Chapter Text
“Xerneas… What an awful god,” Trina muttered under her breath, riding atop Alex’s greater head.
The Hydreigon wasn’t really sure how he’d wound up as the Snivy’s noble steed, but as he flew down from the Voidlands’ portal and toward the ruins of Hot Spot, he found a strange satisfaction in being so needed.
Also on his back were Amia and Diyem. Between the four of them, Alex was, for once, the strongest of the team, though that didn’t say much when his passengers were all in their first stage of life, technically.
When he made it to Kilo Village after spending some time letting the trio enjoy the sunlight along the way, he landed near the behemoth that was curled up near the western edge of town.
“That’s Nate, I believe,” Alex explained.
“That… creature is friendly?” Trina asked, giving him a skeptical look. “He’s as large as a small Dungeon.”
“Yes, he saved the town, I believe,” Alex explained.
“Hmm…” Diyem seemed troubled by something. “Nate…”
“Do you know him?” Alex asked.
“Distantly. You could say we used to be enemies.”
“Oh.” Alex slowed his flight. “Does that mean I should avoid him for now? Or, you said, used to be enemies. Are things… better, now?”
“I’m trying that new technique called ‘optimism,’ since the only difference is my name is Diyem now.”
“A-ah.”
“You’re both dark creatures with great power, right?” Amia asked, tapping her chin. “Were you two cosmic brothers, in a sense?”
“I highly doubt that,” Trina said, but then stared at Diyem for the answer.
“Yes, in a sense,” Diyem replied, which only annoyed Trina enough for her to scowl. “Nate was born at the same time I was. That’s all I know. I’ve known him, felt his presence, for as long as I could remember. I also remember hating it.”
“Then, Nate knows your presence, and hates you, too?” Alex asked. “Again, should I…”
“I don’t know what his thoughts on me are,” Diyem said. “He won’t harm you. Perhaps I can use you as a shield.”
“Comforting.” Alex bumped his head hands together, but then realized that several of the bigger eyes on Nate’s strange body were staring at them. “Ah! We’re spotted… I suppose I have no choice.” He continued the flight at his original speed, descending for conversation. He still stayed many tens of feet off the ground for a quick getaway, though against something as massive as Nate, that probably wouldn’t mean much.
Nate’s body language was inscrutable. For something so large, there was nothing Alex could understand. He was much more familiar with a Charmander, and could tell that Diyem was tense and bracing for something bad.
“Can he hear us? We’re far from him,” Alex said. “Maybe I should go closer.”
“Do what you want.”
“Well, that doesn’t fill me with confidence at all!”
“I’m still working on confidence.”
Amia hummed. “He isn’t attacking. Why don’t you wave?”
“Wave? Oh, of course!” Hesitantly, Alex waggled his left, lesser head in Nate’s direction.
One of the five… heads that Nate had waggled back. The second from the left. Alex wasn’t sure if that was a head or some kind of face-arm.
“Aww, he waves the same as you!” Amia said. “You know, I’ve never seen a Pokémon like that before. Is he some kind of… alternative entity like you, Diyem?”
“I wouldn’t know. But he’s at least as unique as a Legend is. There is no other in this world.”
“I would imagine so,” Alex hummed. “Ah, hello! Nate, is it? We, ah, er, well… don’t be too startled! But we have a friend with us named Diyem!”
The waving slowed down, but Alex had no idea what that could mean. Once they were closer, he spoke a little more softly, though he still had to raise his voice for how far away they were.
“Do you remember someone called—”
Dark Matter?
“A-ah… yes. He, um…”
“Hello.” Diyem stood up, holding his breath. “I am not controlling them. You may check for yourself, Voice.”
The behemoth’s massive form leaned down, lower and lower, until one of those five heads was only a few feet away from Alex. The sheer magnitude of his size… It took everything Alex had to not pass out from panic.
You’ve changed.
“Mm. I have.” Diyem crossed his arms. “I’m the better fragment. I hope you’ll help me in vanquishing the others?”
One of the other heads slowly curled forward and over Alex’s back. He wasn’t sure if he should go away or remain, so he just froze. Amia and Trina scooted back, but Diyem stood his ground. From the very top of the prism-like head, several little hands of varying forms peeled off and reached toward Diyem.
“Um, wh-what are you doing?” Alex asked. “Why do you… ha-have so many of those, anyway?”
Alex heard… whispering. He couldn’t make out anything of what they were saying, but he felt like if he listened for too long, he’d go mad. He tried to tune it out.
