Chapter 15 - Inevitable

"This is still filthy! Look right here!"

"What!? It's completely clean!"

"You've left more uncleaned than cleaned!"

"I cleaned it! So I'm done!"

"Unacceptable! Begin again from the start!"

Poor, poor Leah. I was standing a few feet from the door to her house bearing witness to the audible exchange between the Fennekin and her disgruntled guardian. Her tactics last night that allowed her to avoid that lecture now worked against her, as she was superficially tasked with cleaning as punishment. I had a moment of pity for her, knowing she likely would be occupied for the entire day with her chore, and followed it up with a moment of gratitude that Nuzleaf wasn't a decimal as strict as Carracosta. When I woke up this morning and emerged sluggishly from my room to grab some food, he let me know that he was impressed with my adventurous spirit. He was rather upset that I got myself injured, but he also said he had no other issues with last night. He didn't even ask for details, which I was also grateful for, because at the time, I didn't have the mental strength to so much as form a rational thought.

Now it was the afternoon, and I had gotten a satisfying nap in to ward away the lingering enervation. Last night I had planned on taking a day or two off from Society work considering my condition and the fact that Leah probably wouldn't be immediately available anyway. When I woke up from that nap, however, I felt pretty alright... not exactly energized, but well enough to go on a light mission and get something productive accomplished in the remaining hours of the day.

A light breeze tickled my scales, running between the houses passing by and gently nudging the blades of grass at my feet. The sound of children, likely those still a year or two away from joining the upper classroom, could be heard in the distance on the far side of the lake, engaged in a game that would last until their mothers or Kanghaskan called them in for lunch. The sky was a painted a beautiful shade of sapphire with not a blotch of white in sight, and I stopped for a moment to simply gaze. If there was such thing as a calm after the storm, this must be it. Things were irrevocably peaceful in Serene Village once again.

I strolled down to where the road forks, immersed with the connection orb's ridiculous loading time. The signal in Serene Village was absolutely awful, and although it would always eventually connect, it still irritated me every time the little hourglass sat spinning on the screen for a mesmerizing amount of time just to complete one simple task. Perhaps this wouldn't remain an issue if a trip were to be taken to a more developed area, but for now I would just have to deal with it. Not that I was in any mood to gripe - I was actually feeling quite elated on this day even with the encompassing soreness reverberating through me with every step.

I heard someone call my name, and I looked up to see the entire class hanging around by the trees, signaling for me to come over.

"Hey Sage!" Deerling's voice called from up ahead.

"Hey," I greeted as I approached. "Did you all make it home without any trouble?"

"Yep," Goomy replied. "Nobody had any problems. What about you, Sage?"

"Well..." I began with an awkward chuckle. This would probably be awkward. "Me and Leah might've gotten caught by Carracosta... heh..."

Everyone gasped.

"You got caught?" Pancham exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips and whistling. "Woo- that's a tough break. And by Carracosta no less!"

"Yeah, I got a hell of a lecture, and Leah's cleaning the house as punishment today."

"Sheesh," Shelmet lamented. "How bad was it?"

"Well, Leah fell asleep before she could get yelled at, so I had to hear it alone. It was an... interesting experience."

"In a bad way?" Goomy inquired.

"Yeah, in a bad way."

A thought suddenly popped into my head, and my eyes widened in horror.

"Uh... guys...?" I nervously spoke up. "It just occurred to me that Carracosta might ask around about us sneaking out. What if your parents found out you guys were with us?"

They all looked at me for a moment before all bursting out laughing. I must've looked pretty confused, because Deerling quickly stopped and explained the situation.

"Don't worry about that Sage. We all felt bad about not telling our parents about what we did, so we unanimously decided to come clean to them about last night."

I raised my eyebrows, skeptical that such noble antics would have paid off with a parent like Leah's pops.

"Really?" I said. "On a scale of one-to-ten, how well did that work out?"

"Well..." Deerling began. "My parents were pretty upset with me, but I didn't get punished beyond a mild scolding from my dad. So I'd say a certified ten."

"Easy for you to say..." Pancham grumbled. "My parents nearly chewed my ear off. I give it a three."

"Same," Shelmet said. "Negative seven."

"My parents weren't all that mad about it," Goomy said before someone could question Shelmet's math. "But then my mom started crying, and I felt really bad."

