It was well into the night in Lilac City. Every single illuminous orb had been snuffed out and just about everyone had gone off to sleep. There were a few Pokémon still out and about, namely a select number of Pokémon from the guard guild that needed to be on the lookout for suspicious Pokémon, but otherwise all remained within their homes and waited for morning. Even the wild Pokémon residing in the forest just outside the city slumbered.
All was quiet and peaceful.
It was then that two disembodied lights shining with an iridescent brilliance suddenly manifested out of thin air right next to The Miltank Café. They twisted about in the darkness, though they remained rooted to their spot. They remained still as they searched about, all the while grasping at seemingly nothing in particular. A low growling sound rumbled through the air as the lights continued fumbling around.
I can't find it.
You will! Keep looking around. You'll know it when you touch it.
What am I even feeling for? I only feel air.
Reality's fabric, remember? You stuck your claws in a tear in that fabric, and if you can find the edges around the tear, then you can widen the tear and step into the other dimension.
That doesn't make any sense.
It's the only way I know how to explain it! You really think I understand it all that great either? Where I come from, sure we have these weird ghost-types that can do some strange, supernatural things to you the second they touch you, but anybody could write that off as them being able to get in your head and mess up your mind. It was easy to understand because it made sense. They're ghost types and-
I get it. You don't need to explain it. I know about the ways of the ghosts already. Just… what exactly does the fabric feel like? You've done this already, so what did it feel like?
Like fabric from scarves or capes… that's why I call it "reality's fabric" instead of matter or stardust or whatever other people call it. I know it's not really fabric, but that's what it feels like to me.
Of course it does. Why wouldn't it… Wait. I think I feel something.
The lights grabbed onto something in the darkness. They tightened their grip on the unseen object and then pushed away from each other with all their might, as if trying to pry something apart.
"Aaargh!"
A Weavile stumbled out of the darkness where the light once was. She fell forward and nearly tripped over her own feet, but caught herself just in time.
Gah, there was no resistance at all. It was like trying to rip paper.
You thought it would be hard to open, Glace?
Well seeing as how it's what holds the universe together, yes, I did think it would take quite a bit of force to widen. I didn't think it would open that easily, not to mention suck me in like that.
Glace panted for a brief moment before she looked down at her claws to see the iridescent glow slowly dim. It wasn't long before the light vanished completely, leaving her claws as white as they had been before, untouched by the strange energy.
She glanced behind her and noticed that she was no longer looking back at the interior of her home. Now, there was nothing but a large brick wall towering over her in the darkness. She couldn't help but stare at that unremarkable wall, still basking in the epiphany that it was no longer her house.
So we really can travel through dimensions. We just need to widen tears to do that.
That's right! And don't worry; this won't hurt the multiverse. Little tears always close right back up after you use them. It's the big ones like the one you saw back in your dimension that don't fix themselves. I know you were thinking about that when I told you what we had to do.
Glace frowned at the sound of that. So it seemed Sonata could hear some her thoughts now that she was inside of the Weavile's head. Glace had suspected that the Noivern could hear her thoughts now that she actually lived inside of Glace's mind, but she had never known for sure.
What, you don't like me hearing your thoughts?
No.
Oh, it's not too big of a deal. You can hear all my thoughts. There's really no point in hiding anything from each other anymore when we're sharing a mind now.
Weren't you the one demanding privacy once I saw pieces of your life while you were in that guild with that Suicune?
Sonata didn't say anything. Glace peered into the darkness that was her subconscious using her mind's eye, but she couldn't see the Noivern anywhere. Perhaps she no longer had a form now that she had been assimilated. Maybe her Noivern form had ceased to exist the second she merged with Glace.
Fine. I won't respond to your thoughts if they're super private or uncomfortable. I'll still hear all your thoughts, but I'll try to ignore them the best I can. But only if you don't look at any of my memories.
Why can't I see your memories?
Glace felt something. It was fleeting and left as quickly as it came, but in that brief moment, Glace felt a powerful longing to be somewhere that was not in this unknown dimension. Somewhere that didn't make her chest feel very heavy.
Because there's things in my memories I don't want to think about. Besides, isn't everyone entitled to some kind of privacy?
Fair enough. I won't look at your memories then. I think I can tell which are yours and which are mine. And in return, try not eavesdrop on my private thoughts.
Of course.
The Weavile turned away from the wall and finally took in the rest of her surroundings. Even though there was not a single torch or illuminating orb to be seen, Glace could still make out the buildings and streets in the vicinity. She could tell from the structures of each of the buildings, the words stamped into the signs, the variety of colors of each of the structures that could only be seen in the day, and how far apart they stood with one another that this was the recreational area of the city. The townsfolk most likely came to this part of the city to enjoy a good meal or to have a pleasurable time with others.
But most of all, she could see the great multiverse-wide tear looming in the sky near the city. She couldn't help but notice that the colors in that particular part of the tear seemed to be darker than the ones in her dimension. She wondered if that meant this dimension would fall to ruin sooner than her own.
What fragment is in this dimension? You know who we're looking for, don't you?
Yeah, of course. I know who's in what dimension. So let's see… I think the fragment that ended up in this dimension is a Tranquill named Yore. I don't know exactly what he's doing right this second… but I do know he's in this part of the dimension.
And how do you know that? A dimension is a large place to search for one Pokémon.
I have a vague idea of which tears I need to use to get to everyone. At least, that's what happened with you. I didn't know where Granite Town was at all when I was trying to find you, but I just knew which tear would lead to you out of the hundreds of thousands to choose from. So I feel like the same thing would work with Yore.
But you don't know for sure. And how do you know what tears even lead to certain parts of each dimension?
