Chapter 34 – Rest and Recovery

With the confirmation that Owen was stable in his fully evolved form, Amia was more than happy to take him to Kilo Village with Rhys and Zena to find some supplies to repair his bag. Anam, missing the warmth of the sun and the outdoors that the headquarters simply could not provide, tagged along with them with the intention of returning home. He heard that some of the Pokémon were wondering how he and James were doing, anyway.

At first, Owen was worried that his strange appearance might make the Kilo Villagers worried. After all, compared to a normal Charizard, his proportions were different—not to mention the pointed horns. But Amia assured him that it was fine.

"We'll just say you're a southern Charizard," Amia said. "If a Vulpix can be icy and we pass it off as southern, there's no way they'll look twice if we say you're from the south. Annexation was only a few decades ago, so I think we can afford that explanation."

"And you're with me!" Anam said. "They'll know you're safe."

They appeared in the central Waypoint in a flash of light. They stepped off the central, colorful, gemlike-encrusted platform; Owen marveled at how properly sized everything was now that he was as tall as most of the others. "Wow," he said. "I kinda feel like I fit in with the other Hearts, now. Everything's at the right size."

"Your size is much more fitting, now, Owen," Zena commented. "I can almost talk to you at eye level, now." Though, not quite. She still had to look down from her normal stance.

"That's good," Rhys said. "This is technically the first time you've ever come to Kilo Village in this form. We were very careful to make sure you didn't before."

"Yeah, I don't have any memories coming back about here now that I'm a Charizard," he said. "So that's good—I didn't accidentally, you know…"

"I will get the supplies for your bag, Owen," Rhys said, and Owen was grateful for the change of topic. "Why don't you and the others follow Anam to the Association to catch up with Nevren?"

"Oh, that's a great idea! You know, Rhys, what if we gave Owen's old Everstone to the rest of Team Alloy? That should prevent them from evolving. They can go on a little Mission together! Maybe with you as an escort? Or me." Amia looked down at Owen, smiling.

"Or me," Zena spoke up. "I wouldn't mind, now that I also know the Suppression Aura if it's needed."

"You know, I haven't gone on a normal mission in a while," Owen said. "Feels like forever! Oh, but it's already starting to get a little late in the afternoon…"

"It could always be a quick one," Amia offered. "But we do need to make sure they don't evolve near you. Not yet. So, if you do go, make sure they keep that Everstone near them."

"…What do you mean, not yet?" Owen asked. "I thought I was over it. Isn't it okay now? I can help calm them down if they aren't ready!"

"No, that's… that's not it," Amia said. "There's still something we need to be careful about, Owen. Don't you remember?"

"Remember? No, I'm… I mean, I'm still kinda remembering stuff." He tittered, nervous. "I didn't take the time to think back yet. But it feels like… there's still stuff missing. So, I think it's still coming back to me."

"Hmm…" Amia bit at the inside of her cheek. "Well… if they ever evolve in front of you—don't get too close to them, okay?"

Owen hummed uncertainly. "Don't get… too close. Okay." Perhaps the black sparks that erupted from them could set him off. He still had to be careful about stressful situations, now that he thought about it. He had to meditate often. Even now, he felt the itch for battle. He hoped that would go away soon.

The Charizard nodded, but then caught a few glances directed at him. In fact, he was catching a lot of things lately; his Perceive was stronger than ever. Every detail, inside and out, was starting to feel distracting in each and every building. Ten, twenty paces away? It was overwhelming, but he tuned it out with hidden, practiced ease. This was just how things were, now.

Thank goodness he lived away from Kilo Village. He'd never get sleep like this.

"Hey, look at you!" said a Golem that seemed vaguely familiar. Perhaps they had run into each other before his last reset. "Did you evolve? I never saw a Charizard before!"

"I have," commented a nearby Noivern, "but you look more… slim! It's interesting! Are you from a different part of the region? Maybe the south? I heard the Pokémon can be pretty different down there."

"Yeah! I am! Must be why I look so different, ha… Southern, yeah." Owen sighed. He passed as foreign. That was as much as he could hope for, he supposed. But then again, foreign wasn't very far; as far as he knew, this was the only landmass in the whole world, beyond Zero Isle and that factory.

