The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters - Chapter 4: DrEaM

Jung's feet felt like cinderblocks, walking through those hollow hallways. Those nightmares were a shock to his system. His tummy cramped with the mother of all hunger pains. What he saw in there as well… was that what happened in his subconscious? Oh god, what was wrong with him?

No, that had to wait. No point in psychoanalysing himself for now. All he needed was to go back downstairs and mooch off of somebody else's dreams.

It was dark. He must've been out cold for god knows how long. He could barely find his way down the stairs, almost missing the first step. Jung took a moment to catch his breath. After a few seconds, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he continued his descent. The floor creaked beneath his weight. The air tasted stale. The chatter of Hypno echoed from afar. With the ambience of the hallways, he half expected a Gastly to pop out of the walls. As he came downstairs, the draft blew in through a cracked window, making him shiver. That did little to elevate his mood.

Thankfully, he found solace in the newly-occupied lounge room, lit by candlefire. This time, the Hypno were awake, and the room bustled with activity. Some Drowzee played together, chasing each other around the house. They were probably hyperactive waking up from their dream-eating sessions.

Some played with Hypno, either amusing each other by using telekinesis on different objects in the room, or playing board games. From the tattered game boxes, they had probably been left in the building since before it was abandoned. The air was filled with yawns from the Hypno, though. One, then another, then the rest of the room. Even Jung yawned.

"See?" one Hypno said. "Told you you're contagious."

"Aw, shut up." The other Hypno threw a chess piece at them, only for the offending Hypno to stop it in mid air. "Anyway, it's your turn — you've been staring at the board for, like, a while now."

Despite their tiredness, it was nice to see them having fun even under these conditions. Jeanne was awake too, reading one of her books by candlelight. She was separate from the others, sequestered in her book nook, but she smiled as she read, so she seemed satisfied.

"Oh, hey," Jeanne said. She was a sight for sore eyes after all that dream nonsense. "Wow, you look much different in person."

"How so?"

"Those clothes." Jeanne tilted her head. "You look like you're about to dissect a Politoed."

"Well, I guess I am a doctor in a sense." Jung yawned again. He didn't realise how tired he was that even the act of standing still felt like an ordeal. "Sorry, can I sit down on one of these armchairs?"

"Go for it!"

"Thank you." Jung sighed and slumped to the adjacent armchair. "My word, I feel dreadful."

"So he showed you your nightmares? Must've been bad for you to get winded like that, though we all get 'em at some point."

"I know. It's not just that, it's–" Jung shook his head. "Nothing. I… I'm fine."

"Okay, if ya say so. What did Hoothoot tell you?"

"To start eating dreams again." Jung sat up, patting his belly. "I'm honestly considering it at this point."

"Well, I'd be happy to lend a hand, but us Hypno need to recharge our batteries, y'know. That's why we have times where we stay awake and feed off the Drowzee — we need to refill the well so there's a bit of meat to our dreams."

"Ah, understandable. I don't wish to intrude on your dwelling, it's just that I don't know who else to ask. Not that I know if I want to ask."

"It's tough, especially if you're mixing with humans and all." She puffed her cheeks. "My trainer used to think the whole idea was creepy. And even if he let me eat his dreams, that meant having to share the same tent with him while he slept."

Jung blinked. "That's… I never thought of that, but I can imagine how difficult that would be. Not to mention embarrassing."

"My teammates offered, so at least I got my fix." She scratched her nose. "Tell ya what, when Brie wakes up, I'll ask him if he's got a free slot."

"Thank you."

Jeanne went back to reading her book. All the other Hypno and Drowzee did their own thing. As much as Jung wanted to talk to them, he didn't know how willing they were to approach him, if they even noticed him. He saw no sign of Drip anywhere either. Out of boredom, Jung glanced at the disused grandfather clock towed away in the corner of the room, missing its pendulum.

Eventually, Jung stood up and peered at the book Jeanne read. The paper was off yellow and the pages had a few tears in them — the page Jeanne read featured an illustration of a menacing-looking bard with some sort of instrument leading a line of Rattata through a medieval street.

"Is that the man I saw in your dream?" Jung asked.

"Yeah. I only read it once before, but dreaming about that made me think of it again." She hummed. "It's not my favourite story, but it has an interesting history to it."

"I don't think I've heard of the Organ Grinder before — the legend, not the hurdy gurdy. How does it go?"

