Chapter 30: Improbable Cause
"Explain. Now."
Havok punctuated his demand by slamming a fist on the table, the sound loud in the small, nondescript interrogation room they'd been brought in. Across, Clement and Opal sat unbound. A single light hung from the ceiling, which his bulk overshadowed as he leaned his full weight to loom over the other two.
The dragon didn't get a response for a few moments. Clement blinked at him, slouched back in his chair, and sighed. Opal didn't even give the courtesy of looking Havok in the face. She tapped a paw digit over and over again on the table, an angry gaze fixated on some point on the wall.
She grumbled under her breath, the only intelligible word? 'Bath.'
"...Can you be more specific?" Clement finally said, and rubbed his forehead. A vicious growl reverberated from Havok's throat. His claws dug grooves into the table as he leaned forward even more.
"This isn't a game. I don't have time for your impudence, you will tell me what I need to know, or-"
"Holy Mew, are you serious!?" blurted Opal. She snapped her head towards Havok, snout curled in a sneer, and gestured back and forth between them. "Really? We don't see each other for I don't know how many years, and this is really how you want this interaction to go? Damn Havok, you really don't learn, do you?"
"Opal, you will not-"
"You could have at least warmed us up with an, 'Oh, Opal and Clement, I thought you two were retired? How was that working out for you?' and then we would have said, 'Oh you know how it is Havok, stuff happens. Hey, isn't it funny how our kids ended up working together? Life sure is crazy!'"
"Dear-" Clement tried, but Opal instead slammed both paws on the table and leaned up to glare right in Havok's face.
"But no! I don't even get that! Instead, I have to sit here and get yelled at by the overeager dumbass who put a bounty out on my son on his third fucking day at work. And because this dumbass was barking up every single tree but the right one, I had to risk life, limb, and my own family to do a bunch of covert, supernatural, Legendary bullshit that should have been your job in the first place!" she screeched. The Espeon's pink fur began to waver as barely restrained psychic fury started to jolt out from the gem in her forehead.
"Dear." Clement put a hand on his mate's side, more concerned for her blood pressure, and less at how Havok's fangs were bared as he absolutely fumed.
"So no, I don't think I 'will' do whatever you say, Havok. As a matter of fact, you should explain to me why I shouldn't tie all of your stupid scarves together and strangle you with them."
"Dear." This time, Clement stood up, grabbed Opal by the waist, and sat her back down onto her stool. She looked at him with wide eyes.
"Actually Clement, you do it." She pointed at him. "You kill him. You have type advantage anyway."
"I can't do that, Opal. His daughter is just outside."
A loud thump brought their attention to Havok, who had slammed his head into the table hard enough to sink the axes that framed his face into it. He released a sound that was a cross between an angry shout and a wail of pure frustration, and brought both claws up to the side of his head.
Eventually, the sound died down, and he began to massage his temples.
"Will you…please…tell me what's going on?" He ground out, then lifted his head just enough to look them in the eyes. "Why is my daughter with you?"
At this, Clement and Opal shared a look. They reached a silent agreement, so Opal scoffed and turned away while Clement took the lead.
"To the first point, Havok, I wish I could answer that myself, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything," he replied. Havok seemed to be willing to hear him out, so he continued.
"The very short version, as I understand it, is this: Aether has started to spread outside of Dungeons. There is a group, not the Absol guild, whose goal is to cause Dungeons to go haywire and hasten the spread. You found us outside of Hollow Garden because we went there to stop them and prevent any more spreading. Are you with me so far?"
"...Continue."
"We discovered several pieces of crucial information along the way, namely that the outlaw world is looking to take advantage of all of the chaos with the Dungeons. You should look into that. Also, the Legendaries are involved. We found Xerneas while inside Hollow Garden. They're...connected to the problem, somehow."
"The Legendaries! But this would mean..."
"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" chimed Opal. "Looks like the peace we earned from Fall Rend was only temporary."
"Let's say I take you at your word. How exactly does that explain why you were shepherding my daughter, your son, and those other two? I didn't take you for a daycare, Nimbus."
"They were doing their jobs as Absol apprentices, something that would have been much easier if you hadn't jumped the gun and falsely accused them." Clement narrowed his eyes, and his words took on a harder edge.
"You were too eager. Absol's may have a poor reputation, but that's no excuse to forgo a proper investigation and condemn them at the first sign of something going wrong. Bad form, Havok."
"Watch your tone," said Havok, voice low. "Those with something to hide, run. And that is the first thing Absol did."
"Did it ever occur to you that the issue with the Dungeons is time sensitive, and they didn't want to waste time dealing with you? Their duty is to understand everything about the Dungeons, so they were going to do it, wanted or not. That's just who they are," responded Clement in a level tone.
"What they are, is an order of esoteric, undisciplined madmon who routinely toy with powers that stand to threaten the society we have built up. And I would wager that even you do not fully understand whatever 'solution' you believe they have cooked up to address the present issue."
Havok reached underneath the table, and pulled up several photographs, likely taken between the time they were teleported to the Haxorus Guild, and when they were brought into this room. The two leaned over to view the pictures in the light.
They depicted aerial shots of Hollow Garden, likely taken by one of the flying hunters they saw earlier. Clement frowned as he took a closer look at one of the photos. At first he didn't see anything different, Hollow Garden's white trees stood out plainly amidst the dusty ground, until his eyes latched onto a particular detail.
What he at first thought to be shade from the tree canopies became more bizarre when he took a closer look. Around the immediate perimeter of the forest, the ground had turned a dark, stony gray. It makes sense that they wouldn't have noticed anything last night, especially given that they had left to find shelter as soon as they appeared outside of the Dungeon, but in broad daylight their impact on the Dungeon was unmistakable.
It reminded him of that same darkness that seeped into the ground from the Keystone after Lumi had done...what did he say...halted it? With Dialga's gift. Was that going to happen outside as well?
What exactly was Dialga planning?
"By the look on your faces, I take it not even you two could have anticipated something like this. So I'll ask again. What exactly did you bring those children there to do?"
Haxorus didn't need to know that Lumi had the power to stop the Aether flow. Nobody needed to know that, as far as Clement was concerned. For Lumi's own safety, they would keep that little tidbit close to their chests unless absolutely necessary.
Sensing her mate's hesitance to speak, Opal spoke up with a dismissive wave of her paw.
"If you really want to know, ask them yourself. Do we look like scientists or whatever to you? We were too focused on fending off that group we told you about, and surviving Xerneas, to worry about whatever magic they were working on the Dungeon. Oh, speaking of," she continued, "make sure to put out a search for a Noivern, Weavile, Machamp, Scolipede, Falinx, and Swampert. If our suspicions are correct, most of them should already be logged as past prisoners of yours."
"You have no authority to tell me who I should be searching for. Need I remind you that I am the one asking questions here?"
"Need I remind you that you don't know a damn thing without us telling you? You'll listen to whatever I have to say, unless you want to prove that your little desk job hasn't made you soft, hmm?"
"Soft? Hah! Now that I'm looking at you, it is very obvious you had time to enjoy motherhood, you little-"
The sound of their escalating argument became like white noise to Clement, who sighed again and leaned back in his seat. He had too much on his mind to really focus on the present conversation. The ramifications of everything that happened in such a short span of time clamored around in his head, demanding he consider every possible angle to find the right path forward, and yet he found he wasn't quite up for it.
