Chapter 27 – Arc 2 (Akala Island) Nature Incarnate

Tapu Lele certainly took her time, if she was interested in taking care of the fallen Totem. In the aftermath of their battle, most of the Fomantis that had come out of the woodwork for Mallow's cooking had fled, but as they waited, they returned in droves. Some curiously prodded the Lurantis, or looked her over, while others gathered near Mallow and Hau themselves. The skittish little pokémon, which Hau had playfully chased while he was hunting ingredients with Selene earlier, didn't seem so wary around Mallow and a few even happily got into her lap. A cool breeze rustled the leaves and undergrowth around them and, if not for the lifeless pokémon in front of them, it might have been a beautiful scene. In a morbid, bittersweet way, perhaps it was… Of course, when Mana started to instinctively chase the Fomantis like the bird of prey he was, Hau quickly recalled the Fletchinder.

Hau clung to Mallow the entire time, even though they had quit exchanging words a while ago. She idly stroked the Fomantis that had gathered in her lap and he could see her gnawing on her lower lip as she hauntedly glanced at the Lurantis here and there. Her long, green hair looked as wild and frazzled as she seemed, and he, almost without thinking, raised a hand to brush some of it from her face. She blinked in surprise and faced him, but before he had a chance to say anything, a particularly harsh gust of wind hit them both and the clan of Fomantis surrounding them started to squeak and click their sharp, leafy hands together nervously.

In front of them, just beyond the Lurantis, the wind swirled for a second, looking as if a small twister had taken form there. Yet, just as quickly as it had begun, it was over, and a shockwave of air shot out from it as an enormous, pink, spherical shell was left in its place. Decorated with patterns of white diamonds and black lines, Hau and Mallow stared, frozen, as the shell cracked open around the top. Beady, round, teal eyes narrowed at them as Tapu Lele's true form was revealed from within the confines of her shell. Hot pink hair, resembling tentacles, spilled out from over a dark, black body, marked only with white lines around her chest and under her eyes, as well as pink, puffy bracelets around each hand.

Hau had seen drawings of Tapu Lele, but he had never actually seen the deity in person… not that many people tended to want to see her in person, anyway. Her eyes remained cut at them as she hovered around the fallen Lurantis. Her look was one Hau couldn't quite place, but it didn't seem like what he had imagined the fearsome Tapu Lele would regard them with. He had expected hate or indifference, and yet… this seemed weirdly like an abundance of caution. When she drew nearer to them, observing the Lurantis, Hau felt a bolt of fear and instinctively shifted to give her more space—and that seemed to be a mistake. Tapu Lele sped back to the other side of the Lurantis and the longest two strands of her hair unfurled, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Roots burst from the ground below him and Mallow and wrapped firmly around their arms and abdomens, anchoring them in place. Hau cursed and all his nerve from earlier was lost as he desperately struggled to try to get his hands free, to escape, to run, while Mallow yelped a series of apologies in Alolan (whether her target for said apologies was him or Tapu Lele, he wasn't sure), cowering in place.

Yet, Tapu Lele was uninterested in them after that, and carried about her business now that she knew the two humans present were immobilized. Leaning over the Totem Lurantis' face, she closed her eyes and shook out her hair, and a shower of pink scales fell over the Lurantis' body. Pausing, Tapu Lele pulled back to watch for a moment, as if testing to see if she could heal this Totem Pokémon.

Tiring himself out quickly from fighting the root binds, Hau panted and fell still, shaking from adrenaline. He swallowed hard. What was I thinking? he thought desperately. I should have tried to get Mallow to follow me out of here… I don't think she would have done it, but still… What the hell is wrong with you, Hau? You get to use your power a time or two to help out Selene, tell her about it, and you suddenly think you can tango with gods? Indeed, that had been a foolish thought, and now, Tapu Lele was reminding him exactly why it was. Tapu Koko may have shared a shred of its power with him, but he was still nothing in comparison to these deities that called these islands home.

