The Path of Destiny

by Racingwolf

A growlithe sets out on a quest to save her homeland, and with the help of a jolteon, scyther, and other wild pokémon, she searches for help, but all the while an enemy follows her, waiting to strike. And a much greater danger lurks, threatening them all.

82. Shattered

The Path of Destiny

Chapter 82 – Shattered

Yenn tapped the tip of his claw against the stone he was resting on, his wings twitching nervously. "This is not what I agreed to help you with," the yanmega said to no one in particular. His voice somewhat shook. "I joined you all to help Ashend and Itora. Not sacrifice them to some legendary."

"We know," Snowcrystal said. "We don't want to follow Tanzenarc's plan either. Even if no one got hurt giving up their Forbidden Attacks, I don't think it's safe."

"Trust me," Thunder added, not looking at Yenn. "We're all on the same page."

"The hell does that mean?" Yenn cried back, his attempt at calm composure slipping.

Thunder rolled her eyes at the yanmega. "It's a human saying. You get used to it. It just means we're all in agreement, really."

"All of us," Katie insisted. "Like we said, there's no guarantee that legendaries can even resist Forbidden Attacks. I think we should try to talk to Fortunarc."

"She'll find us again," Snowcrystal said. "She's a roaming legendary. And I'm sure she'll want to check in on us."

"So, uh, we still have to tell Damian about all this," Spark said.

"I'm sending him a message now," Katie replied.

"We'll meet up with him back at the city," Teresa said. "We can ask him more about the white growlithe search, and from there, we can make a plan."

"You sure about this?" Yenn asked.

Teresa nodded, and the trainers and pokémon alike all voiced their agreements.

Yenn took a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry. I know it's not any of you who came up with such a plan. It's those…Inari legendaries, or at least whoever is still buddies with Tanzenarc." He spat out the last word in disgust. "I didn't come this far and meet legendaries just to give up on my friends. On anyone."

"Trust me," said Snowcrystal, "neither did I."

-ooo-

It was a fairly quiet few days back, and as evening fell on the third night, they once again reached the outskirts of Steelspire City. Damian's messages had come back over the past few days with worry over Tanzenarc's words, as well as news that his pokémon had failed to find any sign of the white growlithe. However, there was a new resolve among the group, a determination to find a new lead. Now that they had returned, they were ready to first get right to helping Damian with the search for the white growlithe.

Looking out toward the city, the sky above just starting to darken, Snowcrystal quietly said, "Thanks, everyone, for wanting to keep looking for the other growlithe. It means a lot to me."

"We wouldn't be here without you," Redclaw told her. "It was you who started this journey. It's the least we can do."

"Thank you," Snowcrystal said as the arcanine nuzzled her head fur.

As the others began to talk among themselves about the upcoming search, Yenn watched from the sidelines, his expression unreadable.

"Um, Yenn?" Redclaw said. "We're not sure how long we'll be staying here, but I take it you'll be waiting outside the city?"

"One of us can give you updates when we come to bring you food," Alex said. "Just let us know where you'll be around."

Yenn was silent for a moment, then suddenly jerked his head up. "No, actually I…I think I'll come with you. I can cover more ground. And with a city that bright, I won't have a hard time searching even at night."

Snowcrystal looked to the yanmega in surprise. "Really? I mean, I'm really grateful you want to help. But…are you sure?"

"You're still not getting me into any buildings," Yenn said. "That is something I cannot do. But if it's just flying around a city, I'll do it. I'm done being afraid."

There was silence for a moment, the other pokémon looking either happy for Yenn or unsure. Then Wildflame said, "You know what, Yenn? That's great. You're probably the best pokémon for this sort of job. You've got nothing to fear in the city, just stick close to some of us if you're nervous."

"That's very kind of you," said Stormblade. "We're glad you want to help."

"Just be careful, alright?" Teresa said to him. "If anything…starts going wrong, there's no shame in heading back."

Yenn looked to her, knowing that she knew exactly what type of panic he was trying to avoid, and how easily it could happen. "Don't worry, it's…it's okay. I'm not nervous. Even seeing this place again wasn't much of a shock."

"That other growlithe is probably staying well away from the old building we found them near," Rosie sighed. "Where else are we gonna look?"

Stormblade sketched a crude shape in the dirt with one scythe. "Well, the city is basically one big circle. When Damian gets here, we can split up into groups, each taking a certain section. The humans surely know how to do this better than I would, but there are several main streets that lead right up to the four towers in the center. We can use those streets as dividing points."

"So we meet up in the center after the search?" Rosie asked, and Stormblade nodded.

"Man, it's going to be crowded," Katie said, running her fingers through her hair. "Damian mentioned that today was the final day for that Pokémon Club thing going on in one of the towers. They're having some big celebration or something tonight. I imagine there will be a lot of people and pokémon, even outside."

Justin shrugged. "We just meet up at the next building over, then?"

"Around any of the towers would be fine, I guess," Katie said. "It's not like the flying types would have a hard time spotting us."

"Guess I'll be riding Fernwing again," said Blazefang, glancing at his bandages. "But if I can be another lookout, that can only be a good thing, right?"

"Everything helps," Wildflame told him.

"So how are we gonna split this up?" Spark asked, looking at Stormblade's crude circle.

"I think I can help with that," Teresa said. "I've spent a lot of time in this city." She reached for a stick and began tracing details in the dirt, marking a variety of paths all leading to four squares in the center. "I think that-"

She was interrupted by the sight of a large winged creature heading their way. Four leafy wings beat as the pokémon sped up to meet them, landing in the grass nearby and lowering her wings to reveal Damian and Nightshade clinging to her back.

"Sorry, I'm really sorry!" Damian said as he awkwardly stepped off, steadying himself against the tropius as his leg buckled. "I should've already been here when I heard you were close to the city." He looked around at the pokémon, who all seemed eager despite their recent journey. "And, um, about Tanzenarc, I…I agree with the rest of you. I think we should be looking for Fortunarc again next. She didn't think his plan was a good one either."

"We know," Snowcrystal reassured him. "And come look, we were just talking about a plan to search the city for the other white growlithe."

Damian sent out the rest of his team, who walked over to join Arien among the main group. He then limped toward where the growlithe and Teresa sat crouched near the circle drawn in dirt.

