Hybrid: Aurora Edition

by SairaCrystaline

A story in the Pokemon world with a trans protagonist who lives through some of the worst life has to offer, but refuses to back down and always does their best to do the right thing. Lots of hurt/comfort, comedy will be in places, don't expect much hetero stuff to happen. And plenty of filled in holes the canon of the games leaves.

11. Chapter 11: What Doesn't Kill You

In another tale, one might refer to the focuses of our attention as heroes. And history may well remember them as such. But for now, they are not heroes. They are simply people doing their best to survive and escape, despite impossible odds. No less commendable, but not so grandiose a title. The gears of their fate are beginning to turn, due both to their actions and the progression of Galactic's true goals. The clock is ticking for both sides. We can only hope life does what it does best; persevere through the harshest conditions, and come out the other side to tell the tale.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Erishi 21st~~

"Well, at least that's a little bit of good news," Riri mumbled to themself as they pulled a makeshift stethoscope away from my chest.

Pa paused from showing me how to sign a few words more easily, and looked at them while I tilted my head. "{What's good news?}"

They smiled and ruffled my hair. "Well, your lungs are just about healed. I'm sure you'll be glad to not have to worry about that anymore."
I tilted my head curiously. "{Why?}" They raised an eyebrow, so I continued. "{Why're they healed when y' said they wouldn't be for a while, an' why d'you feel worried?}"
They paused, figuring out how to respond while Mama looked at Tou-san. {Did you not say that she would require more focused medical attention to heal fully?}

He nodded, and Mama nuzzled me closer to her. {They are worried because it means you are healing faster than most can,} Mama whispered.

One of my ears tilted. "{Isn't that a good thing tho'?}"

She nodded with a wary look. {Yes and no. Yes, because healing quicker is good for you. No, because those with that ability have been through much hardship while young, and it is something Galactic would be interested in.}

So they're gonna pay more attention to me? Great. Fun.

She sensed my misery and curled a couple tails around me more, enveloping me in warmth. {It is alright. It will certainly help you when it comes time to punch the evil humans in the face.}

A small smile crossed my face as I hugged her, and Pa rubbed my back gently. When he tapped me twice on my shoulder, I looked up to read his signs.

|It should be easier for you to run around as well, with Li and everyone else.|

Feeling the hope from everyone around me lifted my spirits somewhat. We were all in a dark place, but focusing on that wouldn't help us.

They're right about me wanting to run around and punch Galactic more. Stupid shitbags, they're not gonna keep us here forever. We won't let 'em.

"Aurora?" I turned around to see Guinevere and Chestnut holding… food? Like, actual food. Food Rhodo might've given us if we were in his office. "It's time for dinner."

I looked at them, eyes wide as Hazel and Vivian walked up with their own bowls of food. The shock must've been obvious. "{Wh-... but… how…?}"

Guinevere smiled warmly as she handed out our food, then hugged me softly. "Rhodo worked hard and managed to get us some better food. So be sure to thank him next time you see him, okay?"

I nodded, staring at the food in amazement. It wasn't just this weird liquidy glop of stuff in a bowl this time. It was still in a bowl, but there were actual different things grouped together that didn't meld into a disgusting misery sauce. There was some bread, a few berries, a cup of water, lettuce, and…?

{That is a sort of pseudo meat, my child,} Mama explained. {No one was harmed in its creation. You can smell the difference, I am certain.}

I held it up and sniffed it, and she was right. It was cooked and had some darker brown lines along with the lighter brown the rest of it was, but it was definitely different from burnt flesh. Or not burned flesh.

A thought flashed through my mind at the sight of real food. "{Where's-}" I had my answer before I could even finish asking, a quick scan of the room showing Ron and Rush somehow eating their food very quickly and very slowly at the same time.

I figured they'd be happy about this. I'm glad they get actual food now.

We all ate together, my smile from before getting bigger. It wasn't anything gargantuan like us escaping or something, but actual food was a huge step up from garish goop. Even more so how we could eat it together, and it wasn't just a couple of us in Rhodo's office. Even just a quick look around the room showed people being in better spirits with better food.

"It was nice of Rhodo to get us this, wasn't it?" Guinevere hugged me gently. "Even if you were afraid of him at first, he's nice, isn't he?"

I nodded. "{Mmhmm. He's like Jean. A nice human.}"

Mama gave her a curious look as she continued. "And you found out about that because you gave them a chance to be nice to you." I gave her a confused look. "If you'd been mad or tried to fight them, they probably wouldn't be as nice to you, right?"

I nodded. "{But why would I do that?}"

She smiled. "Because you might've been afraid. But you didn't listen to that. You were brave, and you made friends. And not everyone can do that."

I tilted my head, noticing that Hazel and Vivian were listening closely as well. "{But 'f I don't know 'em, shouldn't I be nice first?}"

She held my hand. "Yes you should, but not everyone knows to do that. However, you want to see the good in people. Even if you're afraid, you want to believe that other people can be kind. I just want you to know how important that is, and how much it means to other people. It's the sign of a good heart. One that you've kept bright, even with Galactic being so mean. And that's a beautiful thing."

She squeezed my hand gently. "Keep doing that, okay? Be yourself, and look for the good in others. It's a much happier way to live life."

I wasn't sure why, but something in my heart felt… calmer, after she said that. Hazel and Vivian's smiles felt happy as well, Chestnut was smiling like Guinevere, and even Mama felt like she agreed with what she had to say.

I do wanna believe other people are nice. Galactic isn't, but maybe there's more Rhodos and Jeans outside. Humans who aren't evil.

"{I'll do m' best,}" I told her softly, rubbing my eyes a little.

"That's all I ask," she replied. "Now, it's getting to be bedtime, so we should get you to sleep. Would you like me to sing you, Hazel and Vivian a lullaby again?"

I nodded, smiling. "{Yes, please.}" It always helped me sleep more calmly when she sang us a lullaby.

And that night was no different.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Erishi 22nd~~

I was having some trouble getting back to sleep the next night. The lights were all off, and I could hear plenty of people breathing softly as they slept. I could feel some of them were having nightmares, like I often would, and the couple who barely slept were up and about moving. Just trying to do anything to distract themselves from… everything.

Mama, though, was awake with me. She didn't sleep until I did, to make sure I was okay.

{Is anything physically hurting you, my child?}

I shook my head slowly. "{No, not r'lly…}"

She nudged her head against mine. {At least we have that to be-}

The sudden hiss of the door opening made us both go quiet, our ears swiveling towards it as we scanned the area. Any oncoming exhaustion vanished in the blink of an eye.

Everyone feels like they're still in bed… the people who were up aren't anywhere near the door, either. They stopped just like we did. Is it Jean or Rhodo or something? What's going-

My vision went red, my body burned, and I was in a black void again.

I tried to shake my head, to clear the fogginess in it, but I didn't have a head to shake. It felt like I was just on the verge of going to sleep, but the burning and… something else was keeping me from actually passing out.

I didn't have hands to rub my eyes, or eyes to rub in the first place. No tails to light aflame, no feet to stamp on the ground and jolt myself awake. I did my best to focus on what could even be happening, and how to stop it.

Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, I was tearing open a hole in the fog. Burning when I couldn't burn. Sight with no eyes. Red and an endless void. The Pokeball I'd been jammed in before.

My attention turned to trying to force myself out of it, like I had before, but before I could the burning came crackling back, white light enveloping my vision before I felt myself against the cold, hard ground.

"Wouldn't even let me touch the code, let alone add anything to it, petulant whore…" I heard someone mumbling to themselves.

Wha?

The fog in my head was receding, even though the burning was still very much present. But I forced an eye open to see what was going on.

I was in the arena, but there were only a couple lights on. No rocks or anything though, nothing for anyone to hide behind. It was just the plain metal floor it often was, and no one else in the arena with me.

A glance upwards towards where Bronco usually stood showed he wasn't there either. Instead, there was an old human guy there and a grunt with him.

The old guy was hunched over a bit, with the same coat the scientists wore. The outfit underneath was different though, in the kinda way that the Admin's outfits were different. More mixing of dark and light gray, and a yellow G displayed prominently.

He had small red lensed glasses that I didn't really know how they could help him see, and purple hair that curved into small fins on either side of his head. It looked like he was trying to make it cover more of his head too, because I could see it was mostly at the back with two fins pulled over top of his head to make it look like there was more hair.

I don't know why he's trying to hide the fact he's got less hair, it's not a horrible thing to not have hair or anything. But if it makes him angry I'm definitely gonna tease him about it.

Right beside him was a typical man grunt. Nothing different about him compared to the others. Even his mean smile was generic.

I looked around again. Mama wasn't anywhere, or any grunts or anyone else. Just me and him.

Could I break the glass and beat him up? I don't think I could, but maybe it wouldn't be a good idea. It'd definitely feel nice punching a stupid bitch Galactic face, but I don't think what'd happen after would be very good at all. I gotta stay around to help everyone else when it's time for everyone to escape, not do stuff that takes me out of the picture before that. I dunno what I can do that'd help, but still.

"#001! Don't you dare keep ignoring me!"

Much as I wanted to call him a bitch, clearly he wanted me to say something. So I pushed myself to my feet, crossed my arms, and turned my back to him.

"Cheeky git," he muttered to himself before getting louder again. "Do you have the foggiest idea how much of a fool you've made of me?!"

I swiveled my ear a bit. I have no idea who this dumbass is, but I'll listen to a human being called out on being stupid any day of the week.

"No one gives me a second look! You screw up a few lines of code one time and suddenly everyone's calling your newest creation a 'failure' and 'completely worthless', while Spinel Sird gets a whole operation all to herself!"

"That Porygon upgrade was a step in the right direction, sir. I certainly learned a lot from your mistake- I mean attempt," the grunt stammered.

Charon glared, murder in his eyes at the Grunt. "Did I ask for your opinion?" He hissed, furious.

The grunt stepped back, bowing slightly. "A-apologies, sir…"

First off, fuck you, I'm nobody's creation, second off, Spinel's done nothing to be jealous of, third off, you created someone and made them miserable and you're treating that like a minor thing? What's wrong with humans, but you in particular?

"I tell Cyrus he doesn't need another bioengineer, but nooo," the old man throwing a tantrum blathered to himself, "He thinks 'it would ensure consistency' to go get someone who worked on the Mewtwo project to work on creating specimens for his new world. Like I couldn't do that!"

Wait, she did what now?

"And then you," he spat, probably glaring at me. "On her first go it works perfectly. Beginner's luck! But nobody listens to that, everyone just accepts that she 'did the work' and other hogwash. But she still needs to show that it worked and she didn't just slap a couple appendages on some humans. And then you show up everything I've ever done!"

"{Probl'y wasn't hard t' do,}" I sassed with a smirk.

I dunno if me talking gives him what he wants, but he was asking for that one. And a lot of other ones, really, but that one was too perfect to not do.

"I barely even know what you said and I know it was insulting!" He slammed a fist against the glass. "You dare mock me?! Charon, technobiologist extraordinaire!?"

"{Me use big word so me am big smart,}" I mocked in a droll tone.

"I think she's still mocking you, sir," The grunt said hesitantly.

He looked back dangerously. "Thank you for your insight. I'd worked that one out."

The grunt seemed ignorantly pleased. "I knew you would, sir. You are one of our best scientists after all."

"I'm surrounded by imbeciles," Charon muttered to himself before glaring back at me. "The one thing I can agree with Sird about is that you should be shut up," he hissed in a deep, breaking up voice like he spent his life gargling rocks and inhaling ghost gas.

There was the light click of a button, and the area around me lit up blue as the collar on my neck surged to life. I'd gotten familiar with the feeling of some of it, because it'd shock me whenever I got upset watching people die or waking up from nightmares, but usually Mama or Guinevere or Okan and Kano were around to help me calm down and it'd stop. This time, they weren't.

I clenched my fists tight and winced, my legs jittering as the electricity tried to force me to fall. But I refused to let myself fall.

"So now," Charon the tantrumy human went on, "You're going to suffer like you've made me suffer! The gall to oppose me," he said to himself, shaking his head in irritation.

"{I d-d-didn't even do s-s-shit,}" I spluttered out through the voltage, "{B-b-but you're a bigger f-f-fuckass than Spinel.}"

"And you still won't shut up!" he shrieked, looking at the device he was holding.

