Once lunch was made and served to everyone(Hop sneaking in the fountain water into both pots just in case so their pokemon could see through the fog) and waiting a few minutes to let their food settle, they returned their pokemon to their balls before packing up their stuff.
Alira cringed as she noticed that while her clothes were almost completely dry, her jacket was still mildly damp before sighing and tying the arms around both of her bag's straps, making sure it was secure and resting on the outside of the bag then slipping the bag on her back.
After nodding at each other, they began walking once more, off in the direction they seemed to be pulled in. With the obstacle of the fog now gone, they made more progress than during the previous hours as they walked, even when night fell though they did stop at one point to get their flashlights out and so Alira could change out of her dress after mentioning she didn't want to rip the skirt if she stumbled into a thornbush.
With the fog gone, they were now able to see all the pokemon living in the forest, and there were a lot. A lot, to the point they were very surprised they weren't tripping over them before when the fog was still a problem.
Lycanrocs, midday forms, midnight forms and dusk forms alike, ran through the bushes in small packs, Dedenne scampered from tree branch to tree branch, eevees ducked from one bush to another- just pokemon of all kinds seemed to live in these woods, undisturbed by humans.
And so, for the next several days, they walked and traveled through the woods, stopping to take breaks and make camp for the nights of course. They covered a lot of ground that way and seemed to be getting closer to wherever they were headed.
But the closer they were getting to that destination, the more strange dreams they were having at an alarming frequency.
Hop was Acaeus once more, and it seemed some time had passed since the events of the last dream, as there was a small castle in the process of being built near the camp Acaeus was staying in. Not that he was in the camp for long. Ducking out of his tent at the crack of dawn before anyone awoke, he grabbed his shield and ran into the woods, laughter barely hidden as he ran to the clearing from before and looked around excitedly for a certain pokemon.
"C'mon Zen! Don't be playing sneaky assassin again!" He called out before a large weight tackled him to the ground from the side, male laughter ringing through his head as he felt a big nose nudging his chin.
"And I thought I told you my name was Zamazenta!" The dog pokemon laughed as Acaeus pushed his head away with a hand, though he couldn't do much for him practically sitting on his chest.
"Ah, Zen's more regal, and I can't pronounce your full name correctly." Acaeus chuckled, finally shoving him off his chest so he could sit up and pat the pokemon on the head. "How you been my good friend? After last week when you took me on a tour of your absolutely stunning forest, I've been up to my eyes in 'royal documents' this, 'sword training' that, the 'deal with the lunatic local' problem and it's driven me absolutely bonkers that my retainer wouldn't let his gaze off me so I couldn't visit you until now."
"I've been well! Helped my sister and her friend with a problem and have been protecting the pokemon of this forest from any threats for the most part!" Zamazenta puffed out his chest proudly for a few moments before proceeding to flop onto Acaeus' lap. "I have missed you my friend, though, it's almost always business with my sister lately and I don't often have the chance to talk with any pokemon of the forest. And I think her friend is a touch afraid of me." He huffed an audibly amused puff of air through his nose and Acaeus decided to rub his ears.
"Ah, I wonder why. You're not that imposing unlike what you've described of your sister." He hummed, ignoring the mock offended look Zamazenta shot him.
"I am offended my good sir!" The pokemon squawked before breaking off into laughter. "Well, I'm not as it's true, and she's got a glare that can cut through ice and is the more...offensive out of us."
"She sounds like someone my retainer might like." Acaeus put a hand to his chin in thought. "Out of curiosity, when I can meet her?"
"Zacian is actually going to be coming by with her friend, she wants to meet you and make sure you're trustworthy." Zamazenta hummed, pushing his head against the human's fingers even more. "Ah right there! There's an itch that's been there since yesterday I haven't been able to get."
"Wait excuse me?" His eyes went wide even as he continued to scritch behind Zamazenta's ear. "When?"
"Well, as soon as she's able!" As soon as the pokemon finished speaking, the bushes rustled on the other side of the clearing. "Oh, there she is!"
From the bushes out stepped a deep blue and pink dog pokemon like Zamazenta, only instead of having a ponytail it had braids on the side of its head, and right behind it was a girl, in peasant clothing, with the most striking blue eyes that locked onto his immediately, features framed by long brown hair.
Alira dreamed she was Heather once more but she was being chased.
Heather hid behind a large tree, skirt folded it in front of her with a hand so it didn't billow out from the sides of the tree, other hand resting on her chest as she tried to keep her gasping for air quiet.
