He dozed off facing down towards the river. Water bubbled over rocks under the surface. As the wind blew, a sheet of leaves that totally blotted out the sky rustled overhead. A few droplets sprayed up and managed to reach past the side of the small, wooden riverboat and hit his face. He reeled his head back and woke up from the jolt.
On the other side of the boat, a Butterfree chuckled at him. He regained his posture and kept a cool face.
"Take a nap," Butterfree said. "You look more tired than you'd ought to be."
"I'm not tired," he said. "I simply don't see the charm of traveling by river."
"Oh, you'll understand. When life gets you down, trust me. You'll get it."
...
"I understand."
Someone was in Agatha's room.
The thought was in her mind as she woke up. The Audino's head shot up in her bed and she sent her gaze around the room. The air felt like a second warm blanket. Dust particles swirled in the air like snow. Mid-morning sunlight poured through her round window on the circular wall next to her. She sniffed air through her stuffy nose.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
The voice came from the other side of the room. A hazel-eyed Lopunny stat with his legs crossed on the floor. He held a steaming brown cup of tea up to his mouth, sipped, then rested his arm back down on his lap.
"Hope you aren't catching a cold or anything," Luke said. "Having those sucks on weekends cause they always aren't there anymore by the weekday."
"What are…" Agatha paused and rubbed her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"I promised to help you for getting help with that princess. You have off from school today, right?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Relax. It'll just be planning and talking things over for now. Are you feeling up to it?"
"Yeah… Sure."
"Want to come down, or I could bring everyone up for a few minutes?"
If she had to guess, by "everyone", Luke meant Claire's friends were here, too. With a small, pounding headache, she didn't feel like getting out of bed.
"They can come up," she answered.
"Alright. Back in a second."
Luke stood up, opened the door, and walked down the rampway. Unlike other times, Agatha couldn't hear much other than muffled voices under her room. Combined with her stuffy nose and headache, she probably did have a cold.
Lopunny Luke returned with a line of pokemon behind him and a rolled-up white paper under his right arm. Mightyena Claire followed in first. She was followed by her friends she introduced to Agatha the other day: Lucario Annette, Espeon Selina, Torracat Bao, and Luxray Imani.
The last to enter was Meowstic Alondra. Audino Agatha's light blue eyes naturally gravitated to Alondra and Imani since they were the youngest. With the exception of Claire, the rest made her feel stiff. Agatha pulled her blankets over her whole body except for her head. The others all formed a circle with her bed included in it.
"I still have some research to do in order to give you a solid direction in the Old World," Luke said. "But there are some things I can tell you so you can muse or investigate on your own time."
Luke set down the paper and rolled it out. Nothing was written on it, but a black pen rolled out into the center. He grabbed it and held it to the paper.
"What I'm about to tell you guys is confidential on all that," he said. "So, that means no telling anyone." His eyes angled up towards Agatha. "Not even the White Star or the Lodestar. It minimizes risk the less people know."
"Okay," she said with a stuffy voice.
"Legendary pokemon used to exist and live along with everyone else. This era was called the Bygone Days. I don't know how long it lasted because that's just the way things always were. There's no other record of anything before then."
Luke drew a large black circle on the paper.
"To put it simply, the Old World is where the Bygone Days happened. It's an abandoned mess of reality left behind after some kind of catastrophe. It's shifting without end, but there is a little order in the chaos of it all."
Inside of the black circle, Luke drew a series of smaller ones.
"Mystery dungeons are somewhat stable places. They have boundaries and don't interact with each other. They're always shifting, too, but on a much smaller scale. The reason for this separation is because a Legendary pokemon was locked in each of these places. Reality's bent around them, and made a kind of wall. If you're looking for Palkia, it's in one of these places.
"But the odds of finding it running around at random in the Old World are low," he said quietly. "Luckily, there's more than one entry point. Certain places on our side of reality are directly connected with mystery dungeons. They're scattered across remote locations all over the planet. And Agatha," Luke turned his gaze up, "you and I have the only keys to get in."
