Episode 36: World of Isnomia

A light breeze. Cool sunlight. Something soft brushing against her in the breeze. Something dripped onto her nose, making Kayla squirm and open her eyes. Tall stems towered over her, with a blue sky peeking between the petals. She got up, finding herself surrounded by sunflowers.

Sunflowers in a clear, sunny blue sky as far as the eye could see. She didn't say a word, relaxed by the petals brushing her fur and a familiar song hummed by a serene voice. Not even the fact that she was underwater seemed to unsettle her. She gasped upon realising, not a panicked gasp, but a squeak of surprise, and out came a trail of bubbles and none of the other discomforts of drowning. Perhaps the PET was keeping her safe.

No. It was the humming figure stood a fair way away that was keeping her safe. Now her heart was racing. There was a woman. A tall woman with long black hair and a flowy pink dress, humming that familiar song in this underwater flower field. The dress was patterned with large, shiny white stars that seemed to glow. Kayla stared for what felt like forever. When the woman stopped humming and smiled back, her heart weighed on her.

She didn't move. She was a Buneary, she didn't know who this woman was. And yet, their smile, warm as this summer setting, sparked all manner of feelings within her. Just being here in their presence lifted all her stresses away. No harm could come to her and everything would work out, damaged arm or not. The woman leaned her head ever so slightly, keeping up that motherly smile.

Yes, that's what it was. The smile of a mother.

Once she realised that, Kayla took a step forward, a heavy step thanks to the water. The woman moved with her, staying the same distance, even though there was zero movement from her. Kayla kept walking, fighting the water to approach, and the woman kept moving back all the same. She couldn't see ahead thanks to the sunflowers, but she kept trying anyway. She wanted to speak and cry out too, but no words came.

Eventually, her heart skipped a beat. She had walked straight off a cliff, which didn't even make sense with her being deep in the water. That's because she only had the feeling of being underwater, and the only evidence were the bubbles that came with her breath. As far as her eyes were telling her, this motherly human was floating over a cliff, and Kayla had just leapt off of it by accident. Her view tilted to face the drop below the cliff, which was pure white. The current picked up around her, and she shut her eyes as she began to fall.

…

This time, she woke up still teary-eyed. She'd gotten so used to this strange sensation that it didn't bring any discomfort, besides how emotional she felt right now. She tried to blink away her tears, but they wouldn't stop. She couldn't forget that human, and they brought all sorts of feelings with her. Her eyesight did manage to focus after a while, revealing a curious Furret.

"Kari," Kayla whimpered, sitting up. She was surprised she sounded so meek.

"I know you said not to worry, but I can't help myself. It's soooo weird, and it's gotten really bad again," Kari said, paws pressed together. "One day, we've gotta go into your dreams and get to the bottom of this!"

Kayla swallowed, and the tears stopped at last. "Yeah. Whatever helps."

"Or maybe… talk about 'em?" Kari suggested. Kayla looked at her in annoyance, and met a peppy smile. There was never any winning with this girl, not that she would want to.

"There was this woman. A human woman, not the one that we know. But somehow… look this is gonna sound crazy, but I think she was my Mum somehow," Kayla tried to explain. Kari's eyes widened and her tail straightened. "Y'know when you like, haven't seen a family member in a really long time, and when you do see them, all sorts of memories and feelings come back, and you just feel sad and happy at the same time?"

Kari sighed and looked away at that. "Yeah…"

"That's what happened this time. I've never felt anything like it. But it wasn't my real Mum. You know, Beaurette, the Hatterene. I've never met that human before. So why do I feel so strongly about her?" Kayla started to mumble. She leaned forward to wipe her eyes on her blanket. "Man, not like I'll ever figure it out like this."

"Do… you love your mum?" Kari asked.

"Of course I do. She can be a handful and a worrywart, but I'm not about to challenge her or anything," she answered. Kari kept staring at the floor. "Kari? You okay?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah! I'm all good," she perked back up. "Sorry. It's just, you were crying and stuff, so I thought you were feeling bad or scared. But feeling emotional over seeing family again, that's not a bad thing to feel, is it?"

That was a line to think about. But to Kayla, it made her snicker instead. "Yeah, I guess it isn't, even if I don't know who the person is. But enough about that. Where are we? This place looks cosy."

"Oh, it's a farm! Flowerbed Farms. Apparently this place ships all over southern Isnomia!" Kari perked up again. "Speaking of, surprise for you!"

Kayla looked over blankly. The moment she saw the plate of carrots Kari presented, all sorts of feral needs awoke. She was starving. All finesse vanished; she needed those carrots in her belly ten seconds ago. It didn't matter that they weren't sliced, or that Kari was giggling at her as she wolfed them down. All that mattered was that she could lean back and sigh, partially sated after going hungry all this time.

"Er… are there any more?" Kayla asked, blushing a little.

