Interceptor's Wish

by Masterdude21

What started as a young man's search for his abducted mother spirals out of control. Soon, he is fighting a desperate war for survival against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed. The enemy is everywhere and allies are far too few. With the entire region at stake, who can prevail when fate itself seems set against you? - Novelization of Pokemon Rejuvenation.

23. Teila Resort

Chapter 7 - A Teila Fire and Ice

Teila Resort

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

---

Kakori Village

September 7th

Will started to realize that none of them actually knew anything about Team Xen. Sure, everybody had heard the basics; the Xen Initiative consisted of ruthless people who appeared and disappeared at will, had bases everywhere and had generally kept their heads down until they had suddenly kicked things in motion with their assault on the Oceana.

After that? Things got vaguer. Somehow, they were capable of mentally torturing Pokémon until they shed every sense of self, repressed every emotion that didn't have to do with pure hatred and did so on an industrial level. These Shadow Pokemon were almost impossible to heal and were capable of great feats of destruction. Some Pokemon didn't survive the process. Others survived, only for the process itself to fail. Rejects.

Beyond that initial vagueness, things kept getting blurrier. Team Xen fought a campaign to eradicate any and all trainers powerful enough to oppose their main goals. Abductions, terrorist strikes, targeted killings, whatever means necessary.

What were their goals? Kidnapping Melia. Somehow, Melia's initial faked death hadn't actually stopped Team Xen from doing their thing, so they had to have secondary objectives as well.

What were those secondary objectives? No clue.

Why did they want Melia? No clue.

What would happen if they got their hands on Melia? No clue.

How did Zetta and his uncanny ability to create Rift Pokemon fit into this?

Nobody had a clue. They are all clueless. Not a single clue to be found on Terajuma.

That meant nobody knew what ailed the rejected Ralts. Nobody knew how to fix it, or even if it could be fixed. As the nurses in the Ranger HQ had put it, Ralts could have been slowly dying as the ravages of the failed shadowfication process ate away at its insides. It might spontaneously lose its mind at the worst possible moment and lash out at everything around it.

Possibly, the little Pokemon might have already been driven insane by the treatment.

Having summed up all those possibilities, one of the nurses had suggested that, perhaps, it would have been more merciful to give the Ralts a tranquiliser…and then euthanize it.

In a twisted horrible way, perhaps that would have been the merciful thing to do. But goddamnit, Will needed to believe that some things weren't beyond hope. As long as he had a non-zero chance of this Pokemon living to see brighter tomorrow, he wouldn't give up on it.

Fresh out of options, he had returned home. Back at the house, it was Adam's turn to cook. Saki hadn't shown up after her meltdown over Amber and nobody was really sure where she'd gone.

"So how do you think Venam spent her day?" Aelita asked. She and Will helped Adam out by setting the table while he cooked. Will put down the plates and the cutlery, after which Aelita swapped the cutlery around because apparently there was a right and wrong way to put down a knife and a fork.

Lunacy.

"I don't think she's had a fun day," Melia replied. "I wish I could say that I don't know what came over her, but…Venam's always been like this."

"She really screwed up," Will said. "I think she couldn't have picked a worse person to screw over."

"Y-Yes, Miss Holly is a…persuasive woman."

"You think she has accommodations on Terajuma?" Aelita asked. "I don't know if she was here already or if she arrived today. Could she be staying in Kakori Village?"

"I know she's staying in Kakori Village," Will said.

Melia looked up from her book. "Oh? Did you find something out?"

"She's staying in the Ranger HQ, according to Sam," Will explained.

"They do have cozy bunks there," Aelita said. "Man, I really hope she learns from this experience."

"It might sound a bit harsh, but…I hope so," Melia replied. "Venam's never been one to think about the consequences of her actions. She's a very sweet girl and a good friend, but she's never learned to reflect over things."

It had cost her the friendship of Luca and Lenny. Will just hoped it wouldn't cost her more.

Adam whipped together a solid meal using the leftover food from their morning party. They went over the day's events again as they waited for Saki to come back to the house, but Saki never came.

As the sun went down and the hours ticked by, they turned in for the night one by one.

Thankfully, Will didn't have any crazy nightmares about dying a horrible death to ice and snow that night and the next morning, Aelita and him got up early for a morning run. Along the way, Will gave her a detailed rundown of what had happened at the Tyluric Temple.

"That's crazy!" She said when he told her about Carnivine's transformation. "Do you think that's related to that jerk Zetta?"

"Honestly, don't know," Will replied. 'But that place was old. Really old. Maybe that's…where Zetta got his…powers from?"

"Yeah, maybe…well, at least we made some new comrades! This Talon guy sounds really cool!"

"Yeah, he was…a really nice guy."

"Gym Leader huh? I guess Team Xen didn't get to every Gym Leader. You said they came from GDC?"

"Yeah. They didn't know…about Team Xen…at all."

"Heh. You know what that means right?"

"Yeah…introduction's…gonna be…awkward."

Aelita chuckled. Her breathing was as steady as if she were walking - how did she do that? "No Will, it means the fight hasn't reached GDC yet!"

Looking at it that way, yeah, That meant Team Xen hadn't succeeded in taking their fight to the Gym Leaders. At least that was some good news.

They continued on their seven-kilometer run. Aelita had said that they could increase the distance or their speed, but not both at the same time. So, Will strove to pick up the pace.

"Hey, you're doing fine!" Aelita complimented him. "Just two more kilometers to go!"

Those two final kilometers were an absolute slog, but somehow, he managed it. As Will took a moment to recuperate and convince his lungs that they weren't actually on fire, Aelita headed inside to inform everybody that they were back.

The next moment, she popped her head back outside. "Hey! Crawli's here already!"

"Coming," Will replied, suddenly sharp and alert. He set aside the fatigue he felt and hurried inside. There, the gang was back together and ready for action - still missing Saki though.

"What's up Crawli?" Aelita said.

Crawli…didn't look very happy. If Will didn't know better, he'd say the Head Ranger almost looked scared. "When I set you guys on this journey, I knew this time would come eventually. The Earth Relic is located in Teila Resort. That should be your next destination. But that's not the part I'm worried about."

"Oh?" Melia said. She inched closer.

Ceawli sighed. "I'm sure you guys are aware of the issue going down in Kristiline Town?"

"Some sort of total lockdown, yeah," Valarie said. "Nobody in, nobody out?"

"Something about a woman, a state of emergency?" Adam added.

Nodding, Crawli said, "Kristiline Town is where the Ocean Relic is held. But unfortunately for us, Kristiline town has been taken over by a woman named Angie."

Melia's brow furrowed. "Taken over?"

"She suddenly appeared at the Isle of Angels one day," Crawli explained, looking visibly pained at the memories. "She declared all of Kristiline and its people to be part of her rule. When the townsfolk revolted, she used some mysterious power to freeze over the entirety of Kristiline."

OnE WiTh IcE aNd SnOw!

Memories flashed before his eyes, so bright and vivid that it almost hurt; a wall of scarlet and black ice erupting in front of him, a jagged spike of ice spearing through his torso and a horrible, icy cold.

His nightmare - the strange, almost alien realness to it…it couldn't be a coincidence.

That really couldn't be good.

"Is something like that even possible?!" Melia said, aghast.

Crawli winced. "It is. We've had little to no connection to Kristiline since. People who tried to travel to Kristiline and fight Angie have failed to return.

So Angie hadn't messed around. Were these people now prisoners? Hostages?

…casualties?

"But you're the Head Ranger of Terajuma Island!" Melia said. "Surely Angie is no match for you…right?"

"If that were the case, I don't think Angie would still be a problem, Melia," Will said.

"Will!" She said, as if shocked by that statement.

"No…Will is right," Crawli said. "I was no match for Angie. You see…"

Crawli told them what happened. He painted them a picture of a fight atop a frozen swamp, of Angie using her strange but incredible powers to sweep him aside and then trying to take his life. No hesitation, no fooling around. Just a single icy spear that would have taken his head clean off, had it not been for Rorim B interfering.

The scenario Crawli put together was grim. Angie had flung Rorim aside like a ragdoll without ever putting a finger on hin,

"She made the ice materialize out of nowhere," Crawli said. "Great carpets of jagged, black teeth, pulled into existence like it was nothing to her. The only reason she didn't kill us then was because of the island Guardian. Somehow, Angie had already claimed two of its brethren. After that, she disappeared with that Pokemon and I haven't seen either of them since. But, considering Angie is still at large, I think it lost to her."

A shocked silence followed in the wake of his explanation. Val and Adam exchanged uneasy looks, Aelita stared at Crawli in horror and Melia seemed at a total loss for words.

"What…what was the Pokemon you saw? The Island Guardian?" Melia then asked, if only to break that silence.

"At the time, I didn't know. I did some research afterwards; it's a Legendary Pokemon. It's called, Tapu Koko."

"Hmmm…" Will pulled his Pokedex from his pocket and scrolled down to the image he'd found after his battle with that strange Pokemon that had challenged him in the jungle. "Is this the one?"

"You've seen it?" Crawli said in shock, before taking a closer look at the picture. "Huh…this is Tapu Koko, but the colors you have registered in your Pokedex are not the same. Strange…"

Melia took a deep breath. "Angie sounds incredibly powerful, but we can't let her scare us! We will get stronger and then take her on ourselves!"

"Angie's no match for us!" Aelita said. "We're gonna get that Relic no matter the cost."

"I don't know who this woman is, but we won't allow her to continue her tyranny," Adam said simply.

"Yeah!" Braixen added. "If she can control ice, then this is gonna be easy! Ice Pokemon suffer greatly against Pokemon that can use fire, after all!"

Their enthusiasm was almost contagious. "It's settled then," Will said. Time for another road trip to kick someone's ass. "On to Teila Resort."

"That's west of Mynori Sea, then," Val said.

"I will strive to get stronger too!" Crawli said. "She's gotten away with too much, she has to be stopped. You guys should gather your things and make your way to Teila Resort as fast as you can. I'll keep you updated as you go."

"We understand, Crawli," Melia said. "Thanks for everything."

"Good luck," Crawli grimly said.