As selfish as it sounded, all he cared about right now was that his family was safe, and his best friend, alive. Whatever came next, he would let himself indulge and take solace in these thoughts for just a little longer.
Lumi adjusted his back for the fourth time to try and alleviate some of the ache, but to no avail. The chain around his waist fastened him tightly to the wooden post he had been bound to.
They had saddled the four of them with dampeners: circular, black braces most often worn around prisoner's necks. The braces hampered a Pokemon's reserve of Power they had built up, and boy could he feel it. The internal well of strength he had accumulated seemed dry, like a muscle had suddenly atrophied, and that lack of power left a cold emptiness that pervaded throughout his body. It felt unnatural.
Lumi sighed. Even his two tails got no relief, pressed awkwardly against the ground as he sat. The noon sun that hung high above his head, combined with the sweltering heat of the environment, had him panting, so he dug his paws into the cool, black soil and looked out at the rest of the courtyard they had been placed in.
Tall wooden posts with wide bases were spread out around the courtyard. They stuck out from the dark, ash-gray earth. Beyond, entranceways led back into what he assumed was the rest of the Haxorus Guild HQ that loomed overhead, apparently built into the side of a mountain that had Haxorus' iconic red jaw axes built imposingly into the side.
Natural ridges and outcroppings above them were used as walkways, which would have given him a feeling of being stuck at the bottom of a large bowl were it not for a break in the side that gave a wide view of the mountainous region beyond. Sweeping foothills and deep gorges stretched as far as his eye could see, almost down to the coast line. Lines of red were easy to spot against the black mountain faces, which he could only guess were channels of lava.
To top it all off, several guards in red scarves had been assigned to watch them; Gallade, Armaldo, Froslass, and a Primeape had been positioned in front of each of them. However, his situation became a little unusual.
An aged Hariyama, muscles shrunken and cream fur dulled with age, had come to replace the Armaldo that originally watched his side. Despite being one of the oldest Pokémon he'd seen, her eyes still brimmed with vigor, quite different from the glares of the other guards, and she'd even winked at him.
He could only wonder what that meant.
"…Ugh, this is so trash!" complained Van's voice to his left, from the other face of the post.
The chain around Lumi's body jerked, no doubt in response to the Scrafty's movements, and pulled his attention away from the strange Hariyama. He heard Clara wince from her position on the right face.
"Oof, Van! Can you calm down, that hurts…"
"Sorry, sorry, it's just….why the hell are we strung up on this thing? We're innocent! We literally just got back from risking our lives and now we're being punished for it!? How does that even work?"
"I know it's bad but things could be...worse?" she replied, not entirely confident. Van let out another groan.
"Nah, you're right Clara. Things could be alot worse. I mean, at least they only caught us, and not the rest of the guild, right? Except, oh wait! How would they even know where we are, if they didn't already capture the only ones who knew!"
"We don't kn-"
"Hell, now that I think about it, they might have even got Mom, or my brothers and sisters..." Lumi's ears twitched as the Scrafty's voice took on a twinge of panic, and he heard him yell out at one of the guards.
"H-hey! You tell me now if you found them! If any of you so much as touched my family, I swear to Mew I'll beat the fu-"
"Van."
Damia's voice cut through the air and silenced him instantly. It made each of them jolt, particularly because she hadn't said anything since they had been captured.
"Shut up," she commanded. Lumi wouldn't have wanted to fight the tone in her voice, so it made sense when the only thing out of Van's mouth were heavy breaths for the next few moments.
A solemn silence hung over them, one that Lumi was eager to move on from. He racked his brain for literally any other conversation starter.
"...Y'know, the Ash Continent is prettier than I expected," he started, after a few more minutes of silence. "In school, they taught us that this place was covered in dormant volcanoes, so I was sort of expecting a fiery hellscape, but..." he grasped a pawful of dark soil and looked around at the black mountains beyond, contrasted beautifully underneath the blue sky.
"It's way more…peaceful than I would have thought. You really grew up here, Damia?"
The question hung in the air without a response.
"…Damia?"
"What?"
"Did you hear me? I asked-"
"And I don't care. Don't you have more important things to focus on? Out of each of us, you're the last one who should be making useless small talk." Her words came cold and sharp. To his right, he heard Clara make an affronted sound.
"Hey, what's your deal? You can't-"
"No, it's fine Clara." He cut her off. He could speak for himself.
"Damia, I'm actually trying really hard not to focus on any of that stuff right now. It sucks. All of it," he replied, gaze cast down at his feet. "If I think about any of what's happened, or how unfair everything is, I might also remember how much pressure we're under and...well, it's either that, or I can think about something that makes me happy, like being in a new place and learning more about one of my friends."
It became silent after his little speech, to the point where he thought Damia wouldn't respond. To his surprise, he heard what sounded like shuffling feet on the opposite side, and her voice as it started and stopped again.
"...It depends where you go."
"Huh?"
"Where we are, near the south, there's a lot of mountains and canyons, a lot of them relics of long dormant volcanoes, with only traces of lava to be found. It's nice. Vegetation grows more south you go near the coast, and there's even beaches that have black sand. But when you head north, the terrain gets less hospitable. You run into Borderland territory, the Black Desert. There's a lot of tension between outlaws who live out there and pokemon who live in the nicer parts of the continent, that's why Haxorus had the Hunter guild relocated here, to stand between them."
"Outlaws in the Black Desert, huh? Definitely sounds like a place I don't wanna be," chimed Van, who shivered.
"Ooh, aren't the volcanoes up there way more active too? I think I heard something about that," Clara chimed in. "Maybe that's why the outlaws are more aggressive, because the place they live in is hard if you're not naturally adapted to it."
"A real, active volcano?" wondered Lumi. "Now that I think about it, it would be pretty cool to see one up close. We could use a vacation after all this, I think. Hey Van-"
"Ima stop you right there, Lumi. Did you miss the part where she said there are beaches with black sand? Why the hell did you latch onto going to a volcano when we could be downing piña coladas at the beach instead?"
"Because it's cooler to say we're downing them on a volcano, duh," chuckled Lumi. "Clara agrees with me."
"No she don't."
"I'll bring marshmallows! We'll roast them over lava," she said, paying no heed to Van's groan. "And maybe I'll even let Damia bring some of her favorite sweets when she stops being such a sad ol' meanie."
Her little barb seemed to have an effect, based on the throaty rumble from Damia that sounded like two boulders being ground together. This only seemed to annoy Clara, however.
"Ugh. Sis, use your words, not growls. We've talked about this. Tell us how you really feel."
"I'M NOT...I'm...
...Damn it, I'm sorry, alright? It's just that...you all don't understand how...embarrassing this is."
"Mon, in case you haven't noticed, all of us are chained up for the viewing pleasure of these annoying hunters," said Van with spite directed squarely at his assigned guard. "We ain't got much pride left to lose, right now."
"No, I mean-" they all heard her suck in, as if literally swallowing her pride.
"This isn't really...the first time I've been made to sit out here. I actually spent a lot of time chained up here. At this exact post. He must have known what he was doing..."
"Chained? Why? You never told me you did anything illegal?" asked Clara.
"They don't put criminals in these posts. These are used to...discipline hunter apprentices who do something stupid."
"...oh...OH!" exclaimed Lumi, when the implication hit him. The Meowstic smirked and leaned his head up against the post.