I just know, like I said. Instincts really. Maybe it's our original self telling me where to go.
So why won't it tell me the same information if we really are the same entity?
Look Glace, I don't know how it works, alright? I'm just as lost as you are. I just woke up one morning, saw that tear in the sky, and then I got bombarded with all these crazy thoughts and names of Pokémon I've never even heard of before that apparently I need to find or else everybody in the entire multiverse is going to fall apart. I'm just working with what I have and trying not to think about it too hard. I'm pretty sure everything that got dumped into my head on that day isn't supposed to be understood by normal Pokémon.
… Fine. I won't ask any more questions.
Glace then wondered if it was actually a good idea to ask more questions. While it did make sense that Sonata wouldn't be able to understand everything about how dimensional travel worked or whatever abilities she gained the moment she realized what she truly was, there were other aspects of everything that seemed puzzling. Why had Sonata been the one to remember so much about the fragments and not Glace? If the two of them were both supposedly fragments, why didn't Glace have the same vision the moment she saw the behemoth tear in her own dimension? Was Sonata a more superior fragment and had inherited more from their whole self? Or was there something else that Sonata wasn't telling Glace?
Glace, you know I'm not plotting something like some kind of mastermind. You'd be able to tell when you can see all of my thoughts.
You're spying on my private thoughts again.
Oh... oh I am. Sorry. But really, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise!
I have no way of knowing for sure at moment.
Ah, alright fine, be that way. Let's just get some rest. No point in trying to find him right now since we're probably going to have to look into everyone's houses to find him and there's way too many houses for us to do in one night. And he might not even be in this city. So let's sleep in a tree or something.
Noivern sleep in trees. Weavile don't. I'll find a cave of some sorts in the outskirts of this city. Or perhaps an abandoned burrow.
There's nothing wrong with sleeping in trees. In fact, most of my best nights were when I slept in trees! Just the way you hang from them with your tail and your feet and how great your wings feel when they're wrapped all snuggly around your body…
Sure, if you don't mind the thought that the branch might break and that you'll split your head open the second you hit the ground.
Aw what? When has that ever happened to anyone?
Well I'm not going to be finding out, because I'll be sleeping in a burrow tonight. I don't think it's possible to split my head open when I'm below the ground.
Fine fine, be that way. Go find your stupid burrow and sleep inside the dirt like a Bunnelby. Don't blame me if some Seviper or something comes in while you sleep and tries to eat you!
Glace rolled her eyes, but thought nothing more as she silently crept through the city until she found a small hill with a tower mill sitting at the very summit. She gazed at it for a moment, and then when she realized she couldn't see any lights near the mill, she hurried up the hill. When got to the mill, it didn't take her long to notice a small burrow resting nearby, just big enough for her to squeeze into. She quietly approached the hole, and then remained still for a moment and listened for any sounds of breathing or scurrying within the burrow. When she could not hear anything, she got on all fours and crawled into the warren.
When she got to the very end of the den, she felt her way around with her claws. She poked their sharp points into the walls surrounding her in case a stray feral might have eluded her hearing. When she found that no one was with her, the Weavile settled onto her side. The burrow was quite small, so small that it prevented Glace from being able to roll over much, but it would do. She would only be here until morning anyway. Perhaps if she had to stay another night in this dimension, she could find a way to stay at an inn within the city.
Glace took in a deep breath, and then closed her eyes.
She briefly wondered when she had last slept in a burrow before she drifted off to sleep.
Glace awoke when she could no longer ignore the heat of the midday sun beating down on her through the burrow's opening. She stretched to the best of her ability in the cramped little chamber, and then slowly crept out of the warren.
Once she found herself outside, she got to her feet and rubbed at her eyes until she no longer had a sharp light obscuring her vision. She was still on the same hill as last night, but now a few flying-types roosted at the very top of the tower mill, all the while staying keeping a distance from the stationary sails.
And of course, she saw the dimensional tear in the sky, still looming near. The light of day did not dampen its ominous appearance in the slightest. She even thought that the colors seemed even darker than how they were last night.
I'm not imaging all of this, am I, Sonata?
You're not, but I don't know if it means anything. It could just be that's how the tear looks in this dimension.
But it will grow if it's not closed up. It will get bigger.
Yeah, along with a few other things.
It was then that Glace saw something in her mind's eye. She saw herself peering over the edge of a cliff overlooking a great valley. Within that valley lay hundreds of black, charred sticks protruding a few feet out of the barren soil. Smoke wafted out of the black objects and rose into the sky, filling the air with a dreary, thin haze.
"No one knows how it happened, Sonata," said a strong, gravelly voice that Glace didn't recognize. "According to our members who were scouting the area, Sycamore Forest was perfectly fine. One moment, all of the trees were as green as could be. And then the next moment, everything was suddenly in flames and burning to the ground at an astounding rate. There had been no predictions of forest fires in the near future."
"And are you sure some fire-type didn't set the place on fire?" said a voice that she knew was Sonata's. "I've heard of that happening a few times. Everything catches on fire if there's enough dead wood."
"I'm afraid not. There are no fire Pokémon that live anywhere near the forest, and no one spotted any sort of Pokémon committing arson. The members said everything caught fire at once. There was no origin point nor did the fire work its way up the trees as should normally occur. Every single part of the tree, the trunk, the branches, the canopy, all of it became consumed by the fire at once."
"But how? What's this all supposed to mean?"
"I don't know. All I know is that this very concerning. First that tear appears in the sky, and then Sycamore Forest catches fire. With Sycamore Forest so close to our division, I cannot help but wonder if its abrupt decimation is a sign that our division will be infiltrated by the enemy. Perhaps they thought we resided in that forest and obliterated it as a means of snuffing all of us out. Perhaps that tear is their doing as well."
