Chapter 13: The False Climax
The odd Swellow shifted uneasily on his branch. "Your family. What were they like?"
Staraptor shut his eyes, his face loosening in a nostalgic expression. "They were wonderful. My mate was a Honchkrow. Kindest one you'd ever meet. And three little Murkrow of my own, each with shimmering eyes."
"You miss them," Swellow noted.
Staraptor nodded. "Yes, dearly. But it's too late to go back now. I've flown ten thousand miles in this pursuit. Those bright-eyed little Murkrow are probably Honchkrow of their own by now. And they've surely forgotten me."
Swellow dropped down to join Staraptor on his branch, stepping over close.
"You know, when I was younger I couldn't fly. I thought it was a miracle when I received wings of my own. Right away I took to the sky and vanished into the horizon."
Staraptor cocked his head curiously. "Where did you go?"
"Somewhere far away from my problems," Swellow laughed. "I thought I'd finally be able to outfly them. But here's the funny thing. No matter how long you fly for, you'll never get to your destination if you're going the wrong way."
"That much seems obvious," Staraptor huffed.
Swellow's eyes only lit with amusement. "I don't think you're getting me. You say it's too late to go back? Maybe. But if that's what you really want, is flying further away making it any better?"
Staraptor shuffled anxiously in place. The last thing he needed right now was more uncertainty.
~ The 18th Tale, Ten Thousand Miles
The once quiet and dim village looked like it had been sucked straight into hell. In spite of the late hour, everything was bathed in the sinister, uncontrolled glow of the inferno. Rex ran along the front line, the situation growing more dire the whole way. The fire had reached the trench now. And faced with the sweltering heat and blinding light, the order that Oak had constructed was quickly collapsing.
The trench, expanded by the earthen Pokémon of Flak Grotto, was holding up well. The blaze had paused at the village border. But it hadn't surrendered. The flames danced further and further down the tree line each minute, reaching out for the weaker fortifications in the back. Every few seconds a cry of alarm would pierce the chaos, as the fire snuck across some uncleared brush, or a burning ember would leap the gap, only to be quickly stamped out by the villagers.
Rex darted past the sand-coated shrew and the rhinoceros from Flak Grotto. A carpet of embers had split past the barrier, and the duo were upturning huge tracts of earth to extinguish it. The shrew's tiny arms moved at sonic speeds, shoveling a small mountain of dirt up into the air. The rhinoceros plowed through the flames face-first, digging his horn into the ground and ripping up the dirt. When it settled, it smothered the flames beneath it.
Rex locked eyes with the terrified-looking shrew and kept running. He had nothing to contribute here.
Hee could see it surrounding them. He could see the flames racing to block off any avenue of escape. This wasn't like his burn in Bombard Plateaus. That had been sudden- with no anticipation. This was despair.
He'd told himself he would bail out when this happened. He still could. But for some reason it wasn't on his mind.
He ran past a small crowd of Pokémon, all huddled around Vaporeon. It was the least useful place any of them could be. Vaporeon could combat the fire by herself more than anyone. But the water-type made them feel safe, so they stuck close.
Vaporeon was firing off heavy jets of water into the blaze. In a matter of seconds her power-wash could strip the flames from a tree, leaving a steaming cloud in their place. But by the time she'd turn to the next one, the boiling heat would already be drying out the first tree, leaving it free to reignite.
Rex could see her heavy breathes between each attack. She was getting tired already. Everyone was.
Just holding the line was useless. No matter how much fire they put out, the spirit was still free to light things right back up. And even if Team Pride returned right now, with spirit in tow, it would still be a nightmare to get under control.
As Rex ran further down the line, the Pokémon became more sparse and their methods grew less effective. Pokémon blessed with arms tossed water buckets indiscriminately onto any stray cinder that crossed the line, while those without ferried empty buckets back in the village. It worked for the small intrusions, but if a larger patch got through...
Useless... That was how Rex felt right now. He couldn't even toss a water bucket. He could hardly even carry one with his noodly little arms. Leafeon and Bristle had warned him he was weak. But he hadn't grasped what that really meant until now. Until he really, really needed to be a lot more useful than he was.
"STANDBACK!" a squeaky command broke his thought.
A crowd of Solemn Meadow residents stepped aside as Dedenne pushed his way to the trench, dragging a wooden cube behind him.
"What're ya' doing now, pipsqueak?" Nuzleaf demanded.
Rather than answering, Dedenne rubbed his cheeks, building up a charge. Then he smacked the cube, the jolt jumping from his paws to the box. It started ticking.
Rex instinctively shielded himself as the mouse body slammed the bomb, sending it hurtling over the line where it vanished into the blaze. But the ticking still sounded.
With a massive bang, a wave of water flew out from the fire, knocking slamming the entire crowd to the ground amid frantic cries.
His entire body stinging, Rex pulled himself upright and shook his face dry. He wasn't expecting to get soaked tonight, but at least it was a bit of relief from the stifling heat.
Dedenne's water bomb had extinguished the fire in a large radius, leaving the charred trees as dripping and miserable as Rex felt. For a brief moment, his heart soared with hope that they might actually have a fighting chance. The drenched branches were resisting the fire's attempts to relight them.
Nuzleaf groaned and pulled himself upright. "What in the heck was that wizardry?" he asked, dripping wet and gaping at the tiny mouse.
"Delayed detonation of a rainyorb, combined with a focuschannel to directthe blast," he nodded energetically and beamed. "A rousingsuccess!"
Nuzleaf whistled. Then paused, eyes sharpening. "Rainy orb, eh? Ain't those the ones that just do a rain dance? Wouldn't a' just popping the orb done more good than this?"
Dedenne had a rare moment of stillness as he contemplated, before returning to his frantic bobbing. "Well thatis a reasonable hypothesis. I'd have to compare theresults ofmy rainaboom to the resultsof adirect rain dance to comparethe effectiveness. Cometo think of it, wasn'tthe Leafeon doing that?"
That caught Rex's attention.
"Hey, Dedenne!" he called over. The mouse's neck snapped to him eerily fast. "You know where Leafeon is?"
"Wellwell, I would suspect that'shim over there," the mouse pointed further down the perimeter, where an isolated raincloud hung over the canopy, pouring droplets onto a small piece of the blaze. Dedenne considered for a moment, and moved his paw towards the opposite end of the village where another cloud hung. "Or maybethat? Hismate could raindance as well, I think."
"Alright, thanks!" Rex yelled back, already halfway gone towards the closer cloud.
He entered the storm's perimeter and was immediately battered by the heavy rain, drenching him once again. He was getting it from both ends at this point...
But the heavy rain was doing wonders. He was near the back end of the perimeter now, and there were almost no Pokémon in sight. The raincloud was singlehandedly managing this section of the village.
