Chapter Fifteen: To Know the Unown

"Don't need all the answers,

Cause one thing is true.

As long as the Earth turns,

I'll always love you.

So I don't need to know,

The unknown." - The Know the Unknown, Innosense.

(Achilleus POV)

Giant sequoia, weeping willow, dragon tree. Every region of Ruby Forest has an Origin Tree. Through these my Pokémon stepped. Gourgeist, Victreebel, Roselia. All headed to one place.

The Burrowwilds came from the tunnels. Gabite, Onix, Excadrill. They walked through the Barrier while the others lay trapped behind it. But outcasts of society, they hid behind walls of their own. They poured out of the ground now, falling into step beside the Forest dwellers. Rivals of the Ruby Pokémon, but allies in one shared goal.

We marched together. Bur oak, common aspen, cottonwood. Close to the edge, the litter from foolish outsider Pokémon lay uselessly in the red grass. I crushed a Wonder Orb beneath my foot. White tendrils reach out and were quashed by the energy of the Forest. This was no place for such trickery.

The Barrier caught the light, caught every colour of the rainbow. As I approached, a spot of deep red appeared as light ebbed from my body. Then it spread. The Burrowwilds line up along the edge, and I knew they are approaching from miles around. The Rubies-by-blood stepped aside and allowed the migrants to join us, their bodies humming with their most natural energy.

The Barrier became a sea of colour, energetic yellow, gentle mint green, cool sky blue, mystic purple, stunning orange. A thousand souls had passed through since its conception, but it only took one for the crack to finally form. No stronger, but far stranger. A square peg in a round hole. Evron clearly hadn't planned for the arrival a human soul. I needn't have trapped the boy at all. Perhaps it was all the better that he escaped to tear it open again.

I could feel my soul moving through me, slicing through the enchanted fabric of the Barrier. The time had come to change the World. To return civilisation to its natural state. With this powerful new ally destroying their cities and weakening their armies, now was the time to attack, now was the time to put both Varia and Skarsgard in their place. Their natural place.

Then I saw the bodies. Many missing pieces of their metal coating. Many more covered in burn marks. All with faces haggard and warn, but eyes of tempered steel. Hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers in armour of blue, armour of orange, armour of black.

This was wrong. Black and orange were not meant to stand together. I saw the scorched flags waving from their poles; a black-rimmed blue background, bearing a shining mirror. Pale-yellow rimming a blue field on which an orange flame burned. And standing before their armies, standing side by side, were Dreigo Varia, and Octavia Skarsgard. This must have been a trick.

A comet came whistling from the sky. I recoiled as it crashed against the ground, blowing a crater into the clean green earth. Through the dense black clouds was a pinkish-red glow, angry and bruised. Flashes of blue, dots like stars too close to the earth. More comets fall. Rubies and Burrowwilds scattered, and on the other side soldiers raise shields and Protect bubbles to defend themselves.

"Are you afraid?" Varia's deep voice cut through the high-pitched screech of the comets. "You should be."

"Whatever trick you are attempting, it will not work on Ruby Forest," I declared. "We do not play the childish games of trapped Pokémon."

"Does this look like a game to you?" There was something in Skarsgard's tone that makes it hard to disbelieve her.

I felt dotted eyes on me. Too many to count, all shifting, blinking out and reappearing. Was this the ally I had waited for all these years?

Varia pointed to the sky. "That thing up there is going to burn the entire world to the ground!"

"Your world, not mine. It has been my life's goal to return Pokémonkind to the freedom of the wild."

"When he's through with you," Skarsgard says, "there won't be any wild life. You'll be free to wander a dead earth if you don't die alongside it."

The light finally clearing, I saw the blackness all around. Beyond the soldier's iron-clad feet, there was no green to be seen.

"You want Ruby Forest to grow, but that thing is going to burn every living thing to the ground, and he- they, don't even know it."

The sky throbbed. I was staring at a God. But not just a God, as what looks like a Charizard appeared through the parting clouds. A God, fused with a regular Pokémon. My heart was gnawed at by envy, envy at that kind of power.

The dragon God roared, and I could feel their grief to my very core, blinding all else. Bronze figures came marching through the smoke. What on earth were they?