When the Lurantis failed to react to the healing scales, Tapu Lele leaned over it again and her pink hair extended once more, except this time, it wrapped around the Lurantis like some kind of horror monster. There was another powerful gust and swirl of wind, and just like that, Tapu Lele and the Lurantis were gone—but the root binds around Hau and Mallow remained. He started to panic, as did Mallow, but before either of them could come up with some sort of plan or find the words to speak to one another, Tapu Lele returned—alone—with a third burst of air. She recoiled from the struggling, panicking humans and Hau dared to look directly at her. Even as fearful as he felt right then, he was determined to try to escape, no matter what, but Tapu Lele's expression caught him off guard. She was powerful, far more powerful than either of them, so why did she keep jumping away and regarding them with so much anxiety?

She raised the two strands of hair framing her face and rubbed them together. The pink scales made a weirdly musical sound, like maracas shaking, and pokémon started to pour from the undergrowth nearby. More than Hau had seen through his hunt for ingredients with Selene. If anyone would have asked him what pokémon lived in Lush Jungle, he could have only honestly answered with Fomantis, Lurantis, and occasionally, Comfey, but Caterpie, Metapod, Butterfree, Paras, Parasect, Bonsly, Sudowoodo, Trumbeak, Morelull, Comfey, Passimian, Oranguru, Pinsir, Kecleon, Steenee, and plenty he didn't know the name of all spilled out of the trees and underbrush, gathering cautiously about Tapu Lele.

"I've… I've never seen so many of the pokémon in Lush Jungle come out at the same time before," Mallow breathlessly commented, sounding awestruck, even as her voice warbled fearfully.

Hau almost didn't hear her, still fighting the roots. In a rush of hysteria, he forgot that he was in the presence of someone he didn't want to know about his power, and he closed his eyes to concentrate. Electrical surges arced over his chest and then hurtled down his arm, and a blast of it burst from his hands in an attempt to break the root binds around his wrists, but they were utterly unbothered by the small electrical explosion. Frustrated, he groaned, but found himself too tired to try anything else, or try again. He just felt so drained…

"Hau…?" he heard Mallow squeak. "What… was that?"

He froze and whipped his head to stare at her, grinning nervously. Why did he always smile when he was panicking? "Ah, what… what was what?" he asked dumbly.

Tapu Lele sent out a gust of air that brought everyone's attention back to her. Singling out a Fomantis, she loomed over the tiny pokémon, who shook violently but didn't dare run as those pink tentacles extended around its body. The other pokémon nearby shrank away from their chosen comrade, but didn't vanish into the woods, despite how much it looked like they wanted to. Shaking out her tentacles again, scales shed from Tapu Lele's body and glowed pink as they cascaded around the Fomantis. A green light enveloped the pokémon, growing brighter and brighter, until it was too much to look at.

Squinting to try to fend the brightness off, Mallow hissed at Hau, "Your arm, it… it… And your hands… Was that electricity…?"

Hau tried to vehemently tell her no, but his voice caught in his throat and his hesitation clearly gave him away, as Mallow gasped. But before he had a chance to try to correct himself and tell her off, their attention was drawn back to Tapu Lele and her chosen Fomantis as the latter quit glowing with a final flourish of green. However, it wasn't a Fomantis anymore. Tapu Lele shifted away and a Lurantis stood there, unsteady on its feet and pulsing green. Looking the pokémon up and down, as if assessing her own work, Tapu Lele finished with a curt nod, and swept a contemptuous, teal gaze across the rest of the pokémon there. Roots reached up from the ground then and started to wave and strike at the rest of the pokémon, scaring them off, but it didn't look as if Tapu Lele intended to hurt or capture them. Scowling at the roots still holding him, he thought Tapu Lele could have certainly caught the wild pokémon and harmed them if she truly intended to.

