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Chapter XIV - Behind Enemy Lines


Five days passed uneventfully. Five meaningless days of recovery in which I found myself slowly adjusting to the reality I now lived in.

Mew spoke to me nightly, often giving simple words of encouragement between complaints about the Master Ball in which she resided. We'd gotten to the point of having our meetings no longer for necessity's sake, but rather for friendly conversation. I wasn't the only one feeling lonely, it seemed.

Misa, as expected, became progressively more familiar with me. Of course, this meant she learned quite fast what my tics were and how to exploit them. I'd be lying to myself if I'd dismissed all the blame for agitating her. It was often fun to annoy the Axew, leading to confrontation that often had to be stopped by one, or even both of the dragons watching us.

I was given a child's treatment much more than I was willing to admit to myself. I did a mediocre job of blocking most of it out, but certain things still set me off. Namely, my inability to eat structured food.

Of course, it was embarrassing beyond all belief, but it did sometimes have its quirks. I, as promised, was allowed to be as lazy as I wanted… Somewhere along the line I began to enjoy the break from the rush of everything.

I made sure to practice illusions as well, whenever possible. Seraph caught me in the act once, though rather than scold me as she had before, she agreed to help me in whatever way possible, as long as I agreed to follow her rules.

I broke those exact rules more often than not. She never figured so much, and I was able to get away with harmless pranks most of the time.

Why had I sudden urge to pull practical jokes? It probably was instinct. Zorua are a naturally impish species, and if the odd behavior helped me to fit into the new role I was destined to play, so be it.

I saw Skyla a total of three times during those five days. I had wished I could see her much more; she was obviously distraught. My disappearance was quite obviously the cause of her distress, and to know her demeanor was entirely my fault put a burden of guilt upon everything else currently brewing.

Every time Misa seemed to get bored of her slave conviction, it seemed to spark again with new intensity. I never escaped the treatment of a lesser being. There'd been a few close calls in which I had to lay down and beg her not to tell Seraph my real name.

It was starting to become a real issue. The small dragon was becoming much more explosive and reckless.

Mew had been putting off talking to the Axew… I resolved to pester her that night as we spoke until she agreed to help me. How she would, I had no clue, but something needed to be done quickly.

"Just shut up and keep watch, Ray."

"SHSHSHSHHHHHH," I sounded like a pipe leaking steam. The Axew would often torment me by shouting my name when there was nobody to hear. "I'm keeping watch, just please hurry."

Right then, she shoved past me, apparently having already finished. In her arms was a whole bundle of food. She clumsily dropped an item every so often and left it on the floor.

Growling in discontent, I followed her, trying my best to pick up after her as we left the kitchen. I could only carry so much in my mouth, and was forced to leave the rest.

I followed the scurrying Axew through the lobby, making sure nobody was present to see. Misa, after running down a hallway for a bit, shoved through a cracked door, her self-proclaimed 'base of operations'. Sighing, I walked across the lobby and followed her. I would be in a ton of trouble if I was caught running on my injury.

Quietly, I followed and pushed through the door after her. I dropped the items I was able to carry at the door.

"Mission accomplished!" Misa yelled to herself as she climbed up onto the singular bed in the vacant room.

"Yay us," I replied quietly and sarcastically, turning to leave.

"Where you goin'? It's not like I can eat all this crap by myself!"

Her invitation to share her loot sailed straight over my head. I was bored, and socializing with the Axew wasn't how I wanted to spend my time.

"I'm gonna go find Seraph so I can practice my illusions."

"Why? That's all you ever do!"

I sent her a condescending glare before huffing. "I don't think you'd understand anyways."

She crossed her arms in front of her torso and returned my glare. "Fine, do whatever then, shrimp."

Instead of retaliating, I silently stepped out. In reality, Mew had asked me to practice with my powers, should a situation arise in which I needed them. Without Somin to teach me, progress was slow. However, I tried experimenting each day and had already made some breakthroughs in replicating certain sensations. Nothing more than making Seraph feel a slight tingling feeling was currently achievable without getting too exhausted, but it was a start.

As I entered the lobby, I conveniently eyed Skipp standing near the entrance to the complex. Relieved I didn't have to search long, I approached him.

"Hey Skipp, know were Seraph is?"

"Mhm. She's uh… Looking for Misa. Do you know where she is?"

"No," I lied. If they found the Axew in her hideout, she'd probably blame the whole endeavor in the pantry on me.

"Doesn't matter, I guess. The nurses wanted to see you."

"What?" I complained, pacing for a moment. "Is it time already today?"

"I-it's probably the last time though…"

"Wait, what? Really?"

"Yeah. If everything looks good, they, uh… I think they'll probably let us all leave for Opelucid."

Whether or not that was a relief I had no idea. I was getting sick of Timberline, but Opelucid was nothing short of the hornet's nest.

"Ok…" I relented, "It's not gonna take long, is it?"

"Why? Do you have something going on?"

"No, not really."

I was getting a twitchy feeling, meaning it was about time to let some energy loose. It could wait a little while longer.

Right then, a nurse walked out of a door leading behind the front counter. She was a tall brunette that wore her hair in a different style each day, and the one who'd administered all my previous check-ups at Timberline.

They really made themselves absolutely certain was on the track to recovery. Each day so far, I'd had a thorough examination from the nurse now approaching us.

"Oh, you're both already here," she smiled, "Good, good, come on back with me. We'll get this done pretty quickly."

After sending a glance back at Skipp, I followed the nurse into the back hallway. The Flygon quietly followed. It had always been Seraph who'd accompanied me in my check-ups, so this was obviously a change of pace.

Once we were all situated in an empty room, furnished with all the normal equipment one would think to see, the nurse went through with her usual checklist. She weighed me, measured height, and basically repeated every step she'd completed many times over the last few days.

"He's gaining weight, that's good."

I wasn't sure whether or not the nurses actually knew I was intelligent. I hadn't bothered reaching out to any of them with illusions, and none of the dragons seemed eager to relay any information regarding my proficiency. At her remarks, Skipp simply nodded.

The nurse was very meticulous in removing the bandage around my leg and inspecting the cut beneath.

"Swelling's gone down quite a bit more. He's still not running anywhere, is he?"

Skipp shook his head again.

"Good. Make sure he only has limited physical activity for at least another week, then maybe some light jogging if he feels like it. I don't want him to fall behind other hatchlings' development."

Skipp nodded. I snorted unhappily.

"I'm gonna have to disinfect it; mind keeping him calm for me?"

Skipp, surprised, nodded before stepping towards me. Seraph had been present for all my previous examinations, meaning Skipp knew nothing of the process.

"Umm, uh," the Flygon stuttered, "There, there?"

He obviously knew I didn't need whatever he could offer, but tried putting on a show for the nurse anyways, raising a claw to pat my head awkwardly.

"Don't bother," I shot at him using illusions. "It doesn't hurt that b-OW."

I jerked for a moment, gritting my teeth as the nurse disinfected my wound without any warning whatsoever. I shot a glare at the human out of the corner of my eye as she reapplied the bandage.

"You did great today!" she began, tone transitioning into a sort of puppy-dog voice. "We're almost done, ok?"

I didn't give a response as she stepped over to the counter and grabbed a small device. It was shaped like a pistol, but a closer look revealed it to have a display panel where the hammer would usually be and a dish connected on the end of the barrel.

