Chapter 21: One Weird Family Dynamic
"You gotta be kidding."
"What?"
"There's just no way."
"Why is this so hard to believe!?"
"You're gonna start meditating? Mon, I'd sooner believe if someone said Vert was gonna start doing interpretive dance."
Van snickered as Lumi huffed from his position on his bed cushion. This was certainly not the first thing he expected to see this morning, especially given how excited Lumi seemed about finally getting to speak with his parents. Van felt excited for his partner when he broke the news, and that had turned into almost a full night of them trading stories about their childhoods.
He expected Lumi to be bouncing off the walls of their room, ready to get going, not sitting cross legged on his pillow, still.
It was borderline unnatural.
"Van, this is part of my training arc!" asserted Lumi. "I need to do this in order to become one with the timestream...or something. Celebi said I need to get comfortable with it in order to do cool time stuff!"
"If it were anyone, and I mean anyone else, who said what you just said? I would take them to a hospital or a therapist asap."
"I'm glad you don't think I'm crazy," said Lumi, with a warm smile. Van raised a brow.
"I never said that. The more I get to know you, the more I realize how wild your family situation actually is."
"I don't know, having fifteen brothers and sisters seems like a fever dream to me. How do you deal with that many people in one house?"
"I dunno, love 'em', I guess?" Van rubbed his mohawk and shrugged. "I'm the oldest son, so I got a little sway amongst the pack. Also helps that mom taught me how to cook, on account of Lou not being able to tell a spoon from a spatula."
Lumi opened his mouth wide, and looked at Van as if he were some kind of hero. It just occurred to the Scrafty that, now that they were Partners, Lumi got a whole household of potential new friends.
And he had to deal with meeting his 'badass' parents, who were apparently a bit more than simple bounty hunters.
Suddenly, this upcoming meeting made his stomach drop.
"Hey, do you mind helping me out with something?" Lumi's question jerked Van from any forming thoughts, and he nodded.
"I have to sit here for a while, so do you think you could deliver Weavile's breakfast for me while I'm here?"
Van idly nodded, until his mind caught up to the request, and he looked at Lumi like he had two heads.
"You want me to...what? Why would I do tha-why would you do that!?" he asked, incredulous. "You're out here feeding terrorists mon?"
"She's been getting meals this whole time, I just offered to deliver her breakfast these past few days, since someone had to do it."
"But...why?" asked Van. Lumi glanced to the side and shrugged.
"No real reason, just...she's different, I guess. I've never seen or spoken to someone like her before. Part of me still thinks she's just crazy but, another part..." he went quiet, and got that inquisitive look Van had begun to understand meant he was thinking much deeper than he let on.
It passed just as fast, and Lumi grinned at him.
"Well, the other part of me just kind of likes to annoy her. She's pretty fun to mess with."
"I think you just like being close to danger. You got a weird sense of fun, mon," groused Van. He rubbed his head and sighed.
"But, fine. I can get her food, I guess."
"Awesome! I'll be finished up here by the time you get back, and then we'll get ready for when Mom and Dad get here. I think it'll be after the cheer."
"Aight, bet."
Van threw a hand up as he exited the room, and swung by the Dining Hall. He ducked into the back kitchens, grabbed a tray, and threw on whatever random stuff that looked vaguely breakfast-y.
A cup of water, a few blueberries that had fallen on the ground, and a piece of bread.
What? She was a terrorist. Didn't really matter how Lumi felt, he still didn't like her all that much.
He stepped through the flap to the Dynamo Branch a couple minutes later. Hardly anyone was up at this time, so the large room and the proto dungeons inside were all devoid of Pokemon. His feet shuffled along the stone floor as he made the long trek towards the back of the room where some flaps for storage were.
He passed through one final flap, and stepped into a dim, musty room full of containers and storage bins where they kept reserve testing supplies. A luminous orb gradually lightened the room as he stepped in, and he clicked his tongue, mindful of how they were beginning to run low on a few things.
Tucked into a corner, Van finally arrived at his destination; the Detainer Container. It resembled a sturdy stone storage chest, with the guild symbol emblazoned on its front. Unlike most box items, this one came up to about his chest, so it was rather large.
From what he understood, this thing was originally supposed to aid hunters in carrying their quarry back from wherever they happened to capture them. It would also save on space for holding prisoners for longer periods of time. While still a prototype, it more than served their purposes for keeping their one prisoner locked up where they could keep an eye on her.
He also heard that Pandora had been heavily involved in its creation. Honestly, 'Pandora's Box' sounded like a better name than 'Detainer Container,' but that was just his opinion.
As an added perk, the chest utilized teleportation technology, something Van still didn't know if he liked as he was blipped into the inside of it after inputting a keycode. He sucked in a breath and sneezed, but shook it off and walked towards the hallway that held Weavile.
He had snagged her cell key from the storage area, and their jingle echoed in the empty jail. The sound rattled his nerves a bit, which intensified as he finally stood in front of her cell.
Van exhaled and bounced on his feet, unsure how to really proceed. Eventually, he smacked his face lightly, cursed under his breath, and unlocked the door before banging loudly on its metal surface.
"Hey, yo, wake up! Got a full course meal for ya," he yelled. He pressed the side of his head up against the door.
Silence reigned for a few moments, before he heard the light rattle of chains from behind. Satisfied that Weavile was up, he pushed open the door and strolled in with his best game face.
The glare she gave pierced right through it as she sat up against the wall.
He faltered for a split second before walking forward. Van was used to glares, he got them from Damia all the time, but the way Weavile seemed to dissect his every move was downright unnerving.
It was like the moment he walked in, he was no longer a Pokemon, but merely an opponent. And he was still salty from how their last "fight" turned out.
Van stood in the center of the room, holding out the food tray. He returned her icy glare with a sneer.
Wordlessly, he set the tray down on the floor, and pushed it forward with his foot. It slid the short ways to land in front of her. The water spilled a bit, and the berries scattered around.
Her eyes never left him.
"How the hell does he do this?" thought Van, now thoroughly creeped out. He shoved his hands in his natural pockets, and backed away slowly, before turning quickly to reach for the door.
"...That's it?" came her voice from behind, scratchy and a bit hoarse. Van's whole body flinched, and he cursed again. He looked over his shoulder.
"What? I got you food." He turned around fully and huffed. "What else do you want, a board game?"
She went silent again, just staring at him. Van rolled his eyes and gestured at her.
"You some kinda freak? I'm not here to talk to you. Meowstic asked me to do this for you. What, you miss him or somethin'?"
For a split second, her razor sharp gaze seemed to soften just a bit, soon replaced with a look of suspicion. Her eyes squinted at him.
"Are you his friend?" she asked. Van blinked.
"Yeah. We're Partners," he said with force. "Why do you care?"
"You're scared of me."
"Now wait a damn-"
"And Meowstic is weak. You should be stronger if you want to protect him."
The nerves bled away. Anger replaced them.
"I should unchain you just to beat that bullshit outta your mouth," he growled, stepping closer. She raised a brow.
"Can you?"
"Doesn't matter, at least then I wouldn't be a hypocrite!" he yelled. "Where do you get off spoutin' that kinda stuff? You put us in this situation to begin with!"
"I know."
"You think you have the right to hurt someone and then act like they're the ones that need to change? You're outta your mind if that's the case!"
"..."
"And when the hell did I ask you how I'm supposed to take care of my Partner? As if you know anything about us."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't even get me started on-what?" he asked, surprised. Weavile glanced to the side, finally releasing him from her stare.
