~(C)~
"You don't really think we'd actually be in any danger, do you?"
"Not really, but we should still be cautious. I mean, the Arashi might know where we are now, and I'm not comfortable exposing ourselves to them without a reliable way to escape. What's the harm in bringing your satchel with you?"
"I know, but we're only going to be a few dozen feet from the village in the first place, aren't we?" Snivy brought his empty plate onto the cart beside their table as he and the rest of the platoon made their way out of the cafeteria.
"I know, I know; it's probably slight overkill," Charmander said. "But 'better safe than sorry' is a cliché because it makes sense. Our enemies might be closer than we think, and we really ought to be prepared for anything."
"I agree with Charmander," Tide said. "Wandering around in the night is a bit more dangerous now than it was before. We may as well play it safe and guarantee ourselves a quick way back to the Training Camp. What do you have to lose by bringing it with you?"
"I've lost my entire satchel before in the dark, so there's that," Scoper responded. "But that's just me looking for things to complain about. Charmander's right: we should bring our belongings with us."
"Alright then," Dragonite said as they went through the cafeteria doors. "Should I go let Flux and Cedar know about our new little policy?"
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," Cap said. "We'll wait for you in the lobby."
"Don't bother," Dragonite said. "My stuff's still in the kitchen, so I'll probably end up waiting for you." At that, she turned around and headed back into the cafeteria. The others, meanwhile, continued their way down to the platoon 4 dormitories.
Charmander's nervousness continued to climb as they descended down the stairs. He felt like he was being forced against his will to join the others in this campfire meeting—like there were guards wielding spears poking him along the way. Taking a deep breath, he tried to find things to look forward to. Regardless of the potential danger he was in, he still wanted to hear Snivy sing again. Maybe his voice would calm his nerves. "Hey, Snivy, do you have any new songs planned for us tonight?" he asked.
"Oh yeah," Snivy said. "The songs that my brother and I played a few nights ago was only a small bundle of what he and I wrote. There's still tons of stuff that you haven't heard yet."
"Wait, hold on a second," Sentinel said. "How many of those songs are made for just one player?"
"Not a lot of them; you're right about that," Snivy said. "I guess in time, Charmander here will have to take my brother's place in the harmony lines."
"Whoa, hold on there," Charmander interjected. "I don't recall ever agreeing to that sort of arrangement."
"I didn't consider it until now. I'll teach you the lines on the road. Don't worry; you'll catch on fast. I've heard you sing before: you've got a pretty good voice."
The platoon soon set foot onto their floor, and each Pokémon went to their rooms to each grab their belongings. Snivy grabbed his lute while Charmander grabbed his satchel. On the way back up, Snivy tuned his instrument and practiced a couple of chord positions, which provided an ambiance to an otherwise noiseless ascent.
Waiting for them in the lobby was Dragonite, Minun, and Cedar the Bulbasaur. The two conveniently already had their belongings with them. "These guys decide to keep their stuff on them at all times; it saves them a trip to and from their dorms," Dragonite explained. "They're six floors below us, so they have a longer distance to travel."
"Cool, that saves us a lot of time," Scoper said. "Now, let's get outside and scope out a good spot for this thing. Charmander, you're the one with the light. Care to lead the way?"
"Naturally," Charmander replied, swallowing his anxiety. "Follow me and stay close."
On the way outside, Minun hopped up to Charmander's side. "Hey, Charmander."
"Yes, Minun?" Charmander asked.
"No, it's Flux now, silly!"
"Right, right. I'm going to have to remember that. Yes, Flux?"
"Did you really save Kangaskhan's life?" Flux asked.
Charmander shook his head. "I wouldn't say so. Patches did that; I just brought her to him."
"Aw, give yourself some credit, Charmander," Cedar said, trailing behind Flux. "We heard about what happened. If you weren't there to help her, she could have died from internal bleeding. That's what Patches said, at least."
"Yeah, but I did what any right thinking Pokémon would do. I was just at the right place at the right time."
"Yeah, but still, it was a good thing you were there. You can't deny the fact that you're probably responsible for why she's still alive right now."
"Charmander?" Flux chimed.
"Yes, Flux?" Charmander said.
"Why weren't you sleeping?"
"Because I'm crazy: I can't sleep until I go outside and take a walk around town."
"What?! Why would you do that so late?"
"I told you, Flux: because I'm crazy. It has to be past midnight, otherwise I don't get tired."
Minun laughed, which helped lower Charmander's blood pressure a bit.
Kecleon's shop was closed, as it normally was during the evening. The crew quietly made their way outside and gathered by the edge of the forest. The sky was cast with a modest blue left by the remnants of dusk, leaving them with just enough light to navigate through the trees.
"The first thing we ought to do is find a nice clearing where we can set this up," Charmander explained. "Ideally, it shouldn't be too far out from the village, and it shouldn't be too crowded with trees. Let's stick together for now. When we find a good spot, we can split up a bit and get everything set up. How's that sound?"
"Works for me," Cap said.
"Sounds like a solid plan," Glide added.
"Alright. Then let's get moving."
