Chapter 14: Troublesome Tidings

Failure.

An overwhelming sense of it flooded Shane's mind. It blocked out everything around him. He just sat on the ground, sweat rolling down his coat. In front of him, Team Captivate had their attentions split between Tessa, Null, Shiinotic, and Morelull. Shane stared at them, an empty look in his eyes. He didn't register their movements or hear anything they said.

'I don't understand,' he thought. 'This wasn't supposed to happen. I'm supposed to win! I'm a human-turned-Pokémon. That supposed to make me strong, right?'

His gaze fell toward the ground. 'Deep breaths, Shane. Deep breaths. It's just… a hopeless boss fight. Y'know, that classic sign that you've still got a ways to go and a lot to learn. Heh… heh… yeah. This is all just Arceus looking out for me. That's how it works, right? That's why Team Captivate showed up.'

"NO!"

He shouted without thinking. Everyone's gazes fell on him and it was at that point he remembered their presences.

"You okay, Vulpix?" Dragonair asked. "You look pale."

Serperior gave her teammate a confused look. "How can he look pale? He's got white fur, for heaven's sake!"

"Ugh, you know what I meant, Serperior," Dragonair groaned.

"I know. I just like bugging you about it. Tee hee!" Serperior teased, sticking out her tongue.

But Shane's gaze returned to the ground and his mind muted out the serpents. 'No… this wasn't just some story element from one of my games! This actually happened. That Parasect had me on the ropes. I saw the killer look in its eyes. If Team Captivate hadn't shown up…' He took in a sharp breath. '… who knows what could've happened? He could've turned me into a monster just like him. Or he could've ki–'

His chest tightened. Shane tensed up, gasping weakly. He brought a forepaw up toward his head. 'Head. Why does it hurt so much?' He tried to inhale, but his mouth wouldn't respond. Instead, he made a noise as if he were a balloon that someone let the air out of.

'Pain. Crushing pain. Something hit me.'

Shane's vision flickered. For a flash of a second, glass shards and metal fragments lined the forest floor. They vanished almost as soon as they appeared.

"Vulpix?" Tessa looked over and noticed Shane sitting across from her. His whole body was rigid and his mouth was clamped tightly shut. Then, he fell to the ground. "Vulpix!" Tessa gasped. She ran over to him, with Null and Milotic looking on curiously.

"Hey, what's gotten into your friend?" Milotic asked. Null only gave her a blank look. "Okay… forget I asked. Hey, Airy, can you hand me another oran berry and an apple?" Dragonair passed the two items of food over. "Thanks." Milotic grabbed them and slithered toward Tessa.

She shoved Shane's torso. "Hey… Hey! Wake up! You're not in any danger anymore, dummy."

Shane's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Tessa?" he croaked.

Tessa immediately frowned. "I told you not to call me th– yes, Vulpix, it's me. What's wrong? Did you get poisoned again, or–?"

"Why?" he wheezed. "Why… am I… remembering… so much… pain?"

"Uh, I don't know. We had a tough time with that Parasect, didn't we? That's why Team Captivate showed up. They could hear us from deeper in the forest," Tessa explained.

"Here, you should eat these." Milotic rolled the oran berry and apple toward him. "You seem like you're a world away right now."

Shane looked at the fruit, blinking in confusion. He opened his snout and snapped at the air, and then tried stretching out a forepaw. But it tensed up and his muzzle fell open. "Gotta… gotta get out. Call… 9-1-1… accident…"

"Vulpix, are you playing around again?" Tessa groaned. "We don't have time for this."

"Easy, Riri," Milotic cautioned. "I think he's in shock."

"But, we weren't dealing with any electric-types," Tessa said.

Before Milotic could respond, Null stomped over to them. He leaned down, yanked Shane up with one of his forelegs, and then throttled him. "Get a hold of yourself!" he barked, dropping Shane back to the ground. He landed on his belly and blinked several times. Shane slowly stumbled to his feet, eyes darting about the forest.

"Ugh, my aching head. What happened to me?" he whispered, leaning over to nibble on the oran berry.

