Chapter 16: Thunder Snap

We wanted out fast. Orchid's first song made us all sink into the crowd, hoping to not be noticed.

Crawling backwards and away from the stage was far from the easiest task, especially when you don't want yet another ruckus. I shuddered at the possibility of repeating yesterday's incident after everything Cal did for me. Slow breaths, all we needed to do was just be quiet and slow.

Ironically, Lucy was the most quiet. In fact, she was low enough to mimic a Nidoran crawl. (I had a pretty good idea why, but Lucy wasn't the only one. Far from it.) Kalea seemed equally distressed, staring back and forth between Lucy and the stage.

What even was that song? The beat might have been nice, but those lyrics…they felt way, way too targeted. To improvise lyrics like that though, it would only happen in uh, the world of a theater play? (What difference did it make? Orchid did what she wanted regardless, no matter how unsettling it was.)

As if sharing my thoughts, Lucy voiced her own opinions. "...I did not like that song…" she quietly said.

I had plenty of time to think about those words with how slow we were going. To be frank, that might have been the most fearful she'd ever been yet. That reminded me, I needed to ask a few questions of my own, but after we got out of this loud place.

- o - o -

By the time we pulled ourselves out of the concert hall, Orchid and her backup band had just left the stage. Not that it mattered much, but some stern Sawks walked up to us. One could say that they were more than ready for us to come this way.

"Kalea and guests," one of the pair said. "Come with us."

"...Shoot," the Priminarina muttered as we stopped.

I spoke back, looking for a quick opportunity out. "Actually sir, you two…We were on our way out. Got things to do, the night is young and-"

Kalea disrupted my statement by elbowing my side. She seemed to be looking elsewhere for a moment, but before I could see why, she spoke up. "We'll take up your offer."

I immediately stared back at the Water-Type. "What?"

"It should only be a few minutes, right?"

The guards were equally suspicious at the sudden agreement, but they nodded.

"Good, lead the way."

"But wait," Lucy said. "Didn't you say Mr. Brush is-"

"Don't worry about it. It'll be fine. It'll be fine."

My ears flattened as one of the guards stood behind us. "...Kalea…"

"Let me handle this, Zera," the retainer said. "Trust me, and don't do anything stupid. Please." With that request, she crawled ahead with Lucy in tow.

I scoffed and shrugged in defeat. I was simply at a loss. What in the world changed her tune? First, Lucy supposedly and now this. Could this week get any stranger?

- o - o - o - o - o - o -

If only Zera knew, if only Lucy knew, if only they were both aware. I saw that exit and immediately knew. That face was one I was warned about a long while back. An Obstagoon with a prominent and muscular build, wearing a suit, accompanied by several other well-dressed Linoone. I didn't get a good enough look, but it was a good enough sign to know they were all ruffians at least. I certainly didn't expect an apparent Salt District patriarch to make an appearance tonight and here of all places.

As much as it pained me, I had to make sure a repeat of yesterday didn't happen or at least delay it. Brush was obnoxious, but I'd like to think he's no killer. Either way, a safer bet than facing a mon my friend was very weary about. Panic was not an option if that meeting between Zera and the mayor was anything to go by.

Our security "friends" led us toward the back of the building where Zera continuously glanced around like the curious kitten he was. At least he had some reason to not be bored and better yet, not be worried like me.

I took a moment to look back. No one was following, good. That bought us some time to think of something. I did not want to ask Brush for a favor, but after yesterday, I might not have much of a choice. The Lunar Stars went after Lucy after all. For what reason was too hard to say. Too many questions and so little answers.

Perhaps, Orchid picked up on something, that was my hope now.

- o - o -

Toxic Cavity…Their invitations had a funny way of wasting people's time. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought it was another one of those gang meetings we'd hear about at the academy non-stop.

Thankfully, it wasn't that. One fledgling alert was enough for a week.

Finally, we reached a door the Sawks promptly opened up, interrupting a conversation in the process. I recognized one of the voices involved at least.

"I'm just saying," that someone said. "Your improvisation was admirable, but how does someone like you just forget and lose the lyrics to a-"

"Ah!" the drummer exclaimed. "Speaking of someone."

And there they were, Toxic Cavity, all sitting on their "precious couch." Lady Orchid, my Gothitelle half-sister, sat separately from the trio, seemingly a little more anxious than usual. Well, that was until we came in.

As for the band, Rinse, the Rillaboom drummer, was still as uh, focused on the now as ever. Floss, appropriate for his Toxtricity species' low-key form, pondered to himself. That narrow gaze of his always had layers of thoughts running through his head. To be fair, he needed that kind of mind, especially when he regularly lives close to his Amped form "bro", Brush.

"Billy, can't you knock first?" Brush asked with his usual childishness.

The leading Sawk sighed. "...It's Brady. And Lady Orchid, the folks you requested?" He then gestured to us.

Orchid nodded and pointed toward an empty couch. "Thank you."

Floss finally turned his gaze to the three of us. "Come in, you three. And Brooke, go ahead and take your break."

Again, the guard sighed to himself before leaving with his other security buddy. "They don't pay me enough for this."

- o - o -

Thus with the door's closure, we were left alone with the band. Sure they all just finished, but still. She was as impulsive as always. Now if only I could make heads or tails on what that song was all about. It felt too serious for her to sing. She was never really the grim type.

The jacket-wearing Amped Toxtricity in the room however, had other priorities in mind. "Oi, Orchid. Why is she here?" he said, pointing toward Zera.

Tonight's "cat of honor" in question facepalmed and groaned in response to that.

