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Chapter XX - Human
"Oh, man, is it great to be back in town! You're lucky, Drayden, a real lucky guy. You get to have your Gym in Opelucid!"
I could hear a deep, exclamatory, even jovial voice as Skyla carried me while following Brycen into the lobby.
"Well well well, here we are!" the voice exclaimed as we came into view. "Backup's arrived, everyone."
Nobody was laughing except Alder. All of Drayden's dragons were present, with Misa situated between them. She sent me a glare upon arriving, but I chose to ignore it. Drayden himself was standing next to Alder as he went about speaking to a dead crowd.
"Brycen! I coulda guessed Skyla, but the gang's all here, huh?"
The man was nearly as large as Drayden, and nearly as old to boot. His flamboyantly colored and styled red and orange hair could have just as easily been mistaken for a headdress. Resting under black, gigantic eyebrows was an old and soft face, wrinkled with age, unlike Drayden's. He wore his Pokéballs on a string around his neck; they jostled about whenever he moved.
"Yeah, I guess we are," Brycen responded, stepping forward and shaking Alder's hand without any other pleasantries exchanged.
"And Skyla," Alder said, letting a smile grow on his face, "how're you holdin' up? Good, I hope?"
I could feel Skyla's grip tighten around me as a scowl surely formed on her face.
"Guess emotions are still hot. No matter! It's great to see all of you, really. It isn't often I'm able to get away from HQ, so times like this are a real treat."
I saw Crag roll his eyes outside of the Champion's view. I had a good chuckle at that.
It seemed, however, Alder noticed me as a result. His smile faded somewhat.
"Well hello there," he said, addressing me with a nod of his head. "I don't think we've been acquainted."
"You're not going to, either," Skyla intervened. "He's just a kit."
Alder, ignoring Drayden's condescending glare and Skyla's adamancy against the notion, stepped forward before reaching a hand out and tussling about the fur on my head. I shook myself vigorously afterwards.
"Come, come," Alder invited jovially afterwards, "It's been so long since we've caught up!"
Happily, the Champion led the way down the hall and towards the courtyard. Everyone left in the lobby exchanged a troubled glance.
Drayden was the first to follow, shooting me a few words as he passed.
"If he touches you, or even so much as comes near you again, I want to hear about it."
I nodded apprehensively. The encounter was… Surprising, to say the least. This man was certainly not the one who wrote the letter Misa and I had found.
Skyla, with me still in her arms, was the last to leave before Vulcan, who acted as caboose. Crag, as usual, was put on night watch, and went about his business in the TEC as the rest of us left.
Skyla's grip on me never once lessened until she was reminded by Drayden, upon nearly getting to the door leading into the kitchen, to let Misa and I go about our business.
They dropped us off in the courtyard with strict instructions for us not to interrupt them. I turned towards Misa with a scowl as the door to the kitchen closed behind them.
"What is your deal?!" I yelled, hoping the meeting humans and dragons inside hadn't heard me. Misa narrowed her gaze.
"The hell do you mean? What's your deal?!"
"You let yourself get captured! Do you have any idea what that means?!"
"Yeah, I do, and you didn't let yourself get captured. You ignored my order, shortstack, and attacked me after! How's that for following orders?"
"Screw your damn orders! Misa, you're not going to be able to escape! Why didn't you trust me?!"
"Because I think you're wrong."
"You what?"
"You're wrong, Ray. Wrong about all that stuff about Seraph, and Drayden. They want to help us!"
"No they don't! Misa, you don't get it! I want to trust you, and let you help, but listen! They tried capturing us to keep a leash on us! Not because they didn't want us getting captured."
"They don't lie, Ray."
"No, they make you think they don't lie, but they do, Misa. They lie all the time. About everything. You wanna know the truth, though? Drayden is corrupt, working for someone who's just doing all this for personal gain! He'd just as easily reject the league as he would work for it! And, if he does have good intentions, why are they so secretive about everything! They don't want us knowing, Misa, because then we would know the truth about them and try to leave!"
"You're being paranoid, Ray."
"Paranoid?! I'm being realistic! Shit is going down, Misa, and you can't hesitate when the time comes to get out of here!"
She approached aggressively, getting into my face in a means of intimidation. Despite my lack of height on her, I held my ground to the best of my ability.
"Shut up, alright? I'll trust whoever the hell I want, because they've done what it takes to get it. You, though, what have you ever done for me? You're a shit slave, you're a shit Zorua, and I'd bet everything you were a shit h-AAH!"
I jumped back as well, easily as surprised as the Axew. I wasn't able to tell much of what had happened, but I was sure something had crashed into the ground just a few feet next to us.
I stumbled backwards with the Axew as a rush of air blew over us. Whatever had just landed, it had done so with the least amount of noise possible.
Misa began yelling randomly, hoping to draw the attention of the people inside. I myself simply backed away as the anomaly recovered and darted towards her. Her shouts were muffled as it covered her mouth.
"Shut up, shut up," a male voice rose from the figure. I was ready to leap forwards and attack, a paw already charged with energy.
However, the voice was instantly recognizable. My attack fizzled out of existence in the same amount of time it had taken to manifest.
"Jet!" I yelled happily, darting forwards and leaping towards the Braviary. He reeled when I made contact, falling back ever so slightly and away from Misa.
"The hell you doing?" he hissed as I rolled and corrected myself.
"Arceus, you have no idea how glad I am to see you!"
"Sure, yeah, but what part of 'stealthy' don't you get? Trying to tackle me is a real way to make sure we're found out."
"Where have you been?! Brycen stayed up on the mountain looking for you!"
"And he never found me. I trailed you guys to Timberline, and after you left for Opelucid it took me a few days to fly here. Just blind luck you ended up at the Gym, and not somewhere else, because then I would've been completely lost. I got here yesterday, and just waited until I could get you both alone to talk to."
