Dazzling Lake

[IFBench]

"It's a similar case in my world. I didn't get qualified at the usual age. I... wasn't supposed to be a Trainer. I was supposed to be a politician. But then people figured that a Sootopolis Gym Leader would be just as marketable to the Hoennese government. And a Champion even more."

Gen quickly waddled over to his please-be-my-uncle, and hugged his leg tightly.

"Where... Where in Hoenn? Sootopolis City? Fortree? Rustboro?"

"'Just woke up there'?" Jade echoed blankly. "You mean like... kidnapped?"

"I just...woke up i-in a forest, all alone. I th-think it was off-route," Gen said, looking down. "I d-don't know if I'd e-ever have gotten out if Coleane hadn't found me.

"And...I d-don't know if I w-was kidnapped. I..." Gen thought back to how he originally woke up in another world. "I d-don't think I was."

 

[Chibi Pika]

"It's a similar case in my world. I didn't get qualified at the usual age. I... wasn't supposed to be a Trainer. I was supposed to be a politician. But then people figured that a Sootopolis Gym Leader would be just as marketable to the Hoennese government. And a Champion even more."

Jade glanced at Wallace. "I... know what it's like to end up in a life that you didn't expect," she admitted, shuffling her foot in the damp earth. "Do you... like being champion?"

"I just...woke up i-in a forest, all alone. I th-think it was off-route," Gen said, looking down. "I d-don't know if I'd e-ever have gotten out if Coleane hadn't found me.

"And...I d-don't know if I w-was kidnapped. I..." Gen thought back to how he originally woke up in another world. "I d-don't think I was."

Jade stared at the Oshawott. "That's so weird..." she muttered. "If someone had taken you away, why would they just leave you there...?" He'd just said that he wasn't kidnapped, but how else could someone just randomly teleport to another region?

At some point Nine had walked over. His eyes lingered on Gen for while. Finally he just said, "*If you don't want to say what happened, just say so.*"

Jade snapped her head toward him. "What are you talking about?"

"*It's obvious he knows more. If he doesn't want people asking, he should just say that.*"

Jade suddenly felt like an idiot for being curious. "If I'd realized that you didn't like talking about it, I wouldn't have asked," she said, looking down. Although maybe that was sort of the point Nine was trying to make.

 

[IFBench]

Gen flinched at Nine's words. Crap, they were onto him!

He...he should just say it before things got any worse.

The Oshawott took a deep breath, and said, "I...I u-used to be human."

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Well, the answer to that varies by the day. At times I love it, at times I despise it. But all in all... I'm proud to be serving Hoenn and Sootopolis City through my position."

Jade nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I... feel like I probably wouldn't like being in the spotlight." A lot of people were dying to be champion, but it wasn't for her. "I'm glad that there's good things about it, though."

The Oshawott took a deep breath, and said, "I...I u-used to be human."

Jade blinked at Gen, utterly perplexed. "'Used to be human'? What does that... mean." How was that even a thing? Some kind of technology? Laura's world apparently had human-Pokemon hybrids, but this was beyond that. Some kind of... body-swapping tech??

Nine's gaze was unyielding. "*Why tell us this? You just met us.*"

 

[IFBench]

"'Used to be human'? What does that... mean."

"I j-just...woke up like this o-one day, all alone..." Gen said, looking down at the ground as he trembled.

"I...I thought y-you were onto me, a-and mad at me."

 

[Chibi Pika]

"There are... stories of people turning into Pokémon and vice versa, and there was news in Kanto about a boy who was fused with a Pokémon. There's also a Gym Leader in Kalos—Valerie, I think—who talks about wanting to become a Pokémon." Wallace gestured absentmindedly with his hand. "I'm not an expert on that stuff, though."

“I mean…” Jade struggled to find the right word. “Of course there’s stories about it, but it’s not something that could actually happen, right? It’s like, something out of a sci-fi or a fantasy or…” She trailed off.

“Or like what happened to all of us,” she conceded with a sigh.

"I j-just...woke up like this o-one day, all alone..." Gen said, looking down at the ground as he trembled.

"I...I thought y-you were onto me, a-and mad at me."

“Mad at you?” Jade repeated blankly. “Why would I be mad at you? Unless this was all just a prank.” Dammit, with her luck this would be the one thing on the island too unrealistic for any universe.

But no, a sideways glance at Nine and he shook his head ever so slightly. So it wasn’t a prank. Or at least Nine didn’t think so.

 

[IFBench]

“Mad at you?” Jade repeated blankly. “Why would I be mad at you? Unless this was all just a prank.”

"It's...a l-long story. S-someone else was m-mad at me when they found out..." Gen said.

"It's hard to even fathom feigning surprise after everything that's happened in the past... two days?! It's only been two days?!?!"

"Y-yeah...um, uncle Walla—" Gen began, before realizing what he was saying, and began to tremble. Crap, crap, crap, what if he gets mad?

 

[IFBench]

"Y-you're not mad?" Gen asked, eyes wide with hope. "I..."

He hugged his uncle tightly, smiling brightly as his tail rapidly wagged. "Th-thank you..."

 

[Chibi Pika]

"It's...a l-long story. S-someone else was m-mad at me when they found out..." Gen said.

Jade rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I can't know why without any context, but like... I just met you. It wouldn't really make any sense." Maybe for a Pokemon with a lot of anti-human sentiment, sure. But why would a human be mad at him for... being human?

Nine's birdlike stare was unblinking. "*If you don't want people to know you're human, then why speak human? It's obviously going to grab attention.*"

Jade gave him a look. "Nine, c'mon..."

The Pikachu looked up at her. "*I can't hide how I look, but it would be easy for him to hide,*" he said matter-of-factly.

