Bonus Chapter: Turbulent Roadtrip, Part 2
Team Specter's orb quickly brought them and their newfound charges to a dirt path at the fringe of a towering forest. When Team Traveller looked behind them, they discovered that much to their astonishment, the trees seemed to be far less impressive in height from the outside. After a moment trying to puzzle out the discrepancy, their Ghost-Type guides motioned off into the distance ahead where the sight of a settlement at the base of a wooded hill came into view, and prompted the lot to set off for it.
The journey took the group along a gravelly road down the hill from the great trees and into a rambunctious town filled with colorful gravel-roofed shacks and buildings styled in the fashion of Pokémon heads. They passed what appeared to be a Post Office, a well-trafficked line of businesses anchored by the familiar outline of a Kecleon shop, and a fountain styled after a Gorebyss. All the while, Pleo fidgeted uncomfortably, seemingly spotting something amiss with the town.
"… None of these Pokémon are wearing any scarves," he murmured. "Are they ferals?"
Nida, Elty, and Guardia blinked before looking around. Barring an exception here or there, such as a young-looking Electrike with an ascot or a Hawlucha with a bandanna, the Pokémon in-town truly weren't wearing scarves! For that matter, none of the Pokémon without some form of scarf seemed to be wearing anything at all that would make them stand out from a common feral in the hinterlands!
"Eh?! You're right!" Nida exclaimed. "But… these Pokémon aren't acting like ferals, so what's going on here…?
"Maybe it's some sort of weird local tradition?" Elty wondered. "Though it makes me wonder how they tell each other apart out in the field..."
"Hrmph," Guardia grumbled. "Maybe they just rely on physical features and scents like normal Pokémon...?"
The Cubone trailed off, noticing a Noivern staring at the team as they walked by on the street. She noticed the process repeat again with a Ribombee, then a Hariyama. The Ground-Type blinked, looking around to notice that all of the Pokémon around them were staring at them as they walked by, as if they'd strutted around after spending a few weeks gorging on Pinkan berries.
"Wait, why's everyone watching us?" she asked.
Nida and Elty tilted their heads curiously, and slowed their pace, allowing Pleo to go ahead along with Team Specter a ways. As the space between them and Pleo widened a few paces, the three noticed that the passerbys' gazes had remained focused on Team Specter, with their focus on none other than their Lugia teammate.
"I… think they're looking at Pleo," Nida said. The Nidoran's comment prompted Pleo to look back puzzledly, just in time to see his teammates walking up next to him as he noticed the strangers staring at him and wondered aloud what was happening.
"Huh?" Pleo questioned. "But why me in particular?"
Nida and her teammates shifted uncomfortably a moment, wondering if the locals would somehow know about Pleo's true identity as a Protector. The four lingered a moment, only for the sound of an impatient grumble to draw their attention back up to their Haunter guide. Opting to not make a bad impression on their rescuers, the three carried along and followed behind the Ghost-Types until they reached a sundial-shaped building. The structure was fashioned from golden stones and draped with violet tapestries with white emblems depicting an overlapping sun and moon. The four marvelled a moment at how richly decorated the building seemed to be, only to notice that in front of it was a stone pedestal positioned directly in front of a heavy-looking metal door.
"Go on ahead," the Misdreavus instructed. "The guild just needs to check your footprints before you head on in."
"For what?" Elty asked. "And how'd they be able to do that on a stone block anyways?"
"Security," the Drifloon answered. "Don't ask me how that block works, it just does. Everyone going into the guild here at Aeon Observatory gets checked. No exceptions."
"Mwee hee hee! That's right!" the Haunter added. "The guild needs to make sure that the only troublemakers going in are its own members!"
Haunter's explanation prompted Nida to fold her ears back skeptically. If the guild needed defenses from outside trouble, wouldn't it be a little late for them to do anything if it could come right up to its doorstep? And more importantly...
"Wait, but why wouldn't you do a check like this on the outskirts of town?" Nida pressed. "Wouldn't anyone who would be kept out from the guild here just be able to cause trouble right outside of it?"
The Nidoran's question prompted their Ghost-Type guides to trade puzzled looks with one another, before shrugging the matter off and turning back to their charges.
"Eh, this is usually sufficient. Just go on ahead," the Haunter insisted. "The pedestal can only take five Pokémon at a time anyways."
Nida blinked for a puzzled moment, muttering to herself under her breath how this town hadn't gotten plundered by pirates yet with such slapdash defenses. After deciding that such worries weren't terribly relevant right here and now, she proceeded onto the pedestal along with her team, placing their feet on the stony surface when all of a sudden a chittering crackled to life.
"Four non-registered Pokémon identified!" a Trapinch's voice piped up. "The Pokémon are... Nidoran-F! Cubone! Growlithe! And... uh... wait, why isn't the last one coming up?"
The disembodied voice made Pleo jump back with a start, looking around wildly for its owner. After failing to spot any other Pokémon nearby, he craned his head down, coming to the conclusion that the voice must've been...
"H-Huh?! The stone just spoke!" he squawked. "How'd it do that?! You said that it just checked footprints!"
"You'll have to ask Magearna about that one," the Drifloon answered. "Never fully understood her 'technology' that she dabbles with."
"What's important is that it works," the Haunter added.
"Wait, Haunter? Is that you? Are you with these Pokémon?" the Trapinch asked. "And what on earth is that weird thing with the three-toed feet we're seeing down here?"
"We pulled a team out of Dewdrop Woods," the Haunter explained. "Service with a scare, as I always say!"
The Haunter's chortling drew audible groans and eye rolls from their rescued charges, prompting his Misdreavus teammate to shake her head and speak back into the stone.
"They're with us, they've got some… different members than normal," she said. "We figured that Guildmaster Metagross would want to take a look."
The voice from the stone went silent for a long moment, before the sound of a creak and heavy grinding rang out, prompting Team Traveller to look ahead and see the metal door slide open in front of them and lead into the sundial-shaped building.