Tessa shot Null a look of disbelief. "How did you–?"

"Heh, I get it," Serperior chuckled, "He was shell-shocked. So, Mr. Personality over here gave him an even bigger shock to bring him back to reality. I like it!"

Null glared at Serperior, shaking his head about.

"Oops, sorry big guy. I didn't make you mad, did I?" Serperior giggled. "I'm so naughty, sometimes, I swear."

Null growled, his deep voice unsettling Serperior.

"So, now what happens?" Shane mumbled. "We failed the mission, didn't we?"

"Oh, you mean fetching Luminous Moss?" Milotic flicked her tail nonchalantly. "Hey, Airy, didn't we pass some patches on the way over? Could you go grab some?"

"Certainly." Dragonair slithered away. This only made Shane's stance slouch.

"Great. We had to get bailed out and someone else finished our mission," he grumbled. "This day's been a huge train wreck."

"Relax, Vulpix. We'll let you collect the reward," Milotic assured. "It's okay to need some help when you're starting off. You think the girls and I just joined the guild as experts? Of course not!"

Shane stared down at the ground. "But, the Parasect–"

"Don't worry about it. I mean, that was totally creepy and everything, but there are plenty of strange things out in the world. That's what we're here to explore," Milotic said.

Shane only shook his head. "Easy for you to say," he mumbled.

Tessa shot her partner a concerned look. "Vulpix, what's gotten into you?"

"It's nothing," Shane dismissed, trudging away from her dejectedly. He spotted Dragonair reemerging from the bushes. Her tail was curled around a large ball of bright, fluorescent moss. She slithered over to Shiinotic and deposited the Luminous Moss at her feet.

"Here you are, miss," Dragonair said.

"Thank you very much," Shiinotic said. Morelull popped out from behind her to place the moss in a small bag.

"It's no problem. Sorry you guys ended up running into trouble," Dragonair said. "We should get you two back to Terrace Village right away. Who knows if there are other Pokémon like Parasect lurking about in here."

Shane's ears twitched when he heard this. "Does this mean you're taking us back to the guild, then?"

"Of course not," Milotic scoffed. "We've still got bigger Tauros to wrangle. We just got a bit sidetracked, that's all."

"We do? But, we finished our mission, Millie. I swear, if this is a ploy to keep me away from the Observatory, I'm gonna tie you around Magearna's telescope," Serperior hissed.

"Breathe, Serpy, breathe," Milotic coaxed. "Let's get everyone back to the village first. Then we'll take it from there."

~Midnight Sea~

"Braviary wanted me to check in on you two. We finished setting up a basecamp at Sunset Shoals," Magearna's robotic voice crackled through Team Radiance's Gear-Com.

"Uh… okay," Tessa said. "But wait, if the tides are rising there, aren't you worried the basecamp could get flooded or something?"

"Not at all. We constructilated the site on a rocky plateau. We should be okay for this expedition," Magearna said. "Wait, hold on one second…"

Tessa stared at the device while static echoed out from it. Beside her, Shane watched the choppy water race past them.

"Howdy! Braviary here. Just want to know how things are going on the home front. You two staying outta trouble?" Braviary asked. Tessa noticed Shane flinch at this, but paid him no mind.

"Err… we had a bit of an issue with a mission we took today," Tessa admitted. Shane looked up at her and slashed a forepaw across his throat. Tessa shook her head at him and whispered, "Don't you try to shush me. He needs to know!"

"Is that a fact? What happened?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine!" Shane lied. "You guys just pay attention to your little beachcombing trip. We've got everything under control." Tessa opened her mouth to protest but Shane stole the Gear-Com out of her paws. "Uh, where's the off switch on this thing?" he muttered under his breath.

"Give me that back," Tessa growled, but it was too late. Shane found a button on the device and pressed it. The Gear-Com promptly shut off and Shane handed it back to her. "What did you do that for?" Tessa barked. "I was trying to tell Braviary about what happened."

"Absolutely not!"

"But we both know what we just saw was like those Munchlaxes we dealt with yesterday. It's something that Braviary or the Guildmaster should follow up on when they're back," Tessa pointed out.