"Okay then…" She flicked back to the starting page. "In the old Kingdom of Camfora, which was later named Camphrier, there was a Rattata infestation." The illustration featured a horde of Rattata chewing through wooden crates, food supplies, and the flooring of peoples' homes. "And along came a bard, the fabled Organ Grinder, bedazzled with colourful garments. He promised to hypnotise the Rattata of Camfora in exchange for coin."

The bard looked suspiciously Hypno-like, especially with the ears in his pointy hat.

"And so, he struck the hurdy gurdy, ensnaring the throng with his song. One by one, he led the Rattata to the edge of a cliff, where they each fell to their doom. The mayor, however, only paid a pittance for his services, snubbing their saviour."

The next page featured the Organ Grinder leading a mass of human children down the same path as the Rattata.

"As revenge, he played to an audience of 200 children of Camfora. None of the townsfolk noticed as their young were led astray, for they were enchanted by his song too."

The last image featured the Organ Grinder staring back at the reader with a mischievous grin. They were completely naked for they had turned back into a Hypno and abandoned their clothes. The hurdy gurdy was absent, replaced instead by a pendulum.

"Neither child nor adult knew he was a Hypno in human skin."

Jung scoffed and sat down. How preposterous. That was just a shaggy dog story, no investment in the characters whatsoever. Wait, why was he critiquing a fairy tale, of all things? No, he had to read in between the lines.

"So… the message is to not trust any Hypno you see. Or perhaps, anyone in general, for they may be a Pokemon in disguise plotting to kill you."

"Sorta? Could be about paying your debts and keeping promises, could be about stranger danger." Jeanne flicked through more pages. "Back then, a lot of humans still feared Pokemon, and vice versa. The only thing you could do back then was simply survive til the next day. So they wrote fairy tales to warn children not to play with fire or cry wolf, or follow the suspicious Pokemon."

That checked out, as sad as it was to think about. Again, he had to count his blessings. Then he had a thought.

"Was there a time where we weren't feared?"

"Hard to tell, not a lot of stories really talk about us, so I dunno if it was always the case. We were used as therapy mon, like Chansey, though more for putting patients to sleep." She winked at Jung. "You couldn't have picked a better job."

"Yes." Jung took a deep breath. He was very lucky to be in this position. He had to remind himself of that.

The cheese-eating Hypno walked in from the kitchen. If Jung had to wager a guess, that would've been Brie. He waved at Jeanne, only to lower his hand when he noticed Jung.

"Who's this?"

"A city slicker," Jeanne chimed in. "He just needed our help with something."

"Mmm hmm." Brie squinted, staring through Jung. "We shouldn't be taking anyone else in."

"According to who? It doesn't bother Hoothoot."

"It bothers me. I've dealt with enough trouble getting back here, I don't want some rando in the mix at the moment."

Brie huffed as he went back to the other room. Jung rose, looking at the door.

"I don't mind leaving if I'm being a problem here."

"Ignore him. I'm sure you understand why we have Moony out there guarding the place."

"To stop humans from getting in."

"Yeah, and Brie doesn't like anything that poses a risk to that. If those rangers found out where we're staying, they'd kick us out."

"But you're not doing any harm here."

"It won't make a difference to them since we're Hypno." She slammed the book shut. "And this is a historical site, after all."

"Right." He remembered the state of those mines. "What happened here?"

Jeanne cleared her throat. "From what I remember — don't know where I got it from —, decades ago, everyone used to dig here for coal, since they still used steam trains and had boilers and such. When coal became useless, all the mines in Kalos went bust, and all the workers either moved on or struggled to find their feet afterwards. I think the folks left in charge of protecting this place wanna do something with it, so we're not even supposed to be here."

"Balderdash. This place seems like it's been closed for ages, what are they even planning to do with it?"

"Turn it into a theme park? Or a mansion? I dunno, beats me."

"And ignoring that, you all have every right to stay somewhere safe, especially taking care of your Drowzee."

"I know that." She shook her head. "But whatever. It is what it is."

Brie popped out from the other room. "I don't suppose you can read out that recipe for me, Jeanne?"

"On it!" She grabbed an old cookbook from the shelf and padded across the lounge room. "Oh, you can come with, if you wanna sort this dream eating thing out."

Jung had nothing else to do, so he followed her into the next room.

