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~\({O})/~

18.

Fallout

~\({O})/~

~Espurr~

Espurr fell back onto the blackness in startlement, not feeling any pain despite falling on her behind. She immediately got to her feet, training her mental strength onto the vortex. In her mind, she felt it tense up. It knew: it could get hurt in here.

"Who are you?" Espurr questioned loudly to the swirling vortex of blackness and whispers.

Me? I am the voice that lives in everyone's head.

Espurr didn't know what that meant, but there were more important things to ask.

"Where are we?" she asked next, keeping her mind trained on the voice.

this is the In-Between. the subconscious of a mind, where memories go to die and be found. Few pokemon can access it.

"Then why are we here?" Espurr asked.

Because I have willed it to be.

The vortex swirled around Espurr, then disintegrated into nothing right before her eyes. Espurr quickly looked around to see where it went, but it was gone.

This world is ROTTING. It is a withered corpse of what it once was. Soon by my hand it shall cease to exist. I offer you an escape.

The voice boomed out of nowhere, resounding all around her. Espurr turned around in the blackness, looking around to see where it was coming from. But she could see nothing.

You have come from a different world; A dIfferent tIme. your captor, the one who brought you here, has robbed you of that for selfish purposes. would you not like IT BACK?

Espurr breathed heavily, looking around in vain. She didn't like what this voice was saying. And yet…

"…What does that mean?" she asked the blackness firmly, over the whispering chorus of voices that had grown in volume.

I can give you your old life back. Let you discover who you were before you were TAKEN. Just like I bleesed you with the ability to read the language of Humans.

That made Espurr pause for a minute. For just a minute, she was actually listening to what the voice had to say.

See the MERCY of your captor? to not even leave you with that one SIMPLE thing? you DESERVE better. Allow me to grant what your captor has DENIED you.

It tempted Espurr. To know all the secrets she had been dying for ever since she had woken up in that mystery dungeon three weeks ago… she almost said yes.

But she knew better.

"What's the catch?!" she yelled up at the blackness over the chorus of voices. They were chanting something; she could barely make out the words among the incessant whispering-

—human—

—threat—

—rip—

—Tear—

—KILL—

—Not yet—

—Cease…—

You will abandon this world as you know it and return to your old life.

The answer should be no, Espurr's first gut instinct told her. But then other parts of her began to think. Was it really that bad a choice? She had been here three weeks. That was barely enough time to actually grow attached to anything here. Maybe she should leave. (She couldn't believe she was seriously considering that, but she was.) But then she thought of Tricky. What would Tricky do if she up and vanished one day?

And that was what ultimately swayed Espurr's mind.

"No," said Espurr. "I've made up my mind."

Then so be it.

The voices all around Espurr suddenly began to rise in intensity, getting louder and louder until Espurr could hear clearly what they had to say-

—Rip—

—Tear—

—maul—

—Kill—

—Kill her kill her NOW—

"Get out!" Espurr screamed over the chorus, now wholly frightened. "Get out of my head!"

The voices did not get out of her head. They only got louder. And then the vortex began to form right above Espurr again. It was angry. It began to reach out for her from above…

Espurr lashed back. She wanted to explode, to blow the vortex apart like she'd blown up the classroom; if only she could find the right mental snag…

…And then she did. The dream BOOMED, and Espurr blacked out-

~\({O})/~

What lived in the Ancient Barrow awoke from its slumber. It shrieked in the night like a demon, clawing its way up and out of the Barrow's broken doors.

Hunt.

Find.

Kill.

~\({O})/~

Audino's House

-And hit the floor of her bedroom.

Her real bedroom. Espurr scrabbled her paws along the very solid, very rugged, very visible floorboards in joy- she had escaped!

…At the cost of a slight headache, she later concluded, rubbing her forehead in pain. She sat back against the straw bed she had fallen out of, staring up at the window tiredly. It was sunny. At the very least, that meant she wouldn't have to go to bed again.

~\({O})/~

Village Square

The Pelipper Post visited Serenity Village that day. There hadn't been any word from the Pelipper Post in weeks, so when a lone pelipper flew over Serenity Village and dropped a single copy of the Lively Town Times smack in the middle of the Village Square, the entire village went out to investigate. It was Simipour who took the newspaper in his hands, uncurling it and reading the news headline:

"Breaking News: Pokemon Plaza on Air Continent found deserted; Air Continent economy takes a major hit," Simipour read aloud. He and the other adults all traded concerned looks.

"Pokemon Plaza?" Tricky asked, her tail drooping. Simipour nodded. "but that means…"

Tricky began to breathe hard; at a loss for words. She turned away from everymon else, and was silent for a while. Everymon's attention – Espurr included – returned to Simipour.

Simipour folded the newspaper. "Run along," he said, waving off the children. "This isn't a matter for children."

Espurr was about to combat that with her own counterargument, but then saw many of the adults in the square (From Sawsbuck to Hippopotas to Lotad) nodding their heads in agreement. It seemed their minds were made up. It was a lost cause. Espurr said nothing.

Ursaring did a fist pump.

"Yes," she said in a hushed declaration of excitement. "Not a child anymore!"

That earned her a harsh swat on the ear from her uncle.

The adults all convened at Kangaskhan's Café (aside from Kangaskhan, who had capitalized on the few 'mon who weren't interested in the weekly news and had headed off for an easy breakfast instead), leaving all six of the children all on their lonesome in the square.

