Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)
Season 2, Episode 2, Chapter 4

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Duchess Karin de la Vallière stirred slightly as she finally began to rouse herself from her slumber. In the back of her mind, something was telling her that she had to get up immediately, but her body refused to move. Especially after she briefly opened her eyes slightly to find herself resting on a bed, cuddling her husband Pierre in a mutual embrace. That was something which was a relative rarity among the nobility, with most noble marriages being arranged and done for political reasons rather than genuine affection for their partner. Sighing contently, Karin allowed herself to fall back to sleep, eager to return to dreams of an adventurous youth with the young princess and the man who became her husband. Those were times she wouldn't have traded for anything, yet were now past her. Her responsibilities as a noblewoman and a mother were far more important than chasing adventure.

Yet, despite knowing that most fundamental rule, Karin allowed herself this brief moment of respite. She didn't know how long it would last, but recent times made them few and far between. Concerns about the state of her country, both about foreign enemies and Tristain's own supposed leaders, prevented such things. Not to mention her own family troubles, from Éléonore's marriage being called off by her own fiancé and Cattleya's continuous bouts against the sickness that had been plaguing her since her birth. Then there was Louise, whose utter inability to properly cast magic was well known by this point. Despite all of their efforts, especially Louise's, nothing worked.

It was when thoughts of her youngest entered her mind that Karin's foggy mind suddenly became clear and her eyes shot open. At once, several things became known to her. One, judging from the sunlight beaming in through the room's window and striking her face, it was early in the morning. Two, this wasn't her room in the Vallière estate; rather, it was a dorm room from the Tristain Academy of Magic. Three, it wasn't just her and her husband on the bed. They were joined by five other people, some of which were hanging off the bed haphazardly while the rest were carefully arranged as to maximize bedspace.

With a start, and slightly reddened cheeks, Karin shot upright. Her memory came back roaring. Her daughter's disappearance, her immediately departure to the academy upon receiving the news, the sudden appearance of the creature Mew, and their complete inability to contain it. The last thing she remembered was Mew turning into a fluffy, pink ball of fur with eyes. She knew it was one of those Pokémon that the maid's book described, but the name eluded her. What didn't elude her was that Mew, as that Pokémon, began to sing, and the next thing she knew every single person in that room had fallen dead asleep. Whatever Mew did, that song somehow put them to sleep, deep enough to where they didn't wake up until the next morning, then it had decided to put them all together on beds. Likely several, given how there weren't two dozen people in this one room.

A flurry of emotions coursed through her, chief of which were anger, worry, and humiliation. Letting out a low growl while clenching her fist tight enough to turn the knuckles white, Karin noticed that the rest of the people on the bed began to stir as well. She didn't know the names of most of them, aside from her husband of course who immediately shot up to attention as soon as he saw her, although she did recognize Professor Colbert. It appears that sleep had done him well, as he no longer looked as though he was about to collapse from lack of rest. In fact, he even let out a satisfied yawn while stretching out his limbs. Then, much like her, his memories returned once he noticed where he was and who was with him. With wide, horrified eyes, he stared at Karin who met his gaze without flinching.

Without even waiting for the others to wake up, Karin, Pierre, and Colbert shot up from the bed, grabbed their staves and wands that were piled up in the corner, then tried to leave the room. Concern did momentarily raise itself when they found that they couldn't open the door. Finding that it was locked, for whatever reason, Pierre quickly cast an unlocking cantrip and allowed Karin to swing the door open. On the other side, they noticed a piece of paper nailed into the wood, which read "Do Not Disturb" in barely legible writing. Taking this as confirmation that Mew was the one who put them there, and likely the reason why no one tried to wake them up (assuming they even could), the trio began walking through the halls. Evidence of Mew's activities could easily be seen, from the childish drawings on the walls to the puddles of water and upturned stones in the ground. For whatever reason, where were even grass and flowers growing out of the stone, much to their astonishment.

"Did Mew do all of this?" Colbert muttered as they hastily made their way out of the building.

"So it would seem," Karin growled, keeping her sword wand out at all times.

"That…Pokédex did claim that Mew was an exceptionally powerful Pokémon," Pierre noted, holding his own sword wand as well. "Clearly it was underselling just how powerful it actually was."

The fact that Mew had repeatedly shrugged off even the strongest magic spells without even flinching was more than proof of that. Mew was strong, far stronger than any creature had any right to be. From their brief encounters, Karin waged that Mew was perhaps even more powerful than the mightiest dragons in the entire Halkegenian continent. But even the mightiest dragon could be put down with the right application of force and magic, and Karin was confident that she and her husband would be able to do so. Neither of them had truly been given the opportunity to go all out, out of concern of collateral damage, but both were quickly approaching their breaking point.