Diyem growled a little and Alex craned his neck. The Charmander was being patted on the head and rubbed under the chin by several of those blackened limbs. Diyem’s black ember flickered and ebbed, which puzzled Alex. That usually meant, from what he knew of Owen, that they were enjoying themselves.
Diyem grumbled. “Nate was what I would once consider to be the embodiment of the… opposite of what I had been. Where I was pain, Nate was resilience; where I was anger, Nate was compassion. He was the defiant voice I had to answer against. Just like me, he was not very well-known, either. A little thing that dwelled within the Tree of Life.”
“Little, you say,” Alex said with a nervous breath. “Wait, Tree of Life? Wouldn’t that make Owen…?”
“Owen is a lot of things lately,” Diyem muttered.
You became cuter.
Diyem’s eye twitched. “Then you’ll allow us inside with no trouble.”
Nate seemed to pause, but then sank back and curled near the edge of the mountain again, allowing Alex to continue past without interference.
“Goodness… Much larger up close,” Alex said.
“It’s all so strange,” Amia said. “I can’t help but feel I’ve met someone like him before.”
“Didn’t we go into that great crater once?” Alex asked. “That’s where Nate used to live until Eon brought him out. I do wonder why he stayed there…”
“Aside from being a terrifying beast, you mean?” Diyem hummed. “Probably because a small part of his instinct told him to stay there. That’s where the Tree used to be.”
“A Tree of Life? Here, in Kilo?”
“Not anymore, obviously.”
Alex started flying over the behemoth and to the caldera that housed Kilo Village. It was going to be a few more kilos of flight before they got there proper.
“So strange… A whole tree that monumental and it’s just gone.” Alex poked his heads together as he flew. “It’s sad to think about.”
“Perhaps even sadder when you realize the one Owen created in the Voidlands is a mere sapling compared to what used to be in Kilo.” Diyem turned to face the southern horizon. “So long as it wasn’t on a totally different side of the world, you could see its leaves. It was a massive figurehead of the world that sprouted at the same time that Xerneas was given life, and when the world was truly established as its own.”
“Xerneas… So, Xerneas was its keeper, then? Tied to it?”
Diyem nodded. “Its guardian, and in some ways, its embodiment. But not the sole occupant. There were others who were born with the world, and the Tree of Life allowed them to manifest as something more than forces and puffs of consciousness between the world’s fabric.”
“Who were they?” Alex asked.
“Mmf. They eventually adopted the names Aster and Leph. Mew and Arceus.” Diyem’s eyes narrowed. “They are the proper inheritors of this world. Star and Barky, as you call them, were the ones who created this world out of guilt over a mistake. But Aster and Leph were born of the world; gods by birthright. They, like me, and like Nate, are exactly as old as the world itself. They will live and die with it, so long as a single soul draws breath.” He snorted, leaning back. “Star, Barky, Necrozma… They have no such obligation. They are free to leave this realm behind whenever they wish, and happily skip off into the Overworld as they like.”
Alex tilted his head. “Overworld?”
Diyem made a dismissive wave. “Ask Hecto.” He readjusted himself and looked forward.
“For someone who used to be the embodiment of darkness and evil and everything,” Amia said, “you speak very well. It’s a little, um… pleasant?”
Diyem grunted. Alex couldn’t see his expression, but he wondered if Diyem appreciated the comment.
“That’s just my resemblance to Owen influencing you,” Diyem stated. “I’m only reciting history and stating facts.”
“Tell us more,” Trina said. “You seem happy explaining this world’s history. Why didn’t you sooner?”
“Mortals are only interested in the present. They don’t care about what the past looked like; they can’t remember it. It isn’t something they feel.”
“We’re far from mortal,” Trina countered, “whether or not what you said is actually true aside.”
“Hmph.” Diyem relaxed. “Maybe later, then. We’re almost arrived, and you have something new to grieve.”
Alex descended at last, though he offered to bring the trio to the Heart HQ before dropping them off completely. Near the top of the stairs, Rayquaza and Elder were both making arrangements with other teams. It sounded like another search and rescue operation for a town that had halted communications ever since Dark Matter’s rise.
Diyem kept his tail hidden while they were moving, and he got a few friendly smiles from those who mistook him for Owen.
“Alex, so good to see you,” Rayquaza greeted. Elder did the same with a light bow. “Ahh, brought some friends?”
“Xerneas graced us with his power of revival, but is rationing his resources to do much more,” Trina replied. The little Snivy bowed with grace. “But it will do for now. My mind is the most important part of my needs at the moment. Actually, Alex, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to see them now.”