"No. I am not about to tell Braviary we almost failed a mission," Shane growled. "He'll probably hold us back or make us do nothing but sentry duty."

"Is that why you're in such a funk? Ever since I woke up after the battle, you've been the complete opposite of your usual self. What's going on?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine," Shane tersely responded, trying his best to turn away from Tessa on his seat atop the Sharpedo.

"No, if you were fine, you would've brushed off everything that happened in the forest," Tessa countered. "So, what's going on?"

"I'm fine," Shane insisted.

"We're pulling in to port, you lot!" their Sharpedo announced. Tessa looked up and watched their ride swim up to one of Aeon Port's docks. Null was already waiting for the two of them. His Sharpedo had somehow made the return trip faster, despite his larger weight. Tessa thanked her transport and disembarked.

"Uh, are you coming, Shane?" she asked.

"Huh?" Shane blinked and looked around. "Oh, yeah, whatever."

Shane climbed onto the dock and walked off without even so much as acknowledging the Sharpedo or his teammates. Null turned and looked at Tessa. "I don't know. He's in some kind of mood. Probably over what happened at the forest," she reasoned.

Null exhaled deeply and clawed at his mask. Tessa's fur stood on end. She had hoped doing a mission with Null would put a stop to that. But the sharp echoes his voice and breathing produced continued to unsettle her.

"Let's just head back to the guild, then," she said, not wanting to dwell any further on that subject. The day had proven tiring enough. 'If I'm lucky, maybe I can snag an early bird special from Crabrawler's without either of these two.'

That thought almost brought a smile to her face.

~Aeon Observatory~

"This isn't funny, Haunter! Lemme in! It's Shane!"

Tessa and Null found Shane standing on the entrance pedestal, shouting angrily at the door.

"What's wrong?" Tessa asked.

"The stupid door won't open!" Shane hissed. "Ugh, this day just keeps getting worse and worse. What's next, all the guild's food getting stolen? Probably, knowing my luck."

"… relax... human…" Null growled, causing Shane to go silent.

"Easy for you to say. If my body was a jigsaw puzzle like yours I'd probably feel comfortable sleeping in the dirt, too," Shane scoffed. "But it isn't. And I'm tired. And I want someone to let me in right no–"

Null shoved Shane to the side, giving him the most annoyed look his helmeted face could muster. He stomped toward the left side of the door. Null unclipped his badge from the looplet on his right foreleg and pressed it into an indentation in the door. The entire door lit up and then opened up like normal.

Shane stared at the open door.

"… did you really… not think… there'd be another way in?" Null rasped. He shook his head and marched into the guild.

Shane gnashed his teeth together. "Are you sure you're okay? Want me to have Sylveon look you over?" Tessa offered.

"I'm… fine…" Shane seethed, storming inside. He stomped his way down the staircase toward the main level. "All I want to do is take a nice, long shower, grab some dinner, and sleep this o– OOF!"

Shane walked into Null's rear. He recoiled in horror. "What the heck? Don't just stop in the middle of the stairs like th–"

Null turned around and cupped a foreleg over Shane's snout. "… quiet," he hissed. "Something's wrong…"

Shane raised an annoyed eyebrow. Null lowered his foreleg and pointed it ahead of him. Shane looked forward and his eyes narrowed. The three ghost-types of Team Specter lay in a heap in the center of the room.

"Nothing's wrong," Shane sneered. "They're obviously messing with us again." He stood up on his hind paws, only to fall over. "Grrr. Okay, so no sarcastic slow-clapping for me. But still. Ha, ha, very funny, Team Specter. You totally got us. Ghost-types playing dead? How hysterical."

"Um… guys?"

Shane whirled on Tessa. "Don't tell me you think they're not faking it too?"

Tessa wasn't even facing Team Specter. "The Guildmaster's office is open," she said.

"So, what? He must've left Sunset Shoals," Shane scoffed.

"That's not possible. If he were back here, don't you think Magearna or Braviary would have told us?" Tessa pointed out. "Oh, wait, I forgot. You decided to cut that call off because it was making you mad." She crossed her arms.