"What are we going to do about Mew?" Pierre asked, looking out the window to see the rising sun.

"Find it, capture it, then interrogate it about the whereabouts of my daughter," Karin declared through a low growl. "It knows something, and I intend to find out what."

"But she already told us that she didn't know anything," Colbert pointed out, trying to remain calm as they passed an open classroom where the desks and chairs had been carefully piled up into the shape of a pyramid.

"I refuse to believe that," Karin countered, shooting Colbert a fast glare. "The fact that it knew anything at all is more than enough evidence for me."

Karin hastened her pace, not really walking anywhere but just following the devastation left in Mew's wake. By now, none of the students appeared to be afraid anymore, those who were currently up. Rather, they looked more resigned and annoyed than actually afraid. Passing through the cafeteria, Karin noticed that several students were eating their breakfasts. Mostly eggs with some cooked ham and toast, a much simpler dish compared to what they normally would've had. Clearly Mew had eaten much of their stores, and the students and staff were both grumbling. Had she been in the mood, Karin would've told them to suck it up and eat what they had. She had eaten much worse in her youth, growing up in a poor noble household. Honestly, she might even prefer having them eat like this more often, as it would make them more understanding of the lives of their subjects, who would consider this a princely meal.

For a brief moment, Karin noticed the Zerbst daughter sitting in a table alongside the bluenette from Gallia. The two students didn't notice them, or rather the Zerbst didn't. The Gallian noticed them almost immediately and was looking back from the corner of her eye. Karin didn't know who this girl was, but clearly she was much more experienced than she was letting on. She was also apparently a heavy eater, as her helping of food was nearly five times that of what the Zerbst was eating despite her much smaller frame.

Deciding that further observation didn't benefit her in the slightest, Karin continued to move. But, much to her irritation, Professor Colbert rushed to get in front of them as they left the main building.

The Professor then started to say, "Duchess Vallière, I understand your frustration. Believe me, I am too. But we need to focus on the task at hand."

"I couldn't agree more," Pierre Vallière replied, frowning deeply at the professor. "Especially since the task at hand is finding our daughter, who disappeared while under your protection."

Regret and guilt flashed through Colbert's face, yet neither Vallière felt much sympathy for the man. As far as they were concerned, he was the most responsible for Louise's disappearance. He was her teacher, which meant her safety was directly in his hands. Both of them already knew the exact events of what had happened. They had talked to dozens of students, including the Zerbst who was the most matter-of-fact about the event, and knew that Louise only disappeared after her third attempt. By all accounts, while Colbert could be forgiven for being unable to stop Louise's second try, he gave her express permission to try again. Something that was in direct opposite to academy policy.

When Louise failed to cast the familiar summoning spell the first time, that should've been it. The proper course of action would've been for Professor Colbert to fail her then send her home. It was a conclusion that, while Karin and her husband dreaded, knew was highly likely before they allowed her to go to the academy in the first place. None of her attempts at magic had properly been cast before, and there was little reason to suggest things would be any different at the academy. To be sure, the Vallières tried everything to solve Louise's problems with magic. The best tutors, most powerful potions, everything had thrown at the problem yet nothing worked. By the time Louise left, Karin had almost been resigned to the inevitability, especially when nothing changed at all during her first year. It seemed as though Louise's fate was to be sent back home a failure. When that happened, she would be left with nothing. That was why Karin was so insistent on securing Louise a proper marriage with someone with whom she would be happy with, and more importantly live a comfortable life. That wasn't what Louise wanted, but as far as Karin was concerned, it was what she needed.

But that wasn't what happened. Instead, Colbert let his sympathy for Louise cloud his judgement, and now she was gone. Whisked away to parts unknown, with no inkling as to where she had gone. For that alone, Karin nearly despised the man, yet her anger was tempered by the fact that he had been working the hardest to find a way to bring Louise back. Somewhat, at least. Karin doubted she'd ever forgive the man for this absolute failure, but at the very least she could appreciate the effort he was making in trying to fix it.

"I know," Colbert admitted after a moment, then took a deep breath. "What happened to Louise is my fault, and I take full responsibility. But, while it's certainly possible that Mew may have been involved or at least knows more about it than she's letting on, we need to focus on what we have right now. Before Mew made her…introduction yesterday, I already gathered the information we need to prepare the spell. All we need to do now is go over everything and make the final preparations. That's what we should be doing right now, not chasing after Mew. We've already wasted enough time as it is."

