Another day, another chapter. BendyStrawBerry, glad you liked the reference, but please don't stay up too late reading. Sleep is very important; take it from someone with insomnia.

Content advisory: this chapter contains heavy themes of depression and suicide

Chapter 29: Bitter Realizations

Null was at a complete loss for what to do. Both of his teammates were unresponsive. Tessa sat curled up in a ball, rubbing her paws against the ground. Shane had collapsed on his side, breathing heavily. Null took a step forward, only to freeze as Shane's widened eyes met his. They frantically darted around in his skull. Shane stuck a forepaw out.

"P-Please… sir," he croaked. "Help… I need help!"

Null shuffled backward, shutting his eyes. "No, wait, don't go!" Shane hollered. "Call the police! Call EMS! There's been... an accident. I'm being crushed! Please, sir… my car…" Shane's forepaw fell to the ground, along with his head. His chest rose and fell rapidly.

Something stirred in in the back of Null's mind. Null reached a foreleg up and clawed at the base of his helmet, groaning.

He's vulnerable. We can take him out!

Null staggered backwards, shaking his head rapidly.

Don't ignore us. We know you want to. It's what we were created for!

Null stumbled forward, wheezing. As he did, however, a strange tingling sensation bristled his head crest. It faded quickly, only to be replaced by warmth spreading throughout his body. The whispers in Null's mind receded. He blinked several times and his gaze fell toward Shane once again. Null lumbered forward until he towered over Shane. He raised a foreleg, only to pause as Shane gasped for air and brushed a foreleg through the dirt.

Null closed his eyes and gently lowered his limb. He nudged Shane with a talon. "… hey… wake up," he muttered. "You're… having a bad dream… I think…"

Shane groaned. Null carefully stepped over him and found the item pouch. He stuck a foreleg into it and managed to pull out an oran berry. He rolled it in Shane's direction. At first, Shane didn't acknowledge the berry. Null bent over and pressed the fruit up to Shane's lips. A bit of drool trickled down Shane's snout.

"Hrm… what… what happened?" Shane groaned, blinking slowly. His blurry vision cleared up and he found himself looking directly at Null's helmet. With a holler, he pushed himself back across the beach. "Get away from me, you monster!" he shouted, scrambling to his feet. "I don't want you anywhere near me ever again, you understand?"

Null looked down at the berry in his talons. "I was just… trying to give you this," he whispered. He kicked the berry over to Shane and slowly walked backward, looking away guiltily.

Shane looked skeptically at the fruit. "And how do I know this hasn't been spiked with poison or something?" he said, leaning over and sniffing it.

"… I only… wanted to help," Null said. "You and Riolu… you both… slipped into shock… after Oranguru disappeared…" He looked over in Tessa's direction, confirming that she was still curled up in a tiny blue ball. Her body trembled, bits of dirt and sand trickling down her fur.

Shane reluctantly nibbled at the berry. "I don't know what her problem is," he said. "But what are we supposed to do now?" He looked back, cringing at his damp, muddy coat with numerous patches of fur missing. "We all look miserable. And after your little stunt back in the marsh, we're pretty much guaranteed to fail this mission." He narrowed his eyes at Null. "So, nice going, big guy. You sure helped a ton."

He glanced back at Tessa and shook his head. "I told her not to bring you along. She's got her friend Eevee's house to go back to. But what about me? Once we're kicked out, I'll have nowhere to live!" Shane's lips curled up into a snarl. "And Tessa called me the selfish one."

A series of metallic clangs caused Shane to abruptly jolt to attention. He turned around and his tails fell between his legs at the sight of Metagross approaching them. "Guh-Guildmaster?" Shane whimpered. "What are you doing here?"

Fact: there is a shortcut to Sunflower Meadows located in Tethys Tunnel. Fact: I did not tell you about it because you cannot reach it once you get to Moonrise Marsh.

Metagross' reply struck Shane as rather odd, but he didn't feel like questioning him. He looked at his damp, scratched-up, mud-caked fur and whined. "Guildmaster, please. This… this isn't what it looks li–"

Silence, Metagross said. Shane shrank down toward the ground. Null stepped back, rubbing his helmet against his shoulder. Metagross looked at Shane and his eyes flashed blue. Fact: your team encountered significant hardships during this mission. Fact: there were multiple points where you even attempted to abandon your teammates.