To everymon's surprise, Deerling was the first one among them to talk.

"…So," she said awkwardly. "You guys… wanna give chess a go?"

Everymon looked at each other oddly.

"Eh," Pancham shrugged. "Why not."

~\({O})/~

Deerling had gone back to her house to quickly retrieve the chess kit and the manual, and then the six of them had set it up in the square to play. There was only room for two players at a time, so they took turns playing and watching each other play. After reading the manual, Goomy and Deerling went first. Goomy's slimy paws weren't made for pushing all the pieces around, but he managed to beat Deerling by just a hairline. (Or perhaps Deerling had let him win. Espurr couldn't tell).

Tricky went up against Shelmet next. By the end of their game, Espurr silently concluded that Tricky had no tact or strategy whatsoever, while Shelmet was a closet chess genius. Their game had lasted all of five minutes.

Then Espurr faced Pancham. She knew it wouldn't be easy; Pancham was sharp when he wasn't being mean. Their game lasted longer than the last two combined had, but when Pancham finally knocked over Espurr's nidoqueen the others clapped and rejoiced. The three games combined lasted them until the end of the adults' conference.

It was late afternoon when the adults all streamed out of the Café Connection, all walking around or herding their child off home. Even Kecleon's was setting up shop rather late (but better late than never).

Carracosta cleared his throat, standing over Espurr, Tricky, and Deerling (The rest had had to leave early).

"Oh! Right." Tricky stood up, shaking herself off obliviously. "I'm helping make dinner tonight. I gotta go. Bye!" She waved at Espurr, and then followed Carracosta eastwards. Then it was just Espurr and Deerling. Espurr quickly put the pieces of the chess kit back in the box. She and Deerling both stood up.

"So… good game today," Deerling said. She held out her hoof to shake, and Espurr shook it.

It had been such a pleasant afternoon that Espurr forgot all about her nightmare the previous night.

~\({O})/~

Audino's House

"What was in the newspaper?" Espurr asked over dinner. She had forgotten about it over the course of the afternoon, but after everymon had gone home and the sky had gotten dark it had slowly come back to her. She didn't know where Pokemon Plaza was; much less what had happened to it, but now she wanted to know.

"It's nothing you need be concerned with," said Audino.

"But I want to be concerned with it," Espurr replied matter-of-factly. Audino was silent for a minute.

"…Children shouldn't have to deal with things like this so soon," she finally said. "Cherish your youth while you still have it. You'll thank me later."

"Why can't I know?" Espurr pressed.

"Because you're thirteen!" Audino snapped. "You're too young to be worrying over things like this! You should grow up and… and evolve before you have to worry like that!"

Espurr had the urge to tell Audino she already had a thousand things to worry about aside from whatever had happened in Pokemon Plaza, but that would probably send Audino over the edge. Reluctantly, she dropped the topic, and both pokemon went back to eating their dinners.

~\({O})/~

School Grounds ~ Nighttime

~Watchog~

Watchog guarded the school every Thursday and Sunday. All through the day, and then all through the night too. It was getting more than a little grating. He honestly was starting to think he was beginning to hallucinate. He'd see things, lurking just around corners and flitting through windows. Sometimes, they'd take the shape of a blue flame. Other times, he'd see nothing but the faintest outline of something standing in the distance. One time, something had whooshed through him, knocking him back on the ground and leaving him very winded. All of these incidents combined had thoroughly spooked Watchog, but tepig would evolve into pelipper before he'd admit he was too scared for this job. After all, any 'mon who could handle the demon of mischief that was Tricky could certainly handle a little guard duty.

Watchog made a round of the school, jumping at the sudden trill of a cricket as he looped back around. (He wasn't scared! Just… alert.) It was time to make his routine detour up to the school buildings. He was paying double attention to that ever since somemon (At least; he thought it was somemon) had broken into the library a couple of weeks back. He wasn't going to be bested like that again.

As Watchog marched up the hill towards the School Clinic, he saw that the door to the library was open. Watchog's heart almost stopped. The thief had come back!

…Alright. Well, they weren't going to escape this time. Not if Vice Principal Watchog had anything to say about it. He slowly crept towards the building, making sure to stay as silent as possible. The library was as dark as all the other buildings. Watchog couldn't hear anymon in there either. He slowly crept in the door, looking around. The library looked empty. But Watchog knew it wasn't.

He stalked through the bookshelves, looking around. There was nothing that he could see. Maybe they were near the back, then-

-A book fell. Near the back. It hit the floor with a loud thump, drawing Watchog's attention immediately. (He'd be a liar if he said he hadn't jumped then.)

Aha! So they were in the back! Watchog sneered. Distance wasn't going to do them much good now. Abandoning stealth, he began to walk towards the back of the library quickly. The intruding 'mon dove behind the shelf to the right. Watchog sped up, grabbing the side of the bookcase and looking around it. There was nothing there. Whatever was in this library with him had already travelled around the other side.

Then Watchog heard a footstep. A big, slimy, heavy footstep. Then another. And then a third one. And only then did Watchog realize that maybe, just maybe, he was in over his head here. He began to quickly edge around the bookcase, heading for the other side before whatever was stomping this way could reach him-

-Watchog reached the other side of the bookcase just as the other ',mon in the room lunged around the back. He heard it stomp forward onto the floor, and then it stood in place. Watchog took a deep breath. It was time to figure out what he was dealing with here. Then he took another deep breath. And another. Berry crackers; was he really doing this?