“Oh, I can give you their address,” Rayquaza offered. “Your mutants, yes?”
“My family, yes,” Trina corrected. “They all live in the same area?”
“Yes, they decided to live as a collective in a small district in eastern Kilo Village. Ah, hold on, I’ll get it.” He float-slithered into Heart HQ, leaving Elder behind.
Alex gave Elder a hesitant smile. “How have things been between you two? Er, since I heard that…”
“I’ve… been waiting,” Elder admitted. “Rayquaza refuses. I need to come to terms with things first, but I truly don’t understand. If Rhys is with Dialga, he seems happy. I only wish for the same… Oh, what would Rhys say… Perhaps that in time, it would work out…”
He was keeping a strong face, but Alex could see how broken up about it all the Torkoal was. “I’m sure he only wants you to do well for yourself.”
“Mm. He does.” Elder sighed. “He is a lot like me. I understand why he made this choice to delay. By the way, has anyone seen Manny…? I think Willow had been called to the Voidlands for getting some of her spirits revived, including him.”
“I haven’t seen him, no,” Alex said.
“Ah, well… I hope he is fine, then.”
Rayquaza returned and handed Trina a comically small note for her to take. The Snivy, trying to look as dignified as possible, nodded and started walking down the stairs that were nearly half her height. Alex considered offering to help, but that would probably only irritate her.
Diyem, rolling his eyes, said, “And where will I be staying? I imagine I will be monitored closely.”
“Ah, well… We were actually hoping that you would be able to help us with something,” explained Rayquaza. “It has to do with, err, the former leadership in Kilo. Anam.”
Diyem grimaced. “Yes, what about him?”
“He’s simply not himself,” Elder said. “He’s left the leadership work to most of us, and we don’t really know what he’s doing otherwise. He’s… evasive. But we need him now more than ever!”
“And you want me, the embodiment of all that is wrong with the world, to give him a pep talk.”
“Well, Owen isn’t here right now… nor is Madeline at the moment, nor—”
“Just because I look like—” Diyem stopped himself and squeezed his eyes shut. “Fine. Show me the way.”
Alex fidgeted, glancing at Amia, who was quietly and politely observing the conversation. The Ralts smiled at him when she realized he was looking. Even as a Ralts, she had the same smile, at least.
“Just this way,” Rayquaza said.
And as Diyem left to speak with Anam, Alex glanced helplessly at Amia.
“Well,” she said, patting him on the back. “I want to go and see the skies more. We haven’t done that in so long, Alex.”
His heart fluttered a little. “I’d love that.”
<><><>
Har was having a good morning. His mood was up, nothing was bothering him, and he was finally able to get their house nice and clean even by his Perceive’s standards. Ax, Ani, and Lygo were resting up with an afternoon nap after finishing their work early, and several others were lounging in other parts of the district. He could sense all of them, and he felt nice and in control from being able to do so.
Something new entered his Perceive’s range and he shot up. “Trina!”
And chaos broke loose.
Suddenly, a whole squadron of mutants emerged from their houses and rooms all at once, earning startled cries from bystanders passing by on the streets. Twenty, thirty huge, fully evolved, mutated Pokémon stormed the road and converged around a tiny Snivy. She greeted them with a warm smile.
A flood of questions followed and Trina did her best to answer each one. They learned that she had been in the Voidlands with Gahi and some of the others, and that they would be returning like her. Her diminutive size was because of some of its properties, but in time she would be able to return to her former glory. Most importantly, they asked if she would be their leader again, and she agreed with that same, elegant smile.
But then, it was her turn to ask questions. She only had one before the air seemed to leave the room.
“Where is everyone else?”
And it all came rushing back. The decay of the silk labyrinth. The erosion of the weaker mutants who couldn’t handle themselves without Trina. How they wandered and possibly killed, or got killed, by other civilians in Kilo, or got lost in Dungeons…
“Trina, they… I’m sorry,” Har finally said after some of the others explained in more detail what happened. “This is all of us.”
She was… still. Like she thought it was a cruel joke, but Har could tell she knew it wasn’t. She was just hoping it was. The Charizard shifted his weight, glancing at Lygo, but he was looking too mournful to say anything. Ani seemed a little upset by the reminder, and Ax just shook his head.
“It’s not your fault,” Har pleaded. “You did everything you could for us. That so many of us were able to survive is—is all because of you! We’d be nothing without…”
“I—I understand,” Trina finally replied. What frightened Har was how tearful it sounded despite her calm tone. She looked like she wanted to say more, but she couldn’t get the words out.
