AN: The erratic formatting of most of the fic is bugging me, but I'm too lazy to fix and re-upload it. I probably will eventually, though. We're a little over halfway, and unfortunately this chapter is heavy on the exposition. I'm not sure if it even makes proper sense and if it works without being too clunky, but that could just be my usual nitpicking. So, yeah. Allow me to continue begging for reviews~ The subplot is finally coming into place, but hopefully my hints weren't too subtle.

Chapter 7 – Blessed Oathbreakers

The first thing she was aware of was that her head was hurting, completely different than the headaches from exhaustion or nightmares. It was like there was too much in her head, tangles of thought and memories, and something strange, like a dream that was fading from her mind. Regardless, it hurt – and as the dream or whatever it was disappeared, so did the jumble of thoughts.

She couldn't remember how she got here, or even what here was. The air was... musty, and dry. Her throat was dry too, and her eyelids heavy, but she forced them open.

It was dark.

Not middle of the night dark, or pitch black with no moon dark, but no natural light dark. Was she in... a cave? The floor was smooth, though, and caves weren't dusty.

A terribly familiar voice said, guiltily, "Oh, you're up."

The first sound that she made was a croak, and then the other spoke up again, voice loaded with even more guilt. "Ah, I'm sorry – I have some tea, but you need light too, right?"

There wasn't a sound to trigger it, but a blue-green radiance appeared, spreading without becoming too bright. It was still too bright for her, though, and she blinked rapidly, waiting for her eyes to stop hurting. When things came into focus, she saw Aaron, one hand up and the light pouring from his palm like a stereotypical magician poster.

Aaron, who – her head was still reeling but she remembered this part now – had grabbed her and somehow pulled her away to somewhere else; Aaron, the one who had rubbed her the wrong way all this time.

Aaron, who was apparently a psychic.

Tala tried to think of something to say, and could only come up with obscenities, which seemed a pretty good choice right now.

"What the fuck, you kidnapped me? You" Her body seized up and she started to cough uncontrollably. Her throat felt like sandpaper, and she was sure she was about to throw up in between coughing her lungs out. That seemed to be the cue for her kidnapper to hover over her, forcing some sort of canteen to her lips before she killed herself. It was the promised tea, cool and too minty, but she could have cared less at the moment. It soothed her throat and mouth, and her stomach settled as well.

"Uh, that's better, right?" She nodded and reached for her Pokeballs and froze. They weren't there, and neither was the usual weight of Torrent's Pokeball on its necklace.

"You bastard, where are my Pokemon?"

He raised his hands, the light wavering a bit. "They're safe, I promise – "

"Like I could trust you,"

"My... partner has custody of them right now. He's honourable, and he's coming soon so there's really no reason to worry." Did he really think that just saying she didn't need to worry would accomplish anything? Besides, he might have taken her Pokeballs, but she still had her Pokegear.

She clipped it off of her belt and accessed the call option, expecting Aaron to stop her. He just watched, face seemingly frozen in that apologetic look.

When she tried to contact Nemian, it started – but rather than patching through to him, she just heard an eerie set of... beeps or chirps. They repeated once, and then the Pokegear turned itself off.

Her skin crawled. That was... not supposed to happen.

"What... what just happened? Where is this place?"

Aaron sighed. "It's the only place I could think of that was safe and isolated. Ruins tend to be infested with Pokemon, even if humans no longer have any interest in them. The Pokemon here guard themselves, and this place, from the outside world." The glow from his hand washed over the room, and she finally got a good look at where she was.

It was a large stone chamber, covered with odd runes and pictures. It was dusty as well, but none of it was in ruins. The walls closest to her and Aaron had different inscriptions, hollowed out. Like there had once been something there...

She knew this place.

"The Ruins of Alph."

"Yes! I spend a lot of time here, and the Unown don't mind as long as I don't damage the walls or anything."

The thought that living pictures liked Aaron was unnerving. "Wait – you've been here before? How? I mean, you were at the camp all the..."

He was a psychic. A powerful one, if he could teleport her here as well as himself.

He smiled at her – the same sad smile before he had dragged her here. "I'm not a medic. I just came in as a trainee to make sure I found you."

If she had thought her skin was crawling before, she had definitely been wrong. "What? I mean – why me? And you're a psychic, how come no one knew? Why did you bring me here?"

Now he was looking distinctly uncomfortable, one hand rubbing his neck and the other uplifted to ensure they had steady light. "I... can't answer that. Not right now. I mean, I can tell you some things, but not the rest. And you have to be alright with that. I'm sorry that I lied to you and dragged you out here, but it was necessary."