"Well, first of all, here's this," Teresa said, handing him Arien's poké ball before turning back to the drawing. "Now, these are all the major streets. Should be pretty recognizable from the air, but the non-fliers might need some guidance. If everyone's feeling up to it, we can get a good quick search of each section. Maybe ask some stray pokémon if they've seen anything. It'd at least be a start. Then we meet around the big towers in the middle."

"Yenn's helping us this time," Alex told Damian proudly. "He can probably help cover multiple areas."

Damian looked up at the yanmega, who firmly nodded. "Thanks," he said. "We all appreciate that."

They quickly assigned different teams, and each was given a section of the city to search. Teresa made sure that there was at least one human or one flier on each team, so they could guide the others in case they got off track. She asked Yenn to be on her own team, explaining that if he was able to search the area from above quickly, he could move on to helping one of the other teams.

They then split up, Arien volunteering to teleport a few of the groups and Fernwing taking off with Damian and Blazefang. Nightshade, on a different team, rode on Aero's back.

As the other groups set off, Teresa walked toward her group's section of the city, Yenn flying beside her. Their area was relatively close to where they had just met up, and Teresa wouldn't need to be carried anywhere. Only three of Teresa's pokémon were staying with them. "Hal, Bruce, and Vicky are used to the city," she explained to the yanmega. "They'll look around on the ground while you look from above. I can guide you if it's overwhelming." She noticed him anxiously rubbing his two foremost legs together. "You for sure alright with this?"

"…Yeah," Yenn said after a moment. "Look, um…you don't have to worry about me this time. It may be a city, but we're still out in the open air. It won't be like the cave, I promise."

Vicky gave her trainer an uncertain glance, but the other two of Teresa's non-flying pokémon smiled back at the yanmega.

"That's right, you got this," Bruce said, playfully swiping at the yanmega with one of his claws.

"Okay," Teresa said. "Just, only do what you're comfortable with. Sometimes…things can go wrong, even when you think you can deal with it. It's not any sort of fault or anything."

Yenn forced his legs to relax. "Are you sure…you're okay?" the yanmega asked her. "You seem nervous."

Teresa nodded. "I'm all right. Come on, there's something I want to show you before we start looking."

They made their way into the city, and against his better judgement, Yenn grew more tense, the sight of the buildings up close making him feel vulnerable and exposed. The structures were definitely different from the ones he remembered being so close to, but they gave him a sickening feeling anyway. He made a point not to focus too much on the buildings, but on the spaces between them, the streets and the alleys. They were there to look for the growlithe, and the growlithe wasn't likely going to be inside a building that humans still occupied.

They weren't far into the city before Teresa sent Vicky and the others to start searching the alleys. They eagerly headed off, leaving Yenn and Teresa alone. Suddenly being the only pokémon next to the trainer, Yenn kept an eye on the few other humans milling about, tensing every time one of them glanced at him.

"Do you…want me to start searching overhead?" he asked Teresa.

"Just wait a bit," she replied. "Vicky, Bruce, and Hal will be searching the darker areas on the outskirts where you wouldn't be able to see much anyway. It's a lot more well-lit further up ahead. Plus, I did say I have to show you something first."

"Oh, right. Okay…" Yenn said as they carried on. The yanmega hovered close above the trainer's head, still looking warily at any human that walked nearby, even from across the street.

A few more minutes went by before they arrived on a brightly lit section of street with colorful shops on both sides. There were more humans and pokémon than Yenn had seen earlier, and he felt his uneasiness growing.

"You all right?" Teresa asked.

"Yeah," Yenn replied, feeling bad that Teresa would worry about him, when the focus of the night was supposed to be on helping Snowcrystal. "I'm going to do this. And, well, after all the things I've had to get used to recently, this won't be so hard."

"Okay. I didn't mean anything by it," the trainer replied. "Just wanted to make sure. Anyway, see that pink building over there? That's what I wanted to show you. We have quite an area to search, so why not start it off well?"

Yenn focused on the small building Teresa had pointed out, noting that the flat roof housed several tables and chairs, where humans and pokémon sat together, talking or eating. The one indoor floor seemed to be mostly open space with large windows, several other humans milling about inside. Clean, but without a sickening sterile smell. "What is it? Some kind of gathering place?"

"No," said Teresa, "this shop makes specialty pokémon food and treats. I know it looks small, but they serve things for all different types of species. All my pokémon love this shop. I'll have to get some extra treats to bring to them once we all meet at the towers."

"Uh-huh," Yenn said skeptically as he followed Teresa toward the shop. "So this place sells 'special food' that pokémon are supposed to love?"

"I can tell you're not impressed," Teresa said with a smirk as they approached the shop's window. "But just wait."

Yenn peered inside at a number of trays containing treats. Some of them looked similar to the ones Damian carried around, but most looked completely different. He felt overwhelmed looking at all the varieties.

"Any you want to try?" Teresa asked.

"Does it matter?" Yenn replied. Sure, the shop smelled good, but it was hard to differentiate one smell from another with all the treats together in one place.

"Tell you what," Teresa said, "I'll go inside and pick some for you. I used to talk to some of the workers here all the time. They would know what yanmega would likely enjoy most."

"Well…okay, I guess so," Yenn said as he backed up from the window, still hovering at about trainer-height above the ground.

Teresa walked into the small shop, and Yenn's feeling of vulnerability hit him again. There was a small crowd of humans around the shops, and he couldn't help but notice that some of them were pointing at him and talking as they walked by. In the wild, being a large pokémon with bright markings meant he could be fearless, knowing that predators avoided his kind. Here, those traits made him feel vulnerable. He folded his legs tightly against his underside, hoping that would mask his scar. He suddenly wished he were a much smaller pokémon, hidden and out of sight.

After a few more minutes, Yenn was considering flying up and out of sight of the passing humans when Teresa reappeared with a few paper bags. She reached into the larger one and held out a somewhat flat treat shaped like a humans' interpretation of a star. It was colorful, like the sort of sweets he'd see Justin or Katie eating sometimes, but it was larger and smelled like meat.

