Episode 11: MOAND DIA

The last thing Lute remembered was a torrent of chilling water crushing him and sending him deep into the trenches of Aseria's waterways. He was down there for so long that he had lost consciousness despite his efforts to look for air. He was forced along the current in this metal pathway for what felt like hours, so the last thing he expected was to actually wake up somewhere.

His body felt like he expected it to, at least. He was freezing and his fur was damp all over. He could only open his eyes to a view of hazy light, while he felt like if he tried to stand, his bones might melt. He sniffled and coughed, managing a groan as horrible aches in his back took presence.

"Oh man," he grumbled as he rolled onto his back. That allowed him to settle and relax, taking a long while to get used to his pain and focus his sight. Sophitia came into view, though she was unconscious.

Then he realised, and rolled back over. He forced himself to his feet, unable to keep in a cry of pain. He had no strength for this. "Sophitia. Sophitia! Oh gods, please."

Before he even touched the Sylveon, she started to tremble and groan. She echoed his movements, waking up with gritted fangs. Giving her space, Lute found Infia a moment later, who was just as weak but awakening.

"Oh thank goodness, you're both alive!" Lute said. Infia sat there weakly breathing aloud, while Sophitia kept growling in attempt to stand up. She staggered a little, but she was standing after a moment. "U-uh, sh-shouldn't you?"

"Was… gonna argue that we're probably dead, but… I don't think I'd feel this awful if I wasn't alive," she said.

"Thank goodness. You're still you, too."

"I'd save the relief if I were you. Where the heck are we?"

Lute had to blink a few times to get used to the light. They were resting on sandy rock, while caving mountain surrounded them on all but one side. The sunlight beaming down on the surroundings was enough to make the unshaded floor blinding, so he had to shield his face as he walked over to get a better look.

"I think we washed up on some beach somewhere," he said, soon coming to a complete halt. "Okay. No. We didn't."

He had never seen anything like it. A golden sky with huge, sandy clouds flowing in an unnaturally fast wind. An apple coloured river rushed beside him, which roared down the cliff he was stood on as an enormous waterfall. Along this coast led to huge plains that stretched as far as his eyes could see. Stars were visible along the distance as well, as if they had fallen into an area on the border of a magical outer space. Everything had an enchantingly coloured hue, and their altitude was enough to bring a nasty chill across him.

"What is this place?" he whispered. His intrigue brought Sophitia over, but she only copied him.

"Wait you mean you've never seen this? Who would've thought Aseria had something like this?" she spun around to get a good look at it all. The moon could be spotted amongst the clouds behind them, as well as a mountain that didn't seem to have a peak. Looking up that high, Lute had to cover his eyes from light and the wind ruffling him. At least the area smelt like seawater, or maybe that was Sophitia.

"Ah man, Mum's probably going to kill me," Lute said.

"I think a bigger worry is actually getting somewhere. I dunno about you, but if I don't eat soon, I'm gonna keel over," she said as her stomach rumbled. She looked back at Infia, who couldn't seem to stand up at all. "Whoa er, we better do something about that, too."

"Infia, are you okay?" Lute rushed to her side. She gave up the moment he got near, leaning on him.

"I can't move," she said so weakly it was a wonder she was even still awake. Lute moaned and then helped her onto his back, where she sunk into his mane.

"We need to find something or someone. Wherever we are, hopefully they can help," he said as he led the way. He headed for the plain, annoyed about the amount of sand getting into his fur as he dragged his feet.

"Good thing I can't see any enemies. If we got into a fight now, I don't know how it'd go," Sophitia said. "This is the only time you'll ever hear me say something like that."

"Didn't you say the Spirle High Point was really strong, too?" Lute said. He took notice of the flickering particles of light in the air. Little orbs of light made it look like he was walking amongst the stars, though they weren't obstructive in any way.

"Why do you always remember this stuff?" she groaned. "Well, I can't lie. Victor felt way out of my league, too."

It took a few seconds for Lute to realise what that meant. "Wait, if he was too strong for you, why did you chase him?"