For the first time in a while, Charmander headed directly into the same forest from which he originally came. Chesto Forest had a unique beauty to it, Charmander thought. Many of the corners of the continent that he had seen so far were fascinating to behold, but the reminiscence brought forth by the pink and green leaves that surrounded the tree branches gave it an extra kick. For the first few moments, Charmander forgot about searching for a good place to host the campfire meetings and just wandered about the woodlands again.
After about ten minutes of looking, Charmander decided to settle for an area about fifty feet out from the Information Center. It wasn't completely devoid of intrusive trees, but there were few enough to make it work. The terrain was bosky and needed to be cleared of withering shrubs and fallen tree trunks, which Charmander hoped wouldn't take too long with a party of ten. He also figured that firewood needed to be gathered, and some cobblestones as well, for the construction of a fire ring.
"If Snivy and I go searching for good firewood, would you guys have enough light to clear up this area?" he asked to the others.
Before anyone answered, Snivy interjected. "Actually, Charmander, I'm holding an instrument right now, and I don't want to leave it behind here in the dark. Someone else should probably go with you. Or you can go alone."
"I'll go," Dragonite said. "I've got the longest arms, so if we're gathering stuff, I can be helpful."
"Alright, then," Charmander said. "How's this sound to everyone else?"
"I think we'll be fine," Tide answered. "We've all got pretty good night vision. Just come back soon, or else we'll be forced to worry about you."
Charmander smiled and waved them off before he and Dragonite ventured into the woods. Immediately, the two began looking for sticks and twigs to collect.
"Could you remind me what your nickname was again?" Charmander asked leisurely as he picked up a suitable candidate for kindling.
"Yeah; it's 'Steep,'" Dragonite said. "Don't ever call me it."
"I won't, I won't. But I've gotta wonder: your nickname is supposed to represent you, right? Why don't you like yours?"
"Well, I'm sure you know that 'steep' has multiple meanings, right?"
Charmander thought about the auxiliary meanings for a moment. "Uh, yeah, I think so," he finally said with hesitation. "The obvious definition has to do with slope. A steep slope is a close-to-vertical slope. Uh…steep could also mean…I don't know, harsh?"
"Harsh!" Dragonite said. "They're calling me harsh! I'm not harsh. I'd never consider myself 'steep.' Not with my actions, not with my expectations, not with my attitude. I mean, I don't know; maybe the Naming Oracles had something else in mind when they pinned that name onto me, but I always took a bit of offense to it."
"'Something else in mind?'" Charmander inquired.
"Yeah….There is a third meaning to the word, 'steep.' It's a process in cooking where you surround something in water to extract the flavor from it, like with tea. And, y'know, I'm the chef of the platoon, so there you go. But they say that nicknames always have a secondary meaning to them, and I can't really think of one when you take the nickname in that direction."
"Who says that nicknames always have a secondary meaning to them?" Charmander asked. "Is it the mysterious 'Naming Oracles' who do?"
"No, no, no," Dragonite said. "The Oracles never speak to us at face value. Heck, none of us even know who they are. It's just kind of a typical convention with the nicknames, it seems. Sentinel is called 'Sentinel' because he's an observant Pokémon, but also because he looks out for those around him. Tide is a water-type and the oceans have tides, hence the connection with water. But tides are also characterized by calmly swaying with the planet, which gives a nod to her spirituality. I could go on, but you see the trend. Of course, except with me. 'Steep' doesn't have a second meaning as far as I can tell, unless you try and force a convoluted and boring one into it. I don't like it. So, to make things simple for you and convenient for me, just call me Dragonite."
"Can you remind me again how the whole nicknaming system works?" Charmander asked.
Dragonite broke a branch from a fallen tree and added it to her collection. "All you need to know is that when the Naming Oracles make their decision, you'll figure out what your nickname is in due time."
"What's up with these 'Naming Oracles' anyway? How do they know enough about me to come up with a good nickname for me in the first place?"
"I don't know who they are, like I said before. All I know is that they're part of the Training Camp. They secretly gather information about you during your first week of enrollment, and then make a decision once they feel confident enough. Me and Snivy, for the record, aren't the only ones who don't like the names that they gave us. For all we know, yours is going to be garbage as well, and we'll always be calling you 'Charmander' in the end. And if that ends up being the case, then welcome to the club!"
Charmander grumbled thoughtfully. "Why can't you just choose your own nickname? Why does somebody else have to do it for you?"
"It's an old philosophy of Machoke's," Dragonite said. "A nickname is supposed to represent how others see you; not how you see yourself. As such, you don't get to just choose your own nickname. You always have to receive one from your peers. Honestly, I like that concept by-and-large. I just don't like that I ended up with such an awful name."
Charmander shrugged and said, "If it means anything, I don't think it sounds all that bad."
Dragonite smiled. "Thanks, but it doesn't really mean much. C'mon, let's head back. What we've collected ought to be plenty."
Once he paid attention to the bundle of sticks that he gathered, he realized that Dragonite was right. They both needed two arms to hold their collections, and the fuel in total was certainly enough to make a decent sized campfire that would last for at least an hour. Promptly, Dragonite and Charmander turned around and made their way back to the campsite.