Holy hell those drunk tavern idiots don't know when to quit, she could hear their shouting from here and far from the last time she cursed her mother for starting up a traveling tavern business that took them to this uncharted land.
She hated working as a barmaid and dealing with twitwits making grabs for her rear or chest, and when the three currently chasing her didn't know to back the hell off so she decked them with her tray she was carrying and proceeded to book it into the very much unknown woods.
She tilted her head to better listen and when she was certain they were far enough away, she booked it even further into the woods, she didn't mind if she had to sleep out among the wild creatures and pokemon for the night, it was a far better choice than the one awaiting her at home where she knew her mother would scold her for her reaction and deny her dinner.
Maybe it'd be better to live out here, it might actually treat her more kindly than her mother ever did-
With a yelp, she tripped over a tree root and fell right on her front. Her head hit something, another root and her vision spun. She could hardly discern up from down and sound was distorted and muffled, she heard something but she couldn't tell what.
Her hearing cleared up enough for her to hear what sounded like a dog barking and growling, the drunk idiots shouting in what seemed to be fear, footsteps running away, then nothing.
She shifted onto her back, propping herself on her arms to find a blue and pink dog, with piercing yellow eyes, staring right as her.
One night, they made camp in the ruins of a VERY old cottage, and both their dreams made them wake up in the middle of the night drenched in cold sweat and wondering just what was going on the morning after.
Hop was Acaeus again, but...Something very wrong was happening.
Acaeus was running, the skies were dark and he could hear people in his camp screaming but he paid it no mind, far more concerned with the pokemon that were absolutely giant running amok through the encampment.
He didn't even have his armor on like he usually did, he just had his regular clothes on and he only had his shield.
He reached the edge of the camp and continued to bolt, having to dive forward in a roll when he dodged a bolt of red lightning but was quickly back on his feet, darting into the forest without a second thought.
"Zen! Zen!" He shouted, calling for Zamazenta as he knew that if anyone knew what was going on it was him or Zacian.
He reached the clearing in record time, only to see the only person there was Heather and she spun to meet him, eyes wide.
"Acaeus! I can't find Zacian and Zamazenta is nowhere to be seen!" She ran over to him, nearly bowling him over but managed to stop before she did, her voice sounded very rough like she had been talking at a far higher volume than normal. "I don't know where either of the two are!"
Acaecus felt his heart drop in his chest as he looked down at the former tavern maid.
If Zacian and Zamazenta couldn't be found, what happened to them?
Hop jolted awake, gasping for air and clenching the part of his shirt over his heart in his hand. His heart was hammering in his chest and he realized he was shaking, he felt like he himself lived what he just dreamed and that was terrifying. Even more so as he recognized the darkened skies of the darkest day, the chaotic sounds mimicking the ones heard his own version of from the streets below as he and Alira raced to stop Eternatus-
He couldn't stay in his tent, he felt like he was suffocating, so he got out of his sleeping bag before quickly leaving his tent. He made his way to Alira's tent, peering past the flaps to seeing she was awake surprisingly.
She was sitting up, resting her head sideways on her knees which she had hugged to her chest and was spaced out until she spotted Hop. She raised her head, tilting her head slightly in confusion and seemed to be silently asking what was wrong.
He opened his mouth before shutting it with a shake of his head, his eyebrows raising when she raised a hand in his direction before motioning him to join her as she straightened out her legs.
He hesitated only briefly before crawling in, ending up beside her where she immediately pulled him into a hug, one he readily reciprocated. Hiding his face in her shoulder as she held him tightly, leaning her head against his, he didn't want to leave her embrace. He felt safe and didn't want to have that dream again.
The two eventually fell asleep, curling up together on her sleeping bag and sleeping peacefully now.
Alira dreamed she was Heather again, and she was riding a Rapidash.
She guided her Rapidash to go to a hill she could see not far away, no saddle or anything as she had her arms wrapped around the horn pokemon's neck, it's cyan and pale purple mane and tail flowing out from behind it as it galloped across the landscape.
She crested the hill and with a gentle tug on it's mane, it slowed to a stop and she looked back, giggling when she saw Acaeus catching up on his own Rapidash.
"Catching up slow poke?" She called out to the young man and he laughed in return as he soon joined her on the hill.
"Well, you're one to talk, miss Rapidash-whisperer!" He shot back, chuckling as his Rapidash stopped beside her own. "You act as if you've lived here all your life."
"I haven't lived here more than a scant few months. You still haven't told me where you're from." She rolled her eyes, ignoring how her throat hurt at how she was making it louder than she normally talked.
