Episode 46: Saving Daybreak Part I
Yo… Yo… cal…
…
"Hey, lil' rascal! Kari, c'mon, get up! You can do it!"
Kari flashed awake so suddenly it hurt. All the light beaming into her eyes blurred and blinded her, which made her squirm and moan, in turn revealing how much her body ached. All she could do was shudder and gurgle, lying back in hopes of strength returning to her. It wasn't actually that bright here, as her eyesight settled to recognise things.
"Damn, there you are. You good? You with us?" Welder asked. This was the first time she heard him not sound angry about something, so she made the effort to roll over and look at him. She was on a makeshift bed, and watching her was the Meowstic and his two grass types, alongside Vega.
"Yee haw, I knew you were a fighter. Look at you go!" the Tinkaton praised, pumping her fists.
"A fighter might be pushin' it," Kari moaned, rubbing her head. "What happened?"
"How the 'eck should I know? You lot were fighting that guy with the portal behind him, but I guess he got the better of you," Welder answered. "His electric moves must pack a punch."
"Elegrigiddy…" Kari gurgled, and then her memories flashed into view. "Oh my gods, Kayla! Everyone! Ah… P-Pola…"
"Pola?" Vega said.
She got up and cringed hard, ignoring her aches with a hiss and a clenched eye. "You guys, where's, um, er, right, I got knocked out and- aaahhh, this is no time to be sleeping! Who else is awake?"
"I don't know yer names. If ya can be up and about, they're here," Welder stood aside. Kari tried to bounce out of bed, but it hurt too much, so she settled for walking. Shannon, Genius, Ashe and Mog were just outside this roomy tent.
"Thank goodness, you're awake," Ashe bounced over.
"Yeah yeah, I'm good, whatever! Where's Kayla? Where's Pola? Do we have a plan? Do we know where they're—"
"Hold your Ponyta, geez," Shannon slapped a paw on her mouth. "Don't know about you, but I'm aching all over here."
"Who cares? We have to go and save them!" Kari squealed, shaking him wildly. There was a sigh, and no one else replied. "Wait, where's May?"
Still no response.
"Wait a minute… no… it can't beeeeeeeee!"
"It's exactly what it looks like. We got played," Shannon stated.
"No we didn't!" Kari cried.
He glared at her. "There's so much to take in back there. May gave us a warning and she still chose Netherworld. Took Kayla with her and everything."
"No… no it's not true! It can't be!" she squealed even louder.
He sighed. "If you have an actual argument, I'm up for hearing it."
Kari paused, shuddering while prodding her hands together. "Urf, it's just, I uh… I don't know. But I know my friends, and my friends wouldn't… Kayla wouldn't…"
"It's over, Kari. We're lucky we're even alive."
"Kayla wouldn't give up!" she shouted. "Heck, we're still Team Daybreak, ain't we? We can get to the bottom of this! Don't you wanna save your friends?"
"I do," Mog confessed. "I don't know how we're going to do it, but I want to. May is suffering the most right now, I just know it, but she refuses to fight. She's spent too much of her life like this to know how to fight it."
"Whatever's really happened, I think we're in too deep to give up now," Ashe added. "But I don't know what to do."
"This isn't something we can just force our way through," Shannon said. "Whether we want to believe it or not, May and Dusk conspired, Kayla's with Netherworld, and Pola—"
"She's not dead!" Kari shrieked and straightened. Everyone stared at her. "I don't care what you're thinking… she can't be…"
"You have to grow up and face reality someday, Kari. We all saw what happened. We all felt what happened. We can't just live in our dreams here," Shannon argued.
"What so if Genius died instead, you'd just brush it off and give up?" Kari snapped. That made him shift toward her, while the others gawked. "… S-sorry. That just slipped out. That was pointless. It's pointless to fight like this. I'm sorry."
"If we're all friends, then we should try, right? Friends do everything they can to help each other out," Genius said. She had a dopey smile on her face.
"Genius…" growled Shannon.
"Plus, it sounds like it's all against you. Are you gonna be the killjoy here?" she went half-lidded.
"Grk- I'm just being realistic. We saw what happened to Pola, and then we nearly got shocked to death somehow. No one has the slightest clue where they went, how that happened, how we're going to do anything," he replied, tapping his foot. "This is the darkest situation we've ever been in."
