Pokémon Places We Call Home

[windskull]

A/N: Special thanks to my beta readers, SparklingEspeon, ShadowVulpi, and deerestove. Be sure to check out their works! Additonally, a big thank you to Adam for the special chapter header. I hope to go back and add chapter art to earlier chapters at some point. See the twitter post here.

A couple of bonus chapters have been added to the oneshot compilation, Stories They Couldn't Tell. If you enjoy this work, consider giving the bonus chapters a look

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Susana

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"Finding the gods?" Haru stood stiff, staring, flabbergasted at the strange zoroark in front of her. Her mouth hung open as she tried to process Susana's claim. "You… you're…"

"A zoroark, yes," Susana interrupted with a chuckle. "Once again, sorry for deceiving you. My appearance is rather frightening, isn't it?" She raised a forepaw to rub at her wild, disheveled mane. "Our job requires some degree of secrecy so I usually keep my true form hidden. Not everyone is as friendly as you, Haru."

She began to approach, and Haru took stumbling steps backwards on instinct. Susana's posture was nonthreatening, but the prey part of Haru's mind didn't like the idea of a large, strange pokemon approaching her. Especially when there was no escape route. But she forced herself to stop and held her ground. "I-I… I'm not as friendly as you think. Come any closer and you'll see how much damage these teeth can do."

The zoroark didn't seem swayed by Haru's trembling threat, but she did stop, chuffing as if she'd heard a joke.

"Goodness, I'm sorry if I've come across as threatening, Haru. Look, maybe I can make it up to you, make it clear we mean no harm. Are you hungry? Thirsty? We have carrots and bread in the way of herbivore food. We also have razzberry juice and wine."

Haru still felt an edge of hunger. But her stomach was too twisted to even think about eating right now. "I'm fine."

Susana dropped her paws to her sides and shrugged. "Suit yourself. But really, please make yourself comfortable. You can stay right there if it makes you feel safer. Just let me come by so I can unlock the small door for you. That way you can leave at any time." She took a step forward. "As you can see, none of us need it, so there was no need to unlock it."

"I'll… let me do it myself," Haru said, backing away until her rump bumped against the door. If she let Susana do it, there was a chance that she would use her illusions to make it look like she was unlocking it. If Susana was talented enough, she could still trick Haru into thinking the door was unlocked anyway. But that was less likely. And even so, doing it herself made her feel safer.

No one stopped her from unlocking the door, assuaging her fears somewhat. She turned back and crouched so that she was more comfortable, but still able to turn and flee at a moment's notice.

Susana returned to her spot by the map and took a seat, brushing her claws through her mane. "Now that that's settled, where should I start…"

"Maybe at the beginning," Haru said bluntly. "Who are you, really?"

"Oh, everything I've said so far is true." Susana stopped brushing her mane and tilted her head at Haru, ears flicking up. "We're explorers from the Expedition Society, on a mission to find out more information about both mystery dungeons and the gods. The only thing I lied about is my identity." She paused. "Well, I know we only told a partial truth before inviting you here, but there's a reason for that!"

Haru considered for a moment. "So why are you so secretive about it? I'm sure a lot of pokemon would be excited to go chasing legendaries."

"Isn't it obvious?" the raichu, Topaz, said. "Think about it. Most pokemon fear the discovery of their gods. They might say they want to find them, but they're lying to themselves. What if the gods don't live up to their expectations? What if the stories are lies? What if they don't exist at all?"

Skorch, the charizard, spoke next. "There's hundreds of stories about various gods, but we have very little hard evidence. The theory that Dialga and Palkia formed the dungeons during the historic War of the Ancients is well accepted, but even that isn't completely proven. But no one questions it, because few pokemon are ready to face the possibility that the gods aren't real. Or that, if they are, they don't really care."

Haru snorted, thinking both of her earlier conversation with Nip and the way everyone had been acting since Celebi's appearance. "You got that right."

Topaz, who had splayed out on his belly and begun tracing shapes in the floor with his tail tip, cast a glance at Remer before discerningly looking at Haru. "The way you said that makes me feel like there's something you aren't telling us."

Haru's gaze darted to the side as she tried to find a way to salvage her comment. As much as she wanted to expose Celebi for the fraud he was, something held her back. That information was for her village and her village alone. "All I mean is that there's some pokemon out there that freak out when their faith is challenged. That's all."

Topaz exchanged another look with Remer. Haru's heart pounded, threatening to burst through her chest as the silence drew on. It was Skorch that finally spoke.

"Makes enough sense, don't you guys think?"

Susana bobbed her head. "Agreed." Then she turned back to Haru. "Well, now you know why we're trying to get to the shrine. But, as you saw back in front of the temple, we haven't had much luck getting anyone to take us." She sighed, slowly slinking back to her map. She traced a line across it with one claw before looking up again.

"You said you've been there before." Her tone was leading. "Is there… any chance you could take us? Maybe even a bit further up the mountain, if time permits? I know it's a big ask, but you'd be doing us a big service. And we'd be happy to pay you for your time."

"E-excuse me?" Haru's mouth hung open as she tried to process the request. They wanted her to take them to the shrine. No, not just to the shrine, but up the mountain. They couldn't be serious.

Susana tilted her head, her ears flicking back and forth. "Goodness, what's the matter?"

It took several moments before she finally found her words. "Do… Do you realize how dangerous it is to go up there? No one goes up there anymore." Well, that wasn't totally true. Anu went up there every few cycles with a couple other guards, and there were probably wildeners that visited the shrine to pay respects, since most weren't comfortable entering the village to visit the temple itself; she couldn't remember the last time any had shown up for any of the religious festivals. But she wasn't about to say that out loud.

"You're likely to encounter territorial wildeners along the way," she continued, stamping a paw. "And don't get me started about the dangers beyond the shrine. My understanding is there's no real path up the mountain past the shrine. And you have to deal with chilling winds, large crevices, and — if you get high enough — snow and freezing temperatures. Pokemon have died trying to scale it." Her mind drifted to falling snow. A younger Muse's wails rang in her ears. Then she shook her body and forced the thoughts away.

Remer exchanged a look with Skorch before saying, "I understand your hesitations, young one. But you would be in good paws. We are well experienced with exploring dangerous locations."

"If she's never been past the shrine, then she wouldn't be able to guide us any further, would she?" Skorch interjected, addressing the girafarig. "I don't see the use in asking that of her."

Through the discussion, Susana remained quiet, her eyes closed.

Haru turned away and took a step towards the door. "Sorry, but my answer is no. I sympathize with your cause. Really, I do. But I can't justify risking my life for it."

Susana sighed. "I understand. Thank you for your time, Haru." Then she turned back to her team. "Come on, we best hit the streets again. I'm sure we can find someone in this village willing to take us."

Haru paused, about to unlatch the small door. "…I thought you were talking about looking outside the village for help before."

"Well, we're considering it," Susana admitted. "If we can't find anyone willing to help here, then we'll have to head out. But we'd prefer to work with civilized 'mon. You know how difficult it can be to work with wildeners, pokemon still beholden to their instincts, right?"

Haru lowered her paw and turned around, thoughts racing through her head as she made mental connections. All the while that dull headache from before persisted. If these explorers went asking around the village, they were bound to come across Toshi sooner or later. And he wouldn't hesitate to answer an exploration team's request.

Her mind drifted to mental images of her dying grandfather, a pokemon who made it far into the mountains, only for his traveling companions to die. A pokemon who made it back home, only to succumb to his injuries shortly after. Suddenly it wasn't her grandfather lying in front of her, struggling for breath as he told the adults of his team's demise until his body gave out, and he was silenced forever. Now it was Toshi. Bleeding and small, his eyes glassy and staring at nothing.

She couldn't let that happen.

Heart racing, she took her paw away from the handle and turned back to Susana. "Fine. Fine. You make a good point. I'll help." Susana opened her mouth to say something, but Haru cut her off with a raised paw. "But only as far as the old shrine. And only under the condition that, if you do decide to go further, you escort me back to the village first. After that, you're on your own."

"That wouldn't be a problem." Susana brought her paws up and tapped her claws together, eyes closed in a friendly squint. "How soon could you go? Is tomorrow good? We've already stocked up on supplies — except food, but we can take care of that tonight."

Tomorrow? Haru tilted her head. "Why so soon?"

Remer answered as he climbed to his feet and approached the storage chest. "We have other leads we want to follow up on afterwards, but we have to return to our branch and report our findings soon."

That's a reasonable explanation, Haru thought. She stared at him a moment longer before letting out a breath. "Alright. You have yourselves a deal."

Susana clapped twice and showed her teeth in what Haru thought was supposed to be a friendly expression. "Excellent! Where can we meet you tomorrow?"

Haru looked to the ceiling, considering. There were a few places she could think of, but some would raise questionsl. "I think the best place is… There's a bridge crossing the river, not far outside of the village. The path to the shrine branches off of the road on the other side. That would be a good place to start."

Susana bobbed her head. "Cool. We'll meet you there just after sunrise so we can get a bright and early start. Anu said it's almost a day's journey away, and we'd like to get you back home in a reasonable amount of time." She held a paw out towards Haru, paw pad facing up.

Haru stared at the paw. Susana had made this same strange gesture before. When the zoroark didn't move, she tilted her head. "What are you doing?"

Susana looked at Haru, then at her paw. "O-oh, I guess this fad hasn't reached you guys out in the boonies yet. It's called 'shaking paws.' It's kind of like… a physical promise for a verbal agreement."

"An agreement…" How strange. Still, she sat back and reached up to place her paw in the zoroark's. "Very well." They held paws for a moment, then Haru pulled away. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

She turned and reached up to push down on the handle, putting her weight against the door. As she made her way down the hall, her headache weakened to little more than a throb, and she began to think. She was going to have to tell her parents about this — at least, to some degree. They'd want to know why she was skipping work, after all.

So entrenched in her thoughts, she didn't notice the pokemon watching her as she left.

---

"Hey, Meaad. I need a room for two. Should only need it for a couple hours."

The simisear raised a brow, looking Vale up and down, then glanced behind him to look at Umbra. She stared back with a flat expression. After a few heartbeats, he closed his eyes, raised his hands palm-up to either side, and turned away. "Room for two? Coming right up."

Umbra continued watching him for a few more heartbeats before turning away to take in her surroundings. They were in another wooden building — one of the larger ones. On their side of the room, there was only the counter, a few plants, and an incline to a second floor. On the other side of the room, sat a pawful of matching furniture items. Chairs and tables, if she remembered the words correctly. Sunlight filtered through a handful of windows, creating patches of light throughout the room.

A couple pokemon sat at the tables, casting curious glances in her direction. She turned away and ignored them. Food scents wafted from their side of the room, and from an entryway beyond the tables. She could identify the smell of cooked meats and sickly sweet fruits. Her stomach growled, but she ignored that, too.

This room would be absolutely horrible if trouble showed up. There was the counter. Or perhaps under the tables, but they were too exposed for her liking. At least they made a makeshift weapon or shield, in a pinch.

"Ah, here we are."

The simisear's voice brought her attention back. He slid a small metal object across the counter, placing it in front of Vale. "One of you is dexterous, so I'll leave you to go to your room. Upstairs, last door on the left. Vale, if you happen to leave last, just come get me or the night staff We'll get the door locked for you. Either way, make sure to leave the key at the front when you're done." He glanced back to Umbra and smiled wryly. "Enjoy your time together."

Umbra stepped forward and grabbed the key, casting one more unamused glance at Meaad. Then she turned and made her way towards the ramp. Vale followed just behind, trotting until they were side by side.

Umbra leaned towards him and muttered into his ear, "Remind me why this is the best place for our discussion?"

Vale lowered his head and replied quietly. "Most places don't have the degree of privacy we need. I don't even trust my own home. And we can't go to the woods all the time or pokemon might get suspicious. Besides, the rumors that crop up from meeting here should provide some cover."

Umbra clenched her jaw. Right, the gross rumors he'd mentioned before. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. "If we want those rumors to stick, then we need to look the part," she grumbled, suppressing a shudder; if she had to act, then she would. And she considered herself quite the actress.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she made sure they were still being watched. Then she forced a smile, and — before he could protest — tilted her head up to nuzzle against Vale's lower jaw.

Ugh, how embarrassing. Thank Yveltal they were out of sight shortly after. At least that would get pokemon talking.

"Do not ever make me do that again," she said monotonously with a shake of her head.

"Hey, you're the one that chose to do it, don't look at me."

They said nothing more.

Halfway down the hall, a sound caught Umbra's attention. Muffled voices. One of them feminine and familiar.

She stopped. "Hold on. Does that not sound like the annoying bidoof?"

"Toshi?" Vale tilted his head. "No, but now that you mention it, it does sound sort of like Haru…"

Umbra strained her ears until she could figure out which room the sound was coming from. She approached, speaking. "Something strange is going on. Listen."

She leaned forward, pressing one ear against the door. Vale came up just behind and did similar.

"You said you've been there before," an unfamiliar, low-toned feminine voice said. "Is there… any chance you could take us? Maybe even a bit further up the mountain, if time permits?"

Umbra stole a glance at Vale. His eyes were narrow, and his lips drew back in the beginning of a silent snarl. They continued to listen for a few moments, long enough to hear Haru agree. Vale drew back and crept to the end of the hall, taking care to keep his claws from clicking against the wood. Umbra followed, smelling signs of an electrical current as she sidled up to him.

"Well?" she asked.

"This is suspicious," Vale growled. "I know that bidoof well enough to know she'd never go to the old shrine of her own free will." He looked back to the door and crouched, tail low and still. "I know we have matters to discuss, but I have a job to do. I need to deal with this first. We can make plans afterwards."

Umbra's claws twitched with frustration. This was a waste of her time. Nip was far more important than helping some pathetic little bidoof that got in over her head. Haru could get herself killed for all Umbra cared.

But at the same time, she could understand the feeling of obligation. The need to fulfill a duty. She let out a long huff, turning away. "Fine, but make it quick."

Vale dipped his head in understanding and lifted a paw. But before he could take a step, the small door swung open and Haru waddled out. Umbra and Vale froze, watching as she headed down the ramp without even noticing them.

"Now what?" Umbra asked.

"Follow my lead." Vale approached the door with that same light step, as if sneaking up on prey. Then he raised a paw to scratch at the door.

All chatter and movement stopped on the other side. There was a shuffling, then the small door creaked open, and a charmander poked her head out the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

Vale stood at attention, looking down at the charmander. "Yes, actually. We're with the local law enforcement. We'd just like a quick word." He glanced the charmander up and down. Sizing her up, Umbra presumed. "May we step inside?"

The charmander's brow furrowed. "If you need to, I guess. Is there a problem?" She stepped back.

"Probably not," Vale replied as he stooped and ducked through the smaller door. He jerked his head to gesture for Umbra to follow. "Just following up on a concerned inquiry from the innkeep. Said he saw a townie come up here with you guys." He glanced to the map on the floor, then at the other pokemon. You're the explorers that were staying in town, right? Could I see your badge for a moment?"

The charmander tittered. "Are you talking about Haru? She left a few moments ago, actually. You just missed her. But here you go." She picked up the badge, messing around with it for a few heartbeats before tossing it in Vale's direction. It landed on the ground with a metallic clatter.

He looked down at the badge through narrowed eyes, inspecting the surface. He sniffed it. Gave it an experimental lick. Then gingerly picked it up with his teeth and flipped it over, repeating the process.

Umbra crossed her arms, gaze flicking between Vale and the other pokemon. Subtly, she lifted her jaw, parting it in an attempt to appear larger and intimidating.

"Hmm," Vale finally said, still stooping. "This is a genuine explorer badge, alright." He stood up straight. "There's just one thing that seems off to me." He looked between the other three pokemon. "Where's your other establishing member, Miss… what was your name again?"

"Suli," the charmander answered. "And you mean Chamomile, the treeko? She's back at base, handling paperwork."

"I see. If you're Suli, that makes you the team lead? You have a lot of evolved pokemon with you for only being a charmander with a silver rank." He knocked the badge skidding across the floor in Suli's direction.

Umbra had no idea what he was talking about, but she got the idea that something was fishy about their story. The way the raichu was fidgeting backed up her thoughts.

Suli frowned and crossed her arms, tail flame flaring. "Does no one in this villiage know how to be hospitable? Seriously, do you treat all outsiders with this sort of disrespect?"

"Only ones that act suspicious," Umbra answered.

Vale bobbed his head in agreement. "Exactly. Now, if you really are who you say you are, you wouldn't mind coming down to the psychic courier to contact your branch and verify your identity, now would you?"

Umbra scanned the evolved pokemon again. The raichu was shifting uneasily again, while the charizard gave him a nervous glance. They weren't expecting to be challenged, she thought. They're lying about something, and they don't have an excuse ready.

Her attention shifted to the girafarig. Unlike the other two, he was staring at Vale with rapt attention and a serious expression. Such a serious expression, in fact, that it almost looked like…

The heartbeat it clicked in her head, she tackled Vale, sending him tumbling. A moment later, a foreign force sent her flying over him. She heard the wall splinter behind her, but it did not give.

The charmander dove for the chest, reaching for something inside. At the same time, Vale sprang back to his feet, a low growl in his throat. Umbra felt her fur stand on end heartbeats before bolts of electricity flew off of the manectric, striking everyone, including herself.

The charmander cried in pain and reeled back. And then, almost instantaneously, she was no longer a charmander, but a strange, pale-furred zoroark.

But she wasn't the only one that changed. One second, Umbra was looking at a perfectly normal charizard. The next, the two horns morphed into one. The girafarig's backside grew in size and became a dark mirror of its upper body. One side stared wide-eyed at the zoroark, the other glared at Vale

But the raichu's transformation was the most significant. Its fur turned dark orange, its ears shifting back. Horns grew from his head, and spikes appeared along his back. Umbra gaped at the raichu-like creature with undisguised shock.

Sparks danced around Vale's pelt as he fell out of his battle-ready stance. "What," he began, "the f—"

"HEY! WHAT'S GOING ON UP THERE?"

Everyone froze at the sound of the innkeeper's voice, bellowing from below. The pounding sound of a pokemon running up the ramp followed.

Vale shook out of his stupor first. He turned and raced through the door.

"Wait!" the zoroark growled, pouncing towards him.

Umbra intercepted her with a metallic headbutt, knocking her out of the air and sending her sprawling on the ground. She put one foot on the zoroark's torso, holding her second jaw up in a striking position.

"Vale, what in the blazes is going on in there?" Umbra turned her head so that she could watch Vale out of the corner of her eye, while still watching the Zoroark. She could just see the simisear steaming on the other side of Vale, through the door. "You know the rules. No fighting in the inn."

"Sorry about that, Meaad," Vale answered gruffly. He stood at attention, stiff and serious. "I had to put a sudden end to a dispute up here. Won't happen again. And if it does, I'll escort them out myself. We'll see if they like fighting after spending a night in jail."

"You have the space for that?" Meaad asked. Now he just sounded confused. Umbra wasn't surprised; Nip and Tempest wasted most of the jailspace, from the way Vale talked. There was no room for these four.

The simisear tried to lean around Vale. The zoroark gasped, then suddenly Umbra wasn't pinning her down, but instead a small, frail charmander. The other pokemon changed back to normal forms as well.

Meaad let out a huff of air and looked back at Vale. "Right. Then see to it."

Umbra heard receding footsteps, then Vale slipped back through the door, kicking it shut behind him. An invisible force shoved her, then the disguised zoroark slithered out from beneath her and scampered back to stand in front of the others.

"Now, where were we?" Vale asked, lazily looking the pokemon over. His gaze settled on the "charmander" and he clenched his jaw. "Oh, right. Listen. I got him off your tail, but that doesn't mean you're free to go. Now talk."

There was a pause, then the zoroark shed her fake form. Her teammates remained disguised, however. She tilted her head and crossed her arms, lips drawn back in a snarl. "Why should we?"

Umbra mimicked her pose, raising her back jaw overhead to show off her maw and rows of pointed teeth. "I don't think you understand the situation you're in, Zoroark."

Vale stepped forward, sparks rippling through his fur as he continued where Umbra left off. "We just caught you red-pawed with a stolen Expedition Society badge, impersonating a team. You're looking at cycles of jail time. Or worse, if I report you as attacking a guard. But I'm giving you a chance to explain yourselves. A chance to explain why you're doing this and — perhaps if your answer is satisfactory — a chance to lessen your charges."

The zoroark's expression faltered. She turned her head to look back at the rest of her team. Each nodded to her before her gaze shifted to the next. Umbra could feel a headache coming on. But to her surprise, the zoroark turned back, the rest of the illusion dropping.

"Fine," the zoroark began with a sigh. "My name is Susana. We're not explorers. We're an advance team for a group that sailed in from offshore. We made landfall a few months — moons — ago."

"Offshore?" Vale asked with a tilt of his head. "How far are we talking?"

"A whole continent," the zoroark answered.

"Preposterous," Umbra cut in. "There is no way to safely travel across the sea. The stars guide us, but the methods for transporting many pokemon would be impossible."

"I can't help it if you haven't figured out how to advance that far," Susana snarled. "Believe it or not, that's on you, but I am only speaking the truth now."

Umbra wasn't convinced, but she gestured for the zoroark to continue.

"We've been researching the gods that the pokemon on this continent follow in an effort to compare them to our own stories. And to, perhaps, further advance our society." She crossed her arms again. "But that's all you're getting out of me."

Umbra gave Vale a serious look. "So, what are you going to do?"

Vale's tail swished back and forth twice before he answered. "Take them in, I guess, for impersonating. I can write off most of the other stuff, but their explanation is unsatisfactory for that. And there's an argument to be had that they took advantage of Meaad's discounted accommodations for pokemon working for incorporated powers."

The zoroark's expression turned aggressive once again. "Now hold on—"

But before she could say more, Umbra held up a paw to stop her. "Wait. I have an idea. Clearly you four have something you're still hiding. Perhaps we can… come to an agreement."

Vale lowered his head so that it was next to Umbra's and spoke in a low tone. "What are you getting at?"

Umbra turned back to speak to him directly, keeping her second jaw facing the strange pokemon. "Think about it. The way they talk, they're in deep trouble if they get caught. We may be able to use that to our advantage. To deal with our… situation."

"Oh. I see." Vale's tail stuck out stiffly behind him. "But which part?"

"Nip. We can discuss how to get back at Jhorlo separately. Though we may be able to twist this to make him look bad."

"You know I can hear everything you're saying, right?" Susana interjected.

Vale exchanged one last serious glance with Umbra, then straightened up as she turned. "Good," he began. "Then you should understand your situation. You help us with something and get out of town, we pretend none of this happened."

The raichu-like creature glared at him through narrowed eyes. "And why should we? There's four of us and only two of you. We could just knock you out and get out of here on our own.

"And there's at least four pokemon below us that would come running at the sound of battle," Umbra responded nonchalantly. She had a feeling it was a bluff; most of the pokemon here were far too soft to get involved. But it still got her point across. "And if you run off, then you don't get to go to the shrine like you wanted."

"That's right," Vale added, taking a threatening step forward. "And what do you think happens to pokemon that attack a guard? I'll give you a hint. I've always wondered what zoroark tastes like."

Susana froze, eyes wide. The false raichu was less restrained. "You're sick!" he shouted, sparks flying from his cheek-sacs.

But neither Umbra nor Vale acknowledged him. Instead, they kept their eyes on Susana.

"F-fine. Fine," she finally said, ears laying flat against her skull. "What are your demands?"

Umbra grinned, showing her fangs as she stepped forward. "We have a certain… troublesome pokemon locked up here. A sneasel. I need him… gotten rid of. Killed, for his crimes against my kin. But the village has been too soft on him. You capture him for me, so I can finish the job, and this little incident stays quiet."

"Where is the sneasel?" the charizard asked. "Just in the jail?"

"He works various community service jobs during the day," Vale answered. "But we keep him locked in the jail at night, along with a ninetales. If you get rid of the ninetales, too, great. But I'm less concerned about him."

Susana mulled it over a minute, reaching up to scratch behind her ear. "Seems like a reasonable deal. There's just one problem. We're leaving tomorrow. So if you want to make this work, it best be fast."

"What?" Sparks bounced out of Vale's fur, dying away on the floor as he crouched. "What happened to bringing the bidoof back?"

"Oh, that?" Susana didn't miss a beat. "Skorch here" — she gestured to the charizard — "was going to fly her back when we were done, while the rest of us prepare to scale up the mountain."

"That's a fool's errand," Vale warned, though he returned to a neutral stance. "Going up the mountain, I mean. More capable pokemon than I have perished on the climb. But if you insist, well, it seems like a reasonable plan."

Umbra couldn't care less what they did with the bidoof. For all she cared, they could take her back or leave her to starve, so long as Nip was captured. She crossed her arms and tilted her head, so that she was staring Susana in the eye. "Well? Do we have a deal?"

"What do you guys think?" Susana turned back to her team. "Topaz? Skorch?"

"No issues," the fake raichu answered.

"None from me," Skorch replied. "Remer?"

The girafarig shifted in his nest. "I think we should come to a compromise." Both heads looked directly at Umbra. Her skin crawled as she stared back at the unnatural pokemon, but she refused to let it show.

"You want the sneasel," he continued, "and we want up the mountain without interruption. I say we nab the sneasel and take him with us up the mountain. Alive. If we return empty-pawed, or don't return at all, then you can rat us out. But this gives us… insurance that you'll keep your word."

Umbra scowled, narrowing her eyes. "I refuse to let that waste of breath, that blight on Yveltal's good name, leave my sight."

"Then what do you suggest?" Susana asked flatly.

Umbra's simplest answer was that she just refused to compromise, flat out. But she suspected that would not go over well. So instead, she found a separate option. "I will accompany you. I care not what you're doing, nor how long it takes, so long as I am able to finish him at the end." Perhaps she shouldn't be so single-minded. But she was sick of waiting.

The false explorers shared a glance between each other. No words were spoken, but they clearly were of a single mind. Finally, Susana turned back.

"Fine, that can be arranged."

"There's one possible issue," Topaz said, raising a paw. "What about the bidoof? How is she going to react to all this?"

"I doubt she'll raise a stink," Vale answered. "She doesn't like the sneasel either. She doesn't want him here and she wants him to see real justice as much as we do."

Umbra wasn't entirely convinced. The bidoof had tried to stop her before, when they'd first tried to catch Nip. But that was also before his crimes were proven. Perhaps it would be different now.

Skorch's voice brought her attention back to the conversation. "We can do a trade off, if needed. So long as we're careful. With a bit of direction, I can fly to catch up, covertly pass off the sneasel, while Haru is distracted at the shrine, then fly her back."

Susana tilted her head. "It's risky, but I suppose that works."

"What about Jhorlo?" Vale's voice came in a low tone, just beside her ear.

She could care less about Jhorlo. Once she was out of here, he was Vale's problem. But she had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate that answer. "We can discuss that privately. I don't think we can expect help for that one from these pokemon."

Vale seemed satisfied enough with the answer, as he stood up. "Seems reasonable," he said to the others. "Then do we have a deal?"

Susana bobbed her head. "I believe we do." Then she took a seat, picking up a map that had been left on the ground. "Now, what do you have in mind?"

 

[windskull]

Night Talks​

---

The sun was starting to dip behind Mount Domo, casting deep shadows into the woods as Haru arrived home. Though she had steadily made her way back, she froze just outside the door, heart fluttering. Would Shimmer and Muse still be here, waiting to confront her? And what of Toshi and her parents? She'd skipped out on work after their spat, something that hadn't happened in cycles. Just thinking about the coming earful was painful enough.

There was only one sensible thing to do.

Haru pushed through through the entry curtain and made straight for her room, replying to her mother's greeting with little more than a grunt.

She paused again just inside. Her room was sparse; she'd never found much need for little trinkets and other specialty items. They were a waste of money. Though she had a shelf, it only held a few well-worn books and a couple old wood-whittled figures. She'd made one a few cycles back, part of a short-lived art experiment. The other was a gift from her grandfather.

She made a straight line for a nest tucked in the back corner of the room, passing a low desk along the way. There, she collapsed faced down, burying herself in the straw without bothering to take her bags off.

And she remained like that for some time. At some point, her father stopped in her doorway and tried to make conversation, but she just grunted at him. She was left alone after that.

But she couldn't avoid her family forever. Eventually, the call for dinner forced her to climb to her paws. Only then did she bother slipping out of her bags and returning to the common room.

Toshi had already sat at the table, as had her dad. Her mom had prepped dinner tonight and was currently setting portions and drinks around the table. The scent of fresh bread and caramelized carrots sent her stomach rumbling.

She avoided her brother's gaze as she took a seat across from him. A chunk of bread with dipping oil, a simple salad, and a few roasted veggies in a savory sauce were spread across the plate in front of her. A cup of water sat to the side, but a small dispenser of spiced oran wine was at the center of the table. She wondered if her parents brought it out for a special occasion, or if they planned to drink to forget everything going on in the village. She was tempted, herself, but she couldn't run the risk of getting tipsy tonight. Not when she needed to get up early.

They ate in silence for a few moments, none wanting to broach the subject of her earlier behavior.

Her mom was the first to speak, her sentences punctuated between bites of food. "Well. You were right, Chip. That sneasel can do some good work. A shame he doesn't apply himself. Perhaps things would have turned out better for him if he did."

"Are you thinking of asking for his help again?" Chip asked. "'Gigas knows we could use it right now."

Haru groaned inwardly. Oh please no, she thought. I can't deal with that right now. Just send him off to the Enforcers already. But she kept her thoughts to herself, not looking to bring any attention.