When Crawli left, Valarie took over. "Okay, so Saki's still not back and I'm starting to worry. Let's split up; Melia, can you and Braixen go out to the Mynori Sea to look for her? We've been all over town last night and didn't find a trace. Adam and I will take a look around the Jungle to look for her. Aelita, Will, this is where you come in. You two pack your stuff and set out for Teila Resort. Make sure the route is secure and that we don't run into any Team Xen ambushes along the way. Any questions? No? Great! Let's get going, people!"

Melia and Braixen wasted no time and immediately set out of Mynori Sea. Meanwhile, Will and Aelita hurried upstairs to pack their things for a prolonged stay on the road and, if the worst came to pass, lot's of fighting.

That meant a fresh set of clothes, water and food, medicine for humans and Pokemon alike and some basic hygiene equipment.

They'd packed their stuff in less than ten minutes and were downstairs again by the time Adam and Val had reviewed the map of the jungle.

"Let's start there," Valarie said, pointing at a clearing close to the beach. "And from there, we'll sweep out to - huh?"

"What's wrong?" Aelita said.

Val reached into her pocket. "I just got a notification on my phone that…Saki Blakeory is live streaming?"

They gathered around Val and peered at her phone over her shoulders. "YaGirlSaki, verified," Will read. "Exploring the Unknown, Rad aff…"

" Yooo guys, what's up?" A very pissed-off looking Saki yelled into a shaky cam. " I was on the hunt for some vermin and I ended up in this cool ass cave! My phone finally has decent service so I decided to turn on the stream!"

The screen began lagging. Saki's face grew blurry as the connection suddenly plummeted.

" So —- I'm chillin'-Under—-It's C—-DAS —-"

"Damnit Saki!" Valarie hissed. "Why didn't you say where you were earlier?"

"What happened to the video?" Adam asked.

"Bah, her phone lost signal. Guess wherever she is doesn't have reliable reception."

"...hunting for vermin?" Aelita asked.

"…Amber," Will said. For some reason, Saki had taken her beef with Amber to the next level and actively began…well, the phrase "stalking" came to mind. She'd even gone as far as to stream her "hunt" for others to watch.

Which, to Will, sounded like some thinly-veiled cyberbullying on its way to becoming something like actual assault. Apart from that, it was a legendarily stupid move.

"Is she for real?" Adam said. "She's… live streaming when she's one of Team Xen's targets?"

He didn't know what their history was, but at that moment, he didn't really care. Saki was better than that. "She needs to knock that off. It's nasty, and it's bound to attract the wrong kind of attention."

"Sheesh, yeah," Val said. "Good luck asking her to stop though…"

"I'm not going to ask anything," Will said.

Adam nodded in approval.

Val rolled with her eyes. "Okay, slow down. She said she was in a cave. It was blurry, but it didn't look like any of the caves we;ve been so far. Far too bright and blue."

"I heard there's a cave west of Mynori Sea we haven't explored yet," Aelita offered. "Maybe she ran down that way?"

"I think the place is called Aquamarine Cave," Adam said.

"Okay! Let's head on over to Aquamarine cave then! I'll give Melia a call, tell her where to go…"

With Valarie and Adam joining them, the four of them began trekking northwards, towards the Mynori beach. Eventually though, the beach stopped, and Route 5 began in the middle of an open area of water.

"Oh no!" Val said with faux shock. "Looks like we'll have to swim there! Luckily you've got - "

"Pidgeot."

"Staraptor!"

" - the Water Gym Leader." Val sighed. "You guys are no fun."

"On the contrary," Will said as he mounted Pidgeot.

"We're the funnest!" Aelita finished his sentence.

"We can always enjoy the water later," Adam said. "But Saki might bolt before we get a chance to find her. Flying is simply faster. Aerodactyl; let's go. You coming Val?"

The blue-haired Gym Leader saw that she was outnumbered and didn't argue. "Sure. Aelita, got room for one more?"

"Always!"

Together, the four of them followed the coastline along Route 5. Will wondered how Saki had even gotten that far ahead. Did she have a Pokemon that could fly her there? She was the Steel-type Gym Leader after all. Something like a Skarmory? Maybe her Aggron could swim?

Knowing Saki, she might have also just commandeered someone's fishing boat to get there.

Fortunately for them, Aquamarine Cave wasn't some sort of jungle secret. In fact, it turned out to be something of a tourist attraction; several signs had been installed along the route to point them the way. The soft, crimson rocks that made up the cave entrance were all too easy to spot from above. Within ten minutes, Aelita spotted the entrance and guided Staraptor down, with Pidgeot and Aerodactyl close behind her.

Every time Will found his way into a new cave, he found himself in a completely new environment, with new wonders to take in and new sights to enjoy. If there was one advantage to his amnesia, it was that every new sight Aeviun offered him was a completely new experience.

He stepped into Aquamarine cave and just…stopped. And stared.

It was the bluest blue he had ever seen in his life. Deeper than the sparkling water of Mynori Sea. Purer than the aquarium in Akuwa Town. Brighter than the strange crystals he'd found in Amethyst Cave. He felt like he stood at the bottom of a freshly-drained lake, or maybe a massive aquarium of sorts.

"Melia and Braixen are just up ahead, one level below us," Valarie said, brushing past him and striding deeper into the cave. "Let's go."

Will barely heard her. He wasn't sure if he even had the vocabulary to do this place justice, so he just enjoyed its sight.

It took Adam grabbing him by his bag and pulling him along to make him realize that the others were already waiting for him at a little ladder by what could have been a sinkhole.

A few meters deeper, their surroundings changed drastically. The rocks and the crystals around them were a much darker shade of blue, as if the cave had been designed to mimic the deeper trenches of the ocean. Wild Pokemon surrounded them on all sides; Psyducks waddled across the ground, oblivious to the gaggle of trainers that had just wandered into their den, and clusters of Corsola clung to the walls and the rocks.

Braixen and Melia were there, too. Melia saw them approach and waved them over. Braixen, meanwhile, clung to a rock and eyed the flowing water beneath them with angry suspicion.

"Gotta keep an out for Saki around this place," Val said. She walked over to the ledge, where she got a bird's eye view of the hidden little grove of trees and roses that grew in the middle of the cave, a few meters below them. She faltered for a moment, clearly surprised at the sheer beauty of the sight. "Okay, but this place is gorgeous. I never knew this cave existed…"

It shouldn't have come as a surprise that this place was filled to the brim with Aquamarine ore. What did surprise Will was the fact that there was still so much of the stuff just hanging out in the open, just waiting for the wrong person to drop by and mine it all dry.

"Aw come on Braixen!" An irate Adam told Braixen as he tried to peel her off her comfort-rock. "Will you just move your stupid little feet?"

"Adam, I am a FIRE TYPE!" She yelled at him. "This place is full of WATER. One wrong move and I'm gonna fall into the pits of hell!"

"So dramatic…" Adam sighed.

"Okay, so what if we were exploring a cave full of magma? I'd fall in and probably be fine, but you'd be melted down to nothing!"

A little magma wouldn't hurt anyone if they were just careful around it, right?

"Braixen, I don't think you'd be fine if you fell into magma," Adam shot back. "You're fire resistant, not proof. You'd melt just like any of us here!"

Braixen turned her tail to him. "Well I wouldn't know. Hmph. I've never fallen into magma before…"

"Let's keep it that way!"

As the others took their turn to marvel at the sheer beauty of Aquamarine Cave, Will followed the trail deeper inside. He stopped at a little wooden bridge not two meters across. It looked like someone had fallen through it at some point. breaking it in half. It wasn't a big jump, but it did make Will wonder why nobody had bothered to repair it.

He hopped across.

"Nailed it," he said to himself.

Up ahead, Melia had stopped to take a look at the grove at the bottom of the cave as well. "Aquamarine Cave…" she muttered. With a look of pure concentration on her face, she whipped out her camera and took a quick snap. "This is a place to keep in the books!"

"How's it look?" Will said.

Melia uttered a surprised yelp and nearly dropped her camera. She clasped it tightly into her hands and uttered a sigh of relief. "Will! Sorry, I didn't hear you! Ah, I couldn't help myself. We're supposed to be looking for Saki!"

"If it helps you unwind," Will replied. "Can't find Saki if you're stressing out,"

"Oh, I hear that," Melia said. "I swear, it's been one thing after another nonstop…"

"Yeah," Will said. He stepped towards her, but the second his boot came down on the wooden plank that had been bolted to the other side of the little bridge, it promptly splintered and he nearly slipped off. "Uh-!"

Melia clasped her hands in front of her mouth in shock, but when nothing happened, she gave a little laugh in relief. "Please, watch your step!"

"Almost disappointed nothing happened there," Will said.

"Well, I'm not!" Melia replied. "What makes you say that?"

"I have a track record to keep, apparently."

With amusement in her eyes, she replied, "You do seem to have a thing for falling into things. Were you always so fond of climbing and stuff?"

"Don't know," Will said without thinking. "Guess Aevium awakened something in me…"

She looked at him, curious. "You don't know?"

Ah, crap.

Before he could think of an excuse to justify that stupid slip-up, Braixen's cries suddenly echoed through the cave. "I won't do it!"

That was swiftly followed by Adam going, "Oh for the love of - "

Together, Will and Melia turned to look at the commotion. It looked like Braixen had frozen up over the tiny bridge Will had just hopped over, with Adam desperately trying to shove her over.

"If I don't make the jump it's over for me!" Braixen wailed.

"There's barely a jump! If you screw this up it's on you!"

"I won't goooo!"

"Look," Melia said, pointing at Adam. "You can almost see Adam's breaking point coming up…any second now."

"We're waiting for you to pass," Adam growled.

"I can't!"

"Then allow me to assist!"

"Aaand snap!" Melia said with a bemused smile.

Adam seized Braixen by her ankles, pulled her off her feet like she weighed nothing more than a wet towel and began swinging her around by her legs.

"What are you doing!" Braixen cried out with indignity.

"Giving you the push you need to succeed!" Adam told her.

"If you're going to swing me, then at least thrown me back to entraaaance!"

"Sorry, but I don't swing that way! So long you stupid fox!"

"ADAAAAAAM!"

Adam released Braixen and she went sailing. Will could have sworn the scraped across the ceiling as she plummeted through the air.