I hummed in neutral acknowledgment before clapping my hands together once and surveying the five of them. "Well, I guess that's that then."

"Yeah, we really aren't too worried about it anymore," Deerling added. "Now that we told them, it's one less thing to worry about, you know?"

"But keep in mind, Sage and Leah didn't come clean," Pancham snickered. "They got caught! Red-handed!"

We all had a good laugh about that.

"Hey, Sage?" Espurr began, speaking for the first time since I'd arrived.

"Hm?"

"What did Nuzleaf think about last night?"

"Nuzleaf?" I rubbed my chin, considering the question. "He said he didn't mind my adventurous spirit as long as I was careful not to get myself fatally hurt. He encouraged me to explore more, actually."

Pancham looked dumbfounded. "Hey, how come my parents ring my ears for sneaking out at night while your... uh... 'dad' literally says you should do it again?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. He's always so lenient about exploring, but at the same time, he gets serious about maintaining my health. Hey, I'm not complaining."

Espurr considered this for a moment. "Well, Mr. Nuzleaf hasn't actually lived here for all that long. I don't even think it's been a year and a half. And when he did move here from whatever far-south deep country he's from, he would just spend a lot of his time taking trips to the east coast anyway."

"Really?" I remarked, raising my eyebrows. "Has he ever told anyone what he does for a living?" I remembered the couple of business trips he'd been on since he took me in. It suddenly occurred to me that I had forgotten to ask him what his occupation was.

Everyone thought for a moment before each shaking their heads.

"Maybe he's a part-time explorer?" Goomy suggested.

"Hmm," Espurr sounded with an understanding nod. "That would explain his affinity for 'adventurous spirit', as Sage coined it."

Nuzleaf? An explorer? That made a lot of sense actually. It would definitely explain why he seemed so well-paid, and why he was out so deep inside Lush Forest where I had woken up as a Snivy for the first time. Although, I'd think that a well-paid explorer, if anything, would be wary of the dangers in the world that school had constantly drilled into our minds to stay far away from. I had experienced plenty of such dangers already, even before becoming a 'junior' Expedition Society member. I pondered this for a moment.

"Hey Sage, you alright?" Deerling prodded, pulling me from my thoughts. "You kinda spaced out just now."

"My bad," I answered with a yawn. "Just considering what Espurr said, that's all." I cleared my throat to get everyone's undivided attention. "...But speaking of adventuring, I'm headed out to Nectar Meadows to help some lady who lost her child in the flower fields. Anyone interested in tagging along?"

"You're going to Nectar Meadows?" Goomy gasped, a puzzled expression on his face.

"The colony of bees only travel there in the late spring," I informed him. "It's just another dungeon at this time of year."

"But didn't you get bodied by an explosion like not even twenty-four hours ago?" Pancham added. "You're just gonna go exploring anyway?"

I shrugged again, not really seeing the issue. "Why not? Nectar Meadows isn't far, and I'm feeling better after getting some extra sleep."

"Man, I don't get you," Shelmet said. "I've been sleeping all day, but I can still hardly stay awake after running around all night."

"Maybe it's the extra hour of sleep Sage got at the school," Pancham suggested in an obviously jocular tone.

Deerling punched him on the arm with the curve of her hoof, causing him to yelp. "That's so mean Pancham! He got knocked out!"

"Hey, sleep is sleep," I joked back, taking Pancham's side to entertain him. "I was so tired after last night that I really wouldn't have noticed the difference."

"Well, I don't think I'd like to go exploring for a little while after last night," Goomy said. "If you guys want to go without me, that's fine."

"No, I'm staying in the village," Deerling said. "I'm exhausted too, and I'd probably get yelled at again for going into another dungeon so soon. Maybe another day Sage."

"Me too, man," Shelmet followed up. "As much as I'd love to risk my life again for some stupid plan, I'm gonna stay here too."

"Hey!" Pancham exclaimed. "You said my plan was brilliant the entire time up until the ghosts appeared."

"Exactly. When the ghosts actually appeared it was pretty obvious it was time to back out."

"Whatever," Pancham huffed. "Convenient time to change your opinion. Anyway, I'm going to sleep too."

With that, he was shuffling back to his house. I had noticed everyone's eyes were bloodshot from being up all night, so I didn't blame them for still being tired. Everyone else followed suit, heading back to their houses to get some more shut-eye. The only one who didn't go was Espurr, who turned to me and smiled.