"He, Brush," I corrected with crossed arms.

Brush promptly turned his attention to me. "Ohhh dear old me, my mistake. And Kalea, please. No one asked for your opinion here."

I rolled my eyes at Brush before staring back at the Psychic-Type in the room. "Funny how you mention that, but for now, let's get this over with. What did you want us for, Orchid?"

"...Simple." the singer replied before gazing at everyone. "A talk. Maybe even catching up with your new…boyfriend?"

She…did not just do that! "Wha- No!" I said in a fluster. "Nooo nonono! Me and him are NOT!"

"Ha!" Brush exclaimed, staring at Zera. "Cooould have fooled me with the way you two were standing together. Oh yeah. I saw ya in the front row. Diving down on each other like-"

I cleared my throat aggressively with a frown and subtly pointed toward Lucy. "Ahem!"

"...Running low like little Ratatta."

"Thank you, but we went to the wrong place."

Brush leaned back in a careless fashion, smirking with his contagious confidence. "Heck of a wrong turn, darling. You miss me after all."

Zera looked away, gritting his teeth. He figured it out or at least had some idea, not that it mattered.

It wasn't worth this argument again. There was someone else with a more pressing matter.

Once we took spots on the empty couch, I focused my eyes on that person. "Orchid, I am not in a good mood for jokes here. What is this about?"

- o - o -

The Psychic took a long breath and fidgeted as if making last-minute preparations, something her pride would normally suppress.

"Well, where do I start?" she said from this unusual nervousness. "It's…Ehhh, it's a little hard to explain really."

"Is…" I glanced at the others, all of whom were equally perplexed. All except Lucy, who was propped up that eager look of hers once again.

"What? How? Why would it be hard?" I asked.

Orchid chuckled and shook her head, sounding just as lost as the rest of us. "Heh haha, I really…really wish this was a joke, but uh, you cannot make this up! I couldn't possibly make this up."

Lucy chimed in. "Well? What is it then?"

The Gothitelle, in an attempt to not look insane, straightened herself up with a brave and composed face. "...The stars, they changed. The sky changed."

The room went silent, the noise of the on-going concert seemingly deafened as well. Just the thought of what was said stunned most everyone in the room. Even Lucy's surprise seemed genuine, perhaps too genuine.

The only one that wasn't perplexed was Zera; however, at least he had the excuse of not living here long enough to know better.

Out of the remainder, Floss was the first to break the silence before Lucy could. "Orchid, what?"

"I know, it sounds strange, but that's what inspired the lyrics tonight and there's more."

Zera took extra interest in the matter and stared back. "How much more? Is there something you saw?"

"I…don't know if it's real, but I am truly praying it isn't, for everyone's sake and especially yours."

Zera's fur stood on end, expressing a feeling I shared with him. Gothitelle were capable of viewing the future, that much I knew. However, the technique should have been impossible to pull off down here. They need actual stars after all, so…

"That's impossible," Brush suddenly and nonchalantly declared, in spite of the room's worries. "Haha, you almost had us for a minute there, Orchid."

Orchid was shaken in shock at the dismissal. Quite honestly, I would be too in her position.

Detecting this and his band members' confusion, Brush stood up with a propped-up, reassuring smile. "Come on guys! Everyone knows the phrase. All together now."

"Silspring's stars never move." The band said in unison.

"See?" Brush said with a shrug before turning toward Orchid. "Orchid, baby! Why didn't I hear you?"

The Psychic-Type frowned for a moment, trying hard to keep her composure. "Well now, because I know what you're saying. It's supposed to be like that, I get it, but I'm telling you, something's changed!"

"Orchid, dear. You got some rest, right? I hope you did."

"Of course I did…I think I did…" She rested her head on her hand, trying to prevent a headache.

Rinse piped up. "You sure? You don't look like it."

"Oh not now, Rinse. This is a couple's talk in progress," Brush said, waving off the Grass-Type.

"Well I believe her," Lucy said.

"And you little missie, are not exactly the best vote of confidence. No offense, Kalea."

"All taken," I stated dully.

Brush scoffed and muttered to himself, knowing full-well I could hear it anyway. "Someone's being reeaaal prickly tonight."

And why wouldn't I? ("Oh please, #$$#%#! This is my nice behavior. If Lucy and Zera McElectrode weren't here, you'd know I slap your hide around, just like last time!")

- o - o -

Speaking of Zera, he decided to jump his rash tail into the issue!

"You know," he said. "That's not a very nice way to treat your new girlfriend."

Brush narrowed his eyes back at Zera and pointed at him. "You god- drag-goddess, whatever! You, stay out of this. Okay?"

"Hard to do that when you're right in front of us."

The Toxtricity abruptly dropped back to his seat. "You know what? Fine, this was getting nowhere anyways. How about something different?" He then pointed at Zera. "Like you. You came here, not as a boyfriend or…I don't know, some mission? You're just here."

Zera crossed his arms. "Hmmph, not like I got anything to say to you…"

Brush leaned back on his seat. "Really now, are you sure?"

Lucy tugged Zera's tail with a quick jerk, shaking her head.

Zera's fur meanwhile fur stood up on all counts again. Lucy's gesture definitely didn't hold uncertainty in the motion.

I spoke up next, "Of course, not everything needs to be said out loud, you know."

"I suppose not." Floss said, shifting his gaze toward Brush.

Brush glanced back at his partner. "What?"

That was when Rinse chimed in. "You are the loudest one here."