 

[IFBench]

Gen's grip on Wallace loosened, and he began trembling. "I...I d-don't want to be like th-this. It's r-really uncomfortable, and...I don't want t-to pretend to be a Pokemon. I w-want to be human again."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Oh geez. Note to self, this kid was in real bad shape; seemed like just about anything got him scared out of his wits.

"It's okay, no one's saying you have to hide yourself. He just thought maybe you'd want to," Jade said quickly, throwing a glance at Nine. He gave her an indifferent stare right back.

Jade sighed and went on, "So if you can't hide it, maybe it'd help to go with the opposite approach? If everyone knew you were human, there'd be more people who could help. Maybe someone could get you a boat to Johto."

 

[IFBench]

A tiny smile appeared on the Oshawott's face. "Th-that...that sounds like a g-good idea. Thank y-you."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade smiled faintly. Hopefully things would work out for him back home.

She glanced at her watch. It was getting later in the afternoon, and she still hadn't managed to find anything important to the disappearances..

"I should probably head back to town, but it was nice talking with you," Jade said to Gen and Wallace. Nice to have a small break from the ongoing mystery.

 

[Sinderella]

She wasn't sure where the fuck she was trying to run to. She just knew it needed to not be at the cove.

The effects of the Heal Bell were wearing off faster than she was anticipating it to. Just what the fuck even was that flame? Why was it making her own burn have a fucking meltdown like this? She didn't have time for it. She wanted to lay down, she wanted to nap, she wanted to scream, she needed to treat this unbearable tingling, and she felt like she simply didn't have time for any of it. The clock was ticking. For all they knew, the culprit had already struck again, and they were all too busy fighting off some murderous asshole in his Espeon's body to notice.

When she made it upon the familiar sight of the beautiful lake, she threw her bag down on the grass and dropped to her knees, yanking it open and beginning to rifle around in it. By this point, she was already sweating, and letting loose a slew of Kalosian curses.

"Where is it...where the fuck is it..."

Gods, it hurt so fucking bad.

She began curl and uncurl her fingers, as if squeezing at an imaginary stress ball. Or rather, Clovis's hand. Or Guzma's. She could hear both of their voices as she desperately tried to find the stupid ointment.

Squeeze my hand. Hold it. I know you can do it harder than that, Clovis used to coax her. He'd rub her knuckles while she cringed through the pain and the numbness. That was back when it went away on it's own.

You got this. I know it hurts, but you've gotta hard grip. I feel ya, yer good. Guzma never fucking shut up when he was the one in her grasp, even while he rubbed her arm down with the stuff meant to stop the pain. Honestly, it was helpful. It always kept her mind off of how fucking bad it would hurt.

Right now, all she had was the occasional splash of water as a fish breached, and the distant buzzing of cicadas. It wasn't enough.

It wasn't enough to distract her from the burn. It wasn't enough to distract her from replaying the sound of the gunshot in her head, over and over again. It wasn't enough to block her from any sense of guilt she was feeling.

He deserved it, he deserved it, he deserved it.

He did deserve it. It was coming. He was lucky it had only been the leg.

And yet, all she could think about on top of that was every other time she'd been forced to fire that gun. She'd never felt this bad after firing, but how long had it been since she'd shot at anybody? It was years at this point, wasn't it? Why was she traumatized by her own fucking gun?

Dorien. Those fucking guards. All of them...



"Je ne peux pas le trouver putain," she yelled, her voice cracking under the force of a sob. "Je ne peux pas... putain le trouver. J'en ai besoin. Ce n'est pas ici."


Enora rushed up into the clearing not long after Odette had fallen to her knees. As the girl broke down, she gingerly walked forward.

"Take a deep breath. Let me look, okay?" she said softly, using her ribbons to pull the bag out of Odette's grasp.


Meanwhile, Odile crouched down next to Odette, watching as she tried with no luck to rub some more feeling back into that burned arm.

"̴I̴ ̵k̴n̸o̸w̵ ̷i̸t̶'̸s̴ ̴i̷n̷ ̶t̶h̶e̸r̶e̶,̶"̴ she said quietly. ̸"̵I̶ ̸w̸a̷t̷c̶h̵e̸d̵ ̵y̷o̶u̶ ̷p̵a̷c̶k̸ ̸i̸t̷.̴ ̴S̸o̷ ̴i̵t̸'̵s̵ ̵o̵k̵a̵y̷,̷ ̶y̷o̴u̸ ̴d̶o̶n̴'̴t̵ ̵n̶e̴e̷d̴ ̵t̸o̶ ̵c̶r̷y̶.̵"̶


"I know I don't need to cry, and I am not fucking crying, I am having a fucking panic attack because my fucking arm hurts, and there is a massive difference."


"̴W̴e̴l̸l̶,̶"̶ she said slowly, falling down to her rear. ̶"̴T̴h̷e̵r̴e̵'̵s̶ ̴t̶e̴a̷r̵s̶ ̷w̸i̶t̴h̷ ̴b̸o̶t̵h̷ ̴o̸f̸ ̴t̸h̶e̵m̷.̷ ̴B̸u̷t̸ ̴I̷ ̴k̸n̶o̵w̴ ̴t̸h̸e̷ ̶o̴i̴n̷t̶m̷e̸n̷t̸ ̸i̸s̷ ̵i̸n̷ ̴t̴h̴e̸r̵e̷,̴ ̷a̵n̷d̵ ̶E̵n̷o̸r̶a̴ ̸w̸i̵l̴l̷ ̸f̴i̷n̸d̵ ̴i̵t̵ ̶b̴e̶c̴a̷u̵s̷e̶ ̸s̴h̸e̷'̶s̸ ̶g̸o̶o̸d̷ ̷a̷t̷ ̸f̷i̵n̴d̸i̴n̷g̵ ̶s̴t̵u̴p̵i̴d̵ ̸l̴i̶t̷t̷l̷e̸ ̴t̶h̵i̶n̵g̷s̵ ̶l̵i̵k̸e̸ ̴t̸h̸a̷t̸.̴"̷


No sooner had Odile spoken did Enora pull the glass tub of the prescribed topical out of Odette's backpack. From the front pocket, no less. "That is correct. It was in the best spot possible. Made it very easy for me," she said as happily as she could manage all while twisting the top off with her ribbon. She was quick to scoop some of the cooling ointment up with her paw, and went to work firmly rubbing it into Odette's gnarled skin.