Karin wanted to retort and offer a rebuttal, but as much as she wanted to she found that she couldn't. Colbert was right, they had wasted too much time already. Granted, most of it wasn't their fault as Mew did put them all to sleep while presumably keeping Princess Henrietta and the rest of the staff too preoccupied to wake them up, but the point still stood. The longer they waited to perform whatever ritual they needed to bring Louise back, the greater the chance there was for something to go horribly wrong. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Karin reluctantly nodded, surprising both Colbert and her husband.

"He's right," she whispered, then shook her head. Looking back up at the two men before her, Karin said, "Louise can't afford us wasting anymore time. We need to find Princess Henrietta and Headmaster Osmond so we can make our final preparations."

Colbert got over his surprise quickly, then nodded in agreement. He then replied, "I'll go find them. Hopefully, whatever mischief Mew got up to last night wasn't too much for them to handle."

With that, the middle-aged bald man hurried off, intend on catching back up to where they were before. Karin and Pierre, meanwhile, remained where they stood, watching Colbert leave. When he reentered the academy, they turned to face each other, and a for a moment their faces fell.

"It's going to be okay," Pierre said, trying to be as supportive as possible.

"You say that, but neither of us know if it will be," Karin gently rebutted. Sighing and pinching her nose, she then admitted, "I can't help but think this is my fault."

"Darling, no. Of course not," Pierre countered, shaking his head fervently. "None of this is your fault."

"You heard what the teachers said. About Louise's life here," Karin pointed out. "The stress, the bullying, the torment. Her classmates were saying behind her back that she wasn't even our daughter, Pierre."

"Something I fully intend to…discuss with their parents," Pierre darkly said. Karin was of the same mind, but right now they had other things to worry about.

"The worst part is that Louise apparently didn't even trust us enough to say any of this was happening," Karin stated, causing Pierre to purse his lips. "None of her letters said any of this was happening. Even when she came to visit on break she said nothing, almost like she was afraid to tell us."

That was the worst part. Karin knew that she was hard on her daughters. Necessarily so, in her opinion. She wanted to make sure that they were successful, driven, unwilling to rest on their laurels like so many of their peers. Much as the Rule of Steel had benefited herself so much and guided her life, Karin had applied it to her daughters. But now that decision was being called into question. Had she been too hard on Louise, placing her in too much stress that eventually culminated in this catastrophe? Had she failed as a mother? These were questions that Karin didn't like having to ask, and especially that she didn't have an answer.

Pierre didn't say anything at first, then he gently took his wife in a hug. She was surprised at first, with part of her saying to push away from the open display of affection. But the rest simply gave in, and she returned the gesture with a hug of her own. After a moment, the two spouses moved away from each other, and gently looked into the other's eyes.

"We didn't fail her, Karin," Pierre insisted, a tone of finality in his voice, "and we're going to get her back. You'll see."

Karin looked up at her husband, then nodded and said, "You're right, we will. And when we bring Louise back…things are going to be different. With the Founder as my witness, this will never happen again."

She meant that, from the bottom of her heart. If there was anything she could do once this was over to ensure that her daughter would be safe, Karin would take it. Not matter what that action may end up being, or how it might look.

Karin then looked glanced at the sun. From its position in the sky, Karin realized that Éléonore and Cattleya should be arriving fairly soon. If they weren't already here. Following her gaze, Pierre realized the same thing. With a wordless nod between them, the two mages began walking to the front entrance to the academy grounds, intending to wait for them. Since they hadn't yet discussed the details of the ritual yet, they might as well do so with all of them there. Hopefully they wouldn't have to wait too long.

As they rounded the corner, both Karin and Pierre sighed in relief as they noticed a carriage with the Vallière crest emblazoned on the doors. Neither of them could see their daughters at the moment, but the carriage's presence clearly meant that they were close buy. Hastily making their way to the carriage and around to the other side, they saw both Éléonore and Cattleya standing closely together, their backs turned to them.

"Ah, good. Both of you are here," Karin said, speaking as calmly as possible. "Éléonore, Cattleya, I wish this was under better circumstances, but I need both of you to come with us inside. As you can see, things have been—"

The words died in her throat as Éléonore and Cattleya turned around. Éléonore's face was nervous, glancing between her parents and her younger sister, while Cattleya was openly beaming at them.

"Mother, father! Look who I met!" Cattleya gleefully revealed as she held the curled up body of Mew in her arms, whom she was happily giving belly rubs to. "Her name is Mew! Isn't she the most adorable thing you've ever seen?"

