Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)
Season 2, Episode 4, Chapter 1

[~][~]

Coumarine City, Kalos Region

Louise nervously paced back and forth inside the Pokémon Center, wringing her hands together. Every so often, she would glance towards the sliding glass doors, hoping to see Professor Sycamore's car pull up and Princess Henrietta step out. But they hadn't arrived yet. The Professor said they should be arriving any minute now, but Louise's patience was running out.

"Where are they? They should've been here by now," Louise mumbled as she continued to pace.

"Louise, calm down," Saito told her as he sat in a chair, adjusting the collar of the dress shirt that Louise made him wear. "They're probably just held up by traffic or something."

"Do not tell me to calm down," Louise spat as she sharply turned and pointed her finger towards a nonchalant Saito. In a near panic, she continued, "And you don't know that they're fine. Something could've happened to them. Maybe their car broke down, or they ran out of gas—"

"Both perfectly understandable reasons," Saito interjected, but Louise ignored him as she continued to panic.

"Oh Founder, what if they were attacked by wild Pokémon?! Or Team Flare?!" Louise's irises narrowed to the size of pinpricks as she let her imagination run wild. "Sure, Professor Sycamore and Garchomp are strong, but the Princess is defenseless! Gah, I should've gone to Lumiose! Now she's in danger and without her entourage and—"

Louise was interrupted as her face was suddenly consumed by a small torrent of water. The stream continued for several moments, and when it ended her one pristine and silky smooth pink hair was dripping wet down her brow. She was glaring unamused at Saito, with Ronin out of his Pokéball right next to him. Both of them, in contrast, looked satisfied, with Saito giving his starter an approving nod.

"Thank you, Ronin," Saito said, and the Dewott respectfully bowed his head towards his trainer.

Louise continued to darkly glare for a few more moments, then she growled, "…Do you know how long it took me to get my hair absolutely perfect?"

"Do you know how long you've been looking like you're about to explode?" Saito countered. "Admit it, you needed that. You're not panicking anymore, are you?"

"…That's not the emotion I'm feeling right now, no," Louise admitted, and Saito readily ignored the obvious emotion she was feeling at that moment and was directed squarely towards him and his partner.

"There you go. You're welcome," Saito cheekily replied, then waved his hand. "Trust me, you'll be fine, and so are Princess Henrietta and Professor Sycamore. Nothing bad has happened to them nor is it going to happen to them. Just have Brennaraki dry you off in the bathroom. It'll take you, what, five minutes at most?"

Louise looked like she wanted to argue and even raised her finger to do so, but after a moment she paused then sighed as she lowered her appendage. Grumbling to herself, she released Brennaraki from her Luxury Ball and walked away, shooting Saito an angry look behind her shoulder that promised she was going to pay him back for this transgression. Maybe not right away, but someday. When she finally disappeared behind a corner and he heard the bathroom door open and close behind her, Saito turned to look straight ahead.

"Ha-ha, I'm in danger," he said to himself as he briefly shifted his gaze downward, and without missing a beat his starter looked him in the eyes and nodded.

"Yes, I would certainly say so," Nurse Joy spoke up with obvious amusement in her voice and a smile on her face. Saito sighed and hung his body forward for a moment, then straightened himself.

"Eh, I'd do it again," Saito said to himself, then walked over to look into a mirror.

Once again, he adjusted the collar of his shirt. Louise had been insistent that he look his best for Tristain's royalty, making him wear a light-blue button down shirt, a pair of slacks, and nice shoes. She almost made him wear a full suit, but luckily he was able to talk her out of it if only because they didn't have the money to buy one. Not if they wanted to buy food, at least. That got her to back down, if only slightly. He had to say, he didn't look half bad, but there was no way he was going to wear this on a regular basis.

As he finished touching himself up, he tried to think about everything he knew about this Princess Henrietta that Louise had been gushing on and on about for the past week. While it was certainly momentous to have her here in the first place, and more than a little concerning given her role in her country's politics, Saito actually didn't know what was truth and what was hyperbole. Louise claimed that Princess Henrietta was the most beautiful woman in the world, the epitome of what nobility and grace should be, but there was obvious bias there and could not be ignored. Saito hadn't even seen what she looked like nor heard her voice since she got dragged to Lumiose.

Deep down, Saito knew he had no real reason to disbelieve Louise and her claims about Henrietta, but he couldn't help but think back to the last member of royalty he had met. Princess Allie was a spoiled brat, a very unpleasant person to be around for any considerable point of time. While he doubted Henrietta was anywhere near that in terms of personality, he did think that Henrietta was going to be a bit closer to what Louise was like when they first met. A good person deep down, but a little stuck up and full of herself and her noble heritage.

"What do you think, Ronin?" Saito asked as he turned towards his starter. "What do you think this Henrietta is going to be like?"