He shook himself off before redirecting his attention towards Misa. She looked back up at him with beaming eyes.
"But you two look like you get along a ton. Of course you're fighting when I get out here."
I rolled my eyes.
"Okay, I don't have a ton of time, so we're gonna do this quick," he redirected, turning towards the recovering Axew. "Misa, didn't I tell you not to go to the cave?"
"Y-yeah, but-"
"Don't pull that with me," he scowled, "I was out looking for you the night you got captured. Why did you go to the cave when I told you not to?!"
"You said you had a fire! I… I just… I was really cold, and I ran out of those Berries, and-"
"Wait, she wasn't lying?" I interjected, "You two actually know each other?!"
"I went to go and check on her the day after you guys got into your little fight," Jet explained, never once taking his glare off the Axew. "Found her frozen. Ray, I couldn't just leave her alone."
"That's what you were doing all the time you left! You were hanging out with her!"
"Yeah, and I saved her life. And she saved yours."
I could see the embarrassment on Misa's face. Despite her best efforts to be independent, Jet was the only reason she was alive. She was acting as if I was going to tease her for accepting the help.
"Why didn't you tell us. We wouldn't have cared! Hell, we probably would've helped!"
"Because there was already enough going on without Vita having to fuss over some random dragon that I thought I was able to handle. She already had one stupid hatchling to worry about."
The words stung. Jet obviously wasn't in the mood for my reprimands, so I bit my tongue when a jab back at him formed. The Braviary exchanged glances with Misa for a moment.
"Plus, she said she didn't want to stay with us. 'Oh, I wanna be independent,' and all that jazz."
He paused for a moment, closing his eyes.
"Does she know?"
I nodded after deducing what he meant. Misa knew I was human, and Jet wanted to verify before continuing.
"Alright… Let's forget about what happened so we can plan something."
"No point," I responded. "The entire team's locked away below the Gym. Until I figure out how I can get down there, any plan we make is gonna be useless."
"No, it's not," he said, "Mew talked to me last night, in my head."
"Wait, really?!"
"Yeah… I stopped on the other side of the hill here last night and slept in a cave I found. She came along, told me all about what's going on, and showed me some important stuff to help us out. We figured out that the underground is all just one, gigantic cave system. And I found the entrance!"
Jet gave a tentative look around. Afterwards, he ushered Misa and I into a corner of the courtyard, where he could hide should the door leading to the residential area open.
"Were you able to find the team?" I asked hopefully as he led us to a darker area.
"No, it's waaaay too gigantic in there to find anything. The tunnels've gotta be miles long."
"Okay… So… Where do we go from there, then?"
"I don't know, but at the very least we have a real escape plan. I'm gonna be scoping out the scene for the next few days, see if I can solve the maze and find Mew. If I can, she should be able to teleport all of us out of this ditch. Do you know how to get to the caves from inside Drayden's house?"
"No, I was actually going to ask Misa if she knew…"
Both heads turned towards the flustered Axew.
"Me? Why me?"
"You've had more time to look around the TEC than me," I responded. "Have you seen any way to get down to the basement?"
"Uhh… No? I've seen every room in that place, and the basement wasn't there."
"Okay then. If that's not it, then that means the entrance is either secret, or it's behind the only locked door left in this place."
"Drayden's study-thing?" Misa confirmed, "You sure?"
"Not at all. It'd be really weird to have stairs in there, but that's really our only choice."
"I overheard your argument just now. Misa, do they trust you?"
The Axew seemed flustered with the question. "I-I…"
"Is there someone you can ask about where the stairs might be?"
"Skipp!" I exclaimed nearly instantly afterwards. "He sucks under pressure! If we pester him enough, I'm sure he'll slip and tell us where it is!"
"Skipp?"
"Drayden's Flygon, long story."
"Okay, here's the deal then. Whenever you figure out where the basement is and how to get down there, leave something red under that bench over there," Jet instructed, pointing a wing towards the wooden bench. "It's as simple as this. I'll keep looking in the caves, checking every night to see if you signaled. If I find Mew, it's as simple as getting her to take us away. If you find the entrance to the caves through Drayden, though, and signal me, here's what I'll do."
"Hoo, 'bout time we hit the hay, huh? I don't know about you guys, but I'm bushed after today."
I pushed in the door after making absolutely sure Jet had taken off and was long gone. Misa, disturbed, followed me silently.
All conversation fell as we passed the wall and came into full view of the humans and Pokémon inhabiting the living room. I froze as all heads turned towards us.
"We're just going to bed," Misa explained, pushing past me and making her way down the hallway without any further words. I followed her quietly, head hanging and eartips burning in timidity.
"Well, if you're tired, I'm sure we'll be glad to leave you be for the night," Drayden addressed Alder as I left his view. "Although, I'm afraid all the guest rooms have been taken. The couch is rather comfy, however, I must say."
The humor of the situation only increased as I realized Misa and I were the sole occupants of one of the guest rooms. Drayden assured our sleeping conditions before he did the Champion's.
"Don't think that whole thing with Jet is gonna stop us from talking," Misa said as I shut the door behind us. I hopped onto the bed and settled down, thinking of a rebuttal.
"Well, we have a plan now, and I'm blaming you if it goes downhill because you let yourself get captured. You really should listen to me about these things, Misa. I know I look small, but I know thousands of times more information about the human world than you do."
"We'll see who's right," she simply said, turning away and sitting down. "But you still attacked me."
"On accident. Even I have no idea what that was about."
"We're square, then. I won't give your stupid secret away, even though you attacked me, but you have to not be mad at me for making up my own mind for once."
I looked at the Axew incredulously in the darkness. She had since laid down, her head turned away.
"'Stupid secret'? Fine. If you don't want to escape with me, then my all means, stay. I couldn't care less. You've been nothing but shit the entire time I've known you. Stay here and rot, because I sure as hell don't want you coming with me."
