So stressful…

Investigating a weird dream, receiving a lawsuit for it, getting lost in a dungeon and then having to live with the thought of some horrible threat to the world taking shape without anyone realizing was too much for a bunch of kids who just wanted to find their place in the world.

The worst of it was knowing your friend was part of all that. Ari didn't know how to feel about it. He could finally talk to Ren, but now it turns out he's worse than just a thief: he's a threat to society. It wasn't easy to learn that about someone you care so much, even less if you still care about them after learning the truth.

Should he stop calling him his friend? But that would be so painful… But it felt wrong to stay like that! Ari would be turning a blind eye to all the bad stuff he's doing! But he doesn't wanna give up on Ren…

What a dilemma.

And Maia's reaction to all that new information wasn't any better the night Ari and Nimb returned home after Gemstone Mine.

"What? You ran into Armarouge?"

The Decidueye quickly grabbed Ari's head on both sides and inspected him, turning him around to check everywhere.

"I'm okay, r-really! I'm sorry, we should have been more careful…" Ari said while being smothered.

"Yes, you should! He almost killed you that time, I don't want you risking yourself again like that!" She then looked away and muttered to herself. "So that pokémon is still close to town, that's concerning…"

Ari shook his head. "Yeah, but it's o-"

Maia interrupted him as she pulled Nimb closer as well." Nimb, you're in a worse state than Ari! What happened?"

Nimb chuckled awkwardly. "Well I… I learned a new move! That's great, right?"

Maia eyed the two of them with concern. It wasn't too hard to notice both of them were trying to downplay the situation but were clearly bothered.

"What's wrong? I can tell you two are hiding something. You know you can tell me anything, I can take it."

Ari and Nimb exchanged a glance that lasted longer than usual. They didn't want to worry her, but hiding what they knew would only make things worse. Once they turned back to her, Ari started telling her everything.

Maia's brow furrowed more and more as he kept explaining. The Armarouge part was already hard to go through, but when Ari told her about Ren's disturbing warning, she looked terrified. All she could do was scratch her chin as she thought about what to say.

She eyed Nimb, then Ari, and then she pulled both of them into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry that you two had to learn about this. You must be so scared…"

Ari and Nimb softened at the touch, feeling warm all of a sudden. They could stay like that for a while, but there was something Ari didn't understand. "But what about you?"

Maia shook her head, brushing her feathers on their heads. "I'm perfectly fine, I'm more worried about you. Being chased by a monster, having to deal with all this at such a young age…"

Ari frowned. "We're not so young! Well, Nimb is."

"Hey!" Nimb complained, but he was muffled by feathers and went unheard.

Still embracing them, Maia pulled away just enough to let them breathe and looked at them with a warm smile. "Promise me that you'll be careful from now on and that you'll tell me whenever you're scared, okay?"

There was a feeling that Ari couldn't describe in his chest. Something he wasn't used to, but was growing every day since he lived in Bismuth Town. He didn't understand what it was, but Nimb did. He had the same feeling and recalled having felt it before.

That made him talk too much.

"We will, Mom-"

Nimb stopped himself and felt his cheeks burning, while Ari immediately snorted and covered his mouth to suppress a laugh. Maia's eyes widened as she glanced at him, double-checking what she just heard.

"Did you just call me…?"

Nimb shook his wings anxiously. "N-no! I mean, m-maybe, it was an accident, I don't know what I was thinking a-and…"

Maia chuckled. "It's fine, really! If anything, I'm flattered by hearing you say that."

"You… You think so?"

Maia nodded.

Ari was conflicted about all of it. How did Maia really see them? And whatever the answer was, would it be the same for both of them? Nimb was younger, so he was allowed to… want that kind of affection from someone.

But Ari? He's supposed to be a young adult. He shouldn't even think about it, he'd lost his chance.

The next morning, during lunch break, Team Silver took the chance to go fill in someone else about the situation. Even if they were feeling better once they learned Ebert had withdrawn the lawsuit, the tension was still there.

The police station was busy as always, so Brynel took Team Silver to his office to speak privately. He was taking everything much better than Maia, but he was still tapping his fingers on his desk nervously as he took it all in.

"So… Rising Bandits, huh?" Brynel said, doing a quick recap. "And they are apparently planning on some massive attack, but there's not a clue on how, when, and where?"

Everyone nodded.

The Zeraora sighed. "That's… certainly not a threat to take lightly. I'll have to inform the boss so we can reinforce the security around town, and also inform other towns and cities to do the same."

"But w-we don't know if they even have an army or anything," Nimb suggested, visibly nervous. "Maybe they're just delusional? We've only seen those four bandits so far."

"Actually… Those are the ones we ourselves ran into," Mylo explained with his arms crossed and stepped forward to take a better look at his teammates. "There are plenty of other criminal groups that started showing up in the recent years far from Bismuth Town, and "Rising Bandits" could just be the name of that four-member team."

Brynel nodded. "There might be countless other criminals involved that we don't know of, and that's a possibility I'm not willing to ignore. We can't risk being careless about this."

Nimb deflated and let himself lean on Ari's shoulder. He really wanted to be positive about this and not have more things to have anxiety over. Ari cast him a sympathetic look.

"So… What do we do now? We don't have any other lead…" Sanah finally said.

Brynel stood up and started pacing, thinking to himself. Everyone watched in tense silence until the Zeraora turned to them.

"Ari, I think you're the key here."

The Riolu jumped. "Huh? Me?"

"Yes, that Weavile from the Rising Bandits, I think you said he was called Ren?" He got a nod from Ari. "Well, he's still your friend, which means if you find him again he might tell you more."

Ari rubbed his arm as he thought of the implications of that. "Well… I'm not sure about that, he already said he couldn't tell me, and I don't want him to get mad at me…"

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Mylo giving him a more serious look than usual.

"Ari… Whether you like it or not, Ren is a criminal. And a dangerous one, as we just learned. Even if it hurts, we need to get whatever we can from him, it doesn't matter if that offends him."

Ouch, that's harsh. Ari knew Mylo was right, but he was still having a bad time accepting that. He just nodded sadly, not wanting to get on Mylo's bad side, even if he doubted he would say anything mean to him.

"And that's why I would like you four to keep investigating them," Brynel proposed. "You're the only ones who actually managed to find them twice, even if you weren't able to catch them. Well, catching them isn't our priority right now, either way."

He took a deep breath and then continued. "Now, regarding Armarouge." He stared at Ari for a long moment, and he could see the Riolu tensing with each passing second until he looked away, eyeing the whole group. "You ran into it again, but… did you learn something about it?"

Team Silver exchanged troubled looks, and Sanah spoke first. "We were kinda… focused on surviving. Also, the second time we were kinda busy with the bandits, you know."

"I used a violent seed, you should have seen me, it was pretty cool," Nimb said, but quickly deflated again. "Aaannnd that's not helping."

