Caran realized something was very wrong the moment he teleported himself and his two odd visitors before Gardevoir Orchid and the strange Braixen that wanted to use him as a model for her paintings.
Though nothing seemed wrong with everyone, there was a clear tension in the atmosphere. Astonishment, dread, panic, befuddlement, all of these feelings bombarded him. They overwhelmed him so greatly that he couldn't tell to whom they belonged to. Perhaps these were all the shared feelings of everyone around him and that was why they all muddled together.
The overload of strong emotions caused his horns to ache. He grimaced as he looked to his elder, hoping that he too noticed the volatile emotions of the outsiders. The Gardevoir stared back at Caran with a soft glimmer in his eyes.
"Yes, I feel it too," Gardevoir Orchid assured telepathically. "Do not fret though; let's see if we can determine what is causing this distress between these outsiders. Perhaps there is nothing to be concerned about."
Peace came over Caran, one that settled down his nerves. However, he knew this serenity wasn't from his own efforts; Gardevoir Orchid had probably sent him a wave of calming emotions to settle his fluttering heart down. Caran shot him a silent wave of appreciation before looking at the Octillery and Shinx he had brought. Their names were Jera and Abel if he recalled correctly.
They were both staring at the Braixen, Jera with wide eyes and stiffened tentacles while Abel looked on with a tilted head and unsure gaze. Caran then looked to the Braixen to find her avoiding eye contact with everyone. Strange, desperate feelings drifting between bitterness and flusteredness spilled out of her heart and into Caran's horns.
As Caran gazed at the Braixen, a sense of familiarity came over him, just like when he first saw Jera and Abel. Somehow, someway, he knew this Braixen. That should have been impossible because he had never met a female Braixen in his life, yet his heart was so certain it knew her. Just like with Jera and Abel, it insisted that they had met long ago and that she was not a stranger.
Judging by the tense feelings between the outsiders, Caran had a hunch there was something sinister going on. Something that he was also involved in, something that he needed to stay away from at all costs. After all, Jera had said she wanted to say something important before Gardevoir Orchid had contacted him. Maybe whatever she had wanted to talk about was related to the escalating mood around him.
Caran wanted to teleport somewhere far away from all of this, but again, Gardevoir Orchid sent him another dose of calm. He didn't even need to speak for Caran to get the message. Gardevoir sent out a telepathic message to all the Ralts to go play with Gardevoir Ventra, to which they complied immediately. As the little ones wandered away, Gardevoir Orchid stood up, put on his falsely warm smile he always used with strangers, and looked directly at Abel and Jera.
"Caran, who might these outsiders be?" Gardevoir asked.
"This is Jera and Abel," Caran answered. "Jera used to be a friend of my dad's and Abel's her adopted son. They wanted to visit me."
It sounded strange to say that, but it was true. Caran did have memories of an Octillery that used to be around his father despite the mountains being nowhere near the ocean. Of course, he had forgotten all about Jera and only remembered her when she brought up who she was…
"Yes," Jera spoke, though with a tremor in her tone. "I…I wanted to see if he had chosen to become a Gardevoir or Gallade after all these years."
"I see," Gardevoir Orchid said simply.
Caran could sense the elder's dubiousness, but he didn't show it. The elder probably saw there was no ill-intent in Jera's hearts. It also helped that Caran sent him a few memories where Jera spoke with his father in the past, commenting on how strong Caran seemed after becoming a Kirlia.
"Well, I didn't realize that you had visitors," Gardevoir Orchid then said. "In that case, Dimia, I think it's best we let Caran stay with his guests until they return home. It would be rude to send them away after they have come all this way to visit, especially if it takes many hours to draw a painting. That would be quite taxing on their patience, wouldn't it?"
"It would," Dimia said simply before turning to Caran. "Apologies for taking away your time from your guests. I will leave you be and wait until your guests have left."
"Of course. Sorry for wasting your time as well. Where can I find you when I'm ready?"
"I'll find you, don't worry. I'll know when it's time."
Caran didn't like the way she said that. Though she smiled politely and spoke courteously, a dark, forceful feeling leaked into the air all around her. She tried to hide it through bursts of cheerful feelings, but those resentful emotions were difficult to cover up. Caran was sure Gardevoir Orchid would comment on the Braixen's aura, but he didn't say a word. In fact, the smallest hint of a smile seemed apparent on Gardevoir Orchid's face, as though he were deeply amused by the Braixen's ghastly emotions.