But it had to be done. He was the school guard. Watchog took one last deep breath, then carefully peeked around the other side of the bookcase.

Something stood, Cloaked in shadows. Completely still. Watchog forced himself to face it.

"Alright, you're busted!" he called out. "Come out here and face me like a true 'mon!"

The creature tilted its head rigidly. It was silent.

Then it lunged—

~\({O})/~

~Espurr~

Slowly coming to. Espurr brought herself to her feet amongst the dry, cracked ground. Another dream. She kept her wits about here, not sure what to expect. She stood in the middle of the village square, but it was completely leveled- no building stood taller than a foot off the ground. Rubble lay everywhere. The sky was red. And everything was quiet.

Espurr looked around cautiously. What was this?

I see you...

And then Espurr lurched forward without her consent. She began to run out of the village square and down southwards, away from the voice.

There is no escape.

Whatever was controlling Espurr ran faster, and she didn't think she wanted to stop anymore. She looked up, and then she saw it: a lone mountain, wreathed in flame-

-And then everything went dark, and Espurr had control of her body again. She stood up in the blackness of the In Between, waiting for whatever was about to happen next-

-She was on a path. At the bottom of the hill. At the top of the hill, the abandoned School Grounds sat. Above them, a storm brewed and rumbled ominously in the blood red sky.

She was in the library. Her head twisted to the side without her consent, and she saw the dark blue sky.

Thump. A book fell.

She was spying on Watchog from behind a bookshelf. Slowly, she crept around Watchog as he walked closer.

She was Watchog again. She watched, as something lurched from the shadows towards her-

-Espurr was suddenly pulled straight into the ground, and landed on the hard, wet, wooden boards of a bridge. The bridge. In the distance, the Ancient Barrow sat, glowing much like the mountain had. It was the only thing that glowed, and it glowed blood red. And there was nowhere to go but near it. And so – slowly – Espurr went. She crept across the bridge, avoiding all the spots she knew were rotting. This bridge wasn't real. If she said so, there no rotting spots.

Suddenly, as if in response to that one stray thought, the entire bridge began to crumble away behind her. Espurr looked back at the sound, noticing the decay.

"Come on."

With that, Espurr quickly made haste as the bridge continued to fall apart. But the rate of decay was faster than she could run and she wasn't going to make it-

-Espurr jumped, and landed on the island just seconds before the entire bridge crumbled away into nothingness. Thankfully, the decay did not continue onto the island. Espurr looked at her paws, which she had just realized were muddy. And suddenly, just like that, her belly was covered in mud. Great. Espurr wiped the mud on her paws on the mud of the island, and stood up. The Barrow stood before her, glowing just like it had from a distance. Espurr stomped towards it. It wasn't real. None of this was real-

-the Barrow's doors slammed open wide, showing Espurr more of that blood-red sky. Espurr took a few involuntary steps back. Alright. It not being real didn't mean she wasn't just a little scared of it.

A wind emerged from the Barrow's doors, slowly pulling everything around it in through its entrance. And that included Espurr. As soon as she thought to get away the wind suddenly became too strong for her to resist and she was pulled in towards the doorway and then-

She was falling. Falling through that blood-red sky and everything around her was red red and more red and then she was back in blackness and she hit the ground.

Espurr got up, panting out of desperation. When was this going to end?

Something stepped out of the shadows. Espurr spun to look at it. She could barely make out the fuzzy outline of something walking towards her…

…As it walked, it changed. It became larger. It sprouted grotesque claws. Its footsteps became heavy and slimy.

And then it lunged for her-

~\({O})/~

Audino's House

Espurr awoke with a gasp just short of a scream. She glanced around her bedroom, still trying to see whatever had attacked her in her dreams. But it was long gone.

~\({O})/~

Serenity Village

It was still rather early in the morning. Espurr walked out of Audino's house and into the Village Square, the exploration bag slung over her shoulder. She adjusted the scarf Tricky had gifted her with; the one she had barely taken off since she'd been given it. There weren't many 'mon currently out in the square, so she was able to make her way to the west exit easily.

She headed to the west side of town, leisurely strolling through rows of houses that were either still dark or just waking up. Until she reached Tricky's house. Espurr shouldered the bag and was just about to knock on the door-

-But it suddenly opened for her, revealing a disheveled and still-sleepy Tricky. Her face immediately brightened upon seeing Espurr. Then she yawned.

"Did you have trouble sleeping too?" she asked.

"Do you want to go on a mission today?" Espurr asked.

"Yep!"

~\({O})/~

Glittering Mountain ~ Afternoon

Glittering Cave was a smaller dungeon that wasn't too far off from Serenity Village itself. Espurr hadn't seen or felt hide nor hair from the Beheeyem in over a week now, so she assumed it was safe to start going on missions again. When she and Tricky booted up the expedition gadget once again, they saw a mission posting to rescue a butterfree that had gotten stuck at the bottom of the dungeon and couldn't find its way out. That had seemed easy enough, so Espurr and Tricky had taken it.

Glittering Mountain itself was more like a sunlit cave than a mountain. Espurr and Tricky wandered the maze of cave passages further and further downwards, but sunlight never stopped filtering in through the moss-covered walls no matter where they turned or how deep they went. The dungeon ferals here (and occasionally, the plain old animals) were incredibly weak and were easily bested by Espurr and Tricky at every turn.