Shane winced. "I… I can explain…"

Unnecessary. I have read your mind already, Metagross scoffed. Your callous disregard for your teammates created a hostile environment and nearly resulted in your death.

"That wasn't my fault!" Shane blurted out, but Metagross' glare quickly silenced him. He buried his head underneath a patch of sunflowers. "Go on then," he said, soil muffling his voice. "Kick us out already. That's what you're here for, isn't it?"

Metagross turned away from Shane and Null. By all accounts, I should remove you three from the guild. But I will not.

"Really?" Null gasped, beady eyes widening.

Affirmative, Metagross replied.

Shane's head poked up, muzzle agape in shock. "But you said that if we act out–"

Fact: I was referring to acting out toward Oranguru. Fact: analysis of your memories leads me to conclude that Oranguru was treated… adequately. Fact: you successfully brought him to Sunflower Meadows, per instruction. Conclusion: your team passes the assignment... by the skin of your teeth.

"You're kidding," Null rasped, legs tensing.

Shane's eyes narrowed. "I… I don't understand," he whispered. "We did horrendously."

Correct.

"And you lied to us!" Shane said, getting to his feet and baring his fangs. "You never said anything about taking Oranguru here to die!What kind of sick, twisted punishment was this?"

Metagross' eyes flashed blue again. You will be silent or I will change my mind and expel you, Metagross said. Fact: careful analysis led me to conclude that, regardless the assignment given, you and Riolu would argue to the point of creating a schism in your ranks. I realized that the only way to put an end to your caustic behavior would be to give you both an assignment that would ultimately shock you to your cores.

Shane's jaw dropped. "But that's… that's…"

Metagross stomped a foreleg on the ground, crushing several sunflowers. I run the Horizon Guild. I must work for the greater good. I do not care what sort of reputation I garner... only that I run a well-functioning institution. Your team was not well-functioning. Now that you properly realize the gravity of exploring in Horizon, I expect you to cease your reckless behavior and nonproductive squabbles.

"How… how could you?"

Behind Metagross, Tessa had somehow snapped out of her stupor. She was on her feet, paws balled into fists. Her arms and aura feelers shook with anger. "You knew… you knew about all of this! And you didn't tell us. Why?" she said.

Metagross eyes glowed blue once again. I made it very clear when giving this assignment. The purpose was to show you both that exploration is something to be taken seriously. That lives can hang in the balance.

Tessa's eyes snapped shut. "You could have at least told us what Oranguru wanted! Maybe then we wouldn't have been at each other's throats the whole time," she said. "And… and…" Her gaze fell to the ground. "You pretended to be my dad! That's…"

I had my reasons, Metagross said, facial expression unreadable. Oranguru had always confided in Incineroar. I wanted to have this mission available in case your teamwork failed to improve, which is what happened. Therefore, I had to forge your father's handwriting to correspond with Oranguru. Yes, I resorted to deceitful methods, but I deemed it necessary for the greater good.

The blue glow in his eyes faded. Order: this discussion is over. Fact: your new badges and equipment will be conferred to you upon return to the guild. He produced an Escape Orb, which wrapped the foursome up in bright, multicolored light.

~Aeon Observatory~

Team Radiance stood in silence, watching Metagross open the Observatory's entrance. Fact: we will proceed to my office in order to finalize the team dissolution.

Shane looked down at the dirt. 'If we really succeeded, then why does this feel like such a crushing defeat?' He glanced at his teammates. Tessa stood facing away from him, arms wrapped around her chest. Null was completely spacing out. 'Oh… right, because I'm going to have to try and sleep tonight, knowing that right down the hall is a guy who wants me dead! And my ex-teammate is practically willing to help him.'

He looked up toward the sky. 'What were you thinking bringing me here, Solgaleo? This is all your fault! My human life may not have been anything special, but at least I could feel safe going to sleep.'

Metagross looked back at them. Order: proceed inside. You are wasting my time, he said.

