Three Fallers

by casualSnickers

Arceus brought three strangers to Hisui; one to be his guinea pig, one to be his champion, and one to be his scapegoat. But when his chosen one turns against him- with the zealot of all people- more drastic measures must be taken. But Arceus never makes mistakes, right? ... Right?

66. The Last Sin

September 29th, First Year

All Akari could do was stare at the dark panel of glass, her face smushed into her pillow as she tried her best to fall asleep. That day's tasks had left her both physically and mentally exhausted, having been tested by being tasked to watch over the village children for the entire day. There was only so much horsing around she could tolerate before wanting to find someplace nice and quiet to curl up and pretend not to exist; especially after dealing with the emotional turmoil that came with finally releasing a massive chunk of her secret; what she had been doing behind everybody's backs.

Her other roommates had already gone to bed for the evening, long since asleep in their beds. Dusk had come and gone and by the uninterrupted howl of snow causing the longhouse to shudder around her, Akari knew that it had to be well past midnight when it finally happened.

There came a quiet but firm rap against the glass pane, something soft ruffling against the cold surface as the pane began to creak.

"Krrr? Krr-aw-aw…?"

Akari carefully rose from her futon and went to open the window, careful not to disturb the slumbering forms strewn about the room as she held out her arm. Almost immediately, a small Rufflet hopped onto her shoulder and impatiently dropped a rolled-up letter in her outstretched hand before taking off, quickly disappearing in the bone chilling blizzard without so much as a backwards glance. Akari immediately knew who had sent it to her- he never allowed letters to be sent back in return. She had hastily unfurled the scroll, but it had been what was on the page in dark splotchy ink that had sent a chill through her body. A single sentence.

'Speak to Giratina as soon as possible.'

How… how does Volo even know about Giratina? Akari found herself stumbling to her feet, mindlessly slipping on a few more layers as she dipped out into the blistering cold air of the tundra. How does he know that I know about Giratina? She cradled the Griseous Orb carefully. Only once did she pause, guilt weighing on her considerably as thick clumps of frost began to build up on her eyelashes. This is wrong, she recited to herself. What I'm doing is wrong… But Rei… Akari curled her hands into fists and continued onward, past the guards, into the shady treeline. This will be the last time. No more after this, she promised herself again despite knowing deep down that her vow meant nothing.

Almost the moment she reached the shadows of the treeline, the biting winds ceased. The howl of the blowing snow calmed and quieted. The howling snow worsened to the point where Akari could make out nothing outside the towering, thorny trees and the speckled snow around her shoes. And despite it all, Akari felt warm. She felt a strong presence, undeniable and weighty, settle around her to drown out reality.

And it was such an odd thing, to suddenly be in the presence of a god, Akari knew, with her frozen hair and eyelashes. With her bedraggled, waterlogged clothes and gritted teeth and dirty hands. To stand in the presence of such an old but patient thing with her eyes watering and her heart wavering, her gaze trained on the ground. To be filthy- to feel filthy- and yet to try and perceive Giratina as the old god pokémon lowered its bloody red gaze to better stare into her own fearful one. It made her cower.

"AND SO, YOU HAVE RECEIVED HIS MESSAGE," Giratina murmured, coiling its massive body around Akari's until it was holding her up to its face, far larger than Akari remembered it being. It peered at her with its large, blazing red eyes, her own reflection mirrored in the shiny golden surface of the god's horns and tusks. "VERY WELL. YOU HAVE NEED OF ME."

"I-I do?" Akari squeaked out. She flinched, expecting some kind of rebuking. She felt she would deserve it, despite having talked to Giratina openly in the past. And she paused when no such action came. Instead, she nodded slowly, turning her gaze away to instead look into the void of distorted starlight that had come to surround them both. "I… I do. I do need your help."

"I BRING YOUR ANSWER, CHOSEN ONE," Giratina hummed. "THE ANSWER TO THE DOUBTS THAT PLAGUE YOU. SO SIMPLE. SO EASY."