"The big boss said we'd have to pay for 'em," Kari pointed to the door. They seemed to be in a small habitat made of white rock. There was nothing here besides a bed for two, a fireplace, and a bedside table.

"That's not a problem. We've got lots of money, right?" Kayla said.

"Er, digital money! The boss didn't have a PET, so we couldn't get any more," Kari added, tail wagging cutely.

"Oh," Kayla calmed down. Wish I didn't eat them so fast, now. Flowerbed Farms though, huh? Can't say I've heard of the place…

She was about to ask until she noticed Kari's look. They stared at her quite intently, and though their tail wagged, they also prodded at their paws and squirmed on the spot. "Err, you okay? What's up?"

"Eep! I just… ehee hee. You still hungry?" she said cheerfully.

"You got me there. Not as bad as before, but I could do with another round," Kayla snickered. "I guess we go find everyone else and hit the road?"

"Yeah. That's the plan," Kari went quiet.

"… You sound like you wanna say something," Kayla kept smiling. Kari didn't answer, but she did start to blush. "What's up? You know you can talk to me about anything."

"I know… but I can't help myself sometimes," Kari sighed at last. "Er, I'm not too clingy, am I?"

"Where did that come from?" Kari replied.

"I dunno. Somewhere. Am I?"

"No… not at all. If you were, I'd definitely say. We promised each other we'd talk about that stuff, didn't we?"

"Did we?" Kari cocked her head.

"Yeah. When you said you'd help me out by carrying me and stuff. I told you if there was a problem, I'd say. If you're still worried about that, I guess that means I'm still making you uncomfortable."

"No! No you're not!" Kari squeaked, and then slapped her paws over her mouth. "I-I mean… ah, I got confused again. It's all that stuff Pola and Shannon said… and then the stuff about your Mum just now."

"Come to think of it, you've never mentioned your family," Kayla went half lidded.

"Oh never mind them. Pola and Shannon said some really mean stuff to you, and I got called teacher's pet. Am I really being that weird around you?" she went back to prodding her paws together.

"Ah, we said that would happen too, remember? Pola's gonna take this the wrong way, maybe we should talk to her sometime. If she stays on the team and stuff," Kaya turned away. Kari didn't reply, either. "It's true. I messed up big time. I should've just warped us out the moment we got Shannon. But I hate turning a blind eye to things, y'know?"

"I do know! You always wanna help everyone you can, even ferals and stuff. It's really cool to me!" Kari confessed, blushing deeply. "I wish I had your bravery. You just do what you wanna do 'cos you know it's right."

"But you are brave," Kayla pointed out. "You stood up for me when I lost my cool back there. I really appreciate that, Kari."

Silence fell for a moment.

"Ooog, wait no stop! I was supposed to be asking if you were okay, not having you cheer me up!" Kari squirmed. "I'm terrible at this!"

The way she said that with a bright red pouty face, Kayla couldn't help but giggle at her. "Honestly, looking that cute, I'm pretty cheered up."

"Rkk- eek-rfgl- KAYLA! Don't say things like that!"

"What, what'd I say this time?" Kayla cried.

Kari leaned forward to shout a reply, but something made her halt. Instead, she folded her paws and turned away, tapping her foot. Whatever was on her mind made her grumble and blush even harder, which only made Kayla giggle again. "Don't laugh."

"I'm sorry, hee hee hee," Kayla smiled. "Seriously though, you're good, Kari. What I said back there in the sky, I meant. If I mess up, or I get knocked down, I know you've got my back. If anything happened to you, I'd have your back, no matter what."

"… Am I allowed to ask for something?" she said quietly.

"Go ahead."

"… Eek, it's kinda weird. Forget it. Forget I asked," she went even redder.

"Kari? Look, it's okay, seriously. Whatever you want from me, I don't mind."

There was another pause, this one requiring the Furret to take a deep breath. The whole time, she shuddered, picking at her paws. "When you said that just now… uh, saying I was cute… you meant it, right?"

"Uh, yeah?" Kayla cocked her head. Just saying that made her chest feel a little fuzzy.

"Th-that's all! That's okay, and stuff!" Kari tried to hide her face and blushed even harder. Her tail started wagging wildly too.

"Heh, okay, now you're just being funny," Kayla laughed. "Let's go find the others."

"Ye-yeah! Let's go do that! It's way better than sitting here and wanting to do- um, er, yeah! What you said!" Kari squeaked, scrunching up her face. That made Kayla freeze again. She barely pondered these new thoughts with a sway, and then hopped into Kari's arms. "Ah- wait, Kayla!"

"K-Kari!" Kayla cried as they both tumbled to the floor. Despite the suddenness, she didn't hit the floor at all, and her side didn't hurt either. She was still bandaged, but somehow Kari had handled her in a way that brought no harm at all. "Aha. That wasn't what you were gonna ask me."

"What?"

"You were lost in thought, that's why you didn't catch me," Kayla said, half-lidded.

"Whaaaat? Oh c'mon, that's just silly!" Kari squirmed around.

