∑ Volume Two: Fitzroya ∑

Chapter Ten: Asa's Gem

"Change your perspective, and the reality changes." - Small child, Black & White

If you're reading this, Khan, I need to apologise. I'm going to have to make use of your scroll.

Tobias was sobbing, clawing at the rocks. He pulled out a Wonder Orb, I'm not sure what kind, and smashed it against the ground. A cloud of white mist erupted, and he watched with expectation.

"Orbs don't work in Mystery Labyrinths," I explained as gently as I could.

His eyes moved back and forth. A head stirring with thoughts. He reached into his bag and pulled out three red and orange seeds.

"Okay," he said quite breathlessly to Alex, "I'll place these in amongst the rocks, you light them on fire. Hah, like our very first mission, remember?"

Alex's face remained still. I imagine he realised what I did, that such a thing would risk caving in the roof and killing us all. Tobias dropped his seeds and let out a frustrated growl. He ducked into his shell and launched off the ground. I reached out my vines and slapped him away. His shell rattled onto the floor, and he jumped right back out.

"You're going to attract wild Pokémon!" I whispered. "Please, Tobias, control yourself!"

Tobias' eyes had filled with tears. "But he could be trapped under there!"

"He's not."

"How would you know?!"

I took a deep breath. There was no way of getting around this. If I couldn't assure Tobias his mentor wasn't dead, he would keep attacking those rocks, and cause a cave-in that would crush him if not everyone else as well. Or he would keep yelling, and attract an ambush. I had no choice.

I closed by eyes. I felt the Gem imbedded into my navel shine, and its energy flooded through me, hollowing yet filling, as I felt myself leave my surroundings. I sent my energy outwards, and I knew the glow was spreading, taking Alex and Tobias in as well. When I opened my eyes again, we were on the other side of the tunnel. Their bodies hummed white. They looked around in confusion.

"Khan!" Tobias cried.

He ran to the Garchomp's side. He was standing at a fork in the tunnel, Dei Varia unconscious in his arms, a bruise forming along the smaller Pokémon's head. Tobias called his name again but Khan didn't react.

"It's me," he said, a little more desperately, "it's Tobias. Khan?!"

"He can't hear us," said Alex.

I shook my head. Alex craned his head all around him.

"Is this astral projection?"

"My teacher called it "sight sharing.""

Tobias' arms dropped heavily to his sides. Then he cried: "Look out!"

A Toxapex came bounding down the left tunnel. Vicious jets of poison fired from the spikes on his underside. Khan raised his fin and shielded Dei from the blow, then let out a red-hot Fire Blast, the two lower prongs soaring just above the Brutal Star Pokémon's head. He squealed and went hopping away down the tunnel. Tobias looked proudly up at his mentor. Khan began to make his way down the tunnel. Tobias made as if to run after him, but realised it was pointless.

"He's so close…"

"How do we get back to him?" Alex asked.

"Khan will be trying to find a way out as well," I said. "Your best bet is to locate Rusty Springs and make our way to the outside from there."

""Your?""

"The soldiers and I need to continue searching for the Guardians. The Omega Chasm simply will not open without them." I looked back at the pile of rocks, beyond which was the path that would hopefully lead us out. "Midnight will be on one of these mountains."

"You're… really sure of that?"

I ignored him. Alex had no sense of these things. Midnight is still alive. I know it.

I closed my eyes and the energy in my Gem drew back in. Alex and Tobias stumbled a little as they returned to their bodies. They rubbed their eyes and yawned. Ah, I remember my first sight sharing, too. It must have been, what, thirty years ago by now?

I led the procession down the tunnels. 26 of us remained now. With Tobias stumbling so much I offered to carry his bag for him, and he reluctantly agreed. I silently prayed for both Khan and Dei. The Professor was right. There is nothing to be gained from warring with the Varias, not anymore. We now face two enemies, and either one of them posses an existential threat on their own. And though Fitzroy may be an average Charizard, I believe I fear him far more than his God.

The tunnels got hotter and hotter. After a couple of hours, we came to the doors separated Mount. Mire from Mount. Magma. Thankfully, these doors could be opened with a bit of heave-ho from the larger Pokémon. I felt the tip of my bulb wilting in the heat. Tobias sipped carefully from his water skin. The other non-fire types loosened their collars.

Light. Movement.