Yenn hesitated a moment, reminded himself that he could trust Teresa on what was or wasn't safe for pokémon, then edged forward and took the treat gently from her hand. As soon as he bit into it, he discovered that it was much tastier than the usual pokémon food Damian and the other trainers would give him. It had a flavor unlike anything he'd ever had from human food or the wild, but it was delicious.

Seeing Yenn light up upon discovering the new treat, Teresa smirked again. "See? Told you. Try this one and you'll see that cities aren't all bad."

The second one smelled like meat as well, but different, more mild, like it had come from something like a pidgey or spearow. Suddenly the thought of having prey made into 'specialty treats' made him feel uncomfortable. Unlike normal pokémon food, these weren't necessary for survival. "They make these from different pokémon?" he asked. "Just for…whatever preferences someone might have?"

"Different types of meat, yeah," Teresa replied. "Different species have different needs, obviously. Yours isn't very picky about the type of meat they like, so any type will do unless you have a favorite. Of course, none of this meat comes from pokémon that were killed, though. They banned the use of once-living pokémon in pokémon food, now that it's so easy to grow meat from pokémon cells."

Yenn nearly choked on the treat he was eating. "From what?" he gasped.

Teresa looked taken aback. "From cells," she said. "They only need a tiny sample. Apart from a bit of discomfort for the pokémon giving the first sample, it hurts no one. Predators can live without other pokémon needing to die. Any species used in pokémon food is listed, and there aren't any that use your own species'-"

"Taking cells from a pokémon is not a bit of discomfort," Yenn said. "It hurts. A lot. I know it's better than death, but can't the humans figure out any way to-"

"Whoa, wait a minute. No pokémon is forced to do this," Teresa said. "They don't need to be. Any worthwhile company will reward the pokémon and their trainer for it. The pokémon see it as helping their kind avoid becoming prey. I know it sounds really weird, but it's just a way to help all pokémon live in harmony in cities like this. They just take a small sample of muscle tissue – and I mean tiny, small enough to not cause any problems – and use that. I saw it done on a research trip once. Most pokémon didn't even flinch."

Yenn relaxed at Teresa's words, any outrage that he'd felt fading away. "Only a tiny bit of muscle cells? Nothing else? Well…I guess that's not too bad for those pokémon if what you're saying is true. If the pokémon involved are really okay with it…" He trailed off in thought, and Teresa nodded at him confidently. "You know, I never thought it was possible for my kind to live without other pokémon having to die. We're obligate carnivores from the day we hatch."

"The pokémon food in Inari, it's all kill-free," Teresa told him. "People who make food otherwise get shut down."

Yenn thought back to when he'd first joined the group, when he'd first had to taste human food again. He'd been pleasantly surprised that the human-created food Damian gave them was much better than the…other kind he'd had, but in the back of his mind he had still assumed it had been made from hunted prey. It had never occurred to him to ask otherwise.

"You know," Yenn began, feeling a sense of wonder, "in the wild, we - yanma and yanmega, I mean - have to make many kills a day, especially if we don't get something large, just to live. If we don't, it's a quick – and I mean quick – decline in health and then starvation. It's, uh, something every yanma and yanmega has to come to terms with. All predators do, but…us especially. We need to eat more - and more often - than most other pokémon. Which means more hunting. We're good at it, we catch the vast majority of the prey we target. But...a lot of us struggled with it when we were younger. I have to admit, if these humans found a better way, I'm impressed."

"Trust me," Teresa said. "There are a lot more humans who care about pokémon than you think."

Yenn's thoughts drifted to Cyclone, but he pushed them away. "A month ago, I wanted to see humans gone from the world. A week ago, I thought you and the other three humans with Snowcrystal were the exceptions. But…I think now I can see that maybe more humans actually are trying to make things right."

"So…we're not so bad?" Teresa asked with a smile. "There are more kind and empathetic humans than you thought?"

"I guess so," Yenn replied with a small smile of his own. "I mean, just don't ask me to go inside one of these buildings. But other than that, I think I can handle the search for this mischievous runaway from Snowcrystal's tribe."

"Well, nobody plans to ask you to do anything you don't wanna," Teresa said, reaching forward with the open bag. "But I'm glad you came."

"Thanks, it's…good to know not all humans consider pokémon life worthless," Yenn replied. "That's something I…honestly wouldn't have expected. Maybe wouldn't have believed if not coming from you."

The two of them stayed to the side of the shop, out of the way of crowds as Yenn sampled the rest of the treats Teresa bought for him. This was enough time for Vicky to pass by to tell her trainer where she was going to search next. However, the sableye was quickly distracted as she saw the smaller of the two treat bags, clambering up to Teresa's shoulders and greedily reaching for it.

"You can head off on your own if you're up to it," Teresa told Yenn as she pulled out a cookie covered in small gems. "Check every well-lit area, see if any stray pokémon have seen anything. Then you can move on and help one of the other groups if you want- Vicky!"

Yenn watched in amusement as the sableye grabbed the entire cookie – which Teresa had been trying to break in half – and shoved it in her mouth. "I'll do that," the yanmega said. Feeling energized by the treats Teresa had given him, he took to the air, rising above the buildings so that he could see down into the alleyways.

The city didn't give him the same fear as it had earlier that night, and Yenn proudly realized that he was becoming desensitized to the imagery and the crowds of humans. Whether pokémon abusers like Mausk lurked somewhere in the streets or not, it felt believable that most of the humans in it wanted to do good.

For the next hour or so, Yenn scanned the areas within the section he had been assigned, keeping between the two closest wide streets. He saw the occasional stray pokémon, but the ones that didn't run from him had nothing to say about any strange growlithe. Looking down at the city from above gave him a strange feeling, especially when he saw all the pokémon, both stray and trainer-owned, looking so comfortable and in their element. Not many of them were hiding in unlit areas, as his friends had said the growlithe had been.

After a quick but thorough search of the last area within Teresa's range, Yenn moved east of the towers, into the area that Damian, Fernwing, and Blazefang were searching. He found the tropius flying over a group of worn-down buildings near the outskirts.

"Teresa said I could help you," the yanmega called over to them. "Find anything yet?"

"This is where we saw the growlithe the last time," Damian said, one arm reaching back toward Blazefang as he held on to Fernwing's neck. "I told them not to, but…Scytheclaw and Todd are trying to search the insides of the buildings carefully."

