I surface into the lit interior of the underwater dome, and climb up onto the ledge. From here, I can hear the chatter of a Flygon and a Porygon-Z.
"Sorry to interrupt," I say as I walk towards them, wiping some water off my face. "Zeta, we've hunted lunch. Are you going to eat with us?"
He pauses for a moment. "Oh, I'm not really used to eating wild meat. I'm not hungry anyway, so it's fine. How come you're wet? I thought you'd teleport in here again."
"Teleporting requires a lot energy, you know. I was swimming with my brother anyway," I answer. "So I'll come and check on you after we eat?"
"You can give it another hour or two," Zeta tells me with a dismissive wave. "We still need time to figure how to get him into the surface system."
"Uh, okay. You sure you won't run out of air down here?"
"It's been accounted for," Porygon-Z's bright but robotic voice sounds as the circles shake. "You need not worry."
"All right." If they insist, it's none of my business to interfere. With that response, I turn and head back towards the entrance.
It's been over a week since I've returned to them. As per our agreement, I decided to visit Zeta and introduce him to Porygon-Z. Since it would be convenient, I also decided to bring everyone over to the southern shore for a small day trip. Phendrene even managed to get her father to come, which was a surprise, since he never comes with us.
Upon arrival, the others showed Fen around and whilst I teleported Zeta down to Porygon-Z. Zeta took no time in asking him several technical questions that baffled me completely, and when Porygon-Z gave equally sophisticated answers, I decided to leave them to their devices and go swim with my brother.
Now that my psychic powers have become significantly stronger thanks to some Legendary I trained with, I was confident enough to lead the Dragonair into deeper waters. As the seafloor grew lower, we encountered quite a few aquatic Pokémon that neither of us recognized. None of them were friendly enough to strike up conversation with, and though there were a few hostile ones, they were easily take care of with a small show of telekinetic force. When we swam out enough, Spirit had the idea to go flying across an open sea. But Father somehow noticed us off the horizon and flew over to scold me for bringing his precious younger child so far out.
I approach the small dock, and take a deep breath before I dive back down into the water and swim along alone. Having expected to teleport out with Zeta, I told Spirit to swim back to shore by himself.
The warm sunshine on my skin is welcome as I surface from the rather cold sea. I spot the five of them sitting in a circle around the hunted game, waiting for me to arrive. When she sees me, Phendrene takes a small towel from her father's bag and dashes over. I extend my hand to take over the towel, only to have Phendrene push it aside and start drying me with the towel personally.
"Careful!" I shout and grab her arm as she rubs the towel roughly on my sensitive antennae.
"Sorry!" she lets out and places the towel onto my paw. "Here, you can do it yourself."
"That's what I was planning," I snatch over the thick cloth and start drying myself as we walk over to the others. "This is really useful, though. Fen, you should come out with us more," I say as Phendrene and I sit down with the others.
"Thank you," he answers with a nod, "but I do have a job."
"Is Zeta coming?" Rue asks, leaning forward, clearly impatient.
I shake my head. "Nope. We should start."
"All right!" Rue shouts and grabs game and chomps on it hungrily, smearing blood all over her mouth and tusks. Father takes a large piece and begins picking small pieces out for my brother. Then Fen takes his, and I reach out quickly to take my own, knowing that a certain Charizard will try and feed me if I am not active enough.
Even as I'm eating my own piece, Phendrene still taps me every so often and hands me a "good" piece. At first I take it, but quickly I begin to feel self-conscious, especially since I'm eating in front of her father.
"Why don't you give some to your father?" I suggest as she offers me yet another.
"He knows how to pick the good parts himself," Phendrene answers hastily as she basically shoves the piece into my mouth.
"It's all right, let her do what she wants," Fen says. Though his eyes tell me that he too is disapproving of her behaviour, he does waive the responsibility off me and onto her.
Just as I'm beginning to feel less embarrassed about the whole situation, the Haxorus opens her mouth. "Hey Phendrene, gimme one of those too!" she yells with a grin.
"Uhh?" Phendrene is taken aback for a moment. "Rue, but… you're sitting over there…"
"Hahaha I'm kidding I'm kidding," she says with a wave of her arm. "You go feed your precious Flygon– Ow!" She turns to glare at Fen, who had just slapped her behind with his tail. "What was that for, gramps?"
"You'd do well to stop making fun of people for every little thing," Fahrenheit lectures with a stern gaze. "Also, do not call me that."
"Nova's dad lets me do it, though!"
"No I don't," Father says immediately, glaring at the Haxorus. "At your age, you should start learning to respect your elders."
"How old are you anyway?" Rue continues as she leans toward the Salamence sinisterly, completely disregarding his words. "Don't think you've ever gave us a number."
Blight pauses for a moment as his son bites another piece of meat out of his paw. "Old enough, Haxorus."
"Wait, Nova, you're sixteen, right?" Rue ignores the older Salamence. "Do you know how much older than you your mother was?"
"She was a lot younger than Vie's parents, that's for sure. I think she was seventeen years older than me?" I try and remember.
"Wow, that's young. So Blight's around thirty-three!" she concludes with a clap.
I notice Father staring at me, a little annoyed. "What?" I let out defensively. "Are you trying to hide your age?"
He keeps his silence for a brief moment. "I am of age thirty-seven. Any other questions?"
"And you?" Rue turns to the Charizard father this time. "Were you thirty-three or thirty-four?"
"Thirty-five," Fen states smoothly. "Why do you ask?"