"The Guildmaster… always keeps his door closed… from what I've seen…" Null said.

"Okay, then it's part of Team Specter's prank," Shane dismissed. "But we're getting nowhere here. So, I'm just going to go in so Team Specter's happy and I can go take my shower in peace!" He turned and walked toward Metagross' room.

Tessa looked at Null. "I'm going after him before he manages to do something stupid," she sighed.

Null shrugged and turned toward the hallway leading to the sentry station.

"Hey! Who are you? This is guild territory!"

A flash of purple light erupted from the Guildmaster's room. Tessa sprinted forward. Null lagged along behind her. As soon as she reached the doorway, she heard Shane grunt loudly. She peered inside only for her eyes to widen in horror.

'No… no! Not him. Not here. Not now!'

"Rrrghhh… put… me… down… you crazy… Absol!" Shane gasped, thrashing about in Gallian's grasp. He had pinned Shane against the wall using one of his forelegs. His forehead scythe hovered in front of Shane's face, glowing dark purple.

"How long have you been in this guild?" Gallian barked. Shane continued thrashing, so Gallian squeezed him harder against the wall. "Answer me!"

"Aggh! A couple of weeks, that's all!" Shane hollered. Gallian released his grip and Shane dropped to the floor, gasping for air.

"Then you're worthless to me," Gallian sneered. He turned around only to freeze at the site of Tessa.

Her mouth went agape. Gallian's fur was terribly matted, with patches of grime smeared across his white coat. His black, serrated forehead scythe stuck out against his dark-blue face. A black, crystalline harness clung to his chest, fastened to some sort of red, circular gemstone. Tessa spotted four smaller gems in the straps.

"You!" The red diamond in Gallian's forehead sparked to life. He glared at Tessa. "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay away from this place?"

Shane looked up in confusion. "Riolu, you know this nutcase? Look, he's all messed up like those other berserk Pokémon!"

Gallian whirled around and flicked his glowing scythe upward. Shane had to roll to his right to dodge a crescent of distorted purple energy. The attack didn't strike him, but he still felt a shockwave ripple through his system.

"This doesn't concern you. Back off!" Gallian hissed. He whirled back on Tessa. "I asked you a question. Tell me what you're doing here, now!"

Tessa's legs quivered. 'He's even worse off than I remember! That wild look in his eyes… it's gotten even fiercer.'

Null's heavy breathing did not help this situation. "… who… is that?" he muttered.

Gallian took notice of Null's presence. His glare sharpened. "And what are you supposed to be?"

"… Null."

"So, the guild's hiring freak shows now, huh?" Gallian tapped a claw to his scythe. "Pathetic. This place just keeps sinking to new lows with each passing week."

Shane got back up to his feet. "We don't need to take that from a stupid outlaw like you," he spat. "So, either you can take your angsty edgelord routine and head for the exit or Magnezone can drag you out! Your choice, bub. It's three-on-one here."

Tessa shot Shane a wide-eyed look and shook her head rapidly. Gallian quickly picked up on this. "You and this little brat are together, huh?" he sneered. "Don't tell me he's the reason you didn't listen to me."

"Hey, you leave my teammate alone!" Shane declared. Gallian glanced at Shane and his eyes flickered purple. His bared his fangs at Shane. "And… and… we'll protect the guild because… uh…" Shane's voice faltered in the face of Gallian's glare. Gallian whipped his head forward and fired another energy crescent. This one moved too fast for Shane to dodge. He cried in pain as purple electricity crackled through his body.

Null shook his head about and ran forward. He swung a foreleg at Gallian, striking him in the side with his glowing talons. Gallian stood tall against the blow, however, and raised a discolored foreleg. Dark energy gathered around it and he raked his claws against Null's helmet. Null stumbled back, his body racked by tremors.

Tessa stood dumbfounded as Gallian spun about and jumped back, dodging a quick gust of icy air from Shane. "Pathetic!" he snarled, and sent another distorted wave of psychic energy toward Shane. Horror filled his expression and he scrambled to his right. But the attack caused a small explosion when it struck the wall. The explosion caught Shane and flung him to the ground.

