Gift of the Protector: Pristine Embrace

by Edge Feyera

A young man eager to absolve his past sins sets out to finish his perilous quest. As he'll soon discover, forgiveness is not so easily found. Sometimes the consequences of conflict are more important than the causes. Where will his journey take him? Can he discover what truly matters in life? And will he be able to find solace in the arms of another? Find out as a new saga emerges.

14. On the Brink Part 1: Hope

Chapter 14: On the Brink - Part 1 "Hope"

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Damp clammy hands, quivering violently in the broad daylight, softly stroked the closest thing to comfort. Under a hurling cloud of artificial light, they caressed the only thing with stability. The sky itself was soaked to the skin in strange colors. Threads of navy, torn from a celestial tapestry, wilted over the horizon, surrounded Chrono Island's bay. Reflecting sunlight and aquamarine alike, the strands of light seemed to have hundreds of sapphires dancing along their lengths.

Beautiful and terrifying all the same, he could not think of any place he'd rather be. But why? He knew not what was happening to them. But he did know they had experienced all of this together.

With a muffled breath, he peered up.

She followed suit, tilting her neck and rubbing her hair against the side of his face.

As gorgeous as the aurora was, it did not compare to the joining of hearts. The "kiss" shared was substantial enough to disrupt any flow of rational thought. Ample enough to break into him, extensive enough to generate fissures of uncertainty. Not about the past. Not about what he had done to himself. No. These feelings—lukewarm as the bay's teal wave crests—were ridiculous. Unreasonable! Outrageous! They were so focused, so centered, so honed on one thing—one being. Never before, save during research, had blinders swayed his vision. Every instance of his single-mindedness promised answers. This…connection with — to — Sanaria, only beckoned questions. It prompted thoughts going far beyond himself.

And here was the worst part: he enjoyed that. Part of him hungered for the diffidence he had just tasted.

Vehemently shaking his head in disgust, Feyera clasped onto the steering bar of the small watercraft. It was cold; first touch alone was enough to numb his hand.

Try as he might to forget by gazing up at the starry heavens, his residing sentiments expressed a single, sublime truth; a truth existing for the entirety of their kiss. In that moment, he was solely concerned with a future. Not his future, but a future with the Gardevoir at his side.

Lurching, he removed his hand from the now sweaty steering bar and ran it up to paw his lush hairline. An involuntary reaction for the young man during times of stress.

Fingers lightly breezing through warm hair calmed him. He closed his eyes. The motion was soothing, even if it only lasted for a second. Unable to feel the organic comb against his head, he focused entirely on the stream of sensation running through his fingers; taking deep breaths all the while.

A soft purr interrupted his coping. With a gasp, he paused and opened his strained eyes.

To his surprise, it was not his hair that he had been stroking at all.

Sanaria looked at him with scarlet cherry eyes housing volumes of concern. He completely halted petting of the back of her head.

What was happening to him? Think, Feyera, think! he ordered to himself over and over. Nothing inside made sense. Nothing outside made sense.

He soon reached a favorable conclusion: if they really were dead, and were somehow still together in this afterlife, then whatever happened next between them wouldn't matter. There would be nothing left to prove, nothing more to hide. No danger. No persecution. No fear. His mind raced with the creation of fantasies, it played with possibility, and it entertained imagination.

"Mmm…" Sanaria cooed at his side. It was an incomprehensible mummer, but charged with sentiment nonetheless.

What was she thinking? More importantly, what was she feeling?

Feyera bent his head against her shoulder, where her neck met the garments. It felt real. His body told him that she was real. The warmth of her skin, the aroma in her hair, even the aura of glowing allure all saturated his senses.

It couldn't be a dream. But these thoughts of denial continued to perforate. Like blossoming spring flowers, attraction was unexplainable, yet striking. Unreasonable, but desirable. Something was happening and he could not explain it. He wanted it to be real and not real all at the same time. The bright lights trickled down gently, yet his focus was on her. Whilst staring into her eyes, he felt a slight jolt from his trainer's holster at his waist. Half expecting it to be an untimely biological response to his recent kiss, Feyera looked down to see that the three Poké Balls clasped against his leather belt were shaking uncontrollably.

Timidly, he reached down to Brucie's Poké Ball. Its shiny red and white metal was dazzling in the sunlight. However, the moment his tiny fingertip touched it, a rouge spark sprung from the interior of the sphere arcing out in all directions at once!

The tiny sparks and crackles bit at his nails.

"Ouch!" he said waving his whole hand in anger.

Sana tried to avoid laughing at this cute reaction. She wanted this moment to be perfect more than anything else in the world, and Edge's atypical clumsiness was making it all too easy to become enthralled with him.

"Te he," she snickered endearingly. "Thas—err…veh Feyera, *sigh* what are you doing?"

"I…!" Edge grunted, but she had already taken that brief second to hug him again, this time leaning against him entirely in his arms.

"Oh!" Edge blurted, feeling wondrously warm contact with Sana once again. Heated ecstasy coursed through his veins. There was no way he was dead. Feyera brought his full attention back to Sanaria while the soft waves of the bay gently rocked the PWC.

It was so lovely. He opened his mouth to break the silence, "Say, Sana if this is real then what about what we said before about us not—"

She cut him off by hugging him tighter and nodding her head against his cheek with a faint, "Shh…wait. I mean, no, all I wanted was to—"

Before she could reveal any intentions, the Poké Ball split open to both of their surprise, releasing a bolt of light. Edge only had a moment's notice to catch a reconstituted Brucie in his arms right before the Charmeleon materialized over the bay water. Such a fall would be deadly for the Fire Pokemon!

"Huh!? Brucie!" shouted Edge, who had acted on instinct.

The lizard, bruised from the battle with Ein, let out a weak cough, simultaneously spitting out tiny embers from his nostrils.

Then he realized the danger. "Ah! Oh no! What happened?!"

[Ugh?] the fire Pokemon blurted. His ruddy leather hide quivered in the sea breeze.

"Chris, oh no, you're going to spoil the mood!" Sana whined in a teasing voice. Was he really that insecure? Maybe humans were different from Gardevoir. After all, the things she shared exclusively with Sephiteos went far beyond what Edge and her just had, save the Mutual Teleport. She shook her head; according to Feyera's dreams there wasn't that much difference between the two—maybe a bit more emphasis on kissing and the physical however.

"Haa…" she sighed; she concluded it must have been him being awkward. Why wasn't he in touch with how he felt? Why was he burying it? Didn't he know that she wanted to forgive him? Didn't he know that she wanted to be with him? He was her second chance. Her torso ignited with a surge of desire, originating from her heart and spreading like warm water throughout her body.