Ronin tilted his head in thought, rubbing the bottom of his face, then looked up at his trainer and shrugged. Saito nodded back, saying, "Yeah, I'm in the same boat."

With that, they settled once more into silence, patiently waiting for Louise to return. Idly, Saito kicked his feet back and forth beneath the chair, trying to pass the time and alleviate his boredom. He quickly settled into people watching, observing the trainers, young and old, enter the building to have their Pokémon checked. Nurse Joy helped each and every one with a smile on her face, happily taking the Pokémon from them and putting them into the machine. It was around noon, so the typical lunch rush was coming in which left the entire center relatively packed. Every so often he would glance towards the doors to see if Princess Henrietta arrived yet, but given how he didn't know what she really looked like beyond the most generic terms he was really looking for Professor Sycamore.

When the center had died down a bit, with the trainers grabbing their Pokémon and leaving and Nurse Joy stepping away for a moment to check on something, Saito noticed that one girl around his age and with short, purple hair had remained. There was a Snivy perched atop her right shoulder, a purple jacket cushioning the Pokémon's feet. Saito couldn't help stare at her, as the girl was strikingly beautiful. Possibly the prettiest girl he had ever seen in his life. She appeared to be looking for someone, her head swiveling around the room. When her finally noticed that he was staring at her, Saito blushed in embarrassment and looked away, only to hear her footsteps approach.

'Oh, no,' Saito thought to himself, trying to look at anything other than the girl he had just been caught staring at.

"Excuse me," the girl softly and gently said. "I'm looking for my friend. Have you seen her?"

"Um, your friend? I, uh, no. I don't think I have," Saito sputtered as he turned to face the girl standing right before him. Next to his feet, Ronin was silently holding back his chuckles, and Saito shot him a quick glare before getting up.

"I mean," Saito recovered, and he couldn't help but try to put on as confident a tone of voice as he could, "there's been a lot of people that have come through here. I don't know who your friend is, but I'm more than happy to help you find her."

He flashed her a confident smile, and which the girl couldn't help but chuckle at. Saito's smile grew wider at the positive reception, and he pressed his hand against his chest before introducing himself, "I'm Saito Hiraga. What's your name?"

Strangely, the girl seemed to perk up at the mention of his name, her eyes widening in surprise slightly before looking him up and down. She prepared to introduce herself, only for the glass doors to open once again and Professor Sycamore of all people stepped inside.

"Finally found a parking spot," Sycamore announced. When he noticed Saito and the girl, he smiled and walked over, saying, "Ah, Saito. Perfect, you already met Henrietta."

"Professor, you're here? Wait, I have?" Saito asked, his head shooting back. His eyes then widened, and he slowly turned to look at the girl standing right before him, who had a picturesque smile on her face that nonetheless held this air of authority that he could not ignore.

"Hello there, Saito. My name is Princess Henrietta de Tristain," Henrietta confirmed her identity to the petrified boy. "I understand that you've been travelling partners with my dear friend Louise for quite some time now. Do you mind telling me where she is?"

"…Um," Saito mumbled, beginning to realize how screwed he was. Just before he could answer and begin to conceive of how much worse this would get for him, the bathroom door suddenly opened, with Louise and Brennaraki walking back into the main room of the Pokémon Center.

"Finally, my hair, clothes, and makeup are decent again. Thanks for that, Saito. I really appreciated you and Ronin shooting me with a Water Gun," Louise announced, not noticing that Princess Henrietta and Professor Sycamore were there, only adding to Saito's mortification.

"…You shot her with a Water Gun?" Sycamore quietly asked, and Henrietta couldn't help but giggle.

"She…she was panicking and—" Saito tried to defend himself, noticing that Ronin was both laughing at his expense while maintaining his dignity beside Saito's legs.

"Professor, you're here?" Louise finally noticed Professor Sycamore's presence, her eyes widening and the anger in her body dissipating. As she started looking around frantically, "Where's Princess-?"

She stopped herself when she finally made eye contact with Princess Henrietta. The two girls simply stood there for a few moments, unmoving and unsure of what to do. Then, slowly, their eyes began to tear up, and any sense of decorum was abandoned as the two friends rushed towards each other and embraced into a deep hug. The Snivy hopped off Henrietta's shoulder and looked up happily at the scene, as did Professor Sycamore, Ronin, and Brennaraki. Despite his embarrassment and mortification at accidentally trying to flirt with Princess Henrietta, Saito couldn't help but smile as well.

"I…I'm sorry, I…I had all these things I wanted to say and…" Louise barely managed to get out through her tears, but her voice was heavy and filled with emotion.

"It's okay," Henrietta replied, barely able to keep her composure as she continued to hug her friend. "I'm just happy you're okay."

Louise's smile returned in full force, and stepped back. When she noticed the Snivy looked up at her, Louise's smile somehow widened even more, and she leaned down and asked, "Oh, is this your starter?"

