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Chapter XXV - On the Run
I sneezed again, shaking myself out afterwards.
"You're not getting sick, are you shrimp?"
"I dunno," I replied, picking up my pace until I was, once again, next to Misa as she continued on. My sneezing had interrupted our walk multiple times in the last ten minutes, and often I felt the need to stop for a minute or two.
"Eh, long as you power through it. Sun rose like an hour ago, so the human's probably already following us."
I warily eyed the Pokéball Misa was carrying, small enough for her to carry in a single hand in its shrunken state. We were undoubtedly being tracked by now, but at the very least Misa and I had gotten a few hours of a head start. I wasn't exactly familiar with this particular area of Unova, meaning we were simply wandering east with no destination in mind. I doubted we would ever go far enough to hit Lacunosa, but Opelucid was long behind us at this point.
The Mienfoo that'd helped me release Misa was a mystery, certainly. She'd said absolutely nothing before plucking Misa's particular ball off of Jake's belt before handing it to me and recalling herself. I'd thought on her behavior for hours after our anti-climactic conflict, and yet she still confounded me.
Her motives were weak, at best. Training under a trainer in order to beat up said trainer in the ambiguous future? It sounded unnecessarily convoluted. And yet, right then I had little to no regard for her demeanor. As long as Misa and I were able to effectively escape, I was willing to go along with whatever made the Mienfoo happy.
What worried me was that she was obviously stronger than both of us, and with how erratic she'd already demonstrated herself to be, I doubted Jake would have much of a difficult experience recapturing us. All it took was him recovering Misa's ball, and our plan was instantly washed.
The fact I had undoubtedly caught a cold from my overexposure to the rain and wind of the previous night couldn't hold us back from putting as much space between us and him as possible.
"I'm good, don't worry about it."
"'Kay then… Have any idea where we're actually headed?"
"Not a clue."
"Great… If this kid's tracking us, we should hide out somewhere, right?"
"I honestly didn't think this far ahead," I remarked, sneezing again. I could feel my body aching, fatigued way too early for my liking. The fact I was sick certainly didn't help. "Best next move would probably be to try and find a way to destroy your ball, but as of right now we got no connections…"
Misa shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. You can always just Illusion yourself as a human and act like my trainer, right?"
I glared for a moment at the back of her head. "You're acting like I have any clue how to really transform myself using Illusions, let alone trick multiple people or Pokémon with it. Not happening, Misa. That stuff that happened in the cave was a one-time deal."
"Why's it a one-time deal?" she asked, cluelessly turning around with a crooked brow.
"Because whatever that was, it was dangerous. It wasn't me, Misa, it was something else entirely. Part of Mew that's trapped inside me, but still something that's apparently gonna give me a really, really bad time if it ever pops out again."
She stopped, crossing her arms and allowing me to catch up.
"Well, whatever it was, at least it was able to actually do something. Look at you, shrimp. I'm walking slow and you're falling behind."
"I'm trying… Really trying he-"
I violently sneezed again, followed almost immediately by a whole chain. I groaned after I was finished, having caught up to Misa.
"I can't carry you in this thing, can I?" Misa asked genuinely, holding up her shrunken Pokéball for me to see.
"No."
"Then, uh… How do you… Y'know, get better?"
I rolled my eyes at the question.
"Rest, I guess? Rest and medicine, neither of which I can get without the human we just ditched. Priority number one is finding someone, or someplace, that's strong enough to protect us from the trainer until we can fend for ourselves."
"So what, we just walk up and ask the strongest 'mon we can find if they'll take us in?"
"I guess? I don't know, Misa, I haven't exactly thought about it."
"It sounds stupid. Like, really stupid. Cuz then we just get what happened with Seraph and the other dragons all over again, don't we?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ray, look… You're like, super duper scrawny and tiny and helpless, and anybody nice enough to 'protect' us from the human kid isn't gonna let you and me just go on our merry way afterwards."
I flattened my ears at the remarks regarding my appearance.
"What I'm saying is that if we look for help, we're gonna get too much of it. Basically prisoners again, like we were with Seraph and Skipp, right?"
"Don't act like we were prisoners just because that's what I think. I know they had good intentions, and I know you really liked them too. This would be nothing like Skipp and Seraph, alright?"
Misa's eyes narrowed at my remark. She simply shrugged me off afterwards, however, instead of countering.
"Still a stupid idea anyways."
"There's always the option of going back to the tunnels and trying to see if the tracker in the Pokéball loses signal."
"Yeah, but there's bad guys that gotta be crawling the place, right? Like, if they were after your pink friend and R-Reshiram… Well, they'd be just tearing apart Drayden's whole Gym for clues, right?"
"That's… Actually probably true."
"Yeah…"
"I mean, I doubt we'll ever make it as far as Lacunosa how we are now. We could always try making it to a nearby town and try stealing medicine from a Pokémon Center or something, but I doubt that'd end well. If we beg maybe we can get some decent food?"
"Me? Beg? Try again."
"Right… Dignity, or whatever. All of the dragons I've ever met are way too proud for their own good."
"Better believe it."
"In any case, we need to get out of the open. Jake's gonna be moving a lot faster than us, and he knows exactly where we are. He'll catch up with us in less than an hour if we don't do something."
Misa turned away, starting to walk again. I reluctantly followed, despising my own words. Would a few more seconds of rest have hurt?
"What, then, do we just find a place where he can't find us?"
"Go where there's no signal? Yeah, that'd be the best option, but we'd have to figure out where…"
My head darted upwards as a flourish of movement distracted me. Misa stopped and peered at me oddly.