"Oh you're one to talk, Rinse!" Brush pouted. "Our drummer…"

The Rillaboom hid his drum poorly and whistled.

"Annnyways, profiling aside," Floss said, turning his attention to Zera. "It is an honor to meet you in our lifetimes, as much as my best buddy, Brush, would hate to admit it. Ahem."

Brush scoffed and looked away upon hearing that. I still wonder what in the world kept this band together.

"But," Floss continued. "I wish we did meet under better circumstances considering your-"

"We know," Lucy and I dully said in admittedly surprising unison.

Zera meanwhile had the annoyed look of someone who just got betrayed, drooped arms and all. It had only been two days and I could see him losing it already. Here I thought a few years with Lucy was bad enough, but Zera? The guy really was a mythical king of drama, and it wasn't a good time to be one either.

- o - o -

After another moment of awkward silence, Floss spoke up. "...Right, we forgot our introductions. Why don't we-"

"They heard our names, genius," Brush interjected. "Even the cat heard them, both here and out there."

Zera narrowed his gaze once more. "...You're mocking me, aren't you."

Brush quietly wheezed and poorly hid his laughter. "Only if you must announce your guess like that."

At this point, Zera was equally eager to give him a piece of his mind. I could hear it. He kept muttering something about Brush's attitude, which to his credit, he was right.

Brush…Brush always had this pretentious air about him. It took me a while to figure that out, unfortunately.

Inevitably, Rinse was the one to briefly break the tension with an honest question, which for once, thank goodness. "So, Kalea. How have you been these days?" he asked, much to the displeasure of his Toxtricity buddies.

I sighed. "...It's…been fine…"

"Hehe, I hope so." the drummer responded. "Watching the young lady's not easy and all."

Zera seized that opportunity to make his own remark. "Yeah, I can tell."

I side-eyed Zera. ("My gosh, Zera! Can you not right now?")

Floss took a long breath. "Yeah, that's a rough gig as Brush would put it. But it seems like even legends have to stick together nowadays."

I froze upon hearing that very poorly-timed statement. ("Floss! You idiot! No!")

Brush rolled his eyes before turning his attention to Zera once again, now fueled by Floss' prior comment. "Yeah, yeah. Now that you mention it, there's actually something I wanted to ask our so-called 'guardian.'"

Realizing his mistake, Floss grabbed Brush's arm, shaking his head. But it was way too late now.

The other Toxtricity pulled it away, adamant in playing out his agenda. "So what did those higher up folks tell you? Did they happen to mention any issues, like say, our crime rate? Oh, oh, how about the lackluster help our mayor oh so graciously gave to everyone thus far?"

"Excuse me?" the cat asked with an offended frown.

"You're excused," the Toxtricity replied.

The other band members groaned and scooted away from Brush.

Ohhhh, please no. Not now…

Lucy pouted and stared at Brush as he continued to press Zera's buttons once more.

The arrogant Poison-type gestured. "Hey now. I'm pleeeenty sure you're not blind. Or at least you better not be. Don't you see the signs around us all? How us Electric-Types are just pushed to the side? How we're all just giant bombs ready to go off? 'Don't get set off by these comments.' 'Don't zap or you'll blow us all up to kingdom come!' All the makings of a utopia gone wrong, don't you think?"

- o - o -

I turned my attention to Zera, who was already looking more and more angry now. His gaze was narrowed and his mouth sounded out a nasty hiss that made Lucy shiver.

"Zera," I said. "Don't."

No response.

"Zera…"

Zera focused squarely on Brush at this point, ignoring me. "What's your point in telling me this? What can I do about it? It's bad, I get that. But why tell me?"

Brush frowned. "Tsk, can't even put two and two together? Surely, you saw the mayor by now. I mean, why wouldn't you? She's a legendary, you're a legendary, little tykes's a legendary, you really think I'm an idiot to think that you're being treated as a special case? Hmm? Or shall I say, a favorite?"

Zera let out a heated breath, poorly hiding his anger. "No, you think I would ignore the odd feeling?"

Brush leaned forward and shook his head, still holding that smug smile of his. "Yes. I do. Wouldn't be the first time I saw it."

Zera took a long breath and clenched a sparking fist behind his back. The crackling sound made was audible enough to make everyone jump in place.

"Shut…up…" he said quietly. "...Don't…"

Brush leaned back on his chair. "Why? Because you're getting mad? You should. It's wrong what's going on here and you know it. His highness and her many broken promises along with it."

- o - o -

Right as Brush was, it didn't help Zera's clearly growing anger.

I needed to de-escalate this before it got worse. "Zera, take a deep breath." I said calmly.

Lucy let out a shaky, "Please?"

Thankfully, Zera listened and did so.

I then spoke back at Brush. "And Brush, can you not get all political right now? We all had a long and tiring day. Don't you have a contest to go back to eventually?"

Sadly, the Toxtricity only poked his wrist before focusing his attention back on Zera. "Politics matter in this conversation. It's not like a small time group. This is Zera's friend after all."

Try as he might to stay calm, Zera's next words still sounded out in a clearly restrained hiss. "Yes, and last I heard, there was no other choice."

"Was there not? Or…perhaps she just told you that." The Toxtricity's stare turned cold. "The way I see it, you have no clue, no idea how little you really know. Is that why you knocked poor Shiro around so badly?" That last question sounded about as bitter as they come.

Not that I would blame him for it. To think Shiro Hayashi, one of Silspring's best and most honorable fighters, was a ruffian ringleader this whole time. I suppose Brush was dealing with his own disbelief. Still though…

Zera stood up at that moment.

