Chapter 32 - The Voices in His Head, Pt. 2

Luan went straight ahead for two chambers, then he turned left. There was a rock that he didn't see and made him trip and roll down until he hit a wall. He got up, found an opening and then took a right and two other lefts.

Or was it straight for three chambers, then right, roll and two more rights?

What side did he roll to again?

The boy shivered. The deeper they went, the worse the cold was.

"Uhh. We are lost. Really, really lost. That is not good," Rev said, sending his sense of fear alongside with the telepathic words. "We can still go back. Let's turn around. It's not too late for us. Let's go back to Lulu."

Luan remained silent. He was fully aware of their situation, and didn't need to be told that he was terrified. And yet…

"I don't want to die alone, frozen in a dark cave."

"I wouldn't abandon you," Luan answered calmly as he stopped to look around. He could see nothing.

"I also don't want the two of us to die together, frozen in a dark cave," Rev insisted, still uneasy. "And you are angry at me."

The boy sighed.

Feeling tired, he felt around for a rock and sat down, slouching. Gently, he reached for his head and picked up the munna. Rev was still tightly clinging to his hair, as if he would lose his trainer if he let go.

Worry, fear, regret. Luan couldn't see Rev's eyes in the dark, but he could sense his starter's emotions as if they were his own.

Were those emotions his own?

"Rev…" the boy started, shaking himself back to the matter at hand. He wasn't good at this type of conversation, but there would be no point in bringing his hoothoot back if things stayed as they were. "You… You and Lulu know I don't want to be a type specialist, right? It was just coincidence my second pokémon was a psychic, too."

"I know," the munna said, making himself small in the boy's hands

"And you know I'll get other pokémon eventually, right? I tried capturing that sneasel the other day. A dark-type of all things."

The munna said nothing, but tried to fondle his trainer's arm with his trunk.

"It's just… I don't get why you and Lulu are so mean to Menace…" The boy stopped and looked around, thinking he heard something. Still, he could see nothing inside the darkness. "What you said before…" he paused and decided that some things shouldn't be said out loud. "You called her a beast… an abomination. Do you really think she is either of those things?"

Rev remained quiet for a moment, but eventually talked. "She is just a normal bird."

"Then I don't understand…" Luan said. "Why?"

"We are two and she is one… it's easy."

Luan kept quiet for a while. He felt his fingers numbing and his munna's fear growing. Still, Menace was in the forefront of his mind. "Can't you just try to be three instead?" he finally said, his voice no more than a whisper.

The darkness around them felt heavy, but a faint chirping sound resonated next to the boy. The room was not empty, and a glimmer of hope ignited in the boy's heart. After all, few things in caves chirp.

Hope lit ablaze as two red orbs shone in the dark. Their dim glow making the shadows a little less overwhelming. This was Foresight, somehow making the boy's inner ghosts easier to confront.

"Mena…?" Luan spoke cautiously, his gaze fixed on her round red eyes. They were sad and filled with doubt, but they were there. His hoothoot was there, perched on a rock by his side. "How can you be here?"

They had recklessly run into a dark maze. It would be too much luck to have ended up in the same place as his hoothoot did.

"She saw you running and got worried," Rev translated, begrudgingly but with some relief. "She was angry, but she is still your pokémon. She says…" the munna paused and rolled his trunk up, displeased. "She says good pokémon don't let their trainers get lost and frozen to death in creepy dark caves…"

"So you followed us…" Luan repeated, a small smile starting to dance on his lips. "You were right to be angry, Menace. And you are free to leave if… I want you to know I wouldn't trade you for anything in this world."

The hoothoot flew up close, blinked at him a few times and finally pecked her trainer, a little more gently than usual. Luan let out a squeak but gently let his forehead touch his bird's.

"Are… are we ok?" he asked carefully, watching as the owl pokémon perch herself on his shoulders. She let out a few more chirps, sounding more energetic, but also contemplative.

"She says we aren't… But we are a team, so we will figure this out in time," Rev translated. He floated by the hoothoot again, his trunk deflated and his eyes low. He let out a long "mu", and Menace nodded in response. There was no translation for this, but Luan felt he could breathe a little better.

With the munna back in his head and the hoothoot, with her eyes still lit up, in his shoulder, the boy stood up. Before he could leave, however, two shadowy figures walked into the cavern.

"What the hell is this red light?" a low, gruff voice said.

And Luan whimpered.

—*—*—

"What is a kid like you doing all alone in a cave like this?" the man spoke again. As he got closer to Mena's light, Luan could see that his appearance matched his voice. This man was big, towering above him. His broad shoulders alone were three times Luan's size. Running his hand through his dark hair, he let his strong square jaw click.

