Chapter 93 – Protect
Everything—his muscles, his bones, his scales—it all hurt. Stung, ached, cried in pain, but that was nothing compared to the shame that twisted his stomach in knots. A gentle breeze scattered flower petals into Owen's face, a few covering the little cuts and scrapes over his body. There was a particularly bad welt on his right side where Onix had struck him into the sandy ground. The final hit that had done him in…
The battle flashed through his mind. Duos falling to the first attack, the rocks pinning him on the ground. That was an instant withdrawal. Then Owen came, and he struggled past the Geodude with difficulty, but it was enough. Then that great, rocky serpent emerged. It was over before it started; Owen had never felt his flame shrink so much from fear alone.
Another breeze rustled the grass. The view was at least something to appreciate. They had found a high point of the town, hiding under a few trees. Ahead, the orange rooftop of the healing center taunted him. Owen didn't want to go there. And even when Tim insisted he did, Owen refused, though Duos got healed.
It was twisted, but Owen enjoyed the feeling of the pain of battle. To have it healed away would wipe away the experience. The catharsis of this aching, the ability to heal it all on his own, and not with the magic the humans knew… He wanted that, at least for this fight.
Tim was a good trainer because he listened.
Or maybe he was a bad trainer because he let him stay hurt.
But now Tim was writing in a book. He always did that, usually in the afternoon, maybe the evening. Blank boxes under strange words that he didn't know how to read. The human language didn't make any sense. Apparently, it was some sort of work he had to do with his adventure so he could do adult human things later in life, like a job. Whatever that was.
"Owen?"
He immediately curled up. He didn't hear that. Just like he didn't hear Tim's command in time to dodge. Or jump, or duck. He didn't deserve his name.
"Owen, I'm done with my homework."
And he wasn't done being a bad Pokémon. Owen curled up tighter, but realized too late that a whimper had escaped him.
Soft fingers brushed his back and he yelped. Tim quickly pulled away.
"Sorry," he said. "Is that a sore spot?"
Yes, saying his name was a sore spot. And that part of his back hurt a little, too. "I failed you," Owen mumbled.
"Hey, don't be so upset," Tim said, and the fingers returned, this time gently around his side. That part wasn't bruised.
He didn't resist, but he was dead weight, making certain that Tim would know he wasn't interested in being coddled. He failed, and it was that simple. Even with his human help, he was useless; there was no way he could have won that fight. Because he wasn't good enough.
"I'm sorry I lost that fight," Tim said.
Owen's brow furrowed, little scales rubbing against one another. Was Tim fighting Onix, too, and he didn't even notice that? How did humans fight?
"I froze up and didn't direct you in time. I got scared and didn't know how to react, and you got hurt because of it."
Tim ran his fingers gingerly down Owen's back. Shadows and light danced around the grass, tree leaves waving above them.
"You don't want me to take you to the Center?" Tim offered.
"No."
"You don't want to rest in your ball?"
"No."
Down the hill, two humans fought alongside their Pokémon. Training for the Gym, probably. A Geodude and a Rattata. Would either of them do well against Onix? So far, Geodude was winning, hefting Rattata in the air like a plank of wood.
"Owen, I want you to know something. Okay?"
He'd consider it, so he listened in silence.
"Don't be mad at yourself. I can tell you're sad because Onix won, but it wasn't your fault."
Human hands were so soft. From the back of his neck to the base of his tail, Tim made gentle, long strokes along Owen's scales. The tight ball that he had curled himself into slowly loosened. His tail flopped lazily over Tim's thigh, and he used Tim's knee as a rest for his chin.
"But I was the one who lost," Owen said. He wondered if Tim understood him yet.
"You and Duos were… disadvantaged, and I didn't consider it'd be that bad until it was too late. It's my fault. So…"
Tim's voice quivered. Suddenly alarmed, Owen turned his head to look up—Tim had turned his head away at the same time, jaw clenched and brow furrowed.
"I'll do better next time," Tim said. "I'm—I'm sorry I put you through that. Made you take the loss because I don't know how to battle."
Why was he apologizing? Humans… knew everything, didn't they? Pokémon just had to execute their attacks perfectly, and he failed. He failed to even listen. Onix followed his commands perfectly.
Fighting that Onix, Owen had frozen up completely. Tim had given clarity, something to follow. And then… Owen failed. He had hesitated.
"No!" Owen suddenly chirped, rolling tiredly until he was facing Tim more directly, though now Owen was awkwardly on his back. His tail flicked against the ground and he pointed up at Tim, whose head eclipsed the sun. "You… just have to yell louder! And I… have to listen more!"
"What?" Tim asked, his eyes drying ever so slightly. He sniffed and wiped his face, then smiled. "What, I just have to give my commands faster? Sure, I'll try…"
"Then… we both will do better."
"I will, I will," Tim said, his expression brightening. "Hey, it's good that the fight's still in you. Don't lose hope in me yet, okay?"
One day, Owen hoped Tim would actually understand him. But for now, that would do. His arm flopped down, he nodded at Tim, and then curled up in his lap again. Another breeze filled the air with flowers, and the Rattata, in a surprising upset, knocked the Geodude down and then out.
Owen's eyes fluttered, head blearily tilting to the soft part of Tim's thigh.