Suddenly, Owen spotted a few kids running over.

"Goodra Anam! You're back!" said a little Pachirisu.

"Goodra, Goodra!" called a little Salandit riding atop a Salazzle's head.

"Heart of Hearts Goodra—you're…" Salazzle blinked. Owen recognized her—based on the lack of a scar—as Sugar. "What happened? Where have you been?"

"It's okay!" Anam said. "I was on a big, big mission! But I'm back now, and it's okay! I've been doing blessings and stuff, too! But I was all holed up in the office during that, so I guess I never walked in the sun for a while…"

"Were you, you know, successful?"

"I'm still doing it! But I had some time to come back, since we're still looking around. Did Nevren tell you all about the artifacts we're trying to gather?"

"Y-yes! In fact, my sister has been looking far and wide when missions are slow…" Sugar tilted her head so the Salandit on top didn't fall during his shuffling. "But they're running out of safe places to search."

"Nearly lost my wing," Noivern mumbled, looking away.

"Then they must be in the dangerous ones!" Anam said. "Don't worry. We can handle those. But first, I need to see Nevren! Is he in my room?"

"He should be. A-and it's good to see you again, Goodra!" Sugar gave a little nod. She looked up at the Salandit. "Come, Saffron. Let's go home."

"Thanks!" Anam giggled and waved. Then, he climbed the stairs and headed into the Heart Headquarters. Owen was careful to not slip on the slime on his way in.

"Wow, it's a little cramped in here, isn't it?" Owen said.

"Oh, it's not so bad," Amia dismissed. "I think you're just too used to being so cute and small!"

"M-Mom…"

"Ohh, I'm sorry, dear. I couldn't resist. But it's so new to stand next to you and be shorter! Alex is so proud, dear. He wanted me to let you know."

"Right…" Owen sighed. "Well, let's just see what Nevren found for us. And I want to know if he knew that I could evolve and handle it or not."

"He's a bit difficult to read, dear. Don't forget that he's an Alakazam—I feel like he'll only really let you to know the truth if he wants you to."

"Comforting." Owen snorted. "But I think my Perceive and stuff will make that a little hard for him."

"If I sense he is trying to deceive you," Zena said lowly, "I will be sure he stays hydrated."

They entered the office Nevren was looking over some of the newer reports that came in. He didn't even know who it was that visited this time. "Ah, more information? If you have a report, please leave it on the desk."

"It's me, Nevren!" Anam said. "Oh, and Owen! Look!"

Nevren finally raised his head. His eyes lifted. "Owen! You evolved!" he stepped away from the table, disappeared, and reappeared on the other side in a flash of Teleport. "My goodness, when did that happen?"

"Just today," Owen said proudly, hands on his hips. "I've been feeling pretty good about it, if you ask me. A whole day earlier! Not even sunset."

"Well, not sunset here," said Amia. "It's probably already quite late at Hot Spot Cave, and we just can't tell since it's underground."

"Oh, yeah," Owen nodded. "It's crazy what a little warping around can do to time."

"Well, the position of the sun," Nevren said. "After all, if you move fast enough, you can outpace the time of day by the sun's position. Or you could cut the day's length in half. The planet isn't very large, unfortunately."

"Unfortunately?" Amia repeated. "What an odd word, Nevren. I think the planet is just fine!"

"Well, it's a bit on the small side, wouldn't you think?" Nevren said. "The living population can't be more than a few million."

"That's—a very big number, Nevren! Honestly!" she giggled. "Such grand statements. The stars are too far away to think of other worlds."

"Indeed, they are." Nevren grinned. "Well! Owen, how are you enjoying your new body?"

"I love it," Owen said. "I feel like I'm finally in the right scales. And the wings are really cool, too." He flapped them lightly, careful not to blow at the many reports on the table. "But, about that…" He tried to keep the drop of his wings subtle, but his dim flame gave his feelings away. "Nevren, why did you… give me that stone?"