"Now let's see how this works…"

I'm pretty sure he turned a dial, because the electrocuting got more intense. I leaned back roughly against a wall, keeping myself up from that. My limbs were trying to jerk out in weird ways, but I was barely able to stop them from doing that. Stopping the jerking itself hurt in its own way.

Be like Owain. He didn't give in. He didn't give Spinel satisfaction, so I won't give knockoff old man Spinel any either.

"Hahaha, there we go!" He cackled to himself like he'd just made the discovery of a century. "Let's see how much Spinel can get done when her prized test subject is in a shuddering heap!"

Even though I wanted to yell at him, my teeth were chattering so badly I was afraid I'd bite my tongue off if I opened my mouth. So I wrenched my arm around, pried up my middle finger and held that up to him.

"Stubborn little runt aren't you? How do you like this?" He pressed another button and turned the dial again.

There was still lots of electricity, but now it felt like I was being plunged into the fake river. All the heat in me was being drawn away in waves of bluish energy, and trying to heat myself back up didn't help at all.

The burning from the Pokeball wasn't helping, either.

I instinctively clawed at the collar around my neck, which only made it worse. It took everything I had just to force myself to stay standing.

"Don't like water, do you whelp? Go on, cry out for help! It doesn't matter, you'll all be dead by the end of the year! Who cares how close their pitiful attempt at a League gets to finding us, they can't find anyone if you're all dead!"

So… there are people looking for us…

"Sir… I know you are having fun and all, which is great; You deserve a stress reliever, but we aren't supposed to talk about the mass disposal part…" The grunt hesitantly spoke up.

Charon paid him no mind. A cruel smile spread across his face, his gnarled teeth gleaming faintly in the dim light. "I've read your files, you know. Your family up in Snowpoint City, frigid hellscape that it is. They've been looking oh so desperately for you. I think I'll do them a favor and bring them here. It'd be a wonderful family reunion, especially as they scream for help before they die just like #033 and #053's families. How about we fuse them with ghosts!? We can see if we can get a better result than what occurred with the Phantump and the boy!"

Something in my heart snapped at that.

Don't you fucking dare.

"{Don't you fucking dare,}" I growled dangerously.

I slammed my foot against the ground as I stood up strong again, burning holes through him with my eyes. A couple orange-gold flames began mingling with the sparks all over my body.

I couldn't remember everything about my family in Snowpoint. I remembered my moms, and my sister, and the Pokemon with them. I remembered how much they loved me, and how they cared about me. I remembered how they were there when I chose my name, and how they supported me figuring out who I am.

I didn't remember everything, but I remembered enough to know I'd sooner die than let him drag them into this.

Charon squinted, looking between me and the remote he was holding. "Must not be intense enough," he muttered before pressing a couple more buttons.

"It's pretty high up. Hmmm… maybe fighting type output next, sir?" The grunt advised. "The reports say she responded worse to that than water."

The waves of watery chill went away as the energy went to an orange-brown, the feeling of being pummeled by Dojima but much worse hammering into me while the electricity kept going.

I just clenched my fists and slammed them into each other, a sudden burst of energy lighting up the space as I did. The grunt jumped at the light.

"{I won't let you bring them here,}" I continued, the heat accompanied by angry hissing. "{I'll make sure of that.}"

Charon narrowed his eyes at me over his glasses. "You think you have any power here? What's your plan, infect me with your shoddy English? I'll run you into the ground, runt." He went back to fiddling with the remote.

The energy changed again, losing the orange and becoming a more tan brown. Now it felt like the earthquakes from Rhyperior, threatening to tear me apart, but without any of Mama's snow to dampen it. I wouldn't let him shake me.

"{I'll find a way to stop you,}" I growled in defiance, my heart burning hotter. "{I always will.}"

I'm gonna fucking clobber him. I'm gonna break his hand. What's he gonna do, shock me more? Can't hold that over my head, we're already there bitch.

My fury seared away the pain enough for me to focus. To make another Protect bubble, but this time away from me. Far away.

The grunt took out a device and squinted at it with concern. "Sir, according to previous records she shouldn't even be able to handle this level of pain. Yet she's still conscious."

The humans were too distracted or too stupid to notice the green orb forming behind them. It was only the size of a snowball, but it was enough.

"{Like this!}" I yelled, bringing my fists together and slamming them down like it was Charon's stupid head beneath them. The green orb responded in kind, giving a satisfying, reverberating crack as it whacked into the back of Charon's head. Before the wide eyed grunt could even react? I punched a fist out and slammed the orb right into his stupid face.

There was a sudden spurt of blood as he stumbled backwards. "My nose! Agh, my fucking nose! Sir, what happened!?"

"#001 signed its death warrant is what just happened," Charon hissed as he clicked the knob on the remote.

The energy changed one last time, to a jagged deep brown. The earthquakes turned to jagged stones, scraping across my body. Much as I wanted to keep standing, and the fire in my heart refused to die, my body was in a different situation. I slammed my back up against the wall, ignoring the pain to keep standing.

Trying to get it to stop, I grabbed the collar around my neck and gripped as hard as I could. The pain and voltage grew as I held tighter and tighter, trying to snap it in two.
One moment, there was a small crack.
The next, the electricity and stone energy spiked, tearing, clawing at my body and mind.

I let out a silent scream and let go, every muscle in my body trying to tear itself apart. I couldn't do anything but shut my eyes and stay there, convulsing. I could feel my breathing start jittering like the rest of me.

"Now you know what it's like!" He cackled, wheezing as he got up. "What it's like to be helpless, and no one to come for you! You better hope Cyrus' new world does what he says it will, since that's the only hope you have of seeing anything outside here ever again!"

What little thought wasn't being assaulted tried to fight against that idea. That someone would come for me. That one of the sleeping people wouldn't be asleep, and would come to help. Mama breaking in and killing him, or Jean and Indra beating him up and breaking the controller thing, or anything.

That, and forcing myself not to scream. Not to do what he wanted.

"Yes… hahaha, yes! Writhe, worm! Writhe before your master!"

"Shut the FUCK up!"

A familiar voice rang throughout the arena, followed by a loud thud and an even louder pained screech, then a pained yell. Seconds later the electrocution stopped and I could finally breathe. My lungs, finally able to function again, took in huge gulps of the ozone laden air.

It took me a few seconds to even realize I was lying on the ground. Moving anything made my body scream in retaliation, but I was able to angle myself better to see where the voice came from. Standing by the glass wall was Rhodo holding the remote control with the most emotion I'd ever seen from him; frantic panic and searing rage.

In the background, Charon and the grunt were on the ground in pain.

Someone came! Rhodo came to help!

"Aurora? Aurora! Can you hear me? Are you awake!?" He shouted desperately.

My body would've screamed if I tried to do anything, so I just let the electricity jerk my ears about for a moment. Hoping that would let him know I was… well, there and conscious.

He seemed to get the message as he let out a small sigh of relief, the rage melting slowly into anxiety. "Jean and Indra are coming with the medics right now! They'll take care of you!" He promised. "Please, just stay awake, focus on my voice alright! W-we'll get you through this. T-think uhhh… think about what Paris would do! She focused on anything but the collar shock! Just distract yourself from the pain!"

But I can't make ghost bows…

While Rhodo was trying to distract me from the pain, I noticed a shadow move behind him. Charon had gotten a black eye- probably from when Rhodo hit him- and it suited him. But he screamed danger. I tried to alert Rhodo, but I just ended up convulsing more and he got even more distracted.

"Can't you see I'm busy, wretch?!" Charon howled as he pulled out some simple looking metal knife and stabbed Rhodo in the side with it.

His eyes bugged out in agony as he backhand cracked Charon in the face. I shook even more as I watched him stumble and look at his stomach bleeding all over, genuinely shocked. I wanted to get up. I wanted the fucker to burn, but the more I shook the more tears streamed down and convulsions wracked my body.

Rhodo looked back at me as though he were still registering what had happened to him, holding his bloody stomach. It was though he was staring at me and beyond me. In that split second exchange, I felt something irreversibly change within him. Something I was familiar with.

He wasn't sure he was going to survive, but he was gonna fight like hell to try and if all else failed, he was going to protect me.

He's gotta make sure to stay safe himself too…

"You've always been more trouble than you're worth. Spinel only keeps you around because you're nice to look at, but if I carve that handsome face of yours that'll eliminate another eyesore for me," He cackled dangerously before forcing the grunt up. "Get the fuck up Kenneth, and help me kill this bastard. He's outlived his purpose."

The grunt, Kenneth, wiped his bloody nose and got up groggily. The heartless evil that I had seen in countless of the grunts' eyes finally gleaned in his, showing his true colors.

"I have no complaints with that order, sir."

Rhodo chuckled a bit, causing him to clench his wound more. "I hate that you're about to make me do this… but I can't stand by and watch a child be killed. Especially not her! Not when I can do something about it!"

"Shut the fu-!"

Interrupting Kenneth, Rhodo reached over to some desk, grabbed a glass lamp and slammed it right into Kenneth's face, causing it to shatter all over him.

Kenneth dropped to the ground as Rhodo pounced on him, pummeling him furiously with one arm and smashing his face in with the base of the lamp.

Kenneth, scratched, kicked and resisted as hard as he could, but Rhodo just wouldn't stop. Rhodo's outrage and Kenneth's desperate pleas for Charon to save him echoed throughout the arena. Charon stood back, noticeably afraid of getting anywhere close to danger.

Kenneth managed to jab his finger into Rhodo's wound, pushing him off of him to crawl away. His every movement was slow and pained as he was covered in blood and his face was unrecognizable. He made horrible wheezing sounds as he dragged himself across the glass on the floor.

Rhodo, grunting viscerally in pain and exhaustion, stumbled over to the dying grunt and proceeded to continue bashing his head in with the lamp base. So many emotions covered Rhodo's face. Tears mixed with blood as he tried to do everything to just make Kenneth stop struggling.

Watching Rhodo go through so much turmoil- hate, despair, fury, distraught, worried, anxious, determined, acceptance- made my heart ache almost more than the electrocution did.

I couldn't even bring myself to feel sorry for Kenneth.

I noticed a shadow rise behind Rhodo. He was too busy trying to stop Kenneth to notice. Charon, a wild look in his eyes, with cracked glasses and looking much more disheveled than before, held up the odd metal knife. He was zeroed in on the back of Rhodo's neck.

I could barely move. Not enough to catch his attention, not enough to call out a warning, even if it would've done anything. I could barely twitch a finger, or the ends of my tails.

The sputtering embers in my heart roared back to life.

I'll make it enough.

The tiniest Protect bubble shimmered to life. I could barely see it with my eyes twitching like they were, but I knew it was there. As small as the end of my thumb, but it was all I could manage.

It'll be enough.

I focused as hard as I could, ripping away the fog in my mind. Just a little more. Just enough to save Rhodo.

I won't let him kill my family.

The end of my tail twitched, the orb responding. It jittered in midair, then shot down below Charon's hand. He had just enough time to look down at it rocketing back up, straight into his wrist.

I felt the orb shatter almost on impact, but the splintering crack both let me know I'd done what I needed to, and let Rhodo know Charon was right behind him. Blood shot out of the wound in spurts before settling to a more even flow.

"My hand!" He screeched, cradling it as the knife clattered to the floor. "It broke my fucking-"

He was cut off by Rhodo roundhouse kicking him through a table. He leaned against the bloody glass wall clutching his stomach, but he managed to turn to me and give me a pained smile.

"T-thanks…" He sputtered, slight blood coming from his mouth.

His face hardened as he made his way over to Charon who was desperately trying to get up. Rhodo refused to give him the chance as he started pummeling him with his bare hands. Charon shrieked even louder than Kenneth as Rhodo slammed his face in with all the power he could muster.

His and Charon's blood mixed together, as the glass wall was painted red from their mortal struggle. Charon managed to grab a pen with his good hand and stabbed him somewhere else, but it only made him angrier.

"I won't let you hurt her! I won't let you killher! I won't bend for you fuckers anymore!" Rhodo yelled at the tops of his lungs. "She deserves all the happiness in the world and all you people do is show her more evil! You, Spinel, Cyrus, all of you! You are all a disgrace to the human race with too many crimes to count! Every last one of you deserves to burn endlessly in the deepest reaches of fucking hell!"

Rhodo was screaming with so much hatred and fury, that I could start feeling it from where I was. Releasing every emotion he had onto Charon's face. It was a primal rage that reminded me of Mama when she's angry.