"I don't know… I don't remember at all," she slumped. "If a friend is missing, then we have to go and save them. That's what matters, right?"
"Pola is my friend, Shannon. I don't care if I dunno what to do, I have to do something. I have to believe that she's out there, and I can help her. Pola, Kayla, and May," Kari stated.
"I'm in agreement. Corny as it may all sound, we've been through too much together to give up on one another now," Ashe agreed. "We should be thinking about everything we can possibly do to save our friends. It's what they would do for us. Kari, you take after Kayla a lot."
"There it is. That hot fire in your eyes," Vega interjected with slow claps. She came to the middle of the group and put her hands on her hips. "At first I thought it was just the Buneary, but the rest of you've got spunk to spare. We're wasting daylight waiting for ya to grow up and admit it though."
There was no reply beyond a few mumbles.
"Aww, what's up? Auntie Vega being too blunt for ya?"
"It's not that… it's… you. I uh…" Kari played with her hands again.
"What's up? Out with it, girlie. We ain't got all day."
"Wait, right, you!" Kari squeaked. "You were with Dusk at the start of this! Do you know where he took the others?"
"Of course I do. But the way that guy operates, we've probably got a day or two before they're gone for good, in that I don't know where he'll transport 'em. And that's if we get there before the big boss gets to 'em," Vega announced.
"Wait you actually know?" Shannon gasped.
"Got a way to get there in decent time, too. But are you in or are you out?" Vega added, looking at everyone smugly. "Honestly, a chance to see y'all in action has me drooling like a Lickitung in a Vanilluxe pen. I wanna see you send those Netherworld goons packing!"
"… I could've done without that imagery," Shannon cringed.
"You don't need to ask. We're in," Kari said. She rushed in front of Vega and glared, ensuring their eyes met. "But Vega. We're trusting you with this."
There was a pause from the Tinkaton. A pause of shock and surprise, and then an eager grin. That fire she just mentioned was in her eyes. That's what Kari hoped to see, but then her heart started racing. It was just like Welder warned. There was something else there, but she couldn't fathom what. Vega was excited about something, and she had to pray it was something that would help them and not make things worse.
"That guy, Dusk the Morpeko, he's got his sights set on making the world of his dreams. But poor him, man's not a Dreamer. So he works with Netherworld to get Dreamers so he can do his thing, yeah?" Vega began leading the way. The others followed close behind, curious where in the scrapyard they were headed. "Base is in the centre of the Sunbed. Big 'ol pyramid. If we walked from here, we'd get there in maybe… a week?"
"We don't have that long!" Kari raised her head. "But if we have to… what if I turn giant and run the whole way?"
That made Vega stop in her tracks. "You can do that?"
Kari froze too. Wait, how didn't she see me that time Azu made me grow really big? Surely everyone in the scrapyard saw that, right?
"Eh, it don't matter. 'Cos we're gettin' there… with this!" Vega posed with enthusiasm. They were stood in front of the aeroplane May had been building, which was clearly unfinished. It looked like a climbing frame shaped like a dinosaur, only with metal bars soldered together rather than ropes and hollow pipes. All the electricals and engines were completely exposed as it barely had outer plating. "Okay, don't look at me like that. She'll fly, trust."
"I mean… it's not that I don't believe you since it has propellors and all that, but…" Shannon grumbled.
"Does it come with life insurance?" Genius asked.
"How the hell do you know what life insurance is?" Shannon flinched.
"That wouldn't cover ya for your battle with Netherworld, anyway," Vega pointed out. "But seriously. Emergency mission against Netherworld, this baby's our best bet. Me and May were building it together, so I know how to fly it. It'll get us there, no guarantee it'll get us back. But saving our friends is the big priority, right?"
"Yeah, you're right. No room for chilly feet. Let's go everyone!" Kari jumped ahead.
"Stop, for the love of- Kari!" Shannon shouted, yanking her tail. She stretched thanks to him, so he let go, making the tip of her tail whip her like an elastic band, and she yelped. "Why're you so impatient?"
"I'm not bein' impatient! We gotta save Kayla, Pola, and May," she danced on her toes.
"Do we even have a way to beat Dusk?" he challenged. Kari shuddered. "And this is a Netherworld base we're talking about. My body's still aching from before. We need to think about this."
