Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

All know the feeling of deafening submergence. We are conceived in it and we are born from it. And after we have lived out our lives, we return to it. We don’t know when we are to depart from this state, or if we ever do. We only know of that floating sensation that lasts for seemingly eternity.

One such soul floated on this line between life and death, unbeknownst to her which side she would take. Her consciousness was barely there, barely feeling or noticing anything beyond the abyss of nothingness; questioning if she was even there at all. And then, a breakthrough, a decisive shift in the emptiness of the void that determined her destination.

A bright light filled her vision, overtaking the darkness accompanied by a voice, “Young soul still inexperienced and new, what unfortunate events that have brought you to this place.” it echoed, it’s voice filling the empty space.

“What is this place?” the soul asked.

“A starting line and an end point. Although, for you, I would say the former best suits your current situation.”

My current situation she thought internally, her mind referring back to the voice’s first words, “But wait, what did you mean by ‘unfortunate events’? Are you saying that I died? Then… shouldn’t this be the end?”

“In normal circumstances, but your circumstances aren’t normal. You see, you are needed elsewhere, in a world far different than your own… and yet somewhat familiar.”

“But why me? Why send me?”

“I cannot answer that, but, in due time, it’ll all become clear to you.”

The light began to fluctuate, flashing blindingly and dimming in intervals. “What’s going on??” she questioned in an alarmed tone.

“It seems your time here is up. When you awaken, you’ll find yourself in this world in a vessel that befits you. I wish you the best of luck on your quest.”

The light became brighter, overwhelming brighter as it consumed her. “Wait! Don’t just end it so vaguely! Say it so I understand! Hey!!” her voice shouted without response as her consciousness vanished from the space.

***

Abruptly, her eyes opened to the sky, gasping as she awoke from what seemed like a dream. She found herself laying with her back against a forest floor with the sun shining down into her eyes. Uncomfortably so as they squinted at the bright light. What am I doing sleeping in a place like this? she questioned as she brought her hand up to shield her face. Or, at least, what was supposed to be her hand, but what she found instead was a golden paw blocking the sun from her face. It took her a moment to take notice of the appendage, turning it slowly and wiggling the little toes until she realized it was her doing making the paw move.

Her eyes widened as she shot up from her downed position. N-No way, she felt up and down her body, feeling the soft fur against her paw pads. She grabbed at the fluffy tail lying behind her and the ears that stood upright on her head. Nonononono she screamed internally, beginning to run down the beaten forest trail, too focused on her own panic to realize she was running on four legs instead of two.

The trail led her to a flowing stream, where upon the water’s surface she could see what she had become, “IT MADE ME A FENNEKIN?!” she screamed loudly as she stared down at the reflection with a terrified look in her eyes.

“Would you keep it down? Some of us are asleep at this hour.” an owl, or noctowl in this case, called down to her from her tree hollow, looking bothered and a bit cranky.

“S-Sorry…” she called back instinctively, it only coming as a second thought that she was even speaking to a noctowl.

She took a second glance into the water, her expression deescalating from shock to distressed and disturbed. Her head tilted from one side to the next, her mind willing the muscles in her tall ear to flick downward to test the feeling. No doubt, that’s really me in there… her face drooped as she came to the conclusion, but the expression did not last as she came to a possibility she had overlooked. No, wait. Maybe I’m still asleep. Right, that could be it. I’m just dream, she thought. However, at the same time, she wasn’t one hundred percent certain, and, hence, left her current situation in an ambiguous state.

There was one way she could find out for certain: the flowing stream with its cool, refreshing water beckoned her to utilize it and test her theory. If this truly was a dream, then there would be no harm in placing her head under the water and breathing it like a fish. A simple solution for a complicated problem. Without a second thought, she pushed her head under the running current, remaining under for five seconds, then ten and thirty but not finding it any easier to breath. It was actually becoming difficult, maybe a little suffocating. It was a couple more seconds until she realized she couldn’t breathe at all before bursting her head from the surface.

“Not a dream! It’s not a dream!!” she coughed, some of the water getting into her lungs at the end of it.

***

“So, I’m not dreaming… and I’ve really become a fennekin. I see what it meant by new but familiar now.” she mumbled as she wandered through the forest, taking the time alone to think aloud to herself and get her bearings on her predicament. “But pokemon are only supposed to exist in video games, how can I just be put in their world? Don’t tell me it made me the protagonist or something, I can’t deal with that kind of pressure…” she breathed out a heavy sigh as her eyes watched the blades of grass passing by her, along with the little stubs that pressed against them, “Why me…?” she groaned.

In her own little pity party state, she had lost track of the world and her surroundings, hardly noticing the little gathering of zangooses up ahead or the zangoose that was crouched right in front of her path. Of course, she smacked herself right into his backside, calling her back to reality.

“Oh, sorry.” she apologized as she moved around the zangoose to continue walking on.

The follow up action was left incomplete, however, as the zangoose’s clawed hand found itself pressed firmly against her head, “Hey, squirt. You think you can just assault me and walk away like it was nothing?” he asked, turning her head to look at him.

Assault? she questioned, “It was just an accident. I wasn’t looking where I was going, and I apologized for it.” she defended as her eyes looked away.

“Nah, man. I saw it with my own eyes, you came right at him trying to start something with us.” one of his friends chimed in with his unwanted two-sense.

“Right? I oughta rip you to shreds for thinking you can come at me from behind like that. But lucky you, I’m feeling generous. I’ll forget your little attack for, say, 500 coins.” he smirked, his true intentions finally showing.

Is this a shakedown?! she began to tremble and shake, never having to deal with violent situations like these before, “I… I don’t have anything on me though…” she tried moving away, but his hold on her was still strong.

“Oh? So you want to do this the hard way, then?” the zangoose asked as he began to reach his second hand over to her.

Her eyes widened as her body filled with an urge to protect herself and a fire that built up in her chest. “L-Let me go!” she called out as her body spat out little pieces of fire from her mouth into his face, making him coil back to put out the flames on his fur.

“Now you really done it, squirt…” his teeth clenched, his voice carrying so much resentment for the little fennekin that dared to fight back.

With an excessive amount of force, his hand pushed against the back of her neck, pushing her down into the grass. She let out a yelp before her eyes looked back at the zangoose looming over her helpless body.

“You wanted a fight, right? Let’s fight.” he spoke menacingly, his claws lighting up as he prepared to slash into her.

Her eyes closed tightly, bracing for the impact but finding that it never came. Above her, the zangoose was hit against his back, force palmed off her and sent tumbling into a nearby tree trunk with a hard thud. Her eyes opened slowly, finding a new figure in front of her, shielding her from the angry zangooses.

“Again with this? Haven’t you jerks learned to pick on someone your own size?” a riolu spoke up to them, standing up for the frighten fennekin.

“You brat…” the tossed zangoose growled as his friends began to surround the two with claws and fangs bared, leaving him to cut off their exit, “You’ll pay for that cheap shot.” he readied his own claws as he began to close in.

“When I give the signal, run.” the riolu whispered, bringing her to attention.

What is she planning when we’re outnumbered and surrounded? she questioned but did not reject her direction.

“Now! Sand Attack!” she shouted as she threw sand into the lead zangoose’s eyes, leaving him momentarily blinded.

“Sonova-!” the zangoose exclaimed as he furiously rubbed his eyes.

Immediately, the two took off, running past the zangoose quickly.

“Don’t just stand there! Get ‘em!!” the zangoose shouted, his eyes watering and red, still barely able to see out of them.

At his word, the zangoose began to chase after them, the sound of their feet behind luring the fennekin’s head to look.

“Don’t look back!” the riolu warned her before she could turn her head completely, keeping her attention on her savior.

The two weaved through the trees and thickets, their escape route almost maze like as they worked to lose the gang of zangoose.

“In here.” she said with a more hushed tone, careful not to let her voice carry as the two ducked into a fragrant bush of small red fruit.

The zangooses were none the wiser, running right past them in their pursuit, leaving them officially lost.

“I think we’ll be safe in here, but we should wait until the coast is clear.” the riolu stated as her eyes looked towards the direction of their fading footsteps, “But man, you really had a close call there-” she stopped herself as she saw the tears welling up in the fennekin’s eyes and falling down her face.

She began to panic slightly, her voice growing more frantic, “W-whoa, hey! What’s wrong?? Did they hurt you anywhere?” she asked, tilting her head down to look at her face.

Her lips pursed tightly, her head shaking a firm ‘no’.

“Then why are you crying...?” the riolu asked, her tone growing more worried.

“That…that was really scary… I thought he was really going to rip me apart…” she cried, sobbing and sniffling as the tears ran down her cheeks.

She watched her cry silently before starting to rub her back, “Yea, I bet. But it’s okay now, you’re safe.” she said in an effort to comfort her, but her words had little effect as she continued to hiccup and sniffle away. Her eyes looked around at the bush, finding a nice, plump cluster of fruit. 

“What’s that...?” the fennekin asked softly.

“Try it, it’s very good.” she offered with a smile. “Here, see?” she picked off one, popping it into her mouth before smiling with glee as her face filled with exaggerated delight. “It’s really yummy, it’ll surely turn that frown into a smile real fast.” she explained, her hand now insisting that she try one.

The crying fox looked down at it, staring for a moment before taking a hesitant bite. With just a minimal amount of pressure from her tongue, the fruit burst with its juices, filling her mouth with its sweet nectar.

“See? It’s good, right?” she asked, confident in knowing the other's answer before she could even say it.

“Really good!” she answered, her voice now cheery as she smiled from ear to ear while taking another bite.

“There’s the smile.” her hand pressed against her head, petting her gently between her large ears.

She looked towards the riolu, her cheeks gaining a pink shade as she realized just how embarrassing her face looked being so happy all over the taste of a good snack. She turned away slightly to hide the flustered expression.

The riolu couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, “So, what’s your name?”

“My name?” she asked in affirmation, turning her gaze to her only slightly.

“Yea. Oh, I guess I should go first if I’m asking. My name is Emizella.”

“Emizella? Then… my name is Crystal.”

The two remained in a shared silence for a while after that, a bit of the tension relieved in the fact that they now knew each other’s names. So, although they continued to consume the bush's fruit in silence, it was a comfortable silence, a soothing silence with only the crunch and squish of the juices and seeds filling the air.

Emizella was the first to break this silence, their bellies now full and hunger sated.

“They should have forgotten all about us by now. We ought to be getting home.” she stated, raising up to her feet and stretching out her arms and legs. “Where do you live? I’ll be your personal escort.” her offer came with a soft pat at her chest in assurance.

Crystal’s eyes looked up at her briefly before averting her gaze. How do you tell someone you just met you’re homeless because you’re not from this world? Kinda like that, but less details, she concluded with a soft sigh.

“I don’t really… have a home. At least not yet.” she spoke hesitantly, trying not to make herself out to be too much of a charity case. Then again, if she wasn’t a classifiable charity case in this situation, what was?

Emizella looked confused for a moment, leaning closer so she could really hear her, “What do you mean by that? You mean you don’t have a place to sleep?”

Pretty much, “I said ‘not yet’. I’m sure I can manage something for tonight… Oh! I can sleep here.” her body flopped to the ground, rolling into the dirt as she tried to find herself a comfortable sleeping position. But it was a bit difficult with the fallen twigs and rocks and the smell of the fermenting fruit that fell long before they had arrived.

Emizella couldn’t take watching her obvious discomfort for much longer, “Nope, nuh-uh. After all that you really think I’d leave you to sleep here? This is clubhouse material at best, not house-house material.”

“Then what would you suggest?” Crystal asked as she sat herself up.

“Just come to my place. Unlike here, it’s actually prepared to be used to sleep in.”

She didn’t want to assume she could just ask to crash at her place. After rescuing her from a gang of zangoose, dealing with her crying and comforting her afterwards, it felt like she was imposing a lot from a riolu she met just a couple of hours ago.

Even if it was for only a few hours, Emizella felt like she could read her like a book. It was easy to tell what she was thinking and just as easy to tell what she needed to hear. “Look, I’ve already invested this much. If I just leave you now, knowing that you don’t have a place to sleep, I’m going to be kicking myself all night. And then I’m not going to be able to sleep.” The bit of emphasis added was more for Crystal's emotional benefit than anything else.

The light smile that showed on her white muzzle told her that it worked.

“So, don’t go worrying about your manners and pleasantries. Worry about yourself and rely on someone you can trust, like me.” a wide smile spread across her face, dripping with friendliness and reliability. A paw extended towards her, a promise of support and dependability in the gesture.

A beat passed, contemplation passing in the fennekin’s eyes. But she took her paw nonetheless, her own smaller, golden paw resting on the padding as Emizella pulled her gently into a standing position. With that returned paw, she agreed to place her trust in her, accept her support without complaint and worry about herself just a bit more.

Chapter Text

 “Well, here we are.” Emizella’s voice cut through the thick leaves and vines that acted as a doorway into a small clearing, her small clearing. She made a gesture to allow Crystal inside first, holding the entryway open for her before following inside.

They had to travel off the beaten path of the forest to make it here, cutting through barbed bushes and briar patches. Her fur was covered in thorns and spiny balls that hung off the hairs. It was worth it to have someplace safe to retreat to, Emizella had told her while she led the way, skillfully ducking and dodging the branches. It seemed that she had committed this prickly path to her muscle memory as she hardly looked where she was going to make sure Crystal was still following behind.

But it was all worth it. The clearing itself was quite green and thorn free, the brightly colored grass feeling soft and soothing under her paws. The canopy above let the saturated orange of the sunset sprinkle in through the gaps in the leaves, leaving soft speckles of light littering the floor. There was a small opening put into that canopy, looking less natural and more like the whim of the resident. In the center of the clearing was a dug out pit and, judging by the old, burnt up wood and ashes, it was frequently used as a fireplace. And, near that, was a pile of large leaves and grasses, soft once but constant pressure and use made it look quite compacted; her bed, she assumed.

“It isn’t much but make yourself at home. I’ll get your bed together.” she said, plucking the last of the thorns from her guest's body before walking over to the edge of her lair to collect her supplies.

Crystal’s eyes continued to wander every corner and angle of this den, it was plenty spacious for her smaller body, but she wondered if she might be making the space a bit more cramped. She had to physically shake that thought away, worry about myself, she repeated the promise once before relaxing her body.

“How long have you lived here?” she asked, nothing better for breaking the ice than a bit of conversation.

“Um…” she thought about it for a moment, “’bout 4 or 5 months?”

“By yourself?” she was taken back by her answer, wasn’t she supposed to be a kid or something?

“Nobody else around.” she simply shrugged her shoulders as her arms pulled up a generous collection of vegetation.

Crystal’s eyes followed Emizella as she transported the materials and set them down beside her own bed with a nice plop. She wanted to ask more, curious about her living situation and why she was out here by herself but feared that it might lead to too personal information. Personal information reserved for more intimate and well-known relationships.

Emizella’s paws arranged the leaves over the grasses, trying to fluff it out and make it look nice. She gave her a brief glance before turning her eyes downward again, letting out a soft chuckle.

“You really don’t need to hold back, you know.” Emizella stated, a brow raised and knowing smirk on her lips.

Crystal’s body stiffened, ears lowering in uncertainty, “I mean… we are still practically strangers, aren’t we?” she asked.

She let out an exaggerated gasp, “After all I’ve done, you still call me a stranger? How cruel.” A paw hung over her face, hiding away her tears, or rather, lack thereof.

“That wasn’t what I-”

“I’m just messing with you.” she chuckled, walking closer to Crystal before pressing a digit into her nose slightly, “You’re making it far too easy…and way too fun.”

Her white jaw hung for a moment before a pout pressed onto her lips, Emizella's teasing nature not going as appreciated with her victim.

“There we go, now why don’t you get us a fire started. You can use Ember, right?” the riolu asked as she pulled away.

So that’s what that was, she gave a silent nod, her jaws relaxing once more.

“Great! I’ll see about our food situation.”

And with that, she turned away towards the opposite side of the clearing, leaving Crystal to deal with putting together their fire for the night. Her paws tread over to the small fire pit before looking over at the pile of accumulated wood gathered as fuel. She picked up one of the sticks before looking over at the burnt-up ashes from the assumed previous night. Quite honestly, she wasn’t sure what she was doing. Was she supposed to clear out the ashes first? Was she supposed to just put the new wood on top? She wasn’t even sure if she had ever been camping before now!

Her eyes looked back briefly at Emizella, seeing her chopping away on top of a stone slab before looking back at her own job. She already seemed so capable on her own, it compelled Crystal to wonder why she was living like this in the first place. Idly, she poked away at the charred pieces of wood, breaking and crumbling them down into a larger mess of ash within the stone circle.

I could always just ask, right? I mean, if she really doesn’t want to talk about it, she could always say no. But then, what if it makes things awkward? She sighed to herself, I can’t make things awkward, she’s the closest thing to a friend I have here.

“How’s that fire coming along?” Emizella called out, pulling Crystal out of her thoughts abruptly.

“It’s coming!” she called back hurriedly as she piled the wood into the circle. Screw not knowing what she was doing, she needed to get something burning and a flame going.

A few minor adjustments to keep the sticks within the stones and she had a base of fuel going for her. Now all she needed was a spark, or her Ember as Emizella referred to it. So, new question, how does she even use Ember? How did she use Ember before? She wracked her brain as she tried to remember the first time she spat speckles of fire from her mouth, taking a second to appreciate that she never thought she would ever have to recall ever doing something like that and not be on hallucinogens.

Focus, she willed her mental train to redirect itself on a more important track, okay, I was scared, cornered and desperate… and then, there was a burning feeling in my chest that I had to let out and there it was. Burning feeling, burning, she concentrated on the feeling, trying to replicate the sensation in her chest. She took in a breath, holding it as she fixated on the memory of heat filling her body. When she felt she had it, she forced it out, admittedly somewhat reminiscent of letting out a belch.

Her eyes were closed, so she was not for certain she had achieved it. She would have checked for it herself first, but a firm pat on the back beat her to the punch.

“Nice going.” Emizella’s voice accompanied the swift smack, “Leave it to a fire type to know how to make a good fire. Couldn’t have done it better myself.”

Crystal’s eyes peered open to look as the blazing flame, already licking towards the sky as the breeze pushed it into a swaying dance. She may not have been accustomed to being a fire pokemon yet, but it felt good to be praised for her first conscious attempt. But then it hit her, “Are you just saying that to stroke my ego?”

“Depends, did it work?” she responded with a playful smirk dancing on her lips.

Her sunset orange eyes avoided the riolu’s cocky gaze, knowing that, if she’d look, she’d see a pair of wiggling brows to go with that smug expression in her eyes. “… maybe…” she relented in a soft murmur.

The other chuckled softly, kneeling in front of the fire to start cooking their meal. “Seriously, you have to stop. Otherwise, I’ll have to keep you.”

“Keep?” the fennekin’s head tilted in a perplexed expression.

“Ah, just a joke. Don’t think about it too deeply.” she looked back from her work, a bit of a blush on her face as she realized the implications of the words she strung together in that particular order. She cleared her throat as well as the flustered hint on her cheeks, “Anyways, dinner will be ready in just a sec, so sit tight.”

Crystal’s eyes watched her silently, not missing a beat as she stared at each shift in her expression. She may have liked to tease the little fox about her “funny” reactions, but she couldn’t help but think she had a bit of a cute flustered look herself. At least things are a bit more equal in that regard, she couldn’t help but think with the slightest hint of a smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

***

“So then, about our food situation,” the two had settled down after the meal, the fire put out and the stars slowly littering the darkening sky one by one, “…we might have to stop into town to get some supplies for two. Not really prepped for another mouth, you know.”

Crystal turned slightly on her side, laying on the leafy nest her host had so graciously thrown together for her. “Sorry about that.”

Emizella let out a soft chuckle, “Don’t be. I’m the one that invited you to stay. Besides, if you’re going to live in this forest, you ought to see the village.”

“There’s a village out here?”

“A small one, but yeah. It’s nothing glamorous like the capital or remarkable like the city, but the pokemon there are nice folk. Plus, it has this ancient monument and-” she cut herself off as she noticed herself starting to ramble off, “Actually, might be better for you to see it for yourself.” she concluded with an excited smile on her face.

Crystal’s eyes stared back at the grin, returning the friendly gesture with a soft nod of her head. She watched as the other's crimson eyes turn back to the sky, watching careful to see each dim light finding the courage to shine brightly with its brethren. She turned her own eyes to watch with her, staring past the gaping hole in the canopy. She wondered what the riolu was thinking when she stared up at the stars, wondered what thoughts crossed her mind when she was alone and what thoughts were crossing it now. She figured it was alright not to know what those inspirations were, but there was still the lingering question made heavier with the new revelation of knowledge.

“Why are you out here by yourself?” her voice was soft as she tentatively broke through the silent.

“Why?” Emizella's eyes didn’t move from their place, letting out a soft hum as she put together the words in her head, “Ever heard of Adventurers?”

“Adventurers?” she could easily distinguish what they were based on the title but wondered if it was as simple as the name implied.

“You seriously haven’t??” her tone gave away her ignorance way too easily, calling for Emizella to shoot up from her position abruptly with the grasses and leaves of her nest clinging to her grey and cerulean fur. Her eyes stared closely into Crystal’s, inching into her face as she searched for a mirthful cue in her gaze. She found none, “Really…? Just what were you doing before running into that zangoose gang?”

All she could do was laugh nervously in response.

“Adventurers are like… the most sought-after profession. They’re like the everyday hero. They perform rescue mission, escorts and explorative expeditions in unmarked territories.” Her eyes watched the other’s face, looking for some shred of recognition, or, if not recognition, then amazed excitement at the prospect of the career. Unfortunately, she found neither. She only found the continuing state of perplexed confusion still lingering on her face. “L-Look, it’s, like, really hard to give it justice with words. It’ll be easier to just show you.” she decided in an affirmative tone as she threw herself back onto the green bed with a soft, cushioned thud.

Crystal’s eyes stared at her silently, is she going to bed already? But she did seem like the kind to believe in the whole “early to bed, early to rise” and the entirety of the morning person philosophy. She laid herself down, finding a comfortable position amongst the leaves. It would be better to just fall asleep just like the only other pokemon here. But her mind still felt so full, a predominate thought constantly blared loudly in her head: Why am I here?

As she closed her eyes, forcing them to remain closed as she waited for sleep to take over, she hoped for a second chance at the one responsible for her predicament. She hoped to be back in the timeless space, floating in that blank nothingness, and give that know-it-all voice a piece of her mind.

Chapter Text

She had gotten her wish.

Late into the night, past the point of feigned slumber and far within the state of deep sleep, Crystal found herself surrounded by that familiar light. Floating in the empty abyss, her gaze wandered around her surroundings. Perhaps she might see something this time if she were to pay attention. After all, this time she wasn’t being sucker punched into a new reality. But, even now, she still saw nothing, no matter which direction she faced the unending horizon.

She felt a frustrated sigh leave her lips, despite the lack of physical lungs to produce the breath or the lips to release it. However, this was still her chance to clear things up a bit.

“I know you’re out there! Are you getting a bit shy now that I’m not caught up in a stunned stupor?” she called out into the blank space, her intangible form spinning to catch the direction of its response.

“Such insolence!” There wasn’t much of a direction to it. It was more like the voice and the surrounding area were one and the same, shaking Crystal at her core. “I sensed you calling out for us and yet I’m greeted with rude impatience… Of course they had to pick a mortal lacking in any manners…”

For a form without any facial muscles, she still felt her brows furrowing in an incredulous look, “Excuse you?? I wasn’t the one who asked for this?!”

“Yes, yes, you’re incredibly ungrateful for this blessed second chance. However-”

“Hold on… your voice sounds different. Where’s the first guy?”

“Guy…? Oh, don’t be fooled. They have much more important things to be doing than answering such trivial calls. I doubt you’ll speak again unless the situation is dire.”

So, there’s more than one person here, she hid her thoughts away from the mysterious being, still unsure if she could even trust them. However, from the patronizing tone this one used, she was definitely sure they rubbed her the wrong way.

“Now then, as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted, time moves at a different pace here. So, despite what you believe, we haven’t much time for ‘pleasantries.’ Speak quickly: what do you want?”

She felt the need to bite down onto her lips to at least try to hide a snarl. But, even if she did make a threatening gesture, would the voice even be able to perceive it? Part of her hoped that it could.

 “What I want are answers. What is the point of all this? Why was I put there? And what are you hiding from me?” That time, she couldn’t hide the growl that crept into her voice.

“Is that really all you wanted to ask? How bothersome, and such a waste of time. I’m certain you’ve already been told this but it isn’t time for such revelations. You’ll find the answers… eventually. But, for now, just focus on acclimating into that world.”

It was needless to say that Crystal was quite disgruntled by the unhelpful response, but there was little she could do to force the answers out of them.

“Fine then, but could you at least give me some basic knowledge of this place? I’m going to come across as a daft hermit going around not knowing what basically everyone else does!” she called out indignantly as she recalled her earlier embarrassing incident with Emizella just before bed.

“The basics… All right, that I can do for you.” the voice responded. The glow of the temporary plane brightened for a moment before dying back to its usual state. “There, it is done.”

She was silent for a moment, rummaging about in her mind, “I don’t feel any different.”

“The knowledge will be there once you wake up on that side. And, speaking of which, it seems that our time together has run out.” The lights began to flicker again, reminiscent of the instance just before she woke up in the forest. “Try to refrain from coming back here unless you have a real emergency, okay?”

Yeah, yeah, fuck you too, the voice most certainly, most definitely, rubbed her the wrong way.

***

To say Crystal had woken up on the wrong side of the bed would be the understatement of the century. The first voice may have been annoyingly cryptic, but at least it wasn’t a patronizing, belittling jerk-wad. Actually, she was starting to think the first one might not have been all that bad to begin with. Sure, nothing they said made any sense at all, but it was, at the very least, a hint more sympathetic with her plight.

While she was awake, she hadn’t yet opened her eyes, choosing to wallow in a state of relaxed rest for just a little longer. So, despite her closed eyes, she was still aware of her surroundings. She was aware of the soft grasses that cushioned her sleep. She was aware of the growing gentle chirps and melodies starting to fill the air. She was aware of the softly snoring breath tickling her ears. Actually, she might had been more acutely aware of a firm hold wrapped around her body above all else.

Sensing that some of those things weren’t quite as ordinary as the others, her eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the early morning hues and steadily accumulating brightness. And what was the first thing she saw that morning? A masked bed intruder sleeping soundly right next to her, looking peacefully unaware of the predicament she had placed her guest.

Immediately, Crystal’s lips pursed together, holding back a startled screech and letting it unleash in the confines of her mind.

Since when- How long has she been here?? How could she have possibly guessed that her hostess was one to slip into her guest’s nest or that she was one to snuggle and hug warm bodies in her sleep? What kind of mental preparation could there even be for something like this? Should she try to escape before she woke up? Her body did a little wiggle, testing the grip Emizella had on her small frame. Not only was there very little wiggle room, but she also managed to make that range even tighter with her moving around, a soft squeak escaping her from the squeeze.

Great, leave it to a fighting type like her to have a grip of steel. A defeated sigh left her lips as she relaxed in the hold, and, in turn, the hold relaxed on her. She figured she had woken up to worst things before, although she didn’t have any memories to back it up. However, the arms that wrapped around her were warm and comforting and, dare she admit, nice. Surely something like this was a good deal of a distance away from the worst.

With the grip around her so firm and unyielding, the smaller, more delicately framed fennekin had little other option than to wait for the other to release her on her own accord. And, judging by how desperately her arms clung to her, Crystal doubted she’d do so before waking up.

She’ll wake up by herself soon enough. She seems like an early riser. She trusted her assumption as she closed her eyes to better focus on her own thoughts, more specifically on her situation. Focusing on what she knew and did not know.

She didn’t know who she was before the first voice spoke to her, an already strongly established fact. A fact that she still couldn’t get over no matter how many times she repeated it in her mind. What was she supposed to say if anyone asked about where she came from? I can’t remember my past before I met Emizella, but that sounded way too convenient and suspicious. Everyone knew even the most basic crook wasn’t above playing the amnesia card. It’s none of your business where I came from, but that sounded even worse than the first option! Maybe I’ll just luck out and no one will ask. A long shot idea, but, if she could be so fortunate, then it was the best she had.

Before she could delve any deeper, she felt a shift from her hostess’s arms, the body snuggling close to her stirring to life. Despite the change, Crystal elected to keep her eyes closed. She didn’t want Emizella thinking she had been watching her sleep this whole time, that would just be weird followed by some awkward explaining.

“GAH!” she heard a surprised yelp followed by the abrupt removal of the two coiled limbs.

That was when she decided to open her eyes, pretending that she had just woken up and feigning ignorance.

“Emizella…? You alright?” she asked, eyes fluttering and adding a bit of a forced yawn for good measure. She hoped it didn’t sound too forced.

The pair of now fully awake crimson eyes blinked as Emizella processed her escape route from the embarrassing situation, “N-nothing,” her voice squeaked before she cleared her throat.

There was a war going on in the facial muscles of Crystal’s mouth, a hard-fought battle against the snicker daring to break through her walls of restraint and the laws of courtesy. Luckily for her, she won this battle, but felt the war was far from over.

“Anyway…” the riolu rubbed away her nerves, flattening the hairs that stood at the back of her neck, “So, for breakfast, I was thinking we could go to the café in the village. You know, let you get used to the place first.”

“There’s a café?” her body lifted up quickly at the idea.

“Well, a small one,” Emizella was quick to define the business before she got her guest’s hopes too worked up, “But their pancakes are delicious! Like, Mrs. B must had gone on some kinda pilgrimage to make pancakes that good. Oh, Mrs. Brooklyn is the owner. She runs the café with her family so it’s got a bit of a homey vibe.”

“I like pancakes.” she responded with a bit of a chuckle, “And… ‘homey’ cafés.”

“Great! Let’s get going before the breakfast rush gets in!” she insisted upon their swift departure, walking closer to the entryway of the hide out to hold the vines open for the little fox.

And, with a quick, affirmative nod of her head, Crystal followed closely behind.

***

The village was not as far of a walk from Emizella’s hideaway as Crystal expected. She would have thought there’d be a bit of a hike and a half to reach this aforementioned village hidden away in the trees of this forest, but it wasn’t even half a hike.

“See that archway? The village is just beyond that.” her guide pointed a digit at the constructed arch that provided a window into the clearing the settlement rested.

That wasn’t even ten minutes! “Emizella… are you originally from there?”

Her head tilted back, “Yeah, why?” she asked with such innocent ignorance, as if Crystal was the odd one for asking such an obvious question.

Her mouth opened to retort, but then it occurred to her that they never did finish their conversation from last night. They had gotten too caught on what an adventurer was after Crystal let her unfamiliarity towards the occupation slip. To which, she was now well aware of the venturous and varying profession, but it wasn’t so simple to say she remembered it now after last night. Or, perhaps, it was and she was simply overthinking it. Regardless of whatever option it fell under, Crystal figured it best to continue playing dumb on the subject matter.

“No reason, just… thought I’d ask.” her shoulders shrugged slightly, playing the question off as casual and insignificant. Either she’d tell her without prompting or there would be a better time to ask later.

They were starting to close in on the gateway to the small village, just a few more steps and she’d be crossing under the carved, arching wood. Her eyes looked upward to the top, spotting carved diamonds along branching paths that spread from the center. These diamonds, contrary to the plain, wood color of their background, were painted in brilliant colors of gold and crimson and cerulean and mint. The colors were bright and fresh, appearing to receive constant maintenance to keep it looking nice.

“Halt!”

The sudden voice came in too sudden for Crystal and her distracted state of mind as she instantly bumped into Emizella’s backside. Although, it felt more like a wall as the riolu still stood perfectly still and steady. She would have assumed the other felt nothing if not for the brief glance she sent over her shoulder.

“State your business,” the voice commanded, a quick peak past the blue body in front of her confirmed the voice to belong to a torracat.

“Are we seriously doing this again?” Emizella asked with a raised brow.

“I wasn’t talking to you, this time… I was talking to her.” A clawed paw pointed towards Crystal, still hiding behind her guide.

“Who, me??” her long ears became more erect along with her tensing body.

“Yeah you. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Which is a problem ‘cuz I pretty much know every face that passes through here. And an even bigger problem if you’re a troublemaker.” The feline closed in on her, pushing her face uncomfortably close with a scowl glued to her brows. “So, state your business.”

Before Crystal could even find the words to respond, an interceding paw broke the overbearing eye contact from connecting any longer. “Calm down, Jesse, she’s with me. We’re just here for supplies and pancakes.”

“A likely story,” her golden eyes narrowed, filled with skepticism and doubt.

“Which part, the one about the supplies or pancakes?” Emizella’s brow raised with a paw pressed sturdily to her hips.

“How about both!” The blazing bell around the torracat’s neck lit up brightly. Her gaze turned towards Crystal, startling the little fox as she was abruptly brought back into the conversation, “I’m keeping my eyes on you. You may have Emi fooled with your adorable baby face but you can’t fool me.”

Wait, did she just call me adorable? Instantly, the tension in her shoulders faded away, relaxing and letting her body raise up a little. She couldn’t help but stare into the torracat’s eyes, waiting to see if she’d take notice by herself the implications of her own words. That, and she wanted to get back at her for her play at intimidation.

“Wha-what? What’re you staring at, huh??” she took a step away from the unblinking, anticipating gaze.

It appeared that she didn’t realize what she had said but Emizella did and it had her snickering at her feline friend’s increasingly confused expression.

“So you got it.” she asked as her body turned to look at Crystal, “Jesse may act tough but that’s just a show for newcomers. Everyone knows she’s just a softie.”

An incredulous look slowly grew and rose in intensity in the feline’s gold and crimson eyes, “D-Don’t go telling her that!! How’s she gunna take me seriously if you call me a softie in front of her??” she asked, her voice distraught and troubled.

Her dismay was of little concern to Emizella as she continued to chuckle to herself, “Alright, introductions.” Her laughter finally calmed down as she gestured towards the black and red fire cat pokemon, “This is Jezebel, the gate guard. She may be dense sometimes and a softie most of the time, but she’s actually pretty capable.”

“I am not a softie!” Jezebel flared up, the bell around her neck growing bigger and glowing hotter.

“Jesse!”

But then, a sudden call quickly extinguished the flames, her demeanor become docile and tame as she turned her head back towards the calling voice.

“Yes, Lillian?” she responded cheerfully.

For a moment, Crystal wasn’t sure if this was the same torracat who was interrogating and trying to scare her just a moment ago. The shift was too sudden, too abnormally sudden, to be anywhere close to a natural response. But here she was, smiling with a gentle disposition at the brionne dragging herself along the ground with a parcel wrapped securely around her neck.

“You forgot your lunch again.” Lillian stated as she untied the knot holding the violet, star speckled wrapping in place. A flipper stretched over to pass along the pouch, “How many times does that make this week?”

 “Um…” Jezebel thought for a second as she reached to grab for it, “Three…?”

“And it’s only Wednesday!” her voice raised in a stern tone, making the other flinch. She sighed, releasing the meal to her stilled paw, “Honestly… you ought to be more observant, you know?”

“I am observant! Just not with the little things…” she muttered, her eyes sheepishly avoiding the firm, scolding gaze. “Look, I might be slipping a bit, but that’s just cuz nothing really goes on around here. And you’re so dependable, I can’t help but rely on you to pick up my slack.” Her eyes peered back at the brionne, begging and pleading for her annoyance to subside.

And, for a moment, it worked. The reprimanding stare faltered, nearly giving into those gentle, golden orbs, before closing her eyes in a reaffirming huff. “That’s not going to work this time.” she crossed her flippers over her chest, although her tone’s intent sounded more for convincing herself than the feline.

“C’mon, not even a little bit??” Jezebel implored, inching in a bit closer to amplify the effect of her “forgive me” face.

A brief, subtle peak crossed Lillian’s blue eyes before finally taking notice of the pair whose visit was being held up by their bickering. Her body shifted to the side, getting a better look at the familiar face, “Emi! How long have you been there?”

“Um… the whole time…?” Emizella answered, brow raised and a soft chuckle on her lips.

“Really??” she gave a light gasp, “I wasn’t expecting you for a while longer.”

“Yeah, well, there’s been a bit of a change in circumstances.” She gave a short shrug of her shoulders, her words drawing the brionne’s attention to the golden figure standing behind her as silent as her shadow.

“Oh. My. Goodness! You’re so cute!”

Instantly, Crystal found herself enveloped within the confines of her flippers, being hugged and squeezed without any reservation. The sudden act had her froze in place, the only movement coming from her eyes that darted over towards Emizella for some kind of explanation. Unfortunately, her lifeline offered no excuse, only shaking her head in nonverbal communication.

Lillian babbled away into Crystal’s ears, admiring her fluffy tufts and her small head and her full tail. At one point, she could have sworn she called her a “floof baby”, which she couldn’t even get mad at as the word tickled her insides and erupted a giggle.

But then, the babbling abruptly stopped, her eyes staring back at Jezebel with a sharp turn of her head, “Jesse, you weren’t bullying her before I came, were you??” she asked, her stare so mercilessly intense that it broke the accused into a cold sweat.

“What? Me? No way, I would never!” she stated but the look in her eyes didn’t relent. “Really and truly! I mean, what kind of guard would I be if I did??” she forced out a laugh that sounded a bit too nervous to be carefree.

Lillian’s dagger of a gaze stared for a while longer before her smile returned to her face, “What a relief!” her cheerful tone lightened the atmosphere, allowing Jezebel to take a breath at last.

“Whipped…” Emizella whispered softly, her voice bordering on the line between mouthing and speaking.

Jezebel let out a soft grunt in response but dared not say anything less she drew attention back to herself. And not the fun kind, either.

“Anyway, you’re new, right? Let me show you around!” the aquatic pokemon insisted, her tone already telling that she refused to take “no” for an answer.

“I mean,” Crystal’s voice spoke up, sounding soft pressed against Lillian’s cool body, “Emizella was taking me for pancakes first…”

“At Mrs. B’s?” she asked, confirming the information with a quick glance at the riolu, “Then I’ll go with you!” She gave one last quick squeeze before scooting along past the village opening.

Crystal watched her for a moment. She seemed rather imposing, a sense of assertive boldness that could not, and would not, be denied. But she wasn’t a bad pokemon. A bit overly familiar with new people, but not bad. She gave Emizella a quick look, affirming that the decision was hers to make before sending her own smile Lillian’s way. “If it’s not too much trouble...”

She clapped her flippers together joyously, “Great! You won’t regret this. When it comes to this village, I’m the go to person for tours.”

Crystal could only nod her head in agreement, not having any reference to go by to either contradict or confirm the declaration. She followed behind Emizella, walking under the archway and past Jezebel who gave a scripted send-off to the pair as they made their way.

Her eyes looked back at the torracat for a second after passing, catching her flicking her claws from her narrowed gaze to Crystal’s figure. A shiver went down the fennekin’s spine at the gesture before rolling her eyes upward. Already she had met a pair that completely wore her out, and she was only a few steps past the gate.

Chapter Text

“That’s awful!” a voice exclaimed inside the café, drawing the patrons’ eyes towards the table. Despite the obvious attention she was getting, the brionne paid it no mind as she shook her head in disappointment, “Really… such brutes, how could they think to hurt such a cute floof baby…”

So she really did call me a floof baby, Crystal thought, feeling the pressure of the curious gazes before forcing out a chuckle, “Yeah, but that’s when Emizella showed up. She got me out of there really quick. She even cheered me up afterwards.”

“Well, what a relief that must have been.” Lillian’s smile returned to her face as she turned the beaming expression towards the riolu in question, “Just getting closer and closer to being a legit adventurer, aren’t you?”

Emizella blinked in response, still preoccupied with finishing off her orange drink. Her lips released the straw, freeing her up to speak, “It was nothing really, those jerks were a bunch of small fry bullies. Those types are pretty easy to outsmart.” She shrugged her shouldered, playing herself off like she had done it hundreds of times before, and she very well might have but that didn’t change the amount of impact her actions had.

“Still though…” Crystal’s gaze turned downwards towards her glass of moomoo milkshake, the nearly emptied contents leaving the sides sticky with pink residue, “When you’re new to the neighborhood, something like that is still terrifying, so it really means a lot that you were come rushing in without a second thought.” Her smile finally returned to her face, less anxious and much more relaxed as she looked up at Emizella with eyes filled to the brim with gratitude.

Crimson eyes stared at her for a moment, her brain shutting down and needing to reboot as she turned away to suck away at the already empty glass, “I already told you… I’m going to be an adventurer so it’s no big deal.”

Lillian watched the two silently from across the table, giggling to herself at the power of a “floof baby.” “Careful with that smile, Crystal. No telling what such adorableness can do.” she warned in a playful tone.

“It’s not really that special, is it?” Crystal pouted a little, feeling herself the target of too much attention drawn into her face. Sure, fennekins were cute but there were plenty of other pokemon just as cute, if not cuter, than her. Take Lillian, for example, she was plenty adorable enough on her own. Maybe it was just her thing, maybe she just liked furry pokemon.

“Aw, there’s no need to pout about it. You ought to own it, show it off a little.” the brionne continued to tease her, finding her pout just as irresistible as her smile.

“I’d rather not…” Crystal muttered before feeling a gentle nudge poking at her shoulder.

Emizella leaned in closer, her muzzle brushing against her ear tufts and sending a tickling sensation through her head. “You can tell her if she’s going overboard.” her whispering didn’t help the tickling to go away, “She tends to forget herself with new people so it’s not like she’ll be offended or anything.”

Her warm, orange eyes turned to look towards the riolu, meeting her scarlet gaze before giving a soft, reassured nod, a soft giggle escaping her at the suggestion.

I see, so she’s just a bit of a spaz… she thought, the self-conscious feeling evaporating from her mind.

Emizella chuckled along with her, the two’s attention focused in on their own little bubble and the pout previously housed on Crystal’s lips was transferred over to Lillian’s.

“Hey! What are you two giggling about over there?” she exclaimed, blue cheeks puffing out at their implication. “Emi, what rumors are you spreading?”

“Nothing!” Emizella laughed at Lillian’s reaction, “Why? What rumors do you have?”

The brionne’s jaw dropped, a rosy hue filling her cheeks before huffing, her lips slamming shut at the action. “Of course not! I’m too pure to have rumors souring my reputation.” she declared with a smug smile.

“Yeah,” Emizella drawled, “keep telling yourself that.”

Another chuckle found its way out of Crystal’s lips, despite her efforts in keeping it sealed behind a golden paw. Emizella’s eyes flashed over to her captive audience, eating up her positive reception as the smirk spread across her lips.

“Crystal, you think I’m pure, don’t you?” Lillian asked, her aquamarine eyes pleading with the fox to take her side and reject the blasphemy being spouted from Emizella’s lips.

She blinked a few times as her attention was called, looking into her shimmering, blue oceanic eyes before smiling at her, “I wouldn’t know. We just met, right?” she answered, thinking it safe enough, but, apparently, not quite as those ocean blues shattered and faded at the deadly blow to her ego.

“Um… Lillian?” Crystal called out to the statuesque brionne, too far gone in her own head to respond.

“C’mon, Crystal, we still have some shopping to do first.” Emizella snickered, scooting out of her seat fist before beckoning her foxy companion to follow.

Crystal gave the brionne a brief look before following after, hopping down from her spot and trotting over to the riolu’s side.

“Isn’t Lillian supposed to be coming with us?” she asked in a soft whisper.

“Oh, don’t worry about her, she just-”

“Wait!” the subject of their conversation interjected, sliding herself back in with a renewed fire in her eyes.

Crystal jumped slightly, feeling her fur prickling up on her tail and the hackles that crawled down her backside. “Y-yes?” she swallowed down the squeaker that popped into her throat.

The brionne chuckled softly, “Sorry, I think I’ve been going about this all wrong…” she said, a dark look covering her rose eyes.

“Huh..?” Crystal tilted her head, feeling unsure what Lillian was talking about or where this even came from.

Her chuckling became more like a snicker, plotting and scheming in her mind, “It’s been a while since I had to win someone over… This is perfect…” she muttered, growing increasingly more excited as she spoke.

“Um… Lilli-”

“Crystal!” the brionne called out her name loudly, pressing her flippers into Crystal’s shoulders as she held her gaze. “I promise you this… by the end of the day, you and I will be… Besties!”

The usual twinkle in her eyes returned to their full glimmer, the shift giving the fennekin a bit of emotional whiplash at the sudden shift in tone. She didn’t quite understand what she needed to get so intense about it for, maybe making friends was just a big deal for her. Or maybe that’s just the spaz acting out, she considered the possibility, feeling it become more and more likely with each repeat of the thought.

“I thought Jesse was your ‘bestie!’” Emizella called with a smirk imprinted on her lips, the implication of the word coming out completely different when the riolu used it.

Lillian’s lips pursed together and her brows furrowed as a flushed look covered her face completely. “Nobody asked you, Emi!” a flipper pointed accusingly towards the culprit of her flustered expression, making a brow rise on her masked face. “What do you say, ignoring that one other there? Think you could give me a shot?” A friendly smile found its home on Lilian’s lips, welcoming and gracious in her invitation for a chance to bond with the new companion.

It honestly didn’t seem like too terrible of an idea. Beyond her overbearing nature and her… fascination with the fennekin’s furry body, she didn’t get any sort of ominous feeling that she ever meant her any harm. Despite all her little quirks and mannerisms, she couldn’t really see Lillian as a bad pokemon. A little overzealous in showing her affection, sure, but not bad. And isn’t that how most friendships start? Learning more about each other’s social limits and boundaries and growing to accommodate them so they could both enjoy the other’s company? It was just the start, after all, and there was plenty to learn about one another.

“Okay, although… you didn’t really need to ask. I would have been happy to get to know you whether you asked or not.” the smile on her lips beamed brightly from her face, blinding anyone within direct contact if the weren’t prepared to receive the sacred treasure.

Lillian, unfortunately, was unprepared, a flipper shielding her eyes from the devastating effects. “So strong… Must… resist…” she muttered too softly for Crystal to hear, doubling into a head tilt combo. Both of the brionne’s aqua flippers went to cover her face, her head shaking in refusal to let down her guard.

Emizella rolled her eyes with an amused look on her face as she watched the two. “Hey Lily, quit messing around and get over here!” she called out to her, pulling her attention away from the object of her struggles and onto paying her tab.

“Coming!” the brionne called back before giving her own award-winning smile to the fennekin, “Why don’t you wait for us by the door? We’ll be just a second.” she pointed a flipper towards the exit.

Crystal followed the indicating point before looking up at Lillian and nodding her head.

Her paws trekked over to the door, carrying her to just outside the establishment before taking a seat beside the door. She really didn’t have much to look at. It was either the rocks and the pebbles spread around the beaten trail or the pokemon going to and from the different buildings. Honestly, the latter was more interesting to look at. At least they were moving.

Everyone looked so friendly with their smiling faces and their happy greetings. It felt like the kind of place where everybody knew everyone and a silent agreement of trust circulated the air. It was nice, quaint, also a little intimidating. Crystal couldn’t help feeling weird about being in a place like this, a case of “new kid on the block” syndrome.

The curious stares from some of the younger pokemon made her feel queasy inside, not knowing how to respond to such direct and unabated eye contact. She tried to smile at a poochyena pup but he didn’t seem too receptive at the gesture. He just stared for a moment longer before trotting up to a mightyena’s side—his parent, Crystal assumed.

She let a heavy sigh leave her chest as she redirected her gaze to the rocks below. At least rocks don’t stare back at you…wait.

“We’re done!” Lillian’s voice called, the fennekin’s head darting over to the two as they exited the café together. “So!” she breathed out excitedly, “Since you two were first planning on going shopping, we’ll hit up the general store together and the tour will pick up from there.”

“I’ll actually be taking the stuff back afterwards so you two can enjoy yourselves,” Emizella added with a nod of approval. Crystal’s ears drooped slightly but she hadn’t noticed how her body gave away her underlying feelings “Unless you want me to stick around…” she offered with a concerned smile.

Crystal thought about it for a moment but didn’t need to think about it too long. After all, she already decided that she ought to branch away from Emizella and find a friendly relationship with new pokemon.

She gave a short shake of her head, “No, that’s fine. You can take the things back first, I’ll be okay.”

“You sure? It’s no problem if I tag along.” Emizella raised a brow, giving Crystal the chance to reconsider.

“Hey, Emi! What are you acting all protective for? You act like I’m going to gobble her up!” Lillian pouted.

“Knowing you, that’s a possibility.” Emizella chuckled as she responded to the brionne.

Lillian gasped before huffing with a sharp turn of her head. “It’s okay,” Crystal’s voice drew Lillian back into the conversation, “I’ll be fine, really.” she insisted, putting a smile back on the seal’s face.

“You’re so sweet!” Lillian squealed, her lips pursing as she fought to contain herself—or to not self-destruct. Crystal was pretty sure it could happen either way. “Why couldn’t I have lucked out and found you first instead?”

“Yeah, too bad she’s already was found by such an awesome roommate.” Emizella grinned, a digit gesturing towards herself as the smug attitude began filling every inch of her short stature.

Lillian chuckled and Crystal couldn’t help but share in the humorous statement. “Lucky me.” the small fox giggled, hiding the smile behind her paw.

“Yeah, yeah, you braggart,” the brionne waved the riolu off before stating to scoot herself through the dirt path, heading the pack. “C’mon, let’s hit up the store already!” She didn’t wait for their acknowledgment, she just scooted on away—scooting and hopping to get to the general store as quickly as possible.

“You’re really okay with this?” Emizella whispered, leaning in a bit closer to Crystal, “I know you’re a bit of the shy side, I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable on your first day.”

Crystal could appreciate it, Emizella’s consideration for her comfort zone, but she knew that it was better to get used to things sooner rather than later. There was no telling how long she’d be stuck in this world after all.

“Thank you, Emizella,” she expressed her gratitude first, “but I really did mean it when I said I’d be fine.” Her eyes flickered over to Lillian, seeing how far that brionne could get with no legs. “Besides, it’d be good to break out of my shell,” she stated, watching Lillian raise one of her flippers to get the two’s attention, waving at them to hurry up.

Emizella chuckled softly at the statement, a paw pressing down between the fennekin’s tall ears, petting the soft fur in silent praise before jogging on ahead, “All right, if you’re fine with it, that’s cool too.” she smiled, bright and full, before running up ahead to catch up with her eager friend.

Crystal watched her silently before she felt the corners of her lips curl up, feeling hopeful and a bit more confident in her decision as she ran to catch up to the two of them.

Chapter Text

“Welcome!” a pair of kecleon called from behind the store desk.

A small bell rang over the trio’s head as they entered the shop, a feeling of familiarity filling Crystal’s tiny body as she saw the aisles of various items, the rows of fresh berries, the chilly ice box filled with cool drinks and treats. She had a suspicion that this general store was quite similar to the stores from her own world. It was surprising how advanced the building was considering there were no humans around. But, she supposed, there were plenty of pokemon with intelligence on par, if not better than, human intelligence. She still couldn’t help feeling impressed.

“Hey Lily, Emi…” a kecleon greeted his shop’s visitors, taking pause when he noticed a new face among the group. “Oh! Who’s your friend there?”

“This is Crystal!” Lillian wrapped a flipper around the golden fox’s neck, pulling her closer so the twin pair could get a better look at her, “Emi found her and is taking care of her while she’s adjusting to things here.” Crystal looked between Lillian’s beaming expression and the kecleons’ curious gazes, smiling sheepishly as she waved a paw at them.

“Well, nice to meet you, Crystal! I’m Tim and this is my sister, Kim.” he nodded towards the second kecleon behind the counter, her hand giving the fennekin a little wave as her brother introduced her.

“Our family’s been running this store since the goddess Xerneas first blessed this village.” Kim took the chance to give the information, her voice filled with pride at the accomplishment, “We’ve really grown and expanded since then. We used to just sell items we found in the nearby dungeons, but now, we connect with partners around the world to improve our shop’s variety and stock!”

“Kim here is a whiz at finding what you need!” Tim exclaimed, pressing his hands onto his sister’s shoulders and rocking her in his enthusiasm. “Even if we don’t have it, she can find someone who does!”

“Well, I do what I can,” his sister laughed, it wasn’t every day they had a new pokemon who they could sell their services to.

Crystal, personally, wasn’t really in the market for anything specifically. She didn’t even know if there was anything she needed in the first place, but it all sounded rather exciting to know that any needs she did have were taken care of. She gave a nod of acknowledgment before hearing her name being called.

“Could you c’mere for a second?” Emizella asked, her shopping taking her to the other side of the store.

“Coming!” Crystal called back, squeezing out from Lillian’s hold before trotting over to Emizella who was browsing through the berries and produce. “What was it you needed?” she asked as she joined by the riolu’s side.

“I was just wondering if you had any taste preferences. Like is there anything that you won’t eat of something you like?” she turned her head towards the fox, her hands debating between two very ripe looking pecha berries.

Spicy, a voice told Crystal instantly to give her an answer to the question. “I really like spicy foods,”

Emizella smirked as she raised an eyebrow at the fennekin, “Like mild spice or burn your tongue off spice?”

“More like ‘I live for the challenge’ spice.”

The riolu laughed, her teeth clamping together to turn its volume into a snicker. “My kind of gal!” she said as she regained her composure, “Alright, I’ll make something really good for dinner tonight. You can head back to Lily, thanks.”

Crystal nodded her head, regarding the chuckling Emizella for a moment longer before walking back to Lillian, overhearing them in the middle of their own conversation while she was away.

“Oh, you’re back.” Time greeted Crystal upon her return, Lillian’s attention turning from the counter to shine her smile at the small fox.

“What did Emi want?” she asked, too curious not to.

“She just wanted to ask about dinner.” Crystal answered, standing next to Lillian by the twin’s store desk.

“Aw, isn’t that nice? Lily was just telling us how Emi helped you out when you arrived here. You’ve really had a rough start out there, huh?” the brother asked, a sympathetic look glistening in his eyes as he spoke.

Crystal wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. Yes, it was true, but how appropriate was it to spread it around? Maybe that’s just how close everyone was, or how friendly Lillian was with everyone around her. Her sunset eyes looked towards the brionne, raising a brow at her as if to silently ask why she was talking about it.

“Sorry,” she pressed her flippers together in apology, “I promise I’m not actually a blabbermouth, I just got so excited about Emi’s generosity that it slipped.”

The twins looked worried, fearing that they might’ve said something they shouldn’t have or that they might’ve gotten their friend into a tight spot with the new face.

“Please, don’t be too upset with Lily.” Kim spoke first, her brother nodding along with her, “We were actually talking about Emi and how hard she’s been working to be an adventurer.”

“That’s right!” her brother jumped in, the two smiling as they reminiscence about the conversation, “We were talking about how much of an adventurer’s head she was growing helping pokemon in need without thinking about it.”

“Oh,” Crystal looked to the kecleon twins, registering their explanation. She supposed it was only natural that she would come up in a conversation like that, being Emizella’s latest rescue case. “So, does everyone know about her ambition of becoming an adventurer?”

“Oh yes! It’s all she’s ever wanted to do since she was little. And with her brother taking on the profession, she’s become more like our village’s pride.” Tim laughed, thinking back to the younger days.

“You guys talking about how great I am?” Emizella brought the items up front, placing them on the twin’s store desk.

“How did you guess?” Tim laughed, starting to calculate how much was owed for the inventory of items.

“You know you can’t hide things like that from me.” she grinned, tapping at the feelers draped behind her head. Crystal’s eyes looked towards the drooping appendages, wondering how true that actually was or if she was just teasing.

“Oh! Why don’t you kids take one of these?” Kim exclaimed, calling their attention towards her as she walked into the staff room in the back. She took a minute before emerging from the employee space with three wrapped pastries drizzled with powder sugar and honey. “We just got these in from the southern islands, a local treat they call malasadas.” she explained as she added one to Emizella’s items and gave the other two to Lillian and Crystal. “Think of it as a free sample.” she said with a wink.

“Thank you…” Crystal said in a soft voice, opening the wrapper and taking a bite out of it. Instantly, her mouth was filled with the sweet flavors of the berry custard stuffed inside. Complimented with the toppings of the dough and Crystal felt like she was eating festival food without the excitable setting, making her feel unbelievably warm inside.

“It tastes amazing!” Lillian put the feeling into words, enjoying the treat along with her. “Are you guys going to get in different flavors too?”

“Well, if this batch sells as good as we hope, then of course!” Kim grinned widely, happy for such a positive reception.

“Trust me, they will.” Lillian commented as she stuffed her face with the pastry, getting a bit of the sugar and custard on her face as she wolfed it down.

Crystal giggled softly as she spotted the mess, “You got a bit on your face there.” she pointed out with her paw.

“Where?” the brionne tried to get it, but her flippers couldn’t quite locate where the mess could be.

Crystal shook her head slightly, amused by the failed efforts, “Here, let me get it,” she offered, extending the limb to sweep the substance off the brionne’s face. It got her face clean but now her own paw was dirty with it. Thinking of no other way to get it off, she began licking her fur clean, her own mind assuming nothing of it. Her other two companions, however, held a different opinion.

Lillian’s eyes glistened, staring speechlessly at the small fox while Emizella’s lips pursed to hold in a giggle, letting the scene play out before the sound of her laughter could ruin the moment.

“What?” Crystal looked between the two, a curious brow raised at their strange reactions.

“Nothing,” they both answered practically at the same time, although one of them sounded more panicked than the other. The fennekin couldn’t distinguish which belonged to whom.

Tim chuckled softly at the trio, finishing up with placing Emizella’s things into a strapped basket before fixing the lid on top. “You’re all set, Emi.” he gave the riolu the distraction she needed to avoid bursting at the seams.

“Thanks,” Emizella cleared her throat, turning to face the store clerk. She handed him a few silver coins from the pouch she kept on the side of her body before taking the basket and the wrapped malasada, keeping the treat contained in its packaging.

“Aren’t you going to try yours?” Crystal asked, licking her lips of the lingering sweet remnants as she finished her own pastry.

“Yeah, just saving it for when I get back,” the blue canine answered, adjusting the basket onto her back and fitting the straps over her shoulder. With how much Tim had packed away in there, Crystal would have figured the load would be too heavy for her to handle alone, but she took on the burdensome weight like a champ, making the bundle look like it weighed nothing.

She turned her attention towards the two, “All set,”

“Great!” Lillian exclaimed before waving at the two kecleon, “We’ll see you around then, and thanks for the malasadas!”

“Any time, Lily!” Kim nodded her head, the friendly expression fixed firm to her face, “And Crystal?” The fennekin’s ears perked up, her eyes turning to meet their beaming gazes. “We hope to see you again soon!”

Crystal’s smile spread across her muzzle, nodding her head with an affirmative hum before trotting out with Lillian and Emizella. Maybe it was the sweetness of the malasada or maybe it was the kindness of the customer service pokemon that held great pride in what they do. Actually, perhaps it was more accurate to say it was a combination of both that put the pep in the fennekin’s step.

“Alright, I’ll be heading back first,” Emizella jumped the basket hanging off of her shoulders slightly, adjusting the bulking mass to sit just right on her body. She turned to look at Crystal, careful of the added space her body took up with its added baggage and patted the fox’s head, smushing one of her ears down with the pet. “I’ll swing back around later to pick you up.”

“Why do you sound like a mom leaving their kid with a sitter?” Lillian asked with a raised brow.

“I do not!” Emizella said, quickly denying the accusation and removing her hand just as fast as she directed a pout towards the brionne.

Crystal didn’t seem to mind it, however, feeling a little disappointed to have her pets cut off so soon. She honestly didn’t take much notice of it either, the riolu was just one who liked to take care of others as far as she knew. Nothing to fret over or feel embarrassed about. But she was sure saying as much wouldn’t make Emizella feel any better about it, not at this moment at least.

“Whatever,” Emizella huffed, turning her head away from the seal’s giggles.

She may not be receptive to accepting her doting tone, but the least the fennekin could do was offer her a goodbye. “I’ll see you soon, Emizella.”

That got a more positive look on the riolu’s face, placing the smile back on her lips. She nodded her head towards the fox and pointed two digits between her eyes and Lillian’s.

Lillian chuckled softly, lifting a flipper and waving goodbye towards the riolu, watching her walk away towards the village’s arch before turning her attention back towards Crystal. “Okay! Let’s get this show on the road.” she announced, feeling eager and energetic about showing the fennekin around her home.

As they walked down the village’s beaten path, Crystal couldn’t help but notice the surplus of greetings Lillian was receiving as she led her charge towards the next mark in her tour. Some were quick hellos, tiny salutations to show she had been seen and noticed. Others went for longer, asking how her day had been, little updates on how life had been treating them and occasionally asking if she could catch up with them again later after her initial business as tour guide was done.

Crystal watched a roserade continue down his path, smiling at the fennekin in a brief greeting before passing her. “You’re pretty popular, aren’t you?” she said in a frank, flat tone, merely speaking matter-of-factly about her observations.

The brionne’s head turned, a bashful hue coloring her face as a flipper rubbed at the back of her head, “Maybe a bit,” She didn’t deny it. “I’m a priestess of Xerneas so there’s that too.”

There was that name again, the goddess of life, Xerneas. Crystal had begun to figure the celestial pokemon was a big part of this village’s history and sustainability. It got her feeling a little curious if the pokemon actually blessed this land or if it was just a legend twisted and changed with time.

“Anyway, here we are!” Lillian intruded into Crystal’s thoughts with the declaration, stopping in front of a shop whose sign read “Rhyme & Reason.”

The window display sported a few accessories including a red plaid bandana wrapped around a furfrou mannequin head’s neck with red-framed shades resting atop its forehead. Another mannequin head, a delcatty, Crystal noted, wore a jeweled collar with a sky blue, crystalline gem seated in a center slot with clamped earrings snapped to its ears to match.

“A clothing store?” the fennekin asked with a raised brow.

“Not just a clothing store,” Lillian giggled at Crystal’s puzzlement, “Their clothes and accessories actually have added effects to them. Coats that nullify sleep, rings that boost special attacks, bands that pack an extra punch, you name it!” she gave the air in front of her a few punches to add some extra emphasis but her excitement was enough emphasis enough. “They make really high-quality gear, so if you’re ever in the market for stat-boosting accessories, this is the place to shop.”

Okay, well at least Crystal knew that the brionne didn’t bring her here without any rhyme or reason herself. The fox pokemon gave a short nod of acknowledgment. Lillian bounced happily at the signal, opening the door and slipping inside.

“Hello, hello, beautifuls!” an effeminate voice called from a room off to the side of the main sales floor, “Just a minute and I’ll be right with you.”

Sunset eyes ran across the floor, eyeing the mannequins of different body types and shapes. From the largest tyrannitar to the teeny, tiniest joltix, it got Crystal wondering where the shop owner got these and who made them. They were dressed in jackets and shirts; dresses and skirts with the displayed fashion items kept respectively close along the wall with two rows of hanging clothing articles. It was all kept in order by the color spectrum with a lovely gradient that felt pleasing to the eye. It would be a real shame to put anything out of place.

“Sorry for the wait!” the voice called out as a natural cut furfrou walked out of the room with a leavanny tailing close behind with a box cradled in its arms. “Oh! Bless my stars, if it isn’t our little star! Here to pick out a new dress? Because I’ve got just the perfect style!” His way of speaking was as quick as a vine whip and as melodic as a song. Like honeydew and syrup, his voice felt as luscious as his fur.