Maybe he really was a good trainer.
"Found you."
With a tired groan, Owen opened one eye and saw that girl with the Dratini again. Her human name eluded him.
"Ayame?" Tim said.
"Saw your fight," Ayame said, and the Dratini around her neck gave Owen a teasing stare. "I'm moving on to the next Gym, but I wanted to give you a little boost."
"I don't need a boost, I need to train more."
"If you want to brute-force it with pure power, maybe," Ayame said, "but then you'll never catch up to me."
"Since when was I trying to keep up with you?" Tim asked.
Owen growled.
"I can tell. You boys are easy to predict."
Owen didn't know what she meant, but for some reason he felt offended.
"Here." Ayame handed over a compressed Poké Ball.
"What?" Tim looked it over, hesitant to open it.
"Little guy accosted me as I left. Liked being with a winner, I guess. But I only need Ire."
Ire raised his head in the air proudly.
"So, I offered to show him someone who might need the help. Like I said, bringing a Pidgey and a Charmander to the Pewter Gym is pretty boneheaded."
Boneheaded? That was a good thing. Owen's father would have taken Onix down easily.
"Just consider it," Ayame hinted. "I'm not gonna wait for you if you take too long getting to the next Gym. See you."
And just like that, she left. Ire curled around her and spat a plume of indigo fire in the air, then squeaked a taunt Owen's way. "Bye, not-dragon!"
He didn't like that.
The flight over the Nil Plateaus was long and tiring. How the scouts had scoured such a place so thoroughly, Owen didn't know. Groggy from his in-flight nap, resting in a passenger bag that was pinned under Xypher's chest, Owen carefully crawled out and looked down.
That was a mistake, and Owen's stomach felt ten times heavier.
"W-we're flying really high!" Owen said. "I thought that was d-dangerous here?"
"Risk management," Hakk said from above, though Owen couldn't see him. "Right now, we're flying fast with a high-power scouting device so we can avoid any Titans. It's not like there are a whole lot of them. We're also tracking down the general direction of auras like yours, but those aren't all that accurate. Do you feel anything yet?"
It was hard to concentrate when the ground looked like a giant, purple ocean speckled with black. "No, I don't," Owen said.
"Hrm, guess she's still far ahead," Hakk said. "How much did she Teleport. Hmm, Ralts, single person, but low power… She probably would be able to outpace anyone on foot, but not enough to lose a Titan. Tch. And eventually she might have to hide to recover her energy, if she has any in her…"
"Mom's strong," Owen said quickly. "I never saw her Teleport before, so maybe she never had to, but…"
"As a Ralts, it might be instinct for her to fall back on it," Hakk concluded.
"The scoutin' call we got says so," Marshadow called, and Owen peeked out a little more from Xypher's bag to find whoever was carrying him. Eon—a Flygon. And beyond Eon was Gahi, and Trina on his back, deep in concentration.
"How long have we been flying?" Owen said. "Is it my shift yet?"
"Not yet," Marshadow said. "Get more rest."
Rest did sound nice… "Okay, but—wake me up when you need me."
"Yeh."
"Trident!" Tim shouted, "Double Kick!"
Ayame sighed. "Ice Beam, Ire."
Trident, a Nidorino with deep, purple quills, shrieked and curled into a ball, shivering in the frosted ground. All around them, like a hallway, were tall bunches of grass—dwarfing even the humans, let alone Owen.
Tim winced and withdrew him in a flash of light, staring apologetically at the Poké Ball once the light faded. "You did great, Trident. Don't worry about it."
Trident was headstrong—even more than Owen, who now stood at hip-height with Tim. Never a fan of staying in his ball for long, Owen shifted on his feet while his flame hummed loudly behind him. Duos had already been taken down by the same move, and while Owen had planned to go next, Trident's ball had wiggled in protest. Tim couldn't ignore him.
So much for that.
"What do I do now?" Tim said desperately. "It's just one Dragonair. That's all she has! Why is she so hard?!"
"Before the holidays, please!" Ayame called, tapping her foot. "I can see the leaves changing!"
Ire stretched his coils and fluttered his tiny head-wings. Occasionally, he glanced at Owen, flicking his tail so the orbs at the end glowed forebodingly. Owen's flame glowed in kind.
"I can't send Ivy out yet," Tim said worriedly. "She's not ready—she practically just joined us…"
And that meant Owen was the last one Tim was willing to send out for this battle.
Owen reached out to Tim and grabbed him by the hand. "My turn," he insisted.
"Right…"
The Charmeleon furrowed his scaly brow. "Stop being scared."
"I—I'm not worried that you'll lose or anything," Tim said. "I just… I don't get it. She's unbeatable. She's way too strong! Dragons are…"
"Do you give up?" Ayame said, and Ire looked very displeased at the possibility.
"I only have one more Pokémon that I want to send in. My fourth, Ivy, she's… not ready yet, for, um, for Ire."
"That's fine. Ire wanted to fight Charmeleon the most anyway."
"C'mon!" Ire insisted.
Trident had gotten a good hit in before getting Ice Beamed. This gave Owen a head start. "Okay," Owen said, stepping forward while his flame blazed. "Let's go!"
"Ire, start off with a Thunderbolt!"
