I stare at a familiar ceiling. There is an ache in my head and my stomach, but I'm used to them by now.

Blinking once more, I realize I'm lying on the bed in the main room. Turning my head to the side, I find both beds unoccupied, and no one else in the room.

Why am I here? I recall being upset with Latias and flying back here. I heard Phendrene's singing, and greeted her, and… she didn't recognize me.

There's no way she forgot about Nova. She was just pretending because she was hurt, she must've been. I get up from the bed, determined to find her.

But where is she? A quick glance towards the window shows that it's nighttime. She normally would sleep beside me, as would that Haxorus, but they're nowhere to be found. I look over to Fen's room, wondering he's in there – but no, I'm finding the others first. If they're sleeping, they have to be inside.

I head into the corridor and open the first door, and I find Phendrene on the same bed as… Rue? I take a few steps toward them, and I notice that they have their backs to each other. Phendrene is on the inside facing the all, and Rue facing outwards. Ah, what was I thinking? They're both females. I walk over to the side of the bed, and think of what to do when a sudden movement startles me and I fall backward.

The next thing I know, Rue is standing over me with a Haxorus tusk up against my neck.

"What do you want?" Rue hisses.

"What?" I answer, dumbfounded, making sure to stay still. "I need to speak to Phendrene, she's not acting normal."

Rue pauses for a second, and her glare at me only intensifies. "How do you know her name?"

"Huh?" I stare back at her, and slowly with her antagonizing gaze I begin to realize that something's wrong with Rue, too.

Some movement from behind Rue tells me Phendrene has stirred from the noise. "Phendrene, what did you mean?" I call out.

"Hey!" Rue huffs and steps back. "She's not available for talking. You just barged in randomly and fainted on her. Even after that, we gave you a bed to rest on, so respect our boundaries. Let's take this outside, Flygon."

She pulls me up with a strong arm and pushes me out of the door, and I let her. Then she mutters something back to the Charizard before shutting the door behind her.

"What are you doing? I told you, we're taking this outside," she says and walks towards the main room.

"Rue… what's wrong with you?" I question without moving, even though I already have a good guess of the answer.

She stops and turns her head back. "How do you know my name, too?" she accuses. "And that's my question. You barge into someone else's place and you insult them? That's not how you get people to like you. Now come on, get moving." She grabs onto my arm with force and drags me back to the main room.

No, they can't be faking it. They're not this good at acting. No one is. So it's true… they don't remember who I am.

Rue lets go of me and then stands across me with her arms crossed. "Now, I'm going to ask you questions first. Who are you? Where are you from? Why did you come here? And how do you know our names?"

I open my mouth and realize it will be futile to tell the truth. They'd only think of me as some deranged lunatic. "I'm… Nova," I let out, carefully examining her expression, but there's no reaction she recognizes it. "I flew here from the mountains." She seems curious at that, perhaps expecting a Flygon should come from the desert. "And I came here because… because I needed a place to rest."

"Okay, but who told you about this place and its residents? Most dragons won't find the entrance by accident." She tilts her head. "Also, collapsing on top of young girls isn't how you have people let you stay at their homes."

"This isn't even your home," I say back, tired of her accusations. "Fahrenheit owns this place. You come from the forest."

She frowns and steps forward, pointing a finger at me. "Hey, who told you that? I'm not sure I like how much you know."

I push her finger aside, not wanting to deal with Rue. "Can I talk to Blight, the Salamence, instead? I have some serious issues to discuss with him," I make up.

"Oh." She takes a step back. "Hm, so your intention wasn't to rest, but to talk to him?" She looks at me curiously.

"Yes, I need to talk to that nephew of the Salamence King," I shoot back, and she is surprised yet again. In the gloom of their amnesia, I find some joy revealing these supposedly secret things.

"Fine. But you better tell us who told you the stuff about us when I get back out!" she says loudly and walks around me to enter the inner rooms. I find myself smirking at her words. It's funny how she accuses someone of leaking her secrets, when these secrets were ours to share.

The comedy turns to sadness as I realize the gravity of the situation. They really don't recognize me anymore. Will they listen if I tell them the truth? I know I wouldn't trust a stranger who knew all of my private information. I sigh and walk over to the bed to sit down, my belly aching from hunger. What will become of me?

Why did this have to happen? I stiffen and I notice that I haven't even considered the cause of the situation. Latias was the one that warned me to not come here. Surely she must be responsible for this amnesia as well. I clench my fists in disgust. I thought she said it wasn't right to interfere?

