Nelia was on her knees, making a grotesque sound as she braced herself in the ashes left by the battle.
Her body had been completely burned away, just leaving an awful, twisted, melting darkness that swam in its place, taking the vague shape of an indeedee.
It was bleeding too.
The First Fallen almost looked like she was ready to curl in on herself and die as she fought for breath, her body convulsing violently as it tried to piece itself back together.
The lingering damage left by Wigglytuff and Torkoal had endured even through her regeneration, exhausting her, making the darkness sluggish. Even her face was gone, nothing but pits of white to imply eyes, like a child's drawing of a shadow monster.
She heaved, or maybe it was a better term for that thing, up to something dark and bloody and growled a curse. She slowly began to rise again, smearing the ashes left behind of her opponent with her rotting blood and casting it into sludge.
Nelia staggered forwards, limping with rapid effort until she was out of sight.
Her army, a horde of slobbering, near-mindless, animalistic victims all laid in some fashion of shock or injury.
Sunflora's resistance had been incredible, blowing them all off their feet, sending them back, smashing them with vines, petals, and that Solar Beam that carved through the Fallen herself.
The hush that took once Nelia uprooted and burned her to nothing sunk around heads and shoulders, keeping them pressed to the ground, chests heaving, minds retreating.
Melody floated in frozen silence. Loudred had made a deep, low, whining sound as Blossom had burned and made to step forwards. She pulled him back and shook her head at him and did nothing as her best friend died.
She felt nothing.
Nothing.
No-
She was crying. She didn't know-how. She'd felt nothing as Blossom screamed and fought, writhing and fighting and fighting and fighting so hard. There was no way she could have won, and she'd known that.
It felt like Melody had been swimming along underwater for years and had dipped her head above into the air again. It was so dark, fog sunk around everything, almost heavy, wanting to press her down further.
That's what it had been like as Indeedee took the Hunger away. A breath of air, but the fog is always pressing her back under. Now, the fog spun and roiled. It had lifted a little itself; she could see again. She could breathe again.
What had Blossom done?
She had known she was going to die. So many had. She'd fought anyway. What had she done?
The fog was not gone. Melody could still smell it, could still feel its presence. The storm would abate and sink and press her down all over again in time.
She looked around. It was not just her. She thought of these maddened pokémon as they were again, were confused. They were broken dolls; the fingers twitching their limbs had been cut off and hadn't grown back yet.
A few wrestled, some tried to stand, their legs and arms and bodies, and everything was weak. They slumped over, marionettes with their strings cut. They could barely move without that madness forcing their bodies up, undoing the damage it did to break them, manipulating their forms with relentless vigour.
What had Blossom done?
Melody rose up. She could move; she wasn't like the others who'd wavered as their minds and bodies were desecrated. Indeedee wondered why her town hadn't been strong enough; Melody realised she didn't understand it at all.
It wasn't that they were weak.
She refused to ponder it; she had a job to do. She took a breath and followed The First Fallen.
Nelia crouched in a dark corner, body rippling and reshaping, trying to knit itself back together again. With a closer look at it, Melody could see it was not a formless horror. She took on a recognisable shape, her body simply swimming in the corruptive sludge that the Shadow took when it was manifesting visibly.
She'd never seen so much damage before. Blossom had obliterated her with multiple over-limit Solar Beams, speared her through the chest with a root, almost ripped her in half with more, and blasted her with every ounce of Power she had.
It wasn't enough. Wigglytuff's released restraint and Torkoal's final eruption hadn't been enough. Staring at her now, Melody couldn't help but have a flicker of desire to try her own luck.
She had promised to spare Blossom. And that promise was broken, and now she crouched in a corner, hiding from her forces, knowing they could turn on her and tear her limb from limb.
If only.
The Shadows were all lagged out, and Melody wasn't stupid in the least. She was not here to strike her further.
She was a nurse, a healer, and she lit up in magical light, casting a gentle healing ray upon the enemy of all things.
She wasn't entirely sure if it'd have any effect, but Indeedee hadn't attacked her upon spotting her, so there was a chance. Also, a chance that her agony distracted her from sensing Melody's traitorous thoughts.
Indeedee groaned and shuddered, her skin beginning to knit itself back together. Melody maintained the healing move. Regeneration of this kind would be beyond agony, but Indeedee had seemed to enjoy pain. Regardless, it was working.
Mixed with the Shadow Regeneration, her fur appeared, her horns were forming again, and she became more recognisably indeedee.
"Melody," She rasped, a gurgling sound befitting a walking corpse. "Thank you." The words sounded like a dire threat, and Melody had to fight every natural urge to either run away or destroy the wrongness in front of her.
Maybe Indeedee could sense it as her skull-baring face grinned a perverse smile at her, one that seemed to stare right through her as her eyes reformed and her face shifted back into a cordial smile. "Ah, painful," she said, cracking her back. Beyond being painfully and swiftly fatal, injuries like that would do so much internal damage Melody had to wonder what she even was.
Not even a Shadow Pokémon could survive devastation like that. That was the way. Knock them dead fast enough that they couldn't regenerate from it before they died. Then destroy the body to be absolutely sure.
