Chapter 13 - Portal Pokémon!
Late at night on the second day the archeological team stumbled into camp, loudly enough to wake Professor Oak's group. The team sounded jubilant and rowdy. Kagome stuck her head out of the tent she was sharing with Misty.
"We did it!" Seeing her head poking through the tent flap Professor Hale strode toward her. "We opened the hidden door. We're going to let the tunnel air out overnight anfd go back in the morning. I want you to come along, Kagome."
Kagome nodded her head vigorously. She wanted nothing more than to get on with it.
"What's going on?" Misty asked sleepily. Kagome turned back to the girl and grinned, her tails actually wagging like a dog's. In the close quarters of the tent all nine tails moving so rapidly made quite a racket. She patted Misty's shoulder with her front paw and then left the tent.
By now Professors Oak and Elm were talking to Professor Hale, and Ash and Brock had also gotten up, Pikachu blinking sleepily on Ash's shoulder. Meowth was nowhere to be seen, most likely still sound asleep and snoring.
For such a small cat he had a loud snore. That's why he'd been banished to the furthest tent from the rest of the group.
Kagome didn't need him at the moment so she decided to let him sleep. She was starting to feel guilty about how much she was depending on him for translation--even though he'd brought it on himself by trying to kidnap her. But at least she could understand everyone, even if the humans couldn't understand her.
That's why she joined the three Professors and sat down quietly to listen to their conversation.
"--and the corridor was covered with script, from floor to ceiling." Professor Hale was saying. "I didn't want to risk bad air but I took several photos." He extended the camera and showed the others the camera display.
"That's wonderful news, Spencer." Professor Oak said in a warm voice. "Kagome, you're halfway home." She nodded, optimistic that he was right.
"The door was actually powered by hydraulics, can you believe it?" Professor Hale said excitedly. After all this time the mechanism still worked! Amazing craftsmanship. The trigger mechanism turned out to be a carving of a door." He shook his head ruefully. "How dense can someone be? I've stared at that wall for years, Samuel. Never dreamed it had a hidden door there." He laughed.
"I guess we were too cautious. We were so careful not to disturb the site that even when we cleaned the trigger we never pressed hard enough to open the door! Guess that's a lesson learned, eh?"
"So when will it be safe to enter?" Professor Oak asked.
"Well, the tunnel air should be safe by morning. We set up a small fan to force air in." Professor Hale said. "I'm going to tie a rope around my waist and see if the tunnel is structurally sound. If it is I'll come back for the rest of the team. Once we see what the situation is you and the others can enter. It should take a couple of hours, tops."
"Well it sounds like we're going to have a big day tomorrow." Professor Oak said, rubbing his hands in the desert night's chill air. "I suggest we all get to bed for a good night's sleep."
"I want to get these pictures loaded on my computer, but after that bed sounds perfect." Professor Hale agreed. "Not as young as I once was, these long nights are definitely taking their toll." He grinned and headed off to his tent.
The next day the team set off early for the ruins, leaving Professor Oak's group to sleep in. After a leisurely breakfast the group set off for the library. They made their way in to find Jasper the only person in the central chamber. The hidden door, now an open portal, turned out to be a good two and a half meters high and a generous meter and a half wide, the tunnel's darkness dispelled by lights placed in the tunnel.
"Hi Jasper." Professor Oak said, smiling. "How goes it?"
"We found another chamber!" Jasper said excitedly. "It looks like the mother-load too! We found a large table, along with a chest filled with stone tiles. We think they're spare letters for lining the walls. Professor Hale is sure the tunnel and chamber are safe. You can go on in, just be very careful not to touch anything, ok?"
"Right." Professor Oak nodded. "Kids, remember, the slightest misstep could destroy vital clues. You can look all you like, but don't touch."
"We understand, Professor." Brock said in a serious tone. Misty and Ash nodded solemnly.
"Very well, then." He led the way into the tunnel.
The tunnel was about as large as the door, and each sidewall was covered with large tiles about fifteen centimeters wide, with a single character per block. Each character was shaped like an unown. Randomly scattered tiles were completely blank.