"As much as I hate to agree, it's true," Ashe said, turning away. "Kayla and Pola are the strongest attackers on the team. It didn't affect me, but I'm concerned about that electricity Dusk did as well. I have a scary feeling."
"Well, out with it, freaky balloon! You wanna talk, say something!" Vega trembled in annoyance.
"You have little emotional tact, don't you?" the Jigglypuff glanced at her. "I did a check up on everyone while you were unconscious. But I couldn't find any outer damage."
"Outer damage? Are you saying that wasn't Dusk's Thunderbolt? Some kinda weird Dream World power?" Kari cocked her head.
"I don't think so. Kayla hit him in the moment, so the electric attack should've stopped if it was an attack of his," she turned away again.
"That guy is no stranger to things like shock collars or handcuffs. So maybe we all got tagged with something," Mog suggested.
"Uuurrggg I don't care if it's a deadly game of tag or whatever! It doesn't make a difference! We have to go there. The longer we wait, the less time we have!" Kari cried, dancing on her toes. This time the whole group stopped to face her. "C'mon, what do I have to do?"
"This is the most impatient I've ever seen you. Kayla and Pola really have you eager," Ashe smiled.
"Dare I say there's something else going there?" Genius teased.
"Wha-what? Don't be silly!" Kari felt her cheeks heat up. "I-if it were any of you guys, I'd be doing lots to rescue you, too!"
"I've seen you less eager to eat food," Mog said. Kari yelped and her cheeks went even redder. "It's all well and good you have the drive to want to rescue them, but if we just throw ourselves at him, he'll probably kill us. We need a plan."
"Can't we think of a plan when we're there? Isn't that how we always do things?"
"That's how Kayla always did things," Shannon sighed. "And I do wish she didn't."
"You're right. She did," she calmed down. And everyone lets her be cool like that, but they won't for me. I'm not good enough for this, but I have to be. If she's not around, I have to lead… I can do this… I can't be scared of anything. Right! Team Daybreak is mine; I HAVE to do this!
"Didn't you find anything else? Anything at all, Ashe?" he asked.
"I did find… it's probably insignificant, but there was a little prick in each of us. A prick, like a needle stab. The kind you might find after having an injection. I'm quite used to seeing them, since I'm authorized to give injections to the children at RSE," Ashe explained.
"Ah. That gives it away," Vega spoke up at last. The whole group turned. "Yeah, Dusk levelled up from shock collars. When I got a little peek earlier, he was testing these little fake probe thingies."
"Fake what?" Shannon flinched.
"Ya heard me. Probes. Fake blood vessels. Injects them into captured Pokémon, and anyone who disobeys, the vessels electrocute them from the inside," Vega explained. The whole group was horrified.
"But how? W-when? I'd have known if I got an injection! I hate those! They're all stingy and gross and… AAAAHHHH!" Kari slapped her cheeks.
"What what what, what now?" Shannon cried.
"When we first fought him… I thought that was weird. Don't you remember? He did like, a slap attack and for some reason it really hurt. But then he just ran away," Kari recalled.
…
Kayla shot off at high speed to try and throw Dusk off target. She darted back and forth across the area, kicking off the scrap heaps to keep out of focus, and then charged in for an attack from behind. Dusk shifted to the right to dodge her first attack, leaving her to circle around for another hit. Somehow, he was ready for her with an arm drawn back, and thrust it straight into her stomach.
"Argh!" Kayla yelled, jolted backward by a small electric force. She started coughing and gasping, and fell on one knee.
"Hey don't be a drama queen, that was only a tap!" Pola complained.
"I… Th-that…" she growled, forcing herself to her feet.
"Are you okay?" Kari asked, giving her a glance over. Dusk's hit didn't even leave a mark. Kayla seemed to be confused as well, checking herself out.
"Yeah. Lucky hit," she concluded with a smirk.
…
"Right. Oh gods, you're right. I do remember being stunned," Shannon started growling. "He hit everyone back then. Made sure he landed an attack on each of us… except May and Ashe."
"And there it is. He injected ya with those things. Although it's short ranged, he can pull the switch and shock ya from the inside anytime he wants," Vega stated.