Hey, Latias, it's you, right? I project out in my mind.

But there's no response.

Before I am able to reason her silence, the door opens and out comes the Haxorus and a Salamence trailing behind her. The strong figure I knew as my father, however, limps slightly as he fits through the door.

"I heard you called for me, Flygon," he says as Rue closes the door behind him. "I'd be interested to know how you knew about my identity."

"And our names," Rue adds in as the two gather around me.

I stay silent as I assess his features. There is some guilt at seeing him still injured, but I get an idea to test if he is really more psychic resistant than the others.

"Blight, where did you get those injures?" I ask nonchalantly, swinging my tail on the bed to calm myself.

"Hey!" Rue interrupts. "We've told you enough. You tell us stuff first."

"Tell me about the injuries first," I say with a smile. "You'll get your share of info sooner or later, Grovyle lover."

Rue's pupils flare as she stares at me in astonishment and takes a step back. Blight eyes her for a moment but then responds to me. "I fell from the sky in a battle," he answers.

"A battle to defend some eggs, right?" I say, and am entertained again by their surprised expressions. Making it funny is the only way I can stay sane now. "So who was it that you fought against? A Flygon, right?"

"Ah, for this you are wrong," Blight answers politely. "I fought against a Salamence."

I frown and sit up, keeping my tail still. "Spire? Their father?"

Rue reacts again, but Blight puts a paw to stop her before nodding to me. "Yes."

Trying to think of something else that I've done, I turn to Rue. "So how did you learn of Blight's royal identity?"

"Spire told me," she answers hastily. "Seems like your informant isn't so accurate on Spire, eh?" she says in a typical Rue tone.

I glance between them, feeling offended that somehow their memory of me has been replaced with that Salamence. "What about your children, Blight?"

"Children?" He eyes me curiously. "I only have one child."

"Dratini," I state back.

"Yes."

Somehow, my father's denial of my existence is the one to push me over the border, and my gaze falters. No longer being able to find anything funny in the situation, I begin to feel morose. I was hoping my Father, at least, would remember something, but it seems he has forgotten about me, too.

What if I asked Phendrene of her childhood with Mother? Surely her memory would be reconstructed in a logical way without me. That's how it seemed to be when I asked these two…

"So, Nova," Rue begins in a long-winded tone, "it'd be veeerrrry nice to know how exactly you know all this. You don't happen to have met Spire, have you?" she says with a smirk.

I keep my head low as I shake it silently, struggling to keep my emotions in check.

"If he met Spire he would know that Spire was the one that caused these injuries," Blight reminds Rue before turning back to me. "We've been very co-operative in answering your questions, Nova. We would like to know how you have this information on us, and what purpose it is you come to us for." His tone is rather neutral, but I can feel that he implies something dark.

"I'm not trying to threaten you or anything, I just came back because–" because it's my home. Because we're family. Because you're my loved ones.

…But I can't say that out loud. I feel like crying, to rely on and lean against any of the two strong figures in front of me that once knew me, but the fact that I'm a stranger to them prevents the tears from coming out.

"Look, I'm getting tired of this," Rue says with her arms out. "We've been very patient with your questions and attitude. I've even forgiven you for basically molesting Phendrene. You better open up, or else."

Hah, molesting Phendrene? If you had your memories, Rue, you'd see that she's the one on top of me all the time. Not that I minded, but…

"Nova," Blight utters with authority. "Speak."

I open my mouth but nothing comes out because I hadn't thought of what to say. My stomach grumbles and I let out an "I'm hungry."

"What the fuck?" Rue lets out.

"Hold it, Rue," Blight raises his foreleg again, stopping her from advancing on me. "I think he's the psychic Flygon."

My heart lifts at the phrase as I look up at my father. Could it be… that he remembers?

"Oh, so that's how he knows all about us! By reading my mind!" Rue shouts in anger. "What's your problem? Don't have enough people to ridicule?"

I ignore her accusations and gaze knowingly at Blight. He returns a look, and I think he's beginning to recall something.

Until he says with a scowl, "We want nothing to do with you. Leave us alone, psychic."

Him uttering those words reminds me of another time he used that tone. A time that none of them remember. Feeling tears come to my eyes, I cover it as I stand up, pushing Rue out of the way as I aim for the exit. As I go out and rise into the night sky, the sight of the familiar stream makes me recall another one. No, not my brother, surely Latias had that taken care of, too. The other one that always comes to me at the river.

