The waves gently lapping at the yellow sandy shore, the gentle morning light reflected on the surface of the sea, the familiar blue curtain door to the cave house on the beach… Maybe in another context, Arashi would've been happy to see it all again, but happiness seemed like a distant dream that had escaped light years away with Astrid. Her badge and her letter were safely tucked inside the bag he carried, but of course, it wasn't her.
More gingerly than he otherwise would, he reached up and nudged the curtain aside. "Mom…? Dad…?"
It wasn't long before the figures of another Greninja and an Inteleon appeared in the hallway, who perked up at seeing him and darted over.
"Arashi!" Kaminari exclaimed.
"You're back!" Niles cried.
Immediately, the smaller Greninja had Niles' and Kaminari's arms around him, but oddly enough to his parents, he was rather stiff in their grasp. He wasn't wearing his usual grin, either, nor was he talking at a breakneck speed with his perpetually upbeat voice. Fairly quickly, Kaminari was backing off and studying him rather intently, but Niles still lingered with his arms around him, albeit staring inquisitively into his eyes.
"Son, are you alright?" the Inteleon asked, still smiling but clearly taken aback before he turned loose.
"You aren't acting like yourself," Kaminari noted quickly. She reached out again and grabbed him by the shoulders, staring him straight in the eyes. "Did that mission to Ultra Space end badly? Arashi, what did Void do? If your teammates are injured, I'll go myself and rip that Nihilego's tentacles off."
Arashi shook his head. "No, Void's dead. Astrid killed her."
That was certainly welcome news, but it did beg one question.
"Say, where is Astrid?" Niles inquired. "It's rare that we see you two apart."
Apparently, that was not the right question to ask, for Arashi's eyes started to water and he collapsed into a shivering, sobbing mess on the floor right then and there. His company was rather surprised, but Niles immediately knelt down and wrapped his arms around him, while Kaminari too crouched down and patted his back, both of them looking rather surprised.
"She's gone!" Arashi blurted out. "She's…! She's…! She…" His mouth moved some more, but no words came out, appearing to get stuck in his throat before they had the chance.
Niles and Kaminari both got thoroughly unsettled looks at the mention of her being 'gone,' Niles' eyes going wide and Kaminari pausing for a second.
"… What do you mean by 'gone,' son?" Niles asked gently, albeit with a hint of hesitation.
"Necrozma sent her back to her homeworld," Arashi sobbed, trying haplessly to dry his eyes. "She… She didn't want that, but they didn't give her any choice, a-and…!"
Words appeared to fail him again, and he went right back to sobbing uncontrollably. The fact that Astrid wasn't dead should've brought some form of comfort, but even so at their son's explanation, Niles and Kaminari still looked fairly uncomfortable.
"Let's go sit down and talk this over," Kaminari suggested, giving Arashi's back one last pat and standing up. "We clearly don't have the full picture."
"And that's something I'd like to get," Niles concurred, squeezing the sobbing one before turning loose too. "It seems there's a lot to unpack here."
Arashi nodded, haphazardly standing up after his mother reached down and gave him her hand for support. Kaminari wrapped one arm around his shoulders and kept him close to her side, since as much as he was crying, he couldn't see straight and needed the guidance. He slouched down into one leafy chair in their main room, folding his arms on the table and laying his head down while pathetically trying to dry his eyes to no avail. Niles and Kaminari both scooted their own chairs closer, the Inteleon patting his back and the bigger Greninja patting one of his hands.
"Tell us what happened," Niles gently instructed. "What happened after you left when we saw you last?"
Arashi sighed. "Oh, good gods, Astrid made all three of us have a very uncomfortable conversation," he noted flatly. "She said more than anything, she didn't wanna be Void's pawn, so if things ever started to look like Void was gonna win… she was gonna kill herself, and if she couldn't, she wanted us to. Raijin agreed with her and said he felt the same way, and honestly, I was too freaked out by the idea to say much, but I swore to her I wouldn't let her become Void's pawn and told them that, if I was gonna become her pawn again… they could do as they saw fit."
Both of his parents blinked, surprised but not outright perturbed.