"Yes. Her name is Fleur," Henrietta confirmed, and Fleur perked herself up before giving Louise a polite curtsy.

"Aw, she's adorable, and a Snivy is a wonderful Pokémon," Louise declared as she stood fully upright again. "I will admit, when you told me that you got a Starter Pokémon, I thought you were going to get a Water-type since you're a Water Mage."

"I can see how you would think that," Henrietta said with a quick nod and smile before looking down at her starter Pokémon, who looked right back up with a smile on her face. "But Fleur and I…we just connected."

Louise nodded at that in complete understanding, pointing to Brennaraki as she remarked, "Brennaraki and I were the same way. Couldn't imagine having any other Pokémon as my starter."

"This is Brennaraki? She's beautiful," Henrietta said with a toothy smile, leaning down to get a closer look at the proud and perked-up Fennekin. She then tilted her head and looked up at Louise was still leaned over, then asked, "Why is she grey and purple? The other Fennekins at the lab were orange and red?"

"Brennaraki is what we call a Shiny Pokémon, remember?" Sycamore spoke up.

"Oh, so that's what you meant. Fascinating," Henrietta muttered, then stood back up. "These Pokémon are fascinating."

"They truly are," Louise agreed, then noticed Saito silently staring at them from the side. Jumping slightly in surprise, Louise cleared her throat then pointed at Saito with her arm, saying, "Princess, this is my friend, Saito. He and I have been travelling together for the past three months."

"Oh, we're already acquainted, actually," Henrietta pointed out, much to Louise's surprise and Saito's mortification.

"You are?" Louise asked, and Henrietta nodded.

"Yes. We met just after I came into the Pokémon Center," Henrietta revealed, briefly locking eyes with Saito who was pleading with her. She smiled at him, then looked back at Louise and said, "He didn't recognize me, but was about to help me try to find you when the Professor came inside?"

"Oh, he did? That's good," Louise said with a relieved sigh. Turning to look at Saito, she began, "Thank you, that was… Why are you blushing in embarrassment?"

"…Um," Saito sputtered after being put on the spot, and Louise's suspicious glare did little to help calm his nerves. Henrietta looked ready to say something, possibly in his defense, only for Sycamore to speak up.

"I think I saw him flirting with her when I walked in, actually," Sycamore nonchalantly spoke up, and Saito shot his head towards the Professor with a look of betrayal. For his part, Sycamore sheepishly looked away, realizing his mistake, while Louise slowly turned her head to look at her friend.

"…He did, did he?" Louise accused, and Saito gulped. Deciding to face the bullets head on, he turned his body fully to face Louise and took a deep breath.

"…In my defense," he began, "I never spoke to her nor heard her voice before today, and you never actually showed me what she looked like."

He desperately hoped that explanation would be enough, but one look on Louise's wrath-filled face told him that it was not.


Louise spent the next ten minutes laying into Saito, ranting to him about what he just did to the Princess of Tristain. About how improper and scandalous it was, how Henrietta was so high above his station that he was lucky to be in her presence, and a bunch of other things that he both didn't really understand nor care for. Saito could barely get a word in to defend himself, not that Louise really cared. She was so angry, parts of her rant descended into her native language. He honestly thought it was kind of cute.

Part of Saito felt legitimately guilty, and more than a little embarrassed, for flirting with Henrietta, particularly after getting caught staring at her, but the other was kind of irritated at Louise for what seemed like an overreaction to a legitimate mistake. He wasn't lying when he said that he had no idea that the girl who walked into the Pokémon Center was, in fact, the girl they were meeting up with. All he knew was that a gorgeous girl his age walked up, started talking to him, and seemed to react positively to his instinctual attempts at teenage flirting. Obviously he wasn't going to do that anymore. Clearly, Henrietta was off limits, not to mention his own sense of mortification preventing him even wanting to try anymore, but it wasn't like he and Louise were dating. If they were, he could understand her getting so upset, but right now it felt like she was making a mountain out of a Diglett-hill.

Professor Sycamore was absolutely no help at all, just standing there awkwardly to the side and only able to watch the proceedings before him. It was thanks to Henrietta herself, surprisingly, that finally managed to get Louise to calm down and accept that no harm was meant or done. Combined with the fact that Henrietta valiantly, yet ultimately in vain thanks to the actions of one who couldn't read the room, tried to cover for Saito's case of mistaken identity convinced him that she was every bit the gentle and patient figure that Louise described her as. Certainly much more deserving of the title of Princess than Princess Allie. Saito didn't know anyone else who would claim that a boy she just met didn't try to flirt with her to her clearly angry best friend. If that wasn't saintly, he didn't know what was.