Lucy took action and grabbed his free arm. "Brother, no! It's not worth-"

However, he pulled it away once again, ignoring her plea. "You don't know anything, fool." He said to the Toxtricity.

Brush also stood up, crossing his arms. "Maybe not everything, but I know you, and only you, could have hurt him so, so badly."

Zera grew rash, hastily saying, "It wasn't me! I barely did anything to Shiro! He must have fled before we finished! It had to have been someone else. It just had to…" He paused for a moment, putting a paw to his head.

His eyes looked cloudy, uncertain about what he was saying. I could hear the fear in his voice. Whatever he was trying to say, it must have been unbelievable.

But if that was the case, then what? Now I was even more worried. Shiro fleeing from an unfinished fight? What even happened in there?

Zera finally spat out some words. "Agh! Point is, I just lost sight of him and then I got distracted by someone…interfering…"

"And who might that be?" Brush asked with a mocking grin.

Floss raised a hand at this point. "Hey, whoa! This is getting waaay out of hand here."

"Don't worry about it, Floss." the other Toxtricity said, still staring at Zera. "I got it under control, unlike him."

That statement only made the band members stand up and then step away from the couch.

Brush spoke once more. "So where were we?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Zera stated.

Brush put a foot on the table, still calm in the face of someone that could easily rip him apart. "...Always the secrets. Every time. Just like her."

That statement compelled Zera to retort. "You know nothing about her! She's far kinder than you'd ever be!"

Brush was unphased by the very shaky claim. "That's your argument? Really? You've lost me. Then again, that's in your blood, isn't it…"

He stared into the cat's eyes, bolder than ever. "...Ahhh, so that's what you are, hmm? You really can't tell a witch from a village to save your life."

That was the last straw for Zera.

- o - o -

Zera bared his fangs and let out a deafening roar, forcing me to cover my ears.

Brush on the other hand stepped back with a ready stance, letting his decorated Looplet show. That was when I saw it. A yellow gem.

My eyes widened at the sight. That was why he was so calm!

Floss stepped between the two. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, man!"

Zera shouted back. "OUT OF THE WAY!"

With a smack from the back of his fist, Zeraora sent Floss toward one of the walls, all the while sparks wildly flew through the now-heated air with reckless abandon. Practically a tornado at that point.

Rinse quickly grabbed Orchid and ran toward the back of the room.

All the while Brush taunted once with stern focus. "Well, come and get me!"

Lucy tried once more to grab Zera's arm, but I grabbed the fledgling first.

I pulled Lucy back as I shouted. "Zera! No!"

But it was too late.

"FINE!" The mythical attempted to pounce against Brush!

"Take cover!" Floss shouted.

At the moment, I threw Lucy toward the wall and tackled her to the ground as a means of protection.

The other band members and Orchid dove for cover.

In the span of two seconds, a loud electrical blast shook the whole room. A few crashing sounds followed afterwards, alongside a scream.

It was fair to say that Zera may have been surprised by that effective Overdrive attack. I wouldn't have blamed him for it. Yet another thing we haven't had a chance to tell Zera yet.

- o - o -

Even though the dust was settling down, my ears were still ringing a storm. Sound attacks…why did it always have to be sound attacks with you, Brush?

I pulled myself and waved some dust away.

The little one followed suit, muttering to herself once more. "Dang it Lucy, you stupid-...gah…"

Poor girl, when did she start blaming herself?

Floss' sudden call however broke my line of thought. "Thanks, bro! You really did it this time, you know that?"

The Amped Toxtricity only gave an "innocent" shrug in response.

Floss gazed at the damage, a freshly-made impact hole that seemed to go on for a few rooms too. "Geez, this is your biggest one yet! How long were you holding that in?"

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, a while. Had to try out my new set somehow." Brush replied.

Rinse pitched in his own comment. "Ha, must have been-."

"Nuh uh, Rinse!" Brush interrupted. "Don't even finish that thought."

"What? Don't blame me for thinking it. Besides, you say a lot of weird things too."

I didn't wanna pay attention to that typical exchange. I did not need to be hearing another rent-related debacle from those three, not after this mess.

My eyes stared at Orchid, who seemed to be humming to herself. A fierce amount of evident stress and frustration welled up in her tone. Something told me this was not part of her plan either. Whether or not that was a good thing remained to be seen.

Soon after though, the sound of strumming strings reached everyone's ears and interrupted the conversation.

It was a basic single chord beat in a low-note. It could have been mistaken for a bass, but the pitch was just a smidge too high to be that.

Either way, it was enough to make everyone's heads turn toward the direction of the source, right through the hole.

Lucy was the first to speak her thoughts. "Oh, nooo…Zeraaaa…"

Brush frowned before quietly remarking, "Sounds like someone's leaping out of their elemental league…" And with that, he grabbed a hollow stringer before loudly leaving the room a firm kick at the door.

Seeing that, Floss made his own remark. "Hooooo boy…"

Rinse chuckled nervously. "Hehe, he's mad."

- o - o - o - o - o - o -

Throughout my time strumming this spare Zapper, I was muttering to myself. "What are you doing? What are you doing?!"

Thankfully the lure worked wonders as Brush slammed open the door, his own stringer in hand.

I winced. No going back now. ("Oh no, whyyyy?")

Brush slowed his momentum and gave me a thorough look. "Well now! Not bad for a first timer. You like our music?"

There was no turning back now. I just kept glaring and strumming in silence.

Brush maintained that eerily fearless face of his once again. "...Hmm, confused? Let me show ya." Thus he showed his bracelet again. Though it wasn't a bracelet at all.

