Alex: I think you're lying.

Brendan: I don't have nightmares anymore. I promise.

Alex: Daymares?

Brendan: Pretty sure those are called hallucinations :T

Alex: Do you hallucinate?

Brendan: No. Do you?

Alex: No. How's your stepmother doing?

Brendan: Mom's alright. Baby's due soon.

Alex: Does she still call you a lot?

Brendan: Yeah. I think she misses me.

Alex: Of course. She's your mom.

Brendan: I guess.

Alex: Hm. Goodnight.

Brendan: Goodnight.

Brendan: I'm sorry. I love you.

Alex: Okay.

Alex: Good morning. I had another nightmare.

Brendan: Do you wanna talk about it?

Alex: Nope. But I did have peanut butter and Oran Berries for breakfast ^^

Brendan: :O PB and Oran together? You barbarian.

Alex: Shut up. Did Aspen evolve yet?

Brendan: He did. He can speak now!

Alex: Can he sing?

Brendan: Aspen isn't the type to sing.

Alex: Pity. Mine sings.

Brendan: My paper got published.

Alex: Another one? You're like 17.

Brendan: I'm smart.

Alex: Clearly.

Alex: Goodnight.

Brendan: Goodnight. I'm sorry. I love you.

Brendan: Are you okay?

Brendan: Please be okay.

Brendan: I'm sorry.

Brendan: I'm so sorry.

Alex: ?

Alex: Brendan?

Alex: Hello?

Alex: What are you sorry for?

Alex: Brendan? Are you there?

Alex: You're kinda worrying me.

Alex: Brendan, you haven't answered for the entire day.

Alex: Brendan! Cut it out! This isn't funny!

Alex: I love you?

Alex: Why aren't you responding...

Alex: Professor says you're fine. Why aren't you responding to me...

Alex: I found out who my dad was.

Alex: Don't you wanna know?

Alex: Brendan, it's been a week.

Alex: Please.

Alex: Two weeks.

Alex: It was Archie of Team Aqua. Can you believe it? He was my dad, I mean. People leave me. You can't leave me, too.

Alex: You can't.

Alex: It's been three weeks.

Alex: What would they even do with a Meteorite?

Alex: Because they're not trying to expand the land/ocean or whatever like in the games. Those reasons are dumb, anyway.

Alex: Do you hate me?

Alex: It's been four weeks. I miss you talking about gas-lighting and hormonal imbalances.

Alex: Did you ever exist?

Alex: Torrent tells me to stop texting you.

Alex: Goodnight.

Lavaridge is a town that smells like spices and bitter herbs. Steep slopes of the mountains shoot straight into the sky, so that that the circle of blue looks like an ever changing ceiling. Nearby is a small forest, but there's no need to run to the woods to find nature. This town is steeped in nature; it's quiet, and small, twittering birds drip from branches, flitting through the air to land on weathered roofs.

Alex sits on a log on the outskirts of town, right where the forest starts to recede. She wipes the sweat from her face using her sleeve.

"You would never have been able to make that hike a month ago," Briar says, sitting down next to her. He isn't sweating at all, even in his cardigan, and neither are Torrent or Aiden. I, on the other hand, had to discard my jacket a while back and rip off the bottom half of my jeans into makeshift shorts. They'll reform in a couple of hours, but for now, I'm cooler than I would have been.

"I've gotten stronger," she responds, smiling.

She's been like this ever since Mt. Chimney.

She still smiles, but she doesn't laugh anymore. Her sparring has taken on a ferocity that would be frightening except for the fact that her decisions have steadily become more and more level-headed. Often, I see her stop mid-sentence when she catches herself complaining.

I remember the evening where we discussed the change.

"She's growing up," Briar told me when her behavior had just started to turn. Alex had gone to sleep, draped over Torrent's lap to counteract the heat. "Anyone would grow up after what she went through." Aiden nodded his head in agreement and Torrent simply stared into the flames, the flickering colors dyeing his irises to the likeness of fire.

But Skye said something different.

"She has a bad feeling in her chest, like when you eat too much, too fast and it get's stuck. I think it's called nest hurt? Nest pain?" She chirped a word in the old dialect, frustrated.

