Chapter 6: Mana Rot
"Are you alright my dear? You seem a little pale today."
"Do I? I'm sorry, honey. "I merely fret that something in nature is going amiss. Though, I may just be imagining things. I apologize for worrying you."
"Don't be. Come, let us relax by the seaside. You look like you need it."
"Hehe. You always know how to cheer me up."
Lillia stared at the ceiling from her bed, unpleased. Why the heck did she accept the Guild's invitation to stay until they recovered? She sighed and rubbed her temples. She essentially forced herself to remember that this was the best option for them financially. She couldn't afford the two of them a hotel room because those cultist bastards had stolen her money. A free handful of nights at the Guild was their only reliable option. It then struck the cat that she wouldn't be able to afford flying to their next destination and that they would have to walk. She stifled a groan and faced her sleeping partner.
He was still completely knocked out in his bed despite the sun already hovering over the horizon. He must have been exhausted from last night. Who wouldn't be after you get abducted by cultists and subjugated to be their sacrifice. The psychic examined his body. His fur was pretty ruffled and he had a few scratches here and there along with a bruise on his face, but apart from that he seemed alright. Thankfully. They could have been much more violent. They must have wanted to keep him "healthy" to make for a better sacrifice or some bizarre shit like that.
She was tired herself, but she would never admit that to him. If she looked weak, he would panic. Unfortunately, the events from that conspired last night prevented her from sleeping and kept her up most of the night instead of sparing her and giving the psychic a restful sleep.
She wanted to go back.
Lillia hated herself for thinking, but she just had this overwhelming desire to go back to those cultists and beat the living shit out of. She didn't even know why...she just needed to. She had never even gotten a chance to attack any of them and that pissed her off. She couldn't get herself to attack…why? A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.
"Are either of you awake?" An unfamiliar feminine voice asked through the wood. Lillia made a sound of confirmation. "May I come in?"
"Yeah."
The door gently opened and a rather petite looking Elgyem floated in. She was wearing a pale pink sweater with a lab coat over it and a mug of hot chocolate floating in front of her. Lillia raised a questioning brow at her outfit.
"It's a bit chilly outside." She noticed slate next to the cat and perked up. "Team Vanity would like to meet with you two." She continued in a much softer voice. The Espurr cocked her head to the side.
"Who?"
"The Scizor and Mismagius from last night. They should be somewhere in the food court."
"Where is that?"
"Down the stairs and to the left."
"Thanks." Lillia muttered. The Elgyem nodded, floated out of the room, then closed the door. Seconds later, Lillia heard the sound of shattering glass followed by a weak, but startled shriek. She shook her head and glanced at the stirring fighting type. "How are you feeling?"
"...Good." He stretched.
"The two from last night want to meet us over at the mess hall. Do you need a minute before we go there?" Slate nodded and Lillia gave him a minute to refresh. After a good rub of his eyes and a couple of stretches, she led him out the door and through the hallway, past that Elgyem and the still messy floor.
The Guild was already busy. It felt like a much less crowded version of the streets of Haronfield. Lillia had to bob and weave through most of the bigger Pokémon in order to not get stepped on. Slate struggled to keep up as usual. After finally arriving at the mess hall, the pair needed a minute to find their saviors from last night. Thankfully, they seemed to spot them first. The Mismagius beckoned them over with a very noticeable and sporadic wave of her limbs.
"Goooood morning you two! How are the both of you doing today?" She excitedly asked before they had even sat down. The tray in front of her was completely devoid of any food, only a crumb filled mess. The bug next to her was silently gulping down some sort of berry related soup. Lillia shrugged at her question.
"Fine enough I suppose."
"Glad to hear it! I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm the ever dashing and fantastical Tio!" She then floated next to the Scizor and wrapped a ghastly limb around his neck. Somehow, he hadn't even made the slightest reaction to her, not even a flinch. "This brooding weirdo here is Kane! I know this thing may seem intimidating and hard to approach, but he's a real nice fella once you get to know him." Kane nodded and hummed at them before returning to his dish. Lillia nodded back. The four went silent.
"...Is that all you wanted to show us or...? Because we should probably get ready to leave." Lillia got up out of her seat.
"Already? Don't you two want to rest here a little bit longer? You still look a little banged up from last night." The psychic shook her head.
"No, we're fine. We still have important stuff to do, so we should be leaving and not wasting time here."
"Oh." The ghost looked a little upset. "See you around...I guess. Stay safe."
"Mhm." Lillia had grabbed Slate's paw and tried to walk away, but he didn't budge.
"..I-I want to stay h-here a little l-longer." She glared at him.
"What? We can't! We have to work on getting your memories back!"
"He has amnesia?" Tio added with concern.
"Yes." Lillia grunted. "Staying here is accomplishing nothing, now let's go!" She yanked him a little too hard and he flopped out of his seat with a little yelp. "...Oops. Sorry." He glared up at her.