Rex caught sight of Leafeon between the trees, leaping and spinning rhythmically as he glowed with a dim light. The farmer was dancing hypnotically, with a dozen buckets around him quickly filling up with rainwater.
"Hey uh, you doing this?" Rex asked, eyeing the storm cloud above them, and wincing as the rain smacked his face.
"Yes. Rain dance. Used to water crops this way during dry times," Leafeon huffed out between labored breaths.
"Any reason we didn't do this earlier?" Rex asked skeptically, still marveling at how effective it was.
"Exhausting. Only me and Dusk can do it. Can't keep it up for long. Elder wants us to keep up stamina for an evacuation if needbe."
"That... doesn't look like keeping up stamina." Rex eyed him. Leafeon was drenched, quivering, and breathing heavily.
Relenting, Leafeon stopped and bowed his head to catch his breath. The downpour relaxed a bit.
"I-I can keep going still. But you're right. I should be careful," he admitted with a sigh of defeat. He wandered up to one of the buckets and poked his head over to meet his own weary reflection. "Did you need something?"
"Not really- was just wondering if you needed help with anything," Rex twiddled his claws. "Struggling to find something I can do."
Leafeon eyed him curiously. "Why are you asking me and not the elder?"
"Can't find him. I've ran half the perimeter now."
"I think he's back in the village with Eldegoss. Staying safe so we have leadership. If you really need something to do, you could start taking these buckets back," Leafeon nodded his head to the freshly filled buckets.
Rex turned his lip at the idea. The buckets were a bit over half his height, and probably weighed a ton to his tiny arms. He'd be hauling one bucket at a time. It would hardly be a meaningful contribution. But... it was better than running in circles, and at least he might bump into Oak along the way.
"Right," he said, burying his irritation. "I'll start moving them."
"Good. I'm going to move a further down and rain dance some more, to dampen the trees." Leafeon looked back over the trench and frowned. The flames were already slowly licking their way back into the region he'd cleared. "But I'll probably be back before too long anyways. I'll leave these buckets here for you. Good luck, Helioptile."
"Good luck to you too," Rex said with a solemn nod before Leafeon sprinted off further into the woods.
Rex grabbed a hold of one of the buckets, the top uncomfortably close to his face. He gave it a tuh, confirming it was just as heavy as he'd feared. He started to drag, with the dirt and grass beneath it fighting back. As he tilted it, some of the water spilt out onto him. But at this point, it was a relief.
With a heave and a ho, he started dragging. He felt like a complete idiot. Fire blazing all around him, panicked shouts, and here he was dragging a single water bucket at a snail's pace. Like he was somehow helping.
It took him ten minutes just to haul the oversized bucket back into town, where Eldegoss had set up her makeshift infirmary. Half a dozen circular beds had been dragged out of their homes and lined up. Luckily they were all empty so far, but Eldegoss hovered around the area, anxiously watching the flickers of orange through the trees.
He shoved the bucket into a big cluster of other filled buckets. Pokémon were regularly coming by and grabbing them, whisking them off to the front line.
By this point, any thoughts of fetching the rest of the buckets were out of Rex's head. There had to be something more important to do. On the rim of another, empty bucket he noticed a familiar face, spewing water into it while violently trembling.
"H-helioptile. G-g-good to s-see you," Wimpod sputtered out amid his horrific shaking. Rex was downright shocked the bug hadn't run for the hills yet. Wimpod seemed to deliberately have his back to the heart of the blaze, refusing to look in its direction.
"Hey," Rex mustered, letting out a sigh of relief as he let the bucket rest. "You seen the elder?"
"O-over there," Wimpod flailed his head up to gesture behind him without turning around. Rex could see Oak through the trees, talking to Claydol. He muttered his thanks and wandered over.
"Not yet," Oak said to Claydol, shaking his head and frowning. "Soon, but not yet. We need to trust in Team Pride."
"I understand the difficulty of your position. But if the fire spreads much further, we will be entirely surrounded. There is no data to assure us Team Pride will complete their mission soon. And the fire is growing beyond our control. If you wait too long, evacuation will be impossible. You must understand the weight of that."
Oak scowled and bowed his head. "I assure you, I do. Solemn Meadow is a small and isolated place. To many of the Pokémon here this place is life. In time we can rebuild the homes, and restore the flora, yes. But when you lose your home, there's something else that's damaged. Something that can't be repaired. Something I'm not sure you understand."
Claydol clicked his head inquisitively.
"Pride, dear. It damages a community's pride, to be cast out of our own homes and to watch our memories reduced to ash. It makes people start to wonder if those memories were really ever as sacred as they'd thought, if they can crumble so easily. It makes people start to wonder if this is the right way to live.
"I've learned better than to claim that it is. But I also know that believing it makes people happy. And I won't take that happiness from them lightly. If the time comes and I have to make that choice, I promise you I will. But it's not that time yet."
Oak turned and acknowledged Rex without waiting for a response, emphasizing the finality of his call. Claydol's head gave a few agitated clicks, but then he turned his rotating gaze to Rex as well.
"Uhhh, sorry to interrupt," Rex murmured, feeling like an idiot for interrupting an important conversation with his dumb question. "Just trying to figure out what I can do to help?"
Oak gave him a weary, sorrowful smile. "I think we're past me managing the details, dear. Grab a bucket of water if you can and follow the shouting."
Rex nodded with a frown. That was not the answer he was hoping for. "Alright," he muttered, and he started making his way back to the line.
He wasn't bothering to grab a bucket. He was too small and weak to use it anyways. Even Oak clearly had no idea what he could do. It probably wasn't too late for him to run away, if he couldn't do anything anyways.
Rex sighed. It was time he admitted to himself that he wasn't going to do that. Even if he didn't understand why.
It didn't take long to find shouting. As he walked towards it, it quickly grew louder. And louder. This wasn't the usual shouting of a stray ember crossing the line. He start to sprint on all fours.
The commotion led him to the edge of the meadow, where a crowd had stopped working and gathered in front of the trench, staring at the dungeon's mouth in apprehensions. Three figures were sprinting into the low, flickering sea of embers that the meadow had become.
"What's going on?" Rex demanded, grabbing a single vine from the wriggling mass called Tangela beside him.
Two fearful eyes glared back at him from its depths. "T-the dungeon spit something out..." was all it muttered.
Rex felt like a frost had crossed his scales. "You guys don't think it's..."
Tangela nodded sadly.
Rex looked back across the field, heart racing. Team Pride couldn't have failed.
No, that was naivety, wasn't it? Not only could they fail, they were destined to.
The figures were coming back now. The rhinoceros Pokémon had a large figure sprawled out on his back. The bone-masked Pokémon, dragging another behind him. And the little sandy shrew, carrying a small Pokémon on his back.
