As things happened, I knew every detail would be sponged up by my memory. Those moments feel different. Methodical. Like you're a rat in a maze and photographic memory is the one key to survival.
Kieran was in front, flying around twenty meters ahead. He was near the start of a gorge, where the walking trail tapered into a thinner path against the wall. Above him, a cliff. On top, a boulder.
Directly below that was a floor made of brittle calcite.
The big rock on top turned a bright copper colour before my very eyes. I blinked and reeled back on instinct. Now, if I'd seen this exact colour back on Earth, I would've said it was some dull muddy brown, but to my Absol eyes who'd only ever seen black, white, and gray in the waking world... it was unmistakably out of place and jarring.
My pulse had quickened and my fur bristled from the sight, and I didn't know why.
My horn. My scythe. I somehow knew it was perceiving this, whatever it was. It let this colour through for me to notice.
"Stop!" I ordered.
Kieran swivelled back around. For once, I think he took me seriously. As soon as he'd backed away from the cliff face, a series of snaps and crumbling sounds grew into a cacophony. The Beedrill zoomed back toward us and narrowly avoided a shower of gravel, all stones small but sharp. He'd landed just in time to watch that huge copper-coloured boulder plummet into the ravine path.
Krrrrack!
I felt that impact through my feet all the way to my neck, where white fur still stood up from goosebumps. The stone was gone as fast as it had come, bouncing off the ledge with pieces of the pathway plunging into the depths with it.
A sigh ripped through my lungs. Oh my God. Oh, my God. The dreams were becoming real.
Well, no, they already were, weren't they? "Becoming real?" What was happening here was added fanfare. An extra warning. Which meant I'd be the worst for not owning up to it. I racked my brain for any memory of colour in the volcano. Nothing. All that met my mind's eye was a mix of light grays and white crackling at the end of a Charizard's scaly tail.
"Uh… thanks," Kieran said, breath ragged.
"You owe me one," I wanted to answer flippantly. But my lips weren't moving, and my brain was still mush and my legs were shaking—
Next thing I knew, we were suddenly back in the second cave. I found out I was lying on my side, though I'd been standing a few seconds before and hadn't noticed myself falling. The walls surrounding me were cold but firm, and my head was set lying on a backpack.
"Um—" I coughed. My throat was hoarse, like I'd just woken up.
A couple hushed gasps were passed around me. My eyes finally focused on the five other Pokémon in the room.
Gab flew over. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, uh, just a little disoriented is all."
Micheal's body was facing the cave opening, but his head had swivelled back to look inside.
"You passed out," he said. His ears were drooping. Crap, he was really concerned. Had I looked that bad?
"And we came back here?" I gestured to the cave with a nod of the head. I suddenly noticed the pitter-patter of raindrops on the outside wall. A quick glance outside, and I'd confirmed the wind wasn't bringing the rain inside the cave. My breath hitched.
"It's raining," Kieran stated, as if to further twist that guilty knife in. He sat in a dark corner opposite the opening. "We weren't going to leave you out there."
Thud. Valérie plopped down next to me. I could only avoid eye contact for so long.
"So," she began, "what was that."
It was less of a question and more of a command. The Meditite wasn't being antagonistic, just blunt. Argh, would everyone just stop with the pity game?
"I really meant to figure it out more before I said anything," I confessed. On my side, Gab let her ears droop and fidgeted with her hands, her Emolga eyes as big as the sun. If mine weren't dry as hell, they'd be welling up with biblical amounts of water.
No! I'm a big, strong girl!
I just spilled the beans at that point. I wasn't going to get any more sleep today, so what was the use of delaying something right as my energy was dwindling? Stern Lola could take this. Crybaby Lola could die in a hole.
I told them everything; every vision that had come true so far; every time I could only realize what I'd seen after it had already happened. I even spoke a little about the night before. By the end of it, I didn't even have the energy to emote. I was giving a report with military precision and military empathy.
Words were falling out, tumbled like smooth agates. To be tumbled, agates were roughed up and chewed out by gritty gravel, spinning in cold, cold water. Sometimes, for things to be polished and fragile, the polishing was the painful part. The turmoil of the tumbler was camouflaged by smooth, relaxed words.
Gab put her hand on my leg, then leaned on it. A monochrome Emolga helped reassure my trust. No colours, no danger. Just a friend. My good friend Gab.