"L-Lillia, please!" His voice raised in volume as he stood back up. "I'm sore, I-I'm tired, and I just got captured b-by a bunch of f-freaks who tied m-me up and planned t-to sacrifice me to Giratina! L-Let me rest!" Lillia stared up at her friend, shocked. After a moment of silence, she shook her head and turned around.
"Fine. Whatever." She then walked off without muttering another word. Slate stared at her as she walked off. When she exited his field of vision, the Mienfoo sat back down in his seat. He glanced around the room and tried to hide himself from all the pair of eyes looking at him.
"Don't worry about her." Tio eventually piped in. "She'll realize what she did and come around eventually."
"...Should I h-have done something else?" The ghost shook her head.
"Nah. You made the right decision. You two shouldn't be walking out and about until you're feeling one hundred percent."
"Yeah, b-but...I don't want us t-to keep fighting like this." His head rested on the table.
"Keep fighting?" Tio repeated.
"I-I can't quite remember, but this i-is about the second or third time we've f-fought about something since I m-met her about a week ago." Tio thought for a moment, but was unable to come up with the right words.
"That's natural." Kane spoke up. "Friends argue. It's unavoidable. There are no two Pokémon who share the exact same opinions on everything, but we get through it together. Besides, that was more of a disagreement than a fight. You just need some time apart, then you'll be back together in no time." The other two blinked at the bug.
"...D'awwwww! I knew you were a big softie!" The Mismagius began rubbing the top of the bug's head like he was a Rockruff. He merely nodded and went back to eating. "You should take his advice." She turned back to the Mienfoo. "These things happen. Just do your own thing for a bit until you're ready to talk to each other again." Slate nodded and smiled at them.
"Thanks. I-I think I should go back to my room." He got out of his seat and waved to them. "I-It was nice meeting y-you two."
"Ditto." The ghost waved and the bug hummed as a response.
Slate walked out of the mess hall and back out to the hallways. Walking through the school of fish that was the Guild's hallways was certainly a pain for the timid fighting type. After several minutes of struggle and almost getting crushed by an Aggron he was back up to his room.
"Oh! There you are."
He almost made it to his room, at least.
Slate turned around and locked eyes with a familiar Elgyem, minus one broken glass of hot chocolate.
"M-Me?" The psychic nodded to confirm.
"Yep. She floated over to him. "Uhm, sorry to bother you, but I was hoping to ask you about the incident from last night...maybe?" She suddenly perked up. "O-Oh! Of course if it's not a hard subject for you! Gah! I'm so stupid how did I not even think of that?! I don't want you to worry or anything Iwasjusthopinhtogathersomedataonthecrookswhokidnappedyousowecould-
"W-Woah! H-Hey, slow down!" The Mienfoo cautiously approached the Elgyem. She had listened to him and took a moment to breathe, but she was hyperventilating and shaking like she was in a blizzard. The fighting type had no idea what to do. He awkwardly began to rub her back until her breathing came to a more rational speed.
"...Sorry about that. I...uh...do that sometimes." She shook her head and began talking before Slate could respond. "So, yeah. As I was saying, as long as it's not a heavy subject for you, I would like to ask you about the events of last night." Her voice was much softer, but she still managed to get the question across without freaking out this time.
"It's f-fine." She flashed a grin at him.
"Great!" Follow me, my lab is quite the climb upwards."
Slate did as he was instructed and followed the floating Pokémon up way, way too many flights of stairs until they were at floor forty nine. Slate glanced out of the nearest window he could find and shivered. He made a mental note to never live in a tower. Following the Elgyem even more, they found themselves in front of a much more special looking door compared to most of the wooden ones found for most rooms. It had a much more prestigious look to it with the sharper paint and nametag adorned onto it. It spelled out the name "Haru." Haru opened the door and Slate's high expectations were crushed in mere seconds. Due to the Elgyem wearing a lab coat, he imagined some high tech and futuristic room with loads of machines, gizmos, and gadgets lining every corner of the room. Each one of them making beeps and boops as he walked by them in amazement. He expected all of his senses to be blasted away by the room's technological might. Instead, her office looked almost identical to Peb and Amber's from all the way back in Drizzle. There were still a couple of weird looking items here and there, but none of them looked all too impressive and looked like some arts and crafts made by Haru herself. Speaking of the Elgyem, she had stripped down and retired her sweater somewhere behind her desk and sat down. She offered him a seat across from her. He took it, clasped his hands together, and made direct eye contact with her. Haru giggled at him.
"Please, you don't have to be so professional around me. Just treat me how you would treat anyone else." Slate flinched and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.
"R-Right. Sorry." She laughed a bit more and whipped out a clipboard and pen.
"From the info that Team Vanity gave us, they were a bunch of cultists, yes? Did they say what god they were worshiping?"
"Uh..." He rubbed his arm. "They were chanting s-something about G-Giratina. Maybe h-him?" Haru scoffed.
"What a generic and stereotypical choice." She scribbled down some things on her clipboard before proceeding. "Do you remember the species of Pokémon? You don't have to remember all of them. Just as many as you can remember?"