With her name being called, Mew glanced up to look at the two mages, then she giggled and waved while saying, 'Hi!'

Karin said nothing, but all she could see was red.


"What in the Founder's name happened here?" Éléonore de la Vallière muttered under her breath as she surveyed the devastated academy grounds.

The castle itself was still standing, all the damage to its walls and courtyards merely superficial, but even then it was far from the pristine, well-kept space the academy was known for. There were puddles of water in the grass, as though a great rainstorm had just swept through the area despite the sky being utterly clear. Along with the water were thick trails of mud, some of which caked the walls. Parts of the ground was cracked, with others raised and lowered to form a rolling band of hills. Most strikingly, there were large paintings on the stone walls of the castle itself. Far from being that of an expert artisan, the paintings were mostly squiggly lines or vaguely defined shapes, like those made by a child. There were a few people walking about, mostly students and a few servants, and all of them had this haunted look in their eyes as though they had just been through a warzone. Or had just spent several hours dealing with an incessantly annoying younger sibling, something Éléonore was quite familiar with.

"I honestly don't know, " Cattleya de la Vallière admitted, looking out her own window inside the carriage. Looking at the wandering students outside, she said, "At least no one seems hurt."

"The fact that we have to be wondering about that at all is still cause for concern," Éléonore dryly noted, then sighed and shook her head before looking at Cattleya. "You shouldn't have come, sister."

"Oh, not this again," Cattleya groaned, but Éléonore continued.

"I'm being serious," Éléonore declared in a sharp tone devoid of humor. "The trip here was hard enough on you as it was. Now the academy appears to be in complete chaos, and we don't have the slightest clue why."

"Éléonore, please. Stop being so overprotective," Cattleya complained with a wave of her hand. "I'm perfectly fine. The trip wasn't that bad. Besides, even if we knew the academy as going to be like this when we left, I still would've come."

"But the risks—" Éléonore tried to protest, only for Cattleya to cut her off.

"Éléonore, Louise is my sister, too," she quietly pointed out, and Éléonore's face fell.

Cattleya knew that Éléonore didn't like to admit it, but the news of Louise's disappearance devastated her. Just as it had for all of them. Cattleya didn't think she had ever seen mother and father in so much panic, nor had she ever seen them depart their estate so quickly. She had wanted to join them then, to drop whatever she was doing and head straight over to the academy, but unfortunately she was physically unable to at the time. Yet another bout of sickness had taken her the week before, leaving her bedridden for days. She had regained enough of her strength to make the trip, luckily, and the situation was dire enough that they eventually relented to her demands of joining them, but even then Cattleya had to be careful. If she strained herself too much, her frail body might not be able to handle it.

That wasn't going to stop her from trying to help recover her beloved younger sister. Louise had always confided in Cattleya, especially when the rest of her family seemed to give up on her. Cattleya never did, having the utmost confidence that Louise would succeed where everyone else expected her to fail. But she never expected this, a familiar summoning ritual going horribly wrong and sending Louise to parts unknown. Ever since they had gotten the letter explaining what had happened, Cattleya had been praying to the Founder for Louise's safe return, and with the Founder as her witness she was going to make sure that happened.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, Éléonore sighed and shook her head before saying, "Alright, fine. Nothing we can do about it now, anyway. We're already here."

"That we are," Cattleya happily replied with a smile on her face. Had she had any of her beloved pets with her at the moment, she'd be hugging one for emphasis. Sadly, their hasty departure meant she couldn't bring any of them along. Hopefully they wouldn't miss her too much.

Éléonore lightly glared at her younger sister, then pressed up her glasses, cleared her throat, then said, "Still, do not press yourself, sister, and stay by me at all times."

"Of course," Cattleya agreed, quickly nodding. Éléonore stared back silently, then nodded as well.

"Good, glad we understand each other," Éléonore said. "Now come on, let's go find that troublesome Louise and bring her home."

With that, Éléonore opened her carriage door and stepped out, Cattleya following her. Briefly frowning at Éléonore's choice of words, Cattleya sighed and shook her head before choosing not to say anything. It was no secret in the Vallière estate that Louise and Éléonore never quite saw eye to eye. Arguments were frequent between them, with Éléonore insisting that Louise focus on estate management rather than 'pointless pursuits of magic' while Louise would insist otherwise. Cattleya knew that Éléonore, while definitely could've worded it better, was just trying to help Louise in her own way and truly loved her, but the middle Vallière child knew that wasn't what Louise needed to hear. She needed support, not expectations of failure shoved down her throat by her own family.