Is this what Papas are like?

This was the distraction I needed from the pain. A few sweet seconds of a Galactic human getting hurt. Not the pokemon they force on us. Like everything else good that happens here, it didn't last long.

Charon somehow managed to push the pen deeper into Rhodo forcing him to cough blood all over the floor.

"Urgh!" Rhodo choked.

He got off of Charon and stumbled into the glass wall, breathing heavy and his eyes fluttering in and out of consciousness. He now had three holes in his body and a lot of lost blood all over the place. Charon managed to crawl a little bit aways from him, muttering something intelligible.

"A-Aurora…" Rhodo wheezed. He reached out and placed a bruised hand on the glass. An immensely pained smile crossed his face. A dying attempt to comfort me.

I wanted to reach back and save him somehow before he lost consciousness. He needed to live!

My inner blaze roared again, doing its best to bring life back to my shattered body. I planted my hands against the ground, trying my hardest to wrench my knees under me.

"{You'll… b-be okay…}" I coughed. I could see the tears streaming down from my face falling into the floor. My body screamed, trembling as it fought against my will for it to move. "{I… w-won't let you die…}"

"S-stop it… don't… strain yourself over me…" Rhodo choked out, pleading. "Live… for the… future… You still… have a chance…"

My mind raced. Even if I got up, what could I do? I couldn't break the glass normally, and definitely not right now. I couldn't just appear next to him. I didn't have bandages or anything I could throw through walls. Anything I did needed to be from right here.

Ice… freeze something… stop something. Before it's gone.

I shut my eyes tight, focusing as hard as I could. I chilled the burning in my heart into a cold wind, rushing to Rhodo. I only saw some of the blood on the glass darken and harden before I collapsed back to the ground, utterly spent.

Rhodo winced from the cold air, but his bleeding slowed. He smiled thankfully as he began to relax and pace his breathing. "T-thanks… kiddo… always going… above and beyond…"

"Aurora!" I could barely look and see Jean, Indra, a human and a Pokemon running up. "We're here, it's gonna be okay!" She looked up at the now bloodied viewing area, and her face blanched. "Oh hell- evil never sleeps, does it? Indra, stay here!"

Indra nodded while Jean pulled out a black stick looking thing and sprinted back out.

{Chansey, please, quickly,} Indra ushered. I could feel his panic as he watched her and the human.

{Workin' on it,} Chansey responded calmly, touching my body and sending soothing waves throughout it. She stopped a moment for the human to inject something into me before she started again, this time adding a calming scent. They worked quickly and silently.

{Heal Pulse and Aromatherapy aren't working as well as they need to… The medication will tide her over, but we've got to take her to the infirmary immediately. Help me get her on the stretcher,} Chansey informed Indra while the human spoke into a radio saying a bunch of medical stuff I didn't understand.

He nodded, very gently cradling me in his wings. Even that sent shudders running through me and I winced in pain, gritting my teeth. Indra winced slightly as well. {I am sorry. It will be better soon.}

He laid me softly onto the bed with wheels that lots of pokemon and hybrids ended up on after battles. I could hear pained screams up from where Rhodo and Charon were, and slight zaps of electricity. Screams that were definitely neither Rhodo or Jean's. After a couple dozen thwacks, I could just see Jean slinging Rhodo's arm over her shoulder and helping him walk out.

Indra smiled slightly. {Vengeance is swift and painful.} He looked back at me. {Though, I am certain you're familiar with that.}

I blinked. Mama's gonna fry him when she can.

Chansey looked me over again after she finished prepping me on the stretcher. {She's pretty tough.}

{In ways she shouldn't need to be, unfortunately,} Indra said as he and the human started pushing the stretcher. I winced slightly at the movement, but at least the fabric felt nicer than the floor.

The air rushing past while they rushed me over to… somewhere, felt painful in a way it didn't usually. I tried to focus on anything else, and saw little sparks still running the length of my body. Not to mention my vision. That still brought my mind back to the spasms though, so I went to the next thing that came to mind.

I hope Rhodo's okay… There was a lot of blood, and he definitely got hurt bad. I don't know how much humans can take, though. Is he gonna be okay? Was that major for him? At least he beat the shit outta Charon. And I helped him somehow feel better… he's gotta be okay. He's gotta.

After a little longer we finally got to the infirmary and the human started heading towards the cabinets.

"The collar transmitted elemental forces directly into her body so we're gonna have to diffuse the charge first before she can heal properly," The human said as she got a bin large enough to fit me in. "Indra, lay her gently into the tub once it's half filled."

Indra nodded, gently picking me up and cradling me again. Even when I spasmed and whacked against him involuntarily, he didn't budge at all. He just held me close, gently, while the human pulled out this big bag of very fine sand and started pouring it into the bin.

Once it was about halfway filled, she stopped to let Indra gently put me in. Chansey leaned over with the same gruff expression she's had all this time. {We're going to submerge most of your body in this special sand so the excess energy will leave your system, okay? We won't cover your face and you'll feel a lot better after. Are you ready?}

I didn't have the energy to say much, so I just blinked. She got the meaning and nodded at the human, who slowly poured the sand over me. It felt… weirdly soothing. I could hear the soft sift of it flowing like water over me. Chansey fixed it up a bit before she began healing me more while the human continued doing doctor stuff.

The door hissed a bit as it opened, and I heard Mama's footsteps as she ran in, stopping next to me. Her eyes darted from Chansey, to me, to the human, to the sand, and back to me as she sat close. {I am here, my child. It will be alright.}

I nodded a teeny bit and winced as she shook her head. {Do not trouble yourself. I am by your side.}

Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and I could feel her anxiety slowly waning. What wasn't waning was the vitriolic hatred she felt towards whoever hurt me.

As the human stopped pouring the sand, having covered most of me, Mama scanned it and shook her head slightly. She pulled over a chair with a paw to get a better vantage point, hopped onto it, and then began gently redistributing the dust with her tails.

The human turned to Chansey who looked Mama up and down, not stopping her gradual healing. {What are you doing?}

Mama glanced at her for a moment before focusing back on me. {The charge will dissipate faster if her tails are slightly separated and only just covered. What little fur she does have will be a natural focal point for it.}

Chansey stopped healing a moment and began feeling my head, sending exploratory waves through my body. {Huh…}

"Her vitals are improving even more," The human noted on a little machine.

Chansey returned to healing. {Past medical experience?} She asked.

Mama shook her head. {Nothing so grand as that, I fear. Simply making the most of when Cheri berries were in short supply. One can't rely only on one curative, after all.}

Chansey grunted in agreement as she continued her work in silence. It went on for a little longer until I felt something fizzle out in my body. A lot of pain sizzled away for a moment and I felt a bit more comfortable. Chansey seemed to notice as she stopped healing to step away and drink an ether.

"Looks like she's stabilized, good work Chansey," The human thanked Chansey after checking the monitor. Chansey grunted in reply and continued drinking before she sat down on a nearby stool.

The human looked a bit cautious of Mama as they got up to fiddle with some more devices. Mama's death glare didn't help. "Um… you see, about the-"

{Stop,} Chansey spoke up, staring hard at the human holding up a hand. {I will explain. Just sit over there, quietly.}

The human took a second to decode what Chansey must've meant, but since they stopped talking they clearly got the message. Me and Mama glanced at each other.

A human just listening to a Pokemon? That's new around here. And Chansey just feels gruff, not mean. Like Zachirias. I wonder if maybe they're good people…

Chansey turned to Mama. {I didn't see the whole situation, but I saw enough. Aurora was taken by Commander Charon for some reason and was shocked intensely by the collar. Judging by the energy I sensed and her condition, I'd say she was shocked for around 10 minutes by electric, rock, whatever else energy. Rhodo stopped him, got stabbed and then we showed up, Nicole and I-} Chansey pointed to the human. {-with Jean to treat whatever injuries Aurora sustained. Jean went with Rhodo; I don't know if him or Charon are alive. We brought Aurora here since her injuries could be treated with relatively simple means.}

Mama glanced at me, and I nodded slightly. Indra rustled his wings slightly to draw their attention. {Both Rhodo and Charon's heartbeats were… well within adequate parameters, at least. I think blood loss is more the issue for Rhodo right now. As for Charon…} A small smile came to his face. {I heard a few bones break, so we've that to be glad about.}

She nodded. {Good. I now know I can incinerate him myself.}

{That is unless Sird gets to him first,} Chansey said apathetically. {He crossed a dangerous line.}

{They all have,} Mama growled, shaking her head before resting a couple tails on top of me. {But enough about the monsters within this place. Are you feeling better, my child?}

The best I could do was exhale slightly less hard. Mama just nodded and sat there with me.

Chansey looked us both over after a moment of silence. {Aurora will need several days of bedrest and likely more intensive care, but we got to her fast and I'm good at my job. There will be side effects and we will need to monitor her cardiac function, but her current condition looks promising. That could change at any time though, so be prepared.}

Mama nodded, then inclined her head towards Chansey with her eyes closed. {Thank you, hardened healer. For saving my daughter.}

Chansey nodded back in turn. {I simply do my duty, Mother Fox.}

{That does not mean you should not be thanked for it,} She replied before looking at me. {Please, rest my child. You need it.}
She didn't need to tell me twice. Once she laid next to me, the pain and exhaustion had me out like a light.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Erishi 22nd~~

When I finally woke up again, I registered a few things. For one, everything wasn't as painful as it was when I passed out. Second, I could still feel the sand around me. Third, my muscles actually felt relaxed again and not like they were about to spasm for the hundredth time. And fourth, there was a fluffy thing poking my face.

{Rora!} Li mewled as he began patting my face even more. {Wakey wakey!}

He was promptly picked up by the scruff by a stern faced Chansey, the same one that saved me.

{Now now child, she's not a trampoline,} Chansey chided gently as she placed Li on a stool by my head. {Rora needs her rest.}

{Indeed she does,} Mama elaborated, sitting right next to me. {I understand your worry, but we mustn't rush her.}

{But she sleep so long!} Li whined, his ears tilting down. Chansey rolled her eyes, but I could sense faint amusement.

"{'m not sleepin' anymore…}" I mumbled groggily.

At least my face works again.

{Good morning, my child,} Mama said softly.

{I did it! Rora awake!} Li cheered, his tail wagging excitedly.

Chansey sighed deeply as she got up from where she was sitting. {I suppose she's slept enough. Let me get Nicole.}

"{Mmmf,}" I protested.

Mama glanced at me, then tapped Chansey's arm with a tail to get her attention. {I believe Aurora has something to say.}

I looked up at her. "{Thank you, nice lady…}"

Chansey paused before nodding at me neutrally. {Finally, a patient with manners. You're welcome.} With that she went to go get Nicole.

Li took this chance to get right in my face again, which brought a smile to the three of us. {Chansey bossy…}

I nudged him with my head gently. "{She helped me be okay 'tho. She's used to meanies.}" My ears flicked before I looked at Mama. "{Does she have a name?}"

Mama shook her head. {She did not mention one when asked. She may appreciate the suggestion, however.}

{After naming her, can we play?} Li begged, tilting his ears downward to give me his best pleading look.

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could Mama shook her head. {I can tell you both stories, but Aurora was… badly injured because of a human. It would not be good for her to play right now.}

I nudged my head into Li again. "{'m glad you're here 'tho…}"

{Me too…} Li nuzzled against my head. {I can help fix you!}

Li took to licking my face with a frosty tongue. He had a determined look on his face, one I hadn't seen before. I don't think he entirely got it, but whenever he hurt himself, him or Mama would lick him to feel better.

He's doing his best to help… cuz he's kind. I love my little brother…

Mama waved a couple tails to catch my attention this time. {Jean and Indra brought him here earlier. They seemed notably rushed, though not altogether worried about themselves. Primarily you and likely Rhodo.}

I leaned into Li while I thought about that. Okay, so whatever Charon and Kenneth did was definitely a bad. Jean did the thing that helped us, and apparently that was an okay thing? So Galactic wants to hurt us, but not that Galactic guy to hurt us. Spinel's not allowed to just be mean for no reason, but they're allowed to kill and hurt people because of stupid reasons. Humans make no sense…

"Aurora? Are you awake?" Called a familiar human voice.

In walked the human woman who helped me, apparently named Nicole, alongside Chansey. Now that I could focus, I could see her Galactic grunt uniform was slightly different. She had long brown hair, circular glasses and kind maple eyes. She was wearing the woman's uniform, but without the skirt, just pants. And her doctor coat thingy seemed to be covering up the G on the shirt a bit more than it usually did.