“Queen?” asked one of the mutants.
“Don’t… don’t call me that anymore,” Trina whispered, which startled them.
“But…” Har glanced at the others. “But you’re…”
She also seemed to regret saying it, but Har knew it came from the heart.
“Rest with us,” Ani offered. “It’s been too long.”
“I have a free bed!” another one called.
“Can we all sleep in the big community room tonight?”
“Dibs on the center!”
“You had the center last time!”
“I’ll start moving everyone’s beds!”
Trina, looking startled by all the action, gave Har a perplexed look.
Har only smiled. “Like they said… you’re still our queen. One way or another. And a queen needs her rest.”
And for perhaps the first and only time, Har saw Trina’s eyes water. But she sucked in a breath, stiffened her stance, and nodded.
“Tomorrow, we have work to do,” the Snivy finally said. “They may be gone, but we can still save their spirits. Owen has a plan in five days to raid a figurehead of all the trouble that Kilo has gone through. If… you’d be willing, will you fight alongside us?”
“I can speak for everyone,” Har said. “We will.”
<><><>
Every day, Owen got news updates from the team while everyone planned and got their affairs in order after being dead, missing, or otherwise for so long. The days blended together, however briefly, as the recovery process went into full swing.
It took Xerneas an agonizing four days to properly revive all essential Pokémon that had been in Kilo a few months ago. During that time, Hot Spot was slowly cleaned, new normals were established, and temporary homes were set up in the middle of Kilo Village.
However, housing was not easy to find. Kilo Village had absorbed many town populations that had evacuated during the Dungeon crisis, and shelter was difficult to arrange. With most Elite leadership now gone, and Elder out of commission, it briefly seemed like Kilo Village would not be able to handle the massive influx of displaced Pokémon.
That was until Arceus and a limited pantheon had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Where the Elites had left them, the gods stepped in and assisted with organizing. In some ways, their mannerisms were strangely familiar, yet nobody dared question them. They were gods, right? Even though Dialga seemed to take on the same duties Rhys had, or Rayquaza was inexplicably working alongside Elder for most of their tasks, everything was still going along smoothly.
There were rumors that Anam had somehow returned, but nobody actually saw him in person aside from passing glances. The conclusion was that he was still recovering from some terrible battle against Dark Matter; he must have been the one responsible for finding all of these gods in the Voidlands. After all, who else could it be?
Hot Spot wasn’t yet in working condition to be inhabited, so Owen and the rest of the team instead took up some temporary housing in Yotta Outskirts. It wasn’t too far of a walk from Kilo Village after Palkia set up a new Waypoint for the nearest outposts, and it was away from a lot of the chaos. After so much time in the Voidlands, the team wanted to train and relax somewhere more rural.
There was a hint of guilt at trying to relax when so many were suffering… but with Xerneas still gathering power to revive the team, they had little more to do than rest and train and keep up with whatever Owen was telling them from Cipher City.
“Hey, Diyem,” Owen said, sitting at a table with just himself and Diyem on a lazy early noon, “do you want seconds?”
“What? No. Why?”
“Well, you’re still a growing boy after all,” Owen said in a playful tone, earning a glare from the black-flamed Charmander.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“I have to find some levity, don’t I?”
“You’ve been resting for four days now. I’m getting restless.” Diyem shifted his weight. “Not that I can do anything…”
Owen slid a small helping of rice and meat over to Diyem, who stared quizzically at it.
“I said I wasn’t hungry.”
“That isn’t what my Perceive is telling me. Stop being so prideful, enjoy it!”
Diyem grumbled to himself and grudgingly picked up the bowl. “I’m removing your horns.” And despite this, he downed half the bowl in one gulp.
Owen decided not to rub it in. He was just glad Diyem was in better spirits than before. It was a little surreal being in temporary housing with him while Hot Spot was being repaired, the very person who’d ruined it and put them through so much trouble, but with how limited space was in Kilo Village with so many refugees, it was a miracle they’d been given space at all.
He had a feeling that had it not been for him, Diyem would have been cast aside or killed by now. But they needed him to defeat the ‘rest’ of Dark Matter. That’s what he told himself. And after these few days, it was becoming a little easier to treat him like an old, possibly evil friend.
Diyem left for the kitchen to put the bowl away, and Owen decided to take an afternoon nap. He’d been taking those a lot lately. It helped rest his mind, if anything.
Yet it hadn’t even been a kilo before he sensed Zena flying through the sky.
“Owen!” Zena called.
