"So this is the Shallows' lake?" Zeta asks as I feel his weight disappear from my body.
"Yeah. Different from what you imagined?" I ask as he approaches the bank cautiously.
He nods and remains silent as he picks up a pebble from underwater and inspects it. I leave him to it and bend down to gulp up some much needed water.
I turn to Zeta after wiping my mouth. "You stay put for a while, I need to check something, all right?"
"All right," he answers, and with a flap of my wings I turn to find the Flygon I left here yesterday. Flying over a rock, I notice he's moved from the place he was. I'd be worried if I incapacitated him for that long.
It's only as I arrive at his cave I wonder why I'm even trying to find him. I'm sure he doesn't want to see me and will not listen to me regardless of what I tell him. Perhaps he would be an asset in convincing the others that their memory was erased, because surely they remember him.
"Hale!" I shout into the cave, but there is no response. I close my eyes, focusing, and don't detect a presence inside. Does that mean he has left the Shallows? I am not going to find him before my task with Zeta is done.
Sighing, I ascend to the air and fly over to the lake. Only to see from above that a light-skinned Flygon is already next to Zeta, seemingly engaged in conversation.
Zeta looks up as I near them, making Hale turn his head. His eyes narrow as I land in front of him, my arm ready to parry any acts of aggression Hale may attempt.
"You calm yet?" I say with a forced smile.
Hale ignores me and turns to Zeta. "Do you know him?"
They evidently haven't had been talking for very long. "No, I don't," Zeta answers swiftly, and I mentally commend him for his caution. He must have sensed the hostility. "Why do you seem tense?"
"Oh, he's the psychic Flygon. And he murdered my sister," Hale spits and turns back towards me.
I falter for a moment, not expecting this accusation. Zeta, too, glances at me in a surprised look.
"He's lying," I return, realizing the need to keep Zeta on my side. "Yes, I was there when she died, but he attributed the death to me."
"No, I saw it!" Hale shouts back. "You attacked her, and with your psychic powers, tore her to-"
Fed up with Hale's lies, I charge forward and flick him aside as I wrap my arms around Zeta. Before either of them realizes what's going on, I manage to teleport Zeta to the other side of the Shallows. He takes a step back away from me as I stop to take a breath.
"Wait," I call to him. "You don't really believe him, do you?"
Zeta hesitates for a moment. "No, I don't." But the hesitation tells me that he's just saying that to placate me.
I stomp in frustration. Trying to find Hale in his unstable state was a terrible idea. "His sister was my best friend from childhood. I would never kill her."
"I said I believe you," he returns calmly.
I can sense that despite his words, his trust in me has definitely been wavered by Hale's words. "She was shot by an arrow! How would I know how to use a bow! It makes no-"
"I told you!" Zeta interrupts me. "I don't think you murdered her. All right?"
I stop and we look at each other for a long moment. I can sense that his qualms have not been fully dispelled, but he does mean what he says. "Fine. Climb on me, and let's continue."
"I suppose I won't have time to check the lake more?" he asks, appearing disappointed.
"After that crazy Flygon leaves or calms down I'll bring you here as many times as you want," I utter as I slouch with my back to him, impatient. "Can you get on already?"
After another brief pause, he concedes and mounts me. With a spring, I speed into the air and away from the Shallows.
"If you don't mind, can I ask something?" Zeta shouts over the wind.
It's more convenient to speak in our minds, I send to him.
"What?" he shouts once more.
Think your message clearly, and I'll be able to receive it.
"Oh… I'd rather you not read my mind," he says and I feel his grip loosen.
I am becoming more irritated by the second. "Fine. It better be something important!"
"I was wondering about what that Flygon said… but never mind!" he declares and leans his head closer.
With the wind obscuring the sound, I can't even tell if that was sarcastic or not. Plus, I don't want Zeta doubting me at all, so I come to a halt abruptly, inciting a yelp from Zeta. "Ask quickly," I say, frustrated with the entire situation.