All the really nice humans and all the really mean humans wear different clothes than the regular grunts. Why is that?

She smiled when she saw me blink in response. "Good afternoon. I see Li here is giving you the best treatment possible, but I'd like to give it a shot myself if you don't mind?"

She's asking permission? Not just doing stuff? She really is different from the other Galactic humans.

"{Mmhmm,}" I nodded tiredly. Even though I'd just woken up, I still really didn't feel like doing a whole lot.

"Excellent," She smiled, turning to Li. "Li, your licks really helped out, but we can take it from here."

Li looked between me and Nicole before giving me one last lick, then bounced over to Mama to lounge in her tails. After that, Nicole and Chansey started doing their check-up work. They seemed really practiced, used to doing it. Faster than Rhodo.

Now that they were helping me up close, I started to notice details I had missed earlier. There wasn't anything too different about Nicole, she smelled the same as the usual Galactic soap every grunt uses. None of the horrible hair stuff though. Chansey on the other hand had a lot of scars. They weren't noticeable before since they were faded, but as my head cleared up, I could see the thin lines of past attacks all over.

The egg in her pouch was even smaller than Haley's and unlike Haley, I hadn't seen her smile. She could be happy, I had felt a little earlier, but she felt like Rhodo. It was hard.

I had seen a few Chansey working and while they didn't seem super happy, very few people were here, they almost always had little smiles on their faces as they walked around. It was… sad to see her like this.

"Alright, we're done with your check-up. You're recovering well, Aurora," Nicole praised me. They had done a lot of extra stuff I didn't really get, including making me take disgusting medicine, but I already felt better than I had when I had woken up. And I'd take horrible stuff that makes me feel better instead of flat out horrible stuff, like gruel. Or Galactic. They both start with g.

That's probably a coincidence, but it's funner to think it's not.

"I'll get you a light breakfast. Unfortunately, I'm not as savvy with an oven as Rhodo, so I don't have any muffins. Jean told me what you liked though, so I'll try my best to accommodate. Any requests?" She asked.

I blinked. I still wasn't used to getting good food frequently, so the idea of being able to choose was foreign to me. "{Uh… not gruel?}"

"I can absolutely do that! Lemme see what we have in the fridge," She hummed as she made her way to Rhodo's kitchen area. Chansey remained to clean up, silently working.

She deserves to be happier.

"{D'you want a name?}" I asked softly.

Chansey continued putting away supplies, not bothering looking up. {The famous Name Rater strikes even me, it seems,} She mused.

I blinked. "{...i-is that a yes or a no…?}"

{An observation,} She stated, folding a blanket. {I think it's a bit early for names when you don't know anything about me.}

The way she said it… it didn't sound dismissive. She felt sorta… melancholy?

"{'s not about how well I know you,}" I continued, "{I just wanna make sure everyone who wants a name gets one. The humans are meanie stupid assholes, and it's a way to tell them they don't own you. Even if it's just to yourself, it…}" I paused, thinking back on all the times I'd just been referred to by a number.

"{It means you won't let 'em win. It means you won't just be somethin' for them. You're gonna be you. And that they can't stop you.}"

Mama nodded, smiling. {I know not what stories have spread exactly, but I do know that my child simply wishes to help you take control of your own life. Perhaps a human has tried to name you before, perhaps not. But it is not the name you are given that is important, it is the name you choose. Aurora did that for herself. She only wishes to spread the kindness and strength of heart she has to others.}

Chansey stopped folding blankets and turned to us with slight awe. As if she hadn't seen anyone like us before. She probably hadn't, it didn't seem like there were a lotta people like us around here.

{...I will be frank. I'm somewhat familiar with you two. I've met you many times while you were unconscious as I was assigned to treat you, but that is the extent of our encounters. Otherwise, what I know about you two is secondhand. I know and treat the pokemon you name; they tell me the stories of your bouts and how you give everything to get to know them and protect them. How they all seem to wish they got a second chance to speak with you…} Chansey's voice trailed off.

"{They're gonna,}" I told her, as seriously as I could. "{We're all gonna get out, we're gonna be friends an' family, and we'll get to talk as much as we want.}"

There wasn't any hesitation or uncertainty in my voice, and she definitely noticed it.

Chansey absorbed my words. {I see why Dojima respects you… you have a passionate spirit in the face of adversity. They all deserve to leave this place,} She sighed, her usual resigned look returning.

"{Why d'you feel so sad…?}" I asked, worry in my heart. "{Is it 'cuz of Galactic, or something else about names an' stuff…?}"

She glanced at me and Mama. {Team Galactic does seem to be the recurring reason for my mindset towards the world, but akin to you two, I hold vast ire toward humanity.}

{I would be surprised if you did not, given your forced company,} Mama growled softly.

I think most people hate humans. They're definitely mean enough for that to make sense.

Chansey nodded towards her. {It's not easy to make a Chansey loathe. We're infamously bubbly and foolishly trusting, I'm well aware of our reputation. It's why we're such easy targets by predators and humans. But if the poachers that caught me simply killed me and been done with it, that would've been a greater kindness than servitude to Galactic for all this time,} She stated bitterly.

Part of me wanted to object to death being better, but what with Galactic causing so much misery and not allowing people to die until they're through with them… I couldn't. And even still…

"{But you're still here, right? You can still fight! You can still escape. They caught you, but not your heart. An' they can't take that away. You wanna be outta here, right?}"

{An improvement would be welcome, yes.}

"{Then let's fight for it together!}" I stated, smiling a little and clenching my fists a little in the sand. "{You're not alone in this. None of us are. An' they can't keep us all here. We're gonna fight for each other, an' get out okay.}"

Chansey raised her eyebrows. {You're quite the determined one. From what I've seen of your mother, you're very similar in that regard. I must say, it's much more refreshing to treat a patient like you than the usual doom and gloom.}

Mama nodded. {Every shadow is cast by a light. Even if you cannot see it, it is there. We are cultivating our own light, to chase away the shadows.}

Chansey scrunched her face in slight confusion before she nodded in understanding. I didn't totally get it, but her demeanor changed a bit more. Most importantly though? I felt a little more hope in her heart.

{I've always been fond of the light,} Chansey hummed as she resumed cleaning again. {So I try to keep watch of any when I'm moving around the base. It just so happens Galactic has their own light, just in case the shadow encroaches upon them.}

Mama's face grew a bit more serious. {Is that so? Even the darkest caverns have cracks, it seems. We are aware of another such cavern with distinctly more cracks. Need we worry about another pit such as this one?}

Chansey considered her next answer. {Like any good snake they find a new hole to slither in, but they all favor a specific nest. Such nests tend to be the most secure, and their backups drop off quickly after.}

I could see that Li had just as much of an idea of what they were saying as I did. I'ma just wait for Mama to explain stuff later.

{That will certainly put minds at ease,} Mama said softly while looking at me and Li. {These two deserve to see the sky. And any step we take towards that future is a good one.} She looked back at Chansey. {A reminder that the possibilities for us are as vast as the horizon. You may not have seen it for far too long, but it is still out there. You need only believe that it is.}

Chansey was silent for a moment, contemplating hard. Li popped out of Mama's tails to see what was going on. {It has been a long time since I've allowed myself to feel this way. Hope. Hope towards the future, towards tomorrow. Something to look forward to besides eternal rest.} She sighed deeply. {I'll hold you to your words…}

She turned to me next. {I was named by my mother long ago… I had forgotten it during my time here, but talking with you helped me remember. My name is Eir; I am glad we can be officially introduced.}

My smile spread across my whole face, and it felt like the joy in my heart even shocked her a little. "{That's a really nice name! Nice to meet you Eir!}"

{Nice to meet you too Aurora, Ivane, Li,} She said, nodding to each of us in greeting. Her face's stoicism had lightened a bit and there was more life in her eyes. Even the egg in her pouch looked livelier. She wasn't truly happy yet, but she'd get there.

We'll make sure of it.

Mama nodded back to her, and Li pranced over to Eir happily.

{Eir! Eir! Hi Eir!} He mewled. Eir smiled at him and gave him a little treat which he immediately ate up. {I like Eir!}

{I believe we all do, my son,} Mama said gently.

Eir checked the clock on the wall before smiling at me. {This conversation has been most pleasant, but I still have chores to attend to and you're about to have a visitor.}

I blinked in confusion. "{But Li's right there?}"

{There's another who'd like to see you,} She mused before stepping away to where Nicole was.

Through the clinic door came Jean, Indra and a different Chansey pushing Rhodo on one of the medical stretchers with all the gear attached to it. His eyes were sullen and he was in a hospital gown, but he was alive. When his eyes landed on us he got a big smile, a different one than I'd ever seen him with. I still felt the change in him from before, but it didn't seem to be bad.

"Did ya miss me?" He laughed in pain as the Chansey wheeled him into the office, while Jean breathed a sigh of relief she seemed to have been holding for ages. Indra nudged her slightly as they watched.

A huge smile spread across my face. "{Rhodo!}" I started pushing myself up from my sand bath to go hug him.

He raised a hand in protest. "Easy now, kiddo. Neither of us are in any situation to be pushing ourselves. Glad to see you're looking better than I imagined. Jean told me you were getting the best of care, but I needed to see for myself that you were alright. For my own peace of mind at least. Could go for a whole lot more peace in life right now."

"And he's right, along with how I figured it'd help you relax knowing he's alright," Jean said kindly. "We had a lot of strife last night, I'd say it's time for you two to celebrate getting through it."

I paused, then let myself settle back into the sand while Mama helped rearrange it. "{Yeah… I'm glad you're okay! Not… okay okay, but you're here!}"

"Tired and in pain, but that's nothing new, so I think I'm a-okay! Would you believe me if getting stabbed multiple times wasn't the worst injury that's happened to me? I used to get into all sorts of trouble when I was younger…" He laughed again before he winced. "Oof, not so young anymore. Definitely not in shape either…"

Li jumped up onto Rhodo's stretcher to begin sniffing him. {Rhodo smells bloody.}

Rhodo placed a hand on Li's head to scratch his ears gently, which Li immediately leaned into. Rhodo then nodded to Mama.

{He and Aurora both had a very tough day yesterday,} She told him gently. {They both need plenty of rest.}

I kept smiling, watching Li and Rhodo. "{I didn't know humans could heal from that kinda stuff… I'm glad they can!}"

"Humans wouldn't be around if we couldn't take a bit of damage, ya know. We just aren't too fond of taking any damage really," Rhodo pointed out. "I've had my fair share of close calls. None quite like this though…"

His voice turned solemn as he sighed deeply. I glanced at his wrapped up, injured hands.

"Ya know. A lot happened so fast, I can barely remember most of it. Just an adrenaline blur, but I'm glad I got there in time."

"{How'd you know…?}"

He reached towards his neck. "The collars all the Hybrids have to wear track vital signs, basically what your body feels like in the moment, and record it in the system automatically. So Galactic gets alerts when something unusual is going on."

"Usually if they get too erratic an alarm goes off," Jean continued, "But Charon has at least a little foresight and turned the alarm on yours off beforehand."

"He's got a knack for being a sneaky bastard," Rhodo said ruefully. "Less people were awake at that time of the hour and he had Kenneth helping him so they went unnoticed and unchallenged. Except by me."

He tilted his head towards the monitors on his computer desk. Mama glanced at it as well before nodding in understanding.

"I suffer from insomnia, so I try to keep myself busy helping you guys be as comfortable as possible. I've already told some of the other adults about this habit, by the way, and they help out too. I take notes on who sleeps soundly, who sleeps poorly and who doesn't sleep at all. The monitors can give a general estimate of how much pain someone is suffering from, whether you have an illness or status condition, just loads of stuff. I use that information to try and get what each individual person might need," Rhodo explained before he tilted his head to some hondew berries growing in pots. "A certain someone has a variety of different cravings."

Rush did say he wanted more hondew berry pie… But doesn't that mean you're not getting enough sleep? You gotta take care of yourself too…

"It's a good thing I did too because while I was looking over your data I noticed that you woke up and that your cortisol lev- sorry, I've learned a lot of big words from Nicole. Your stress levels were shooting up. Sadly this isn't unusual for anyone here, but I kept it in mind. Then your pain started spiking. And it wouldn't stop. The collar was being activated not by you, but by a Galactic member, at levels Spinel definitely would not approve of and yet no alert was going off."