I myself turned away, pouting, and closed my eyes. Misa was making no indication she would respond, leaving me in a conflicting sense of victory.
It was a lie, plain and simple. I was not completely impartial to whether or not she tagged along. Despite my best efforts to feel otherwise, I couldn't help it.
Yet, there was a sort of petty sense of accomplishment in which I felt as if I'd had the last word. Though, a new feeling was soon to rise up.
That of guilt. My face wrinkled as the full implications of what I'd said hit my conscience. My face burned.
"Misa, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."
I couldn't help but apologize. I'd come off much more harsh than I'd meant.
"Don't be. You made your point."
"No, that wasn't my point… You're annoying as all hell, sure, but you're…"
I sighed.
"You're an okay Pokémon. Average, maybe even a little bit decent. You've helped me a ton more than you should've, and… Just, I didn't mean what I said, alright?"
I said nothing more, instead turning back around and laying my head down. A few more moments passed in silence.
"Look who came around, huh? So you think I'm okay now, is that it?"
I lifted my head to see she had since turned over and was staring at me on her side.
"Pfft, no. I just said that so you'd cheer up."
"Mmm… Sure."
I rolled my eyes, unable to restrain my gladness at the prospect of her lack of hatred towards me. I didn't want her to hate me. Some part of me loathed seeing her truly, seriously angry.
"I'll see you tomorrow, then, runt."
"You too, pipsqueak."
I pursed my lips in mock anger as another bit of food bounced off my head and hit the ground. I shot an inconspicuous glance towards Misa as she, very deliberately, picked out another piece and flicked it towards me.
Acting quicker this time, I raised my head and caught it mid air with my mouth, swallowing it in a single bite. I licked my lips afterwards, bringing my gaze back down towards the Axew. I made sure to include as much bloodlust as I could in my stare, hoping to mimic the demeanor of a creature such as Crag in an aloof parody.
"Really scary," she taunted, absentmindedly picking another piece and whizzing it towards me. I caught it yet again.
"Misa, don't throw your food," Seraph chided. Misa shot her a dejected look.
"It's about time you go to your lessons, anyways. Say goodbye to Nox."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll see you later, shortstack."
"Bye," I absentmindedly responded through a mouthful of food.
It was to be yet another boring day without the Axew to keep me entertained. However, I had a job to do.
And that job involved a certain Flygon that was coincidentally exiting one of the hallways and headed towards the door.
"Hey Skipp! Wait!"
He turned around, sending me a questioning glance. He seemed in no rush, as he fully turned and asked, "Yeah, Nox?"
I decided to put it bluntly, hoping to lay all the information on him at once and further pressure him.
"Can you, uhh… Show me the basement? I've been wondering about it for a while, and… Yeah…"
I couldn't think of anything better to say. No lie I could conjure would justify better his allowance of me near my team.
"Please?"
"Hey, I gotta go right now, so maybe, uhh… Maybe another time? I can show you around myself."
"I'm not doing anything today anyways," I caught his attention as he turned to leave. "You can just tell me where it is, and I'll check it out for myself."
Skipp chuckled for a moment nervously.
"It's probably not the best, Nox… It's not the safest place in the world down there. You could get pretty hurt."
"What?"
"Wild Pokémon. It's… Kind of an open place that they hang out, and even I don't go down there unless I really need to."
"Oh… Well, can you just tell me where it is so I know?"
He chuckled again, this time wholeheartedly.
"Nox, what's the real reason you want to go down there?"
"Huh?"
"You've never been a real 'explorer', if you get what I mean… So, what I'm guessing is that you overheard something you weren't supposed to."
I folded my ears against my head. He hadn't found out my true intentions, but it was important I molded my behavior to act as if my true intentions were those I was about to be lectured on.
"It's alright if you miss your friends, Nox, but I can't let you down there. Not with Alder here, at least."
"It's just so boring here… I can't do anything, and it's been such a long time since I've seen them," I complained, allowing the smallest bit of my actual thoughts to shine.
"Hey, hey. I know how you feel."
He ducked down to stare me in the eyes comfortingly.
"Don't tell anyone I told you," he said secretively, "But Drayden said he's gonna let you see your friends after Alder leaves if you're on your best behavior."
"Really?"
My eyes lit up involuntarily before absorbing the implications of the explanation. It was Drayden at the helm here. He had to have some ulterior motive.
"But you gotta follow Drayden's rules here. Look, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Crag has the day off today and is gonna take you to a safe place to train."
"Huh," I responded simply. My feelings about the Druddigon were mixed, at best, but the prospect of training always succeeded in exciting me tremendously.
"He's probably the most busy out of any of us, to be honest, so I don't really know how often you're gonna get to do this. Anyways, though, try to enjoy yourself today… The last thing I want is for you to feel left out.
"Okay," I smiled as Skipp reached down and ruffled my fur before heading out towards the Gym.
I was left alone again in a matter of seconds, stuck in a quiet and empty house.
Crag eyed Vulcan as he closed the steel door. It was part of his duties to provide food for Ray's team, and the Haxorus decided to confront him down in the caves, of all places.
"Don't think I didn't notice you talking to Seraph about the plan behind Drayden's back," the Haxorus initiated, waiting as the Druddigon turned around.
"Jeez, that's what this's about? Damn, Vulcan, I thought you were gonna come and yell at me about the fifteen other things I've already done wrong today…"
"The whole point was to shake him up! He's been nothing but coddled the entire time he's been here, and the first night after you teach him, we have an explosion! We had a real reaction and an actual clue as to what's going on! You want to discard all of those results entirely?"
"So, lemme get this straight. You want him to blow up the whole house? Didn't take ya for that kind of dude."
"Don't take what I say out of context," Vulcan threatened, advancing on the Druddigon. "If you have a problem with Drayden and Vicus' plan, you take it up with them, not gossip with Seraph like you're a hatchling!"