"The stone?" Nevren said. "Ahh… I imagine you figured it out by now—that I gave it to you because I was afraid the Suppression Aura wouldn't be enough to contain you if you went berserk."

"The—oh, right." He glanced at Zena, then his mother.

"And the others, as they learn how to duplicate it," Nevren said. "You understand. In case Demitri, Mispy, or Gahi lose themselves on their next evolution."

"O-oh…" He reconsidered his planned questions, the wind stolen from his wings. "So… you were just making sure that…"

Nevren sighed, intertwining his fingers as he Teleported back to his desk in a sitting position. Several reports shuffled in front of him, which he filled out while only making passing glances

"There were three options," he stated. "The first option was to continue your evolving over and over until you were finally stable enough to not reset. We have done that for a long time. You weren't dangerous if we knew how to contain you. The second option would be what I did—keep your evolution suppressed outright, in case you became too powerful or too risky to put in your final form, even for a moment. With your Mystic powers, you were starting to resist the memory-loss effects of the Suppression Aura. If you went berserk, there was no telling whether you would be able to revert back. Then, we would have an Owen that was irreparably… damaged. So, we suppressed your aura until we were certain that you were stable enough to handle it."

"I guess… hm," Owen said. "Guess it's a good thing I was stable, huh?"

"I could sense it," Amia said, placing a hand on his shoulder—she had to reach up, now, and far. "Rhys could, too. The way your aura feels now, compared to the other times, is… different. You're… stable. But—don't push yourself too hard, okay? We still need to be careful."

"Perhaps think about me or the others if you need to calm down," Zena offered.

"I know," Owen said. "I'll even have my Mystic power help a little, right? Nevren?"

"Hmm, in theory, that could very well work," he said. "Mystic power could calm the…" Nevren paused, considering this. "Hm, actually—would you mind if I wrote some notes down? Thank you for the visit, I appreciate it. But I need to consider a few things. Ah—and there's a sighting in the Frozen Oceanside to the north. Undoubtedly Ice. Perhaps prepare a team tomorrow?"

"O-oh! Okay!" Amia said. "Thanks? And, er, good luck with the notes?"

Owen nodded. "Um, Nevren?" he said. "What was option three?"

"Hm? Three? Ah, yes—well, if we couldn't suppress you, and you were berserk, we'd have to kill you."

Zena tensed, and while Owen was still unfamiliar with her body type, he had a feeling she was only a few steps away from striking. He couldn't blame her; Zena wasn't familiar with how matter-of-fact Nevren was about… everything.

"O-oh, that's… that's good." Owen tried to stay calm for Zena's sake. "Well, um, thanks for the info."

"Yes, I shall report to you my findings sometime tomorrow. Thank you." He was already face-deep in his notes.

Owen slowly stepped out, hesitant to even make a sound. Amia gently reached up to hold his shoulder. He glanced back and tittered once they were outside. "I—guess I can't blame him. He's very… straightforward, and…"

"Utilitarian, perhaps." Amia raised her shoulders in a casual, forced shrug. "A little too much. But that's Nevren for you."

"Perhaps he should be the Ice Guardian," Zena mumbled.

Anam nodded. "I wouldn't let him, though. I'd just… um… let you live in my Orb, or something! Like what Manny did! Except, um… maybe I'd find a way to not kill you when I did that. I think there's a way. Umm…"

Owen decided to show Anam mercy. "At least I'm past that," he said. "Glad I waited to evolve."

"We should take a look at that Ice area, huh? I guess that's one little disadvantage to evolving," Owen said. "Now that I'm part Flying, I don't have a total advantage against it. But hey, Fire, right?"

"Frozen Oceanside has a lot of Water Pokémon as well, Owen," Amia said. "I think you should stay back for this one. No matter what form you take—your normal self or Grass—you won't be in a good position. Why don't you let us handle this one?"

Owen frowned. "Well—I mean, I guess so."

"Don't you worry," Amia said. "I think we'll have a great team! Well, I might stay behind, too. After our encounter with Brandon, maybe bringing the Fire Guardian to the Ice Guardian would give the wrong impression."