Was Indeedee just that strong? She'd been almost incinerated by Torkoal and had taken glee in describing her survival to Melody. Shadows burning against all-consuming fire, keeping her vital core alive for long enough to burn out the flames through sheer attrition.
Could she even be killed? Someone so favoured by a dark force so mighty? Rhythm had failed, Torkoal had failed, Blossom had failed.
Arguably the strongest living pokémon, a desperado suicide attack, and a terrain master using a forbidden technique.
Melody would have despaired if she wasn't numb at the moment.
"Melody," Indeedee trilled, her hands coming up to cradle Melody lovingly. "Thank you. I can always, always, count on you. My one true friend."
Melody would have spat in her face if she felt anything beyond numbness.
It was difficult to hold the words at bay regardless.
You promised danced on her lips.
You lied.
Monster.
"I require something," Indeedee breathed, breath sickly sweet in her face. "My bag. It was knocked away when Blossom took action." Her face twitched, it could have been a smile, but Melody doubted it. Muscle cramps from regenerated cells most likely.
Melody nodded and floated back. She was exhausted, she noticed, almost dipping to the floor. How much Power, how much time even, did she take healing the Fallen? She looked up as she re-entered the cathedral room. Blossom had blasted Indeedee through the roof, revealing a Sunny Day set up as well. The hole spilled more light, and it was growing dark now.
A long time then.
It didn't take her long to find Indeedee's bag and even less time to return it to her one item short.
Indeedee took it with a grateful smile. "Mels…oh Mels, it's going to be tough without you."
Melody stiffened; her thoughts had betrayed her.
Nelia continued, smiling away from her. "I have determined what our next steps are, and sadly they are away from each other."
"I do not understand," Melody said levelly, approaching flat in voice.
"Numbers cannot hold me back at the moment," Indeedee said. "As useful as they all are, movement is sluggish, easily detected, and takes so much time," she moaned. "To corral them. No, I'm afraid that I must leave you behind."
She turned a smile to Melody, and it was the most dangerous expression she'd ever seen. "I can trust you to keep them here."
Melody blinked, already prepared to be torn in half for her betrayals. "Pardon?"
"I need you to keep them here," Indeedee repeated. "Despite all the doorways, there aren't that many ways out of this old joint. Hah, I can remember." She seemed to reminisce for a moment. "And you've proven capable in the past."
"You're leaving us…here?"
"Yes. That's not a problem, is it?"
"No," she said numbly. "Whatever I can do to help you."
"Atta girl." Indeedee flashed a winning smile at her and fastened her bag to her shoulder. "Now, keep them behaved. And don't let any of them go, okay? It's important for later. I have to go retrieve something that was mine that was stolen from me, filthy furry."
Melody nodded, and just like that, Indeedee just swept off into the setting sun, leaving her behind.
She blinked again; this wasn't some sort of elaborate trick, was it? Once the fog descended again, were the Shadows going to tear her apart in a most grisly and ironic way?
She didn't know and floated back in to observe the group of pokémon, all lying about dazed and confused.
Deciding to roll with this like she'd rolled the orb out of Indeedee's bag, Melody called the Connection Orb to her. She knew that Blossom had stolen it and hoped she hadn't left it here with her.
She pressed her psychic hold around the orb and whispered to it until it lit up with a brilliant azure glow. It buzzed, activated, then immediately shut off.
Undeterred, she did it again.
On the third time, the orb's surface swam like misty blue clouds being swept in an ocean, and a voice came through it. "…yes?"
"Bidoof?" Melody asked, a little surprised, to be honest.
"…yup."
"I have something important to tell you," she began, but there was a disturbance on the other side and the connection faded.
She activated it again; she said the next word with each connection. "Indee. Dee. Is. Looking. For. Some. Thing. That. Was. Stolen. From. Her. By. Sean."
At the last word, she let it go inert for a moment and waited, curious.
It took a few minutes, but the orb activated without her, and she gave it a squeeze, opening the link.
"You," growled a deep, gravelly voice that Melody recognised.
"Good evening, Armaldo," she replied softly.
"Why are you speaking to us? What kind of farce is this?"
She felt his anger palpably through the orb, her betrayal of the guild for so long, and her eyes dimmed sadly. "… haven't you noticed one of your numbers is missing?"
"We've noticed," Armaldo snapped. "Here to gloat?"
"I just watched my best friend die," Melody said flatly. There was silence from the other side. "As she fought with every inch of her strength to stall Indeedee and us for as long as she possibly could. I watched her die and did nothing. I didn't even take advantage of Indeedee's weakness afterwards; I healed her instead, actually. I did nothing. So, in honour of her, I'm doing something now."
There was silence.
"…why should we believe anything you have to say?" Armaldo demanded. "Some friend you manipulated for years, then chained up in your own prison. We could have gotten the entire town to safety and lain a trap for Indeedee if you hadn't have stopped her."
"I know what I've done," Melody said vacantly. "And I will not ask for forgiveness because I know I don't deserve it. You asked why you should believe me? I did love Blossom as much as I possibly could. I believed I could sell all your lives for hers, believed Indeedee's word she'd spare her if I did as she asked. She didn't. She lied to me. And this is my response."