Lillian let out an excited gasp, “Really?” she asked, momentarily blinded before remembering her true purpose. She cleared her throat, “I’ll have to come back for it later. Right now, I’m showing Crystal around the village. She’s new in town.”

“Crystal, huh?” the furfrou turned his attention to the fennekin with a raised, curious brow, never losing the smirk on his excited face, “What an absolutely lovely name.”

“Thank you,” Crystal responded softly, feeling a little warm under such a pokemon with an eye for beauty and fashion.

“And such a sweetie too. Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Crystal. I’m Damien, I own this store with my wife. And over there is Beau.” he nodded her head to the leavanny who nodded and smiled back to the fennekin politely, but mostly focused on his own work of straightening up the shop.

“My wife should be upstairs at the moment… Hang on one sugar sec, I’ll go call her down.” he said, already beginning to advance towards the stairs that would lead up to his living quarters.

“Oh, you don’t have to.” the golden fox tried to stop him before he could trouble himself.

Damien laughed, “But I must. She’ll be upset with me if I don’t.” he told her before looking upward, “Janice, darling! Come meet Crystal!” she heard his voice as he ascended, completely disappearing from her sight.

Crystal’s head tilted to the side, wondering what he could have meant by that before she caught Lillian’s eyes glancing and searching around the store area, turning her head left and right before sighing.

“I guess Lilac is playing with Luna today,” she muttered with a bit of dejection in her tone.

“Who?”

“Oh, Lilac is their youngest daughter. They have another, but she’s grown and living in the city.”

It took Crystal a moment to realize the implication behind the statement. The way her newfound knowledge worked was that the concept had to be introduced to her first before any basic information on the topic could be fed into her conscious thinking. So, when Lillian explained how the shop owners’ eldest daughter was way in the city, the information that triggered for her referred to the country’s capital—a large city bursting with creativity and innovation. It’s a marvel to behold but only the most talented and resourceful could make a living for themselves in that cut-throat environment. To hear that their daughter was living there and, assumingly, carving out a life for herself with some level of success was, well, inspiring to say the least.

“That’s…amazing.” Crystal whispered with her awestruck gaze.

“I know! I hear she has her own boutique now! She’s gotten pretty busy but she likes to visit home from time to time. Maybe you’ll get to meet her the next time she swings by.” Lillian said, smiling brightly her golden companion to match the sparkling gleam she saw in the other’s eyes.

Crystal gave a soft nod of her head before her ears rotated back towards the steps, hearing the descending pitter-patter of several feet. She turned her head to see Damien making his way down first while a delcatty followed close behind, her fur looking as plush and radiant as her husband’s.

The second her deep, brilliant eyes fell on the fennekin’s figure, her expression lit up in enthusiasm, her body trotting forward to meet the new face. “Well hello, you must be Crystal. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” she said, her voice sounding so refined and polished that it made Crystal wondering if it was truly her natural way of speaking. “I’m Damien’s wife and business partner, Janice. I’m usually upstairs making our new designs, but you’re more than welcome to visit me any time.”

Crystal nodded her head in a polite yet reserved manner while feeling Lillian’s reassuring flipper rest on her back. “She’ll be staying with Emi for a while out in her base.” the brionne stated.

“Oh? How is Emi doing these days?” Janice asked, directing the question towards the fennekin as her tail swayed with intrigue behind her body.

“She’s alright,” Crystal willed herself to speak, “She went back after doing some shopping but she’ll be back to walk me home.”

“Oh!” Damien exclaimed, “That reminds me!” He dug through the area behind the counter, the sounds of shifting items and materials filling the quiet pause her incited. When he reemerged again, he was balancing a yellow headband on the back of his paw. “Crystal, sweetheart, I know we’ve only just met, but would you mind taking this with you to give to Emi when you see her?” he asked, offering the headband over for Crystal to take. “It’s the order she had us commission a while ago.”

“You still have that?” Janice asked, raising an eyebrow at her husband.

“You know how busy we’ve been, I haven’t had the chance to have it delivered.” he answered, defending his misstep before turning his attention back to the fennekin, “Pretty please? You’d be doing me such a huge favor.” he pleaded, taking a seat as he pressed his front paws together.

Crystal’s eyes fell to the band before looking back up to Damien’s eyes, “Sure. It’s no problem at all.”

“Oh, thank you! You’re such a doll!” he exclaimed, happily handing over the band and ringing it around one of her ears.

It slipped and slid over one of Crystal’s eyes, the young fox making an adjustment with her paw to move it out of her face. “It’s really no trouble.” Crystal insisted, testing the balance of the accessory before lowering her paw.

“That may be so but it still doesn’t paint the best first impression to be asking favors right off the bat. I ought to give you something for the assist…” she said, his voice trailing off as he pressed a paw to the side of his face in contemplation.

“Oh! Darling, why don’t we make her a new bag?” Janice suggested, the lightbulb going off behind her eyes and making them shine brilliantly with inspiration.

“Ooo, excellent idea!” Damien clapped his paws together, clasping them in his burst of creative excitement, “How’s about it? A little token for your service?”

“You really don’t have to.” Crystal tried to refuse out of modesty, not wanting to burden them with anything unnecessary.

“Nonsense! This here is our bread and butter. Fashioning a new bag is child’s play. If anything, it’d be a fun little in-between project.” the delcatty stated with a smile spreading wide on her face.

“Well, I…” Crystal spoke hesitantly, her eyes flashing back to Lillian and seeing that gracious beaming smile that held her hand- or, well, paw in this case. “A bag would be helpful, I suppose. And, I don’t have one so… if it really is no trouble…”

“No trouble at all! We’ll have it done in a flash.” Damien exclaimed with joy, “Beau! Could you- Oh,” he turned to meet the leavanny only to see his silent assistant standing behind him with shades of amethysts and violets that would complement the gold of the fennekin’s fur. “Excellent choice! Have these placed in the workroom, would you, doll?”

Beau nodded his head at the request, carrying the selections into the side room.

“I’ll go ahead and start on the design.” Janice stated, smiling down at Crystal and nodding her head towards the fennekin in parting, “It was lovely meeting you, Crystal. I hope you’ll enjoy yourself while you call our humble town home.”

And with that, she continued her happy trot up the stairs back towards her workroom. Crystal followed the sound of her bubbly steps through the second story of the shop, ears turning like radars until she noticed the furfrou’s light chuckle filling the space with a soft, refreshing air.

“I best get back to work too,” he mused, taking a glance towards the two, “We’ll have it delivered once it’s finished.” he winked, a silent promise that this one would be delivered in a timely fashion for sure.

“Thanks again!” Crystal called out of his departing figure, watching him give a short nod of acknowledgment before vanishing back into his work.

***

The further along in their tour they went, the more comfortable Crystal felt about this place. Even though she was a new face to this small village dynamic, everyone seemed so nice and welcoming to her new presence. Even given her mysterious background, they were still kind, willing to give her every benefit of the doubt in their small greeting and uplifting exchanges. Maybe it was because of Lillian’s vouching for her to the locals. Or maybe it was because she was staying with someone as reliable as Emizella. Regardless of the reason, it filled the fennekin’s tiny body with a feeling of responsibility—a responsibility to live up to their good word and demonstrate that their trust wasn’t misplaced.

“So, what do you think?” Lillian asked, turning her head back as she led them to their final destination.

“Huh?” Crystal pulled herself out of her thoughts, the question repeating itself in her head a second time to register the words. She smiled when it finally clicked, nodding her head, “It’s a very pleasant village and the pokemon here are awfully sweet.” she answered.

Lillian laughed, “Yeah, I’m trying to keep the troublemakers away so you can see the village at its very best.”

“Troublemakers?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s nothing too bad. Just a couple of pranksters and the like, but they’re harmless.” Lillian said, waving off Crystal’s concern with a laugh, “Anyway, we’re up to our last stop, the Tree of-”

“Nope,” just then, the young brionne found herself walking into the large paw of a luxray that towered over the two girls and stared at them with his golden, piercing gaze.

Lillian was taken back by the sudden halt, a nervous look flashing over her face as she turned to meet the luxray’s scolding gaze. “Hey, Zeke… you’re on duty today?” she asked with a nervous laugh.

“Leona couldn’t take her shift, said her kid came down with a cold last night.”

“Jaime’s sick?!” Lillian exclaimed, distracted for a moment with a sympathetic look crossing her solemn eyes before it dawned on her that this probably wasn’t good for her and her tour either. “That’s too bad… Say, could you let us through then?”

His eyes just narrowed, daring her to try and ask such a ridiculous question again.

“C’mon!”

“You know the rules, no outsiders permitted on holy ground. Not until they’ve become a full citizen of the village.” he explained, his gaze turning towards Crystal and sending shivers down her spine that bade her to be quiet. “And someone who’s only been here for a day is certainly not allowed even a step closer.”

“But surely you can make an exception.” Lillian’s voice gave Crystal something else to pay attention to, something less imposing and frightening than a luxray’s glare, “She’s with me, doesn’t that count for something?”

“Rules are rules, Lillian. I can’t go bending them just to satisfy your little game.”

“But you could,” the brionne argued back but was immediately met with a growl for her efforts that sent a cold sweat racing down her back. “Fine, fine, twist my fins, why don’t you?” she yielded, escorting Crystal along the perimeter of flowers and around the grassy hill to find them a better look at the massively grand, old tree.

Crystal’s eyes looked back towards the luxray, seeing him still staring towards her body with a skeptic look engraved deep into his spiraling irises. She felt her heart sink into the bottom of her stomach, her fears and anxieties manifesting in this one pokemon’s intimidating stare.

“Don’t mind him,” Lillian brought her back, pulling her sunset eyes forward, “Zeke may be a bit of a grump but he’s just a grump that takes his job seriously. Not really your fault he has to be suspicious of every new face in town… even though hardly anything happens in this place…” she muttered past her pursed lips and puffed cheeks.

The fennekin stared at her for a moment, debating whether she should speak the question lingering on the tip of her tongue before she tentatively let the words flow from her lips. “What… is his job?”

The brionne looked back at her, regarding her face for a moment before smiling softly, “He’s the leading officer for the tree’s guard, the ones who protect the Tree of Being’s sacred land and Xerneas’s crystal.”

A flipper gestured for Crystal’s eyes to land upon the village’s sacred tree, her vision scaling up its immense height and taking in its lengthy girth. Its trunk shot high into the sky, bare branches and thin twigs licking towards the vast, blue opening and spreading its protections over the village’s area. Despite the warm weather, despite the sea of green that blanketed the canopy, not a single bud or blossom colored the grey bark, but she couldn’t see the tree as dead. No, there was still life in its systems, embedded deep inside that kept it going. Then was it asleep? Was she asleep?

There was a throbbing sensation that pierced Crystal’s head, the world going on mute as everything muffled out. Her teeth clenched at the second strike, her eyes looking towards the tree and seeing a radiant cerulean glow coming from its base.

“So it’s you,”

The light of the glow flickered, the voice in her head weighing on her like a painful migraine.

“You’re the one they sent this time?”

Her vision became blurry, her legs growing weak until she couldn’t bear it any longer. Her body fell to the ground, the world darkening just as a blue and white shadow came into her periphery.

“I see…”

Her senses dulled, numbing while the pain slowly began to subside, leaving her with an unbearable exhaustion that dragged her into a dreamless sleep.

“Let us hope… that you will be the last.”

***

When Crystal came back into the world of the living, she was no longer outside on the beaten walkway surrounding the sacred tree, the dirt and sunken pebbles replaced with a cushy bed and thin sheets. She couldn’t sense the sun on her back anymore, its warm touch long gone by now.

As her awareness slowly returned to her, she could faintly make out Emizella’s familiar voice in the distant background of her mind, her usual confidence and upbeat tone drowned out under a sea of nerves and concerns that almost sounded scared.

“I really don’t know what happened!” Lillian insisted, her own voice strained and scratchy with fear, “We were talking. Everything seemed fine. But then, she started to look like she was in pain, and she passed out before she could say anything was wrong.”

Crystal blinked her eyes open once and then again, letting herself adjust to the light of the room and its brightness bombarding her pupils. She let out a soft groan, raising her head slowly in an attempt to lift her body and mind out of sleep.

“Crystal!” Lillian called her name, the shout immediately shushed by a hatterene on duty but she didn’t give the warning too much attention as she pulled the fennekin into a hug. “You had me so worried, why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well?” she asked with a soft whimper.

“I…” Crystal stopped, wondering how she would even explain what had happened. That voice, she considered for a moment, could that have been…? “Sorry, I was enjoying myself so much, I didn’t want to cut things short.” she said. Probably not the best idea to tell them I’m hearing voices.

Lillian held her at arms-length, staring into her with a chastising scowl pressed firmly into her brows, “Don’t be ridiculous, we could have continued at any time! But your health is way more important.”

Her orange eyes looked between Lillian and Emizella, seeing that the riolu wanted to further emphasize Lillian’s point but chose to let the brionne’s words speak for the both of them with a silent nod of agreement.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Crystal could do nothing but apologize, her ears draping over her face in remorse, “I didn’t mean to worry you both.”

Lillian held the expression for a second longer before breathing it away with a relaxing sigh, “It’s fine, just… don’t go scaring me like that again, okay?” she asked, smiling sweetly at the fennekin.

Crystal nodded her head, “Yeah… Sorry again.” her eyes went over to Emizella, “To you too.”

The canine watched her for a moment before lowering her head and rubbing at the back of her head slightly, “S’fine. As long as you get it and you’re okay.” she said, her crimson eyes peeking up to see Crystal still looking at her, pondering something behind those clear, sunset orange orbs. She took the hint and made her way closer to the bed, “Well, we better start heading home. It’s gotten pretty late.”

“Huh?” Crystal’s gaze flashed over to the dusk-filled sky, seeing the dark orange falling while the violet and indigo hues moved in to take its place. “How long have I been out?”

“A few hours, from what I heard.” Emizella answered.

“Hours?” her body shot up quickly before going right back down again, finally noticing the headache that was lingering from her episode.

The riolu shook her head with a light chuckle, “Don’t worry about it. Now c’mon, we have dinner waiting for us at home.” she said, turning her back towards the curling fox and beckoning her to climb on with a gentle jerk of her head.

Crystal didn’t argue with the offer, crawling her way onto Emizella’s backside and clinging to her shoulders. She felt herself being held to her body firmly before she was lifted with ease. She wondered if she weighed anything to her being held up like she was nothing.

“We’ll have to get together again sometime.” Lillian said as she watched the two settle into a comfortable position for their journey home. “Don’t be a stranger and don’t let Jesse turn you away either, okay?”

Crystal smiled and nodded her head slightly, “Of course. I’ll see you around.” she raised a paw off Emizella’s shoulders and waved to the brionne, watcher her wave back while the riolu led them out of the medical center.

The two traveled in silence through the darkening forest, letting the nighttime hues drape over them with their cool, midnight colors and shades. The nocturnal residents began to fill the air with their gentle chirpings and soft calls. It didn’t make the woodland any more frightening than it could be in the day, Crystal noted, just new and calm.

“You want to tell me what actually happened?” Emizella’s voice broke the silent spell, drawing the fox’s eyes to regard the back of her head when she sat up slightly to answer.

Well, she wanted to answer, but she wasn’t sure how. Obviously, the riolu wasn’t ready to buy into the idea that Crystal was just pushing herself too hard today. So, how much was she willing to accept as the truth?

“Of course,” she spoke up again, “you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I get that you have your own secrets to keep, I think everyone does, but if I could learn just a little bit more about you… it’d really help me to help you, y’know? At least where I can.” Emizella looked back towards Crystal, craning her head to show the grin that filled her lips with nurturing support and kindness.

Crystal’s lips pursed, guilt and shame overwhelming her heart before the riolu’s smile. Of all the pokemon that could have found her, of all the pokemon that could have rushed to her aid and reached out their hand to her, she found someone so willing to work with her despite her limited knowledge and social prowess. She wondered if she deserved this; if she had done well enough in her past life to deserve such a friend looking out for her.

“I…” she still struggled with the right words to say, but decided to try, “I’m not so sure what happened myself. One minute, Lillian was telling me about the sacred tree, and the next thing I knew, there was a splitting headache and everything went black.” It wasn’t everything, Crystal choosing to restrain from mentioning the disembodied voice, but it was something.

Emizella hummed softly, acknowledging her explanation and pondering it at the same time.

“I’m sorry, Emizella. I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t.” Crystal’s voice came in a soft whisper, her ears falling to the sides of her face in her depression.

“Hey, hey, there’s no need to apologize.” the riolu insisted, shaking her head slowly to avoid hitting her passenger with her black feelers. “It’s fine, really. I’m just happy you told me anything.” She laughed softly, nudging at the little fox with a gentle jump. “But… there is one thing I’d like to say.” she drew Crystal’s attention, the fennekin shifting to capture the other’s words, “You don’t have to keep calling me Emizella. We’re friends, aren’t we? Just call me Emi.”

Crystal stared at her for a moment, letting the nickname sink in and allowing the words to echo between her ears. The smile was on her face before she even felt the muscles pulling on her lips. Her muzzle nestled into the crook of Emizella’s neck, feeling a momentary stiffness fill the riolu’s body as she buried her nose into her warmth and scent.

Strange…has she always had this earthy smell, she pondered for a moment before dismissing the thought

“Thank you,” she whispered, her mind going numb and her body focusing solely on the gentle rocking of Emizella carrying her home.

Chapter Text

It has already been several days since the two of them started living together and Emizella’s generosity was starting to weigh heavily on Crystal’s consciousness. She noticed how independent the riolu had learned to become in her time of living alone. She had the dedication and discipline to keep up with her training, the resourcefulness to keep her home well supplied and the kindness to say to Crystal that she didn’t have to worry about anything.

“I can’t ask my guest to work,” she insisted when Crystal asked if there was anything she could do to help around the place.

But am I even a guest anymore? she wondered, picking up a loose twig and starting to chew at it, Aren’t I just a freeloader at this point?

“Hey Crystal, I’m back!” Emizella called as she ducked into their base, the band from Damien and Janice’s shop clinging to her forehead and a winded look lingering on her face. “Hm? What’s wrong? You seem kinda down today.”

Crystal watched her for a moment before sighing and letting the half-eaten stick fall from her lips. “It doesn’t feel right to just lounge around doing nothing. I feel really lazy and I guess it’s bumming me out…” her front paws slid out from under her, sprawling out on the grass and stretching beneath the speckling sunrays. “I mean… I should be helping out, shouldn’t I? At least with my living expenses, right?” she asked, her eyes peering up towards Emizella’s staring gaze.

“You know, there isn’t much of a difference between supporting one pokemon and two, so-” she stopped herself, seeing the glistening gaze striking at her core harder than any punch she could muster. She bit her tongue before she could even think about finishing that statement and started again. “Well, there are some odd jobs floating around the village if you really want something to do.”

“Really?” Crystal’s eyes brightened, showing Emizella that she truly could find stars sparkling during the day. Her tail wagged behind her, the little ball of fluff going a mile a minute at the prospect of something to do with her time. “Like where?”

The riolu swallowed down something, her eyes diverting in thought, “Well… Lily does babysitting on the side, so she could probably introduce you to someone. Tim and Kim are always looking for a few extra hands when they get their stock in and then there’s the schoolteachers looking for assistants.” She counted each one off on her fingers, stopping when she ran out of digits to count with on one paw but it was a good start. “There are others too, it’s just about asking around.”

“Lily babysitting, Tim and Kim’s store, and the school… Got it!” Crystal nodded her head, excited to get a start on things.

She bounded towards her new bag, a faded midnight pack that shifted from deep violet to soulful indigo with several stars accented across the surface, slipping her head under the sash and adjusting it onto her back.

Emizella wordlessly watched the fennekin hastily prepare herself for her departure, running past her at a light gallop before she remembered she could speak. “Wait, you’re going now?”

“Hm?” she slid to a stop, looking back at her curiously, “Why? Is it too late now?” she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

“I wouldn’t say it’s late, but…” she started to stumble, her reasoning and rationale fading with every second those wide, curious eyes stared at her with expectation. She breathed out a short breath, shaking her head slowly, “No, never mind. You’re… alright with heading there yourself, right?”

Crystal’s smile returned, nodding her head with certainty, “Yeah, I know the way.” she reassured her before turning to leave. “I’ll be back before nightfall.” she called, already gone with the vines and leaves swinging from her departure.

“Yeah… have fun…”

***

Crystal couldn’t quite say that “fun” was the right word for it, but after her first pay, she couldn’t deny the giddiness she felt in earning the coins that jingled in her pouch. It was a sense of pride and accomplishment that sent her skipping down the trail with her small contributions. And being able to buy the groceries for dinner, with just enough extra for dessert, made her heart swell.

She could hardly believe it herself, how bringing back just a few coins could make her this happy, but she finally felt like she was giving back to Emizella’s generosity. At least enough to say she wasn’t a complete mooch.

“You’re always so eager to help…” an elderly trevenant said in his slow, ancient voice.

Crystal turned to look at him, sorting away the books into the village library’s shelves. From what she had learned, he was recognized as the village’s great Elder Pines. Some have said that he’s been around since the village’s finding a long time ago. Judging by the deep grooves in his bark, Crystal could believe it.

“Such a cute little busy body, you remind me of my little Dahlia when she was a wee flabébé.” he laughed, the leaves on his body shaking with the fond memories.

“These are the last of them.” a florges with her rosy petals sighed, a small stack of books cradled in her arms before she set them beside Crystal’s short stature. “Papa, it’s pretty late. Shouldn’t you be home?”

“Nonsense. Besides, a moonlit stroll does these old branches some good.” he shooed at the thought, watching his great-great-granddaughter give a short sigh at his reluctance to leave.

“Alright. We’re almost done here, so at least let me walk you home.”

“Such a sweet girl.” he smiled, honestly the most docile, jagged grin Crystal had ever seen.

It felt a little contagious, the corners of her own lips turning upward in a soft smile. She let it linger as she continued to help file everything away. Mindless work but satisfying in its own regards. Everything had a place and everything slipped nicely into its space among the shelves.

As she slid each book away into their respective homes, a thought flashed through her mind like a solemn reminder. Everyone had their place, a space where they fit just right. Dahlia’s was in this library surrounded by stories and tales from the past. Elder Pines’s was right in this village, watching over the pokemon that collectively called this place their home. But Crystal… there was a place for her. Obviously, there was a place for her somewhere in this world. But where was it? What was it?

“You’re the one they sent this time?” She remembered the voice.

She hadn’t heard it since that day nor had she experienced any fainting spells or skull-splitting headaches. What could it have meant? What does it mean by “this time”?

“Oh! How did that one get in there?” Dahlia’s voice drew in Crystal’s eyes, startling her out of her thoughts as she looked up at the florges thumbing through the pages of one of the books. “I’ve told Clarise so many times that this belongs in the culture section, not history…”

She looked at the cover from beneath Dahlia’s levitating body, “Xerneas: Goddess of Life and Beginning.”

“What are you talking about? Xerneas is part of our history.” her grandfather argued, reaching a handout and gesturing for Dahlia to hand it over.

“Papa… we’ve been over this…” she muttered but handed him the book despite her troubled expression.

“I was there, you know.” he said to Crystal, leaning closer and pointing to Xerneas’s celestial depiction on the cover. “Ah, I’ve never told you before, have I?”

Crystal shook her head slowly, completely oblivious to the silent, adamant objections coming from Dahlia’s crossing arms and shaking head.

“I see, well then, back before any of this, back before we were even a small speck on the world’s map, we were just a small band of pokemon, traveling together in search of a place to call home. I was just a small phantump back then but I remember it clearly. Some of us were refugees running away from cruelty and injustice. Some of us didn’t have a home to go back to and were forced to find a new home. My family and I were the latter, our forest burnt down by a terrible, uncontrollable flame.”

Dahlia sighed softly, picking up where she let off and letting the old tree carry on with his story.

“We carried on for miles upon miles, never knowing when our journey would end. I started to think that it never would end; that I’d be a wandering little phantump forever. And then… I saw her in a dream.”

“Saw who?” Crystal asked, eyes wide and hanging onto his every word.

“The goddess of life herself, Xerneas.” he let the name sink in for a second before continuing, “She said to me, ‘You’ve come such a long way, my little lights. You needn’t travel much further. Past the stream and through the trees, you’ll find a part of me watching over a small clearing. I will gift this land to you so that your family and friends may thrive for generations upon generations.’ I woke up and immediately went searching by myself. She spoke the truth and I found our new home here.” he nodded his head, as sure of his facts as his leaves were luscious and green.

“But… why you, if you don’t mind me asking. Why did she come to your dreams?” Crystal asked carefully, attempting to refrain from stepping on his roots.

The elder gave a hearty laugh, her leaves rustling wildly, “Who am I to guess the intentions of a goddess?” he asked back, thankfully taking no offense to the question. “I will say this, her words were true. We’ve been able to thrive peacefully under her protection for nearly two hundred years. Whatever her intentions were, I’m sure they were benevolent.”

Benevolent, huh? Crystal thought, considering the idea for a moment before she heard Dahlia clap her hands loudly.

“Alright, it looks like we’re done for today.” she announced, calling Crystal’s attention to the lack of books left to be shelved and the full shelves looking neat and trim and ready for tomorrow’s visitors to mess it up all over again.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I stopped paying attention and you ended up finishing for me.” Crystal said, her ears lowering guiltily.

“Don’t worry about it. When Papa starts talking, you can’t help but listen.” Dahlia waved her hands at her, blowing away her worries with the soft breeze, “You’re still new around here so you haven’t built up an immunity yet, but trust me, you’ll get used to it.”

Crystal’s head rose up slightly, her ears still drooped but they were slowly starting to lift themselves back up again under the florges’s forgiving smile.

She reached into her bouquet, rummaging her hand through the flowers before snagging onto the coin purse she was looking for. “Here you are,” she handed over several coins, the pile feeling a bit heavier than what Crystal was expecting, “and a little extra for humoring my grandpa.” she whispered with a wink.

Crystal didn’t have a chance to say anything about the unexpected tip, Dahlia already turning to start getting ready for their walk home. She could hear her in the back of her mind, her grandfather insisting the book belonged with their history collection and his granddaughter telling him that they’d talk about it once they were home.

Even though time wore at the mind, changing memories and adding a bit of fiction into their tales, something told Crystal that the legend of Xerneas and this village wasn’t a mere myth. And something else was nagging at her that this legend was far from over.

***

By the time Crystal slinked herself back into their base, the stars were starting to wake up, giving their little greetings from the heavens above. No doubt that it was later than she usually returned home, but she was more concerned if Emizella might’ve been wondering where she was. Her eyes searched for her little blue body, scanning across their single-roomed hideout before finding her huddled away at the side, a bag laid open before her and a variety of tools and supplies by its side.

She looked too preoccupied to have noticed Crystal’s return, her eyes narrowed in intense thought to hear the fennekin’s soft paws crossing the distance and closing the gap. She looked past her body at her bag, mostly empty with one or two items stuffed into its pouch. Was she packing or unpacking? It could be either-or.

“Emi?” Crystal called her name, the light returning to her eyes at the sudden call.

“Oh? You’re home already, Crystal?” she asked, turning to look towards the fennekin.

Crystal tilted her head, “Already? It’s already nightfall.” she said.

“Is it really?” Emizella looked upward at the nightly blues washed over the sky with their little jewels dotting and complementing its surface. “Huh…”

“What’ve you been doing? Planning a trip?”

“Kinda,” she turned back to her bag, “I’ve hit a bit of a snag in my training so I was going to do some dungeon diving instead for some practical experience.” She picked up a rope, stared at it for a moment before ultimately deciding to add it to her small, packed pile.

“Dungeon diving?” Crystal parroted, her ears twitching out the tired buzz in her head to make sure she heard her right.

“Yeah. Um… that’s what I call going into dungeons without any solid plans. Just finding what I can and taking on anyone who wants a fight.”

“So grinding.” The word slipped out from Crystal’s lips before she could question if that was even a term in this place.

Emizella laughed softly, “Grinding? Is that what they call it where you’re from?”

“Something like that…” Crystal laughed as well, although a bit more nervous than the carefree sound bubbling up from the riolu but she hoped she masked most of it well enough.

“Heh, well, if ‘grinding’ is what you call getting stronger and smarter for the future then yes.”

That is exactly what grinding is.

“Hey, you’ve got any jobs lined up tomorrow?” she asked, a sudden idea lighting up Emizella’s crimson eyes and making them shine like rubies.

“Tomorrow?” she thought about it, “No, I think I was going to take a break tomorrow.”

“Oh… I see.” the light flickered in her eyes, dulling slightly. “I was going to ask if you’d want to come with me, but I don’t want to wear you out.” She chuckled, but it felt hollow like a mere pleasantry, “Actually, you probably should take tomorrow off. You’ve been working pretty hard.”

“I’ll go.” Crystal stopped her before the riolu could talk herself any further into rescinding her offer. “I want to go with you!” her voice grew adamant, almost shouting, before she could think to reel herself back with an embarrassed flush growing on her face. “I mean… we haven’t had the chance to hang out in a while, so… I’d rather spend my day off with you.”

Emizella stared at her, dumbstruck and slowly catching the pink bug that colored Crystal’s cheeks. “Geez,” she muttered, turning her face away, “When you say it like that, you’ve got me feeling kinda flattered…” she admitted, pushing one more chuckle before she felt ready to flash Crystal with her most excited grin. “Alright, let’s get you packed too. We leave out first thing tomorrow morning!”

“Am I going to be getting any sleep?” she asked, her face looking innocent enough but Emizella could spot a jab when she heard one.

Well, a few jabs here and there were good too, she supposed.

Chapter Text

“Adventure awaits us towards the rising sun!” Emizella announced with an excited zeal that chimed like youthful bells.

How she could have so much energy before the sun could even peek above the horizon was beyond Crystal but she was starting to suspect that she might have been sapping it from the fennekin’s body through the night. After all, Crystal didn’t have much to work with in terms of volume to begin with. But she put on a brave smile, she’d get it back through the commute.

“Before we set off, let’s do one final check.” she said with an affirmative nod.

“Didn’t we check three times before we went to bed?”

“That was then! This is now!” the riolu declared, “We’ll only run through it once, so just humor me here.”

Crystal gave a short sigh before nodding her head. She pulled their bags together, setting them side by side and flipping their pouches open. “Okay, go.”

“Emergency rope.”

“Check.”

“Potions and full heals?”

“Both are a check.”

“Packed lunches, berries and power seeds.”

“Check. Check. And check.”

“Oh! And let’s not forget the most important thing: lil’ travel buddies!” Emizella wrapped an arm around Crystal’s neck, pulling her in and pointing a digit towards her body.

She took a second to register that spontaneously added item to their checklist but, once it sunk in that she was talking about her, she couldn’t keep the soft, sheepish laugh from bubbling free. “Check.”

“And I’m here too so it’s a check for me.” she pointed back towards herself and chuckled before loosening her grip and moving to fasten their bags closed. “Great, looks like we got everything.” she said with a soft hum, her tail wagging happily behind her.

Crystal giggled softly, “With your excitement, I would think this was your first time.”

“Well, it’s my first time going with a friend, so I can’t help myself.” she laughed along with her, but a little quieter. Was there a twinge of sadness too? “Everyone is usually too busy, so I’ve always had to go by myself. That’s why…” she pulled her bag over her shoulders, flashing a big, toothy grin that concealed any hints of loneliness that her words might have conveyed, “I’m really happy you said you wanted to come with me.”

Her figure against the rising day, body silhouetted against the dawning light, shined with a radiance unlike any mortal being. It honestly felt unfair how she could leave Crystal so speechless, as if she were choking on her own tongue, and still be oblivious to her super-effective smile.

“Alright,” Crystal jumped a little at Emizella’s booming voice, “That’s enough with the mush. Let’s get on with the mush!”

She pointed towards the light on the horizon, her usual zeal swinging at full force once more. She marched herself forward, leading the way with the only indication that her companion was following behind being the soft sounds her paws made when hitting the ground.

Making their way through the forest, lazily waking to meet the new day with sluggish bodies and heavy heads, Crystal could see why Emizella always preferred to start her day so early in the morning…besides hiding her sleep habits. There was a certain peace in the air special to this kind of time, not quite awake but not quite asleep either. A soft in-between with its gentle hues and tender colors.

Every so often, she’d look up to see where the sun had moved to. It was the best estimate she had for gauging how far they’d traveled and how long they’d walk. It’d always be a little higher than the last, inching higher and higher into the sky until she could see the full circumference of the blazing sphere.

Where were they going anyway? A question she probably should have asked before they took their first steps, but she didn’t feel it right to weigh down the new experience with too many details. She trusted Emizella enough to believe she wouldn’t take her anywhere too dangerous or too far out of her level. Besides, it felt good to enjoy the ride for what it was rather than concerning herself about the destination. A carefree sentiment for the young fennekin’s day off.

Crystal looked up again, the sun was even further away from the tree line.

“Not much further now,” Emizella told her, pausing at a stream and eyeing the steppingstones protruding out of its surface. “You see that cliffside over there?”

Crystal followed the digit Emizella had pointed outward into the distance. Her eyes landed on the elevated plane and its rocky edge, “Yeah?”

“Well, there’s an old miner’s cave there, just past this stream. It’s pretty much dug up at this point but that doesn’t stop some ambitious few from trying their luck in the tunnels. It can be easy to get yourself lost in there so we oughta stick close together.”

“Have you gotten lost in there before?”

Emizella laughed, “It’s not getting lost if you’re exploring. It’s call discovering new, uncharted land.” How many times did she get lost to come up with that one? “Anyways, I know the tunnels pretty well so as long as we don’t get separated, we should be good.”

She at least sounded like she knew what she was talking about, her confidence rolling off her body and keeping Crystal grounded. She gave a quick nod and Emizella was happy to take it as her consent to follow her advice.

A hop across the stones and a skip through the woods and the two found themselves staring into the gaping maw of the old cave. There was a sign by its entrance, a warning.

“CAUTION: Due to old age and a lack of regular maintenance, parts of Diggersby Mine's infrastructure have weakened and become unstable. Proceed at your own risk.”

“Huh… that wasn’t there before…” Emizella muttered, leaning in closer to read the new addition.

“Should we turn back?”

Emizella looked back over her shoulder at Crystal before waving off the concern. “Nah. I know rock smash so if we run into any trouble I can get us out no problem.”

Crystal raised a weary brow. “You’re sure about that?”

“Positive.” Emizella smiled with a nod of her head, “Trust me, if I thought we couldn’t handle it, I’d be the first to say we try someplace else. We've got this.”

Her words echoed once more in Crystal’s head, a warm reverberating sound that pulsed against her heart and filled her stomach with the riolu’s shared courage. For a moment, despite her lack of experience, despite her lack of training to match, she felt strong. Strong enough to push past her nagging worries and strong enough to continue on by Emizella’s side.

“Alright.” she nodded her head, “I’ll be counting on you then.”

“Awesome!” Emizella cheered, “Let’s get inside before we lose the daylight.” she said, pointing into the cave and proceeding to lead them inside.

As they ventured further and further into the tunneling cavern, beyond where the sun’s rays could reach them, Crystal noticed clusters of glittering stones that reflected a spectrum of colors when hit by the hanging lanterns that illuminated their path. A rainbow of colors danced in the light, pressing their warm glow against the dull stone and adding a bit of flashy fun to the otherwise plain cave walls.

“Hey, Emi.” Crystal called her, trotting up to her side when she noticed her staring had caused her to lag behind.

“Yep?”

“You said this place had been dug up a while ago, didn’t you?”

“Mmhm.”

“What’s up with all the shiny rocks, then? Why’d the miners leave these behind?”

Instantly, a burst of laughter exploded from Emizella’s mouth, the sound echoing far into the distance and lingering long after her voice had died down to a chuckle. “Sorry,” she apologized, her sudden outburst putting the fennekin into a startled state, “it’s just you asked the same thing I did when I first came here. I thought they were jewels so I took up as much as I could carry just to be told that they’re all practically worthless. Just a bunch of glorified rocks.” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Crystal’s eyes looked up to the walls again, staring at the stones and watching their lights twinkle and shimmer against the walls. “But they’re still so pretty…” she said, her voice a soft, whispering dream.

“Yeah, can’t argue with you there… Hey Crystal, what’s your favorite color?”

“My favorite color?” she repeated the question, taking the second to consider her answer, “Purple, I guess.”

“Purple, huh?” Emizella echoed, her voice trailing into silence as her eyes concentrated on the stones, searching between their colors.

She locked her gaze on a small cluster that held a couple of cool hues in its bundle, approaching it while cracking at her knuckles. She reared her fist back, a collection of red, hot energy pooling in her clenched hand. A single swing into the cluster, sharp and fast, and the collection of glittering stones was reduced to a pile of twinkling pebbles. She looked proud of her demonstration while Crystal stared at her with a perplexed knot in her brow.

Emizella shook away the small bits that dusted her paw before kneeling down and shifting through the pile. A particular piece was pulled out, reminiscent of an amethyst jewel, and carried over to the waiting fox.

“Here you go.” Emizella handed over the stone, letting Crystal take it into her paws.

“For me?” she asked, staring into its shimmering surface with twinkling eyes to match.

“Yeah. They might not hold any marketplace value, but they make an awesome souvenir for our first adventure together, don’t they?” she asked, a soft, delighted chuckle rolling up from her chest.

Crystal stared up at Emizella’s plastered smile. A natural, radiant thing that just begged her to keep its bright streak going. “Yeah, it really does. Thank you, Emi. I’ll treasure this.” she said, putting the stone away before she could have a chance to lose it.

Emizella’s smile widened, looking just about ready to burst at the seams. “Aw man! Now I’ve gone and talked myself into it too. I’m gunna go grab myself one real quick.”

Crystal watched the riolu busy herself with finding a cluster of her own favorites, gravitating towards the warming shades and their sunny dispositions. She couldn’t imagine that Emizella felt this excited about these glittering stones since the first time she dived into these tunnels. They might not be “treasures” by a genuine appraiser’s definition, but one little change to her norm and suddenly the childish whimsy was back in her eyes.

If she could make her adventures feel like new again, if she could make them special and even more exciting than the first… that didn’t seem like such a bad way to spend her time.

Then, there was a distant buzzing that came into Crystal’s ears like static, distracting her train of thought. She listened to it closely, hearing it steadily get louder and closer. Claws breaking through stone. A body swimming through rubble. Is it passing? No, this way, it’s coming this way. Towards-

“Emi, look out!” she shouted just before the crumbling sounds could burst free from the walls.

Immediately, Emizella’s body jumped back from the cluster of glittering stones, narrowly avoiding a set of large, metallic claws drilling mere inches from her face. The new body spun itself out of the hole left by his digging, his arms spreading apart to reveal the drilbur hiding behind the formation.

“Nice save there.” Emizella breathed a short sigh of relief, nearly losing her nose had she stepped back a second too late. “Hey buddy! You mind watching where you’re drilling? Nearly lobbed my head off.”

The mole paid her no mind, simply busying himself with shifting through the broken pieces and searching through them for the biggest and shiniest ones.

“Geez,” Emizella grumbled, rolling her eyes at the blatant rudeness on display before blowing it off. Some pokemon just be like that sometimes. However, when she tried to move past it and grab for one of the shattered fragments lying by his feet, his large claws intercepted her hand, forcing her back as he dug into the cave floor.

“Beat it, kid. There’s nothing here for you.” he said with a glaring gleam in his eyes.

Crystal felt her heart leap into her throat, choking her for the second it took to swallow it back down. Did he seriously try taking a hand for rocks? “Excuse me, sir… but isn’t that a bit of an over-reaction?” she asked, the drilbur regarding her with a shift of his glaring eyes. She felt her body shiver, her words faltering and stumbling over her tongue, “I mean… there’s plenty to go around, right? We can be civil, can’t we?”

“Hmph, spoken like a true, naïve brat.” he huffed, “You can’t fool these eyes, I know a good gem when I see it. Punks like you who don’t know what they’re talking about shouldn’t be wasting the air in here. Beat it.” he waved a claw at them dismissively before turning back to his horde of “treasure.”

Crystal watched him silently, unable to decide if she should feel disheartened by his rude comments or concerned that he was so certain that he was shifting through valuable jewels. Should she bother saying something to him? Would he even listen? But she had to try, right?

“Um, sir-”

But, before she could begin to try and straight this drilbur’s assumptions, a hand raised in front of her, stopping her with its sudden appearance.

“Don’t bother, Crystal.” Emizella told her, glancing back at her while something soft whispered in her eyes. “Guess there’s no fooling a pro, huh?”

He huffed again.

“Forget him. C’mon, I know where there are nicer ones deeper down.” she told her, his shifting gaze not going unnoticed as she led Crystal further down.

Crystal’s eyes didn’t dare move from his stilled figure, a weary feeling welling up in her head with each hesitant step that followed Emizella’s easy swagger. This wouldn’t be so easy; Crystal knew that for certain and knew Emizella was counting on it.

The moment he was pushed into her blind spot, the moment where they had moved too far ahead to keep him in sight, a metallic whirring sound charged at them from behind, fast and deadly. Crystal’s body reacted faster than her mind, tiny paws leaping her close to the rocky ceiling just before the drill’s tip could touch her tail furs. She felt the breeze tickle her stomach, a chilling sensation that made her blood buzz with adrenaline.

Emizella turned to face him, catching the attack with her hands and gritting her teeth under the burning friction that grinded against her palms. Despite the discomfort, she still found it in herself to smile at his slowing rotation. “Really? You’re going to make it that easy?” she asked, rearing a hand back and letting it glow with a vengeful fury before sending the fist into his softened body.

He flew back into the small rubble pile, sliding his head back into the wall. For all his talk and poisonous tongue lashings, Crystal was surprised to find him knocked out in a scattered heap of his own “treasures.”

“Hmph, what an ass…” Emizella stated, looking towards him with an annoyed scowl pushing down on her brows.

Crystal caught her rubbing at her hands, noticing the bit of red seeping into her blue fur. “Emi, you’re bleeding!” she exclaimed, trotting closer to get a better look at the injury.

She waved her off, “Yeah, that’s what happens when you catch a drill run like that with your bare hands.” she said as casually as anyone who’d experienced this on more than one occasion. “I’ll bandage it up in a second, I’m just going to grab one first.” she pointed towards the sparkling pebbles, walking closer to the downed drilbur and picking out a nice, glossy orange piece that shined like it held the setting sun deep beneath its smooth surface.

She held it up with pride, smiling at the small prize. “There, now we both have a piece to take home.” she chuckled, dropping it into her own bag before proceeding onward.

“Wait,” Crystal came up to her side, “let me help bandage you up first.”

“Huh? It’s just a couple of scratches, though. I can take care of it myself.”

She pouted, that simply just would not do. “What’s the point of having a travel buddy if I can’t even do this much?” she asked, a stubborn furrow squeezing her face.

It honestly did little to make her intimidating but Emizella would never tell her that. “Guess you got a point there.” she shrugged, “Let’s get a little further from that guy, though. Just in case he wakes up.”

Crystal’s face relaxed, her eyes brightening and her breath catching with an ecstatic hitch. She nodded her head, tail waving happily as she stepped with a hurried pace to reach a suitable place for the pair to settle down.

Chapter Text

The soft spritzing from the potion bottle sounded calming to Crystal’s ears. A gentle sound of healing that could only be heard by the two of them in this long, dim tunnel. “Not too much,” she could practically hear the nurse’s soft whispering voice speaking to her, “a little goes a long way.”

“Guess helping Blaire out has its perks, huh?” Emizella asked, her eyes staring down at the small paws starting to work the bandages around her wounds.

A soft chuckle blew past Crystal’s lips, “It’s just the basics, but I’m glad I can be useful for something.”

“Hey, you own that healing touch.” Emizella said, playfully stern with a small pout on her lips.

Crystal breathed out a short laugh, her mind much too focused to put more into it but she appreciated her humor, nonetheless. Her touch was light and tender, wrapping the bandages just tight enough to protect her hands during her healing but not too tight as to cut the area off from the rest of her body. “Aaand done.” she finished tying the knot with a nod of her head, “How does that feel?”

Emizella took her hands back, giving her digits a few testing clenches and feeling out the balling of her fists before grinning at the fennekin. “Awesome! Couldn’t have done it better myself.”

Crystal nodded her head happily, grateful that her dabbling into first aid care was proving to be this convenient outside of the nurse’s medical hut. She placed the potion and the extra bandages back into her bag, settling the flap over the top and slipped it back on. “Well, ready to get moving?” she asked.

Emizella’s eyes blinked back their surprised stutter, “You want to keep going?” she asked, her breath sounding light and fainting.

For a moment, Crystal wondered if her words were a bit too much of a shock before her ponderings were substituted with soft, revitalizing giggles. “I mean, we only just started. And you still have shinier things to show me, don’t you?”

That was a bluff, of course, but Emizella was happy to take the excuse. “Yeah! Yeah, of course!” she declared, hopping to her feet with an extra burst of pep. “Let’s go this way next.” she said, pointing towards a forking pathway just up ahead and leading their pair forward.

They traveled deeper and deeper, down branching path after branching path. It wasn’t as solitary of an expedition as Crystal would have figured given the warning sign out front. A great number of cave dwellers still found it a suitable place to get things done. A boldore and roggenrola pair collected stones for costume jewelry and accessories. A woobat trying her best to get stronger and asking anyone she met if they would accept her challenge. Emizella agreed, of course. And a golbat searching for something his little brother lost the last time they were playing in the caves.

Through all their small encounters and little trinkets they found here and there, Crystal couldn’t put any of them as stressful or as irksome as that drilbur. Granted, there was always a special level of “eccentric” everywhere, but such an outlier in this place seemed kind of… odd.

“You doing okay back there?” Emizella asked, apple in hand and munching away the peckish feeling edging itself in her stomach.

“I was just thinking… back when that drilbur was insisting that those were precious gems,”

Emizella let a soft groan slip past her, “You really shouldn’t be giving a guy like that the satisfaction of even an ounce of brainpower.”

“I know, but I was wondering… everyone- well, most of everyone, should know that those stones aren’t as valuable as rubies or sapphires. But he was so adamant that he knew what he was talking about. It’s strange, isn’t it? For someone to be so convinced of something despite what everyone else knows for a fact.”

“Can’t help stupid, sometimes.” Emizella shrugged, “Let’s just be grateful that he was a special case.”

A special case, Crystal repeated, Yeah, just an unlucky special case. At least everyone else has been pleasant.

“Yeah… guess you have a point there.” she muttered, snuffing out the soft, nagging feeling knocking at the back of her head. “You think that golbat found what he was looking for by now?”

“Possibly,” Emizella said with a short chuckle, “but things have a tendency to move around in this place. You drop something in one chamber and it ends up in a hallway on the other side of the mine.”

“Guess he’s got his work cut out for him.”

Abruptly, Crystal’s steps stilled at the mouth of a dark chasm that echoed with life and laughter. Her eyes narrowed in on the sound, a gathering of sorts with five… maybe six separate voices. What could be going on down there?

“Hey Emi,” she called the riolu to stop with her, “What’s down there?”

“That place?” Emizella hummed, her eyes closing as she mused over the mine’s layout she had internalized in her mind. “I’m pretty sure that’s a dead end… Oh, wait! Actually, I think this leads to a luminescent chamber. The stones down there have a strong glow to them that- You know what, it might just be better to show you. C’mon!”

“You sure that’s alright?” Crystal asked, her eyes following Emizella’s steadily darkening figure, “It sounds like there’s some kind of party going on down there.”

“Even better!”

Crystal danced on her toes, turning with frantic hesitation and debating whether she should proceed on or insist they go some other way. But every second she wasted was another step further Emizella took. Running out of time. No time. No time!

Blindly, she ran forward into the shrouding black of the chasm’s maw. “Wait for me!” she cried, running past where the lanterns’ light could reach until she bumped into something hard, solid and familiar. “…sorry.”

“No harm done.” Emizella’s voice spoke through the inky black air, giving Crystal something to fix herself against as she clung to her side.

They walked close together, or rather Crystal refused to give Emizella even an inch of space. She had to cling close, it was a matter of necessity. If she let her have that inch, if she allowed even a sliver of space, then she felt like the darkness would gobble her up. A bit childish, possibly, but not an impossibility.

At least Emizella wouldn’t say anything if she thought it an improbable fear. She just continued to walk on, guiding her through the tunnel with a gentle hand resting on her head to satisfy her need for the unbreaking proximity.

The black monotone began to break just up ahead, a soft glow radiating at the tunnel’s edge. “You can see it now, right?” Emizella whispered, the outline of her figure pointing forward and slowly starting to regain shape.

She could see something. And the voices were getting clearer the closer they got. There was definitely a little get-together going on, and they were quite the lively bunch. Through their thunderous laughter, she could make out bits and pieces of what they were saying.

“… believe…bought it…”

“…asshole.”

“Probably…like a jackass…”

Now why did they sound so familiar? Her legs carried her forward, her body inching closer to that beckoning light. More and more until she could fully appreciate the powerful, luminescent glow of the jutting stones piercing through the cave walls, drawn into its alluring trap where five crouching silhouettes occupied the glowing space.

Zangooses.

“Huh? Who let you guys in?” Their laughter stopped, their conversation redirected and all attention was focused in on the two of them. “Dude! you were supposed to be watching the door!”

“Watching what? It’s pitch-black out there!”

“Whatever, just get rid of them,”

“It’s fine!” Emizella spoke up quickly, wrapping an around Crystal’s stomach and lifting her up like a sack of rice, “We’ll just get rid of ourselves. Sorry to bother you.”

She attempted to leave with her, turning on her toes and taking one step back into the black. If only she had been a second faster, even a millisecond on point, then she wouldn’t be feeling the hand pressing down on her head nor would she be seeing the long, sharp claws dangling right in front of her eyes.

“Hang on… Axel, don’t you think these two look a bit familiar?” he asked, turning Emizella’s head and forcing her to eye the gang’s leader.

“Hm?” he raised a curious brow, standing up from his crouched position and stalking closer to them. “Oh yeah… the little fennekin and her bratty friend.” he said in a sing-song tone, happy for all the wrong reasons. “First you ram into me and now you’re crashing my parties? Man, what am I supposed to do with you?”

He reached a hand out to Crystal, the movement feeling painfully slow to her eyes. The memory raced through her head, bringing with it panic and petrifying fear.

“Don’t touch her!” Emizella shouted, ducking and shoving their long claws out of her face, her body turning to shield away the trembling body still clasped tightly in her arms.

“Oh? You wanna go first then, is that it? Fine, let’s see if we can’t break that heroic spirit of yours.” He nodded his head towards the others, a menacing smirk playing on his lips with all the devious intent he could cook up in his eyes.

Emizella’s grip tightened, “Listen, you’ll have to make a run for it. I’ll hold them off here.” she whispered.

Crystal’s ear flickered, a chill filling their veins from the tip and down into her head. She couldn’t mean that, could she? But she did. The way her eyes glowed in the dim light, scowling and gritting and bracing her nerves for the consequences her actions were bound to carry, she meant it with every fiber of her being.

“Now! Run, Crystal!” she shouted, tossing the small body back into the dark tunnel.

“Don’t let her get away!”

Crystal could hear them scrambling behind her, pained grunts and thudding blows. Bodies hitting stones and claws slashing mercilessly through the air. And Emizella’s voice imploring her to run.

She ran. With stinging eyes and a loud ringing in her head, she ran forward through the pitch-black.

Coward, she called herself, swallowing back the lump clogging her throat. Am I really so weak? Am I so powerless that all I can do is run away?

She panted harder, suffocating in the dark alone. She felt her legs slow to a stop, her sobs tearing away at her chest and ripping apart her wretched body. An agonizing pain filled her head, pumping itself through her body and consuming her heart with an unbearable ache.

She couldn’t do it. As she turned on her heels and sprinted through the darkness, she knew she couldn’t make it to the end without Emizella.

Crystal raced back to the glow, back to the riolu’s staggering figure. She could see one of the zangooses’ silhouette move in to finish her off, her heart skyrocketing into her ears. Was she going to make it? No, it was too far for her legs to close the distance on their own. She needed something with reach, something that could distract them long enough for her to get there.

She pursed her lips, building up the blazing heat in her chest before letting the flickering embers fly. They weren’t hot enough to fly far, but they were bright enough to gain his attention for just a second.

“What the… holy shit, she actually came back.” Axel whistled, sounding almost impressed behind his sarcastic veil.

Crystal jumped in front of Emizella’s body, her teeth clenching and a growl rolling in her throat.

“Aw, that’s cute. You think you’re a threat.” he chuckled, cueing his boys to laugh with him.

“Crystal… you were supposed to get out of here…” Emizella muttered, her body already battered and cut. Nevermind the small scratches on her palms, a zangooses’ claws were no joke. And a gang of them against one riolu… yeah, there was definitely going to be blood.

Crystal gritted her teeth at the sight, trying to still the quivering in her limbs but finding it more and more useless the harder she tried. She wanted to cry. No, she was definitely crying, but she couldn’t move from Emizella’s side, her fur standing on edge as she grabbed onto whatever shred of bravery she had in her tiny body.

“Ooh, scary.” Axel mocked, “C’mon then. Come at me.”

“Crystal, please, just run.” Emizella begged, her voice breaking in her distress.

“Emi!” Crystal barked, “If I could run… don’t you think I would? I’m so scared right now it feels like my legs are about to give out right under me… I should run, right? But I can’t. My body won’t allow me to run away… Not without you.”

She looked to Emizella’s eyes, watching them glitter and shine with her unshed tears. A look of fear and despair. So even she can make that kind of face.

“It’s okay,” Crystal whispered, her voice dipping into silence in her soft tone, “what are travel buddies for, right?”

She tried her best to smile, feeling the edges of her lips turn up but their line trembling and shaking uncontrollably. She couldn’t say how much she believed in her own words, but she had to make them a reality. It’ll be okay. They’ll be okay.

“Enough with the sap! Let’s see what you’re made of!” Axel’s voice echoed, his claws raising up to slash at her body.

She let the fire build in her chest again, letting out her flurry of scattering flames at his body. He braced for their scorching touch, letting them land on his arms without paying them mind.

“You think that’s going to work a second time?!” he shouted, claws slicing through the air and making contact with the side of Crystal’s face.

Her body was sent flying like a ragdoll, hitting the cave wall and falling limp to the ground.

“Crystal!” she heard Emizella crying through her haze, a short scuffle knocking the air out of her body while claws scraped against the ground.

“Ha! I knew she was nothing but a little weakling.” Axel laughed, the sound pounding on her head worst than the leaky feeling trickling down her cheek. “Too bad she won’t get to watch us rip her friend apart.”

“Bastards…” Emizella coughed, breathless growls rolling from her pinned body.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be joining her in a second.”

Crystal gritted her teeth, her bones screaming at her to stay still, to stay down. Fighting felt so painful, but to give up now, to fall here, was even more agonizing. “No…” she muttered, pulling her legs under her body and pushing herself up. “I’m not done yet…”

Axel turned to look at her, his smirk widening with mirth and amusement. He beckoned her to try again, claws raised to show how worthless her attempts were. She could see it in his eyes, how he was loving the chance to put her down again and again. It was playing into his game to try again, and yet, she built up that heat, tasted the flames burning touch at the back of her tongue and spat it towards the approaching zangoose.

He flicked off her burning embers, laughing at the pathetic display. It was pathetic, Crystal could agree with that much. Hotter, she continued to let them out, even hotter, even brighter.

She closed her mouth again, taking in a deep breath and working the inferno in her stomach harder than she ever thought this body of hers could manage. An intense spice broke out over her tongue, soft flickers slipping from her closed lips before she bellowed it all out.

A spiraling flame roared from her mouth, filling the room with her colors as it flew towards the zangoose.

“What?!” he managed just before his body was wrapped in a flaming vortex of her own design, shouting in pain at her fire's searing touch that consumed every inch of his body.

“Boss!” one of his boys called out, attempting to break him out only to burn his hand in the raging inferno.

“What the hell... Since when could that brat use fire spin?” another muttered, voice soft in utter disbelief.

Crystal couldn’t stop yet, her body charging towards the two that kept Emizella’s body pinned against the stone floor. The air around her ignited, surrounding her body in a heated ball of fire. She launched herself like a flaming cannonball, crashing her body into the zangoose’s head and sending him tumbling back.

His partner’s jaw dropped, eyes trembling and struggling to decide whether to believe what his vision was telling him or count these witnessed events as his own delusion. Was this tiny fennekin, this quivering little ball of fluff, really turning the tables on his crew?

His hesitant grip lightened the pressure on Emizella’s back, giving her just the inch she needed to push him off. Her fist glowed, white and hot, and rocketed towards his jaw. His teeth clattered, connecting in a bone-cracking clench. A hand went to cover his mouth, a muffled screech adding to the panicked symphony filling the tight space.

Crystal checked back, seeing Emizella stand back to her feet. “Emi!” she called her name, leaping to her side and catching her stumbling body.

“I’ll be fine… but we gotta get out of here.” Emizella said, shaking out the nerves making her legs wiggle like gelatin.

She nodded her head, there was no need to tell her twice. She wasn’t sure how fast those shaken legs of hers could carry her, but it was better than leaving her behind by far. Besides, it wasn’t like her own body was much better either.

While the gang of zangooses were distracted tending to their sudden surge of casualties, the two hurried their way back through the tunnel. Biting back the aching in her paws and the pulsing headache at the back of her head, Crystal ran through the black pathway. She could vaguely hear her flames dying down behind her, a shout from Axel’s voice screaming at the others to follow after them. If they weren’t mad at them before, then they were definitely furious now. They were talking personal vendettas for nine generations kind of mad.

“They’re getting closer…” Emizella panted, “Crystal, keep going to the end. I have an idea.”

“Emi… I swear if you’re trying to pull another self-sacrificing stunt…”

“I’m not! Trust me,”

Curse her trust me’s, Crystal internally cried, her rational mind melting away to blindly follow her lead. “Fine!” she yielded, pushing her legs harder and feeling Emizella’s presence lingering behind.

Her ears focused on the sounds behind her. Scraping claws, a steadying breath, and then an earth-shattering break that made the cave quake under the sudden blow. The tunnel rumbled, small stones breaking off from above one after another before the falling debris grew heavier and louder. Silence followed after just a second.

Crystal made her way back into the lantern filled hall, halting the second she made it under its warm glow. Her eyes turned back, searching through that stilled chasm. She choked down her pants, trying to swallow down her frantic breathing so that she could hear over the internal screaming of her own organs. It was all too loud; she couldn’t hear a thing despite how she desperately willed her ears to focus.

“Emi?” she called, her voice breaking while her tail tucked itself close to her legs.

Her ears lowered on her head, hopeless despair washing over her eyes and darkening their sunny glow. After all that… was I still not strong enough? She laid her stomach flat on the ground, her paws folding over her muzzle and hiding her crying eyes.

Her eyes gave up seeing. Her ears gave up listening. They could not see the limping figure making her way over to her sobbing body. Nor could they hear the soft, breathless chuckle that pushed itself from her nose.

“What are you crying for?” she asked, pressing a paw to her head and stroking the space between her ears. Crystal sniffled, her head shooting back and seeing Emizella’s smile through her foggy gaze. “We made it out in one piece. Shouldn’t you be smiling?”

“Emi… you’re…”

“Heh, you think I’d be stupid enough to get buried under my own cave-in?” she asked, “Please, give me some credit.”

Even though Crystal knew Emizella was hurt, even though she knew they were both hurt, she couldn’t stop herself from pouncing at the riolu’s body, taking them both down. She heard a stinging hiss escape from her clenched teeth, but her face was too busy burying her nose into her chest to care. Consider it as punishment, she figured as she continued to cry into her fur.

Emizella accepted it, holding her closer and letting their shivering, aching bodies comfort one another with a warmth that shouted, “They were alive.”

***

“Emi?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve been thinking… when you become an adventurer, will you have to fight bad pokemon like that?”

Emizella looked down at her, the glow in her eyes flickering with hesitation. Her lips opened, taking a moment to suck in a breath before cautiously letting her answer flow out into the air.

“Sometimes I’ll have to… It’s all part of the job, you know?” She tried to wipe away the dimmed tone of her eyes with a smile, but her face felt much too tired to keep up a façade.

Crystal’s lips pursed together, keeping up the rhythm of her breaths and counting the beats echoing in her head. “By yourself?” she asked, her voice soft and small.

“If I have to, then I will.” she said sternly, her voice steady as if she had rehearsed that one line over and over again.

Crystal’s eyes searched the ground, searched the leaves and searched the stones for the resolve to keep talking. To talk this train into its final destination and give the growing aspiration in her heart a voice.

“What if…” she fixed her cracking voice, “What if you didn’t have to do it alone? Would it- Would I be a bother…if I wanted to come with you?”

Emizella stopped, “What?”

Crystal stopped herself as well, turning and looking into Emizella’s vacant gaze that debated whether her words were real or if she had hit her head too hard back in the mines. “I want to go with you. I want to be an adventurer too and fight by your side. I want to be braver. I want to get stronger. So, the next time you have to fight and the time after that, we’ll have each other.” She gave Emizella a chance to respond, to criticize her if she was being stupid or yell at her for wanting to put herself in even more danger. But she didn’t, only staring at her like she grew a second head. “Or… maybe that’s too impossible, huh?” she asked, her gaze shying away. Yeah, I’d just be a lost cause if I tried…

“No!” Emizella exclaimed, her hands clenching into tight fists by her side, “No, it’s not impossible at all. I just didn’t think… I always thought one day this would all be over. That you’d find your own way and I would have to go mine. But you…you really want to be an adventurer with me?”

Crystal didn’t think she could cry anymore today but hearing something so heartbreaking and lonesome was testing her limits. She swallowed back the stinging feeling poking her eyes and wringing her throat. “I mean…I have a lot of catching up to do to if I want to stand by your side, but I’ll try my best.” she said. The smile on her lips was nervous, maybe even a little scared of the high bar she just set her sights on, but there was no denying that the words leaving them were genuine and true.

“Then, let’s work hard together, partner.” Emizella held out a hand to her.

Even though the sun had already set and the day was long since done, the smile Emizella showed off to her managed to start a new dawn in Crystal’s eyes. Silently, it whispered to her heart that she was making the right decision. That this was where she was meant to be.

“Yeah,” she breathed a relieved sigh, raising a paw and resting it in Emizella’s.

Another promise made, another vow to keep.

Chapter Text

“I… don’t think I’ve ever heard Blaire get that loud…” Crystal muttered, shaking in her bed with medical bandages wrapped around her chest.

Apparently, hitting a solid surface like a ragdoll being thrown in a childish tantrum made her liable for a couple of broken ribs. She was lucky to get away with two but that’s as far as her luck would take her.

“I thought she was going to break something else…” she said, tucking her tail between her legs. She didn’t think a nurse could be so scary, probably even scarier than the zangooses.

“That’s just her way of showing she cares.” Emizella laughed before immediately regretting her mistake. She was wrapped from head to tail, made completely immobile with excessive care. Well, excessive to her but just right for the nurses to keep her restless self in bed.