Kagome wrinkled her nose at the odd smell. It smelled dusty but there was a sharp tang to the smell that she couldn't place. Her new nose was so sensitive she couldn't always recognize familiar odors. They were far richer and more complex than in her old body. Instead of a single odor (like hot chocolate, say) she could now smell the chocolate and the whipped cream and the cup it was in and count the number of marshmallows in it--all from a single whiff.
Of all the sensations her new body gave her, the enhanced sense of smell would be the one she truly regretted losing.
"Can you smell that?" She asked Meowth.
"Smell what?" Meowth asked. "Just smells like old rocks ta me."
"Like dust, but there's something tangy too." Kagome said absently.
The corridor ended in a large room, which held the team members and a huge table. On the table was a chest, a cube with a rounded top about two-thirds of a meter across. The top of the chest was open and several tiles like the ones on the walls were laid out on the table.
The walls of this room were also covered in tiles. Kagome absently studied a wall and suddenly felt a chill go through her.
"That's impossible." She said aloud, not realizing she'd done so.
"What?" Meowth demanded, attracting the humans' attention.
"I recognize the letters! They're written in the English alphabet! Made up to look like unown, but still--" Kagome said, not believing it. "I can even read some of the words."
"You can? What's it say?" Meowth demanded eagerly.
"Meowth, what's going on?" Ash asked impatiently.
"Kagome says she can read some o' da letters. Says dere in In-glish, whatever dat is."
"This word says come." Kagome said, staring at the odd letters. She wished she could remember more English. "And this one's delta. Let's see. The delta something is the, um, crux of the something, something, spanning something worlds."
"The words are laid out left to right, top to bottom." She said. "I remember thinking how weird English was to be laid out that way."
"Meowth." Ash demanded. "What's Kagome saying?"
"Um, Da delta is da crux o da something spanning worlds." Meowth said, scratching his head. "And she says its funny how da letters go, from left to right, top to bottom."
"But that's how writing's supposed to go." Ash said.
"Some ancient languages were written right to left, Ash." Professor Hale said. "Ruylen, for example. Kagome, why is In-glish weird for having that layout? What did you expect?"
"Well, Japanese is written top to bottom, each column going right to left." Kagome said. Professor Hale shook his head at Meowth's translation.
"I'm not familiar with any language that uses that ordering." Professor Hale said. "But if you can read the script it would make things go quicker."
"I don't know that much English." She said in frustration. "It wasn't one of my better subjects."
"She says her In-glish ain't so good." Meowth translated. "Hey Professor, can't youse read da walls?"
"I can, but translation would take hours for a few paragraphs." Professor Hale replied. "Kagome, see if you can find the word summon."
"I'll try." She scanned the walls, her eyes blurring from staring too hard. After an hour she was ready to give up when she happened to glance at the table.
"There!" She said triumphantly. She studied the inscription. Racking her brain she managed to translate the text.
"It's a poem." She said. "Meowth, word for word please."
"Gotcha!" Meowth said, quivering with suppressed excitement.
Kagome took a deep breath.
"Summon us at dire need
We the dancers whirling black
Desires true, the living seed
Bridge the river of hopeless lack!
Tile to tile, soul with wings
When weeping heart steels mind
And fingers make the square stones sing
My longing they will bind!
Given now their earthly flight
Worlds apart are plighted
Unown dance in dark delight
What was broken, reunited!"
"That's the key." Professor Hale said in deep satisfaction. "That's how the unown can be summoned."
"What do you mean, Spencer?" Professor Oak asked curiously. "I mean the poem is certainly a wonderful clue but what does it mean?"
"You can't see it Samuel?" Professor Hale's eyes were blazing, his manner transformed. Kagome shivered. This wasn't a kindly archeologist. This was a maddened Captain Ahab closing in on the White Whale. As she recalled, his obsession had finally killed the captain. She hoped Professor Hale didn't meet a similar fate--and her along with him.
"We're in a library, yes?" He said, leaning forward. "What does one do in a library?"
"Read?" Ash guessed when no one else seemed willing to answer.
"Yes, Ash, read. But in order to read one must first write." He pointed to the massive table. "There is our parchment, and our ink!"
"The tiles!" Kagome exclaimed, catching on. "Meowth, ask him if we're supposed to recreate the poem on the table with those tiles in the chest."
"Exactly!" Professor Hale said with a manic grin when Meowth translated. "That table is very precisely shaped, my friends. There is a depression that I am certain is precisely large enough to lay the tiles in that chest and form a perfect square. Schuyler, how many tiles will fit on a side?"