"Yeah… you're probably right. I can't imagine why else there'd be a big hole in the sky…"
"Regardless, that's all I wanted to speak to you about. Now that you know that, can you investigate what remains of Sycamore Forest and see if you can find anything? The other members told me they fled the scene the moment everything burst into flames. I would most certainly appreciate any sort of hint of what occurred in that forest."
"Oh, sure! Of course! I'll look around really carefully for you! I'll turn over every rock and look at every tree that's left! I bet something will show up if I do all that."
"Thank you, Sonata. I appreciate it."
The vision ended, and Glace found herself back in the real world. It took her a moment to process what she had just witnessed.
I thought I wasn't allowed to see your memories.
I wanted you to see that memory. There's a difference. You'll know if it's a memory I don't want you to see.
How?
You'll know. Trust me, you'll know. But anyway, that memory was back from when I knew the tear was bad news, but I didn't do anything about it. I think it was a couple of days after I figured out I was a fragment and everything.
So you think the tear brings destruction to vicinities nearby.
Yeah. I know it looks like a correlation, but I found the circumstances around the fire to be too strange for it to be just that. I mean, what kind of forest fire doesn't have some kind of starting point? I've never heard of a whole forest catching on fire like that.
Glace nodded slowly to herself. It was a bit of stretch of logic, especially since Sonata had only seen the aftermath, but she could honestly understand why Sonata thought the dimensional tear caused the forest fire.
She then started to think about that voice, the one that wasn't Sonata's. She could still hear it echoing softly against the walls of her mind.
That other voice in the memory was your guild leader's, wasn't it? The Suicune?
Glace suddenly found she could no longer hear the Suicune's voice. She grasped for it, but for whatever reason, she couldn't recall the legendary's booming words.
Yeah. It was. He's the one that helped me figure out what happens when a tear gets larger. So if we don't want anything like that happening here or in our dimensions or in any of the other ones, we need to hurry up and find Yore. I'm pretty sure things just get even worse the more the tears grow and get into the other dimensions. There were a few other things that happened in my dimension before I left it that were hard to see…
Glace could practically feel Sonata nudging her back to the inner parts of the city. However, though she did wonder why Sonata had shut down the conversation so swiftly with the mere mention of her leader, she knew there was no reason to pursue the conversation. The Suicune meant nothing to either of them anymore, now that Sonata had left him behind in her home dimension. She probably didn't want to think about how his greatest spy had abandoned him with no warning.
Besides, they did need to find Yore. Glace knew that Sonata probably wasn't lying about the tears and their immediate effects on the dimensions.
Even still, Glace kept the Suicune at the back of her mind as she made her way down the hill and went back into the city.
Much unlike the night before, all of the streets were congested with Pokémon of all shapes and sizes. Some were little hatchlings running in and out of the streets, all the while laughing gleefully. Others were adults in the midst of their daily routine, slogging their way from one building to the next with a vacant gaze or bartering with merchants. Sometimes they had hatchlings with them, who clung tight to their fur all the while eying everything they could surrounding them.
Everyone seemed to be preoccupied with something of the sort, making no one bat an eye at Glace the moment she entered the main square of the city.
Glace watched a Lopunny with a small group of bouncing Buneary pass her by. From the way that the Buneary tugged at her paws and pointed at every single vendor they passed by, begging her to make a purchase, she knew all those Buneary were most likely the Lopunny's hatchlings.
Yore is a Tranquill, right?
That's right. I'm not seeing any Tranquill around here though. I don't see any flying Pokémon actually.
I imagine that they wouldn't walk through the streets when they have wings. Maybe there's a place where they all rest at various points during the day.
Yeah, we could try looking for a place like that!
Glace forced herself into the busy and street and carefully blended into the crowd. She ignored the Luxio and Jolteon shoving into her sides and continued walking, all the while keeping an eye for any sort of roosting spot.
For quite a long while, Glace saw nothing that fit her description. As she continued to weave down many roads with the crowd of Pokémon, she only saw more structures more fit for the land Pokémon. Namely, a few dozen vendors from the travelling merchants, even more settlements that served as reasonable markets for goods and wares, and a small number of recreational buildings such as a pub and arena for small gladiator competitions that happened in weekly spurts. She had no doubt that a Tranquill could be in any of those places, but to search every single building she saw for the elusive bird would be a colossal waste of time. Thus, she kept moving forward, ever persistent in finding that peculiar Tranquill.
After what felt like half a day's passing, Glace finally saw something that could be considered a sufficient roost; a tower mill atop a hill in the center of town. How she had missed it when it towered over the entire city was beyond her, but she wasted no time in hurrying to it and climbing up the great hill. It was steep and uneven, and several times her footing broke from underneath her, but she did not relent. She only continued climbing up that hill, digging her front claws into the dirt if the path proved to be too steep for bipedal creatures.
When Glace reached the top of the hill the mill stood upon, she realized that it looked exactly like the mill she had slept near the night before, except twice as large. It watched over the city with the silence and fortitude of a mighty guardian from ancient times. Even with the astounding number of its bricks chipped and discolored, it still stood strong, never to be toppled by time.
And there, sitting atop that behemoth, were dozens and dozens of flying-types. Murkrow, Pidgey, Sparrow, Swellow, Noctowl, Natu, Altaria, and even some Drifblim were just a few of the species that Glace could see from where she stood.
They roosted everywhere they possibly could on that mill. Some sat at the very top of the pointed cap, others on the stationary sails in little groups. Even more sat in the panes of the makeshift windows. Glace could see the vague outlines of other flying-types inside of the mill, hidden in the shadows.