“I oughta show you how much I care too.” Lillian warned her, an ominous air bleeding into her cheery disposition. Her smile spoke of murderous intent while her grinning eyes promised a beating worse than anything Axel and his crew could ever dish out.

“C-C’mon, Lily, haven’t I been punished enough?” Emizella stammered with no carefree chuckle in sight.

“Don’t be mad at Emi, I’m the one that went back for her. My own injuries are my own responsibility.” Crystal spoke up as loud as her injury would let her.

Lillian looked over at her and sighed, “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, Emi. You’re probably beating yourself up more about this than any of us.”

Emizella waved off the concern with little turns of her wrist, “It’s all good. If anything, it just makes me want to work harder and get even stronger!” she declared, taking a moment to get over how unnatural it felts to be unable to put any more emotion into her declaration without hurting herself. These were going to be a painful few weeks in more ways than one.

“Of course that’s what you’re focused on.” Lillian said with a sigh and a shake of her head.

Crystal just let out a small, soft laugh, “At least it’s a silver lining.” Enough silver lining for the both of us.

There was a rustle at the entryway, a new body stepping inside and approaching their little group with small scratches scrapping at the floor with each step. “Alright, I dropped your stuff off at your little base or whatever.” Jezebel announced, making herself comfortable in the seat next to Lillian.

“Thanks a bunch.” Emizella smiled, “Blaire said we’d be stuck here for a good while so I’d rather have our loot at home.”

“Seriously, don’t mention it.” she held up a paw to stop her, speaking literally when she asked to not mention the small favor. Her paw fell with a sigh, a troubled expression dragging down her face. “How troublesome… Who am I supposed to spar with now that you’ve already gotten yourself banged up?”

“That’s what you’re worried about?!” Lillian asked, turning her head in one sharp movement, “Don’t you have anything else to say?”

“What am I supposed to say? ‘Don’t get banged up next time’?” She paused, the idea sounding pretty promising now that she said it out loud, “Yeah, actually don’t let yourself get this banged up again. I’m not settling for sloppy seconds.” she said shamelessly, a proud look turning her lips up in a smug smirk.

“Really?” Lillian’s gaze narrowed, eyeing her like a mother eyeing her mischief-making child.

Jezebel winced and quickly hid the chill tickling her fur behind squared shoulders. “I told her ‘not to,’ didn’t I? Besides, I trust Emizella’s skills. She won’t let it happen again.”

“I mean, the trust is appreciated, but I’m not making any promises.” Emizella piped up, her voice flat and her tone dead serious.

“Hey!”

“I’ll make her keep that promise.” Crystal said, laying bare her intentions and the world she was ready to dive into.

Their two visitors looked at her, Lillian’s eyes darkening with concern while Jezebel held more of a look of disbelief. Actually, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of Crystal’s unexpected announcement. This small body with her big, innocent eyes and delicate frame was planning on holding a candle to Emizella and fight by her side? Those tiny paws were going to trade blows with infamous outlaws? Those tiny paws were going to traverse lands yet explored and still unknown? It was almost funny to her. Strike that, it was funny, her lips blowing out puffs of laughter and drawing attention to herself.

“You?” she asked for clarification, “I’m not trying to be mean, but you don’t really strike me as someone for the adventuring business.”

Crystal bit her tongue. She wasn’t being blunt to be rude. She was being blunt so there were no surprises. Adventuring wasn’t exactly a cushiony job and not everyone could handle its demand. Of course, that didn’t change anything.

“I know I don’t look like much,” she could see Lillian’s eyes narrowing towards Jezebel for having her “floof baby” imply as much, “but I never want to feel that useless, that helpless, ever again. I’ll get stronger, strong enough to stand by Emizella’s side and shoulder at least some of her burden.” She smiled slightly, her eyes raising up to show Jezebel that she had no intentions of backing down, that the determined flame blazing away behind her sunset hue was not dying away anytime soon. “I plan to shoulder at least half, so I need to get started as soon as possible.”

Jezebel stared at her, taking in her dazzling iron will before it became too much for her eyes to bear. She huffed slightly, masking the speechless spell that kept her jaw lax and loose. “Do what you gotta do,” she said, the tip of her tail tapping away softly against the floor.

Crystal glanced at the small hint. Jezebel was never as sneaking or as slick as she liked to believe but no one would ever tell her that, and Crystal wasn’t going to start either.

“Actually,” her eyes went back up at her avoidant gaze, “I was wondering if you can help me out. With my fire-based attacks, I mean.”

The request piqued Jezebel’s intrigue, her peeking eyes encouraging Crystal to keep talking.

“I want to get more used to using them in battle, so I was wondering if you could give me a few pointers.”

Jezebel eyed Lillian’s profile, gauging the look on her face. Asking this in front of the brionne might not have been the best move to save face for the entry guard but she was bound to hear about Crystal’s request sooner or later. Probably sooner in Lillian’s case.

She gave a shrug, “I admire your gung-ho spirit but I’m afraid I can’t help you out there.” Crystal’s eyes looked over towards seal pokemon, seeing her jump at the implication behind her staring eyes. “Not because of Lily but because our styles are different. For you, fighting at a distance is better suited for your body while I like to get up close and personal. Our move sets don’t mesh enough for me to be of help.”

She hadn’t considered that, too eager to get started to bother remembering that she’d do best to learn from a teacher who could relate to her types of attacks. Her ears lowered on her head, thought consuming her lowered eyes that stared into nothingness. A draw-back but she had time for those. Not like she could start tomorrow, even if she wanted to.

“Oh!” an idea pinged in Lillian’s head, “Why don’t you try Scarlet?”

“Scarlet?” Crystal repeated the name, her awareness of the world slowly coming back to her.

Lillian nodded, “She teaches fundamental techniques in the fire specialist’s lessons. Well, usually she does but she’s been taking off since her egg hatched a few weeks ago.”

She tilted her head, a questioning look raising her brow, “Wouldn’t I be a bother if she’s taking a break right now?” she asked.

Lillian giggled at first, an idea tickling her mind but Crystal couldn’t tell if it was her question that was silly or if a silly thought spawned from it. “Don’t worry about it.” she told her, “She’s been grumbling about feeling antsy for a while now so she’d probably appreciate a change in pace. I’ll tell you what, though, I’ll run it past her first about volunteering some time to tutor you and get back to you on her response.”

“You’d really do that?” Crystal asked, her voice dragging itself past her lips with a heavy, incredulous weight pulling it down.

“Sure!”

“Really?” Jezebel asked, leaning forward to take a look at her genuine generosity.

“Yeah.”

“Really really?” Emizella added with her own skeptical undertone.

“Okay, what’s so hard to believe here?” she asked with a scowl in her eyes and a pout in her cheeks.

“The fact that you’re encouraging her to learn how to fight?” Emizella offered.

“And that you’re directly involved with getting her a coach.” Jezebel continued.

“Don’t get me wrong. If I could, I’d have her stay our cute little fennekin that runs around helping out the village.” Lillian explained, her flippers pressed together as she dreamed her wishful thoughts.

Her eyes held a blissful twinkle, no doubt imagining Crystal’s golden, fluffy blur hopping around from place to place with a helpful attitude and cheerful smile. But she sighed away her childish musings, a sober look taking over the bliss and replacing it with a reality that weighed down her eyes.

“But I can’t change the fact that she’s made her decision and I can’t keep her from trying to get stronger. But I can at least make sure she’s learning from the best.”

Crystal pursed her lips, her eyes dropping and her ears hanging low on her head. Guess you can’t please everyone, she figured. While one was happy to have her by her side, another was scared to see her go. “I’m sorry. All I ever do is worry you…”

“No! No!” Lillian waved her flippers in front of her face, “It’s fine, I’m saying it’s fine! I’ll feel even more fine if you let me hook you up with an awesome teacher so leave it to me, okay?” she exclaimed, her upbeat tone pulling Crystal’s eyes back up to see the smile gestured to by a flipper.

She studied it, filed away its shape into her memories. Lillian was always smiling, but each smile meant something different. This one, the smile she shone in Crystal’s eyes, had a peculiar shape: resigned yet optimistic. There was no preventing the inevitable but it was more than simply grinning and bearing through consequences. The grin was there but she wasn’t bearing anything, not when she had the power to give a helping hand any way she could.

The look helped to uplift the small fennekin, pulling her heart from the murky sea of guilt and doubt and assuring her that she was making the right decision in the path she had chosen to take.

Crystal returned the smile, soft and grateful and overjoyed to have a friend in her. “Thank you.” she said, two simple words but they were more than enough.

***

Several weeks of enforced rest and plenty of “tender love and care” from their nurse left Crystal beaming with revitalized energy and the need to shake off the buzz of boredom that settled into her bones. It felt so good to be up and out of that bed with the freedom to stretch her legs as much as she wanted. She’d completely relish in it if it wasn’t for her friend who still laid in her own bed.

Emizella did end up taking much of the brunt of the zangooses’ assault, of course her wounds would take longer. But that didn’t keep her from grumbling, seeing Crystal get discharged ahead of her.

“I swear I’ll come visit every day, so don’t go dying of boredom while I’m gone.” she told her, turning her head back as she stood at the door.

“I make no promises.” the riolu sulked with a pout permeating her lips.

It was only for a couple of weeks longer but that didn’t keep Crystal from feeling the twinge of sympathy pulling at her chest. This was why she needed to get stronger. She let the image burn itself into her heart, a nice little reminder of who she was doing this for. It’s going to be tough, and it’s going to hurt, but it’ll be worth it.

She ran through the village at a light jog, hoping to meet her teacher before she went back to their base. Lillian had told her immediately that Scarlet would be more than happy to oversee her lessons, leaving her with a rambunctious imagination that wouldn’t stop playing with the possibilities. Maybe she’d teach her a new move. Or maybe she’d teach her how to erupt an even hotter flame. Her fur has been standing on edge for days just thinking about it and now it was finally coming true.

Crystal stopped at the dwelling at the end of the beaten trail, standing just a bit taller and just a little wider than its neighbor. There was a commotion going on from inside, making her question if she should be bothering her prospective instructor on such short notice. She stared at the door, eyeing the spot where she ought to knock, but it felt like there was something in her paws keeping them grounded. Like the tips of her toes were being weighed down by the tiniest drop of lead—just enough to feel like she could lift her arm if she wanted to, but it would be so much more work than necessary.

She swallowed, C’mon, at least introduce yourself!

Her paw lifted up, hitting the door quickly before backing away slightly. It felt like more of an accomplishment than it should, but she was sure the anxious feeling would go away with time. The noises from the other side of the door died down a bit, a demand for silence killing the energetic ruckus and allowing its source to answer the door.

“Hello? Who is it?” a ninetales stepped out, blank eyes staring forward, unmoving and unresponsive.

“Oh, um,” Crystal’s voice got her attention to turn downwards, “I’m Crystal, Lillian told me there was a Scarlet living here?”

“Aah, you’re the one she was telling me about.” she smiled, “Yes, you have the right place. I’m Scarlet, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”

Crystal didn’t notice it when she first opened the door, but at this angle, she could perfectly see the dull shade of grey that covered her eyes in an unfeeling hue. The kind, welcoming smile that curled her lips didn’t quite reach her unblinking gaze that continued to stare on into nothingness.

“You’re blind?” the comment slipped free before she realized the words were even sitting on her tongue. Crap…

But Scarlet didn’t take offense to the mindless statement, finding it more amusing while laughing softly at what she could only assume is Crystal’s awkward discomfort. “That’s right, she did say you were new.” she said between her giggles, “Don’t worry about it. I was born blind so I’ve heard it all. Trust me, it’s far from the worst.”

It did help her feel a little better about her minor blunder, but it also got her curious about what the worst was. Best not to ask, she figured.

“Why don’t you come inside? I’d like to get to know you a little better before we start.” she said, nodding her head towards her home and turning to lead her guest inside.

Crystal gave a short nod before blurting out, “Yes! Sure, that’s fine.”

She followed behind, treading past wooden toys and stuffed dolls. Some newer than others but all affectionately worn. Despite the scattered mess of children playthings that littered her floor, Scarlet’s feet gracefully navigated through the chaos, her tails pushing them aside to clear a path for Crystal’s more petite frame.

“Forgive the mess. I promise it’s usually not this atrocious. But my children have been feeling more… let’s say ‘lively’ since their baby sister came in.”

“No, no, I’m the one that dropped by unannounced. I… kinda rushed over as soon as I was discharged.”

Scarlet laughed, “An eager one, I see. That’s good, motivation like that is the foundation of learning.”

Her host led her into her family’s dining area where the mess would not dare reach. Her paws knew where to go, maneuvering her around the chair legs and circling the table. The only part of her that touched the furniture was a tail that pulled a seat out for her guess.

“Please, have a seat.” she offered with a soft nod.

Crystal obliged, hopping up to the cushioned surface and settling herself at the table. Her eyes followed the ninetales through her billowing tails, the long appendages guiding her to her own seat. More a cushion on the floor really. She supposed the chairs were more for her children to reach the tabletop than for the whole family’s use.

“Comfortable?” Scarlet asked, “Chair’s not too stiff for you, is it?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine.” Crystal said with a smile, hoping she could hear the gesture in her tone.

“Are you sure? It’s really no problem if I-” she stopped abrupted, her ears turning towards the doorway and tuning into the distant voices growing in the other room. “Excuse me for a moment.” her words came out soaked in urgency, standing up in that same moment and trotting out.

Crystal could do little more than stare towards her vanished figure, watching the ghosting presence linger behind while Scarlet rushed to meet the crescendo-ing commotion. Then, a loud thud came followed immediately by a wail that covered the air in despairing sorrow. The sequence made her body wince back into her seat, feeling her ears stand high and firm on top of her head. Scarlet’s voice mixed just underneath the crying but it was hard to pick out the words that connected with her sound.

Perhaps coming so suddenly really wasn’t the best idea…

The wailing calmed down a bit. It wasn’t a full-on stop but it definitely wasn’t as loud as its initial start-up. Mostly sniffling and light sobbing that flipped between muffled and clear.

Scarlet stepped back into Crystal’s line of sight, a small, red, fluffy bundle pressed to her chest by a tail.

“That should settle things…” Scarlet murmured under her breath, stepping back to her cushion and lowering, what Crystal suspected to be, her freshly hatched vulpix. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Is… everything alright?” Crystal asked, drops of worry dewing her voice.

“Oh, it’s okay. My older ones just spooked her, is all. She’ll calm down soon enough.” she explained, pulling the small body closer as she died down into attention-seeking whimpers, “I hope you don’t mind her listening in to our conversation.” 

Crystal could just barely pick out the tips of the young vulpix’s ears over the end of the table, pressing her paws against her mother’s legs and standing on her hind legs. Even if she did mind, there was no getting her away now. “Not at all.”

“Excellent,” Scarlet beamed, her tails coaxing her child to hide herself into their fluffy embrace, “So then, why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?”

Of course… “What do you want to know?” Crystal asked back, the safest response she could come up with on the spot.

Scarlet hummed, “Your history, mainly. Have you had any prior formal training or education in your fire abilities?”

“I haven’t.”

“What about any battle experiences?”

Crystal chewed at her lips, “Only a couple, but it was after they attacked first.”

“So solely for self-defense?”

Her first instinct was to nod out her response before realizing the ninetales in front of her wouldn’t be able to perceive that kind of answer. “Yes,”

She hummed again, the few tidbits of information working a web of thoughts behind her grey eyes. Something was being woven in that infinite gaze and it was making the nerves in Crystal’s stomach twist and turn with unease.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” her voice struck Crystal’s core with a sudden jolt, “why do you want to learn now? What’s changed?”

Crystal’s eyes lowered, her vision fading away and replacing itself with images that kicked at her stomach mercilessly. Looming silhouettes wanting to see her hurt. A mangled body only wanting to see her safe. Nauseating helplessness, surging despair, and all the unbearable feelings that came with it.

“I…” she started slowly and softly, “I’m tired…of being saved.” The soft turn of Scarlet’s head beckoned for her to continue with silent curiosity. “I don’t want anyone else getting hurt trying to protect me. I want to be able to protect myself… and strong enough to return the favor.” she added with a soft smile dotting her lips.

Her eyes peeked up from their lowered stance, examining the contemplative look that came over her host’s face. She watched her steadily digest her answer, processing her intent.

Her head nodded several times, “I see, I see. Thank you for humoring me. I can get you on your way to fulfilling your ambitions, set you up with a solid foundation to build on, but this road you’re setting on depends solely on your devotion and dedication to your growth. You do understand this, correct?”

“Of course. I’ve had plenty of time to think about what I’m getting myself into so there’s no need to worry about my resolve.” she said, making sure the tone in her voice matched the assurance of her words—solid, unmoving and deeply grounded into her chest.

Scarlet’s smile spread, satisfaction radiating off her fur, making it look rich and silky in her delight. “Excellent! Then, how about we get started tomorrow? I’d take you on now but I’m afraid my daughter seems to have fallen asleep on me.” Her tails shifted, showing off the small slumbering form of the baby vulpix.

Crystal’s eyes peeked over the table, sure enough finding the little red dot snoring peacefully in her fluffy sea that must smell just like home. She didn’t need to imagine or assume how good it felt to be securely wrapped in a warm blanket of safety, but she sure was missing it with this little reminder.

“Sounds perfect.” she said, hopping off her seat and turning towards the exit, “I’ll show myself out. I wouldn’t want to disturb her.”

“I’m sorry. It seems awfully rude to not walk my guest out.”

“Think nothing of it.” she assured her with a soft smile, “I’ll come back tomorrow, bright and early.”

Chapter Text

Crystal couldn’t say for certain if she’d be getting any sleep tonight. Her mind plagued with a plethora of restless excitement for the unknown and her untapped potential. Unless there was no untapped potential, then it’d turn into uneasy and fear. Nothing positive there but an unending sea of mediocrity.  Or, at least, the shredding fear of mediocrity.

She groaned, digging her paws into her head and sinking deep into the pillow by Emizella’s slumbering head. Why does my stupid brain have to work like this?!

“Crystal?” a groggy voice rose up beside her, “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Emizella asked, rubbing at her eyes and blinking through the darkness.

“I was asleep…” Crystal murmured deep in her throat. She thought about it a little more before turning under the sheets, “Sorry, I’ll try being quieter.”

She felt a shift sliding her body closer to Emizella’s side, the sudden change in posture pulling Crystal’s eyes up to see the moonlight brilliantly reflecting off of the riolu’s crimson irises.

“Don’t apologize.” she said, her brows knitting together, “Look, if you’re going to keep me company, then the least I can do is stay up and listen to your worries.”

Crystal watched her a little longer, studying the invitation glimmering in her eyes. It tempted her to unclog that well of irrational feelings and emotions and let them all flow back into some semblance of calming logic. It could be worth a shot. If anything, it’d lighten the load weighing heavily in her head and pressing down into her shoulders. Her shoulders were much too small to be holding all this by herself.

A sigh blew past her lips, “I’m… worried that there’s nothing there.”

“Nothing where?”

“Here,” Crystal pressed a paw to her chest, “in me. I want to be strong, but what if I’m not cut out for it? I want to catch up, but what if it’s a gap I can’t clear?” She groaned, feeling her body sink further into the bed so deeply ingrained with Emizella’s scent. “I know, it’s stupid, right? To be worried about something like this now.”

She heard a hum purr through Emizella’s throat, a soft contemplative rumble that rubbed against Crystal’s shoulders. She turned an ear up to her, the longer it went the curiouser her hearing got until she was grasping for the words to come.

“Honestly, I kind of get it…in a ‘been there, done that’ kind of deal.” she admitted.

Crystal looked up quickly. Not the reaction she was expecting.

Emizella glanced at her before continuing on, “I know it’s hard to believe with how much confidence radiates off me naturally, but I had to start from somewhere too.” Her knees went up to her chest, hugging them close while the glimmer of a nostalgic smile began to take shape. “I always looked up to my big bro, so when it was my time to start training to be strong like him I got… really scared. He was always so cool and amazing; how could I ever live up to that.” Her eyes lifted up to meet Crystal’s, a hand pressing between her ears in a tender pat, “But when I got started and saw what I could do, it wasn’t really all that scary anymore. I’ve seen what you can do when backed into a corner. Try imagining what you’re capable of when you’ve mastered that power.”

Crystal held her breath. She didn’t want to get too emotional but Emizella was making it really hard. It had to be her feelers, those appendages hanging on her head, that always outed Crystal’s heart and told Emizella the exact words she needed to hear. “You… really believe in me, don’t you?” she asked in an airless whisper.

She doubted she heard her, she could hardly hear herself, but she just continued to smile. It grew brighter and brighter until her face rivaled the moon and the stars shining into the medical center.

“Of course! You’re my one and only partner, after all.”

And there went her tears, quietly draining her anxieties and letting them soak her pillow. She pressed her face into the soft, cushiony material until she could barely breathe. Then, she just pressed harder.

The bed creaked and the body next to her shifted until Emizella was back to laying down next to her sobbing body. The blankets were pulled over her shoulders and hand rested on top, rubbing gentle circles into her back.

“Get some sleep. I’m sure you’ll feel better in the morning.”

Her sniffling died down into faint whispers, her pressure against the pillow dialing back to allow for proper ventilation for her nostrils. The air felt cool with each inhale, a strangely soothing sensation that gave her lungs a fresh refill of life. Inside and out, her body felt nice and comfortable and more relaxed than she could have been alone.

Yeah… I’ll feel better in the morning…

***

Crystal, with her shorter legs, had to keep at a brisk trot to keep up with Scarlet’s strides. It was a good warm up, gave her heart another reason to race than the nervousness bubbling in her stomach. It gave her body the excuse it needed to shake out the jitters running through her veins and humming in her ears. It mixed up everything inside just enough to keep her mind focused and clear.

“Hm…” Scarlet’s tails felt around a bit more, running their fur along the tree barks and feeling out the grooves along the surface, “Yes, this is it.”

Crystal peeked past her body, looking inward at the training grounds beaten into the earth. The grass didn’t reach the area, stripped away and replaced with a dark substrate she could only assume was better suited to contain whatever practice went on in here. Dummies stood at their post, some scorched, some ripped apart, and some the merciful replacements of another.

Scarlet stepped further in, walking into the center before turning and taking a seat. “This is where we’ll hold your lessons from here on out. Remember the path since I’ll expect you to practice on your own as well.” Her tail reached out past her legs, tapping the space immediately in front of her body. “Here.” she beckoned with another tap.

Crystal’s head tilted at the gesture but got closer, nonetheless. She started at a short hop, a light jog to clear the distance and a slowed walk until she stood right in front of the ninetales.

She didn’t have to alert her to anything, a paw already lifting up and landing on her head. It traced around the round shape, following her jaw and falling down her neck to her chest. She didn’t question it, certain that an answer was sure to come on its own.

“Could you take a few deep breaths for me?”

And there it was… well, kind of. Crystal still didn’t quite get what Scarlet was trying to do. She felt like she was just being tossed puzzle piece after puzzle piece. She hoped at the very least she’d get a full picture by the end of it. For now, she did as she was told, counting out the seconds of each inhale and exhale that flowed through her body. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.

“That’ll do.” the paw left from her chest, retreating back to the ground, “Since everything is in order, we’ll go ahead and get started. For today, I’ll be getting acquainted with where your skill levels are at. Nothing too exciting, I know, but I have to feel for myself what I’m working with.”

Wait, “feel?”

She placed some distance between the two of them, joining the dummy front lines with her tall stature and grounded frame. “Alright, Crystal, hit me with your best shot.”

She blinked, “I’m sorry… could you repeat that?”

“Of course. I want you to hit me with your best fire attack. Don’t hold anything back, just attack me like you would any opponent.”

That’s what I thought you said… “But… I don’t want to hurt you.”

Scarlet laughed, the mirthful sound escaping her before her manners could think better of it. “My apologies but you won’t hurt me. An attack from you as you are would be a mere tickle. Definitely nothing for you to worry yourself over.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Now then,” her tails fanned out behind her, her body tensing and bracing herself for her student’s strike in whatever shape it took, “whenever you’re ready.”

Crystal couldn’t help her hesitation despite the reassurance. But she supposed this must be Scarlet’s way of understanding the flames dwelling in her students. A suitable substitute for those eyes that could not study the blow’s form or vitality. But was seeing and judging with her body really… safe? Well, with the way her fur still glistened under the sun, silky and unblemished, she must know what she’s doing.

Right, she’s a teacher. She knows what she’s doing.

She took another deep breath, calming those fluttering worries flying around in her head and making room for her senses to feel out her motions. The heating furnace in her stomach rose hotter and hotter until she could taste its fire at the back of her throat. It gathered in her mouth, swirling over her tongue before launching toward the ninetales. The snaking flame gathered around her body, towering up into a spinning, flaming vortex that trapped her inside for however many seconds it lasted.

Scarlet’s head turned within her confinement, a paw lifting up and touching the circling flames. It poked at several points, both high and low. Some of her proddings looked shallow and others a bit deeper, each more curious than the last. She thought she saw her mouth move, saying something within the vortex, but she couldn’t make out the sound beneath the rising flame.

The vortex died into embers, dispelling as it rose up towards the sky. It left nothing behind but a scorched mark in the ground and light red tips at the edge of Scarlet’s fur.

Her teacher hummed, shaking off the tingle and killing the flame’s remnants. “Crystal, you didn’t hold back, right?” she asked, pressing a paw against the darkened, burnt earth.

“No? I mean, I don’t think I did.” Crystal answered. She really didn’t feel anything?

“Good, good.” she nodded.

She walked back to her side, her tail’s running over her muzzle and head to lead her behind Crystal’s body. Crystal couldn’t say she minded the intrusive, stroking touch, but it did tickle her nose and enticed a sneeze to follow immediately after.

“Pardon me,” Scarlet apologized, moving the long appendages out of the way and settling them behind her body. “Next, I want you to attack the dummies.”

Crystal glanced back at her for a moment before locking her eyes onto one of the staked training dolls. “Right,” she responded, her voice more solid and less uneasy with an unfeeling subject becoming the target of her attacks.

She decided to go for one of the newer dummies. Although, “newer” was a relative term. It was still pretty beaten up and dented in, but she’d rather burn up a fresher face than completely break one of the already scorched men.

She pressed another fire spin out of her body, letting the flames circle and engulf the standing dummy. The vortex rose as high as the trees’ canopy, its hot air brushing against the leaves and making them billow and dance on their branches. Little pieces broke away at its top, breaking away bit by bit until the vortex extinguished itself.

“Again,” Scarlet instructed as soon as it was gone.

So soon? Crystal wondered but the question kept itself sheltered away at the back of her mind.

She did it again, firing at the same dummy once more, now marked with a spiraling scorched scar seared into its fabric. And when that vortex vanished, she was asked to do so again immediately after. The tower of her flames came and went and came and went, getting shorter with each eruption. The effort to keep going began to scratch at her throat, leaving it raw and her voice hoarse. Consequence, no doubt, for continuing the same motions over and over again without a single break in between.

When she asked her to do it again, she tried to push another out but only embers and little pieces of the attack fell from her mouth. She looked back to Scarlet, her eyes worn and tired. “I can’t do anymore…” she said with her scratchy voice. Even just the air passing through her esophagus irritated her.

“Oh, that’s all that was in you?” she asked, her body coming back into full attention with the end of this phase. “Let’s see… including the first that was… nine times you could do that same attack. Those were all fire spins, right?”

“Yes, every one of them.” Crystal answered, her hips falling to the ground while her head craned up to look at her.

“I see… Yes! I think I understand now.”

“Understand what?”

“Your most pressing issue. We’ll need to resolve it before you can start getting better.”

Crystal’s ears perked up, pushing past the exhaustion to fully absorb Scarlet’s words of wisdom.

“You were able to push out nine fire spins, but the average is fifteen. Do you have any idea why you’re so far below that average?”

“I don’t.” she answered, not having a single clue what was wrong with her but she didn’t let that muffle her mind. This was a learning moment, after all.

“Each one is much too sloppy. Sometimes you push out too much, others are too little. You’re all over the place. And then there’s your control.” Scarlet moved a paw to Crystal’s chest, “When you get fired up, you have a habit of building up too much for one attack and then barfing it all out. Tell me, how do your insides feel?”

Her ears lowered slightly, a soft grimace twisting her face, “Like I tore something…”

“Exactly. Improper control like that will hurt you more in the long run. You’re overexerting your body and your body doesn’t need to be overexerted to get results. But I understand where it comes from. You only started using your fire because your life depended on it. Without proper training beforehand, your body adjusts to thinking every attack is a desperate fight for survival.”

Crystal had a feeling that she might have developed bad habits from basically self-teaching herself in moments of stress and trauma, but it was a heavier feeling to hear it out loud from someone trained enough to pick it out. She just hoped only Scarlet has been able to see it.

A paw pressed to her head, pulling her up from the sinking feeling in her chest. “I’m sorry you’ve had a rough start, but now, let’s focus on how we can fix this.” she said in a solemn yet optimistic tone.

Scarlet was right. Absolutely, one hundred percent right. And Crystal kept repeating that to herself until to perked up her body and opened her mind up for her correction instructions.

She made sure Scarlet could feel her readiness under her paw, raising her head up just an inch higher and her fur standing with the excited zeal for learning. “What do I need to do?”

Scarlet’s smile came back to her face, happy to continue forward and even happier that Crystal was still ready and willing to do the same. The paw fell back to the ground, leaving a lingering tingle on Crystal’s head.

“We’ll focus on calming your body first. Throughout the day, I want you to take a few minutes to calm down and empty your mind. Focus on taking deep, even breaths. Your breathing also plays a huge part in the quality of your fire so try keeping that in mind as well. We’ll start with meeting up every other day first so I can correct anything amiss. Any questions?”

“Just one.” Crystal started, “How will I know if I’m doing it right?”

Scarlet breathed out a chuckle, “You’ll know it when you feel it. Each little quiet space is different from pokemon to pokemon so I can’t really give you a solid answer. You’ll have to give it a shot yourself, but feel free to let me know how your first try went.”

It wasn’t really the answer she was expecting, but she supposed some of the joys of learning came from exploring the unknown. Who knows, maybe taking a few minutes out of her day to breathe and flush away her thoughts could do more for her than improve the quality of her fire.

***

Crystal came back to the medical center with a bit more of a skip to her step than when she first left out. Of course, Emizella noticed this, looking towards the doorway and listening in on the fennekin’s request to visit her friend once again.

“Thanks, Blaire.” she said with a nod, trotting closer with her bag tapping against her side. She hopped up to the seat by the riolu’s bed, shifting the bag in front.

“So,” Emizella drawled, “how’d it go?”

A sheepish smile played on her lips, a hand rubbing down the fur at the back of her head. “I have a few things to work on, but it looks like I’m not completely hopeless.” she confessed.

Emizella laughed, “Well, I always knew you weren’t hopeless at all.” she said, smug in her subtle boast.

“Yeah, you did.” Crystal said in a soft tone, her voice half there while the other bathed itself in sweet bliss.

She felt her face begin to get warmer but she knew it wasn’t the work of the fire that lived in her stomach. No, these were the embers of affection and gratitude that kissed her cheeks into a rosy pink. For a moment, she wondered if she was feeling too happy about this, if this kind of reaction was too much for what must seem trivial to her friend. Well, even if she was getting a bit too emotional, she was positive Emizella would never say so.

“Oh yeah!” Crystal fiddled with the clasp of her bag, flipping the flap open and digging around inside, “I stopped by Rhyme & Reason on my way over. It looks like Janice finished setting those stones we picked up. I think they came out pretty great!”

From inside her pouch, she pulled out a small, silver clip-on earring with her violet stone in one paw and a set of three golden bands melded together with Emizella’s orange stone mounted into the center band in the other.

“Here, this one’s yours.” she said, handing the gold bands off to her.

Emizella took it, looking over the craftsmanship of the accessory with glittering eyes. “You weren’t kidding!” she exclaimed, snapping the melded bands open and pressing them to the base of her feelers, just where they connected to her head. She clasped them shut, securing their hold to the appendage. It added a taste of brightness against the dark fur, popping out against the surface and twinkling with each catch of the light. “What do you think? Be honest, does it suit me or what?”

Crystal watched her turn her head, showing off the dazzling accent that made her look like royalty. She couldn’t help giggling, “It’s definitely you.” she said, hiding her smiling lips behind a paw.

Emizella laughed with her, “I’m not too big on jewelry, but I don’t ever want to take this off.”

“But you’ll have to eventually. If you keep getting stronger, you’ll be a lucario in no time.”

“Strength isn’t all it takes to be a lucario…”

Her voice was so soft Crystal wondered if she was meant to hear her at all. But that look in her eyes, warm crimson mixed with a sultry undertone, made her think Emizella wanted her to hear that whispered secret.

“Let me help put yours on.” Emizella moved closer to the edge of the bed, reaching a hand out to take the clip-on.

The words distracted Crystal from that suggestive look, pulling her back from her daze and imploring her to act now. “Oh, sure. Thanks.” she stumbled slightly, dropping the small accessory onto her open palm.

Emizella pinched it between two digits, making sure it was secure in her grip before attempting to move forward. “Which side you want it?”

Crystal raised a paw to her left ear, “This one.”

“Got it.”

It took all of Crystal’s willpower and self-restraint to keep her ear from flickering under her ticklish touch. So feather-soft and gentle with the slightest brush of warmth rubbing against the rim of her ear… She didn’t realize she had such a weakness.

How did she do it? Those same hands that were capable of smashing strong stones into helpless rubble could also be as sweet as a butterfree’s kiss.

She winced only once when she felt the clip-on snap shut, her shoulders tensing just to keep herself still.

“Sorry, did that hurt?” Emizella asked, taking her hand away quickly.

Crystal tested the weight of the accessory hanging to her ear, moving and flicking it a few times. It felt like there was a subtle tug pulling at the end of her nerves but nothing she couldn’t see herself getting used to.

“Not really. The sound just startled me a bit.” she answered, showing she meant it with a beaming smile. “How do I look?”

Emizella stared for a bit, “Looks like those ears of yours were made for jewels.”

Crystal giggled, “You really think so?”

“Of course! It looks really good on you.”

With how emphatically Emizella gave her response, Crystal couldn’t keep the bashful look from creeping onto her face. She couldn’t relax the muscles yanking at her cheeks and keeping a glowing smile on her lips. She couldn’t ease her thumping heart pumping warm blood all throughout her body and making her feel like she was boiling. And she definitely couldn’t keep her tail from tapping away excitedly against the seat of her chair. At least the sheer fluffiness of it muffled some of the sound.

Emizella could see all of it. Crystal just knew she could see it all from her head down to the tip of her paws. The smile on her lips just gave away how she enjoyed these internal declarations of uncontrollable delight. But maybe this was good too, letting her know just how much she loved to be complimented and praised. It might not be such a bad thing at all.

“Thanks…” she muttered. Don’t think I’ll be taking mine off anytime soon either.

Chapter Text

“Okay, last one for today. Make it good!” Scarlet called from the opposite side of the training grounds, her stance lowering and her body bracing for imminent impact.

Crystal took in a breath, fanning the fire into a lively blaze before letting it flow out. It felt smooth running up her throat and tasted just like warm sunshine on her tongue. She never knew her flame even had a flavor to it nor did she expect it to be so pleasant.

She watched her flames circle around Scarlet’s body, climbing high into an impenetrable fortress that consumed everything inside. Its reddish-orange, glowing hue reflected against her eyes, engulfing its surroundings in a warm light. Perhaps she sounded a bit conceited in thinking this, but it really was a pretty fire.

The attack dispersed, Scarlet’s tails moving to dust off its residue from her fur when it had disappeared completely. “Nicely done. They've definitely improved since our first time. Tell me, do they feel any different to you?”

“Completely! It hardly feels the same anymore.” Crystal answered back, her voice sharp with pride over her own accomplishments. “They feel so much better, like I can run a marathon from my mouth! Wait, that didn’t come out right.”

Scarlet giggled, “No, no, that sounds just about right. Well then, would you like to learn a new move?”

Excitement filled Crystal’s lungs to the point where she was pretty sure they should have popped. They remained intact inside her chest, letting her live long enough to enjoy her teacher’s suggestion. “Really?? You really think I’m ready to learn one?”

“I don’t see why not. It’s best to add something new once in a while to keep our lessons from going stale. And since you’ve gained a good amount of control, I think it’s time to change things up a bit. Unless you think we’re moving too fast.”

“No! No! This is the perfect speed.” Crystal declared, her tail swaying behind her into the dirt until it left a deep impression.

“Your enthusiasm is much appreciated. Now, this isn’t really an attack but more of a status altering move. You’ve heard of will-o-wisp, right?”

“Of course.” she nodded, calming her heart down so she could properly listen and respond to the conversation.

“It’ll require a bit more control than your fire spins. Instead of pulling from the fire that dwells in your body, you’ll be summoning and manifesting it by your side and willing it to attack your target. Here, allow me to demonstrate.” Scarlet turned towards her attention towards the dummies, her eyes closing in her focus. The air around her grew quiet and still, a haunting chill surrounding her body.

If Crystal wasn’t watching her as she was, she could have easily mistaken the ghostly presence for an uninvited guest. Was Crystal scared of ghosts? She didn’t think she was, but there was a deeply embedded glint on a voice that told her to be wary. A distant voice, far off and deep into her subconscious, but something she couldn’t quite ignore.

There was one flicker of light, a cold hue of blues and violets that dance beside its summoner. Then another and another and another until she had them twirling around her body in a ring of eerie little lights. When her eyes opened, Crystal saw the luminescent glow that overlapped their dulled color, a brilliant shine that was both beautiful and frightening.

They soared up from her, flying not quite in a line but aimed at one thing and one thing only. The dummy, poor soul that it was, was circled completely, the little flickers tightening their ring until there was no escape from their curse.

The glow remained in her eyes for a second longer until the last of her flames burrowed itself into the fabric of the training doll, the move completed and, had the dummy been a living creature, her burn sealed. “Now, had our target not been grounded into the earth, the will-o-wisps would have chased them down until either their job was complete or their summoner ceases their pursuit. Summon, manifestation and manipulation, that’s what we’ll have to work on to get you ready to use this attack practically. Still feeling enthusiastic?” she asked.

Enthusiastic was a start. Optimistic was another step in the right direction. If she could master this, if she could take control of all forms of power within her, then anything was possible, wasn’t it? She can get stronger. She’ll become stronger. “Yes,” she breathed out, her lungs only allowing for the single syllable answer.

She was sure it amused Scarlet to no end to leave her student so breathless with her excitement. She probably stroked the fires of exhilaration on purpose just to hear it in her voice. Well, Crystal could forgive her for that. It wasn’t like she disliked it, anyway.

“Perfect. Then, we’ll get started next time. For now… I think your escort is waiting for you.” she said, a paw pointing back towards the exit where a familiar face stood waiting against one of the trees.

“Emi!” Crystal exclaimed, “How long have you been standing there?”

“Not-”

“She’s been waiting there since your last fire spin.” Scarlet intruded, smiling away while Emizella stammered to stop her.

“Just… out me, why don’t you?” Emizella muttered, letting the brief moment of embarrassment fizzle out before clearing her throat. “Yeah, well, ready to head home, then? We can pick up a snack on the way.”

“Oh! Yeah, sure.” Crystal nodded, turning to look back at Scarlet and nodding her head, “Thanks for today as well.”

“Not at all. Don’t forget to practice and keep up your breathing exercises.”

“Of course!” Crystal answered, trotting off to the exit of the practice grounds and joining Emizella’s side.

Part of her felt a little guilty for not noticing she had been there for so long, but the other part hoped she really did see her. She hoped she saw how much better she was getting. And she hoped she liked what she saw.

***

“Oh man! I thought I knew you but I didn’t know anything at all, did I? To think you could get even more incredible. And now you’re going to start learning will-o-wisp? So cool!”

Good news was she did like it. Even better news? She was impressed. On a related note, this fire type was about ready to melt into a shamefully hot mess. Seriously, how could she just proclaim her praises in the middle of the road like this? Crystal wasn’t ready for this. Her head wasn’t ready for this. Her legs weren’t ready to support her head that wasn’t ready for this.

She said hello to gravity, falling down to the beaten path and tucking herself into a tight ball of fluid mush. “Emizella, please…”

“It’s ‘Emi’, isn’t it?” she crouched down low to the ground, her face much too mirthful to consider any of this accidental.

Crystal’s eyes peeked over her arms, keeping the rosy flush on her cheeks hidden away as she eyed her tormentor. She didn’t pay much mind to the growing slap of rubber coming in closer, harder, and faster.

“And it’s going! It’s going! It’s gone, it’s definitely gone.”

“Watch it!”

Emizella’s reaction speed was as on point as ever, turning gears at the drop of a coin. One second, she’s relishing in Crystal’s bashful and shy nature, the next she’s slapping away a red rubber ball hurtling towards the both of them. The toy never stood a chance and neither did Damien’s face, taking the deflected projectile point-blank. Fur coat came in handy for such occasions but that didn’t keep the scowl from coming onto his face.

The skitty, the little perpetrator of the rubber runaway, slinked back to hide behind the poochyena, even going as far as to push her forward just a smidge.

Emizella covered her mouth, eyes widened at the mistake of her reflexes. “My bad, Damien! I didn’t see you there.”

Damien’s eyes blinked back open from their tensed brace, shaking off the shock of the blow and walking it off like the fluffy champ he was. “No need for apologies, darling. I’m used to this. But you, young lady...” his gazed shot directly towards the pair that brought the ball into the equation in the first place, “What have I told you about playing ball by the shop?”

The poochyena looked back at her friend with a narrowed look in her eyes, knowing that the scolding gaze wasn’t meant for her and pushing its subject back into view.

She yelped at the sudden shove, looking back to her before shrinking under her father’s glare. “Not to play ball by the shop…”

“And what were you doing?”

“Playing ball by the shop… I’m sorry, Papa. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“I don’t think it’s me you should be apologizing to.” Damien said with a nodding gesture of his head pointing to the ball's original target.

Her attention turned to Emizella, her body still standing in front of Crystal despite the ball having stilled to a complete stop. “Sorry, Emi. I got a bit carried away with my pass there.”

“It’s all good. But that was quite the toss. Think you and Luna are ready for the big leagues yet?”

“As if!” Luna blurted, “If Lilac could quit showboating, then maybe.”

“Or maybe someone needs to learn how to catch the gosh dang ball!”

Sparks of competitive spirt flew between the two, an air of intensity crackling and popping all around them. But the smirks that took over their faces showed no real malice. Just playful prodding with a bit of truth lying just underneath.

“Guess we’ve got some more practicing to do.” Luna was the first to say but Lilac was quick to follow suit.

“Yeah, you gotta hurry up and learn to keep up.” she told her, taking up the ball with her tail and dashing down the road.

“Or maybe you should learn some restraint!” her friend shouted, running after her.

“Never!”

Damien let out a soft sigh, rubbing a paw over his forehead and down his muzzle. “That girl is going to give me wrinkles one day…”

“You doing alright there?” Emizella asked, her shoulders relaxing the further away the girls took their game.

“Just fine, darling. Better my face than the window, I always say.”

“You’ve said that more than once?” Crystal asked, standing up slowly upon her now solidified legs.

“Unfortunately…” he answered while a gentle, adoring smile spread across his lips, “but it's nothing I can’t handle. Her sister came out just fine, I’m sure she will too.”

There was a certain brightness behind his words. An uplifting, shimmering light spoken from a place of parental affection and the belief in his own child. But that’s a dad for you, isn’t it? It got Crystal wondering about Emizella’s parents. She had a pair, didn’t she? Have they said the same thing about her as well? And what about Crystal herself? Did she have parents here? Are they waiting for me on the other side?

“Oh darn!” Damien tsked, “I forgot to give her Jasmine’s letter…”

“I can take it to her, if you want.” Crystal offered, the errand girl in her still running strong in her bones.

“No need. She’ll be back for dinner anyhow. I’ll give it to her then.”

***

That night, a strange dream played in her head. Not quite a nightmare but it still carried a sense of heartache and dread that gripped at her chest until she was suffocating.

“This is it! With five seconds to go on the clock, it all comes down to PokéBall legend, Lilac, to make the play of a lifetime.” the voice announced, intermitted with the tappings of the pair’s rubber ball bouncing against the whippings of her tail, “Her eyes are squared, they’re teamwork is looking on point. Will they do it? Can they make this winning shot?!”

“Not if she doesn’t pass the ball!” her friend shouted, her patience wearing incredible thin.

“Fine!”

She bounced the ball a few more times, throwing it higher and higher before hitting it at its highest point with an audible slap.

“And here it is, folks!” she called out, watching her beautiful shot soar over to her friend, flying high out of her reach and tumbling into the bushes.

“And there it goes…”

“Ya know, you keep going off on me but it’s going to look so cool when we’re both bigger and you know it.”

“Just get the ball.”

“‘Just get the ball.’” she mocked, blowing a raspberry into the sky before hopping to it.

She saw Lilac jump through the leaves and branches, stepping closer to the red ball before noticing something outside of her dream’s vision.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Did I hit you or something?”

It shook its head slowly.

“Then why are you crying?”

“What’s taking so long?” her friend called from the other side.

“C’mere for a sec!” Lilac called back. She looked back at the weeping pokemon, “Don’t worry, Luna just looks scary but she’s actually a really good friend of mine.”

“Please tell me you didn’t lose- oh.” Luna’s head popped in next, eyes taken aback by the stranger and choosing to tread closer carefully. “A ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ ? What are you doing out here by yourself?”

The voice is muffled, drowned by a static that ripped and clawed at Crystal’s mind. She couldn't make out what it was saying but it was getting more panicked, more frantic, in its plea.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. We’ll help you find your way. Let’s just trace back your steps, and I’m sure we’ll find something. Right, Luna?”

“Yeah!” They both stood by its side, “It’ll be easier with a couple of friends helping you out.”

The stranger nodded, the trio turning to find whatever it was that was missing. It left Crystal behind to watch while despair snaked up her throat and rung its ghastly claws around her neck. It tore into her flesh the more she fought to scream, a pressure growing on her back to keep her grounded. All she could do was claw at the sinking earth beneath her. Wait, when did she start to sink?

“What’s your name?” their voice became faint and far, growing further beyond her reach.

“ ☐☐☐☐☐."

Crystal started up with a deep gasp, the fear from her dream seeped deep into her flesh and fluffing up every strand of fur on her body. She found Emizella coiled around her back in their base, the soft chirpings of the nocturnal woods reminding her of the difference between reality and dream.

The night was still heavy in the sky. How close to dawn was she? Well, judging by the stars lively dance and Emizella’s gentle snoring, there was still a good amount of time before daybreak. She should go back to sleep. She should just go back to sleep. But her chest still had that awful feeling clinging around her heart. How could she possibly sleep when it felt like she was breathing through murky, swamp water?

This seemed like the perfect excuse to squeeze in a few minutes of her breathing exercises. If she wasn’t getting back to sleep anytime soon then she might as well do something productive. And, after a dream like that, she really needed her quiet place to wash out the funk. However, before she could do any of that, she first needed to get out of Emizella’s hold. How was her grip stronger in her sleep?!

Crystal twisted in her arms, finding her head the most difficult part to pry out. Curse this big head… she grunted, tilting and squeezing through the gap that was the riolu’s embrace. For a moment, her mind flashed to butter. She should not be thinking of butter.

Dammit, Emi, why… are you such… a heavy sleep-AH! She popped her head free, leaving her body loose enough to tumble back with all the extra force she put into her yanks and pulls. She rolled onto her back with a yelp, although the grass saved her from thunking her head too hard against the earth. Her voice carried through the still night air, prompting her paws to push against her lips when her own cry made it back to her ears.

She peeked down her stomach, spotting Emizella’s slumbering figure groan before turning and readjusting her position. Even after all that, she was still sound asleep, unbothered and undisturbed. Really, was there any point in keeping her voice down? She supposed not, letting a sigh flow through her lungs and out her nose before her paws moved to relax over her chest.

Crystal stared up towards the stars, her mind too dazed to think straight and her thoughts too heavy to float away. But the heaviest of them all, the one grounded at the back of her eyes like wet sand, was that dream.

The more she called it a dream, the less right it felt to give it such a title. What was that? She tried to remember the little pieces that stirred up her stomach, the parts that riddled her heart with a sense of inadequacy and failure. Who were they talking to?

A soft cry into the night tickled her ear tufts and tuned her into the voice pleading with the trees and rustling leaves. What was it saying? Nothing much, mostly a call out for someone. But who, then?

Crystal rolled onto her feet, lifting herself up with an urgency she didn’t realize she had until it pushed her out of their base to answer that plea.

“Luna! Luna!” the voice begged to the silent stars, teetering on the edge of tears.

The wails stopped for a second when Crystal got closer, the leaves trembling around her every step. It gave the voice the illusion of the one she called answering in turn, only to be disheartened upon seeing the fennekin’s face pop out instead.

“Oh…” The mightyena’s face sunk in sorrow, any form of intimidation lost behind tearful eyes. “I’m sorry, I know it’s late, but I’m looking for my daughter.”

“No need to apologize. You didn't wake me up or anything.” Crystal said, hoping it would provide some amount of reassurance. It didn’t. Crystal didn’t think she even cared if her cries were disturbing the neighborhood. She jumped over the last branch of the bush, stepping closer to her. “You said you were looking for your daughter?”

The mightyena nodded, “My Luna… she was playing with her friend just this afternoon, but she hasn’t come home yet. I’m really worried, I can’t find her anywhere…”

“Luna… Luna and Lilac?”

“Yes!” she answered, her eyes growing more distraught by the second, “I tried asking if she was merely staying the night but even Janice and Damien haven’t seen their little girl. It’s not like them to stay out without letting us know.” A paw raised to her mouth, looking like a pondering gesture for a moment before Crystal spotted the flashes of white digging into it.

“Maybe… maybe they lost track of time,” Crystal offered, but even she felt it to be a subpar excuse for two missing children. “Maybe… they’ll turn up in the morning.”

Honestly, she felt like these words were more to drown out the unsteady feeling in her stomach than to settle the mightyena’s worry but the mother took the excuse. Any form of reassurance that told her that her daughter was okay was reassurance she desperately needed.

“Perhaps… I’m… I’m going to look for a while longer. Please… if you see either of them, tell them to come home.”

“Of course…”

Her heart sunk further watching the mightyena walk away from her, the cries for her child filling the air once more. And, as her figure was swallowed by the shadows of the forest, Crystal felt the failure eat its way further into her mind.

***

Neither Luna nor Lilac came home.

Chapter Text

“Thank you all for coming.”

Elder Pines addressed the gathered village from beneath the sacred tree. At his sides, several others stood away from the crowd. There were Damien and Janice, the former comforting the latter in the best way he knew how within his own grief. There was the mightyena who was searching for her daughter in the woods the night before, her eyes dry and red from her sobs. She’d still be crying now if she had any more tears to shed, but Crystal could imagine she was tapped out.

There was an arcanine that sat at his full height, exuding strength and power—a pillar of protection for the concerned onlookers. And there was the luxray Ezekiel, as stoic as Crystal has ever known him to be, sitting right by that pillar’s side with eyes that sought to preserve its integrity and snuff out the saboteurs.

“As you may all be aware, two of our little ones have gone missing just recently. Damien and Janice’s little skitty, Lilac, and Nova’s little poochyena, Luna. I know this news may concern you, but rest assured, we are taking action to bring them both home as soon as possible. With that being said, our chief of public safety will give further details of our situation. Ace, if you would.”

The arcanine nodded his head, standing to his feet and taking the elder’s place before the sea of fear and uncertainty.

“Thank you, sir. At this current moment in time, we don’t have enough evidence to conclude whether this is a case of two young pokemon getting lost in the forest or if they have been kidnapped by an unknown abductor. However, we will be doing everything in our power to bring them home. As we speak, our sky division is monitoring the air while our patrol team is scouring for any traces of their whereabouts.

“Until they are found, we will be taking measures to assure that no one else goes missing. For the safety of our children, we will be enforcing a strict curfew policy effective immediately. School-age children will be required to be home by sunset. Any children caught past this time must be escorted home immediately. They must remain on the village’s premises at all times. Play, exploration, or travel past the borders is prohibited with no exception. Are they any questions so far?”

“Pst!” a paw reached to break past the crowd, but her arms were too short to peek above the heads of the taller, older villagers. So, she resorted to her whispered calls, “Dad! Dad! Dad, pick me!”

He breathed out a soft sigh. With a plea like that, Crystal could feel that Ace was much too used to the questions that came from this growlithe’s mouth. But he humored her, as she was sure he always did.

“Yes, Ruby?”

Ruby scaled up Scarlet’s back, climbing to where she could be seen and heard despite her mother’s risen brow. “Do we still have to go to school?”

“Yes, Ruby, you still have to go to school.”

That response elicited the first wave of uproars in this entire community meeting, the children’s groans and complaints filling the air with their displeasure.

“Enough!” Ezekiel couldn’t and wouldn’t stand for it for long, his booming voice and terrifying stare startling the children long enough for them to remember where they were and the gravity of what they were talking about.

“Thank you, Ezekiel.” Ace said, receiving a soft huff in return, “Now, as I was saying, you will still need to attend school, however, you will be escorted to and from the school grounds every day until this crisis is resolved. We’ll be relying on everyone to assist with this so please check the community board for your scheduled escort times. Any other questions?”

Tim was the next to raise his hand, “Will our shop suppliers be kept from making their deliveries?”

“They will be permitted to deliver supplies but they must be monitored at all times.” Ace answered. It seemed fair enough and the shop owners seemed satisfied with the decision. “Anyone else?”

The crowd looked around at their gathering, looking along with their chief for any more pressing questions that needed answers, but all hands, paws, wings, and claws remained down.

“Very well. If anything comes up, please feel free to find me. And remember to check the board for the days and times we’ve asked for your help in guaranteeing our children’s safety.” He finished his address with a nod of his head, stepping back to allow Elder Pines back into the spotlight.

“Thank you, Ace. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that we trust you and your men to get the job done. Please follow these guidelines to the letter and we’ll pull through this. May Lady Xerneas smile on us all.”

The crowd began to disperse, concerned mutterings filling the air from parents and child-free folks alike. It wasn’t ruled as either-or, but that didn’t stop them from fearing the worst. Crystal wanted to stay optimistic, wanted to believe in the best-case scenario, however, the vivid visions from her dream wouldn’t let her believe in such false hope. Someone took them and Crystal was unable to see who it was or why they had done it.

“Hey, don’t look so down.” Emizella nudged her gently, “This may be a small village but our safety officers are no joke. They’ll solve this and then it’s back to business as usual.”

Crystal wished she could share in Emizella’s positive outlook. She tried though, cracking a small smile for the riolu, but it didn’t last long, fading away just as quickly as it came. If Emizella saw what she had seen, what would she do? Would she still rely on the officials to find Luna and Lilac or would she take matters into her own hands?

Okay, that was a stupid question. There’s no way Emi would just sit still and do nothing.

There was a tickle at the back of Crystal’s throat. Part of her wanted to tell her about that dream—premonition or whatever it was—but the other part knew it would be a reckless mistake. Say she did tell her and then what? She had no idea where they were and she had no clues to the identity of whoever took them away. They’d be running as blindly as the officers searching high and low out there. It wasn’t the most satisfactory decision but what else was she supposed to do?

“Emi, Crystal, do you have a moment?”

Ace stepped closer to them, giving Crystal a front-row seat to how large and bulking his body was. It would be startling… if she didn’t see the baby vulpix snuggled into his mane atop his head. Does she even have an actual bed?

“Sure, what’s up?” Emizella asked.

“I’d like you both to stay in the village until this is all resolved. I realize you’re both old enough to take care of yourselves but we could use all the extra hands we can get. Plus, investigations will go a lot smoother if we’re not mixing up tracks.”

Emizella thought about it, her arms crossing over her chest while her head mulled over the issue. “We can, but I’m not stepping foot back in my house.”

Is that what tripped her up? Crystal wondered with an incredulous stare. What’s wrong with her house?

“I figured you might say that and have made arrangements that you may find more agreeable. For the time being, we can put you both up in the village inn. All expenses paid, of course.”

Crystal wasn’t sure if her eyes saw it right or if it was a trick of the light, but she could have sworn she saw Emizella’s body flinch at the suggested offering. Her body steeled itself, keeping the visible reaction down to a minimum. “You sure that’s fine?”

“Of course! The public safety division understands the inconvenience of putting you out of your home during our search so we hope that this much will be enough to compensate you for your cooperation.”

It probably wasn’t meant to sound like a bribe but the way Ace worded it definitely sounded like a sweet proposition to Crystal’s ears.

Emizella’s attention shifted to her, “What do you say? Feel like staying in the inn for a while?”

“I’m not really that picky about where I sleep.”

“That’s ‘cuz you haven’t had any of the high-grade good stuff.” she told her with a chuckle before turning back to Ace, “Alright then, I just have to grab a few things first and then you guys can search around there all you want.”

“Excellent! The public safety division greatly appreciates your cooperation and support.” he said with a smile that beamed as strong as his voice, “I’ll leave you to it, then. Have a safe day.”

And with that, he turned to leave, walking back to Scarlet and their double-growlithe-vulpix-triplet set. Their tails started to wag, competing with each other on who could look the most ecstatic to see that their father was done with his business. Well, done enough to offer up some time to play with them.

“Dad, can we get breakfast now?” Ruby asked. Her paws were the first to press against her father’s legs but her brothers were quick to follow the attention-seeking behavior, going as far as to jump in an attempt to climb onto his back.

“Yeah! Let’s go get pancakes!” Garnet, her vulpix brother, added to his siblings’ excitement.

“With sweet moomoo milk and honey!” Jasper finished off the request, licking his lips before the image painted in their minds. Even Crystal’s mouth was beginning to water.

“Okay, okay, just behave yourselves.” Ace conceded, kneeling down so his children didn’t have to struggle so hard to climb on.

“We always do, Dad!” Ruby said, her and her brothers getting themselves situated on their father. She then nudged a gentle paw into her baby sister’s bottom, pushing her higher on the crown of Ace’s head.

His balancing act belonged in a circus, walking shoulder to shoulder with his wife while carrying three children on his back and a baby on his head. Crystal could tell Ace was well versed in the art of meeting the whims of his children.

She couldn’t help staring at the family unit, catching Jasper’s eyes as he leaned his back against his brother. He gave a wave from his laxed position, “See ya around!” he called out amidst his glee. Despite the heavy air, despite her heavy heart, they could still smile in bliss, just happy to spend their time together as a family.

But every silver lining carried a shadow with it and Crystal’s eyes sought out that shadow. She saw them, the parents unlucky enough to know the devastating pain of longing for those carefree times, talking with the elder trevenant along with Ezekiel and a pyroar taking mental notes on everything they were saying. She felt a stinging feeling covering her heart with little pinpricks, the little wounds encouraging her to scratch at the growing itch. But her teeth sunk into her lips, reminding herself not to scratch at it. Reminding herself that, even if she did, there was nothing she could do with such little and, frankly, unreliable information.

They’ll find them, she told herself, they’ll find them… but it tasted like a lie.

***

Despair and heartache spread like a deadly illness in the small village. Despite seeing to it that every child made it to and from the school grounds, a little fomantis disappeared without a trace. Despite monitoring the border with strict vigilance, a small joltik vanished without any warning. They upped their efforts, increased their manpower and tightened their patrol, but children kept going missing. They had to up the severity of the case to serial kidnappings and all young children were required to stay in their homes.

Suspicion grew in this one neighborly village, not towards any named suspect but towards those that swore themselves to protect them.

“Are they really even trying?” Crystal heard one of the villagers mutter under their breath when seeing one of the patrolling officers.

“How much longer do they expect up to sit by and wait?” another growled, disgust dripping like venom.

“My baby girl is scared and crying somewhere and they still haven’t found anything?” It wasn’t even a whisper anymore, just razor-sharp words of accusation pointed directly towards the public safety division and their chief.

But Ace said nothing about it, keeping his head held high while directing the pokemon under him with each new update. Even with faith running thin, he wouldn’t abandon his duty. Crystal wasn’t sure what was more painful to watch, the growing scrutiny within the village or Ace’s worn and tired face that seemed to drag lower every time she saw him.

“Have you found anything yet?” Nova asked the regular question she would pose to the arcanine daily.

His face fell lower, “I’m sorry… We’ve expanded our search radius but nothing has turned up yet.”

“Unbelievable…” an ursaring scoffed, “How much longer are you going to take? Don’t you realize what’s at stake here?”

“Of course we do. We’re doing all we can.” Ace said, his voice pushing itself to remain steady.

“Could have fooled me…”

“And what are you doing? You think standing around and shooting your mouth off is going to bring everyone home any faster?” a linoone shouted to the ursaring, fangs bearing in agitation.

“They’re the ones that swore to protect us! How long do they expect us to wait for any kind of news?”

“We’re out there running ourselves ragged! The least you can do is not badger us with your complaints!” one of the patrol guards shouted out, sounding young, impulsive, and very, very, exhausted.

“My complaints? You think this is as simple as just complaining? I complain when my food comes cold. I complain when someone steps on my toes. But this… I don’t even know if my son is alive or dead and you can’t even tell me that much?!” the ursaring cried, breaking down into sobs.

No one wanted to mention it. No one wanted to think about it, but there it was, the grimmest possibility laid bare for all to see. It hanged in the air, heavy and suffocating, stealing the breath away from anyone and everyone who could hear. The ursaring’s shattered voice broke through the air like crackling static, carrying with it a collective sorrow that broke Crystal’s heart.

“I can’t do anything more than swear to you that I am doing all I can…” Ace said, his voice barely audible. It couldn’t hide the trembling in his throat.

The ursaring’s eyes glared through her tears, staring through the wet, red tint at the arcanine. And she muttered under her breath just loud enough for him to hear, “Whatever helps you sleep at night…”

She left on that last note. Nobody dared get in her way, their eyes downcasted with heavy veils of grief cloaking their eyes. Nova turned her gaze up at him, regarding him silently before turning to leave as well. She didn’t say anything and she didn’t need to. It wasn’t anger or even disappointment that flashed in her eyes. It was just… empty.

Crystal looked up at Ace, his lips pressed firmly together but she could still see the quivers breaking through.

“Ace, are you-”

“C’mon, Crystal. We still have a lot of ground to cover.” He turned away before she could ask—before she could see—if he was all right. She couldn’t call the look of his back cold or distance, but there was definitely something to it that deterred her from trying again.

***

Crystal walked with him back to his house, not wanting to leave him alone after what had happened. He tried urging her back, her workday ending a long time ago, but she insisted she stay. He might not have said anything but this didn’t feel like a time to leave him to deal with the growing demons in his head. At least, Crystal wouldn’t want to be left alone to deal with them by herself. Maybe Ace needed that same kindness.

“Thank you for your time today, Crystal.” he said, turning to look to her once they arrived at his front door. “You should head straight back to the inn. It’s gotten rather late and I wouldn’t want Emizella worrying about where you are.”

“Of course. I just wanted to make sure you got home okay.” Crystal smiled. It was a small relief to see him return the gesture.

“That’s kind of you but-”

“Dad?” the door creaked open and his daughter’s face peered through the crack.

“Ruby…what are you doing still up? You should be in bed.” Ace turned to face her, watching her push the door open wider.