"I'd be happy to go exploring," she beamed.

"Thanks Espurr," I replied, returning the warm smile. "But wouldn't your parents get upset?"

She looked at me funny. "Parents? I don't have parents around, silly."

Well, that's awkward.

"O-oh," I stammered, the smile from before quickly turning to a scrambled gape. "M-my bad. I didn't know."

"Think nothing of it," she giggled, her speech unfazed by the topic. "It's hard to be remorseful when you're the only one who didn't get yelled at last night."

Well, when she puts it that way...

"So, Nectar Meadows?" she reviewed. "Lost kid?"

"Yeah, a Sewaddle. Probably was playing in the tall flowers or something and couldn't find his way out. It's not too far, so we should be back by sundown."

Espurr's response was a curt nod. I threw some basic items into my bag and we walked through the plaza and out the gate. On the way there, we made small talk, mostly involving the trip through Ancient Barrow last night and what type of things we'd be doing in school once the summer ended.

I had first arrived here in the early spring, so I really only experienced a fraction of a full year of school. Joining the school so late had falsely given me the impression that it was a temporary commitment. The realization that an entire school year was approaching in the distant future, in contrast, made my stay in Serene Village feel so permanent.

As soon as the thought entered my head, I didn't like it. What frustrated me further was the fact that I wasn't really sure why this was. I had no specific issues with Serene Village; although the surrounding environment hadn't been very forgiving, the village itself was irreproachable. Nuzleaf had said it was a great retirement location, and I couldn't have agreed more.

Oh... maybe that was the problem here. I was a human, not a Pokemon. Everyone in the village, besides Leah, was currently convinced that I was just a Snivy, through and through, for reasons as obvious as my appearance. It's a high probability that I am expected to settle down like any other Pokemon would, content with the two-way span of memories on their timeline. This was something I knew I could never hope to do, carrying around the bludgeoned end of my past that had been chipped off somewhere in my conscience that was still undisclosed to me. And that wasn't even getting into the actual reason I might've been tossed into this odd world. The concept of settling down anywhere directly contradicted the initiative I possessed to figure out what the hell happened to me.

"You know, I believe you're a human."

I jumped in place, my thoughts dissolving with the refocus of reality. Espurr just giggled at the sight.

"What?" she teased. "Aren't you used to me doing that?"

"You're too unpredictable with it," I playfully shot back. Adopting a more serious tone, I asked her how much of my deep thinking she had picked up on.

"Enough to understand what you meant," she answered. "I think I get it. It must be hard not knowing who you are, or where you're from, or even what you used to look like or be like. I can't imagine the dissatisfaction you must feel being dropped in an environment where everyone around you has their lives established."

"So you believe me then?" I pressed, surprised by the answer.

"Of course," she consorted cheerfully. "The whole class has believed you ever since you and Leah rescued Budew."

I was shocked upon hearing this. I had initially written off that everyone just chose to ignore what I said in light of what happened at Nectar Meadows. It had never occurred to me that the topic would ever come up again, with my assumption that nobody would take it seriously.

"They do?" I curiously inquired. "Even Panham and Shelmet?"

"Undoubtedly so," she confirmed with a nod for emphasis. "There's a reason we all felt so bad after not believing you at first."

"Oh..." I replied soberly, uncertain how to properly respond. A pang of guilt filled my gut as I remembered the dramatics of that following day, conducted by my own contempt. They had believed my story then, as I had snakily told them to beat it.

"Hey, don't get so down about the stuff you said," Espurr comforted. "We all should've helped you save Budew, so a lot of it is justified."

"Wha- hey!" I exclaimed. "Quit sneaking into my thoughts so often!"

"Why? It's one of the many perks of being a psychic-type," she giggled.

"Show off..." I muttered, unsuccessfully hiding a grin.

We jogged down the main path for a bit longer before finally reaching the turnoff. We then made our way down the rugged path and through the brambles, taking out the occasional wild Pokemon that got too aggressive. After an efficient run through the first part of the dungeon, we made it to the treeline that overlooked the meadow.

