Chapter 42 – Arc 3 (Ula'Ula Island) Ground Zero
Selene and Hau had exchanged many words throughout the week on their way to Po Town.
But perhaps their most fateful conversation had taken place just prior to Elio and Gladion's confrontation, prior to their arrival at Po Town's towering white walls, as they were sheeted with sharp blasts of rain. Hau had abruptly snatched her hand—a few days earlier, she had explained in full her vision she had shared with Tapu Koko—and, with as much conviction as he could muster, said in Alolan, "Selene, I have been thinking… and I want to help. I don't know what Tapu Koko meant in the, uh, dream, by me 'having the power to make others listen…'" He had grimaced. "I… don't like the sound of it, to be honest. But I will do whatever I need to do." And with that, he had given her a more recognizably goofy, wide grin that he was known for, let go of her hand, and patted it over his heart in that familiar gesture of his. Wagging his eyebrows at her, he had snickered, "Guess the Island Challenge will have to wait, huh?"
"Guess so," Selene had laughed, though it felt hollow. She had shot Elio a look then. Maybe, if she and Hau pulled that off, maybe, if she showed him he didn't have to be so protective all the time… maybe, if they found Lillie and she was safe… Maybe then, he would calm down… and be her brother again. The one she recognized from before the snowballing horror show that had been their travels so far. Before she had told him to be so… Although she still felt guilty for that, what she didn't understand was how he seemed to dig his heels in and hold onto his aggressive disposition more than ever. She thought to approach him and talk to him more calmly about it, to apologize for pushing him to be that way, to tell him she didn't really like it and she had been wrong, but… he was so cold an unapproachable… He was just so different.
Maybe then, everything would go back to normal… She almost scoffed to herself as she sloshed through a particularly deep puddle of mud. Her feet ached at that point. All of theirs did. She was sure they were blistered. Somehow, she knew nothing would ever be normal again following such a journey. Elio included.
The conversation had faltered then, but just as they reached the Po Town gates, which Selene looked up at in daunted awe, Hau spoke to her again. He nudged her with his elbow and softly said, "Before we get in there, though… I've been thinking about something else."
Tearing her eyes away from the Po Town gates slowly, Selene blinked up at him. "Yeah?"
Hau shuffled his feet uncertainly, and Selene was shocked when Bowtie, who had been flying around them to entertain himself throughout their travels, landed on his shoulder. Normally, the Dartrix had no interest in anyone other than her; he didn't even seem to get along well with Macho and Popper most of the time… Yet, there, he was letting Hau stroke the feathers of his chest without complaint. Almost distractedly, as if just as surprised as she was, Hau said, "W-well, I just wanted to say… maybe you shouldn't be so hard on Elio… Y'know? I… I can get why you're upset with him…" He paused to take a deep breath. "He's reckless when he's scared… But he means so well." Hau gave her another warm, encouraging smile, that which he was so good at. "He's your brother, and a good one, at that." He briefly shut his eyes. "Should be glad for that… I know you regret pushing him to be protective like that, but, still…"
Guiltily, Selene realized she didn't quite know what to say to that. She was almost grateful when the gate in the middle of Po Town's front walls split open and a group of ten or more Skull grunts stepped out, warily looking over them all, Poké Balls clutched at the ready (though some already had Raticate or Salandit poised by their feet). Their body language screamed of nerves; they were all young—as old as Selene or younger, she noted—and they flicked their eyes between Nanu, Elio, Gladion, Acerola, Selene, and Hau like they were desperately trying to take in every detail about them, as quickly as possible. Their gazes ended up settling on Nanu and Gladion, however (or more specifically, Null, at Gladion's right side).
"Glad, what's goin' on?" one of them asked. She looked to be the oldest of them all, but her eyes were narrowed suspiciously, and her breathing rapid, if the movement of her chest and the mask over her mouth was any indication. In retrospect, Selene supposed they had reason to be so nervous… They didn't exactly look peaceful, showing up with such a large group. Selene was surprised that Elio didn't lunge forward to snap at them, though. Instead, her brother stood off to the side, darkly scowling at them and rolling a Poké Ball in his palm. Macho, however, was nowhere near him, instead standing near Hau and Popper.