She took a breath. "She is going after Scizor now. She just mentioned something stolen by 'a furry' and by Team Sunrise's jokes and her own twisted sense of humour. I think she's after that blade she forged. She's left the rest of us behind in the cathedral you have recently passed through. I am to corral the Shadows and keep them here, for what purpose I do not know, but I will do as I am asked. The longer they are here, the less damage they can do."
Another breath. "Indeedee knows where you are. I don't know how; I tried to learn, but her answers were vague. She implied you have another traitor, as well as some sort of object. Perhaps this very orb that I have stolen from her, perhaps something else. She also said communications are easy to track, so I believe she may know how to monitor the Lake Trio's communications or at least know where they are coming from. If so, she knows where Scizor is. Her confidence in going out to find him suggests she does at least."
One last breath. "That is all that I know for sure. Otherwise, my efforts to buy Blossom's life involved the arm of Darkrai that Scout amputated. She desired it, and so after the raid on Soothe's home, I took that as well as retrieved this device from Bidoof, as you've likely worked out. What she wants with the arm, I don't know. However, due to its significance in relation to Scout and her own comments on 'needing' both Soothe and Scout, reason suggests it is something she can use against him."
She faded into silence for a moment.
"…She said that people she kills always revives as Shadow Pokémon. She did not seem concerned about Wigglytuff rising again to seek revenge; she said it'd still be a couple of days before the lives lost in Treasure Town may revive. This is the last of my information that I can think of."
"Why?" Armaldo asked firmly. "Why tell us all this?"
"…I don't know what Blossom did," she said after a laboured minute. "It feels similar to what Indeedee offered. A relief from the madness, a chance to be normal, to be yourself again. There's a heavy fog that always pulls you back underwater, and her gift never lasted for very long. Whatever Blossom did feels like it's done the same thing, but on a wider scale? If there's anyone in your group that seems vague and confused…I would suggest containing them."
"…I don't believe anything you say can be trusted," Armaldo said heavily. "You successfully lied to everyone for many years."
"Yes," she agreed airily. "I am not asking you to do anything, however. I am simply giving you information that I think that I know. For all I know, Indeedee may have lied to me, expecting this response. I felt truly tempted to die as Blossom did in an effort to wound her further, but I didn't. I am going to stay here, as Blossom did, until she revives as well. I will contain the Shadows here for as long as I can."
She paused. "I suppose I do have one thing to ask of you."
Armaldo waited.
"Kill Indeedee." She waited, slowly the orb glinted and swam before falling inert, the communication line being severed.
With that, Melody waited. She wondered if, communication being so easy to track, Indeedee would realise what she had done and turn around to enact revenge before leaving. Perhaps this was a test, truly to see if she was 'trustworthy' that she had failed and would pay the price for it.
Whatever was going to happen, Melody was prepared for it. She rested near where Blossom's ashes ran and replayed their softest moments in her head one by one. Whether she was to die or not, she'd just like to remember what it was like to feel like herself again.
)(*&^%$# ! #$%^&*()
Scout was the first to come back, he knew Trill was right, and he was just very, very stressed. He was apologetic, wasn't planning to grovel, but he'd say sorry and mean it.
Finding no one where they were supposed to be made him very concerned for a moment, but he reasoned quickly that Trill must have gone with Soothe somewhere gathering up whatever or just to talk maybe.
She needed to talk to someone, for real, and she wouldn't talk to anybody. He hoped she could find the courage to do so.
He waited at their sight, not really sure what to do. Take a nap, maybe?
The thought amused him much more than it should have.
He sat down, deciding to follow the thought where it went. He could lay down snuggle close to Mane. He could almost smell Rai's scent, it often made him sneeze as it buzzed his nose, and then Mane would sneeze and only sometimes would he sneeze fire.
That was a hilarious thought, and he chuckled to himself, cuddling in closer.
Wait, no, he was hallucinating, wasn't he? The memory thought faded, and he was alone.
There was a letter on the ground, had there been a letter before. He went to get it, but he was so tired. His muscles felt like silly putty, and he couldn't even roll over.
Soothe was there, that was nice. "Hi, Soothe," he said. "Hi, Tri…ll?" Trill wasn't there, and now Audino looked alarmed.
"He's not with you?" she asked sharply.
"Does it look like I have a bird roosting on my face right now?"
She looked up and cursed. "Shit. Trill." She looked left and right worried and took a breath. "TRILL!?" Her voice was loud, and his ears rang with the force of her cry.
"Strong lungs," he said. "Also, there's a letter, but I'm too hallucinating to get it. I think it's a letter, are you actually real? Probably, I don't think my imagination can think as loud as you just yelled.
Soothe spotted the existing letter and snatched it up. Her face went pale, and as she had fur, that was impressive. All blotchy lavender. Or maybe he was hallucinating again, yeah, probably. Fur didn't pale; that was an anime manga joke to visually communicate.
He sweatdropped at the thought, did Soothe just face plant?
He chuckled at himself again. "What's its says?" he sang.