(Asa POV)

Mount. Resolution. Six rounded peaks moving in a wave, stripes of contrasting colours. During the day, the sun lit up the quartzose and claystone and sulphur; at night, shadows blended into one another, shapes becoming mountainside becoming shapes. At all times, disorienting. Our last mountain to cross before we finally reached Mount. Herald, the entrance to the Omega Chasm. There, according to our begrudging ally, was the key we need to stop Fitzroy. If she was telling the truth. If not…

"It's hopeless," Tobias said.

I turned my head.

"We're never going to find the Professor like this."

My shoulders sagged with relief.

"He's probably heading the same way," Alex told him. "He's a genius, right? He'll have figured it out by now."

Tobias looked down over the edge of the path. Even if Khan were within view, I doubt he'd be easy to spot amongst the cacophony of colour.

The Squirtle turned to me. "Can't you use your sightsharing to see where he is?"

"Ah, I could. But it's unlikely it would give us his exact location, and in any case, we hardly have to time—"

"Would you show us, please?" Alex said, a little sternly.

I sighed and closed my eyes. The Gem in my navel glowed white. I opened my eyes to see through his.

(Khan POV)

All I could see to the east was white. The ice was following me. I knew it wasn't really following me, but…

I saw the flurry carried by the winds howling through the pillars of Mount. Cyclone. Grey-purple stone gave way to the overwhelming colours of Mount. Resolution, strips of jarring red and yellow and green and white.

I managed to avoid capture most of my way up to the rounded peak of the Mountain, where it was rumoured the entrance to the Inner Caves would be. Psychic-type Pokémon set upon me as soon as my feet touched the strip of pinkish-red clay. Espathra, Bronzong, Swoobat, Oranguru, Orbeetle. I didn't stop to engage with them. I knew they would follow, that attacks would rain down on me, and patter against my back, but I knew if I stayed to fight them all, I would die.

The colours dizzied me as they raced past. There were no trees to hide behind, no crevices to slip into, no cover from the rain of psychic attacks. Telekinetic holds dragged me backwards, tried to lift me off my feet. I turned and sent Fire Blasts back the way I came. Pokémon scurried and ran.

I took the Evasion Orb from my bag, smashed it against the ground. Beam of purple light shot up from the ground with every step I took. I could sense every attack seconds before they came. I broke free of psychic holds before they could get a firm grip. A Psybeam soared past my head. Not even close.

I snatched Sitrus Berries out of my bag and swallowed them in one bite. I ducked under the spiked orbs of a Psyshock, only for the white-pink lightning strike of a Future Sight to crashed down from above. I fell. A golden pillar of light surrounded me, and I felt my life return.

I ate the Plain Seed too, for the extra iota of energy it would give me. A Psycho Cut dug into my calf. I took the last Oran Berry out of my bag. It glowed pink, and then it was gone.

The door to the inner caverns. Close, so close. If I could just make it inside, I could fight them one-by-one. Just a few feet away—

A Male Meowstic held up a Light Screen. I hadn't seen him until he was right in front of me. I raised my fin, hoping a sudden Brick Break would be enough to disorient him, just a moment. Before I could swing my arm around, he Sucker Punched me in the nose.

I growled in anger and bit down hard on his torso. I shook him violently like a ragdoll, tasted copper, hacked as his fur stuck to my throat. The Meowstic howled and scratched frantically at me. I felt no pain. But I'm pretty sure he did.

The psychic-types had stopped, staring at me in fear. I breathed in deep, pulling back on shoulders. I threw my body forward and let out a guttural, primal roar, blood and spit flying from my mouth. I swear, for just a moment, I felt the red earth shake.

Navy light wrapped around my body, grew feathers, sprouted horns. The psychic-types moved into defensive stances, their eyes glowed, their hands hummed with energy. The Meowstic curled up into a ball, raised his paws to protect his face. I turned and ran. I heard cries behind me, footsteps in the dragon's wake. Rushmore lowered his horns slammed into the doors, scraping them open. I skidded to a halt and whirled around and slammed them with two glowing white fins. They slid half-way, I slammed them again, turned and kicked them both shut. I didn't notice the shadow slipping under my feet until it was too late.