"Not sure the growlithe would hang around here after we saw them," Fernwing murmured worriedly.

"Hey, Damian!" a voice called from one of the windows of the nearest run-down building. Scytheclaw's head appeared, followed by Todd's claws as the elekid pulled himself up into view. "We found the growlithe's nest. Little jerk made it in a tiny room on the third floor. Just a bunch of random cloth pieces, but they were all coated in white hair."

"Looked just like Snowcrystal's!" Todd added.

"Well," Fernwing said, "I guess maybe it is just as simple as waiting for the growlithe to come back."

"That's the thing, though," Scytheclaw called back up to her. "Doesn't look like anyone's been there for days. And trust me, we were looking before you guys came back from the cave. The growlithe might've simply just left."

"Maybe we should regroup with the others?" Blazefang said. "That growlithe's probably far away from here after you scared it."

They searched where they could, then made their way to the towers. Damian, Blazefang, and Fernwing sat near the plaza where the tower hosting the pokémon club was. For some odd reason, Damian had wanted to keep an eye on the place.

Hovering in place over the others as they rested, Yenn glanced over at the building, where an enormous screen had been set up just above the main doors. Several trainers in the plaza watched it excitedly as a battle took place, filmed from within one of the rooms. "So…this thing going on, is a 'Pokémon Club,' right?" Yenn asked. "Like a…like a party? For humans and the pokémon they train?"

"I guess it's sort of like that," Fernwing answered.

"Yeah. While you and the others were gone, I went in there a couple times," Damian told Yenn, his gaze suddenly focused on the ground. "Just to see if someone there had caught the growlithe. But no, if they had such a pokémon they would have revealed so by now."

Yenn sighed, then flinched when cheers broke out among the crowd watching the big screen, where a young trainer stood victorious on a battlefield, her shiftry striking a triumphant pose. "Well, I suppose that's one good sign," Yenn said.

"Once again, I'm glad you decided to help us," Damian told the yanmega. "I mean, I know it's not easy going back to a place that…well, brings back bad memories."

"Well, this city's new to me," Yenn replied. "I guess that makes it easier. Teresa told me-"

"Hey, guys!" a voice called from nearby, and Spark appeared from around the corner of a small food stand, Rosie and Stormblade by his side.

Blazefang stood up, looking at them oddly. "You all seem quite enthusiastic to see us, but I don't see any-"

The jolteon darted over to him, his face a mask of barely concealed excitement. "We found a lead," he whispered to the houndoom, loud enough for his companions to hear. "There was a sentret around Whiteflower street, said he lived in a space above one of the fast food restaurants not far from here, and that we can find him again later. He said he helped a white growlithe through the more populated areas of the city, but that the growlithe wouldn't tell him why he was there. But the sentret did tell him there were a few places a white growlithe could go safely, so we can look there!" Spark beamed. "Great news, huh? Can't wait to tell Snowcrystal!"

"You sure he was telling the truth?" Blazefang asked.

"What reason would he have to lie?" Rosie asked, trotting over. "We gave him some food we brought along even before he told us anything."

"He didn't seem at all surprised there was a white growlithe around," Stormblade added as he reached the others. "I don't see any reason not to believe him. Worst case scenario, we find a few more abandoned buildings."

"Nah, worst case scenario, someone falls through the floor again," Blazefang replied with a scoff. "But I hope this pokémon actually knows what he's talking about. We've had enough false leads lately."

"That's great, Spark!" Damian said, rubbing the jolteon's head. "I'll message the other trainers right now. Then we can-"

Another cheer broke out from the other side of the plaza, where trainers watching the big screen showed their enthusiasm for what had probably been yet another battle. Damian flinched, covering his ears as Yenn backed up in the air. Whatever had been on the screen moments before was gone, replaced by a stock image of a herd of ponyta roaming some fields.

"Sheesh, can we go somewhere else?" Rosie grumbled, her ears laid back against her head.

"Yeah, the other towers won't be so noisy," Fernwing said, trying to nudge Damian to his feet.

"Wait a minute," Damian said, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the building's doors. "I just want to-" He paused, still staring, then lowered his head. "Actually, never mind. We can go."

Damian shakily stood up, and the cheering of the crowd around the tower died down as the image on the screen above the doors faded to show two humans. They were both well-dressed and sitting at a desk in a colorful-looking room. A small litten and an oddish happily played with toys at the far end of the desk.

"We'd once again like to thank everyone here, trainers of Inari and regions beyond, for being a part of this year's event," the woman on the screen began saying. "Because of every one of you, we were able to raise a record-breaking amount of funds that will go toward helping pokémon in need."

"See?" Stormblade said, nudging Yenn with the dull side of his blade. "Humans aren't all that bad. They're donating to a charity. Helping an organization that helps pokémon."

"Huh. Well, that is encouraging," Yenn said.

"Come on, guys, there's a quieter place over at that tower," Spark said, pointing with a paw toward an identical building and another plaza across a street.

"We shouldn't have to move," Yenn said, still focusing on the crowd. "Those humans are harmless. I mean, most of them look young. And they're like…" He tried to think of how Teresa put it. Kind and empathetic, she had said.

"Loud and obnoxious. Let's go!" Rosie said as she followed Spark.

"Guess I can't argue with that," Yenn muttered.

"Each year, our event raises money for important work to be done in helping the lives of pokémon," one of the humans sitting at the desk on the screen said. "And Inari Research Institute of Science is honored to be chosen for this year. By raising money for IRIS, you will be helping provide a bright future for hundreds, possibly thousands of pokémon, maybe even your own or those of someone you know."

Yenn froze, only his wings moving. With his large eyes, he didn't need to turn around to see the image of the two humans and the playful pokémon on the screen.

Stormblade turned his head toward the yanmega, noticing something was amiss. "Yenn?"

The scyther turned to look at one of the humans on the screen, who was smiling widely while petting the litten. "Now, we will hear from Doctor Leonane."

The image on the screen changed to human in a lab coat with a kind face. To Stormblade, nothing looked off about him, but something in the air made him uneasy. He turned his attention back to Yenn.