"I-I'm lost…" Luan squeaked, trying to look as harmless as he could. The second shadowy person approached, also stepping into the hoothoot's light. It was a boy, not much older than Luan. He had the clothes of a ranger and the eyes of a psychopath.

The trainer felt his body shake, and it was not from the cold this time. He took a deep breath and decided he couldn't afford to look, as Rey would put it, pathetic.

"Y-you are the…" Luan's voice faltered as he stared at the two men again. He didn't want to say anything wrong, so he took a moment to carefully consider his next words. "You are the new ranger, aren't you? My cousin… she said she met you… in the mayor's office."

Luan could feel both Rev and Menace were tense. Neither pokémon emitted a sound, telepathic or otherwise, but he could feel they were both ready to leap into battle.

Yet, as prepared as his team seemed to be, any attack here would certainly end in disaster.

"Your cousin?" the ranger lifted an eyebrow and exchanged a curious look with the larger man.

"She usually goes by Mia…" Luan said, trying to maintain his calm. "Though that's more of a nickname… She might have introduced herself as… huh?"

The ranger interrupted him with a loud, disturbing laugh. His eyes were full of venom. "I think I might remember a Mia," he hissed. "Tell me, are you alone, or is she around?"

Luan felt a tightness in his throat. "I got separated from my lunatone and my… my other friend, Rey."

The bigger man nodded and, with a grunt, turned back to the ranger. "This doesn't seem like a problem for us, Ryder. I'll get back to work. You go and make sure all children know to stay away from the cave."

Ryder huffed. "You are not in charge, Gozu," he snarled, but his words fell on deaf ears. Gozu had disappeared into the darkness, leaving Luan alone with the ranger. Ryder turned back to the boy, grumbling something, as he took a device from his belt. "Which way did you come from?"

Luan felt nervous as he looked around. The device on Ryder's hand beeped and turned on, its screen brighter than his hoothoot's eyes.

"I don't know… It was dark," Luan said quietly, but Menace poked his cheek with her beak and gestured to the path behind them. The boy nodded and, in turn, pointed towards the path. "I guess that is the direction we came from… I… If you can just show me the way to the exit, we will leave you alone."

"You seem nervous," the ranger said, with nothing but coldness in his voice. "Worried your friend got eaten by a mamoswine?"

A shiver ran down the boy's spine. There couldn't be mamoswine down here… right? "Rey knows the caves. He is probably out already."

Ryder let out a disturbing smile, which was made worse by the contrast between the cold blue light of his device and the red glow of Menace's eyes. He pressed a button and a map of the cave system showed up on the screen. The device was reminiscent of a PokéNav, but with many glaring differences. The map it was displaying looked extremely detailed at some points, but incomplete at others. Besides that, there were green and red dots moving around somewhat erratically.

Luan counted eighteen green dots and observed that whenever one of them approached an incomplete section of the map, additional information would fill in the missing area. The red dots were less active, with four of them clumped together in a single chamber and one located two chambers away.

The ranger zoomed in on the solitary red dot and adjusted the device further. An arrow appeared at the top of the screen, and Ryder nodded with satisfaction. Without saying a word, he moved in the direction the arrow was pointing, and Luan hurried to keep up, following closely behind.

Menace let out a low chirp and looked up at the munna.

"She is asking if we should really follow this man," Rev translated. His telepathic voice remained nothing but a whisper. "She thinks she could turn the glow of her eyes off, and we can make a run for it… It… It's not a bad idea."

Luan shook his head, attempting to convince himself as much as his pokémon. "He won't do anything," the boy thought. "Not to us… not if we behave."

The pair of humans turned a few corners, and soon Luan noticed the walls and rocks becoming visible. Though his fingers remained numb, he felt that even the cold improved as they moved on. Finally, they arrived at the same lake Luan had been to earlier in the day.

Outside the cave, Rey was pacing around and shouting at the lunatone. The silver-haired boy seemed to blame the pokémon for allowing Luan to run away. "Urgh. You took several minutes to scout ahead, and all you found was a few seel," he yelled. "Do you know what a headache it will be if your trainer ends up dying?"

Lulu's eyes flared up. For a moment Luan thought it was actually speaking to Rey, but as the pokémon crackled and moved toward him, he could sense his lunatone happiness and relief.

Strangely enough, the boy could swear that Rey looked relieved too. For about a second, at least. Then he resumed his yelling.

"What the hell were you thinking, running away like that? You are fucking stup-" Rey marched towards Luan, but he cut himself short when he noticed the ranger. He frowned and crossed his arms and huffed. "I hope you at least challenged him to a battle."

Luan's eyes bulged, and he tried opening his mouth to say something, but no words came out. His hopes that the ranger would laugh at such a silly idea and leave to focus on work vanished when Ryder smirked.