"What's up with you? They're just birds."
"Yeah…"
I thought for a moment on the idea to sprout in my head. What were the odds that Mew and my team hadn't been captured? If they were still looking for me, they'd want me to stay in the forest, nearby.
But, Misa's Pokéball complicated things. Drayden had rightfully not fitted her old one with a failsafe mechanism to stop it from breaking. The old man knew how to plan ahead, I could give him that much. Either way, without a suitable way to destroy her new ball, we were stuck running from her 'trainer'.
It meant we couldn't stay in the forest. That Mienfoo was crazy, and I doubted the Blitzle was a pushover in an actual fight.
"Okay. We're flying out of here."
"What?"
"You heard me," I said, taking the initiative to start walking again, leading the way. "We find a flying-type that's friendly enough to take us far, far away from here. Maybe even as far as Lacunosa, but we need to find something to break this ball."
"Uh, yeah… I thought you wanted to stay in the forest in case your friends came back, though?"
"That's another thing. We're getting nowhere close to my friends if Jake catches up to us. Either way, after we get your ball destroyed, we can find a television, or go to a place that has one. Since Alder's the Champion and the League is connected to everything, including the media, it could just hint at where everyone might be, or whether or not they escaped."
"Ok, sure, but then you turn that back around on us. If Alder's using the telebox things to tell all the humans to help and find us, since, y'know, we're on the run and everything, wouldn't we be part of that? He's looking for us too, ain't he? If we go into a human city, someone's bound to recognize us, right?"
I sighed. Once again, I hadn't exactly thought that far.
"Let's worry about that later. If it comes down to it, at least I can be kinda sneaky, but I don't like the idea of splitting up… Whatever. Right now, though, we should try and find a flying-type that'd carry us."
"And how do we do that?"
"Uh… Ask around and hope for the best? How different can it be than just hitchhiking? I've done that before…"
Misa rolled her eyes and pushed ahead of me.
"You'd better be ready to run, then, cuz we gotta find someone fast."
I sneezed again. I really didn't feel like running. It wasn't as if I could just let her go ahead on her own, however.
I begrudgingly followed, limping every other stride because of the fatigue in my muscles and the dull pain I still felt from where I'd scraped my paw the previous night. I coughed a few times, but willed myself to try and keep up with the Axew as best I could.
I quickly realized, however, that such an endeavor was pointless. Unless we were to miraculously stumble upon a town in which we could eat and hide, I couldn't see any way we would be able to find a flying-type capable of carrying-
"Hey shrimp, look at this!"
Misa was about a dozen strides ahead, stopped and staring at me with excitement in her eyes. I made the final push to where she stood, letting my head hang as my legs gave out from under me. We'd only been running for five minutes, and yet I was completely exhausted.
"Look!"
I opened my eyes long enough to see what was in the clearing. We were on the edge of the treeline, looking downhill at what appeared to be a street. I blinked a few times, slowly processing what it meant before a car sped by, snapping me out of my stupor.
"Okay…"
"Isn't this good? We can just grab a ride with one of these guys, right? Hey! Hey!"
Misa began waving and walking down the hill towards the road. I stopped her before she got far with a simple, "Wait."
"What? What's the big deal?"
"We can't just go stand in the road… But, if I were to… No, that's stupid."
"What's stupid? Any idea's a good idea right now, kid."
I thought to myself for a moment. My head hurt, but I'd been able to use Illusions most of last night. I wondered if pushing myself just a little bit harder would do harm. My core was now probably fully healed, right? Because of my regeneration rate due to Mew's latent energy? I guess… This headache, though. I could hardly even move to boot.
"Hm?"
"If you can find an Oran or Sitrus bush in the next ten minutes and get back here with a Berry or two, do it. I need the energy."
"Uh, okay then…"
Misa thankfully did as she was asked without further questions, allowing me time to simply sit and rest. I closed my eyes, clearing my mind. I was to make a visual Illusion, but just enough to induce confusion. It didn't have to be incredibly realistic, but if I was to have any effect, I needed my mind as sharp as I could get it.
Misa returned within three minute's time, cradling in her arms three Oran Berries. In addition, the area around her mouth was stained blue with juice.
Good thinking ahead, I guess… I'll probably only need like one and a half to get the job done, but we haven't eaten since last night. What is it now, close to midday?
I quietly thanked her and went to work, scarfing down my first Berry in a matter of seconds. I took a few bites into the second one, nodding my head thereafter.
"Save them. We're gonna be hungry later, and who knows when we'll next find food?"
Misa nodded, prompting me to face towards the road. I beckoned her forward as I stood, crouched low to the ground as to avoid detection. She had a sort of natural camouflage, the blue of the Orans being the only thing to stand out amongst the grass.
Thankfully, the grass itself was rather tall here, meaning I could simply crouch down in an area about four feet from where the asphalt began and avoid detection entirely. I could smell the rubber of the tires on the cars that passed, the fumes from their exhausts… The currents of air to follow each vehicle blew my ears to the side.
I took a peek out of my shelter and scouted further down the road. There! A black pickup truck, perhaps a quarter mile down. What's more, there was a considerable gap between it and the next car in front of it. Perfect. It would be upon us in thirty seconds or less.
"Misa, see that black car way down there? I need you to tap my back as soon as the car in front of that one passes us."
"Wh-"
"Just do it!"
Fifteen seconds. I closed my eyes and concentrated, envisioning, imagining. I'd learned that the process of connection didn't have to be entirely thought through. As long as I shot a string of energy with considerable power behind it, it would almost always find a target in the general area.