"Growlithe!" I shout in desperation, not caring if anyone hears. "Growlithe!" I shout again as I fly upstream. "It's me, your dragon friend! Where are you?" Even though silence is my only answer, I keep on going. I remember she lives higher. "Growlithe, please, answer me! I need to talk to you…"

It's as I reach the foot of the mountains I realize how stupid I sound. She shouldn't be out at this hour, and her mother certainly wouldn't let her out to see a dragon. And even worse, if she forgot about me too, she would never even come to this dragon. Would I ever see her again, if that were the case? I don't even remember her name…

I fly upwards to the next hilltop and perch there to rest. It's a rather familiar one, since it is on the way to the mountains, which I've been to many times, but I've never stopped by it. Since I was able to think things through the last time I roosted on the top of a hill, I decide to do it again to collect my thoughts.

This isn't a nightmare, right? I stare up at the stars in the night sky and blink a few times. No, this is definitely real. Latias removed their memories of me… but why?

"It's to help you get over them."

I shiver and look down to see Latias floating before me.

"Get over them? Why in the world would I want to do that?" I shoot back, not willing to show weakness in front of her. "They're my family, not yours."

"And they'll die long before you. Remember when we talked about this?" she answers calmly and offers a hand. "Come, Nova. I know you're hungry. I have plenty of food for you."

"Never," I hiss. "Leave me alone." With that, I leap off to the side and fly away, if only to get away from her. To my relief, I don't feel her presence follow me.

I can't forgive her for what she's done. And this can't be permanent, either. I must find a way to reverse it. Porygon-Z surely knows.

But first… I am really hungry. I certainly don't have the energy to teleport all the way south. I'm not accepting food from Latias, and those amnesiacs don't seem like they're going to feed me, so I'll have to find someone else.

Rue's Sceptile friend? I don't know her very well. The Charizard? They were friendly last time but I don't know any of them either. Lyrl? Yeah, I'm not allowed to go there…

There's someone else that comes to mind as I think of the desert Flygon. Hale. He's still stuck in the Deadlands, isn't he? Surely he remembers me! Latias must not have had the opportunity if he's still there! If I explain everything to him, surely he'll still hunt for me.

But that's all the way west… and I have to fly all the way back.

Wait, no. I've just had plenty of time asleep. I can spare another teleport.

Within moments of concentrating of the image of him, I materialize at the Deadlands, with Hale right in front of me. The fact that my mind barely aches tells me I've made the right decision.

As I fly around his still image, I try to think of how I can get him out? Should I revert the entire region back, like I did last time? No, I can't resolve all the bloodshed in the middle, not in my current state of hunger. Or state of mind.

I wonder if I can simply drag him out using another teleport. Holding onto his body, I focus my mind on the Shallows, and all of a sudden his wings hit me in the face and he falls over onto the floor.

It worked! I'm such a genius.

"Hale, are you all right?" I walk over and ask him. He turns around, glares at me with anger, and throws a punch in my face. I subconsciously back off with levitation.

Right. To him, Vie had been alive only days prior. "Wait, Hale, listen to me!" I say as he lunges at me again and I dodge. "Stop it!" I say and stretching out my arms and pinning him to the ground with my powers. "Hale, calm down!"

"Murderer," he spouts as he struggles in my psychic grasp. "Kill me too!"

There's a brief elation that he does recognize me, but then I realize the need to placate him immediately, given his emotional state. "Hale, it's been months since she died," I tell him the truth. "I just saved you from a-" I stop as a particularly strong burst of strength makes him break free and lunge at me once more. Judging by his actions I don't think he's even listening to me.

Frustrated, I fire a strong pulse straight in his face, as he lets out a pained cry before falling over on his face. There's another hunger pang within me, surely at using all this energy, but I suppress it down as I walk over to him. "Hale, I'm sorry for Vie. I really am. Can you listen to me?"

He grabs my foot in a weak grasp. What is he even trying to accomplish? I kick it away with my other and step back. "What is wrong with you?"

"Kill me," he utters and looks up, tears in his face. "I'll never forgive you, so kill me now."

I find myself silent as I stare at this pathetic image of someone I once knew as a happy-go-lucky Flygon. Perhaps I underestimated the intensity of his emotional state. The day after Vie died, I certainly wouldn't listen to someone telling me to calm down.

But it's still ridiculous! I drag him out of the Deadlands, and he won't even listen to me. I'm not going to beg for someone like him to hunt for me. In fact, I think I'm done dealing with him.

