Chapter 14: Life Among Rebels

It was quiet. Trey left his sleeping space, little more than a hole in the wall lined with a Mareep wool blanket, and found the Castform. She was looking over a list on the wall. "Master," he said softly.

She bobbed in the air, acknowledging him. "Would you go wake Lilli? She's late."

"Right." He went back into the hall they used for sleeping and looked around.

The Lucario was the only one still asleep; the others were at the other end of the hall, cleaning up at the small spring of water back there. Trey could just go over there and wake her. But, he was in the midst of alertness training himself, learning to be ready for battle as soon as he woke up, even countering to a point before he was fully alert. Waking his peer might be an invitation to attack.

Trey picked a pebble off the ground, then flicked it at Lilli as Gala the Gible was walking by. Lilli was up immediately, hitting her head against the dirt roof of her sleeping space. When she looked over, she saw Gala. "Hey, that was rude," she muttered.

"What?" she asked, twisting her large head. "What'd I do?"

"Wake me up."

She rolled her eyes. "You were sleeping too late anyhow. Get up."

"You didn't have to wake me that suddenly," she grumbled, rubbing her head.

"I didn't wake you up."

The two kept arguing with each other through the morning routine. When the group gathered, Bubbles narrowed her eyes at them. "Just what are you arguing about?"

"She says I woke her up rudely, when she was sleeping late in the first place," Gala complained.

"I'm sure it was her," Lilli stated.

She bobbed. "So that's how it is." She looked to him. "Good work, Trey."

"I just did as asked," he replied.

Gala and Lilli glared at him. It gave Trey something of an extra incentive to be fast but unnoticed in his workouts, so that he could avoid them. Over the cycles, he kept pushing himself to get faster, to better fit into the group's methods. He couldn't tell much of an improvement cycle by cycle, but after the routine had gotten ingrained in him, he could run the mini-dungeon test in half the time. Still, that was still too slow.

The schedule had no time to go by, but eventually, Bubbles called everyone to break for a meal. At that time, Trey spotted Gala and Lilli together. He considered finding a way around them, but then checked closer. The Gible had somehow gotten the Lucario tied down with one of her hand spikes jammed into the ground dirt. Rather impressive, considering how small the Gible's arms were compared to the rest of her body. "This is what you get for making me look bad," Gala stated harshly.

"Hey, I apologized for that mistake," Lilli said, trying to get herself free. "This isn't fair."

"Neither is making me look bad in front of Master Bubbles. You're not getting this meal."

Feeling bad for Lilli, Trey prepared his Bullet Seed attack. It was normally inaccurate. But if he took a bit of time and only fired a seed or two, he could give himself a respectable marksmanship with it. He caused one of the ropes holding Lilli down to snap. That gave the Lucario enough movement to pull out her hand spike and get fully free herself.

"Seems you've made a mistake," Lilli said. But she did not retaliate. Instead, she went towards the room where they ate.

Gala huffed in annoyance, but followed soon after.

At the meal, Lilli wound up by Trey without the Grovyle really noticing. "You snapped the ropes for me, didn't you?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," he replied. "How did you figure that?"

"You're the only one of us who uses Bullet Seed. Simple enough. I don't think Gala's figured it out though."

"Ah. Sorry about this morning. Master Bubbles asked me to get you up, but I didn't want to find a fist in my face for a response."

"An understandable reluctance." She smiled and Trey knew Lilli would back him up if Gala got them in trouble.

After the meal, Bubbles took Trey into one of the training rooms. "It may come as a surprise, but I've worked with one of your kind before," she told him. "You've learned to use the leaves on your arms as weapons. I want to see you add some distance to your leaf attacks."

"I won't be able to add too much distance," he pointed out. "Leaves are a light weight material and the force won't be as great."

"True. But even a distance of an extra step or two can give a great advantage." She then began drilling him on how to blend Razor Leaf with Quick Attack.