"Just trying to gouge when y'all bore children, is all," Rue says with an exaggerated shrugging motion. "I think when you two were my age you already had kids, haha." She pauses for a moment, and even without mind reading I can tell she's reflecting on her own situation, but it passes quickly as she looks up again. "Wait, Phendrene's fourteen, right? Wasn't she two years behind Nova?"
"Phendrene's fifteen years-old now," Fen answers for his daughter. "Her birthday was a month ago, and she'll be sixteen winters after the solstice, which is how Charizard usually count age. Speaking of which, are you guys going to come to the celebration in a few days? If a Salamence is coming, I might have to give the other Charizard prior notice."
"Of course we're going!" Rue shouts as she continues to bite into her meat messily. "It's finally something to look forward to."
"What do you think?" Father turns and nudges my brother. "Do you wanna go to the Charizard's New Year celebration?" he repeats, noticing that the Dragonair was likely not paying attention to the conversation.
"Umm, only if Brother is going," he mumbles and lunges forward to take another piece of food.
The Salamence's gaze turns to me. "So, Nova, are you going?"
"Sure, why not," I answer, pushing away the Charizard's arm holding yet another piece. "I've had enough, Phendrene. Thanks." She hears my words and puts the meat in her own mouth silently, and I turn to the older Charizard. "Fen, what exactly happens there? Do we need to prepare anything?"
Fen opens his mouth but Phen perks up and speaks before him. "Oh, I know! It's a celebration that lasts the whole day. There are a bunch of festive activities, from competitions of fire breathing to performances of song and dance. All the Charizard are supposed to help make special food for the occasion, which I hear recently they get some manufactured stuff from Lyrl Flygon. There are specially prepared dishes! There's this one called sushi which is meat wrapped in a rice ball with seaweed, and I've heard that it tastes great."
I'm a bit taken aback by the amount of information. "Seaweed, like the stuff I see on the seafloor? How do Charizard even harvest that?"
"They don't," Fen answers me. "They import the other materials from places like the Flygon in Lyrl, who have access to human technology, or the Dragonite out east, who can harvest underwater. That reminds me, I heard that the Flygon have been having some problem regarding… reproduction. I assume your friend is affected, too?" he says as he glances over towards the ocean.
"Uhh, he doesn't have a mate, but I suppose so," I answer hastily, opting to leave out that he was the actual perpetrator of the plague. "But it's not-"
"Problem regarding reproduction?" Rue interrupts as she throws a bone towards the middle, appearing curious. "So they can't have kids or something?"
"That appears to be the case," Fen answers. "From what I've heard, there are no other symptoms, but nonetheless it is a pressing issue. We know that it is not infectious across species, so none other than Nova need to worry," he concludes with a meaningful look.
"I don't want children anyway," I spit, knowing full well that I'm safe as long as I consume nothing from Lyrl.
To my surprise, it is my father who answers to that. "You may change your mind. It would still do you well to be cautious that you are not infertile," he says in a serious tone as he too puts down a bone.
I remain silent, secretly agreeing with him. Even though I don't want a mate, I don't want to be made infertile, as illogical as that sounds. Of course, they don't know the details, and this is a secret I have to keep, so there's no way for me to retort.
"The disease seems to be confined to Lyrl, so we need not worry," Fen comes to my aid and turns to look at me. "To keep yourself safe, just make sure you don't exchange any bodily fluids with your Flygon friend."
Rue bursts into laughter at the statement as Fen suddenly sighs with a paw to his snout, self-conscious. I just frown at the statement. "Uh, what? …Exchange bodily fluids?"
"Hah, Fen's telling you to not fuck Zeta," Rue lets out between cackles, which is quickly interrupted by a Salamence paw to her face.
I'm only more confused at her statement. "But he's male. That doesn't work."
"Oh?" Rue pushes herself upright and shifts away from my father. "You'd be surprised. People find a way," she says with a huge grin.
"Yeah? Then two females should too. Why don't you go find Lin? Better yet, Phendrene's here for you," I try and make a smart comeback, but the only thing I get is Phendrene choking on her food in shock and I instantly regret what I say.
"We have a child here!" Father stomps in the sand, startling us all. "If you want to discuss about such matters, do it elsewhere!"
"What?" Spirit seems to react only at the mention of him, yet again.
"Your father wants Nova to have children!" Rue yells and dashes around, far out of reach of the Salamence paw primed to smack her in her armoured face yet again. She comes around to behind Phendrene and puts her hand on the Charizard's shoulders. "How does she fare for your future sister-in-law?"
"Rue, stop it." Phendrene raises an arm to push the Haxorus away, but to no avail.
"You're getting a bit out of line," I say as I give Rue a serious glare. She stares back for a few seconds before heaving a sigh and backing off as the rest of us get to finish our meal in peace. For a while, we get some much needed silence, leaving me to my thoughts.
In my absence, the others have become more comfortable with each other. In particular, Phendrene has a much higher degree of tolerance for Rue's antics, but for this reason the Haxorus seems to go further; after all, Phendrene's the only one that she can make fun of. Funnily enough, though they are rarely the victim, neither Fen nor Blight are able to get the Haxorus to stop, so the last time Rue went overboard on the poor Charizard, I simply buried her up to her head in earth for half an hour. She listens to me now.
"Father, I… I feel a bit dizzy," Phendrene breaks the silence as she places her final bone on the floor.
"Are you okay?" I ask and put a paw on her shoulder. She doesn't feel as warm as usual. "Uh…"
"She's cold," Fen says as I too see him sensing Phendrene's body temperature. "Winter this far south is rather cold – I feel it too. Perhaps we should head back, then?"