"Kari, you and I have been hanging out daily for heck knows how many months now. I like to think I've got a pretty good read on you. And you are hiding something," she went half-lidded, and giggled.

"Nooo, stop it," Kari turned away.

"Nah uh, not until you say."

"K-Kayla! Stop- eep- I don't wanna hurt you!" Kari started squeezing her, but she wiggled her ears to brush her fluff against the Furret's face.

"Haha, like you could hurt me! Not stoppin' until you tell me, ya shy noodle!" Kayla poked at Kari's belly with her feet as well.

"Kari, is Kayla—" Shannon came in just then, but froze at the door. Both girls stared back, frozen on the floor all the same. Something about his face set Kayla off laughing, and she fell back into Kari, happily kicking her feet. "Uhh…"

"Sh-Shannon! You weirdo, you should know to knock before coming into a girl's room!" Kari cried as she got up, bringing the still giggling Kayla with her.

"You were gone a while, I thought you might've gotten lost. And wasn't Kayla meant to be sleeping?" he cocked his head. "Er, never mind. If you're awake, mind if we get going? I don't wanna spend the night here. The boss gives me the creeps."

"Really? She seems okay," Kari said.

"I'm good by the way. Yeah, let's hit the road," Kayla calmed right down, but stayed half-lidded.

…

"Here. You're here right now. Flowerbed farms, eyup."

It felt like they were never going to get going with the way 'the boss' spoke. After an eternity of slow talking and drawn out, monotone questions, the lounging Miltank had her hoof on the table map to pinpoint where the group were.

Kayla was surprised. She'd been knocked out three times since the attack on RSE, and during that time, they had somehow made it to southern Isnomia, towards the southeast of the crescent-shaped continent. They were way outside of the northern regions, where extraordinary Pokémon had their treaty to protect them. This southern region might as well have been unknown land to her.

"Hammock is straight south of here, but we have to cross the desert, it looks like. And home is so far north that it'd take weeks to get back, unless we warped," Kayla started tapping her foot.

"You could work here. I could always use a group of farm hands," the Miltank suggested.

"Uh, no thanks. We've got too much to do," Kayla tried to be friendly. Besides, I'd be way useless here.

"We can't call it home anymore," Ashe said sadly. "I'm fairly sure RSE was left in ruins."

"But your kids, and everyone else who got evacuated. We should at least find out if they're alright," Kayla replied. There was a long pause, and Ashe kept her eyes closed. "Ashe!"

"Man, this is fucked. What the heck are we supposed to do?" Pola complained. "I ain't working here, my paws are too delicate for this stuff."

"Farms have jobs for everyone, silly! There's gardening, there's washing, errand shopping," Kari trailed off.

"Do you see me doing any of those?" Pola rolled her eyes.

"Eh, there's a first time for everything."

"Eeeeyup," Miltank lazily waved a hoof.

"No offense, but we're Team Daybreak. We didn't take down an archfiend and a Netherworld General just to settle for farmwork out in the sticks," Kayla argued. "We need a proper plan, and a proper base."

"Oh? Sounds like you have something," Pola was snide.

"I—" Kayla stood back, and then sighed. "With our current supplies, we could cross Yucca Desert and get to Hammock no problem, but then we'd be walking right back into Sunrise territory. And to be personally honest, I don't fancy going back home to Mum right now."

"If I'm reading this right, there's a small town less than a day's walk north," Shannon pointed out. "They ought to at least have lodgings we can borrow until we come up with a better plan."

"Twoson's Rest… if it's the same place as before. It even has a request board," Mog added.

"Not a bad shout… though that is going straight back into team work," Kayla turned to Pola.

"Oh stuff it! Not like we've got a choice right now," she folded her arms.

May cleared her throat. "If you're willing to keep putting your faith in me, there is somewhere else we can hide out. The problem with Twoson is that Netherworld has likely fallen within this area as well. If they're not looking for us, then they're likely recouping in either Twoson or Hammock. They might even come here if we dawdle."

"And the O so great May has a better suggestion?" Pola put a paw to her hip.

The Pichu hesitated, paws behind her back as always. "That depends. How much do you trust me right now?"

"You girls got us outta the sky, and you got us outta prison, too. I can tell there's way more story to everything, but not really time to talk about it, is there?" Kayla said.

"What? But I got us outta the prison. That was all me! And I guess you for the plan," Pola snapped.

"Yeah… but May gave me the hint," Kayla was quiet. "Y'know what? I'm tired of secrecy. Make time."

There was another pause, and May gave no hints beyond a slow blink. She gestured to clear her throat, and then looked up at Kayla. "Very well then. Which would you like to know about me first?"

"This is gonna be long, isn't it?" Shannon grumbled.

"I'll try to keep it short as we're imposing on the boss right now."

"Don't mind me," Miltank waved again.

