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Chapter Text

Dr Fennel is best girl and I demand more stories feature her!

Speaking seriously, I think we can all agree that the Blossomverse has way too many nightmares for anybody's comfort.

The Cage of Flauros, The Fog Car, the Unown, the bullying and harsh atmosphere, Ash's complete character destruction, Goh's Nightmare Therapy, honestly there's so much awful stuff it feels like a really bad nightmare at times!

Well… what if it was?

What if the events of the Blossomverse never happened? What if they were just one big, shared nightmare that the citizens of Vermillion City were put into by someone, or something?

How do you even get them to wake up?

That's what this story aims to answer… I think.

P.S. Fennel and Chloe's numbers are based on TM numbers. Can you guess which number represents which TM?

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Fennel, this is Professor Juniper. I've heard from Professor Hale that something happened during his visit to Vermillion City, and that he requested help. He sounded a little sleepy, but that's all I got from him before he hung up. Just in case, could you go to Vermillion City and see what's going on?"

That sentence wasn't something Professor Fennel expected to hear that day, and it was certainly not something she wanted to hear from her dear friend.

She was a Pokémon Professor who studied the dreams of Pokémon, and the odd human dream once in a while, and the item that resulted from it: Dream Mist.

It was a mystical mist that apparently helped people sleep better, and could also be used as a replacement for dreams for Pokémon who ate them, as proven in an experiment with a Hypno.

But Dream Mist, like all things, could be corrupted into something she could only call the Nightmare Mist.

It was pretty rare, Fennel not having seen any sighting of it since Team Plasma's meddling, but she had a feeling she was about to learn more soon.

"We'll be there soon, Musharna," Fennel stated as she put on a gas mask. "I need you to be ready in case anything happens, got it?"

"Musharna."

Soon after, they reached Vermillion City… and it was deserted.

Well, not deserted in that there were no people, because they were. Instead, there were several people laying on the ground, seemingly unconscious but still alive, if their mumbling was any indication.

"What happened here?" Fennel asked as she looked around.

She didn't have much time to ponder about that before she visited the Cerise Institute, and found everybody inside on the floor, mumbling:

"They're my workers! Why won't you understand?!"

"I just wanted to draw…"

"No, Chloe, please, I don't want a Gastly! You know I don't like horror!"

"I just wanted to visit my husband and daughter…"

"Just cut the vagueness and tell me what I need to do!"

"It's all my fault…"

"They're all stuck in one giant, shared nightmare!" Fennel exclaimed. "Musharna, Thunder Wave!"

"Musharna!"

The Pokémon used the Move, and sent an electric shock at the group, awakening the sleeping victims.

"Huh?! What happened?!" they said in unison.

"Great, that was enough to wake them up!" Fennel stated as she took off her gas mask and approached Ash. "Are you okay?"

"It's hardly the first time I've been struck by a Thunder Wave," Ash quipped before realizing who he was talking to. "Professor Fennel? What are you doing here?"

"Professor Juniper told me something happened and Professor Hale requested help," Fennel explained. "Now, can anybody tell me what happened here?"

"I can."

The group turned around as they stood up, and saw a man with Blonde hair and one wicked blue cowlick walk into the room.

"The name is Colress. It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

"Ma'am?!" Fennel exclaimed. "I'll let you know I'm actually younger than Professor Juniper!"

"Please calm down, I didn't mean to insult you, I was just trying to be polite," Colress replied, waving his hand. "Regardless, it appears you have found a way to help some people escape from their dreamy prisons."

"Colress!" Ash exclaimed.

"Greetings Ash, Pikachu. It's been a while," the man greeted calmly. "How have you been? You've grown stronger, I hope."

"Ash, who's this guy?" Goh whispered to the boy.

"His name is Colress," Ash answered, keeping his focus on the man. "He's the second leader of Team Plasma."

"Second Leader?*

"Yeah, Ghetsis was defeated and it was left to me to run the team," Colress frowned. "Until a certain Trainer and his yellow Rattata messed everything up."

Pikachu growled, cheeks releasing static.

"What are you doing here?*

"Excellent question: you see, after being… released from prison, I remembered some of Plasma's grunts wanted to take Dream Mist for some reason. Well, I decided to do a little research, and wanted to test something out."

"With Vermillion City as your guinea pigs?!" Professor Cerise snapped.

"Precisely!" Colress answered. "So, I had some grunts grab some Dream Mist, corrupt it, and then strike Vermillion City to put everyone to sleep."

"And why would you do that?" Ash asked sternly.

"Simple, really: to test their strength. See, I've discovered that a dream brought by Dream Mist can be broken by a person with a strong will. Same with their Pokémon, if they're strong enough, they'll break the Illusion and return to the real world."

"And what if they never wake up?!"

"Pity them. Then I again, I guess I'm at fault for using you as a basis to measure their strength."

Then, Professor Cerise realized something. "Wait, where's Professor Hale?"

Colress chuckled. "He's not here."

Fennel narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The Professor Hale you met was me in disguise," Colress confessed with a cocky smile. "I used his form to trick you into letting me come inside and put you to sleep, allowing the Plasma grunts to put everyone else in Vermillion City to sleep in one giant, shared nightmare."

Ash's eyes widened. "That's devious..."

"Why thank you, but before you start flattering me..."

Colress flashed a smug, sadistic smile.

"Shouldn't you be working on waking everyone up?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Professor Fennel still remembered Colress' words vividly as she walked to a table where a certain someone laid down, sleeping.

It was a redheaded girl with a flower-shaped highlight on her hair, named Chloe Cerise, wearing a white dress and holding a bouquet of flowers.

It was like that old fairy tale that she could never get the name right.

The Little Mermaid… right?

Professor Fennel walked to the girl, looked closer at her face… then began tickling her nose.

"Tickle tickle! Tickle tickle tickle! Come on, I know your nose is ticklish, your friend told me!"

After a few seconds, the sleeping girl snorted, and that was enough to snap her awake.

"I had this horrible nightmare where I was an overpowered magical girl fighting a three-eyed witch, killed her but not really, joined up with a group of anti-heroes, was possessed by the Ars Goetia and turned into a demon knight, had a crush on a Yu-Gi-Oh character that was actually a mirror Youkai, then used my grief of his death to distract an evil monkey turtle robot girl long to be decapitated by her mother, an old woman, and father, an old man, with Keyblades!"

Chloe paused for a moment to catch her breath, then added:

"You know, even by nightmare standards, it was really mediocre."

Chloe then turned to face the woman.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Professor Fennel," the woman answered with a reassuring smile. "I'm a Pokémon Professor from Unova who studies Pokémon dreams, and Human dreams once in a while."

"Cool!" Chloe chirped. "But what are you doing here?"

"It'll take a lot to explain, but to make a long story short…"

Professor Fennel extended a hand towards the redhead, revealing a green glowing "85" on her palm.

"I'm here to help you wake up and go back to the real world."

Chloe glanced between the hand, and then the woman's reassuring expression, then back and forth again.

Until eventually, she shook hands with the woman with a smile, revealing a green glowing "44" number on her palm.

Chapter Text

"Okay, so, to recap, the people at Cerise Institute were lead to believe that Professor Hale was going to come to the Cerise Institute in order to help them study the Unown, hopefully giving them all a break from all the "Chloe is gone and everyone is miserable over it" debacle. However, Professor Hale turned out to be Colress from Team Plasma in disguise, who knocked them out in corrupted Dream mist, which is basically sleeping gas, and trapped them in a shared nightmare while his lackeys did the same for the rest of Vermillion City. Professor Fennel was informed of this, and now, while she's going to this "Infinity Train" to provide Chloe with some guidance so she can return home safely, the others at Cerise Institute are going to join forces to help free the rest of Vermillion City from their nightmares and foil Colress' plan?"