Tala tried to remind herself that he was a psychic and could probably teleport out of the way if she tried to punch him. Or throw up a shield or something. Still, it was difficult to resist the temptation. "Fine. Tell me what you can, then."

"You should sit down. Would you like more tea?"

"No."

He shrugged and sat down, and eventually she did so too. When he looked up at her, his whole manner had changed. He didn't look guilty or sad at all – just calm. "My partner and I... want to stop what's happening. And we have a plan, and it... involves you. My partner would draw attention if he did it alone, but we both watched you and how you interacted with others."

"How did you know about me in the first place?" she interrupted, and he grimaced.

"We... were watching the Academy for likely candidates. You seemed to be the best choice. I fooled several people in order to be attached to you. I'm not proud of it, but we needed this to happen. Of course, you were under surveillance by others, thanks to us showing interest, but I didn't think it would turn out as badly as it did." It took her a moment to catch that – and then something clicked.

"You were watching me. And because you were watching me... Sage attacked?" He sighed and nodded. "You mean because of you – "

"It would have happened eventually anyways. The medics themselves are becoming a target, and those attacking aren't..." He paused and looked down.

She was getting tired of this. "This is so vague. Would it kill you to be more specific?"

"My partner – "

"My partner this, my partner that – who is he?"

Another sigh. "I can't tell you that. But I can tell you that... the ones watching you, who started this whole mess, are Pokemon."

"Tell me something new."

He frowned at that, and there was that flash again of something older and wiser. She couldn't help treating him as her bumbling, weird and completely untrustworthy assistant, and he... resented it. "Not like that. The Pokemon that swarm, even ones like Sage..."

"Don't talk about Sage."

"They're innocent," he insisted. "They're not evil or anything. Sage probably was hurting herself with her attempts to kill you, and she tried to do it in the easiest way possible, so you wouldn't be hurt."

Her hands were clenched, nails digging into her palms. "I told you not to talk about Sage," she said heatedly.

"Think past your idiotic grief and listen to me!" he shouted. Stunned, she just stared, and he took a breath, exhaling slowly. "Look, I'm trying to explain as much as I can. The Pokemon you've encountered are being... manipulated. Convinced. Not tricked, but they don't end up having a choice. The higher levelled Pokemon, the ones with the strongest bonds – they take the longest to sway. Pokeballs form a sort of attachment, but it's weak at first, so only those in Master Balls stay loyal forever. Or at least, we think they will but there's no way to be certain. And of course, if there's direct influence..." He broke off and looked down. "What happened to Sage was a case of direct influence, and rare. It... shouldn't happen again."

"You're not making sense," she said, voice hoarse.

He made an odd gesture with his hand, the glow brightening and dimming. "I'm sorry, but I can't be more direct. Please believe me. We... did not plan for what happened to Sage, and it... sped things up. Our involvement was... noticed. And you were noticed, and that forced us to do this."

It was like someone had handed her a puzzle with four fifths of the pieces missing, and the rest scrambled horribly. "So... what?" There was something she couldn't stop thinking of, a memory she had tried to forget for a long time. "Am I some sort of chosen one? Destined to do something? To –" She stopped, trying to figure out where she had heard that before. To act.

The weird light from his palm made him look paler than ever, hardly even human – but now he was white, and staring at her with this heartbroken look. He had been looking apologetic and sad this whole time, but this was different, and it made her skin crawl.

"Not a chosen one. Or if chosen... by the wrong people. By circumstance," he said softly. She turned away and leaned her head against her legs, wishing she could shut him out, and this mess, and everything. She had questions, but there was also this feeling of being adrift. Aaron knew a lot more than he was telling her – he had admitted it – and she didn't have her Pokemon or Redrick or even Senica to steady her.

"What do you want?"

He coughed. "To save the world. To fix this."

"And what do you want with me?"

There was a long silence, and she lifted her head to look at him. Aaron finally said, steadily, "I cannot tell you that. You'll find out soon enough. My partner should be coming back." She was about to try and ignore him again when he added, "I... told you as much as I could. If you think, you might be able to put things together on your own. It might be better that way."

The trouble was that she didn't want to think right now. There was too much going on, too many questions, and she had never thought that she would be stuck like this, surrounded by plans and motives without any say. One of the reasons she had eventually started enjoying her journey had been because no one was hovering around and arranging things for her.

Well, except Sasha, but Sasha was –

Different, a part of her wanted to say, but she had promised herself that she wouldn't think about her at all, because Sasha was dead.

"You promise that I'll get my Pokemon back?"