"Stop this, Gallian!" Tessa shouted. Gallian momentarily froze, but then sidestepped the charging Null and struck his backside with his shadowy claws. Null collapsed into a heap beside Shane.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Gallian roared. "You don't get to call me that. Not when you're standing here. I warnedyou. I said I'd strike you down if I ever caught you setting foot in here!" He touched his forepaw to the gem in his head. "You… and your little Vulpix friend. You're both setting us all down a road to disaster!" He glared at Tessa. "Why did you ignore me?"

"You know exactly why!" Tessa blubbered. "It's Mom, Gallian! I want to help Mom."

Gallian lowered his paw and his eyes glowed purple. "Leave her out of this!" he hissed.

"No! It's been six months, Gallian. Six months!" Tessa sobbed. "She left… and then you… you left right after her! I don't want to be alone anymore. I know she's out there. And she's doing something really important. But I think she needs help. And that's why I'm gonna find her!"

Gallian bared his fangs at her. "And you think the guild will help you?"

"Of course! Everyone's been very helpful and respected my boundaries since I got here," Tessa said. '… except for Vulpix, but Gallian doesn't need to know that.'

Gallian jerked his head forward and Tessa had no time to react to the Psycho Cut crescent that flew toward her. She screamed from the pain of the psychic shockwave that rippled through her system. Already exhausted from the day's events, she dropped to her knees. She looked up to see Gallian marching toward her, his scythe crackling with dark energy.

"Please, Gallian… don't go again…" she whimpered.

Gallian glared down at her. He shook his head disapprovingly. "… pathetic. Mom would never have stood for such a sorry sight."

"Why… are you… doing this?"

"Because this guild is rotten to its core," Gallian said. "You don't see it now, but you're just a tool here. As dumb and naïve as the rest of the Pokémon in this dumb place. You're all walking a dangerous path. One that ends badly for all of Horizon." He looked away from her. "I don't need this place to get stronger. And I definitelydon't need it to find Mom. I'm getting along just fine on my own."

Tessa collapsed on her belly. Her vision went fuzzy while Gallian walked toward the door. Just before she lost consciousness, she heard him say, "Don't try to find me. If we meet again, I'll make you regret it."

"What do you think you're doing? Get up, human!"

Shane scrambled to his feet and looked around. "Oh, I'm back here again," he muttered, trying to cover his eyes with a foreleg. "Think you could turn down the lights a bit?"

"Fool! Did I not make myself clear before? I am the embodiment of light. I will do no such thing."

Shane slowly opened one of his eyes. Amidst the wall of orange light surrounding him, he could just barely make out a silhouette. A vaguely sun-shaped silhouette.

"Wait." His brow furrowed. "Solgaleo? You're the reason I'm in the Pokémon world?"

"I already spelled that out for you," Solgaleo's voice boomed. "Get with the program."

"I just wanted the confirmation," Shane said. A smile tugged at his lips. "Wait'll Tessa hears about this. I knew the world was in jeopardy." He shook his head. "And she thought I was brought here on accident. Ha! I'm a bona fide chosen one."

"SIIIIIIILLLLLEEEEEEEEEEENCE!" Solgaleo roared, jolting Shane to attention. "You have nothing to celebrate, human. Letting yourself get smacked about by Absol. Pathetic!"

Shane's ears drooped. "Oh, right. That," he whispered. "Look, he just caught me off guard, that's all. Next time we'll be ready to–"

"I am not interested in your excuses," Solgaleo said. "I want results. Absol is the enemy here, Chosen One. He is working against me."

"By doing what, exactly?" Shane asked. "You still haven't made it clear what you want my help with."

"I am in danger. There are forces trying to strip me of my power over the sun," Solgaleo explained. "They threaten the balance of day and night."

"And Absol's one of them, huh?" Shane said. "But, if he beat us, then he probably ran off. So, I have no idea where to find him."