Yenn forced himself to turn around and face toward the screen. He wasn't paying attention to Stormblade, the other pokémon, Damian, or any of the humans milling around. The image of the person on the screen had his entire focus.

"Yenn? Come on, let's go."

Yenn heard Stormblade's voice come from somewhere, though at the moment, the words meant nothing to the yanmega. Nor did the noise from any of the other humans or pokémon in the crowd around them. All he could hear were the words coming from the large screen on the building.

"I cannot adequately express my thanks for all your help in raising money for our organization," the man on the screen said with a warm smile. "We hope to see the continued support from people like you. Our research works toward being able to help save the lives of beloved pokémon all across Inari and the world."

The scene behind the scientist on the screen changed, revealing diagrams of fossils and the ancient pokémon cloned from them. The scientist himself continued, speaking proudly. "As any trainer knows, scientists around the world have been able to clone pokémon for decades, creating new life from even fragments of ancient remains from extinct species. But here at IRIS our research takes a step in another direction, working towards a way to help existing pokémon who would otherwise have no chance of survival. For years, we have been focused on seeing how far we can go in cloning parts of pokémon such as vital organs, in order to save the lives of pokémon with injuries or diseases that would otherwise prove fatal."

Stormblade looked back at the screen, a feeling of growing dread building inside him as Yenn's near-frozen form still did not move from its place.

"The process of transplanting organs into a living pokémon can be quite difficult, particularly if multiple need to be transplanted at one time. However, using the individual pokémon's own cells to grow new tissues, we will be able to avoid some of the biggest risks and obstacles as well as the need for anti-rejection drugs, and save pokémon that there would otherwise be no hope for.

"With our test subjects," the scientist continued, "we were able to work towards perfecting our method until we achieved success. With Pokémon surviving multiple transplants at once and recovering fully. Pokémon, with their remarkable healing abilities, have always been an inspiration to us all, and lend hope to the future of human medicine as well.

"Our first subjects were groups of fully evolved or otherwise strong bug types common in Inari." The images behind the scientist changed to showing stock photos of pokémon. Volcarona. Frosmoth. Centiskorch. Scyther. Pinsir. Heracross. Yanmega.

"With this knowledge, we can easily expand this research to help pokémon of all types and species. We are ready to help volunteers with terminally ill pokémon of any kind. Eventually our methods will be put into practice at centers around the world. With your help, we can give those pokémon another chance."

Yenn felt the words ripping into him as if they were claws. They were reaching back deep into memories he'd kept from the forefront of his mind for so long, tearing them out into the open again. He knew that human. Not the calm, friendly smile he put on now, but he knew him. He hadn't seen him often, but each time was burned into his mind. The man's cold, grey-blue eyes that had showed no emotion. They weren't like a yanmega's eyes, warm and trustworthy, but rather cold and dark. There was an otherness to them, the way they hid so much beneath them in ways his kind never could.

The screen split in two, showing the humans at the desk on one side and the man in the lab coat on the other. The female human spoke cheerily. "Pokémon on death's door will be given another chance in the next stage of your research. And how are the subjects who fully recovered?"

"They have been the picture of health, even months after the healing was fully completed," the scientist said. "We take good care of all our pokémon, and always ensure the comfort of our test subjects."

"That's not true…" Yenn said, hardly above a whisper.

"We can't thank you enough for what you've done," the woman at the desk was saying. "You and your team are heroes. And you're going to save thousands of lives."

"It is vitally important to us," the man in the lab coat said. "We care greatly about the health and future of pokémon. And if we can prevent one tragedy-"

"They're lying. They're lying!" This time Yenn was shouting, his wings thrumming harder and sending bits of debris across the plaza floor. He could see some pokémon and trainers moving away from him. Shapes that he recognized as well as ones he didn't. All reacting to the noise he was making, staring at him. But not at the scientist on the screen. Not at the one who was spewing out lies.

A tall trainer near the building pointed at Yenn, looking angry. "Whose yanmega is this?" he shouted, trying to make himself heard over everything, over Yenn's own shouts. A few humans in official-looking uniforms began shouting in his direction as well.

Yenn couldn't piece together any of the words anyone was yelling at him – though he knew a few of the voices were from friends. It all melded together into a hellish cacophony. The image on the screen had switched back entirely to the first two humans and the playful pokémon on the desk. Their words the only things coming through to Yenn.

Helping. Saving pokémon. Save thousands of lives. Heroes.

"I wasn't sick! I wasn't sick!" he screamed at the screen itself. His vision blurred. He cut himself off, but his thoughts still raced through his mind. 'This isn't real,' he told himself. 'It's fake. It's fake, just like all those other times. All these humans can't be – Teresa had said – this was…'

But everything Teresa and his other friends had told him seemed to have been torn away in that moment, replaced by the thoughts and sensations and feelings he had spent so long trying to force into the back of his mind. Things that had already resurfaced in smaller bursts, like after the mishap at the pokémon center, and when he'd spotted the syringe lying in the pile of human trash several days earlier. But this time was different. This time it felt as if all the walls he'd built up in his mind, built to lock those memories away to where he could almost ignore them, were all crashing down. Those things – the pokémon center, the trash pile – had been reminders, things that brought back the pain of his time in the horrid lab, but they had ultimately been unconnected, and he'd been able to rebuild his walls. They'd only leaked before, but now it was all crashing down like he'd never be able to repair it again.

The scientist – his whole team – saw themselves as heroes, as saviors of pokémon. But to them, Yenn knew he had meant nothing. For all their talk of saving pokémon, he was never more than just a means to an end. A part of their 'heroic' project. A steppingstone for humans to walk over in their efforts toward something greater. A casualty in a quest meant for saving others. It didn't matter what happened to him. It had never mattered.

Suddenly below him, he noticed lights from the city's buildings flashing by in a blur as he sped towards the edge of the city. He didn't even remember making the decision to leave the others, didn't know what he'd said to Damian and the pokémon or if he'd even said anything at all. Did that matter? In his haze of panic and horror, he couldn't tell.

When he found himself in a spot beneath a group of trees, away from the lights of the city, he realized he couldn't remember getting there, and didn't know exactly where he was. Everything after he'd seen the scientist on the screen was a confusing blur of light and sound that he couldn't hope to make sense of. He felt suddenly exhausted – was that why he'd stopped flying? – and sank to the ground.