When they returned, not only was the whole area cleared up of invasive shrubbery and fallen trees, but the ring of rocks for the fireplace was set up as well. Sentinel, Scoper, Snivy, and Flux were carrying aside the last tree trunk that needed to be displaced, and Glide, Tide, and Cap were on the edge of the clearing, picking the last bunches of ferns. "Wow, you guys work fast," Charmander said to all of them. "You could build the bell tower in a couple of hours with this speed."
"It wasn't that much," Glide said as she used her ears to toss away a bundle of bracken that she previously tore from the ground. "These plants have no resistance to them."
"If you say so. I see you found some cobble as well."
"And you found some stuff that we can burn," Sentinel said, trotting over to the ring of stones. "Put 'em both together and we've got a campfire."
Charmander smiled and nodded. "Leave that to me," he pridefully said. At that, he made his way over to Sentinel and set down the sticks he had collected. As he had done a dozen times before in this forest, he began organizing the wooden fuel in the typical conic formation. With a few controlled and carefully aimed breaths of fire, the fuel ignited and the campfire was born. He stood up and watched the dancing flames. They never failed to bring back ripe memories of his first few days on this planet.
The crew gathered around the campfire, basking in its warmth and letting themselves become mesmerized by the flurry of light that it produced. Nearby to the fire was a shallow stump, which Snivy claimed for himself. Without asking for anyone's permission, he started playing.
It was a sweet tune and Snivy sung it with a smile. Charmander remembered its title before he made it to the chorus: A Night in the Iron Desert. The lyrics didn't particularly tell a story, but the setting was exactly what one would expect. Half of the song was instrumentation, and it elicited a strong sense of calmness. Charmander just wanted to curl up into a ball, stare at the fire, and listen to the music until he fell asleep.
When Snivy finished the song, he muted the strings with his hand and said, "Hey, I want to let you guys in on a little secret."
"What's that?" Tide asked.
"I'm probably getting more joy out of this than any of you guys," Snivy said as he began fingerpicking another tune. "I'm only doing this because I like playing my lute. I like singing my brother's songs. I like the spending summertime nights under the stars and beside a campfire. And I like having company with me. Don't feel obligated to cheer me on; I've got all the reason in the world to keep on playing already."
"I figured as much," Dragonite said with a smile. "That's not going to keep me from letting you know when something you play sound exceptional, though. And that, by the way, was exceptional. Now keep playing!"
The others chimed in agreement. Snivy nodded in acknowledgment and started another song.
~(C)~
"This was a really great idea, Charmander," Snivy said as he set his cape down on the end of his bed. "I think those campfire meetings are just the thing that we need. This is a stressful job that we've got. Fun, but stressful. And nothing calms you down better than being with friends, protected by one another and warmed up by a comforting fire."
Charmander sat down on his bed. "Yeah, that's for sure," he said. The moment Snivy had began playing, all of Charmander's worries and anxieties melted away, never to rematerialize. He considered that perhaps once a week wouldn't be sufficient. Maybe they could make it a nightly thing.
"Hey, are you planning on going for another walk tonight?" Snivy asked.
"Uh, yeah, probably," Charmander replied with a nod. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason. Just be careful is all."
"Yeah. I definitely will be."
Snivy climbed into his bed and pulled the covers over him. "Alright. Good night, then."
"Night."
Charmander spent the next ten minutes laying down and reflecting modestly on his prospects for the future. He wondered what the Arashi would have in store for them when they finally decided to attack. He recalled the conversation he and Snivy had while they were going on their first mission. Charmander initially thought that they could fend off an attack, but it would leave them too damaged to survive anymore. Now, he was reconsidering. His allies were strong—impressively strong. Just the other day, they fended off a colony of enemy Arashi who were fighting to kill. Yet, nobody died. The day after that, the owner of the storage facility survived an attack against the Arashi's most powerful Pokémon. He was starting to believe that if they tried to initiate a full-blown attack, then the Arashi would lose. And they would lose badly.
After letting his mind wander some more, he spent the next twenty or so minutes meditating. He kept his mind surprisingly still in the process, and ended his session feeling quite accomplished. Calmly, he left his bed, retrieved his satchel, and headed up the stairs.
"Hi, Charmander!"
The voice came the moment he stepped foot on the top floor, and it was loud enough for Charmander to emit an instinctive shush in response. Flux was the one who greeted him, and he promptly covered his mouth afterwards.
"Hold on," Charmander murmured. He walked over to the Minun, who was sitting at one of the tables, facing the stairs. "What are you doing up here?"
"I wanted to see you," Flux whispered. "Are you actually gonna go outside?"
Charmander sighed and smiled. "Yes, Flux. I am. I told you that I'm crazy. Why would I lie about something like that?"
Flux laughed again. "To be silly," he whispered.
"Do I look like a silly Pokémon to you?"
"Yes, you do."
Charmander playfully rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Well, you caught me not being silly red-handed. You should head to bed, now, alright?"