A Gardevoir emerged on the other side. For half a second, I thought she was Elexi. In that half-second she had me pinned to the doors in a Psychic hold. Her eyes bored into me, her hand steady in the air even as it gave out a force hard enough to choke me. She looked so much like her.

It took all of my mental energy concentrated into one place to take a step forward. It took all that energy again to take another. Finally, with one great heave, I pulled myself from the doors. That was all I needed. I didn't need to break free. I just needed to make her flinch. The Gardevoir's eyes widened, she took a small step back. She seemed the mild type. The type with low defense.

Purple energy streaked with orange swirled from the top of my nose, covered me like a suit of armour. The Gardevoir raised both hands but it was too late for her, Giga Impact rammed into chest, I pushed on for six more steps then threw my head back, and she went rolling across the floor, coughing up dirt.

I was panting hard. Spit dribbled down my chin. I wiped it with the back of my arm and squatted down. I had knocked her out, but she was breathing steadily, no major damage. With my other arm I wiped the tears from my eyes and stepped over her.

(Asa POV)

"I can't see anything…"

"What do you mean?" Tobias said, and I heard him stepping round to stand in front of me. "You can't find him?"

I placed my vines to my temples. "I'm connecting with him, I know it's him, I just can't see…"

"Well try!"

"I am trying."

"Then try harder!"

I opened my eyes. The glow from my Gem died. Tobias stared at me, mouth agape, as if I'd just slapped him. An Espurr stood staring at us from a strip of fangolitas. We were so exposed, with no trees or crevices or rivers to hide inside. But we had each other, and Khan was alone. I understood why he was so frustrated, but this angering was getting us nowhere.

"I can't connect to anything with you yelling in my ear, Tobias."

He balled up his fist. I prepared myself for an uncomfortable brawl. I knew couldn't touch me, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt to fight back. Even Alex was looking at me with sympathy.

"Tobias," he said gently, placing a hand on his partner's shoulder, "he's doing the best he can."

The Squirtle was rigid for another moment, then he relaxed, letting out a long breath. "I know. I'm sorry."

"You're afraid," I said, "I understand."

"Can you please try again? Just one more time?"

"Of course."

I closed my eyes. I felt a pull from far away, from several feet below me, many more across. He was there, I felt him, but I couldn't reach him. I couldn't see through his eyes, couldn't…

Oh no.

We ran. The door to the Inner Caverns, the only door, was closed. I charged my Solar Beam as we ran, catching the rays of light bouncing off the moon. Alex breathed in the ashy air, Tobias' tail glowed. At the count of three, we fired our attacks at once. The doors moved a few inches.

I shoved my shoulder into the left door, Tobias pushed his back against the right, while Alex stood between us with a hand on either side. I pretended not to notice the splatter of red across the white marls. After several moments of heaving, feet scraping against the sandstone floor, we managed it.

Tobias and I shoved Alex in first. He held out his hand and pulled Tobias through. I came last, the most awkward of the three, trying to shimmy through the crack without scratching any of my Gems while the rough stone tugged at my bulb.

I saw the pink glow before I felt my body being pulled in the other direction. Alex and Tobias grabbed a forefoot each and pulled. I scrabbled against the ground, then was kicking at open air. I managed to crane my head around to see a Meowstic, white fur matted with red, one eye swollen shut, one paw in the air while the other hung limply at his side.

"Let go of me."

"What?!" Alex exclaimed.

"They're going to hurt you!" said Tobias.

I placed my back feet against the doors and pushed away. I went flying from the grasp. I must have taken the Meowstic by surprise, because he stumbled away as I went flying towards him. We rolled across the ground together and coughed up phyllite dust. The Meowstic raised a paw again my but vine shot out and struck him across the face. I wrapped the other as gently as I could around his shoulders. He stared at me through an eye filled with terror. The spring-green Gem in my collar glowed, then so did he. The purple welt in his eyes shrank, faded back to white. Dried blood fell away as the holes in his skin patched over. He looked down in surprise at his right paw, turning it this way and that, fully mobile. His mouth hung open. I smiled at him.

More wild Pokémon marched up the steep mountainside. The Meowstic stepped between me and them, held up two fully-functioning paws.

"Run!" he said.

