After hours of riffing along with Lavals, George’s cheeks were like those of a Skwovet. Every last gasp of air went into the Azure Flute, and came out sounding rusty. As if the flute had been left in the rain for days. How that happened, no one knew. Maybe the saliva flying out of the holes had something to do with it.

So, with ears twitched sideways like they wanted to twist off his body, and after ‘playing’ for hours, finally he got to call it quits for the day. Right out of that perfectly cubic room they’d been in the whole time.

Until Lavals called out to him, that was.

“George! One more thing!”

A groan shot out of the Dewott’s throat, his arms dangling from his shoulders as he spun back around. “What now?” ‘We’ve been here for like eight hours… isn’t that enough?!’

“It’s related to breathing, come!” Lavals said. “With the way you’re going dear, you’ll kill your voice loooong before you get to perform for the first time!”

To this, George had but a sigh to give. “Fine…” he muttered, shuffling back into the cube. Cube undersold how perfect the room was. Identical metal plates on each surface, naught inside but chairs and some water, and you couldn’t tell north from south without looking at the door.

Lavals ran a hand through her hair as George walked back in. For a moment, George thought her arm resembled a musical note, the kind you’d see on a sheet. All the flute playing must’ve gotten to him, so he believed.

“Now George, this won’t take long. When you handle a flute, you need to be careful to not end up out of breath. Of course, what I said about not letting your breathing affect your playing still applies. But use the gaps in between certain notes to your advantage. Consistently! That’s how you keep a steady tune. Like this!”

The Meloetta raised a wooden flute to her lips, and played parts of a lullaby that would’ve made the toughest beasts in the land sleep like babies. George fought to keep his eyelids open. To end the day on something pleasant to the ears, rather than the musical equivalent of a sleeping tablet would’ve been better. But alas. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“That’s going to take an awful lot more practice to do properly though, won’t it?” George asked. “I mean, people play flute for a living. And not everyone is capable of doing the same. What are the odds that’s just because they don’t know the technique?“

“Well of course!” Lavals opened her arms. “No one said it was easy, and that’s precisely why it’s so enjoyable! The journey is long, but rewarding. Especially for you, eh?”

One could practically draw a dotted line between Lavals’ eyes and the flute in George’s hands. He eyed it one more time.

The room’s lighting was dim, and the brilliant shine of the flute was muted as a result. Almost as if the legend stops at the threshold of the room. He sighed.

“Lavals, look. I appreciate you helping me out here, but… why can’t you play in my stead? You already have the skills to play music, and we haven’t got much time.” ‘And this is nowhere near as enjoyable as you think it is.’

The Meloetta held up both her hands. “Excuse me, could you give it to me for a second?”

“...Sure?” George did as asked, folding his arms right after.

Lavals put her old flute away. “Listen carefully!” she said, before playing two notes. One was low, and gradually rose into the second, far higher note. The sound echoed for a split second, then went away.

“Darkness into light. Darkness becomes light. Rain becomes sun… two notes, and yet there’s so many meanings we can ascribe to it. Music is all in the ear of the listener… play the most exquisitely intricate piece to a hundred different people, and you will get one hundred and one theories on what it means!”

She pressed the flute back into the Dewott’s hands. “Try playing those two notes yourself. Think of darkness becoming light… and see what happens.”

George’s teeth scraped against his cheek, his tail curling around the side of his body as he rubbed his fingers on the Azure Flute. “Darkness into light… right.” ‘I’m not convinced this’ll do anything… but I shouldn’t just cheat my way out of this.’

First came the low, brooding note, which then rose into a jovial note. Though nowhere near as fluid of a transition, something stirred inside the Dewott’s body. A yellow flash went through his eyes, a snap came from above…

…and when both had come and gone, a beacon of sunlight had appeared over George’s head, magnificent in its splendour, yet comprehensible to the naked eye.

‘...What?’

Lavals suddenly broke into applause, causing George to jolt up a little.

“Bravo, George! Bravo!”

“...Okay, what? Why did that happen? I did exactly what you did, except worse.”