"'Easy'? What do you mean 'easy'? My whole situation is that I want to move past the whole 'poisoning Rei' thing. How is you telling me to make Mister Emmet suspicious of you going to help me with that?" Akari asked. "I wanted to remove all bad suspicions of me from everyone; not put those fears into someone else!"

"AND THEY WON'T, FOR THE SOLUTION WILL NOT DEPEND ON THE TWO MORTAL KIN. RATHER, IT HAS SHIFTED THE BLAME ENTIRELY OFF OF YOU, MY CHAMPION. THEY CAN ATTEMPT TO SEEK ME, BUT THEY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO REACH ME. NOT WITHOUT DIVINE ASSISTANCE."

"But Mister Ingo works for Palkia and Mister Emmet has Celebi-"

"CELEBI IS A MINOR GOD," Giratina corrected her quickly. "AND WHILE PALKIA IS INDEED A MAJOR GOD, THEY ARE SUBSERVIENT TO ME. SO TOO IS DIALGA. I WAS THE FIRST AND AS SUCH, THEY HAVE NO DOMINION OVER ME IF I WERE TO… COERCE THEM INTO FOLLOWING ALONG. BUT… HMM. IT WOULD SEEM AS IF NEITHER OF MY BRETHREN CAN INTERCEPT THIS PLAN OF OURS. WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION... DO YOU TRUST ME, FATED CHAMPION?"

Akari swallowed. The pang of guilt returned like a molten lead burning at the insides of her gut. This is wrong. This is so wrong. I shouldn't- really. I "- trust you," Akari answered instead, her tongue heavy like hardened concrete in her mouth. "I trust you… Please," she begged. "Tell me a way to be free of this guilt. Tell me a way to get Rei and the professor and everyone else off my back for good."

Giratina swept Akari in closer, smothering her with its soot-colored scales as it delicately ushered her further into the void, all too gentle as it carried her along using its massive tusks for support. "GATHER THEM TOGETHER, YOUR FOES," Giratina rasped. It had shepherded Akari into someplace new. Someplace cold and quiet and strange. A place where the icy hell of the tundra turned into a misshapen and broken world where platforms of land heavy with luminescent crystals floated in midair. Where pillars of water twinkled with distorted starlight, droplets forever shimmering suspended for eternity as they curved and arched across the broken space. "BRING THEM HERE. TO ME."

"Here?" Akari echoed. The tall grass strewn about the platform made her legs itch and she moved to stand, a horrible sense of deja vu making her head throb. And when she looked at her hands, her vision shaky and fading, she was surprised to see herself wearing some kind of dress. Black and pink with frills. Akari immediately shut her eyes and instead focused back on the wavering landscape, feeling her heart beat frantically in her chest. "Here… Where is here?"

"THE DISTORTION REALM. MY DOMAIN."

"Your home…" Akari swallowed. "How? You want me to gather them. Get them all together. T-that's fine." Inside, Akari gauged the actuality of grouping her three targets together. Getting the professor near Rei would be an easy task; it was Jaku that worried her. After all, the older woman wasn't exactly known for staying in the same place for too long and unlike Rei and Professor Laventon, she possessed a capable team of pokémon. "And what about… what about Jaku? How am I supposed to get her to sit still with the others?" Akari blinked. "How…! I can't! I let her go too soon! She could be anywhere right now!"

Giratina instead shushed her with one of its many arms. "CALM YOURSELF, MY CHAMPION. THE CHAMPION OF TIME HAS ALREADY BEEN SUBDUED," Giratina hummed, clicking its tusks together to make an awful, rattling noise. "THEY WILL ALIGN WITH THE OTHERS IN DUE TIME. THEY WILL BE CAPTURED MUCH LIKE THE LESSER CREATIONS WITH THE CONTRAPTIONS YOU AND THE OTHER CHAMPIONS WIELD THEM WITH. HOWEVER, YOU MUST MAKE GO TO THE LAND WHERE MY BRETHREN'S PEOPLE REST TO BEGIN."