"Hale, I'll give you some time to calm down," I say, holding back my disdain. "The pain of losing her will get better, trust me."

He mumbles something else angry with his face pressed into the ground. His wings give an erratic twitch. He seems out of commission completely. I think my pulse might have been a bit too powerful… Well, can't do anything about that now. I can just leave him here and he'll recover in a while and then find his own way.

"Goodbye for now. Don't fly west," I tell him, and then leap back into the air. I wonder how it is that I am so composed in my words to him. Perhaps it's seeing an image of myself mourning, too, and understanding the feeling. Still… I can't deal with him trying to attack me at every opportunity.

Now perched atop a Shallows rock, I sigh as the pain in my chest intensifies. After using all that energy teleporting and fighting, I'm absolutely famished. I can't really think of anyone else right now… I'll fill myself with some berries first.

What about me, my dear?

Get out of my mind! I send back harshly and push her presence away.

With that, I fly south and quickly find myself in the hills between the desert and the mountains. Scavenging for berries is relatively easy, and I throw one into my mouth the instant I find one, my preference of taste the least of my concerns. There's a brief satisfaction as my tongue tastes it and as I swallow it into my stomach, but the tiny amount leave me wanting more.

This place isn't very rich in berries, I realize. I only find the few bushes I've been to with Rue, and after that I can't find anymore. My hunger is barely sated, and I still have no plan on how to survive. I'm sure Porygon-Z would know, given all his knowledge, but the teleportation to the south will surely use up the rest of my energy, and he who lives in a virtual world surely doesn't have any food for me. If only there were someone like Porygon-Z nearby…

My mind flashes for a moment as I think of a familiar Trapinch from my childhood.

Zeta.

I wonder how he's doing. Surely he has heard of what I've done in front of the crowd. Somehow, I get the feeling that he wouldn't mind seeing me.

He's the closest person that might get me food. I suppose that's good enough a reason to visit him. If anything goes wrong, I can teleport myself out of Lyrl, anyway.

So I begin flying to Lyrl. The journey is rather short and soon I see the walls in my view again. Without companions of other species, I can just fly into the place without suspicion. And that is exactly what happens. No one bats an eye as I fly into this place I once thought I was barred from.

I lower my height as I survey the vaguely familiar streets and buildings. On the exterior, not much has changed. At this late hour, there are few Flygon loitering around, and no one takes notice of me as I land at Zeta's house. Or rather, the entrance I always used. The hole he used to crawl through has been blocked up now. Maybe he finally evolved.

Though I know of the main entrance to his house, I have never used it, because Zeta always heavily implied that his parents did not want guests over. Speaking of which, does he even live with his parents anymore? Maybe he found a mate? Nah, it hasn't been that long. I saw him before we left on our first journey to Fahrenheit's place. That was about a year ago. So much has happened in this year.

My stomach growls and I shift my arms to cover it, the pain becoming more acute by the second. No time for sentimental thoughts, I'll just teleport through this wall here…

…And I find myself in Zeta's cozy little room. Just like when I visited as a Trapinch, it is dark, with some monitors to one side, and plenty of books and other strange things littering the wall. However, I notice that there's a proper large bed, as well as a chair. That must mean he has evolved into a Flygon. The bed is now blocking where the Trapinch entrance used to be.

My sense of smell picks something up and I glance to the bedside table, and notice a neatly sliced slab of meat on a plate. My stomach lurches at the site of it and I leap over immediately, grabbing it and gobbling it down.

As I'm stuffing it down my throat, I come to realize that I'm essentially stealing food from him. Ah, but I'm sure he won't mind. He's so chill with everything.

The door suddenly makes a sound, and in my haste to swallow the rest of the meat I feel it get stuck in my throat. Turning to the door, I find a lanky Flygon staring at me, holding a cup in his hand.

I expect him to scream, or to yell that there's a thief, but it's only a moment before he calls my name. "Nova?"

I nod frantically and leap over to him, snatching the cup from his hand, and begin pouring it down my throat immediately, in hope to help the food get down to my stomach.

But Zeta immediately knocks the cup out of my hand and pulls my face down. "Spit it out," he says curtly as he pulls my head down and pats on my back. For some reason, my judgment trusts him despite his rather weak force and I cough out a bit of meat onto the floor.

I am out of breath as I stand back up and wipe my mouth, finally getting a good look at Zeta as a Flygon, who goes to shut the door. His arms and legs seem thin, surely from lack of exercise. His face is soft and his eyes tired behind those goggles. If I didn't know any better, I might've guessed he was female.

