Despite the fact that she and Dante were still essentially fugitives, Luca was beginning to grow bored with her life at Kai's cave. When she had to stay away from town and only interact with Kai—who did not make for the best conversation—and Sarin—who seemed content to avoid her when she could—her options for passing the time consisted only of either lazing around with an unconscious Dante or going on walks. It was pleasant enough, but after nearly two weeks her days were becoming a bit stale.

Today she had opted for the former option: relaxing with Dante in Kai's cave. She had gotten into the habit of leaning against his flank—when she did, she could feel his unbothered, rhythmic breathing and be reassured at all times that he hadn't succumbed to his wound. Even more than that, she was beginning to enjoy it on a more personal level; his warmth pressing against her was supernaturally calming, and she found herself leaning on him to sleep every single night. A small, horrible part of her dreaded his recovery, as she would no longer be able to.

Suddenly Dante shifted underneath her, jostling Luca out of her ruminations and reminding her of the one thing that interrupted the drudgery: sometimes, Dante would wake up. She scrambled to her feet as quick as she could and retrieved the food she had placed aside for his next awakening. He writhed and groaned behind her as she carefully cradled the bowl of chili-equivalent slop between her paws, and within only a few moments Luca had returned to his side.

To her surprise, Dante looked up at her with focused eyes upon her return. Although his gaze was still clouded by pain and confusion, he was very clearly seeing her; unlike all the previous times he had woken up, he was not entirely delirious.

"Dante...?" Luca asked tentatively. "Are you OK?"

"Luca?" he croaked, his eyes flickering down to the food. "W-what are you...?"

"Oh here, eat," she instructed, holding the chili-equivalent up to his mouth. "You've gotta be hungry."

Dante complied without the least bit of hesitation, displaying a strange burst of speed as he guzzled it. It was completely unlike him to eat so fast, and he was done nearly as quickly as she had retrieved the food in the first place.

"This too," Luca added, taking the empty bowl away and replacing it with a canteen full of fresh water.

Once again, Dante desperately consumed. He gasped once the canteen was empty, and once again looked up at Luca. "Where am I?"

"You're in my home," Kai called from the entrance, announcing herself as she walked in. "And I see that you're awake and functioning, Dante."

Dante frowned with tired confusion as he inspected the Vulpix. "Wh...who are you?"

"Oh, you're back. You were gone for a couple days, I was worried," Luca said as Kai sat opposite the fire. Then, she turned back to Dante. "This is Kai. You've met her before, but you were really out of it."

"I dont remember at all... last I recall we were in the mountains, and there was the... last dungeon? I lost you, and we burned through the orans. And then we..." Dante trailed off, looking down to his stump. He moved it, waggling back and forth in disbelief. His remaining hand passed through where his missing arm would have been, and he shuddered.

Luca placed a sympathetic paw on his shoulder. "Well, at least it's only a flesh wound."

He looked up, his expression only growing more confused. "What?"

"It's a... reference to something, I think. I don't know, I'm sorry."

Dante forced a tired smile, mercifully moving on quickly. "So, we made it? This is Hollyhead?"

"It's nearby," Kai answered. "You're currently in my home, which Luca purchased your place in with a paralysis-healing berry."

"Oh, she gave you the cheri?" Dante shifted in place, testing his ability to stand. He quickly gave up, opting to settle with simply sitting up. "Where does that leave us? A rawst, a chesto, an aspear, and a persim? That's probably enough to trade for plenty of traveling supplies if we can convince anyone that they actually work."

"I don't think we need to, actually," Luca informed him as she sat down at the fire, leaving the empty bowl and canteen to her side. "Kecleon gave me the supplies we have now for free, so we have the money. The problem is they've put posters up in town, and we're essentially outlaws now. Even if Kai buys supplies for us, we run the risk of Kecleon realizing that she's housing us—whether by him recognizing the bags, or by noticing that she'd never need so much food."

"Kecleon doesn't seem to be an issue, actually," Kai said. "I was coming to tell you."