Yet, her chosen Totem Pokémon had not run, even if mostly because it didn't seem to quite know how to move yet in its new form. Tapu Lele circled the Lurantis one final time, then moved back over to Hau and Mallow. Hau tensed, gritting his teeth, as the Tapu leaned over Mallow in particular. Staring the Captain down unblinkingly and shaking out her tentacles so that they made that grating sound again, the roots holding Mallow steady slowly unraveled, and instead, a single root dug into Mallow's bag. She opened her mouth like she wanted to dispute that, but quickly shut it again as Tapu Lele raised a tentacle over her head threateningly, poised to strike her if she acted out. Hau felt electricity crackle over his fingertips again as he saw that, and he couldn't believe the way this 'deity' was behaving. Mallow served her! Mallow was her Captain! Why was she so ready and willing to harm her?! If he didn't know better, he'd say that Tapu Lele was somehow intimidated by Mallow, by both the humans, and was utilizing cruelty to keep them obedient. Still, he didn't care—he just wanted her to leave Mallow alone, for Mallow to be safe. Yet, still, the bursts of electricity from his hands did nothing to the thick, gnarled roots.

Retrieving an Ultra Ball from Mallow's bag, Tapu Lele took it and hurled it at a tree, where it shattered to pieces. She dove back in Mallow's bag again for a different Ultra Ball but this time, instead of throwing it to break it, she pushed it into the palm of Mallow's hand and gestured toward the nervous, new Lurantis with a pink tendril. Mallow sucked in a fast, anxious breath and clasped her hands over the Ultra Ball. "Y-you want me to catch it, right?" Mallow asked, her voice hardly above a whisper.

Tapu Lele nodded slowly and shifted out of her way, though she kept that tentacle raised precariously above Mallow. Shooting Hau an uncertain look, Mallow slunk past the Tapu and, once within throwing distance of the Lurantis, raised her hand to throw the Poké Ball. The Lurantis tensed as if it intended to run, but Tapu Lele raised a few roots around the pokémon's feet, warningly waving them at it. The Lurantis got the message to sit still and so, it did, and Mallow caught it easily. The Ultra Ball wobbled only once before clicking.

Mallow darted over to pick the Poké Ball up, then pitched it again to release the new Totem Pokémon. Only then did Tapu Lele's roots retreat into the earth, including the ones holding Hau hostage, allowing the Lurantis to flee into the forest and Hau to stand up at long last. He glared at Tapu Lele as he shot to Mallow's side, worriedly looking her up and down. Her leg still twitched under her own weight.

"Mallow, are you okay?" Hau asked her, resisting the urge to grab her hand reassuringly for fear of inadvertently shocking her.

"Fine," she answered tersely, still gawking at Tapu Lele with eyes as wide as saucers. "Have to call… Olivia… after she leaves…"

Tapu Lele narrowed her eyes at them as Hau furiously set his jaw. The fear from being trapped earlier and entirely at her mercy had been a stern reminder that he could not fight these beings, that he had to play by their rules, but that didn't mean he had to like it, in the slightest! Yet, as if sensing his thoughts, Tapu Lele rushed at him and, before he could process that, slammed him down with her poised, pink tendril. Mallow yelped and staggered away, helplessly watching as Hau was pressed flat to the ground, air knocked from his lungs, groaning under the pain of her hold. Panicking, unsure of what she was going to do to him, Hau scrabbled at the scaly tendril with his hands, crackles of red and yellow electricity shooting off him and up her body. She squeezed him to the ground harder and harder, until he couldn't breathe and felt as if he were going to pass out.

Finally, his arms gave out and fell to his side. One last volt of red coursed through his hands and fizzled at his fingertips, signaling his involuntary surrender. Though he couldn't think in words thanks to the urgency of the moment, all his anger had been replaced with sheer terror. Was the guardian deity of Akala Island about to live up to its fierce reputation?