"Can I take a walk with you?" Flux asked.
"Can you take a walk with me?" Charmander folded his arms in contemplation. "Yeah, I guess you can. Stay by my side, though, okay?"
"Mmmhmm!"
"Alright, then." Charmander stood. "Let's get strolling, you little rascal."
In the back of Charmander's mind, seeing Flux was a pleasant surprise. It had been a while since he had a one-on-one talk with his old friend. And Charmander had quite a bit of content that he wanted to talk with him about.
"Man, today must've been rough for you," Charmander said as the two walked down the passageway to the outside. "When I heard that your Cheer Rock got stolen, I felt so bad. How are you holding up?"
Flux's eyes glared with determination. "I'm gonna find that thief and get my Cheer Rock back!" he said valiantly.
Charmander bit the bottom of his lip. Curse your naive vigilance, Flux! The idea of Flux leaving Camp to go after the Dewott spelled all kinds of worry in Charmander's mind. Even if he managed to find him, he'd be in way too much danger to ever hope of returning safely. That Cheer Rock was gone, and it would probably be a mercy to try and break Flux's determination now. Carefully, he said, "Y'know, that thief is really strong. He managed to defeat Kangaskhan, and Kangaskhan's really big and tough."
"I know," Flux said. "It's probably gonna be scary, but I have to get it back."
"I think it'll be more than just scary. It's going to be really dangerous."
Flux nodded. "I understand. Do you have any advice for me?"
"Minun, my—"
"Flux!"
"Right. Flux, my…my advice is for you to stay here. Let the bigger Pokémon handle it. I don't want you getting hurt."
Flux vigorously shook his head. "No, no, no, I can't do that! They might not find it without me. I need to go with them."
The door to Kecleon's was before them. Charmander opened it and stepped foot outside. "I'm sure they'll do just fine by themselves. I want you to be safe, and you going up against that thief is just not a good idea."
When Charmander walked out of Kecleon's store, a familiar face greeted him outside. "Oh. You have company," she said offhandedly.
Behind him, Flux shrieked. He cowered before Charmander's leg, and clutched tightly to him.
Charmander stayed still, allowing Flux to stay hidden. "Don't worry, Flux, I know this Pokémon. Her name is Absol, and she's, uh…she's a…."
"I'm his guardian angel," Absol stated.
"You're my what?" Charmander asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think that's exactly how I'd characterize you."
"Whatever do you mean?" Absol asked with a coy smile. "I personally find that to be a very appropriate title."
"Well, a guardian protects someone, right?"
"And I'm protecting you. Last night, I was there because that Dewott was after you, Charmander. If you had come up too early, I would have needed to keep him from harming you."
Flux gasped. "Do you know about the thief who attacked Kangaskhan?" he asked. It seemed that all of his initial fears for this creature had suddenly vanished.
Absol smiled. "Yes, little one, I do. Come: let's walk into the streets where there's more space, and I'll answer your questions."
As the two followed Absol into the center of the village, Flux immediately began asking away. "Where is he? Where is he?"
"Dewott?" Absol asked. "He's probably with friends, miles away from us. It's my understanding that he took something which belonged to you. Is that correct?"
"Yeah. He stole my Cheer Rock, and now I have to get it back."
"You? Oh, no, you should stay here," Absol quickly responded.
Flux pouted. "Charmander said that too."
"Charmander is smart. If you value your life, you should stay as far away from Dewott as you possibly can. He is incredibly dangerous."
"But he has my Cheer Rock!" Flux shouted. "I need to get it back. I'll do anything to get it back! I know it's dangerous, miss, but we'll find it if we try."
Absol paused for a minute and looked into Flux's eyes. She then nodded softly, and said, "This thing that Dewott stole…it means a lot to you, doesn't it?"
"More than anything!" Flux said.
"I see. Then in that case, I'll get it for you."
Flux gasped. "Y—you will?"
"I will. I can find out where Dewott went. I can convince him to give back your Cheer Rock. And I can return it to you immediately. But I will only do it if you promise not to go looking for it yourself. You and everyone else will stay here while I conduct my search, okay?"
"But why? Why can't we look for it too?"
"Because…." Absol brought herself close to Flux and whispered, "Because nobody can know where I am. If anyone in the Training Camp sees me, then my cover might get blown and the Arashi might find me before I can pull Dewott aside. I'm actually risking my life by talking to you. You need to pretend that you never saw me, okay?"
Flux slowly gasped and then covered his eyes to shield them from Absol. "Okay," he said.
"Good. Now, young Minun, can you be a dear and let me speak with Charmander alone? There's some very important stuff that I must secretly tell him as his guardian angel."
"Wait, hold on a second," Charmander said, laying a hand on Flux's head to make sure he would stay for a bit longer. "We need to make sure of a few more things before he heads out. First of all, how are we so sure you're going to be able to get Flux's Cheer Rock back?"
"Oh, is 'Flux' your name?" Absol asked with a grin. "It suits you very nicely." She turned back to Charmander and said, "Now, that's a perfectly reasonable objection you have. I can guarantee you that I can accomplish the task, but that doesn't mean much to you, now does it? I'll tell you what: if I don't give Flux his Cheer Rock back after seven days, then he's free to look for it himself again. Does that sound like a deal?"
