I'm an Axew, hiding behind a tree, scared. The Treecko seems kind of weird. What does he want with me? I wanna go find Dad. But maybe we could be friends? I try and say hello but I stutter and run away in shame. Why do I have to be different from the rest of them? Why aren't there any others of my species?

But he followed me and helped me. He said that it was okay to be different, and that he would be friends with me. So he brought me around and showed me all the things he did for fun. Who knew life could be so much more exciting with a friend! I love him so much. He talks a lot, too, and is very charismatic. Maybe I should talk more, too. I like being able to talk freely, without caring so much about what other people think.

And when he evolved! The lithe Grovyle figure that he was. His sister even admitted to me in secret that he looked good. Kind of weird, but okay, she never talked much, so she was bound to have secrets. I try and beat him in fights but I just can't! He was unbeatable. He was the best. I wanted to be with him, be like him.

Then he disappeared. …

Why am I in a dream like this again?

I open my eyes and stare into the ceiling of this room. Another dream about being another species? This is not a coincidence. Especially because I know whose memories they are.

My mind goes back to the one where I was a Charizard. In that one, I had a sister. And a Flygon mate. And I was holding the baby Phendrene in my arms.

What is going on? I better ask Silex.

…Yesterday when I guessed who would be in this door I completely forgot about her. Does that mean she's in a room with Spire? An unlikely combo, but I'll go check.

Trying not to disturb Sylar in his sleep, I push myself up and open the door quietly. There seems to be no sound from anywhere so I assume I'm awake early. Not surprising, considering Phendrene dragged me into an afternoon nap yesterday.

I nudge Spire's door open. Through the dim light I can see the figure of the Salamence but no one else. So where is she? Who were in the other rooms again? Vie and Hale, Celsius and Talon, then Rue. Maybe she's in Rue's room?

I nudge that one open as well but it turns out it is empty. Rue did sleep very early yesterday, so it's reasonable to assume she has gotten up. But I'm not worried about that Haxorus. Where is Silex?

I rush back to the main room and only the other captured Salamence is there. I want to go check on Phendrene but I should find Silex first.

Running outside into the open, I notice it is still early dawn and the sun hasn't risen yet. Rue should be hunting. Maybe Silex is with her? I take to the air and check for the surroundings. Rue's not going to be above the cliffs so I just survey the plains beneath it. Soon I find a gold speck hiding in the tall grass, but I stop myself from going down lest I disturb her hunting.

I reverse my direction and fly toward above the cliff. And I spot the aged Flygon instantly, sitting on the edge.

"Silex!" I call to her as I fly over. She looks up. "Where were you?"

"I slept out here," she replies in that usual calm voice.

I land next to her. "You shouldn't do this. I mean, there was still space in the rooms. And there was even the main area, three beds on the side."

"I'm sure some people prefer to keep alone," she answers. "I can keep watch out here."

"You don't need to do this!" I tell her. "You've done enough for us already. I'm sure we could bear sharing a room with you." I'm not sure how much of this is out of genuine concern and how much is out of guilt for forgetting about her.

"Maybe tonight, then," she replies nonchalantly.

I sigh. She really is too selfless for her own good, but if she insists, then so be it.

"Anyway, I've been having weird dreams. It's like in those stories when people start getting dreams."

She glances over in interest. "What were the dreams about? The future?"

I shake my head. "No, it was in the past. And I wasn't me. I was Fen in my first and Rue in my second, both experiencing what must be their past."

"It's nothing, just your active imagination," she tells me calmly. "You likely heard them talk about something and formulated a scenario in your mind, and it came to be as a dream."

"But… for Fen's one I had a sister in the dream, and I didn't know at that time," I try and hang on to the hope that the dreams can mean something."

"That's probably picking up on unconscious signals. What else do you think it could be?" she asks as the wind blows a slight chill this way. "That you're somehow a psychic?"

"…Well, that's what they-"

"No. You're just really good at flying. It's not as if your father was a Latios."

I fall silent as she mentions my father.

"Apologies for bringing that up, but I hope you see what I mean. It seems to be a windy day. We should head back before it gets cold."

"Wait!" I call, hesitant. "Is he… alive?"

"I don't know. The only thing I do know is that he didn't come back to find you or your mother." She glides off the cliff and downward as I stare at her. I knew the answer, but I felt like asking again.