What, so Spinel only approves of stupid pain when she decides it should happen?

"I had no clue what was happening, but whatever it was, it was hurting you and this time I could stop it. I woke up Jean with an alert to let her know to bring medical to the arena because you were in danger, while I booked my butt down to see Charon and… the grunt hurting you. For fun…" Rhodo held his stomach, his stomach lurching at the thought. "It makes me sick just thinking about it, I'm sorry you had to go through that."

I gave him a confused look. "{It's what Galactic does. Right?}"

Rhodo leaned back tired, after the briefest moment of shock. "I keep forgetting this is your norm. Cruelty for the sake of it. It just keeps happening and I… It tears me up inside to see it anyway. The rest of the world isn't like Galactic, but they've tried to shut out everyone who isn't them."

I tilted my head. "{But if the world was a better place, wouldn't Galactic not exist at all?}"

"Some of the people here… didn't know what they were getting into," Jean said, her heart through the floor. "Galactic presents themselves as trying to make a better world for everyone, and they're good at it. Humans can't sense emotions like you or Pokemon can, and without that… honeyed words from someone like Cyrus can drag a lot of good people into bad places. It helps him that he's using the name Galactic, like the Galaxy team from ages ago. It makes people think what he's doing is good. Which just helps him get away with more."

Both her and Nicole felt very similar while Jean was saying that. Like they'd done something wrong. Indra felt more bitter, but not at Jean. At himself?

"It's not your fault. Cyrus and all his big projects attracted a lot of positive attention, especially for a region like Sinnoh that many people believed was in need of major developmental changes," Rhodo eased them. "Sure corporations can be the devil's arse, but I don't think anyone was expecting all of-" He gestured towards everything. "-this. I barely even gave Team Galactic the time of day considering I was too busy raising a…" The words died in his throat as he clenched his chest in agony.

The same evil I felt from Spinel reared its ugly head again. The curse Mama said he had activated. He was going to say something personal, but he still can't. Nicole went over to ease him, but he waved her off as the pain subsided.

Jean just sighed, shook her head and looked back at me. "There's good people out there. You'll meet them someday."

"I certainly know a whole load of good people who'd love to meet you. Far away from all of this." Rhodo half heartedly chuckled.

{I believe that's plenty of doom and gloom,} Mama interjected, glancing at the humans. {We're all well aware that even the Mirrored Menace would retch at this place. We needn't focus on that any more than we already do. For now, let us remember that you both-} She gestured to me and Rhodo with her tails, {Faced the wretched humans and lived to tell the tale. So let the tale be told, and the peace we can muster be had.}

Indra's eyes were wide as he looked at Mama, before he shook his head and smiled. {It's no surprise that you of all of us know how to get us through this, worldly one.}

Mama smirked slightly back at him. {I like to believe I've learned a few things throughout my life.}

Li bounced up and down. {Yeah! Happy time! Sis, play now?} He whined.

I chuckled a bit. "{I wanna, but things still hurt. Are cuddles okay?}"

{Yeah!} He hopped over to clumsily lay down by me.

Eir nodded at Ivane, pleased with the tonal change. {Happy minds heal broken bodies my mother once told me. Lighter discussion is best right now for everyone.}

The humans looked at us a bit lost. "I'm sensing a mood shift," Rhodo noted. "Too serious eh? Sorry about that, it ain't like me. I'm losing my touch."

"{Mama said we should be happy the bad guys lost, an' not keep talkin' about there being more bad guys,}" I explained.

A small smile came to Jean's face. "True. If evil can be bested once, it can be bested again. Isn't that right, Rhodo?"

"I for one am all too ready to not talk about bad guys or evil ever again, thank you." Rhodo leaned back, relaxing before he addressed me. "Though I have to ask Aurora… you did something back there… you saved me. Thank you, but… how?"

I blinked a moment before my smile grew more defiant. "{Y'know how I can make the safety bubbles around not just me?}"

"Yeah?"

"{I made a little one an' broke Charon's hand with it.}"

He raised his eyebrows in an expression of shock before laughing. "Never thought I'd hear of so many ways to use Protect! Galactic is no match for you."

I smiled brighter at his compliment as we all talked about lighter topics. It had been a rough time, but I was glad after everything we still could find it in ourselves to smile and laugh.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Erishi 23rd~~

Soon after I'd gone to sleep again with Rhodo, Li and Mama. In the morning (I figured it was morning anyway, the clock was for the early part of the day and we couldn't see the sky) I felt a little better. Not enough to move around a bunch or anything, but enough to hug Mama and Li and stuff. Okan and Kano came by to spend some time with us, Okan helping me feel better by ranting about what they'd done.

"-And in the middle of the fucking night?! You're a growing girl, you need your rest, but nooooo, some dumbass who thinks he's hot shit comes in and screws things up again!" The fire in her heart was burning angrily, and it felt kind of nice. Not that she had to be so angry, but it helped me feel right that I got so angry.

While she kept going, Mama rested with us and Li stayed cuddled up with me, my mind started to wander.

Didn't Charon say a whole lotta shit? Stuff about Mewtwo, and other bases, and plans and whatnot? I need to tell Okan and Mama about it! Then they can let Paris know, and it'll help us escape! But I can't just say stuff, they'd probably kill me, or Spinel would get Dusknoir to curse me like she cursed Rhodo or something. And I dunno how they play cards… we don't even have cards right now. I gotta let them know somehow though…

"Kid? You okay?"

Okan's voice jerked me back outside my head, as she, Kano and Mama were looking at me concerned. "You look like someone just gave you an algebra test."

{What's an algebra?} Li asked curiously.

{Somewhat complicated,} Mama replied simply. Li just stuck his tongue out in response.

{That's not fun. Why you thinking algebra?} He asked me.

I shook my head, trying to figure out how to respond. Then a light lit up in my head.

"{Mama?}"

{Yes, my child?}

"{Remember th' story y' told us last night? C'n I tell it to Okan an' Kano?}"

{Of course, my child,} She said kindly, though I could feel she was confused why I was asking.

"{Can you lemme know if there's parts I mess up?}"

She tilted her head. {I believe your retelling is perfectly fine as it will be, but if you wish.}

If Riri, Paris, Mama and other people can say stuff that means other stuff, I might be able to too. Let's hope this works…

I looked at Okan and Kano, who were both curious and confused. "{Do you know about Snover?}"

They nodded. "{Okay, so there was a big family of Snover and Abomasnow together in the snowy forest. An' they all look out for each other. They're all really close, an' even though they're kinda different they all love each other.}"

"{At one point though, they hear about a human tryin' to get them. An' then a human- a different one from the one they hear about- comes to try an' steal them away.}"

Mama was keeping a calm face, but I could feel her confusion growing. This definitely wasn't the same story she told us, and she knew it. {My child…?}

I looked at Mama. "{She had a big cat person, right? They were a Pokemon, but walked like a human an' could do the floaty stuff you can but super good. Right?}"

Mama raised an eyebrow, glanced down at the floor quickly and narrowed her eyes. And then it clicked. Her eyes went wide, as the confusion melted away and was replaced with understanding.

{Indeed she did, my child,} She assured while giving a pointed look to Okan and Kano. {A Pokemon that stood on two legs, with a long tail and the power of telepathy. One that my child is particularly fond of.}

Okan looked confused as well, until her eyes widened. "Me-"

{-owstic, yes. You understand.}

Okan nodded slowly, before looking back at me. "What happened next?"

A small smile crossed my face. I can do it too!

"{The human lady said that she was the mom of the cat Pokemon, which surprised all the Snover and Snorunt.}"

Judging by the feelings coming from Mama, Okan and Kano, it surprised them a lot more.

"{The lady human was apparently the second person sent to go find the Snover and Abomasnow, because the first one was a creepy old human guy who tripped on his own shoelaces and faceplanted in the snow too much.}"

Li chuckled a little.

"{The Snover and Abomasnow made a big ice wall between them and the human and the cat Pokemon, and then they went away. They knew that some nice humans and Pokemon, not like the mean lady and her boss, were also looking for them. And they were good at it too; so good at it that the mean humans were having to rush a little, otherwise the good humans would find the Snover family first.}"

{Is that so, my child?} Mama asked gently.

"{Mmhmm, an' some humans who befriended a little girl Snover were also looking for them.}"

{Did they happen to be from Snowpoint, my child?}

I nodded, and she smiled. {Go on, then.}

"{The mean boss human wanted to get the Snover to make a forest that nobody had ever seen before, on top of everything else.}"

Mama flicked an ear slightly. {You must elaborate on his goal, my child. This is an important part of the story.}

I nodded again. "{He didn't like the forest they were in, because it had lots of stuff he didn't like. Like snow, an' trees, an' Pokemon running around.}"

"Wait, hold on," Okan shook her hands a little along with her head. "So he doesn't want the forest to be a forest?"

"{Mm-mmm,}" I confirmed, "{He wants it to be this really sad place. He doesn't think it'd be a sad place, but he wants it to be like the stuff Robotnik would make. With metal an' none of the people who were there before. Only the people he decided he made.}"

Okan shared a quick glance with Kano, before they looked back at me. "What happens to the family?"

My ears drooped a little. "{The meanie boss human wants to make something out of them, and then kill them once he got what he wanted.}"

Okan, Kano and Mama's emotions all grew more urgent at that. Li was the only one who felt scared, not knowing what exactly I was talking about.

{D-does the bad human win, Rora?}

I shook my head, hugging him and smiling. "{Nuh-uh. The Snover family keeps the bad humans away from them for long enough for the nice humans to come help. And together, they all freeze the bad humans in a big iceberg an' send them floating off into the ocean. The forest is safe, everyone good is okay an' everyone lived happily ever after.}"

He felt much more at ease, while Mama nodded at me. Her face was calm, but I could feel how serious she felt.

Which means she knows what I needed to tell her. And now they can tell Paris, and we can all use that against Galactic to escape and stuff!

{That was a very good story, my child,} She said gently. {Thank you for retelling it in your own way.}

Okan ruffled my hair, smiling. "You're good at this, kid. Owain would be proud."

A small warmth in my heart told me she was right.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Erishi 26th~~

A few days later, I was okay enough to be with everyone else again. Eir said (scowling, but amused) that if I was well enough to be playing a bit with Li, I could go back to the others. Rhodo was still recovering, and Jean was mostly staying with him, but he was glad I was feeling better. I'd gotten better faster than anyone expected, except for me and Mama. We didn't let on why, and they didn't ask. The last thing we wanted was Galactic taking more interest in any of us.

When we got back, Pa felt like he wanted to beat Charon into a pulp. He felt a bit better after he heard that me and Rhodo had done exactly that, but he was still upset. Elpis was as furious as he was, but she nodded proudly when she saw the crack in the collar on my neck. She told me it was the mark of a strong heart and a stronger will.

Guinevere was constantly by my side afterwards, making sure I was well taken care of. Hazel and Vivian stayed right with me, and I could feel the anxiety of losing someone else spiking. I did my best to reassure them that Galactic couldn't kill me, I was too stubborn to die. We all hoped that was the truth.

Ron and Rush were always happy to hear how I'd broken Charon's hand, and they'd point out the wonders of the new food we were getting. I heard from Okan that some people would be surprised at how happy we were to get stuff like bread and fake meat and vegetables. I figured it was because they'd not had gruel; bread was pretty dry, sure, but it tasted good.

Guinevere and Chestnut were checking up on me, Hazel and Vivian again, asking Mama a couple questions when the big screen turned on. It wasn't showing the arena or anything, or Rhodo's office. It looked like some huge room with lots of Galactic grunt humans standing in it, and a raised area where someone stood. Everything was gray and sad looking like the rest of the place, but there was a big black curtain triangle thing behind the person with the same huge yellow G everyone wore. It looked like there were more lights in the ceiling, but the only ones on were right above the person on the raised part.

"Attention, children of Lord Arceus!" Said the new human on the monitor, the camera zooming in on him. He wore loose robes as his Galactic uniform with a gray cowl covering most of his face. All over the robes was Galactic's G insignia haphazardly emblazoned. Due to the cowl I could only see one of his green eyes, but they looked… strange. Dilated and darting about frenetically. I could also see he had a bit of green hair under there. He tilted his head a bit and I could finally see he had the word 'Alpha' tattooed under his right eye.

