CONTENT WARNING:
This chapter contains depictions of blood and medical procedures.
"So yeah… I've been feeling weird ever since I got sick last time. What you said about my body not being made to hold psychic power is worrying me."
Ari sighed as he sunk deeper into the chair. He usually wasn't too hypochondriac, but his situation was far from normal and he didn't wanna risk it, so he and Nimb went to pay Louis a visit during recess to check on the results of the previous analysis he made on the Riolu.
Louis the Reuniclus was too focused on inspecting a sample tube on one of the workbenches of his science classroom, which he used for research whenever he wasn't at home. he wasn't exactly qualified for advanced medical treatment, but he at least knew the basics and this was a special case that doctors wouldn't be able to help with.
The room looked like a hospital, which was a bit unsettling for the brothers, with those reflective white walls and all kinds of medical science tools scattered around the workbenches. A plastic skeleton resembling a Kabutops hung from a pole in a corner, and Nimb had to make an effort not to look at it. It was kinda spooky.
"I understand the concern, but really, you seem to be mostly fine," Louis explained, setting the tube down and reading a document with the results of the analysis. "Your blood pressure is average, your defenses seem high… There's nothing concerning here. Well, except for the weird substance I found in your saliva that doesn't match anything I've seen before."
Ari's eyes widened. "W-what? What substance?"
"Reeelax, you're fine! Even if I don't know what it is, it doesn't seem to affect you in any negative way. It's just there… But I'd say it's related to the reason why you have psychic powers now, since… well, neither makes any sense. I'm sorry, Ari, I can't find an explanation for whatever is happening to you, I can only confirm that you'll probably be fine."
Nimb also looked concerned at that, and he grabbed Ari's arm. "P-probably?"
Louis smiled. "That's at least a 75% chance of being fine! But let me check real quick with a couple of questions." He extended his arm and exposed it to Ari. "How many fingers do I have?"
Ari narrowed his eyes, not because he couldn't see, but just in sheer disbelief. "Three." After a brief pause, he frowned. "Oh damn, you only have three fingers-"
"Correct! Alright, next question. Imagine there is a ladder by a cube. How large is it? And how is it oriented to the cube?"
"What? What kind of question is that? I don't know, it's a… ladder I guess, and why a cube? What the-"
"Okay, you're perfectly fine. Stop worrying that much, okay?"
Ari and Nimb exchanged confused looks. They weren't going to get anything from Louis, that much was clear. Ari sighed and rubbed his arm in discomfort.
"But… What if I have some virus that doesn't affect me but it could affect others? What if I'm passing it to Nimb? He's been literally all the time by my side since we met," Ari said as he side-eyed the Archen.
Nimb winced at that. Meanwhile, Louis brought his hand to his chin and thought about it.
"Hmmm… If you're concerned about Nimb, I could take a sample from him and run some tests as well. Would that make you feel better?"
Ari felt relief washing over him and he smiled. "Yeah, I would really appreciate that. Are you… okay with this, Nimb?"
Nimb eyed both of them, clearly not expecting to be the next test subject, but he complied. "Okay, if that makes you feel better, Ari… But I doubt he will find anything."
With that, Louis took more than just a sample from Nimb as he originally stated, making Nimb a bit confused at how he had to offer a feather and a bit of saliva, aside from the blood extraction, which almost made Nimb run away from the moment he saw the syringe. It wasn't really that painful, but he still yelled. A lot.
It was the first time Nimb went through such medical procedures and he wasn't a big fan of the experience. Back in Relic Park, whenever someone was sick they just used natural treatments with herbs and berries, and it worked wonders. Well, except for illnesses that threatened their lives. Some wild mon had to resort to visiting actual civilized medical centers since anyone was allowed to go there, at the very least.
Nimb kicked his talons in place as he sat on the chair after the samples were taken, observing Louis as he worked on the analysis. Ari tapped his foot down, getting impatient and thinking about what to say. They'd been silent for a while and it was getting on his nerves.
"You do know that the results are going to take a few hours to be ready, right?" Louis eventually said, placing a sample tube on a rack. "I'm finished here for now, but now we'll have to wait until the chemicals react before I can give any diagnosis."
Ari pouted. "Oh… Then we've been waiting for nothing. Nice."
Ari and Nimb bid farewell to Louis and left the science classroom, Nimb still rubbing his wing as he remembered the awful feeling of the syringe. But it was fine, after all, he was doing it for Ari.
"I really should punt you for this…" Nimb half-joked.
"Pffft, it's not such a big deal. Okay, what about this: I'll buy you some snacks later to compensate for this. We have a deal?"
Nimb's frown suddenly faded. "Deal."
Ari snickered at that and gave his brother a gentle pat on the back. "You're easy to please, you know? But that's not a bad thing. And it's cute."
"Oh, come on…" Nimb rolled his eyes and huffed. However, he stopped as his thoughts returned to a previous conversation. "Hey, Ari. About what you said earlier…"
The Riolu tilted his head. "Yes? What do you mean?"
"I mean what you said about me being with you all the time." He turned his gaze to look straight into Ari's eyes as if trying to detect any lies. "Am I really so clingy? Is it… bothering you?"
Ari was caught by surprise by the question, and he hesitated for a moment. He rubbed the back of his head and stuttered on his words. "I u-um, well you see… It's not like you're aaaalways with me! Only… Uh, maybe sometimes…"
Nimb frowned. "Be honest."
"Okay, since we met in the forest a few months ago, you've barely ever left my side, and you tend to get perched to my arm a lot. And so far I didn't want to separate from you because I know how anxious you get…" Ari took a deep breath. "... But yeah, I think that's not healthy. I'm sorry but… You're a bit too dependent on me. What if someday I can't be there for you?"
Nimb shivered at the thought. "I don't know… I don't wanna think about that."
Ari stared at him with a sad look for a long moment, until he leaned closer and rested both paws on his shoulders. "Hey, Nimb, I'm not saying something is going to happen to me. But I'd feel much better if I knew you can survive on your own."
"I understand…" Nimb looked away. "Does it mean I'm… too obnoxious?"
"What? No!" Ari quickly responded, almost offended. "I mean… I guess sometimes I'd like some privacy, but that doesn't mean I don't like having you around. You're my bro!"
The Archen looked back at his eyes, and he found no lies. Ari was smiling warmly at him, and he made sure to return the smile. "I see… Thank you, Ari."
Ari shook his head. "No prob, Bob."
"That's not my name."
"Uhhh right. Anyway, wanna go back to the courtyard?"
Nimb opened his beak to say 'yes', but something made him hesitate. Maybe that was a good moment to start maturing for good. He shook his head energetically and looked back at him with a determined look. "No, you know what? I think I'm going to try to be on my own for a bit. I'll catch up with you later."
The Riolu looked surprised at his sudden change of attitude. "Woah, are you sure?"
"Well…" Nimb looked a bit worried, but he needed to prove himself. "Yeah! Don't worry about me."
Ari smiled and leaned in to kiss Nimb's temple, then pulled him into a tight hug, feeling the warmth of his feathers brushing against his neck. "Okay, I'll see you later. I love you, dude."
Nimb returned the embrace, closing his eyes affectionately. "I love you too, Ari."
It was a good feeling. Two brothers caring for each other, together even when separated, no matter the situation. Nothing could break something like that.
After holding the hug for a long moment, Ari eventually let go of him and turned to leave, not before giving him one last affectionate look. Then, he was gone.
Nimb was now standing in the middle of the academy's corridor. Alone. In a place with other pokémon. That he didn't know.
That was fine. He was growing up fast! He was going to prove himself worthy and independent. He started walking in the opposite direction to where Ari went, not too sure of what he was doing, but it didn't matter, as long as it was on his own.
He kept walking in silence, observing a few passing pokémon while trying to avoid meeting their gazes. He took deep breaths, trying to keep his composure. Nothing was going to happen; after all, he'd been studying in that academy for months now. Nothing was new to him!
As he reached the end of the corridor, he turned the corner and was met with a sudden obstacle in his path. He bumped into something, or rather someone, and fell on his rear.