"That wasn't how...I did not mean it like that," she said, and looked towards the ground. The mood had turned suitably awkward, and Van groaned, rubbing his eyes.
"...Too early in the morning for this," he grumbled. "You're kind of a downer, you know that? Has Meowstic actually been talking with you these past few days?"
"Yes." she nodded. "Besides your Guildmaster's attempts at interrogating me, he has been the only other one who comes to my cell."
"To do what, keep you company?" he grumbled. She shrugged. "What's he talk to you about?"
"I...don't know? There doesn't seem to be a point to any of it." her eyes scrunched in thought. "Yesterday he brought down a comic and explained why the quality of illustrated fight scenes has gone down in recent years, and then walked me through each panel to show his point."
At her explanation, Van couldn't help a little chuckle. Lumi was lowkey most days, but he'd turn into an absolute geek the moment you mentioned comics around him.
"Damn...he must feel pretty sorry for you. You're lucky he can't hold a grudge to save his life."
"You seem a bit less naive," she observed. Van's face hardened.
"Watch it," he warned. Her expression didn't change.
"When you see him, can you tell him something for me?"
"Don't know why I should."
"Tell him that..." she paused, and seemed to contemplate something.
"...I feel like I almost dreamt, last night..." she uttered. Her eyes didn't meet his when the words left her mouth, and she had a strange expression on her face, like she couldn't believe that she said them.
Weavile seemed to lose interest in him at that point, eyes focused on some point along the wall. More than eager to be rid of her company, Van backed up and left her cell, letting the heavy door slam shut behind him.
He locked it, and made his way to the exit.
Creepy.
Calming thoughts...gentle thoughts...
"That's it. Consider your place right at this moment. You're a pebble in a stream. Caught in its current."
Pebble in a stream. Like a nice, bubbling brook.
Brook. He liked Brook. Brook was nice, he should speak to him more.
"Don't lose it. Let your mind empty, and just be. Focus."
Right. Focus. Don't focus on Brook the Wartortle. Focus on the seconds that he could feel on his fur, the moments that he could reach out and let them dance on his paw.
...Damn that sounded cool. Maybe he should think of, like, a superhero name or something. Something all mysterious like...Chrono or...Dr. Fate. Or the Timekeeper!
No...those are all kind of pretentious. Wait. Willow wanted to see him today. Did he have time for that? Did he even want to go...?
Would his parents like his friends? Mom would be down, she always liked to have fun. Dad though, he was all about "safety" and "thinking things through." He'd probably freak when he told him abo-
"Okay..." a bubbly voice huffed in amusement. "I think we're done for today. Go ahead and cut it off."
Lumi nodded and severed his connection to the timestream. That unique thrum of energy within had become a bit more familiar, and it only took a bit of concentration to halt it in his ears.
He blinked open his eyes, and looked up at Celebi. The green fairy lounged on one of the cushions in their small dimmed room. Lumi had to remind himself that the creature resting amongst the scattered cushions and pillows was indeed an ancient being who had at least multiple millennia of wisdom packed into her small frame.
The coy smile she gave him reflected both mundane amusement and a depth of insight he wouldn't be able to parse for quite some time.
"So. How was that?" asked his tutor. She held her head in her arms and idly kicked her feet behind her. Lumi gave a hesitant shrug.
"You know it was...uh. Quiet. Not a whole lot going on," he muttered. His cheeks burned when she raised a brow, her grin widening.
"My goal today was to run a little test to see how well you could empty your mind from the now. I counted every second you were able to do so at one time."
"So, what was the longest I got?"
"Six."
"And how many did I need to pass?"
"Six."
"Yesssssssss-"
"Hundred. You needed six hundred seconds to pass. You got six."
"...this is hard."
Celebi giggled and floated up from the cushion. She picked up Van's set of bongos and idly patted at them as she spoke back at him.
"The first thing I was taught by Lord Dialga was stillness of mind. Engaging with the flow of time means exposing yourself to hundreds of possibilities at any one moment. The influx of information can be alot, even for me sometimes, so this is the first thing I want to teach you. It'll give you a foundation to build off of later."
"It's kind of my first instinct to try and process everything I see though." Lumi folded his arms and frowned. "I prefer to make sense of things as I go. I'm not the best at...focusing."
"That makes two of us," said Celebi, with a cheeky grin. "This is just the beginning, so you can ease into what it all feels like. The fun stuff comes later, just be patient."
"Yeah, I suck at that too."
Celebi laughed. At that moment, Van strolled into the room.
"Yo mon, dropped off breakfast for-"
Celebi flew right up and screamed in his face.
"BOO!"
"SHHIIEEEAAAA-WHAT!?"
"Ooh, you're kinda handsome up close. Okay, bye Lumi, see you tomorrow~" A white light sparked behind her, and she did a backflip into it, disappearing into ethereal leaves.
Van's chest heaved as he pointed a shaky hand at where she disappeared. His tail sprang up on end.
"What the...who the...how the..."
"She's cool, huh?" Lumi came up and put a paw on the lizard's shoulder. "C'mon, let's go see if the girls are up."
It took Van a while to calm down.
"Are we sure we don't just look...more suspicious?" wondered Clara as she marveled at the lime green spots on her body. Beside her, Damia glared at her own dark green scales, while Van adjusted the green skin that formed his pants.
Lumi looked down at his own blond fur and pouted at the rest of his team.
"I wish I could be part of the green gang..."
"Don't think that's the most important thing here, danger cat," muttered Damia. She squinted down at Van. "The real issue is that it looks like Van here is wearing me..."
"I actually kinda dig it. I feel all...forest-y and junk. Damia's more of a dark moss, but I'm like a bunch of spring leaves."
"Did you just call me moss?" she growled.
Van gulped and looked to Clara for support. The Spinda stepped in between them and dramatically raised her paw.
"I do hereby proclaim thee...moss." She pointed at Damia. Lumi jumped onto the Dragonite's back and began climbing.
"I will conquer moss!"
The shiny team Nova messed around a bit more in the main area of the guild, awaiting Lumi's parents. They didn't have to wait long, as about fifteen minutes later, Opal and Clement walked in, and the four ceased their roughhousing at their arrival.
Opal looked, then did a double take at the squad of shinies right next to the flap.
"Woah...what the hell?" she muttered. Clement stepped up, took one glance at the four, and then made a beeline for Lumi. The Meowstic could barely let out a squeak before he was crushed in his father's arms.
"I'm sorry. We'll tell you everything. Can you forgive us?" whispered Clement. Lumi gasped and squirmed in his tight grasp.
"Uh...dad...can we not do this in front of...?" he nodded his head as best he could towards his friends behind. Clara audibly cooed at the sight.
"Right...sure," Clement set his son down and then cleared his throat, glancing over at the others present. Lumi also noticed his dad looked more stern than normal, a little bit more on edge.
He'd save his questions for later, though.
"Alright. Before we get started, do you want to introduce us to your friends, Lumi?" asked Clement. The shiny Meowstic perked up, and gestured to the motley crew behind him.
"Yeah! This is Damia, she runs things in one of the branches here, and this is her Partner Clara. She's the nice one." He pointed at the Dragonite and Spinda respectively. Damia gave a cautious wave, but Clara tottered over with a smile.
"Hi! It's a pleasure to meet you, we've heard soooo~ many good things!"
"It sounds like you've heard something, alright," responded Opal, with a grin. It turned sly as she looked over at Damia. "Some of you a bit more than others."
"It's an...honor to see you again, ma'am," stated Damia, with something like reverence. The Espeon's grin sharpened.