“That, my friend, is an Othersider’s mystery,” Lavals explained again, patting George on the shoulder. “Only a former human can unlock the potential of that flute. You can paint the world with your music, and shift it in ways I could only dream of. We don’t know why… the Creator deemed it this way, nor do we know its limitations. But only you have this power, George. Only you know how to use the Creator’s strength, stored away inside.”

George’s eyes narrowed in on his teacher. “Okay… why would the Creator make the flute to begin with, then? If no one except humans… well, ex-humans can play it, what’s the point??” he asks, before a chill rippled through his nerves. ‘Ex-human. That’s… that’s me now, isn’t it.’

The Meloetta tapped her face with her note-like fingers. “I’m afraid your guess… is as good as mine! Creator works in mysterious ways. Very mysterious! So much so that no one truly knows.” Her face soured with disappointment. “And if anyone does know, well, it wouldn’t be me.”

“God’s not willing to elaborate… of course.” George gulped. “Guess it doesn’t matter then, does it. Even if I asked a million times, I’d get no closer.”

“You would have to find someone very special to tell you more,” Lavals said. “Someone who’s devoted their life to worshipping the creator. Someone who’s attained enlightenment. They might know more… keyword is might! I’m just a simple musician, at the end of the day.”

George nodded a few times, feet itching to get away. “Right.” ‘Gotta keep that in mind.’ “Then I’ll go for the day. Thanks again, Lavals.”

Lavals smiled . “Thank you for your patience, George! See you tomorrow.”

An awkward smile on his face, the Dewott made his way out the cube at last, and headed for his room. After the umpteenth lecture from a stranger, resting his head for a while felt like a necessity. Just when the previous mentors became familiar, they had been replaced. It would be sad. But that emotion appeared too frequently as is.

Once back ‘home’, George dropped right onto his bed, slowly worming his way between the covers. Vulnerable to anyone that wanted to disturb him mid-nap. He knew better, of course: Growing up in the foster’s home, you didn’t learn lessons. You had lessons bored deep into your skull. But after all the war and violence these past few months, it was nice to pretend otherwise. Even if it was just for an hour.

He tussled, turned, waiting for sleep to get a hold of him. But it never came, despite being tired as can be. He couldn’t shake the thoughts out of his head. Thoughts about life, and how fast everything developed. And then disintegrated.

‘How long have I even been here? Think I turned thirteen just as I woke up… back near Greenfield in the forest. Didn’t even remember until now, huh… never even asked Blitzer when his birthday is. Or wait, it’s called hatchday here, isn’t it. Yeah… imagine that, celebrating milestones in your life. Blitzer probably knows all about it. Used to, anyway, before we had to leave his parents behind. Ugh, still feel absolutely awful how that went down. We shouldn’t have left them behind, but.’

Over the next few minutes, George’s mind continued to catch up. From the long journey to Drasal, to the adventure in the Ruby Province, then the disaster in Whitiara. All sorts of Pokemon met, only for most to leave his life right after. Who was left, even? Blitzer, perhaps Skal… Artanouk was too cold and distant to count, and Terez… she’d been absent for a while. Just not as much as Speedy. Or Nero and Nera. Or Lance, and the children of Greenfield. Allora, and Porov. Where were they now, even? And Hein… George didn’t know where he was. Probably watching from the ceiling, like the creepy fat ghost he is.

George sighed. ‘Where’s the world going, even… feels as if everything else is about to go up in smoke. Nothing lasts forever. Especially around me. Just a matter of time…’

Suddenly, the door creaked open, then bounced right off the wall. George sat upright in the bed, just in time to see a Charmeleon standing over his bed, carrying two cones in his hand.

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“George, quick, quick! It’s melting, take it!”

Without the chance to say as much as hello, the Dewott had one of the cones pressed into his hand. Strawberry ice cream, by the smell. And the leaky bits of melt running down the cone, right onto his hand.

He looked as Blitzer dropped down on his bed, maw spread wide open as he ran his tongue around the ice cream. His heart skipped a beat. Monstrous, yet charming.

“Where did you get these?”

Blitzer licked his lips clean. “A stand in the main corridor, close to the Rock habitat. Skal showed it to me. They sell good ice cream, and he bought me one earlier. So I bought two more after we were done training for the day. One for me and one for you!”

George smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, before licking his scoop of ice cream down as well. Sweet, creamy and soft, like the ice cream back home. What little of it he got to taste, anyway. “So that’s what you’ve been spending your money on.”

“Duh, what else am I going to spend it on? A house?” Blitzer laughed. “You know us, ‘tis not like we can predict the future. Who knows where we’ll end up?”

George bit his lip. “You’ve hit the nail on the head there,” he said, careful to not touch the ice cream with his teeth. Easier said than done as a bipedal otter, however. “It’s good. You should show me that ice cream stand.”

Blitzer nodded, his tail twitching back and forth behind him. “Sure, we can do that after training tomorrow. Skal’s been getting pretty serious about keeping me up to speed, I don’t know why, but I appreciate it.”

“Really?” George asked while rubbing himself between the eyes. “What’s he been teaching you?”

By now, the Charmeleon tookbites out of his ice cream. “Taking cover from big threats. Says it’s important for dealing with Rocklings later. I mean, they’re bad news for me now, but when I’m fully evolved? They’ll be even worse. So yeah.”

Just as he finished, another knock sounded on their door. It didn’t fly open - instead a feminine voice came from the other side. “Hello? George, Blitzer? Are you in there?”

The Dewott raised an eyebrow. ‘Terez?’ “Come on in.”

Fast as a whirlwind, the door whipped open, and fell shut in its frame. A tall Gardevoir stepped through, and shut the door behind her.

“Creator almighty, words do not describe…” she turned around. Somewhat frightened, yet everso stern: To mistake her as anyone except Terez was utterly absurd.

“Oh hey, Terez!” Blitzer said, his tail flame dimming. “Sorry I didn’t get anymore ice cream, I would’ve gotten more if I knew you were coming-”

The Gardevoir sighed. “I should be the one apologising, no need to explain why.” She smacked herself on the cheeks a few times, then kneeled on the dirt.

‘Where in the world…’ George shook his head. “Okay. Where have you been all this time? Ever since we came back home, you just up and disappeared. What’s going on?”

Terez sighed. It didn’t take long for George to regret asking. The Gardevoir put her hands together, putting enough force on her fingers to make it seem like she wanted to crush them. She didn’t look anyone in the eye.

“It’s… it’s complicated, George.”

George titled his head. ‘You could say that again.’ “Do you mind me asking why that is? Did something happen-”

A second sigh, shorter yet everso grim, left Terez’ throat. “Not one something, for starters. Say one thing for the Alliance, say there’s consequences for everything. In my case, well… apparently, Artanouk and whoever else is helping him don’t trust me around you anymore. And before you ask, they didn’t tell me that. Nor did they let me in on why. I just know that I’m not in the same group of troops as you are.”

Blitzer gasped as he struggled to crawl off his bed, his legs and tail dragging over the dirt and the covers respectively. “W-why though? Y-you’ve literally been bonded to him ever since we first met, why would they-”

The Gardevoir craned her head around. “Were you listening? I don’t know why I’ve been thrown out the window like the garbage in some smelly Luminity neighbourhood. And believe me, I even pointed this out. All I got was a thinly veiled ‘oh, we’ll look into it’, that’s all. But they won’t look into it.”

George tossed one of his scalchops off his kilt. “What makes you say that?” he said, before throwing the other scalchop away as well. They clamped onto his skin the more Terez talked. If it was a mind trick, he’d have known.

Terez wouldn’t do that to him.

The Gardevoir fell back, as if the wooden door and the steel reinforcing it were smooth like silk.

“Have I ever told you that I don’t trust the Alliance?”

Blitzer tilted his head. “No? This is the first time…”

“I can understand where it comes from, though…” George muttered.

Blitzer’s tail sparked. “You… don’t trust the Alliance either? George, why? We’d have been dead if they didn’t show up-”

George folded his arms. “The reason why we’re still alive is in the room with us. I’d like to hear what she has to say.” ‘Even if she isn’t so trustworthy herself anymore,.’

For a moment, Terez put a hand on her chest, feeling the rhythm of her heart for a few pulses. before looking back up.