He smiled at her. Not the usual sad smile, or the tentative one from when he had pretended to be a trainee, but a warm one, almost comforting. "I promise."

"Can you... leave me alone? For a bit?"

He shrugged, thinking it over. "I probably can't. You'd try to leave and get lost, or the Unown would try to stop you from doing anything, and it'd take time to calm them down."

"Oh."

"I could... sit in the corner or something?"

She managed a weak chuckle at that. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

She wasn't sure if she wanted to eat or sleep more, but she wouldn't manage the latter without her Pokemon, not in this state. Thankfully, Aaron saved her the shame of asking for food by leaving the canteen with her and digging out some foil wrapped sandwiches. He did, in fact, move to the corner, and stared at the wall with such focus that she guessed he was meditating.

She had nothing left to do after that, so she nibbled and ignored how stale the bread was. Supplies had been low everywhere, and as long as it distracted her from... everything, she could care less what she was eating.

The room was empty other than a small pack that had to be Aaron's, the canteen and foil near her, and the dusty walls. Once, a small glyph shone for a moment, and then the corresponding Unown slipped into the room, circling it and giving her a coughing fit before leaving. It had been small and... shy, or at least with more manners than Aaron, because it chirped at her once. Unfortunately, it reminded her of before, when the world had been full of wonder and she had been happy and to travel and discover new things, with her team and Sasha, had been all she had wanted.

She could have lived like that. And when she wasn't fooling herself, she knew that this wasn't really living, just working and doing her best. And if it somehow stopped, or Aaron fixed everything, she would no longer belong.

Tala had thought it would be impossible to fall asleep. She was right, and the wall grew increasingly uncomfortable to lean against as time passed. She couldn't just forget everything, and sliding into a trance like Aaron was hardly an option either. All she had left was to try to think of something, and Aaron had suggested to try and piece together things on her own.

The Pokemon were being convinced by something, and it or they were Pokemon as well. At least, she thought that was it. But even if it was a Pokemon that led a... tribe or whatever, that didn't explain how there were so many. And Aaron had kept mentioning influence, which had made no sense. Maybe the Pokemon were Psychics? But even an Alakazam wouldn't be that powerful, to be able to spread some sort of control around all of the regions. It would have to need an amplifier, or many amplifiers, and any high-tech ones were probably destroyed. It didn't make sense. There were no Pokemon like that, with that sort of power, except in myths...

And something wrenched inside her head, vague memories of something wrong against a cloudy sky, light sliding off of almost invisible features, and that disastrous first encounter in Ecruteak. She didn't want to even think about it, let alone believe it, but nothing else seemed to make sense. Aaron could be lying, or just trying to confuse her, but she couldn't think of a reason for that...

She must have made some noise, because Aaron looked up, his concentration broken. "Tala, what's wrong?"

"The Pokemon... are being influenced by other Pokemon. Powerful ones. That's what you said, right?" He nodded slowly. "Powerful enough to be considered rare? Or only mentioned in stories?"

She thought he would be happy that she figured it out, or something, but he had gone right back to being sorrowful. "Yes. That's it."

"I thought you would have more sense than to tell her before my arrival," a cold voice broke in. It was just as familiar, and she felt her stomach lurch as the Gallade appeared, form wavering for a moment. It must have been from the Teleport, because he looked completely fine a second later. His eyes were surrounded by a flare of blue light, and she found it difficult to look away. "Hello, Tala Eiru."

She couldn't explain why her throat was suddenly so dry. He had never had this presence before. It was... unnerving. "You're Aaron's partner," she guessed. "Not just his Pokemon."

"That is correct." The Gallade turned away, to Aaron now, and snapped, "Explain your reasoning."

He didn't look as discomfited as before, and apparently having an angry Psychic talking to him was easier to deal with than her. "She has already had some sightings of them. You confirmed it. It isn't that necessary to have more proof."

"There have already been too many new factors and unforeseen occurrences. I do not wish to deal with more, but I will accept your reasons for the time being." The way he was talking now was even more formal – and there was this odd resonance, like an echo of something whenever he spoke. However, this wasn't all that important, because with an odd ripple – like the air being pulled back as if it were a curtain – her Pokeballs appeared. She got to her feet and walked over.

"Those are mine."

"I know," he assured her.

The air stirred strangely and she stopped, wary of an attack. "Give them to me, then." She hated how plaintive she sounded just then. A child begging for a treat, but they were her team, and she couldn't handle this without them.

Its eyes were cold, just like its voice. "Not just yet. I would like you to answer my questions first."