"The diamond encampment," Akari nodded. "Of course. Why didn't I remember that bad chest wound she had? Yeah, that would slow her down. Okay… Okay. So I guess Jaku is somewhere in the mirelands- that makes sense! And if you're saying that it won't be too hard to get her attention…" Akari then paused. "Wait. Wait, hold on a moment, Giratina. A… a question…please."

Giratina paused in its intricate telepathic writhing, lower to regard Akari closely. "WHAT IS IT, CHOSEN ONE?"

"You… how did you know…" Akari felt her throat tighten. "You… You're working with Mister Volo, aren't you?" Akari nearly whispered. The idea hadn't even crossed her mind before today. Pieces began to fall directly into her fingers: the Griseous Orb, Volo acting nonchalant about her interactions with the plates, the strange attacks at night- no attempt had been made on her- and of course, Giratina never questioning Volo's involvement whenever Akari spoke about the matter. "You have to be working with Volo," Akari croaked aloud, shaking.

At that, Giratina's low voice gathered into something like raucous thunder, nearly threatening to burst Akari's eardrums as the legendary pokémon… laughed. "INDEED, I AM WELL ACQUAINTED WITH THE MORTAL YOU SPEAK OF. HE AND I HAVE COME TO… UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER. THINK NOTHING OF IT, MY CHAMPION," Giratina assuaged her. "YOUR FELLOW MORTAL WILL ASSIST YOU WITH GATHERING THOSE THREE UNFORTUNATES INTO AN ACCOMMODATABLE POSITION."

"Volo's taking care of it?" The tension in Akari's gut only worsened. They really must have been in conversation for all three of them to be on the same page. And if that were to be the case… Akari grimaced. "Giratina… You know what Volo is trying to do, don't you? What we were trying to do."

"OF COURSE. I AM ANCIENT BUT I AM NOT A FOOL NOR AM I IGNORANT TO THE PLIGHTS OF HUMANKIND." Giratina lifted Akari upward using telepathy, floating her alongside it as the great god slithered across the starry void. "YOUR MORTAL FRIEND DESIRES THE TRUTH FROM MY PROGENITOR; A TRUTH AND AN ANSWER FOR THE MANY INJUSTICES HE HAS FACED DURING HIS PITIFULLY SHORT LIFE."

"And?" Akari pestered, desperate to hear Giratina's feelings toward the matter. "You're answering for Arceus while they're away, aren't you? What are you thinking, knowing that Volo is attempting to… well… when he's trying to overpower Arceus?"

Giratina clicked one of its black claws to its beak thoughtfully, spreading its inky black wings wide as it coasted underneath a massive chunk of earth and crystals. "I AM TO UPHOLD THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE MORTAL REALM AND THE DISTORTION REALM. VOLO'S ANGER UPON ARCEUS' LAXNESS WILL BE RESOLVED NOT BY MY OWN POWERS. THUS, I AM SET TO SIMPLY ASSIST WHERE I AM NEEDED. AND IF MY HELP SHOULD BE CALLED UPON BY MORTAL VOICES, THEN I AM SWORN TO OBEY." Giratina's booming voice failed to hide the slight drawl that sharpened its words, making the serpentine god sound insincere.

"And w-what then, Giratina? O-of our plan? What do you want me to do? What am I supposed to do after I get all three of them together?"

"I WILL BRING THEM HERE. TO MY DIMENSION: TO THE DISTORTION REALM." Giratina circled around what looked to be a dying star, its body long and glittering in the blinding starlight as it shielded Akari with one clawed wing, almost seeming to blot out everything. "I WILL KEEP THEM HERE WHERE TIME DOES NOT FLOW AND SPACE HAS NO FORM."

Akari found herself nodding, hating that what Giratina spoke of would irreversibly muddy her hands in a way Akari would never be able to forget. "...Forever?" Akari asked timidly. And as she spoke the word, she paused, her eyes widening when she spotted something- a figure- regarding Giratina as well.