Arashi perked up a little as he kept on, becoming livelier but not in his usual exuberant way- more as if his tale just necessitated such and not because he was excited to tell it. "And then we left the next morning and oh my gods, Ultra Space is crazy. We all had to keep our voices down because there was another Beast squad patrolling nearby, and they had this biiiiiig Beast called a Guzzlord on their team with the biggest jaws I have ever seen." He haplessly tried to hold his arms out to explain how big she was, but that wasn't really conveying much. "She was almost six meters tall, she wouldn't stop screaming at the top of her lungs, and her front was literally just a huge fanged mouth that never stopped snapping. They had a Celesteela- this huge metal flying creature- acting as a guard that used Leech Seed to trap us and Wide Guard to cover her teammates, and their squad leader was another Xurkitree named Glimmer that used Tail Glow and Hyper Beam. It was such a ridiculous strategy that it made Raijin of all creatures cuss."
If his Xurkitree friend had half as much firepower as Arashi made him out to have, then that was already frightening on its own, but a creature of the same species using a move to drastically boost it seemed as viable a reason to cuss as any.
The smaller Greninja certainly seemed exasperated when detailing how the group with Adnea in it had been ambushed by Remi, Knox, Zariel, and Azure at the same time, and how horrendous of a situation that was that half of his own group had run off to help them. He groaned and rubbed his temples when explaining how of course Necrozma had chosen that time too to drop in and utterly ruin their day, and he got wide-eyed all over again when describing the pure destruction of the Blinding One's attacks. Some small hint of a smile graced his mouth when describing Astrid's brilliant move to nail herself down along with them to create an opening for himself, Raijin, and Lunala to attack, perhaps because of pride at his partner pulling off something so ridiculous, but his eyes got watery again and he had to pause. The watery eyes stayed as he described their soul-crushing run-in with Zariel and what that sadistic psychopath of a Charizard had done to Raijin, and didn't go away until he managed to dry them for a second when he again broke into a slight grin explaining Void's delusional reasoning and how he himself had called her pathetic. He even managed to chuckle for just a second when he explained how Astrid had taken Void and Salem down- pretending to fall right into Void's grasp before the truth quite literally beat their enemies upside the heads.
However, he once again found words stuck in his throat and the tears pouring like a river from his eyes as he struggled to keep on, "A-and then… Th-then N-Necrozma… E-everyone…" He slouched onto the table again and buried his face in his arms, shivering while crying again. "E-everyone else dropped in from a wormhole, because Xeno and Lunala managed to snap Necrozma out of it, and they were all surprised we'd handled it ourselves. Then Necrozma went up to Salem, told her it was all a dream, a-and… A-and… They turned her into a ball of light and made her disappear into a wormhole. A-and…! That's what they did to Astrid the next morning too, even after she said she didn't wanna go and she wanted to stay here with us…!"
His crying turned back into uncontrollable sobbing. Niles gasped and Kaminari's eyes drooped, both of them likewise looking downcast and dismayed.
"Oh, Arceus above…" Niles' voice trailed off.
"That is low," Kaminari breathed flatly, shaking her head.
"And now she's gone…!" Arashi bawled, his voice more akin to a squeak. "She's gone off to some world she doesn't wanna be on with a life she doesn't want and there's nothing we can do about it…! Oh, gods, I miss her…!"
The two older Pokémon shared a glance, Niles still patting Arashi's back.
"That doesn't sit well with me," Kaminari declared, unamused. "Her human family surely missed her, but if she was so adamant about not wanting to go back, she clearly had her reasons. That's our child too."
"That's what I'm thinking as well," Niles agreed. He sighed deeply, his gaze falling back on the sobbing Arashi. "There has to be some way to reach her, and I'm going to figure it out."
The smaller Greninja perked up, drying his eyes for just a second as he explained, "W-well, we have Gemini and we have Knox too, so once Gemini reaches his final form, we were going to use Void's old maps of other worlds and try to hunt Astrid down…"
"Oh, forget wormholes and forget using Necrozma's own means," Niles easily replied, shaking his head. "We don't need those. We have our own means on our own world- and that way, we will be answering only to our own gods in the process, so Necrozma has no right to interfere. Palkia can easily tear holes in space too, Hoopa's ring can act as a portal to different worlds, Mewtwo's psychic energy is likely strong enough to accomplish the same, and getting a group of very strong psychics to collectively use Teleport can likely serve the purpose we need it to. It's just a matter of figuring out what's more feasible."