"Now that's a throwin' arm!" Adam commented.

Melia and Will watched Braixen fly through the air, before smacking into the ground just a few feet away from them. It had to have been a hell of a trip for the Fire-type, but all Will could think was holy crap me too!

"Hi, Braixen," Melia pleasantly said.

Braixen, lying face-down on the moist cavern floor, mumbled back a tired "hello".

"Solid landing," Will said.

She peeled her face off the floor and shot him a dirty look. "Yes, the landing was solid. As in, the floor was solid and my face has shattered."

"That looked fun, though." Melia commented.

"It kinda was, but I'll never admit that to Adam," Braixen murmured. She climbed back to her feet and then her ears twitched a couple of times. "Hm? I hear music…coming from over there?" She pointed towards the western part of the cave, but the rocks were too slippery and elevated for any person to scale on their own, let alone Saki.

Melia followed her gaze. "I don't hear any music?"

Before Braixen could clarify what she heard, a piercing scream came from the staircase to the south, the one that led deeper into the cave.

"I heard that though!" Melia said.

"That sounded like Saki!" Braixen gasped.

"Let's move!"

They hurried down the steps, heading down yet another level. All kinds of scenarios shot through Will's head as he broke into a run, ranging from Team Xen to some sort of super-aggressive wild Pokemon, or even a third party altogether.

What he didn't expect was to find a massive cavern lined with cascading waterfalls, a whole colony of Krabby and Kingler and several massive, glowing boulders that just…floated in the air, calmly bobbing up and down like someone had just decided that gravity wasn't their concern anymore.

"Okay…" Braixen said, her eyes transfixed on the levitating boulder. "It's pretty. I'll give it that. It still has water, though. So I give it a six out of ten at most. Sorry!"

Will carefully approached one of the boulders. Was this natural? Did this sort of thing occur in Terajuma naturally, or was this perhaps the result of intense Pokemon battle? A form of psychic residue or something?

Aelita stared at the rows of water cascading down from the wall with open wonder. "I'm… so glad that I decided to go on this journey…" she said. "I'm seeing so many new places…and experiencing it with you has been amazing too, Will!"

"We do know how to pick them, don't we?" Will said. Seeing all these strange and bizarre wonders himself was one thing, but seeing them through the filters of Aelita's naked enthusiasm and awe was a different experience altogether. Half the experience for him was simply seeing her reaction to these things, knowing that she would remember and cherish these memories forever.

"Yeah…" Aelita sighed contently. "We do…"

They spread out through the cave, searching for their missing Saki. The problem was that the room was a dead-end; no way out aside from the stairs they just ran down from.

So what gave?

As Melia and Adam convened to start brainstorming, Will approached one of the floating boulders and reached out to touch it.

"Careful Will!" Braixen said. "You don't want to mess with weird floaty energy down in blue caves!"

…Will poked the boulder.

Nothing happened.

"Huh…" He placed both palms against its cold, rocky surface and shoved.

"Aah! Will! Careful!" Braixen called out.

If he put his back into it, he could actually push the boulder along. Somehow, it was still beholden to friction. The moment he stopped pushing it along, the boulder stopped moving altogether.

He was fairly sure that didn't exactly jive with the laws of physics.

So what else didn't fit?

Will began scanning the cavern anew. He didn't think Saki's phone was waterproof, so she couldn't have gone down a hidden underwater entrance. He didn't spot any obvious climbing spots either, no tunnels her Steel-types could have dug. So what was left?

Eaten by the Krabbies. Ironic. Tragic.

But impossible.

What else?

"Hmmm…" Looking at it from that point of view, there had to be a hidden entrance somewhere. Either hidden along the walls, or on a more obvious, simple spot.

Unless…was this another Carotos Mountain moment?

Will sent out the strongest swimmer in his team. "Nidoking? Can you give me a lift?"

"Uh? Will?" Val said.

Nidoking waded into the pond until he was waist-deep in the water. He slowly uncoiled his tail, then tipped forwards, presenting Will with his rugged, armor-plated, poisonous spike-riddled back

Now Will could have asked Val if she wanted to give him a lift. The thing was, she wouldn't always be around to help him get across the water. He'd eventually have to find a way to manage that on his own.

That, and he really really wanted to try this out.

"Oh, Will, I think that's a very bad idea!" Melia said, her voice laced with concern. Will was starting to become accustomed to that tone. Maybe that was cause for some reflection?

Eh.

Time for a swim.

Very carefully, Will started climbing atop Nidoking's back. His angry Poison-type kept very still, likely very aware of what would happen if he began to move now.

"Will, you moron," Adam said. "Val has a whole team of Water-types!"

"Oh gosh, oh gosh," Braixen said. "Uh…does anyone have an Antidote? Anyone?"

Will found that, if he planted his knees just right and grabbed a hold of the largest spine on Nidoking's back, he didn't actually have to worry about accidentally impaling himself. His boots found purchase against a pair of symmetric spines near Nidoking's thighs.

"And you've been dealing with this all this time?" Valarie asked incredulously.

"It's not that bad," Aeita said. "Besides; Melia's been dealing with this before me."

"Only for a few days," Melia protested. "And he never acted like…well…actually…"

"I have an Antidote here," Adam said.

"Hey Will!" Aelita shouted. "If you fall, can you do a salto?"

"Aelita!" Melia gasped.

Shakily, he let go with his right hand and gave Aelita a thumbs up.

" Will!"

"Oh you are the worst!" Braixen angrily said. "Ah, all that water, all those spikes…I can't watch!"

"Relax," Will told them. "Nidoking knows what he's doing…right?"

Nidoking craned his head around and gave him a very uncertain look.

Oh. Well. Whatever.

"See that center waterfall?" Will said. "More to the right, the third one. Yeah. Let's swim through."

Nidoking didn't question him. Nidoking just went for it.

Sometimes, that was everything a trainer could ask for.

The two of them passed underneath the roaring cascade of water. It came down on Will like the world's heaviest shower and soaked him to the bone. The sudden cold slammed into his chest like a physical wall and his lungs cramped up in protest. For a couple of biting seconds, Will's breathing became superficial and shallow, but this wasn't his first foray into the bitter cold. Taking slow, deep breaths was the best way to counter his body's initial reaction to the biting cold.

It didn't last very long either; with a single swing of his powerful tail, Nidoking propelled himself through the waterfall in a second or two, and suddenly Will found himself on the other end of a narrow, hidden path.

"You are the best Nidoking!" Will said. He was soaked to the bone and already, he was shivering badly, but he didn't care. Now they could continue on to find Saki!

He ordered Houndoom out. Houndoom, glanced at the waterfall they'd just come through, cast one look at his shivering, soaked trainer and seemed to exhale a disappointed sigh. He stepped towards Will, shoved himself against his stomach - Houndoom was a tall boy - and then fanned the flames deep inside of his body. Soon, a comfortable, toasty heat began spreading through the cave.

It came as no surprise to Will that Melia was the first one to go after him. She'd taken the smarter solution and flew in on Hapi. Hapi spread his wings and lurched to a sudden halt to keep from smashing face-first into the wall, and Melia hopped off.

"So it looks like the path was hidden behind that waterfall…" she said, eyeing him with approval. "Verrry clever, Will."

"I have my moments," he said.

She gave him a gentle smile. "Don't sell yourself short. Shall we gather the others? …Braixen won't be happy about going through a waterfall."

Will didn't think Houndoom would have been happy if he'd been ordered to pass through a waterfall either. He would do it, no questions asked, but he would have been a deeply unhappy Pokemon.

"Maybe we can give her some protection?" Will suggested. "Like a coat or something?"

"Hmm…I fear this is one of those bandaid moments," Melia sighed. "Gotta have to rip it off quickly and cleanly…"

Will thought back to that time Ren had patched up a hole in his side. There hadn't been anything quick or clean about removing that one.

…god, that felt like years ago. Had it really just been two months?

Houndoom remained there, steadily heating up the cave to the point that Will's clothes began steaming a bit.

After a minute, Melia came through the waterfall again, followed by a very nonchalant Aelita, an exasperated Val, a grumbling Adam and…an unconscious Braixen.

Yikes.

"Is she…going to be alright?" Will asked.

Adam carried Braixen bridal style, which would have been cute if he hadn't unceremoniously dumped her on the floor the second he got to dry land.

"She'll live," He said.

Houndoom approached the motionless Braixen and sniffed the little blue ribbon around her ear.

Super…effective…damage…" Braixen groaned.

Houndoom turned to give Will a hard stare. Don't you dare, he seemed to say. Don't you dare do that to me.

"Don't worry boy," Will reassured him. "Only when absolutely necessary."

Houndoom didn't look convinced.

Another, much more audible shriek echoed through the cave and everybody double-timed it through the pathway and into the next chamber. It too was a massive room with a strangely shaped, symmetrical body of water in the middle. Unlike the previous room however, this one appeared to be a dead end not separated by a secret waterfall exit, but a massive, ornately-carved door, easily three times the size of the average man and four times as wide. It looked absolutely massive. So massive, in fact, that simply breaking it down could have brought the entire cave down on them if they tried.

They were stuck.

"Saki!" Melia shouted, pushing and shoving at the little crags between the door and the walls. She grunted with exertion, her fingers frantically searching up and down the door's smooth surface. "That scream definitely came from behind this door. But no matter what I do it won't budge! There has to be a way to get this stupid thing open!"

Moments like those, when time was in short supply and immediate action was needed, people tended to panic. Even Melia was so focused on the door itself that she didn't seem to focus on the entire picture. Sometimes it felt like an impossible task. but they had to stay calm. Stay thinking on their feet.

So Will tried to set aside his fear of Saki getting hurt as best he could, then forced himself to mentally zoom out. Pull his thoughts away from that door and look at the bigger picture instead.

This room had those strange, floating boulders as well. Some of them had the shape of stalagmites, others were more rotund in shape. Oddly enough, several white markings had been etched into the ground, then painted over to accentuate the symbols.

Aelita saw it, too. "The markings on the ground here are the same as the ones on the giant door," She said.

She was right; six markings decorated the door Melia was still fruitlessly trying to get open. That had to be even less of a coincidence than his nightmare about black shards of ice.