"So we would use the rings at those places?" Agatha asked.
"Yup. And if you're wondering why you ended up in Xerneas' mystery dungeon earlier, it's because this forest is one of those places. And it's where Alondra became a Scion, right?"
Everyone glanced towards Alondra. Her eyes lit up as her head pulled away from their stares.
"Uhm, y-yeah…"
That seemed like an important detail to skip out on. Agatha wondered what else she didn't feel was important to mention.
"If they're scattered across the entire planet, how are we supposed to find them?" Claire asked. "Much less, one specifically?"
"Now that's where all this comes into play." Luke pointed his pen in the space outside of the circles, but still inside of the large one. "I can somewhat traverse this empty space with the help of a map. When you leave the Old World, it always shoots you back out somewhat near one of the mystery dungeons entrances. If you make a map of what direction you're going in, you can try and get clued in on what kind of mystery dungeon you're dealing with. Working like this, we can find one on the other side of the planet and be back in an hour."
"Okay," Claire said. "That sounds… Unbelievable. But if it's true, how are we to map something if it constantly shifts?"
"It shifts when the planets align," Luke said. "There's a solid four-hundred years and then some until that happens again. If you use the tree as a home base, we can explore out in different directions to make sense of all this and find Palkia's mystery dungeon."
"So," Agatha said, "what happens if we stumble across Reshiram? Or something even worse?"
"Well, Reshiram's not in the Old World anymore. If anything, we could find useful clues in its mystery dungeon. But, the probability of us running into Legendary pokemon is very high. And then there's another thing."
Luke drew another circle, this time with two lines.
"The entire Old World revolves around one particular bend in reality," Luke explained. "And whenever trying to leave or enter the Old World, there is a random chance that you will end up here. At least, I think it's random. So I want you all to pay attention to this."
Luke looked everyone directly in the eye in turns. They had turned stone cold.
"I call it the Origin Point," Luke said. "All of the bent reality revolves around it. I've stumbled across it once.
"If you enter, you'll be put in the center of what looks like an abandoned city. There'll be a mountain nearby. At the base of that mountain is a large entryway inside. The sky will have an incredible sunset. And, if you come across this place, you need to leave immediately."
Luke looked everyone in the eyes again. His change in temper stunned Agatha into silence.
"You're on another plane of existence," he continued, "so you can't call for help. And even if you could, the energy signatures there are past comprehension. It doesn't matter how prepared or ready you think you are. If you stumble across the Origin Point, leave. Not taking advice and screwing off on the other side of the woods is cute, but this isn't the place for that."
Quiet dominated as Luke stared each of them down. Considering what Luke's face looked like when he was chained to a rock, it had to be something seriously freaky.
"Is there anything else that means certain death?" Agatha asked.
"Well, I have three rules for you guys to make sure you stay as safe as you can," Luke said." Do not screw with the Origin Point. Don't even take a step forward once you get there. Go back immediately. The second: don't enter mystery dungeons without me. You can map on your own, and I'll be doing a little help with it, too. Just don't do anything at those places without me. The last is to always be in at least parties of three doing this stuff, and Agatha always has to be with you."
"Why's that?" Claire asked curiously.
"Agatha and I are the only one who can use these rings," Luke explained. "So you'll either be stuck on the other side of the planet or in the Old World without her. And if worst comes to worst, you'd be stuck in the Origin Point." Luke turned and nodded to each of them. "So, to lay out our objectives, we need to locate Palkia's mystery dungeon. But before we enter, we need to do something about that 'Void Pressure', you called it? Right Alondra?" His head turned up from the paper to the Meowstic.
"Yes," Alondra said. "It's some type of disease that causes extreme pain. It's not life-threatening, but Palkia itself would be with it. We cannot fight it without a countermeasure."
"It'll be hard to research something like that," Luke said. "I'm not some type of scientist or anything. Buuuuut, in the meantime, focus on getting gear and getting stronger when you're not mapping and looking for the mystery dungeon entrance points. And, uh, that starts with not having a cold."