"Right," the voice replied. "Come on in."
At the voice's beckoning, the teams stepped forward, heading down a carpeted hallway decorated with tapestries. Above them, the ceiling had been lined with painted constellations like the entrance hall where at the end they entered a central room with hallways radiating out on several levels. Curiously, the night sky motif of this room seemed to progressively melt away into a dawnlike orange the further one went down the room, before merging into a mural depicting the sun rising. There, the hubbub of the main hall ground to a halt, as Team Traveller watched the gathered Pokémon one-by-one stop in the middle of their routines and stare silently at the four of them.
"Uh… hi?" Pleo offered. He walked up warily as the crowd's attention remained trained on him and his teammates, who traded uneasy looks with each other behind their Lugia companion.
"Okay, these 'mons are doing it too," Nida whispered. "Is there something we're missing as to why we keep getting stared at?"
"Eeeh?!"
The quiet was broken by a startled cry and a red-and-white blur zipping in, the form of a feathery dragon coming to a wooshing stop in the air before Team Traveller. She craned her head down wide-eyed, pointing and stuttering at the sight of Pleo in the group's midst.
"Lugia ?! Is that you?! What are you doing here?!" the Latias exclaimed. "And why have you shrunk?! This isn't the doing of that weird virus going around, is it?!"
"Uh… hello, red… birdie thing," Pleo stammered. "Who- Who exactly are you again?"
The Latias' mouth hung open for a moment as she hemmed and hawed awkwardly for a moment. The dragon began to realize that she'd fallen for a case of mistaken identity and started to flush an embarrassed red, backpedaling away from the young Lugia.
"Er… never mind that, I had you confused for… someone else," the Latias said.
"What's going on here?"
The sound of a squawking voice rang out along with the sound of dull, heavy footsteps. Team Traveller looked over towards their left where the forms of a Braviary and a stern-faced Metagross made their way over, sizing up the white bird among the group.
"Fact: this is an infant Lugia in our presence," the Metagross announced.
"H-Huh?! How did you know that?!" Pleo cried. "And why do you talk so weird?"
"Well, you've got yer long neck, yer silver feathers, and those blue plates on yer back," the Braviary answered. "It's pretty obvious enough that you'd be Lugia, or at least a shrunken version of him." He turned to the Metagross next to him. "Wait, did ya just call him a baby?"
"Wait… how would you know that Lugia would look like that?" Nida demanded. "You're off in the middle of nowhere, and no offense, but neither of you look like the sort of 'mon who'd spend all day studying other islands' Protectors!"
"'Island?' Gracious... there aren't any islands reasonably close to here. What continent did they say they're from, again?" a Comfey asked.
"No idea, but it can't be here. Anyone around these parts would know this is the Horizon Continent!" a Togedemaru exclaimed. "It's literally plastered on every map of the world!"
Nida tilted her head puzzledly at the Pokémon's explanations. She'd heard of distant lands in passing before: Garanza, Linglan… But what on earth was the...
"Horizon… Continent?"
The Nidoran's question drew murmuring from the gathered crowd as some of the bystanders began to wonder where the four strangers had come from. From his place ahead of them, the Metagross Guildmaster's eyes flashed blue, before his visage turned into a hardened glare.
"Fact: these Pokémon are from another world entirely."
The Metagross stepped back as his declaration drew a chorus of surprised cries from the gathered Pokémon, which even the nearby Braviary found strange enough to raise a brow at.
"So, are ya saying they're like Vulpix, then?"
"Negative. Fact: their world is populated entirely by Pokémon. Fact: they have access to engineering and equipment beyond our capabilities," the Psychic-Type replied. "Fact: their world houses Mystery Dungeons that operate under different mechanics."
"This has gotta be some kind of joke, right? We're in Anyilla!" Elty answered. "You know, tons of water, islands… the Company and Empire at each other's throats all the time?"
"And mean pirates making everyone miserable trying to steal their stuff!" Pleo added, only to be met by a harsh scowl from the Metagross Guildmaster. The young Protector squeaked and hastily retreated behind his teammates, warily glancing at the displeased steely creature.
"Silence. I already addressed your quandary. Fact: this is not your world. Fact: you have no memory of your arrival here," the Metagross droned. "Conclusion: the means of your arrival are a mystery. Order: no one is to disturb me while I investigate this matter."
"Eh? But how do you know that?" Pleo asked.
"Fact: I read your minds," the Metagross replied. At once, the air around Team Traveller's heads seemed to be sucked out of the room, as pallid grimaces began to settle over their faces. One after the other, Nida, Elty, and Guardia tried to stammer out an explanation, only for the Guildmaster to pre-empt them with an irritated stop of one of his forelegs against the ground.
"And you are wasting my time," he harrumphed, before turning to the Braviary next to him. "Order: keep them occupied while I investigate this matter."
The eagle straightened up and saluted the Metagross, who quickly stomped off behind the room's solitary metallic door to the left. Back from behind his companions, Pleo continued to shiver, still shaken from the Psychic-Type's hostile demeanor, pulling his head in tight against his chest.
"I… I don't like that guy. He's mean… like Lyn," he muttered.
"Nah, that ain't it. Guildmaster's just a mighty terse fellow," the Braviary explained. "He's not one fer appreciating things that mess up his daily routine. And that's been happening a lot around here, lately. So, don't go taking it personally now."
The Flying-Type looked up at the gathered Pokémon in the room, giving a wave of his wings for attention and motioning for the lot to come closer.
"Well, come on now, y'all. Don't be shy!" he insisted. "You heard the Guildmaster… make with the friendly greetings."
The Pokémon in the room began to draw near around the new team of strangers, trading animated chatter with one another. A new team in the guild was always an exciting occasion, but for one to come from such an exotic place...
"So, they're from an alien world?" a Trapinch murmured. "But they look just like normal Pokémon!"
"Well, they're friendlier-looking than Vulpix and Silvally," a Togedemaru piped. "They're already winners in my book!"