But then, she let go, and hovered away slowly. Hau made no efforts to get up; instead, he was too busy gasping for air, seeing as his lungs weren't being crushed anymore. Tearfully, realizing she could have absolutely killed him right then if she wanted to, he just stared. The way her eyes pulled up slightly in amusement, or perhaps satisfaction, made him think that snuffing out his anger had been exactly her goal. He vaguely remembered that Tapu Lele was believed to be a Psychic-type, as well as a Fairy-type (as all the other island guardians were), and he felt foolish for thinking he could have gotten away with even private disdain for her. He swallowed against a dry throat and shook his head. "I-I'm sorry," he choked, finding speaking difficult, not to mention the flares of pain that shot through his chest as he did. Feeling humiliated and beaten into submission, he whimpered, "I… I didn't mean anything by it… Was just scared… I'm sorry, Tapu Lele…"

She nodded, visibly relaxing, and then, Tapu Lele vanished with another violent gust of wind. Hau collapsed to his back again and panted, wincing at the dull ache in his ribs.

"Hau, are you okay?!" Mallow asked, sounding as if she were on the verge of tears.

"Fine," he panted, "just… just out of breath…" I hope that's all it is, anyway…

She bolted to his side and pressed her palms to his shoulders. He saw the green glow start at her shoulders and he, remembering what she had told him before about taking injuries to herself, batted her hands away. "No," he rasped, "no, don't… I'll be okay…"

"If… if you say so," Mallow relented, clasping her hands in front of herself. She sat back and worriedly looked him up and down. "You shot electricity," she breathlessly murmured after a few suffocating moments of silence. "You can't tell me I didn't see that…"

"Please," Hau begged hoarsely as he tried to sit up, his mind switching gears as he realized she had seen his power and he couldn't deny it, "please don't tell anyone about that…" He managed to sit upright, but the idea of standing up altogether was daunting. He looked up at her pleadingly and shook his head. "Please…"

She floundered for something to say for a few seconds. "Nobody knows about that…?" she pressed, scooting closer to him. "Kahuna Hala doesn't… doesn't know?"

He started shaking his head before she was even done speaking. "No, especially not my granddad," he mumbled unevenly. "I…" He looked around, at her, at the singed leaves overhead from Macho's earlier Inferno Overdrive, at the pokémon fearfully huddling in the underbrush nearby, then at last, back at her again. "I… I understand you have no reason to help me and every reason to hate me for hiding that and not wanting to tell him, since you and so many others have just… sucked it up and gone through with it but… b-but Captain Mallow, please… please don't tell him… It's… it's a long, long story, but… please…" I don't want to be another part of the machine. I don't want to prove Hala right. My parents were not sacrifices for me to become something 'important…' I'm just me…

To his shock, she hugged him, silencing him. He could feel her quivering from fright still at the wild scene she had just bore witness to. "I told you already," she weakly laughed, "you can just call me Mallow."

Relief flooded him and he hugged her back. "Ha… ha… Of course, M-Mallow…"

"I won't tell anyone," she whispered. "You saw that just now, and… Tapu Lele attacked you… I m-may not agree with what you're doing, but I can't say I don't understand it… But, Hau…?"

He leaned away from her slightly and looked up. "Yes…?"

"Won't Tapu Koko…?" she trailed off, bit her lower lip, and looked at the scene around them. She gave a shuddery sigh. "Won't Tapu Koko h-hurt you for… for lying…? Like Tapu Lele was willing to…?"

"He hasn't yet," Hau nervously answered, sucking in a fast breath as another ache blossomed in his chest. Man, he hoped Tapu Lele hadn't hurt him worse than he thought… "So… I don't… I don't know… I don't… think so…" …And that terrifies me. Why was Tapu Lele raring to remind me she could kill me if she wanted to, and yet, Tapu Koko won't even force me to take on being a Captain despite leaving me with the power?

"Well," she laughed softly, "alright… I won't tell anyone, and I don't blame you. I don't regret becoming a Captain, mind you, but I… can't fault anyone for not exactly envying me." She shrugged and hugged him again. "Thank you for staying with me, even though you probably had more reason to be afraid of Tapu Lele than I did… I need to call Olivia and talk to her, but then I'll walk with you back to your friends. Does that sound okay…?"