"I thought you told me everything before, about how you and Mog used to be friends, and how you wanted to free her from archfiend status. But then you turned out to be in cahoots with Netherworld. What's up with that? And you don't have anything left with them, do you?" Kayla asked.

"It must seem as though I swung you along back there, but truly, my hands were tied. The two are connected. I dedicated a lot of my life to the goal of freeing Mog from Mathildaath, and as it turned out, Netherworld were hot on her trail the moment she was discovered. Netherworld was the closest shot I had to forcing an encounter," May began. "That's how I'd like to put it… but I was in fact working under Netherworld before then as well. I wasn't in a commanding position back then, but I had little choice left in life. Unlike now, that is."

"Unlike now?" Kayla tilted her head.

"I no longer have anything to gain from swindling the trust of you all, nor a direct goal of my own. My time with Netherworld is all but done," May announced with a smile. Even with one eye covered, there was a certain sincerity to her that made it hard to imagine she was lying. "To that end, there is a place I can have us hide for a while, where we can do some recouping of our own. It isn't the most glamorous of locations, but it almost certainly provides everything we need."

"And we can trust you… how? You haven't done a thing to prove to us that this isn't still part of your game," Shannon challenged. His eyes had red glints in them.

"What would you have me do to provide such trust?"

"Look, stop- don't do that. That attitude will get us nowhere," Kayla stepped in.

"Kayla!"

"I'm serious," she objected. He had a sharp glare at her now, too.

"May," Mog stepped up. "None of this is to be taken lightly. If you lead us into another trap, we can never safely work together again. We got through the sky together; we can get through this. I was hopeless before, but if anything gives me hope, it's you all. So please…"

"Transparency is everything right now," Ashe added. "So I appreciate everyone's honesty."

"Hey, you're not off the hook, either! What's up with you being Netherworld, too?" Pola gasped.

"Treasure knew who you were as well. But you didn't seem to want to talk to him," Shannon added.

"That slimeball… his gas trap and that other machine are clear results of his research into us," Ashe turned away, but her fury was obvious. "My story is similar to May. I wasn't always the nursery teacher you knew, but the truth is, I haven't told a single lie, either."

"You might think you're being clever pulling the 'you never asked' line, but really it just annoys me," Kayla commented.

Ashe gave it a round of thought, and then broke away from the table to approach Kayla directly. She wasn't smiling, and this time, her eyes wavered on a level of clarity Kayla hadn't seen from anyone here, ever. They were the eyes of someone with a whole bible of stories to tell, complete with all the knowledge and regrets that come with them. Right now, Ashe was bursting with anxiety, and yet, not a single hint of it showed in her form, only in what Kayla could sense.

"What I said to you that evening… back when I requested to join Team Daybreak," she said, and then shut her eyes and turned up. "More than anything else in the world, my goal now is to protect you. So it doesn't matter what happens, even if you don't trust me… I will do everything to protect you."

Me? Just me? Kayla's mouth hung open.

"I was part of Netherworld until that evening. But my attacking you when Gema showed up… my back was against the wall. It was a choice between fighting him then and there, or gambling leaving you incapacitated," Ashe confessed. She shook herself, and then faced the group. "Me and May had conferred already. We knew they were going to try to take you and Mog away. I even suggested the Sunbed for your mission against Zude."

"That was you!" Kari beamed up. "Even though you knew it was so dangerous, you suggested it and then backed out, I thought that was kinda weird."

"With Zude down, Netherworld's forces against you would be far weaker, and we would be able to escape… that was the plan. But then Treasure and Sunrise turned up, spoiling both ours and Netherworld's plans," Ashe explained.

"Those mice weren't part of the attack at all?" Kayla asked with a furrowed brow.

Ashe shook her head. "It ruined everything. I had to prioritize getting the children out before reporting to Netherworld. There was no time for me to meet up with May."

"Likewise, I was stuck by Gema's side while we helped the students escape. We couldn't even set up a contingency plan. Ironically, Gema was more concerned that we had lost you forever, more than he was that his own plan was going up in flames," May clarified.

"Whoa, hold up. You make it sound like you guys actually cared about RSE. But Netherworld are criminals who want to destroy the world and stuff, right? You're terrorists, why would you care about the students?" Pola asked.

"Again, I haven't told a single lie," Ashe admitted. "It's this multi-faceted approach that allowed me to join Netherworld in good conscience. RSE was a front, but it also wasn't."

"Netherworld's goal is to use the Dream World to create their own world where extraordinary Pokémon can thrive. To that end, they disguised themselves as an academy that trains and houses extraordinary Pokémon the world over," May explained. "These Pokémon are gathered both legally and illegally. Extraordinary Pokémon are trafficked as well as adopted into the academy, all in hopes of studying those Pokémon extensively until they find a Dreamer. If they didn't find a Dreamer, then those Pokémon were to be raised into an army that could defeat Mathildaath, a Pokémon guaranteed to be a Dreamer. Two Dreamers are needed for their plan to succeed, and once that was in place, Netherworld would have an unstoppable army."