"There w-was...a Gengar. I c-couldn't forget him e-even if I tried. A Swoobat...I-I think. Trevenant and...I'm sorry, that's a-all I can remember."
"No, no. That's more than enough." Some more scribbling. "Did they have any symbol that signifies them?" Slate thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"N-No. Not that I c-can remember at least. Sorry." Haru told him off for apologizing again before scribbling something down and asking the next question.
"Do you remember what happened before they captured you? Like, their method of kidnapping or such?" Slate focused. She let him take his time as he attempted to recount last night's incident.
"...No. I can't r-remember. I'm sorry, I-I'm not much h-help." Before he knew it, his vision started to get blurry. "D-Damnit! First my m-memories and now this? Why c-can't I just remember anything?!" Haru quickly noticed his quick shift in mood. She put the items down and floated over the desk.
"Hey, calm down! You're giving us more information than we could have ever asked for. You didn't even know you would be questioned after this so you couldn't have even known to try and memorize all this. Here, with me. Deep breathes...in...and out." He did as instructed and began breathing like her all the while rubbing the water gathering around his eyes. Soon enough, he had calmed down enough for her to float back to her seat.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"It's just... I-I had woken up w-with amnesia about a week ago. Not b-being able to remember all these things m-made me think about that and..." He trailed off, but Haru nodded in understanding.
"I'm sorry to hear that. We can stop here if that'll make you feel better." Slate shook his head.
"N-No. I'm fine now."
"Well then, I only have one more question for today anyway." She giggled. He raised a brow at her. "Sorry, I just found it funny how we ended up calming each other down in the same way for basically the same reason." The Mienfoo shared a chuckle with her before she cleared her throat.
"Right, now that we're both feeling better, we can finish this up for the day. Did they wear some sort of uniform or accessory? That'll help us warn the public to alert us if they see anything like it."
"Y-Yes, actually. They all had on some s-silver bracelets. Except for the Gengar, their l-leader. During the...ceremony, h-he wore this weird g-gold mask."
"Wonderful." Her pen went to work one last time before she scanned the contents of the paper. "This is all great information. I might call you back one last time if we need anything else from you. Thank you so much for your time." She smiled at him.
"Glad I c-could be useful."
A sudden knock on the door startled the Mienfoo.
"Come in!"
A Simisage poked his head out from behind the door.
"Do you have a minute, Ms.? It's urgent." Haru nodded and looked back at Slate.
"You're good to go. I think you saw it already, but my name is Haru." She extended a hand, the colorful orbs on them dazzling the Mienfoo.
"I-I'm Slate, at least until I can r-remember my old name."
"It was nice meeting you. I hope I get to learn the old one soon."
After being unsuccessful yet again, Mia let out an annoyed sigh and began walking somewhere else.
"Where the heck is he at? They couldn't have left already, could they?" She muttered to herself. Luckily for her, the next time she rounded a corner, they bumped into each other. Literally.
"Ack! S-Sorry." Slate shook his head and looked at the knocked over girl. "M-Mia?" He helped her up. "I-I forgot they gave you a g-guest room too."
"Yeah, mine is right down the hall from y'all." A silence overtook them for a second until Mia remembered why she was looking for him in the first place. "Oh! Right! Do you wanna go train with me fer a bit? Before you head out again?"
"I-I don't know any of my m-moves."
"That's fine. I can teach you how t'use them." He perked up.
"Really?"
"I had a mighty big family where I used t'live. I'm sure it ain't much different than that."
"Well, y-yeah! I'd love to." Mia smiled at him.
"Great! Follow me, it's on the ground floor." Slate wordlessly trailer behind her. He once again had to swim through the school of Pokémon going against him, but by now he was getting the hang of it. Once at the first floor, she led him out the back door where a somewhat wide open court-like area was made visible. There were a few Pokémon practicing, but only a small handful. It had one side delegated to sparring and the other side for training with a bunch of practice dummies. Each of them had their own set of burns, bruises, and scratches signifying their age. "This way." She walked him over to the practice dummies. "We'll start with these. Since we don't know any of your moves, we'll have to workshop for the time bein'. Because I'm a Mienfoo myself, conveniently, I know a good handful of moves we can learn, so we'll start with that." Slate nodded.
"B-But, how do I use them?"
"Honestly, it really isn't that complicated. Just focus and think about the move you want t'use. Once you do that, simply attempt t'release it and it should work. Fer example, if ya wanna use Hi Jump Kick, I would think about it, and attempt to jump up and kick someone. Thanks to Mana, my kick becomes empowered, makin' me jump a lot higher and makin' the kick hit a heck of a lot stronger. Does that make any sorta sense?" Slate nodded again while making a mental note to question her about Mana. "Good. Now, let's star with Force Palm. Fer that, all you need to do is keep the palm of your paw flat on your opponent. The dummies should make it easy fer ya."