Arashi perked up even more. "That's… true…"
The Inteleon patted him on the back again. "If you were stranded in a world you didn't want to be in, your mother and I would come to retrieve you," he said gently. "We'll do the same for Astrid."
"This way, she can actually have a proper choice," Kaminari said with a nod. "If she wants to stay on her homeworld, so be it, but if she doesn't, she can make that choice for herself."
Arashi nodded, still looking downcast but nonetheless receptive to the idea. "You think we could find her…? I mean, all we really know is that she's a female human named Astrid, and there could be tons of female humans named Astrid, but…"
"And there's quite a few Pikachus named 'Zippy' out there too, but I've tracked a specific one down before even so," Niles brushed it off. "The form she's in doesn't matter- we all know how Astrid speaks and behaves, right? It might take a long time, but it's certainly doable."
Another nod followed from the smaller Greninja. "I hope you're right…" His eyes started to tear up again, and he buried his face in his arms as he started to cry. "I really hope you're right…!"
His mother grabbed one of his hands, which he squeezed tightly, and his father wrapped an arm around his shoulders, which he didn't protest. The table's surface was practically soaking wet from all the droplets streaming from his eyes, and his eyelids were starting to look red and swollen. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Arashi wordlessly shivering and shaking as he sobbed, and his parents trying haplessly to ease his inconsolable state. He slowly started to calm down again, and when he did, he straightened out a bit and slipped the bag off of his shoulders, setting it on the table with a heavy sigh and a dead expression.
"… I should probably show you this too," his voice aimlessly trailed off as he reached inside. "She left it behind, and me and Raijin are keeping it but he told me to take it for now since everyone at the base has seen their part…"
He gently pulled out a stack of papers with words scrawled all over them, atop which rested a black scarf with an expeditioner badged engraved with "Astrid" on it. Arashi himself held tight to the scarf and badge, and neither one of his company would've dreamed of trying to take it from him, though their eyes certainly did linger on it for a second or two. Fairly quickly their eyes were scouring Astrid's letter, while Arashi merely clamped his eyes shut and went back to laying his head on the table with his arms hiding his face, one end of her scarf clutched tightly in one hand while the rest was nestled under his head. They were all silent until Niles and Kaminari reached the last page, at which point Kaminari sighed deeply while rubbing her temple and Niles buried his face in his hands while making a pained sound.
"Oh, that poor girl…" Niles lamented.
"… That damned Necrozma…" Kaminari hissed dismally. "I see why they did it, but this is wrong."
Arashi gingerly opened his eyes and looked up, then shut them again and blinked some more tears away. "I'm glad everyone else thinks it's wrong… I'm right there with her with what she wishes on Necrozma- I hope Necrozma sees exactly what we all think and it sets in just how wrong it was… This never needs to happen again."
"Arashi, don't you ever let anything happen to this," Niles said, placing a hand on the letter and looking at the tearful one. "This is a very important document. These are all the reasons why it should never happen again."
Wordlessly, the smaller Greninja nodded.
"And don't you ever forget about this," Kaminari added. "Spread her story and let everyone else see how underhanded this was. The more it gets out, the easier it is to truly hold Necrozma accountable for this. They won't ever be able to sweep it under the rug."
Another nod followed. "… Don't worry. I couldn't forget even if I wanted to, and I'm not gonna sugarcoat what they did."
"How are your comrades taking this?" Niles inquired.
"Not good," Arashi replied. "We're all sad and angry. I think if Necrozma ever showed up at Coalition HQ again, Rush would outright break their face, and Raijin said he'll never forgive them and he didn't even wanna look at them." He perked up a little, still downcast and flat, but his tears drying up a bit. "But, whenever you say 'comrades,' I probably should tell you… I temporarily quit the Coalition, and I'm seriously reconsidering if I ever wanna go back or not. I just don't think I'm cut out for it."
At that, both of his parents were seriously taken aback, their eyes going wide.
"You what?!" Kaminari cried, her mouth falling open a bit.
"You… You…" Niles stammered in disbelief.
"You've been talking about wanting to be an expeditioner ever since you learned what the word 'expeditioner' meant," Kaminari noted, still stunned.
"And that was quite literally your dream team," Niles added. "Son, you… you quit?"