A deafening silence fell, broken only by the evening wind. No one said a word. They all avoided eye contact with one another. Kari couldn't help but look down at her body, hoping to find evidence of this little prick. The thought that strange little machines were floating around inside her, capable of killing her at any moment…
No… I live every moment like that anyway, Kari shuddered, and clutched her chest. She looked up, giving the most serious face she could. "That means we don't have a choice."
"Kari?" Mog said.
"Dusk did this on purpose. He left us like this 'cos he wanted us to give up. He probably did something like this to May back then, right? To stop her from ever wanting anything else," Kari explained.
"I'm afraid of that," Mog turned away.
"Then we either give up and lose our friends forever, or we fight together and stop him. And if Kayla were here right now, she'd charge in headfirst to do the right thing!" she announced. "I'll do whatever it takes to save my friends. I won't let Dusk win."
"Even if it kills ya?" Vega challenged, a sinister smirk on her face.
"Yeah!" Kari yelled at the top of her voice. "I'd rather die trying to do this than give up and be guilty for the rest of my life! Kayla and Pola mean too much to me."
"Let me see what kinda power that gives you," Vega's grin grew.
Mog gasped all of a sudden. "This… this is what May was talking about. You're right, Dusk did it this way because it'd mess with our psyche. The idea that even if we do rescue May and the others, he could just show up and kill us all at any moment… any normal Pokémon would give up. We should give up."
"You're right. But we're not normal Pokémon. We're extraordinary Pokémon. Extraordinary Pokémon who defeated Mathildaath, and- oh my gods why don't we just use Mathildaath?" Kari beamed up, eyes widened. Shannon raised a hand to respond, but was silent. "We er, can use Mathildaath, right? That is something we can do?"
"It… is. In the Dream World, sure. I dunno how Dusk's electricity will affect me either, and it'll still hit you girls," Mog reasoned.
"But I have a Dream Catcher, Jirachi gave it to us. I carry it because Kayla can't use it on her own," Kari said, revealing their new one. "We still have the Dream World on our side. We can totally do this!"
"Makes you wonder why Dusk didn't take Mog as well. He absolutely knew she was a Dreamer. He noticeably didn't tag Ashe, either. That makes you a safe option for fighting," Shannon added, rubbing his chin. "I… can't put my paw on why he'd make mistakes like that if he was this calculated. It has to mean something, right?"
"I think we can worry about that later! Maybe ask him if you wanna," Kari smiled. "If we get into a fight with Dusk, Mog, you've gotta use Rest! Then we'll be able to fight him in your dream! That sound like a safe enough plan for ya?"
"Not really… what if he takes us by surprise? And I know Kayla can sleep when she wants, but can Mog as well?" he challenged. Everyone stared at him this time.
"Sweetie, you're being a worrywartortle," Genius admitted.
"Hey, we still have to fly in that… thing. We're gonna be beaten up by the sky too, aren't we?" he pointed out. Everyone ignored him as they gathered around the aeroplane. "Hey c'mon, I'm being serious. This is a suicide mission! Girls?"
"If we get hurt in the sky, you can just heal us," Genius' tail wagged cutely. That made him droop in defeat.
"The life of a healer, huh?"
"You get used to it," Ashe giggled.
Vega was first into the plane, jumping into where the cockpit would be. Seeing her uncomfortably sit right on top of wiring gave Kari second thoughts, but she still climbed on anyway. There were no seats, so she had to cling to the skeleton however she could, choosing to wrap herself around the top of it. No one else followed.
"C'mon guys, get comfy, I'm gonna fire this thing up, then we'll be there in no time!" Vega bounced excitedly. Just those little movements caused the plane to shake and creak.
"Mmnng… would Kayla do this? Since her hands don't work," Shannon grumbled.
"She'd probably ask Kari to hold her in place. Instead, I have to be held," Ashe forced an awkward smile. It really was just the bones of an aeroplane – the metal, the wiring, the electricals, engines and whatever else built it up. Some of it even hung loose outside the metal frame. If the whole thing didn't blow up in their faces, it might shock them, or just fall apart before it even took off. Ashe sighed at it, then shook herself into focus. "Not the worst thing I've done."
"Hnng, I hope you know what you're doing, Vega," Shannon growled as he climbed on.
"What, don't you trust yer new best friend?" she glanced at him, tongue out in a goofy grin.
"We're dead."