Tessa shuffled away from the group. "I… I'm sorry… I can't," she whimpered. "I need… I need to be alone for a while." She abruptly turned around and took off running down the hill.

"Tessa? Oh, come on, you can't be serious right now. I'm exhausted! Let's just get this over with," Shane said, approaching the top of the hill. He spotted Tessa running down toward Aeon Town's central fountain. "For god's sake, I just want to go to sleep and forget all of this already! Get back here!"

He gritted his teeth as he broke into a run. His lungs screamed in protest and his legs burned with every step. "Tessa!" he wheezed. "Tessa, stop!" Ahead of him, the tip of Tessa's blue tail dipped into a side street. Shane tucked in his head in the hopes of increasing his speed. He glimpsed Tessa going around a corner and ran after her. "Cut it out, Tessa. You're being childish," he shouted in between gasping breaths.

Shane rounded the corner and found himself looking at a few houses arrayed out on either side of the little street. A brown house had its red, wooden door wide open. Shane slowly approached it, trying to catch his breath. "Tessa," he said, "Enough is enough. Suck it up, and get back to the Observatory so we can dissolve the team."

He heard no response. Instead, whimpers echoed from inside the house. "Seriously? You're crying? Quit being such a baby," Shane hissed. He stepped through the doorway, only to freeze up. Immediately, Shane's nostrils twitched from all the dust in the air. It took every ounce of his willpower not to sneeze. Despite the lack of light in the house, the living room was clearly lined with a thick layer of dust. It covered up every piece of furniture and every item in the house.

More whimpers sounded from a back room in the house. Shane cautiously made his way forward, passing a long, knee-high table covered in dirt. He reached a doorway flanked by a dust-covered bookshelf on its right side and a rusty metal stand holding a broken luminous orb. Shane proceeded through the open door, entering a circular room that, lacking windows, was even darker than the living room. He blinked rapidly, struggling to adjust to the complete lack of light.

"Tessa?" Shane called. "Get up. We're going back to the Observatory."

"… get out."

Shane's muzzle stiffened. "Quit it, Tessa. This is getting ridiculous," he said, stomping a forepaw on the floor. "I already feel miserable enough. So, can you stop acting like such a brat and do this team breakup thing so I can get on with my life?"

"I said get out!"

Shane's eyes widened and he jumped to his right. A picture frame whizzed past him and struck the wall next to the door. Glass shattered all around Shane. The picture frame fell to the floor. Shane looked up and spotted Tessa's outline. After a few seconds, she came into focus standing next to a dust-covered bed. She stared at the ground, arms shaking, and aura feelers pulsating wildly. Shane shuffled over toward the broken frame and looked down at it.

There, in the bits of broken glass, sat a photo. He immediately recognized a younger Tessa and Gallian. Tessa sat on her brother's back; both had smiles on their faces. Behind them stood a Lucario. Her expression was relatively stoic, though she had the faintest hint of a smile. Next to her was a Pokémon that Shane assumed was Incineroar, given his cat-like appearance. Incinceroar's arm lay draped over Lucario's shoulder. Shane quickly realized Incineroar wore the same rainbow scarf he and Tessa each had halves of.

His brow furrowed. "This is about your parents, isn't it?" Shane muttered. "Yeah, Metagross shouldn't have pretended to be your dad, but it's in the past now. Don't drag me down even further because you've got such a big problem with this."

Tessa looked up. Shane's anger continued to build when he saw the devastated look in her eyes. "You… you don't understand," she squeaked. "I… I never wanted to watch a Pokémon die right in front of me. This wasn't what I signed up for. I can't deal with this!"

"And I don't care," Shane said, snorting out snowflakes. "Suck it up and move o–"

Tessa walked toward him, her eyes tearing up. "I can't just do that!" she shouted. "Why… why did he bring up my dad?"

Shane rolled his eyes. "How should I know? Look, why don't you just have Comfey help you?"

"She can't help me! Nobody can just help me," Tessa said, getting right up in Shane's face. "Because… because…"

Shane shuffled back against the wall. "What, is it because you're the Guildmaster's daughter or something? Does 'Daddy's Little Girl' get some sort of special treatment?"