"Ha ha," Agatha snorted sarcastically.
Luke rolled his eyes and smiled. His complexion brightened up again. He turned to Mightyena Claire. "Thanks for breakfast, Miss Yanders. It was delicious."
"And thank you for your help, everyone," she said. "If that's it, I think everyone can head home now. I'll bring up some breakfast, Agatha."
"Oh, thanks," Agatha said.
With everyone gone, Audino Agatha had an easier time settling down. Mightyena Claire brought her a tray with pancakes drowning in syrup. She must've noticed Agatha using a lot the other day.
Before she left back out of the room, Agatha waved her arm in her direction. Claire caught it out of the corner of her eye.
"What time is it?" Agatha asked.
"About nine," Claire said. "Going out?"
"Some dude invited me to a game. I think it's at some other school…"
"This afternoon?"
"Yeah."
Claire walked over to her bedside and put her paw on Agatha's forehead. It was softer than she was expecting.
"You're going to need rest to get over your little fever," Claire said. "But it's not intense. I'll make something for your symptoms, and you can go there and come back."
"Thanks," she mumbled.
"Do you know which school the game is at?"
"I'm not sure."
"I'll look it up for you."
"Thanks."
When Claire came back, she carried a tiny brown bowl back with her. Agatha closed her eyes through a short, bitter waterfall, then rested her head back down after taking it.
Apparently, it was a sort of home match for the varsity team at school. Simone would be there, too, at least. It felt better than not knowing anyone besides Elijah. If Simone wasn't competing today, she wouldn't even bother. Even as her headache cleared and her energy came back up, she didn't really feel like going just for the sport.
For lunch, Claire brought up a full-fledged restaurant style steak with potatoes. Even half-starving, Agatha felt stuffed after eating half of it. After that, she had enough energy to actually want to go out and do something.
Before heading out, Agatha put on her prosthetic feet. She covered them with the black and pink striped socks she got the other day. She added the black leather jacket that covered her scars and her gold "earring" for good measure on the strand of her ear. With a pocket just for her phone, she left out without her backpack and five or six bills strapped together in her zip pocket.
As she made her way to the sidewalk, she was granted an unfamiliar sight. Other pokemon were moving about on the sidewalks, too.
In Agatha's neighborhood, most pokemon mostly seemed on the older side. That could be why an Abamasnow and Sudowoodo gave her a wide berth and drew closer to each other as they walked past her in front of a tiny electronics store. Or, maybe it was the black jacket.
Lots of the shops were niche on the sidewalk to school. It was the most direct path, and she preferred it to the path that went past a bunch of houses. She kept her eyes staring down at the glittery, tan surface of the sidewalk, but she was able to recognize some of the stores from their bottom walls alone. Along the way, there were knickknack shops she'd never seen anyone go in, a building that had something to do with taxes or insurance, and a family-owned restaurant that acted as the street's lifeblood.
At the end of the street, a hill rested surrounded by short, cut grass. Another walkway appeared at the bottom of the hill that led through the trees up to the building. Agatha aimed her eyes for it, but they fell on something else.
At the bottom of the hill, there was a large circle of dirt in the grass. Agatha never thought about it before, but now there were seats lined up facing in its direction, and they were filled with pokemon. Another line of seats faced opposite on the right side, all with pokemon she didn't recognize as much. She scanned until she saw Pikachu Simone, then advanced closer across the grass.
Pikachu Simone, Lucario Elijah, and a Luxio all wore black and white striped armbands. From her own class, Agatha recognized a Spring Deerling, Slurpuff, and Growlithe. Her teacher, Flygon Mr. Rivers, overlooked the open space with his arms crossed, hovering over everyone's heads from the back.
Lucario Elijah noticed her. He broke out from their conversation, bringing all of their attention with him. His head swung from side to side with every step he took.
"Hey," Elijah said. "Tabitha."
"Uhm, Agatha?" she questioned.
"Oop," his paw flew behind his head. "My bad. Used to know a Tabitha."
Agatha silently wondered if most people were stupid.
