BestLizard
Junior Trainer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It is the final day where the moon collides with the world. Dream Town is ready to leave and bunker down to survive the impact, but Anna can't find Mona, no matter how wide she searches.
Darkrai appears in front of the town centre, holding a Piplup and a Riolu high in each hand.
“The heroes of Team Hope have failed you,” they announce to confused town members.
The partners are let go. Their corpses crumble on the ground and murmurs spread.
“I shall see my plan through. In three days, the moon will crash into your world and I shall build an empire from its ashes. I bid you use your time well.”
They summon a void behind them and float out of sight. Most stare speechless at the fallen heroes. The ones who don’t scream instead.
The far-off bongs of the town bell stir Anna, the Charmeleon. It is the third day. There is the pattering of feet and cacophonous voices striving to maintain order outside her room, for the guild is preparing their final mission: bring Dream Town to the bottom of the Iron Burrow Mystery Dungeon. She recognizes movement just outside her room but she doesn’t care. She looks at the pile of hay beside her.
No one’s there.
“Mona?” she says. The Banette’s nowhere in their room. She gets up, loudly yawns, and stretches until blood’s pumping well. She walks into the hallway leading to the lobby.
Pokemon rush around the massive room, organizing grim-looking townfolk filtering through the entrance into 40-mon groups. They also stash bags by each cohort, count heads, and make sure families stay together. Most of all, they assure them and recite the plan repeatedly: travel together a little past noon. The guild didn’t bother involving rookie members like herself for this. She scans everyone - there isn't a single Banette around.
“Mona!” she shouts, but no pokemon glances at her. She rests her head in a claw. Not now, not now, not now…
She takes a deep breath and moves around the walls of the guild, cautiously avoiding the path of any scrambling pokemon until she enters the dining hall. Its long table is a mess of dirty plates and stains from yesterday’s final feast. No pokemon loiter. She heads to the adjoining kitchen. Pokemon head in and out, hauling out reserves of apples or scarfing down a quick breakfast. None of them are Mona. Anna grumbles.
She examines every room of their guildhall, dodging around hurried explorers but she finds no Banette. She fetches the guildmaster’s assistant, an Espeon, returning from explaining the task to a few overwhelmed members. “Have you seen Mona?”
“No, I haven’t seen them around anywhere. Try searching the town. We still have a couple of hours.” The assistant hurries off.
Anna heads outside, squeezing through the entrance and the line of pokemon in front of it. A gentle breeze kisses her face. Above them, the spectral surface of the moon stretches across the sky, hazy behind the atmosphere. The light basking its side is blinding, while its shadow projects onto the far mountains. The intricate streets of Dream Town are visible from the hill the Guild rests on, with the grand bell tower looming in the middle. The line of Pokemon descends the steps all the way to the base and more sections of pokemon sit on its slopes. The guildmaster Noivern walks around the mess, urging calm to ghostly faces.
She spots no Banette in the crowds as she walks down. At the bottom, she peers down a long street of stalls and huts.
Anna checks the market. Every stall is empty except for Ryleigh’s storage. A crowd leans over its counter, yelling while a Kangaskhan hurries possessions out from the back.
A Poocheyana walks past the storage, dragging a bag in his maw. She runs up to him. “Hey, have you seen a Banette around anywhere?” she asks.
He shakes his head.
She sighs and heads deeper into the market to check many buildings. The dojo, the cafe, the inn, and many more are all abandoned save for litter. Back to the storage after the surprisingly long search, there’s only the Kangaskhan and a meek Riolu dragging a scarf off the counter remaining. His eyes are wet and he thanks the Kangaskhan repeatedly while he wraps it around his neck. When it's snug, he bows.
“Rill, you need to get to the guild,” Ryleigh says.
“Okay! I will! Thank you so much for everything! Hope we make it through this together” he responds. He buries his head into the scarf as he runs off. Now it's just Anna and her.
“Ryleigh! Have you seen Mona?! I’ve looked everywhere at the guild and the market and I can’t find him!” Anna says.
Ryleigh moves into the spacious hut. There are stacks of empty bags everywhere, with only a few partly-filled sacks resting against the wall. She ties up a small one in the corner. She fumbles with the knot. “No. I haven’t seen her pass by anywhere. Are you sure she isn’t at the guild?”
“I looked thoroughly. She wasn’t in any room, nor was she in any of the evacuation groups either.”
“Well, she may have returned since you left. And if not, she’ll probably show up there eventually. I think waiting there is best.”
“I guess. That’s not a bad idea.”
“Plus, you may get left behind if you take too long searching for her.” Ryleigh stuffs the bag into her front pouch and heads outside. She offers her hand to Anna and smiles. “Let’s go together. I’ll keep an eye out for her with you.”
Anna holds her shaking hand and returns a weak smile. “Okay.”