"R-Right." He did as he was instructed and focused on the move. After a second of deep breathing, he jumped up to the dummy and placed his paw against its midsection.
Nothing happened.
"Hm. Give it a few more tries. If it doesn't work we'll move to a different one." Slate repeated the action a handful of more times, even beginning to shove his paw forward to try and give it a bit more oomph. It didn't work. Slate sighed dejectedly.
"Chin up, Slate. That's only one of many moves that us Mienfoo can learn. We'll find the right one eventually." She patted him on the shoulder, boosting his morale by a small amount. "Now, let's try U-Turn. This move is great for keeping your momentum in fights."
Hours went by as the two Mienfoo went through every move in Mia's catalog. They had discovered no moves he knew. Slate was getting agitated and Mia was getting confused.
"What are you two doing?" They turned to the new voice. Lillia has just walked up to them, seeming somewhat annoyed. More than usual, according to Mia.
"Tryin' to see what moves he knows."
"Aaand...?" Mia averted her eyes.
"We've got nothin' so far."
"Figured." The psychic grunted. "Slate, don't you remember?" The aforementioned fighting type looked at her funny. "The day I found you? Try Rock Tomb."
"He can't exactly use that here. At least, not without it bein' a little taxing on him." A confused look from Slate prompted her to explain. "If you use a move that requires some sort of outside force, Rock Tomb fer example, requires you t'throw rocks at your opponent and make them trapped for a limited time. If there are no resources around fer you to use, you have two other methods. Fer rock and ground moves, you could use the ground itself to rip out a chunk of land t'use that instead, or you could manifest it yourself. Manifestin' resources takes a lot, and I mean a lot, of Mana and you'll find yourself out like a light lickity split. And we're not rippin' out a piece of the court. I'm not getting fined fer the damages." Lillia grunted at her.
"He'll be fine. Better now than never."
"Lillia, he's still recoverin' ain't he? You can't just make him-
"I'll try it." Mia turned to Slate, shocked from his response.
"Are you sure? I don't want ya hurtin' yourself."
"Yeah. I'll be fine." Mia noticed the determined look in his eyes, something the two of them hadn't really seen from him before.
"...Alright. Just be careful." Slate nodded and turned back to the dummy.
The girls watched him take a few deep breaths before moving his paws in front of his chest. A solid minute went by and nothing had happened.
"Well, that's fine. I'll think of a-
Mia was interrupted by a flash of blue light emitting from Slate's paws. Another flash went by and Slate was suddenly carrying a bunch of moderately sized rocks. He chucked them at the dummy causing some to land around it and others to rebound off the lifeless enemy before landing on the ground. The three couldn't even see the dummy anymore. It was completely hidden behind the mound of rocks that Slate had formed. Eventually, the rocks began to quiver before a final flash of light made them all disappear at once. Slate let out a little chirp of accomplishment before he collapsed on his back.
"Slate!?" The two ran over to him. His eyes were barely open and he was panting hard, but he had a big smile plastered on his face.
"...I d-did...it. I just...need a m-minute." The girls laughed and let him catch his breath. It took around half an hour for his breathing to go back to normal. Once he was back on his feet, Mia let out a happy squeal.
"Aaaa! Slate, we figured out one of your moves!" She hugged him with Slate returning the embrace.
"Ahem." The fighting types looked at Lillia. "You're welcome."
"T-Thanks, Lillia." Slate let go of Mia and picked Lillia up instead, thinking that's what she was upset about. Lillia instantly felt awkward. When Slate instigated a hug, she held her like a teddy bear thanks to the height difference.
"Alright. Alright!" She flailed and jumped out of his arms before landing back onto the court.
"Wait, if you knew about this, why didn't you tell him about it?" Lillia shrugged.
"Didn't expect him to need it yet."
"He got kidnapped! C'mon use your brain! At least help him learn it for a little bit of self defense."
"Well, I'm sorry! How was I supposed to know he was going to get captured by a god damn cult the day we leave Drizzle!" The psychic turned around in one swift motion and began to walk away. "I don't need this." She had only managed to take a single step before a loud static noise stopped her.
"Attention! We require anyone on site, even if you are not a guild member, to be at the conference hall in about ten minutes for an important announcement. I repeat, we require all Pokémon, a part of the Guild or not, to meet us in the conference hall in about ten minutes for an important announcement. Thank you."
All three of them gave each other a confused look.
"I'm not sure what this is about, but I know where that is." Mia led the other two to the second floor. Honestly, they probably wouldn't even need Mia to guide them when the massive horde of guild members were flooding into one area. Inside the room, an enormously large crowd had gathered. The room was filled with nothing but a wide space and a stage with a mic at the front. Slate turned to ask Lillia something, but she was nowhere near them. He spotted her leaning up against the wall in the back of the hall on the opposite side of the room. They made eye contact for a brief moment, but she instantly looked away. Mia nudged him.
"Don't worry about her. She's just bein' her usual grouchy self."