We stopped to gaze at its beauty, the pair of us standing side by side before a breathtaking conception of nature's finest colors and condolences. When I had first come here on my frenzied quest to save Budew, there was no time to admire this blooming field of color, but now there was no urgent mission rushing me forward and away from this incredible view. Although a fraction of it had shied away from the sun's beating rays, most of the field was in full summer bloom. A plethora of blues and reds and most dominantly yellows formed a tangible rainbow that blanketed where the rich soil would have been visible. The pallet of primary colors cast itself under the striking skyline, with only a fine streak of trees along the horizon to break the marriage of sapphire sky and florid pasture.

"It's beautiful..." Espurr breathed. "I've only traveled here once, and it was during the winter. The view then is nothing compared to this."

"Yeah..." I echoed, equally enamoured by the view. "And no angry bees flying around this time. When I came here, this treeline was been the closest I could get without risking getting mauled."

"How did you find Budew, then?" Espurr asked, clapping her hands together and widening her eyes. Her expression was similar to that of a small child being told a thrilling tale.

"I used the tall yellow flowers as cover," I supplied, gesturing to various patches where the flowers came together to form miniature canopies. "I had a few close calls, but it worked out... at least until Budew got attacked and I had to break cover to stop the bees from getting her."

"Wow..."

We waded through the field of flowers, talking amongst ourselves and calling the Sewaddle's name every now and then. It was unfortunate that the Pokemon in question featured a yellow and green exterior, one that blended seamlessly with a majority of the flowers. It was also rather small, definitely short enough to be concealed under the canopy of petals. I prayed that this kid actually wanted to be found, so that it would respond to our calls and we might actually finish by sundown. As much as I had been enjoying Espurr's company, this was time much better spent laughing together at the cafe instead of being preoccupied calling out to a lost child in the receding hours of the day.

We searched the eastern side of the field thoroughly for about thirty minutes, keeping our eyes out for any sign of the lost child. Our efforts proved fruitless, and it was already beginning to strain my eyes trying to pick out every last defining detail of the flowers: a process entirely necessary for finding the inconveniently-colored Sewaddle. I was about to suggest Espurr and I split up to cover more ground when I heard an odd beeping sound slightly to my upper right. A brief recognition of the sound registered, but the specifics would not surface through sound waves alone.

Then I saw them. Those floating Pokemon that had attacked me in the woods when I woke up. The ones that Nuzleaf had called "Beeheyem". They were here, in Nectar Meadows.

But there was only two of them. I was certain that there were three in the encounter a while back.

Whatever. I couldn't afford to dedicate any time to consider this as my instinct immediately urged me to find cover. Assuming the same stealth tactics used with the bees would still apply, I effectively tackled Espurr in the process of diving under a nearby patch of tall flowers.

"Sage, w-"

"Quiet!" I hissed. "Sorry I had to do that. But did you see those three Pokemon up ahead?"

"I believe I got a glimpse of them, but what does-"

"L-look, there's not a lot of time to explain," I whispered. "Long story short, they attacked me in the woods when I first appeared in this world. Nuzleaf said it could have had something to do with me being a human."

She was silent for a moment before whispering back. "And you're sure those are the same Pokemon?"

I nodded gravely.

I then realized I was partially laying on top of her. We were a bit tangled up in the stems of the flowers - an aftereffect of the wayward dive. I awkwardly squirmed to the right, giving her some space to breathe.

"S-sorry," I stammered.

"I-it's fine," she replied quietly.

Now that that brief explanation and awkward landing was thankfully out of the way, I evaluated the bigger situation that was embodied by the pair of enemies hovering ahead of us.

It really was the Beeheyem! Damn it, I had completely forgotten about them. Perhaps the discombobulation of being turned into a Pokemon had eclipsed my shock concering their actions, and I had chosen not to think about them as much as I probably should've. Stupid!

I felt like scoffing loudly at this unpleasant turn of events, and I definitely would've if there wasn't any initiative to stay quiet. Didn't we just deal with the 'ghosts' of Serene Village just last night, picking up our fair share of injury in the process? Now, while Leah was serving the rest of her pops' death sentence and everyone else was sleeping it off, Espurr and I were hiding from these maniacs, dragged into yet another unnecessarily dangerous situation.

I positioned myself on the ground to get a proper viewing angle on them, and Espurr and I began meticulously observing their odd behavior. They were poking at the flowers, flashing the lights on the ends of their arms at each other and distantly chanting some unidentifiable dissonance.