"It's bullshit, and people need to know," Crag snorted, fuming whle taking a cautious step back. "We've gone way too light on this for way too long. And with Alder here, someone's gonna find something out eventually. It'd be so much safer and easier if we just had the kid come down here himself."
"You think he'll tell anything to Vicus without influence? Have you ever seen Vicus? I know the answer, but the fact you just suggested something so numbingly stupid just confounds me."
"What, it's not like the kid's gonna know to be scared or anything like that. Vicus ain't that scary. He's just… Big."
"You have no regard at all for how important of an operation this is! Have you forgotten why Vicus decided to help Mew in the first place?!"
"Pfft. Help her. Doing tons of help, keeping her in a damn ball on a stand in the middle of the dark."
"Vicus can't talk to her directly. She'll kill him. He may put up a good fight, but she can and will kill him. Vicus. Dead. Is that what you want? It's not as if he can let her in his mind either, to try and explain anything, because she'll just find another way to kill him from the inside out!"
"Look, all I'm sayin' is that Mew isn't stupid. I don't think she would kill 'im, especially with all the legendaries disappearin' everywhere. She's smart enough to know that Vicus knows more about the UPF than anyone."
"She's been stuck in a single, confined place, possibly for the first time ever. I can guarantee nothing will stop her from killing whatever she wants when she gets out. Mew doesn't think the same as us, Crag…"
Vulcan let a scowl form on his place as he continued. "You know what? I take that back. She's nearly as impulsive as you yourself."
"Ouch," the Druddigon replied sarcastically. "Someone's feeling feisty."
He walked down a tunnel for a little while, followed intently by Vulcan. He was determined to get Crag to admit defeat.
"The only way to get to her is through Nox," Vulcan explained on deaf ears. "Hasn't Drayden briefed us all on this? Nox is our only option. He's the only one that will speak to Mew on our behalf. If we can get him to trust us, Mew might actually listen to what Vicus has t-"
"I don't care at this point. I ain't helping with this whole 'experiment' crap, and I think Drayden's getting tired of it too. Skipp and Seraph actually like the hatchlings now, so guess what, Vulcan?"
Crag stopped suddenly and turned on his heel, looking up at the Haxorus with a smug face.
"You're the only one even close to being on board with this stupid plan anymore. Maybe you should learn to let things go."
They'd made their way into a gigantic cavern. The stairs leading up into the Gym was close nearby. Both dragons sized the other up, Vulcan's face slowly filling with malice. Crag played the situation down, cocking a single brow confidently.
"Thanks for the scolding, but I'm not one of those hatchlings, and you're not Drayden, no matter how much you wanna be. Maybe if you tried harder to be your own dragon, instead of just doing whatever he does, I would respect you more. On the other hand…"
Crag spat and turned to leave, continuing to speak as he walked out.
"Your words mean shit. Vicus is smart. He'll figure out my way's the best way eventually, or we're all gonna get killed first."
"Answer me one thing if you're going to totally discard everything I've told you," Vulcan called after him, remaining still.
Crag stopped for a moment, exasperatedly turning around and eyeing the Haxorus.
"We abide by your plan and take Nox directly to Vicus. What if it's all a trap? We've seen him discharge with enough force to knock over furniture. Imagine what would happen if he actually exploded."
Crag remained silent. Vulcan finished by lowering his voice and narrowing his eyes.
"I want to trust you'll do the right thing, but if Vicus' safety is on the line, I will stop you."
"Hey, little buddy, how're you doing?"
I turned apprehensively to see Alder walking out from Drayden's house, into the courtyard where I rested. I'd since decided to lay down on the bench after exhausting myself in trying to find things to do. I nodded towards him, hoping to convey any feelings towards the Champion except loathing. If I were to remain ambiguous, I had to act neutral in the conflict.
"I'm guessing you got left out of everything, huh? Bit too young to be practicing in the Gym?"
I blinked a few times, giving no answer.
"Ah, that's alright. I'm sure you'll love battling when you start. I know I did."
He, without invitation, sat down on the empty section of the bench next to me. I didn't like where this was going. If I didn't know any better, I could have just as easily mistaken Alder for the nice, jolly personality he made an effort in constructing. I'd read his letter to Drayden, and I knew this was only yet another enemy I had to lie to.
Drayden's instructions to tell him if Alder approached me rang in my head. I had to pick the lesser of two evils here, and opted to side with Drayden. I would have to figure out how to go about the conversation with Alder first, however, to avoid suspicion.
"This what you do normally around here? Has to be boring without any other hatchlings to play with, huh?"
I nodded, exasperated with the fact this conversation was taking place.
"Well, what if I told Drayden to get you some friends to play with?"
I looked at him oddly. He smiled heartily for a moment, prompting me to turn away again.
"You know… Drayden might seem like a big and scary guy, but here's something you might not know… I'm Drayden's boss."
I looked at him again, feigning confusion.
"Yeah, even big, scary Drayden has to listen to me… And I know he's not been treating you the best."
I was quick to avert my gaze. I didn't like the pressure this conversation was rapidly placing on me.
"So, if you ever feel like he's not treating you right, feel free to tell me. You won't get in trouble, I promise… While we're on that, though, I was curious. Did you ever know a human named Ray Alston?"
I instantly shook my head. Drayden had publicly made an alibi for both Misa and I, using a lack of given information to imply we had no contacts with Ray or the team whatsoever. Even if he didn't tell me to do so explicitly, this was one of those rare instances in which I opted to side with Drayden. He may have been frustratingly evasive, but even though my trust for him was minimal, it was leaps and bounds greater than that I gave to Alder.
The Champion chuckled for a moment heartily. "Is that because you didn't, or you were told to say you didn't?"
I sent him a questioning glance.
"It's alright to tell me if Drayden told you to say specific things to me. Again, I'm his boss, and he has to listen to me."