A pair of Drowzee sat beneath the kitchen table, munching on morsels of cheese. Jeanne and Brie were hunched over the dusty counter, where there was an empty plastic bag, a bag of flour, and a few other ingredients in the mix as well.

"Oh, I wish we had one of those seashell moulds," Brie said, adjusting his ratty apron. "Those madeleines sound scrumptious."

"Imagine stealing a whole metal tray and carting it back, though," Jeanne replied.

"Don't tempt me."

"Hide it under your fur, maybe?"

"I wish. I'd steal a whole kitchen from those humans if I could, imagine all the stuff I could make. Don't suppose you've ever tried madeleines while you were out there, Jeanne?"

"Nah, my trainer was more of a spicy sort of guy."

"He had bad taste, then."

Jung felt like he was intruding, but somehow, despite the age this place showed, it felt like home.

"I love madeleines," Jung chimed in, trying to get a peek of what they were working on. "There's one bakery in my city that sells massive ones with these hard chocolate shells as well, it really compliments the soft spongy texture."

Brie sharply turned. "I didn't ask you."

"Aw, come off it, Brie. This guy has quite the sweet tooth, don't you, Jung?"

"Yes. And I can't say I'm an expert at it, but I've dipped my paws in the dough before, so to speak. I'm certain that cakes make up 90% of my diet."

Brie silently turned back to the counter.

"I'm surprised you can bake anything with that stove."

"Barely." Brie huffed.

Jung pushed himself next to Jeanne, giving him a view of the counter. Brie's dust-caked paws whisked some batter in a chipped pottery bowl.

"So, I think Jung has something to ask you," Jeanne said.

Brie's frame deflated like a balloon. "What is it?"

There was no chance Brie would be so accommodating towards Jung right now. He needed to change the subject.

"Have you tried making madeleines without the mould?"

Jeanne knitted her eyebrows, while Brie raised them.

"You need the tray for that, don't you?" he asked.

"Not strictly, the shape doesn't affect the taste. The seashell is only a tradition. Therefore, you don't need a mould to make them since they only require the same ingredients."

"So they'd just be tiny sponge cakes."

"Yes, but you could also press a fork into the mixture on the tray." Then he had another idea. "Oh, Jeanne, do we have enough ingredients to make them?"

She blinked, then turned her nose to the book as she flipped back to the page with the recipe on them. "We'd need two eggs, some caster sugar, flour, baking powder and butter, and maybe a grepa berry for some zest as well."

"Well, it's not as if I can make grepas grow on trees, can I?" Brie mixed with gusto, spraying flecks of batter flying on the counter.

"Well, yeah, they're berries."

"Oh. Whoops." He blew a raspberry. "I guess I could try, though. Wait, I'm making something with similar ingredients, aren't I?"

"Yes," Jung said, "and you can have choco chip madeleines as well."

"Wow, so this might actually work!"

"Indeed! I can help you if you'd like as well!"

Brie shifted over, making some room for Jung at the counter. From there, they got to work, mixing in the extra batches of ingredients for the changed recipe. Jung didn't mind a bit of dirty work in the kitchen, and thankfully, Brie seemed to mellow out in his presence.

Next, they poured the mixture onto the tray. Each cake was supposed to be tiny and evenly spaced out, but because of the delicate nature of the work and their limited supplies, the sizes varied from pea sized to cookie shaped. But this didn't deter their experiment as they popped it in the oven.

Brie wiped his paws on his apron and rested against the counter, exhaling contentedly.

"Well, I hope this works. Then again, it's always fun just messing around in the kitchen."

"Indeed." Jung smiled. "I forget how fun it is to bake sometimes."

"Oh yeah, Jung, was it? What's your situation? Who trains you?"

"Ah, no, no. I work by myself, so I don't need a trainer."

"No way." Brie hummed as he cut up a morsel of blue cheddar on the side. "What sort of place would let a Hypno in?"

"A place that needed my abilities and my expertise." He wrinkled his nose as Brie offered him some cheese. "I'm good, thank you."

"You've got to keep your strength up." Brie patted his stocky belly. "Besides, you're missing out on some crazy dreams."

"Yeah, I can always smell 'em," Jeanne scoffed.

"I know what cheese dreams feel like," Jung said, "I just don't like the taste. Anyway, they let me use the kitchen in the canteen sometimes, but even then, I don't have much spare time to bake something."

"You get a whole canteen to yourself?" Brie put the piece aside and bit a whole chunk out of the wheel. "Can we swap places?"