Owen groaned and rolled out of bed.
“Owen!” Zena called again.
“Here!” Owen said, wobbling out of the bedroom. He sensed that Diyem had passed out in bed on a full stomach.
“Spice is here!”
That got Owen picking up the pace. “Where?” he called, spreading his wings and taking off without hesitation. Zena leapt into the air as well, slithering with Mystic power to keep up.
“They came in from the east. Seems they had to travel on foot all this time after escaping Emily…”
“Emily…” Owen nodded. “Sounds like they barely made it. Are they reporting to the Hearts?”
Zena nodded, and Owen pivoted there, flying over some familiar faces far below. It was surreal to see so many Legends walking among them now, but that was simply how things were for the time being. Giratina was walking on six legs near the front of the Heart HQ with Madeline, making arrangements during Anam’s quiet leave of absence.
“What good timing,” Zena said. “We were just about to leave tomorrow, weren’t we?”
“Yeah, but let’s bump that up to today.”
“Wh-what?” Zena blinked. “Owen, what’s this plan of yours with yourself where you can just do it a day early?”
Owen stretched his wings to go into a glide and Zena kept pace.
“Alright, I think I can tell you now,” he said. “I’ve been getting information from my other half every night when I visit the Voidlands. He’s been feeding information to Star, who’s imprisoned in Cipher Castle, but it’s all false. Our plans, I mean. We’re kinda hoping that Qitlan and the others are smart enough that they’re intercepting it, so when we do our real plan, it’ll catch them off guard. They think we’re going to attack in sixteen days.”
“But what about Star? Won’t she know?” Zena asked. “They’d get it from her…”
“That’s, er, the tricky part. She doesn’t know. So it’s going to be a surprise for her, too. I don’t know for sure where she is in the dungeons, either, but with a little Perceive…”
“Do you even know she received your prayers, or that they can be intercepted?” Zena asked worriedly. “Owen, this isn’t like you. This doesn’t sound like a plan at all! It’s… all faith!”
“I have backups,” Owen assured her. “And if we take any longer, if we give them more time to plan, we’re only going to fall more behind. I… don’t like it either. But think about what it means if we take even longer.”
Zena still had an apprehensive look, and Owen wondered if this really was the right choice. He began to doubt. But then he thought back to the five hundred years before, the stasis he’d been in while everyone was stuck in a deadlock…
“I just don’t want things to slip back into nobody making a move,” Owen said. “So I’m going to get as many safeties as I can before we take a risk.”
“I’m going to trust you on this,” Zena said, “but if you do anything too reckless…”
“I have three bodies,” Owen said. “If two of them die, we’ll be fine.”
At that, Zena paused. “No, it’s not fine,” she said. “Your power is scattered. Which body has the Grass Orb? Which one has all the power? You can’t afford to have any of your bodies die! It’d be a huge setback!”
“Grass Orb, I’m going to take care of soon,” Owen explained. “And if one of my copies die, the power should transfer to all the others. That’s how it works for Hecto, and Diyem said the properties are similar there. Only way this could get bad is if the parts are killed and trapped. But the only person who can do that is Mhynt.”
“And you trust Mhynt?”
“I do.” Owen nodded. “We may not be able to get back together, but I can still trust her.” He finally landed in front of the Heart HQ, and Zena curled next to him.
“Then I suppose I’ll trust her, too,” Zena said reluctantly. “But you aren’t doing a reckless plan like this for… at least until the next time things get desperate.”
“I never would otherwise,” Owen said with an assuring nod. He leaned against her and then pressed on ahead. “Hello?” he called. “Where’s Spice?”
“You called?”
What Owen saw was startling. It seemed like a Salazzle, but it had bright yellow eyes with no pupils, a strange, emerald gem in its chest, and a trail of silver light crackling along her body like a scar. He recognized that scar—it was the same as Spice’s. It really was her…
She emerged from Elder’s office, which had been Anam’s until only a few days ago. “Oh, it’s… uh… Huh. Evolved again?”
“Y-yeah.” Owen tittered. “Anyway, I actually wanted to talk to you… Spice.”
Without pupils, Owen wasn’t sure what she was focusing on or looking at, but she seemed suspicious of the way Owen had said her name. Good going. Good start. It wasn’t like he’d infrequently interacted with her for years already or anything.
“Hi,” Owen greeted.
“Hi.”
Okay, he definitely was getting this wrong now. Zena was trying to make her massive body invisible by staring at the ground.
“Yeah,” Owen said. “Hi. So, about that talk…”
“Yep, you told me about it.”