One weird problem at a time.

Five floating boulders, six indentations in the floor. Even if this worked out, he needed another weight to push down the sixth one…

"Aelita, could you push that boulder over that marking there?" Will asked.

"Huh? Sure, but why?"

"Just a hunch. Adam?"

Together, they began shoving the boulders on top of the indentations in the floor. The sixth one soon proved to be an issue though, since there wasn't anything around to weigh that one down.

"You could try standing on it?" Val offered.

"Yeah, or…" Adam said, picking Braixen up and putting her down on the final indentation. "There, what now?"

"There's another marking in front of the door," Aelita noticed, pointing at a square just a few meters behind Melia. "Maybe that one needs to be pressed down as well?"

"Sharp," Will said, before walking up to that last mark. "Melia, head's up."

"Huh?"

The six markings on the door suddenly lit up in a soothing, blue shade and Melia quickly backpedaled away from the door.

Seconds later, the door seemed to burst apart into hundreds of little stones that all collapsed to the ground in a landslide of debris and rubble.

"How violent," Melia commented.

"Ponder the door's violence later," Adam said as he rushed past her. "We gotta help our girl!"

"Right!"

They all filed through the newly-created hole in the wall and ended up in some sort of inner chamber. A large tablet had been erected in front of a pond of water, the Garufan letters glowing in a faint blue hue.

Everybody ignored the stone tablet and ran into this new space, fanning out as they crossed the pond on solid bridges made from a type of stone that Will hadn't ever seen before. The bridges gradually morphed into stone pathways that led towards a single point deeper into the chamber. There, cornered against another underground lake, stood Saki.

A Team Xen member crept towards her,

"Team Xen!" Melia shouted.

"Saki!"

The Xen grunt spun around, alarmed at the sudden intrusion. they didn't look like the standard Xen thugs; this one wore a heavy hood atop their black and purple clothes, which concealed most of their lower face and cast their eyes into a dark shadow.

They weren't alone. A trio of Pokemon had spread out across the cave to give their trainer cover; a Carnivine had paired up with a massive Hippowdon to physically block the path towards Saki, while a Chandelure floated several meters above them.

"We gotta help Saki!" Adam yelled.

At that point, Will had been preparing himself for a situation precisely like that one. The second he identified the Xen Grunt, he sent out Houndoom In a flash, Houndoom's Dark Pulse slammed into Chandelure's Shadow Ball and the subsequent clash of destructive energy ripped the ground apart.

Then, Valarie's Primarina was out, and twin beams of white energy lanced out from her mouth. They arced through the air, creating hundreds of little ice crystals before they slammed into Hippowdon's body. Almost instantly, the Ice beam creates a thick layer of ice where it struck, freezing over Hippowdon's left shoulder and forearm.

Carnivine whipped around, using Huppowdon's bulky frame as cover as he lashed out with a lightning quick jab of his tentacles. The sharp, grassy appendage raked Primarina's neck and it cried out in pain, flinching away even as the Carnivine retracted its vine and whipped out a second one.

Then, Houndoom shifted his field of fire and bathed Carnivine in searing, purple flames, forcing the Grass-type to take cover again.

The fire thawed Hippowdon out however, and the massive Ground-type wasted no time in whipping up a heft Sandstorm. The thick cloud of scathing sand immediately began swallowing up the room, and Will had to tug his jacket over his mouth and nose to keep from breathing the stuff in.

Chandelure flickered into appearance to Houndoom's left and fired off a second Shadow Ball. Swiftly, Houndoom shifted his weight and hopped to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast. He retaliated with a Dark Pulse of his own and the stream of dark energy cleaved through the sand in a radial pattern as he tried to home in his foe.

Due to the sand, neither Pokemon was able to hit the other one. Dark Pulse went wide and Chandelure disappeared from view again.

"Primarina! Prepare a Sparkling Aria!" Val ordered. "Will, give us some cover, would you?"

"Houndoom, don't let up!" Will called. "Shift your fire between Chandelure and Carnivine, don't let them get close!"

His hostage rescue in Crawli's gym came to mind. It didn't matter if Houndoom could nail Chandelure or Carnivine with precision. What mattered was the enemy Pokemon thinking they were going to get hit. It forced them to keep their head down or take evasive maneuvers, both of which didn't translate very well to accurate attacks.

Will wasn't sure what the Hippowdon was doing, but he did see Chandelure making several attempts to catch Houndoom off-guard. The Carnivine too attempted to use the cover of the sand to advance on Primarina. The sand hindered them all, but Houndoom's aim wasn't to hit. It was to keep the enemy from landing their hits.

Houndoom sent a stone-crackling Incinerate attack towards Carnivine, which was forced to scamper for cover or risk burning. Chandelure's Shadow Ball slammed into the ground half a meter away from Houndoom and shards of jagged rocks bounced off of his legs.

Finally Valarie's Primarina had charged up her signature move. It stood up on its tail, ignored the white-hot sand that buffeted its face, and began singing. The vibrations in its voice gave form and purpose to the power it held within its body and a large, glowing orb of white energy materialized in front of its head.

The orb grew larger and larger, until it was almost as big as Pimarina's body.

Will, having seen that move before, knew what was about to happen. "Houndoom, get to cover! Get ready to hit that Carnivine."

Houndoom bolted. The foe Carnivine thought this was the perfect moment to strike and it slithered closer, preparing another powerful hit with its vinelike tentacles -

Primarina's singing reached its crescendo and it burst into hundreds of exploding bubbles. Instantly, those bubbles connected with the coarse sand flying through the air and detonated with explosive force, which in turn prompted the other bubbles to detonate in a massive chain-reaction that tore through the cavern without regard for friend or foe.

Rain and sand coalesced into wet, slippery mud. For a moment, the Sandstorm had cleared up, presenting three very visible targets.

Houndoom, fast as always, nailed Carnivine with an focused blast of Incinerate before it had a chance to recover. The purple flames engulfed its plantlike body and it began thrashing and flailing, throwing itself to the muddy ground in an attempt to douse itself.

The Xen grunt didn't hesitate to recall it.

That meant that all of Primarina's targets were at a sudden disadvantage. Streams of water and fire criss-crossed through the chamber, tornados of sand tore across the shattered stone floor and Shadow Balls and Dark Pulses missed each other by centimeters as they whizzed through the air.

Through it all, it was a damn miracle that Saki hadn't plummeted into that lake behind her.

Houndoom muscled his way through a final Shadow Ball and leapt for Chandelure. Hippowdon turned to smack him with another Sand Tomb, but Primarina was faster on the uptake and nailed it with another Ice Beam, freezing its hind body to the floor and preventing it from hitting Houndoom.

Chandelure flickered out of existence but Houndoom didn't care. He'd hunted Ghost-types with Mightyena as a Houndour, he'd hunted them with Mightyena after evolving and after Akuwa Town, he'd hunted them all on his own.

His fangs slammed shut around one of Chandelure's metallic limbs like vice. His body weight dragged the Ghost Pokemon to the floor. Purplish drool dripped from his pulled-back lips, pooling on the ground in a small puddle that immediately began sizzling and melting into the stone.

Houndoom whipped his head around and ragolled Chandelure to the ground. He released his grip and his jaws together around the spot where Chandelure's head would have been. He pinned the Ghost-Type to the ground with both of his forepaws, then shoved his foe down with his body weight again when it tried to escape.

Again, the Hippowdon broke free from its icy shackles and again, Primarina nailed it with an Ice Beam. On its own, it was too slow and cumbersome to avoid the incoming attacks. There was nothing it could do.

Houndoom whipped his head back and forth in a frenzy, whipping the sizeable Chandelure through the air like it was nothing. The Chandelure set itself ablaze in one final, desperate attempt to let Houndoom to let go.

There was something about seeing a predator at the apex of its hunt that triggered the more basic, animalistic instincts of the human that moment, seeing Houndoom and his prey both engulfed in flames, a dark corona whipping across his body as he savagely brutalized his opponent, Will started to see how people might have associated Houndoom's species with tales of a dark, supernatural fate.

It was an inspiring sight.

"I think we got him!" Valarie yelled.

The Xen member silently recalled their fallen Hippowdon, then immediately recalled their Chandelure as well. Will rubbed the sand from his eyes and raised his hand to send Houndoom forwards -

The Xen grunt was gone. They hadn't fled, they hadn't turned tail and plunged into the icy lake below - one second they were there and the next they had completely disappeared.

"Wait a minute, where did he go?" Melia asked. "Wasn't there a Xen member right there? I saw Val and Will beat him…"

Will felt a sudden pressure behind his eyes. Something like a headache spiked through his head and for a moment, he felt lost; he was tensed up, his Pokemon were out and he felt the faintest hint of adrenaline slowly ebbing away, but why? What had he been doing?

Memories reasserted themselves a second later; a hooded figure, three Pokemon and a sudden, unexplainable disappearance.

"I think?" Val muttered. "Now I can't remember."

Melia whirled on her. "Huh?! What do you mean you can't remember?" She asked, looking dumbstruck at the mere suggestion.

Braixen wandered forwards. "What were we doing again?"

"Saki!" Adam said, totally ignoring the whole situation. "Are you okay?"

"What…" Melia mumbled, staring at Val, Adam and Braixen as they hurried towards Saki, who didn't seem the least bit injured. "Am I going crazy? Will…please tell me that we just battled a Xen member?"

"Xen magician is more like it," Will said. He rubbed his eyes and felt the headache eb away again. "That was a perfect disappearing act."

"A magician…" Melia said. "A Xen Mage, huh? Some sort of…Pokemon move or…a spell? That makes people forget?"

Then the guy must have fumbled it somewhere; Melia wasn't affected at all and Will had shrugged it off pretty easily. "Let's break our minds over that later. Saki?"

"Oh hey guys! Hehehe, what are you doing all the way down here?" Saki said, sounding so casual that she could have been talking about the weather instead of the sudden appearance of a rescue party.

Her rescue party.

"Looking for you!" Adam snapped. "Didn't you scream?"

