A/N - This is much later in the day than I like to update. Busy busy Del. I've been working away at chapter 69 most of the afternoon and now I'm having a break. I still can't believe I'm almost done with this story D=

The next update this week will be Thursday. I won't have access to internet for the weekend. Things should go back to normal from Monday.

Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon or any of its critters!

53 – Frozen Honey

The young Mothim climbed up the cold bark of the evergreen tree. Lightning had struck it at some point in its life, and the top was entirely missing, giving the tree a squared-off appearance. Burnt branches spiked away from the trunk at dramatic angles, but despite having been almost entirely destroyed by a storm, green leaves still clung on to it here and there.

What the Mothim was after lay inside the tree's hollowed out top. A hive of Combee had once inhabited it, and even though it had been abandoned for a little while, he knew some honey still remained.

He poked his head through the hole and closed his eyes as he let out a disappointed sigh. Sure, there was honey, but the blizzard had crystallized it. It would take some time to carve it out into his bucket. Did he have that time?
He dragged his head out of the hole and looked back over his shoulder, and his heart almost froze in his chest.

Flying at him was a flock of Murkrow. Angry caws screamed from their mouths as his eyes locked onto them, causing his muscles to lock up. He clutched at the tree trunk like a life line, and his eyes slowly widened.

This was it.

This was how he was going to die.

He closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.

But it never came.

A bright flash lit up the sky and he opened his eyes again. A large number of Murkrow dropped from the sky and hit the snow-covered ground with a series of soft thuds.

"Go!"

He looked up, but his vision was obscured by another bright flash of pink and purple.

"Go on! Get out of here!"
The Mothim shook himself and fell from the tree, spreading his wings and fluttering away into the mountains.

Ordinarily he wouldn't need telling twice.

However, he regretted not getting a good look at the Pokemon who'd saved his life.

...

Harlequin checked through her bag one last time. Everything was intact – various antidotes, the mounted Nidoking horn, a selection of berries and dried meats... nothing seemed to be missing.

Satisfied, she threw the bag over her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're okay to leave now?" Elsa asked.

Harlequin fixed her with a sapphire gaze and nodded. "Yes, I am. Thank you again for helping me. I can't repay you enough."
"Like I said, Harlequin, you owe me nothing." The Lilligant gave her a warm smile. "I trust you're going to try to find Enigma?"

Harlequin nodded. "Yes. I don't know where he'll be, however. But our paths tend to cross quite frequently."

"I hope you do find him. He'll probably be worried sick."

Harlequin clenched her jaw and stared out of the window. Worried sick... she didn't really need to be reminded of his reaction. It had distressed her enough. Where would he be now? And why had he chosen not to come back for her? Had he gone on a mad revenge spree?

Elsa's voice cut through her thoughts, dragging her back to the present. "Before you leave, I want to give you this. Just in case."

Harlequin stared at the vial held out to her in Elsa's leafy paw. Her jaw dropped and she shook her head slowly.

"No... I can't take it. What if you need it? The river... it's still contaminated, isn't it?"
Elsa continued to smile. "I've told you, we have a spring. We don't need to use the river. Besides, the Pokemon in this village are working on cleaning it up, and the ones that are aren't affected by poison."

Harlequin was speechless. She looked back down at the vial, her mouth agape.

"I want you to take it, Harlequin. You don't have one, and it might come in use."

Harlequin closed her eyes and gave a small nod. She took the vial in her jaws and deposited it carefully into her bag.

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

Elsa chuckled. "Besides, you do carry a Nidoking horn on you. Whatever would you do if you caught yourself on it?"
Harlequin laughed and made for the stairs. "I've been careful enough so far."

"I suggest you be extra careful now, and not just with your poisons."
Harlequin looked back at her. "What?"

"The village. They were rather cold to you and your friend. You were both under my protection so long as you remained in the village, but now you are leaving, they might retaliate against you."
Harlequin gave her a half-smile. "Don't worry. I have my illusion to take care of that."
"I think you'll need to use it. At least until you are far enough away from here to move around safely." Elsa paused and gave her a reassuring smile. "I believe you've changed your ways, but others will need some time to realise that."

"I understand." Harlequin gazed out of the window. "I want them to realise it but I understand it will take a while." She paused, frowning as she listened to the sounds of Pokemon chatting outside. "The Zangoose are out of town, aren't they?"