"Ah, it's not important, I came here on a boat." He shrugged, flicking his purple ponytail back over his shoulder.
She gave him a flat stare which he chuckled at, shaking her head. "You are strange my good sir."
"No more than you, my dear." He grinned. "I mean, we're both friends with Zen and Zacia after all, strange is normal when dealing with talking pokemon."
"Ha! You've a fair point Acaeus." She giggled, resting a hand on the hilt of the very pretty sword he had given her. "I must thank you again for giving me this after I mentioned not having anything to defend myself with, I don't know where you got it."
"Ah, you needn't thank me, I had it sitting around and I certainly wouldn't have made use of it." He shrugged, holding his shield aloft. "I much prefer my shield to a sword."
"And I the sword to the shield." She unsheathed the sword and held it to the skies as well.
They then heard a weird booming sound from above and the skies flashed red briefly as they looked up, their Rapidashs murmuring warily.
Thousands of tiny red glowing jewels were seemingly falling from the heavens, scattering from the larger red stone that sailed over the duo and landed in the field beyond the hill they were on.
"Falling stars!" Heather gasped, eyes wide in wonder as she witnessed this absolute spectacle. "So many stars are falling after that large one!"
"Let's get closer! No one's ever seen a star up close after all!" Acaeus beamed before making his Rapidash bolt towards the smoking crater.
"Acaeus!" Heather called after him, spurring her pokemon to follow him when he showed no signs of stopping or turning back. Though she had to admit, she was kind of excited to see a star up close.
Alira snapped awake, taking in a deep breath and fighting not to cry out, gods her back was soaked, that dreamwasn't even that intense but-
Hell, who was she kidding, that big star that fell from the sky in it was a dead ringer for what remained of that black egg Eternatus came from over a year ago in the power plant and the mere idea of needing to go through what happened that day again terrified the living daylights out of her.
She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, she certainly wouldn't be falling back asleep anytime soon. And she didn't, until Hop came to her tent, clearly having woken from his own dream and she didn't hesitate to let him come in.
He probably didn't realize it, but she could feel how drenched the back of his shirt was and how he was shaking so badly, making her hold him tightly and securely so he knew he was safe, that whatever happened in his dream couldn't get him here whilst his own arms around her calmed her down.
That was the way things always were for them really, knowing or doing what the other needed even if it couldn't be put to words. They just knew what each other needed at any given point, even before the other was aware of it or either of them realized it, while growing up together. How and why they simply were like this, they didn't know, it didn't need an explanation. It was simply always Alira and Hop who understood each other on that level and that was just fine.
...The dreams weren't the end of the weird happenings though. One night, something woke Hop up and he felt like he had to leave his tent to get some air.
When he did though, he was startled to find Alira, still asleep clearly by her closed eyes, standing in the moonlight, head tilted to the skies.
"Alira!?" Hop yelped but she didn't seem to hear him, and as he got closer he heard her whisper something softly.
"Egoum adventus amacus…" With that, Hop had to rush forward as she collapsed and he barely caught her before she made contact with the ground.
"Nghh…" Her eyes blinked open tiredly and she nearly jumped when she saw Hop hovering above her. "Hop…? What're you doing in my tent?"
"We're not in your tent." He frowned worriedly. "We're outside, you were just standing there and said something weird, egoum adventus something then you just collapsed just now."
Her brow furrowed and she sat up, looking disturbed but not saying a word, seeming to think.
And thinking she indeed was, remembering to be more specific what happened in the battle town once only five days before this trek into the slumbering weald started.
She had reached the top of the Poke Ball tier and was battling Leon, she had a froslass she named Seraphina out against his last pokemon, that inteleon he had since his last champion battle with her and she hadn't failed to fondly comment on remembering that pokemon which made Leon grin.
The inteleon was looking pretty weak, so Alira saw a chance to end the battle, her free hand on the hilt of the rusted sword in her bag keeping her calm, but… she was also feeling very weird at this point.
"Okay Sera, use -glacius ventio-!" Her voice choked and a stinging sharp pain shot through her head, words alien even to her being used in place of what she was trying to say, Icy Wind.
But somehow, Seraphina understood her anyway and used the move in question, knocking the inteleon out and winning the battle as she put a hand to her head, the pain lingering and getting worse.
She heard Leon saying something, but she couldn't understand the words and the next thing she knew, she heard clattering and the sound of metal hitting the floor. She dully realized she fell to her knees, propping herself on the hand that had the sword in her grip as her vision swam.