I felt it connect, prompting me to immediately feed it as much energy as I could. I could feel the Oran Berries helping me in this regard, by the time five more seconds had passed my connection was ready for use.
I thought hard once more about what I wanted the driver to see. Saw it in my mind's eye. Every little detail, at least as far as I could remember. It certainly wasn't perfect, but I assumed it would get the job done. I thought of its movements, how it jumped, how it breathed.
It was alive.
Misa's tap felt more like a slug to the thigh, but I didn't lose sight of what I wanted nonetheless. My eyes shot open, and I forced the image through.
I didn't have the time, the energy, nor the mental capacity at the time to envision my sloppy Illusionary Sawsbuck bursting from the treeline. Instead, it simply materialized on the side of the road, jumping awkwardly and unnaturally into the street and directly in front of the truck.
I nearly leapt for joy as the truck came to a screeching halt. No cars seemed to be in sight behind it, meaning it was time to go.
I let the Sawsbuck disappear out of existence entirely. I myself couldn't see my own Illusions, but I knew it had accomplished what I wanted out of it, even if I knew it to be less-than-perfect. Misa was quick to catch on and follow as I darted from our hiding place, keeping low to the ground until I came to rest near the rear license plate of the truck.
"Go!" I whispered desperately, ducking down to try and get a glimpse of the driver's position from below the car.
Misa complied, taking care to be as quiet as possible as she climbed on the bumper and hopped the tailgate, landing in the bed of the truck with a quiet thump. I waited for a moment to see if the driver had noticed.
It appeared he'd gotten out of his car and was checking around the hood for the Sawsbuck that'd vanished into thin air. The Illusion had been enough, thank the gods.
Sizing up the tailgate, I followed in Misa's footsteps, jumping on the thin bumper. My physique caused for an imbalance, however, and I began to slip back off.
One of my front paws were grabbed as I lost any semblance of grip I had. Thankful, I allowed Misa to take hold of me and assist as I finally cleared the tailgate. We quickly traversed the bed and ended up leaning against the outer wall of the cabin, where the human wouldn't be able to see us in his mirrors. Safe, I went completely limp next to Misa as she settled, panting.
"Wow…" I chuckled quietly to myself… "I… I did a real Illusion… Like, a real real one. On my own"
I hardly counted what I'd done in the caves as worthy of praise. I hadn't been using my own energy, but instead a limitless power supply that was as dangerous as it was powerful. This, however. This was entirely my doing, and the human driving the vehicle didn't seem to suspect a thing.
It made me feel warm inside. Happy, in a way. Despite my exhaustion, I felt as if I could climb a mountain in that moment. I laughed again, speechless.
Misa smiling from cheek to cheek, shared much of this sentiment, and for the first time I felt great satisfaction as she proceeded to roughly tousle the bit of fur atop my head in praise.
As cars came to line up behind the truck and begin honking, the confused human got back in the driver's seat and continued on down the road. I myself quickly began to feel the fatigue of physical and energetical exertion in my sickness. I knew what was coming, and curled up to the best of my ability next to Misa before passing out altogether.
The main flap to the tent began to unzip, leaving a lonely Seraph to raise her head in question.
Light beamed through, prompting her to squint. Skipp had made an opening large enough for him to clumsily step through before spinning around and using his free hand to close the zipper behind him.
"Hi."
"Hey."
Seraph lifted her head until her posture was something only slightly less than normal. One look showed that she wasn't in the best of shape. It seemed as if she hadn't preened her feathers for days, and her eyes were seemingly permanently glazed over.
Skipp smiled at the sight of her despite her appearance. It seemed her mood was improving.
"How's your eye?" Seraph asked quietly before lowering her head back down, inviting Skipp to approach.
"Getting used to it, I think," Skipp replied, reaching up with a claw to lightly touch where his natural visor had been damaged in his fight versus Crag. As far as he was aware, the regeneration rate of the nerveless, plastic-like material was incredibly slow. He'd never sustained an injury such as this, and Drayden himself had told him that it wouldn't be a surprise if it took months, or even a year to fully heal.
"Kinda cool-lookin' though, huh?" he continued, turning on a single foot and plopping himself down next to Seraph. "Like I'm some sort of badass. Heh… Either way, Brought you something."
Seraph looked over to what the Flygon was holding. His entire left arm was stuck against his torso, holding what looked to be at least a dozen Pinap Berries.
"Can't remember the last time you ate," he admitted, laying out a few in front of the dragoness. "Had to fly basically to the center of the island for these things, but I knew you liked them, so…"
Skipp chuckled despite himself, hoping to lighten the mood. He was quick to find his attempts were failing. Seraph's eyes quickly glazed back over.
"Hey…"
No response whatsoever. It was as if Seraph hadn't even heard him.
"I'm sorry…" Skipp said, lowering his gaze. "I… I know how hard it must be to… Y'know. Worse than it is for me."
He could hear Seraph's shallow breathing. She was struggling to keep her composure.
"But Seraph, it really hurts me to see you like this. I know it's hard, but please… Just please at least come and tell Drayden you're okay?"
No response again.
"At least eat? Please?"
"I thought that was our chance."
Skipp raised his head as he got a response, however vague. He remained silent, begging Seraph to continue.
She sighed. "You know how hard we tried just to… To…"
"Oh… Yeah, back when we wanted our own eggs…"
Seraph nodded, grateful she didn't have to say it herself.
"The nurse back in Opelucid just told me it was how I was born, but even then it was what I hated most about myself. The fact I can't even function properly and bring us the one thing we wanted more than anything."