"Yes, they'll be by the river. Why do you ask?"

"I'm going to borrow his form for a while."

Harlequin cast her a glance, then allowed her illusion to distort her form into that of a Zangoose. The sudden change took Elsa by surprise and she covered her mouth with one of her long leaves.

Harlequin laughed. "Yes, it can be a little alarming. Thanks again, Elsa. Maybe I'll see you again?"

Elsa removed her paw and smiled. "Maybe, you never know. Take care, Harlequin."

Harlequin nodded and trotted down the stairs, slipping out of Elsa's door. The Lilligant had followed her, and waved briefly as Harlequin moved away through the town, not looking back. Anything she did now had to reflect that of the Zangoose. Looking back at Elsa's house would only highlight the fact she'd just left it. She didn't know if the Zangoose visited the Lilligant or not.

She broke into a run and left the town gate. Not one of the other Pokemon gave her a second glance, probably assuming the Zangoose was on his way to help with the river, and had needed to return home for some reason or another.

Outside the village was quiet, like many of the surrounding areas. Finding Enigma's scent trail wasn't too difficult. It was faint, but clung to the trodden down snow, a repetitive trail leading from the gate to the river as the Pokemon had gone back and forth from their task. As she ran along it, it wasn't long before she spotted the group of Pokemon beside the river – two Zangoose and a Gliscor. Great, she couldn't exactly run by disguised as one of them.

She deviated off the path, heading for the mountain side. Unfortunately it meant abandoning the scent trail. If she wanted to find Enigma now, she needed to get high up enough to spot him. And there was no telling where he'd be.

She paused in the shade of an evergreen tree, staring down at the busy Pokemon. A fallen tree acted as a bridge across the river, the very one that had been hiding the Nidoking. There was no sign of the Nidoking's body, just a patch of pale red and diluted poison blemishing the white snow.

She took in a sharp breath and looked up at the trees on the other side, narrowing her eyes as she strained to see past them. If he'd wanted to find the Nidoking's killer, he'd have wanted to find the body. And if he'd got to it before they moved it, he'd probably still be on the other side.

Harlequin tutted and snapped her eyes away, looking up into the mountain. She'd need to either wait until that group of Pokemon went home, or find another way around. Staying here would only increase her chances of being spotted, and she couldn't hold onto this illusion indefinitely.

She let it fade, taking back the comfortable form of an oddly-coloured Zorua. With a small skip, she scaled up the side of the mountain, moving as carefully as she could to avoid alerting the Zangoose and Gliscor.

The higher she climbed, the more disheartened she felt. There was no other way across the river.

...

Enigma had watched the group of Pokemon move the Nidoking's carcass elsewhere. Wherever it was, he hadn't seen. Between them, it had been a cumbersome task, taking all three of them to carry it away from the river.

He hadn't planned to move away, but his run-in with Harbinger had caused him some distress. That Absol had tried to kill Harlequin. Tried and failed.

And he knew he'd failed.

Enigma had been the one to tell him that.

If Harlequin's life was at risk again, it was his fault. If Harbinger tried another assassination on the Zorua, Enigma only had himself to blame. If he hadn't said anything, then that Absol would think his plan had succeeded.

Enigma leant back against the tree, covering his face with his paws.

He felt dizzy. His heart was racing. The desire to track down that Absol and put his nasty plot to an end warred with his desire to protect Harlequin's feelings.

He was Harlequin's friend... friend.

Then there was those two Pawniard kids... and they'd been a part of it.

His heart lurched into his throat and he clenched his fist, striking it against the thick trunk of an evergreen. The branches above him rustled and swayed, dropping a sprinkle of snow onto the ground beside him.

The dizziness subsided into a dull buzz, clouding his thoughts and masking his judgement. It was becoming difficult to make any rational decisions.

All he wanted to do was track down that Absol.

He grimaced and leant back against the tree, sliding down onto the ground. He groaned and placed his head in his paws.

Was his desire to track down Harbinger really linked to Harlequin? It didn't feel like it. He didn't like to think back at all those lives he'd taken, but it never felt anything like this. It had often been impulsive, or defensive, and at first followed by a sick feeling of guilt.

If he was to liken this feeling to anything it would be the urge to give chase, to go on a mad rampage.

Madness.