"See, you had it. It'll be alright."

Enora desperately wanted to drag Odette back to the damn infirmary. But, she wouldn't say that now. Not when she clearly had so much else going through her head.

"In the meantime, I think you should put your head down and breathe, alright?"

 

[Seren]

It was amazing what some fresh air and exercise could do to boost one's mood. Kimiko left the lounge exhausted, but by now she'd been alternating between walking and sprinting around the lake for a while - she had no idea how long it had been - and she felt more energized than she'd expected. It made her somewhat nostalgic, as though she were doing softball training again. Maybe last night's game of fetch with Olivia contributed to that, too.

As she cycled back towards the path from the town, she felt a strange bubbling in her gut, and as she got closer to the path, she noticed that someone else had shown up and taken up a spot on the grass. The feeling in her stomach was explained as she spotted Odette and her pokemon; Odile was in Twin Form at the moment. She hadn't seen Odette since she'd bolted from the restaurant; Kimiko figured she might as well say hello, prove that she was willing to trust her and Odile.

Enora seemed to be rubbing something on her trainer's arm. Well, Odette had a routine for her pokemon, maybe they helped with hers, too? But no... there was something in the air as she got closer, and Olivia let out a squeal; she could tell something was wrong. The other girl seemed to be somewhat harried. Had something happened?

"Hey," she started, but was cut short as she approached and slowed down. She stopped far enough as to not alarm her pokemon - they were very much in 'protection' mode - but close enough to see that Odette looked to be on the verge of tears, and... just what was that Enora was rubbing at on her arm? "What happened?" she choked out, her own panic rising. "Were you attacked by something? Oh gods, someone didn't try to kidnap you, did they?"

 

[Sinderella]

"Hey," she started, but was cut short as she approached and slowed down. She stopped far enough as to not alarm her pokemon - they were very mch in "protection" mode - but close enough to see that Odette looked to be on the verge of tears, and... just what was that Enora was rubbing at on her arm? "What happened?" she choked out, her own panic rising. "Were you attacked by something? Oh gods, someone didn't try to kidnap you, did they?"

Odette had taken to settling her head between her knees, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to let the cream do it's thing, like it always did. However, she quite nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard somebody call out to her. In a moment of pure urge to fight, she shot up, and positioned herself to stand, causing both Enora and Odile to flinch back and look around frantically on their own.


"̶W̵H̵O̶'̶S̴ ̴A̵B̴O̸U̵T̸A̴ ̷G̴E̸T̷ ̴B̴E̶H̶E̶A̶D̴E̸D̵?̶"̵


Blinking some of the moisture out of her eyes, Odette removed her glasses to wipe them down on her shirt. Upon replacing them, she could see Kimiko, plain as day, standing just a few feet off from them.

Goddammit.

She sniffled, hastily bringing her hands back to her eyes, not minding the pricking sensation in her left palm as she aggressively rubbed them, hoping that would somehow do something to ease the puffiness. She didn't cry a lot; this wasn't something she was good at.

"H-hey there!" she shouted back. She fumbled over her own tone, sounding far more chipper than she usually would. She sniffled again as she pushed herself to her feet, despite Enora's protesting yips.

"Nothing, nothing happened," she said. She sounded so congested, holy fuck. And her cheeks still felt wet. She tugged her sleeve back down over the burn, and tried to inconspicuously use it to dab at her face. She knew damn well that the jig was long up, but she'd try her hardest to recover it.

"It's a...chronic thing. I have this really nasty burn," she tried to explain. As the words came out, her nose began to sting as her eyes welled up once more. Why the fuck was this making her want to cry? It wasn't that deep, it was a fucking Houndoom bite. A really, really, really bad Houndoom bite. But, she didn't need to explain much more than that; no details were needed. So why. Was. She. About. To cry again?

"And it's...it flares up sometimes; makes me really numb, and it kind of hurts."

Yeah, if "kind of hurts" was the definition for the feeling of white hot pin pricks and an aching numbness that resembled that of a Charlie Horse cramp on fucking steroids, then yes. It kind of hurt.

"Enora's just rubbing my prescribed t-topical on it. We were on a walk, and--"

And? And? Lie better. You know you can lie better than this, what are you doing?

"And--"

You were on a walk and it flared up. It's so goddamn easy.

"It's okay, nothing..."


A lone, piece of shit tear managed to wriggle it's way out, and she slapped it off her face before it could get very far. But that was all it took.

She sniffled deeply, and the force of it knocked several more loose.

"We found Manaphy down by the cove. I tried to get them to swap my body with one of the missing trainers to see if I could find where they were, and-and--"

She was talking fast. Way too fast. But, she couldn't stop. "And Manaphy couldn't do it, something blocked them, so I ended up in Hazel's body, and Hazel ended up in mine, and-and-and...and this guy, Wes's crazy parallel, he-he-he swapped with his Espeon, I guess? There were too many fucking people there, but they swapped, and he started attacking everyone."

Now she was gritting her teeth as she tried desperately to control her onslaught sobs. "And he hit...hit my fucking body with something. Something that burned, and it made mine flare up, and it won't stop. I can't get it to fucking stop hurting."