A man. A tall and slender man with unruly pale hair, just barely visible from his wavering silhouette behind a pillar of crashing water. At first, Akari had believed it to be a near perfect copy of Captain Cyllene, but the glow of the man's eyes from afar as his piercing gaze tracked over to something just behind him made Akari's blood freeze in her veins. Especially when what the man had been staring at came into view. Akari saw herself. Her own flesh and blood and hair move to confront the man, fury evident on her doppelganger's face.

"NOT FOREVER," Giratina cut in, obscuring the two's form with its massive body. Sensing Akari's distress and confusion, Giratina shifted to coil around her. All Akari could see was her own golden reflection in the god's horns. "I WILL KEEP THEM FOR ONLY A MOMENT. THE EFFECT OF THE DISTORTION REALM IS ENOUGH TO DARKEN MEMORIES; SEVER TIES, IF YOU WILL. IF YOU SHOULD BRING THEM TO ME ALONGSIDE VOLO, YOU WILL FIND THAT YOUR FOES WILL FAIL TO EVEN REMEMBER WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IN THE FIRST PLACE. SUCH IS THE PRICE OF WITHSTANDING THE PRESENCE OF A GOD WITHOUT ADMISSION."

"They… they won't remember… anything?" Akari wanted to vomit. "You mean- and that's if I can get them all together at the same time- you mean to tell me that if I- if Volo and I bring all three of them here-" she gestured with a sweeping arm to the distorted realm- "that they'll lose their memories of what I did? What I said? Will they forget me entirely?" she whispered.

"THAT IS BOTH CORRECT AND NOT CORRECT. IT IS A PERFECT SOLUTION BY THE NATURE THAT I WILL DECIDE WHAT GETS ERASED," Giratina hummed. "AN AFFLICTION THAT CANNOT BE CURED... AND WHEN PAIRED WITH THE DISORIENTING EFFECT OF EXISTING WITHIN THIS REALM ALONGSIDE EXPLOITING A SPECIFIC MOVE…" Giratina chuckled. "YOUR FOES WILL NOT REMEMBER ANY OF YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS. I WILL ARRANGE IT AS SUCH."

"I…" Akari swallowed once more before sinking in a low bow, her loose hairs forming a dark curtain around her face. The solution made her want to float away from Giratina's side, but despite the sinking feeling weighing heavily on her, Akari sank to her knees. "Thank you, Giratina… Thank you."

In the length of a single breath, Akari was graciously returned back to the tundra, coming to at the sensation of the prickly Griseous Orb clutched tightly in her hands. And perched atop the orb was a single metallic scale, gray like soot and slimy. Akari placed the scale and the orb in her bag, stood, and wordlessly began to make her way back to the Pearl Settlement.

Hours passed. Akari found herself mindlessly packing up what little items belonged to her, having since gotten Irida's permission to travel alone to the Diamond Settlement. To make amends upon her situation is what she had said, but Akari would be doing far, far worse than that. She quickly cleaned up her borrowed futon and descended into the calm blowing snow, eager to make it to her destination and get the day over with.

And despite her misgivings, the journey had gone smoothly. There had been no ill words from the clan folks. No snarky remarks or eager jump-ins to try and tag along on what was due to be a slow and silent trip. Akari had been expecting to be attacked by a wild pokémon or perhaps locked into some kind of incident, but her pokémon had been attentive, even going so far as carrying her a massive leg of the trip. Mars thundered across the snowy hills. Jupiter effortlessly carried Akari through the mountains. And as sunhigh came and went and the sun began to sink on the horizon, Akari finally found herself sighting the leafy canopies of the Crimson Mirelands.

With a tired hoot, Jupiter carefully adjusted its grip around her torso with its talons, slowing the frantic beat of its tiny wings so that the two could safely land on the pebbly bank where the Ruins of Solaceon lingered, glowing red in the light of the setting sun. Water settled onto both of them, a welcome cooling sensation under the blistering sun overhead.