"Glad you came!" he said as she continued walking past. "We were just planning a strategy."
"Okay."
Simone smiled at her. His crystal orange glimmered in the afternoon sunlight. Agatha flashed a short smile back, then continued on her way to the seats. They were all made from hard, white plastic and simple, metal rods. She sat down a couple seats down from the others.
Simone and Elijah regrouped with Luxio. They huddled their heads down, but they were still in listening range.
"So, who's their best?" Elijah asked.
"The, uh, Midnight Lycanroc," Luxio said. "I think. Okay stance. Solid build. Knows two moves."
Agatha silently wondered what the skill level of the teams were. Two seemed a bit average.
"The other two?" Elijah asked.
"They got… uh, Sandslash and a Croconaw. Both solid. They're all pretty equal."
"I gotta' handle the Sandslash for you guys," Elijah said. "But, the problem is that it's not their strongest. And we need to win two out of three battles."
"I'll try and handle the Croconaw," Luxio said. "Simone, hold out. We won't lose this."
"Okay."
Agatha folded her legs and arms. She understood the strategy; she just wished Simone wasn't the one getting the short straw.
Across the dusty circle, the opposing trio also pulled their heads up. They walked forward in a line and stopped one pace apart from each other. Pikachu Simone stared down the Croconaw, Lucario Elijah the Midnight Lycanroc, and Luxio stared at the Sandslash.
"Tails," Lycanroc said.
"Heads," Elijah nodded.
Flygon Mr. Rivers flew parallel to them and flipped a small gray coin.
"Tails," he said.
"You and me," Lycanroc said.
"Your Sandslash and our Luxio," Elijah said.
"Okay. Who first?"
"Our Pikachu and your Croconaw can go first."
"Cool."
Lucario Elijah and Luxio stepped back towards the seats. Pikachu Simone faced the Croconaw.
Agatha leaned in. She was a little off put at how Elijah chose Simone to fight the Croconaw. It could be that he wanted to even out their chances by having some hope behind either Simone or the Luxio winning. Seeing Simone's battle was the entire reason she came. She had no idea what their battling standards were, and this would be her first real look. A Galarian Darmanitan from their side took out a phone and aimed it, presumably recording.
"Who do you think will win?" Deerling asked.
"Not Simone," Growlithe laughed under her breath. "I dunno why Elijah did this strat'. He's banking on Ryan carrying."
"I dunno. If you have two fifty-fifty chances, and you just need one of them to work out…"
"Ready?" Mr. Rivers called. "Go!"
Simone's cheeks crackled with electricity. Croconaw shot out water from his maw before he could fire an electric attack. The blast of water was weak, but Simone was toppled on his back. When he stood back up, his limbs were covered in mud.
Croconaw ran forward. Agatha's eyes thinned as she stared at his running technique. All four of his limbs waved around in circles. She looked around to see if anyone else noticed, but she was the only one reacting to it. He continued to run the same way, stopping and jumping just in front of Simone.
Agatha glared when the Croconaw headbutted the ground. Simone rolled out of the way. Croconaw stood up and held his head in pain as if he didn't expect it.
"What the…" Agatha grumbled. She put her hand over her mouth and shook her head.
Pikachu Simone used Thundershock. Lightning bounced off his cheeks and zapped Croconaw in the side. Somehow, he managed to fall over from a string of electricity that was as thin as a blade of grass. Simone ran forward and punched him on the stomach. Croconaw grunted, then pushed himself up as Simone backed off for whatever reason.
Agatha zoned out. Their attacks were like buckets of water and electric shocks if she rubbed two balloons together. Their punches were like jelly hitting bread dough. It lasted a while until they were both gasping for breath. Simone's cheeks still crackled with electricity, but it seemed even weaker than before.
"C'mon Simone!" Lucario Elijah shouted with his paws cupping around his mouth.
Simone shot another string of electricity. It nailed Croconaw between the eyes. Agatha quietly hoped that he'd go down as he staggered holding his head.