"I just need to take some energy measurements as part of our filing system," she addressed Skipp. She then pressed the dish end up against the back of my neck after the Flygon backed off. The rim felt cold.

I could hear the device start to beep as she continued addressing Skipp.

"Has he started discharging yet?"

Skipp look flustered for a moment, unsure how to answer. That, combined with Skipp's effort to treat me as the kit I seemed, affirmed the theory that the nurses knew nothing of my ability.

After a second of hesitation, Skipp nodded.

"Really? Huh, he's a bit ahead of his age group then. Interesting."

My mind flashed back to when I discharged the first time a few days ago. Baby Pokémon, still too young to mold their power, would discharge much more often as their bodies began to create energy without a suitable way to get rid of it.

Yeah, I'm really far ahead then…

"Huh," the nurse said, bringing the device away. She tapped the screen a few times before reapplying it to the back of my neck.

A few seconds later, she removed it, sighing.

"Oh no, they're gonna blame me for breaking this thing. It's giving me all sorts of wonky readings."

Skipp, curious, stepped next to the nurse and looked over her shoulder.

"837 million PPI?! This thing's brand new!"

Frustrated, she pressed the device against Skipp's torso to test. She waited for a few seconds.

"Huh, it's working now… But lord, 136 million, Flygon? I sure wouldn't mess with you."

Skipp was bashful for a moment, looking away and lighting up red in the face. I wasn't familiar with this system of measurement.

The nurse sighed before trying again, pressing the device against my shoulder this time.

"Same reading… Darn, we don't have another one here… I'll see if I can fix-"

Drayden walked through the door just then, without invitation.

"Everything going alright?"

"Oh, Drayden, hi… Well, we're just about finished, but I can't get a good reading for little Nox's energy density."

"May I see?"

The nurse, once again, pressed the device against me and took a reading.

"See?" she held the device up to Drayden. He gave me a knowing glance for just a moment.

"And what's the normal energy levels for a hatchling his age?"

"Well, considering he's already apparently discharged, I'd say somewhere between one and a half to three million. Energy readings like I'm getting would have long since killed him."

Drayden remained silent. After a moment or two, he grabbed the device and pressed it up against himself.

"What are you doing? This device isn't designed to pick up on humans' energy levels…"

"Well, normal human levels rest somewhere around an eight of a million, am I wrong?"

"N-no."

"Well, this device is telling me I'm resting at a whopping 563 million PPI. Do you think this is accurate?"

"Nuh-uh."

"I'll run a blood test back in Opelucid for him. We'll get more accurate results."

Drayden actually lifted me off the table on which I sat. I struggled for a moment, but his iron grip forced me to resign myself to listen to more of the conversation.

"Well, I don't think we can let Nox leave until we have an accurate energy reading for the records."

"I'm afraid we don't have the time. A situation I need to attend to has arisen. We leave this afternoon."

This afternoon?! Where's the warning?

"I can't let him leave until we get a density reading! I'm sorry, Drayden, but it's league protocol. We can probably work out a solu-"

"I'm a high-ranking league official with important business. You mean to impede my work?"

"U-uh… Um…"

"I thought as much. Thank you for all you've done over the past few days. I very much appreciate it. We'll be going now."

Leaving the nurse stuttering, Drayden left with me in his grasp, Skipp following close behind.

What just happened?

Drayden halted after we'd reached a nearby hallway. He turned towards Skipp and outstretched his hands with me in them.

"Take the Zorua and find the Axew. Make sure she's not getting into trouble. Afterwards, gather Seraph and Crag and tell them to be ready."

Skipp, after hesitating, outstretched his small arms and took me from Drayden. Thankfully, he promptly set me on the ground.

"Vulcan and I will get Skyla and Vicus set to go. We leave in an hour."

Skipp nodded, turning after Drayden turned to leave himself.

As soon as we were out of earshot, I exploded with the questions I'd been piling up throughout the last exchange.

"What was that all about? What's going on in Opelucid that Drayden needs to be there for? Who's Crag and Vicus?"

I faintly remembered that name; Vicus. Drayden had mentioned it after I'd first woken up. Why hadn't I seen him around here? Had I already and just not known it to be him?

I remembered what Mew had told me the first night. I'd hardly thought anything of the mysterious person since.

"Slow down, Nox… Drayden's just a busy guy."

"Yeah, but what's so important in Opelucid?"

"Well, uh… Nothing to be worried about, really. Just a bunch of people that don't like Drayden very much. We've gotta get back home to help out, y'know?"

"Ok then…" I thought, sarcastically and silently thanking the Flygon for not being vague. "Well, who's Crag and Vicus?"

"Crag? Oh, right, he didn't tell you his nickname, did he? Crud…"

Silence for a few moments.

"Well, don't tell Druddigon that you know his nickname. I don't know if he'll like it."

Crag the Driddigon. I'd hardly seen the dragon in my time at Timberline, but usually when I did, he seemed to be in a bad mood, as if the situation itself was nothing more than an inconvenience to him.

"Ok then, who's Vicus?"

"Vicus? Well, he's a nice guy, I guess, and really smart."

"But who is he?"

"Uhh… Um… Nobody really important. Just a friend of ours."

Skipp's evasiveness piqued my interest. The Flygon wasn't the best at subtlety.

"I just want to know who he is."

"Well, he's a bit of an… Advisor? He's been Drayden's friend for a long time, and he's really smart, and well…"

The secrecy regarding this character prompted me to make a bit of it in my head. I would ask Mew later about it, considering she seemed to overhear Drayden's conversations with the mysterious figure.

"Ok then," I relented. It was about time I had something to investigate.


About forty-five minutes later, Drayden and Skyla walked into the lobby with Vulcan following close behind. Everyone was present, except Vicus, apparently.

"All set to go?"

Misa was pouting over the fact she'd had to give up her bounty as soon as Seraph found her. When the Altaria asked the question, she harrumphed.

"She's good," I spoke in her stead.

"Ok, let's get going, then."

On the walk outside, I found most of my attention falling onto Skyla. She walked quietly with her head down, as if people were yelling at her as she walked by. I'd seen the Gym Leader a few times during our stay in Timberline, but it was hardly anything to make her remember me by.

I sighed, and made a decision. I took a moment to get into a cheerful state of mind before approaching the Gym Leader.

"Oh, hi," she said, adopting a smile. "You're just precious, aren't you?"

She bent down and picked me up. I refrained from struggling, and forced myself to wag my tail.

She scratched my head and carried me for the next minute or so, fiddling with my ears and petting me. Acting like I enjoyed it was quite the challenge. The way she held me was rather uncomfortable.

After a bit of time, Misa approached from down below.

"Hey pipsqueak! Quit the act and get the hell down here! We need to talk."

"Oh, it looks like your friend wants you," Skyla remarked. "Well, go ahead then."

She set me down lightly and pat my head one more time. Whether or not I'd booster her mood, I didn't know. Her team was confiscated, her nephew apparently on the run from the law. A simple gesture of friendliness couldn't possibly be much consolation.

"What do you want?" I asked Misa, annoyed.

"You know where we're goin'?"

"Opelucid. It's where Drayden and all the dragons live."

She sighed in discontent. "Whatever… When am I gonna be able to go back to the mountain?"

"Up there?" I asked, "By all means, leave when you can, but why in the world would you want to go back up there?"