Rex barely recognized Team Pride. Ego and Deci's bodies were a sickly black and brown, and Xew's scales were charred beyond recognition. But as the Flak Grotto Pokémon came closer into focus, they became unmistakeable.
Ego and Deci were entirely coated in shriveled and dead leaves, the decaying flora poking out from beneath their scales like some horrific parasite. Xew had been spared the same fate, but hardly looked better. The entire trio were coated top to bottom in soot, loosely hiding the chipped scales and burnt skin underneath. This hadn't just been a failure- it had been a painful one.
This was a message. "These weren't the right ones", the voice was saying to him. "This wasn't who I wanted."
Several Pokémon helped grab hold of Xew and Deci, and together they ferried them off to Eldegoss. Oak watched in alarm as they passed, and quickly joined the procession.
Eldegoss's eyes widened as they approached. "Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh no oh dear," she muttered frantically. "Quick, place them down for me!"
The bearers obliged, placing each delver on a bed, and Eldegoss rushed over to them. She examined each frantically, trying to decide who was in the worst condition. Finally she settled on Xew. With a deep inhale her head puffed outward and she hovered into the air above him. She gave her orby head a gentle shake, and pollen began to fall out, floating down and settling on his body. After a few moments the puffs of pollen dissolved, melting into his blackened scales.
Rex pulled up alongside Deci and looked the crisped bat over. "The hell happened to them?" he asked himself aloud, trying to resist tugging at the dried blades of grass worming out between the bat's scales.
"Forest's curse," Eldegoss answered. "It's a rare ability that forces its victim into becoming a grass type. One of the dungeon monsters must have had it. It should wear off soon. Those two look rough, but the Fraxure here clearly took the worst of it in spite of avoiding the curse."
Insanity. Utter insanity. It looked downright eldritch, and hiis own scales itched at the thought of a grassy pelt crawling underneath them.
It was stupid, truly stupid, but he couldn't stop thinking this was his fault. This was what happened when he didn't play along. Whoever was toying with him was powerful. And for whatever reason, he wanted Rex specifically to play this part.
The air was still heavy with heat, and the veil of smog was gradually becoming a cloud of smoke throughout the village. Even near the center of their circle, breathing was starting to feel toxic. The perimeter had to be totally engulfed in the plume by now.
The roaring crackle and towering flames surrounded them on three full sides. Somehow they'd kept it from leaping across, but that was becoming harder and harder every minute. They were spread too thin, and now their last hope was in ashes. Even if they could extinguish it, the spirit would just light it right back up. Maybe even sneak over the border while they were distracted.
They had lost.
"Attention, everyone," Oak's voice echoed over the clinic with a sorrowful decisiveness. "I'd like you all to remain calm, but we're going to begin organizing an evacuation."
Defeated murmurs ran through the group that had just brought Team Pride in. There were questions as to the logistics of it, but no one was denying it was necessary at this point.
No one except Rex, to his own surprise.
"No." He announced it in raw denial. Evacuation was so clearly the right choice. He didn't have a plan, and he'd just seen firsthand how little he could actually do. But he'd blurted it out before he could think. And he'd proclaimed with such authority that the crowd froze, staring skeptically back at him.
"I'm sorry dear? What do you mean, 'no'?" Oak asked, clearly surprised himself at the outburst.
Rex glanced around in a nervous sweat. Why did he say that?
He knew why. But he had no idea how to make it not sound crazy. Because it was crazy. It was crazy and he was an idiot.
He let out a heavy sigh, and his shoulder sank low. Try as he might to stop himself, he was going to do something stupid. He looked up at the elder. "I'll go. I'll get the spirit."
Another wave of disappointed murmurs, as people broke free from their surprise and discounted him entirely. Even Oak gave him a pitying smile. "While I appreciate your willingness to help us, I don't think that would be wise, given what happened to a full delving team."
Rex shut his eyes. Yep, it sounded crazy. And something in his head was begging him to just make it sound crazier. "Can... Can I talk to you privately a sec?"
Oak narrowed his eyes, casting a nervous look towards the grasping ends of the blaze. He turned his eyes quizzically to Rex, examining him intently before relaxing. "A very brief one. Time is critical. Everyone else, please divy areas of the village to clear between yourselves, and be ready to gather everyone for a full evacuation."
Oak beckoned Rex behind one of huts intertwined around a tree's trunk. Its once majestic appearance was now soiled by the layer of black gunk slowly accruing on it.
Rex's heart was pounding now. He'd been holding onto his secrets obsessively for a few days, and now on impulse he was going to tell the truth to a borderline stranger. But it was the only way to stop this. At his diminuitive height and standing so close, he had to crane his head up high to look the deer in the eyes. He felt like he was being pulled aside by a teacher. A sensation that infuriated him.
"Right. So remember when I said I'm not from Trespis? Well, to be more clear, I'm uh... not from anywhere near Trespsis. I got dragged here from very far away."
Rex started slowly, watching the elder carefully. That was the golden rule- never spell everything at once. Even if they didn't mean to, people always gave information back, and you could use that to shape your next line.
At least, humans did. But damned if he could read the body language of a deer.
"And that dream? I remember it clearly. The voice was talking about... a show, and using me as his star. He's behind all of this. I think he specifically wants me to go after him. And if I do... there's a chance he'll stop."
Oak was eyeing him intently again, with the same appraising look as the last time he'd given his story. Again, Rex couldn't get anything out of him. Begrudgingly, he was about to continue his explanation when the elder cut him off.
"I apologize for my forwardness, but the circumstances don't afford me patience. Are you a human?"
Rex's muscles tightened, and his tail compulsively twitched. Oak had broached it before he could. Was it that obvious? Was it a bad thing? A good thing? He frantically scrutinized the elder's face. But still the deer was stoic.
If he'd had any chance of lying, his reaction had cost him it. Stupid of him. But the question had caught him completely off guard.
Anxiously, he met the elder's eyes. "...I was."
Rex watched the elder's face intently, tensed and ready to react to anything. He nearly jumped when the deer bowed his head. But it wasn't an attack- it was a bow of respect.
"My apologies," Oak raised his head back up, and stole a longing glance at the meadow, where the dungeon's maw still invited fools in. "I want so much to believe in you. It really is just like an old fairytale, isn't it?" he chuckled. "A human arrives in a time of crisis and claims that they can save us all. But, with all respect human, my responsibilities extend beyond belief. Even if you can achieve the impossible and defeat the spirit now, we're not winning the battle out here. By the time you returned, the village would be nothing but ash."
Was this really it? Had he acted too late, and now everything would burn?
"What about Leafeon? His rain dance was doing a ton. Couldn't he stall?" Rex pleaded. Why was he so eager to do something this stupid? Was this guilt?