"Don't call me ma'am."
"Yes ma'am." She blinked. "No ma'am...um."
Opal cackled. Once she had calmed, Lumi walked next to Van and put his paw on his shoulder.
"And this is Van, my Partner!"
"Uh, sup?" Van threw a claw up in greeting. The smile on Lumi's face lessened at the intense look his father gave the Scrafty.
"...Is that right?" mumbled Clement, with that strange look.
"Dammit. I better not get another 'you didn't think this through, did you?' talk after this..." he thought to himself.
He opened his mouth to say something, but the Mawile just held up a hand, wordlessly assuring that they would talk about it later. He spoke to the group.
"As you might have guessed, we're Lumi's parents. Thank you all for helping to take care of him. We know he's a handful."
"Come on-"
"We also know that this guild has been wrongfully convicted, and we couldn't just stand by and let that happen. Based on the nature of the conflict, and some..." Clement glanced up at Lumi, and seemed to hold back a wince.
"...Information you've all come across, we thought it best if we have a little chat about why exactly a couple of nobodies from Thistle Town might be able to help with this."
"We want to be upfront with you guys. Especially you, Lumi." Opal jumped in. "We wanted to have this conversation one on one, but I don't think you'll mind if your friends learn a bit more about you, will you son?" she asked. Lumi shook his head.
"Just means less that I'll have to explain later," he agreed.
"Thought so. In that case, I found a nice quiet place where we can eat and talk. I'm sure you're all tired of not being able to walk outside, huh?" she said. They all nodded, and Clement rubbed his chin as he looked them over.
"These disguises should work, but just to be safe, we should split them up." Clement looked to Opal to confirm, and she nodded.
"I'll take these girls and head over to the spot. You follow with Lumi and Van after a few minutes so we don't travel as a group. Oh, and Van?" she asked. He jolted a bit at being addressed.
"If this guy gets lost, make your way over to 'Groovy's Smoothies', alright?" she asked, to Clement's chagrin.
"Oh, yeah! Hardly anyone knows about that joint. Uh, wait, how did you know?" he asked.
"I have my ways. Come on girls, let's get to know each other," said Opal, turning around and flicking her tail. Damia and Clara blinked, but then followed after, and then soon it was just the three males.
Clement didn't say anything, just stood there glancing between Lumi and the floor. Occasionally his eyes would flick to Van, but the Scrafty seemed a bit off put by this, and shoved his hands in his pockets while avoiding eye contact.
"This is awkward," stated Lumi. "Are you good, Dad?"
"…I should be asking you that," said Clement, who sighed. "I'm...I'm sorry again, son. Don't worry, we'll explain everything. Just know that we didn't tell you-"
"So I could focus on my own dreams, yeah, I get that. But honestly I'm more excited to learn more about you and mom," Lumi grinned and balled his paws. "She said you guys used to be awesome!"
"Did she now?"
"Uh-huh!" Lumi nodded, and Clement had a soft smile at his son's exuberance.
"We've been…on the move. Haven't gotten much of a chance to rest."
"Groovy's a nice spot to rest at." Van stepped in. He held the side of his arm when Clement glanced at him. "Uh, real lowkey. My dad actually liked to go there a while ago."
"Oh, you haven't mentioned your dad, Van," stated Lumi
Van looked to the side, and clenched his arm just a bit tighter.
"Yeah, well, he ain't around," he said, softly. Lumi tilted his head at the short answer, but decided not to pry. To his surprise, his dad stepped closer to Van and put his hand on his shoulder.
"You grew up around here, right? Can you tell me more about Groovy's? And anything else about Verdant on the way there?" he asked. Van flicked his eyes to Lumi before giving a slow nod, and Clement waved them over to the tent flap to exit.
The mid-morning sun warmed the busy streets of Verdant Port as they wound through the packed throughways. As he followed along behind his dad and Van, it hit Lumi how much he missed just being able to walk outside without fear of being recognized. Based on how much Van chatted about how he and his siblings would get into trouble at this or that location, it was obvious that the Scrafty dearly missed being able to walk around his own home like normal.
The whole time, Clement made sure to take the busiest possible streets to wherever their destination was, and Lumi understood the strategy; it would be hard to pick out specific pokemon, even if they were shiny, in a sea of bodies. The large portside buildings and stores lessened into squatter adobe homes and stalls, and the latent din of many voices quieted as they reached less populated areas in the city.
Clement didn't speak much, apparently content to listen to either Van or his son talk. Lumi worried that his dad didn't like Van for some reason, but based on the polite nods he gave and how he'd encourage Van to keep speaking, that didn't seem to be the case.
The Meowstic rolled his eyes at his father's protective nature. He had always been cautious, especially around the few friends Lumi might have made as a kit. He just had to build a profile on everyone he met.
At some point, Lumi noticed they had passed by the same donut shop five times, and it was only after fifteen minutes of this that Clement had begrudgingly admitted that he had gotten lost.
"Please don't tell your mother," he mumbled. Lumi laughed, and Van gave Clement the Scrafty equivalent of a thumbs up.
"Don't sweat it Mr. Lumi's dad. I got this."
True to his word, Van led them the rest of the way. The area of the Port he led them through had almost no other pokemon on the street, and hardly any buildings. Instead, large, empty shipping containers and sturdy crates stood stacked on the sides of the cobbled path. Lumi guessed this area was some kind of storage for the ships at some point.
Groovy's Smoothies was constructed within a few of these shipping containers stacked on top of eachother. Graffiti decorated the majority of the front and depicted a stylized Honedge absolutely decimating a pile of fruit. Plastic tables and cheap lights that hung from metal poles in the front completed the charmingly ramshackle feel of the place.
They stepped through the door, and Lumi's ears flicked at the low sound of funky music that played out of a radio somewhere. The insides of the shipping containers had somehow been hollowed out, and wooden barrels and tables had been erected to fill the interior.
At the far end, a Honedge bobbed their body to the music behind a counter. The Honedge slid themselves underneath a pile of fruit in the back. Lumi watched, enraptured, as they flung their blade body up and blurred into motion, cutting the fruit in an impressive display of speed and dexterity, before gently sliding the mesh into a blender.
His mother's voice tore him from the sight.
"Arceus, you take forever. How do you get anywhere without me?" she said from the right. Lumi looked,t, and saw that her and the girls had occupied a table. Opal and Clara sat on squat barrels, while Damia decided to lay on her side.
Clement grumbled something, but went to go sit by her. Lumi and Van took their places around the table; far enough in the corner so their voices wouldn't be heard, although given how they were the only ones in here besides the Honedge, he didn't worry about that.
Speaking of Honedge, the floating sword zoomed over towards them, with a row of drinks balanced on the flat of their blade. They somehow managed to deftly slide each drink in front of everyone at the table, all while bumping their body to the music. Van rubbed his claws together with a wide smile on his face.
"Hell yeah, love this place. Thanks, Groovy," he said to the Honedge, apparently named Groovy. The sword flicked the cloth attached to its pommel in a sign of acknowledgement, and jived on back to the counter. Van nudged Lumi's shoulder and gestured at his smoothie, and Lumi took a sip. He made a pleased sound, the drink sweet and cool, and everyone around the table enjoyed their drinks as well.
"This place rules! Why aren't there more pokemon here?" wondered Clara as she wiped some smoothie off her face.
"Prolly cuz Groovy over there is more focused on vibing than marketing," said Van. He put his arms behind his head and sighed. "I know a buncha places around Verdant Port. If we weren't wanted, I'd take us sometime."
That thought reminded Lumi of something, and he turned to his parents.