That was the question posed by Trip to Professor Juniper, whose answer was a lot less wordy:

"That's the gist of it, yeah."

"Then why didn't you come along with Professor Fennel to help her with this?!" Trip scolded, folding his arms. "What, is waiting for the next random trainer to appear and hand them their Starter that much more important than a potential city-wide calamity?"

"Trip, the events at Vermillion City involve a corruption of Dream Mist, of which I have no idea how to deal with but Professor Fennel does," Professor Juniper explained calmly. "Even if I knew how to deal with Dream Mist, Professor Fennel is much more qualified to deal with it than me."

"But surely you could've informed Professor Cerise about the impersonation beforehand!"

"Everybody only found out about Colress' impersonation after the fact."

"Well then send an assistant or someone else to help Professor Fennel in case things get hairy!" Trip narrowed his eyes. "What, you can't even be assured to keep your girlfriend safe against the potential threat of Team Plasma?"

"Trip, no matter what you say, I know Professor Fennel better than most people, and I know that she can handle herself," Professor Juniper stated. "Besides, if we're being technical here, you're not really doing much to help either."

"What?!"

"You came here to learn why Professor Fennel was unavailable, and once I tell you the story, the first thing you do is yell at me that I sent her alone and I'm doing everything wrong," Professor Juniper calmly explained. "The thing is, as a Pokemon Professor, I have work to do and I can't just drop it willy nilly to deal with something beyond my expertise."

"But sending Professor Fennel is the right choice?"

"She studies Dream Mist and its corrupted form. She's the most qualified for the job."

"Still, sending her alone shouldn't be the only thing you do!" Trip chided. "You should've sent her some backup in case things went wrong!"

Professor Juniper smiled. "Like you?"

Trip took a step back, utterly caught off guard by the question.

"I don't..." the guy paused and looked elsewhere. "I don't battle anymore. Not since the Serperior incident."

"I know, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try asking," Professor Juniper shrugged. "You did make some good progress since Ash left Unova."

"Yeah, and that progress was sent to waste after the Zangoose and Seviper incident," Trip clenched his fists. "I sent Serperior against what I thought was a simple scuffle between two Pokemon, and he was utterly destroyed when their stupid pack appeared!"

"And is Serperior the only Pokemon you have on you? Last time I checked, you also had a Tranquill, a Frillish, a Vanillite, and what was the last one, a Conkeldurr?"

Trip narrowed his eyes and refused to answer.

"I know you don't like fighting since that incident, but think of it like this: if you don't get out of your voluntary retirement and go help Professor Fennel and Ash deal with this problem, you will only be able to do one of three things," Professor Fennel frowned. "Keep in contact with what's happening at Vermillion City while watching at the sidelines, continue with your life without getting involved, or go around yelling at people to do something about Vermillion City, with mixed results."

Trip sighed. "Am I really the only one who can help them?"

"I mean, I have Cheren, Bianca, Hilda, Hilbert, Nate, Rosa, and Hugh on speed dial, but some of them have their own problems to deal with," Professor Juniper smiled. "Unlike a certain retired Unovan Trainer-turned-Photographer."

Trip wasn't amused. "Even if I bring the rest of my team with me, Serperior and I had something that they didn't with me. It won't be the same."

Professor Juniper raised an eyebrow. "So you'd feel more comfortable if you went with a Serperior?"

"Yeah, but training another Snivy up to a Serperior would take way too long."

Professor Juniper hummed... then flashed a smile like the Chesire Skitty.

"I may know someone who'll be willing to help you with that."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the Infinity Train, Professor Fennel and Chloe walked across a lush forest, with several animals running about as they moved.

"So, this Dream Mist thingie you research," Chloe blurted. "What's it like?"

"Well, it's a little complicated, but long story short: it's a type of mist-like energy emitted by Pokemon, primarily Munna and Musharna, when they dream," Professor Fennel answered. "The better the dreams they have, the more Dream Mist is released. Oh, and whatever you do, don't inhale it. Doing so might cause... unexpected side effects."

"Like?"

Professor Fennel didn't answer, instead just staring elsewhere with a clearly troubled expression. Seeing this, Chloe hastily changed the subject:

"So, um, Ash mentioned you when talking about his trip to Unova. Something about you hanging out with Professor Juniper when he first met you?"

Hearing that, Professor Fennel perked up. "Yup! And we were on a date, actually."

"Date?"

"Yeah, Professor Juniper and I have been dating for a while," Professor Fennel answered before scratching her chin. "Well, I say for a while, but we haven't actually gone out on many dates per say. Still, I don't mind: our research subjects are things that take a lot of time to do properly."

Then, she clasped her hands and twirled as she moaned:

"Oh, but when we do go out on dates, she's just marvelous! So kind, so compassionate, and rather thoughtful too! She sweeps me off my feet every time, and just when I think she can't get any better, wham! She impresses me and makes me fall in love with her all over again!"

It was then that she realized that Chloe was staring at her with a raised eyebrow, prompting the woman to calm herself down and take a deep breath.

"Sorry, I can get a little... overboard when it comes to thinking about how... lovely, Professor Juniper is. You must think it's weird."

"I don't really know what to think, honestly," Chloe answered bluntly.

Professor Fennel sighed. "I figured."

"I mean, I didn't know adults did dating and all that," Chloe added. "I thought they only ever did marriage or stuff like that."

Professor Fennel blushed and looked elsewhere. "I have been thinking about that too, actually... but that's besides the point. We should be getting out of this jungle sometime soon. I hope."

The girls kept walking, but the exit was still nowhere in sight. However, as they kept looking, they started walking past pale versions of the animals that were lively jumping around earlier, something they seemed to miss.

"What does your father study, anyway?" Professor Fennel inquired. "I have heard about him before, but I've never seen anything about what his field of research is."

"He studies Status Effects and what Moves causes them."

"... That's not what I expected, not gonna lie."

*SQUEAK!*

The professor stopped and looked down to see she had stepped on what seemed like a pale Buneary-like creature.

"Oh, sorry!"

But the animal didn't reply. In fact, it didn't even move at all, even when Chloe poked it with a stick.

"Is it dead?"

"Not dead."

The duo turned around, and saw a pale Pyroar-like creature resting on the ground, surrounded by pale animals.

"Demoralized."

"Demoralized?" Professor Fennel blurted. "And wait a minute, did the Pyroar just talk?!"

"Most of the creatures here can talk like a human," Chloe explained. "That's something I had to find out the hard way when I first got here."

"I'm not a Pyroar, I'm a lion," the creature spoke as he struggled to stand up. "My name is Apedemak, and I must request for your help, kind Passengers."

"Well, before we say anything," Professor Fennel looked around. "What happened here?"

"The Baku happened," Apedemak answered, his face turning into a scowl. "A creature with the power to eat nightmares and dreams, they used to help my kingdom rest well after terrible visits, but one day, they decided to not only eat our nightmares, but our hopes and dreams as well. Now, my kingdom has been demoralized and left shells of their former selves."

"That's horrible," Chloe frowned.

"Where can we find this Baku?" Professor Fennel asked. "Maybe we can talk to them and figure out a way to get them to give those hopes and dreams back?"