“You’re paying attention. Good… Have you noticed how little you’ve been told of what is really taking place? The political games. The plans. Why you are doing what you’re doing. What goals we’re really accomplishing. What the world will look like after the ‘great day’ has come. You have noticed, haven’t you? Nothing of the sort. Only that you’re both important.”

“Pretty much.” George held up the half-finished Azure Flute. “I’ve been practising with this. Apparently, I’m the only one who can use it. Don’t know why. And Artanouk still says I’m not that important.’”

Blitzer carefully nodded along. “Come to think of it, yeah… that is strange. Especially with what George’s been capable of. Hidden power, the flute, the whole Othersider thing… But don’t you think that’s just to protect him?” he asked, putting all sorts of little gestures and waves of his arms into his speech, like the world's busiest lecturer.

Terez raised an eyebrow at him. “Protect him, how?”

“I mean, Skal hasn’t been shy about telling me what’s going on,” Blitzer continued. “Especially about Luminity, you know? Maybe we just don’t need mentors anymore, that’s why.”

“No,” the Gardevoir said, as she brushed a lock of hair away, then pinched her forehead. “I certainly didn’t approve of it like he did. I want to keep an eye on George. I don’t need to tell you how dangerous this all is, do I?”

“Of course not,” the Dewott said.

“Exactly,” Terez added, leaving no room for so much as a breath. “It’s grim. Very, very grim.”

“It’s why I’m here though, isn’t it,” George responded, flicking his fingers against the flute. “To dethrone a queen, set things right. And if that means me being dead, well… then that’s what it means.”

Blitzer’s gasp dropped into a growl. “Don’t say that. No one gets to decide that for you!”

The Dewott’s’s ears went flat against his head. “It is what it is though, isn’t it-”

Terez gave George’s head a squeeze, a blue flicker passing through both their eyes. “If only.”

“What?” George’s hands shifted towards the scalchops lying nearby. ‘Could do without the damn headache, thank you very much!’

The Gardevoir shielded one of her eyes with a hand, her fingers applying pressure onto her forehead. If he wasn’t alone in having a headache, George sure hoped she had one herself now. Not that he liked seeing her suffer, but a little karma would do wonders.

“If only it was that simple. Believe me, you haven’t seen anything yet, George. Nothing at all.” Terez tugged on the black scarf wrapped around her neck. She didn’t put much effort in, yet it almost unravelled. “Right… orders are orders. And I can choose to interpret them as I please… or just ignore them if they’re awful.”

The Charmeleon gulped. “Uh… is that a good idea? I mean, there’s probably a good reason why you, erm…”

The Gardevoir whipped her head his way. “Do you believe what you’re saying?”

“N-no,” Blitzer whispered, and shrank back a little. “I was just wondering, that’s all.”

“Well wonder no longer, because we’re not walking among perfection here,” Terez said, her eyebrows bobbing up and down on the word ‘perfection’. “As much as some pretend otherwise. I only follow orders when they don’t come from fools. You’d do yourselves a lot of good if you did the same in your lives…”

She shook her head. “Anyway. I’m going to do what I can to help you out, George, orders or no orders. That’s all I wanted to tell you while I still had the chance. I don’t get the chance to say this to you both often, but I care about you. Neither of you deserve having to fend for yourselves, least of all get thrown into war with a blindfold on. And if everything turns out for the worse… I’ll huddle right in whatever corner you’re trapped in.”

“Right, right…” George squeezed one of his arms. “I appreciate hearing that. It… it helps.” ‘I wish I could say more.’

“I know we don’t get along too well,” the Charmeleon began, twiddling his claws. “But you’re nice to have around. Ever since I met you, well… you and George have been really constant in my life since then. Skal too, but… he feels different somehow. A lot less, uh, less serious, I guess? He doesn’t ever criticise like you do. Granted, most of what you-”

Terez nervously chuckled. “Thaaat’s not my intention, really. Even if I come across as harsh, I mean the best. But that’s something I haven’t been able to make clear enough. My apologies for that.”

“It’s okay!” Blitzer said. “I get it. It’s like you say, no one’s perfect. And hey, worse has been done to me, so you’re okay in my book!”