"Homesickness," I translated. "Why would she be homesick? I thought she decided to stay here?"

"Just because she decided to stay here," Torrent responded quietly, "doesn't mean she didn't have anything back at home."

"We're her family now, though," I argued.

"Not her biological family."

"What does that matter?"

"I don't know!" His answer was decidedly bitter. "Otherwise, I would know how to help her!" Alex stirred, mumbling something that sounded like a name, and then went silent.

"Torr is worried," Skye stated. I glanced at her to see wide, blue eyes staring at me. "And angry."

"Brendan stopped texting back," he said and then sighed. "She's been texting him but he's not responding. She thinks something happened to him."

"Maybe his phone broke," Briar reasoned.

"Maybe, but I think she thinks something bad happened to him."

"Is she afraid of people dying, then?" I asked.

"Nope. She's afraid of alone-ness. She doesn't wanna be abandoned," Skye answered, certain. Torrent nodded.

"You've been remarkably correct on certain things for the past few weeks," Briar said, passing a hand over her head.

"It's because I get feelings, Daddy."

"You're unusually empathetic."

She laughed and I shushed her, so she laughed quietly.

And even at this moment, I can see Skye's gaze fixated on Alex's face, knowing what she is feeling but unable to find the right words to help.

"This place has a fire-type gym," Alex continues after a silence, "So Torrent, you'll probably have no problem."

"No problem at all," he smiles in return, touching the side of her face.

Their dynamic has changed as well, and if Alex hasn't grown up, Torrent certainly has. He shifts his attitude to synchronize with Alex's newfound determination. He spars with her, seriously giving instruction, and isn't as loud and carefree as he once was.

"I want you to stay outside, Briar, and you, too, Aiden."

Aiden cocks his head, confused.

"Why me? Fire doesn't hurt me as much."

"You're reckless during fights," she says and Aiden frowns, "And I know you do fine against regular trainers, but this is a gym battle. I don't want you to get hurt. Anyways, I need you and Briar and Skye-"

"-I wanna come," Skye interrupts, darting forward to place a small hand on Alex's forearm. "I've never seen a gym battle before."

"It's not very different from a regular battle, Skye," Alex says, touching a lock of the Swablu's snowy hair.

"I still wanna come," she says stubbornly.

"I'll come, too," I say when Alex nods. "Skye's fast. I might need to go after her."

"Yay, Mommy's coming!"

I look down at her to see a smile as bright as her eyes, and I need to remind myself that it is a dangerous weakness to love the naive. But I don't have the heart to shake off the hand she curls around my fingers.

"Alright. Torrent, Skye, and Skyra will come with me. Briar and Aiden will go book a room at the hotel. I heard they have the best hot springs in Hoenn."

"Won't it be crowded?" Aiden asks, standing up and stretching.

"No. It's expensive."

"Then how are you gonna pay for it?"

She grins and holds up Steven's ring.

"He never took it back," she says, shrugging her shoulders, the smile still lighting up her face.

"Oh, I'm going to have so much fun with this," Briar says, taking the ring from her.

We walk together to the gym. Outside, Briar kisses Skye on the forehead, followed by Alex. Then, while Aiden hugs Alex, Briar turns to me and gives me a kiss that I feel burn through my chest. My mind stills. I am only aware of his hands on my hips and the fact that his mouth tastes sweet.

He chuckles at my dazed look when his lips leave mine.

"Don't die, Darling," he whispers, tucking a loose strand of hair back into my ponytail.

"I'm not even fighting," I mumble.

"And keep them safe."

"I will."

We hit a wall of heat so potent, it feels like a physical force trying to push us out. Thick steam fills the air, bringing with it the heavy scent of incense.

"We'll need to crawl," Alex coughs, waving away some of the smoke already escaping through the open door, "Are you sure you want to come with us Skye?"

She tucks her wings flat against her back and drops to the floor as an answer.

When all four of us are inside the gym, hugging the floor, the door behind us slides shut, leaving us squinting in the dim light.

"This reminds me of Dewford," Alex mutters. Torrent takes her hand. "Same thing as Dewford, then. Torrent, Water Gun anything that moves."