Schuyler took a measuring tape and measured the table.
"Nineteen." He answered. "Exactly nineteen."
How many letters are in that poem?" He demanded eagerly. Like the other script in the room the poem was laid out in a grid, making the counting easy.
"354." Schuyler said. "Counting the three exclamation points."
Professor Hale frowned for a moment, whipping out a calculator. "Nineteen squared is 361. Wait, it will still work!" Nearly running he moved to the table and with a triumphant cry snatched up a tile, bringing it back and brandishing it like Holy Writ.
"Yes! We have found the key. Look!"
"Yeah?" Meowth said, scowling in confusion. "Dere ain't nuttin' on dat rock, egghead."
"Exactly." Professor Hale relaxed. "That's because it's a space, Meowth."
"I get it!" Misty said excitedly. "If the poem's too short you put spaces on the end of it to finish the square. Just like laying tile on a floor."
"Yes, you clever girl!" Professor Hale grinned. "Someone count the tiles. I predict there will be 361 of them."
Schuyler, who had seen where his employer was headed, was already counting, piling tiles haphazardly wherever they would fit.
"361." He announced in a couple of minutes.
"Yes!" Professor Hale shouted, raising his fist in triumph. He burst into maniacal laugher, making the kids stare with dropped jaws and his colleagues to exchange worried glances. Kagome was growing alarmed. If Professor Hale broke under the pressure now things could get very ugly.
"There's no time to waste. We've got to assemble the poem and summon the unown." Professor Hale moved toward the table.
"Wait a minute, Spencer. Aren't you being a little hasty here?" Professor Oak laid a friendly hand on the other man's shoulder to slow him down."
"Hasty? Hasty? Margaret's been gone for over two years, Samuel. While I was being careful and cautious and oh so professional! So cautious if it wasn't for a fifteen year old boy and his zubat I'd still be clueless about how to get her back. I am done with caution, do you hear me?"
"That poem isn't just a clue, Spencer. It's a warning too. The very first quatrain talks about dire need and hopeless lack. We have no idea what the unown will do if they're summoned." Professor Oak argued.
"They're pokémon." Ash broke in. "Yeah, I know wild pokémon can be dangerous if you provoke them but the unown didn't hurt Kagome. If her friend hadn't scared them they wouldn't have taken her."
"That's just it Ash." Professor Oak said soberly. "Pokémon can be dangerous, even when they don't mean to be. How do we know what will happen? The people who built these ruins put a warning in that poem for a reason. I can't risk the three of you for one man's desperation."
"Then leave." Professor Hale said coldly. "There's the door. Nothing's stopping you."
"Professor, I'm not leaving." Kagome said. "This is my chance to go home."
"Kagome says she's stayin'." Meowth gulped.
"Kagome can do as she pleases. She's demonstrated she's capable of taking care of herself." Professor Oak said. "But it's too dangerous for the others."
"Professor Oak, I'm staying too." Ash said stubbornly.
"You most certainly are not, young man." Professor Oak said forcefully. "Your mother would have my hide if something happened to you while you were under my care."
"Then what's the point of being a pokémon trainer?" Ash demanded. "Professor we've been in the wild for months now--on our own. We've faced some pretty scary stuff too. And we're still in one piece. If Professor Hale is right the unown will come here. How many trainers do you know that have seen the unown up close? Legendary pokémon, Professor! I can't miss that. I won't miss that."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Ash. None of us do. The unown could be angry at being summoned. They could attack, and who knows how many there will be?" Professor Oak tried appealing to Ash's good sense.
"It doesn't matter, Professor. If things get dangerous I'll run. But I'm not gonna run from shadows!" Ash glared at the old man.
"I'm staying too, Professor." Misty said quietly. "Ash is right. If we were cowards we wouldn't be pokémon trainers. You don't have to worry. If the unown are unfriendly, I'm not sticking around! But to run without knowing? I couldn't look at myself in the mirror."
"It may not be safe." Brock said. "But pokémon journeys aren't about being safe. You know that, Professor. The three of us make a pretty formidable team. And don't forget our pokémon either! Three trainers and fifteen pokémon aren't something to sneeze at. Not to mention Kagome and Meowth."