"I'm not going to back down from a criminal, especially one that's kidnapping someone right in front of my face. It's literally my job to take them down. I had to fight him, and I had to win somehow. But I failed," she said. "We're gonna need you to be stronger, too. Can't have you giving up that easily."

"Wha-what? I don't get that, no!" he cried. "Sophitia, he could've killed us. If I couldn't touch the Risen, what chance do I stand against Victor? He could've killed you."

"He couldn't have killed me," she said. "I wouldn't let myself die that easily."

"Sophitia, we're talking about a Spirle High Point here!"

"You don't get it, Lute. It doesn't matter who I have to fight. If they're a criminal, then I'm gonna fight them and stop them from doing wrong, no matter who they are," she said. "You need to get stronger, right? Well you're not gonna do it by saying 'this guy's a big bad Pokémon, I stand no chance'. You've gotta try, and think outside the box. Just, do stuff, you know?"

Lute groaned, feeling guilty. He knew she was right, yet he couldn't let go of the fear of one of them getting hurt. If he ended up with broken body parts or Sophitia had been the one kidnapped, he couldn't forgive himself. Or even worse, if Infia had suffered…

He didn't want to think of that possibility. He wanted to be a hero, but he also wanted to stay out of that kind of trouble. He just wanted to help Pokémon. He shook his head and focused with that thought, finally spotting something of note in the middle of this desert-like plain. A short, circular platform made of metal smack bang in the middle of this nothing.

As they neared it, a ball of light was descending toward it, making the trio think twice about approaching. They kept clear as the light ball landed on the platform, where it flashed and shrunk into the figures of four Pokémon. All four species were wearing similar clothing to one another however, a fur-tight suit with a black and white theme to it. Black for their visors and markings on their chests and knees, while white was the rest. All of them were carrying oxygen tanks on their backs.

"Gardevoir. And Blaziken. I can't tell the others. What's with the getup?" Sophitia said quietly. The suited Pokémon made space on the platform, then gestured for Lute and company to join them. "I don't know about this, but we don't really have much choice."

Lute cringed as Infia's grip on him tightened, and she whined a bit. "It's okay, Infia. We're going to be okay."

But he wasn't sure about that one. He still followed Sophitia and stood on the platform beside them, and soon they were whisked away in the same light that the Pokémon arrived from. They ended up travelling faster than he expected, though the whole experience reminded him of travelling with the Deposit Box, spiralling colours and white light at their destination and all.

When he passed through the light at the end of that tunnel, he was suspended in the air above another metal platform. It took him by surprise and he tripped, though Infia helped him to stay standing.

"Good gods!" a familiar voice gasped. Lute growled as he looked up and then gasped himself. Silver was there, and had slid back so hard she nearly fell backwards. "You three! Y-you're alive, you're here!"

"Silver!" Sophitia stepped forward. Silver shook herself and then practically lunged for them, leaning forward to put her hands on them.

"Oh my goodness! Are the three of you alright?" she shouted.

"Ah hey, ye-yeah. We're okay… save for nearly fainting from hunger," Sophitia said. Silver blinked in what could only be described as utter disbelief. Her mouth was agape and slime drooled from her like sweat, made worse by her trembling. Sophitia stared back in fear, but behind her was only the suited Pokémon removing their clothing. "Is… everything okay?"

"Ye-yes! Of course, yes," Silver said, standing tall. She looked around quickly. "Get these Pokémon some food! And towels, quickly!"

…

"That's really everything? You just wandered for a while, absolutely nothing else happened?" Silver said. It turned out that the magical transportation had taken them back to the agent base in Densan City, although they ended up in a room they hadn't seen before. While Lassic wasn't present, plenty of other agents and authorities were, and they had no trouble helping Lute out.

Soon enough, Lute, Sophitia, and Infia were stuffing their faces while they 'reported' on their story of their investigation. It was during that conversation that Lute had fully recalled what he didn't want to recall, the feelings he'd felt when confronted with Victor. It was the only time he'd gone quiet during the report, but thankfully, Silver's surprise and interest took more attention.

"I just can't believe you ended up down there. You three have no idea just how exceedingly lucky you are to still be alive," she said.