How conceited I must have been to assume I was someone special. I'm just a normal Flygon who has an overactive imagination with too much love for flying. It's not like I really would have some secret heritage or power. Why would I be the one? If I could actually call upon some legendary when I needed help… Mum wouldn't have died. I would have unleashed the powers in a critical moment to save her… and everything would end happily.

I come back to my senses and realize I'm clenching my fists so hard I'm hurting myself. And Silex was right about it being cold. But I don't want to go back in there. I want to fly and pretend I'm one of those legendary ones.

The world is unfair. Ones like us, we're at risk of everything. It's not just my family and my friends; if I ever find a mate, she might die too. And it's even worse to be one of those smaller rodents, because ultimately I'm responsible for some of them dying. If only I was among those that lived forever…

I wonder how much the others would scoff at me if I told them what I'm thinking right now.

I should just relax for now and fly. And maybe not even just in this area. I'll fly a long time towards the mountains… then come back and head toward the canyons, or even the coast.

So, my eyes focused on the white tips of the mountains far, far away, I let the wind carry me.

The wind. It's nice. I don't even mind the cold as I feel it flow softly past my skin.

What even happened to make me this depressed? Simply because I don't have innate psychic powers like I had secretly hoped for? Did I really think it was true? Maybe I shouldn't have asked her, and kept myself in the giddy illusion. …But I would be led astray and lost in my self-importance, living in the pretence I was special. It's like my father's identity all over again. I keep on thinking that he might be a Charizard, given how positively my mother reacted to Phendrene, but no. He's just a regular old Flygon. At least I have the time to cool down with a flight.

I arrive at the place we've been when we first saw the Salamence before arriving at Fen's place. I glance north and recognize vaguely the terrain which we had passed through. Still, I'm heading toward the mountains right now, so it's still new territory.

What if I bump into Salamence? I'm pretty sure I would outfly them. Maybe it'd be fun getting their attention and watch them try to catch me. Nah, that's too dangerous. In fact, I should probably head back now. I need to travel the same distance backwards and it wouldn't be good if I got tired or hungry during the process. Better safe than sorry.

It's not long before I'm back above the cliff and take a swift dive down back towards the cave. If it could even be called that, considering it has doors and corridors which must have been tunnelled methodically.

When I push the door open Rue's lying on an open bed with her eyes open but out of focus. She doesn't even notice me come in.

"Rue?" I call her name as I approach her. "You all right?"

She seems to come back out of her daydream. "Huh? Oh, I'm too useless to hunt by myself. Have no idea how to stealth properly with this body. So Silex has gone instead."

I sit down on the bed next to her. "I see."

"So did anything happen last night when I was sleeping?" she asks.

She's still staring at the ceiling. "I got punched in the face by Fen's sister and I was planning to use you for revenge but he ended up apologizing so-"

"You? Getting punched? What for?" she asks, surprised, her eyes now on me.

"Well… I just wanted to see Phendrene after she got called back, even though she was scared. But apparently it was because she needed rest. It's complicated." I forget yet again that I'm supposed to keep the relationship between Fahrenheit and Phendrene a secret. I should be more careful.

"Okay." She glances around. "Anything interesting happen with the Salamence? The not-Spire ones?"

"I'm not sure about the female one, but Sylar seems all right. He's pretty depressed at having his friends die." Whereas I'm upset about not being special. My worries are so trivial.

Rue shrugs. "Better them dead than me. I'm selfish, I know. Everyone is selfish. That's how the world works."

I don't know how to respond to that, so I ignore it. "Other than that, we kind of just talked about Salamence society."

"Oh that's great! With that knowledge, we could kidnap some Bagon eggs and raise them as our own!" she suggests in a mock excited tone and sits up. "The perfect plan to infiltrate Salamence society."

I frown at how non-sequitor that was. "Who would even raise them?"

"The one out of Vie and Phendrene you choose to have kids with. Haw haw haw." She grins like a maniac.

I sigh. "Aren't you the one always complaining about there being no other Haxorus? Why don't you have a kid then?" I counter.

"With them? Nah, I'm not lesb-"

"Never mind." I stand up to leave.

"Wait! I'm just joking. Coooome oooon…" She latches onto my arm and pulls me onto her bed. "It's boring. Talk to me."

"Fine." I cross my arms. "What?"

She leans in and gives a look of mischief. "Aren't you gonna use me in your revenge plan against Fen now?"

