Category: Pokémon
Rating: M
Couples: ?/OC
Warnings: AU, hint of rape/character death
Chapter: 20
Copyright: Characters & places © By Game Freak, Plot © by me
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"Where is the library then?" Considering this was – or had been – a private residency, there weren't exactly signs around pointing to places. Diantha looked around for any indication where to go. "We're in the entrance-hall, by the by."
"Therese?" Allortan looked over to someone else on his side of the connection. "Where's the library from the entrance-hall?" They couldn't catch the answer, the voice sounding faraway and weak. "Up the main stairs, the last door in the hallway to the left, she says. Fantina ought to be at a desk near to some windows." He looked over to them briefly. "On that note, you have to hurry; I am being informed by Olympia's mother that things are getting dangerous."
"We're on it." Diantha hung up, focusing fully on where they were. Granted, now that they were inside they could tell that reality really was breaking; pulses would pass over the walls, briefly revealing what had to be the true building. Wallpaper switched between looking like it had been applied just the day before and having nearly rotted off the wall completely.
"Arceus have mercy on us." Steven wasn't normally the type to pray, but things warranted at least that short prayer. It was painfully obvious that they were now well within Olympia's Mind Break, especially when at one part solid floor was replaced with a gaping hole, the floorboards briefly having remembered that they were supposed to be gone. Cynthia had only barely managed to not fall in there, her foot having been inches from connecting with the suddenly-gone carpet.
The library was surprisingly expansive when they finally managed to enter it. Here the bookcases flashed between empty and full, the long-ago abandonment having come with at least the removal of nearly all the books.
"Fantina!?" Cynthia's voice echoed ominously, as if the building itself was resisting anything out of place. Considering what was going on, that might actually be a good bet. But they still heard the answer; a soft whimper coming from a desk in the far corner, the seating-side of which was right in front of a large window overlooking the back-gardens. "Oh..." From what they could spot, where the inside of the building was merely a strange flashing back and forth between two states, the gardens seemed intent to grow and wither to conform between what they must have been all those years ago and what decades of neglect had turned them into.
"Fantina?" Diantha was the first to spot the small form under the desk. This could not be Fantina, a woman close to her forties… and yet, it was crystal clear this was her. The girl wore a bright purple dress, all poofs and bows and looking like what a thirteen-year-old would imagine a princess to be… She was looking up at them while clutching a phone. "Are you alright?"
"Who are you!?" When they approached, the girl shot back, hitting the closed desk-front with an audible thud. "Stay away!"
"We..." Not only the building had regressed, apparently. The purple eyes were full of fear, recognizing none of them. "We are friends of Olympia." Diantha knelt down, almost losing her balance when part of the floor under her left foot briefly disappeared. "We're here to help."
Cynthia's Spiritomb remained out of sight, glowering up at the ceiling while the humans lingered near the desk that held the mind of one of their Gym Leaders.
"You know cousin Pia?"
"Mhm..." Kalos' Champion nodded lightly, keeping her face as kind as she could manage. Showing her inner turmoil would not help matters. "She… she called for us... Can you tell us where she is?"
Blue eyes met violet ones and she could only hope that the young Fantina would accept the explanation and help them. The poor girl looked absolutely terrified and she had to resist the urge to gather her up in a hug. Who knew how interacting with something so obviously related to the Mind Break would go for her. As such, she barely kept from rushing forward when the child lurched forward, gasping in pain and surprise.
"What… why… where…?" Worse than the weird flashing was the sudden ageing of her voice. Despite the form being a young teenager, it was suddenly the voice of a much older woman. "Cynthia…?"
"I'm here." The blonde-haired Champion joined her colleague on the ground.
Fantina was blinking at them in confusion. "What… is this? Why… why are we here!?"
"Olympia suffers from Mind Break." Steven merely leaned over a bit, not wanting to crowd her. "You got dragged in, forcefully."
"Oh…" Hearthome's Gym Leader flinched a bit. "I guess that is why Lucian screamed at me..." She looked up. "I was too late, apparently."
"Not that I am not happy you are suddenly back to your senses, but we are on something of a schedule." Diantha rose to her feet, dusting herself off. "Where can we find her?"
"An office almost exactly above this room, on the top-floor. There should be a set of stairs at the back of this room to go up." Fantina looked up, curling up around herself. "You have to hurry."
"That has been well-established." Steven crossed his arms. "But we can't just leave you here."
"You'll have to. This is just a projection of myself. I will not be able to move." Despite that, she tried, but failed to make it out from under the desk. "I am not even entirely sure why I am in control of my senses..." Another attempt resulted in her simply being teleported back under. "Just go. Help her. I should be fine once you save her."
"Honestly, I am kind of wondering how we're supposed to do that." Diantha looked around for the stairs Fantina had mentioned.
"This is not a normal Mind Break. It can't be." Sinnoh's Ghost-type Gym Leader pointed out. "This is Olympia we're talking about. The scion of a family of Seers and Kalos' most powerful Psychics that goes back for almost longer than humanity has had writing. They have known ways of dealing with Mind Break, from the inside and the outside, for millennia." Her young eyes were wide with fear. "These flashes mean she is resisting it… and yet, she is failing to free herself. Something is keeping her from recovering on her own. That is what you must contend with."
"Let's hope that is possible." Hoenn's Champion did not want to consider what they'd have to resort to if there was no way to help the Kalosian Gym Leader. "Let's hurry." He had to gently drag Cynthia away, the black-clad Champion too reluctant to just abandon her League-member.
The staircase was a narrow spiral one, barely wide enough for one person, meant for the servants who had once earned their livelihoods here.
"Is it me, or is there a… pressure building?" Cynthia was at the back of the group, her Spiritomb taking up the very front.
"I guess this means we're getting closer to Olympia." Diantha was behind the Spiritomb, though she stopped climbing now. If they were already feeling the pressure two floors down, would they even manage to reach Anistar's Gym Leader?
The purple form of the Dark-type considered them, before floating past them and landing in her trainer's arms. "Oh." Cynthia looked down at the rock she was currently holding. "It's less pressure now." She looked at her colleagues. "Try it with your Dark-types."
"I guess it can't hurt." Malva's Houndoom soon appeared in a flash of light, looking somewhat disconcerted at being in a narrow stairwell without the Elite Four anywhere near. Thankfully, she immediately turned to the other Kalos League-member instead of bounding off to find her trainer. "Hey, I am borrowing you from Malva for a bit." Diantha gently reached for the black form, resting her hand on its' shoulder. Blinking, she realized the pressure was indeed less the moment they touched. "Huh..."
"I think I better wait until we are somewhere with more space." The only male muttered. Considering he was in the middle of the group and they had no idea exactly what kind his Pokémon would be, it would probably be best not to risk pushing someone down.
"You can share Houndoom for a bit, I guess." Almost with no nudging, the Fire-type moved to be between Diantha and Steven, allowing both to remain in contact without overly stretching. "Thank you."