"All comfy? Hold on tight now. It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Vega warned, leaning forward to fiddle with some levers and switches. Electricity crackled across the whole machine, making everyone yelp and flinch, though the electricity didn't affect them.
"Uh, maybe we should've wheeled into a more open space first?" Kari realised.
"Too late. Watch out world, here comes Kari's Team Dream!" Vega cheered.
The plane began to drive forward. Despite how slow she drove, the bumpy soil caused uncomfortable sounds and vibrations, once again feeling like the whole thing might fall to pieces. There wasn't enough space in the scrapyard either – so Pokémon cried out and scrambled out of the way as they neared, while the wings brushed against the scrap heaps. The tip of the right wing even came off, while a scrap heap collapsed behind them.
"Oops. Uh, that bit wasn't important," Vega said, visibly sweating.
"S-sorry! It's an emergency, I promise we'll clean it up later!" Kari cried, glancing back at the crowd of angry Pokémon.
"Are we even going to lift off?" Ashe asked in worry. She was sat as close to the centre of the plane as possible.
"We damn well better!" Vega replied, gritting her teeth. Turning one more corner put them by the entrance to Paradise. There was barely enough room here, but the road was long, especially as it went into the midlands. "Last call. You're chickening out, do it now!"
Shannon leaned forward to clutch the metal tightly, prompting Genius to lean over him and hold his tail tight. "It's to save Daybreak… it's to save Daybreak… it's to save Daybreak…"
"No takers, no bathroom breaks? Man, I love you guys!" Vega snickered, facing forward. "Alright you beta hunk of junk. It's you, me, these idiots, and the skies of arcadia! Don't lemme down now!"
The plane rapidly began to accelerate, pulling every passenger back with their pace. The scenery blurred too, and Mog was the first to let go, quickly catching herself on some metal next to Kari with her feet. The wind only grew stronger, making the duo clench their eyes and bodies to hold on as hard as they could.
Kari couldn't decide whether it was hot or cold. A gaseous stench filled her nose while a powerful wind whipped her fur and face, and the effort to hold tight had her body sweat. Her claws were out too, and she couldn't open her eyes from the harshness of the wind against her. She could barely breathe or hear right either, getting nothing but heavy wind and the annoying repetition of the propellors and engine rumbling. It only seemed to be getting worse, prompting her to fight it. They needed to get to that pyramid, so gritting her fangs, she opened her eyes.
She gasped. In her moment of struggle, they really had taken off into the skies of Isnomia, and were still ascending. She could make out the midlands and Paradise Scrapyard below, slowly turning into toy-like designs as they flew higher and higher. Her eyes sparkled with wonder as she was brought back to when Azu had her grow giant, and just how small everything looked when she achieved that. The difference this time was how fast everything scrolled by, and that they were actually achieving this miracle of a mission. Their unfinished aeroplane had managed to get into the air, soaring amongst the birds and other wonders of the skies perfectly-
SNAP! A heavy plate breaking off of the left wing got her attention, and she watched it flip off into the distance, exchanging a worried glance with Mog. She gulped, only for another bit of circuit board to snap off, this one nearly hitting Mog. The Swoobat squeaked and squashed herself against the metal bar she held, avoiding it by a hair.
"Uh, that wasn't important, was it?" Mog called out.
"Probably was, but we can't care about it now!" Vega replied, not looking back. A couple more heavy snaps sounded out, this time followed by a light boom, and a gush of awful gas. Something caught fire, while other parts of the plane were beginning to break off. "Argh, c'mon you old bucket of bolts. We ain't even in the turbulence zone yet!"
"Vegaaaaaa!" Shannon shouted.
"Guys hold it together, we're gonna get through this! Just look alive, there's the pyramid!"
She wasn't lying. They could see almost all of the Sunbed from their height, and the pyramid that supposedly held Kayla. Kari's glare grew intense and she tightened her grip. We're almost there, Kayla. We'll make it. We HAVE to make it.
Another blast made her heart jump right out of determination. The plane was on fire for sure, and their speed wasn't helping it. Several more parts broke off, mostly on the right wing, which made the vehicle tilt heavily to the left.
"No you dooooon't!" Vega growled as the group cried out. She desperately pulled hard on a control stick, making them regain balance. Despite her efforts, more parts broke off, this time around Ashe.