"Pshh, like you need to know. If you don't know when I can leave then I'm done with you."

I rolled my eyes and walked ahead of her. The train station was coming up in the distance, completely deserted with the exception of two men in suits, standing on the platform.

"Who are they?" I asked, speeding up to walk beside Seraph.

"Nobody important, I'm sure they don't want-"

"Get the Zorua and the Axew on the train. Now. Nobody sees them."

Drayden continued walking forward after giving the order. Seraph, without hesitation, scooped me up in her wing. I sunk below the surface and could no longer see the outside world through a wall of white fluff.

I could only figure where we were going by the subtle jolts of movement. I knew enough to stay quiet, but the same couldn't be said about Misa.

About a minute later, Seraph's reassuring voice told me to come out.

We were now on the train, door closed behind us. Crag eyed me over for a moment before leaving for another car. Skipp and Seraph, as well as Misa, were all that were left.

The Axew was getting to her feet after being dropped off by Seraph. Presumably, she'd been hidden as well.

"Hey, hey! What was that for?"

"Sorry, Misa… I didn't want you two getting caught up in that."

"At least tell me what it was about!"

Instead of hearing Misa's incessant protests, I found myself eyeing a window. Curious, I jumped up onto the seat while Seraph was conversing with the Axew. An arguing group was outside, made up of the two man on one side, and Skyla, Drayden, and Vulcan on the other. I supposed the Haxorus was present for intimidation's sake.

"What are they talking about?" I asked behind me.

"Nox! Get away from the window!"

"Why?" I asked, turning, "It's not lik-AY."

Skipp grabbed me and stepped back. I struggled. As soon as we were away from the window, he set me back down.

"What's the problem?! They're just talking!"

"If those men see you, they will take you both away from us, do you understand?!" Seraph asked, wings ruffled. She looked twice as tall as normal from my perspective. My tail darted between my legs as I was left speechless.

"Arceus," the Altaria cursed, "Sometimes, you two will just have to trust us, and trust Drayden. Do you understand?"

I nodded without question, looking away timidly. I had no idea Seraph could look so intimidating. Even Skipp seemed caught off guard. Misa, the senseless dragoness she was, still huffed furiously.

The air buzzed with tension as all parties began to calm down. A minute passed with no words.

The pair of Gym Leaders boarded the train before anybody chose to speak. Seraph, Skipp, Misa, and I were all in a car adjacent to the corridor in which the train opened. After checking on us through a window in the door, angry tears in her eyes, Skyla stormed off the other way.

Drayden was soon to follow on the train with Vulcan, the former soon to open the door and address the group.

"Skipp, with me," he simply said with no greeting whatsoever. "Seraph, I'll have him catch you up with information later. Watch the hatchlings for now."

"Hey! Tell us what's going on!"

I grumbled at Misa's suggestion, gradually getting more and more annoyed with her stupid questions. Now was certainly not the time.

"He can't understand you," I pointed out emotionlessly. "That's how it works with humans and Pokémon."

Both Skipp and Seraph gave Misa a pleading glance, the former quick to step forward, towards his trainer.

Misa seemed ready to speak up again in protest, and having been watching her, I acted completely out of instinct to stop her.

The only thing coming to mind being whacking her in the head with a quick flick of my tail.

Despite its unconventionality, the action did its job flawlessly, succeeding in shutting her up. Content, I watched Drayden and company leave the room, closing the door behind them.

Thankfully, too. With the door now closed, the scream I was soon to let out was hopefully confined to our car alone.

The scream, prompted by an incredibly sudden surge of pain running up my spine, attracted the instant, panicked stare of Seraph.

I jumped into action, trying to scuttle away from the source, yelping all the way. I turned up fruitless, however, considering my progress was halted as what I imagined to be my tail held me in place.

Turning my head frantically, I was not surprised to find Misa on the other end, undoubtedly the source of the sudden pain.

What did surprise me, however, was the fact her jaw was clamped around my tail in a death grip.

Freaking out, I tried pulling away again, letting out another yelp as her grip did not falter.

"Misa!" I heard Seraph exclaim, "What on Earth are you doing?!"

"Teeathtinf fis mithle plipsqeek alezzun."

"Lemmegolemmegolemmegolemmego," I spewed mindlessly, cringing and unable to sit still. Never had I imagined a tail would cause so much pain. The appendage itself was mostly just fluff.

I saw Seraph advance on the two of us in the corner of my eye, but by the time she'd made it to us, I was already running away in an opposite direction, having been let go.

When I regained awareness of my senses, I found myself cowering under a four-legged chair, tucked into a table on one side of the car. While not exactly terrified, I found myself instinctively curling into a ball.

I shot a glare at the two dragons, the Axew who was spitting and hanging her tongue out her tongue in an attempt to get some hairs off it, and the Altaria, looking between the two of us in contemplation of what to do next.

"W-what was that for?!" I interrogated harshly, slowly getting over the shock. I turned my body in such a way where I could get a decent look at my tail.

"Pleh!" Misa exclaimed, rubbing her tongue with her hands to remove some stray black strands. "You taate howwible!"

"You're seriously going to pull something like that after I just yelled at you both for your behavior?!"

"He deserved it!"

"No I didn't!"

"No one asked you, shortstack!"

"We haven't been on this train five minutes and you two are already at each other's necks!" Seraph interrupted our argument, fuming. "All you two have done is fight, ever since I've met either of you! Is it so hard to at least pretend you two like each other?"

I tried giving some kind of excuse without thinking. "Seraph, I-"

"Not a word! I don't know what you did to set her off, and I don't care. We're all going to forget the last few minutes and be nice to each other for the rest of the trip. It doesn't take a psychic to know I don't want to spend the next seven hours with misbehaved hatchlings!"

I cringed, partly from Seraph's sudden hostility and partly because of the prediction Misa would speak up about being called a hatchling. With a few seconds of silence, though, I was shocked to find her fully turned towards the Altaria, soaking up her words with a mask of indifference.

Seraph shook herself out, ridding herself of the tension.

"Misa, apologize to Nox."

"What?! N-"

"Apologize. You're at least five months older than him. You should be protecting him, and more often than not you're the instigator."

"It was his fault! He whacked me with his tail on purpose!"

"You wouldn't shut up!" I interjected. "It was obvious Drayden needed time alone with Skipp, and you wouldn't stop being… You!"

Misa shot a glare, promising something detrimental if I were to continue. Realizing again the power she had over me by knowing my name, I looked away, seething.

"You should say you're sorry, hmm? Admit the whole situation was your fault, and we'll be good."

I adopted an anxious look, hoping Seraph wouldn't notice the suggestion as a command. A reminder of the dangerous knowledge she held over me manifested as a guillotine ready to fall on my neck.

"Misa," the Altaria said, "don't you dare pin this o-"

"I'm sorry," I spoke as quickly as possible. I was unable to look either dragon in the eye. "I… Shouldn't have done that."

I briefly reverted my gaze towards Misa, finding the Axew wearing a victorious smirk. "See? That so hard, shrimp?"

"Now wait just a second," Seraph cut in, looking between the two of us incredulously. "You're not-"

The Altaria was interrupted by a jolt of the entire room, offsetting each of our balances. The sudden jolt was soon followed by the gradually increasing feeling of movement.

Naturally, Misa was very unnerved, falling to the floor as soon as the train started moving.