"Sorry," I explain as he turns to me, feeling embarrassed at the mess I've caused in his room. "I was starving."

"I can see that," he says, and grabs some tissues from a nearby shelf, then bends over to clean up the spilt water and bit of meat I regurgitated up. "Is that all you came here for, though? Surely you have other sources of food?"

"They're not… available at the moment," I say vaguely as he grabs more tissues to wipe the stone floor with. "I really am sorry, though, for barging in and making a mess like this."

"Nothing a handful of tissues won't fix. I have more food in the fridge, anyway," he says as he throws the used tissues in a litter bin in the corner. "So you really just came here to eat? I can't hide you here for long, though. I don't eat much, and my parents would notice the food missing. Not sure they'd like the psychic Flygon in their house."

"I understand. Thank you for letting me eat that, anyway," I answer. "I'm also quite tired. Is it okay if I sit down somewhere?"

"Just use my bed if you need to sleep," he says with a gesture, and sits down onto the chair, his tail fitting through a hole in the back. "I'm sure we can fit on it together."

I sit down and find that though it's larger than the single beds I'm used to, it is still undoubtedly meant for only one person to sleep on. But the bed is his, and I can't complain with the shelter he's offering me freely.

So I lie back onto the pillow and shuffle in leftwards to the wall to make space for him. "What are you doing at this hour, anyway?" I ask as I've shifted into a comfortable position.

"I tend to sleep late," he answers as I hear the sound of frequent tapping, surely coming from him. "I'm just writing down that you're here. Don't worry, it's private," he says as he stands back up and the monitor shuts down.

"Writing down?" I ask, confused. "Don't you need pen and paper for that?"

"I type it," he explains as he crawls onto the bed next to me. His wings brush against mine but it can't be helped given the small space. "Do you know how keyboards work?"

"Not really, no," I answer as I shift inwards, wanting to give him more space.

"I'll show you tomorrow, then," he says as he presses a button, turning off the light completely. "So, how have you been doing this past year? Are you still with those two Salamence?"

"Sort of. It's very complicated," I answer truthfully, not sure how to put it, so I bring the topic to his life instead. "How about you? I wouldn't expect you to evolve from a Trapinch to a Flygon in such a short time."

"Intense training regime I signed up for. It's much easier to do things as a Flygon, I put it off for long enough as it is."

"Then how come you're so skinny?"

"I stopped exercising after I evolved, of course. Though, how is it on your side? How are you faring with your psychic powers?"

"Terrible," I answer, thinking of the amnesiacs back at the cave. "Wait, Zeta, I just remembered," I say as I sit up, my tail shuffling and hitting his leg. I look to him and he glances back. "Do you know how amnesia works? Is there a way to fix it?"

"Calm down and lie down," he places a hand on my arm and pulls me back down. "Sure, I know about that. Is it retrograde or anterograde amnesia?"

I stare at the ceiling, feeling stupid. "Uh… what are those?"

"Retrograde is inability to recall past memories, anterograde is inability to form new memories."

"It sounds like retrograde, but… it's really selective."

"How so?"

"They can remember most things… just not…" I find myself hesitating to say it, because it would sound rather ridiculous to a scientific mind like him. "Just not me," I finally say.

"That doesn't sound right," he answers in a questioning tone. "Do you know what caused it?"

I can't exactly talk about Latias with a straight face. "There was this Legendary Pokémon I met. A Latias, to be specific. And I think she wiped my friends' memories."

"You think?" This time, it is his turn to sit up suddenly. "Nova, first of all, are you sure you met a Latias? Could it be another Pokémon in disguise? Latias aren't exactly common, you know."

I pause for a moment, never even having considered the possibility. But even after I left her, I can still vividly recall the feel of her feathers, and the smiles in that photo… "Yeah, I'm sure she's real," I say, beginning to miss her.

I shake the thought out. What are you thinking, Nova? How can you like someone who let your mother die?

"If you insist, then sure," he answers, lying back down with a thump. "However, I am fairly certain that Latias do not have powers to manipulate memory," he continues. "If they forgot about everything, it could be some form of brain injury, but it's rather sketchy if they only forgot about you. I'll research for you tomorrow to be sure, and of cures too."

"Thanks, Zeta," I say, my heart filling with gratitude. He not only let me stay here despite my notoriety, but he's even helping me with the trouble that I needed. "You're a real good friend."

