Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)
Season 1, Episode 16, Chapter 5
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Louise slowly stirred awake, her head throbbing from the most intense headache she'd ever experienced. The ground underneath her body was cold, but it wasn't rough like she was expecting. Instead, it was smooth, almost like she was laying down on glass. As she blinked her eyes open, she pushed herself up and looked around. The first thing she saw was that, luckily, her Pokémon were all around her, laying unconscious on the stone floor. Louise let out a sigh of relief, then shifted her attention slightly upward.
"By the Founder…" she muttered under her breath as she gazed upon the alien environment she found herself in.
Instead of being deep inside Reflection Cave, surrounded by rocks and large crystals, instead the world around her was a swirling, endless purple void. Dark clouds of miasma surrounded everything she could see. The air was still, with not a trace of any wind whatsoever, yet the clouds moved regardless. Hundreds, if not thousands, of rust-colored stone and crystal platforms filled the space, most of which were separated by what must have been miles. Most were fairly small, about the size of steppingstones, and others were the size of houses and mansions. Some, way off in the distance, were the size of islands, and she could have sworn that she saw the faint outline of a platform the size of a continent. But, what drew her most to these platforms wasn't their size, but rather their orientation. They were all over the place, some aligned just like the one she was standing on currently, which was the size of a Pokémon Center. Others ran perpendicular to hers, others parallel but upside down, plus an infinite number of angles and curves that she quickly lost count of.
"Where…am I?" Louise asked aloud, only to hear her own voice from above her.
"We're in the Distortion World, a realm parallel to worlds in the multiverse similar to Ultra Space," Rocket Louise answered, a hint of nervousness in her voice that she was clearly trying to hide. Louise shot her head up, and to her surprise saw her doppelgänger looking down on her from above. Only, for some reason, Rocket Louise was standing upside down on the platform floating what must have been twenty feet above her head. She was also looking around at the vast, empty void that surrounded them, her eyes darting back and forth all over the place.
"What? How are you-?" Louise sputtered, completely lost and confused.
"The laws of physics as we know it cease to function here. Case in point, gravity isn't constant. Each platform has its own independent gravitational pull," Rocket Louise explained, managing to calm herself for a bit as her Pokémon joined in looking down on her, with her Brennaraki affectionately rubbing her leg. Or was it up? Louise wasn't able to tell.
Growling in frustration, Louise demanded, "Get down here!"
"From my perspective, you're above me," Rocket Louise countered, her voice rising in pitch as frustration once again took hold. "Don't you get it? It's in the name. The Distortion World takes everything we know about how our world works and flips it on its head. Up is down, left is right! Nothing here makes sense, and if we don't get out we'll be trapped forever like-!"
Rocket Louise stopped herself from freaking out more, then coughed into her fist to regain her composure. Louise could only stare up incredulously, her own nervousness being amplified by what her other was clearly feeling. As she looked around, Louise gulped and felt the contents of her stomach bubble from worry, then shook her head and let frustration and anger anchor her to the ground.
She frowned and clenched her fist, then remarked, "You sound very knowledgeable about this. I guess it comes from experience?"
"Actually, this is my first time here," Rocket Louise admitted as she turned her attention towards the void around them, which was easy given how none of the platforms had any walls. Her façade fell and she nervously gulped, but then shook her head and tried to play it off. She then shrugged and admitted, "I'm merely remembering what I read on Team Rainbow Rocket's database when I got curious. Never thought I'd actually come here, though…"
"Well, that's enlightening," Louise replied, then glanced at her Pokémon as they began to come to. Esprit was the first, and she groaned and rubbed her head for a moment before seeing where they were, gasped in surprise, before refocusing herself towards healing her dazed and injured comrades. Louise stared at them for a moment, then closed her eyes, shook her head, and sighed.
"Don't bother, I no longer have any interest in fighting you," Rocket Louise stated. True to her word, she was now returning her Pokémon to their Pokéballs, which Louise found were actually the same Luxury Balls that she used.
"Why not?" Louise demanded, although admittedly she, too, didn't feel the urge to fight. She supposed being seemingly trapped in yet another alien world would do that to a person.
"Because I want to get out of here as soon as possible," Rocket Louise hastily admitted without skipping a beat, clearly wanting to get this conversation over with. "The Distortion World is like a maze, and the longer you stay in here, the harder it is to get out. Fighting you would only slow me down."
"If you think I'm just going to let you get away-!" Louise started, only for her counterpart to cut her off.
"The same applies for you," Rocket Louise pointed out. "Besides, by the time you get to me, I'll be gone."
"I could just teleport up to you with Esprit," Louise stated, but Rocket Louise shook her head.
"Doesn't work like that. If we were on the same platform, sure, but not between. My Esprit already tried before you woke up," she revealed and crossed her arms, slightly frowning. She then muttered under her breath, her voice carrying across the void, "If only, then I'd be away by now…"
Not quite believing her, Louise turned towards Esprit and the rest of her now recovered Pokémon. The Kirlia immediately attempted to teleport towards them, but found that she could not. Instead, she merely teleported halfway between them then fell straight down. She tried again, only to achieve the same result. After the third time, it became obvious that Rocket Louise was telling the truth, meaning Louise really was stuck. She clenched her fist and ground her teeth in anger, wanting to refute her doppelgänger's assertion but unable to.