[What are you doing boss?] the Charmeleon asked his Pokemon trainer. Eagerly, Brucie peered around from the security of the young man's outstretched arms. With a stretch of the neck, the lizard looked over at Sanaria.

The Gardevoir mustered a nervous chuckle, exposing a grin out to her canine teeth. "Ehh…he…um…hi Brucie!"

The three of them bundled close together on the tiny watercraft. It was small, but had room enough for two to sit comfortably, making it obviously out of place for Sana to be sitting on Edge's lap.

"Uh…Now hold on; I didn't release you, buddy!" Edge said. He was just about as nervous concerning the way his Poké Ball spontaneously released its contents as he was about Brucie catching Sanaria and him in a rather compromising position of affection. Maybe Sanaria had inadvertently toughed the release button with her thighs. The mere thought of her tightly wrapped thighs being so close to his waist made the trainer flush uncontrollably. His palms sweated and he resituated his seating, unnerved to no end.

Raising a brow, Sanaria took great interest in his apprehension. Animate magnetism was clear as day; her emotion reading abilities didn't even need to be employed to sense his desire for her. Yet it was his suppression of such facts that perked her interest. Was he turning this into some type of game for her to play now? Like a game of Meowth and Pikachu? That would be fun, she thought. In fact, she could make it fun. Biting on her lower lip, she forced a serious expression. "Feyera…?"

"Erm…" Feyera quietly muttered to himself, still in shock by everything that had taken place and especially his current predicament. Desperately, he tried to think of anything besides the Gardevoir on his lap. He couldn't. The more he tried, the worse he felt.

[Say what happened to the bad guy in the white coat? And why and you and Miss Sanaria…wait—] Brucie quickly looked at the environment, and seeing that they were all on a small watercraft in the middle of the bay became panicked [—why would you take me out in a place like this boss!? I hate the water!]

There was a soft mist of blackish tan emanating from the Pokemon's body. Fear actualized. Feyera felt terrible.

"I…um…Brucie, I didn't mean for you to see the two of us—wait, I mean I didn't mean to take you out of stasis!"

[Say what!?]

Just then, his other two belt-bound Poké Balls quivered as sparks flew along their surfaces.

"Wait what are you doing—?"

"Oh no!" he barked as they too split open revealing the silhouette of a Gyarados and a Gloom. "Gah!"

"You're going to really have a party now?!" Sanaria hissed. "Of all the rotten times you could pick, Mister Feyera!"

"I didn't—no!" Edge belted, "NO!" The last thing he wanted was his whole Pokemon team seeing him and Sana like this!

With a mighty splash, Desperado dove into the water. She had emerged next to the, now stationary, PWC holding the rest of the team. July was still very weak from the confrontation with Ein, and Sana stroked her bruised flower bulb lovingly as the little plant stood on the seat behind Edge.

[Hi!] said the Gloom. [Hehe! That tickles, Sana!]

"Ta ha."

"July? Des?" asked a wide-eyed Edge.

[Well I'll be, Ed—gie! Now, what in tarnation is goin' on here?] the Gyarados bellowed as warm bay water dripped from her curly barbells.

"Des, we ran into some serious trouble back there," Edge said motioning with his head back towards the Evercrest base bordering most of the bay cliffs. He even pointed dramatically. Anything to take the focus off the scandal.

Desperado eyed the group of them and rocked her head. Sana was seated facing Feyera atop his lap; she patted July from over the trainer's shoulder, while Edge himself held Sana between his outstretched arms that were holding Brucie's light body. [Ya know if ya ran in-tah any bit o' trouble you always've good ol' Despie to call on, sugar.]

"Des…*huff*," Feyera panted as Sana pressed closer against him, "I couldn't—I mean, erm…there was nothing you could've possibly done!"

[Aww now that's just poppycock!] she said flailing her tail fins in an exaggerated motion. [Maybe there was nothing YOU coulda done, Edgie, but Despie sure as heck could've given' out a good ol' lickin'.]

[The man in there was too strong, Des,] whispered July. [Too…powerful…]

Brucie grumbled, [None of us stood a chance.]

Sana raised a hand up to Feyera's auburn hair. She hesitated before retreating the hovering hand back to her own, twirling a strand of it around her finger. "Des…" she said.

[Y'all talkin' nonsense, I ain't afraid. Ain't no one gonna make me cower and squat on my spurs!]

Staring at Sana's messed hair, Feyera slowly answered his Gyarados, "No. Nothing more could've been done. We barely escaped with our lives."

[What?!] the Gyrados answered in shock, [Oi! Remember ol' Haunter, Edgie? He sure as shooting wasn't all that tough when we gave him a lil' taste o' vengeance! 'On the house', raaamem'ber, pal? A cold dish o' that on behalf o' Lumpy!]

Haunter. Jill. His nemesis and his fallen companion. It wasn't just a tragic emotional loss; losing a Pokemon was like losing a part of himself. Edge still had burgundy marks on his left elbow from the Shadow Claw attack. Scars from the past, he told himself, refusing to look down at them. It felt like it was so long ago. Like a different lifetime. The more he thought about it, the more he needed to see it. Was it all even real? What was real anymore?

Sana noticed Feyera staring raptly at his arm. Mildly perplexed, she opened her mouth slightly at the sight. "What is it?" she asked.

"I…gasp…!"

Edge couldn't quite describe it. He placed Brucie on the stationary steering bar with a tap in order to get a better look at what was troubling him. "Um…it's…it's just…"

The Reilken Mercurius had all but lost its interior glow. The lines of neon green were strangely absent. Instead, it was as black as the midnight sky.

How it looked wasn't nearly as important of how it felt though.

On the inside, where it covered a portion of his left wrist, the bracer prickled and tingled, like needles all throughout.

He put his other palm on the piece of ancient technology. To his surprise, the device moved. Again he jostled it, and discovered it was coming loose. It was partially attached to the underside of his forearm, and the freshly exposed skin burned with dull heat. To be fair, his skin there had adopted a soft hue of green mirroring Sana's, and everything about that was bizarre: from the alien nature to the heightened sensations. The trainer studied it for a few moments before Sana gave him a pat on the back.

"What is it…?" asked the Gardevoir once again, this time with more urgency.

However, Edge did not know how to explain it; there was a persistent ringing deep in his inner ear and he felt slightly dizzy. The young man attributed to everything going haywire for a few moments since he had never used psyonics in perfect synergy before. All things considered, he was lucky to be alive. In fact, he felt ecstatic just to be breathing on his own.

"Feyera?"

His eyes traveled up and he took in a deep breath. "Haaa…umm…" The fresh smell of the distant jungle foliage was palatable; it tickled his tongue with sensation.