"And you two kinda just stole both of those Dreamers from right under their noses?" Kari was shocked.

"The thing is… this all got explained to me, but in practice, RSE was real," Ashe put on a perplexed look. "You would think their plans would lead to extremist propaganda. But it wasn't. They took care of and even enabled Pokémon to graduate and leave the academy freely. Never once did I see a single hint of bias against ordinary Pokémon. In fact, Gema supported equality."

It's true. Save for those heroes marks we got awarded, nothing about the academy ever came off as sketchy to me. Well, there was them setting us up for failure when we fought Mathildaath, but that wouldn't have achieved anything, Kayla thought hard about everything. She looked up at the others, and they were all in as deep thought as herself. And now, between May and Ashe's treachery and Sunrise's attack, Netherworld's gotta be scrambling to salvage this in any way they can. If May really does know a place they wouldn't check, we could end Netherworld's reputation as we know it.

"So you're either leading us right back to them, or you really are trying to destroy their plan," Shannon stated.

"You don't believe me? You still have my weapon," Ashe gasped.

"Which you could take back at any time if we were captured," he added. Ashe looked offended.

"Yeah, I'm with the squirrel on that one. Until you actually fight with us against them, everything you said could just be made up stuff," Pola pouted.

"What happens to Team Daybreak hinges on this. So I'm gonna do a vote. With just us four. Do we believe them and go for May's secret place right now, or do we leave them behind and do our own thing?" Kayla said, making sure she looked at everyone when she spoke. "I'll go first. And I'm with May and Ashe."

"Kayla…" Ashe's eyes brightened. "Thank you."

"I'm with 'em, too! I don't get why they'd go this far just to lie about it all. If they wanted to take us to Netherworld, they'd have done it already!" Kari joined in.

"Pah, I'm on team no. Nothing good's ever come outta working with you," Pola folded her arms and turned away.

Shannon could make this a tie, Kayla gulped as all eyes turned to the Pachirisu. The glints in his eyes were still a piercing red as he looked up from the floor.

"I… will choose to believe in you for now. But I'm trusting Kayla, not you," he stated, glaring at May. "If this turns out to be a lie and an elaborate part of your plan… I'll kill you myself."

However he looked, he'd clearly gotten across that his words weren't empty. May pursed her lips as she weighed her response, yet wound up saying nothing. She didn't even have her patented smug grin. She eventually adjusted her scarf and sighed.

"Aww c'mon guys, don't be like that! We're all a team!" Kari squeaked cheerfully, gathering them all up into a huddle.

"Kari, please… you're so awkward sometimes," Pola grumbled.

"If we're all set on going together, then we should keep going as a team! We don't really all hate each other and stuff, do we?" she ignored her. It put a smile on Kayla's face, but glancing at Shannon and May, neither were receptive.

Determined to ignore him until the end, huh? Kayla rolled her eyes. "Sounds like our plan is set. You're leading the way then, May."

"To the east of our exact location, right towards the coast there. It's unmarked on the map," May announced, coming out of the grip to point at the map. "If we make good pace, we should get there by the evening."

"There really isn't anything there. But if you say it's unmarked," Kayla swayed.

"Are you all going?" Miltank spoke up at last, reminding everyone she was here. She was slouched back in her seat the whole time. "That's a shame. Could use young workers like you all. If you ever return, we always have vacancies, eyup."

"Noted. Thank you for having us, boss!" Kari bowed.

"Yeah, thanks. You really saved our hide," Kayla joined in.

"Nonsense. Yall come back someday, and try our Flowerbed Milk next time. It's a shame you went through the effort and walked away without it," Miltank gave a lazy wave. "It makes you live forever."

"I wanna! Hopefully you've got it all filtered by then!" Kari giggled as the group began to make their way out.

"Wait you make it sound like you…" Kayla slowed down for her.

"How do you think I got gifted those carrots? When you're on a farm, you've gotta do farmwork!" Kari was gleeful.

"Uh, I just didn't take you for a farmhand. But I guess it's not too much different to the chores at RSE," Kayla smiled.

"Milking a Miltank, though?" Pola slumped. "How low can you go?"

"Hey, there's no shame. It got us all a meal, which you took for free, I might add," Kari went half-lidded. "I guess next time, you can help me!"

"Uh, I'll settle for sweeping, if there's a next time," the Plusle jumped.

Outside, Kayla couldn't help but come to a complete stop. Somehow, this place was unlike anything she had ever seen in Isnomia. Sure, inside the farm was vast, smelly, and as field-like as one would expect. Everything was fenced-in pastures as far as the eye could see, with the occasional windmill, hut, stable, or other buildings one would expect on a farm. Distant herds of Tauros, Miltank and Wooloo occupied these pastures, which Kayla was sure were feral. It begged the question of how the farm functioned, but it didn't matter as they weren't attacked.