His feet crossed and he fell over. Flygon Mr. Rivers hovered over the Croconaw.
"Simone wins," he called. "White Tigers one to zero."
Simone stumbled back over to the seats. Sweat dripped down the side of his face as he smiled. On the other side, the Croconaw was healed by an older-looking Kirlia. After a minute or two, she walked over to their side and pulled Simone out for a minute.
"Okay," Lucario Elijah said, "play it cool, Ryan. He's got those big claws, but you can't use ranged moves. Poke at him. Take it slow."
Turning his head up, Luxio Ryan nodded at Elijah. As he walked out, the Sandslash reacted and copied him. As they got closer, Flygon Mr. Rivers hovered overhead again.
"Ready?" he called. "Go!"
Sandslash ran with his arms shaking up and down like tree branches. Ryan panicked and sent a jolt of electricity his way. It bounced off of his body.
Just next to Agatha, Elijah leaned his head back in her direction. "Welp," he said. "Darn."
Agatha only spared him a glance.
Possibly unsure of what else to do, Ryan ran forward. He jumped, and Sandslash swatted him out of the air. He landed on his side and rolled a few paces away.
Ryan tried to push himself up, but he fell back down.
"Sid wins!" Mr. Rivers called. "Yellow Hawks at one to one!"
"Thank goodness Simone pulled an upset," Elijah said, leaning his head back again with his arms folded. "We really did win thanks to him. I'll be right back."
A small thought crossed Agatha's mind. Something about his voice reminded her of another voice she heard recently. She struggled trying to attach it to something.
Elijah walked forward against the Midnight Lycanroc. Sparks flew between their eyes, but Agatha wasn't fazed by it. It looked overdramatic.
"Ready?" Mr. Rivers called. "Go!"
Both of them jumped back from each other. Elijah charged up an Aura Sphere between his palms while Lycanroc brought swirling white energy to his claws. As Elijah threw Aura Sphere, Lycanroc used Rock Throw.
The attacks soared past each other. Elijah and Lycanroc nailed each other in the face. Agatha slapped her hand over her mouth as she burst out laughing. She got it up in time before anyone could notice, but she hunched over as her face heated up.
She continued to watch the battle past warm tears in her eyes. They continued throwing the same two attacks at each other, almost as if they were talking turns. Agatha managed to pull herself together while their game continued. She had a hard time taking it seriously, but she managed to keep a straight face.
Eventually, Lucario Elijah managed to land another Aura Sphere right on the Dusk Lycanroc's chest. He lost his breath from the blow as he clutched his chest, then fell down.
Flygon Mr. Rivers drifted overhead. As Lycanroc lay unmoving, he drew a little closer before making the final call.
"Elijah wins!" Mr. Rivers called. "White Tigers win two to one!"
A small cheer and clapping broke out from both sides. Agatha joined it with a tiny clap of her own.
Elijah jogged back over. His head swayed from side to side until he greeted Pikachu Simone and Luxio Ryan. They all hopped a little in place, then turned back to the seats.
Elijah's eyes fell back onto Agatha's face. The Deerling, Growlithe, and Slurpuff all glanced down the row of seats towards her.
"Hey Agatha," Elijah said, "you see that?"
"Yup," she said.
"Just 'yup'?"
"Actually," Simone added. "Agatha's pretty strong. Not sure we'd impress her."
Elijah's face changed. His floating smile fell into an inquisitive stare. "Oh, really?"
"No. I was impressed," she said quietly.
"But, in gym class you usually just sit on the bleachers," he said. "I thought, you, uh…"
"I'm not really much for performing."
Hey," Simone blurted. His voice cracking drew eyes to him as he cleared his throat. "We should go to that restaurant and celebrate. Kind of a tradition after these things."
"Right, Elijah said. "Want to come, Agatha? It's on me."
Agatha wasn't very hungry, but it was free food. The Deerling Belle, Growlithe Alisha, and Slurpuff Zel joined them.
The restaurant they picked was the lifeblood of the street. On the outside, the white paint on the walls was falling off and fading away. The restaurant sign over the glass double doors was illegible.