Crystal could see into their family room, catching a glimpse of the pile of sleeping bodies that had tried to wait for him to come home. Scarlet covered their children in a nest of fluff, her tails blanketing the two brothers while their baby nestled herself by her mother’s head. They tried to wait up for him yet Ruby was the only one awake to greet him.

She stared up at her father, her eyes glossy and shimmering. The admiration and adoration for the arcanine did not die and refused to yield no matter what words from outside drifted into her eyes. She moved closer to his leg, rubbing her cheek into him and rolling her head to look into his eyes.

“It’s okay, Dad. I still believe in you.”

Crystal saw his eyes breaking, his iron will helpless against his overflowing tears. It was okay, though. No one here would think any less of him for letting his vulnerability peek through. Not Crystal and certainly not his daughter.

A large paw wrapped around Ruby, hugging her closer while his head hung low against his chest. “Thanks, kiddo…”

“Anytime…” she said with a smile, her tail swaying behind her.

At least in all this turmoil, he still had a safe place in his own home.

***

Crystal felt every pull and drag of her muscles as she made her way back to their shared suite. She could collapse in front of the door and her body would still call it a victory, but she must make it inside. She could use a taste of her own safe place right about now and it lied on the other side of this door.

She pushed her way in, slipping her bag to the floor next to Emizella’s before finding her in their room. “Oh hey,” she greeted, sitting up from her lounging position and placing the book she was reading from her lap to the pillow. She didn’t wait to meet Crystal halfway, jumping out of the bed and stepping closer, “How was your day?”

Crystal didn’t have the energy to restrain herself, letting her face shove itself into Emizella’s chest. Every ounce of body weight she had melted into her fuzzy body, hoping she could vanish away into the familiar scent. She asked for the pets she grew so accustomed to loving with a soft nudge of her head and received it without any complaints.

“Guessing it was rough, huh?” she asked, her voice warm and soft against her ears.

Crystal only hummed, buzzing against Emizella’s body without bothering to move her head.

“Well, how about we hit the baths? At this hour, it’ll probably be empty so we can have the place all to ourselves.”

Crystal didn’t have to think about it. She didn’t even pretend to think about it. She just pushed her head to the side and freely let the words flow out. “A bath sounds really good right now…”

“Right? Let’s get down there before they lock it up.” she said, wrapping an arm around her stomach and lifting her off the ground.

Crystal couldn’t deny that it was a smart move on Emizella’s part. There was no way they would have made it in time if they left it up to Crystal’s paws to carry her all the way downstairs to where the public baths were kept. She just hung like a loose doll with each step, feeling the bobs of her body trickle down from her head to her toes.

Shouldn’t she be feeling less dignified being carried like this? But her body was small and light and Emizella didn’t seem to care much so why should she? Besides, it wasn’t like anyone was around to judge her on it so why not enjoy the ride for as long as it lasted. It wouldn’t last forever, anyway so she’ll savor it while she still could.

Now, Crystal liked baths. She didn’t think she could in this life but they were just as calming and relaxing as the few pieces from her far off days remembered. She melted away in the hot bathwater, the subtle sweet smells of candied fruits and honeyed flowers wafting into her nose. She took in a deep breath of it, letting it swim in her head before sighing deeper into its shallow depths.

The water splashed around Emizella’s body when she stretched her arms high above her head, soft pops coming from her spine as she tried reaching for the ceiling. “It feels so good to freshen up at the end of the day. We can cook ourselves for as long as we want without any worries.”

“Mm-hm,” Crystal hummed, feeling the tickling bubbles brush against her fur.

She really did love baths but she hated how short-lived this moment of bliss truly was. Just on the other side of the steam and the fog was their reality. It was nothing like this dreamy place. It didn’t come with sweet scents and it didn’t care how she felt about that. It must have flickered across her eyes, the brief glimpse into what lied at the other side of that door.

Emizella moved closer, staring towards the same wall with little glances peeking through the corner of her eyes at the fennekin. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, her breath skating across the water’s surface.

“About what?” Crystal asked back, although it was more of a reflex than an actual question. Feigning ignorance was pretty much useless at this point.

“About what’s eating you up inside. My offer still stands, you know. I don’t care if it’s mundane or completely bonkers crazy, I still want you to be able to tell me whatever it is you need to get out. Unload it all onto me, I can take it.” she said with a grin, pointing a digit towards herself with a clear “dump your baggage here” kind of air about her.

“I…” Her words caught themselves in her throat, an inability to complete the thought overtaking her chest and putting a hold on her breath to keep her from continuing. She released the short pause, letting a long exhale blow out and relax her chin over the public tub’s edge. “Promise me you won’t think any less of me?”

“Of course.”

Her eyes flashed towards the riolu before going off to stare back into the steam, “I don’t think what we’re doing is going to get us any closer to finding the missing children, but I don’t think it’s because we’re not trying hard enough. I truly believe that everyone is doing their best with what they can do. Ace, Jesse, Ezekiel… everyone’s truly doing everything in their power to find them, but I don’t think they’ll be able to find them like this.” She stopped for a second, gathering up her thoughts and rearranging them into a clear message. “Whoever took the children… I don’t think they’ll be found if they don’t want to be. I mean, they’re only targeting the youngest villagers yet not a single parent has seen them. It makes me think that… if we want to find them, we’ll have to make them find us instead.”

“How do you suppose we do that?”

Crystal shook her head slowly, “I don’t like the answer… and I know Ace wouldn’t like it either.” her eyes turned up to Emizella’s, “You know what I’m talking about, right?”

She watched her for a second before the crimson in her eyes took on a tone that mixed with the light of enlightenment and the shadows of apprehension. “Live bait?”

Crystal nodded.

“That can’t be our only option… but everything else makes sense.” Emizella muttered, her brows shaping a focused look into her eyes. “Let’s talk to Ace about it tomorrow. We’ll come up with a plan together and go from there.” she suggested with a firm nod of her head.

Crystal gave an affirmative hum, her head feeling just a little bit better after giving a voice to her circling thoughts. Sure, things were still uncertain, but she felt lighter and maybe just a bit more hopeful that everything can and will go back to normal.

***

Edging into the early morning, where the sky was just growing a little brighter and the dew was just starting to settle, Crystal could hear the shouts of desperation and panic creeping into her sleep and waking her to Scarlet’s voice. The grogginess of her brain made it hard to hear, but she thought she heard her shouting out two names: Ruby and Garnet.

Ruby.

Garnet.

Ruby.

Garnet.

Over, and over, and over…

Chapter Text

In the early waking hours of the day, flying within the brisk morning air, a colony of bubbles would blow down the streets, carrying with them a gentle melody. Their silver lights glittered as they rose higher and higher into the endless sky. And when the villagers would see these bubbles and hear their song, they would know all is well for Xerneas has heard their prayers.

On this morning, those bubbles did not fly. They did not meet the villagers at their windows and doors because graver matters required their full attention. Their songstress could not spare a single, precious bubble towards their average route. She could not let them scatter and fly free for she needed their aid in her group service, a special gathering of the village to pool together the last bits of hope left in this trying time.

“Even now in our uncertainty,” Lillian continued on, “Lady Xerneas still smiles upon us. Her grace has not dimmed. Her light: unwithered. Her crystal shines bright with her ethereal radiance and so too must our hearts.”

Her voice sounded like a merciful melody, healing and kind. It carried with it her deeply held beliefs and passion that could not be wavered or broken. If Ace was to be their pillar of strength, then Lillian was their pillar of faith. A bridge between Xerneas’s unearthly grace and this mortal plane. A medium for the Mother of Life’s tender embrace.

“Let us take this moment and pray. Pray for the pokemon on the front lines giving their blood, sweat and tears to bringing our loved ones home. Pray for the little ones; that they may still believe they’ll see their families again. And, if you have it in your hearts, pray for the one that started this all. Pray for them, for they are lost. Pray for them, for they are scared. Pray for them, for they, too, carry a light of Xerneas within their soul.”

The crowd took on a serene silence where not even a sniffle or a cough broke through. Their eyes closed, deeply immersed in their thoughts and wishes but they dared not utter them less they break their spell. From the earth beneath their feet, little bubbles as gentle and light as fireflies sprouted free from the grass and dirt. They rose up, tickling the ears of the villagers and hanging in the air just above their heads.

Although Crystal knew they were Lillian’s doing, she couldn’t see them as showy tricks to liven her sermon. They were more sacred than simple smoke and mirrors. They floated on hope and shimmered with faith, leaving her chest fluffy and airy at the very sight of them.

“Please, look upon Xerneas’s tree as I send her your prayers.” Lillian asked of the crowd, her flippers turning her body to face their great Tree of Being.

She stood upright on her tail fin, balancing with practiced steadiness as she pressed her flippers together. A soft inhale and she began to sing. Crystal couldn’t say she knew the language being sung. Perhaps it was a tongue only known to Xerneas and her priests and priestesses, but it was beautiful all the same.

Her bubbles glowed bright, excitement glittering off their glossy surface. They could not contain themselves, wanting to dance in Lillian’s melodic air. Off they went to join her, bouncing and swaying in the breeze. Who knew bubbles could know joy from the smallest of places?

Lillian held one in her flippers, looking upon the little prayer with loving affection. A soft smile turned up her lips in her song, the gesture dancing in her eyes. She helped it on its way, raising it up to its floating brethren.

The bubbles formed a line, spiraling around the tree. They climbed higher and higher, moving with the priestess’s crescendoing voice. And as their glow radiated brighter against the bark, a subtle glow from the tree shined back. A cerulean glow that seeped from the groves and crawled up to its branches.

Crystal felt her heart skip a beat, her breath catching in her throat and her lungs paying a moment of silence to the ethereal sign. This wasn’t Lillian’s doing, was it? She may have called it, but it was the tree answering to her voice.

No, not quite the tree.

From its base, Crystal could see where the glow shined the brightest, where its light flickered groggily in the hollow cavity that housed the sacred artifact. Xerneas… Xerneas was really listening.

The bubbles popped in its canopy, sprinkling their wishes onto its highest peak and the song died back into silence. Lillian lowered her arms with a breathless exhale, looking upon Xerneas’s glow before she faded back into her slumber.

She gave a gentle nod and turned slowly back to the crowd. “Lady Xerneas has heard us. She has heard our voice and assures us that we’ll be fine. We’ll make it through this, all of us. Just a bit longer, we just have to hold out just a bit longer.”

Perhaps it was because it came from Lillian, perhaps it was because it was a message from Xerneas, but the village received her words with cries of gratitude, shouting their blessings and praises to their goddess. She even saw the ursaring, once maddened with uncertainty and grief just the other day, weep silently while muttering a mantra of thank yous under her breath.

Crystal’s eyes moved back to Lillian as she made her way off her stage. She watched her shuffling herself out of sight, her movements slow and stiff. She wondered if she was okay and, before the thought could finish running across her consciousness, she was already squeezing her way through the crowd.

She repeated her ‘cuse mes and pardons until she broke out from the thicket of bodies. Her mind pulled back into focus, following Lillian’s trail back behind the tree.

“This is why I told you not to push yourself.”

Her ears flickered at the sound of Jezebel’s voice, turning towards the source and following with her eyes.

“You can hardly stand. What were you thinking pulling a stunt like that?”

Lillian chuckled, her voice faint and soft, “It’s not that bad. You make it sound like I’m dying.”

“Lily?” Crystal looked to the two, catching Lillian’s body leaning over Jezebel’s back, lacking the energy to support herself.

“Oh dear,” Lillian said but didn’t sound too alarmed by Crystal’s presence, “you weren’t supposed to see me like this.”

“Are you okay?” Crystal asked.

“I’ll be fine after resting for a bit.” she assured her, tapping Jezebel’s shoulder to have the torracat lower her down.

Jezebel moved carefully, gently setting her on the grass before taking a seat beside her. Just because the brionne was no longer hanging on her back didn’t mean her aid was done. Even while sitting on the solid earth, she still allowed Lillian to lean against her side.

“Calling for Xerneas like that just takes a lot out of a body like mine.” Lillian continued, smiling contently as if there was no helping her helpless state.

Jezebel chewed away at her lip, biting her tongue on what Crystal could only assume were more words of chastisement. But she swallowed them down, no doubt seeing them as nothing but a wasted effort. Still, her tail tapped away, her unease funneling down to its tip and beating the earth steadily.

Lillian pressed a flipper to the feline’s head, idly petting at the stripe between her ears. “But that’s what I got Jesse for. She’ll make sure I’m fine so no need to worry your cute little head over me.”

Jezebel didn’t say anything but what more was needed to be said, really. There was nothing else to it than that, the brionne hitting it right on the nose. Although, even though Crystal was sure this was already a well-established fact of life between the two of them, she did manage to spot a happy little rosy blush playing games with Crystal’s eyes. Was it there? Was it just the shadows playing tricks? And was that a purr rumbling in her throat. Crystal couldn’t know for sure and Jezebel certainly wasn’t going to look at her to either confirm or deny the sight.

Better leave it as a “mystery.” Crystal breathed a soft smile onto her lips. “Guess I’ll leave the worrying to Jezebel, then.”

“Hey! Don’t put it all on me.” Jezebel said, turning to Crystal quickly.

Got’cha, Crystal held in a chuckle, rolling her eyes to look away from the torracat’s scowl.

Lillian did not share that same restraint, letting her giggles bubble up and out to where Jezebel could hear her soft, giddy voice. But her giddiness did not last long, something popping behind her eyes and sobering her mind. “I’d be more worried about Ace than me right about now…”

Crystal’s heart sank, feeling it drop into her stomach like a heavy stone. “Is her still out there?” she asked, the question flowing out slow and hesitant.

“Searching like a madman…” Jezebel answered with a short sigh, “I mean, I get it but what does he expect to find searching in a frenzy? He should have just taken it as a sign to stay home. Arceus knows he’s been running himself completely ragged.

“That… might be for the best…” Lillian admitted, hiding her words behind a murmuring whisper, “Zeke could take over for him in the meantime, but running around out there like that can’t be good for him…”

Crystal’s eyes lowered, “This is all my fault…” The words slipped free from her thoughts.

“What is?” Lillian tried asking but Crystal quickly left, running away before her loose lips could let anymore fly from her head.

If only she had said something sooner, if only she had noticed faster, she wouldn’t feel as cornered as she did now.

***

“It’s not your fault, Crystal.” Emizella tried comforting her, “How were you supposed to know it’d be Ruby and Garnet next?” but it was going in one ear and out the other.

“I wasn’t, but that’s why I had to say something sooner. Instead… I kept second-guessing myself… We could have gotten somewhere by now if I hadn’t-”

“Hey,” she stopped Crystal’s train of thought, stepping in front of her and halting their midnight patrol. “It’s. Not. Your. Fault.”

“But-”

A digit pressed to her mouth, stopping her again. “You think this is something you can take all the blame for? So you didn’t say anything, neither did anyone else. There’s more than enough blame to go around, I can take some fault too, but don’t think you can hog it all for yourself.”

Crystal stayed silent, feeling everything in her brain being scared stiff under Emizella’s scolding glare. She didn’t think she was capable of making the riolu angry with her. Or, perhaps, frustrated was a better word for it.

Emizella moved her hand away, “You’re supposed to learn from your mistakes, not let them weigh you down. My partner is better than that.”

“I’m sorry…” Crystal muttered.

“Don’t apologize with your words, apologize with action.”

Crystal’s lips opened but she held onto the words that rose on her breath. No more apologies, she reminded herself before she could make the same mistake again, just do better. She gave an affirmative nod of her head, strong and firmly set to overwrite her blunders.

The stern look on Emizella’s face melted into an encouraging smile, “Good. Then let’s-”

Her attention shifted to the nearby bushes, the feelers on her head standing slightly and Crystal understood why as she stared into the same shrubbery patch. That wasn’t the wind rustling those leaves; there was someone sneaking around in there. She couldn’t tell the level of how bad it was, whether it was an intruder of a runaway, but it wasn’t getting away.

They gave a silent glance to each other. Move slow, their eyes spelled out in the air between them. They crept carefully, Crystal’s stomach feeling tickled by the grass while Emizella tip-toed over every little twig and pebble in her path. Whoever it was hiding away in the bushes were in for a surprise, the two girls pouncing through the leaves and tackling down their unsuspecting target.

“Alright, alright! I give, just get off of me.” their captive whined within the commotion.

Crystal recognized the voice—a good sign that it wasn’t an intruder—and Emizella recognized the face.

“Jasper?!” Runaway it is. “What are you doing out here?”

Jasper stilled, his eyes turning away with a nervous twitch. “Oh, you know. Just hanging around…” he answered with a subtle squeak inching into his voice.

“‘Hanging around’?” Emizella repeated, a skeptical brow raising at the lackluster excuse.

“Yeah, have you tried it? It’s really relaxing. Good for the soul, you know?”

Emizella stared for a moment longer, contemplating something behind those narrowed, suspecting eyes. They closed in a grin, cheerful deception dripping from the smile on her lips. “Oh yeah, I think I’ve heard that too. Really good stuff. But you know what’s even better?” Oh, here it comes. “Sleeping, which I think you should be doing.” her voice dipped, the corners of her lips dropping and the façade fading away.

“You don’t understand!” Jasper exclaimed, his legs kicking and clawing into the dirt. Futile scrapings as he didn’t budge an inch from under their bodies.

“No, you don’t understand! What are you even doing out here? First it’s Ruby and Garnet and now you want to be next?” Emizella growled behind gritted teeth, her hold tightening over his shoulders.

“No, but-”

“How would your parents feel if you went missing too? I don’t think they could handle that.” Crystal told him with a slow shake of her head. Despite the firmness of Emizella’s tone, she elected to use a softer, gentler approach. They both didn’t need to speak harshly, he seemed old enough to make do with one.

“I know, but-”

“No buts. We’re taking you home right now.” Emizella declared, moving to let the growlithe up but only on her terms.

“Can’t you just wait a second?”

“Wait for what? This isn’t a game, Jasper. We can’t afford to take this lightly anymore.”

His growls rumbled louder, shaking the air until he had enough. His teeth sunk into the back of Emizella’s hand, snarling as the scissor-sharp fangs locked onto her and made their message clear.

“Ow! Did you just bite me?”

“Because you’re not listening to me! I have to find Ruby and Garnet myself and I… I’ll bite you again if you try to get in my way.” He tried to sound ferocious, adding a snarl to back up his raised hackles, but his eyes looked more desperate than anything else. Shoved into a corner and left with no other options. It was fight or flight and he was preparing to fight.

A grumble sounded in Emizella’s throat but a gentle paw on her shoulder asked that she bite back the words flavoring her tongue.

“Emi… let’s listen to what he has to say.” Crystal said softly, eyes beckoning her friend to accept the suggestion.

“You know what Ace said.” Emizella whispered back.

“We’re watching him. We can spare a minute, can’t we?”

They both eyed the young growlithe, his puzzlement slowly morphing the aggression pressed forcefully on his face into befuddlement and intrigue. The riolu eyed him for a second longer before sighing, unlatching her grip and letting him go.

“Alright, but only a minute.”

With his unasked question answered, Jasper’s tension eased off his body, shaking off its remnants before adjusting into a comfortable seated position. He tried looking back to the two letting him off easy, trying to fish for the motivation that pushed him to come this far, but the guilt and unbearable shame coming over his eyes seemed a lot harder for him to deal with than biting and growling at his fellow villager.

He couldn’t look them in the eyes as he explained his late-night outing. “It was supposed to be all three of us. Ruby, Garnet and me, we were going to find something to help dad and the others close this case. Ruby thought there was something we could do that the adults couldn’t and it sounded right. Only little kids were going missing so maybe only little kids could get close enough to find any clues.”

So they were thinking the same thing…

“We couldn’t have just one of us go, but if we looked out for each other, then we thought we wouldn’t fall for any tricks or traps. That’s… what we thought anyway. So, when mom and dad were asleep, we tried to leave, but then Rose wanted to come with us. We couldn’t take a baby with us.” he said, speaking as if that was the craziest part of the triplet’s scheme. Honestly, the whole thing sounded ludicrously dangerous even if they were the eldest in their household. “So, I stayed behind to make sure she was safe. Ruby said they’d be back by morning before anyone knew they were gone. But…” His tears began to flow, sliding down his cheeks in relentless waterfalls of sorrow and regret. “I should have stopped her…” he sobbed, “I should have stopped them both. I didn’t know that… I…” his words fumbled, crashing out in fragments and incomplete jumbles.

The pungent taste of lies; Crystal recognized the feeling.

“We just wanted everyone to believe in Dad again… We just wanted to help…”

His cries echoed in Crystal’s head, a large bell dinging away in there and sending out its vibrations down her legs and into the tip of her tail. It shouldn’t have been brought to this, where the youth sought to fix the errors of their world, but here Jasper was, crying at the futility of their attempt; sobbing at the mistake of believing they could make a difference. Yet, despite the misgivings born from the past, here he was, out and trying again. Crystal really didn’t want to stamp this out. To let it end with just taking him home seemed like a waste of his bravery. A shame, really.

“Okay, minute’s up.” Emizella broke through the sniffles and sobs, startling Jasper enough to turn up his head. Crystal couldn’t contain her startlement either, her head turning quickly on her shoulders.

She studied her face, her crimson irises cooled but her arms tensed as they crossed over her chest. She had been patient, holding off on the commentary and her criticisms for his promised minute. But now the limit of her self-restraint was up and she was free to speak her mind.

“First off, I don’t see what you think you’re going to accomplish going off on your own. At least Ruby and Garnet had each other, but what about you? Were you going to take on the kidnapper by yourself? Or were you going to pull off a daring rescue like in books?”

Oh, she was holding back hard, Crystal cringed, feeling the biting sting of Emizella’s words and they weren’t even for her. Sure, she was right but maybe she could have said it more… gently, maybe?

“I… I don’t-” Jasper muttered through weak lips but bit them when Emizella held a hand up.

“I’m not finished.” she told him, “It’s my turn, so let me finish. You are aware that if your plan had failed, not only would everyone lose all hope in your dad but both your mom and dad would be completely crushed. I’m talking about broken beyond repair. They’ll never come back from it.” A deep, heavy sigh rolled out from her chest, easing her back down from her rant. “I’d say the only good part of your plan is that your heart is in the right place, but you can’t go at it alone. That’s why I’m going to have to come with you.”

Jasper’s jaw hung open, trying to find something to say but, with Emizella’s final call, he forgot how words work. But Crystal kept her surprise down to a minimum. She shouldn’t even feel a little bit surprised. She knew Emizella wouldn’t sit around when she could do something more—of course she knew—but at the first chance of action? Crystal had to wonder if she had been biding her time waiting for such a chance behind behaving with the public safety official’s rules and regulations established at this time. But what a way to turn the tables on the poor growlithe. His lips were still fumbling from the shock.

“Okay, now I’m done. Your turn, Crystal.” Emizella’s sudden torch toss left Crystal the next one to stumble with her own answer.

“Wha- Me too?” Crystal asked.

Emizella was kind of joking but really kind of not. There were three pokemon here. Jasper had his turn. Emizella had hers. Now Crystal had to give voice to her own thoughts too. This was too reckless of an idea not to say anything about it.

“Yeah. Now’s your chance to talk us out of it. You’re smart, right? You know how stupid dangerous this is, right? So c’mon, give it to us.”

“You’ve already given plenty…” Crystal muttered under her breath. She gave a soft sigh, looking between the two of them, “Even if I tried to talk either of you out of it, there’s no way you’re actually going to budge, is there?”

“I’d really rather not…” Jasper gave his answer.

“No, not really.” And Emizella gave hers.

“Right then. So my real options are to either come with you or tell someone else to try to stop the two of you. And you know I’m not going to tell, don’t you, Emi?”

Emizella just smiled, letting the grin on her lips speak volumes without a single uttered sound.

“Right… You know, you could have just said you wanted to help instead of scaring the poor kid.”

“But where’s the fun in that. Besides, Jasper deserved at least a little bit of a verbal licking for trying to sneak off by himself in the first place. And for biting me.” she raised an eyebrow at that, looking towards Jasper and waiting for the apology she never did receive.

“Oh, um, sorry about that.” he said, getting it out of the way quickly so he could address what had come to mind after the shock that left him speechless, “But are you guys really sure about coming along? You’d be breaking the rules too.”

“We don’t really have a lot of options now, do we?” Crystal asked with a slight tilt of her head.

“Plus, we’re going to be adventurers too. If there’s something we can do, then we can’t just turn the other way.” Emizella added with a firm nod of her head.

Crystal nodded her head in agreement, sharing the sentiment as Emizella’s partner and adventurer in training. She didn’t think they’d go along with the idea of using one of the children to lure their kidnapper out of hiding, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And with this being their one and only shot, these were definitely desperate times.

Jasper only had one thing to say to the two girls. With remnants of tears lingering in his eyes and a smile quivering across his lips, he muttered the familiar phrase that Crystal recognized all too well.

“Thank you…”

Chapter Text

No part of this operation was going to be easy. Not a single step of it. If they were legit adventurers with an approved battle strategy, they wouldn’t need to sneak past the patrolling officers through the bundles of bushes like thieves. A clear sign that they would be given a massive lecture once all of this was done and over with.

Crystal was not looking forward to it. Ace would ask what they were thinking. Scarlet would ask how they could do this under their noses. Jezebel, Lillian… Ezekiel. Ooh, Ezekiel might actually be the worst, she thought with a shiver. She imagined those eyes glaring through her soul and instantly regretted putting that vision into her head. That kind of burn would not be pleasant at all.

Emizella held up a hand but Crystal was too late catching the signal, lightly bumping into her back. Jasper continued into her rump, smooshing into her tail with a soft “oof” before peeking past. Crystal did the same, looking past Emizella’s shoulder to see the reason for her sudden halt. A justifiable reason that made her stomach sink as Scarlet slinked past their hiding spot.

Jasper crept up to take a better look, curiosity asking what his mother was doing up so late. She walked on into a small, open office space—the public safety officers’ station—but Crystal didn’t suspect that she was slinking her tails over the doorway to report Jasper missing. They weren’t lively enough to hint that she was even aware that Jasper was no longer in his bed. Actually, they didn’t seem lively at all. They dragged over the wooden archway of the structure limply, the tiniest effort used to see her world and guide her to the pokemon she was truly looking for.

“Darling?” Scarlet whispered for her husband, a tail stroking along his stripped back.

“I’m here, Scarlet.” he confirmed although he didn’t reach to touch her. His paws were too busy shifting across the table in front of him, flipping through every piece of evidence he had at his disposal, no doubt.

“Are you coming home soon?” her voice got an inch louder, but it didn’t sound any less exhausted in her attempt to break through her husband’s concentration.

“What? Oh, yes… Yes, just… give me a couple more minutes.” Ace answered, hardly present in his own response.

Scarlet’s muscles drooped and sagged, ears dulling into a sullen shape while her tails dropped to the earth lifelessly. Only one of them moved from the bundle of furry appendages, placing itself onto the table and interrupting Ace’s workflow.

Ace stopped for a moment, letting out a tired sigh. “Scarlet, please. I’ll be home in a bit so just go back without me.” Her tail didn’t move from its place. “I just need a bit more time. There must have been something I missed. Something I’m not seeing.”

“Ace… You’re tired… Please, just come home with me.”

“I can’t do that.” he said, pushing the tail out of his way.

“You’re only hurting yourself going on like this. This isn’t healthy, Ace, and I won’t let you stay in this place a moment longer.” Scarlet moved the tail back, lightly coiling it around his wrist.

“You don’t know that…” he said behind gritted fangs.

“Yes, I do. Your mind is stressed. Your body is strained. What do you expect to do when your body can hardly keep up?”

“What do you want me to do then, huh?!” he shouted, frustration infesting his tone and forcing its way out. “You want me to sleep while all those children are out there?! While our children are out there?!”

“Ace…”

“Dammit, Scarlet, why can’t you see that I need to do this? I don’t have time to rest when Ruby and Garnet could be-”

He stopped, realization hitting him like a bucket of ice-cold water. He was left stunned under the unbearable weight of his wife’s sobs, tears flowing as freely as the streams and creeks.

“No,” he whispered, that cold water chilling his head enough to let his senses steer his actions away from his impulsiveness. “No, no, no. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.” he shushed, moving away from the table to wrap an arm around the ninetales and pull her close. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He pressed soft kiss after soft kiss into the side of her face, manic in his comfort.

Jasper tried to join, visibly distraught in watching the scene play out before his eyes, but Emizella held out her arm to stop him from getting any closer. Crystal was sure it wasn’t a scene any child wanted to see, nor any parent wanted to show. The guise of parental restraint and control was washed away in this one emotional outbreak, their brave faces melting away into helplessness. It showed what they truly were inside: mortal beings full of flaws and vulnerabilities.

“I’m an idiot, babe. I’m a real idiot.” he whispered. “I’m so mad at myself that I took it out on you. I didn’t mean it, babe, I didn’t, so please don’t cry.” His gaze turned upward to the stars, staring and hoping for something behind those exhausted eyes. “If I had done more… if I was a better leader, a better pokemon… then Ruby and Garnet wouldn’t have been taken… I’m such a useless idiot. I really am no different from the weak, stupid growlithe I was back then…”

“Don’t say that…” Scarlet sobbed, “Don’t… You’re a good pokemon, so don’t say things like that.”

“Mom’s right…” Jasper mouthed the words, barely speaking the whisper, “It’s not your fault, Dad, it’s not…” How he wished he could have said it loud enough for them to hear.

“Come home… please?” Scarlet begged.

“… okay.” Ace nodded, giving one more kiss to her forehead before turning to blow out the light of the station.

He rubbed his shoulder to hers, a tender signal to follow his lead. They stepped together, matching their paces to one another’s as they walked past the trio’s hiding space once more.

Crystal was surprised that they had gone undetected, but she supposed that emotional episodes like that do tend to dull the senses. Had they not been so grief-stricken, would they have been able to get past them? Crystal felt a guilty bubble pop in her stomach at the thought of taking advantage of this to sneak out of the village but she could only afford one. The ends justify the means, after all.

***

The trio managed to make it out of the village perimeter without further incident. Luckily for them, Ezekiel’s focus was on the western end of the village border, keeping those sharp, piercing eyes off of them while they made their escape.

“So, what is the plan, exactly?” Crystal asked, stopping under the dense shadows of the trees to look at the two. “We only have one chance at this so we shouldn’t be winging it here.”

“Well, first we’ll have to get whoever it is taking everyone to come out. I’m sure they won’t show if they see us so we’ll have to keep a bit of distance.” Emizella said, her lips pursed into a line of contemplation. “If I concentrate, I’ll be able to lock onto your presence without needing to see you. Crystal, you’ll have to be my eyes and ears while we trail behind.”

“Then, should I just wander around until I find them? Or… ‘til they find me, I guess.” Jasper asked.

Emizella shrugged, “Best we got. I’m sure they’ll come out eventually if they see you’re alone.”

“Right…” he muttered, turning towards the darkened forest where the nighttime air hung heavily over the trees.

He swallowed down something. His nerves, Crystal took it. With a true unknown hiding behind any one of these shadows, the midnight forest took on an eerie tone that changed the familiar setting into a haunting stranger.

She could see the trail of the chill going down his spine, fur standing along his backside and adding a textured stripe to his already patterned coat. It wasn’t like he was backing out, but he had a right to be scared, right? It wasn’t anything strange to feel at least a little frightened. In fact, the weird ones would be whoever could look at their role of live bait and not feel the least bit affected about being the lure.

Crystal pressed a paw to him, feeling him jolt up at the sudden touch. For a moment, she considered reeling her arm back, but it stayed when she saw his eyes looking back at her. She committed to it. “Don’t worry, we’ll be watching you every step of the way.” she told him, hoping her first attempt at consoling a worrying heart sounded convincing enough to be comforting. The dim glow of the new moon wasn’t the most ideal light to catch the growlithe’s response, but a gentle nod of his head was enough for her.

“Alright, you walk on forward and I’ll focus onto you. Try to act casual.” Emizella said, point a digit into the distance with a hand sharing a space beside Crystal’s paw.

“Casual.” Jasper repeated, “…casual…” he echoed a bit softer. His head bobbed up and down, charging himself up for probably the stupidest, most reckless thing he’d ever do in his young, growlithe life. “I swear, I’m gunna be a librarian when I get older…” he muttered in passing, letting his legs shake and tremble with his first few hesitant steps. He kept the momentum going, one step after the other until he was swallowed by the midnight shadows.

“Okay, our turn.” Emizella pressed a hand to Crystal’s head, “Don’t let me run into anything.”

“I’ll give it my best shot.” It was going to be her first time as a seeing-eye fennekin; she made no guarantees that she would do a flawless job.

Emizella hummed, “Close enough,” she concluded, closing her eyes and starting her focus.

Her appendages rose and trembled, the golden bands shaking against the fur and glimmering ever so gently. Crystal could imagine the world disappearing in her mind, diluting into a single shade of monotone grey to leave only one perceivable presence in her mind’s eye. She followed it like a beacon, wanting to keep to a beeline but Crystal swayed her body to follow a path.

Their shoulders brushed past the trees, sticky branches and clingy thorns raking across their fur. Crystal had to remind herself more than once that the fingers running along her legs meant her no harm. There was nothing to be scared of now… nothing to be scared of…

“There,” Emizella’s voice forced Crystal to catch her yelp in mid-transit through her throat. She felt the jolt lodge itself in her airway before she swallowed it and her scream down. Emizella opened her eyes, focusing in on the lingering memory held tightly into her vision. “Jasper just intercepted something. We’re going to have to close the gap between us and fast.” she told Crystal.

“Right.” Crystal nodded, “You lead the way. I’ll keep up behind.”

It was quicker than having Emizella be encumbered by her added weight. Besides, she was confident enough that her legs would be able to keep up with hers. That her eyes could look through the darkened night well enough to keep her in her sights. That her ears were sharp enough to follow her woodland sprint. In short, she was fully capable of running with the riolu without falling behind and Emizella wasn’t going to stomp on her willingness to try. 

She gave a quick nod of her head, “This way, then.” she said before running forward with the wind on her tail.

Crystal followed behind, quick on her heels as they raced past the trees while keeping to the soft padding of the grass. She followed Emizella’s imprints sunken into the green blades, trusting their path as their quietest route.

Fast as the storm but silent as a breeze.

Don’t let them get away; don’t let them know we’re coming.

She repeated the spell in her head with each pound of her head, feeling the warmth of her blood running under her skin. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, whispering promises of power into her head. Was it bad to listen to its voice? Was it unwise? With all things considered, yes, but it did feel good to know that even she had a little voice in her head daring her to be reckless.

A soft, lavender glow broke the dark spectrum, a jarring sight to say the least but it also gave Crystal a haunting chill that stilled her body and warned her of her all too apparent mortality. And the source of that light, the little body producing that glow atop its head, gave her a sense of déjà vu that both scared and intrigued her. It was strange, how could she have any sense of playing out this scene when this was her first time seeing a litwick in this world.

“You’re so far from your bed, my dear… are you perhaps lost?” the litwick asked, illuminating the space between her and Jasper who stared motionlessly—eyes mesmerized but body on edge.

“N-No,” he stammered, “No, I’m not lost. I’m… I’m looking for my siblings.”

“Siblings?” she echoed, her voice like the whisper someone thinks they hear riding the winds.

“Yeah, my brother and sister. One’s a growlithe like me and the other’s a vulpix.”

The litwick thought for a moment, her little arms tapping against her waxy lips. “I think…” she started her gentle musing, “I think I have seen such a pair wandering around here.”

“You have?”

Of course she has.

“Yes, yes, I do believe so indeed. Wandering around so late into the night…just like you, my dear.” She turned her eyes up to him, a kindly smile spreading across her warm face, “I told them that the woods aren’t as safe as they seemed to believe. I told them that it’s hard to see where the moon’s light cannot reach. But they insisted that they had to help their dear father find something that could redeem his name. Such good children you have for a brother and sister.”

“I guess…” his voice trailed, gaze shifting away from the litwick whose eyes bade for his attention. He lingered on the bushes, picking through the shadows of the leaves and branches to spot the pair ready to follow him deeper.

“But it’s no good to make you worry. No, it’s no good at all. And now here you are, out in the woods at such an atrocious hour. The cycle never ends, does it, my dear?” she asked, hanging her head with a sigh. She peeked a glance back to Jasper, “You’re worried about them, right? But I assure you they’re safe. I’ve led them somewhere where the shadows can’t get to them. I can take you too... if you’d like.”

“My… My mom and dad… they’ve always told us not to follow strangers…” Jasper said, not making it too easy less she caught onto his true intentions.

The litwick smiled again, “And right they are. Such a smart growlithe. We can’t be following strangers into unknown places. But I’m no stranger, I’m a friend. Here, I’ll even give you my name.” She pressed a hand herself, the gentle look never leaving her face, “It’s Susie.”

“Susie?” Jasper parroted.

“Exactly! And I make sure all of my friends are safe. Every single, last one of them. Even your brother and sister. Because friends are precious. You can be my friend too, if you’ll give me your name.”

Crystal shook her head, hoping she had developed telepathy in the past few minutes that they had been out here. Don’t do it, she repeated in her head, don’t do it. She didn’t know what the litwick could gain by learning his name but she didn’t want to chance it. There was a bad feeling in giving her that sort of power, a bad feeling she just could not shake.

“I don’t know…” Jasper muttered his hesitance, adding a saddened drop to Susie’s face.

“You don’t trust me?” she asked, staring up at Jasper for a second longer than he felt comfortable with. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t, would you? Such dangerous times these are, my dear, dangerous times indeed.” she mused, “Oh, why don’t I show you I mean no harm? It’s better than trusting my word, isn’t it? You’ll feel better once you see that I mean no harm.”

“I, um…” Jasper’s eyes drifted back to the bushes, catching Emizella’s signals in the corner of his eyes. A thumbs up to say they were good to follow and a couple of back-handed swings into the air in front of her to tell him to move forward with their next phase. “…okay,” he nodded to the litwick, an attempt at a smile coming onto his lips with a slight apprehensive twitch.

“Lovely. Then, if you’ll please follow me.” Susie threw an arm behind her, gesturing to the veil of fog settling in with a soft, otherworldly glow coloring the mist. “Don’t fall behind, now.” she warned him as she began walking into the clouded light, “I wouldn’t want you actually getting lost.”

Jasper had no other option but to follow. Well, no other option he was willing to accept and he certainly wasn’t turning back after coming so far. He turned one last time to the bushes, catching the two pokemon that promised him his safety—the two that promised to take him home by the night’s end. His eyes pleaded with them, begged them to keep their word. They wouldn’t let him down. They can’t let him down.

He walked into Susie’s mist and Emizella stood out of the bushes when the litwick could no longer be picked out from the smoky white. “That’s our cue.” she whispered, turning her eyes down to Crystal, “No turning back.”

“No turning back…” Crystal echoed, standing up with her.

They followed after them, slipping into the fog and vanishing into uncertainty. They couldn’t see the fog disappearing just behind Crystal’s tail, sucked into a single point until not even a wisp remained.

No turning back, indeed.

***

Crystal felt a strange off-ness walking through this mist, her eyes scanning from side to side trying to pick out the forest they came from. She tried to see the trees through the field of white, tried looking for the canopy in the ceiling of smoke, but there was nothing there as if they had crossed into someplace completely different.

She hung close to Emizella, keeping herself focused on following the flickering lavender that still glowed through the fog. As long as they kept her flame in sight, as long as they didn’t fall behind, Crystal didn’t have to worry about the implications of Susie’s warning. She didn’t have to think about what it truly meant to get lost in this place.

“What is this place?” Jasper added a voice to Crystal’s unspoken question.

Susie gave a short, proud little chuckle, her soft voice carrying through the smoke and emptiness. “It’s a safe place.” she told him, “A place where nothing bad can get to us. Where nothing can hurt us. It is a place for my friends, where they will be safe.”

“Safe from what?” Jasper asked.

Susie was silent for a moment, her pace slowing in front of her entourage. “From a great calamity.” she finally spoke, the word adding a darkened edge to the mist. “I don’t know when… I don’t know why…but I feel it coming. A heavy disaster that only I can sense. Nobody else sees it, nobody. So I have to save you. I have to save my friends…”

The flickering of her light started to fade, their shadows passing into a portion of mist much thicker than Crystal thought possible in this already blinding place. She hurried after them, having Emizella follow her lead before they could vanish completely. Don’t fall behind.

Don’t fall behind!

They broke through the veil, crashing into a small space where the fog did not touch. Crystal thought it would have been heavier by the way their shadows were blurring into the fog but it was actually much clearer with wispy walls surrounding them. Wispy walls… and floating bodies.

“Ruby! Garnet!” Jasper’s voice screamed, running to his two siblings suspended by small flames that pinned them to the air by their chest.

He tried to reach them, jumping desperately to pull them down, but each leap proved more futile than the last, only swiping at the air just beneath their tails.

“Ruby! Garnet! Answer me!” he cried, helpless whimpers and creeping sobs coloring his voice with panic and anguish. That anguish shifted into anger, turning to the litwick still standing behind him and snarling behind his tears. “You…what did you do to them?!”

“I’ve protected them.” Susie answered, her voice so flat and matter of fact that it threw Jasper for a loop. Even with the children pinned to the wall of floating mist, there was still no malice to her tone, speaking obliviously like a child that doesn’t know she’s done something wrong. “They’re still alive, if that’s what you’re asking. Alive and safe. The calamity can’t reach us here. It can’t touch us. It’ll go on out there while we stay safe and sound in here. So you see, I really do mean no harm, no harm at all. You’ll be safe too. I just need your name, my dear. Your name and you’ll be just as safe as your brother and sister.”

She moved closer to Jasper, arms outstretched and open to accept him into her world—into her protection—despite the fangs bearing at her. Perhaps she didn’t take his warning seriously or perhaps she figured he was only all bark and no bite, but just her creeping closer, acting like he was no real threat, kept the young growlithe frozen in her approach.

“Back off!” Emizella shouted, dashing forward to block Susie’s body from getting any closer to Jasper.

It worked, startling the litwick enough to stop her advances, “Who…” she started before noticing her second intruder keeping her from backing away. She looked back at Crystal, looked to her growling features before trying to peek past Emizella’s body at Jasper. “My dear… you led others right to us? You knew they were following us and you let them?” she asked, heartbreak dripping from her lips.

“You don’t talk to him. You talk to us.” Emizella told her, blocking her view with a hand. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Susie stared at her for a moment before deciding to answer, “If you’ve really been here this whole time, then you should have already heard. What a bother this is. Such a bother having to repeat myself. You won’t understand, so I’ll try explaining in simple terms. There’s an anomaly in this world, an anomaly that will bring forth a massive calamity. Many pokemon will die from this calamity, many pokemon indeed. So, I am saving my friends, saving them from a death worse than any nightmare Darkrai can imagine. Now then, if you’ll so kindly leave us, I’ll get back to my work.”

“You think I buy any of that?” Emizella asked, throwing the excuse away with a toss of her arm. “Even if there was something like that, how would you even know? What makes you so certain that such a thing would even happen?”

Susie sighed, “I needn’t explain myself to pokemon who do not matter. To pokemon trying to stop me. To pokemon who only want to take my friends away.”

“How can you still call this friendship?” Crystal spoke up, turning the litwick’s attention onto her. “Even after all this, forcing everyone to stay like this, how is this still friendship? If they were awake right now, if they could see what you were doing to them, do you think they would be alright with this? That their ‘friend’ was keeping them from their homes and families?”

Susie looked to her, following the fennekin as she rounded her body to stand with the riolu. “This is why I didn’t want to explain myself to pokemon like you. Such a pointless endeavor, pointless indeed. How do you phrase it…? It’s for their own good. That’s it. It’s for their own good.”

“This doesn’t do anybody any good!” Crystal said, stomping a paw down, “Taking away their freedom doesn’t do anybody any good.” She watched Susie bite her lip, still stern in her belief and too stubborn to move from her position. “Susie…” she said her name, watching her flame flicker just a little higher, “You’re not a bad pokemon, right? Sure, you’ve taken a few wrong steps, but you’re not bad, right? We can move past this if you just let everyone go.” she offered up a paw, a soft smile coming to her face to soothe the litwick into trusting her. “Okay?”

Susie looked to her paw, following her arm’s length to her gentle expression. Warm eyes and kind lips, surely she could trust this. Surely she could, but realization dawned on her, striking her chest mercilessly and filling her golden eyes with sudden terror that made her flame flicker unsteadily.

She took a step back and then another, eyes never leaving the fennekin like she was some unpredictable beast. “It’s you…” her voice trembled, “You… You’re the anomaly… You’re the one… The one that will bring pain… The one that signals the start of our world’s destruction.”

Crystal winced, her body jolting away from the ravings of the hectic litwick. Why? She wondered but couldn’t remember how to speak it.

Emizella looked to Crystal, unable to understand Susie’s frantic utterings. “What are you-” but she couldn’t finish as the litwick carried out.

“You bring our demise. Death and destruction. Death and destruction follows your wake.” Her flames erupted and shrunk on her head, ranging from massive heights to nearly extinguishing on her wick. “No… nonononononono, how could this have happened… how could…” Her ramblings stopped, catching Jasper’s eyes behind Emizella’s shielding form. “You…” her voice pointed accusingly to the growlithe, “You brought this wicked creature into my home! Into my sanctuary! After I was nothing but kind, this is how you repay me?! You ungrateful brat!”

A ball of dark energy gathered between her arms, growing even bigger than her body before tossing the pitch-black orb at the group.

Emizella was the first to respond to the attack, gathering up Jasper and Crystal under her arms and jumping out of the way from the explosive blast. They tumbled out of the way, the ball’s shadows bleeding into the mist and tainting it with the litwick’s blood lust and malice. If there was ever a sign that they had pissed her off…

Susie turned to adjust her aim but stopped before a second helping could take the place of the first. “No,” she whispered, “No, wait. This is good. A blessing in disguise.” she switched her attention to Crystal, “The anomaly is still weak… It’s still frail. I can purge it…” she concluded a smile engulfing her face in excited enlightenment. Her arms raised up, “I will purge it. I’ll purge you myself!” A light consumed her form, pulling and molding her shape, “And then we’ll all be safe. We’ll be safe once you’re gone!”

The light peeled away from her body, breaking apart piece by piece and scattering away into the air. And what form did they reveal? Not the white of her wax or the melty shape of her face, but a hard, black body, arms long and shiny like iron and face glossy like glass. Crystal wondered if she had been a litwick at all, looking much more comfortable in the body of a lampent.

Her battle cry shook her world, making the three wince and brace themselves against the shock. “This doesn’t look too good…” Emizella muttered, pulling Crystal’s eyes back to her, “I don’t really got much for ghost types like her…”

“What do you have?” Jasper asked, though he was already regretting the question before the riolu could answer.

“Swagger.”

And the regret was justified.

“I didn’t know it would be a lampent of all things. I can’t punch a lampent.” Emizella declared with a throw of her arms to the opponent staring them down at this very moment.

But a lampent sure can punch you, Crystal thought, bearing the brunt of Susie’s hatred and spite. Honestly, how is that even fair? Well, it didn’t matter how fair or unfair the situation was. It didn’t change the fact that they had to deal with it the best way they knew how. And, fortunately for them, Crystal did have something that could “punch a lampent.”

“Actually, we can work with that.” Crystal stated, letting her shivers work their way out of her body through her toes while her fur stood and fluffed up its defenses.

“We can?” Jasper asked.

Crystal nodded, “Yeah… Emi, I’m going to need you to confuse her.”

“You do realize what swagger does, right?” Emizella asked, leaning over slightly to look at Crystal’s steeled expression.

“Yes.”

Emizella blinked at the simple response, the single syllable firmly declaring her unyielding stance. But her stunned expression didn’t last long, wiping it clean off her face with a smirk.

“Right then.” she said, taking a step in front of the fennekin and blocking Susie’s view from her target. “Hey! I don’t care if you really can sense the future or if you’ve completely gone off the deep end, but nobody’s purging my partner, you hear?” she shouted, pointing to the lampent.

“And what do you think you can do to stop me?” Susie asked, her tone edging into mockery.

“I can do this!”

Her arms crossed over her chest, an exhale blowing from her nostrils as she focused the glare in her eyes. A red glow radiated from her crimson irises, surrounding her body in an aura that incited rage and a blinding fury. Its air could not be avoided, gripping the lampent in a madness even worse than her earlier explosion of emotion. Golden eyes took on a tint of red. The flames in the glass dome she called her head glowed bigger and brighter. And her body swayed with an unsteadiness that placed her aim on anything and everything within her reach.

Mercy was now an afterthought, and a distant one at that. Crystal knew that she’d be stepping into dangerous grounds pushing her anger into the extremes, but hopefully, she was quick enough to see more of the benefits to this plan than the consequences.

“If that’s how you want to play…” Susie gathered the ball of dark energy back into her arms, the orb crackling and oozing with power, “then I’ll purge you too!”

She launched the shadowy force at the two, managing to aim straight enough to throw it in their general direction. It flew towards them but would find no satisfaction in hitting either of their bodies. Emizella took Jasper and jumped out of its range while Crystal leapt high into the air, her body pushed out just a bit further by the billowing smoke of its explosion. Just fast enough…

Chapter Text

Crystal wondered what name to give this feeling humming through her body. As she fell in her descent, the cold chill of the shadow ball’s blast tickling the tips of her paws, she wondered how she could best describe this warm, exhilarating rush keeping her body light and swift.

It wasn’t fear keeping her body moving. It wasn’t desperation to keep herself safe from this infuriated lampent that wanted to see her dead. It was nothing like with the zangooses. It was nothing like when she was dealing with Axel, because she didn’t feel helpless. She didn’t feel hopeless.

The comfort in control.

The security in power.

The feeling of being alive.

That was it. She was alive and she planned to keep it that way.

She landed on the ground and immediately kicked off from Susie’s line of sight. An easy enough feat when the lampent was still having trouble distinguishing between right and left. Her body slid into her blind spot, gaze pointing up where she hung in the air. She never had a chance to use the move in practice, but desperate times were always the best time to try something new, right?

From her head, a colorful ray blasted at Susie’s underside, the beam decorated with bright rings in varying shades of pinks and reds. Fire would do her little good. Will-o-wisp: she barely knew how to use. But psybeam? Psybeam works. And psybeam hits, striking Susie down a few inches and pulling a pained cry from her body.

And, from the walls of floating children, something else was happening. One of the flames extinguished, releasing a skitty’s body from the air and sending her falling unconsciously.  With Crystal too busy with keeping Susie occupied, Emizella elected herself to catch the falling child, keeping her from crashing into the ground. She fell with the momentum, cradling the familiar body and keeping her from harm.

The skitty began to stir, regaining consciousness quickly now that Susie’s spell had dissipated. She squirmed in Emizella’s hold, the lingering shock of her capture coming back in full swing.

“Luna!” Lilac shouted, jumping from Emizella and searching around for her best friend before realizing that this was not the same scenario she last saw when she was awake. “Uh…what?”

“No!” Susie shouted, looking to the working mess that would soon flood her home. She turned back to the culprit, rage sinking even deeper into her mind, “Wretched little… Die, you pest!”

The dark orbs came back, flung without caution and flying just to hit something. One right after the other, Susie threw them at Crystal with a curse sprinkled on top for good measure. Over and over, she repeated her wish, growing more and more desperate to see it fulfilled with every miss.  But they were getting closer to their mark, their aftershocks and malicious debris dusting her fur. One scorched her tail. Another tickled her cheeks.

Closer and closer until the lampent’s prayers for a hit were answered. It crashed into her body, crushing her with its pressure and seeping into her chest to wrap a cold grip on her heart. She could hear her laughter echo through the void as her body was pushed aside by the attack and tossed to the ground.

Yep, that hurt. That hurt a lot.

She tried to regain herself, tried snapping herself out of the haunting feeling lingering from the shadowy orb, but Susie would see to it that she wasn’t given any rest. The red in her eyes took on a lighter shade, giving off a pink glow while a pale, violet light emitted from her body. Her body shifted, echoing like the tolling bells calling for her demise. She could not escape the rippling rings coming for her. She could not escape the illusion that the grim reaper was coming for her. And when they found her, they lined her body in a haunting aura, blanketing her heart in despair and making her cry in pain at the ringing feeling.

She felt her heart crashing into her ribcage, panic settling into the organ and simulating a painful heart attack that cruelly squeezed at her chest. Death felt like this. Death tasted like the screams leaving her mouth. She couldn’t help believing in the lie, in her hallucination that Susie had done what she had set out to do.

Susie laughed harder, her eyes falling back to their golden hue and her mind settling back into her rationality. “Pathetic,” she called her, “Truly pathetic, indeed. It’s funny, really. I’ve been scared this whole time, but you’re nothing. Nothing! A sack of flesh and blood, as soft as any living mortal. I should have done this earlier and save myself the heartache. An oversight on my part, indeed an oversight. But better late than never, as they say.”

She cradled her arms in front of her body, nursing a growing blue flame that stirred and mixed between cerulean and cobalt. “Goodbye, Anomaly. Time for you to go back where you came from.” she said, raising her arms up over her head and dragging the flame to the top of her cap.

A spiraling inferno charged towards Crystal’s trembling form, an intense heat radiating from its form. All she could think to do was brace for it, hoping that it wouldn’t hurt too much when she burned in those hellfires. But she didn’t burn. As a matter of fact, she felt quite cool. What did burn was Emizella’s scorched body, its flames lingering on her fur and biting into her flesh.

“Emi!” Crystal cried, snapping out from her delusions and pushing herself back up to her feet.

Despite how painful those burns must feel eating away at her, Emizella still forced herself to smile through it, her teeth gritting as she beared through each searing reminder of her sacrifice. “Finally snapped out of it, did you?” she asked, her voice hushed and barely keeping itself together.

She wanted to ask why Emizella would do that. How could she throw herself into such brutal flames knowing how deep those burns would sink into her? But she knew the answer. She knew it well. She shook off the needless question, pushing her stunned thoughts away and gathering back her senses.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” she settled on those words, pulling herself back into the fight and refocusing on their opponent.

“It’s fine. Let’s try this again.”

“You’re a fool if you think I’d let you.” Susie told them, starting up her next flame and raising it to her head to spiral and grow.

“And you’re an even bigger fool if you think we’re not going to at least try!” Crystal shouted back.

She called for her blast faster than Susie could launch her flames, piercing the swelling ball right in its heart with her colored beam. It burst like a balloon, popping with an echo over Susie’s head and hitting her with its scattering energy. She yelped at the shock, waving off the lingering embers and billowing smoke. She regained her vision slowly, her annoyance peering through the haze, and that annoyance turned back to unbridled rage at the sight of that accursed red glow shrouding Emizella’s body once more. It threw her mind back into an unbearable fury, back into that ferocious frenzy that kept her from seeing straight.

“Dammit!” Susie roared, the fire in her head practically erupting out of its dome. “Cheap tricks! I’ll kill you even with your cheap tricks!”

Crystal couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped her throat. She was already getting this upset at the second spell of infuriation, but she had yet to see just how cheap their tricks could go. If that was the case, then she’d show her a truly cheap trick.

“Thanks, Emi. I’ve got it from here.” she said, her eyes not moving from her target.

“Give her hell.” Emizella gave her a quick pat on that back, retreating to the children’s side before she could get caught up in another one of the lampent’s powered up attacks.

Crystal allowed herself a quick glance toward the riolu, hearing Lilac call her to come closer. She waved her tail over Emizella’s head, gentle chimes sounding between the two while a soft glow blanketed them in a warm, healing light. Crystal didn’t think the skitty would bother learning such a move but she was grateful for it, nonetheless. Now she could focus without having to worry about Emizella’s burns.

And what better time to focus than having a furious lampent hurdle her dark orbs at the momentarily distracted fennekin. Not again, Crystal jumped out of the way, the ball falling more towards her feet than her body. She ran from the shadowy remnants, irking Susie even more to see Crystal still running energetically around her home like she was playing some twisted game of tag.

“Hold still!” Susie shouted, pulling out another shadowy orb in the space between her arms.

Before she could toss the attack at the galloping fennekin, before she could try her hand at hitting her sprinting body, Crystal added another complication that gave Susie a moment of pause. She couldn’t be sure if it was the confusion fumbling with her eyes or if Crystal’s body was actually split into separate entities. Every second, she was multiplying and spreading her infestation further.

Two little foxes.

Four little foxes.

Eight.

Sixteen.

Circling around and around until the lampent couldn’t decide which flickering body was the real Crystal. Which of these illusions held a solid shape? Her frustration bubbled in her dark orb, its stability melting away with each second of hesitation that kept it to her body. She couldn’t hold it. She couldn’t sustain it. And it couldn’t contain its power any longer, bursting in her arms and attacking its own creator.

Crystal watched her body falter from the corner of her eyes, slumping in her daze. She didn’t let the moment fade, firing the decorated beam at the stunned lampent from all angles. From the right to the left. Forward and back. Even below wasn’t safe from the onslaught of her brightly colored light show.

Every flash extinguished another flame. Every shine awoke another slumbering child. And with every dissolved spell, Emizella had another little body to catch before they made the trade for a concussion instead.

But Crystal couldn’t slow down. She couldn’t stop this momentum she had. Just a bit more, she pushed herself, just a little longer. She kept going until she felt the headache shoving an ice pick into her brain. Until the hammer smashed it in deeper into the furthest reaches of her mind and pushed herself further even beyond that.

The small army of Crystal doppelgangers blinked away, placing her remaining efforts in one final attack. With a cry, she fired out the last beam she had in her, a grand spectacle of shimmering lights and dancing colors that splashed against Susie’s battered body. If Crystal could think of a thought long enough to see it completed, she might have called it a dazzling display to watch.

Susie was the first to fall, crashing to the ground with the rest of her small captives and Crystal wasn’t far behind, letting her legs melt like gelatin in the hot sun while trying to ignore the pulsating throbs that kicked at the back of her skull with every beat of her heart. It wasn’t working. Actually, they felt even stronger now that she wasn’t moving around so much. Lovely…

“Why…” Susie muttered, her body struggling to stand again. The most it could manage was rolling her onto her stomach, allowing her to look at the fennekin with her tired eyes. “I only want… to protect my friends… Why do you stand in my way?”

“Because… I want to protect my home… The village has been nothing but kind to me… I won’t let them suffer if I can help it.” Crystal said, speaking through her growing ache.

“Why do you care? You don’t belong in this world… You are an outsider…”

Crystal breathed out a short chuckle, “That’s your opinion.” she said softly, laying her head flat on the ground and closing her eyes.

She kept them closed for a moment, opening them again when she picked out Jasper’s sobs amidst the excited cries of the children. She watched him press his entire body weight into Ruby and Garnet, holding them close and refusing to let them go. Their heads nuzzled together, reminding themselves of their scents and the feeling of home now that their set was made whole once more. It made it all worth it. The awful headache, the painful feeling in her chest, every echo of agony coursing through her legs, every bit of it was worth it just to see them all okay and ready to go home.

“I don’t know…” Crystal started, “I don’t know if what you said was true...if I truly am a mark for the end of days. But if that’s the case, then I’ll get strong enough to stop it… I’ll get strong… and overwrite it.”

Susie stared at her and laughed at the declaration with a soft chuckle. “You say that as if you have any power to change the course of events that follow you. You have no power to change anything. Nothing you do... will save anyone.” Her body began to disperse, breaking away with the fading fog. Black specks of her body scattered into the air, disappearing while her laughter still rang clear in Crystal’s head. “The only thing that you can do... is play by their rules.” her voice floated away, high beyond anyone’s reach before disappearing like a dream.

Whose rules am I playing? Crystal thought for a moment, her ears lowering while her eyes tried to follow the lampent’s scattered body. Mystery after mystery…why did everyone who had any idea of why she was here had to be so cryptic?

“Crystal!” Emizella called her, her voice stabbing her brain with the concern pitching her tone.

“Too many psybeams… Too little time… Please…be gentle…” Crystal groaned, laying her forelegs down on her ears to muffle the sound.

“Oh, right.” Emizella adjusted her volume, “Sorry. Want me to carry you home?”

“Can you?” Crystal peaked an eye over to her, “You were hurt pretty badly too, you know.”

“It’s good, I lived. Besides, how else are you getting home?”

“Either crawl or just pass out here.”

“Nope, not good enough.” Emizella shook her head, kneeling down and scooping up Crystal’s limp body and holding her close to her chest. “Alright everyone. Stick with your buddies and let’s move out.”

The children echoed their affirmation behind them, following along while chattering to themselves.

“You know… you can’t keep carrying me like this forever.” Crystal whispered close to Emizella’s ear.

“The hell I can’t.” Emizella pouted, sounding almost insulted by the assumption, “You just lie your head back and enjoy the ride.”

Crystal laughed softly beside Emizella’s head, doing as she was told and nuzzling herself into the softest corner between the riolu’s neck and shoulder. She’d like to see Emizella try to keep this up. Even when they’re bigger. Even when they’re too old for it, she wanted to see her try.

“Oh, and Crystal?”

“Hm?” she hummed.

“Good job tonight.”

Crystal breathed a hum of delight, too far gone into the realm of exhaustion to notice Emizella’s grip getting just a bit tighter. “…thanks.”

***

Crystal’s body felt so warm, like her insides were light, fluffy whip cream. Whip cream… on top of thick, airy pancakes… with strawberry jam and slices of banana.

“Crystal,”

No, crystals wouldn’t taste good on them at all. Too much crunch. But cinnamon crumble might work better. A nice, subtle crunch to add a bit of variety to the soft texture.

“Crystal.”

“I already said crystals don’t work with pancakes.” she groaned, pawing at the absurd idea and pushing it away.

“Crystal, wake up!” Emizella shouted, her voice starting up the fennekin with a jolt.

Her eyes looked around, finding Blaire’s hand- hat/hair thing hovering over her body. It spilled a healing aura of her, cloaking her in a shimmering mist of goodwill and happy thoughts.

Her gaze then shifted to her side where Emizella was leaning close overhead but not so close that it impeded Blaire’s work. Her hands clung tightly to her knees, fighting hard to keep her hands to herself while Blaire cleared away Crystal’s aches and pains.

“How are you feeling? Blaire said you don’t have any broken bones this time but you really exhausted yourself back there.”

Well, her headache wasn’t anywhere near as intense as it was back in Susie’s domain. And the muscles in her body did feel soothed and relaxed, rejuvenation pumping through them with Blaire’s gentle pulses. Of course, there was still the lingering feeling of exerting her body well past its limits but it wasn’t anything unbearable. She even felt a bit stronger feeling its subtle ringing at the edge of her mind.

“I’m feeling much better, but what about you?” Crystal asked.

Emizella grinned, bringing her arm up and flexing the muscle, “You know me, I’m a lot tougher than I look.”

Blaire huffed to the contrary, her eyes narrowing into a soft glare at the riolu’s boastful nature that brought her nothing but trouble.

“Hey, considering my track record, a few burns are nothing.”

Blaire just hummed again. It didn’t really help her case all that much.

“Well, I still consider it a win.”

“Do you, now?” The voice was easily recognizable, deep and booming and just ready to give the two an earful even more painful than battling Susie the lampent.

Emizella swallowed down the startling jolt that jumped into her throat, her body completely engulfed by his massive shadow. Crystal was fortunate enough to be shielded by Blaire’s healing treatment but Emizella… Emizella had to feel the full weight of his disapproving glare.