"I did," Arashi answered without any hesitation, his voice sounding tired. "I feel like such an idiot for even considering it in the first place. I thought dangerous missions and apprehending criminals would be fun and exciting, and maybe part of it is, but… there's nothing fun about watching one friend's body get permanently disfigured and watching the other friend get unwillingly sent off to another world, all while there's nothing you can do to help. I can't handle it." He sighed heavily and buried his face in his arms again, shivering for a second while a few more droplets fell from his eyes. "And I have no clue what I wanna do now. I'm really an idiot."
His company studied him as if unsure if he was really their son.
"There's nothing wrong with changing your mind," Kaminari said softly, patting one of his hands again. "Being an expeditioner isn't the only thing in the world. You have plenty of time to figure yourself out."
"We can talk about what you do want if this isn't it," Niles added. "The world is a big place with plenty of avenues and opportunities. You'll find something you like."
Arashi sighed heavily. "… I hope so. Astrid said she wanted us all to live happy lives, but… that just doesn't seem possible right now." He straightened out and pushed back from the table, still clutching Astrid's badge and scarf while his dismal eyes were aimed down at the floor. "I… think I just need to go hug her badge, cry, and stare at the ceiling for a while."
Before anyone could say anything else, he was ambling off to his own room, walking rather stiffly with his head drooping. His parents stared after him as he did so, rather uncertain at the sight before them, then looked at each other with dismayed eyes.
"I pray we're not out of luck on this one," Niles mused heavily. "This is going to be no small task."
"After all she's done for everyone else, she deserves this much," Kaminari replied, her own voice likewise rather heavy. "We can't abandon her."
"Oh, absolutely not," Niles concurred, resting his head on his hands with a pensive look. "But this is going to take some time. Going to the gods themselves to plead our case requires some research and preparation."
A shuriken glinted between Kaminari's fingers. "Well, if they need some persuading, I'm happy to give it to them."
The Inteleon nodded, giving a small chuckle, then looked down at the tabletop. "It seems like just yesterday she was a tiny Rowlet that could fit in our hands and Arashi was covered in bubbles. I miss that."
Kaminari sighed. "… Me too."
Arashi did exactly what he said he was going to- he curled up on a cushion in his room, stared up for a few moments at the basket on one shelf where Astrid used to nestle into when she was still tiny, and cried some more. She wasn't on that shelf, she wasn't on her perch, she wasn't anywhere. He thought about her someplace off on another world and what might've been taking place there- maybe she was feeling out-of-place and upset all over again, or maybe her human family welcomed her home with open arms and she cried tears of joy. Perhaps the latter should've been brought him comfort- his friend would've been happy- but it upset him even more, for maybe she'd do exactly what she swore she never would and forget about Team Starstorm, but the mere fact that it upset him made him even more distressed, since he knew it essentially amounted to wanting his friend not to be happy. She didn't have memories of her former life, after all- perhaps it was an aimless life just like Necrozma had said, but perhaps even in that aimless life she had better friends than Team Starstorm could hope to be…
No, no, surely that couldn't be right. She'd said it herself- she had something with them she could never replace, and Arashi had certainly felt the same way towards her.
He thought about what her world might've looked like- and how she might have looked within it. She was a human and not a Decidueye anymore, and the only humans Arashi had ever seen were in history books or encyclopedia illustrations. Maybe the real thing was different from the drawings. They did walk on two legs and have arms with hands at the end of them, a trait that plenty of Pokémon also had, so that was at least a starting point. If her soul was a timid green, maybe that was reflected somewhere- maybe she had soft green eyes that were rather large on her face for keeping watch on her surroundings. Maybe, even if she was a human, she still had some ghostly or grassy attributes- maybe her skin was slightly translucent and became more opaque and lively when soaking up the sun's rays. Maybe inside her mouth was a set of sharp teeth and fangs- something not immediately noticeable or intimidating, but easily able to be pulled out if she needed to defend herself akin to her sharpened feathers. Most of the illustrations of humans depicted hair on their heads, so maybe hers was short and clung to the sides of her face like her leafy hood would, and maybe it was the same yellowish green as a leaf getting ready to fall off of its branch- a deciduous leaf.