"But that's crazy Damia. That would imply that you, Dynamo's pristine and impeccable Guild Head, were capable of doing something stupid. I just can't understand it."
"I didn't do anything stupid, necessarily. It...was just sort of...frowned upon."
"Ooh, wait. Lemme guess. You stayed up late past your bedtime to raid the kitchen! No wait, you snored so loud it became an issue. I know that was a thing for a while back home, so-"
"Look, it really wasn't even that important. It was a long time ago, and it's not even relevant anymore, so can we just-"
"She fought," came an old, female voice from directly in front of him. Lumi looked up, surprised to see that Hariyama took a couple steps forward.
"Her and her brother. Fought so much it became an issue!" she continued, and broke into what Lumi at first thought was a coughing fit, but then realized it was just her incredibly gravelly laughter. Despite the clear age of this Pokemon, much older than Vert seemed to be, her voice still carried a boisterous quality to it.
He heard Damia sputter something, and an alarmed growl left her throat.
"Who was...Sh-Shy Lily, is that you!?"
The level of fear in Damia's voice towards Shy Lily made him instantly like her. The warbling laughter from the aged Hariyama increased tenfold.
"Ho ho ho, surprised to hear my voice, little one? You didn't think I would miss the chance to welcome our little hellraiser back home, did you?" she responded. "And somehow you managed to make some friends too. Good to see your time away did you some good."
"You're not in this conversation, miss Shy! It's also against regulation to fraternize with prisoners, so-"
"Wait, you two know each other?" blurted Clara. Shy Lily crossed her large arms over her front and inclined her head towards them. On instinct, Lumi bowed his head as much as he could, and he had no doubt that Van and Clara did the same out of respect to the older mon from their position on the sides.
"You children will address me as Miss Shy. I have overseen the dojos at this guild for many years, and have known your friend Damia for the majority of her life, as have quite a few of the older members of our guild. She and her brother had a reputation, you know."
"Oh, I gotta hear this," piped Van.
"No you don't. Miss Shy, please."
"It's like I said. She fought. Everyone. All the time. She wanted so badly to be a big strong Dragonite like her mama, she convinced her brother they should go around pissing off all the hunters to get fighting experience. Cutest damn thing I ever saw!" Shy Lily closed her eyes and reminisced.
"I can just picture it now. You two were precious; you hanging around Charmander Damon's shoulders when you were only a tiny Dratini, like you were his scarf, spitting wind or fire at any hunter that would give you the time of day. Belligerent as all hell. I oversaw their timeouts here so many times, I just about became their nanny when their parents were busy."
"Awwww."
"Heh. Nice."
"Damn. Now things make a little more sense..."
A loud thump brought their attention to Damia, who repeatedly slammed the back of her head into the post hard enough to make it shake with each hit. She released a sound that was a cross between an angry shout and a wail of pure frustration.
"Don't be like that kid, I need some way to get you back for all you put me through," responded Shy Lily, with a chuckle.
"Hey Miss Shy, you don't seem to be as suspicious of us as everyone else here. Do you think you can give a good word to Haxorus so we don't have to sit out here anymore?" asked Lumi. He already loved a lot about Miss Shy, but the best part was that she seemed willing to talk, which was more than he could say for any of the other hunters here. She cleared her throat before she spoke.
"Don't know about a good word, but what I can say is that you won't be here for long. You've been scheduled for transport at one of our prime detention centers, that way ol' Haxorus can keep an eye on all of you Absol apprentices."
"Wait, you mean everyone else isn't here?"
"Oh heck no. You think we'd bring dangerous criminals to where we live and train? The only reason you're here right now is because Haxorus wanted to make sure his daughter is okay. Well, in his own way."
Shy Lily walked over and leaned down to cup one of her massive hands near Lumi's ear.
"Now, if you ask me?" she said in a mock conspiratorial whisper that everyone could hear. "My guess is he's using that little interrogation with Team Nimbus as a way to waste time until we get the transport cart all ready to go, so he doesn't have to face Damia."
"Then that's probably the smartest thing he's done in years. Haxorus can talk with them as long as he likes, that's fine by me."
Shy Lily huffed at Damia's words and stood up to place both hands on her hips.
"It seems time hasn't healed that issue. I'm disappointed, Damia. You can't pretend that you don't have a family forever."
"It would be worse to pretend that I ever had one to begin with. He proved that family meant nothing, so why bother?"
Lumi didn't think it was possible for Damia to be any more cold, and yet the frigidity of her words proved him wrong. Shy Lily shook her head, voice labored with exasperation.
"At least try to speak to him, that way something good can come from all th..th..."
A violent round of coughs interrupted her, strong enough that they racked her body. One of the other guards walked forward with an arm out, possibly to help, but Shy Lily waved them off and straightened herself out even though it seemed to strain her.
"I won't stand by and watch you three ruin this family any more. I know you were hurting, nobody is denying that, but you weren't the only one who suffered. And that's still true now. This isn't what your mother-"
"Don't bring her up."
"Don't interrupt me, child. If you want to act grown, then be ready to have grown conversations."
At this point, Lumi really wished he wasn't literally in the middle of this incredibly personal conversation. Maybe Van and Clara had a better idea of what was happening since they'd known Damia longer, but he just felt lost.
A gravid silence settled over them for way longer than was comfortable. None of the others present dared to make a sound, instead choosing to wait for either side to make a move.
When Havok's voice cut through the tension, Lumi almost wilted in relief. He would have laughed at the irony if it were any other time.
"Attention!"
The command had an instant effect. The guards straightened up in half a second with a quick salute over their chest, or relevant body part. Shy Lily, somewhat reluctantly, took a few steps back and snapped her own salute. The ground trembled a bit as Havok exited one of the openings in the wall to stomp over.
As he approached, Lumi noted that a Mudsdale pulled what looked like a considerably large cage, practically the size of a bedroom, forward. Its hefty metal hull looked hard for even a strong pokemon to leave a scratch in. It had no wheels, and somehow hovered a few feet off the ground.
His parents were also inside of it. Good to know they were alright at least.
"At ease," stated Havok, the guards dropping their stances. The dragon approached Shy Lily, and looked down at her.
"Head Trainer Lily, I did not assign you to guard duty. Explain yourself."
"I just wanted to welcome your wayward daughter back, Guildmaster. I assure you that the formation of this guard detail was never once compromised," she responded, back straight and one hand over her chest. Despite the innocuous comment, it was clear to everyone that Havok seemed annoyed by it.
"I've dealt with enough insubordination for one day, I do not need you inserting yourself where you do not belong. I want you back at your post."
"Of course. Permission to speak freely, Guildmaster?"
"Make it quick, then be gone."
"I hope you've been using these past few years to think of something nice to say to your daughter. I think she could use it."
The ice in the air returned. Shy Lily stood like nothing happened while several guard's jaws dropped behind her. Havok stomped the ground hard enough to send a small shockwave through the earth.
"Dismissed!" he all but roared. Shy Lily about faced, and marched back towards the guild. She did a double take at his parents inside, but continued on.
Lumi had observed Havok as he spoke to Shy Lily. Sheesh, Vert really went easy on them, didn't he? The way Havok interacted with his apprentices and those below him was leagues different from the more paws-off approach that his guildmaster took. He wondered if any of these bounty hunters would ever try to take a nap with Havok.
For some reason, he doubted it.