I shook my head again. Alder sighed.
"Well, if you ever want to tell me something, I'll be here for a while. Come and talk sometime, I'd really like that."
Much in the same fashion as the day before, he reached down and roughly tussled the fur on my head.
"Also," he said, grabbing something from his back pocket and tossing it onto the bench as he left towards the TEC. "I found this, and I saw you were bored, so I grabbed it for you. Go wild."
I sighed quietly as he turned his back to leave, sending an apprehensive glance towards the item, a toy, he'd thrown onto the bench. I left it be without second thought as I entered back into the kitchen to try and find Skyla.
"You said he what?"
"He asked me if you told me to say specific things to make you look good."
"And your response?"
I shook my head. "I said no…"
Drayden sighed, relieved. "You shouldn't lie, but I myself would be lying if I didn't say I'm grateful you told him nothing."
"I don't like this," Skyla complained as she stood by the door. I'd told her first, and she seemed quick to take me straight to Drayden thereafter. We had walked through the TEC, in which I tried attracting as little attention as possible. A Gym Leader, however, holding the world's most famous Zorua was certainly a magnet for stares.
"Alder should be nowhere near him," Skyla continued. "He's just a kit!"
"I say the same. Nox, I'm going to try and keep you occupied from now on, and away from Alder. If he talks to you, just keep acting clueless. Can you do that for me?"
I nodded sincerely. My stomach felt weird around the Champion. Despite his joyful and relaxed demeanor, I knew the power he held and the danger we were all in should any information regarding my presence become known. I resigned myself to form a temporary truce with Drayden, despite my lack of trust for the man. At the very least, he was supporting the idea that I was innocent in the whole ordeal, while Alder was the main driving force behind the league's adamancy to find me and condemn me for what I didn't do.
"I mean, everything about him is just giving me anxiety right now," Skyla said, seeing a window to rant about the Champion. "Like, haven't you noticed that he hasn't even released his team yet? I thought they were close with each other, but all he's done is keep them in their balls."
"It's an investigation, Skyla, not a regular visit. He wants to keep his team on hand at all times in case the situation goes south, which it very well may. Brycen has pledged to help us, however. If all else fails, we do have a failsafe."
"Oh right, the awe, the raw power, the might of Vicus!" Skyla responded sarcastically, peeved at the fact she had never even met the man who seemed to be influencing Drayden.
Drayden chuckled. "He's pretty choosy about who he associates with… I'm sure, though, when this whole mess sorts itself out, we can all have a meeting."
He seemed to direct the last part of that phrase directly towards me. I slipped right back into my suspicion regarding Drayden's mysteriousness.
"If that's everything, then Skyla, you can take Nox back through to my house. Don't bother engaging with anyone, tensions are rather high."
Skyla nodded, walking forwards and picking me up from my underarms. I didn't resist.
"Altaria will escort you both back to the living quarters. She should be just right outside.
I blinked a few times, wondering to myself why Drayden hadn't simply used Seraph's nickname. I'd heard him use his dragon's nicknames before… Perhaps it was Skyla's presence? I got the fact that it was dragon tradition, or whatever, to only share one's name with close friends and family, but nicknames? Were those secret as well? It was hard to wrap my head around.
"Drayden, can I ask you something?" I proposed. I pushed the whole mystery about the nicknames of his dragons out of mind as something else occupied my thinking space. It was about time I started putting pressure on the Gym Leader.
He seemed surprised, but simply leaned forward and nodded towards me.
"Your dragons… You can understand them, can't you?"
"You find it odd?"
"Uh… Yeah? Humans can't understand Pokemon."
Drayden chuckled.
"Well, that's a rather long story. When you're as old as I am, however, and have lived with dragons your entire life like I have, you could say the linguistic barriers between us are… Dulled."
Seraph opened the door as I eyed the Gym Leader up and down. She asked me specifically if everything was alright, to which I answered an affirmative as I reluctantly turned and approached her.
Skyla, after shooting Drayden much the same, unbelieving stare I myself wore, followed us out.
"Hey pipsqueak! Time to go!"
I looked up towards the door to the TEC, instantly excited as I heard Misa's voice over the squeaks of the chewtoy Alder had left. I couldn't stop myself from indulging after returning from my meeting with Drayden and left with nothing to do. It was oddly intriguing, and I felt more of the animal side of me rule in this scenario rather than my human side. It felt quite nice to bite down on the tough rubber, as I was still teething and prone to toothaches.
"Where'd you find that?" Misa asked. I spat out the toy and jogged towards her.
"Doesn't matter. Arceus, you know I'm bored when I'm happy to see you."
"Yeah yeah, whatever. It's time to go, though! Skipp said we're going to a special place to finally have our rematch! A fair one, this time."
My tail began involuntarily wagging. I could feel a rising sense of excitement in my chest, ringing alarm bells in the human side of my mind. I suppressed them rather quickly. Nothing would stop me from enjoying the euphoric rush of battle, and I'd done next to nothing the entire day.
Like a godsend, Skipp stepped out of the door behind Misa, smiling and contentedly shaking his head as he found us conversing excitedly.
"Hey, I heard Crag never showed up today. Sorry about that Nox, he got kinda busy with a few things… I'd watch out if I were you, though, if you're fixing to fight Misa. She's been doing pretty good for herself."
"Don't try and talk him out of it!" Misa jabbed, accusingly.
"I can still take her," I challenged back, feeling my muscles lock as I ducked into a playful position. I couldn't stop shaking, and further suppressed the blaring alarms going off in my head. Something was wrong.
"It'll be more than fighting," Skipp cut into the exchange of challenges and playful insults to ensue. "Sure, there'll be sparring, but you guys still gotta learn technique."
Both of us ignored the Flygon, instead enjoyably bickering with one another about who would win. I knew, deep down, Misa would crush me. However, I was confident in my ability to at least fight back. If I was to be knocked out? Who cared? Even being knocked into unconsciousness felt great, as long as it was a fight and not a one-sided slaughter. I knew Misa didn't truly want to hurt me.