"Perhaps," Saku answered. "His help came in handy today, considering we were short handed. Which reminds me…" Her gaze drifted to Haru, who shrank down behind the table. "Dear… You didn't come back from your break. Toshi told us you ran off. What happened?"

"It was nothing important," Haru answered quickly, paws digging into the fabric. "I just needed some fresh air. I went to town and then…" She trailed off, silently cursing herself. In all the excitement, then worry, she hadn't bothered to come up with an excuse for tomorrow's absence. If she was already being pestered about today, how was she supposed to explain running off with some explorers without sounding weird? If her parents knew the truth, they'd probably think she was going to the shrine out of spite and try to talk her out of it.

Was she going out of spite?

No. She was going to protect Toshi. That's all.

"I got to talking with some travelers while I was there," she began, mind racing as she formed the lie. Her stomach twisted with guilt. "And they asked me to help with a job. They needed some logging done down river and I offered to help out." She fought the urge to cringe. Now that she said it, the story sounded pretty weak.

"Travelers, huh?" Chip asked, pulling a bowl of wine closer. "You wouldn't happen to mean that group of explorers staying at the inn, would you?"

Haru swallowed and forced a smile. "Those are the ones. They were looking at setting up a camp. More of an outpost really. I don't think the village would agree to let them build one here, Jhorlo least of all. But no one owns the woods outside the village. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have one nearby in case of emergencies, you know?"

"Sure," Chip answered carefully. "But it has the potential to take away business from old Meaad. We see Society teams more often than we do any other type of traveler, save maybe merchants. Why would they come here if they got their own place?"

"Well, they wouldn't have a hot, fresh meal if they're out in the woods," Saku pointed out.

"I think it's pretty cool," Toshi said, eyes sparkling. "Think about how much we could learn if there's more permanent teams in the area! I wish I was going instead."

Haru's stomach twisted again. She hated how easily the lie had come, but at the same time, Toshi's reaction made her all the more certain she was doing the right thing by hiding the truth.

The conversation shifted to questions about Shimmer and Muse's wellbeing, then other topics that Haru didn't care to chime in on. Her attention drifted in and out as she picked at her food, her appetite waning.

Dinner ended with the last rays of sunlight. Chip excused himself to take his herbs, and Toshi retreated to his room to read. Only Haru and her mother remained.

Just as Haru opened her mouth to excuse herself, Saku said, "Would you be a dear and help me clean up?"

Haru bit back a sigh. She should be getting to bed, considering she needed to rise early. But there was no use in debating her mom. If she tried to argue that she could make her own decisions, her mom would point out that she wasn't the homeowner, and that meant she had to help out around the house. Standing on her hind paws, she reached out across the table to gather up the dishes. Saku handed her a jar of luminous moss before taking the dishes, then the two of them staggered outside.

They stopped at the edge of the dam, pushing through the reeds until they were in the muddy shallows. A large stone stuck out along the edge, the top dry. There, they placed their burdens. Haru and Saku each took one of the ceramic plates and dunked them into the water.

"Is everything okay, Haru?"

Saku's question caught her off guard. She froze for a heartbeat, wide-eyed. "Of course. Why wouldn't they be?" She fought to keep the unease out of her voice.

Saku looked down at the water for a moment, silent. "Well… It's just… you've been acting strange lately, dear. Ever since that Sneasel showed up. When he first appeared, you were so interested in showing him around. I thought it great, since you rarely get out. But then he… well, you know."

It was clear her mom didn't want to bring up Nip's heinous act. And it made Haru wonder: if it bothered her so much, then why was she willing to work with him?

But she didn't get a chance to voice her thoughts, as her mom just kept plowing on. "And then you ran off with your friends into a dungeon—a dungeon—to apprehend him. I would have expected it out of Toshi, what with his adventurous streak. But you? I would have thought you'd avoid it, or try to talk them down."

"I did try," Haru argued. "I just figured… it was better if I went with them, to keep them out of trouble."

"Even the second time?" Saku pressed. It seemed that was a rhetorical question, because she continued, "But it wasn't just that. Since then, you've been in a foul mood—don't think I haven't noticed. And now you're running off with strangers. Is there something wrong? You know you can talk to me, right?"

Haru fought to control her annoyance, then wondered why she was so annoyed. "Well, I'm not really running off with strangers," she said. "I'm running off to do a job for strangers. I think there's a difference there. As for the other stuff…" She trailed off, taking a deep breath. Surely her mom could understand her anger?

"I went into Sunglow Thicket for two reasons. I already said the first. The second time, I wanted to make sure Nip faced proper judgment, instead of being offed by someone willing to take hostages just to get to him. He was brought back, all but admitted to the destruction of several eggs—most of them maliciously—and then got nothing more than community service. Surely you can understand why I'm frustrated?"

Saku sat her rinsed dishes on the stone, then pushed out further into the water, disappearing beneath the rippling surface. Haru remained in the shallows, blinking. But her mother returned a minute later, expression pensive. She gestured for Haru to follow her out. With a sigh, the rest of the dishes were cast aside, and Haru slipped into the cool water.

There was no danger in this small pool, created by their own handiwork. And there would be no prying ears in the center.

"I do understand," Saku said once Haru joined her. "But I also know much of your behavior is unhealthy. Toshi told me about how you left earlier, though he wouldn't go into the details." The bibarel tilted her head upwards, gazing at the stars. Her wet fur glistened in the moonlight. "Whatever's going on, I can't force you to tell me. But I want you to know that I'm here, if you ever need to talk."

Treading water, Haru turned so that she was facing her mother. She struggled to find her words. How was her behavior unhealthy? Sure, she'd been quick to anger recently. She could admit as much. But surely that anger was justified? "I know," she finally said. "I'm still figuring some of it out for myself. But if I need anything, I'll let you know."

"Good girl," her mother replied. "Now, we should get to bed. We wouldn't want to catch a chill!" Her tail slapped the surface of the water, and she dove, reappearing back in the shallows. Haru followed behind slowly. She stopped for a moment to load the dishes onto her mother's tail. Then they both went inside.

Haru lay awake for some time after that, tossing and turning in her nest. Worry gnawed at her as she went over the conversation with her mom. Should she tell her mom the truth? About where she was going?

No. It would only worry her more. And the last thing she wanted was to worry her.

Soon, she drifted into a fitful sleep.

---

Once again, an endless expanse of water stretched out before Nip, mimicking the orange of the cloudless sky. The fur on the back of his neck prickled as he walked through the shallows, sending ripples on the otherwise still surface. He was vaguely aware that he was dreaming, and that it was the same dream that he'd had countless times. But he couldn't fathom why he was here again.

The same hill from his previous dreams—the one with the dying tree—appeared in the distance, the tree's branches spreading wide like outstretched claws. Involuntarily, he sped up, light on his feet as he raced towards the hill. Every time he dreamed of this place, he always fell into deep water before he reached it—and he'd had the dream several times since Celebi's appearance. The last thing he wanted was to wake up from the sensation of water filling his lungs, choking the life out of him.

But as he approached, the water remained shallow, only reaching his ankles. His pace slowed as he reached the base of the hill.

Tall grass waved in an imperceptible breeze. Beams of dying sunlight poked between the branches of the tree, dappling the grass with golden pools. He slunk up the soggy bank and into the neck-deep blades, climbing until he reached the base of the tree.

Thin ashen bark peppered the base of the tree, cracked and peeling away to reveal pale wood beneath. The bark thinned away further up the twisting trunk, disappearing around the gnarled branches. No leaves remained. Nip knew little about trees, but if this one wasn't dead already, surely it was dying?

His attention shifted to its base, where roots poked up through the dirt. Nestled between two of these roots, something out of place caught his eye. A blood-colored feather. He picked it up.

The feather was nearly as long as his arm and mostly that deep blood color, tapering to a midnight black as it reached the afterfeather. Nip wracked his brain as he tried to come up with different pokemon the feather could have come from. It was too big for a sneasel, and they didn't usually taper to black. Talonflame, maybe? But he didn't think they had feathers this long, either. It would have to be an incredibly large one.

Then a long-buried memory of a lesson back in his old nesting grounds surfaced, and he pictured an old historic painting. Though the details faded with time, he could still picture the deep bloody feathers of a bird—his patron—perched on a tree with her wings spread wide.

"Yveltal?" His voice was barely more than a whisper, pulled away and made inaudible by a sudden gust of wind.

This feather belonged to Yveltal. It had to. Then was this the tree from the painting? It couldn't be; it was old and wizened and dead. The tree in the painting was lush and vibrant. Covered with plant life and teeming with the spirits of the departed. This was a stark opposite.

He turned and raced away from the tree, fur bristling as he scanned the sky for any signs of his god. All the while calling out, "Yveltal! Yveltal I am here! Is this a vision? Is this something more? What do you need of me?"

A quiet splish-splash signaled that he had run back into the water. His foot caught on something just beneath the surface. Stumbling, he waved his arms wildly, but it was no use. With a yowl, he tumbled into the water. Deep into the water, as if the bank weren't even there. An invisible current pulled him away from land, dragging him deeper and deeper into the depths. The feather spiraled up and away, leaving him behind in the darkness, lungs burning.

But he wasn't alone.

The current swirled as a massive, dark figure swam around him. Vision blurred by water, he couldn't see well. But as the figure came to a stop just above him, watching him sink, he could just make out the form of two great dark wings, and two bright blue eyes that glowed with some emotion he couldn't place.

He opened his mouth to say something, only to gag and panic as he sucked in a lungful of water. No, not water. This fluid was thicker, more viscous, and had a familiar flavor. Yolk. He was drowning in egg yolk. He flailed, desperate to reach the surface, but his vision was fading fast. And soon, all he could make out were those two smoldering eyes.

Before the end, he heard a voice.

You do not belong…

---

Nip gasped awake, coughing and sputtering. He flailed in the darkness, rolling onto his belly as if to vomit up swallowed water. But nothing came.

Of course nothing came; it was just a nightmare. He was still in Theran village, hidden away in his cell.

Bits of straw clung to his fur as he sat up, blinking. His flailing had scattered his nest, leaving him exposed. As he looked around the dimly-lit room, he could see two pairs of eyes watching him. One was Tempest, his expression betraying worry. The other was tonight's night guard, Anu.

He turned away from both of them, stood, and began to pace his small space, keeping his head low.

What was he supposed to make of his dream? He'd had it several times, but this time it was different. He'd found that feather… Yveltal's feather, he was sure of it!

Did that make this more than a dream? A vision? He wasn't a psychic. He'd never been gifted—or cursed, for that matter—with the power of prophecy. And yet, he'd had the same dream so many times; that had to mean something!

So what was he supposed to make of the ending? You do not belong. Who had said it? Yveltal? Was Yveltal abandoning him? Did Yeveltal even care about him to begin with?

A tiny, pathetic whimper escaped his lips as he scraped his claws together, catching on every nick and chip. Some of the damage came from hard labor, while other parts came from striking at his cell walls as he tried to calm his frazzled nerves. It wasn't like he was using them for anything else, anyways. He couldn't remember the last time he'd hunted; it was some time before arriving here, in this cursed town that had destroyed his last shred of hope.

With another whimper, he slumped to the ground, cheek meeting the wood flooring.

"Having nightmares, are you, Nip?"

Anu's question brought Nip out of his sulking. He turned his head so that he could see the lucario, but did not rise or otherwise reply.

"You were twitching and mewling in your sleep," Anu continued. His tone was factual, neither accusatory nor comforting. The corner's of his mouth twisted upwards. And for just a moment, Nip thought he might be enjoying his suffering. But the rest of his body language suggested otherwise. "Ah, please forgive me. I… do not mean to pry. It's just…"

Anu took a deep breath. "I… I know you are religious. We spoke of your patron before. I don't know how central Celebi is to your beliefs. B-but I know his appearance has left many of the faithful shaken. Celebi does not act like the myths say. What does that mean about the rest of the myths? About everything we grew up believing? If your nightmares are anything of that nature, I can't say I blame you, but know that you are not alone."

What do you know, Nip thought ruefully. Still, he sat up so that he could better look at Anu. And Tempest, for that matter. The ninetales watched from his own cell, tails slowly waving, almost hypnotic.

"I find it curious," Anu continued, following Nip's gaze. "Celebi's appearance has affected you far more than it has Tempest. Why is that?"

Nip considered ignoring him. What good would it do to talk about this? But after a moment, he realized Anu was giving him something other than his dreams to focus on. Or trying to, at least.

"Tempest really should be the one telling you about this," he began, shifting so that he was in a more comfortable position, "but I supposed that isn't an option right now. Tempest wasn't born to the Half-Moon tribe. Instead, he joined as an adult. He's told me that, as a child, he belonged to a separate tribe from further north, a group of ice-types that worshiped the remains of the Original Dragon, Kyurem.

"Kyurem was not known to be kind to the living. At best, it was a callous defender of its followers. But some of their stories described it as openly malicious to mortals. And yet, they still followed it, because they believed themselves to be Kyurem's chosen, the only ones that it looked after." He glanced at Tempest. "Did I remember that correctly?"

Tempest dipped his head.

"How fascinating," Anu said, shifting in place. He took a deep breath and held it for some time before continuing. "Perhaps I can use this to illustrate my point. From… From what you've told me, there are conflicting stories about this Kyurem. Some characterize it as a defender, others as something more sinister. And it's hard to believe that both of these stories could be true. In fact, it's entirely possible that they're not. But there are more than two stories. I imagine there are countless tales."

His paw came alight with aura as he waved it in the air. "I imagine there are many conflicting stories about Celebi, as well. The myths around here characterize him as a valiant hero, traveling through time to bring both the blessings and the curses of the future. He's said to be noble and stalwart, and always having the interests of the good at heart."

"Yes, that's not too far from our stories," Nip replied. "What is your point?"

"Well, we've now met Celebi, and know he exists. And we also know that the legends weren't entirely correct. And yet, there are still morsels of truth based on what we've seen. He did come to warn us, a small village, of dangers, even if he went about it in a… strange way. And knowing that part of the story is true, we must find comfort in that." Anu's voice grew firm. "Perhaps we need to revisit our legends. Reevaluate what we hold true. But in the end, we still cannot know everything. And we will have to take some things on faith."

Faith. That was easy for Anu to say. He wasn't the one whose every decision, every justification for everything questionable he ever did, was shattered by the legends being wrong. Then he mentally berated himself for thinking like that. Anu had to contend with the cruelties of the world, too, and shaken beliefs made that harder.

"Thanks," he finally said, "but… there's more to it than that."

"Oh?" Anu tilted his head, then scooted a little closer to the cell. "If you wish to talk about it, I'm all ears."

"What?" Nip flinched and copied Anu's expression, his ear twisting flat against his skull. "Why would you want to know? Do you wish to mock me?"

Anu was quiet for a moment. "I-if I'm speaking honestly, a part of me wants to. N-not mocking necessarily." He held his paws up in a defensive gesture. "Just… Just let you wallow in your misery, r-rather.

"B-but I won't!" He continued before Nip could reply. "Because I have a job to do. Despite everything, it would be unbecoming of me. I could yell and scream and hurt you, but it would go against everything I stand for." A beat of silence followed. "And I hope—perhaps foolishly—that extending kindness to you will help you settle, and finally understand our way of life. And then, perhaps, you can be sent on your way."

Nip's anger dissipated, replaced with surprise. And confusion. His fur slowly lay flat, and the tension left his shoulders.

Anu watched him unblinkingly, then he turned his head and stood. "There… is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about," he began. He turned and disappeared into a small room. A rustling sound followed, then he returned with a small bag in his paws, the long drawstring hanging down loosely.

"Here," Anu said, passing the bag between the bars. "I remember you eyeing this a few days back. Consider it a… peace offering of sorts."

Nip blinked, eying the bag cautiously. It certainly looked like the same bag, and it looked empty. But it made no sense.

"Why?"

Anu sighed, dropping the bag just inside Nip's cell. "As I just said, holding a grudge would be hypocritical. I've… struggled to forgive you after what you did to my mate and I. But perhaps, with kindness, I can make you understand what it means to be a village pokemon. And perhaps I'll be able to break the cycle of revenge." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then sat down with his back straight. "The law will punish you for what you did wrong. My duty is to guide you on how to be better. So. If you ever need to talk about matters of faith, or anything at all, I will do my best to listen and assist."

For a moment, Nip stared at the bag laying at his paws, struggling to process his feelings. Based on everything he'd ever been taught, Anu shouldn't be helping him, shouldn't offer forgiveness. Even if he had reasons for doing what he did, and even if it was just the laws of nature, he still hurt Anu. And he struggled to fathom how he could just let it go like this. Or try to, at least.

At the same time, relief warmed his chest. Perhaps, if there was anyone that could provide answers to him, it would be Anu. And perhaps there was something he could help him with right now.

"Well," Nip began, fiddling with his claws. "There is… something I'd like to talk to you about." Anu gestured for him to continue, so he took a hesitant breath. "Over the last few days I've been having these… recurring dreams…"

But before he could continue, the sound of ruffling fabric caught their attention. Nip scented an electric current heartbeats before Vale stalked through the entryway, giving off frustrated sparks.

"Vale?" Anu stood up, tilting his head. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here," Vale replied with a snort. "Do I need a reason? But if you must know, I actually came here to fetch you, Anu. I was passing by the temple on a night patrol and saw one of those explorers. He asked to see you."

"Did you tell him I was busy?"

"Of course. Told him it was too early. Told him a bad time and to come back later after the sun had fully risen. Even threatened to chase him off. But he was insistent."

Anu sighed, then glanced out the window. It was still dark. "Well, I can't go and see him right now, anyways. So he'll just have to wait till after my relief comes in, at least." His words were punctuated by a yawn.

"If you need relief, I can take over," Vale replied. He walked over to stand beside Anu. "You're just watching the prisoners for a while, right? I can take over until you get back. Already finished my rounds."

"No, he can wait." Anu shook his head. "It would be unbecoming of me to leave my duty incomplete."

"But what about your duty to the patrons of the temple," Vale countered, sparking. "I know you have a few visitors in the mornings. What if he heckles them like he did me."

This, at least, seemed to make Anu hesitate.

Nip watched the exchange through narrowed eyes. Why was Vale so insistent on taking over? He knew from experience that Vale didn't care to be around him or Tempest. Was he just looking for a way to harass them? Surely even Vale wouldn't go that far?

Finally, Anu sighed. "Very well. I will see if I can convince him to leave without a fight." His attention turned to Nip. "Apologies. We will continue this conversation another time." With a rustle of fabric, he was gone.

Vale lay down in front of the cells, watching Nip and Tempest with his mouth clamped shut. He looked in no mood to converse, and Nip didn't expect he had anything nice to say anyways, so he took a moment to gather up his scattered nest and settled down as if to sleep. But his nerves wouldn't let him. He felt electrified, alert after Anu's conversation. He doubted he would get any more rest, but he could at least lie down until the guards took him out in the morning.

He wasn't sure how long he lay there awake. It must have been some time, because he could see the faintest outline of light around the doorway when the sound of a commotion outside caught his attention. Curious, he sat up.

Vale was already on his feet, letting out a guttural growl while sparks danced in his fur. "Hey! What's going on out there?" he barked, stalking towards the entrance with his head low and hackles raised.

A burst of flame greeted him, blasting him in the face as it engulfed the fabric covering. He let out a surprised yelp, stumbling back.

Nip scrambled to his feet and pressed himself into the shadows in the corner of his cell. The acrid scent of burnt fur made him gag as he watched, looking for signs of life in the manectric. Vale groaned and shifted, but did not try to get up. Sparks danced weakly on his pelt but went nowhere.

As the flames died away, the attacker became clear. A great dark beast—a charizard with some physical quirks unfamiliar to him—rose to her feet. Her tail flicked back and forth as she watched Vale for signs of resistance. Then she snorted smoke and turned towards the door.

"Subdued," she announced with a growl.

"Excellent," came a reply from just outside.

Nip's blood turned to ice. He stiffened, still crouching. He knew that voice all too well.

Flames still crackled in the doorway, illuminating a stout, familiar figure.

Umbra.

Tempest sprang to his paws in an instant, lips curled in a soundless snarl. He stalked on the other side of his cell, hackles raised as the air in the room chilled. Nip's breath came out in frosty puffs as he pressed himself against the wall. Umbra was here. Umbra was here. Why was Umbra here?

He knew. He knew he knew he knew. He knew exactly why she was here.

She entered the room with a leisurely gait, eyes trailing over the charizard and the downed Vale, then to Tempest, before her eyes finally settled on Nip. He knew she could see him. Smell him. He must be giving off a fear-scent…

Her posture shifted; if it had been anyone else, he could mistake her expression for friendly. But there was no hiding the malicious intent in her eyes.

Without taking her eyes off of Nip, she said to the charizard, "Find the keys, would you, Skorch?" The charizard lumbered away, leaving Nip her sole focus.

"Oh, how I have waited for this day," she began, her tone light and airy. "More than six moons, you have evaded my grasp. Managed to slink away. No, it has been longer, has it not? You have been a thorn in my side since the day we were made mates. But no more. Finally, almost three cycles of careful work is paying off."

The strange charizard returned, dropping a ring of keys into Umbra's outstretched claws. She looked at them, frowning. "How am I supposed to use these, exactly?"

"It's not that difficult. Just stick one in the hole and turn until one of them unlocks the door." The charizard snorted smoke.

"Do not patronize me," Umbra snapped back. Then she started sticking keys in, one at a time. By the third or fourth key, the cell door swung open. Just like that, the only barrier between himself and Umbra was gone.

Nip tried to form frost around him, to call forth an ice shard. But he couldn't focus. He could only press himself against the wall as she marched towards him with a degree of nonchalance. She knew she had won, and she was taking the time to gloat.

"All the lies, all the cruelty and misdeeds, only to end like this. It is kind of pathetic, is it not?" She chuckled. "Then again, you always were pathetic. Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Somehow. Nip found his tongue. And despite his defeat, bitter resentment coated his mouth and gave him the courage to growl a single sentence.

"You're a monster."

Claws struck his cheek, then a blow to his stomach sent him reeling. He screeched, crumpling to the ground as white-hot pain radiated where fairy energy burned his skin—no, his very spirit. He felt his will to fight fading, succumbing to the pain. Why had he ever expected anything different? It always ended like this, with his face against the ground, a growing pain in his ribs, and Umbra standing over him, reminding him of how useless he was. Any time he showed defiance, this was the outcome. He should have known his death would be the same.

Then a blast of frigid wind sent him rolling backwards. He heard Umbra grunt and several dull thunks as he tried to climb to his feet, pelted by slush and chunks of ice. As his vision focused, he could see Tempest crouching with his gaze concentrated on Umbra, focused on creating more ice as he froze the air around him. He was attacking the mawile; Nip just happened to be caught in the blizzard.

Umbra snarled, marching towards Tempest despite the layer of frost accumulating on her steely fur, only to fall short due to the bars between them. With a frustrated snort, she tossed the keys toward the charizard. "He clearly has a talent for surviving certain death and causing me trouble. Here. Deal with him." Her gaze shifted to the wooden floor and the furniture. "Or better yet… send this place up in flames. Then we can leave unimpeded while they deal with the fire."

"What?"

Vale sprang to his paws with speed that surprised Nip. Clearly he wasn't as injured as he'd first looked. "You can't do that," he sputtered. Do you have any idea how far that'll set back the town? And whose hide do you think it's going to come out of? Jhorlo's not a total idiot!"

"He will figure it out either way. My disappearance and Nip's disappearance will be proof enough for him."

The manectric grunted, crouching. "Yes, but the destruction of the town isn't necessary. What if the fire spreads? Our quarrel is with Jhorlo and with the sneasel."

"We don't have time for this," the massive charizard growled, her tail flicking restlessly back and forth. "The lucario could return at any time. Just grab the sneasel and—"

Nip was suddenly blinded by bright light, spots blooming in his vision. Yelps and grunts filled the air. But through it, Umbra still stood tall, her attention focused on Tempest, the source of the attack.

"Just do it," she snapped. "Before the ninetales gives us away."

She was distracted. Nip crawled forward, claws digging into the wood as he dragged himself towards his cell door. This was his chance. If he could just reach the door, he could make a run for it. Even with the charizard on her side, he could hide in the bushes outside town. Get to the river and destroy his scent trail. He could run again, and find somewhere to start over.

But doing so meant leaving Tempest behind to die. Umbra would never let Tempest live if his distraction let Nip escape. Leaving him to die was the coward's way out.

And yet, Tempest was causing a distraction now. Was he just fighting back? Or was he trying to give Nip an opening to escape?

Heart heavy with guilt and confusion, Nip continued to crawl out the cell door. Dawn light—freedom—was only a few bounds away.

Fire erupted on his back, his world exploding in agony. The horrible smell of burnt fur and flesh choked him as he screamed, ears ringing. He scrambled, dragging himself forward. But the fire followed, until finally, he quit trying to avoid it. Though the flames died, the pain remained. He felt pressure on his back, digging into the fresh wounds. He had no strength to crawl.

Somehow both nearby and distant at the same time, he heard Umbra's voice. "Hurry up and set a fire. All that screaming will have attracted someone. Then we run. Vale, you need to look injured, go to…" But whatever else she was saying was lost. His cheek hit the ground, then the world went dark.

 

[windskull]

Hello everyone, it is with great sadness that I must annouce that Places We Call Home is cancelled forever. There are just too many plotholes in this fic for me to continue on. I've decided instead to reboot this story under a new name. And this time you - yes, you - get to influence the story. Introducing Bidoof Quest, a threadventure about a young bidoof standing in her bedroom. Read it at the below link and make suggestions in the thread!

https://forums.thousandroads.net/in...quest-threadventure-suggestions-welcome.1398/

 

[windskull]

Sorry for taking so long! My limited writing energy was occupied elsewhere. But it's good to be back. Onwards!

Pokemon on a Mission​

---

H… help…

Shimmer stirred, still half-asleep, and blearily opened her eyes. Pale dawn light filtered through her window, painting patches of sunlight on the wooden floor and casting the rest of the room in a blue hue.

Something poked her in the back, rousing her further and making her aware of the warm, furry thing under her head. She rolled onto her side, catching a glimpse of Muse's face. A small part of her wanted to giggle as the absol twitched in her sleep, but sense overruled it as she caught a glimpse of her contorted face and remembered the night before. Muse's feeling of foreboding hadn't gotten any better. Shimmer had insisted on Muse sleeping here, hoping company might soothe her. Poor thing.

Rolling back over to face the window, Shimmer couldn't help but wonder what had woken her; usually, she didn't wake until the sun had risen fully. Had it been Muse's fidgeting? She couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something.

Help!

A sudden burst of psychic energy, distant and weak, struck her mind. She gasped, bringing a hand up to her right horn. That must be what had roused her. Someone was trying to contact her. Someone who knew where to find her. And she had a sneaking suspicion she knew who.

And if he was contacting her, then…

She sprung to her feet, then leaned over to shake Muse awake. Before she could speak a word, the absol jerked awake and scrambled to her paws, eyes wild and hackles raised.

Muse took two gasping breaths before addressing the kirlia. "Shimmer? What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," Shimmer replied, uncharacteristically serious. "I think Tempest is trying to contact me. I don't know why. But I think something is really, really wrong." She threw her arms wide to emphasize her point.

Muse took another breath, this time deep and steadying. "Okay. Focus. We'll go down to the square to see what's going on. Grab my bags, please."

"Right." Pink psychic energy gathered around Shimmer's hand, her eyes glowing the same hue. A set of pink bags flew across the room, straps landing in her waiting palm. She secured one bag around her waist, then attached the other to a harness before strapping the whole setup around Muse's torso. She stuck one hand in the bag, feeling around to verify she had the basic supplies she might need, then raced out the door with Muse on her heels.

The villa sat on high ground, compared to the village square, at the top of a rise that offered a view of the rest of Theran. On a lazy day, Shimmer could sit outside beneath a sturdy magnolia tree, watching the villagers mill about without a care in the world.

But today, she had a clear view of a dark plume of smoke and licking flames billowing out of the jail, and of several pokemon racing toward it.

For a moment, Shimmer stared in wide-eyed shock, jaw hanging open. What could have caused this? Did her father know? She hesitated, knowing her father would be upset if she spied on him like a child, before letting her emotion sense spread out. As usual, Muse was a black hole. She could pick up a single, faint trace of someone in the villa, though it was hard to interpret their emotional signature from this far away.

A nudge from behind grounded her back in reality. Muse gave her a light headbutt. "We should get down there. Climb on my back. It'll be faster."

"O-oh. Right." Shimmer couldn't keep the tremble out of her voice, her usual cheery front shattered. She put her hands on Muse's side and vaulted up to straddle her back, clinging tightly to the absol's mane. "As quickly as you can."

Muse lurched forward, racing down the hill at full sprint. Wind whipped around Shimmer's face, her thick hair streaming behind. A moment later, they leveled out at the bottom of the hill, the panicked cries of villagers starting to reach Shimmer's ears. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on reigning in her emotion sense. Her grip on Muse's fur tightened, heart racing as she silently urged the absol to run faster.

Oh no oh no, please let everyone be okay!

By the time they reached the square, other pokemon were already fighting the flames. Saku and Chip spat streams of water from their reserves while Toshi flung globs of water from his tail. Nearby, she spotted the cubone from the meat shop slinging globs of dirt and mud at the base of the fire.