To her chagrin, a sob ended up rocking her body despite her best efforts. "And nobody could stop the fucking Espeon, so Hazel, bless her beautiful big fucking heart, found my stupid gun that I had strapped to my waist and managed to turn the fucking," she kicked the ground, sending some dirt flying and some smaller rocks into the water, "safety off and shot him thinking it was a tranq. And it hit him. He's fine, but Kimiko, that was my fucking gun. I've killed people with that fucking gun, and I just--"

Fuck. She shouldn't have said that. She should not have said that.

"I-it was self defense then, a-and it was self defense just now, but I-I'm so..."

She sniffled. She was trying so hard to keep it together, and it just wasn't working. Even as Odile pat her back, or as Enora rubbed up against her leg, nothing was working.

So, she bowed her head and just...cried.

"My arm hurts so badly, dude."

 

[Seren]

"̶W̵H̵O̶'̶S̴ ̴A̵B̴O̸U̵T̸A̴ ̷G̴E̸T̷ ̴B̴E̶H̶E̶A̶D̴E̸D̵?̶"̵

Kimiko flinched backwards a step with an audible gasp as Odile got defensive, her heart leaping into her throat and eyes wide in panic, and Olivia immediately darted in front of her protectively with a growl...

She sniffled, hastily bringing her hands back to her eyes, not minding the pricking sensation in her left palm as she aggressively rubbed them, hoping that would somehow do something to ease the puffiness. She didn't cry a lot; this wasn't something she was good at.

"H-hey there!" she shouted back. She fumbled over her own tone, sounding far more chipper than she usually would. She sniffled again as she pushed herself to her feet, despite Enora's protesting yips.

...But then Odette stood up, and Kimiko nudged Olivia lightly with her boot. There wasn't a risk of attack. They'd be fine. She'd be fine. That didn't stop her from trembling, though, and a memory of Odile's powered-up form slipped into her mind. She shook her head violently to clear it. Focus.

Yeah, the other girl had definitely been crying. She didn't miss Odette covering her arm and whatever she'd been rubbing on it, desperately trying to hide whatever it was. Kimiko nodded along as Odette tried to explain. She'd gotten some kind of burn that apparently was taking a while to heal...

A lone, piece of shit tear managed to wriggle it's way out, and she slapped it off her face before it could get very far. But that was all it took.

She sniffled deeply, and the force of it knocked several more loose.

"We found Manaphy down by the cove. I tried to get them to swap my body with one of the missing trainers to see if I could find it, and-and--"

...But then she burst into tears. Kimiko shared a look with Olivia; she felt like she should be doing something to help, but she never was good at this sort of thing. Michelle was one thing - she was family. This... was someone she'd technically only known for a few days!

Then Odette continued speaking, and... suddenly the anger bubbling in her core burst out, if only for a moment. "You WHAT??" she shouted, louder than she'd intended, as the words hit her like a truck. Finding Manaphy was one thing, but given that the legends were invited to the island specifically to meet trainers, that was something that could be touched upon later. But the follow-up... she'd tried to swap bodies with one of the missing trainers?!

Odette continued talking so quickly, Kimiko didn't have time to properly respond to that, but dear god, she was not going to let that go when Odette calmed down.

She was talking fast. Way too fast. But, she couldn't stop. "And Manaphy couldn't do it, something blocked them, so I ended up in Hazel's body, and Hazel ended up in mine, and-and-and...and this guy, Wes's crazy parallel, he-he-he swapped with his Espeon, I guess? There were too many fucking people there, but they swapped, and he started attacking everyone."

Now she was gritting her teeth as she tried desperately to control her onslaught sobs. "And he hit...hit my fucking body with something. Something that burned, and it made mine flare up, and it won't stop. I can't get it to fucking stop hurting."

So Manaphy's swap failed - Kimiko thanked Arceus for that, who knew what situation she could have found herself in... but as Odette continued explaining, Kimiko wondered if she might have been better off. Wes' insane twin - probably the one from the boat, it sounded like, not the Wes they'd both been talking to at the dinner - had attacked not just Odette, but several other people, apparently? Kimiko had no idea who this Hazel was, but if they were in an unfamiliar body...

Focus!! Her first thought was chandelure fire, but no... that could burn souls, and Odette seemed in tact in that department. Besides, she'd said it was an espeon, and espeon couldn't learn any fire-type moves as far as she knew. Especially not ones that could leave lasting burns. It almost sounded like professor Spruce's houndoom...

To her chagrin, a sob ended up rocking her body despite her best efforts. "And nobody could stop the fucking Espeon, so Hazel, bless her beautiful big fucking heart, found my stupid gun that I had strapped to my waist and managed to turn the fucking," she kicked the ground, sending some dirt flying and some smaller rocks into the water, "safety off and shot him thinking it was a tranq. And it hit him. He's fine, but Kimiko, that was my fucking gun. I've killed people with that fucking gun, and I just--"

Fuck. She shouldn't have said that. She should not have said that.

"I-it was self defense then, a-and it was self defense just now, but I-I'm so..."

...But it didn't even end there. Hazel shot someone, the espeon... Wes? Whoever was in the body. So... he was dead now? Someone was dead?! Suddenly, Kimiko remembered what Odette had said back in the dining hall. 'I'm not a monster.' This... this must be related.

"My arm hurts so badly, dude."

Kimiko was at a loss for words as Odette finally went quiet, save for her sniffles. "What the... that's... why didn't Manaphy do anything?! Swap you all back, swap the attacker, anything? I... that's insane! I'm so sorry, are... are you alright?"

What a stupid fucking question.

She took a few cautious steps forwards, making sure to move slowly so as to not alarm Odette's team, until she was within arms reach. She had noticed Odette's fingers in motion before, as though she were holding a stress ball. She reached down and grabbed the other girl's hand lightly, then applied some gentle pressure. "It's okay, you're okay now, yeah? It's over, you're safe here."