"Psst. Nidoran," Guardia whispered. "Do we really stand out that much?"
Nida raised her head and looked around the room. While the atmosphere had certainly taken a more congenial turn than when they came into town, everyone present seemed every bit as fixed on them as the passerbys outside…
"… Yeah, it looks like we do," Nida sighed.
"Youse guys heard Braviary," a Yungoos said. "Come on, Growlithe, let's break da ice!"
Elty's ears perked up at the mention of 'Growlithe', surmising that the raspy speaker wanted to trade introductions. The Fire-Type looked ahead, spotting the form of an approaching Yungoos and began to sidle over...
"Eh?" he murmured. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt-"
… only to stop and catch himself after he noticed that the mongoose was accompanied by a Growlithe companion of his own, prompting him to stop and tilt his head puzzledly at whether he'd misunderstood the Normal-Type's exhortation.
"How ya doing, stranger?" the mongoose greeted. "I'm Yungoos, and dis is Growlithe, a teammate of mine who's a representative of your kind 'round dese parts."
Elty raised a brow and folded his ears back with a baffled scowl. Did… he just introduce himself and his teammate by what species they were? What sort of introduction was that?!
"I know what a Growlithe is, alright? But what sort of team are you running here?" Elty demanded. "You addressed him like a total stranger!"
"Eh? Dunno what you're batting at here, Growlithe. He just called me what everyone else does," Growlithe insisted. "He's Yungoos, and I'm Growlithe."
Elty raised a paw and spluttered incredulously at the pair. Travellers above, these two were a strange lot! Was this some sort of custom here in the Horizon Continent?
"But you just used the same-! Look, surely you have to have something to tell yourself from other Growlithe in conversation," Elty insisted. "Didn't you get a name for something you did at least? Like 'Digger-of-Holes', or 'Starter-of-Weird-Conversations'?"
Yungoos and his partner blink and traded blank stares with one another, before the other Growlithe shook his head and moved in to whisper to his teammate.
"This alien pup's weirding me out a bit, Yungoos," he murmured. "Do you think we ought to play along with him?"
"Alright, hrm… How about we call ya 'Tubby Growlithe', and my teammate 'Skinny Growlithe'?" Yungoos offered. The mongoose waited expectantly for a response, only for Elty to sourly frown back and turn away with a harrumph.
"… I'll take a pass on that, thanks."
Yungoos' explanation was met by puzzled stares back from Nida, Guardia, and Pleo. As different as the three Pokémon's backgrounds were, they were united by their shared sense that something about the mongoose's introduction felt deeply amiss… could it be that…?
"Wait, so then you're all called by the type of Pokémon you are?" Nida asked.
"Correct. I seem to recall Vulpix having a similar disconnect when he first showed up, but quickly gave up correcting us. It certainly is a fascintillating difference in universal culture."
Team Traveller turned their attention over to their right, where they saw a strange, metallic creature seeming to be made of gears with a Liligant-like dress approach. The steely Pokémon raised a hand, only to shake her head out of realization that she hadn't introduced herself yet.
"Oh, drat. It would appear my polite manners algorithm failed to boot. Give it a moment."
She pawed at the dress on her body, prompting Pleo to tilt his head in confusion as the Steel-Type robotically nodded forward with a curt bow before returning to her upright position.
"There we go. I am Magearna, the guild's primary technical specialist. I manage the equipment that keeps this place operating at one-hundred percent efficacy," she explained. "It's my job to manage the technology that keeps this place running!"
"Uh… huh," Elty grumbled under his breath. "I'm sure that that's totally doable when she's got a few screws loose."
"Now, now, keep up. My introductions programming is only at fifty-seven percent and I have several folks to get to. But first, why don't you tell us a bit about yourselves?" the Steel-Type asked, extending a hand over to a flustered-looking Pleo.
"Uh… Well, I'm 'Pleo'," he answered. "And these are my teammates Nida, Elty, and Guardia from Team Traveller."
"Ah… So you carry names in the style of Team Radiance's members… fascinating. As for here in the guild, we have a number of colorfoliated characters I'm sure you'll come to enjoy being around. First off, Primarina here is a ranking veteran and the most famous musician in all Horizon!" Magearna cheered, prompting a Primarina at the front of the group to grin and burst into song.
"What is this my eyes see?
Could it be travelers from afar?
You seem a touch homesick.
Have you tried wishing upon a staaaar?"
The seal flopped onto the ground, blowing out a looming bubble of water that floated over Team Traveller's heads, only to strike the tip of Pleo's head and deluge him and his teammates with a torrent of water. Primarina bowed as the surrounding Pokémon applauded and cheered his performance. Pleo joined in as well as beads of water continued to roll off his plumes, his teammates being the sopping, seething exceptions to the rule as Magearna moved on.
"Espeon and Umbreon are two researchers from the Mist Continent," she said. "They are… here under very specific circumstances."
The Steel-Type motioned over to a vaguely feline pair of pink and black-furred of Pokémon, who seemed to shift uncomfortably under their newfound attention. The duo fidgeted awkwardly, before they offered up half-hearted greetings back at the group.
"Er… hello," Espeon greeted.
"Pleased to meet you, I guess," Umbreon added.
"Lastly, Milotic and Serperior are members of Team Captivate!"
Magearna raised her hand up to introduce a Milotic and Serperior settled over in a corner, the pair looking completely devoid of enthusiasm or vitality.
"… Meh," Milotic answered. Her partner similarly looked over, before also giving a half-hearted greeting.
"Hey… I guess…" Serperior said, drooping forward much like a wilted sprout.
"Yeesh, that enthusiasm certainly took a dive," Guardia murmured. "Do you suppose we're not welcome here?"
"Don't be ridiculous!," Braviary explained. "Guildmaster expects anyone who shows up 'round these parts to get treated with respect… unless they're outlaws, of course. But y'all look like upstanding folks to me. . And ain't no one gonna cross Metagross."