Now things were mostly calm, although Louise would occasionally send him sideways glares. They were at a diner near the Pokémon Center, seated on a booth large enough to fit all of them. Henrietta and Louise sitting next to each other while Saito and Sycamore were on the other side. The waitress had already come by to take their orders, but neither of the party really cared about all of that. Instead, they were far more focused on simply catching up.

"I have to say, Louise. You look incredible," Henrietta declared, causing Louise to blush in embarrassment.

"Oh stop," Louise demurred, though she couldn't hide her smile.

"No, seriously," Henrietta insisted. "When you told me that you've been going around the entire Kalos region for months on foot, camping out in the wilderness, I did not expect you to look…this."

Henrietta gestured towards Louise's entire body, prompting Saito to look more closely at his best friend. Now that he thought about it, he could see where Henrietta was coming when. When he first met her, Louise was scrawny, had fairly pale skin, and would easily get tired. Now she had developed a fair amount of muscle on her lean body, her endurance while not as good as his own had improved tremendously to where she could reasonably keep up with him, and she had developed a slight tan. If he had to use a comparison, he would say that Louise had developed a fit runner's body, which looked good on her.

Louise seemed to understand where Henrietta was coming from, but she still asked, "Well…what did you think I was going to look like?"

Henrietta didn't answer at first, but Saito got the sense that he knew where her head was at. He cheekily smiled, then answered, "Let me guess. Covered in dirt, hair all disheveled, clothes all torn up, that sort of thing?"

While Louise couldn't help but shoot Saito a quick glare, Henrietta nodded after a moment and admitted, "Yes, actually. Honestly, if I hadn't known any better, I wouldn't have thought that you'd been outside most of the time, Louise."

Louise tilted her head for a moment, glancing over her body, then nodded as well before replying, "Hmm, I suppose I understand what you mean. I personally proud of it, even if this isn't the body a 'proper' noblewoman is supposed to have."

"…And a 'proper' body is supposed to be?" Saito asked in genuine curiosity.

"Pretty much what I looked like when we first met, but with paler skin and less muscle," Louise answered with a noticeable roll of her eyes. "Mostly the muscle, as that's considered to be a 'mannish' trait and thus undesirable in a lady."

Saito scoffed and rolled his eyes alongside Louise, saying, "Bah, those people are idiots. Rail thin and super pale is just…unhealthy looking."

Henrietta sat there silently as Louise and Saito nodded with one another, both surprised at Louise's change of opinion but also trying to get a better idea towards the nature of their relationship. She had been having thoughts about it ever since she learned Louise had been travelling with a boy nearly this entire time, and while she was reaching a conclusion, she needed a bit more. From what she saw so far, the two were close. Very close, their arguments and bickering aside. They also clearly cared for each other, which was perhaps the most important part. Particularly after seeing Louise's sour relationships with her classmates and teachers.

She couldn't help but smile, then said, "Well, I'm glad you you're happy."

Louise smiled back, glancing down at Brennaraki's Pokéball held in her hand, then replied, "Yeah, I am. Honestly, I've been happier here in Kalos than I have back home in…Founder, I don't know how long."

Henrietta didn't quite know how to feel about that. On the one hand, hearing that her best friend was legitimately unhappy in her home country wasn't something that anyone wanted to hear. The worst part was that Henrietta knew that Louise wasn't exaggerating or using hyperbole. With all the bullying she endured, the societal and familial pressures heaped upon her, it was little wonder why she would've been unhappy. On the other hand, hearing that Louise had managed to find success and happiness in this new land, especially after getting sent there against her will, was only a good thing. After a moment, Henrietta settled on legitimately smiling for her friend, putting her unease to the back of her mind for now.

That was when Saito once again spoke up and said, "While this is good to hear and all…didn't you guys already go over this multiple times over the week?"

Louise and Henrietta looked at Saito and blinked a few times, then Louise replied, "Well, yes but…it's good to talk about it in person."

"Not saying you can't, it's just…there's other things to talk about," Saito pointed out. Louise puffed up her face and looked like she was ready to retort, but before she could Henrietta nodded in agreement.

"Saito is right," Henrietta said, clasping her hands together and resting them on the table. "We'll have plenty of time to catch up later. For now, we should focus on more pressing and important matters."

Louise looked at her childhood friend, then reluctantly nodded and replied, "I suppose you're right. I'm sorry for wasting your time, Princess."

"You did no such thing, Louise," Henrietta insisted, then warmly smiled. "And please, just call me Henrietta. This is supposed to be a friendly reunion, not the royal court."

Louise prepared to insist otherwise, but a quick tap to her shin by Saito's foot got her to reconsider. She shot him a slight glare, then relented, nodded in agreement, and said, "Alright. I suppose we should start with the obvious. With you here, what do you think's going in Tristain."

"It's hard to say, really," Henrietta admitted, looking downcast and to the side.