"You mean you think he's not going to sell us out?" Luca asked across the fire pit. "Really?"

Kai nodded. "The bounty hunter asked him directly the day after he arrived, and he said he hadn't seen a Riolu or Charmeleon at all. I even watched him for a few days, but he made no attempt to sneak away and feed him information in the night."

"So that's where you were. I'm surprised he didn't take the money, though. I mean I already knew Kecleon was kind after he gave me all those supplies, but 5000p seems like a hell of a lot for a business owner to turn down."

"Mmm. The bounty hunter has a Charmeleon-sized bite taken out of his abdomen, by the way. I can hardly imagine that's a coincidence."

"Was he a Scizor?" Dante asked.

"That's right."

Dante laughed weakly for a moment before it turned into a cough. "Yeah, that was me. He was the border guard I had to knock out to escape."

Luca was silent for a moment. Dante was sitting uncomfortably as if it was a chore to find the energy to sit up, and his sunken eyes were becoming more lidded as time went on. "Hey, are you feeling alright?" Luca asked.

"Yeah, uh... I think I might go back to sleep, if that's alright," he admitted, letting himself down to curl up by the fire. "Is there anything else we need to talk about before I do?"

"Kai?"

"I don't have anything," the Vulpix said, not looking away from Dante.

"OK." She turned to give Dante the go-ahead to fall back asleep, but he was already very clearly unconscious. "...Ah. Well, at least he was awake and talking for a bit. That's probably a good sign."

"Yes. If I recall correctly, that means there's no longer a risk of him dying. Assuming his surroundings stay the same, that is."

Luca let out a sigh. "That's great to hear. And honestly, it's quite the relief that we don't have to worry about Kecleon. We're safe to wait and let Dante recover."

Kai finally stood, standing in place. "Do you want to take a walk? It's been a while since I've been off watching Kecleon."

"Oh, sure. Let me just prepare a meal in case Dante wakes up again." Moving to her pack, Luca peered inside and took stock of her food. The chili was the last of it, and only about five portions remained in the waxed packaging. "Hey actually, would you mind buying the food today? I'm getting close to running out."

"Sure."

"OK, let's see... I'll take the remainder out. Do I return the empty packaging?"

"He appreciates it."

"OK, I'll leave it in." Picking up the light pack, Luca brought it over to the waiting Kai who opened her mouth wide in offering.

"Thanks Kai," she said, letting her bite down on the top handle. "I promise I'll make all of this up to you."

Looking her into the eyes, Kai shook her head. Then she turned, moving out into the forest and in the direction of Hollyhead. Luca followed her for a moment, but she stopped just outside of the cave and looked directly up. Judging by the sun, it was about noon. As good a time as any to take a walk, so Luca set out—making sure to head in the opposite direction of town.

As always, it was more of a trek than a pleasant walk; without a path to follow, she had to climb over all manner of fallen trees and foliage in the messy forest. Still, the exertion didn't bother her in the least. In fact, it typically helped her take her mind off the stress of her situation. This time, however, no such relief awaited her.

As she walked through the shady forest, Luca's brain was alight despite her relaxed surroundings. Although she had just received two pieces of great news, she still couldn't help but be worried. They were acting entirely under the assumption that Kecleon had no interest whatsoever in feeding information to the Scizor, and showing their hand as a result. Kai showing up with Luca's bag and asking for it to be refilled was essentially a confession that she was housing her, and was therefore signaling precisely how to find her. It was a risk, but Kai also seemed entirely confident that there was nothing to worry about. When it came down to it, all Luca could do was trust.

Even beyond her worries about Kecleon, there was something deep in her stomach nagging at her. Things seemed to be going far too well for the circumstances she was in, and despite the fact that there was zero legitimate reason to think so, it felt like an inevitability that something was going to go wrong soon.