“Hey, Ace…” her voice squeaked, turning to the arcanine while trying to pull her lips into the shape of a smile. Her lips were not listening.

He glowered at the two of them for a moment longer, “You do realize how much trouble you’re both in, don’t you?” he asked, melting away all the riolu’s attempt in playing off a carefree mood. “Taking a child outside the village to lure out the culprit. Allowing my son to take on a dangerous risk that could have seen him hurt or worst. You know what could have happened if things didn’t turn out as well as it did?”

“All three of us would have been trapped in a world inaccessible to any of us under normal circumstances?” Crystal asked. Probably not the best idea to fuel this fire but they were already in the thick of it, so…

The response took Ace by surprise, leaving him speechless for a second. Just a second. “Exactly. And not only would that lead us nowhere, but we’d also lose three more pokemon in one night. Each life is much too important to be taking risky gambles like that alone. You should have come to one of us first. You should have come to me first. The decisions you made last night were completely irresponsible and as the chief of our village’s public safety division, I cannot condone the choices you made.”

They hung their heads low. Sure, it wasn’t unexpected that they’d be getting a serious talking down to by the chief but it didn’t make the guilt sting any less.

“But,” their eyes glanced up as Ace started again, “as a father, I can’t thank you anywhere near enough. For bringing back my little Ruby and Garnet; for making sure Jasper came back home; for all the families you reunited, thank you.” he said with a steady tone, but his warm eyes whispered the secret his voice wouldn’t share: unshed tears, glistening bright as they reflected the morning sun in his eyes. He blinked them back, holding the emotion in check in front of the two young girls. “We’ll save deciding your punishments for later so just focus on regaining your strength.”

They nodded their heads slowly, a fair enough compromise considering how they broke such strict rules in the middle of a crisis. There was a sort of reassurance in knowing that a punishment was coming, in the idea that they made to through to see a punishment for their actions. But even more reassuring was the look of Ace walking back to immerse himself in the loving affection of his family. Of his body being reminded of the cumulative weight of all four of his children climbing and riding on his back. Of his heart being reminded of their hugs and their kisses and how precious they were to him. He did let his tears flow for them, sharing them with his wife and children and letting all the stress and heartache melt away with each shared drop.

“We did that…” Emizella leaned closer to Crystal, whispering the bit of pride she still held despite their scolding. “You and me, we did that.”

Crystal looked from Emizella’s little grin to the reunited families clinging together, desperate to never fall apart. From Ace and Scarlet’s happy little bundle to Janice and Damien’s youngest little treasure. From the one thing Nova ever needed in her life to the ursaring mama that would tear apart the world for her little angel. Each smiling face, each sigh of relief, each loving embrace Crystal could catch in her vision at this very moment, they did this. They alleviated the gloom and despair plaguing the village and brought back hope, love and trust to the village’s heart.

We did that…

“I want to do it again…” Crystal whispered, letting the desire fly free from her heart and into the world.

“Yeah, me too.” Emizella whispered back.

Crystal knew Emizella could tell how deep this addiction to help others was burrowing into her very being. How the sense of good she felt from seeing these happy expressions was digging its way into her soul.

She supposed that’s what made them a good fit for each other. And she was in much too deep to have it any other way.

Chapter Text

“I really don’t think this is such a good idea…”

“Why not? You could use the practice. And it isn’t like I’m doing much else.”

“You’re not doing much… so you want me to try burning you… This is a new level of boredom, even for you.”

Crystal couldn’t blame her at all for this new bout of recklessness. A month of house arrest. A whole month of having Carl waiting just outside their doorway to make sure neither Emizella nor Crystal even thought about leaving before their month was up.

It wasn’t so bad, Crystal thought of it, using the time to practice her summoning and manifestation skills. But Emizella was starting to feel cramp and constricted within her own home. The poor girl, she really needed a good walk at least three times a day to feel sane. Crystal supposed that was where this sudden insistence to use her own body as a practice dummy came from. On the one hand, Crystal was grateful for the help in honing the final step of her new move. On the other hand… this was plain madness.

“Look, I haven’t completely lost it.” Emizella continued to persist, “I’ve got some full heals and rawst berries to take care of the burn. I’ll hardly feel it!”

Crystal pursed her lips, “You sure?”

“Positive! Now c’mon, show me what you got!”

Crystal gave a short sigh. She wondered if a better friend would have tried talking her out of it a bit more. She wondered how much better that kind of pokemon would be if she didn’t understand who Emizella was: a bit stubborn and proud and insisting to have things her way. It wasn’t “using” her, it was “sparring” with her opponent refusing to move from her grounded stance.

Maybe she’d feel a bit better if Emizella wasn’t standing still like a dummy…

“Alright,” Crystal decided to give in to the riolu’s demands, taking up her generosity and focusing her mind on utilizing it to the fullest.

She let out a slow, easy breath, eyes taking on a subtle glow while her mind painted a picture of fluttering little bundles of light flickering to life. The first one stumbled into existence with a tumble, steadying itself once Crystal got back into the groove of pulling its strings. Like Lillian’s bubbles, Crystal couldn’t help feeling a sort of fondness for the floating flame, studying its calming hues that didn’t seem as ghastly to her anymore. No longer a haunting entity but, instead, a small piece of her—a twinkle of her power.

Crystal pulled another gout of fire from her imagination, and then another, and another until she had a small ring dancing and hovering around her body. She felt a warm tingle in her head with every little push and pull, a gentle little pinprick telling her where each little light floated around her.

She looked between them, “I bet I could make them dance if I practiced hard enough.” she thought aloud in a soft whisper.

“Dreaming big, I like it.” Emizella interrupted her short trance, pulling Crystal’s attention back to her waiting figure. “But let’s focus on hitting a target first.”

Crystal felt her heart squeeze with embarrassment. “Right,” she chuckled sheepishly, “baby steps…”

She tuned her mind into that little tingle, paying careful attention to their positioning. All she had to do was will them to move where she wanted them to. All she had to do was get them to obey the command to attack. But they were flighty little things, either missing their target completely or vanishing before they even got halfway.

Scarlet made it look so easy. Her flames were well behaved and determined to please. Crystal’s, on the other hand, were new and very clumsy, but they tried. Crystal liked to imagine they tried. They put forth their effort to follow Crystal’s will, flying towards Emizella with no semblance of order. They were scattered like unruly children making their way to the same destination, and when they reached the riolu, they linked around her body in a messy fashion.

The little orbs of fire wound themselves tighter, squeezing together and disappearing into Emizella’s body. The glowing in Crystal’s eyes ceased, her control stopping once the last of her flames were transferred over.

They definitely transferred something into Emizella, leaving her body with a reddened tint that covered her from the tip of her ears to her toes. She looked down at her hands, checking the new shade that blossomed and colored her fur.

“So… How do you feel?” Crystal asked with a soft, curious tilt in her voice.

Emizella thought about it a second longer before her body winced, the tint flaring up and biting into her. It flashed brightly for a moment, sending the riolu to her knees and gritting her teeth to bear through the pain. The intensity soon faded but the ailment was still there sitting on her body, waiting to flare up again.

“Emi!” Crystal went over to her side. So much for hardly feeling it…

“I’m good, I’m good.” she insisted, holding up one hand to stop Crystal’s fretting and another to pick up the bitter-tasting remedy to cure herself. She bit into it, her nose scrunching up at the flavor coating her tongue but she ate the medicine without any further complaint. It was instantly taking effect, washing away the red and leaving her fur rich and bright again. She breathed a short breath of relief, “That has some kick.” she commented, “It’s getting better. A bit more control and you’ll have it mastered in no time.”

“Yeah… I wish I could ask Scarlet… It feels like forever since I spoke with her properly about them. I’m going to develop bad habits…” she murmured mostly to herself, feeling her paws drag out from under her to flop her down flat on the ground where the tips of the grass blades tickled her nose.

“Nothing wrong with a few bad habits, is there?” Emizella asked, walking closer and crouching down in front of Crystal. She played with the tops of her ears, lightly pinching them between two digits and making them sway and dance on top of her head. “If it’s not hurting you, then it’s not so bad, right? Like a signature or something. Besides, I think your will-o-wisps are way more adorable than Scarlet’s.”

Crystal stared up at her past her ears that were pulled forward to block her view. She knew it wasn’t all just flattery that flavor her words with a honeyed sweetness. Sure, she liked to butter her up, liked seeing her melt under such generous praises, but it wasn’t like there was nothing genuine about them. She picked at only the pieces that she truly believed in and amplified it up by a thousand with her charm and kind, beaming smile. What else was she supposed to do against the riolu’s antics but accept them.

“You know that tickles, right?” she stated behind the light rosy flush dusting her face while her ears were pulled to block her eyes.

“Does it really?” Emizella asked, sounding truly surprised by the fact.

“Mostly,” Crystal answered, standing and shaking her grip off along with the fluttering feeling in her chest. But maybe tickle wasn’t really the right word for it. There was a bit of a warm buzz pulsing from Emizella’s pinching. It was still lingering under her skin, making her start to scratch at it with a ferocious abundance of kicks.

She caught Emizella messing with her own ears in the corner of her eyes, her leg stilling to turn her attention to her. “Maybe it’s a size thing…” Emizella mused, pinching at their small, triangular shape but not getting nearly as much fire going as Crystal felt in her own ears.

“Who knows, maybe they’re just sensi-” she stopped herself before she could finish the damning word, something screaming in her head to not give the riolu such a powerful weapon.

Emizella turned her head, “Were you saying something?” she asked.

Bullet dodged… “Nothing at all. You’re probably right, it’s just a size thing.” she said, waving the conversation away before they could round around back to it again.

Emizella gave a soft hum before shrugging her shoulders. She lowered her hands, “So, you ready for another go?”

“Wait, you want to go again?”

“Of course! You still want to work on it, right? Right here! C’mon.” Emizella patted her chest, ready to take on the brunt of Crystal’s flames and their curse once more.

“I do but… don’t you think you’ve had enough for today?”

“Hm? Not at all.” Emizella answered, blunt and unconcerned, “You can burn me way more times than that. Don’t worry, I can take it.”

“Hey Carl,” a voice interrupted Crystal’s protests before they could properly form in her mouth.

“Oh, Jezebel. What are you doing out here?” their guard responded, pulling their eyes to the doorway as they stared with curious anticipation at the promise of something new.

“I’ve got some business with the two ‘convicts.’ Mind stepping aside? It’s pretty important stuff.”

“Depends, how important are we talking?”

There was a moment of pause while the torracat’s heavy paws shifted her closer to the doorway and, presumably, the watchog in charge of making sure they were staying put. A mutter was shared between them, Jezebel’s murmuring voice spilling into the air where no eavesdroppers could pick out their little secret. Well, no eavesdroppers with ears small enough, but it seemed like Crystal’s ears were made for picking up whispered secrets.

“The responses from the guild were delivered just today.”

“Seriously?!” Carl’s voice blurted out followed immediately by an urgent shush. Crystal could see him slapping a hand to his face with the swift smack that came in tandem.

“You get it, right? Ace is willing to cut their punishment short for this so you won’t get any trouble for letting them out early.”

“I…I got it…” The leaves crunched under his feet, the weight of his shadow leaving their entranceway and making room for their visitor to pass through.

Jezebel squeezed herself pass the leafy opening, swinging her head past the branches that bent to her muscled frame. “Did this place shrink or something? Why does it feel even smaller?”

Emizella moved aside slightly, moving closer to Crystal and offering a bit more space for the feline. “It’s the same size it’s always been.” she said, crossing her arms but altogether happy to see her face. “Maybe you’re just getting bigger.” she smirked.

“Hmph,” Jezebel huffed, taking a seat and making a show of flexing her arms, “Guess I can’t argue with you there. I’ll forgive you this time.”

“How generous.” Emizella rolled her eyes, shaking her head and giving a sideways glance towards the fennekin sitting beside her. Can you believe this cat, her eyebrows seemed to quirk, pulling a soft giggle from Crystal’s chest.

“But that’s not even the half of it.” Jezebel spoke up again, “Elder Pines wants to see the both of you and has asked me to personally escort you back.”

Crystal did her best to feign ignorance, “What does he want to see us about?”

“Can’t say,” Jezebel shrugged, “just that it’s very important and he wants us to hurry back.” She turned back towards the entryway, a paw pushing the leaves aside for their departure. “Now enough talk, let’s get going.”

***

Jezebel led them quickly back to the village, ignoring the shouts and hollers for attention as they made their way down the village path. In her mind, there was no time to allow the pair to receive thanks and endless gratitude that stayed strong over the past few weeks. No time for bounding greetings and skipping hellos either, proceeding down her beeline to the village hall where more important matters were waiting for them.

“No squirts past this point.” Jezebel leapt back to the rear, cutting off the curious crowd of children that followed them this far with their chatterings and happenings.

“I’m not a squirt.” a teddiursa pouted, stamping his feet at the insult.

“Then no brats. Shoo, off with you.” she nudged him away with the back of her paws, clearing them out so no little noses or toes were caught in the closing doors. She breathed a short sigh of relief when the excited murmurs began to fade away, the children going back to resume what they had been doing before. Although, the slack in her shoulders wouldn’t last long, an “ahem” putting tension right back into her spine.

“Jesse,” a warning tone pulled the torracat’s nervous gaze back towards the brionne waiting inside, “don’t you think you were a bit rude back there?”

“I-It’s not what you think. Me and Angello, that’s just how we do. I was just joking with him, that’s all. He’ll get me back for it later, I swear.” Jezebel did her best to defend herself again Lillian’s scolding stare, a smile yanking at the corners of her lips to mold a matching expression.

“Really?” Lillian’s eyes narrowed to a dangerously slim degree.

“Yeah, he knows I was just messing with him.”

Lillian gave a soft hum, staring through the cold sweat and anxious twitch flicking at Jezebel’s tail before her eyelids fell into a grin. “Is that so? I’m glad to see you getting along so well.”

Jezebel released her held breath.

“And speaking of…” Lillian’s attention turned to Crystal, sliding over to her quickly and wrapping her flippers around her body in a tight embrace. “Oh, my precious floof. How have I managed to live so long without you in my life?”

“Greatest mystery known to pokemon kind…” Crystal squeaked, her back legs barely touching the ground while Lillian continued to squeeze and hug and sway her body from side to side.

“Indeed. It shall stump my descendants for generations to come.” she gave a troubled sigh colored with zestful tones of heartache.

Crystal felt a set of hands tucking themselves under her arms and then a pull to pry herself out of Lillian’s grip. “Touching reunions aside,” Emizella said behind her, setting all four of her paws back down to the floor, “Jesse has been teasing at something really important waiting for us, so…”

“Oh right! Sorry about that. But Jesse wasn’t overexaggerating or anything like that. It is, indeed, very, very important.”

Lillian took up the reigns, leading them further into the village hall through a corridor of painted portraits. Founding mothers and fathers and their families huddled close together within their frames to bear witness to every step they made, watching them as they were escorted to the set of double doors waiting for them at the very end.

Jezebel rounded to Lillian’s side, assisting the brionne with pushing the wooden slabs open with a soft huff and a grunt. The heavy doors milked every second of the moment, cultivating anticipation with every ounce of effort that went into sliding them apart. And for their reveal: a small gathering of Elder Pines and his two leading security officers talking amongst themselves up to Lillian’s announcement.

“Elder, Emi and Crystal are here.”

“Oh yes. Good, excellent, thank you Lily. And Jesse, thank you for making the trip out to fetch them.” the old trevenant turned his smiling gaze towards the door, nodding his head at the job well done.

Jezebel waved a paw, “You don’t have to thank me for something that small, Elder.” she said, settling by the door, “Besides, there’s no way I was going to miss being a part of this.”

“Okay,” Emizella interjected, raising a hand up to excuse the interruption, “can somebody please clue me into what’s going on here? Between these two’s teasing,” she pointed between Jezebel and Lillian, “and Crystal clamming up the whole way here, I’m starting to think I’m the butt of a joke.”

“That’s not it at all.” Crystal told her, nudging at her side gently to pull her down from her huff, “It’s something too important to spill prematurely. I had to clam up.”

“‘Had to’? Wait, how do you know about it?? Nobody was supposed to say a peep!” Jezebel exclaimed, her hackles rising into a fiery pyre.

Crystal turned to look at her, smiling an apologetic smile as she gestured to her ears, “Sorry… I can’t really turn these off so I kind of heard what you were muttering to Carl earlier.”

“Ack!” her flames extinguished with a defeated sizzle, “So then…you…”

“Jesse!” Lillian whined, her cheeks inflating behind her pursing, pouting lips while her tailfin tapped away against the floor, “You let it slip too early. Neither of them were suppose to find out till now!”

“To be fair, I’m still not one hundred percent sure what all is going on.” Crystal corrected.

“I’m not even ten!” Emizella declared, throwing her arms up in her dismay.

“Then I suppose I better cut to the chase and alleviate that frustration of yours.” Elder Pines spoke up again, putting their attention back where it truly belonged.

Although he didn’t look disturbed in the slightest, his jagged smile never leaving his face, a guilty look plagued the youngsters’ eyes.

“Sorry, Elder Pines.” Lillian apologized.

“Sorry…” and Jezebel did the same.

“It’s quite alright. This is an exciting time after all. It’s not every day we get mail from the Adventurers League Guild.” he said with an amused chuckle.

“Mail from the guild?” Emizella asked, this new turn of events being just the right step in improving her mood, “For who?”

“Why, for you, of course.” he laughed again, reaching into the bundle of leaves that cuffed his wrists and pulling out two envelopes from the tangled overgrowth. “And one for you too, my little busybody.”

He handed them over, one to each of them, and stepped back to watch them examine the envelope. Emizella studied the print on the front, her eyes squinting to pick out the small details before flipping it to look at the wax seal. Their emblem was stamped into the crimson material, the initials “ALG” raised within a diamond shape. It all seemed legit but Emizella kept a scrutinizing eye on the paper bundle.

“Go ahead. Tell us what it says.” Elder Pines said, his weathered, old voice edging into excitement for what lied inside.

Emizella raised her head, nodding at the request and peeling the wax up to open the flap. Crystal couldn’t help ignoring her own letter. Her eyes fixed themselves on the riolu, her mind already set to record the moment into her memory.

Emizella’s dream. Her dream was etched onto that paper, its fate determined within those written words. Crystal couldn’t miss this. What kind of partner would she be to miss this?

The letter was pulled free from its bindings and opened to its full length. She began to read:

“Dear Miss Emizella,

“We have received your letters of recommendation and testimonies to your character. After reviewing your reputation within your community, we have found you to be a brave, loyal, and dedicated individual. Such individuals are what we seek in our adventurers and so we are happy to offer you-”

Emizella stopped, a hand pressing to her mouth as her eyes began to glisten, wet with tears that she fought to hold back. “This… this can’t be real, right?” she asked, holding the letter close to her chest and wrinkling it against her body. “This is an invitation to the internship exam but… but I never applied, did I?” She turned to look at Crystal, “Did I?” she asked again, thinking it completely possible at the would do such a thing while being completely unaware of her actions and surroundings.

“Not that I know of…” Crystal breathed out in a soft whisper. She wasn’t really one to do much of anything in her sleep aside from squeezing Crystal like a living pillow.

“I know we might have surprised you with this but please understand that each and every one of us truly believe that you’re ready for this next step. You’ve come so far since your brother moved away, and after what you and Crystal have done for us, we agreed that it was time you both officially tested yourselves.” Elder Pines explained, gesturing to the small gathering who played a hand in letting the guild know about their little home-grown heroes.

Emizella looked between their faces, “No way… you guys really wrote letters of recommendation for us?”

“Yep!” Lillian answered for them, “Everyone here wrote one for both of you while I gathered several testimonies from the villagers. They were more than happy to share a few good words about you.”

“Everyone here did?” Crystal asked, her eyes turning up to Ezekiel and his hardened face.

Of everyone in the village, she never really understood him the most. Actually, it felt like he didn’t want to be understood beyond the gruff person he always shoved to the forefront. Scowling eyes and scowling lips, he was content being known as the village grump. At the worst, Crystal figured he had no interest in her, never paying any actual attention to her as long as she didn’t get to close to the sacred tree by herself. But now she was hearing that he was paying attention, and not only paying attention but also having some nice words to say about her.

She didn’t know what kind of face she was making at the luxray, but it sent the scowl even deeper into his brows. “Stop that.” he ordered, “Don’t get the wrong idea. The only reason I wrote anything for you was because Ace insisted I say something as a pokemon of influence. All I put down was that you had potential and you were tougher than you looked behind that meek demeanor, nothing more.”

Lillian chuckled behind a flipper, “That’s what you say, but I’m sure Crystal’s letter will speak way more volumes.”

“Oh!” Emizella turned to her, “Right, don’t leave us in suspense. What does yours say?” she asked, leaning over to look at the still sealed envelope.

“Sure, let me just…”

She began working her paw under the envelope’s flap, pulling at it and pushing through the seal to break it open. Paws did not make going through mail easy but she didn’t want to ask any of her more dexterous friends for help. Half the joy of whatever was inside would have been lost if she didn’t open this herself, so she worked the last fold open without complaint and crouched over the paper to keep it from folding back.

Crystal was barely a line in when she heard Emizella’s prodding. “So?”

She flicked a glance back to her hovering companion before continuing on with her own personalized message. The letter called her kind and thoughtful based on the stories given by the villagers. It called her dependable and trustworthy, referencing the testaments to her character. With those reasons, the author of the letter extended an invitation to her as well, finding her a worthy enough candidate to test if she was truly fit to join the big leagues.

Crystal read it again and then a third time just to be sure she was reading it right. The words remained unchanged, clear and unmistakable. “They’re inviting me too.” she answered, her voice sounding soft hanging over the letter.

Lillian hid her smile behind a flipper, “‘Nothing more,’ he said. Looks like you were pretty convincing even with a minimalist letter like that.”

“Knock it off.” Ezekiel warned with a low growl.

“Well,” Crystal interrupted the rumbling in his throat, lifting herself back up while still holding the letter down to the floor, “whatever it was you wrote, thank you… all of you. It really means a lot that you would go out of your way to do this.”

Ezekiel huffed, turning his attention away from her smile. No doubt, he was thinking she was being much to appreciative of simple works and exchanged messages. All he did was write on a piece of paper what he had seen and noticed from her for the past few months. There was no need to get so mushy. But he didn’t have the tact to say that without spoiling this exciting moment. Ace, however, Ace was used to saying things in just the right way.

“Come now, there’s no need for all that. You girls did most of the work. Had you two done nothing so noteworthy, there wouldn’t be much to say, now would there?” he said, smiling his big smile that made his large frame so warm and reassuring. “Give yourselves some credit.”

Crystal let those words sink in, taking them and putting them into practice. She remembered what Emizella whispered to her when they got back home, letting it ring and sing in her chest. “We did that.”

She can feel proud about that. She had every right to feel proud about what they did—about what they could do. And after this exam, after they became professionals and after they placed a few more notches in their belts, there was no telling what more they could do.

Her head nodded, her lips too giddy in their smile to say much else. She felt Emizella’s arms wrap around her, lifting her up in a tight hug strengthen by the excitement threatening to make her heart burst. She rubbed and nuzzled into her fur, humming and buzzing and tickling her all the while.

“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. This is actually happening. We’re going to be actual adventurers. Real, professional adventurers.” Emizella muttered away into Crystal’s soft body.

Well, there was still the exam to worry about, but nobody was willing to add that into her ramblings. Let her ramble away in her bursting excitement. Let her squeeze and jump Crystal’s body as much as she wanted. Her future starts now. Their future starts now, so let her enjoy this high moment in her life where her dreams were endless and the horizon looked infinite.

Chapter Text

According to their invitations, the pair would have to make their way to the nation’s capital city to participate in the adventurer’s internship exam. Now, the capital city, as Crystal’s mind recalled it, was a massive concrete jungle as far off from their humble village as it could be. It’s where dreams go to either live and soar or sink and die. An intimidating place, but it wasn’t like they would be alone.

Janice insisted that they look up her daughter when they got there, promising that she’d be more than generous to keep them afloat in the unpredictable current of urban living.

“She runs a boutique in the town square called Plush. You can’t miss it.” Janice explained to Crystal, handing her a card with the necessary information about her daughter’s business.

“Thanks, we’ll be sure to do that.” Crystal nodded, smiling up at the delcatty while her paws placed the card into her bag.

Janice eyed the article by her side, its midnight colors still beautiful and vibrant to Crystal’s untrained eyes but the designer could see that the sun and the earth had worked hard together to make them fade. She gave a short chuckle, “By time we see you again, you’ll be needing a new one.” she said, pointing to the gift with proud affection in her eyes.

“Huh?” Crystal looked down at it, staring at the still intact edges and its sturdy seams, “You really think so?” she asked.

“Oh, I know so, darling. With how fondly you carry it around and all the places it’ll see on your journey, it won’t be long until it’s ready to retire. We’ll have to make you a stronger one when you get back, one befitting a professional adventurer.” she told her, a bubbly excitement dotting her refined voice with bouncy little pops.

Crystal couldn’t say no to her offer, not even a little for modesty and politeness’s sake. “In that case, thank you very much in advance. I’m sure I’ll love it.” she said with a gentle sway of her tail.

She wondered what she had done in her past life—who she was in her past life—to feel as fortunate and blessed as she did right now. She wanted her mind to bathe in this happy feeling, to let her thoughts soak itself in every pleasant interaction she had in this place. But the brighter that light shined, the sharper and more defined the shadows became.

Susie’s words echoed from the back of her memories, echoing deep from her subconscious to remind her of her warning. “You signal the destruction of our world.” But she didn’t want to hurt anyone. She didn’t want to think that her mere existence could hurt anyone. “Nothing you do will save anyone.”

No, not right now. Crystal shook it away, Not today. Today, we’re happy. Today, we’ll only think happy thoughts. Happy thoughts…

“Crystal?” the familiar voice of her teacher broke through her mental mantra.

Its gentle, encouraging sound gave Crystal something else to think about, something more hopeful than a supposed prophecy to the end of the world. She’d take Scarlet’s soothing voice over worrisome ramblings any day.

“Scarlet!” she called her before those fluffy appendages found her face. She giggled as they tickled her nose, “Down here. I’m right here.”

“Oh,” Scarlet’s tails rose up and her body settled, “Sorry about that.”

Crystal shook her head, “Don’t be. I’m honestly going to miss your tails.” She truly would. What with their plump softness and luscious, rich feel, she was going to miss them feeling for her and sliding over her. She’d miss her teacher’s little reassuring touches and the way she’d tenderly remind her that she would be okay during every one of their sessions. “I wish I could have trained more with you before I had to go. There’s still so much more I wanted to learn.” she confessed.

Scarlet’s smile softened, “That’s good. It’s always good wanting to continue to learn and grow. But I’ve taught you the basics, now it’s time for you to learn and carry on from me.”

“But is it enough?”

“Tell me, Crystal, are you scared? Are you still just as scared as when we first met?”

“…no.”

Scarlet breathed out a short laugh, “Then its more than enough.” she said in a kind, soft voice, cradling Crystal’s ears with its nurturing touch while a paw petted and stroked her head. “As long as you’re not afraid, then it’s enough. As long as you don’t let fear keep you down and as long as you continue to rise up to meet it head-on, then I know I’ve taught you all I needed to teach.”

Crystal stared up at her for a moment before colliding her face into Scarlet’s downy stomach, letting her fur hide her tears and soft sniffles. She was grateful Scarlet showed no surprise over the sudden solid force pushing into her, remaining still and soft for the silently weeping fennekin.

“You’ll be just fine…” Scarlet whispered, an arm wrapping around Crystal’s back while her tails gave her one last memory of their warm, calming embrace.

“…thank you…” she murmured against her body, taking in a deep breath to settle her nose before moving away to dry her eyes.

When her vision cleared and her eyes shimmered their pristine summer sunset hue, she took in Scarlet’s towering, graceful figure. She engraved the look of those distant eyes that couldn’t see a thing but understood so much. This was her teacher. No matter who she learned from, no matter what levels she reached beyond her lessons, she would always be her teacher. And Crystal would always be her student.

“It’s truly been a pleasure.” Scarlet nodded, her tails loosening the grip on Crystal’s small body until she was fully out of their reach.

The short walk it took to get from the shopping area to the corner of the village square where the scared Tree of Being slept away peacefully was enough paces to get in a few more deep breaths to help quell the bittersweet feeling in her heart. Crystal wondered if she had ever been good at goodbyes, if she had always been one to cry at farewell. Her mind could tell her that it was fine all day long. It could repeat for her that the goodbye wouldn’t be forever, only until next time. But it didn’t help it feel any less sad. At least it was good motivation to not come back a failure. What would be the point in all these tears if she didn’t have anything at all to show for it?

She looked on ahead at the sky carriage that would be taking them far past the forest and this village towards their future. Such a simple little black box… Crystal overheard that there were larger sizes for bigger passengers but its small size didn’t deter the excitement of the children gathered around its sleek, clean body. A pidgeot, their pilot for the trip, leisurely sipped away at Elder Pine’s offering, idly chatting while she rested her wings before her flight.

“Okay, okay. Any more and we’ll be over the weight limit.” And there was Emizella, packing away the last of their things into the cargo hold, stuffing in the last sack before slamming down the door with a firm click.

“You sure that’s everything?” Tim asked, a green claw pressing to him pondering lip.

“I checked it, double checked it and triple checked it.” Emizella counted off on her hand, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure we’ve got everything.”

“But-”

“Leave her alone, Tim.” his sister pulled at him before he could offer her any more gifts for their trip. “Give her anymore and you’ll be putting a dent in our inventory.”

“You know how expensive the city is. They overcharge everything there. It’s best to stock them up now while it’s free than have them pay those exorbitant prices.”

“Believe me, we’re stocked up, alright. We’ll be fine, this is more than enough.” Emizella declared with a couple gentle slaps to the cargo door, a thick thunk sounding behind the metal sheet.

“You see? Now c’mon, before you try giving her our entire store.” Kim pulled at her brother’s arm, dragging him away despite his skipping steps.

“Alright, you don’t have to pull so hard. Slow down a bit, will you?” Tim complained to his sister.

They both passed Crystal on their way back to where she just came from. Kim gave a short wave, “Good luck out there.” she smiled with her brother’s body kept just a bit closer to her.

“If all goes well, expect a congratulations package from us.” Tim added immediately after, pointing out the fact before he was pulled away and back towards their livelihood.

Crystal giggled at the pair, still hearing Tim’s griping over how his sister was going to pull his arm off while Kim was insisting that he was just as bad as their dad. She shook her head slowly, such are the joys of working with family, she supposed.

Her attention turned back to Emizella, catching her creeping herself over to Ezekiel who kept away from the small farewell get-together, hiding beneath the shade of one of the bordering trees. Laying down as he was, his dark fur blended perfectly well with the deep, layered shadows, keeping his eyes closed so their rich, golden hue wouldn’t give him away. Every inch of him silently pleaded not to be bothered, but Emizella had something to say that was too important to pay his body language any mind.

His ear twitched before she got too close, an eye peeking open and stopping her in her tracks with its penetrative gaze. “What do you want?”

“Why do you think I want something? Can’t I just come over to say goodbye?”

He stared at her for a moment before standing up, his body turning towards the tree to find his peace and quiet up in its branches. “Okay, bye then.” He bent forward, getting ready to leap up to the first branch but keeping each motion meticulously slow and calculated.

“Okay, so I do want something.” she admitted.

His shoulders relaxed and his body rotated back, “See what honesty gets you?” he asked, seating himself back on the ground. “What is it?”

Emizella hummed, “You were an adventurer, right? So you already passed the exam. What was it like when you took it?”

“I can’t answer that.” Ezekiel said quickly, “Everyone who takes the test has to swear to never talk about the nature of it to anyone. It would be an unfair advantage, otherwise.”

“Seriously? You can’t even give me just an itty-bitty hint?”

He grumbled, mulling over it in his head for a short time. He began to stand again, turning back to the tree to properly leave the question unanswered. At least, that’s what it looked like from a distance, but Crystal could hear him mutter one last piece of advice for the riolu. “As long as you both don’t lose sight of yourselves, you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

And then he was gone, running away into the canopies and stepping across branches to get even further away. Crystal could still hear him making the leaves rustle and shake when she joined Emizella’s side, but her eyes couldn’t pick him out between the thick bundles and green summertime bunches.

“Looks like he got away.” Crystal noted, leaning closer in her whisper while her eyes continued to stare into the same place as Emizella’s.

“He’s a slippery one…” Emizella said under her breath, “But he said way more than I thought he was going to so that’s good. You heard him, right? With those big ears and acute hearing.” She grinned impishly, her digit’s threatening to tease Crystal’s ears with little pinches that crept closer and closer with every menacing chuckle.

Crystal’s forelimbs wrapped themselves over her head, pressing her ears flat over her forehead before Emizella’s digits could make contact. Her lips pouted and her eyes stared up at the riolu cautiously. Even without mentioning their sensitivity, their size alone made them a prime target for Emizella to pick on. Their large shape was just too tempting and fun to leave them alone.

“Aw, why you gotta look at me like that? I wasn’t going to do anything mean to them. I was just going to show them some love and affection. Like this,” Her hands changed up their tactic, moving to Crystal’s cheek and the underside of her jaw. They sunk past the clean white fur, scratching gently at her skin. Not hard enough that it irritated her but not so soft that she couldn’t feel it. “See?” she asked, pulling Crystal further away from her defenses with every tender scritch.

Crystal really did try to keep the fluttering feeling from erupting from her chest. She really tried keeping her face strong and stern and uninterested in her little scratches. But there was this one spot, this one spot that Emizella would brush over every other second, that made it impossible to keep those tingly little pinpricks from tickling the base of her spine and demanding that he tail show her immense appreciation for the attention.

Through her slacked jaw, Crystal managed to mutter, “Alright, I believe you… Now quit it before my legs give out.”

Emizella’s hands retreated, pulling back to her body and surrendering with her palms up. It didn’t save Crystal from stumbling a few steps forward, the lingering sensations taking a long while to work their way out of her body. She was much too small for so much stimulation…

She tried shaking out most of the remainder and sighing out the rest but both attempts couldn’t rid her of the soft buzzing that hummed just beneath her skin. She turned her eyes up at Emizella, hearing her trying to restrain her snickers behind a tightly pressed hand. Just you wait, Crystal plotted away behind narrowed eyes, as soon as I have hands, I’ll pay you back triple.

“What’s so funny over here?” Lillian asked, scooting up closer to the two with Jezebel stepping by her side. There was a smile pulling at her lips, familiar yet different. Off in the smallest way that made it feel more like an imitation than the real, genuine article.

“Nothing much. Crystal’s just being cute again.” Emizella answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

“More like Emi’s having too much fun by herself.” Crystal corrected, turning her nose up at the riolu’s inaccuracies. “But where have you been, Lily? I thought we were going to end up missing each other.”

“Oh, I was just… taking care of a few things… It took a bit longer than expected…but I wasn’t going to miss saying goodbye.” she said, pushing herself to say the words with her cheery disposition but faltering with every shaky breath.

Crystal felt her body shrinking, feeling her muscles pull themselves together in a small ball of concern. “Lily? Are you okay?”

“What?” Lillian’s smile fell away for a second before she pulled the corners of her lips back up again, “Of course I’m okay. I mean, why wouldn’t I be? This is a happy day! You two are going to the capital city and becoming big-time adventurers.”

Jezebel looked to her with a pitiable look, her well-seasoned eyes peering through the deception that just didn’t look right on Lillian’s face. Her bubbly personality just felt heavy in trying to keep up her happy façade. Not light or floaty or refreshing, just… heavy.

“Sure… I might not see from you again for the next couple of years… you might not even come back to such a small village… But it’s okay… because you’re finally reaching your dream…” Tears dripped past her trembling lips, the corners cracking and crumbling away with each drop. “No…” she tried to hide them away behind her flippers, “I’m sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry in front of you. I am happy for you… really, I am. I just…” A sob choked out the remaining words that might have come. Or, perhaps, she didn’t really have any excuse for crying during the happy occasion, just knowing that her heart wanted to cry and her body would oblige no matter what her mind told it to do.

“C’mon, Lily, there’s no need for so many tears.” Jezebel tried to reassure her despite her own eyes beginning to water. “Brave faces. We both said we’d put on brave faces.” she tried to remind her but her own waterworks were already flowing down her cheeks to join Lillian’s on the ground.

“I know, but-”

“It’s okay.” Crystal said, taking a step forward. She sat in front of Lillian, balancing herself on her hind legs to give her good friend the best hug she could manage in this quadrupeded body. She squeezed a little tighter, “I’m going to miss you too…”

All other words died in Lillian’s throat, drowned beneath an ocean of sobs and a tidal wave of crumbled whimpers. She wrapped her arms around the small shape of Crystal’s body, holding onto her tightly refusing to let go but knowing she would have to eventually.

“Aw geez…” Emizella sniffled behind her, “Now I gotta get in on this. C’mon, Jesse, you too.” she said, turning the two-way embrace into a group hug.

“Seriously?” Jezebel asked, given no other option by anyone to pull away from Emizella’s pull. Not even her own body objected as she sank into their little pile. “Fine… if I have to…” she muttered, clinging on even tighter than anyone else.

Crystal could feel the light tugging of Jezebel’s claws gripping into her but it felt more warm and comforting than anything else. She nuzzled under Lillian’s chin, rubbing her tears into the cool, smooth surface. “We’ll be back,” she promised, “We’ll definitely be back.”

“Yeah. As soon as we’re both professionals, we’ll be back.” Emizella continued.

“Really? This place isn’t too small for you?” Lillian asked, hiding the voice of her insecurities further into Crystal’s fur.

“Not at all. The world may be big and vast and exciting, but this is our home. No grand adventure will ever make me forget that.” Emizella declared, speaking her vow with a certainty that engraved the promise into the winds of destiny and fate.

Crystal nodded, “I’ll be sure to write so you don’t get too worried, alright?”

“Okay…” Lillian whispered, her voice sounding just a bit lighter past her sorrow and gloom. Crystal realized letters couldn’t quite replace the feeling of being able to see each other whenever the whim pleased them, but it would be just enough to quell the loneliness such a long and far distance was bound to bring.

The soft scraping of dirt and rocks sounded behind their tightly woven together bodies, talons not really meant for walking long distances brought their pilot closer while her shadow loomed hesitantly over their heads. “I do hate to cut this short, loves, but we really must be taking off soon, less the winds turn against our favor.”

Emizella volunteered her voice to answer, “Alright. We’ll be there in just a second.”

Their pilot nodded, turning and pushing the air from her flapping wings over their bodies. She flew to her perch atop the metal box, making a few twisting motions to test the stability of her equipment.

Their hug slowly broke apart. One after the other, arms were unraveling and grips were loosening to form four separate beings once more. Emizella inhaled deeply, pressing her hands into her eyes and rubbing the remaining moisture into her fur. They ran over her ears and down the back of her head.

“Alright, we better get going.” she said softly. She gave a light smirk past her lingering sadness to Jezebel, jabbing at her shoulder as playfully as she would on any normal, average day. “Don’t go getting rusty while I’m gone.”

Jezebel shoved her back, “You too. Don’t let those guys up in the capital turn you soft.”

“You really will write, right? You weren’t just saying you would to make me feel better, right?” Lillian asked, drying off the last of her tears.

“Of course.” Crystal smiled big for her, “I’ll use my mouth if I have to, but I’ll definitely write as many times as I can.”

Lillian’s giggle felt light on her heart, like foaming bubbles tickling her love for her and making her feel giddy again. This was Lillian’s smile, the one that said everything would be alright and the one that made everything alright.

“Then I’ll be looking forward to them.”

Respecting their pilot’s time and schedule, the two boarded the sky carriage, Emizella jumping up first and Crystal following immediately after. Jezebel was the one who pushed the door shut with a soft slam behind Crystal’s tail, the dropping of a bolt sounding just overhead with a secured click.

“Do me a favor and jimmy the doors a bit, would you?” their pilot asked through an intercom speaker resting just at the upper corner of the cabin.

Emizella immediately obliged but it took Crystal a moment before the request went through her mind into her comprehension. Although her voice sounded rough coming from the small black box hanging against the wall, it was her first time seeing such technology in this world. In the back of her mind, within the library of knowledge resting undisturbed and waiting in her brain, she knew that such things existed. She knew that several items of convenience existed in some parts of the world, just not in the little slice she had grown used to over the past few months. Now she was leaving the only area she knew, starting over again from scratch to get used to a new place. A new town. The capital city with all the hustle and bustle that went with it.

“Crystal? You going to do your side?” Emizella asked, point to the door.

Crystal blinked out of her thoughts, moving them back to the background so she may continue to function as a living being. “Oh, yeah. I got it.” She pushed and shook the door a couple times, feeling how tightly secured it was with her jerking motions. That wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“Excellent! We’re ready for takeoff.” their pilot announced, eager and ready to soar. The wind around them began to pick up, the grass blades dancing and swaying along the ground while the fallen, scattered leaves cleared out of the way. The villagers looked on in awe, their eyes glued to the pidgeot’s craft as she slowly inched off the solid earth. “We thank you for choosing Corvi-Flights for your aerial transportation needs. Please hang on tight as we begin our ascent.”

They rose higher and higher, pulling away from the seas of goodbyes and their accompanying good lucks. Crystal pressed her nose to the window to watch the waving limbs sending them off. She caught Scarlet and Ace’s little trio putting together a tower with their bodies, their youngest sister sitting at the top prompted to wave goodbye by her siblings. She could pick out Luna sitting up to wave at them with both of her paws stretching as far as their short lengths could reach and Lilac sitting beside her and one-upping her efforts with the addition of her swaying tail. Even the great Tree of Being looked to be waving to them as they reached even higher into the sky, her branches swaying in the gentle breeze after them. Crystal imagined that even their goddess Xerneas was giving them fair wishes and blessings for their safe travel.

It’s not the same, Crystal realized as they rose over the trees where she could look out one window and see the training grounds and school and look out another window to see the stores and inn of the shopping district.

It’s not the same at all, she let the idea sink in deeper as they became high enough to see the whole village in one frame of the carriage.

In the beginning she had no one. Then she had Emizella and Emizella led her to Jezebel and Lillian. One by one, she grew a connection with the village, interwoven herself into their tightly knit community and found a family in their kind, friendly faces. Even now, as they slowly left the village behind with every flap of their pilot’s wings, Crystal still couldn’t say this move was like the first time. Emizella was standing by her side and behind her was her home with pokemon who cherished her.

It’s not the same… because I’m not alone.

Chapter Text

“Attention passengers,” their pilot’s voice rang through the intercom, “We’ll be beginning our descent into Harmonia City. Expected arrival in five to ten minutes.”

Crystal began to stir against Emizella’s shoulder, her head nestled deep in the nook of her neck between her head and body. She wondered when they fell asleep and for how long they had been sitting in this metal box. She reached to the drawn, black curtains, pulling it open just a smidge to take a peek at the sky. Her eyes squinted against the bright blue and fluffy white, adjusting themselves to the light of the sun already beginning its climb back down to the opposite horizon.

Just a couple of hours, Crystal guessed, letting the curtain fall back before moving away carefully from Emizella’s drooped position. She only slid even further against Crystal’s body. “Emi, wake up.” Crystal nudged her, pushing her towards her side.

Emizella groaned, sliding towards the other side. But that side was too cold for her and she ended up redirecting her limp, groggy body back onto Crystal’s again.

Crystal pushed her just a bit harder, “C’mon, Emi, we’re here.”

“…where?” Emizella murmured under her protesting groans.

“Here. You know, capital city. ALG headquarters. Big, life-changing exam. Here.”

Emizella groaned against, a whining pitch coloring the rumble in her throat. “Just five more minutes…” she pleaded before falling back into her soft snores.

Crystal shook her head slowly, a soft, endearing smile dusting her lips. There was no real harm in letting her sleep until they landed, Crystal just hoped she wouldn’t end up having to drag Emizella out of their sky carriage once they did. She could continue engrossing herself in her dreams, but Crystal was going to have a peek at the city she knew in name only.

A paw carefully pulled back the curtains, the sliver of afternoon light dripping in and laying over Emizella’s eyelids. She rolled her face against Crystal’s head. She asked for five more minutes and she was going to get five minutes. Crystal glanced back at the riolu, feeling her settle with her gentle nudging before turning back to look at the city landscape.

From this height, with this light, the capital city looked breathtaking and intimidatingly gorgeous. She could barely catch all of the city with the one window, its domain spreading wide along the shore of the ocean and resting on the rising hills. Its size must have been three- no, five of their home village stuck together and shaped into one. Perhaps even twice as high, too.

Did pokémon really build this city? Did they shape every shop and every home; every cobblestone alleyway and bustling street? Maybe, but Crystal wondered if there was maybe something more. Consuming the large clocktower that stood up on the hill were patches of green that crept and crawled over the white, peaking above its neighbors.

Actually, when they got even closer to the city’s landing station, Crystal could see patches on nearly all of the built structures. Snaking ivy and clinging roots and coats of moss scaling high along the walls erased the initial pristine impression and replaced it with an ancient atmosphere. Crystal couldn’t say she preferred one or the other but she did feel just a bit curious about which parties played a part in piling on the fresh bricks and paving the first streets. Was it all pokémon hands or did an old, extinct race of creature put up the initial framework and foundations?

The buildings grew larger and the landing platform got closer to the bottom of their carriage. Their pilot was quite gentle with lowering her passengers, the only indication that they landed being a soft thump that rocked them gently before settling under the final flaps of her wings.

“We have now landed in Harmonia City. Please remember to take all personal belongings with you and thank you again for flying with Corvi-Flights.”

Okay, now there was no more delaying the inevitable. With their pilot flying off her perch to the rest station with a few of her feathered coworkers, there was no space left to milk out any more seconds of sleep.

Crystal began to shake Emizella harder, “C’mon, Emi, five minutes are up.” she told her and felt her groan against her fur. “I can’t carry you, Emi. You’re too big! Just wake up!” she spoke just a bit louder, just enough to cover the space of the carriage with her voice, but nothing happened. Well, Emizella turned just a bit against Crystal’s head, smacking her eye with one of the feelers decorating her head, but that was just about it.

Crystal clenched the eye shut against the meaty appendage. Her paw started to move it out of her face before realizing that she never actually touched the thing before. And with Emizella having so much fun petting her own body, why couldn’t she get a bit of petting in herself? It’s only fair, right? Especially since she was still refusing to get up so they could unpack the cargo hold.

She felt its weight push back against her paw, soft velvet tickling her pads and trickling between her toes. There was definitely more substance than fur in there, soft, malleable flesh that was way more entertaining to play with than Crystal first expected. If her eye wasn’t a target, she could see herself smacking it a few times just to see how it would swing and sway.

Her paw moved up to the base closer to her skull and felt it twitch just a little under her testing touch. She stared at the narrowed end and touched it again. It twitched again, a soft rumble going through Emizella’s throat as she rubbed and nuzzled further into Crystal’s fur.

Could this be… Crystal gave the best pinch she could with tiny toes, earning herself a soft whimper that dusted her whiskers. It is! Payback, delicious payback!

Emizella’s slowly began to rouse out of sleep, the sensation penetrating too deeply in her dreams to ignore. Before her lids opened to find Crystal playing with things she shouldn’t, she retreated her paws back down to the cushioned seat, instantly feeling the appendage slap her eye once again.

“Did we land?” Emizella asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Fortunately for Crystal, it seemed her little investigation would go unnoticed, attributed to nothing but a forgettable dream. “Yeah, we touched down just a little while ago,” she answered, jumping off the seat to stretch out her spine.

Emizella began doing the same, giving a mighty grunted while the tips of her digits brushed along the ceiling. “Awesome…” she yawned, “We better get started with getting our stuff out… Oh,” her pitch sank when a troubling thought hit her.

Crystal looked up at her, “What is it?”

“Now that we’re actually here…I just realized how troublesome all those gifts are going to be to carry around.”

“How troublesome are a few gifts?”

Crystal wished she hadn’t asked. As Emizella piled out sack after sack of fruits, elixirs, potions, seeds and whatever else Tim thought would be too expensive bought at city prices, she wished she never asked such a ridiculous question.

“Why is there so much??” Crystal exclaimed, her ears lowering on her head at the sheer volume they were expected to split and backpack down the streets until they reached someplace to put it all down.

“A very excellent question.” Emizella sighed, patting her hands clean before standing next to Crystal and eyeing the pile. “I’d say we split it seventy-five/twenty-five.”

“I can handle forty.” Crystal corrected with a turn of her head.

“You’ll get exhausted at forty.”

“You’ll get exhausted at seventy-five.”

“Excuse me, ladies.” A refined rapidash broke their bickering, pastel lavender and fine mint green locks radiating in the midday city sun. His white coat seemed to shimmer against the light, reflecting brilliantly into Crystal’s eyes. “I couldn’t help but noticed you two and your little dilemma here. That’s quite the pile to drag around for a couple of fresh tourists just off the sky carriage. Lucky for you, I happen to run a bit of a taxi service. Just five coins and I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”

“Ha! So much for not spending a single cent.” Emizella blurted out, laughing at the futility of so much stuff. Even with their bags fully packed, there was no packing pokémon driven services. “Crystal, help me load this stuff up, okay? I’ll even let you do forty,” she said with a smirk, nudging her gently with a soft bump.

Crystal took her tease with a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head, letting a soft chuckle blow out through her nose. At least neither of them would be dragging around their cut for longer than they thought.

***

As the rapidash trotted along down the street with a proud head held high and a sharp, rhythmic clapping sounding with each step of his hooves, Crystal couldn’t stop her curiosity from peeking over the wagon’s edge to the rolling street below. The wheels jostled over each patch of overgrowth in their way, making for a bumpy ride but their driver pulled past it without much mind. Just as she thought, the green takeover was much more intense down on the ground than what she could pick out from the sky. Trees burst from paved streets like the brickwork was nothing but paper in their way, their roots jutting from the cracks to take back the space that was once theirs.

Tall grasses and trickling vines hugged the sunniest sides of the buildings, merging together into one mutually beneficial entity. Crystal was by no means an architectural expert, but she could imagine that the only reason these buildings were still standing as tall as they did was in part thanks to the vine works and root network holding things together. Perhaps some of the pokémon helped to keep their home alive and stable, but it was all a group effort. Everything working together in harmony.

Oh, so that’s where the name comes from…

“So, where are you girls from?” their driver asked with a slight turn of his head.

“Ippona Village,” Emizella answered back quickly.

Crystal felt it might have been in bad form, but she never did catch the name of their village back when they lived right next door. Should she have asked? She felt like she should have asked a long time ago.

“It has one of Xerneas’s trees growing in the center of it.” Emizella further elaborated without needing to be prompted.

“Oh, I think I’ve heard of that place from one of my patrons before. You’re both quite the long ways away from home, aren’t you? What brings you to the capital? Taking a little vacation? Seeing the sights?”

Emizella’s chest fur puffed up, pluming in her achievement and smirking in her pride. “Actually, we’re here for the adventurers league internship exam.”

“Really?” his head turned back a bit further, “Is it that time of year already? Huh… so that’s the both of you? Even her?” he asked pointedly to Crystal with a slight gesture of his horn.

“Hey, don’t go underestimating her. She may look like she’s all fluff and no bite but she can be tough when she wants.”

The rapidash just laughed, “If you say so,” he shrugged. It wasn’t like he had any stance to argue, he just carted his passengers around to the places they needed to be. Obviously, they must have seen something in the small fennekin if she was here now. “Just make sure you two get really big and famous so I can say I’ve had celebrities in my wagon.”

“That’s the plan!” Emizella grinned before turning to Crystal, “Right?”

“Well…” Crystal thought about it for a moment, resting her chin against the wagon’s edge while her eyes peered up to the cloudy sky, “We should see where we go from here. I think fame should naturally follow in its own time.”

“Oh, I get it,” her partner’s lips turned mischievous, an arm wrapping around Crystal’s neck and pulling her in closer, “So you’re saying we’re so naturally gifted that it’s inevitable we become major hotshots, right? I see what you’re saying.”

“That’s-” Crystal stopped herself before she could play into her hands. She breathed out a short chuckle and relaxed against Emizella’s body amidst the soft bumping of their wagon, “Yeah, let’s go with that,” she conceded with a wistful smile on her lips.

Maybe that was their destiny after all: to grow into something big and extraordinary. That had to be the reason why they met the way that they did. Why she was sent to this seemingly peaceful place without any preamble to her purpose. Maybe it was best to be content with just learning and growing in this time they had together.

***

Emizella heaved out a sigh as she finally cleared out the wagon, leaving it as clean and empty as when they stepped on board. “That was the last of it,” she announced, leaping over the wagon’s edge to land beside their piled load. She glanced up at the rapidash, “Thanks for the lift. We can take it from here,” she said, reaching into her own personal carry-on back and pulling out his payment and a bit extra for his good service. She paid him his fee plus the tip before watching the rapidash trot off to find a new set of patrons to pull around in his wagon.

“So this is Jasmine’s place, right?” Emizella asked, turning her attention up at the painted sign that hung over the door.

Crystal looked between the business card Janice had given her and the establishment’s logo, looking between the two p’s in Plush that were replaced with the silhouetted head of a furfrou. Long, drooping ears, an untrimmed mane of thick fur in the back and a fine, sleek muzzle in the front. Definitely a match, “Yep, this is it. I hope we’re not intruding too much popping in like this…”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Besides, this is Janice and Damien’s kid we’re talking about. I’m sure she can manage one surprise visit.” Emizella waved off the concern, scooping up as much of their belongings in her arms and leaving the rest for Crystal to carry in herself.

She pushed the door for the two of them with her shoulder. Beyond the ringing chime of the hanging door bell was the bellowing voice of an immensely fuming and frustrated furfrou that was one hundred percent done with whatever nonsense she was dealing with over at her counter.

“I don’t give a single rattata’s tookus how much more you pay me, the deal was for three weeks, not two!” she slammed away at the countertop with her paw, a single teacup sitting on a porcelain saucer being saved by the swift thinking of a houndoom remaining close on standby. “Well, whose fault do you think it is that your buffoon of an agent got the dates wrong? Mine?!” she growled away into a glowing blue orb that flickered with every exchange. “Look,” she took a deep breath, raking her paw over her frazzled mane, “You want the Plush Brand quality, right? That’s why you came to me, right? Well, I can’t give that to you unless I have enough time to work my magic. Now, either get your shit together or find someone else.” she muttered low into the glowing sphere, letting it fade away into its dim shade before letting out a long sigh.

She turned a mirror sitting on her counter to face her, taking a good, long look her herself with a despairing shadow in her eyes. “Val, honey, look at me!” she cried, dragging her paws down her face and stretching the bags that hung under her eyes, “I’m an utter mess. When was the last time I even went to the spa for a proper trim?” she asked.

The houndoom set the tea saucer down with a gentle clink, “You don’t want the answer to that.”

The furfrou gave another long, drawn-out sigh mixed with a heavy groan that pulled her forehead to her countertop.

“I told you not to take that job. The same thing happened last time. And the time before that. And the time before that,” the houndoom counted off with each tick of her head.

“It’s not that poor girl’s fault she’s represented by a bunch of brainless, incompetent idiots. This dress is like a fairy tale’s dream come true for her; how could I say no?”

“Quite easily, actually,” she answered, reaching a paw up and pushing it carefully towards her sulking companion.

The furfrou eyed it for a moment before pulling it closer and taking a few savoring sips from the fragrant tea waiting for her inside. She breathed out slowly, “Hopefully they figure something out before they break her heart.”

“If they know what’s good for them,”

“Um, excuse me?” Emizella’s voice struck in the calm of this storm.

The furfrou choked into the steaming liquid, blowing it across her muzzle and stumbling at the mess she was making of her face. “Who-” she barely got out, taking up a cloth sheet to clean herself and cover her less than dignified response. She cleared her throat, “H-how long have you two been standing there?”

“We just got here, actually.” Crystal answered first to sprinkle on the little white lie.

“Is that so… I see,” she muttered, finishing up patting herself down before setting the cloth aside. “And what might I do for you? Either of you looking for anything in particular?”

“Actually, we’re here to see you,” Crystal said with her kind, polite smile.

“Me?”

“You’re Jasmine, right? Janice and Damien suggested we see you first when we arrived in Harmonia.”

“Mama and Papa did? Oh!” Recollection spread in her eyes like how the northern lights take up the night sky. It put the color back into her worn-out expression, exhaustion shifting to excitement in a heartbeat. She bounded over to the pair, tail wagging at a hundred beats per second. “I remember now! You’re the two who saved my precious little Lilac and all the other children in Ippona, right?! Yes, yes, I’ve heard all about it in their letters. Oh, how could I have been so rude? And looking so dreadful, too. This first meeting is turning into an utter failure. Oh! And we haven’t even gone through the proper introductions, yet. Val, honey! Come meet our guests.”

Jasmine had a second to breathe as she waited for the houndoom to make her way over to them, taking her sweet time to make sure the fashionista wouldn’t pass out from the lack of oxygen. An arm wrapped around her, closing the last remaining inches between them while another paw pressed firmly against her chest.

“This is my one and only sweetheart, Valerie. Val, these are the two I was telling you about: Emizella and Crystal.” Jasmine gestured a paw to the both of them. “Last time I properly saw Emi, she was still just a bitty little thing. And now here you are, in Harmonia City! Always so nice to have a fellow Ipponian finding herself in the capital. Oh, and congratulations to you both as well. I’m guessing you both got some really good news from HQ if you’re both here. Absolutely lovely. You’re shaping up to be just like your big brother!”

Emizella’s arms clenched close to her side, her lips tightening and pinning the smile into her face. “Y-yeah,” she answered.

Crystal looked up to Emizella’s tensed profile and glanced down to the balled fists she hid behind her back. Emi…?

“And Crystal, I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting you. I’ve been so busy since you made your golden debut in Ippona. But I wish I did, then I could have been prepared for this heart-melting adorableness. Oh, fennekins are such a cuddly bunch, wouldn’t you say, Val?” Jasmine asked, her paws starting to play with the tufts of fur growing from her ears.

Always with the ears… Crystal held down the thought, learning to accept her fate. She was wrong. Her destiny wasn’t to become a famously strong and dependable adventurer by Emizella’s side. It was to constantly have her ears being petted and her fur being stroked by all kinds of hands and paws and flippers for some.

“I dunno, eevees are pretty cuddly too,” Valeria answered, saving Crystal’s flickering ears from being tickled anymore.

“Well, we’re not in the presence of an eevee, now are we? Oh, speaking of cuddly, why don’t we all take a trip to the spa? My treat, of course.” Jasmine’s eyes glittered at the prospect of receiving the pampering she so righteously deserved, her paws clapping together in glee.

“You can go. I’ll hang back here,” Valerie refused with a turn of her head.

“Aw, why not? We can get your horns filed nice and smooth, just the way you like them.” Jasmine reached a paw up to feel at the boney protrusions sticking out of Valerie’s skull, giving them a gentle rub to feel how rough they had gotten, “After all, you’ve had to deal with me this whole time. The least I can do is thank you for not losing it with me.”

Valerie kept her gaze away from the gentle smile gracing the furfrou’s lips, trying and failing to hide the rosy tint radiating over her face. “Alright… but don’t think you have to spend so much for me. Just the filing is fine.”

“Of course. And what about you two? You must be exhausted after that long flight. It’ll be a good chance to unwind a bit after your trip.”

Crystal and Emizella looked between one another, a soft smile being shared from Crystal to Emizella with eyes that asked, “Why not?”

Emizella breathed out a chuckle that relaxed her shoulders and soothed her tension away. “Sure. Gotta try it at least once, right?”

“Exactly! You’re already getting into the swing of the capital city. Now then, let’s put your belongings in the back first and then we’ll be off for some much-deserved r n’ r.”

Chapter Text

When Jasmine had insisted that the service would be her treat, Crystal was expecting the basic package. Some shampooing, maybe a bit of brushing and a light trim. But when Jasmine treats one to a spa day, it’s all or nothing. Shampoo, conditioning, nail trim, fur trim and a massage just because she never had one before. By the end of it all, Crystal was stumbling out the doors behind Jasmine who was just brimming with delight.

How she could still keep her tail standing straight and proud was beyond Crystal’s understanding, but that’s the high life, she supposed. Crystal wasn’t made for the high life. High life kept her in the hot seat for too long and now she was feeling like a boiled, limp noodle.

Emizella was no better, her face dazed under the glow of the sun. They had this thing called a “Fighter’s Massage” specifically designed for fighting types. Crystal could only guess that the services just went deeper than a regular massage just to make sure it worked out all the kinks and knots in a fighting pokémon’s muscles. But she wondered if they possibly went in too deeply because Emizella was just staring away into space since she was brought out from the back room.

“They pulled things out of me I didn’t even know were there…” was all she muttered when she came back with her glistening coat and neatly trimmed tail.

“Pink really is the way to go when you want to feel energized and refreshed,” Jasmine announced with a rejuvenated sigh, definitely feeling the most chipper of the exiting bunch.

No longer was her fur an unruly mess with no sense of style or direction. All of her excess fluff was trimmed off, leaving soft clouds of fluff neatly draping her head and down over her shoulders, from her knees down to her ankles, on either side of her hips and a little puffball at the tip of her tail. Pink accents were dyed into the fur, the peppy hue coloring her legs and tail and just a bit over her forehead in the shape of a plump heart.

“Yes, this is just what I needed! So light and breezy, nothing beats a day at the spa! Wouldn’t you agree, Val?” she asked, turning back to look at them.

Although Valerie was a better sport about the whole pampering treatment, she wasn’t blind to the plight of the newbies to the experience. “It’s all well and good, but don’t you think you could have taken it easy on these two?” she asked, pointing the tip of her tail down to the wobbly pair.

Jasmine glanced down at them, examining their uneasy stature and worn-out expressions before giving a short chuckle, “They’ll be fine. The walk to uptown Harmonia will wake them right up.” she decided with a quick turn to the open road.

“There’s more?” Emizella blinked into focus, her voice dreading the idea of another round so soon.

“Oh yes. Now that you’re all dolled up and looking your dapper best, it’s about time you two got yourselves checked-in with the guild’s HQ. Don’t you need to officially declare that you intend to take the exam?” Jasmine asked with a slight tilt of her head.

“Oh…right,” Emizella let out a relieved sigh.

Guess she’s not about that high-class pampering life either, Crystal thought with a soft chuckle.

Jasmine giggled as well, “Right then, let’s get this show on the road. Chins up, my lovelies, and strut!”

Jasmine led them forward in a trot that exuded confidence and status. With her head held high, her entire body emitted an atmosphere in which the local bystanders’ attention was a mandatory requirement. A sort of “look or you’ll miss something amazing” type of air that captured even Crystal’s gaze.

Did the city teach her how to walk like that or was it ingrained into her genetics? Either way, she was sure Damien and Janice must be proud to have such a poised and self-assured daughter like her.

Jasmine’s stride glided the whole way to the upper parts of Harmonia City, never faltering or slowing while keeping her elegant radiance at a steady glow. Uptown felt a bit more spacious to her small body. The roads were wider and much more straight forward compared to the maze that made up the lower level’s streets. It allowed more sun to shine in and the plant life loved it.