"Hmm… Well, we could get going, or sit here and keep ignoring me for a while, if that's what you want."
Misa and I, after exchanging a quick glance, rapidly fell into line. I sat attentively while she straightened her back. We were both instantly silent to hear what the Flygon had to say.
"Alright, uh… Try keeping your center of gravity in your chest. It helps a lot."
"Easy for you to say," I muttered under my breath as I took another go at the maneuver. After charging my hind paws until I could feel the familiar sensation of prepared energy, I took a few more bounds forward, towards Skipp. As I was just about to reach the Flygon, I spun on my front, left paw, twisting and willing my body to completely turn. I could feel the air push past my underside as I felt his claw swipe deliberately where I had been not a second prior.
As I focused on the act of kicking out my hind legs to do damage, however, my pivot crumbled, leaving me collapsing and rolling yet again under my weight.
"I think your problem is that you're not getting close enough," Skipp critiqued as I shook myself off. "Even if you didn't fall right then, you would'nt have been able to reach me and do any damage. You gotta stop right before the Pokémon you're fighting, since it gives you the range advantage and they won't have time to react. You get me?"
"I guess," I moped, crouching down to try again.
"Rely on your enemy's weight to be there for you. I think you're focusing too much on how you're gonna recover after you hit them, when it's just as easy as pushing off. A good battler uses the enemy to make attacks hit harder."
Misa watched intently, sitting on the sideline and munching on an Oran. The sun had since set, but she hardly even found herself tired, let alone exhausted. Taking the seemingly normal Zorua in front of her and imagining him as a human led her to spectate his training with a careful eye. She'd been told before that humans didn't know how to fight like Pokémon. Despite his obvious frustration, he seemed to be enjoying the entire experience as much as she had herself.
Skipp had taken them up the hill from the Gym, almost near the summit. From up here, Opelucid was nothing but hundreds of thousands of shining lights from below. Skipp had apparently been, and maybe even trained, in this area before. It was a grassy, level area surrounded on one side by a cliff face and on the others by rough, textured boulders.
"Hah!" Misa snapped her attention back on Skipp and I as I called out in triumph. Skipp was smiling proudly.
"Teach me something else!" I pleaded using Illusions. Speaking using them instead of my voice had begun to feel natural, and I had figured out rather quickly that I hated not being able to use them with Alder around. All traces of exhaustion had just about vanished after using Illusions to converse with others. Obviously, I grew steadily weary after using them for a while at any given time, but I'd made leaps and bounds since I'd first started using them. It almost felt as if, at this point, I needed to use energy lest I find myself pent-up and restless. They had become so natural, so integral, that I hardly had to explicitly think about conjuring them.
"It's Misa's turn, Nox," Skipp smiled. "You two still have to share, you know?"
"Nah," Misa said simply, sitting back down and propping her head on splinted arms. I could see the looks of intrigue she shot at me while training, though her denial of extra learning time for herself was thoroughly shocking. "I'm good. I wanna at least have a fair fight with the kid."
Skipp seemed just as surprised as I, but Misa simply leaned forwards and silently bade us to continue. I looked at the Flygon expectantly.
"Uhh… As far as attacks go, I don't know if you're ready for anything more than Scratch, but, umm… How about we work on more maneuvers?"
I quickly learned as we began that this body was much, much more nimble than my human one. I had previously discovered that channeling more energy into my muscles helped them while they were weak, and an overload was the first step to an attack.
However, with Skipp's guidance, I quickly learned it was capable of so much more.
He told me to let as much extra energy flow into my hind legs as possible without actually initiating an attack. I simply looked at him oddly afterwards, as he provided no explanation as to why. Only after I jumped did I notice what I'd done, considering I involuntarily jumped higher than I had ever before, at least three feet into the air without any preparation whatsoever.
I landed on the soft grass roughly, flailing the entire journey down. As I coughed and shook my head afterwards, I noticed through my awe that Misa had fallen backwards and couldn't breathe with how hard she was laughing.
I was quick to fully absorb the extent of what had happened. I had known, obviously, about a Pokémon's ability to leap to incredible lengths, but I had been previously under the impression that it had come as a result of light bones, or something of the like.
My pupils dilated as I thought of what I would be capable of with such an ability. To jump…
"Hey Nox, can you hear me?"
I stood back up and began subconsciously pacing in place, padding at the grass in front of me and letting an increasingly excited smile form. I quickly began charging my legs again without any thought. More controlled this time around, I simply hopped into the air, whooping in exhilaration when I soared. I grunted as I landed, also finding that keeping energy stored in all my limbs greatly decreased the shock upon landing.
"Haha!" I yelled, completely overcome by excitement. I was like a superhero! What other human could say they experienced what I had?!
Even gravity, a fundamental force for the entirety of Earth, was no match for me. I jumped again, deciding in that instant to somersault in the air before landing incorrectly, falling flat on my face. I laughed even more despite myself.
"You're not hurting yourself, are you Nox?" Skipp asked. Despite the fact I couldn't even jump higher than the Flygon's height, he looked at me worriedly.
"Nope!" I affirmed, charging and coiling up yet again. This time, rather than go for height, I went as far as I could. I landed maybe ten feet away, almost near Misa.
My mind just about shut down entirely. In the past, when faced with new capabilities, I had adjusted with excitement or annoyance with hardly any deviation. Now, however, I couldn't describe how I felt if I had tried. I had the sudden urge to roll in the grass. I did so, giggling stupidly all the while. I stood once more afterwards and jumped.
It was like a drug, plain and simple. I had apparently even missed a lot of what was said next, as Skipp had to walk over to my position and catch me as I initiated another jump. He tried verifying I was listening, which made me peer at him oddly.