Looking lost, Gladion opened and shut his jaw a couple of times, before glancing at Nanu, as if to ask for help.
Nanu was happy to assist. He cocked his head slightly and cracked a relaxed grin. "Sorry for the intrusion, missy, but we're lookin' for someone who's missin' and we thought you lot might'a seen 'er somewhere. Plumes or Guz around?"
"It's late," the older girl answered again. Her shoulders stiffened and she surreptitiously made a motion with her right hand that Selene just barely noticed, but the other grunts seemed to immediately recognize. All but two dispersed, darting back into Po Town's borders, leaving the older girl and two teenage boys with her. "They'll be windin' down or goin' to bed soon. Can't this wait?"
"No, it can't." Gladion's reply seemed to genuinely shock her, given the way she jolted at his words. Shaking his head, as if he couldn't believe he was about to say it, he muttered, "It's my sister who's missing."
"And not the Rattata lady!" Acerola cheerfully piped up. Nanu sighed loudly.
The Skull girl exchanged a worried look with her two male teammates.
"You guys travel these islands all the time," Nanu smoothly picked back up, before the conversation went too far off the rails. "I'm sure one o' ya might'a seen somethin'. We won't be long. There ain't exactly a Pokémon Center nearby worth restin' at, y'know."
The older girl shot Nanu a venomous glare, and then some words that were even more so. "No shit," she hissed, "fuckin' Sherlock Holmes over here—"
One of her teammates abruptly pushed her back toward the Po Town gate and waved a hand for his Salandit to jump ahead of him. "Watch, look!" he snapped warningly in Alolan.
Whipping around to see what perhaps had unnerved him so badly, Selene froze as an eerily clean, white truck rolled closer to them, its headlights beaming through the rain dimly. Used to vehicles primarily being used by companies to transport large amounts of product or many employees at once, Selene found it odd that just the pathetic headlights were all the truck had on. There were no traditional flashers on top, no orange lights ringing the headlights, and the glare and the rain made it impossible to make anything out about the person getting out of the truck once it stopped fully.
Nanu turned on a heel and raised his chin at the newcomers. "Can we help ya?" he called out as the driver's door to the truck was slammed shut.
"Who are you?" a scratchy male voice called back, loudly.
"Nanu, Alolan police," Nanu tiredly shouted back. "Now, who the hell are ya?"
A thin man trudged through the mud and rain, and when he finally stepped in front of the shaft of the headlights' beam, Selene's heart stopped as she recognized Faba. "You!" she yelped. "Faba!"
Elio's practiced patience was done with. He rushed in front of the group and snarled, "What the hell do you want?"
Despite how difficult it was to make the expression out on Faba's face, between the dimness of the night, the glare of the lights, and the rain, Selene got the sense that this was a much different man than the arrogant, callous one they had met back on Aether Paradise, but she wasn't sure how. "Not you, that's for sure," Faba contemptuously growled at Elio. "I have no quarrel with you. Or any of you, really. I am here to speak with Guzma."
"What business do you have with the boss o' Skull?" Nanu challenged him, an eyebrow raised.
Faba pressed a palm to his forehead. There was a short pause. "Please," he… begged? That certainly raised some alarm bells for Selene, and she shared a look with Hau. His expression told her he was thinking the same. "Just move and let me carry on my business in peace. This does not involve you."
"Yes, it fucking does!" Elio spat, taking a deliberate step toward Faba, who staggered away from him. "You're after Lillie! Well, you can't have her!"
"Elio!" Gladion barked. "Shut up, you idiot!"
"What'd I say about lettin' me talk?" Nanu added, groaning in frustration.