In other words, a walk in the park. And a suitable distraction for the day.

"I had this nightmare last night," Tricky said as she and Espurr walked down one of the mystery dungeon's fifth-floor corridors. For a second, Espurr was reminded of her own traumatizing nightmares, but she shook it off quickly. This mission was supposed to be an escape from all that.

"Bird!" Tricky suddenly cried.

A crow dove for them, letting out a feral shriek. Espurr blasted it to the ground with her mind and Tricky quickly roasted it with an Ember. Its tail feathers scorched; the crow quickly took flight and high-tailed it out of there. Espurr looked at Tricky as they began walking like normal again.

"What were you saying?" she asked.

"It was really weird," Tricky continued. "I was in the school with Watchog, but then I was Watchog. And then something took him away and I saw the School but the sky was red and there was this big storm above it! And then everything went dark and the thing that took Watchog attacked me and then I woke up."

Espurr stopped. She looked straight at Tricky.

"How do you know what I dreamed about last night?"

"Wait. You had the same dream?" Tricky asked a bit too loudly for their own good. A cacophony of screeches erupted in the corner far ahead of them, and both Espurr and Tricky decided to high-tail it into the left-hand passage they were rapidly approaching. They pressed themselves against the walls just in time to watch an entire flock of crows zoom past where they were hiding, hoots and caws and all. Espurr slumped back against the wall they'd been pressed into in relief once they were gone, and then both she and Tricky lowered their voices into a hush.

"Come to think of it, has anymon in town seen Vice Principal Watchog in the last couple of days?" Espurr asked.

"He wasn't there when everymon gathered yesterday," Tricky whispered back.

"The last time I saw him was on Saturday in Kangaskhan's Cafe," Espurr said. "He was complaining about ghosts."

"And it's Monday today…" Tricky added.

"…We should ask around town," said Espurr. She pulled out the expedition gadget, projecting it on the wall. "The dungeon's only six floors. That butterfree has to be around here somewhere."

~\({O})/~

They found Butterfree cowering in a small nook that had a stream of water running near it. Luckily, the dungeon wasn't the type to fog over and start lashing out at intruders yet (Class B), but Butterfree had been overwhelmed by all the feral animals in the dungeon. Between the two of them with Butterfree in tow, they managed to find their way out of the dungeon in no time (it was the last floor, after all). Butterfree didn't have copious amounts of anything as a mission reward, but offered Espurr and Tricky some odds and ends that she had scraped together.

It was late afternoon by the time that Espurr and Tricky entered Serenity Village once again. There were noticeably fewer 'mon out and about today, Espurr noted. They both stopped in the village square. Espurr shifted the exploration bag from one shoulder to another.

"I'll start on the south side of town; you start on the west. Which one of us wants to go up to the school?"

"Shouldn't we do that first?" Tricky asked.

That was fair.

~\({O})/~

School Grounds

The school grounds were just as deserted as they had been all summer long. Espurr and Tricky walked into the empty space where they classroom had been, glancing around for any glimpse of Watchog. They saw none.

In the woods, something watched them.

"I don't see him," Espurr said, looking around. "If he was here, then he would have started yelling at us already."

"Maybe he's up in the library," Tricky replied. "That's where I saw him in my dream."

They continued up the hill towards the school clinic, then took a hard right for the library. Espurr peeked in through the door that was ajar, looking around. She saw nothing but dusty musty books. Tricky peeked in next to her.

"The place looks empty…" Tricky said in disappointment.

"He definitely would have found us by now. He's not here," Espurr said. "We're wasting our time."

Tricky just pouted.

~\({O})/~

Audino's House

Espurr stepped in the door and set the tattered exploration bag on the floor next to all the others. Audino was at the table, reading a book. She briefly glanced at Espurr as she walked in, then flipped the page and returned to reading.

"Have you seen Vice Principal Watchog?" Espurr asked.

"No; I haven't." Audino closed her book. "I think he's up guarding the school. Did you check there?"

Espurr shook her head no. That was a lie. But would Audino really let her leave the house if she thought that Watchog had gone missing?

"I haven't yet," Espurr said smoothly. "I'll go do that now. Thank you." She picked up the exploration bag, and began to head for the door-

"Is there something you need from him?" Audino asked. Espurr froze.

"Just… wanted some library books," Espurr quickly improvised. And then she was out the door before Audino could say another thing to stop her.

~\({O})/~

Simipour's House

"I put Watchog in charge of guarding the school this summer," Principal Simipour said, mixing himself a cup of lum berry tea in the kitchen. "But if he isn't there, I'm afraid I can't tell you where he is."

"Have you seen him at all over the past couple of days?" Espurr asked, following him into the parlor.

Simipour yawned, quickly setting his drink down in order not to spill it. "The last time we talked was on Friday. He was turning in his weekly report on occurrences at the school. 'Strange things are happening', he said." He quickly downed the lum berry tea, then glanced inside the cup.

"This stuff isn't working…" Espurr heard him mutter under his breath. Then he turned back to her, that dopey smile once again plastered on his face.

"Well!" he exclaimed. "Is there anything else I can assist you with?"

"No thanks," said Espurr.

~\({O})/~

Cafe Connection

"I'm looking for Vice Principal Watchog."

Espurr sat at the Café Connection's counter, talking to Kangaskhan. The café was moderately crowded, but it rarely wasn't like that.