I lifted him off his feet and carried him with me. He may have been willing to be a hero, but I wasn't here to be a damsel in distress. The psychic-types ran after us. We squeezed through the gap in the door. The Meowstic held up both paws, his eyes flashed pink, and the doors were shut, faster than I could blink.

Alex looked from him to me. "Who's our friend?"

"Hey I'm Justin, nice to meet you," said the Pokémon who seconds ago had been trying to chuck us down the mountainside.

"Pleasure's all mine."

"Thanks for your help back there, Justin," I said.

"Kindness for a kindness. And here's one for free: Whatever business you think you have in this Mountain, you can forget it, because nothing gets past the Guardians here."

I frowned. "Guardians?"

He chuckled. "Oh, you'll see. I wish you wouldn't, because you actually seem like a pretty nice guy. But you'll see."

(Khan POV)

It was one long tunnel. There were no wild Pokémon. It was nothing like any of the other inner caverns.

I walked for hours. It must have been hours. My stomach growled, I ate the last Apple in my bag. I was still hungry. There wasn't a single item in sight. The only break from the brown-red monotony was the sight of the Magenta Spring. Deep-pink light shone down the tunnel and inside pink amaryllises grew. The walls all around were surrounded by Unown tiles.

N K M

O O I

B U G

I J A

R O K

U U U

My footsteps echoed. I could hear my breath and my heartbeat. I was unnaturally quiet, like the walls were swallowing sound. I kept walking. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

Then a door.

I pushed it open with minimal effort. Beyond was a wide, round room, large enough to fit a Wailord comfortably. An inner cavern within the inner caverns. Completely plain, but for the overwhelming sight of the carvings along the walls, tiles of text all around, forming a dome with a ceiling as tall as a Steelix, nothing but rows and rows of Unown. There were no other doors. A dead end. I'd been walking for hours, only to come to a dead. Fucking. End.

No. There had to be a way out. One of the tiles, maybe a word hidden somewhere. There had to be—

The door slammed shut behind me. More Unown tiles, all repeating:

K

O

U

K

E

N

N

I

N

I swallowed. There was no source of light that I could make out, but somehow I could still see. Then I noticed the faint glow coming from the carvings. Or rather the inside of the carvings, where the "eyes" would be. The lining looked pitched black now. I banged on the doors with both fins. They didn't budge, no surprise there. I summoned Dragon Rush and rammed against the stone. Nothing. The glow was getting brighter.

I tried a Fire Blast. The flames did nothing but steal oxygen. I tried Giga Impact. I ended up with nothing but a throbbing forehead. It was almost bright now, but shadows were stretching to every corner. The carvings almost seemed to pop out now. I peered at the letter "E" in front of me. I blinked. Then it was floating. They were coming apart from the wall, smooth black shapes with glowing white eyes. They were alive. All of them. The tiles were alive.

I took one last look at the doors. I raised two glowing fins and ran. Suddenly I was flying backwards, rolling across the floor, into the middle of the room. It took me a moment to register the shock that had run through my body. They were circling around me, so fast it made my vision blur. Then the walls went from sandstone to a swirling mess of colours. The Unown were whispering, a language I couldn't understand.

TANSHIN

NAGEKI

MAIGO

MONEKUNOKARA

I wish she was here. She would know what to do.

I turned around. She was there, standing right in front of me. A Silk Persian with golden earrings.

"Paige!"

Paige looked around the room.

"There's no way out." It was her voice. I hadn't heard it in so long, but it was hers. And Paige was always right. "You're going to die here."

I fell to my knees. I want him here. I want to see him again, one last time before everything ends.

Paige was staring at something behind me I looked over my shoulder, there he was. Tears rolled down my face, disappeared into the pink floor.

A Salamence with startling purple eyes. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he rested his head on my shoulder. He was warm.

"Is it really you?"

He said nothing.

"Please. Please just say it's you."

But even as I begged, he was fading away.

"Don't. Please. Not again, I'll do anything."

I looked to her, but she was fading too, now just a pale cream outline. I tried to hold him close, but my arms slipped right through. I stepped back to look into his eyes, now just a faint suggestion.

TSUMETAI

TSUMETAI

TSUMETAI

TTTSSSUUUMMMEEETTTAAAIII

"Don't leave me here alone!"