Sanaria continued to watch him with growing concern. "Umm…?"

Edge tried to evade her gaze. He was still trying to process everything that had happened before…well before that. Of all the dumb luck! All their pursuers had been eliminated and Evercrest's firework-like missile had missed them completely. Even though they were idly sitting on the PWC, to Edge Feyera, it felt like they were walking on water. While he begged to attribute this optimistic perspective to his own emerging abilities, it became impossible to deny the fact that Sanaria was intimately connected to such strident achievements.

One of her fingers danced about his Team Rocket uniform's backside. In fixation, she refused to blink. Those eyes followed his for the few seconds that had recently passed in silence.

[Boss?] asked Brucie.

"I'm—" he smiled "—just a little queasy right now. It's…like everything is so close to me. The smells in the air, the rocking of the boat. I feel really nauseous actually."

Sana's resulting expression was a mixture of worry and flippancy, but Feyera could not tell which. She put her hands up to her heart, clasping them snugly together, and opened her mouth as if she had something to say in response. "…—" Only air.

[Yeah; well, imagine how 'I' feel!] Brucie aped from behind Sana, [I absolutely HATE the water! Not too much can hurt me, but that stuff sure can!]

Rather than hang his head in despair, Edge quietly nodded.

The Charmeleon, who had wrapped his flame-tipped tail around the steering bar, went on to say, [I thought you knew that from the last time we went sailing!]

"Oh so veh Feyera took you sailing too?" Sanaria asked with a faux jealous grin.

Edge peered warily at Sanaria. "Uhh…I wouldn't call it that exactly…"

With a shrug, she smiled wider. She knew what she had just had with him was different from anything else. It was typically the type of thing only humans shared, but through infiltrating Edge's dreams, she'd learned quite a bit. And she could always count on him to lead after she initiated. It was inertia. All it took was a push. Must have been a human trait. She liked it, not because of its exploitability, but because of all the latent feelings it revealed in Feyera.

Brucie gave a weak nod and his face turned pale, [It's awful…the motion…the lapping of the waves…ugh…no fun. Do not want—…"

"Why don't you make Brucie levitate or something, Sana?" Edge joked. "Ya know, float him in the air or—"

She chuckled, releasing Feyera a little more, yet finding nowhere else to retreat to. In her mind, it didn't matter since it was no longer a purely physical connection. What had happened…well had happened amid heaps of emotional interplay. It reminded her of the dream she shared with Edge, under the guise of Lorelei. More importantly, it reminded her of what it felt like to be a part of his desires. For Feyera it was another story; his nervousness was practically palatable. And yet none of Edge's Pokemon companions addressed the massive Donphan in the room. For the longest time, survival had been the priority. Judging the ominous silence from Evercrest, it still was.

She poked his shoulder blade fondly, saying with a hint of passive charm, "Does it look like I'm one to do whatever you'll me to do, oh my dear…*sigh*…and wise Pokemon trainer?"

"Huh…?" Edge swallowed, "P—Pokemon trainer?"

"Peh! For starters! Heh…" said Sana rolling her eyes.

"I'm your trainer…?" the young man asked in confusion, forgetting his prior lies. Just moments ago, he could have sworn she was as human as anyone he'd ever met. Her lips felt human. The only thing inhuman was the union of heart shards, and even that was becoming somewhat normal to Feyera.

[Hrrmm…but ain't that only the tip of the Snorunt's cap,] Des jeered silently.

[Did you forget that she's your Pokemon?] July chimed in, [Obviously she is! C'mon, Feyera; you're like ALWAYS telling us that!]

July, being oblivious of the pair's relation, had grown accustomed to not reading in between the lines, taking whatever Edge said as fact. And who could blame her? Feyera was a man who liked to pretend to be in command even when he knew he wasn't. Oftentimes he came across as unnecessarily arrogant. With his heart shard's latent emotional manipulation, this arrogance could be transformed into projected self-assurance, almost contagiously so. Brucie and Des on the other hand, were not so naïve.

[Oh yes indeed,] the Gyarados smirked, [seems like ol' Edgie always has a sweet little explanation—all buttered up wif facts, jus' like a warm Sunday biscuit!]

Between Feyera's other Pokemon, Des was the only one with enough guts to confront her Pokemon trainer; she'd slice past the emotional hurdles he'd create using her honest, albeit blunt, judgment.

"Umm…I…" Edge stammered, wiggling nervously with Sana still atop his lap. "I—I'll explain this…"

"What else would you be, veh Feyera? I'm completely subservient your will," Sana mocked. Her shrill psychic voice continued to overflow with mordancy, "I know, why don't you ask me to jump so I can respond 'how high?' Tee hee!"

[He he!] July chuckled, [Wow! Miss Sanaria sure enthusiastic to be your Pokemon, Mister Feyera! But I think it would be dangerous to jump from where we are right now—]

Desperado rolled her large eyes at the Gloom's innocence.

Sana's tone continued to lighten with her overt sarcasm. "Ohh, I'd leap high enough to spin around the world, anything for you!"

[Err…] Brucie muttered, he had little on his mind save for his seasickness, [please no flying, no flying!]

Sana lambently dragged her hand down Edge's arm and peered over at a perplexed July before turning her neck and saying gently, "Don't worry, Brucie. I'm not going to make you levitate or anything, that would be mean; besides, I'm completely drained after THAT—"

Edge froze up. His cheeks flushed scarlet. He watched Sanaria unveil a half smile, softly exposing her tiny white teeth from the side of her grin closest to him. There was no comfort in her emphasis of 'that'.

She looked over at Feyera endearingly before cogently parting her lips. "…I—*sigh* I think your 'Pokemon trainer' is just trying to be funny, Brucie."

Something wasn't right and the Charmeleon knew it. The way she said that sounded off. Brucie sputtered his words as he held onto his gut, [Y—you're his Pokemon too r—right…? R—right Sana?]

"Of course I am, Brucie," the Gardevoir responded. Her glistening ruby eyes pierced Edge with zero animosity, but rather a dark, secretive, and nonverbal glare of mutual understanding. "Why would you ever think otherwise?"

[Ho' nelly…] Desperado snickered from the side, [I'll take point! I can think of a few reasons…]

"Gah! STOW IT, DES!" Edge yelled with a jolt that rocked the tiny vessel.

Frightened by the sudden outburst Sana clasped securely onto his shoulder in response, involuntarily running her other hand to meet his.

The Gyarados scoffed unobtrusively. If anything, she found the situation humorous, and even though the secretiveness was over the top, she liked the way she could comically manipulate her trainer.