After that, he got paired with Lilli for sparring practice. Normally, Trey didn't like that set-up; he had a difficult time doing decent damage to the part-Steel type. But they got to chatting more than actually fighting, so it wasn't so bad.

"You know, I haven't spent much time with any group in this place," Lilli said at one point. "People are nice, to a point. But it seems impossible to make any friends, so I never feel like sticking around any of the groups."

"I've only been in this group, but I can see what you mean," Trey replied. "Everyone's so defensive."

She nodded. "I know we have to be cautious, but it gets ridiculous."

Once the cycle's practices and lessons were over, the clan members got free time to do what they liked. A few kept training while others played games with other groups. Most cycles, Trey spent this free time reading. This time, he chatted with Lilli, playing checkers with her. It was the first time where Trey didn't feel quite so lonely. His friends were still dead… but at least he had a new one.

At the end of the cycle, Bubbles called the group together. "We've been given a mission to carry out next cycle," she informed them. "There is a group in Dusk Forest that is carrying out unethical experiments on the wild Pokmeon of that dungeon. We do not know if they are connected to Primal Dialga or not, but we must stop their cruel experiments. I want us to go in pairs this time. Konga and Gala, Lilli and Trey, and Scepta coming with me." She then went into the details known about the group.


Mew and Mewtwo were traveling over the ocean. Unfortunately, teleporting the distance needed was out of the question in this era of darkness. The pair could manage themselves with telekinesis, but had to equip themselves lightly in order to go that distance. "You're wary of entering the human lands again," Mew noted.

Mewtwo scowled. "Of course I am."

"They must be suffering from this darkness as well," she said. "Despite all their technology, much of it depends on time and they don't realize it. At least, they didn't. I wonder what they've done without it."

"I still can't believe that the only person we found with that talent had to be a human," Mewtwo grumbled.

"It would be easier with a Pokemon," Mew agreed. "And we wouldn't have to risk the sea voyage back. But, that's how things go."

A bolt of unexpected lightning lit up the frozen waves below. In that moment of illumination, they caught a shadow outline of a large bird Pokemon high in the sky. Mewtwo swore under his breath. Back when the sun was in the sky, they would have sensed him coming from miles away. Under this darkness, they still could not sense Primal Zapdos even when they could see his form. And they couldn't even telepath each other when they were right next to each other, this because their powers were focused on the telekinesis.

Mew stopped abruptly, causing Mewtwo to do the same. They waited motionless for a moment. Above them, Primal Zapdos lit himself up with sparks from his wings. They died off, leaving the sky dark again… then lit up again as he flapped his wings and started circling. Another lightning bolt struck the ocean, but not near them. Primal Zapdos made several circles around the area, then decided they weren't actually there. He went back to flying wherever he had been heading originally.

The two of them waited until the sparks in the sky were at a sufficient distance away. "It's almost good that they didn't retain their full intelligence," Mewtwo grumbled as they set off once again.


As they left the underground base, Gala came over to Trey. "Hey, make sure your partner doesn't go off flirting with any of the wild ones," she said cheekily, then hopped off with a cackle.

The Lucario grimaced at that. Trey asked, "What was that about?"

"Dumb thing that happened long ago," Lilli replied as they made their own path towards Dusk Forest. "I was born in the time of the sun, of course, and even evolved before the darkness. But when the chaos of the planet's paralysis happened, many civilized towns were scattered."

"What about Treasure Town?" Trey interrupted.

"That place? Dialga descended upon that town first and killed everyone there."

He felt his heart drop into his stomach. "Everyone?"

"We don't know why, but that's what happened. Anyhow, I lost all of my civilized friends. I wound up staying with a wild Meditite. He was nice, but I could never get him civilized. And then we… well, nobody will let me live that down now." She appeared rather distracted in thought, an unusal thing for her.

Despite getting the nasty shock about the fate of Treasure Town, Trey felt a bit of sympathy for Lilli. There were the civilized Pokemon, blessed with language and laws, and then there were the wild Pokemon, unable to learn what the civilized knew. It was considered taboo to have anything other than a temporary relationship with a wild Pokemon, especially if it was made up of anything deeper than simple cooperation. "I can't relate entirely to that," Trey admitted. "But I was born half-wild and made civilized. That kind of thing, others will be tough on you for no adequate reason."