"Founder…dammit," Louise cursed then stomped her fist.
"Complain all you want. Unfortunately for both of us, it's the truth," Rocket Louise declared, then turned and walked away. "If you want to get out of here, find your Saito then the crystal corresponding to your universe. Assuming that our void magic is what brought us here in the first place, it most likely is the key to getting us home. Luckily, if our intel is right, our companions and exits should be fairly nearby. Hopefully."
Even Rocket Louise sounded slightly unsure about that last statement, but nevertheless she moved on regardless. Louise could only watch her go, wanting to chase after her but knowing she couldn't. Before she reached the end of her platform, however, Louise could no longer hold her tongue.
"Wait!" she demanded, and Rocket Louise stopped in her tracks. Her back was still turned to Louise, but clearly was paying attention. With that in mind, Louise asked, "Why are you helping me? Not even two minutes ago, we were enemies. We're still enemies. If anything, leaving me and my friends trapped here benefits you."
Rocket Louise was silent for a moment, then sighed, turned around to face Louise and admitted, "Perhaps. Yet, despite knowing that, I can't. I guarantee my Saito and my Derflinger reacted the exact same way, or will when they wake up."
"Why?" Louise asked, struggling to understand and almost pleading for answers.
"Because no matter what you might think of me, I'm not a monster," Rocket Louise countered.
Then Rocket Louise turned around and stepped towards the edge of her platform. She tentatively looked over the edge towards the vertical platform that had drifted nearby, and gulped. Despite her bravado, it was obvious that Rocket Louise was nervous. Rocket Louise then kicked over a small pebble and watched it fall over, only for gravity to reassert itself halfway down and pull it towards the vertical platform. Only then did Rocket Louise sigh in relief and take a step closer, her toes hanging off the edge. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, psyching herself up. Then Rocket Louise stepped off the platform and took the plunge. Much like the pebble, Louise's doppelgänger dropped only a few feet before somehow reorienting. Her feet landed on the vertical platform's wall, or floor as Louise suspected, and Rocket Louise let out a visible sigh of relief. That relief quickly disappeared and tried to hide it, playing it off as though she wasn't nervous in the first place. But Louise knew the truth. After all, she was nervous, too.
Before Louise could say anything, Rocket Louise walked away and disappeared from view behind the upside platform she originally stood upon. Louise stared at the last spot she saw her counterpart, struggling to understand what transpired. After a few moments, she sighed and kicked some loose rocks away from her.
"Okay, okay. Got to focus," she told herself, then looked towards her Pokémon who were staring at her.
Nodding at them, Louise returned them to their Pokéballs, then looked around for the nearest platform to her. None were around her, prompting the young girl to walk around the perimeter in order to get a better look. Everything she saw just seemed vast and empty, utterly devoid of life. Every so often, Louise thought she saw something moving through the clouds off in the distance, but she could never get a good look, so she told herself that it was just a trick of the light…and prayed to whoever might be listening that it was true.
Finally, as she reached the far end, a platform emerged below her, running perpendicular in a downward direction. She looked down on it and gulped, then vigorously shook her head and steeled herself.
"Alright, here goes nothing," she declared, then took a step forward off the platform.
For a brief moment, she felt as though she was falling. The urge to scream in panic rose up, but then she felt her body reorient itself. As though she was never falling at all, Louise landed on the platform, none the worse for wear. She looked at the rusty rock beneath her feet, then up at the platform she just stepped off of.
"Huh, neat," Louise flatly admitted, finding the experience to be odd yet fascinating, nonetheless. Still, she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, and so she hastily moved forward without looking back.
Even after the other Saito explained where they were, Saito still had no idea what was going on. This was likely because the 'explanation' had been all of six words long:
"Distortion World. Shit gets weird here."
Even half an hour after they separated, Saito was still grumbling under his breath about how unhelpful that explanation was. His throat was also a bit dry after he futilely yelled at his doppelgänger for more answers that he did not receive.
At the moment, Tanuki was looking everywhere with a clearly nervous expression on his face, his eyes pulsating faintly blue as the Riolu used his Aura Sight. It wasn't hard to know why. Outside of them, the Distortion World was completely lifeless, the closest hint of it was the long dead and shriveled remains of trees. Trees that Saito suspected were accidentally dragged in rather than actually growing here.
Right now, though, that wasn't his biggest concern. He had to find Louise and Derflinger then get the hell out of there.
"Tanuki, you see them yet?" Saito asked, but his Riolu shook his head.
Frowning, Saito furrowed his brow, looking around to try and spot some glimpse of his friends. Given how everything around them was either black or dark purple, seeing pink hair or silvery steel should've stood out like bonfire. Combined with the lack of anything else alive, allowing Tanuki to home in on their Auras, Saito had honestly thought he would have found someone by now. But he hadn't. Once his counterpart left to parts unknown, the only living things Saito saw were his Pokémon.
Dark, hopeless thoughts threatened to spring up on occasion, but Saito forced them back down. Thinking like that wasn't going to help matters. That being said, he was beginning to lose track of how long they were in here. How long had it been since they were dragged here? Five minutes? Ten? Thirty? Saito's sense of time was feeling…off.