Ari gave him gentle pats on the head and Nimb quickly relaxed. "It's fine, dude. I know you were awesome."

"True," Mylo said.

"Unexpectedly epic," Sanah added.

The Archen blushed but quickly tried to get back on point. "But yeah, the only thing we can say for sure now is that Armarouge was going for Ari, it's not just a theory anymore."

Brynel nodded, and sensing the flinch from the Riolu he clasped his paws together and smacked his lips before announcing his decision. "Well, that settles it. I'm tagging along in your investigations whenever you go outside of town from now on."

Everyone was surprised by that, well, except for Mylo, who just looked slightly amused at the idea.

"Wait, like… Like a bodyguard?" Ari asked.

"I prefer to think of it as a guardian, or a tutor."

Sanah elbowed Ari with a smirk. "So, your babysitter."

"Ehehe… Yeah…" Ari chuckled. He found it funny but was a bit embarrassed at the same time. Despite that, having Brynel by his side did make him feel a little better. He was a policemon for a reason, after all. And he was not the only one, as Nimb looked very relieved to know the Zeraora was going to be there to protect them.

"Are you sure? This isn't a problem to you?" Mylo asked.

Brynel shook his head and sat down again. "It's not, I was already considering it myself since Maia did ask me at some point if I could do it. She was so worried about you two, but I wasn't sure if Armarouge was still around at the time."

Nimb blinked. "She… asked you to protect us?"

"Mhm. She said she'd do it herself but she's got a job to take care of already, and doing this is pretty much my job since it's related to what I'm investigating. And now that it's confirmed that Ari is being targeted, I don't need any more reasons."

Ari felt a bit bad about all this. Everyone was on edge and working more than they had to just for him. If only he could protect himself, he wouldn't have to rely on others and he'd stop being a liability. And he didn't want to worry Maia, on top of it.

"Hey, I know what you're thinking." Ari's thought process was stopped by Brynel as he poked at his forehead and smiled at him. "I'm being paid for this, so don't worry about it, okay?"

"I… I know, thank you," Ari lied. It wasn't just Brynel, it was everyone else who he was being a problem to by being a walking target. But for now, he pushed those thoughts aside. "Anyway, there was also… the weird voice I keep hearing since Deepsoul Lake."

"Oh, right, you mentioned that before," Sanah said. "You heard it again yesterday, right?"

Ari nodded. "In the mine. I couldn't exactly hear what it was saying, but the last time it was a bit clearer, and I think it was related to what was happening at the moment."

Brynel rested his paw on his chin while he rested against the back of his chair. "Hmmmm… So whatever that voice is, it might know what you're going through. Maybe they're watching you?"

"I don't know that yet, but… I really wanna learn more about it," Ari said and subconsciously started fidgeting with the feathers on Nimb's shoulder. "Whoever it is, they're trying to communicate with me, and that only means they might have something important to say. I want to try and reconnect with that voice somehow. Maybe if I concentrate enough I might be able to hear it again."

"Alright," Brynel said. "Good luck with that, and if you ever manage to connect with it, do tell me if they say something meaningful."

Ari nodded. Once that was settled, Team Silver returned to the academy, now that their break time was about to end and the next class was starting soon. Ari had a lot to think about in the meantime.

"And that's how the lightbulb came to be!" Saga the Ampharos explained eagerly, with all students gathered around her and the orb in her paw and listening in awe. "In the end, electric-type pokémon like me were key to taking this huge step towards the modern era!"

Louis the Reuniclus cleared his throat beside her, resting against a workbench. "Don't forget that wouldn't be a thing without the help of psychic-type pokémon. Orbs came to be a thing because we are capable of containing every kind of energy in such specific vessels, and thanks to that the academy is fully illuminated since a few weeks ago."

"Of course," Saga said, wrapping an arm around the gelatinous teacher. "Science and technology are two sides of the same coin, in the end. One wouldn't go far without the other!"

"Uh… Y-yes, that's true," Louis said with an awkward smile, and almost the whole class narrowed their eyes when they noticed Louis blushing (somehow that was possible with his gelatinous skin?) but nobody commented on it. Cora was chuckling a bit, though.

"Anyway, does anybody have any questions?"

Velia raised her hand. "Does every single orb depend on psychic power to be made?"

Louis nodded. "They do, but it's usually a combination of other types as well. Except with escape orbs, which are just the contained energy of the move teleport. And not only that; your gholdevices-"

"Gholdevice™," Saga corrected.

"... Yes, that. They were also made with psychic energy. Most of its features derive from that."

"Woah, who would have thought something like that could be made with just pokémon moves…" Asher said in awe.

Saga posed proudly. "I did! And now I'm working on extending the use of these devices so normal people outside of just investigators and explorers can use them as well. Or… at least just the communication features. Someday, everyone will be able to talk to anyone, anywhere!"

"Well, it would be nice to be able to use those more and not just during our investigations…" Sanah commented. "I still don't get why we're forced to give them back once we're done. What if something else comes up?"

Saga brought her flipper to her chin and hummed in thought. "I guess that's something I could talk about with the principal. I'll let you know if we reach some agreement."

"Ohhhh great!" Asher beamed.

"I'm scared of what that could mean if we still have that group chat with Asher in it," Velia commented, and she got an offended look from Asher while Cora and Ari snorted.

The class ended shortly after another rant about the different devices that Saga was planning on making for the development of society, even if that wasn't the lesson they were supposed to learn. They were given a short break until the next class, which everyone used just waiting in their usual classroom while Maia wasn't coming.

Well, everyone except Ari, who decided he couldn't wait to try and communicate with the voice in his head once again. It was too noisy wherever he went, so he decided to return to that janitor's room where he found Sanah that one time, and focus there. He assumed nobody would say anything if he decided to go in there for a little while, it's not like it was being used much during school hours.

Ari had to stop right before he reached his destination, as he met with a familiar scenario that he really didn't want to see again. A low-key form Toxtricity, Mylo's brother, conversed with a duo of Numel and Machop on one side of the hallway, close to the janitor's room. Well, 'conversed' was one way of saying it.

The duo seemed uneasy, and the Toxtricity had a sassy smirk plastered on his face. The latter spoke in a mocking tone.

"What? Did you suddenly lose your spine?"

"I, uh… No, I was just thinking about it!" The Machop responded with a forced smile.

The Numel spoke next. "W-we are usually really busy, so-"

"Right, so you're running away," Toxtricity interrupted. "What are you, some little girls?"

"NO! That's not…" Machop began, but he choked on his next words.

Ari saw all of it. He really didn't want to have anything to do with him, but… Those two were being harassed! He was super scared, but at least Nimb wasn't around this time, which meant he didn't need to worry about what could happen to him.

But was he going to do something? He might just end up humiliating himself… However, he didn't want anyone to suffer, and that side of himself always won. Maybe he could just talk things out and solve everything politely! Yeah, that was the easiest way.