Shimmer sprang from Muse's back and took a few running steps forward, only to stop and turn back to the absol. She didn't have any water or ground moves. What was she supposed to do for help?

But before she could say anything, the sound of coughing made her whip back around toward the building.

Two figures emerged from the entryway, supporting each other. The first was Whisper, her feathers singed and sooty. One wing held a damp cloth to her beak. Leaning against her was Tempest, who looked even worse. The fur on parts of his flank had burned away, leaving exposed, blistered skin in an angry red hue. His eyes were dull, and his tails drooped as he limped forward.

The pair made it only a few steps further before Tempest shuddered and collapsed, taking deep, heaving breaths.

"Lecha!" Whisper croaked, her voice hampered by the smoke. "Lecha, quickly!"

"Coming!"

Shimmer turned just in time to see the aromatisse scurry away from an injured Vale, leaving him in the hands of her illumise assistant, Twi.

The stench of burnt fur wafted towards Shimmer; patches of Vale's fur had burned away, but his injuries were hardly worse than Whisper's. Next to him, Anu paced restlessly, his aura sensors quivering.

Lecha paused as she passed Shimmer. "You know how to use heal pulse. Right, Dear? Come, help me."

"R-right." Finally, something she could do. Something other than standing around uselessly. Shimmer stumbled after Lecha, rushing towards the fallen ninetales. By the time she reached him, healing energy danced at her fingertips. She focused, pushing the healing energy forward, aiming for the areas that looked the worst while Lecha elevated Tempest's head. With her free paw, she reached into a satchel, pulling out a couple rawst berries.

"I need you to try to eat these," she said to Tempest. "Do you think you're able to?"

Gingerly, Tempest took one of the berries between his teeth, biting into it, only to drop it as a coughing fit wracked his body.

Lecha let out a sigh, reaching into her bag again for a mortar and pestle. "Very well. I don't like using a topical treatment on burns, but it looks like the best choice here." She turned her head towards Whisper. "If you have any burns, you can get a berry from Twi. I'll be with you once I've finished treating him."

Whisper held up a wing. "Not yet. I have a situation I need to deal with." She looked back towards the guards' hut. Flames still licked at the timbers but were dying quickly under the onslaught of water. "I just woke up to my workplace on fire, one guard injured — not the one who, mind you, was supposed to be there — one prisoner trapped and critically injured, and one prisoner missing." She took a stumbling step towards Anu and Vale. "What in Regi's name happened here?"

One prisoner missing? Shimmer whipped her head about, scanning the small crowd for the oddly colored sneasel. Without thinking, she let loose her emotion sense, as if it might help her pinpoint him. But he was a dark type. Even if he were here, she wouldn't have sensed him. She did, however, pick up the general anxiety of the gathered pokemon, and a surprisingly strong spike of the same from Vale.

"It was one of those explorers," Vale grunted, teeth bared. "I don't know if she acted alone, but I suspect not. Anu left to deal with another one at the temple. Then the charizard attacked while he was gone. She knocked me out. When I came to, the whole place was on fire and she was making her escape with Nip."

"What?"Whisper puffed out her feathers, hitting Shimmer with a sharp pang of shock.

Anu hung his head. "I knew there was something wrong with those explorers. Something about their aura was just… wrong. And the fact that the zoroark was parading around as a charmander… But for them to attack a guard… I should have paid closer attention to their credentials. I'm sorry, Whisper."

The hawlucha's expression softened. "Dear, this isn't your fault—"

"And Nip!" Anu flattened his ears against his skull, tail tucked between his legs. "I really thought I was getting through to him… Please don't sugarcoat this, Whisper. I could have prevented this. I've failed this community."

Shimmer frowned, bracing herself against the waves of disappointment and regret that rolled off Anu. She didn't expect a sudden flash of anger from nearby.

He's lying.

She knew that psychic signature. She snapped her head to stare intently at Tempest. The ninetales struggled, trying to stand, only to slump back to the ground, panting.

"Stop that!" Lecha chided. "You're in no condition to move."

He's lying, Tempest repeated in her mind. Umbra was here. Umbra brought the charizard. He was in on it.

What? Shimmer sent the word back without meaning to. She could believe that Umbra was somehow involved. But… but Tempest's story couldn't be right. Vale was a good mon. He was always hanging around the villa, helping her dad out with odd jobs. He could be gruff, but he only had the village's best interests at heart.

Right?

But if Umbra was involved, why didn't Vale say so? How could he miss her involvement? And what would Tempest have to gain by lying? It was possible he was covering for Nip. But if Nip had abandoned him to die in a fire, why would he still be loyal?

Her mind raced through the possibilities, trying to decide what to do. Who to believe. Should she try to read their thoughts? Her dad always told her not to, and they would definitely notice an inexperienced mind reader like her, but maybe…

Please. Tone was difficult to discern through a psychic voice, but she could feel the desperation emanating from the ninetales. I can't lose him again.

"What do you mean the explorers were involved?"

Toshi's panicked voice cut through the haze. Shimmer's gaze followed the bidoof as he scrambled to a stop in front of Whisper, his eyes wide and fur ruffled.

"Haru said she's supposed to be with them. What if they tricked her? What if they hurt her? We have to do something!"

Sudden clarity hit Shimmer as she took a deep breath. Something didn't add up here. And she would be the one to get to the bottom of it.

Giving Muse a quick pat on the shoulder to get her attention, Shimmer sauntered over to the group surrounding Vale.

"They didn't say anything about where they were headed, did they?" Whisper asked.

Vale hesitated. Shimmer felt more waves of anxiety. "No, I'm afraid not. Not while I was alert, at least."

"Haru said she was helping them set up a base…" Toshi mumbled. "Maybe they're in the forest. Maybe we could catch up to them?"

"We have reason to doubt their character," Anu pointed out. "There's no reason to believe that story is true."

"Maybe we can track them?" Whisper suggested. "Only one of them could fly, so they couldn't have all escaped by air. There should be some scent trail to pick up on."

She needed to speak up. She needed to speak up now before everyone ran off without the full story. "Heyyy, Valey," Shimmer chimed in with a sing-song tone. "You didn't happen to see anyone else in the attack, did you?"

Was that fear she sensed? "No, just the charizard."

Shimmer giggled. "That's funny." She let the statement hang in the air for a few heartbeats while she played with her hair. "Because Tempest said Umbra was there, too. And that would change the situation significantly, don't you think?"

Vale glared at her. This time, she was certain she felt a spike of fear. "Quit joking around, Shimmer. This is serious! Haru could be in danger. And that ninetales cannot talk."

She giggled again. "Silly Vale, of course he can. He just doesn't have any interest in talking to you."

All eyes were on her, now. Perfect. Just how she liked it. Whisper's gaze was fiercest of all.

"Shimmer, if you know something, then just say it. We don't have time for cryptic statements."

Holding in a sigh, Shimmer waved one hand in a circle. "You know how psychics can communicate with others if they know roughly where the other is? Or how they can project thoughts into someone else's mind? Turns out ninetales have some innate psychic ability. So I've been teaching Tempest how to speak with his mind!"

"You've been—" Whisper cut herself off, ruffling her feathers. She turned to the ninetales. "Is this true?"

While Shimmer couldn't hear anything — she doubted Tempest could project into multiple minds at his skill level — the way Whisper's eyes widened and her beak hung open told her everything she needed to know.

Small sparks danced across Vale's pelt. "Are you seriously going to believe that? Even if he can talk, we know he's loyal to Nip! He's probably just trying to buy time to let the bastard escape. I bet Umbra is still up at the villa."

Was she? Shimmer tried to think back. Had she picked up on Umbra's emotions? She didn't think so. She only remembered picking up one emotional signature. But she had to be certain. Turning to Muse, she asked, "Could you run check, please? Get Dad as well, if you see him. He needs to know about… all this." She waved her hand in the direction of the smoldering hut.

The absol dipped her head. "Anything for you." Then she turned and sprinted back up the road.

"I'm not sure what that's supposed to prove," Vale growled. "Even if Umbra wasn't there, that doesn't mean she's here."

"That's true," Whisper admitted. "But you were supposed to keep an eye on her."

Shimmer turned back to Vale, changing the subject. "Now, now, you heard what Toshi said. Haru is supposed to be with those explorers that took Nip. I know Haruru, and she would never help Nip escape." She took a step closer. "And while she doesn't like him, I highly doubt she would help Umbra with anything, either. Not after she threatened to kill Toshi."

Vale gritted his teeth. "Maybe you don't know her as well as you think you do. You don't exactly endear yourself to her, princess."

Shimmer's eyelid twitched. Seriously? Vale was usually rude, but not this rude!

Before she could come up with a witty reply, Toshi butted in.

"Excuse me?" he squeaked, marching towards the manectric. "That is my sister you're talking about. How dare you suggest she's in cahoots with these… these… pretenders! I don't care if they were helping Nip or helping Umbra. Either way, she could be in danger and you're here arguing trivialities instead of trying to help!"

Toshi drew back his lips to fully bare his incisors. "Are you going to help us find my sister? Or are you just going to waste our time?"

Vale sparked, ears flat against his skull as static rippled across his flanks. But his expression betrayed unease. After a moment, he looked away. "I'm telling you. Umbra was not here. The charizard was helping Nip escape. But… I did hear the word 'mountain' when they fled."

"That makes a degree of sense," Anu said, pawing at his nose. "They've been trying to get me to take them up to the old shrine for days. Though it still doesn't explain Nip. As far as I know, they never interacted with him… But they did definitely try to lure me away from my post."

"It's a lead," Whisper concluded with a wave of one wing. "I'll gather up some supplies and leave immediately. Lecha, could you part with some oran berries? Possibly some aspear and rawst, as well. I suspect most of my supply was ruined."

The aromatisse looked up from her work on Tempest. "Of course, dear. Twi, could you please fetch some?"

You got it!" The illumise gave a messy salute, then buzzed off back towards the medic hut.

"I'm coming with you!" Toshi announced, taking a step towards Whisper.

The hawlucha tilted her head. "That's kind of you to offer, but—"

"My sister could be in danger! I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her while I stayed back here and did nothing."

"We'll come too," Shimmer chimed in. "Musey and me."

Now Whisper's attention was on her. "This isn't a game. These pokemon are dangerous, and we don't know how powerful they are."

"You allowed Muse and me to help watch Nip and Tempest. And you're going to need all the help you can get, right?"

"This is different! Your volunteer guard duty was in a controlled environment. There's more at stake here."

Shimmer crossed her arms and stuck out her lip, glaring. "Well, who can you trust to bring instead? Vale?"

Whisper returned the glare for a moment longer, then sighed and turned away, flapping her wings. "You three are going to follow along if I don't let you come anyways, aren't you? Fine. But you have to listen to everything I say."

"I… I will come as well," Anu said. "It is my duty. Romi and the others can cover things here until we return. And if they hear any additional information that suggests we need to look elsewhere, Romi is the best mon to catch up to us."

I want to come as well. Tempest's voice entered Shimmer's head. He must have contacted Whisper just after, as they both turned towards him.

"Absolutely not," Whisper said. "Your condition is too bad for you to travel, as I'm sure Lecha will agree. And I still cannot guarantee you are telling the truth. If the explorers helped Nip escape, I don't trust you to help stop him. You will stay here."

She tilted her head in Vale's direction. "And that goes for you, too. Until we get to the bottom of this, you are to stay in Lecha's hut. Do. Not. Leave."

Sparks danced on Vale's back as he let out a growl, but he lowered his head submissively.

"Good. I'll see what I can scrounge up from the ashes. We should still have a nullify looplet. I hope it survived the flames. Anu, get rations from Meaad. Tell him it's an emergency and we'll pay it back after we return."

Toshi scurried off to speak with his parents as Whisper approached the burnt building. At the same time, racing pawsteps alerted Shimmer to Muse's return. The absol collapsed on the ground in front of her, panting. "She's… she's not there… Jhorlo… coming…"

Shimmer shot Vale an accusatory glance. This whole situation reeked.

"That doesn't prove anything!" the manectric growled. But he didn't look at Shimmer as he shuffled off to the medic hut.

Suppressing a sigh, Shimmer turned to fill Muse in on the plan. The absol shot her a distressed glance. But she didn't try to argue. She didn't have a chance to, as Whisper returned with a few items in wing. She handed a few berries, an orb that Shimmer thought might be a petrify orb, and a heal seed. Anu returned a moment later, bag laden with food.

"We'll properly sort things out as we go," Whisper said, standing a bit straighter. "Lecha can explain the situation to Jhorlo whenever he gets here. Let's move out."

She took the lead, marching out of the square at a brisk pace with Anu just behind, stopping only to collect more berries from Twi. Toshi dashed over to meet them, ignoring a call from his mother. Shimmer took just a heartbeat to lift Toshi onto Muse's back. The bidoof clung tight to her fur, shooting a grateful glance. He'd struggle to keep pace with everyone else on foot, she suspected. But she could manage.

Oh, Haru, Shimmer thought as they raced out of the square. Now look what you've gotten yourself into.

---

The palest beginnings of dawn light crept above dark treetops, casting the surrounding forest in a dark, blue hue. Haru yawned as she padded down the path toward the mountain trail, feeling the brush of her bags against her back. This was early, even for her. But the sooner she took the explorers up the mountain, the sooner she could get back.

Up ahead, she caught sight of Susana — currently in her charmander disguise — and the girafarig conversing. But where were the other two?

Susana looked up, caught her eye, and waved a hand. "Over here!"

Waddling down the path as quick as she could, Haru dipped her head in greeting. "Good morning. I… thought we were in a hurry. Where are the others?"

"Topaz forgot some of our supplies and had to run back for them," the girafarig answered. "And Skorch is feeling under the weather. Probably ate something that didn't agree with her. She'll catch up later if she starts feeling better. She can fly, and she has a rough idea of where we're heading."

"O-oh, okay," Haru answered. Then a thought occurred to her. If Skorch could just fly up to the shrine, why do you need me to guide you?

Then she remembered that the path was no longer well-traveled, and was likely obscured by bushes and wild grass. It would be difficult to guide someone if you weren't familiar.

And, fortunately, she was familiar enough. Even if it had been many, many seasons since she'd been to the old shrine.

"Would it be better if we waited until she feels better?" she asked. "Having eyes in the sky could be useful if we run into trouble."

Susana shook her head quickly. It took Haru a few heartbeats to figure out the meaning of the unfamiliar gesture. "No, no, I understand your concerns. But we're on a strict timeline. We can't afford to spend any more time waiting around."

Haru supposed she couldn't argue with that. While things weren't so strict here, she imagined schedules in bigger towns, and for organizations as huge as the expedition society, were different.

She was spared from continuing the conversation by the sound of racing pawsteps.

"Ah, there he is." Susana waved a claw, then pointed in the direction of the pawsteps. Haru turned to see the raichu racing up the path. He skidded to a stop, panting.

"Sorry I'm late. But I got the goods." He held up a cloth bag.

"Thank you, Topaz," Susana replied. She took the bag and tied it to a large pack on Remer's back before turning her attention to Haru. "Well then, we should be off."

"R-right." Haru sucked in a deep breath, stealing one last glance down the path. Her heart thudded hard against her chest, pounding fast with anticipation. She could still back out of this, right now. No, remember why you're doing this, she thought to herself.

She turned to point a paw at a fork in the path that led into thicker vegetation. "We'll need to head this way."

The group set off, Haru in the lead. As the ground sloped up, it didn't take long for the route's disuse to show itself; the undergrowth here was less tended-to, overgrown bushes taking up half the path in parts, grass springing up between dirt and stone. Early in the journey, before the sun had risen fully, they came across a fallen tree blocking the path, its trunk covered in spongy moss. While the three explorers leaped or clamored over it without issue, Haru was forced to push through a thick bush and weave between the chaotic tangle of roots to get around.

While the journey was silent for a time, it wasn't long before Susana started trying to make conversation.

"So, Haru, what's this shrine like?" she asked. "I mean, we've heard a few descriptions, but we've never seen it for ourselves."

"Prepare yourselves for disappointment," Haru answered. "It was already falling into disrepair before the village quit visiting about fifteen cycles ago. I imagine it's even worse now. What could be moved was already taken down to the village a while ago."

"Really? I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose." Susana scratched at her cheek. "Still, I'm sure there's things there that couldn't be brought down that we may find useful. Carvings, paintings, and statues. Information. Speaking of which… you don't happen to know any strange or unusual stories. You know, legends that wouldn't be well known outside of your village?"

Haru sighed, her head drooping before she paid attention to her surroundings again, stumbling around a crumbling hole in the middle of the path. "Nothing that Anu couldn't tell you."

"Sure, sure," Susana said, waving one hand, "but I want to know your version. What were you told? How do you remember it? You seem to have a different perspective on things than someone like Anu would."

Her version? Haru didn't want to talk about her version. But Susana wasn't going to shut up unless she did. She grumbled, then began. "Well, there's plenty of stories about how Regigigas formed our continent, moved the pieces together to create mountains, and pulled them apart to create rivers and valleys. There's stories about his three sentries, spread out across the land to protect other followers, and garnering followers of their own. And there's stories of the Banished Ones, the two failed creations lost somewhere beyond the sea."

Another grumble escaped her as she ducked to squeeze under an overgrown holly. "Some pokemon think his resting place is deep within the heart of Mount Domo, but I think that's stupid. Even if he is there, for a mon that's supposed to be protecting his followers, he sure did a lousy job. I have my doubts he ever even existed. Or cared, if he did exist."

The girafarig, Remer, sped up to walk beside Haru. "I can't help but notice something troubling you, Haru. Do you want to talk about it?"

Haru felt a headache coming on. She sped up. "My reasons for distrusting gods are, frankly, none of your business."

"My apologies." Susana hurried to catch up and stand at Haru's other side. "Please excuse Remer. He means well."

Haru shot the girafarig a glare. "Anyway, my point is that there's no way for us to know how true any of these stories are. Even if the gods are real, the stories have probably been distorted after hundreds upon hundreds of cycles being retold."

"There is… one way you could find out," Topaz interjected.

Pausing mid-step to glance back at the Raichu, Haru tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"

"I get what he's saying." Susana reached for her Expedition Society badge. She ran her claws across the metallic surface. "Think about it like this. If we could just… find one of these gods. Talk to them. They'd know the truth about what happened all those years — I mean cycles — ago. And imagine what we could do if we just… could get them to do our bidding. We could reshape the world. Make it fairer. Imagine reaching out to the mother of all life, Mew, and having her change the way pokemon work so that no pokemon is obligated to eat meat to survive. Or if she created some lower life form so that we didn't have to hunt other sapient creatures."

She spun to face Haru, her eyes gleaming. "Wouldn't that be great?"

Haru shifted uncomfortably, off-put by her sudden excitement, before starting to walk again. "Well… yeah, it could be great." Then she thought of the encounter with Celebi, and she couldn't help but let out a snort. "But good luck convincing them to do anything. I bet a bunch of them have gone mad, given how old they'd be."

Susana didn't try to argue further, and the group lapsed into silence again. The sun slowly climbed high into the sky as they worked their way through the undergrowth, stopping only once for a brief break before continuing their marathon. Occasionally, the monotony of the trip was broken by quiet conversations between the explorers, but Haru kept out of it.

The sun had nearly reached its zenith by the time Susana called for a second break, this time for lunch, in a small, grassy clearing along the path. To their left, the ground sloped upwards, a tree line a short distance up the hill. To the right, a rocky lip protected them from falling down a short, but steep, incline, scraggy bushes clinging between cracks in the stone.

Haru sank gratefully to the ground as Susana began passing out rations: dried meat sticks for herself, and apples and carrots for the rest of the group. As everyone settled down to eat, she pulled a ceramic dish and a waterskin from the supplies on Remer's back, filled the dish with water, and set it in the middle for everyone to share.

Taking a bite from an apple, Haru closed her eyes, enjoying the weak warmth of the autumn sun. Her family would need to start preparing winter rations soon. They still had half a season, but the weather could change fast. A healthy stock of wood and dried fruit would do them well.

Susana tore a bite from her own meal, jaws snapping as she did her best to chew and break it down. Haru couldn't help but cringe and hastily looked away. At least the meat was so processed that it didn't look like anyone anymore.

Just a moment later, the disguised zoroark addressed Haru.

"So, Haru, how much longer do you think it'll be before we reach the shrine?"

Glancing up at the sky, Haru squinted. It wasn't sun-high quite yet. She looked at her surroundings, trying to pick out anything familiar. Her attention turned towards the downward slope. She approached, climbing up on the stone so she could look over. A good ways below, she could make out a patch of blurry colors that she thought was Theran Village.

"We're definitely over halfway there. It shouldn't be too much longer…"

Susanna bobbed her head and opened her mouth to say something more, only to suddenly snap it shut and stare intently at Remer. The girafarig was stiff, eyes wide and boring into the tree line. Haru's heart raced as she stood, following his gaze. She could hear the sound of rustling bushes, now, coming closer fast.

"What's going on?"

Before any of the explorers could answer, the nearest bushes rustled, then a figure burst free and stumbled down the slope towards them.

They'd clearly seen better times; their fur was bushed up, eyes wide and wild, and breathing ragged. Dried blood coated their cheek, and the scent of charred flesh and fur wafted from them. Their claws were bound together in thick rope. A second length of rope twisted around their ankles, tight enough to restrict movement but loose enough that they could still run — if barely.

More importantly, though, Haru recognized the pokemon. And she couldn't fathom any reason he would be here.

"Nip?!"

 

[windskull]

The Choice​

---

Nip stirred, waking. His head — no, his whole body — ached, dulling his senses. But as he struggled awake, he became aware of wind whipping around him, tugging at his fur. Amidst the pain, the sensation felt distant. Something sharp dug into his sides.

He peeked one eye open just a crack, trying to process the sensations, trying to figure out their cause. Had he overworked himself? Then his mind caught up with what he was seeing, and he snapped to full alertness.

He hung limply from two thin, scaly arms, occasionally bobbing as trees — many turning gold and red and brown — rushed by several body lengths below. All at once, his last memories came racing back. Umbra. Vale. The strange charizard. Tempest's distraction. His failed escape.

Struggling against the wind, he tilted his head slightly and squinted. That same charizard was the pokemon carrying him now, her talons digging tightly into his torso, but holding him away from her body. She was speaking, but her words were snatched away by the wind. He could just make out another voice as well: Umbra's.

He was as good as dead. Umbra had him in her clutches. She won. There was no way she would drag him all the way back to the tribe. As soon as she had the chance, she'd end his life.

And even if, by some miracle, she did take him all the way back to the Tribe (not home, he reminded himself, no longer home) the outcome would be the same.

He hung his head, despair threatening to overwhelm him. Had he always been destined to die at her hands? Was he cursed by Yveltal? Damned as a wretched creature? Or did Yveltal not care for him at all?

No.

His heart fluttered as one last hopeful thought danced in his head.

He wasn't dead yet. And that meant he still had a chance, small as it might be. All he needed to do was find a way to escape. And he had one idea.

In one jerking motion, he twisted around in the charizard's grip. His claws were inaccessible at the moment, bound tightly together. But he could still get his mouth around her arm. He bit down with all his might, teeth sinking deep into flesh. The iron taste of blood welled on his tongue.

She jerked her arm free. And all at once, he was plummeting towards the trees.

His brain barely had time to process his descent before twigs and leaves grabbed at him. Pain blossomed across his chest and the wind was driven from his lungs as a branch broke his fall. Then he slipped off and landed, stunned, on the forest floor.

He coughed, gasping, as horrible pain throbbed in his chest. Had he broken a rib? It wasn't an outlandish assumption, given the fall, but he hoped with all his heart that he hadn't.

Please, Yevetal, he silently prayed, if you have any favor left for me, let me get out of this alive.

Ignoring the painful protests of his whole body, he rolled onto his side, dragging himself with bound claws under a nearby bush to hide. It wasn't a permanent hiding place, and it wouldn't be effective once his captors landed — and knowing Umbra, they would land — but it gave him a moment of reprieve to think.

Hadn't this happened before? Him, battered and burned and an inch from death, hiding deep in the undergrowth from someone who wanted to kill him? What were the chances?

No, focus, he chided himself. Shaking his head to clear the thought, he turned his attention to his bindings. His wrists were tightly bound together in front of his torso. His legs, too, but they were looser. Enough for him to hobble along, even — though he'd never be able to run.

Start there. The claws could come if he had time, but he needed to be able to run. Sucking in a breath to endure the pain, he twisted until he hooked one claw into the knot around his leg, tugging and twisting until it came loose. At least, loose enough to give more slack to the rope. He should be able to run like that, almost at full sprint.

A crashing sound from branches above startled him, and he sprang to his feet with fur puffed out. Something thumped onto the ground, followed by a quieter thump.

"He must still be nearby," Umbra's voice shot cold fear through his heart. "It still reeks of him. Do you understand now why I wanted him dead first?"

"He's cunning, I'll give you that," the charizard replied. "But in his state, he won't get far."

Dread twisted Nip's stomach. He was out of time. Any heartbeat now, Umbra would spot the marks where he dragged himself, or properly pick up his scent trail. Or maybe she'd have the charizard flush him out with fire. He'd deal with the rest of his bindings later, but he had to move now.

Keeping low to the ground, he dragged himself deeper into the undergrowth as quietly as he could, trying to disguise his noise amongst the sound of wind in the leaves. As soon as he was on the far side of the bushes, he forced himself to his feet, fighting nausea. Crouching lower than the bushes, he crept further away, casting glances and swiveling his ear back to listen and make certain he was moving away from his pursuers.

"Look, there's blood here," he heard Umbra say. "And see these scratches in the dirt? He was just here."

"So he couldn't have gotten far," the charizard concluded. "Which means…"

He didn't dare look back again, afraid he'd come face-to-face with the fire-breather. But their voices were growing quieter. He was moving faster than they were. Just a bit further, then maybe —

Something snapped beneath his paw.

Nip froze. The sound of the breaking twig wasn't that loud. But to his strained payche, it sounded louder than a seed bomb.

And unfortunately for him, Umbra's hearing was her best sense.

"That way!" The sound of someone barreling through the undergrowth in his direction followed Umbra's exclamation.

No more time for stealth. Gritting his teeth, Nip dashed further into the forest, running as quickly as his bindings and injuries would allow. Distance. Gaining distance was all that was important right now. Bushes and brambles tugged at his fur as he ran, and he fought the urge to yowl in pain as he trod on a thorn. But adrenaline pushed him through the pain, pushed him to run faster, pushed him to duck through paths that others might not be able to take.

But the problem with something big and powerful like a charizard was that it could make its own path, and Nip could hear her gaining on him.

Suddenly, he burst free from the undergrowth onto a dirt path winding through the woods. The local wildeners must use this — that was his best guess for such a well-maintained trail. While it wouldn't present obstacles to his assailants, it was bound to lead somewhere. Hopefully somewhere safer.

He stumbled down the path, fallen leaves crunching and squelching beneath his paws. Any other time he would find the changing colors beautiful. But right now, he was focused only on escape.

Paths like these usually led to rivers or gathering spots or other landmarks where he might find help. Or perhaps even…

As he pushed through some overgrown bushes, the last thing he expected was to emerge into open air and come face-to-face with a group of pokemon. Three of them — a charmander, a girafarig, and a raichu — were unfamiliar. But the last pokemon was someone he'd grown accustomed to seeing, and one he'd never expected to run into somewhere like here. And though his chances of receiving help from her seemed slim, with nowhere else to run or hide he had a feeling she was his only hope of getting out of this alive.

Haru stared at him, eyes wide and jaw hanging. It took her precious seconds to find her voice. "Nip?"

---

Haru struggled to make sense of Nip's appearance. What was he doing here? And in such a ragged state, no less? And alone. Where were the guards? None of this made sense!

The sneasel took a step forward, eyes wild and panicked. "P-please," he stuttered, casting a glance to the woods behind. Something else was crashing towards them, the sound making Haru's heart race. She took a stumbling step backward, legs stiff as he continued. "Umbra and a charizard, they attacked the guards' hut. They took me. They. They hurt Tempest. I don't even know if he's alive. I got away but they're still after me." He glanced into the woods again before turning to take another step, staring at Haru. "Please, help."

Haru struggled to process his plea. Umbra and… a charizard? Skorch? Before she could ask for more information, another pokemon crashed through the bushes just behind Nip, who raced towards her, his fur bushed.

A lone mawile emerged, though Haru could still hear rustling, suggesting there was at least one other pokemon waiting in the woods. Haru took an uneasy step back, her gaze shifting back and forth between Nip and Umbra.

Nip said she was with a charizard. While Nip might have been lying, the timing was awfully convenient. Skorch wasn't here. She'd stayed back in the village because she was sick, right? But if she was helping Umbra, then… Haru glanced at Susana, but her disguise gave nothing away.

"There's nowhere left to run, Nip," Umbra said, taking a step forward. Nip, in turn, took a step back, ear flat against his skull and teeth bared. "Accept your fate. Accept justice."

"This was never about justice!" Nip shouted back, though there was no hiding the fearful quiver in his tone. "If you cared about justice, things never would have reached this point!"

Umbra narrowed her eyes. "No one forced you to commit treachery. You dug your own hole."

Nip's eyes darted back and forth as if looking for a way out. "I… I can't deny that, but… But you still can't absolve yourself of guilt when you spent seasons upon seasons to make me break!"

Haru uneasily turned to Susana, trying to drown out the shouting match for a moment. "Aren't you going to do something about this?"

The false charmander tilted her head, expression unreadable. "Why should we?"