"I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to have the psychic Flygon in my debt," he answers with a hint of amusement. "Anyways, I'm going to sleep, it's past midnight. Even if you can't sleep, make sure you stay here, because the other Flygon won't take kindly to seeing you. Good night."

"Good night," I answer, and shuffle closer to the wall, wanting to lessen his discomfort, as I close my eyes and mull over the events of the day – or rather, night.

The first thing that comes to mind is that I've left a defeated Hale at the Shallows. He's one that can take care of himself in the wild, so I'm not particularly worried. Plus he's not going to speak to me rationally anytime soon, so I should leave him be for a while.

I sigh, caressing my relatively full belly. It must have vexed Latias for me to circumvent her plans like this. She must have been quite displeased when I found someone who would give me food, given that I cannot acquire food in the wild.

…That was the cause of my problems tonight. I didn't have food so I had to set aside other things to search for it. But why? Why can't I hunt for myself in the wild? I can't believe I hadn't thought of that solution earlier. By eating, I'm still requiring prey to die for me, and even in this desperation, I still cannot kill with my own hands? It is insanely easy for me to hunt. I can sense the minds of prey, and I can kill them with some simple forceful telekinesis. But it never came to my mind that I should have done it to ease my hunger.

Perhaps if I didn't find Zeta and became more desperate, I would have resorted to such methods, but deep down I feel glad that it didn't come down to it. It is a tradition that I would like to preserve, almost as if it is something unique to Nova, as silly as that may sound.

Zeta probably hasn't, either. I turn to look at him and by taking one careful look at his claws I can see they have been trimmed to the point where the tips are round. For a brief moment there is disdain for such physical weakness, before I realize that he must use his paws for much more delicate things.

His weak strength was quite noticeable when he tried to get me to spit out the meat, compared to Father, Rue, or even Phendrene. I suppose it is concomitant to living such a sheltered indoor life. Though I have to wonder, did he really have to make me spit it out, anyway? Other times I've eaten too fast, a few gulps of water was all it took to down the food into my stomach. Perhaps he thought the meat was stuck in my air canal. That must be it.

I do wonder, though, when my next meal is going to be. I'm beginning to feel hungry again, which is normal, considering I haven't eaten for quite a long time prior to Zeta's meat, and I can't exactly make him give all the food to me. Ah, I can worry about that tomorrow when I wake up.

...

I find myself sprawled across the bed and my tail dangling off the side as the sunlight shines through the window. Pushing myself up, I see Zeta on his chair and looking at the screen.

"You finally up? It's afternoon already," he says and looks back.

"Oh, I tend to sleep a lot," I answer and sit up properly. "Sorry if I moved around too much in my sleep."

"Nothing I couldn't handle," he says and spins the chair around. "By the way, I looked up the Latias species, and it doesn't seem they have the ability to manipulate memory. The only one that is said to be able to wipe memory is Uxie, but I'm unsure if they can be selective as to wipe just the memory of one person. It doesn't make much sense."

I'm rather taken aback by the answer. "So you mean Latias couldn't have been the one to alter my friends' memories?"

"Perhaps this ability of hers was not documented because of the rarity of her species. In any case, I think it'd be informative if you'd allow me to check on them to see what they really remember," he says with a smile.

It takes a moment for me to understand him. "So you're saying you want me to bring you to them? I mean, you've helped me enough…"

"Why not? I can take a few days off of work easily. They let me work at my own pace. Plus, I'm interested in this unique case of amnesia too, anyway." He stands up from his chair and looks to the window. "It'd be good to finally leave Lyrl for once."

Right, he's lived here his entire life. "Of course," I answer, glad to have Zeta's help. "One thing first, though… Uh, do you have any more food?" I feel embarrassed for asking, but a dragon has to eat.

"Ah, of course. Stay here and I'll get you some from the fridge," he says and exits the room. I take a moment to stretch and lightly test my telekinesis on small objects in preparation for the journey.

Soon, he comes back with another cleanly cut slab of meat on a plate. "I thought it was from the fridge?" I comment as I hear it sizzle.

He hands the plate to me and says, "I microwaved it. That's a machine you can use to heat food up quickly."

The meat is the same as last time, but because I'm not in as much of a rush, I can taste the more intricate flavours. Though the lack of fresh blood is disappointing, I can taste the more intricate flavours of seasoning, which is actually quite delicious.

"It's not as good as the fresh food you hunt out there, but it fills, which is what food is meant to do," Zeta comments, sitting back onto his chair as he watches me eat.