He's not wearing the grunt wig… or is it hair? Whatever it is, it smells awful whenever we gotta go in the hallways from how many of them have it. It lingers and smells like ass. Also, why does he have a word under his eye? I didn't know humans write stuff on themselves. I don't know what 'alpha' means, but it's probably got to do with him thinking he's better than he is.

"My name is Bifrons, I am but a servant of our Lord. A servant who was once lost, but found hope in a new calling and I wish to share this calling with all of you!"

I only had a moment to register Guinevere, Chestnut, Hazel and Vivian's confusion before Mama groaned loudly, lowering her head onto the bed. {One of these types. Wonderful.}

"{These types?}"

{Zealots,} She grumbled. {Loud, persistent, and notably insane. Fitting that one would be here.}

"For all these months you have been tried and tested to the utmost degree, and I am sure every night you ask the legends why they have not rescued you. Why have they forsaken you to this fate? I am here to enlighten you, for I am a prophet, a holy messenger of our Lord's word! You are-"

I could feel my skin crawling as he kept talking, trying to find something else to pay attention to. Guinevere just shook her head. "Deities do not interfere in the affairs of mortals unless it's their duty to do so. The Alolan Guardians do precisely that. Expecting Dialga and Palkia to take note of every little thing in the world is quite self centered."

When I looked at her curiously, she elaborated. "All deity Pokemon watch over their own section of the world. The Alola Guardians, such as Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko, protect the inhabitants of their islands. Manaphy protect the oceans. Dialga and Palkia must safeguard all of time and space, and Arceus the whole of reality. They trust mortals to overcome their own obstacles."

"Even a place as horrible as this…?" Hazel asked softly.

Guinevere nodded. "Even a place like this. They trust in our ability to overcome these occurrences. They will sometimes help those they form a bond with, however. I wouldn't be surprised if they were pushing some of us, and those outside, on the path to better times in ways we're not aware of."

Mama smiled. {I believe we already have the Dreamscape duo to thank for more peace of mind we may have otherwise had.}

Dreamscape duo? I noticed sometimes when I was with Rhea there'd be a big white crescent in the sky, and when I'm not dreaming at all sometimes everything is just dark and peaceful… maybe that has something to do with them?

The human Bifrons, meanwhile, hadn't stopped talking. "-have seen the truth. I have read the scriptures, researched the lore and received visions of what must be done! Our highest father has sent us a new messiah in Cyrus Akagi to lead us to a new world! Where humans and pokemon are one complete being, free of the imperfections that plague them both! He will shepherd us all into this new world as is his birthright."

{I'd almost forgotten what it was like to hear one of these humans drone on,} Mama grumbled. {Frankly, I would have preferred to.}

"But the Legend we serve-"

My blood grew hot as he said that. "{I ain't servin' anybody,}" I growled.

Guinevere stroked my back gently. "And the deities of the world don't ask you to. He is…" She paused, to find the words.

{Extrapolating a human concept of hierarchy and servitude onto beings that do not follow those same rules, warping the world around him within his mind and releasing such drivel back out to the detriment of everyone around him?} Mama interjected.

Guinevere nodded slowly. "That's… not an incorrect way of putting it."

She agrees, she just doesn't wanna say stuff that'll make me, Hazel and Vivian more afraid of humans. It's too bad that humans are good enough already at being scary in how evil they are.

"-shall ensure your transition into the next. You are all valued and integral players in the messiah's plan! For each one of you that has passed into Xerneas' endless heavens, I have prayed with all my might that the Renegade protect their heart and soul till their reincarnation. You have mourned them, but I have no need to grieve. For-"

"{The fuck?!}"

{This is what zealots are like, my child.} Mama said. {Any sense they once had is now fragmented and warped beyond recognition. What concerns me is he brought up the Mirrored Menace…}

Guinevere looked at Mama, concerned. "So Pokemon's tellings mirror our own, then?"

Mama nodded. {We may not have the extensive writings humans tend to, but we pass down important tales all the same.}

When I looked confused, and Hazel and Vivian looked nervous? Mama elaborated. {They go by many names. I have a personal attachment to Mirrored Menace, as their visage can be rarely seen in select lakes and other reflective surfaces. They are a Pokemon banished by the Creator to a world parallel to ours for causing wanton destruction in our own world. Ancient tales recount the sky turning red and the world itself seeming to be at war with its nature. That was the second, and lesser, of their plots.}

"W-what happened in the first one…?" Hazel stuttered, afraid to even ask.

Mama just shook her head. {No one truly recalls, as far as I am aware. It was countless eons ago, and any who do know do not speak of it. All we know for certain is that the Sinnoh region needed to be reshaped by the Titan, and despite the best efforts of the world since? Several irreplaceable things were lost.}

Guinevere stroked Hazel's back gently, Chestnut curling around both her and Vivian. "There's no need to worry though, dear child. Tellings from the time are ancient almost beyond measure, and they haven't attempted anything since."

Hazel breathed out a large sigh of relief, Vivian's hackles lowering slowly. Mama gave me a quiet look, wanting to know if I was as scared as Hazel and Vivian.

I just shook my head. They sound super ancient and evil, yeah. It makes perfect sense for Galactic to think they're awesome and they should look for them to do evil shit. But they haven't been around in a long time, from what Mama and Guinevere say, and unlike humans? We probably just have to punch them a lot to make them go away. That's better than this place, easy.

Bifrons clasped his hands, tears streaming down his face. "Pokemon! Understand our reasons for utilizing your sacred power bestowed to you by the plates of the Almighty one; we only seek to bridge the gap between humans and pokemon with the creation of Fusions. Humans were given the miracle of ingenuity by the guardians of the lake, while pokemon blessed the essence of elements. Combining them is the only way we can attain perfection! A step closer to reaching the truth of Godhood!"

Eclipse would be banging her head against a wall at this point, I'm sure.

{Why is it always godhood?} Mama sighed, though I could tell from her heart she wasn't expecting an answer. {One needn't live forever with unimaginable power for their life to have meaning. And yet throughout the ages all these humans seem to seek is becoming a deity themselves.}

It's because humans are greedy stupid people who just want power, isn't it.

Bifrons placed a hand over his heart. "I will not ask for forgiveness as we have only acted in Arceus' name, but I offer my condolences for the pain you've endured. By Cyrus' will, one day pokemon will be able to experience the blessing of fusion, but for now we ask for your patience and service to the greatest calling. For now it is humanity's turn to evolve."

Bifrons reached into his robes for a handkerchief to dab his tears, collecting himself after he seemed to have gotten genuinely emotional. I just looked at Mama. He really was insane.

"I know you all must be scared and find my words hearsay, but I am willing to speak to any who personally desire holy guidance in these trying times. It pains me to see you all in pain, but I know it is for the greater cause. I will endeavor to purge the filth of this world's beliefs from your mind as we've already done to your bodies. So that one day you may be liberated by Master Cyrus' vision!"

Bifrons raised his hands into the air as if he were praising the lightbulbs in the ceiling.

Are his lungs bigger on the inside or something, what the hell?

"Keep my words in mind, children of the arch deity. Confer with your lesser legends, but know that in the end, Lord Arceus reigns supreme. It is theirs and our messiah's will that we must follow and it shall not be halted till Fate wills it. Bear that in mind even in your final moments and you shall be comforted. Fare thee well."

There was clapping and cheering coming from the monitor. I only had one thing to say.

"{He finally fuckin' shut up, jeez,}" I groaned as I fell backwards onto the bed.

Chestnut walked over and looked at me worried. {You're sure nothing he said upset you more than usual?}

I shook my head. "{He's a human. He's saying dumb human stuff. He just said a lot of it.}"

She exchanged a worried glance with Guinevere, trying to figure out what to say before Mama spoke up.

{Fortunately, my child, this specific type of human is prone to being within packs of others with a similar mindset. So you need not worry about the outside world being filled with more insanity of that variety.}

"{So we can punch 'em if we find 'em?}"

She smiled. {Indeed we can, Aurora.}

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Erishi 27th~~

I was playing with Hazel, Vivian, Ron and Rush while Mama watched us before Okan walked over. "Aurora? They're asking for you. Doesn't seem too bad this time, at least?"

My ears dropped as quick as my heart, but Ron hugged me from behind as Rush clambered up onto my shoulder. "Don't worry! It'll be fine, and you'll come back soon and we can play more!"

{See where they're hoarding food, we can try and raid it!} Rush chipped in, nuzzling me.

A small smile formed on my face as Hazel and Vivian joined in on the group hug. "Good luck…"

{Hopefully you don't need it, but good luck anyway.}

I smiled at them both, hugging them all back before they let go. We all knew what'd happen if Galactic had to wait too long to do evil shit. Mama walked at my side, glancing at Okan. {Did Jean not ask for us?}

She shook her head. "Someone else. They haven't opened the door or anything, so I don't really know. But it's the middle of the day, so it won't be like what happened the other night at least."

Mama nodded, but her eyes narrowed in thought. When we got to the door, Okan gave it (probably the humans on the other side) a weird look. "We can't walk out if the door's closed, y'know."

A slot opened and a female voice, definitely not Jean's, came through. Judging from where the voice was coming from, her heart felt… anxious. "Yes, well, Jean is busy watching over Rhodo, and she asked if I could fill in for her. I'm Saffron, I'm meant to bring Aurora to a scanning room via Pokeball. I know she doesn't like it very much, but it'd be quicker for everyone involved…" She paused a moment before continuing. "And now people are staring, so can we please expedite this?"

I narrowed my eyes through the door, thinking. Okay, well she's calling me by name, so that's good. Apparently Jean knows her and asked her to do this, which means Jean knows her and trusts her to not be evil. Jean wasn't happy about me going in a Pokeball when she knows I don't, and this lady doesn't feel like she's happy about asking me to go in it either. She doesn't feel evil…

Okan put her hands on my shoulders, looking at me seriously. "Aurora, if you don't want to, you don't have to. I won't let them force you into this."

Mama nodded, but stayed quiet. I'm sure she could feel the bubbling fear in my heart as well as I could.

We can't have fighting start now. Not yet. We're not ready yet. We don't need more attention on us. If I refuse, bad things could happen to everyone. Or I could go in the torture ball and everyone else will be better off.

I shoved it down for now and shook my head. "{I'll be strong.}"

Okan grimaced, but nodded and hugged me tight. "I love you. I'll be here with Yvonne and your Mama when you get back, okay?"

Kano buzzed affirmingly while Mama curled her tails around me gently. {Your light burns brightly, my child. They cannot dim it.}

I hugged them all back before letting go, looking at the slot. "{'m not ready, but do it anyway.}"

"You…? Alright then…?" Before I had a chance to think it over any more, the red light engulfed me as the now familiar burning seared across my body, the gaping maw of the void opening up again. Or, what I felt should be my body.
I could feel the torture ball trying to make me drowsy again, like it had before. The panic that threatened to leap out of my chest was rearing again, so I didn't focus on that. I focused on not falling asleep. I focused on not letting them win.
I focused on my own light, the one Mama taught me about and told me how to control, and made sure it kept burning in spite of everything.

After what was probably sooner but felt later, I was let out again. Around me was a whole lot of expensive looking equipment; some strange stark white beds that looked like they could move inside tubes attached to them. Dozens of monitors with just as many consoles, buttons patterned all across them. Holograms and blueprints of things I didn't understand. Drawers and fridges with different colors and words on each of them.

Half a second later, I registered who I was with.

I whirled around to see, behind a glass wall, Spinel. Who I could sense still had the ghost in her, watching me as well. Two new unique people. And a lot of scientist Grunts in the background.
One of the unique ones was, just like always, another human. She had purple hair, with a weird oval hair thing pointing up and a bunch of hair tied back in a ball hanging towards the floor. She had the same kinda outfit Mars and Saturn had to denote higher status, but her suit only had one pant leg. The other one had a leg belt and a boot to match her other leg.

It was mostly the same light gray everyone had, but with black over her knees and upper body. A singular, tie-like stripe of it went down her midsection with the G plastered right in the middle of her chest.

The other one was a Pokemon, about as tall as I was but way longer. She stood on all fours, having mostly fluffy purple fur with a tan underbelly, paws and stripes on either side that curved around before meeting at the tip of her tail. Her floofy tail curled up all the way over to her head, with the point looking like it was aiming forwards. Her face looked kinda like a butt, though, and she had a red nose.