Blossoming flowerbeds consumed and lined the edge of the pathways, the stones ripped away to allow them to breathe and flourish as much as their tiny hearts desired. They practically ate up the attention a young lilligant was giving them as she chatted away in her tending. They glowed brilliantly in their delight in all kinds of colors. From young white to bashful pink to giddy yellow to dazzling red and so on and so on.

Crystal wished she could have admired them for just a bit longer on their walk but the sharp about-face turn of Jasmine’s body told her that her admiration would have to wait for another time.

She brought them before a towering mass of stone and ivy, a metal plaque hanging over the door simply circling the words “Adventurers League Guild” around the silhouette of a Latios…or a Latias. Crystal was having a hard time distinguishing between the two with the shadowed body, but it was one out of the two for sure. It wasn’t any type of elaborate declaration for the nature of this building and it wasn’t in her face about being the HQ for the nation’s guild of adventuring professionals. It just stood there, soaking up all the greatness and prestige brought back by the success and victories of its outstanding members.

Crystal suddenly began feeling something tapping away against her flank, going harder and faster with each second. She looked back at the blue, fuzzy thing hitting her, watching the feather-light fur twinkle every time it caught the light. Her eyes trailed up to clenched fists that barely resisted the urge to go into her grinning mouth and up to twinkling eyes that shimmered like freshly polished jewels in her head.

This was it. As underwhelming as it presented itself to Crystal, this was it. Emizella’s first steps towards her life’s ambitions. The golden temple that held the power of making her dreams reality. It was here in front of her, its entrance just a couple of feet in front of her.

“Crystal…” she whispered her name in a breathless squeal, “Bite me. I need to see if I’m dreaming.”

Crystal chuckled, “I’m not going to bite you.”

“That’s right,” Jasmine interjected, moving just a bit closer to dust off their bodies. Crystal wasn’t really sure how much their appearance was going to matter in their final grade but her finicky light touches did have a nurturing, nostalgic feel to it that Crystal couldn’t say she was opposed to. “There will be no need for that kind of rough play. You’re both awake and well on your way. Now then, Val and I have some business to take care of so we’ll be back to pick you girls up later.”

Crystal smiled up at her as she continued to fluff up her ear tufts and failing to make the fur stand from its drooping posture. “Thanks for escorting us up here… and for cleaning us up,” she added despite how over the top such extravagance felt in the moment.

“It was my pleasure,” Jasmine responded, Crystal having a feeling that she meant the phrase to be more literal than a polite formality. “Well then, I’ll leave you girls to it. Come, Val,” she called with a graceful turn of her body.

Valerie turned a glance to her departing frame, a gentle roll of her eyes putting a soft smile to her lips. “Duty calls…” she muttered under her breath before directing her body to follow. “I’ll see you kids later,” she said, giving a short flick of her tail at the two before leaving to trot alongside Jasmine down the sunny lane.

Crystal watched them for a moment, her eyes feeling entranced by the way the pair moved together, paced just right to walk themselves shoulder to shoulder. Even with the less than friendly outward appearance, Valerie still managed to hold a candle next to Jasmine’s proud and dignified stride. Albeit a tad more strong and intimidating and maybe a bit more heavy-handed but her head still remained high in the air, not a skulking step in sight.

She wondered about the kind of history those two had together. Jasmine called Valerie her “one and only sweetheart” but how did that circumstance come to be? What whims of fate and chance led them to where they were this very second? It sounded like it could be a romantic story, although she was sure any couple would call their story romantic. Maybe she could ask while they were here…

“C’mon, Crystal,” Emizella urged with a gentle shove, “I’m about to burst over here and you’re staring off like into space like an elgyem cadet!”

“I-I wasn’t,” Crystal defended but the riolu was taking none of it.

“Yeah, yeah. Move your caboose.” She pushed Crystal closer to the door, standing for no further distractions and moving them right along.

The lobby that welcomed them was as uneventful and quiet as the building’s exterior led Crystal to believe. Turn her head one side and she could see the seats and cushioned sofas idly waiting for some tired fellow to find comfort in their soft, knitted fabric. Turn her head to the other side and there was a tree taking root in the corner, encouraging other little patches of green to add some color to the monotone walls and cracked floors. And in front of them was a desk centered to the wall and a door with some kind of scanner panel to the side of that. Honestly, that had to be the most worthwhile part of this lobby, stirring Crystal’s curiosity into wondering just how exactly such a device worked in this kind of world.

She would call her first impressions of this guild’s HQ office dull and possibly a bit anticlimactic if Emizella’s brimming delight had faltered just a bit. But no, not even a little. Actually, she looked to be even more excited, her tail swinging even faster and sweeping up a clearing by her feet.

“This is where legends are born…” she whispered, her elation choking the breath out of her voice.

Crystal pressed her side a bit closer. Her mind was completely convinced that Emizella would faint at any second now from the lacking oxygen and her overexcitement.

“Crystal!” the riolu was prompted to shout her name, turning to her with eyes that sang in their enchantment, “We’re standing right in the same spot as so many other notorious adventurers. Diego the Wicked Hero. Skye the Curious Wanderer. Even Zacian and Zamazenta have walked through those same front doors!”

Well, when she put it like that, Crystal’s heart couldn’t help getting a bit excited herself. Its warm beating echoed in her body, flooding her vision to paint the lobby with a new appreciation for its worn, meek appearance. It has known greatness, welcomed greatness and will continue to be the first stepping stone for greatness as long as its four walls will last.

“Can I help you girls?” a voice asked from the lone desk, a morpeko peeking her golden head into view. She looked so tiny compared to the giant piece of furniture, it was a mystery why one more appropriate for her size wasn’t prepared. “We’re currently closed to tours for the next couple of weeks, you know.”

“Oh, we’re not here for a tour,” Emizella corrected, although her overly zealous attitude could have fooled anyone. “We’re actually here about the internship exam. We’re checking in to participate.”

“Oh! Well that’s a different story, then,” the morpeko’s ears perked up. She disappeared back behind the desk, her rustling and thudding echoing in the lobby. “C’mon in! Stay for a bit,” she beckoned among her shuffling around.

They both approached the desk, Emizella’s curiosity peeking her nose above the edge and Crystal’s was quick to follow. Of course, she had to stand on the tips of her toes more than Emizella but she could see what it was the little electric rodent was pulling out of her desk drawer. Well, pushing it out, it looked too big for her to pull. She shoved the book onto the surface, panting and grunting with the effort before she could join it on the desk’s top.

“Phew… they really need to think first before that put this kind of thing together…” she grumbled under her breath. The cover was pushed open and she began flipping through the pages. “Names, please,” she asked, looking between the two of them. She looked at Emizella first.

“Emizella,” the riolu answered.

She then looked over to Crystal.

“Crystal,” the fennekin answered as well.

“Right, Emizella and Crystal. Little miss Emizella and Crystal…” the morpeko mumbled, flipping past page after page before halting. She continued to whisper their names under her breath, her nubby little paw sliding down the paper and her eyes squinting at the print. “A-ha!” the eureka moment hit the room with a soft boom, “There you are, Emizella and Crystal. All the way from Ippona Village. Nice, nice, very good.” she commented away, grabbing a quill pen and scribbling away on the page.  She looked up at them and smiled, “Well, it’s good to have you both here. We’re always excited to see what small towns have to offer the guild,” she said, placing the quill pen down and pushing the book off to the corner.

Her body hopped right back into the desk drawer. “We just need you both to sign a bit of paperwork. I promise this is the dullest part of this process,” she explained. She came back with a large packet of paper that has definitely seen better days. Cracked edges and crinkled backsides all held together by a piece of string tied around its body. “Alright, I just need you girls to read through this and sign and date the back,” she said, pushing it off the desk to fall between the two of them with a dusty thump.

“What is all this?” Crystal asked, letting go of the desk edge to kneel down and take a look at the stack. She sniffed at it and her nose took a step back, taken away by the strong, musky aroma. How old is this?

“Just a few terms and conditions for taking the internship exam,” the morpeko answered, “And a few waivers to claim we are not liable for any injuries sustained while partaking in the exam process,” she added, speaking fast and soft.

“What was that last part?” Crystal asked with a quick turn of her head.

“Nothing!” the morpeko exclaimed with a beaming smile, handing off a couple of pens to the two of them so they could get started.

Crystal’s eyes examining her grinning deception, watching for the slightest quiver that would tattle on the morpeko’s pleasant façade. But her will was strong, maintaining her smile as if she never mentioned such an alarming inclusion to their paperwork stack.

“Crystal, let’s read it together over here!” Emizella waved. She was already over in the waiting area with the sofas and the chairs, eagerly patting the cushion next to her.

Crystal couldn’t keep her waiting, suspending her skepticism and joining her on the couch. Looking at the unraveled stack sat between the two of them sent a spark of dread rumbling through her throat. This is going to be a daunting read, isn’t it? She peeked over at Emizella who began to read the first page, smile still on her face and tail tapping away by her legs. Guess not even boring paperwork can get her down, she thought with a gentle smile taking over her own face as well.

They took turns reading the packet filled with rules, conditions and regulations the two must abide by during their participation in the exam. It outlined what would be means for disqualification and what falls under cheating. It emphasized how any information on the exam shared outside the guild would be met with serious consequences, including, but not limited to, expulsion from the Xernia’s Adventurers League Guild. They also reserved the right to inform other adventurers guilds outside the nation of the breach in this confidentiality agreement, essentially labeling the applicant as a blabbermouth that could not be trusted.

“Whoa… guess Zeke wasn’t kidding…” Emizella commented in a soft whisper.

Crystal nodded in agreement. Advice doesn’t count as information, right? She looked back at the listed items that qualified for spilling the exam’s secrets, not a single mention of vague advice. Safe.

They continued on. Crystal’s tongue began to get tired after a while so Emizella picked things up on the next page. Now it was time for those waivers, which really were a thing despite the morpeko skimming past that part. “Nothing,” she said. Crystal snuck a glance towards the desk, catching the little hamster lounging on her desk with what looked to be a magazine sprawled out in front of her and a lollipop candy sticking out of her mouth.

Doesn’t she look comfy?

The doors opened on the other side, a simipour bursting her way into the building with a couple of aipoms hopping in behind her. One carried a blue orb, a cerulean light glowing from deep within its core, while the other held up what looked like a camera in the stylings of a rotom. Crystal didn’t think an actual rotom was possessing it, though, the object remaining way too still in his tail’s hand to suggest any form of life. He lifted his tail up high with the scarlet device clenched securely in his bulbous palm.

“Oh good lord, not again…” the morpeko groaned with a roll of her eyes. She stared down at them from her desk, not bothering to adjust her posture or her attitude for their approach.

“A good day to you too, Malorie.” the simipour greeted despite the sour demeanor on display.

“It was…” she answered, her tone flat with not an ounce of mirth to decorate it.

“Noted. So, have you talked with your boss about that interview we discussed?”

“Yeah, that’s a no go on our end. ‘Fraid we don’t have anyone qualified who could answer your questions.”

“We’re not picky,”

“We don’t have anyone stupid enough to say yes, either.” she added without missing a beat, “If that’s all, you can leave now. We’re closed.”

“Tch!” Crystal heard the simipour click her tongue with a sharp pang of annoyance.

She had tried to be discreet, keeping one ear turned on her while the other focused on Emizella’s reading. She turned an eye to look at them again but found the simipour staring back at them this time. Her ear swiveled forward on her head quickly, squaring her focus on the packet of paper and the words that floated in a jumbled mess on the page. Oh no, where are we right now? She tried to catch up with Emizella’s voice but everything just looked like a two-year-old was playing scrabble with the letters in her panicked haste to cover up her tracks.

“Phew… I think that was the last one.” Emizella sighed, turning through the pages of signatures that followed. They held no real substance aside from the claim that whoever signed this would agree to everything contained in the pack of documents.

“Really?” Crystal looked up at her quickly, “We’re done?”

Emizella laughed softly, “Yep! I didn’t think it was going to end either but it looks like we made it through. Let’s go again and sign this bad boy already.”

She began handing the pen to Crystal, but just as her jaw snapped shut onto its base, she felt a fake smiling presence creep itself behind the two of them.

“Hey, kiddies,” the simipour greeted from behind the back of the sofa, “What’re you two looking at over here?”

Crystal began to inch herself over the paper, watching the simipour carefully.

“Can’t say,” Emizella answered, “It’s something for our eyes only so could you back up?”

“‘For your eyes only’? Come now, you don’t really believe something like that exists for a place like this, do you?” the simipour laughed.

Emizella’s eyes began to narrow, an irritated growl starting to rumble from deep in her chest.

“This is the great Adventurers League Guild HQ, home base to some of the biggest names of our generation—the pride of our beautiful nation. The public wants to know more about the goings-on of such a grand staple of our community and I’m merely seeking to give them that truth.” She pushed herself closer, pressing between the two and forcing Crystal’s head back. “Come on, everyone wants to feel closer to their heroes. We’re not doing anything bad in letting everyday pokémon feel closer to their heroes.”

“Even if you put it that way, we still can’t show you. I’m not blowing my chances before I even get to compete,” Emizella said, moving the packet around to the other side while watching the simipour with a vigilant gaze.

“Besides,” the pen dropped from Crystal’s lips, “I heard what the front desk said to you. She already told you no…and that the building’s closed to outsiders.” she said, speaking with all the assertiveness she could muster in her small voice.

The simipour looked between the two sets of glaring eyes and sighed regretfully, “I see, so it’s come to this,” she mused with a shake of her head, “Just remember, I tried to be nice about it.”

She slowly stepped away, pulling the pair’s cautious gazes to follow her instead of the aipom creeping its tail into the seat. The fingers plucked the paper bundle clean out of Emizella’s hands, snatching it free from her grip. He screeched in his delight, victory claimed for him and his companions as he jumped out of range of Emizella’s swiping hands.

“Hey! Give that back!” Emizella shouted, jumping off the back of the sofa to chase after them.

Crystal followed immediately after, landing her jump with a bit of a pause to work out the shock in her paws before running after the fleeing trio. They passed by the front desk where the morpeko had gone back to engrossing herself in the magazine’s articles and chased them into the overgrown tree taking residence in the sunny corner. The monkeys scaled it with ease, the aipoms tails swinging them higher up the branches with practiced finesse while the simipour pulled herself up into the highest perch and sat with a leg crossing over the other.

“If you think this is a joke, it’s not funny!” Emizella yelled up into the stretching branches, her good mood taken mercilessly from her face and leaving a snarling growl in its place.

“Oh, calm down,” the simipour scoffed with a roll of her eyes, holding a hand out for the aipom to place the stolen packet into her open palm, “I’ll give it back after I take a quick peek.”

“That’s the problem!” Crystal called up next, feeling her own fur begin to bristle, “Just give it back, you have no right to look at it!”

“‘Right’? Listen to you and your righteous, entitled attitude. That’s the problem with you adventurers nowadays: you think you’re too good for us—too big for the little ‘mons out there. You’re all much too high on your pedestals, it’s about time someone knocked you down a few pegs.” the simipour said, waving the pages by her face and taunting them with every light swish.

“That’s not even-” Crystal tried to bark back but felt a soft tapping on her shoulder.

The morpeko had climbed down from her desk and was now motioning for Crystal to step aside, smiling like everything was fine and absolutely peachy. She patted Emizella’s arm next, gaining her attention to push her half-bitten lollipop into the riolu’s hand.

She continued to walk forward, looking up at the pokémon in the tree and eyeing the simipour particularly with a beaming grin that made the air sparkle and shine. But it was merely a mask and she ripped off that mask in a single flash of bright fuchsia. In an instant, her golden fur was exchanged for a deep violet pelt, while angered, reddened eyes set themselves in a sharp glare on a canvas of black.

The color on the simipour drained from her face, the rich blue of her fur fading into a dead, steely grey. The smiles on the aipoms’ face flipped to frowned, nervous, cold beads of sweat dripping down their terrified faces.

“Hey now, Mal. There’s no need to be rash. Here! Here, I’ll give it back. No harm done at all. So why don’t we just-”

The morpeko didn’t let her finish, her body revving up a spiraling, electric-blue charge that spun underneath her kicking feet. The kinetic energy she built up in her running wheel sent a powerful hum racing along the edges that made even Crystal’s fur begin to stand from the static. It left a scorch mark on the floor when it took off for the top of the tree, breaking off the top like it was a twig and smashing them all through the wall of the guild building.

Crystal winced at the impact that sent rubble and shattered wood falling to the ground. She shielded her eyes from the floating dust and debris, peeking one eye open to see the scattered papers floating back down, fluttering about like so many dead leaves in autumn.

Emizella felt the need to catch them quickly before they lost even a single page. She pushed the candy into Crystal’s mouth to hold, jumping and catching the pages by the bunch until she couldn’t pick out anymore from the air. They were gathered together into one pile and counted carefully.

“I think that’s all of them…” she noted with a relieved look in her eyes.

Thank goodness, Crystal thought, holding the lollipop between her teeth and nodding with the stem sticking out of her mouth.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” Crystal heard the commotion continuing on outside.

She pushed her way through the door, hearing Emizella stepping behind to witness the follow up to the explosive exit. The crash didn’t cool the morpeko in the slightest, her dark, foreboding colors still clinging to her body. She had one of the aipoms’ camera in her hands, inspecting it silently before positioning it between her teeth. A dark shadow traced her open maw, lining her jaw with massive, razor-sharp fangs.

“No! Stop! What are you-” the simipour reached out to stop her, but it was too late.

The two sets of fangs snapped shut, the camera breaking apart into shattered pieces that fell to the ground.

The simipour screamed in her dismay, crawling to pick up the bits at the morpeko’s feet. “Do you have any idea how must these things cost?? My boss is going to kill me!”

The morpeko spat out the remnants lingering in her mouth before turning her glare back to the frantic simipour trying to fit the pieces back together. “You think I give a single fuck what’s going to happen to you? After I tried to be nice and let you walk out with your shit intact? Oh no, fuck that!”

Her shouting pulled the eyes and ears of the surrounding pokémon, stopping their errands and their leisurely strolls to watch the spectacle.

The morpeko grabbed at the simipour’s hair, gripping it with her tiny nubs and yanking on the locks with a force unlike what such cute little mittens would suggest. “It’s fine if you want to annoy me. I can take your bullshit just fine. But you don’t fuck with the kids.” she growled close to her face, “Do I make myself clear?”

The simipour gulped, nodding her head with the little amount of give the morpeko’s grip allowed.

“Good,” she shoved her away, “Now get out of here before I smash your conn-orb next.”

The trio’s leader rubbed at her sniffling face, clearing her dripping nose and watering eyes before reaching to scoop up the two unconscious aipoms. She held their limp bodies by her side, squeezing them tight under her trembling arms. A shaky hand reached to grab at the orb that suffered a small crack from the blast and she was set to take off, running down the street and pushing her way to safety.

Chapter Text

With the trio gone and far out of sight, Crystal felt her body slowly easing the stress out of her muscles. Her fur settled down with a shiver that her reflexes told her to shake out. Her body didn’t make a display out of it, working it out with a subtle quivering shake. She hoped she wouldn’t have to see those kinds of pokémon again, but she knew that was a naïve fantasy to hope for.

The morpeko huffed, “Damn pussy-ass bitches…” she called them under her breath, the fuchsia flash returning her back to her golden, chipper hue.

She turned back to the building, catching the two watching her slightly with eyes slowly taking in her foul nature. She blinked once and then twice before smiling and holding a finger to her lips. “Why don’t we keep that display our little secret?” she suggested with a wink.

“That won’t be necessary,” a voice said from behind them.

Another body began to exit the building, tall and lean and not at all impressed with the situation. An ampharos stepped calming from the small gathering’s rear to the front of their group, rounded the corner of the building and spotted the large hole that still had chucks and bits to give back to the earth below. He avoided being hit in the head by one, watching the pebble bounce and roll into its new home on the ground before looking over his shoulder to the morpeko.

“Malorie,” he called her name.

She pretended not to hear him.

“Mal!”

She winced at the second time, “Yeah?”

“Care to explain why we have yet another hole in our walls after we just finished patching up the last one?” he asked, gesturing to her handiwork.

Is this some kind of regular occurrence?

The morpeko shrugged her shoulders, “I swear I had a legit reason this time. The paps were bugging our two new candidates here. Bullying them and whatnot. And, as the front face of ALG’s HQ, I had to step in and put a stop to it.”

“By blowing another hole into our HQ?!” he shouted, jabbing a hand towards the damage that would surely need to be repaired sooner rather than later.

“Not my fault. They were holed up in the tree so I could only aim up.”

“Yes, and I saw what you did to poor, little Trixie too.”

Trixie?

“The poor girl didn’t ask to have bullies in her branches, why did you have to take off her head with them?”

The tree??

“I’ve already told you to plant Trixie outside so she wouldn’t be caught in the crossfires so that one’s on you.” the morpeko waved the blame away from her with a turn of her head, pressing a hand to her hip with a soft huff.

“On me?!” he shouted before burying his face into his hands and dragging the skin below his eyes downward. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled. “Fine,” he conceded, “Fine, I’ll plant her outside. But you owe her at least an apology for hurting her.”

“Yeah, sure,” she shrugged, accepting that much and he seemed very much relieved that that would be the end of that.

His body straightened and his attention shifted to the two new candidates she had mentioned. Proper introductions had to be made, and after such an eventful first impression, it felt way more necessary to convince the two young girls with their bright eyes and bushy tails that they weren’t a group of savages trying to convince the public that they were, indeed, an accredited adventurers’ guild.

“I am so sorry for the mess,” he said, walking over to the two of them and gently dusting off the muck from the morpeko’s one-sided battle. “I promise this isn’t an everyday occurrence. Maybe once or twice every other week but certainly not every day.” His body moved back to his standing position once he was satisfied that the two were returned to their pristine condition.

Emizella just stared up at him, her eyes dazed with a soft glitter radiating in her gem-like irises. “It’s fine…” she answered slowly, holding the papers even closer to her chest.

He glanced down at the sheets and moved his eyes back up to hers, “Did you girls get the chance to sign it yet?”

Emizella was reminded of where they had left off before the simipour’s shenanigans had interrupted them, wincing slightly at the realization. “Oh, uh,” she looked down at the documents, “No, not yet.”

He smiled, “Why don’t we head back inside and get that taken care of?” he asked, reaching to escort them both back into the building.

The morpeko walked in with them. She gave a sideways glance at Crystal, taking notice of the stick lingering past her lips. She grabbed it, taking the candy back with a soft pop and returning it back into her own mouth. “Can’t be signing anything with a busy mouth, can you?” she asked and walked away to the corner before Crystal could give any kind of response.

The ampharos reached over the desk, standing slightly on the tip of his toes to grab the idling pen laying on the surface. “Got it,” he muttered when his grip gained purchase on the slender writing tool, pulling it over and handing it off to Emizella first. “Here you go.”

Emizella took the pen from him, her gaze glancing towards Crystal and her warm, encouraging smile. A soft nod of her head gave the riolu the go-ahead to sign her name first. Crystal would have had to take a longer time with writing her own signature and the poor riolu had waited more than long enough.

Her eyes twinkled and her tail began to wag once more, slowed by apprehension but steadily gaining speed with each letter she engraved alongside so many others.

“I should have said this in the beginning but my name is Alistar. I sort of man the helm while our elusive leader is away, pretty much just keep everything in one piece around here.”

The morpeko yelped, jumping out of the way as a chuck of the wall fell from the hole with spectacular timing. They all looked towards her startled expression, her body frozen for just a moment before she cleared her throat and began adding it to her clean up pile.

Alistar sighed, “Well… try to, at least.” he muttered under his breath. Her attention shifted back to the two young candidates, “And you’ve met Malorie.”

Crystal watched her silently, catching her give a short salute in their direction before going back to work dragging the bigger pieces of wood to the wall’s edge and kicking the smaller pieces to join them.

The pen was handed off to her, hanging at the corn of her eye before she turned to take it into her mouth. Her teeth got a tight hold of if, making sure it wasn’t going anywhere while also trying to not break it in her mouth either. Ink mixed with the leftover sugary-sweet taste on her tongue would make for a bad combination, indeed. With her sturdy, careful grip in place, she crouched herself over the paper and began to doodle down the first letter of her name.

“This time of year always gets the pokémon of Harmonia feeling a bit…excited, but I hope we haven’t scared you off too much.” he continued, drawing Crystal’s attention back to their conversation.

“Not at all,” Emizella beamed, her excitement back in full swing, “I’ve been waiting for this day since I was really little so it’s going to take a lot more than that to scare me off.”

He chuckled, finding delight in her childhood dreams—still pure and untouched by the realities of the profession. Crystal could see it spelled out in his softened eyes: “such innocence,” they seemed to sigh fondly. She empathized with the feeling, breathing out a soft chuckle that helped the ink dry onto the page.

One last stroke and there was the day’s date printed next to her sloppy writing. Well, at least Lillian’s letters will give me some practice, Crystal thought as she squinted to try and make out her own name that she just wrote. All she could do was shrug at the scribblings. It was the best it was going to get for a mouth-drawn signature and there was only so much space to spare.

“All done?” Alistar asked when Crystal began to pull back.

Crystal’s gaze turned up, pointing the pen tip towards the ampharos. She nodded with a soft, affirmative hum.

“Excellent! Then I’ll just go ahead and take that…” He slid the packet of papers out from under her and grabbed the pen from her slacking jaw. “Well, I certainly wish you two the best of luck, Miss Emizella and Miss Crystal.” he smiled, reading off their names from the sheet.

A soft glimmer of recognition came into his eyes as the name rolled off his tongue, looking down at their signatures again and squinting to make sure he read it right.

“Emizella…” he turned his eyes from the paper to the riolu, “Pardon me, but you wouldn’t happen to know a lucario by the name of Emizel, would you?”

Emizella blinked, her smile falling from her lips. “Oh, yeah. That’s my big brother,” she answered.

“I thought so!” Alistar exclaimed, pounding a hand into his palm, “When I saw your application, I could just sense the family resemblance brimming right off the page. To think we could have both the big brother and the little sister in our ranks is quite exciting. Oh! But trust me, you’ll have to pass the exam just like everyone else. We don’t believe in nepotism here. But still, if you’re Emizel’s little sister then I’m sure you’ll be just as promising as your big brother.”

With every word that flowed past his rambling lips, Emizella’s face tightened harder and harder until her smile was screwed firmly into her cheeks. The fur at the back of her neck began to stand on end and her tail remained as stiff as a rudder board behind her. Every sign that she wanted to leave, every indication that she was feeling uncomfortable, was kept behind her smile and agreeing nods.

Crystal could say with certainty that the ampharos meant no harm or malice behind his words but it couldn’t keep her own fur from standing from her troubled discomfort. Of course, Emizella didn’t want anyone to see it, but Crystal wished that he did so he could stop. But he carried on, oblivious in his own excitement and the small fennekin had to take matters into her own paws.

“Pardon me,” she spoke up when Alistar stopped to take a breath, “I hate to cut this short so soon but someone is supposed to pick us up once we were done.” She felt Emizella’s eyes on her and she continued without any objections, “We should wait outside for her so she doesn’t have to come looking for us.”

“Oh! Yes, yes, we have been keeping you two much longer than any of us had expected, haven’t we? Wouldn’t want to keep your host guessing about your whereabouts. We’ll see you both on test day, then. Mal,” he called the morpeko who was now shoving the sticks out the hole, “Could you put those down and see Emizella and Crystal to the door?”

Malorie tossed the last of the sticks with a bit of a clang, some missing the hole and hitting the still-intact part of the wall instead. “Sure.” She scaled down the tree and walked over to the two girls while patting her hands clean of the little wood bits stuck to her fur.

She walked them both to the door, holding it open once they reached the exit. “We’ll see you back here next week. Make sure you’re all rested up beforehand and don’t go doing anything I would do.”

Crystal nodded her, “Right. Goodbye, then.”

The door closed with a gentle click behind them, leaving the two of them by themselves while the other pokémon civilians carried on with their day. They moved as if there hadn’t been an uproar just a few minutes ago. Not even a peep or a whisper of gossip flowed through the air. Guess they’re just too used to stuff like that, she figured.

Her scanning eyes landed on Emizella’s profile, her smile gone and her face completely worn out by the strenuous effort. She didn’t have the strength to frown by Crystal could see the dark clouds rolling into her eyes. What was it? Exhaustion? Disappointment? Emizella let a soft sigh leave her lips and it added even more weight to Crystal’s chest. She couldn’t stomach that kind of weight on her body, not even for a second.

She looked around again, standing on her hind legs for a better vantage point before sitting back down again. “I don’t see Jasmine or Valerie around. They must still be taking care of their business,” she noted. She heard a soft hum from Emizella’s throat and decided to carry on, “Why don’t we wait for them over there?” she suggested, pointing towards the patch of flowers and their colorful spectrum of petals.

Emizella nodded, her face remaining flat despite Crystal’s efforts to distract her from this funk. She led the way into the flower bed and took a seat among the stems and grasses.

Crystal sat down beside her, breathing in the fragrant aroma. It all smelt so refreshing, like sunshine and fresh rain, but it felt so diluted if Emizella couldn’t enjoy it too. “The flowers look so lovely here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a city this green before,” she said, carefully sliding into the sea of velvety soft kisses as she laid onto her side.

“Mm-hm…” Emizella mindlessly felt at the petals, pinching and lightly pulling at them to make them sway.

Crystal’s ears lowered and she reached a paw out to press against the steel bump on the riolu’s arm. “Emi…” she called her softly, a gentle whimper decorating her voice.

Dawn came into Emizella’s crimson eyes, realization blossoming through the fog to see Crystal on the other side. She breathed out a delicate smile, reaching a hand to stroke through the fennekin’s fine fur. “C’mon, don’t look at me like that,” she asked, almost pleading for it as she ran her digits into the soft fur of Crystal’s cheek. “I’m sorry I got you all worried. I’m fine, really.”

Crystal rested her head on Emizella’s palm, eyes peering up to check the tenderness taking over her face. “Are you sure? We can talk about it if you want.”

“It’s fine. It’s nothing, just me and my silly problems.”

Crystal sat up slightly, moving her chin out of Emizella’s hand and staring deep into her eyes. “You know, when I had a whole lot of ‘nothing’ getting me down, I remember a certain riolu being there for me and listening to my silly problems.” she said, her cheeks flustered and bashful at the recollection of her restless nights, “So… if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to be a certain fennekin listening to your problems.”

The sunset seemed to dance in Crystal’s eyes, spinning and twirling in the warm embers of her gaze. It bled into her cheeks, making her glow, making her radiate a soothing heat that beckoned Emizella to find comfort in such gentle kindness. She was speechless to the sensation for a moment, just a moment, before she bit into her lips and formed the words over her tongue.

“It’s… it’s really stupid.” she started, a self-deprecating smile coming onto her lips.

“I won’t think it’s stupid,” Crystal reassured her, crawling closer to her and laying her head over her lap. “Go ahead, I’m all ears.”

Emizella stared at her, a hand hovering over her head before a chuckle relaxed her arm and landed it on her sunny pelt. “Okay, so… don’t get me wrong, I love my big bro and I’m proud to say I’m his little sister, but… I hate when people mention him and me in the same breath.” she admitted to the fact, squeezing into Crystal’s soft body for comfort, “It’s like… I’m more than just Emizel’s little sister, but no matter how far I go, no matter how hard I try… It just feels like I’m still in his shadow no matter where I go. And then I think… is it me they want or do they just want another Emizel? I’m trying to be my own pokémon but it’s hard when they see my brother first and then me.” She let out shaking breath that crashed like shattered glass into Crystal’s ears. “But it’s not like I can do anything about it… he was here first so of course everyone is going to know him before they get to know me. That’s why… it feels a bit stupid to be getting frustrated like this.”

“I don’t think it’s stupid at all…” Crystal told her, rolling under her hand and flashing her downy stomach at the riolu, “I’ve never met your brother, so I don’t know if this counts, but I see you. I see you and all you do to be the very best you can be. It wasn’t Emizel who saved me from Axel and his zangooses; it was Emi.” She reached a paw up, caressing Emizella’s cheek with a feather-light touch, “You’re your own hero, Emi. And when you become an adventurer, everyone is going to see it. They’re going to see you.”

The words resonated in Emizella’s mind behind shimmering, wet eyes. Crystal could see the seed sinking deep and making steady work of the riolu’s anxieties that shrouded her gaze. The jewels began to shine through once more, pure and bright and unmistakably beautiful. Crystal really did love the color of those eyes. When their gleam was unabated and their clarity was unclouded and pure, Crystal found that she truly, deeply loved those eyes.

Emizella closed them before Crystal was finished appreciating their color, but Crystal could forgive her with that genuine smile of hers illuminating her face like the sun breaking past the horizon. She leaned in closer, pressing their foreheads together and wrapping her arms around Crystal’s body.

“Thanks, Crystal…” Emizella whispered close to her face.

Crystal felt her heart seize in her chest before starting up again with a vengeance. It almost felt painful, how her heart kicked at her ribs and pushed against her lungs, but she couldn’t call the feeling unpleasant. It just felt like a reminder—an intense reminder screaming at her that she was alive and living beside someone so precious to her.

She nuzzled back into her with a warm chuckle shared between the two of them. “Anytime…” she whispered back, her tail rubbing itself into the flowers and catching the petals in its thick, luscious fur.

“There you darlings are!” A familiar voice called them with its charming ring and refined melody, breaking through the nameless moment and putting an immediate stop to the hard, rhythmic thumping of Crystal’s heart. “What are you two doing hiding away in the flowers like a couple of-” Jasmine stopped and stared at the two, her eyes tracing their conjoined shape. A knowing smirk came onto her lips and she turned to look at Valerie, “Looks like we might have interrupted something here.” she giggled.

“What?” Emizella asked, rising up carefully with Crystal’s head still keeping her lap grounded.

“Should we give you girls a few more minutes alone, or…”

Scarlet mixed with the royal blue of her fur and added a violet hint to the flustered color. Or perhaps the violet was from a lack of oxygen filling her lungs. Crystal lost count of how many seconds Emizella was staring at the two snickering canines with her breathless gasp so her conclusion was starting to lean closer to the latter.

“This isn’t- We weren’t- It’s not like that!” she sputtered and fumbled, desperate for them to understand but failing to find the words to explain themselves.

“Right, right. Whatever you say.” Jasmine teased, trying to contain her laughter behind a paw.

“I remember having plenty of ‘it’s not like that’ moments when I was a kid. Take it from someone who’s been there: it’s best to just be honest.” Valerie added with a suggestive wink of her eyes.

“By Xerneas’s merciful grace…” Emizella groaned, hiding her face into her hands, “Crystal, do something. Tell them it’s not like that.”

I could… but that doesn’t sound nearly as fun. “It’s not like what?” Crystal asked with an innocent tilt of her head, playing up her charms and wiggling her body just a bit further onto Emizella’s lap.

The riolu looked down at her squirming body, trust shattering in her eyes as her last line of hope betrayed her when she needed her most. She cried out in her heartbreak, “You’re all awful!” she declared, rolling Crystal off of her body before running away from the situation.

Crystal laughed as she rolled herself back onto her feet and took off after her. “Wait! Emi!” she called between her giggles, “I’m sorry! Don’t run off!”

“Do they even know the way back?” Crystal heard Valerie ask behind their sprinting bodies.

“Don’t know. Why don’t we find out?” Jasmine suggested and two more sets of paws joined in on the chase.

They raced down the street without a care for who saw them or what kind of face they were making when they passed. Just one more wild encounter on the streets of Harmonia and one more story to tell at the dinner table. But Crystal supposed that was just life in the big city.

Chapter Text

Gentle flickers and dancing lights; under the silent moon’s glow, Crystal added her own little stars to the midnight stage. One by one, they made their entrance into the spotlight, multiplying by their puppeteer’s side and hovering at the ready. Pale blues and subtle lavenders colored her fur with their lively radiance, illuminating soft patches of sun amidst the shadows of night.

She felt them tugging at the edge of her mind, tickling the reaches of her control before directing them along down to their targets. She had several cans lined up along the wall, sitting at varying heights. She led a couple to a can sitting on an empty box. Another few went to the can sat high on an old wooden crate. And several more were sent to the cans sitting on the crooked stones and standing boulders. The motions felt easier on her brain—more focused and clear without the muck gunking up their paths.

They merged into their targets, seeping their burning touch into unfeeling aluminum until Crystal was left with only the light of the full moon and the shining stars above her head. She let out a relieved sigh, “Now all I have to do is not choke and they should be fine,” she muttered with a soft nod of her head.

“Getting a good night’s sleep might help with that,” a voice trickled into her ears.

Crystal yelped with a short jump, turning her body towards the source and seeing a pair of crimson eyes reflecting the light of the night outward from her gaze. “Emi…” she breathed out her name past her racing heart, “You startled me… What are you doing up so late?”

“I can ask you the same thing,” she responded with a stern cross of her arms.

“Oh! Well,” Crystal began to mutter, a flustered hue taking up the white of her cheeks, “I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d get a bit of last-minute practice in before the big day. You know, make sure they’re all in line before I use them for real.”

Emizella stared at her for a moment before letting a sigh soften the scolding look in her brows. She took a few steps closer, closing the distance between them and pressing a gentle pet to her head. “It’s all well and good to make sure you’re ready, but you need your sleep more than you need the practice.”

Crystal’s ears laid down her head, a pout tracing her lips while her eyes found interest in the deep shadows in the corner of the alleyway. Eventually, she relented, “I know… It’s just…” her eyes flickered back up to meet Emizella’s, “Aren’t you nervous too? About the exam?”

Emizella watched her and chuckled at the question, “Well, no duh. Of course I’m nervous. I don’t think there’s a single pokémon out there that wouldn’t be at least a little bit nervous. But you remember what Zeke said, right? We just gotta stay true to ourselves and we’ll be just fine.” she quoted him, mimicking his hardened, piercing glare and angling the ends of her brows down with the fingers to replicate the luxray’s furrowed frown. Her imitation melted away when she got Crystal to crack a smile, breaking the tight line of her lips. “If he says it, then it’s gotta be true. And I don’t plan on those nerves changing my mind any time soon.”

“You sound so sure of yourself,” Crystal giggled, a soft pang of jealousy playing at the back of her mind—wishing she could be as self-assured as Emizella seemed at this moment.

“Well, there is that… But remembering that I have you by my side helps out a lot more. Knowing I have someone so dependable that I can rely on makes me feel like we can make it. Every step we make together is a step towards victory,” she said, a hand rubbing at the back of her head to ease the bashful shade out of her face.

Crystal stared at her for a moment, watching the sheepish grin cover her lips. Yeah, she thought on it, I guess it really doesn’t feel so bad going in with a friend. She giggled softly at her own nerves, feeling them ease off her mind just in time for exhaustion to take their place. A yawn slipped past her and she heard Emizella chuckling to herself at the soft-pitched sound.

“Alright, that’s enough chatting for one night. C’mon, let’s head back to bed.” Emizella said with a slight gesture of her head.

Crystal eyed the decorative rings that clung around the riolu’s feelers, spotting the gem embedded in their surface flashing under the moonlight. She felt her own gift gently tugging at her ear, drawing her mind to recall the exchange. To recall their first adventure. To recall the vow she made that night.

Walking up into the loft Jasmine had lent to them during their stay, she gave a second yawn, memories pulling her closer to dreams. Dreams for the future, dreams of her ideal self—their ideal selves pulling through thrilling conquests and glorious expeditions. Amazing discoveries were waiting for them just around the corner, past the dreams and into a reality they would forge together.

Together, she yawned a third time as they crawled back into bed. We’ll be fine…we can make it if we… Her thoughts faded into slumber, peace finally overtaking her mind and sending her off into Lady Cresselia’s domain.

***

What could Crystal say as she and Emizella stood at the edge of the crowd of busybodies blocking the doorway to their future? That she expected this kind hustle and bustle to be going down on test day? That they should have woken up even earlier to avoid this kind of traffic? They’d all be a total lie and completely useless in the face of their first obstacle of the day.

“Don’t they know pokémon have to get through?” Emizella muttered, surveying the situation and crouching to look between the grove of legs blocking her sight. “Perhaps we could squeeze through…”

Crystal crouched by her, examining what they had to work with through squinted eyes. “We might be small enough to fit through that machoke and maybe push past the mudsdale.” she pointed to the gap.

“Yeah, but it’s going to hurt really badly if either of them steps on us,” she responded with a soft hum, pitched with a soft whine at the idea of such hardened hooves finding their soft bodies.

“But pushing past the smaller bodies are going to feel tighter.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s not like we-”

“Back! Back, you beasts!” Crystal heard a familiar voice edging closer into deadly irritation, the bubbly exteriors ready to fade away at any second. “This is way too early for this kind of nonsense. If you ain’t with the exam then step back! Step back, I said!”

Violet sparks began to crackle above the peak of the crowding bodies, a wary air slowly consuming them at the bristling sensation working its way under their skins. Some eyes glanced at the side of the building where a wooden board was used to temporarily patch up the hole. Some had witnessed the fury of Malorie’s temper. Some had heard horrendous stories and rumors of her merciless terror. But all of them knew well enough to not test her.

They parted from the doors carefully, backing away slowly like she was some unpredictable, ravenous animal. Separating figures gave way to Malorie’s golden visage, a long stick in hand to make sure she was getting the radius of space she wanted.

“Yes, yes, that’s it. You can watch without being a hazard,” she told them with a huff before spotting the two candidates waiting for her to finish working her magic. “Oh! Um… I’m blanking on your names but you were here last week, right?” she pointed towards the two of them, “C’mon, I’m holding them off so get inside.”

Well, that solves that problem, Crystal thought while Emizella shrugged her shoulders beside her. She walked in first, trotting with a bit of a skip and Crystal followed closely at her side.

Malorie gave a few more narrowed glares at the bystanders as they made their way past her, swaying her stick so no one would get any funny ideas while she was holding the door for the couple of pokémon who had approval to come inside. She jabbed it forward once, making some poor cacnea flinch behind the leafy skirt of a lilligant he clung to with his prickly arms. Malorie looked quite satisfied at the show of meek submission to her show of domination over the crowd, breathing out a soft huff before letting the door close behind their tails.

“It’s been all morning with this…” she muttered as she walked them further inside, tossing the stick onto the floor.

“Is it like this every year?” Crystal asked despite the risk of riling the morpeko up.

“Oh yeah. You’d think they’d learn but nope! Their nosy curiosity always triumphs in the end. Anyway, the orientation is being held in the main guildhall past this door,” Malorie explained, stopping in front of the door way and digging into her pouch, “Just follow the signs and you’ll find the right room.”

She pulled out a badge that matched the guild’s emblem plastered on their sign. She scaled up the wall and held its face to the scanner that hung by the sealed entrance. The device glowed a soft green color, registering the identification shoved into its space and giving a soft beep. A heavy click sounded from the door, a latch releasing and making the sturdy, unyielding slab susceptible to guests. It slid open slowly with a soft creak and Malorie slid down from her positioning beside the scanner pad.

“There we go. Alright, I trust you girls know how to read signs so I’ll leave you to it. I gotta get back to bouncer duty.” she said, shoving the badge back into her pouch and giving a short wave to the two as she stepped back to the entryway. “Good lu- Hey! Hey, don’t think I don’t see you there! You ain’t slick!” she shouted, picking up the pace back to her post.

Emizella glanced back towards the charging morpeko, “Looks like she’s got her hands full,” she noted with the soft clack of the stick being taken up into arms once more. She looked back to Crystal, “Well, why don’t we get ourselves inside then?” she suggested with an eager smile.

Crystal gave a hearty nod of her head, her tail wagging in her anticipation although she felt the weight of her anxieties holding back on its momentum. She swallowed it down, fixed her eyes forward and took her first step towards the life-changing event.

They walked past the opened door, pushing it shut behind them and hearing the latch snap back into place. Crystal’s ears shifted back at the sound, peeking over her shoulder at the slab held tightly into place by mechanics she couldn’t see. It had to be new, or, at least, relatively new compared to this ancient city.

There was a finality about its sturdy face, about its unmoving, locked position that made it impossible for Crystal to even imagine leaving out the same way they came in. It whispered to her in a way, telling her that there was no turning back now. Whatever happens past this point will happen—good, bad or anywhere in between.

Crystal scanned the rest of the main guildhall, her eyes opening wide to take in the secrets that lied on the other side of the door. The early morning sun shined through the high windows and illuminated the world she only knew in her daydreams. Two boards were posted side by side, one for jobs that asked for various different requests to be completed and the other was for bounties, outlaws that have persisted in evading capture from local law and security officers. Across from a doorway that led deeper into the guildhall was a large map of their nation. Pins were stuck into it, all across its surface with ribbons dangling from their stem.

Emizella couldn’t resist taking a closer look, eyes completely mesmerized by each little pin and its identifying mark. Her head moved from side to side, skimming over its surface. Was she looking for something, possibly? Well, there was no finding it when a large garchomp stepped behind her, her shadow draping over the riolu’s body while her golden eyes stared down at her tiny form.

“You’re in the way, kid,” she said in a deep voice that bordered on a subtle growl.

Emizella’s eyes looked back at her, lips pressing into a tight line under the sheer weight of her presence. Before it could get too heavy, a flygon poked her head out from behind her body, giving a friendly wave and a kind smile. Emizella couldn’t return the gesture, her muscles clasped too tightly into position but she didn’t block their way for long either. Stiffly, her body began to scooch away with her arms held to her sides. Wide steps moved her closer to Crystal’s side until their furs were mingling together in a mixture of blue and gold.

She leaned closer to Crystal’s ear, “Do you have any idea who they are?” she whispered, fighting hard to keep it at a soft tone.

Crystal gave a short shake of her head.

Emizella’s head snapped over to stare deep into Crystal’s eyes, disbelief playing on crimson with a soft hint of offense for the fennekin’s ignorance. “How can you not know who they are?” she said, completely foregoing her whisper while a strong, excitable grip clenched onto Crystal’s shoulders.

Pretty sure that would fall under “fan” knowledge rather than basic, Crystal thought with a shrug.

“They’re the Desert Duo! How have you not heard of them??”

Crystal raised a brow at the riolu, wondering where she could have possibly heard about them outside of Emizella’s own ravings. Besides, she could hardly call this the best time to be getting excited and fangirling about professionals when they were supposed to be taking the exam to become professionals themselves.

“Alright, fine,” Emizella raised her hands to stop herself and this conversation from going any further, “But this isn’t over.”

I’m sure, Crystal thought with a roll of her eyes.

“Hey,” her attention shifted to the flygon stepping closer to the two of them, “You’re here for the internship exam, right? Do you know the way to the meeting room?” she asked with a soft tilt of her head.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, guess I got a little sidetracked,” Emizella answered, her embarrassment adding a soft glow to her cheeks.

“It’s alright,” she smiled, “I get it. It can be a bit overwhelming the first time you step back here. But you’re early so you can afford the distraction.”

“If you’re early, then you ought to get to where you need to be so you won’t end up being late,” the garchomp commented behind her, pulling a pin out from the large map and placing it and its ribbon into a basket off to the side. How does she do that with a single claw?

“They’re fine,” she waved away her concern with a slight whip of her tail, “Anyway, we’ll be going the same way as you so why don’t you walk with us?”

“Are you sure?” Crystal asked between Emizella’s deep, excitable gasps, “We wouldn’t want to bother you if you have somewhere you need to be.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” the flygon laughed, already starting to lead them away down the halls, “Like I said, we’re all heading in the same direction. Might as well enjoy the company.”

The generous gesture was well underway before any snippet of humble thought could think to put up more of a polite front. With a scaly tail tapping at the back of Crystal’s hind legs, the flygon nudged them along gently with her partner walking on the other side. Their small bodies sandwiched between two large dragons, was this meant to be their life now? Emizella was into it. With beaming eyes and a strong grin, Emizella was so into it.

“Oh, I guess I should properly introduce myself since at least one of you hasn’t heard of me,” the flygon leaned just a little closer to gesture towards Crystal, pulling a soft, embarrassed pang from her chest as she avoided the mirthful smirk. The flygon chuckled, “Don’t worry, I’m only teasing. Anyway, my name is Elmira, but everyone just calls me Emma. Feel free to call me that too. And my partner over there is Cynthia.” she said, pointing a wing to the garchomp, “We’re actually one of the folks accepting interns this year so you might just end up with us.”

“I doubt it,” Cynthia was quick to shoot down the idea before it had a chance to root any hope into the young pokémon’s heads, “We’re going to need someone that can keep up with us in our own terrain, and something tells me neither off you would be too go dealing with the sand,” she said

“Well, I can’t say she’s really wrong.” Crystal smiled. Admittedly, a bit more forced than she intended but how could she be insulted by the blatant fact?

“She still could have been a bit gentler about it,” Elmira stated with a pointed glare.

“You know gentle isn’t my style,” Cynthia shrugged her shoulders before getting a swift whack at the back of her head by the flygon’s tail. She gave a soft yelp and grumbled, a claw soothing the light sting.

“Anyway, even if it isn’t us, there’s still plenty of others just as cool that you can work with. They’ll be watching the exam with the overseers.” she took a short pause, a realization sparking in her voice and shifting her tone, “Oh! But no pressure, of course.”

Right, no pressure, Crystal swallowed down her nerves, lips pressing into a tight line to keep them from bursting out. But it was never exactly easy to hide them away in this kind of body. Even if she ignored the chills rising on the back of her neck, it didn’t lay her fur down any flatter along her spine. She wanted to scratch away the tingling sensation but this convoy wasn’t slowing down or stopping until they reached their destination.

…No pressure. She tried bearing it, soft twitches jolting to get it out but it only made her itch more. She could feel the anxieties bubbling up and sitting at a simmering boil in her body, steam fogging up her brain and blocking out her ears. The pressure was definitely starting to get to her. Were they still talking? She couldn’t tell past the humming drone ringing in her ears. It was almost impressive how she still managed to walk in a straight line.

But then, there was a switch, a light tap that flickered through the fog and eased away the itch. Actually, she felt it scratching at it gently, subtly shaping down the flaring fur and rubbing away the goosebumps.

She turned towards that arm that extended out to her, looking at the riolu who kept her eager conversation still going. Emizella gave a short glance to Crystal, a reassuring glimmer that reminded her of what they talked about before looking back up to the flygon. Her hand never left her backside and her calming air remained strong and steady up to their designated meeting room.

“Whelp, this is your stop,” Elmira said, escorting the two to the sign greeting the guild’s potential new recruits with fresh ink and a warm drawing of their mascot waving a hearty hello. “We’ve got to head off now to get ready but don’t go wandering off, okay?” she gave a teasing wink towards Emizella, a giggle tickling the back of her voice.

“I-I just let my guard down a little bit! I swear I’m not that much of an airhead!” Emizella tried to defend herself before she was seen in any more of an unsavory light as she was now, but her declaration only served to humor her idols even more.

“If you say so,” she said past her chuckles, “Well then, good luck to you two. We’ll see you out on the field.” She gave a short wave and joined Cynthia’s side down the hall, the garchomp already drifting off on her own.

“See you, and thanks for showing us the way,” Emizella waved back before letting a heavy sigh leave her lips and relax her shoulders.

In Crystal’s own little wave, watching their backs grow further away before turning into one of the rooms by the corner, she didn’t pay much mind to Emizella’s looming figure. That is, not until she was combing through her fur and pushing it back against the grain and tickling her with every backwards stroke.

“Um… what are you doing?” she asked, turning her attention to the inspective riolu.

“Checking your prickle-back. I’m trying to see if you’re still holding onto anymore of that nervous energy of yours,” she answered through pursed lips, her eyes flicking back to Crystal’s when the fennekin chose to move out of the range of her hands.

“It was only just a little bit, you don’t need to search me,” Crystal stated with a shake of her body. She felt her fur ruffling along her nape before settling back into position, finally relaxing after so much physical turmoil. She marched inside, her tail flared up high in her stride, “I don’t think it’s so unusual to be a little bit nervous knowing there’s that kind of audience watching us. I mean, you’d be nervous too, wouldn’t you?”

She turned back to look at Emizella only to find her inches away from her face with a smile pressed to her lips. She gave a laugh and patted Crystal’s shoulder, “Come on, it’s just the pokémon I’ve been idolizing since I was a little kid watching my every move and looking out for every decision I make. Of course I’d be nervous. In fact…” a second hand gripped onto her opposite shoulder, digits digging into her soft flesh and clenching desperately for support, “I think I might throw up right here and now from all the butterflies in my stomach.”

Crystal’s ears lowered over her head. From the sinking colors in her eyes to the trembling in her limbs, there was no doubt that her breakfast was knocking right at the back of her throat, ready to spill out at any second. There was no room left in her stomach and something had to go.

“Please don’t…” she practically begged, voice trembling under the impending threat. “Why don’t we… talk about something else.”

“…yeah.” Emizella agreed, relief bringing a cold sweat to her brow.

They found themselves a spot on the floor, sitting and leaning against one another while the storms in their stomachs calmed to a gentle rain shower. It still wasn’t the best weather but it was something they could hold down.

Emizella found what really got her back into her chipper mood was just talking and repeating the stories she read over and over and over again as a child. It used to bug her mother and father back when she was a kid chasing after their heels and shoving the papers into their faces but Crystal was a more appreciative audience. She never heard the stories before and so her ears were fresh and ready to take the dump of knowledge Emizella had accumulated in her years of knowing about the Adventurers Guild and the legends behind it.

“So they helped map out the way to the Sinking Oasis so now that unbearable desert isn’t so unbearable anymore,” Emizella explained, wrapping up her third story for Crystal.

“Woah… And all that from a rescue mission?” Crystal asked, leaning in a bit closer with turned ears and an unblinking gaze.

“I know, right?! It’s like, you never know what you’re going to find out there. And there’s still untouched land waiting to be explored.” She began kicking her legs against the floor, the excitement bubbling up with uncontrollable zeal. Boundless energy jumped her to her feet, hands clenching into fists and fists pressing to her chest. She gave one final stamp to the ground and turned her beaming expression onto Crystal, tail wagging in messy circles behind her. “Crystal! I’m going to die if we can’t pass! I’ll die if we fail!”

A soft laughed brushed past Crystal’s lips, “Isn’t it a bit much to say you’d die for your dream?”

“Not at all!” Emizella responded quickly, “I can feel it in my chest, my heart is going to explode if I can’t realize my dream. Here, feel it.”

 She reached a hand out to Crystal’s paws, taking them up and pressing them to her chest. Her hands were much larger than the little nubs that made up her paws, large enough to take up the pair under one palm, but Emizella felt the need to use both to emphasize her point, creating an unbreakable force that kept Crystal’s paw pads pressed to her fur. But Crystal couldn’t find the gesture overbearing. Not even a little bit. It was warmer than it was crushing, a persistent reminder of the strength and dedication put into the riolu’s petite body.

“See? You can feel it, right? It’s about to burst,” she said quietly, letting her heart do most of the talking.

Crystal felt a lot of things: her beating heart, her pulse lightly tapping against the back of her paws, sleek, silky fur tickling between her toes, a tender warmth radiating from every breath. It all felt like way too much just to confirm a bursting heart. A bursting heart that her ears could pick up well enough on their own. But that was Emizella’s heart she was hearing, right? With every knock against her rib cage, Crystal was starting to doubt the sensitive radars propped up on her head.

“Don’t go bursting on me,” she pushed out a soft chuckle, “Here, I’ll do a little spell. When I get to the count of ten, you’ll be a good beating heart.”

Emizella listened closely to every count spilling from her lips to rest between them. Soft little numbers marked every breath, labeling every exhale with a name. Racing hearts began to sink back into gentle thumps, serenity filling their lungs and the ripples clearing from their minds. When Crystal reached ten, even Emizella’s tornado of a tail died back into gentle sways, a manageable level of happiness strolling up and down her spine.

“Better?” Crystal asked with a slight tilt of her head.

“I think I’ll manage to live,” Emizella admitted, grinning amidst the tinted flush now taking hold of her cheeks.

“Good. Let’s keep the hype at a mild level, at least until we’ve got the results, alright?”

“Yeah. That might be for the best.”

“Oooh, I thought I heard fresh meat in here.” A voice, new and almost gravelly, entered into the room. Large, jeweled eyes sparkled with glimmering colors reflected from the light and a razor-sharp grin split her head open from cheek to dimpled cheek. It seemed rude to not expect a sableye back here so Crystal kept the impression from developing any further past a glinting thought. “Right? I don’t know you. I didn’t see you here last year, right?” her hoarse voice continued to speak, feeling like a rake cutting through leaves in Crystal’s ears.

“Right. This is our first time here,” Emizella answered and Crystal realized that she still had her paws pressed to her chest.

She slipped them free, letting them fall back to the floor.

“I thought so,” the gems shined more brilliantly, “You know what that makes me, right? That makes me your senior. Senior Sabrina. Senior Sableye Sabrina. No, too much. Just Sabrina is fine. Nice to meet some fresh faces.” She reached her clawed hands to them, shaking each one of their hands with an eagerness that rocked Crystal’s body.

“Uh… nice to meet you, Sabrina,” Emizella shook off the jitters and stars floating in her eyes. “I’m Emizella, but just call me Emi. And this is Crystal.”

“Nice to-” Crystal tried to greet her next but was instantly cut from saying anything else as Sabrina pressed her face closer to the fennekin’s.

“Really? Crystal? Your actual name is Crystal?” she asked, multiples of Crystal’s visage playing over every facet of Sabrina’s eyes.

“Y-Yeah… That’s what my parents named me…”

The sableye let out an excited squeal, “I love it! I absolutely love it! Lovely! Perfect! I wish I had such a name, but no. Mama and Papa go with ‘Sabrina’. What even is a ‘Sabrina’?”

“I think… Sabrina is a pretty name,” Crystal’s voice came out cautiously, joining the air with Sabrina’s ramblings.

“Yeah, I guess. But it’s no precious rock or gem. Not yet, at least.”

“Not yet?” Emizella asked.

This pulled a proud chuckle from Sabrina’s chest, calming her down enough to release the fennekin to press her hand against her chest and present her body before the newbies. “Right! You may not know this, but here and now, you are looking at the number one gem hunter and stone collector in all of Xernia!”

“Really?” Curiosity pulled Emizella closer to the sableye.

“Well, I’m getting there,” she admitted, her grin faltering at the corners before shaking it off, “Once I’ve become a professional adventurer, I’ll explore the deepest caverns and caves, find the shiniest treasures and discover new gemstones yet to be discovered. And I’ll name one ‘Sabrina’ and then I shall also be a gem!”

Every word she spoke worked up her zeal, stretching it to the ceiling and covering the room with an unignorable presence that was Sabrina and her ambitions. Despite the rough scratch that coated her voice, Crystal couldn’t help but be drawn into that familiarly passionate spell. She couldn’t turn a deaf ear to this fervent sableye so willing to share her dream with the pair of strangers. There was a bit of Emizella in her crystalline eyes, a bit of her zealous fire roaring bright past their clear surface.

“That’s the plan, at least, but there was a bit of a minor setback. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite make the cut last year,” she said, her admission dampening her mood and moving her hand to rub at the back of her neck.

“You failed?” Crystal asked with a gentle droop in her eyes.

“I mean, I got pretty close but was just a bit too slow. It happens to the best of us but it’s all good. The real losers are the ones that don’t come back so I haven’t failed just yet!”

“That’s… quite the way to look at it,” Crystal mused.

“There isn’t really any other way to look at it. You’ll see what I mean when the time comes.”

Crystal gave a soft nod of her head. She could appreciate the advice, knowing that it wasn’t quite the end of the world even if they didn’t make it. They could always be like Sabrina and live on to try again next year in the worst-case scenario. After all, Emizella did wait this long to have her first chance at this. But the thing about waiting so long to take the first steps towards a dream is that the setbacks felt much more devastating. The line of patience was stretched much thinner after a couple of years compared to just a couple of months.

Her eyes went up to Emizella’s when Sabrina busied herself with greeting the fresh batch of new candidates walking in through the door. She stared at her, wondering what thoughts went through her mind at the idea of failing and being forced to wait another year to try again. Just a moment ago, her heart was racing at the idea of failure but did it feel any better knowing that it didn’t have to mark the end for her ambitions?

Emizella’s gaze just stared into the distance, not revealing anything to the fennekin even when they realized that she had been staring at them for a good number of seconds. Their clarity turned to Crystal and a curious smile went to her face. “What is it? Did you think I started getting nervous again?” she asked, pointing a digit towards herself.

Crystal’s body jumped slightly, “How did- I mean, that wasn’t what I was thinking about at all.”

She just breathed out a short laugh and reached a hand between her ears, “I’m fine. Stomach’s still doing okay and my heart is still at a steady beat.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong, Crystal considered with the lacking surge of bodily sounds coming from the riolu. “You sure?”

“Positive! Need to feel again?”

She giggled at the offered and shook her head, “No, I’m good.”

***

Fifty candidates.

After sending off the pokémon that could fly and the pokémon that could swim to their own specially designed exams, fifty were left that depended on the land to move from point A to point B. Fifty were being shipped to the island that would serve as the test site. Fifty would arrive to take the exam to become professional adventures. Only fifteen would make it to the finish line.

Crystal ran the math in her head, eyes shifting and looking at imaginary numbers floating over her pupils before the answer flashed in her head. That made for less than a third—a one in every three shot in making it to the end. And, as she looked around at the truck of pokémon much bigger and stronger looking than her, she felt her stomach sink into the possibility that she might not be the one in three.

She shook her head of the idea and pressed her nose to the window. She let the open ocean wash over those pessimistic thoughts, let the stretch of endless blue muck up the words that formed the strand. If Emizella was here, she wouldn’t let those kinds of things bubble up. They’d only hold her back, make her sloppy and dilute everything she worked so hard to achieve. If it wasn’t good enough for Emizella, it wasn’t good enough for Crystal.

What would she do? What would she say? Crystal pondered for a moment before stretching her gaze up to look towards her forehead. She knew exactly what she’d do.

A paw reached up towards the space on her head between her ears, bowing down slightly to reach up as high as she could. She closed her eyes and gave herself a gentle pat, imagining it was Emizella’s hand pressing to her head. Imagining that it was Emizella’s voice telling her that she’d do just fine. It didn’t look nearly as natural as it would have been with a separate set of hands but it did help her just a little bit. Enough to get the organs in her chest under control to work on her deep breathing until they finally touched down.

The island was shaped like a dome, a forest and open meadow sunken into the earth with high raised cliffs surrounding a great deal of its perimeter. Crystal tried to paint the image into her mind as they began their descent into the open space just outside the woodland area. Even the roughest outline of the landscape would help if she could just hold onto it.

Everything began to get bigger and the cliffs turned into towering walls blocking the candidates inside. A heavy thump rocked their carriage as they touched down on the terrain, their pilot trying to land on the flattest surface he could find but the jolt still sent a startled yelp to some of his passengers.

“Alright! Everybody, out of the box! No need to be shy! Out, out, out!”

A voice bellowed from overhead, not quite from the speakers but outside of their windows. One of them opened the doors and the rest of them flowed out onto the field, getting the kinks out of their cramped joints and popping out the stiff shape in their muscles. Crystal gave herself a bit of a stretch as well, sinking her chest deep into the grass and feeling the fur on her tail prickle and stand. She squeezed in a shake before hearing Emizella jogging closer to her group’s landing spot, her own box landing not too far from theirs.