They walk towards the guild. The moon’s shadow creeps over the ground behind them.
The queue into the guildhall is shorter and there’s less noise. The guild members operate more confidently. The crowds of pokemon resting on the hillside murmur among themselves about the darkness encroaching their town.
Ryleigh reserves a spot in the queue. Anna heads into the guild and explores every room and evacuee once more. No Mona.
She goes back to Ryleigh and waits silently beside her. The shadow crawls up the grass. When it washes over them, the crowd of the pokemon yammer with alarmed voices. Various members remind everyone to stay calm and fire-types ignite small flames on themselves to help everyone see. A sliver of white decorates a crescent edge of the moon. The breeze has picked up enough to rustle fur and pick up leaves. Anna feels a faint tremble beneath her feet.
Time passes. The crescent glow has left and stars dot a dark-purple horizon while the moon above them is a black void. They approach the entrance and a Deerling guides them to a group down the slope. The line has diminished to odd latecomers with few stragglers sprinting from town.
Anna looks down. “I don’t think Mona’s going to come.”
Ryleigh looks down as well. She picks a few blades of grass.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to trouble you. I really appreciate you being here for me,” Anna says.
“I’m just glad I can do something. I owe your team a lot for everything you’ve done.”
Anna nods.
“Mona’s such a sweet kid. I hope she shows up,” Ryleigh says.
“She has hid herself when things got tough before. When we failed the entrance test the first time, she kept herself in the Beach Cave Mystery Dungeon for a week. We were about to send a rescue team until she showed up out of nowhere, apologizing. It’s funny though, the next year she had to give me the courage to take the test again.
“I just thought after everything we’ve been through together, she’d be with me at the end.” She rubs her eye with her wrist.
Ryleigh rubs the lizard’s shoulder. “Do you think she’d go back into the Beach Cave? Someone of your skill should be able to get through it before we leave.”
“Probably. But she would be able to get out on her own.”
The guildmaster flaps atop the guild hall’s roof and projects his voice, interrupting everybody. “Everyone! Please Listen! Our fliers will sweep across town to find any Pokemon who may not have shown up yet. When they return with any remaining Pokemon, we will do a final headcount and then begin our exodus. Please do not return to the town under any circumstance from here on out. Thank you.”
The Guildmaster reiterates a few more details and reminders, then waves off a few flying-types. He heads inside.
“You should check Beach Cave now. You’ll be able to catch up with us if you’re fast enough.” Ryleigh says.
Anna stands. “Yeah. You’re right. If Mona shows up, tell her where I’m at.” She runs into the trees lining the side of the hill, not even looking back.
This flank of the hill is steep and dense with trees and low foliage, yet is the shortest path to the beach. Anna takes care not to slip. An intense salty smell hits her nose and not long after, she breaks into cool sand. The tide is so high that Anna’s ankles get wet just standing at the edge of the shore. Each wave reaches two meters in height and strikes the shore with an overwhelming crashing sound, rushing water into the foliage behind her and grass into its depths.
Beach Cave would be drowned.
Anna runs along the edge of the high tide, kicking water around. A heavy ocean gust pushes her onto her side, but she gets back up before a wave crashes over her. When the cave comes into view, the truth is worse. Half the cave entrance is not only submerged but the entrance is packed with large rocks. It has collapsed.
Any Pokemon inside are fated to die. She rubs her eye. She breathes through her nose and escapes the despair by remembering their first mission together but the violent rumbling of the sea interrupts her thoughts. A familiar Tropius flies across the sky. She heads back through the bush before she troubles the scout.
Ryleigh doesn’t ask any questions as Anna’s face says plenty. They end up sitting around in the dim light for a long while. All the Pokemon in the queue are now divided and blanket the entire hillside. Everyone is silent, holding their belongings down from being blown away by the accelerating wind. Scouts return periodically. Two lost children have been brought between them all.
One more scout returns to the Guildmaster. The leader hangs his head and mutters thanks with a solemn face. The flier disperses to their assigned crowds while he flaps onto the hall once more and shouts over the wind. “Everyone. We have finished our search. We will begin our final headcount and leave soon. Please, make sure to carry a bag of supplies and that you have all possessions you wish to bring on you. Follow the section lead. At this time, do not separate from your section under any circumstance as you may become lost. We will make it through this dark night together.”
Anna bolts from her position. Other Pokemon join her.
“GUILDMASTER! MONA IS MISSING!” Anna shouts. The ones around her holler as well, begging for missing pokemon.
He spreads his wings out. “We have searched every street thoroughly! Any Pokemon not present is presumed lost. Please return to your groups and maintain order. Understand that we have everything we’ve done and must now focus on bringing everyone here to safety.”