"All of you, get these ones rounded up and into the transport. Now! Enough gawking!" barked Havok. The surrounding guards jumped up and rushed to undo the chains around their waist, then led them towards the transport carriage. As he got closer, Lumi's inquisitive mind searched for how exactly they got the big metal cage to float, and his eyes landed on smooth, white stones inlaid on the base.
Oh. A bunch of float stones. Simple, but effective.
The carriage jostled a little bit as they stepped into it, and they were instructed to sit themselves on one of the benches installed on the sides. Clara and Van stumbled to the one on the left. Lumi saw that his parents were resting in the far right corner. Clement laid against his jaw with his eyes closed.
To his amusement, they had actually strapped a muzzle onto Opal's mouth.
"Mom didn't behave?" asked Lumi as he sat next to Clement, smiling. The Mawile cracked open an eye, and grinned back at him.
"She never does."
They both laughed as Opal tried to bat both of them with a paw, but settled down into silence. Lumi noticed that they were still missing one brooding dragon, and glanced between the bars to see why Damia hadn't been loaded into the carriage.
Instead of the guards, it looked like her dad had gone over to undo her chains. An argument already seemed to be brewing between them, although from this distance it was hard to hear. What he could tell, however, was that Damia seemed to be fighting to go toward the carriage, and batted away Havok's attempt to pull her away from it.
Havok said something, Damia's eyes lit up with fire, and finally pushed her to raise her voice beyond angry whispers.
"-ing WHAT!? You put them in a Hole!? You moron!" she roared, and wrenched herself from his grasp to stomp towards the transport. He lumbered forward to keep pace with her. "And when I thought you couldn't be any more brainless!"
"Daughter, stop embarrassing yourself! Do as I say and go up to your room, it's already been pre-"
"Don't fucking touch me, Haxorus. I need to go see the damage you caused to my guild," she said, only a few steps away.
Havok grumbled something, then surged forward to hook his arms under Damia's. She clenched her teeth and struggled against him as he attempted to pull her back.
"Cease this foolishness at once. Your place is here, at home. It's that Absol's fault you got caught up in his sham of a guild's mess, but I won't-"
The back of Damia's fist to his face cut him short. Everyone in the carriage flinched, even though Havok's head barely moved from the blow. He merely raised a claw to touch his mouth, but Damia took the opportunity to escape his grasp. The surrounding guards immediately closed in; white mist formed around Froslass's hands, while the Gallade readied a metal dampener, prepared to subdue Damia with the brace.
She beat him to it.
"Give me that. Now," she demanded as she stomped over towards the Gallade. She didn't give him time to make a decision and snatched it from him. Turning to Havok, she held the brace out as she stared him down.
"My place," she said, opening the brace. "Is to be with my guild." She put it around her neck. "And if that means I have to be a criminal," she snapped it closed.
"Then-Ah!"
A full body shudder coursed through her body in response to the dampener doing its work. Lumi winced at the sight, each of them having gone through a similar process when they were first brought here. Damia withstood the pain for a few more moments, arms limp at her side.
"Then...you're going to take me as a criminal. Or do you think that I deserve some kind of special treatment, Guildmaster of Defence and Enforcement? You're the real sham, if you think that's the case."
Havok's eyes danced with clear conflict, bouncing between Damia and the carriage. Eventually, he rubbed his snout last time, and moved forward to shove her inside. The cage lurched from the weight of two dragons entering at once, enough to make Van and Clara stumble to the floor. Havok paid no heed, however, as once he made sure that Damia was settled on one end of the cart, he stomped towards the other end, and slammed on the wall.
"Move!" he roared.
Lumi yelped as the carriage gave an abrupt shift forward, fast enough for wind to ruffle his fur through the bars, and soon what surroundings of the guild he could see; mostly walking paths and marked training areas, started to fly past. They passed through a tunnel that shrouded them all in darkness for a few moments, before coming out onto a path with a tall rock wall on the right, and a deep canyon on the left.
He let himself admire just how deep the canyon went, before returning his attention to this trainwreck of a ride.
The inside of the carriage had become dead quiet, with a silent war taking place in the staredown between Damia and Havok down the middle. Van looked absolutely terrified, and sat stock still pressed up as far against the bars as he could to not be in between the family feud. Lumi caught Clara's eye from across, and she looked between the two with intent before looking back his way.
"Dramaaaaaaaaaa!" she mouthed. He stifled a giggle, but then remembered something.
Clara convinced Xerneas to stop trying to kill them. Surely she could convince Havok and Damia not to do that to each other?
"Say something!" he mouthed back
"What? Oh heck no!"
"Yeah! You got this!"
She rolled her eyes, but after another glance between the two dragons, gave him another look.
"You suck," and cleared her throat, which sounded like an avalanche in the silence. She spent an awkward amount of time scooching her body to face Havok since her brace prevented her from moving her neck.
"Sooooo. Mr. Haxorus. Uh, hi!" she started, with a winning smile. "Really, really happy to meet you. Damia has said so many...uh...things about you. My name is Clara, her Partner!"
The moment the last word left her mouth, Havok broke his unending stare with a blink. His head turned exactly two degrees to the right, and his eyes slowly scanned up and down Clara's form. He scrutinized her with such intensity, it made her ears fold back against her head.
"...Partner." he repeated, in a voice so low it could have been mistaken for a growl.
"If you have something to say, say it," warned Damia. Havok tapped the floor a few times as he speared Clara with his gaze, the poor Spinda wincing each time the claw hit the metal.
"Tell me. Clara. What makes you think you are worthy of being my daughter's Partner?"
"Don't you dar-"
"W-wait sis, I got this!" interrupted Clara. "You wanna know what makes me worthy? Well, that's easy! I'm her best friend. I was the first one to see past her grumpy exterior, and the only one to get to know her for the awesome gem she really is. She teaches me how to have confidence in myself and be strong, and I teach her how to open up to others and be kind. Together, we're going to make the world see how great we can really be. That's the goal of our partnership."
Lumi's eyes were wide, and he looked around and saw that everyone else, including his parents, had the same reaction. He already knew that they were partners, but this was the first time he had actually heard their goal. He didn't think any partnership with Clara in it would have such a bold goal. Maybe she had more going on than he thought.
"Plus we're super close!" she continued. "Like, there was this one time where Damia was freaking out about showing off this one idea she had. It was this funny staff that could shoot out Bullet Seeds, or at least that was the idea-"
"Okay wait, hold on," stated Damia. "I was not freaking out. I was just...concerned."
"She was super freaking out."
"I was not."
"It was so bad, she was actually pacing in circles and growling at the walls. I had to calm her down with ice cream."
"That's not-"
"And you know what? When she presented that staff and it absolutely bombed the next day? Like, literally exploded in her arms in front of everyone? I was right there with her while she cried it ou-."
"OKAY, Clara! Thank you, you can stop talking now."
"...I also let her squeeze me like a teddy bear," murmured Clara really quickly, a cheeky grin on her face. Damia stomped a foot on the ground and slammed the back of her head into the wall, unwilling to open her eyes.
Havok glanced between the two girls, utterly baffled, until a glimmer of comprehension dawned in his eyes.
"Ah I think I understand...consider yourself grateful, Spinda." he said while slowly nodding his head. "Clearly, my daughter pities you so much, she chooses to indulge your obvious fantasies. By her own admission, Damia would never eat sweets, as they interfere with her training and mindset. Isn't that right, daughter?"