"Just a minute." Kangaskhan nodded Espurr's way, before tending to the order of a magby. Espurr turned around in her seat and stared out the window until Kangaskhan got back to her.

"What were you saying?" she asked, turning to Espurr.

"I was wondering if you'd seen Vice Principal Watchog," Espurr said. "I know he comes here a lot."

"Not since Saturday," Kangaskhan said. "Apologies."

Espurr glanced out the window, where she caught sight of Tricky running back into the square.

"Thanks anyway," she said, and then she was out the door.

~\({O})/~

Village Square

"Did you find anything?" Espurr asked as she met up with Tricky in the village square. 'Mon passed all around them, completely oblivious to the concerns of two children.

Tricky shook her head. "Nothing! I went to Farfetch'd's, Watchog's house, the Principal… but he told me you already asked him."

"So no-mon's seen him since Saturday," Espurr laid out. "And then you and I both had the exact same dream about him getting kidnapped. And then there's the things I've been seeing in my bedroom…"

"Wait wha-" Tricky began.

"Something's been appearing in my bedroom at night," Espurr explained. "I think whatever it is is the same thing that took Watchog."

"Wait-wait-wait," Tricky said. "You've been seeing ghosts in your bedroom and you kept it a secret? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't need to know."

"I'm your best friend!" Tricky argued. "If things start appearing in your bedroom at night you need to tell me!"

"We're off subject," Espurr said, trying to divert the conversation.

"No, we're not," Tricky shot back.

"Don't you want to find Vice Principal Watchog?" Espurr asked.

"Watchog or no Watchog, you can't keep doing that!" Tricky pointed out. "You're keeping secrets, and now you're trying to change the subject on me! You can't keep things to yourself! That hurts everymon!"

"Perhaps some things need to be kept secret," said Espurr, shifting her weight. The bag suddenly felt heavy on her shoulders.

"Not everything!" Tricky fired back. "Some things pokemon need to know! Some things are too important to be kept a secret! And the secrets you're keeping… you're putting yourself in danger, Espurr! You're putting other 'mon in danger too!"

"Let's not pretend you don't have secrets either," Espurr responded.

"My secrets aren't dangerous!" Tricky argued back. "And, I told you them all anyway…"

For once, Espurr didn't have a reply. She stayed silent.

"You don't have to tell the whole world, Espurr," said Tricky. "But you have to tell somemon. You can't do it alone. You just… you can't. No-mon can."

Espurr remained silent, but she found she couldn't look Tricky in the eye.

"Just… promise me the next time something happens you won't pretend like it didn't," Tricky said.

"…I can do that," Espurr said quietly; cowed. She wasn't used to being spoken at like that, least of all by Tricky.

They stood in silence for a minute. The square was mostly devoid of 'mon now, mostly because it was well into sundown by now and most of them had either gone home or gone into the Café Connection.

"It's getting dark," Tricky said. "I've gotta get home now. Bye Espurr!"

And with that, she took off westwards, heading for her house. Espurr stood there for a while more, mulling over Tricky's words. Yes, it was true that she kept secrets, but… was it worth it to tell everymon? What would Audino say if she knew about everything that Espurr had been through? Did the entire village need to know that Espurr was Human?

"Hey." A graveller nudged Espurr aside as he passed. "Mind getting out of the way? You're blocking the entrance." Espurr stood right outside the entrance of the Café Connection.

"Sorry," Espurr said. After the graveller had entered the café, she scurried her way back to Audino's house.

~\({O})/~

The In-Between

Slowly coming to. The blackness of the In-Between met Espurr's eyes once again.

Berry crackers.

She sat up in the blackness, looking around. She didn't even bother standing this time. Wither her mind, she felt it. It was back.

Greetings.

The vortex slithered around the outer fringes of the In Between, just evading Espurr's sight.

"Why are you back?" she questioned firmly. "You know I can end this dream with a snap of my fingers."

That was a lie. She had gotten lucky the last time, and it had had nothing to do with her fingers. But if the vortex knew that, it decided to ignore it.

I have come to peacefully offer my proposition once more.

"Then you know that my answer hasn't changed," Espurr said, folding her arms.

But I thinK it has.

More slithering. Espurr could hear it happening, but couldn't see a thing. How did that work?

Your 'friend' ACCUSES you of keeping secrets when you KNOW that this is for everyone's own GOOD. she accuses you of IRRESPONSIBILITY. She possesses NO REGARD for your judgement. Do you now see what company you are in?

Espurr sat in silence. All around her, the vortex swirled and slithered, She could hear the chorus of whispers begin to invade her hearing once more, whispering evil things she couldn't quite hear yet.

Once again… I offer you an escape. Accept my offer. Return home.

Espurr closed her eyes, and used her mind to search for the vortex that way.

"I'll ask once again," she said, eyes shut. "Who are you?"

You already know.

"You lied," Espurr causally accused. She almost had a grip on one of the vortex's tendrils, but they slid out of her reach on the last second, leaving her blind once again.

But I tell the truth.

"Prove it."

Espurr opened her eyes, realizing she probably shouldn't have said that, but the vortex remained silent.

I will return.

"I'll be waiting here when you do," Espurr replied calmly. There was a vile howling in the distance where she couldn't see, and slowly, the In-Between dissolved around her.

~\({O})/~

~Watchog~

Watchog coughed. His eyes flew open.