"He's gone," she said, voice clipped, and Scout lurched back into the driver's seat and booted drunk or was it high Scout back to where he belonged.
"What?" He could be pretty loud too, he realised, and audino had sensitive hearing.
Her eye twitched just once at his volume, how pleasantly forgiving of her, and she read the letter out.
Dear Soothe, Dear Scout,
I am truly sorry to leave this note rather than explaining my choices in person.
Feel free to blame a silly old bird for his foibles.
I have been thinking about this for a while.
There's no…there is reason for me to stay, but there are reasons for me to go as well.
We are nearing the location, but the decision of action is not yet made.
I can fly.
Fast.
And I am. I am going.
I am going to find the survivors of Treasure Town and link up with them.
I am sorry, I hate to leave and especially at such a time of anxiety and difficulty between the three of us.
Yes, in a sense, I am cowardly running rather than explaining myself in person.
I'll apologise in person.
Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, I've heard.
I'm rambling at this point.
Stay safe, my friends. Help will be on its way soon.
~Trill~
After finishing reciting it, Soothe tossed it on the ground and pointed a finger of doom at it. She only just barely stopped herself from blasting it to dust, a frown taking her face and causing her arm to shake. She lowered Miss Finger Bang and looked out to wherever Trill must have flown.
"Dickhole bastard tax thief," she cursed. "Come on, Scout. We gotta go."
He scrambled to his feet. What was this? Twenty-eighth wind at this point. He began to follow Soothe as they once again resumed their journey on foot.
Trill flew.
He flew high in the sky, cascading across air currents, to the point he could almost touch some of the clouds.
He wouldn't fly too close to the sun; he had to keep his eyes on the ground. There were friends as well as foes lurking below him somewhere. They had made much progress on foot, slowly making their way towards the escape tunnel Scout had described.
Correcting their path to not just waltz right into the firefight, where they pokémon had run to after the tunnel was unknown, but Soothe was taking them down a sloping path along the map, hoping that between her ears, Scout's night vision, and Trill's birds-eye view they'd be able to find something of use.
He loved flying but hated to do so now. He wondered what else he could have written to make his disappearance seem less cowardly, but ultimately he knew the only right way would have been to face them directly to tell them.
Was it an excuse to leave now, when he didn't know how long it'd take for them to regroup and thus time was of the essence? Oh, certainly, but it was a convenient excuse that helped with the guilt a little bit.
He wasn't the swiftest bird in the sky, but he was relatively small and aerodynamic. Being cooped with Indeedee had restricted his flight. Even with the guild, he sometimes took daily laps around Treasure Town; he and Rhythm would go for night walks when the rest of the land was sleeping just to enjoy some time together in the calm night air.
Or go out in storms. Rhythm was a daredevil, and enjoyed jumping about in gale-strong storms. They were on the sea, and so ocean storms were common and powerful, and Rhythm would be blown to who-knows-where by the time he finally lost his stance.
Thus, it was down to Trill to find him before the guild actually noticed and make up a nice believable excuse for what they had been doing.
He knew rumours were abound, but that was part of the fun. Even Sunflora hadn't been too clued in on what they had to hide. Although if ever directly asked, they would have told.
Another part of the fun.
It made Rhythm laugh, and really that made any day a good one.
Trill was distracted by his past thoughts that he almost missed a sharp avian call shrieking through the sky. He stuttered and flapped, jerking suddenly to avoid a dark shape rapidly coming up at him, doing a roll and spinning, trying to take a measure of whatever was attacking him.
"Chatot!" Swellow shouted, flapping sporadically. "Is that you?"
"Sw-Swellow?" Trill spluttered, recognising the pokémon best known for making his partner think he was going to eat them.
"Ha! It is you; no one splutters like that!" He dove in eagerly, flying circles around Trill in glee. "Wow! I can't believe it! Meowth was totally right; you ARE back! Woah, wait, are you like super hungry at the moment?"
It was almost laughable to hear him express concern over that. "No," Trill said honestly. "Through the actions of Scout and Soothe, the darkness has been purged from me. I have been purified."
"Wicked," Swellow said. "That's awesome! We heard you were 'okay' but no real idea what that meant."
"Yes, I have great news to share."
"I bet." He blinked. "Woah, that's kinda funny. We came into the Hillcrest area to find you guys, but then I left to tell the town what Meowth had to say. We got…er, most of the town out." He hesitated for a moment there. "And Shinx, Litleo, and Shinx's sis came after us, leaving the guys back there to keep looking, except now you're here, and I found you guys first! Are Meowth and Audino right below?"
"No, no, I had to leave them for a time," Trill explained, falling into a formation with Swellow. He was a trusting fellow, which was…useful, he supposed; he realised that his idea of getting to the town's survivors to start linking up knowledge might have been flawed as they wouldn't know he was no longer Shadow.
Swellow was just happy to see him.
"Well, alright, I got Shinx and Luxray not far below me. We're looking for the rest."
"You don't know where they are?"
"They had to bail before we could teleport everyone out because all the Shadow Pokémon were catching up. Litleo was the only one who was there, he was really mad, and Armaldo knocked him out, but I went looking for Shinx and his sis anyway. Found them, now we just got to find the group."
