Chapter 46 – Weapon

"Is he still sulking?" Jerry said.

"Looks like it," Star said.

Owen paced through Hot Spot Cave's main road, waiting for everybody else to settle in and discuss their next steps. Enet was bathing with Gahi and Amia in the cave's nearby hot springs—courtesy of Zena and Amia combining their abilities—washing off the stench of Ghrelle and Ano's poisoned swamp. Enet, in particular, was desperate to get it out of her fur. Rhys and Elder had retreated to Rhys' home again to relax together. The rest were milling about, decompressing after their successful or failed Guardian recovery attempts, followed by witnessing Owen get his throat slashed by an outlaw.

The current talk seemed to be checking up on Anam, and sending Jerry over to Kilo Village again. While Jerry wasn't looking forward to it, he also didn't protest it outright. The way they talked, perhaps Anam was merciful enough to give him another chance, foolish as it may be. If someone wronged him in that way, he wouldn't have trusted that person for the rest of his life. It seemed like Jerry was still searching for an escape route, however. With so many around—particularly with Star right next to him—it wasn't easy.

Owen stopped walking and turned, following the same path in reverse with his head down. He was running the battle through his head over and over, looking for ways that he could have improved, scenarios where he wouldn't have lost. There was also a pit of guilt in his stomach for looking down at Jerry, but also apprehension. Why should he have thought so highly of him in the first place? He was an outlaw! He was the sort of person Owen was assigned to take down.

"Bahh, what's his deal?" Jerry rubbed a wing on his forehead. "One loss and he's bluer than a Mudkip's rump."

"Well, it was a bit of a beatdown," Star said. "What, he only landed one hit on you, right?"

"Hmph." The victorious Aerodactyl gave a noncommittal shrug. "Look, I fought, and I won, so there's no reason he should be mad at me for doing what I was asked to do. What, unless he wanted me to lose?"

"That's kinda the point of fighting, but, I see what you mean."

Jerry glanced to his right. Near the central square, Mispy, Gahi, and Demitri were watching Owen pace. Whenever he met eyes with Gahi or Mispy, the glare they gave him nearly caused paralysis.

He flinched, deciding not to look at them for too long. "What's their story, anyway?"

"Genetic weapons meant to fuse together, but the fusing part broke them the first time, so we're gonna be more careful about it," Star said. "It's kinda a long story."

"You don't say." He rolled his eyes. "So, Vines is their healer?"

"Pretty much. Demitri, the Haxorus, he's most of their offense. Gahi, the Flygon, he's their speed. And Owen ties it all together with, uh, I guess they call it his Perception ability."

"Perception? You mean how he doesn't need to see to see what's going on around him?"

"Yeah," Star said. "Something about expanding his aura to inhabit the world immediately around him. Pretty crazy stuff. Apparently, it's something like seeing in three dimensions."

Jerry eyed the moping Charizard. "It also slows him down. I think I figured out how to put him in a trance by just breaking rocks in the sky. His eyes were going all over the place."

"Yeah, Owen isn't used to his powers. It's been almost half a millennium of re-living being a Charmander over and over again. He'll need time for all those memories to reassemble, even if he thinks he remembers it all. He doesn't. It's just too much to absorb."

Jerry nodded. "And if they fuse together, they'll get all their powers in one fighter?"

"In theory," Star said. "But in practice, there's some tradeoff. Gahi and Owen fused together won't be as fast as Gahi alone. Still fast, though."

"Who designed 'em?" Jerry asked. "You said they were genetic, eh, whatsits. So that means they were created?" He flapped his wings in protest. "Why am I even bothering, at this point? Between the quartet of freaks, the immortal nutcases, and literally God in front of me, I'm starting to think this is just a dream from starvation, and I'm halfway rotting in the swamp."

Star sighed, rubbing her forehead. "…Actually, yeah. How come I'm telling you this? I'm gonna have to wipe your memory of the past day, I think. This stuff isn't supposed to get out."

"N-no way, I don't wanna forget pounding that guy into the ground!" Jerry waved his wing toward Owen. "I won't tell anyone! Okay? Just let me keep this one."

Star hummed pensively.

Jerry stood there in a tense silence, suddenly realizing that Star hadn't been kidding. She really would try to wipe his memories. "I—I don't want to forget what you told me, either," Jerry added. "About Mom, and…"

"Had to pull that one on me, huh?" Star groaned, tail drooping to the floor. She rubbed her paws on her face, scratching her eyelids. "Fine. But you aren't telling anyone, got it? Otherwise, I'll hunt you down and wipe it all away. I'll replace it with humiliating memories, too, like, uh… I dunno. I'll think of something. Getting beaten by a Pachirisu in the final round of a tournament, maybe."