"Meowth, you don't have to stay." Kagome said. "If this works, I'm going home. If that happens I release you."
Meowth squirmed. "Yeah, well, I guess being wit' a hero kinda rubs off, ya know? I wanna see da unown after we been jawin' about 'em so much. Sides, who's gonna translate for ya? You needs me."
"Yes, I do." Kagome watched him. "But that's not a good enough reason to put you in danger when you don't have to be. Guess this story's not gonna have a boring ending after all, huh?"
"Guess not." Meowth said, straightening up. "Who's scared o' da unown? Bring 'em on!"
"I knew you were a hero, cat." Kagome waved her tail in a smile. "Let's do this thing."
"Yeah! Professor, Kagome says let's do dis ting!" Meowth said.
"You in or out, Samuel?" Professor Hale asked. "What about you, Professor Elm?"
"I'm definitely in." Professor Elm said with a wide smile. "A ring-side seat for the appearance of one of the most mysterious pokémon in existence? You couldn't pry me away with a crowbar!"
"Samuel?" Professor Hale asked with a half smile.
"I guess I'm outvoted." Professor Oak said with a sigh. "If things go horribly wrong, perhaps I won't survive to explain what happened to Delia. That woman is fiercer than a gyarados when it comes to Ash's safety!"
"I remember." Professor Hale said with a chuckle. "Not surprising, given her past."
He raised his voice. "Members of my team, listen up! I'm going to do something stupid that may get everyone killed. Anybody wants to bail there'll be no hard feelings, and no repercussions. Katya, I think you should probably go, that ankle will be a serious problem if things turn nasty."
"I think you're right." A young woman with a walking cast on her right ankle said regretfully. "In this condition I'd just endanger the rest of you. Sorry, Professor!" She limped out of the room.
"I didn't sign up for stupid, Professor." Jasper's friend from the pit spoke up. "I'll wait in camp for the fireworks to subside. Once that happens, I'll come back and see if there's anybody left to save."
"Ah, Cole. As optimistic as ever, I see. Take care of Katya, will you?"
"Of course. And don't be too stupid, hmm? You brew a mean beer." He paused. "I'd really miss your beer."
Professor Hale threw back his head and laughed in honest amusement. Cole nodded to him and strode after Katya.
In the end, only two of the original six team members stayed. Schuyler and Jasper began sorting the tiles into piles of like shapes while Professor Hale studied the poem. Kagome and Meowth joined him while the kids made themselves comfortable on the floor.
Professors Oak and Elm joined the others around the poem.
"So what can we expect?" Professor Oak asked Professor Hale.
"This is a triple quatrain poem, quite common in the lands where Ruylen was spoken." Professor Hale mused. "If it is in the standard form, the first quatrain will be a prologue, the second instruction, and the third the result. It's a spell, you see."
"Like a magic spell?" Meowth asked skeptically. "I tought magic was hokum. Smoke and mirrors and pretty ladies what get sawed in half?"
"Oh no. Magic is quite real, Meowth. Only we don't call it that these days. We call it psychic energy. Like what Alakazam uses. Undoubtedly that's how the unown are able to pull off their dimension hopping trick as well."
"I don't like dat psychic stuff. An honest Meowt' don't stand a chance against it." Meowth complained.
"Ok, the prologue tells you what the spell is for and any preparations needed. In this case the spell tells us only the desperate should use it. It also says true desire is the fuel the spell needs to operate. I think we qualify, eh Kagome?" His smile was rueful. Her nod was equally so.
Not wrong there. She thought to herself.
"Now the second quatrain is more interesting. Tile to tile is obvious; we have to put the tiles in the correct sequence on the table. Soul with wings is pretty standard in the ancient usage. It means reaching out with the mind to seek the desired result. In this case, to desire the presence of the unown."
"when weeping heart steels mind is also standard poetic usage for Ruylen. It means to focus on one's desire in spite of all else. Can you do that, Kagome?"
She nodded. It sounded like what she did when she summoned her spiritual powers.
Come to think of it there's lots of similarity between having spiritual power and being a psychic. Might even be the same thing. Kagome thought.
"Fingers make the square stones sing might be a tricky one, since technically you don't have fingers." He said, looking at her paws. "However, the Ruylen phrase for toes is actually foot fingers, so it should be ok. Stone singing is a Ruylen pun, it means both to dance and a poetic reference to the joy the dance evokes in the stone."