Oak shook his head. "Even if he and his partner could keep it up for so long as to beat back the fire, that would be risking everyone's safety. We need the rain to cover our evacuation. If you couldn't stop the spirit, we'd be trapped."
Rex grimaced, wracking his brain for any way to solve this. But the elder was right- there was no responsible choice besides evacuating at this point.
When he looked up again, defeated, he was surprised to see the elder looking down at him expectantly. As if they assumed he'd have an answer. That almost made it worse to admit defeat.
"Fine, you're right. But I'm going in anyways. If I don't he might attack you guys, or try to interrupt the evacuation to force me to play his game," Rex rationalized it to himself. He couldn't bring himself to run away entirely from his only chance at answers.
"You know what will happen to you if you fail, right?" Oak asked him in a dead serious tone.
"The dungeon will take me hostage, yeah, all educated up on that," Rex rolled his eyes. The sarcasm was a mask. The thought utterly terrified him.
"The spirit doesn't have to play by the dungeon's rules. He could kill you. Even if you succeed, the outside of the dungeon is on fire. When you leave, you'll be stranded."
True, all of that was true. He was banking entirely on this assumption that the voice would protect him. That it had some greater part for him to play than dying in a fire. It had to, right? Why else would it bring him here?
That wasn't a safe assumption at all. But still, if he ran away, that was it. The voice might prevent their escape, and he'd never get any answers.
"I'm going to be honest: I don't really want any part of this," Rex confessed. "But now I'm involved against my will. If I don't go, there's a chance something really bad happens. I'll... figure something out."
Oak gave a respectful bow. "Very well. Thank you, human. Maybe, somehow, things will be okay. But meanwhile I'm going to organize the evacuation. Please, let me know if there's anything I can provide to help you."
Rex was about to decline when something dawned on him. "Well, there might be one thing. I need a way to actually get over to the dungeon without searing my feet off."
"I'll see if the Rhyhorn is willing to give you a ride before we evacuate."
Rex pulled Bristle's bag beside him and sifted through the items. He recognized most of them. The same basic berries and seeds and wands he'd been gradually learning. There was nothing special in there. After all, it was still packed for their trek into the woods days prior. It had felt like weeks. But those basic supplies would be enough. He'd make do with what he had.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" the rhinoceros, Rhyhorn, grumbled as Rex climbed onto his rocky carapace. "Dunno why the old mans letting you do something this stupid."
"I don't know either," he muttered.
The wasteland before them had once been called a meadow. Now, the grass and weeds were a searing sea of embers and ash, with a noxious smog usurping the clean air and sunlight. It looked like enough to boil the skin from anyone's feet, but supposedly Rhyhorn's stone hooves could power through it.
"Hold on tight. I'm only making this dash once. If you fall off, I'm bringing your sorry behind right back."
Rex nodded and coiled both arms around the horn. With stubby arms and weak fingers he'd need to cling like his life depended on it.
"Ready."
Without hesitation, Rhyhorn broke into a charge. Rex's entire body flailed up, perilously anchored to the beast's horn as it dashed madly through the forsaken meadow. Barely able to keep his eyes open, he held fast.
The dungeon's mouth grew larger and larger, preparing to swallow Rex and drop him right back down into this madness. The twisted trees that formed its gate hadn't burned away at all, in spite of the thick flames constantly devouring them.
As Rhyhorn neared the entrance, he wasn't slowing down. He veered to the side, starting to take a wide turn.
"Get ready to dismount," he grunted through clenched teeth.
"Where?"
Rhyhorn's turn sharpened until they were parallel to the dungeon's entrance. "Good luck, crazy!" he roared, and swung his head towards the entrance. The sudden jerk loosened Rex's grip, and for a terrifying moment he was flew through the air towards darkness and fire.
The darkness swallowed him and everything changed. The soot-covered ground he collided with was free of embers. The lingering light came from small cinders embedded in the stirring tree branches.
He pulled himself to his feet, spitting out ash and trying to wipe more from his face. But with soot-covered hands, he wasn't getting anywhere. If he survived this, he wanted a bath for a reward.
Finally taking in his surroundings, Rex was second guessing whether he was still alive. Because he was in hell. This was definitely, absolutely, just hell.
Fire? Check. Ash? Check. Black, squirming, eldritch trees? Check.
He hadn't explored a dungeon alone since Rolling Fields. But he about had this down. Find the gateway, don't die. This wasn't the part he was worried about. He was worried about what waited for at the end.
Rex stretched up onto his hind legs, keeping his head above the ash-coated weeds, and awkwardly stepped down the writhing hallway to where it split at the end.
Shimmering and spotless, he'd already found the quadrant boundary. Something else was lying in front of it.
Still straining his back in order to tiptoe, Rex approached the pile in front of the gateway. On a loose bed of crisped leaves laid a pile of coins and an orb. He picked up one of the coins and eyed it skeptically.
Money? He knew the dungeons made weird items, but money? What kind of flagrant bribery was this?
But money was money. He scooped it up into his bag and picked up the orb. Glaring into it intently, he scowled.
A dark cloud hung within it, expanding and contracting as drops of water swirled around. Every few seconds it lit up as a flash of lightning arced inside.
A storm-cloud. Rex was willing to gamble on what this did. And if he was right, this proved everything.
He played along and was rewarded. "Play your part, and I'll give you what you need." That's what the voice was saying. There was no subtlety about it. He knew, and the voice knew that he knew.
And it infuriated him. Because he just had to keep playing along. There was literally no other option at this point. He was a puppet.
Still fuming, Rex threw the orb into his bag and stepped through the gateway, entering into a new tangle of nightmares.
Ashen Glade Quadrant 5
This had been easy. Too easy. Only a handful of apparitions had shown up, ones that even Rex could handle without more than a few burns and a fresh coat of soot from the dungeon. And he'd stumbled upon each boundary within minutes.
Everything was arranged to ferry him from the entrance to the exit. Beckoning him towards whatever fate the voice had planned.
But something had changed now. He wasn't being rushed through this quadrant. In fact, he couldn't find the gateway at all.
He kept his head low, hiding in the underbrush as a red and black cat wandered near. Its fur was radiating warmth, betraying its element. Fire. Just like everything else in this forsaken place.
As soon as it got close, Rex pounced. He dragged it to the ground and they both rolled across the ground. With surprise on his side, Rex managed to land on top. The cat feebly attempted to throw him off, but two quick swipes were all it took to claw out the cat's neck.
Rex got up and dusted himself off as its inky remains melted away. This had become normal too quickly. But as he turned around to continue, he froze.
The path he'd been about to enter was now on fire. Completely and totally on fire.