"Are we sure it's the Ice Guardian, though?" Owen said. "I mean, the Guardian could be throwing us off. What if it's actually the Dark Guardian or something? Willow's the Fairy Guardian but she lived in a field like where Klent lived. And Anam's the Ghost Guardian but he lives in town! Well, lived. Now he's with us. So…"

"I don't like Ice," Anam said. "It makes my goo all crackly and hard."

"But as the Ghost Guardian, surely you would be able to handle that," Rhys said.

Anam shook his head. "I think the others will be okay, right? I'll… um… I'll go on a scouting mission! Yeah. To one of the more dangerous places, like… um… oh! How about Dark Mist Swamp?"

"That's… a very bad idea," Rhys said. "Dark Mist Swamp has a poison so potent that not even Steel Types like myself can last in it."

"Yeah, but did we ever bring a Mystic close enough to feel if one of us live there? We should try!"

"Oh, maybe I can—" Owen caught Amia's look. "M-maybe I'll… just… go on a mission today and train with the others at home tomorrow, or something."

"That's better," Amia said, squeezing Owen's shoulder.

With that, they gathered supplies for Owen's bag—and stopped by Sugar 'n Spice for some treats—and returned home. Anam ended up coming with them back to Hot Spot, saying that Nevren let him take a break from all the paperwork. The others assumed this meant giving Nevren a break from having Anam near paperwork.

Owen was slightly disappointed that he hadn't run into Deca along the way.

"Hey, um, Zena?" Willow said from atop Owen's head, seated right between his eyes.

"Hmm? Yes?" The Milotic asked, looking at the water deeper in the cave. She had come across it during one of her morning strolls in the caverns and had visited there every day since. It was warm, but still far enough from the magma that it was only like a nice bath, rather than something for cooking.

"Tell me more about that friend. Because I keep forgetting who it is. Anam reminded you?"

"Friend?" Owen asked. "I think I forgot about that, too."

"I'm still really upset that I didn't remember her until now," Zena said, huffing. "How could I? She was wonderful, and I forgot in my isolation, I'm sure. But now that I'm training, maybe my head is starting to clear up." She breathed slowly. "She was a Lugia. Her name was Emily. She was so strong… Now that I think about it, she had a lot of Mystic properties to her. Maybe she was, but I can't remember it clearly. Then again, the Legends are supposed to be gods, in a sense, aren't they?

"But it couldn't have been Water… I remember I had it while she was still around. Maybe she still is alive…! Because, well…" She trailed off. "I haven't seen her in my spirit world. Surely she'd visit."

Owen dipped his claws into the warm water. It didn't quite appeal to him in either of his forms. Too warm for his Grassy self, too wet for his Fiery self. "How come Anam reminded you of her?"

"I'm… not sure. I don't remember," Zena said. "I just need to clear my head more, I suppose. Maybe it was her personality. But Emily… I want to meet her again. I think I know where I can find her, if you'd like to come with me. And… hmm… I don't really know who else."

"Where would she be?"

"The ocean," Zena said.

"…Okay…" Willow said. "And where in the ocean?"

"Anywhere," Zena replied like it was obvious. "She'd know where you are. She always did… Yes, I remember now—she used to rescue Pokémon that were stranded in the ocean all the time! That was her… I suppose her talent. She was a healer, like Mispy."

"And if she knew where everyone was, maybe she had some sort of Perception like I did," Owen said, feeling a rare sense of kinship. "Wait, does that mean she was a mutant?"

"No, I don't think so," Zena said. "Oh—we just have to meet her." The Milotic seemed excited, now. "Tomorrow. Let's go to the beach tomorrow and find her!"

Owen grinned. "That sounds like a great idea!" Aside from the water.

"Okay!" Willow said.

"Owen?" someone called from behind.

He looked back and saw a Decidueye. "Oh, James!" Owen said. It had been so long, he nearly forgot about him. Between Anam being at the Heart Headquarters so often and keeping his spirits withdrawn, he hadn't seen James in days. "How're you doing?"

"Quite well," James replied dutifully. "I was sent here to deliver a message: Mispy orders you to take them on a mission."

"She orders me?" Owen asked.