"Man, dese Ruylen was kinda weird." Meowth commented. "Whoever hearda making stones happy by tromping on 'em?"
Professor Hale shrugged. "Ancient cultures had lots of customs that seem odd to us, Meowth. At any rate the last quatrain tells us what will happen. Once the unown appear worlds will be plighted, meaning worlds will be joined by oath." He frowned. "That's an odd thing to say."
"You don't know what it means?" Professor Oak asked uneasily. "Spencer, you plan to use a spell and you don't know what the result will be? Is that what you're saying?"
"Relax, Samuel." Professor Hale said soothingly. "Remember, the last line of the second quatrain says my longing they will bind. In Ruylen poetry, to bind something means to control it. It also means to achieve one's goal. Since my goal is to get Margaret back and Kagome's is to go home and return to human form I don't see how it's a problem."
"What about the part that says unown dance in dark delight?" Professor Oak asked. "That sounds pretty ominous to me."
"Dark is not evil." Professor Hale quoted. "You know that. Look at all the dark pokémon--houndour, umbreon, poochyena, lots of others. Besides, in Ruylen this usage of dark is poetic imagery. In this case dark means something like independent."
"Something like?" Professor Oak raised an eyebrow.
"The actual concept is difficult--modern language doesn't have an exact equivalent. Besides, the last line clearly says what was broken, reunited. Kagome's family, her friends, her way to it was broken. Margaret's path home was broken. The meaning is clear, Samuel."
"I hope you're right, Spencer. Because if you're not you could be dooming us all."
"Where's the Samuel Oak who went on his pokémon journey, eh?" Professor Hale chided. "That Samuel would be urging me on."
"That Samuel grew up." Professor Oak said dryly.
"We're ready, Professor." Schuyler interrupted.
Professor Hale took a deep breath.
"Ready, Kagome?" He asked. She nodded.
Professor Oak pulled Professor Elm back to the wall. The kids got to their feet.
"Last chance to run, Meowth." Kagome said--her tails held low and stiff in nervousness.
"I'm done runnin'." Meowth said. "For once in my life I wanna be a hero."
You already are, Meowth. Kagome thought sadly. You just won't see it.
"Let's do it." Professor Hale said. They began the lengthy and laborious process of assembling the tiles. Kagome had jumped up and was watching from the edge of the table. Occasionally she'd tell Meowth to inform one of the humans the tile needed to be turned one way or another. It was mentally grueling, each English word translated to Japanese in her head, then back into English and then into Human. She was exhausted when the final space tiles slotted into place.
And then Kagome saw the entire tile table light up like a Christmas tree, lights flashing over the surface, different colors chasing each other in a dizzying game of tag.
"Wow." She said, staring at the table.
"What?" Meowth asked curiously. "Why is you staring at da table so hard, Kagome?"
"The lights." She said, glancing at him.
"What lights?" Meowth asked, the glare reflecting from his face as he stared blankly at the tiles.
"You can't see them?" Kagome asked incredulously.
"Nope. All I sees is a bunch square rocks." Meowth said, eyeing her. "Or is dis some o' dat psychic stuff?"
"Kagome, are you actually seeing the power flows?" Professor Hale asked hopefully. She nodded.
"I think so." She said. He, of course, only saw her nod.
"Good! That means its working. You remember what to do, right? Dance on the tiles, keeping your desire to summon the unown firmly in your mind, reach out with your thoughts and your need. And please don't forget about my wife." The plea was delivered in a tone so lonely and bereft it made her shiver.
Standing up on the table's edge she stepped out onto the tiles, feeling the energy flow around her feet.
And then she gathered her spiritual power and began to dance, calling for the unown, picturing them in her mind, begging them to come so that she could speak to them, so she could go home. Her eyes closed but she could still see the table, still feel the flowing power. Her dance got faster, more confident, and she could feel reality beginning to grow thin, like dissipating smoke.
"She's glowing. Like her fur is made of light." Kagome heard Misty say in an awed voice. "She's so beautiful!"
"My goodness!" Professor Oak exclaimed suddenly. "Did you see that? An unown appeared for just a second!"
"Keep going, Kagome!" Professor Hale called to her. "It's working!"