He imagined her living off in a cottage in the woods, only venturing away at dusk or dawn when the sun's rays could be felt but creatures that moved during the daytime didn't tend to be out and about. He saw her picking berries and planting seeds, maybe sharing a few with some wild birds that frequented the area. Maybe there were some more concerning creatures that roamed the woods, like particularly voracious Noctowls or trouble-making Zoroarks, and being just a frail human, she needed more to keep herself safe than her hypothetical set of fangs. Maybe she carried a set of blades strapped somewhere to her body that she could throw akin to a Razor Leaf barrage, and maybe she had a bigger one for simply holding and slashing if need be. Perhaps she tried her best to blend in with the forest and always walked around cloaked in black at night or dark green during the day, switching out when need be.
Of course, his speculation was way off-base, but he had no way of knowing that. Either way, the Astrid he knew was gone, and trying to make sense of something he knew nothing about was a futile effort no matter how hard he tried.
More than anything in the world, he missed her. She'd been the one to make his dreams come true, even if those dreams were really a hopeless nightmare. She'd been the one to talk realism into his crazy idealism, the one to always get them out of absurd situations that they'd had no business being in in the first place, the one who'd chosen in the face of a god to have him at her side even when it was never his place to be there in the first place… And even if it stung tremendously, he had no doubt that what she'd said in her letter was true- she hadn't revealed the truth about her departure herself because she valued the security of their future more than her own peace of mind. Friends on their own were already something precious and irreplaceable, but even among precious and irreplaceable individuals, Astrid's place was truly special.
And she was gone.
He hugged her scarf and badge, trying in vain to numb that awful sensation as if part of his heart had been ripped out, and cried. And cried and cried and cried until he could cry no more.
It was quite some time that Arashi stayed secluded in his room, and he wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been in there- all he could do was think of Astrid and pray to whichever of his world's own gods would listen to watch over her and keep her safe in her new surroundings, and if they were willing, to send her straight back. His voice was hoarse, his throat was sore, his head hurt, and his eyes were swollen and red from all the tears. It was a truly pitiful sight- a lone Greninja with a blank expression and despairing eyes, curled up in a ball on a cushion, not doing anything save for making a puddle of tears around him and clutching a strip of black fabric with a single chrome ornament on it. Astrid's old scarf was drenched and damp, but one thing was for certain, it never left Arashi's hands and even a Machamp holding him down with one set of arms while the other tried to rip it free would've had trouble taking it from him.
He was perfectly content to just drown out the world and pretend nothing around him existed, for it certainly felt that way, but he just couldn't manage it whenever a set of familiar voices in the hall jerked him back from the mental abyss he stared into.
"He's in there, but don't be surprised if he wants some space," his mother's voice graced his senses. "He's not his usual self right now."
Arashi perked up as his curtain door swished aside, revealing some familiar faces belonging to a Jolteon, Ambipom, and Toxicroak. They wore amiable but slightly uncertain and hesitant looks, Trixie in particular getting awkwardly wide eyes at seeing Arashi's disposition.
"Hey, Arashi…?" Lila said softly, leaning on her back paws and not quite putting one in the front down in her cautious steps. "We heard what happened and that you weren't doing so well…"
The Greninja nodded, leaning back against the wall with his knees clutched to his chest. "… Come on in, guys. I'm not gonna tell my friends to get lost."
They did so, Lila curling up against his side while he carefully rested one hand between her ears, and Trixie and Charlie both took up beside him with one hand each on his back.
"You look like hell," Trixie remarked softly.
"I feel like hell," the Greninja replied, clearly not too enthused.
"We heard there's a good chance this might not be permanent," Charlie noted, patting his back. "That doesn't help now, but it's something to be hopeful about."
"I am hopeful, but I'm not happy," Arashi replied. He looked up and eyed all three of them, but still slightly avoided their gazes. "How much did they tell you…? Did you see her letter…?"
The three of them nodded, looking down at the ground with twitching eyelids.
"… You know I quit the Coalition, right…?"
Three more rather uncomfortable nods answered him.
"I didn't see that coming," Trixie remarked, unamused. "Not that any of us saw any of this coming, but y'know."
Arashi nodded. "I feel like such an idiot. A useless idiot that should've seen the signs a loooong time ago. I thought I was like the rest of them, but I'm not. I'm just not."
"Don't beat yourself up," Charlie said gently. "You've already had other creatures beat you up plenty- no need to do it to yourself."