He's going to give away the reason we're here, Selene thought desperately. Yet, her feet were still rooted in place… All she could do was look around, and think back to the flying rocks, the mayhem, the monster, that she had seen back at Aether Paradise…
"So, she is here?" Faba asked a little too directly. Or… was it tiredly?
"Like I would tell you," Elio scoffed, as if deaf to the rest of them. "Get back in your truck and get out of here!"
"If she is here, then so is Cosmog," Faba idly said aloud as he turned around and started to walk back to the truck. "And… that means that Guzma has not been keeping his end of the bargain…"
"That's right! Go on somewhere!" Elio blithely continued, until Gladion snatched him by the shoulder and whirled him around.
No, no, no, Elio's revealing it all by being like this, I've got to stop this! Selene guiltily thought, heart pounding wildly as the memories played in her mind and Elio's voice echoed in her ears. Still, her feet wouldn't budge, her lips were dry as sandpaper despite the rain and hanging moisture in the air. Why can't I move? Why can't I talk to him? She felt like she might cry in her frustration, wanting to grab clumps of her hair and pull it. What's wrong with me?
"I know I've said this a lot already, but you're a fucking moron," Gladion shot at him, then pushed him on the chest. Null snarled at him for emphasis.
Before Elio could return fire, the headlights to the truck turned off… and the sound of something rapidly dashing through the mud drew everyone's attention to the vehicle. Suddenly, gleaming golden eyes sliced through the darkness, and a beast all too similar to Gladion's raced up to them, swinging its head to wield the blade on top like a battleaxe. Everyone shouted a string of curses in shock (except for Acerola, who Nanu had to yank back), and backpedaled rapidly away from the beast. Selene herself lost her balance and nearly topped to her back, caught at the last second by Hau, and as they reeled to stay away from that monstrous creature's deadly blade, she noticed the Skull members making a break for the gate into their town.
The beast raised its head, which still had a helmet (unlike Null), and, as if sniffing the air, paused… But before the Skull members could properly shut the gate behind themselves, it let loose a vicious, mechanical roar and charged the gate. When it slammed shut just in front of it, the beast didn't falter; instead, it plowed through, tucking its legs close to its body as it jumped, the blade on its head glowing red just before slicing a hole big enough for it. The entire display looked frighteningly effortless for it.
Without saying a word, Gladion and Elio both raced inside of Po Town after it. Nanu raised his voice and, after venting a few more curses, he clutched Acerola on the shoulders. "Acerola, listen to me, keep an eye on Hau and Selene, I'm goin' in after Gladion, Elio, and that… thing. Understand me?"
Acerola snapped a hand over her forehead in a makeshift salute, nodding cheerily. "Of course, uncle!"
"Oh, fuck's sakes," Nanu grumbled, rolling his eyes as he disappeared inside the town. Macho, Popper, and even Bowtie darted inside after him.
"Wait!" Selene yelped, the life seeming to flare back to her. "Wait!" Elio's in there! I have to—I have to be in there! And Bowtie, I have to be there to guide him! Without a second thought, she trudged inside after them, dodging Hau as he tried to grab her again. Acerola, in a display that might have been funny in less dire circumstances, cocked her head and frowned after her.
"Hey, I don't think Uncle wants you to do that," she pouted.
"You think?" Selene sarcastically replied, ignoring her after that point.
"Selene!" Hau hissed, following her. "Popper! Wait!"
Inside the town, Selene didn't have time to take in the dilapidated and waterlogged state of it, as that beastly pokémon barreled down the center street. A group of Salandit and Raticate, directed by some grunts, stood in its path, but the beast bellowed at them, and a bolt of lightning launched from its blade, igniting all the pokémon at once. At its full strength thanks to the ever-raging storm above, the Thunder easily dispatched all of them, just like that, and the beast sailed over their limp bodies freely.
That's when she saw Nanu, riding the back of an Absol, chasing after it, and Gladion and Elio arguing some distance behind him. Selene picked her way closer to them and waved her hands to catch their attention. "Hey! Hey! Listen, stop it, stop fighting, both of you!"