"Actually, it's not necessarily worse. Just different," I say after I swallow, and he hands me some tissues to wipe my paw. "By the way, what do you do for work?" I ask, remembering Zeta's earlier comment.

"Oh, just a research scientist. It's rather easy and fun, and it pays quite well. I'm sure you could be one if you were allowed to stay here," he adds.

I'd ask him more about it if I weren't eating, but once I've started eating my hunger somehow grows until I down the entire piece of meat. I sigh in satisfaction. "That was filling. Just need a bit of water to drink. Someone might recognize me if I go to the fountain, so is it okay if you bring me a cup?" I make a comical pleading hand gesture with my paw to my face.

"Really? Why not go to a lake to drink?" he answers with a laugh. "The water here's not very good. Come on, we can head off already," he says and stands up rather suddenly.

His eagerness startles me for a moment. "Now? You're not going to tell your parents?"

"Sometimes I spend nights at the lab. They have a room for me. They'll just assume I'm there. It's fine. Come on already, I'm anxious," he says and extends his hand out.

Though I've always known Zeta to be relatively positive, his declaration of excitement appears somewhat forced to me. "We're in the desert," I begin, a little suspicious. "We can't exactly find random lakes unless we make a pointless detour to the Shallows. I mean, it's just a bit of water," I mumble.

"Trust me, it's not good for you," he says, a little more urgently. "So are you able to teleport me out, or will I have to fly out and find you?"

"What do you mean it's not good for me?" I respond, ignoring his later statement. "You drink it every day! You were going to drink it last night…" The scene comes back into my mind. "Oh. So that's why you made me spit it out. It was the water, isn't it?"

"Yes," he says in a soft tone. "Now Nova, trust me. Go drink somewhere else."

"I mean, I guess I can go to a fountain –"

"No, none of the water in Lyrl is good," he interrupts, surprising me once again. "Let's find another source of water."

I refuse to take his hand from his bed. "But why? How come you're willing to stay here drinking the water when you know it's bad? You're a research scientist, surely you could figure how to purify it."

"Lower your voice," he orders and sits back down onto his chair, sighing deeply. "Fine. I know you can read my mind, so I'll just tell you. But you must promise to keep it a secret."

"Keep it a secret?" I frown as I look up at him. "You mean to tell me… you're letting everyone in Lyrl drink bad water on purpose?"

He looks away to the window. "It's for a good reason."

"Wait, Zeta, this is serious," I say and stare at him. "No matter how much I'm in your debt, I can't let the entire population of Lyrl be harmed."

"Hear me out first, and if you still disagree, by all means, go ahead and out me. You still won't find the cure," he says, his voice becoming more apathetic. "It's for their own good, anyway."

"Then why wouldn't you let me drink it?" I accuse.

"Because, Nova…" He turns to look at me. "Do you ever want to have children?"

"What?" I blurt out, nonplussed.

"Answer me," he says, his gaze serious.

"Maybe," I reply. "What does this have to do with the water?"

He gives a mirthless chuckle. "If you drink the water, you won't be able to have children anymore."

I want to say something to question that, but seeing his calm face, I know it to be true. "You're saying the water makes people infertile?"

"Yes. I know, I know, you're going to say that people have a right to reproduce… And I suppose they do, but there's a good reason for it to be denied here."

I'm actually rather conflicted regarding the issue. "I'm not sure everyone has the right to reproduce," I say, thinking back to Spire. "But I wouldn't let the whole population of Lyrl go infertile. That means the only Flygon left will be the ones in the wild!"

Zeta takes a deep breath and sits up straight. "All right, listen up. Do you know how ecosystems work?"

I want to retort, but quash the urge down and respond with a simple shake of my head.

He steadies himself as he begins. "The relationship between predator and prey is a complex one. Though they may consider each other enemies, they actually require each other to live. Predators need to eat the prey, of course, and they catch the weakest members of the prey population so that the strongest live on.

"Of course, I am referring to the Flygon here in Lyrl. There are far too many of us, and after those from the Shallows have migrated here, the demand for prey to be caught locally has drastically risen. Many hunters are already leaving to the wild because of how difficult it is to hunt near here. But the local Lyrl Flygon who don't know how to hunt can't really relocate, and they're going to be unwilling to until people start starving to death.