Memories, images and feelings kept cycling through his mind, the worst moments of his life repeating over and over on a twisted loop. Amongst it all were the words he'd just heard, portraying the same humans who'd torn everything from him as a beacon of inspiration. Holding them up as heroes. Telling that what they had done was good.

He remembered that day, waking up on the table believing that he had been disemboweled and for some sick reason kept alive. A plan for good. His senses returning as he remembered what the surgery was really for, but the incision shouldn't be that long, what did they…they said they were just – no! He should be dead. Hope for the future. Countless days of agony, agony he could do nothing to relieve. Helping. Endless months of darkness interspersed with painfully bright light. Saving. Drugs that barely took the edge off the pain. Heroes.

Yenn felt a sudden wave of nausea. He tried to steady himself, gasping for breath. It was mere moments before he leaned his head down and retched. When he was done heaving, he flew away from the spot, landing on a branch of one of the taller trees. After a few moments of trying to force the memories away, or at least make them less vivid, his mind began to regain some clarity. The memories circling through his head became a little less strong and forceful.

Then for the first time, he noticed a trail of something dark blocking out a line in one side of his vision. At the same time, he could taste blood trickling into the side of his mouth. Lifting one of his forelegs above his left eye, he quickly realized where it was coming from. The wound on his head from the skirmish with the tyranitar had opened up again.

"Wh-what…" he began, looking at the drops running down from the tip of his tarsal claw. He hadn't remembered being struck or flying into anything, though he supposed it wasn't out of the question considering his frantic flight from the city.

Taking note of his surroundings, he could see moonlight glinting off still water in the near distance. He flew over to it, realizing that it was a small pond. He landed at the edge and peered into the water, trying to get an idea of where he must have been hit whenever he'd crashed.

What he saw told him that he hadn't crashed at all.

The two staples that the humans at the pokémon center had used to close his wound were gone, leaving an open, bloody mess. He lifted his front pair of legs, realizing they were both stained with drying blood. At some point in his flight, he had torn the staples out.

He stared at his reflection numbly, his first thought for some reason being that he didn't want to hear whatever lecture the rest of the group was going to give him for doing such a thing. He turned away from the water, not wanting to bother with trying to clean the blood off his eye. The fiery pain from his head wound barely registered to him as he thought of what he had seen on that building's screen.

As he stood there, memories of his frantic flight from the city, and the desperate fear that had driven him to tear out the bits of metal the humans had used to close his wound resurfaced. He pushed them away. Better not to think about it. It was already done.

Gradually his breathing slowed down, but instead of feeling relief, as he usually did after such incidents, he only felt lost and empty. Everything he'd wanted to believe about the human world from Snowcrystal, Teresa, and the others had been turned on its head. He'd only just opened his mind to the idea that most humans weren't the sort of monsters who had held him captive during those years. But then there was the crowd at the base of the skyscraper, honoring those very same scientists as forces for good.

Another sick feeling washed over him as he suddenly wondered if some part of their actions were right. There would be casualties for the 'greater good.' Hadn't Cyclone said that? Surely the humans thought the same. Because it had never been about him. It was about those humans. Their vision. What they believed was right. He had just been a part of their plan. He had never mattered. It was about the pokémon that technology could save. Perhaps even his hate was unfounded, because he was never supposed to matter in the grand scheme of things.

Yenn wasn't sure how long he stood there, his wings limply touching to the ground. He only became aware that a good amount of time had passed when a rustling among the bushes nearby got his attention. At first, he didn't bother to move, not caring if a wild pokémon saw him in such a state, but then he saw the figure that emerged, its form tall and lanky. It took an unstable step toward him, flashing a light in his direction.

"Yenn?" a worried voice called.

Though Yenn recognized the voice as Damian's, he couldn't stop himself from backing away as the trainer made his way into the clearing, Scytheclaw, Arien, and Spark by his side.

Damian paused, taking in Yenn's appearance as the yanmega stared back at him. Yenn watched the human, almost frozen, only able to back away with weak beats of his wings. His heart pounded, the sight of Damian's form inciting fear in him even when he knew it shouldn't.

"Yenn, it's me," Damian said, his voice growing more concerned. "What…happened? I-"

"Why'd you fly off like that?" Scytheclaw shouted. "Everyone was worried sick about you. And what the hell did you do to your wound?"

"Stop…" Yenn muttered, not sure whether he was speaking loudly enough for the others to hear him or not. "Just stop, okay?" He focused on Damian, knowing in the back of his mind that there was nothing to be afraid of, but some part of his brain was sending fear signals through his body.

"Hey, don't worry," Damian said, stepping closer cautiously as Scytheclaw watched with wide eyes, whispering something to the other two pokémon. "We just want to help. Just follow us back, all right?"

Yenn didn't move save for the beats of his wings as he hovered near the ground. He knew the fear was irrational, but it was still there, his instincts screaming different things at him at once, to flee, to hide, or simply shout and hope they'd go away.

"Look, we won't force you to do anything," Damian said, crouching down carefully while balancing his weight on his good leg. "Whatever happened back there…" He paused, and Yenn was suddenly aware that Damian had realized exactly what that TV broadcast had meant. "…We'll figure out what to do later. But, please, come with us."

Yenn thought for a moment, trying to push the horrid images from his head, to do what Damian was asking of him, but something else came to the surface first.

"You don't know what it was like!" he screamed, his voice hoarse and raw. He wanted to stop talking, to refuse to let those memories…those things out in words from his own mouth. But a part of him didn't care, and he found he couldn't stop himself as he continued to shout. "Do you want to know what it was really like? What they weren't telling you on that screen? Day after day after day. Just blinding lights or pure darkness. Humans constantly sticking needles and tubes into me. Every single day. Just pain and humans and pokémon who didn't care. You know what I had to look forward to every day, Damian? The one thing I had? It was that in the first few minutes of waking up in the morning, the sleep drugs would make me too confused, too out of it to feel the worst of the pain. That's it. Every single day. I had to endure every procedure they put me through every single time. Always isolated unless it was one painful test or another. Months and months and months! You would never understand."

