In the early waking hours of the day, flying within the brisk morning air, a colony of bubbles would blow down the streets, carrying with them a gentle melody. Their silver lights glittered as they rose higher and higher into the endless sky. And when the villagers would see these bubbles and hear their song, they would know all is well for Xerneas has heard their prayers.
On this morning, those bubbles did not fly. They did not meet the villagers at their windows and doors because graver matters required their full attention. Their songstress could not spare a single, precious bubble towards their average route. She could not let them scatter and fly free for she needed their aid in her group service, a special gathering of the village to pool together the last bits of hope left in this trying time.
"Even now in our uncertainty," Lillian continued on, "Lady Xerneas still smiles upon us. Her grace has not dimmed. Her light: unwithered. Her crystal shines bright with her ethereal radiance and so too must our hearts."
Her voice sounded like a merciful melody, healing and kind. It carried with it her deeply held beliefs and passion that could not be wavered or broken. If Ace was to be their pillar of strength, then Lillian was their pillar of faith. A bridge between Xerneas's unearthly grace and this mortal plane. A medium for the Mother of Life's tender embrace.
"Let us take this moment and pray. Pray for the pokemon on the front lines giving their blood, sweat and tears to bringing our loved ones home. Pray for the little ones; that they may still believe they'll see their families again. And, if you have it in your hearts, pray for the one that started this all. Pray for them, for they are lost. Pray for them, for they are scared. Pray for them, for they, too, carry a light of Xerneas within their soul."
The crowd took on a serene silence where not even a sniffle or a cough broke through. Their eyes closed, deeply immersed in their thoughts and wishes but they dared not utter them less they break their spell. From the earth beneath their feet, little bubbles as gentle and light as fireflies sprouted free from the grass and dirt. They rose up, tickling the ears of the villagers and hanging in the air just above their heads.
Although Crystal knew they were Lillian's doing, she couldn't see them as showy tricks to liven her sermon. They were more sacred than simple smoke and mirrors. They floated on hope and shimmered with faith, leaving her chest fluffy and airy at the very sight of them.
"Please, look upon Xerneas's tree as I send her your prayers." Lillian asked of the crowd, her flippers turning her body to face their great Tree of Being.
She stood upright on her tail fin, balancing with practiced steadiness as she pressed her flippers together. A soft inhale and she began to sing. Crystal couldn't say she knew the language being sung. Perhaps it was a tongue only known to Xerneas and her priests and priestesses, but it was beautiful all the same.
Her bubbles glowed bright, excitement glittering off their glossy surface. They could not contain themselves, wanting to dance in Lillian's melodic air. Off they went to join her, bouncing and swaying in the breeze. Who knew bubbles could know joy from the smallest of places?
Lillian held one in her flippers, looking upon the little prayer with loving affection. A soft smile turned up her lips in her song, the gesture dancing in her eyes. She helped it on its way, raising it up to its floating brethren.
The bubbles formed a line, spiraling around the tree. They climbed higher and higher, moving with the priestess's crescendoing voice. And as their glow radiated brighter against the bark, a subtle glow from the tree shined back. A cerulean glow that seeped from the groves and crawled up to its branches.
Crystal felt her heart skip a beat, her breath catching in her throat and her lungs paying a moment of silence to the ethereal sign. This wasn't Lillian's doing, was it? She may have called it, but it was the tree answering to her voice.
No, not quite the tree.
From its base, Crystal could see where the glow shined the brightest, where its light flickered groggily in the hollow cavity that housed the sacred artifact. Xerneas… Xerneas was really listening.
The bubbles popped in its canopy, sprinkling their wishes onto its highest peak and the song died back into silence. Lillian lowered her arms with a breathless exhale, looking upon Xerneas's glow before she faded back into her slumber.
She gave a gentle nod and turned slowly back to the crowd. "Lady Xerneas has heard us. She has heard our voice and assures us that we'll be fine. We'll make it through this, all of us. Just a bit longer, we just have to hold out just a bit longer."
Perhaps it was because it came from Lillian, perhaps it was because it was a message from Xerneas, but the village received her words with cries of gratitude, shouting their blessings and praises to their goddess. She even saw the ursaring, once maddened with uncertainty and grief just the other day, weep silently while muttering a mantra of thank yous under her breath.
Crystal's eyes moved back to Lillian as she made her way off her stage. She watched her shuffling herself out of sight, her movements slow and stiff. She wondered if she was okay and, before the thought could finish running across her consciousness, she was already squeezing her way through the crowd.
She repeated her 'cuse mes and pardons until she broke out from the thicket of bodies. Her mind pulled back into focus, following Lillian's trail back behind the tree.
"This is why I told you not to push yourself."