"Yeah," Saito said, scrunching up his face. "I mean, from what Louise has been telling me, you've been running Tristain for the past year or so, right?"

"Ever since my father died, yes," Henrietta confirmed. "The burden of leadership should've fallen to my mother, but she was…consumed by her grief and I had to step in."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Saito said, his voice dripping with sympathy, and Henrietta softly smiled and nodded back. The boy cleared his throat, then continued, "In any case, with you being gone…that can't be anything good."

"No, especially with how I disappeared in the first place. Getting teleported by a demigod right out of the Tristain Academy of Magic, in front of hundreds of witnesses…" Henrietta trailed off, unable to finish her sentence, but she didn't need to. Everyone around her understood the implications immediately, and Louise couldn't help but blanche.

Saito winced, then pointed out, "At least you'll only be gone for a few days, right? From their perspective at least?"

Henrietta nodded and replied, "Yes, that is true."

"Still can't believe that's actually going on…" Louise muttered.

"I mean, given who sent you here in the first place, I can believe it," Saito pointed out, but Louise shook her head.

"Not that. More that I can't believe that goat would put in that much effort in the first place," Louise clarified then looked up at her friend. "The last timed I talked to Arceus, I got the distinct sense that he did not like me."

"He sounded neutral to me," Henrietta said. "Maybe a bit impressed."

Louise rolled her eyes, saying, "I'm not doing this to impress him, in any case. Frankly, I don't really care what Arceus thinks about me. That being said, I am…grateful for what he's done. Sending me to Kalos, the time dilation…those have been nothing but good things for me. In the back of my mind, I was honestly afraid of what could've happened in the year I was gone from Tristain. Now I don't have to worry about that."

"I know exactly what you mean, especially if Albion actually invades," Henrietta added, then narrowed her eyes and frowned. She muttered, "Or when they invade…"

Louise pursed her lips sadly, not really knowing how to respond to that or what she could honestly say that Henrietta wasn't already thinking. They all knew that it was only a matter of time before Reconquista won the civil war in Albion. When that happened, and the Tudor family was deposed, they would surely seek to expand their 'revolution' across the entire continent, and the tiny and relatively undefended Tristain would be a very attractive target.

"Hey, let's not focus on that," Sycamore gently said, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Let's focus on what we can do right now. No reason to get ourselves worked up over things we can't control."

The teenagers nodded at that, and Sycamore nodded as well before reaching into his bag and pulling out a travel case. Opening it up, he revealed the special Mega Stone container Henrietta had watched him design, and he began to say, "First off, Saito, Louise, here's the finished Mega Stone container that I promised you."

"Perfect. Thank you, Professor," Louise said in sincerity as she pulled the case towards her. At the same time, Saito pulled out their current container, housing their keystones and the Absolite that they had recovered. The boy eyed the shiny new box suspiciously, then tilted his head up to look at Professor Sycamore.

"You're certain that this one will work?" Saito asked, and Professor Sycamore nodded.

"One-hundred percent," he confirmed. "Anything in this box will not and cannot interact with the energies of a keystone, nor the unique energies emitted from Louise. Henrietta's arrival actually proved to be somewhat of a boon to my work. While she obviously doesn't have the signature of a Void mage, she is a Faller like Louise. Her assistance proved invaluable in finalizing the finishing touches."

Henrietta couldn't help but smile at the praise, as did Louise. Saito, meanwhile, studied the box a bit more, then nodded in acceptance before taking out the keystones and Absolite and inserting them into the new Mega Stone container. Henrietta leaned over to get a better look, and saw Saito insert the crystal spheres into specific notches designed to hold them, with the Lucarioite from the lab already inside. For a moment, Saito looked surprised at its inclusion, then he looked up at the Professor.

"You two were the one who found it," Sycamore pointed out with a warm smile. "Besides, once Tanuki evolves, I'm certain that Lucarioite will prove invaluable at the League."

Saito smiled at the professor, nodded, then replied, "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem," Sycamore said with another smile. He then continued, "Back to the subject of time dilation, I was actually talking with Henrietta and we found something interesting. Louise, remember how surprised you were at how Earth and Terre's calendars matched up perfectly?"

"Yes, actually," Louise replied, slightly surprising Saito as this was news to him. "I just chalked it up to coincidence."

"So did I, but now I'm not so certain," Sycamore said. "I first started thinking about it when you and Saito met Derflinger. Speaking of, where is he?"

"He's still in the room at the Pokémon Center," Saito answered, then glanced at Louise. "Apparently, he 'couldn't be trusted' to be around royalty."

"Oh come on. You know he'd make a crass remark, or a few," Louise countered, but Saito was unconvinced.

"Given how he's been with far too many members of Kalos' royalty for us to count for near six thousand years, I think you insulted him."