(It was hard to tell at first, but that was no doubt a Looplet, Emeras and all. Such an idiot to not see that sooner!)

Brush smirked, holding up his wrist. "This, my not-goddess, is a Looplet. And when you outfit it with an Emera, a whole new level of possibilities open up. For instance…" He then pointed toward a yellow Emera on the bracelet. "Us Silspringers called this one a Type Bulldozer. Type disadvantages? Defensive abilities? They mean nothing to this thing. What do you think? Way cooler than the "break to boost" method, ehh?"

…Giving him an answer would have pleased him. Since when did a common mon like Brush have access to a Looplet? No, that was a dumb question. Better question is why? No, that already had an answer too. ("Cal, what have you been doing this whole time? How many more times did you share this secret, her secret?")

I scoffed dismissively.

Brush scoffed back. "Tch, you serious types are an honest killjoy sometimes. Don't think I'm ignoring the gesture, but you wanna beat me at something that badly?

"Pfft, ha! Now that is stupid, even by legendary standards. But…why not? I'll indulge you."

- o - o -

With a casual snap of his fingers, the Toxtricity then fired a Thunderbolt toward a device above us, causing water to suddenly rain on top of us.

Regardless of the mess, I would not let a little water intimidate me. So I kept my glare and continued my play.

Brush shook his head in disappointment as he prepared his own playing stance. "Tsk tsk tsk, there's just one thing you gotta know about harps like these. You can have talent, but honed skill will always be better, boy!" With that he made a loud strum to start his own.

The resounding shock wave pushed me backwards. I glanced up to see sparks zipping through the raining water, creating the same kind of buzzing I was hearing all night.

The human recognition came back once more, noting the acoustic sound of Brush's instrument. If there was one blessing I could count on, it's that an acoustic instrument can hardly compare to my instrument in the context of solos. And (good grief) this was one advantage I was gonna take. I wasn't going to let this lesser mon scare me into submission.

This electric power to water trick? Hardly a challenge! I strummed back, letting loose my own sparks across the room. I made my aggressive rhythm loud and clear to throw Brush off his own.

The Toxtricity stopped mid-strum and stumbled. An annoyed frown formed on his face, silently saying, "Oh, you did not just do that!" So he strummed twice, sending a bolt to graze my shoulder.

The grazing impact made me flinch, allowing him to start another strumming rhythm, with echoing capabilities of his instrument.

Just as suddenly, he fired more bolts right at me to the beat. However, I quickly played back a solo to counter with my own bolts and scratchy riffs.

Brush let out a scoff as he finished his attempt.

I then capitalized on the silence to introduce my own music to the fray. A particularly chaotic theme came to mind. Not the best idea to use, but it was the first piece that worked for this.

I rapidly plucked the strings in rapid fashion to let loose a barrage, hoping to see how well he could keep up.

(To be fair, Brush's skill was quite impressive. Being able to make any rhythm with the mess of notes played is a feat, but even Brush was beginning to struggle. One couldn't simply keep all of those bolts back for long.)

The Toxtricity grew tense as he strummed along, barely guarding against my barrage.

However, I wasn't done yet. I had more to show. Thus, I sped up.

Even faster barrages of power shot through the air.

Despite Brush's attempts to rapidly strum back, his beats weren't strong enough. So several bolts finally struck true.

Brush fell to a knee for a moment before glaring back with fierce and personal anger. He stood up and strummed even louder than before with furious bolts.

I fought back with yet another stringer riff to defend against the barrage. As I fought, I noticed a slight shortness in my breath. I needed to end the ridiculous stunt and fast. If I was getting tired though, surely Brush must have been exhausted, especially after already playing in a concert.

And Brush must have thought the same thing since we both strummed our strings at the same time.

(The result was an incomprehensible mess of notes and a loose rhythm that should be considered an actual insult to Meloetta. It was honestly amazing that no one was putting a stop to this. That or folks were too scared to enter the battle arena of Electric energy firing across a small and now messy storage room.)

Somehow, Brush was still standing, fighting back with all his passion now, with no plans on stopping. I probably should have just stopped, but my pride would not let me. I refused to let this common pokemon who insulted my friend to just win and walk away like this. I had to win.

So with all reckless abandon, conjured a series of bolt that would surely spell the end for-

*STRRRNGGG!*

In the blink of an eye, something struck and cut my cheek. The sharp pain forced an abrupt end to my move. I flinched, giving the opening Brush needed.

With a joyous smirk, Brush unleashed his finishing strum against me.

The attack sent me off my feet, shattering my zapper to pieces in the process. "GYYAGH!"

My echoing scream signaled the bitter end of this battle as I plunged right into a pile of equipment.

- o - o -

A few moments after that painful landing, I winced and grasped at the ground. As if it wasn't insulting enough to lose, some thoughts hit my head. ("I just lost to some jerk. I just lost to some common pokemon. I just lost to someone with a handicap. I just lost a guitar solo duel to someone using an acoustic guitar!") I gritted my teeth at these realizations. ("YOU BLEW IT!")

I fell back down and groaned once more. "Nrrrrrrrggggghh!"

My ears rang for a short while, but it seemed like other voices finally came into the room, most likely checking out the loud commotion.

As soon as I gained some notion of hearing, Kalea pulled me up, hoisting my arm over her shoulder.

"We're leaving! Now!" Kalea declared.

I glanced over to Brush, who had his arms crossed. His bandmates and Orchid did not look very pleased at all, glaring at him with evident disappointment. (I couldn't blame them. We did make a mess out of the building for literally no reason other than stupidity and pride.)