"Deal," Jerry said, folding his wings to his side again. "Alright, well, I guess if that's the case, I think I'm just gonna bail."

"Uh—wait, don't you still need to serve time? You know, being an outlaw and all that."

"Whaaat, you're still on about that? C'mon, isn't melting and almost getting absorbed into some crazy Altaria's muck enough punishment?" Jerry continued walking; by now, he was getting the attention of the others in town, and his pace quickened.

"You're still wanted for fleeing your sentencing," Star pointed out, raising her voice when he got further away. That drew the attention of the rest; it looked like Gahi in particular was about to give chase. "You don't want to make your Mom sad, do you?"

Jerry stopped instantly. For five seconds, he didn't move. The crowd that had gathered held still, too. Then, he turned around. "Don't you dare. That's low."

"That's true," Star countered firmly.

Owen broke out of his thoughts to watch. He could sense the flare of the Aerodactyl's aura, briefly wondering if this was what Rhys and Mispy had felt all the time. Jerry's face was twisted into some strange mixture of—Owen didn't even know what. Anger? Sadness? Both? All of it?

But something more worrying came up. Jerry's feet were starting to look a bit purple.

"Uh—!" Mispy said, and abruptly brought a vine toward Jerry.

He reflexively jumped away. "Get away from me!" he hissed. "I don't need—"

He fell back when he lost his footing—and his feet. He hit the ground hard and grunted. "Wh-what's happening?! N-no! I thought I was—!"

Mispy's vines extended across the rocky cavern and grabbed Owen. The Charizard yelped when he was pulled all the way to Mispy, plunged into her body. Seconds passed—by now, Jerry was missing his legs. Omi, the fusion of Owen and Mispy, opened her eyes and wrapped her vines around Jerry. His feet returned and he, shaken, stood up.

"Hmm," Star said. "Maybe we should take you to Emily after all. Omi's power can only reverse the effects, not remove the condition completely. Too bad. I guess we can fly you over to her instead."

"Wh-what'll happen if I melt completely? I just—die?" Jerry asked.

"At best," Star replied. "You could also just be stuck like that until Ghrelle gets you. Or maybe your aura just gets claimed by her? I dunno. See, here's the thing: auras that get caught up in Ghrelle's power don't go through the aura sea. Hecto never finds them."

Jerry gulped and held a claw tightly around his scarf. "Guess I'm a Mew worshipper now."

"Yeah, I don't want that," Star muttered.

"Can you teleport us to Emily? Our Badges aren't charged yet," Omi said.

"No can do, bud," Star sighed. "Thing is, the way I'm summoned right now, I'm kinda powerless. I'd only be able to teleport myself at best. And then, being so far away from my summoner, I'd probably evaporate in seconds. You'll have to get to her on foot—uh, or by wing."

"By wing, huh," Jerry said. "I'm not gonna fly if I might melt halfway there."

"Maybe if I…" Omi grabbed the Pecha Scarf still wrapped around Jerry's neck and focused on it again. Star tilted her head curiously.

"Huh, that reminds me," Star said, "kinda surprised you figured out this technique."

"What's it called?" Omi asked. "I—um, Owen tried to do something—anything—to save Jerry, so… he thought a Pecha Scarf would counter the poison."

"Well, that's one way to approach it," Star said. "Actually, what really happened here is that Owen sorta… blessed that Scarf to have a different effect."

"Blessed," Omi repeated. "Like what Anam does?"

"Yeah! I mean, all special Scarves are blessed. Pecha Scarves naturally ward off poison, blessed Orans are way more effective at patching up the body—oh, and let's not forget the Revivers, especially the full-sized ones… It's not rocket sci—I mean, it's not too complicated. Owen just made his own custom scarf with the power of his Mystic energy. Probably something like a, I dunno, something that can maintain your form? Hang on, gimme that for a second." Star floated over and grabbed the scarf.

Jerry possessively pressed his wing on it, pinning it on his neck. Star rolled her eyes and inspected it without touching.

"…Yeah… yeah, y'know, it seems like this thing is some sort of Mystic version of a Heal Seed now. Nifty! I'm gonna call it… a Stable Scarf!"

"You're not a very creative god, are you?" Jerry asked.

"H-hey, I'm totally creative! I made, like, almost all the regular Pokémon species!"

"Over how much time?" Jerry asked. "Figure you had eons to come up with ideas."