"Can you understand any of that?" I whispered to my companion.

She shook her head. "Not in the slightest. And those are psychic-types who inherit a high mental potency, meaning there's no way I'm reading their scrambled minds even if I got close enough to make an attempt."

I hummed in acquiescence, and turned my attention back to the two Beeheyem.

"So, what do we do?" Espurr suddenly asked. "Do we leave or do we stay and watch? It's your call."

"You should go back," I said, but immediately regretted it when I received a disapproving look as an answer.

"Come on Sage, I'm not weak," Espurr replied. "And I'm certainly not just going to leave you here with these two who attacked you before. I made that mistake once and you nearly got killed. I won't leave your side a second time."

I looked her in the eyes, and saw the determination behind them. The kind of determination someone felt when they had something to prove. Was she still brooding on her decision not to follow me here back in the spring?

"Okay," I answered finally, a smile peeking its way through at how much she cared. "Then we'll stay. want to know what's going on, and I think they might have some connection to what happened to me. Plus, we've still got to find that kid."

Espurr nodded and turned back to watch the Beeheyem, who hadn't moved far from where they were before. We observed them poke around in the flower patches ahead of us, evidently looking for something underneath. Fortunately they weren't covering a very wide area at a quick pace, so if they made their way over to us it would give us plenty of time to crawl away.

Fifteen minutes passed, and my mind began to idle. When they finally seemed to have found something, I might have missed it had Espurr not tapped my shoulder.

"Look!" she sharply whispered.

I looked, and the negatives just continued to stack. One of the Beeheeyem was holding a little Pokemon that it had picked up from inside of the flowers.

Of course, it was the Sewaddle we had been searching for.

"You've got to be kidding me," I grumbled under my breath.

Before I could surmise a plan, however, I detected the faint vibrations of voices up ahead. The two Beeheyem were apparently talking now, in coherent language. We were a quite a ways away, enough to make it incredibly difficult to hear, but I was still able to scarcely put together bits and pieces of their conversation.

"...little guy obviously isn't... you moron... put it down."

"I'm just... he looked a lot... same colorations..."

"We're in the middle of... what are you... ... idiot! I think we... convinced... this point."

"...if you say so."

The Beeheyem on the left set the Sewaddle down where it had found him, and they began floating straight toward us. "Hey, what are you looking at!" one of the Beeheyem called in our direction as they slowly made their way over. I was confused, since I was definitely certain they couldn't see Espurr and I where we hid. There was no way they were talking to us, so who were they looking at then? Espurr, unlike me, was much more attentive at the time, and came to a heart-stopping conclusion a couple seconds before I did.

"Sage. Above us."

As soon as I looked, I instantly wished I hadn't gone exploring today. I should've paid more attention to where the third Beeheyem possibly could've gone, but instead I foolishly left our backside uncovered as I was too immersed with a curiosity for the the other two's behavior. This question was answered in the worst way possible as I stared up at the hovering ceramic Pokemon, who returned my gaze with equal surprise.

"Aye!" it suddenly called, using the same everyday language that the other two had switched to. "He's right here!"

"Time to go." I formed the words in my head, hoping Espurr would pick up on them. She was on her feet before I was, so I assumed she must have.

"He? Who's 'he'?" one of the approaching Beeheyem questioned.

"The human! The one who- oof!" The Beeheyem's answer was cut short by the parallel vertical swipe of my two vines, catching it in the midsection and knocking the wind out of it. Espurr and I were on our feet, dashing toward where the kid was set down. The good news was that it was a few dozen meters away. The bad news was that in between our target was the other two Beeheyem, who by now had pieced together what had just happened.

"W-wait, this wasn't supposed to happen! Do we attack him?" the one on the left nervously asked.

"Wh- of course we attack him! You nitwit!" the other one screeched. This brief exchange gave Espurr and I enough time to reach them, and I took full advantage of their hesitation by spinning up a leaf tornado that was rapidly flung in their direction. It was designed with speed prioritized over power and accuracy, intended only to initially distract them. I then fell in stride beside Espurr, who then abruptly stopped.

"Find the child," Espurr ordered me. "I'll make sure they don't interfere. Once you secure him, we'll leave."

I wanted to argue, but I quickly realized it would've just impeded the situation. Any response would've given the Beeheyem more time to recover. Silently cursing Espurr for bearing the difficulty that definitely should've been mine, I reluctantly but hastily made my way toward where I had seen the Sewaddle.