Ari took a deep breath, and then stepped forward-

"Hey look!" Machop suddenly said, directing all the attention to Ari. "Isn't that the weird femboy that's in your brother's team?"

Ari froze. Femboy? Weird? "What? I… I don't understand what you mean by that."

Machop elbowed Numel, and he quickly understood what he wanted and spoke as well. "Yeah, you look all weird with those red things on your neck and tail. Are you into jewelry or what?"

"Haha, right, and you sound like a girl with that soft voice!" Machop commented and laughed immediately after, casting a glance at the Toxtricity to see if he was laughing as well. He at least seemed to be focused on Ari now, smirking subtly.

They were… trying to redirect all the attention by making fun of him? And he was planning to help them? He couldn't believe it, but that wasn't the problem now. Ari covered the pearl on his neck with one paw and frowned.

"What… Why are you saying that all of a sudden?" He said, unable to hide the tremor in his voice or even his lips. "And why is it a laughing matter if I sound or look like a girl?"

"Because that's so weird! Oh, and you're also with that Zangoose that nobody likes, right?" Numel said.

"Sanah? What do you mean? She's fine! You guys just don't get-"

He couldn't say anything else as Toxtricity was already approaching the Riolu. He stopped right in front of him, and Ari took a step back, overwhelmed.

"So. How does it feel to make out with that yellow bastard of my brother? Because he really needs to get a girlfriend to stop being such a loser."

Ari felt his heart sink and his breath hitched. What was he supposed to say in a situation like that? He was used to awful comments, or at least he used to be. Now, it had been a while since he felt safe, surrounded by pokémon who liked him the way he was. But this? This was something worth having a new complex for.

What could he even say to all that? He was scared, he was alone, with none of his friends to support him… Oh right, his friends. Ari realized something that bothered him more: the blue Toxtricity was insulting Mylo.

"Mylo… Mylo is not a loser!" Ari said, raising his voice slightly, even if he was still really nervous. "Don't talk about him like that, he's your brother…"

Oh, Toxtricity really didn't like that. He proved it with the scowl that quickly formed on his face. "Are you telling me what to do? That piece of garbage is barely my brother at this point, and you should-"

"He's not garbage!" Ari yelled.

SLAM!

Ari was pressed onto the wall, the Toxtricity's hand holding his chest with brute force as he trembled.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Toxtricity yelled back.

"Hey, stop it!" Another voice called from behind, deep and powerful. When Ari managed to snap back to reality and look around, he saw the same Noivern who stopped the bully the first time he saw him. "Let him go right now, Ryder!"

Ryder the Toxtricity eyed Ari for another tense moment while Ari just cringed and closed his eyes as he trembled, but he eventually released him with a resigned growl. Ari gasped as he dropped to the floor, but didn't move as the Noivern approached, the angry scowl on his face added to his huge size being a bit imposing for him.

"How many times do I have to tell you? This is an academy, not a battle arena!" Noivern scolded.

Ryder looked unamused like he had seen that many times already. Did he not care? Ari would be running for his life if he didn't know that anger wasn't directed towards him, but that Toxtricity only looked annoyed.

"Can't I just have a friendly conversation?" He asked, though his tone was sarcastic.

"Friendly?" Noivern slammed his foot on the floor and raised his voice. "You think you're so funny, huh? Well, you are coming with me to see the principal!"

Ryder rolled his eyes. "Pffft, whatever."

"And you too, Riolu," Noivern said as he turned to Ari with a calmer tone.

"Huh? But I… O-okay," Ari responded, hesitantly. Was he going to be expelled for being the victim? He really hoped he wasn't in any trouble and he just needed to 'testify'. Still, why him? What about-

Oh. When Ari cast a glance to where Numel and Machop were, there was no one there. Those two must have taken their chance to escape now that nobody was looking. Ari really hoped he wouldn't have to see them ever again, after how they made him feel.

Ari and Ryder followed the teacher to the principal's office, and they were met with the one and only Gholdengo. He hadn't seen that golden 'mon since the inauguration speech from weeks ago, but he still remembered the first impression he got from him.

"Well, I see we got a situation here! Morning, dear students and Emeric," Gholdengo said, nodding to the Noivern. "Now, dropping those formalities, what has happened?"

Emeric the Noivern spoke, walking past Gholdengo's desk and pointing to both students.

"It's this troublemaker here, as always! He was harassing Riolu and-"

"Oh, you're Ari, from Team Silver, am I right?" Gholdengo interrupted.

Ari blinked. "Huh? You… know me?"

"Of course I do! Your team has been involved with some of the weirdest cases yet, like that nightmare or those criminals you ran into a couple of times, and I must admit your unique appearance caught my attention since the very first day!"

"Oh, I see… Thank you, I guess?"

"But enough about that. Tell me, Ari, what happened? I wanna hear it from the pokémon involved."

Ari froze. He was expected to explain the situation by himself? Ryder was already giving him a nasty look, so he probably was going to make a dangerous enemy if he told the truth. Actually, he was more worried about causing problems to Mylo. But what else could he do?

"Well, you see… I was being too insistent on something and he got mad at me. I uh… I can't blame him," Ari said, sounding less convincing with each word.

Emeric facepalmed, but he wasn't given the chance to speak as Gholdengo spoke first. "I see, mhm. Is that true, Ryder? What can you tell us?"

"... Yeah, it wasn't completely my fault," the Toxtricity responded, not taking his eyes off Ari, who decided to just stare at the floor and pretend he hadn't noticed.

"Oh, for the love of…!" The Noivern started. He then raised his voice to a level that was painful to the rest. "Ryder had him pinned on the wall! If I hadn't stepped in, who knows what could have happened!"

"Please, Emeric, keep the volume down, we're right here," Gholdengo said, removing his fingers from his ears. "I'm not saying that's a lie, of course, this has happened a few times already. I will make sure his grades reflect that behavior. And Ryder, I know you're better than this. Will you try and solve your issues with other pokémon in a more peaceful way from now on?"

Ryder arched an eyebrow but decided to comply. "I guess."

"What?" Emeric slammed his claw on the desk and leaned closer to the principal. "You're still not going to expel him, after all this?"

Gholdengo wasn't affected by that, and he only smiled. "Of course not. Why shouldn't I give him the golden opportunity that everyone deserves? And with that I mean a second (or twenty-seventh) chance to become better. I believe in him."

'Wow, that's so many chances,' Ari thought as he frowned. 'I don't understand why he even tries so hard with such a bully, no one would ever have that much faith in- oh wait. I would.'

Ryder cleared his throat. "Anyway, if that's all, I'm going now. I don't wanna be late to class, you know."

"Oh, of course, you are dismissed!" Gholdengo said. With that, the blue Toxtricity stood up and left, leaving a confused Riolu and a fuming Noivern staring at the door.

Emeric eventually turned to Ari. "Why did you say that?"