"It's n-not that." Slate shook his head and grabbed his arm. "We h-had an disagreement this m-morning and now it seems she h-hardly wants to be around me anymore." He looked down towards his feet dejectedly. Mia let out a sigh and thought for a minute.
"Well, you two are friends, right? I'm sure whatever it was you'll make up fer it eventually."
"...Yeah." Before Mia could try and cheer him up some more, two Pokémon had taken the stage. One of them being Haru, and the other being a rather large Goodra. The dragon wasn't wearing anything apart from a yellow scarf with a golden badge adorned onto it. The two Mienfoo assumed he held some level of power within the Guild.
"Greetings all." The Goodra began. "I apologize for calling all of you here so suddenly, but like the intercom said, this is all very important news. Our friends over at the Unity Cove Guild have made a rather...discomforting discovery." He turned towards the obviously anxious Elgyem. "I'll have Haru explain the rest." She floated in front of the dragon and nodded.
"R-Right. I'm sure most of you know about the recent attack on Drizzle. It was the most recent attack from these raiders. Oddly enough, the Guild that resides there had informed us that some Pokémon were actually using weapons instead of using their abilities." The crowd began murmuring at the information.
"That's where I-I'm from." Slate whispered to Mia.
"Is it? Oh, I'm sorry t'hear that." The Goodra made a hand gesture and the crowd went silent.
"At first," Haru continued. "we didn't know what to make of it. The Unity Cove Guild had also dealt with the same oddity a few weeks prior. So, they did some investigating. They had captured a few of these raiders and began doing a few experiments on them." Haru then audibly gulped. "A-Apparently, after some confirmation, it's been known that these raiders are infected with an unknown disease that we have reason to believe is causing them to l-lose complete control over their attacks and abilities, rendering them nullified." The entire hall erupted into nervous chatter at the information.
"Oh my lord!" Mia shouted. "W-Well, at least we know you aren't infected." She laughed nervously at Slate. He remained in silent shock. Instinctively, he then looked at Lillia who wore a similar expression to him. He watched as she looked down at her own paws for a good while before shaking her head and rubbing her eyes. He wanted to go over there, but was stopped when Haru began talking again.
"We urge all of you to stay safe and minimize contact with other Pokémon. We do not know how it is transmitted. We could assume it is through contact, but no one else that we know has been infecting recently. Not any residents at Unity Cove, or the researchers who actively made contact with the raiders. For now, however, we will change the way we handle mission rewards. We've placed a deposit box near the front door. There, your rewards will be dropped off when ready and you'll be notified by Kiro when yours has arrived."
"Isn't he still doing a delivery?" A voice from the crowd asked. Haru shook her head.
"He just came back today. For now, he'll remain at the Guild, keeping tabs of the deposit box. Any other questions?" A resounding silence followed. "No? Then that's all for that day. Stay safe, everyone." Slate looked back over to where Lillia was standing. She was no longer there. The crowd had begun to dismiss themselves from the room and Mia had to grab ahold of Slate's paw so as to not lose him. They followed everyone out and returned to the training grounds. Mia had insisted on going there and testing to see if she was infected. They confirmed she was all safe when she pulled off a successful Jump Kick. Afterwards, they rested on one of the benches outside for a bit in relative silence. At least until Mia began a conversation.
"Are you doin' alright? You're bein' a little quiet." She chuckled. "At least. more than usual."
"Y-Yeah. Just a little w-worried about Lillia. That's all."
"Hey. I told you, you will both be fine. Just give her some time." Slate remained silent. "I think you could use a little cheering up. This has been a shockin' recent couple of days." Mia began fiddling with her paws. "Would you...uh...wanna go out t'eat somewhere?" Slate perked up.
"L-Like at the G-Guild?"
"No, silly. Someplace nice in Haronfield. Consider it my treat for what you've gone through recently." He suddenly found it hard to keep eye contact with her.
"S-Sure."
"Perfect! C'mon, I know just the place!" She grabbed his paw and dragged him out of the Guild and down the streets, after stopping by her room to grab her bag, of course. "You're gonna love it! It has these little cakes called poffins that are absolutely t'die for." Mia carried him along the usual crowded streets until they came across a restaurant that Slate didn't remember seeing named "Freila's." Upon entering, Slate immediately felt out of place as both the restaurant's fancy exterior and guests made the two that had just walked in stick out like a sore thumb. All of them wore some fancy pieces of cloth and had all their fur combed as smooth as possible or into sleek formations. While Slate's fur was messed up from last night, fairly unkempt, and rough as well as zero pieces of clothing. Not even an accessory. He felt naked. Nonetheless, the Bibarel waiter that had walked up to them treated them like he did with any other customer.
"Welcome. Table for two?"
"Mhm." Mia nodded.
"Wonderful. Follow me." He led them to a small table with nothing but a white cloth atop it and a lit candle. They sat down and the waiter handed them a couple of menus before leaving. slate nervously looked at the menu.