And with that note, she turned her head. "Olivia, be on your guard. I don't want anyone getting within a mile of this lake without me knowing about it." Overkill, the town wasn't even a mile away, but better to be safe than sorry. Olivia trilled and sat back on her haunches, her forehead gem glowing dimly in the sunlight.

Kimiko turned back to Odette, trying to calm herself. It wouldn't help to show how freaked out she was, it would only make the other girl and all of their pokemon more anxious. She took a deep, calming breath. "What do you need me to do? How can I help? What... do you need more cream? We should get you to the infirmary."

 

[Sinderella]

"You WHAT??" she shouted, louder than she'd intended, as the words hit her like a truck.

That outburst had not been lost on her. She'd merely flinched, but couldn't get herself to stop talking. Somewhere in the back of her crowded mind, she told herself she was in for a tongue lashing later. That was the least of her concerns.

"What the... that's... why didn't Manaphy do anything?! Swap you all back, swap the attacker, anything? I... that's insane! I'm so sorry, are... are you alright?"

She shook her head. "I...I have no idea. Preoccupied? Couldn't? I don't even know what to tell you," she sniffled. She rubbed her nose with her better hand and smiled angrily. "Everyone was doing fine. Odile was kind of freaking the fuck out, but other than that, it was okay...until he attacked, and then suddenly everything was a mess."

Another pitiful sniffle, and she tried to wipe her eyes again. She wondered why she bothered cleaning her glasses before, because now they'd just fogged again. "I'm fine," she lied. It was a weak attempt at one, but what was she supposed to do? Admit that she wasn't? That was pretty damn obvious, and she didn't want to make that any worse.

"I'm fine," she said again. "Nobody's fucking dead, so why wouldn't I be fine?"

To be fair though, she was almost fine. Physically. Minus the burn. But it was a preexisting condition, so that didn't count as 'hurt' per se; just...triggered, maybe? That didn't sound right either.

She had noticed Odette's fingers in motion before, as though she were holding a stress ball. She reached down and grabbed the other girl's hand lightly, then applied some gentle pressure. "It's okay, you're okay now, yeah? It's over, you're safe here."

"W-wait, you don't have to..."

Too late. Her hand was in Kimiko's before she could even attempt to step backward, and really...as much as the feeling of intense awkwardness began to stew in her gut, along with her anxiety and whatever the fuck else might have been tossed in there, she couldn't complain. It felt a little better than what she was doing before.

Her face had already been hot, from sweating through her pain, and from the force of her tears. Somehow, this only bumped up the temperature.

"Olivia, be on your guard. I don't want anyone getting within a mile of this lake without me knowing about it." Overkill, the town wasn't even a mile away, but better to be safe than sorry.

"I searched the area and didn't see too much," Enora offered. "But an extra set of eyes is definitely helpful. Thank you both." Who knew if she was still recovering from the body swap? If that were the case, she probably could have missed something. Another Eon who was in more of a right mind was certainly not something she was going to deny.


"̸N̵o̸,̷ ̴t̶h̴i̴s̶ ̴i̴s̸ ̶g̶o̷o̴d̷.̷ ̷I̶f̵ ̸s̴o̴m̸e̶b̴o̸d̶y̶ ̴g̷e̸t̷s̵ ̷t̶o̷o̸ ̴c̵l̴o̷s̴e̷,̵ ̶w̸e̵'̸l̶l̴ ̸d̷i̸s̶m̵e̶m̶b̴e̵r̴ ̵'̸e̴m̴.̸"̵


"Nobody's dismembering anybody, Odile. We've had enough violence today."


Truthfully, for once, Odile found herself agreeing. Normally she'd be vehemently opposed to such an idea--because there was never enough violence anywhere, ever--but experiencing mortality was a level of violence she definitely never anticipating obtaining.

"̴F̷i̸n̴e̷.̸ ̶N̶o̸ ̶d̴i̸s̴m̸e̵m̷b̵e̵r̴m̷e̷n̵t̴.̷ ̸M̴a̸y̸b̴e̶ ̶w̷e̷'̷l̷l̷ ̵j̴u̴s̶t̵ ̷d̴u̶n̴k̴ ̸t̶h̸e̴m̵ ̵i̸n̶ ̶t̷h̴e̸ ̴l̷a̵k̷e̸.̷.̷.̷"̶

"What do you need me to do? How can I help? What... do you need more cream? We should get you to the infirmary."

"Um...wh-at you're doing is enough. I'm just waiting for this crap to kick in," she said quietly.

It should have worked by now. But it was taking a lot longer than normal. Slight difference, but nothing that would allow her to calm down. What the fuck was in that flame? It was going to piss her off. She knew people here came from other worlds, so surely there were other substances out there that could cause something like this, but why did she have to come into contact with it like this?

At the mention of infirmary, she bristled. Shoulders tensed, eyes wider than ever. If she had fur, it'd have surely been standing on end. Whatever hair she did have definitely was.

"Nope," she croaked. "Nope. That's fine, I will plant my ass right here until it goes away, even if it takes all night."


"No, she's right. I was going to pull you back there myself once you calmed down, but if your prescription isn't working, then you need to be in the infirmary."


"It...it is working. It's just slow," she insisted. She sounded so meek, it was laughable. Why was she so fucking pathetic?


"And that's abnormal. We don't know what he hit us with, so you'd be wise to get it looked at. Whatever doctor here might not be fully aware of your ailments, but a professional set of eyes is better than you sitting here writhing in pain over a little white coat syndrome."


"̴W̸o̴u̵l̷d̵n̵'̶t̷ ̶n̶e̷c̴e̷s̸s̴a̸r̶i̷l̷y̸ ̶c̵a̵l̸l̶ ̸t̸h̵i̷s̴ ̸l̷i̶t̴t̴l̴e̸,̶ ̸E̵n̵o̵r̶a̵.̷"̸


"You are not helping me here."