"Bah, he'll get over it," Louise dismissed, and Saito hung his head and sighed. Henrietta was slightly confused, but decided that she'd find out more about this 'Derflinger' later. Besides, she was far more concerned with catching up with her friend. She'll meet the ancient Honedge in due time, and she already had dozens of about the Founder and his time. Hopefully, he would be able to answer them.

"In any case, Derflinger's existence was proof that Earth and Terre have had contact before," Sycamore reoriented the conversation back to his point. "Based off of Arceus' initial reaction to you and your Void magic, I would not be surprised if he actually met Brimir at some time."

"I could've told you that," Louise pointed out. "I don't see how that's news."

"Yes, but then it turns out that one of the maids at the Academy, a girl your age named Siesta from the village of Tarbes, is directly descended from a Kantoese Pokémon Breeder who disappeared at the end of the Great War," Sycamore continued, catching his protégé's attention. "I did some digging, and I think I found her great-grandfather, a man named Takeo Sasaki, or Sasaki Takeo if you go by the traditional Kantoese naming scheme. According to a friend of his, the two were flying on the backs of their Pidgeots over the Sea of Nihon one morning when a solar eclipse happened. Next thing they knew, they were swallowed up by some green portal that appeared out of nowhere. Takeo's friend was able to return through the portal before it disappeared, but Takeo himself wasn't as lucky. He described flying over a vast, seemingly endless desert that went on for as far as the eye could see, with two moons in the sky that were blocking the sun. No one believed him at the time, but now I believe it actually happened."

"That sounds like he arrived in the Rub' al Khali desert in the Holy Land," Louise noted while scratching the underside of her chin. "He must've flown all the way from there to Tristain, where he landed at Tarbes."

"That's what the Professor and I were thinking as well. A perilous journey, to say the least," Henrietta noted. "But that's not the most important thing."

"No. The most important thing is that the incident proves that Derflinger's arrival to Ancient Kalos all those centuries ago was not just a one-off fluke," Sycamore declared. "Ever since that day, our two worlds have been continuously linked, interconnected with each other and exchanging people, animals, Pokémon, and things of all shapes and sizes. I got curious, so I started looking at anything that happened before six thousand years ago, and I found nothing on Earth. But Terre, on the other hand…"

He trailed off, then pointedly stared at Henrietta. The Princess nodded back, then she looked at Louise and said, "Louise, do you remember the lessons we had to sit through about Brimir's life? About his arrival to the Holy Land and the treachery of the elves?"

"Yes, of course. Everyone knows about them," Louise noted, but Saito raised his hand.

"I don't," he admitted. "What exactly happened?"

"The details are sparse," Louise began to explain, "but according to scripture, six thousand years ago Brimir and his tribe, the Markey, arrived in the Holy Land from a far off place. There they met the native Elves, who had advanced technology and could convene with spirits to perform mighty feats of magic. For a time, the Markey and the Elves lived in peace, but then came the Great Calamity."

"The Great Calamity?"

"A cataclysm of unparalleled devastation," Henrietta answered. "It was said that the Gods themselves descended upon the world and exacted terrible vengeance upon it, punishing the mortals for their wickedness and sin. No one knows what exactly caused it, or what invited the Gods' wrath, but its effects became immediately apparent. The once mighty elven civilization was nearly completely destroyed, reduced to a loose collection of independent city states that they've never quite recovered from. The Holy Land itself was transformed from a lush, verdant paradise to a vast, inhospitable desert, and the years themselves grew shorter. The Elves unjustifiably and cruelly blamed Brimir and his people for it, casting them out where they eventually settled in Halkegenia. Eventually, hostilities grew until open war was declared between our peoples, launching the First Crusade that ended with the Founder's death, but not before half of the Elven population was killed. Relations have been terrible ever since."

Louise nodded silently while Saito's eyes widened in horror. He muttered, "Arceus… Wait a minute, you're not suggesting-?"

Henrietta nodded, answering his question before he could finish it. She declared, "Saito, Louise…Professor Sycamore and I think Arceus, and maybe even the other Legendary Pokémon, caused the Great Calamity."

Louise's eyes widened in realization as did Saito's, and Louise started, "That does make a lot of sense. Arceus clearly met Brimir when he was alive, and even to this day despised him. He and the other Legendaries certainly have the power to perform the Great Calamity as well."

"I'm surprised you're taking this allegation so well," Sycamore noted. "When I first told Henrietta, she nearly refused to even consider the possibility before I showed her all the evidence I had gathered and deducted."

Henrietta sheepishly looked to the side, not particularly proud with how she initially reacted, but Louise didn't notice as she responded, "I've been through a lot in the past four months. Things that have made me a lot more openminded compared to what I used to be."

Saito couldn't have nodded harder in agreement at that, but something about the entire thing still seemed off for him.