Feyera took Des' lack of words for what they were, and felt himself tugged by the emotions supplanted by his recent interaction. Did he do the right thing? Denial became difficult on the mental front, let alone physical.

[Hmm…*gurgle*] Brucie forced a nod out of content to hear that the Gardevoir and his trainer were at least pretending to get along. However, it was an effort beginning to become stretched thin by Sanaria's tone and Feyera's jitters.

Edge looked up at the sky. Not more than a few minutes had passed since the bright light momentarily illuminated the world. He'd never seen anything like that before. It was so strange and mystifying. Just like what had happened between him and the Gardevoir at his side.

Perfect. That was his alibi. If his Pokemon ever found out, he would blame their kiss on that…that thing up there now fading. He would say that he was scared and mistook Sana for someone else. It was easy. But could he really lie to himself like that? And more importantly, could he afford to lie to her like that?

[Say,] July chimed in from behind, dancing on the taut nylon seat with her root-like feet, [why are you two frolicking around together here in the bay anyway?]

"Umm…!" Edge's glance shot down to make sure his hand wasn't subconsciously dancing with Sanaria's and thankfully it wasn't—at least not any more. "Phew." July must have meant playing, and not the actual act of dancing hands together. Although Feyera could not determine for sure which accusation was worse. "We weren't doing any frolicking…I don't know what you're talkin' about, July."

Des let out a labored cough. Feyera could have sworn she had thought something under her breath, but he was unable to read it properly. It sure sounded a lot like "tauros shit". Seems like a few of Feyera's expressions were rubbing off on his Pokemon. Though a strained emotional bond with Desperado made understanding her thoughts difficult.

"I mean that's something Gardevoir do when they are making friends—" Edge's palms began to sweat frantically, "—that's all."

Sana noted the young man's apprehension. She didn't even need to be a creature of empathy to see something that obvious. He was so crude at concealing emotion; every part of Feyera's body was a beacon of projection, running rampant with all its involuntary functions, ranging from the pheromones to the eyes. Are all humans like this? she wondered. Or is he just new at it all? But it didn't matter. Edge was different. He was like her in so many ways, but different in even more.

"Don't be so antsy, veh Feyera," she said coolly, "there's no reason to be getting all worked up!"

"Ahh…" Edge felt his shoulders relax. Yet there was a deep sense of shame riling his mind. Could he even call it ignominy any longer? What pride did he even have left? Here he was making out with a Pokemon. Maybe it was merely disbelief. The latter appeared much more reasonable, all things considered.

[Making friends, eh?] said Des. The Gyarados then bemoaned an exaggerated sigh, unwilling to call any more attention to the now painfully obvious connection between the two. Her barbells quavered in the balmy bay air. The sparking stars above had all disappeared and only the bright sunlight remained. Magically, it was as if nothing had even happened.

"I'm serious; she'll even tell you that!" Edge eagerly tilted his head towards the Gardevoir beside him. "R—right Sana?"

"Yeah." Sanaria gave Edge a swift wink. "Veh Feyera is right, Des; 'frolicking' is a thing Gardevoir do with their hands when they are interacting with one another."

"Yeah so there you go," Feyera muttered through a puckered mouth, "IN—TER—ACTION! Nothing scandalous; totally natural, can't blame me for—"

"GAROH!" bellowed the Gyarados. [Ahem! Well then, ol' Despie would sure take kindly to knowin' why you two little 'interacting Gardevoir' are gallivanting around the bay! Care ta fill in some o' the gaps, Edgie?]

"What are you talking about—?" Feyera exclaimed, quickly realizing the little word trap he had fallen into. His face grew beet red. How could he be foolish enough to let her pull one over on him like that? Admitting to being part of her species…had it been before the kiss and Feyera would have surely had a fit!

Sanaria giggled, "Well, frolicking is something only Gardevoir do."

[Really? So that means you're…]

"Nonsense. It's like shaking hands, July!"

[Oh?]

Eagerly he attempted to mimic a handshake with Sanaria in order show the Gloom. It was tricky to do on board the PWC, and even more tricky to do considering she was resting on his lap.

Sanaria clenched up, her back arched a little in response to Feyera's sudden approach to clasp her hand. "Um wait!" she squealed.

But it was too late. The moment his hand touched hers a surge of pleasurable sensations doused his perceptions coating the world in tints of rose. His breathing elevated and his cheeks swelled in scarlet hues.

"Haa…haa…" he puttered, realizing that even touching her skin at this point was enough to send him into a frenzy of charged sentiments. "Nuh' nuf…*gasp!*" Touch giving way to psychosomatic ecstasy had never been that bad before, except maybe on the area close to the Reilken Mercurius.

"Haa! S—stop," she exclaimed with a quickly blushing face, "augh…silly, y—you're making me feel…"

Hastily, he released her hand.

She held her rapidly elevating chest in response, causing her breaths to return to normal.

Edge followed suit, holding his heart shard. "S—see?" he panted in half-defeat. What had just happened? He only touched her hand's skin and that was even more pleasurable than when their hearts touched. But hadn't they frolicked before? What was going on?

[Gee Edge, that was amazing,] July chimed in, ripe with innocence, [you have to teach me how to do your special handshake!]

Des raised a curious eye at the small device around Edge's wrist while the trainer nervously clutched at it. […Yeah 'amazing'…] the Gyarados echoed.

"We're only working together because we need to…" Feyera lied. Nevertheless, it wasn't too much of a lie. The needed to, but he had left out the part that he enjoyed needing to.

"Oh we 'need' to?" Sana asked cutely. "That sounds really passionate."

Ignoring her, Edge fiddled with the control panel below Brucie. He was careful not to rev up the motor, but from the looks of it, it wasn't going anywhere. The dials were no longer illuminated, the control settings were frozen in "STANDBY", and the fuel gauge read "EMPTY". Feyera groaned, furrowing his brow.

A couple of seconds silently passed.

[Aw come clean already!] Des growled, [Any day now, Edgie…Come clean, wouldya?]

"What?!" Feyera shouted at his Gyarados. "'Come clean'? What the hell do you want me to tell you, you big fish?! Sanaria is my Pokemon and I'm her trainer, there's nothing more to it! Now we need to get the hell out of here. And YOU are gonna fulfill that need!"

[Oi now, that's no way to be talkin' to me,] the sea serpent snarled. [I ain't some shed tool, buddy.]

"I'll talk to you any way I see fit!" Edge tossed his arms into the air, his anger reaching a boiling point. He couldn't take it. The stress, the anxiety, feeling everything around him. It was maddening, and he couldn't even escape. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and his Pokemon were clueless. They were more concerned with his escapades with Sana.

[Oh no you won't!]