Anna shakes her fist. The others keep shouting to the Noivern until senior staff drag them back to their group. A Lucario approaches her but she bats her approaching arm and runs back to Ryleigh who catches her in her arms. The Charmeleon cries into her side.
“My dear…” Ryleigh says. She rubs her head.
“I can’t do it. I can’t leave without her.”
“There’s nothing we can do now. Focus on surviving for now. Mona would want it.”
Anna buries her head into the Kangaskhan. “The dungeon won’t protect us. We’re going to die anyway.”
Ryleigh holds her. She shakes. “I know.” Tears flood her eyes. Anna sobs too.
A large tremble stirs the crowd. Someone asks if they’ll make it in time. Their section leader, a Gardevoir, calms everyone and alerts them that the final headcount is beginning.
Anna pushes back to look into her friend’s eyes. “Ryleigh. I can’t leave without her. She must still be out there. I must find her. But I don’t want to leave you...” She bites her lips as another tear slides down her cheek.
Ryleigh ducks to her eye level and puts both hands on her shoulders. “Anna. You’re brave and wonderful and you follow your heart no matter what. Meeting people like you has made living worth it. So please, follow your heart to the end. Mona needs you. Be brave, okay?”
“Thank you so much,” she says, leaning in for a tight hug.
Ryleigh rubs her back and takes a long, deep breath through her nose. “Plus, we’ll find each other again when this is all over, wherever we end up going. Yeah?” She looks over to the Gradevoir, who is distracted by the far edge of the group. She taps her back. “Go now. Here’s your chance.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much for everything! I promise I will never forget you!” she says. She slips out of her grip and weaves through the crowd. She looks back at Ryleigh waving her off. She returns it and dives into the forest lining the hill.
She wades through the forest around the back of the guildhall and ends up near the market. She beelines to the far side of the large town. The place is a nightmare with no soul left around and everything is coated in darkness. Forsaken huts and stalls gloom while flagpoles strain in loud gales. Her own claws clattering on the stone roads can barely be heard. After a while, she approaches a towering two-story building. Its doors bat around in the wind.
Inside is quiet with just a low hum heard from outside. She checks their own rooms, their caretaker’s rooms, the cafeteria where she first approached her - all empty. It doesn’t feel like the same place without children running and screaming around, or with the warm scent of supper ready for them. She leaves with shoulders hung low, looking back inside for one last look before it’s goodbye forever.
The school is where she heads next. It's a quarter-way around the edge of town from the orphanage. Its trek is just as long as back in those days. She marches up the stone steps of the hill and reaches the rows of logs planted in an arc underneath a pavilion tent that forms their school. No Mona.
She sits in the back right corner and taps a doodle of a fiery dragon and a many-tongued monster etched into the edge of the seat. Memories flood her eye’s mind until a snap bolts her upright. The wooden supports of the pavilion have cracked and the tent carries off into the mountains. She runs back into town, hoping Ryleigh will be safe in time.
Her heart beats fast but the constant wind and the ground’s vibrating picking up her saps her strength. She winds down many roads until she makes it to Mona’s friend’s home at the end of the street - empty. Their teacher’s home, two streets over - empty. Ryleigh’s home, a roundabout walk to the market - empty. She crisscrosses town searching every hut with any flimsy connection to Mona. All Empty. Tears well up. She walks into the middle of the street, arcs her back, and screams at the top of her lungs: “MONAAA!”
Her voice struggles to compete against the rumble of the storm.
She wipes her eyes and starts her desperate last plan. She jogs into every house on the street and pokes her head in to shout for Mona. Every hut greets her with a dark, abandoned interior. When every address on the road is visited, she moves over and starts again, cursing she didn’t organize her visit better.
One green dome has a Bulbasaur sitting and staring at a pathetic bonfire lit on the ground. Even after she shouts for her partner, he stays frozen, looking at the wavering flame with swollen eyes. He doesn’t respond when she asks if he’s seen a Banette.
She goes out and inspects the remaining houses on the second street and moves onto the third, denser with even more huts. Her voice is getting weak with each scream. She leans her body into the wind to fight it. More and more empty houses she visits. Fourth street. Fifth street, her voice is becoming a weak whimper. More homes. No Mona. Nowhere. No one.
No time. The opposite edge of the moon glows a pale strip of white.
The ground quakes and Anna collapses onto her front. The bell of the center tower rings, powered by the violence of nature. She looks past the tower and sees a few faint orange lights enter a dot in the mountains. She wouldn’t be able to catch up now.
Tears splatter onto the stone below.
“Mona, please don’t leave me alone,” she says, even though she can’t hear herself. “I’m sorry Ryleigh. I’m so sorry I left you. I can’t find Mona. I failed. I-”
She plants her forehead on the ground and screams. Her whole body tenses. Wind washes over. The ground shakes.
The bell booms in the distance. Her eyes flick to the tower. Nobody would have visited there today.