Ari flinched. "Huh? S-sorry, I was just…"

"He probably doesn't want to trouble his teammate, don't you think?" Gholdengo interrupted, and Ari was caught by surprise with that.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Ari asked.

"Because I've seen that look in your eyes, and from what I learned, you and Ryder's brother are close friends now, which is something nobody could say until now. It makes sense that you thought he would give his brother a hard time because you're his teammate."

That was pretty impressive, Ari thought. He wondered if Gholdengo was an investigator as well at some point. "I see… Well, you're right. Sorry, I shouldn't have lied…"

"Ah, don't worry about it."

However, Ari felt a big and strong claw on his shoulder, and his initial reaction was to cringe and cover his head with both arms.

"What are you doing?" Emeric said.

Once Ari realized he wasn't in any danger, he lowered his arms while he smiled sheepishly. "Ah, it's nothing…"

He kinda hated that his past experiences had led him to have such reflexes. He was especially upset because he had a Noivern friend before and he was such a nice guy, he would never be afraid of him. But this teacher… He was huge and imposing, and he was looking at him with intense eyes. Was he going to be yelled at?

Emeric shrugged. "Anyway. Ari, was it?" The Riolu nodded. "Okay, Ari. I know you care about your teammate, but Ryder was trying to hurt you. I can see just by looking at you that you're the kind to always put others first, but you deserve better than that."

Oh. That Noivern was just super intimidating, but he was a teacher after all, and a caring one. That almost made him forget about the situation he was in.

"I… Damn, why do I feel like I always get lectured on the same topic?" Ari asked, and he sighed. "But still, this wasn't just for Mylo, I was scared of making his brother target me as a victim now. I really don't wanna get into more trouble…"

Emeric gave him a gentle pat on the back. "That's what I'm for, you don't have to worry about it. I'm always there to stop fights! I'm no softie, unlike Your Goldness here."

"I'm not soft, I just prefer diplomacy," Gholdengo explained but then turned to Ari. "Either way, he's right, you don't have to worry. That would be all, I hope you keep getting great results with your exams and investigations!"

Ari smiled and nodded, leaving his chair. "Thank you, mister…. Uh… Gholdengo? Actually, I don't even know your name, sorry, haha…"

The principal chuckled. "I don't have a name, it's just Gholdengo. Luckily, there aren't many of my species around, so it never gets confusing."

"Oh, I see…" Ari wasn't too convinced. He never heard of anyone who didn't have their own name. Pachirisu's Guild was called like that because the species was easier to picture than a name, but the guildmaster had his own name. But Gholdengo, being someone so important…

He didn't think too much about it and left the office in a hurry, realizing he had spent too much time there and he lost his chance of practicing to connect with that voice again. As he ran through the hallway, he passed right in front of the entrance to Reko's classroom/dojo, and someone came from it.

It was Mylo.

"Hey Ari, what are you doing here?"

"Mylo! I um… ran into a situation, nothing too important, really. And you? What were you doing in there?"

Mylo gave one more look at the dojo and then turned back to Ari. "Well, I guess I can't lie to you. I asked Reko if he could train me."

Ari frowned. "Train? Why?"

The yellow Toxtricity crossed his arms. "I think we have more than enough reasons at this point, Ari. We got our asses beat up by the Rising Bandits, and knowing what's to come I wanna be prepared just in case."

Ari didn't like the sound of that. It was pretty obvious from the way Mylo reacted when he fainted against the feral Primeape that one time he took defeats very seriously. And knowing what they were against, he couldn't blame him, but he worried Mylo was too obsessed with that. They were investigators, not explorers.

Besides that, seeing him train for 'what's to come' was only a reminder of the likely threat that was coming for them, which was really anxiety-inducing.

"I see, you're taking it seriously, huh?" Ari said.

"Mhm. But forget about that for now," Mylo said as he walked alongside Ari. "Asher and I thought of hanging out later to cook something together at his place. Would you like to come as well? I already asked Nimb and- well, there's food, so you can guess his answer."

Ari snorted. "Haha, of course he would. Yeah, I'd like to go as well!"

"Neat. See you two after class then."

Ari then remembered he planned on connecting with the voice after class and mentally facepalmed. Oh well, if it was to spend time with his friends then it was worth it. Maybe he would still have some time left after- oh right, he also promised Sanah he would study with her in the evening.

Maybe if he left a bit earlier from Asher's house it would be fine?

"Done! Now what?"

"You put the butter here and mix it with the sugar carefully."

Asher did as told and mixed the ingredients, occasionally mixing too hard and spilling some of it around. Nimb, who was leaning on the kitchen table, licked his beak as some of the mix was splattered onto his face. He wouldn't complain.

Ari carried a bowl with chocolate chips and gave it to Mylo, who grabbed it with one hand and added them to the mix while Asher stirred.

"Is it safe for me to eat those? That's so much chocolate," Ari asked.

"Yeah, you'll be fine! It's just chocolate, everyone loves it!" Asher said with a beaming smile and quickly swallowed before his drool could fall on the floor for someone to step on it. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Hmmm I guess you're right," Ari said before grabbing a chocolate chip from the bag that was resting on a corner and munching it. "Mmmmmm this is amazing…"

"GIMME ONE."

Ari jumped as Nimb went for his natural prey (sugar) and grabbed more than just one chip from the bag, almost pushing Ari in the process. He devoured them in a matter of seconds while Ari watched in horror.

"I… am deeply concerned for you," the Riolu said.

"I hope you washed your wings, Nimb," Mylo said while stirring.

Nimb stopped munching and turned to him, his voice being muffled with chocolate. "Wuff… aw duwdn't."

"Oh, don't worry about it! I didn't either," Asher responded nonchalantly.

Mylo stopped stirring and then turned his head very slowly towards the Cyclizar. Ari could swear he saw a vein on his head twitching.

"You… have been touching all the food with your claws dirty?" Mylo asked. His voice sounded calm but the tone was pretty much a warning sign.

"Uhhh…. Yes?"

Mylo 'carefully' put down the beater on the table (slamming it loudly) and forced a toothy grin. "Asher… That's not how you're supposed to cook! The ingredients could be infected and that's going to affect not only the taste but your health as well!"

Everyone flinched at the sudden tone shift that no one ever saw in him. Nimb leaned closer to Ari, but he stepped aside and gave him a look that pretty much said 'Aaah no, you're on your own for this one'.

Asher chuckled awkwardly. "I… I didn't know that, I guess I'm used to-"

"Go wash your hands now."

Asher gulped and slowly walked to the washroom without taking an eye off Mylo, until he was far away enough he turned around and ran out of the room. Mylo then directed his gaze towards Nimb, who stiffened as he approached him.

"You're going as well," Mylo said while grabbing Nimb and carrying him under his arm like a pillow. Nimb didn't fight it and instead stood still with a blank face as he was carried outside. Meanwhile, Ari just stood there watching, until he was sure he was alone and took his chance to pick another chocolate chip from the bag and eat it calmly.