A Centiskorch came crawling down the dark tunnel towards us. I sent a puff of Sleep Powder his way; his eyes and tail drooped, and he curled up into a comfortable ball on the ground.

The next Pokémon took us by surprise. A Carkol twice one's normal size leapt out of the wall at us. Tobias and Finn, a Finizen from Coast's armada, combined their Aqua Tails to send him smacking right back into the hole he'd made. The two high-fived, but there was no time to celebrate.

"We need to move quicker," I said with urgency. "They won't be coming one-by-one anymore."

After another hour, we came to a crossroads. The others were looking to me for the answer. I sat down and closed my eyes. There were voices behind me, but my mind did not register them. There was movement beside me, but I knew it was benign. I felt the ground beneath my feet, the heat against my skin, the incredibly faint hum in the air.

"Left," I said, and we continued walking.

Rust-red light danced and trailed through a pillar of white that filled a cavern lined with hot coal, glowing embers, and petite fire agate crystals growing on the walls. Once again, the Spring asked me its question. Once again, I declined.

The sunrise was orange on the western horizon, lighting the lava spilling down the mountainside. Mount. Magma was three rings stacked atop one another. Black rock and black dust, black fangs curling into one another along the edges of each ring. The volcano was quiet at present, but when awake, rivers of lava flowed the paths along cracks in the wall, poured from the crater through the mountain's jagged teeth. Now it was pitch black but for the lava's light shining thinly through the cracks. There were no wild Pokémon in sight.

"The Guardian doesn't seem to be here either," I said.

We settled down in a relatively cool spot. I sat a few feet apart from the others, between two fangs of black rock, looking out over my burning country. Black clouds now hung low in the sky. The Legendary Pokémon was no doubt hiding among them. If we could only see who exactly we were dealing with, we would be a lot more prepared. But the real question is why? What does this Pokémon have to gain from such rampant destruction? And why no wild areas, why only cities and towns? Is Fitzroy somehow commanding them? Have they been tricked into seeing us all as the enemy? Are they in great pain?

Footsteps heralded Alex as he came from behind one of the fangs. I moved over and he sat down beside me, feet resting against the warm rock.

"Is it hard for you to be here?" he asked.

"No. I know I will find my sister eventually."

"I meant in a volcano."

"Oh. Well, it isn't my first time exploring a fire-type Dungeon, and I'm sure it won't be my last."

A gentle morning breeze blew black dust around our feet. It howled through the gaps in the rock, whistled uncomfortably high in our ears.

"Thanks for showing us your sight sharing," he said. "It makes us both feel better knowing he's okay."

"My pleasure."

"How does it work?"

"Originally it was a psychic link that certain Legendary Pokémon could use. It was channelled into Gem energy, handing the power to any mage who could wield it."

"Can you see anyone?"

I didn't know how to answer. It may have been damning either way. So, I decided to tell the truth.

"Latios or Latias have the power to sight share with anyone," I said, "however I am quite limited. I can only share sight with a person I've touched while the Gem was active."

"So anyone in theory," said Alex.

"Believe me it brings me extreme displeasure to use it without the other party's awareness, but in a life-and-death situation yes, I can."

"And they don't have to be aware of it, do they?"

I didn't answer.

"Is that how you made sure I got to Oran Berry Cave safely?"

My heart lurched.

"How did you…"

"I didn't."

He absentmindedly wiped some of the soot from the rock, rubbed it between his fingers.

"How long did you spend watching me?"

"Only as long as I had to. I abandoned my vigil as soon as Tobias found you. I trusted the Treasure Hunters to take care of you, and rightfully so."

"They're the only ones in my life that haven't used me."

It was a great sting, though perhaps justified.

"First Octavia sent my cousin, one of my only living relatives on the Skarsgard side. Then she sent you to intimidate me."

My eyes widened. "I wasn't trying to—"

"Don't lie to me. After that Octavia sent Octavia to intimidate me even more. And somehow Feather got the idea that I should reconnect with my old friends. Then Octavia decided that of all the five-thousands Pokémon in her camp, it should be us going off on an incredibly important mission. All while under the watchful eye of the Enderpyres, of course. And yours."

I swallowed.

"It was a stroke of luck when Dreigo showed up and ran his big mouth— all three of them— and managed to push me even farther away from him. But frankly, by then, I'd heard so much bad stuff about the Varias and was so welcomed with you, I don't know if I'd gone with him no matter what he said!"