At the same time, Saito got the distinct since that they weren't alone here. That there was something watching them in the distance. Sometimes, as he stared out into the void, he thought he saw something swimming behind the clouds, but it disappeared before he could get a good look at it. Tanuki was only able to get brief glimpses of its Aura, but even he could tell it was powerful.
They continued walking, moving from platform to platform in a desperate search for their friends. At one point, he saw a vertical platform with a river running along its side. Why there was flowing water here, Saito did not know, but he simply shrugged and carried on. Without missing a beat, Tanuki hopped up onto his shoulder and Saito stepped off the platform they were on to traverse the wide gap. The first few times they did this, they were hesitant and ignorant of what would happen, but by now they were used to the strange sensation of gravity going away then reasserting itself in a new direction, allowing the trainer to land on his feet.
If there was one good thing about being in the Distortion World, he wasn't getting nauseous from all the changes in perspective and gravity. Still didn't make the fact that he was trapped in another world all that great, but he had to keep himself positive somehow. Eventually, though, he and the others came across a large crystal similar to the ones he saw back in Reflection Cave. It was jutting freely out of the ground, a column of reflective crystal that somehow shimmered despite there being no obvious light source. Now that he thought about it, Saito wondered how he was able to see in the first place, but he shook his head and discarded it immediately.
Saito stopped in front of the crystal and walked around it to get a better look. Remembering what Rocket Saito told him, he wondered if this was perhaps the crystal they needed to find in order to get back home. For obvious reasons, he wouldn't do that until he found Louise and Derflinger, but if he could find the right crystal beforehand it would make things easier. Leaning in to get a closer look at his warped reflection, Saito heard a high-pitched ringing that reminded him of windchimes. Soon, to his surprise, the crystal began radiating more and more light, prompting him and his Pokémon to back away. Then his reflection disappeared as the crystal turned neon green, then became clear like glass.
To Saito's shock, he couldn't see through the crystal. Instead, displayed in the crystal like a television screen, he saw the inside of a room. It was small, reminding him of a college dorm. There was a fancy bed with white sheets and overhanging canopy set against the wall. A bed of hay was next to it, alongside a table with a candle on top of it, a desk, a cabinet, and a large trunk. The bottom half of the crystal was slightly obscured by the top of a desk, telling Saito that he must be looking through a vanity mirror or something similar. But, what caught his attention the most, was what he saw just outside the dorm's window. Instead of seeing just one white moon, he saw a pair of blue and red moons rising into the night sky.
"What…the hell?" Saito muttered, slowly walking towards the crystal to get a closer look. He made sure not to touch it, though, as the last thing he wanted as to accidentally get pulled in.
All of a sudden, a door on the far end of the room opened, causing him to flinch and jump back slightly. He then saw Louise, wearing a black cape held over her white shirt, black skirt and leggings by her academy broach, stomp inside, her fists tightly clenched and grinding her teeth. She was clearly angry about something and ranting to herself about it, but Saito couldn't hear a thing and wasn't able to read lips. He looked at Tanuki and Maindo, hoping they might be able to tell him something, but they merely shrugged.
Saito looked back at the crystal, and saw that Louise had finished ranting to herself than sat down on her bed, facing the door. Transfixed on what he was seeing, Saito stared at the crystal until he saw himself, wearing the same tracksuit he was wearing now, walk in, For some reason, there was an old sword and scabbard strapped across his back, and his left hand had some archaic, incomprehensible writing on it. There was a wet towel wrapped around his shoulders, and judging by the slightly damp hair, Saito assumed this counterpart of his had just gotten cleaned up. The two of them began talking, the other Saito clearly happy about something (which Saito assumed was related to the bath or shower) while Louise was irritated. She was chastising him at first, only for her face to suddenly drop and get filled with an iridescent blush. Louise began swaying back and forth, prompting the other Saito to get worried and come closer to her, only for Louise to suddenly start crying and wrap herself around Saito as though she was a distraught lover. Saito could only watch on in utter bewilderment, then the crystal flashed green and went back to its previous reflective state.
"Where…was that? What is going on?" Saito asked, only to jump as he heard a voice come from behind him.
"That was most likely Halkegenia, or at least a version of it," Derflinger announced. Saito jumped and turned around, only to find the ancient Honedge looking up at him from a vertical platform that was behind Saito's. Letting out a sigh of relief, Saito rushed over to the edge, but made sure not to jump across.
"Derf! You have no idea how happy I am to find you!" Saito declared, a large smile on his face.
"Same here," Derflinger replied, then looked around and asked, "Where's Louise?"
"Louise and I got separated. I have no idea where she is," Saito admitted, causing Derflinger to sigh.
"Well, that's a problem," Derflinger said, narrowing his eye as he looked around. "Without Pinky, we're not getting outta here."
"How'd you find us anyway?" Saito asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice as he remembered the third member of Team Rainbow Rocket's party.
"I'm not the other Derflinger, if that's what you're worried about," Derflinger answered. "Bastard was gone by the time I woke up. Anyway, to answer your question, I didn't. Not really."
"What do you mean?" Saito asked, perking an eyebrow and tilting his head.