"Already?" Rue says with her arms crossed. "I'm a bit cold too, but it's not often that we get to come here. Maybe try and warm up a bit! You're a Charizard! You're dragons of fire!"
"That only makes us more sensitive to cold," Fen answers.
"I'll be fine," Phendrene mutters as she leans in close to her father, clearly trying to share his body heat. "Just give me a few moments."
"Why not having a firebreathing competition to warm everyone up?" Rue suggest with a grin. "That's one of the events at the Charizard's New Year right? And all of you can breathe fire!" She raises her arms, almost as if celebrating.
"Wouldn't that just use up Phendrene's heat and make her colder?" I question, not convinced.
"Not quite. Activity heightens our metabolic rates," Fen says as he stands up, glancing over at the Haxorus. "Rue's idea is actually useful, for once."
"Hey what do you mean for once! My ideas area always genius," she boasts, standing proudly and patting her chest with a paw.
Fen ignores her and turns to me. "Nova, mind drawing a straight line in the sand for us to stand behind? Along the beach would do."
I levitate myself to a standing position. "Like this?" I move my arm and sharpen my gaze on the sand, and with a swift motion swing it across. "Straight enough?"
"That'll work," Fen says and turns to face the others. "Phendrene, you're going to be part of this. And Blight, are you up for it?"
"I suppose," Father answers as he straightens his legs and lumbers towards the line until he comes to a stop behind it. Fen too steps swiftly between Father and me.
"Phendrene?" I offer her a hand, and she takes it and stands up, though still seeming a little lethargic. "Let's warm you up!" I try and cheer her up as she gets in position next to me.
"You all stand behind that line and try and breathe fire," Rue explains from aside with a smug expression, her arms crossed. "And I get to be the referee."
"And Fly," Father adds.
"And him, I guess," Rue says begrudgingly as the Dragonair floats lazily beside her. "Anyways, you all get as many tries as you want, but whoever breathes the farthest wins. Easy, right?"
"How do you know?" I thought Fen would teach us the rules.
Rue gives me a smirk. "Some of us read books, you know. It's but one of the fire breathing competitions at the festival. There are more variants, but I think we'll stick to something simple for now."
"Just a reminder – what we're doing is real fire, not dragon breath," Fen says and then turns to face forward. "Phendrene, Nova, Blight; are you all ready?"
"Yup!" "Yes." The two others shout in unison, while I'm stunned trying to recall how to breathe actual fire. I'm startled by the sudden bursts of heat as the two Charizard next to me let out blasts of flame. In response, the Haxorus runs down along the shore as the flamethrowers cease.
"Fen's covered the most ground!" she shouts with the Dragonair floating along beside her. "Phendrene's in second! Are the two others gonna try?"
I take a deep breath to try and ready it before seeing a burst from Father, one that travels noticeably farther. "Now Blight's in first now! Are you guys going to be outdone by a Salamence? …Is Nova going to breathe at all?"
I try and muster the flame in my throat, and send it out with a strong exhalation. I feel the heat warm my mouth, but to my dismay, the flame barely travels before dissipating into thin air.
Meanwhile, Fen gives a loud bellow and lets out an impressive flame, one that goes as far as Father's. Phendrene also tries again, but hers only goes as far as her original.
"Nice! Fen's breath overtakes Blight for first! Meanwhile, Nova's pathetic ember is only half of Phendrene's!"
I sigh. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to this. I didn't practice firebreathing much with Latias…
"Come on, try again!" Phendrene's encouraging voice sounds, making me take another deep breath. Only this time I spontaneously cough from the exhaling and feel a sore burn in my throat.
"Don't force it," Fen warns from aside. "It's natural you can't breathe as far if you haven't practiced."
Though his words are not unkind, I feel a drive to prove him wrong. After taking a few deep breaths, I let out a small, constant flame that materializes in front of me. As I maintain it, I move my paw over to try and gain telekinetic control of it. And indeed, I find that the fire does respond to my mind. Immediately, I take control of it and push it with such force that it flies far out into the distance.
There is a brief period of silence as I grin at my ingenuity. Telekinesis is restricted by mass, but a fire has none. Though it cannot burn in air by itself, there is enough time for the flame to go far beyond what is normally reachable before it dies.
"Yay!" Spirit lets out a cheer as he circles the air above energetically. "My brother wins!"
"Uhh… is that allowed?" Rue says and scratches her tusk as she looks towards Fen, waiting for his opinion.
"I have no idea," Fen answers, equally confused. "Though, Nova – perhaps you could show that to us again?" He turns to me, intrigued.
"Oh, I can't keep the flame active for long," I explain, a little embarrassed. "Once it leaves my breath's vicinity it just dissipates. Like this." I pause and conjure the small breath once again, this time stopping immediately after I gain control of it. The fire flickers for a moment longer before it dies. "See?"
Fen rests his chin on his paw, deep in thought for a moment. Rue takes the moment to walk over. "I don't think Nova's distance should count. So that means in first place is-"
"It's all right, just let Nova be first!" Phendrene says jovially as she dashes to us. "I feel warm again already. Thanks for the idea, Rue!"
"You're… welcome," Rue answers surprisingly neutrally, seemingly at a loss at how to respond to Phendrene's enthusiasm.
"Hold on, Nova." Fen snaps out of his reverie. "Are you able to control the tail flame of a Charizard?"
"Hah?" I frown as soon as the image comes into my mind. "That'd… be very harmful to the Charizard, wouldn't it?"