"Is that why you went to the cave?" he asked. "I wouldn't indulge usually, but I caught something new that I want to test."

Rey sneered. "Of course, you couldn't even challenge him yourself. Pa-thetic."

—*—*—

"Master Luan, I do not think it wise to engage in battling at this moment," Lulu said. "You are too nervous."

"Don't worry, Lulu, I can order you around if Luan fumbles," Rev barged in. "Or maybe all of us can be the hoothoot trainer?! That would be fun."

The lunatone hovered closer, crackling. "I can sense our master's intent. He wishes for victory. The beast cannot possibly—"

Rev blew his trunk, interrupting his teammate. "Ugh, you missed a whole thing. We are… being nicer to that… to Menace."

The moon-shaped rock hovered in silence for a moment. Its red eyes, said to bring your fears to life, peered into Luan's soul. "I do not understand this development."

Luan sighed. His hoothoot was still on his shoulder, but her gaze was glued to the ranger, who was waiting a few metres from them. "Are you two done?" the trainer asked, gesturing his team to come closer. "Ryder said he wanted to test something new he's caught. I'm betting on an ice-type from the caves. I think the only way for us to win is if we have some advantage, so I'm going with Lulu."

"This will be a one-on-one battle between trainer Luan and Ranger Ryder," Rey yelled, startling Luan. "And if the trainer keeps wasting time, he will be out of a referee."

"You are the one who dragged me into this," Luan grumbled, gesturing for his lunatone to move forward. Rev blew his trunk in support and Menace just tilted her head. The other trainer raised his eyebrows and shook his head before turning to Ryder.

"Are you ready?" Rey asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Rey, was it?" the ranger responded, picking up a pokéball from his belt. "Do you know the caves well?"

The silver-haired trainer frowned in surprise. "Shouldn't you be focusing on the battle?"

Ryder laughed and released his pokémon. A part of Luan felt relief that it wasn't a mamoswine. The rest of him swore as he watched a sneasel materialise. "Shit, it's a dark-type…"

Rey glanced at the ranger's pokémon and at Luan's panicking face and chuckled before he turned to the ranger again. "I know the caves well enough. Most pokémon inside are weak water and ice-types, though, so I never bother going in too deep." He gestured to the battle impatiently. "Shall we focus on the matter at hand?"

On the battlefield, the sneasel looked ready. It was snarling, its razor-sharp claws glinting and clicking, and the feather on its right ear quivering with anticipation. This was not the sneasel Luan had encountered before, and something told him this one was a lot more vicious.

Ryder smiled, and Rey made a vague gesture for the battle to begin. Strangely, neither trainer made a sound. The ranger simply bobbed his head, and the sneasel launched itself towards Lulu, who floated up, lifted by its psychic energy.

"You won't be able to out-speed it, but I think we should setup," Luan sent loud thoughts toward his pokémon. The advantage of training psychics was never revealing their moves. Keeping opponents guessing was the one thing the boy knew he was good at. "Fly up where it won't reach you, then Harden followed by Rock Polish."

The sneasel missed its first move, and the lunatone emitted a satisfying cracking sound. It couldn't fly as high as a bird, but a few metres above ground was enough to stay out of the dark-type's range. Once in a comfortable position, the surface of Lulu's body clanked, and the pokémon shed a few pebbles. The rock became smooth and gleamed in the light.

"Keep attacking," Ryder vaguely said, but he continued to focus on his conversation with Rey. "So I suppose you don't know where the lapras' nest is?"

Luan glanced at the ranger, momentarily distracted by their conversation.

"I have no idea," Rey shrugged. "Lorelei only told mother, and they don't share the secrets of the caves to anyone else, not even me."

Ryder frowned. "Mother…?" he asked before shaking his head. "So, the caves have other secrets? I was told it was unusual to have lapras migrating here. They should go west towards the Orange Islands."

"Master, the ice shards," Lulu's voice snapped Luan's attention back to the battle. The sneasel had conjured large chunks of ice and was hurling them at the opposing rock-type. The lunatone nimbly dodged a few, and the ones that made contact didn't seem to cause much damage. "May I suggest countering with rocks?"

Luan smiled. "You read my mind. Use Rock Slide!" he commanded through his thoughts. "And keep going as long as you can."

"Mother doesn't share, and I don't particularly care," Luan overheard Rey's comment.

On the battlefield, the lunatone descended closer to the ground, and a wave of energy washed over the area, causing the surrounding rocks to rattle like popping corn. A larger boulder formed, and Lulu wasted no time in lunging it toward the sneasel.

"Don't dodge, destroy," Ryder said, somehow paying attention to both the battle and his conversation simultaneously. He then frowned at Rey, clearly displeased with the lack of information he could provide.