Luca pushed her doubts aside and continued walking, now focusing on her surroundings. No matter how long as she spent in the Pokémon world, she would never grow entirely used to how tall the trees were. Being only two feet tall was an incredible difference in perspective compared to however tall she was as a human, and her mind was in a constant battle; she percieved the trees as monsterously tall, but if she focused she could rationalize it by remembering how small she was. But really, it was far easier to just pretend forests were larger in the Pokémon world and leave it at that.

Ahead of her, a stream cut through the trees. It was clear water, and despite the speed with which it flowed, it was difficult to discern the motion as it was smooth and without breaks. By her sense of direction, she must have been upstream from Kai's home. This meant she wouldn't have to worry about finding her way back, and could simply follow the water.

One refreshing walk later, Luca was approaching the cave along the riverbank. As it came into view, however, she stopped dead in her tracks. Coming out of the cave was the exact Pokémon Luca didn't want to see, doing precisely what she didn't want him to be doing. The Scizor stood tall in the afternoon sun, cradling a still-unconscious Dante with his massive pincers.

Luca wanted to hide, but she felt her body go rigid with fear. No picture in a book could have prepared her for how large he was. Dante was already more than a foot taller than her, and even he was dwarfed by the tall bug/steel type. In human terms, it was the equivalent of an adult carrying a child—if the adult had disproportionately massive pinsers nearly encasing him. Pinsers that were about as big as Luca herself. When his red head turned to inspect the forest around him, control finally returned to Luca's body with a jolt. She dove behind the nearest tree before he looked her way.

Luca hid herself entirely behind the tree for a what felt like nearly a minute. Finally, once she had the confidence, she glanced around the tree. The Scizor was gone from the clearing ahead of Kai's cave, but he was still visible a ways away. He had made ground, moving through the forest with a relaxed pace—and Luca finally felt the urge to attack him. He couldn't just casually leave with Dante.

Luca's muscles were tensed, but she hesitated. Despite the urgency, watching the confidence with which the Scizor moved reminded her: this was not a feral. This was a person, and even more than that, he was an agent of Giratina. Dante had managed to defeat him, but his flames were exceptionally effective against both bug and steel-types. Given that Dante was much stronger than her and he had only managed with a sneak attack, she realistically had no chance whatsoever against the towering Scizor.

But maybe she knew someone that did. Kai was a fire-type, and she at least had enough control over her abilities that she could create the mote of flame she used for lighting in the dark forest. Maybe with the both of them together they would stand a chance.

And so the question became: what was the best course of action to retrieve Kai? She could just sit and wait until she returned but... that was never really an option. Luca ran into the forest in a full sprint, heading nearly ninety degrees off the Scizor's trajectory in an attempt to circumvent him and make it to town first.

After a few minutes of desperate sprinting through the overgrown forest, Luca had made it. The town ahead was nearly unrecognizable to her; instead of dark deserted streets underneath the canopy, the town was thoroughly full of life. Pokémon flowed constantly flowed throughout the buildings, but most of them were stationary and simply enjoying the day. Luca ran directly towards them; the time for protecting her identity was over.

As she made her way forward, she became aware that many parts of the crowd were noticing her. The Pokémon that did either watched with shocked eyes or turned to whisper animatedly to whoever was next to them, and the normal variety of Aura pulses was being overwhelmed by a cacophony of rolling waves of surprise and confusion. Luca kept at it, moving as fast as she could through the crowd. She hoped that if she kept moving fast enough, no one would decide to stop her soon enough to do so without making a huge scene—and she hoped that when Riolu was a species, no one would want to do that when they didn't know for sure who she was.

Fortunately, she ended up being correct. Despite her slowly becoming the center of attention and Pokémon that hadn't seen her yet already looking in her direction due to the quieting conversation, she was not stopped before making it to Kecleon's shop. The line stretched across the street, and despite most of the Pokémon around not-so subtly watching her, Kecleon himself was seemingly unaware and conversing with the Carnivine at the front of the line. Kai was still there in line, silently inspected Luca with unmoving eyes as she approached.

Luca approached her. "Kai, I need you to come with me," she said, keeping her voice under a whisper.

"Now?" she asked, speaking with no such urgency.

"Now."