"As the leader of Team Alloy, she said," James clarified.

Owen's tail flared up. "I thought I was the leader now, or something."

"She takes it back."

Zena giggled. "I thought Gahi would be the one most upset about you evolving first. I guess Mispy had it bottled up inside. You should really be careful, Owen."

"I have, like, all the type advantages over her, now!" Owen protested.

"You're free to dispute it," James replied. "I am only relaying the message."

Owen huffed. "Okay, okay," he said. "Zena, do, uh, d'you want to come as our Suppressor, just in case? Five is a little unwieldy for a mission, but it should be okay. I mean, who's gonna reprimand us, right? Anam knows why."

Zena nodded. "I'd love to, Owen."

"It's kinda weird that they actually let us go," Owen said, walking through Kilo Village under the late-noon sun. "But we made a promise that you wouldn't evolve, so we're going to take on a not-so-dangerous mission, alright? And make sure you stay close to that bag."

"Right," Demitri said. "And we're safe from Rim, right?"

"If she doesn't want to bother you, Owen," Zena said, "then hopefully that will continue to be the case…"

"Mnn, I'm not so sure about that." Owen crossed his arms. "But at least now I'll be able to sense her way before she tries to attack!" He grinned, showing his teeth.

Zena flinched, and at first Owen wasn't sure why.

"Are you okay?" Owen asked.

"Oh—yes, I'm fine."

"Oh, okay. Sorry," Owen said. "I'm still trying to get used to reading your kind of body language. I thought you were about to attack me or something!"

"Oh, not at all!" Zena said, but it was too quick.

Owen realized that Zena might have been wondering the same of him. Shaking that fear of mutants… Owen wondered if she'd be able to. And he couldn't blame her if she didn't.

"I was just surprised at how sharp your teeth looked," Zena added, perhaps to fill the silence of the afternoon road.

"Sharp?" Owen ran his tongue along a few of them. "I guess they're a little sharp."

Gahi hovered on Demitri's left, with Mispy on his right. Owen's eyes lingered on the three. This was the first time that they would be going on a mission together as a full Team Alloy, including knowledge of what they used to be. 'Team Alloy' wasn't complete, but it was close.

His heart fluttered—he barely knew them, at least with his current memories, yet it felt like he was catching up with old friends.

The pang of frustration he felt about those sealed memories was stifled when he spotted many other Hearts walking in and out of the main building. Owen wobbled where he stood, watching all of the bodies moving at once. Mispy jabbed at his back to snap to attention.

"You okay?" Mispy asked, the first to enter the headquarters.

"Yeah—sorry," he said. "Got distracted."

"Hey, look," Demitri said. "Isn't that the scarred Salazzle you were talking about? Spice?"

Indeed, it was. Spice was looking at the board, checking the notices with a Delphox standing next to her.

"Oh, goodness," Zena said, quickly averting her eyes.

"Yeah, it looks pretty nasty," Owen said. "But I heard that it doesn't actually hurt. It just looks really bad."

When Spice turned around, it was unmistakable. He winced at the sight of the scar.

Spice scoffed at him. "Like what you see?"

"Um—yes! No! Wait—no! I mean—it's okay," Owen said.

Demitri gave a polite bow. "Sorry. Owen knows you from your chocolate store."

"Owen?" Spice looked at him, but then elbowed the Delphox, eyes wide. "Leo, look. That's the Charmand—well, Charizard I was talking about. The one from the mission." She tapped her chest. "Holy Mew! Congratulations on evolving, little guy!"

Not little. "Thanks!" Owen said, grinning. "We're actually looking for a mission. Are, uh… huh. Slim pickings…" Or rather, no pickings. The board was devoid of missions. It happened from time to time, according to what Demitri had told Owen before, but it was always a disappointment. Then again, they were pretty late on grabbing them this time.

"Yeah, bit of a slow day, unfortunately," Leo said. "I was thinking about just taking the day off to—"

There was still a mission on the board, just behind Leo. Owen was surprised that he was able to discern the ink on the paper without looking at it.

"Oh, don't bother with that one," Leo said. "It's haunted."