Her ears flickered at the sound of Jezebel's voice, turning towards the source and following with her eyes.
"You can hardly stand. What were you thinking pulling a stunt like that?"
Lillian chuckled, her voice faint and soft, "It's not that bad. You make it sound like I'm dying."
"Lily?" Crystal looked to the two, catching Lillian's body leaning over Jezebel's back, lacking the energy to support herself.
"Oh dear," Lillian said but didn't sound too alarmed by Crystal's presence, "you weren't supposed to see me like this."
"Are you okay?" Crystal asked.
"I'll be fine after resting for a bit." she assured her, tapping Jezebel's shoulder to have the torracat lower her down.
Jezebel moved carefully, gently setting her on the grass before taking a seat beside her. Just because the brionne was no longer hanging on her back didn't mean her aid was done. Even while sitting on the solid earth, she still allowed Lillian to lean against her side.
"Calling for Xerneas like that just takes a lot out of a body like mine." Lillian continued, smiling contently as if there was no helping her helpless state.
Jezebel chewed away at her lip, biting her tongue on what Crystal could only assume were more words of chastisement. But she swallowed them down, no doubt seeing them as nothing but a wasted effort. Still, her tail tapped away, her unease funneling down to its tip and beating the earth steadily.
Lillian pressed a flipper to the feline's head, idly petting at the stripe between her ears. "But that's what I got Jesse for. She'll make sure I'm fine so no need to worry your cute little head over me."
Jezebel didn't say anything but what more was needed to be said, really. There was nothing else to it than that, the brionne hitting it right on the nose. Although, even though Crystal was sure this was already a well-established fact of life between the two of them, she did manage to spot a happy little rosy blush playing games with Crystal's eyes. Was it there? Was it just the shadows playing tricks? And was that a purr rumbling in her throat. Crystal couldn't know for sure and Jezebel certainly wasn't going to look at her to either confirm or deny the sight.
Better leave it as a "mystery." Crystal breathed a soft smile onto her lips. "Guess I'll leave the worrying to Jezebel, then."
"Hey! Don't put it all on me." Jezebel said, turning to Crystal quickly.
Got'cha, Crystal held in a chuckle, rolling her eyes to look away from the torracat's scowl.
Lillian did not share that same restraint, letting her giggles bubble up and out to where Jezebel could hear her soft, giddy voice. But her giddiness did not last long, something popping behind her eyes and sobering her mind. "I'd be more worried about Ace than me right about now…"
Crystal's heart sank, feeling it drop into her stomach like a heavy stone. "Is her still out there?" she asked, the question flowing out slow and hesitant.
"Searching like a madman…" Jezebel answered with a short sigh, "I mean, I get it but what does he expect to find searching in a frenzy? He should have just taken it as a sign to stay home. Arceus knows he's been running himself completely ragged.
"That… might be for the best…" Lillian admitted, hiding her words behind a murmuring whisper, "Zeke could take over for him in the meantime, but running around out there like that can't be good for him…"
Crystal's eyes lowered, "This is all my fault…" The words slipped free from her thoughts.
"What is?" Lillian tried asking but Crystal quickly left, running away before her loose lips could let anymore fly from her head.
If only she had said something sooner, if only she had noticed faster, she wouldn't feel as cornered as she did now.
~uwu~
"It's not your fault, Crystal." Emizella tried comforting her, "How were you supposed to know it'd be Ruby and Garnet next?" but it was going in one ear and out the other.
"I wasn't, but that's why I had to say something sooner. Instead… I kept second-guessing myself… We could have gotten somewhere by now if I hadn't-"
"Hey," she stopped Crystal's train of thought, stepping in front of her and halting their midnight patrol. "It's. Not. Your. Fault."
"But-"
A digit pressed to her mouth, stopping her again. "You think this is something you can take all the blame for? So you didn't say anything, neither did anyone else. There's more than enough blame to go around, I can take some fault too, but don't think you can hog it all for yourself."
Crystal stayed silent, feeling everything in her brain being scared stiff under Emizella's scolding glare. She didn't think she was capable of making the riolu angry with her. Or, perhaps, frustrated was a better word for it.
Emizella moved her hand away, "You're supposed to learn from your mistakes, not let them weigh you down. My partner is better than that."
"I'm sorry…" Crystal muttered.
"Don't apologize with your words, apologize with action."
Crystal's lips opened but she held onto the words that rose on her breath. No more apologies, she reminded herself before she could make the same mistake again, just do better. She gave an affirmative nod of her head, strong and firmly set to overwrite her blunders.