Once everyone was clean and ready to go, they didn't take too much longer to finish the cookies that Asher proposed to make. They looked fantastic, and Nimb and Asher were going to flood the apartment with saliva if they hadn't eaten already, so everyone gathered on the cushions in the living room and enjoyed the snack.

Nimb teared up while he savored a cookie. "This is… perfect…"

"Hmmm…" Mylo took a small bite from one of the cookies and rubbed his chin as he thought. "They don't have enough sugar, and we kinda overcooked them, but I guess this will do. There's not much we can do without one of those modern ovens they're starting to sell recently."

"Oh right, I saw they work with just electricity! Once I have enough money that's the first thing I'm going to buy," Asher said before taking a bite of another cookie. He let out a whimper that suggested he was, indeed, enjoying it. "Still, these are godlike already…"

Mylo noticed Ari wasn't saying a thing, and he was just eating his cookie with his eyes closed. "Ari, is everything okay?"

Ari snapped his eyes open. "Eh? Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just trying to focus to see if I could hear that voice again."

Asher tilted his head cutely. "You're hearing voices? Jeez, I guess I was wrong about giving you so much chocolate."

Ari chuckled. "Haha, it's not that, dude! I've been hearing a voice trying to talk to me since the lake incident, and I've been trying to reconnect with it all day. I just… Can't find the right moment."

"Hmmm… Have you tried talking to it yourself?" Mylo suggested.

The Riolu blinked. "... Oh. No, I haven't." Ari stood up, dropping his half-eaten cookie on the table, and pressed his paws against his temples, closing his eyes again. "Hey! Uh… Are you there? Whoever you are, please, give me a signal!"

Everyone stood silent as they waited for anything, but nothing happened for a long moment until a mumbling caught Ari's attention, and he perked up. Only to realize it was just Nimb nibbling on another cookie.

"... Sowwy," Nimb said, cringing.

Ari sighed in defeat. "It's no use, I don't know what triggered it the other times…"

Asher leaned closer and wrapped his arm around him. "Don't sweat it, buddy, I'm sure you just need to give it time!"

Ari laid his paw on Asher's arm in a weird attempt at a hug and smiled. "I guess you're right… Thanks, Asher."

He was definitely going to keep trying for the rest of the day, though.

"Do you think the voice was triggered by something?" Mylo suddenly asked, drawing a confused look from Ari. "You know, like Armarouge, or… your friend."

Ari pondered that. It was true that the last two times he heard it was when he stumbled across them, but the first time it happened just because.

"I'm not too sure… But maybe when we run into Ren again I could try, maybe even get some advice from him."

The Toxtricity stood up and picked the empty plate where the cookies were, then motioned towards the kitchen as he spoke. "Are you really going to ask him that?"

"Of course! He always knows what to say."

Mylo frowned at that but didn't respond, instead just mumbling something to himself.

"Did you, mnm, say something?" Nimb asked between licks to his wings, scavenging for traces of cookie.

Mylo stopped. "... No. Never mind."

"Aw, come on, you can tell us!" Ari insisted, approaching him from behind. "Is it something about Ren?"

Mylo thought for a long moment until he sighed. "Yes, it's about him. I don't like him."

Ari winced. "Oh… I guess I should have imagined."

Mylo shook his head. "Not just that. Your friend is a terrorist, Ari. I'm sorry, but I only tolerated him until now because he treats you well. But what he's planning to do is something I can't overlook."

"I… I can't blame you, as much as it pains me. But I know he's a good pokémon! I want to find him and help him realize that whatever he's doing is wrong!"

"Ari… That's really sweet of you, but also naïve." Mylo looked back at him as his eyes darkened. "Are you going to just forgive a criminal that potentially killed hundreds of pokémon?"

Ari gasped. He really didn't want to think about it, but of course, he had pondered that already. It had been rounding his mind since his last encounter with Ren. "That's why we have to stop him before he does something irreversible! Please, just give him a chance! I don't want you to hate half of my friends…"

Oh right, that was about Sanah as well. Mylo figured he wasn't happy about it, that's why he wanted to keep it secret, but that's not an option anymore. He sighed.

"You're always too forgiving. But I guess that's what makes you… Well, you."

The Riolu perked up as both Nimb and Asher arrived by his side. "So that means…?"

Mylo shrugged. "Alright. I don't like him, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt until proven as an actual menace. I hope you know what you're doing."

Ari beamed and wrapped an arm around Nimb's neck, who just smiled back. "Cool, thank you! You won't regret it!"

He was going to regret it. What if Ren had already killed someone? Or worse, what if he liked pinap berries? He wouldn't forgive that himself. Either way, Mylo was definitely going to fight Ren in a death battle if they ever got close to each other. Everything sucked.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Ari tried to focus on the lecture at hand. As he promised, he and Nimb were at Sanah's place studying for the next exam. Ari couldn't have any other moment to himself to try and talk to the voice again since it was already too late. Luckily, Sanah wasn't too mad at them for making her wait.

"So you're telling me I have to write all this every single time I wanna quote something from a book?" Sanah asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's tedious, it's boring… But that's the law," Ari said followed by a sigh. "And the rules are always poorly explained so be prepared to lose points with this in your essays. There's no way to correctly cite a source, ever."

"Awwww come ooooon," Sanah complained, dramatically letting herself drop on Ari's side while he tried to balance her with both arms. "This sucks ass!"

"It does?" Nimb asked, standing from the chair next to Ari's. "And where did you get that information? Please cite the source of it."

Sanah pointed a finger at Nimb and smirked. "YOU suck ass."

The Archen shook his head nonchalantly. "I'm sorry, that's not a valid source. You failed!"

"Bitch."

Ari snorted. "Daaaamn, Nimb, are you going to let that pass? She didn't even cite it correctly."

"Double fail then," Nimb added as he crossed his arms.

Sanah closed the book on her paws and motioned to hit Nimb with it, making him cringe, but she didn't finish the attack, instead setting the book aside. "But seriously guys, I need a break."

"Yeah, me too." Ari slumped on top of the table and let out a deep sigh. "It's been a long day…"

"No shit, after having to deal with bullies…" Sanah said, realizing a bit too late that she was basically calling herself out on that one, and she looked away trying to hide her frown.

However, she was an open book for Ari, who wrapped an arm around her back and smiled. "No hard feelings, remember?"

"... Yeah, you're right." She smiled back.

"I still don't get it, though," Nimb commented, drawing their attention. "They just made fun of you because you were in a team with Mylo?"

Ari thought about it for a moment, debating on whether or not to tell them the whole thing, including the ugly comments. Well, they were his closest friends currently, so he might as well be honest.

"No, there was more. Apparently, I look and sound like… like a girl, according to them."

Nimb and Sanah frowned, pretty much confused at that response. However, Sanah eventually grimaced like she just realized something.