"̷N̸o̸o̵o̸o̷o̶,̵ ̸I̵ ̶g̵u̵e̸s̸s̵ ̷n̸o̴t̷,̶ ̵b̴u̵t̶ ̸I̴'̸l̸l̷ ̸h̸e̸l̶p̵ ̴u̶s̵ ̴a̵n̴o̵t̸h̵e̸r̸ ̸w̷a̷y̶.̶"̷

With a swish of her arm, she reverted her bat form and took flight off into the sky.

"̴I̷'̶M̵ ̶G̷O̷N̵N̵A̶ ̷D̴O̴ ̸S̷O̵M̵E̶ ̶H̴A̶R̴D̵ ̵L̸O̵O̸K̶I̸N̷'̵ ̶W̷H̸I̶L̵E̵ ̵W̸E̴'̷R̷E̴ ̴H̷E̸R̴E̵ ̷S̵I̷N̶C̸E̶ ̸W̸E̵ ̴D̸I̸D̴N̵'̸T̵ ̸G̸E̶T̷ ̸A̴ ̸L̴O̷T̷ ̵D̴O̷N̵E̵,̶ ̵S̴O̶ ̵D̶O̵N̶'̸T̴ ̴C̵R̴Y̴ ̴A̷B̷O̸U̶T̶ ̸T̶H̷A̷T̵.̸"̸ she shouted down to the group, before abruptly flying out of sight behind a tree. It was there that she began to circle through the area, keeping her eyes peeled for anything weird.

Odile used Foresight! @Flyg0n

 

[Seren]

She shook her head. "I...I have no idea. Preoccupied? Couldn't? I don't even know what to tell you," she sniffled. She rubbed her nose with her better hand and smiled angrily. "Everyone was doing fine. Odile was kind of freaking the fuck out, but other than that, it was okay...until he attacked, and then suddenly everything was a mess."

Another pitiful sniffle, and she tried to wipe her eyes again. She wondered why she bothered cleaning her glasses before, because now they'd just fogged again. "I'm fine," she lied. It was a weak attempt at one, but what was she supposed to do? Admit that she wasn't? That was pretty damn obvious, and she didn't want to make that any worse.

"I'm fine," she said again. "Nobody's fucking dead, so why wouldn't I be fine?"

To be fair though, she was almost fine. Physically. Minus the burn. But it was a preexisting condition, so that didn't count as 'hurt' per se; just...triggered, maybe? That didn't sound right either.

Oh, okay. So the guy hadn't died. Kimiko must have missed that part in her panic, but that didn't seem to be much comfort to the other girl right now. Truth be told, it wasn't much of a comfort to her, either. Of course she didn't want anyone dead, but obviously it would have been safer without him around. She should have tried to stop him on the boat... if she'd helped then, he might not have been around now...

Kimiko lowered her voice, trying her best to keep it level, and tried to look Odette in the eye. "Okay, listen. You are not at fault here. It's not like you told Hazel to shoot the guy. Accidents happen. Especially if she was in an unfamiliar body. You couldn't have predicted this. Okay? It was an accident. Not your fault. And it sounds like it's what stopped the rampage, yeah? So... so it's probably for the best." Gods, she was so bad at this. She could only hope her words were soothing somehow.

"W-wait, you don't have to..."

Too late. Her hand was in Kimiko's before she could even attempt to step backward, and really...as much as the feeling of intense awkwardness began to stew in her gut, along with her anxiety and whatever the fuck else might have been tossed in there, she couldn't complain. It felt a little better than what she was doing before.

Her face had already been hot, from sweating through her pain, and from the force of her tears. Somehow, this only bumped up the temperature.

Between her own quick, short breaths, and trying her best not to keep looking back at Odile, Kimiko was too busy trying to keep herself calm to notice the change. It was almost subconscious, squeezing the other girl's hand, it it did appear to be helping. She wasn't sure what else she could do, anyway. It's not like she was about to lean in and hug her. For some reason, she didn't think Odette would find that useful right now.

"̸N̵o̸,̷ ̴t̶h̴i̴s̶ ̴i̴s̸ ̶g̶o̷o̴d̷.̷ ̷I̶f̵ ̸s̴o̴m̸e̶b̴o̸d̶y̶ ̴g̷e̸t̷s̵ ̷t̶o̷o̸ ̴c̵l̴o̷s̴e̷,̵ ̶w̸e̵'̸l̶l̴ ̸d̷i̸s̶m̵e̶m̶b̴e̵r̴ ̵'̸e̴m̴.̸"̵

And then Odile spoke, and she involuntarily flinched. That voice was weird. Still, though... she hadn't done anything malicious. Kimiko allowed herself to side-eye the pokemon-in-human-form. "I mean, if that other Wes shows up here, I wouldn’t be entirely opposed to a dismemberment,” she said with a slight forced chuckle.

Then she turned back to Odette sharply; that had been a stupid thing to joke about. But Odette didn't seem bothered by it; she only told off her duplicate. Right, they did that a lot. The back and forth between them helped to ease her own panic.

"Um...wh-at you're doing is enough. I'm just waiting for this crap to kick in," she said quietly.

It should have worked by now. But it was taking a lot longer than normal. Slight difference, but nothing that would allow her to calm down. What the fuck was in that flame? It was going to piss her off. She knew people here came from other worlds, so surely there were other substances out there that could cause something like this, but why did she have to come into contact with it like this?

At the mention of infirmary, she bristled. Shoulders tensed, eyes wider than ever. If she had fur, it'd have surely been standing on end. Whatever hair she did have definitely was.

"Nope," she croaked. "Nope. That's fine, I will plant my ass right here until it goes away, even if it takes all night."