Why should they? "You're Explorers!" Haru sputtered, incredulous. "Someone's asking you for help. Aren't you supposed to, you know, break it up and get an idea of what's going on?" As far as she knew, Enforcers usually handled this kind of situation, but explorers and rescuers could step in in an emergency like this. Right?

And though she was hesitant to help Nip, she doubted Susana's team knew anything about his crime. Even if they did, this wasn't the will of the village.

But Nip mentioned a charizard. The thought circled around her head again. Was Skorch really involved?

Susana let out a long sigh, her expression turning bored. "Remember our agreement, Umbra."

Nip was shouting something, but at Susana's words, it died in his throat. He stared at Susana, while Haru's attention turned towards Umbra.

"Agreement?" Haru started. "What are you talking about?"

"We spoke to Umbra and another pokemon yesterday. They asked us to take care of this sneasel here for his crimes. I apologize for not telling you, but it was purely Explorer business."

"Take care of… N-now hold on. I apologize, but Umbra here isn't law enforcement. She doesn't have the jurisdiction to hand Nip over to you guys. And this isn't an incorporated village. You can't just come here and do what you want without proper approval from our Mayor or the head of the guard."

"Is she not?" Susana asked. "Well, she was with a manectric. Vale, I think his name was?" Her charmander mouth twisted into a smile, an expression that looked off. Threatening, almost. "Haru, relax. This is all by the books. Just let us do our job. If you're really concerned about it, then you don't have to be involved. Once we reach the shrine, I can have Skorch take you home."

Haru's heartbeat accelerated. If Vale was there, then it was possible that this was by the books. But something didn't add up. She stole a glance at Nip, the sneasel frozen in wide-eyed terror. She shook out her fur. "I-I'm sorry. Vale is involved in local law enforcement, but he's not in charge. If things changed and you guys are turning Nip over to the enforcers—" She hesitated. If Umbra was involved, she doubted that was the case. "If you guys are turning him in, then I need to know that Whisper okayed this. I-I think we should head back."

Susana hesitated, her expression distant for a moment, as if paying attention to something else. Then she smiled again. "The hawlucha, right? Of course she okayed it. We wouldn't be doing this otherwise, right?"

Of course. The thought entered Haru's head. Susana's been trustworthy so far. "I…"

But the charizard. Nip had said the charizard attacked. He could be lying, but it didn't make sense. Why would Umbra be here if they were really turning him over? The charizard attacked. The charizard attacked.

She shook her head, trying to focus with a splitting headache. She had a decision to make. If she went along with this, then her village would wash their hands of Nip, and no one would have to worry about being threatened by him again. He was guilty. He'd hurt not just them but the pokemon he'd lived with before. He wasn't deserving of mercy.

On the other hand, she thought back to her brother. Her… not really her friends, but her peers, Shimmer and Muse. She thought back to that time in the forest when Nip had saved her brother from the wildener quilava. How would the person she cared for the most react if she just stood by and let this happen? Could she live with his disappointment?

Was this really just? Could she live with herself if it wasn't?

Of the second and third questions, she was uncertain. But she knew the answer to the first. And it made her decision.

"I-I'm sorry," Haru stuttered, taking a step back. She was keenly aware of the rock wall behind her, the drop on the other side, and how much danger she might be in. "I can't abide by this. We aren't an incorporated village, and you can't just come here, ignore our rules, and boss us around. I'm happy to help you get to the shrine, but I will not take you any further unless we return to the village first and get this sorted out."

Silence. For one agonizingly long moment, no one moved. Then Susana sighed again.

"How disappointing. I had such high hopes for you, Haru."

That was all the warning Haru got before the zoroark charged her, shedding her disguise. Utter chaos broke loose. Out of the corner of her eye, Haru caught sight of Nip bolting, then the raichu chasing after him. The charizard exploded from the tree line, taking to the air to join the chase.

But she couldn't focus on that. Susana bore down on her, springing with claws outstretched. Haru had no time to run. No time to fight back. All she could do was curl into a ball and brace.

The pain of sharp teeth blossomed along her sides. She let out a terrified squeal, lifted and shaken violently before being tossed aside.

She lay dazed on the ground for a moment before trying to struggle to her feet, feeling blood oozing through her fur. But before she could, a paw grabbed her around the back of the neck and lifted her, so that she was face-to-face with Susana.

Haru squirmed and squealed, jaws snapping in instinctual panic. But the zoroark held her at an angle where she couldn't reach.

"What a disappointment," Susana said, casually strolling towards the rocky lip to the side of the path. "You seemed so like-minded. We thought you might even come around to understand us, with time. But I guess you were all talk."

She held the bidoof over the edge, giving Haru a clear view of the sharp drop, followed by a steep slope. She'd probably survive if she fell, but not without severe injury. An angry, pained screech in the distance told her Nip was faring no better.

"Since you had to go and make things difficult, let me explain how this is going to work." Susana shook Haru, letting her words sink in as she held the bidoof over the edge. "You're going to do everything we tell you to. You're going to take us to the shrine, like we asked. Then, when we're done there, you're going to continue to guide us further up the mountain, until we find proper information on Regigigas' current location or reach the top empty-handed. If you refuse, I'll drop you right now. If you try to run, I'll snap your neck. But if you're a good little bidoof and do everything we tell you to, we might let you go home when this is all said and done."

"U-up the mountain?" Images of an injured, malnourished, dying bibarel flashed through Haru's mind. "Y-you can't! It's too dangerous! No one has survived the trip!"

Susana loosened her grip. And just for a split second, Haru thought for sure she was falling. Then the claws closed around her right hind leg, leaving her dangling face-down. Her vision swam, and it felt like she was being sucked down the cliff, despite not moving at all.

"Well, Haru?"

"Okay, okay!" Haru squealed, shutting her eyes tight. "I'll do it!"

Her stomach lurched as she was pulled back over the edge before being unceremoniously dropped in the grass.

"If you want to eat, you better hurry up," Susana said. Then she turned to face the rest of her team. "Looks like you two caught him. Topaz, resecure the sneasel's bindings. Then feed him something. He's more valuable to us alive and I don't want to waste energy carrying him.

Haru had totally forgotten about their meal, her food trampled and dirty from the one-sided skirmish. She looked up just in time to see the charizard drop Nip, planting a foot on him before he could try to escape again. Still, he struggled, taking in heaving breaths as he tried to pull himself free. The raichu gave him a strike across the face before moving to resecure his leg bindings.

"Why'd you go and put his claws in front of him, Skorch," Topaz grumbled. "Ugh, what a mess."

"We were in a hurry," the charizard replied. "It took longer than expected to subdue both him and the ninetales."

The raichu grunted in response as he loosened the arm bindings just long enough to re-secure them behind Nip's back, leaving him unable to do anything with his claws. Nip, in turn, growled and tried to bite Topaz, but without success.

Umbra watched the proceedings with an unamused expression. "Why would you waste valuable resources on him?" she asked, stepping to the center of the group. "We should just kill him now before he finds a way to slip away again."

"Because you have yet to earn my trust," Susana responded as she gathered up the remainder of their meal site. "We don't need you getting in the way of our goals — which are already derailed as it is. He lives until we complete our goal or I am satisfied you will not turn on us or let Haru escape and run for help."

Umbra turned to glare at Haru, the murderous intent on her face clear. "You can do what you want with her. I hold no loyalty to this village. And I am more than happy to help with this excursion, so long as I can return home after. You do not need to hold my own goal over my head to convince me."

At that, Susana hesitated, glancing at Remer. "What do you think?"

"Steel pokemon are harder to get a read on," the girafarig answered, climbing to his feet, "though she seems honest in this regard."

The head on his back spoke next. "I'd still recommend keeping him alive until she proves her loyalty. Consider it… collateral."

"Very well. Then my answer stays." Susana turned back to Umbra. "Speak with Topaz and get yourself something to eat. I need to tend to Skorch's wound."

Umbra glared for a moment longer, then begrudgingly approached the raichu.

Haru looked down at her half-eaten food, her stomach twisting in knots. She couldn't finish it. She couldn't take a single bite. She was going to die here, lost to the mountain. And her family would probably never know what happened.

Someone stumbled into her side, sending a painful jolt across her fresh bite wound and forcing her attention back to reality. Nip slumped beside her, forced into a sitting position by Topaz. He growled at the rodent, but Haru could smell his fear.

"Wait there until we're ready to go," Topaz said, standing behind the two of them before turning his attention back to Susana.

With nothing better to do, Haru followed his gaze. Susana was standing next to Skorch, holding up one of her arms to inspect a nasty bite wound oozing with blood.

"Mm… It's a deep one, but not too severe. I'll use our last super and save the stronger stuff for later."

Reaching into her bag, the zoroark pulled out a small red bottle with a yellow contraption on top. She shook the bottle, claws scratching at the front of the contraption, then aimed it at the charizard's wound. A quiet hissing sound filled the air as a mist sprayed out of the bottle.

Skorch winced, but as the spray hit her wound, the bleeding quickly coagulated and then stopped. And to Haru's surprise, the wound grew smaller, scabbing over.

Once the mist stopped, Susana placed the bottle back in her bag. "Not perfect, but about as much as we can expect out of a self-brewed potion around here. Can you eat on the go?"

"Of course," Skorch replied as she tested her arm.

Susana bobbed her head. "Good, then we set off immediately." The zoroark turned back towards Haru with narrowed eyes and gestured up the path. "Lead the way. You too, sneasel. Stay in front of us."

Haru wanted to protest. Wanted to run away. But there was nowhere to run, and refusal meant certain death. So she climbed carefully to her feet, ignoring her developing aches, and began to walk. Nip limped just behind her. Casting a glance back, she could see his eyes glazed from pain and his ear flat against his skull. But he gritted his teeth and kept his gaze on the path ahead.

She turned back to the path as well, trying to ignore the gaze of the dangerous predators just behind her.

She'd messed up. She'd messed up bad. And now she was going to pay the price.

 

[windskull]

Thanks for the review, Inke! I apologize that I haven't had the spoons to reply to any recent review - life's been hectic for a while now. But know I always read and appreciate every one.

Alliance​

---

"Up ahead, that has to be the right place. Right, Susana?"

Haru didn't look up to see where the charizard was pointing. Everything hurt. Her legs, her head, her belly, even her ego. She'd barely paid attention to where they were walking, only glancing up when addressed to see if they were still on the right path. Otherwise, she tried to ignore the conversations around her. But it was difficult when the explorers spoke in harsh, hushed tones, discussing what to do after they were finished at the old shrine, and how long they could afford to travel after dark before resting.

To her side Nip limped along, his breathing heavy and punctuated with the occasional whine. He seemed determined to focus on the path ahead, ignoring his hostile surroundings save for the occasional swivel of his ear.

It was hard to feel sympathetic. In Haru's opinion, this was all his fault. If he hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened. The explorers wouldn't have turned on her, and she wouldn't be a prisoner. She'd be able to go home after this. But now? Now she was as good as dead. If the explorers didn't kill her, the mountain would.

Behind her, the sound of paw steps came to a sudden stop. Haru stopped a few heartbeats later, forcing herself to look up.

Before them, a cavern gaped wide open, carved into a cliff face. Faded carvings decorated its entrance, mostly covered by overgrown vines and moss. Although she couldn't see it well from her vantage point, she knew there was writing above the entrance reading, "To our Protector, our Lord, Regigagas."

Susana took a step forward and spun around to face the group. "Okay. I want to finish with this site before sundown, which doesn't give us much time. Topaz, you stay out here with our guide and prisoner. Everyone else is with me. That includes you, Umbra."

The mawile scoffed, shaking her head, but said, "Very well." With Susana in the lead, she and the other explorers disappeared into the yawning cave.

Haru sank to her belly, paws screaming for a break. She was ready to wake up from this nightmare. But her aches reminded her that this was all too real.

A hiss at her side snapped her out of her thoughts. She started to disdainfully turn her attention towards Nip, only to let out an alarmed squeak and scramble back to her feet.

Topaz was no longer a raichu. In his place stood a larger rodent, its fur a dark reddish-orange. Haru scrambled a few precious steps back from the unfamiliar pokemon.

The strange pokemon scoffed, shaking out its fur, then spoke in Topaz's voice, his tone patronizing. "What? Never seen a gorochu before?"

"N-no!" Haru stuttered. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"That's because your stupid, backwards raichu never learned to evolve." Topaz flexed his forepaws, an electric pulse rippling from his cheeks all the way down to his tail. "This p — this place, this continent is so weird."

Cautiously, Haru took a step forward. "W-what are you talking about?"

The gorochu rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Ugh, how much do I have to spell out for you? Are you really this dense?" He sized up Haru with a smirk. "We're not from around here, you hillbilly. We came from across the ocean on our Lady's orders. Took us long enough to get a seafaring vessel going with our mixed bag of knowledge and the frankly paltry resources on the other continent, but here we are."

"Across the ocean?" Nip asked. "That's impossible!"

Haru had to agree. They had boats capable of riding the ocean along the coast, sure. But going out to open waters? That was far too dangerous!

And yet, everything presented to Haru thus far suggested these pokemon were capable of more than anyone she knew. Still, there was something she couldn't wrap her head around. "But… But why? Why are you doing this?"

Topaz opened his mouth to say something more, then suddenly snapped it shut, his expression shifting into a glare. "I've said more than enough. I'm not about to get my hide tanned for overspeaking. Besides, what's it matter to you? You're as good as dead once this is all over, anyways."

Before she could question him further he turned away, though the way his ears twitched made it clear he was still listening to her every movement.

He's right, I'm going to die here, she thought. She'd hardly thought of anything but her demise since the explorers — or whoever they were — turned on her. Topaz wasn't lying. The chances of surviving this ordeal were slim, whether death came by accident or by the paws of his team.

"Haru?"

Why did this have to happen? Why? Why? When did everything all go so wrong? When did her life spiral out of control?

Her eyes darted back and forth until they settled on dark, blue-green fur. Right. Everything spiraled out of control the moment he showed up. Maybe she wouldn't have come with the explorers if not for her experiences with him.

Her head spun, her breathing shallow. Maybe… Maybe…

"Haru? Haru, you need to snap out of it. This isn't helping."

It took her a moment to realize Nip was talking to her. He was staring at her now, gaze inscrutable. If anything, his expression suggested… Worry? Pity, maybe?

Anger swirled in her head, mixing with barely restrained panic to create a volatile cocktail. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Nip recoiled as if struck by claws.

"Yes, your fault! If you hadn't shown up, then none of this would have happened."

"You chose to work with those pokemon of your own free will," he hissed, hackles raised and with a growl in his throat. "I had nothing to do with this."

Haru ignored him. "Everything's gone wrong since you came here," she countered, her voice raising to a shrill squeak. "The egg, then Umbra, then Tempest and Celebi, and now this. If you hadn't shown up, I'd be on my way home soon! But instead, I'm going to die on this gods-forsaken mountain and no one's ever going to know what happened!"

Ending her rant with a wail, Haru buried her face in her paws, curling up to block out the world. She took deep, shuddering breaths, his previous words sinking in. Nip had a point. She knew he had a point. But she couldn't accept it. She couldn't accept the idea that she'd driven herself to her own demise.

Mom, Dad, Toshi… I'm sorry.

Something hard gently nudged her side. A few heartbeats later, it happened again, this time with more force.

"Hey," Nip grunted, nudging her a third time. "You're not dead yet. And that means there's still hope."

Slowly, Haru uncurled, staring up at Nip with wet eyes. His expression gave away his annoyance, but his tone was gentle.

"There is still hope," he repeated, lowering his voice. "If you can just hold on to that, if you can just focus on that little chance of survival, then maybe we can figure something out. That's how I got by as long as I did."

Haru blinked in confusion. "Wh… what are you trying to say?"

At first, Nip didn't reply. He turned his head towards Topaz, ear flicking before he turned back to Haru with a lowered voice. "I'm saying that there's always a chance we can make it out of this alive. We just need to focus. Just need to be alert and ready to pounce on opportunity. But that opportunity won't come if you give up."

Unease plagued Haru's mind. But the more Nip said, the more her panic dissipated, leaving behind clarity. He… had a point. She wasn't dead yet. Maybe there was still a chance to escape. But one major obstacle stood at the forefront of her mind.

Keeping her voice low, she asked, "But how? There's five of them. And I'm not a fast runner."

Nip took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, the frustrated expression was gone. "You're right. In normal circumstances, we'd never get away. I'm injured. You're injured too, but less so. That's why we have to be prepared for an opportunity to present itself. For an opening where they're busy or preoccupied."

He looked to the sky in the direction of the setting sun. "Wherever they think they're going, it's going to take a couple of days to get there. Which means we have a couple of days to figure something out. To find a moment when enough of them are distracted so we can make a break for it. For a convenient chance to lose them in dense forest, or down a river, or… something."

Now that he had mentioned their injuries, Haru felt acutely aware of all her aches and bruises. He spoke a lot of sense, but they'd never get far in this state. Maybe his hope was misplaced.

But at the same time, it was the only hope she had. She'd never get away with just her strength and skill alone. As uneasy as she was at the prospect, she needed his help. He, more than anyone, knew a thing or two about running and hiding and avoiding capture.

"Okay," she finally said. "It's worth a shot."

But if they were going to have any chance of escape, they needed to be as prepared as possible.

Twisting, she reached around to grab a strap on her bag with her teeth, pulling it around where she could easily access it. She reached inside with grabby paws, scooping out four oran berries. One was kept for herself, while the other three were rolled towards Nip.

"I can't make proper medicine out of these," she whispered, "but they should still help some if you eat them."

Nip stared at the berries, squinting, before shifting to remind Haru that his arms were still tightly bound behind him. Right. That was a problem now, and it could cause more later. She was positive she could chew through them, but not with Topaz watching. Not while he snuck suspicious glances their way, tail sparking threateningly.

With a sigh, Haru reached out to pull the berries back to her side, using her teeth and paws to tear apart the thick skin. Then she passed the mostly intact flesh back. This time, Nip leaned down, wincing, to grab it with his teeth, popping the whole thing in his mouth to chew as best he could. Haru peeled two more berries before starting on her own.

As she watched the sneasel eat, she noticed that Nip's focus shifted from her to their surroundings, his ear swiveling at every sound.

"How are you handling this?" she couldn't help but ask. "Aren't you scared?"

"Terrified," Nip corrected. Now that he mentioned it, Haru realized the fur at the back of his neck was standing on end. And yet, he was somehow managing to remain the rational one between them.

"I lived the last three cycles of my life in constant fear," Nip continued. "And I learned that giving up doesn't make things better. If you want to survive you have to fight back."

"Fight back…" Haru considered his words for a moment, studying the grass beneath her paws. She glanced back up, words tumbling out of her mouth without thinking. "Is that how you've justified your crueler actions?"

"Haru, please." Nip's expression turned stricken, and there was an edge of desperation to his tone. "If we want to get out of this alive, we have to work together. Bickering doesn't help. Can't this wait until we're out of danger?"

Nip made a good point. Embarrassment turned Haru's face hot. She decided to change the subject and instead focused on a different thought plaguing her mind.

"This mountain is dangerous enough in the best of times," she mumbled, tracing patterns in the dirt. Now that they weren't talking about escape, she didn't bother keeping quiet enough to avoid Topaz's listening ear. "I lost my grandpa to the mountain…"

Nip looked like he wanted to say something. But before he could, Susana reappeared, now without her disguise.

"We need you at the shrine, Haru," the zoroark said, her tone cloying. "Topaz, keep an eye on the other one, will you?"

Haru cautiously climbed to her paws, picking her way across the overgrown path. She didn't want to go. Why would Susana need her? Had they changed their minds and decided to kill her here? Or maybe she was overthinking this, and they were actually going to let her go?

Light filtered into the cave, but it couldn't penetrate far. With the sun setting on the other side of the mountain, most of this area was cast in shadow.

But that didn't stop Susana. As they entered, she scooped up a short torch that had been planted at the entrance. She gestured for Haru to lead the way.

Dirt and dust coated every inch of the chamber, tinting everything with reddish grime. The shapes of carvings flickered in and out of view within the torchlight, depicting many of the stories of Regigigas that Haru still remembered from her childhood. Some of them, however, had been coated by slimy lichen, blotting out parts of the pictures or text.

Here and there, the rotting remnants of wooden furniture and structures still remained. Nature had reclaimed the shrine fast; if Haru remembered correctly, it had only been about fifteen cycles since the shrine in the village was completed.

Near the back of the chamber stood a statue of Regigigas, carved from stone and just small enough to fit inside. Haru remembered hearing that it was carved out of the cave itself. Small bits of metal made up the eyes and markings on the statue, gleaming in the light of the fire. At the base was a stone basin. At one time, it would have been filled with water — a representation of Regice to complete the trio — but with the disuse of the shrine, it now lay barren.

Haru came to a sudden stop as she caught sight of the rest of the false explorers. They, too, had undergone transformations like Topaz. Skorch's transformation was almost unnoticeable, with only the loss of a horn. But the second head on Remer where his tail should have been felt uncanny.

And Umbra didn't seem phased by their true forms at all. If anything, she seemed bored. Perhaps frustrated.

"Don't just stand there," Susana huffed, giving Haru a nudge with her foot. "You have work to do."

Haru stumbled forward with a squeak. "What do you want from me?" she demanded in a shaky voice. "What can I do that you can't?"

Susana approached a wall to their right. She tapped her claws against an image of Regigigas shaping a mountain. Or, to be more specific, against old, faded writing beneath it.

"Can you read this?"

Haru took a few careful steps forward, squinting in the dark. Her head ached, perhaps from trying to make out the small shapes in the dark. It looked like it was written in the antiquated writing style her village used before the modern incorporated territories standardized written language, forcing them to switch for trade purposes. Instead of a series of dots and dashes, the dots were stacked in bunches of three rows and two columns. Her grandfather had thought it important for her to learn.

And so our Lord came to form Mount Domo
That which He would call Home for ages to come
We rejoiced for his proximity
We prayed for his protection

"I don't know what it says," Haru lied, turning to Susana. "We don't use that form of writing anymore. It died out over a lifetime ago."

Silence fell over the room. Haru held her breath. Then, suddenly, pain exploded in her head and she felt a force seize her and lift her inches into the air. She let out a loud yelp, flailing, her senses blurred.

"She's lying," Remer — his second, darker head — hissed. "She's telling a partial truth. I heard the words echo in her head."

Realization struck Haru. He'd been listening the whole time. Had he been listening before, too? How hadn't she noticed? Was he that advanced?

Was that why they suggested finding someone else to bring them here? Was that why she jumped to the conclusion of Toshi? Had he been subtly influencing her thoughts or manipulating her the whole time?

She focused, remembering the basics of warding off a psychic's powers. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind, then focused on the visual image of spikes and thorns, of fire, of all things unpleasant.

Get out of my head!

The girafarig recoiled and dropped Haru. For just a heartbeat, Haru felt proud of herself. Then Susana loomed over her and all feelings of accomplishment gave way to fear.

"Is that so, Remer? I'm disappointed in you, Haru. Did you really think you could hide things from us? Do I need to remind you of the position you're in?" As she spoke, dark, wispy tendrils swirled around her jaws.

Haru shrank back. "N…no, of course not." An image of Nip flashed in her mind. She quickly forced it down, focusing on the zoroark's jaws instead. She couldn't afford to let them hear any thoughts of escape. Nip would be safe, but any moment she thought of escape without diligence was a chance Remer could read her mind.

"Well then," Susana growled. She reached down to spin Haru around so that she was facing the wall again. "Read."

Haru took a deep breath, trying not to tremble with fear. She repeated the words she'd thought before, phrasing familiar from her childhood.

Susana bobbed her head. "Good. On to the next."

The two of them made their way around the chamber, Susana providing light as Haru read the passages out loud. Passages about the creation of the continent. Passages about lands far beyond the ocean, far out of reach, with warnings to never go here. Passages about the war of the gods. Passages about the followers of Regigigas, hidden away from battle until they couldn't hide anymore. And passages about Mount Domo, and the mystery dungeon near the peak, where legends said Regigigas lived.

"Is all this really necessary?" Umbra growled when Haru was about halfway done. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed across her chest. "This seems like a waste of time."

"Far from it," Skorch replied, her tail swishing. She was now on the ground, using her good arm and a piece of charcoal to scrawl in an unfamiliar script. "Even if we don't use this information to track down Regigigas now, it will be even more worth it later, when the others arrive."

The others. Haru had forgotten about that. And now, with new context, horrors swirled in her mind.

It wasn't just her in danger. It was her entire village.

She had to get out of there.

She had to survive.

She had to warn everyone.

But for the moment, she pushed her thoughts out of her head. For now, she needed to focus on what was in front of her, to focus on surviving this day.

 

[windskull]

Thanks for the reviews as always! One day I'll have the energy to go back and reply to everything.

On the Same Page​

---

Everything ached.

Though the oran berries had alleviated the worst of Nip's pain, the evening's walk flared his bruises and scratches and burns all over again. Exhaustion made his feet drag across the dusty ground. As the evening passed, the vegetation around them thinned, a sign of their elevation. But the high slope to their left made it clear there was still a long way to the peak.

All the while, he tried to remain alert, on the lookout for any opportunity to make a break for it. But exhaustion made it harder, a fact he was unfortunately all too familiar with.

Now, sometime after dark, his captors finally elected to stop and camp for the night. The strange zoroark scurried off and disappeared into a nearby copse, returning shortly thereafter with an armful of wood. She dropped them on the grassy path and set to work digging a small pit. Then she arranged the wood inside, stepping out of the way to let the charizard start a fire after she had finished.

All the while that… Gorochu — or whatever Topaz called himself — watched over both Nip and Haru, leering with undisguised malice. Across the clearing, Umbra, too, stared at Nip, eyes narrow and mouth set in a thin line. And why would she hide her disdain? She had no reason to. His captors were basically on her side, and Haru was as much a prisoner as he.

Nip swallowed thickly, ear lying flat as he averted his gaze. If Umbra had her way, she'd find a way to kill him in the night. He was afraid to sleep. He was afraid that if he did, he'd never wake up. Or would she want him awake to feel his death? He wouldn't put it past her.

To his side, Haru sank to the ground. He snapped out of his anxious trance, focusing on the bidoof instead. She looked as tired as he felt, eyes drooping shut. He wanted nothing more than to drop on the ground and rest too. But he needed to stay vigilant, a point that felt all the more important when the zoroark approached them.

"We need a way to keep our… guests from wandering off," Susana mumbled, just loud enough that he could hear. Then she barked, "Topaz! Help me dig a pit." She jabbed a paw at the Gorochu. "Skorch, I want you on first watch tonight."

Grunting an affirmation, Topaz raced to her side and started scooping out pawfuls of dirt, creating a neat little mound. A moment later, Susana joined in, deepening the hole while he widened, until they'd formed a hole about twice as deep as Nip was tall, just wide enough for himself and Haru to lie down inside.

Topaz dusted off his paws, then scurried over to nudge Haru back to her paws. Then he gave Nip a rough shove, nearly knocking him over as he drove the two of them to the edge of the pit.

Nip hated this. What if they buried him alive? Would he be able to fight back? But he hopped in on his own, keen not to fall and injure himself further. Heartbeats later, however, a heavy weight thumped on top of him, driving the breath from his lungs. He gasped for air, panicking as he tried to struggle free, toe-claws failing to find purchase in the loamy soil.

After a moment, the dazed Haru finally managed to drag herself to the side, freeing him. She mumbled something under her breath that he didn't quite catch.

Nip struggled to sit up with bound arms. Before he could do anything else, he heard a rustling, then the light above dimmed. Glancing up, he saw a tangle of branches blocking off the exit, their leaves illuminated by firelight.

From above, Topaz's voice drifted. "Don't waste our jerky on him. Our supplies are too limited to bother. Besides, it's not like we're going to keep him alive for that long, right?"

Susana's voice drifted from further off, and Nip was only able to catch snippets. Words like trust, and soon.

They're talking about me, Nip thought. Resigned and exhausted, he slumped against one of the walls. A heartbeat later, the branches shifted. Something hard bonked him on the head, then rolled to a stop in front of him. An apple. He was half-convinced they were hitting him on purpose.

Nip sighed, using his foot to drag the apple closer before leaning forward to grab the apple's stem in his teeth. If he had to eat fruit to have energy for tomorrow, he'd do it.

He could make out the shape of Haru — a paler blotch against the dark dirt — tearing into her fruit. A flash of her teeth in the moonlight gave him an idea.

"Haru," he whispered, "could you unbind my arms? Either by cutting the rope with your teeth, or tugging the knot loose?"

The bidoof looked up, a pair of beady eyes glistening at him in the darkness. "Why?"

Because it would make things easier? Because my arms hurt from being stuck like this for so long? Because my wrists feel raw with pain? He answered, "So I don't have to struggle to eat my food. …You… you can put them back when we're done if you just pull them free. Best not to let them get any ideas that we're working together."

Something flashed in Haru's expression. "Don't talk about that," she hissed. "There may be prying ears. Or minds."

"Prying…" His thoughts flashed to the abnormal girafarig — Susana hadn't bothered putting their disguises back up after leaving the old shrine — and realization hit him like a geopebble. As a pokemon with dark elemental affinity, his mind was protected from most psychics, impenetrable. But Haru's wasn't.

"Fine, fine," he said, forcing his fur to lie flat. They may not be able to read his mind, but they'd be able to smell his fear. "But can you at least get my bindings so I can eat?"