Owen knew that word from the last time they had fought—it hadn't ended well—and rolled to the right the moment the electricity crackled. The sparks singed the ground, and Tim shouted something that sounded like Dragon Rage, so that was probably it.
Indigo flames bubbled in Owen's throat—these flames tasted sour compared to the sweet warmth of his normal flames, but that only meant he had conjured the right ones. Getting close, he blasted Ire with the plume, small streaks of blue decorating the landscape between them.
"Again!" they both shouted.
This time, Ire didn't miss, and the hot, sharp sting of electricity locked Owen's legs. He pivoted to his side and used his longer arms to prop himself up, blasting Ire with another one—but he had disappeared. Where did Ire go?
He looked back at Tim for advice, but he seemed equally confused. Ayame smirked, then shouted, "Extreme Speed!"
Something struck Owen on the left.
Owen tumbled onto the ground and woke up to the sound of loud squawking.
"Xypher!"
"He fell! Fell, fell!"
"Ugh—what—what?" Owen groaned, too disoriented to move.
"Hey, it's alright, we aren't under attack," Hakk said. "We just landed and you fell out of your bag."
"Sorry. Sorry, sorry," Xypher said in a whisper. "I didn't mean to. I didn't, I di—"
"It's okay, it's okay," Owen said, raising a hand weakly, and at first, he thought it'd be longer. But no, he was a Charmander. Those dreams were getting distracting…
"…dn't," Xypher finally finished, like he had been holding his breath.
Owen gave Xypher an odd look, and Xypher puffed out his feathers, muttering something else in his triple-repeat.
Owen nodded slowly. "It's okay, Xypher. I'm fine."
When Xypher relaxed, so did Hakk.
They had landed in a small cave, dimly lit only by Owen's flame and a few of those of crystals that Marshadow had brought as 'bait' for the Titan. He couldn't sense anything nearby, but Amia still felt like she was vaguely south. It felt like it wasn't getting closer or farther.
"I guess it's my turn to stay awake? Why did we land?"
"Tired," Hakk said. "Can't fly safely while we're asleep."
"But Mom's—"
"We tried to get to her in a day, but we couldn't," Hakk said simply, and then looked to Marshadow for support.
"'Fraid those're the facts," Marshadow said with an apologetic nod. "Hope we c'n find her tomorrow, but if we press now, ain't gonna be strong enough fer the Titan chasin' her. With any luck, she'll evade it and find some time to rest, too. She can use Teleport, after all. Real evasive, Ralts."
Eon's eyes in particular looked very heavy, but Owen didn't want to look at them for long. For one, they reminded him of how tired he still felt. And to add, it was Eon, and…
"Owen? Are you okay?" Eon asked.
That was it. "I'll keep watch outside." Owen wobbled to his feet.
"Are you sure?" Eon asked, standing up.
"I'll be fine on my own," Owen said immediately, not looking back. He wanted to say thanks for the offer, but his throat was paralyzed the moment he tried. Instead, he quickened his pace toward the exit, finally emerging to the purple landscape of the Nil Plateaus. This portion of the region had denser formations; the Titans would have to go single-file between them, not that Owen had ever seen two in the same place before.
Finally able to clear his head, and hearing Gahi and the others settle down, Owen relaxed next. He listened for the distinct, hesitant, and heavy footsteps Eon would've made as a Charizard, or a Flygon, but none came. That was enough for him to loosen and relax.
"So, yer—"
Owen's flame tripled in size. With a slow breath, he brought a hand to his chest and looked to his right. "Please don't do that."
Marshadow, who had emerged from the wall, held up his hands. "Force o' habit, my bad."
Awkward silence followed, and Owen realized that Marshadow was trying to coax a statement out of him. Well, maybe he didn't want to talk about his feelings. Especially when he barely had a handle on it himself.
"If you don't want him ter bother you, say the word," Marshadow said.
It took a while for that to register. "What?" Owen blinked. "You're not—"
"I dunno what the deal is," Marshadow said. "But yer clearly uncomfortable. Maybe it was a mistake ter bring 'im. But we needed th' versatility, an' he's a Ditto."
A Ditto, right. That introduced a new thought. "Can Ditto turn into Titans?"
"Nope." Marshadow leaned back. "Too powerful, made of too many creatures. Even if he replicated one, it'd be too weak. Better ter replicate someone we know, utilize their abilities."
Just talking about him wasn't making him feel well. He looked ahead and nodded wordlessly.
"Need anythin'?"
"I'm fine, thanks," he said, and he hoped Marshadow wouldn't press.
"Yeh. Holler if yeh need me; we share a shift."
And he was in the wall again, and Owen watched with mild confusion. Nothing? Marshadow didn't ask or press for his opinion at all on Eon. Just… accepted it.
The silence was only accompanied by the occasional breeze across the dirt. No rumbles here, and it just occurred to Owen that he didn't even have a scanner like the one that Hakk had used when he'd been first rescued. That would be useful.
"Hey, Marshadow?" Owen eventually called. "Do you have that… scanner thing?"
"Yeh." Stepping out of the cave, he produced a small, circular device, a lot like a Badge, only with Necrozma's mark on it. "I use this fer alerts. It's got a buncha programs on it, so it's already gonna beep if there's a Titan that enters our range, and then it'll really beep when it's in the danger range where we should start movin' around."