Slowly they began to crest down towards the ground, where Trill spotted a bouncing shinx and a stoic luxray watching them.
"Chatot!" Rai cried, delighted, waving with his paws and tail, standing on two legs for a moment. "Hiiii!"
Trill landed and raised a wing in greeting. "It's been some time, hasn't it?" he said warmly. Rai didn't tackle-hug him, but he looked tempted to. "I suppose I should begin with some good news. Soothe is human and is capable of purification; she had already undone the corruption within me." He opened his wings, and Rai didn't hesitate any longer, tackling him over in excitement.
"I heard!" he said delightedly. "I heard you were back. We were going to use Sean to purify you! Soothe's human too? Wow, that probably explains everything, but I'm so glad. Where's Scout? Is he okay?"
"Let the mon breathe, bro," Arashi said, and Rai blushed and finally stepped off the overwhelmed bird.
Trill's feathers were all fussed up, and he expected a lot of preening that would then be ruined by Rhythm's own excitement. He would look his best. However, he held himself to standards.
"Scout needs you and Litleo to sleep," Trill said honestly, but as gently as it could be worded. "He'll be all sorted then, I think."
"Where is he?" Rai was jittering with excitement, and Trill hated to pop that so soon.
"Well…." Rai's smile began to dip. "I am not with them at the exact moment; I have left to seek you all out."
"Oh," Rai said, small and quiet. Trill's beak tightened apologetically, but then Rai smiled. "I'm glad you're back. Losing you was one of the hardest things we all faced." He closed his eyes. "I know Scout's okay. We heard from his Substitute, but you still worry."
"He's okay," Trill confirmed. "He'll be better once you reunite, but he's okay."
Rai smiled. "Yeah," he said fondly. "Well…okay, as long as I know that. We got to find the rest sooner rather than later now!"
Swellow, who had rested in a tree, nodded and flapped his wings.
"I will join you," Trill said, rising into the air. "Follow us."
The shinx and luxray raced through the woods below them as Swellow took them south. Trill was impressed that Soothe had the right idea of their path. Maybe it was mostly luck, but he still knew they were on their way.
Into the path of the Fallen, perhaps? His good feelings faded, and he focused on scanning the ground.
He had flown for many hours, closer to a day, before he finally found his roost.
"There!" Swellow pointed with a talon, and Trill followed it, spotting the group. "I'll make sure they know where to go!" he said, spinning around.
Trill quickly caught him. "No, I shall do it."
"Ah?"
"Remember, it is not known I have been purified. My appearance may inspire panic. You go and tell them; I'll lead Young Shinx and Luxray."
Swellow ah'd and nodded, swinging back around and descending, catching a stray spark as Mane shot some fire up to make sure he had spotted them.
Rai and Ara were panting as he found them, but knowing they were so close cajoled them the last few steps. He was impressed with their endurance, feline pokémon weren't known for marathon runners after all, and they had looked more than a little worse for wear.
However, he didn't know their reason for their persistence and glided quietly as the last leg of the journey was made.
"Chatot, I have to let you know," Rai said as they neared. "Wigglytuff…."
At first, Trill had no idea what he was about to say. Then the tone hit him, and his gut dropped.
"I see," he said quietly. His eyes quickly filled with tears, and he nearly crashed.
"Watch yourself!" Arashi snapped, blasting that tree apart before he slammed into it. He flapped like he was an engine restarting and found a composure.
He knew that anyone Indeedee killed would return. They had Soothe and Scout. It was fine. It would be fine. It would be fine.
He would be fine.
She would be fine even. Soothe was already Shadow; she couldn't be corrupted further. Absolutely fine, it'd be simple, and everyone would be fine.
Sadly, he supposed he didn't need to have preened himself presentable earlier. That made his heart lurch a second time.
It was not a clearing they approached, as the group was still moving. Far reduced to what Swellow had left it as, there were still close to fifty pokémon remaining, and that number was increasing.
"Rai!" Mane cried, barrelling past Swellow, explaining what he could to do what Rai did to others. Tackle-hugging him.
"I heard you were okay!" Rai cried, relieved. "We were so worried!"
"YOU? I thought you were dead!"
"So did I until Swellow turned up."
Swellow ruffled his feathers importantly, happy to have been the bearer of so much good news lately. He remembered the other news he brought, which wasn't so good; he reminded himself before he wilted that the news saved many lives.
As he looked at Trill, he knew that Trill had been told.
Trill drifted to a stop, flapping rapidly to slow his descent and perched on a rock, looking out over the pokémon.
When he had died, the Guild had been tall and strong. Guildmaster Wigglytuff, Chimecho the nurse, Sunflora and Corphish, star apprentices. Loudred and Diglett the sharp sentries. Dugtrio who changed the jobs, and Croagunk who did what Croagunk did. Strong-hearted Bidoof who did his gosh-darn best.
There was Shinx and Meowth, and Litleo who would save the world.
He saw Diglett, Croagunk, and Bidoof.
That was it.