"Perhaps, but we should try. Use mine," he says without hesitation and swings his tail over. "Try and take control of the flame and separate without moving the tail."
"Uh, if you insist." I glance towards Phendrene to see that she's a little worried, too, but Fen's insistence takes precedence as I extend my arm out and focus on the fire. Fen gives a noticeable flinch as I take over a small ember which dissipates quickly, but otherwise stays upright with his tail still blazing. "That's it," I say in conclusion.
"Fascinating," Fen comments as he withdraws his tail back to behind him. "Your psychic powers are absolutely fascinating, Nova. I wonder, if I sign you up for the competition, you may actually win the grand prize…" He ends with a thoughtful gaze.
"Really?" Phendrene follows up, excited, and grabs my left paw with both of hers. "Nova, you've got to do it!"
I smile at her encouragement, but Rue only snorts and says, "That's not really fair though, is it? Just because you want your Flygon in the spotlight, you ruin the game for all the Charizard."
"The Haxorus is right," Blight, who had been listening all this time, chimes in. "Nova's powers as the psychic Flygon should not be used publicly for entertainment purposes, especially because we still do not know how the powers came to be." He turns to give me a sharp look, and suddenly I feel a chill down my spine. Not because he's disapproving, but because his advice is similar to that of another, a dragon I long to forget. And this time, it is not romantic pining over the illusion, but rather…
I take a step back and avert my gaze. "I understand, Father. …I'm going flying for a bit," I say as I turn to leave.
"Wait, Nova!" Phendrene yells and grabs onto my arm. "Do you want to practice dancing together, then? We could maybe even perform-"
"Maybe later, I want to practice my psychic manoeuvres for now," I give an excuse, not willing to look her in the eye. Her grip loosens and I take another step back. "Thank you," I manage to say before jump backwards and levitate myself into the sky instantly, already far above the ground.
Latias. Latias. Latias. I repeat her name in my head, and try to gouge my own emotions towards the combination of syllables. What is it that I should feel for her?
Should I hate her? Absolutely. She manipulated my emotions by using an illusion, and tried to separate me from my family.
Should I feel grateful? Even if I don't want to admit it, the answer is yes. She imparted her wisdom, greatly enhancing my physical abilities and teaching how to act as a figure of power.
These conditions, separately, make all the sense in the world. But the contradiction of them existing together pains my mind to think about. …I still vividly remember the injury I inflicted, and how satisfying it had been. But now, ever so slightly, I regret having done that to her.
What did she want from me, I wonder? She always said and acted as if she wanted the best for me, but I didn't agree with her ideas of what was best. It sounds familiar, almost like something I would do…
…Like what I did with Spire's eggs?
I halt my ascent high up in the sky and turn around to survey the vast coastland beneath me. The azure sea is separated from the verdant forest by a thin strip of sandy shore, and this line stretches out into the distant horizon. Slowly, I open up my consciousness, and sense all the feeble and vulnerable minds down below. From a pack of felines in the forest, to the dragons on the shore, to the underwater Flygon and the schools of aquatic creatures, they are all within my grasp. From this vantage point, I feel all powerful. Barring that one Salamence and the robot I cannot detect, I can retrieve their thoughts by simply willing to.
Such was the way I took control over the eggs. By reading Vie's mind, I managed to know their location. By telekinesis, I managed to retrieve and transport them. By teleportation, I was nearly able to take them away. Being psychic enables you to do so many things that bypass the permission and authority of other people. I thought I knew better than Spire and everyone else, so I tried to take control of the eggs. But no one takes kindly to being overruled, and so they argued and fought back… much like how I did against the Legendary that thought she knew better.
My reverie is interrupted by the cyan figure flying up. I watch him as he gets closer and closer, and to my height, out of breath from the difficult beats of wing that were used to carry him up here.
"It is impolite to levitate yourself when others must struggle to stay aloft," he lectures with a stern gaze. "It is also impolite to attempt to read people's minds like that."
I spread my wings and begin a slow glide, but in the opposite direction of the other dragons, in the direction of the inland. "It's not as if I do reach your mind anyway, so why do you care?" I say and turn to look at him gliding down with me.
"If you attempt it with people who are not your father, they may very well take it as a sign of hostility," he explains, staring straight into my eyes. "You are too young to wield such power – you must learn to restrict yourself."
I give a chuckle before turning back to face forward, aiming towards a visible ledge. "And what if I don't?" I say as I land down and perch at the ledge.
He lands slightly more inland, his four paws kicking up quite some dust. "Then your life will be more difficult for it."
"That is not untrue," I find myself speaking more formally in return. "Certainly you didn't just come to me to say that, though?"
"Indeed." He turns to face me properly, still maintaining eye contact. "I was merely wondering what it was I said that made you withdraw into your own world again."
"It was nothing specific to you," I tell him, admitting that I was indeed being antisocial. "Your words simply reminded me of something… something the Legendary said."
"You do not love her, do you?" he asks. "That-"
"Of course not!" I give a firm denial, unlike the same embarrassed way I used to when people assumed things of Vie or Phendrene. "I wouldn't love someone who attempted to manipulate me."
He pauses for a moment, but does not take his eyes off me. "Tell me about her, then."
I find that my gaze is beginning to falter, and I sit down on the ledge facing away from him. "Why? I don't want to."
I hear him step forward as he, too, sits (as a Salamence does) next to me. "Perhaps hearing another opinion will make the situation clearer to you. It seems that she had said the same thing I did – that you should not display your psychic powers to others?"
"Yeah, she did," I admit, recalling the time where I played with the wild Trapinch. "She also trained me and… made me improve a lot."