"W-well, l-let's see you come up with something from nothing," Star puffed her cheeks. She shoved Jerry harmlessly and turned to Omi. "Good thinking, Owen. As long as Jerry wears that scarf, he'll be okay. You guys and a small team should go to Emily and heal him up. Maybe she can purify his aura of Ghrelle's influence. While you guys do that, maybe make a quick stop at Nate's place."

"Nate?" Omi asked.

"The Dark Guardian. Maybe we can win him over? To be honest, he's another one that I don't really keep in contact with all that much. He's kinda creepy, and didn't align with me explicitly, either. So, I don't really know where his head's at. And it's on the way there, if you take the southern way to Em's place. Then, the rest of us can go to Kilo Village to see how everything's going there."

"Sounds like a good plan to me!" Omi said.

"Good. Then let's not waste any time. Let's divide up!"

The largest group flew toward the south with the intention of passing over the Chasm of the Void on the way to Emily's. The trip, by wing, would take them the rest of the day, and they'd only be able to get back home before sunrise if they used their charged Badges from Emily's cave.

The ones that could fly easily went on this trip, leaving the ground-bound individuals—Mispy, Demitri, Elder, and Rhys, who refused to leave Elder's side—headed to Kilo Village on foot from Hot Spot Cave, intending to use the public Waypoint instead. Accompanying the Hunters and their two students were Valle, Enet, ADAM, Willow, and Step, some of whom were curious about what this village would be like.

Demitri rode on Mispy's back, absentmindedly playing with one of the petals around her neck. Mispy wrapped a few vines around Demitri and anchored him against her back while they walked, eliciting a chuckle from Elder.

"Rhys, why don't you ride atop my back as well?"

"E-Elder, are you… are you sure?"

"Well, it would be just like old times, would it not?" he replied. "Oho, I saw that glow in your eye, Rhys. I do not mind."

Step puffed out an irritable, frosty breath. "The Torkoal walks slowly. At the rate we are going, we will get to town in two days."

"A-ah, I have always been… a bit slow."

"It won't be that long," Rhys said. "There is a Waypoint that we can take that is public to all."

"Waypoint. Hm. Of course; there is one this nearby?"

"Yes; this isn't a very well-traveled road, but it helped that Nevren installed one for here anyway for Amia and Owen's sake."

The icy Aggron seemed convinced by this, but then asked, "I'm curious on how such a technology came about."

"Nevren invented them, actually," Elder said, "with the combination of Anam's work a long time ago. He seems quite talented with warp technology in particular, simply imbuing a bit of his power into the Waypoints to get them working. Wonderful technology; perhaps it has to do with his Teleport technique."

Rhys continued for Elder, "You may be surprised to learn this, but many of these items simply didn't exist. It wasn't until Anam learned how to enchant and 'bless,' as it's called, certain things that the Dungeon items we're so familiar with became commonplace. Before then, he only knew to bless Dungeons to keep them, er, stable, as we know them now."

"Ah, the blessings that Star mentioned," Step said. "How clever. Where does the power come from?"

"Hey, yeah, where does it come from?" Willow said, hopping from Demitri's head and onto Rhys. "They've always been around, but why? Is it just Anam?"

Rhys chuckled. "It seems to be an aftereffect of the way Mysticism works. A small bit of Mystic energy from Star and Bar—Arceus is what powers such items within Dungeons. Anam blesses the Dungeon, and that sparks an endless, steady supply of Mystic energy to generate those items within." He rubbed the bridge of his muzzle thoughtfully. "It also keeps strange, more dangerous things from appearing within the distortions."

"Interesting…" Step looked up, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Owen seems capable of enchanting something, too. So I suppose this technique isn't exclusive to Anam."

"I suppose, though Anam is best at it. Perhaps he's the most well-practiced."

"I see…"

They continued on their walk. The silence was a welcome change; Rhys was particularly surprised that even Willow was being quiet, even after migrating to another host. Perhaps she was just enjoying the ride while nestled within Enet's ample fur. Rhys glanced to his right. Demitri and Mispy were remarkably quiet, and he sensed a slightly turbulent flare coming from the two. Demitri fiddled with Mispy's petals a lot more often, and Mispy's vine-tapestry lower half stumbled over stray rocks and boulders. "Demitri," Rhys said, "Mispy. Are you feeling okay?"

"H-huh?" they both asked.

"You have been remarkably quiet." He could sense it in their anxious auras. It was the same pattern that came up when they had encountered their doubles in Trina's domain. Rhys thought back to Gahi and Owen; they had come to accept it, in a way, but these two…

Rhys didn't want to leave them wondering such horrible thoughts. "You aren't any less a creature than us, you two."