“Right.”
Owen wished he could melt like Zena could.
“You know, I’d say you aren’t used to talking to girls, but you’ve got a catch right next to you.”
Zena’s prism scales seemed to shift a shade.
“So how’ve you been?” Owen asked.
“I can’t do this,” Zena squeaked. “Spice, have you been feeling at all strange lately?”
“No, I’ve been feeling pretty normal lately,” Spice replied. “Just your standard wraith-with a-gem-in-her-chest life, y’know?”
“Okay, yes, but more like… more than that,” Owen said. “Anything? How about when you see me?”
Spice squinted. “Are you… asking to hook up?”
“N-no! No, definitely not, that’s not—”
“Definitely not? What’s that supposed to mean?!”
Zena was covering her face now.
“I’m… you…!” Owen grasped at the air in front of him, tilting his head as Spice took an uneasy step back.
By now, a Delphox was peeking out of the office. He tilted his head. “…Have I met you before?” he asked.
“Huh?” Owen blinked. “…Leo?”
“Leo?” Zena repeated. “You know him?”
“Gods, Owen! It really is the same Owen. I knew it wasn’t a coincidence. Er… congratulations,” Leo said awkwardly.
“You know him?” Spice asked.
“Remember that Charmeleon I had gone on a few dates with?” Leo asked. “That was a few years ago…”
Zena gawked, then looked at Owen.
“I, uh, forgot,” Owen admitted. Zena seemed to understand, though she still looked surprised.
“Um, i-is something happening out there?” called a Smeargle trying to squeeze around Leo. Upon seeing Owen and Zena, though, he meekly mumbled something and went back into the office.
“Okay,” Owen finally said. “Sssspice! You… are someone kind of important, but I also don’t want to, like, tell you in case it… breaks something.”
“Breaks—wait. You—” She suddenly glanced at Leo, then Zena, and then the rest of the hall. Nobody else was around for now; it wasn’t often that people went directly to Elder’s office like this. “About my memories?”
“So you already know something’s wrong?” Owen asked.
“Long story. But yeah. What do you know?”
He hesitated. Was this the right time? She was right there, he’d been waiting for this, Diyem told him, it all had to be true.
“Stop… dancing around the freaking subject. Tell me! Now! Do you have any idea how much sleep I’ve lost to this? Figuratively?”
“I just don’t know if—when I got my memories back, they were, it was a shock, and for a while I—”
“Ten seconds.”
“What?”
“Nine.”
“Wh-what are you gonna—”
“Eight.” She drew two spikes from her pack. They were laced with something.
“Y-you’re my daughter and your name is Remi!”
The Salazzle stopped. Owen wasn’t sure why. But now she was frozen.
“You were a Sceptile from a long, long time ago. I don’t know the story on how you got here or anything like that, but you fell into the Voidlands and lost all your memories because of it. But somehow you came back and made a new life for yourself here. Th-that’s all I know for that part, but… but I know you’re my daughter because… a lot of things add up if you are, and, er, someone who’s more in-the-know… confirmed it, sort of.”
As Owen spoke, Spice slowly placed the spikes back into her bag and closed it, standing straighter.
“It’s hard to believe,” Zena said, “but… I hope it’s something we can prove to you later. Do you, er… feel okay?”
Spice was quiet for a while longer, staring at the ground.
“…Remi?” Owen asked.
The Salazzle held up a claw, then brought it to her chin. “…Was waiting for some kind of epiphany to unlock in my head. Nothing.”
Owen’s wings drooped a little, but he supposed it was only natural that the memories wouldn’t come back immediately.
“And… I’ve got a lot of questions, too.”
“Y-yeah, I’d bet. But there’s something that we need to try, too. Something to test.”
“Er—hold on, did I hear that right?” Leo asked. “Spice is… your daughter.”
Owen nodded.
“For a Sceptile, so she was a Sceptile.”
Another nod.
“From long, long ago. How old are you?”
“That’s… another long story.”
Despite lacking pupils, the gesture Spice made was clearly rolling her eyes. “Boy, you must’ve been one annoying father.”
“You could say that.” Owen dipped his head.
“Well, sorry, but I don’t remember it,” she said again. “But… do you have any proof?”
The hint of hope in her voice… She would take anything remotely plausible. But did he have any of that? Some way to validate that hope? It must have been a burning question for her, the way she was reacting. Had she already known that she was missing something? For how long?