The relaxing of her ears showed that she appreciated the acceptance. "The wild ones are Pokemon too, and deserve respect. And besides, at least they're not primals." After a pause, she corrected, "Not all of them."

When they got to Dusk Forest itself, they stopped talking. They knew where the group was located, but there could be scouts about. Lucario and Grovyle snuck through the thick forest, making not a sound. There was an strange low light surrounding the trees, like a permanent dusk in the darkness. While he should have been paying attention, Trey's mind kept drifting. Treasure Town was gone… he didn't want to believe that, but Lilli had stated it so simply, like fact that couldn't be denied.

His teammate stopped, so Trey focused on the area. There was a glow of light; in this era of darkness, it had to be a gathering of Pokemon. Coming closer, they saw two Pokemon that were part of the group they were assigned to take down. A third was just out of the reach of the glowing crystal providing the light, snapping a skull into tiny pieces. That kind of behavior was an indication that the individual might be a Primal, the senseless continued destruction of a fallen foe.

Trey felt a squirm of nervousness. If these three were Primals, he and Lilli were to kill them. Although Bubbles had bluntly said that the clan were assassins, Trey hadn't been ordered to do something like that yet. Could he manage this?

The two who were talking were examining a blue Orb. "Does it work as planned?"

"We've been testing it on wild ones. So far, it has a seventy percent success rate."

"That's far less than other Orbs."

"Yes, but Master Dialga is asking for something incredible. Making others feel as we do is harder than it sounds."

So they were Primals, working for the Primal leader directly. 'They're insane Pokemon,' Trey told himself. 'They're like the outlaws caught up in the darkness, but much worse. They would torture and kill you without thought. They're a mockery of civilized Pokemon.'

Lilli gripped his arm and nodded to him. Trey nodded back, feeling reassured. Without a word, he knew what the older Pokemon was telling him. This would be hard, but they had to do this. They moved in. Trey went over to the one destroying the skull. It was easier for him to see that one as Primal than the two who had been speaking.

In a moment, they were caught in battle. Lilli had punched the one with the mysterious Orb. Trey went in and struck the third. The second then snatched the Orb and smashed it on the ground. It released a plume of black smoke. However, it was neither thick nor obscuring.

Kill them; they're like Bloody Claw, killers and torturers.

Trey grimaced, but caught the darkness before it overwhelmed him. So they had an Orb now that sharpened the call of the darkness? It would help them gather more Primals.

Before he could continue that thought, he heard Lilli scream. Then, blindingly fast, the Lucario killed both of her targets, then fired a large glowing orb at Trey and the third Primal. Trey managed to jump aside, while the third Primal was knocked into a tree and killed. Then she narrowed her eyes at Trey. "You were laughing at me," she growled.

"What are you talking about, Lilli?" Trey asked, hoping he could calm his friend down.

She clenched her fists. "I shouldn't have told you about Medicham. Now you're laughing at me too. You didn't say anything the whole time we were coming here… you were laughing at me!" She fired another Aura Sphere at Trey.

He dodged, just barely. 'Too slow,' he heard an echo in his mind. 'You should show her,' another taunted. Trey forced himself to ignore them both. "No I wasn't. I came from Treasure Town and I was shocked to hear about…"

"Stop lying!" she growled with a darker tone, as Primal Pokemon often did when angered. She rushed at Trey to punch him.

After everything had quieted, Bubbles and Scepta found the camp site. Four white skeletons lay on the ground; in this era, something called the silver curse devoured fresh corpses, leaving just the bones. Trey was still there, trembling in nervousness and battered down to near-collapse. "There were four?" Bubbles asked.

"Three," he corrected. "They… they were developing an Orb which turns victims into Primals. Lilli got hit by it and killed the three targets."