Maybe she’s trying to not be found.
She gets back onto her legs. She puts her arm in front of her head, leans into the wind, and keeps her knees low. She has to fight both air and earth to stay upright.
The bell clangs due to constant quaking, overwhelming the wailing of the wind and rumble of the earth. The door of the tower has already blown off. Anna makes it inside. Wooden beams cross over above her and a simple staircase wraps around the grey-brick interior. A rope hanging from the bell sways.
“Mona!” she weakly shouts. Nobody responds
She walks up the staircase. The planks creak under her step. Each step is taken carefully so as to not break the wood. Her head cranes upwards as she ascends.
Many floors higher, the bottom floor can’t be seen in the darkness. The gust outside makes hellish shrieks through narrow silts. She peeks out one - the storm uproots a hut and takes it away to the mountains. Trees at the edge of town bend, some falling over.
She forces her head away. Two soft, red glows emanant above.
“Mona!” Anna says. The eyes disappear. “No!”
She rushes up the remaining steps. The bell’s heavy tolling makes her ears ring, she’s so close to the top.
There’s a large snap. She falls.
Her arms hold onto the stairs head over her. Claws dig into the wood, but they regularly slip with the quaking. She feels nothing below her feet. The steps behind her have collapsed. Her arms hurt.
A red eye peaks out in the darkness. She stares at it.
She coughs. “Mona!” Her voice hurts. She can barely yell.
The eye blinks.
“Please!”
The eye disappears.
“No!” The arms slip and now only her claws buried into the wood hold her up.
Tears well in her eyes. She takes a deep breath, filling her lungs with as much air as she can.
“Don’t leave me alone!” she shouts. She coughs more, but even those can’t be heard now.
She shouts again but her voice is reduced to a whisper. She closes her eyes; that was it. Her legs kick again but they feel nothing but tears falling on them. Her strained arms beg for rest.
Two plush hands grab her arm. A ghost is above her, leaning back to pull her up. Tears run down Mona’s cheeks.
Anna moves her mouth, unsure what words it wants to say. She’s dragged up slowly until she finally catches a step. Mona tugs her into a hug, steadying her stance.
“Let’s go,” she says. She lifts her up and Anna warps her legs around Mona’s waist. The ghost carries her to the top, right by the bell. There are arched openings in the stone wall where the pandemonium can be seen through. The ledge is wide enough for them to sit in. She sets her on the ledge, then hops on beside her. They hold each.
“Why did you leave us?” Anna says. “I was so worried.”
Mona places her head on her shoulder and trembles. She squeezes Anna. “I was afraid. To see everyone regret they were alive.“ Fresh tears roll down her cheeks with a sniff. “Why were we ever alive?”
Anna leans against the side of her head. “I don’t regret life, Mona. That’s not true. I got to be with you.”
Every muscle in the Banette’s face stiffens. She breaks down into a wail and digs her head into her shoulder, crying so hard she struggles to breathe.
“I’m sorry,” Mona says with a strained voice.
The bell breaks off with an intense crack and crashes into the wooden beams, booming and banging until a loud thud shudders the entire structure and shakes their bones.
“I’m so sorry Anna. I shouldn’t have left you. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” The ghost chants the apology until she forces herself to breathe.
“I’m with you now,” Anna says, rubbing her back. “Mona, What comes next? Will we be together?”
Mona gulps and glances to the heavens outside their arch. A towering wave past the guild breaks against the hill, pulling trees and the roof off the guildhall with it and drowning the base of town. Pokemon homes begin to collapse with the quaking. Bright orange meteors crash into the ocean beyond.
She sets her forehead against the Charmeleon’s own. Mona coils her arms coil around her and her hands clasp her sides. “I don’t know what comes next. But I will never leave you again, no matter what happens. I’ll hold onto you tight. That way, we’ll be together, no matter what happens.”
Anna smiles. “Will we be together forever?”
“Forever.”
Tears slide down Anna’s cheek. Her head braces against her shoulder. “I love you,” she says with her cracked voice.
“I love you so much,” Mona says.
They stay in each other's arms. A warm light casts through arches on the other side of the bell tower as the sun rises from the other side of the moon. Brilliant pink and oranges swath the skies behind the mountains. Their strength never lets up in spite of all the tumbling. Wind overwhelming with the scent of dirty dust jets over their skins. Debris boom against the building. Tsunamis thunder in the distance. Meteors smash around them. One explodes beside the tower and robs them of their hearing.
They never stop feeling each other’s warmth. They close their eyes.
Everything goes white.
They go together.
Character Death
This one-shot was submitted to the PMDWU's Summer 2022 one-shot competition. This story has no relation to the ongoing TR one-shot competition. The themes were "midnight talk", "something in the sky", and "three days". The full anthology can be found here, which I recommend reading: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14081877/21/PMDWU-Oneshot-Collection-Summer-2022
Thank you to GumPlum (PMD Free Fiction), Truebrush (PMD Crux of the Self), and PunninOtter for beta-reading or otherwise helping out.