On the opposite side however, in the direction they were headed, was a completely different world. They came out to a train station platform, one without a roof. Wires ran parallel to the rails, latched to the occasional pole so that they hung high up. Looking closely, it almost looked like the staff cabin had been converted into the farm entrance. It even retained the little plastic windows, though those were so stained with dirt and weathering that it was as if they'd been painted on.

The more Kayla looked, the more the age of this world revealed itself. Weeds, grass and flowers dominated the railway, even growing between the concrete slabs that made up the platform. Signs were all faded with time or toppled over into strange shapes, far too damaged to make out any text they had on them. Even in the distance, the railway uselessly battled for supremacy against the greenery, half-buried in the endless fields that surrounded them. Further back from that, Kayla could make out some faded mountains and even a few cabins.

"It's… gorgeous," she whispered. A cool wind took her by surprise, to which she relaxed. The air smelt cleaner than anywhere else she'd been, and the sunlight was pleasant, both in warmth and light. Something about all this nature claiming human designs filled her with energy.

"We follow the road east. This way," May instructed, hopping down to the railway. The soil was so high that the railroad planks either couldn't be seen, or weren't an issue as the ground was flat.

Road? They don't think the tracks are an actual road, do they? Kayla giggled at the thought. She skipped ahead to the front, and took a loud breath in.

"You're in high spirits all of a sudden," Shannon commented.

Breathing out, Kayla took another look around. She could spot all kinds of details in this world. Herds of ferals in the distance, entire blocks of bright flowers, even what looked like a vehicle flying in the sky. That made her gasp and skip off-road to try and get a better look. There really was what looked like a train gliding across the sky, but it was so far away that all she could see was its silhouette. "What's that?"

"Oh yeah! It looks like a train!" Kari remarked, stood on her tail.

"Gods, you two can be real country bumpkins," Pola snickered.

"It's the DD Skyway. A transport service that covers most of Isnomia's mainland," May explained. "Quite a prestigious service, however. I've never been on it."

"A train that travels through the sky? That does sound expensive," Kayla turned to her. The group kept walking, so she promptly caught up to walk with them.

"If you're curious, it uses rails just like the ones above us right now, only sturdier. It only goes to major locales however, so there's no chance of us getting one from here," she added.

"Oh pickles," Kari puffed out her cheeks. "Not that I mind walking, of course! Just, I think it'd be fun to ride a train in the sky. It sounds so cool!"

"Wait so what's this, then? Is this like, an abandoned route?" Pola shrugged.

"These old rails?" May went quiet. She looked as though she didn't even give it a thought.

"… Well?" Pola said.

"I couldn't care less. They aren't useful to me, after all."

"Just say you don't know!" Kayla giggled. "These are human railways, I'm pretty sure."

"More human stuff? All the way out here?" Kari gasped. "But this isn't a mystery dungeon, is it?"

"Of course I don't have any proof, and I dunno why they'd be out here but… reminds me of the highways in Twinight. Actually, there's kinda been a lot of human stuff in Isnomia."

"And yet, we know nothing about that human that wants you," Pola grumbled.

"Not like I haven't tried. You've seen what she's like," Kayla sighed and slumped.

"This is super cool! I'm getting all giddy just thinking about it," Kari started springing along beside them. "Finding all kindsa stuff like this is why I wanted to go on adventures. And this is that! An adventurous mystery! I could just… just!"

"You as well, huh?" Kayla laughed.

"Ooogah, I'm gonna burst!" the Furret threw her arms up and wide. "I love being alive!"

"Can't believe they're this excited about old trains and shit. Man, I'm surrounded by kids," Pola grumbled.

"Are you okay, Pola?" Mog asked. Pola had started to fall behind a bit.

"Hmm? Yeah I'm just peachy…"

"… I know following May wasn't your choice, so excuse me for being a little worried," The Swoobat sighed.

"Ah, I don't actually fully get what's goin' on, y'know. But it's just like, she was part of a terrorist group. Ashe as well. Why are we taking this so lightly?" she folded her arms. "Hell, why do you care? You wanted to destroy the world and all that."

"I didn't want to destroy it; I wanted to build a new world. Turning my dreams into reality," Mog turned away, and then shook herself. "It is a lot to take in, and we don't really have much choice. For me, it's just safer to follow someone who knows more about the world than I do."

"… Y'know what? You're not very independent, are ya? Startin' to piss me off," Pola started walking on all fours.

"Huh?"

"You talk like that a lot. Gave yourself up to Netherworld back in the prison, too. Like, damn girl, grow a backbone," Pola said. Mog uttered a response. "You didn't even object to Kayla not giving you a vote. So, what's your take on this? You really just gonna trust everyone blindly 'cos you think they're smarter than you?"

"I…" Mog squeaked. She slowed down so much she almost tripped, making her flutter just above the ground to catch up. "I barely have that luxury, do I? I ruined a lot of Pokémon's lives… the only thing I can do with my time is try to make up for it. That's why I joined your team. I thought this was how I could help."