The Braixen did a strange gesture where she bent her knees and bowed her head before departing from the courtyard. Even as she left the group, Caran could still sense that foul air about her.
"I'll leave you three as well," Gardevoir Orchid then said. "I'm sure you would appreciate privacy."
With a clap of his hands, the elder promptly vanished, teleporting out of sight. That left Caran alone with the two outsiders. He sensed relief from the Octillery, undoubtedly because she was finally away from everyone except him and Abel. Caran turned to address the elder Octillery and smiled.
"It's good to see you again, Jera," he said softly. "Should we sit down here and talk?"
"As much as that would be nice… I'd prefer we find somewhere with water," Jera said. "I'll dry out if I don't keep my body moist."
"Understandable. I can teleport us to a stream we all bathe in, if that would suffice," Caran then said.
"That would, thank you."
Caran took hold of Abel and Jera again and in the blink of an eye, transported them to Crossing Stream on the other side of the village. It was a small stream, one that was barely wider than a Furret's length, but the water was always crisp and clean and never dried out throughout the year. Jera immediately crawled into the stream and submerged herself into the water, breathing out a long, content sigh as she did so.
Caran couldn't help but stare at her. He found it so strange how she could possibly be on land in the first place. Wasn't she a marine Pokémon? Did she not need water to breathe in? How was she not suffocating being out of the water as she had been?
"So you said your name is Caran, right?"
The Kirlia looked down to see Abel staring up at him, swiveling his tail behind him. Waves of eagerness rolled off the Shinx and seeped into Caran's horns. He couldn't detect a single bit of dread or uneasiness from the Shinx, unlike Jera and Dimia.
"Yes, that's right," Caran said.
"So Caran, what's it like living here?" Abel asked. "Your home looks so cool! I've never seen a whole town in a mountain before! Especially not one where only Gardevoir and Kirlia and Gallade and Ralts live!"
"Oh… it's fine, I suppose. Quiet, peaceful, and I'm always in good company."
"And I hear that all of you here can talk to each other with your thoughts! And you can do it from real far away! Is that true?"
"Well it's not telepathy, no. At least, not for most of us. The elders can use telepathy, but for the rest of us, we can only send each other emotions. Think of a Lucario and it's the same thing."
"Oh that's so cool! So you're like a Lucario, but you're a psychic too! Does that mean you can see auras just like Lucario? Or do you like feel emotions by tasting them in the air or smelling them? Like I read in a comic once that some emotions smell like peppermint to Kirlia. Is that true?"
Caran pressed his lips into a hard line. He couldn't keep up with this excitable Shinx. Clearly the little one was very curious and didn't mean to be so draining, but Caran wasn't used to this much energy. Every ounce of Abel's enthusiasm poured into Caran's horns and flooded him with an uncomfortable energy rush. Caran could barely stand still from all of the erratic emotions rushing through his body.
"Abel, don't overwhelm the poor boy," Jera chided softly from the river.
"Awww but I was just asking him questions," Abel whined.
"Yes, but it's stressing him out. I know you're curious, but give him some space."
"Okay…"
Abel's tail drooped and he finally allowed the Kirlia solace. Caran took a deep breath, calming his jittering nerves as the Shinx's electrifying feelings settled down. It certainly helped that he focused on Jera's calming, almost motherly aura.
"Sorry about that," Jera said with an apologetic stare. "He's a child, he can't help it. He's never been here before and everything excites him."
"I understand," Caran said. "It was just… a bit much. I forget how excitable electric-types are. Their emotions are so strong compared to other types. Felt like a bolt of lightning coursing through me."
Jera nodded. Caran watched as Abel stretched forward on his front paws before going to the river and taking a long drink from it.
"I must admit, I thought you would have evolved by the time I saw you again," Jera then said. "How long has it been now? Ten years? The time sure does go by so quickly, I lose track so easily."
Caran looked away from the Octillery. Yes, it had been a while since he had last seen her. Last time she visited, Caran had still been a little Ralts that cowered away behind his parents the moment he sensed the slightest hint of anger from anyone else. Now here he was as a Kirlia, having still not chosen his newest form. He was supposed to have made the choice two months ago.
"If you don't want to talk about it, we can talk about something else," Jera offered, undoubtedly noticing Caran's hesitation. "I didn't realize it was a difficult subject for you."
"No, it's fine," Caran said with a small sigh. "Everyone in the entire village knows about it, what difference is two more Pokémon knowing as well?"