"Need help orderin?'" He nodded and she chuckled. "Ask for the Lemon Poffins, that's my personal favorite. For a drink, get the Sitrus Tea."
"A-Alright." She laughed again.
"Slate, no need t'be so nervous. I want this t'be a chance for you t'relax." Slate untensed his shoulders.
"S-Sorry. It's just..." He looked around and motioned to a few couples he noticed. "it f-feels like w-we're d-dating."
"...Does it?" She looked to where he had pointed to. Suddenly, Mia's face flushed and she put her paws in her face. "Oh my stars. This isn't what I had in mind." Their waiter had returned with a notepad and pencil in paw.
"Sorry for the wait. What would you two like to eat?" Slate glanced at Mia who was too busy internally screaming to answer, so he did in her place.
"T-Two orders o-of Lemon P-Poffins and S-Sitrus T-Tea...please." His pen moved as Slate's ordered for the both of them.
"Excellent choice. I'll have that out for you both in just a few minutes." He then walked away, leaving the two awkward Mienfoo to themselves once more.
"Slate, I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean t'make you uncomfortable with this I just-
"N-No!" He interrupted her. "I'm not u-uncomfortable. I-It was just a l-little surprising a-at first."
"Are you sure?" He nodded in confirmation. Eventually, she let out a sigh of relief and slouched in her seat. "That's a relief." She then began messing with her paws again. "Though, if I'm being honest..." She looked directly at him. "I can't say I wouldn't mind." This time, it was Slate's turn to hide his face. He didn't say anything, but Mia caught a glimpse of a smile from behind his paws. They stayed silent until their food arrived. It forced Slate to reveal himself again and pick up his Poffin. His eyes lit up shortly after taking a tiny bite of his food. Shortly after, the other two on his plate were gone within minutes. Mia chuckled.
"Oh my, I didn't think you'd be such a foodie, Slate." He nervously drank his Sitrus Tea, commenting that it was also pretty good, before going silent and waiting for Mia to finish. As she began working on her third Poffin, a thought popped back into Slate's head.
"A-Actually, I forgot to ask you something." She glanced up at him while chewing. "What's M-Mana?" She swallowed her food, placed the Poffin down, then responded.
"That's simple. Mana is what lets us Pokémon use our moves and abilities. As we're born, we hardly have any with us so babies can hardly use any moves, but as we grow older and more accustomed t'it, we gain more and more. However, as time goes on and we get really old, we start losin' Mana until we essentially have none left and pass away." She put on a worried expression and crossed her arms. "It makes me wonder how that disease is able to just remove our moves from us. Maybe it has somethin' to do with Mana?" Slate shrugged. "Well, enough of that sad talk. We're supposed to be enjoin' some good food." The other Mienfoo let her eat until there was nothing left on her plate. The waiter came back shortly after with a bill. Mia paid for both of them, since Slate had literally zero money, and the waiter bid them good day. They left the building and were back on the streets. "So," Mia started. "Did you enjoy yourself? I know we weren't there for all that long." Slate nodded enthusiastically.
"A lot, actually. You w-were right, those P-Poffins were delicious! I'd love to g-go back there sometime."
"Hehe! Glad t'hear." Mia looked away. "I uh...enjoyed it myself." Slate looked over at her and noticed the somber expression on her face.
"What's wrong?"
"It's just..." She looked back at him. "You'll be leavin' Haronfield soon, right?" Slate nodded and quickly understood her. "Call me selfish, but...I don't want you to. I've only met ya for about three days now, but you've been the best company I've had since movin' here. You remind me of home." Slate titled his head.
"What w-was your home like?"
"Heh. Imagine the most stereotypical country bumpkins you can think of. Workin' on the fields, accent like mine, but some of the nicest darn folks you could ever come across. Like I said when we first met, movin' here was rough and tryin' t'get used to the grouchy and, I'll be honest, rude demeanor of most of the Pokémon livin' here has been even rougher. You've been this...I'm not sure how t'explain this...ray of hope that movin' here was a good idea." The two of them stopped right outside the Guild's doors.
"Can I a-ask why you m-moved?"
"Some personal stuff regarding my family. I don't want t'stress you about it." Mia then chuckled. "Look at me, ruinin' the good mood, sorry. Let's just go back inside the Guild."
"W-Wait." Slate hadn't moved, forcing Mia to turn back to him. "You s-said you don't want me to leave? Why n-not come with us?" The female Mienfoo looked shocked.
"R-Really!? I-I don't know Slate, I'd be leavin' a lot of stuff behind."
"But I thought y-you said you didn't like it here that much?"
"W-Well, yeah. Though, I have a job. Thankfully all of this went down while I'm still on break, but if I leave without warning, I probably won't have a home when I come back." Slate thought for a second and walked up to her.
"Why not come live with us." Mia laughed.
"I'm flattered, Slate, but I can't just abandon my job like that." Mia sighed and her shoulders drooped. "Just, don't worry about me, I'll figure something out. If you do leave, can you just promise me something?" She stared into his eyes before moving into a hug. "Promise me you'll come visit sometime."
