Audino Agatha didn't end up going to school. She told Claire she wasn't feeling well, which was true enough.

Claire had bought her a white cloak and glasses that covered all of Agatha's scars, and eye rolls. Apparently, she did those a lot. Claire seemed smart, so she bought the idea that they would work.

Even though she felt queasy and tired, Agatha still planned to go out by herself this morning. The internet didn't help, so she decided on a more classic approach. A decent library laid nearby, within a mile's walk. She would go there to do some research.

Brisk air pricked at her fur. Thick gray clouds blotted out the sun. The cold managed to sting through her white cloak, helping her to realize how thin it was. It made her feel like nothing covered up her scars.

For the majority of her trip, she stayed on the sidewalk. Compared to the country, it felt dead outside. Square, concrete buildings with beat up signs and empty interiors stole space from the trees strangled by bushes and tall grass in between them. Holes riddled the dark, asphalt roads. On the sidewalk, Agatha kicked a few black chunks of rock as she walked as she practiced walking on different surfaces. She didn't have problems on a hard, flat surface.

Audino Agatha could pick out the library, the only brick building in sight, without help from her phone. Two white columns sticking straight up from the concrete held up the entrance and triangular rooftop above it. Once gold letters that spelled out a name on the marble overlooking concrete stairs had long turned into unreadable scraps. A mess of different flowers dotted the uneven lawn. Windows above it were covered with cracks and curtains that blocked the view inside, but Agatha wouldn't have been tall enough to see in the first place.

She paused when she came to the short set of stairs. There were only three; all coin flip chances of her tripping. She lifted her heavy right foot and made sure she still had her balance, then brought up her left. She repeated the process for every stair.

Agatha needed to take a few extra breaths as she pushed the dark wood doors open. A shadow from inside fell on her face. She peered her head in. The lights came on, and her head popped up reacting to it. Floating dust particles revealed themselves in the air.

Wood panels on the floor creaked under every step, but Agatha couldn't just go on her toes. Slowing her steps took too much effort thanks to the weight, so she just accepted the noise.

Rows of bookshelves ahead that looked to be from the same wood as the doors laid ahead. They were all filled, but a layer of speckled dust sat on the bottom of the shelves where the books weren't. Tan wood tables scattered in the lobby seemed cleaner.

"Hello?" Agatha called.

"Just a moment!" a voice called back.

The voice came from above. Agatha turned her head up and noticed a railing. When she backed up, she saw more racks of books above on the second floor.

A small glass shattered, an irritated sigh.

A female Meowstic floated over the railing. A large book with a plain brown cover followed behind her in the air, seemingly influenced by the movement of her fingertips. After a gentle landing with both of her feet touching, she pushed her arm out. The book whisked away and sat down on a clean table. She seemed young

"Hello," Meowstic said, smiling. "Can I help you find…"

"Do I know you…?" Agatha questioned.

She seemed familiar. The way she held her body twisted inside her mind. Meowstic's eyes grew bigger, along with her smile.

"Little Agatha…?"

It felt familiar. Someone's called her that before.

"Oh," Meowstic said, "you were so young. You probably don't remember… Do you remember a trip to Abuja?"

Agatha didn't remember a trip to Abuja, but she knew she had been there before she could remember. She wasn't lying, but she almost seemed too young to know her parents.

"Oh, how are your parents doing?"

"My parents?" Agatha asked. "They're de-"

Agatha wanted to hit herself. That was not how to do it. Meowstic's face already held confusion. It was too late to back up, but she could try to slow it down.

"It was a few months ago," Agatha said. "There was an accident."

"Where…?" she asked. "The mansion?"

"Yeah," Agatha muttered.

"Well… What happened?"

"There was an explosion. It caused a fire."

Loud noises made Agatha jump. Dozens of books dropped to the floor out of nowhere. Meowstic's straight posture sagged and her arms fell, swinging limp, and settled.

"I'm sorry," she said in monotone, "I need a moment."

The books lifted themselves in the air again. Agatha didn't look up high enough to see them before. Her impressive control over them sent a small, but nevertheless, existent burst of adrenaline through her spine. The books folded themselves closed like spring wind, only impressing her even more.

Meowstic floated up with them and retreated back to the second floor. The books formed a line and followed her back over the railing.

Agatha closed off her sensitive ears from her sobs. She already knew nothing helped. Right now, she'd check the books on the first floor, starting with the row of shelves on the right closest to the wall.

If their bookshelves used to have labels, they were worn away into scraps of white paper sticking on their sides. Agatha hoped that they were still sorted, it would be a while. Her eyes skimmed down a row. She tilted her head to read the names of the books on their sides.

They seemed to be organized. All of the books on this row had guides to moves and fighting. She definitely wanted to remember this one.

The next ones were math, science, and history. Agatha figured it would be on the second floor until she came to the row after.

The books were about fairy tales. Agatha recognized enough names to know. If Legendary species were in the library, they'd be in here.