"You're my Pokemon!"

Sanaria's legs quivered and she put her arms on Feyera's shoulders. "Calm down, both of you!"

Des rocked her head back and forth while her massive tail splashed about in the water. [Pah, this lil' shrimp ain't got a bit o' respect for me…GARO!]

Pressing his lips together, Edge forcefully exhaled out his nose. "You're—"

To cut him off she roared, [After all this time, after all we've been through together.]

"Well, maybe if you just kept your barbells out of my business then we wouldn't be arguing!" Feyera quipped back. "Ever think of that?"

[S'cuse me, sheriff; I didn't know you were in charge of whether I can care 'bout you.]

"It isn't that hard to follow the rules!"

Coldly, Des taunted, [What rules?] Steam expelled from her nostrils. It was a side of Des Edge hadn't seen before.

Feyera curbed his tone slightly in response, "M—my rules."

[Your rules?!]

Fighting the urge to lash back at her, Feyera quietly asserted his demand. "Respect them," he said.

[Respect?!] she said expelling hot steam.

"Des…" Sana tried to interject, but it was too late.

[RESPECT?! How on earth am I off-an-gonna respect a lying lil boy?! A lil boy who's too knee deep in denial to admit he's got a part of Sana sticking out from his gut like a 'pooned Wailmer!]

That stung. Rage took over. "What the hell was that?!" Edge hollered at his Pokemon, "Do you have any idea what this freakin' thing feels like…?!"

[You're crazy if ya think you're foolin' anyone round these parts, junior.]

"Enough!" Sana squeaked with fright, "Stop it!" Des wouldn't dare hurt Edge, but then again, Feyera had no idea what his powers over emotions could do at this point. Sana had to do something to intervene. The charged emotions were already flooding off Edge, disorienting her sight with their chaotic murk. Crimson from anger being the strongest.

"You don't understand anything!" shouted Edge, his vision ripe with inflammation. "You can't! It's not like you're incompetent, you're just incapable! You—"

[Ha! Ha ha!] she continued to taunt. It was evident from her diminished lackadaisical tone that Feyera's "instanced" animosity was chipping away at her self-control. [I'll bet you wish that was the case! You wish I didn't understand you, don'tcha? Well this girl's smarter than ya think, pal. Since day one, I knew somethin' was off about you. And that there was before I even got to know you.]

"Shut your mouth this instant!" Edge ordered, his fists shaking. "You know nothing! You hear me?! Nothing!"

[No.] She rocked her head. [Your bled out visible feelings tell me everything; n' ain't any other bootstrapper I know who can do that. We're Pokemon. You're a person. When ya think about it, we shouln'd even be talkin' right now.]

"That's not me, that's this! Psyonics! Gardevoir heart shards!" –Edge pointed down— "You don't know me! You never knew me! I—this thing is all you know!"

[No,] Des rocked her head, in a dismissive manner. [I figured the two of ya' had more than the similarities that meet the eye and I wanted ta help ya out of your little Vulpix den. Ya know, Edgie, the one you've been digging all this time. Thought you'd grow up with a lil help.]

"I—awauk!" Feyera froze before he could further affront his Pokemon, for Sana had suddenly—and aggressively—grasped his heart shard with her hand, "—guh…ACK! *cough!*"

It was tremendously cold all of a sudden. The young man felt his airways restricted as if he were suddenly pulled underwater. Emotion—that precious life force he'd grown accustomed to—was being drained, redirected, and pulled away from him. Like oxygen sapped from a flame, the void it left was chaffing away his vitality somehow. It was unbelievable, he'd never felt so dependent on his state of mind before.

Sanaria let out a labored gasp of her own, "Please veh Feyera…just calm down…"

"Sana," Feyera whined, now short of breath, "take your hand off there…It—this…it's awful! Please s—stop!"

[Humph!] Des grumbled watching the two struggle like caged Furrets on the PWC.

"Get off!"

Sanaria commanded, "Just stay still!"

"W—what are you doing to me…?" Edge asked in confusion. His ebony pupils constricted in fear, revealing more of his emerald irises in the process. Even the golden rims of Progenitor vanished as his eyes glassed in a forest green.

"It's for your own good!" Sana insisted, knowing she'd done this to him before when he went to extremes. It was the only way she knew how to control a member of her species; you had to go for the heart itself. He was fine last time, so why would it be any different now? All she was doing was drawing his sensations into her own. The cycle initially left a certain emptiness, but like all things: expansion followed contraction; just as in breathing—something Gardevoir and humans shared.

"Nugh! No! Get off me!" Edge complained, "You're hurting me!"

"You can't be blasting everyone with your emotions!"

"Says who?! W—wait I'm not blasting anyone!" Feyera continued to grapple with Sana. Finding physical strength was now more difficult than he ever remembered it being before. He couldn't even keep his eyes focused on one thing. Colors and images were spinning out of control. He felt airy and wispy. Trying to look down where the infernal biological short-circuit lay in his chest, he began to think he was becoming ethereal.

[You two are going to knock me clear off the boat if you keep that up!] Brucie hollered, [You're making it tip! No more!]

In a last ditch effort, Edge brought his hands towards Sana and tried to pry the Gardevoir off him. As soon as he touched her heart shard, a floodgate of their feelings barraged his mind. His eyes began to roll back. The world spun. Color and light was everywhere.

[STOP!] shouted a distant Brucie.

"Gah…!" Feyera snapped back from the emotional high. He stared at Brucie's worried light blue eyes.

[Boss…?]

"Huff…ha!" The empathy held out for his fellow companion began to give him a sense of grounding. This was paradoxical since he was on water, but Feyera was dealing with sensations not fact. Noting the concern of his Pokemon made the trainer's eyes gravitate towards his heart shard.

[Hmm?] July asked. She—nor any of the other Pokemon—could not see the influx of color being exchanged between Edge and Sana, not to mention the emotions those colors conveyed. To them, it appeared as if the two were playfully wrestling. To a degree they were—in Gardevoir terms. [Are the two of you done playing around? We should get going.]

"Err fine," he said turning his grip over Sana's hands into a soft petting motion, "we'll…I'll stop, Brucie." The stroking eased the nerves, and Edge was soon greeted with a shockwave from Sana's end of the emotional tightrope the two traversed. It caused his head to spin even though the choking had ceased. His head spun like during the Feedback Fall, except now the danger had passed. In fact, the expansionary phase of emotion delivered from Sana overwhelmed Feyera to the point where he could not imagine redirecting anything back to her without opening a feedback loop. What had changed though? Why was it all so different?

"B—better?" the Gardevoir asked him. His reaction surprised her, she didn't think the "giving and receiving" would be so influential on him.