"Y-Yeah, of course I will." He wrapped his arms around her and the two of them held each other for a good while. Eventually, Slate heard a quiet sniff come from her and she backed away.
"Heh, I look ridiculous. Tearing up over some guy I just met."
"I-I don't think you d-do." Slate responded as Mia rubbed her eyes. Mia smirked and gave him a soft punch in the arm.
"Slate, you're an absolute sweetheart, but I can tell when you're just trying to cheer a girl up." He flashed her an awkward smile. "I think I'm goin' to head back up to my room. You should try and go make up with Lillia. I'll see you tomorrow?" She looked at him expectantly.
"Mhm. I think we'll b-be ready to l-leave the day after tomorrow."
"Perfect." Without any sort of warning, Mia pecked him on the cheek before running inside. "G'night, Slate."
"...G-Goodnight."
Lillia glared at the apple sitting on her desk. Her ears were erected upwards in an attempt to simply pick it up and put it somewhere else. Her fur was messy, sweaty, and she was jittering as her staring deepened onto the apple. Yet, it had remained unmoved.
She couldn't use moves. She was infected.
Lillia eventually let out an exhausted breath as her ears went back down and she collapsed back onto her bed. After her breathing calmed down, she let out a massive, gut wrenching roar. The psychic jumped to her feet and pounced at the stagnant apple. She threw it around the room until it could have been mistaken for applesauce.
"Damnit. Damnit! DAMNIT!" Lillia kicked the wall of her room repeatedly in an attempt to quell the anger in her. The cat could care less if anyone heard her frenzy. She threw the flower pots, shattering them in a single throw. She rampaged through the books offered within the guest room's shelves, rendering them into nothing but torn up paper. She even knocked over and, after some struggling, ripped off one of the legs of the wooden desk and had taken aim towards the room's window. Thankfully, she seemed to come to her senses at that moment and threw the makeshift weapon against the floor. Finally, she collapsed into her bed once again, this time face first, and let out one more muffled scream while pounding her paw against the floor.
Why? Why of all Pokémon to get infected, it was her? Just add it to the list of things preventing Lillia from accomplishing what she was trying to accomplish.
When and how did she get infected? She remembered using moves just fine back in Drizzle. The only places she could have imagined getting infected were Haronfield and...Gloomy Woods. If that's the case, why wasn't Slate infected?! He had just used Rock Tomb a few hours prior. If he had essentially been everywhere she had been, why did she have to get infected and not him?!
"He didn't even know what moves he knew up until now!" She internally screamed. "It's not like that would have changed much if he did get infected!" As her thoughts stayed on Slate, she got more and more pissed off. "Stupid Slate! Why can't he just man up and leave this damn place!? He wants to get his memories back so fucking bad, but here he is! Sucking that Mia off like nobodies business acting like he's all hurt and can't fucking move!"
Eventually, she leaned up and looked around the room. Deciding to make the place look semi presentable. About half an hour later, she managed to pile the broken pieces and soil from the flower pots into a corner of the room and rearranged the still fixed furniture around it to hide it in a sort of way. Though, anyone with eyes could just look in the corner and notice it. At least it was better than having the room in total disarray. Much to Lillia's dismay, her door's handle began to jiggle and Slate slowly walked in. She paid him no mind and looked out the window.
"...H-Hey, Lillia."
"..."
"I-I couldn't f-find you after the c-conference."
"..."
"Where...uh...where d-did you g-go?"
"..."
Slate sighed, realizing she wasn't up to talking with him yet. At least, not until he noticed the sizable pile of broken furniture in the corner of the room.
"Wh-What the...?! L-Lillia what happened t-to the-
"Don't ask."
"B-But-
"I said don't ask!" She tore her eyes away from the window and glowered at him. Slight jumped and took the hint. He silently sat down in his bed, not before noticeably scooting it away from Lillia a bit, and remained silent until the sun was completely invisible and the sky took on a dark blue color. Slate yawned and glanced at his arms. The fur on it was raggedy, lots of fur stood upwards, and tangles were everywhere. He glanced around the room for a public brush for him to use, but there was none visible. His thoughts inevitably drifted to Mia, whose fur was significantly more presentable than his, albeit with much more fluffiness. Planning on seeing if she was still awake and could borrow her brush if she had brought it, he stood up and opened the door.
"I-I'm going to go to the bathroom." He told Lillia. Though, it fell on deaf ears since she had already moved to her bed and had fallen asleep, curled up into a little pale pink ball. The Mienfoo sighed before closing the door. Following Mia's instructions, he went straight down the hall to find her room. Stopping once he realized...she didn't say which room it was. He groaned and turned back around. As he passed the staircase, a figure floated down them and bumped into him, knocking the poor fighting type over.
"Slate?! SorrysorryIdindtmeanto-
"H-Haru?! It's o-okay! I'm f-fine!" Slate picked himself back up after realizing who had collided with him and did what he did last time she had a little freak out. Her wording went back to normal and her breathing soon returned to its normal pace as well.