"Fine." she nodded. "Let's go. And Sarin, come with us."

Luca moved to leave, but hesitated. "Can you lead? We need to avoid the way I came into town, but I don't know the shortest way out otherwise."

Kai silently nodded towards Luca's bag at her feet and she moved out of the line, so Luca retrieved it and slung it over her shoulder. She followed Kai as she moved forward, aiming for the alleyway just behind Kecleon's stall.

Luca side-eyed Kecleon as they passed. He had begun staring once his customer had, but as Luca passed, he delibrately gave an exaggerated blink. She wasn't sure whether to interpret it as the equivalent of a wink or what, but a moment later she was already past him and walking through a cramped and shaded alley.

Kai displayed a great understanding of the city as she guided Luca, taking her primarily through alleyways. They would occasionally cross more populated streets, but apparently as a result of her being led, there was much less tension in the air. She still received stares, and whispered conversation and surprised Auras still seemed to follow her, but it no longer felt like anyone was considering confronting her.

Soon they were outside of city limits, and once they were a few meters away from the buildings Kai turned around and watched the way she had come. Luca did the same, and soon enough, Sarin came waddling out from the buildings.

Kai ignored her as she approached, instead directing her call at the town itself. "If there's anyone else following me, now's the time to come out."

Complete silence was the only response, save for the sounds of the forest. "Let me rephrase," Kai continued once Sarin had finally made it to them. "I know you're following me, so I'm going to stand here until you come out."

This time, a response came in the form of a weary sigh. Then, a Scyther revealed himself, standing tall on the roof of one of the buildings. "You got me. But now, I'd like for you to explain yourself. You were there during the Scizor's announcement, so I know you're aware of what you're doing."

"I am aware," Kai said, venom in her words. "Now beat it."

"And if I refuse?"

"This is none of your business, Scyther. I can handle this."

"It's not mine, but it's hers?" he asked, pointing a scythe down at Sarin.

"I know her. I don't know you. Leave."

The Scyther held her gaze for a moment, indecision clouding his face. Then, without a word, he disappeared behind the roof and was gone.

Finally, Kai looked away. "We're going a little further into the woods. Both of you, keep an eye out for anyone following us."

With that Kai took off, padding leisurely through the forest and not bothering to search her surroundings herself. Still, Luca complied—although she wasn't entirely sure she would be able to spot anyone tailing them. Pokémon were capable of exceptional things, and at the forefront of her mind was the fact that ghost-type Pokémon could travel through solid objects. She would never be able to tell if there was one following her, watching from the ground underneath her.

Either way, Luca was unable to see any pursuers by the time Kai finally stopped and turned to her companions. "We're far enough. What happened?"

"Uh, at the—at the cave, the Scizor was there. He had Dante and was taking him towards town."

A powerful pulse of rage washed over Luca, nearly throwing her off balance. An instant later, a strange dizziness overwhelmed her mind; while she was still aware of her surroundings, it was as if the energy of her very being was being sapped out and she was but a spectator to her own body. When an invisible force began pulling her backwards across the ground, she couldn't find the strength to even attempt to fight it.

As Luca was being pulled away from them, Kai and Sarin exploded into a spinning inferno of bright flames that briefly blinded her. It creating a persistent tornado of fire around the two Pokémon, and when the strange force threw her to the ground a ways away Luca crumpled, her muscles failing her. She immediately tried to stand, but it felt like she was malfunctioning. The flames ahead of her spun at a high rate, but Luca could still catch glimpses of Kai and Sarin standing in the empty center.

"Wait," Sarin gasped from within, her panicked voice just barely audible over the roaring flames. "I-it's too hot, I can't—"

"You sold them out," Kai interrupted, her voice calm and cold. "You sold them out after Luca had been more than kind to us despite her circumstance. You did it for money," she hissed, contempt dripping off her voice.

"I-I didn't, I—"

"You did," Kai sneered.

"No! P-please, it's too h-hot," Sarin choked.