"I do sense that your powers have become much stronger," Father admits. "I would think that you could break into Spire's mind already. Soon, even my mind will break."
"Wait, really?" I turn towards him and ask in surprise. "But wouldn't stronger psychic be more detectable?"
"A stronger psychic would be able to intrude into a mind more silently, actually. We psychic-resistant dragons can only be immune by detecting the presence, and controlling our thoughts carefully thereon." He turns to look at me once more. "If you try to read my mind, I will sense it and replace my thoughts with a placebo."
"But how come?" I ask, not understanding. "How come you can detect our presence? How were you even trained in the first place, without any psychics?"
He gives a sigh and looks away at a fallen log. "Though it is true that most psychics are gone, there are a few left from species that can acquire psychic power upon evolution. The Salamence royal family hired an Espeon – the psychic evolution of Eevee – to continually read our minds in order for us to be able to notice it." He shakes his head and turns back toward me. "We're getting off-topic. Latias." I flinch as I hear her name. "Tell me, if she is so inclined to help you, what is it she did that accidentally earned your spite?"
"No, it wasn't an accident. She tried to hurt me intentionally," I say out bluntly, and the realization makes me feel morose. "And acted as if I should have been thankful for it."
"Look at me." My gaze turns back to my father and we lock eyes. Even though as a quadruped, his head is lower than mine, I still feel obliged to obey him. "Did she make the illusion that you thought of your mate?"
I open my mouth to deny it, to ask him how he got such a thought, but the look in his eyes tell me that he knows it's the truth. Indeed, from all the words I've spoken after returning to them, it is not difficult to piece together what exactly had left me so shaken. My gaze falters and I close my eyes.
"I understand your distress," he continues in a quieter tone than before. "Years ago, when I had finally killed the Hydreigon, I went back to the desert to find your mother." The mention of her startles me, making me open my eyes again. Father is still looking at me, his gaze having softened considerably. "But there were always Flygon that would attack me. I remember giving you the excuse of not wanting to hurt them. That was a lie," he admits as he finally turns his head and looks away into the sparse trees."If the Flygon were really to stop me from seeing my mate, I would fight them.
"But… there was one Flygon that was persistent. Every time I managed to get close to the lake, or manage to pacify other Flygon into talking with me, she would be there to attack me. And to my shame, I could not defeat her. It's my failure as a father that I could not be there for my mate and son. I am sorry, Nova."
I sit there in silence as I let my father finish reciting his story. But towards the end, I begin to grow more and more anxious, and I can't help but ignore his apology to ask, "Her, you said? … What types of attacks did she use?"
Father looks back towards me, his gaze questioning. "She primarily used the pulse attack instead of claws like the other Flygon. And once, where I came close to slashing her, she summoned a powerful orange meteor attack that left me defeated. I know it as Draco Meteor."
The anxiety grows in my chest and I show a grimace, one that doesn't escape my father's notice. "Does that ring any bells, Nova?" he queries with an intense focus. "Do you know who that was?"
"Father, can you show her to me?" I let out urgently. "Show me the image of that Flygon. Let me see the memory."
He pauses for a moment before nodding his head, and raising it closer to mine. Instinctively, I bend down and gently press my forehead against his as I enter his consciousness. It is unlike the ones I am used to: his mind makes me far more focused and determined that I most others, and the instant he brings up the memory of the Flygon in a warm desert night, I know it is her.
How funny that the illusion your son fell in love with was the one that prevented you from seeing your mate, Father.
I open my eyes and retract my head. Father, too, looks back at as me expectantly, but once again I find myself unable to formulate an answer. This time the shock is much more intense, even more than when I had realized she let Mum die. I just… don't understand. What have I done to deserve this? Why would she do this? Why me?
A blur appears in my vision and I blink to realize that a tear has fallen on my goggle. I will it to dribble down and out, as to not obstruct my vision, and it does, but somehow my psychic feat is not at all satisfying. If she did all of this to me simply because I was a psychic… then I would rather not be.
"I did not think a Legendary would interfere with mortal matters this way," my father finally manages to say.
I don't answer as I simply raise my head upwards and look at the sky, almost as if to pretend I am not crying. What would my brother think of me if he saw? I can't show weakness like this anymore! I need to be responsible!
"We should take a respite from these unpleasant thoughts," I hear his voice sound from below. "The best way to do that for any male is to satisfy his needs and to find another female. I'm certain that Charizard would be receptive to your advances. It would help you get over the illusion."
I stay silent for a moment. "I'm not that kind of dragon," I manage to let out. "Don't talk about Phendrene like she's just… something to satisfy needs. She's my…" I pause, finding my sadness is replaced with a vexation at my father's words, for better or for worse. Just as I begin to feel more comfortable with him, he brings this topic up. "I'm leaving," I say, and this time I don't bother waiting for a response before I teleport myself into the air, and when I am reoriented, speed towards the mountains.
Latias. You lied to me again. You knew I was a psychic since before I even hatched, and even prevented my father from seeing my mother. How is it that this happened? What do you want from me?
It is soon that I reach a steep slope with the mountains before me. Looking back, I notice I have come a long way from the shore already. In retrospect, however, this impulsive flight is pointless. Latias's residence is far away on the opposite side of the mountains. I couldn't reach there by flight any time soon. And… do I even want to find her? Am I to forget about this Legendary that has interfered with my life so much?
…When may she be the only one that knows the key to my abilities?