Agatha walked down the row. She pulled down books with titles she didn't recognize and checked their covers. She noticed a short series with rune-like drawings on them, forming shapes and bodies. After a minute of continuing on, she discovered a familiar book cover with a dragon that looked familiar. It had razor sharp wings, and the same shoulders with perfect circles. The book's title was "Palkia".

Meowstic had quieted down. Agatha wanted to ask about the book as soon as possible, and there probably wouldn't be a great time to ask now. She might as well get it over with. She made her way to a large, spiral staircase past the line of bookshelves. Twisting her feet to make it up tormented her, but she took her time to dull the building irritation.

On the second level, more bookshelves lined against the wall. Meowstic sat at a wooden table by a dirty window covered with smudges. Her head draped her paws. Agatha walked to her. The wood planks creaked with every step.

"Have a seat," Meowstic said. "there are things I should tell you."

Agatha nodded. She lowered her head and sat down on the stool opposite of her. Meowstic straightened out her back, stretched her neck on both sides, and sighed.

"Have you heard of mystery dungeons?" she asked.

"Yeah," Agatha said. "In some of those fairy tale books? The same ones?"

"Yes. They were said to be bends in reality. It was the main subject of your parents' research. They-" she cleared her throat. "They believed that by controlling them, they would be able to meet Legendary species, and that it would bring us more knowledge for more peace."

"Well, I didn't know how they planned to do it." Agatha paused. "Why didn't I?"

Meowstic's head tilted to the other side. "Given that they believed wholeheartedly that they were real, of course they'd want to keep you at a safe distance."

Safe distance. All the way to the end. Agatha swallowed the feelings welling up and hit her leg with her hand underneath her white cloak.

"So," Agatha's voice cracked, "do you know something else?"

"Legendary species are real," she said. "And they still interact with the world often in the form of pokemon called Scions."

A scion meant a descendant, but that couldn't be right. Every fairy tale said Legendary species didn't have children, one of the few facts that seemed consistent. It couldn't be literal, but she didn't know what else it could mean.

"Scions are pokemon that are blessed to perform duties where Legendary pokemon can't. They are given powers that are unnatural."

"Powers?" Agatha asked. "Like what?"

"It depends," Meowstic said. "For example… Did you happen to see the Royal Parade?"

Agatha shook her head on a slant. She didn't care enough to watch that close.

"One of those pokemon had a vision during one of their ceremonies. Do you know?"

"Yeah," Agatha said, "I saw that much."

"That was likely the work of a Scion. There are dozens of things different Scions can do."

"Based on who they're a Scion to?"

Meowstic nodded.

"And there is only one Scion to one species?"

"Yes," she said. "At least, I believe so."

"So, what can you tell me about Palkia?"

Meowstic leaned back in her chair. Her chin faced up instead of down as her eyes thinned.

"Why Palkia, specifically?" she asked.

"I saw it in… Uh, some kind of dream…"

"Your family still has visions, right?"

Agatha nodded. That was personal information in her family. She trusted this Meowstic even more.

They all had visions, some more than others. Naturally, they kept it to themselves, but it was true.

"Well, Palkia is a Legendary species dealing with space. There's a book downstairs you could borrow that could explain things better than I could. How about you describe what you saw?"

"There wasn't much to describe."

"How do you mean?" she asked.

"It was like… an abyss," Agatha said. "It was just a rock floating in an abyss. And then maybe I fell off… There was this green pasture, but it still felt like an abyss."

A cold feeling settled in her lower back. She took a breath to try and stifle it.

"I will look into it," Meowstic said. "Don't worry. I have plenty of books to check for these things."

"Okay…" Agatha murmured.

"Do you want some tea?"

"Oh, well, no thank you. I should probably head home soon."

"Alright."

"I just have one more question," Agatha said. "How do you know what a 'Scion' is? Where'd you learn all this?"

"Only Scions are given information as to what a Scion is."

Agatha stayed quiet. Meowstic didn't say anything. She didn't back down from her comment, or its implications.

"Just the book downstairs?" Meowstic asked.

"Uh, yeah…" Agatha muttered. She felt nervous about her next question, but this pokemon knew her family secret. The worst outcome was her being mad. "Why did you tell me what a Scion is?"

"You deserve to know everything. I will do my best to make it happen."

Meowstic grunted and held her forehead in her fingers as if she just got a headache. Agatha figured she wouldn't be much help for that, so she stood up from the table.

Before walking away, Agatha realized she didn't know her name.

"Sorry, I never caught your name…" Agatha whispered.

"Alondra," Meowstic said. "It's quite alright. I just need a little room to breathe. Help yourself to any book that will help."

"Right…"

Agatha turned around. A weight on her back kept her from even glancing back at Alondra. She had an easier time going down the stairs, so she at least got by without Alondra noticing anything..

Once on the first floor, Agatha grabbed the book and left. She made sure the doors made a louder sound behind her as a way of letting Alondra know. On her way back down the sidewalk, she pulled out her phone. She could check the internet for pictures and see what she could find out about the book.

Her face twitched. She brought the phone closer and stopped walking.