Lucario Elijah jogged ahead and opened the door. One by one, they thanked him as they went through. As Agatha walked through last, he smiled and nodded down to her. Something clicked when she looked up close at his face.
"Are you the principal's son?" Agatha asked.
"Oh, you didn't know?" he asked. "Yeah, Elijah Mural."
The family resemblance between his face and his mom's came around. His mother was one of Claire's friends who she just saw earlier that morning. Maybe being the son of an explorer was why his head rolled from side to side like he was walking on sunshine everywhere.
The inside of the restaurant looked nicer than the outside. White paint peeled off the outside walls. The sign over the front doors was faded and illegible. Inside, the gray tiled floors shone as if they were wet, not that Agatha could feel if they were. The eggshell paint on the walls was solid over every wall.
The place to order was a table in the center of the back wall. Pokemon bustled in the room behind it, visible through a long, rectangular hole in the wall. The heavy, wooden tables were mostly for four, but Deerling Belle, Slurpuff Zell, and Growlithe Alisha pulled cushions from other tables.
Elijah picked where to sit. It was a window seat, not that there was anything but a barren, empty street outside. Agatha volunteered herself to face away from it.
The table crowded with cushions when the other three returned. The edges of the tables were rounded, but there were only four sides and seven pokemon to sit down at it.
Pikachu Simone sat on his own across from Audino Agatha. On his right, Growlithe Alisha sat next to Luxio Ryan. On his left, Deerling Belle sat next to Slurpuff Zel.
That left Lucario Elijah next to Agatha. Agatha folded her arms and looked at the open menu on the table. A lot of the items on the menu seemed familiar; she had plenty of them at home. Steak with potatoes, salads, and a few others caught her eye. She didn't see the restaurant's name on it, either.
"What's the name of this restaurant?" Agatha asked.
"Claire's," Simone answered. "The head chef is also the owner. She's pretty good."
"Yeah," Elijah nodded. "My mom told me that she used to cook for a Guild."
That explained the whole menu, and why Agatha had tasted half of it. Considering that, she wanted to try the crab cakes. Claire's steak earlier was great, so maybe other meat dishes were great, too.
"Ever been here before, Agatha?" Elijah asked.
"No," she said. Unsettled by the short quiet, she spoke up again. "Have you?"
"Oh, yeah. We come here a lot. Love everything on the menu, and it feels like they have everything."
"Do you eat in the city sometimes?"
"Yeah, we do. We just find different places to hang out after there, but this is the place for home games. Look over there."
Elijah pointed towards the back wall. On the front of the desk she assumed was the place to order, a triangular white and black striped flag stuck to it. "White Tigers'' were in blue, fancy letters on it.
"Basically the school restaurant," he said. "You should see this place right after school. It's only quiet cause it's a Saturday."
Agatha recognized the waitress coming to the table. It was a white Meowstic with a small notepad held up to her chest. She never expected to see Alondra here, but the library was closed on weekends.
Alondra glanced over the table, waiting until all of their eyes set on her.
"Are we all set to order today?" she asked.
"Yeah," Elijah said, checking everyone's faces. "Could I get a clam chowder?"
After everyone placed their orders, Agatha played on her phone. She watched a video released the other day of a Furret with gold and cream fur. Agatha watched as she took down a dozen pokemon in less than a minute. Every time she clicked refresh, the views jumped by a hundred.
Elijah leaned over her shoulder. Blistering cold shivers ran up her spine from his breath touching the tip of her ear strand.
"Whatcha watching?" he asked.
"Nunya'," she hissed.
"Oh, hey, that's my favorite movie."
"I dunno'," Luxio Ryan added. "Nunya three outclasses them all."
"It's just the nostalgia, man. How many times I gotta' say it?"
Agatha looked to see if anyone understood what she really meant. Pikachu Simone shrugged. It seemed like he was the only one. At this point, she was just staying for the crab cakes.
Another pokemon came through the glass doors. Agatha looked absentmindedly.