Every member of their team went wide eyed and froze up. Damia looked to be fighting a migraine, and pinched the bridge if her snout so hard it looked like it hurt.
"…Haxorus, as much as she talks too much..." she glared at Clara. "...This is my Partner. I chose her. Deal with it."
"But surely there were better candidates? Someone who is not so…" he struggled to find the right words for a second.
"…Bubbly."
"Nope! I'm the bubbliest!" Clara said with pride. "But you know what else, Haxorus? It's not just me. These two beautiful, handsome boys are also her friends. In fact, we're on a team together. Team Nova!" she said with pride. When Haxorus sent each of them a dubious, confounded look, she inclined her head towards Lumi.
"Take it away, Lumi."
"Oh. It's my turn now? Alright." He turned towards Havok, and couldn't repress the uptick of his mouth at the slowly mounting frustration on the large dragon's expression.
"First off, what's up? I'm Lumi, one of the three you put that initial bounty on. Great move by the way, love that you did that. And like Clara said, we're Team Nova, and we're gonna save the world."
"…I see insolence must run in the family," he murmured with a pointed look towards Opal. In a rare show of restraint, she only sent a death glare that made him give a deep chuckle.
"It seems you do not understand how teams function, boy. Hatchlings concoct foolish notions such as saving the world. Actual teams come up with actual goals that don't just waste everyone's time."
"Yeah well, we already fought Xerneas and won, so I think we're doing pretty good so far. At least, I want to count it as a win. We got a couple good hits in, I thi-"
"You truly expect me to believe you took this deluded team of weaklings to face a Legendary like Xerneas and survived?" Havok ignored Lumi, instead looking towards Clement, voice incredulous.
"It sounds more like what you faced must have been some kind of construct. A trick of those infernal Dungeons, maybe. A soft thing like your son would be dead twice over if what you said is true."
Clement held a level glare at Havok, not outwardly responding to the jabs thrown towards Lumi. After a few seconds, he folded his arms and closed his eyes.
"…All I'll say is that you have no idea who you're dealing with, Havok. Doubt them at your own risk," said Clement. Lumi looked at him in silent wonder as Havok fumed to the side.
"Hah! Tell his ass Mr. Clem-oh shit…" came Van's voice, timid towards the end. Havok's eyes narrowed and he surged upwards to his full height.
"What was that?" he ground out, and lowered himself dangerously close to the Scrafty's face, who looked like he was trying to melt into the bars as he pulled his face away.
"Would you like to repeat that?"
"Uh...repeat wh-what? I ain't say nothin', I'm not even in this conversation..."
"Don't touch him, Havok. You won't like what happens," said Damia, with an unusually fond look towards Van. "That's our killer. He's the one who stabbed Xerneas in the eye. No hesitation."
"Ooh, yeah! Don't mess with him. He actually did more damage to it than Damia."
"...Okay, let's not get carried aw-"
"Wait, wait, everyone time out!" called Lumi, getting everyone's attention. He sent a pointed look at Van's way. "Van, you stabbed Xerneas in the eye!? That's so sick, why didn't you say anything?"
"Bro I said I'm not in this conversation! Stop talking about me!"
"But like for real, tell me how it happened, cuz that's awesome."
"You missed out Lumi, seriously." Clara giggled. "Damia and I were about to be fried by a Moon Beam, but them Van was all shing* and warped right on its head and just jammed his spike right into its eye. And then he did like a whole backflip off and just started slinging bombs!"
"Quick thinking, effective hit and run tactics. Pinpoint accuracy," chimed in Damia, with the first real smile they'd seen from her in a while. "Plus, I'd never seen you move that fast, Van. Badass."
A red hot blush appeared on the Scrafty's face, and he shook his head rapidly.
"Y-ya'll please, this dude is right in my face..." he whined. Lumi groaned and pouted as much as he could in his seat.
"Whaaaaaaat? Aw, come on! I should have seen that! Instead I had to get buried alive by a freaking exploded island..."
"Wait, you were WHAT!?" exclaimed Clement, eyes wide open and alarmed. Even Opal leaned forward to look at him, concerned.
Lumi glanced their way and shrugged.
"What? I was fine."
"ENOUGH!" bellowed Havok from the center of the carriage, silencing any more conversation.
"I have had enough of this useless, inane chatter!" he roared. With one last baleful glance towards Van, which made him shrink even further in his feet, he turned and pointed a claw at Damia.
"Daughter, you will tell me plainly, and then all of you will be silent for the rest of this transport. What did you four do to the Dungeon? I will not tolerate any other superfluous information."
"That's a big word. Surprised your brain can handle it."
"Damia..." Havok breathed in deep, and pushed his next words through grit teeth, "You are trying my patience-"
"Choke on a poffin."
"Okay wait, I can answer that!" Lumi quickly spoke up when it looked like Havok was actually about to Giga Impact the carriage itself. "Damia can't even answer that because I'm pretty sure she got knocked out early."
"Lumi I'll come over there and knock you out early, I swear to Mew..."
Lumi ignored her, instead focused on Havok who turned to face him. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Clement gave him a worried look, but he shook it off.
"...Proceed," Havok ground out.
"Some old books in our guild mention ways of influencing Keystones, these things in every Dungeon that regulate Aether. A lot of it is conjecture, not a lot of concrete stuff to go off of, but we still attempted to put it to practice with the Dungeons that we've been to. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to get the reaction we wanted out of them."
"Truly? So you mean to tell every one of you apprentices have knowledge of how to fundamentally shift the very foundations of the land?"
"Not…exactly," Lumi licked his lips and glanced around at the other's present while his mind worked.
"It's more of a…how do I put this…personal project of mine. The concept is really old, and most had let the theory lie in the dust in favor of more relevant subjects. I picked it up for study though, so I'm really the only one in our guild who's well versed in it enough to make a reaction, in this case, halting Aether flow altogether."
The lie flowed easily enough through his mouth. Of course he wouldn't tell Havok about his relation to Dialga, he had no idea what kind of attention he'd be getting if that were the case. Besides, this version of events was at least kind of close to the truth. Sort of.
"Hmm…" Havok leaned down to face Lumi again up close. "According to my information, you have only been under Absol's wing for at most a couple of weeks. It is awfully…impressive for a neophyte to already be proficient in an area of study after barely any time spent there. Especially when compared to those who have spent years in your guild."
Oh, so he did have a brain after all. Made this more interesting, at least.
"You could say I have a knack for it. The subject is really interesting to me, and like I said, nobody else really looked into it before I got there. Heck, nobody besides our Guildmaster even had a concept of what a Keystone was. Before, they were just some theoretical construct used to explain a possible concept."
He pulled his ears back and glanced down, to make himself look a bit more vulnerable.
"Plus, if I'm being honest. I kinda got a head start with some stuff before I joined. Mom would slip me books from the guild when I was younger. Sorry Dad," he said with a pointed look to his father, who gave a disapproving frown. He wasn't sure if it was real or just him playing along.
Havok studied him for a few more moments, before going back to his side of the carriage, settling down in silence.
"Well, did that answer your question?" asked Lumi. Havok picked a point on the ground to stare at, eyes furrowed in thought.
"Silence. There will be no more talking on the way to your containment," he responded.