He would've said no, but given their circumstances, that seemed foolish. "I wouldn't mind."

"We're lucky that we have this kitchen at all," Jeanne piped in, flicking through the recipe book. "Not that we need to eat or anythin', but it's nice to have something that isn't spirit food sometimes."

"I'm sure both of you need a dose of reality here and there."

"Indeed." Brie chewed slowly, swallowed, then sighed. "Well, it's the only thing that gives me hope here, baking. It reminds me that I'm living, not just surviving."

"I suppose that's all we can do, find hope in hopelessness." Jung stared at the old, dusty floorboards. "I apologise if we got off on the wrong foot. I hope all of you are finding ways to cope with this living situation – I also realise I'm in a privileged position myself."

"Nah, it's okay." Brie shook Jung's paw. "We've been managing on our own for some time now, like…" He pulled back, tenting his fingers. "Um, Jeanne, help me out."

"I've been here for two years, and Brie's been here longer than I have, so it's not like this is new to us. We're all misfits here." Jeanne glanced at the two Drowzee who happily dozed off next to each other, murmuring in their sleep. She pointed at one of them. "We found her abandoned in the woods." Then pointed to the next one. "Him and his parents came here, but one of them passed away after an encounter in the wild."

Jung clutched his chest. "How horrible."

"As I said, it is what it is." Jeanne patted Brie's shoulder. "At least we've got each other."

Jung never felt something like this before, this sense of community among Hypno. It was impossible for him to stay here for too long, but he could dream. And helping Brie out brought heat to his cold chest.

He came here for a reason, however. And the tension between him and Brie eased for now, so perhaps it was a good time to bring it up.

"I came to ask for a favour," Jung started. "I've been having terrible nightmares lately, and Hoothoot recommended that I eat somebody's dreams. Is there anyone that would be available in your schedule?"

"Ah, of course! I'm pretty sure I can fit you in." Brie pulled out the clipboard and Jeanne picked up a pencil from the table. "Drip's the odd one out at the moment, so he still needs to give his dreams to someone, if he's willing to."

"Okay, we're sorted." Jeanne scratched something out, then scribbled in Jung's name. "You know that Drowzee you gave the bonbons to? You'll be feeding off of him."

Jung grimaced. "Somehow, that sounds wrong. Especially from a child."

"You're eating his dreams, not biting his head off. Besides, he went to sleep early, so you'd be doing us a favour by putting his dreams to good use."

"Sorry, I'm still not used to that. Anyway, I'm immensely grateful for you two. I–" Jung's nose twitched at the smell of burning dough. "I think those cakes are ready."

Brie pulled the tray out with his own telekinesis, placing it carefully onto the stovetop. The batter solidified and rose to mixed results. Some came out with their signature dome shape and fluffy texture, others came out lumpy or conjoined. For the finishing touches, Jung grabbed a fork and pressed its prongs into the batches. They served as suitable facsimiles of seashells, which Brie hummed at.

"Now the moment of truth." Brie peeled the cake off with his powers, then placed it on his tongue. He chewed, chomped, and savoured before swallowing. All the while, Jung, and Jeanne waited with bated breath.

"It's… bland." Brie stuck his tongue out. "Even the sugar doesn't seem to help."

"Oh." Jung tried one, which only confirmed Brie's comments. It tasted like cheap chocolate with a spongy texture. And there was an odd, smoky aftertaste from the charred wood. "Ah, well, I'm sorry this didn't work."

"Nah, I have the same problem with those other cakes I keep making."

Unexpectedly, Brie put the tray aside and hugged Jung, burying him in a sea of fluff. This was… nice. Really nice. Jung could get used to this. Before he could hug him back, Brie let go.

"Thank you, though, for helping me." Brie smiled. "I had fun. That's what matters."

"I'm glad." Jung stroked his hot cheek. "I had fun too."

"Get a room, you two." Jeanne picked one madeleine off the tray and popped it in her mouth. "I mean, chocolate is chocolate, so that's nice. I give it a solid C minus."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Brie asked.

"It's passable, barely."

"Passable is good enough. Next time, I might add some of that zest." He turned to the two dozing Drowzee. "We should start giving these out – they'll be first come first served." Brie put a few more on a chipped plate, along with some cheese. "I'm saving this for Drip when he wakes up."

"Ah, right, where is he?" Jung asked.

"He's snoozing in the dorms." Jeanne waved to the door. "I'll lead you there."