Owen tilted his head when Marshadow pressed the center emblem. A split-second later, a circle of light appeared above it, and then melted into several icons and a green, monochrome map of Nil Plateaus.
"No Titans now," Marshadow said. "You'll know if there is one when it beeps. Guess until then, why not use it fer reading, maybe a game er two?"
"…For what?"
Marshadow tapped on the circle and pushed forward, and it disappeared into nothing. New icons appeared in a large rectangle. "We've got the same body type, so this is easy ter pass ter you without reconfiguring anything."
Owen hesitantly grabbed it. "What's this called, anyway? It's crazy how many things it can do…"
"We call it a Voidlands Protection Assistant, or a Veepa."
"Veepa. Alright." Owen prodded at one of the buttons, disoriented at the lack of tactile feedback, and pulled back. A new screen washed over the old, and suddenly Owen was looking at what appeared to be a series of rectangles on the top part of the screen, a single rectangle on the bottom, and a circle just above it.
"What's this?"
"Oh, that? Real old game that someone over in the Eastern district made. Spread like wildfire, became a must-have fer everyone, even if it's simple."
"I don't get it."
"Place yer claw near the bottom," Marshadow explained.
The lowest rectangle followed Owen's claw, and suddenly the circle was slowly bouncing off the upper blocks. Each one it hit either changed colors or disappeared completely.
"Go on, make sure that lower bar keeps the circle bouncin'."
But Owen was too slow, and the circle fell past the rectangle. A mournful sound came from the device. Owen suddenly let go of the bar and tried to grab the circle before it fell off the screen, but then it disappeared. "What? Where'd it—"
And then the circle reappeared above the rectangle.
"How'd it do that?"
"Y'guys don't have games where yer from?"
"Er, no," Owen said. "Wait—we do! But not like this. These are… I don't even know how this works. How does it make things I can't touch?"
"They're projections, kinda like a Zoroark's illusions. And the way it works inside?" Marhsadow shrugged. "Combination o' the basics. Porygon tech and a little bit o' conferred powers. Dunno the specifics, but it's real nifty."
Nifty was one word to use. Incomprehensible was another. "Hello?" Owen said. "Porygon? Let me know if you need anything." He gently stroked the side of the device.
"…Eh… it ain't actually a Porygon."
"Oh. Then who is it?"
"It ain't alive."
This was getting too confusing… "Um, you also mentioned reading?"
"Heh. Ain't surprised yeh'd be interested in that." Marshadow helped Owen navigate to another part of the device's capabilities. "Here, read up in this. It'll help yeh get familiar with Null Village, sorta a guide on all the facilities."
The screen washed to what looked like the virtual face of a book. Following his intuition, Owen tried to open the book—and it responded! Marshadow's smile suggested that Owen looked a little too fascinated by the tech, and tried to subdue himself. "Um—thank you,"
"When we're ready, we'll switch off so you c'n get some proper sleep, too," Marshadow said. "you only slept fer maybe three, four hours. If yer tired, let me know."
"Okay. Thanks, Marshadow. I'm… sorry I don't remember you clearly."
"Nah." Marshadow waved dismissively. "Happened ter all o' us. The fact you c'n get those memories back is the real miracle. Hey, y'know, shot in the dark: y'know about Gone Pebbles?"
Owen shook his head.
"Figured. Well, if you ever feel an object that seems to have a real strong, y'know, presence like yer powers and those like yeh… Lemme know. Not those crystals, I mean, they're valuable too, but… just pebbles and stuff… They're real valuable."
"What makes them valuable?" Owen asked.
"They're what can restore memories," Marshadow said. "One-use enchanted objects filled with power that can combat Dark Matter's curse."
Owen perked up. "Wait—does that mean if Zena were to use one—" But then he stopped himself, shrinking. "Or, um, or Xypher, for example, who probably barely remembers anything…"
Marshadow's smile only grew. "It takes a whole lot ter go up a class, let alone fully restore memories," he said. "But just a single memory is precious around here. Keep that in mind, y'know, when going around sayin' yer gettin' memories back. Might make folks envious."
The amount of empathy Owen felt from that statement alone was too strong for him to articulate. Instead, his throat tightened, and he nodded gravely.
"Looks like yeh get it." Marshadow winked. "Take care. Holler if yeh need me."
And so, Owen was left alone again.
Gone Pebbles… mundane items imbued with power. Where did they come from if this realm was so related to Dark Matter? And maybe even more importantly, why did he have those properties imbued within him?
He supposed that was something he'd have to think about later. He had a long shift ahead of him, and a lot of reading to do.
Bouncing in his Poké Ball, Owen was too weak to so much as struggle out of it. It was too tempting to rest and let the world fall into its warm darkness. But something was horribly wrong, too. This wasn't Tim's running rhythm. And this wasn't the happy, gentle presence of him, either. He was kept sealed in some strange capsule that went around his normal home.
A skid, a stop. Then a sudden jerking motion as his carrier ran in another direction. Something yowled, and then abruptly cut off, and he felt the presence—muffled and weak—next to him. Another Pokémon?