Flashes of Magmortar ran through his mind, and he was at a full sprint before he registered it. Down on all fours, he could barely see where he was going past the weeds. His face was plowing through a cloud of ash.
The more he ran, the more soot he kicked up. The more soot he breathed in, the more labored his breath grew. And the more labored his breathing, the more soot he'd inhale. He wheezed harder and harder, until he brought him to his knees. He couldn't run anymore, and collapsed in a coughing fit, his spasms only kicking more particles into the air.
He couldn't see what was happening, and he couldn't open his eyes. The heat was rapidly approaching as he laid there choking. Growing warmer, hotter, sweltering. He needed to move. He had to-
He seized up as something coiled around his tail and gave it a jerk. Next thing he knew, he was being dragged through the dirt, only worsening his asphyxiation. Panic set in for just a moment before he realized something. The heat was growing more distant. Whatever was dragging him was saving him.
Rex tried to clear his lungs enough to get on his feet, but he could barely keep up with expelling the new dust he kept inhaling. He was trapped in this choking fit until his savior let him go.
After a minute of being dragged, he felt the heat dissipate and the force around his tail let go. With a few heavy wheezes, he shot out enough filth to regain movement. Instantly, he dragged his tail close and held it defensively. Under any other circumstance, he'd kill someone for doing that. He rubbed the soot from his eyelids and opened his eyes.
Bristle loomed over him, arms crossed, staring down disapprovingly. Just like him, she was coated from head to feet in soot. Her once vibrant green scarf had turned a miserly gray.
"ActUAK- Actu-ally, co-uck- could you just throw me back in the fire, please?" Rex requested, his sarcasm accentuated by an involuntary hacking.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't tempt me." The jab lacked her usual vigor. "Why are you here?"
"Why do you think?" Rex coughed up the last of it and started trying fruitlessly to clean his face.
"Last we spoke you insulted me, enticed Galvantula to attack me in my own home, and then wandered off with a rival team to compete with me on a job. So at this point, I'm assuming it's all just spite."
Rex let out a bitter laugh, and then a cough at the new dust it let into his throat. "Yeah, that's right. It has nothing to do with the burning village, people in danger, etcetera. I just really wanted to spite you in particular."
"You didn't care before. So why now?" she stared at him, sharp eyes demanding a real answer.
"Well, I..." he cut himself off abruptly as he realized he didn't have a good answer. "I Guess things just got more serious."
Bristle seemed unsatisfied. "Whatever. We need to move, now. You're clearly familiar with why." A vine coiled out and gestured emphatically at his soot-laden scales.
"D-does that happen in every quadrant?"
Bristle gave an exhausted nod and turned, gesturing for him to walk behind her. Begrudgingly, he did.
"Since you're already here, I'll let you follow with me. You being defeated would just make this mess bigger." She sounded more like she was justifying it to herself than to him.
They marched on through ash and ferns, Rex's awkward bipedal tromp slowing them down. Bristle kept glancing back at him impatiently, before anxiously looking around for hints of the fire. It had grown quiet. Eerily so. No new apparitions were assailing them, and even the cracking of the trees seemed to have softened.
"How did you even get in here anyways? No one saw you enter." Rex questioned, swiping dust out of the air in front of him.
"The dungeon formed on me," she growled indignantly. "Which reminds me- I met our spirit."
"And you're not a toasted salad? Impressive," he smirked.
"No, because the spirit is a child. The kid we were chasing? He's the one doing all of this. The stupid brats throwing a giant temper tantrum. The only reason he's not tied up and in the grasps of the enforcers right now is because the stupid dungeon formed on me."
Rex stopped. "What? How is that kid doing any of this?"
"He evolved into a Flareon, somehow. Can't believe the little criminal got his paws on a stone."
Rex nodded like he understood that. His mind was more focused on trying to figure out how the kid connected to the voice. But wracking his mind, he couldn't form any ideas. There were too many blanks, not just in his understanding of the situation, but in his entire understanding of the world.
He'd failed to realize it before, but he was locked into a game with this voice. A completely unfair one. The voice knew what was going on. It knew this world. It had a plan.
Meanwhile, he couldn't use his body or his powers right. He didn't understand the world around him. And he'd been almost entirely reactive. He hadn't made the effort to position himself better at all. It was no wonder the voice had been able to string him along so easily.
If this didn't end here tonight, he'd need to do better. But for the time being, he was locked onto the rails. The voice brought him here for a reason, and he needed to see what that reason was before he could plan his next move.
"What's the situation like outside?" Bristle asked.
"Not good. They're evacuating."
Bristle shut her eyes, and her shoulders sloughed. "I see." She fell silent.
"Speaking of..." Rex muttered as he began sifting through his bag. Her bag.
"I'm taking that back when we're done here, you know."
Rex rolled his eyes and ignored her as he pulled out the raincloud orb. "Found this. This do what I think it does?"
Bristle's eyes widened and she stopped walking to peer into it. "Another rainy orb... Finally, some luck."
She attempted to take it, and Rex quickly pulled it back. He waggled a claw. "Eh-eh. Mine."
"Normally it would be no problem for me to apprehend a child," she turned her head indignantly. "But given his type advantage and the incredibly hostile environment, having that ready would be wise."
"Or, instead of using it to beat up a kid, we could save it to stop the village from burning down?"
"One rainy orb isn't going to put out a fire big enough to force an evacuation. I'm assuming at least a few Pokémon in the village knew how to perform rain dances anyways."
Rex stuffed it back into his bag emphatically. "Well, it's a start. I'll figure out the rest of it as I go."
She gave him an annoyed glare. "What happened to being the plan guy?"
He shrugged. "I screwed that up. Now the plan is 'don't waste supplies until I have a real plan'".
Bristle turned and continued walking with a scowl. "Fine. I don't need it anyways."
She was definitely getting toasted before the night was out.
The duo finally found the boundary, crossing through it to find themselves at the end of a single twisting trail. The curled branches all pointed down it in one direction, reaching out towards a large clearing at the end where a familiar charred oak towered over the other trees.
Rex's heart pounded. Whatever the voice had in store for him awaited in the hollow.
Ashen could see them finally approaching below. Roselia and Helioptile, just like Strife had said.
He'd already done all of the horrible things. Now he just had to lose. He was finally going to face comeuppance. This should have been the easy part. So why was his heart beating so fast? Why was he so afraid?
He had clawed his way into the lower branches of the tree that had once stood watch over his den. But he'd singed his own sentinel so badly that even the thick branch he stood on felt unstable. The dried bark could crack and fall at any moment, sending him tumbling back down to the earth.
The rest of the glade wasn't in better shape. The few trees that once lived within it had nearly all fallen, forming a graveyard of dead trees.