"Well, I'm so sorry for welcoming you, Alex," I said crossly, "I'm so sorry for forgiving you and welcoming you back with open arms. How will you ever forgive me?"

"I won't."

"But it was right! I did it to protect you! I did it to protect Ruby Forest! I did it to protect us!"

"I'm never going to know who I really am because of you."

It felt like my stomach dropped out of my body. Suddenly I couldn't look at him. My mind went at a hundred miles per hour. Could I have done something differently? Should I have gone with him? Should I have left him as he was, damn the consequences?

"May I ask you something?"

Alex said nothing, so I went ahead.

"Do you regret what you did in Grande Castle?"

"No," he said quickly, "but I regret letting you choose for me. It should have been my choice. Now I don't even know if I can take credit for it."

"There could have been serious consequences if you had chosen the other path. For the people I love, that includes you. But I know that I hurt you. And I am deeply, deeply sorry."

Then the Charmander let out a slow breath.

"I understand. But I can't be around Pokémon I don't trust. And when you told me you trusted me with your life… you didn't mean it, did you?"

"I mean it now, Alex."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because if we don't trust each other, right now, in this moment, than Fitzroy has already won. And I may not have trusted you not to go back to Dreigo, but I know you would never want a Pokémon like that in charge."

"The Pokémon that killed Tobias' friends? No, I don't."

Alex turned to me with honest eyes. He extended his hand and I extended my vine. We shook.

"For Itori," said Alex.

"For the World," said I.

(Khan's POV)

I sat back against the wall with Dei. We'd passed through the doors to Mount. Magma. We'd gone quite far up, so it was relatively cool for a volcano. I crossed my legs and rested my arms on my knees. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I could sense the Spring, but it was much further away. The heat pressed in heavily on all sides, but, very faintly on my right arm, it was cooler. A breeze. That's where we would head next. When I opened my eyes again I saw Dei on his feet, facing me.

"D—"

He came charging at me, teeth bared. I tucked on rolled out of the way then jumped to my feet. Dei came running again. I kicked off the wall and bounced over him. He turned on his heel and ran at me again. I side-stepped around him.

"Stop dodging!" Dei yelled.

"Then stop attacking!"

He snarled and came charging again. I moved an inch to the side and he ran head-first into the wall. He grit his teeth and tried to hide the pain. I took an Oran Berry from my bag and placed it beside him. He crushed it under his foot.

The ceiling rumbled above our heads. A cry of pain, a roar of fire. A battle for territory, or for food. I'd fought a dozen wild Pokémon so far. These were no ordinary wild Pokémon, but of course, I'd known that from the outside. Several times I'd had simply run to protect myself and Dei. I'd been burned twice, and was now down to my last Lum Berry. I hoped to save it for him, but if I fainted here, that Deino is as good as dead.

Some wild Pokémon crashed to the ground above our heads. The ceiling shook then cracked. Gravel and dust rained down on our heads.

"The roof isn't sound," I said, "we need to find a way out of these tunnels, come on."

"I'm not following you!"

"Do you want to die down here, Dei?"

He chewed the inside of his cheek.

"The second we're safe, I'm going to take you down, Khan."

That'll be a long time coming.

…

We both struggled in the heat, but him more than me. Many Garchomp are born and raised in the desert region, whereas Deino are born with a thick head of fur (in lieu of eyes, I guess). We stayed low to the ground to avoid detection, an area in which he definitely surpassed me.

A Pyroar came charging down the tunnel at us, her mane streaming behind her. I crossed my fins over and drew them upwards; Brick Break struck her in the neck and up under the chin. A Lampent dropped down from a shadow on the ceiling. Dei dodged his Will-O-Wisp attack, leapt, and snapped his glowing-black fangs around his arm, shaking him until the Lamp Pokémon retreated back into the shadows.

"Nicely done," I said, "you've certainly got an instinct for battle."

Dei spat at my feet. I've certainly never gotten that reaction to praise before.

Up a crumbling staircase. The edge of a step crumbled under Dei's foot. I held out my arms in case he fell. Dei couldn't see me, but still managed to headbutt my arm away. The corridor continued straight for another mile. If my judgment was correct, we were heading directly east. The air was cooler still. We were close to the exit.

We spent the next few minutes in an eerie silence, interrupted by Dei's scream.