Still, the fact that every single one of them had dropped whatever they were doing to help recover Louise was proof enough that they all truly cared for her. That had to mean something, at the very least. Hopefully, once this was over, they would reflect on how they'd been treating Louise, and perhaps some changes would need to be made, but Cattleya could only speculate for now. All she knew, or rather felt, was that things were definitely going to be different when this was all over.

Stepping out of the carriage, helped along by her elder sister, Cattleya took a moment to survey her surroundings once again. No longer constrained by limited window frame, she could see that indeed the entire academy was in a similar state as to what they arrived to. There was no one coming to escort them inside. Clearly, whatever had happened left everyone completely overwhelmed. Cattleya could only hope that wouldn't impede their efforts to recover Louise. What surprised, and somewhat worried, her however was the complete absence of her parents.

"They should be here," Éléonore whispered, nervously looking around to try and find them. "Where are they?"

'Oh, they're taking a nap. They were super tired,' a feminine voice coming from inside Cattleya's head suddenly answered, making both girls jump in fright. They quickly turned around, where they saw a pink, slender cat-like creature staring at them while floating upside down, hugging its long tail to its face.

While Éléonore responded by pulling out her wand and aiming it at the unknown creature, Cattleya merely felt intrigued as she stared into its curious, bright blue eyes. Quietly, she muttered, "What…are you?"

'I'm Mew, silly!' the apparently-named Mew answered, closing its eyes, and giggling while idly spinning vertically.

"How…how are you speaking to us?" Éléonore demanded, trying to remain calm as she placed herself between this Mew and Cattleya.

'With my mind!' Mew replied, smiling at them while pointing at her head. When she noticed the tip of her tail wiggling in front of her, she got distracted and started chasing it in mid-air, turning in a circle as she did.

Éléonore looked at her sister, silently telling her that they should leave. But Cattleya was no longer paying attention. Instead, all of her focus was on the creature right before her very eyes. She felt something bubble up from inside her, and without much resistance a loud, shrill squeal erupted out of her lips.

"Oh my gosh, you're the most adorable thing I've ever seen!" Cattleya happily declared, then shot her arms out, grabbed a surprised Mew, and brought her in for a hug.

"Cattleya!" Éléonore shouted in shock, but Cattleya ignored her.

"Oh, who's the cutest thing? Who's the cutest thing?" Cattleya cooed as she began giving Mew belly rubs. Rather than protest, Mew happily went along with the affection, snuggling into Cattleya's embrace while smiling and giggling.

'I am! I am! Hahaha!' Mew laughed, squirming around as Cattleya continued to scratch her belly.

"Cattleya, put that…thing down, now. It's dangerous," Éléonore ordered, only for Cattleya to merely pout and look at her.

"Her name is Mew," Cattleya curtly replied, then held Mew out who was giving Éléonore a happy, wide-eyed stair as her lower body dangled below her. "And look at her! Does Mew look dangerous to you?"

Éléonore stared at her younger sister, then the mangled landscape around them. After a brief pause, she answered, "Yes, it does."

Cattleya pouted and let out a groan before bringing Mew closer to her. Then she proceeded to squeal and begin petting Mew once again, who happily obliged and angled her head so that Cattleya could get to better spots.

"Oh, you're so sweet!" Cattleya cooed, and Mew merely giggled.

"I…really think you should let go of that—" Éléonore began to protest, but when both Cattleya and Mew gave her offended looks, she stopped, gulped, then continued, "You should let go of…Mew, Cattleya."

"But she's so nice, and warm," Cattleya protested as she held Mew closer. "She's not hurting anything."

"You don't know where it's been," Éléonore pointed out, but Cattleya merely pouted and held Mew closer.

"She is not dirty! Mew is clean, nice, and cute!" Cattleya said as she rubbed Mew's head, the creature herself still smiling. As Cattleya continued to pet Mew, she even began to purr. "Oh, you're just so adorable. I wanna keep you!"

Éléonore felt her eyebrow begin to twitch as she watched her sister continue to affectionately coddle Mew. It was always like this, she realized. Cattleya would find some sort of animal and declare it cute. Didn't matter if it was a small dog or a venomous snake or even a large bear. Practically all manner of creatures were cute in her eyes. What's more, she seemed to have this aura that animals were attracted to. Dangerous predators became nothing more than lapdogs under her care. Éléonore would find it impressive if it wasn't so irritating. Admittedly, Mew was, indeed, very cute.