"Oh, yeah!" Saki said, hopping down from that rock and just strutting towards them. "That was me! I was trying to hunt down Amber, but I got lost in this cave and eventually stumbled into this room! I was drinking some of the water and then suddenly this blue whale attacked me!"

"...a blue whale?" Aelita questioned.

"Yeah, yeah! And then this woman with red hair swooped in and saved my ass! Her name was uh…Frieda? Frego? Freysal? Frey?I don't remember…" She shrugged. "Eh, fuggedaboutit."

Everybody stared at Saki in a mixture of disbelief, frustration and incredulity. The next moment, Adam, Val and Braixen all rushed towards Saki and dogpiled her, pulling her into a big group hug.

"Nyeh?" Saki sputtered, looking completely lost at the open display of affection from not one, but three of her closest friends.

"We're just happy you're okay!" Val said, burying her face into Saki's shoulder. "We thought you were in serious danger!"

Adam had his arms wrapped around all three of the girls - Braixen included - and just hung his forehead against the crown of Saki's head. "You're a moron, but if something happened to you I'd be pissed."

"I went through waterfalls for you Saki!" Braixen cried out, on the verge of tears.

Saki looked at her with shock. It was the first time Will had seen actual, genuine concern in her eyes. "But you hate water!"

"But I love my bestie more than I hate water~..."

Slowly, Saki's cheeks became a deep tint of crimson. "Feeling…loved…"

Aelita couldn't help but laugh. "Aww, they're like a family!"

"Yeah…" Melia said, smiling warmly at the sheer affection these four had for each other. "Like family…" Then, she pulled her gaze from the others and shot a sideways glance at Aelita, then at Will. The smile she wore faded.

Family.

How many of them had an actual family left? Aelita didn't. Will didn't. As far as he was aware, Melia didn't either. Team Xen had taken that from them. He'd just been the last in a long line of families torn apart because of them.

How long before they took someone else? How long before something went horribly wrong - so much could go wrong - and they lost someone else? A knife to the stomach leaving Val bleeding out, a narrow miss at his Pokemon blowing Adam's head apart and an silvery sword sweeping through the shadows and slicing through Saki's spine -

Will inhaled sharply and turned away, physically turning his back to those thoughts. That couldn't happen. It wouldn't happen.

They could do this. They could do this.

He could do this.

"Well, we're reunited once again," Melia said not a minute later, as Adam and Val took the lead back through the Aquamarine passageways.

"Yeaaaahhh and I won't run off like that again, I promise!" Saki said. "Not even for stinky rats like Amber Von Brandt!"

"Saki, about that," Will said. "We gotta talk."

"Ayy? What about?"

"That live stream of yours," Will said, giving the engineer a hard stare. "That wasn't just mean-spirited, it was downright stupid."

Saki gasped in shock. "How dare you call me mean! I'm a savage, my guy!"

"That's the part you're upset about?" Braixen said.

…Will had a whole thing prepared about the sheer stupidity of people broadcasting their location when they had a literal bounty on their head, but as always, Saki had just thrown a wrench into his thoughts. "Uh…no, that's just mean. You're gonna have to tone your beef with Amber down. And- "

Saki squared off against him, pulling herself upright and puffing her chest up like a Houndour trying to intimidate its foe. She shot him an angry, pouty glare."My battle with this hated foe is real shit! It is legendary!" She said. "You can't interfere with bitches when bitches be throwing down"!

In a way, Will guessed he was lucky that Saki hadn't begun chewing on his ankles yet. "Saki, you're acting like a freaking bully. I know you're better than that."

His words poked a hole in her demeanor and she seemed to deflate somewhat. She gave him another look of anger, went "eh" and then visibly stopped caring. It was frightening, really. It was like someone threw a bucket of water over her face and physically washed that anger away. "Maybe I can chill out a bit. Until I catch sight of her. Then it's on sight."

"Uh, guys" Aelita siad. "Sorry, not to break up this sweet moment, but that door is intact again. Did anyone notice that?"

They all turned to look at the heavy stone door that, just a few minutes before, had been a big pile of rubble. Sure enough, it was completely intact again, like someone had quickly replaced it when nobody'd been looking.

"There's not even a scratch on it…" Melia said. "Did it reform as we exited the chamber?"

"Damn, where can I get a door like that?" Saki said.

"Here," Adam replied, nodding at the door.

Saki conceded his point with a little shoulder shrug. "So true."

They exchanged weary, uneasy glances, before collectively coming to the unspoken agreement that they wouldn't be worrying about that at the moment.

"Sooo….anyway," Melia said. "We can make our way over to Teila resort! I bet we're close to the exit now!"

"Yeah, it shouldn't be much farther from here on out," Aelita agreed.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Val said. "Go team!"

~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~

---

As shadows and silence returned to the chamber once more, the reality of space-time resolved itself as well, and the pair of strangers materialized into existence once again. To any outsiders, it would have appeared as if they had simply flickered into existence, the human brain unable to parcel the seamlessness of their means of travel.

"So…what do you think?"

A moment of silence. "They're doing well, but we're going to need far more data before we can make a proper analysis."

"Surely you must be at least a little bit satisfied with the result?"

A scoff. "Satisfaction is not the primary goal. However, if things continue as they are now, then we'll be ready sooner than we scheduled."

"Aha, is that right? A broken clock is right twice a day, as they say."

"Do you not agree with my estimation?"

"Like you said, we'll need more data before we settle on any outcome. William and Melia will have to overcome this task, and then we'll see."

"We will see."