"But then Misa and No-"
"Ray. Not Nox, never Nox. Gods, I thought they were our chance. That despite everything happening around those hatchlings, they were the gods' gift to us. But it was just a joke. Nothing more than a joke."
Skipp saw a few tears roll down her face. Her gaze was still downwards, obscured in the dimness of the lighting around them.
"Just when I'm stupid enough to think there's hope for us, I realize we're being used. I… I loved them, Skipp, and what do I get for it? Nothing. Nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing!"
Skipp looked around, praying nobody heard Seraph's outburst. The last thing they needed was for someone to intrude. He was quick to sigh, however, turning back towards Seraph and leaning his weight on her flank as she breathed heavily.
"I know…"
"And the worst part?! I can't stop thinking about them! Wondering if they're okay… If they're eating enough, if they're safe. I want to hate them, but everything we had together felt so real. Even if it was all an act, it felt so, so real, and even when I know it's fake I can't get over them!"
"They were scared. It doesn't justify anything they did, not at all, but we have to try and not dwell, yeah? What's important is that they're found and brought here with everyone else. Even if they-"
Skipp paused, scratching his head for a moment. He wanted to choose his next words carefully.
"Look, I'm not trying to say I forgive them… Or don't forgive Ray, at the very least. This has been so hard on all of us, you especially and I… I really can't stand seeing you alone like this."
A silence hung over the pair for a few moments. Seraph's eyes shot downwards again.
"Either way, I saw that look Ray gave you back in the caves. And how he stood up to Mew for us? Trust me, I'll be the first to let him know how twisted he was by doing this to us, but he cares about you too, Seraph. Even if he doesn't want to, or even if Misa doesn't want to. They care. And I do too… About them, and about you, and…"
No response. Skipp groaned at his own lack of eloquence.
"I don't know how to say it, but I think I feel the same way as you. Kinda. Like, if something were to happen to them, I would feel so guilty I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Just thinking about it puts a pit in my stomach."
Another silence. Seraph had since closed her eyes.
"But I think there's always a time and a place to be angry, to get mad, you know? You just know it when that time comes, but being down like this isn't going to change anything in the now. I know I'm sounding a lot more mean than I'm trying to be when I say it, but we have to keep pushing on. Drayden's been having a lot of problems now that his energy's gone, and he's worried about you too, y'know?"
"I just need a little time, Skipp."
"No, no, I get it. I'm just saying that I think both of us will feel a lot better if we try tackling this together, huh?"
"Maybe…"
"Good enough for me," Skipp said, starting to stand up. "Take your time, and know we're here for each other, 'kay? I'm usually right outside if you wanna talk things over."
"Right…"
"And hey, when this all eventually blows over, who's to say we can't try again for our own hatchlings? Just because it didn't work in the past doesn't mean the future's set in stone, right? If anything, this whole ordeal with those two showed me just how much we're missing out on."
Seraph didn't respond, the thought of hatchlings once again rekindling an image of Misa and Ray.
"Food for thought," Skipp concluded, taking steps towards the entrance of the tent. "In any case, enjoy the Berries, I guess. Hope they make you feel a bit better."
"Skipp?"
"Hm?"
The Flygon turned back around, eyes curiously surveying the still-prone Seraph.
"How are you able to move on so quickly after this? It almost sounds like you don't care."
Skipp smiled nervously, eyes glazing over for a fraction of a second.
"I think I'm just a better actor than you guys think I am. The first seconds I get alone are… Well, destructive is a word."
Seraph tilted her head, confused.
"A-anyways, hope to see you tonight, huh?"
I woke up suspended in the air, eyes shooting open promptly before I slammed into the ground. I could hear Misa let out a frightened croak over the whipping winds.
Allowing my heart some time to calm down, I took a few moments to remember where we were. The bed of the truck. This thought compelled me to press up against the wall connecting the cabin to minimize the risk of the driver spotting me in his mirror.
"Glad you finally decided to wake up!" Misa yelled sarcastically in a whisper. "This guy just won't stop!"
"How long was I out?" I asked, taking a look around.
"I don't know! Like, four, five hours? This guy just keeps going, and going, and going, all in this metal death trap! Look how fast we're going!"
"That's the point," I shot back. Trees surrounded either side of what appeared to be a much larger highway than the one we'd found the truck on initially. The wind whipped through my fur and blew back my ears as I tried standing with the intention of finding a street sign. I noticed, however, that other cars driving nearby were in full view of me, prompting me to duck my head. The last thing we needed was the police pulling the truck over for illegally carrying passengers in the bed.
"Okay, if he's been going for this long he's bound to stop for gas at some point. We can figure out where we are after that. Maybe… Probably."
I could only hope he wouldn't stop in an industrialized area. I was arguably feeling even worse than before, and I couldn't possibly think of using my Illusions to get both Misa and I out of the truck without avoiding detection. All we could do was hope there be a wooded area nearby we could escape to.
"Save any Oran for me?"
"Uh, yeah," Misa responded, nodding with her head towards her side of the truck bed. She was glued to the back wall, unwilling to grab any for me herself.
I crept over towards her and bent my head down to take a few bites out of one of the Berries there. It was dry.
"I can't wait until we actually find a place to crash," I muttered, laying back down to preserve what little strength I had left.
"Think we're far enough away from the trainer?" Misa asked.
"Probably," I responded. "I doubt he would go so far out of his way as to chase us both all the way here… Wherever we are."
"And then?"
"And then what?"
"We go, escape, and find a way to break this damn ball. Cool. What then?"
"I don't know! Quit asking me that stuff! I can't think too far ahead right now cuz there's a billion things that could go wrong at any given time."