Well... Odette would know better than she would. Although Enora certainly seemed to be protesting... "Okay, we'll give it a little more time for your cream to do it's work, but if it doesn't start soon, I'll drag you down there myself, okay? This... it doesn't sound like whatever hit you is normal, and you just said it was taking longer than it should. We really shouldn't let this go untreated if that's the case."

She broke hand contact for a moment to whip her bag around, pulling out a water bottle and offering it to Odette. "Here... would this help? I notice you seem to drink a lot of it. Sorry it's not very cold anymore, we've... been out here for a few hours." Then with a slight jolt, as though she'd forgotten, she re-collected Odette's hand in her own, and this time she did feel her own silly blush appear. Still, it had seemed to be working...

"̷N̸o̸o̵o̸o̷o̶,̵ ̸I̵ ̶g̵u̵e̸s̸s̵ ̷n̸o̴t̷,̶ ̵b̴u̵t̶ ̸I̴'̸l̸l̷ ̸h̸e̸l̶p̵ ̴u̶s̵ ̴a̵n̴o̵t̸h̵e̸r̸ ̸w̷a̷y̶.̶"̷

With a swish of her arm, she reverted her bat form and took flight off into the sky.

"̴I̷'̶M̵ ̶G̷O̷N̵N̵A̶ ̷D̴O̴ ̸S̷O̵M̵E̶ ̶H̴A̶R̴D̵ ̵L̸O̵O̸K̶I̸N̷'̵ ̶W̷H̸I̶L̵E̵ ̵W̸E̴'̷R̷E̴ ̴H̷E̸R̴E̵ ̷S̵I̷N̶C̸E̶ ̸W̸E̵ ̴D̸I̸D̴N̵'̸T̵ ̸G̸E̶T̷ ̸A̴ ̸L̴O̷T̷ ̵D̴O̷N̵E̵,̶ ̵S̴O̶ ̵D̶O̵N̶'̸T̴ ̴C̵R̴Y̴ ̴A̷B̷O̸U̶T̶ ̸T̶H̷A̷T̵.̸"̸ she shouted down to the group, before abruptly flying out of sight behind a tree. It was there that she began to circle through the area, keeping her eyes peeled for anything weird.

Somehow, Kimiko actually felt better as Odile flew off, and not because she wasn't hovering at her back anymore. Having both her and Olivia watching the area felt safe. Odette trusted her, and she'd been nothing but supportive so far... even back in the cafe, when she'd seemed quite ticked off about the cults, she'd been very protective. No one was getting to them while they were here. Maybe, for the moment, they were safer here than at the infirmary.

That outburst had not been lost on her. She'd merely flinched, but couldn't get herself to stop talking. Somewhere in the back of her crowded mind, she told herself she was in for a tongue lashing later. That was the least of her concerns.

Odette did appear to be calming down a little bit, too. She had mentioned something about swapping... Kimiko could guess what that was for, but she needed the whole story. Now was as good a time as any. Before they got back to town and were bombarded with other problems. Surely the nurse, the officers, and whatever other trainers were going to harass the poor girl. Maybe getting it out now to a more amicable listener would make it easier to repeat later. Besides... it would offer something to take her mind of the shooting.

"Tell me something... why were you trying to swap bodies with one of the missing trainers??" She started cautiously. In truth, it wasn't that bad of an idea in theory, considering how little information they'd been able to cobble together up to this point, but there were just too many unknowns. "You were hoping to be able to see where they were being held, weren't you? Did you even stop to consider just how dangerous and stupid that was?" Her voice began to raise as she continued, unaware of the frustration seeping into her words. "We have no idea where they are, or what could be being done to them! What if it had worked? What would become of Odile if something had happened to you? What if it had worked and you found yourself in the middle of being tortured, and suddenly it was you being shocked over and over and-"

She had to stop as a shiver randown her spine that caused her to flinch away, her eyes squeezed shut. Olivia was immediately at her heel, head up against her leg and purring reassuringly; she was thankful the espeon was there to ground her. It took her a moment to recompose herself and shook her head yet again, forcefully removing the memory from her conscious thought, taking slow, short breaths. Only then did she realize just how hard she'd been squeezing Odette's hand, and she eased up the pressure; but he wasn't about to let go, either. "Sorry," she continued, sheepishly returning her gaze to Odette. She used her free hand to brush her hair out of her face. "I... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hadn't been there to help. If... if I had been the one to think of it, I'd have done the exact same thing. You don't need me going off to you about how risky it was. I just... I've seen more than a few friends hurt, or worse, trying to do some sort of heroic, noble sacrifice like that. Haven't we been through enough?"

She had to avert her gaze, feeling foolish at her outburst. Odette wasn't dumb, she knew what she'd be getting into. Still, there were already several missing people and they were no closer to finding them than they were when they arrived. Kimiko dreaded the day when one of them might be someone she considered a friend.

 

[Flyg0n]

View attachment 3688
That outburst had not been lost on her. She'd merely flinched, but couldn't get herself to stop talking. Somewhere in the back of her crowded mind, she told herself she was in for a tongue lashing later. That was the least of her concerns.

She shook her head. "I...I have no idea. Preoccupied? Couldn't? I don't even know what to tell you," she sniffled. She rubbed her nose with her better hand and smiled angrily. "Everyone was doing fine. Odile was kind of freaking the fuck out, but other than that, it was okay...until he attacked, and then suddenly everything was a mess."

Another pitiful sniffle, and she tried to wipe her eyes again. She wondered why she bothered cleaning her glasses before, because now they'd just fogged again. "I'm fine," she lied. It was a weak attempt at one, but what was she supposed to do? Admit that she wasn't? That was pretty damn obvious, and she didn't want to make that any worse.

"I'm fine," she said again. "Nobody's fucking dead, so why wouldn't I be fine?"