The Pyroar-like creature turned around and faced another part of the forest, this one sporting trees that grew more purple as they went along.

"They live in that section of the kingdom over there. Just keep walking straight until you find a cave, and once you go in, they should be there," Apedemak said before dropping to the ground. I'd guide you to their spot myself, but I too have been demoralized: I only have enough strength to tell you this and request for your help."

"I see..." Professor Fennel turned around and flashed a thumbs up at Apedemak. "Well, don't worry about it, Apedemak. We're gonna go talk with this Baku and get your hopes and dreams back."

The creature smiled. "Thank you."

And with that said, the Pyroar-like creature lost consciousness, leaving the duo to venture into the purple forest.

"You really think talking to this Baku will bring the hopes and dreams back?" Chloe whispered to Fennel.

"We should at least try it; we don't have the luxury of fighting them since we don't have Pokemon with us, and even if we did, we don't know if their abilities work here as well as in our world," Professor Fennel whispered back. "For now, let's try talking with them, and if that doesn't work, we'll think of something else."

"Alright then."

And so they walked deeper into the Baku's forest...

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the Cerise Institute, Colress found himself wrapped with rope, maintaining his calm composure despite having a black eye and the angered Cerise Institute team-and Fennel's Musharna'staring at him.

"You know, I have to say I'm impressed," Colress remarked. "Not only did you fight me with your bare hands, but you never once called out your Pokemon. Considering the state of things nowadays, it's a refreshing change of pace."

"We just beat him up and he's congratulating us?" Parker, Chloe's younger brother who was just suddenly there, remarked. "This guy's weird, I don't like him. Let's kick him out."

"We can figure out what to do with him later," Professor Cerise stated. "For now, we need to think about a solution to our current predicament: all of Vermillion City is stuck in this Dream Mist-induced series of nightmares-"

"Nightmare Mist," Colress clarified. "Dream Mist is what its base form is called, and Nightmare Mist is its corrupted form. I know it might seem like such a minor detail, but you'd be surprised how heated debates about it can get."

"The point is," Talia interjected sternly. "We need to do something about this situation before Chloe comes back. If only we had a way to wake up those stuck in their nightmares without hurting them..."

"Didn't Professor Fennel say she called for someone's help to do that?" Renji pointed out. "Maybe we could wait until they arrive and-"

"She's right here!"

The team turned around to see the door open, with a large shadow looming over the entrance as the figure slowly creeped in, prompting everybody to prepare to strike... only for the figure to be revealed to be a Hypno carrying a tiny girl with glasses and a labcoat on their shoulders.

"Hi!" she greeted with a high-pitched voice. "I'm Amanita Fennel!"

Parker was the first to calm down, dropping whatever he was holding as his eyes widened at the sight of Amanita: she remained mostly the same as the background turned pink and bubbles formed around her, eventually being joined by flowers as she waved hello.

"Pretty..."

"Wait, Amanita Fennel?" Ash repeated with surprise, earning a nod from the little girl. "So does that mean Professor Fennel goes by her last name?"

"Doesn't Professor Juniper do the same?" Chryssa asked. "Her father's last name is Juniper, after all."

"Yeah, and doesn't Professor Oak go by last name too?" Renji pointed out. "What was his first name again? Gary?"

"No, that's his grandson," Ash clarified.

"I go by my last name too," Professor Cerise pointed. "I thought that was obvious, given Chloe's name."

"Okay, I get it, please cut it out," Ash sighed. "Now, Amanita, right?"

"Yup!"

"You came here to help us... how?" Goh inquired as the girl hopped off the Hypno's shoulders. "Vermillion City's trapped in a big nightmare induced by-"

The guy turned to Colress and sighed. "Nightmare Mist."

The man winked in approval as Goh turned back to the girl and continued. "And we don't know how to wake them up without hurting them like Professor Fennel did."

"Well, I just so happen to have something that can help!" Amanita answered. "See, my sister and I have been tinkering about with the idea of entering and interacting with a person's dreams or nightmares, and we managed to finish building a prototype for that before she was called by her girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Parker repeated before whispering to Chryssa. "Since when do adults do dating?"

Chryssa and Renji exchanged looks, and Ash continued:

"Okay, and where's this technology? We need to deal with this nightmare situation before it gets way too out of hand."

"I was thinking you'd wanna deal with this as soon as possible, so I found a house with someone facing a nightmare and set everything up," Amanita answered as she reached for her back. "Just go to the coordinates and follow the instructions I'm about to give you while I stay here and upgrade your Box Storage System."

Professor Cerise raised an eyebrow. "Why would you need to do that?"

"I need to keep myself occupied while you guys go do all the work!" Amanita giggled and shrugged. "Don't worry, as the Storage System Developer of Unova, I can guarantee you that I can vastly upgrade it by the time you come back!"

"I'm not so sure about this-"

"This is where?!" Chryssa and Renji exclaimed in unison. "We gotta go now!"

And so the duo dragged the rest of the Cerise Institute team to the coordinates, leaving Amanita to wave goodbye at them as the door closed. And then, she eyed the box system computer nearby, and rubbed her hands with a devious smile...

"Hey there, gorgeous."

Amanita winced and turned around to see Parker standing nearby, sporting a confident smile.

"Are you a Flying Type? 'Cause your beauty blows me away."

The scientist was not amused.

Chapter Text

Trip, to be completely honest, was a little concerned.

Once Professor Juniper made her little comment about there being somebody who could help him with his Serperior problem, the only instructions she gave him were to go to Aspertia City and head to a house in the southeast section of the city. Naturally, however, Trip didn't come along.

"Alright Unfezant, Jellicent, Chandelure, Vanilluxe, Conkeldurr, I might be going a bit overboard in bringing all of you, but I just needed to be sure I was ready for anything," Trip told his Pokemon. "I've heard that this city is the hometown of the Unovan Champion... well, the new one, anyway. And if they happen to be the person Professor Juniper spoke about, they might want to see what we're capable of before agreeing to help us, so if that's the case, I need you to be ready. Understood?"

The Pokemon nodded in agreement, some taking a stance as the group further walked down the city. They eventually stopped once they reached the house, which sported a tiny flower garden and a body of water with a small patch of ground in the middle.

Regardless, Trip took a deep breath and knocked on the door, his Pokemon standing ready for anything. Shortly after, several sounds were heard coming from inside before the door began to rumble, until eventually, it burst open, a brunette girl with wide blue eyes tackling Trip onto the ground.

"Hi! I'm Rosa! My name means pink in Kantonian!" the girl cheered excitedly before jumping out of Trip's way. "Professor Juniper told me someone was going to come pay me a visit! Is it you? I bet it's you!"

"Um... yeah," Trip said as he dusted himself. "I was told to go to Aspertia City, which is where the Unovan Champion resides?"

"Former Unovan Champion," Rosa clarified, her smile unfaltering. "I kinda had to step down after getting my butt absolutely whooped by a tiny dragon girl. I think her name was Iris? But that's a story for another day!"

Rosa then paused before adopting a more serious tone, her smile being replaced by a concerned frown. "Professor Juniper added something about your Serperior being hurt?"

Trip looked elsewhere and explained:

"There was a commotion happening between a Zangoose and Seviper, and I decided to try do something about it. I thought there were only two, so I sent Serperior alone to face them, since I figured he'd be strong enough to beat them both... alas, their packs eventually got involved and..."

Trip fell silent, lowering his eyelids as he took a deep breath. Rosa, in return, patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"You have my condolences. What happened after that?"