"W-what the hell's going on?" she interrogated anxiously, clinging to the ground. "T-the floor's moving!"

Seraph initial reaction to the Axew's uneasiness was indiscernible, but I was struggling not to laugh at her sudden change in demeanor, despite the constant pain radiating from my tail.

After basking in revenge's sweet taste for a few moments, though, I decided to speak up, crawling out from under my chair.

"The train's moving," I said matter-of-factly. "It's just taking us where we need to go. Calm down."

"I am calm! You calm down!" she yelled, struggling to get a grip on the situation from the ground.

"Oh, by Ho-Oh's feathers…" I heard Seraph mumble. "We're all probably just… Hungry…"

"Not really," I responded, still watching Misa and struggling not to laugh.

In as gentle a tone as she could muster, the Altaria continued. "Yes, we are, Nox. I'm going to go get us all some breakfast. Yes, that's a good idea. You two sort your issues out alone, and I swear on Xerneas' antlers, if you two are butting heads when I get back, I'm going to personally see this ride be miserable for you both. Behave."

I sat silently, somewhat in shock, as Seraph walked over towards the door opposite of where we entered. The Altaria gave both of us a skeptical glance before leaving altogether, shutting the door behind her.

I sighed, taking her leave as an invitation to examine my tail in its entirety. Besides some matted fur, nothing seemed to be out of line. It hurt terribly, though, prompting me to be tender as I raised it up near my face.

Misa, as I noticed maybe thirty seconds later, was shakily standing, holding her arms out for balance. A quick jostle of the train, however, sent her right back to the ground.

I couldn't help but snicker, standing flawlessly and trotting over to the disoriented Axew.

"Having fun?" I sneered, walking in tantalizing circles around her.

"Shut up!," she exclaimed, glaring, "Come here and help me get up!"

Rolling my eyes, I simply stood next to the Axew, allowing her to grip my fur tightly as she stood again.

"T-this thing is actually moving? How? It's so big!"

"Human technology," I answered simply. "It's bringing us a really long way, so we don't have to walk forever. A month-long journey in seven hours.

Breathing quickly, she grunted as she pulled herself up, yanking my fur harshly.

"Go… Over there," she commanded, waving her free arm frantically at a booth aligned with one of the walls.

Sighing, I took small steps forward, regrettably making sure the Axew wasn't falling.

"Who would've thought… The all-powerful Axew, Misa, would need help walking from a 'pipsqueak'?!" I chastised.

"Shut up or I'm gonna make you," she replied, using her grip on my fur to pull it painfully and suddenly. Such an action sparked a light growl.

"You deserved that," she defended herself as we approached one of the benches in the booth.

The bench itself, as I noticed, was much too high to climb up. I would have to jump, but I wasn't sure Misa was capable.

Noticing the predicament herself, she commanded me to crouch down. I wasn't able to figure out her intentions until she placed a foot on my spine, leaned forward to grab the edge of the bench, and placed her second foot on my forehead.

"Push up, shorty!"

Are you kidding me?

"Some warning would've been nice," I retaliated, struggling to push upwards.

"You wouldn't have said yes," she responded, jumping up and down from on me in futile attempts to gain leverage.

Eventually, and with a yell from myself, I shoved upwards, somehow finding the strength to not only boost the Axew, but launch her into the air, somersaulting. I heard her grunt as she landed on her back from atop the bench.

Panting, I simply shook my head to recover, soon to spring onto the bench myself.

I sat silently next to Misa, who was laying spread-eagle, belly-up.

Her eyes locked in on mine, brows creasing. "Didn't have to go overboard on it, loser."

I shut my eyes, holding back a resentful response. Instead, I stepped beside and beyond the Axew, towards a window showing the outside.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Where you goin'?"

"Seraph was really quick to take attention off of those two guys on the platform."

"So? Who cares about them?"

"Well, they're obviously important if they can take us away from Drayden. Seraph said it herself."

The Axew thought for a moment. "They're gone now, right? Probably good not to worry about 'em."

I groaned. She was missing the point, but I didn't have the energy to explain it to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked after a bout of silence from myself.

"Might as well look outside," I responded irritatedly. "Until Seraph gets back, I mean… Nothing better to do."

For once, the Axew was quiet. In the process of turning my head to confirm the anomaly, I was shoved into the seatback as a certain dragon struggled to get a glimpse out the window.

"Wow," she said as I recovered. "We're really, uh… Fast…"

"That's what I said earlier," I spat, shaking out my fur. "What did you think I was doing, lyi-"

I stopped my retort intentionally upon seeing Misa viewing the outside intently. Mountains passed us by in the distance, simple urbanization in the foreground. I supposed we were passing directly through Timberline. Brown and gray buildings, whether they be businesses or cabins, were strewn together in no specific pattern, nearly adjacent to the tracks.

"Th… There's a lot more hew-mans than I thought," Misa pondered verbally.

"This isn't even the majority," I explained, somewhat tentatively. "All over the world, there's billions and billions of humans… This is just a tiny piece."

Misa looked towards me, the annoyed glance I'd grown accustomed to now absent. Instead, she wore the look of undying curiosity I'd seen when I first met her. "How do you know all this stuff? About the… Humans, I mean… You're so much younger than me…"

"I… Was born to humans," I replied. "They, uhh… It was really more learning through experience."

"Hmmph," she grunted. "My parents say the human-born hatchlings are weak and stupid."

"Well, you already know Jet, I think… He's human-born, and I don't think he's weak or stupid."

"Jet's a human-born?! But he's so cool!"

"Who knows? Maybe your parents were wrong…"

This was, by far, the best conversation I'd ever had with the annoyance of an Axew, which wasn't saying much. I searched my mind for someway to manipulate the conversation as long as possible. Maybe Seraph would be convinced we'd gotten through our differences if she walked on us being civil.

"How do you know Jet, exactly? You said something about him a few days ago, but…"

Misa sent me a skeptical stare.

Sighing I put my full attention back into looking out the window.

Maybe ten minutes passed. Seraph hadn't yet returned, and we were now on the outskirts of Icirrus. Dry tundra and the occasional hill passed us by lazily, dotted every-so-often with higher-end neighborhoods. At times, I would watch humans, nothing more than little black dots, perhaps training Pokémon. I could see random, weaker moves flying, even at this distance.

My mind wandered back to my earlier journeying days, in which I was much like the trainers I saw in the distance. Train, battle, train. For whatever reason, the routine never seemed dull. All of my forbidden aspirations as a young child had been nearly everything I expected them to be.

Perhaps when I'd been the same age as the figures I saw in the distance, I had thought my journey, and all the trouble I had gone through in starting it, was ruined as soon as I was gifted with a female starter. It went against my predetermined game plan, so to speak. My ten-year-old self wanted a best friend, not some girly Pokémon I was stuck trying to make the most of.

Mentioning Jet had reminded me of the fact he still hadn't returned. It could be entirely possible he was dead, but I knew the Braviary better than that. Was he following us now? Was he captured by Brycen without my knowing? Skyla was worried about him, surely.

And the only reason I ever got his egg was because of her…

For the longest time, I resented her solely for the fact she'd been the one to suggest my going back to my hometown, in the hopes of reconciling with my parents.

I could have easily blown my cover by being too friendly to her in an effort to lift her spirits. Hell, a part of me simply wanted to spill the whole truth. Who knew? Maybe if she did know, she could help… It was the small things I overlooked when it came to the Gym Leader.