"No! I'm not the Guildmaster's daughter! And I never will be…" Her lips trembled. "Because my dad's dead… and it's all my fault!"

Her voice cracked at that last statement and she burst into tears. Shane gasped as Tessa shoved him against the wall. The air rushed out of him, causing him to drop to a seated position with his tails pinned under his hips. Tessa fell forward, burying her face against the side of his neck.

Shane's flinched from the contact, his anger abating in an instant. Two statements bubbled up from his recent memory.

You know, you're not the only one with problems. Err… I mean, your whole 'stuck in another world and another body,' dilemma is pretty big. But it's not like all the Pokémon you've met lead perfect lives. We have issues too.

If you really intend to do right by Riolu as her partner, then you need to start respecting her boundaries. She's been through a lot. More than you can possibly know.

'Oh my god… this is what they meant, isn't it? This is why Tessa's family is such a bitter subject for her,' Shane realized, Tessa's sobs making his ears fall flat against his head. Guilt bubbled up inside him. 'And I totally snapped and told her that her parents left because they didn't love her!' His eyes widened in horror. 'What have I done?'

"I don't… I don't know what to say," he whispered, but Tessa didn't hear him. She continued to cry, sliding down from his neck to his shoulder. Shane looked around the room, desperately hoping for some sort of way to get out of this situation. He found Null standing in the bedroom's doorway, his gray eyes looking even more heavyset than usual. Null bowed his head down and slipped back from the doorway.

Shane awkwardly reached a forepaw out and tried to pet Tessa on the back. "Uh, there, there. Everything's… going to be okay?" he squeaked, though his statement was laden with uncertainty. "Do you, um, want to talk about it or something?"

A shove indicated that no, Tessa didn't want to talk about it. Pain shot through Shane's tails, but he remained seated as Tessa bawled her eyes out. 'Why is all of this happening? There isn't supposed to be this level of heartbreak until the end of these things,' Shane thought. 'Tessa… I'll bet she's been thinking about her dad from the very beginning. And I dragged her along through all of this.' He shut his eyes. 'I really am a pathetic excuse for a hero. Everything I've done has just hurt the Pokémon around me…'

Tessa's cries quieted into soft, shudder-filled whimpers. She slumped to the ground and buried her face in her arms. "It happened just about a year ago," she said, voice muffled. Shane didn't relax a single muscle in his body. He clamped his muzzle shut as Tessa took in a deep breath and continued, "I had been playing outside with Eevee, despite Sylveon telling us not to. We got caught in a big storm. Sylveon brought us inside… but I caught a terrible cold."

"Mom had started to take care of me, when Dad showed up, saying he needed to go to Glyphic Falls," Tessa said. She managed to push herself into a seated position but her head remained bowed somberly. "He said it was crucial guild business. Mom tried to go with him for support, but he refused. He told her it was more important that she take care of me." Tessa rubbed her eyes. "Mom tried to convince him otherwise. She suggested bringing me to the Observatory and leaving me with Comfey. But Dad…"

Tessa grabbed her mud-soaked rainbow scarf and tossed it to the ground. "… he said he couldn't have her do that. He knew that she'd just end up worrying about me if she came to Glyphic Falls. And he didn't want to stress her out... because he loves her too much to do something like that."

"So, he gave us both a kiss, and walked out," Tessa said. "And… and…" Her eyes teared up again. "That was it. That was the last time I got to see him. I couldn't even get out of bed to give him a hug or anything!" She dug her paws into her thighs.

"What happened?" Shane whispered.

"I don't know," Tessa said, her voice cracking again. "The next day, Braviary showed up, looking grimmer than I've ever seen him look. He told us that there had been an accident." Tessa shook like a leaf. She grabbed her muddy scarf off the floor. "He said this scarf was all that he and Metagross found when they went to look for Dad."

Tessa turned away from Shane. "Gallian, Mom, and I were all at home when this happened. I've tried so hard to forget how they reacted. They were always so calm... so level-headed. But when they heard the news…" More tears ran down her face and Tessa gritted her teeth. "They were so upset. Mom… Mom lost it." Her gaze drifted over to the bedroom doorway. Tessa rubbed tears from her eyes. "That table you walked past? Mom broke it when she heard about Dad. She… she broke a lot of things."