Despite these glares, Brush stood his ground. "Good, and tell the boy to look around for a change while you're at it."

I scoffed and just went with wherever direction Kalea was heading.

Lucy followed behind, groaning over these events.

Though I couldn't see what other folks were doing, I heard the start of a rather heated argument as we left. What was said, I could hardly care, let alone remember the words properly.

- o - o - o - o - o - o -

I didn't bother looking around while we traveled back to the house. The embarrassment of what happened just stirred about in my mind. The moment kept repeating over and over like some old scolding from my supposed training days. (How can one not think about it? It was a series of terrible decisions. There was only one way that battle could have ended. But noooooooo, Zera had to go and try to use those so-called human memories to outdo someone in a practiced craft. Even from a simple Pokemon's standpoint, it was outright stupid! What were you thinking, Zera? What were you thinking, punk?)

Although, I do wish that loss was the end of my woes. Sadly, there was more once the three of us gathered in the house's lounge. Why? …I ended up explaining my task for tomorrow, and all the strings attached too.

…

"WHAT?!" Grapploct and Kalea exclaimed in unison.

Lucy meanwhile groaned loudly into her wings. (I'd argue it was more like a scream only further muffled by how distant her seat was from ours.)

Still I sheepishly bit my lip. "Yeah, it's pretty sudden I know, but…"

Kalea put her flippers together, trying her darndest to stay calm. She then spoke a quiet question. "...Zera, you do realize what our situation is, right?"

"Yeah? I'm not everyone's favorite…"

"More than that! What is she thinking?! Does she want to set the festival ablaze? It's like-"

Otto stepped in. "Kalea, Kalea, calm down. I'm sure she has her reasoning."

"Oh quit it! You heard the cat. She's pulling in a publicity stunt with this and it's so…argh!"

"I know! I know!" I said. "I get it! It's little- It's risky. But things are kind of tense? And I just…I wanna make things right."

"Oh sure, Zera. Like yesterday."

"Yesterday, I helped Lucy…and DD too!"

"Yeah, after bumbling around all day. All part of the plan, huh."

"It was luck. Besides, this event is organized, right? Can't be that bad…hopefully."

After I said this, Lucy made her own abrupt statement out of nowhere. "But it is bad!"

The retainers and I turned our attention to the now frustrated-looking youngling.

"This is why-" Lucy shook her head. "I mean- The tournament it- It takes so much time and there's so many other things I wanted Zera and I to do and-" She groaned into her wings again.

"Mmmmmgggghhhrrrrr!"

Now I was feeling bad. I promised to be her brother for the week and then I signed myself up for something behind her back…or I guess without asking first? Sibling dynamics were complicated. I could only imagine how much Latios had to deal with stuff like this.

Still, it didn't change the facts.

The retainers glanced awkwardly at one another, unsure how to judge Lucy's reaction. (Even Grapploct looked uncertain. You'd think after how many years, they'd all know what to do. But alas, not even the deceptively evident group of minds had a clue it seemed. Or perhaps, the presence of a visitor prevented a real solution. Who would've thought a Zeraora would throw so much out of control? Huh…)

Lucy slowly began swinging her head like a pendulum, muttering incoherent sets of words to herself. The most notable of which being, "Where did I go wrong?" Or at least I think it was that.

Kalea was equally concerned by the sounds and moved to the youngling's side. "Lucy, I hmm, I know you're upset, but…you do know that Grapploct and I are also registered, so there's not much we can do…"

Lucy remained silent and still, staring at the ground.

I wanted to ask something, but Grapploct put a tentacle on my mouth to stop me.

Kalea continued. "Is there something you wanna tell us?"

The youngling shook her head and quietly replied, lacking a lot of her usual energy. "...Noooo…"

"...Alright, just let us know if there is. For now, let's get you to bed, okay?"

"...Mmm…" After that quiet hum, Lucy stood up and slowly started walking toward the washroom, with Kalea following suit.

Grapploct meanwhile patted my shoulder, gesturing toward another part of the house.

- o - o - o - o - o - o -

We arrived at the house's dojo, a room just as spacious as the rest of the home, though the ceiling height left a lot to be desired if one were Lugia's size. The flooring was firm and dry, no room for echoes as far as I could tell. All in all, the place wasted no time in giving the visitor its purpose. Perhaps the training equipment was in another room, judging by a couple of doors I could see on the back wall. But never mind that…

Grapploct sat down on a random part of the floor, signaling me by patting a tentacle on it.

So I obliged, asking the first question of this meeting. "Hey, um, you're both in the tourney roster too?"

"Ah, yes. Indeed," Otto replied. "We both registered a few weeks back, but, hmm…"

A thought ran to my head, prompting me to guess, "Lucy's suggestion, right?"

"Somewhat," the Fighting-Type said. "You can bet we're all confused. We're all wondering what changed. Itallo's still thinking. Madeline's, she's being a handful, and little Strike's worried."

"Wait, Strike?"

Otto blinked before slowly putting some tentacles on his head. "Ooooh no…" He winced afterwards.

("That must have been a mistake.") The retainer must have been more tired than I thought.

Before long, Grapploct bent and started slouching in posture. "Oh dear, I'll just let those two settle it in the Inner World…hopefully."

"Are you guys okay?"

"Oh quite fine. Otto made a slip of the tongue just now. He fronted for most of the day after all, and after all that greenhouse work, this was bound to happen sadly." Itallo then waved off my presumed concern. "No need to worry, lad. It happens sometimes in the old head."