"Ow, ow, ow…" Nimb rubbed his beak and slowly opened his eyes to see whatever he had collided with. "S-sorry, I wasn't looking and-"
"Aaaaahhhh I'm sorry! Are you okay th… oh wait, it's you!"
The voice belonged to none other than Asher. The Cyclizar towered over Nimb with a worried expression, and he quickly went to grab the Archen to lift him up carefully.
"Asher! Uhhh I'm fine, don't worry."
Asher sighed in relief. "Good. I'm sorry, I've been a bit distracted lately and I wasn't looking."
Nimb tilted his head at him. "Distracted? Is something wrong? And… why are you here alone?"
"Ahahaha… Well, I could ask you the same, but… I've just been thinking a lot about my team, and how we've handled missions." Asher scratched his chin as he cast an embarrassed look at the Archen. "I don't know if I should drop this into you, but since you're an outsider to the team, maybe I could…"
"I'm not going to judge you. I'm all ears," Nimb said with an empathic smile.
Asher hesitated, but then he glanced at the smiling Archen and softened. "Okay, well… Would you walk with me for a bit, then?"
'Hmmm… No Ari doesn't mean no company, I guess,' Nimb thought.
He nodded, and both he and Asher started moving again, walking alongside each other. The Cyclizar eventually let out a deep sigh and explained his thoughts.
"So you see… I've been noticing that my team does most of the work on investigations lately. Whenever I try to give my own thoughts, I'm wrong, and it's always them who end up reaching the correct conclusions."
"Oh, that sucks… But from what I've seen, you're usually really good. I'm sure it's just a bad streak," Nimb reassured.
"I hope that's the case, but… It's been going on for a while. They've gotten better, but I'm still the same." Asher sighed, staring at the ceiling as he kept walking on his hind legs. "I wish I could prove that I can solve mysteries without the help of my team. That I've also evolved as an investigator, you know?"
Nimb frowned. "I get how you feel… I can't do anything if Ari isn't there with me. I've always had his help and I haven't changed since I moved to Bismuth Town…"
"Naaaah, I'm sure that's not true," Asher said, waving his claw dismissively. "I've seen you doing awesome stuff on your own a lot, like… Um… Well, there's that time that… Or maybe…" Asher trailed off.
"Exactly," Nimb said with eyes narrowed.
"Well, at least you're not with him now!"
"That's because I'm trying to change that now, but… I don't know if I'm going to prove anything just by walking around like an idiot."
Nimb sighed, and Asher looked at him with sorrow, trying to think of anything to say. He was supposed to be the one in a bad mood, not Nimb! He needed to change that.
Suddenly, a thought crossed the Cyclizar's mind, and he perked up.
"Wait… You wanna prove you can do anything without Ari by your side, right?"
Nimb titled his head. "Yeah…?"
"And I wanna prove I can do anything without my team," Asher continued. "Do you get where I'm going?"
The Archen blinked. "Uh… That we both suck?"
Asher pouted. "N-no! I mean that we should work together!" He grabbed Nimb's shoulders and smiled excitedly. "Doing things completely alone is probably a bad idea either way, and I think we both would work great as a team! What do you say?"
"H-huh? So are you suggesting we… Go do an investigation together?"
"Yeah!"
"Oh, well…" Nimb looked away for a moment, seemingly unsure. "I doubt they're going to let us do an official investigation without our teammates…"
Asher smirked. "Who said it's going to be official?"
Nimb opened his mouth to retort, but he stopped himself. That sounded like a terrible idea, but then again… He was supposed to be brave and efficient! He needed an actual investigation, not just walking out there on his own. So maybe this was his chance…
Before they could even think more about that, both Asher and Nimb were entering Maia's department, opening the door quietly to check nobody was there. The coast was clear.
Asher entered first, and Nimb followed, trembling a little as he thought of the implications of what they were about to do.
"Aren't we going to get in trouble for this…?" Nimb asked.
"I mean, if we solve a mystery, I'm sure they'll let that slide! It'll be fiiiine." Asher went to open one of the drawers on the desk but froze. His good nature didn't let him do it. "Uhhhh… You know what? Maybe you're right and we shouldn't be stealing confidential documents just like that…"
"I'll do it."
Nimb approached the desk in a sudden surge of determination, catching Asher by surprise, who stumbled as he let the Archen get closer. Nimb opened the drawer with a trembling claw and peeked inside.
There were a few folders with different contents for the classes and a specific folder that looked more important judging by the different colors. Nimb picked it up and opened it, staring at the contents.
"Hmmm… W-well, I think this is it. These are different cases that Maia received from the police to investigate, and she was likely going to assign us one of these soon. There are also… two different categories here, one that says 'acceptable' and another that says 'too dangerous'."
"So that means Maia picks missions that she thinks we can handle, and discard the rest, right?" Asher asked.
"I guess so. Let's see… Find a lost wallet, investigate a house with weird noises, interrogate a suspect of… trespassing? Damn, these cases look so boring…"
"Does Maia really think we can't do better than that, after all we've been through?"
Nimb shrugged. "Maybe she actually wants us to do missions from the 'too dangerous' category…"
"Then let's check them out!" Asher took the folder from Nimb's wings and revised the contents. "Hmmm… Nope, this one looks deadly, and then this one is… Oh! What about this?"
'Strange disappearance near Ilmestys Plateau. Rumored dangerous pokémon spotted around the area, attacked locals.'
"Dangerous… pokémon? Should we really do this one?" Nimb asked, a hint of fear in his voice.
"It says 'rumored', it might not be true. And that doesn't mean we'll run into it. Besides, we'd be saving a lost pokémon! I think this one is perfect!"
Nimb hesitated. Was he really going to tackle a mission like that? Well, it's not like he was completely defenseless, but still, this was a huge step to take on his own. What if something went wrong? Would Asher be enough to be safe from whatever danger was ahead?
Yes. He had to believe in him.
The Archen revised the document once more. "Alright… It says the missing pokémon is a Nuzleaf from the town. We'll have to go to Ilmestys Plateau, to the west, and ask the wild pokémon around."
Asher beamed. "Sounds like a plan! We're a temporary team then! Team… Besties!" He pulled Nimb into a hug, lifting him like a plushie.
Nimb blushed and patted the Cyclizar awkwardly, but nodded equally determined. "Y-yeah, Team Besties!"
The forest extended infinitely ahead of the duo, who luckily had brought a map of the area and were inspecting it closely. They reached an area with bigger spaces between the oak trees, which was easier to navigate, and let the sunlight bathe the area almost blinding them.
The terrain was a bit irregular, almost looking like it had several rocky staircases that weren't too high, luckily. It was easy to guess they were already at Ilmestys Plateau. What bothered them, however, was the unsettlingly low amount of pokémon they saw on their way…
"Asher… Is it me or the air is a bit unsettling? I feel like something's not right here…" Nimb asked, looking around with unease.
"I get what you mean, but we can't let that scare us! We're here precisely because we wanna prove ourselves, right?" Asher then lifted Nimb by his torso and gently lay him on his back. "Come on, I'll carry you! We'll be faster this way."
Nimb was caught by surprise and almost fell off, but he managed to balance himself on top of the Cyclizar. "A-alright, but don't go too fast."
Asher nodded and trotted onwards, inspecting the area in search of anyone to ask questions, which wasn't giving any results. No one seemed to live around there unless they were hidden, for some reason. They still had plenty of time to look, at least.
However, after turning a corner around a big rock, Nimb spotted something moving from the corner of his eye. "Wait, Asher! Go around there, I think I saw something!"
"Oh, there we go!" Asher quickened his pace as he went in the direction Nimb pointed at. "Heeeey, is there someone there? We just want to talk, we don't want to cause trouble!"
After getting past some bushes, the figure that Nimb allegedly saw became more obvious as another set of bushes rustled nearby. Asher followed the sound without wasting a second.
"Wait, Asher, what if you're scaring them by approaching so fast?" Nimb suggested.