"Wait, one more thing," pressed Lumi. "Earlier you said you put the rest of our guild in something called a 'Hole.' What the heck is that?"
He saw Damia clench her teeth at the question, and the slow grin that grew on Havok's face sent his fur on end.
"Where I keep my trophies."
He said nothing else after that ominous statement, and cast the whole carriage into a tense silence.
They rode for hours more, until the edges of the sky started to bleed orange, and the sun began to make its descent over the land. There had been no more conversation over the long trip; everyone either lost in their thoughts or had fallen asleep.
Lumi kept his eyes open, still eager to drink in the new terrain. It had shifted as the ride had gone on: greenery started to coat the sides of mountains as they descended the trail until he could hardly see the rocky ground beneath a veneer of lush trees and grasses. Tall palm trees started to sprout out from the treeline as they approached the coast, and he couldn't resist a grin when he actually did see black beaches touch the water.
He caught sight of a peninsula jutting out from the mainland, crowned by a volcano tall enough to breach the clouds. The carriage altered its course to approach it at a steady pace. It grew larger as their wagon reached the beaches and continued on towards the outlet. The setting sun cast orange light on the water on either side of them.
When they crossed over, they spent another thirty minutes in an incline as the carriage worked to arrive at a plateau halfway up the volcano. The further up they got, the more guards he saw on patrol around the area; they passed by numerous guards who tossed up salutes as the carriage rolled passed, and avian Pokemon patrolled from the skies. He wondered if there were even aquatic Pokemon in the water around them.
They finally stopped in front of a large opening that led into the side of the volcano. A squad of guards waited in a line, with a Charizard a few paces ahead of them. It took Lumi a moment to remember him as the Charizard from Windy Spire.
"You four. Out," commanded Havok. The abrupt command jolted him, and he looked at the dragon, confused.
"Us four?"
Havok's withering glare gave all the answer he needed. Lumi shared a quick glance with his parents, but Clement put a hand on his shoulder and softly told him to go along.
Lumi hopped off the bench, and started to walk towards the carriage door, legs a bit unsteady from not walking for so long. When he hopped down onto the dusty ground, the guards surged forward to encircle them. Van and Clara touched down next to him, and they stepped to the side for Damia who, after a tense nonverbal exchange with Havok, stomped down to join them. His parents watched silently from their seats inside.
"Greetings Guildmaster!" said Charizard, who snapped a clean salute. Lumi didn't miss how his eyes constantly flicked to Damia, whose cold gaze stayed firmly on him.
"Damon. At ease," responded Havok, to which the guards lowered their stances. "Status report."
"All is as you left it since last night. The rest of the guild is securely contained in the main channel, and we have set Veritas aside for questioning. Accommodations have also been made on site for the Scrafty family, as well as a special room for the Gligar child we found."
Van shuffled in place, agitated at the mention of his family. Lumi and Clara stepped a bit closer to reassure him before he said something that might make the situation worse.
"Good work. Have some rooms set aside for the two in the transport. I still have questions for them. As for these ones," he gestured to Team Nova. "Escort them to the main channel."
"As...as you wish, Guildmaster..." said Damon with some hesitation. Damia spoke up suddenly, which drew all attention to her.
"Damon. The Hole isn't in your jurisdiction. You're supposed to be back on the Bright continent, monitoring the bay. Why are you here?" she asked. Charizard Damon glanced up at Havok, who nodded, giving him permission to answer.
"You would be correct, but after I heard that there was a chance you could be detained, I requested to be put on a guard detail here. Father was kind enough to elevate my assignment to receive you, should you arrive, and to also observe you and your guild's containment."
"You went to all that just to gloat that you finally caught me? What, are you still that sore over that beatdown I gave you?"
"Gloat? Is that what..." Something sad flickered across Damon's eyes, but he set his jaw soon after. "I did this because I wanted to...see you. Ideally we would be meeting back home at the guild instead of here, I believe your room was already prepared, but I wasn't as optimistic as father in thinking you would be satisfied with that."
"I won't be satisfied until we're done wasting time here and I can go back to my guild, where I belong. Now are we done here? I think you have a job you need to be doing."
"Damia..." grumbled Clara under her breath, but she went ignored. Damon looked at Damia cooly for a few moments before he shook his head and raised a fist. The guards around them began to close in. Lumi blinked when they started to take their first steps forward towards a maximum security prison.
A prison that they didn't actually know how long they would be in for. For some reason, that fact finally, truly, set in.
"Is this...wait, wait!" he called, and hurried to stand before Havok, eyes flicking between him and his parents in the carriage. He locked eyes with his mom, who still had the muzzle on her mouth, and looked pleadingly up at him.
"Hax-Guildmaster Haxorus, please just let me talk with my mom. Just for a second. Please," he asked. In response, Havok growled and kneeled down to get right in his face. He narrowed his eyes.
"Mmm, respect...I like that tone in your voice, boy," he murmured, then stood to his full height. He looked pointedly at Van and Clara.
"Any other last requests for you all?" he asked. Van timidly raised a claw.
"Uh, can I see my mom too? And my brothers and sisters?"
"Is it alright if I write a letter to my parents? Just to let them know I'm alright?" Clara chimed in as well, voice equally as soft. Haxorus grunted, and rolled his shoulders.
"Accommodations can be arranged. Now-"
"So you'll let everyone in the guild write a letter home, right? Because everyone in there has some kind of family you're taking them from," interrupted Damia. Havok turned to her slowly and heaved a sigh.
"Accommodations. Can. Be Arranged," he pushed out, then waved his claw in Opal's direction. Two guards rushed forward to start undoing her muzzle through the bars. Havok glanced down towards Lumi and flicked his head towards the carriage.
"You have thirty seconds."
Not wasting any time, Lumi nodded and jogged over to the side of the carriage. After the guards undid the muzzle and stood out of the way, he pressed himself close against the bars, just as Opal did. She worked the stiffness out of her jaw, but then smiled and placed a paw over his own.
"Hey, so uh..." he looked between both of his parents, and squeezed his mom's paw just a little tighter. "I'm not really sure how long we're gonna be here, or...really sure of anything, but-"
Opal leaned forward and licked his forehead. Then went a little further and started to nip at the fur on his neck, which made him chuckle and attempt to bat her away.
"What's with that worried look on you, Lumi? That doesn't suit you," she said softly, and leaned down to bump her nose into his.
"You'll get through this just like everything else. It will all turn out fine, you'll see."
"...But what about you guys?" he asked. Opal winked at Lumi, then glanced up at Clement, who gave a good-natured roll of his eyes.
"Let's just say this isn't my first time being given the whole prison treatment," she said. You don't have to worry about us, boy. We'll manage."
"I, um...I know I put you both through alot," he said and glanced between the two. "Thank you so much for...everything. I'll make it right, somehow. I promise."
"You already are," she replied, and placed a paw on his head. Clement put his hand over hers, and they got exactly five more seconds like that before the guards next to them grunted and stepped forward.
Lumi backed away and watched as the Mudsdale turned the carriage around and pulled it further along the path around the volcano, Havok walking alongside. The guards allowed him a few brief waves before they corralled him back over to the main squadron, next to his team. When everything was accounted for, Damon gave the order to move, and they all marched into the yawning maw in front of them.
The air grew warm and musty as they ventured in. The light from outside was quickly swallowed by the dark stone walls until only lamps along the sides lit the path. They passed by intersections and openings in the walls that were too neat to be natural, and it soon became clear that much of this structure had been repurposed to serve a different end.