That being said, there were still far too many questions in Éléonore's mind to let her drop her guard entirely. It didn't matter that Mew appeared to be harmless and completely taken in by Cattleya. At the end of the day, it was still a wild animal. What's more, there was the state of the academy around them. Éléonore had absolutely no idea what had happened. Part of her thought that perhaps Mew was involved. It could, somehow, telepathically communicate with them and was intelligent enough to hold childish conversations with them, which meant it was powerful at the very least. But, if it truly was responsible, that meant her first priority should be getting Cattleya away from it, which she clearly had no intention of allowing as Cattleya rubbed her and Mew's cheeks together.

Realizing that there wasn't truly anything she could do at the moment, and happy that Mew seemed to be peaceful, Éléonore figured she'd wait until her parents arrived. The fact that they weren't here yet waiting for them was somewhat concerning, but it was early in the morning so they might still be asleep. Why they would still be asleep in the first place was unknown to her, especially given the circumstances, but Éléonore figured she'd remain quiet for now, her wand ready just in case, then ask them when they arrived.

A few moments later, they heard a pair of footsteps coming towards them and around the carriage. They were joined by the voice of their mother, who calmly said, "Ah, good. Both of you are here. Éléonore, Cattleya, I wish this was under better circumstances, but I need both of you to come with us inside. As you can see, things have been—"

Her words died in her throat and her eyes widened in recognition as Mother and Father regarded both of them, and Mew who was still being held in Cattleya arms. While Éléonore flinched in recognition, Cattleya remained oblivious and said, "Mother, father! Look who I met! Her name is Mew! Isn't she the most adorable thing you've ever seen?"

Her earlier sadness momentarily forgotten, Mew smiled and waved her paw before saying, 'Hi!'

Their mother didn't say anything at first, then a righteous fury overtook her as she screamed, "GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

With a powerful gust of wind, a surprised Mew was ripped from Cattleya arms and thrown back hard into the courtyard, where she bounced across the ground several times before stopping herself and floating back up into the air.

"Mother! What are you doing?!" Cattleya shouted, but Karin was already stomping towards a confused and slightly excited-looking Mew.

"I am not letting you take another of my daughters, creature!" Duchess Karin de la Vallière shouted, pointing her sword wand at Mew who merely tilted her head at the noble. Cattleya and Éléonore's eyes, meanwhile, widened while their father joined their mother.

'But I didn't!' Mew protested, only for their father to snarl.

"Don't lie to us! We know you were involved, so give her back!" Duke Pierre de la Vallière ordered.

'I'm not lying,' Mew said as she idly floated in place, tilting her head in confusion, 'and I can't bring her back anyway.'

Karin growled and prepared to attack, only for Cattleya to shout, "Mother, Father, please! Don't hurt her, she's nice!"

"'Nice?'" Karin replied, then scowled and shook her head fervently. "This creature has run roughshod over the entire academy for the past two days, stealing from students and faculty, desecrating its grounds, and put us to sleep!"

'I was going to give them back!' Mew complained, causing both Éléonore and especially Cattleya to gasp at the revelation. 'Besides, we were only playing, and all of you looked tired. I even put you in bed.'

"Playing?" Pierre replied, grinding his teeth. "You think this is a game?!"

'…Yes?' Mew answered, her voice sounding confused. Almost as though the mere idea that the others weren't having fun was alien to her.

That was not the answer either of their parents wanted, and with a roar of rage both of them raised their wands to cast spells.

"No, don't!" Cattleya protested, but it was too late as a massive boulder, nearly the size of a house, was formed from the earth around them by her father. The boulder was then shot towards Mew like a cannonball, and when it slammed into Mew it exploded into a cloud of dust and debris.

Cattleya gasped and held her hands to her mouth, horrified at what her parents were doing to an innocent, kind creature. There was no way Mew could've been responsible for Louise's disappearance, she couldn't believe it. Yet her parents were just attacking her for no reason. Tears began to pool in her eyes, and beside her Éléonore sighed and placed her hand on her shoulder affectionately, but then the dust began to clear. Much to her and everyone else's surprise, Mew was simply floating there, completely unharmed, and not having moved even an inch. She was simply staring at the Vallières with a curious look in her eyes, her head tilting to the side.

Her father growled, then conjured a pillar of rock that shot up from underneath Mew before anyone else could say a thing. As before, the rock simply shattered upon impact with Mew, leaving her no worse for wear. Again and again, the square-class Earth mage sent spell after spell onto Mew, who didn't even react. Even when Karin, herself a square-class Wind mage, joined her husband in the assault it did little other than ruffle Mew's fine hairs. At times, it appeared that Mew was going to do something, with brief auras of power radiating from her that felt almost oppressive. Then the creature would glance at Cattleya, who continued trying to get her parents to stop.