Charmander nodded. "I think that's reasonable. Secondly: we've already established that a group of Pokémon in the Training Camp are going to launch an investigation to retrieve this object."
"Then you'll have to cancel it."
"Easier said than done," Charmander said. "If Flux all of a sudden just goes up to Machoke and says that he wants to call off the investigation, then Machoke is going to have some questions. What exactly is he supposed to say while keeping you out of the picture?"
"What does Flux tell him?" Absol shot a glance at Flux. As she did so, Charmander felt a dark pulse emanate from her body, making him shudder. "Flux, do you know why I'm doing this for you?"
Flux cowered back slightly. "Is it…because you're nice?" he asked.
Absol shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm not a very nice Pokémon, Flux. But I know the enemy you're up against. I know the things he's done. I know the things he's capable of doing. And I know what would happen if you went after him." Absol assertively began walking closer to Flux; her eyes were glowing slightly. Flux responded by slowly backing up. "After several days of searching, you might find him. But the moment you get close enough to actually see his face, he'll make sure that you don't see anything else. Flux, I'm doing this for you so that I can keep that from happening to you and your friends. You're going to tell Machoke that you're scared—not just for your own safety, but for the safety of everyone you love. You're going to tell Machoke that you've realized how dangerous and disastrous it would be if you actually encountered this thief. You're going to tell Machoke that keeping everyone alive and safe is more important to you than getting your Cheer Rock back. Understand?"
Flux was quivering where he stood, so shaken that he was unable to produce a word to respond with. Instead, he nodded his head slowly.
Absol smiled and raised her head. "Good. Now go get some sleep, alright? Charmander and I have a lot that we need to discuss."
And just like that, Minun's fear melted away. He stopped shaking and smiled right back at Absol. "Okay, miss. See you tomorrow, Charmander!" he chimed before hopping off to the Information Center.
Charmander looked curiously at the mood-swung Minun as he retreated back to the Training Camp. "…Were you responsible for that?" Charmander asked Absol.
"It's a little trick that I invented," Absol explained. "I've injected a bit of fear into his heart, but I set a timer to it with the aid of some dark energy. It won't be fully realized in his mind until morning tomorrow. He'll sleep peacefully, but the moment he wakes up, he'll be begging Machoke to call off the investigation."
Charmander grumbled. "I don't really appreciate you toying with the mind of a little kid."
"I'm not a very nice Pokémon, Charmander," Absol responded. "Besides, we need him to be convincing. Making him afraid of Dewott now is a mercy compared to the alternative."
Charmander turned to face Absol. He couldn't help but admit to himself that he was trying to do the same thing just a few moments prior, so he had no ammunition with which to refute her. "Are you really going to get her Cheer Rock back?" Charmander asked.
"Of course I am," Absol said. "Why would you doubt me?"
Charmander folded his arms. "Because I'm starting to think that you've lied to me in the past."
Absol frowned, and stared at Charmander for a few seconds, as if probing his expression for signs of genuineness. "Well, you would be right to think that," she conceded.
"The Arashi aren't really after you, are they?"
"No, they're not," Absol said. "I thought you'd work that out soon enough. No, I simply told you that so that you would refrain from telling your friends about me. My identity still must remain a secret from those in the Training Camp, but the real reason behind it is much more complicated, and I can't properly explain it without giving it due justice."
"Could you at least tell me what would happen if I told my friends about you?"
Absol sighed. "The short answer is that it would disrupt the orientation of things. I plan on introducing myself to the rest of the Training Camp, but it must be on my own terms for things to work out in our favor. They can't have any expectations for me when they see me. Otherwise, things could go south."
Charmander raised an eyebrow. "That's a very nuanced thing to have in your calculations. How exactly would things go south, might I ask?"
"I can't tell you that, Charmander."
"Oh, of course you can't!" Charmander said while raising his arms in aggregation.
"Charmander, I understand that you have no reason to trust me at this point," Absol said pressingly. "But I hope that you can at least grant me a thread of your cooperation for this instance. Give me the benefit of the doubt and keep me a secret for just a bit longer, and I won't ask you to keep anymore promises."
Charmander sighed and said, "I can't give you my word."
"I don't want your word. I trust you enough without it. After all, you've been trustworthy up to this point." Absol began walking leisurely down the street. "Now, moving right on, I'm sure you're curious about what happened yesterday."
"Oh, yes. Very curious," Charmander said, following along beside Absol.
"There are multiple reasons for why I didn't stop Dewott when I had the chance, Charmander. Most obviously, I'm not willing to reveal myself even to Kangaskhan unless it's absolutely necessary. Furthermore, I don't think I could have successfully interfered without one of us dying in the process. It was safest for me to stay out of it, regardless of how much it pained me to do so."
Charmander pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Is Dewott stronger than you?" he asked.