Haru hesitated a moment longer, then took a deep breath and murmured, "Okay. I'll loosen it, but just temporarily. If I undo it entirely, they'll know something's up."

Nip shifted so that he was on his knees with his back to Haru, allowing her better access to his arms. Her grabby little paws and teeth tugged at the knots, pulling his arms this way and that. Fur brushed up against his, and he felt her cold nose touch a particularly tender spot. Then the ropes slackened, and he was able to pull his arms free.

Leaving his bindings in a position where he could easily slip them back on, he turned back to Haru, rolling his shoulders and rubbing at his wrists where the ropes had irritated his skin. "Thank you," he mumbled, reaching down to spear the apple on one paw.

His gaze flitted to the branches blocking the exit. "If you can handle it, I think it would be helpful to sleep in turns tonight."

Haru took another bit of her apple, chewing it slowly before she replied. "In case someone out there gets any… ideas?"

"Yes. I don't trust them to keep their word."

The bidoof paused, shivering and taking a shuddering breath. "Y…yeah. I think you're right. I can take first shift if you'd like."

"I would appreciate it," Nip admitted. "I'll try to get some shut-eye as soon as I'm done eating."

---

"Useless!"

Umbra's screeching snapped Nip out of his stupor. He climbed to his feet, staring in the direction the raticate had disappeared. His fur pricked with frustration. If Umbra had driven it in the right direction in the first place, he could have ambushed it. Instead, he'd been forced to give chase, tripping over the dense undergrowth. Now it was too far away.

Dusting his fur off, he turned to face Umbra with an agitated expression.

Big mistake.

The mawile swung her second jaw at him, sending him sprawling. She stood over him, eyes narrowed in a dangerous squint.

His heart raced, panicked eyes darting between Umbra's face and her jaws. Her expression was unreadable, but that was perhaps more terrifying than blatant anger.

"Can you not do anything right?" Umbra said in a dangerously quiet tone. "Now the tribe will go hungry because of your incompetence."

"Y-you drove it the wrong way," Nip stuttered, scrambling as he tried to back away and get to his feet. He knew it was dangerous, but he had to push back against this. "I couldn't keep up!"

"Are you suggesting this is my fault?" The familiar pink flashes of fairy energy sparkled at her fingertips and cascaded to the ground.

"N-not on purpose!" Nip raised his claws to protect his face, just in time to block the brunt of a strike. The spark popped against his arm in blinding flashes and burned, eating away at his will to fight back. With a quiet cry, he curled inward, only to be knocked over again with a burning kick.

"Look at you, you pathetic lump," Umbra said in a sickly sweet voice. Then it shifted to a growl. "You would not want the tribe to starve, would you? Don't bother coming home until you've got more than twice that raticate's weight in food."

He only whined in response.

Footsteps, light over the crunching undergrowth, faded away. Some time passed before Nip finally uncurled, breath hitching. He was alone again.

Or was he?

His ear twitched as a gust of wind rattled the branches high above, bringing with them whispers.

Did you notice Nip limping today?

Umbra says he tripped over a root while hunting. How clumsy can you get?

How did he manage to pass the hunter's test with slip-ups like that?

He is a curse on our tribe.

The elders never should have taken his egg.

Outsider. Outsider. Outsider.

The trees twisted and contorted, roots slithering through the undergrowth to surround him like the bars of a cell. He scrambled, squeezing between them, only for new, thorny brambles to intertwine and dig into his fur.

A thick fog rolled in as he struggled to keep his breathing under control, breath visible in the cold. With it came the eyes. Watching him. Staring. Glaring. Judging.

Nip pressed himself against the thorny roots, eyes wild and frost billowing out of the sides of his mouth.

"Stop!" He pleaded. "Go away!"

The fog closed in, roots tearing through the ground around him. The whispers persisted.

Nip.

Nip.

"Nip!"

---

Something was shaking him. Nip startled awake, fur bristling, to near-total darkness. A thin sliver of moonlight dappled his prison through the branches, revealing the shape of a familiar bidoof sitting over him. Her eyes flashed in the dim light.

"Haru…?" Nip's tone came out groggy as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. "What…?"

"You were dreaming," Haru answered quietly. "You were thrashing and mewling in your sleep."

Nip's fur burned hot with embarrassment. "Oh. Sorry," he mumbled. "Don't worry about it. Just a nightmare about…" Did he dare say it? What point was there in hiding things now? "About my tribe."

Haru sat back. "About… what happened when you left? Or… something else?" Nip suspected she was trying to ask about his attack on the nursery, but with all the tact of a rampaging tauros. He was too tired to care.

"In… a way," he answered with a sigh. "More the… events leading to it. The fights. The manipulation. The isolation." Why was he bothering to explain himself now? It wasn't like it would change Haru's mind. Her stubborn behavior had made that exceedingly clear. But… if he was being honest, he wasn't sure he wanted to change her mind. Not anymore.

The bidoof's expression was unreadable. "You… hurt a lot of pokemon," she mumbled. "Both here and there."

"I know," Nip replied, drooping, "but when you've spent cycle upon cycle of your life beaten down again and again, wallowing in misery with no way out but…" he trailed off, wincing.

"It warps your perception, Haru. It influences you. Makes you want to lash out."

"But it doesn't make it right." Haru said. "It doesn't fix what already happened."

"No," Nip conceded. "It doesn't. You have to live with the consequences. But that's just it. Live. When you die, only Yveltal is left to judge you. It… that prospect is terrifying. Especially after… what we saw here in the village." He didn't say Celebi's name, but he thought of the scatterbrained god all the same. "That would be the easy route, to embrace death without fighting anymore."

It was a coward's way of thinking. His tribe taught him to fight for his life but to face death with dignity. But what dignity was there in laying over and dying because others thought you should?

Haru was silent for a long time. Nip felt his stomach flip as he settled down again, closing his eyes. Why wasn't she saying anything?

"I… think I can understand that."

Nip peeked an eye open. The bidoof was tracing a pattern in the dirt, refusing to look at him. "When I was pretty young, before Toshi was even born, there was a horrible drought. Crops failed. We had to travel to other towns to get enough food. It came at the worst possible time, when we were trying to remain an independent settlement under mounting pressure. I don't remember that part, but I remember the hunger.

"Both of Muse's parents, Shimmer's mom, and my grandfather made a journey up here, beyond the shrine and up towards the peak, in hopes of finding Regigigas. In hopes that, perhaps, he could fix things." She laughed bitterly. "Only my grandfather made it back down, and he succumbed to his injuries within a day of his return, nothing to show for their trouble. To make matters worse, the drought broke within a moon. Times were still hard, but not for much longer. All that suffering… all for nothing."

Silence. Nip broke it moments later. "Is… this why you hate reliance on gods?"

"It wasn't the sole cause," Haru answered, "but it was the start."

Everything about Haru's behavior suddenly made sense. Nip considered what to say next, or whether he should say anything at all, but finally took a deep breath.

"I can understand where you're coming from, as tough as that may be to swallow. I… spent my entire kithood trying to be accepted by my kin, all the other pokemon of my tribe. I was born in the tribe, but my egg had been stolen from somewhere else. I… don't know where. No one would tell me.

"I was viewed as an outsider. Underestimated because I was small. Aside from Tempest and one or two other 'mon, I had to struggle every day of my life to be respected as an equal."

His tone rose as he struggled to keep his volume in check. "And then I prove myself. I prove that I'm strong and capable of hunting and fighting just as well as anyone else. And what do I get? I get paired with a pokemon who hates who I am so much that she's determined to make my every waking moment miserable. That she's determined to find any way to get rid of me that doesn't get her claws too dirty."

Behind his back, he flexed his re-bound claws. "No one but Tempest ever tried to help." There were others who were sympathetic, but they never lifted a paw. "And as an outsider himself, he had limited influence. Haru, I struggled with the idea that Yveltal would allow me to continue suffering. What good was a god that ignored the pleas of her followers? But when things reached their breaking point… I realized that Yveltal isn't that type of goddess. Yveltal would not hold my paw. If I wanted to escape, I had to take matters into my own paws."

"Despite all that, you still chose to follow her?" Haru asked.

"For me, it provided comfort. Hope. I had to cling to something to survive." He hesitated before adding, "Even if… recent events have made that difficult."

He sighed. "Our situations may be different, but their effects were similar. Both left us worse off. Bitter. I… think I understand where your anger comes from now. You're hurting."

Haru shifted uneasily but said nothing. "Sorry," he mumbled, turning to lie back down. "That all probably sounded stupid."

He closed his eyes, but he was too tense to sleep. His mind still dwelled on images of Umbra, on the burn of fairy energy and the bruises she left behind.

Then, to his surprise, he felt something warm press against him. Twisting his head, he could just see Haru lying back to back with him, face turned where he couldn't see.

"Don't think anything of it," she grumbled, stifling a yawn. "But… Maybe you have a point. Sort of. I… I let my feelings cloud my judgment. I have no one to blame but myself for getting into this situation.

The two lapsed into uneasy silence for several moments, only the sound of their breathing, the crackle of fire, and the distant chatter of nocturnal wildeners providing ambiance.

Finally, Haru found her tongue. "Look. I… I still don't like you. You're rash. You've hurt a lot of pokemon. And you've tried to use your suffering to justify your actions. But if we have any hope of survival, we have to work together."

It was probably the closest thing he was going to get to an apology. Not that he particularly deserved one, did he? "Thank you." He paused. "Do you want to try sleeping for a bit? I don't think I'll be able to for a while."

The bidoof shifted beside him, yawning. "Sure. Just wake me up sometime before dawn, okay?"

"Of course." Then Nip went silent. Soon enough, he heard quiet snores from Haru.

Tilting his head, he stared at the flecks of light above their makeshift prison. He closed his eyes, mentally tracing over the spots where he used to dye his fur. He'd stopped bothering when he went on the run. It was too identifying. And before long it had faded. A connection to his tribe and his god, severed.

Yveltal, he prayed. If you have any kindness to spare in your heart, please let us get out alive.

---

The air was thick with exhaustion, worry, and fear, the strength of emotions threatening to overwhelm Shimmer. She focused on blocking out as much as she could.

The sun had set not long ago, forcing them to travel with only an intact luminous orb and a torch for light, and Muse's nose to guide. Earlier, as the sun was setting, they'd found signs of a struggle, droplets of blood decorating the grass. Muse had picked up Haru's scent, alongside Nip's, Umbra's, and unfamiliar scents she couldn't place. Anu suspected it was the explorers.

As they'd followed the scent trail up the road, Anu realized they were headed straight for the old shrine. They'd picked up their pace. Now, the shrine entrance loomed ahead, the entrance a dark void in an already dark night.

"They must have lingered here for a while," Muse reported, sniffing at the grass. "I can smell both Nip and Haru here, and it's strong. Haru's scent leads to the cave, while Nip's leads…" She took a few steps forward before raising her head and tasting the air. "It seems to lead directly up the trail." She ran several more body lengths forward. "Haru's scent, and most of the others, rejoin here and continue up the path too."

Whisper sighed. "Then we know she was still okay at this point." Shimmer didn't read her thoughts, but the spike of worry suggested she wasn't completely confident about that.

The hawlucha tilted her head to stare at the crescent moon and stars. "We'll stop here for the night, and start again at the crack of dawn."

"What?" Toshi squeaked. "But Haru's still out there! We can't stop now. What if she's hurt?"

"I know you're worried," Anu began gently as he approached the shrine entrance. His luminous orb did little to dispel the darkness. "But the road ahead is perilous. You've never been there, but there's a forest not too far beyond here that we'd have to cut through. There are territorial wildeners there. And the path becomes untamed and perilous not far beyond that." The conviction with which he spoke was unusual. "We can't risk stumbling about in the dark. This is the safest place we could ask for."

"Anu is right," Whisper agreed, stooping down to be eye-level with Toshi. "He knows this trail better than any living pokemon in the village." Then she stood, following her mate into the darkness.

Reluctantly, Toshi followed, head drooping. Even with her mental blocks up, the waves of anxiety rolling off of him nearly overwhelmed Shimmer. It was kind of charming, in a messed up way, knowing that he cared so much about Haru's safety.

She was worried too, of course. But it didn't do anyone any good to worry like that. Maybe she could cheer him up!

Practically gliding across the dilapidated path, Shimmer caught up with the bidoof. "Aw, cheer up," she said in a sing-song voice. "We'll catch up tomorrow, I'm sure. Then we can all go home and pretend this never happened and you and I can talk about our future plans together and…" Shimmer trailed off. The more she spoke, the more the anxiety waves spiked. With them came other emotions. Negative emotions.

Toshi came to an abrupt stop, spinning to face her. "Shims, I'm not in the mood to humor you."

Shimmer faltered, blinking twice. "But I—"

"My sister is in serious danger, and you're making it about yourself!" His voice turned shrill. "Do you even care?"

"Of course I do! I was just—" But Shimmer didn't get a chance to finish her thought. Toshi whirled back around, racing into the cave.

Shimmer started to give chase, but a paw on her shoulder held her back. She looked up to see Anu staring down at her, eyes gentle. "Give him some space," he began, walking around and then stooping so that he was eye-level with Shimmer. "He's stressed right now, and needs time to himself."

"I was just trying to cheer him up," Shimmer protested sullenly.

Anu was quiet for a moment. He bit his lip, struggling to start speaking.

"Your heart is in the right place," he began slowly. "But have you considered that you can be… overbearing sometimes, making him feel like he has to go along with you to keep the peace? Toshi has a hard time saying no to people. If he shut you out here, doesn't that suggest that he must be extremely stressed?"

Shimmer dropped her gaze, stomach tied in knots. She didn't like where this was going. "I guess, but—"

Anu cut her off. "No buts. Shimmer, you are an incredibly smart and powerful young woman, but you need to learn to take no for an answer. There are a lot of bad things going on right now. Haru is likely in danger. Tempest is severely injured, and both Nip and Umbra are missing. One of our guards might be involved in this mess, too. Who knows how deep this buneary hole goes."

Pawsteps sounded behind Shimmer, then she felt a puff of hot breath on her back. She turned her head to see Muse, as unreadable as always.

"Musey?" Shimmer asked hesitantly. "What do you think?"

Unease briefly flitted across the absol's face before she took a deep breath, relaxed, and leaned down to bump her forehead against Shimmer's. "I… think Anu's words are wise. Give Toshi some time. When we get back, let him have an honest conversation with you."

Shimmer didn't like that answer. What if… What if Toshi was really upset and never wanted to see her again? What if she messed up so spectacularly that she couldn't fix things? What if…

What if he didn't actually like her?

Muse nudged her, nuzzling Shimmer's cheek. "It's going to be okay. No matter what happens, I will be here for you. Right now, let's just focus on finding Haru."

Shimmer took a deep breath. Right. Haru. She was what was most important right now. "Okay. Let's just get some rest."

"I'll take first watch," Muse offered. "I'll wake Whisper or Toshi in a while."

Shimmer frowned. "No," she said, putting a hand on the Absol's back. "Let me. You're the best tracker. We need you at your best tomorrow."

"But…" Muse looked between Shimmer and Anu before dipping her head. "Very well. I will speak with you in the morning." With that, she headed into the cave, leaving Shimmer alone with Anu.

The lucario gave her a pat on the head, then turned toward the cave as well.

Shimmer headed to the entrance a moment later, sitting so that she faced the moonlight flooding inside. Alone her thoughts raced.

Vale's lie bothered her. She wasn't surprised by Umbra's involvement; she and Muse had suspected foul play from the mawile for some time. But why was Vale covering for her? Did her father know about this? What about Jaques and Lotte? They couldn't. They would have done something to stop it, right?

And then, more personally, there was Toshi. She knew Anu had a point, but she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe… just maybe… his reaction was something that had been a long time coming. She knew he was sometimes uncomfortable around her, but she'd convinced herself it was something he'd get used to.

Sighing, she pulled her knees to her chest and stared at the stars above.

Oh, Regigigas. Why is this happening?

 

[windskull]

Escape​

---

Morning came far too soon. Dawn light trickled into the makeshift prison, dappling Haru's face. Despite getting relatively decent sleep, exhaustion clung to her bones. She wished she could get some more rest, but the branches shifting overhead indicated otherwise.

Susana's long claws reached into the pit, scooping her up before unceremoniously dropping her beside it. The zoroark leaned in again, dragging out Nip, who hissed and spat at her.

He looked about as good as she felt, though he'd clearly attempted to groom and clean himself in the night. She wished she'd done the same. Her complaints about him grooming in public seemed so far away now. So inconsequential.

Further down the path, the other three explorers gathered together, eating and conversing. Umbra sat beside them, her attention slipping in and out of the conversation as she took opportunities to glare at Nip. Even from a distance, Haru caught some of their chatter.

"How much longer do you think this is going to take?" Remer asked. "I pinged the camp to give our location this morning. Our Lady is requesting a status update."

Skorch puffed a ring of smoke. "Your guess is as good as mine. The stories we found refer to another mystery dungeon. We'll probably have to go all the way to the peak."

"I'll bet we'll get there in no time flat!" Topaz said, jumping to his paws. "Come on, we're the best scouts of the gang."

"You know Our Lady doesn't like referring to our alliance as a gang," Skorch huffed.

"Yeah, well, she's not here!"

Umbra tore off a bite of jerky, chewing. "Do you seriously plan to make me wait that long to get my side of our deal?"

"Susana will decide when your end of the bargain has been fulfilled," Remer replied. "But if you prove your worth, I'm sure it won't be that long."

Umbra let out a low growl, clenching and unclenching her claws. "I will do what I must to get rid of him. I do not care what happens to this village. Once my role is done, I plan to wash my claws of the situation and return home."

Skorch tilted her head. "You don't live here?"

Haru would have listened to more, but an apple bonked her head, shaking her out of her thoughts.

"Hurry up and eat," Susana grunted. "Or don't. No skin off my back. We're leaving soon."

Nip sat beside her, scowling at his own fruit before leaning over to take a bite. With a sigh, Haru gave up on eavesdropping and dug into her own.

---

The path became dilapidated as they traveled further up the mountain. Grasses and bushes sprouted up in the middle of the otherwise open space. In one spot, the remnants of a landslide forced them to scramble over piles of stone and rotting wood, slowing them down. It felt like they'd barely made any progress by sun high, but Haru already wanted to drop and take a long nap.

They still had a long way to go, the peak visible in the distance. Ahead, the path curved away from the cliff they'd been following, veering into a stretch of woods that sloped gently upwards.

"Susana!" Remer called from the back of the group. "This seems like a relatively sheltered area. Should we stop here for lunch and try to gather more supplies? We may not have another opportunity as good as this."

"I thought we were in a hurry!" Topaz protested. "We brought plenty of supplies. Let's stop for lunch, sure, but we shouldn't waste any more time than we need to."

"Easy, Topaz," Susana said, her tone placating. "You both make good points. We don't know how many days it will take to reach and research the peak, and Our Lady will want updates. But we also cannot afford to run out of food."

The gorochu's cheeks sparked with indignation. "Then why are we wasting our food on them?" He gestured sharply in Haru and Nip's direction. Haru flinched, but Nip remained stoic.

Susana took a deep breath. "I'll concede your point on the sneasel. But we need Haru in good health if she's going to guide us."

But you've made it clear I won't survive this either, Haru thought, involuntarily shivering. Her gaze dropped, staring blankly at the pebbles in front of her, but a nudge from Nip made her look up again.

She glanced at him, confused, but he said nothing. Instead, he stood at attention, ear swiveling, nose twitching, and mouth slightly parted to take in scents. Looking for an opening, maybe?

Raising her head, she sniffed at the air, only to freeze as she picked up a musky scent. Someone else was nearby. A wildener, she suspected. And a big one at that. She tried to think back. Had she smelled this before? It reminded her a bit of ursaring scent, but it wasn't quite right. As she squinted at the tree line, she could just make out gouges in their bark, likely territorial markings.

Nip turned his attention to her and hissed in a low voice, "This could be the opening we need. We need to draw their attention. Get loud. Argue with me, or something."

"What?"

But before she could get clarification, Nip let out a growl and spoke in a loud, disgruntled tone. "Ugh, don't you get how tired I am? I could hardly get any sleep with you snoring all night long."

Well, she had to say something now or this wasn't going to work. Letting indignation color her voice, she replied, "I don't snore!"

"Oh yes, you do. Like a hibernating snorlax. Not to mention how much space you took up splayed out like one."

"Oh my god, shut up." Susana stomped over towards them, making Haru shrink back. She raised a claw as if to strike them. But before they could, Remer called out.

"Susana?" The mutant girafarig's voice quavered. "We're not alone."

Just as he said it, Haru felt the ground tremble. Pebbles jumped and clattered as it lurched, the trees swaying. She yelped, dropping to her belly as she rode out the shock waves of the earthquake.

Before she had time to recover, two massive ursaluna barreled out from the trees, claws glinting in the sunlight.

"Shit! Evasive maneuvers, team!" Susana called over the wildener's threatening roars. "Skorch! In the air. Topaz! Non-electric attacks! Remer! Focus on range! Umbra, do whatever you can to help!"

Then the zoroark launched herself at the nearest ursaluna, whispy tendrils of dark-type energy dripping from her mouth before she let out a vicious snarl.

Haru cowered in place, trembling as the clearing broke out into a flurry of battles. How strong were these explorers, if they were willing to take on not just one, but two angry ursaluna?

A sharp nudge to her side made her flinch, shaking her out of her thoughts. She whipped her head around. Nip stood alert, eyes still on the battle. But when he spoke in a low hiss, he was clearly addressing her.

"This is our chance! They're too distracted fighting for their lives."

Their chance…? Clarity hit Haru like a snorlax. Nip was right. They likely wouldn't get a better opportunity than this. She sprang to her feet, fighting full-body tremors. "R-right. Let's go."

"Head for the trees," Nip said, spinning on his heel. "The undergrowth looked thick. We might be able to lose them." Then he dashed away, head low. Haru raced after him as quickly as she could, left in the dust.

She'd made it halfway to the trees — Nip nearly swallowed by their shadows — when she heard Skorch roar, "Susana! The prisoners!"

Haru didn't dare look back, but she could hear the zoroark's yelp well enough, followed by a loud curse. "Topaz! Stop them!"

Haru stumbled over her paws. She couldn't see Nip anymore. It was just her. Just her in danger. Just her outpaced.

An odd scent hit the back of Haru's throat, almost like the smell of burning. A heartbeat later, before she had a chance to think, a thunderbolt struck. She collapsed, her limbs seizing and convulsing. Instinctively, she tried to let out a terrified squeal, but couldn't.

Then, as suddenly as the pain started, it was over. She slumped, panting, the burning scent still stuck in her throat. Her paws felt like jelly as she tried to stumble forward. But she'd gotten hardly more than a pawful of steps before a heavy weight slammed her from behind, sending her tumbling.

The gorochu's claws dug into her back, drawing blood as his weight forced her to the ground. She screamed and struggled, hind legs churning in the dirt, but couldn't drag herself free.

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling tears welling. Was this it? Was she going to die here while Nip escaped? Why? Why was this happening? What did she do to deserve this?

Something cold nicked her ear. Topaz grunted, his weight shifting. The pressure on her back lessened. She peeked one eye open.

Nip?

The sneasel was racing towards her, shards of ice accumulating on his legs. The scent of electricity flared in her nostrils again. But before Topaz could release his charge, Nip pounced, striking him in the head with a single, spinning kick that threw him off balance.

Haru scrambled to her feet, staring with wide eyes. Nip… Nip had rescued her.

"Stop staring, idiot," Nip snarled, giving her a shove with his shoulder. "Run."

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Haru dashed towards the trees. Behind her, she heard the sound of another dull strike and a yelp from Topaz. A heartbeat later, Nip dashed past her once again.

The shadows of the trees swallowed him. She dove under the nearest bush, finally daring to take a look back. Topaz clutched at his head, glaring into the bushes. He shook it, then dropped on all fours and dashed toward the trees.

They weren't safe yet. They had to keep moving.

"Stick to the densest undergrowth," Nip hissed from somewhere nearby. "He's bigger. It'll slow him down more than it will us."

That made sense. Haru took a deep breath, pressing her belly against the dirt so that she could shimmy under a tangle of brambles. Thorny stems scraped her pelt, tugging loose strands of fur. But she emerged on the other side of the patch unharmed. The crashing sound of Topaz kept her moving.

She completely lost sight and sound of Nip, but she could still smell him nearby. Silently, she cursed herself for not bringing any battle supplies, though she doubted Susana would have let her keep them.

As she dived under a bush, she felt the ground slope beneath her. Down was good. Down was towards home. Or it would be if she didn't suddenly emerge at a steep drop-off, eye-level with the tops of the trees in front of her. Swirling mist rose around their branches. In spots the air wavered, revealing flickers of dead branches.

Nip emerged to her left, panting. His eyes darted wildly. "A… A mystery dungeon?" he gasped.

Behind them, the crashing came closer. Nip whipped his head around, then he turned to Haru. "We have to chance it."

"What? You want to just go running into a dungeon — a dungeon we have no information on?"

"Have any better ideas?" He didn't wait for a response. Walking to the edge, he stood precariously before taking a seat with his legs dangling over. Then, with a deep breath, he pushed off, half sliding, half falling down the slope. Loose pebbles skittered around him before he lost control and fell, disappearing into the mist.

Haru glanced at the forest behind her. He was right. They had to chance it. She could either enter the mystery dungeon or face Susana's wrath.

She took a single step…

And pitched forward, tumbling down the hill. Head spinning, she had just enough sense to tuck into a ball, rolling out as she bounced off stone and spun through dirt, fog rising around her.

She came to an abrupt stop when she crashed into a snowdrift. Stunned by the sudden cold, it took Haru several heartbeats to uncurl, backing out of it. Powdery snow clung to her back in clumps. She shook it off, thankful for her water-resistant pelt.

Snow crunched behind her. She froze, then whirled around.

It was just Nip, staring at her with wide eyes. "We need to move. If he jumps in now, he'll find us."

Right. Topaz.

Haru turned to get a good look at their surroundings. They were in a small clearing, ringed by holly bushes and tall, gnarled, leafless trees, their branches creating a web overhead. Pale sunlight trickled between them, dampened by dungeon fog. On the far side, the bushes parted, creating an open, winding path broken by the occasional tree. As far as she could tell, it was the only way forward.

She took a few steps, then paused, looking at the tracks she left behind.

Nip followed her gaze. "We'll just have to move quickly. Look for oddities that could suggest a zone shift. Do you know anything about this dungeon?"

"Nothing," Haru replied. "I didn't even know it was here." Maybe Anu did. Maybe Toshi did. Maybe her grandfather would have. But she'd never seen a reason to memorize any dungeons except for ones that might actually matter to the average merchant. A part of her regretted that now.

"I see. Well… hopefully it won't be a long one. I don't suppose you have any food stocks if we're here for a while?"

"Just oran berries," Haru said as they exited the clearing.

"I see," Nip mumbled. "All the more reason to move quickly."

They lapsed into tense silence, trudging through the snow as they pushed deeper into the dungeon. For the most part, it had the typical layout that Haru was used to, with small clearings and winding paths, though these paths were wider than what she was used to. She noticed Nip constantly checking over his shoulder, ear swiveling as he remained vigilant. There was no point in small talk. Only in pushing forward.

Several empty clearings later, they found the entrance to the next zone, a small ring of holly bushes, the trees around them almost forming a cage. A beam of sunlight shone down on the center. Haru and Nip wasted no time in entering the ring, the fog closing in around them, then parting to reveal a new clearing.

"That should be enough distance for now," Haru said, slumping. "Let's rest for a moment."

"This would be a good time to deal with these bonds," Nip said, gesturing with his head to the arms behind his back.

Right. His bindings. Haru felt her heart skip a beat, the smallest seed of doubt in her mind. What if he used this opportunity to make a break for it? What if he ran as soon as they were safe and went on to hurt someone else?

She pushed the thought out of her mind. He just saved her when he could have left her behind. Right now, they both needed to be able to run and fight freely. She could put aside her misgivings.

Taking one of his paws in hers, she pulled him down so that his arms were at mouth level and began gnawing on the rope, crushing and splitting the thick cord of fibers in her jaws. Several tense heartbeats passed as the knot frayed and loosened. And then, all at once, Nip was free.

He wasted no time springing back to his feet, rubbing at his sore wrists. "Thank you. Let's keep moving."

The next zone went by in tense silence. The one after that, as well. Nip finally broke the silence on the fourth.

"Once we find our way out, it would probably be beneficial to keep to the shadows. How well do you know the mountain?"

"This part?" Haru asked. "Not at all. I've never been this high." She glanced at the twisted branches above them. Snow flurries filtered from the foggy sky. "I… believe there's a river that cuts through the mountain a bit off the main path. I could hear it yesterday evening, not long before we made camp. Otherwise, I'm clueless."

Nip sighed. "That may be our best option."

As they entered another empty clearing, he took a quick look around for food or the exit before pointing to a path out. "If we can follow the river, or even swim in it, we may be able to lose them. We could mask our scent."

He had a point. Haru couldn't help but be surprised, even though she knew she shouldn't be. The plan seemed like something a wildener would come up with. Of course, he almost was one. But his logic was sound, and she couldn't come up with any better ideas.

Humming an affirmation, Haru turned her attention back to the sky. It was hard to judge what time of day it was. The sky of a dungeon rarely synced up with the real world. They could have been here a quarter of a day or an entire one, and only her tiredness and hunger would give any indication of which was correct.