"They are the ones who fought with you at Lyrl, right? The news said the two Flygon had lighter skins."
"Yes. Why?"
He ignores my query and continues asking. "How long has it been since his sister died?"
"Quite a few months. Now, what's your point?" I turn my head back to glare at him.
"His state of grieving and yours do not concur with each other, so I wanted to ask. You said she was your childhood friend, right? I'd think you'd be grieving, too, but-"
"Okay, let me explain," I interrupt. "She died months ago, but to him – name's Hale, by the way – she died a few days ago. His perspective has been warped by a– by a psychic thing." I decide to not tell Zeta about the Deadlands, since surely that would make him ask more questions. And though we're not in a rush, I don't feel in a talkative mood.
"I see. So what psychic thing?" he asks, predictably.
"It's like time travel to the future," I try and give a vague explanation, only to realize how accurate it is. But I don't mull on the idea. "Can I keep flying now?"
"Sure, go ahead," he answers, relatively satisfied.
Sighing in relief, I accelerate my pace with a few strong beats of my wings. I very much regret taking a detour to find Hale, and in hindsight I should have known his aggression would not have faded. At this point, I find myself wondering if it will ever fade.
What are you saying, Nova? Of course Hale will come to his senses eventually. Even I forgave my father after swearing to never forgive him, did I not?
Thankfully, Zeta remains quiet for the rest of the flight. He does shout an exclamation or two when we run into a few Salamence, but I easily out speed them and continue zooming past along the edge of the mountains.
I find myself anxious as I begin to recognize the rocky canyons below. I didn't leave them with the best impression of someone that supposedly met them for the first time. Surely if their memories don't have me, they won't have Zeta either, since none of them knew Zeta outside of his relationship with me.
From afar I see the familiar hill above the cliff and I glide down before perching atop it.
"Are we here?" Zeta asks as he gets off my back hesitantly, and wraps his arms around himself as a blast of wind hits us. "It's quite cold."
I turn around, trying to suppress my anxiety. "Of course. Flygon are used to the desert. I thought it was cold at first, too, but after traversing more cold regions I'm much more resistant to it."
My words suddenly reminds me of the Flygon that brought me to those regions, and I feel a pang of heartache as I turn away from Zeta.
"So where are they?" Zeta says, clearly quite impatient.
"Let's wait a moment," I tell him without looking his way. I don't want to deal with hostile amnesiacs if I can't stabilize my own emotions. "If you're cold, go down to the foot of the hill. The wind is smaller there."
He glances me for a moment, as if questioning me, but then obeys and glides down with his clumsy wings. He doesn't know how to use them very well. But as I see him taking shelter in the wind's blind spot, I recall how familiar I am with the terrain here. It's because it is my home. Or rather, was.
I shake my head fervently. I must better control my emotions. Spreading my wings with a leap, I glide over to the river and take a big gulp of the water. It is much colder than the Shallows. Then I reach down and splash some water upward onto my face to clear my mind.
I look along the stream, remembering who usually resides here. There is no sign of the Dratini. Maybe they relocated him back inside, considering that the season is nearing the coldest of the year. He would be the easiest to approach alone, to gouge the true extent of memory loss. If I were to enter the cave, surely they would shelter him the same way they sheltered Phendrene.
"Nova!" Zeta yells from the hill. "What are we waiting for?"
Sighing, I glide over to his place. "I'm trying to think of what to say to them," I tell him, which is partially true. "Last time I left them I didn't leave the best impression."
"How about I head in first, then?" he suggests. "That way I can gauge their reaction of meeting someone truly new, as opposed to someone they were forced to forget about."
"That's… actually a great idea," I admit and give him a pat on the arm. "But I'm a little worried about how they'll treat you."
"Is that so?" he asks back, not very convinced. "I am rather confident in my ability to placate strangers."
"Let's still plan it out, first," I tell him, trying to be cautious. "So there's two Charizard, a Salamence, and a Haxorus. One of the Charizard stays on the inside and he doesn't really come out. The others are, well…"
"The ones that were at Lyrl with you on that day?" he suggests with a curious look.