What should I do? I wish I could spill these thoughts out, to talk to someone about it, but somehow I feel this is a decision that I must make by myself. Every time I try and bring up Latias to someone, the conversation inevitably turns sour. Letting Father delve into my inner thoughts was a mistake. I would rather never have known Latias's involvement in separating my parents. And now, he suggests me to use Phendrene as a distraction.
…
For a while, I stay near the mountains and occupy myself with the practice of various abilities. I send strong pulses at the mountainside and lift rocks larger than myself with relative ease. When I feel that I am able to remain stoical in the face of the barrage of questions Rue and Phendrene would surely ask, I glide back to shore.
Father is back with the group when I return. He looks at me somewhat worriedly but I ignore him. The others question where I went, and I simply give an excuse of being a bit cold and tired. Fen suggests that we return to his residence, and I drag Zeta back out of the underwater cave. He is rather compliant, seemingly have sorted out a method of communication with Porygon-Z.
There is a mild headache when we materialize back at the cliff side. Fen enters to check on the children, who have been in his sister's care for the day. After another two teleports to Lyrl and back to send Zeta off, my mind so fatigued I fall unconscious the instant I lie onto the bed.
When I wake up, it is late night. Phendrene, having merged beds with me since my first night back, sleeps soundly next to me. I flip around to find Rue still reading a book in the dim light.
I take a moment to reorient my thoughts. Though my emotions have calmed down after a period of sleep, I still am at a loss of what to do. A tap on my shoulder by the Haxorus breaks my attention, and she points towards the inner rooms, clearly wanting to have a one-on-one conversation again. When I shake my head, she frowns and basically pulls me up. Having just woken up, I don't have the willpower to fight against it and let myself be dragged inside.
"So, what did that Salamence say that triggered you?" she says as she slams the door shut behind me. "Hm?"
The dim torches in the room make this seem like an interrogation. "Sorry, I don't want to talk about it."
"Hey!" She crosses her arms and sits onto the bed. "I even stopped Phendrene from chasing after you two so that you two could have some private father-son time. I think I deserve to know for that!"
"Every time I talk about it I feel worse. So why would I talk about it?" I state bluntly.
"Come oonnn… sit," she says and pats the bed next to her, and I reluctantly sit down. "I'm worried, Nova. You seem really messed up by what happened. Like, more messed up than me when my Grovyle disappeared," she admits with a chuckle. "There's gotta be something I can do to help."
"Give it time," I answer. It's true; in time, I will either seek out Latias, or make peace with not doing so. She doesn't seem to be interfering with my life anymore. "Talking about it won't help."
Rue stares at me for a moment and finally realizes I'm dead set on staying silent. She turns away with a loud puff. "Fine, I'll trust your judgment. But still, Nova, you gotta be so mean all the time?"
"I just told you, I-"
"I don't mean this issue," she interrupts with a shake of her head. "It's like, you remember when we were in the forest? Vie and I would fight sometimes and you'd always be the one to break it up. You were always sensitive to other people's feelings, especially Phendrene. And out of all of us, you were the only one that could even get through to Spire. Those were some great times." She pauses for a moment, her gaze lost in memory. "But ever since this whole psychic thing happened you've just been, I dunno, more and more distant…"
"Like you're one to talk," I shoot back with my arms crossed.
"No, you don't get it!" She grabs onto my arm and pries it apart from the other. "Rue was the mean bully Haxorus, or Fraxure, doesn't matter – Rue has always been the shithead who gets angry at everyone and causes problems," she argues without any shame in her eyes. "But Nova isn't. Nova was the nice and laid-back Vibrava who had a heart so big he wouldn't even hunt." She looks away with a sorrowful gaze. "I miss the old Nova."
She is silent after that, and I am too, not knowing what to say. Like her, there is a sense of nostalgia for the times gone past, but things have changed. I found my family, Lyrl turned against us, Vie passed away and left us eggs, and I had a crazy Legendary on my tail, manipulating me and messing me up. Things just aren't the same after all that, Rue. Someone as smart as you should understand that.
The Haxorus eventually turns her face to me, and upon realizing that I am not responding, gives a relenting sigh. "Fine, I won't bother you with that. Just… there's still one thing I need to talk to you about. Blight asked me to relay something to you." She gets my attention with the mention of him. "He said that he wants to visit his mate after the Charizard's New Year."
It takes a moment for me to realize that 'his mate' refers to the Dragonair's mother and not mine. "Good for him," I answer, thinking back to his comment on how males need females, almost as if we are dependent on satisfying these desires to function. "Hmph. Why are you telling me about this? I'm not teleporting him."
"Of course, you couldn't if you wanted to – you've never been to the Eastern Forest," Rue continues naturally, as if she was expecting my stance. "The thing is, he doesn't want to bring Fly. So he's asking you to take care of your brother."
"…And why isn't he telling this to me in person?" I ask again, disgruntled.
"He said you two didn't end your conversation on the best terms and so asked me to tell you instead. If you have any more concerns, I'm sure you can go ask him in person. There are still a few days before the New Year," Rue says as she yawns, and stands up lazily. "I'm gonna go to sleep. Leftovers are in the corner. Night, Nova."
Since I've slept the entire afternoon and evening, I go out into the darkness and head to the stream above the cliff. Just like many times before, though I seem to be practicing to onlookers, I am really waiting for a certain Growlithe to come here to me. Rue's words reminded me of the innocent olden days… but the only place I can find that again is with the overly energetic puppy.