"Oh…" He slowed his pace and kept approaching the bushes. "Please, we mean no harm, we're investigators! We're here looking for a lost pokémon!"
That seemed to do something. Whatever was between the bushes suddenly stopped moving, and there was a moment of silence as if it was considering something. Then, it moved again, and something peeked out from the thicket. It was a four-legged turtle covered in bushes of its own. A Grotle.
"You're… investigators?" The Grotle finally said. "You're actually going to help?"
Okay, they finally found someone, so it was time to ask the questions. Nimb hated this part, but he was here to prove he had matured, no matter the cost. So he took a deep breath and stepped down from Asher's back. How could he even start? Ari always did the talking for him, but he wasn't there. This was going to be hard, but…
"H-hello. Yes, we're Nimb and Asher, f-from… Team Silver and Team Riding Star, in Bismuth Town. We needed to get information but… we couldn't find anyone around here."
Grotle stomped a foot, looking annoyed. "Of course you couldn't find anyone. The locals that haven't disappeared yet are hiding to avoid being the next victims. We asked those townies for help weeks ago and they're just sending help now, and it's only you two. Talk about professional."
Nimb frowned. "Wait… It's not only one pokémon? There have been disappearances for weeks?"
"Oh, you don't even know? This is just perfect…" Grotle shook his head. "Whatever. We suspected there might be a feral pokémon around, judging by the roars we've heard a few times already."
"A… a f-feral?" Nimb asked, and he felt Asher's claw on his shoulder to calm him down.
"You think it's related to the disappearances?" Asher asked.
"Well… It might be. I really hope they're not… You know." Grotle looked away with a frown. "... Dead."
Nimb and Asher felt shivers down their spine. Maybe that's what getting a case from the 'too dangerous' section actually meant. Maia probably didn't want to put them in danger. However, they couldn't back down now.
"It's fine! We'll find everyone, and if there's a feral out there…" Asher stood on his hind legs and slammed a fist against his palm. "We'll stop it!"
Nimb gave Asher an unsure look, and the Grotle just stared for a long moment, unblinking. Eventually, he gave up and sighed.
"Alright… I really hope you two know what you're doing. I can't give you any more info, so I'll just go home for now. You two better not turn into the next victims…"
Just like that, the Grotle turned around and walked away, merging with the thick foliage. Nimb and Asher were left staring at each other with concern, probably thinking the same thing. If so many pokémon went missing, and they likely couldn't defend against the feral (allegedly), then why would they be the first ones to survive?
But rumours were rumours, in the end, and Asher made sure to remind both of them. It wasn't the first time they had to face some major threat either way, so they were going to be fine, probably.
Right?
Asher was carrying Nimb once again while they looked for any clues around the plateau, but the Archen was mostly thinking about that potential danger and another important detail the previous conversation had revealed.
"Hey buddy, you've been really quiet," Asher eventually said. "Are you okay?"
Nimb perked up. "Oh? Ah, it's just…" He frowned, his grip on Asher's back tightening. "What that Grotle said, it's been bothering me. He said many other pokémon had been disappearing for a while. Why is it that nobody has done anything so far?"
Asher pondered that, tilting his head. "Well, now that you mention it… Maybe nobody picked the case to investigate it?"
Nimb shook his head. "That's not how it works, Maia explained to me. Those papers we saw were recent, otherwise the police would have taken care of those investigations by themselves already. They usually take care of cases that could be really dangerous, and some of the safer ones are delivered to investigators like us, but they're always fresh cases."
"Fresh? So you mean…?"
"Exactly. The request to investigate this was made only now, despite the fact that there were many wild pokémon missing for a while now." Nimb's frown only deepened. "I don't know, it feels like they only decided to act when it was… a civilized who went missing."
The Cyclizar suddenly stopped in his tracks, making Nimb almost fall off again. He seemed to think about it for a moment, but his voice eventually came as cheery as always.
"Ahhhh I'm sure you're just overthinking! Not everything has to be a weird conspiracy, you know? Maybe you've been around Velia too much. Believe me, I have, too."
Nimb almost felt disappointed at that, but he couldn't argue about that too much, so he just sighed. "Maybe… But I'm not sure anymore."
Asher's smile faltered a bit at that. "Nimb… Listen, I'm sorry that you feel that way, but we can't know for sure what happened, so I prefer you to not dwell on that too much. I don't want my bestie to be sad!"
"Heh… Well, that's nice, I guess…" Nimb wasn't still convinced, but he couldn't suppress a small smile.
"Always, dude! We're Team Besties, after all! And we're gonna solve this and save both the civilized and the wild!" Asher said and then kept on moving.
Nimb blushed. "Okay, okay, haha…" The Archen took a deep breath and calmed down, eventually deciding to address his friend again. "Hey, Asher… Do you really mean it? With… Team Besties? Are we really… besties?"
Asher beamed. "Of course! I mean, Ari is now your brother, so maybe that spot is free now? If not, at least I consider you my bestie!"
"R-really? What about the rest of your team?"
"Well they're my friends too, but I think you and I understand each other pretty well," Asher said, turning his head to look at his friend on his back. He almost tripped while doing so.
"I guess we do, but… You're 5 years older than me. Doesn't that bother you?" Nimb asked.
"Why would it? A friend is a friend!"
Nimb only smiled at that. It was really nice to have someone like him around, and now he realized how much he was missing on that by being only with Ari most of the time.
"Thank you… bestie," Nimb said, and he leaned down to hug Asher's neck from behind.
Asher didn't say anything, and instead just gently rested his claw on the Archen's back with a smile. There was silence for a long moment while they just enjoyed the company. They could have stayed there for longer if it wasn't for what came next.
'ROOAAAAAAAARRRRRR!'
Nimb quickly let go of the hug and jumped, looking around in panic. "W-w-what the HELL was that?"
"Huh? I don't know... Maybe… There IS a feral out there after all… I wonder where it came from, there are no dungeons nearby," Asher said. "I hate that I'm about to say this, but… We should follow that sound, it's our only clue."
"Ugh, I know…" Nimb sighed and pointed forward. "I think it came from out there… maybe."
Asher closed his eyes and hummed. "Actually… Did you hear how it sounded? I think whatever roared like that was inside some cave. It was echoey and muffled."
"You… could tell?"
"Mhm! Besides, it makes sense. If nobody knows where the lost pokémon are and the feral is just a rumour, it's not going to be out in the open. It would be too easy for anyone to spot it."
Nimb slowly tilted his head. "Yeah… Yeah, you're right! That's actually quite a smart deduction!"
Asher blushed. "You think so? Hehe… You know, I really needed to hear that after all those recent investigations. Thank you."
He smiled. "It's nothing, Asher. Let's find that cave and… get this over with."
Asher kept going with his friend on top, this time trying to follow a path of high rock formations that might have any entrance to a cave. The area was a bit hard to traverse like that, but Nimb couldn't complain, being the one being carried all the way. Asher didn't mind either, it kept his back warm, and Nimb was light.
The area still had no pokémon around. The sun cast the shadows of the trees and the duo of investigators on the hard rocks surrounding the forest, and these formations eventually gave in to a higher wall that made it hard to see on the other side.
After a few minutes, Asher stopped as he spotted a small gap in the rock formation.
"Hey, look over there! That seems to be a cave!" The Cyclizar said proudly, his theory proven correct.
"You're right! Uh… but, it's a bit narrow… You sure there could be anyone in there?" Nimb asked.
"Well, we can both fit through there even if we enter at the same time, so I don't think that's a problem." Asher stood right at the entrance and whistled. "This sure looks creepy… Are you ready?"
Nimb stepped down from his lizard vehicle and sighed. "As ready as I can ever be… I'll just, you know, let you lead the way."
"Sure!"
And so, Asher and Nimb entered the cave. Nimb had experience with cave exploration, even if it wasn't good, and yet this one felt different. The other caves weren't as narrow and oppressive, and there was something else about the ambiance now that was unsettling.
Nimb had a bad feeling. But maybe it was because of the building anxiety he was starting to feel, a way too familiar feeling that happened whenever he faced the world without Ari by his side.