"Yes. Yes they are." I'm surprised at how Zeta remembers all of this. "So it'd be best to not say that you are from Lyrl. And it'd also be best if you not mention me, for obvious reasons."
"Duly noted," he says with a nod. "Would it be all right if I claim that I am a lost traveller, then?"
"Definitely! The Charizard who stays inside owns the place, and apparently it's a shelter of sorts for travellers."
Zeta pauses for a moment. "Wait, Nova. Could the Charizard's name be Fahrenheit Silverwing?"
"Silver what?" I ask, taken aback. I did not know Fen had a last name.
"Silverwing." He looks at me with a curious gaze. "You didn't know?"
"No, I didn't." Briefly I wonder the implications of that. Phendrene Silverwing. It sounds… different.
"But it is Fahrenheit, yes?"
"He prefers to be called Fen, but otherwise you are correct." My mind returns to the family name of the two Charizard. "How come they are called Silverwing? Their wings aren't silver."
"Surnames tend to not have reason. Maybe their ancestor like adorning their wings with silver or something," Zeta shrugs. "I prefer the Flygon way, not having surnames. But if other species…"
As Zeta is speaking, there is a green speck on the horizon that catches my attention. Soon it becomes clear that it is a Flygon flying over. "Wait a moment," I interrupt Zeta, and leap into the air, levitating. I have never seen unknown Flygon trespass this region. It has always been Charizard, Salamence, and sometimes Garchomp or Dragonite.
With the better view, I can tell it's not Hale or Silex, since they have unusual colorations. My heart begins to beat faster as the Flygon nears, as there is a mounting feeling of dread.
It has to be her.
There is a desire to hide, but she has seen me already and is heading this way. What does she want? The last time we've seen each other, I told her that I loved her. I know it wasn't a lie at the time – but now, after all this time, I wonder if I still do.
"Nova?" I hear her voice as she flies over. I begin to see her figure more clearly – her lithe body, her graceful wings, and her lovely face that I so longed to see, yet could not bear to think about. I'm at a complete loss at what to do as she comes closer, and closer, until she crashes into me and envelops me in a hug.
Her wings stop and I let her weigh on me as I levitate us onto the ground. "Oh, Nova, I've been looking for you for so long!" she utters and I feel her paws caress my back. "I'm so glad I finally found you!"
I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. Instead, I return my arms around her body, too. It takes my mind of all the anxiety I have been feeling.
"Uh…" Zeta's voice sounds from behind me, and I realize that the world has more people than just us two.
I turn and break from her embrace. "Oh, this is Zeta," I say and gesture to him. "Zeta, this is… Aya."
"Nice to meet you," she walks over and offers a hand to Zeta, who takes it a little hesitantly. "Are you Nova's friend?"
Zeta nods. "And you are Nova's…?"
"Zeta, hold on for a moment," I say before she can answer. "Is it all right if you go wait under the cliff there? We have some… things to sort out."
He gives me a highly amused look. "Sure, lovebird. Just call me when you're ready," he jesters and takes off towards the lower terrain.
"Nova," she repeats, unfazed by Zeta's words, and grabs onto my hands with hers. She stands a little shorter than me from across. "Where have you been all this time? I went back to the desert to find you, but you weren't there anymore."
"I was here, actually," I murmur. "Why would you want to find me, though?" I ask and turn my head away.
"Nova, look at me," she says sternly, and I listen. Her gaze is soft and her eyes half closed. "I wanted to find you because I realized that I love you too."
My heart lurches at her words, and I stare at her smile without comment. "I'm sorry," she continues. "I must have hurt you by leaving. I didn't think about my feelings carefully enough, and it resulted in bad decisions." She leans in closer. "Nova, do you still love me?"
"I'm not leaving my friends," I answer reflexively, trying to back away before I fall for her again.