The panic from before rushed up again, and I said the first thing that came to mind.

"{Smells like bitch in here.}"

The human lady chuckled, the Pokemon next to her rolling her eyes. Spinel glanced at me, her eyes shining a soulless white. I could feel the ghost in her chilling the room and the touch of death emanate from her as my vision grew blurry.

I just glared back, even as I turned blind.
Faster than I thought, my vision cleared and Spinel was typing on one of the computers as if nothing had happened with a stoic expression. I couldn't even tell if she noticed herself. No one else seemed to notice she did anything either.

She's probably trying to make me think I'm crazy or something. Too bad, I already know you have weird fuckery tricks.

Once she finished she turned to the human. "If you please, Jupiter."

The human, Jupiter, chuckled. "Always a pleasure." She glanced at the Pokemon next to her. "Skuntank, send her to bed."

A door to the left of the glass wall in a regular wall opened up, and the Pokemon walked in casually. I balled my fists, glaring at her defiantly.

"{I'm not gonna jus' go down w'thout a fight!}"

{Yes, you are,} She said flatly.

The fur at the tip of her tail bristled, and a huge cloud of slightly purple gas spewed out. It was the worst thing I had ever smelt. I wanted to gag, choke, wheeze, cry and heave all at once. My head was reeling from this brand new pain I had never experienced.

I covered my mouth and nose, but it didn't really work. And if I tried to make a frost bubble for my face, I could feel the collar starting to electrocute me, but it was almost preferable to this mind rending stench.

As the gas entered my nose, I could feel my vision going blurry within seconds. I coughed reflexively, which just let more in. Fog rushed into my mind, my thoughts becoming slow and dull.

"{Wh… th' fuck…?}" Was all I could get out before I tilted towards the floor. I was out before I even hit it.

My eyes slowly cracked open, and I could still smell bits of… whatever it was that knocked me out.

Okay, Skuntank smell awful and can shoot gas at people. And knock you out if you're even close. Good to know.

{My child?} Mama's voice drifted softly into my ears. {How are you feeling?}

"{Like m' head's gruel…}" I mumbled blearily.

{That will pass,} She said with mild relief in her voice, {And is not uncommon after encountering a Skuntank. What happened?}

I tried to push through the fog to respond. "{I w's in a room, an' Skuntank was there with a Jupiter human an' Spinel, an' they knocked me out.}"

Mama thought for a moment, before nudging me softly. {For now, simply rest. It seems it was nothing for us to be concerned of for the moment.}

I nodded, and was out like a light.

~~Iron Island, Year 8520, Taflinal, Erishi 28th~~

"{I wonder what asshole we'll have to punch today…}" I mumbled, standing with Mama in the arena again. Jupiter, the human from the other day, was watching over it this time. Bronco was standing in the same place he always was.

They'd stopped sending out nice Pokemon after Yukitsu. In the best cases, it was more like Rampan. Not bad people, but you usually needed to punch them before they listened to you. Or they were like Nini's dad, big and scary and just wanting to kill you. I tried to be nice where I could, but a lot of them just found it funny. I didn't understand why.

"Bronco, send out the first one, will you?" She told him. She used nicer words, but it wasn't hard to tell she wasn't asking.

"Yes, Commander Jupiter," he said dutifully, taking out a Pokeball.

I clenched my fists, shifting my feet so I was in a better position to fight. She said the first one. Are we gonna have to fight a ton of Pokemon today? Just run us into the ground, see how long we'll stay standing? Maybe-

My thoughts were cut short abruptly as the Pokemon forming in front of us wasn't some huge one, or Silas, or anyone else I was expecting to fight.

Instead, the one standing before me was my little brother.

"{Li!}" My ears perked up as I abandoned my stance, running over as he ran to me. He leapt into my arms, nuzzling into me happily while Mama padded over calmly. Smiling, but still cautious. "{Why're you here?}"

{Jupy said it's playtime!} He answered honestly.

I blinked, confused. "{Wait, she did?}" My eyes darted from him to the floor as I processed.

There's no way they'd have us just play for funsies. Galactic hasn't had me and Mama in easy fights since… Dojima, really. Even that wasn't easy. And Li isn't super strong or anything, unless he's REALLY good at hiding it from everyone including himself. So-

My face blanched. "{Oh, hells-}"

"Bronco, send out the next one," Jupiter said calmly, a smirk on her face I knew way too well from the humans.

"Yes ma'am," he replied as he pulled out an ultra ball.

Li looked at my chest confused as my heart began to race, and I leapt away from the middle of the arena. Mama followed quickly, before whoever it was formed. She stood protectively in front of me and Li. We both knew that Li might've been told it was playtime, but this wasn't a game.

{Is that our playmate?} He squeezed past Mama and I to see who appeared.

A Pokemon about as tall as me formed as the white light splintered away from him, stretching his arms back with a yawn. He was mostly a tan brown, with black stripes and a reddish-pink belly. His tail slid lazily across the ground, and his snout snapped shut after his yawn quicker than people yawning usually did.

{Krokorok. Be careful, my child. Li, get behind me,} Mama said gently, but firmly. I just nodded, clenching my fists and moving closer to her and Li.

While Mama and I tensed up for a fight, Li seemed even more delighted to see our opponent. {I see him before!}

I REALLY don't wanna have to fight someone Li thinks is his friend…

He glanced over, a dark smirk crossing his face as he recognized Li. {I've seen you running in the kiddy pen. I thought I'd have to fight today, not beat up a kid.} He cracked his neck. {Fine by me, though.}

Oh like hell you are.

Li turned to Mama. {This Sandile's big bro! She likes play with teeth a lot, so I gotta freeze her sometimes, but she nice. She said her bro nice too!} He turned to Krokorok and waved with a little paw. {Jupy said we play today! No fighting!}

I'm gonna fucking clobber her for lying to him.

Jupiter cleared her throat, calling Krokorok and Li's attention. Me and Mama didn't let our eyes off him for a second. "I know you're not used to this Krokorok, but we need the fusion alive by the end of this. The other two…" She shrugged.

He rolled his eyes. {Again with the 'non-lethal' thing. No promises.} He smiled darkly.

Mama nudged Li behind her with a tail. {He must be kept safe.}

I nodded, my heart racing. Li didn't know what was going on. He was about to find out, but until he understood what was happening? He needed to be kept away.

I bolted over, my shoes squeaking a bit as they skidded against the ground. I picked Li up and held him tight before streaking away, giving Mama plenty of space. Her leg might bother her, so I gotta make sure I'm ready to get in there.

{So you're up first, huh old bat? C'mon, let's-}

Mama's tails shone with frost as they curled into a half dome, a small orb of ice spiraling into itself before she launched a beam originating from the orb straight at Krokorok. He dove into the ground, parting it like water as he tunneled into it.

Me and Mama kept an ear out for the rumbling, so neither of us were taken by surprise when he popped back up in between us. His arms spread out as he roared, fists clenched with sand spewing up from the hole he came out of and swirling in the air.

I held Li closer, shielding him from the sand as much as I could. It pelted into me before I made a small ice barrier around us. We could still hear the steady onslaught of sand tinkling against it as Mama launched more ice beams at him.

"{You okay?}" I asked frantically.

He was definitely panicked, his heart beating loudly as he curled up against me. {C-can we leave?}

My ears tilted back, fire burning in my heart. "{We'd all like to… but-}"

The rumbling beneath my feet betrayed Krokorok. I shattered the barrier with a kick and leapt towards Mama, Krokorok's jaws snapping shut. I felt a couple of his teeth graze my shoes.

I skidded to a stop, Mama shielding us both with her tails from the relentless sand. I kept holding Li close, glaring at Krokorok. I'm not letting him hurt my family.

{Awww, saying your goodbyes? I can't blame you, breakfast was a while ago,} he taunted.

"{Mama?}" She looked at me. "{C'n y' do the ice wind area Yukitsu did?}"

She nodded, and I put Li on her back gently. "{Stay with Mama, okay?}"

He nodded, burrowing into her fur as best he could. Mama covered him with a few tails while sending the ice orb she had shooting into the air. It burst open, cold winds and snow beating back the sand.

I clenched my fists, standing in front of my Mama and little brother.

You're not huge. You're not Silas. You're not Rhyperior. I can beat you.

Krokorok just laughed. {You think you can take me out? Just because I can't kill you doesn't mean I can't go through you.}

I tightened my fists, steadying myself. "{I won't let you hurt my family.}"

The dark grin from before widened. {So you really think they're your family, huh? You really must've gone insane! You're not a Pokemon, what makes you think-}

I cut him off, screaming forwards and slamming my fist into his stomach. He was too busy being a fuckass to have noticed me, and he got the wind knocked out of him for it.

"{That's my Mama an' my brother,}" I growled dangerously, "{An' you can't kill them.}"

{Watch me,} He coughed out.

I swept my leg under his feet to try and knock him off balance, steadying myself with a hand and my other leg. A quick slap of his tail on the ground launched him up just enough to avoid it, and he went in to bite my raised arm.

Instead of running like he probably thought, I opened my palm. The air chilled into sharp ice chunks that went hurtling into his throat. His eyes bulged as he gagged, coughing again while I planted my hands against the ground and kicked him straight up in the snout.

A quick push and I was in the air, flipping around backwards to kick him in his stupid face. He glared at me before diving back down into the ground, the rumbling going in the direction of Mama and Li.

"{Nuh uh!}" The moment my feet touched the ground, I made a half dozen fire ice bombs and pelted them down the hole he made, clinking as they rolled down inside. It only took a second or two for bursts of light to flare up and fade, one after another while the klinking of ice shards rang out.

The rumbling sped up, but shot past Mama and Li as he halfway burst out of the ground on the other side of the arena. He steadied himself with an arm on the side of his hole, glaring at me. {The hell is your problem?!}

"{You wanna eat my family!}" I screamed back.

{Yeah, so?! I'm hungry!}

I streaked towards him, rushing past Li and Mama with ice trailing from my hands. His eyes glowed brown for a moment, boulders tearing themselves up from the earth before barreling towards me.

I'm not just gonna dodge and let you hurt them!

The ice in my hands solidified into small spheres, and I pelted them at the boulders as quickly as I could make them. Each time they impacted a boulder, both they and the boulder shattered into shards. I winced as shards from the huge rocks sliced into my arms and back, but kept running.

This is nothing compared to the other night!

He sent one last one hurtling my way before pulling himself up. I slid under it, kicking it straight up. Splinters from it exploding against the ceiling lodged in my arm as I shielded my face from the blast. Krokorok felt furious, but also shocked?

What, you thought I was just gonna run away and let you do whatever you wanted?!

My body shone bright white as I darted past his next bite. I only just noticed his tail glowing blue in time for me to try and catch it.

The blue energy washed across me like a wave, buffeting me and threatening to send me flying. I grit my teeth, shut my eyes, planted my feet and held on.

{Wh- leggo! Get off!} He shouted, shaking his tail furiously to get me to let go. I just held on tighter, ice snaking from my hands and across his tail. I did my best to reposition and get a good grip, but I was way too light to do the stuff I'd seen Paris do.

Suddenly, a huge blast of frost crashed right into his face, snow and ice cascading in a small cone behind it and knocking him off balance. Mama was standing firm, ready to fire another.

This time, I'd be the one bringing him to her.

I planted my feet again, leapt into the air and curled into a ball as best I could. My tails burst aflame, a huge sheet of fire jetting out from behind me and driving me ahead. I whirled forwards, slamming Krokorok against the ground with each rotation, a huge spiral of flame scorching the air behind me.

My eyes almost useless as a whirling ball, I focused on where I could feel Mama and Li were. Once I was close enough, I yelled and slammed Krokorok face-first into the floor one last time.

Before he could get up, Mama shot him repeatedly with beam after beam of ice. Once I steadied myself, I joined in with a hailstorm of ice shards. Snow began to build up around us, the tinkling of ice shards falling across the arena singing as we forced him to chill out. We only stopped once he was encased in a block of ice, eyes shut.

I could just hear his heartbeat over my own heavy breathing. He was alive, but he wasn't awake anymore. And he wouldn't be for a good while.

That's what you get, asshole.

"Hmm. That was… unexpected," Jupiter mused. "Bronco, recall him. Fight's over."

"Of course, commander," He answered, recalling Krokorok. "This was especially surprising, commander. #001 has shown an immense natural affinity for combat, but she's never fought so aggressively before."