He knew Dugtrio had died. He himself had led to the deaths of Loudred and Corphish, a fact that haunted him deeply. Near Bidoof was a burned flaaffy and weary paras. There was no Marill.
Armaldo stood tall and dangerous, eyes doubtful and angry and very, very, tired.
Trill remembered Rhythm's stories about his mentor; although he hadn't met him before, he had only ever heard good things. He'd declined the thought to search the records for Armaldo's crime; he didn't need to know.
"Is that…Chatot?" Bidoof was the first to speak upon seeing him.
Diglett popped out from the ground suddenly. "It…it really is," he said wondrously. "Are you…really?"
"Yes," Armaldo said lowly. "Are you really purified?"
"I am," Trill answered with a ruffle to his feathers. "I revived in the Brine Cave dungeon, and Soothe came and took me to Blackstone Village, where I was in Indeedee's company until recently."
The name Indeedee brought hisses from the pokémon gathered. More pokémon were stepping forwards, and Trill recognised many of them, citizens of Treasure Town. They looked to him with hope and relief, and he felt like he was receiving what was Rhythm's right.
What Armaldo's was.
Armaldo could see the looks, and he gave only an entirely bitter snort. "Pixie," he ordered, and Saniya appeared.
Sean wasn't far behind her. Trill looked between them curiously. "I understand Sean, what of Saniya?" The rest of the pokémon from the future, Team Sunrise Trill remembered Indeedee mentioning, he liked the name.
Very fitting.
"Take him to a dungeon and make sure," Armaldo ordered. Trill accepted the distrust and followed them.
"Scout?" Guardian asked.
"Safe," Trill replied. "Soothe is of no danger to him. Especially not her. Together they purified me; Scout appears to have some form of sway over Shadow Pokémon, together they undid the corruption within me as well as Team A.W.D."
Later a heavily bruised Trill was carried out of the dungeon they had used and given care by Saniya, Chansey, and a few good berries. "It's as they said," Saniya announced. "Looks like we're rolling in purification, boys!"
"Speaking of that," Arashi said, stepping forwards with Rai. He carried a pokéball, something Sean recognised. "We have someone who actually needs help."
Words had been shared after they had stepped out.
"Our father," Rai said softly, staring at the pokéball sadly. "We managed to defeat him and put him in this. We heard Sean can do something, o-or Soothe could!"
Trill couldn't help but feel a flicker of reluctance of burdening Soothe further with Shadow. There was definitely something going on with that amount she had absorbed. His ears had finally stopped popping.
Sean stepped up bravely. "Trill was absolutely fine; we can do it right now!"
Armaldo seemed torn. If Chimecho's word was true, they weren't being actively pursued at the moment, but he'd be a fool to take her on her word.
"Or Soothe?" Saniya said quietly. "You know, Wiggly and I actually had guessed she was human recently." Even hearing 'Wiggly' hurt Trill's bleeding heart. "If she's already Shadow…hmm."
"Do we know where she is?" Sean asked sternly. Eyes turned to Trill.
"With time, I might be able to find her," he said. "Soothe is an exceptionally difficult person to find when she seeks to hide. I came across her by chance and didn't even notice before she struck me from the sky. I also didn't tell her I was leaving."
He winced, Saniya winced, even Armaldo looked like he was thinking of wincing.
He cleared his throat curtly, didn't say anything.
"…okay, I should explain something," Sean said seriously. "Pokéball's don't exactly freeze a pokémon in place when they're in there. They're…energy, I think? I really don't understand it all, but if a pokémon is injured, you can't keep them in there forever. How badly is he?"
Rai and Ara shared a gravely concerned look. "It started with Ara going for a killing shot and ended with a near-double evolution lightning struggle." She was a luxray at the moment, that was hard to miss.
Sean extended his paw. "I think it's important we help him sooner rather than later. Plus, he might regenerate, too, and Swanna was hard enough. It'd be a lot easier if was already…you know, beat up?"
Rai slowly gave him the pokéball, fighting to keep a flat look off his face. "Help him, please."
Sean's larger paw curled over it, and he nodded. "We will."
Team Sunrise charged back into the dungeon they had just come from.
Leaving Trill to find his company loomed over by Armaldo.
They stood in silence for a long time.
"Thank you for taking over where I could not," he eventually said. "Indeedee liked to tell me the news of him from the Psychic Network. It was never good."
"…no," he said slowly. "He was a right mess after you kicked the bucket. Took him some time to begin to come good. Team Charm and getting out helped a bit."
"I imagine you helped most of all."
Armaldo snorted. "I did his homework for him and told him to go to therapy."
Trill smiled. "Thank you."
Chitin immediately looked uncomfortable. "…I didn't ask for thanks."
He blinked. "I know. That's clear. You did it for reasons I can't begin to imagine, but you did. When I was gone and thought I'd never see him again. When I wondered every day if he was eating, sleeping, doing okay, you were there when no one else was. Thank you, Armaldo."
Chitin's expression didn't move an inch, carved stone.
"They'll want you in charge," he said after another long pause. "Good riddance, I think."
"I am not a leader," Trill squawked.
"The people get what they want."