Please stay safe.

This entire acre of the field was a giant yellow flower patch. For a hovering Pokemon, it might not be too difficult to look down and see someone hiding in the camouflage (although I kept in mind that the bee Pokemon failed to do that when I had hidden from them in these flowers). For a Pokemon on the ground, however, my sense of movement as well as view distance was obstructed by the forest of flowers reaching to the clouds above, most of them extending as high as my chin.

"Hey, kid!" I hissed in a random direction, frantically making my way through the blinding forest of vegetation to find him. "Sewaddle! Where are you?"

No immediate luck. The sounds of energy colliding violently behind me hastened my panicked search. If I couldn't find this kid pronto, I would have to turn back and help Espurr empty-handed. I had come to respect her strength immensely in the time I had known her, but there no way she could hold those things off on her own forever.

A few more seconds passed and- there! I spotted the child laying down with his leaf covering his head for cover, and quickly swept him up with my vines.

"Huh...?" he murmured. "Who are you? Are you gonna eat me mister?"

"No, I'm here to take you to your mother. Come with me," I told him, out of breath. My injury from last night was starting to show up at this dire time, beginning with my strained lungs. Shelmet had a point earlier; I still wasn't in a very good condition for this kind of exertion. Not that it mattered at all now.

"Mmkay," was the casual answer he gave as I courted him away.

I ran with him back toward where we had first entered the meadow, which brought us pretty close to where Espurr and the three Beeheyem were engaged in a brawl. I glanced to my side to check on them, and I immediately regretted Espurr's plan to split apart.

She must have done enough damage to keep them all at a fair distance, but her defenses were being exposed by the psybeams and energy balls that threatened her from broad angles. After my experience running from them in the forest, I had initially thought that the three Beeheyem lacked the marksmanship to hit a moving target. It was as if they were merely trying to scare me, or damage me only to the point of retreat. Against Espurr, however, their approach to combat was noticeably different - this time, they weren't playing around. The trio of psychic-types were able to collaborate and trap her all too often, the numbers advantage proving fatal paired with their range and surprising accuracy.

I set the Sewaddle down with crude instructions to wait by the treeline before rushing back over to where the fight was occurring. Espurr had already been hit hard several times, and she was knocked down by a direct hit from a psybeam right as I burst through the last patch of talk flowers in my way to the little opening they had all settled in.

I had hoped to gain some sort of surprise element; at least enough to allow me to strike first. That didn't happen, however, and the lack of creativity in my advance forced me to take a dive in order to avoid a psybeam shot my way. I hopped back up and spun in a circle several times, gathering leaves and petals from the flowers into a twister that I whipped in the direction of the three Beeheyem. One of them sent a charge beam that slipped right through the leaf tornado and impacted me right in the forehead, jolting my spine and knocking me back into the dirt. The tornado fortunately didn't waver an inch, continuing on to cut through the enemies. The attack wasn't intended to deal massive damage; rather it was designed to dish out just enough to merely disorient and create space between us.

"Come on, Espurr!" I encouraged as I tried to help her pick herself up off the ground. When she did, I took in her appearance. Her fur was matted and filthy, and she was breathing hard. A small cut had opened up on the right side of her forehead, and a steady trickle of blood was running down her face and staining tufts of her pristine fur. She hadn't sustained enough damage to risk fainting, but she didn't look like she was having much fun either. Damn it, I took too long looking for that kid!

She noticed my wide-eyed stare, and urged me onward. "I'm fine, worry about it later. This is just a scratch," she gasped. "Did you find the child?"

I nodded, and pointed to the treeline. She got the message, and we began to make our exit. We exchanged a few more attacks with the Beeheyem, who by now had recovered from the brief distraction and had resorted back to their ranged assault. It didn't matter, however, since the power of me and Espurr's combined attacks (plus a few blast seeds I utilized) was more than enough to create a sizable gap between us and the Beeheyem. Finally, we had distanced ourselves enough to escape, scrambling through the flowers and reaching the treeline unchallenged.

The kid was perched in the motionless grass, nibbling on a leaf as if everything was right in the world. "Oh, you're back," he said nonchalantly. "Are we gonna find my mommy now?"