"And what about you?" Shane asked.

Tessa brought her knees up toward her head. "I was scared!" she hiccuped. "Scared, and confused, and tired. Mom was so angry. I sensed her aura for just a second," she shuddered, "and I blacked out."

Shane tried to get up and move toward Tessa, but she shoved him away. She turned away from him. "It's my fault! All my fault! If I hadn't gotten sick… if I'd listened to Sylveon and stayed indoors that day… then Mom could've gone with Dad. And he'd still be here! Everything would be fine!" She wiped snot from her snout.

"Nobody gets sick on purpose, you know," he said, tails curling against his belly.

"Mom blamed me. I know she did," Tessa said, grabbing a fistful of fur in each paw. "I could feel the anger in her aura after Dad died." She released her fur and used her scarf to dry her eyes. "She stopped training me after that... and she barely came home from the guild. Sometimes she'd remember to bring me to Sylveon. But other times…" Her voice trailed off and she shook her head.

"I tried to make it up to her. I tried to train on my own. To show her what I taught myself when she did visit me. I told her that I loved her." She lowered the scarf and her ears drooped. "She would tell me that she loved me back... but it always sounded like she was lying."

Shane bit his lower lip. 'This is just too much. She's gotta be exaggerating. She just has to be!' He looked Tessa over, but everything about her body language screamed sincerity.

"And then, almost eight months ago, Mom up and left," Tessa continued. Shane thought back to the times he'd caught Tessa going into her mother's room. Then, he remembered his attempt to look inside it, only for Braviary to catch him and take him away. "She told me she was doing a quick assignment for the guild... and that she'd be back soon."

"But she hasn't returned," Shane said. Tessa shook her head.

"A couple of weeks later, Gallian left. That's when he threatened me, saying he'd strike me down if I set foot in the guild," Tessa said. Tears welled up in her eyes again. "I… I've been alone for so long now." She fell to her side, curling up into a ball. "I'm not even sure why I keep waking up in the mornings, anymore."

Shane's head pounded. His view of Tessa momentarily faded out, replaced instead with a page from a newspaper, showing a smiling, brown-haired boy with freckles peppered across his face. A stabbing pain gripped Shane's chest. "Tessa, no. You can't… I had no idea," Shane whispered, eyes darting about the room.

"Don't call me that!" Tessa shouted, causing Shane to jump back. She looked up at him with tearful eyes. "You want to know why I don't want Pokémon calling me Tessa anymore? It's the same reason I refuse to call you anything but Vulpix. Every time I hear 'Tessa' I think of Mom and Dad and Gallian! It's because of my family that everyone called me Tessa instead of Riolu. And I don't want to be reminded of them... because the only thing that comes to mind is the memory of Braviary showing up and telling us that Dad had died!"

Tessa dug her paws into the floor. "Not like it matters. All I can think about when I'm in the Observatory is Dad dying and all the bad things that happened afterward. I've had enough. I can't..." She looked over at the remnants of the picture frame. "I don't want to do any of this anymore." Tessa staggered to her feet, swaying uneasily from side to side. Slowly, she approached the glass fragments littered on the ground.

"Tessa, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," Shane said. "If you had just told me–"

Tessa whirled on him. "You really think I was going to tell a total stranger that I'm frightened of guild work because my dad died?" she said, her face a mess of tears and snot. Shane flinched and turned away. "Mom was right," Tessa muttered. "I should've gotten as far away from you as possible."

Shane's head pounded once again. "What? But I thought you said you don't know where your mom is?"

Tessa stuck her right foot out, poking the remnants of the picture frame with her toe. "I don't. But she's… reached out to me. Through my dreams," Tessa said. "Yeah, I didn't want to say anything. Especially with how everyone reacted to you saying Solgaleo was giving you dream visions. But it's true. Mom told me that she's trying to protect Lunala… my guess is from the Prism Virus."

