Vay

Vay, currently a human, stowed the bicycle into the car's trunk. It barely fit, and there was no room for any other luggage. That was fine; what little else he was bringing could be held in the back seat.

Tina was already sitting in front of the steering wheel. Vay moved to ride shotgun. Doki was sitting there, so he picked her up and placed her in his lap as he sat down. She seemed comfortable there.

"You ready?" Tina asked.

"Yeah," Vay said, buckling his seatbelt. He wore what he had learned were normal human clothes: jeans, a t-shirt, and black shoes which apparently looked "cool." Tina, which was the name of his trainer, had taken him shopping the day after the twins had gotten home. It had been a big shock to her to learn that one of her pokémon could now speak her language and turn into a boy whenever he wanted to, but more than a week had gone by since then, and she was starting to get used to it.

Tina put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. They were both quiet for a while as she started down the road. Vay absentmindedly scratched behind Doki's ears.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Tina asked as they came to the first stop sign. "You only just got back. I missed you."

"You think I want to go back? If I could just wish Sky home, I would. You do want him back, don't you?"

Tina had only recently learned the true name of Sky, along with the true names of all her pokémon. She had called them all by entirely different names before Vay had told her what she should really call them.

"Of course I do." She sighed. "At least promise me you'll be careful." Tina hadn't been told exactly what the Lab was, or what had happened there, but she seemed to have picked up that it was somewhere very dangerous.

"I promise," Vay said. But even as he said the words, he knew that what he was doing was very much not careful. There was no way of knowing how much the humans knew of their escape, or what kind of reception they would receive when they got there. Honestly, the odds of death were higher than he wanted to admit, and he was starting to understand why Darkrai hadn't wanted them spotted. But they had left Sky behind, and the only decent thing to do was to go back and try to rescue him.

Except that wasn't really the only reason he was going back. Life at home was worse than he had expected it to be. Blizz's amnesia had thrown a wrench into his plan for a happy life. His twin barely even recognized him now. And maybe it was just Vay's imagination, but he seemed to act differently than he used to. No matter what Vay tried, everything just seemed so pointless. At least at the Lab, he could try to do some sort of good. And if this trip ended badly…well, that wouldn't be the end of the world. He had already saved Flame, Dusk, Bolt, Blizz, and Volt. He wished he could say he had saved Doki, but she had insisted on coming with him. Nothing he said had been able to convince her to stay behind.

You're not like me, are you? he thought, stroking her fur. Don't you have anything to live for? Why throw your life away with me? He would have said all of this out loud, but she wouldn't have been able to understand his human words.

About twenty minutes later, Tina pulled up next to the edge of the forest which marked the start of their journey. Not Tina's journey, but Vay's and Doki's. There was no road here. For the last mile, they had simply been driving on grass and dirt.

Vay unbuckled, opened the door, let Doki hop out of the car, and then climbed out himself. He opened the rear door and started to pull out his bags.

"Do you need help?" Tina asked. She sprang up from her seat without waiting for an answer.

"I can carry it all myself," Vay said. "Just pop the trunk so I can get the bike."

Once all the luggage was brought out and piled up next to the trees, Vay and Tina stared at each other for a long time.

"Try not to be gone for too long, Jay," she said. They had both agreed that he should still be called Jay while in his human form, since it was a perfectly good name for a boy. Vay, on the other hand, was not a normal human name and would probably raise some eyebrows.

"I think it'll take me a while to get them to trust me again," Vay said. "But if I'm not back within a year…well, you probably shouldn't expect to ever see me again."

Tina nodded gravely. "So…is this it, then?"

"I think so. Just remember that Dusk and Flame and Bolt can read and write. Dusk is the best, but Flame and Bolt know the letters and most of the important words. When you get a new pokémon, ask one of them to tell you their name. Oh, and I almost forgot. Keep Mother out of the PC if you can."

"Harmony?" Tina asked. "Why?"

"Just trust me," Vay said. Dusk had ordered him not to tell their trainer about what Harmony had done. He wasn't sure why. Actually, Dusk had been doing all sorts of weird things lately, like trying to set up some new leadership and housing system in Box Four. Apparently, he had meant for Vay to be one of the Box's leaders, but he supposed that someone else would have to do it now.

Tina nodded and then opened the driver's side door.

"Wait," Vay called out.

She looked up.

"Thank you for everything," he said. "For driving me here, and for buying me the bike and the clothes, and for giving me a good home all my life."

She smiled at him, then closed the door and drove off. Vay watched her until she reached the road.

Instantly, he felt a small pang of regret. Not because he wanted to abandon his mission, but because he knew that his brothers would worry about him. Vay had decided not to tell them what he was doing. They'll only try to stop me, he reasoned. Or worse, they'll insist on coming with me. He couldn't allow that to happen. It had been enough of a mistake to take Doki along.

She was very eager to hit the road, though. Vay was hardly able to keep up with her as he wheeled the bike through the forest, made slow by the heavy backpacks which held their food, water, maps, and other supplies. After a long time, they made their way to the same dirt road they had taken to downtown Jubilife. It was nearly noon by then. Vay grabbed Doki and set her in the bicycle's basket, then climbed into the seat. Before long, they were racing through the forest much faster than they had been able to go on the journey home. Doki sniffed at the air and her floppy ears flapped behind her head. The air rushed through Vay's hair and the burden of his packs seemed to lift off his shoulders, along with all the world's stress.

It all feels so much more real this time, he thought. When Bald and Tall and Short had taken them so many months ago, it had almost felt like a dream. But now he knew and had seen the reality of the situation, and its danger, and the consequences of failure. That won't stop me, though. Don't worry, Sky. I've beaten them once, and I'll do it again. I'll take out anyone who stands in my way, and that includes Terrin, and the High Warden, and even the Man With Dark Hair And Darker Eyes. Darkrai's dead, but maybe I'm more dangerous than he ever was. I hope you're all ready, because the Apprentice is coming for you.

And these thoughts filled him with more excitement than he had ever known, and he pedaled harder than ever before.