The stern look on Emizella's face melted into an encouraging smile, "Good. Then let's-"
Her attention shifted to the nearby bushes, the feelers on her head standing slightly and Crystal understood why as she stared into the same shrubbery patch. That wasn't the wind rustling those leaves; there was someone sneaking around in there. She couldn't tell the level of how bad it was, whether it was an intruder of a runaway, but it wasn't getting away.
They gave a silent glance to each other. Move slow, their eyes spelled out in the air between them. They crept carefully, Crystal's stomach feeling tickled by the grass while Emizella tip-toed over every little twig and pebble in her path. Whoever it was hiding away in the bushes were in for a surprise, the two girls pouncing through the leaves and tackling down their unsuspecting target.
"Alright, alright! I give, just get off of me." their captive whined within the commotion.
Crystal recognized the voice—a good sign that it wasn't an intruder—and Emizella recognized the face.
"Jasper?!" Runaway it is. "What are you doing out here?"
Jasper stilled, his eyes turning away with a nervous twitch. "Oh, you know. Just hanging around…" he answered with a subtle squeak inching into his voice.
"'Hanging around'?" Emizella repeated, a skeptical brow raising at the lackluster excuse.
"Yeah, have you tried it? It's really relaxing. Good for the soul, you know?"
Emizella stared for a moment longer, contemplating something behind those narrowed, suspecting eyes. They closed in a grin, cheerful deception dripping from the smile on her lips. "Oh yeah, I think I've heard that too. Really good stuff. But you know what's even better?" Oh, here it comes. "Sleeping, which I think you should be doing." her voice dipped, the corners of her lips dropping and the façade fading away.
"You don't understand!" Jasper exclaimed, his legs kicking and clawing into the dirt. Futile scrapings as he didn't budge an inch from under their bodies.
"No, you don't understand! What are you even doing out here? First it's Ruby and Garnet and now you want to be next?" Emizella growled behind gritted teeth, her hold tightening over his shoulders.
"No, but-"
"How would your parents feel if you went missing too? I don't think they could handle that." Crystal told him with a slow shake of her head. Despite the firmness of Emizella's tone, she elected to use a softer, gentler approach. They both didn't need to speak harshly, he seemed old enough to make do with one.
"I know, but-"
"No buts. We're taking you home right now." Emizella declared, moving to let the growlithe up but only on her terms.
"Can't you just wait a second?"
"Wait for what? This isn't a game, Jasper. We can't afford to take this lightly anymore."
His growls rumbled louder, shaking the air until he had enough. His teeth sunk into the back of Emizella's hand, snarling as the scissor-sharp fangs locked onto her and made their message clear.
"Ow! Did you just bite me?"
"Because you're not listening to me! I have to find Ruby and Garnet myself and I… I'll bite you again if you try to get in my way." He tried to sound ferocious, adding a snarl to back up his raised hackles, but his eyes looked more desperate than anything else. Shoved into a corner and left with no other options. It was fight or flight and he was preparing to fight.
A grumble sounded in Emizella's throat but a gentle paw on her shoulder asked that she bite back the words flavoring her tongue.
"Emi… let's listen to what he has to say." Crystal said softly, eyes beckoning her friend to accept the suggestion.
"You know what Ace said." Emizella whispered back.
"We're watching him. We can spare a minute, can't we?"
They both eyed the young growlithe, his puzzlement slowly morphing the aggression pressed forcefully on his face into befuddlement and intrigue. The riolu eyed him for a second longer before sighing, unlatching her grip and letting him go.
"Alright, but only a minute."
With his unasked question answered, Jasper's tension eased off his body, shaking off its remnants before adjusting into a comfortable seated position. He tried looking back to the two letting him off easy, trying to fish for the motivation that pushed him to come this far, but the guilt and unbearable shame coming over his eyes seemed a lot harder for him to deal with than biting and growling at his fellow villager.
He couldn't look them in the eyes as he explained his late-night outing. "It was supposed to be all three of us. Ruby, Garnet and me, we were going to find something to help dad and the others close this case. Ruby thought there was something we could do that the adults couldn't and it sounded right. Only little kids were going missing so maybe only little kids could get close enough to find any clues."
So they were thinking the same thing…
"We couldn't have just one of us go, but if we looked out for each other, then we thought we wouldn't fall for any tricks or traps. That's… what we thought anyway. So, when mom and dad were asleep, we tried to leave, but then Rose wanted to come with us. We couldn't take a baby with us." he said, speaking as if that was the craziest part of the triplet's scheme. Honestly, the whole thing sounded ludicrously dangerous even if they were the eldest in their household. "So, I stayed behind to make sure she was safe. Ruby said they'd be back by morning before anyone knew they were gone. But…" His tears began to flow, sliding down his cheeks in relentless waterfalls of sorrow and regret. "I should have stopped her…" he sobbed, "I should have stopped them both. I didn't know that… I…" his words fumbled, crashing out in fragments and incomplete jumbles.