I slid across the bed of the truck as we began to decelerate rapidly. I took a quick peek over the side to see what was going on.
"He's getting off the highway," I said, keeping my voice down to a whisper now that the wind was all but gone. "We need to bail. As soon as he stops, we bail."
"What? Are you nuts?!"
"There's a treeline on our right. We go straight for it and keep our heads down until we're sure the coast is clear. Cool?"
"Ray, that plan's retarded!"
"Misa, come o-"
"You can't run, can you? What if the humans see us getting out and start chasing us? I heard what that trainer kid said, we're rare species! Like, that means people want to catch us, right?"
We kept slowing. There had to have been a stoplight ahead.
"Not everybody carries Pokéballs on them, and you're already captured, genius! I can take care of myself."
My muscles screamed at me as I stood.
"Grab the Orans. Five seconds."
Misa, looked towards the sky and groaned.
"Misa, come on!"
"Fine! Fine, jeez. Never take any of my ideas, huh? Just the stupid Axew that's along for the ride!"
"Grab the Orans and talk later!"
"Easy for you to say! I gotta carry the ball too, dipshit! Maybe if you'd given me a second or two to actually prep for your suicide run, but no!"
"I swear on all the gods, Misa! Screw this up for me and I'm not afraid to get my entire team, Mew included, to kick your sorry little ass!"
I cared little for the harshness I was presenting, nor did I care for the fact I was screaming at this point. I felt myself subconsciously growling at the thought of having to put up with her constant stubbornness through my headache. My muscles burned with each, tiny movement I forced them through. I was at the point of clawing my own ears out if it meant I didn't have to hear another word of what she had to say.
It wasn't until much later I realized I was equally the aggressor. Even if I hadn't been blinded by the discomfort of fatigue and sickness, however, I admittedly wouldn't have given an inch.
"You know what?! Screw this! I'm tired of taking the backseat, tired of being threatened just so I do what you want. Your plan is stupid, Ray! We need to wait!"
Misa threw down everything she'd since gathered, leaving me to turn towards her with narrowed eyes. I could feel my lip curling involuntarily.
Ray, you idiot! Stop being aggressive about it! We need her!
"Whether you like it or not, I'm making the decision here," Misa continued, she said, sitting herself back down. If the driver hadn't previously heard our yelling, he definitely heard Misa as her rump hit the metal with a boom. "We're waiting until there's enough cover to hide, rather than run out in the open like idiots!"
I ignored my thoughts, stalking forward aggressively despite my body's protests. I quickly snapped out of it, however, as I heard the driver-side door open. Misa didn't notice.
In a quick burst, I dove to the side, pushing past the surprised Axew to grab her shrunken ball in my mouth. She pushed me to the side and off my feet.
At the first opportunity, however, I scrambled to my feet and rocketed out of the truck bed, landing sloppily and painfully on the grass to the side of the road. I could hear the driver's surprised yell and Misa's subsequent squeak.
I'd left her behind, albeit, thankfully, with her Pokéball still situated between my front teeth. I sprinted as fast as my body would carry me into the forest nearby, fueled only on adrenaline and fear. I could hear Misa struggling and calling out in the background, but I didn't dare turn around.
Perhaps a full minute had passed before I realized I couldn't hear her anymore. I was much too far away now, breath coming in short, fast gulps.
Thinking quickly, I ducked inside a nearby bush and made entirely sure I hadn't been followed. Thirty seconds passed. Misa hadn't come with.
Grunting angrily, I laid out her ball before me, trapping it between my front paws so I could press the center button with my nose. It was quick to grow to its normal size, prompting me to press the button once more.
The top of the ball flew open, and a few seconds passed before I felt a sort of reluctant relief in seeing the flow of red energy pour in.
I let my breathing calm for a few seconds after the ball closed, thinking to myself.
My body's not going anywhere. I know Misa well enough to know she's gonna beat my ass as soon as I let her out of this ball, and I can't run away or fight back. We don't have the Orans now, either, thanks to Miss 'Too Good For Plans'.
I was quickly brought out of my thoughts, however, as I could hear distant voices, the crinkle of leaves underfoot as people began approaching.
I let my body do its work as I smelled the air. I didn't know when I'd picked up that trick, but I could smell faint traces of oil and BO.
Humans. Shit! They're following me! Did they really follow me?
I tried getting myself further under the bush, but the plant wasn't giving any headway. I would have to stand and push, but I could feel the adrenaline had already left my system. I wasn't going anywhere.
Before I had proper time to formulate a plan, however, I could feel my heart quicken as the humans I heard came into view. It was a girl and what seemed to be her father, looking around attentively. The girl herself couldn't have been older than ten, and the father evidently didn't have any Pokémon on him if his suit was any indication.
In the girl's hand, however, was a single Pokéball.
Beginner. I don't see any other balls on her belt. Saw me running into the woods and wants me to be her first addition? Shit, what do I do?
I eyed my surroundings. I couldn't fully hide my body under the bush, and in the direction they were going, the humans were undoubtedly going to see me.
I exhaled sharply, trying to calm my breath. I made a moment's decision, once more pressing the button on Misa's Pokéball without giving myself time to rethink what I was doing.
"You got a lot of nerve you little sack of shi-"
"SHHHHH!"
Misa shut up, but not before I could see the little girl's eyes light up. She scanned our area for a bit before locking eyes with me.
"Daddy! Daddy! There it is!"
"Great! You know what to do, right?"
"Mhm!"
I could feel a sense of dread washing over me.