Null looked up at Selene and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"We've got to help him," Selene panted as she reached them. She shivered violently, realizing just how cold she was then… They had been out in the rain way too long that day… "Nanu, I mean," she added numbly.
"I am not going in there with him!" Gladion spat, glaring back at Elio. Selene followed his gaze and thought to say something, but her voice hitched in her throat.
"Are really argue over this?" Hau puffed at them as he finally caught up. When all eyes settled on him, he shook his head. "Argue if want. I go ahead, with pokémon." With that, he gestured ahead, and Selene realized that Popper, Macho, and Bowtie were anxiously waiting for them, grouped together, while Skull grunts looked on in fear or darted down the center road after the beast and Nanu in a panic. Far in the back of the town, back where the beast had been headed, Selene realized there was an enormous mansion standing tall. The nighttime darkness and raging thunderstorm overhead made it look so, so ominous…
Waving to Popper, who barked at Macho and Bowtie, Hau started down the road then, and all three of the starters followed him. Without waiting to see what either Gladion or Elio had to say about that, Selene hurried after him.
Fleetingly, she wondered if that was what Tapu Koko had been hinting at.
It sounded as if an earthquake had struck, with the way the innards of the Shady House started to rock and rumble, and she heard people shouting. Too many for her to make out any one word. Lillie had yelped in surprise and looked up at the door to her room in a panic, wondering what on Earth was going on outside. Just as she did, one of the teenage grunts that often watched over her room in the evenings dove inside, panting as he clicked the door shut behind himself. He looked as if he had seen a ghost, and his legs wobbled as he all but sank to the floor.
"What the hell is going on out there?" Lillie asked breathlessly. He jerked his head up to her as if he had forgotten she was even there.
"Oh, shit," he breathed, scrambling to his feet. "Sorry, Lillie, forgot—look, there's this… thing, out there, I don't know what it is, or what it's doin', but…" He gnawed his lip and shook his head. "I don't want ya to get hurt if it comes up here, you need to be able to move." And just like that, he was undoing her restraints.
Her eyes trained on her bag, in the corner of the room, intending to dive for that, and run like she had never run before. But before he had managed to fully release her, the door to her room crashed inward, and a Torracat, Dartrix, and Brionne were flung in with it. The door and the pokémon all landed in a heap in front of the bag, none of them making an effort to get back up, and then, Lillie finally got a look at the 'thing' the grunt had been talking about.
A golden helmet was fitted over vengeful golden eyes, and an upward-curved blade, glowing red-hot at the end, stuck out the top. As it stepped into the room, its long, sickle-shaped claws clicked on the hard floor. A ring of feathers around its neck, reminiscent of that of a Skarmory, stood on end, and it sniffed the air. It was constantly growling, a low, whirring, mechanical noise.
"What the fuck is that?" Lillie asked quietly to the Skull grunt, who dared to finish undoing the bindings around her feet despite the monster's presence.
"Don't know," he hissed back at her, sounding choked. "Reminds me of Glad's pokémon…"
The beast took one look at them, and a panel on its helmet's muzzle opened, allowing it to fiercely snarl at them. The sound rattled the walls and made Lillie yelp, covering her ears. Yet, instead of rushing at them, it jumped for Lillie's bag in the far corner of the room, snatching it up in that flap. Ripping a massive hole in the side with a flick of its claws, it violently shook the bag out, throwing the inner supplies all over the place—including a Nest Ball, which rolled back toward the door.
The Torracat, Brionne, and Dartrix managed to pick themselves up out of the rubble of the door then, and Lillie gasped as she recognized them. "Macho, Popper, Bowtie?"
Before the beast could lunge after the Nest Ball as it seemed interested in doing, Bowtie shook out his feathers and flapped his wings, two shadows surging out from below him and at the beast. The shadowy chains seemed to latch onto the beast's shadow, anchoring it to the ground, and preventing it from moving. Understandably confused, the monster clawed at the ground, ripping up clumps of rotted wood, and then glared back at Bowtie, hissing. All the while, Bowtie raggedly breathed, and started to glow a bright, blinding white.