They plotted their course again, leaving no error larger than a centimeter, and then they were gone again.

~~~~~~~(III)~~~~~~~

Port Marine

In a shocking twist of events, the road that led from Aquamarine Cave to Teila Resort wasn't fraught with danger, filled to the brim with Xen traps and ambushes or aggressive wild Pokemon. Far from it, the kilometer-walk between the massive resort village and the cave was a literal walk on the beach. Soft, warm sand warmed their feet as they followed the trail towards Port Marine. A gentle sea breeze carried the scent of salt water, and the rows of palm trees flanking the route provided ample shade to protect them from the sun.

"It's a resort!" Valarie said for the third time in ten minutes. "Seriously, are we not supposed to make use of that!"

"We're there for the Earth Relic," Melia replied, her voice still as patient and pleasant as it was the first two times she said it. "Not to partake in alcoholic beverages."

"Come on Melia! We should live a little! Nobody is going to be of much help if they're ragged from all the stress."

"We won't be much good if we're drunk either, Val," Aelita said.

Val rolled with her eyes. "Tipsy, not drunk. There's a huge difference. You're all legal adults, aren't you? So what's the big deal?"

"Alcohol is bad for you," Aelita said without missing a beat. "Bad for the liver, bad for the brain."

"But soooo good for the inspiration," Saki chimed in. "Dude, I've come up with so many brilliant ideas while off my tits."

"I can't say every decision I've made while under the influence has been a good one," Adam replied.

"That sort of suggests you've made good decisions while drunk, Adam?" Braixen teased.

"Hmm."

"So what you're saying, Aelita, is that you've never had so much as a cocktail in your life?" Val asked. "Nothing at all?"

"Yep!" Aelita cheerfully said. "And I plan on keeping it that way."

"Huh." Her answer genuinely seemed to puzzle Val. "Melia?"

"Same. Aside from the age thing, I just never felt a reason to start."

"Fair enough. What about you Will?"

Apart from that one time in Venam's house, Will hadn't ever felt the desire to start drinking. He wasn't sure if that would hold up in the future, but for now, he agreed with Melia. They needed to be sharp. "Can't say that I have."

"Can't say? Or won't say?" Val said. Her voice suggested that she was teasing him, but her words were far too close to the truth for him to be able to laugh about it.

"Can't say," Will replied. "And Melia's right; the sooner we get those Relics, the better."

"Ugh, you guys are such spoilsports," Val complained. "Fine."

Soon, they passed by Port Marine, where a couple of rangers were busy evacuating a long line of civilians. It was a noisy affair with dozens of people chatting and complaining amongst each other and one of the rangers struggling to make himself heard over the sheer noise of it all.

"Single file everybody!" He roared. "No cutting the line either! I repeat, this is the last evacuation ship for Grand Dream City!"

Considering the circumstances, it was all just a basic order of affairs, and yet the intensity of the clamoring made Will's stomach cramp up inside of his stomach. Something in him coiled up in tension.

But Teila Resort was literally dead ahead, so he sucked it up and kept walking. Soon, the resort opened up before them and it was just as beautiful as everybody had made it out to be; it was a literal city built on top of the water. Not on the beach, but on the actual ocean. All the houses stood on large, sturdy foundations that kept them suspended a good meter or two above the surface of the water. The roads weren't made from sand or wood or anything, but some sort of floating, foam-like material that gingerly bobbed and and down as the waves caressed the surface of the water. It looked like the people there were walking on top of the water.

"Oh my gosh," Braixen exclaimed, her eyes widening in terror. "Can't a Braixen catch a break on Terajuma Island? There's no way I'm walking on that water path! It's just not fair! Where are my accommodations!"

"Oh, suck it up Braixen," Val said. She eyed a couple of tanned, shirtless guys who walked around one of the entrances, wearing the same kind of flowery accessory Rorim was so fond of. "I'm sure you'll find a cute trainer willing to carry you."

It looked like the majority of Teila's buildings were luxury suites or vacation houses for rent. Will saw apartments with their own private swimming pools, various restaurants and terraces with a beautiful sea view and even directions for a spa of all things.

Everywhere he looked, he saw natives to Teila Resort going about their daily routine. Beautiful women with tanned skin and flower crowns and tall, fit men alike tended to the houses and the water path. They carried things like supplies or towels, some of them stood at busier crossroads to welcome the guests or provide directions to those evacuating the resort.

It was a sharp contrast from Kakori Village. Teila Resort had a certain air to it; a sense of serenity and peace despite the ongoing evacuations. In a way, it was just like Sheridan Village.

Will could get used to it.

"Okay guys," Melia said. "The reception is to the north of the resort. According to Crawli's it's hard to miss. Will and I are going to poke around. Let's meet back here in an hour, okay?"

"Sure!" Val said. She produced a pair of sunglasses and casually put them on. "We'll be fine."

"Okay. Will?"

"Coming!"

Hard to miss was an understatement. The north side of the resort was made up of rocky, jagged hills that resembled Route Four. It featured a truly massive hotel that had been built partially in, partially atop those hills. It went on and on. The entrance itself was fancier than anything Will had seen in Aevium thus far - and that included the Chrisola Hotel in East Gearen. A large totem pole stood next to the entrance, its upper section lit on fire like the whole thing was just one big torch.

This was the titular Teila Resort, Will assumed.

Melia and him passed through two sets of double sliding doors. The resort's atrium was pleasantly cool, and the air smelled like a combination of freshly baked bread, smoldering charcoal and a woman's perfume.

The reception hall itself was larger than most houses Will had seen; all comfortable sofas and stools and chandeliers. He saw several places where it looked like there was a big gap in the floor, but upon closer inspection, he saw that those gaps were in fact glass panes that allowed them to see the ocean below their feet.

Braixen was going to have an aneurysm.

"Wow," Melia said as she carefully tapped the glass with her boot. "That's nice."

A tall, red-headed woman stood in front of the heavy desk, deep in conversation with the young lady manning it.

"Yes, the last remaining guests have been moved and escorted to the evacuation site on Route Five," the lady at the desk told her, too deep in her conversation to notice the two guests that had just arrived. "Um…I don't mean to be rude ma'am, but how are we going to survive this?"

"Team Xen is an issue, but I won't let them destroy this place. Don't worry."

It had been a while since Will last saw her, but he still recognized her in an instant.

"Sorry, I um, meant financially. We had to provide full refunds to all our guests - including ones in Jynnobi."

"Oh…Uh, smiles go for miles?"

"Tesla," Will whispered. His lips suddenly felt very dry. So much had happened since he last saw her. He…he had promised her he would keep up hope. He'd promised her that he would find and rescue his mother - that he wouldn't give up on pursuing happiness.

He'd failed to keep his promises. He'd…would…would she be disappointed? if she saw him…if she knew what had happened…god, how would she react? What would she think? What would she say?

Suddenly, Will wanted nothing more than to turn and run.

"Excuse me?" Melia said, casually approaching the two women without a care in the world. "Sorry for the bother, but Crawli told me to tell the front desk that he sent us?"

Tesla turned to look at her two guests. She recognized them almost instantly and her smile was as warm as ever. "Well, look who it is! You two made it here faster than I expected!"

She turned away from the desk and approached them. Before Will could even think of anything more than a simple "hello", Tesla wrapped her arms around him and swept him up in a warm embrace. "Oh Will dear, it is so very good to see you again! I haven't heard from or seen you in weeks! Months even! How are you?"

"I…" Will muttered. He tried so hard not to think about the last time his mother had embraced him like this, the feeling of the sanctuary and security of her arms around him even through the cold bars of the Blacksteeple cell...

She was gone.

His throat tightened. Tears began burning in his eyes.

Not here. Not now.

Somehow, Tesla sensed that something was wrong. She pulled back from the embrace long enough to study his face and he wasn't able to wipe his emotions away fast enough, Thoroughly enough. Whatever. Something gave him away and Tesla noticed that. "Was it a long journey?" She asked with a gentle frown. "You…Will, did something happen?"

Will swallowed a lump in his throat. The shadows of his mother's memories churned inside of his mind and his chest, ripping into his heart with renewed strength. He could barely stave them off, let alone come up with a convincing enough lie.

Why bother?

"She's gone, Tesla," he whispered, squeezing the words out through his aching throat. The first time he'd uttered those words, with Nim holding on to him tightly enough that he couldn't collapse, he had spoken them to convince himself. To face the new reality that the single flash of Madame X's blade had created.

Tesla was the second person he admitted it to. It didn't make the pain feel any less raw. The words still felt as painful as the first time. They evoked vivid images that Will didn't think he'd ever forget. "They killed her."

Tesla launched herself forwards again. Will could only make the rush of red hair before her arms came around him in another tight hug. The suddenness of it made his knees slack, and he had to take a step backwards to catch his balance.

She was still taller than him. As she pulled him against her, Will's face came to rest against the nape of her neck. She felt so warm. "I"m so, so sorry," she told him. "How…when did this happen?"

How long has it been? Three days of blackness on the hijacked battleship…about a week on Terajuma. "A bit more than a week," he replied. He managed to keep his voice flat this time.

Tesla pulled back from him and took a closer look. Her brows pitched together in sorrow and empathy. "God, I can't even begin to imagine. That's terrible. How are you managing? How are you holding up? "

Not good at all, apparently. He struggled against the tears and the overwhelming agony of the = snapshots of her death. The final dash for safety. The sickening feeling of hope and dread. Madama X's inhuman speed..

Her blade, exploding from his mother's chest.

He reigned them down as best he could, but…he wasn't going to keep that up in the long run.

So, Will looked away from her. "Uh…this is Melia. She uh…she helped us escape. She's my friend."

"Hi," Melia said, somewhat awkwardly. "I wish we could have met under better circumstances. I see you know Will?"

"I do," Tesla said, and the motherly affection in her voice was almost more than he could bear. "In fact, I know who both of you are. I'm certain anyone on this island who watched that broadcast knows who you are."

"Oh, right," Melia replied. "That's true…"

Tesla looked Melia over as well. "But also, you may not remember me, but we've met a few times before."

Melia's brow furrowed. "Really?"

"Yes. Your father and I were very close back in the day. I used to visit the lab on occasion and see how the two of you were doing. Seeing you all grown up is bringing a tear to my eye…oh, I wish the circumstances weren't this dire."

"Wow, small world," Melia said. She looked at Tesla with an intensity in her eyes, like she was struggling really hard to remember. Then, something suddenly clicked in her head and her eyes went wide. "Wait a minute…you're…!" Melia gasped. "You're Tesla! Wielder of the Golden Flame! Honorary member of the Elite 8!"

Her voice grew louder and higher-pitched in her enthusiasm, and for good reason. Will hadn't even known about Tesla's occupation or her reputation. To him, she'd been the motherly figure who had saved his life from Team Xen and given him the hope and tools to fight. He hadn't ever thought about asking Tesla about herself. There simply hadn't been time for that.

"Ah, so it seems we know bits of info about each other," Tesla replied. "Come, let's talk in my office."

She took them to a room behind the desk. It wasn't small by any means - Will spotted more couches, a television screen and a large desk with a computer and several stacks of paper - but it had the same soothing, cozy feel to it as the rest of the resort.

"It's not much, but it's good enough for a working woman like me~," Tesla pleasantly said as she led them inside. "Please, take a seat. Make yourself at home."

Will and Melia exchanged a look, then sat down on one of the sofas.

"I can't believe you two already know each other," Melia said. "Will, you never said you knew Tesla!"

"I, uh, didn't know who Tesla was before I came to Aevium," Will quietly admitted. He didn't know if he'd been supposed to. He didn't even know if he used to know. "Tesla was the one who rescued me from the Oceana. She got me set up in East Gearen. Without her…"