Enjoy!
Thank you to GumPlum (PMD Free Fiction), Truebrush (PMD Crux of the Self), and PunninOtter for beta-reading or otherwise helping out.
Enjoy!
Together
Darkrai appears in front of the town centre, holding a Piplup and a Riolu high in each hand.
“The heroes of Team Hope have failed you,” they announce to confused town members.
The partners are let go. Their corpses crumble on the ground and murmurs spread.
“I shall see my plan through. In three days, the moon will crash into your world and I shall build an empire from its ashes. I bid you use your time well.”
They summon a void behind them and float out of sight. Most stare speechless at the fallen heroes. The ones who don’t scream instead.
The far-off bongs of the town bell stir Anna, the Charmeleon. It is the third day. There is the pattering of feet and cacophonous voices striving to maintain order outside her room, for the guild is preparing their final mission: bring Dream Town to the bottom of the Iron Burrow Mystery Dungeon. She recognizes movement just outside her room but she doesn’t care. She looks at the pile of hay beside her.
No one’s there.
“Mona?” she says. The Banette’s nowhere in their room. She gets up, loudly yawns, and stretches until blood’s pumping well. She walks into the hallway leading to the lobby.
Pokemon rush around the massive room, organizing grim-looking townfolk filtering through the entrance into 40-mon groups. They also stash bags by each cohort, count heads, and make sure families stay together. Most of all, they assure them and recite the plan repeatedly: travel together a little past noon. The guild didn’t bother involving rookie members like herself for this. She scans everyone - there isn't a single Banette around.
“Mona!” she shouts, but no pokemon glances at her. She rests her head in a claw. Not now, not now, not now…
She takes a deep breath and moves around the walls of the guild, cautiously avoiding the path of any scrambling pokemon until she enters the dining hall. Its long table is a mess of dirty plates and stains from yesterday’s final feast. No pokemon loiter. She heads to the adjoining kitchen. Pokemon head in and out, hauling out reserves of apples or scarfing down a quick breakfast. None of them are Mona. Anna grumbles.
She examines every room of their guildhall, dodging around hurried explorers but she finds no Banette. She fetches the guildmaster’s assistant, an Espeon, returning from explaining the task to a few overwhelmed members. “Have you seen Mona?”
“No, I haven’t seen them around anywhere. Try searching the town. We still have a couple of hours.” The assistant hurries off.
Anna heads outside, squeezing through the entrance and the line of pokemon in front of it. A gentle breeze kisses her face. Above them, the spectral surface of the moon stretches across the sky, hazy behind the atmosphere. The light basking its side is blinding, while its shadow projects onto the far mountains. The intricate streets of Dream Town are visible from the hill the Guild rests on, with the grand bell tower looming in the middle. The line of Pokemon descends the steps all the way to the base and more sections of pokemon sit on its slopes. The guildmaster Noivern walks around the mess, urging calm to ghostly faces.
She spots no Banette in the crowds as she walks down. At the bottom, she peers down a long street of stalls and huts.
Anna checks the market. Every stall is empty except for Ryleigh’s storage. A crowd leans over its counter, yelling while a Kangaskhan hurries possessions out from the back.
A Poocheyana walks past the storage, dragging a bag in his maw. She runs up to him. “Hey, have you seen a Banette around anywhere?” she asks.
He shakes his head.
She sighs and heads deeper into the market to check many buildings. The dojo, the cafe, the inn, and many more are all abandoned save for litter. Back to the storage after the surprisingly long search, there’s only the Kangaskhan and a meek Riolu dragging a scarf off the counter remaining. His eyes are wet and he thanks the Kangaskhan repeatedly while he wraps it around his neck. When it's snug, he bows.
“Rill, you need to get to the guild,” Ryleigh says.
“Okay! I will! Thank you so much for everything! Hope we make it through this together” he responds. He buries his head into the scarf as he runs off. Now it's just Anna and her.
“Ryleigh! Have you seen Mona?! I’ve looked everywhere at the guild and the market and I can’t find him!” Anna says.
Ryleigh moves into the spacious hut. There are stacks of empty bags everywhere, with only a few partly-filled sacks resting against the wall. She ties up a small one in the corner. She fumbles with the knot. “No. I haven’t seen her pass by anywhere. Are you sure she isn’t at the guild?”
“I looked thoroughly. She wasn’t in any room, nor was she in any of the evacuation groups either.”
“Well, she may have returned since you left. And if not, she’ll probably show up there eventually. I think waiting there is best.”
“I guess. That’s not a bad idea.”