Panting and sweating, Edge tightened his hold on the PWC. "Huff…ha." He had to distract his mind from these uncontrollable sentiments somehow. But everywhere the trainer turned there was Sana. In front of him, in his mind, in his emotions. She was inescapable. "Yeah," he replied weakly, "sorry. I'm sorry. Brucie, Des, I'm sorry."

[Don'tcha make it a habit.]

[Thanks boss,] Brucie looked out at the water, [you know, I love seeing you and all, but you think we can talk somewhere else that isn't a big old ocean?]

July pointed beyond the two cliff faces in the distance, [This is only the bay, Brucie! The sea is that way! Over there past the tall cliffs.]

[I don't care. Whatever you want to call it, July, I want off it!]

Beads of sweat doused Feyera's forehead. "Oh! Yeah, sorry, it must have been Sana who accidently released you…"

"Hey!" The Gardevoir promptly objected to Edge's blame, "If memory serves me correctly, MISTER veh Feyera, you were the one who—"

"NO!" Edge shouted, afraid she would tell his Pokemon about their recent exploits, "Don't!"

She lowered her gaze to look at his heart and then gave him a gentle closed mouth smile, before relinquishing it from her grasp. Sana hummed softly under her breath.

[Y'all are actin' like a bunch of lil' guppies. Reminds me of back when I lived in the wee lil' water pen of that saddling-riddin' merchant! Humph…riling and complaining, bickering and fighting, lying and machiavellian'. S'all startin' to get on dear ol' Despie's nerves!]

[Can we please just figure this out…Say! What happened over there?] July asked pointing at the smoldering remains of the other PWCs.

"Ah!" Edge said with delight. The topic had been changed! About time! And now all they had to do was address the issues at hand. Yet the trainer was still drawing blanks. "I don't know, Sana fought them off. Come to think of it, she did a pretty nice job!"

"You helped me out though," she said endearingly, "didn't you?" It made Edge feel uncomfortable that she was practically addressing his heart at this point. Sanaria was strange like that and he didn't know whether it was a characteristic of her species or a random quirk.

Edge rubbed his moist hair back nervously. Eventually he managed to admit, "Err…yeah, I was driving…I think."

"You did a great job you know?" Sanaria insisted. "'Driving'…heh heh."

Placidly, the trainer replied, "Speak for yourself, Sana."

She squinted her lids a tad saying, "Aww give your precious heart some credit. It—you did great."

For the longest time, Feyera wanted nothing more than to deny its existence, but that was well out of the question. Instead, he replied dryly, "Seph's…Ahem!—Seph's heart. I had no other choice."

Sanaria's eyes glistened at hearing this. Feyera's focus remained on her rather than peering down at his chest, somewhat to the Gardevoir's displeasure since all she wanted was an excuse to stare at it. Touching would be out of the question without risking a Feedback Fall.

"I knew you could do it…and you did," she addressed his golden-rimmed eyes, "I'd congratulate you on your abilities as a Gardevoir, but I'm sure you wouldn't be interested in hearing that!"

Edge's Pokemon watched him with wide-eyes.

"I didn't…no…" Edge bumbled whilst playing with his sleeves "—That wasn't right…what I did wasn't normal, *huff* wasn't right—"

"Feyera, Feyera…" Sana shook her head, "You haven't been 'right' since unearthing your—Seph's—Psychic powers…you don't see 'people' like Ein unleashing emotion wells!"

"He doesn't need to!" rebuked the trainer, feeling a knot grow in his throat. Ein had weapons. Ein had RAIL firearms. Ein had…whatever that horrific blast of light was. Emotions didn't touch him, he wasn't fazed by an Elite Four's Pokemon, plus he had more resources than Feyera could imagine. It was dizzying. The poignant notion of once being on par with such a man during the days at Evercrest was troublesome. Sure, the differences were there, but did such differences only exist due to the blasted shard on his chest? Did inhumanity alone fracture Feyera?

Sanaria sighed. She could do little else. Edge had a taste of what they could accomplish together, and now it was up to him to acknowledge it. Trepidation would be the trainer's biggest obstacle; she could feel it.

[Can you please let me go back inside the Poké Ball, Boss?!] Brucie said as compellingly as possible for a lizard about to toss his cookies.

"Ah! Sorry, pal; got distracted! Here, hold on for one second," Feyera reached for the trusty device. When he unhooked it from the holster, he noticed it was not issuing any red glow. "Alright, return!"

Nothing happened. He just held the Poké Ball out at his first Pokemon. The red and white painted sphere did not even utter a hum at his vocal command.

"Hmmm…?"

Des raised a confused brow. So did her trainer.

"Um, Ahem! Brucie return!" Feyera repeated, checking to make sure it was the right Poké Ball; sure enough it was from the telltale Roman Numeral "I" etched into the design. Edge rarely even checked the numbers anymore; his Smith and Salven's brand holster organized the team on a rotating "C plate" mounted on the left side of the waist. Each member had a unique slot. Brucie was first, and at the top of the "C". Then came Des and July. The rest of the slots were empty and thus the curved plate retracted to make itself smaller and less noticeable. It wasn't always this way though. Feyera recalled the feeling when it had a fourth Poké Ball. For a while, the holster seemed to be off balance, never riding quite right on his leather belt, but that was more out of grief than poor craftsmanship.

Sana shuddered next to Feyera as a light breeze picked up and blew through her hair.

"Err…return?" Edge said again, this time actually clicking the button with an exaggerated motion. Usually Poké Balls were automatic in regards to inducing stasis upon previously captured Pokemon. It was a relatively new innovation made by Silph during the phasing out of their older models. The newer builds would replicate the Pokemon's gnome sequences and quickly compress it through a series of complicated technological algorithms, essentially "folding" DNA into particle chambers and stacking the life data into carbon nanotubes. Complicated stuff to be sure, but nevertheless fascinating. Regardless, most Pokemon trainers didn't know the first thing about particle accelerators or genetics.

"C'mon," Edge grunted, "Work, you damn piece of crap!"

Sanaria addressed his frustration with a feeble "Hmm?"

The entire scene was eerily silent. No birds could be heard, no noise from the Samson ES engine, only the steady lapping of wave crests against the cyan fiberglass base of the PWC.

"What the…?" Feyera shook the Poké Ball up and down like a rattle. It made some noise inside, signaling something was loose.

[Wha'sa matter, Edgie?]

"Just a sec, Des!" He then tried to pry it open with his fingernails, and it issued a dull hiss as its hemispheres separated like a Shellder. "GAH! NUH! OPEN!" he belted, throwing his hand back in recoil.