The egg was one of two laid by her Swanna and fathered by her Braviary, and considering Braviarys' tendency to be an all-male species, their genetics allowed for a single egg in the batch to be that of a Rufflet. A Rufflet egg she'd given to me.

"There's a big cave," I heard Misa speak, shattering the silence. At first, I thought she was referencing something she was seeing outside, but a quick look revealed the same, rolling plains, no cave to be found. "It's pretty far the mountain I found you on. I'm from there…"

I looked at her oddly. She'd just willingly told me something about herself.

"Why weren't you there, and on Twist?"

Misa laughed crossly. "Nice try, shrimp. I ain't tellin' you nothin' else about me. Got it? It's your fault I'm in this mess and not where I'm supposed to be, so why should I tell you?"

"To be nice?" I muttered to myself.

"Well, ya know what?" she responded, having apparently heard my retort, "If you're not gonna tell me your secrets, then why should I tell you mine?"

The door Seraph had left through was now being reopened. The Altaria herself walked through, soon to be quite surprised after learning we were sitting next to one another without issue.

She continued as if what she had to say was any other conversation. "We have a personalized car, complete with meals, ready for us."

I was the first to stand and jump to the ground, leaving Misa behind to join Seraph by the door.

Misa, after taking in as much scenery as possible, followed, shoving me aside as Seraph turned to leave.

Sighing, I followed the two dragons ahead of me.

After leaving the compartment we'd originally been in, the three of us walked a few cars down, until we'd reached a specific one. Behind a closed door in said car was a sleeping chamber, three Pokémon beds strewn across the ground.

Seraph had explained we wouldn't be using them for sleeping, but they would most definitely be more comfortable than standing around for hours.

Bowls, two of them with Pokémon food and one with the milk I'd grown to despise lay before us. Here I was now, trying to swallow the nauseous feeling soon to rise up after being faced with drinking it yet again.

Constantly heckled by Misa, I did in fact gulp most of it down, praying all the while for my teeth to be quick in growing. I pushed my leftovers aside.

Thankfully, the room we'd been assigned had a full floor-to-ceiling window attached, so I could watch the rolling hills pass by from inside my temporary bed.

To be perfectly honest, I found it quite comfy. My mind simply stepped over the fact I was laying in the same kind of bed I may have bought for Somin, Axle, or Vita while still a trainer.

The sun was high in the sky by the time I snapped from my trance, having had dozed off at least once. The forest we'd been riding parallel to for the longest time now seemed to encompass the train entirely. Towering pines flitted in front of my gaze for an instant before disappearing, replaced further by what was seemingly an endless forest.

I felt a hard poke in my side take me out of my watching the Unovan Landscape.

"Hey pipsqueak," Misa greeted, "I'm bored… Help me find something to do."

I rolled my eyes, turning back towards the window. "Well, you're not getting much help from me… It's not like we're going anywhere."

"Or so you thought. Come on, let's go."

"Wait," I responded, giving an instinctual look towards Seraph. She was sleeping soundly, facing away from the door. Was the Axew seriously insinuating we should step outside? "You can't be serious. She'll be even more mad if she catches us!"

"Which is what makes it all the more fun. Where's your sense of adventure, shrimp?" She smirked, "Or, would you rather go and spill the rest of your milk on Seraph, right now?"

I gave an anxious look towards the bowl, maybe still a quarter filled.

"You wouldn't," I challenged, scowling.

"You wanna test me? I'll put it simply for your little brain. Come help me find something to do, or your breakfast is Seraph's newest outfit. Or I could always, you know… Let my lip slip, maybe call you by a name you don't want anyone hearing?"


"This is stupid," I groaned as Misa shifted her weight atop me, attempting to grab the door handle. We'd already traveled three cars without incident, but I surely didn't want to push my luck.

"Says you. What do you know? We can go back to whatever boring thing you were doing after we find something fun."

"Oh, like what?" I hissed in response. The Axew was soon to jump down from my spine after opening the door.

"I dunno. I'll know when I see it."

"And if Seraph wakes up and finds us gone?"

"Usual plan, of course," she replied, mocking a sophisticated manner of speech, "you take the blame and we're all good."

I groaned, following the pompous Axew, walking aloofly, through the door and into the next compartment.

"This isn't exactly fair," I muttered to myself.

"What did you expect?" she responded, apparently having heard me. "If you're my slave, I'm sure as hell gonna make you feel like it."

The car we (or, more suitably, I) snuck through simply consisted of passenger seating, booths lining either wall. They would provide sufficient cover in the case it was necessary to hide.

Without words, the Axew and I, upon reaching the opposite end of the car, went about opening the door. Regrettably, I subjugated myself once again to the role of a stepstool, crouching next to the door and allowing the small, yet heavy dragon abuse my spine with her weight.

"Hurry up," I hissed, "this hurts!"

"Patience, young one," she mocked, stomping down from atop my back with the purpose of making my suffering even worse.

I nearly collapsed as I heard the door click, Misa finally having been able to open it. The Axew was quick to jump down, run around me, and push open the door.

I was in the process of following her inside the next car, stretching my back, when my sensitive hearing picked up something from the far side. I gave it my attention, a slight clicking sound, from the other end of the car.

Eyes widening, I hardly had the time to sprint after Misa and shove her into one of the booths on our left before it was too late. She looked ready to start yelling, but stopped, thankfully, after I put a paw to her mouth.

Footsteps could be heard approaching us from where I'd heard the click, what I had affirmed to be the door on the opposite side opening.

Multiple creatures approached us, some steps sounding heavy as compared to others.

"-should tell her about Vicus," my ears perked as Skipp's voice permeated the air. "It's only fair."

"Vicus'll show himself if he wants to. Otherwise, we keep our yaps shut," the Druddigon's fairly unfamiliar voice followed.

"Yeah, but Skyla should at least know why we're going against the league here. She has no idea."

Vulcan hopped into the mix as the first pair of feet, Drayden's, passed by the booth we hid under.

"It's worth asking him about. I doubt he'll be very happy with the proposition, but seeing Skyla like this is simply demoralizing. Either way, I doubt she'd tell anyone."

The Druddigon scoffed. "Whaddaya think of this whole mess, Drayden?" he asked, both him and Skipp passing by.

I could hear the footsteps pause, my silent-as-possible breathing making the only noise.

"The doors are open," the Gym Leader spoke.

"Someone probably just forgot to close 'em," Druddigon responded. His trainer made no response, leading me to question why the dragon had addressed him directly.

Maybe ten seconds passed in silence, Vulcan's feet stationary maybe four feet in front of me.

"Vulcan, Crag," Drayden spoke, undoubtedly turning towards his dragons, "Check back by the engine room, make sure nothing's wrong. Afterwards, make your way back to Skyla's room. I can't shake the feeling something's off…"

"Yeah, sure," the Druddigon responded.

"Skipp, with me. This'll all be much easier to explain to Skyla if you're there."

"Oh… Okay."

Before I knew it, they were gone, two of the dragons heading back the way they came while Drayden and Skipp proceeded towards where Misa and I had come.

I heard the door we'd just gone through close, allowing me to sigh in relief.

Misa was quick to smack me on the back of the head in reprimand. "Some warning would've been nice."

I shrugged, shaking out my head from the slap I'd received. It didn't sting much, thankfully.