The fire had spread over Ashen himself now, too. Somehow his thick, furry coat had caught the flames, and they ran across him like an extension of that fur. Burning across his face like a mask, without the slightest tinge of discomfort. His mother's raincoat was nothing but loose threads and scraps of burning fabric at this point.
He'd been waiting up here anxiously to play his part in this miserable tale's finale. Now it was finally time.
The delvers stepped into the glade below and glanced around expectantly. They'd come for him. He sighed and shut his eyes, taking just a moment to try and still his heart.
"Interlopers!" he bellowed down, drawing their attention up. "You dare trespass upon my newly hallowed grounds?"
It was ridiculous. Roselia already knew who he was. But he stuck to the script he was given anyways.
Roselia stared violently up at him, placing a bud on her hip. "Stupid! I have had enough of your stupid games kid! Come down here right now, or I will make you come down."
Helioptile looked just as exasperated, but without half as much hostility. "Seriously kid, this has gone far enough. People are gonna get hurt. Come down here."
Ashen paused to work up the willpower to continue. He knew what he had to do next. It was stupid, but he was stuck on this path now.
"No! The child is gone! His body and mind claimed by the spirit! And now... you shall be next!"
With a deep inhale, he blew a stream of fire straight down at them, the flames across his fur jumping in to grow the attack. Helioptile dived aside, but Roselia was caught unprepared. The flames licked past her as she stumbled back. She groaned as her vines shot out around one of the standing trees and pulled her away from his flamethrower.
"Kid hits hard," he heard her growl over to Helioptile, who had taken cover behind a log. She pointed her bud towards him and launched a shadowy attack.
He didn't have anywhere to dodge on the branch. Panicking, he leapt towards the oak's trunk, extending his claws and letting them dig into the charred bark. He slid halfway down it before he tried to retract his claws and drop the rest of the way But they were stuck in the softened bark. He was trapped.
The second shadow ball crashed into his back and he howled in pain. What was he doing, fighting two delvers? He wasn't a good fighter even when he knew his own body. How long did this have to go on for before he was allowed to give up?
Opting for brute force, he yanked his paws from the tree and took a layer of bark with each one. He shook them off. Roselia was charging towards him. Helioptile had hopped onto the log and popped his frills.
He leapt aside by instinct, just as Helioptile launched a jolt of energy. Before he could retaliate, Roselia descended on him. A swarm of vines shot out and he braced for them to all smack him. But instead they coiled beneath him, wrapping around his legs while more tried to curl around his neck and snout.
She was trying to restrain him. He snorted a puff of embers from his nose, singing the vine that was gripping his snout. Roselia grimaced in pain as the vine quickly shot back. He wrenched his paws free from the ones trying to entangle his feet.
Even if he wasn't a fighter, that was too optimistic of her. He was big now. In fact, for the first time he realized he was bigger than either of them. She wasn't going to get a hold on him while he was still fighting.
She'd left herself vulnerable. He pounced towards her, flames spreading across his teeth. He pinned her down and bit into her shoulder. She screamed out in pain as his teeth dug in, a bitter green ooze leaking into his mouth.
Why was he doing this? He hated it.
He was grateful when a coil of vines shot from her other bud and smacked him off of her. He rolled over the soot-coated ground and landed by Helioptile, who was looked down at him almost pityingly. Ashen rolled over just in time to dodge another shock.
"Can you hit anything?" Roselia snapped, trembling as she pulled herself to her feet.
Helioptile was backpedaling away. "At least I have the sense to keep my distance and not be the kid's chew toy," he growled.
What were they doing? They just had to beat him already. Didn't they realize he had no idea what he was doing?
Ashen bounded after Helioptile next. With two big leaps, he caught up in moments. Helioptile stumbled onto his back in a panic, trying to crawl away. Ashen drew his breath in sharply, preparing to bath him in fire- and then stopped mid motion.
Helioptile was trembling. Fear in his eyes. And Ashen was... he was about to...
Something struck him in the back again, staggering him and giving Helioptile a chance to escape. The lizard zipped past him and over to Roselia in bursts, using a quick attack.
Ashen readjusted and turned in time to see Helioptile drag Roselia behind a log. He could hear angry murmurs. They were planning something.
That was good. He hadn't expected to put up this much of a fight. They weren't cooperating. The Helioptile was clumsy. And the Roselia was too bold. But he was already getting worn, just from Roselia's few attacks. If they had some kind of plan, this would be over quick.
A flash of yellow shot out from behind the log. He braced for the quick attack, but Helioptile darted perpendicular to him, landing on top of another log. Roselia was still hiding in the first spot.
They were going to split his attention. Begrudgingly, he got ready to rush Roselia's hiding place and force her out. But Helioptile's voice distracted him.
"Hey, Flareon!" he called out. He was sitting nonchalantly on top of the log, feet and tail dangling on either side. He threw his hands into the air in mock surrender. "Cm'on, let's drop the charade and stop fighting already."
Ashen's heart sank at the words. Why wouldn't they just beat him so he could give up? They had to fight!
He turned back towards where Roselia was hiding, refusing to look at Helioptile any more. "Had enough, interloper?" he snarled, bitter for all the wrong reasons. "You can't talk your way out of this one." He prowled closer to the hiding delver.
"That voice is making you do this, isn't it?" Helioptile's words froze him in place, his ears perking up. He shot his eyes over to him desperately. Then he realized from the lizard's smug grin that his reaction had said it all.
Helioptile continued. "Your hearts not in this. What'd he promise you?"
"He didn't- I mean- I don't even know what you're talking about!" Ashen yelled, turning to chase after Helioptile instead.
"Cm'on kid, quit pretending. Half a week ago you were so withdrawn it took your own mother a day to notice you'd vanished. Now you're burning down villages? We both know you didn't grow so bold in the interim." Helioptile was slouching on his side now, almost leisurely.
Ashen was being taunted. The worst part being that it was all true.
Even the terrible things Ashen had accomplished were just someone else's script. He couldn't do a thing on his own. He wasn't surprised to hear his parents hadn't missed him. He just wished it'd stayed that way.
Ashen pounced at Helioptile. It wasn't just to follow the script. Frustration was driving him now.
They slid backwards off the log, avoiding Ashen's leap but falling clumsily onto the ground beside him.
Helioptile scowled. He was still looking Ashen in the eye, but he was trembling a bit. "So what's the deal kid? He paying you? Or were you just that desperate for validation?"
Ashen threw his head up and howled in frustration. On instinct, flames shot across his teeth and he bared them down at the horrified Helioptile. "No! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" he screeched. Something primal was demanding he dig those fiery fangs into the lizard.
That wouldn't accomplish anything though, would it? He wasn't mad at Helioptile. He was mad at the truth. He was mad at himself. He hated himself. He just wanted to lose, so this nightmare could all be over already.