Slowly, we crawl, breathing the few feet of steam-free air and staying close to the left wall. Ever so often, Torrent clicks off the safety on his gun and pulls the trigger off to the right somewhere. I only hear sizzles, but I trust his eyesight. Anyway, better safe than sorry.

Eventually, we reach the edge of a small pool of water.

"This leads to the next room. Hold your breath, submerge, and emerge on the other side!" Alex reads off the sign fixed next to the wall. "Well, we can't do that or both of you will get your wings wet. Skyra, see if you can find a gap over the wall."

See? Level-headed. Determined.

I flap my wings softly, not knowing how high the ceiling is and indeed, I find that between the wall and the ceiling is a gap about four feet wide.

"Four feet of space," I say when I return to the ground," I can carry you, but Torrent has to go through the pool."

"Good thing Aiden didn't come then," she says. I lift her as Bastion lifted her so long ago: with an arm under her knees and an arm around her back, cradled to my chest. I flap harder this time, placing her on the wall on my first jump and then boosting myself on top of it on the second jump. Skye quickly follows suit, not even stopping to pause before jumping down to the other side. There is a splash as Torrent emerges out of the pool, wet hair sticking to his forehead.

Rinse and repeat.

Crawl.

Hold.

Jump.

Splash.

Crawl.

We follow the left wall, reasoning, as it is with all mazes, that an ending must be somewhere. After a solid forty minutes, and just as Alex starts to wheeze instead of breathe normally, we find a door. Torrent quickly opens it and we all stumble into a room that has significantly less smoke.

"And so you've found your way."

It front of us stands a woman with a braid of bright red hair coiled smoothly around her head. She looks like a civilian, with her simple clothes and plain face. The only thing that sets her apart are her tired eyes, much too old for her face.

"I am Flannery, Leader of this Fire Gym. Welcome, challenger."

For a moment, Alex does not speak.

"You're much different than you're portrayed to be," she finally says, shifting to her feet. Skye inches closer to me, grabbing the back of my shirt.

"Oh. You're the girl from the other world."

"Have you heard of me?"

"The gym leaders talk about you. Watson especially. He says that you're the girl who woke him up from his illusion of a city. They tore it all down and they're rebuilding." She pauses. "I heard you lost one there."

And Alex evenly stares back and responds, "I did and one before." Flannery's expression does not change, but her eyes do soften the tiniest bit.

"Have you come to challenge me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then," she rummages in her pocket and pulls out a PAL, "I hope you are well prepared." The PAL spins out of her hand onto the floor and a Numel materializes, blank-faced, waiting for instruction.

Would Aiden have looked like that if he had been caught by another trainer?

Torrent doesn't give me time to think further. Before the Numel can take out his weapons, he is blasted into the far wall by a pillar of mud.

Skye inches even closer to me.

The Marshtomp reloads his gun calmly.

"Next."

A Slugma comes out next, with a fiery dress and equally burning hair, but her eyes are as dull as coals.

Another click. Another pillar.

"Next."

When nothing else appears, I look up at Flannery and almost flinch at the look on her face. Her eyes are now alive with an internal flame as she slowly walks backward until she can barely be seen in the mist that swirls around the edges of the room. She throws in her next PAL and a huge figure emerges from the steam. The Camerupt barrels straight for Torrent, who flips neatly, aims backward without looking, and shoots his opponent down with a rush of water.

"Next."

"It's been a while since someone has beaten my Camerupt," Flannery says thoughtfully. From here, I can't see the expression on her face. "At least in one shot, anyway."

"Type advantage," Torrent responds. Alex doesn't say anything.

Flannery smiles.

"This will be fun," she says. "VALKYRIE!" and her voice snaps like the crack of a whip. Torrent tenses and then rolls sideways just as a figure drops from above, shattering the ground in a missed Body Slam.

"Skye," I say quietly, "Go to daddy."

"But-"

"Now."

She does what I say, closing the door on her way out.

Valkyrie stands slowly and although I am not afraid, I can feel Alex take a step back.

The Torkoal looks like a warrior, with a helmet and shield made of inky stone and a spear tipped by a blood-red metal. Her chest plate and leg gear reflects the light, but the most fearsome, the most intense, the most brilliant aspect is the expression on her face. Her chin tilts upward in pride and coupled with her massive frame, I understand why Alex is scared.