"Yes," Espurr replied shakily, being careful not to sound panicked. "Please follow us."

"I got him," I piped as I sweeped the child up in a pair of vines. "Now let's get out of here..."

"Who's in the what now!?"

As I anticipated, Nuzleaf mirrored my initial astonishment at the reemergence of the Beeheyem that attacked me. The very mention of the Beeheyem had nearly knocked him out of his wooden chair, which he hastily straightened to avoid such a thing from happening.

"Yeah," I continued to explain. "They were there in Nectar Meadows. Weren't really in the mood to talk, either."

Nuzleaf rubbed his chin thoughtfully, before grimacing in irritation. "But why would they..." He trailed off, settling back into intense concentration.

"Why would they... what?" I pressed him.

"Hm?" He was snapped out of his deep thought by the sound of my voice. "Oh, I was sayin' why would they still be attackin' you? It doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. You sure you didn't do nothin' to set them off before I found you in that there forest?"

"No," I assured him with an enervated shake of my head. "I couldn't have. They were the first Pokemon I saw after waking up, and they attacked me on the spot."

"And then they followed that up by attackin' you at them fields today, huh?"

I nodded this time. "Espurr too. She was helping me out with something, and she unfortunately got involved."

"Is your girly-friend alright?" Nuzleaf asked, a look of concern dawning on his face.

"She's not my-" I shook my head and sighed, suddenly finding the flooring a proper place to rest my eyes. "Y-yeah, she'll be fine, although she took a couple hits. She's strong."

"That's mighty good to hear, then. We don't need anyone gettin' hurt by these things beyond a few scratches."

My gaze did not rise from the floor, relating myself to every bit of worthless dirt and dust scattered across its surface on a microscopic level. I still felt a tsunami of guilt crashing into me that Espurr had to be the one to get hurt just so we could save that kid. How could I have let that happen when I was supposed to be the target? She might've had prodigious capabilities, but her defense lacked where her offense thrived. And when fighting three airborne Pokemon at once who exhibited the accuracy that they did today, one would likely get hit whether they liked it or not. I should've argued her, I should've been more urgent with telling her to go home.

Nuzleaf wanted to know every detail, including the odd behavior of the Beeheyem and the content of what I picked up from their conversation. I explained the whole story to him, starting from the class discussion outside all the way to Espurr and I returning to Serene Village with the child, and lightly bandaging Espurr's forehead before heading back to our respective homes. When I was done, Nuzleaf sat in silence for a solid minute before uttering a word.

"Well, I'll be a Mankey's inbred uncle," he finally spat. "So this means they're hangin' around the area then, and by the sound of it, searchin' for a younger Pokemon."

"Which was can easily assume is me," I added. "And now that they've found me, they'll likely be scanning the entire area west of the Sheer Mountain Range. They'll be here soon enough."

Nuzleaf was suddenly on his feet, with his hands forward in a cautionary gesture. "Woah, woah now," he said. "Let's not jump to the conclusion just yet that we're bein' invaded."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "How can we not?"

"Well, they didn't possibly follow you, did they?"

"Well, no. But, look at this," I said before rummaging through my bag and pulling out the Society gadget. I booted it up and tapped on the map section, and a colorized overview of the surrounding area that Leah and I had recorded over the past few weeks was generated on the circular screen.

"Here's where they found me in the forest," I showed Nuzleaf by pointing to a spot to the south. Then I pointed to Nectar Meadows. "This is where they found me today. And here," I finally pointed to Serene Village, marked with a tiny bullet point icon indicating it as civilization. "...is where we're at now. Notice how close Serene Village is to both of these locations. For God's sake, there's hardly a full day's walk between the two spots where I encountered them."

"What's your point?" Nuzleaf asked, still trying to piece it together.

"My point," I emphasized. "Is that they'll be at our doorstep before long. This isn't something I can ignore any longer."

Nuzleaf scratched his forehead. "Well... I reckon you're right. We'll have to be ready for them, then."

"Are you sure?" I questioned, skeptical of his rash outlook. "Is there any possible alternative to violence?"

"By the looks of it... no. I'm afraid not," Nuzleaf answered a little reluctantly. "I reckon it only takes one determined aggressor to guarantee someone gettin' hurt. All we can do now is make sure that's the Beeheyem, and not you, on the short end of that resolution."