"Good job, Jupiter." Akari reached out and ruffled the feathers of her pokémon, making sure to feed it plenty of nourishing berries before recalling her partner back to its pokéball. With Saturn and Neptune standing warily behind her, Akari instead took careful steps away from the beginnings of the cathedral ruins, instead setting up a makeshift tent underneath two stilted pillars. She rationed out portions for her pokémon and finally managed to eat something just as the sun vanished beneath the horizon. "And now we wait."

Sitting there in the silence listening to faraway Yanmas cry made Akari realize that she was still effectively banished from Jubilife and to that extent, most likely not welcome on the lands belonging to the Diamond Clan either. But still, she ate her fill of old bread and berries, moving to recline against a wall of eroded stones. It wouldn't do Akari any good to feel sorry for herself. She had made her bed; now, she had to lie in it. But perhaps, it also wouldn't hurt to ask Giratina what the extent of his memory-wiping powers were.

"Ah. You're right on time."

Akari only had seconds to react before Volo came striding into the clearing, his boots sinking into the mud and water as he just barely missed stepping on Saturn's outstretched paw. The man looked exhausted. His golden hair was askew under his cap and there were dark circles under his eyes, a nasty looking bruise shining under his right eye. Spots of blood were just barely covered up under the straps of his rucksack. Despite it all, his gaze seemed to brighten when he caught Akari's eye.

"What happened to you?" Akari gasped. She bade him closer, handing him an oran berry in an attempt to ease her friend's wounds. "You look like you got into a fight!"

"I did!" Volo responded cheerfully.

"You look like you lost."

Volo's grin tightened. "I will… not report the results."

"Fine, fine." Akari narrowed her eyes. "So… how long…. How long have you known about- how long have you been working with Giratina?" She waited for the response she was looking for; she didn't have to wait very long.

Volo dropped his overly friendly mask, a slight grimace taking the place of his usual friendly grin. He leaned against a tree, taking a long drink from his waterskin. "For a long time…" he muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "Before you even arrived here, Akari. Long before Arceus decided to even bring you here. I've known Giratina since I was… well, since I was about your age, I suppose."

"Really? And you… you know what Giratina is trying to help us do?"

Volo blinked, his eyes narrowing. "Where are you going with this, Akari?"

"Well-" She leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the small fire before her as she played idly with her hands. "What I mean to say is…" Akari sighed. "I feel… guilty," she admitted, frowning. "I've been feeling guilty ever since we poisoned Rei. I've been thinking about the things I've done since I came to Hisui and to be honest? I can't see an actual champion of Arceus doing these things." A hollow laugh rang out from her throat, her nails cutting into the flesh of her palm. "Rei told you about it- what I did to… to poor Oshawott. He didn't deserve it. And all I feel is guilt."

"Akari-"

"And don't tell me that it's what Arceus had in mind when he brought me here," Akari immediately cut through, unable to control the simmering glare that she regarded Volo with. She was coming to a reckoning with her feelings and the inner turmoil that came with them, the man's opinions be damned. "Let's face it. What I've done- what we're doing- good people don't do these things, Volo. Good people don't beat defenseless pokémon to death. Good people-" Akari paused, pain jolting through her throat as her voice cracked- "Good people don't poison others who are… who were simply trying to help. And that means… that means I'm not a good person. And maybe… maybe I was brought here on accident-"

"Nothing ever happens on accident." Volo's rebuttal was swift and cold but as he moved to sit beside her, his gaze mirrored her own. Wariness. Uncertainty. Despair. He put one warm, bracing hand on her shoulder. "What you've done in the past may not have been ideal or even merciful, but then again, any action could be viewed as evil. Capturing pokémon-" he rolled a waiting pokéball into his hands- "is evil to both of the clans. But then, hunting them and eating them is not." Volo sighed, his hand weighing on Akari's shoulder. "It's debates like these that make me want to speak to Arceus the most," Volo admitted. "I understand your… guilt. I can imagine that you must not like what we've been doing in secrecy all this time. And I would understand if the pressure to perform is too much for you-"

"It's not that!" Akari protested. She shook her head, crossing her arms as she huddled in on herself. "I just- I get this feeling- when I look at the others- Ingo, Emmet, and even Jaku- that I could be better. That I could do better. I asked Giratina to help unburden me from this guilt that I feel and when I told Ingo and Emmet, they looked horrified. I can't believe I was ever happy about killing Oshawott. About poisoning Rei." Akari buried her head in her arms. "I want to be done with doing these terrible things. I just want to go back home but I don't want to become a monster just to get there."