Come to me. Kagome called into the depths of existence. I need your help, unown! Make me human again, send me home! Bring Professor Hale's wife back to him! Undo the harm that you have done!
"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "There they are! There must be dozens of them!"
Kagome could feel them now. She could hear their voices, the curiosity, and the recognition.
And something else. Something huge. Something dangerous. And it was coming for her. But instinctively the deepest most primal part of her knew she dare not stop, no matter what. The consequences of continuing paled to insignificance against the consequences of stopping.
"Hey, there's even more now! Man, they just keep coming!" Ash was starting to get uneasy. Kagome could hear it in his voice. But she couldn't spare the attention so she bore down even harder on the desire to have the unown help her, how much she needed them.
We are here, Voice Of The World.
A powerful combination of sound, spiritual pressure, and physical weight slammed her flat on the table. Around her humans and pokémon cried out in fear. Kagome opened her eyes but couldn't move. She couldn't even see.
This place is too small for us. That place is better. Let us go there.
Bright light flooded her senses and suddenly she could move again.
It feels wonderful to awaken again. After so much dreaming, the sunlight is warm!
Looking around she found herself in the desert. Around her the humans and pokémon who had been in the library were sprawled on the sand. Surrounding her were hundreds of unown moving almost too fast to see.
Then she made the mistake of looking up.
Fighting back a scream of pure terror Kagome watched as what must have been tens of thousands of unown poured through dozens and dozens of holes torn in the bright blue sky. And they just kept coming.
The bright day dimmed as the black bodies of the unown blocked the sun. It was like nothing she'd ever seen, a black ocean in the sky, whose waves rose and fell as individual unown moved in an intricate dance.
For so many years we have slept, dreaming of the worlds, waiting for the voiceless to break their silence.
And now one has. We remember the Pact, Voice Of The World. What do you wish of us?
And then she understood. They, all the uncountable clouds that now turned daylight to dusk; they were talking to her, Kagome Higurashi.
She seriously considered fainting.
By now the swarm was spreading out toward the horizon in all directions. More portals were opening, disgorging more and more unown.
And the voice was getting stronger, it was getting smarter. Kagome could feel it, and she felt the growing coldness, the distance in the voice.
"Undo the harm you did." She spoke, gathering her courage. "Return Margaret Hale to us. Open a path so I can go home to the place you stole me from. Return me to human form.
We hear you, Voice Of The World. Our long sleep has ended, thanks to you. We will honor the Pact.
"And return all the ones you have stolen!" She called out. "All the mothers and lovers and friends and the ones no one missed! Everyone you took!" An odd thought struck her, so she added. "To their own worlds!"
If that is what you wish, it shall be done.
The spiritual energy was growing, Kagome could feel it. The vast swarm of the unown, still growing with ever increasing speed, was bringing with it wild surges of pure power. And her connection with the swarm was getting stronger as well.
But the character of the swarm was changing. She could feel the arrogance and the pride. She could feel the contempt the swarm had for the Voiceless, their name for any creature that lacked spiritual powers (or psychic abilities). And she knew the only restraint on the swarm came from the Pact, whatever that was. They would honor the Pact--but do nothing more. Suddenly she had an epiphany, supplied from the swarm itself.
It wasn't actually a swarm.
It was a single creature living in billions of bodies, all at once. And it was old, as old as time. What she had thought of as English letters, the shape of its various bodies, were actually the creature molding itself to her expectations, echoing through time from the current moment back two hundred years.
You wished it so. We made your wish real. Time is irrelevant. Only your wish has significance.
"Tell me your name." She whispered, awestruck and terrified.
Call Us Unown if you wish, for We are legion and We are One. We are nameless and timeless. We have no need of a name for We dance alone. Names are for those who are not Us. We have been, and are, and ever will be.
Kagome could hear the capitals. Unown was growing more powerful, more arrogant. More like a demon, she thought.
We are as you wish Us to be, Voice Of The World. This is the Pact, and We honor it.
"Wait, you mean I can control your nature?" Kagome asked, appalled.
If you wish it, then yes.
"Yikes." She said, completely freaked. "All right. Don't harm anyone, all right? Humans, pokémon, demons, it's my wish you never hurt them.
As you wish, Voice Of The World.