“I don’t,” Owen said.. “Sorry. I can’t think of any proof right now. But…”
“I’ll think about it,” she dismissed, and Owen felt an anxious knot forming in his gut. She rolled her eyes—did Owen give himself away?—and added, “I mean that literally. Maybe I’ll see something. You don’t look like a liar. Even if it’s totally insane.”
“Right… right.” Owen shifted awkwardly. “Then I’ll leave you, um, leave you to it…”
Spice held her chest, toying with the gemstone again. “…Can I admit something?” she asked.
“Anything.”
“Sometimes I have the strange feeling that I should do something or another. Like right now, when you’re talking to me… I feel like I can believe you.” She tapped at the green gem. “It was ever since this got lodged in here. So maybe…”
Owen tilted his head, unsure. It was strange. But could that somehow be awakening or guiding her? “You should listen to it more,” he said. “In case it’s something helpful.”
“…Yeah. Sure.” Spice seemed to take that seriously, too. “Thanks. You do your thing. Where can I find you?”
“I, uh… That’s sort of hard to answer. I’m in temporary housing right now until Hot Spot is cleared out…”
“Alright, then… see me at Sugar and Spice. Later. Okay?”
“Of course!” Owen nodded fervently.
This wasn’t really necessary for his plans against Alexander anyway. It could wait.
He just had to return safe.
<><><>
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay, Owen?”
Zena wished they didn’t have to return to the Voidlands only four days after they’d escaped, but Owen’s plan called for it, and he and his other self had been scheming the whole time for it. Still, she definitely would have preferred at least a few extra days… for Owen’s sake.
“Yeah. I’ll be fine,” the Charizard said. “No time to wait for stuff about Remi.”
“Are things really that urgent in… Oh, of course they are.” Zena nodded. “But once we rescue the other you, we are absolutely talking about this.”
“I want to,” Owen assured her. “I promise. We’ll talk about it.” Owen glanced to the right. “Oh, good, you’re here.”
There was nobody there. Her first instinct was that Owen finally cracked under the pressure, but then she remembered Enet existed.
“Oh, she’s here… Enet.”
The illusion disappeared, revealing the Zoroark crouched down and ready to pounce, looking playful.
“Glad you could make it,” he said.
“I’m helping?” Enet asked.
“No, er, you won’t be coming with us for this raid,” Owen explained.
Enet gave him a skeptical look. She snapped her claws and disappeared again.
“I know, I know. But they have a lot of ways to detect you anyway, and we need to try to keep our team as small as possible. And, well, there’s another reason I want to make sure you’re here. They might have… a specific interest in making sure you stay, or they pick you off.”
“Pick off,” Enet mocked, snorting the invisibility away. “Not weak.”
“Y-you aren’t! You aren’t. Just…”
Owen had told Zena about Enet’s true nature. She still couldn’t believe it. In some ways, she didn’t want to. What would that mean for either of them? Spice and Enet… and the third one inside the tree, apparently.
“Either way, we’re going to be going soon. A small team just to make sure we can get in and that’s it. Maybe in a day, or sooner,” he explained quietly.
“Wait, Owen…” Zena finally couldn’t take it. She brought her ribbons onto his shoulders, a little firmer this time. “You need to slow down.”
“What?” Owen asked, looking befuddled.
“You’re going to get yourself killed, or worse! What is this, why are you rushing so badly? Please, Owen, talk to me… You haven’t been yourself for days.”
“We just don’t have a choice anymore,” Owen said. “If they keep going like this, they’re going to find the key to Reset my aura. And then they’ll probably find a way to… change me to be a weapon again. I can’t let that happen, okay? I just can’t!”
There was madness in his eyes. Zena didn’t know how to console him. Zena always knew that, as a Charizard, Owen was less inhibited, but was it really always like this? She shook her head and said, “But isn’t that all the more reason to be careful and—”
“We’re just going from here, straight to the Castle,” Owen said firmly. “Then it’s over. That’s all. We get my other half out there, at the very least. I’m doing this… with or without you.” His expression darkened, but then he glanced at Enet, who had tilted her head and flicked her ears.
“Owen…!” There was no convincing him. He just wasn’t listening… Was he really going to lose his nerve now, of all times? “Please, just—”
“Illusion up,” Enet announced.
And suddenly, Owen deflated and breathed out a long, steady breath. Zena flinched at the sudden change in countenance.
“That should be enough,” Owen sighed, scratching Enet behind the ears. She growled affectionately and leaned into it. “Sorry for using you, Zena. But it had to look genuine.”
“Wh… wh… what?!”
Owen jerked his head toward something behind Zena. There, a shadow was just barely visible from someone stalking around the corner, listening in. Zena eyed Owen’s horns next.