"I sent Serperior to the Pokemon Center, but I just... couldn't bring myself to bring him with me again after what happened, so I called him back into his Poke Ball and quit being a trainer to focus on photography," Trip turned back to Rosa. "And before you ask, I'm thinking about getting out of retirement because something terrible has happened at Vermillion City, and Professor Juniper told me that if I want to help fix it, which I do, then I need to get a move on and go back to being a Trainer-"

Rosa put a hand on Trip's mouth and her smile returned once more.

"Say no more. Professor Juniper told me everything before you came here, and it does sound like something a non-Trainer might have trouble dealing with," then, she flashed a thumbs up. "So, as long as you're okay, I can let you borrow my Serperior to help you have a full team!"

"What?! I came here for advice and the best thing you can tell me is to replace Serperior?!" Trip yelled with fury. "I can't do that! We've been through so much together, to use another Serperior would be unthinkable!"

Rosa's smile didn't falter as she added, "Then get him out of the ball and use him."

Trip took a step back, utterly stunned by Rosa's casual response.

"Professor Juniper told me you haven't battled since your retirement, so your combat skills must be pretty rusty," Rosa grinned with excitement. "Once you take Serperior out of his ball, we can have a battle between our Serperiors to help you regain some of those skills!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, just, hold on a second there: get Serperior out of the ball?" Trip shook his head. "I can't do that! He must still be hurt after the whole Zangoose and Seviper debacle!"

Rosa tilted her head. "So you didn't heal him after that event?"

"... I didn't say that."

Then she narrowed her eyes. "So you healed him, only to leave him in the ball?"

"I didn't say that either!" Trip yelled. "Look, I did have him healed by the Nurse Joy, but seeing him reminded me so much of that horrible event, I have kept him inside his ball for safety's sake!"

"Have you checked up on him since then, at least?"

Trip once again fell silent, and Rosa flashed a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sure he misses you at least. Even if you don't plan to bring him back in the game anytime soon, surely paying him a visit couldn't hurt, right?"

"... No, I..." Trip sighed. "I guess not."

"Great! Then it's settled!" Rosa clasped her hands together. "Release your Serperior and then we can work from there!"

Trip turned to the rest of his Pokemon, who nodded in agreement, and he reached for and looked at the Poke Ball holding Serperior within as he groaned:

"I really hope things aren't getting worse while I'm stuck in this side quest..."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Amanita took a deep breath as she looked around the institute for something to make a box with.

"I can't believe you guys don't have a storage system computer!" she snapped. "I was told Kanto was a bit more primitive than Unova, but I didn't think it'd be this primitive! No offense."

"None taken, but if you do want to make it up to me," Parker twiddled his fingers. "You could tell me what kind of movies and TV shows you like. For no particular reason, of course!"

"I don't really watch TV or movies nowadays," Amanita answered, not once turning to face the kid. "Kinda busy managing the storage system, you know?"

"Yeah, speaking about that, aren't you a little young to be a storage system manager?" Parker pointed out. "I mean, you don't look that much older than me. In fact, are you younger?"

"Depends, how old are you again?"

"I'm five."

"Then I'm older than you," Amanita answered with a smile. "Not only that, and not to brag, but I'm a total genius! And when you're a genius like myself, people are willing to overlook certain things in order to get to use your abilities to maximize stuff!"

"Okay, now the more obvious question: what the heck is a storage system?"

"It's something that's been implemented slowly but surely in the last few years. At least, I think so," Amanita shrugged. "It's a system where you can transfer your Pokemon into a virtual reality where they can slowly rest and recover while giving your team space to bring a brand new teammate!"

"That sounds like a digital version of the Pokemon Parks," Parker mused. "We already have one of those here at the Cerise Institute."

"Yeah, and I'm not gonna say anything about it-"

Parker rolled his eyes. "And here comes the saying."

"But a park can only help you for so long! What are you going to do once you reach the limit of how many Pokemon it can house?" Amanita raised an eyebrow and folded her hands. "And some of these Pokemon can get pretty dang big!"

Parker scratched his chin. "The Golurk Goh caught is pretty big. Or was Ash the one who caught it? I dunno, I haven't bothered to ask them."

"You don't need to, you just need to know that it's a short term solution to a long term problem, especially if this Ash has caught as many Pokemon as I've heard he has."

Parker scoffed. "He's got nothing on Goh."

"My point stands," Amanita replied before going back to looking. "Therefore, I'm gonna install a prototype of the store system in here in order to help you get on with the times/ Oh, and free some space on your park so that you don't end up stuck figuring out where to put everyone or something."

Amanita kept looking after that, with Parker standing in place and looking at her as she did. Eventually, though, this got on her nerves.

"Do you have something else to add? I'm kinda busy here."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't notice I was staring at you," Parker flashed a confident smile. "I was mesmerized by your beauty."

Amanita, still as unamused as ever, rolled her eyes and reached for her back. "You know what? Here, take this."

The tiny genius took out a Poke Ball and handed it to Parker, growling:

"It's a Pokemon I got from a friend. Take them out, play with them, evolve them, I don't care what you do with them, just please go away and let me work!"

Parker stared at the Poke Ball, then at the frustrated Amanita, who snapped, "What?!"

"Is this something you do with everybody?" Parker raised an eyebrow. "Or do you only do this with your friends?"

Amanita's eye twitched, but she calmed down once she realized what she could say to get out of this predicament.

"Why yes, Parker, this isn't something I do often: in fact, I only hand out Pokemon like these to those I consider my greatest friends. Indeed, if I give someone a Pokemon, it's because I like them, and if I'm giving you a Pokemon-"

Parker perked up. "That means you like me?!"

"Yes, as a friend," Amanita added. "We're friends now."

The boy jumped up high and raised his victory. "I've only just got on the flirting game and I'm already in the friend zone!"

Amanita couldn't help but laugh at that statement, slapping her knees as Parker blushed.

"You have such a beautiful laugh. Well, I'm off to play with this Pokemon you gave me!" Parker paused. "Um, what Pokemon's in here, by the way?"

"Oh trust me, I could tell you, but I think I'll let you figure it out yourself," Amanita answered as she whipped off a tear. "I feel like that will make it all the more special!"

Parker skipped away in joy, leaving Amanita alone as she waved goodbye with a wide smile.

"About dang time. Now, onto the main event..."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Professor Fennel and Chloe kept walking deeper into the purple forest, the latter recounting a past event to the former.

"And then they told me, "Just because you really like this 'Specter of the Dark Forest' character you thought up, that doesn't mean he should appear in every story you make!"

"Wow," was all Professor Fennel could say. "And what did you do?"

"I looked back at the story, and shelved it indefinitely until I could figure out a better plot," Chloe shrugged. "Turns out, he was really unsuitable for the role I gave him."

"Which was?"

"The hero."

Professor Fennel's eyes widened in disbelief, but luckily for her, something else caught the duo's attention: the entrance to the cave where the Baku resided. And from there, a sign appeared giving them instructions:

"Those who wish to summon the Baku, you must say "Baku-san, come eat my dream" three times and wait for them to appear before you."

"That sounds like a very phony and blatant scam bait," Chloe remarked, pausing for a second before perking up. "Let's try it!"

"Chloe, wait, this is a supernatural creature we're dealing, completely different from anything else we've seen in our world before," Professor Fennel told the redhead. "You saw what happened to those poor animals back there: if we're not careful, they might eat our hopes and dreams as well!"

"Well I'm not afraid of that!" Chloe put her hands on her hips and proclaimed. "I don't have any hopes and dreams for them to eat!"