"Then get an idea, Chosen One," Solgaleo declared. "My strength is faltering as it is. Reaching out to you is strenuous enough. Track down all the weird-looking Pokémon, figure out what they're planning, and stop them."

"Right." Shane nodded. "You can count on me."

"And don't screw up again, human!"

Shane's eyes widened. What appeared to be a tidal wave of orange water raced forward from the wall of light. He had nowhere to go, and could only curl up into a tiny white ball as the wave crashed onto him.

Shane's eyes shot open and he descended into a raucous coughing fit. He spat up water, and looked at the ground in confusion. "Why am I laying in a puddle?" he groaned.

"Oops, I guess I overdid it on the waterworks there. But at least it was effective, babe."

Shane got up and looked to his right. Sitting in front of him was a blue-and-white sea lion. He had a flowing mane of light blue hair, with what looked like a tiara sitting on his forehead. His snout ended in a small, round, pink nose.

"Who the heck are you?" Shane asked. "You look like you escaped from King Triton's castle and tried to squeeze into a Milotic costume."

"Wow, talk about a bad first impression, babe. And after I went to the trouble of waking you up and everything. How could you not know the amazing Primarina?" He stood up on his tail fins and thrust his arms to the side.

"Shoo-be-do-whop!
I'm the best of all the fairies!
Zop-de-boo-bop!
Cause my tunes are legendarryyyyyyyyyy!"

Primarina clapped his fins together. Shane heard a popping noise and looked up just in time to see a sparkling bubble burst and drench him in water.

"Agggggh!" Shane spat out a mouthful of water. "What was that for?" he snarled, trying to shake his fur dry.

"You had a little schmutz behind your ears, babe. I took care of it," Primarina explained. "Besides, washing up after you wake up is the perfect way to stay freeeeesh and cllleeeeeeeeean!"

"If I wanted a cold shower I'd have asked!" Shane hissed.

"Primarina, I thought we agreed no dousing these guys to wake them up?"

Shane peered around Primarina and spotted a Vaporeon helping Tessa up to her feet. Vaporeon's mane-like crest of fins had sequins sparkling inside them. His tail had a pair of studded piercings. Light bounced off the gems, forcing Tessa to look away as Vaporeon used his tail to help her to her feet.

"Sorry Vappy, but our schedule's tight!
If we dawdle too long, I miss my chance on the mic! Sha-yeeeeeah!"

Tessa blinked in surprise, only to stare wide-eyed at Primarina.

"Holy–! You're… Primarina!" she gasped.

"Finally! Someone around here gives me the recognition I deserve, babe," Primarina cheered. "You must be a newbie, fox-boy. How else would my fabulous presence not leave you speechless like your partner there?"

"Don't mind him," Tessa cut in. "He's not from around here." She ran up to Primarina. "What are you doing at the guild, sir? I thought you lived near Sunset Shoals."

"Oh, I do, babe," Primarina said. "But before I started dazzling on the stage, I dizzity-dazzled the guild with my swee-hee-hee-hee-eeeet exploration abilities." He stood up on his tail again, allowing Tessa and Shane to see the Looplet wrapped around his waist. A gold explorer's badge was buckled to it.

"No way. You're a guild veteran?" Shane gawked.

"Team Harmony at your service. Even though Primarina and I don't live at the guild anymore, we like to drop by from time to time," Vaporeon explained. "And we got a call from Braviary asking us to check in on the place. He said he was worried about some 'new faces.' I take it you're the Pokémon he was referring to?"

Shane's ears drooped. "Uh, yeah," he sighed.

"Well you certainly got yourselves into a bind!
Passed out in the Guildmaster's Office?
What a shibbidy-shocking find!"

"Can we stop with the singing already?" Shane groaned.

"Sorry, babe, but these pipes were born to belt," Primarina said. "Anyway, I don't really know what was going down around here, but when you're ready to fess up, Vappy and I will be at Crabrawler's."

Primarina left the room. Vaporeon gave Shane a nervous smile. "Don't mind him. He's really a great guy, but he doesn't appreciate Pokémon who don't like his singing."

"Oh, I can appreciate it. From a distance. A very long distance," Shane sneered.