"She wanted me to ditch you. She said that if I stuck with you, I'd surely keep running into danger," Tessa continued. "But I was stupid. I hoped – I don't know why, but I hoped – that maybe you could make me feel better. That you could make me feel like I actually matter to other Pokémon." She shut her eyes. "But you did the exact opposite. I don't feel better. Instead, I left the only two Pokémon I get along with reasonably well. The closest thing I have to a friend now is Null."

"I never intended for any of this to happen," Shane whimpered.

Tessa knelt down, putting her paws on the floor. "I don't care. Mom told me that she doesn't want me to look for her. She would rather leave me alone to defend Lunala, when there are plenty of Pokémon up to the task," Tessa said with a sniffle. "And, thanks to you, I now realize why. It's because she doesn't love me... and I'll bet she never loved me."

Shane's throat went dry. "I… no… I was just…" He struggled to form a coherent sentence.

"No," Tessa cut in, her voice bitter. "Thank you, human. You finally made me realize just how worthless I am. I know exactly where I belong: nowhere."

Shane stood up and his tails jolted into the air. "That's not true! You're… ah…" He bit his lower lip. "C'mon, surely there's something I can do to help? Just say the world. I'll get you whatever you need. Anything! Just… just stop talking like that!"

"I don't have anything else to say to you. I never want to see you again," Tessa whispered. She reached a trembling paw toward the largest glass shard on the floor.

"No!" Shane cried, opening his mouth and spewing a gust of chilled air. Tessa fell to the ground, throwing her paws over her face and howling in frustration. Shane turned toward the glass shards, focusing his cold air on them until he had frozen them solid. He then sent out a small psychic ripple, turning the frozen shards to dust.

Tessa sat up, her gaze fixed on where the broken glass previously lay. "You... you..." She rubbed her fists against the floor.

"Please," Shane whispered, legs trembling. "Please let me help you."

"No," Tessa said, lowering her head. "You want to help? Then just… go away." She lay down on the ground, gripping her stomach with her right paw. "I'm not going back to the Observatory. In fact, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to stay here. I'm already starving, so I imagine it won't take long for my spirit to start ebbing away. Just a few hours... and it'll all be over."

"Riolu, don't–"

"What are you complaining about?" she snarled. "You're going to get what you wanted. I'll be out of your life." She took in a shuddering breath. "I'll be out of everyone's lives."

Shane's vision flickered. The newspaper picture flashed through his mind, and then his eyes teared up. "No... Tessa, I can't leave you here like this," Shane said.

"Fine," Tessa said, rolling over so her back was to Shane, "then you can watch as the hunger saps every last bit of my strength."

Shane's ears drooped. "But–"

"Goodbye, Vulpix," Tessa said, cupping her paws over her ears and pressing them against her head.

Shane opened his mouth to offer a retort, but nothing came to mind. His ears twitched and his heart skipped a beat at the sound of a raspy cough. He looked over his shoulder and again saw Null in the doorway. Null backed out of the doorway upon glimpsing Shane's frightful expression. Shane looked back at Tessa and, after a moment of hesitation, followed Null out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

"How much of that did you hear?" Shane asked.

"… everything," Null said.

"Then you know what you need to do," Shane said, stepping away from the door. Null's head cocked in confusion. "Tessa's hurting badly. She needs…" He shuddered. "She needs a friend right now. And… that's not me. I don't think it'll ever be me. She needs you."

Null blinked. "… what can I… possibly do… for her?"

"Just be there with her. You don't have to say anything. But lay down next to her. Maybe rub her back or something. Go in there and don't leave as long as she's awake. Make sure she doesn't do anything rash. You're her best friend. You have to do this," Shane said.

Null nodded slowly and then lumbered toward the door. He pushed it open and slipped inside the bedroom, leaving Shane alone. The second the door closed, Shane collapsed onto his belly. His whole body ached and he felt a huge, crushing weight against his forehead. He tried to lift up his head, but the whole room spun. He lay on the ground, trembling; face buried in the dirt. The colors of the spinning room faded. The brown of the house's floor gave way to bright, flashing, red-and-blue lights. Black shadows moved across his field of view.

I've got a pulse, but his airway's collapsed. We have to intubate. Where's that paramedic?

'No…'

Sir, sir! Are you okay? Can you hear me?