Suddenly, Nip put his arm out in front of Haru, forcing her to stop. He held his other paw up to his mouth, gesturing for silence. Then he took a few hesitant steps forward before stopping again.

But the sound of crunching snow continued. A moment later, Haru caught a glimpse of a dark orange pelt racing past.

Topaz was here.

Nip remained still for several heartbeats, then raced ahead. "Come on. We need to hurry. He must be following our tracks."

Haru chased after him as fast as she could, spraying snow behind her. Ahead, the path opened into a clearing. They'd already passed through here once, their paw prints now mingling with Topaz's. Nip wasted no time dashing to the only path they hadn't taken yet, Haru trailing close behind.

They didn't dare talk, afraid that Topaz would hear them, running in tense silence. Only the sound of crunching snow broke the monotony. The twisted, gnarled branches of the trees bared down on them, reminding them that there was no place to go but where the dungeon took them.

Panting, Haru struggled to keep pace. The snow numbed her paws, her hot breath coming out in puffy clouds.

"There," Nip hissed. "There's the next exit."

Sure enough, Haru could see the now-familiar ring of bushes and branches, heralding them to a new zone. Nip waited just outside for her to catch up. Then, together, they stepped into the space.

Every heartbeat they spent with their vision obscured by fog felt like torture; Topaz could catch up at any minute, and they'd not know it until too late. But finally, the fog cleared, revealing a copse of scattered trees and deep snow drifts. A small handful of wildeners were scattered about the field. A few raised their heads to curiously or warily stare at Haru and Nip, but none bothered to approach. And that was just fine, as far as Haru was concerned. The sooner they got out, the better.

"This must be the stable zone," she said, taking a few steps into the snow. "Look for a path winding out of here."

"Like that one?" Nip pointed to their right, past a dozing furret, and to a spot where a trail almost clear of snow disappeared into the mist.

"Exactly like that one," Haru agreed, taking the lead. "Come on!"

The mist swallowed them up, thick enough that Haru couldn't even see her nose, her footsteps muffled to silence. But just as quickly as it engulfed her, it left her standing next to Nip, brown and gold leaves falling around them.

She took a second to orient herself, sniffing at the air. The wind was blowing towards her and into the dungeon. Not good. But the air seemed moist, perhaps a sign of the river. A narrow dirt path weaved through the undergrowth ahead of them, winding through the woods with the occasional dip. Most of the bushes and plants along the side were barren of leaves, picked clean.

"This looks like it might be a sawsbuck path," Haru said. She pointed one paw down the path. "I think there's a good chance we'll find the river if we follow it."

Nip tilted his head. "I'm surprised you recognize it."

Haru scoffed, taking the lead. "The nearest village is more than a day's walk away. We need basic survival skills to travel. Just because I don't live like a wildener doesn't mean I know nothing."

"I didn't intend to say that," Nip growled, shaking his head. He dashed forward, passing Haru. "Come, we cannot afford to waste any time. Topaz could exit any heartbeat now."

Nip was right, Haru silently admitted. There was no time to dawdle. Against the aching protests of her limbs, she broke out into a sprint, twigs whipping at her fur along the edge of the path as it narrowed, widened, and twisted, meandering through the forest.

They traveled without speaking, afraid to alert any prying ears to their presence. Occasionally Nip would stop, sniff at the air, then dash off again.

As time passed, the sound of rushing water grew louder, louder, louder, turning eventually into a roar. Far louder than a river should be. The forest petered out, giving way to grass nearly as tall as Haru.

She stopped and stood on her hind legs, just able to make out the far side of a river. Or the bank, at least, which sharply dropped off at least a couple body lengths above the water. Dropping back onto all fours, she pushed through the grass until she reached the near bank. Nip came to an abrupt stop just behind her, a growl in his throat.

Instead of the gentle, swirling currents they'd hoped for, the water raced past, white and frothy. To their right, the roaring was louder. The sound finally clicked in Haru's mind. A waterfall. They were near a waterfall.

"This… This is no good," she huffed, barely audible over the roar. "I'm not sure even I could swim that…"

Nip watched the swirling water for a moment, then nudged her side. "What if we go downstream? Maybe it'll let up if we get past the fall."

He turned and pushed his way back into the grass, blades parting around him. Haru turned to follow but hardly made it a dozen paces when a shadow suddenly blotted out the sun. Heartbeats later, a blast of fire rained from above, combusting the grass in front of them.

Haru froze, panic seizing her. Nip gave her a shove, shaking her out of it. She turned to race away from the fire.

Only to skid to a stop as more grass burst into flame ahead.

She yelped, turning again, but there was only more fire. "Shit!" On three sides, flame closed in. Behind them, the river rapids roared. They were trapped.

"Do you know any water techniques?" Nip yelped, focusing and trying to form ice shards on his pelt. "We need to cut a path through!"

She didn't. The best she had was rollout, which could get her through the fire fast, but she'd still be putting her body in harm's way.

Before she could try, the shadow swooped by again. Claws dug into the nape of her neck. She squealed and struggled and tried to twist and bite, but the charizardthe way the charizard held her, she couldn't. She could hear Nip hissing and spitting nearby. But her vision was too blurred to locate him, smoke burning her eyes.

Skorch dragged her across the ground and through the fire. Pain blossomed across her side as flames licked at her fur. Then the charizard suddenly let go, sending her tumbling across the ground.

Haru tried climbing to her feet but her legs gave out and she collapsed; she couldn't move. She heard Nip growling and spitting, a pained roar from Skorch, then a dull thud, a sickening snap, and an agonized screech. Grass and smoke blocked her vision. The acrid stench of burning filled her nostrils. Somewhere nearby, she could hear Nip gasping for breath, a pained whine accompanying every exhale.

They'd failed.

She had no clue how long she lay there under the charizard's careful watch, but it was long enough for some of her strength to return. Not enough to run, but enough that she managed to sit up.

The fire had either been put out or burned itself out. She wasn't sure which. But a dark patch of scorched grass still smoldered. The charizard nudged her towards it with one foot. Ashy dirt, still hot but starting to cool, burned her paws. She danced on them, trying to spare her feet as much as possible.

A moment later, Nip was ushered over to the grass, his left arm hanging at an awkward angle and his eyes glazed with pain. He stank of scorched fur and fear. She felt somewhat sorry for him.

Haru looked away, only to squeal in panic. While she'd been preoccupied with him, Susana had emerged from the tree line, the rest of her fake explorers and Umbra accompanying her. Her maw was twisted into a scowl, eyes narrow.

"I see now why you insisted on killing him before we traveled," the zoroark growled, gesturing a paw toward Umbra. "Thanks to these two, we've lost over half a day of travel. And on such a time-sensitive matter."

"Our lady isn't gonna be happy with that," Topaz mumbled, speaking out of the corner of his mouth.

Susana's nostrils flared, a puff of spectral energy bursting from her mane. "Topaz. Stop." She took a deep breath. "You've proven your point, Umbra. These two have outlived their usefulness."

No. Haru shrank in on herself. No. No. No. No. No. She wanted to take a step back. To turn and flee. But she felt rooted to the spot.

The mawile took a step forward, undisguised glee and malice twisting her face. Haru always knew Umbra was dangerous from the moment they first met. But now she could see the side Nip feared. Umbra had no reason to mask it anymore. The only people around her didn't care… or were about to die.

"S… stay back!" Haru squeaked feebly.

But for the moment, Umbra ignored her. Haru wasn't her prize. Instead, she raced towards Nip, knocking him to the ground with a hard strike across the chest. Haru heard a quiet "oomph" as the wind was driven from him.

He writhed on the ground, trying to get back to his paws, but Umbra pinned him with one foot, her second jaw arced towards him. He lashed out with his good arm, but her thick, wiry leg fur kept him from doing any damage.

"Face your death with dignity, coward," Umbra spat. "Or don't. You've had plenty of opportunities to do so, even before fleeing, and yet you still struggle."

Pink sparks of fairy energy swirled around her claws as she raised them, aiming for his throat.

Something whizzed past Haru's ear. The projectile smacked Umbra on the side of the head, knocking her off her feet. Haru blinked as the aura sphere burst apart, eyes wide. A loud yelp from Susana followed. She turned her head towards the source.

In the distance, the zoroark tussled on the ground with an absol, who'd bit down on her arm. Not just any absol — Muse.

And behind her, racing from the tree line, were Shimmer, Toshi, Anu, and Whisper.

 

[windskull]

Art for this chapter by Bograbbit!

Battle at the River​

---

Umbra hopped to her feet in an instant, turning to face her assailant. The lucario glared at her, assuming a defensive stance. "You again?" she screeched. "Stop meddling in my affairs!"

"I'm only going to say this once," Whisper barked with an intensity Haru had never heard from her — not even when dealing with Nip. "Turn yourselves in peacefully, or we will use force. We have — Toshi, wait!"

Breaking ranks, Toshi raced down the slope towards Haru, calling her name. Hope swelled in her chest, but it was replaced with dread as Topaz raced up the hill to intercept. Toshi skidded to a stop, planting his paws in the dirt and growling. Topaz responded by dropping on all fours, spiked tail lashing.

At first, Susana said nothing. Then she grinned and chuckled, the laughter starting sinister before turning into rasping barks. Muse let out a low growl, digging her front claws into the zoroark. Wispy, purple tendrils that seemed to suck in light rose from Susana's fanned-out mane. Before Muse could react, the tendrils lashed out, striking at her legs, face, and shoulders. She visibly winced, shivering.

That was all the opening Susana needed. She hooked her legs under Muse's belly and kicked, sending her flying. At once, the zoroark sprang to her paws. "This has gone too far. Kill them all!"

The field exploded into chaos. Toshi lunged at the gorochu, teeth bared and glowing. Topaz spun out of the way, racing back towards his team with Toshi close behind.

As he ran, Topaz released a thunderbolt toward Anu, Whisper, and Shimmer. The trio dodged, Shimmer teleporting just in time. The bolt instead hit a tree, the trunk bursting into flame. Shards of bark exploded out in all directions, raining down on the combatants.

The kirlia reappeared in front of Haru, who yelped instinctively and tried to scramble back, but her legs felt like jelly.

Haru felt a psychic hold wrap around her body, dragging her as Shimmer grabbed Nip's good arm and dashed away from battle. She deposited them in a patch of tall grass, away from the thick of the fighting. Then she reached her hands into the satchel at her hip, pulling out a handful of oran berries.

"Okay, you guys," she said with a wink, "eat these and stay out of trouble while we handle things!"

Nip reached out for a berry, only to freeze with pupils narrowed to slits.

"Look out!"

His warning came too late. Umbra slammed into Shimmer from behind head-first, knocking her flat with her iron jaws. The kirlia screeched and writhed, ruddy marks swelling on her back where steel energy had made contact.

Umbra spat in Shimmer's direction, then turned towards Nip, claws glowing as a low grow sounded in her throat. "Why do you continue to struggle? Just roll over and die already!"

Nip's eyes were glazed with pain, but he held his good arm in front of him as he took a defensive stance. "Why won't you just move on already? This could have been resolved peacefully a long time ago!"

"Because you don't deserve it!" she shrieked, lunging.

Nip sprang back, her glowing claws only grazing him, and retaliated by flinging a pawful of ice shards in her direction. He turned and dove into the grass.

Umbra shoved Haru out of the way to chase after him. But before she got far, another aura sphere struck her in the back.

Anu slid to a stop in front of Haru, standing stiff as his eyes darted between her, Umbra, and Shimmer. The kirlia groaned, pushing herself to her hands and knees. At the same time, Umbra whirled around to face Anu, jaw raised high and her claws sparking once again.

The lucario crossed his arms across his chest and took a deep breath. Two bone-shaped aura blades formed, one for each paw. He swung his arms to his sides, taking a fighting stance.

"Fine," Umbra hissed. "If I have to break your spirit first, then I will!" She lunged, claws slashing across Anu's thigh. He winced and shivered involuntarily, but retaliated by smashing one of the bone clubs against her cheek.

Rolling with the blow, Umbra sprang to her feet and tackled Anu, howling with rage. The two rolled over and over, each trying to get the upper paw, soon out of reach.

Shimmer sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to stand, trembling. "S-she hits hard, I'll give her that." Reaching into her bag, she grabbed another oran and gulped it down, spitting out the skin. "I gotta go help. Keep everyone healthy. You two stay hidden." Before Haru could argue, she teleported away.

Haru shrank into the tall grass, tearing open an oran to get to its healing flesh. But she couldn't keep her eyes off the fight.

Whisper grappled with Topaz, electrical burns singing her feathers. The hawlucha sprang into the air and dove at the gorochu, springing out of the way a moment later to roost and recover.

Anu and Umbra were on their feet again, the former flinging more bones while the latter dodged and weaved, dashing in to strike when the opportunity presented itself.

Shimmer took psychic potshots at Skorch between heal pulses directed at the rest of the team. It was enough to keep her from raining fire down on the team. For now.

Susana towered above them all, sending pulses of dark or ghost energy towards Muse when she was far, and striking with teeth and claws when she was close. But Muse was nimble, dodging most of the ranged attacks and powering through the physical strikes to slash with her horn and claws.

Occasionally, Haru caught sight of Toshi rolling about, knocking over grounded enemies whenever he got the chance.

But they weren't winning, Haru realized. While everyone was holding their own, the fight was clearly taking its toll. Whisper trembled. Blood oozed from wounds on both Muse and Anu, the former's injuries staining her white fur.

She should be helping. She should be protecting her brother, her neighbors. But what good could she do in her current state?

Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. The girafarig, Remer, had circled the combatants, keeping out of the way and keeping both heads low. Now, he stood near the edge of the riverbank, alert.

Psychic energy, bright and chaotic, gathered between both sets of horns. He sent two psybeams hurtling in Whisper's direction.

Preoccupied by Topaz, she didn't see the strike until it hit her. She stumbled with a squawk, giving Topaz an opening to follow up with a thunderbolt. She crumpled.

"Whisper!"

Anu disengaged with Umbra, racing towards the gorochu. His bone rush struck once — twice — sending Topaz sprawling. He didn't get up.

But before Anu could pivot, Umbra struck him in the back. The pair grappled in the dirt once again but it was clear Umbra had the advantage now.

And now Remer had his sights set on the lucario.

"Ugh! We can't just sit here!" Nip growled. Haru stumbled as he pushed past her.

"Nip, wait!" Haru started to give chase but stumbled over a stray stone. Already, he was halfway across the field.

He sprang at the girafarig, slashing with his good arm while keeping the other one close. Startled and knocked off-balance, Remer's next strike launched harmlessly into the air.

Haru struggled to her feet and chased after Nip.

Electrical sparks gathered between the horns of Remer's golden head. A heartbeat later, he launched the charged beam at Nip. But the sneasel danced out of the way before striking again. Remer took a stumbling step back, teetering close to the edge.

Taking the opening, Nip sprang on the girafarig's back, dark smoke trailing from the claws on his good arm.

Haru's eyes went wide. She was nearly close enough to attack. "Nip, no!"

The sneasel slashed his claws across the dark girafarig head's neck with all the strength he could muster. A sickening crack and a pulse of blood followed.

Remer screamed, stumbling, as the head convulsed and went limp. He wobbled a few steps forward, then to the side, trying to find his balance with just one head. He tottered at the edge of the bank for one agonizingly long heartbeat, then toppled into the river, bringing Nip down with him.

Haru dashed to the edge of the bank and froze. White water rushed by, sweeping both pokemon downstream. In a moment, they'd plunge over the waterfall. She saw Nip's head for a heartbeat before he disappeared under the surface. Remer flailed, eyes wide with panic.

"Susana! Someone! Anyone! Help!"

Nip wouldn't be able to fight the current. Even before his arm was broken. But now?

If he didn't drown before he reached the waterfall, the drop would kill him, dashing him against the rocks below.

Haru acted on instinct. Before she could think about it, she leaped into the river.

Water pounded her back, sending her tumbling through the current. She fought to right herself, instinctively paddling as the river spun her and knocked her against underwater rocks, driving the breath from her. Then she breached the surface.

The riverbanks raced past her on either side, too steep to climb out. She ignored that, focusing on swimming with the current before diving underwater again. Ahead, she could see Remer's flailing hooves. But where was Nip?

She kicked her feet, blinking underwater. A stream of bubbles caught her attention ahead. There he was.

He'd just smashed against a jagged, underwater boulder, mouth open in a soundless scream. He flailed as water entered his mouth, twisting uselessly as the rapids carried him away.

Haru angled herself towards him and kicked, catching up in mere heartbeats. She sank her teeth into his scruff and pushed for the surface, sucking in a lungful of air as she cleared.

Nip hacked and sputtered, coughing up water. He was practically dead weight as she tried to swim against the current now, looking for a spot where they might be able to climb up the bank. But with the extra weight, she struggled to make any headway. They were slowly creeping closer to the waterfall, each stroke a losing battle. Exhaustion made her limbs feel like heavy steel.

Remer smashed into her as he tumbled past, nearly making her lose her grip.

We're not going to make it, Haru thought as her world spun. I'm not strong enough. Someone, anyone, help! Regigigas, save us!

Wait.

Haru's mind snapped with sudden clarity.

Was she truly that desperate, truly so helpless that all she could do was pray?

No.

She knew better.

If she wanted to save the two of them, she had to do it herself.

With renewed vigor, she paddled against the rapids, treading water. She had to give this her all. She couldn't give up. She huffed through her nose, every muscle aching and screaming. She had to do this.

Desperate strength surged through her limbs, hot and electrifying. Her heart hammered against her chest, her blood roaring in her ears. She'd never felt this alive before. Never felt this determined. Never felt…

Just when it felt like the energy might overwhelm her, blinding light overtook her vision. She felt her body bulk up, limbs elongating and ears shrinking. Her small, tufty tail lengthened, morphing into a long, scaly tail like a boat's rudder. She instinctively smashed it against the water, propelled forward by new strength.

Not just strength. Before, water had been familiar. But because she was used to it. Because she grew up in it. Now it was more like she was one with it. Was this what it felt like to have an elemental affinity?

Her tail waved behind her, pushing her forward as she struggled to keep Nip's head above the water. They were still doing little more than treading water. Her strength alone was not enough.

But the water around her felt different, now that she was a bibarel. Like it was an extension of herself. Maybe if she… willed it to propel her forward…

The water complied. Her first aqua jet was a sloppy maneuver, jolting her to the right and left before evening out, her personal current driving her upstream. She angled herself towards shore, took a deep breath, and then dove. Nip thrashed in her grip, but she did her best to ignore it.

In heartbeats, she reached the riverbed. Her paws touched the muddy surface, then pushed off of it, swimming back upwards with all the speed she could manage.

Propelled by her aqua jet, she leaped from the water, spraying droplets as she soared through the air and over the bank, landing on the grass and tumbling to a stop.



They'd made it. They'd survived.

Finally, she let Nip go. He flopped on the ground before dragging himself to his forepaw and knees, hacking and sputtering and coughing up mouthfuls of river water. His good arm shook with the effort of keeping him upright.

"A warning would have been nice," he rasped between coughs.

Haru sank to her belly. The burst of energy that came with evolving was waning. Any moment now, she thought she might pass out. "Hard to do with a mouthful of your fur."

As she lapsed into silence though, something seemed off. Where were the sounds of battle? The fight had still been ongoing when she jumped into the river.

Heaving herself back to her paws, she stood on her hind legs, putting her new size to good use. After scanning her surroundings, she noticed the smudgy forms of pokemon downstream. One that she thought was Susana stood at the bank of the river, a smaller white shape standing behind her. The charizard flew tight circles overhead but was no longer breathing fire down on the combatants.

Nudging Nip (who she realized was now notably smaller than her), she tilted her head towards the pokemon. "Come on. We need to regroup."

"Right… Right." With a groan, Nip heaved himself to his feet, wincing as he jostled his broken arm. He circled around to Haru's other side, draping his good arm across her back for support.

Together they limped back towards the others. As they walked, the charizard swooped out of sight, reappearing and carrying something limp in her arms. A mournful wail followed.

They emerged at the edge of the burnt grass. Remer lay unmoving in a soggy heap, one head bent at an awkward angle and the other oozing blood from a gash at the back of its neck. Susana stood hunched over him, eyes wide with shock.

Haru turned her head to find everyone else. Skorch stood next to the zoroark, expression unreadable. Topaz lay sprawled out on the grass, unmoving save for the steady rise and fall of his chest. Just unconscious.

Muse stood behind Susana, her legs shaking. Her typically pristine fur was dyed with patches of scarlet and one eye was nearly swollen shut.

A low growling to her right caught Haru's attention next. Anu and Whisper were still struggling with Umbra, the former pinning her second jaw shut while the latter worked to bind it with rope. The mawile struggled in the dirt, swiping her claws at their feet. Nasty burns peppered Whisper, feathers missing in patches, while Anu did his best to ignore still-oozing gashes in his abdomen and thighs.

When Umbra caught sight of Nip, half-drowned but still alive, she redoubled her struggles. "Let go of me! Are you going to side with him? He ate your egg! He ruined your life!"

Whisper visibly flinched. But then she shared a glance with Anu and continued tying the bindings. "I'm not siding with him. I'm siding with the village and the decision they made." She grunted and pulled a knot tight. "Even if it weren't the case, the outcome would be the same. You assisted pokemon that kidnapped one of our villagers."

Umbra growled and started to say something more, but Haru tuned her out. There were still two pokemon unaccounted for.

Standing on her hind legs, Haru spotted Shimmer a short distance away. Tear lines streaked her face. A cold pit formed in Haru's stomach. Toshi. Where was Toshi?

Slipping out from under Nip, Haru raced across the burnt grass and to Shimmer's side. The pink glow of a heal pulse wrapped around her hands, channeled into a bundle of brown fur at her side. Coagulated blood spiked the fur along Toshi's back, his breathing ragged. As Haru approached, he tried to lift his head, but Shimmer pushed it back down.

"Stop. I've only just stopped the bleeding. You can't let it open up again, Toshi-kins."

Toshi whined but complied. His eyes shifted to Haru. "You evolved."

"I did," Haru confirmed, trying to keep her voice from croaking.

"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks," he continued. "That zoroark, she's tough. Threw me around like a rag-doll. But I think Umbra was worse." He sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm just… so glad we got here in time."

"You're lucky you're not dead!" Haru replied, panic making her words harsher than intended. She turned to Shimmer. "Be honest, is he going to be okay?"

"He's stable," Shimmer replied. "Now that I stopped the bleeding, he should be okay, but… he should still see Lecha as soon as possible."

Haru tried to calm herself. He would be okay. He was fine. Nothing to worry about.

"There. That should hold."

Whisper's voice dragged Haru's attention away from her injured brother. She stood up next to Umbra as Anu moved on to bind the gorochu.

The hawlucha turned her attention to Susana. "You. You'll all be coming back with us to the village."

"You…" Susana growled. Dark energy swirled around her jaws. She let the snarl loose in Whisper's direction. "You killed him! Remer is dead because of you!"

Whisper didn't flinch. "I'm sorry your compatriot did not make it. But the river here is treacherous. I cannot help that he fell in."

"Skorch could have rescued him if you'd just stopped fighting!"

At the mention of her name, the charizard flinched, shrinking in on herself. "I really did try, Susana. But by the time I realized he'd fallen in…"

"And whose fault was that? It was that screeching kirlia, distracting you!"

Whisper took a step forward, standing beside Muse. The absol's horn turned darker and began giving off dark wisps.

"Enough," Whisper said. "This fight happened because you kidnapped one of our villagers. You can either come along quietly or we can drag you back unconscious. Your choice."

Skorch placed a hand on the zoroark's shoulder. "Susana, maybe we should listen. We're severely outnumbered now."

Susana narrowed her eyes. "Fine. But at least allow us to bury our fallen comrade."

Whisper glanced at Anu, then dipped her head. "Very well. I am not without honor. However." She reached into a bag at her hip, pulling out a looplet. "You'll have to wear this. Don't get any ideas about using illusions to sneak off later. This looplet will nullify your ability to create them."

"Ugh. Fine." Susana swiped the looplet and snapped it around her left forearm. She shuddered as it took effect.

"So… are we going to talk about how weird these guys look?" Shimmer asked as Susana started digging.

"They are strange," Anu agreed, "but I feel that may be a conversation for another time. For now, we should focus on resting before we have to make the trip back down."

"We'll stop at the old shrine to sleep," Whisper said. "Then we can head back to town at the crack of dawn."

"Can we get that far before nightfall?" Muse asked, sinking to the ground. "Especially given our injuries and our… prisoners."

"We need to get home as soon as possible," Haru said. "The sooner we get back to the village, the sooner we can get proper healing. And…" She glanced at Susana. "From what I heard, there could be more trouble coming."

Whisper tilted her head. "Care to explain?"

"Later. Right now I… I need a break." She sank to her belly, nerves and exhaustion getting the better of her. She tried to reach for her bag, only to realize it was gone. The strap must have snapped when she evolved and grew bigger. It was lost to the river now. What a shame; she really liked those bags.

Fortunately, the others had come prepared. Anu reached into his satchel and started handing out oran berries.

Shimmer reached into her own, pulling out a small mortar and pestle. Taking a few of her berries, she skinned them and then mashed their flesh into a pulp. "It's not as good as one of Lecha's poultices, but it should still help for now," she explained as she massaged the berries into Muse's fur anywhere she found a cut, creating fresh stains. Then she turned to do the same for Toshi.

Anu stopped at Nip's side, staring down at him. The sneasel couldn't return his gaze. "Before we leave, I'll see if I can find something to keep that arm still. Lecha can treat it better when we return." He paused. "You should consider yourself lucky. If not for Tempest, we wouldn't have been able to find you."

Nip snapped to attention. "Tempest! Where is he? Is he okay?"

The lucario held one paw up placatingly. "He was badly hurt, but he was alive and stable. We had to make him stay and rest."

"Oh, Yveltal's blessings," Nip murmured. He swayed on his feet, eyes drooping. It looked like Haru wasn't the only one ready to collapse.

The next several moments passed in relative silence. Haru couldn't complain. Evolution was usually cause for celebration, but she was content to celebrate later when she was safe and well-rested at home.

Soon, the shallow grave had been filled in, leaving a patch of upturned dirt amid the burned grass. Haru imagined nature would recover by winter, as if the fight had never happened.

"We should get moving," Whisper said after giving Susana and Skorch a moment to mourn. "Muse, do you think you could carry… that one until he wakes up?" She gestured in Topaz's direction.

Muse sized the gorochu up. "I… I think so."

Haru turned towards Toshi. "Do you want me to carry you for a while? I'm not sure you should be walking so soon." Guilt twisted her gut. The only reason he was hurt this time was because of her. What kind of big sister was she?

Toshi didn't argue as Anu and Whisper first lifted Topaz onto Muse's back, then Toshi onto her own.

They'd won, but she couldn't bring herself to celebrate. It hadn't come without cost, and it was close to turning out far worse.

She tried to push the thoughts out of her head as they set off. After all, they had a long walk ahead of them.

 

[windskull]

A Mere Omen​

---

Last time, under captivity, Nip hadn't been brought into the cave. But now that it was his shelter and sleeping place, he had a chance to look it over. There was something melancholic about the cavern, with its old carvings and rotting furniture (a word he'd learned during his time in Theran village). He couldn't imagine his tribe ever abandoning what clearly used to be a special, religious space.

Lacking in straw, moss, or any other bedding, it was hardly a comfortable resting place. But it would do for tonight.

A small fire crackled at the entrance, the flickering flames illuminating Anu, who sat guard next to it. Whisper had insisted that they take turns keeping watch, and her mate had offered to take the first shift.

Susana and the rest of his former captors were gathered in the back of the chamber, most having dozed off. But Umbra's malicious eyes glowed in the firelight, watching him. He shivered and rolled over, trying to ignore her gaze.

Movement in the corner of his eye drew his attention to where Shimmer, Muse, Toshi, and Haru had settled down together to sleep. Haru dragged herself to her feet, stretched, and quietly padded to the entrance to sit beside the fire opposite Anu.

The lucario acknowledged her presence with a thump of his tail and the dip of his head. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Not well," Haru murmured. "It's hard to sleep near pokemon that tried to kill you."

Nip could relate.

Anu hummed an acknowledgment. He reached into a satchel at his hip and pulled out a white cloth with green trim, wrapping it around his shoulders. "I imagine so. You've been through a terrible ordeal, Haru. No one would blame you for struggling afterward." He paused before adding, "I don't think you're alone in that."

Haru tilted her head before turning back, catching Nip staring at her. He averted his gaze but sat up. No point in pretending to sleep now.

The lucario looked at Haru, then Nip. Then stood, stretching before heading out of the cave. "I need a moment to myself. Do you two mind keeping watch for a moment?"

"Me?" Nip asked. "Why would you ask me?"

"You're not going far in your condition," Anu pointed out, gesturing to Nip's broken arm, which was haphazardly held stiff with a makeshift splint made of two sturdy sticks and some twine.

"Ah, right." He shouldn't expect trust. He knew that. But disappointment still churned in his belly. "Very well."

"I guess that's fine," Haru said, turning her gaze back to the entrance as Anu moved out of sight. Nip hobbled to sit beside her. Pale moonlight fought against the orange hues from the fire to wash the color from her fur. They sat in silence for several moments.

He was the first to break it. "Congratulations on your evolution, by the way."

"O-oh. Thanks. It's a shame I probably won't get a chance to celebrate it any time soon."

Nip hummed in acknowledgment. "I take it evolution is a big deal in your culture?"