"I mean, I just chanced upon you," Derflinger clarified. "Once I woke up, I started just wandering around, going from platform to platform until eventually I saw you and Tanuki watching that crystal."
"That doesn't make any sense," Saito pointed out, Tanuki nodding along in agreement, and Derflinger nodded.
"No, it doesn't, unless you consider who runs this place," Derflinger replied. The hairs on the back of Saito's neck stood up, and Derflinger slowly nodded. "In case you haven't figured it out yet, this isn't the first time I've been here. The last time it happened, the Distortion World seemed to…move itself in my favor. Platforms rearranged themselves, forming a linear path that ended in my way home. I guarantee that's happening here right now."
Saito gulped and looked around at the Distortion World. The clouds seemed to drift closer to them, and he heard a faint, deep, warbling cry call out from behind them. If he was unsure before, Saito now knew for certain that they were being watched.
Taking another nervous gulp, he turned back to Derflinger and asked, "I…I think who you're talking about now. The Distortion World, it's…it's the domain of Giratina, the Renegade Pokémon."
"Yep. Let me tell you, I've a few Legendary Pokémon in my life, and Giratina… Heh, he was among the creepiest. Far from evil, though."
"Why is he helping us?" Saito asked, and Derflinger shrugged.
"Giratina doesn't like people being here," Derflinger answered. "This is his territory, and Giratina manipulating things to get us out is him being merciful. I suggest we take it."
"No need to tell me twice," Saito replied, then stepped back and gestured to Derflinger by pulling his arm back towards himself. "Come on over so we can get the hell out of here."
"You got it, partner," Derflinger replied. The Honedge bounced up and down slightly, then jumped up towards Saito's platform. As he expected, Derflinger's body automatically reoriented itself, allowing the Honedge to land softly on the same platform Saito and his Pokémon were on.
"Now then, let's keep going. Assuming this keeps up, we'll meet up with Pinky soon enough," Derflinger declared.
Saito nodded, then returned his Pokémon. Assuming Derflinger was right, there was no need to keep them out at the moment. It was better to let them rest and conserve their strength just in case they needed with. Then he and Derflinger set off once again, trying their best to ignore the overbearing weight of something staring them down.
Louise continued her trek through the Distortion World, trying her best to find any sign of her friends. Thus far, she hadn't had any luck, but that didn't mean she hadn't found anything interesting. While they did nothing to lead her in the right direction, Louise had discovered that, as her criminal copy claimed, the various crystals that laid scattered across the Distortion World provided windows through which other worlds could be seen. Worlds that, for whatever reason, depicted her.
The first crystal had surprised her at first, especially once it showed a version of herself with wild, angry, golden eyes, wielding a blade of red light as she slaughtered her way through soldiers wielding laser rifles. What was most disturbing was the almost manic glee on her face, and she was grateful once it ended. Thankfully the next was much tamer, depicting a Louise wearing her academy uniform as she ate lunch with a tall boy with short red hair wearing a blue and white long sleeve shirt. They had been talking about something, but Louise couldn't even begin to tell what it was about. What drew her attention the most was the engraved runes on his left hand. They reminded her somewhat of familiar runes, mostly from the coloration and apparent texture.
After the first few, Louise didn't really bother paying all that much attention to the other worlds. She had far more important things to deal with, namely finding her friends and getting the Hel out of there. Louise did catch the occasional glimpse, but not enough to really tell her what was going on. Most of the time the worlds depicted showed her, but not all of them. One in particular showed some of the colorful and costumed heroes that Saito was a fan of battling evil, and another showed a giant monster fighting another giant monster while destroying the city around them, completely ignoring the military attempting to kill both. The only consistent detail she saw, when she was in them, was that the identity of her familiar was highly flexible, if she even had one. Most of the time they were human, with one even being Saito to her surprise, but sometimes they were majestic animals. All of her familiars, however, had these strange, word-like runes engraved onto their left hands or paws, which made Louise curious.
As she walked up what was previously a vertical platform that ended in a small section that originally looked upside down to her, Louise saw another large crystal float up to her. She prepared to move on as with all the others as it flashed green, only to stop once crystal cleared and revealed a world that, at first glance, was much like her own. It was old and primitive, showing a walled city with a castle at the very top. But, upon further inspection, she found that this world appeared even more primitive than her home. If her world, compared to Earth, was in the upper Renaissance to Early Modern era, this world fit squarely in the Medieval era. But, even at a glance she could tell that it wasn't like her world, Terre, or Earth. For one thing, once again there weren't any Pokémon. Instead, there were humans and elves, but also orcs that looked more like green-skinned elves rather than the pigmen that plagued Halkegenia. There were also humanoid cats and lizardmen, all walking throughout the city with each other as they went about their daily lives.
That was when Louise saw this world's version of herself, leaning against the wall of a shop as she kept looking at the sky, sipping from a bottle of ale. Much like a few of the others she'd glimpsed at, this Louise, clad in armor and with a black sword strapped her to hip, had clearly seen battle. Her face bore several scars that only further proved it, and her eyes were hard and focused, almost as though she was expecting trouble to drop in at any time.