"Have you returned everyone like I asked?"
We have.
"Then change me back to a human!" She said.
You already are, Voice Of The World. You have been so for several minutes.
"What?" She squawked, looking down at her--white and green school uniform. With all the appropriate curves in all the appropriate places. She stared at her hands for a moment, stunned.
Boy, how freaked must I be if I didn't notice being human again? She thought hysterically. She even had her bow and quiver full of arrows. But it's not over yet, is it? Gotta keep it together Kagome!
She looked around and found Professor Hale hugging a woman she didn't recognize. From his death grip and the tears, she guessed it was Margaret Hale.
"Once I'm gone, I want them to forget you, Unown. Let them remember only the little unown, your bodies. Not you, the legion of one."
As you wish. And what of Us? Shall we return to our dreams?
"What do you want to do Unown? What would make you happy?" Kagome asked, not knowing how to answer the creature.
We do not need happiness, Voice Of The World. We are not like you, happiness is irrelevant. As long as nothing hunts Our bodies, as long as We stay in Our own place, We are content to dream and wait for the Voiceless to find their voice again.
"That reminds me." She said. "No more kidnapping! Accidents are one thing but if it happens take the person back!
As you wish. The change has been made, Our bodies know now.
Kagome had the creepy, creepy feeling she could ask for anything, and the Unown would grant it. The thought terrified her. No one person should be trusted with this kind of power, not even her. And she realized she had to give up the power soon, while she was still afraid of it, lest she choose to keep it. That thought scared her worst of all.
Naraku certainly wouldn't give up this kind of power.
"Oh no!" She suddenly remembered the tainted shard in the midst of the unown swarm, back at the beginning of the whole mess…
Naraku must know about Unown! He was trying to gain possession of this power. If that happens he could rule all the worlds. Forever!
She couldn't let that happen. She would not let that happen.
"Listen, in my world there's a demon named Naraku. You must never answer his call, or the call of those in his service! You must never obey his wishes, do you understand?"
Yes. It shall be as you wish, Voice Of The World.
She glanced up, to see the portals still forming, still spewing endless unown into the world.
"Why are you bringing more and more unown into the world?" She asked, dreading the answer.
The more of Us in the world, the more powerful We become.
That's what I thought, Kagome thought to herself. Not good.
"Listen, are there enough of you so you can open a portal back to my world?"
Yes.
A glowing circle opened and rapidly expanded. She found herself staring into a lit stone chamber not unlike the central chamber in the Library. A very surprised Miroku stared at her. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor. It looked like he'd been meditating.
This voice was calling to Us from your world. But he did not summon Us according to the Pact. Do you wish to return to your world here? Or shall We put the portal elsewhere?
"Kagome!" Miroku scrambled to his feet.
"Miroku! I'll be there in just a second, stay right where you are. Do not come for me!"
"I understand." Miroku hadn't been moving toward the portal. The monk had better sense.
"Unown, let me say goodbye to my friends and then I'm going to go home. Please keep the portal open until I'm done, all right?"
As you wish, Voice Of The World. Do you wish both pokémon and humans to understand your language?
Kagome suddenly realized she wasn't a pokémon anymore. She wouldn't be able to understand the language spoken here or the one used by pokémon.
"Yes, of course. And I want to understand what they say too. Thank you."
As you wish.
She started with Meowth, who was standing the closest to her. Kneeling she hugged him.
"Thank you so much for your help, Meowth. I appreciate everything you've done for me." She whispered in his ear. The cat was taken by surprise, he stiffened. Then she felt him relax and pat her shoulder.
"Tank you, Kagome. You let dis old alley cat be a hero for one brief shinin' moment. I'll always remember youse for dat."
"You've been a hero your whole life, Meowth, you just lost your way. You take care of yourself, you hear me? And remember about the translating. You'll be rich!"
"I likes da sound o' dat!" He exclaimed as she stood up.
Pikachu hopped up into her arms without waiting for invitation. She had to fold her arms quickly so he'd have a perch.
"Don't forget us." He said.
"No chance of that!" She laughed. "Thank you, Pikachu. If it wasn't for you I might never have made it home." Unable to help herself she stroked him like she did her cat.
"Hey, a mouse could get used to that!" Pikachu said with a chuckle. She walked over to the kids, who were looking her over, never having seen her in human form. Pikachu hopped back on Ash's shoulder.