“Now they’ll think I’m being reckless, and I blabbed the wrong location,” Owen said. “I’m pretty sure that’s one of Alexander’s spies.”
Zena stumbled over her words. Her head was spinning. How much was a lie? Was that all an act?
“We do still need to go soon,” Owen explained, “But… I have more precautions than just rolling in there. I promise.” He dug through his bag and produced three curious orbs. They almost looked like marbles of emerald, platinum, and opal, glowing faintly. “As part of my planning, I got these from Necrozma’s disciples. Bits of Rayquaza, Azelf, and Giratina’s power… Just one use, but they should help me surprise them. Only them and I know what they do.”
Zena nodded slowly, the panic finally leaving her system. She was impressed, though she was also a little irritated that he waited this long. Just for an act to convince the spies? A little cold of him to do that…
“I’m… sorry,” Owen said, dipping his head.
Stars, he could even Perceive when she was upset. There was no hiding from him.
“Wh-what’s wrong?” Owen asked. “I—I’m sorry, I—”
“It’s nothing, Owen,” she said. “Please don’t use me like that again.”
At that, the wince seemed deeper, and he nodded. “I won’t. Sorry.”
“I can act better than you think, you know,” Zena added, defensive. “Part of being a Milotic is knowing how to put on a show. It’s not just elegance. It’s all performance.”
Owen sighed. “Yes, well, you’re just so genuine all the time that I… wasn’t sure. Next time, we can tap into that talent.”
Was that compliment intentional? Owen was still fretting, shifting his weight. She let it go with a sigh. “I’m holding you to it,” she said. “Can you tell me what they do?”
Owen glanced at Enet. “How much longer do you have?”
Enet shrugged. “Standing around. Not convincing.”
“Hmm…” Owen lumbered over to the tree and slid down, gesturing for Zena to follow. She coiled next to him, head resting on his thigh as she stared at the three marbles.
“Rayquaza,” Owen said, holding up the emerald marble, “gave me something that will be a rush of pure power and speed. If I need to power through something, I’ll use this. It should only last a moment, but that should be enough. Giratina’s…” Owen held up the platinum orb. “This one will let me slip into the shadows like it’s water, is how she described it. Lasts the same amount of time. If I need to hide, that’s how, even with my flame. Lastly, Azelf’s…” Owen seemed to hesitate when holding up that opal sphere. “It’s… what he did to me a long time ago. Lasts the same amount of time, but it’ll sap the fighting spirit out of anyone in the area that I want. They just won’t have the motivation to stop me.”
“Goodness…”
“Feeling more confident now?” Owen asked, smiling.
“Y-yes, actually. But why don’t you just bring them with you for that same power all the time?”
“They’re still recovering, and none of them are whole yet, either,” Owen said. “And, aside from Azelf, they’re also a little too… big for stealth or a raid like this. Maybe when we do our full-on assault, that’ll be different.”
“…Then, who will be coming with you?” Zena asked.
“Azelf needs to recover,” Owen said, “but we can’t risk too much by sending Team Alloy there. It’s going to be… me, Mesprit, and Uxie.”
“Not Team Alloy?”
Owen looked uncomfortable, leaning against her. “If they do have the Reset aura, or find some other way to control me, these halves of Demitri and Mispy won’t be affected. They can subdue me and evacuate.”
“Owen…” Zena’s chest tightened. “You can’t possibly think that.”
“Too careful, too reckless, which one?” Owen tried to smile, but she saw the dark fear in his eyes. But she also saw his stubborn resolution. That, despite the act, was real…
“Anyway,” Owen went on, still leaning against her. “There’s one last thing I want you to do.”
“Anything,” Zena said.
Owen pulled his hand away from the tree, and she realized that the sense of aura coming from it had gone down significantly.
“Hold onto them.” He held forward what looked like a bright, white sphere. Enet seemed to strain to keep it hidden.
“The Grass spirits… Why?”
“If we attack the Castle, Alexander is probably going to retaliate and attack the Tree. I… still need to be in it, just in case. But I don’t want to risk my spirits, or whichever one there might be the last third of Remi. If they have her, I don’t… know what I’d do. I don’t want to risk that option. It’s what ensnared Mhynt, and sometimes I think she has a stronger will than me.”
“But won’t this make the Tree weaker?” Zena asked.
“You’ll have to defend it,” Owen said. “Can you do that?”
A beat, but then she nodded. She reflected Owen’s determination.
Finally, something to do.
“Easily.”