The Greninja sighed, nodding. "… I'm trying, believe me, but I just don't think this is something I'm gonna recover from. I love Astrid, I love Raijin, and the Coalition members are really freaking cool, don't get me wrong, but… this has all been a huge mistake. I was never supposed to be Astrid's partner, and it probably would've ended up better for the both of us if I'd just left her on the beach. Now she's gone, Raijin's still here, and I feel like I'm abandoning him when he needs a friend the most because after all he did for us, all the times he stuck his head on the chopping block for us, I'm just running off because it took me this long to realize I'm not cut from the same mold as the rest of them. I'm such a freaking idiot."
"And Astrid's smart enough to not have an idiot at her side all the time," Lila replied gently but firmly. "You aren't an idiot. Taking time to step back and think about what you really want isn't something an idiot would do. You can't pour from an empty vessel, Arashi- and right now, you're empty."
He chuckled haplessly, but it certainly wasn't a happy chuckle. "You're right, Lila."
"But you got us to keep you company if you're not with the Coalition, yeah~?" Trixie softly remarked, wearing a small smirk. "We can go get ourselves a big ol' keg of berry beer and go camp out in Verdant Meadow.~ Just drown out or woes the old-fashioned way.~"
A smallish grin started to grace his face, while Lila shot the Toxicroak a dirty look with sparking fur and one of Charlie's tail-hands whopped her upside the head.
"Now that is something an idiot would say," Charlie noted with narrowed eyes.
"I'm not an idiot, Charlie," Trixie shot back, patting Arashi on the back all the while. "An idiot wouldn't know they're making a reckless decision. I am well aware of the drawbacks and say we should do it anyway."
Arashi's weak grin spread a bit more. "Is it bad to say I actually like that idea…?"
"If it helps, we can do that," Lila cut in, still nonetheless giving Trixie a side-eye. "Let's not do it tonight, though, alright? We'd probably have to venture to the surrounding towns- most likely the Crossroads- to find one of those big kegs, and that could turn into a trip by itself depending on if we accidentally hit a dungeon or not."
"Pffft, I can't speak for y'all, but I'm not worried," Trixie brushed her off, waggling her spiked fingers. "I'll carry a keg with one arm and gouge eyes out with the other!"
Another whop from Charlie followed, the Toxicroak shooting him a devious look in return.
The Greninja nodded, then sighed heavily again, his head drooping. "I just… hope Astrid has friends like you guys back in her world…!"
The tears started again, and he was yet again hunched up with a stream of droplets flowing from his eyes. His friends edged closer and hugged him as best they could, getting some downcast looks and even getting teary-eyed themselves, and while the comfort was welcome… it didn't numb the pain. He was convinced nothing ever would.
Much like Astrid before she left, he too found himself unable to sleep. He curled up on his cushion and laid there, but that didn't do much good. He tried simply sitting against the wall and staring at where Astrid used to roost on his shelf, hoping he'd drift off eventually, but that didn't help in the slightest and made him tear up all over again. He tried pacing back and forth across the floor in hopes of burning off any energy his body might've been holding onto, but that didn't work either. It seemed like, no matter how hard he tried to stop it, the moment Astrid disappeared kept playing over in his mind- her blank expression, her tired and despondent eyes, that last hug she'd given him before jumping into the wormhole, his own hand outstretched as if to pull her back to no avail… It made him feel sick and his chest feel tight, like some unseen force was trying to force him to hold his breath.
He paused, rubbing one temple and muttering hopelessly to himself, "… Screw it."
He brushed his own curtain door aside and sauntered into the main room, down the front hallway, and out the front door too. The cooler night air instantly hit him, along with the moon's gentle rays from up above, and a set of footprints were left in the sand as he sauntered across the beach and up the staircase carved into the rock faces. Tranquil Town was dead silent and empty, the only sounds gracing the air belonging to hooting Noctowls someplace off in the distance. If Astrid had been there, she probably would've liked the atmosphere of solitude and stillness, but Arashi didn't pay it any mind- he just needed some fresh air to think, as she probably would've said.