"Oh, you don't need to." Her grip tightens. "I'll stay here with you. How could I say I love you if I wanted to drag you away from your family?"
"…Really?" I ask, slowly. "You'd stay here with me?"
"Of course," she answers with a resolute nod. "So Nova, do you still love me?"
"How could I not?" I cry and leap forward into a hug, rubbing my neck against hers as a gush of warmth fills my chest. "I've always loved you. But it hurt too much to think about it, so…"
"Shh," she ushers as she reaches her hand up to caress my head. "It's all right, Nova. I won't leave you again."
I feel my breathing quicken in her embrace as I feel my heart rise. I can't believe that she would come to find me, and that she really did love me back. The euphoria in my heart grows as I begin to feel giddy, so I pull back and hold her by her arms, staring at her lovely face.
"So… I guess we're mates now?" she offers tentatively.
"Of course," I answer and lean my head closer. "We're mates."
You've gone too far. I told you to not form attachments with mortals.
A chill runs down my spine as I feel Latias's telepathy. Aya notices it and asks, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I say quickly, glancing around. Latias is nowhere in sight.
"So why don't you introduce me to your friends, then?" the Flygon in front of me suggests with a smile. "I'm proud to be your mate, Nova."
Hearing her call me her mate only reinforces my elation, but it's quickly dampened by the realization that I can't introduce her to people that don't remember me.
You wouldn't listen to me. You don't know how much it hurts, do you?
Leave me alone! I send back to her, trying to focus on my new mate. She is so beautiful. I wish I could leave all this trouble Latias caused behind and return to the times when I adventured through the wilderness with Aya.
"Are you all right?" she asks again, concerned at my sudden movements. "Hey, Nova, we're mates now. You can tell me anything."
"I just don't feel very well," I say and lean on her.
"Then why don't we do something mates do to help each other to feel better?" she suggests in a mischievous tone, her tail sweeping around to touch mine. I'm taken aback for a moment until I look to her face, full of desire, that I understand what she's referring to.
She wants to mate with me.
"I-I've never done anything like it before," I answer her, feeling embarrassed and unsure. But the happiness of her reciprocation trumps those feelings, and I answer, "But… if you really want to, then-"
The people you care about… do you remember what it feels like when they die?
When they… die? I back away from Aya and look around, and see a red-white figure approaching rapidly. "No! Don't do this!"
"Nova?" Aya asks, surprised. "What is-"
She suddenly screams as she falls over onto her side. There is a huge gash on her side, the blood spraying onto me. I look up immediately and see the assailant, Latias, floating above us. Her claw is dripping with blood. The blood of my mate.
"If you're not going to listen to me," Latias says, looking down upon me, "then I will have to remind you how much a dying loved one hurts."
"No!" I roar and float up to block Latias's path to Aya. "She's my mate. You'll have to kill me first."
She smirks. "I'm a legendary, Nova." She suddenly charges forward, and before I can react, unleashes a blast of ice onto my chest. The coldness numbs me and deprives me of all my energy as I fall to the ground, limp. I see Aya next to me, blood already pooling underneath her. No…
"Nova…" Aya calls and reaches her arm out to me. "Help me…"
Even though I'm too far away, I reach out too, and try to crawl over, but just as I am about to reach her, a giant stone falls from the sky, sending a wave of dust onto my face. When the dust clears, the only thing left is a Flygon arm sticking out from under the stone. Blood begins to flow out from beneath the stone until it covers the ground beneath the arm.
I push myself up and sit there staring at the arm, feeling numb. "This can't be real," I say to myself. "Latias couldn't have killed my mate."
"Who said I didn't?" Latias's voice sounds from above. "The blood there seems real enough, doesn't it?" I turn my head up to see her sitting at the top of the rock. "It would have hurt a lot more if you were her long time mate. Be glad I stopped it early enough."
"You murderer!" I cry and leap into the air, my claws aimed for Latias, but I crash into a force field Latias has erected around herself. "Come out and fight me, you devil!"