She couldn't tell what species it was. Her eyes went numb. The rest of her senses only gave her a perception of a ghost.
Its eyes turned in her direction. The longer Agatha stared, the more numb she felt. She turned her head down.
"Sup?" Elijah asked.
"Well, I forgot the species name of that person that just walked in," Agatha said.
"Oh, that's a fated encounter, waiting on the edge of the cliff as the ocean reflects starlight."
"Oh, uh… right. Yeah, thought that was a Magikarp…"
Elijah chuckled a bit under his breath. "Trust me, I've forgotten way simpler things than that. I thought a Krookodile was a Feraligatr."
Agatha had to keep up her normal act and pretend she heard a normal answer. As the ghost moved about, she tilted her head down to keep from looking at it straight on. The whispering feelings dulled down when she looked away.
Meowstic Alondra returned with their plates floating over her head. She managed to glance up towards her as she set the plates down and covered over the entire top of the table. As she checked in with everyone on their meals, Agatha focused on breathing.
In and out. It was the simplest motion to focus on. The ghost walked back out through the glass doors and disappeared down the street. The air was still thick in her chest from her nervous energy.
"You feel sick?" Elijah asked, lowering his head. "You can always save the crab cakes for later."
"No, she said. "I'm good."
Agatha gawked at his clam chowder. It looked like a pale, gross bowl of soup with lumps in it. By comparison, her crab cakes seemed much more attractive. The five on her plate had a red, smoky texture with signs of other ingredients in green dots along the surface. A small, black bowl of red sauce was in the middle.
"I've never had crab cakes before," she commented.
"Oh," Simone remarked. "Well, it doesn't taste that much different from other meat or fish. 'Crab' isn't like, a flavor by itself."
"More people should give crab cakes a chance," Elijah said. "Go ahead."
Agatha picked up a silver fork. The crab meat fell off easily. She brought it up to her mouth and took a bite. It was crispy, plain, and a little tangy. It felt like it had a weak jab instead of a strong punch. For the next bite, she dipped it into the sauce.
It turned out to be spicy. It made the flavors wake up.
"Oh," Agatha said. "That's really good. I think I might need a lemonade after all, though."
"Oh, I'll get it," Elijah said.
"Thanks."
Lucario Elijah stood up. Audino Agatha shifted to give him a bit more room, then settled back down. The air relaxed from the aftereffects of the ghost.
Deerling Belle and Slurpuff Zel eyed her as she took another bite.
"So, Agatha," Belle said. "I'm impressed you've got Elijah around your finger already."
"Yeah, well, I'd appreciate it if you got him off of me already," she sighed. "I'm tired…"
Agatha lifted another small bite and rotated her fork. She stared at the sauce and noticed how it stayed in like some kind of gel. Slowly, her focus shifted to everyone's faces at the table. They all stared at her with wide-awake eyes.
"What?" she asked.
"N-nothing," Belle interjected. "Are you, uh. You good?"
"Uhm, yeah?"
Agatha realized it looking at her glimmering eyes. Her black sleeve rolled down when she lifted her arm straight up. She let her guard down.
A furious, dark burn scar from the mansion fire showed down the length of her arm. She whipped it back under the table and pulled the sleeve up, but it was too late. Luxio Ryan and Growlithe Alisha's stares only intensified.
Through it all, the only stable face was Pikachu Simone's. His crystal oranges eyes glowed with the realization, but nothing else. His face stayed as stable as the water of a lake on a clear day, shifting naturally without any large change. Agatha stared at her reflection in his eyes.
"Sorry," Agatha said quietly, "I have to go. Been under the weather."
"Okay," Simone said. "See you on Monday?"
"Yeah. See you on Monday. Thank Elijah for me."
"Okay."
Agatha stood up. She inched to the side of the table and sped-walk to the door. Just before pushing her way out, she turned and took a last glance at Elijah. The Lucario stood at the front counter, leaning his arms on the surface and talking to a Lilligant on the other side.
She turned around and pushed through the doors.