"Yeah, speaking of which. Is it always that chaotic in there?"

"Oh no. No no no, haha! If it was, we wouldn't really, uh, be here now. Would we…hehe. We prefer not to think about that idea if we can help it."

Right. It only took a second or two to think how bad that would be. If no one in the head could agree to anything, what would happen? Would the body, err system be at a standstill or be an incomprehensible whirlwind of destruction? (I shivered at the thought of either of those possibilities. Another mind in my head, forcing its will on my body. Oh wait…) I coughed and shook my head awkwardly. I had enough trouble with one set of intrusive thoughts. The outlandish idea of another? No thanks.

Seeing my uneasiness, Itallo explained further. "Thankfully, it's not like we're in "same space" all the time, sort of. That's where the Inner World comes in."

I blinked. "The Inner World?"

"Yes. That's what everyone calls it. Think of it like a mystery dungeon, in the system's mind, but far less dangerous than the real world dungeons we know…mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Never mind that. It's nothing you'll ever have to worry about. But in short, we of Grapploct crafted our Inner World to be a paradise, a place to rest when we're tired of fronting for a bit."

"Uhhhhh, sure. Whatever helps ease your mind-, minds, I guess?" (There was some sense to the logic, but it was just shy of believable.) "So…What about Strike? If you can say anything."

"...That, my friend, is what we call a Little. Strike's the youngest of us…and among the first. He's close with little Lucy, like a younger brother to her."

That raised my brow. "But…you're older than her, in heart I mean."

"From your view, yes. Quite so. Outside of our body however, age means little to us Alters. Strike is no exception. A kind little boy at six years. He's shy, but he does his best in our circumstances. Unfortunately, time is just not kind to him. And the system just continued to age."

I frowned a bit. It was starting to make sense why Lucy would be a little more bold in her "adventures." If this Strike fellow were to front, what would it look like? Awkward at best, concerning at mid.

"Piecing it together, eh?"

"Yeah, yikes."

"I feel the little ones' pain, but that's life. There's nothing we can do about it.

"However, that's enough derailment."

"Mmmm…"

"You noticed it too, yes? How strange Lucy's behavior has been lately."

I leaned back a bit. "Well, I wouldn't know what it was like before, but it sounds to me like it wasn't anything like earlier."

Itallo took a breath and put his tentacles together. "Yes. And it makes us worry about what changed her tune so fast."

"Like she saw something when she was kidnapped?"

"Perhaps, but I didn't think to ask until that outburst of hers happened.

"All we know is that Lucy was taken by the Lunar Stars yesterday, the reason for which is bizarre. There's nothing to gain from doing that. All it will do is prompt Lugia to take action."

I nod. "Yeah..." And he wouldn't care what the consequences were, unlike everyone else here. The youngling was a legend's most precious thing. Do anything that would threaten them, that may as well be asking for death. Who knew how many times Lugia had to come in for that. Twenty years was more than enough time to set the record straight. So why now? Why bother now?

Then another thought occurred to me. Itallo hadn't mentioned DD's initial theory yet. Did something change? Now that it came into question, probably. Would the retainers even let Lucy go out after supposedly siding with the Lunar Stars? I doubted that. So, Shiro was lying after all?

"Say, Itallo? What happened with Lucy yesterday? I was a little busy dealing with Shiro at the time."

"There's a funny story about that, I was gonna ask you something myself. But to answer your question first…

"DD found Lucy in the palace, locked in a room somewhere. By the time the police and us got there, the place was catching fire. It took a while for everyone to meet up properly, but you were nowhere to be seen.

"We searched for an hour or two before finding you on the ground outside, completely knocked out from exhaustion. Frankly, I'm surprised you're up this soon, but I suppose that is a quirk of being a mythical. Being able to stand up on so little. Heh, it's impressive."

"Err, thanks. Wait, did DD not say anything odd that night? Nothing that stood out to you?"

"Hmm? No?" Itallo pondered for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Aside from her usual long pauses to think? Not really, anything you should be worried about. Why do you ask?"

(I wouldn't have been surprised if there was a complaint after the damage I did. From what I saw, there was honestly no pleasing that girl.) Still, at least there was someone to thank for helping Lucy. And it was right then that I realized I never got to do that today. Was she expecting it? If so…no wonder our conversation went as sour as it did.

I gritted my teeth at the awkward thought. "...I…may or may not have forgotten to state my thanks…"

Itallo processed my words and gave a very disappointed sigh. "Ohhhh, Zera, Zera, Zera…"

"I- My mind had a lot of stuff running through it, okay? …Still…"

"If it helps, we said our thanks. Between you and her though. Mm, not gonna help you with that. You best get your act together."

"Gee, thanks. I'll try for Silspring's sake."

"I wasn't referring to that, but for whoever you fall in love with."

I promptly stood up in a flustered fashion. "Would just- Gah! Blegh! Noooo!"

Itallo stood and laughed. "Haha, no need to worry. I'm just pulling your leg."

"You weren't and please don't."

"Fine, fine. Anywho. I did have one question though, and so did Kalea.

"What exactly happened between you and Shiro?"

Now that was the question of the day. After that explosion, he just sort of vanished. Never even tried to attack me again afterwards. Where did he go? Did that fake do him in? No, it was too fast for him to pull that off, right?

"Well?" Itallo asked after a moment of silence.

"Well we fought. Unfortunately, we never did finish it."

Itallo raised a brow.