A few moments later, her counterpart's instincts had proven right as a large creature flew overhead, casting a large shadow that eclipsed everything underneath. Whatever was flying was going too fast for Louise to make out, but she could tell that it was monstrous, and it prompted the citizens to stop what they were doing to instead start screaming and running for their lives. Guards clad in yellow armor, a helmet that fully covered their head and face, as well as a sword and shield which proudly displayed a horse's head on its surface, rushed out to ensure everyone got to safety, but the other Louise remained calm. Rather than showing any fear, instead she simply finished her drink, threw the glass bottle off to the side where it shattered against a stone wall, then began marching straight towards the creature. With one hand she pulled out her sword, and with the other she pulled out a mask with a pair of tusks coming out and forward. She slipped it over her face just as the creature landed, kicking up a cloud of dust that temporarily obscured it from view. It didn't last long, and when the dust settled, Louise saw that the creature was a terrifying wyvern, its scales a burnt orange and with horns atop its head that looked almost like a crown. The wyvern reared up slightly then roared at the other Louise, who simply roared right back with an overwhelming force that pushed the dragon back several feet.
After that, the crystal turned off, leaving Louise more confused. After a few moments of hesitation, she shook her head and moved on. She didn't know what to make of these glimpses into other worlds, but she had learned that the world and universe was much bigger than she could've ever imagined, and she could at least count her blessings in being able to bear witness to it. At least that lesson was worth taking away from here.
She couldn't remain transfixed on the affairs of other worlds, however, and she had quickly continued along her apparent path. The more she travelled along it, the more and more convinced she became that it was being assembled before her various eyes. Already she had seen several platforms rise out of the nothingness, allowing her to continue moving. Sometimes a platform she could see would disassemble then reform alongside her, and by now Louise had learned to simply accept that and move along it. That, more than anything else, convinced her that something was in here, watching her and most likely Saito and Derflinger as well. Occasionally she'd hear a warbling cry echo across the Distortion World, telling her it was most likely a Pokémon, but she didn't know which one. Saito likely knew, and she resolved to ask him once they reunited.
Looking around for any sign of her friends, Louise easily jumped across and continued walking, never once stopping to gather her bearings. She knew doing so would be pointless, and she was beginning to believe that her current path would take her to her destination anyway. But, she would appreciate knowing just how long she'd been here. Although her Pokédex's clock told her that she'd only been in the Distortion World for less than two hours, it felt longer than that…or maybe shorter. Like everything else in this place, time felt…off.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Louise stepped off a platform and fell upward toward another. Her body automatically reoriented itself, and she landed on her feet. Taking a moment to find out which way to go next, she paused and felt her breath hitch up in her throat as she saw Saito and Derflinger enter the opposite end of the platform she was on. They were doing the same thing she was, and once their eyes met, both trainers let out a large, relieved smile.
"Saito!" Louise shouted as she began running towards her friend.
"Louise!" Saito replied as he did the same, and once they met in the middle they wrapped themselves into a tight, warm embrace.
"Oh, thank Arceus," Saito muttered, then the two trainers separated. They began checking each other over to make sure they were unharmed, and after a moment they mutually sighed. Both of them were in relatively good condition, although their clothes were dirty and they sported several cuts and bruises. Nothing major, but they did sting slightly to the touch.
"As touching as this is," Derflinger cut in, interrupting the tender moment, "we should probably keep moving. The last thing we want to do is get Giratina mad."
"'Giratina?'" Louise repeated, raising an eyebrow towards Derflinger, only for Saito begin quickly explaining.
"You've been feeling something watching you, right?" Saito asked, and when Louise slowly nodded he added, "That's Giratina, the Legendary Pokémon of Antimatter. As in the literal god of antimatter. The Distortion World is his home, and according to Derflinger, he's being merciful and helping us get out."
Louise's eyes widened, and she gulped loudly before asking, "Okay…so which way do we go?"
"I…" Saito began, only to turn around and notice that there wasn't platform for them to go on. He scratched his head, then admitted, "I don't know."
"Uggh, perfect," Louise groaned, only to pause as she finally noticed the large crystal right next to them. Saito then noticed it, too, and both trainers looked at each other.
"Have you been seeing these crystals, too?" Louise asked, and Saito nodded.
"A few, yeah," Saito answered, then scrunched up his face and looked to the side. After a moment, he admitted, "Most had Pokémon, but several…did have you and me in them."
"What did you see?" Louise asked, and Saito let out a small sigh.
"The first, from what Derflinger said after I described it to him, was you succumbing to a love potion right as I walked into your room in Halkegenia," Saito answered. Louise was shocked, but quickly grew angry at the implications. Before she could shout, however, Saito quickly added, "I don't think my other me had anything to do with it. He seemed just as shocked as Tanuki and I were."
Louise couldn't help but let out a small growl regardless, then sighed and shook her head to calm herself down. She then asked, "Alright, anything else?"
"After that, I saw you and I just walking through a school hallway in a modern city," Saito revealed. "I only got a glimpse of it, but from the writing it looked like Kanto just…without any Pokémon. We appeared to be students there and we were putting up flyers of a girl with purple hair. Didn't really bother looking at it more, though."
"Same here," Louise admitted. "I didn't really bother looking at most of them beyond a small glance."