“Plus, you may get left behind if you take too long searching for her.” Ryleigh stuffs the bag into her front pouch and heads outside. She offers her hand to Anna and smiles. “Let’s go together. I’ll keep an eye out for her with you.”
Anna holds her shaking hand and returns a weak smile. “Okay.”
They walk towards the guild. The moon’s shadow creeps over the ground behind them.
The queue into the guildhall is shorter and there’s less noise. The guild members operate more confidently. The crowds of pokemon resting on the hillside murmur among themselves about the darkness encroaching their town.
Ryleigh reserves a spot in the queue. Anna heads into the guild and explores every room and evacuee once more. No Mona.
She goes back to Ryleigh and waits silently beside her. The shadow crawls up the grass. When it washes over them, the crowd of the pokemon yammer with alarmed voices. Various members remind everyone to stay calm and fire-types ignite small flames on themselves to help everyone see. A sliver of white decorates a crescent edge of the moon. The breeze has picked up enough to rustle fur and pick up leaves. Anna feels a faint tremble beneath her feet.
Time passes. The crescent glow has left and stars dot a dark-purple horizon while the moon above them is a black void. They approach the entrance and a Deerling guides them to a group down the slope. The line has diminished to odd latecomers with few stragglers sprinting from town.
Anna looks down. “I don’t think Mona’s going to come.”
Ryleigh looks down as well. She picks a few blades of grass.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to trouble you. I really appreciate you being here for me,” Anna says.
“I’m just glad I can do something. I owe your team a lot for everything you’ve done.”
Anna nods.
“Mona’s such a sweet kid. I hope she shows up,” Ryleigh says.
“She has hid herself when things got tough before. When we failed the entrance test the first time, she kept herself in the Beach Cave Mystery Dungeon for a week. We were about to send a rescue team until she showed up out of nowhere, apologizing. It’s funny though, the next year she had to give me the courage to take the test again.
“I just thought after everything we’ve been through together, she’d be with me at the end.” She rubs her eye with her wrist.
Ryleigh rubs the lizard’s shoulder. “Do you think she’d go back into the Beach Cave? Someone of your skill should be able to get through it before we leave.”
“Probably. But she would be able to get out on her own.”
The guildmaster flaps atop the guild hall’s roof and projects his voice, interrupting everybody. “Everyone! Please Listen! Our fliers will sweep across town to find any Pokemon who may not have shown up yet. When they return with any remaining Pokemon, we will do a final headcount and then begin our exodus. Please do not return to the town under any circumstance from here on out. Thank you.”
The Guildmaster reiterates a few more details and reminders, then waves off a few flying-types. He heads inside.
“You should check Beach Cave now. You’ll be able to catch up with us if you’re fast enough.” Ryleigh says.
Anna stands. “Yeah. You’re right. If Mona shows up, tell her where I’m at.” She runs into the trees lining the side of the hill, not even looking back.
This flank of the hill is steep and dense with trees and low foliage, yet is the shortest path to the beach. Anna takes care not to slip. An intense salty smell hits her nose and not long after, she breaks into cool sand. The tide is so high that Anna’s ankles get wet just standing at the edge of the shore. Each wave reaches two meters in height and strikes the shore with an overwhelming crashing sound, rushing water into the foliage behind her and grass into its depths.
Beach Cave would be drowned.
Anna runs along the edge of the high tide, kicking water around. A heavy ocean gust pushes her onto her side, but she gets back up before a wave crashes over her. When the cave comes into view, the truth is worse. Half the cave entrance is not only submerged but the entrance is packed with large rocks. It has collapsed.
Any Pokemon inside are fated to die. She rubs her eye. She breathes through her nose and escapes the despair by remembering their first mission together but the violent rumbling of the sea interrupts her thoughts. A familiar Tropius flies across the sky. She heads back through the bush before she troubles the scout.
Ryleigh doesn’t ask any questions as Anna’s face says plenty. They end up sitting around in the dim light for a long while. All the Pokemon in the queue are now divided and blanket the entire hillside. Everyone is silent, holding their belongings down from being blown away by the accelerating wind. Scouts return periodically. Two lost children have been brought between them all.
One more scout returns to the Guildmaster. The leader hangs his head and mutters thanks with a solemn face. The flier disperses to their assigned crowds while he flaps onto the hall once more and shouts over the wind. “Everyone. We have finished our search. We will begin our final headcount and leave soon. Please, make sure to carry a bag of supplies and that you have all possessions you wish to bring on you. Follow the section lead. At this time, do not separate from your section under any circumstance as you may become lost. We will make it through this dark night together.”
Anna bolts from her position. Other Pokemon join her.
“GUILDMASTER! MONA IS MISSING!” Anna shouts. The ones around her holler as well, begging for missing pokemon.