Why was he powerful enough to do this? What cruel fate kept pushing him forward when even he'd given up.
Ashen's muscles relaxed and the fire on his teeth and in his heart went out. He was done. This was over.
Helioptile's tremble slowed. There was a hint of relief in his eyes. His voice still shaky, he spoke. "If you're done screaming at the birds, might want to check your back."
In one simultaneous action, something drew taut around all four legs, his tail, and his neck. With a sudden jerk he slammed into the dirt, smacking his head on the log on the way down. Even if he hadn't given up, the ambush probably would have gotten him.
"Idiot!" Roselia screeched indignantly from behind him. "You nearly gave me away! Why would you tell him that!"
Helioptile pulled himself to his feet, still trembling but a smug grin growing. "Cause it was cool, admit it."
"And you! Release these flames or I will beat them off of you," she demanded, glaring down at Ashen in disgust as his coat of fire licked at her vines.
It was finally over. His heart finally at peace, Ashen let the flames rippling across him fade away.
This is when he was supposed to escape. Say something dramatic, puff out some smoke, and be whisked off to the next grand act in his future of villainy. The next scene in the script he'd been given.
But this was where Ashen's own plans diverged from the script.
"I surrender," he mumbled, and let his head collapse into the ashes.
He'd never intended to escape. He was never doing this again. And he certainly couldn't go back. So the only thing left was to surrender to his fate. He'd get the punishment he deserved. Maybe Strife was right and something good would come of it all. Or maybe not. But either way, he'd get his justice.
Another vine coiled tight around his snout, forcefully clamping it shut. "Oh, do you now?" Roselia jeered, pushing herself down by his face. "I think we've heard just about enough out of you."
He was about to shut his eyes and stop thinking. But Helioptile walked up and tugged at that vine disapprovingly. "Uh, no. Exactly the opposite. It's time we hear a lot more out of him. Like, you know, what the bloody hell is going on?"
She looked at Helioptile disapprovingly, too occupied restraining Ashen to stop his tugging at her vine. "What do you think is going on? The kid threw a tantrum, ran away, and acted out for attention."
Helioptile rolled his eyes. "God you're bad at following the details. What about the teleporting? The second voice? How the hell some dumbass kid beat up the entirety of Team Pride? The sudden mystery dungeon?"
Still glaring at Helioptile, she loosened her vine a bit, letting him tug it off. Then turning her eyes towards Ashen she addressed him with utmost contempt. "Give us your account of everything. All of it. Now. If I see so much as an ember, you're losing consciousness."
Ashen trembled. He didn't want to do any more of this. He just wanted to... stop. But Roselia looked ready to kill.
"I'm sorry," was all he could muster, over and over. He couldn't look at either of them.
"I don't care," she responded coldly. "Tell me now."
Was he willing to give up Strife? He still had no idea if the puppeteer was a bad guy or not. This had been utter insanity, but was Strife really trying to a good thing? Had they really been trying to help him?
He felt tremendously guilty at tattling on Strife. But on the other foot, he had specifically told Ashen that he was limiting what information he gave the kid. In case Ashen wanted to leave. So maybe it didn't matter in the end.
Heart empty, the defeated Flareon stared off into space as he recounted the events that led him here. Strife's first "appearance" at his den with an offer. His choice to accept it. The initial fires. Flak Mountain. Strife's plan. Tonight.
Bristle's detest for the child grew with every line. Her body tensed tighter and tighter until he was done. As soon as he'd finished she threw her arms out in frustration and blurted, "Idiot! Absolute idiot! You did all of this because a crazy person told you to?! Unbelievable!"
Ashen just let his head collapse back into the dirt. There was no point protesting. She was right.
Helioptile was still silent, holding his head in his claw and staring off into the distance.
"Strife..." he muttered. He rolled his eyes and repeated it again, with derision.
Another one of Roselia's vines sprouted and quickly wrapped around Ashen's mouth, clamping it shut for good this time.
"Let's go. Struggle and find out what happens," she huffed in frustration. Without waiting for Helioptile, she started to trudge forward, straining against Ashen's weight as her vines dragged him through the soot. But Helioptile didn't follow.
"No," he muttered, still staring into space.
Roselia stopped to glance over her shoulder at him. "What do you mean no? Help me carry this imbecile."
Helioptile shook his head, eyes focused now. "Do you not get what just happened? We were set up!"
Roselia turned and stared blankly at him. "What are you talking about?"
He groaned and threw his face into his claws. "The voice- this 'Strife' guy. This is literally exactly what he wanted."
"For us to win?"
Helioptile threw his hands in the air. "Yes! For us to win!"
"And you'd like to lose instead? You heard the imbecile, this was some moronic thrill-seeking thing. He wanted to give everyone a scare. It's... agitating that he got what he wanted. But unless you'd like to go burn the village down yourself just to spite him, we're done here," she huffed, the tips of her vines smacking at Ashen in frustration.
"This is the same jackass who dumped me here! He ran circles around us, and he's gonna do it all again! We didn't win- we lost. Entirely," Helioptile rambled. Then he paused, a thought crossing his face. "No- almost entirely..."
"In case you've forgotten, there's still a fire going? If you have a useful suggestion instead of just whining, now would be the time to make it."
Helioptile shut his eyes with a heavy sigh. He waddled closer and answered in a hushed tone, "We don't turn the kid over."
Ashen's ears perked up.
"What?!" Roselia roared at the same time as the thought ran through Ashen's head. "Did the few reasonable thoughts in your skull burn up tonight?"
"Quiet, dumbass!" he snarled in a hushed tone. "He could still be here. That kid is the loose end. He's the mistake. Strife wanted him to get away, and he didn't. That's the only thing that happened tonight that Strife didn't plan. Which means he's our best bet at catching them."
"This criminal may have just burned an entire village down," she hissed, obliging his request for quiet, "The last thing I'm going to do is let him get away, and look like a fool in the process. It's downright disgraceful that I let this happen in the first place. But I will not let it go any further."
"Oh christ Bristle, the kid isn't going to do anything. He's gullible as all hell, but as long as we keep him away from crazy people it's fine. And really, you think what happened here is good for your reputation?" he eyed her challengingly. "I'm sure the villagers with be enthralled with the valiant tale of how you beat up a child after letting him burn their homes down. How the real, dangerous criminal behind this got away with everything. I'll be sure to help share all the juicy details."
Roselia looked taken aback. "Are you threatening to slander me?"
Helioptile smiled. "Nope. I'm threatening to do exactly what you wanted- tell them the truth. But the truth may be slander enough here."
Roselia's conviction waivered a bit at this. Uncertainty sept into her face.