"What? Didn't I tell you he apologized?"

"Oh, so I can just punch you now and if I apologize it's no big deal?" She puts her fist under my chin, but I swat it away.

"No! He wasn't the one who punched me."

"Oh, so who was it? His sister?"

I nod.

"So should I challenge her?" she says with a devilish grin. "Sounds like a deal."

"I told you it doesn't matter anymore! I shouldn't have brought it up to you." I lie down onto my back, horizontally spread across the bed. It actually feels pretty soft.

Rue's response is cut off as the door from the corridor opens and I sit back up in reaction. "How inconsiderate," the female Charizard says, holding a bag in her hand. "Everyone else is still sleeping."

"You punched him in the face," Rue says as she stands up.

"Huh? Oh, yes. He was bothering the patient's recovery," she answers, not at all apologetic.

"Even though the patient has nothing to do with you?" Rue hisses, and I feel a bit guilty.

"Hm? You'd be surprised." She gives Rue a disdainful look.

"Surprised? About what?"

Celsius ignores Rue and turns her head back. "Talon? Let's go."

Talon crawls out sleepily. "Can't we wait a bit?"

"No. You have practice today, remember?" She bends down for her son.

The Charmeleon climbs onto her back and wraps his hands around her neck, reminding me of the one who climbs on me. "What's going to happen to these Salamence?"

"None of our business."

She ties the bag around her shoulder and then walks swiftly towards the door.

"Wait! You haven't even eaten." Rue rushes over. "And what does the patient have to do with you?"

"None of your business," she says without turning back and then closes the door behind her.

"The hell? Do they think they can do whatever they want with her just because they're the same species?" the Haxorus exclaims to no one in particular. "People like that just make me angry."

I stare at the floor silently, becoming more ambivalent. Celsius wasn't ill-intentioned… She just didn't know how much Phendrene needed me.

"But at least that bitch is gone! You can get your Phendrene back!" Rue comes back to the bed and puts an arm on my shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll help ya."

"…I told you, Fen is all right." Phendrene needs to reconcile with her father. No matter what Fen did in the past, I know he's not a bad person at heart. He has made mistakes, but haven't we all?

"So you're not worried about her being scared?" Rue sits back down, now opposite of me.

I opt to not say anything, in case I say something I shouldn't, and simply shrug.

"Not in the mood for talking? Fine, I'll get the others," she says and runs back off.

I close my eyes and let the scenario in my dream of being an Axew come into my head. I can't seem to recall it clearly, but I felt the emotions very clearly, as if I was actually her. These dreams are nice. They give me a pleasantly nostalgic feeling.

Rue comes out soon dragging the twins outdoors for some battling. The female Salamence, Era, seems to have woken up from all the noise, and eyes me for a moment, but doesn't talk.

If I'm not doing anything here, I might as well go flying again. So I exit into the morning sun, and see the two pale skinned Flygon teaming up against the Haxorus but not managing to defeat her. I smile at their determination, and also at Rue's skill. Practice makes perfect, no matter the activity.

I've only done a few turns when someone shouts for me. I look at the entrance and see that Spire (because Sylar has a back wound) has come out too and he flies up to meet me.

"Are you going to drink? Let's go."

It wasn't on my mind but now that he's mentioned it I am kind of thirsty. Flygon can go long periods without water but it's still good to keep yourself hydrated.

So I speed towards the river, Spire tailing close behind me. When I arrive, I glance again at the place where I met the Growlithe but to no avail. I sigh and bend down to drink the cold water.

I hear Spire land next to me. "Where did you sleep last night?" he asks. "I was expecting you."

"I was going to, but I thought Sylar was pretty upset after everything that happened to him, so I went to his room."

He chuckles. "Aw, that's so nice of you."

"Are you drinking?" I ask back, becoming irritated. Spire is just like Rue in the way they like to make jokes about me being sensitive, which annoys me to no end.

"Fine." He bends down and takes a sip. "What's the plan now? We're still killing the Salamence King, right?" he asks, almost as if he is eager for that activity.

"It's not like I'm the one to decide," I state simply. "Go ask Vie. She seems to have stopped trying to kill you after five years."

He takes another two gulps of water. "Her plans are terrible. You and Rue would come up with something better easily if you put in the effort."

"I still don't know what we're going to do, though."

"Yeah, you'd be satisfied from flying all day. Not all of us are that boring." I glare at him but he laughs. "It's true!" he exclaims.