"I just wish I could have done more," Tesla sighed. "Such a horrible business. There are so many things I wish to say, so much to talk about, but I know we have little time. You two are here on business, are you not?"

"Yeah," Will said. "We uh…" He looked at Melia for some support, but Melia was still staring at Tesla in awe.

"...Melia?" Tesla questioned.

Melia blinked and seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry, I'm still trying to process the fact that I'm talking to one of my idols…I was practically your biggest fan when I was growing up! I never imagined actually meeting you."

"Aw…are you saying your admiration for me has gone away?" Tesla said, teasing the poor girl.

Rare was the time when Will picked up on a social cue that Melia didn't. "Th-That's not what I meant at all!" Melia hurried to say. "I'm so sorry, I'm screwing this up so badly and things are already so dire…"

Tesla laughed. "I'm only teasing you Melia. Don't worry. But let us get serious now. Boss face on. You came here in search of the Earth Relic, correct?"

"Yes," Melia said, visibly relieved at Tesla's admission. "We intend to collect all three relics so that we can enter Valor Mountain. Our friend was captured by Team Xen and…well, you saw the broadcast."

Tesla nodded thoughtfully. "Mm, well, if I could, I would simply hand you the darn thing and forgo any tradition."

Will sensed a but.

"Buuut…"

There it was.

"The fact of the matter is that we don't have it on hand, technically," Tesla said.

"Technically?" Will asked.

"You…don't have it?" Melia said, agahst.

Tesla sighed. "The Earth Relic is always under the protection of its guardian. Trialgoers undergo the Earth Ritual to bring its guardian out and challenge them to battle. If they are successful, then they are awarded with the Earth Relic."

Melia nodded in understanding. "Ah, so all we need to do is beat this trial then. We can do that!"

Will sensed another but.

"Aaand in comes another problem," Tesla said, wincing as she did.

There it was.

"The one who performs the ritual is my daughter Amber, and uh, we haven't been on the best terms recently, and I'm not sure if she'll perform her duty."

Amber…she didn't seem very happy back on the beach, no. Clearly, she'd been through some stuff in the past.

"We've sorta met already, actually," Melia continued. "Maybe Will and I can talk to her about it?"

"Well, you can certainly try," Tesla said, though it didn't look like she believed it would work out.

"We will!" Melia said. "Where is Amber right now?"

"She's not at home at the moment, so I suspect she ran off to her "secret" spot," Tesla said, putting on some air quotes as she said that. "There's a little hidden cove in Aquamarine Cave she likes to run off to. If you want to talk to Amber, you're going to have to track her down."

"Gotcha!" Melia said.

"We happen to know a thing or two about tracking," Will said.

"Yeah! Just leave it to Will and I, Miss Von Brandt!"

"Oh, sweetie, just call me Tesla!" Tesla said, again, with so much motherly affection that it hurt. "If you do find her, come right back to me and we'll talk from there, okay?"

"Understood!" Melia said, leaping to her feet. "Thank you so much!" After they left Tesla's office, Melia turned to him and said, "I can't believe you met Tesla! The circumstances were truly horrifying, but I never knew it was her who saved you!"

"Yeah," Will said. "Small world…"

"And you didn't recognize her? You didn't know who Tesla was before you came to Aevium?"

"Is she that famous?"

Melia looked at him like he'd just asked her if she could point him the way to the sky. "Yeah! The Elite 8 are very secretive, but Tesla is almost a celebrity! Huh…"

Will could have slapped himself for his stupidity. Asking Melia, who had just professed how much of an idol Tesla was to her, if Tesla was someone who people idolized.

Thank you, Indriad…

He remained silent until they emerged out into the hot, salty air of Teila Resort once again. The doors slid close behind them again.

"Well, back to Aquamarine Cave, then," Melia said. "We should…wait, is that…"

Someone walked down the path towards the Teila Resort with big, hurried steps, moving with a purpose. Alarmed, Will reached for Nidoking's Poke Ball, ready to send him out on a moment's notice -

"Venam?!" Melia's voice rang out, and Will stayed his hand. He looked closer and saw the telltale mane of purple hair and. He hadn't even recognized her from that distance.

Venam came to a halt a few meters in front of them, panting and wheezing. She doubled over, held up a single finger to bid them to wait, then managed to catch her breath enough to say, "Finally…escaped…"

"Holly must have really put you through the wringer," Melia said.

"I wanted to catch up with you more…wouldn't let up…" Venam panted. "But none of that matters now!" She dramatically pointed a finger at Melia and yelled, "You!"

"Me?" Melia said, pointing a little finger at herself too.

"Team Xen is going to attack the island if you don't hand yourself over to them!" Venam said, her expression something fierce.

"...yeah, that's a thing," Melia said, still looking somewhat befuddled.

"How come you didn't tell me any of that?"

"You mean you didn't know?" Melis said, dismayed. "I'm sure this was explained to you before you signed on for the concert!"

"Weeell…" Venam replied. "I kinda signed on without reading the contract."

There was no way. Venam could not be that stupid.

"Beg pardon?" Melia asked politely.

"I knew something was going on, but I thought I could to a quick show and dip, remember?"

Will silently shook his head. He knew that he really shouldn't be judging when it came to things like recklessness, but…god, Venam was that stupid.

Melia blinked a few times, as if clearing away the confusion left in her head by Venam's words. "You…didn't read the…" She brought a hand to her mouth and took a few steps away. She took a deep breath. "Venam, we say this with all the care in our hearts, but…"

"You're a freaking fool!" Will filled in the blank.

"Thank you," Melia said. "You put yourself in a lot of danger by coming here. You should hop on an evac ship and get the heck out of here!"

"And leave my best friend who I thought died to die again?!" Venam yelled. "No way! You guys need my help! I'm going to be your personal bodyguard from now on!"

Melia seemed at a loss for words for a few seconds. "Venam, that's very sweet, but I think we're fine on that front for now." She shot a pointed look at Will.

"But - "

"Venam, this isn't a game," Will told her, trying very hard to keep the edge out of his voice. "Everybody who helps Melia is a target. They're aiming to kill us. They'll certainly try to kill you."

Venam flinched at that. A look of hurt crossed her features, but then they hardened into something akin to resolve. "Maybe so, but at least let me tag along and help for a little while! I can help you too, Will. Keep them from taking a cheap shot at you! And you! Do you know how it felt when we thought you died?I don't wanna feel that ever again…"

Then stay away, a little voice in the back of Will's mind began yelling, stay the hell away because they will kill maim you they will take from you they will kill you you should listen should have listened shouldhavelistened -

His thoughts fell apart again and for a moment, he couldn't think of anything but Nim, chained up in some mountain to be used as bait because she had gotten too close to them. It was their fault, his fault, and Mightyena's dead body lay in a pool of his own blood because he hadn't listened. The image clung to his eyes even when he closed them, and his heart felt like it rattled against his ribs, trying to break free -

Breathe. Focus.

When he was able to pull his head back together, he'd missed a part of the conversation again.

"...figured as much," Melia said with an explosive sigh. She began walking off, forcing Venam and Will to keep op or be left behind. "Well, we're off to go see your best friend Amber Von Brandt so hurry along now."

Venam made a face. "On second thought, maybe I'll head back home…"

Neither Will nor Melia replied to that.

"No? Okay…"

They began on their trek back to Aquamarine Cave. This time, Will had an inkling of where to look. Last time Braixen had claimed to have heard music coming from up a wet, slippery ledge. Back then, he'd dismissed that because he felt like there was no way Saki would have gone through the effort of climbing up there when an easier, more visible path had been available.

But Amber was different. If her argument with Saki and Venam was any indication, she wasn't in a great headspace right now. Tesla said that she and Amber weren't seeing eye to eye at the moment either. Everything pointed to Amber wanting to run somewhere she wouldn't be easy to find.

Well, what better way to shake off pursuers than scampering up a ledge humans couldn't physically climb? Her Pokemon could have easily boosted her up there.

That was the first place they started looking.

"So…what have you guys been up to in the meantime?" Venam said. "It's been some time since I last saw either of you. "

Will didn't respond. He tried to steer his thoughts towards finding Amber.

"Uh…that's a looong story," Melia said.

"Well, we've got plenty of time! You said we still got like, twenty days, right?"

"That is right. We still need to pass by Kristiline Town and that could be a real problem though."

"That sounds like plenty of time to get caught up! What about you Will? Last time I saw you it was just you, Combusken, Nidorino and Mightyena! What have you and Ren been up to in the meantime? Where's he, anyway?"

Will sucked in a deep breath. It took him a moment to gather his bearings again. Venam needed to be brought up to speed, but… how? Where would he even start?

"Hey, Will, you hear me?" Venam said.

"Uh…"

"Not everything that's happened was pretty, Venam," Melia gently said, and the gratitude Will felt towards her was warm in his chest. "I think you're kind of putting Will in a bit of a spot."

"Yeah? Hey, sorry Will, didn't mean to put the spotlight like that. I'm just so happy to see you both alive and well again! And in Terajuma of all places! Did you think you were gonna end up here when you came to Aevium?"

"I…"

"The Terajuma beaches are much better than the ones they had in uh…err…" Venam drew a blank. "Where was it you said you were from again?"

"That's…"

"I…think that's actually a good question," Melia said. Her eyes settled on him. "I don't think Will has ever gotten around to telling us that."

They looked at him expectantly.

He couldn't meet their eyes. "...let's just find Amber," he managed to stammer out.

The silence that followed in the wake of those words was deafening, and Will immediately regretted speaking them. But what the hell else was he supposed to do? Dump that whole freaking mess with Indriad's mansion right on top of Melia and Venam here? Under siege from Team Xen?

He couldn't do that to then. Even if they did believe him, he wasn't sure if he was ready to face that burden as well. To add yet another problem to their situation. Be an even more volatile element, someone they had to pity and look after.

God, he couldn't. He just couldn't.

"The fuck?" Venam muttered.

"Yeah, that's not good…you know what, Venam, do you mind giving us a moment?" Melia said.

Venam and Will turned to look at her. "Eh?" Venam said.

"I uh, actually wanted to ask Will about something that happened a while back. It might be a bit personal, so…"

"Ah, gotcha," Venam said. "Sure, I'll scout ahead. Pretty sure it's down that ladder over there, anyway."

She disappeared down the ladder, leaving Melia and Will alone.

"So, Will, do you have a moment?" Melia suddenly asked.

"Yeah?" Will said, taking note of the serious undertone to her voice.

She looked pensive for a moment. "Have I…said anything wrong, to you? Did I do something wrong?"

Will gave her a confused look. Had she done something wrong? Melia, who had saved him from a fate worse than death in Blacksteeple Castle, who had been there for his mother as she came to the realization that her death might have been imminent?

Melia, who continued to pick up the pieces whenever he felt lost or overwhelmed?

"No," He said with a firm shake of his head."Not at all."

Her gray eyes avoided his. "It's just that…you've been so gruff recently, almost every time I ask you something personal," she explained in a measured tone as she frowned. "I feel like you're avoiding having to talk to me, at times. And just now…what was that about?"

A strange feeling of guilt wormed its way into his gut when he realized that Melia was right. He'd been so intent on avoiding having to talk about things that would hurt him, that he'd never really stopped to consider if his non-responses would hurt anyone else. Melia had been nothing but kind to him. She and Aelita had shown him courtesies and considerations that went well above what he could reasonably expect of them.

And in return, he was too much of a goddamn coward to confront his own demons and just talk about them. Too scared of what would happen if he slipped up and let the things he'd been running from catch up to him.

"I…didn't mean it like that," he said, keeping his voice soft as he struggled to put the words together. "It's…look, I…" He sighed. He couldn't seem to string a sentence together to save his life these days. A part of that was fear. Fear of what would happen if he opened one door in particular. At the very least, Melia was worth opening the other one for. Like she said. Just a bandaid that needed ripping off, right? "Mightyena is dead, Melia," he said. "He's gone."