As far as Mew was concerned, the nice lady who called her cute didn't want her to fight, and it wasn't as though any of their attacks could do anything to her. So she figured she wouldn't do anything. They'd tire themselves out eventually, and leaving would probably just upset them more.

"Please, stop fighting!" Cattleya protested, but her parents refused to listen. Her mother, seething at how Mew was shrugging everything off without even a care, narrowed her eyes dangerously before aiming her sword wand at Mew.

"Éléonore, take your sister and get back," Karin de la Vallière ordered. Realizing what she was about to do, Éléonore complied. Cattleya realized it as well, and she struggled against her sister's grip.

"No, please! She didn't do anything!" Cattleya cried out, but it was too late.

Forming underneath Mew's floating body, the air began to swirl, picking up dust, clumps of grass, dirt, and other small pieces of debris. Mew barely had enough time to look down before a massive tornado suddenly appeared. The air around them was sucked into the vortex, and the pink and blond hairs of the Vallière family were being pulled along the heavy wind. Both of the Vallière sisters were grabbing onto the carriage, the horses neighing in fright while secured in their harnesses. The Duke and Duchess, however, stayed completely still, non-plussed even as their hair whipped around their heads.

As far as Karin was concerned, it didn't matter if Cattleya didn't want them to fight Mew. Mew was their best lead towards recovering Louise, and it was clear that despite its denials it knew where she was. Or, at the very least, what happened to her. After trying to deal with Mew for two days now, Karin's patience had run thin. She doubted her spell would actually kill Mew, but it should be powerful enough to injure it to the point where it would finally be willing to talk. As with many things, all you needed to do was just apply enough pressure, then things would go the way you wanted.

Then, much to her surprise, she heard Mew's voice cheerfully cry out, 'Wheee!'

With her eyes widening, Karin and the rest of her family watched as Mew emerged from within the conjured tornado, holding out her legs while letting out the widest smile she possibly could. Around and around she went, never once letting up on her cheering. It took a few rotations for Karin to realize that not only was Mew not even harmed in the slightest by her most powerful spell, the one that earned her the moniker The Heavy Wind, she was having fun. Hardly able to comprehend what she was seeing, Karin felt her arm relax and her jaw slacken as the tornado subsided, then Mew quickly flew right back down and bounced in front of her face.

'Again! Do it again!' Mew happily begged while holding her short little arms chose to her chest. Karin didn't say anything, the realization that there was absolutely nothing she could do to this creature settling in. Her husband, just as shocked as she was, managed to recover faster and aimed his wand at Mew, but it was then that Cattleya rushed in front of them to grab Mew protectively.

"No, I won't let you hurt her anymore!" Cattleya declared, knocking Karin out of her stupor.

"Cattleya, get away from that thing now," Karin protectively ordered. "It is dangerous!"

"Mew isn't dangerous!" Cattleya protested, holding Mew tighter to her body who was simply glancing between them without saying a word. "She's nice and friendly! You two just attacked her for no reason and she didn't even do anything to you!"

"Cattleya, it knows what happened to Louise," Pierre pointed out, only to receive a deep frown from his daughter.

"So that gives you the right to attack her for no reason?" Cattleya replied, turning away slightly, and shielding Mew with her body. "She told you she didn't have anything to do with it, yet you attacked her anyway. Just because you thought she was lying."

To prove her point, Cattleya held Mew up to her face and gently asked, "Mew, did you take my younger sister?"

'No,' Mew immediately answered. Cattleya took her answer immediately, then turned to look at her parents with a pointed stare.

Feeling a migraine coming on, and increasingly concerned for the safety of their child, Karin said, "Cattleya, I'm not going to ask you again. Put that thing down and get over here, now."

"Why, so you can attack her again?" Cattleya asked, then shook her head. "In that case, no. I'm not letting go of Mew until you promise you won't attack her again."

"Cattleya," Karin warned.

"Don't 'Cattleya' me," Cattleya shot back. "Mew hasn't hurt anyone, so you can't just—"

Before Cattleya could finish her sentence, a loud cough cut her off. An intense coughing fit began, and at once everyone abandoned what they were doing before and rushed over as Cattleya involuntary let go of Mew and fell to her knees. She felt weak and lightheaded, unable to stand on her own two feet as the world around her swirled.

"Cattleya!" she heard her mother call out as they immediately began applying healing magic to her. Vaguely, she could see Éléonore rush back to the carriage, fetching one of many potions they had packed in case her illness took hold once again.