"Huh?" Willow asked. "Well, of course they aren't lesser! I mean, I guess they're a little lesser since we're Mystic, but—"

"The bug will be silent," Step growled. "Can't you see they are hurting?"

"O-oh." She glowed pink and shrank in size, hopping off of Enet. The Joltik sprouted delicate wings and went to Mispy; the wings vanished in a mist when she landed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd…"

"It's okay," Mispy said, looking back. She understood the sentiment, even if Willow was an idiot. But that didn't wash away her doubts.

Seeing exact copies of themselves—down to their voices and mannerisms—with Trina… Were there others like them back in Quartz HQ, right now? Were they replaceable?

"Rhys," Demitri said hesitantly. His voice was just a bit higher than usual. Strained, like his throat was constricting. "Are we… prototypes?"

"What's a prototype?" Willow asked.

"A prototype," ADAM suddenly spoke up, "is the first, preliminary model, or perhaps a proof-of-concept, from which other further items or inventions can be designed off of."

"Proof-of-concept," Demitri slowly repeated. "We were just tests?"

Rhys glared at ADAM. The Porygon-Z rotated his head nervously. "Muting volume."

"What that means," Rhys said, "is that you are the first Synthetic Pokémon to be born."

"We weren't born, though," Demitri said. "We were—"

"You were born, one way or the other," Rhys said firmly.

"J-just because you repeat yourself doesn't mean you're right!" Demitri's voice cracked. Mispy slowed her walk and the others followed suit.

Rhys' face felt hot and his heart raced as if he was readying for battle. But this wasn't a fight he wanted to participate in. It was simply one he had been dreading for a long time. What a familiar feeling, Rhys thought bitterly.

"We don't have parents!" Demitri said. "We didn't hatch! I remember seeing those—those cylinders that we came out of! Those were our eggs! Made from glass!"

Rhys winced. He didn't think they'd remember that far back. Mispy's walking faltered, but her vines continued. Willow hid near Demitri's tail, hoping to avoid the confrontation.

Nobody said anything. Nobody knew what to say. Even Demitri and Mispy didn't know the full story; their memories were still slowly returning, starting from their lives in Quartz HQ. What happened after was a blurry mess of repeat after repeat through the ages. But those first memories were vivid. They remembered the lab. They remembered the tests. And they remembered Rhys, Nevren, and the others. They were a family… but they, the "Alloy," were meant to be a weapon.

Alloy…

"The name of our team," Demitri suddenly said. "When we joined the Thousand Hearts, we were trying to come up with a team name. And Nevren came up with… Team Alloy… because we worked so well together. Like a metal, made from other metals, becoming something stronger. Was that just some sick joke?" Demitri said. "Team Alloy…" Demitri's claws pressed dangerously against his palms.

"It's—it's nothing like that," Elder said weakly. But Demitri and Mispy said nothing in response.

And then, more silence. Their walk was even slower. At this point, Elder didn't have to strain himself to keep up.

ADAM unmuted himself, floating a bit closer to the pair of mutants. "I am artificial as well. The files pertaining to my origins are corrupted, but I was not born by normal means. I, too, was designed. I have wondered for a long time whether I truly think, whether I truly exist as a being with an aura."

"You certainly do, Adam," Rhys said quietly.

"ADAM," corrected the Porygon-Z. "Yes. I do. And I trust Star when she tells me the same, even if she refuses to tell me where I truly came from. Perhaps it is another Decree. It is… frustrating. My processors overheat at the mere subtask of analyzing those circumstances."

"W-well, yeah, but," Demitri said, "Porygon-Z are just like any other Pokémon. Even you have ancestry, right?"

"I do not know," ADAM said. "My aura is strange, even to other Pokémon of my line. But regardless, my species is ultimately an artifact of the lost human world. I cannot fully relate to your circumstances. But I can at least inform you that so long as you think, and so long as you feel, it is only fair that we agree that you exist. Therefore, you must be treated like any other creature. It is… only normal to do so."

The wind blew. Tall grass bowed to the group in gentle waves; stray petals and leaves of the waning summer, and the first sign of autumn, blew past them. A single petal of a nearby flower, pure white, got caught on Valle's unmoving face. Rhys helped to pick it off.

"I'm very sorry that you two are troubled by your origins," Elder said. "But, if it is any help, even those who were born based off of your early designs are different from you. They have their own personalities, and experiences, and souls that are distinct."

"But," Mispy said, "we're… replaceable. If… if we weren't good, you could make more." She scanned the field aimlessly. "Easily."