"I'd still prefer company than being alone," I tell him.

"Of course, or else you'd starve. But I'd probably starve too," he admits and lowers his head to the stream again. He seems to need a lot more water than me. It makes sense, after all, since I'm from the desert.

"The problem is, I still don't foresee just the few of us doing anything to stop the Salamence," I say. "It seems pretty pointless."

"Then you better find more people. I'm not going to sit around in the forest anymore."

I sigh. "Sometimes I just think that Phendrene or any of the others could have easily died there, just like my mother. And I'm not sure if it's really worth it."

He looks away. "It is. If I could die for it, I would. But they won't kill me."

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.

"It doesn't mean I'd let you guys be killed of course," he continues, ignoring me. "We may have different motives but our goal is the same. To kill that stupid King of the Salamence."

"We don't have to kill him-"

"You'd kill him if you were me," he snarls and to my surprise, takes off.

"Wait!" I catch up to him with ease. "What exactly happened?"

"Didn't I tell you a million times?" he snaps. "He killed my parents!"

"Why?"

"He's evil!"

"Shouldn't you at least know some of the reason as to why?" I ask him as we land on the hill in front of the cliff.

"Just because!" he spits and runs into the building.

I follow him, wanting to ask for more details, but I'm stopped by the sight of everyone eating cheerily. Even Phendrene and Sylar have come out.

The Charmeleon seems excited when she sees me and runs over, handing me a piece of meat. I notice Fen in the background gazing at her, but he looks away when my eyes meet his and goes back into his room.

"Thanks." I stuff the meat into my mouth and then look around. Spire's in the far corner with his eyes darting about darkly, having snatched a piece of meat from the game pile quickly. Rue, Vie, and Hale seem to be chatting about battling, so I just talk with Phendrene.

"How are you feeling?"

"All right. He didn't bother me that much," she says with a look towards her father's room.

"You should make up to him," I tell her quietly. "You were lucky to find your father here on this trip. You should cherish this opportunity."

She turns her head away. "He still tried to hit you."

I wonder what she would say if I told her that Celsius actually hit me.

As I finish a piece of meat, she jumps up and fetches me another piece of meat. It takes me a moment to realize how much effort she's putting in for me. She knows I don't like dealing with dead bodies so she picks it herself.

"Thank you," I tell her again, trying to show my appreciation. She just nods and continues chewing.

We finish the big pile quite quickly and we're all left not completely full, but not hungry nonetheless. Silex really is a keen hunter to be able to provide for all of us so quickly.

"I guess we'll have to leave first, then," Vie comments.

"Leave first?" Rue asks, confused.

"To Lyrl! We don't have time to lose! We already stayed in the forest and let the Salamence King have a child. We need to go to Lyrl and see if anyone there has any ideas. There are certainly more people there."

"Not this again," Hale grumbles.

"Hey! I thought you were going to avenge our family? You even saw it happen with your own eyes!"

"I guess, but… I still don't think I can kill someone."

"Well, I can," Vie answers. "And our super-Haxorus can. So it's fine. Anyway, when are we leaving?"

"Wait," I say. "We should stop by the forest first, right?" I still remember that I left my bag of things. The black stone that killed that Salamence…

"Of course. And it'd probably be a good idea to leave him behind there." Vie points towards Spire. "And Phendrene too."

"I'm staying too, then," I answer.

"But we need you to find people like Zeta-"

"We'll figure it out when we get there," Rue cuts Vie off. "We should get going first. If we're not doing anything here we might as well go now."

"Now?" I'm surprised.

Rue shrugs. "What else do you wanna do here?"

"So everyone is sorted?" Vie asks. Seeing that no one is responding, she declares, "Let's go now! We're full so we can fly a while before we need to rest."

"Wait!" Rue shouts suddenly. "I knew I forgot something important. …Nova?" I see her worry and instantly know what she means.

I nod and lead her outside.

"Tell me if you feel uncomfortable, I'll get off, okay?" she assures me. "Ready?"

"Ready." I look back at her figure. Seeing her taller than me is strange, but it reassures me of her strength. Now that I have a proper, good look of her right next to me, she is even taller than Fen.

"Here I go." I feel her claws slide onto my arms and her legs slide around my thighs as her weight comes onto me. She's very heavy, but I feel like I can still move.