"Oh, stuff it," Spice said, shaking her head. "Hey, do you want to take this one?" she asked. "Leo's too much of a wimp to take it on."

"Excuse me, I am not a wimp. I'll have you know, as Team Alight's leader, I'm the least wimpy of—Yowch!"

Spice whipped Leo on his backside with her tail.

"Here, Charizard," Spice said, passing the mission posting.

Outlaw Aerodactyl recovery mission – research task – Void Forest.

"Research task?" Owen mumbled. "Wait, Aerodactyl…" Familiar. That species was incredibly familiar. But he couldn't place why. He knew he'd be standing for the whole day if he didn't move on. He continued to read.

Summer, moon 3, day 28. Outlaw Aerodactyl escaped custody and fled to Void Chasm, but then redirected to Void Forest, followed by relocating southwest to the Abyssal Borderlands. Follow his path and search for any signs of him, and arrest if possible. Otherwise, return after a thorough search. As per protocol, do not approach the Chasm of the Void. Do not enter the Abyss. Do not interact with southern anomalies. Do not touch dark clouds.

All the same, typical warnings for any mission to the southern area of Kilo. Owen considered it almost a routine disclaimer. "Sure, we'll take it on."

"Well, you heard them." Leo sighed. "My hands are tied."

Owen appreciated Leo's generosity. "Alright, I guess we'll get going!" he said. "You guys ready?"

"A simple recovery mission doesn't sound too bad. This Aerodactyl… won't be trouble, will he?"

"He won't be around," Spice said with a snort. "That mission statement is too hopeful. He's long gone and fled someplace else, but maybe we can find a sign or two of what he took."

"Okay, got it." If that was the case, it was the perfect mission. Carefully pulling it off, he pulled out his bag and jotted down the request notes before placing it in the nearby 'taken' pile. Zena watched, fascinated, and asked a few questions about how the process worked. Owen answered leisurely, and showed Zena his notes about the mission statement that he'd copied.

"You write with scorch marks?" Zena asked as Owen led the way out of the headquarters.

"I guess I could buy ink, but if it's just personal writing, why not just channel flames, you know?" Owen held up a claw, which shined with a tiny ember at the tip. He then returned to his notes, wondering if there was a way he could make this mission at least a little fun for his team.

"Owen, watch where you're walking," Demitri said. "You could trip down the stairs."

"Huh?" Owen asked, glancing away from the paper. "No, it's fine. I can see the stairs." He supposed he could also read the mission statement without looking at it, but he wanted to feel normal. And looking at it that way was actually distracting.

Demitri stared incredulously. Mispy quickly wrapped a vine around Demitri, sensing his misstep. "Uff—sorry. Um, Owen? You aren't even looking at the stairs."

Zena, meanwhile, struggled with her serpentine body going along the steps, nearly rolling the whole way down when she lost her grip. Owen brushed his tail in front of her to stop one of those falls. She gave him a grateful smile.

"I know," Owen said. "It's fine. I'm getting better with this whole Perceive thing. I kinda practiced it all night in Enet's den. No light, so I had to see in other ways. I can walk without seeing."

"Oh."

"Wish I had that," Gahi mumbled.

Down the stairs and along Waypoint Road, Owen read out the signs and ignored the odd sense of nostalgia he had when crossing the W section. He stopped at its neighbor, searching for Void Forest, and then nodded at the others. "This is it. Let's go."

They passed over the Waypoint and took time to reacquaint themselves with their new surroundings, from the gray ground to the dead trees. Zena flinched at the sudden change in atmosphere, as well as the ominous, damp chill that ran through the ground. She silently inched closer to Owen, and he couldn't blame her. The atmosphere must have been similar to the cave she used to live in.

"So… Creepy? Not creepy? What's the verdict here?" Demitri asked.

"I'm going with creepy," Owen said, sighing. "Let's just go through. Be careful around here." He read through the mission prompt's more intricate details. "Lots of feral Ghosts that like to frighten you to feed on your panicked life energy, or something. They eat the flare that comes off of you when you panic. I actually read that they turn that flare into energy. Kinda cool, when you think about it."