"I know you're excited, Nox, but try to reel it in, ok? We don't wanna attract too much attention up here."
I slowly let myself calm down. We'd taken extra precautions to remain hidden as we came up the hill to avoid detection from the people surrounding Drayden's complex. Misa had been retracted into her ball, and since I myself was unable to be carried through the same methods, I'd been placed in a satchel Skipp wore to create an alibi of collecting Berries, or something of the like.
"S-sorry," I said, slipping back into my normally timid demeanor around the dragons. "I don't know what happened."
"Power rush."
"Huh?"
"A power rush. It's what happens sometimes when a Pokémon is so excited about learning a new move, or evolving, or whatever, that their core speeds up a ton. It's nothing to be scared or ashamed about, but your mind kinda just takes a break and your core takes over control for a little bit because it gets so powerful. Nothing bad, but it can be if it happens a bunch and for a long time."
I looked at him with confusedly blinking eyes. To ensure whatever 'power rush' he spoke of was completely gone, I repeated a single phrase a few times in my head. Words that, quite surprisingly, produced a slight sting.
I'm a human… I'm a human… This'll all be over soon.
"You okay?"
I nodded afterwards, letting my face fall. What was wrong with me?
"Here, uh… You want to…? Um…"
"Hey pipsqueak!"
I looked up at Misa as she left her rock and approached me, wearing a neutral expression.
"Let's fight already. It's starting to get freezing up here."
That was… convenient. She had seemed perfectly willing to wait earlier, but as soon as my momentum had started to fall, she jumped into the fray. I had a feeling her request to battle was much more than a simple request.
Skipp didn't know what to do, and by her tone, she seemed more ready to take my mind off of what had just transpired, rather than actually fight. Nevertheless, I tried forcing a light smile as I accepted.
Skipp, for one, seemed thankful for the intervention, as he was simply fumbling for words in a desperate attempt to make me feel better. As Misa and I walked towards the center of the clearing, he sighed.
"Alright, if you two really want to go at it… Let's go ahead and use some actual battling rules, huh?"
Misa looked at the Flygon curiously. I did the same afterwards, remembering I still had to feign ignorance.
"League Standards. You, uhh…"
Skipp seemed genuinely confused for a moment.
"I guess none of the rules apply to either of you yet. Huh… Well, Nox, just remember that as far as Illusions go, you're not allowed to force someone unconscious, or make them feel pain, or anything like that… I'll have to tell you the story later of when I fought Somin a while ago… He knew how to bend the rules around Illusions like I've never seen before. He could probably tell you all about them eventually, huh?"
I nodded curtly.
"Misa, umm… Don't use Dragon Rage… I think that's your only rule here."
"The hell is Dragon Rage?"
"Good. Okay, both of you shake hands… Or, uh… Bow, or something."
Taking a moment to discreetly show my exasperation to Misa through a sarcastic glance, I extended one of my front legs and bowed my head in her direction, hoping it would please Skipp. Misa, however, took the invitation to take a single step forward and ram her skull into mine, throwing me off balance as we butted heads.
"Hmph," Misa laughed as I flailed on the ground, trying to get back to my feet.
"That's how the Haxorus do it, shortstack," she gloated. "If we're gonna do this a lot, you'd better figure it out, quick."
"Will do," I replied sarcastically, proceeding to roll my eyes at her devilish smirk.
"Alright, turn around and take twenty steps away from each other."
I found myself growing somewhat annoyed with the ceremony. If we were to fight, what was wrong with just attacking each other? I understood trainers, myself included, performed this routine regularly, but it was different then.
Wasn't it?
"You guys ready?"
I was still lost in thought. Misa gave an excited confirmation, however.
"Go for it," Skipp instructed. Misa's confident tell as she began charging snapped me back down to earth.
I only had a fraction of a second to charge my legs with energy and leap to the side as she lunged. I sighed for a moment, sadly not feeling the same enthusiasm I had the last time I fought her.
"Aw, c'mon! Don't pull stuff like that with me!"
I ignored her taunts. I was starting to feel self-conscious now as I realized I had let myself go too far. How long had it been since I'd last felt normal? An hour? Two? It took Skipp knocking me out of my power rush to realize that I wasn't acting like myself, nor had I been. The chewtoy? My excitability to battle?
I was getting way too excited, and it was important I remembered I wasn't a Zorua. Such a mindset would only help me in the long run, even if it meant I couldn't let myself enjoy the small things.
The fate of the team rested on my ability not to indulge in life as it was. I was strong. I needed to remain strong. I was their leader, their commander; if I was off, letting myself enjoy life as a Zorua, how would they think of me? How would I live with myself?
I had a responsibility to them. A responsibility to keep myself alert and awake. I scolded myself for having fallen so deep… The mannerisms of a Zorua had too subtly nearly taken over my mind completely. I wouldn't let it happen again.
"Misa, timeout," I said sullenly, watching her face fall as she halted in preparation of an attack. "I'm… I'm not really in the mood right now."
"Is this about looking like an idiot jumping around everywhere? Don't sweat it, kid."
"No, it's just…"
I looked towards Skipp, silently pleading with a sense of hopelessness.
"I'm tired… It's been a long day."
"What?"
"Misa, if Nox doesn't want to fight, he doesn't have to fight."
I looked away, eyes downcast.
"Hey, Nox, come on… I was waiting on you the whole time. I thought we were gonna have fun!"
"Maybe another time, Misa," I replied simply, walking away. "I'm just not feeling it anymore."
"Nox!"
"Misa," Skipp deterred, stepping in as the Axew made a movement to follow me. "I think he wants to be left alone right now… Just leave him be for a bit. We can spar some more, if you want."
I ignored any further conversation as I came to the edge of the clearing, the top of a cliff face looking out on the twinkling lights of Opelucid. I sighed to myself, choosing to repeat my mantra verbally, quietly.