"Not only did you sell them out," Kai continued despite Sarin's begging, "but you knew precisely what would happen to them when you did. You snuck away to tip that Scizor off, and you tried to get away with it. You tried to come back, and you tried to stay my friend despite what you had done. I bet you would have consoled me."

"I-I'm going to pa-ass out, p-plea..."

In the meantime, Luca hadn't yet managed to stand. She had ended up crawling as close as she could to the inferno without the heat becoming unbearable. If it was this bad outside, she couldn't imagine what the grass-type Sarin was experiencing—though she had an idea; throughout their conversation, Kai had emanated repeated and unrelenting pulses of anger and contempt, while Sarin had supplied waves of pure panic.

"Kai," Luca cried weakly. "Stop!"

"Admit it," Kai ordered, fully ignoring Luca. "Now."

Sarin was breathing with heavy, ragged breaths audible even to Luca. "I... admit it," she heaved. "You're... right... I'm... sorry... please... let me g—"

Sarin went quiet, and Luca saw her form fall. The poor Budew had finally passed out. For a single, quiet moment Kai looked down at her unconscious friend. She then turned her head towards Luca and locked eyes with her through the fire. The Vulpix's eyes raged as hot as the surrounding flames, and the wild flickering light gave her normally empty expression a haunted, merciless appearance. Luca felt a single, powerful burst of pity from her.

"Look away, Luca," Kai said. Her voice was full of meaning, but it still took Luca a long moment to understand the significance. By then, it was too late.

"No!" Luca screamed as the circle of fire passed Kai on its way to close. The once wide tornado continued spinning violently as it quickly concentrated into a single point. Luca watched with horror as it focused on Sarin's unconscious body—before her eyes, the Budew was torn apart and reduced to ashes within only a few seconds. The fire was then extinguished, along with Sarin's life.

"You killed her," Luca said dumbly, her mind unable to fully comprehend what she had witnessed.

"Yes," Kai confirmed. "And do you know why?"

"She didn't need to die for that... why did you—"

"She did," Kai hissed. "I've known Sarin since we were born. The very first opportunity she's had to sacrifice someone's life for money, she took it without hesitation. What she did was no less than pre-meditated attempted murder, and she only felt the slightest shred of regret when she was caught—not before. That is evil. I let her go here, and it's only a matter of time before she tries to get someone else killed—and who's to say she wouldn't be successful?"

Kai looked down at Luca, her eyes glimmering with pity. "I didn't mean to hurt you," she continued, the harshness in her voice disappearing. "I only meant to move you away from my fire." Kai daintily lowered herself to the ground and sat. "Calm down, you just need to wait for the psychic energy to disperse. Struggling will only make it take longer. Once you've recovered, we'll go and save Dante."

"We?" Luca spat, finally fighting past her shock. "After what you just did? For all I know you'll kill us!"

The harshness re-entered Kai's eyes. "I told you why I did it. Think. I'm sympathetic to your cause, and you're a bit low on support at the moment. You can't afford to turn me away."

Luca held her gaze. Kai had just coldheartedly executed her own closest friend—someone she had known for her entire life. The justification didn't matter to Luca; she wanted nothing to do with that degree of callousness. Even if the Vulpix wasn't planning on killing her now, Luca was a single misstep away from an unexpected cremation. Still, despite her disgust, Luca forced herself to calm down and stop struggling against her own muscles.

"What will convince you to let me help you?"

Luca managed to roll over onto her back. As she looked up at the canopy above her, she genuinely regretted giving Kai the cheri berry. If she hadn't, maybe Dante would still be with her and she wouldn't be forced to enlist the help of a psychopath. But really, Kai was right—when it came down to it, Luca couldn't be picky about where her help came from.

"I want you to promise me something," Luca said, finally looking Kai in her eyes. "Only then will I let you help."

"What's the promise?"

"I want you to swear to never harm Dante or me. I don't care how evil you think we might be, don't. I don't trust your judgement. Can you promise that? Solemnly?"

Kai narrowed her eyes. "And if you two see fit to attack me? Shall I lay down and die?"