"OWEN!" Tim cried. "DUOS!"
All their names. Owen tried to wiggle out, but it was no use.
It was getting a lot harder to stay awake. Poké Balls didn't normally do this… did it?
Everything spun and suddenly light struck Owen's ball. More struggling, and he tried to shift his attention to the source. A Dragonair had sent a bright arc of electricity through a human in a dark outfit.
Ayame?
Someone picked Owen's ball up, and frantic, and then he was knocked over by Ire moving suddenly toward the carrier. This other human staggered and dropped Owen's ball, but then fled the other way with a Koffing spewing smoke in all directions. Suddenly, Ayame was coughing, but Ire was curling around Owen's ball like he was protecting an egg.
"It's okay," Ayame said to Owen through the ball, picking him up. "We'll get your friends back."
Tim was running toward them, but Owen was too tired. He finally gave in.
Gahi kept Owen on his lap, protective while he slept. Sure, occasionally the fire burned when Owen got excited in his sleep, but that wasn't important. It was unreal that he was right there, after all those days searching… And as a Charmander again. Yet Owen remembered.
And so did he. Not thinking much about it, Gahi draped the blanket that they had brought with them over Owen, and smiled when the little guy curled up more.
Trina was staring at him and he'd only now noticed. Freezing, Gahi frantically searched for an excuse, but then the Snivy looked back outside the cave.
"I don't sense anything. Do you?" Trina asked.
Gahi hesitated to answer, words escaping him. Then, "Nope."
"I suppose there's no use trying to until this radar tells us."
The sand here wasn't anything like desert sand. It was soggy, in a way. Soggy sand, somewhere between wet dirt and dry grains. It made no sense.
"How is Owen?" Trina asked, not looking back.
"Eh? Why should I know?"
"Well, you're taking care of him, aren't you?"
"N-nah, just making sure he's not—just making sure he doesn't run off."
To this, the Snivy looked back, giving Gahi a bored look. "Acting tough doesn't work if others can tell how you really feel."
"What's that supposed ter mean?!"
Owen groaned in his sleep and Gahi brought his head down.
"I mean," he added, speaking softly, "ain't like he'd be all that strong out there."
"Do you really think Owen would run off?" Trina said, frowning. "I don't understand why you're trying to act like you don't care about him. Is it some kind of social complex to be tough?"
"I dunno, just—" Gahi squinted. "What're you even getting at?"
She rolled her eyes and looked out again. Everyone else had gone to sleep. Marshadow was a black puddle near the backmost part of the cave; Hakk was curled up into a broken, spiked ball, like a miniature mountainside of glaciers. With his head tucked under his wing, Xypher also slept with the occasional caw under his breath. In his sleep, Eon had dissolved into a ball of pink slime in the other corner.
Trina never said anything in response, and Gahi growled, tempted to move away from Owen just to prove a point. But that wouldn't be worth it. Owen looked too cozy anyway.
"How long have you known Owen?" Trina asked.
"Eh? Fer a while, kinda-sorta."
"Mm. The memories?"
Gahi nodded when Trina looked back. "Choppy, spotty, y'know?"
"From what Marshadow told us," Trina hummed, "it sounds like Owen's history goes back a lot more than his creation at Eon's headquarters. In fact, he's from a world that isn't even our own."
Something was tight in Gahi's chest and he counted the rocks on the wall opposite to him. "Yeah."
"What do you suppose that means for the rest of your team?" Trina asked. "Team Alloy… Surely you weren't created just to complement Owen for a fusion."
"Eh?" That made sense, but it didn't feel relevant. "What, like we used ter be with Owen? I ain't got any memories like that."
"You said yourself that it was spotty," Trina said. "Do you suppose you're also from that world?"
But unlike Owen, Gahi hadn't gotten any memories like those, nor did he feel any particularly strong attachment to Eon the way Owen might have. Sure, he was tempted, but that was different, wasn't it? Without realizing it, Gahi was stroking Owen's back, and the little Charmander churred in his sleep, content.
"Owen's quite different from Har, too," Trina remarked. "I've never seen a Pokémon like us make so many feral noises before."
"Aah, he's just quirky like that," Gahi said. "It's cute."
A beat of silence.
"Eh—I mean, he's, it's weird, but it ain't like it's harmful."
Trina chuckled, bringing one of her tiny arms over her mouth. "It's okay, Gahi. You're allowed to care for a friend."
"Mrph." Gahi didn't move. "Fine, if yer gonna be like that…" Gahi reached down and brought Owen under his wings, cradling him. Trina's huge eyes widened just a little more, and Gahi defiantly made sure Owen was tucked cozily away. "What're you gonna do about that?" he asked Trina.
Trina gawked wordlessly, then tried to suppress a laugh. "I suppose I'll do nothing," she replied. "I never saw you as much of a caretaker."
"Well, maybe I am," Gahi replied back. "Li'l things are cute."
"Are they? Even bugs?"
"I mean, if they ain't loud," Gahi said, but even then, his words wavered.
"Then am I cute?" Trina teased.
"Stop tryin' ter trap me," Gahi growled.
"Oh, I must be enchanting." Trina made an overdramatic flourish of her tiny hands.
Gahi replied with an equally dramatic eyeroll, head tilting back for good measure.