'Please… help me!'

No pupillary response. He's got fluid in his lungs.

'I don't want to die!'

We've got him boarded up. Start the EKG and let's get him to the ER. You there! Page trauma. He needs surgery ASAP.

The sound of a door closing jolted Shane from his stupor. He sat up, breath coming in ragged gasps. He looked over at Null, who stood frozen in front of the doorway. "Wh-What are you… what are you doing out here? What happened to Tessa? H-How long was I out?"

"… not long," Null rasped. "Riolu… cried herself to sleep," he reported. He sat in front of the door like a grotesque gargoyle. Shane staggered to his feet, his head hung shamefully. "Are you… leaving?"

"I don't know," Shane whispered. "I just… I'm so confused. Everything's gone so horribly, horrendously wrong!" He blinked a few times. "Wait, why am I even saying this to you? What do you care?"

"… what happened… back in Moonrise Marsh… I didn't want that," Null said. "I don't… want to hurt you. And I don't… want to hate you."

Shane's lips quivered. "Well, it's a bit late for apologizing, isn't it?" He sat down opposite Null. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I do need to be taken out. I've done nothing but screw up since I got here. You'd all be better off without me."

"… I don't… think that's true," Null said. "I think… you're trying to make the best… of a difficult situation. I can… sympathize with that…"

Shane's eyes teared up. "Can you? Look at what I've done to Tessa. I broke her spirit. I… I made her–" He cut himself off, shaking his head in disgust. "All this time, she's really just been depressed because she lost her family. It's probably why she was so hesitant to go to the guild! So, what did I do? Pressure her and pressure her until she cracked and went to the very place she shouldn't have set foot in in the first place!"

He smacked a paw on the ground. "All this time… all this time she's been trying to put on a brave face. And I just brushed aside the signs that something was wrong because I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that things were different here than in my games." He began crying. "I've been thinking like a selfish human since the moment I woke up, when… when I should've been thinking like a Pokémon."

He flopped onto his belly, burying his head under his forepaws. "Metagross was right. There are real lives at stake. And here I am thinking I can just waltz along and have everything be fine!" He looked up at Null with tearful eyes. "I never even beat the games fair and square, you know. I always resorted to cheating because I got too frustrated, but that's not possible here."

Shane smacked his head against his forelegs. "Everything I've done so far has had consequences. And they're not the kind I can simply erase by hitting a power switch and forgetting that they ever happened. I can't preserve a happy scenario in a stream of data, because this is all real!" he sobbed. "The damage is done. I'm… I'm… I'm not a hero. I'm just… a screw up."

Null slowly exhaled. "… you do realize… it sounds like… you're making Riolu's struggles… all about you… right?"

In response to this, Shane got up, walked over to the table, and bashed his head against it. "Yes, because I'm dumb!"

BANG!

"Stupid!"

BANG!

A welt popped up on Shane's head, which he lowered shamefully. "You're absolutely right. You want to know the worst part of all of this?" Shane whispered, causing Null to lean forward. "Today's Tessa's birthday… sorry, 'hatch day.' This is supposed to be a happy day for her. And I managed to go and turn it into the worst day of her life."

"I think… you're overreacting… just a smidge," Null said.

"I'm not," Shane whimpered. "I know this all sounds selfish, but this is really my fault. If I hadn't flown off the handle at Lycanroc... if I'd just trusted all of you instead of thinking I knew better… then I wouldn't have gotten in trouble. And then Tessa wouldn't have gotten in trouble. We'd have never gotten sent on this awful mission that put us at each other's throats and ended with Tessa having to watch a Pokémon die right in front of her… and one year after her dad died, to boot!"

Shane stepped back from the table. "I can't even blame Metagross. It's not like he was controlling how I acted."

Null slowly sat up and walked over toward Shane. He sighted heavily. "… when you put it that way… I guess it is your fault. But… it's not like you were the only one… acting badly on that mission. I think we all… did and said things… that we feel horribly about…"

Shane rubbed his snout with a forepaw. "Are you trying to compare us, here? There's no comparison to make. I deserve all the vitriol Tessa gave me. I…"

He flinched as Null sat beside him. Shane looked away, whimpering. Null muttered, "I'm saying… I understand… how awful you feel. But… I think… that's exactly why… you need someone to lean on for support… just as much as Riolu does."