He was laying sideways on the ground. There was a small stream of swamp water flowing through, which was running straight into his…

Watchog quickly sat up, coughing and sputtering wildly. There was swamp water in his mouth! He rubbed his paws on his tongue, trying to clean it of the troublesome taste. The thief had knocked him out! Knocked him out with fire! He almost couldn't believe it. Fire! In a library! He would be reporting this to Principal Simipour for sure, just as soon as he-

-And then Watchog realized that he wasn't in the library anymore. He stood up, beginning to hyperventilate in fear. He stood in a very narrow hallway, and the ground was mud with swamp water. The walls all around looked like they were coated in some dried, black… goop, and some of it came off on Watchog's paw when he tentatively reached out to touch it. And then Watchog began to freak out.

Splash.

It came from down the hallway to his right. Watchog snapped his head in that direction. He let out a squeak of fear. It was the thief. The thief was back. It had dragged him down to… wherever this was and now it was going to kill him! Watchog was certain of it. Without thinking, he took off in the other direction, not caring about the noise he made on the way. He was not going to die today!

The hall twisted into another corridor that turned left into a passage that led to a dead end. Watchog bumped into the wall in panic, taking a second to react in disgust at all the goop that now covered his body. And then he scrabbled along the wall, looking – hoping – for some way out of this.

Swoosh. The creature appeared just outside of the hallway. Watchog turned around, then backed up against the dead end of the hallway. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Unless…

Watchog suddenly let out a battle cry that could barely be heard from the end of the hallway. He began to charge for the beast with his head lowered. The beast didn't move, not even when Watchog got close enough to fully see it-

-Watchog hit a tree root and his face suddenly ate swamp water. He lifted his head up out of the mud to see the creature slowly walking towards him. Its movements were eerily stiff. Watchog slowly edged back.

"No, no no," he mumbled softly, pleading in vain. "Not me. Not me. Somemon else. I won't tell anymon what you were doing in that school, I- I- I won't. I promise. I promise. Please-"

The creature paid no attention to his pleas. It reached a clawed hand out for him-

-And then, just like a magearna, it suddenly froze up. Once Watchog noticed, he took the opportunity to get a good distance back from the creature.

The creature's head turned all the way around; the rest of its body stayed still. Then its body turned around to match. And then it took off, down the hall and away from Watchog. Watchog shakily got to his feet. Was that it? Had he scared it off?

But it didn't look like it was running off. It was running towards something.

Watchog was glad it wasn't him.

~\({O})/~

Serenity Village

It stormed the next day. Sheets of rain fell over the village square, and the only 'mon out and about at the time were the Water types. Espurr watched it from the window (which had the rain curtains drawn over it), scowling. A little rain wasn't going to stop her.

She grabbed the exploration bag and quietly slipped out the door. The rain hung off her fur and soaked her down to the bone, but she pressed on anyway, heading for the west side of town. There were more important matters to attend to than keeping dry.

She found Pancham and Shelmet having a mud fight in a ditch near the west side of town. It was a ways off the beaten path, so Espurr course-corrected to meet up with them.

"I see you're having fun," she called out through the rain as she approached them. Both Pancham and Shelmet paused their game, looking at Espurr. Pancham quickly brushed the mud on his hands off near a wall.

"Heh… pretend like you didn't see that." He brushed off his hands once more, and then turned to face Espurr, whose fur was soaked and limp. Pancham looked almost too amused by it. "Whatcha doing out in the rain?" he asked. "You look like crap; I'm just gonna tell ya."

"What are you two doing out in the rain?" Espurr asked flatly, staring at Pancham's muddy paws for effect.

Pancham's face lost its amused look. "I said ignore that," he said.

"Having a mud fight," Shelmet answered for him, ignoring Pancham's look of horror directed straight at him. "Now answer our question."

"I'm looking for a missing pokemon," Espurr said matter-of-factly. "Interested?"

Pancham thought for a minute. "…Which pokemon is it?" he finally asked.

"Vice-Principal Watchog."

"Wait, what?" Pancham and Shelmet both exclaimed at the same time.

"You heard me," Espurr replied. "He hasn't been seen by anymon since Saturday. I'm launching a search mission."

Pancham and Shelmet slowly traded looks.

"…I mean, let's think about this," said Pancham innocently. "Do we wanna save Vice-Principal Watchog? School would be much easier if he wasn't on our tails all the time."

"But then you won't have dungeon class," said Espurr.

"Good point. We're in."

~\({O})/~

Serenity Village Outskirts

It wasn't raining as hard as it had been this morning, but it was still raining nonetheless. Luckily, the shingles were doing their job, and the interior of the treehouse was dry. Espurr, Tricky, Deerling, Shelmet, and all the others sat around in a circle inside the building.

"What do you mean he's missing?" Deerling asked. "How does a pokemon just go missing like that?"

"No-mon's seen him since Saturday, apparently," Pancham said, arms folded.

"It's true," Tricky added, nodding for effect. "Me and Espurr searched everywhere."

"Evidence suggests Watchog was kidnapped," Espurr said, unfurling a hand-drawn map of the school. "And that whatever took him might appear at the school again."

"And… where is this going?" Deerling asked.

"We set a trap," Espurr responded. "If we all work together, I think we can catch it off-guard."

"Or get kidnapped ourselves!" Deerling exclaimed. "We should tell an adult."

Espurr shook her head. "The adults won't believe us."

"How do you know that?" Deerling asked angrily.

"Ghosts," Espurr said. "Watchog was kidnapped by ghosts."