"We should go back," I was soon to suggest, "They're obviously gonna talk with Skyla, and we need to be back before they find out we're gone."

The Axew's expression seemed irked.

"Disagreement?"

"We didn't do anything out here! We gotta do something before we leave."

I groaned. "We'll be in Opelucid in just a few hours now. Go and do whatever then. Just please listen to me for now. What we heard them saying was enough excitement, don't you think?"

With the question, I started pondering the conversation itself. The subject matter, while extremely confusing, was surely worrying.

There went that name again, thrown about in an ominous manner. Vicus… The way Drayden was speaking led me to make the connection the mysterious figure was his superior, in a way. That was impossible, though, wasn't it? I'd never heard of the man, and surely, someone that highly ranked in the league would be known far and wide.

Of course, there was the hint at defiance directed towards the league. My mind snapped back to the men confronting Drayden as I boarded the train, how belligerent he seemed. Was this 'Vicus' somehow pushing Drayden to disobey the organization his was a high-ranking official in? If so, how had he done it? While my curiosity sparked, I knew getting back to Seraph without being caught was first priority.

"Come on," I told Misa, hoping to trick her successfully. "We can probably go see what Drayden and Skipp went to talk to Skyla about on our way back."

Thankfully, the promise seemed to coax the Axew, enough to prompt her to concede and assist me in opening the doors Drayden and Skipp had closed behind them.

Her definition of 'assist', of course, was an even rougher approach to climbing on my back than when we'd come.


"Do you have any idea how hard this is to do?" I protested as Misa's foot lodged itself in one of the worst places possible, a small area on the back of my neck. Some snide comment from the Axew, something along this lines of 'put your back into it', was the bridge from simple annoyance to complete irateness.

Somehow, we'd managed getting back three cars without being caught. In maybe another three was the room in which we were supposed to be, while I figured Skyla's room, as we'd passed it on our little misadventure, was only a car or two away.

Suddenly, Misa hopped off, waving me forward to assist her with sliding the door open. As we'd done previously, we closed the door shut after entering through it, learning from past mistakes.

"Quit your yappin'," she commanded as we approached the next door. "My job ain't easy, either."

"Yeah, but yours doesn't hurt."

"Oh, grow up. You're never getting anywhere if you keep being a wuss forever."

"I'd like to see you try and do it…" I retorted quietly.

"What was that?" she asked, "I didn't quite hear you there, slave."

It was fairly obvious she'd heard me…

"Nothing… Ma'am…"

With my resignation, I crouched by the door, ready to proceed. Proceed she did, making extra sure to 'accidentally' scratch my hide as she climbed up.

On the other side of this door was an incredibly thin hallway, more so than cars previous. Either side was bordered by walls, doors leading into the space behind their respective cover. I could hear the faint sounds of conversation from the door on the left.

Praying Misa wouldn't hear it, I continued on as if nothing were amiss. I knew what lay beyond that door, and was not exactly eager to stick around and be found.

"Hey," Misa whispered harshly, "where ya goin'? They're in there!"

"Oh, right," I groaned, turning to find the Axew, sizing up the door as if an enemy.

Sighing, I joined her. "We should probably just listen in, maybe have the door open and ready in case we need to run."

The dragoness ignored me, proceeding to press her ear up against the door in over-exaggerated espionage.

I just stood by, ready to bolt with the first sign of footsteps headed towards the door. Giving in to curiosity, however, I listened to the conversation, easily audible, at least to me, from behind the thin walls.

"-on Twist…" Drayden said. I hadn't gotten wind of the full sentence.

I did hear, however, the shocked gasp that came from Skyla. "What? What are you talking about? Of course he is!"

"No… While it's right to check and make sure, I've been advised that he isn't anywhere around there. Neither is the Braviary."

"Where does your 'intelligence' think they are, then?" she burst, obviously upset.

"He doesn't know…"

"He?! You believe the word of one person over the facts you saw for yourself?"

Drayden remained silent.

"Is this guy the same prick who told you to help me in the first place?"

"No."

"Tell me how he knew! Now! Was he involved with the whole thing?!"

"No."

"Stop being so secretive! TELL ME!"

The male Gym Leader did not speak.

"Damn it Drayden! I don't know if you've noticed, but the entire world is out for my nephew's blood! Mew was involved with all of it. You know more than I do about what's going on. He's my nephew, and I'm the only family he has! Spill it!"

"Skyla," I heard Skipp's voice cut in, "Calm down, ple-"

"Flygon, just don't right now. This is between me and him only."

I was getting anxious with how the conversation was turning. It turned out, despite my being the center of literally everything transpired, I knew little in comparison to Drayden.

"They tried to take his team, Drayden. Gone, just like that! And while I glad you protected, I need to know why. Do you really care, or were you just fighting the league representatives on the platform just because this Vicus prick said he still needed Ray's team?"

Th… They tried to take my team?

"It was fairly obvious I had the team in my possession. The league wouldn't have known otherwise. And no, Vicus hasn't explicitly requested Ray's team to be kept with us. The Zorua and the Axew, on the other hand-"

"Nox and Misa? What on earth does he want with them?!"

Silence.

My heart was racing, mind growing even more confused. Did this 'Vicus' know my true identity? Was that it?

"Misa," I whispered, "we should go."

The Axew, cheek still pressed against the door with a creased eyebrow, gave no response.

"Misa," I tried again, placing a paw on her shoulder in hopes of snapping her out of the argument. Upon making contact, she simply swatted me away with a backhand to the paw.

"Who is he?" Skyla asked, defeated. "The only reason I haven't told anyone about your little scheme is because of how much I hate the league right now."

"It's not a scheme," Drayden responded. "We're all working for the greater good here."

"Bullshit! You're just a puppet! You obviously don't know what this guy's intentions are, so why do you listen to him?!"

"It's a partnership. He sees what many of us cannot."

Skyla, tired of trying to uncover the truth Drayden kept dancing around, approached a different topic.

"So, you didn't tell the league about Mew, huh?"

I froze upon hearing the suggestion.

"No, I did not. I wouldn't have been able to keep her otherwise."

He… No one knows about Mew? Not even the league? What the hell is he thinking?

"They don't know Nox and Misa even exist, do they?! Why else would you hide them?"

"I'm sure if their existence was known, we would be having a very different conversation right now."

Skyla laughed bitterly. "Looks like this whole conversation was a bust. All I learned is that you're just a lying asshole."

"Skyla-"

"You wanna do something good?" she asked belligerently. "If you're not gonna tell me anything, at least clear Ray's name and get my team back! Every day, he's getting blamed more and more, and it's your fault for keeping all this information from everyone!"

Drayden didn't answer, as if in contemplation.

"Did you even hear me?" Skyla yelled, voice cracking, "I told you what to do! Open your eyes and respond!"

Skipp's worried voice cut back into the mix, anxious as to what was going on. "Skyla, interrupting him while he's like this probably isn't the bes-"

"Drayden! Answer me!"

"There's someone outside."

My eyes widened, instantly brought out of the land of thought. Panicking, I got on the other side of Misa and shoved her towards the door. Thankfully, for once, she seemed to be taking the situation cautiously, responding to my shove by running ahead.

There was no way we would be able to open the door in time through our usual means. Thinking quickly, and as Misa approached it, I picked up my sprint to full speed. Instead of slowing as I reached the Axew, I leaped, front paws, and instantly afterwards, back paws landing on either shoulder. I extended, snagging a grip of the door on my way down from the arc.