Asher opened his bag and pulled an orb from inside, then pressed a button on it. Suddenly, the item started glowing, illuminating the cave and making it easier for them to see the way ahead.
They walked silently for a while, looking around in case something or someone jumped on them, always on edge. They weren't in a mystery dungeon, but that didn't mean much when they heard a piercing roar coming from there.
Luckily, the path was easy to traverse, since the ground was flat for the most part. And that didn't feel too natural, either. Nothing about the place felt natural, especially not the silence.
"Hey, Asher… Is it me or there's too much silence in here? It's just like the exterior as well…" Nimb eventually asked.
Asher put one of his claws on his chin while he used his other hind leg to support himself on the wall. "Hmmmm… It is, yeah. Should we start calling out to see if the missing pokémon hear us?"
"Uhhh I don't know if I wanna-"
"HEEEEEEY IS THERE ANYONE THEREEEEE? WE'RE INVESTIGATORS AND WE'RE HERE TO RESCUE YOU!"
Nimb covered his ears. "Wait, what are you doing? You'll attract the feral!"
Asher shrugged. "What other choice do we have? We came here precisely because we were looking for it."
"... I guess, yeah. But… Ugggh, I'm gonna regret this…" Nimb sighed and inched closer to Asher. He knew he had to be brave, but he could also take it one step at a time, for sure. Suddenly, his eyes trailed down and he stopped. "Wait, do you see this?"
"Huh?" Asher stopped as well and glanced down where Nimb was pointing, leaning the luminous orb closer to the ground.
Footprints.
"Someone clearly was here not long ago!" Nimb said in a mix of excitement and fear. "Should we follow them?"
"Heck yeah!" Asher grabbed Nimb under his arm and ran a head, a bit weirdly since he wasn't on all fours. "Good catch, Nimb."
Nimb struggled in the Cyclizar's grip. "T-thank youuuu aaaaaaahhhh!"
Following the footsteps, the duo kept running ahead (or rather, Asher did) for a bit until they reached a slightly bigger chamber where the footprints stopped. The room was a dead end.
"Huh? There's no more footprints, that's strange…" Asher said, gently putting Nimb down.
Nimb scanned the area with a frown, putting a wing against his chest. He was starting to feel more anxious, and his breathing was growing more labored, but he didn't want to worry Asher.
"They might have purposedly erased any trace left behind… W-wait, that would mean it's not just a feral, I doubt it could think of something as smart as that…"
"Who knows," Asher shrugged. "Maybe it's both. But maybe it was a ground type who used dig and that's why there are no other paths."
"Oh, right. Or maybe there's a hidden door like in Misty Valley…" Nimb cringed at his own idea. "Never mind, not everything has to be like those spies' stories."
"Hey, that's still an option! If it happened once, maybe it could happen again!"
"Maybe, but it's not like we have any way of knowing that." Nimb approached the walls and tapped it with a wing. "If there was a hidden door, the Gholdevice would be our only way of detecting it, and we didn't bring them."
"Ah, that's not a problem! Check this out!"
Then, Asher let out a loud scream that made Nimb flinch hard. It echoed through the whole chamber and beyond, the sound reverberating on the thick walls while Asher just listened with his eyes closed. Nimb took a moment to recompose as he watched the Cyclizar with widened eyes.
"What was that?"
"Hmmmm… Okay." Asher opened his eyes and approached a wall to his right, pressing his ear against it. "I think there might be something around here."
Nimb was astounded. "Really? How can you tell by just yelling?"
Asher kept poking the wall. "Yup! My sister taught me; she always depended on sounds to know her surroundings."
"What? Was she blind or something?"
"Kinda, she was a Zubat."
Nimb had to take a moment to process that. "... Huh? How does that even work?"
"Hahaha, your face is priceless! We're not actually related by blood, I just called her my sister. My family was pretty big; there was my brother Oswald, a Dewott, my brother Ezera, an Axew, then my sister Soothe, an Audino… Oh, and there's also-"
"Wait, wait, wait," Nimb interrupted, his frown growing bigger. "What kind of family is that? Were your parents super wealthy or something?"
"Hmm? My parents? You mean matron Phoebe?"
"What the…" Nimb tilted his head as he watched the Cyclizar knocking on a wall that sounded hollow. "What's a matron?"
Asher stopped and turned to him. "You don't know what an orphanage is?" At that, Nimb slowly shook his head with a confused look. "Oh. Well, you see… it's this place for pokémon without biological parents, or whose parents couldn't take care of them, so they were left in the care of the matron."
Nimb's confusion only turned into sadness. "You… don't have parents?"
Before even answering that question, Asher pressed his body against the wall and pressed firmly, until a click could be heard and the wall moved. It was a door disguised as a fake wall. Right there, a hidden path appeared.
"There we go! There was indeed a hidden path here!" Asher said proudly, resting his claws on his hips.
Nimb only jumped. "W-woah, you were right! Someone might actually be hiding here!"
"You know what that means, right?"
"... Yeah." Nimb trembled a bit and hugged himself. "We might be dealing with something worse than just a feral."
Asher nodded. "We don't know yet, but… We'll have to get through this to find out."
The Cyclizar went first into the newly open path, and NImb followed him closely. They suddenly didn't have the urge to shout anymore, knowing they might be entering a hidden evil lair of some sort. That wasn't a reassuring thought.
Nimb was slowly feeling worse, even if he wasn't that scared. He really needed to distract himself and just… stabilize his breathing, somehow. His thoughts kept spiraling out of control, but it wasn't just about whatever danger awaited them. So, he decided to settle on something that was still in his mind to fill the tense silence.
"Hey Asher… You said you don't have parents, but don't you consider that 'matron' your mother?"
Asher didn't look at him as he walked. "Oh, actually… I'm not sure. Phoebe treated me well, I guess, but she was… you know, a bit cold. And distant." His eyes trailed down as he suppressed a sigh. "I don't think she cared too much, she was just doing her job. Gotta be professional."
Nimb frowned. "Oh… At least you had your siblings, even if they weren't exactly related to you. That's something, right?"
"Mhm. At least whenever they were around."
"What do you mean?" Nimb asked with a cute tilt of his head.
Asher stumbled for a moment as he stepped on a pointed rock, but he quickly regained his footing.
"They… you know, they eventually left. Pokémon in the orphanage come and go. I had a good relationship with a few of them, and maybe not-so-good with some others. But they always had a thing in common: once someone visited to adopt, they were gone forever."
Nimb's frown deepened, and he pressed a wing on his side. "But what about you?"
A moment of silence followed as Asher reminisced. They weren't bad times, but there was surely something missing in all those years.
"... Nobody wanted to adopt a big dragon. They always looked for a small kid that they could take care of, easy to educate and raise, and cheap to maintain. I was none of that." He took a deep breath. "Soooo eventually, I grew old enough and I was kicked out, but they gave me a bit of money to pay for an apartment that I eventually rented here in Bismuth Town."
"So you were thrown to the world just like that?"
Asher nodded. "I almost thought of living like a wild pokémon, but I was so used to civilization that I… really couldn't. The main reason I joined the academy was because I needed the job to pay rent."
"Oh… I'm so sorry, Asher, I had no idea…"
Asher stopped and looked Nimb in the eyes. They both shared the same sad look.
"Don't worry, buddy. I'm just happy that you were lucky enough to get the family I couldn't have. Not everyone gets such a happy ending if they're not… important enough to anyone."
Nimb rubbed his wing, a bit anxiously and looked away. "Well… You're important to me. And to all of our friends."
Asher finally smiled and reached to gently stroke Nimb's head feathers. "Thank you, buddy! At least I know I have a family now, even if it's not the kind I needed when I was younger.
"Hehe, yeah…"
After petting the Archen for a moment, Asher kept walking, with his friend by his side.
"The important thing is that I have to learn to live with it, and keep going! I can't let anything stop me!" Asher chuckled, drawing an amused look from Nimb.
"Yeah, that's the spirit, haha… But hey, what about your biological parents? Do you know anything about them?"