"Oh. Great," Gahi said. "Spirit-nibblers."

"So basically," Demitri said, fiddling with his claws, "if we stay calm, they won't be attracted to us?"

"Hope so."

This was not the case. Right when they passed through the first distortion, with the Dungeon's typical, structured walls rising above their heads, the atmosphere instantly intensified into one of chilling cold. Haunter in particular plagued this portion of the Dungeon, rising from the ground or walls. They attempted to claw at Owen and the others, but Team Alloy was smarter and sharper. Owen focused on his fire attacks here, figuring that they were the most familiar, and dispatched of them with ease. Gahi had an easy time swiping at them with his high speeds; Mispy kept any small damage from piling up.

Zena even managed to frighten a few of the feral Ghosts away by summoning her own Water spirits to fight alongside them. The team joked with one another about the Ghosts bring frightened by spirits. Owen was tempted to do the same, but he didn't yet have the confidence to summon Klent or the others for battle on short notice.

Unfortunately, Demitri kept attracting more.

"Th-thuh-that was th-the last one, right?" Demitri said.

"Maybe, if you stopped getting scared!" Gahi hissed. "C'mon, thicken those scales! Oooo, I'm a big scary Ghost! I'm gonna eat yer aura!" The Vibrava opened his jaw as wide as it could go, chomping right next to Demitri. Owen had a feeling that it would have been more effective if he was still a Trapinch.

The Fraxure screamed anyway.

Owen absently wondered if this was offensive to Anam. He glanced at the mission paper's prompts upon passing through the seventh segment.

Upon entering the Dungeon's stable zone after the fifth segment, do not proceed. Aerodactyl did not enter the Dungeon depths, and instead exited via the left distortion. Per natural precautionary measures, do not sleep in the Dungeon stable zone.

"Don't sleep? What?" Gahi said.

Owen summarized the rest. "Looks like sometimes, when sleeping here, explorers wake up in a completely different place, sometimes with a whole day missing from their memory. That's… comforting."

"Okay." At this point, Demitri was a trembling wreck. "I'm done. Let's go."

"Can't go yet, scalebag," Gahi said. "We still gotta make that last trip ter the Abyssal whatevers."

"Uh, Abyssal Borderlands." Owen checked the top of the mission statement. "It's not too far from here once we leave. C'mon."

Demitri stuck close to Mispy's side, practically brushing up against her scales. She leaned back against him, nibbling at her lower lip. "It's okay," she said quietly, though she wrapped her vines around him while they walked.

Gahi clicked his jaws. The cold atmosphere immediately let up. The Dungeon's exit led them to another open field, this time lined with lifeless, tanned rocks. "At least we didn't see any weird black clouds," he said. "Maybe they're just rumors that the Hearts are too spooked ter verify."

They continued to walk, but then Demitri gulped. "Is that…?"

The Chasm of the Void. Approximately a fourth the length of Kilo Village, the giant crater looked like a pool of motionless, black ink. No matter what angle the sun hit it, the bottom was never visible, and whatever that black substance was didn't reflect any light back. The 'Abyss' was that blackness.

"So, stay away from that," Owen said to them. "Let's just walk kinda close, look for anything out of the ordinary, and head back."

"Aside from the big, black void right there?" Gahi said. "What kinda Dungeon anomaly is that supposed to be?!"

"It might actually just be a Guardian," Owen said.

Yep, Star replied.

Owen jolted. "S-Star!" he said. Can you stop doing that?!

Sorry, sorry! I just caught word that you're heading to that place. You know that's a restricted area, right?

I mean, yeah, but we're Hearts. We can go here. And that's part of the mission.

Okay. But be careful, alright? Seriously, do not get close to that thing. The Dark Guardian is nice, but… I don't know enough about him to feel safe about it. Guy's weird.

"Is Owen okay?" Demitri said.

"Star," Mispy said.

"Hmph." Zena rolled her eyes. "It's probably not that important."

If you say so, Owen said dismissively.

Okay no, listen, I know you think I'm kinda shady and stuff, but seriously, do not get too close. I get bad vibes from the guy, just like Anam's realm. I hate going there. Okay?