"It's a milestone," Haru said. "For those that choose to evolve, it marks a new period in their life. It's a marker of experience, of overcoming adversity. But those that intentionally choose not to evolve are still celebrated."

"It is — was — similar in the Half Moon… in my tribe. It signifies the strength of a pokemon. It's… expected. A mon that delays evolution is honored, but one who outright refuses is seen as weak. They risk losing social status. Their position, if it's lucrative. We all have to be strong for the greater good. Most of our lives are chosen for us. Our training. Our position. Our mates. All to make the tribe stronger. The elders know what's best, after all." He couldn't help but spit the last part out, bitter bile in his throat.

"You don't sound like you agree."

He tilted his head back and forth, considering his words. "The elders wanted me to be a lore keeper. There is value in their craft, but half the pokemon are given the position out of pity because they're seen as too weak to do anything else. I proved my worth and got placed among the hunters. And paired with Umbra. When things went… poorly with her, I couldn't get them to take my concerns seriously. She had them wrapped around her claws."

His fur was bushed now, but he was too worked up to notice. "When we didn't produce an egg, they wanted to know why. They wanted proof that we had… well, you know. I couldn't take any more. I snapped like a brittle twig, Haru. And—"

No, he couldn't relive those moments. Nip shook out his fur and gave his shoulder a habitual lick. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get carried away. I should try to sleep again."

He stood and started back to his sleeping spot.

"…Nip?"

He paused and glanced back. Haru scratched at her muzzle.

"That… That sounds rough. I'm… sorry it happened to you. It shouldn't have."

An apology? From Haru? Tonight was full of surprises. He flicked his ear to acknowledge her.

"Goodnight, Haru."

---

It took until nearly sunset the next day for the group to return to Theran Village. Anu led, his tail drooping with exhaustion. Haru, as the least-battered pokemon, kept pace beside him. The trio of surviving explorers and Umbra came next, their arms bound. Skorch's mouth was tied shut and the nullify looplet was still snapped tight around Susana's right forearm. Muse flanked them on one side, Shimmer and Toshi trudging on the other. Whisper brought up the rear, Nip walking beside her.

They were all exhausted. Clearly, no one else had slept well, either.

As they neared the outskirts of town, wild land turning to fields of berries, Whisper spoke up. "Anu, please run ahead and alert everyone that we're back. Tell them to gather in the square for a meeting. We need to deal with… this situation" — she gestured to the prisoners — "as soon as possible. Have Vale brought out, too. Oh, and we need Lecha."

Anu opened his mouth in a wide yawn, smacking his gums a couple times. But he then dipped his head and took off ahead of the group at a brisk run, disappearing over the top of a hill and leaving Haru alone at the front.

As they crested a hill and the village came into view, Toshi hobbled to the front to stand beside Haru. Nip caught a glimpse of his eyes — glazed with pain — before he reached her.

"How are you holding up?" Toshi asked.

"I should be asking you that," Haru replied. "I just have some bruises and electric burns."

"I'll be fine." Toshi lapsed into silence. "Mom and Dad are going to freak out. I mean, look at us, Haru. We're both pretty battered and you evolved! I wish it had been under better circumstances."

Haru sighed. "I know what you mean." Then, wanting to encourage Toshi, she forced a smile. "But look at the bright side. After this is dealt with, maybe we can arrange my evolution celebration. It could be a nice return to normalcy."

Nip could tell from her posture that she didn't believe that. Things would never be normal for her again.

Toshi offered a weak smile. "Y-yeah. That would be nice."

Before either of them could say anything else, a loud shout sounded from further up the road. Two bibarel came into view, racing towards the group as quick as their chubby bodies allowed. Behind them raced a purugly, who quickly overtook them and made a combeeline towards Shimmer.

Jhorlo skidded to a stop just in front of the kirlia, audibly purring as he bumped his forehead to her shoulder and pulled her close with one paw. "Oh, Shimmer, my darling daughter!" he cried, voice thick with emotion. "Thank 'Gigas you're safe. If I had lost you to that mountain, too…"

Shimmer giggled, running a hand behind her dad's ears and giving them a little scratch. "I'm fine, really! Muse kept me safe. But we had to go. It was important for the safety of the town."

"Your mother said the same thing, but she…"

It took him several moments to compose himself enough to address Muse. "Thank you for keeping my daughter safe. I hate to think what would have happened if you weren't there."

Muse opened her mouth to reply, but her response was drowned out by another voice.

"Oh, my kits! My precious babies! You're safe!"

Haru's mother had caught up and was now nuzzling her daughter, nearly knocking her over with the force of her affection. Then she bumbled over to do the same to Toshi while her mate hovered just behind, eyes watery with emotion.

"We're so glad you're safe," Chip said, bumping Haru just below her jaw with his snout. "And you've evolved! What in Gigas' name happened?"

"It's a long story," Haru began. "I—"

But before she could tell her story, Jhorlo interrupted her with a cough. He was back to his controlled, business-like self.

"Right. Thank you for bringing our children home safely, Whisper. But we should get moving. You wish to address the village before nightfall, I understand."

"Yes," Whisper replied from the back of the group. "We need to decide what to do with… these four."

Saku and Chip looked up, seeming to finally notice the abnormal pokemon for the first time. The former gasped and took a step back. "Who… what are they?"

"Those are the explorers," Whisper answered. "And based on what Nip and Haru told me on the trek back, they're trouble. The kind of trouble we need to deal with immediately."

Chip and Saku exchanged a glance. "Then we should get going. The sooner it's dealt with, the sooner you two can get home and recover."

With that, a few more words were exchanged before the group set off again.

Nip couldn't help but trail behind, his mind preoccupied. He'd been sidelined and alone during the heartfelt reunion, lacking ties to the village. A familiar ache of loneliness tried to worm its way into his chest. As usual, he was little more than an outsider. If he hadn't made it back, it was likely no one would have cared.

That wasn't quite true, though. Tempest would have cared, wouldn't he? He'd come this far just to find him, so surely that meant something.

"Nip!" Whisper called. "Hurry up."

He looked up. A gap several dozen body lengths wide had grown between him and the rest of the group. "Ah, sorry." He rushed to catch up, then kept pace the rest of the way back, trying to push the negative thoughts out of his head.

---

Most of the village had already gathered by the time the group reached the square. Gasps and murmuring rose from the crowd as they walked by, most eyes glued on Susana, Topaz, and Skorch.

Nip kept his head low, keen to catch as little attention as possible. It must have looked bizarre to them, him walking by completely unrestrained — that is, if they weren't too distracted by the otherworldly pokemon among them.

It felt strange. Once, not that long ago, everyone had gathered to decide whether he'd live or die. Now he was on the other side, presenting his case against Umbra.

Haru nudged him out of his thoughts. "Nip, look."

Following her gaze, he noticed the medic, Lecha, headed their way. And leaning against her shoulder for support…

"Tempest!"

Nip stumbled forward, but the aromatisse signaled for him to stop. "Let us come to you. I need to look your whole group over."

The wait for her to cross the gap was agonizing. Tempest was clearly worn out just from the walk here, limping with his paws dragging on the ground. His eyes were clouded with pain, but relief shone through the haze.

Tears pricked the corners of Nip's eyes as the pair finally came to a stop in front of them. Lecha set to work, poking and prodding at the burns on his back, running her paws through his fur to search for cuts, and carefully feeling his broken arm. Twi, that annoying illumise, showed up shortly after to assist. Lecha mumbled something about making sure his arm was properly set before providing any more orans. But Nip paid them little mind. All his attention was focused on Tempest.

"You… you're safe," he said, his voice barely more than a breath.

Tempest leaned forward to run his tongue across Nip's forehead, huffing a frosty puff of air. Nip couldn't help but laugh, pushing the ninetales away with his good paw. "Ha! Stop! I'm glad to see you too but they don't like public grooming here!"

Another puff of frost, then Tempest trotted to sit behind Nip, reaching out with a paw to draw him close. At the same time, he turned his head to stare at Whisper.

The hawlucha froze, her feathers puffing up as she turned to stare back. "What did you say?"

Nip tilted his head, flicking his ear. "I didn't say anything."

"No, not you. Tempest. What do you mean, thanks for saving my —" she cut off, eyes clouding with confusion."Why not?"

A silent moment passed. Tempest pulled him closer, placing one paw protectively in front of Nip, who looked up and knit his brows together. "Are you using telepathy?"

"He is," Whisper said before addressing Tempest again. "Look, I don't care what your Tribe said, you're not with them anymore. This is something you need to tell Nip."

Another beat of silence. Whisper let out a series of frustrated chirps. "I will respect your request and not discuss it. But I'm serious. As soon as you get a chance, you need to tell him." She shot a pointed glance at Nip. "He has a right to know."

"What is she talking about?" Nip asked.

Tempest took a deep breath and let out slowly, closing his eyes. His tails fanned behind him, flicking droplets of frosty mist.

"He'll have to explain on paper later. I don't think telepathy works on dark types without assistance from specialized techniques or items to suppress your psychic immunity. Items we don't have."

She turned away, taking a few steps before pausing. "I'm serious though. You need to talk. Later. After we get this dealt with. Stay where you are for now." She raised her voice. "And you as well Haru. Go stand by them. We'll need your testimony, too."

At the sound of her name, Haru looked up. A handful of the villagers — a pidove, an espurr, a flaaffy, and that quagsire — had gathered around, congratulating her on her evolution. But they let her pass as she hurried to the center to stand by Nip and Tempest.

Anu returned at about the same time, bringing Vale with him. The manectric's muscles were bunched and ready to spring, his head low and eyes narrowed. Sparks bounced off his pelt every time he shifted.

"Have him stand with the other accused," Whisper directed before turning to the crowd. She lifted one wing to point and count the pokemon around them, then raised it high to call for silence.

"We need to get started," she began. "I believe everyone is accounted for."

"Phoel is closing down the psychic communication line for the night, but she said to go ahead," a simisear said, pointing to the meowstic in question on the far side of the village. "She can hear well enough."

Whisper dipped her head. "Very well. Thank you, Meaad." Then she addressed the rest of the crowd. "As you have all noticed by now, the guards' hut burned down recently. At that time, one of the mon being kept there, Nip, disappeared. Before you stand the pokemon accused of being responsible: Susana, Topaz, Skorch, Umbra, and Vale."

Uneasy muttering broke out among the gathered pokemon.

"Vale? Really?"

"There's no way."

"This has to be a mistake… right?"

Whisper held up a wing for silence. "There's more. Additionally, the first four are accused of kidnapping one of our own villagers: Haru."

That, the other villagers seemed less torn over. But Nip tuned out their mutterings, focusing instead on the accused. Though Susana's expression was unconcerned and her two compatriots' were blank, Umbra's face was contorted with barely contained fury.

After giving the pokemon a moment to settle, Whisper continued. "Vale. Do you deny any of these claims?"

"Of course I do!" Vale growled, a wave of sparks running down his body. "This is ridiculous! I was attacked. What would I stand to gain from any of this?"

"You'll have a chance to defend yourself later," Whisper said before turning to Umbra. "You've been accused of kidnapping, assault, and attempted murder. Do you deny these claims?"

Umbra scoffed, but her voice came out smooth. "Is it murder if I've been ordered by my elders to 'take care' of a murderer? This all could have been avoided if your village had not meddled in our affairs. I do not deny what I have done, but I deny that any of it was wrong."

No surprise, Nip thought ruefully. You've always thought everything you did was just.

But what did the crowd think? Nip scanned their expressions. Most seemed uneasy or nonplussed, but a few of them seemed to consider her words, a fact that made his stomach twist.

Whisper's voice drew him out of his thoughts. "As for the remaining three—"

Topaz opened his mouth to interrupt, but Susana took a step in front of him before speaking herself. "Haru came with us willingly as a guide. Beyond that, we have nothing to say to any of you."

Whisper opened and closed her mouth twice before she found her voice. "Very well. Then let us start with testimony. Anu, could you give the timeline as we understand it?"

The lucario took a step forward. "Ah, o-of course." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, holding a paw up to his chest. "Several days ago, a group of four pokemon claiming to be members of the Explorer's Guild arrived…"

He went on to describe how Nip had been kidnapped from his perspective. Most of it was familiar.

"After I left Vale in charge, I returned to the shrine but only found a note stating they would try to talk to me again later. By the time I returned, the jail was on fire and Nip was gone."

Nip swiveled his ear at the sound of this name but found his attention drifting in and out as he watched the crowd. He focused again when Anu described the battle.

"One of the accused attackers fell into the river and went over the waterfall. He did not survive. May the gods show him mercy in the Great Beyond." He paused and bowed his head, and Nip noticed several other pokemon doing the same. How strange. How could they know the afterlife if they didn't know of the pokemon that governed it, Yveltal?

Anu shook his head violently. "That is… all. From my perspective."

"Thank you," Whisper said. "After the fire, Tempest used telepathy to contact Shimmer, then later myself. He gave testimony of the events from his perspective. Before I share it, I would like Nip to give his own account. If you would, sneasel."

The gruffness of her tone didn't surprise Nip; she probably wasn't happy about dealing with him. He pushed the thought out of his mind. Focus.

"A while after Anu left," Nip began, "Umbra and the charizard showed up. They attacked Vale and entered my cell. Tempest tried to fight them off from his confines. At that point…" He trailed off, struggling to remember the rush of events. "I believe Umbra told the charizard to set the jail on fire. She… got into an argument with Vale at that point. He didn't like that idea. I tried to crawl away while they were distracted but was knocked out. When I came to, we were soaring over the mountain forest."

"Thank you," Whisper said. "That aligns closely with the story I received from Tempest. Was there anything else important?"

Nip tried to think back. The entire event was a blur, sharp points of recollection surrounded by a pain-induced haze. He focused on the argument. Was there anything odd about it? "I… remember Jhorlo's name coming up in the argument. Something about him not being an idiot. I'm not sure that's important, but…"

Whisper chuffed. "It may or may not be, but the more detail you can give, the better."

Nip went on to explain the remainder of the events. His failed escape. Being taken prisoner with Haru. Their shared escape attempt. All culminating in the battle by the river.

Afterward, Haru told her own version of the events, admitting to initially helping the explorers out of a flawed sense of need, then her own imprisonment. When she reached the part where she talked about the old shrine, her words had the entire village listening with bated breath. And by the time she was done, not a single mon spoke.

Whisper stood at their center, her eyes closed and her wings crossed. "Thank you, Haru. For now, let us move on to defenses. We'll start with… Vale." She turned to the manectric, her eyes steely. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Sparks danced along Vale's back as he took a step forward. Nip took a subconscious step back, not keen to get shocked by his static.

"Are you really going to listen to them? Nip and Tempest are both criminals. They're just making things up to get me in trouble!" Vale began pacing with his head low, paws kicking up puffs of dirt.

"I was attacked. I don't know why they feel the need to drag me into this. Maybe because I'm a strict guard? Maybe because they feel I didn't do enough to protect them? I don't know. But you're all fools if you'd believe their word over mine, someone who has made sure this village was safe and cared for, for cycles."

Mutterings broke out among the crowd, uncertain and confused. Nip's heart galloped. While it was true the village had no real reason to trust his word… Vale was lying. He had to be. If he got off without consequences, Nip knew he wouldn't be safe.

Then, from the back of the crowd, came a hesitant voice. "Vale… did come to the inn with Umbra the other day…"

Heads snapped around to the speaker: a simisear. Meaad, Nip thought his name was. The crowd parted as he made his way to the front.

"Maybe it's nothing, but… Just a few days ago, the two of them got a room at the inn. There was a brief altercation with, um, those guys" — he gestured to Susana — "but Vale had it under control, so I thought nothing of it."

All eyes turned back to Vale, silent as death.

The manectric's eyes widened, his hackles stiffening. "Wh — n-now come on, you don't mean to take that as proof, do you? That's just coincidence! Yes, I've spent time with Umbra, but that means nothing! I was betrayed!"

When that didn't seem to convince the majority, his voice grew more desperate. "I've been protecting this village for cycles. Longer than some of you have been alive! You don't really think I'd do something to harm the pokemon here, do you? I wouldn't — do you really think I would hurt Haru?"

That got the crowd talking, skeptical tones rising from the villagers.

"No," Whisper admitted. "At least, not intentionally. But the fact of the matter is that there's too many coincidences, Vale, to not be suspicious."

Vale swept his gaze wildly across the crowd, desperately looking for a friendly face. Nip followed his movement and saw nothing but worry and skepticism.

Then the manectric's stance changed. He adjusted his forepaws and squared his shoulders, letting out a low grow. "I see how it is. So what are you going to do? Lock me up? Drive me out? Do you realize how much I've done for this town? You'd all be starving without me. Every single obligate meat eater!"

Nip narrowed his eyes. Every… obligate? Every carnivore? Was he getting at…

Vale's gaze snapped to Jhorlo. Small, jagged bolts of lightning struck the ground around him, and Nip could just pick up a low buzz. "Fuck this. If I'm going out, I'm dragging you down with me." Then he raised his voice to a shout.

"You think dragging dead, diseased things back is enough to feed everyone? No, it's all a fabrication. Jhorlo has been forcing me to hunt for the town for cycles."

"What?"

"That can't be right."

"Jhorlo would never."

Other comments were lost among the growing clamor. At the center of the storm, Jhorlo sat at attention, calm and unbothered.

The purugly waited a moment, allowing the villagers to work themselves while he checked his claws, before raising a paw to call for silence.

"I'm disappointed in you, my dear Vale. To think that you would not only betray the trust of our village, but also try to throw it in disarray when your misdeeds were caught? For shame."

He raised his voice louder, addressing the crowd as a whole. "I would never do something so antithetical to the beliefs of our village, you all know. What kind of dirt would I even have on you, if it were true?"

Nip narrowed his eyes. Jhorlo's tactic was all too familiar. It was the same kind of deflection Umbra used when he came back from a hunting excursion with her, bruised and bloodied. Whether or not Vale's comment was true, Jhorlo was hiding something.

Vale flinched, the sparks racing along his pelt dying away. A long, tense moment of silence followed.

"What does it matter," the manectric growled under his breath. "I'm as good as dead or driven out as it is.

"You want to know what happened? Fine. Remember a few cycles back, when Leas was found dead in the woods? Everyone thought a wildener had gotten her. But it wasn't a wildener. It was me."

Gasps swept through the crowd, followed by swift murmurs that Nip could only pick up traces of. He leaned to the side to whisper in Haru's ear.

"Who is that?"

"Leas?" Haru kept her eyes on Vale. Nip saw her muscles ripple beneath her pelt, wound with tension. "She was the previous head of the guard before Whisper. About seven cycles ago, she went missing during a routine patrol. Siles — that quagsire over there — found her body two days later just outside of Sunglow Thicket. She was Jaques' and Lotte's mother."

"Jhorlo's guards?" Nip looked at the two purrloin flanking the mayor. Their fur was bushed as they stared at each other wide-eyed.

"Jhorlo," the female purrloin started. "He's lying, right? He has to be!" The tone of her voice suggested she didn't believe them, that she knew Vale was being honest, but she was desperate for reassurance.

"Of-of course he is," Jhorlo snapped, his own fur bristling. But there was a waver in his voice that wasn't there before. "I don't know what's going on in his head that makes him feel he needs to drag the rest of the village down with him!"

Nip picked up the burning scent of ozone. Instinctually, he dropped to the ground just as a bright discharge of electricity blasted off of Vale. It struck Jhorlo. It narrowly missed Whisper, who had also dropped to the ground. It struck Haru beside him, who let out a loud squeal. And it struck several other standing villagers who didn't react in time.

As soon as he quit discharging, Vale leaped into the crowd, pushing through the remainder and weaving among the buildings as he made a mad dash out of the square.

At the edge of the crowd, a rapidash struggled to her feet and started to give chase.

"Stop!"

Whisper's single-word command rang out over the groans of the villagers. She sprang to her feet, heaving a deep breath. "Let him go! We have enough to deal with as it is. We'll put out a bulletin to the Enforcers and to all the nearby villages."

The rapidash looked like she wanted to argue as panicked voices rose from the villagers, but the loud thwap of the Sile's tail drew everyone's attention. "Hey! Whisper is right. Vale will get what's coming to him one way or another."

Whisper took another heaving breath and gasped a "thank you" to the quagsire. She reached up and clutched at the feathers to the side of her head as if she meant to rip them out. Before she could, Anu came up from behind and placed a paw in the small of her shoulder blades.

Then he spoke up, speaking slow to force the stutter out of his voice. "As it stands, we still have four pokemon to deal with."

"Right. Right," Whisper said. She took one more deep, steadying breath, then pulled herself away from Anu. "We'll start with Umbra. Is there anything you have to say in your defense? Any reason we shouldn't give you a harsh sentence when you admitted to the allegations?"

"As I said before, this all could have been avoided," the mawile said. "What good has meddling in my affairs done? What has Nip done for any of you of his own volition? He's rotten."

At first, no one said anything. But then Toshi's exhausted voice came up from behind Nip. "He… saved my life from a wildener."

Haru hesitated, her expression almost embarrassed. "…He did help me escape. He could have left me behind when Topaz caught up to us and pinned me. But he came back."

Hastily, she added, "Don't get me wrong. He's harmed our village irreparably. But… I don't know if I would have survived without his help. I don't know. Everything that's happened in the last couple moons is so messed up."

Nip stole a glance at the bibarel, blinking slowly.

Whisper stared at Umbra for a moment longer. When she said nothing else she turned to Susana. "And what about you? Any defense?"

"We had no reason to hurt Haru," Susana replied, tone silky. "She was helping us. All we asked for was a little help inspecting your old shrine. Then things got out of hand. Punish us if you wish. It'll make no difference to your village in the end."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Siles grunted.

But Susana had turned her head, clearly done speaking.

"I… think I have some idea," Haru said. "When… when we were captive, I overheard a couple of things that Susana's group was talking about. First, the reason they went up the mountain… They're trying to find Regigagas. They're trying to bend him to their will."

"That's preposterous!" a roserade at the back scoffed. "A pawful of outsiders, controlling Regigagas? Ridiculous. It'd never work, if they even found him to begin with."

"But they didn't come alone." Haru drew out the last word, voice tinged with desperation. "They kept referring to someone they work for. 'Our Lady,' they called her. The way they talked… there's more coming. Possibly a lot more."

"Could they be what —" Nip cut himself off. He didn't want to mention Celebi by name, given what little he knew about Susana's group. "— what that omen was about?" From the way the other pokemon looked at each other, it was clear some of the villagers were thinking the same thing. More discussions broke out, growing into a cacophonous din.

Whisper held up a wing. "Everyone, quiet! QUIET!"

The voices slowly died away, heads turning back to the hawlucha. She took a deep breath. "We don't know what they want, and it's clear they're not willing to talk at this time. But they're trouble. Due to the severity of this… entire situation, I am asking for your permission to take charge here."

When no one argued, she continued. "We will contact the Enforcer's Union first thing tomorrow to have Susana's group taken in for proper questioning."

She pointed at Siles, the rapidash, then Meaad. "You three. I am going to keep our troublemakers in one of the tavern rooms, given the lack of a jail. Romi and Siles, you two are to guard them within the room. For the sake of simplicity, Umbra can be kept with them. Find someone who can come relieve you halfway through the night. Given our zoroark's ability to create illusions, I don't want her left alone at any point. Understand?"

"Right. Understood." Siles bobbed his head.

"Good. Next." She turned to Jhorlo. "While I seriously doubt Vale's testimony, I think it would be best if you remain within the villa for now. You, and the rest of your household. Jaques, Lotte, that includes both of you."

Jhorlo puffed out his chest. "This is ridiculous! There is no reason to believe the words of a condemned mon."

"While I agree," Whisper started diplomatically, "given the severity of the accusations, I think it's for the best. When everyone sees that there aren't any food shortages, it will help prove your innocence."

Shimmer reached over to place a hand on her father's head. "It'll be fine, Dad. Just for a few days, then we can put this all behind us."

Even as she said it, Nip picked up a subtle fear scent wafting from their direction. He wasn't sure if it was Shimmer or her father. And Muse looked downright miserable sitting behind them.

"Does everyone agree with this?" Whisper asked.

There were a few mutterings and a cough, but no one dared to challenge her.

"Right. That leaves us with just one more thing." She turned to Nip. "Your community service… With Vale gone and our guards busy watching over Susana's group, we do not have the time to continue it. Rather than hold you here or try to turn you over as well, I believe the best decision is to exile you once Tempest is healthy enough to travel. You would need to leave Theran Village and the lands surrounding it within one day's travel.

Nip hesitated. "Your demands are… reasonable." And yet, for reasons he couldn't fathom, he felt his stomach twisting in knots at the thought of leaving.

"Any disagreement?"

"Are you sure about this, Whisper?" Siles said. "He could be a liability if we send him on to the next town. If he commits a crime there and they find out we released him after what he did here…"

"It's…" Whisper started to reach for a feather, then caught herself. "It's a risk I'm willing to take. Given everything that's happened and everything we still need to deal with."

The quagsire looked like he wanted to say something more, but he only shook his head and took a step back. No one else spoke, though Nip could tell not everyone was happy with Whisper's decision.

"If there's nothing more, we will call this meeting to a close for tonight. We will reconvene tomorrow evening, after the Enforcers have been contacted, and decide what to do next."

She stood in the center as the villagers began to disperse, waiting till most were gone before walking over to speak quietly with Jhorlo. Nip wanted to eavesdrop, but a light shove from behind broke his concentration. He glanced back to see Twi.

"C'mon, Mister Thief," the illumise said. "Let's get you back to the hut to get looked at before it gets too dark."

He stole one more glance back at Haru, who was helping her brother to his feet. A part of him wanted to say something to the duo, given all that had happened and all that would happen soon. But instead, he silently let the illumise guide him to the medics' hut.

 

[windskull]

A/N: Thanks as always for the reviews yall! I'm not going to type up responses right now, but I hope to do a mass reply catchup in a few months. Maybe lol, we'll see if time permits.

As we reach the end of another year, PWCH continues to make steady progress. And we end it with the prelude to a new arc. My hope is that I'll be able to reach a certain key point in the story this year, probably about 6-8 chapters from now. I think that's achievable if I prioritize PWCH and keep working at the steady clip I've worked thus far. See you in January or February for the next one!

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Interlude 2: Convergence​

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Soot clung to Yellow’s paws with every step she took, clinging to the fur between her toes and staining her paws black. A chilly breeze cut through what remained of this part of the forest, unimpeded without foliage. A handful of enforcer teams fanned out around the jolteon, some with noses low to the ground in search of suspicious scents. Above, a few fliers drifted in wide circles, looking for abnormalities.


Less than a half-moon ago, a wildfire had ripped through the Silken Woods, burning so fiercely that nothing remained. The local rescue teams had already come through a quarter-moon prior, searching for survivors. Now it was the enforcer’s turn to investigate the cause. The fact that it had taken this long to get teams on the ground was an embarrassment. Especially given that an expedition team had gone missing in the wake of the fire. Which is why she’d come all the way from headquarters herself to investigate.


In front of her, a staravia landed crossing a wing over his chest. “Enforcer Yellow.”


She dipped her head. “Speak.”


“The flyby suggests that the fire started in a clearing up ahead. There’s some damage to the trees near there that suggests signs of a struggle, but we suspect most of the evidence was destroyed in the blaze.”


“Thank you. You are dismissed.” She moved to walk around him, but he hesitated, staying in her path. “Yes?”


“Well… it’s just that my buddies and I saw an arcanine headed this way from the opposite end of the damage. He kind of looks like that private detective who comes around sometimes, but given the… you know, situation we’re in right now, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to risk an approach. We just thought you should know.”


Maneth? Yellow stood still for a few heartbeats. “Thank you. I’ll head for the clearing now. Were there any others already there?”


“Just The Sniff-it-Outs.”


“Go ahead and tell them to take a break but stay nearby. I’ll take care of the Arcanine if they show up.”


“Will do.” With a running start and a couple wingbeats, the staravia took to the air, circling once before flying ahead.


Yellow followed behind at a light trot, intending to give him time to alert the team. It gave her time to think. If the arcanine was Maneth in disguise, they’d have to find someplace private to talk. No one here had a high enough clearance to know his true identity, let alone the conversations he had with her. If it wasn’t him but someone with unsavory intentions, her appearance alone would likely be enough to spook them away.


But by the time the jolteon reached the clearing, the other pokemon were still there, gathered around a single spot on the far end. Apprehension sent spikes of static and sparks racing through her fur. She had to force the feeling away before it could get out of hand.


“What’s going on over there?” she called, sprinting across the clearing. Not far beyond them, she could see a handful of trees that looked like they’d been splintered apart by an explosion. Possibly the cause of the fire.


The members of The Sniff-it-Outs, a houndoom, a houndstone, and a growlithe, stood in a tight circle, the staravia from before with them. They parted at the sound of her voice, revealing what was worrying them: a pile of charred bones, half buried in the ash.


“We just found these,” the houndoom said. “We’re not sure… but these look kind of like treecko bones, don’t they? Some sort of reptilian pokemon, at least.”


“One of the missing explorers was a treecko, wasn’t she?” the growlithe asked.


Yellow kept her jaw set in a firm line. “You are correct. The missing team is treecko-charmander duo. Go get a sketcher to draw up an image of the scene, and a mon to gather up the bones. We’ll have them taken back to headquarters for identification.”


“Right.”


“Understood.”


“Yes, Mam. Although…” The growlithe nosed something else towards Yellow. “We also found this. We weren’t sure what to make of it.”