The night goes on as I play with the water and earth. By now, I have enough power to move relatively large masses of water. But it is too heavy to accelerate, and so is not suitable as a direct weapon. Instead, I try finding other uses for it. I find that if I create a wall, it proves to be an effective shield against pulses and rocks. As is the case for dirt, which creates a sturdier wall at the cost of being more difficult to keep aloft.
I also remember the technique to become invisible by willing the light to bend. At first I struggle to keep even one claw out of vision, but after repeated attempts and I manage to get my forearm transparent with minimal distortion. It is very tiring, however, and I wonder if it is worth practicing to the point when I can make my entire body invisible… if I'm able to maintain it, then certainly it is. But I can't see a use for partial invisibility.
Though I am entertained through the honing of my abilities, I begin to grow more and more restless as I realize the Growlithe is not coming. Perhaps she had left this place, or got caught by a dragon… I shake my head and begin to glide along the river, trying to sense minds, but I find none – after all, this is so close to where dragons live.
Soon practicing is no longer enough to occupy myself. I try and smoothen the earth to leave no trace of my exercises, and sit down against the stream to rest and ponder over things.
I look up to the beautiful night sky. A full moon shines dimly in the dark sky, surrounding by countless stars. I wonder if you get bored of these sights after living for hundreds of years. Maybe it stops mattering to you anymore, just like how mortal lives stop mattering to you after you see too many pass and go. Is that how it works, Latias?
Why do you bother with me, then? It must be because of my psychic powers, that makes me somehow separate from these 'mortals'. The way you prevented my father from seeing my mother and me – was that to protect me somehow, the same way you manipulated the black rock and stopped the Salamence claw? Is it so that my half-blood identity wouldn't be revealed to the local Flygon? But then, you said you found me when wandering… that must have been a lie. How did you know I that I was a psychic before I even sprung from the egg, then? Does this mean you know why I am psychic, too?
I sigh out loud. There is no way I'll be able to live in peace if I don't find her and ask her these questions. As much as I hate to see her, it must be done.
With a clench of my fist, I inhale in determination. Closing my eyes, I bring into focus the image of the formerly homely cave, whilst bracing myself for the pain of a long distance teleport.
Sure enough, with a harsh jolt, I feel the air around me become a warmer and more humid as a dull pain arises in my mind. The sound of rainfall appears around me as I open my eyes to the familiar cavern facing the red-blue-white bed, only to find it empty in the dark. Levitating myself down to the cavern floor, I look around. The only light that comes in is the moonlight from the windows. The Legendary Pokémon I've come to find for answers is nowhere to be seen.
I reach towards a switch I've seen her use before and am momentarily blinded as the desk's light turns on. As my vision gets used to the artificial brightness, I look around to find absolutely nothing noteworthy. Even the vast majority of books that she had kept here are gone – I presume the ones left are nothing of importance, then. I sigh and turn the light back off.
Argh! How dare she run away from the problems she caused like this! Frowning at the ache in my head, I run over and dive onto the bed. The instant I land makes me realize just how velvety these sheets are compared to Fen's. My mind tired at the whole situation, I let myself relax in the softness.
…
When I regain consciousness it is light again, and the rain has still not let up. Pushing myself up with a hazy mind, I realize I have overexerted myself in teleportation once more. I turn to put the displaced pillows back when I find a small pink-blue orb in the corner of the bed. Feeling it has some significance, I take it feel that it is surprisingly heavy for its weight. It also looks somewhat familiar, like I had seen it before – but as much as I try to recall, I cannot think of an actual memory.
Briefly I consider taking it back to Fen to examine, but as much as I dislike her, I don't want to steal anything or give her a reason to accuse or follow me. After all, the orb was hidden beneath the sheets, and I return it to its original position.
Sighing, I stand up and look out the window. The moderate rainfall down the ravine is a rather nice view. If Latias isn't here, I wonder if I could have the others move here – surely it is safer than the territory between that of the Garchomp and Salamence? Though, to be fair, we haven't been attacked since from when we were still with Silex. And even if there were, I'm sure with my strength now, they would just be a pushover. And that area seems far enough to be safe from the non-dragons.
I shake my head to rid these idle thoughts. I've once again disappeared for the morning, so Phendrene is probably getting worried again. I really don't want to teleport that long a distance again, so I simply use the exit and take flight. The last time I flew all the way it took nearly an entire day, but I don't really have another option. Perhaps I really should have told the others… Nah.
I fly diagonally into the desert in order to keep my view clear to stay safe from potential ambushes the Weavile may set up – after all, most of my strength is still dependent on my psychic powers functioning. But as I speed past many outcrops, I begin to think about the Shallows, and my mind wanders to Hale once again. I don't wish for the others to see him, because I don't want him knowing about the children – but surely I can still check on him on my own. At the very least, it'll make this trip worth something.
So I halt my flight and bring him up into my mind. He shouldn't have stayed at the Shallows or Lyrl, so this teleportation shouldn't be too taxing – even if he were, that would mean my teleport would be in the right direction home. As I focus, I'm pleasantly surprised that the teleportation requires little effort…
…only to find myself staring at a still Flygon again.
"Are you serious?" I blurt out loud, thinking back to my warning of not flying west. He seems to have purposefully disobeyed me and flew back into the time-slowed zone… again.
I stand still and let his comically slow body turns to face me. His troubled expression turn to a grimace as he bares his teeth and begins talking in a very slow voice.
I try to think of a way to stop him from flying back in. Since my words mean nothing, then I surely have to find someone else to keep him out of here. An idea pops into my mind as I wrap my arms around his body, and I materialize us back at a large rock.
He is disoriented for a moment before he glares at me before he raises his claws in a defensive stance. "If you don't kill me, I'll find what you're hiding to the west."