Glace released a deep breath as soon as she saw all those birds. Surely Yore had to be one of them. She could see a few Tranquill amongst the sails, and who knew how many more inside the mill itself. This was undoubtedly the perfect spot she could find a flying-type in this city.
The Weavile approached the tower mill and then entered inside. At least a hundred birds rested within the mill, sitting on protruding objects of all sorts whether it be bricks, steel or wooden beams, or the very gears of the mill. The moment Glace stepped into the mill, all of the feathered Pokémon puffed up their feathers and locked eyes with her.
A particularly large Staraptor sitting above Glace let out a menacing hiss and slowly spread its wings apart.
"I'm not a feral," Glace quickly stated as she slowly held out her claws. "I'm not here to hurt you."
All of the feathered ones continued to keep their gazes on her. She heard even more of them near the very top of the mill let out more hisses. Glace started to wonder if she had made a mistake and these Pokémon were all feral. After all, not a single one had said anything to her. It would also explain why they would bother to have the mill as a roosting place when it probably had use to the city.
Then Glace noticed that not a single one of the feathered Pokémon had flown away since she entered the mill. Wild Pokémon fled the second they saw a dangerous creature, or they attacked if they felt provoked. Only certain land Pokémon kept still in times of danger, particularly the Deerling.
These were most definitely all civil birds.
"I'm not going to attack or steal any eggs you might have here," Glace said again with a frown. "Besides, do you really think I'd attack with so many of you here by myself? I know you'd all peck me to death the second I touched any of you."
The flying-types kept their hostile poses for a moment longer, and then tucked their wings back into their bodies once more.
"Why are you here, Weavile?" the Staraptor from earlier asked. "Not many land Pokémon ever come to these mills during the days of no wind."
"I'm looking for someone I thought might be here," Glace replied. "Have you heard of a Tranquill named Yore?"
Many of the flying-types muttered amongst each other. Glace tried not to look at them as she kept her gaze fixed on the Staraptor.
"Yore, you say?" it asked. "I'm afraid I don't know any Tranquill or Unfezant of that name. Are you sure that's his name?"
"I'm sure," Glace said with a nod before finally bringing her gaze up to the other whispering birds. "Have any of you heard of a Tranquill named Yore?"
All of them shook their heads. Glace glanced through all of the various feathered creatures sitting above her, searching for any Tranquill in the roost. She spotted a grand total of five from where she stood, possibly more behind other Pokémon out of her line of sight.
"Can I have all of the Tranquill come down here for a moment?" Glace asked. "I think I'm misremembering his name. It won't take long; I know who I'm looking for."
I will know him when I see him, right?
Yeah! It'll be just like when you saw me back at your house. You'll feel like you've known him from somewhere even though you guys have never met before.
Good.
Seven Tranquill left their resting spots and settled themselves before Glace. They fluffed their feather for just a moment before standing up tall, all of them eying her cautiously. Glace held her breath as she slowly looked over each of the Tranquill, looking into each of their eyes for a few seconds before moving onto the next Tranquill in line.
Not a single one seemed familiar to her. In fact, they all seemed remarkably similar to one another with only subtle features to set themselves apart from each other, such as a longer beak or sharper talons.
"None of you are the one I'm looking for," Glace said as she resisted a long sigh. "You can go back to roosting."
The group of Tranquill wasted no time in returning back to their resting spots. Glace watched them fly up into the higher parts of the mill, and then made her way outside. As she left behind the mill, she eyed the Tranquill standing in the windows and on the sails, hoping that one of them would be Yore. But as she had expected, not a single one rang a bell to her. They were all complete strangers to her.
Glace turned away from the mill and looked out into the horizon. She could see the sun already beginning its descent, and it wouldn't be much longer until it became the full night. Her entire day had been fruitless.
She had to resist grabbing at her ears and pulling them toward the ground.
Are you sure that you don't know anything about Yore except that he's a Tranquill?
Nope. Just that he's a Tranquill and that he's in this part of the dimension.
This part of the dimension is still a very large place. It'll take entire weeks or months to locate him at this rate.
Yeah, I know… but those are the only things I've got on him.
Weren't you a spy? Wasn't it your job to hunt Pokémon down?
Not really. I was told exactly where to find my Pokémon of interest. I didn't need to do any sort of tracking. I just snuck in, got the information I needed, and then went back to the guild. Like I said before, you were only easy to find because I knew exactly where in the dimension to find you. I knew you were in a very specific town in a very specific part of that town.
And you don't know why that is?
Nope. But if I had to guess… maybe it was because our original self wanted me to find you first?
Why would it want that?
I don't know. It's the only explanation I can come up with since you're not really all that special... no offense. I just mean like you don't have any special powers like being able to see the future or god-like powers or-
I get it. I'm only a boring dojo trainer. Which begs the question even more of why I was so easy to track.
Well did something happen before you became a dojo trainer? Maybe you used to do something that our original self thought was really useful and-
Glace growled under her breath. She felt something shudder deep within her body the moment she did that.
I wasn't anyone special. I was just a Sneasel in a small clan of other Sneasel and Weavile. We never did anything of significance. We only roamed the land like nomads. We didn't interact much with society other than to sometimes purchase goods.
Okay… if you say so. You clearly don't want to talk about this so…
I don't. I want to focus on finding Yore.
Sonata didn't say anything. Glace kept her stern gaze for a moment longer, and breathed in before exhaling deeply.
Let's get some rest. There's no point in looking for that Tranquill when it'll be night soon. He'll probably be sleeping.
Yeah… let's do that. Where are we going to sleep tonight?
Back to that burrow I used last night.