The patter of their footsteps gradually grew louder as the ceiling rose higher above their heads, until they stepped through a final passageway and the ceiling disappeared altogether. Hot air blasted Lumi's face, and his eyes had to take a second to drink in the sight before him.
They had hollowed out the volcano. The interior had been excavated enough to leave a massive, cavernous room that left enough space for a flying type to soar freely in. Light came from two sources; bright oval lamps that had been installed around the perimeter of the room, and a red hot glow that could only be what remained of the lava below.
"What the fuh..." muttered Van beside him, as he looked around as well. The guards pushed them to walk onto a staircase that gradually sloped all the way around the side of the room. What looked like cells were placed intermittently along the stairs but he didn't see anyone inside.
Didn't they say the guild was here? Where was-
"Oh guys. Guys..." murmured Clara as they ascended. The two boys looked at her. She gulped.
"Up..."
They looked up.
The reason for the lack of skylight became clear. The opening vent that would lead to the top of the volcano had been closed, high enough that darkness shrouded whatever ceiling there was. From the shadows, heavy chains dangled that held box-shaped cages of varying sizes.
Each member of their guild sat within one.
"Flyers. Lock them up," ordered Damon. At once, a Braviary swooped down and yoinked Van into the air by the talons, who flailed his legs on instinct and yelled. Clara yelped when a Staravia did the same to her, and Lumi winced as a Talonflame gripped tightly onto his shoulders.
"Will you come willingly, or do I need to take you?" Damon asked Damia. In response, she pointed up at the cages, an agitated snarl on her face.
"Do they seriously look like they deserve to be up there? The Hole is reserved for the worst this world has to offer, not civilians. Take them all to the regular cells, this is too much!"
"You all are suspected of terrorism of the highest order. Until the truth comes to light in the foreseeable future, this will be your containment. Get used to it."
"Bullshit!"
The commotion caught the attention of someone above. The cages were so high up that it was difficult to make out any one voice, but soon everyone above started to holler down in a mesh of voices that drowned eachother out. If he squinted hard enough, Lumi thought he spied Purl somewhere way in the back.
Damon glanced at the growing rowdiness and stepped forward. With a firm stomp, he flared his wings and released a gigantic plume of Flamethrower that felt searing hot even when not standing right next to him. The flame was so powerful, tongues of flame lapped at the bottoms of some of the cages, hundreds of feet in the air.
He cut the jets almost as soon as he started. Silence.
"…Get them up. Their cages have already been prepared," he said. Lumi only had half a second to wonder what 'prepared' meant before the talons tightened their grip on his shoulder, and the floor fell from beneath him. A Butterfree guard flew alongside as he got taken up.
He couldn't resist the urge to look down as he got taken over the great chasm. The sight of his feet dangling above a thousand foot drop into a pool of lava actually managed to make him feel some slight trepidation.
"L-Lumi!"
"Are you alright?"
"Stop being so rough with him!"
The voices of his guildmates reached his ears. He glanced up to look around at familiar faces that passed him by as he soared through the air. Audino Bell walked from one end of her cage to the other with a sad frown. He sent a tired wave her way, and she got as close to the bars as she could before waving back. Now that he got a closer look, each of the cages were different; the one in front of Totodile Dill's cage crackled with electricity, and he saw that Vulpix Hazel's cage streamed down harsh jets of water from slots at the top.
Finally, whoever carried him stopped in front of an empty cage. It had a strange interpad on the lock of the door. When Buuterfree flew forward to open it, Talonflame wasted no time and flung Lumi right inside where he landed with a harsh thud. The door clanged shut.
Lumi grunted, but pushed himself to his feet and looked back. He caught the tail end of butterfree inputting something on the pad outside on the door, before something strange happened.
The steel bars gradually bled a deep, unnatural black, starting from the top and spreading down to the bottom. He checked and saw that the change was happening all around the cage, and some instinctive aversion repelled him from the sides to sit dead in the center, tails in his paws. All of the bars had turned an obsidian black, yet still the darkness intensified to the point where it seemed to coagulate all along the bars, dripping off itself into shadowy wisps. It radiated a deep malice that penetrated his mind and left him feeling vulnerable just by sitting here.
He didn't even notice when the guards left, nor how long he sat curled up in the center, too shaken to move. Twenty minutes later he realized that, while the bars coated in dark type energy were awful, the true cruelty of these cages came from their distance from each other. He knew that his guild was around, but they were all spaced just far enough from each other that he still felt isolated.
This...had to be some kind of torture, right? Something reserved for the lowest of the low, for truly dangerous Pokemon who needed to be kept as secure as possible.
Could he handle this?
...He wanted to see someone. Anyone. He didn't want to be alone here. Not now.
Every step felt like a hundred, but eventually he forced himself to get closer to the bars. He squinted through to try and see anyone else's cage.
The wisps of pure dark energy made it difficult to peer through, but after some squinting he did see one cage in the distance with a familiar white and pink form that looked to be waving at him.
Purl sat on his haunches, his feelers bound against his body, but made good use of his arms as he waved frantically to get Lumi's attention. When he finally did, He arched both arms above his head. It took Lumi a while to realize that the Sylveon was attempting to form a heart, which would have been easier if he had use of his feelers.
A small gesture, but very, very welcome. He waved his arms as much as he could to show he got the message, happy for the interaction no matter how limited, and returned to the center of the cage to think.
Some time later, the guards called lights out. The lights embedded along the sides of the volcano all dimmed, until the only visibility came from the orange glow of fiery lava that just barely reached along the bottom of the walls. Lumi felt suspended in a dark void, nothing but blackness both inside and out of his cage.
The cage jostled a tad as he fell onto his back in the middle of the cage. He curled up into a tight ball, both tails squeezed to his chest as he stared at the ceiling.
He closed his eyes shut, but couldn't sleep. How could he? As much as he wished otherwise, his mind had become a broken record, unable to move on from their current plight. How long were they going to be here? Where was Vert? Was any of this avoidable? What mistake could they have possibly made that lead to this outcome, and did he somehow cause it?
Just before he could jump down that train of thought, he felt a strange tug on his Energy that sent a tingle up his spine. He thought he was going crazy at first, the dampener was supposed to suppress it after all, until he focused more and realized that it was Tempo that seemed to be responding to a shift in the timestream.
Lumi sat up, now acutely aware that the oddly cold sensation he felt on his fur was the normally unending flow of time itself coming to an abrupt halt all around him.
He only wondered about this for a few moments before he heard light taps on the metal floor. Right before he could turn around, a weight draped over his back that made him yelp.
"Oh, my little lord! I'm so happy to see you!" yelled a familiar cheerful voice in his ear.
Lumi struggled to breathe as green arms hugged tight around his torso. They gave a few more squeezes that left him gasping for air, then mercifully let him go. He dropped to his knees, panting, and turned around.
Celebi flit back and forth from the walls of his cage, her gossamer wings a blur. She had an affronted look on her face as she looked down into the deep pit of lava below, tinted gray through whatever bubble she'd placed them in that stopped time, viscous churning frozen in motion.
"Sheeeeesh, isn't this a little excessive? I didn't even know it was possible to use a volcano like this!" she turned and winked at him. "Surely not the hero's welcome you deserve, but maybe I can rectify that a little. Trust me you'll like this. Ahem. And a one, and a two..."