"Yeah, wasn't really worth it." Saito paused, then frowned slightly as he rubbed his chin. After a moment, the admitted, "But the last one I saw…it caught my interest. It was kinda disturbing, actually, but I couldn't stop watching it."
Louise raised an eyebrow, then asked, "In what way?"
"We were back in Halkegenia, I think," Saito answered, rubbing the back of his head. "It was nighttime and we were both caked in mud from head to toe. We were pretty banged up, and terrified out of our minds. You had your wand out in front of you, and I was holding Derflinger's original body out as well, but the two of us were just shoving ourselves against the roots of a tree as close as we possibly could."
Louise looked at her friend then quietly asked, "…What were we doing?"
Saito looked around, clearly disturbed, then admitted, "It looked like we were hiding from something. I didn't see what at first, but then something invisible started walking through puddles around them. The water shorted out whatever was cloaking it, and the thing that popped out of thin air was the…ugliest thing I've ever seen. Especially when it took off its mask for a moment. Don't know why but it…felt like it was hunting us."
Louise gulped again, then shook her head and turned towards the crystal next to them. After a moment, she admitted, "That does sound…intense. Most of mine weren't anything like that, but one did have me fighting a dragon one on one."
"Oh, that sounds awesome," Saito declared, and Louise nodded. It had looked pretty awesome, but at the same time she couldn't help but be concerned over the hardened look in her other's eyes. Before she could voice that, however, Saito spoke up.
"Louise, quick question," he quietly stated, "Did you catch a glimpse of a world with me in it?"
Louise looked at her friend then nodded and said, "Just one. We were…liberating prisoners, I think. Other than red and black armbands on their arms, I didn't know from who. Why?"
Saito gulped, then added, "Did I…have a tattoo on my left hand? Because nearly every time you and I were together, I had one."
Louise paused, then looked up at her friend. Slowly she realized what was troubling Saito, and she said, "You did, yes. But those weren't tattoos. Those were…familiar runes."
Saito slowly nodded, then replied, "Derflinger said as much."
A heavy pause fell over them, the silent question hanging over their heads like a guillotine. Saito then quietly asked, "Louise…why was it that whenever you and I were in the same world, I was your familiar?"
Louise looked up at Saito again. She opened her mouth to answer, but stopped herself. After a moment, she sighed and admitted, "I don't know."
Saito gulped, then asked, "Do you…think I was—?"
"I don't know, either," Louise interrupted. "I know what it looks like, but I have literally no idea who I was supposed to summon before Arceus stopped me. All he said was that I was trying to summon one of his children. It could have been a human, either you or anyone else, or it could have been a Pokémon. Either way, I think we can worry about this later after we get out of here."
Saito looked at his friend for a moment, then nodded and declared, "Yeah…yeah you're right. Now's not the time."
"No it is not," Derflinger replied, then pointed his sash at the crystal. "Now then, let's get a move on, shall we? Something should be popping up soon."
Louise nodded, then began to walk away with Saito. As they did, however, the gem flashed green, and the reflective surface gave way to a clear display. She, Saito, and Derflinger dismissed whatever the gem was going to show them and looked around for a way out. A few moments later, several platforms rose up from the abyss, forming a bridge that stretched on towards a large dark cloud that covered the opposite end. Gulping to themselves once again, Saito, Louise, and Derflinger walked out across the newly formed bridge, trying their best to ignore the sound of the platform they were just on collapsing into rubble.
As they continued along their path, a dense, unnatural purple fog came into view. Neither of them knew what it was, and simply looking at it made them feel nervous. Especially once Derflinger revealed that the cloud was poisonous. Any protests against going into the fog were silenced, however, when they discovered that the path behind them had vanished without a trace. Giratina clearly wanted them to keep moving forward, and wouldn't take no for an answer.
Knowing that they couldn't go back, Saito and Louise pulled out some thick towels and tied them around their mouths. It wouldn't block all of the gas, but it was better than nothing. They then tepidly walked in, where they quickly encountered another problem. They could barely see five feet in front of them, so they clasped their hands together and kept their eyes glued to the ground so that they wouldn't accidentally step over the edge or get separated. Their makeshift masks managed to block out most of the poisonous fog, but occasionally they would cough and gag. Any thoughts of giving up and turning back, though, were quickly pushed aside in favor of remaining on the path they were given.
That being said, questions were being raised in Saito's mind. Some of them pertained to the bizarre and oppressive world they found themselves in, such as how it worked or how they were able to see despite the lack of any visible light source. Mostly, however, he was asking questions to himself about the various worlds he and Louise had seen, and the pattered he had noticed whenever he appeared in them.
Saito kept sparing occasional glances towards his left hand. In all the worlds they bore witness to, every single time he and Louise were together he had those familiar runes on his hand. He had asked Derflinger what they meant, and he revealed that they read Gandálfr, which meant 'Left Hand of God' in Brimir's tongue. According to Louise, the Gandálfr was a legendary familiar to her religion, one of four that protected Brimir from harm as he cast his spells. The Gandálfr acted as his bodyguard of sorts, and as such was the master of any weapon. Saito supposed that's why his others were so frequently seeing carrying weapons of some kind. While he certainly couldn't equate his own experience one to one with every world, Saito was far from being a fighter in his own right. Outside of Pokémon battling, the only combat training he ever had was when he play-fought against his own reflection when he was younger, and every time he got into a physical scuffle he was either throwing his arms and legs wildly or copying what he saw on tv.