He took a seat by the stream, next to Abel. The Shinx finished lapping up the water and laid down next to the Kirlia while Jera kept a respectful distance away. Caran didn't even know why he was telling these two any of this. Sure, Jera had been his father's friend, but he hadn't seen her in years, and he had never met Abel until today. Yet for some reason, their presence soothed him, comforted him. They felt like a second family, one that he had always had for his entire life, but couldn't remember until today.
"The truth is, I'm scared of making the wrong choice," Caran admitted quietly. "I could choose to be a Gallade, but then my psychic prowess isn't as strong anymore. I'll have telepathy with everyone, but I won't be able to levitate objects or see into the future. And I get those weird arm blades that look really uncomfortable. Then I could choose to be a Gardevoir, but what if I can't get my powers under control? I've heard you can make black holes when you're a Gardevoir, and I'm worried that something'll happen and I'll make one and I'll swallow up this whole village on accident…"
"I understand," Jera said. "It sounds like you want to make absolutely sure you're choosing a path you'll most be happy with."
"Exactly. Once I become a Gardevoir or a Gallade, I can't go back. That'll be my form until I die, whether I like it or not."
"I won't say I know how you feel, but I did take care of a few Eevee over the years," Jera then said. "Eevee are a similar situation to you, in that they have multiple forms they can choose from. I asked one of them once if any Eevee had ever been unhappy with the form they chose, but he assured me that even if an Eevee dislikes their new evolution, they'll eventually come around. They'll begin to appreciate the aspects of the evolution they had overlooked, like the Jolteon's swiftness or the Umbreon's poisonous secretions that deter would-be predators. I imagine it could be the same with your own kind."
"Maybe. I know I could be happy with either form. I'm sure I could grow used to whatever I pick. There's just… one problem."
"And what's that?"
Caran smiled bitterly as he looked down at his long, slender hands.
"It's difficult to do, but I can peer into the future, if only for a brief moment," he explained. "I did that a few times to see if I was happy in whatever form I chose. Except… whenever I did that, I didn't actually see anything. All I saw was darkness. Vast, empty darkness. Like I had suddenly stopped existing altogether. This has never happened before."
Caran sensed something from Jera just then. He felt the shivers ripple through her tentacles and her hearts sinking deep into her body. He stared at her, eyes squinted. This would have been a normal reaction from anyone, seeing as how Caran's predicament sounded quite distressing, but Jera's unease felt different. There were lingering pieces of regret and self-loathing within her apprehension. Why was she feeling that way?
"I see," the Octillery said with a slow nod. "Yes… that does sound rather concerning."
"Then you understand my dilemma," Caran said. "I've been using my future sight for two months and every time, I see nothing but blackness. It's the one thing that's stopping me from making a choice. If I could just… see how I am in the future, then I wouldn't be so afraid."
The Octillery went silent, that cocktail of strange emotions growing stronger with each passing second.
"Maybe you're not seeing anything because your future sight isn't strong enough yet," Abel then said.
"That would be true, if the elders also couldn't see anything," Caran remarked. "I've asked them to look into the future for me and they tell me they see nothing as well."
"Oh, well that does sound like a problem then. That's really weird that it's happening to you."
Silence fell over the group. Caran didn't know if he felt better or worse for telling them this. He'd heard from his elders that talking out your problems always lifted a great burden off your shoulders, but Caran's heart didn't feel any lighter. If anything, he felt completely empty inside.
"I think the best way to help yourself is to leave this village for a while," Jera then said.
"What do you mean?" Caran asked.
The Octillery shifted uncomfortably through the stream. Guilt spiked through all of her other conflicting feelings and made itself the most prominent emotion to Caran. He winced at how strong it was, how raw it felt.
"I'm saying that perhaps some new scenery would help you," Jera said, hiding her feelings under a false mask of tenderness. "I've heard that sometimes, the best way to make a good decision is to momentarily take a break from what is comfortable and focus on something else. Perhaps seeing more of the world would help you decide what you'd be happiest with. Your elders do allow you to leave, don't they?"
"Yes, but I don't know if that would really help. It sounds more like a way to distract myself than actually focusing on what's bothering me."
"Sometimes distracting yourself is the way you find the answer you want."
Caran didn't believe that one bit. It didn't help that with every word Jera spoke, he could feel her regret strengthening. She wasn't a bad Pokémon, as he couldn't detect even a fraction of malice from her, but she was hiding something. Something she desperately didn't want anyone to know. He couldn't call her out on this though. No, though he was still young and had much to learn, he had learned long ago you couldn't directly point things out. You had to be subtle, polite, and charismatic.