Celebi bobbed her head to a rhythm only she could hear, before she gave a crisp snap of her fingers. Around the outside of the cage, glowing leaves manifested out of white portals in the air, along with a burst of trumpet sound that blared out of them. Lumi watched, mind still not quite caught up with everything, as a dozen other Celebi fell out of the portals, each holding a particular musical instrument, and a cacophony of sound started to ring out all around him.
In his addled state, it took him a while to realize one of them was singing.
"Lumi you are the very best! Like no one ever was!"
"To pause them is your real test, to save us is your cause!"
"You're gonna travel across the land, searching far and wide!
"Teaching Pokemon to understand, to help, and buy us time!"
"Wait, wait guys I don't think-"
"So, come on! (gotta pause 'em all), it's gonna be...
"A super big mystery! (gotta pause 'em all) But you stay true and just do you!"
"I really don't think now's the time, if I remember, he's-"
"We'll figure it oooooooouuu-"
"SHUT UP!"
One of the Celebi yelled loudly, which caused the whole song to come to an abrupt halt. That one flew in front of the rest of the assembled Celebi, and gestured frantically towards Lumi.
"Guys! Not the time! So not the time!"
"What the heck are you talking about!?" the first Celebi questioned, and then groaned. She dropped the guitar she had picked up from nowhere and rubbed her temples hard. "Mother Mew...why are you ruining this? Don't you know I had to coordinate across like, a decade just to line this whole thing up! We still had three more verses to go through!"
"Screw the song! I don't know how I managed to forget, but he hates us right now. The song will only make it worse."
"Wh-what? No way! One of our future selves told me he loves cheesy songs like this. Isn't that right Lu...mi?"
Celebi's voice got quiet when she, and all the other Celebi in attendance, actually looked closer at the Meowstic. Lumi sat with his back towards her, arms crossed. When the silence stretched on, he glanced over his shoulder, eyes half lidded with a frown.
He turned back around without a word.
All of the Celebi let out a collective gasp. One of them punched the left side of the cage and let out a defeated wail.
"Uuuuuugh. You mean to tell me I learned how to play the piano for nothing!? Damn it!" she yelled, and through her portable keyboard down into the lava below.
Any guard watching at that moment in time would be very confused to see a keyboard pop out of seemingly nowhere. Nobody would believe them either.
"…So, can we leave now? " one of them asked. The main Celebi rubbed her forehead, but waved them off.
"Uh, sure. Great job everyone."
"Yeah whatever…" a lot of Celebi murmured in discontent as they all opened up portals and flew through them, until it was just her and Lumi. She tapped her foot awkwardly, and edged her way over.
"Soooooo. Um. You're upset," she stated. After no response, she rubbed the back of her head. "And that's perfectly fine! I'd be upset too if I got stuck in a place like this. I mean, really, it's super not fair what they're doing to you and your guild. But don't worry! I'm sure this'll all blow over and-"
"Why didn't you tell me about Xerneas?" he asked.
Celebi flinched. Drat. She was hoping the song would make this a little easier.
"Or better yet, why didn't Dialga tell me? Even after I specifically asked him to be upfront and not keep things from me?" He finally turned around, and the mounting anger in his eyes made her take a step back.
"What, was it some kind of test? Is this him 'fostering more flexible thinking' by not viewing the future? When you told me to pause the Keystones, it would have also been a damn good time to tell me that we'd have to fight the actual Legendaries themselves!"
"You're...kind of right..." Celebi sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "Lumi, I'm sorry. There is no answer to this that you will like."
"Celebi, I risked my team and my family for doing something on Dialga's behalf. Not to mention I am literally in superjail right now. Are you saying I'm not owed an explanation?"
"No, not at all, just...listen?" she pleaded Lumi's folded his arms and his frown deepened, but gave her space to speak.
"Look, it's like this. Dialga doesn't...think like you. Or even like me. If you meet any of the higher Legendaries, you'll realize a lot of their perspectives are different from what may be considered normal, but that goes doubly so for Dialga. They regard things in ways that really only make sense to them. That includes you.
"You are...a new factor. Initiating a relationship with you is one of the first truly new possibilities Dialga has tried in...I don't know how long. And as the prime observer of the world, Dialga approaches new possibilities with the intent to gather as much data as possible to inform future decisions. And one of the most crucial new things you've brought to the table is the ability to go where we can't due to the rules we're bound by. Namely, the domains of the Legendaries bound by Keystones."
"...You're saying he didn't warn me because he just wanted to see what would happen? Like the trial or baseline for some kind of test?"
"To avoid any observer effects and get the most unbiased insights possible. That's probably the best way I can explain it."
"...So I'm just some experiment then..."
"No! No no no no, don't get the wrong idea!" Celebi rushed forward and put her hands on his shoulders. "Believe me, Dialga sees you as so, so much more than just another possibility. We both have the utmost faith in you. You are our partner in this, it's just he's...okay, we're not very good at the whole 'communication' thing. We'll do better, trust us. And besides, if something truly terrible did happen to you or someone you care about, we can always just..."
Her eyes widened as she caught herself before finishing the sentence. Lumi squinted his eyes, curious.
"Just...?"
"Just...um...not think about it. Because nothing bad will happen! Because you're great. really."
"Uh-huh," he murmured, and gently lifted her arms off of him. "Look. I'll be sure to share all of my "insights" with Dialga the next time I see him, but right now I really don't feel like it. I don't want to think about any of it right now."
"And that's fine. Really. I understand, and I'll let them know. But, can I just say one more thing?" she asked. Lumi shrugged his shoulders to acquiesce. After a few moments to gather her thoughts, Celebi took a few steps back, a beaming smile on her face.
"I know things look really, really bad right now. And I know that you're frustrated. But you have to believe me when I say that your story is just getting started. You're capable of so much, and are destined to change this world in ways nobody can imagine. You, your friends, and your whole guild are on their way to becoming stars. Just give it time."
"...Alright. Thanks, I guess," he said, and sat down. He let out a huge yawn, and leaned back on his paws.
"I'm gonna try and get some sleep. Maybe if I try hard enough, I can prevent my brain from overprocessing everything you just said."
"Sounds like a plan. Have a good night, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Have a good-wait. What? Tomorrow?" asked Lumi, just as Celebi alighted on her wings. She looked down on him, a perky smile on her face.
"Yup! Since you were working in the Dungeon, I couldn't visit you for your training, but since you're kinda stuck here for the time being..."
She threw her arms out and giggled.
"We have all the time in the world for meditation training! Isn't that great!?"
Lumi's face went blank. Celebi floated down and tapped her chin as she idly leaned on his head.
"Now that I think about it, maybe we'll increase the duration of our sessions. To make up for lost time, and also to make sure that wonderful mind of yours doesn't get too bored from being cooped up in this cell..."
One of his eyes twitched.
"Yup! I like the sound of that! Alright, see you bright and early tomorrow. Byyyyyyyyyyyye~"
She pushed off his head, backflipped into a flowery portal, and disappeared.
Lumi didn't sleep that night.
A/N:
I saw the Mario Movie and was inspired by the scene where they are about to ritualistically sacrifice everyone in cages over a pool of lava.
The Absol Guild may or may not be ritualistically sacrificed in the same way. I dunno. Haven't decided on it yet.