The eagle's wings visibly sagged and the Flying-Type shook his head glumly, as if dealing with a great weight on his shoulders. The bird visibly paused and mulled a moment, tripping over his words over how to explain the matter back to these strangers.
"It's just that the guild's been through a lot as of late," Braviary sighed. "So it's been weighing upon some of the 'mons here."
"… Oh. Well I'm sorry to hear that things haven't been going well," Pleo muttered. "Are we really not causing any trouble at all?"
"Hardly," Braviary insisted, before casting a glance back over at the morose members of Team Captivate.
"In fact, yer arrival might be just what some of our teams need," he insisted. "Milotic! Serperior!"
The serpent duo craned their heads up sluggishly, the Milotic among them giving a puzzled tilt of her head back at her Braviary superior.
"Huh?"
"Please take the time to show Team Traveller around Aeon Town," Braviary instructed. "If'n they're going to be staying a while, they'd best know their surroundings!"
Braviary held out a wing expectantly with a cheerful grin spreading over the ends of his beak, only for it to abruptly fade when he saw Team Captivate's members lower their heads and curl in on themselves.
"… Hoo boy. Guess I need to be a bit more firm with 'em," he murmured. Braviary strutted over to the pair, giving an awkward ruffle of his feathers before lowering his head down to meet the depressed duo.
"Hey, I know that what's been going on's obviously been eating at you two. But yer never gonna get out of this slump just sitting here and dwelling on it all the time!" he insisted. "Why not show these rookies the ropes a bit. If nothing else, the fresh air oughta help a bit."
"… I suppose we can give it a shot," Serperior said. Her Milotic teammate echoed the grass snake's reluctant agreement, turning her head to face Team Traveller before craning down with a sigh.
"Go on ahead," Milotic said. "We'll catch up with you at the gate."
"Alright," Nida answered, nodding her head back. "See you there!"
The four youngsters darted off, prompting the gathered guild members to drift off and return to their daily routines. As the main hall thinned out, Milotic slunk off down a hallway over to the guild's lodging, rooting through a chest her team set aside with a stash of supplies when she heard a presence slither up behind her.
"Millie, do you think that we should be worried at all about that team that came in?" Serperior asked.
"Hm?" Milotic replied. "Why would that be?"
"Well… the Guildmaster said they're from another world right? Look at all the trouble Vulpix brought with him from the human world," the Grass-Type began. "Who's to say that they aren't actually involved with Zero in some way?"
"Serpy, come on," Milotic said. "They're just a bunch of kids."
"Kids with Lugia with them. I mean, he's obviously a little… small. But what if the Lugia of their world isn't like ours? You saw those portals Zero used. What if… what if this Lugia found out about her plans and is here to strike some sort of deal to save his own hide?" Serperior insisted.
"… We were instructed to do this by Braviary and the Guildmaster," Milotic rebutted. "I'd think it'd be wise to not challenge them right now. Especially after everything we heard about the Glyphic Falls expedition."
"Then why don't you sound that convinced right now?"
Milotic shifted uneasily at her partner's question, lowering her head before giving a sighing shake and looking back.
"… I guess I wish I had someone else who could pick my brain to weigh in right now," Milotic admitted. "To tell me whether my instincts are right or not. Gods knows it would've come in handy back in Dewdrop Woods…"
"So you mean someone like Airy," Serperior said.
"… It would be nice, yeah. But I don't know what's gotten into her," the Water-Type despaired. "I know it's only been a day. But surely she'd have sent us something saying that she's safe. She was always super-responsible like that."
"Well, you're the captain here," the grass serpent murmured. "So whatever you decide, I'll back you up on it."
Milotic slithered up to the doorway and turned her head out into the hall, looking back down at the main chamber towards the hallway going to the gate. She lingered a moment, before pulling her head back in and slinging her satchel around her body with a shake of her head.
"Let's go ahead and keep an eye on those kids," Milotic said. "If anything weird comes up with them, we're giving them a hard conk on the head and taking them back to Metagross to deal with."
The sea serpent slithered off, prompting Serperior to follow after her. The pair left their place in the guild, making their way up to the front where Team Traveller's members were there waiting for them, the lot carrying on under the watchful gaze of their none-too-trusting guides.
Little by little, the members of Team Captivate wound up taking to their newfound role as guides more eagerly than they expected. One of the first places they visited were the local docks, which were curiously bereft of ships and teeming with Sharpedo that had plastic seats on them. The group was also brought to the local Kecleon shop, a quick visit revealing that even in this world their goods were heavily overpriced. Eventually, Team Traveller found themselves in front of the town's Gorebyss fountain, the journey filling the four youngsters with a sense of wonder as townsfolk stopped to gawp at the silver-feathered stranger in their midst and provide a much-needed respite to Team Captivate from their earlier mood.
At about noon, an audible grumble of Pleo's stomach prompted the pair to search out food, leading them to drift into the Crabrawler's café. There, the club-clawed crab that ran the establishment was beside himself with the idea that his humble establishment would be visited by none other than a Legendary, sending him into a frenzy preparing a fresh malasada to gift to the young seabird in front of a crowd of gawking customers.
"So… how is it, Lugia?" a Turtonator asked.
"It's really sweet!" Pleo chirped. "I've never had a malasada this good before!"
At the Lugia's praise, Crabrawler beamed with pride, raising his claws up and clicking them triumphantly for attention before the gathered onlookers.
"Well, you heard it straight from his own mouth! The Guardian of the Seas says that none other than yours truly makes the best malasadas out there!" the Fighting-Type proclaimed. "Good luck finding another place in Horizon- no, the world that can top that!"
Crabrawler's pronouncement drew chortles and cheers, a few Pokémon who were more quickly to be parted with their money ordering a Sweet Malasada of their own on the spot. From a table to the side, Team Traveller watched as Pleo continued taking hearty bites out of his snack. The three took somewhat off-put swigs from an order of juice Team Captivate had purchased, looking up occasionally to see the café customers continue to shower the young Protector with attention.