"I'll think about it," he said. "How about after I visit with that Braixen, we talk about this again?"
Panic suddenly flooded Caran's horns. He flinched as the Octillery raised her tentacles, desperately trying to keep her emotions in check. She was failing horribly, of course. Caran was half-tempted to tell her he could sense everything she felt, just so she wouldn't bother trying to hide everything. However, that would probably cause her to panic even more instead.
"Don't bother reasoning with her, Caran, she doesn't have your best interests in mind."
Everyone jolted at the new voice from somewhere above. The three shot their gazes to a tree standing near the river to find that they had a familiar face in their company. There, standing in one of the thick branches, was Dimia. Caran didn't know how long she had been there or how she evaded being noticed. He always picked up on Pokémon's presences, even when they didn't want him to.
The Braixen leapt off the tree and landed softly on her paws, but kept her distance from the group. Jera crept out of the water and hurried to Abel, putting a tentacle in front of him, as if to protect him.
"What are you doing here?" Caran asked the Braixen.
"Watching you," she answered curtly. "I know it's rather rude, but I couldn't keep you out of my sight after I realized how much danger you were in."
"What do you mean?"
The Braixen pointed an accusing finger at the Octillery, who shot her a dark glare in return. Rage and terror spilled out of the Octillery while cool, subdued emotions flowed from the Braixen.
"She wants to kill you," she answered. "She wants to take you somewhere far away, and then end your life. I may not look the part, but I too have some psychic abilities. Mind-reading is one of them and lets me see all of the horrendous plans she has brewing in her mind. Of course, I'm sure you've felt Jera's intent all throughout the day, haven't you?"
Caran stiffened. None of this was making any sense. Jera couldn't have wanted to kill him; she was a family friend. And he had felt no ill-will in her heart. But then why did he feel so much guilt from her? Why did she seem to hide something, something dark and dangerous? He knew he couldn't believe everything this random Braixen was saying, but there was truth to her words…
"Caran, don't listen to her!" Jera urged before glaring back at the fox. "I don't know why you're doing this, but I swear if you don't leave right now-"
"You want me to leave so you can assimilate him instead?" the Braixen spat, cutting off the Octillery. "Have him all to yourself?"
Another jolt of panic ran through Jera's tentacles and into Caran's horns, conjoining with the unfathomable dread now coursing through Caran's veins. Something was very wrong here.
Visions tore into his mind, flashes unprompted by his psychic powers. They flooded him with brief flashes of both Jera and the Braixen pinning him down and sapping away his essence. He held his head as the images bombarded him, drowning him in these nightmarish glimpses of his own death. And it was as he vainly clawed his way back to reality that he finally understood why he could never foresee his future:
He had none.
One second, Caran was standing there, staring ahead with a hazy look in his eyes. The next second, he clapped his hands, and he abruptly vanished from sight.
Jera wanted to scream. She had been so close to reaching Caran, so close to making him come with her. But then this Braixen had showed up, this insolent girl dressed head to toe in worthless, gaudy jewelry. This girl that Jera knew was a fragment the moment she felt that sense of familiarity when they locked eyes, that familiarity she only felt with her other selves.
But before Jera could say anything, the Braixen took out her wand and muttered something incomprehensible with a guttural voice. A white flame shot out of her wand before falling back down in multiple shards. A wall of strange light soon rose above the three, cutting them off from the rest of the world.
Jera rushed to the wall and slammed her head into it, but was shoved back. She smashed her head again and again against the ethereal barrier, but she kept rebounding, not even making a crack in the surface.
"Don't bother, Jera," the Braixen said. "You can only leave if I undo the spell."
"Why are you doing this?" Jera demanded. "Why did you tell Caran I was going to kill him?"
"Because you are. You might not act immediately, but you will assimilate him if it means preventing mass extinction to all of reality. Whatever you want to call it, you were going to kill Caran."
Jera shot the Briaxen a horrified glance. She wanted to deny it, to say she was saving these children, not murdering them, but she couldn't. Glace had made it very clear that at the end of the day, everyone had to be assimilated. Everyone had to disappear. Jera had taken on the task of gathering the children fragments because she found them easier to talk to than adults. She had thought she could handle destroying these children's lives. She thought she could ignore it, tell herself she was saving them like she always did with the children back home.
Hearing this Braixen speak the truth so blatantly stunned her silent.