"Well, yes, but you seem so tired and hurt…" he worriedly said as he leaned into her hug. He had realized, when she embraced him, that he hadn't done that with many people before. He often shook hands or patted people on the back or what have you back in Iki Town but hugging her there reminded him of just how lonely his existence had been up to that point. Her hugs had surprised him at first because he hadn't even considered that such a display of mild affection could be so freely given away, considering how previously, it had been hard to even draw a conversation out of a 'friend' back in Iki Town… Maybe his parents used to hug him a lot. He wasn't sure. He didn't remember before the incident with Tapu Koko that well, to be honest, but this, with her, sure was nice. "Maybe we should just relax here for a while before I catch up with my friends…? I'm sure they'll understand…"

"Okay… Thank you again, Hau," she snickered, continuing to cling to him. She hesitantly tensed as if she was thinking of letting go but didn't want to. That made him smile. He kind of didn't mind that she didn't want to let go just yet. Sheepishly, she mumbled, "I'm sorry for asking so much of you… I feel like I'm asking a kid to help me, which I know you're about the same age as me so that's silly, but I still feel weird about it, since I'm a Captain and all that… I shouldn't be expecting my challengers to help me like this, you know?"

"Just as you are just Mallow to me, I am just Hau to you," he replied with a teasing edge. "Not Challenger Hau. Just Hau." Trying to lighten the mood, he puffed his chest in mock indignation, even though he didn't push her away. "And I hope you don't see me as a kid! Given that note earlier, ae…"

"Oh, no, that, you're right! Oh, I'm such a mess!" she whined, pressing her face against his shoulder. He could practically feel the heat rolling off her face, as if flushed red in embarrassment. "I don't know," she muttered apologetically, "I just…"

"It's okay, I was just kidding," he laughed, rubbing her back, "I'm sorry… today's… today was something," he sighed. Encouragingly, he asked, "Ah, do you want to call Olivia now, and I'll sit here with you?"

"Mhm," she nodded, reluctantly withdrawing from him. Shakily, she reached for her bag, fishing for her phone.

Hau looked away from her, rubbing a hand over his aching chest and gawking at the ruined ground a few feet away, where Tapu Lele's roots had cracked the earth, as well as the burned and ashen leaves overhead. Dazed, he just shook his head. He felt like he should have been more upset than he was, considering Tapu Lele had literally threatened to kill him, but he just felt numb and… disillusioned. He still trembled slightly with the adrenaline from earlier, but what was the point in being so upset about it? What else had he expected when he had been thinking belligerent thoughts toward a Psychic-type, living god?

Mallow found her phone and struggled to dial a number into it. Her fingers were shaking too much.

He tucked his knees close to his chest, still seated against the ground, and thumbed Popper's Poké Ball with his left hand. He idly pitched it after a second, not liking the idea of them sitting there without a pokémon at the ready to defend them and listened as Mallow explained to Olivia what had happened with the Totem Lurantis. Although it was nice that, from what he could hear, Olivia was sympathetic and grateful Mallow was okay, he just felt bitter and beaten, even as Popper nudged his hands and worriedly barked at him.

At least he didn't have to contend with the sobering reminder he was nothing compared to the Tapus, completely at their mercy, alone. Petting Popper and quietly thanking him for his support, Hau smiled at Mallow as she was busy on the phone.

He hadn't known her long, but he was already so, so grateful to have gotten to know her better.

"Did Mallow use Hau in her soup? What is taking him so long?"

"Lillie!" Elio cackled, rolling his eyes at her as she paced back and forth in front of the Heahea Pokémon Center.

"Well, it's been over an hour since he should have gotten here!" she hissed, puffing her cheeks childishly in frustration. Her bag moved of its own accord beneath her arm and she clamped her elbow over it tighter, glaring down at it. "Quiet, you!"