"Pah, it's only the second time he's ever had a malasada," Elty harrumphed. "And how come we didn't get anything?"
"I guess even over here, Legendaries are still a big deal…" Nida murmured. "Was this how things were in the Old World, too?"
"Perhaps we should stay awhile and find out," Guardia said.
The Cubone's suggestion drew incredulous gapes from her teammates across the table. Stay here? In a mysterious world they'd been in for all of three hours?
"Eh? What are you talking about, bonehead?" Elty demanded.
"However we got here, it's obvious that your Company and your Empire don't know about it. So wouldn't this be an opportune place to learn the lore of your sea guardian in peace for a while before going back?" Guardia explained. "Who knows, humans aside, if this world really is like how the Old World was, maybe we'd find some secret techniques to use to retake your home island!"
Nida went silent, peering down uneasily at her drink as she ran a paw around its rim. They'd been struggling so hard to get Pleo back home to Tromba all this time… but it was hard to argue that this Aeon Town was a quieter place. And judging from everyone's reactions about the Company and the Empire, they could rest easy without worrying about anyone chasing after them…
Would it really be for the best if they waited a while to go home and just stayed here for a while?
"Heh, I didn't know that Lugia came that small," a Trumbeak said. "He's quite the cutie."
"He must still be pretty young," a black-furred Raticate murmured. "I just hope for his sake he's actually safe here with the likes of Espeon and Umbreon joining the guild…"
The sound of the conversing voices made Nida and her companions blink a moment. The Nidoran flicked her ears uneasily, before turning to her right towards the sound of the conversation.
"Huh?"
Nida and her companions saw the Trumbeak and the Raticate, alongside a Furfrou, seated at the table beside them, seemingly unaware of their presence. The three leaned in and listened as the group carried on in between sips of juice, the Furfrou giving an exasperated shake of her head.
"Yeah, what on earth was Guildmaster Metagross thinking letting those two in with all the stories going around about them?" the dog exclaimed. "I heard they were the ones who froze over Aurora Vale and turned Pokémon into monsters!"
"I heard that one, too. Word has it they were brainwashed or something to work for some character... Zero, I think her name was. As if the whole thing wasn't weird enough, I heard she's been skulking around trying to do something with Legendary Pokémon she comes across," the Trumbeak sighed. "But I dunno, if they really had been doing stuff like that for so long, could they really have just left it all behind like that?"
Nida, Elty, and Guardia felt their faces contort into tense grimaces, the three setting aside their drinks and sliding off their seats. The group made their way uneasily over to the edge of the gathering around Pleo, spotting Team Captivate lounging near the café's counter. After faltering and shying back a moment, Nida shook her head, walking up to Team Captivate's members to uneasily paw at them.
"Milotic, Serperior…" she murmured. "Er… could we have a moment to talk?"
The two Pokémon traded blank looks with each other, before turning back to the Nidoran. There surely wasn't any harm in striking a conversation, but something about this felt suspiciously sudden...
"Uh… sure?" Milotic answered.
The two drifted off, following the youngsters along to a vacated back corner of the café as Pleo continued to bathe in the café patrons' affection as he ate. Milotic and Serperior looked back a moment, before turning their attention back to the youngsters in front of them, giving puzzled tilts of their heads.
"Did something come up?" Serperior asked. "Are you not feeling well?"
"Who exactly is this 'Zero' that some of the Pokémon around here have been talking about?" Elty asked. "And what exactly has been going on around here lately?"
The pair immediately blanched and traded reluctant gazes with one another, before turning back silently. Their earlier misgivings about the group now seemed to be silly in retrospect, but did they really have to get worked now after they'd all just started having a good time…? Milotic cleared her throat, making a few fumbling attempts at giving an explanation before she finally was able to marshal her words into a response.
"Zero is a… well, we don't exactly know what she is," the sea serpent admitted. "But she's a creature who's been using twisted magic that she calls the Prism Virus to cause trouble here in Horizon lately."
"'Turning Pokémon into monsters' and 'freezing over Aurora Vale' sounds like a bit more than 'trouble'!" Guardia exclaimed. "And what do Espeon and Umbreon have to do with this? Aren't they with your own guild?"
Serperior raised her tail and motioned for a stop, her expression having turned serious. The grass snake shook her head, before hesitantly speaking up in reply.
"This really isn't something we'd be able to explain that well," Serperior said. "We don't really know the full story of what's been happening either."
"Then who would?" Nida demanded.
"Team Radiance might know since Zero is gunning for them, but they're not here right now," Milotic answered. "I suppose you could ask Espeon and Umbreon themselves… but…"
"It really would be helpful if we knew about what was going on, Milotic," Nida insisted. "We've already had our share of nasty surprises traveling from not knowing the full story of the places we visited."
The two serpents paused and looked back at the happy scene around Pleo's table, before letting out a deflated sigh. A palpable trepidation hung in the air, as if the two knew that the scene before them would soon end and be lost forever.
"I suppose I can't fault you there…" Serperior sighed. "Come on, let's get going."
At once, Nida and her companions started ahead to retrieve Pleo, only to be stopped by Milotic's voice hastily calling out.
"Wait!"
The three blinked and looked back, seeing the sea serpent had slithered up, her eyes pleading with the team to not take a further step. Milotic trained her gaze down quietly for a moment, before speaking up in a low, mumbling tone.
"We'll get him," she offered. "It wouldn't do any good to cause a scene with everyone in such high spirits right now."
Team Traveller watched as Milotic and Serperior went to fetch Pleo, their minds weighed down all the while by uneasy feelings and a faint sense of dread. They had hoped that the hearsay they overheard about this 'Zero' would've been just dismissed as some crazy story, but as soon as they'd brought it up, they'd all but sucked the life out of those two!
Could Espeon and Umbreon really have been up to something after all? If they were, just what were they going to discover about this place after talking to them?
