what was going on between those two. A former criminal and a top-ranked hunter/explorer working together? If only she could have been so lucky.

"Good evening, Emerald, Lucario, Aurum." Artemis came to a stop just behind the others, and they stepped to the side, with Silvally coming in around the edge to form a half-circle.

Emerald couldn't get over how quiet Silvally was for his size, relatively speaking. He towered over even Lucario, and Emerald would be more than terrified if she didn't know what a sweetheart the 'criminal' was. He was quiet, polite, and Aurum seemed to like him, so Emerald ignored the little spike of warning her horn gave. She didn't think he would be capable of harming someone—no one who didn't deserve it at least.

"Hi Artemis! Hi Silvally!" Aurum's eyes flashed blue for just a moment, and he jogged forward, immediately latching onto Artemis's foreleg in a sudden hug. "You needed a hug," he stated.

Emerald decided then and there that even if things didn't work out with Lucario, she was going to take care of that child. That was that. Aurum was too sweet, and she was going to pamper the shit out of that wholesome little guy.

Aurum disengaged himself from Artemis and turned to face the behemoth that was Silvally, looking up at him with a fearless smile. Instead of running forward though, he walked toward Silvally, watching for… something. Evidently, he didn't find anything, because Aurum continued, and without a word, wrapped himself around Silvally's foreleg as well, clinging to it like a stubborn Mankey.

Emerald could see how Silvally stiffened at the contact, his eyes widening, and his muscles tensing ever-so-slightly. Slowly, he raised a talon, and set it on Aurum's head, gently patting the child.

"You needed a hug too," Aurum stated, his tail swishing contently. He looked up at Silvally, and narrowed his eyes. "You're really big. I bet you could carry all my friends."

Artemis seemed stunned at the scene playing out in front of her. Silvally didn't seem that much more able to respond, too busy awkwardly half-hugging the child. Lucario's palm met his face with a smack that echoed through the library.

"Aurum, we talked about this. You can't just aura-sense and try to fix everything. At least ask first."

The Riolu didn't seem to be paying much attention, instead holding tighter to Silvally's foreleg, giggling wildly as the massive Pokémon raised his talon up, effortlessly moving Aurum with it. The child was hanging upside down, parallel to the floor, laughing fearlessly as Silvally slowly moved his leg about, unintentionally swinging the child side to side.

"What can I help you with?" Emerald asked in an attempt to salvage the conversation. It seemed to work, because Silvally's eyes snapped to focus on her, and Artemis shook herself out of the stunned silence she was in.

"Oh, right. We're going out of town for a couple days—Leafeon needs an escort. I was wondering if you had any… easier books a little on the longer side," Artemis explained. "I've got my own reading for the trip, and we're hoping to find something for him to read." She tilted her head toward Silvally. "Nothing too complicated, because he's still, uh, sorting things out, but enough to try and progress a little."

Emerald had all of two seconds to take in Artemis's words, before she was interrupted.

"Oh! You're looking for stories?" Aurum performed a rather acrobatic backflip off of Silvally's leg, and landed with his arms out. "I know a bunch of stories I liked when I was little!"

"You're still little, Aurum." Lucario's blunt statement caused the Riolu to turn around and frown up at his dad.

"When I was littler," Aurum corrected. Without waiting for a response or even permission from Lucario and Emerald—or consent from Silvally—he grabbed at Silvally's talon and started trying to drag him forward. He managed to get about two steps before his walking became ineffective, his paws sliding on the wooden floor while Silvally remained seated.

Silvally just sat there for several seconds, blinking in confusion at the child, before turning to face the rest of the group. Artemis rolled her eyes and nodded, Lucario shook his head and smiled, and Emerald shooed him with a wave of her paw, encouraging him to follow the excitable youth.

"Come on, I'll show you some of my favourites," Aurum said, still walking in place, his paws sliding ineffectively across the floor.

Hesitantly, Silvally stood up, and took a step forward, allowing Aurum three more steps himself. Another glance over Silvally's shoulder was still met with approval, and the large Pokémon relented, allowing Aurum to lead him into the depths of the library, between rows of books that Emerald scarcely believed he would fit in.

As Emerald talked a little bit with Lucario and Artemis, she did her best to hide her discomfort. While the sense of disaster that hung around Silvally like an aura seemed to fade, the imminent danger didn't seem to disperse at all. It seemed to be growing slowly, bit by bit, but Emerald did her best to keep from showing it.

She probably just had a nightmare she couldn't remember, and the lack of sleep was messing with her head. That was the most likely answer. It's not like anything bad could really happen in Treasure Town—not with all the explorers that swarmed the place like Combee at the first sign of trouble.

…

Still, maybe it was best she stayed with Lucario and Aurum for the night again. She didn't know what it was, or why, but she had the feeling that going home on her own wasn't the best idea. As if something bad was going to happen if she did. Not something disastrous for the town, or the people, but… Something that could lead to it.

Something horrible, hinging on her decision. If only she knew what it was.