He ambled over to the edge of the cliff overlooking the beach and sat down with legs dangling carelessly over the side, sighing and staring out at the scenery before him. The moonlight reflected off of the gently rippling waves and made little wavering streaks of light dance on the surface, and below it, he could occasionally see the rainbow-colored glow of a Starmie's core, the yellow flashing of Lanturns and Chinchous, and the vibrant purple and pink glowing of Finneons and Lumineons. The sea twinkled just like the night sky would, albeit with much more color, and it was a truly lovely sight to take in. Maybe it would've relaxed Astrid too, but… she wasn't there to see any of it. He sighed heavily, gazing up at the stars as if he'd somehow catch sight of her homeworld far, far off in the glittering cosmos (even if he knew that definitely wasn't going to happen).
"Arceus, if you can hear me…" his voice trailed off, empty and downtrodden. "Bring Astrid home. Here, to the home where she belongs and the place where her life isn't aimless. You're in charge of this world, not Necrozma, and if Necrozma isn't in charge of Astrid's either, then that must leave you… so please, if you're willing, grant us this." His voice cracked a little bit and he teared up again. "I miss my friend."
His form trembled, but he managed to swallow the tears. He sighed heavily, his eyes drooping back down to the sandy beach and the sea, but he quickly jerked his gaze up again when he heard footsteps behind him and felt something brush his shoulder. A set of shurikens started to form in one hand just in case, but just as quick, they dissipated when he saw who it was- a certain friendly Nidoking that no one in their right mind would ever attack.
"N-Nez!" Arashi cried.
"Sorry to startle ya, laddie," Nez said softly, nestling down beside him with one arm and his tail curled around the Greninja. "Can't sleep, can ye?"
Arashi deflated, looking down again and shaking his head. "No… Nez, you know what happened, don't you…?"
The Nidoking himself sighed too, his own head likewise drooping a bit, but his voice still amiable as he answered, "I do, laddie. I do."
Arashi's form trembled a bit again and the much larger creature beside him pulled him in closer, a tight but gentle grip that Arashi didn't mind too much. He too nestled closer to Nez, and both of the Nidoking's arms curled around him in a firm hug. It was such a comforting gesture that would've made him feel warm and fuzzy any other time, but instead, for the umpteenth time that day, he started to cry despite his efforts not to.
"Go on, laddie, go on," Nez said softly. "Seein' ya like this isn't somethin' normal. If ye need to cry, your Uncle Nez is here."
Arashi nodded. "Nez, I… I know you've been Team Starstorm's number-one supporter, but… I don't think Team Starstorm exists anymore. Astrid isn't here, I quit, and Raijin's too injured. I just feel like I'm letting everyone down, like this was all a terrible idea to start with and honestly, if I'd known things would end up this way, I would've just left Astrid on the beach, as much as it kills me to say that…!"
The Nidoking gave him a few firm pats, getting a thoughtful look at what the crying one was saying. "Oi, laddie, if Team Starstorm's gonna cause ya pain, then I'd rather it get dissolved. That's the important thing here. Ya don't have to worry about what anyone else thinks- I'd call ye a fool for keepin' on with somethin' that's hurtin' ya when stoppin' could solve it. Don't feel pressure that no one's puttin' there."
Another nod followed, and the Greninja tried haplessly to dry his swollen eyes. "You're not disappointed…?"
The Nidoking chuckled. "And why would I be, laddie? Even if ye ain't an expeditioner, even if ya didn't save this whole galaxy and spare several others the awful possibilities in the process, you've still got a good heart and ya always do the right thing. Those fancy accomplishments are somethin' to be proud of, sure, but the important thing is that you've grown into a laddie with good morals and character." He gently poked the Greninja's chest, smiling. "And ye have. That's plenty reason not to be disappointed."
Arashi eased up, managing to dry his eyes a little. "… Thanks, Nez."
Nez patted him on the back again, his tail curling tighter for a second. "How about ye come in and I fix ya some tea to calm ya down?"
He certainly liked the idea, but hesitated and said, "It's late, I don't wanna keep you up-"
"Oh, laddie, don't ya worry about me," Nez amiably cut him off. "Truth be told, this is keepin' me awake too. I've been sayin' prayers for Astrid for at least an hour."
At that, Arashi nodded. "… Okay. I'd like that."