"I've never tested it," Absol said. "My guess is 'no.' I've granted myself the obligation to protect you from him if need be, so I hope he's not. But nonetheless, he's not somebody I'd like to fight. And if I'm being honest, I'd rather he be alive than dead. Yes, he wants to kill you, but he's also doing a lot of good for this planet in ways that I…once again can't adequately describe." She looked over her shoulder and gave the impatient Charmander a sympathetic glance. "If it gives you any relief, he won't be bothering you or anyone else in the Training Camp for a long time. I can promise you that."
"Your promises don't mean very much to me right now," Charmander grumbled.
"I would never lie to you about something like that, Charmander," Absol insisted. "The last thing I want is you dead at the hands of Dewott. He won't be returning to Cherish—not while I'm here."
"What makes you so sure about that?" Charmander asked. "He knows I'm here, doesn't he? What's going to keep him from coming back for me?"
"General Masquerain is," Absol said. "That little item of yours that he stole is vital to their cause. Right now, it's just an orb that glows. But in due time, it will shed its outer shells. When the interior becomes clear, it will become a compass which points to a very important location that Masquerain has been tasked to find: Articuno's Fountain. Now that he's got the compass, you pose less of a threat to him. Masquerain is going to have Dewott stay with him while he continues his search instead of sending him after you."
"Absol, you knowing all of this is very suspicious in my eyes. Where do you get this information? Do you have regular contact with the leaders of the Arashi?"
"I used to," Absol admitted. "As a matter of fact, a few months ago, I was speaking with Masquerain in much the same way I'm speaking to you now. I gave him advice and informed him about the role he would play as a human-turned-Pokémon. But after you came into this world, he started to lose my trust, and I haven't been able to communicate with him for quite some time now. But I've known Masquerain for long enough to know that he wants Dewott beside him whenever possible."
"I see…." Charmander took a few seconds to mull this over. If she valued Masquerain similarly to how she valued him, then her story fell cleanly into place regarding her staying out of Dewott's attack and robbery. Dewott getting too injured would make Masquerain more vulnerable, after all. He felt he was starting to better understand Absol's position and incentives. Of course, he was still hesitant to believe much of what she said, but his mistrust and suspicion was beginning to soften. "That still doesn't explain how you know about the orb that's…apparently a compass."
Absol stopped walking. She was silent for a couple of seconds. She then sighed and turned to face Charmander. "When we spoke in Lunar Woods, you asked me if I was a goddess, to which I said 'no.' That was no lie—I'm far from a legendary being—but Zekrom has used me for certain…divine purposes. I can form a bridge between the secular and the super-secular worlds by summoning storms. Through the clouds, objects created by Zekrom will be passed down to the earth and fall from the sky to the ground. That compass was one of those objects that he asked me to summon. Unfortunately, I don't have much control over where it will land. By happenstance, or perhaps by Zekrom's will, it landed near you. Personally I would have preferred it to have landed near Masquerain, but hey: I'm just the catalyst for his deliveries."
Charmander blinked several times and contorted his face as he tried to wrap his head around the irrationality of these words. "…What?" he asked, hoping to receive at least some clarification.
"That's what I expected," Absol said plainly. "Explained more simply: If Zekrom—the big Pokémon that watches over us—wants to deliver something to Neothina, then he can ask me to make a big storm cloud for him which he can use for delivery. It's like I'm building a temporary bridge for him. The details are beyond me, I'm afraid. But that's why I know about the compass."
Charmander sighed. "Well, if that's all you know, then I guess I shouldn't bother asking more about it."
"I at least hope I cleared things up some more," Absol said.
"Yeah, you did," Charmander said. "Thanks."
"In that case, I'll be on my way. Enjoy the rest of your walk."
Charmander watched Absol as she walked away. Every time she disappeared in the past, unanswered questions flooded Charmander's mind. He wondered if there was anything else he could ask her—anything else that she might have answers to. And just like that, it hit him.
"Absol, wait a second!"
Absol obeyed. She stopped and reared her head, waiting for Charmander's follow up.
"When we first met, you said that you knew about the strange dreams I've been having, right?"
"I do," Absol said. "At times, memories of your previous self can get leaked back to you, as I'm sure you've figured out. You have questions about them?"
"Only a couple," Charmander said. "I won't ask you to psychoanalyze them or anything, but a couple of things are bothering me. First of all, I've never heard my name yet in these memories. Do you think that's a coincidence?"
Absol shook her head. "I couldn't tell you. Maybe it's a coincidence, maybe the memory of your name is more difficult for your mind to retrieve for whatever reason, or maybe Zekrom's manipulating your memories before you recall them."
"Zekrom?" Charmander asked.
"It's a hyperbole. I'm simply saying that anything's possible. My best guess is that your amnesia is explicitly keeping you from remembering your name. That was the case with Masquerain as well. His amnesia is even worse than yours: he has yet to retrieve a memory from his past self. Your mind is a strange thing, and I won't pretend to know what's going on inside of it."
"Well…." Charmander shrugged in acceptance. "Alright, then. I hope you have an answer to my second question, at least."
"I can't promise your hopes won't be shattered," Absol said with a grin.