I close my eyes and try my best to lift off. After failing once because her arm blocked my wings, I try again and take to the air slightly.

"How does it feel?" Rue asks from my back.

"It's doable," I tell her as I turn to land on top of the cliff. "More than doable. It takes more effort, but it's definitely okay."

"Well that's great!" she exclaims happily. "Guess your hours of flying really did pay off. Let's call the others now."

I jump off the cliff and glide down to the entrance. Rue doesn't even bother getting off my back.

"It works!" she shouts. "Let's go!"

Vie, Hale, Spire all come out quickly, and then Silex with Phendrene on her back. "Are we just gonna take off now?" Rue asks.

"We should have a drink first," Silex says.

"Yep," Vie says and takes off swiftly with Hale. I try and catch up to her but Rue's weight makes it harder.

"Impressive." Spire says from beside me in mid-air. "You can carry her and still fly at a decent speed."

"It is more tiring," I admit.

"Sorry," I hear Rue say. "I wish I could fly instead."

"No one's blaming you," I say.

"Wow, the first time she cares about what other people feel, huh?" Spire laughs.

Even though I can't see her, I know Rue's making faces at Spire. "Yeah, unlike you, who just ran inside when the fight happened."

"That's just because I'm bad at fighting and would be a burden in the fight!" Spire tries to defend himself.

"When are you not a burden?" Rue mocks. "You can't even hunt properly."

"Come on," I interrupt. "Here's the stream."

"I just drank," Spire says.

Rue jumps off my back as I land. "Well, I haven't," she says and squats down at the edge of the river next to the others.

"She's not as tough as she looks," I whisper to Spire. "Don't tease her too much."

"Really? She seems to have quite a valid reason to be tough." He walks toward the hill and glances over to the waterfall. "Much more useful than me, at any rate."

"You can fight, right? I remember you knocking out Vie when she was a Vibrava. It was when you found me after I evolved and-" My eyes wander to the air and I spot a Salamence approaching. I'm about to shout out before I realize I know him, since he's coming from the direction of the shelter.

Spire turns around. "Huh?"

"Nova," Sylar says quickly as he lands, "I just wanted to say… thank you. Please take care."

"Thanks," I answer, feeling awkward.

"What is this for?" Spire asks, confused. "And why aren't you heading back to Zeal?"

"Why aren't you?" Sylar says back to the other Salamence in much more hostile tone than the one he used with me, making Spire wince.

"Nova! Let's go," Rue calls as she runs over.

"Stay safe!" Sylar says one last time and takes back to the air. I gaze at the wound on his back as he flies off.

"What's that one doing here, Shiny?"

"Nothing," I tell her and take off, following the other Flygon. Spire also follows from behind me.

I feel empty inside. Sylar is so nice right now, but he was an enemy just a day ago… the ones that were killed, could they have been like this too?

I gaze ahead and realize I'm lagging behind. Resolving to catch up, I flap my wings more fervently than ever.

Rue is less bothersome than when we were flying here, which is a good thing, as I have much less tolerance. I'm slightly more tired than all the others by lunch break and instead of flying some more like I used to, I simply lie on the ground.

As we're eating the fresh catch, Silex comes over. "You seem tired. Do you want me to carry Rue?"

I'm taken aback for a moment. "I- can you do it?"

"I've flown a lot over the years. Perhaps we could alternate it to lower your burden."

I almost say yes before I forget how much we owe her. "No, it's fine. I can bear with it."

"Nova, I may be old, but I'm not weak," she says in a caring voice.

"…Okay. Thank you, Silex," I say with a genuine smile.

Rue doesn't seem to notice the discussion about her and is still joking around with the twins and Spire. After living in Fen's place for a while, I feel like Spire has gotten a lot friendlier. We used to occasionally talk in the forest, but now that we're all in each other's vision all the time he gets a lot more attention, which he doesn't seem to mind at all, contrary to what his prior behaviour indicated.

Despite Spire's change, Phendrene stays mostly the same, and continues to hover around me. Her wound seems to have healed a lot faster than the two captive Salamence. She should thank Fen for putting extra effort into healing it.

Fen… we didn't even tell him we were going, since it was in a rush. I guess we're going to go back soon, so it doesn't matter that much. But I still feel that Phendrene needs to be nicer to him. In fact, I feel like pulling her aside from everyone else and talking to her about it. She didn't give a proper answer when we talked over breakfast.