"Misa!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," the Axew responded reluctantly, intentionally kicking dirt in my face as she carelessly turned to face the pair of humans. "Good to know I'm just the muscle."
I elected to bite my tongue before I could shoot her a retort. I couldn't predict Misa's behavior, meaning I had to put aside my pride, even if for a moment, in order to let the Axew find reason to keep helping me.
She took a few steps forward, growling loudly and stamping her foot. The young girl seemed undeterred by the fact she'd seen Misa captured in a Pokéball already.
For a moment, I actually felt confident. It was apparent I'd pissed her off, so maybe in the end it would prove beneficial to have gotten her angry. Through challenging the trainer, she at least proved she was able to direct her anger elsewhere.
Without much further delay, the trainer sent out their Pokémon. As expected, a starter emerged in the form of a Snivy.
"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, that's who I'm fighting?" the Snivy instantly complained, turning his back on Misa to look at his trainer pleadingly. "That's a dragon! I can't fight a dragon!"
"You can do it, Snivy!"
Perhaps I was wrong in feeling empathy for the Snivy, especially when I was on the chopping block. Misa, however, held no such reservations.
"Let's get somethin' straight, tiny," Misa roared despite the fact the Snivy almost stood taller than she herself. "I'm your worst nightmare, got it?! If either one of you takes another step forward, I'm lettin' loose a rain of fury all over the both of you!"
"Snivy! Vine whip!"
The opposing grass type looked between his trainer and Misa for a moment before eventually sighing.
"Please don't be too rough," he quickly pleaded before dropping into an awkward battle stance. Just from the looks of it, I myself may have had the potential to beat this opponent if I was at full strength.
All the Snivy was capable of controlling was a single vine, which he used to attack Misa from a distance. After only a single hit had connected, however, she knew well enough to predict and catch the tendril before it could strike again.
The Snivy panicked as Misa began pulling him towards her, unable to retract his vine while it was in her grasp. It was obvious Misa far outmatched him in terms of physical strength, and only a few seconds had passed before he'd tripped over his own feet and was being dragged towards her.
"Come on Snivy! Tackle as it brings you close!"
The Snivy, despite its trainer's wishes, couldn't find a way to get back on its feet. Misa had since charged a claw with energy, and as he got into range, she pounced, pinning his chest with her elbow while using Scratch to whittle down what little stamina he had to begin with.
In the process, however, she left herself open to get smacked in the face with the very same vine she'd just let go, giving the Snivy enough time to scramble away. Misa brought a hand up to her cheek, moving around her jaw. The attack stung, despite the fact she resisted it naturally.
More than anything, however, I could see the anger growing in her expression.
The Snivy, capitalizing on the momentum the attack had just created, charged despite his trainer not having given him a command. He leaped forward, head glowing white with a telegraphed Tackle.
Misa didn't bother dodging, grunting as she took the full force of the attack. After the move, the Snivy tried retreating, its forward momentum not enough to knock Misa over.
"Misa! Quit screwing around! Both of our asses are on the line here!"
The words had just slipped out. For whatever reason, I completely ignored the fact she was undoubtedly furious with me, perhaps even more so than with the unfortunate Snivy. I quickly bit my tongue as she turned slightly to face me out of the corner of her eye.
"I'll deal with you in a sec!" she yelled, spitting. "I'll do whatever I damn well please, and it's good for you to remember that I'm the one in charge here!"
Her hand was twitching.
The Snivy leaped forth again, attacking with both a Tackle and a Vine Whip. The trainer was now completely out of this fight, everything moving too fast for her to keep up.
Misa's arm shot up like a rocket to grab the vine before it could connect, taking yet another Tackle straight to the chest. The Snivy, however, couldn't escape this time, and was too flustered to charge another attack.
Misa yanked on the vine, offsetting the Snivy's balance while bringing her foot up to land a kick straight in his gut. I wasn't even sure whether or not the attack had energy infused; it was entirely possible she was just blowing off steam.
At the very least, it stunned him long enough to where Misa was able to grab onto both of his shoulders, stand on her tiptoes, and let out a roar as loud as one I'd ever heard from her.
As this happened, her body seemed to erupt in royal blue energy, as if her anger had fueled it entirely. The next thing I knew, it had condensed and been expelled as if it were an attack, hitting the Snivy directly and knocking him on the ground.
He didn't get back up.
"GET OUT OF HERE!" Misa continued roaring, stepping over the Snivy's unconscious body to yell and point a finger at both humans. The display she put up, however brief, was enough to prompt the girl to return her fainted Pokémon and take her father's hand as they sped away.
I could hear Misa's rough breathing, see the heaving of her shoulders. Her stance seemed to emulate the exact definition of 'rage'.
Rage… Dragon Rage. She'd learned a new attack!
I could hardly revel in the fact, however, considering she was quick to turn on a heel and begin stamping towards me.
"YOU!"
"Waitwaitwaitwait!" I said, only able to scramble around on the ground as I tried getting away. "Misa, come on! We can talk about this!"
"You asshole! When I say something, you better damn well listen. Or have you forgotten who's who's slave around here, huh?!"
She stopped a few feet short of me, charging her fist with energy. I wasn't willing to gamble on its being an intimidation tactic.
"Misa, I'm sorry!" I spouted.
"You saw what happened! Exactly what I told you would happen! We were followed! Followed by a human because your dumbass ran out in the open when I said we should wait! What if that hadn't been a beginner trainer, huh?!"
She got right into my face, labored breath passing through the fur on my nose.
"I know! I know!" I said with the hopes of calming her down. "I made a judgement call, and it was the wrong one. Is that what you want me to say? I was wrong?! Because I was, okay? I was wrong!"