"So, what? Brimir actually did piss Arceus off six thousand years ago and made him and all the other Legendary Pokémon go Old Testament on your world?" Saito asked. "Don't get me wrong. Many of Earth's legends describe Arceus doing that very thing to people who angered him. Hell, that happened a few years ago when he tried to destroy Michina Town for something their ancestors did thousands of years ago. But those were small and isolated incidents, not the entire world. What could Brimir have possibly done to justify that kind of reaction?"

"I don't know," Henrietta admitted while shaking her head. "But, if Derflinger truly knew Brimir like he says he does…"

"Then he might know the truth," Louise finished the sentence, and Henrietta nodded. Flatting her face, Louise nodded back, then declared, "Once we get back to the hotel, I'll ask him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's hold off on that for a bit," Saito interjected, much to Louise's displeasure.

"Saito, this is too important to just 'hold off' on," Louise noted. "The Great Calamity was one of the biggest and most important events in my world's entire history. If Derflinger knows the truth about what happened, we deserve to know."

"I'm not saying you can't ask him," Saito clarified. "It's just…I don't know. Whenever he talks about that time, whenever he can remember, he always seems…sad and in pain, almost. I think whatever happened back then is very painful for him."

That knowledge seemed to get Louise to soften her expression somewhat, but she still said, "I need to know, Saito. Especially since I am a Void mage, just like the Founder. I need to know why Arceus hated him so much."

Saito looked at his friend, then released a sigh and requested, "Just…when you do ask him, and if he doesn't want to talk about it…just accept it and move on. I know him, and Derflinger will talk about it eventually. Just…don't press him."

Louise looked at her friend, then slowly nodded in agreement. Saito nodded thankfully back, and Henrietta couldn't help but look on in surprise. The Louise she knew wouldn't have accepted that as an option, especially with someone it seemed as though she frequently got annoyed with. But here she was willing to put her needs to the side for the sake of another. Henrietta couldn't think of anyone else, besides Professor Colbert, that would've done the same thing. Part of her wondered if she herself would've been so patient had she been in Louise's shoes. She probably wouldn't have, Henrietta mused, and slightly frowned at herself.

That was when Professor Sycamore's phone began to ring just as the waitress arrived with their food. Pulling it out of his pocket, he held the device up to his ear and told them, "I'm sorry, I have to take this. I'll be right back. Go ahead and start without me."

As the professor walked outside of the diner to take his call, the teenagers watched him go. After he went through the door, they began to dig into their meal. Henrietta and Louise were eating with the grace and poise demanded by their station, drilled into their minds since their youth. Saito, on the other hand, was much more casual, taking large bites and stuffing his face with his food.

"Saito, take smaller bites," Louise chastised as she carefully wiped away a bit of excess ketchup that was on the corner of her lips.

An embarrassed Saito complied with her order, but also narrowed his eyes and joked, "What are you, my mom?"

"No, but if she were here I know that she'd tell you the same thing," Louise countered, and the two descended into a playful bit of back and forth banter. Henrietta watched it go by with an amused smile on her face, letting the encounter further draw her conclusions.

When the argument ended, and Saito began to take a drink from his glass of water, Henrietta decided that she had seen enough. She turned her head to look at Louise, then nonchalantly asked, "Louise?"

"Yes, Henrietta?" Louise asked, using her knife to cut into her meal.

"Saito is your lover, is he not?" Henrietta innocently asked with a smile on her face.

Louise's eyes widened and her knife slipped from her grip, flying across the table while a bright crimson blush erupted on her face. Saito, meanwhile, gagged on the water suddenly going down the wrong pipe, only barely able to prevent himself from spraying it everywhere in front of him. As he violently coughed and pounded his fist against his chest, a mortified Louise turned to look at her childhood friend, barely able to comprehend what she was asking.

"Wha…what?" she muttered.

"Saito's your lover, right? Or is that not the right term here? What do people call it here…boyfriend and girlfriend? Dating?" Henrietta repeated. "Is he courting you?"

"Wha…n…No! No, he's not!" Louise loudly insisted, trying and failing to contain her blush.

"Yea…Yeah, what she said," Saito finally managed to say after dislodging the last of the water from his throat. "Louise and I aren't dating. Why would you even think that?"

Now slightly embarrassed at having apparently misread the situation, Henrietta sheepishly answered, "I mean…all the signs were there. He's a boy, you're girl. You're travelling on a Pokémon Journey together, you're both around the same age, you share the same interests, and you both clearly care a great deal about each other."

"Because we're friends!" Saito declared, trying to avoid looking Louise in the eyes out of sheer embarrassment and mortification

"Yes, and that is all we are!" Louise confirmed, her embarrassment instinctually giving way for anger as she pointed towards Saito. "I would never even consider dating someone like him."

"Yeah. Exac…Wait, what do you mean you'd never consider dating someone like me?" Saito asked, suddenly feeling offended at what Louise just said.