"Okay, so… we gotta come clean about something," Kieran sighed. Chloe nodded, gaze boring into the floor.
I'm sorry, what? I didn't expect something like that at all. Valérie was the only other one with psychic powers and I was certain she would've yelled it from the rooftops the second she could use them. What the hell did Kieran and Chloe have to confess? Well, uh, my mind ran wild off of romance stories I'd written in a time long past.
Are they dating? Are they dating are they dating are they—
"We had a vision too," Chloe blurted out.
WHAT?!
If I'd had any energy, I would've been more than just surprised. I'd have been furious. Hypocritical, yes, but oh my God, what—
Then, Chloe and Kieran spun the wildest yarn they could to spite me personally. It turned out that, in the second level, barely a week into this hell road trip, they'd decided to make problems for everyone. And by problems, I mean exactly what I was doing but, like… really bad, because someone else did it. I could joke all I wanted about those two stealing my thunder, yet they pulled through at a perfect time for everyone to be angry at them instead of me.
Gab was barking at their throats. If anything, she was vocal when she felt betrayed. This was a milder betrayal, but it still spurred her into ranting. "What do you mean, you saw someone dissolve?! You didn't say anything? Nada? Zilch?"
"We thought it was a thoughtcrime!" Chloe retorted. "Something that would be bad to know or think about."
Micheal shook his head. "But you didn't tell us about someone talking to you telepathically at random."
Kieran cringed. "That was a one-off! Maybe an automatic cutscene! I'm not hiding anythi—"
"I'm not saying that!" Micheal groaned. "I believe you! But do you really think not mentioning that happening was the correct course of action?!"
You could hear a pin drop. Valérie whistled. "It has been a while. I think you're in the clear," she sighed at Kieran.
"Yeah…" Kieran sat down, antennae lowering. "Good to know."
I coughed. Even though I was exhausted, warmth had returned to my extremities. I felt like I was solid again. Unfortunately, as the resident expert on horrible visions, I had something constructive to add.
"We're on, uh… commandment seven. Let's make it a good one," I suggested. "We tell each other about weird, cryptic crap before it becomes dangerous, non-avoidable crap."
"Yes," Gab nodded, the words barely having come out of my mouth.
There were no groans or muffled laughs, just sincere agreement. How dare they? I was the funny one. I couldn't have problems and have people feel bad for me. That look Micheal had given me when I woke up… that would haunt me for a while.
"What's thoughtcrime, by the way?" Kieran nudged Chloe.
"I just said what it is, like, two minutes ago," the Swablu replied flatly.
Valérie wheezed out a laugh.
"I can't believe you've failed at the 1984 presentation again," she cackled despite trying her hardest to stay stone-faced.
Yeah, yeah, two and two make five, and all that. Ugh. I'd read that brick for school too, but barely remembered anything. I didn't care about weird states of mind anymore. I wanted sure footing.
One glance at my classmates, and I knew they had tangibly become something closer. Micheal, for all his dissociating, was a hell of a lot more open about his pushover feelings. Kieran was fine being corrected now— sometimes. Gab said everything by leaning on me, trusting me to not let her fall. Valérie had emotions other than loud anger. Chloe was everyone's little sister, with every loyalty that came with the role.
I chewed at my cheek. I felt awful. I hated the worry directed at me. I hated that I made anyone feel that. It was a fearful, sorrowful hate, something that made an entire torso ache from within. I wanted to sleep, to rest… but I was afraid to disappoint.
"Um. As long as we're talking about this…"Chloe started, her tone quieter. "I think I had another one. In the Water level. A vision, I mean." Her feathers shrank around her body.
Kieran's brow furrowed in confusion. "What."
"It felt the same," she asserted. "There was no actual vision, but I heard a voice. Whoever that was, they said to stick together."
Micheal coughed. "I think we've got that one covered too."
Inevitably, we called that a day.
When I'd fallen asleep again, I let myself sink into the dark. I didn't want to see the visions tonight. I wanted, like, one night where I didn't have to pay attention.
Soon, the empty void faded away into a fine mist, the infinite droplets casting and catching light, twisting and turning upon themselves. I could see the particles making up images of deadly futures.
Those dreamy mists scared me, and I caught myself changing my mind about investigating them. Cowardly, I know.
I don't want to be here! I don't want to know! I want out!