To be fair though, she was almost fine. Physically. Minus the burn. But it was a preexisting condition, so that didn't count as 'hurt' per se; just...triggered, maybe? That didn't sound right either.


View attachment 3689
"W-wait, you don't have to..."

Too late. Her hand was in Kimiko's before she could even attempt to step backward, and really...as much as the feeling of intense awkwardness began to stew in her gut, along with her anxiety and whatever the fuck else might have been tossed in there, she couldn't complain. It felt a little better than what she was doing before.

Her face had already been hot, from sweating through her pain, and from the force of her tears. Somehow, this only bumped up the temperature.

View attachment 3690
"I searched the area and didn't see too much," Enora offered. "But an extra set of eyes is definitely helpful. Thank you both." Who knew if she was still recovering from the body swap? If that were the case, she probably could have missed something. Another Eon who was in more of a right mind was certainly not something she was going to deny.

View attachment 3692
"̸N̵o̸,̷ ̴t̶h̴i̴s̶ ̴i̴s̸ ̶g̶o̷o̴d̷.̷ ̷I̶f̵ ̸s̴o̴m̸e̶b̴o̸d̶y̶ ̴g̷e̸t̷s̵ ̷t̶o̷o̸ ̴c̵l̴o̷s̴e̷,̵ ̶w̸e̵'̸l̶l̴ ̸d̷i̸s̶m̵e̶m̶b̴e̵r̴ ̵'̸e̴m̴.̸"̵

View attachment 3693
"Nobody's dismembering anybody, Odile. We've had enough violence today."

View attachment 3694
Truthfully, for once, Odile found herself agreeing. Normally she'd be vehemently opposed to such an idea--because there was never enough violence anywhere, ever--but experiencing mortality was a level of violence she definitely never anticipating obtaining.

"̴F̷i̸n̴e̷.̸ ̶N̶o̸ ̶d̴i̸s̴m̸e̵m̷b̵e̵r̴m̷e̷n̵t̴.̷ ̸M̴a̸y̸b̴e̶ ̶w̷e̷'̷l̷l̷ ̵j̴u̴s̶t̵ ̷d̴u̶n̴k̴ ̸t̶h̸e̴m̵ ̵i̸n̶ ̶t̷h̴e̸ ̴l̷a̵k̷e̸.̷.̷.̷"̶


View attachment 3695
"Um...wh-at you're doing is enough. I'm just waiting for this crap to kick in," she said quietly.

It should have worked by now. But it was taking a lot longer than normal. Slight difference, but nothing that would allow her to calm down. What the fuck was in that flame? It was going to piss her off. She knew people here came from other worlds, so surely there were other substances out there that could cause something like this, but why did she have to come into contact with it like this?

At the mention of infirmary, she bristled. Shoulders tensed, eyes wider than ever. If she had fur, it'd have surely been standing on end. Whatever hair she did have definitely was.

"Nope," she croaked. "Nope. That's fine, I will plant my ass right here until it goes away, even if it takes all night."

View attachment 3696
"No, she's right. I was going to pull you back there myself once you calmed down, but if your prescription isn't working, then you need to be in the infirmary."

View attachment 3695
"It...it is working. It's just slow," she insisted. She sounded so meek, it was laughable. Why was she so fucking pathetic?

View attachment 3696
"And that's abnormal. We don't know what he hit us with, so you'd be wise to get it looked at. Whatever doctor here might not be fully aware of your ailments, but a professional set of eyes is better than you sitting here writhing in pain over a little white coat syndrome."

View attachment 3694
"̴W̸o̴u̵l̷d̵n̵'̶t̷ ̶n̶e̷c̴e̷s̸s̴a̸r̶i̷l̷y̸ ̶c̵a̵l̸l̶ ̸t̸h̵i̷s̴ ̸l̷i̶t̴t̴l̴e̸,̶ ̸E̵n̵o̵r̶a̵.̷"̸

View attachment 3696
"You are not helping me here."

View attachment 3692
"̷N̸o̸o̵o̸o̷o̶,̵ ̸I̵ ̶g̵u̵e̸s̸s̵ ̷n̸o̴t̷,̶ ̵b̴u̵t̶ ̸I̴'̸l̸l̷ ̸h̸e̸l̶p̵ ̴u̶s̵ ̴a̵n̴o̵t̸h̵e̸r̸ ̸w̷a̷y̶.̶"̷

With a swish of her arm, she reverted her bat form and took flight off into the sky.

"̴I̷'̶M̵ ̶G̷O̷N̵N̵A̶ ̷D̴O̴ ̸S̷O̵M̵E̶ ̶H̴A̶R̴D̵ ̵L̸O̵O̸K̶I̸N̷'̵ ̶W̷H̸I̶L̵E̵ ̵W̸E̴'̷R̷E̴ ̴H̷E̸R̴E̵ ̷S̵I̷N̶C̸E̶ ̸W̸E̵ ̴D̸I̸D̴N̵'̸T̵ ̸G̸E̶T̷ ̸A̴ ̸L̴O̷T̷ ̵D̴O̷N̵E̵,̶ ̵S̴O̶ ̵D̶O̵N̶'̸T̴ ̴C̵R̴Y̴ ̴A̷B̷O̸U̶T̶ ̸T̶H̷A̷T̵.̸"̸ she shouted down to the group, before abruptly flying out of sight behind a tree. It was there that she began to circle through the area, keeping her eyes peeled for anything weird.

There didn't seem to be much to see via the air. Trees. And trees. Oh and bushes! But a keen eye might have been able to pick up the occasional footprint of a fancy dress shoe here and there, where the ground had been soft and dried.

But that seemed expected. Xavian was meant to have been searching the island yesterday, and the tracks seemed at least a day old...

Other than that everything seemed ordinary.