"It's a shame, I did want to get Caran without startling him," the fox went on. "He could have gone away peacefully. But you had to be here and you had to make things worse."
"Y-You'll never find him," Jera spoke up, gaining some semblance of strength. "He teleported away, you saw it yourself. He's gone."
"He is gone, yes. Thankfully I put a tracking spell on him before he vanished. He'll be easy to find after I'm done with both of you."
The Braixen moved toward the Octillery and Shinx. Jera quickly hurried back to Abel, who could only stand there, his fur standing up on end. He didn't seem to understand everything that was happening, but he could clearly tell he was in danger. Even when Jera shielded the little one from the approaching Braixen, he still didn't move.
"I'm sorry about this, truly I am," the Braixen said, even if her tone didn't match her words. "But this ends here. My kingdom's future depends on this."
"Why are you doing this?" Jera demanded. "Glace said that all of us are meeting together before we become one again! Why are you going against that?"
The Braixen's eyes glazed over for a second before she scowled, but it didn't slow down the girl in the slightest.
"So that's what she told you," the Braixen said simply. "Well, she lied. Only some of the fragments had an alliance. She just said that so you'd cooperate with her."
Jera couldn't believe this. She thought Glace knew all of the other fragments. She thought all of the fragments could be cooperative, if reluctant and in need of coaxing.
Jera wanted to be angry, but the terror of seeing the fox advancing upon her silenced any wrath she should have felt.
"All of us can't work together anyway," Dimia then said. "Trust me, I thought some of us could work as a team to find the others. However, there are no futures where I do that and my kingdom is spared. The only future where my homeland remains intact is the future where I work alone."
Jera knew she stood no chance. Though she had a type advantage against the Braixen, the Octillery was elderly while this fox was young and lithe. Not only that, but Jera had a Shinx to protect, one that was too paralyzed with fear to act and defend himself. She could probably hold off the Braixen for a few minutes at most before she was overpowered, and then promptly finished off.
Maybe this was the fate Jera deserved. Maybe for lying to Caran and Abel about her true intentions and instead promising false hope, she deserved to be assimilated by this unstoppable Braixen. There was no reasoning with the Braixen; Jera could hear the conviction in her voice.
The Octillery glanced down at the Shinx again. She saw how much he trembled, how little sparks flew from his fur, how he wanted to lash out, but was too terrified to move an inch. He was doomed, just as Jera was.
But he didn't have to be.
Jera tore open a rift with her tentacles, a portal to a random dimension. Then, she launched herself at the Braixen, ensnaring the fox with her strong tentacles. The fox screeched and clawed for her freedom, but the Octillery held on tight.
"Run, Abel, run!" Jera screamed. "Run into the rift!"
"B-But Jera…" Abel said feebly.
"Forget about me! Go!"
But that Shinx would still not move. Realizing she had no other choice, Jera spat out a glob of water at the Shinx. He shrieked as it hit him, knocking him directly into the portal.
Jera closed it up just as the Braixen tore the Octillery off and flung her to the ground. She took her wand and cast another spell, a spell that instantly set all of Jera's limbs on fire. It shouldn't have hurt much because she was a water-type, and yet, she couldn't stop herself from screaming. She flailed uselessly along the ground, desperately trying to put out the flames.
"So you managed to open a portal while in this dimension," the Braixen said. "Amusing, I didn't think that would actually work."
The flames abruptly disappeared, leaving Jera's body a charred mess. If Jera had been ten years younger, she would be back up on her tentacles and fighting harder. However, because of her age, because all of the fire had dried her out, she could barely move. She could only lay there as a pathetic pile of burnt flesh, unable to do more than tiredly stare at the Braixen.
"You know what you did won't save him," Dimia said with a scowl. "Your memories will tell me exactly where you sent him. He's going to be assimilated, one way or another. It's what has to happen for all the worlds to not destroy each other."
Jera couldn't say anything. She was too exhausted. But if she could speak, she would have said that this was fine. Maybe Abel couldn't fully escape but maybe he could. Maybe all of this about the worlds ending was nothing but a giant cosmic joke and it was better that Abel escaped from all of this madness.
Maybe she had doomed everything by letting Abel escape. Maybe. But at least she no longer had to live with the guilt that she had to assimilate him and Caran. At least both of them could be free now.
She had saved two more children from cruel reality.
That was the last thing Jera thought before she felt a paw on her burnt head. After that, there was only darkness.
Darkness and silence.
Eternal oblivion.