"Weeeell not exactly. I just know that they died when I was just an egg, so I never got to meet them. Thus why I don't have any feelings when I think about them."
"Ah, I see…" Nimb thought a bit about it and squinted his eyes. "Wait… How were you as an egg? Since you're so big now, I can't even imagine you inside an egg…"
Asher turned to him. "Oh, that? Well, I was just like now, but comically smaller."
That made Nimb chuckle, and Asher joined him. It was nice to be able to laugh about the past and focus on the good times they were having now, even in the middle of an investigation.
However, Nimb's laugh was cut short as his breathing got shakier, and he put a wing to his chest, his face scrunching in displeasure.
Asher noticed, and stopped in his tracks. "Huh? Are you okay, Nimb?"
"Oh, u-uhm, I'm fine! I'm just… I don't know, maybe it's the lack of air?"
"Hmmmm… Yeah, we're getting deeper inside the cave, even I can notice the lack of air. Will you be okay?"
Nimb nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about it, hehe…"
He was sure it wasn't just the air. He knew what it was.
Anxiety.
Why? He was with a friend. He was safe with Asher, he was nice, he could protect him, or maybe Nimb didn't even need protection! He could protect himself!
Then why…?
Nimb had to stop thinking about his inner turmoil as Asher stopped and he almost bumped into him. "Huh? What's wrong, Asher?"
"Uhhhh… Where do we go now?"
Ahead of them, there was a room with three different paths to take.
"... Oh."
Ari sighed. It was nice to hang out with Sanah in private for once, but he was starting to get concerned for Nimb. He'd never been on his own for so long, and he had no idea of his whereabouts. Neither Nimb nor Asher showed up to the technology class, which made him think they were doing something together. But would they really skip a class? That only worried him more.
What if something happened to them?
Nah, Nimb was probably fine. But it would help to at least know what he was doing. Luckily for Ari, as he traversed the academy's corridors, he saw a certain Brionne sitting on a bench, probably waiting for the next class.
"Hey, Cora!" Ari called, approaching his classmate. "Do you have any idea of why Nimb and Asher didn't show up in class earlier? I'm a bit worried about Nimb especially…"
Cora perked up and smiled. "Ahhhhh don't worry! I ran onto them before class, Asher told me they were going on a super secret mission to Ilmestys Plateau!"
Ari frowned. "A… super secret mission?"
"Yup! Of course, once Asher said that Nimb got a bit annoyed since it wasn't a secret anymore. But I can keep secrets! So I didn't tell Saga."
"Uhh… But you just told me," Ari said as he crossed his arms.
Cora blinked. "... Whoops. Well, it's fine! You're not gonna tell anyone, right?"
He sighed. "I guess… At least I know where they are now, but I don't know how I feel about them skipping classes to do… whatever they're doing. I'll have to trust them with this for now."
"Come on, Ari, cheer up!" She patted him on the back. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"I really hope we're not getting lost," Nimb said, his head turning in every direction to watch for any ambush as they traversed the tunnel. "I hope the right path was… well, the right path."
"Don't worry, we can always turn back if we don't find anything!"
"Sure…"
However, Nimb's breathing was even more labored now, to the point that Asher couldn't ignore it any longer, and he stopped.
"Nimb… Are you sure you'll be alright? There's still plenty of air, or at least I feel just fine, but you seem to be getting worse."
"I… Well, it's just…" He couldn't keep pretending. "I don't know why, I feel really bad. It's not just the air, I feel like I could die at any moment. M-my chest hurts, but nothing has happened yet, I don't know why I'm like this…"
Asher frowned. "Should we head back? I don't like seeing you like this…"
"No!" Nimb quickly answered, and he winced at his tone. "I-I mean… I need to do this. Please."
The Cyclizar considered it for a long moment until he sighed. "At least let's try to work on your breathing. See, you could follow the 4-7-8 technique that my sister, the Audino, taught me." He stood in front of Nimb and made a demonstration. "First, empty your lungs, and then, inhale through your nose for 4 seconds."
He breathed in, and Nimb did the same, still with an anxious frown on his face. Asher continued.
"... Then hold it for 7 seconds. You can stop earlier if you feel like you can't hold it anymore."
Nimb nodded and did his best effort to ignore the intense pounding of his heart.
"... Now exhale through your beak for 8 seconds, like you're blowing a candle. Then repeat the process four times."
The Archen kept doing the exercise along with his friend until he finished and pressed his wing on his chest. "I'm not sure if it worked… I'm still feeling bad…"
Asher patted him on the back and smiled. "It's okay, it's a slow process. What matters is that you don't get obsessed with the fact that you're feeling anxious. It's not pleasant, but you have to accept that you're not okay now, and not focus on it. If you're thinking too much about how it's taking too long to fade, you won't forget about it. Just let it be."
"... Okay. T-thank you, Asher."
Asher gave him a beaming smile, which Nimb returned. After that, they both resumed their walk and suddenly remembered they were in the middle of a dangerous stealth mission and they were likely being a bit noisy.
Not too far after that, the duo started hearing whimpers and… growls. Whatever there was ahead of them, it wasn't going to be beautiful. Asher and Nimb exchanged determined looks, even if the latter was a bit troubled, and they went ahead.
Eventually, they reached what looked like a bigger room, another corridor with… jail cells on both sides. And inside of each of them, there were pokémon. Many pokémon.
Some were sleeping, others were attacking the bars in a fruitless attempt to escape, and others were just staring at the newcomers with a predatory look.
"W-WHAT?" Nimb yelled and quickly shielded himself behind Asher. "What is going on here?"
Asher swallowed hard. "I-I think they're ferals… Someone has trapped many ferals in here! What the hell…?"
"H-help…"
Nimb and Asher froze as they heard a voice calling out. That didn't sound like any other feral, but it came from one of the cells, further down the corridor. They exchanged troubled looks and quickly ran ahead, following the source of the voice.
"Who's there? We're here to help!" Asher asked. After passing a bunch of cells, they reached the end of the room, where one last cell stood with a pokémon inside. I was a bipedal with brownish skin, a long pointed nose, and a big leaf on top of his head.
A Nuzleaf.
"P-please… H-help…" The Nuzleaf spoke, breathing shakily. "They put me in here and t-that Krookodile did something to me…"
Asher gasped. "You're the pokémon we were looking for! What did they do to you?"
Nuzleaf gripped the metal bars tightly as if he were trying to tear them apart, but he was too weak. He was also hyperventilating.
"I-I don't know, it hurts! H-help, I don't wanna b-be here, I can't breathe, I'm g-going to die! GET ME OUTTA HERE!"
"Please, calm down! We'll take you out of here, we just need to find a key or something and-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGGH!"
With that piercing scream, Asher and Nimb flinched hard as the Nuzleaf dropped down, gripping his head with both hands and twisting in pain. It was a really scary sight, one that made Nimb inch closer to Asher as he watched in horror. The prisoner growled and thrashed around in the cell for a long moment, while neither of the investigators knew what to do.
"Nuzleaf? A-are you okay?" Nimb asked with a shaky voice. "What's wrong?"
But there was no response. He kept convulsing for another long and tense moment, sending shivers down Nimb's spine. Eventually, it let out a guttural scream that made them cover their ears and step back.
Nuzleaf stopped. Slowly, he raised his head and stared back at them. His eyes were blank. He started drooling. His hands twitched erratically until he lunged forward and gripped the bars tightly, letting out a deep growl and headbutting the cell, which shook violently.
Asher's eyes went wide with shock.
"He… H-he's turned into a… feral."
Nimb couldn't believe it. Pokémon weren't supposed to turn into a feral if they weren't in a dungeon for a long time. This wasn't a dungeon. How could he…?
Then, he remembered. Ren explained how some of the experiments of Project Azure involved turning pokémon into ferals with Azure in its pure form, which made them stronger than ferals.
But that also changed their appearance. And neither of those pokémon that were trapped in those cells looked any different. It didn't make any sense. Nimb couldn't think too much about it, since the feeling of dread was overtaking him now.