"Guys, you've been wonderful, thank you so much!" Kagome bowed, pleased beyond measure at how right the gesture felt.
"It's been a blast!" Ash said, grinning. "I'm glad you're going home, Kagome, but I'm gonna miss you."
"Me too." Misty spoke up. "Is that your boyfriend?" She pointed through the portal, where Miroku could be plainly seen.
"No, that's Miroku, Sango's fiancé." Kagome said, laughing. "Now he's a pervert!" She hugged the startled Misty, who returned it warmly.
"Hey, can you get Psyduck out here? I want to tell him goodbye." Kagome said. Looking startled, Misty took off her backpack and fished out Psyduck's ball.
When the yellow duck appeared Kagome knelt and took one of his flippers. "Thank you, Psyduck. You taught me a lot about what it means to be a pokémon. I hope your headaches don't give you too much trouble."
"They've been much better lately, thank you for caring." Psyduck answered.
"I hope you win all of your battles from now on." Kagome said with a smile as she stood up.
"Brock, thank you. You took such good care of me. I know you're going to make one heck of a pokémon breeder one day." She paused, then shrugged and hugged him. She wasn't terribly surprised to feel a bone crushing hug in return, but he released her before the hug became embarrassing.
"It's been an honor to meet you, Kagome. Keep yourself safe, you hear?" Brock said with a warm smile.
"Hey, can I say goodbye to Onix?" She asked.
"Of course. Onix, come on out!" Brock pulled out a pokéball and released the giant stone serpent.
Kagome hugged him.
"Thank you so much, Onix, you saved my life. I can never repay you."
"My pleasure, Kagome. So, you really are a human. I'm surprised Brock let go." There was a twinkle in his eye and he chuckled.
Kagome laughed. "I am going to miss you, Onix. You take care of yourself, ok?"
The giant snake nodded.
"Professors, thank you so much. If it weren't for the three of you I wouldn't be going home now." Kagome bowed deeply to the three men.
"Mrs. Hale, I'm glad I was able to help Professor Hale get you home. He really missed you."
"I know." Margaret replied, holding her husband close with one arm. "Thank you, Kagome. We've learned so much about the unown, we're going to publish a new book! I'm going to dedicate it to you."
"Thank you." Kagome was touched. She didn't even know the woman. It was strange to think they had such an intimate bond.
"Kagome, I'm glad you found your way home, but what about them?" Professor Oak glanced meaningfully at the black sky, where uncounted millions of unown still danced.
"They'll go home when I do." She said confidently, knowing it was true. Her need was fulfilled--there was no point for Unown to remain.
"One more thing, Professor. Can you make sure Meowth gets back to Stone Town? I think he's earned a ride."
"Of course, Kagome." Professor Oak assured her.
She shook Schuyler and Jasper by the hand, thanking them for the courage to stay, and for their help.
Then, with her goodbyes done she walked back to the portal.
"Unown, when I go through the portal I want you to do three things, and then my need will be complete." Kagome said. Unown didn't say anything, waiting to hear her desires.
"One, close the portal. Two, I want you to avoid my world, waking or dreaming. Do not go there, please. Three, go back to your home, and return to your dreams, and take the summoning tablets with you. Remember, I don't want this world to remember Unown, only the small unown. Do these things for me and my needs will be complete.
As you wish it, Voice Of The World, so shall it be. We have come to your call and honored the Pact. It shall be as you desire.
"Thank you, Unown. Take care of yourself. Will you let me touch one of you?"
A single unown, shaped like the letter K came to hover in front of her. Gently she reached forward and caressed the creature.
"Because of you I met new friends and was able to see a new world. Thank you, Unown. But now its time for me to go home."
And with that, she stepped through the portal to join the waiting Miroku. She turned to wave at the humans and pokémon on the other said, watching until the portal shrank to a bright point and vanished with a pop.
Ash and his friends watched as the black cloud began to thin, vanishing much more quickly than it had appeared. Within ten minutes there wasn't a single unown to be seen.
Then they turned and walked back toward the base camp, to resume the lives their adventure had so abruptly interrupted.
For Ash and his friends it was an adventure they would always remember, but they all knew that new adventures awaited them in the mysterious World Of Pokémon!