He had noticed the pattern fairly quickly. In those other worlds, he had been summoned by Louise to become her familiar. Saito's thoughts drifted towards how Louise got to Earth in the first place, when Arceus Himself interrupted her familiar summoning ritual before any headway could be made. Had she been attempting to summon him? He certainly didn't remember seeing or hearing anything that would've suggested it from around that time, but he couldn't help but wonder if that was simply because Arceus had stopped the spell before it could get to him. At the same time, Louise seemed adamant that she didn't know who she was attempting to summon, and only one of her worlds had him in it. In most of them, she didn't even have a familiar, or at least an obvious one, and the ones that did weren't him. So she might be correct in saying that the familiar she had accidentally been attempting to summon was someone else or even a Pokémon, but at the same time, questions lingered.
Either Saito was supposed to be Louise's familiar, or it was to be someone else entirely. Both outcomes were equally valid at this point, especially since the spell was thwarted before it could get any headway, but Saito didn't know what to make the entire situation. It was confusing and more than a little bit frightening, especially if he was supposed to be her familiar yet wound up by her side regardless.
Still, as Saito glanced at Louise, he shook those thoughts and questions out of his head. At the end of the day, it didn't matter what might have been. What did matter was what had actually occurred, and that meant he and Louise first met in Santalune Forest. Sure, their first encounter wasn't all that great, but at the end of it all, they had become best friends. He was confident of saying that, and he knew Louise felt the same. For sure, he'd talk about it to Louise once they got back to the real world, but at the moment he was more than willing to remained focused on what they had to do to get out.
"Hold up, I see another crystal," Derflinger announced, pointing forward with his sash.
As both trainers looked up, they saw that Derflinger was accurate. A large, flat crystal, several feet in height and width, marked the end of their platform. It served as a wall blocking any further progress, and there weren't any other platforms nearly. Saito and Louise looked at each other, not really knowing what to do before the crystal reacted to their presence by flashing green. They shielded their eyes as the crystal flashed brightly. When the light dimmed, it revealed a modern city in the dead of night, a light rain coming down.
But what immediately caught their eye was the decrepit state the city was in. It looked as though it was completely ransacked, with burnt out and mashed up cars lining the streets alongside overturned wire fences and shattered glass. There were hardly any people out, but the ones who were seemed off somehow. They were just shambling around aimlessly, and their skin was deathly pale and gangrenous.
It didn't take long for Saito to realize what he was looking at, and with a horrified gasp he muttered, "Oh Arceus, those are zombies…"
"Necromancy…" Louise quietly muttered at the same time, remembering tales of her mother's exploits during her youth against sorcerers who had engaged in that foul art.
"What the hell happened?" Saito asked, then noticed a pair of zombies hunched over something on the ground. From what limited light available through the crystal, it looked as though they were feasting on a corpse. Louise's attention quickly shifted towards it, and she recoiled and nearly gagged at the site. For his part, Saito winced and wanted to look away, but he forced himself to look on.
Then, running out of an alleyway, he saw himself and Louise. They were wearing similar clothes to what they were wearing now, although Louise was wearing a bright red jacket over a white shirt that had the image of what looked like a weird Zigzagoon across her chest. From their vantage point, they could see that the other Louise and Saito were pretty banged up, their clothes dirty, bloodstained, and covered in scratches alongside their faces. To their surprise, however, Louise's wand was nowhere to be seen, and Saito's left hand was completely bare. But both of them were carrying pistols. Louise's looked to be a small snub-nosed revolver, while Saito's was a high capacity handgun. Louise was also carrying a sheathed knife along her hip, while Saito had a wooden baseball bat strapped across his back.
Louise and Saito watched silently as their others looked at the zombies around them. Rather than engage, they quickly and quietly began making their way past the horde, trying their best to avoid any confrontation with the undead. A few did notice them as they passed nearby, however, and shambled towards them with their arms outstretched and mouths agape. The other Saito and Louise avoided them, however, then rushed into a diner and closed the door behind them. As the zombies began banging their bodies against the glass windows of the establishment, Louise and Saito saw their counterparts hastily leave through a backdoor.
Only then did the crystal turn off, and unlike the others it shattered into countless pieces that fell into the void below. They and Derflinger watched as the shards fell, and waited a moment for something to come up. But nothing did, and they were left confused and slightly scared to scratch their heads.
"Well, that was…something," Derflinger finally spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Yeah…" Saito muttered, shivering at thought of him and Louise facing off against a zombie apocalypse. In fact, the more he though he thought about it, he was grateful the worst he and Louise had to deal with was wild Pokémon and crazy terrorists. While what they got up to was harrowing, ninety percent of the time things were pretty calm and peaceful.
Was that the reason why they were shown the crystals? To show them that the grass wasn't always greener on the other side? It was certainly a possibility, but that didn't explain all of them they saw. Some looked even more peaceful than the world they lived in. It was just as likely there was a completely different reason they were shown these other worlds, or maybe there was none at all and the reason why was simply because Giratina somehow found it amusing to see their reactions.