"Must be easy living like that," Pola rolled her eyes. "That petty wannabe goodie act doesn't do you any favours for me, y'know. I'm still onto you."

"I… all I can do is…" Mog muttered. She gasped lightly as if she just had a thought, but went quiet.

"I can't take it anymore!" Kayla cheered at the top of her voice.

Before anyone could respond to her outburst, she took off at high speed, heading straight for that field of faraway sunflowers. She sprinted so fast she made it in a matter of seconds, stopping on a dime to smell them. Fresher and filled with pollen more than any other flower she'd ever smelt, and that only served to fuel her even more. She walked right up close, observing tiny Caterpie nestled on the heads of the flowers. Camouflaged in the middle of the field were a couple of Beedrill too, mostly given away by Beautifly fluttering around.

"You guys, wanna see something cool?" Kayla asked, gesturing to listen for a reply. None came. "Well then, feast your eyes on this!"

Taking off at high speed again, she began to circle the field continuously, kicking up a strong wind. Petals and leaves began to trail after her, allowing her to draw a spiral out of leafy colours. The Pokémon stopped to watch in awe, which only egged her on. Speeding up even more, the petals began to circle the area in a big hurricane, which Kayla stopped in the middle of. She stomped the ground, making those petals explode in the pattern of a yellow rose all around herself. Kayla fell back into the soil as the petals rained around her, laughing aloud.

A few of the Pokémon loomed over her, many with expectant eyes. She could tell they were young and didn't have any threat. "Sorry guys, once-in-a-lifetime show!"

She took off back to the railroad, still giggling to herself, where she spotted Kari hold up a paw and blow a whistle. She stopped in front of the Furret so suddenly that she shook like a stick.

"The hell are you doing?" Pola said.

"Going for a run."

"In case you didn't notice, this isn't a holiday. We're technically on the run here," Shannon complained.

"I just don't want ya to get lost. We should stick together," Kari said.

"Aww c'mon Kari, give it a try! There's plenty of space here!" Kayla snickered, speeding off again.

"Ack-wait! Oh for gods—" Pola was about to curse, only for Kayla to return a couple of seconds later. "WAH! What the- how did you—"

"There are fruit trees a couple miles over there. Here, you like cherries, right?" Kayla offered her fluff.

"Oh no, not the fluff pockets again!"

"Wait, cherries?" Kari perked up, helping herself. Out of Kayla's fluff came a couple of green apples and a handful of cherries, plus an aged oran berry.

"Oops. That one's mine," she said, kicking it up into her mouth.

"But that was—" Shannon tried to object, but she swallowed it quickly. He sighed in defeat. "Steal them from ferals if you've got to, but go find me an acorn or two."

"Acorns, comin' right up!" Kayla took off again.

"Wait, I want in too!" Kari laughed. She stretched her paws and feet to make herself really tall, allowing her to leap across the plains quickly.

"Whoa, Kari!" Pola gasped as she was shoved aside by the sudden enlarging. Kari either didn't hear her or was too busy giggling to herself. "What's gotten into everyone?"

"I don't think I mind it. They're happy," Ashe smiled.

"There's no law that says we have to be miserable thanks to our situation," May smiled. "Truth to be told, being surrounded by so many edgy children is bad for my complexion."

"Edgy childr- tsk, look who's talking!" Pola spat.

"Speaking of the Twinight Woods, this feels like a reverse of that time," Shannon stopped to stretch. "I'm surprised you aren't taking it easy."

"Two terrorists, a former archfiend, the world's dumbest Furret, the queen of big bitches, and you, the only good-looking thing for miles. Excuse me for not feeling at home," Pola grumbled.

Silence fell for moment, until May spoke up, her signature smug grin returning. "Which one is Kayla?"

"The queen, obviously."

"Ah, I thought that one was you, since you seem to be doing all the complaining around here," she said.

"She's got you there," Shannon added.

"Rgh- fglkl- fu-fuck you guys too," she grumbled.

"Um, pardon me but… I didn't realise Kari could stretch like that," Mog said, eyes widened. "Couldn't she just carry us the rest of the way?"

The whole group stopped dead in their tracks, eyes widened as well.

…

When Kayla and Kari returned from their little forage, that was exactly what they did. Stretching her body to tall and wide proportions, Kari ferried the group across the fields, having to walk alongside the railway to avoid hitting the wires and poles. At first, Kayla ran alongside them, frequently diverting from the path to check out every little distraction she could find, many of which didn't seem to be marked on their map. There wasn't anything spectacular – small caves that were habitats, clusters of trees that weren't quite forests, and even a couple of lakes connected to a thin river.

Eventually she retired to Kari's back with the others, though she couldn't tear her senses away from the surroundings. No matter where she looked, there was something alive. This was a world all its own – not a world of battle or a mystery dungeon, but Isnomia itself. Flocks of bird Pokémon with a whole lifetime of travel behind them, local plainsman who fenced in all these landmarks, even retired Pokémon who took care of the cabins. The group didn't stop for the latter, but that didn't stop those elderly faces from giving a friendly wave as they passed.