When I notice her down her last piece of meat, I tug on her hand. She notices quickly and follows me away from the group.

"You seem to be quite excited," I make something up.

"I can still keep my tail flame out," she explains. "The grass is taller up north."

She opens an excellent opportunity to talk about him. "Didn't your father teach you that?"

Phendrene stops. "…Yeah."

"Shouldn't you be grateful, then?" I lead her on.

She doesn't buy it. "We talked about this. I just don't like him." She is getting riled up in her childishness again.

"People make mistakes. He obviously regrets it. You should definitely be nicer to him. He obviously still cares about you after so many years."

"I still feel uncomfortable around him," she says, albeit with less resistance.

"You can't stay like this forever," I sit down and tell her. "You're family, after all. Bonded by blood. You can't just treat him like he's worthless to you."

"…Okay." She looks up. "So what should I do?"

I smile at her acceptance. "Just talking to him would be a great start, I think."

A shout from the others interrupt our conversation as we turn to look, Phendrene suddenly clutching on tightly again. I glance at the direction they're pointing at and I see another single Salamence in the air. It's definitely not Sylar again, but it's also definitely not a threat. In fact, it seems to be gliding down to land in front of the others.

I run over holding Phendrene's hand. The Salamence lands steadily and I can feel that there is a tense atmosphere amongst us. Now that he's closer, I can see something blue wrapped around his neck. Something alive.

"Sorry for bothering you all," he says in a rushed but polite tone, "but do you know the nearest water source? Preferably a big one. My Dratini here needs water."

"I'm not sure," Rue answers from the front. "There's a stream a few hours south but it's not very big. Silex? Do you know? Silex?" I turn around and Silex is standing at the back, seemingly trying to hide.

"Silex?" the Salamence seems to echo Rue's words in recognition. "Silex! What are you doing here?"

Silex glances at me extremely quickly, as if hoping that I don't notice. "Let's go find some water for your Dratini, first."

"…Okay, but you better come with me! What happened to Shell-"

"Shush. Follow me," Silex states briefly as she spreads her wings.

"Wait." Spire suddenly calls out from my side. "Is that you?"

The Salamence glances at Spire. "You… are you sc-"

"Spire," the smaller Salamence interrupts sharply. "And you are…?"

The newcomer Salamence is confused. "…Spire? …What do you mean?"

"Your name! Or what you call yourself," Spire says, strangely tense. I feel my grip on Phendrene tighter as well.

"Your Dratini's more important," Silex says curtly and tries to stand between them. "We need to get it to water."

"Did you two-" the Salamence says before he is cut off again.

"What's your name?" Spire repeats flatly, ignoring Silex.

"Blight, okay? Can you come with me to explain…"

I feel like something has hit me in the chest. It has been building for a while since he said my mother's name, but I couldn't be sure. It stops me hearing anything else.

No…

"Nova!" Phendrene is beside me now - I'm looking up to her - how did I get on the floor? My vision is dizzy from all the thoughts spinning around my head.

"Nova? …Silex, did Shell-"

"We need to get going, now!" Silex repeats, ignoring my predicament. It's the first time she acts like this.

"Wait!" Vie calls and grabs my hand. "Nova. What was your father's name?"

"I remember too," Rue adds in. She and Vie pull me up, one hand each.

I want to believe it's a coincidence. But he really is alive. And a Salamence, no less.

How awful my mother must have felt in her final moments. Killed by someone resembling her mate. How dare he not have been there for her!

I blink. My vision seems to be still working. My eyes go to the worried Vie and Rue, to the confused Hale and Phendrene, to the inscrutable Spire, and finally, to the guilty Silex.

"Why did you lie to me?"

"Nova, I'll explain, come-"

"Why did you lie to me!?" I shout and stare at her. I can feel the tears forming in my eyes but I don't care. "You said he was a Flygon. You…"

"Stop, Nova," she walks over and holds onto my arm.

I shake it off violently. "Why couldn't you just have told me the truth? You just had to-"

"I'll explain! Nova, please just-"

"No!" I shout and jump back. From the corner of my eye I can see the Salamence being worried but I don't care. "You- you're the worst. You didn't want to say that my father was a Salamence so you-"

"Stop it!" Silex screams with her hands on her face. Instantly I feel my head swirling as my eyes are forced shut by some unknown force. "It's my fault, all right?" she continues to say. "I could've just… Oh. No. No, no, no!"