Macho and Popper nodded to one another, and the Brionne stood on his tail, letting loose a loud, warbling cry; bubbles frothed and formed over his nose. As for Macho, the Torracat merely flexed his claws, and lunged at the beast, latching his claws into the pokémon's helmet, and making the flaming emblem around his collar burst into tall flames, singing and smoldering the beast's face. The Torracat and Brionne both, too, began to glow.
Suddenly, Bowtie's light dissipated, and a tall Decidueye stood in his place. With a wave of his new, lengthy wing, the shadowy chain binding him to the beast pulled the pokémon to its side, dragging it back toward him. Just as he did that, Popper revealed himself as a newly-evolved Primarina, and launched a barrage of bubbles, which the beastly pokémon was dragged through. Macho had leapt off the pokémon's helmet, but had landed on two legs instead of four, and he easily towered over the beast then.
Despite her awestruck stare, Lillie swallowed hard. Okay, they're here, but then where's Elio, Selene, and Hau…?
Bowtie's shadowy grip on the pokémon faltered at last. Instead of launching into another furious attack against them, though, the beast jumped up and skirted past the three freshly evolved pokémon, making a break for the door. In the doorway, Lillie jolted in surprise (and a bit of horror) as she recognized Faba, clutching Nebby's Nest Ball—and then again as she noticed he was flanked by two mysterious people in suits that reminded her of thick hazmat gear. One of which reached out with something akin to a catchpole, which latched around the beastly pokémon's neck once it got close enough, binding it to that person. Hollowly looking at Lillie, Faba's blue eyes seemed glazed as he told his other suited crony, "Grab her."
Macho, Popper, and Bowtie all jumped in front of Lillie, and a cacophony of their cries met with the distant sound of people yelling and the shuffling of feet. Above the noise and the sound of her own heart pounding, Lillie froze as she heard Plumeria. She must have been out in the hall.
"What the fuck do ya think you're doin', Faba?" she demanded. "Get the fuck outta here! Right now!"
"Where is Guzma?" Faba blithely asked, ignoring her. A grating bark from the beast at his side seemed to keep Plumeria from approaching.
Bowtie spread a wing again, and another shadow snaked across the floor and after the beast. This time, however, Faba and his two comrades saw it. The beast's suited handler grunted and said something Lillie couldn't make out, then the blade on its head blazed bright yellow, and a volley of electricity shot at Bowtie, Popper, and Macho, dropping them all in an instant. Lillie yelped and jumped back, covering her mouth as she watched them topple so easily.
"Why are you doing this?" Lillie squeaked after a moment, quivering all over. The visceral fear traded in for rage for a second, and she stomped a foot. "Why, Faba? Is nothing enough for your fucking ego?!"
He didn't respond to her. Instead, he turned back to Plumeria, who Lillie still couldn't see just beyond the doorway. "Where is Guzma?" Faba asked again.
There was the clattering of more footsteps, and Lillie heard a grizzled, male voice shout, "Absol, Dark Pulse them all!"
Yet, once again, Faba and his other goon merely sidestepped into Lillie's room, giving the beast and its handler a clear shot to whoever was fast approaching. Another bolt of lightning, and there was a booming crash from down the hall. The other suited person made their way to Lillie, and clasped their hands to Lillie's, forcing them behind her back. Despite all her fury and determination in the previous days, Lillie had nothing to fight with in that moment, and stood in still, shocked silence as the suited figure snatched one of her bindings from the floor, tying them about her hands once again. The male Skull grunt still in her room stared at her helplessly, clearly unwilling to risk a shot of that lightning to himself to help her—and Lillie would have told him not to even if he had been.
Plumeria shuffled into her room then, darting away from Faba and his goons, and Lillie perked up as she heard Guzma's voice next. "I'm here, I'm here!"