He spreads his wings out. “We have searched every street thoroughly! Any Pokemon not present is presumed lost. Please return to your groups and maintain order. Understand that we have everything we’ve done and must now focus on bringing everyone here to safety.”
Anna shakes her fist. The others keep shouting to the Noivern until senior staff drag them back to their group. A Lucario approaches her but she bats her approaching arm and runs back to Ryleigh who catches her in her arms. The Charmeleon cries into her side.
“My dear…” Ryleigh says. She rubs her head.
“I can’t do it. I can’t leave without her.”
“There’s nothing we can do now. Focus on surviving for now. Mona would want it.”
Anna buries her head into the Kangaskhan. “The dungeon won’t protect us. We’re going to die anyway.”
Ryleigh holds her. She shakes. “I know.” Tears flood her eyes. Anna sobs too.
A large tremble stirs the crowd. Someone asks if they’ll make it in time. Their section leader, a Gardevoir, calms everyone and alerts them that the final headcount is beginning.
Anna pushes back to look into her friend’s eyes. “Ryleigh. I can’t leave without her. She must still be out there. I must find her. But I don’t want to leave you...” She bites her lips as another tear slides down her cheek.
Ryleigh ducks to her eye level and puts both hands on her shoulders. “Anna. You’re brave and wonderful and you follow your heart no matter what. Meeting people like you has made living worth it. So please, follow your heart to the end. Mona needs you. Be brave, okay?”
“Thank you so much,” she says, leaning in for a tight hug.
Ryleigh rubs her back and takes a long, deep breath through her nose. “Plus, we’ll find each other again when this is all over, wherever we end up going. Yeah?” She looks over to the Gradevoir, who is distracted by the far edge of the group. She taps her back. “Go now. Here’s your chance.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much for everything! I promise I will never forget you!” she says. She slips out of her grip and weaves through the crowd. She looks back at Ryleigh waving her off. She returns it and dives into the forest lining the hill.
She wades through the forest around the back of the guildhall and ends up near the market. She beelines to the far side of the large town. The place is a nightmare with no soul left around and everything is coated in darkness. Forsaken huts and stalls gloom while flagpoles strain in loud gales. Her own claws clattering on the stone roads can barely be heard. After a while, she approaches a towering two-story building. Its doors bat around in the wind.
Inside is quiet with just a low hum heard from outside. She checks their own rooms, their caretaker’s rooms, the cafeteria where she first approached her - all empty. It doesn’t feel like the same place without children running and screaming around, or with the warm scent of supper ready for them. She leaves with shoulders hung low, looking back inside for one last look before it’s goodbye forever.
The school is where she heads next. It's a quarter-way around the edge of town from the orphanage. Its trek is just as long as back in those days. She marches up the stone steps of the hill and reaches the rows of logs planted in an arc underneath a pavilion tent that forms their school. No Mona.
She sits in the back right corner and taps a doodle of a fiery dragon and a many-tongued monster etched into the edge of the seat. Memories flood her eye’s mind until a snap bolts her upright. The wooden supports of the pavilion have cracked and the tent carries off into the mountains. She runs back into town, hoping Ryleigh will be safe in time.
Her heart beats fast but the constant wind and the ground’s vibrating picking up her saps her strength. She winds down many roads until she makes it to Mona’s friend’s home at the end of the street - empty. Their teacher’s home, two streets over - empty. Ryleigh’s home, a roundabout walk to the market - empty. She crisscrosses town searching every hut with any flimsy connection to Mona. All Empty. Tears well up. She walks into the middle of the street, arcs her back, and screams at the top of her lungs: “MONAAA!”
Her voice struggles to compete against the rumble of the storm.
She wipes her eyes and starts her desperate last plan. She jogs into every house on the street and pokes her head in to shout for Mona. Every hut greets her with a dark, abandoned interior. When every address on the road is visited, she moves over and starts again, cursing she didn’t organize her visit better.
One green dome has a Bulbasaur sitting and staring at a pathetic bonfire lit on the ground. Even after she shouts for her partner, he stays frozen, looking at the wavering flame with swollen eyes. He doesn’t respond when she asks if he’s seen a Banette.
She goes out and inspects the remaining houses on the second street and moves onto the third, denser with even more huts. Her voice is getting weak with each scream. She leans her body into the wind to fight it. More and more empty houses she visits. Fourth street. Fifth street, her voice is becoming a weak whimper. More homes. No Mona. Nowhere. No one.
No time. The opposite edge of the moon glows a pale strip of white.
The ground quakes and Anna collapses onto her front. The bell of the center tower rings, powered by the violence of nature. She looks past the tower and sees a few faint orange lights enter a dot in the mountains. She wouldn’t be able to catch up now.
Tears splatter onto the stone below.