Crickets were heard for a moment as Chloe slowly deflated and Professor Fennel remarked:

"You know, that doesn't sound particularly boast-worthy."

"Yeah, even in my head, that sounded more sad than amazing," Chloe shrugged. "I dunno how I thought I could make it sound cool. Anyway, shall we try it?"

Professor Fennel hummed for a bit, then took a deep breath before they turned back to the entrance and said in unison:

"Baku-san, come eat my dream."

The area was surrounded by mist.

"Baku-san, come eat my dream."

The mist gained a set of eyes, two to be exact, both glowing golden.

"Baku-san, come eat my dream!"

The mist glowed, then converged into a large form in front of them, slowly growing bigger and bigger as they transformed... then plummeted in size to barely being half Chloe's size, and turning into some utterly bizarre mix between a Phanpy, Drowzee, Ursaring, and Rhyhorn.

And the ensuing silence from the pair spoke for itself.

"No offense, but I thought we'd meet something more... dangerous?"

"I'm not offended, I get that a lot," Baku sighed. "My powers might be terrifying, but most people agree I look too ridiculous to wield them."

"I dunno, I think you look kinda..." Chloe squinted her eyes, then flashed a sheepish smile. "Cute?"

"I think you need glasses," Baku sighed. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"Greetings, Baku-san, I'm Professor Fennel from Striaton City, and the girl with me is Chloe Cerise, from Vermillion City," Professor Fennel greeted as she curtsied. "We were hoping to convince you to give back the hopes and dreams of the animal kingdom in the previous forest, and stop bringing them nightmares, if possible."

Baku stared at the duo for a moment, then took a deep breath and answered:

"I can return the hopes and dreams. Alas, I can do nothing about the nightmares."

"What?!" Chloe frowned. "Why not?"

"I don't bring the nightmares, I eat them. And I don't give people hopes and dreams, I just eat them if I get hungry enough," Baku stated. "That lion king and his kingdom made the mistake of abusing my nightmare-eating services, so I chose to teach them what happens when they abuse my generosity."

"So, a necessary evil at worst," Professor Fennel remarked. "But wait a minute, if you're not the one giving these critters nightmares, then who is?"

"Don't know, all I know is that I was created after the nightmares appeared, and no matter how many times I eat those fools' nightmares, they'll eventually get new ones," Baku answered. "It's like somebody, or something, was giving them nightmares repeatedly."

Hearing that, the duo exchanged looks and then turned around before whispering to each other:

"Professor, what do you think?"

"This does sound like the work of somebody else. If what the Baku is saying is true, then there must be somebody bringing nightmares to these critters, and potentially any other Car in this Infinity Train."

"But why would they do that? What do they have to gain with giving everybody nightmares?"

"That's something you can find out along the way."

The girls squeaked, Chloe jumping onto Professor Fennel's arms as they turned back to the Baku, who stared at them as they said:

"This isn't the only Car in the Infinity Train: there are many others, presumably being subjected to these enforced dreams just like the animal kingdom. You can ignore it if you want, but if you do want to learn more about it as you're implying, you're gonna have to move from this Car and go to the next one."

The duo exchanged looks, then asked in unison:

"And how do we do that?"

Baku smiled.

"Leave it to me."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

*SLAM!*

Chryssa and Renji barged into the house whose door they just kicked open together, and ran upstairs as everybody else

"Chryssa and Renji's house," Professor Cerise remarked. "The person having the nightmare is here?"

"Chryssa and Renji live together?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

Professor Cerise sighed. "I think it would be better if you asked them directly. They can explain it better than I can."

Ash turned to Goh, who could only shrug with a look of equal confusion.

"EVERYBODY COME UP HERE!"

Startled by Chryssa's yelling, the team immediately bolted upstairs and towards an open room, which they entered in order to find an odd mist surrounding the room. As for how the room itself looked, it was covered in various shades of green, with small figurines-of both Pokemon and other things-on the desks and shelves, and posters of Pokemon Coordinators on the walls...

And for some odd reason, a calendar on top of the bed, depicting Chryssa posing suggestively in a bikini.

"Akemi, listen to me!" Chryssa exclaimed while shaking a girl sleeping on the bed. "You need to wake up!"

"No... don't... please don't..." the girl, Akemi, uttered while shedding tears. "Don't make me wear that... anything but that..."

"It's no use, she's not listening to me!" Chryssa cried. "Is there a way to wake her up without hurting her?"

Pikachu quickly hopped off Ash's shoulder and ran to the girl, only to be caught and grabbed by Chryssa.

"Pikachu, don't even think about it!" Chryssa chided. "There's no way in the Distortion World I'm letting you shock my daughter!"

"Daughter?!" Ash exclaimed in shock. "So wait, you're parents?!"

"Yeah," Renji scratched the back of her head. "We've been married for several years now, and the girl suffering the nightmare is our daughter."

"Well, this sure was a way to find out about that," Ash sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I never really thought you'd be married. I mean, you don't act like it back in the institute."

"Yeah, 'cause we're working," Renji answered before turning back to the sleeping girl. "And speaking of working, we should start getting ready to help Akemi get out of her nightmare. Whatever's happening inside her head, it's scaring her."

"That Amanita girl said she left the stuff we'd need to enter her dreams or something here," Talia remarked as she looked around. "But I don't see it anywhere."

Then she took a few steps, and hit something. A small set of helmets connected to a router of some kind, with one of them connected to the sleeping girl.

"How did I not notice that earlier?" Chryssa asked out loud as Ash grabbed a note nearby and read it out loud:

"Greetings team, Amanita here, I've left you this prototype for the Dreamscape Transportation Matrix, patent pending. Put on the helmets, turn on the machine, and you'll be transported directly into the dreamscape of the girl. Once inside the dreamscape, you must find the source of the nightmare and slay them in order to free the dreamer from their horrors."

"You know, for a little girl, this Amanita sure knows a lot about Dreamscapes and nightmares," Professor Cerise remarked.

"Well, her sister is the main researcher of both of them," Ash replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if they exchanged notes about Dream Mist and...whatever it is that Amanita's working on-"

"WHY ARE WE STILL TALKING ABOUT THIS?!" Chryssa exclaimed. "Let's jack in and save Akemi already!"

Having no time to waste, the team put on the helmets, connected themselves to the machine, and turned it on, teleporting them straight into Akemi's nightmare...

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the Infinity Train, Professor Fennel, Chloe, and the Baku returned to the demoralized group of animals, Apedemak standing up to face the Baku as they stated:

"Relax, I came to give you back your hopes and dreams. However, I will only do it on one condition."

"And what would that be?" Apedemak asked.

"I wish to leave this Car," Baku stated before pointing at Professor Fennel and Chloe with their tail. "Whether it is as a companion to these two or as a Stray Denizen, I do not wish to stay here any longer. Now when I'm essentially used as a living dreamcatcher."

"Stray Denizen?" Professor Fennel whispered to Chloe, who could only shrug in response.

"A living dreamcatcher... is that truly how you feel?" Apedemak asked as he tilted his head. "If that is the case, then perhaps we should've been more careful about requesting your aid in helping us with our nightmares... but how will we deal with them if you're not here?"

"I'm just one Denizen: I'm certain the Train itself will create another one to replace me soon enough," Baku replied. "And yes, The Conductor might be in charge. But they listen to the Train, not the other way around."

"And now I'm further confused as to how this place is supposed to work," Professor Fennel remarked, causing Chloe to quip, "First time?"