The item in question was some sort of container, Yellow thought. But it had melted beyond recognition. She couldn’t figure out what kind of material it was made of.


“Take it with you. We can try to figure out what it is later.”


Yellow turned away, focusing her attention on the splintered trees. Remains suspiciously similar to one of the missing explorers, found near signs of an explosive attack… She didn’t like the implications. But they’d only found one set of remains. There were two pokemon missing. And it wasn’t like they hadn’t come across a handful of remains already. Wildeners lived here, after all. Or used to, she guessed. Some were likely unable to escape the flames.


Shaking her head to clear it, she kept walking. “I’m going to find that arcanine and see if they’re who I think they are. If not… they’ve got a lot to explain, snooping around here.”


Without waiting for a response, she took off, racing into the trees.


Alone, she had a moment to think about the damage she’d seen. The radius of the explosion was concerning, longer than she was used to seeing. She didn’t want to speculate what was capable of causing this type of damage. A lesser god, perhaps. Or a very powerful mortal.


Her feet hardly touched the ground, each pawstep muffled by the ash. The acrid stench still hung in the air, muffling her sense of smell. She thanked the stars it hadn’t rained recently; the only thing worse than ash was wet ash.


There, in the distance. Among the grays and blacks and whites, the arcanine’s orange coat stuck out like a sore paw.


Yellow approached cautiously, sniffing at the air. The arcanine was male. He walked like an arcanine. But did he smell like one? It was difficult to tell with the ash clouding her senses.


Of course, just like he stuck out, Yellow did, too. And it didn’t take long for him to look away from the tree he was pacing around and notice her.


“Yellow?” the arcanine asked.


“Maneth?”


The arcanine jerked his head in the direction of the tree he had been investigating. “You better take a look at this.”


After only a heartbeat of hesitation, Yellow raced over. The tree looked like it had been cut clean diagonally, though it had since burned. The remains of the trunk lay on the ground. A few other trees near it were destroyed in much the same way.


But it wasn’t the trees that concerned her once she reached him.


He took a step back, giving her a clear view of the decomposing corpse of a charmander.


“Forest fire wouldn’t burn hot enough to cremate a charmander,” he said, putting a paw over his snout to try and dampen the stench. “Not likely to kill one either. This one looks to have met a grisly demise. Maybe the cause of the fire though.”


“Not likely, given the scene I just came from. What in Arceus’ name are you doing here, Maneth. No, don’t drop your illusion. There are other teams around.”


The illusory arcanine took a step back. “I was on my way to investigate something for Progne. But when I saw the state of this forest, I wanted to see if I could figure out what happened. Any idea?”


“Not yet. We know it happened a little over a quarter-moon ago, though. Two explorers went missing around the same time. Looks like we found them. Or what’s left of them, at least.” She nudged her paw towards the charmander but didn’t dare touch it. Dealing with grisly scenes like this was never fun, and this was on the tamer side. She’d have to send the sketcher this way, next.


“Damn. All this destruction to kill just one explorer team? Seems like overkill, doesn’t it?”


“Perhaps, but we don’t know yet whether they were the target or just collateral damage.” Not that it mattered. An explorer team was dead. A young one, at that. Pokemon that had a bright future ahead of them. She remembered their initiation ceremony, how the charmander’s eyes had lit up as Blue presented her with her normal rank badge. Yellow felt rage roiling inside, threatening to unleash the beast she knew she could be.


“Hey! Hey, Yellow! Calm down. Your sparks are going to shatter my illusion.”


Her sparks? Oh.


Yellow took a deep breath. “Sorry.” She sat down, running a tongue down her paw in anticipation of washing behind her ear, only to stop, curling her lip at the acrid tang of ash. “What were you doing for Progne?”


“Progne sent me out on an investigation mission,” Maneth explained. “They said they felt Celebi’s presence but were unable to make contact with him. They wanted me to see why Celebi showed up now of all times. And why he chose to appear where he did.”


Celebi? For a moment, Yellow forgot about the dire situation they found themselves in. “And where was that?”


“Near the base of Mount Domo. The specifics are difficult to triangulate, but there’s only a few villages in the area, so I thought I might start with those.”


“Mount Domo, huh?” Yellow closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. “How long ago was this?”


“I was told to leave… about a quarter-moon ago, now.”


“I see. I probably wouldn’t have been in to hear any delivered news…” She closed her eyes, thinking. He was probably in a hurry, but it wouldn’t hurt to play things safe. “Tell you what. I want you to come back with me to headquarters. It’s a little out of your way, but we can reach out to see if anyone in the Unified villages has seen anything out of the ordinary. If not, then it narrows your search to unincorporated villages.”


“And there’s not many of those in the region,” Maneth concluded. “I only saw two on the map. Theran and Malkin.”


“Rocorn isn’t incorporated either,” Yellow said. “Not yet at least.”


“Understood. I’ll mark those down.” He paused; Yellow suspected he was busy at work pulling his map out under that disguise. “Do you think this might be related?”


“Related to what?”


“Right, you’re not fully filled in. Progne also lost contact with Tinny, not long before Celebi appeared. They hadn’t been able to reestablish contact since.”


Dread churned in Yellow’s belly. “Do you think someone is targeting the gods?”


“I don’t know, but Celebi appearing, Victini disappearing… And this fire. In fact…” A rustling came from the disguise as Maneth pulled out his map. The disguise did as well, dropping it on the ground. “I think… Progne told me roughly where they lost contact. They didn’t ask me to investigate that right now, but… this isn’t too far from it. Within a day’s travel for Tinny, I’d guess.”


Yellow fought to control her sparks. A massive fire. A missing god. A dead expedition team. “This… may be even more serious than I thought.”


She glanced up as a shadow passed by overhead. It was that staravia again, come to check on her. She tilted her head up and let out a yip to call him down.


He landed at her side, recoiling at the sight of the charmander corpse.


“Have the team come over here. We’ll need the sketcher to draw up this one, too. Investigator Blitz will stay here to mark the spot until they arrive.” She flicked an ear in Maneth’s direction.


“Will do. What about you?”


“I need to speak with the psychic on duty and get a bulletin out. Whatever happened here is a sign of serious trouble. We need all teams on high alert.”


She pushed past the staravia, forcing herself to walk until she was a good ways away before breaking out into a run.


Yellow should have known better than to hope there would be no more fighting after they unified the continent. But now serious trouble was on the horizon, more serious than she suspected any mortal pokemon had ever dealt with.


She had made a promise to protect the pokemon relying on her. Now was the time to make good on it.

---

Elsewhere, an encampment of strange, otherworldly pokemon sat in an alcove sheltered by high, rocky walls. The shadow of Mount Domo loomed in the distance, only a few days’ journey away. A few pokemon, those who suspected they could pass as natives, stood along the perimeter, watching for actual natives to scare away or kill for supplies.


In the center, a white leporid darted between the tents, making her way to the main one at the center. She kept her long, blue-and-white–striped tail wrapped tightly around her waist.


At the entrance to the main tent, two pokemon — a porygon and a short-eared umbreon — stood guard. The umbreon stepped forward first.


“Warabbit Waisha, what business do you have with Our Lady?”


“Bad news from the courier, I’m afraid,” Waisha said with a shake of her head. “I need to speak with her immediately.”


The umbreon turned to the porygon, who stilled for a moment.


“She is free at the moment, but you must hurry. The evening report starts in twenty minutes.”


Waisha involuntarily shivered. She never liked the way that porygon spoke, but the way its voice became so stilted when telling time was exceptionally creepy.


But the answer seemed to satisfy the umbreon. “Better you than me,” she said, stepping aside.


Waisha rushed inside, skidding to a stop as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Why was their leader insistent on keeping things dark? Then she saw a wave of sparks at the end of the tent and understood. One of her deputies was already there. His body snaked and slumped around her waifish form, barely having the strength to move. The Lady had explained that he wasn’t built for this world. Or that it wasn’t built for him. One way or the other. Regardless, without the infrastructure to support him, he was slowly dying.


“Waisha, was it?” The Lady asked, her claws snaking down the deputy’s slender form in the dim light. “Why are you here?”


Time to steel your nerves, Waisha told herself, taking a deep breath. “First off, some good news. I heard word from Commander Zaid that Mina has fully subdued and integrated Victini. We’re ready to move to the next phase of the plan.”


The Lady quirked her head, her antennas barely visible threads in the darkness. “Good, good. But that would have been covered in his report. Why are you really here?”


“Well,” Waisha began, gulping. “I just spoke with the courier. He said he’s lost connection with Remer. The last message he sent before disappearing was an SOS.” She hesitated, wringing her paws together. “Between that and the previous report, there’s reason to believe that Susana’s team may have been compromised.”


Silence. The deputy groaned and shifted around The Lady. She shushed them, running her hand between his cords. “Did she report any electricity or electric types in the village?”


“I’m… sorry?”


“Any electric types. Don’t be daft, now.”


It took Waisha a moment to understand. “Oh, one, I think.”


“It’ll have to do.” The Lady’s eyes flashed in the darkness. “Thank you for the confirmation. I will speak with Commander Zaid and have him put in the order to move out first thing in the morning. Our target will be Theran Village. Then, depending on Susana’s report, the mountain beyond. You are to speak of this to no one for now, understand?”


“Of course, My Lady.”


“Good.” The Lady leaned back on her cushion, bringing her hand up to her deputy’s spiky head. As Waisha slipped out of the tent, she could hear her speak, voice soothing and serene.


“I will do everything in my power to find you a better energy source,” she promised. “No matter what. You just need to hold on for a little longer, okay? Once we have enough of the gods’ power on our side, we will shape this land to suit our needs. I promise.”

 

[windskull]

Thanks to everyone who reviewed during the blitz! I hope to go back and reply to reviews from the last couple years sometime in February. But for now, here's a new chapter!

Mending Trust, Breaking Trust​

---

Haru slept fitfully that night, her mind plagued by nightmares about Susana, her waking moments plagued by the events of the trial. As much as she tried to push the worries away and distract herself, it always came back with a vengeance.

When her mother called for breakfast the next morning, she practically had to drag herself out of bed. Toshi beating her to the table was a small relief, but a relief nonetheless. She counted her blessings that Lecha okayed him to come home just after nightfall.

Breakfast was a quiet ordeal, full of stilted bits of conversation about her evolution, about the food, about things that had happened while she was gone. Small talk. But no one wanted to address the donphan in the room. Her kidnapping. Toshi’s injuries. Vale’s accusations. The looming threat posed by Susana.

All the while, Haru poked at her breakfast: bread with oil and a leafy salad with razz berry vinaigrette. Her mom usually didn’t bring out the dressing except on special occasions, given that they had to order some of the ingredients from traveling merchants.

“What’s on the work agenda for today?” Haru finally asked after poking at her meal for the umpteenth time.

“Well…” Chip began, looking away.

“I’m sure you’re eager to get back to work, but you two should take the day off,” Saku finished for him. “You’re still recovering, after all. And besides that… After what happened yesterday, we’re not sure what kind of work there will be today.”

“Oh, okay,” Haru answered, trying to appear nonchalant by taking a bite of her food. But on the inside, dismay festered in her belly. Work would have been a welcome distraction.

Beside her, Toshi twisted to nibble at and adjust his bandages. “It’ll be fine, Haru. Come on, if nothing else, there’s bound to be someone who needs help in town.”

He had a point. Probably.

Pushing herself away from the table, she forced the rest of her meal down her gullet with a couple of quick gulps. Normally, she would savor the flavors. But with her mind addled as it was, everything tasted like ash.

Then she returned to her room, remembering with dismay that her best bags had been swept away by the river, along with a notable portion of her money. Sighing, she reached for her older bags, realized the belly strap holding them together was too small for her now, and let them hang around her neck instead with a frustrated huff. Maybe she would get it adjusted while they were at the square.

Toshi was waiting for her in the main room. Together, they left, making the short trek to town in silence.

---

The village square was uncannily empty, especially for the time of day. Anu dipped his head to them as he passed, hurrying towards the tavern. A few moments later, the flaaffy guard exited, yawning. He ignored them as he headed towards his residence on the outskirts of town.

Other than him, the only pokemon they spotted were Whisper, Phoel, and Numi, the pidove who acted as a messenger when Phoel had incoming messages. Whisper leaned over the courier stand, watching as the meowstic closed her eyes and focused, her ears flipping up as she channeled psychic energy. Numi dozed quietly on a perch overhead, occasionally starting awake only to drift off again.

Haru turned her attention away. “Doesn’t seem like there’s anyone out here. Where is everybody?”

“I don’t know,” Toshi said. “I thought people might be shaken up by yesterday, but I figured that would make them more active, not less.” He tapped his foot, his gaze sweeping across the square. “What should we do? Maybe we could go and check on Shimmer and Muse?”

“Would we be allowed to?” Haru countered. But she understood her brother’s worries. She hardly considered herself close to Shimmer, annoyed by her at the best of times. But confining her to the Villa almost felt unfair. Whether or not Vale was lying, there was no way Shimmer was involved. The girl couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. And Muse… No. There was no way she was involved.

…Right?

Speaking of Vale… “Do you… think Vale was telling the truth? About Jhorlo?” She couldn’t help but remember a conversation she’d had with Nip. It wasn’t that long in the grand scheme of things, but it felt like cycles ago, after everything that had happened.

Do you really think searching for unfortunates and letting your carnivore friends eat what amounts to carrion is healthy? He’d said. Do you really believe that it actually works that way? You can't really believe that's sustainable, do you?

Toshi hunched his shoulders, staring at the cobblestones beneath him. “I… I don’t know. It just seems so… outlandish after everything Jhorlo has said and done to keep things running smoothly. But… Did Vale really have an incentive to lie? I’m not so sure…”

Maybe he had a point. But Haru didn’t want to believe it. She couldn’t believe it. Because if that was true…

She opened her mouth to say something more, but movement out of the corner of her eye interrupted her thoughts.

She turned in the direction of the clinic, surprised to see Nip emerging. Lecha followed behind him, lingering near the entrance. The sneasel squinted in the morning light, noticed Haru and Toshi, and trotted over. He hesitated when he got close, ear and feather folding back as he crouched submissively.

“Haru, Toshi,” he said in that now-familiar accented tone. “May I… join you for a few moments? I needed some fresh air.”

Before Haru could say anything one way or the other, or even make up her mind, Toshi answered. “Sure. Why not?” He cast a glance at Haru, who relented with a dip of her head.

The trio fell into an awkward silence. Toshi started to say something, only for the words to die in his throat.

“So,” Haru finally said. “It sounded last night like you’ll probably be leaving soon.”

Nip looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Yeah. Probably. Lecha doesn’t want me to leave until my arm heals enough. Said she was going to talk to Whisper about it. I’ll probably be here another half-moon if she has her way. Tempest will probably be able to travel in three or four days though.”

Haru felt like she should be relieved. A part of her was. Nip would be gone. Umbra would be taken away by the Enforcers. The village would go back to normal.

But if Susana was to be believed, that wasn’t really true, was it?

Even through the relief, another part of Haru ached at the thought of him leaving. It made her uneasy. She figured it was because of the adversity they’d gone through together. He’d saved Toshi, once. Then he saved her when Topaz nearly caught her. But the thought that she would feel that way at all, after everything he’d done, also unnerved her.

“What about you?” he asked. “What do you plan to do?”

“Celebrate my evolution,” she answered. “Try to go back to normal. But I’m not sure how normal it’ll be, with all these changes.”

“I don’t know about you, Sis,” Toshi said, sitting down, “But I don’t think I can go back to normal. Maybe it’s time to… leave.” His final word came out barely more than a whisper, sending a shiver down Haru’s spine.

Nip opened his mouth to reply, but a loud smack sounded behind him and drew his attention. The trio turned to look in the direction of the courier’s stand. Phoel had slammed a paw on her counter, eyes open and glowing with psychic energy. Whisper had sprung back, her feathers puffed up. Numi was nowhere to be seen.

“What do you mean you can’t send anyone?” Phoel hissed. A scraping noise followed as her claws dug into the wood.

Haru and Toshi exchanged a glance before making their way over, Nip lingering behind them.

They reached the stand just as the meowstic shut off her psychic connection, pulling her ears in tight, lip curled back in a snarl.

‘What’s going on?” Whisper demanded, leaning across the counter.

“It took me forever to establish a connection with the enforcer representative,” Phoel growled, her lip curled back. “When he finally accepts my signal and I explain that we need someone to pick up some criminals, he says it’ll have to wait. He wouldn’t even let me explain the severity of the situation. Apparently, they’ve declared some sort of emergency and have all hands on deck. They’re not sending any assistance to unincorporated villages.” She let out a long breath before looking Whisper in the eye. “We’re on our own.”

Frustration churned in Haru’s belly. They wouldn’t even listen? Then what good were they? She clenched and unclenched her forepaws, looking to Whisper for guidance. The hawlucha had closed her eyes, standing stiff for a moment. “We don’t have the resources to send them. We’ll have to keep them for a while longer, at least until we decide what to do. I don’t want to make any changes until we deal with the situation with Jhorlo. Phoel, I want you to continue to pester them daily until I say otherwise, okay?”

Phoel sighed, resting her cheek against the countertop. “Yeah. That’s fine. Don’t be surprised if I come complaining to you about the headaches, though.”

“I’m always willing to listen, Phoel. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I better go make the rounds alerting the guards.” She dipped her head to Haru and Toshi, then hurried away.

“Is this normal?” Nip asked, addressing Haru.

“What, the Enforcer thing? A little, I guess.” Haru sat down to scratch at her belly. “Because we’re not incorporated, we’re not really prioritized. But I can’t remember a time that they ignored us outright. From what I understood, the Enforcers were founded on the idea of helping any pokemon that asks for it. Same for the Rescuers and the Expedition Society.”

“I guess Yellow doesn’t care about that. Or isn’t keeping her mons in check,” Toshi mumbled.

“What do you mean?” Nip asked.

Toshi turned to him. Normally, Haru knew he’d be excited to talk about one of the three governing branches of the unified towns. But his eyes were troubled. “I mean this isn’t normal. Yellow supposedly has a strong sense of justice. If their group is acting out like this…” He shook out his fur. “It’s probably nothing to worry about. We’re not incorporated, so we get the short end of the stick there. But it comes with its benefits.”

“Like?” Nip prompted.

“For one thing, we have control over what we do with anyone that breaks the law here,” Haru said. “I’m not going to lie to you, Nip. If you had pulled your stunt in an incorporated village, you’d be dead by now. Food for some other village.”

Nip crinkled his nose. “You’re not okay with hunting but you’re okay with that?”

“I never said I was okay with it,” Haru countered. “Our village would never. Like I said. We’re not incorporated. So we don’t have to follow their rules.”

Nip looked like he wanted to say something more but seemed to think better of it.

“If we’re going to get your bags adjusted and see if we can see Shimmer, we should probably get going,” Toshi said. “You want to come with, Nip?”

Haru wasn’t so sure about having him accompany them for that long.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to think of an excuse, as Nip looked back towards the clinic. “I should probably go back. I’m not supposed to drift far from the medic’s hut.”

Toshi tilted his head. “So soon? Ah well. See you later then.”

Nip dipped his head first to Toshi, then to Haru. Then he turned and walked away.

“Well,” Toshi said after Nip disappeared behind the curtain at the entrance, “we still have time to kill. Are we going or not?”

“We might as well,” Haru mumbled after thinking about it for a moment. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to actually see them, but… it wouldn’t hurt to check.”

---

The manor on the hill stood tall against the clear blue sky. Normally, it felt welcoming — or welcoming enough, at least. But today, with all the curtains pulled closed and the doors tightly shut, Haru felt uneasy as they approached.

To her surprise, a pokemon sat just outside the door, soaking in the rays of the sun: the diggersby that handled all the local construction. Grombert.

He peeked one eye open as they approached, then yawned and stood up, waving an ear. “Haru? Toshi? What are you two doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” Haru countered.

He used one ear to scratch at his side. “Well, Whisper thought it’d be a good idea to have someone keep watch here, so she asked me to do that. Figured it’d be best to save the battle-ready mon for the more dangerous pokemon.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Toshi murmured. More loudly, he added, “We were just stopping by to check on Shimmer and Muse.”

Grombert closed his eyes, waving his paws in front of him. “Sorry, Toshi, no can do. Whisper was clear: no one leaves, no visitors. Official business only.”

Toshi shrank back, but Haru refused to be easily deterred. “But Shimmer had nothing to do with this mess, right? Surely, she could take a visitor?”

“Sorry, Haru. An order’s an order. If you want in, you need to talk to Whisper.”

As much as she wanted to argue further, Haru didn’t see a point. She sighed, taking a step back. “It’s no good. Come on, Toshi, we might as well head back. See you later, Grom’.” She turned and started back up the trail, letting her tail drag along the ground to make a point of how disappointed she was.

“Darnit,” Toshi mumbled, stumbling as he caught up. “I hope they’re okay. There’s got to be some way we can check on them at least.”

Haru paused and tilted her head up so that she could get a clearer look at the two-floor building. “Maybe… Do you know which window is Shimmer’s room? Or Muse’s?”

Toshi followed her gaze. “I think… Shimmer’s room is that one?” He pointed his paw to a window near the corner. “Muse’s room would be on the back side, but I’m not sure which one.”

“Okay, let me try something.” Haru cast a look at Grombert, who had closed his eyes again, before stepping off the path and pushing through the surrounding underbrush. Once she was comfortably out of sight, she took a deep breath, focusing. This was new — she’d only drawn on her water affinity once, and that had been on external water. This was different. This was pulling from somewhere inside her and from the moisture in the air. And yet, it felt like the most natural thing in the world when she shot a brief, concentrated stream of water at the window. There was a quiet splat as it struck and splattered across the glass. She held her breath, but no sound came from Grombert’s direction.

Then Haru waited, watching the window. She was about to try again when a hazy, green-and-white form appeared behind the glass. It was difficult to see her well from this far away, but she knew it had to be Shimmer. After a few seconds, the kirlia offered her a subdued wave, then disappeared again. Another blob, Muse, appeared shortly after, sitting to watch them for a moment before disappearing into the room. Neither reappeared after.

“Well…” Haru began hesitantly. “I think they’re okay, at least. That’s something to be thankful for.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.” Toshi looked at his feet. “…We should probably go. Hopefully, we can put all this behind us soon.” He shook out his fur. “Shimmer might be overbearing and all, but I never wanted her to be… I don’t want anything bad to happen to her, you know? Muse too. They’re good mon.”

Haru looked back to the window. As much as she agreed with Toshi, those words from Nip kept swirling in the back of her head. How much did the two of them really know? “Yeah… I hope you’re right.”

---

Shimmer watched as Muse sat in front of the window, staring out at Haru and Toshi. The absol’s shoulders were hunched; Shimmer suspected she hadn’t slept well the night before.

Not that she could blame her. This entire situation, being locked away at home, was hard enough for her. She could only imagine how Muse felt. The two of them had practically grown up together, what with her Dad taking Muse under his paw.

There had to be something she could do to help.

“Aw, come away from the window, Musey,” Shimmer called, waving the absol over to settle down beside her. Muse hesitated before slinking across, her head low.

Shimmer had seen her worried before, but never like this.

Well, maybe once like this. She’d been very young, recently hatched, when the news of the failed expedition reached them. She couldn’t remember much of it, but she remembered Muse being inconsolable. Rightfully so, given that she had just lost both her parents, but Shimmer had been too young to understand that at the time. She’d been too young to understand the loss of her own mother, even!

She pushed the negative thoughts out of her mind as Muse settled down beside her, head on her forepaws. Shimmer reached over to run her fingers through the thick fur on the absol’s neck, worrying at a tangle here and there. “Aw, Musey, did you groom this morning? You look like a mess.”

It took the absol a moment to respond. “Oh… No, I… I didn’t feel up to it this morning.”

Shimmer frowned, letting silence hang over the room for a moment. She wasn’t used to words being this hard to get out. “Are you still worried about last night?” she finally said. “Don’t worry about it, okay? It’s going to be fine. Once it becomes clear that this is a big, silly mistake.” She wished she couldn’t hear the doubt in her tone.

More silence. Muse lifted her head to stare at her claws. “What if it’s not, though?” she asked. “What if it’s not fine? What if Vale was telling the truth? What would you do, then?”

Shimmer’s fingers caught on another tangle. She stopped and pulled her hand away. Muse turned to look at her, an expression on her face that Shimmer couldn’t quite discern. Then she averted her gaze. “I just… I don’t want you to be hurt w… if it turns out to be true.”

It was a minor slip-up, but with the way Muse struggled to look her in the eye, Shimmer couldn’t help but be suspicious. She had to press, silently begging Muse to laugh it off. “You… were about to say when, weren’t you? Muse… do you know something? Are you hiding something from me?”

Muse flinched and looked away. “Please, Shimmer, it was a slip of the tongue. It’s not my place to speak on your father’s matters.”

That was practically a confession. “Muse, tell me the truth. Was Vale being honest? Do you hunt?”

Muse widened her eyes, tensing, muscles coiled and ready to flee. “No. Never! I’ve never hunted. I don’t…” She stared at Shimmer with a stricken expression, her claws digging into the wooden flooring. “I don’t know if he was lying! I…”

“Musey…” Shimmer started, feeling tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. “Just tell me the truth, please.”

Muse stared at her for a moment longer, voiceless, before she finally dropped her gaze. “I… don’t have the full picture. But I know there was some truth to it. I know Vale, Jaques, and Lotte went out hunting to feed the village. I know Jhorlo knew about it, but I don’t know if it was forced or all of their own volition. I know he never wanted you to find out.”

Shimmer wanted to snap at Muse. Accuse her of lying. She wanted Muse to say she was just joking. But she knew Muse wouldn’t lie to her when asked like this. The thought that she’d been hiding it this long hurt. But what hurt more was knowing that her father genuinely was in on it.

She pushed herself to her feet, sniffling. Muse looked up, startled. “Shimmer, where are you going?”

“To talk to my father.”

There was a dangerous lightness to her voice. Muse scrambled to her feet, trying to block the way.”

“Please don’t do this to yourself, Shimmer,” Muse said, her eyes pleading. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Shimmer just teleported to the other side of her. “It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think?”

Muse flinched, and for a second, Shimmer felt guilty. She was sure Muse hadn’t meant to hurt her by hiding things. If anything, she’d been trying to protect her. But right now, she didn’t need protecting. She needed answers.

She left the room, marching down the hall. She could hear the skitter of Muse’s paws following behind her, but the absol hung back.

When she reached her father’s room, she didn’t bother to knock, flinging the door open. Her father was alone, lying in front of the window with his head on his paws. He flicked his ear when she entered, but didn't get up. Jaques and Lotte were nowhere to be seen. Frankly, she didn’t care where they were.

“Father.”

No movement.

“Is it true?”

His ear twisted back to listen, but otherwise, nothing.

Shimmer failed to hold back a sob. “Everything Vale said. All of it.”

The purugly shifted. “Do you think I would lie to you all this time, my dear daughter?”

“I don’t know anymore,” Shimmer said, clenching her fists. “If Muse was willing to lie to me all this time, then can I trust you?”

Jhorlo let out a loud sigh. Silence passed for a moment before he lifted his head. He still didn’t turn around to face her. “I take it she said something to you, then? I’ve already gotten an earful from Jaques and Lotte. I’d hoped you’d never have to get involved in my affairs, Shimmer. Not until it was time for you to take your place as leader, at the least.”

Why wouldn’t he turn around? “Look at me, Dad.”

The purugly finally climbed to his feet, turned, and sat back down. His eyes betrayed a lack of sleep.

“Why?” she choked out.

“You’ll have to be more specific, I’m afraid,” Jhorlo said, blinking.

“Why did you do it? And why did you hide everything from me?”

“I didn’t want you involved, like I said,” he replied, answering the second question first. “I could say a lot of things about why I did. I can’t answer all of them. But… First and foremost, I wanted to keep this village free. I didn’t want it to be incorporated, just like your mother did. But there were too many mouths to feed and not enough meat to go around. I came up with the best solution I could, you must understand.”

“Was blackmailing Vale a part of that?”

He let out a long sigh. “It was… an opportunity that I took advantage of. Someone had to do the dirty work, you know. I just channeled Vale’s destructive energy into something useful for the village.”

Shimmer clenched her fists at her sides, gritting her teeth. She could feel her father’s residual anxiety and exhaustion, and it took all of her self-control not to try ripping into his mind to see if he was being honest. It wouldn’t be hard, though there was no guarantee he wouldn’t shut her out or hurt her to get her out of his head. It wasn’t worth the risk.

She’d seen enough anyway.

Turning on one foot, she stalked out of the room, pausing at the doorway when Jhorlo called her name.

“Shimmer?”

“Make it quick.”

“I… Everything I’ve done, I did for this village. I did for you.”

Those few words were all it took to break her heart. With a sniffle, she said, “Forgive me if I find that hard to believe.”

And then she raced back to her room, shoving past Muse and slamming the door behind her before the absol could follow her inside. She sank to the floor just inside, back against the door, and sobbed for a while, struggling to form a coherent thought. Eventually, she managed to drag herself back into her nest. A while after that, Muse pushed her way inside, dragging a jug of water with her teeth. She curled up around Shimmer silently.

A part of Shimmer wanted to yell at her and chase her out. Muse had lied to her too, after all, even if the deception didn’t run as deep. But she also didn’t want to be alone. Not right now. As she drifted off into an uneasy nap, she struggled to make sense of everything.

Why was everything falling apart?