"{Ya think I'm not gonna protect my family?!}" I yelled up at them, before falling back on my butt and holding myself up, gulping in huge breaths of air.

Bronco's eyes darted towards me, but Jupiter completely ignored me. "I've heard. I've got some theories, but we needn't discuss them in front of the subjects." She pressed a button on the console. "Jean? It's over. Collect them."

She then walked away, Bronco following.

Li hopped off Mama and ran over to me, nuzzling my leg happily before he turned to Mama and huffed. {Sandile lied. Her big bro mean.}

My arms were shaking along with the rest of me, Mama helping me steady myself while looking at Li. {That depends. How does Sandile usually play?}

{She try and bite me a bunch, especially my tail. She clumsy so she usually miss. When she does bite I chill her with snow!} He showcased this by blowing out a little puff of snowy wind.

{Does she seem upset when you do so?}

{Yeah, she does! I tell her it's alright, she'll get fast later. Then the grunts feed us and she's no longer grumpy!}

Mama nodded slowly. {I believe that Sandile believes her older brother is kind. There could be many reasons for that, but just in case, be careful when you play with her, my son. Alright?}

{Okay! Next time I do what you and Rora did!} He blew more snow about and pranced around underneath the snowflakes in jubilee.

I smiled, my heart rate slowing down as my breathing grew easier. My limbs felt heavy. Mama curled a couple tails around me. {That was quite a feat, my child. Are you alright?}

"{Yeah… jus'...}" I paused, shaking out a couple stone flakes that were still in my arm. "{Jus' tired…}"

She nudged me gently. {You need not stress yourself. I am here for you. Building up stamina is good, but you mustn't go too far. It would not be good for you to be exhausted at a vital moment.}

I nodded slowly. She's right. When we all try and escape, I can't just be worn out. I gotta be ready to run with everyone else.

The door to the arena opened, Jean and Indra standing in it. "Aurora? Ivane? Let's get you patched up." She smiled as Li ran towards her happily, picking him up. "Hey there Li, good to see you!"

Mama helped me up, and I held my arm while I walked wobbily onwards. I might've gotten hurt a little, but it's okay. Mama and Li are okay. That's what's important.

I felt pride swell in Mama's heart. {I must say, you're applying your lessons wonderfully.}

I shook my head. "{Jus'... doin' what… you an' Paris an' everyone help me do…}"

{And that's exactly it, my child. We can teach you more on how to defend yourself and your loved ones, but it falls to you in the end to utilize it. And you do so brilliantly.}

"{Thanks… Mama…}"

She nudged me softly forwards, Li licking my hair a little as Jean put a hand on my back. {The credit is yours, Aurora.}

~~Dream World, Year 8520, Taflinal, Erishi 28th~~

"Aurora? You've been very quiet tonight… what's bothering you?" Rhea asked me gently. Spiri nudged me softly, warbling worriedly.

{Aurora need cuddles?}

I hugged him a bit tighter, wiping my eyes. "{I… I dunno…}" I looked down. "{Everythin's so… awful, an' it makes me sad, an' mad, but more mad than sad?}"

Rhea rubbed my back gently. "Do you think so?"

She waited for me to respond. I just looked out the window. Now there were a couple comfy looking buildings, and a circle area in the middle made of warm stones that felt familiar. I couldn't figure out why, but it did. There were more Hybrids and Pokemon walking around now, working together with each other. The forest still had Pokemon running through it, but… off in the distance, the dark clouds had gotten darker. And closer.

Lightning would strike every so often, and if I looked at the clouds too long, the sky seemed to darken as well. The shadows grew longer, the wind began to whisper. Everything felt colder, harder, more hostile.

I didn't look at the clouds much.

"{I…}" I stopped, hesitantly. "{I feel sad, but it's under a lotta anger. And there's a lotta anger too…}" I looked at Rhea. "{Does that mean I'm a bad person now?}"

"No!" She shook her head quickly, hugging me. "No, no no no, not at all. There's a lot of horrible things happening right now, it's natural to feel upset in lots of ways. I think… that you're just coping.}"

I looked at her, confused, and she kept going. "Hazel and Vivian get sadder. Ron and Rush focus on other stuff. But you don't focus on other things. You want to make them better. And it makes you mad that Galactic is making things worse. I don't think getting mad more right now makes you a bad person at all. It means you have your own way of dealing with everything. And that's not bad.}"

Spiri collected his thoughts before he began speaking. Longer sentences were hard for him, but he'd improved a lot since we met. {Spiri never been h-happier until he met you. Spiri watch you do good all the time and I always feel safe here. Aurora just h-having hard time right now…}

I sat there for a minute, just listening to the wind. "{I wanna go home…}"

She nodded, still holding me close to her heart. "And you'll get home. When it's safe, I'm sure you won't feel as mad. You're using your anger to help you through this, and that's not bad at all."

"Listen to your dear companion!" I looked down out the window, and saw Owain holding up a sword with Sue. "She speaks the truth! Your heart shines with kindness and care, and your righteous fury is aimed towards those who would quash goodness and stamp on sensibility! You need only a safe space in which to recover, and fear not! Me and my trusted partner, Sue, will beat back the nightmares! They shan't stand against our blades of light, for we must protect this world!"

A small smile came to my face.

Maybe if I have good people believing in me… that means I'm not a bad person after all. Just that I wanna stop the bad people really badly. Cuz I love all my family… I love them more than anything.

Entry log outline:

-I expected this. I truly knew this would happen. That one day Charon would give me an undeniable reason to dispose of him. His brain must be rotting from old age if he thought he could've gotten away with this unharmed; my investigations are always thorough.

-Cyrus' showing him mercy for his crimes will forever escape me. I understand our options are limited, but could he truly do no better as a commander? Thanks to Charon's vagrant stupidity our most prized test subject nearly died and he had the GALL to stab Rhodo.

-Oh Rhodo… for once our goals were aligned, even if our reasons weren't. He looked so peaceful on the operating table, I haven't seen him so relaxed in so long. Anesthesia and extreme blood loss are the true cure for insomnia it seems. He also killed a grunt; knowing him he'll prolly overthink the drama of taking a life. Or maybe not. He's changed in his time here. He's not so soft anymore; no longer undependable. Less predictable…

-On lighter note, in his stupidity, Charon did not turn on the spectator section barrier. Apparently despite intense electrocution she still managed to use moves within the spectator area aiding in his downfall. Now he knows why we have safeguards in place. That's what he deserves for skipping my seminar on battle arena work safety. Bitch.

-At the very least, #001 and Rhodo are stable. Hopefully she doesn't suffer from more long lasting issues and Rhodo doesn't just die on me, but it seems this day will pass without any notable loss.

-Bifrons certainly has a way for words. His first official appearance after all these months and he starts off as dramatic as ever. His devotion to Cyrus is different from the other commanders though… he's a true sycophant. Which is just what I needed.

-He has been teaching me how to channel my specter talents; to wield Juliet more efficiently. To commune with the undead. It's proving challenging, and his esoteric teaching methods prove difficult to follow, but I am improving. I still have moments of lost time though…

-I have much planned for specter DNA. The Decidueye Fusion, Paris Morimoto, is the only ghost fusion that survived the fusing process as Decidueye is mostly organic and physical. But if I were to hone my powers, could I fuse a dying body? A corpse? Could I channel the spirit and maintain the fusion process? Ethereal ghost type fusion soldiers would be exceptional! I have many questions, but… I do know of a legendary ghost mythical whose DNA may be of use. I believe Rhodo told me their story once before… I must consult with him later.

-It's phenomenal how much #001 has changed. Due to not remembering her human past and having the most advanced DNA of all the fusions, it's not even perfected yet. She even shows signs of improved recovery after grave injury, with proper treatment of course. Mars was all too elated to aid me in testing it. What doesn't kill a pokemon makes them stronger, that applies to fusions as well apparently.

-Sadly, she's still not where I want her to be, but I should be able to fix that soon enough. Once she's reached her full potential, then we can dispose of them all so we may start with a proper batch.

-I have reviewed all of Cyrus' contingencies plans, but even I grow uneasy at the increased restlessness of the pokemon of Iron Island. Soon trainers will notice and begin digging deeper into the island. It's concerning.

-#001 has picked up a bit of a violent streak after spending so much here; her ways of inflicting pain have gotten even more creative. Add in her foul mouth, I can only imagine she'd be an uncouth menace if we gave her the chance to live into adolescence.

-The damage she inflicted upon Krokorok was intense. I am debating whether she was able to do so well against him because he's stupid, she's too strong or Bronco was right about her talents for combat. Or maybe it's simply her Vulpix blood. Either way, it seems she has picked up fighting tricks from the elder fusions and their battles.

-The Lycanroc fusions have been recovering smoothly and will be able to join the general population soon. Regardless of their condition I have been refining their… errors. It's a miracle none of the rocks punctured their heart or brain due to the elemental instability. The younger sister's arm has been a fun new toy to play with. I've never had much chance to make pokemon prosthetics and while I cannot add my usual flair to hers, I am beginning to grasp how to make artificial implants for future fusion soldiers.

-While I am an expert on all subjects relating to bioengineering, Dr. Mecharis' was invaluable with aiding in the construction of the prosthetic to meld with the remains of #158's arm. Now she will still be able to retain use of her powers in both arms.

#001 Fused Kantolan Vulpix (Aurora) & Kantolan Ninetales (Ivane) Status: Recovering

#006 Fused Pyroar & Pyroar Status: Deceased (Stress)

#011 Fused Magcargo & Slugma Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#019 Fused Carnivine & Carnivine Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#020 Fused Furret (Guinevere) & Furret (Chestnut) Status: Nominal

#27 Fused Toxapex (Ibya) & Toxapex (Shoal) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

#033 Fused Eevee (Hazel) & Eevee (Vivian) Status: Recovering

#043 Fused Hydreigon (Paul) & Hydreigon (Tobias) Status: Deceased (Unstable, reverted to feral instincts, used for dissection)

#048 Fused Whimsicott (Arvis) and Whimsicott (Mango) Status: Recovering

#053 Fused Flygon (Leanne) & Flygon (Yvonne) Status: Nominal

#068 Fused Decidueye (Paris) & Decidueye (Legolas) Status: Nominal

#072 Fused Swampert (Zacharias) & Swampert (Elvis) Status: Nominal

#078 Fused Phantump (Razin) & Phantump (Urie) Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#079 Fused Glalie & Glalie Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#085 Fused Blissey (Mabel) & Blissey (Haley) Status: Nominal

#086 Fused Bewear (Benny) & Bewear (Bors) Status: Recovering

#090 Fused Krookodile (Corporal) & Krookodile (Sargeant) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

#095 Fused Greninja (Naoko) & Greninja (Shio) Status: Nominal

#102 Fused Bibarel (Hugo) & Bibarel (Baltasar) Status: Nominal

#111 Fused Stantler (Dusk) & Stantler (Comet) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

#123 Fused Female Gallade (Lucia) & Gallade (Arden) Status: Nominal

#132 Fused Pachirisu (Ron) & Pachirisu (Rush) Status: Nominal

#134 Fused Silvally (Clive) & Silvally (Elpis) Status: Nominal

#143 Fused Electrode & Electrode Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#147 Fused Sunflora (Garland) & Sunflora (Dijon) Status: Drained (lack of sunlight)

#158 Fused Rockruff (Koko) Status: Recovering

#159 Fused Dusk Lycanroc (Eclipse) & Dusk Lycanroc (Yuna) Status: Recovering

#163 Fused Spiritomb & Spiritomb Status: Deceased (Failed Fused)

#171 Fused Emolga (Noemi) & Emolga (Danica) Status: Nominal

#180 Fused Samurott (Owain) & Samurott (Sue) Status: Deceased (Finally)

#188 Fused Typhlosion (Noah) & Typhlosion (Charcoal) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

#193 Fused Noctowl (Keaton) & Noctowl (Twili) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

#199 Fused Breloom (Lola) & Breloom (Etter) Status: Deceased (Pitiful Escape Attempt)

Author's Note:

Whoo! Another one done. Charon's been someone who freaked me out ever since I was a kid first playing through Platinum. I dunno why, he just always gave me the worst vibes. This is just a bit of that, as well as his canon incompetence. Seems like things are starting to get hectic for Galactic though, wonder if that'll come to a head sometime soon? Guess that's for the next chapter for you to find out!