Shane blinked tears out of his eyes. "Well, forget it. I'm not worth your trouble. Tessa's your friend, not me. Right now, she needs your undivided attention."

"… but I'd like you to be…"

Shane froze. "Huh?"

"… I want… to be your friend. I know… we haven't had… a very good relationship," Null muttered. "I'm sorry… for staring at you... back in the sentry station. It was never… my intent… to scare you. But clearly… that's what happened."

Shane turned away even further. "A bit late to be asking for that, considering what happened, don't you think?"

"… I really wish… I could make it up to you," Null wheezed. "Which is exactly why… I refuse to turn my back on you." He poked a foreleg at the ground. "And… from what it sounds like… you're not ready... to give up... on Riolu."

Shane winced, his ears folding against his face. "I just… I have to do something to help her. It's my fault all of this happened. I need to make things right. But," he sighed and shook his head, "I can't think of anything. Every attempt I see myself making is just going to make her even more upset."

"Is there really nothing… you can do?" Null wondered.

Shane squeezed his eyes shut and scrunched up his snout. "I… I," he whispered. His eyes suddenly shot wide open. "I've got an idea," he said, getting to his feet. "If it's Tessa's hatch day, then we should throw her a party."

Null stared blankly at Shane. "Like… a surprise party?"

"Ideally, yes," Shane said. "She said that she's depressed because she feels alone, right? Well, this is the guild's chance to show her that, just because her family's not in the picture, doesn't mean she's alone. Not as long as she has them."

"But… she didn't mention… her hatch day… to anyone," Null pointed out. "I'm not even sure... how you found out."

"I heard Team Captivate talking about it," Shane said. He dried out his eyes. "They wanted to do something for her, but were too hesitant." He looked out the window. "If I leave right now, I think I can still make morning assembly. And if I can get everyone on board, we might have a chance at getting something set up by tonight."

"Do you… have a plan?"

"No… not really. I'm sort of winging it here," Shane whispered. "Like, Tessa's friends with Sylveon... and she's a baker. She could make treats. And we could have her work with Steenee and anyone in the guild who feels like helping to make food." Shane started pacing back and forth. "Then, we can get supplies from the Kecleon Shop and a couple of other places in town. I'm sure folks had some gift ideas in mind for Tessa, too." His brow furrowed. "Maybe with a little bit of begging and pleading, Crabrawler will let us borrow the Sky Jukebox from his Café?" He took a deep breath. "No, no, I can't get ahead of myself. First, I have to concentrate on getting everyone in the guild to help. It's the only way I can make this work."

"Is there anything… I can do?" Null asked.

Shane nodded. "You need to keep Tessa busy," he said. "She's gonna wake up. She's really fragile right now. And I don't want her coming to the guild and seeing what we're doing. If anything, you're the best Pokémon to try and lift her spirits. Maybe try taking her out to Azure Cape or Sunrise Village? That should at least help her clear her mind."

"I'm not… really good… at making small talk," Null said, tapping a claw on the floor.

Shane frowned. "I need you to do this. Don't let her back in Aeon Town until after sundown, got it? Even if you have to carry her away while she's still sleeping." He paused. "Okay, maybe don't do that one. But still, I…" He took a deep breath. "I trust you to do this."

Null's eyes widened. He nodded his head slowly. "I'll do my best," he said.

"Great. Then I'd better get running. There's a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. And we need this to work," Shane said. He trotted over toward the door and out onto the street. Null watched him disappear around a corner.

"Good luck," Null whispered. "For Riolu's sake, I'm rooting for you."

Seeing as the classic portrayal of PMD partner characters involves them being happy-go-lucky and cheerful (if a bit timid, depending on what Pokémon you got), I went the opposite with Tessa. Yes, she's been depressed since Chapter 1. And the reason she has no confidence (and has acted rather emotional) is because it's been getting worse. But now that we're at this point, it should be all uphill, right?

Next time: can Shane and Null really lift Tessa's spirits?