"My former self has a Pokémon with him," Charmander said. "I can't see it, though. In my memories, it's always just an empty blob. Why is that?"
Absol stood still for a moment, her mouth slightly agape. "…Oh my," she said quietly. Presently, she walked towards Charmander once again. "You're in luck, Charmander. I think I know exactly what that means."
Charmander beamed. He tried to contain his excitement, but it probably leaked. "What is it, then?" he asked impatiently.
"It means that when you went to this world, you brought this Pokémon with you," Absol explained. "You came to this world on a bridge that connected your world to this world. This bridge, however, was unstable, and caused disturbances in your memory. As you know, your memory was initially completely wiped. You've been able to retrieve bits and pieces over time, but for whatever reason, you can't retrieve any sensory memory of those who come with you. And you'll never be able to. So if you can't see, hear, or feel this Pokémon of yours, then it probably means they're somewhere on this planet. And they're probably looking for you."
The overload of information made Charmander slightly dizzy. "You're telling me that you knew about this the whole time? About how I came to this world?" he asked.
"I've known some parts, yes," Absol said. "But there's also a lot that I don't know that I'd like to know as well."
"Yeah, well you know a hell of a lot more than I do," Charmander said. "This…helps explain a lot." He looked down at the ground, collecting his thoughts. "If what you say is really true, then I also know why my memories are gone. And I also know more about how I got here in the first place. I wonder if there's a way back as well. Do you know the answer, Absol?"
There was no answer.
"Absol?" Charmander looked back up. She was gone. "Oh, come on!" he shouted at the empty space before him.
~(M)~
Masquerain fell asleep about an hour before the rest of the encampment did, and he stayed asleep for what felt like about three hours before being woken up again. The nightscape of the forest camp was now adorned with blazing braziers to light the paths, each one a miniature campfire glowing in the distance.
It was Weavile who woke him up. He banged on the cage just loud enough to stir himself and Dewott back to the reality of their cramped cell. "I'm sure that you've wanted to talk with me for quite some time now," he said. "So here we are: separated from the ears of the other members. You've been so cooperative; I figured that you deserved a bit of transparency."
Masquerain glared spitefully at Weavile for a moment, wondering to himself just how honest he would be. "Let's hear it," he grumbled. "Everyone outside of these bars hates me. You've killed the last few Pokémon whom I genuinely trust, and those who are left alive have betrayed me. Was Dewott right all along, Weavile? Is all of this just a way for you to use me as a springboard so that you can usurp whatever power I had for yourself?"
Weavile grinned modestly. "You suspected that Dewott was right in the first place, didn't you, Masquerain? Why are you so surprised now?"
Masquerain emitted a disappointed sigh. "Weavile, come on. Surely there's something more to all this."
"Why? What's so wrong about what I'm doing here? What's so bad about giving the Arashi a new beacon of hope after their last one burned out? Why is it so terrible that I want to make a difference?"
"If you wanted to make a difference, you wouldn't have locked up the centerpiece of our entire cause," Masquerain spat.
"Yes, I would have," Weavile responded. "You've had your fun as General of the Arashi, and look at where you've gotten us. We've given you the better part of a year and you haven't even found a clue as to where the Fountain is. Meanwhile, the rest of us have done our jobs. Five thousand lives. That was the quota. I want to believe that it hasn't been met yet. I want to believe that those Pokémon who are being killed by our hands for our cause aren't being killed for nothing. But because of your failure, we can't know for certain, now, can we? It's your turn to step aside now, Masquerain. We're going to give the other candidate a chance. And I'm going to lead us to him."
"So, this is what you truly believe, then?" Masquerain asked coldly. "You're placing your hopes into this one young Charmander whom you've never even met?"
Weavile leaned in close to the cage and whispered, "Only because the alternative would be placing my hopes in you."
The cage suddenly rattled. Masquerain looked over beside him and saw Dewott clenching the bars, angrily glaring at the Weavile in front of him. "You are worse than despicable," he hissed. "I don't know how you managed to convince yourself of this twisted fairy tale of yours, let alone how you convinced the rest of the encampment, but it won't hold for long. We will be free. And when we are, the first thing I'm going to do is make sure you never get in our way again."
Weavile stood back up and took a deep breath. "You'd be surprised at how easy it was for me to pull the camp members over to my side," he said. "You can't blame them, though, can you? This whole time, they've witnessed nothing but lounging and stagnation from their revered general. Convincing them to follow someone else—someone whom they've been following for a long time now—was simple."
"To be fair, I helped."
It was Abra's voice. Subsequently, he emerged from Masquerain's left, and hovered beside Weavile.
"I'm afraid I lied to you," Abra said. "That little 'protective barrier' I had up was not a protective barrier. It wasn't me preparing for a powerful psychic attack either. I was creating sphere of psychological manipulation," he explained. "Every Pokémon under the sphere would have their minds softened. I would reduce their ability to think for themselves and inject subtle thoughts of animosity towards you into their brains. It was a gentle push in the right direction. Of course, those who were strongly loyal to you wouldn't be largely affected, hence why Weavile had to kill Ponyta, Mawile, and Krokorok in the end. But the others were practically guaranteed to turn their allegiance over to Weavile."