The sneasel hissed and wasted no time. Swiftly, it tore through every rock the lunatone threw, as if they were made of butter. The dark-type was fierce, but as more boulders were hurled toward it, the sneasel grew annoyed. Perhaps it was time for Luan to switch things up.

"Psyshock," he instructed Lulu. "Throw off its rhythm, then follow up with another Rock Throw."

"Yeah! Show them we're not afraid of the dark," Rev chimed in, cheering for his psychic friend. "And uh… Menace is telling you to attack from above."

Lulu made a clicking sound at the mention of the hoothoot and didn't bother flying up. It hovered back instead and unleashed a large wave of psychic energy towards the opponent. While it didn't inflict significant damage, it caused the sneasel to pause in confusion. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the lunatone swiftly threw another rock, knocking the sneasel back and closer to the ranger.

Ryder clicked his tongue. "Pull yourself together and finish this quickly. Aim for the lunatone's core."

The sneasel's eyes glinted, and it sprang from the ground, launching itself toward the lunatone in an instant. Lulu threw another rock, but the dark-type didn't even bother with cutting this time. It got on top of it instead, using the rock as a platform to reach Lulu.

The lunatone couldn't ascend high enough in time.

There was a swooshing sound, followed by a metallic click and a clack. A disturbing screech filled the area, followed by a loud thump. In the end, Lulu laid down in a small crater, its core cracked and its eyes dimmed.

Luan sighed, feeling his mind a little more empty. Menace awkwardly tapped her wing against her trainer's head, while Rev shared his disappointment that the psychic move hadn't been enough.

"Win some, lose some," Luan told his pokémon as he recalled Lulu. He smiled weakly at his pokéball. "You did good."

Rey snorted. "The battle goes to Ranger Ryder. Obviously…"

Barely acknowledging Luan, the ranger recalled his sneasel without a word and turned once more towards Rey, now fully focused on him. "So, in short, you know nothing about the cave?"

Rey shrugged. "Like I said, what is the point?" He ran his hands through his hair and let out a charming smile. "Look, I rebelled against ice types when I was a kid. There is no—"

Ryder interrupted him with a high-pitched laugh. "That is cute," he said, and Luan could see the ranger was getting under Rey's skin. "Let me guess. You are a real badass. The bad-boy rebel everyone thinks is just the grea-test."

Rey groaned, sounding just like his mother.

"There is a big bad secret in the cave, but Mister Sunshine can't be bothered because it doesn't revolve around him?" The ranger continued, too amused to stop. Rey was huffing with anger, and Luan tried to reach him, but the boy just brushed his hand away.

"Where the fuck did all that come from?" Rey hissed. "You don't know me."

"There are plenty of you where I come from," Ryder said with a snort. "Assholes who think they are special. You… you are unoriginal. Pathetic."

Rey gritted his teeth. "Rattling me so I spill out some big secret? And you call me unoriginal? Please. At least I'm not plain stupid."

Ryder raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, still smirking. "Is that so?"

"I don't know about any secret. But at least I can see what is right on my face." Rey forced out a laugh. "I mean, don't you think it's strange that it got far too cold suddenly?"

The ranger glanced at the cave. "The cold on this island comes from the pokémon inside… what are you suggesting exactly?"

The silver-haired boy smirked. "I dunno. Maybe some swinub hatched."

An uncomfortable silence fell among the three boys, and Ryder simply scoffed before turning around and leaving without a word. Luan could sense that his pokémon were relieved the ranger was gone, even though he still felt uneasy.

"What is in the cave, Rey?" Luan asked carefully, hoping not to trigger the boy any further.

"Mother never told me, no matter how much I asked," Rey answered, sounding resigned. "All I know is this." He motioned towards the sky. "Every festival season, it's the same. There is a freaky storm, and after it clears, the temperature keeps dropping for a few more days. Then there's some light snow, and eventually, a big snowstorm hits. After that, everything goes back to normal."

"You think it's because of a pokémon?"

Rey shrugged. "If it is, it's a hell of a strong one." He looked at the sky for a moment longer and then turned back to Luan. "Come on, let's find you a trainer that you can actually challenge to a battle… and maybe win."

Luan glanced in silence at his pokémon for a moment. Menace peered into his eyes, and Rev gazed into his mind. Finally, the boy turned around to see the icy darkness into which Ranger Ryder disappeared.

His heart pounded in his chest.

Something told him this wouldn't be the last he'd see of the Icefall Cave.

A/N:

Part 2 of Luan's chapter is here! Hope you guys enjoyed a glimpse of him and his team. He still has a lot of problems, but things are slowly getting better between his pokémon. :)

NEXT CHAPTER - The Snowflake Cup: Final Round