Gahi's arms felt wet. Little streaks of tears connected Owen's cheeks to Gahi's scales, and suddenly nothing else mattered. "Hey," Gahi said, jostling the Charmander. "Hey, Owen."
Trina perked up. "Is he okay?"
"Mnn…" Owen blinked awake, but he was too groggy to tell what was going on.
"You alright?" Gahi asked. "You were cryin'."
Owen continued to blink, then closed his eyes again, curling up tighter. "Memories. It's okay."
Gahi was about to press, but Trina said, "You can keep resting. If you want to tell us about it later, you can."
Owen didn't look up, but the flame on his tail calmed. Gahi hadn't realized until then that it burned his belly a little.
"Thank you," Owen said. "I'll tell you later. I'm… sorry."
"Nah," Gahi relented. "I get it."
And he really did. When he had fused with Owen after their encounter with Eon in the Chasm, and the night that followed, everything that had come to him… Scattered memories, strange new feelings. Gahi wasn't going to force Owen to talk about that until he wanted to.
Owen settled back into a rhythmic slumber, and Gahi set him down beside him, fluffing up the blanket to instead become a mattress. That was even better, as Owen had settled into a tranquil slumber right after.
Trina moved to the other side of Gahi and settled there instead, probably because there was nothing of value to look at. "I do think what Owen is recovering is valuable, though," Trina said.
"Well, duh. It's who he is." The light of Owen's flame glimmered on Gahi's shimmering scales. "He never gotten ter be his whole person befer."
"Mm, yes. But I was more referring to what he knows about the past. It isn't hidden for no reason." Trina frowned, balling her hands up. "Dark Matter is what they called him. He erased some part of history. And I doubt he would do something that arbitrarily… An entity of pure evil? He seems too clever to just be a chaotic force. This was planned."
"Planned. Fer all these centuries?" Gahi shrugged; he couldn't wrap his mind around that scope. "Maybe he just wanted to cause trouble."
"Maybe Anam was preventing him from doing that," Trina said, "so he had to find some workaround for it. And it just happened to take this long. Think about it."
Gahi was about to retort that Owen was usually the one to do the thinking, but humored her.
"All these centuries of stagnation among the Guardians. Most of them were dormant until someone disturbed their Dungeon homes or was foolish enough to bother them. Eon had no idea where to look for us until recently, and at the same time, our Mystic glow became more noticeable."
"Eh?" Gahi tilted his head. "What? More noticeable?"
"Yes. Before, the glow was very subtle. And suddenly, we can barely hide ourselves. Suddenly, Anam loses his stability and Dark Matter runs rampant, just as nearly all the Guardians are gathered together. And to top it all off, it's also at the same time that Owen was able to repair his aura after the scarring that had happened when he'd first fused." Trina let out a quiet hiss. "I don't believe that can all be a coincidence. This was, somehow, coordinated from the shadows." She glanced over Gahi's thigh and toward the sleepy Charmander. "And what was erased from history might be the key."
Beep beep beep.
Their strange device was alerting them to something. On the map, a large, purple dot appeared on the bottom left of the radar, along with a flickering white dot that occasionally blipped ahead of the larger dot.
"Seein' as we've got some white dots in the center, that's us," Gahi said. "Figure that's Amia?"
"Yeh." Marshadow was already awake, walking to the badge.
"Someone's a light sleeper," Trina remarked, approaching Xypher and Hakk to wake them next.
"Yeh." Marshadow prodded Eon's puddle and looked back at Owen. "Don't wake 'im," he said.
"Eh?" Gahi was about to jostle Owen awake.
"It's his Mom, yeh? Might do somethin' stupid. Let's just fly an' get this done quick. No breakin' formation."
Gahi didn't agree with that, but he also was more interested in getting to Amia before the Titan did. He picked Owen up, a little rougher than usual, but even then the Charmander didn't stir. Disappointed, he approached a groggy Xypher and slipped Owen into the carrying pouch.
"Let's go," Marshadow said. "Time ter save Ralts."
"And you weren't able to escape your ball?" Arcanine asked.
Owen shook his head, but that made him dizzy, so he stopped and rested his head on the pillow. Strange wires were hooked up to his chest with some sticky tape—Owen didn't know what invention it was, but apparently it helped the humans make him better.
Tim was sitting in the corner of the room, out of tears and speaking to a woman with a lot of strange gear.
"Do you remember anything else?" Arcanine asked Owen.
"…They wanted to fight," Owen said slowly, each word a struggle. "We thought it was a normal battle. But when we lost…"
"Don't strain yourself," Arcanine said.
"What?" Owen followed Arcanine's gaze. His flame was dim. Sinking into his bed, he nodded again and stared at the strange machine next to him, making a very annoying, rhythmic beeping.
"Did anybody else travel with you?" Arcanine asked.
Owen nodded. "Five of us. Tim was looking for a sixth for a full team, but… b-but…"
"Take your time." Arcanine nodded.
"How's it going, partner?" the woman in the strange outfit said.
Arcanine looked back and growled disappointedly. "Same as the others."
"Nothing new, huh?" she clarified, and Arcanine nodded. "Okay. Well, Timothy, we're very, very sorry for what happened. We're on the case as we speak; we'll track down the rest of your team."