"Cool…" Pancham and Shelmet both whispered at the same time.

"…Wow," Deerling said in mock amazement. "You're right. I don't think any of the adults will believe that. In fact, I'm having trouble believing it. You know why? Because ghosts aren't real, Espurr! This is crazy!"

"Watchog was seeing them up at the school," Espurr said. "I overheard him talking about it in the Café Connection last Saturday."

Deerling still looked skeptical. She stared at Espurr promptingly. "And all of this just proves that he was kidnapped by ghosts?"

"…I've been seeing them too," Espurr admitted. "In my bedroom at night. Have you got a better suggestion as to what happened to him?"

Silently, Deerling puffed out her mouth and admitted defeat.

"I'm going to the school after dark," Espurr said. "I'm going to find out what happened to him. Anymon who wants to join me is free to."

And then she pointedly rolled up the map.

~\({O})/~

Serenity Village ~ Nighttime

~Tricky~

It was nighttime, and many of the clouds in the sky had cleared up. It had certainly stopped raining. Tricky popped her head out of the bedcovers, yawning. She looked out the window.

'Meet me in the village square after the lights go out,' Espurr had said. And the village looked pretty dark to Tricky. Slowly, quietly, she slipped out of her bed, put on her scarf, moved the empty scarf case over to the window, and used it as a platform to squirm out through the windowpanes.

Tricky landed on the grass outside her bedroom, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. She could still smell the rain scents from the storm earlier. Tricky looked east, then hopped over the bush by the front porch as she scurried off that way.

"Evening."

Espurr turned around and adjusted the exploration bag as Tricky came trotting into the village square. Tricky looked around. She saw Espurr, Goomy, Pancham, Shelmet…

"Are we going to get this over with or not?" Deerling asked.

Tricky tilted her head. "Why'd you come along?" she asked, half in excitememnt and half in confusion.

"Because Goomy wanted to go," said Deerling. "Can we get this over with?" she asked. "I don't want my mom to catch wind of this."

"Because…" Shelmet prompted.

"She'll encourage it."

Everymon was silent for a moment as they tried to digest that.

"Deerling's right," Espurr finally broke the silence. "It's best not to waste time." She started walking up towards the school, and everymon else followed.

~\({O})/~

School Grounds

The school sat up on the hill, its buildings imposingly dark as ever. The clouds of the storm brewed ominously above it, almost like they were gathering there. They walked up the hill and through the gates, entering the empty space where the classroom had once been.

"So now what?" Pancham asked, folding his arms. "What's your big plan?"

"We scour the place," Espurr answered. "Until we find out what took Watchog and where it went. We'll go in groups of two, so no-mon's left alone. If anymon sees anything, yell. Loudly. We'll come help."

"We aren't just going to sit here and wait for it to come for us?" Shelmet asked.

"No," Espurr said. "That would be stupid."

She reached into the exploration bag and grabbed three dry sticks she had collected on the way. She held them out for Tricky to set aflame. "For light."

They broke off into three groups, each group with a torch. Deerling and Goomy went to the School Clinic, Shelmet and Pancham went to check out the Library, and Espurr and Tricky went to investigate the Principal's Office. Espurr waved the torch around to make sure that no-mon was waiting in there for them before stepping in.

"Do you think Watchog ever comes in here?" Tricky followed Espurr in, looking around the place (She never got to be in here).

"I don't know what Watchog does," Espurr said, waving the torch around for light.

"Then why are we here?" Tricky asked. "Shouldn't we go to the library?"

"We're just snooping around until the ghost shows up again," Espurr said. "Whatever kidnapped Watchog must have kidnapped him because they crossed paths. That means it's probably going to come back. Until then, we're just looking around."

She approached the principal's desk, waking around the side where the bin of maps lay. There was a large collection of papers on the desk. Espurr momentarily handed Tricky the torch so she could sort through them. There were a collection of wanted posters on the desk – which included, for some reason, the salamence they had fought in Lush Forest. Espurr rooted through them. She poured through papers of wanted Water Continent outlaws, until she reached the bottom. There was a poster that caught her eye.

MISSING POKEMON: Beheeyem x3

Last seen 6/5/11133 on their way through the Lively Mountain Basin. If found, please contact the Guild of Merchants in Treasure Town by Pelipper Post.

Espurr stared at the paper for a minute. No. That wasn't the missing pokemon. There had to be a mistake. And why did Simipour have this… ?

"What is it?" Tricky asked through the torch in her mouth.

"Just a minute and I'll tell you," Espurr said. She held out her paw. "May I have that torch?"

Tricky let Espurr remove the torch from her mouth. She opened the cabinets under the desk. More papers, all in a neat stack. Had Principal Simipour been collecting these?

Espurr took one of the posters in her left paw and held it so that Tricky could see. Tricky gazed at it wordlessly, her ears flopping down in sudden anxiety.

"Are those what attacked us outside the treehouse a week ago?" Tricky asked.

"I don't know," Espurr said. She awkwardly stuffed the paper inside the exploration bag the best she could with one paw. "We should keep one. Just in case."

"Help!"

The cry came from outside the building. Both Espurr and Tricky's heads snapped in that direction. It was Deerling!

~\({O})/~

Espurr and Tricky ran out of the School Clinic to see Goomy quickly sliming out of the library, followed by Deerling. Deerling was panting hard as she galloped up to them.

"We found it," she breathed out, and then she spun around.