"Ah, no!" screamed the Jigglypuff, but Kari was quick. She stretched an arm out, and Ashe just about caught it. The wind was hard against them however, hard enough that Kari couldn't pull them back into comfort.
"Eek! A-Ashe!" Kari cried.
Shannon was gritting his teeth at the scene. "Vega, we're in trouble back here!"
"Just hold on to something! We'll be there in like, ten, twenty tops!" the Tinkaton shouted without turning around. Another part broke off, and the plane jolted hard again.
"We won't even make it in five in this thing. We've gotta jump out!" he exclaimed.
"Do you wanna save Kayla or not?" she snapped at him.
"What good is saving Kayla if we can't save ourselves?" he argued. He dared to glance down. Nothing but desert floor with no oasis in sight, all so far below that they'd smash to smithereens if they hit the ground. If they fell here, it'd be a mad scramble to get Ashe to parachute them down.
"Can't… hold… on!" Kari moaned, slipping slightly. She was still held on by one arm, with the other flung back to hold Ashe. Mog was making an effort to reach out, but the wind against her was too strong.
"They're not gonna make it!" Genius cried. Shannon growled again.
"Vega, at least land! We can walk the rest of the way, Kari can turn giant!" he demanded.
"No! We're gonna get to the pyramid, we can!" Vega smashed her fist on the controls. Another round of snaps occurred, and something jolted the plane again. She was losing control.
"We're actually gonna die here…" Shannon shuddered, glancing back at Genius.
"Can we make it?" she asked worriedly.
He glanced at her, then Kari, then Vega, and then the plane. It jolted once again, and he could feel the painful heat of the fire below him. It was a wonder they were even still in the air. It was smoky and gassy, spreading to the rest of the plane, and smelt of an imminent explosion. He ended by looking back at Genius, determined.
"We have to jump," he stated.
"Don't you fucking dare!" Vega snapped without looking back. "Just hold on… hold on damn it, hold it together!"
As for Kari, she was reaching her limit. Her arm was aching and unbeknownst to her, was starting to stretch, too. With all the wind against her, she was starting to look like a flag pulled by the aeroplane rather than a passenger. With a grunt, tears in her eyes, and her chest full of fear, she let go, twisting to hug Ashe tightly.
"Kari!" Mog screamed, making the others flinch.
Kari couldn't help but scream, too. She had far more momentum than she imagined, and that sent her flipping through the sky. Her body rippled painfully as her and Ashe soared behind the plane, claws instinctively gripping the screaming Jigglypuff even tighter. Everything moved so rapidly she couldn't see straight, nor get a hold of herself to stretch into a parachute.
"Girls!" Genius cried, sticking an arm out. She quickly stood up and leapt off the plane.
"GENIUS!" Shannon shouted, sticking a paw out. His heart raced, and he glanced at Vega, and then his friend. He shook his head to clear it of doubts, and then dove out after her. "I've got you!"
"Damn, you kids weren't kiddin'!" Vega laughed. "Aight, we'll do it this way!"
She pulled harder than ever on the controls, tilting the plane upwards to stop it from nosediving. She aimed it directly toward the pyramid, which was still a good few minutes away, and then jammed a knife into the control panel. The control stick was locked in place, and she nodded at her work. Laughing excitedly, she leapt off into air with the others, leaving the aeroplane to soar off on its own.
Meanwhile, Mog was the only one not in freefall, and was using the wind to try and propel herself after Shannon as he was closest. She caught him with her feet, though his struggling took her off balance.
"M-Mog! We need to catch Genius!" he cried once he realised where he was.
"I know!" she barked at him, clenching her eyes shut as she fell into a dive again.
Kari and Ashe had managed to stop themselves from flipping, but were too far away from the falling Pawmot to help. Kari didn't think about herself, all that was on her mind was somehow swimming through the air to catch Genius, and then Mog and Shannon who were above, and then hopefully catch Vega who was above them. She kicked her feet and paws like she was paddling through water, but it felt like it was fruitless. She was falling too slowly, likely thanks to Ashe who was latched to her front.
Please… please gods, just please! Kari begged in her mind as everything fell to silence. She was still falling so fast that the wind hurt her eyes trying to see. She put in all her effort, but she couldn't reach or move. If she stretched her body now, she would turn into a parachute which would save herself, but Genius and possibly Vega would plummet to their doom.