Saying those words hurt. Something that had once been unspoken misery was now an undeniable fact. An admittance to himself that he could never take back.

Mightyena was gone. There was not a damn thing he could do about that.

And I can;t get it out of my head.

His words were like a slap to the face for Melia. He saw her reel back, looking at him as if she hadn't heard him correctly. The realization of what he had just told her sunk in, and a mixture of shock and pain flashed across her face.

"What?" Melia quietly said. "I didn't know - who - " Something like anger built on her face. "Did Team Xen - ?"

Will nodded tightly.

" Why?"

He'd wondered the same thing at times. In the end, he'd decided that it didn't matter. "It was that ambush in Akuwa Town," He said. Like back with Tesla, he fought to keep his voice level and blank, to stave off the emotions and try to stay distant. Detached. "They wanted to capture Aelita and me. Mightyena was in the way."

That was all he could muster at that moment. His throat seized up painfully again, and a tightness within his chest suggested that he wasn't going to be successful in staving off the grief for long. Time to put an end to this conversation soon.

"That was then," Melia gasped. "Neved told me what happened! Team Xen's Death Wings. So when they…when they captured you they - "

"They beat him to death," Will said, turning away so that Melia wouldn't see how much it still haunted him. They were in a freaking beach resort of all things, with their friends. Nobody needed him ruining the mood when they were all struggling so hard themselves. "So…" He took a deep, long breath. "Let's find Amber."

"Wait!" Her hand took his wrist before he could follow Venam down. "That's horrible, unforgivable, but…why didn't you tell anyone? Something awful like that…why did you keep that to yourself for so long?"

"Where else should I take it?" He asked. "We've got so much more to worry about."

Melia looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Grief isn't something you should put off like that, Will. It's not healthy."

It sure was. He'd seen what happened when he let the grief take over. He hated crying. He hated crying in front of other people even more. "It's okay. I'll grieve for them once this is over."

"...just remember that we're all here for you, Will," Melia said after a moment of silence. "Just like you were there for us."

That was it. That was just it. He'd been there for the others. When the going got tough and things fell apart horribly again- he knew things would only get worse - he wanted to be there as well. "I'll figure things out," he promised her. He gestured with his head to the ladder. "Let's not keep Venam waiting."

Melia gave him the sort of look that told him that this was far from over. "Okay," she said. It seemed that she didn't at all agree with him, but at least she was willing to let it rest. "Okay."

Venam waited for them down the stairs. The sounds of someone rocking out on an electric guitar had been audible even before, but down there, the sound reverberated across the walls like it was a concert.

Amber, Will presumed. She wasn't bad.

"So uh…what's up?" Venam said.

"Heat stroke," Will blurted out, deflecting her question without even thinking. "Been cranky ever since."

"What Will means to say is that he's still shaken up by some stuff, and struggles with small talk," Melia said. Her face was pleasant, but the elbow she sneakily dug into his ribs wasn't.

"Right, that too," Will said. "Look…I just want you guys to know, it's not you. It's really not. I'm happy you're back, and I'm happy to just be with you two."

Whatever Venam had expected from him, it wasn't that. "Uh, wow," she said, awkwardly rubbing her elbow. "Well, you should be! I'm a freaking delight!" She paused, then on a more subdued note, she added, "But it sucks that you're going through some shit. If you wanna bounce some words, I'm up."

"So am I," Melia said. "Shall we?"

They advanced into the depths of Aquamarine Cave. At that point, it really was a matter of just walking into the direction of the sound. All the other passageways were dead ends anyway.

Soon, they reached the source of that banging number; a massive slab of stone hanging over another underground pond like an improvised plateau, a bit like the place where they had found Saki but then without the crazy Garufan relics. There, flanked by a pair of massive subwoofers, was Amber. She'd gathered a little crowd of Water-type Pokemon as well. They seemed engrossed in her music, which she performed on the same electric guitar she'd carried with her to the festival.

Unfortunately, the Pokemon weren't engrossed enough to miss the approach of Melia, Saki and Will, and they scattered the moment they came within view.

That got Amber's attention. She looked up, saw them standing there and rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Ugh," she groaned, putting as much disgust and loathing into it as she could.

Will took that as his cue to stay back. Melia and Venam, however, were much better versed in the intricate social dynamics between girls. They stepped forwards, and Will had no choice but to trust their instincts and follow them up as well.

"Wow, your music is really good, Amber!" Melia said. "Do you normally play for the Pokemon down in this cave?"

"Save the flattery for Flannery," Amber bit at her. "And no, I don't play for the Pokemon in this cave. I come down here to play my music in peace, without any disturbances." She hesitated, then added, "The Pokemon just crowd together here because they hear noise."

"I actually think they gather here because they like your music," Melia said kindly.

Amber scoffed. She rested her crimson eyes on Melia for a moment, before dragging them over Will, probably formulating her opinions about them. She very specifically did not look at Venam. "What do you three want then?" She asked curtly. "I know you didn't come down here to say hello." Then she looked at Venam. "That's especially not the case for the purple rat you have tagging along with you…"

Venam scoffed as well. She crossed her arms and looked away in anger. "I wasn't gonna say a thing to you, but you had to be a mean bitch - "

"Cool it, Venam," Will urged her.

Amber's angry gaze came to rest on him now. "Yeah, listen to the sissy."

Okay. Will knew he should have taken his boonie hat with him.

"Hey, fuck you, why don't you - " Venam shouted, but Melia was quick to nip that one in the bud.

"No fighting you guys! We're here for something serious! Amber, we need your help with something."

Those deep, crimson eyes narrowed. "You need… my help?" She said, and Will didn't miss the surprise in her voice. "With what?" She then asked with suspicion.

"We need the Earth Relic to - "

"No," Amber flatly said.

"You didn't even let me finish!" Melia said, frustrated.

"You want me to do that fucking ritual because my mom asked you to, right?" Amber turned away, shoving her hands into her pocket and letting her guitar hang in its straps. "I'm done doing that shit for good."

"But we need the Earth Relic to enter Valor Mountain and fight Team Xen off!" Melia explained. "You have to help us!"

For a moment, it looked like Amber was actually considering Melia's words. "Are you guys seriously considering fighting off Team Xen?" She said. Demanded.

Will couldn't keep quiet after that. "Nobody's considering a thing. We've been fighting them for months now."

"Yeah?" Amber sneered. "What the fuck are you guys going to do against an army that size?"

"Anything," Will replied. Amber's glare was intense. He wasn't sure what that emotion in her eyes was, but it didn't look like hate to him. Something deeper was at play here. "Everything."

"You are insane if you think you can make a difference there," Amber continued bitterly.

Well, if that were the case, someone would have given him his complimentary straitjacket, wouldn't they?

"We have to try," Melia said, though her voice lacked its usual conviction now.

Amber turned her back to them and approached the water's edge. "You're biting off more than you can chew. My mom is part of the Elite 8 and I'm not even sure she can fend them off for good."

It sounded like Amber had her mind set. Will recognized that stubbornness. Words wouldn't sway her, especially not theirs.

Nevertheless, he had to give it one more go. "The alternative is them sinking Terajuma. We're gonna fight - "

"And you're gonna die," Amber quietly finished his sentence. "Terajuma is doomed. Just accept that."

Will had some choice words for that, but they were just that. Words. Tough words. No bite yet. So he didn't bother.

Melia wasn't like that. "No way am I going to accept something like that!" She snapped. "Why do you care if we're insane for trying something?"

Hearing that, Amber turned around to glare at Melia some more, but Melia didn't let that intimidate her. "If you wanna hide in a corner and cry then do so! But don't hold us back too!"

Amber waited until Melia was done talking. The muscles around her jaws tightened, and her fists gripped her guitar shakily. "If you're done here you can get the fuck out," she hissed.

"Fine," Melia snapped. Her hand found Will's arm and she tugged him along. "We'll find another way. Come on Will."

Hesitantly, Will turned to follow Melia, but he stopped in his tracks when he heard Venam speak up. "Actually, we're not going anywhere," She said, her voice dripping with fake pleasantry. "We're all staying at the resort until we get that Earth Relic. So you can either make this easy for yourself and give us the Earth Relic…or you can not cooperate and have us stick around even longer than we already plan to! The choice is yours, Amber."

Will looked at Venam, amazed. It was cruel, but brilliant.

"Fuck you," Amber snarled.

"Well?" Venam said patiently.

Amber grit her teeth and looked away. It didn't take her very long to reach her conclusion. "Fine. I'll do your stupid ritual under the condition that you leave the moment you get it!" She said.

"Gladly!" Melia said.

"Alright then. It's a deal. Just so you know it takes a while to set everything up so it may be a few days."

"Whatever it takes," Melia replied.

"Good!" Amber snapped. With that, she swung her guitar over her shoulder and stomped off. Will stepped aside to let her pass him by. He felt like he had a whole lot of puzzle pieces in his hands and not a clue on how to stick them together. Amber's behavior should have pissed him off, but there was something about her that just made him feel…he wasn't sure what it was.

Melia angrily watched Amber leave. "What is that girl's deal?"

"Wellllll…." Venam started. "Remember that fire I was talking about? Well it happened when she, Saki and I were rehearsing for our band. Apparently something of Amber's caught fire due to "negligence" and caused a massive amount of destruction. Because of that, Tesla and Amber were forced out of Gearen along with my Dad."

"...oh," Melia weakly said.

Will crossed his arms. Far be it from the idiot without memories to know better, but something about that story seemed fishy to him. Unless Amber had been playing with jet fuel, he couldn't imagine a young girl's stuff causing so much destruction without someone throwing a bucket of water over the fire along the way. Sure, it wouldn't have been the first house fire or building that burned down, but so much destruction that people chose to exile them from the city? Along with Venam's father?

…because a kid's stuff caught fire due to negligence?

Maybe he was being paranoid, but he didn't buy it.

"That's no excuse to be an asshole though!" Venam hotly said.

"Still…I feel a little bad now," Melia admitted. "That must have been traumatizing for all of you."

Venam waved her hand dismissively. "Pfft…traumatizing? I'm fine! She's just stupid!"

Will glanced back at the exit. The pieces of the puzzle started to click into place.

"Anyway, we should probably head back to the resort now, right?" Venam continued. "After all, we've got a few days to kill now!" Venam said, practically jumping with joy. "What do you guys say?"

"Well, we have been on edge lately," Melia admitted. "And we do have a lot to tell you if you're going to be sticking around. We might as well enjoy the resort."

"Hell yeah!" Venam said. "I saw this place has swimming pools and spas and terraces and shit! Fancy restaurants, wellness centers! Also, you gotta introduce me to your friends."

Melia laughed. "Slow down Venam! Easy. We'll get there."

Venam draped one arm over Melia's shoulders and hung the other over Will's neck. She pulled her friends closer as she continued talking, happily telling them all about the things she wanted to do and see and hear.

And Will listened to her. It hadn't been his call to involve Venam, but she was here now. Another good friend about to put herself into the crossfire. Another target for Team Xen to brutalize.

Nothing he could do about that now. When the time came, he'd just have to protect Venam as well.

Nothing else to it.

~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~~

---

AN: And that's Amber, Tesla and Venam joining our cast as well. Poor Amber. Among the Best Girls, Amber's going to have a tough time ahead of her. Luckily, she's in good hands.

I'm planning to expand on the interactions between our characters without overinflating the chapter's wordcount too much; more scenes, more interactions, possibly more different POVs.

Anyway, we're at 5600 views already! Thank you guys so much. As always, don't forget to leave a review telling me your thoughts, feedback or even suggestions and I will see you all with the next update!