"Fair enough, it is the least we can do," Apedemak said. "We apologize for abusing your services. You may leave this Car if you so wish, but please, return us our hopes and dreams."

Baku nodded, and opened his mouth, releasing rainbow mist that entered the animals' bodies, including Apedemak. And not only did they regain their color and energy, but Apedemak then grew a pair of avian wings, which he spread as he stood up and shared a look with Baku.

The pair exchanged nods, and the chimeratic creature turned and walked away alongside Chloe and Professor Fennel, all while the animal kingdom bid them farewell.

"Looks like I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not," Baku chuckled. "So, where are we going?"

"That's... a good question, actually," Professor Fennel looked at her numbered palm. "I mean we're stuck in here until we get our numbers to zero, so we should focus on that whenever we can. And the fact Vermillion City is stuck on this shared nightmare also gives some sense of urgency."

"Well, I kinda have an idea on what I wanna do," Chloe shrugged. "I wanna see what this Train has to offer. Maybe I'll even learn what I wanna be when I grow up, that's something I haven't yet decided. Where I wanna go, I still don't know."

Hearing that, Baku flashed a smile.

"Well, if that's the case, then perhaps I could suggest a car to visit next?"

Chapter Text

Alright, before we begin, I'm gonna make a list of the divergences this has compared to the canonical Blossomverse, beyond the obvious "the events of the original trilogy were all a dream" stuff:

* The divergence point happens during Episode 11, after Chloe talks with her Mom, not from the very beginning. She gets taken shortly after the talk, not knowing what she wants to become when she gets older.

* Some of Chloe's classmates in the original trilogy either don't go to the same class as her (Akemi) or don't go to school in the first place (Sara).

* Chloe and Ash don't have their fight at the school, and in fact Ash doesn't even meet most of her classmates. Likewise, Ash and Chloe get along a little bit better than in the Blossomverse, if a little more distant.

* Like with Ash, Chloe gets along with Goh a lot more better, and there's no "can't talk things out" phase between them. They're actually friends, rather than being whatever they were in the original Blossomverse.

* Professor Hale not only was impersonated by Colress, but he doesn't even know what's going on at Vermillion City at this point.

* Trip isn't gay as far as I know, and even if I change my mind, he is NOT going to get together with Ash. Who Ash gets together with, if at all, is still up in the air.

* Instead of Gladion being taken by the Infinity Train, Lillie was.

* The timeframe of the Train side is post-Book 3, not during it. Due to this, the Apex are on the way of reforming and Simon is nowhere to be found.

* The Apex never went to Azada. I'm putting an end to that stupid background detail right now.

* Chloe doesn't like writing, demons, or horror: her handwriting isn't really that good, and she actually despises the latter two because the first story she read gave her nightmares, and she'd rather not deal with something like that again.

* Chloe has Cynophobia, as in, fear of dogs. How this came to be will be revealed later.

There are probably other divergences that I can't think of right now, so if I figure any out, I'll add them next chapter.

And now, without further ado, let's go.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

It was a sight to behold.

Trip's Pokemon looked with joy and relief as Trip's Serperior, now out of his Poke Ball, hugged and rubbed his cheek against Trip's, the guy laughing as he hugged the large reptillian Pokemon.

"Alright, boy, calm down!" Trip chuckled. "I missed you too."

"See? He really did miss you!" Rosa remarked with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess keeping him in his Poke Ball wasn't as good an idea as I thought it was," Trip turned back to Serperior. "I'm sorry for leaving you alone for so long, Serperior."

The large snake Pokemon poked Trip's nose, causing the guy to snicker.

"Well, since your Serperior's fine and you need to regain some of your skills..."

Rosa took out a Poke Ball and opened it, summoning her Serperior as she said with a smile:

"How about a little friendly match?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the dreamscape of Chryssa and Renji's daughter, the team materialized in the middle of a school building in the middle of nowhere, where several trees were blooming with cherry blossoms floating around.

Besides that, the team now sported schoolgirl uniforms instead of their usual outfits. Yes, even the guys.

"Looks like we'll change appearance to fit whatever dreamscape we enter," Professor Cerise remarked as he looked at his uniform. "Though I'm not sure why we were given highschool girl uniforms."

"Yeah, and these are winter uniforms too," Talia remarked. "Now, I'm no expert on flowers or school stuff, but I'm sure Cherry Blossoms... well, blossom during spring."

"It's the dreamscape of a ten year old girl, I think we can cut her liberties some slack," Chryssa stated. "Now come on, let's start looking for clues as to where she is or where the core of the nightmare is."

"Are you looking for somebody?"

The group turned around, and in front of them was a small creature who looked like an Eevee, but completely silver in color, with their tail sporting a ring around it and longer ears ending on odd appendages.

"Oh no... oh nonononono!" Chryssa panicked. "Anything but that show!"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "What show?"

"Puella Magi Danika Magica!" Chryssa groaned before rubbing her forehead. "It's a TV show that airs late at night and which is infamous for its violence and mature themes! Not only that, but the girls wear outfits that show way too much skin: bare arms, bare legs, exposed stomachs, they don't even look like magical warriors most of the time! They're not even old enough to have the curves to show them off and besides-"

"Chryssa seems.. oddly passionate about this stuff," Talia whispered to Ren. "Did something happen in her past that made her hate those types of dresses?"

"Well, she's a mother with a daughter; she's not going to approve of anything that she feels Akemi might copy," Ren scratched the back of his head. "Beyond that, though, I don't feel comfortable explaining why she's acting like this. If you want answers, you'll have to ask her yourself."

"I'm not sure what's going on, so may I ask if there's something I can help you with?" the Eevee telepathically asked.

"Huh? Oh, right," Ash approached the Eevee. "We're looking for a girl with green hair and glasses. Have you seen her?"

"Seen her? She asked me to turn her into a magical girl to fight the forces of evil!" the Eevee faced the school building. "Once she saw her new form, though, she panicked and ran into the building over there."

"I bet you made her wear something that showed too much skin," Chryssa groaned. "Come on, let's go look for her-"

"You can't! The school is currently being swarmed by Insecurities!" the Eevee warned. "You need to be a magical girl to fight them off, otherwise you're going to be completely consumed by them!"

Goh turned to Renji. "Insecurities?"

"That's the name of the monsters the magical girls fight in this show," the man answered. "And from what I've heard, it only gets worse from there."

"Okay then," Ash turned back to the creature. "So what do we need to do to fight them?"

"You must make a contract with me and become a magical girl! Only then will you gain the power to fight against the Insecurities!"

"Am I the only one who has a bad feeling about this?" Professor Cerise asked. "Because I'm really getting a bad feeling about this."

"There doesn't appear to be any other way to deal with these monsters," Talia sighed. "So, until we find another way, we should do what the creature says. Besides, how bad could it be?"

The team one by one made contracts with the Eevee-like creature... and they soon came to regret it when their uniforms got transformed:

The guys mostly got minidresses with boots, and Talia got a leotard mixed with shorts and a jacket. And while the uniforms were somewhat... goofy, they weren't really that bad...

Except for Chryssa's, who basically got a pimped up bikini with a long-sleeved jacket and short shorts.

"What in the name of Arceus is this!?" Chryssa yelled, grabbing and shaking the creature. "Why would you give this outfit to a highschool girl!?"

"Ma'am, you're not a girl anymore, you're a woman."

"Ma'am!?"

"You got the curves, you got the body, you have the appeal, there's no issue with showing a bit of it," the Eevee tilted their head. "Unless you happen to feel... insecure about them?"