Misa's face contorted into something of a grimace before she pulled away from me, stomping around in circles and yelling at the sky.
"I know what you do! I'm not a dumbass!" she spouted, refusing to stop. "You think I'm the biggest idiot to ever walk this planet, so you just ignore everything I say and come crying for help whenever you need someone to be your muscle! Because you're weak! A coward! You hear me?! A coward!"
I said nothing, desperately trying to stop my body from trembling. Not being able to run away made this all the more terrifying.
Misa growled and brought her hands to her face as she aggressively sat down. She just breathed for a few moments, hopefully in an attempt to calm herself down.
"Things are gonna change, got me? If we're gonna stick together, things will change."
I gulped.
"Got it?"
"Y-yes," I choked out.
"Good. Now come on, dumbass. We're finding a place to rest."
I stayed silent for a few moments as she looked at me expectantly.
"Misa, uh… My legs won't move."
The dragoness rolled her eyes, groaning. Rather than make much more of a scene about it, however, she grabbed either one of my front paws and violently yanked them over her shoulders, effectively wearing me like a cape.
"You so owe me, got it?"
Orange waves crashed against the cliffside as the sun set, creating a noise that reminded Skyla much of Undella. She hadn't met Ray there, but it was where she'd helped him begin his Pokémon journey. After she had gained custody… She could hardly believe it'd been only six years; he'd grown so much in that time.
The uncertainty of not knowing how he fared now was tearing her apart. Much in the same fashion as that same uncertainty had affected her over the last few years. Ray had virtually stopped all contact following Sierra's death, and despite her best efforts to locate him, he'd almost completely fallen off the grid.
And now she knew. Not how long Ray had known or been associated with Mew, but at least what he'd been burdened with while they'd been out of contact. It was, frankly, a hard hit, and one she hadn't really absorbed, even during all the time she'd spent with Drayden.
She couldn't swallow the fact Mew had taken her nephew and transformed him into nothing more than a pet. Figuratively and, now, seemingly literally. What she knew as the sweet Nox was her nephew, and she simply hadn't the eye to see it.
What had driven him to hide the truth? Did he really hate her? She didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was overwhelming.
"How're you holding up?"
Skyla gasped, turning to watch Somin as he stepped into view. She quickly wiped her eyes with her shirt.
"I'm fine."
"You don't look it. But whatever, in any case, I brought you something."
Skyla just barely reacted in time to grab a cooked leg the Zoroark had tossed in her direction.
"Bit cold, but Pidgey never fails to fill you up, at the very least."
"Just stop."
"Hm?"
"There's so many things you're missing. Let alone the fact the real Somin despises me, he's got a nick at the base of his right ear. It's little imperfections like that which just make whatever this is weirder than it needs to be."
The Zoroark shrugged, face neutral. "Guess so."
A flash of pink light later, Somin no longer existed. Left in his place, and floating just a foot above the ground was Mew.
"Everyone's just been acting weird around me. I don't know if it's because I killed that Druddigon or if it's just cuz I'm me, but that's just how it's been. Thought it'd be better to come and talk like someone you're not afraid of, y'know?"
"I'm not 'everyone', am I?"
"No, guess not."
Skyla turned back towards the clifface, chin in her hands.
"Just tell me what your game is already. Why you're here, talking to me, or why you took me away from Opelucid. Lay it on me."
"Game?"
"That's what all of this is to you, isn't it? A game? Our lives are just so insignificant compared to yours that you find it fun to screw around with our heads? That's why you're up here, isn't it? To screw with me."
Mew was honestly taken aback, and instinctively tried probing Skyla's head for something of use. She stopped herself, however, choosing instead to close her eyes and respond calmly.
"I've started trying not to spy on other people's heads, so you might wanna… Fill me in on what you think all this is, exactly."
"Why us, Mew? Of all the people in the world you could've played with, why us?"
Part of Mew wanted to ask Skyla if she recognized who, exactly, she was talking to. It was rare Mew ever got this kind of sass from any interaction.
"Skyla, if you wanna know the truth, please try to get it out of your head that I'm some sort of crazy, all-powerful being with a bloodlust and a boredom to be satisfied. Just because that's what the human books say about me, it doesn't mean it's true."
"Then explain, please, what you think you are," Skyla mumbled, refusing to face Mew.
"Uh… I don't know? I'm just here… Existing. No bloodlust, just a bit of anger issues and, well… Let's say 'inexperience' with the concept of society."
Mew tried flying into Skyla's field of vision, but she simply looked away again.
"I mean, I've tried mingling with Pokémon before. Hell, I'm the one who created most of them, but for whatever reason… Probably something I do or say. I've even had other humans before, but I just couldn't… Connect."
Mew sighed.
"I want you to understand why I did this. Do you have any idea how lonely thousands upon thousands of years can be? Even if I surround myself with people who adore me, it just sucks. Especially when most of them die because of something stupid I did."
"Why then? Why, if not to play around, did you come back and start bothering my nephew?"
"Because I was forced to. Kinda. Look, when all this stuff started happening with the UPF, we all figured out real quick that we were being picked off one by one. Most decided to lay low, live with humans and hide in plain sight. Many already had companions, so it was as simple as integrating into a more quiet life. This was a few decades ago."
"I was completely opposed to the idea until I met Ray. I was so tired of gaining and losing companions, so I'd just occupied myself by following around random humans, Pokémon, whatever, and hope that they'd do something to entertain me. Ray was a weird case. I first found him after Sierra was killed, and I thought in following him around, he'd loop back around and make an interesting underdog story out of it. That isn't what happened, though."