"Hey, if you guys are here, who's running the shop?" he asked. Opal gave an exaggerated sigh.
"Lumi, please don't remind me about that boring place. It's closed down, and I'm hoping to keep it that way for a long time."
"Hopefully not too long," grumbled Clement. The Espeon turned her head and huffed.
"Not like we need the money..."
"What was that?" asked Lumi, now curious. Clement shoved a paw in Opal's mouth before she said anything else.
"Okay. Before we get too off topic." He took a breath and sent a look to his mate. "I think it's best if we just...start."
"Ooh, I've been waiting for this!" cheered Clara from her seat, kicking her little legs. The younger Pokemon looked at them with rapt attention, and Lumi himself grasped his two tails tightly as he listened.
Clement began.
"Opal and I are the surviving members of Team Nimbus, purportedly the greatest bounty hunters of the last century, and are credited with averting the cataclysmic disaster named Fall Rend."
"Correction. We most definitely were the greatest hunters during our career, there's no question," stated Opal with fierce pride. "I was...am the Pink Demon, your father is the Jaws of Justice, and in our hayday, outlaws feared us. Oh, and, just to get this out of the way now."
Opal trained her eyes on Lumi, and he noted the slight droop of her ears and her apologetic smile.
"I used to be an outlaw," she admitted. "Grew up as one. Was good at it too. Then your dad and his Partner took me down, got saddled with my probation, and at some point I started actually believing that there were more important things in life than just myself," she said.
She then let out an exaggerated sigh and snuggled up to Clement, who glanced to the side in embarrassment.
"But, that's moreso because your dad is such a soft, goody-two shoes, that I guess it rubbed off on me!"
"I am not soft," he stated. Lumi's eyes widened as he processed that revelation.
"Woah...you really used to...?" he asked his mom, who nodded. "...That makes so much sense..." he mumbled.
"Aww, this is so unfair! Lumi's parents are so cool! Meanwhile, all my parents do is make drinks in my dad's cafe..." whined Clara. Van snorted from across the table.
"Mon, how do you think I feel? All my mom does all day is complain in her wheelchair. Coolest thing I think she ever did was fix ships..." grumbled Van. Wordlessly, their eyes flicked to Damia. The large Dragonite huffed and looked away.
"I disowned my father, he barely acted like one anyway."
The mood lessened a bit after that, and Clara put a paw on Damia's shoulder.
"I'm sorry to hear that, really," consoled Clement, voice genuine. She shrugged, so Lumi picked up before things could get too low.
"So…can I ask about Dialga now or…?"
For the briefest moment, a flicker of something angry flashed across Clement's face, but a patient smile smothered it just as fast.
"You can son, but for that to make sense, we need to talk a bit about Fall Rend. First, do any of you kids actually know what we're talking about when we say that?" Asked Clement.
All of them were silent, before Damia raised a claw.
"Not much. Strange, unnatural disasters ravaged the world a little over twenty years ago. Then all of a sudden it just…stopped." Damia looked thoughtful. "At the Hunter guild, your team is idolized, but it's not actually clear what you did to stop it, and…all the details aren't found anywhere."
"This is the first time I've ever heard of it," said Clara. "I mean, I might have fallen asleep a few times in history class, but I don't recall anything that major being talked about."
"But that don't make sense, how do we just…not know?" asked Van. "That sounds like a pretty big deal, and twenty years dosent seem that long ago."
"That's because nobody was supposed to remember. It's surprisingly easy to make a generation forget about something if you know who to pay off," explained Opal. "Some hush money to the major leaders of the world, omitting some info in the history books, maybe some psychic work on the right pokemon, and poof! Global crisis never happened."
"But, why?" asked Lumi, confused. "Why would we want to forget about something like that? Who does that help?"
"The guilds," said Clement, voice neutral. "Put simply, Fall Rend made Dungeons look bad. All of those disasters originated from Dungeons going haywire. More specifically, we determined them to be spatial anomalies that ruptured reality around Dungeons, bringing with them destruction on a wide scale."
"As much as they'd hate to admit, so much of our society is built on Dungeons, and an event like that putting what little faith we have in them into question?" Opal shook her head and sighed. "The council determined that it was best we forget about it, and try our best to move on. Now that I think about it, it probably put your guild under even more scrutiny too. Vert might just have the most difficult job out of any of his forebears."
Her words sent a jolt of frustration through Lumi, shared with the rest of his team. Van and Clara cried foul, and Damia's face became even more stormy.
He aimed to keep his emotions in check, and let his brain work. Something about their explanation stood out.
"...You said spatial anomalies?" he asked. "How did you actually stop something like that?"
"...A disaster of that magnitude? There had to be a Legendary involved," stated Clement. He sucked in a deep breath, and Lumi saw his mom softly slide a paw onto Clement's hand.
"Palkia had become distraught, and lost themselves to some kind of madness. We stopped them. And that." The Mawile pointed at the pearl around Lumi's neck. "That was what ultimately calmed their rage."
"You...wait," Lumi clutched the pearl tightly, dumbfounded. "You fought Palkia?" The others mirrored his expression. Clement nodded his head, and his voice carried a sadness Lumi had never heard before.
"My Partner...sacrificed himself to do it. We won, but it became...difficult to go on. We decided to hang up our scarves and settle instead. But..."
Clement glanced at Opal, who nodded and continued.
"...Let's just say the whole 'family' thing wasn't working out. We were in a real dark spot, and none of my...eggs..." Opal paused for a split second, expression blank, but she plastered on a smile at Lumi before long.
"But, a few months after the fact, we got a surprise summons from Dialga themself. In return for restoring their counterpart's senses, they'd work some Legendary magic to help us have the child we wanted. And," she pointed at Lumi with a brighter smile.
"Here you are."
Silence. Lumi's mouth was stuck in an 'oh' position, and a quick look found his friends in similar states of shock. Clara's eye swirls had almost slowed down completely, Damia's eyes flicked between him and his parents, as if waiting for something to explode, and Van stared long and hard into his smoothie.
He also spoke first.
"Holy shit."
"Language," muttered Clement, as he bored a hole into the table. His agitation became apparent in the low growl that emanated from his larger set of jaws, and it set Lumi on edge.
"Dad?" questioned Lumi.
"You said you met Dialga, son?" asked his father. At Lumi's nod, Clement shook his head roughly. "That wasn't part of the deal. Not at all. There was supposed to be no strings attached, they said that you were ours, that they would leave us alo-"
Opal hopped off her barrel and instantly went to put a paw on his shoulder.
"Clem, it's okay. We can-"
SLAM
"IT'S NOT OKAY!" yelled Clement as he hit the table, loud enough to make everyone flinch. "They lied! They lied and it's happening again, don't you see it!?"
Lumi's ears flattened against his head. His dad never yelled like that. Tears began to form in his dad's eyes, but he shook them off and honed in on Lumi. With frantic movement, Clement rushed over and grasped him by the shoulders, and he let out a surprised yowl as his father yanked him outside the smoothie shop.
He was pulled out a bit in front of the building and the Mawile whirled on him.
"Did they tell you anything, did they do anything to you? You can tell me son, it's okay,"
"What's going on, why are you acting like this?" Lumi had one foot back, eyes creased in confusion. "What's wrong, dad?"
"Please answer the question," pleaded Clement, larger jaws releasing an agitated sound. Lumi shook his head in bewilderment.
"Dialga gave me their power, made me their Bonded. They want me to use it to ha-"
"Don't. Don't use it, don't trust them. Please son, promise me, you'll have nothing to do with Dialga, or any Legendary, okay?"