So that was settled. Jung waved back to Brie as he re-entered the lounge area. Then back through those dark, dank hallways. Something bumped. It was subtle, but noticeable. Where it came from, however, he couldn't quite place. He listened again. It stopped. That was bizarre. It certainly didn't do wonders for this place's vibe.

"Jeanne, can I ask who on earth's knocking?"

"Ah yeah, it's nothing." Jeanne replied. She walked to the source of the sound and pulled open the door to reveal an old water closet with rusty pipes. "This place has baths and everything, though we don't really have running water here. So sometimes, the plumbing gets all creaky."

Jung inhaled. It smelled musty, but not terrible, and Jeanne didn't have any odour to speak of. "How do you bathe then? And even with the dream-eating, you need to stay hydrated as well."

"Well duh. There's a quarry we bathe in near the mines. That has a freshwater spring as well we usually drink from. Or we steal the bottles from different places."

"Right, I wondered how Brie was able to acquire those ingredients."

"I hope you don't have a problem with it. It's not like we have much choice."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't dream of judging you for it."

Jeanne turned back and cocked a finger gun. "Ha, dream. Good pun."

Jung scoffed. He didn't even plan that joke.

After that detour, they reached the dorms, the exact same one Jung visited before. Drip lay curled up like a baby on a floor, clutching a blanket. Beside him was a candle and a few picture books - one in particular was Perry Pignite, which featured the titular Pokemon tending to a farm in a soft, watercolour art style. Beside it was another book on cultivating farmland. And Drip's dreams tasted of strawberries, bonbons, soil and… metal. Like the taste of blood.

That made Jung stop in his tracks. He considered turning back when Jeanne sat beside Drip, stroking his side.

"He's been going through a lot lately," Jeanne said. "I'll let him tell you when you see him in his dreams."

"Alright, thanks, Jeanne," Jung said, sitting down alongside him. He stared at Drip for a moment, observing as he muttered in his sleep, tossed and turned, and sometimes kicked at the air. He looked so relaxed. Who was Jung to take that away from him? And yet, those dreams were being presented to him on a silver platter.

"Jung." Jeanne patted his back. "Ya don't have to if you don't want to. Either way, I think he'll like you visiting him. I also think he took quite a shine to you, from what he told me in my dreams."

"He did?"

"I mean, you gave him your sweets, so that's one way to get on his good side."

Right, of course. He'd forgotten after getting swept up in all that nightmarish chaos. But no, it would be fine. Jung laid down beside Drip, held out the pendulum in front of him, and chanted one, two, three…

Jung was a Diglett, poking through the earth and back into the soil. He found himself in various clearings, forests and odds and ends in the world, even poking through the seabed at one point, until eventually he popped out into a farmland filled with strawberry trees. Those strawberries were ripe for the picking, glistening in the sun, juices dripping down their pips.

A Drowzee in overalls emerged, holding a shovel. He dug the Diglett out, using all of his strength and might to uproot him. The rest of Jung emerged, sporting a regular Hypno body except with a very smooth, Diglett-like head and a bulbous nose.

"Hey, hey, four eyes!" Drip greeted. "Well, beady eyes, this time, anyway, this is my dream! How's it going?"

Jung smiled. "Well, it's quite the impressive farm you've cultivated here."

A Drilbur in a sunhat sniffled and snuffled at the soil, finding Jung and Drip.

"Oh hello, Perry," the Drilbur said, "I hope those Bunnelby aren't going to pester us today!"

"I'll whack 'em with this if they do!" Drip held his shovel out. "Hey, let's have one of those tea parties, haven't tried one of those before, four eyes, have you had one?"

All three of them sat at a table, pouring each other tea that changed colour out of its spout at random.

"Why, yes, I love tea parties and picnics," Jung said, taking a sip. It tasted like freshly mowed grass. "I especially like a good afternoon tea for lunch."

"Whaddya mean, afternoon tea, so you drink tea when the sun's in one spot, why not drink it at any time, and also how is tea supposed to be lunch?"

"No, afternoon tea is a type of ritual that involves drinking tea and eating scones with jam and cream."

"Ooh, I'd love that, but not the way Brie makes 'em." He stuck his serpentine tongue out. "Brie tried baking scones and they tasted like coal!"

A bunch of charcoal pellets fell onto the table, smashing up all the tea sets. They continued drinking regardless. Drilbur nursed a Sinistea in his claws. He drank it and immediately dropped to the floor, legs sticking up in the air.