"Sometimes… Well, I admire you, Akari." Volo leaned back on his elbows, his dark eyes trained on the skies. "You're right. I don't blame you for feeling that way. But I assure you… work with me tonight and you won't need to carry that guilt anymore."

Tears threatened to spill at the corners of Akari's eyes and her throat burned. "I… I don't know whether to be relieved that I believe you." She then wrapped her arms around Volo's torso and hugged the man, her tears spilling onto the merchant's apron. "You've been the only person who's really listened to me and I… I just… Thank you. Thank you for being my friend, Volo."

"I'm glad that you're mine," Volo answered simply. He then bode her to stand. "Come on now. Giratina had us come together this evening for a reason." He turned one silver eye upon the rising moon banking over the Droning Meadows before extending an arm for Akari to grab onto. "We need to complete this task before dawn- Giratina's power is strongest during the night."

"Right."

They journeyed quickly to the Sludge Encampment under the cover of the night, Volo leading the way with a surprising speed and pausing only when he gestured toward their intended location. The Sludge Encampment laid quietly, the lights put out and the stationed guards looking half-asleep on their feet.

"What's the plan?" Akari asked.

Volo reached down to his belt and pulled out a pokéball. "It's quite simple. We're going to stage a rampage; a pokémon rampage." He held up the pokéball and then glanced expectantly at Akari. "The Griseous Orb. Giratina tells me that it has lent it to you. Would you mind terribly if I borrowed it for a few moments for a demonstration of mine?"

Akari wanted to say no, but she relented, watching with rapt horror as Volo broke off a chunk of the orb's surface and crushed it to a fine dust, scattering it into the grass. Almost immediately, a thick pool of dark slime began to form, rippling as it widened. Volo carefully staged his larger body in front of her own as with a quick toss, he let the pokéball fall into the abyss.

"What did you just do?"

"You'll see. Just stay behind me and wait until I see an opening."

"...An opening?"

With a horrendous, otherworldly screech, a massive pokémon tore its way out of the slimy pool, its blocky body dripping with slime and mucus as it thrashed about wildly, immediately setting upon the edge of the Sludge Encampment with a furious cry.

"What was that?"

"An Onix," Volo answered. He reached his hand down into the slimy pool and pulled out the remains of the broken pokéball, smiling when two glittering red lights appeared in the depths of the retreating puddle. "The Griseous Orb- when crushed into a power- contains the necessary energy needed to form a portal to the Distortion Realm. Here-" Volo broke off another chunk of the orb and handed it to Akari. "You need to find Rei and the Professor and scatter the dust on them. Trust me, crushing the orb pieces is like crushing apart a ripe berry in your palm; it's far easier than you think. Now go."

"What about Jaku? She's here?"

"She's nearby," Volo confirmed. "I've been keeping an eye out for them. No doubt, she'll be drawn to the chaos that's about to unfold here." He then pried off another chunk of the orb and stashed it in his apron pocket. "I'll deal with her; you focus on Rei and Laventon."

"Got it!" Akari followed after the Onix, already hearing the fearful cries of the woken scouts as they scrambled for purchase. She stuck to the shadows, watching as the frenzied Onix used its rocky tail to obliterate the base of the cliff. Horror pulsed through her when a loud crack rang out in the cold night air. Worried cries turned into screams. The earth trembled beneath her. The cliffs of the Sludge Encampment were crumbling.