"We're already in the west," I answer impatiently. "There should also be someone here –" I stop as I see a familiar Flygon dozing off on the far end of the outcrop as I walk over. "Sleeping on guard duty, are you?" I holler and tap his back.
The small Flygon reacts with a jump, alarmed. "What – oh, it's you!" he exclaims. "Um, please don't tell elder Kariark you saw that!"
I fight back the urge to smile – he seems like such a child. "Sven, it was, right? Don't worry, I won't tell the elder – if you make sure that guy stays out of the Deadlands," I say, motioning back to Hale. "He can hunt for himself, but he's a bit mentally unstable, so take care of him, all right?"
"Who are you calling mentally unstable!" Hale shouts as I feel him approach me from behind, with intent to attack.
I turn and swipe him off the rock such that he has to break into flight, giving me a tiny bit more time to talk to Sven. "So yeah, consider it a favour for the psychic Flygon. Just bring him back to the elder and let him settle down with you guys."
"Um, he looks a little dangerous…" Sven says meekly as I teleport out of the way of Hale's lunge.
"It's fine," I assure Sven and stop Hale with one arm and he falls back down the side of the rock. "I'm the only one he'll attack. He had a hallucination and thinks I'm a murderer."
I teleport short distance away as Hale tries to claw me yet again. As he misses once more he lands between Sven and me, panting heavily. Sven seems a little scared, but I smile as I see him gather the courage to speak to the lighter-skinned Flygon. "Um, what's your name?"
Hale stares at me for a few more moments and I just give him a blank smile, secretly ready to fire a pulse if he tries to harm Sven in any way. You won't be able to catch me. Why not settle down with these wild Flygon? I put into his mind, startling him. For a moment he holds his stare, before he slowly turns back to Sven. "My name is Hale," he answers flatly.
Through reading his mind, I'm glad that the thought of taking Sven hostage has not crossed his thoughts at all. At least his hate for me doesn't drive him to harm others. And with that, I am satisfied, and return onwards with my homeward journey.
I arrive back at home later in the evening and explain to everyone that I went to settle business with the Legendary and that 'it took longer than I thought'. My apology is as profuse as it is genuine, and they accept my explanation without much questioning. Father looks at me knowingly, and I simply give him a simple shake of my head to indicate that nothing had been resolved. A worried Phendrene stuffs my empty belly full, and I take my brother downstream to a larger river to play for a while.
When we return, the sun is down and I find that my brother has fallen asleep around my neck. I carefully give him to Father as they retire to the inner rooms. As Rue sits idly, reading a book, Phendrene takes my paw. "Follow me," she says, and to my surprise, leads me straight into her Father's room.
It is rather different from the last time I saw it. Fen has rearranged his table next to his bed, and where the table used to be is a small bed, on which I can see two small figures, each a different shade of blue. I take a step toward it, but remember the words the Charizard had said to me before, and naturally look to him. When he gives an affirming nod, I dash over to the infants and grab the edge of the bed tightly as I gaze at them from above. A Gible and a Bagon. Two little lives that Vie left for us.
Phendrene walks up next to me and puts a comforting arm around me. "Aren't they lovely?" she asks with a serene gaze. "Her name is Nocturne," she says, pointing to the Gible, "and her name is Melody," she finishes as she gestures to the Bagon.
"Two girls…" I mutter under my breath, and am startled as the Gible – Nocturne flips herself over. I look up to the two Charizard. "Who named them?"
"We all had a say, but both names were Phendrene's suggestion," Fen states. "I think they're rather nice, don't you agree?"
"Yes… they are." I turn back down to gaze at the infants. My mind still has trouble fathoming how female bodies manage to create these precious, new lives… I can't help but want to hug them. But I restrain myself, remembering my past of egg theft, and how they distrust me.
"Why did you let me see them?" I turn up and ask the two Charizard, feeling overwhelmed. "I didn't think you would trust me so soon…"
"We're going to have to bring them to the festival tomorrow, so you would have seen them regardless," Fen explains, and brings his gaze toward his daughter. "And Phendrene said she trusted you, and I trust her. So here you are."
I look at the female Charizard who has given so much for me, but she just smiles and grabs onto my paw. "Maybe… maybe we could practice dancing tomorrow? And participate in the New Year Eve's dance with-"
"Absolutely not," Fen suddenly interrupts with a frown. "You shouldn't bring him to dance on such a grand occasion when you're this ill-prepared. Plus, Flygon moves do not match Charizard's, so it would draw strange looks."
Phendrene pauses, unwilling to look back to her father. Fen's gaze softens as he gives a sigh. "Sorry, Phendrene, but that's how it is. You two should sleep – even though the festival is in the evening, it would do well to get a good night's rest."
"…Fine," the younger fire dragon says quietly as she leads me out of the room. Rue seems engrossed in her book and ignores us completely as we get onto our combined bed.
I give a reassuring pat to the dragon that lies next to me. "Hey, it's all right. We can always dance next year."
She gives me a look, and then suddenly shifts over and wraps her arms around my back and buries her face into my neck.
"Don't worry, I promise I'll still be here next year," I say as I caress the back of her neck. "You know I wouldn't leave Vie's children. Or you."
"I know, Nova," she lets out a muffled response, tickling my neck. "You heard what Father said. Let's go to sleep."
"All right."
My thoughts of the children and the festival take over my mind, the matters much pleasanter than the other things that happened today. Having accustomed to the familiar Charizard heat, I let it soothe me and relax in her arms.