"Asher… W-what is going on? They were making ferals here?" Nimb asked, trembling as he looked around.
Asher was also in disbelief. "I don't know… This mission was more dangerous than I anticipated, t-this wasn't what I expected, I…"
"What do we do now? N-nuzleaf is gone and everyone else is feral…"
Asher needed to think of a sensible course of action, otherwise they could become the next victims. Nimb was shaking so much now, and the ferals attacking the cells where they were captive didn't help him concentrate. What would Kyle do in that situation?
No… He was supposed to think on his own. Nobody was here to save them, so he had to prove himself worthy. And Nimb too, even if he was in a bad state. He trusted them.
"We have to leave as soon as possible, and tell the police about this! We've found their hideout, so we have to take this chance now that we haven't been caught yet!"
'ROAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR'
Asher cringed hard, and Nimb quickly gripped Asher's leg. A quick look at the other side of the room, right at the entrance they just came from, appeared two figures. One of them, a Tinkaton with a sly smirk, brushed a hand along the rough handle of her hammer. The other was a Krookodile that looked wrong.
Its usual black spikes on the torso were longer than usual, curving in a weird way, and the red in its body gave way to a faded blue on the lower half. The way its eyes looked completely dilated and bloodshot was an indicator that it wasn't a normal pokémon.
'A corrupted pokémon…' Nimb thought as his eyes widened with horror.
"Weeeell, we definitely don't want anyone to find out about this place, soooo I'm very sorry, but you can't leave," the Tinkaton said with fake sadness.
"You!" Asher yelled, taking a step forward to shield Nimb. "You're from those Forest Guardians, right? Is this about Project Azure? How did you even turn them into ferals?"
"Oh my, you have too many questions, teehee. I don't think it matters if I answer or not, after all, you'll be the next ones to turn into ferals!" She turned to the Krookodile and gave it a strong pat on the back. "Come on, time to do your thing."
Just as she said that the Krookodile ran forward with a roar and tried to bite Asher, but he quickly jumped to the side and avoided the hit. Nimb was now in front of the corrupted pokémon, starting to panic.
Unable to think of what to do, he just reacted, striking the foe with a wing attack and running to put some distance between them. He stopped a few meters away, panting, and turned around in fear of its reaction.
It looked like it was going to launch an attack at the Archen, but it was stopped as Asher closed the distance, swung his tail rapidly and hit it on the side of the head, making it stagger. Asher then stepped back.
"Be careful, don't let it get close to you! I think this species has mostly physical attacks!"
However, once the Krookodile recovered, it charged energy in his maw and launched a hyper beam that barraged the whole room from side to side. Asher and Nimb barely avoided it by crouching, but the damage wasn't only done to them.
The jail cells were broken.
And with them, the ferals were free. Some of them were injured after the attack, but all of them were in a frenzied state that meant trouble. In a matter of seconds, the room was filled with angry ferals launching random attacks and wreaking havoc.
"What the hell!? You weren't supposed to break the cells!" Tinkaton complained. She just sighed and turned around. "Whatever, I'm not cleaning this mess. Byeeee!"
With that, Tinkaton left through one of the tunnels, leaving Nimb and Asher to deal with the ferals and the Krookodile.
Nimb dodged a discharge from an elektrike, but he ran into a wall. He was cornered. Right when a familiar nuzleaf jumped at him, he used the feral as a trampoline by stepping on his head and jumping out of the way.
Asher tackled a staravia and passed right by a croconaw that launched a huge water gun, but it failed and instead soaked some of the ferals in the room. This caused some of them to attack each other, and soon everything was pure chaos.
The Cyclizar grabbed Nimb and put him on his back, running away on all fours. "Quickly, now that they're distracted with each other, we have to escape!"
"Y-yeah… W-we need… we have to… escape…"
But Nimb wasn't thinking clearly. His mind was racing, his breathing was worse than ever. He was going to die. He was going to die. Something wasn't right.
Asher was carrying him, so he was safeno he wasn't. There had to be a way to get out of that situation and return safelyno, there was no way. He was done for.
The pained screams of the ferals were muffled in his ears, the tapping of Asher's feet on the hard ground was like a hammer pounding his heart, making it beat faster.
Where was Ari? He needed him.
He needed him?
Why?
Louis hummed as he looked through the microscope. The samples have been settling in for a while now, so it was a good moment to check on the results and get it over with. The Reuniclus was pretty sure that was a waste of time and nothing was going to come out of it, but he didn't have any classes at the moment, so he might as well do it.
He was interested in Ari's condition, but so far nothing had proven useful to get any conclusion to whatever the hell was happening to him. Still, Ari was a bundle of nerves, and he liked the kid, so he might as well help him feel better.
And so, he observed the sample he got from Nimb earlier. It was… an interesting view. The cells were acting kinda weird, and he didn't know what to make out of it. It definitely wasn't the same condition that was affecting Ari, so he didn't need to worry about passing viruses to him or something.
However…
The cells changed colors.
"Huh? What is going on…?"
Something was affecting the sample. Louis just didn't know what it was; it wasn't doing that before. It was perfectly normal when the sample was placed in the rack, right next to-
Wait.
Louis quickly went to grab the sample tube with Ari's sample and held it close to Nimb's. He looked once again through the microscope, and…
The cells stopped changing. But a few of them had completely changed, and they weren't changing back. Those cells were… blue.
"Oh no… Oh no, no no no no no no!"
It all made sense now. He recalled his research, the results of all the previous analyses, the conditions of both samples… A theory was formulating in his mind and it wasn't looking good at all.
But he was almost sure.
"T-this can't be happening!"
The Reuniclus left everything behind and exited the room with urgency, desperately looking around, debating on where to go now. He had to act fast. He floated fast across the hallways, drawing some confused looks from the students, and turned one corner after the other. Luckily for him, he saw the pokémon he was looking for walking behind a few of his classmates.
"ARI, WAIT!"
The Riolu turned around, startled, and saw the horrified look on the Reuniclus, as the rest of the group went ahead without noticing anything.
"Louis? What's wrong?"
Louis looked around and quickly approached Ari, gripping his shoulders tightly.
"Where is Nimb?"
Ari hesitated. "Uhhhh… W-why do you ask?"
"The analysis… Y-you're perfectly fine, it's Nimb who has something weird! But whatever you have in your body was actually stabilizing his cells!"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ari's frown grew with each word.
"His body, he… he has the Azure! Ari, being near you was the only thing that prevented Nimb from turning into a FERAL!"
Ari's heart sank.
"WHAT?"
"If he's away from you for too long, it'll be too late for him! You have to find him QUICK!"
Ari had so many questions. Was that really true? How did that even happen? Why Nimb? But he couldn't stop to think about it, there was no time. He couldn't lose his brother. There was no way he was going to lose him.
Without saying a word, Ari ran, ignoring whatever Louis was saying now. It was just white noise to him at this point. He needed to find Nimb.
Where was he going? Right, Ilmestys Plateau. He needed to call for backup, just in case. He'd get a Gholdevice, even if he had to take it without permission. He needed all the help he could get to find Nimb and save him, whatever it took.
Asher ran like his life depended on it. Probably because that was the case. He wondered if Team Silver had some kind of curse since they were the ones who seemed to get into the most dangerous missions, and the moment he decided to tag along with Nimb he ended up trapped in a cave with monsters.
Nimb was barely aware of what was going on. His ears were ringing, and he barely registered what Asher was saying.
"... Nimb? Nimb, are you okay?"
The Archen gasped. "I… I w-wanna go… I need air! I WANNA GO!"
That was starting to scare Asher, who stopped in his tracks and cast a concerned look at him. "I need you to calm down, Nimb! Remember the breathing technique…"
Nimb jumped off Asher's back and panted as he brought a wing to his chest. "I… Can't! You're moving too much, everything is… m-moving too much!"
"Nimb… If you need air, the best thing you can do is let me carry you, we'll be out in a moment…"
Asher tried to soothe Nimb, leaning closer and offering a claw to support him. But Nimb wasn't even looking. The panic was too big to focus on something else. It was overwhelming.