"Vulpix!" Tessa scolded. "Be nice to them."

"Whatever. So, how long were we out for, exactly?"

"Well, I don't know. We got here mid-morning and found you guys passed out," Vaporeon explained.

Shane's eyes widened. "We were out all night?" he gasped. "CRUD! Absol's probably well out of town by now."

"Calm down, Vulpix," Tessa said. "There's nothing we can do about it."

"We need to track him down," Shane declared. "You saw it as well as I did. He had this weird set of black crystals around his chest. Parasect had black crystals on his pincers. That makes him the enemy!"

Tessa winced and looked away. "Err, well, how are we supposed to know that for certain? He did talk, unlike Parasect and the Munchlaxes."

Shane gave her a look of disbelief. "Are you trying to defend him?" His brow furrowed. "Wait a minute. Come to think of it, Absol seemed to know you!" He pointed a forepaw forward accusingly. "What's your connection to the guy?"

Tessa crossed her arms and looked away. "Why should I tell you, huh?"

"Because we're partners, duh," Shane said.

"Oh really? I asked you yesterday why you were in a such a foul mood and you refused to answer," Tessa reminded him. "So, this is no different. My personal life is none of your business."

"It's totally my business when it puts us in danger!" Shane barked. "Didn't we have several conversations like this when we were first starting out? Pretty hypocritical of you to call me out on being too dangerous when now you're the one doing the exact same thing!"

Tessa bared her fangs at Shane. "But your sudden shift to a hostile attitude is what provoked Gal–" She cut herself off, "Sorry… what provoked Absol into attacking. So, you fess up!"

Shane shuffled forward, pressing his damp snout against Tessa's. "Not before you do!" he growled. "If you know something about Absol, then it's my business to know too. Because I've learned beyond a shadow of a doubt that the berserk Pokémon are a big threat to the whole continent. And that means we need to do something about it!"

Tessa didn't have the chance to respond. Instead, both canines felt something hard slam into their sides. They both sprawled out on their bellies. Tessa turned to glare at Shane, only for an insectoid foreleg to pin her to the ground. Her eyes went wide. Shane started sticking his tongue out at her, when Null pinned him down using his other foreleg.

"… both of you… shut up!"

Null thrashed his head about, rattling his helmet.

"… I'm tired… of your bickering," he rasped. "I'm… in enough pain… from this… blasted mask. I don't need… your arguments… making my headaches even worse. You're teammates… you made the choice to join… together. Work out your differences… or go your separate ways."

"Talk to her," Shane growled. "She's the one keeping sec– REEEEEK!"

Null pressed down on Shane's torso.

"… you're both… hiding things… if you ask me," Null growled. "I thought… you two… had worked through things… after you failed… sentry duty. Clearly… you didn't…"

He stepped back, releasing his grips on the duo.

"… I'm… going back to the sentry room…" he muttered. "Don't let me… catch you two arguing again." He turned and stomped out of the Guildmaster's room.

Tessa and Shane silently got back to their feet. They both glanced at each other, only to look away.

"Hey, so…" they both started, only to abruptly cut themselves off. "No, no, you first," they continued, only to both facepalm simultaneously.

Tessa raised up her paw. "Okay, I'll go first." She took a deep breath. "That Absol… is my brother, Gallian. And he was– no, is a member of the guild."

Shane's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? Does egg-making work differently in this world, then? Shouldn't your brother be another Riolu or a Lucario?"

"We're not related by blood, if that's what you're implying," Tessa elaborated. "My parents found his egg abandoned in the Invern Mountains before they had conceived me." She hung her head. "He was always so warm and friendly toward others, especially at the guild. And everyone was so nice to him, despite the stereotypes about Absols."

Shane raised an eyebrow. "What, the disaster-bringing stuff? That's just superstition."

"Yeah, but most Pokémon buy into it," Tessa sighed. "Despite that, Gallian loved it here at the guild. Whenever he visited home, he would always relay these exciting stories. And tell me how much he couldn't wait for me to join up with the guild." She fidgeted with her paws. "He was even willing to put off graduating to veteran rank until I joined. That way, we could room together while I got used to this place."