I ducked under spinning tornado of fire, shielding the Deino with both arms. Six flame-shaped wings glowed orange through the darkness. A Volcarona hovered towards us. Three little embers burned at her "feet", and soon I saw they were Larvesta. The Sun Pokémon danced rhythmically in the air. With every turn, every shiver of her wings flames licked up around her, until she became a six-point shooting star headed straight for us. Dei lowered his head and screamed.

I turned my back to them and held out my arms. Dei watched open-mouthed as I absorbed the attack. The heat made his fur frizz. He cringe into a into ball and shook his head.

"Dei!" I yelled over the roar of flames. "Listen to me! We have to work together!"

The fire faded away.

"I know you're afraid right now! Use that! And use your anger as well!"

I turned to face my opponents. Dark-blue energy twisted around my torched body. The Volcarona's wings and the Larvesta's horns began to warm again. Four blue hooves hit the ground.

Dei let out a mighty roar, and a from his mouth came a twisting a sea serpent. The horned dragon charged down the corridor, the serpent twisting around it, teeth snapping. The wild Pokémon shone with orange light, but blue energy crashed right through it. The dragon's horns rammed into the Volcarona and knocked her backwards while the serpent bit down on her neck. Hooves trampled over two of the Larvesta. The third jumped at me. One glowing fin tossed him higher into the air, the other slammed him back down again.

The Volcarona came rushing back down the corridor, a silent fury but for the roar of flames. Click. My whole body warmed as Fire Blast broke free. It was stronger here, in this Dungeon, I could feel it. A massive heat wave buffeted us as the five-pronged flames pushed against the six-winged star; a moment of struggle, and then a roar of triumph as the fire-bug-type was engulfed.

I felt a hot prickling on my neck. Damn it, another burn. Begrudgingly, I swallowed the last Lum Berry. Dei was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. I placed an Oran Berry down in front of it. He hesitated, then swallowed it in one bite.

"I think those Pokémon were guarding the door," I said. I could feel a cool breeze helping my back burn to heal.

"Well then they did a pretty bad job," Dei said.

I chuckled. Dei and I walked to the door.

…

Mount. Magma was dormant now (thankfully for us!) I'd only seen it once in its waking hours, lava bursting from the top, crashing like waterfalls down the side of the mountain, into every crack and crater, making red-hot rivers along the mountainside. It hasn't erupted in a long time, though light still glows from cracks along the surface, like fire burning in a lamp. There was some plantlife here and there; gum trees with shrivelled leaves, yellow-white trunks streaked with black. I found a few half-charred branches lying around and gathered them up in my arms. I brought them back to the secluded spot Dei and I were resting in, under a small ledge, surrounded by shelves of black rock. Dei was waiting patiently. Though he may not have known it, I never let him out of my sight.

I carried some hot coals precariously between my claws and set them in a circle. I placed the branches in the middle. Embers glowered from a crack in the rock a few feet away, I used them to light a stick and got the fire going. Dei cringed away from the flames. We sat in a very uncomfortable silence. He knew he couldn't beat me. I wondered if that would stop him from trying anyhow. He had been absolutely zealous up until now.

A Salandit skulked above our heads. Our eyes met, and he scurried away, tail wiggling behind him. I knew that meant a coordinated attack would come soon; Salandit didn't need a Guardian to be told what to do. There was no point moving, though. There would be wild Pokémon anywhere we went. May as well deal with these ones, now that we already had our campfire going. I ate two more Oran Berries in preparation, and placed the very last one next to Dei. He moved his head slightly towards it, but didn't take it. He was staring off to the west, towards his family. The edges of Mount. Mire's platforms were visible from here, as was the final waterfall, and the pools of bronze tainting the clear water. We were too far to see the Skarsgards, the Varias, or the Finleys. Dei must have been terrified. The heat, the confusion, the wild Pokémon, being so far from his loved ones. No way of knowing if they were okay.

But I had the same anxiety. I couldn't see much of the mountain from our little hole in the wall, but I knew my best move would be climbing down and trying to find them on the surface. Easier to navigate, less wild Pokémon, the chance of seeing one another from afar (then again, that risked the enemy seeing us, too. I would just have to assume Tobias, Alex, and Asa would take the same chance.) But what would I do about Dei? And perhaps more importantly, what was Dei planning to do about me?

It was then I noticed the Deino was trembling. He was sitting quite far from the fire. Was he cold?

"Are you—"

Dei almost jumped out of his skin.