“Mona, please don’t leave me alone,” she says, even though she can’t hear herself. “I’m sorry Ryleigh. I’m so sorry I left you. I can’t find Mona. I failed. I-”
She plants her forehead on the ground and screams. Her whole body tenses. Wind washes over. The ground shakes.
The bell booms in the distance. Her eyes flick to the tower. Nobody would have visited there today.
Maybe she’s trying to not be found.
She gets back onto her legs. She puts her arm in front of her head, leans into the wind, and keeps her knees low. She has to fight both air and earth to stay upright.
The bell clangs due to constant quaking, overwhelming the wailing of the wind and rumble of the earth. The door of the tower has already blown off. Anna makes it inside. Wooden beams cross over above her and a simple staircase wraps around the grey-brick interior. A rope hanging from the bell sways.
“Mona!” she weakly shouts. Nobody responds
She walks up the staircase. The planks creak under her step. Each step is taken carefully so as to not break the wood. Her head cranes upwards as she ascends.
Many floors higher, the bottom floor can’t be seen in the darkness. The gust outside makes hellish shrieks through narrow silts. She peeks out one - the storm uproots a hut and takes it away to the mountains. Trees at the edge of town bend, some falling over.
She forces her head away. Two soft, red glows emanant above.
“Mona!” Anna says. The eyes disappear. “No!”
She rushes up the remaining steps. The bell’s heavy tolling makes her ears ring, she’s so close to the top.
There’s a large snap. She falls.
Her arms hold onto the stairs head over her. Claws dig into the wood, but they regularly slip with the quaking. She feels nothing below her feet. The steps behind her have collapsed. Her arms hurt.
A red eye peaks out in the darkness. She stares at it.
She coughs. “Mona!” Her voice hurts. She can barely yell.
The eye blinks.
“Please!”
The eye disappears.
“No!” The arms slip and now only her claws buried into the wood hold her up.
Tears well in her eyes. She takes a deep breath, filling her lungs with as much air as she can.
“Don’t leave me alone!” she shouts. She coughs more, but even those can’t be heard now.
She shouts again but her voice is reduced to a whisper. She closes her eyes; that was it. Her legs kick again but they feel nothing but tears falling on them. Her strained arms beg for rest.
Two plush hands grab her arm. A ghost is above her, leaning back to pull her up. Tears run down Mona’s cheeks.
Anna moves her mouth, unsure what words it wants to say. She’s dragged up slowly until she finally catches a step. Mona tugs her into a hug, steadying her stance.
“Let’s go,” she says. She lifts her up and Anna warps her legs around Mona’s waist. The ghost carries her to the top, right by the bell. There are arched openings in the stone wall where the pandemonium can be seen through. The ledge is wide enough for them to sit in. She sets her on the ledge, then hops on beside her. They hold each.
“Why did you leave us?” Anna says. “I was so worried.”
Mona places her head on her shoulder and trembles. She squeezes Anna. “I was afraid. To see everyone regret they were alive.“ Fresh tears roll down her cheeks with a sniff. “Why were we ever alive?”
Anna leans against the side of her head. “I don’t regret life, Mona. That’s not true. I got to be with you.”
Every muscle in the Banette’s face stiffens. She breaks down into a wail and digs her head into her shoulder, crying so hard she struggles to breathe.
“I’m sorry,” Mona says with a strained voice.
The bell breaks off with an intense crack and crashes into the wooden beams, booming and banging until a loud thud shudders the entire structure and shakes their bones.
“I’m so sorry Anna. I shouldn’t have left you. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” The ghost chants the apology until she forces herself to breathe.
“I’m with you now,” Anna says, rubbing her back. “Mona, What comes next? Will we be together?”
Mona gulps and glances to the heavens outside their arch. A towering wave past the guild breaks against the hill, pulling trees and the roof off the guildhall with it and drowning the base of town. Pokemon homes begin to collapse with the quaking. Bright orange meteors crash into the ocean beyond.
She sets her forehead against the Charmeleon’s own. Mona coils her arms coil around her and her hands clasp her sides. “I don’t know what comes next. But I will never leave you again, no matter what happens. I’ll hold onto you tight. That way, we’ll be together, no matter what happens.”
Anna smiles. “Will we be together forever?”
“Forever.”
Tears slide down Anna’s cheek. Her head braces against her shoulder. “I love you,” she says with her cracked voice.
“I love you so much,” Mona says.
They stay in each other's arms. A warm light casts through arches on the other side of the bell tower as the sun rises from the other side of the moon. Brilliant pink and oranges swath the skies behind the mountains. Their strength never lets up in spite of all the tumbling. Wind overwhelming with the scent of dirty dust jets over their skins. Debris boom against the building. Tsunamis thunder in the distance. Meteors smash around them. One explodes beside the tower and robs them of their hearing.
They never stop feeling each other’s warmth. They close their eyes.
Everything goes white.
They go together.