"I thought Giratina was considered the devil to mortals, not Latias," she answers calmly.
Knowing that there is no way I can get to her, I try and settle for something. "Latias, please. Bring her back. I'll go with you if you revive her. P-Please." My breathing begins to become erratic as I feel tears coming to my eyes.
"Oh, but my species doesn't have power to bring back the dead," she says and cocks her head in a mock curiosity. "I thought you knew that, with the research from your Flygon partner."
"You-" I want to scream but a sob stops me. "You killed her!" I finally let out.
"No, I didn't. After all, even I can't kill someone that was never alive."
Is that some cruel metaphor for mortals having to die? "She was alive enough! Whose arm is that, then?" I point down to below us.
"Which arm?" she answers in a singsong voice and turns her head down and then back up in an exaggerated motion. "I don't see an arm."
"Huh?" I look downward, only to see that the arm and the blood have all vanished. "What… what did you do?"
"I just stopped the illusion," she answers with a small smile. "I think it's enough pain you've felt to learn your lesson."
"…Illusion?" I repeat slowly.
"Yes, Nova. Aya was an illusion." Latias takes off, and flies over and around the back of the hill. But she doesn't come over on the other side. A Flygon does. A Flygon that I thought was my mate.
"Hey, Nova!" she says. "It's me! Your mate!" But then she laughs and in another blink, I'm back to seeing Latias. I never noticed how similar their voices are. "See how much you care about these mortals?" Latias continues. "What will happen when Blight dies? When Rue dies? When Phendrene dies? When Fly dies? When Growlithe dies?"
I feel my heart numb. "So the Aya from before… the one I met in the mountains… Was she, at least, real?"
"Of course not!" Latias says like it's the simplest thing in the world. "How else would someone be that perfect for you? I thought, after that experience at Lyrl, it would be a good opportunity to wean you off your mortal friends. And it would have worked, if not for that cursed robot." Latias gives out a deep sigh. "I did not expect you to fall in love with the illusion, though."
"I fell in love with an illusion," I repeat behind her.
"That's not really your fault, Nova," she says, trying to comfort me. "I designed every aspect of her to be perfect for you, after all."
I stare at the bottom of the rock where an arm once lay. It wasn't real. Aya wasn't real. My love, my happiness, my euphoria, was all for an illusion designed to trick me.
My numbness grows to anger as I look up at her. "Latias… How dare you play with my emotions like that?"
"You know, I could have had you mate with the illusion first," Latias says absentmindedly. "But that would make things rather awkward for us after I told you the truth. This way, it helps you know how painful it is to lose a loved one the most effectively."
'Most effectively.' To her, is this a routine, or some task she wants to accomplish? Perhaps. But to me… I recall the illusion's face, her words, her warmth. They all seemed so real, and I know my love, then, was real. When I was younger, when people told me of how magical it felt to love and be loved, I'd laugh at them and think they're exaggerating. But only when I felt it myself did I know that they weren't lying at all. The warmth in my heart that existed only minutes prior, when I believed that there was someone I loved who loved me, is now replaced with a gaping ache.
There is no one in this world that I can turn to, now. Aya, whom I thought loved me, is an illusion. None of Phendrene, Rue, or Father even recognizes me. And Latias, whom I trusted so much, betrayed me. What is even the point of living anymore? If those emotions for a mate, touted as the most valuable and treasured by everyone, is so easily faked and played with… why should I even go on living, when it is so painful? Wouldn't it be better to just die?
"I know you must be very upset at me right now," Latias says with a paw to my arm, making me flinch. "So I'll leave you for now. But I hope that eventually you will understand that my motive is only to better you, Nova."
How could she be so friendly when she was the one that tricked me? My pain and sorrow are her fault and hers entirely. I gaze into her eyes and see the same ostensibly caring gaze that she had shown to me in my weeks at her home. She does seem to trust me right now. And suddenly, I think of an idea.