"Thank you," Tim said, but his voice was barely a whisper.
Owen was tired again. He looked to Arcanine. "I remember one thing," he said weakly.
"What?" Arcanine asked, and his human also looked toward Owen.
"They Pokémon they had… tried to attack my human."
"Attack your human?" Arcanine repeated, growling slightly. "They can't fight back."
Owen tried to sit up, but a gentle but massive paw from Arcanine kept him down. He relented and nodded, motioning to Tim.
"They tried to poison him," Owen explained.
"What did he say?" the Arcanine's human asked.
"They might attack trainers directly," Arcanine said, looking at Tim. He motioned to a scrape on Tim's arm.
The human's frown deepened. "These guys are serious," she said. "Okay. Thank you, Charmeleon," the human said. "You get some rest."
"Will he be okay?" Tim asked quickly, the loudest he'd been—loud enough that the beeps didn't drown him out.
"He should be fine," the human replied.
Arcanine looked to Owen and whispered, "Know any Fire attacks?"
"Of course."
"Hit me with one."
"Now?"
Arcanine nodded.
Owen hesitated, but then opened his mouth, sending a small wad of flames toward Arcanine. The flames encircled around his body and washed over his fur harmlessly, and Arcanine smiled.
"He's going to be fine," he told the humans.
The way Tim smiled, it seemed even he understood.
Owen awoke to an ear-splitting roar and learned soon after that he was airborne again. Suppressing a scream—not that anybody would hear it over the roar, Owen shrank further into the bag around Xypher's neck and braced when the Corviknight banked to the left.
"What's happening?!" Owen cried.
No answer. When the roar finally stopped, Owen found enough courage to look out. Only the empty, albeit narrower fields of Nil Plateaus. When Xypher turned back, though, the roar's source—while obvious—was now the only thing Owen could see.
Four legs, a long neck, and a mouth that stretched across its entire head. Its tail wound in a coil behind it and left large gashes in the ground. Mercifully, it was ground-bound. That didn't matter when their target was also stuck on the ground.
Right?
Where was she?
No Ralts in the field. Sure, they were high up, but she'd at least be a gray or green dot on the ground. It didn't feel like she was down there, either. In fact, it felt like she was to the—
And suddenly, they were banking to the left again. "That way!" Hakk shouted. "Up on the plateau! How'd she—gah! No! That one now!"
Perhaps as a Ralts, Amia was more prone to Teleporting. But she wouldn't be able to keep that up for long, would she?
"Wait!" Owen said. "If we keep flying toward her, won't we be leading the Titan right to her?"
His voice was drowned out by the wind and Xypher's wingbeats. They kited around the Titan, who seemed to be doing nothing but chase after Amia. Xypher gained more height; Owen mentally estimated how many seconds it would take for him to reach the plateaus if he freefell. About ten seconds. Could he survive that? Maybe if he—
Another sudden bank, and this time a beam of darkness bent the light around them, piercing the hazy skies to reveal more redness past the gray clouds.
"Oh, great, it can shoot stuff!" Hakk snapped.
"Keep pace!" Marshadow called from atop Eon.
"I can sense Amia," Trina reported. "Gahi, can you speed toward her?"
"On it!"
"WAIT!" Marshadow shouted, and then there was an explosion.
Owen peeked out from the bag again, looking for some way to help. Xypher was moving around too much. But he had a lock on Amia. The little Ralts, so thin and frail, had collapsed on the top of the plateau. Owen knew it; they were tiring Amia out by leading the Titan right to her. She had been hiding!
But where was that explosion coming from?
A Flygon, with a black haze and shadowy burns covering his body, was in a limp nosedive toward the dusty ground.
"Gahi—" Owen choked. Trina was falling through the air, vines grasping uselessly at nothing.
The other Flygon flew down with Marshadow to catch Gahi in midair. That left only Xypher and Hakk to advance, but they weren't.
"What're you doing?" Owen shouted up. "Get Amia!"
It was too late now; Amia was too tired to move. They had to get to her before the Titan did, so why weren't they?
"We can't break formation," Hakk said back. "Just stay put!"
"But the Titan will get Amia!"
"It'll get us if we go in now!"
So they were just going to let it?! Owen brought his head down to look behind Xypher; the Titan didn't have eyes, so it was hard to tell where it was looking, but its movements were toward the plateau with Amia.
It was going to get her.
"Xypher! Please! Can you dodge Titan attacks? I'll use Protect!"
"Your Protect isn't big enough for someone Xypher's size," Hakk said. "Xypher! We aren't risking ourselves without Marshadow."
"But! But, but!"
He was hesitating. "Xypher!" Owen begged. "Fly now! If something happens, I'll—use Protect! Throw me at it if it tries anything!"
"Do you have any idea how strong that thing is?!" Hakk hissed, but then the Titan roared, shaking the air.
Eon caught Gahi, and Trina wrapped a vine around Eon's neck to stop her own fall, but Gahi was barely conscious. They were descending for an emergency landing. It was just the three of them left. The Titan was still moving.
The plateau was only a few seconds away if Xypher had enough courage to fly that way. But he was hesitating. And of course he would. One more death and he'd be a Void Shadow. But he was so close. And that Titan was closer.