Helioptile brushed up close against Roselia and continued, "Or, if you'd prefer, we can tell a little lie. You see, that spirit was a real scary guy. He was holding poor little matchstick over here hostage and making the kid help with his evil schemes. In an epic battle, you beat that mighty spirit. He escaped with his mysterious accomplice, but he won't come back any time soon after the walloping you gave him!" Helioptile swept his claw out dramatically. "But you, mighty Guildmaster Bristle, champion of the people, will dedicate all your efforts to hunting down and defeating the true mastermind behind this," he declared dramatically. He hushed his tone again and whispered, "Then we stick close to the little matchstick and lay an ambush when Strife comes back for him. I get my answers, and you get a real criminal to turn in."
Ashen couldn't believe his ears. This couldn't be happening. Was he really going to get away with all of this? How did he keep escaping justice? How could no one see what he was?
Roselia had gone limp, her face contorted in a conflicted expression. "Y-you're suggesting I entirely fabricate a story to my clients, and allow a criminal to walk free? That's... That's in direct violation of a delver's code. I- I could never do that."
"Strife is the one really responsible for all of this. You'd only be lying to catch a seriously dangerous criminal. And matchstick over here will pay for his crimes by helping us fry a bigger fish."
Helioptile paused to think a moment. Uncertainty wavered on his face. "Of course, I guess I could just report all of this to Team Pride, and the Jade Crest probably have the resources to hunt Strife down... Guess that makes more sense, now that I think about it."
Roselia's expression instantly changed. "Temporarily," Roselia barked. "I'll put on this charade, temporarily, until I get what I need from him. I'm sure the townsfolk will understand the necessity of this... indiscretion."
Ashen refused to hear any more of this. He sent a weak puff of embers from his nostrils, singing the vine around his snout. It quickly flailed backward towards its bud. Immediately, Roselia had another two extended and ready to strike him unconscious.
"I'll turn myself in!" he shouted before she could. She froze, mid attack, gaping in awe at his insolence.
Helioptile threw his face into his claws again. "Dumbass! I am trying to help you!"
Ashen whimpered. He didn't deserve help. Hopefully they'd see that now.
The lizard finally looked up again and stared at him appraisingly. "What do you possibly stand to gain from turning yourself in."
"I hurt everyone. I don't deserve to be alive," he whispered.
Helioptile's face locked in a strange expression. The frustration vanished for a mix of concern and panic. He threw eyes skyward. "Welp, that's above my paygrade," he muttered.
Regaining his composure, he continued. "Even if that were true, turning yourself in just stops us from finding Strife. If you think you hurt everyone, then Strife really hurt everyone. You'd just be making things worse by not helping us."
Strife? This wasn't Strife's fault. Strife had said it himself. Ashen was made to be a villain. All Strife had tried to do was try to find a use for the kit's awful nature. Strife wasn't responsible for what Ashen was.
"I just... want it to be over," he muttered, lying in the dirt. "If I do anything else, I'll just make things worse. I'm done."
"Worse than useless..." Roselia muttered.
Helioptile sat down and tried looking Ashen in the face. Ashen turned his head away. Scowling now, the lizard grabbed his collar and turned his head towards him.
"Listen kid, I don't know what's... going on with you," he gestured a claw vaguely through the air at the Flareon. "But I need to find Strife. So sorry, but I'm not letting you go without helping me. After that you can do whatever you want. So what does it take to keep you moving for a few more days?"
Nothing. He didn't want anything. He'd never wanted anything. Just to stay out of sight, and out of mind, where there was nothing to screw up and no one to disappoint. No wrong choices to make and no wrong paths to take. All so that the people who mattered could be happy.
Maybe that was what he wanted. For the people who deserved it to be happy. That was why he'd been dragged into this in the first place, wasn't it? Because Strife had told him their spirits were fading. That he could help restore them. That he could make them happy.
Of course, he couldn't do that. But that was the only thing that could possibly make him keep going.
"I'll turn myself in," he whimpered, "unless you make my sister join you."
Roselia about exploded with rage. Her free vines smacked his face, his hot fuzz dampening the sting.
"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! I already invited her, right in front of you. And she said no! What do you want me to do, abduct her?"
Ashen shut his eyes and laid lifeless in the ash. He knew that. He knew it was impossible. But it didn't matter to him. If he kept moving forward, he'd doubtlessly just end up destroying more. So unless they could do that for him, it was best that he just went away.
"That's my term," he whispered.
Helioptile rubbed his temple. "Fine. It's a deal."
"Unless you have developed mind control, it is explicitly not a deal!" Roselia growled.
"I will figure something out," he spit in return. "But if the kid bails on us, we've totally lost."
"If the little criminal wants to rot in a cell, he can. I will not be blackmailed by a stupid criminal child!"
Helioptile sighed and shook his head. "You've got the blackmail backwards here. He's giving us the reigns to keep him under control. If he runs or doesn't help us, the girl gets the boot. You were worried about him doing something. Now you can be sure he won't."
Ashen shuddered. He'd done it again. He had expected them to refuse his term, since she'd already said no. But if Helioptile somehow pulled this off, now he'd bound Spritz's fate to his own. Maybe if he'd just kept quiet, she would have come around herself. Could he turn back? Pretend he didn't care? But then she'd probably never join on her own. It was like Strife said, she was too bound to the farm. To filling the massive hole he'd left.
He was just trading off his chains, wasn't he? He'd be following someone else's script again. A weapon. This was supposed to have all ended tonight. But somehow he had avoided responsibility yet again. He'd be back to messing stuff up in no time.
Roselia was boring into him with a scrutinizing gaze.
"I still don't trust him. But. I do want Vaporeon anyways, and you have raised a reasonable point about the dangers of this Strife character. If you can get Vaporeon on-board somehow, I'll go along with this plan. Otherwise, I will personally drag him to his new cell."
"Good. Then, first and foremost..." Helioptile walked up and ripped one of her vines from Ashen's front paw. "You need to let him go."
The rest of her vines tightened around Ashen's limbs. "Let him go?"
"Yes, let him go. If we're framing everything on someone else, we obviously can't go back with him tied up." Helioptile stared Ashen dead in the eyes. "You won't run. Even if you don't give a damn what happens to you, you'll stick around for your sister."
Ashen nodded meekly. With great frustration, Roselia released her grip, letting him slump to the ground. He pulled himself to his feet and made a feeble effort to shake off all the soot. The tattered remains of the raincoat flew off with them. Another small addition to the list of things he'd ruined.
"Flareon, you're in front of us at all times. And I don't want to hear a word out of you unless spoken to. Am I clear?" Roselia demanded.
Ashen nodded his head weakly, then dropped it low and stepped in front of them, heading towards the exit.
"Hold on, one more thing first," Helioptile interrupted. "We need to get our story straight."
Great. Just what Ashen needed. More script.