"Wait, Latias," I call as I see her turn to leave. "I just feel lonely now. Can you hug me?"
She seems surprised that I would ask for that. "Of course, my dear," she says, and moves towards me, reaching her arm around my back.
And as she wraps her arm around, I prepare my claws and in one smooth motion of my arm, slash as hard as I can across Latias's underbelly. There is some resistance but my claw cuts clean through and I feel a warm liquid envelop my paw. The sensation satisfies my bloodlust as I immediately teleport a short distance away and observe my handiwork. Latias too, looks down at herself. There is a large diagonal gash from Latias's belly that goes all the way up to her chest through the blue triangle, coloured a red much deeper than her feathers. I raise my claw up, as if it is evidence of my victory, as Latias's surprised gaze turns to me.
"It's real blood on my claws, now," I taunt as I feel my heart beat faster and my breathing quicken at this act of revenge. Maybe she'll get angry enough to kill me. I wouldn't mind.
But instead, she just stares at me and blinks a few times, before an intense sorrow growing in her eyes, and her face turns to the side as she fails to maintain the gaze. Her eyes begin to wet and a single tear dribbles out before she scrunches them shut. Then in a brief flash, she is gone, leaving a small pool of blood on the rock where she was.
I look down at my claw, covered in blood. Latias's blood. How many people can claim to have a Legendary Pokémon's blood on their claws? I want to smile at the achievement, to stay satisfied by my violent revenge… But somehow, Latias's morose gaze has affected me, ever so slightly, to feel sympathy for her.
I scrunch up my bloodied right paw in frustration. No, how can I feel sorry for her? She has played with my emotions and even made me suicidal. I can't forgive her. I won't forgive her.
I take a deep breath. At this rate, I might really try and kill myself. My eyes wander around in search of something else to distract me from my heartache, and I lift my wings.
"Zeta!" I shout as I head over the cliff, but he's nowhere to be seen. "Zeta?" I land at the base of the cliff, wondering if he is inside.
Just as I am about to take off again to search around the area, the door to Fen's cave opens, and out comes Zeta the Flygon. "You took too long, so I-" He suddenly stops, and I notice his eyes settle on my bloody paw.
"No, it's just-" He shuts the door suddenly as I hear him beginning to speak. I rush over to the door and lean on it, trying to hear what he has to say.
"…psychic Flygon is outside," he announces from inside in a muffled voice. "He could be rather dangerous, so be careful." He must've thought, from Hale's words and my bloody paw, that I really am a murderer.
But I won't let him misunderstand me. He's the last person that knows me for who I am. I prepare to teleport myself inside to explain myself, only to have the door opened again. And out comes a familiar Charizard, leaping directly onto me into a hug.
"Nova, Nova!" I hear Phendrene cry as she pushes me to the floor. "It's you, it really is you!" I hear her laugh in happiness as she rubs her face all over my neck. "You're safe, I'm so happy."
Dumbfounded, I stare at this Charizard who had only asked me 'Who are you?' just a day ago. "Phendrene… you remember me?"
She lifts up her head to gaze at me softly, her caring gaze far more pleasant and genuine-feeling than that of Latias's. "What are you saying, Nova? How could I forget you?"
"Yeah, what are you saying?" a Haxorus voice echoes. During Phendrene's words, Rue and Blight have come out, along with… a Dragonair? "You didn't bang your head on a rock or anything, right?" Rue says as she comes over and flicks me on the forehead.
I flinch and swat Rue's hand away as she chuckles at my reaction. Unnerved by her antics, I push myself out of Phendrene's grasp and step backwards. "Are you even real? Is this another illusion I'm seeing?"
"What happened to you?" Phendrene asks, alarmed, and only do I just realize that I got blood on her. "Is your paw bleeding? Let my father look-"
"It isn't injured. That's not his blood." Father interrupts Phendrene's ramblings as he walks over, his steps still somewhat irregular, surely from my attack. "I'm more worried about his mental state. He seems to have had hallucinations of some sort prior to meeting us."