It's me. He's afraid of me.

How could I have been so stupid?

"I'm not going to hurt you," I said.

The fire crackled.

"What I did, I did to protect the people I love. Just like you."

"I'm nothing like you!" Dei snapped back.

"How can you tell, Dei? You don't know me."

"So what makes you so sure you know me?"

It was then I realised that I was a villain in this child's story. A felt a hollow feeling in my chest. This is why I never wanted to be involved in that war. But what have become of his students otherwise?

"You know, your brother seriously hurt my friend."

"Alex hurt all of us!"

"Dreigo nearly killed him."

"Shut up!" Dei screamed.

He charged at me. His head slammed into my back. I took the hit. Dei slammed me again. He opened his mouth for a Bite attack. I tucked and rolled to dodge, propping myself up on one arm.

"Why are you…" I trailed off.

You know why he's fighting you, Khan. You attacked his home. You battled his older brother. You were in the room when Alex gave him that horrible scar across his face. He's terrified of you, and you're antagonising him.

"I'm sorry," I said cautiously, "I shouldn't have gotten angry with you, that was my fault. I'm not asking for your forgiveness or your friendship. But please, can we call a truce? Until we get back to our friends? Nothing good can come from fighting one another right now."

"If I stopped you, that would be some good," Dei spat.

Something shifted up above. A Salazzle, burning purple eyes locked on Dei. They'd been waiting for us to get into a fight. Wild Pokémon have a sense for things like this.

Click. I leapt to my feet and ran, kicking over coals and burning branches. Dei yelped again. A steady stream of flame spat from the Toxic Lizard Pokémon's maw; I stood in front of Dei, shielding him yet again. My Fire Blast burst free, faster than she was expecting; her eyes bulged as the flames struck her, sending her wriggling through the air and over the edge of the small cliff. I felt something in the yellow part of my chest come loose. That would be my last Fire Blast for a while.

Six Salandit dropped down around us. Dei ran to my side, our backs were pressed against the wall. The Salandit closed in. I moved through the quickly, striking them across the chest, stomach, back, shoulders. Dei yelped in pain as another spat Embers at him. I whacked that one with my tail and kicked him away onto the ledge of the small cliff, where he scarpered away. Dei caught the last one in his jaws and shook violently side to side. He tossed the Toxic Lizard Pokémon aside, and he went scuttling off into a gap in the rocks.

We took a breath. Then I felt a hot prickling sensation in my arm. Another burn. Dei wrinkled up his nose in disgust. Yep, it did smell pretty gross.

"Oh no, no no no."

Dei was shaking his head again. He turned in a circle, back the other way.

"It's all right, don't worry," I said, "it's only a burn, I'm not going to faint."

"No!" Dei snapped. "Look!"

Dei was burned too. A bumpy orange mark across his blue skin. I reached down to help him, but my arm cried out and I found I couldn't move it down far enough.

"Stay right there," I said calmly, "I'm going to help you."

I took the bandages and pot of healing paste out my back. I wanted to help Dei first, but I would be no good to him like this. With the pain I was in, I would slip up somewhere and hurt him. I had to fix myself first. I used my fin to smear paste on the burn. It stung like hell, but I grit my teeth and pushed on. I moved my arm up and down, left and right. Now (mostly) functional again, I bent down to help Dei. I placed the bandages and paste beside him.

"I-I don't know what to do!" he gasped.

"I'll tell you. Take the loose end of that bandage and hold out your burned leg."

Most likely out of desperation, Dei did as I asked.

"It will hurt for a bit," I said levelly, "but I promise it will be worth it. Because it won't hurt for very long—"

"I know," Dei said.

"You're a brave soldier."

He nodded.

I gently applied the past. He grit his teeth and hissed. But it was over soon, and he hadn't complained once. Good lad. I picked up the bandage and handed him the tag end to hold in his mouth. I wrapped it around him and tucked the tag in.

"Voila!" I said. "One bandaged arm and one bandaged leg."

Dei pushed himself up into a sitting position. I asked him to take deep breaths, and he did. He shuddered. The pain in my arm had already gone down, and it looked like his had, too.

"Feeling better?"

He nodded again, then kicked at a stone with his good leg.

"We're not friends," he said.

"We don't have to be friends. I'm just happy knowing you're okay."

"I am okay… Thank you."

"It was the least I could do," I told him honestly.