"I'm fine," the Drilbur said, "I'm just getting acquainted with this fine chap."

"This fella's body's really interesting!" the Sinistea squeaked. "He's gonna make a good host!"

Jung couldn't decide whether he was amused or discomforted. Either way, he had to know what was ailing Drip.

"Jeanne tells me you're going through a lot," Jung said, gently placing his saucer on the messy table. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine!" Drip shouted, jumping up and down on his seat. "I'm good! D'you wanna see the farm, I've got Leppa berries growing as well, they're really juicy!"

Jung chose to indulge in this fantasy for a bit longer. He stood up and followed Drip, holding his hand. Despite his small stature, he managed to pull Jung along with so much force that he yanked his arm off. Drip politely popped it back in place.

"Thanks, Drip, I hate it when that happens."

As Jung strolled along the muddy patches, he saw all kinds of berries. Oran, Lomen, raspberries, starberries, nozzleberries, berryberries, until they stopped in front of a large Leppa tree. It was upside down, its roots holding up the sky, and its branches digging into the earth, Leppa berries hanging off of the leaves. An Ekans snaked across the deadwood, wrapping itself around a Leppa. Something smelled of carrion — a bunch of Murkrow pecked at a spot in the ground.

Jung's stomach churned. This smell didn't deter the Drowzee, however, as Drip elongated his arm and dug into the Leppa, shaking off the Ekans.

"Sssilly boy," it hissed. "I'm protecting you, don't eat that."

"Why, what's the worst that can happen, Leppas are Perry's favourite food, I wanna try!"

"So, Perry's the Pignite on the picture book?" Jung asked. He was a regular Hypno again, except he held the shovel this time. "Can you read, then?"

"A little, Jeanne taught me a bit, words are still funny to me but I like the pictures, and I like Perry!" He smiled widely. "He's a farmer! I'd like to farm as well! Can Drowzee work in farms where you are?"

"Well, they could in theory." Jung twirled the shovel in his hands. "I don't see why it wouldn't be possible."

"Cool! I'm gonna do that, then!" Drip twiddled with the strap of his overalls. "Ain't anywhere to plant though, this place is full of rocks, wild's too dangerous, 'specially since—"

A mouth-sized chunk fell off of the Leppa, getting swallowed up by the mouth-shaped ground. Drip nursed his head, letting go of the Leppa, which sank into the soil.

Drip fell on his knees, holding up his hands to Jung. "Get that Leppa, please, I'm starving!"

Jung dug into the soil, digging out patches of the earth, digging tunnels into the ground, digging into the earth's core, until he hit something.

A dead Drowzee. It held its skeletal hand to Jung.

"I'm only gonna go and explore," it said, "I won't take long, Drip."

Jung screamed, dropping his shovel, trying to dig his way back out of the ground. Then the hole closed over, leaving him underground. With that thing. He lit a match, from a box that materialised out of nowhere, and struck it until him and Drip were inside the caves with the body. Jung stared at the corpse.

"I…" Jung didn't know how to find the right words for it. "Who is that?"

"My bro, Droop." Drip tucked his legs to his chest. "He's gone… dunno where he is."

"Gone…" Jung started assembling the jumbled puzzle pieces, connecting the decayed limbs of the Drowzee back to its original body. "Do you mean, kidnapped?"

"That's what they told me, the Hypno. I didn't wanna think about it, but I know it's true. They keep tellin' me there're bad people out there, snatching Pokemon away."

"Right." Jung grabbed a fistful of soil, letting it run from his palms. "I'm so sorry you're going through this at the moment — I can imagine it's a huge burden for you to bear."

Drip's face fell. "I keep seeing him like this." The soil moistened, turning from dirt to water. "I dunno if he's dead, but if I'm never gonna see him again, he might as well be." Droop's body floated in the water, carried by the Wishiwashi, Magikarp, and eaten by the other weird fishes.

"I wish I could tell you I knew where he was." Jung sighed. "In fact, that's what I came here for, since people have been accusing Hypno of kidnapping Pokemon."

"Right."

They sat on the seabed, observing the schools of Magikarp, the shoals of Inkay, the reefs of Corsola and the swarms of Frillish. Jung's pendulum floated underwater, glinting in the sunlight refracted by the waves. Drip was silent, expression morosely looking on, but he was holding himself together, it seemed. The dream seemed stable enough that it didn't collapse, unlike his other patients. There was an eerie pleasantness to the environment, unlike his nightmares.