"I guess surviving for hours underwater without an air source isn't lucky enough?" Sophitia rolled her eyes. "What's got you so worked up, anyway?"

There was a pause, and Silver shut her eyes. "You're right. But I'm talking on two accounts here. Not only is it a miracle you didn't drown to death, but that place you were in… should've killed you…"

"There wasn't anything there, though. And we're not dumb enough to run off a cliff," Sophitia tilted her head.

Silver cleared her throat. "This might seem difficult to swallow at first, but what I'm about to tell you is classified information. Don't repeat it outside of here."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"Deep inside of the planet… we really don't understand how it works, but inside of Aseria is what we believe is an entirely different world."

"A different world?" Infia said.

"It is called Moand Dia. It was discovered after we learnt how to transport using the Deposit Boxes. Even after we manufactured the boxes ourselves, it turned out there was one in an unknown location. But anyone who went there immediately evaporated," Silver said.

"Evaporated?" Sophitia said, leaning back.

"So there was a Deposit Box in a place we never knew existed, even though we believed we were the ones to make boxes. And the world this box was in turned out to not only be deep inside our planet, but in a place where the atmosphere of V-Waves is so condensed that no living Pokémon can withstand it. Our bodies are just torn to shreds," Silver said.

"That would explain why when the agents came to get us, they were in those weird suits," Sophitia said. Silver nodded.

"We've developed suits that reject V-Waves, but of course, wearing something like that prevents you from using any attacks or abilities. We've been unable to explore Moand Dia any further than simple on foot travel," she said. "But you three, you were unconscious there and woke up with no issues whatsoever. You were completely unaffected by that world's atmosphere."

"It looked really amazing, too. I never would've guessed that it was a whole other world," Lute said, his eyes gleaming. "If we weren't hurt, I'd love to explore it."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to rescue Esther first, don't we?" Sophitia, gave him a tap with a feeler.

"The three of you have been through far more than enough for now. If I had known that a High Point was involved, I never would've brought you into that investigation. I'll be honest, that was only supposed to be another test of your abilities. It was never supposed to get this dramatic," Silver stood up. "Please. I'll have agents escort you home. The three of you can take it easy for a while."

"It was just a test. Did we fail?" Infia said, speaking so softly it was hard to hear her. Silver froze.

"Forget about that. I put you all in unnecessary harm's way. It's a blessing that you're all alive," she said. "If you're all okay now, we should send you back to Everend. And when you're there, relax. Don't worry about Esther or the High Points. We've got it handled."

"Are you sure?" Sophitia said.

"Yes, I'm sure. Think of yourselves, Marina must be worried sick," she said, shaking her hands. Lute's eyes widened.

"Worried sick is an understatement! We'll never hear the end of it," Lute gasped. Sophitia looked just as afraid, and stood up. One of the agents from earlier, the Blaziken, approached them.

"He'll make sure you all get home safe. I had them write a note for Marina as well. Make sure she gets that, and she should ease up," Silver said.

There wasn't anything else after that, the Blaziken led them out through familiar paths. Sophitia was quiet while Infia scrunched herself up, keeping close to Lute. The Eevee however, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to that other world.

"Moand Dia," he whispered to himself. The mystical colours and star-filled scenery was still fresh in his memory, and his imagination thought up all possible secrets the world held. Now that he was warm and full of food, all he wanted to do was look all around the place.

Once they were out of the room, Silver let out a sigh as if she'd been holding her breath. A moment of tensing up and then she bolted to one of the computers, shoving aside the Pokémon currently working on it.

"I'm sorry, I have to use this!" she shouted, her tone matching her frantic movements. She scrolled through files and data without a care in the world, getting her slime all over the touch screen. She reached a database for the Pokémon that had been in contact with the authorities, where she found Marina's name. "Found you. And to check what your lineage is really hiding."

The screen told her everything. Marina Aska, a former scientist under the service of the agents that headed an entire research and development facility at the Ministry of Science. According to the file, she had four deceased children and a husband, but Silver knew that part all too well.

Then it hit her. In this file's current state, there was no mention of Lute whatsoever.