Sanaria hugged him fearing he was hurt, "What's wrong?! Chris, are you okay?"

"Ugh…yeah…I'm alright." Grumbling, he acknowledged with a disappointed frown, "It's completely fried."

[Fried?] [What?] asked July and Brucie simultaneously.

"Huh?" The Gardevoir tilted her head and repeated, "…Fried?"

"Yeah—" the trainer said tapping on the internal circuit board with a curious finger, "—toasted the way Brucie likes his stew."

[Haha, that's the only way to eat your stew and not get sick, Mister!] laughed July.

Edge raised a brow, well aware this was the truth; his cooking ability was abysmal.

"What happened…?" he asked the broken piece of machinery. While not expecting it to answer, he longed for a hint, a reason, anything. From what he could see, it was definitely structural damage. Maybe overheating. The internal silicon board was completely blackened like charcoal. The hinges on the device did not even resist his tugs to pry it open. Deeper inside, there was a faint scent of smoke that rose out of it. "Looks like it burned from the inside out."

[Burned?] [Oh no!]

"Is it permanent?" Sana asked curiously touching his outstretched hand. Intimidated, she kept her fingers away from the human device as if it had fangs or something.

"The damage…yeah…I have no idea how these things even work." Edge toyed around with the external switch.

[Shouldn't you though? You're a Pokemon scientist!]

"Was," he corrected. Feyera felt the need to defend his credentials—even if he couldn't remember them, "There's a big difference between understanding Pokemon, and understanding technology, July!"

[O—okay, I think I get it. You learn about Pokemon but not where to put them!]

Edge furrowed his brow and scratched his temple. She hit the nail on the head for once. "Kinda, yeah," he replied. "But who knows, maybe I knew all about it at one point."

Sanaria grinned. For some reason, she could not help but find his angst to learn about everything humorous. Maybe it was he actually believed he could. Of course, she wouldn't want to inflict actual despair on Feyera, but a reality check for the ex-researcher was frequently in order. "Tee heh…aww, Doctor veh Feyera, you know far too much!"

"What was that?!"

"Nothing, go back to fixing the Poké Ball, Doc," Sana said making a silly face.

"Peh…'Doctor'. That's the thing…hmm," Edge hummed whilst holding the item out over the sun reflected water, "I can't…fix it if I don't understand it."

Brucie weakly raised a paw and asked, [Did you break it? Like last time?]

"I don't think I did—" However, he froze upon looking over at July. Hadn't this all happened before north of Cerulean City? When his psyonic powers took over to protect himself from Agent Engelhart's Gauntlet revolver by opening a rift through dense emotion, his Poké Balls—at least one of the empty ones had been damaged. That was why it took two to capture July. He was not sure why this was all coming back to him, but he knew it had to be significant. Nevertheless, this déjà vu did not explain the whole sparkling cloud and bright light. Edge ran his fingers over his forehead pensively. Maybe Ein had messed up somehow. Perhaps Fredrick really did save the day after all. Edge was almost positive the helicopter that followed him onto the island belonged to Fredrick.

Judging by the amount of time since the bright light, not more than twenty minutes had passed. He convinced himself that he could not worry about trifles. I'm alive, right? Whatever that thing was, if it had hit him, he'd be dead for sure; by it soaring way up into the sky before detonating, nothing negative had happened. Edge seriously doubted it was a firework, in all likelihood it was some type of prototype missile from the Great War. A weapon gone wrong judging by the high altitude it reached before detonating.

"This is all too freakin' bizarre," the trainer admitted.

"So it was…fried!" Sanaria said aloud with a giggle, "But why? What do you think happened to the Poké Ball?"

"Grr…I don't know why. I might have busted it, just like before. When I was on Cerulean Cape. When I was still growing accustomed to…all this…"

"Humans sure like to make things that break," Sanaria said with a half-grin.

Edge retorted, "Well, not all humans have dangerous psyonics, Sana!"

The Gardevoir arched her neck back and sighed. She wondered if he'd ever learn to just call them Gardevoir powers or psychic powers rather than the clunky word 'psyonics'. She laughed at the thought of it. It really did sound awkward. Silly even. But then again there was some charm behind it when Feyera backed it up with his I-know-best attitude. Mostly because such an arrogant attitude was easily dismantled.

"Whatever you want to call them, but we all know what they really are…!"

"*Sigh*" Edge wasn't up for going round and round again.

"They're extra special," she said to his surprise.

That they were. As awful as their drawbacks were, Feyera could think of no other way other than to naturally be gifted with psyonics. As far as he knew he wasn't born with any gifts. He'd stolen them. Curiously, Sana's carefully chosen words managed to bolster his ego rather than bring it down.

Edge said with a cough, "Ahem, well they like to break things. Let's see how much damage was done to July and Des' Poké Balls…"

He reached down towards his waist and unclipped the two Poké Balls from his Smith and Salven's brand holster.

"—Aie! Crud!"

"Let me guess, *huff* you…fried those too?"

[Edgie-boy!] Des shook her tail and made a few splashes in the water. [Ya old ga'loot! What kinda action did I miss out on?!]

"Don't worry about it, Des!" Frustrated, he stomped his Alterieno on the fiberglass footrest and gently tugged a strand of his auburn hair. In a trance of thought, he twirled it about his finger. Calculating. Rationalizing.

"Typical…" Sanaria said to Edge's manic expression.

The trainer repeatedly shook the capsule devices in vain. "N—no! How did I!? I don't believe this…! Dammit! Another consequence?!"

At this, Sana fell silent and dropped her head slightly. Her empathy extended deep inside the annexes of his mind ever since their hearts connected. It was hard for him; he wasn't making that part up. She recognized how foreign it must have felt to lose so much and not know what was going to go next. The uncertainty was enough to drive a person mad with paranoia. She knew she had to at least help him overcome the adjustments. All the same, Sanaria wasn't obligated to do any of this.

[Hey, Mister Chris, if you keep breaking our Poké Balls, does that mean you don't want to have us around anymore?] July asked worriedly.

"I…of course not, July!" Feyera promptly released the strand of hair. "I love you guys; I never want you to leave me!"

[You sure as shootin' don't act like it sometimes!] Des venomously interjected.

Recoiling back into Sanaria's arms Edge belted, "Desperado!"

[Yeah?] said the Pokemon with a sourpuss expression, [Something you wanna say, lil' fella?] She bent her neck back in a taunt, raising herself further out of the water, showing off her height. The Pokemon was easily twice as tall from head to tail, and more muscular than he'd ever be.

Edge fidgeted with his hair and imagined playing with Sanaria's like he had all too recently. It was a tantalizing thought, but he had to make things right. He had to get them off this island. And to do that, he needed all his Pokemon to trust him. Exhaling Edge said, "Look girl, I'm sorry."