“They really packed us in there, didn’t they? I kind of feel bad for the loudred that was next to me. Poor guy didn’t have much legroom to work with.” she said, rubbing out the sores in her neck with a small, uneasy smile.

“Yeah. Were you alright?” Crystal asked, turning her attention to her companion.

“Oh yeah. The good thing about being a riolu is that I’m still tiny so I squeezed in just fine. What about you? You didn’t get queasy on the way over did you?”

Crystal shook her head, “Nah, I got a window seat so I mostly just looked outside for the whole trip.”

“Lucky,” Emizella drawled, “First time flying over the ocean and I get the middle.” she pouted with a cross of her arms.

Crystal laughed softly, “Maybe you’ll luck out on the way back to the mainland.”

She scoffed, “Heh, yeah. If I’m ‘lucky’.”

“C’mon, don’t be like that. I’ll tell you what, if we’re in the same box on the way back, I’ll let you have the window seat and I can sit in the middle. I’ve already had a turn so it’s only fair.”

Emizella chuckled, a brow raising with the smirk on her lips, “Really? You sure you want to give up such a prize so easily?”

“Why not?” Crystal asked, a chipper skip in her voice dotting her tone with innocent bliss, “If I’m sitting in the middle, I get to watch Emi and the ocean. I think that’s way more of a win than a lonely ol’ window seat.”

The smirk on her face flickered away, lips pursing into a tight line that held back something welling up in her throat. It filled her cheeks and puffed out the pout that settled into its place. “Hey! If you’re going to convince me to take the raw end of the deal, don’t tell me it’s raw.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time,” Crystal said with a light giggle.

“Alright! Everybody listen up!” a voice bellowed over the field of candidates.

Crystal’s gaze followed the sound to its source, finding a mawile shouting with her arms crossed over her chest. A chatot flapped away by her side while a murder of murkrow stood right behind.

“I’m only going to say this once so if any of you forces me to repeat myself, you’ll be disqualified on the spot! If you can’t pay attention when it counts, then you’re not suited for the job in the first place.”

Crystal didn’t remember reading such a thing in the contract they signed, and by the looks on everyone’s faces, neither did they. But their chatterings and murmurs died down all the same.

“You’ll have three days to reach the highest summit on the opposite side of the island. The first fifteen candidates to reach the peak will be offered a spot in ALG’s yearly internship program. We’ll be monitoring everyone’s progress throughout the entire examination process and all updates during the course of the exam will be announced by Miss Harriet here. Any and all disqualified candidates will be escorted back here and flown back to Harmonia City. Any questions?”

A trick question and an obvious one at that. Her glaring eyes weren’t taking any form of backtalk and no one was brave enough to try challenging their intimidating aura. As the silence continued, a smirk replaced her frowning lips.

“Good, then your seventy-two hours starts… Now!”

Chapter Text

Not a second was wasted as the candidates raced into the first stage of the exam: a forest of towering trees and a thick canopy that Crystal couldn’t see even a sliver of land back when they arrived on the island. The murkrow took to the skies, veiling the blue with a sea of scattering black and falling feathers. Her gaze was drawn to that collection crafting dark clouds on this sunny day, watching their shadows make the light flicker above her head.

Emizella was running on ahead but paced herself to not lose sight of the fennekin amongst the scrambling crowd. But Crystal wouldn’t let her hold herself back, shoving away the brief distraction and closing the gap between them. Her paws could feel the constant thudding tenderizing the earth around her, quick signals telling her where she could step next in her gallop to keep from having any part of her trampled or tripped over. She found her rhythm, buried her mind in the melody of her body and each push and pull in her muscles, and ran.

A short chuckle sounded in her ear and the flash of smirk flinted at the side of her eye. Adrenaline decorated the crimson in Emizella’s eyes, giving them a rich hue that made Crystal’s heart thump just a little harder. Maybe it was a pack mentality—the idea of running alongside someone she trusted towards the same goal—that made her heart work just a bit harder in her chest. She couldn’t be sure if she was at all athletic where she came from, but right now, she felt like her body could do just about anything.

They crossed the line of trees that marked the beginning of the change in terrain. The forest path forced a slowdown to the fastest sprinters, low branches and knobby roots calling for a more cautious step to make it through without getting smacked in the face or tripped over by mischievous trees.

It was like night and day under its canopy; not even a dot of sunlight could break past the leaves. The only indication that Crystal could gleam that it was still daylight outside was the path they came from, but the further in they went, the less they could see of the place they came. And there was still plenty left to go moving forward.

They slowed their pace from a run to a jog and, eventually, down to a walk that tiptoed between the shrubs and the roots. Crystal’s heart calmed down, a lingering buzz settling into her toes that shot a swift tingle up her legs with every step.

“Everyone must be pretty spread out by now,” Crystal noted, her ears shifting and rotating on her head, “I can hardly hear anybody else aside from us.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. You’d have to be pretty reckless going through a thick forest like this at a full sprint. They’ve probably calmed down a bit since we’re not in the open anymore.”

Emizella jumped over a fallen log, standing on its trunk before turning her head sharply behind her body. She stared into the space between the trees and the shadows hanging within their voids, feelers standing with a soft tremble to them.

“Emi?” Crystal called her but her gaze remained fixed into the distance.

She stared for a moment longer before the appendages on her head finally relaxed. She knelt to help Crystal up but she could see that whatever caught her attention was still lingering at the back of her head. “We’d better keep our guard up,” she told her, offering her a paw, “I’m getting an off feeling about this place.”

Crystal nodded her head, “Of course.”

They went deeper and deeper inside, keeping to a straight line to keep them grounded on their destination. Crystal couldn’t tell how long they had been going but something in her paws told her it had been a good, long while since they started. Something in her paws and something in her stomach told her that any further would be pushing into exhaustion.

“Emi… Do you think it’d be alright if we took a break?” she asked, her hips sinking towards the ground despite her efforts in keeping her tail up.

Emizella turned to look at her before placing a hand on her stomach. She had to be feeling it too, the hunger in her body and the humming ache in her limbs. Her eyes closed and she pursed her lips, brows knotting into a contemplative frown. “I guess we have been going for a while, haven’t we? It’s so hard to tell down here, I hardly noticed,” she muttered, eyes trailing up to the canopy that remained unchanged. She hummed once and nodded her head. “Yeah, let’s take a break. I’ll go find us something edible to eat. You stay put here.”

“I can come with,” Crystal offered, pushing herself back up onto her feet.

Emizella smiled, “Thanks but I need you to mark this spot as a checkpoint. I’ll be fine on my own. Just hold tight, okay?”

“Okay…” she waved, watching Emizella’s back meld with the leaves and the branches of the bushes and vanish into the spaces between the trees.

After she had chewed away several twigs into nothing but tiny nubs, she found herself regretting the word of contentment and cursing her passive self for letting Emizella go alone. Her feet itched to go after her faded image but her mind spun in circles with its indecisiveness.

Go after her or stay put? Which was smarter? Which was right? Emizella was more of the expert than Crystal, living years of her childhood in the forest. She was more in-tuned with her naturalistic side. If their roles were reversed, what would she do? Knowing Emi, she wouldn’t have let me go alone either way, Crystal figured before wailing in defeat. That doesn’t help at all!

She held her head, counting out three deep breaths. When she reached the end of her last exhale, she shot straight up with her tail standing stiffly at the end of her spine and her ears perked and ready to work. Every second spent wasting on fretting on her indecision was a second taken from Emizella’s dream. Passing the exam was top priority for them, for her, and she couldn’t pass without the riolu.

“Alright, I can do this. Just put those big ears of yours to work and you’ll find her in no-” Her pep talk was put on hold as a familiar silhouette teased at the corner of her eyes.

That couldn’t be… “Emi?” she called and the faint shadow stilled from a moment, looking like it recognized the name as her own but, instead of answering the call, it turned and hurried through the forest.

“Emi!” Crystal called again and darted after her. “Wait! Wait for me!”

She chased after her without a second thought, breaking past the bushes and feeling their sticky branches cling and rake and pull at her fur. She leapt high over the logs and cleared the twisted roots and their snares. She didn’t mind the rocks kicked beneath her paws or the leaves trying to shift her footing.

Heavy pants made the air around her muzzle dewy, her breath manifesting into billowing clouds. Those clouds multiplied and grew, wispy and transparent at first but they quickly thickened, shrouding the dark form she had been following and forcing her to give up her pursuit. Crystal had to stop before she smacked herself face-first into one of the many trees, the blanketing mist too thick to see more than a mere few feet in front of her nose.

“Dammit… where did this fog come from?” Crystal muttered, eyes shifting around for any sign she could find for Emizella’s whereabouts, but she really couldn’t see any clue of her through the drifting white clouding her vision. And with that in mind, she didn’t have much clue to her own whereabouts either. Perfect…

“Emi!” she shouted, her voice carrying much further than she could have anticipated and Emizella’s warning came flashing into her head. She gave a soft gasp and covered her mouth before she could repeat the mistake.

She peaked an ear into the air, listening out for any sort of response and what she heard back sent a chill seeping past her fur and flesh and settling into her bones. A haunting howl, hollow and eerie, loomed over her head, surrounding her with its ominous sensations and creeping into her heart. Her tail tucked itself between her legs and her hips lowered closer to the ground while her eyes scanned for the source. There was nothing, the howl just coming and going and dying back into a still silence that filled the air with dreaded anticipation. Her ears lowered with the weight of the atmosphere, unbearably heavy and gathering in her stomach to settle into a quiet ache.

Just what was that? What was in these woods? For a moment, Crystal thought she saw a flicker of lavender off in the distance but soon found it a trick of the mind, overlapping experiences and making her body grow wearier. The mist began to seep into her mind, thick clouds obscuring her thoughts and fogging up her priorities. She needed to get out of this situation. She needed to leave. Something screamed into her ears that she couldn’t do this, that she was too much of a coward to continue forward. That a fennekin like her, that a person like her, was only meant to turn back.

“What are you doing here?”

“I… I don’t know,” Crystal answered the voice, her body lowering to the grass and sinking into its blades.

“Why did you even bother coming this far?”

“I don’t know…” she repeated, hopelessness weighing down on every strand of fur lying on her body.

“The guild has no use for flimsy cowards. So what will you do now?”

The fog became thicker in her mind. There wasn’t much difference between having her eyes opened or closed. She could close her eyes now, give up here. Who even told her she could be an adventurer? Who even said that she had what it takes?

“I…”

“Hey! Don’t go underestimating her!” a second voice broke through the haze, a flashing light illuminating her way back to solid ground. “She may look like she’s all fluff and no bite but she can be tough when she wants.”

“All I put down was that you had potential and you were tougher than you looked behind that meek demeanor,” a third joined in the mix, the light flashing brighter and Crystal could see the shore.

She saw Ippona Village smiling, adults and children alike crying but smiling through the tears. Weeping hearts and joyful laughs broke through the shadows of despair and a curse was lifted from their home. And the final voice added an echo over the scene, “We did this.”

“So,” the first voice spoke up again, “What will you do now?”

“I…” Crystal blinked through the mist, shook out the clouds and stood back to her feet, “I’ll keep going forward!”

The howl came back, a piercing cry that struck her brain and made her body wince. “You? A heart like yours, full of uncertainties and doubts, truly thinks she can carry forward? What enchantments has you believing in such delusions?”

“They… They aren’t delusions!” Crystal’s body shook out the shivers and planted steel where her gelatin bones once stood. “My friends believe in me. And I… I believe in them! I believe in their judgment and I won’t let some shapeless blob of smoke tell me differently!”

Her eyes scanned around once more, gathering her surroundings and searching for her next move. There, in the fog, she could see lighter wisps moving past in the wind. Her eyes could peer through them, seeing the trees and the path between them opening up before her. The haunting howled sounded louder in that direction but it felt less like a warning and more like a call, beckoning her to take the invitation. No, daring her to take that first step forward.

She didn’t let her mind think about it, didn’t let her brain speculate the ramifications for following the howl. She only moved her paws, one after the other. Step by step until she was sprinting through the veiling mist and smoke. And in her sprint, she only felt the shock of her gallop bolting up her legs and focused only on the command to keep their momentum going.

She followed the path, turning and bending as it did. The howl grew louder, the intervals of silence shrinking with her progression. Its sound tugged at her ears, stringing her along to its heart. Pulling her deeper and deeper to where she could see a faint figure silhouetted in the fog.

Crystal thought for a moment that she had found another candidate, but that impression was shattered when she discovered the size of the pokémon standing and waiting for her arrival. A massive, towering beast even bigger than Ace by a large margin. It gave her body a moment of pause, skidding into a firm stop and grounding her toes into the forest floor. Dewy leaves pushed her closer than she would have liked and she felt the full brunt of the silhouette’s stare piercing through the mist.

She could tell in an instant as it stared her down and picked through her flesh to reach her soul that this mysterious veil was its doing. That this thick blanket shifting through the tree trunks and settling snuggly under the canopy was under its command. It took a step forward and her ears went to follow the sound but found nothing. Not the sinking of the earth or the whispers from the grass. This large pokémon, probably just as heavy as its body would imply, was as silent as a phantom. Crystal’s body winced but her hind legs refused to start her backstep. Her joints locked in place, remembering what it was that pushed them to run in the first place.

The silhouette stopped before the shadows could lift from its face and the voice trickled back into her ear. “Do you still believe yourself brave? Do you still believe in those delusions?”

An ear flicked at the whisper, shoving the ghosting sensation from its inner lining. A growl rumbled in her throat and a tingle raced along her back. “I told you, they’re not delusions!” she snapped back, feeling something in her stomach sizzle and pop under the voice’s taunts.

“Then step forward. If you are truly not a coward, if you are truly worthy and belong in this place, then step forward.”

She swallowed down her fear, feeling it weigh in her stomach like a stone but she couldn’t turn back now. Whoever this was, whatever this place is, it had Emizella. She was certain that the riolu was just as trapped in this fog, either taken or lost by the master of this mist. To turn back now, to run away after coming this deep, would be a betrayal not only to herself but to the Emizella that believed in her.

Not again… I won’t abandon you again.

A trembling paw picked itself up, moving up and over the grass blades before being followed by another. And then another and another, her mind’s focus remaining solely on turning the gears in her legs to cross the distance between them. The figure became a little clearer with each step, the dark shadows slowly shifting to deep cyan fur. What once looked like tendrils taunting her with their long reach turned out to be nothing but a twin set of pink braids flowing in a windless breeze. And eyes that she thought would be full of violent intent and monstrous bloodlust were nowhere near as terrifying as her imagination had pictured. Sure, they looked hardened and weary from a tiring past that placed countless scars on her body, but there was a hidden gentleness underneath, one that said she didn’t regret a single battle. One that said she’d do it all again if she had to.

The pokémon’s name dusted Crystal’s tongue just as her heart began to swell in her chest. “Z-Zacian…?” she whispered her name, hardly believing her eyes. How could such a legendary hero be here? Weren’t there more important things for her to be doing than being a part of the Adventurers League exam?

What are you supposed to do when standing in front of a legend? Crystal’s first instinct was to lower her head and that instinct killed off the support of her legs, sending her falling face-first into the grass.

“No need for any of that. Raise, little fennekin.”

Her eyes peeked up, hesitation hooking into her gaze and making its climb slow as it scaled along long legs to find the hero’s sharp stare still watching over her every move. Despite the wobble in her limbs, Crystal found the strength to stand back up, shaking off the leaves and dew that clung to her fur. “Are you really Zacian?” she dared to ask, her throat feeling rough and her voice coming out small.

“I am she and yet… I am not,” she seemed to speak but the words weren’t leaving from her mouth, her muzzle remaining still and unchanging with each uttered syllable.

What is that supposed to mean, Crystal wondered, her head tilting at the baffling answer. Did that mean she could trust her or that she shouldn’t? Should she still be weary or was she safe standing before the image of a legend she had only heard stories about.

“It’ll become clear in a moment. For now, just follow me.” she gestured with a slight toss of her head, urging Crystal to follow her even deeper into her mist.

She blinked out of her perplexion, seeing Zacian’s form turning to leave in the opposite direction. She had no intentions of waiting for Crystal to come out of her stupor, proceeding back into the fog without a single backward glance.

“Wait!” Crystal called after her, starting up a light jog to catch up before slowing to a trot to keep pace.

Her strides were much larger than a small fennekins and so a single step from her meant five steps for Crystal. But the legendary canine paid no mind to the difference, leaving it all on Crystal to keep her in sight. She had to do a few short gallops when the distance between them was becoming too great and a skip to keep herself from tripping over the forest’s protruding roots. Her body was already so exhausted and her hunger became a knocking pain in her stomach, her dried lips craving at least a small drink of water but Zacian continued to push forward mercilessly.

There was only one thought that kept Crystal from collapsing; one relieved smile that kept her body going. Emizella. If she disappeared into this fog, then perhaps Zacian knew what happened to her. Maybe the place she was leading her to right now was where Emizella was waiting for her. And, if not waiting then where she’d find Crystal waiting instead. There was not a single doubt in her mind that Emizella would be there—that they’d be reunited at the end of this trial.

“The source of your resolve… it comes from love, then.”

“Pardon?” Crystal asked past her pants, nearly forgetting to breathe with the sudden abruptness of the statement.

“It is a powerful source, one to be admired. A hero is nothing without something or someone to fight for. Those that draw from it will do the impossible. They can fashion miracles in the name of those they love.”

Crystal gave a contemplative nod, taking Zacian’s words and letting the advice stick within her heart. She spoke with an assertive certainty that rang in her mind to know it to be true, speaking from a well of knowledge and wisdom that spanned back centuries.

“But…” her warning interjected with a soft ping in Crystal’s ears, “…there is always a dark shadow looming underneath the surface. They can see the world plunged into darkness, curse the world with a plague the likes of which we could never fathom. Love walks a thin line between hope and despair and the scales are easily swayed. You must be careful to maintain your own balance on this tight road lest the bards sing of your tragedy rather than your triumphs.”

She felt something dark seep into Zacian’s voice. Resentment, maybe? Or perhaps regret. Either one left something bitter lingering in her chest, its taste peppering the back of her throat. Curiosity skipped over her tongue, speculations seeking for clarification, but her teeth biting into her lips knew better than to ask. The silence that fell back over their heads spoke loud and clear on the hero’s intentions on speaking anymore on the subject—or lack thereof. She simply let Crystal digest the words and let her mind ruminate their implication.

It got easier to follow along, her body adjusting to a regular pace that had her trailing right on the edge of her heels but not falling behind her tail. It was when the flowing gears of her limbs, the swinging of her legs that glided her body over the forest path, turned as effortlessly as a freshly oiled machine did their journey end. Zacian stopped at the mouth of a burrow dug beneath the roots of a tree, its depths stretching deep into the earth. Crystal tried to see how far it went but couldn’t perceive an ounce of light within.

“Where does this-” She turned to look to Zacian for some explanation to the hole but found her figure gone from her side.

She jumped at the sudden vanishing act, turning her head left and right to find some trace of the legend but not a speck or a line of fur was left of her. The only thing left behind, hanging in the air with its haunting tune, was her howl echoing through the trees—hollow and fading.

A shiver raced down Crystal’s spine, her fur prickling along her skin. “I think I’m starting to develop a phobia…” she muttered, turning back to look into the burrow’s opening and staring into it with lowered ears.

She really didn’t want to go in there. It seemed so stupid and reckless to go in there. Who knew what was lying in there, waiting for her to step inside? It could be a trap, a distraction keeping her from completing the exam or, worse, disqualify her then and there. But on the other hand, there was a good chance Emizella was down there, looking for Crystal like she was looking for her.

She didn’t catch any traces of her by the entrance, not a whiff of her scent or her trail in the mud, but nothing in this forest made sense. She couldn’t go off of anything but her understanding of how Emizella’s head worked. And, if Zacian led her here like she led Crystal, then there was definitely a good chance she jumped in thinking Crystal would be down there—probably about a 99.9% chance she jumped.

She allowed herself one guttural groan, standing on the tips of her paws and turning herself in circles. “This is stupid,” she repeated in her rapid spins, “Thisisstupidthisisstupidthisisstupidthisisstupid.” She closed her eyes, turning the momentum she built up in her spinning towards the den and hopping inside, feeling the darkness and cool walls surround her on all sides. “Oh, Emi… please be down here…”

Crystal traveled down, following the burrow’s slithering body as best she could. She tried to see through the pitch-black color of layering shadows, but without a single source of light to give her eyes something to work with, it was a useless endeavor. She really wished she had a charmander’s tail right about now. Even a dim, little flicker would do. And, just like a shooting star, an idea crossed her mind, giving her chest a bit of hope in her bleak situation.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting the simple gesture add an air of tranquility to her beating heart. Her mind focused, envisioning the little flickers she needed to traverse this dark path and feeling their pull adding a warm touch to the edge of her brain. She opened her eyes to her will-o-wisps floating by her side with their lavender light.

She kept their count low, about three little gouts to help show her the way without wearing her mind too thin. One to lead her way and two to blanket her in their gentle glow. “Much better,” she muttered, if not for their light pushing off some of the shadows then for the calm aura they exuded with their delicate flickers.

Her eyes could pick up much more with their aid, their night vision kicking in and filling out the layout that the wisps’ light could not reach. And not too soon with her paw nearly stepping into a pit that descended even deeper into the earth. She reeled her step back before it could sink her weight into the shadowy abyss and took another step back when she felt the edge crumble and fall. Dirt and pebbles fell and collided with stone, a soft echo rising up from where they landed below.

“That was close, huh?” she whispered to her wisps despite their lacking minds to perceive such things.

The thought of Emizella taking this same path, navigating this dark hole to find a pit hidden under the thick shadows, made her heart wince in her chest and she felt her ears lower on her head. She tried quelling the concern plaguing her body, telling herself that Emizella was a perceptive riolu. And if not perceptive, then resilient. Even if she did fall, she’d stand back up and keep moving forward.

“I can be like that, too. I can be resilient. I’ll be persistent…” she muttered to her little attendants, staring into the shadows for a moment longer before hopping down the pit’s gaping maw.

She slid down the edge, feeling the stone and pebbles crumble away beneath her feet. They tried to trick her into a tumble, but her body was too nibble to fall for their pranks. She jumped the last few inches, landing with a solid stance before looking back up to where she came from. Her wisp tried to see how far she had fallen, but once the light started to be eaten away by the den’s shadows, she called for it to return to her side.

“No turning back now,” she told it when it floated close to her face, “I’m not worried. Well, maybe a little worried, but there’s no use being scared now, right?”

The wisp said nothing, idly floating with its soft glow bleeding gentle lavender onto the stone wall.

Crystal nodded, “Right! So we’ll just keep moving forward. I’m sure the exit is…” she closed her eyes and focused her senses into her ears. It was far off, a faint whisper in the distance, but she recognized it as the remnants of a draft, its touch tapered out but the whistle was still there. “That way! Come on, then. We’ll be out of here in no time.”

So she marched on, ears at the ready to catch any inkling of another pokémon’s footsteps or breath or even their heartbeat. A just-in-case measure, really, but the further she when, the more she was convinced she was the only one down here. “Well, only one plus you three. Thanks for the company, guys.”

They didn’t answer but they did do a little excited sway, rocking their bodies along the wall and bouncing with their giddiness. Of course, Crystal knew their movements were all her doing, but it really did make her feel better pretending she had little friends walking by her side. Their light swiped along the surface of the bedrock and stone, illuminating what was once concealed in the dark cavern and drawing Crystal’s attention to it.

“Hold on a second,” she told them—and by extension herself—to slow their happy jigs and stilling them back into their precise and steady movements.

The glowing orbs scattered along the wall, spreading their luminescence to highlight as much of the surface as possible. Crystal’s eyes filled in the shadows, tracing over faded lines and worn out hues to understand the picture in front of her. On one edge of the wall was a cerulean canine, a massive sword clenched in her jaw as her frozen figure leapt towards some kind of behemoth. On the other was a crimson twin, the width of his body lengthened by a shield that consumed his mane and surrounded his head. He jumped towards the same target as his partner: a skeletal giant with its central orb glowing an ominous pink that spilled throughout the picture and illuminated the large silhouettes behind it with its color. Whatever was being depicted in the image, it was easy enough to deduce that the two wolf-like pokémon were jumping into a battle not easily won.

“That’s… Zacian and Zamazenta, isn’t it? But why is this here…” her voice trailed into a musing whisper.

The lights crossed over the mural, showing every wrinkle and crack that chipped away what Crystal could only assume to be once brilliantly proud colors. If the historians could have gotten their hands on this, they’d have a field day with it.

The highest wisp brushed its light along the edge of what looked to be the shape of letters and she willed it higher to read the text. The words were just as faded but their carvings into the wall made them impossible to be erased by time. Sunken shadows outlined the engravings and made the name of the legend known to the young fennekin.

“Slayers of Behemoths”

Crystal didn’t recognize the name. In the books and stories, they’re always referred to as “The Heroes of Many Battles”. But it was possible that the title was given to them long before the many battles they had won. Was this an earlier name then? Back when the world desperately needed these heroes. Back when the legends were just pokémon roaming freely across the lands to lend their strength and support to those who needed them most. How long ago would that have been?

The questions kept coming the longer she stared up at the mural. What was is doing here? Why was it here? Who put it up here? Pondering question linked itself to another pondering question, creating a web that desired answers. However, despite its cravings for some kind of conclusion to fill in the gaps, the fennekin decided to push herself forward. Who knew how much time she was losing trying to pick through history in this dark space with untrained eyes? Best to just admire and move on.

The deeper she went, the more she found to admire along the walls of this underground passage. Legends upon legends painted into the earth, etched into history and memorialized in time. A set of three quadrupeded heroes, warriors for justice with blades drawn for the innocent and the oppressed. Beasts of raging infernos, thunderous skies and calming springs sharing their gifts with the pokémon below so that their tragedy may not repeat again. All recognizable pokémon whose stories had been replicated in library texts and easily accessible books. But it was the recounts of the average pokémon, the ones that didn’t carry on in the legends, that caught Crystal’s eyes and made her pause for just a second to read something new.

She saw an absol’s cry save a village from utter destruction. As the ground quaked beneath their feet and soot and ash rained down over the scene, the absol led the crowd of villagers to safety before the erupting earth and its molten fury could claim them all.

Crystal could see the day play out in her head, feel the frantic emotions run rampant in her heart and thud madly in her chest. This wasn’t some legendary pokémon with an overabundance of strength and power at their arsenal. It was just an absol. Possibly a bit bolder and more valiant but an average bodied absol, nonetheless. And yet, it was proudly displayed alongside demigods, sharing the same walls as if status and birthrights didn’t mean a thing to ancient scribes.

She hoped if Emizella saw this. Even if she was always so confident and self-assured in her aspirations and her dream, it felt like something she could still appreciate. Something that could inspire her and show that those ideas weren’t farfetched in the slightest. She’d have to ask her if she saw anything in here, and if she didn’t, she’d have to remember every detail to describe it to her later.

Crystal carried on, her wisps starting to dim with the strain on her head. She had to pick up her pace before their lights went out. No more distractions, she had resolved despite her curiosity begging for more sweet, historical sustenance. Her footsteps went to a light trot, toes careful for the shifts in the earth and cracks that waited to trip her up. But her footing got used to them quickly and she was gliding with purpose towards the exit.

The sound of the draft coming from the end of the passageway became more prominent, beckoning her with a feeling of urgency weighing on her exhausted muscles. Her trot turned to a light gallop, the faint light of a starry sky coming from just beyond her vision’s reach. “Just a bit more,” she told herself and the wisps slowly dying by her side, “just hold on a bit more, my friends.”

But something stopped her, a peculiar grove in the stone beside her tugging at the corner of her eyes. It called for her to look, a strange force snagging her fur and making it bristle. The lights fell at the edge of the deep carving, falling into the crevice that mutilated the design painted on the wall. Deep gashes scratched across an unrecognizable face. Maddening slashes tore its body to pieces. Desperate claws, frantic with an unknown fervor, scribbled over the mural and gave their best to erase the piece from these walls.

There was no indication of what the once painted pokémon had done, what disgraces had overwritten their triumphs. There was just its name, barely legible but Crystal still tried to read it.

“The Hero of 1000 Faces,” she said the name slowly, engraving it into her memory. Something told her to hold onto it. Not quite the same as a voice calling to her from a sacred tree but just as powerful and potent enough to put a wary hum in her bones and bade her not to forget the sensation.

She said the name one more time, feeling the force holding down her paws lessen their grip and allowing her the opportunity to escape from the defaced mural. Each step she made lifted the gravitational pull that had grounded her body, her legs feeling light and her vision narrowing into a single point. The three gouts of flame finally gave out, fizzling away into nothing but Crystal wasn’t left completely blind.

The opening to the exit became more pronounced. The spilling moonlight was getting brighter on the stone wall and Crystal could pick out the brightest star among the night sky. She followed their guidance up to a small opening that hung a few feet above her head. She wouldn’t let the climb deter her, finding the ledges in the layered stone and foot holes within the cracks to make her way up. Her hind leg slipped once from an unsteady edge and nearly sent her falling back to the ground but she caught herself quickly, only losing a couple of inches from her progress.

She kept going, gritting through the ache and clenching through the headache until the soothing glow of the night sky found her ears and filled her head with its gentle chirpings and sweet whispering breeze. Her front paws scrambled up the final ledge and her back legs scooched her bottom up onto the final stone. Haste amongst her exhaustion made her hind paw slip once more over the edge but it wasn’t detrimental enough to send her falling. Just a quick recovery from the tiny scrape and she was bathing herself in the outside air and breathing in the scent of the trees and grasses.

She took in a deep breath, the relief of fresh air flushing away the old, stuffy air of the underground gave a bit of life to her trembling, throbbing muscles. Each step felt like walking on jagged rocks but it was better than feeling the cave’s shadows still playing on the tip of her tail. She gave the exit one fleeting look, testing her memory for the last name she saw on the walls and turned when it echoed in her head. She won’t forget. She’ll remember the Hero of 1000 Faces and see if she could find out more outside of the island.

Crystal made her way down a gentle slope into a flowerbed whose petals still stretched towards the celestial light coming from the sky. Whites and pastel yellows and rosy pinks and gentle baby blues refreshed her sight, reminding her how delightful colors were and how the simple hues added so much joy after the bleakest hour. They all circled and surrounding a large tree with rich leaves so plentiful that Crystal suspected they had not known autumn’s chill or winter’s bite in a long time. Its nurturing shade fell over a stone statue that the fennekin could not recognize the shape until she was standing before its large majesty.

“Zacian?” she whispered but she knew it wasn’t the same Zacian she had met in the forest.

Whereas the wolf she had met had a body weathered by battle and war, this one looked pristine, regal and exuded a kingly aura with her decorated mane and armored body. The only thing she felt that matched the other Zacian better was the old, rusted sword clenched between her fangs. Crystal guessed that the sword must have been the same one she was depicted within her mural but it had definitely seen better days. It probably had plenty of amazing stories to tell if it could speak. I wonder if honedge could relate to such an ancient life…

“Crystal?” a familiar voice turned her ears and her eyes quickly followed. Her vision became bury before she could clearly see the source of the voice but she’d recognize that blue blob even within the cave’s dark shadows.

“Emi…” she whispered, her heart's glee bouncing into her throat and nearly choking her.

She tried to take a step towards her but the riolu was already bounding down the hillside to meet her, her arms outstretched and her cries tearing their way through her body. “Crystal!” she shouted, colliding with the fennekin’s body and sending them both falling into the flowers. “Thank Xerneas! Bless her mercy! I thought I was never going to see you again! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” she sobbed into her fur, the sound wrenching Crystal’s chest and stinging at her own eyes.

She didn’t think she would ever hear Emizella cry like this, blubbering away into her fur and sniffling beside her ear. Even if there was no helping it, she didn’t want to see Emizella crying like this.

“It’s okay, Emi,” she reassured her, raising her arms to hug her back and nuzzling her cheek into hers, “I’m fine. Really, I’m fine. There was no helping it so it’s fine.”

“But-”

“She’s right, you know,” a gravelly voice raked over her head. Crystal didn’t need to look to confirm who it was. The sableye walked over to the two, patting Emizella’s shoulder as she joined the young candidate’s comfort fest. “No matter how you had done it, the result would have still been the same. That’s just how this part of the exam works.”

***

“Wait! That was the real Zacian?”

Their small little band joined the other candidate that had made it out of the mist, some of them huddled by the small bonfire they had going for the group while others decided to call it a night and rest up for the next morning. There was a pool of food piled up for everyone to share—some berries and nuts and a few pieces of dried meats. Crystal had a small ration from the pile, chewing on a bit of jerky while laying with Emizella beside the fire. She let their sides press together, a hand resting on her back while a digit worked gentle strokes into her fur. Honestly, she felt like the riolu probably needed the contact more than she did but who was complaining?

“Well, she’s as real as she can be,” Sabrina clarified, biting into an oran berry with jagged teeth. She wiped away the juices that dripped down her lips before continuing. “That’s actually the real Zacian over there,” she pointed towards the statue, “She’s been sleeping there for about a century or so. These days aren’t as hectic as hers so she and her brother have taken to sleeping on these islands. I got her brother last year, now I can say I’ve met the twin behemoth slayers. Or, I could if the guild allowed me to talk about this place. Which it doesn’t but I can at least brag about it to you guys,” she cackled, her eyes glittering brilliantly with the embers and her giddy amusement.

“What’s up with that? Why does the guild put us on these islands to meet with those two?” Emizella asked, her curiosity mixing with excitement that pulled Crystal’s body even closer.

“Well, it’s not just those two. Cobalion, Virizion, Terrakion, Reshiram, Zekrom, Latias and, of course, Latios too. These legends and demigods had all agreed to help the guild test their recruits and candidates and have been doing so since the first established Adventurers League Guild. You know why? Because they stand as much to gain from having worthy adventurers out on the field as the guild does. That’s just the way it should be, right? No need to have these superpowered pokémon solving everyday problems when we are just as capable of taking care of ourselves.”

Crystal’s head began to hang, leaning its weight onto Emizella’s leg as Sabrina continued to go on and on. The more she talked, the more used to her voice her ears got; and the longer she went, the more aware if her own exhaustion her body felt. And with Emizella’s gentle scratches combing through her fur, her eyes barely wanted to stay open to hear the rest.

“Well, that explains why they’d want to help with the exam but why did the guild want to ask them in the first place? They don’t bother with us unless we really need them, right? So what made us go to them for this sort of thing?” Emizella asked, adjusting her arm over Crystal’s side when the fennekin shifted her position to lay her head down in the riolu’s lap.

“Oh, that’s a simple one, actually. You see, the guild has no need for the cowardly and the stupid,” Sabrina’s voice dropped an octave, a chill creeping in at the back of her words—merciless and unsympathetic.

Crystal’s ears perked at the sudden tone change, an eye peeking up to the sableye. The jewels in her head were dulled, their brilliant shimmer hidden away behind the subtle shifting light of the crackling flame. Their frontal facets pulled the pair into their reflective surface, piercing through the distance and past their flesh to “see” them.

“You saw how many of us entered this island. Now look at how many are left,” she gestured to the ones who had made it this far, once an army of bright faces and optimism was not a reduced crowd of about half. “The guild gets hundreds of applications throughout the year that they then dwindle down to about fifty promising candidates. But you know, anyone can sound good on paper. Everyone likes to exaggerate their stories and add a bit of garnish to look more appealing than they actually are. No one has time to filter through all that manually, but demigods and legends? They have nothing but time. They can judge us with a single glance with about a 99% accuracy rate. It’s faster and way more reliable than our mortal judgment, so of course they would want the help. Might as well use the most efficient way to trim the fat, am I right?”

Crystal felt Emizella’s fingers dig into her, her gaze glancing towards the coiling digits and watching the golden fur pinch between the tensing joints. Her eyes, a glistening sunset within the dead of night, spotted the distant look placing a heavy stone on Emizella’s brow, concentration hardening the rubies of her eyes and adding a dulled sheen.

Crystal could sympathize, it was a lot to take in on their first night out here, but even with all that against them, they still made it out of the first stage. Even after staring into Zacian’s eyes and facing her scrutinization, they were still here. They had a tomorrow in this test.

Her tail moved to brush against Emizella’s, sunny yellow mixing with lunar cerulean to give what little comfort her tired, limp body could muster. She felt the riolu’s tail flinch under the gentle ministration, her attention shifting to Crystal and seeing the soft reassuring smile that laid on the fennekin’s lips. The subtle shifts in her gaze traced the curling line, reading the message laying unspoken between its crease. It gave the signal for her own lips to reflect the gesture, letting it come with a quiet exhale of everything built up in her chest.

“Honestly, I thought this wasn’t going to be easy but I didn’t think the exam would be this brutal. I mean, shoving us in front of legendary pokémon like that… seems a bit much, don’t you think?” Emizella asked, a soft chuckle helping to work out the tension in her shoulders.

Sabrina gave a shrug, the clarity in her eyes returning mostly save for the slight shadow lingering at the back of her gems. “Yeah, it really threw me for a loop my first year too, but it doesn’t really matter knowing the method behind all this madness. What matters is that Zacian saw something in us. She saw something worthwhile that made us good enough to pass. So, even if we don’t make it to the end, even if we don’t pass, we’re still worthy of something great,” she said, a wide grin bursting from her mouth and scissor-sharp teeth clicked together in her eager cackle. “As long as these legends keep telling me I’m good, I ain’t quitting!”

Emizella breathed out a brief chortle, “That sounds pretty good. Mind if I steal it?”

“Of course! It’s only right that one as brilliant as I share my wisdom with my underlings. Take as much as you want, there’s plenty more where that came from,” she boasted and barked, her cackles and snickers filling the serene quiet air like a witch’s cry.

She gained a few eyes on her, some weary of the noise reverberating from her throat while others looked with mild annoyance and heavy bags hanging from their glaring gazes.

“Yeah, how about we just take the positive thinking thing for now?”

Sabrina froze, her jaw hanging open for a second before clenching her teeth back into a silent grin. “Alright,” she conceded, letting the soft popping of the burning wood take over the air once more. Her attention shifted down Emizella’s body and a claw pointed to the golden bundle huddled close to her side and over her lap. “Guess we ought to be following her example, huh? It’s been a long day and it’s just going to get longer from here on out.”

Emizella laughed softly, the taste of exhaustion laying a bitter tang to the sound. “Your brilliance knows no bounds, big sis,” she told her through a yawn, a soft snicker sounding in response before the sound of shifting dirt and soil filled Crystal’s ears.

She looked back over her shoulder, seeing Sabrina smother the fire with a large mound of dirt before patting the dying embers and their ashes into the earth. With her body roused slightly out of sleep, Emizella moved to lift her, adjusting the limp bag of flesh that was the fennekin so she could get as comfortable as Crystal was. She allowed it, letting Emizella move and shape her body as she needed to get herself a goodnight’s sleep, all while playing too tired to lift a paw to assist the riolu’s efforts.

She peeked an eye open when all was settled and calm, the last remnants of her strength pushing at the heavy eyelids to get one last look at her partner. She laid beside her, looking as snug and comfy as she did in her own home. Warm, gentle eyes even more tender than Crystal’s smoldering flames caught her sneaking glances.

Adoring affection tickled Emizella’s lips into an endearing smile, eyes squinting into their own little grin. She reached a hand out to her and gave her head a quiet pat, “Looks like you didn’t have that much to worry about,” she whispered, her voice only stretching the short distance between her face and Crystal’s. “You did pretty good, even without me. I… probably shouldn’t have worried as much. It gets a bit suffocating, right?”

“Not at all,” Crystal matched her tone, the soft, muttering chatter warming her chest with its secretive intimacy. “I want to be able to stand on my own… but I prefer to stand together with you even more. I’m glad we can keep going together,” she smiled and the night seemed to get brighter because of it. Like her eyes were siphoning the heavenly glow of the stars above and making them her own.

Emizella blinked once and then again to be sure to clear her sight completely of its daze. She returned the gaze, reflecting it brilliantly and sharing its effects with the fennekin. She closed her eyes before the echoing lights could blind her and gave a firm nod of her head. “Yeah. Let’s give it our all tomorrow, too.”

“Of course!” she barked, her enthusiasm raising her pitch slightly but it all remained in their personal bubble.

They settled their heads into the clinging grass blades, feeling their bodies sink further into the soft earth and fragrant leaves. The plants molded to their shape, flattening where their bodies fell and springing their ticklish teases around the edge. Crystal’s eyes blinked a few times, peering through the long, dark green lines obscuring her vision to see the peaceful look taking over Emizella’s face. She imagined sweet dreams taking over her mind and hoped that perhaps her subconscious thought of her enough to include her in the riolu’s adventures through the lands of tranquil sleep and restful slumber. Maybe they could even share the same dream if she held onto her image long enough.

Tomorrow would surely be a long day, tiresome and grueling with its own tasks to weed out the unfit and unqualified. But that was for tomorrow. For the next morning. For the new dawn just around the horizon. Now was the time for dreams and a dream with her partner sounded pretty good right about now…

Chapter Text

Dawn came sooner than Crystal’s groggy mind would have liked but she bit back her sleepy groans along with a small helping of breakfast. There was still a lot of ground to cover before they reached the finish line so the sooner they got a move on things, the better.

She stood at the base of a large tree, eyes glued to its branches that seemed to just barely scratch at the clouds with their raking ends. Her weight shifted from one paw to the next, trying her best to peer past the thickest parts protruding from the massive girth of the tree’s trunk to pick out the shadowed blue among the earthy brown. A rustle shook the leaves, shivers shaking them from their sturdy grips to send them fluttering down to the grass below. Slivers of cerulean expanded with each trembling branch, its shape becoming clearer and more defined with the rising commotion until it formed her riolu partner.

Emizella jumped from the last branch, clearing several feet with a heavy thud in front of Crystal’s waiting body. She cleared a few twigs and stray debris from her fur, brushing the stragglers from her head and picking them out of her tail.

“How’d it go?”

“Well, I could see past the forest so that’s a good sign,” she answered, reaching to her back to grab at the last twig pulling at her fur with its clingy wood. However, with its position just between her shoulder blades, her fingers were having a difficult time getting an accurate grip on the skinny little thing.

Crystal couldn’t watch her struggle any longer, tapping a paw against her steel bulge and standing on her hind legs to reach. “Let me get that,” she told her, picking off the last twig and chewing it into nothing.

Emizella caught the little stick disappearing into her mouth, her eyes narrowing at her partner’s peculiar habit. “Do those even taste good?” she asked.

Crystal thought about it. “They don’t really taste like anything.”

“Then why do you eat them?”

“For that satisfying crunch,” she answered with a little parade trumpeting in her stomach. “If you tried one, you’d see what I mean.”

“No thanks,” Emizella held out a hand before the offer could go any farther, “I have a feeling my stomach isn’t equipped to handle that.”

“Well, to each their own. So,” Crystal hopped on one of the protruding roots resting against the hillside, “Which way are we heading?”

“Well,” Emizella hopped to Crystal’s side, wrapping an arm around her neck and pointing off to the distance, “Our destination is right over there on the other side of the island. These woods go on for a while longer before reaching a clearing at the base of a cliffside. But it gets a little steep on the way out.”

“How steep?” Crystal asked with a slight tilt of her head.

“Steep enough to give a bit of a workout but not so steep that we might as well just jump off the edge. Basically, if we could handle Zacian’s pit, then this should be a cakewalk,” she explained, leading their way down the hillside with an assured leap from one gnarled root to the next until she was back on stable ground.

Crystal quickly followed suit, sliding along the loosened soil and earth to make her way down before her legs could find rest on more level footing. The riolu gave a quick check over her shoulder. Seeing her partner joining her, she nodded and turn her eyes back to their target, keeping her gaze focused and her wits sharp.

“Now that you’ve brought her up, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Crystal said with a little leap over a fallen branch, “Back in her den, could you see anything once you were inside?”

Emizella hummed in her musings, “Hm, not really. I couldn’t see anything.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t see anything?”

She laughed, “It means I couldn’t see anything. Watch your head.” She held one of the low-hanging branches out of the way, keeping it from swinging back into Crystal’s face once she was through. “I was pretty much blind it there. It all just became the same shade of black from start to finish.”

Crystal’s brows knitted together, confusion and concern mixing in her eyes and she wasn’t afraid to show it with a quick trot to the riolu’s side. “Wait, so how did you manage that pit?” she asked, keeping her stare on Emizella’s profile.

She laughed, loud and proud with a gentle rumble in her chest. “Oh, that was a doozy. I didn’t full-on plummet to the bottom if that’s what you’re worried about but it did give me a bit of a start when I realized there was no floor there. But I noticed it just in time and managed to find my way down. It was nothing too complicated. Besides, back then I was just focusing on getting back to you in one piece so… nowhere to go but forward, right?”

Crystal stared for a moment, letting her smile sink into her soul inch by blissful inch until she reflected its radiance in bounds. “Yeah,” she answered, “I get that. So, you really couldn’t see anything, could you?” she asked, taking a few light paces in front and looking up at her with a slightly lowered stance, mischief playing in her warm irises.

Emizella happily took the bait, “Not a thing,” she said.

“That’s too bad. Because there were some really interesting murals left behind on those walls.”

“Murals?” her voice rose an octave, intrigue dripping from every facet of her being.

Crystal couldn’t deny that she was amused by the interest tingling in the riolu’s spine and making her tail wag with the softest flutters. She couldn’t deny it and she wouldn’t deny it. And she felt herself embracing this side of herself with each little pull she could get away with from her good sport of a partner.

***

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Emizella exclaimed, grabbing at her feelers and gripping them tightly with the explosion of emotions flowing through her head. “You’re joking, right? Tell me you’re joking.”

“Sorry,” Crystal shrugged, “But it was all there. I saw them with my own eyes.”

“No way… that’s so unfair,” Emizella whimpered, her disappointment dragging her face into a depressive slump while her tail dragged its cerulean fur through the mess of leaves and twigs laying on the forest floor. “How could she let me miss something like that just because I’m not a living candlestick?”

“I don’t think it was anything the guild or Zacian intended for us to see,” Crystal tried to reassure her, taking pity on her poor, puppy-dog eyes. “They seemed really ancient, like they were put there a long, long time ago. I think they might have started with Zacian and Zamazenta and kept the tradition going from there. I don’t think anyone we know had anything to do with them.”

Emizella peeked a curious eye at her, “Is that what you think?”

“That’s what it looked like, but I’m not really an expert so I could be wrong.”

The riolu shrugged her shoulders, “You don’t have to be an expert to make a spot-on observation. That’s what my mom and dad used to tell me, anyway.”

Crystal’s legs slowed to a near halt, stumbling over her paws as her body tried to remember how to walk properly on four limbs. “Your mom and dad?” she asked, lagging behind her.

Emizella noticed her taken aback trance, turning with a quirk in her brow and an embarrassed grin on her lips. “Right, guess I never talked about them with you, huh? They’re researchers with a deep fascination for how the world works, so when I was growing up and making sense of things, they would always tell me ‘You don’t have to be a genius to see things as they are,’ or something like that.” Her voice trailed off in her recollection, the distant haze of a memory washing over her eyes. Nostalgia colored her lips and a giddy giggle peppered her tongue.

The sound was so light and airy that Crystal felt her heart being tickled in her chest and her own little hiccups of laughter followed. “What’s so funny?” she asked, trotting to her side to get a better view of her glittering smile.

Emizella shook her head, “Nothing. I was just remembering some of the things I used to say.”

“Like what?”

“Eh,” she rolled her head on her neck, looking to the canopy and the surrounding fauna before settling on her shoulders, “It’s kind of hard to explain without context. I’ll have to tell you some other time.”

Crystal tilted her head, an ear drooping down under the gravity of her perplexity while her brows dragged with her dissatisfaction. “That’s so unfair leaving me out of the joke,” she declared with a bit of a pout.

Emizella let out a prideful huff, “Now we’re even.”

Crystal gave a sulking huff of her own at the little tease but she couldn’t hold the expression for long with the budding smile trying to unfold from her pursed lips. She let it blossom after a second longer, pushing a playful nudge into the riolu’s side. “Fine, but I want to hear about them later. It’s so rare for you to talk about your family, you know. It’s almost kind of strange how I’m only now hearing about your parents,” she said, eyes rolling up to the sky to her curious thoughts.

“Is it really?”

“Considering how much you’ve been helping me out? Yeah, it’s actually pretty strange. I was even starting to think that your parents were dead or something.”

Emizella stumbled at the morbid speculation, halting her momentum with a bit of a stomp that grounded her toes into the earth.

Crystal’s ears turned towards the abrupt stop first and her eyes followed a second after.

“Wha-Why would you think something like that?” she asked, flustered lips fumbling to keep her words steady.

Crystal raised a brow, “What else am I supposed to think? You don’t talk about them and you live in the woods even though you have a home in Ippona. It kind of points to a sad backdrop with nothing else to go on.”

Emizella ran a hand through her fur, smoothing out the ruffles standing at the back of her head and easing the static from her muscles, “I mean, I get where you’re coming from but you shouldn’t make me out to be an orphan just because of something like that,” she said, her eyes still holding remnants of an anxious shadow in her irises—bottled secrets hiding in those darker hues.

Something like that seems like a pretty big deal.

She then sighed, a heavy weight sinking from her chest and dragging on her shoulders. “It’s not like I don’t tell you these things on purpose, you know,” she started, her gaze shifting from one corner to the other, “I’m so used to everyone knowing about me through my family that sometimes I forget that you just know… me for me. Like, I forget that if I don’t tell you then you won’t know and I sometimes think it’s better to not tell you because I feel like I’d lose something special.”

Crystal watched her for a moment, staring at the embarrassment bleeding into her cheeks and the hints of fear adding their slight tremors into her knees and curling her tail. There was something cute about how she wanted to hold that special place in Crystal’s eyes, how desperate she was to not lose that twinkle of admiration to anything, not even to her own kin. It was adorable and it was flattering but she couldn’t leave her to feel those things by herself. So, she walked to her, tenderness adding a gentle step to her paws, and pressed into her chest until she could feel the fluttering beats of her heart under the pads of her toes.

A smile caressed her lips and adoration cradled her eyes. “Emi,” she called her name with a rich sweetness, “I’ll tell you this as many times as you want: you’re the one who saved me. You’re the one who helped me. And you’re the one I want standing beside me. Nothing will ever change what you mean to me, okay? So, don’t feel like you have to hide parts of yourself because you’ll always be number one to me.”

Emizella had to absorb Crystal’s words in bits and pieces, from her gentle mannerism to her flattering encouragement. Every inch of her soft features and authentic affirmation ran an electrifying tingle under her skin that turned her sleek figure into a flustered, fluffy mess, her entire body doubling in size by sheer fur mass. Her feelers began to stand with the over-abundance of emotion coursing through her head and heating her body. Trembling digits wrapped around their rising girth, pulling them back down and covering her reddened face with their fluffed-up shape.

She let out a distressed shriek and pushed her way forward and away from the cause of her overwhelming symptoms. “Now really isn’t the time for any of this!” she cried, upping their pace and running off her emotions.

Crystal took a moment to appreciate her hasty retreat, letting a soft giggle flutter past her lips before chasing after her with a rejuvenated zeal skipping across her paws.

The generous confession got Emizella’s motor running at top speed, the pair making up for lost time with their hurried pace until they reached the steep decline the riolu had warned her about earlier. Despite its high grade and the degree of tumble if one were to lose their footing, Crystal couldn’t say it looked too terrible of a descent.

“So?” Emizella peeked over Crystal’s shoulder, “What do you think?”

Crystal stared at their decline for a moment longer, picking apart the edges and twisted ledges, visualizing her paw prints leaving their indentations on the sturdiest stones and grounded roots. She gave a confident huff when her phantom made it to the bottom and turned an eager smirk to the riolu’s cheek.

“I could handle this with my eyes closed,” she boasted, standing with her tail erected high on her spine.

Emizella breathed a laugh from the pit of her stomach, beaming excitement radiating from a dazzling white grin. “That’s what I love to hear!” she exclaimed, eagerly pushing forward with a bold leap and skidding down the fallen leaves and dead branches. “C’mon!” she shouted over her shoulder, “Last one down is the rotten exeggcute!”

It took Crystal’s mind a moment to register the boisterous burst, her momentary daze staring at the riolu’s fleeing figure skipping and sliding down the steep hillside. When her challenge finally sunk in, it was like a spark hitting a vat of oil, explosive with way more excitement than it could contain. She felt the eruption in her toes, kicking her off her feet and sending her barreling after her.

“You cheater! You gave yourself a head start!” she called after her between bursts of laughter that forced their way up with every push.

“If you got a problem with it then catch me! That is if you can keep up!”

She raced after her, chasing the riolu down dewy slopes and leafy edges. Her body bounced and ricocheted off tilting trees and bending roots, her paws growing more sure of themselves with each leap of faith. This body felt so agile and free, moving before she could even think. As if she had traversed these steps for many years. As if this body was thoroughly hers.

I wonder if I was this athletic in my past life…

They had managed to make it halfway down without incident, Emizella still holding a slight lead ahead of Crystal but the little fennekin was quickly closing the gap. Just a little faster, her heart raced, just a little push more. But she felt something tickling her toes, a subtle tease that sent an uneasy chill down her spine.

She skidded to a stop and felt its steady approach growing stronger with each hesitant second. She looked down at the rolling pebbles and shifting debris before her alarm fully set in.

“Emi, wait!” she shouted after her.

“That’s not how this game works,” Emizella shouted back as she continued down.

“No, seriously! Something’s coming!” she tried warning her but that something was already here.

The tickles at the edge of her toes raised into violent tremors that consumed her body down to the marrow in her bones. The earth wailed and groaned under her feet, trees kicked from their homes and stones freed from their bindings. The land could not hold its shape. It could not bear the weight of change in its loosened surface. So, with its spine-chilling trembling, the hill shed its outer layer like it was molting, saying goodbye to the old and anything unfortunate enough to be caught on its surface.

The earth gave way under Crystal’s paws, rolling her down the steep hillside faster than she could keep up. She tried moving with it, tried flowing with its momentum, but the land had a mind of its own and mischievous tricks pushed her sense of balance to its absolute limit.

Tumbling stones found their way under Crystal’s toes, throwing her body off-kilter and she tumbled with them. From her head down to her tail and along every inch of every vertebrae, she rolled along like a ball that could not be stopped. Her limbs tucked themselves into her stomach, her tightened shape pushed her down faster than her breakfast could take.

Don’t puke… don’t puke… she repeated in her mind with every crashing thud that rocked her skull.

For a second, she thought she saw the blue blur of Emizella pass her along with the speckled makings of her name flicking across the spinning air. At least that’s what she thought. It was hard to make out anything with the world rumbling louder than a bass drop at a rave concert. And just like those concerts, the moment Crystal’s body was spat off the hillside into the mellow slopes of the clearing, her brain caught up with the rattling and the aftermath felt like shattered glass inside a shaken box.

Worst… Ride… Ever… her dizzy thoughts knocked against the back of her throbbing head, the heavy weight of its contents bobbling to and fro on her neck.

“Crystal!”

And the rumblings continued on, even as the hillside slowed into an unbalanced stillness, the earth still rocked beneath her crumbled body.

“Are you okay?” Emizella asked as she crouched down by her side.

“Y-Yeah…somewhat,” she muttered.

She tried to get up but her legs were telling her that her intentions weren’t the best idea at this current moment. Still, she stood on what felt like wobbly stilts and she swayed with her shifting center as if the whole world was off-kilter.

“That was one impressive tumble back there. You managed to roll yourself all the way to the bottom without even trying!”

“Glad you liked it…”

“That was a pretty intense landslide back there. It looked like the whole cliffside lost its face with that one,” Emizella said, turning to look at the devastation that seemed anything but natural.

“Yeah,” Crystal shook her senses back into place, “But something felt really off about it, don’t you think?”

“Off how?”

“I mean, how can something that extensive sneak up out of nowhere?” she asked, turning to see the downpour of earth that spilled out on the left side and even further on the right. As far as she could see, the entire hillside was turned inside out with scattered examees gathering their own bearings at the meadow’s base. It didn’t make sense. How could a natural disaster whose effects stretched on for miles go undetected until the last minute?

Unless…

“You think the examiners had something to do with starting that landslide?” Emizella took the words right out of her mouth.

Crystal nodded, “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

A sudden loud screech rained down from the sky, calling everyone’s attention to the sea of blue and the black specks that dotted the crystal-clear heavens.

“Caw! Caw! Attention applicants! Attention applicants!” the voice of the murkrows echoed, “There has been a landslide in Section 2-B and Section 2-D! I repeat, there has been a landslide in Section 2-B and Section 2-D! Many of the resident pokémon have been buried under the rumble and require immediate rescue! This is not a drill! Please report to either sections immediately for emergency rescue!”

“There are actual pokemon buried under there?” Crystal asked, turning up at the towering devastation and the chaos spewed across its surface. “This has to be part of the test, right? They wouldn’t actually bury living pokémon… Right?”

“I’m not sure… but there are definitely living pokémon under there,” Emizella’s voice came out as a mutter beneath the thick, veiling focus concentrated in her mind. Her feelers trembled under the tension and her eyes closed to see what only those appendages could detect.

“What are you seeing, Emi?”

Emizella’s lips pressed themselves into a tight line. Her eyes may have been closed but Crystal could see the way she scanned the tumbled earth and counted the little flickers of life trapped underneath.

“It doesn’t look pretty… It scales up back the way we came and trickles down. Some look like clusters of pokémon trapped together, others are individuals,” she explained. The tension in her appendages released with an easing breath and she opened her eyes to her partner, “We should start from the top and work our way down. The ground isn’t too reliable so we should be careful about every move we make.”

“Got it.”

Emizella looked around at the other candidates that were spat out the same way they were, some scampering back up the cliffside but others—the selfish or the less confident or the overly reliant few—just moved forward through the exam. Crossing into the meadowy plains, they left their share of rescue work to the abled bodies that were already moving to back-track their progress. A soft growl went through her throat but she swallowed her irritation.

“Let’s go,” she muttered past the remnants, “I’ll be relying on your ears to figure out the finer details.”

Crystal turned her attention back to the cliffside, ears sampling its shifting face. Every sound was so subtle from the rolling pebbles to the tiny breaths clinging to their pockets of air. None of this would be easy, but this trust Emizella had in the little things her body could do, that belief, it made her want to cross the distance between her perception and Emizella’s ideals.

Cross the distance.

Go the extra mile.

And when she got tired, push out just a bit more.

“Leave it to me.”

***

Well, that was what she said, but scaling up a toppled cliffside made up of loosen topsoil and uprooted debris is tougher than escaping the landslide itself. At least back then they had gravity’s help to pull them down. Now that “help” was the biggest hindrance, threatening to take away all of Crystal’s hard work in a matter of seconds.

“This is it,” Emizella’s voice broke through the haze of concentration that clouded Crystal’s brain functions. She hung onto a low hanging branch from one of the still, deeply-rooted trees, rocking herself slightly with her gestures pointing towards the earth. “I feel someone under here. Do you hear anything?” she asked.

“Give me a second,” Crystal said as she turned her ears towards the cliffside and listened to the scutterings coming from beneath the soil and dirt.

It was faint, muffled by the layers of forest debris covering the hollowed earth, but she could hear the shallow breaths of life fighting to sustain a steady heartbeat.

“I can hear it!” she told Emizella with her muzzle pointed like a sniffer hound, “Down there! There’s someone trapped underneath.”

“Right,” Emizella nodded, “I think this high up, we’re okay to dig them out without making it worse, but still, be careful. The land is unpredictable right now.”

“Got it! Just leave the digging to me,” Crystal nodded her head before turning back to the caved-in burrow, “Can you hear us? We’re going to get you out in just a second so hang on just a bit longer!”

She gave a few practice scoops, testing the loose soil and how it reacted to the motions. How it slid into her hollowed groove and the direction the pellets of earth rolled, she committed the small bits of information and applied them to her body’s muscle memory. There wouldn’t be time to think, otherwise, only time to dig.

And dig she did, her arms churning scoop after scoop of tossed soil and dirt while her back legs kicked the excess out from underneath her body. It was almost scary how reactive her limbs were; how easy it was to take to the form of a burrowing fox to dig out a hole for herself. With the ease of a tunneling machine, she reached deeper and deeper into the cliffside, breaking through the disaster’s mess and finding the home that had been covered by the examiners’ test.

“I think I got something!” Crystal called over her shoulders before picking out the barrier still remaining over the burrow’s entrance.

She was careful about carving out the hole, careful about not undoing her progress or making it worse. The hole was just big enough for her head to fit through, and if her head could fit, the rest of her was sure to follow.

The burrow was longer than she expected, stretching down deeper into the cliffside into a dark tunnel. Well, it wasn’t like Crystal couldn’t adapt, letting her wisps add their illumination to the situation.

“Emi! Can you hear me?” she turned towards the hole she squeezed in from and called up her dug out work.

“What’s up?” Emizella’s voice echoed back.

“I can’t see the pokémon who was trapped in here but this burrow goes deeper! I’m going in to find them!”

Crystal turned her ears towards her partner’s pondering, feeling the silence resonate within her head. It was risky, they’ve never performed a rescue like this before. But sometimes, the best way to learn was to get your hands dirty. Or paws… whichever worked best for the phrasing.

“Okay,” her response came in as clear as a bell, “I’ll keep track of you from out here, but don’t feel like you have to do it all alone. If you need help, send me your signal, got it?”

“Got it!” she called back with a fire lighting in her stomach.

Of course, she would call for help if she really needed it—she wasn’t so prideful to risk a rescue assignment just to show off—but if she could prove herself capable on her own, then that would make her even more of a match to stand by Emizella’s side.

Her ears turned towards the soft whimpers coming from deeper inside, the fragile pleads for help echoing in her large ears and funneling into her head. Right, she thought with a nod before marching onwards.

It was an uneasy feeling walking through the crumbling burrow. Even walking on her toes felt like it was enough to break the delicate lining of the walls. She’d have to work fast, she decided, following the sounds at a gliding trot with her head low and her downy, underbelly fur brushing along the dirt.

She came to a fork in the burrow’s tunnel, giving her a moment of pause. Was there someone else down the second chamber to the right or should she continue down the left where the whimpers were coming from? The left was definitely hurt, but if the possible somebody on the right was unconscious, she wouldn’t be able to hear their cries for help.

There wasn’t time to contemplate her options; she couldn’t prioritize possibilities or what-ifs. Someone definitely needed her help on the left and the left was where she was going to go.

“Hello?” her voice rang into the chamber just at the edge of her limited vision, “I’m here to help. Can you hear me? I’m going to get you out of this.”

“Over here,” the whimpers manifested into a soft-spoken call, “I can’t move… Help, help me…”

Crystal’s wisp chased after her beckoning cries, shining their gentle glow on a small minccino pinned by a pile of debris that had fallen from the ceiling of her home, much of which consisting of large stones that used to help stabilize the shape of the chamber.  She walked closer to inspect the damage, seeing the slight hint of injury in the red scrapings lining the minccino’s leg and pinched tail.

“It hurts…” the minccino sobbed, “It hurts…”

Her tears made Crystal’s heart thump so hard, she could taste her own pulse at the back of her throat. The claustrophobia, the betrayal of sanctuary and the security it meant, the uncertainty of seeing the sun again, it was so palpable in the air. But Crystal couldn’t let that panic resonate into her expression, holding a torch in her eyes that was determined to light the way back to safety.