Unfortunately, that gave the corrupted pokémon enough time to catch up with them. From the corner they came from, the Krookodile appeared and charged another hyper beam that blasted the ceiling near the duo, and some rocks fell right next to them, barely missing.
"Aaaahhh! It's here, we gotta go now!" Asher yelled desperately. However, Nimb wasn't moving. "Nimb?"
The Krookodile didn't waste any time and closed the distance, his maw enveloped in dark energy and trying to bite Nimb's head off, but Asher quickly grabbed him and moved out of the way. Before he could run off, the corrupted pokémon swung its tail and made Asher trip, losing his grip on Nimb and falling to the ground.
Asher turned around and barely caught the Krookodile in time to prevent its maw from getting any closer to him.
"Nnnnggghhh… N-nimb, I'm in a bit of trouble here…!"
Nimb barely registered that, but he knew they were in real danger. A quick glance at the struggling Cyclizar told him all he needed to know, though, and he gathered all the remaining strength he had and launched a dragon breath that impacted the Krookodile on the face, which made it vulnerable for a moment.
Asher took his chance and kicked his hind legs upwards to send the monster flying. In reality, it didn't fly much, being much heavier than Asher, and instead just landed a few feet away from him.
"Thank you, Nimb!" Asher stood up and cast a concerned glance at his friend. "How are you holding up?"
Nimb shook his head. "I-I… W-wanna go…"
"I promise you I'll take you back home safely… But for now, we have to fight this guy!"
Asher saw the Krookodile standing back up and quickly ran ahead, tackling it and cornering it against a wall. Before it could move, he bit its arm, making it roar in pain, but the monster knew the same trick, and it bit on the Cyclizar's head as well.
"Aaaaaggh! Let me go!"
The Cyclizar struggled to get the monster off him, feeling its teeth sinking into his hard scales. Meanwhile, Nimb just held his head with his wings, a pounding headache clouding his thoughts. He was unable to do anything.
The two lizards wrestled for a long moment until the corrupted pokémon finally released Asher, but immediately threw him against the opposite wall, and Asher fought to keep himself standing. It was hard to fight in such a tight space, but he needed to do it.
He wasn't used to fighting, but he needed to be strong for Nimb. The Archen was defenseless at the moment, so it all depended on him now.
"I'm… worthy…! I've come so far without the help of my team, and I can take us out of this!"
Asher ran ahead and tackled the Krookodile, but it barely staggered. In return, it tried to use crunch on him again, but Asher used his tail to gain balance and propelled himself out of the way, jumping high enough to go over it and do another tackle on the Krookodile's back.
The corrupted 'mon turned around right after receiving the hit, swinging its tail and almost hitting Asher, which caught him by surprise. Nothing he did was making it stagger for long enough! It was too strong! How was he going to defeat that thing?
Instead of dwelling on that, Asher swung his own tail and hit the foe's torso twice, and he went for a third hit, but it managed to grab his tail, stopping the attack.
"... Well, shoot."
Krookodile tugged hard and launched the Cyclizar a few meters back. Asher landed harshly; the impact had left him dizzy for a moment, and he couldn't prepare for the next attack. A hyper beam was launched at him once again, hitting him squarely and sending him crashing against a wall at the entrance of a bigger chamber.
Asher was out of breath with that last hit. He panted, trying to get up and barely holding himself on his hind legs. It was painful, but he needed to be strong… He just-
Suddenly, the Krookodile caught up and pressed Asher against the wall, holding him by the throat. His breath got restricted, and he desperately tried to push the Krookodile off him, to no avail. It was clear this was no ordinary monster, and it was being controlled.
It threw Asher to the ground, and right then, another hyper beam was launched. But this one wasn't aimed at him. Instead, the cannon hit the ceiling. There was no way Asher could move this time, and the inevitable happened.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGH!"
An avalanche of rocks fell on top of the Cyclizar, severely damaging him and locking his lower body down. Out of the pile of rocks, a puddle of blood was starting to come out. Asher was trapped now, at the total mercy of the monster, who was slowly approaching again, crouching right next to him. There was nothing he could do now.
He was going to die.
However, Asher realized there was another option as out of the monster's maw and nose a bluish energy emanated, slowly reaching for the Cyclizar. Asher's eyes widened in horror. He didn't know what that was, but judging by the color and what he'd seen so far in that cave, he had the theory that it wasn't anything good.
Asher closed his eyes and… gave up. Whatever was going to happen, it meant the end for him.
…
THUMP!
Asher opened his eyes as he heard a noise, and saw Nimb on top of the Krookodile's head, aggressively hitting it with glowing wings time after time. The corrupted 'mon tried to take him off by brutely shaking and crashing onto a wall, but Nimb wasn't letting go.
"UAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH! LEAVE… HIM… ALONE!"
Nimb's piercing scream made Asher wince. He could only watch as his friend went berserk at the monster, barely sounding anything different from the monster itself.
That thought alone scared him.
Nimb let go of the Krookodile, only to launch a barrage of rock fragments at it. It didn't do much damage, but it hit its eyes, so at least it was blinded for a moment. That only made it charge onwards aimlessly, and Nimb only followed it while he launched a dragon breath at it, hitting square.
"GRAAAAAHHH! GGGGGGRRRRRR!"
Those weren't Krookodile's roars; they were Nimb's. He didn't sound like himself anymore.
"N-nimb…? I appreciate that you saved me just in time, b-but… please, you need to calm down…" Asher said, extending his claw as if trying to reach his friend. But he was trapped under the pile of rocks, and he was out of energy.
Krookodile managed to hit the Archen with its tail, sending him flying. However, that didn't stop Nimb from getting back up and sending another set of rock fragments at it. The Krookodile wasn't too affected by them, and it was slowly getting closer to him.
Asher couldn't see well what was going on from where he lay, the two fighters being a bit far away already. Since he was the one holding the luminous orb, the other part of the room was kinda dark.
And then, out of nowhere, something lit the room like a flash, and an impact was heard. The Krookodile flinched hard as it was hit with a blue energy sphere, and from where Asher was trapped, a new figure emerged.
A Riolu.
"Asher! I heard the noise and found this cave and… What happened?" Ari said as he leaned down in front of the Cyclizar.
"Ughh… Ari, thank Arceus you're here…" Asher coughed. "B-be careful, that Krookodile is a corrupted pokémon… And I saw some blue energy coming from it, don't let it t-touch you! I think that could turn you into a feral!"
Ari gasped. Blue energy… coming from the corrupted pokémon? He recalled that. Right when he first encountered Armarouge… no, Neo. They did the same thing.
'Wait, don't tell me…'
It all made sense now. When he first met Nimb, he had encountered Neo. It was Neo, they infected Nimb and turned him into a soon-to-be feral. That's why he was so anxious at first.
All this time, turned out Nimb had been doomed since the very first moment they met.
Ari panicked and did the only thing he could think of. Immediately as he ran ahead and saw the Krookodile, he launched another aura sphere at it, distracting it from attacking Nimb again.
"HEY! LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!" Ari yelled.
But the Krookodile hesitated, this time. Maybe it was because there were more pokémon around, or because it sensed something else… But it stopped.
And right then, it started digging a hole under its feet at a huge speed, throwing a lot of dirt around that splattered on Ari and Nimb, blinding them for a moment. Just when Ari could clean his eyes and look around, the Krookodile was nowhere to be seen.
He looked around, worried the corrupted pokémon might attack from below at any moment, but he didn't want to wait for it to happen. Instead, his gaze went back to his brother, who was shaking around trying to remove the dirt from his face.
"NIMB! I'M HERE!"
Nimb didn't react. He thrashed around aggressively and used rock throw without even thinking, launching rocks all around him. Ari generated a protect barrier just in time and ran ahead to get closer to Nimb.
"Nimb, please, you need to calm down! Everything is going to be alright!"
But he wasn't listening. He let out another pained shriek and ran ahead with glowing wings, which Ari quickly evaded by jumping to the side and rolling. It seemed nothing he said was getting to him, so he needed to immobilize him somehow.