He wasn't going to lose Amia again.
"Xypher, fly a little way there!" Owen shouted, conjuring flames around his hands in the meantime. It was difficult and unwieldy, but he still had it: an airborne Fire Trap, a Flame Burst in a delicate sphere. "If it tries to fire at you, we'll run back!" A half-lie.
"Are you crazy?" Hakk said. "We can't load her on safely without a huge risk to our—"
The flames were gathering. "I have a plan! Just do it!"
Xypher finally started flying toward the plateau; the Titan noticed this and turned its attention to Xypher. Perfect—
Xypher was already flying away. "No!" Owen said. "It didn't fire yet!"
"I'm not dying for this!" Hakk snarled back. "Xypher, forget it! We're landing!"
"KEEP FLYING!" Owen roared, and then pressed the edge of his first conjured flame orb against Xypher's chest.
Xypher squawked and banked haphazardly toward the plateau and Owen let up, conjuring a second and then a third Flame Burst for later.
"Xypher! What's gotten into you?!"
"Hot! Hot, hot!"
"What—CHARMANDER! You little sh—"
Another roar, and Xypher dove down, narrowly avoiding another blast. When Xypher pulled back up, Owen knew he wouldn't be able to keep up his motivator toward Xypher now. "Sorry," Owen tried to whisper, but he knew they didn't hear.
With three Flame Burst spheres under his arms, Owen kicked out of his compartment, and suddenly he was falling with Xypher's former momentum.
No wings. Owen splayed his legs and tail out as far as he could; the wind drowned out all but the basics of Hakk and Xypher shouting, but he was more concentrated on his descent. He was lightweight and small and his terminal velocity was slow. But it wasn't enough; at this rate, he'd slam into the plateau's side than its top.
Good thing he'd prepared.
Owen shoved a Flame Burst forward and waited for it to fly behind him with his momentum. Then, his two other Flame Bursts in his arms, he braced himself and concentrated his thoughts toward the Flame Burst he'd left behind.
A violent, upward force sent him flying higher and even faster forward, tumbling and flipping as the sky became the ground and then the sky again. A roar followed, and then a shadowy blast struck where Owen would have gone had he not altered his path.
Twisting and flipping, Owen stabilized himself enough to tell that he was still not at a decent trajectory. Burst number two.
Another explosion sent him tumbling through the air, spinning so fast that he lost hold of his third burst.
He didn't need it. Hoping to break his fall, Owen swished his tail and tried to shift his angular momentum. The ground was a lot closer than Owen had expected.
He skidded over the dirt—the plateaus were covered in a thin layer just like the fields. And then, coming to a rolling stop, he saw something gray in his blurry vision, topped with green and red. Several seconds of blinking later, it was a Ralts.
Even though he was dizzy, Owen crawled to her, panting, and held her wrist. Her skin was so smooth, and a little cold, but she was breathing, and she pulled back in surprise.
"No, no, it's okay," Owen said hastily.
"What?" Amia replied. Her voice was so much higher.
"Your name is Amia. Do you remember that?"
"What? Of—of course I remember that, I… where's that monster?"
"It's—"
The whole plateau trembled. Owen fell to his side and Amia rolled a few feet toward the Titan; horrible, deep cracks formed at the edge of the plateau as the Titan tried to climb it. Given its size, it only had to get on its hind legs.
The plateaus being thinner at the base wasn't doing them any favors, and it seemed like it was intentionally trying to break it down.
Scrambling to Amia, Owen helped her to her feet, but she could barely stand. "Hey, hey," Owen said quickly, holding her up. "We have to get out of here. Can you Teleport us?"
"No," Amia replied breathlessly. "Also, wh—"
The ground rumbled again and Owen grabbed her, running back. "This way!" he said. "We need to get off of this plateau before—"
The whole surface lurched, throwing Amia and Owen into the air. By the time they fell again, the ground was well below them at a steep angle, and Owen clutched Amia's tinier body against his chest and rolled so his back faced the ground.
Then, he braced. The landing came right after, not as bad as he thought it'd be, but he didn't know why it was suddenly so dark.
"N-no," Amia squeaked, her neck craned upward.
The Titan was right above them. Up close, its details were so much easier to see. Each limb was made from countless, smaller creatures, faceless and writhing, several mini-limbs reaching toward Owen even though they were so far away. It raised one of its feet over Owen, revealing a hollow center.
Eon was crying Owen's name from somewhere.
It slammed down. Owen squeezed his arms tight and concentrated—a golden sphere formed around him, but the hollow foot pulled them inside anyway.
"It's g-gonna be okay," Owen whispered to Amia. "You're going to be fine, Mom. They'll get us. I j-just have to… t-to…"
The Protect flickered and his back pressed against the ever-shrinking barrier. He held Amia tighter. "I just got you back…"
Amia stared blankly, and then terror took over her voice. "What?"
He looked down at Amia, trying to smile despite it all. "I'm happy to see you again, M-Mom," he said. "S-sorry it had to be this way." The barrier was forming cracks, like it was some kind of glass. Owen squeezed his eyes tighter, and the cracks disappeared. He was getting a headache…
And then Amia spoke. "Who are you?"
The Protect shattered.