Owen's hands ached at the thought of Anam's Ghost Realm. "Let's just be careful," he told the others, beating his wings a few times to keep them limber.

"Let's start searching for any clues of Aerodactyl," Owen said.

"Can't you just use your Perceive and get this done in, like, five seconds?" Demitri asked.

"That's true, Owen. Why don't you use this as a moment to get some practice in? We'll check… er…" Zena paused. "If you can see everything around is, there isn't much we can do to help, is there?"

"Well, it might be a little unpolished," Owen said. "So, I'll have you guys check out a few places that seem suspicious." He looked at the mission statement again, like it was a thing he still had to do. He felt oddly restless. "It's only this part of the Chasm that we have to check, so we don't even have to walk around the whole thing."

"Good," Demitri said. Mispy nodded with him.

Owen closed his eyes and tried to put his power to use again. This time, he closed his eyes and tried to tune out his other senses, too—focusing entirely on his surroundings. He felt every detail. Every pebble and every leaf. He felt the rocks beneath the surface. The—

Owen slammed face-first into the ground.

"O-Owen!" Zena rushed toward him, pulling him up. "What happened?"

"Unghh, who pushed me?" Owen said, rubbing his bleeding snout.

Mispy approached to heal him, but then said, "You fell."

"You did, Owen. You just… took a step and fell forward. Are you okay?"

"I think I tried sensing too hard," Owen said. "I'll… I'm gonna sit down next time."

"Did you sense anything suspicious?" Zena asked.

Owen shook his head. He then looked at the Chasm and its infinite darkness, shivering. "One more check. Then let's go."

"No objections here," Demitri said, hugging himself with his tiny arms.

Owen breathed slowly. It was a lot like meditating, now that he was in a sitting position. He flicked his huge tail and wrapped it in front of him to take up as little space as possible, and then concentrated. The rocks, the leaves, underground…

Then his senses touched upon the Chasm, and then into the Abyss.

Owen gulped, heart rate increasing. He kept going, just in case. Just a little further and he'd scan as much as he could without feeling overwhelmed again. He never scanned something this in depth before—that he could remember, at least—but it was for the mission. Maybe Aerodactyl dropped something in the Abyss?

It was just more and more darkness. It kept going. He didn't know how far the bottom was, but with his powers still awakening, he couldn't go very far. Then he felt something else. Arms? No. Not quite. But it was something. They were swirling inside, slithering in the inky blackness.

Then, suddenly, the slithering stopped. He saw eyes. They stared at him.

Hello.

Owen's whole body lunged backwards and he broke out of his trance. "AUGH! M-Mispy!" He shook away the two huge vines that had wrapped around him.

"What are you doing?!" Mispy hissed.

"What're you talking about?! I was Perceiving!"

"No!" Mispy said, thwacking him on the head with her left vine.

"Ow!" Owen snapped, smacking her vine away. "I think this whole leader thing is getting to your head!"

Mispy smacked him again. "Look!"

Zena had been trying to pull him away by the arm with her ribbons; he only now noticed.

"What?" Owen said, but then turned to the Abyss.

He was only a few steps away from falling in.

"Wait, when did I—"

"Let's go," Mispy said, pulling Owen back. "We're leaving."

"W-wait! I don't think I finished scanning!"

"We aren't gonna find anything, Owen," Demitri said, shivering. "That's what the mission said could've happened. Let's just report back and go home; I'm done."

"Yeah, I'm kinda bored, too," Gahi said. "Finding a trace of Aero ain't gonna do much now. Been so long, y'know?"

"But—"

"I'm leader," Mispy said, searching for their Badge. "We're done."

Owen's fire glowed challengingly, but he relented with a smoky huff. "Fine. I need some sleep, anyway. I think I'm losing it…"

Maybe Leo was right. This place was haunted.

Mispy found one of their Badges and pulled it out.

And what did you learn? Star quipped.

Owen ignored her.

"When we get home," Owen said to the others, "I'm taking a nap."

"Likewise," Zena said.

The rest of Team Alloy agreed. In a flash of light, they vanished for Kilo Village.

Hello?