The realisation hit, hard. She couldn't save them. She had mere moments to save them, but couldn't. All because of her stupid impatience to save Kayla. All because of her own lack of care for her own life. All because she didn't value anything other than others. She didn't care that this could be the end for her, it was that she dragged everyone else into it. Her eyes sparkled with tears.
All of a sudden, a bright glow took her attention. She must've fainted and started dreaming. Genius' body glowed like a distant star, blinding and fiery amongst the world of the desert far below. That star grew fast, not as she fell towards it, but literally grew in size. It changed shape, glowed white, and the lower tip of it began to turn orange as beautiful, angelic wings spread wide. Before she knew it, she was falling towards Reshiram, who took flight and began to fly towards her.
Kari's mouth hung wide, and she instinctively hugged the legendary close as it caught her. With graceful swerves and heavy flaps of its feathery wings, Reshiram changed direction, soaring towards Mog and Shannon. Kari shook her head and adapted quick, reaching out to catch them safely.
"Shannon!" she cried out. He cringed hard in her arms, but quickly relaxed.
"R-Reshiram?" he cried.
"Reshiram? Where?" Genius' voice echoed through the area. "I wanna meet a Reshiram!"
Shannon gawked as well. "Telepathy…"
"Actually, what's a Reshiram?" she asked.
"Never mind that! Vega, over here!" Kari called and waved. The Tinkaton had her arms and legs stretched out and seemed to be laughing, but reached out when they drew near. It was difficult thanks to the speed and wind, but once Vega caught Kari's grip, she was pulled in fast. Vega really was laughing about something. "Are you okay?"
"Talk about being stubborn and full of surprises, hee hee hee! What other tricks you got hidden up your sleeve?" she giggled, giving Reshiram a heavy pat on the back.
"Ow, hey! No kicking please! You guys are heavy," Genius moaned.
"Uh, I-I… I guess the wanted poster was right… you really can turn into Reshiram," Shannon remarked, still in disbelief. "Genius, this is amazing…"
"Not just amazing, it saved our lives!" Mog added. "But what is this? We're not in the Dream World, are we?"
"It does feel like I'm dreaming," Kari admitted.
But she could feel it. The warm fur of the dragon was unlike any Pokémon she'd ever felt. Its coat was thick and fiery, but firm to the touch, almost like sitting on top of a warm, weighted blanket. It perfectly counteracted the chill of the sky and their height, and they weren't flying fast enough that it hurt her eyes, either.
"I dunno what a Reshiram is! I'm Genius, though," she said, slowing to a stop. She flapped her wings slowly, and each flap could be heard.
"Wait, you don't… okay so you're named Genius, but you're certainly not… a genius," Vega commented.
"This power is…" Shannon trailed off, scratching his chin.
"What is it, Shannon?"
"It's nothing, never mind. Genius, we're going to the pyramid," he instructed. "Don't forget now. Full speed ahead."
"Oh, okay! Aye aye captain!" Genius cheered, giving her wings a great flap. For someone who didn't realise they had transformed, they seemed to adapt to their new form without trouble. Not that Kari minded; it meant that even as they picked up speed, there wasn't any difficulty relaxing.
Yes. That was what she needed right now, after all of that. A chance to relax. Silence fell between the group, letting her take in the howling whooshes of wind that passed. Hugging Reshiram for warmth let her feel its muscles tense with its movements, which let on more than she probably intended. Somehow, Genius was totally relaxed. They hadn't spoken much and had pulled off this miracle, and yet she couldn't catch even a hint of bother from them. Surely a Pokémon revered as a god would have all manner of mental guards?
Genius' innocence and carefree-ness was a firm reminder of what Kari herself needed right now. Calm, collectedness, and energy. They were going to rescue Kayla, and they were going to succeed. In a few hours, they'd be on their way home with Kayla again. No other possibility mattered, and therefore, she didn't need to worry about possible failure, or the pain they might face, or the upcoming battle, or—
… No. Kari was more mature than that, now. She stood up as best as she could, face firm with determination, but heart beating with angst.
"Guys… I'm sorry," Kari said.
"Kari?" Ashe said.