"I...I don't..."
"Clem!"
Opal's voice came from behind, and Lumi turned to see her hurry from the restaurant. She bounded on all fours to stand between the two and licked him on the forehead.
"Lumi, you go inside, I just need a moment to talk with your dad," she said. Clement made to argue, but she shushed him harshly. She nodded Lumi off, and slowly, he made his way back into the smoothie shop.
A glance behind showed the two in a heated discussion.
Face burning in embarrassment and discomfort, Lumi took his spot back at the table. He didn't look at his friends, eyes glued to the table, and if he focused he could still hear his parents outside.
"Well this is...awkward," he tried, giving a mostly forced laugh. "Thought this would be more, um...yeah. Sorry."
"For what?" asked Van, who rubbed his back. "Don't sweat it, your parents just care alot about you, is all."
"What they did couldn't have been easy, and it's obvious it left some scars, but they're still trying to care for you through them. It's admirable," offered Damia. Clara nodded in agreement.
"Yeah! But also wow your dad got intense! I mean, he went from zero to a hundred in like a second. I thought he'd be chill like your mom."
"Yeah, he uh...he can do that," said Lumi with a small chuckle. They sat in silence as the discussion outside died down, and after a moment, Opal walked back in with a huff and took her seat again.
"Welp, that could have gone better. Sorry everyone, he just needs some time to cool off. But maybe that's for the best."
Opal adjusted her body so she rested her forepaws on the table, and took a hearty swig of her drink.
"I want to take a break from heavy stuff, and we have some time. You've all gone through alot in the past week, and I'm just itching to hear all the details. So."
She gave a pointed look to everyone at the table.
"Who's first?"
Elsewhere, a certain Noivern was busy giving one of his subordinates hell. Boon dug his claws into rock of a large stalactite, way up in the shadowed ceiling of a cave Dungeon, and he watched Thievul below skitter around.
He found it quite humorous.
"If I might interject, Boon!" yelled Nook, right before they rolled to the side to avoid a barrage of mud from a Dugtrio. They yelped and dipped around other ground types, using the thick stalagmites from the cave they were in as cover.
They shouted in between breaths.
"Not that I don't appreciate the training, but it's been a full day since we've broken Moonlit Manor's Keystone, and all you've done is harass me since! Isn't this a bit," they paused to sprint away from a pair of Graveler who charged a rollout."...Excessive!?"
"Huh!? What was that!? I coulda swore I heard a little bitch, but I don't remember bringin' one in here!"
"Those words are unnecessary!"
"You're the one who wanted to prove they wouldn't let me down again! Or do you want to get trounced by that pair of nerds next time you see em'?"
"Can you at at least drop a pearl!?"
"Hmmmmm. Dunno if you've earned it..." his naturally loud voice echoed off the walls.
"MASTER!"
Boon shook his head and chuckled. He indulged himself in watching the Thievul down below squirm, angry ferals encroaching upon them from all sides. After their business had concluded in Moonlit Manor the day before, Boon figured he might as well spend the downtime giving Nook some much needed exercise. They had found this cave Dungeon a few hours away, and Boon declared it would be Nook's training ground for a day.
His training methods could be intense, but then, there was no better way to get the blood pumping than a little bit of peril. Besides, he let them sleep for a couple hours, they'd be fine.
After a bit, he decided that he could cut his follower some slack, and reached into his thick neck fluff to pluck out a pink spatial pearl. Reminding himself to ask for more later, he casually let it drop to the floor below.
Amongst the chaos, he saw Nook dive for it, and crush the pearl underpaw. Boon dug his talons into the rock as, seconds later, the cavern they were in began to rotate like a gyroscope. He let out a raucous laugh and hollered as the room shifted and turned like some kind of amusement ride, fully aware that Nook below was burning all the pearl's energy to disorientate their enemies.
They'd get points off for that, of course, but Boon would save his grade until he saw the results. Soon enough, the room tipped and swayed until it rested back in its original position, and he let go of the rock to fall in a backwards freefall to the ground below.
Whipping his wings out to slow his descent, Boon nodded his head at the disappearing wisps of Aether, signifying that the enemies were defeated. Nook themself lay on their stomach, panting with their tongue flopped out. Boon casually sauntered around and let out a whistle.
"Alright, solid. Wasn't pretty, but you got the job done. Don't you feel good about yourself?"
Nook groaned.
"Hold on, I'm getting a reading..." Boon closed his eyes and held a claw up, humming softly. "Oh yeah, It sounds like...you're ready...for the bonus round!"
Nook groaned louder.
"Eh, on second thought, we should probably head back to the ship, and make sure Aurum didn't eat all the snacks again. Freakin' demon those guys, I swear..."
Boon unceremoniously plucked Nook from the ground by their neck, and thought of the inside of their ship. A brief flex of a gifted power within, an intimate connection with the primordial force he had been blessed with and...
The image in his mind's eye took hold. For a brief moment he had the sensation of being both in the ship and in the cave at once. He could feel the distance weigh like a small boulder on his back, but he had grown accustomed to jumps such as this over time.
The best he could describe it would be like a thin veil of fabric that separated him from his intended destination. A flimsy obstacle that for normal pokemon dictated miles of travel, and served as a proper boundary between space. One that would never tear.
But, it would tear for him. As long as he wanted, it would always tear, and all it took was a simple snap of his talons. He didn't need to snap, not really, but the exertion of his will was helped by the gesture.
Plus it felt sick.
He did so. The world blurred, his speed infinite and null for barely a second, and his feet hit cool metal, the dull thrum of machinery loud in his large ears. On instinct, he shook his head to eliminate any brief nausea, and plopped the Thievul in his grasp on the ground.
Boon heard pitter patters come from the hallway, and turned to see the Scolipede, Vox, turn the corner and come across them. Given her size, she took up most of the width of the corridor, and her horns just barely scraped the top of the ceiling even as she bowed her head.
Nonetheless, when she saw him, she inclined her head in a nod.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing out of your room? The sun's still up."
Vox shrugged, eyes half lidded, but they widened a tad at the sight of the spent Thievul on the ground. She shuffled forward, steps unnervingly silent for such a large creature, and lowered her head towards Nook's. Boon suppressed a snicker as she tapped them on the head.
When she spoke, her voice came out barely louder than a whisper.
"...Gone long," she stated.
"Aw, it was only for a day. Broke the Keystone so we're back on track, and figured Nook could use the time to destress." He put his hands on his hips and smiled amicably. "What, Aurum making it hard to hold the fort?"
On queue, a thump from outside the hallway alerted them, and they stepped back a bit to look out into the main room of the ship, with the navigation controls and wind shield. A pair of Falinks bounced on some of the controls, and from somewhere a low and funky beat played.
A disco ball suddenly lowered from the top of the ceiling, and the rest of Aurum's platoon got down and jiggy with it in the middle of the floor.
"...For real? We had that the whole time!?" he exclaimed, head already nodding along. Before he could join, Vox shoved her horns into his side, and pushed the large Noivern across the hallway with her horns, leaving Nook to recuperate on the floor.
Boon let himself get shoved to a backroom away from the music, and gave Vox his full attention as she reared up.
"How much longer...until the fever pitch?" she muttered.
"Couple days at most. Just need one more in this region, and we'll be in business." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Once the Leyline ruptures, whole world opens up for us. Just a matter of figuring out the right order."
"Whole world's eyes will open," she stated, voice slightly stronger. "I worry...shouldn't separate. Tensions rise on both sides. I feel it...and the others..."