The trainer felt Sanaria squeeze his shoulder. He hoped that was a sign of approval from her.

[Peh! Sorry for what?] the Gyarados haughtily asked.

Edge tucked his tongue between gritted teeth. "I—I'm sorry for being such a bad trainer."

There was a moment of complete silence.

[Ain't make no difference if you're a bad trainer or not, Edgie.]

"Huh?"

[You heard me, hun. Don't matter who you are. You can be rodeo star or cleaning up the manure, but your attitude is the most important, see.]

"Attitude? My attitude…?"

[Right.] The huge sea snake gave him a solemn nod. [Your pa ever teach ya something like that?]

Feyera shook his head at the mention of family. His father couldn't deal with raising him after the passing of his mother. Weakness ran through Edge's veins like a poison.

Des' large lips puckered shut, concealing her fangs.

Sana beckoned with a twist of her arm, "You gotta remember you're that way now, veh Feyera…your feelings can carry over onto others, bleed into them. Force them to feel like you do if you aren't careful…"

It was true. The trainer let out a sigh, "I—I know. You told me that already! Instan—"

"Instancing," Sana finished for him aloud.

"I didn't mean to…I…" Edge wailed.

[Yeah, cause when you're on top of you game, I am too, hun.]

Protesting the crazy thought Edge rebuked, "I can't always be optimistic and cheerful…!"

[Right you are,] Des let out a grumble from deep in her throat, [that's why I'm here to help you when the going gets tough.]

"But you just said…"

Rubbing her shiny cheek with a green palm, Sana insisted, "Let her finish."

[When you're upset don't take it out on me, that's all. I can handle a little abuse; peh, the battle scars show it…but not from my pals.]

"I—I'll try Des, but I don't know if…"

[You can do it. I've seen it.]

Feyera smiled.

[Jus' tell me one thing: why didn't you let me help you out? Was it cause ya didn't trust me?]

"Des, Ein had Electric Pokemon! They were too powerful; we barely survived! For god's sake, Lorelei is dead!"

[Lorelei?]

Everyone became quiet.

[Well, someone wanna tell me who this Lorelei is?]

Feyera had almost forgot after kissing Sana. There was nothing he could have done, he told himself over and over, but guilt persisted to eat him from the inside out. If only I had been a little braver…

"Lorelei…was a good friend of your trainer, Des. She and he had a…special connection."

While Feyera was about to deny that his connection to Lorelei was anything substantial, he could not help but realize the truth in Sana's words. True Lorelei hadn't been romantically interested in him. But it was that sincere hope that had lead him to find out about his past. Sure, it was Sana charading about as her in his dreams, but could he blame the Gardevoir for trying to contact him through one of the more powerful feelings? He could honestly say that was the first time he felt something so emotional. It wasn't love, but it was something.

"She scarified herself," Edge wispily said. Who was he to her? Some no-name trainer with a researching partnership with Cipher's Ein. An active participant in the Sanctum Robbery. As unimportant he was, she was equally important. She was a member of Kanto's Elite Four. Her father was one of Kanto's magistrates. She was a somebody; she even owned a yacht and was under the belief that Feyera stole control of it from her. Edge had brought her to her doom. With her dying words, she warned him about Magneton's Zap Cannon. He felt tears in his eyes while he looked down at the Gardevoir's chest rise and fall next to his.

[I'm sorry boss,] Brucie said.

"She's…she's dead."

[My condolences, I…I didn't know, Edge.]

Sanaria petted his shoulder.

"Why did you get involved with her life?!" he yelled at Sana.

"I…I'm sorry, I…"

"Why did it have to be her? Couldn't you have just mind-controlled someone else?"

"She was the only one you had feelings for. She was in your dreams, you liked her."

"And now she's dead because I 'liked her'! Couldn't you have just told me to come to this Godforsaken island?!"

"If I did that, then you wouldn't have come here. There wouldn't have been any emotional motivator."

"Emotional motivator?! I wanted to get this thing—your mate's heart—out of my body! Isn't that emotional enough for you?! Isn't it emotional enough for me to tell you how I don't want to be trapped like this forever?!"

"That isn't a pure motivator though, just a means to an end, not an end in itself."

Feyera bit his tongue. Her words were true. He didn't like them, but they were true. Had he been able to remove the Gardevoir heart shard he wouldn't even know what to do with himself. Collect more badges? Research Pokemon? Go back to serving cups of coffee at Prevoy's? Everything revolved around the heart shard. Be it through employing psyonic powers or trying to remove it, it had become his essence.

[Adversity is like a strung gust o' the wind, darling. It's the type of wind that tears us from everything but the things that cannot be torn, so that we can see ourselves as we really are.]

"Des…that's…" Edge began. He was fighting back sentimental feelings at this point. His eyes continued to grow misty from the peaks of emotion he found himself situated upon.

[Nothin' but words of my former owner,] she said with a large wink, [but I sure hope you can understand em 'n shoot at the same time.]

"Shoot?" Sana asked with a gasp.

Feyera replicated her surprise. "What do you mean, 'shoot'?"

The Gyarados nodded, [Yeah, because where we're going, you'll be needing to shoot.]

"Huh? I don't understand…" Edge said, looking up at the Phaeton's afterglow. The sky had returned completely normal, save a faint glossy rim circling low in the horizon.

[They've got guns bigger than ours, Despie!] Brucie chimed in.

Did they really? Edge thought. He and Sanaria were able to create a much more powerful vortex together. Not even Ein could stand up to that kind of power. Knowing that filled him with excitement and worry all at the same time. True, Ein had a ray of particle light that could punch a hole through metal, but it was still a firearm. What Edge and Sana had was so much more…organic. It was sublimely worth fighting for.

[I'll take a wager 'n say ol' Ein hasn't counted on crossin' paths with me, hun,] said the Gyarados.

Feyera danced a hand on his kneecap. "Brucie, it doesn't matter how hot a fire burns, with enough water you can quell any firestorm. You just gotta know the weakness. And you gotta keep fighting."

Brucie glanced at his flame-tipped tail worriedly, [I think the white-coats have a lot more than a fire waiting for us.]

There was truth to the Chameleon's words, but emotions powered Edge with hope. Positive feedback from linking with Sanaria made the whole world brighter, more vibrant. He'd gained a set of reigns over all the validity. And such reigns were not based off reason. Quite the opposite. Edge couldn't—wouldn't protest.

"Yeah," he slowly replied, "but none of it has stopped us yet."

"See, veh Feyera?" Sana replied joyously. "We can do this!"