"Papa, is that why he attacked you?" I hear a voice that is undoubtedly Fly's, but also different. Floating in midair, he now has pearls on his chest and tail, with the wings and horn on his head larger than before. He is also considerably longer, yet this only means he has to wrap himself around Father's neck more times to still appear so small.
"When he disappeared in front of Rue and me, he was speaking to himself, so it is possible," Father answers.
"You are all real, right?" I say, more to myself than to anyone, almost welcoming the façade of a mental sickness. "You're not just something she sent to trick me, right?"
"Who is she?" Phendrene asks immediately and holds onto my clean left arm. "What did she do to you?"
"The Flygon that said she loved me was fake," I mutter and shake my head. "How can I ever believe anyone again?"
Phendrene suddenly pulls me close and nuzzles me against the neck. "It's all right, Nova. I am real, and I love you."
"Hey, we all love ya too! And we're not fake, either!" Rue declares loudly and slaps me on the back. "You're a fool if you thought we'd hate you forever for what you did on that day. Isn't that right, gramps?" she banters and looks to Father.
"I told you not to call me that again," Father says with a glare at the Haxorus, who only chuckles. "But you are right, Nova. Whatever transgressions you have made, you are always my son," he says and gazes at me in a gaze that is less stern than usual.
For some reason, it is once again my father that makes me fully realize the extent of the situation. They really do remember me! I feel tears coming up to my face as I falter and lean in on Phendrene for support.
"I'm so sorry. I never should have left," I confess to them. "It was awful. I was tricked with illusions and I didn't even know what was real anymore."
"Hey, it's all okay now," Phendrene says as she caresses me down the back. "Why don't you get your paw washed and come inside?"
"Oh, of course," I look up and blink away some tears, only to find Zeta at the back, staring at me with his arms crossed, and he doesn't seem amused.
"I swear, Zeta!" I tell him. "They didn't remember me the last time I came."
"Are you saying the Flygon blood on you is fake, too?" he asks, not convinced at all.
"No. This is the blood of a Legendary Pokémon, the one who made the fake Flygon," I answer him with a serious gaze, being vague with my words on purpose.
"Ah," he says, satisfied with my answer. "Then maybe the amnesia was an illusion of hers too, then?"
I stop and pause. What he says is actually a plausible answer. Latias doesn't have the power to manipulate memories… but she has the power to create illusions.
"Well, I'll leave your happy reunion to yourselves," he says, and turns around to enter the cave.
"That's Zeta, by the way," I tell them. "My Trapinch friend back at Lyrl."
"We realized. Go wash your damn hand," Rue orders impatiently and give me a push towards the stream's direction. I head over and place my paw in the small waterfall that comes down the cliff, seeing Latias's blood come clean off. Blood is so easy to wash away.
But memories aren't. The huge waterfall that I once scaled vertically… It was with Latias. The night when I escaped from the Salamence cave… It was with Latias, too. And when I was attacked by the quartet after being led out by the Salamence King… Latias, once again, was the one that saved me.
And here I am, washing her blood off my claws.
I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn to find Rue standing behind me. "Isn't your hand clean already?"
"Yeah." I take it out of the water and stare at my clean claws for a moment, before turning to Rue. "Don't ask about it."
She sighed. "You knew I was here for that, eh? Fine. Come inside, now," she says and offers me her hand. "Phendrene went to get you some food. You're hungry, right?"
I nod and take her hand. As she walks me to the door, she asks, "I suppose you still haven't learnt to hunt for yourself?"
"No, I haven't," I answer simply.
She huffs as we enter the door. "Would anyone think that the psychic Flygon is not self-sufficient in the wild?"
"Enough, Rue," Father scolds her from in front of the beds. "He doesn't need your negativity."
I silently thank my father as I look around the room. Zeta is sitting in the corner silently, either out of discomfort or indifference. Fly is hovering around in the other corner, alternating his gaze between my father and me. And most prominently, Phendrene has a piece of meat for me. "Sorry, I didn't know you were coming, so the good parts are all eaten…"
"That's all right. Thank you very much, Phendrene," I say as I take the meat from her hand.