"This is not a good development," Scepta noted.

The Castform came over to Trey and nosed him on the shoulder. "You did what you had to. I'm ordering you to stand down for a few cycles and speak to the clerics."

He bowed his head. "Yes, Master."


Days were impossible to measure. But there was a routine with the ninja clan led by Bubbles. The Castform would train Trey while the others were training with each other, then switch to another of her students. They held races in which he was really pushed to move faster, quieter, and more efficiently. They broke for a meal (which was as bland as Celebi said, but Trey was often hungry enough that he didn't care) and discussion of anything but battling. Then they practiced sparring by splitting up into twos or threes. Then there was practice of stealth by trying to sneak up on each other. Then there was a free time where he studied the books the clan had. Then there was sleep. Then it started all over again.

The main unpredictable thing was Celebi herself. Apparently, no group in the rebellion could tell when, where, or why she would show up. She would just be there, observing and cheering for everybody. Sometimes she passed along news or requests. She always seemed to be doing something. She also seemed to be avoiding Trey.

It concerned him from time to time, as he was sure Shaelin wanted him to be a more supportive supporter. But he didn't see a way to get her to open up to him when she was such a wild card. And if she didn't want to be around him (probably because he reminded her of why Shaelin died), it would work against him if he tried to talk when she didn't want to.

However, Trey still felt lonely, despite all the Pokemon around him. The clan was good; they were teaching him skills, pushing his strategies, and helping him to become a much more effective fighter than before. Konga the Sneasel even helped him unwittingly, by making Trey find better ways to mentally combat his inner darkness so he could deal with the Dark type every cycle. But they weren't really close, nothing like Team Marmalade had been like. He didn't even want to think about Lilli's fate.

On top of that, every cycle seemed to be exactly the same. Pokemon spoke of a major battle coming up, or in the works, or asking when it would be. But it never seemed to materialize.

At least, not yet.


Mew and Mewtwo entered the settlement. It had been destroyed. Fires still crackled and sent off smoke, which hung in the air to never fully go away. How long had those fires been blazing? It was impossible to tell; the ashes hung like fog in the air.

"Ah crud," Mewtwo said. "The Primals got here before us."

"Our target is still alive, though," Mew said. "Let's go."

They moved along the outer rim of the smoke filled area; any human who was still in there was probably dead from inhaling the filthy air. After going halfway around, they saw actual movement. Kneeling by the side of the road, there was a little girl. She seemed to be seven, although true age was difficult to determine when time did not exist. The albino girl wore ashy clothes, of a white blouse and a plaid blue and green skirt. With the way she was wheezing, she shouldn't have been anywhere near the smoke domed town.

"That's her," Mew said, flying over to cast a spell that eased the girl's breathing.

"How reassuring," he said sarcastically to himself.

"It's okay, dear, we'll help you now," Mew told her, as she tugged at her to get away from the smoke area.

The girl jerked her hand away and made several movements. Her blue eyes, lighter in color than the two feline Pokemon's deep blue eyes, looked between them. Seemingly, she was looking for understanding.

Mew looked stumped. "Oh, she's deaf… it's going to be an awful lot of trouble to use telepathy."

"Then don't," Mewtwo said. "She's looking for her mother." He signed to her that she was dead.

The girl started crying. She shook her head and balled up her fists. She wasn't going to believe that. At least she showed some spirit.

"Mewtwo, what did you tell her?" Mew asked sharply.

"The truth, most likely," he said, looking into the ruined town.

"She's just a little girl. Well then, tell her that her parents sent us to protect her."

"That isn't the truth. And besides, she's probably mentally not a little girl."

"It'll make her feel better than what you just told her."

"Fine." He moved his hand to get the girl's attention, then gave her the message Mew wanted to tell her.

She sniffed and looked between them again. "Really?" she signed.

"Really," he signed back. "I'm called Mewtwo, and this is Mew. What are you called?"

In five motions, she gave him her name.

"Her name is Sally," Mewtwo told Mew.