"I… don't see why," Nimb said.

"Wait Ari, you said they were a Machop and a Numel?" Sanah asked.

"Uh… Yes, why?"

She facepalmed. "Of course, how could I forget? Those fucking losers…"

"You know them?" Ari chose to hide the fact that they also mentioned Sanah, just to protect her sanity for now.

Sanah started tapping her fingers on the table rhythmically, clearly uneasy. Those memories weren't pleasant, but there they were again. "I already studied in the academy before being in the investigation class. You know, the general education thing. And you can easily guess I wasn't too popular, precisely."

"Oh, I see…" Ari said as he frowned. "Did they give you a hard time?"

Sanah scoffed. "Well, everyone did, and I still hate them all. But those two weren't the worst of it."

Nimb tilted his head curiously. "Then who was?"

"... Lyla."

Ari and Nimb gasped simultaneously. "Lyla?"

"Wait," Ari continued. "So you were in the same class? That's why you knew each other?"

Sanah nodded slowly, still thinking about what exactly she was willing to tell them. "Ugh, alright. Remember what she did to you? Let's say that wasn't the first time she did something like that."

That was a bit strange… Ari remembered Lyla's opinion of Sanah, and from the sound of it, Sanah was the actual problem there. But Sanah didn't seem to think the same. Neither Ari nor Nimb mentioned that, just in case.

"I see…" Ari eventually said. "We won't pry anymore. I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

Sanah crossed her arms with a bit of annoyance. "It's whatever, but… Huh, I can't believe you still go visit her after what she did."

That… kinda sounded like Mylo when he complained about Ren. "I'm sorry…" That was all Ari could say. Meanwhile, Nimb only watched in concern.

"... You're fine, I'm just a little annoyed, that's all."

"Even if you two are friends because of Ari's forgiveness?" Nimb said, sharper than he expected to be. Sanah felt it like a dagger, and the Riolu tensed, expecting a fight because of it.

Luckily, Sanah's scowl quickly faded and she just sighed. "Fuck you and your valid points. I shouldn't even be mad, I'm not making any sense…"

Ari frowned and rested a paw on the Zangoose's shoulder. "It's okay, I get that it's still hard to accept. One thing doesn't take out the other."

"And… sorry for being blunt," Nimb said, lowering his head.

Sanah shook her head and stood up. "You know? Let's just forget about this conversation. I'm super hungry, and I should cook something for my dad as well. Wanna join us?"

Ari and Nimb exchanged glances, a bit hesitant. They already ate a lot of cookies with Mylo and Asher, so maybe it wasn't a good idea. However…

"I'm in."

Damn it, Nimb. Such a glutton like always. Ari was almost concerned about his health.

"Well… I guess we can stay, yeah!" Ari added. Not like he didn't want to stay, even if he didn't care about the food. He really wanted to take some time to himself to connect with the voice, but spending some time with Sanah was always nice.

So they stayed, and Sanah took care of the cooking with a bit of help from Ari and Nimb. Sanah's dad eventually came out of his room and sat in the living room, waiting for the food to be finished while the three friends collaborated in the kitchen.

Ari was surprised with how much Sanah knew about cooking, and she thought about how much she had in common with Mylo. If only they didn't hate each other, they could have so much fun together. It would be awesome, all of Team Silver hanging out… but one could only dream.

Sanah looked at the duo. "Alright, this is almost ready, I can take care of it. Could either of you go check on my dad meanwhile? He's probably super bored."

Ari raised his paw. "I can go! You two don't burn the lentils while I'm gone!"

Nimb smirked while Sanah waved him off, and they both went back to the matter at hand. Meanwhile, Ari arrived at the living room and saw Griff sitting on the table, looking a bit tired, but otherwise in a good mood.

Griff perked up as he saw the Riolu. "Oh hey, I take the food's going well?"

"Yeah! It's almost finished, and it's looking great. You can tell by the smell, heh."

The Pangoro nodded, satisfied, and then tapped on the seat right beside him. "Come on, sit with me! I've been meaning to talk to you so I can get to know my daughter's friends better."

"Oh, right!" Ari complied, taking the seat and immediately getting a big paw resting on his back. He flinched but didn't move away.

"So, Sanah has told me a lot about you! You're quite the character, aren't you?"

"Uh… She did?"

Griff laughed weakly, patting the Riolu with the force of a giant bear, which he was. "Indeed! I can tell from the way she talks that you mean a lot to her. I haven't seen her so happy in years…"

Ari blushed. "Oh, t-thank you… I'm just trying to be a good friend, she also means a lot to me."

"I can tell, you look like a really nice boy. And to think she tried to make me think you and Nimb were only 'teammates'... She really needed friends, after how much she suffered…"

That made Ari frown, being reminded of the awful past she had in the academy. He was glad it was different now, at least, but one couldn't help but wonder if it was because of her temper that others didn't like her, or the way others treated her made her like that.

"Was it always like that?" Ari eventually asked.

Griff crossed his arms as he reminisced. "She's always been a bit moody, but it got way worse when she joined the academy a few years ago. I guess I can't control her mother's genes."

Ari nodded. "Right…"

"Anyway," the Pangoro patted him strongly once more, making him flinch, and smirked. "Now that she has you, you better take good care of her, okay? If you don't, I'll make sure you regret it!" He joked.

"DAD!" Sanah had entered the living room and quickly facepalmed at her father's comments, a blush overtaking her face. "Don't embarrass me, damn it! And you're going to scare him!"

Ari smiled sheepishly. "Uuhhhh no, I'm fine, really! Haha…"

"Sorry sweetie, you know I'm just teasing," Griff said.

Sanah quickly approached Ari and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away from his dad and taking him with her. "You're helping me now in the kitchen. NIIIMB, YOUR TURN!"

Nimb swapped with Ari and stayed with Griff instead, while Ari helped Sanah. The food smelled delicious, and Ari almost wanted to eat his part even if he was already stuffed with the cookies from before.

"Sorry about that, my dad is… special."

"Nah, he was quite nice, don't worry."

Sanah sighed. "That's good to know."

Ari prepared the dishes as he thought about his previous conversation. Maybe it was his insecurity resurfacing again, but he needed to know the truth either way.

"Sanah… Are you forcing yourself to be nice to me?"

Sanah frowned. "Huh? Where did that come from?"

Ari scratched his head awkwardly. It was a bit embarrassing to be asking that. "Since, you know, you've always been a bit sarcastic and blunt. I'm not saying that I believe you don't actually like me, we already talked about that. It's just… The way you act with me."

"Oh, that…" Sanah opened one of the cabinets and stared at it for a long moment as she thought about her answer. She then took a vase and spoke. "Maybe it's because I know you're sensitive, but also… I guess I needed to compensate for what I did."

"You're still thinking about that?"

Sanah sighed. "Of course I do. After what I saw in your dream, I felt like trash knowing that I only contributed to increasing your pain."