She was quick to shove the sword away, sending it skitting across the smooth floor as she gripped at her head, she felt weird and strange and not like herself-
For a few moments, even as the sound of footsteps rushing towards her rang out, she briefly couldn't recall who she was. No name or identity registered for the scariest few moments of her life and she finally registered she was shaking.
A hand touched her shoulder firmly, making her flinch and her head snapped up to meet Leon-
wait who was that face resembles someone else from long ago-'s concerned gaze.
He was saying something, a name, a name, Al-Ali-
"Alira!" The world and her sense of self suddenly snapped into focus, making her sway and he quickly steaded her by placing his other hand on her other shoulder. "Easy there Alli. Take a deep breath."
She felt like she was going to pass out, but she breathed in and let it out shakily, hands coming up to grip onto his arms for support. It was okay it was okay she was Alira no not knowing who she was no nono-
In goes another breath, and while the headache was lessening, tears sprung to her eyes unbidden and she felt a sob building in her throat for no reason. Leon's eyes widened and before she knew it, she was pulled into a secure hug that made her feel safe, she didn't hesitate in hugging him back, hiding her face in his jacket as her shoulders hitched with silent sobs.
"I'm sorry I don't-I don't know why I'm-" She tried to get out between sobs, but Leon hushed her, running a hand down her back soothingly.
"It's alright Alira, just get it out." He shushed her, eying the sword she had all but kicked away, noticing the glow it had for a few more moments before it faded.
It took her a few minutes, but she eventually calmed down and realized how utterly bizarre her sudden fit was.
"Sorry, I don't know what came over me." She apologizes but Leon shakes his head.
"Don't be, I'm not too sure if it was your fault to begin with," He began, eying the sword once more. "How long have you had that sword?"
"About… over a year? Since the Eternatus deal." She shrugged. "I got it during the darkest day to try to help with what was going on and it did."
"Has that ever happened before?" He was thankful she hadn't lifted her head from his chest or she would have seen his shocked expression at how long she had it.
She shook her head, then paused. "Well, no, but I haven't held it as long as I did today. It…" She struggled with words for a moment. "I don't know how but it helps calm me so I'm not shaking in my boots from nerves when I hold it even briefly, like there's some weird connection between me and it cause Hop's held it but he felt nothing. It's why I was so calm-looking during the beginning of our match in the league ages ago, not going to lie I was really nervous to where I held it briefly before the match because I couldn't calm down."
Her hands gripped the back of his shirt. "I've never had a hand on it as long as I did today though, that was… strange. I hope that wasn't considered cheating."
"No, I don't think so if it helped you think clearly." He tightened his grip around her carefully but comfortingly, aware that she had some issues with physical contact and only Hop ever seemed to know what to do and what not to do. "I don't know what this weird connection you and it have entails or what might be linking you to it, but be careful okay? You spoke some sort of weird language and were extremely upset just now, I don't want you to get hurt because of it."
She nodded with an affirmative hum, she certainly planned on that, that was for sure.
"Alira?" Hop's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she breathed in, trying to keep her shaking as minimal as possible.
"That's... strange." She managed, frowning deeply. "Let's… track this if it happens again."
"Alira?" Hop picked up on the strange tone in her voice right away, even more so when she pulled her knees to her chest. "Alira, did this happen before?"
"...Yeah, brushed it off before." Her voice was so soft, whisper-like. "I didn't think it'd happen again." Her nails dug into her pant legs and Hop instinctively reached over and grabbed her hands. Her gaze flickered to look at him from the corner of her eye at this. "It's connected to the rusted sword. I… I really hope that this and the weird feelings I've had with it can have some answers if we find the castle."
He caught the fearful lit in her voice, even as soft as it was, and was quick to pull her into a tight hug which she sunk into without a second thought. For a moment, she thought she felt his heart beating in sync with her own.
Only five days later, they reached a break in the treeline and stepping out from under the shade of the trees and fauna, they were met with a shocking sight.
An absolutely large lake lay before them, massive in size, but on the other side of the lake from where they were standing, a cliff rose above the water in the distance, with a large, old castle resting atop it, an abandoned-looking settlement seeming to lay on the land off to the right side of the lake in between the cliff and them.
Alira let out a disbelieving laugh before absolutely shrieking with delight, jumping in the air as Hop cheered right alongside her. The two even turning to each other and grasping each other by the arms before jumping at the same time, grinning at each other before looking back to the castle they knew the pull in their beings was taking them.
Finally, their destination was within their sights at last.