"You already made more," Demitri said. "When we broke, you guys must've fixed our designs. And tried again. That's what happened, isn't it? Rhys? After we went crazy, and Star split us apart? You kept us away from all the training. We didn't go through tests anymore. Because we were a failed experiment. Nevren and you—you were going to design better versions of us."

"That isn't—that's not how I thought of it," Rhys said. "I… I was focused on helping your auras. The meditation replaced your testing—not that you could remember any of that. When you were split apart, you forgot nearly everything about yourselves. You were kids again. I tried to take you on a few excursions. Sealed away, you were safe."

"And during one of those, that's when Owen killed Klent," Demitri said. "Trying to gather the Orbs. Still using us for your stupid Hunter mission—trying to train us to handle our evolved forms all over again… Y-you were still using us as weapons!"

"It—it wasn't like that at all!" Rhys said. "Owen lost control. There was already so much bloodshed, even before Klent, before we got you involved. There was an entire war, Demitri—all over control of Kilo, and the Guardians had become involved in it."

"The… the war?" Demitri asked.

Beneath Rhys' fur, his face blanched. "No. Don't remember," he said. "Don't."

Demitri and Mispy exchanged glances, but they had no recollection. It must have been during a time when their lives were on repeat, or perhaps they simply hadn't been involved.

Rhys shook his head. "I never wanted to hurt Klent. I was trying to negotiate, and… and things went awry. After that happened, I had to revert you all so you'd forget, and I had a change of heart, then. I spirited you all away to my next assignment, Amia, and—that was it."

"And that's how it all went." Demitri said. "You trained us there, quietly. Until we got unstable again. And then, I bet you had to leave Owen behind, so we'd never be at risk of fusing into the Alloy. Right? But… I don't get it. If you just left the Hunters, couldn't Rim, or D—or Eon, couldn't they have just…?"

The ex-Hunter paused. "She could have. Perhaps. But, to be honest, I am not sure why she did not try to attack. Didn't pursue us at all. I'm not even sure why she attempted to take the Orb recently, rather than all that time she had before. All that time. It bothers me every day."

Despite everything that was happening, and despite their memories coming back in full, it still felt like there was a lot they didn't know. Every piece of the puzzle that was their past was there, but it was all scattered and scrambled.

The brief, gentle silence was undercut only by the heavy steps made by their Icy companion.

"Did you use us in that war, too?" Demitri asked.

"No," Rhys replied immediately. Despite the quickness, he showed no signs of lying.

"Tell the truth," Mispy said. "I'll… I'll kill you if you don't."

"It's the truth," Rhys said. "You were in no condition to fight in something of that scale. I promise you, that was one fight you were kept far away from. Eon would have none of it."

"So, you're saying if we asked Eon, he'd say the same thing?" Demitri asked.

"He would," Rhys said. While he felt a pang in his heart that they didn't trust his word, he had no grounds to expect that from them.

And then, the statue spoke up. "You two are disturbed by your many copies," Valle said, "but you are also the only Demitri and Mispy that I know. Just as there are many Shiftry in the world, or many Joltik, or even other Haxorus and Meganium. Just because you are of the same species does not mean you are identical. We have living examples among us. Two Lucario, Rhys and Manny. The same species, yet dissimilar. Is that not the same for you two?"

Enet finally spoke up, catching on to the conversation. "You're good!" she declared.

"W-well," Demitri said, "it's one thing to be the same species, but they're… us."

"From what I gather, they behaved differently," Valle said. "None of us will confuse you for another of your design. That would be quite rude. No two souls are the same." Valle paused, then, as if something had crossed his mind. "Hm…

"Y-yeah," Demitri said. "O-okay."

Rhys sighed. This was not something that they were going to be able to resolve in one walk. Perhaps not even one moon would be enough to help them cope with their circumstances. But it seemed like, at the very least, Demitri and Mispy understood that they in the group would accept them.

Demitri returned to fiddling with Mispy's petals. After a while, he leaned forward and rested against the back of her neck, closing his eyes. He was careful to keep his axes from cutting her accidentally.

The Haxorus opened his eyes. "Hey, uh, I kinda just thought of something. We're heading right into Kilo Village, right? But, uhh… I mean… Don't we kinda… stand out?"

Rhys stopped walking. Up until just then, the thought had eluded him. Based on the reaction of everyone else, it hadn't occurred to them, either.

He was so used to being around the abnormal that it had become commonplace. Step was a walking ice sculpture. Mispy was a complete behemoth. Valle was a floating statue.

How would they enter town like this?