When Team Captivate and their charges returned to the Aeon Observatory, they found that the main hall had largely cleared out for the day as the guild's members dispersed among the various Mystery Dungeons to tackle requests for the town's denizens. The group ducked down a hallway leading to a batch of more secluded rooms, where they found none other than Espeon and Umbreon in a dusty, windowless room to the side where they fiddled with some books and murmured some things about Espeon's 'jewel' and 'healing'. The pair were engrossed in their research, so much so that they failed to notice the sound of Team Captivate and Team Traveller approaching.
"Espeon, Umbreon, you two have a second?" Milotic murmured.
The duo looked up from their books, and sized the newcomers up. The new team of youngsters appeared to have a deep-seated sense of unease etched on their faces. For their part, Team Captivate's demeanors similarly seemed off-kilter, their faces sterner than Espeon and Umbreon recalled them being at any time in the past few days.
"The new team was looking around for you," Milotic explained. "They wanted to ask a few questions."
The two researchers stiffened up and scooted back at the mention of 'questions'. Her fur tense, Espeon put a paw forward, clearing her throat and warily speaking up in reply.
"… What sort of questions are we talking about here?" the Psychic-Type asked, only to be cut off by Nida stepping forward with an overhasty response.
"What is this 'Prism Virus' that's going around?" the Nidoran piped. "And what do you two have to do with it?"
The Poison-Type's words visibly sent a chill over the atmosphere in the room, the researcher duo casting uneasy glances to the side. After a moment fumbling, Umbreon began to speak up, his words coming out dripping with reluctance.
"… That's…" he stammered. "Er… well…"
"Something we don't have any interest talking about so publicly right now," Espeon snapped. "We've already done it more times than we care to."
"Eh?! What are you going on about that?" Elty demanded. "We heard a bunch of Pokémon who weren't even in the guild talking about you!"
"… You were fairly open about what happened when you first came," Serperior murmured. "Can't you two just do it one more time-?"
"Oh, good. Y'all are back. Perfect timing!"
Team Captivate's members craned their heads back to see Braviary coming to a fluttering stop at the room's entrance. The Flying-Type ruffled his feathers, before looking over expectantly at the pair.
"I need a wing to help with a shipment of supplies that just came in," he said. "Would y'all be able to spend a minute with that?"
"Er… neither of us have wings, Braviary," Milotic replied. "So…"
The bird rolled his eyes, unimpressed with Team Captivate's semantics game. Undeterred, Braviary beat a wing out and gave it a friendly shake for attention.
"Ya know what I meant. Come on, it'll just be two minutes," the Flying-Type insisted. "Do it, and I'll see that you get a second helping of supper tonight."
The pair looked over at Espeon and Umbreon's uneasy forms, and then back at Braviary. Espeon and Umbreon did seem to be having trouble speaking up about their experiences with the Prism Virus… Perhaps if they felt they were more alone, they'd be able to better open up about it?
"Give us a moment," Serperior said. "We'll be right back."
Team Captivate slithered off with Braviary, leaving the researchers behind with the batch of youngsters before them. Noticing that the room was now barren, Guardia shot an impatient glare back at the two, giving a rap of her bone against the ground.
"Look, no one is going to overhear you now," she harrumphed. "So come on, spill your guts already!"
The Cubone's exhortations did little but make the duo shift their gaze downwards and away from their questioner. Sensing something was amiss, Pleo waddled over, and with wide, pleading eyes, craned his head down to meet the pair.
"Can't you just tell us?" Pleo insisted. "You don't seem like bad Pokémon… we just wanted to know what's going on."
A tense silence hung in the air, before Espeon broke the quiet with a reluctant sigh. The pair twitched their tails, bringing their gaze back up to the team of youngsters, with Espeon muttering out at quiet demand.
"Where do you want us to start?"
"Maybe start by explaining what this 'Prism Virus' is?" Nida asked. "And does it really turn Pokémon into monsters?"
"We don't fully know what it is, but that's what we were told it was. It targets a Pokémon's life energy and corrupts it… permanently transforming the Pokémon. Or so we thought, anyway," Umbreon answered. "As for 'monsters'… I suppose the more accurate term would be 'infectees', but that's really just splitting hairs. The point is, any Pokémon affected turns violently destructive. It's a lot like the plagues of fear and hate that swept through the lands in the past."
Team Traveller's words widened out of alarm at the mention of 'plagues'. There'd been talk in the past within the Cradle of grave illnesses that spread like wildfire thanks to ill Pokémon tainting the air and water around them with miasmas. And it was the reason why every settlement in the Cradle maintained a quarantine routine to keep sickened sailors out of port, since such diseases often proved unstoppable once they spread among the townsfolk. And here this Prism Virus… it made Pokémon into monsters when their victims caught it?
"So what, someone can just sneeze on you and turn you into some monster just like that?!" Elty yipped.
"… Eh? I don't know what 'virus' means to you in your own world, but here it's spread by having an infected Pokémon hit you with a beam of light," Espeon explained. "The virus causes this red crescent moon to grow on your body that you can channel the infectious energy through."
"The infected are filled with a consuming urge to spread their corrupted energy onto other Pokémon within Mystery Dungeons…" Umbreon added. "As I'm sure you've already gathered, it tends to overrun those dungeons fairly quickly."
The four flushed pale a moment at Espeon and Umbreon's explanation, with Guardia reflexively grabbing her club. Nightmarish images swirled in their mind of bloated, deformed monstrosities prowling Mystery Dungeons and hunting down Pokémon with beams of red light amidst their claustrophobic corridors. Worse, if the virus were to not stay in the dungeons, it would find an island with few places to hide, and a whole host of victims who had no hope of swimming or flying away.
It was a recipe for disaster in the Cradle, one that would strangle its life out before its new gods even had the chance to be born. Amidst it all, one gnawing, uncomfortable question kept playing over and over again in the group's minds:
"And… you… you spread this?" Nida asked. The spike ball was answered with silence from the two researchers, before Umbreon finally spoke up in response.