"For a species, that is actually a good thing. Only the strongest of the population will acquire food and reproduce, whilst the rest will die out. That is how evolution works. …But I wanted to avoid it. I know, at my position here, that I would never go hungry. But the rest of the people I've known throughout my life, I didn't want to see them die. Us Lyrl Flygon cannot simply fly out of here and survive in the wild. So I had to find a way to curb to population. And this was the only way without outright killing people – by preventing new additions to the population."

He finishes the speech with his arms crossed, his gaze having wandered to the window already. "Wait… so, you purposefully made the thing that makes people infertile?" I confirm.

"The virus," he corrects. "And yes, I did. There were blueprints, so to speak, of such population control methods that humans devised, and all I did was put it into practice." He smiles at the end of that. "So, are you going to tell everyone now? Perhaps I'll be imprisoned, or maybe even sentenced to death. But they're not going to find a cure."

I sit there silently, mulling the entire situation over. It seems so bizarre – I never knew Zeta was capable of this – yet I am certain he is telling the truth. "You really think they will hate you?"

"Of course," he says calmly. "No one will understand that I did it for their good. Instead, they'll think I've done them wrong."

His words echo in my mind and it brings up a familiar sensation. I remember the time when I only wanted to help protect and take care of Vie's eggs, only to be viewed of as a thief and a liar. It felt so awful.

"Don't worry, Zeta," I reassure him, putting a reassuring hand on his arm. "I know you've done the right thing. It's not as if you made yourself an exception when putting your plan to action."

"I was never planning on having children, anyway," he says and closes his eyes. "Now, that's all that there is. I wouldn't lie to a psychic, would I?"

"I suppose," I say, and sit back.

There is a short period of silence as I reflect back on everything, feeling quite overwhelmed. Though Zeta's explanation leaves me content, I can't dispel a tiny bit of doubt that maybe we're the ones in the wrong. What if the other Flygon didn't care, and wanted children even if it meant learning to live in the wild? I don't think I would have been able to do what Zeta did, imposing my will over so many unknowing people, even if it was truly for the better. If only my friends remembered me, I could share this to them and ask for their opinion…

"What are you going to do, then?" I ask Zeta, who appears rather absentminded. "Are you going to stay here and hope you don't get discovered?"

He shrugs as he keeps his eyes on the window. "What else can I do?"

"You can come with me!" I suggest immediately.

His eyes turn to me in surprise. "Really?"

"My friends can hunt, and I'm sure they would welcome you. Providing you help me restore their memories," I say with a grin.

"That's easier said than done," he comments. "Plus, it will be difficult to leave my lab and other resources behind."

I stand up and offer my hand. "Wait till you get to know Porygon-Z. It wouldn't hurt to take a look."

He doesn't look convinced.

"Even if you don't want to, we still have some amnesiacs to attend to."

"Right," he says, and pulls himself up on my hand. "So, I assume you're teleporting me?"

"Yup. Hold tight," I answer as I wrap my arms around him.

It's a moment before we are standing some distance from Lyrl's wall, the bright sun shining down from the blue sky above.

"Oh, I don't like teleporting long distances," I clarify upon seeing his confused face. "We're gonna fly the rest of the way. I'd like to stop at the Shallows for a drink first."

"I'm not very good at flying, though," he explains, somewhat embarrassed.

I turn and offer my back to him. "Then just hop on. I'm used to carrying people. Don't get in way of the wings and we should be set."

"…All right." He climbs on somewhat clumsily. Once I feel his legs secure, I jump to the air with a strong flap of my wings, and speed toward the Shallows.

"Hey, Nova, one more thing," I hear him say over the wind. "Have you figured out why you're psychic yet?"

"No, why?"

"How about if you've had a mate?"

"…No." I begin to feel more reserved. "Why?"

"You should find one soon, so we can see if this power is heritable."

It takes a moment for me to understand what he means. "Oh. Well, uh, neither of my parents are psychic. So I imagine it's not."

"Ah. But still, I'm sure a psychic Flygon like you has lots of suitors," he says in a neutral tone, one that puts me off significantly.

"I suppose," I answer curtly. "Let's talk about this later."

I can feel him wonder about what it is that makes me so reticent. Of course he wouldn't understand. He has never fallen in love. You don't find a mate just to test if your traits are hereditary, you find a mate… because you love them.

Thinking of that makes me think of an unpleasant memory about someone I long to forget. The image of her comes back into my mind, and all I want to do is to see her, feel her, hear her again… No. I cannot allow myself to dwell on that. Blinking carefully, I stare into the distance, the Shallows already in sight. There is no spare effort to squander on petty emotions like this.

Stay focused, Nova.