"What, so fucking abducting me isn't enough, and you have to interrogate me too? They're mine, you can't just keep them from me like this!" she shouted, and ran forward, aware that what she was doing was very, very stupid. But maybe he didn't have a barrier up, and if she could surprise him and just reach them –

He didn't flinch away from the punch, as she might have hoped. He didn't fling her back, either. She felt herself lift, and she dangled in front of him with her arm uselessly outstretched. "You are not the first human to try that," he said, and for once there was a flicker of amusement, not just that foreign detachment. "Perhaps, even now, we have a chance." He stretched out his own arm, and she watched, eyes widening, as the air around his hand glowed and shredded like it was paper. Neat squares rippled and peeled away and disappeared, and with a flick of his hand, he set her back onto the ground.

The room shimmered as the rest of the... illusion, she supposed it was, fragmented and disappeared. She felt sick, watching. All this time, and she had been beside... him. His tail waved slowly, coiling in on itself and then uncurling in a hypnotic movement as she stared.

"Oh. Do I... should I bow, or something?"

"I do not maintain the illusion that you would even if I told you to," Mewtwo said evenly.

It was rather embarrassing to admit that he was quite taller than her, and having to look up at him only increased his general aura of something to respect and fear. It didn't help that she knew he could probably crush or kill her without ever even twitching. She had never liked Psychic-types, and he was... the epitome of one.

"You may also not like my kind due to your complete lack of a mental shield. It is rather easy to read your mind," he told her. She spluttered, and he added, "However, given I would wish us to work together and have some measure of trust, I shall refrain from doing so."

"How nice. And I can trust the word of a Psychic?" she sneered, proud that her voice didn't crack or tremble.

"The word of one who had every opportunity to harm you for at least three days' time, and did not." There was a pause, and then he added imperiously, "The kidnapping does not count. It was necessary, and if you had stayed, you only would be in more danger."

Aaron, who had quietly backed out of the conversation, coughed. "Um, perhaps we should continue? I mean, she needs to know more if we're to do anything." Mewtwo's eyes narrowed, but that odd blue light faded, and he nodded curtly.

"You have had encounters with legendary Pokemon before," he said "Are you aware of that?"

She didn't want to think of that. "No. I don't know what you're talking about," she said, desperately trying to keep her voice steady. Aaron opened his mouth to say something and then stopped, while Mewtwo just inclined his head – it barely counted as a nod.

"You have met Entei once, and you have been followed by two separate legendaries for the last two weeks. Are you aware of that?"

It felt like all her blood had turned to ice. She had been followed? "I... didn't know that. But..."

"Yes?"

"How did you – how did you know about Entei?"

Aaron inserted himself into the conversation again, eyes cast down. "We... well, when I knocked you out, Mewtwo decided to... look through your mind. And your memories of what had happened. Just to be sure that you were who we thought you were."

She should have expected this. He was a Psychic-type, they were both gifted with those kind of abilities... It wasn't like she had trusted them in the first place. Still, it felt... not like a betrayal, but an intrusion. "I didn't think it was, at first, and it happened so fast... but you shouldn't have looked at – at that. At me."

"I apologize, but it was necessary."

She couldn't resist trying to hurt him, try to find some way to break his calm. Didn't he feel bad about what he was doing? "What, like abducting me?"

He considered her, purple eyes untroubled. His tail lashed once, but for a few seconds, he was silent. She thought for a moment that she had scored a point when he continued, implacable and clearly not feeling a shred of the guilt visible on Aaron's face. "The very same. You researched Pokemon at the academy, did you not? There were bound to by some records of a Pokemon who moved quickly. A Pokemon that would be revered. A Pokemon whose will would be obeyed."

He didn't mention the fact that she had had nightmares of being helpless and frozen, or of waking up and seeing a red-tinged shadow pace into the room and she couldn't move.

She had made the mistake of mentioning it once, to Redrick. He had conferred with someone else, pronounced it sleep paralysis and something to do with your body being convinced that you were dreaming when you were awake, and offered to give her something to help fend it off. She took the pills once and then said it never happened again and the comfortable moments in the Academy slipped past quickly enough that he never asked about it.

Was she supposed to feel grateful that he didn't say anything? It didn't matter. He had still seen it.

Suddenly, she wished she hadn't eaten those damn sandwiches, because her stomach was churning and if she threw up on his tail or something he'd probably crush her head with his mind. She wanted him and Aaron and their plan gone. She wanted to scream or throw a rock or something but it felt like everything was made of fragile glass that was already cracked, and if she moved or raised her voice she would just collapse.