"Are fine," he said with no hesitation. "I will find Mauve, don't worry about that, and as for our eyes on Hollow Garden..."
He stepped back and gave a confident grin.
"I have a few things to check up on today, and one of those is paying Pads and Cole a visit. Need to make sure their cover's secure, and to see if they have any updates."
"When are you leaving?"
"Right now. Be back later tonight. Do me a favor and make sure this baby doesn't crash?"
The Scolipede subjected him to her stare for a few moments, before she gave a slow nod.
"...Trust you," she murmured. Boon smiled and raised a claw, thinking of where he last dropped off Cole and Pads.
He snapped his talons.
Crumbling dirt replaced cool metal under his feet, and he squinted his eyes to adjust to the bright, arid sun.
At his back was a dusty dryland, and in front, a high ridge. The dry breeze ruffled his fur, and he immediately flapped his wings to shoot up into the air, and up towards the ridge, not wanting to stay in the open for too long.
Outlaw activity on this continent lessened as you reached the very north, which is where he had teleported to. Even in the Borderlands here, everyone gave this area a wide berth, and from his position up top, Boon could look down at the reason why.
Below, a dense orchard of pale, white trees coated the inside of a wide crater, one that spanned from here all the way to the tip of the continent. Vegetation did not normally grow to such an extent in this environment, yet a closer look would reveal something off about these trees.
They were made of stone.
Whether by some sort of latent Aether that affected the immediate environment, or some strange geological phenomenon, every rock, stone, and boulder down below had become twisted and morphed into some kind of pale grove. Granite branches bent at unnatural angles, and roots twisted from marble coiled around quartz vines. The forest canopy itself shone with a bright, white gleam as the whole forest reflected the hot sun off of thick, alabaster leaves.
Far in the distance, risen up like some arboreal titan, stood a great, stone oak. It dominated the forest below, casting a shadow over the smaller trees, and its trunk seemed over ten times as thick as any others. The massive canopy of the oak could easily be seen from miles away, and even from this close almost blotted out the sky with the multitude of its ivory leaves.
Boon jumped to glide closer.
He alighted at the line right before the forest, and noted the clink of his claws on the ground. Just before the forest entrance, the ground itself had morphed from dusty earth to hard marble, blanketing the immediate landscape in a milky white. He stepped a bit closer, and a jolt of anticipation lanced through his body as he looked into the pale forest that threatened to swallow him up.
Even from here, the uncanny resemblance to a real forest unnerved him. The ambient noise of the day seemed to be sucked in, trapped and smothered by the stone trees within. To venture inside meant to lose oneself in its silent, bleached grandeur. Trapped in a maze of stone cold beauty.
And it pulsed.
An electric tingle vibrated in his skull as some kind of energy emanated from within. Strong, and barely constrained. The entrance to the Dungeon itself lay deep within this empty grove, yet the Aether had already become active. Almost to a fever pitch.
Hollow Garden lay within their grasp. Almost.
Just a little more.
Satisfied with his observations, and more than ready to escape this oppressive atmosphere, he shot up in the air once more and glided back. He spared a glance back at the empty forest and shook his head before continuing up past the crater. He angled himself to fly in a lazy glide, and kept his eyes on the boulders along the hill.
If he remembered correctly, it would be...
There. Between a couple of large, inconspicuous boulders up against the hill. He touched down and walked up to them, mindful of the markings that denoted their purpose as a hideout.
He banged on the rock to announce his presence.
"Housekeeping! Open up!" he yelled. A few seconds later, the boulders parted just a crack, and a red eye peeked out. Boon heard a grunt, and four strong hands placed themselves between the boulders and shoved them aside with little struggle.
The Machamp on the other side huffed, and raised a brow.
"Boon. Nice of you to drop by," came Cole's deep voice. "Haven't heard a word in almost a week, yet Hollow Garden grows more agitated by the day. I assume you have something for us?"
"Little setback, but nothing major. Wanted to keep you two in the loop. How have things been here?"
"Quiet. And not the good kind. Here," he stepped aside. "Inside. Pads had time to make it nice and comfy."
Boon nodded and ducked his head as he walked in. The light dimmed significantly as Cole pulled the two boulders together, and the two walked a few moments in relative darkness until they reached an opening.
Unlike a typical campfire and logs, the cave space was lit by luminous orbs that floated on the ceiling, which illuminated the various odds and ends that were scattered about. Boon recalled the bed mats and satchels he had told them to use, but the pots, pans, and other equipment were definitely new.
He grinned, Pads could be such a klepto.
The Swampert in question had his back turned to them, and his large hands glowed with pink energy. With his left, he reached an arm out and it disappeared in a pink portal, before he pulled out a string of decorative lights. With his right, he pulled out a hammer and nails from another portal, and worked to fix them to the wall.
"We went out to do some recon on the bandit outposts around here, and he got bored and started taking stuff to spruce up this place." Cole pointed at the ground. "Notice the fine decorative rug."
"Noted," Boon grinned and put a claw up. "You got some good taste! Throw down a houseplant and we got ourselves a second home!"
Pads paused his work, and looked over his shoulder. The large Swampert gave a respectful nod and hammered in one last nail. He turned and reached an arm out that disappeared into a tiny portal, before he pulled out a potted plant from the same portal and placed it up against the wall. He tilted his head, then reached in with both hands to pull out a large cushion, which he gently set down in the center.
Boon whistled, impressed.
"That's what I like to see. Efficient use of the pearls! Besides Mauve, you might just have the most control over how that energy manifests in you," he complimented, then fell down onto the cushion.
"How is the Shade, by the way? Normally she barely leaves your side," asked Cole, who sat himself down with a hearty sigh. Boon scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, well, about that setback I told you about?"
Pads joined them, and Boon recounted how the plan to destroy enough Keystones didn't go quite as planned. He included as much as he could from Nook and Vox's report, and shared what he could from his own mission. Cole clicked his tongue at the news that Mauve was missing, but turned thoughtful when he heard of what happened at Windy Spire.
"This guild sounds like a problem. I don't even know how a scientist could take on Mauve and win, and that Meowstic at the Keystone..."
"They got a few surprises, that's for sure. That kid halted the Aether, no doubt about it." Boon folded his wings and laid back with a thoughtful frown. "A perfect counter to our plans, I had a feeling that kid was something else..."
"Got a plan for him?"
"...We'll see. For now, we'll wait a day or two for another Keystone to appear, then once it's broken, it's gametime at Hollow Garden. If you see the Meowstic, let me handle him. Want to have another chat with the guy. "
"Sure boss," nodded Cole.
At that point, Pads thumped the ground with his heavy hands to get their attention, and pointed to the wall. On it was a map of the Borderlands, heavily marked with circles and red lines. Cole hummed in acknowledgement.
"That brings us to our own updates. Since we've been here, we've kept an ear to the ground for any activity. Made sure to cover our tracks wherever we could, but it's been almost too easy to move around unseen. It's suspicious."
"How so?"
"Not a lot of outward movement, and whenever we go into a settlement, it seems like all the outlaws here are on edge. Only time we see people go anywhere is to sneak off to the Roost. There's tension in the air, like everyone is waiting for something."
"...Queen planning something?" he asked. Cole shrugged one set of arms.
"Seems like it. Something big, if she's got everyone strapped like this." Cole leaned forward, and looked at Boon with intensity.
"Things change after this. After Hollow Garden, Outlaws might get more bold in the confusion, and Haxorus will be on even higher alert than he is now. How are we gonna navigate through that?"