Silver scrolled through it restlessly, ignoring all the curious and annoyed eyes around her. She checked files and reports, finding only things she already knew about the Vaporeon. She checked each one thoroughly like she was living on borrowed time, all until she got to one last report. A single file labelled "RETIREMENT".

She tapped it of course. But unlike every other file on the system, a prompt for a password came up, refusing to let her read it. Silver flinched, finally slowing down to steady her thoughts. This was the most mysterious thing she had come across since learning about Moand Dia.

"A single report locked behind your own personal password, here of all places. The agents have access to every single piece of data, history, and current status of every single Aserian resident that we have ever been involved with, except this. Why would you lock this?" she mumbled to herself, hovering over the keyboard. She hesitantly began to type one key at a time. "If I had to make the biggest gamble… E, V, O, L, I."

The file opened, and she leaned forward with obsession. She skimmed only a few lines and her mouth fell to the floor. "So that's why. That's what Lute is."

…

Lute and company used the Deposit Box so they got back in no time at all. Still, it was sunset around that time, so everything was leisurely and quiet. With everything calm before the inevitable storm that was Marina freaking out, the trio had time to calm down and chat.

Well, Lute and Sophitia chatted. Infia was silent with her thoughts the whole time, still walking on the opposite side of Sophitia. She hadn't forgiven the Sylveon's intrusion into her affairs with Lute, but right now, she was relieved enough to be back in familiar territory. It made her think that she might be being harsh, that maybe she was wrong. She was ready to give Sophitia a good chance. Lute liked her, after all.

But then she was dropped off at home, and reality came rushing right back. The Eeveelutions gave her positive waves of goodbye, but Infia could see right through it. Sophitia was forcing herself to smile and wave, looking like she was ready to indulge in an interview about everything Infia didn't want to talk about right now.

This was the first time Sophitia had seen her home, after all. Infia had almost slammed the door on them in order to escape. The home was a complete standout from every other house in Everend. It was a mansion, a fancy building with an entryway, over a dozen rooms, painted inside and out and supported by columns and all. Victoria had supposedly lived here for years after hitting the big time on an old fashion breakthrough.

But now, it was considered the hideout of a terrorist. It was vacant besides this little Minun and the Fennekin that was supposed to look after her. She called out politely and had to search for said Fennekin, not surprised to find a note from him on her bedroom table.

"Again?" Infia whispered, tiredly skimming the note. It was the usual, a neatly written and detailed letter about how he was off doing high ranked agent work and wouldn't make it home for an unpredictable length of time. He'd left her instructions on what food was left and how to cook it if she wanted, and while she had no problem with that, it wouldn't solve the feelings overwhelming her right now.

She sat back in her chair at her desk, which faced a mirror. Looking back at her was a droopy Minun that looked like it had slept through a storm. She sat there blankly, hating how she looked in that mirror. Her body didn't have a single good feature. Not with clothes on, and even as she carelessly threw them off, not one underneath, either. The used nappy under it all only made her shiver with frustration.

For the first time ever, she punched her mirror. She punched it once, whimpered, then smashed it with both paws, causing it to shatter. The shards ripped through her, drawing blood. But it was distracting, only. A few cuts on her paws wasn't anything like what she was feeling in her chest.

She slid against the broken mirror, almost intentionally trying to dig the shards into herself as she leaned on her desk. It hurt so much. It forced her to worry about the cuts rather than what she had just experienced. What she had been experiencing.

But the thoughts wouldn't leave her this time. The way Sophitia tried to just, control her life. Victoria's secrets and the way she suddenly stopped treating her like a parent. The cold hearts of the agents. And then just when everything felt like it might be hopeful with Esther's show, it was the work of Sophitia again. Esther's true nature felt like a nightmare she didn't want to believe happened, not helping the issue at all.

She drew blood, cringing, but it wouldn't help. The foul-mouthed Pikachu and her slobby room were engraved in her memories. The only Pokémon she ever looked up to was that despicable adult that Infia aspired to never end up becoming. No matter how much pain she gave herself, there was no hope.

She didn't want to be an Agent of King's Shield. She didn't want to hang out with Lute and Sophitia for the pain they brought her. But most of all, she didn't want to be alive.