We're not going to use an inn like you were thinking?
No. I do have some currency stashed away in my crown, but I don't think my dimension's currency is the same as here now that I think about it.
Well I'm pretty sure they're the same since this dimension seems a whole lot like yours… but alright, do whatever.
Glace nodded, and then made her way back to the burrow as the night slowly settled upon the city.
The next morning, Glace went back to the city's main square. But this time, she didn't mix with the sea of Pokémon and followed everyone through the streets. She instead sat at the edge of a large, stone water fountain depicting multiple Feebas swimming around a single, majestic Milotic. She silently watched all of the Pokémon as they passed her. Most ignored her and carried on with their day, though she did catch a few pedestrians sharing a quick glance with her before continuing on their way.
Glace stared up at the sky and watched a couple of Swablu pass overhead.
If I were a Tranquill, where would I be in this dimension? What would I be doing if I could fly and be anywhere I wanted at any time of the day?
The Weavile swung her legs back and forth as she continued watching the sky. It was most certainly a beautiful view. Other than the massive hole in the sky served as a constant reminder of the dimension's inevitable doom, the sky was as clear as could be. Endless blue stretched for miles and miles across the land, not a single puff of cloud to blemish the sky. Glace couldn't help but wonder what it felt like to be a part of that blue yonder, to spread your wings and let the wind carry you far away.
Glace could see herself flying through that sky. She could feel the wind pushing against her wings as she soared high above, so high that all of the Pokémon below were just as small as a Joltik. And yet, even as she flew so high and knew one wrong move could send her plummeting to her death, she felt no fear. The air was her domain, her rightful place to be as a winged creature.
She could see everyone leaving the spacious jungle that was their base, ready for a day's work. She saw Blaize and Torrent, the Charizard and Empoleon duo that always took the missions that paid the most, regardless of the job. Right behind them were Robin, Eli, and Hunter, the Staraptor flock that mainly took bounty hunt missions and nothing else. And behind those three was the main team of the guild, the one with the Virizion as the leader who…
Glace suddenly found herself back on her bench. The wind, the tiny Pokémon, the wings that were her arms… all of it was gone. She was a flightless Weavile again, rooted to the ground like all land creatures.
The Weavile rubbed at her eyes with the blunt part of her claws.
I didn't need to see a memory for that, Sonata.
Well you were really curious about flying, so I thought you wanted to know what it felt like. It was fun, wasn't it?
It was. Glace didn't want to say it… but she did enjoy the temporary gift of flight. There was something almost magical in being able to defy the laws of gravity and be one with the seemingly infinite sky. But Glace realized it didn't matter in the end. She wouldn't be sprouting wings any time soon even though she actually had many red feathers protruding out of her head and ears.
We should find Yore. I think our next best option is to find a post office or whatever is this dimension's version of it. I imagine that a Tranquill would work there.
Yeah, I think that's a good idea! Lots of flying-types become delivery Pokémon. I would know; I used to work there before I joined my guild.
Is that so?
Yeah! I only worked there for a few years, but I remember there were a lot of flying-types there. Especially the bigger birds like Staraptor and Unfezant. They could carry lots of mail and travel pretty fast.
I don't think Tranquill are all that large, but I'm sure the post office would have other reasons to hire a Tranquill. Let's see if we can find it.
Glace then went into the nearest store she could find and asked the clerk if there was a post office in the city. As she had hoped, there was a post office, and it was fairly close to where they were as well. She only needed to follow the street all the way to the end until she came across a large building at the very edge of the city. He assured her that she couldn't possibly miss it, especially if she watched the sky and followed any birds that carried bags around their bodies.
So, after receiving the information, Glace departed from the store and heeded the clerk's instructions. And sure enough, after following the road for a time, she found herself at the aforementioned building. Much to her surprise, the building was designed in such a way that it resembled a giant Pelipper settled into a nest. It was much bigger than she had anticipated as well, standing at least three Aggron's tall. Most of the paint had begun to peel off, making it seem that the entire building was molting.
It was quite a sight, something that Glace couldn't quite react to the moment she saw it. In her dimension, Pokémon didn't make any of their buildings resemble any sort of creature. They were always constructs of wood, steel, or stone, in the forms of domes and rectangles or a combination of both. No one seemed particularly interested in designing their buildings after Pokémon, at least not any that she had seen.
Really? Nobody made Pokémon buildings? There were a whole bunch of them in my dimension!
It never looked ridiculous to you?
Not really. I actually think it made everything a lot nicer. You know, something that brought color and life to the town. I always found the towns with those buildings with no color or imagination to them to be the dullest towns. Everyone in them was really boring.
Glace couldn't quite understand Sonata's thought process, but chose not to pursue the topic any further. Instead, she peeled her eyes away from the building's architecture and went into the main entrance. Once inside, she found that the interior was mostly a single, empty room. There was a small corner of packaging material and a counter to separate the workers from the customers, but that was it. Glace didn't see any packages of any sorts, nor mail holders to sort the customers' parcels. Even the post office seemed mostly devoid of Pokémon, save for a Wartortle and Wigglytuff giving packages and letters to a Decidueye behind a counter. A few flying-types did come inside through various windows in the building, but they never bothered to flutter down to where Glace stood. They only passed high above her into other rooms of the building behind the counter that Glace couldn't see into very well, presumably wherever the packages and letters remained until they were sent out all over the region.
For such a large building, it sure did feel awfully empty.
When the Wartortle and Wigglytuff left the counter, Glace wasted no time in taking their place. She was very much pleased to find that the counter was just about the perfect height for her, not towering over her nor far below her waist.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" the Decidueye asked with a beaming gaze.