'What's going on?' Mew innocently asked as she floated above them. 'Is she sick?'

"Go away! This is your fault she's like this!" Karin accused with a snappy snarl. Taken aback, Mew recoiled slightly, then silently watched as the rest of the Vallière family tended to their daughter.

At first, Mew did nothing but watch, trying their best to care for the nice girl even as she continued to cough and sway. Part of her felt she should leave the tender situation. Being a part of something like this almost seemed intrusive. But, as she continued to watch Cattleya cough and hack into a handkerchief, she saw flecks of blood splatter onto the cloth. Mew's eyes widened, then they narrowed as she quickly came to a decision.

Psychically grabbing and gently pushing the other members of the Vallière family aside to make room, much to their surprise, Mew floated up to Cattleya. They immediately protested and tried to block Mew's path, but Mew ignored them as she looked straight into Cattleya's teary eyes. Cattleya looked at Mew, clearly in pain but also wondering what the Mythical Pokémon was up to. Then Mew gently tapped her paw onto Cattleya's forehead, and a pink pulse emanated from Mew and covered Cattleya's body.

'There, all better!' Mew declared as she gently floated away, smiled, and nodded at the Vallières.

"What did you just-?!" Pierre began, fully ready to attack Mew once again, then he noticed that Cattleya was no longer coughing. In fact, she wasn't making a sound at all other than deep breaths in and out. Far deeper than she had ever done before.

Cattleya didn't know what Mew just did to her, but she felt the effects immediately. The world stopped swaying, she no longer felt the need to hack up her lungs, and strength returned to her body. Slowly, she stood back up, looking at herself in amazement as she somehow felt better than she had ever felt before. Normally, after having similar episodes in the past, she would find it hard to move anything, yet she was able to move her arms and legs with ease. Breathing was easier, moving as easier. She had never felt this way before.

Slowly, she looked up at Mew, who was simply floating there with a smile on her face. Her eyes widening, she breathlessly asked, "What…what did you do?"

'I used Heal Pulse on you,' Mew matter-of-factly answered, smiling at her. 'You were sick, and now you're not.'

Cattleya's irises shrunk as the implications began to set in, then a quivering Éléonore quietly asked, "Do…do you mean…?"

'She's not sick anymore,' Mew confirmed with a fervent nod, and at once it seemed as though the world stood still. Slowly, one by one the rest of the Vallières turned to look at Cattleya, who was too busy looking at her arms. No one said a word, unable to believe what Mew was saying.

Yet Cattleya did. She could feel it. It was as though a weight that had been laid upon her for her entire life had suddenly been lifted. Knowing that she had to do something, if only to prove it to herself, Cattleya pulled out her wand and shakily pointed it at the nearest wall. Her family was knocked out of their stupor at her action, and tried to stop her, but they were too late.

"Create water," Cattleya cast, and a stream of water shot out and impacted against the stone. It lasted for only a moment, but that was enough. Before, casting a single spell would wear her out, but she felt none the worse for wear.

Taking a deep breath, Cattleya cast again, then again, and again. Over a dozen small, quick water jets shot out, each one adding more and more proof as to the veracity of Mew's claims. By the time she was finished, there could be no doubt. Tears began to swell in Cattleya's eyes, tears that were shared by the rest of her family as they looked at her as though a miracle had just happened.

Mew, watching this all unfold, remained silent as the Vallière family crowded around their daughter. After a few moments, Karin de la Vallière looked up at Mew as though seeing her for the first time, then asked, "Wh…why?"

'She needed help,' Mew answered as though it was obvious, smiling at all of them. The Vallières stared at her in silence, unable to even begin knowing what to say. After a few moments, Mew then said, 'Can I have more belly rubs?'

The family of mages stared silently at Mew, incredulous as to the banality of her demand. Then Cattleya, wiping tears from her eyes, nodded and held out her arms. With a cheer, Mew teleported into them, snuggling up to the mage who gladly began rubbing her belly, laughing all the while.

[~][~]

Hello, everyone! Here's the latest chapter of Outsiders! Special thanks to Darwin Candidate and Yuri Vampire for their help in bringing this chapter to life.

We're approaching the end of the Halkegenia episode, and the pieces are being set into place. All while Mew continues doing her thing, including just outright curing Cattleya because she could. That's, ultimately, the essence of who Mew is as a Pokemon. She's playful, mischievous, and can be annoying, but she's still a good Pokemon at heart who just wants people to be happy.

Please let us know what you all think. If any of you have a TV Tropes account, any assistance in updating the TV Tropes page would be greatly appreciated!