One day, I'm gonna have to visit all these places, Kayla promised herself. The railroad beside them was beginning to fade into the earth as they progressed, with lumps overtaking the rails and wood planks. "Kari, how're you holding up?"

"I'm okay," she said quietly.

"Uh, that sounded a little deflated. You hungry?"

"No, I'm fine. Really," she perked up a bit. "I'm just not fond of being giant and stuff for so long. What if I step on someone and don't notice?"

"Saves fighting ferals," Pola commented.

"There's not much further to go, so you won't have to worry about that. You've done impeccable work, Kari," May informed, nestling in the middle of Kari's head. "Straight that way. Follow the road."

"Oh, it ends," Shannon said. "Is that a junkyard?"

The end of the railroad lay in ruin, but the buffer was still intact, covered in moss, rust, and other weathering. Broken poles made the overhead wires dangle, but there wasn't any electricity. It all made for a makeshift gate that was more rustic than ruin, Kayla thought.

An unusual contrast to the heaped mountains of trash not far behind it. Broken vehicles, sheets of material, wrappers, old toys – countless items she could recognise made a series of mountains and hills ahead, even taller than the stretched Kari. A valley of dark soil weaved into those mountains, with the light howl of a chilly breeze being the only hint of what awaited ahead.

"Uh, I can't fit," Kari said.

"It's preferable to walk from here, anyway," May informed. The others exchanged nods and hopped off, letting Kari shrink back to normal size.

"Is this seriously it? This is your hiding spot?" Pola asked. "I'd have taken my chances with the farm!"

"This place is Nowhere Scrapyard," May began, taking the lead.

Something about her seemed more relaxed than usual, although Kayla couldn't help but be wary. She could hear voices in the distance. Unsettled shouting and even the threat of attacks, but not enough to be called ferals or a battle. Hopefully that's just the Pokémon at work…

"You remember the homeless in the slums of Hammock, don't you? Here is what you get when those Pokémon are able to either travel out of the city, or fail to make it to the city," the Pichu explained. The group reached a makeshift gateway. A Mawile and an Armaldo stood either side of it, each with wide spears forged from junk. They crossed their spears over the entrance as the team approached. "There's no need for that now, is there?" May greeted.

"Wait, you- May Curtiss?" Mawile gasped.

"The one and only. The myth. The legend," May shut her eyes.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your tiny face back here. A step further and I'll tear you limb from limb," Armaldo growled.

"Whoa, friendly welcome," Kayla came forward. May put an arm out to stop her.

"You know the rules of the scrapyard as well as I do. And as it just so happens, I am only here temporarily. We'll need to borrow your services during that time, but that's no less a reason to turn us away," she said, her smirk as snide as ever.

"Nng… f-fine. I'll stay my blade if ya can deal with that noisy couple in there," Armaldo stepped back. Only then did Kayla realise he was missing a claw. "Came 'ere earlier spouting some nonsense 'bout crystals, and have been bickering ever since."

"Hard to get a good night's sleep since they got here," Mawile added.

"Sleeping on the job isn't very fitting of you," May commented as she turned to everyone. "Well, you heard them. We deal with a lover's quarrel; we get to hideout here for a while. Sounds like a you-know-what is active here as well."

"You're kidding!" Pola snapped with a paw to her forehead. "There's actually a crystal den? Here of all places?"

"Sounds like a win-win to me. Let's go," Kayla tried to shrug.

"I know what you're thinking. I promise, it's homelier than it looks," Ashe informed. That still earnt a grumble from the others as they followed May in.

It only just occurred to Kayla that this was another world all its own. The scrapheaps beside them seemed to change the colour of the sky, while casting a sickening chill that made her fur tremble. The sunny, energizing greens of Isnomia's countryside had been usurped by the black and white junk mountains, while the sky scrolled by with a red glow. At the very least, the soil felt not much different to before, even though it looked charred and lacked weeds.

The further in they went, the windier and more confusing the valley got, but the voices became clearer. Kayla caught on to the aforementioned argument quickly, as did May probably, as she seemed to follow the voices to guide them through the maze. Soon enough, they emerged into a clearing, where May stopped so suddenly that Kayla bumped into her.

"You come here on our mission, you follow our orders. No ifs, ands, or buts. You're aware of the way we work, and nothing has changed on that front," a Morpeko stated, his voice monotone, low, but hinting the slightest bit of threat. A Tinkaton jovially slinked behind him, arms tucked behind her head.

"Yeah, yeah, you're a big ol' commander and all that. But you should get that I'm a gal for hire. I play by my rules. As long as we both get what we want, who caaaares?" she whined, wriggling her whole body. Both turned as the group arrived, and instantly, the colour drained from May. Seeing that, the Morpeko came forward, a familiar pose of arms tucked behind his back.

"Hello, May."