I put up a paw. "I know, it sounds odd since you know, but I'm telling you the truth. We got separated at one point and then…someone interrupted."

"Someone? Who?"

"That's the hard part, I don't know."

"Do you not? It sounds more like you do to me. And whoever it was, they must have been something, enough to scare even you."

"That's one way to put it." I muttered, scratching my head. "It's not undefinable. It's a matter of how not to sound insane."

"And we're a mon familiar with insane ideas believe it or not. So, please, give us your best shot," he said, with crossed arms.

"Oh boy…" ("If you insist, welcome to the ride.") "Okay, fine. I…ended up fighting my own double."

"That's it?"

"That's the short of it anyways."

"You're upset over some attempt to copy you? You do know it's not an unknown concept."

"Yeah? And how many here managed to do it perfectly? Like…" I moved my fingers around to emphasize the point. "Completely copy the look and my abilities. From what I've seen here so far, not a lot of folks here know exactly what a Zeraora looks like, let alone their usual moves."

Itallo took a moment to stare deeper into my eyes. "Completely, hmm? And you're sure about that?"

I leaned forward in return. "Yes. It didn't look wrong either like a Ditto tends to do."

"Not one detail wrong? Not just looks here. It was a perfect copy of you?"

"Yes." That was my answer, but then I straightened myself up a bit. "Actually, no? Not fully now that I think about it.

"He sounded almost like me, except he had a loud voice and it was also a bit of a buzz? It's kind of weird to say out loud. Furthermore, he also felt a bit off too? Weirdly smooth and wet for someone that should have had fur."

"Hmm, sounds to me like we're dealing with a Zoroark."

"Sure, that's what I thought too, until I shot an Electric move at him. But he just absorbed it like it was nothing to fear."

"Volt Absorb?"

"Yeah, that's my ability." Itallo probably knew. (Who didn't know at this point? Three straight correct guesses was it took for the message to sink in.)

Itallo pondered my statements, progressively getting more bewildered as the seconds ticked by. "Good gosh. Either we're dealing with the perfect Ditto or we found a whole new Raboot hole to fall through."

"If you think that's bad, the guy also seems to real good at sneaking away. I tried to collapse a whole building on him, but it turned out I was beating up a Substitute beforehand."

"Wait a minute, a whole building?" Itallo asked with urgency.

"That's right. Then I chased him outside a while before he knocked me out."

Itallo took a moment to think about what he heard. His eyes shifted away from me with evident doubt.

He then put some tentacles on my shoulders, giving me a serious stare. "Zera, listen to me carefully. That building you collapsed was the only one that got somewhat demolished during the raid. I don't want to believe you did so maliciously."

"I mean…"

"Please, say no more. I'm sure you had your reasons, but I doubt the rest of Silspring would believe it. …It'd be best if you kept that last part to yourself. Try not to bring up that double of yours either unless you have to."

"But what if he starts framing me for something? He's still out there somewhere probably." ("Wouldn't that be a real thrill show…")

"...Not sure, but we'll deal with it if it comes to that. But right now, we got a more pressing concern. That building, Shiro was found under the rubble."

My eyes widened. "Wait, what? He was there?!"

Itallo nodded. "Indeed. That is why we're worried now. Are you sure you lost sight of him?"

"Of course I did! It's kind of hard to look when a double suddenly attacks ya."

"If you say so."

"Are...do you not believe me?"

"I said it once, and I shall say it again. I want to believe you. Sadly, you may have gotten yourself caught in something, something big."

So much for staying uninvolved, but now what? "Like what? What do we do?"

"For now, I think it would be best if we got as much rest as possible. We got combat ahead of us and if we're not at our best, we won't be able to protect Lucy if something does happen. We know too little right now. Acting rashly will only make things worse.

"After all, you made your promise, remember? So keep it."

Itallo was right. As much as I wanted to speculate on this fake of mine. There was no way we could make a move without more information or a lead.

So I nodded. "Alright…we'll do our best then."

Itallo eased himself and stood up. "Right then, how about we get some shut-eye for the night? We got a long day ahead of us. Wouldn't want you to be a Komala during the tournament."

"Oh can it," I said, waving the Grapploct off. "I don't even know Sleep Talk."

"All the more reason to hurry along now."

And that was the end of another night at Silspring. A bit of a rough and uncertain end, but it was certainly better than the last two so far. Promises and secrets to keep, as well as some imposter. Yep, a real buffet of problems to have now.

I hoped the tournament wouldn't be too hard. Would my long day's worth of resting be enough? There was only one way to find out, and it better not involve a certain annoying voice in my dreams.

- 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 -

Fragment of Knowledge:

The Sound District: Powered by Old and Rooted Fears

By Pawmot Visor of the Scholar District's The Vial

Abstract:

Among the many sites of Silspring, few rival the literal energy found within the Sound District, formerly known as the Voltage District until recent years. What was once a pristine spot for electric workers is now a vast and divided entertainment hub where the poverty line is at its most visible. Numerous businesses, countless electrical hazard areas, and an alarming homeless population comparable to the Deep Underside. Too many poured their livelihoods into this place, just to keep a proper roof over their heads in the wake of the ever growing issue of land shortages. How did this come to be? Why is it that so many Electric-Types find their home here of all places? To answer these, one must look far back, to the ancient and long lost days. The Sound District is now a product of the long since rooted fears born from the early discoveries found within Silspring's breathable air as well as olden Typist views that go back even further than the town's founding.

…

[Content and Sources Available on Page 5]

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Author's Notes:

Special Thanks to TheSnapDragon for Beta Reading