"After a while, I started growing worried. He just started wandering aimlessly, thoughts filled all day with some of the scariest stuff even I've seen to date. I wanted him to have a happy ending so I could get satisfaction from watching over him, so I started intervening. Whispering encouragement, putting him to sleep when he needed the rest, simple stuff."
"Skyla, I started caring. I didn't want to, and I'm sorry, but it just happened. The way he loved his team, even when he was down in the dumps. It was an admirable quality you don't see much of anymore in this modern world, where Pokémon, my creation, have become nothing more than just objects, tools, even, to satisfy the greed of a single corporation, the League. Everything about the Pokémon League, in every region, is just so twisted. Sending human children off to fend for themselves in the wilderness, their only form of protection being inexperienced, terrified Pokémon. I…"
Mew sighed, regaining composure.
"It was so refreshing seeing an anomaly like Ray. I wanted him to win. I became too invested in him, his life. I even showed myself to him, even if I regretted it instantly afterwards and erased his memory about it."
Skyla had since given up trying to keep her gaze off the legendary, letting herself turn to stare at Mew. The fur around her eyes were wet.
"When Ray killed Jeffrey, I thought it was a great revenge ending to my favorite story. But I couldn't leave after it was over. I was too invested. I told myself I couldn't keep following him, but I did anyways. Kept watching, even if I didn't intervene anymore. All the way until Opelucid, when he was attacked. I saw that security camera footage, all over the Unovan news. I know you saw it. I couldn't help myself. Ray was being attacked, kidnapped, and something in me just snapped. I intervened again."
Mew rubbed her eyes for a moment, unaware Skyla had begun watching her.
"So why didn't you just erase his memory again and get on with it?"
"I was about to. Something about protecting him, though, was so fulfilling. I felt, for the first time in such a long time, that I was actually doing something useful. It didn't take me long, though, to fill in the blanks and realize that this was the same organization that was stealing all my kin. Erasing his memory would only do to leave him without his guard up, and leaving him alone would only make him susceptible. I couldn't leave him. I wouldn't leave him. So I hid him in Lavaridge, where he'd planned on vacationing after beating Drayden's Gym. Hiding in comfort."
"I even forcefully eased a bit of his worry about the situation, but that didn't stop the fact that in order to stop him completely from worrying about the 'thing' that'd possessed him, I'd have to erase all memory of the encounter. I didn't want him to feel uneasy anymore, so I tentatively decided to introduce myself. It didn't go well at first, but I realized quickly how much I actually… I loved talking with him. Every word we spoke with one another felt like heaven. It's cheesy, I know, but I remembered how many of my kin had humans to call their own, to help them hide. Ray wasn't exactly a lowkey kind of guy, especially when the very organization I was trying to hide from was actively hunting him, but I ignored my gut. I thought, together, we could muster up the strength to defend ourselves no matter what situation we found ourselves in. How naive… I really did underestimate the logistical potential of the UPF, and I paid for it in the form of Ray's life. And his trust."
Mew had since stopped levitating, and now sat on a rock near Skyla. She looked out over the ocean as she held her face in her paws.
"Skyla, I'm so, so, so, sorry. I still can't forgive myself for what I had to do to keep Ray alive. My own stupidity is the only reason any of you are even in this mess. Everything I've done up until this point has just been a simple, wrong decision. The decision not to trust you, the decision to keep Ray away from the truth of it all, the decision to give him my energy, the decision to even follow him in the first place!"
Skyla didn't know what to say.
"Mew?"
"And now?! Oh, with everything I just went and saw. It's such a mess! Everything's just a mess!"
The legendary was crying into the crook of her arm, speaking to herself in hushed tones using her natural voice.
Skyla tentatively reached out an arm, unsure of how to feel at the sight of a god's tiny form, heaving with quiet sobs.
As soon as her skin touched Mew's shoulder, however, Skyla was no longer on the seaside cliff.
Images flashed in her vision so quickly she wasn't sure what to make of half of them. The image of a Zorua, smiling exhaustedly as he stood in the snow. The image of that same Zorua, blood pooled around him as human hands tried carrying him to safety.
The vision of millions of corpses, standing upright with soulless eyes. Giratina's silhouette, red eyes standing out amongst the yellow lights of a city.
Ray's entire team, huddled around their human, who was holding Mew in his arms like she was a small child. All smiling for the camera.
Palkia, huddled over a pile of rocks.
Ho-Oh.
Regigigas.
Darkrai.
Zekrom.
Manaphy.
Victini.
Giratina.
Jirachi.
All of them standing in at attention in a line, soulless eyes gazing directly at Skyla.
Alder standing before them with a wide smile.
Arceus' silhouette in the background, all-encompassing.
Skyla yelled as she snapped out of the vision, panting heavily afterwards. Mew shot back, instantly on guard and with a terrified expression.
"W-what…"
Skyla could see Mew's eyes widen for half a second before she teleported far, far away.
Feel relatively neutral about this chapter. I've been planning Mew's motivation since just after I began writing the story a few years ago, and finally putting it into words made me realize how it has potential to be a decent side-story on its own. Though, I'm pretty sure that when I finish with this fic, it's gonna be done for good. One or two shootoffs at the very most, all of which can be contained in a rather long oneshot.
I'm excited to finally be able to write Misa and Ray's relationship away from all threats of captivity or otherwise. I felt like I've been confined in their characterization up until this point, and now I can finally feel free to progress them to an extent I haven't been able to achieve as of yet.
That's basically it. As always, please review if you can; it really helps me out in the long run. See you in a few weeks!