"Thanks." She rubbed the back of her head. "I really need to work on not doing that." Slate cocked his head to the side.
"You seemed fine d-during the c-conference."
"Part me being used to it and part these sorts of things happening from abrupt occurrences."
"Ah. I g-guess that makes sense."
"Anyway, what are you doing out this late?"
"I w-was going to s-see Mia." He perked up. "O-Oh! I mean, the o-other Mienfoo. The one who r-reported about m-me going missing."
"Aaah. Her." Haru smirked. "Taking a liking to her?" Slate's face darkened.
"N-N-No! It's n-not that! I j-just..." He flung his hands around his face. "N-Never m-mind!" Once he calmed down, he questioned the giggling Haru instead. "What about y-you?"
"Couldn't sleep. This Mana Rot stuff is driving me crazy."
"Mana R-Rot?"
"That's what we've named the disease. Let's go sit somewhere more comfortable." Slate nodded and followed the psychic outside, not without a bit of hesitance. Haru noticed and turned around. "Don't worry." She motioned to the benches right outside the Guild. "I just wanted to sit outside." Slate let out breath and walked up to the bench she was sitting upon. Haru patted the seat next to hear and he took it. It was just then that the Slate had noticed how small the Elgyem was compared to him. She seemed to only be a few inches taller than Lillia. Though, her head took up most of her body. Why were all the psychic females in his life so much smaller than him? The city around them thankfully made their spot a little more peaceful. Haronfield still had Pokémon wandering around at night, though thankfully not nearly as much during the day. "Anyway, like I said earlier. We named the disease Mana Rot because, from what we've learnt so far, the disease eats away at the Mana in our bodies. That's why we can't use moves shortly after infection."
"Do you know a-any cures for it?" Haru shook her head.
"No. We've never dealt with something like this before. Which is why we want everyone to minimize contact with others." Haru glanced at Slate. "Well, with others outside the Guild at least." She chuckled. "Oh! By the way, do you think you can come over tomorrow? We have a few more questions to get from you."
"W-Why can't you just ask them n-now?" Haru shrugged.
"Nothing to write them down on."
"Oh. Yeah, I c-can go. When do you w-want me to be there?"
"Is three fourths a good time for you?"
"...Three...oh r-right. Yeah, that's o-okay."
"Lovely." She looked away from him and stared up at the night sky. He joined her and the two sat in silence for a moment. After some time had passed, Haru broke the silence.
"Do you mind if we try something? Right now?" She asked tentatively. Slate raised an eyebrow at her. In response, she raised her arms up to her head. The little button-like balls on the end of them started flashing. "Remember how you said you have amnesia? I could try and fish through your brain for any sorts of memories." Slate instantly lit up with emotion.
"Y-You can do that?!"
"Well, most psychic type Pokémon have the capabilities to do so. The only issue is that we aren't really born with the ability to do so and it has to be taught. Nowadays, it's such an impractical and uncommon thing to do that not many Pokémon teach it anymore." Haru smiled. Though, I have a friend at Unity Cove that's been teaching me. "The smile quickly waned. "Though, on top of it being rarely taught, it's also very taxing on the body. It drains an excessive amount of Mana."
"Well, a-are you okay with d-doing it?" Slate questioned cautiously, not wanting her to injure herself over him. Much to his relief, she waved it off.
"Yep. The most it'll do is make me really tired. Though, if I pass out or something, take me to the nurse. Please."
"R-Right."
"Great. Now, face me." Slate sat with his legs crossed and leaned down towards the Elgyem. Her hands raised up to his forehead where they sent a chill down his body with how cold they were. "Next, just relax. You might feel a little tingle, but just stay calm and breathe slowly." The fighting type instinctively shut his eyes tight. Seconds later, he felt a minor sting shoot through his head, but it died down seconds later. The only sounds he was left with were the sounds of Haronfield's nightlife.
"...I-Is it working?" She didn't respond. "...Haru?" He cracked his eyes open and had to muster a crap ton of willpower to stop himself from recoiling. Her large eyes and the lights on her hand were flashing different colors like a fireworks show. Her mouth was agape, but no sounds were coming out. Haru seemed like she was in another body entirely.
After a painfully long amount of time, the lights died down and her eyes returned to their normal bright green color. Haru gasped and jumped away from the Mienfoo in shock. Slate's mood wasn't helped by the expression she wore.
"Wh-What did you see?" He asked after her breathing slowed down a bit.
"I-I-I don't know." She began hyperventilating again as she explained. "I s-saw you and Lillia and some others who I-I don't know." Her speech started to increase in speed and slurring. "You were all someplace I didn't know and suddenlytherewasthisthingthatlookedhorrifyingandIwatchedit-
Then Haru passed out.
"H-Haru!" He remembered her instructions and picked up her motionless, but still breathing, body off of the bench and rushed inside. ...Where was the nurse exactly?