"By staying flexible. We move unseen, and strike when the time comes. Same as we always have," replied Boon, voice steady. Cole paused before nodding, and averted his gaze.
"Sure boss. It's just..."
"We're making the world that much more dangerous, I know. Outlaws on top of spreading Dungeons? Things could get real messy...that's why we need to move fast. Don't want to drag this all out too long."
"And has our 'patron' decided to grace us with any more specifics once we complete this next goal?" asked Cole with a raised eyebrow. Boon shook his head apologetically.
"You know I share everything I can with you, it's just that I'm getting drip fed info. But you need to understand, if we do nothing, the world only has a few years tops before it all goes sideways. We gotta do something about this Aether before-" Cole held a hand up to stop him.
"It dissolves everything. I know, we've heard it before," he said. "Don't worry, we're with you. I only ask that, if we have the opportunity, to alleviate some hurt when we can. I didn't sign up for this just to bring more pain for no reason, I'm done with that."
To the side, Pads gave a firm nod in agreement, and Boon looked between the two, relieved.
He picked some good ones.
"We'll do what we can. We have our mission, but that doesn't mean we can't put those who'd take advantage of the chaos in their place."
"Unless it benefits us."
"Now you're gettin' it! Now that we've had that talk..." Boon splayed himself out on the cushion, and made himself nice and comfortable. "It's hot as hell outside. I need to kill time looking for Dungeons, but I might as well chill out with you two until it cools down later. Pads, you got drinks in those 'pockets'?"
The Swampert duly reached a hand into a portal and whipped over a chilled soda. Boon caught it without looking, and cracked it open.
"Ooh, I know, what if we just go bully some outlaws right now!? Been a while since I could play the Dungeon Master schtick."
"Didn't you just say it was too hot to go outside?" grunted Cole as he went to inspect the map. "Just relax boss. Take some time to think."
Some time to think. Maybe he had a point. Boon sighed and took a sip, grateful for the company and shelter.
Hours later, Boon bid his followers goodbye and began to jump across the continent to check on the Dungeons. Most likely, the ones nearest to Moonlit Manor would be the next to have their Keystones open, but he also wanted to be aware of how the others on the continent were progressing.
As he teleported across the continent, he started to notice a pattern. One that made him a tiny bit more concerned.
Security had risen throughout the region. Wherever he looked, red scarves had been positioned just outside the entrances of any Dungeon. Thinking quickly, he jumped back to the cave Dungeon, where he was earlier with Nook. He slunk behind a boulder, dark scales blending in with the shadows, and observed how a contingent of guards had already been placed to watch over it.
He ducked down beneath the boulder and sat against it, mind working. This was precisely the reason his patron had instructed him to find a group of willing pokemon to help him in his assignment. Sure, his ability made it simple to go wherever he could see and do what needed to be done, but he was under no illusions that he could take on the whole might of the guild system should his identity be revealed. A crime of this scale would bring the whole weight of the guild system on his back until he was eventually caught and dealt with.
Could he lead the whole world on a wild goose chase? Yeah, for a while. But not forever. He couldn't do this alone, this had become bigger than him.
At that, his thoughts turned to Mauve, and smacked the back of his head against the rock and groaned. Where was she? No outlaw holding center he snuck into held her, and there were only so many places he could think to check.
Follower or not, he made a promise to look out for the kid, dammit.
He sighed once, and glanced up at the sky. He had been out for a while and dusk was fast approaching. Day was almost over, but Vox was expecting him at night. In a snap decision, Boon launched himself into the air, slick as a shadow, and decided to spend the remaining daylight looking for his lost Weavile.
With his wings backlit by the light of the moon, and the cool night breeze washing over his form, Boon was just about to begrudgingly call off the search for tonight before he felt a strange sensation. His eyes became heavy, and he veered down to land next to a lone tree. The pressure increased, and he yawned as he put a claw on the tree to steady himself.
He had just enough time to confirm no pokemon or settlements were nearby before he lost consciousness against the trunk.
Many different colors took over his vision, and he felt more disorientated than usual. Before long, the chaos subsided into the familiar grassland of his dreams, and he groggily staggered to his feet as he looked around.
"The hell...I don't remember drinking anythin...'' he murmured. A sudden chill in the air made him tighten his wings around his form.
From nowhere, a smoky voice spoke.
"My apologies, but this was urgent. There has been a development you may be interested in," it said. In front of him, the ground seemed to darken, until it was pitch black. A white wisp poked out from it, then rose to reveal a deep blue eye, before the entirety of Darkrai's form emerged from the shadow.
Boon raised a brow.
"Hey, buddy, a little warning next time? I don't think anything good has ever happened when somebody goes to sleep behind the wheel," muttered Boon, not really thinking about what he was saying. Darkrai released a low chuckle, but bowed his head in something like contrition.
"As I said, it was urgent. I was unsure when you would return to slumber, so I was forced to intervene."
"Oh yeah? Does big momma need to talk to me?"
"Not at this time. Rather...I believe I have sensed your wayward follower."
The grumpiness melted off Boon's face in an instant, and in the blink of an eye he jumped in Darkrai's face with an impossibly wide smile.
"You shoulda led with that! C'mon, take me to her!"
Darkrai bled away like smoke from his vision, and reappeared several spaces behind him, arms out and one eye closed.
"Calm yourself, Beloved One. I will do all I can, though the connection is weak. Her dream is a paltry thing, hardly strong enough to stand on its own, yet a dream all the same."
"What, do you need a pep talk? I can give you a pep talk, watch this." He put his claws to his mouth, and his loud voice projected through his speakerphone ears. "I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU GOTTA BE THE SEXIEST MYTHICAL ON THE PLANET! GANBATE, ATTA BOY! YOU ARE THE VERY BEST, LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS!"
"A-Arceus..." Darkari's stance was interrupted by low chuckles. "I appreciate the...encouragement. Now, stand back." Darkrai shook the lingering amusement from his voice, and renewed his stance.
Boon stood by with rapt attention as, like last time, Darkrai summoned an orb that he promptly crushed in his hands, sending a pulse of dark energy throughout the expanse of the dream. He didn't even flinch at the cold and sinister feeling that shot through him from the energy, eyes locked on Darkrai's still form.
The pitch-black pokemon's eyes shot open, and he spoke.
"There. A connection. Brace yourself, I will now bridge the two dreams."
Boon clenched his teeth in anticipation, and watched as the world around them seemed to warble. The grass around Darkrai rippled and swayed, like water. The ripples undulated further out, underneath Boon's feet, and further beyond until the entire grassland they stood on was an unrecognizable mesh of colors and visuals, much like how these dreams normally started.
Boon looked around, eager to see how the dreamscape melded itself to whatever Mauve was dreaming about, but a grunt to his side brought his attention to Darkrai. His dark hands trembled with exertion as he held them out.
"Hey, man, you okay? You don't normally look like this," asked Boon. Darkrai kept his eye closed as he bit out a response.
"This dream is so...saccharine and...positive. Ugh, it repulses my palette. If only my counterpart were with us..."
His explanation somewhat confused Boon, but one part of it stood out. Saccharine, positive? Since when was Mauve ever positive?
"I gotta see this," he thought to himself as the scene materialized in front of him.
He first registered a starry night sky, bright lights up in the heavens above, with the full moon high over their heads. Stars surrounded him on all sides, but as he looked to the ground, the floor made his eyes widen.
He stood on white, puffy clouds.
The thick clouds covered the foreseeable area, and were strong enough to bounce on. The Noivern scooped up a piece of cloud and idly blew on it, marveling how it dissipated into mist.