"The people get what they need in times like this," Trill retorted.
"I don't want to be the leader," Chitin snapped, saying it clearly for once.
Trill's expression turned, and he nodded. "Poets would say that's perhaps why the burden should fall to you. I would say that there is no one left. Even had they been…still with us, Torkoal was too aged and W-Wigglytuff too much of an idol. Leaders have to make difficult choices with the strength to follow them through. I believe my actions today express I do not have that strength."
"Explain."
"As I said before. I left without telling Soothe or Scout where I was going; I only left a letter. I know I left then because they had each stormed off, and I had been wanting to come and find you for some time now, but it's an easy excuse to make. I should have told them face-to-face, but I didn't want to deal with whatever they would say. Does that make me a fit leader for this cadre?"
Chitin was silent for a long time before he groaned. "Fine. I expect you to serve as a mediator, however. People already look to you to replace me; they like you and are happy to see you again. I replaced you, and no one has ever gotten over that."
Not even Rhythm went unsaid.
Trill glided over to the remnants of the Wigglytuff Guild and perched awkwardly close to where Diglett was talking to Croagunk.
He fell silent, and they both looked at him.
"Meh-heh-heh, don't be a stranger, Chatot," Croagunk said in his usual laid-back manner, they scooched apart, and Trill hopped forwards eagerly.
Bidoof with his pals came in as well.
"I can't believe it," Bidoof said, sniffling as he looked at Trill. "Can I? Uh, can I…?"
Trill opened his wings, and Bidoof barrelled forwards for a hug. He'd made himself look so nice; it'd be wrong if it wasn't messed up again.
He reconsidered snotty feathers as Bidoof blubbered on him, and he petted his back. "There-there," he said, only made Bidoof cry harder.
Diglett was tearing up as well. Croagunk, ever cool, collected, and detached from reality, just smiled at him.
"You've all changed so much, I would imagine," Trill said softly. "Ah, let us forget the current troubles and tell me. I've long since wanted to know. What have you all been up to in the time that I have been gone?"
It was nice, more than nice, but he didn't have a better word, to listen to the stories again. The Swap Cauldron had been repaired and then recovered. Bidoof had his own team. Diglett had taken over a few other duties in the guild and went on more excursions, getting stronger every day.
He liked to test his mettle against water pokémon.
There were a lot of sad things. There was a person missing in Bidoof's team, and the idea that brave young Marill had been killed by Indeedee was a travesty. He reminded himself that he would come back and Soothe could save him too.
She could save everyone.
The Swap Cauldon had to be recovered due to Palkia's attack, and Diglett took on his fathers duties. As well as his water obsession, if in a different way.
Still, Trill listened to it all, making pertinent questions and giving his old blend of encouraging criticism. It was perhaps too harsh to make normally without regarding their skills and achievements in person, so he kept it light.
The reminder of his personality made them all smile. He got to know Flaaffy and Paras. Flaaffy cleaned up his feathers after what Bidoof did to him, and he felt very fashionable afterwards.
Eventually, a bedraggled, beaten up, bruised, battered, bleeding group came to the encampment. Armaldo decided to take position after all.
Sean was actually unconscious being carried by Striker, while Kogeki was carried by Saniya with Striker's assistance.
Rai and Ara, pacing frequently, unable to relax or sit still, even with Mane laying on Rai half the time, raced over immediately.
"Son of a bastard he was," Saniya commented, dropping Kogeki's weight all on Striker and nearly flattening him. "Oops," she giggled as Striker buckled, pushing Kogeki's weight off him to let him slump on the ground.
"Father!?" Arashi cried, racing to his side and licking and pawing at his face. Rai, who did not hold the same connection as his sister, had stayed back in a wary sort of way.
Mane rubbed up against him soothingly. "I'm here if you need anything," he murmured in Rai's ears, pulling a smile. "It's okay if you're nervous, I'd be."
His whole family was awful, though, so Mane wasn't sure how much he had to say here.
Chansey came bustling over with her favourite tool, revival herbs, all ready and mashed up into a paste, a pill, a suppository if need be, even fresh and ready to burn to use as smelling salts.
She has been highly driven lately, managing her grief by helping others.
There was no Chimecho to help, but Saniya, in many ways, was a rival brand version of Chimecho. Not as cheap, newer with more bells and whistles, but not quite as reliable as the well-known brand of person Chimecho was.
They began to rouse the mangey luxray as onlookers watched carefully. Swanna was not here; she was one of the first sent with the very first group, falling under injured, her children with the other group. Most of the town hadn't seen a purified pokémon, and Trill looked as he always had.
They hadn't seen Kogeki beforehand, but he was new, interesting, and potentially dangerous.
His eyes flickered open, and two words escaped his mouth. "Arashi? Raigeki?"
"We're here, father," Arashi said, waving her paw carefully in front of his eyes. "Can you hear me?" His eyes slowly flicked to her, and he swallowed.
"Daughter?"
"Yes?"
He was blinking a great deal. "I-I-I."