Faba and the beast's handler both turned to look at him down the other end of the hall. "Good," Faba said. "President Lusamine requests that you come with us." With a nod into the room after the suited person holding onto Lillie, he added, "Her, too." He rolled the Nest Ball in his right palm again.
Having heard a lot about the fearsome boss of Skull, Lillie expected and hoped that Guzma would release his Golisopod and do his best to fight the monsters ahead of her out of his mansion. Part of her was sure Guzma would have done that. He'd have sooner leveled the Shady House than allow anyone to march inside of it and spread so much chaos, hurt so many of his Skull members.
So, one could imagine how her blood ran cold as ice when he said, "Alright, alright! Fine! Just… fuckin', stop this! I'll come with, the girl will come with, everybody just fuckin' chill!"
"No!" Lillie howled, finding some fight. She kicked her feet, causing the suited person to bearhug her, lifting her from the ground. She kicked her feet a few times, landing a few good blows in on his legs and groin, but her heels met steel plating behind the suit, and as fast as her determination had come, it was gone again. She fell limp as the person tossed her over their shoulder. Guzma, no… why…?
"You're not goin' without me," Plumeria growled, unsteadily creeping after them. At Faba's suspicious glare and the beast's bark, she held up her trembling hands. "No gimmicks. But you ain't takin' her without me."
"Why?" Lillie managed to croak after a second. Her throat was strangled with how overwhelmed she was. "Why do you need me? Or Guzma? My mother just wants Cosmog to open the…" She lost her train of thought from the stress, having to take a second to finish her thought. "Just… why do all of this, then?"
"I don't know, but she wants him and you, so you're both coming!" Faba frustratedly snapped at them. "I don't give a damn if you come," he added waspishly, glaring at Plumeria, "but if you try anything funny, I'll have my Type: Zero blast you into next Sunday, and I can't guarantee that President Lusamine won't do that anyway when we get back to Aether, because she did not request you."
Plumeria only set her jaw.
"Fine, then let's go," Faba huffed. He motioned for the beast's handler and Lillie's captor to follow him, Guzma and Plumeria voluntarily making up the rear. As they stepped into the hall, Lillie gave a guttural cry and tears filled her eyes as she saw that the grizzled old man she had heard back in the room hadn't been the only person the 'Type: Zero' had halted with a volt of lightning. He, his Absol, Elio, Selene, Hau, Gladion, Null, a violet-haired girl she didn't recognize, and a handful of grunts and their pokémon were slumped to the sides of the hall. She squirmed against her captor's hold, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Gladion! Elio!" she yelped, wanting to check on them, at least.
Her captor held onto her tighter, forcing her to look away, and she just… shook. Timidly looking back on Faba, she tried to swallow, but her throat felt too dry. How far are you and Lusamine willing to go? she inwardly asked, keenly aware of just how afraid of the answer she was. She had thought she had seen the worst of what her mother was capable of so far…
Had she truly seen nothing yet…?
When Selene came to, she came to coughing and spluttering, and her entire body tingled and ached. She found herself propped against a wall with peeling paint, and a pokémon she didn't recognize draped across her lap, exhausted. At first, she stiffened and whimpered, the memory from earlier having yet to return to her, but when the pokémon—a Decidueye, she'd later learn—looked up at her, she calmed. It looked so familiar… "Bowtie?" she asked in a scratchy voice that sounded so unlike her own.
He struggled to sit up, and then hugged her with long, silky wings.
Slowly, the memories from earlier came back, and the last Selene found she remembered was them charging down the hall after Nanu to the source of the noise. They had heard Lillie's voice mixed in with the pandemonium as well, which had only urged them on. Looking down at her arms, though, Selene saw reddish, zigzagging lines marring her skin—as if someone had tattooed pictures of lightning in the sky on her. Yet, she knew it was no tattoo. She remembered a flash of bright, yellow-white, and then… nothing. The beast had electrified them… Looking around, she sighed in relief as she noticed Elio, Hau, Nanu, Gladion, and Acerola were awake as well, and Popper and Macho had apparently evolved as well. But nobody was speaking or moving, and they all looked as beaten as she did, with the same lines running across their exposed skin.