The scythe sense didn't help me move much this time. I could feel the pressure put on each image to make them a perfect, glimmering disaster. Those pressures… outside influences, maybe? Different timelines? Levels floating in space? I'd saved Kieran. This meant that the future could be changed. Something with time and multiverses was warping it all in a way I did not want to deal with. However, my sense of duty reemerged. They weren't future horrors anymore— they were a bunch of diamond warning signs.
I exhaled through my nose and steadied my own body on a self-made floor. Sure footing, check. I let my scythe do the work, and my eyes absorbed the current picture.
Fire thrown at a friend. For a split second, I saw a dense beam of flames aimed at a crumbling form, ruthlessly burning it to nothing. It was still very blurry, fast, and it felt far off in the future. But I'd seen it this time. I made a mental note of it and commanded the image to change.
Next, dense rocks were throwing themselves at an unknown target. This time, the flash was a bit longer, and I noticed the fossil patterns on their surface, as well as a purple aura foaming around them. I couldn't be sure it was an attack, but it looked like it.
Then, it turned into today. The bright copper boulder paled in front of the blue sky and frankly beautiful smorgasbord of hues on the mountain walls. What got me, though, was the way the vision showed me my friends. They were full of bright, saturated colours. Micheal had orange and beige on him, Gab had yellow (plus some tawny greens on her backpack), Chloe and Valérie were different shades of blues, and so on. I was wondering where Kieran was when I saw myself shouting at him to dodge. The Beedrill zoomed to where I was now, a blur of yellow, black, light blue, and huge red eyes. The magic mirror showed everything way bigger than it really was, and it was shoving six headache-inducing, terrifyingly vibrant Pokémon into my face. Too much danger warning at once. Terror took hold. My breath caught in my throat. A threshold somewhere got crossed, and I panicked.
I howled an ear-splitting cry. Everything went blank. My scythe was buzzing with anticipation. Something was coming. The wind was blowing, waiting for me.
I was… out. I—
̴̢̪̩͓̯͖͇̪̱̃ͅ*̷̨̨̧̧͇̺͓̝̘͈̮̠͕̳̩́͗͋̐̚͝ͅ*̸̗͎̭̳̩̥͎̫̼̹̩̳̜͈̄̃͊̽̉̒̏̎̆̈́̿̎͊̕͜͝*̴̩̝͉̰̘̩̿͑
— I… I can feel the wind rushing in my ears. I'm not in that void anymore, but I'm falling again. Everything is blinding white, brimming with colourful crystals. Those aren't the droplets I'm used to. I do not belong where I ended up. I'm outside of the void I know, and I am not the master of this dimension.
Looming light-years forward, a figure I can't make out controls it all. With every twitch and turn, the giant sends the colours out, each at different speeds. Everything is loud. The air is bright and shiny, and I'm terrified. I yell for it to stop and don't hear my voice.
̷̘̞̼̪̹̠̙̬̌̂̏̎̎̌̃͠I̴̬͕̼̙͙͈̔̀͗t̵̡̙͉̝̼͂͒̆̊͜ͅ ̸̛͈͇̈́̅̈l̵̬̲̘̊̋̈́̋̃ơ̴̛̰̠͓̦͍̙̠̦̎̀̿̉o̵̤̮̤͈͕̙͆̃̃͊͝k̶̨̼͈̙̳̗̭͂̓͆̐̾̿͝͠š̸̘̗͋̏ ̵̬̯̱̭̩̘͇͌̑̓̉̀́̏̉ạ̶͙͔̪̰̱̅͝ť̴̢̳̝̺̲͕́̓͜ ̵̠̱̰̪̍m̸̜̘͉͍͕͖̈́̊̆͊̽͝e̷̠̖͒͝͝,̶͖̩͂͌̋̍͂͋̑́ ̵̡̡̖̙̝͕̀̎̓̋̈̕͜͝a̷̩͎̹̩͍̘̜͕͌͒͋͝n̴̜̝̰̬͐̆n̷̛͚̲̺̯͊͆̉̇͌͗̓ö̷̺̦̳͕̙̙̻́̿̏͛̍̉̓̕ͅȳ̵̡͓̥̖̻͚̖̌͒̽͜͝e̵͍͔̎d̵͔̙̞̥̠̩͙͋͐́̑̍̕͝ ̵̨̥͖̭̊̀̅̕̕a̵̧̡̞͓̖͕̤͍̓̾̆̏̎͝n̶̺͔̪͗̆̂̚d̴͚͍̺̪̘̘̱͚̎̅͐͊͘͠͝ ̶̡͉͌̐c̸̘̲̟͑̀͝͝ȍ̶̧̺̥̘̻͔̭̚ņ̸̡͓̤͉̞̯̎͒f̶͎̯̣͖͛̌̐ú̷̧͔͙̜̼̫̘͠s̶͈̱̬͉͍̯͉̐͛̌̓̏̚̚͝ͅę̴͉̯̣̣͉͍͗̂͆̏̓͝d̵̩̝̂̒̋̏̃͊̓.̷͛̒͂̑̾̈͜͠
I woke up on my side, and I did not know what to make of… that. All I knew is that it was over. Was it real, or just a nightmare? I couldn't begin to decipher that just yet. I coughed. To say that sucked was a gross understatement.