"You seem to be coping quite well," Jung remarked.

"I guess." Drip swam through the currents. Jung didn't follow him. "I still have everyone else. Jeanne's nice. Brie's nice. Hoothoot's nice. Everyone's nice. I know I'm not alone, even if it's hard sometimes."

"Yes, you know that, but you know you don't need to put on a brave face either. Grief, well, any form of loss can work differently for people, and it might only hit you much later on when you're given time to let it sink in."

"I know. I mean, I dunno, but I know. Other Drowzee like me know, so I know."

"But you shouldn't have to deal with something like that when you're so young." Bubbles from his breath cascaded upward. "At your age, it just seems so… I don't know. It's unfair."

Drip didn't have a further response to that, getting carried away further by the undercurrents. How was he so calm about this? Jung sank rather than floated, staying where he was on the ocean floor. He came here to eat his dreams. How could he in good conscience do that when Drip was going through so much?

Drip reappeared with a mermaid tail, weaving through the ocean like silk through a loom.

"Did you say you wanna eat?" His tail turned into a battered Clauncher tail. "Go on, take it!"

Jung stared at the crispy, succulent looking shrimp. "No, I can't."

"Why not? That's what everybody does here, what does it matter?"

"But you lose something each time your dream gets eaten, right?" He wrung his hands together. "It's wrong."

"What's so bad about it?" Drip spun around underwater. "We all eat, I eat, they eat, we give and take, we share and share alike. Your tummy looks so empty." He shrank and swam through the whole in Jung's stomach, then back around. It tickled.

"I'm fine." Jung ground his teeth. "I swore I wouldn't."

"Why?"

"BecauseI know the harm it can bring if I let it get out of hand."

A Fletchinder floated down to the seabed, unconscious but not drowning. Drip stared at it and poked at its side with a finger.

"Don't touch her— I mean, it." Jung tugged at his ears. "Without getting into specifics, I used to know a human who would let me eat her dreams. She knew how much it meant to me. But one day, I got greedy and ate too much. She couldn't get out of bed for two days."

He still remembered the rising and falling of her chest. His wide-eyed panic, reflected in her soft gaze. The shouts and swears of her family. That time he spent floating in that dreadful pocket dimension.

"We don't do that here." Drip turned into a whole fried Clauncher. "I share. Jeanne shares. So it's okay."

"I know, but…" Jung shook his head. His features shifted. His body expanded. Hair rapidly grew, floating down to his shoulders. He stood tall over every sea creature around him. He felt monstrous. He felt unstoppable. And he was hungry.

He seized Drip, holding him up to his open maw. Jung was about to chomp down, but he restrained himself, just barely. Drip's form rapidly changed between his Drowzee self and his Clauncher self as Jung's drool showered him.

"It's okay, four eyes. Really." Drip's ears drooped. "I'm gonna be okay. And you seem nice, so I know you won't eat too much. Everyone here's nice too. You'd like it here."

Jung wished he could believe that. He had a job. And responsibilities. And a duty. And something to atone for. Not just for his past greed, but for every Hypno who humans looked down upon. He would prove to them that he wasn't a filthy, dream-gobbling predator. He—

It took a moment for Jung to adjust to reality. Whenever he experienced a rude interruption during his treatment, it always scrambled his brain, like unplugging a hard drive from a computer before it was ready to be ejected. His hands shook. His feet wobbled. The room spun before him. He supported himself on one of the bunk rails until his vision steadied. Then… noise. Banging. Screaming. Blows being exchanged. What… what on earth was—

Drip tugged on his longcoat.

"Jung… I… what…"

Jung grabbed his hand, clutching it in a death grip.

"Hold on. Don't worry."

Jung crept through the empty dorms, hoping nobody saw him. He hid to the side of the doorway and peeked out. Nothing there except the darkness. But he heard a frenzy of shouts echoing from afar — some in the human tongue, some in the Hypno tongue, all slurred together into a cacophonous soup. Paws thumped across the hallway, getting closer, inching closer. Jung clutched his pendulum. Drip whimpered.

It turned out to be Jeanne. She pointed at the two, wide-eyed and panting.

"Guys!" she yelled, "they— they're coming!"

"Who's coming?"

"Those rangers! They found us!"