He retreated into himself and stared blankly at the mottled trunks of the opposite trees. Madness... this wasn't him. It was that ridiculous Pokerus.

He flinched and screwed his eyes shut, clasping at his knees. Images of that Tyranitar and the maniacal Whimsicott filled his mind. Was this what happened to them? Did this Pokerus take control of their minds?

If he went back to Harlequin now, he'd be putting his life at risk.

He took a few steadying breaths and dragged himself to his feet. There was no way he was going back to Harlequin like this.

No...

He was going back to Border Woods to find that laboratory, and put an end to their insane experiments, before it went too far.

He let out a small growl. The frightening question was... what was 'too far'?

...

The green trees thinned out as the ground began to level out. Harlequin paused to look around at the landscape. After a trek down the rocky mountainside, having her paws on flat ground was a welcome change. She'd headed back up the river, putting the small group of Pokemon behind her, but there'd been no sign of another way across anywhere. In the end, she'd decided to venture back down it, but she'd not been expecting this.

Her eyes fell on the bedraggled trunk of a tree, weathered from a storm and its top completely broken away. There was evidence it had been struck by lightning, as the edges of the splintered bark were singed a dark grey. It wasn't the tree that interested her though. It was the Pokemon clinging to it, his upper torso stuffed into a hole. A pair of yellow and orange wings poked out, occasionally twitching, and he was muttering to himself.

Harlequin padded over to him, her paws crunching over the soft snow. The Mothim didn't seem to hear her, however. She stopped and sat down, inclining her head on one side.

"Excuse me?"

The Mothim's wings went rigid and his mutters came to a sharp stop. He dragged his head out of the hole and fixed a pair of orange eyes on her, his entire body stiffening as his large eyes became wider and wider.

"Do you know of a way across this river?" she asked.

The Mothim stuttered, his paws clutching the tree's bark with such intensity it started to peel away.

"I'm sorry, you clearly recognise me," said Harlequin. "I should explain... I don't work for the Darkness any more. I'm just looking for a friend."

"Friend?" The Mothim's pupils flicked from left to right as he checked the clearing for this 'friend' Harlequin spoke of.

"You might not believe me, and I can understand that. But I can assure you this is not a trick." She paused, watching as the moth Pokemon began to shake. "I can tell you one thing, though. The river's poisoned. I suggest you stay away from it for a while."

"The river?" He looked at her then fixed his eyes at a spot above her shoulder. "I don't use the river. There's more than one water source..." He trailed off and became fidgety. Of course... if he believed she was an assassin, revealing such information could result in his death.

Harlequin sighed. "I'm sorry. I've clearly bothered you. I'll leave you in peace." She stood and turned her back on him, heading back the way she'd come.

"You mentioned a friend."

She stopped and looked back over her shoulder. The Mothim still appeared fidgety, but he was now looking straight at her.

"Erm..." He glanced away. "Have you lost someone?"

Harlequin shrugged. "You could say that. I've recently found out he's alive, and I'm desperate to find him. I believe he might be on the other side of the mountains. Do you know how I can get across the river?" She sat back down and gave a small laugh. "Without going back the way I came?"

"A way across..." The Mothim stuck a paw back into the hole then dropped to the floor, clutching a small bucket to his chest. "I don't know the river that well, I live here. But I... I have found a lost, wandering Pokemon recently."

Harlequin stared at him, her mind reeling with the possibilities. It was rather unlikely it would be Harbinger, but...

"You've found someone?"

The Mothim nodded. "Yes... he seems quite unwell. I... I'm not sure what to do."
Harlequin felt her heart lurch. The river... "Is he poisoned?!"

"I don't know."

She rose to her feet sharply, causing the Mothim to jump into the air. "Show me."

He nodded briskly and flapped his wings, fluttering away from her. She trotted after him, struggling to keep up. The bug Pokemon was fast, and exceptionally agile. He managed to flit around trees at a hair's breadth. Without warning, he vanished into a hole inside a rocky mound.

Harlequin screeched to a halt and peered inside. The Mothim was stood looking back at her. He closed his eyes briefly and nodded to a Pokemon sprawled out on the ground, its fluffy head lolling to one side and its chest rising and falling steadily. She gasped and stepped into the cave, not taking her eyes off the unconscious Pokemon.

"Mischief?"

...

He's back! Yay! =D

Please R&R!