"But he didn't seem nice at all yesterday," Shane muttered.

"I don't know what happened," Tessa said. "One day, after I started staying over at Sylveon's, he shows up and threatens me. He told me he'd strike me down if he ever saw me set foot in the guild. This… this was the first time I'd seen him since then."

Shane's snout stiffened. "I'm, uh, sorry?" he muttered. "It seems to me that he's gone berserk."

"Don't say that!" Tessa yipped. "Please…" She looked down. "I… I don't want to think about that. Because if… if he's berserk… and we beat him…" Her eyes teared up.

Shane frowned. "But, Tessa, didn't I tell you? Those berserk Pokémon… we have to put a stop to them. That's what I'm here for."

Tessa tensed up. "And what makes you so sure of that?"

"I've… I've had a couple of dreams," Shane confessed. "And in them, this voice calls out to me. He says he's Solgaleo. And that he needs me to help preserve the balance between day and night."

"You're kidding me, right?"

Shane's stance slouched. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell you anything. I knew you wouldn't believe me."

"Well, it's, uh, y'know, just kind of hard to believe," Tessa confessed. "And there's no way to prove it."

"It's not a stretch, though. C'mon, think about it. I show up in Horizon... and now these berserk Pokémon are appearing," Shane explained. "I understand that Absol's your brother and you're worried about him, but we can't just ignore him."

Tessa rubbed her shoulder. "I… I…"

Shane's ears drooped. "… I should've known you'd try to brush it off."

"Vulpix…"

Shane rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that. You want to know why I didn't want to talk to you about why I was 'in a foul mood?' Because I wasn't, okay? That was the real Shane. The one I told you about after saving your behind from Espeon and Umbreon. Who tends to be negative all the time and makes people angry because of it."

Tessa looked down guiltily. Shane walked away from her. "Look at what happened yesterday. We blew it! It was a random stroke of luck that saved us from that Parasect and then, to add insult to injury, your brother shows up and effortlessly takes us out." He slapped a forepaw on the ground. "This isn't supposed to happen! I'm a human-turned-Pokémon… a chosen one! Solgaleo told me I was in a dream. I can't be defeated this easily. It's unacceptable!"

"But… I was. Twice. In one day, no less!" He flopped to his belly, burying his head in his forepaws. "Who am I kidding? They chose the wrong human. This world's done for. Those berserk Pokémon are going to overrun the place and something's going to go wrong with day and night and…"

"That's enough, Shane."

Shane poked his head up. "Did… did you just call me–?"

Tessa walked over to him. "Stop talking like this. You're right… I don't like it," she admitted.

"I can't help it. It's just who I am," Shane whispered.

"No, it's not," Tessa shot him down. "You said it yourself. That's who Shane the human was. Shane the Vulpix is an over-confident, overly-enthusiastic braggart…"

"That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"… let me finish," Tessa said. "You're too cocky… but you've also pushed me to do things that, before we met, I'd have never even attempted. The truth is, I spent months trying to work up the courage to join the guild, only to chicken out each time I came to Aeon Town. Yes, most of this has frightened me. A lot. But I don't want to be afraid anymore. I don't want my brother looking down on me. And if he has gone berserk, I don't want to turn tail when he needs my help."

She extended a forepaw forward. "So, Team Radiance may not be perfect. But, we've still got to try our best, right?"

Shane got to his feet. "Heh." He rubbed his eyes with his forepaw. "That's just what I'd expect a Riolu to say…" He let out a weak chuckle. "You aura users make me so jealous."

Tessa's face flushed and she looked away.

"C'mon." Shane stretched out his hind legs. "We'd better find Primarina and Vaporeon so we can explain what happened. Don't want to get into more trouble than we're already in, right?"

Tessa nodded. "Right."

From behind the corner of the nearby hallway, Null watched them emerge from the Guildmaster's office. He nodded to himself and disappeared before either of them could see him.

Next time: robberies and delicious treats! They go together about as well as chives and ice cream.