It appeared right in front of them in its full glory – blacker than a void. Large and hunkering. Clawed. It slowly lifted a single claw, pointing straight at Espurr.

"What is that?!" Tricky screamed in terror.

"Hey!"

A pebble whizzed through the air and hit the back of the monster's head. It turned around, looking for whoever had just done that. Pancham marched forwards, slingshot in hand.

"Yeah, that's right," he said, reloading his slingshot. "Get a piece of me."

He let the pebble fly. The monster wasn't even fazed. It phased over to where Pancham was, grabbing him by the throat and pulling him up-

"NO!" shouted Deerling. She charged and gave it a large headbutt. The Monster grabbed her in its other hand.

"No! Let them go!" Tricky yelled. She charged for the monster, but a kick with the power of a bouffalant sent her flying to the side.

Espurr clutched her head, which suddenly throbbed with all the force of a headache. She just needed to think.

There is no escape.

But there was no time to think. The monster lifted both Pancham and Deerling up in its claws, and Espurr's headache became splitting.

Kill.

The monster's head snapped straight towards her. Pancham and Deerling were dropped to the ground, and the monster suddenly phased over towards Espurr-

-Espurr fought off the headache just in time. She got to her feet and produced a psychic blast that momentarily blew the creature back. But it kept advancing anyway. There was nothing to do but run. And so Espurr ran. She made it all the way into the principal's office before the monster caught up with her. It grabbed her foot and tripped her on the ground. Espurr tried to reach for something – anything – eventually grabbing the doorframe as the monster tried to pull her away. Tricky let loose with a flamethrower from behind, which caught the monster's attention for a minute and allowed Espurr to escape.

The monster looked between them for minute, torn. Then it chose Espurr. Espurr backed up all the way behind the principal's desk; the monster advanced. She cast a look at the window to her right, then scrambled for that. Espurr slipped through the panes just as the monster grabbed for her-

-She tumbled back onto the grassy ground outside the hut, rolling to a stop and getting back on her feet. The monster dissolved through the wall of the hut, looking around for Espurr, but Espurr was long gone by that point.

"Run!" Espurr fled down to the classroom, and everymon else gladly followed her. The monster phased to the top of the hill, then to the bottom, and then all of the sudden it was blocking their entry out of the school. Everymon stopped, gaping at it in silent horror. The monster began to walk towards them, not even concerned with phasing anymore.

"Run the other way!" Deerling yelled.

Everymon turned to run the other way, but the monster was faster. It was behind them before they could even start.

Espurr did some last-minute quick thinking – she opened her bag and pulled out the patch of blast seeds. Right before the monster could phase in front of them, Espurr pulled one out, and threw it. It sent the monster flying back. Wisps of smoke curled up in the air from where it lay, and it was motionless for a moment.

"This is our chance!" Tricky yelled. "Everymon run through!"

The gap was only open for half a minute, but by that time the monster's trap had already long failed. Espurr cast one short look back at the school as she ran, and then fled down the hill with the rest of the group and away from the monster.

~\({O})/~

Village Square

"This isn't over."

Espurr caught her breath against the wall of Audino's house. All the other children were also panting in the square, terrified out of their wits.

"What do you mean it's not over?" Pancham asked. "I ain't going back to school after this."

"What if it comes back?" Espurr asked. "We have to do something about it now-"

"No," said Deerling. "This is over. I'm not playing along with this anymore. We have to tell the adults."

"Tell them what?" Espurr asked.

"Tell them something!" Deerling yelled back. "If we're going to be risking our lives because there's monster in town, then they deserve to know!"

"I know where it went and I'm going," said Espurr. "And that's final."

"And I'm telling an adult," said Deerling. "And that's also final."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Espurr picked up her exploration bag, slinging it over her shoulder. "Anymon who's coming, come now. Otherwise I'm going alone."

Tricky stared down at the ground for a minute.

"Well…" she said, barely struggling to contain her fear. "You need help, Espurr. I'm coming."

"I-I'll go too."

Everymon turned to Goomy in shock.

"What are you talking about?" Deerling asked flatly. "You're going home. You're going to sleep."

"I-I'm not g-gonna sleep knowing t-that's out there," Goomy said, his voice trembling just as much as he was. "I-I have to k-know i-it's gone."

"You're marching back to your house and you are going to bed. Now." Deerling's eyes were pure fire, but for once Goomy didn't submit to them.

"N-no," he said. "Y-you're not the boss of me!"

Deerling scoffed in shock.

"No. No no no no no," she said. "I'm gonna- I'm gonna- I'm-"

Deerling stuttered, realizing that she didn't have anything to threaten Goomy with. Instead she looked straight at Espurr.

"You're not taking him with you."

"I'll go where I want!" Goomy yelled loudly. All of the children cringed at how loud it was, then looked at the windows of the houses to make sure no-mon had been awoken. Goomy glared daggers at Deerling.

For a moment, Deerling glared back. Her legs trembled. Then she finally gave up.

"...Fine…" she grumbled. "You're right. I can't stop you from going. But you can't go alone. I'm not letting that happen." Reluctantly, Deerling stepped up to join Espurr's group. Espurr looked at Pancham and Shelmet.

"…Yeah, we're in," said Pancham. "Lemme just get some more stones."

~\({O})/~

Music of the week! :D

Lovely Rendez-vous A La Montagne - Sonya Belousova, Giona Ostinelli

On 7/15/2020 this chapter received minor edits for consistency.