I twisted my body, yanking the door open as far as possible. Misa was quick to recover, getting up and diving behind the still-opening door for cover. As for myself, I simply unlatched my paw from the handle, and in one swift motion, joined her.

Breathing heavily, I came to a rest, instantly silent and cowering with the Axew. Without a moment to spare, I heard the door to Skyla's room slam open, followed by a low growl.

I cringed as I heard footsteps walking towards us. I thought for sure, during that moment, we were caught.

"No one's here," Skipp's cautious voice announced. His tone was offstandish and aggressive, nothing short of a complete character change. I saw a green claw, from my perspective, grip the door.

In an instant, the sliding door was flung open. I shrunk back into our hiding spot as an incredibly intimidating Flygon, claws alit with draconic energy, stepped through the door in battle position.

I hid myself fully from sight right then, riding out the next few seconds without a single breath.

"Door was left open," Skipp's voice spoke, "Whoever it was got away."

"Find them! If that information gets off this train, the entire operation will have been for nothing!"

Rushed footsteps, most likely Drayden's, faded away as the Gym Leader ran in the opposite direction. Skipp continued cautiously down the hallway we were hiding in.

As soon as the Flygon came into view, an epiphany fell upon him as his intimidating demeanor faded. A look of fear flashed across his face for a moment before he just about flew past us and through the door on the opposite end.

Misa broke down as soon as the door shut behind him, a mix between laughing and panting.

I myself, though, was growing increasingly worried, both about the conversation and the fact that Skipp was speeding off in the direction we were supposed to be headed.

Misa whooped quietly, slugging me in the arm, hard. After my initial reaction of pain, I simply stepped away.

"Never, never do that again," the Axew reprimanded, though not without adrenaline in her words. It nearly sounded like she was joking.

"Did you not hear what they said?" I replied exasperatedly, "Someone wants us for something, and we have no idea what… You're not at all anxious?"

"Nah, not really."

Are you serious?

"Besides," she continued, a devious glare forming on her face, "there's a lot more important stuff to talk about."

I tilted my head, still breathing laboriously.

"'Clear Ray's name and get my team back' were Skyla's exact words," she continued. "So, Ray. Wanna tell me what that's about?"

"I, uhh…"

Oh crap… What do I tell her? I can't say I'm human, but that's the only explanation that'll pass. C'mon, think… Think!

"W-we need to get back to Seraph, now… If Skipp was going where I think he was going-"

"What in Arceus' good green earth do you think you two are doing?!"

Frightened, I jumped at the sound of the new voice. Fur standing on end, I gazed upon an obviously irate Altaria with my widened eyes. Skipp stood directly behind her.

"Seraph, I can-"

"No, do you not know what stay put means?! Was it not already obvious you two were in enough trouble?!"

"Well, y-yes, but…"

The dragoness ruffled her wings, menacing glare sent in my direction. I surely didn't find myself comfortable under the scrutiny of such a powerful beast, once again.

"Misa, get out from under there. You're just as much guilty as Nox is."

"N-no," I offered, remembering Misa's command to take the blame should we get caught. "It's… Uh… My fault."

The Axew's head poked out from her cover, sending an anxious glance towards Seraph.

"Oh, is it now?" Seraph asked, mocking amusement.

I shot a nervous glance towards Misa, intimidated by Seraph's sarcasm.

"Well?"

"I, umm… I asked Misa to come with me cause I, uh… I was getting motion sickness."

Seraph's eye twitched as I heard the door slide open behind me. I cringed, feeling each and every individual stare in that moment.

Drayden, Crag, and Vulcan entered through the door, fanning out behind both Misa and I.

"I think we found the eavesdroppers, Drayden," Skipp pointed out.

The human, quite surprisingly, seemed more intimidating than any of the dragons. I shut my eyes tight, praying that somebody would just yell at me and be through with it.

Even Misa was scared, making this perhaps the first time I'd seen her truly terrified.

"Sneaky little hatchlings, aren't you both?"

"I-I-I-"

"They're both to be isolated from each other until I can figure out how to go about this," Drayden announced, turning away.

Misa was too terrified to respond. I was in much of the same state, yet somehow worse off. Drayden exuded an air about him that I simply couldn't feel comfortable around. His aura was one of intimidation.

Skipp stepped from behind us and grabbed both Misa and I, one in each claw. I fell completely limp and passively watched as the Flygon took us away from the situation.

"What exactly did you two hear?" he hissed as we walked out of earshot.

"I-I don't know… Just, p-please, we're sorry."

"You scared all of us. For a moment, Seraph and I thought someone had taken you. When we give you an order, know there's always a reason behind it."

"O-ok…"

"Misa?"

"Mhmm," the dragoness responded submissively, unwilling to provide any resistance.

Skipp entered an empty room and set me down on the floor.

"L-look…" he said, slowly slipping back into his old demeanor, "I don't think I have to tell you to stay here this time, right?"

I shook my head rapidly.

"Good. Seraph will come in here in a little bit to talk to you."

After sighing, the Flygon smiled somewhat before closing the door, taking Misa with him.

I stared at the door for a long while, thinking as my tail slowly removed itself from between my legs. That situation had gone from bad to terrifying in the blink of an eye.

I hopped onto the lower bunk of the bunk bed in the small compartment before laying down and curling up.

For a few moments, I wanted nothing more in the world than to feel Vita curling up around me comfortingly… I wanted to see my friends. I was tired of being stuck. Stuck, without ability to move or take initiative. I was simply along for the ride as everything I knew and loved was snatched from under my feet.

I was behind enemy lines, and it was important I remembered so.


I woke up maybe forty-five minutes later to the sound of the door sliding open and shut.

I raised my head to see Seraph standing just beyond the doorway. Neither of us greeted each other initially.

The dragoness's gaze told indifference, but I could see the softness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry we scared you earlier…" I broke the ice.

"I should be apologizing for the same thing… All of us more than escalated the situation, but I'm afraid I let my emotions overcome my senses… You're just a hatchling, and at times it's hard to remember that."

She approached the bed, sending me a questioning glance. I nodded in return, moving over so she could get onto the bed.

"The truth is that we do care about you, Nox. I know that discussion between Drayden and Skyla may have made you think otherwise, but context is necessary…"

"Who's Vicus?"

The question seemed to throw her off guard, as if she wasn't expecting me to respond so quickly.

"Vicus, well… He's been our friend for a very long time."

"That's what Skipp said… You guys just give the same answers that tell me nothing. Why haven't I met him?"

Seraph sighed, "Vicus is very introverted. Do you know what that means?"

I nodded.

"He's a genius, but he'd much rather know as little people as possible. Nine times out of ten, he only ever wants to see Drayden and Vulcan exclusively."

"Why's everyone so secretive about him? I heard Skyla say that Drayden is doing some bad stuff for Vicus… Is that true?"

Seraph smiled. "No, child, Vicus never has Drayden do anything that is too immoral. Though, sometimes people need to do questionable things for the greater good."

I looked at her oddly.

She chuckled to herself. "I don't expect you to understand, but you deserve to know either way. No more secrets between us, okay?"

I nodded.