As if on cue, an aura surrounded Chryssa, and separated, morphing and contorting into a clone of her, but with glowing golden eyes instead. The woman threw the creature away, who released little squeaks as they bounced away and Chryssa blocked an attack from her doppelganger, sending sliding a few feet away.

"Wait, what's going on?!" Ash asked.

"Oh, did I not mention the very important process of becoming a magical girl?" the Eevee-like creature asked as they stood up and shook, soon followed by clones of everybody else appearing behind them. "In order to fight the Insecurities, you must overcome your own insecurities; for only then will you be able to deal with other people's insecurities without feeling overwhelmed. It's a strange, but effective system, I assure you."

"When exactly is this twist revealed?" Goh asked Renji, who responded thusly. "At the end of the first episode."

"Indeed, the more insecure someone feels, the more Insecurities are created," the creature continued before looking back at the school. "In fact, the previous girl I contracted was so insecure, she singlehandedly created an entire army of Insecurities, which now surround the school over there."

"She's not gonna be able to beat them by herself," Chryssa stated before facing the rest of the team. "Can you guys take care of these clones while Renji and I go look for Akemi?"

"Of course," Professor Cerise smiled. "We'll buy you as much time as needed; go find your daughter."

Chryssa nodded. "Renji, you're with me!"

The man nodded, summonded an extending staff, then used it to take himself and his wife towards the school. As they did this, the rest of the team got ready to fight, Ash preparing to summon one of his Pokemon as the creature spoke:

"Interesting, there were Insecurities created from everybody, except from you. But how could that be? Everybody has insecurities."

"Well, I don't really have anything to feel insecure about," Ash answered with a smile as he took out a Poke Ball. "I have my friends, my Pokemon, and a goal: to become a Pokemon Master!"

The creature paused and the clones prepared to fight back.

"Perhaps it must be hidden deep inside your mind. Locked away so that it can never resurface. But that isn't healthy. You will have your insecurities exposed one way or another, Ash Ketchum."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Meanwhile with Professor Fennel's team, the trio reached a brand new Car, this one sporting a long spire in the center that reached the heavens, with small pixie-like creatures floating about around it.

"Welcome to the Kwaminitiation Car," Baku stated.

"Kwaminitiation Car?" Professor Fennel raised an eyebrow.

"Huh, rolls off the tongue," Chloe quipped.

"It's a Car for Denizens who believe their powers are too dangerous to be wielded alone, so they can be transformed into a smaller version that allows the Passengers to use a weaker version of their powers," Baku explained. "We got this idea when a Passenger from a world with similar creatures came here."

"What Passenger?" Professor Fennel asked.

"Someone who refused to go by any name other than his superhero identity; something about not feeling safe telling people about their real name or something. Can't exactly blame him, given how dangerous the Train can be at times, but still," Baku sighed. "This is going to be a long, detailed process involving several questions, various objects, constant back and forth and so on. So, please, go kill some time elsewhere while I'm at it."

The duo decided to stick around to see what this meant, and watched as Baku walked to the large machine and pressed their hand/paw/whatever on the scanner, eventually getting the

"Welcome to the Kwaminitiation. Please state the corresponding information requested by the machine."

The creature began writing on a keyboard as they said:

"Name: Bakku. Concept: Dreams. Miraculous: Dream Miraculous."

"Concept rejected. Please select concept that ends in "ion."

"Ugh, stupid finicky machine. Fine, Concept: Exhaustion."

"Concept accepted. Please insert object to begin the Miraculous Materialization."

"Okay, I'm bored now," Chloe grabbed Professor Fennel's sleeve and pulled it. "Let's go look at what else this Car has to offer!"

"Hmm? Sure, I guess."

And so the woman followed the redhead elsewhere, taking one last look at the chimeratic creature before coming with her.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back with Chryssa and Renji, the duo barged through a window, cracking it and entering the school building to find the hallways swarming with clones of their daughter... wearing what could be best described as a blue bikini with a blue skirt, cyan boots, and white opera gloves. Also a cape.

"This is something out of a horror movie," Chryssa remarked before shaking her head. "Come on, let's go find Akemi before I hurl."

The married couple smacked the Insecurities away, until they eventually heard sobbing inside a classroom. They kicked the door open, and found their daughter inside, crying against a wall while wearing the same outfit as the Insecurities.

"Akemi!"

"Mom?! Dad?!" the girl cried before panicking at the sight of her parents approaching her. "Don't look at me! I'm horrible!"

Renji paused. "Akemi, we already know what you're wearing."

The girl paused as well, then uncovered her face. "Really?"

"Sweetie, we went through a hallway filled with clones of you wearing the exact same outfit," Chryssa pointed out.

"Seriously? They didn't transform into something much worse?" Akemi asked out loud. "I thought they were going to morph and become something much more horrible like me on a bikini or a birthday suit! Especially since I didn't do much to stop them."

"Thank Arceus that didn't happen," Renji remarked. "Now listen, sweetie, a man called Colress struck Vermillion City with something called Nightmare Mist, and that lead to you getting this nightmare. We got some help from Professor Fennel, from Striation City, and her sister Amanita to enter your nightmare and help you break out of it."

"Okay, that sounds perfectly logical and everything," Akemi scratched the back of her head. "But how are we gonna break free? There's literally dozens of clones of me outside, a-and if you become a magical girl, your own Insecurities will take form and will only add to the problem..."

"Well, I think the answer's obvious: the core of the nightmare has to be the Eevee creature-"

"Cubeon."

The couple paused. "What?"

"The creature's name is Cubeon," Akemi clarified. "I was a bit unsure if that was their true name, but after looking through the internet, it turns out that really is their name."

"Okay... so, Cubeon has to be the source of the nightmare," Chryssa stated. "They create the magical girls, I'm assuming they create the Insecurities too, and from what I've heard they're also the main antagonist of the show, right?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that, but yeah, you could say that's the gist of it," Akemi perked up nervously. "A-Anyway, you might have a point, s-so let's get out and beat Cubeon-"

"Not so fast, young lady," Chryssa stated, stopping Akemi on her tracks. "There's still something we need to discuss before we leave."

"Oh crumblesticks."

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Chryssa asked as she put a hand on Akemi's shoulder. "Creating so many Insecurities that they swarm the school can only mean that there's something really bothering you. Why don't you tell us about it?"

"I don't know..." Akemi frowned. "I don't... want you to get mad at me."

"It's okay, whatever you say, I'll focus that anger on the tiny little heckspawn that put you into this terrible dress!"

Renji eyed his wife with surprised before he talked to Akemi. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

Akemi twiddled her fingers. "I... know about your former career as a model before you became a research assistant, Mom."

Chryssa felt a shiver go down her spine, her face turning completely red and steam coming out of her ears as the young girl explained:

"I found an old calendar depicting you in a swimsuit while cleaning the attic, s-so I got curious and decided to do some research. You weren't a model for long, but you did get some good stuff out of it before deciding to step down."

"You what?!"

"I even found the video of your last show before deciding to quit: gotta say, you looked pretty good wearing the Ekans around your neck, and the Liepard swimsuit was rather-"

Chryssa looked elsewhere and covered her face. "Please, stop..."

And then, she realized something. "But wait a minute, what does that have to do with your nightmare?"

Akemi lowered her eyelids and chose to cut to the chase:

"After seeing those videos, and the other women whom you competed against, I took a look at myself and wondered if I could ever manage to become like you one day."

Chryssa frowned. "You... did?"