"I'm looking for a Pokémon that I believe works here," Glace replied. "Have you heard of a Tranquill named Yore?"
"Yore you say? Hmmm. I don't know anyone of that name. Give me one moment and see if I can find anyone that might know that name."
The Decidueye then turned away and disappeared into one of the rooms behind the counter. Glace set her elbow on the counter and rested the side of her face in the palm of her elevated claw. She hoped that this wouldn't take long. Granted, there were no other customers waiting behind her, but she had no idea what could possibly be happening behind that counter.
Do you happen to know what happens here, Sonata?
Just lots of sorting really. Sorting and putting certain packages in certain piles depending on where they're going.
I should have figured as much.
"Alright, I talked to some of the other employees here," the Decidueye then said as he reappeared from the other room. "Not a single one of them has ever heard of this Yore Tranquill. Are you sure that you aren't misremembering his name?"
"No, his name is Yore," Glace said with a shake of her head. "Are you sure you don't know someone by that name? Maybe you've seen his name on letters?"
"There are hundreds of letters and parcels sent every single day here, Weavile," the Decidueye stated. "We don't memorize the names; we sort them by location and then ship them out. If you want to find someone specifically by their name, I recommend going to the Guard Guild. They keep track of all the Pokémon in the city and update it daily depending on who enters and leaves. I don't know if they can tell you where the Pokémon lives, but they'd most certainly have names. If this Yore Tranquill you're talking about really lives in Lilac City, then his name should be with that guild."
"And where is this Guard Guild?"
"Right by the Miltank Café. Make a right as soon as you exit this place and then make a left on the next road you see. Follow it and you'll see it no time."
"Alright. Thank you."
The Weavile then removed her elbow from the counter and went on her way. She made sure to follow the road until she came across a new one a few minutes down, and then promptly turned left. She still couldn't see this supposed café or guild that the Decidueye spoke of, but she continued walking, knowing there was nothing else she could do.
Sure enough, after a while, Glace finally saw the guild. It was still quite a ways from her, at least another hundred steps away, but she could clearly see it in her sight. It towered over many of the other buildings with its bulky brick exterior, especially with that red flag atop the guild's tower.
This had better be the last place we check for Yore. I'm growing tired of running all over town for him.
I think they'll know where he is. They should know his name if he lives here, and if we can convince them, they can tell us where he lives.
Supposedly.
Glace then entered the guild and found herself in the lobby. Appearance-wise, it wasn't that much different from the post office. Most of the room remained vacant with only a few small chairs lining the sides of the room while a large counter stood at the back of the room. However, this time the receptionist was a Monferno with a dull shine in its eyes that didn't even seem to notice that Glace had just entered the building. It only seemed to be staring at the wall right next to Glace despite the fact that not a single painting or decoration lined the walls anywhere in the room. There was only endless brown, the color of the trees that Glace once used to dig her claws into during hunts.
She wondered if those trees still stood, bearing the scars left behind by her past self, or if some other Weavile had covered them with their own claw markings.
She wondered what those Sneasel and Weavile she had grown up with were doing right now after all so many years.
"Hello there, Weavile, can I help you?"
Glace looked back at the counter to see that the Monferno had its gaze set on her. Its previous dull, glazed over expression no longer seemed present.
"I'm looking for someone who lives in this city," Glace stated as she went closer to the Monferno. "I was told by the post office that you might be able to help me find them."
"That depends on the circumstances. Let's see who you're looking for. What's their name and species?"
"Yore. He's a Tranquill."
The Monferno cracked a smile. Glace even thought she saw the flame at the end of its tail flicker for just a moment.
"Ah, Yore. I haven't heard someone call that Tranquill by that name in quite a while," the Monferno said with a little laugh. "I almost forgot that's his real name."
Glace suddenly heard Sonata squeal. She had to resist flinching and covering her ears as the sound bounded off the walls of her mind. And yet, she found she couldn't retort the Noivern and hush her up. She couldn't blame Sonata for her reaction. She honestly couldn't resist smiling a little herself.
They had finally made progress in their search.
"So you do know him," Glace said to the Monferno.
"Of course! He's our best sentry in years," the Monferno said with a flick of its tail. "He always sits on the watchtower at the entrance of the city, keeping an eye on whoever comes here. He's quiet though, so you it's real easy to forget that he's there sometimes. Do you two know each other?"
"We're friends," Glace replied effortlessly. "Or, we were. We used to talk as hatchlings, but we went our separate ways after a while. I heard he was in this city, so I wanted to see how he's been."
"Ah, I understand. Well, you can go see him right now if you want. His shift doesn't end until sunset. I'm sure he wouldn't mind a little company up there on that lonely watchtower."
"I will."
And then, without wasting another second, Glace left the guild and hurried to the watchtower as quickly as she could manage. She could practically feel herself flying as she ran through the streets and made her way outside the city.
And yet, as she ran, she couldn't help but wonder why she moved with such zeal.
It was true that she would finally be able to see Yore after all this time. She could finally meet him and fulfill her original self's wishes of reuniting her other selves. The thought of that should have made her heart swell and fill her with a euphoric wonderment. And it did. She felt as though someone had just told her a pack of Piloswine slumbered nearby, bellies full from a recent feeding. She could still even hear Sonata cheering inside her head, practically bouncing about in her metaphysical form.
But Glace had never been like this before. Even in times there actually had been a pack of oblivious Piloswine she couldn't wait to descend upon and sink her claws into, she had never felt the need to rush to them. She had the patience and willpower to approach them cautiously and silently.
So why did she feel like she had to get to Yore as quickly as possible?