I heaved a sigh, and saw Micheal perk up. He wasn't the only other person awake, but apparently he'd been staring at me. Everyone else was talking amongst themselves around a small berry pile. They'd let me sleep in. Ugh! I sent him a glare, and he glanced away. He looked far more manageable now that he was back to black and white.
"It was a stress dream," I declared, my voice horribly hoarse. Hey, it wasn't lying! I didn't know for sure what the hell had just happened, so I didn't know the negative either.
"You… sure?" Micheal mumbled, still not looking me in the eye. "We were going to hold off on walking for a little. You know, stay here and let things calm do—"
"I want to walk," I growled. "I've told you everything. I swear. I'm good."
That got the attention of Gab, Kieran, and Chloe. Valérie was actually already strolling towards us with two Oran berries. She plopped them both down in front of me and crossed her arms.
"Merry breakfast," the Meditite said gruffly, and I remembered we were in the middle of December. "You did too see something."
A food bribe was almost enough for me to overlook rude comments. Almost. "I literally do not freaking know what to make of this one."
"You were tossing and turning. Spill."
Chloe landed on Valérie's stupid onion head, making her cringe in surprise. "Lola doesn't want to give us the wrong info!" Chloe scolded. She glowered at Valérie with all the threatening aura of a puppy with sunglasses.
"Fair," Valérie relented. Huh. Were they… trusting me?
I'd be eyeing everyone for a while. They must've had a secret meeting while I was sleeping or something. I gingerly took a bite out of my first Oran berry. Micheal did not look interested in the food whatsoever, so I assumed they were both for me. It was sweet, sour, and even that one bite relieved that nagging hole in my stomach. I was still hungry, but it was crazy how much of a difference a bit of food made for my comfort levels.
As I munched, Kieran was the last one to walk over. "We good to go, then?" He yawned.
"In a bit," I said. When I closed my eyes, I could imagine eating a nice PB&J from home instead.
The last of my breakfast done, we weren't slow to set out. I shook out my fur when we were outside. Kieran had gone ahead to scout a bit earlier and revealed that the top of the mountain wasn't far off. It was flat, he'd said, so it was likely a battle arena. I took a deep breath, the dry air itching at my lungs. The sky was darker than I'd expected, so it wasn't like the squad had let me sleep in that long. There were even a few stars still around. I was overthinking things. But now, it was getting sappy because I was not going to be grateful about people respecting my boundaries!
Quick, Lola! Think about knives, and skeletons, and cults! Anything but this, girl— anything.
"Morning," Gab greeted from behind. She landed on my shoulder blades, and I could tell by her weight that the backpack was on and equipped. "Mind if I hitch a ride?"
"Like I could say no," I rolled my eyes. "You're not getting secret intel by hanging out, though, I'm telling you now. I was not lying about not knowing what the hell that was. It could've been a legit night terror, man."
"Hey, I know a thing or two about not wanting to share," she admitted. Now she was stretching and I heard tiny cracks from her spine. "I might've overstepped. I-I don't know what I was getting at—"
"The pep talk? Yo, that's fine. I'm just keeping us on the same page."
I wouldn't gain anything from reassuring her. The future radar would not work faster. She wouldn't feel safer, nor would I. But I wanted her to know what I knew, and know who I was in all this. I wanted to feel seen. Gab shuffled on my back, getting into a more comfortable sitting position and leaning against the back of my neck.
"If things start making sense when we get there, I'll blab," I told her. "For now, please let me wake up."
She nodded, and I knew she'd trust me with her life.