Akari raced up the other side of the hill with Mars in tow, the sharp bits of the Griseous Orb Piece biting into her hand as she scrambled to find the entrance of the camp. She surged past the fleeing scouts and guardsmen, past those too busy attempting to take on the monster, finding her way into the abandoned medical wing just as the ground stakes began to loosen in the crumbling earth.

Cots and medical equipment shook and tumbled around but there was only one thing Akari was looking for. "Rei?" She called out desperately. "Rei!" She darted over toward the only occupied bed, quickly grabbing onto the boy's frail arms. He barely stirred.

"Akari!" Laventon's petrified voice boomed as he emerged into the tent alongside her, his eyes wide with confusion and terror as he took in the sight before him. He then quickly fixed himself and rushed over to assist, easily scooping up Rei's emaciated, sickly body into his arms like a father would a sleeping child. "Come now! We must flee! Hurry!"

And as the professor rushed past her, completely oblivious to the dark expression on her face, Akari saw her opening. She tightened her hold on the sharpened bit of the Griseous Orb, feeling it turn into a fine powder in her clenched fist. This is my only chance. And once I do this, everything will be okay again. Akari ran after the professor and with a raucous yell, flung the powder at the two retreating men. The reaction was nigh instantaneous.

Laventon stumbled, audibly shattering his knee on the hardened edge of the slimy pool that had formed around him. He cried out in pain, still reaching out desperately to Rei's battered body which had been flung out of his grasp as he began to sink into the portal. "Akari!" he howled. "Help me! Please! Get Rei-"

Akari instinctively followed the older man's orders but at the last minute turned. She looked deeply into Laventon's rounded eyes which were filled with anguish, pure and raw and sickening. But there was hope there too and something else that made Akari feel as if her own heart was being wrenched out of her chest; concern. The thick slime of the pool rose to fill Laventon's mouth, a dark limb reaching out and grabbing the man by the back of his head before forcing him under the waves.

Akari took a deep breath and dragged Rei's body over toward the edge, careful to lay the boy down as if putting him to sleep. And much more gently, the shadowy form- Giratina- reached out and cradled Rei before slowly pulling him under.

"GO NOW," Giratina rasped. "THE CHAMPION OF TIME HAS RETURNED. VOLO IS IN NEED OF YOUR ASSISTANCE. I WILL HARBOR YOUR FOES SAFELY HERE IN THE VOID UNTIL IT IS SAFE TO RELEASE THEM."

"Thank you, Giratina!" Akari shouted, stumbling as she raced out of the medical tent. The cliffs shuddered beneath her, another horrid yell piercing the air as a section of the hill collapsed under its own weight, numerous white tents falling many, many feet to the ground where the yells quieted.

The Onix continued to rage, its horrid cries ringing out through the cliffs as it burrowed into the ground and reemerged, using its rocky tail to turn over the plinth of land, suffocating any who had remained trapped on top of it.

A bright flash briefly illuminated the section of trees near the base of the Sludge Encampment where the rubble had settled, sending up a massive cloud of dust and debris. Moments later, the shockwave hit the Sludge Encampment, nearly sweeping Akari off of her feet. She started toward it. Flashes of light alongside determined yells filtered through the trees. Akari had been expecting to hear Jaku's voice. To maybe even run into her fellow champion. But all she could hear was Volo and the venomous voice of another man, one Akari didn't recognize. Akari followed the sound of Volo's voice and found him standing over an active slime pit, blood dotting his face and throat.

He turned and glared at Akari. "We can't afford to follow Jaku now," he spat. "This one got in the way-" he jabbed a thumb at the portal. "But we can still do something about her. Watch the pit. I need to travel to the Diamond Encampment immediately."

"For what?"

"Jaku knows about your involvement with Rei and as it stands with the Sludge Encampment being attacked, she may or may not be enticed to warn Leader Adaman of what is happening. We can't let that happen, Akari."

"So what are you suggesting we do?"