Sometime later, Glace found herself at the main entrance of Lilac City and before the very watchtower she sought. She could see how much it towered over her and the very city, along with the looming forest that stood between the gate and the mountains far into the distance. No matter what time of day it was, that tower would always be casting its dark shadow over something in its vicinity with unwavering dedication.
At the very top of that tower stood a single Pokémon, watching the forest with a stern gaze.
A Tranquill.
He was a bit difficult to pinpoint, given how much his grey feathers fit in with the tower's own dull colors and how he appeared to be the size of a Joltik from Glace's view, but she saw him all the same.
The feeling of familiarity struck her without hesitation. Though she couldn't even see the Tranquill's face from where she stood, she felt she could have recognized him anywhere, no matter the distance between them. Sometime ago, in a memory she could no longer recall, she had met him and the two had made some contact with one another. How and where they had met, Glace didn't know. Glace couldn't find the memory anywhere within her mind.
But she knew why she really felt this way. There was no other explanation when the two lived in separate dimensions.
Glace went to the watchtower's stairway, and then made her way up to the Tranquill. She made sure not to walk too quickly up the steps. She only breathed slowly as she climbed up the tower, ignoring the strong beats of her heart and the shaking in her claws.
This needs to go well, Sonata. This needs to work.
Don't be scared. He'll listen to us.
I didn't listen to you when you dropped that I was a fragment of someone else and that I had to come with you or else everyone would die.
Well no… but I went the wrong way with that whole thing. I really should have talked to you more before telling you all that. I was just really antsy because I saw the tear and…
Glace looked out to the sky to see that the dimensional rip still remained in this dimension's sky. It didn't seem any bigger than it had been the other day however, bringing her some comfort.
What if he refuses to come with us? What do we do then?
Um… we just keep bothering him I guess. Make him get that his dimension and our dimensions aren't going to be around for much longer if he doesn't cooperate. He'd have to understand eventually.
And what if he refuses to believe anything I tell him?
Well I don't think that's really possible for him. I think all the fragments know, deep down, that something isn't right about them. Maybe they don't know it consciously, but once you start pointing out things out, like why they don't know who their parents are or why they feel like they know you even though you've never met, then they start knowing the truth. I mean, I guess they can try to deny it all they want like you were doing, but they know it's true. They might try to attack you though, if my experience with you is anything to go by, so…
We'll see if it won't escalate to that. I'd rather not fight him; I was never a fan of dealing with flying-types. Stealing eggs from their nests was always my least favorite activity. Their talons and beaks leave nasty marks.
It was not long before Glace found herself at the very top of the tower. When she stepped off the stairway and onto the platform, she was quick to note that the Tranquill was no longer staring out into the forest. He now had his stern eyes fixed on her, feathers puffed out just a small amount.
He only stared at her for what couldn't have been more than a second when his eyes suddenly changed. His pupils rapidly dilated so that most of his golden eyes were nothing but black pools before immediately constricting into tiny pinpoints.
"Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked. "You look familiar."
"You might," Glace said nonchalantly. "You're familiar to me as well."
The Tranquill nodded as his pupils returned to their normal size. He unpuffed his feathers as well, but not before flapping his wings once.
"I was wondering why you were coming up here," the Tranquill stated. "No one comes up here except the sentry."
"I came up here because I wanted to talk to you," Glace replied.
"Why's that?"
"Because I think we used to know each other a time ago, maybe before you worked here. I happened to be in the area, and the Monferno at the Guard Guild said I could find you here."
"I see. I do feel that I remember you from somewhere, so perhaps I did know you at one point. Come over here then. It will be easier to talk to you while I work. Perhaps I will remember you if we continue talking."
Glace approached the edge of the platform and stood next to the bird. She put her claws on top of the wall that boxed them into the tower before glancing over at the Tranquill. He didn't seem to be paying attention to her anymore. He only kept his eyes on the forest below, unmoving from his perch.
"So you're a sentry, are you?" Glace asked.
"Yes. I watch this forest every day and write down who wants to enter the city, why, and where they came from," the Tranquill answered.
"And how long do you stay up here?"
"From dawn until dusk every single day."
"And you don't ever get bored of being up here all by yourself, watching this forest all day long?"
The Tranquill didn't say anything. However, he didn't have to. Glace saw him open his beak for a moment before promptly shutting it. She even saw him fidget in place for just a moment.
"There's nothing wrong with being bored up here," Glace said. "I would be bored as well if I had to watch this forest every single day of my life."
Again, the Tranquill said nothing. Glace sighed as she gripped the platform with her claws and looked out into the forest. This small talk was going nowhere. She wasn't even sure if she was doing it correctly. It had been quite a while since she had made idle chatter with another Pokémon like this.
Should we just tell him why we're here? I don't think he's interested in talking.
I'm not sure. There's nothing for us to talk about, but I don't want to alarm him with the information out of nowhere. There has to be a way for me to transition into-
"What's your name, Weavile?" the Tranquill asked, prompting Glace to look back at him. "You never gave me your name and I still can't remember it."
"You're right, I didn't. My name is Glace," she answered simply.
"Glace. Hmm, that name does sound familiar. But I don't remember a Sneasel or Weavile anywhere in my memories. I feel like there was one in my life, but there are no actual memories of one anywhere in my mind. Are you sure that you're not mistaking me for someone else? There are many other Tranquill in this city."
"No, I'm sure you're the right Tranquill. Because you're Yore, aren't you?"
The Tranquill seemed to freeze in place, as if someone had petrified him right then and there. He became so still, in fact, that Glace worried that she could just touch him with one claw, and he would go careening off the watchtower and plummet to his death.
"Your name is Yore, isn't it?" Glace asked again.
"How do you know that name?" the Tranquill asked in a quiet voice.