The others went silent, but Yenn had no intention of trying to stop the sudden flow of words. "They think it was for the 'greater good.' Like Cyclone does. Cyclone is a monster, but maybe he had one thing right, if this is the sort of thing humans look up to! The sort of humans your cities celebrate as heroes!"

Damian and the others stood in shock.

Yenn paused, finding his breath gone and his voice weak. He waited in silence, knowing he shouldn't have said what he had, but not sure he cared anymore. The waiting pokémon beside Damian quietly whispered something amongst themselves. Yenn realized he didn't feel up to talking any more, and he wasn't going to try to explain what had happened to his wound.

Luckily, no one asked again. "Come back with us," Damian said gently again, reaching a hand fearlessly toward the yanmega. "We'll help. You don't have to explain anything else."

Yenn waited a moment, watching the trainer's outstretched hand. The rational part of him knew he should listen, and with great effort, he forced himself to move forward, hovering above and just to the side of Damian. No further words were spoken as the group headed back to their meetup spot at the edge of the trees.

-ooo-

Yenn still didn't speak as he waited in the clearing while Damian rummaged through his supplies. As Damian pulled some out, Yenn recoiled from the bottles and tubes of medicine, so Damian simply bandaged the wound to stop it from bleeding, knowing it was better than nothing. After that, Yenn felt the need to distance himself again, watching as pokémon entered the clearing and worried whispers came from them. He hoped they were worried for him, not because of what he might do, but he didn't want to stay around to find out.

Despite the protests of a few of the group, Yenn gave Damian a mumbled promise to return soon and flew out into the trees until he found a quiet clearing to rest in. Though most of the raw panic had subsided, he felt numb, the words of the humans on the screen still playing in his mind like memories of a bad dream.

When Yenn was sure he was alone, he landed in the grass, not bothering to find a perch on a tree. He felt bad for leaving the others, knowing they would be worried, but the hectic group and their confused questions were too much for him to process at the moment.

His world and everything he'd believed in had once again been turned upside down. And yet again, a place he had finally thought might be safe had betrayed him. Everything that had happened to him in those years in the lab, the humans in the city Teresa had so eagerly showed him were in support of it. He wished he could forget, go back to a few hours before when he had been ignorant of it. But he knew he could never forget.

Rain started to fall, but Yenn still did not fly to a higher spot, merely letting the rain fall against him as he lay still on the ground. In a weird sort of way, it was calming, something else to focus on other than the turmoil that was lurking just behind the numbness in his mind. He found it hard to care about the cold the rain brought to him, glad that he could try and forget, even for a moment. He would soon have to go back to the others, face more questions, but not now. Now he could simply rest.

He wasn't sure exactly how long he lay there, his usually restless energy gone. He noticed a few wild pokémon glancing at him cautiously through the trees as they walked by, but none came close and he paid them no attention. Gradually, the rain began to slow, turning into a gentle drizzle.

A helpless feeling washed over him. He felt lost, like he wasn't sure he wanted to go back to the group, wasn't sure he wanted to keep going to try to find help from the legendaries. Could he go back into the city to help Snowcrystal find the growlithe that may be her tribe-mate? He wasn't sure, but for the first time since escaping the lab, what seemed like ages ago, he didn't feel that moving in any sort of direction would help. One decision seemed as pointless as another. As the sky began to lighten, he decided he might as well head back to the others, and so he left the rain-soaked clearing behind him and made a slow flight back.

-ooo-

The others eagerly welcomed him back, but Yenn wasn't sure if he deserved it. He found that that everyone in the group had gathered in the meeting place clearing, and he lay numbly beneath a tree, grateful they weren't asking him too many questions and seemed okay with giving him space.

Some of the trainers had offered him food, but he wasn't interested in that. As the sky got brighter, Yenn realized they couldn't leave him be forever, and sure enough, Damian came over to him with his bag of supplies again.

"Look, I…need to clean your wound," the trainer said. "I want to make it as easy as possible, so if there's anything I can do, just say so. I can't pretend to know what you've been through, but…"

"Just…forget you heard all that," Yenn told him wearily.

Damian paused, looking like he was frantically searching for something to say.

"Look, I promise, I'm not crazy," Yenn said, staring intently at him. "Even after everything that's happened. They didn't make me crazy! I wouldn't let them." His voice became frantic again. "They can't take that from me. Every last day I spent there, I thought of getting free. I wouldn't let all the twisted shit they'd spew get into my mind!"

Thunder, who was standing nearby, turned to him. To his surprise, she spoke in what almost seemed like a calming voice, or even just a less sharp version of her blunt, matter-of-fact way of speaking. "The breakdown Scytheclaw said you had last night? I've seen that happen to a lot of pokémon. Doesn't mean you're 'crazy,' whatever that's meant to mean. It means you've been through hell."

Yenn was surprised to hear such a thing coming from Thunder, who he had assumed never liked him much, or at least had little interest in him. He felt grateful to her, but wasn't really sure what to say. Damian directed his attention instead. Yenn's anxiety rose, because the last thing he wanted was to be reminded of sterile human medical equipment, but obviously something needed to be done about his filthy wound.

Damian reached for a bag of treats, but he hesitated, clearly seeing that Yenn wasn't interested. It was something he knew to look out for in pokémon meant to eat often; not eating was a major sign something was very wrong.

"I wasn't sick..." Yenn said quietly. "I wasn't sick..."

"What?" Damian asked, pausing.

"When they took me." Yenn waited for Damian to question him further, but to his relief, he didn't. "I did want to stop the humans," the yanmega said quietly. "I hated them more than anything, but...I don't know, maybe I just thought that if I helped stop them, that if I set things right...things would somehow be okay. I just can't believe that after all this time, the humans…thought they were doing the right thing. And maybe they were. That's what I'm afraid of the most. That what they did was okay."

To his surprise, it was Arien who spoke first, before Damian could say something. The alakazam's voice sounded uncharacteristically gentle. "Humans have other ways. Sometimes, pokémon need to undergo experimental procedures, in order to find out what can best help heal them. There is a better way to do it that some...most...humans use. They find pokémon who already have a health problem with no treatment or cure, and allow them to volunteer. After the procedure is done, they do everything they can to treat the pokémon well, make sure they are in as little pain as possible. Even those who feel they can't use volunteers would at least strive for that, if they have any morals at all. And it doesn't sound like Doctor Leonane even cared to make sure of that. What they did to you was wrong. Don't be mistaken about that."