"We have to lump Adaman in as well," Volo grunted. "If he forgets that Jaku was ever in his clan, he won't be even remotely interested in following up on what she says. She'll be effectively banished from the Diamond Clan and with her current wounds, she'll soon succumb and put herself in a place where we can overwhelm her."

Akari nodded, a lump forming in her throat. "Okay. And we're just going to erase parts of her memory, right? She won't die, will she?"

"If we're quick, she won't."

"Then I'll go-"

"Don't." Volo reached his hands into the portal and pulled out a man, carefully setting him down on the roots of a tree so that the thick slime could drip off of him. "I need you to stay here. You're trying to spin this in your favor, right? You must quell that Onix," Volo emphasized. "Giratina should be all done corrupting Laventon and Rei's memories by now. All you have to do is save the day and this plan of ours will be a success."

"So you'll… you're going to-"

"I won't need as much vigilance with Leader Adaman. Getting through to him will be relatively easy considering that the Diamond Clan doesn't post as many guards as the Galaxy Team does. By sunrise, all of your troubles will be in the past, I assure you."

Tears pricked at Akari's eyes. She quickly wiped them away, reaching for the Griseous Orb when Volo handed it back to her. "...Thank you so much, Volo." She sniffled, a few tears spilling down her cheeks. "Thank you!"

"Don't cry, Akari." Volo calmly knelt in front of Akari and gave her a gentle but warm hug, using his own sleeve to dry up her tears. "You need to be strong for what you're about to do. Can you be strong for me?" he asked gently.

Akari chuckled, wet and pathetic, as she shakily stood. "Yes… Yes, I can be strong, Volo."

"Then go get that Onix. And tomorrow when we see each other again, I want to see you smiling, understand?"

"Got it!"

"Then let's get this over with." With a quick whistle, Volo disappeared into the undergrowth alongside his battered pokémon, leaving Akari to stare at the wreckage of the Sludge Encampment and the massive plumes of dust that surrounded it.

"I can do this… I can do this!" Akari charged forward, ordering Neptune to spray the goliath with as much water as it could pump out while having Jupiter ensnare the beast. Within no time flat, Akari had surrounded the frenzied Onix in waves of mud, watching as the thick gray slime faded into the ground. It shook itself out, clearly confused, before slithering away, leaving Akari to search the wreckage.

"...Help!" It was a weak cry. So weak that Akari had barely heard it as she swept along the wreckage along the bottom of the hill. Mars began to nose apart the rubble, the cries growing louder and louder as the two unearthed more pieces of debris.

Akari gasped. A familiar sleeve stuck out of the earth and with it, a frail hand. "Rei!" Akari reached in and seized Rei, waiting until Mars had completely excavated the boy to pull him free. He fell limply into her grasp, coughing as she pulled him to safety. But he was warm and alike and… smiling.

And when Rei finally straightened himself out, he opened his eyes- his bright and glittering- and stared directly at Akari before breaking into tears. "Akari! You! I- " He pulled her into a tight hug, sobbing as he clung onto her. He rocked forward, smearing her front with blood and dust and refusing to let go.

Rubble shifted and Akari had only one second to react before another person had reached her, embracing both her and Rei in a bone-crushing hug. "My children-!" Laventon croaked. He was speckled with blood, but genuine tears stained his cheeks as he hugged them close, his own sobs of relief mirroring Rei's. "You're both okay! We're all going to be okay," he murmured, pulling Akari in closer.

Akari could only let herself be hugged, her own tears dripping into Rei's thin hair as she clung to him as well. "I'm so happy you're awake again," she rasped. They were… concerned about her. Rei was touching her. Laventon actually cared. It was enough to make Akari lean into the two's touch, warm and finally at ease. Even if it was a false peace, it was one of the few that she had ever experienced in all her time in Hisui.

The feeling of reluctant ease only lasted for so long. Akari instead looked toward the section of the woods where the flashes of light had come from. To where the man who had been covered in the slime had… disappeared. Jaku was still out there and if she knew the older woman, then Akari's job wasn't really done.