Ari got back up quickly and went for him, dodging a dragon breath that almost burned his fur. Once he got close enough, he embraced Nimb tightly and tried to hold him in place.
"Nimb! Please, stay with me! You can't be a feral, y-you can't… You're my brother!"
The Archen shook violently, trying to get rid of the embrace, but Ari was strong. He needed to be strong, now more than ever.
"GRAAAAAAH!"
"Nimb… I need you… P-please, remember me…" Ari said, some tears starting to form in his eyes.
He couldn't be late. There's no way he was too late to save him. He just needed to hold him tight for a bit longer, and he'd be back to normal.
Nimb tried to move his wings, but they were locked under a tight embrace. He kept launching dragon breaths that luckily didn't hit Ari, but the room was shaking so much from all the attacks. Ari was desperately clinging to him hoping that somehow, someway, this would have a happy ending. It always had a happy ending. No matter how bad the situation was, they always survived.
They always managed.
"GROOOOOOOOGGGGGH!"
Nimb's shrieks only made Ari tremble harder. That's not how he was supposed to sound. He recalled his soft and timid voice, from the very first day they met.
'But I'm scared… And there's something calming about you.'
Another tear fell from Ari's face.
"Nimb… I'm right here, I'm with you… I'll always be with you, no matter what…"
'Thank you, Ari. For believing in me, I mean. And for pushing me to try harder.'
More tears fell.
"I can't lose my brother… We just became a real family…" Ari lamented.
Nimb shook violently, and then he, or rather it, did the only thing it could.
CHOMP
"AAAAAAARGH!" Ari yelled as Nimb's beak bit down on his shoulder, spilling blood that ran down the Riolu's fur.
'In a way, I think I get what Kyle said the other day. I guess I… uh… I s-see you as a brother to me.'
Tears welled down the Riolu's face nonstop, as he gripped the Archen that still kept its beak clump shut on his shoulder. Meanwhile, Asher could only watch in horror as he saw a family be broken apart.
"N-nimb… I love you…"
Ari tightened his embrace. But Nimb was still not calming down. Nothing was helping.
'I'm tired of depending on you. I wanna help protect you, just like you do for me.'
"Nimb… I couldn't p-protect you this time…"
Then, a desperate attack happened. Nimb, now completely frenzied, enveloped his wings in a blinding light that hurt to hold onto, and Ari yelped in pain as he had to let go. Right then, Nimb struck Ari violently with his wing attack, sending him back a few meters.
Ari was pretty hurt, both by the bite on his shoulder and by the wing attack, and he struggled to stand back up, while Nimb only shook like he was in so much pain.
"Ugggh… Nimb, w-wait!"
Footsteps could be heard getting close, and Ari was too troubled to notice until they got close.
"We're here! We heard the screams and came as soon as possible!"
They were a Sawk, a Rhydon, and a familiar Floragato and Zeraora. Melly and Brynel. The reinforcements Ari requested.
"Nimb… H-he's… He's turned into a…" Ari managed to say.
Brynel's face went pale as he saw the state the Archen was in. Nimb was completely out of control, eyes blank and shrieking nonstop.
A feral.
Not only that. He had just turned into one and was still in much pain.
Then, it attacked. Several dragon breaths were launched everywhere, hitting Ari and the Rhydon, and barely missing Melly. It was a chaotic scene, but it needed to end. And so, the Sawk ran and went to grab Nimb, immediately grabbing his torso and trying to hold him still.
"Help me with this! We need to immobilize it!" Sawk yelled as he struggled to keep his hold on Nimb.
"Wait, no! I can still save him!" Ari desperately called and ran forward, but he was stopped as a yellow paw grabbed his arm.
"Ari, he's too far gone! He's turned into a feral!" Brynel said, his voice showing immense pain.
"No, that's not true!"
Nimb shot another dragon breath that hit the ceiling, causing another avalanche of rocks to fall nearby. However, the Rhydon caught up with his partner and grabbed Nimb's head, slamming it against the hard soil and pinning him down.
"NO, YOU'RE HURTING HIM!" Ari yelled.
He tried to let go of Brynel's grasp, but he wasn't letting go. He desperately needed to get close to Nimb again, he couldn't lose him now. He was so close, so close…
He just needed to hold him tight for longer, that's all…
"Stop it, Ari!" Brynel said, and his grip became harsher.
But Ari was tired of that. With a desperate scream, he charged a rock smash and slammed his fist on Brynel's belly, pushing him away from him. Ari quickly ran ahead, trying to reach his brother, but Melly jumped on him and pinned him down just before he could get closer.
"UGH, LET GO OF ME!" Ari yelled, his voice breaking as he kept crying. "YOU'RE HURTING HIM, PLEASE! NIIIIIIIIMB!"
"No, Ari, you're only making things worse! Please…!" Melly begged, holding the Riolu down.
Ari couldn't move anymore. He felt the Zeraora getting on top of him as well, crushing him under his weight, and he could only watch while Nimb was crushed the same way. Ari had no more strength left, he was too hurt, and he was bleeding too much.
"NIIIIIMB, PLEASE! NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMB!"
His screams turned into choked gasps, and he cried like he never did before. Brynel and Melly kept their hold on Ari, while Rhydon had to slam Nimb's head once again against the ground as it was moving too much.
"P-please…. Y-you're hurting him…. P-please…."
Asher, from where he was still trapped, only cried. Not only he had failed the mission, but he had lost a friend. And it was all his fault.
"Guys, please don't treat him so harshly…" Melly asked. But Rhydon and Sawk didn't listen, they were surprised by how strong such a pokémon like Nimb was, so they had to use all their strength.
"Nimb… Nimb…" Ari muttered. His vision was growing blurry, but his eyes were only focused on the dogpiled Archen.
Nimb slowly stopped struggling and was left panting, but he still didn't go back to his usual self. His eyes were still blank, he was still making weird sounds. He was too far gone.
"Nimb…" Ari called one last time.
He felt his eyes slowly closing, and the world around him becoming nothing but a painful memory. With one last breath, he tried to call for Nimb's name once again, but nothing came.
He couldn't go on. He couldn't get a hold of himself for longer.
'Nimb… I'm sorry…'
&C!?=O)!N)&N!·E!¿C=/T%
The blood pressure is dropping! How do we proceed?
We're losing him!
That cannot be, not another failure!
It's a cardiac arrest! Apply CPR, quickly!
One… Two… Three…
Inject the adrenaline!
Twelve… Thirteen… Fourteen…
But it worked with the other subject…
Twentyeight… Twentynine… Thirty!
It's not working! Repeat!
One… Two… Three…
What are we going to tell them?
Fifteen… Sixteen… Seventeen…
…
It's too late. We lost him.
I don't get it, everything was going so well…
It's fine. Let's proceed with the usual. You know what to do.
…
Wait.
Wait, you hear that?
Yes, I hear something.
Is he… breathing?
He's alive! But how? It doesn't make sense!
Quick, we need to search for any possible brain damage!
It's a miracle…
…
I swear I saw something glowing…
!?R&·E?/!P!·L!/%(A/"C·!/E!?
Ari opened his eyes. He was back home, somehow.
He felt his face wet with tears. He wondered for how long he had been crying.
His whole body ached. He felt a bandage tightly wrapped on his shoulder, right where he was bitten.
He was sure he had some kind of weird dream, but he didn't understand any of it. Whatever those voices were saying sounded too confusing for him.
Not that he cared. Ari could only think about one thing now. The only thing he was sure was real. The only thing that he had feared the most and thought it would never happen.
He had lost his brother.
I'm sorry for this. I know a lot of people are going to hate me for it. Anyway, this has been planned since the very first chapter, and I left hints everywhere. Nimb has been infected since the beginning of the fic, and now he's gone. Welcome to the depression arc, and the beginning of the final segment of Part 2. There's a song in AO3 and PMDFF's version of this chapter, so go check it out ;)
Next time: Ari deals with his grief.