Another nervous chuckle. “Haha… that’s true, you did say so,” Terez mumbled, looking away before standing up. “Alright then, boys. I’ll leave you to yourselves for now. George, I’ll try to keep in touch before the day comes, but I can’t promise anything. Understood?”

George bit his lip. “Understood.” ‘No promises. Just great.’

The Gardevoir bid her farewell, leaving the two to their own whims. At first, Blitzer attempted to ask George something, but he got busy scooping his scalchops off the floor, then laying down on the bed to stare at the ceiling. Terez had - once again - given him much to think over. And all the previous times, all that thinking time had been rudely interrupted by one way or another, as a sudden crackle from Blitzer’s tail was all too prepared to reaffirm.

So the Dewott rested his weary head, hoping Blitzer would do the same. It took a while for him to take the hint, and a few waves of a watery finger for it to sink in. Fun and games? Nope. This was war. That’s all their lives had been for months now, just endless war and all the political theatre that shrouded and guided it.

War, and nothing else. Training, battling, violence, death - how long had it been? It couldn’t have been more than a year since Greenfield, and yet George felt like he’d gained three years since then.

Innocence was lost… so it seemed, and so would many in George’s shoes mourn. And somewhere, he mourned it too, just without the tears. What had Greenfield been, really? A bright childhood lost to the flames of hell, a great new beginning turned into a bitter end, or just a break? That Headmistress probably was cursing his name still. A groan came out of his throat.

“Hey.” Blitzer stirred on his bed. “How are you feeling?”

“About as well as I can,” George replied.

Blitzer groaned, then churred. “Yeah, same here… To be honest, I don’t know who to believe anymore. I don’t even know if I don’t know.”

The Dewott’s ears twitched. “That’s the trick, the less you actually know, the more you do.” He smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, tail whipping up and down. “Call it a gut feeling.”

“She’s your mentor, isn’t she?”

“With how often she’s been missing, though…” George rolled around, turning his back on Blitzer. “It’s hard. Really hard. I’m just going with my gut and believing her. Besides, we can’t influence these things anyway. We’d be staring at a brick wall.”

Blitzer sat up straight. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, though… I know, I don’t have any ideas either. But I don’t want to avoid trying.”

George shook his head. “Did we ever succeed in changing any plans before this? Were we on the same team for Tirasford?”

“No.”

“There you have it. We didn’t. Because no one’ll let us influence things, Blitzer.”

The Dewott fell back onto his bed, and gave the covers a good pat. Cold creeped up his arm, as the idea that he wouldn’t be seeing it, this room, and even Blitzer ever again lingered in his mind like a migraine out of control.

Why that, and not a more optimistic thought, he didn’t know. It was all based on gut instinct, much like why he chose to believe in Terez. He had no idea where he, Blitzer, or anyone else was going, and what better did you have in the dark, other than your gut instinct?

“We’re just dumb kids to them at the end of the day. Nowhere close to being taken seriously.”

Blitzer crossed his feet. “You… really have that little faith in the Alliance, huh.”

George rested his head on his hands. “Don’t have much faith in general, Blitzer. If there’s anything I’ve learned from that damn headmistress, it’s that you better be ready to stand up for yourself, else you’ll get walked all over. Doesn’t matter how. Having a big mouth, putting your foot down, arguing, getting angry, coming to your own conclusions, that’s how you do it. I don’t know who to trust. So I choose to trust myself.”

Though he wasn’t looking, Blitzer smiled at him nonetheless. “That’s… a very you thing to say, you know. Always got your own ideas. Always ready to take ‘em to wherever they lead. It’s honestly inspirational.”

The Dewott shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“Mhm,” the Charmeleon hummed. “Well, in any case, let’s not lose our tails here. We’ve got a few days… should be more to discover,” Blitzer said as he stood up, then stretched his arms. “And when we set out, we’ll look for Terez. Does that sound like a plan?”

“About as good a plan as any other,” George said, rolling back onto his side. “Speaking of plans, did Skal show you other food stalls? Doesn’t matter which. I’ve got cash to blow.”

The Charmeleon nodded. “Sure, but first you tell me what ‘cash’ is. Human money?”

The Dewott rolled his eyes. “Something like that.”