"I'm a human… I'm a human…"
Jet, after circling the perimeter multiple times, landed as discreetly as possible in a corner of the courtyard. He gave a wary look around, verifying the only presences in the vicinity were those of the fish in the nearby pond.
He thought he saw it, but took a few, tentative steps forward to verify. Sure enough, under the bench, the signal was there. He nodded to himself silently, sighing before taking off yet again into the night.
Jet left behind the red chewtoy he presumed to be the signal as to avoid attention to its absence. It would continue to sit innocently under the bench until about a half-hour later, when Skipp returned with both hatchlings. They were already unconscious upon his arrival, leading him to simply picking up the object without second thought and bringing them in for the night.
Nox was handed over to Seraph, where he was gently woken and given a bath. Seraph noticed his downcast, borderline depressed gaze, but chose not to press.
It would be the last bath he would be given for quite a while.
Misa, realizing she was awake, stole a look around her surroundings. She was back, stuck again in that damned place she went every night.
Her nest.
The nest was one of many in the sprawling cavern around her. Dug into the compacted dirt beneath her, she wasn't even tall enough to see over the lip of the crater. None of her littermates were nearby, neither was her mother.
Though she knew who was.
She felt the stomping of his feet as he approached before she even heard them. It was a special sort of sound, nearly silent yet able to invoke deep fear. She backed away and cowered into one of the nest's corners, hoping, for once, he wouldn't find her.
Yet, as always, he did. She looked away and shut her eyes tight.
"Misericors," his voice said, soft yet stern, prompting her to freeze. No matter how she willed it, the only thing she could do was shake.
"Are you going to answer me?" he slowly asked in spite. She, with eyes still closed, shook her head.
The ground shook suddenly beneath her as he stomped a clawed foot with the force of an earthquake. She couldn't help but squeal in fear, thrown to the ground.
She had prayed this wouldn't happen again; every night she had asked for respite. Yet, in the end, it was inevitable. Her father had found her again, killed all of her caretakers in Drayden's team. Now, all it took to reduce her to a trembling mess was for him to abuse the position as the only creature in the world that truly frightened her.
Yet, that night was different.
Not on any action of Misa's of course. Through her eyelids, a bright flash exploded into existence, preceding a clap of thunder which alone would have brought her to her knees.
With quick breaths, she noticed the noise and light subsiding. Her father was… He wasn't torturing her anymore?
She dared not open her eyes. It was a trick! He always won, this much she knew. It was simply a new way for him to jest at her gullibility.
A brush of fur under her chin. Gasping, her eyes flew open as she pushed out against whatever had just touched her. She threw blind punches, yelling frantically.
Nothing was there… But there was something behind her, as evidenced by the same brush of fur on the back of her neck. She shivered, clenching up and preparing herself as best as possible for the undeniable onslaught to follow.
"Nightmares ain't as bad as usual, huh? Guess it's a good thing. I can't talk to Ray for whatever reason and I've been trying to talk to you for a while."
She whipped her head around as the voice finished speaking. Nobody to be found. She took frantic glances around. Her father had disappeared as well; no sign of the Haxorus whatsoever.
"You and Ray are pretty similar, actually, now that I can see you for myself. I can see why he likes you so much."
Misa struggled to slow her breathing. The voice was coming from everywhere. It was impossible to pinpoint it to one exact location. In that instant, she made an effort to recall what Vulcan had taught her. She prepared her tusks for battle. If she wasn't fighting her father, maybe she stood a chance?
"Huh, not what I was expecting. You're really afraid of him, ain'tcha? You'd be more ready to take me on than him? That's pretty funny, actually. Well, Misericors, I think your world's aboutta get a whole lot bigger."
"Who are you?!" Misa yelled tentatively. A brush of fur against the back of her neck again. She lashed out, yelling as she spun and waved her tusks through the air frantically.
"Who am I? I'm the one that's gonna teach you there are a lot worse things to be worried about than a crummy old Haxorus I could erase without even trying."
"W-"
"What do I mean? Well, that's pretty easy."
Misa turned slowly, promptly before jumping back when frightened by a pair of large, blue eyes.
"We're gonna have a nice chat, but there's one thing you should learn, and learn pretty fast… Take this whole thing seriously, or stay away from my human."
Did somebody say 'inconsistent narrative'? Wowee, you just summed up my entire thoughts on this chapter in a single phrase!
In all honesty, I wanted to make the prose less jumpy. The amount of cuts I employed in this chapter alone is gigantic (I counted nine). However, I felt that the plot, as we progress into the final chapter of the Act, needed a bit more perspective than Ray alone. Hence, the scene with Crag and Vulcan, as well as the scene with Misa at the end.
Could some of the cuts have been avoided? Definitely. However, explicitly outlining such mundane events as 'Ray walks inside to find Skyla and Skyla takes him to Drayden' is hardly even worth the time, to be honest. I can pretty much guarantee that the latter parts of the next chapter, in addition to the one after, as they signify the finale of Act II, will be entirely different. Ray gets to experience everything firsthand as it happens, and it's certainly more eventful than writing out yet another mundane day in the life of Nox the Zorua.
Furthermore, I can guarantee Act III will be a bit more entertaining than this. I realize the plot got stale rather quickly; if you feel otherwise I'm glad. However, many of the events within the Act just ended up repeating themselves, the only deviation being the steadily building relationship between Ray and Misa, as well as Ray's growing grasp on his powers.
In other news, thanks for 50 Favorites! I can't believe how well this is doing, and I only can hope for the best in the future!
I hit writer's block trying to figure out the end of this chapter… I initially had it set where the end of this led into the beginning of the next, as I did with the end of Act I. However, when everything fits into place and multiple mysteries are solved simultaneously, I want it to be solely confined to a single chapter, as to represent the spontaneity of the event itself. I hope you'll understand in more depth when the next two chapters are published.
Until then, however, see you all in two weeks!