That made sense. Ari thought it was going to be hard for her to forgive herself at this point, so there wasn't much she could do. However… "What you did for me in the dream… Or rather, what you said. Was all of that forced?"

"What? No, that's… I said what I think."

Ari smiled. "Then you already made up for it."

Sanah stared back, unsure of what to think. His smile seemed genuine at least, which eased her concerns a bit. Worrying about it at this point wasn't taking her anywhere, so she might as well trust the Riolu and be happy about the fact that they're good friends now.

Once the food was finished, they took the plates to the living room and found Nimb and Griff laughing together. Ari was surprised to see how easy it was for him to feel comfortable around that old bear, but he wasn't complaining.

They had a good time all together, but Ari realized time had passed quickly and he still hadn't been able to do what he had been planning to do all day. Luckily, they were finally going home now, so that was his chance.

That wasn't his chance. As soon as Ari and Nimb were about to enter the cottage, a wild Cora appeared and called for them. She was apparently going to pay Lyla a visit and asked if they wanted to come as well. 'Talk about coincidences,' Ari thought, 'we were just talking about her earlier.'

Ari wanted to visit her either way, so he said yes. Nimb didn't have much better to do, so he joined as well. The rest was pretty much the same as always, with them going to the police station and asking that moody Gallade to visit one of the prisoners.

"Good news! Seems like I'm going to be put on probation soon, which means I'm going to be free!" Lyla beamed, leaning closer to the jail door. "Well, kinda."

"Oh really? That's great!" Cora said with a wide grin as she shook Nimb eagerly.

"Ow, oW, yeEah, I'm glaAaD," Nimb managed to say.

"That's amazing! When is it happening?" Ari asked.

The Seviper brought her tail to her chin and hummed in thought. "I thinnnnk next week maybe? I'll have to come spend the nights here, but aside from that I can go outside and spend time with you guys! Also, I want to check if my house hasn't caught on fire while I was out."

"Sounds good!" Cora said, finally setting Nimb aside. "We have to take you to that new ice cream shop that recently opened!"

Ari nodded. "Right! It was pretty nice, and turns out one of the employees is Sssssssssss-uh."

Lyla deadpanned. "Go ahead. You were going to say it's Sanah, right?"

Cora rubbed her arm and exchanged a glance with Ari and Nimb. "Yeah, well… It would be a good way for you two to make up, huh?"

Lyla shook her head and turned around, facing the wall. "I'm not like you guys, I can't forgive that easily."

"I guess I can understand that…" Ari said, visibly disappointed. "I just wish there was some way to-"

"What did even happen between you two?" Nimb interrupted. "Neither of you have explained a thing and both insist the other did something bad!"

Lyla thought about that. It was true that she never talked about it, but she didn't get asked either. Still, after all that she did to them, they deserve to at least know the most important part.

"Okay, listen… Sanah and I were actually close back in the day." She got surprised looks from Ari and Nimb, but not from Cora, who already knew that. "And everyone else used to hate her, for… well, the way she is."

"Yeah, we got filled in with that earlier…" Ari said. "So what happened then?"

"I don't know what got into her, but one day she just pushed me away from her life. She exploded on me like I did something to her, even if I was the only one who hadn't."

Cora gasped. "Just like that? I don't get it, I'm sure there has to be some reason!"

Lyla snorted. "Who knows? Maybe she got called a jerk so much that she actually became one with no salvation. But that's not enough reason to treat me like that."

Ari and Nimb exchanged glances. That argument had so many holes, especially knowing what Sanah said. Ari decided to comment on that. "If I may… I think you might not have the full picture. You don't know what she thinks that happened, and she doesn't know what you think either."

The Seviper glanced back to where her psychology books lay on her desk, and sighed. "Maybe you're right, but I have no way of knowing now. I don't think I wanna talk to her, and she probably thinks the same."

"Well, that kinda sucks," Nimb said. "Now that you're about to get out of here…"

"But we can't force these things, Nimb," Ari said, resting a paw on the Archen's shoulder. "And it's up to them."

"Aren't you the one who always tries to fix others' issues?"

Ari opened his mouth but didn't say anything, very much aware that he was going to intrude on the matter. He glanced at Lyla and she deadpanned.

"Arceus damn it, Ari."

Sanah and Lyla's relationship was a concern for another day, Ari thought. Even if he wanted to help with that, fixing Sanah's relationship with both her and Mylo was already too much and he was meddling in their lives to a concerning degree. Even after the conversation he had with Kyle.

But he was finally home now, and Ari could train for once. Well, he wanted to call it training, but it was just an effort to hear that voice in his mind again. He'd been trying every now and then during the whole day, but he got no results. Nimb was resting in the living room with Maia while he focused on their bedroom.

He closed his eyes…

"Come on, tell me something… I know you're there!"

….. Nothing.

"Alright, what if I use my aura at the same time?"

He concentrated and a blue aura enveloped his body, feelers rising in a really cool and edgy way, which looked silly in someone like him. He waited, and waited, and waited…

…. Still nothing.

His aura tassels fell limp and Ari sagged. "Ugh, come on… I don't know what else to do!"

A voice coming from behind caught him by surprise.

"Maybe you're focusing on the wrong thing?"

Ari jumped and turned to the source, finding a Decidueye giving him a warm look. "Oh, Maia… What do you mean?"

She sat down next to Ari on his bed and enveloped him in her wing. "You're trying to randomly hear a voice in your head, but have you tried to replicate what happened the previous times you heard it?"

Ari blinked. Of course, he would be so stupid to forget such an obvious answer. "I… didn't. Damn, I'm such a-"

"Hey, no insults."

He blushed with embarrassment. "Uh, sorry. Anyway, the first time it was right when I entered that cave in Deepsoul Lake, but I don't think I can go there anymore after… that."

"Okay… What else?"

Ari crossed his arms as he reminisced of his adventure of the previous day. "I only heard it two more times. One was right when… Armarouge was about to attack me and I couldn't move." Ari perked up, realization dawning on him. "Maybe it was trying to help me snap out of it?"

Maia nodded, satisfied. "Good. And the last time?"

"Hmmm… That was right when I saw the Rising Bandits. I think it was trying to tell me something about them."

"Then that voice usually speaks to you whenever you're in the middle of some intense situation, right?"

Ari gasped. "Right! Those last times were when I was either in danger or against someone tough. But… ugh, I can't replicate that now."

Maia scratched her chin, pensive. Maybe that wasn't possible, unless…

"You can't replicate the situations, but you can replicate how you felt about them.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ari asked with a tilt of his head.

"How did the voice know what you were going through? Is it someone that's inside your mind, or rather -and this is more likely- someone that's trying to contact you via telepathy?"

Ari's eyes went wide the more he thought about it. "Right! So in order to know what is going on with me, maybe they're reading my emotions?"

"That's a possibility, yes. So if you try to think about how you felt in those situations, that might trigger something. Why don't you try?"