"Because… that's your name. You told me that was your name."
The Tranquill turned to Glace. He leaned toward her by a small amount and ruffled his back feathers. Glace took a subtle step backwards and kept a close eye on his beak. She knew that posture in birds all too well.
"I don't remember there ever being a Sneasel in my life when I was still called by that name," the Tranquill stated.
"You told me," Glace said in return. "Do you have a different name now?"
"Yes, it's Patience. No one's called me Yore for years."
"Why did you change your name to Patience? Yore is a good name."
The Tranquill's dark expression didn't break. Glace slowly spread out her claws and raised them toward her chest. If this Tranquill actually intended on attacking her, he'd go for her eyes first. That's what all of the flying-types did when they saw a Weavile or Sneasel trying to reach their nest, especially if you were the one who had to distract the flying-types. You had to antagonize them and lead them away from the nest while someone else stole all the eggs. If you weren't careful and didn't retreat quickly enough, they would ram a beak into your eye socket. Glace had seen it a few times.
All those Sneasel falling backwards and screaming as they clutched at their eyes, all while the flying-types flew out of their nest and pecked away at the Sneasel's body…
"I didn't change my name; my guild did in a way."
Glace blinked, and she found herself with Patience once again. He had turned away from her in the time she had been thrust into her gruesome memories and resumed his watch over the forest. She noticed that the borderline malevolent glimmer in his eyes no longer seemed present. She only saw a melancholy dullness, as if his very life essence had been sucked right out of him.
"It's a nickname," Patience went on. "It's what they decided to call me after I stayed as their sentry for so long. No one else has stayed on the shift as long as I have. But I don't mind the name. I don't like to be called Yore anyway. It reminds me of times I prefer not to think about."
The Tranquill released a sigh.
"I'm sorry for how I was acting," he then said. "I'm usually not like that. I'm only not used to someone calling me that name, especially someone I can't remember too well."
"I understand," Glace said as she lowered her claws. "I know what it feels like to not want to remember the past."
The Tranquill nodded. Glace followed his gaze to see that he was no longer watching the forest. He now kept his eye on the dimensional tear looming over the woods. Though it remained quite far from where the two stood, Glace thought she could see something crackling within its chaotic and colorful depths.
She then looked back at Patience. He seemed so serene, so oblivious to what destruction that tear would soon be responsible for. He only watched it the same way Glace might watch the flowing water in a gentle river. She had the strangest feeling he would never understand anything about the tear, even when it tore apart the multiverse. He would never know he could have stopped all of that death if he had just realized who he truly was.
Glace slowly breathed in and flexed her claws.
"Patience, I need to tell you something," she said. "We've never actually met before. You might think we have, but we haven't."
"Why do you say that?" Patience asked. "Earlier you insisted that you had met me before."
"I know I did, but that was because I knew you'd recognize me. The truth is… weren't not actually a Weavile and Tranquill. We're actually fragments of one being that split itself apart a long time ago and got thrown into different dimensions."
Patience said nothing. He didn't seem to freeze up as he had when Glace called him Yore, but the air around him changed and he would open his beak periodically even though he didn't seem to have any intentions of talking.
"Do you see that hole in the sky? That's why I'm here, talking to you," Glace continued. "I don't understand it completely, but that hole is going to get bigger and spread all over the place. It's going to leak into other dimensions until it consumes all of them. Then, it'll collapse all of them and kill everyone living inside the dimensions. Our original self wants to stop that from happening. It wants all of its fragments to merge back together so it can close up that hole.
"And it's not just the two of us; there are more fragments out there. They're all out there in their own dimensions. Maybe some of them know their fragments, maybe some of them are just as oblivious as I was before I saw that tear in the sky. But I need you to come with me so we can stop that tear from destroying everything."
"You say that you want me to come with you," Patience then said, keeping a flat tone. "But what exactly do you mean by that?"
"I mean that I need you to merge with me. You won't disappear, you'll still exist inside my head and you can talk to me all you want, but you won't have your body anymore. You'll become me, in some ways."
Patience nodded, but made no further remarks. Glace wasn't sure what to think of his reaction. She couldn't gauge what he was thinking with how quiet he remained. She almost wished he was more outspoken like Sonata.
"I know it's difficult to believe," Glace then said. "I went through the same. I know it's difficult to want to leave your dimension behind and accept that you're not who you think you are. There's still a number of things about all of this I don't understand. But Patience, I really do need you to come with me. My dimension is going to be destroyed if you don't, and so will yours. Everyone you ever cared about is going to die."
Patience closed his eyes. Glace remained where she was, knowing there was nothing else she could do. She knew that she could perhaps explain everything a bit more, like about the vision she had or that Sonata currently resided inside her head. Perhaps the information would have convinced Patience to come with her more, but she knew it was just as likely to scare him off. She could only share so much information with him at a time. She knew that the information she had already given Patience was sure to make him suffer a small existential crisis.
She could only wait and keep the silence between the two of them.
For a while, all Patience did was continue to watch the dimensional tear with his glazed over expression. He would sometimes gaze down at the forest, presumably to see if anyone wanted to enter the city, but mostly kept his gaze to that otherworldly omen ripping apart the sky.
And then, after what seemed for like an eternity later, he finally brought his gaze back to Glace.
Glace saw herself in the rich gold that was Patience's eyes. She saw everything that she was and everything that she wasn't. She saw the part of herself that lived in this dimension, forced to watch the same forest every single day without end. The part of herself that had lost the willpower and desire to leave behind her monotonous life and go elsewhere.
A complete shell of who she once was and everything she once stood for.
Patience turned away just before the Weavile could lose herself in his eyes.
Then, he opened his wings and flew away.