"… We did."
"H-Huh?! B-But why?!" Pleo squawked. "You didn't seem mean! Why would you have any part in such an awful thing like that?!"
"Were you brainwashed?" Elty pressed. "Tricked into helping it along?"
Espeon glumly shook her head back in response, her words coming out with visible hesitance, as if she had been brushing up against freshly-reopened wounds.
"We were infected of our own free will," the Psychic-Type admitted. "Afterwards… the thought just didn't occur to us to stop spreading it."
"You- You chose to be infected? But why?" Guardia demanded. "And what do you mean it 'didn't occur to you'? Couldn't you see that you were obviously turning Pokémon into hideous abominations?"
"We were approached by Zero weeks ago. She taunted us about how we let Dark Matter wreak havoc on our world-" Umbreon began, only to notice his audience shooting puzzled looks back at him.
"Dark… Matter?" Pleo asked.
The Dark-Type blinked before shaking his head. It certainly was presumptuous of him to expect aliens from another world to know his world's history, prompting him to speak and answer back.
"Pardon me. A time when the world almost ended thanks to a malevolent monstrosity that tried to hurl our world into the sun," Umbreon explained. "It… seems that events like those are depressingly common around here."
"Brr, I'll say! The things that we went through in that time, it was just so frightening and made us feel so small and helpless…" Espeon shuddered. "Knowing that the Legendaries here either couldn't help us, or worse, didn't want to help us while all of that was going on…"
Pleo felt a chill go down his back at the researchers' words. This world was supposed to be filled with Protectors, ones who were strong and grown to boot! Did… did bad things really happen so often that not even they could stop them?
It was something specific to this world, was it? Did they really not care about the other Pokémon that lived here? Would he and his fellow Protectors really stop caring about other Pokémon as they got older? Or had they been led all along to think they had much more power than they truly had?
All of these possibilities were… disturbing, to say the least. As the young Lugia heard Umbreon continue on, he gulped in apprehension of just what the pair could possibly have to additionally say.
"Those sorts of feelings made us upset," Umbreon muttered. "We grew resentful of the Legendaries, for how they could just leave us behind like that, and started thinking that maybe we could do things better without them..."
"That's when Zero came, and laid that all before us. Making the fears and resentments we'd felt all that time suddenly seem to make sense," Espeon continued. "She promised us that she had a way of bringing it all to an end… if we would just let ourselves get infected and help her."
Nida, Guardia, and Elty bristled uncomfortably at the Psychic-Type's explanation. They hadn't said anything about 'humans' or an 'Abyss', but this whole conversation felt uncomfortably like what Margi had told them of how she understood the Cradle's past back in Boisocéan. Could… could this feeling of abandonment and hopelessness have been what turned their predecessors against the Old Gods? Could the Old World have ended thanks to something like this?
"B-But you must have seen that you were being used!" Guardia cried. "This Zero exploited your fear and doubts to get you involved in all of this! How could you not feel anything at all about all the horrible things that were happening?!"
"It just didn't occur to us. While we were infected, we just kept thinking over and over again about how frightened and upset we were," Umbreon answered quietly. "How anything that happened was better than going back to that."
"… Perhaps it simply wouldn't have occurred to us as long as we were like that," Espeon added. "No matter how much it ought to have."
"But I don't understand, what exactly was this Zero trying to do with that virus?" Nida demanded. "Why would she be willing to cause so much suffering?"
"Because she wants to create a world of eternal night," Espeon said. "Where all the Legendaries are dead and all that remains are Pokémon like you and me."
The four went slack-jawed in shock at Espeon's explanation. This- This Zero was going to kill all of this world's Legendaries? But that would ruin it in the same way it ruined their own! And if Pleo were to be caught up in that…
How would the Cradle be able to go on without a Lugia watching over it…? The four backpedaled uneasily, their minds quickly coming to a shared answer, with an overpowering urge to be away from this horrid world and back in the familiar comforts of their own. Elty led the way, the Growlithe turning his head back towards the entrance of the room.
"I uh... think we've heard enough," he muttered. "This simply isn't a good place for us and we should get going… someplace really, really far away from here."
The Fire-Type turned and darted off, followed closely by his teammates only to feel the ground rock underneath. The four looked up, and skidded to a stop at the sight of the Metagross Guildmaster lumbering into their path with his ruddy eyes narrowed to slits.
"You have learned of the Prism Virus"
Team Traveler gulped as they realized Metagross hadn't phrased that as a question.
"Yeah. And… uh… we remembered that there were some important things waiting for us back at home, and needed a way to get back," Nida replied. "As soon as possible."
The Psychic-Type blinked, before casting his gaze over to a visibly nonplussed Espeon and Umbreon who quietly slunk back into the room, and realized that what the pair shared of the recent happenings in the Horizon Continent must've spooked the youngsters. Metagross thought for a moment, as Team Traveller watched anxiously, trying to tease out his thought process from behind his glaring red eyes…
"Fact: my knowledge of such mannerisms is nonexistent," Metagross declared,watching irritatedly as his words drew visible grimaces from the members of Team Traveller.
"B-But-" Pleo began.
"Fact: you did not let me finish," he growled. "Fact: there exists a party that should have knowledge that could assist you."
"Who is it?" Guardia demanded.
"Fact: they are Team Paradox," the steel crab answered. "Fact: they have been interfering with my guild's attempts to combat the Prism Virus. Approach them at your own discretion."
Team Traveller cringed and went wide-eyed in panic. If Team Paradox was opposing the guild's attempts to stop the Prism Virus, then did that mean that they had something to do with spreading it? It seemed like such a counter-intuitive group to ask for help from, but with Zero out to kill any Legendaries she could… did it really make sense not to take the risk if Guildmaster Metagross thought it was their only way home?
"I think we'll take our chances," Nida said.