"I was so desperate to save Kayla that I almost got us all killed stupidly. You were right… I'm so used to not really thinking about what I have to do that when it was down to me to lead this time, I messed up," she said calmly. "I messed up, even though everyone's lives are on the line. But things haven't changed and stuff, right? We have to save Kayla, Pola, and May. All I can do is ask you all to trust me, and put all your strength into helping me do this."
Her little speech was stopped by a snicker from Shannon. "You're already doing better than her."
"H-huh?"
"Kayla's only just learning how to think with everyone else in mind. You already learnt the hard way to slow down, accept your mistakes, and actually ask us what we want to do," he explained. "You're right. We're too deep into this to give up and turn away, but I appreciate that you apologised."
"You and Pola had a go at her a lot for that, but you both love her dearly," Ashe pointed out. Shannon scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, I don't understand anymore."
"Hmm?" he turned to her.
"Why you're all going this far. I promised Kayla I would protect her with all of my being, but the rest of you have little personal stake in this. Why risk it all against the odds?" she asked.
"Hey, I'm in this to save my friend! I'm not leaving May with Dusk, no matter what happens," Mog said desperately.
"If we're being like that, my training with Pola's still ongoing. And now that I know my father's in cahoots with Netherworld, we're all part of that mission, aren't we?" Shannon added.
"It's like I said before. Kayla and Pola mean too much to me, they're my bestest friends ever, Ashe. I couldn't live with myself if I abandoned them now," Kari stated.
"Gods, you kids just loooove this stuff, don'tcha? Do you really need to repeat yerselves?" Vega interrupted. She was leaned back with her hands tucked behind her head.
"Your lack of tact is starting to get on my nerves," Ashe frowned at her.
"Babe, they got in a half-built aeroplane and jumped outta it before it exploded just to save that lumpy bunny. Why'd you need more conviction than that? Vega replied. She sat up and stretched. "Honestly, if I had someone who cared about me that much, I'd marry 'em in a heartbeat."
"M-marriage?" Kari flinched.
"Yeah! Wouldn't you? Who doesn't want a partner willing to go through that much excitement for ya? Makes me wonder what kinda excitement yall get up to together. Every day's gotta be a thrill ride!" she cheered, pumping her fists.
"I dunno about that… you don't have to be in love to do something crazy for someone, do you?" Kari asked with an awkward smile.
For some reason, Vega froze. Only her head slowly turned to stare at Kari, and then a huge smile stretched across her face. "Is that so?"
Kari responded with a flinch. I don't really get it… what's she after?
"Anyway, time's up. I left you guys a lil' prezzie. Take a look at the fireworks!" Vega announced, standing up tall.
"Firewor- oh gods, what did you do?" Shannon yelled.
His angst got Kari to crawl up Reshiram's back to look over. They'd reached the Pyramid faster than she imagined, but just as she looked, an explosion went off. It was close enough that she flinched and downed her ears, which still rung from the volume. "What was that?"
"Softened 'em all up for ya. Go straight in there!" Vega ordered with an excited point.
"Into the giant fireball?" Genius squeaked, not slowing down.
"Headfirst baby!"
"Wait wait wait maybe we should talk this fiiiiiirrrrst!" Shannon yelled.
The aeroplane had smashed straight into the pyramid, albeit much lower than Vega intended. It left a huge indent in the sandy wall, almost like a target for Genius to aim for. She dove for it, wings tucked in and jet tail blaring flames to boost them straight forward, ignorant of the group's screams. With a deafening crash, Genius' massive figure crashed clean through the wall, sending stone and dust everywhere.
"What the?" Dusk's voice shouted above crumbling noise. The sound of Pokémon coughing and choking came through the thick cloud of dust that lingered, giving Kari and company a chance to get a hold of themselves.
Once the cloud started to clear, all mouths hit the floor. Kayla was stood back alongside a Plusle, and both blinked several times in comical shock. Kari herself gasped as it looked like Pola was behind her, but as the seconds passed, it was clear it was a guy, and not her. Reshiram lay uncomfortably between her group and another, the couple of Dusk and May, both leaned back in their own disbelief. Electronics sparked out of the broken wall and ceiling, while a pipe began to leak water into the hallway.
"Kayla!" Kari squealed.
"G-girls?" Kayla shook herself, still in shock. "What the heck is going on?"