I hesitated, before nodding outwardly. Inwardly, however, I was the setting of a battleground of emotions. Truth be told, Nuzleaf was right about his last statement: someone was definitely going to get hurt here. Well... someone already had been hurt, and it was someone who shouldn't have had anything to do with it. It didn't help that that responsibility fell directly onto my shoulders, either, considering I had made the decision to stay and watch them rather than run home. I was apparently supposed to be the Beeheyem's target, and others getting dragged into it simply couldn't happen.

Especially those that I had come to care about.

So how could I fix this?

In the short time I had spent in this world, I had become well accustomed to violent outcomes. The process of entering a battle, almost always involving wild Pokemon in a dungeon, was simply a part of exploring. The attacks that I was capable of utilizing in battle had started to become a sixth sense that, rather than lying dormant for when it was needed, was simply at the forefront of my mind all the time. It could be best equated to an extension of the body, intelligently designed for efficiency and applied to reality for self-defense. Violence in this world simply was a part of nature, with only the contagion of civilization lying isolated from it... and when I'm out exploring all the time this deep in the country, I really didn't encounter much civilization.

But it cut both ways. Serene Village stood as a shining gem nestled in the heart of the valley, where tranquility ruled and traditional values were instilled. I might not have known much about the world outside this area, but I knew that the establishment here was a benignant one. This is why I simply couldn't justify staying here and disturbing the integration of peace. No matter what excuse my mind tried to make, I just couldn't.

That night I laid awake turning this thought over in my head repeatedly, trying to make sense of any of it. Today really wasn't productive in the way I'd hoped it would be; one Society mission didn't compare well to Espurr getting hurt and me potentially endangering the village that took me in. Not to mention I didn't get any answers from those Beeheyem like I had hoped. I might have considered just going after them myself if I were a bit stronger, but wouldn't that only further tip them off to this place's location? For all I knew, they've found it already. Serene Village might be a great place to hide if your pursuers had the entire Water Continent to search, but my deduction with Nuzleaf earlier proved how narrowed down their search bubble was. It would not be long now.

So the question would arise again and again in my mind: what do I do? This falls to me, not to anyone else, and it's in everyone's best interest to keep it that way.

The ghosts that were pranking everyone, and gave us a rather unpleasant time last night, have nothing on these Beeheyem. Espurr was taking the blows from the ghosts when they triple-teamed her, and although it still looked like it hurt, she was clearly winning despite the type disadvantage. I had simply stepped in so that it would be less tedious for her. The Beeheyem, however, had a wider range of qualified attacks (I had seen psybeam, charge beam, and energy ball in the short time I had been fighting) that hit much harder. If I hadn't stepped in earlier today after finding that child, Espurr would've had to retreat to avoid getting knocked out.

But what really got me worried about the Beeheyem, more than anything else, was the fact that they knew I was once a human. Before Leah knew, before even Nuzleaf knew, those three things knew. From the looks of it, there's a pretty good chance they had something to do with my memory loss and my altered form. I couldn't know for certain, but at this point it wasn't at all ridiculous to assume they were involved.

Which then brought up yet another unanswerable question: who else is involved? It's highly unlikely that these Beeheyem are acting alone, with no companions or commanders. Fantasies of menacing coalitions began to form the more I thought about it. From the moment I was attacked in the forest, the Beeheyem's actions seemed so organized, so calculated, and it didn't quite add up. I was definitely not regarded as another target to scoff at, and I don't think this in a way to be proud of. In contrast, it totally scared the hell out of me.

Yes, it would be foolish to presume they are working alone. And judging from what I already knew (and how much I didn't know) about the Beeheyem, it would be even more foolish to choose the path of inevitable conflict. It was simply too risky, and it put innocent Pokemon who are out here living their peaceful lives in grave danger. Some gambles, like the one I took to go after Budew, should be considered. This one, however, was not one of them.

This left me with one single option.

Nobody gets hurt, and hopefully the Beeheyem don't end up catching me. I had sincerely come to think of Serene Village as my home in these past couple of months, getting to know everyone personally and making friends that could span a lifetime. This is exactly why I couldn't let anything happen to any of it, not when a force able to tamper with the rift between humans and Pokemon is closing in. This crisis was bigger than any of what surrounds me, and it had been made clear that there was only one way to prevent calamity.

I would need to leave, and never return.