Ari nodded, and then closed his eyes, with Maia watching closely. "Let's see… When I saw Armarouge, I felt… So scared. Hopeless, weak. Then, when I saw the Rising Bandits, I felt determined. Overall, since I knew Ren was there, I also felt hope. But I also felt… scared too."

"Maybe fear is the main trigger?"

Maia might be right. But how was he supposed to feel that if there wasn't actual danger? … Either way, he needed to try. If emotions were actually what triggered the voice, that was the fastest way to test that.

Ari thought of the possibility of running into Armarouge again. It was a scenario where he was completely alone, with no Nimb, Sanah, or Mylo. No Maia.

He thought of the sheer strength of that monster, trying to choke him to death, and how that could happen again if it ever finds him. It could find him while he's asleep…

He thought of what could happen if he couldn't convince Ren to stop whatever he was doing. Of how the world as he knows it might go to hell soon if what the Weavile said is true. He thought about how weak he was. How he was not going to survive all of that, and it was getting dangerous each day.

He thought about his parents-

"URRGH!"

Ari gripped his head as he felt like his brain was being squeezed. It was a pain he'd never felt before, way worse than any headache.

"Ari! What's wrong?" Maia said as she brought a wing to the Riolu's back.

It stung.

"I… It hurts so much!" Ari cringed harder, basically curling into a ball as he teared up in pain. "My head…"

"O-okay, stop those scary thoughts then!" She didn't know what to say, embracing Ari out of desperation.

It was terrible, but it was new.

A loud noise could be heard right in front of the Riolu, but he didn't look up, too focused on the pain. However, he did notice Maia flinch at whatever happened.

And just as the pain came, it faded. Ari let out a deep, shuddering breath, finally relaxing. He certainly didn't want to go through that ever again.

"Ari… Your paws…!"

Ari opened his eyes and saw the surprised look on Maia. He blinked, and then stopped gripping his head and brought his paws in front of him.

…. They were glowing red.

Ari stared at his paws for a long moment with his mouth agape. That wasn't like the power of his pearls. Whenever he used his pearls, his whole body glowed, not just his paws. And this had a different red hue.

He then noticed the mess in front of him. The noise he heard was a bunch of books that had fallen down from the bookshelf. That's weird, the windows were closed and he didn't move from there…

And just like that, the glow on his paws disappeared. Ari had to blink a few times, both to make sure he hadn't imagined anything and to wipe his tears away.

"Go… M..sty Va…ey"

Ari gasped. There it was, the voice!

"Hey! Who are you, what do you mean by that?" Ari quickly responded, closing his eyes again, and Maia tensed beside him, supporting him with a wing.

He waited for a long moment, but nothing else came. Ari opened his eyes and sighed.

"You heard it?" Maia asked.

Ari slowly nodded. "Yes… I don't know what the hell just happened, but I could hear the voice again, and it was clearer now…" He turned to Maia with a determined look. "I think it wants me to go to Misty Valley."

Maia frowned. "What? Why would it- uh, what if it's a trap? I don't want you to be ambushed!"

"I won't be! I could ask to investigate the place now that some time has passed since the ferals escaped, and Nimb, Mylo and Sanah could come with me, as well as Brynel."

Maia's eyes locked with Ari's for a long time, but Ari's willpower was unyielding, and she relented. "Okay… I guess I can't stop you, after all this." She then turned to the pile of books. "But… What was that earlier?"

Ari looked at his paws with a furrowed brow. "I don't know. Maybe that pain was related? My paws never glowed like that before…"

Maia frowned with concern. She was sure, it was Ari who did that, she just didn't know how exactly.

She might have a theory, though.

Far from Bismuth Town, somewhere deep underground, a quadrupedal figure stood in a dark room with a dirt floor and fortified metallic walls. Beside him, another dark and tall figure waited in silence as the first one observed the giant root protruding from the ceiling, pretty much the only thing that could be seen in that room.

The silence could be seen as unnerving for anyone, except for the two pokémon present at the moment. However, four new figures emerged from the door on the other side of the room, and the quadrupedal turned to them.

"Ah, you took your time."

An Inteleon scoffed. "You know how this works, these three are certified slowpokes."

"Leave it already, Keene!" A Spidops fumed, stomping her leg on the ground. "You can't just expect me to be fast if I'm called in the middle of my beauty sleep!"

"It's okay, Arabella, calm down," the quadrupedal said and then glanced at the whole group. "First, I wanna thank you for your success in the latest mission. We now have more than enough orbs to continue with our plan."

"It was no problem, sir Zed," the third member, an Obstagoon, said proudly. He then cast a glance at the last member. "Even if some of us were a bit… distracted, bwahaha!"

Ren crossed his arms and looked away. "I did my part, don't go complaining now."

"You better haven't told him anything about our mission," the Spidops said, narrowing her eyes.

"I didn't!"

"Arabella, don't be too hard on him, come on," Keene the Inteleon interrupted. "I understand that he missed his old friend after such a long time."

The Weavile sighed. "Yeah… But we're not here to talk about what happened that day."

"You think? I was really surprised to see Neo showing up right then of all moments, and going straight for your friend," Keene said.

The quadrupedal, now named Zed, perked up. "Neo? You mean the Armarouge?" He got a collective nod. "I see they're doing a great job out there, I'm glad. They're going to be one of our strongest warriors."

"That's great and all, but… What did you call us for?" Arabella interrupted, tapping one of her legs on the dirt to prove she was growing impatient.

Zed nodded. "Right. I want you four to head back to the location of the first lab to retrieve the blueprints."

Keene's eyes widened at that. "The blueprints are still there?"

"It seems we made a mistake, yes. If anyone were to find those, we could be in trouble. That's why I want you four to go there soon. You got a long way ahead to get there, so you better prepare."

"Anything for the plan," Spike said.

"Yeah, what he says," Arabella added, but her voice was an indicator that she really didn't want to go that far again.

"That's all, you're dismissed," Zed said, and the Rising Bandits left the room, not before Ren stole a last glance at the shady duo, and then left with the rest.

Zed sighed. "I swear, if they lose the blueprints on the way back…"

The second figure, who had been quiet during the whole thing, finally spoke. "Sir, if I may…" Zed turned to her. "We know that Neo has caused some trouble to the enemies they encountered in their last mission, right?"

"... Yes, that's true. And I think I know where you're going with that. I like the idea!"

"Should I call Riska, then?"

Zed nodded. "We need to regain control."

Villain reveal! I'm sure you all were wondering if everyone was just too worried and the Rising Bandits weren't organized at all, but there you go! I hope I'm not dropping too many names out there, but don't worry, I'll make sure you get reminders every now and then so you won't struggle to memorize them. Also, femenine Ari.

By the way, the chapter's title is a reference to Dust_Scout's fic, "Depths of Recollection". Go check it out!

Next time: Team Silver finally goes to Misty Valley.