"Hold on, why hasn't the next platform come up?" Louise asked, looking around. True to her word, the platform they were on was completely isolated, leaving only the path they took in that led into the fog.
"Well…" Saito began, scratching his head, "maybe we should head back?"
He turned around to do so, but suddenly Derflinger stopped him by holding out his sash to Saito's chest. Saito stopped immediately, then looked down as he saw that he was about to step off the platform and into nothingness. To his alarm, Saito found that the stone path they walked across was no more, leaving behind only a small section to stand on.
"Oh Founder…" Louise muttered, then both she and Saito flinched as they felt a warm breath across the back of their necks.
Slowly, both trainers turned around and stared deep into the dark mist that had suddenly been parted away from them, forming a clear bubble with their platform at the center. Despite not being able to see very deep into it, they couldn't help but notice the gargantuan shadow held within. The shadow towered over them, revealing the silhouette of a large, spiked, serpentine body with an arrowlike head and six tendrils with spikes at the ends extending out the back. A low rumble came out which sent ripples through Saito, Louise, and Derflinger's bodies, and they nervously backed up and gulped as the creature leaned forward. Slowly, its gargantuan head emerged from behind the mist, revealing the gold and grey form of Giratina.
"Arceus…" Saito mumbled, scared out of his mind.
"…Wrong one," Derflinger quietly muttered, looking up as the vast legendary stared them down.
Saito was so frightened he didn't even try to pull up his Pokédex despite knowing he would never get this chance again in his life. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Louise was doing the same, shaking like a life while standing ramrod straight.
As Giratina stared them down through its intense red eyes, the two trainers and the Honedge felt as though their souls were being evaluated. Like they were being judged for everything in their lives. None of them said a word, and Giratina continued to silently stare at them. There was silence, except for the thundering of their hearts in their chests and the low rumble emanating from the massive Pokémon.
Finally, at what seemed like an eternity, the golden plates that covered Giratina's mouth opened and he let out a loud roar into their faces. Saito and Louise crouched, closed their eyes, and shielded their eyes with their hands in a desperate attempt to block out the noise. Derflinger clenched his eye shut and shook in place, but otherwise couldn't do anything else. Their efforts did nothing, but to their relief it only lasted a few seconds. Then, once the roar died down, Louise, Saito, and Derflinger looked up to see Giratina. The fog around him had been blown back by his roar, revealing his body in all its draconic spender. Despite the terror they found themselves in, both trainers and Derflinger had to admit that seeing a Legendary Pokémon in the flesh was awe inspiring. This was something hardly anyone ever got the chance to experience firsthand, and they were now among the lucky few who could say that they did.
Then they heard a whirling sound behind them, and they turned around to see a swirling purple vortex had been created. Surprised, Saito and Louise looked at it for a moment, then back up to Giratina only to see that the Legendary Pokémon had already turned around to fly off. Confused beyond words, the two trainers could only watch as Giratina's massive form diminished, and at the last second they managed to recover their wits enough to pull out their Pokédexes and scan him. Neither paid any attention to the information their devices revealed, instead focusing purely on Giratina himself.
"What…what just happened?" Saito asked, his throat somehow parched and dry.
"Isn't it obvious?" Derflinger rhetorically asked as he pointed towards the vortex with his sash. "Giratina just opened the door for us. Now quit gawking and hurry up so we can get out of here."
Louise and Saito looked at each other for a moment, then hardened their faces and nodded. Stepping towards the vortex, they paused for a moment then tightly clasped their hands together. They got into the Distortion World separated, and the last thing they wanted to depart the same way.
Just before they jumped, however, Louise turned around and faced Giratina one last time then quietly said, "Thank you, Giratina."
With that, she turned back towards the vortex, and together jumped in with Saito and Derflinger, leaving the Distortion World behind.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here's the latest chapter of Outsiders! Special thanks to Darwin Candidate and Yuri Vampire for all their help.
Louise and Saito's encounter with their alternate counterparts has come to an end, with some revelations along the way. Before any of you ask, it's intentionally ambiguous as to whether Saito was actually supposed to be Louise's familiar. It's a possibility, but one that isn't confirmed and won't be confirmed anytime soon. It might have been him, but it might've been a Pokémon or another human being like Ash or something.
Now, onto the Q&A:
The Gray Wanderer: This is a slightly more realistic interpretation of the Pokémon world in that people have learned about this stuff, at least in the broad sense of it. Not necessarily Ash's specific involvement, but that the thing happened.
Sakura Lisel: That's kind of the point, really.
.549: Yep. The Mirror world is a much darker place, but not necessarily alignment flip. Before Team Rainbow Rocket came into the picture, Saito and Louise from that world could've been considered anti-heroes, which they still consider themselves to be.
Blue Phantasm: Thank you, and that was the point. I didn't want the mirror versions to seem like cartoonishly evil counterparts. This wasn't an Earth-3 situation.
SulliMike23: That's how things tend to go.
keybladelight: Thank you, I'm glad that you liked the battle. I always try to make it so that any fights in my stories get the necessary tone across as well as make them interesting. As for whether or not they appear again in the future, you're going to have to wait and see.
That's it for this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy and let us know what you think!