I open my eyes and feel some of the tears let out. But more importantly, Silex's face is full of horror as she glances around. I follow her gazes and find… that everyone else is frozen. In a single timeframe, not moving or acting. Perfectly still.

"What happened?" I ask fearfully.

"N-Nova? You're not frozen?" she says in a brittle voice. "It doesn't matter. I've already ruined them. I'm so sorry, Nova. I can't stay. Take care."

She says the things in such a quick succession that I don't even get the chance to ask her. "Wait!" I scream and try and grasp onto her but I grasp onto thin air and fall to the ground with a thump. Pushing myself up again I look around desperately but there are only the frozen figures of everyone else.

"Silex," I yell. "Come back! I forgive you!" I take to the air and do a quick survey around. She's nowhere to be seen…

I land quickly. The grass seems strangely elastic as I rush over to Phendrene. She's holding her arms around herself, clearly scared, probably at my actions. I feel her arms. They seem normal. I shout in her ear. No response. I try and pick her up. I can't.

I try and smack my arm on Rue's sharp tusk but it just bounces off harmlessly. I try and stick my claw into Spire's mouth but it doesn't get wet. I kick the other Salamence in the head but I end up hurting my foot. So I just lie down on the floor again.

What even happened? A Salamence appeared. We just had to have the luck to bump into one now. And not even just a random Salamence.

Oh, Mum… Mum, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that you had to go through this. What did you see in him? He was so irresponsible, just leaving the two of us, and then letting you die like that. I wish I could have done something to help you, Mother. Life is so unfair. You could have chosen someone who would have made you happy. But you chose this… Salamence. I would have gladly not existed if it meant you were happy and alive.

I feel the tears trickle out of my goggles and down from my face. I want to talk to my mother. But she's dead. Because this stupid Salamence ran away after having me.

What just happened? Silex froze everyone except me. And then she teleported away? This better be some strange nightmare… Or else…

But as my tears dry up, it is clear that nothing is changing about them, only about me and the world. The sun seems to have moved, but the wind has stopped. I feel like I want to pee. Normally it's on some trees or just somewhere far away. Maybe today I can do it on this stupid Salamence with a Dratini necklace, haha.

Who is this Dratini, anyway? He said 'my Dratini'? …So he did run away from my mother and find another mate. And they even had time to mate and have a kid, all when my mother was caring for me, and even died to protect me.

I push myself up. Why me? Why am I the one that's left alive amidst these motionless bodies? Is it just because whatever Silex did wasn't directed at me?

No, that's not it; even she was confused about me not being frozen. It must be because Silex was wrong about the other thing as well, but not on purpose. I must have some innate power for me to be immune from whatever she did. Otherwise, how would I be the sole person still moving? Maybe that means I have the power to fix this as well!

But how? I stare at Vie and tell her to unfreeze in my mind. It doesn't work. I stick my arms out and try and try and twist them as if I'm psychically controlling them. It doesn't work either.

I'm desperate now. Please, I say in my mind, Arceus, Latias, whatever… bring them back!

A sudden jolt of power surges through me and I can feel similar ripples in my mind from when it first happened as I stumble back onto the grass.

When I open my eyes again, everyone is above me with concerned look. "Nova?" Rue asks. "Are you okay?"

I'm about to answer 'yes' out of habit before I realize that this time, I am definitely not. I still let her pull me up.

"You kind of just moved suddenly from shouting at her to the floor." Vie says. "And she just disappeared. Do you know where Silex is?"

"No," I tell her honestly. But what I do know is that I definitely have psychic powers. Where could I have gotten these powers from?

Certainly not from this stupid blue thing that is not my father.

More importantly, what in the world is Silex and why was someone like her with us? I should have thought about it more. Someone so proficient in hunting, with great deals of knowledge, travelling with us? We're just a random bunch of kids.

It wasn't her fault. I became far too emotional and wanted someone to blame, but the only one that should be blamed is the offender himself. Silex never intended to hurt me. She wanted me to have a normal childhood… I feel so bad.

I come back to my senses and sit up. And I see a worried Salamence with that Dratini looking at me. I may feel bad for Silex, but I don't feel bad for him.

"Your name is Nova? Are you my-"

"No," I say and turn around, my eyes set in the distance. I don't want to see him. No one can catch me. I'm psychic. I do what I want.