"Ooooooooooh," he mumbled. Darkrai didn't share his enthusiasm, as he still struggled next to him.
"If you would...finish your business. I can't stand to...bleh...hold this any longer." The dark mythical pointed a shaky finger to the left. "There, the dreamer."
Boon followed his finger and he sucked in a breath at the sight of his Weavile, standing with her back turned towards him. Boon raced towards her and clapped a hand on her shoulder.
"Mauve! There you are! Been lookin' everywhere for you, girl," he said, happy. The Weavile didn't respond, gaze locked on something far ahead. Boon leaned down to look into her face, but frowned at the glazed look in her eyes.
"Uhh, Mauve? What's wrong?" he asked. The Weavile pointed a claw up at something in the distance, and spoke.
"I want to hug him," she said. Boon blinked, confused, until he turned to where she was pointing.
Up ahead, nestled amongst the clouds, sat a very familiar looking Meowstic. A smile was on his face as he inspected an orb in his paws. Boon rubbed his chin, and looked between the Meowstic and the Weavile. The more he thought about her request, the stranger it all sounded.
Mauve didn't do...hugs...
"...You want to hug him? So hug him!" he exclaimed. "He's right there."
"...But, what if I...hurt him?" she asked. She crossed her arms and looked down. "I'm rough and mean, and he's so...soft and nice. It might be better if someone like me just...watches."
Mauve sighed and stared at the cloudy ground. Boon, thrown completely off guard by this development, waved his hand in front of her face, yet she didn't respond. Her sad, glazed eyes didn't move.
"...Maybe if I..." he murmured to himself, before he finally shrugged, and waltzed over to the small dream Meowstic ahead. The psychic cat glanced up as he approached, and smiled at him.
"Hi," said dream Meowstic.
"Hey, mind if I borrow you for a sec?"
"Nah."
Without further ado, Boon plucked dream Meowstic up by the scruff and returned to Mauve. He sat the cat down right in front of her, and when that didn't snap her out of her funk, he did the only thing he could think of.
"Hug, damn you!" he yelled, and smooshed the two of them together.
Mauve gasped, claws above her head, at the sudden contact. Dream Meowstic did not seem bothered in the slightest, and just snuggled up to her. Slowly, Mauve lowered her claws in a ginger grasp around the cat's smaller frame, and leaned her chin to rest on his forehead.
"That's cute as hell," stated Boon, speaking facts.
"Thank you...Master," murmured Mauve. She held Meowstic just a bit tighter, and a small smile grew on her face, one more content than he had ever seen on her. She closed her eyes and sighed.
They snapped open a second later, and the smile died instantly.
"...M-Master..?" she questioned, and looked up at him. Whatever dullness glazed her eyes bled away, and the sharp clarity for which she was known for returned to her in force.
"...Master!" she yelped. She glanced between Boon, then Meowstic, then Boon, before she stood up and grabbed hold of Meowstic.
She then promptly punted him off the side of the clouds, and he heard the cat yowl as he descended. Boon winced a bit as he heard his screams peter out.
"Please forgive me!" Mauve dropped to a kneel, and bowed her head low. "I apologize for my weakness and failure, it will not happen again!"
She squeaked as Boon kneeled down to hug her, grip tight.
"Don't worry about any of that. We'll talk about it later. Right now, I just need you to do one thing for me." He leaned back but kept a grip on her shoulder.
"Can you tell me where you are? That's all I need, and I'll come get you."
"R-right, yes." Mauve stepped back, and straightened herself up. "The Absol Guild has captured me. They are located in a warehouse inside Verdant Port. I myself am in some kind of holding cell. I do not have any more information than that."
"Any landmarks? Something I can use to-"
The world vibrated. Both of them briefly lost their footing as the clouds below shaked and warbled. Boon threw his glance at the struggling Darkrai a ways away, who raised their voice.
"I'm cutting this off, I can hardly stand this!" yelled the Mythical. Boon turned to Mauve and smiled at her.
"Don't worry, I'm on my way," he assured. She gave a grateful smile, and he leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"And I promise not to tell anyone about your little boyfriend."
"Boy-No! Master, NO!" she yelled, horrified. Boon laughed as the dream dematerialized around him. He heard Darkrai yell, before he felt his body be flung backwards, out of the dream, and back into the waking world.
He blinked his eyes open and glanced around the area he had fallen asleep in, the cool air of the night on his fur. The serenity was at odds with how energized he felt at that moment.
Verdant Port. He knew where that was. Warehouse. Not much, but he could search fast. All things considered, he could make this work.
Not wasting a moment, Boon snapped his claws, and disappeared from view.
"Lumi, Van, do you have a second?"
Clement's voice stopped Lumi from entering the shop. The girls had already excused themselves for the night, and there were not many pokemon out on the boardwalk in front of Van's family shop.
After their talk at the smoothie shop, the rest of the day was spent relaxing away from the guild, bouncing between whatever places they could with their disguises. Lumi enjoyed the time spent with family and friends, but his dad had remained mostly silent throughout.
He hadn't forgotten his outburst.
"Yeah dad?" he responded, turning to look at his parents. Van gave them their attention too, and Clement stepped up. After a few false starts, he spoke.
"I'm sorry for...um...for my-"
"You've said 'I'm sorry' a bunch today. You don't need to, y'know," replied Lumi, putting his paws behind his head. "I mean, I don't understand why you...did all that, and I don't know if I can just not listen to Dialga, but I guess it has something to do with the Partner you lost, right?"
His mom gave him a look at his choice of words, and his ears flattened against his head. Clement sighed, and nodded.
"That's what I want to talk to you about. To both of you." He looked between both of them. "Being Partners means you look out for each other no matter what, and where one of you goes, so does the other. That's not a bond to be taken lightly, and I need to make sure you're prepared for what that means."
Lumi was about to respond, but Van's fist on his head interrupted him. The Scrafty gave him a light noogie as he looked at his father with a confident smile.
"You have my word Mr. Lumi's dad, I'm not leaving this guy anytime soon. Without me, he'd probably blow himself up come tomorrow."
Lumi grunted and pushed Van's fist off of him with a grin.
"Yeah! And we promised we would save the world, so we at the very least have to do that."
"You...wh-what did you say?" questioned Clement, as Opal burst out laughing. The Mawile groaned deeply, and shook his head.
"Just promise me you'll...be...careful..." his words tapered off as something up above caught his attention, and he turned his head up to look. Lumi followed his gaze, and for a split second thought he caught a black streak up against the moon, before it disappeared into the darkness above.
"I think that's the best we'll get out of them, Clem," said Opal, bringing their attention back down. "We should probably get some sleep before-"
"Oh, wait, you haven't met Van's mom yet!" interrupted Lumi. Van stiffened, before he began to mutter to himself.
"Son, that's alright, we can-"
"Extra mouths...one is a Mawile...soup? Yeah, soup..." Van nodded to himself, before he ducked his head into the shop and yelled.
"MA! WE GOT ANY SOUP LEFT!?"
"IN THE CUPBOARD, FOUR BOXES!"
"AIGHT! GET THE FAMILY, I'M COOKING!"
"THANK YOU BABY!"
Van gave a thumbs up and ran inside. Lumi grinned and went to push his mom in the door, against her protests. He glanced back at his dad, who was still staring up at the sky.
"Are you coming?" he asked. Clement stared for a second later, before slowly nodding and walking inside.
Van made a lot of soup that night.
Is it bad if Mauve kicking tf out of dream Lumi gave me the strength to finish this chapter?