The pungent taste of lies; Crystal recognized the feeling.
"We just wanted everyone to believe in Dad again… We just wanted to help…"
His cries echoed in Crystal's head, a large bell dinging away in there and sending out its vibrations down her legs and into the tip of her tail. It shouldn't have been brought to this, where the youth sought to fix the errors of their world, but here Jasper was, crying at the futility of their attempt; sobbing at the mistake of believing they could make a difference. Yet, despite the misgivings born from the past, here he was, out and trying again. Crystal really didn't want to stamp this out. To let it end with just taking him home seemed like a waste of his bravery. A shame, really.
"Okay, minute's up." Emizella broke through the sniffles and sobs, startling Jasper enough to turn up his head. Crystal couldn't contain her startlement either, her head turning quickly on her shoulders.
She studied her face, her crimson irises cooled but her arms tensed as they crossed over her chest. She had been patient, holding off on the commentary and her criticisms for his promised minute. But now the limit of her self-restraint was up and she was free to speak her mind.
"First off, I don't see what you think you're going to accomplish going off on your own. At least Ruby and Garnet had each other, but what about you? Were you going to take on the kidnapper by yourself? Or were you going to pull off a daring rescue like in books?"
Oh, she was holding back hard, Crystal cringed, feeling the biting sting of Emizella's words and they weren't even for her. Sure, she was right but maybe she could have said it more… gently, maybe?
"I… I don't-" Jasper muttered through weak lips but bit them when Emizella held a hand up.
"I'm not finished." she told him, "It's my turn, so let me finish. You are aware that if your plan had failed, not only would everyone lose all hope in your dad but both your mom and dad would be completely crushed. I'm talking about broken beyond repair. They'll never come back from it." A deep, heavy sigh rolled out from her chest, easing her back down from her rant. "I'd say the only good part of your plan is that your heart is in the right place, but you can't go at it alone. That's why I'm going to have to come with you."
Jasper's jaw hung open, trying to find something to say but, with Emizella's final call, he forgot how words work. But Crystal kept her surprise down to a minimum. She shouldn't even feel a little bit surprised. She knew Emizella wouldn't sit around when she could do something more—of course she knew—but at the first chance of action? Crystal had to wonder if she had been biding her time waiting for such a chance behind behaving with the public safety official's rules and regulations established at this time. But what a way to turn the tables on the poor growlithe. His lips were still fumbling from the shock.
"Okay, now I'm done. Your turn, Crystal." Emizella's sudden torch toss left Crystal the next one to stumble with her own answer.
"Wha- Me too?" Crystal asked.
Emizella was kind of joking but really kind of not. There were three pokemon here. Jasper had his turn. Emizella had hers. Now Crystal had to give voice to her own thoughts too. This was too reckless of an idea not to say anything about it.
"Yeah. Now's your chance to talk us out of it. You're smart, right? You know how stupid dangerous this is, right? So c'mon, give it to us."
"You've already given plenty…" Crystal muttered under her breath. She gave a soft sigh, looking between the two of them, "Even if I tried to talk either of you out of it, there's no way you're actually going to budge, is there?"
"I'd really rather not…" Jasper gave his answer.
"No, not really." And Emizella gave hers.
"Right then. So my real options are to either come with you or tell someone else to try to stop the two of you. And you know I'm not going to tell, don't you, Emi?"
Emizella just smiled, letting the grin on her lips speak volumes without a single uttered sound.
"Right… You know, you could have just said you wanted to help instead of scaring the poor kid."
"But where's the fun in that. Besides, Jasper deserved at least a little bit of a verbal licking for trying to sneak off by himself in the first place. And for biting me." she raised an eyebrow at that, looking towards Jasper and waiting for the apology she never did receive.
"Oh, um, sorry about that." he said, getting it out of the way quickly so he could address what had come to mind after the shock that left him speechless, "But are you guys really sure about coming along? You'd be breaking the rules too."
"We don't really have a lot of options now, do we?" Crystal asked with a slight tilt of her head.
"Plus, we're going to be adventurers too. If there's something we can do, then we can't just turn the other way." Emizella added with a firm nod of her head.
Crystal nodded her head in agreement, sharing the sentiment as Emizella's partner and adventurer in training. She didn't think they'd go along with the idea of using one of the children to lure their kidnapper out of hiding, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And with this being their one and only shot, these were definitely desperate times.
Jasper only had one thing to say to the two girls. With remnants of tears lingering in his eyes and a smile quivering across his lips, he muttered the familiar phrase that Crystal recognized all too well.
"Thank you…"