She broke first and nuzzled in emotionally. "F-Father." She pressed her nose into his shaggy black mane, smelling his old scent. She used to play in his fur, making up mysteries that could be found deep within. He seemed like a mountain then, a spire to climb and see the whole world from.
An indomitable pillar, not the mange-ridden beast she had thought she would have to give final mercy to.
Mane nudged Rai, and he stepped forwards haltingly as well. Arashi was nearly crushing him before she felt Rai brush past her and pull back, tears streaking her face. "Father, Raigeki is here too. I kept him safe; we got out okay."
Kogeki was trying to roll to his feet and stand, staring at wonder at the first boy of his children. His heart still ached so badly. Raiton, Sa, and Ji were still gone, lost truly forever. Only he had woken up again after the nightmare, after Manectric tore his family apart, falling right into Indeedee's grasp as he tried to find the beast that had dared.
Then he had languished, hanging onto the thread that they were okay, that he could see them again, Just once, he wanted. Just once.
Was he really okay?
"Son?" Kogeki asked, Rai stepped close to him shyly and looked up at him. There wasn't much to be seen in Rai's golden eyes. Hope, yes, wonder and concern.
He'd been so young when they had been parted, so young that Kogeki knew he didn't really remember him.
"I…."
Rai smiled at his father, seeing the lost expression on his face as he tried to find the words to say everything. "Hi," he said. "I've wondered about you my whole life, Ara's told me a little bit, but a lot of it was too hard to share. I hope I can get to know you now."
Kogeki's expression softened; this little scamp was tiny and so polite. He sounded like a civilised pokémon, and he looked to Arashi, wild and free. He saw in a few moments what choices she may have had to make, what places she had to seek out to survive, barely more than a cub herself.
Raigeki was probably not the person he would have grown to become had the tragedy not occurred, but that didn't matter. Who he was now was still his son, and he wanted to learn who that was.
"Kogeki, too, hopes he can get to know you. Both of you."
The father nuzzled his children, and for a moment, everything was right with the world.
As the family had their reunion, Trill approached Chitin, who had Saniya by his ear as usual.
"You called me?" he asked, as Saniya had, in fact, done so.
"Yes. I believe Soothe and Scout need to be found," Chitin said sternly. "They would be a valued asset and if information recently gained is correct, may be able to turn the tide of this battle in a single act."
Trill's heart jumped. "How?"
"Chimecho contacted us," Chitin explained to Trill's mixed emotions. He raised the connection orb, Trill recognised that thing, and his wings flared. "Calm yourself."
"I don't want to see that thing," Trill said, a shudder going through him. The guild had followed him, and Chitin nodded, tossing it to Bidoof for sake keeping. He'd taken to holding it since Blossom had left anyway.
He breathed a little easier; it was just bad memories. "How do you wish to do this? Lead this cadre there?"
"No." Chitin shook his head. "Too many are too slow, could walk into a trap, could scare her off, alert her. Whatever it could be. I believe it would be best for you to take only Saniya."
Saniya, who looked fierce and very nervous under the intense expression, nodded.
"You can both fly, making travel swift. Furthermore, she can teleport you back to here. We will be moving as soon as day breaks, but if you can travel through the night and can find them swiftly, you could be back to us within a day."
Trill mulled it over for a moment. It seemed like a good idea and Saniya also….
"Do you think she'd react well to me?" Saniya asked softly. "Because of our history?"
"She…responded well to me," he said carefully. That was enough for Saniya, and her fierceness returned. "We will find Soothe and Scout and bring them home at long last!"
Trill nodded, a flutter of hope in his chest.
"Very good. Take some food and water and get going."
"Already done," Saniya patted a bag that onlookers were sure was not there a moment ago. Bets began to be slung about what new magic power Saniya would unveil next.
"I think you should take this," Striker said, hopping forward with something in his hand. "Before you forget." It was a pokéball, something Sean had offered before he'd fallen unconscious. Since Rai had used Scout's, it seemed right to give him the other.
Trill looked back around, taking in the scope of the town. Those who had stayed behind, mostly local teams and a few shopkeepers. Duskull shivered eagerly, Electivire waved energetically; Chansey was busy telling someone off.
He looked and saw Vigoroth and Bewear, Cherrim, Beedrill.
Team Flame, Team Slackers, Team Glee and more.
They were still fighting.
He spread his wings and called out. "Citizens of Treasure Town! Hope remains!" Trill took flight.
He joined Saniya and shared a nod with her. He was tired, yes, but not as tired as Scout was. He zoomed off with her in tow.
And under the cover of darkness, someone followed.
Okay. Yes.
We didn't see the Blossom vs Nelia battle. I've actually written it, and I'll release it in Warped Times and Darkness. Weirdly enough, it's the one battle that I think is best not to be shown in the actual story—just the prelude to it and the aftermath.
Trill's stopped accepting 'it's fine as an excuse and is doing stuff! Good Bird Dad. Reuniting, purification, Mane survives (but what happened to Rumble?), Melody's doing stuff, lots of stuff in this chapter.
I might release the Nelia vs Blossom battle on the discord first. Who knows? You might be able to convince me if you actually want to see that for some reason and are there.
Here's a link: discord gg/BbyywSWn