"We will promise to not harm you in turn. OK?"

"I trust no Pokémon's word but my own. And Dante isn't even here."

"Fine. If we attack you, your promise is null and void. How is that?"

"Acceptable," Kai nodded, her round eyes fixed on Luca. "I solemnly swear I will not purposefully hurt you or Dante, given that you two do the same for me. Now will you accept my help?"

Luca finally sat up and flexed her muscles. Finally, they were actually listening to her commands. "Only until we save Dante."

"Fine. Are you ready to go back to town? We'll likely have to fight the Scizor."

"I'm ready," Luca said, standing. "Let's go."

Kai nodded, and Luca followed her as she walked back to town. She walked with ease, completely without guilt. It sickened Luca, but despite the fact that she had partially misread Kai's Aura and her capabilities, she was certain Kai was incapable of breaking her promise. Whatever she might do, she wouldn't be able to do anything to Luca or Dante themselves—and that was what Luca had to settle for.

Soon they were again walking through the streets of Hollyhead, and Luca noticed that there was no longer any pulses of surprise from the citizens still strewn about; she was already old news. Kai led her to a large building in the center of the town. It was markedly different than the rest of the town; whereas the rest had wooden structure and thatch roofs, it was built from bricks and had sturdy wooden supports as well as roofing. It was exceptionally out of place with its multiple floors and glass windows, and the despite the urgency of their situation, Luca took a moment to appreciate the architecture. It made her wonder what a full-scale Pokémon metropolis would look like.

And then, the moment had passed. Unlike a human equivalent building, there was no door whatsoever in the huge doorframe and the pair of them were able to walk right in.

Inside a Duskull looked up from behind a sturdy wooden counter. "Welco—" she began with a strange moaning voice before she noticed Luca. "...Hm...? A Riolu...?"

"We're here for the Scizor," Kai said, fully ignoring her apprehension. "Is he here?"

"Yooou are helping this outlaw, Vulpix...?"

"She's not an outlaw, and the Scizor is not a bounty hunter. Now where is he?"

"How dooo yooou figure...?"

Kai sighed with irritation and Luca stepped forward in her place. "Look, it's a long story but he's after me and my friend. You don't need to believe me, but can you just tell us how to find him? Worst case you're sending me towards a genuine bounty hunter which is undoubtedly what he would want anyways."

"...Fair point, but I still have nothing for yooou... He left not long ago without telling me his destination..."

"Did he have the Charmeleon?" Kai asked.

"He did... He also left his key with me, meaning he won't be returning..."

"And was the Charmeleon alive?" Kai pressed.

"...No idea... His arm was gone and he wasn't conscious, but he was being carried as if he were alive... A supportive carry, yooou know..."

"I see. Let's go, then," Kai said, nodding to Luca before turning back and walking outside.

Luca followed, staying close to her. "OK, so how can we find him?"

"We can't."

Luca stopped. "What? What do you mean?"

Kai turned around. "There's only two of us. We simply can't find someone without leads, let alone someone that doesn't want to be found."

"Why would he not want to be found? I'm the real target; Dante was just incidental. I thought he was using him as bait."

"I don't know, but for him to leave without giving any indication even to that Duskull means he doesn't want to be found. Thus, we have to take a different approach."

"And what is that?"

"You mentioned that your original plan was to travel to Dante's family. If we do that, and his family has a Charizard, we'll gain a powerful and mobile ally. We'll have a much better chance to find him."

"How can we even be sure they'll listen to us? They're wild. Not to stereotype, but that means there is a nonzero chance that they'll simply eat us."

"...I did not know that," Kai admitted. "But it's still essentially our only option."

Luca sighed. She had envisioned a quick rescue after which she could cut ties with her murderous companion, but now she was about to finish her journey with her. Realistically, she needed the company; she was unaware of how the world around her worked, and having her would mean less exposure to Pokémon that might report her. Still, she would have greatly preferred Dante. She simply couldn't get the image of Kai's expression as she reduced her friend to ashes out of her head.