"Very well," the Psychic-Type answered. "I calculate that they are still in Glyphic Falls following our confrontation yesterday."
"Huh?" Pleo asked. "Where's that?"
Metagross' eyes glowed a brilliant blue as a rolled up piece of paper floated out of an adjacent room. The Psychic-Type set it on the ground with his telekinesis, and unfurled it, revealing it to be a map of a land dotted with paths and targets of various colors.
"It's the purple target here on this map," Metagross explained. "I'll let you have this copy."
Metagross left the paper to settle on the ground, prompting Nida to snatch it up and stuff it into the satchel on her shoulder. She breathed a sigh of relief, heartened that at the very least, the group wouldn't be flying blind on their search for a way back home.
"Thank you for that, Guildmaster," she murmured. "And we should really get going now."
The four took off for the guild's entrance, starting to pick up speed as they left the hall, when the sound of a yelp rang out from behind them.
"H-Huh?!" Milotic's voice cried out. "Where are you going?!"
Team Traveller slowed and looked back uneasily, turning to see Milotic and Serperior slithering up with wide-eyed shock. Undeterred by their sudden appearance, Elty stamped the ground impatiently, shooting a scowl up at the pair.
"Home," he snapped. "We found a lead, and the sooner we get to it the better!"
"B-But you just got here!" Serperior protested. "And what about that 'Company' and 'Empire' you said was chasing you around in your home?!"
The four Pokémon of Team Traveller paused and noticed that Team Captivate's duo seemed to be visibly unsettled by their departure. They thought back to when they'd first met the guild and remembered that Braviary mentioned that they'd been going through a hard time just before they came, which they'd forgotten about after how much the pair's mood had improved showing them around the town… and with the way they were reacting, it wasn't hard to guess that that had been the happiest the two had been in some time.
Their thoughts turned to Espeon and Umbreon, and how the two had mentioned that their fear was ultimately what put them down their path to working with Zero. It seemed like a silly, nonsensical comparison with how grimly they'd described the ravages of the Prism Virus, but… were they too about to hurt other Pokémon by letting their fear get the better of them?
No, the two would understand. They had to! Pleo meant a whole lot to Tromba and the Cradle back home, so they couldn't just risk him staying here if they knew there was such danger prowling around in the background! But even so… was there a way they could get their point across softly?
"It's just that, there's really important things for us at home. And the longer Pleo is away from it, the more likely it is that something will go terribly wrong," Nida explained. "… You understand, right?"
The Nidoran's words seemed to suck the air out of the room as Serperior and Milotic drooped their heads. The pair faltered a moment, fighting against freshly-lowered spirits to try and speak back. Much to Team Traveller's surprise, rather than the protest they expected, the pair seemed to agree with them… in the most technical sense of the word.
"I… I mean, I guess that I do," Milotic muttered.
"Yeah," Serperior murmured. "You've got your own troubles without us…"
Nida shifted uncomfortably at the pair's reaction, with Guardia and Elty tugging at her barbs and motion with their paws to leave while they could. From his place, Pleo fidgeted around, wondering if there was anything at all that they could do to not leave Team Captivate in such sorry spirits after the congeniality they'd shown them…
Wait a minute. Espeon and Umbreon had mentioned feeling abandoned by the Legendaries in this world, hadn't they? If so, then as scary as it was, there was a reason beyond the Prism Virus why they had to go back! Maybe… if he put things that way...
"I'm sorry that things had to happen like this. It's just that… we heard that some Pokémon here are feeling abandoned by their Protectors, and it made me worry…" Pleo began. "Not just about what they've been doing here, but that by being out here and focusing on keeping myself safe, that I'd be making the Pokémon counting on me feel abandoned as well."
At once, Milotic and Serperior jolted their heads up, looking back wide-eyed in surprise. The pair coiled and shifted uneasily, hastily raising their voices up in protest.
"H-Huh?!" Milotic exclaimed. "Abandoned?!"
"Is that what Espeon and Umbreon told you?" Serperior pressed. "Lugia, you shouldn't take that to-"
"I don't think your Legendaries abandoned you," Pleo insisted. "But… I don't think that Espeon and Umbreon are the only Pokémon that feel that way, and maybe they're not the only ones taking things into their own hands."
Pleo trailed off and shook his head before craning his head back up to the two serpents. It wasn't the thing that had first prompted him to want to leave, but the more he thought about it… about Espeon and Umbreon and what their hopelessness had driven them to do… the more he knew that he couldn't leave the Pokémon back in Tromba to go through something like that.
"And I don't want the Pokémon back home to get worried like that, especially when there's so much less world to go around for them."
Milotic and Serperior relaxed their bodies and let out reluctant sighs. For all his naiveté, they had to admit that he'd raised a very fair point.
"… I suppose that I can't argue with that," Serperior admitted. "I just wish that things didn't have to be this way…"
"Well," Pleo mulled. "Maybe there's something I can change…"
The young Lugia batted out a wing and gave it a stiff shake, letting a silvery feather flit to the ground. The seabird picked it up with his beak and set it in front of Team Captivate, before looking up at the two.
"Maybe I can leave a reminder that I'll be thinking about you," he said. "If I can do it, then I'm sure your own Protectors will be doing it as well!"
The pair stood looking down for a moment, prompting Milotic to crane down to take up the feather. The two Pokémon looked at it for a moment, before putting the feather away and looking back with a small smile.
"… Thank you, Pleo," Milotic answered. "And good luck getting home."
"If you run into trouble at all, just… don't be afraid to come back and stay a while?" Serperior offered. "It is better sometimes to know when to fold them and try again later."
"Right… we'll remember that," Nida replied. "Thanks again for taking us around you two. And I hope that everything that's been going on works out for you."
The four turned and began to carry off, waving back at Team Captivate's members. Nida and her companions watched as Milotic and Serperior waved back at them, before pressing onwards, no longer in their earlier agitated unease, but now with a quiet confidence as the group left the observatory for what they hoped would be a way back to their own world.