Yenn watched the alakazam, a bit shocked at his words.

"Ethical scientists and medical professionals don't keep pokémon locked in dark rooms. They have painkillers that work. They treat their patients with respect."

For a reason Yenn did not understand, the alakazam's words gave him a sense of calm, even if it was only that he felt validated. That someone finally knew a bit more and understood, and didn't side with his enemies.

"Those humans in the plaza," Yenn said after a moment, "they were calling the scientists…heroic. Did they…"

"It's extraordinarily likely that the people at the club simply did not know the process," Arien replied. "How could they? They took the scientists' words and believed they were more ethical than they really were. Sadly, things can go on behind closed doors, away from the knowledge of the public, for a long time. I can assure you that most trainers would be outraged, were they to learn the truth about what you went through."

Yenn stilled, something like hope flickering inside him. "I…I hope you're right," Yenn replied. He wanted to believe that, desperately. That the humans would have come to his aid had they known. Yet trying to think about it now was overwhelming, so he tried to push it away. Too many things had happened. Too many things he had learned. Now all he wanted was to rest.

Damian held up a small bottle of some sort of ointment, looking to Yenn worriedly. "I…have to use this to prevent any infection," he said. "It'll hurt a bit, but…"

"I know," Yenn replied, bracing himself as Damian applied a cloth to his head. At the sudden sting of the antiseptic, his body jerked away involuntarily and his wings flickered, but afterward he forced himself to remain still, glad that no one had commented on his reaction.

As he forced himself to hold still, trying not to think about the feeling of the cloth against his chitin, he began to really notice how gentle Damian was being compared to the humans who had treated him in the lab. Damian was obviously showing a sort of care that he hadn't believed humans were capable of until just recently. He had a brief thought that Ashend and Itora wouldn't be able to believe it if they could see what was happening to him now.

After a short while, Damian finished the treatment and reapplied the bandages. Yenn stood up, realizing that as much as the thought unnerved him – for irrational reasons, he knew –the wound did feel better after Damian's treatment.

They were silent for a moment, the other pokémon likely realizing he didn't want to be bothered. Then Yenn turned back to Damian. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"No problem," Damian replied. "I've treated lots of pokémon for injuries. It's kind of second nature by now."

Teresa walked up to Yenn and Damian carefully. "I brought something for you," she said. Yenn watched as she set a box on the ground, opening to reveal a bigger variety of the treats he had seen in the shop.

"You don't need to eat any now," Teresa said. "Or at all, really, if it gives you a bad memory."

"No, it's just fine," Yenn said calmly, nudging his head against her leg. "It's more than enough. Thank you." He looked up at her, still noting a worried expression. "It's…not your fault, if you thought that. I mean, I wanted to go into the city, it was my choice. Trust me, you're the last human to have done anything wrong."

"Oh, no, don't worry, it's just…" she trailed off a bit, looking uneasy, but relaxed as Yenn gently nudged her leg again. "It's all right. And, um, about what the people on the screen said…"

"I…I shouldn't keep thinking about this," Yenn interrupted. "I shouldn't be making anyone else worry either. And…I keep trying to become better. To move on. Not let it affect me anymore. But some part of my mind is just...stuck. I don't know how to fix that."

Teresa and Damian exchanged a glance. "I'm…not sure either," Damian admitted. "There are…things I can't move on from."

"Don't worry about trying to move on," Teresa told him. "You don't have to try to conquer this all at once."

Thunder, still standing close to the group, watched them with an interest she usually reserved for Nightshade. At Teresa's words, she nodded.

"I just wish…" Yenn began, trying to put his thoughts to words, "that our side of the story could be seen. Maybe then…more pokémon would be saved from having to go through something like that. I wanted to do something about it, that's why I joined Cyclone, but now I don't think I can."

"Maybe you actually have the ability to do so," a voice said, and they turned to Arien. "Perhaps, when you feel you can, you can speak out against these sort of organizations. With the help of me, and my trainer. Damian wanted to get started on that, actually."

"I…" Yenn trailed off, shaking his head. "Would they believe me?" He hated that he had to admit to himself that he was in no way ready to talk about any of the details of his confinement. "I hope they would. I hope it would help."

"They should know," Teresa added. "When people justify doing something bad…something awful…for what they think is a good reason, it heads down a very dangerous path. It means that in their minds, they can do whatever they want to someone with no moral consequences."

Yenn thought back to Cyclone, to the terrible plans and methods he had listened to and agreed with, in haze of anger, and felt disgusted. How he could have ever heard those things and agreed with them, he could hardly understand. And Cyclone was still out there, still waiting to strike, still turning more pokémon on a hateful and dangerous path.

"We can get the word out ourselves, as much as we can," Teresa added, nodding to the other trainers. "Someone will listen."

"I'll try," Yenn said quietly. "I'll try to help you. If it will help future pokémon, that will be my goal. Even if I have to go into the cities again. I'm going to get there. And I want to help you stop Cyclone. Stop the Forbbiden Attacks. Save Snowcrystal's tribe. I'll do whatever it takes, go with you anywhere that doesn't have a roof locking me in."

"There's something I told Damian when he was younger," Arien said gently. "If you ever choose to forgive the ones that harmed you, that will never mean they aren't responsible or shouldn't have their actions out in the open for others to see. Forgiveness is for you; you don't have to include them in that picture. And that's only if you want to forgive. You do not have to. It is your choice."

Yenn thought back, wondering if the scientists had ever felt any guilt. He was sure he had seen some, sometimes, but it hadn't stopped them. It didn't mean they weren't doing wrong. They thought they were doing a good thing, but that hadn't mattered either. If anything, having guilt probably just made them feel better about what they were doing. But Arien was right, he didn't have to forgive them, or give them excuses. And maybe one day, he could help the chain of events his trainer friends started that could stop them.

But for now, he needed to rest. He quietly laid his head back down, crossing his front legs in front of him and curling his tail towards his body. He felt a bit better, and the worst of the shock had worn off. Now he just wanted to sleep, and he knew the others would gladly allow him that.

To be continued…