"Vicus and Drayden met when Drayden was very young. He helped Drayden through some very hard times, and, well… They've been friends ever since. Vicus knows that Ray is innocent in this whole situation, and wants to find out where he is. Drayden's bosses in the league, however, don't like that idea. It's all just one long story that's not very important, but the reason he needs you and Misa is because he wants to protect you both from all the mean people that think Ray actually did something bad. Do you understand?"

I nodded again, despite the fact I didn't believe her. The explanation was less than satisfactory.

"Good, good… Now, I've already spoken with Misa, and she told me all about the little deal the both of you have."

She did WHAT?!

"I know there's a secret you're trying to keep from me, Nox, but Misa wouldn't say what it was. She was quite adamantly against it," she chuckled.

"O-oh…"

"Do you want to tell me?"

I looked away.

"N-No, not really…"

She knows something's up… Misa didn't tell her, that's probably enough to work off of. I need to get Seraph off my back before she starts getting suspicious.

"I don't very much like this game the two of you are playing… She's bullying you, Nox, and blackmailing you."

"I know…"

"Then you should tell me what it is that's so important to you… You know you can tell me anything, right?"

I scrambled my mind for an answer.

"I… I know, but, it's really, really embarrassing, and I-"

"I promise not to make fun of you or think any differently of you. Nothing you could say would alter my opinion. I think you're a very gifted and kind little Zorua that I want to help."

"Well, um… Maybe once I know you a little better? I haven't even known you guys for a week yet…"

Seraph remained silent for a moment before chuckling softly to herself. "I understand… Know I'm ready if and when you want to come to me."

"Thanks…"

"Now, I also know Misa pressured you into leaving with her, and this whole situation is hardly your fault."

I chuckled nervously for a moment.

"She told me that, if I didn't go with her, she was gonna make me spill my milk all over you."

Seraph tilted her head at me for a moment before breaking out into laughter.

"Well then, that's quite interesting," she choked out between laughs. "She is really pushing her power, hmm?"

I nodded bashfully.

"You could end this whole 'slave' situation right now, but I won't force you to tell me your secret. Just know that Misa isn't as big and mean as she says she is."

I sent her an empty smile with all the fake emotion I could put behind it.

"That's all I wanted to talk to you about."

"Really?"

The Altaria nodded.

"That conversation you overheard was pointless, and more than anything, Drayden was trying to calm Skyla's nerves about your trainer. She really misses him. Nothing else you heard is anything you wouldn't have learned eventually."

I nodded my head in understanding.

"Are you still mad?" I asked innocently.

"Somewhat, though I know it's not my place to let my anger out on a very young Zorua who was pressured into an unfortunate situation. Though, you will be staying here in timeout for the rest of the trip as punishment."

I sighed internally.

"Okay…"

Seraph got back up and stepped towards the door.

"I'll see you in a few hours. Please behave."

"Yes ma'am."

She smiled warmly before stepping out of the compartment and closing the door behind her. As soon as the latch clicked shut, I sprawled out across the bed and groaned in relief.

God dammit Misa.


Drayden and his team were waiting for Seraph as she entered the room. The Gym leader himself sat in a booth, the only one small enough to do so.

Vulcan stood nearby, watching Seraph warily, while Crag seemed to be fixated on something outside the window.

"So, how'd it go?" Skipp welcomed Seraph.

"Fine, at least I hope so… Poor thing was scared to death. I'm sure you coming out of your shell didn't help either, Skipp."

"W-well, I mean… I thought we were in danger… I was scared too. For you guys and for me."

Seraph forced a weak smile.

"None of that matters now… How much did the hatchling hear?"

"Just about all of it… 'The hatchling' has a name, Drayden."

The Gym Leader sighed as he absorbed the Altaria's words. In privacy, he wasn't afraid to answer her directly.

"How does Nox feel regarding what was said?"

"I… I can't really tell… I did what you said and tried to make it sound insignificant, but I don't know if he bought it."

"What about your other experiments, then?" Drayden continued, rising from his chair and beginning to pace.

"I don't understand how-"

"Your other experiments."

"I… He never seems oblivious, that much is certain… I've gone out of my way to use an advanced vocabulary and he understands me perfectly…"

"And you told me earlier that he isn't a fan of a child's treatment?"

"Well, it's not like he has a child's mind, like every other hatchling his age. I think Mew did much more than just talk to him while he was developing."

"My thoughts the same. I have a theory, but in all honesty there's too many conflicting variables to be considered even remotely accurate."

"Well," Seraph continued, "he's a sweet child at heart. Confused, if not anything else."

Drayden remained silent.

"My suggestion would be to let him see his team," Vulcan spoke for the first time. "If we're to be committed to creating a pressure-free environment to let him open up, then that would be the best option."

"They would just give him advice to use against us..."

"Skipp, I thought you would be the one supporting me here," Vulcan stated, disapproving.

"His team knows that something's fishy, and they'll tell Nox not to trust us. Either way, I-I… I don't like Somin. Even from the little bit I've known him and from what Nox has told us about him, it doesn't take a genius to figure out he's not a good influence. Just an angry Zoroark."

"He's his father, ain't he?" Crag piped up. "I don't think there's much stoppin' him."

"They're not related," Vulcan corrected the Druddigon. "It wouldn't make sense. After laying eggs, most 'mon, including Serperior, aren't fertile for at least two years. Nox's egg could only be about a year old, at most, if he hatched just a few weeks ago. We know, though, that Vita and Somin have an egg now. Nothing adds up."

"Somin could've just as easily knocked up someone else and kept the egg. That whole story about 'Ray had it before Lavaridge' seemed fishy."

Silence fell over the room.

"Skyla told me once about Somin," Drayden said, "She said Somin may be of questionable morality, but he's unendingly loyal. Yet, I find it highly coincidental someone left a Zorua egg in the middle of nowhere. They're a rare species, after all."

"Didn't Skyla say Ray worked at the daycare in Mistralton?" Seraph pointed out.

"Three years ago… Any egg would surely be dead if it hadn't hatched in that period of time."

Silence once again.

"I'll check daycare records in Alston's name, see if I can find an adoption certificate," Drayden cut back in after sitting out the moment's prior. "Something's very, very wrong with that child, and we're going to find what. Skipp, you were there when that nurse in Timberline took the Zorua's energy readings."

"Yeah, the machine was broken… What about it?"

"I think we shouldn't completely shove the results from our mind… Until we can get a real energy reading for him, we need to move on. You and Seraph have done more than enough work on him and have exhausted just about every possibility. He trusts you both, right?"

"I mean… He's wary, as he should be…"

"Nevermind that. It's your turn, Crag."

"Me?" the Druddigon responded gruffly, "I hardly know the kid, and I doubt he likes me. What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, what better way is there to gauge how strong this child is? And who better to teach him how to control said potential power? You have a greater dark-type arsenal than anyone here."

"Wait wait wait wait wait… Drayden… You're askin' me to train the kid to fight?"

"I'm not asking… I'm commanding.


Nothing much to say about this chapter, other than the fact the plotline changed A TON. I couldn't make decisions surrounding tons of events, and I was often left in dead-ends I couldn't dig myself out of.

In other news, though, I'm now a part of a discord server with tons of other writers and fans of other stories! It would be great if you all joined, as we're trying to increase the active pool of members in order to more easily circulate ideas and get criticism. I've provided an invite code below, just press "Join Server" and paste it there.

See you all in two weeks!

Invite Code: trZCsj5