"Um…" Louise muttered, glancing towards Saito, who narrowed his eyes.

"Elaborate, please?" Saito asked in a faux cheerful tone, and Louise began to sweat as she looked around, desperate for an answer to get out of his horrifying situation. To her distress, she couldn't really find one. By this point their differences in societal status didn't really matter to her all that much, especially since they didn't technically exist in Kalos. They were, for all intents and purposes, on equal standing. Saito was also a good guy to be around. Sure, he was irritating half the time, but even still he was the closest friend Louise ever had. Plus, she did consider Saito to be somewhat handsome, but she preferred not to think about that. After a moment, an answer finally came to mind, and she immediately leapt to it.

"Because you're my best friend and I don't want to ruin our friendship?" she replied in an almost pleading tone. Saito stared at her for a few painfully awkward moments, then seemed to nod in acceptance before looking away.

"Oh, thank the Founder…" Louise muttered under her breath, not noticing the blush on Saito's face.

Henrietta, however, did notice. Both on Saito's and on Louise's. That, more than anything, was enough to convince her of the true nature towards Saito and Louise's relationship. They clearly weren't lovers now, and probably wouldn't be for some time. There was even the possibility that they could fall in love with someone else. But the far more likely scenario was that their relationship was still growing and deepening, and it was only a matter of time before it blossomed into something knew. The young, innocent girl deep inside that obsessed over tales of romance grew giddy, and Henrietta vowed right then and there that she was going to help push this relationship along the best way she could.

But right now wasn't the time to prod. Instead, she had another thing in mind, and she asked, "Moving on, Louise? I'm a bit confused. Which day did you arrive in Kalos?"

More than eager to take the opportunity offered to change the subject, Louise immediately answered, "On the day of the Springtime Summoning Ritual, which is the Spring Equinox. On Earth, that March Twentieth, which was a little over four months ago."

"And what's today's date?"

"August Sixth."

"Which is the same as the Sixth of Ansuz, correct?"

"…Yes, where are you going with this?" Louise asked in suspicion, and Henrietta smiled while nodding.

"Just making sure," Henrietta said, then declared, "Happy Birthday, Louise."

The table fell silent, then Saito's eyes widened as he slowly turned to face Louise. He began to say, "…Today's your birthday?"

Louise looked confused for a moment, then her own eyes widened and she remarked, "Oh yeah, today is my birthday, isn't it? Funny, with everything that's been going on, it completely slipped my mind. I turn seventeen today."

Saito and Henrietta stared at Louise, then Saito hurriedly finished what was left on his plate before quickly getting up, muttering to himself, "No, no, no. This isn't good, not good at all. She needs a cake, presents, balloons— Gagh, I don't have time for this!"

With that, he ran out of the diner, not once looking back. Louise and Henrietta stared after him, then Louise got up as well and said, "Stay here, I'll go get him—"

"No, no. It's fine," Henrietta insisted as she got up. "In fact, you stay here while I go after him."

"What?!" Louise yelled in surprise, and Henrietta nodded.

"Clearly Saito is trying to set up a celebration for your birthday," Henrietta pointed out. "From what I've read here, those work best as a surprise, just not usually for the person trying to organize the party. I, on the other hand, have plenty of experience doing just that."

"…But," Louise tried to argue, but Henrietta was already walking out of the diner.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. We'll call you and the Professor when we're ready," Henrietta said as the door closed behind her. There was another reason why she wanted to go with Saito, besides honestly trying to set up her friend's birthday party and everything involved in that. She wanted to have the chance to interact with the boy Louise had been traveling with by herself for months, to properly gauge his character. Plus, she could also tease him a bit for the awkward attempt at flirting he did earlier. That sounded like it was going to be fun.

That was when Professor Sycamore reentered the diner, putting his phone back into his pocket.

"Hey, I just saw Saito run out of here like a Zubat out of Hell, and Henrietta going after him. Mind explaining what's going on?" he asked in genuine confusion.

Louise stared blankly at the door, then quietly admitted, "Today's my birthday, apparently."

"Oh, it is? Happy Birthday!"

Louise could only groan and bang her head against the table while silently praying that everything would be fine.

[~][~]

Hello, everyone! Here is the latest chapter of Outsiders. Special thanks to Darwin Candidate and Yuri Vampire for their help in bringing this chapter to life. Apologies for the late post. Today was a busy for me.

Henrietta and Louise have finally reunited, and Henrietta also got the wonderful opportunity to meet Saito. The boy had a...interesting first impression, to say the least. Better than what he did in canon when he kissed Henrietta fully on the lips when he was supposed to kiss her hand. I had fun writing that scene. Now we move on to the next phase of their journey: Louise's seventeenth birthday!

Let us know what you all think. If any of you have a TV Tropes account, we would greatly appreciate your help in updating the page. We hope you enjoy!