The Nidoking chuckled. "I got just the thing for ya.~"
Nez's tail and arms unfurled, and Arashi followed him back to his cozy little cottage, where the Nidoking flicked on a lantern and had him sit down on a rather cushy bench- it was low to the ground and clearly made for someone with very short legs like the one who owned it, but it was comfy nonetheless. The Nidoking himself retrieved a small object- a Magmarizer- from one cupboard and poked a small stick into it to start a flame, which he used to heat up some water in a small kettle. A few dried leaves and root cuttings were added to the kettle, and into a cup went some Moomoo milk and the juice of half a Magost berry. It wasn't long before steam was coming from the kettle, and Nez poured the resulting brown-colored liquid into the cup, which immediately created an earthy but sweet aroma. He fanned it a bit with one hand, then took another small sliver from the other half of the Magost berry and wedged it on the edge of the cup before handing it off to Arashi.
"… Thanks, Nez," the Greninja said softly before taking a sip. He blinked a few times, for rather quickly, he was feeling more at ease- the tea itself certainly had some calming properties, and the sharp bitterness of the leaves and roots was dulled out by the milk's neutral flavor and the berry's balanced sweetness.
Nez chuckled, taking up next to him. "Laddie, if ya ever think I or anyone else is disappointed in ye… don't. If you're worried about what your friends or your former teammates would think, don't. I can't say I blame ya for second-guessing everything after what you've been through, but ya need to have more faith in the ones that love ya then that. We're all here for ya, no matter what path ya choose to walk."
Arashi nodded, rubbing his eyes with one hand one more time. "… You're right."
"And if it's yourself you're unhappy with… you have a gaggle of a Pokémon and your Beastie to tell ye that you're wonderful and worth a lot. We can't make ya believe it for yourself, but if ya need to hear it, ask any of us and we'll tell ye. If Astrid was here, she would too."
Another nod followed, the Greninja taking another sip. "… I wish she was, Nez. I really wish she was…"
"Me too, laddie."
In a few more sips, Arashi's eyelids were feeling heavier and Nez had to grab the cup out of his hands before it dropped as he slumped against the Nidoking's shoulder. Nez set the cup down and carefully picked up his smaller company, who clearly was tired after a day of grieving and sobbing, for he was limp and unresponsive as Nez carefully cradled him in his arms. The Nidoking got up and strode to his door, setting foot outside into the night again, where the familiar figure of an Inteleon was leaning against a tree in front of his cottage.
Nez chuckled. "I had a feelin' I'd find ya or your counterpart out here."
"Well, when my child sneaks out the door at night, I intend to keep an eye out," Niles replied, striding closer with a hapless look. "I'm going to take an educated guess and say he couldn't sleep because he keeps thinking about Astrid."
"You'd be right," the Nidoking replied softly, the edges of his eyes drooping. "He was sayin' prayers to get her back. Poor lad… I'd never expect to see him like this…"
Niles sighed, looking downcast himself. "… Me neither, Nez. I was envisioning him staying starry-eyed forever and Astrid always returning here to roost when she took time off from their expeditions. I never would've expected this."
Nez nodded. "… Well, didn't ya say there was a chance to find her and ask her what she wants?"
The Inteleon too nodded. "There are several, and by the gods, I'll take them. Nothing about this is right."
"… Between you and me, I'm glad this Necrozma isn't the highest power of this world."
"Oh, me too, Nez. I'd have some choice words for them if I ever met them," Niles easily agreed, shrewdly gazing off into the stars as if the Blinding One might've been able to hear from someplace far off. His eyes fell back on the sleeping Greninja, and he gently brushed one side of Arashi's face. "… I think both remaining members of Team Starstorm are in for a long recovery," he noted softly, voice trembling just a bit. "This one for completely different reasons."
"… I think you're right, Niles. Gods bless 'em…"
The Nidoking walked back to the cave house on the beach with Niles, being careful to carry Arashi as smoothly as possible so as not to disturb him. The sleeping, swollen-eyed one didn't make a sound as he was placed onto his cushion, but one hand did twitch a bit, to which his father grabbed Astrid's old scarf and badge and nudged it into his grasp. Instantly his grip tightened around it, which seemed to calm him, and silently, the two older Pokémon stalked out, though not before casting one last concerned glance back just to make sure he was still asleep. After some brief goodnight wishes, Nez strolled off back to his own cottage, and the beach den was quiet again, at least, for the most part.
Even while he was someplace deep off in a slumber, just once, Arashi apparently couldn't help but to open his mouth and distraughtly whisper, "Astrid…"