Selene was worried, too. It had been rather strange to have Mallow ask for him to stay behind, but… she was a Captain. There was no way she would do anything to him, right? Wouldn't that upset the Tapus, or… something, if she did? Then, she thought of how silly of a worry that seemed, anyway. Hau had pokémon and he had his electrical power at his disposal. She shook away the thoughts and tried to join in on Elio and Lillie's banter. "Well, we all know she wrote him a little love note," she halfheartedly teased. "Maybe she decided she wanted an early date."

Elio shrugged and beamed back at her mischievously. "Mallow knows what she likes quick, eh?"

"Gross," Lillie spat at them both. "Just gross."

"Aw, Lillie," Elio crooned as he switched his attention to her, daring to try to loop an arm around her shoulders. "Feelings for other people are okay, I promise. It's not 'gross.'"

She blinked at him as his arm relaxed against her shoulders. Deadpanning, she growled, "Remove your arm right this second or I will pepperspray you again."

"You wouldn't dare," Elio gasped, covering his mouth with faux indignance.

The corners of her lips turned up, then spread to a wicked grin. "Wanna bet?"

Elio opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but soon decided discretion was the better part of valor, as he withdrew from her with his hands raised in surrender. "Anyway… I mean, I'm sure he's fine, right? He's with a Captain… That's safe, right? If he doesn't show soon, we'll just hunker down here for the night, in the city… Even though I'd like to get a move on to Konikoni now and rest there for the night…"

"Yeah, Captains are safe, and I doubt Mallow could hurt anyone even if she wanted to, especially Hau," Lillie sighed, "I'd just… also like to get to Konikoni already. I really want to check out the Ruins of Life."

Selene shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe there's a good reason he's caught up back with Mallow… and regardless of whether we stay here for the night or head to Konikoni tonight, we still aren't doing anything until tomorrow, so it's not that big of a deal. I'm sure he'll explain once he catches up with us again." I trust you, Hau, but I hope you do hurry up… I know you wouldn't waste time on purpose, but still… I really hope we find something in Konikoni…

Elio and Lillie shared a look, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're right," Elio agreed. "Well, I dunno about you guys, and Mallow might've helped me out, but I still feel like I got my ass kicked back there. Those Z-Moves are no joke. As much fun as I'm having baking out here in this heat, I'm gonna head inside and chill there until Hau shows, or until we decide we're staying here for the night." He flashed a wink at Lillie and tapped her on the shoulder as he passed her to enter the Pokémon Center. "Feel free to join~!"

"Pepperspray," was all Lillie said, warningly, pulling away from his touch and scowling at him.

"Whatever you say," Elio snorted, disappearing inside the building with Macho hot on his heels.

That left Selene alone with Lillie. There was an awkward silence and Selene wasn't sure what to say… She eyed Lillie for a moment until the other raised a brow at her. "What? I promise I wasn't going to actually pepperspray him."

Resignedly, Selene turned away and waved dismissively. "I'm not getting involved in whatever weirdness is going on between you two. Just yeah, don't pepperspray him." Selene then smirked as she thought of something. "You're one to talk about something being gross, though, with all the flirting you do with him."

"I do not flirt," Lillie snarled, halting to shoot Selene a murderous glare.

Startled, Selene froze, but a giggle rose in her throat and she burst into laughter. "Okay, okay! Sorry!"

Despite her apology, Lillie whirled around and entered the Pokémon Center, stalking after Elio.

Selene shook her head and raised a hand to idly pet Bowtie, who was seated on her shoulder (as was the norm). "Elio's got interesting taste," she wryly muttered to him, though the Dartrix didn't seem to be paying her any mind, as he was too busy preening his feathers. Still, it felt uncomfortable to be alone. The twelve hours or so she had spent alone on the volcanic mountainside of Wela Volcano Park felt like they had been enough alone time to last her a lifetime.

Ultimately, she followed them inside the Pokémon Center to wait for Hau.