Masquerain grimaced in disappointment. He stared at Abra's calm, emotionless face, and simply asked, "Why would you abandon me too, Abra?"
"Because this makes the most sense, Masquerain," Abra promptly answered, as if expecting that question. Realistically, he probably was. "We're running out of time, and if we were to continue with your search plan, there'd be a high chance of us never finding the Fountain."
"We have a compass now," Masquerain said. "We can narrow our search time tremendously with it. It's this imprisonment and detour to the Training Camp that's wasting time."
"The compass doesn't point," Abra said. "We can't follow it. Perhaps we need to wait for it to tell us where to go. Perhaps we simply don't know how to read it. Either way, the fact remains that Charmander was the one who found it, not you. I'm not usually one to follow signs, but at this point, it seems like we should at least confront this other human and see what he can do."
Masquerain heard Dewott growling under his breath. "I should have tried to kill that Charmander while I had the chance," he muttered.
"You never had the chance," a female voice uttered.
Masquerain closed his eyes and cursed silently to himself. He opened them back up and there Absol was, standing beside Weavile opposite from Abra. Her smug little grin ripped Masquerain apart internally. If he had the strength, he'd try and use an air-cutter on her to wipe that face off, but his energy failed him, and he instead found catharsis in simply clenching his teeth at her.
"Dewott, we haven't formally met yet, have we?" Absol asked. "I'm Absol. I'm the one who would have gotten in your way if you tried to lay a finger on Charmander."
Dewott clenched the bars angrily. "You think you could have stopped me?"
Absol stamped on the ground with her forepaw. A brief static discharge arced from her paw to Dewott's hands. Dewott flinched in response and stammered back after the shock was gone.
"As a matter of fact," Absol said, "I think I could have."
"Let me out of here if you want to know for sure!" Dewott grunted, rubbing his hands.
"Dewott, be nice," Weavile chided. "Absol's the reason I'm still keeping you alive."
Masquerain shot Absol a curious glance and asked her skeptically, "What is he going on about?"
"What?" Absol said. "You two make such a great team. It'd be such a shame if you ever had to permanently part ways. So, when I found out about what Weavile was planning, I offered to help him out under a condition. I would go out and help get Admiral Feraligatr and Commander Armaldo to renounce their allegiance with you and defer to Weavile's side. Weavile, in turn, would keep Dewott alive."
Weavile added, "That little conspiracy theory of yours about holding Dewott as collateral for you was definitely an interesting idea, but it was a bit off the mark. However, you had a point when you suspected that I wanted to keep you alive as a safeguard. Even I have to admit that we are technically speculating. I may as well keep you around just to be safe, right?"
Masquerain ignored Weavile's last comment. He wasn't particularly bothered by his eavesdropping at this point. Instead, he addressed Absol. "What in Zekrom's name did a slime like you say to Admiral Feraligatr and Commander Armaldo to make them betray me?"
Absol chuckled. "I have powerful connections, Masquerain. I gave them evidence that I was a messenger of Zekrom, and they believed every word I said to them thenceforth. And in case you don't believe me—" she tapped her paw off to the side and suddenly a bolt of lightning descended next to her, emitting an ear-piercing crack. The ground glowed red, and in what appeared to be roughly the shape of a foot. "That is Zekrom's footprint: a shape I'm sure you know of by now. I guided it down here for you to see. Pretty impressive, huh?"
Masquerain looked at the footprint for a few seconds. He almost vocally cursed Zekrom, but managed to hold his tongue before any words slipped out. "I still don't understand, Absol. Have you been against me this whole time?"
Absol frowned when she heard that, as if she were disappointed in the question. "I have always only wanted what's best for the Pokémon on this planet, Masquerain. I have helped the Arashi in the ways that I could because I have faith in your cause—"
"—If you were to help us, then why did you lead us into a blockade all those months ago?!" Masquerain exclaimed.
"Because there was something important waiting for you behind it! And I'm afraid we'll never know about it because you never fought through that blockade and I was never told what it was. Instead of following my direction, you went your own way. And look at where it's gotten you." Absol sighed angrily. "I was on your side when you had your chance, Masquerain. I was on your side when you were worth believing in. But that time is gone. Your destiny has been revoked. Accept it, for your own sake. Come to terms with reality and listen to Weavile, and you might just leave this cage in one piece."
And for the first time in his life, Masquerain began to seriously consider those words. These past mistakes of his…this Charmander character…the compass….Were they all signs affirming the notion that he no longer held the title of the Arashi's human prophet? Had destiny betrayed him?
Masquerain heard footsteps in the distance. The others heard them too, as they all turned to face the direction from which they were coming. Weavile smiled. "At last, Feraligatr and Armaldo are here. Come, let's welcome them in and find accommodations for where their Pokémon will be staying the rest of the night." Before heading off to greet them, Weavile turned and faced Masquerain and Dewott. "Get some rest, you two. We'll be on the road for the next several days, and I don't expect it to be any more comfortable for any of us."