And even simpler than that: Valkyrie has an expression.

Valkyrie has a name.

Valkyrie is alive.

"As this is an official gym battle, this will be a fight to the death!" Flannery says, her voice ringing through the room. "Valkyrie, do you willingly fight for me?"

"I do," she says, shifting into a more threatening position.

"And you, Marshtomp, do you willingly fight for Alexandra?"

Torrent looks behind him to Alex and their eyes meet. I can't begin to comprehend the information that is exchanged with just a single glance, but I do understand the love that rolls off his tongue when he says, "I do."

"Then Valkyrie, Sunny Day!"

Balls of fire whirl from the tip of her spear, lighting up the room until there isn't a trace of a shadow anywhere.

"Water Gun!" Alex shouts and Torrent complies, the force of the water pushing Valkyrie back when it hits her shield.

"Push back! Body Slam!"

She takes two strides forward and jumps, smashing Torrent with her shield. He manages to block at the last second, but he's driven into the ground until he's up to his knees in the floor.

"Torrent get out of there!" Alex screams. "Or she's-"

But Torrent is turned away from her and when he looks back to receive his next order, Flannery yells:

"Overheat!"

I have just enough time to dive in front of Alex before the searing blast of white heat rushes towards her. I hold her to the front of my body, holding my wings downward to cover her legs.

"TORRENT!" Her cry is lost in the flames that roar around us. When it subsides, I feel Torrent behind me, lowering his arms. I realize that my wings are not burned. "Torrent!" Alex sobs.

"Dirty trick." His voice is cold. "She could have been hurt."

"Not with you there. Besides, she should have gotten out of the way," Valkyrie responds.

"Is that how you fight? By attacking trainers?"

"Both the trainer and Piece must equally be willing to die."

Torrent is about to say something, but stops mid-word. I look at him, unsure of what is happening, but he looks like he is concentrating hard on something. Valkyrie cocks her head, narrowing her eyes.

And then, I hear it.

Thump. Thump. Thump. THUMP. Thump. Thump. Shhh. THUMP. Shhh. Thump. THUMP. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Suddenly, Torrent whirls to one of the suns floating in the sky and shoots a double jet of water. There's a hiss and the whole room is suddenly flooded with steam. At the same time, Alex ducks flat onto the floor, tapping her fingers on the floor.

"What are you doing?!" I ask, crouching next to her.

Alex only briefly glances at me. I can just vaguely see her face through the mist, even though we're only a foot apart.

"Morse code!" she whispers and continues tapping the floor in varying intensity.

"What?!"

"Torrent has better eyesight than Valkyrie and Flannery! And he ranged, so he can attack without moving! As long as he stays quiet and as long as they can't see, he has the upper hand!"

"But Torrent can't hear you."

"He can feel the taps through the floor!"

At that moment, I am aware just how much she has changed.

"Then, win," I say.

It seems like a lifetime, waiting there in the mist, hearing the distant sounds of water and bright retaliations of fire and the faint tap-tapping. But eventually, Alex stands up.

"He won," she says quietly.

He killed someone, is what she won't say.

We wait for another lifetime and Torrent comes limping back to us, Sticker and TM in his hand. Alex runs forward, jumps up, and kisses him with a ferocity I didn't know she had. He kisses back for a second, and then pulls her down.

"Only for boyfriends, Lexa," but his voice is tired and quiet and grateful.

"I don't care," she says, hugging him tightly. "You're not dead. You're not-" and then her voice catches in her throat and giant tears roll down her cheeks. "Why am I crying?"

"Because we killed someone," Torrent says. "And Steven said to cry after every death."

"But it wasn't you who died."

"But it was someone," I say and hug Torrent so that she is in between us, crying. Torrent drops his head on my shoulder, hugging back. "It's alright to cry, Alex."

I let her weep until she is done, until the steam begins to lighten.

"Does Flannery need help?" I ask Torrent.

He shakes his head.

"No. She said she'll do it herself, by her own hands. Like we did," he responds, head on top of Alex's, arms tight around her. "Dust to dust."