“I know but it’ll be okay,” she told her, crouching down to the minccino’s level with a reassuring smile. Her wisps reflected a kind dawn over the sunset hue of her irises, a rising warmth blossoming from her soft features and calming the smell of fear spilling from the minccino’s body. “I’m going to get you out now so please bear with it a little longer.”

The minccino nodded, her tears stopping with a gulp.

Crystal could feel her eyes watching her as she crept closer. She looked from where the little chinchilla’s body disappeared under the stones, seeing how the bulk of it rested on a single, large rock that had her body completely trapped. Her eyes trailed up the collapsed body of earth, unable to see the damage beyond the top of the burrow.

It could get worse if I mess with what’s here, she surmised, giving it one more scan before settling her sight under the minccino’s body. Under it is.

“I’m going to dig out a small gap so we can pull you out. Try not to move, okay?” she asked with a brief glance of her eyes.

The minccino gave another nod, “Okay.”

Crystal pinched her paw between the ground and the minccino’s belly, scooping and digging away carefully just under her shape. The rock had her pinned but there was a buffer between the edge of her sides and the edges of stone. Keeping that buffer, Crystal could dig her out without disturbing the mound’s peace.

She pressed her nose in to deepen her reach, scratching under the minccino’s back legs and a bit into her tail to hollow out a proper channel that wouldn’t cause her any more harm and could ease her discomfort.

“Just a bit more…” she muttered, a soft well of pride building in her heart the closer she was to releasing the minccino from her earthy prison and stony shackles.

She cleared out a bit more dirt from under her, making the groove smooth and taking out any hard, pebbly lumps. With the final details out of the way, the minccino’s body became looser, her breathing coming back up to speed and the relief coming over her spread from her drooped ears to her shoulders. Crystal gave a slight nod as she took a small step back and turned her tail towards the minccino.

“Okay, grab on and I’ll pull you out.”

She watched the affirmative nod from the minccino over her shoulder, feeling the grip of her go-ahead pull at her skin. The resistance she felt from the pinning mound of dirt was faint, a gentle tug breaking the hold it had on her from whatever bit and corner Crystal’s paws couldn’t reach. The rest of her slid out like butter on warm pancakes, feeling just as satisfying and sweet when Crystal saw the rest of the little pokémon in her full, fluffy glory. Well, a little battered and bruised but at least she was out in one piece.

She rushed back to the minccino’s side, her tail curling in the chinchilla pokémon’s lingering grasp. The last strands slipped out of her balled fists, crouching down by her and nudging her with her muzzle. “Get on, I’ll carry you out.”

The minccino shuffled closer, rubbing her sniffling nose before sliding herself onto Crystal’s backside. She felt so light and her fur was so airy and soft. She knew minccino were a plush breed, their fur fine with a peculiar need to maintain an air of cleanliness and tidy upkeep, but she was still feral, right? Did even the feral ones still feel just like royal silk?

“Is there anyone else that lives down here?” Crystal asked before her mind became too attached to how nice her fur felt.

Their ears brushed their velvet touches with the minccino’s denial to any others living in her burrow. “It’s just me down here.”

Good call, me, Crystal gave herself a mental pat on her back. Even if this was a little rough for her first rescue from a natural calamity, at least she didn’t waste more time chasing what-if phantoms.

“Okay. Hold on and I’ll get you outside. We’ll find some help for your leg when we reach the surface.”

The minccino hummed into Crystal’s ear but it wasn’t an affirmative hum or an acknowledging hum. It sounded more like the kind of hum that spilled out from a mental note being jotted into her memory. A scrutinizing hum heavy with questioning judgment. And that hum came with a heavy stare, an intensity that picked her apart by every strand of hair standing on her skin. It was almost menacing, as overwhelming as Ezekiel’s piercing glare.

She thought for a moment to turn towards the minccino, to confirm if the feeling was merely the stress of the situation playing tricks on her, but she thought better of it, walking with her back steady and her strides wide. Every turn of her shoulders and hips that brushed against the minccino’s fur pressed the nagging thought of the rich, silky texture deeper into her mind.

It didn’t feel right. Even for a minccino, it didn’t feel right.

Crystal shoved the nagging feeling down into the pit of her stomach, trotting to the entrance with her bravest face as if not a single doubt existed behind her smiling eyes. She squeezed them back through the way they came, nudging the minccino through the hole first to where Emizella was waiting for their return. She helped pulled the minccino out the rest of the way, meeting Crystal’s nudging push with a gentle tug.

“I got you,” Emizella whispered, her grip careful and the pull meticulously cautious.

“Her back legs are injured,” Crystal informed her, squeezing out next when the exit was clear.

“So that’s what I was feeling. Got it,” she nodded, scooping the minccino up and cradling her close like a baby, “We got a first-aid station going at the base of the cliffside where it’s safe. Let’s take her down first.”

As Emizella carried her down, Crystal remained a few paces ahead, readying herself for any type of slip up though she doubted the riolu would make such a careless mistake in this precarious predicament. But still, better safe than sorry. At least the pressure of that stare was off of Crystal’s shoulders for just a moment.

“Hey!” a gligar at the base of their makeshift camp waved one of his pincers at the both of them as they descended down the last of the lumpy cliffside with the minccino, “Over here! You got someone with you, right? Bring them over!”

“I see, so some of you had the initiative to start an impromptu first-aid station away from the affected areas,” the minccino noted, her eyes picking the site apart piece by piece. From their supplies to the pokémon staying back to make use of their healing abilities, her eyes ran over them like a fine-toothed comb.

“What are you…” Emizella muttered with narrowed eyes, her head drawing away from the minccino’s as her oddities threw the riolu’s head for a loop just as it had done with Crystal’s.

Crystal watched her, unable to keep her pestering confusion off of her face anymore. But then, it became so simple. It was so undoubtedly simple that she could kick herself for not figuring it out before.

“You’re an examiner, aren’t you?” Crystal said with a sigh, her ears drooping at the stupidity of believing that the emergency the test created came with real victims.

“Of course I am. Are you seriously just now figuring this out?” the minccino asked, her tone making Crystal feel even more like a gullible sucker.

“Wait!” Emizella interjected, “So all the pokémon caught in the landslide, they’re all…”

“Actors,” the minccino finished, “Did you really believe the ALG would actually put living pokémon in danger just to vet you lot? Outrageous!” she laughed. At least taking it as a joke was better than rubbing their noses into their misunderstanding. “Hurry up and put me down.”

Emizella placed her down with a hesitance that stiffened her joints.

The minccino dusted herself off with the flare of a city girl. It had to be torturous to lay in her own filth for however long it took Crystal to reach her. In her primping, a chimecho wafted over to the new addition with bandages in hand. Having taken in several of these actors, Crystal suspected the drifting pokémon was already up to speed on the situation, and yet she still treated her like a patient in desperate need of aid, wrapping up her scrapped legs with a soft chime radiating from the bell on her head.

“You’re both rough around the edges,” she started, “An adventurer should always be prepared no matter the situation or circumstances they find themselves in. Even with this first aid station, you should still have some kind of first-aid medkit at all times for emergencies like this.”

Crystal caught the chimecho’s pitying gaze as she finished up her part. She wondered if this kind of spiel was common around the site. With the grimace of the chimecho’s brows and the way she slinked off from any more of the minccino’s feedback, Crystal had a feeling.

“If my leg was broken, use a splint. If my head was busted open, wrap it up. It’s simple things like that that separates the professionals from the rookies, got it?” the minccino finally finished up, pressing for a response with a jab of her small paw. The little nub seemed almost unimposing if it wasn’t for the seniority that kept the minccino on her untouchable pedestal.

“Understood,” Crystal nodded without complaint or comment.

“Yeah…” Emizella followed suit.

“Good,” the minccino huffed with a satisfaction easing the tension in her brows, “So, with all that being said, I’ll go ahead and pass you for now. You managed to get me out without agitating my injuries or making my circumstances worse so I’ll overlook your rookie mistake… this time.”

Their eyes brightened, rubies and ambers glowing with a brilliance that even miners would call precious.

Emizella was the first to let the excitement burst out her lips, a squealing hiss pressing past her grinning teeth. “Yes!” a raspy noise came out next, her hands balled into tight fists as she punched their victory in its metaphorical face.

Crystal would have joined her in the little party she was having in her heart, the fur on her back ready to pull her along into a flutter of leaps and flips, but the minccino wasn’t finished quite yet.

“Hold it, that doesn’t mean you’ve completely passed this section of the exam,” she said, putting a stop to all their fun, “It just means that I, as your first rescued victim, passed you. But there are still others that need your ‘help’, you get it?”

“So that means…” Crystal turned back to the cliffside.

“You’re not done until you’re actually done. Adventurers don’t just rescue one and then call the job a success. No, you make sure everyone is okay before you start patting yourselves on the back. And if you lose just one, you’re finished.”

“Right. No way would it ever be that easy,” Crystal sighed with a resigned smile dripping from her lips.

“Hey, you kids sure you’re up for this? I mean, if this is turning you for a loop, you could always-”

“No chance!” Emizella declared with an adamant fire in her eyes, “Now that we’re up to speed, there’s no way we’re turning back now! Just you watch, we’re going to get it perfect next time, right Crystal?”

Crystal jumped slightly when the riolu’s aggressive determination turned on her next. “Oh, right! We can only get better. After all, nowhere to go but up.”

“Exactly! So let’s hurry and help the next one.” Emizella turned back to the cliffside, her feelers standing at attention and readying themselves for action. It didn’t take her any time at all to settle on their next target spot and her legs exploded to follow their new lead. “C’mon, Crystal! We don’t have time to lose!”

“Hang on!” Crystal shouted after her boisterous partner, “Emi! We should be taking med supplies with us!”

But she was already on her own track, her resolve put into question and the offense taken was a deep one. No doubt about it, she wasn’t slowing down for anything. So, Crystal took matters into her own hands, grabbing a few medicinal berries and leafy binding in her mouth before charging after her.

Blazing forward without the brakes to slow down, that was Crystal’s Emi.

Chapter Text

“Is this everyone?”

“I’ve already checked three times. Everyone is accounted for.”

“Good.”

The mawile kept her back turned to the tired lot taking their brief rest and indulging in the stillness of it for as long as they could. She faced the crowd of rescued pokémon in their bandages and ruffled furs and scales, checking with each section leader and their headcount to assure this section of the test was a success. Crystal could easily recognize it was the mawile from the start of the exam despite how deep she grounded her head into the soft grass cooled by the chill of dusk.

Damn did her limbs ache. And her stomach felt so empty but her head was too heavy to want to eat anything. So much digging. Just… so much digging.

“Good work, everyone,” the mawile turned, its giant maw shifting a massive smile onto the actors next, “Not many pokémon can say they’re up to the task of executing a rescue mission as extensive as this. Any of you who make it to the finish line will definitely be able to say you earned that spot on the mountain’s peak.”

It was all nice to hear but it was honestly going in one ear and out the other with Crystal. Actually, everything sounded a little muffled with her radars drooping down her face. In the buzzing hum against her eardrums, she could feel a familiar rasp scrapping at the fur lining their inner canal. An unmistakably scratchy sound made even harsher with its hushed whisper.

Her eyes flickered towards the source and an ear turned to catch what the sableye was going on about.

“Nikki!” Sabrina called the mawile under her little gratitude speech, “Nikki! Hey! Nikki! Over here! Look over here!”

But the mawile wouldn’t look over there. No, she tried her best to look anywhere but there, ignoring her yapping and persistent distractions. However, with the way her brows twitched in keeping the furrow from reaching her eyes, that tactic could only last for so long.

“Guardian Regirock, I’ve never asked you for anything in my entire life…” the mawile muttered under her breath, “And… rest assured that those pokémon who didn’t think to honor the severity of our alert will not be permitted to pass. Pokémon who see fit to take advantage of a serious situation to get a leg up as if this is a competition do not deserve to be adventurers.”

She carried on with the trained patience of a sage, her smile rolling up the flinches from her cheeks and brows, up her head and into the stem that connected her body to that second mouth of hers. Feeding her irritation into its chomping jaw, it snarled and growled in any direction it could reach, snapping like a mad dog ready to break its chains.

Crystal didn’t think it was part of their biology but the stark difference between the two halves made her believe that it would snap off and charge into the crowd of examinees, going after the one who irritated her.

The mawile gave one final snap of her jaw, the force of its crunch making the air around her tremble and shake in fear. Sabrina didn’t risk starting her up again, letting her leave with a smile and her dignity on the back of a large murkrow.

“I look forward to seeing which of you has what it takes to make it to the summit.”

And then she was gone, flying to some untouchable place to continue their examine monitoring. With her gone and her demanding presence taken out of the equation, everyone turned their attention to the pestering sableye. Some with their seething glares and low rumbles crawling from deep within their chests while others eyed her like some mad goblin, wondering what insane thoughts must have erupted in that impulsive mind of hers to think it was a good idea to needle and prod at a guild officer.

Sabrina just looked at them all, the gleam in her gemstone eyes unfaltering with that wide smile that never left her face. And she said, with the simplest, most nonchalant tone that almost seemed criminal in this situation, “We go way back.”

It made sense—well, some loose amount of sense—that the pair had some kind of history. You don’t get that deep under someone’s skin without some history. The passions of childhood antics, Crystal thought with a nod of her head.

“Crystal.”

Emizella’s voice filled Crystal’s ears, the suddenness bursting in her head.

She rolled away from its intensity. “Y-Yeah? What is it, Emi?” she asked, rubbing away the tingle lining her fur with an arm.

Emizella held in a chuckle, her chest pulsing with a short breath. “We still got another day to reach the edge of the island. Why don’t we rest our muscles a bit before continuing onward?” she suggested.

Crystal looked out to the clearing leading up to the mountains, picking out the advancing bodies taking advantage of the tiring event wiping out the less fit few to gain a few more feet before the dusk turned to night. It was sad to say that Crystal was part of that few, but the way Emizella stood beside her, tall and wide-eyed, she would be part of the former if she could.

“It’s okay,” she stood to her wobbly legs, trying to kick the gelatin out of her bones but she could feel her ankles buckling under her. “I can keep going. We’re almost there anyway so let’s just keep pushing forward.”

“Yeah, no,” Emizella flat out refused despite her question coming in the form of a suggestion, “We’re resting.”

“Then why’d you ask?” Crystal said, her bottom falling back to the ground the second it felt like it could get away with it.

“I thought it would be better to be gentler about it. But yeah, we’re resting.”

Her decision was made and her decision was final. The second she fell to the padded grass, overgrown and fluffy, there was no moving her.

“There’s no telling what’s out there, and the fact that they’re in such an open and unguarded area is rubbing my fur the wrong way.”

“They?”

Emizella nodded, “There’s someone out there waiting for us,” she said, her eyes closing to concentrate on the hunch knocking at the back of her head. “They’re strong,” she muttered, opening her eyes again but her feelers still stood on edge, “I don’t even have to focus that hard to feel them, which would be awesome if it wasn’t after us.”

“Are they getting any closer?” Crystal asked, her alarm dialing her voice down to a whisper.

“Nah, I think they’re meant for us to come to them, not the other way around. That’s why we ought to rest before we get to that part.”

“I see. That makes sense.” Crystal’s body pressed into the earth, her paws sliding out beneath her along the grooves of the grass and her nose accepting the ticklish sensation of the blades. “This feels a bit late but they’re really putting us through the wringer on this, aren’t they? I mean… even after this, there’s still more training to go. I didn’t think the exam for an internship would be so exhausting.”

“H-hey, c’mon… if you say things like that, you’ll really scare me, you know,” Emizella said, her brows pleading and her elbows buckling under her chest.

She peeked up at the riolu and her pouting face. A light chuckle pressed out of her lungs as she rolled to her side, placing a paw against the metallic bulge on her wrist. “It’s not like that. Trust me, I won’t give up after coming this far. It’s just… I’m a bit worried in the back of my mind. Worried that my body can’t keep up with my aspirations. I mean, look at me, an afternoon of digging and I’m ready to keel over. Meanwhile, you look like you can stand to run a few more miles before dinner.”

“My body is just conditioned differently than yours. It’s really not a big deal,” Emizella tried to encourage her, scratching into the tuft of fur along her cheeks and into her neck and chest.

Crystal couldn’t resist rolling into Emizella’s touch, her tail thumping against the ground despite her anxious worries. “I know. We’re built differently so we fair better in different circumstances, but still… I don’t want to hold you back. You’re meant for great things, Emi, I just know it. So don’t let me keep you from where you’re meant to be.”

She bit into her lip, her chest puffing out with a heat that made every nerve in her body stand in opposition. “I’m meant to be wherever you are. You feel the same way too, don’t you?”

“Of course. There’s nothing else I’d like more. But I would hate myself if I knew you were holding back for my sake. So… just promise me, okay? Promise me you’ll never let it come to that, okay?”

Emizella’s hand stilled on Crystal’s shoulder, her digits digging into her side and pulling on her skin. It must have been hard. Crystal knew it was hard to accept even more so than accepting she had her own weaknesses, but it had to be said. With the finish line just around the corner, it had to be said before Emizella made the mistake of prioritizing her friend over her dream.

“Okay?” she repeated, rolling under her hand so her touch would shift to the downy fur of her stomach.

Emizella stared into the sea of gold, sinking in its depths and gripping for salvation. But Crystal’s eyes would not give an inch, a despairing ultimatum just on the other side of her warm gaze.

“Alright. I… won’t let that happen. I’ll keep going and I won’t let you hold me back… Even though that won’t ever happen…” she muttered her addition with a firm pout, her hand rubbing and stroke and forgetting the discomfort in her heart with the soothing belly rubs that eased her mind.

“Good enough,” Crystal laughed, hind legs kicking and sides twisting with the overabundance of happiness racing through her flesh.

***

“The stars are really beautiful out here,” Crystal mused, the night air crisp with the chirping of crickets and lined with the cool vibrance of the moon and its stars.

“We’re pretty far from the mainland and this is Zacian’s resting place so it feels pretty undisturbed. That could be why the midnight sky feels just as bright as the day,” Emizella followed her flow of momentary whimsy, shifting her gaze towards the never-ending cosmos and the galaxies illuminated in its eternity.

“You think we’ll see skies like these when we become official adventurers?”

“Probably. The guild receives requests all across Xernia and sometimes they take on collaborations with other nations. We could be assigned to missions right in our own backyard to as far as across the ocean on the other side of the world.”

“Woah!” Crystal turned up towards Emizella’s reflective, crimson eyes, “You really think they’d send us out that far?”

Her partner laughed, “Why not? We may be at the bottom rung now but that just means we’re loaded with potential.” Her face softened and the tender light of the sky added a silver tinge to her fur, highlights sparkling across her body like the stars had dusted her with a wish. “There’s someone amazing on the other side of all of this…” dreams manifested on her tongue in a whisper, “I can’t wait to meet her…”

Crystal felt the enchantment wrap around her chest in an embrace that was both suffocating and comforting, like the breathlessness breathed life into her soul. In the most curious of ways, Emizella still felt like a child—innocent and optimistic. And in this moment, where her age showed and her purity skipped across her eyes, the world felt like a wonderful place.

She bumped her hip into Emizella’s side, nudging her with a bound that pressed her to the head of their march. “Then what are we waiting for. Let’s go meet her!” she said, twirling once with a beckoning bow of her head.

“Yeah! Let’s go,” Emizella said, running past with Crystal following at her heels.

Wild sensations filled her head from the fragrant grasses and nocturnal petals leaving their tang on the back of her tongue to the warmth of her blood mixing with the chilly breeze combing through her fur. They focused her on a single point, tunneling her vision towards the peak of their goal. However, the thing with tunnels was that you could only expect the unexpected but the cautionary anticipation never seemed to match. No matter how guarded she believed herself to be, it could never be enough.

“Wait!” Emizella held out her arm, stopping Crystal with a short skid into the earth before lowering them both with a sharp push pressing into her back.

“What is it? Are they here?” Crystal asked, her voice lowering into a wary, hushed whisper.

Emizella held a finger to her lips, silencing the panicked bells ringing in Crystal’s ears. She moved the signaling digit away from her face and pointed it to the grounds where deep imprints flattened the grass. Dark splotches colored the area, splattered speckles racing and fading along a trail of motion. Crystal looked closer at the markings, eyes narrowing to pick the color out from the dark shadows of the night. Her body reeled back in her realization, holding a paw to her lips along with the gasp in her throat.

“Is that… blood?” she asked, staring at the muddy shade dirtying the earth.

She could hear the crack in Emizella voice, her lips readying some kind of response, but whatever answer that was building on her tongue was shoved away with a tackle that sent Crystal barreling into the nearby bushes and tall grasses. She laid over Crystal’s body, shielding the sunny hue of her fur with the deep greys and cerulean lining her back.

Crystal glanced at her before her ears caught the tingle of footsteps ruffling through the dirt. She dared at a peek towards the pokémon that got the riolu’s chest thudding like a rillaboom’s drum against her backside. Picking through the leaves offered little to work with but the flashes of white and crimson flickering past the branches felt so familiar that the blood in her head froze on the single thought.

The stranger’s head stilled, a turn of the cheek placing their hiding place into the realm of possibility. His stance considered it, pondering the idea but his long arms weren’t at all eager to act on his hunch. He turned his body towards them, sluggish and unconcerned with whether he was right or not, almost too bored to carry on any further. But obligation beckoned him to kneel down before the thicket of leaves and small fruits, staring into the gaps just as Crystal peered out.

Devastation stared back within his one pale, pink eye, wrenching her heart with an intensity that pulled the organ out of her chest and left her floundering for its essential beat. It was a hand that wrung around her neck and pressed into her body, forcing her down while rusty, dull blades ripped and tore at her flesh. It was the nightmares that invaded her dreams, violated her happiness and desecrated her peace. The terrors that destroyed any sense of progression she had, any sense of strength she dared to claim, and left her feeble and fragile and so very, very broken.

She couldn’t stop shaking. She didn’t even realize she was shaking. Her heart pumped harder but it wasn’t in her chest anymore. Her lungs raced in her ribs but she couldn’t breathe anymore. There was nothing left for her. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. He would find her and he would rip into her with those dreadfully cold claws.

I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.

But death didn’t come to relieve her, the abysmal phantom gone from her sights without flare or ceremony. Where did he go? What was he doing? Even without that menacing eye staring into her soul, she couldn’t let go of this tremble making her bones shiver and rattle away in this miserable excuse for a body. This useless existence trapped in a blur, the world crumbling away beneath her feet into a senseless nothingness. And in this nothingness, she couldn’t even beg for salvation.

“Crystal!”

Desperation called her in the midst of a shaky voice just on the verge of breaking down, a firm jerk knocking her sense back into place. Blobs of color took shape again and the light of the moon shined so brightly into her eyes that it almost felt blinding. The world pieced itself together bit by bit from the grass beneath her feet to the sky above her head and standing in the center of it all was Emizella’s pleading eyes and the panic that exhausted their illustrious sheen.

“Emi?” she answered, rising from her stupor, “I… where are we? What-” She stopped quickly, her tail flaring and expanding while her body twisted and turned on the tips of her toes. “That zangoose! Where? Where is he? What happened? Where did he go?” she asked, spitting out question after question without a single pause for breath.

“Calm down, Crystal! Calm down,” Emizella pulled in her twitchy body, letting her muscles jerk and squirm under her embrace. “You’re fine. It’s fine. He’s gone, left to continue his patrol. You weren’t responding so I took us out of his territory.”

“Out of his… Oh… oh.” Her body melted into a limp mess, a cocktail of relief and shame shaking up her mind and leaving her thoughts muted.

Emizella went down with her, sliding to her knees and pulling as much of Crystal’s body into her lap as she could. It was a mess of fingers combing through long tufts of hair, tender strokes carrying with them a light sting with every knot that tugged at her skin, but it was worth it to feel as complete as being shelter under Emizella’s chin made her.

“I’m sorry,” Emizella whispered against her ear, “I didn’t think there would be a zangoose assisting with the exam or that we’d run into him like that.”

Crystal shook her head, “Why do you have to apologize for that?” she asked with a self-deprecating chuckle. “You couldn’t have known. Besides, I’m the one who should apologize. Because of me, we…” she choked, her words thick and coated in sobs, “Because of me, we’re going to fail.”

“That’s not true.”

“I can’t, Emi… I can’t,” she said past trembling lips, “Even though he’s part of the guild… Even though he couldn’t be a bad pokémon as a member, I can’t. When I saw his eye, all I could see was…”

She couldn’t bring herself to finish, reliving the pain of those destructive claws and how easily they played with her body. Throttling her, throwing her, using her like an unwanted ragdoll all because they could. And even after her shattered bones were mended, even after she trained her lungs and refined her flames, she still found herself so scared because of what a few terrible pokémon had done to her.

“I’m so pathetic…” she broke down into her chest, “I’m so pathetic…”

“Enough!” Emizella blurted past her sobs and held her even tighter, “You’re not pathetic, you’ve just been hurt one too many times. But that’s not your fault.” She pulled at Crystal’s chin, nudging her head up to look her in her eyes. “It’s not your fault and you’re not any less of a pokémon because of it. They tried to put you down, tried to make you quit on yourself, but look at you now. You got back up and you came this far. If that’s not amazing then I don’t know what is.”

Crystal couldn’t say another more, her voice dissolving into incoherent sobs and despairing wails. It still didn’t feel fair how it was her that had to pick herself back up. Honestly, it never would feel fair. But everyone had something to carry with them, some form of injustice thrusted upon their lives. Even Emizella had her own unfairness to deal with and yet she still had the time and space to deal with Crystal’s burden.

She’d pay her back. One way or another, she’d give it back and then some. A life for a life and a dream for a dream.

***

It wasn’t until the sun began to peer over the mountains’ peak that the two of them began their advancement once more. The area had been laid with pitfalls and snares hidden away in the fervent greenery. They were tricky enough on their own to navigate in the breakage of dawn, there was no telling where they would be if they hastily proceeded through the cover of night.

Each step had to be carefully planned, and without a certain scent, sound or aura bound to this “bounty’s” distractions, the pair were left to leave it to a stick to guide their way through the risky plains.

“Just don’t eat this one, okay?” Emizella said with a teasing chuckle.

“What do you take me for? That kind of stick wouldn’t be appetizing at all.”

“I’m just saying,” Emizella sang with a shrug of her shoulders.

Crystal held a chuckle under her breath, snickering to herself and letting her mind appreciate the lax air cultivated by her friend’s lighthearted jabs. But that dark part of her soul, the one that refused to remain quiet even in her playful retorts, prickled her ears and tugged at her fur. The softest rustle of the wind sent her tail into a flaring mess, the tufts of her ears expanding and grasping at the subtlest of sounds, every whisper speaking of the plague cursing her heart.

She stared at the nearby shrubbery, eyes unblinking and body as stiff as a statue. Should she flee? Was now the right time? Could she get away if she made a break for it? Her legs itched with an incessant nagging that made her brain numb with a ringing pulse that surrounded her head. A hand pressed into her backside, firm but kind, and she reeled back at touch too sudden to recognize if it was friend or foe.

Emizella’s hand flinched back, “It’s just me,” she tried to reassure her, smiling as if everything was fine but the knot in her brows knew the truth.

“O-oh,” Crystal’s thoughts tried to calm her, telling herself that she was safe and okay but her body wouldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe it and that was the scariest part of it all. “Sorry, I know I’m being weird. Besides you can probably feel him coming anyway. I shouldn’t be acting like this.”

“Crystal…”

“Let’s go,” she pushed at Emizella’s back, “We still have a lot of ground to cover. It won’t be good if we fall any further behind.”

“Wha- Hang on,” Emizella leaned back into her head, her heels dragging through the dirt.

“C’mon, what’s the point of uprooting that big stick if you’re not going to use it?”

“We shouldn’t be rushing if you’re feeling-”

“I’m fine!” Crystal said, louder than she needed or intended to, “I’m fine. It’s fine. Let’s just go, okay? Please?”

Emizella stared back at her for one more second before a sigh took away the tension in her furrowed forehead. “Okay,” she said, her unconditional surrender leaving a bitter taste on her tongue.

She pushed forward despite the uncertainty filling her legs with one hand leading the way while the other hung onto Crystal’s side, beckoning her to stay within her fragile bubble. It must have been asking a lot out of her. Asking to ignore the blaring signs screaming in her ear. Asking her to forego her very nature to indulge in Crystal’s selfish ego. It took a level of patience she didn’t think the riolu had in her, but she pushed on anyway with all the swirling emotions muddling those sensitive appendages.

This is for her, Crystal’s mind convinced herself. This was for the good of her dream. She’ll thank me once we reach the summit.

And yet, despite the sacrifices to her sanity, the path to the summit felt further and further away with each step they gained through the booby-trapped field. Not from the traps themselves, Crystal could forgive herself for the sudden start with every snap of rope or sudden break of the earth. What she couldn’t forgive was how the lively foliage and rustling fauna sent her heart jumping so hard it carried her body with it. And even worse, was how tired Emizella sounded with each explanation she had to give.

“Just the wind,” she would say.

“A bird.”

“A mouse.”

“That’s not him.”

“Not him either.”

Crystal tried playing it off like it was nothing. How silly was she for getting so jumpy over a little bug making the grass sway, but Emizella wasn’t laughing. She wouldn’t laugh at her, not here at least, but Crystal wished she would bend the rules and not make her feel like such an utter bother. Each deep breath sounded like irritation. Every soft sigh felt like the end of her rope. Why? Why was it turning out like this?

She jumped again, her body launching into Emizella’s side with the rustling of some nearby shrubbery.

“Bird,” Emizella said without missing a beat.

“Oh,” Crystal laughed through the thumping filling her throat, “It’s amazing how lively the local wildlife is despite all these traps around, huh? Don’t they know we’re in the middle of an exam?”

“Crystal,” she called her name, the sound of it feeling low with each syllable ready to run for the hills. “Do you want to turn back?”

“What?”

“I’ll go back with you so you’re not alone, but maybe it would be better if we tried again next year. It was just bad luck that it was a zangoose guarding this place, so if we just came back, maybe-”

“What are you talking about? You just want to walk away after we’ve already come this far?” she asked, her body shaking with anger and fear. “After I came this far… you’re telling me to go back now?”

“Crystal, I can feel every emotion going through your heart. You’re scared- no, absolutely terrified of every little thing behind every stone and blade of grass. How are we supposed to push through this if you’re this scared walking through a zangoose’s territory?”

“I told you that I’d be fine! If we just push forward, we’ll make it to the end. If we just ignore it, then I’m sure-”

“That won’t work when you keep freezing every single time!” her exasperation burst in her chest, “We’ve already wasted more time trying to push forward than if we had just turned back!”

She had more to say, her scowling eyes definitely had more to say, but the way Crystal’s body shrank away from her, back curling and legs tucking themselves under her stomach and chest, of course she didn’t have the heart to go any further.

“No, that’s not…” Emizella pressed a hand into her head, “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that… You have to understand, Crystal, I can only bear you suffering for my sake for so long. Knowing that you’re hurting… knowing that you’re pushing yourself even though you’re this scared… You’re too precious for it not to hurt me too,” she said, her voice softening and her body lowering to meet Crystal’s frightened gaze.

Her ears twitched back when she felt her fingers graze their velvety lining, soothing strokes finding the jewel clasped tightly to her ear and eliciting a calming and tranquil tingle that pulled a tear from her eyes. She never wanted to make things harder for Emizella, never wanted to hurt her with her own emotions, and yet here she was forcing her to bear the weight of her trauma and every vile recourse that came with it. And even with all that, she still gave her the courtesy to remain tender and mindful of her compromised mental state.

“Found you,” a grisly snarl pierced through Emizella’s soft caress and ripped apart the gentle embrace taking hold of Crystal’s heart.

The winds were breaking, splitting cleanly with the razor edge of his merciless claws. Crystal’s body acted first, pushing Emizella aside before those lethal weapons could find them both.

“Get down!” she shouted, shoving the riolu into the ground. She couldn’t tell if it was the racing air or the edge of his claws tearing into her backside but it definitely felt like she lost a few inches along her spine.

They collided with the earth in a hard thud, Emizella’s jaw clenching with a grunt hitting at the back of her teeth. She glared at their assailant and Crystal could see his haunting eye staring right back at the riolu.

“I didn’t think you would dodge me so quickly. You kids were so distracted in your little moment, I thought for sure I could take you both out with a single swipe. But forgive me, it seems I’ve been getting a little cocky dealing with you little greenhorns,” he chuckled, a dark, twisted mirth that kicked at Crystal’s stomach with every haughty breath.

Crystal took a chance and turned to look at his smirking face. She needed to see it, to recognize that this wasn’t the lawless Axel nor his abhorrent friends. Not all zangooses were them and this one definitely wasn’t part of that gang. His fur was older, dulled and scarred from head to toe. Each line told a story, each groove had a history to tell. If Crystal could imagine for a moment that there was a happy ending behind each story, if that missing eye was the price he paid to see that the innocent made it home safely, then Crystal could look at him.

It’s all part of the exam. He is part of the exam.

“You know, if you’re going to cry about it, I can send you home right now. Of course, if you’re scared about what the others are going to think, I can give you a few scars to take back with you,” he said. Such a sinister offering, wasn’t he getting a little too into his villainous role?

Crystal stood back up, rubbing at her eyes and nose and clearing away her face. “I… I’m not going back home,” she decided on trembling legs and buckling ankles.

“What are you saying? Even now, you’re still-”

“I know! I’m shaking and it feels like my legs are going to give out at any second, but right now I have his attention. If he’s looking at me, that means the path ahead is clear.”

She must have known what Crystal was insinuating. She didn’t need to look at her to see her lips reading to chastise and break down such a wretched idea. But Crystal’s body was already bracing itself for battle, grounding itself with snarling, crinkled lips that dared anyone to challenge a cornered fox.

“No way…” Emizella whispered, “No! I’m not leaving you behind to face him all by yourself. We’ll take him down together and we’ll reach the summit together. You and me, remember? You can’t just-”

“Emi!” Crystal barked, “You promised me you wouldn’t let me hold you back, right? And you’ve wasted enough time holding my hand. So just go, you have a dream to catch.”

“But…”

Honestly… Crystal turned her head just for a moment, just a single moment to breathe a whirling cyclone of flames at Emizella’s feet. The heat climbed into the sky with a roar that radiated and seared the tips of the riolu’s fur.

“Go!” she shouted, glaring at the flickers of Emizella’s figure that flashed between the licking flames.

She let it show in her eyes, how she was ready to throw everything she had at her partner if it meant her message would sink into that stubborn head of hers. She could see how Emizella was ready to cry, her heart aching at how she had to bite the hand that helped her the most, but she had to understand as well. Just as Crystal was precious to Emizella, Emizella was even more precious to her.

“Fine…” she muttered past a sob, turning on her heels and running in the opposite direction.

“Aw, what a cute little show, but it’s all ultimately meaningless,” the zangoose shrugged with a look of disinterest dragging down his face, “Don’t think I’ll let your friend get away that easily.”

He made a dash towards the dissipating flames and Emizella’s fleeing backside, but Crystal had no intentions of letting him get past her. Her body split and multiplied before his eyes, stunning him for a moment with the overabundance of golden, flickering fennekin surrounding him on all sides.

“You really think you can play me with the oldest trick in the book?” he laughed, slashing at Crystal’s clones and breaking the illusion in one sweep, but he didn’t feel a single solid impact in his swing and Crystal was nowhere to be seen.

“Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear,” Crystal said, rounding behind him and leaping into the air, “I’m your opponent!”

The rims of her irises took on a prismatic array and her forehead glowed with an intense concentration that couldn’t be held for long. And in one mindful thrust, a beam of rainbow lights and circling spirals fired at the zangoose below her, filling the air with dirt and dust and the greenery blasted from its earthly home.

Just breathe, Crystal, she thought as she fell into the ominous cloud of debris, you don’t have to win, you just have to hold on. Just hold on.

Chapter Text

Crystal fell into the cloud of debris, ready for anything to come for her the second her paws touched the dust scattered in the wind. Yet when she found solid footing under her toes, she couldn’t detect any sign that he was still within the vicinity. Strange, she could have sworn her attack made contact. Didn’t he have something to say about that? But that was the difference between a professional and a rookie, he’s already seen all of her tricks.

In an instant, her breath was stolen away, held in the grasp of hardened claws that could break through her spine at any second. Her paws scraped at the dirt under her belly but there was little give under his crushing weight.

“You’ve got some real moxie to turn your fangs on me. But you’re going to have to put in a lot more effort than that if you want to make some real headway,” he said, pressing his arm even further into her backside with every little wriggle and squirm.

Sputtering sparks filled her lips, dribbling and choked in a flaming, phlegmy cocktail. The panic set in quickly, her practice and training washing away in a thunderous sea. Waves of doubt and desperation crashed in her skull, filling her lungs with shallowed breaths that could hardly work a low simmer. She wanted to call for help, to cry and plead for the pain to stop, but in the catastrophe that was her heart and mind, a single ripple still remained. It was soft and gentle but it implored her to listen.

Deep breaths, it told her, slow, deep breaths. You’ll be okay. You’re stronger than you think with a fire that burns hotter and more brilliant than I’ve ever seen. Remember the ones that believe in you and you’ll never be extinguished.

“Scar…”

Crystal tried calling for her master’s voice to stay with her for a moment longer, but she gave what she could give and now Crystal was left alone with their echoing encouragement. She wouldn’t let it go to waste. She wouldn’t let Scarlet’s words fall on deaf ears. After all, what better use did they have than to cling to the past and guide her towards her future.

Despite the pressure on her back squeezing every bit of air out of her, she found the little space of mercy afforded to her by her examiner and she took full advantage of his generosity. She breathed in deeply, working the flames stuck in her throat back down to collect and mature in her stomach. A slow breath out and those cooler embers dusting her lips fell to the ground beneath her. Their smoldering touch lit a passion in her eyes. This was her life, her blood, her spirit. She was the flame exhausted and small but ready to burn twice as bright as all the stars in the sky combined.

Her body twisted under his claws, feeling their cutting razor’s edge slice into her skin. The lines of crimson combing through her fur were warm and sticky but not frightening in the least. If anything, they were the reason to push onward. She turned enough to see the astonished look filling his bright, pastel eye, the slit of his pupil narrowed in intrigue and his body stilled to watch the curious display play itself out.

 The gouging grove tugged at her side and she settled in the pain just to get a good look at her perpetrator. “Good thing… I still got lots more to give,” she said through a panting smirk.

Crystal pursed her mouth, breathing in deeper and letting her expanding chest press back into his crushing palm. Fire swirled through her filling lungs, growing and building in the vitalizing oxygen taking over her body, and when this limited vessel could no longer contain its growing inferno, she unleashed it all in a hot breath of spiraling flames into the zangoose’s face.

He was forced to let her go then, both of his hands flailing to stop the fire from taking his only good eye. Crystal heard him swear under his breath, but it was a half-baked curse that shut itself down the second the fire threatened to get inside his mouth next. She took the chance to stand back to her feet, unable to help the limp the jutted through her back legs.

She took a quick glance at her side. Her injury was already clotting into a thick, matting mess on her back. In the moment, she was grateful she shooed Emizella away when she did. No doubt she would make a big fuss over the wound and lose herself in her protective nature. But there was not much time to spare on hypothetical Emizella and the ways she could throw away her chances of passing on a flaring impulse. Emizella was off climbing her mountain and Crystal was down here defending the base.

She couldn’t afford to give an inch, taking a leap back for a good head start before charging at the singed zangoose. Her sides screamed at her to stop her sprint but she just ran faster. Faster and faster still until the air around her ignited into a blazing ball and her body moved like a scorching bullet. She rammed her head into his chest, feeling his lungs expel themselves just over her ears as she shoved them both past the initial blast point and into a fresh patch of grass.

He stumbled back a step, holding his chest while Crystal took herself out of his reach. She shook the remnants off her fur, “How’s that?” she asked, feeling the buzzing sensation stick to her legs with a craving for more.

He rubbed his chest for a second more, his charred fur settling into a burnt brown on aged white. He looked up from his marks and an eager smile wrapped around his face as he looked at the little fennekin that gave his fur new color.

“That moxie is getting better but you’re still too green,” he said, standing proud as if his burns were little more than the nips of popping oil.

His body braced itself, lowering while his claws took on a glowing hue. Crystal knew what to expect, she knew a close contact battle with a zangoose was inevitable, but what she couldn’t count on was the blur of white that closed in on her faster than her eyes could keep up. She was fortunate enough that she didn’t choose to blink in that moment, otherwise his crossing blades would have surely done much more damage. She jumped back just before his intersecting slashes could find the meatiest part of her chest, the wind grazing her muzzle and his tips taking a chuck of her fur clean off her body.

Her ankles twisted under the reflex, toppling her into a short roll before she could regain her footing.

“You see the difference, right?” the zangoose asked, flashing the wad of yellow still clinging to his claws, “It's not too late. Forfeit and I’ll call the murkrows to take you out.”

“Not yet…” Crystal shook her head of the buzzing rattling her ears, “I haven’t bought her anywhere near enough time.”

The rattling dissipated into silence, her mind focusing on her intent to summon her wispy familiars. They floated into existence with their lavenders and pastel blues illuminating and surrounding her body. They glowed with their cursing inflictions before Crystal willed their lights to find their victim. The zangoose stood still despite their heated promise radiating brightly in their cores. Their chain circled and danced around him, asserting their target before sinking into his fur and flesh.

For a moment, his body burned bright with a reddish tinge that turned his fur pink and Crystal’s chest leaped with the accomplishment. But he didn’t wince at the burning sensation that should have been engulfing his nerves. He didn’t even flinch an eyelid at the pulsing flash of flaring heat that should have made at least one bead of sweat cross his brow. No, he just stood as tall as ever, accepting the new hue embedded in his body and moved like there wasn’t even a sizzle.

Crystal’s mind turned blank in that moment, in that realization that nothing she had could truly faze him. The difference between the two of them was just too staggering to put in even a dent.

While her mind was wrapping around the truth of the situation she had placed herself in, the zangoose crossed the distance between them at a blinding sprint, his claws taking on a dark, sinister hue with a violet overlay spilling from its edges. She recognized those colors. Her body fell into their devastation before he could hit her, trembling frozen before the memories ripping at her mind and spirit. And, in a second, those memories manifested into a reality that had her tossed into the sky, her body forgetting how to breathe as her eyes filled with a suffocating white that ravaged her will and need to survive.

She hit the ground hard, the shock reminding her lungs to inhale and take her next breath but they sputtered to continue the rhythm. Her body reeled with every cough as if her insides were ready to explode. The pain. The trauma. She couldn’t… her stomach couldn’t… Without any intention, without even a second to stop herself, her stomach turned itself inside out, vomiting whatever she had in her body onto the ground below her.

The back of her mind screamed at her, berating her for the predicament she had forced her body into. How many times? How many times was she going to put herself at the edge of death’s cold touch before she was satisfied? How many times was it going to take before the feeling of self-preservation ingrained itself into her muscles and bones and moved her to avoid these situations?

You dumbass! You filthy, worthless dumbass, it screamed at her in her moment of numbness. Who is this all for? What is this all for? Pride? Recognition? What does it mean? What does any of it mean?

“Caw! Caw!” the ringing alarm stifled her belittling voice, “Attention applicants! Attention applicants! The first five slots have been claimed! The first five slots have been claimed! Only ten slots remain! Again! Only ten slots remain!”

“You heard that, kid?”

Her eyes shot up at the zangoose, her mind expecting to find a sadistic look in his eye. She thought she would find Axel in his eye, to find his sneering fangs mocking her pathetic lump of flesh. But he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was pity and a hint of anguish in that lone eye that looked down at her. Who was he seeing when he looked at her? What phantoms were haunting his world and playing tricks on his mind?

“It won’t be long now until all the spots are taken. I don’t know about your friend, but you definitely won’t make it. Just give up now. Nobody’s going to fault you for giving up now.”

He really wasn’t Axel. He was nothing like the zangoose back home. None of them would try to gently coach her to forfeit. In fact, they would probably beat her so bad that her lungs didn’t have the space to forfeit. Even now, with the cuts and the bruises and the trembling in her own body, she felt it could be way worse. If he wanted to, things could be a lot worse.

I guess even merciful zangoose like him exist, she thought with a huffing laugh. She turned onto her stomach, pushing her legs under her and shoving at gravity’s pull to stand on wobbly joints.

“Mister, I don’t think I ever caught your name. Do you mind telling me?”

He watched her stand, giving her the chance to balance herself and put her strength back into her legs. He met her eyes and yielded his name. “Xeth.”

“Well, Xeth,” she sat and wiped the filth from the side of her face, “I don’t know who you think I am, but my name is Crystal from Ippona Village. We went through a lot and came a long way to get here. You’re not the first pokémon I’ve fought that’s given me a run for my money, but you are the first one who didn’t want me dead. I thank you for that. It’s nice knowing my opponent is not actively trying to kill me. But I’m not stopping.”

“What are you-”

“This body needs to learn how to fight until the end. There are pokémon I want to protect until my dying breath, but to do that, I need to learn to keep going until I can’t anymore. I’m sure that missing eye of yours knows what I’m talking about.”

The tip of his claws caressed the hollowed space, flickerings of tales long since passed flashing across the lone survivor. “Yeah… I think I do, kid,” he said with a soft sigh.

Crystal nodded, “Until I can’t stand. Until I can’t breathe. Until I can’t think. And even more after that. It’s selfish and it’s stupid but all I have to give is my loyalty and my body. So I want to keep going and understand how far I can. Since I’ve already failed, you don’t mind if I test it out with you, do you Xeth?”

“Well, I already sunk in this much time with you, kid. Guess I could kill a couple more minutes.”

“Good.”

A beam of spirals and light shot from her forehead, her mind pushing the blast as fast as she could to find some element of surprise. But either her attack was too slow or too expected because Xeth sidestepped the attack without an ounce of effort put into his movements. He let it pass his head, the light of the beam dissolving in the air before he took his chance at closing the gap once more.

Crystal’s heart jumped into her throat, startled by how close he could get in less than a second but her body felt used to it enough to brace for his blow. His leg came at her first but she managed to leap over the sweeping limb. However, what she didn’t manage was the arm coming at her next in the second gravity took to pull her back down. Fur ripped from her cheek as she was sent barreling into the ground, her body bouncing off the earth and left helpless to his assaulting barrage of fists and claws.

He didn’t hold back anything from before but he still wouldn’t give her more than she could take. His attacks remained leveled just right to show her just how much she needed to grow before she could become someone worthy of being called a professional.

***

“Caw! Caw! Attention applicants! Attention applicants! The first ten slots have been claimed! The first ten slots have been claimed! Five slots remain! Again, only five slots remain!”

Crystal staggered onto her feet, heaving deeply with droplets of blood and saliva dripping from the corner of her lips. Her body felt so broken, bruises lining her skin like vining morning glories blossoming across her battered flesh. Every time she stood back up, her hips fell right back down. And each time she tried to pick them back up, they felt even heavier at the edge of her spine. Now, they refused to get back up again, leaving her seated on the side of her flank with her front still making its declaration to carry on.

She swallowed the little air she had to give, her flames swirling in a dying light in her stomach before being expelled from her body. Her throat hurt with the spiraling pyre raking through her blistering throat. This body wasn’t made to push so far past its limits. The way her airway screamed at her with its smoke billowing through her nose and burning its way out of her nostrils begged that she wouldn’t take it any further. But she kept breathing the pyre until it circled Xeth in a weary dance, climbing the sky in its last flight towards home.

Xeth didn’t indulge the spinning vortex for long, jumping from the blaze with his scorched fur and ashy claws. Crystal didn’t have the strength in her to move from his charge, watching those claws glow with intent. They disappeared past her vision, the zangoose leaping into the air to bear down his weight onto her backside, those claws no less sharp from the first time they crashed into her spine.

She coughed and whimpered under him, her limbs collapsing into a limp, tangled mess. He didn’t pin her for long, releasing her the second she fell into the tattered earth. Every breath scraped along her insides and she wanted to stop breathing all together to stop the raspy scrapes filling her ears with each inhale and exhale but she couldn’t say she feared or dreaded the condition she was in. She brought herself here, kicking Axel and his gang out of her mind and indulging in a fight between two respected pokémon. It was her choice. This time, it was her choice.

“You did good, kid,” Xeth said, taking a seat next to her and laying a gentle hand on her head. “The murkrows will be here any second now. They’ll take you to receive first aid at the base camp and then cart you back to Harmonia for proper treatment. Don’t worry, we have a talonflame on staff for emergency situations. You’ll be back on the mainland in no time.”

“Xeth…”

“Try not to talk. Your throat must be feeling pretty battered from all those fire attacks. Don’t wear yourself out anymore that you already have.”

His hand felt so kind caressing her cheeks and stroking her side, his claws so careful that she didn’t feel their biting touch even as they grazed her ankles. She cried at his tenderness, weeping silently by his side.

All this time being scared of zangoose and the numerous ways their cruelty could hurt her and all this time Xeth existed in the same world as the bastards that hurt her. A zangoose with honor and mercy existed this whole time and she would have never known had she not come this far. She wanted to thank him for showing her the dignity she deserved. For treating her with the respect every pokémon deserved. But she couldn’t. As the world faded around her and her body started shutting down all non-vital functions, she knew she wasn’t going to last long enough to thank him. All she could do for him, all she could manage to show her gratitude, was tap her tail into the ground with the last bits of her energy. The last bits of her strength went to display how happy she was in this quiet, little second.

“Caw! Caw! Attention applicants! Attention applicants! The final slot has been claimed! The final slot has been claimed!”

***

The world felt soft and refreshing in Crystal’s hospital room. The pain in her bones faded into a tranquil hum and the ache in her muscles numbed with quiet sparks prickling her toes with every stretch. Even her stressed mind, so heavy and overwhelmed with the weight of the exam felt so light that it could float away and coast with the stars. Luxuries blanketed Crystal on all sides, wrapping her in an eternity of comfort that almost felt too enchanting to pull away, but she could feel her teether hitting the edge of her foot with her little, fluttering taps.

She opened her eyes to the light of the midday sun, its blaring warmth hanging perfectly in the sky to peer through the windows and spread across the white sheets. Her gaze adjusted steadily, the blurry blob laying at the foot of her bed taking shape with her golden, jeweled ornament flicking with her delicate snores. It had to be the furthest Emizella had slept from her since their first night together.

Always complaining about the cold, of course she would try to bake in the sun as much as possible.

Crystal tried to sit up in her bed but the numb ache in her chest flared back to life with the slightest movement. She wasn’t ready for those consequences, listening to her body this time and laying back onto her side. Well, it didn’t matter too much. There was no rush to get back onto her feet, especially not after receiving a quality butt-kicking like the one Xeth had served her.

Looking back on it now, it was pretty foolish, wasn’t it? Knowing she was going to lose but going that far anyway. Crystal couldn’t even remember what it was all for as she laid in the wake of her selfish whims. The beginning was clear but her memory began to get foggy the longer they went in their battle. Although, there was this faint, lingering feeling that she accomplished something great that day. Maybe not in the eyes of the zangoose who defeated her or in the riolu that worried over her, but in her heart, she accomplished something magnificent.

She turned back to Emizella’s sleeping face nestled deep in her wrapping arms, her fur ruffled into a mess along her cheeks and head while dark stains matted the fur at the corners of her eyes and stretched down to her chin. No doubt she had anguished over Crystal’s broken body, regrets spinning in her head in the long wait it took the fennekin to heal and rise from her slumber.

I really am sorry, Emi, she wanted to say but when her mouth opened, nothing would come out of her throat. Not a squeak nor a groan, just silent air passing through her chest. She pressed a paw to her neck, wondering just how much she abused her own body to get what she wanted.

If Scarlet knew the kind of state Crystal had put herself in… Shivers raced down her spine just imagining the lecture that would await her poor, sensitive ears. Let’s just keep that our little secret…

Emizella’s feelers flicked to life, her face rubbing into the bed to wipe the sleep and salt from her eyes. She followed their pull, turning towards the head of the bed and blinking through the haze.

Crystal waited for her realization to set in, edging herself up her pillow and smiling at those tired eyes that waited way too long for her return.

“Crystal?” she asked, her voice half expecting a dream.

Crystal breathed out the makings of a chuckle through her nose. ‘Hey, Emi,’ she mouthed slowly, her lips turning like a glass ballerina’s pirouette.

“Crystal!” Emizella cried her name, throwing herself onto Crystal’s lap and sobbing into her sheets. “How could you? How could you let yourself end up like this? Why’d you make me leave you behind just to end up like this? You’re awful, Crystal! You really suck!”

She nodded her head, petting down Emizella’s riled fur and sleepy cowlicks. I really am sorry, Emi. Her paw nudged at Emizella’s chin, peeling her sniveling face from the moistening sheets and wiping at the fresh tears darkening her cheeks. It was selfish, but I just knew you’d do better without me weighing you down, her eyes shimmered in her own tears, desperate for her partner to realize the intentions of her actions.

Emizella sniffled, staring back at her before rubbing her nose. “If you know I’m not going to like it then don’t do it. If you’re just going to apologize afterwards then don’t do it. Sheesh… got me looking like a mess worrying about you…”

Sorry, Crystal nuzzled her forehead into Emizella’s, rubbing and mixing the scent of her sorrow with her repentance.

“Don’t think you can act cute looking like a mummy,” she pouted, turning her head away.

A single inch was more than enough to keep the fennekin from rubbing any more than she wanted, her muscles not allowing her to chase after her riolu’s warm cheeks. Crystal lowered her ears at the distance, chin tucking itself into the bandages wrapped around her chest and neck while her eyes glistened with stars in a sunset sky.

“Stop that. You stop that right now.”

Her head turned, the new angle flattering her face with the tufts of her ears framing her cheeks.

“It’s not going to work.”

Not even a little? She tilted her head again, letting the dazzling allure of her clip-on earring reflect in the light, a cheap piece of jewelry to the rest of the world but they knew the secret behind its polished gem.

“Ugh!” Emizella growled, slamming her hands on the mattress and dragging her knees behind her as she crawled into the empty space right beside her.

Crystal’s ears perked up instantly, her head sliding right into the crook of her neck like the space was made exclusively for her use.

“You’re still not cute…” she said, her tail tapping away on the bedsheets.

Keep telling yourself that, she hummed her victory inside her head, nuzzling away and indulging in this sweet, affectionate fragrance.

“This one, Daddy! It’s this one!” A voice came from the other side of the door, drawing Crystal’s eyes to the window but she couldn’t see anything with how short its source was.

“Good job, Olivia. You’re so clever.” Another voice followed and her ears stood at attention at the familiar gruff voice turned smooth and doting.

The door shimmied a little, their visitor carefully swinging it open without causing any disturbance to the room’s inhabitants. But it was all for naught with the little snubbull bursting in with youthful energy so big it could outgrow the volume of a castle-sized mansion.

“Room three-oh-two! Room three-oh-two!” she squealed, dashing and spinning with her arms spread out wide in her parading pride.

Xeth held the door open, sighing softly as he closed it back with a silent click. “Princess,” his deep tone pulled her body into a halt, “What did Daddy tell you about running in the hospital?”

She quelled her abundant excitement, tying it all together in a knot at the edge of her dress. Her lips pursed and the guilt in her eyes flickered from her father to Crystal’s bed and back again.

“Um… Daddy said… Daddy said… don’t do that,” she said piece by piece.

“Why?”

“Because,” she searched her head a little bit more, “Because it’s not nice. It’s rude and princesses aren’t rude!”

Xeth nodded, “Very good. Now come here and let’s try again,” he said, kneeling to the ground and holding his hands out to her.

She started to run but retracted the hasty steps to work them back into a light trot. She politely waited between his clawed hands, letting him pick her up and pull her close into his fluff. His fur seemed to have grown back from its torched state, growing back with a sheen that wafted over to Crystal’s nose with each step he took to come inside.

“Sorry about that, didn’t mean to disturb you both,” Xeth said. He adjusted his daughter so her head could lay comfortable on his shoulder while her eyes stared down at her father’s acquaintances with unblinking curiosity. “I’m glad to see you’re awake, kid. Seriously, you had me worried when you wouldn’t wake up.”

“Hmph,” Emizella huffed, “Isn’t it your fault she was sleeping for three days?”

Hang on, how many days?  Crystal’s eyes snapped over at the riolu.

“C’mon, I explained it to you, didn’t I? She asked me to keep going. She didn’t want to stop until her body was done.”

“And you listened to her? You’re a professional! You should know better than to send an examinee to the emergency room!” Emizella’s hackles raised, lined fury crawling up her spine and settling around her neck.

“Don’t yell at my daddy!” Olivia bit back, nearly falling out of Xeth’s arms as her snap lunged towards the bed.

“You-” Emizella tried to continue but Crystal held her back.

They shouldn’t be starting wars over her decisions. If anyone was going to be angry, it was going to be her. And the only one deserving of any amount of rage was Crystal herself. It was worthless getting upset at the wrong pokémon.

“No, she’s right…” Xeth said, breaking the flow of Emizella’s frustration.

“Daddy?”

“I shouldn’t have indulged you as much as I did. Even if you were asking me to continue, I should have just moved on when enough was enough. After all, that self-sacrificing way of thinking means nothing to the pokémon we leave behind…” His voice hid behind a deep sorrow, his eye looking down at his daughter and those phantoms played in its pink hue once more. “I’m sorry, kid,” he pushed them away before they could drag him down any further, “Probably didn’t help the zangoose reputation after all that, huh?”

Crystal shook her head so hard she felt her eyeballs rattling in their sockets. She opened her mouth, trying to tell him that he was the only shred of hope for zangoose she had in her heart. But only panicked breaths and forced whispers came from her throat, leaving her coughing after them.

“Alright, kid, alright. Don’t go hurting yourself. Anyway, I didn’t just come here to apologize. I’ve got a message from the guild for you both.”

Crystal pointed a paw at her chest. Even me?

“Yep. Although you didn’t pass this year, Dolce the Bewitching has taken quite a liking to you. She’s very eager to take you under her wing so she’s willing to hold off on taking any new apprentices until you’ve passed the exam.”

“Woah, even though she failed, she’s still being scouted?” Emizella asked, her anger lost in fascination.

“Well, as scouted as she can be while following the rules. Also, speaking of which, I’ve got your assignment too, Emizel-”

“Just Emi.”

“Emi,” Xeth finished his first thought before moving on to the second, “You’ll be apprenticing under Shimizu the Swift. She actually swooped in to claim you the moment you passed, but out of respect for your need to be by your friend’s side, we held off on telling you until it was a better time.”

“Wait! The Shimizu wants to train me? Like, not stuck with me but picked me?”

“Yep. She’s a stern one so you better be mentally prepared. Dorm move-in is next week but we’ll cut you some slack. You can move in after Crystal here’s been discharged. Fair?”

“Yeah, totally. I can’t believe it… My mentor is going to be Shimizu…” Emizella muttered under her breath.

Crystal supposed she should feel more ecstatic about her own scouting. Her heart ought to be jumping over the moon and back again to have caught a professional’s eye even if she wasn’t strong enough yet to pass. But really, she was just happy Emizella made it to the finish line in time, her dream racing along right on track. In the end, she really wasn’t a burden at all.

“Alright, I’ll let that settle in and leave you girls alone,” Xeth said, shifting his daughter up a little higher and reaffirming his grip. “Oh! I almost forgot. You said you were from Ippona, right? You still got Ezekiel hanging around there?”

Ezekiel? Crystal’s head tilted, the luxray’s grumpy mug filling her head at the mention of his name.

“Yeah, he’s still hanging around,” Emizella said with a twinge of confusion lacing her voice.

“No kidding,” Xeth’s excitement brought Olivia’s own curiosity back on her father, “How’s he been?”

Emizella shrugged her shoulders, “Still as unsociable as ever. Don’t think I’ve ever seen him crack a smile since the day I met him.”

Crystal looked at Emizella, disbelief spreading her eyes into a broken stupor. She knew him longer, right? She knew him longer. How has she never seen him smile? I get that he wouldn’t smile around me, why not with anyone else? Who has seen that guy smile? Can he smile?

Xeth’s laugh made Crystal jump from her racing questions. “Nice to know some things never change. You know, I was his mentor back when he was an apprentice.”

You?

“Seriously?”

“Yep. He was a real promising kid. Thought he’d build up a name for himself as an adventurer right up until retirement, but he got an assignment near Ippona and never came back. I always thought that place was just a quiet, little village out in the middle of nowhere, but first Zeke leaves us for them and now they’ve churned out two promising adventurer candidates… Feels like there’s a lot more going on there than meets the eye.”

“Daddy…” Olivia pulled at his chest gently.

“Right, right. Sorry, princess. Enough rambling, I’ll leave you alone for real this time.” He turned and walked back to the door, his daughter bouncing away at the prospect of finally getting back home. “So, princess, what’s on the menu for today?”

“Chickie Fingies!” Olivia cheered, her excitement muffling behind the closing door and vanishing down the hall.

Emizella watched the door for a while longer, breathing out a relieved breath as Xeth’s lingering presence left with him. “Small world…” she muttered, rubbing the tingles out of her fur and straightening her head.

Crystal nodded, a small world indeed, she thought but that wasn’t what was most important right now. She turned to look into Emizella’s eyes, pressing their noses together and narrowing her pouting gaze.

“What?” Emizella tried backing her head away but the pillow at her back didn’t give her much room to escape. “What? Why are you staring at me like that?”

Crystal kept her pinned for a bit longer, tracking the flustered spread build at the bridge of her nose and spill out into her cheeks. The way her body fell on the riolu let her feel the sensitive twitches and throbs of her skin and muscles, nerves asking for mercy and shrinking away under the pressure of Crystal’s proximity and unyielding contact. Perhaps it was a bit mean to tease her like this, maybe even cruel to enjoy the ticklish bubbles filling her stomach with each shared breath, but how could she hold off on telling her that she had passed? After going through all that and ending up in the hospital, didn’t Crystal have a right to that little tidbit of information first? Emizella needed to be punished and Crystal was merely fulfilling her right as executioner.

Although, the way Emizella clammed up was a nice bonus. So nice that Crystal couldn’t hold out for long, the sparks of dopamine in her brain firing off in her body and filling her hips with a waggling feeling.

She slid her nose down into Emizella’s neck, holding herself in the tight corner and immersing herself in the softness of her flesh and her compassionate smell. There was no moving her. With her body like stone and her paws hooking into whatever edge she could find, separating their two bodies now was nigh impossible.

“Okay, okay,” Emizella laughed, her face warm and her eyes like crystal waters catching the sun.

She wrapped her arms around, careful of her bruises and aches. One to still the wiggling hips straddling her lap and the other to hold their hearts together in one beat.

“I’ll be waiting for you, Crystal,” she whispered with a soft peck grazing her forehead. “I’ll wait as long as it takes. So promise we’ll stay partners until the very end.”

Crystal nodded into her neck, her muzzle sliding out of her throat and settling onto her shoulder. I promise, she whispered in her mind, her chest thumping and radiating her vow through her entire body. Her tail moved off to the side, finding Emizella’s and locking them in a silent pledge.

I promise…