Tala wanted to at least pretend she had some sort of control over... anything. "Is that it? I... saw Entei. Alright. I want my Pokemon back now."

"Are you aware that only a few trainers saw the legendary dogs?"

She tried to scowl at him. The scowl wavered so she stopped. "So? They're fast and... stuff."

Aaron chose this time to remind her that he was still, unfortunately, here. "They visited the Pokemon in the Johto region first, and those few trainers who saw them... died as a result."

"Oh." That took a moment to sink in, and she felt cold, trying to slot in the tragedy that had been that day with an occurrence that happened in other places, with other trainers. Other deaths. "So how come they didn't kill me?"

She could have sworn that Mewtwo's voice – if it could be called a voice when it was in her head or out of her head but definitely not coming through her ears – was somewhat quieter. Softer. "Their thoughts were... distracted then. As they are now. They have not rested properly for a long time," he said. Then, after giving her a minute, he tilted his head. "Do you know what this means?"

She stayed silent and Aaron sighed, rubbing his head. "It means that you're one of the few people around from the beginning who actually witnessed it. What's going on, I mean. The actual process of it, not that you would feel or hear it..."

Yet again, he was talking about something that felt like it was shooting over her head. "Look, I don't care now. Can you just... give me my Pokemon?"

"But – "

"Very well. Circumstance has marked you out to both us and the few orchestrating the tragedy. I would advise you to think on that," Mewtwo said, not coldly – but there was something there, a breath of finality that made her shudder. Then her Pokeballs rolled towards her, and she couldn't even find the strength to care that Mewtwo and Aaron were leaving, or that one of the six was missing. She fumbled a few times, but she opened Torrent's, watching as the red light spread and stretched out before solidifying. He sniffed the air and growled softly before turning to look at her, and she didn't waste time in half-falling against him, wrapping her arms around as much as she could. He snorted, surprised, and lowered his head.

It was an awkward angle, but she felt his breath ruffle her hair. It was strange how comforting that single gesture was, but it gave her just enough strength to open the rest. Talon was next, flaring his massive wings, and then Flare and Rai and Shard. She had tended to use Shard for light – though he was small and produced no fire, his rings had a strong light, if not a particularly steady one. She preferred it to Aaron's light tricks, anyways, and though the room was now considerably more cramped, it felt... better like this. To sit here and close her eyes and know she was safe.

Of course, that safety was an illusion and Sage had proven that but she really didn't want to think about that right now.

They knew something was up, and she found herself wedged comfortably with Talon behind her, head dipped so he could absently preen her hair. Flare was curled up on her right, head resting on her knee, and Shard and Rai had somehow both managed to sort of fit on the rest of her lap. Torrent was crouched over on her left, and if he had leaned any harder she probably would have fallen over. Still, she felt better, surrounded by them. They steadied her in a way that no one else could.

"Uh," she began. "Aaron kind of kidnapped me to the Ruins of Alph after... that happened. And he's actually a psychic, and he has a partner who is Mewtwo and they have some really big plan to stop what's happening and save the world and I'm involved. Except they haven't told me what it is yet, and I think we're stuck here."

Saying it out loud made the whole situation seem even more unrealistic than before. If someone had told her this, she would have never believed them.

Talon seemed completely unimpressed and gently tapped her skull.

It wasn't exactly disapproval, but she winced anyways. "And... I'm sorry. For Sage. For not noticing and being stupid and letting her die –"

She hated it when she was like this, when she cried and was weak. Crying couldn't do anything. Sure, there were old stories and fairytales of Pokemon tears bringing back the dead, but she wasn't a Pokemon anyways. It wouldn't have worked.

At least Aaron wasn't around now. Mewtwo had promised not to look in on her head – and if he kept that promise, then she was as alone as she could get. She could stand her team seeing her like this, but them, with their plans and powers and lies?

Shard whined softly, long ears laying back. She reached out to rub his head softly. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "For everything."

"She is gone. I cannot find the trace anywhere."

"Yes. Perhaps it is just as well. We should return."

"There was so little innocence in the world. Now there will be none."

"It is almost over."

"Where the fuck did she go? Nemian left her alone for what, five minutes?"

"Not alone. With that assistant of hers."

"You didn't think to stay with her?"

"We were busy, she was conscious and healing – besides, Nem was there."

"And we see how well that went. The one reprieve we have after that insanity, and a medic goes missing. We already lost two more who slit their wrists, and her assistant has no records. This is winning the award for worst fucking day ever."

"Someone should look for her. I mean, outside the camp."

"Go die on your own time."