"Why so reserved all of a sudden?" Rue says and elbows me in the side. "We have a lot to catch up on, Nova," Rue says as she leans in close. "About you trying to take the eggs, about the illusions, and about that 'her'."
I'm surprised she remembered all that from my ramblings. But no, I am not ready to relive that experience. "Maybe later, then. I'm hungry and tired."
"Fine. Eat, you glutton," she says and walks over and sits on her bed noisily. I stuff the meat into my mouth, and notice that the room falls silent. They are all watching me, too, some more intently than others. I would have been embarrassed in another time.
The initial happiness of them remembering me has worn off, as I remember the terrible things that happened before it. "I want to go to sleep," I say bluntly as I walk over and climb onto the middle bed – my bed – and relax against the mattress. It's not as comfortable as Latias's bed, but it feels like home.
"Let's call it a day, then," Father announces as the door sounds and I look back to see him entering the inner rooms, Zeta already ahead of him. My brother gives me a strange look as the door shuts.
Rue seems like she is about to talk, but stops herself and simply sighs before she cleans up the leftover food with Phendrene. Nothing else holding my interest, I push my head back down against the bed.
No matter how hard I try to block it out, my mind inevitably turns to the illusion that had tricked me. How do I know anything is real anymore? What if the people around me now are still illusions to fulfill some ulterior motive of Latias?
I hear the sound of a bed being dragged and I perk up and see Phendrene moving her bed so that it is side by side with mine, before she hops on and puts one arm around me.
"Are you okay, Nova?" she asks in that soft voice of hers.
"…Yes," I answer, and I realize how unconvincing I sound.
"What's wrong? Don't you trust me? I'm Phendrene, the Charmander you found in the desert. It's really me."
Her head's vibrations as she speaks sends a strange sensation through me, and I feel inclined to tell her the truth. "I'm sorry, I-I just don't know if anything is real anymore. I…"
"It's all right," she ushers and pulls me in an embrace, silencing me. I hesitate for a moment before reciprocating the hug.
For a long while, we just hold each other in silence. I feel the warmth of Phendrene and caress her back appreciatively as she nuzzles my neck. But the physical touch only does so much in making me forget… The memory of the illusion still comes back, and I begin to doubt, once again, if this Phendrene is real.
I look down and realize, with her closed eyes and soft breathing, that she has fallen asleep, her arms still tight around my back. I turn my head behind to see the sleeping Haxorus, and become conscious of her soft snoring, too.
The sleeping dragons induce a feeling of tranquility in me. Every word they speak, every action they take, they all seem so real. Latias could forge the amnesiacs' distant reactions, but these ones? I know these are the people that I've lived with for so long.
Phendrene murmurs something and pushes her neck against mine, distracting me from my thoughts, as she then retracts her arm to scratch what must be an itch on her neck. At the same time, Rue gives a particularly loud snort. Their actions seem so mundane, so normal, that I know it to be real.
But my grip on Phendrene tightens as my doubt returns. Aya was so real, too. I could see her, feel her, even smell her… I can never be completely sure that I'm not in an illusion. But as my mind relaxes in this calm environment, I begin to realize it doesn't matter if it what I see is real.
If this is an illusion, I'm happy to be lost in it.
Author's Note:
This reveal was coming for a long time, and I'm glad I got to finally present it to you readers. I made sure to foreshadow it, and as I thought, some of you managed to guess it. I wonder where it was that you began to notice it?
As always, I love it when readers comment on my story, so feel free to leave a review if you want to. If you don't wish to leave a public review, I am content with private messages.
I posted a journal on deviantart (link on my profile) to discuss these chapters further, for those of you interested. It addresses some things that you may be interested if you wish to comment, such as Nova's emotions and mental state, the pacing, among other things.
Once again, thank you all for your reading and support.