"What now?" Selene finally dared to ask, wincing at the pain in her throat.
Gladion looked up at her, then down again without answering. Nobody else reacted.
Footsteps across the debris just down the hall caught their attention, though, and Selene ventured to look at the source. A gangly man with feathery, frayed white hair looked over them all with wide eyes. Dimly, Selene was aware she recognized him. Makua. "G-get up," he insisted, scratching his left arm nervously. Abruptly stopping to cough, he shook his head. "Wh-who are you? Glad, who are they?"
"Does it matter?" Gladion moodily retorted. "Friends of my sister," he grumbled when the man glared at him. "And don't look at me like that, you've even seen them before, you were just too high or having too much of an episode to notice."
Without saying a word back to Gladion, Makua motioned for them to get up again. "Come. I can help," he muttered softly.
Selene managed to stagger to her feet, as did Hau, Elio, and Gladion, but Acerola and Nanu flopped back down. The latter gave a series of sputtery, gross coughs and groaned. "No can do, Makua," Nanu weakly joked. "I think I like the floor tonight. Be nice to see how the Meowth sleep there, anyhow…"
Rolling his eyes, Makua picked his way through the group, and held out a hand for Nanu. "Grab. Your Meowth don't sleep on floors, anyway, don't play that shit. You have like fifty cat beds."
"Touché," Nanu admitted, grabbing Makua's hand back. With considerable effort from Makua, he, too, clambered to his feet. He assisted Acerola after as well, though Selene found it odd just how silent she was being. She had been nothing but chatter the entire way to Po Town, and even when they were headed inside and after Faba. With a slow chuckle to herself, she wondered if a lightning strike was what it took to calm her down. That was about all the energy she had to think about, anyway…
"Let's get ya all cleaned up and then I guess I can start sortin' out this mess," Makua said in a shuddery breath as he passed through them all, a shuffling Nanu hoisted half onto his shoulders.
But then, Selene remembered why they had been charging down that hallway in the first place. "Wait, where's Lillie?" she blurted.
Hau winced and gave her a sad smile. "Gone, with Aether. Plumeria, Guzma, Nebby, too…"
"They've got to be back at Aether by now," Gladion numbly whispered. Null leaned up against his leg and he winced but stroked the pokémon's face anyway. "And as much as I hate to admit it, even if we wanted to go trying to fight Aether, which is a suicide mission if everything that just happened was any indication, we're not in any condition to do that right now… We just…" He pressed his palm to his forehead. "We just need to stop… stop for a little while…"
"We're going after her," Elio growled after. His blue eyes glittered hatefully, and Macho seemed unsure if he was welcome to stand beside him or not. "We've been slowed down. Not stopped. We're going to find her."
From down the hall, where Makua was taking him, Nanu shouted, "No, you're not! This is gonna be Interpol's case soon, son!"
Selene gnawed her lower lip, and then began to shakily follow Makua and Nanu, deciding to tune her brother out. She didn't recognize that look on his face and didn't know what he was planning, and part of her was afraid to find out. She felt like even if she wanted to talk to him that there would have been no reasoning with him, and more than that, she found the notion that Interpol might take interest in Alola and be able to help them a much kinder, happier thought… Even so… why couldn't she just talk to him…?
She heard footsteps behind her and skittishly jerked her head to see who it was. Relaxing, she saw it was just Hau, Popper, and Bowtie following her. Hau gave her a warm smile and softly said, "Ae… it'll be alright," in Alolan. "Let's just… focus on us, and feeling better, and we can figure it all out later…" He shakily, quietly laughed. "'Least… I don't wanna think about much right now."
Selene chuckled, which turned into a slight sob. She managed to compose herself after a second and wiped her face. "Yeah," she sniffled, "yeah… Me, neither."