"I tried to go on a diet, wear more form fitting clothes, but no matter what I did... I just didn't feel like I was making any progress," Akemi looked elsewhere. "And then I fell ill and all that other stuff, and..."

Akemi fell silent as she lowered her head. Seeing this, Renji crouched down and made her look at him.

"Akemi, just because your mother used to be a model doesn't mean you have to follow in her footsteps. Nobody's forcing you to do that, and your mother will certainly understand if you don't want to do it," the man chuckled. "Heck, she didn't even want to do it in the first place!"

Akemi eyed her mother with a raised eyebrow, causing her to sigh:

"Renji, can you go watch outside? I'd like to talk with Akemi for a bit."

The man winked and flashed a thumbs up before leaving the mother and daughter pair to talk it out.

"Akemi, whatever you saw... however much you saw... you don't need to go down that route. I was approached by several people who saw potential in me, but the longer I stuck to that life, the more... unhappy I felt. And now that I'm with your father, working with Professor Cerise, and having you... I realize I should've quit that life much earlier. I have no doubt I would've been happier and felt more comfortable if I stopped going down on fashion shows and the like. In truth, going out to do research with your father and interacting with Professor Cerise have brought me more happiness than those years of modeling ever did."

Akemi frowned. "You don't miss them?"

"Not at all," Chryssa smiled. "Besides, there's one thing those model years can't give me that your father can."

"And that is?"

Chryssa poked Akemi's nose.

"You."

The girl looked shocked for a bit before flashing a sincere smile.

"Now, since this is a dream and everything, how about we change that awful outfit for something more... practical?"

Akemi nodded in agreement, and the girl glowed before bursting out of the classroom, sending some of the Insecurities flying away.

Instead of the gaudy outfit from before, she now wore a black bodysuit that covered her whole body, her hair was tied in a ponytail, and her glasses had turned into a visor, with a pair of rectangular glass shields levitating by her sides.

"Get ready, Cubeon! We're coming after you!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Meanwhile, with Professor Fennel and Chloe, the duo looked at some pamphlets and magazines at a stand near the entrance to the Kwaminitiation Car.

"Oh look, Professor Fennel! Horse racing!" Chloe chirped. "Oh wait, it says horsegirl racing. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, if the picture is any indication, I'd assume it involves watching humanoid girls with traits from whatever these "horses" are," Professor Fennel answered as she took a closer look at the pamphlet. "We can bet on which horsegirl might win the current race, with the prize being getting to go to the next Car, or race ourselves, if we're feeling cocky."

"Hmm, if we were to race ourselves, what do you think would be our chances of winning?"

"I first need to know what a horse is and how a horsegirl compares to it."

"Fair enough," Chloe shrugged then looked at the information. "Hey, it says here that if we wanna race, we need to put on this outfit first."

Professor Fennel took a closer look at the picture, and saw an equine-eared headband, and an equine tail with... an interesting end. Which was attached behind. Which caused the professor to cringe and her facet to contort in shock.

"It also says here that there's another method: eat a carrot that will briefly turn us into horsegirls."

"Oh thank goodness, this Train actually has some standards," Professor Fennel sighed. "Say, we've been waiting for a while, you think Baku has already finished with their Kwaminitiation?"

"The name is Bakku now."

The duo turned around and saw a small, floating creature sporting Baku's simplified form, with a long tail resembling an Ekans holding what looked like a fuzzy cape, which they then handed to the duo.

"Whoa, Bakku, you look actually cute now!" Chloe chirped as Professor Fennel took and examined the cape. "And the cape is rather cool too!"

"It's a blanket."

The duo paused.

"You wrap it around your neck like a cape, though," Bakku continued. "And once that's done, you must shout "Bakku, Good Morning!" to transform, and "Bakku, Good Night!" to detransform."

"Of course those would be the words," Chloe quipped. "Okay, Professor Fennel, give it a shot!"

The professor raised an eyebrow. "You don't wanna do it?"

"I don't have much interest in becoming a superhero; besides, I can't watch the epic transformation sequence if I'm part of it, can I?"

Professor Fennel shrugged and put on the blanket like a cape.

"Bakku, Good Morning!"

As if on cue, Bakku turned into light and merged with the blanket, turning it into a navy blue cape covered in stars with a full moon in the middle. This was followed by Professor Fennel passing her hands through her face, summoning a navy blue domino mask with stars, then spread her arms up high as her labcoat morphed into a long-sleeved jacket with a moon motif, her hands being covered in white gloves with a crescent symbol on the back of them.

Then she swiped her arms down, turning her dress into a dark blue minidress, her legs soon being covered by black stockings, ending on dark blue shoes with star/shaped symbols at the heels.

Finally, her hair got tied into a pair of pigtails, each ending in a star-shaped ring of hair, small golden hairclips connecting everything.

At long last, she struck a pose, completing her transformation.

"Yay! That was awesome!" Chloe chirped, clapping repeatedly. "Alright, with every superhero has to come a new identity; so, whatcha gonna call this form of yours?"

Professor Fennel looked at herself in her form, then exclaimed ideas for her superhero name:

"Sandwoman!"

Chloe said nothing.

"Dust Princess!"

Still nothing.

"Dreamcatcher!"

"Finally, a name that's somewhat decent!" Chloe chuckled. "I'm not quite sure if that should be it, however, so let's keep it on the backburner and let's go."

"You can't leave just yet."

The duo turned around and saw a small creature floating to them, resembling a small green torkoal.

"The last time someone left the Car with an untested Kwamizen, great devastation was brought to the Car. If you wish to leave, you must first test the Kwamizen, and to do that, you must go see Grand Master Nooroo."

Professor Fennel raised an eyebrow. "Grand Master Nooroo?"

...

Sometime later, the duo found themselves standing in the middle of a temple, with several Kwamizens floating around and surrounding another Kwamizen, resembling a small purple Butterfree with a cape.

"Greetings, Passengers, I'm Grand Master Nooroo. I'm the one in charge of the Kwaminitiation Car; apologies for stunting your progress, but I cannot let anybody with a Kwamizen leave until the Kwamizen has been tested."

"Well, that's fine, it's never a good idea to leave things untested," Professor Fennel replied. "But what do we need to do?"

"I'll akumatize somebody to act as your opponent, and once you have tested the full potential of the Kwamizen, I'll turn them back to normal and you'll be free to go," Grand Master Nooroo answered. "Naturally, however, I require a volunteer for this procedure-"

"I volunteer!"

Everybody turned to look at the one who said this: Chloe, who held her arm up high with a wide smile as Professor Fennel said;

"Chloe, are you sure about this? We don't know what this Akumatization thing might do to you."

"You enter the Train to help me find a way back home; it's only fair I help you back."

And so, Grand Master Nooroo summoned a small dark purple butterfly, and sent it flying to Chloe, entering her hair braid as a purple butterfly-shaped visor.

"Lady Sindooram, I'm Grand Master Nooroo, or just Nooroo for short. Your friend needs to test her abilities as a Kwamizen Wielder and you've been selected to help her. I'll give you the power to test her to the absolute limit. Once your job is done, I'll recall the Akuma and you'll return to normal. Do we have a deal?"

Chloe smiled. "Consider it done!"

Professor Fennel backed away as Chloe was surrounded by a purple mist, which began transforming her as it began to become humanoid in form.

"Chloe?"

"I'm not Chloe Cerise anymore! I'm..."

The mist vanished, revealing Chloe, while looking physically the same, now sported a long flowing red dress with several layers, each forming a symbol that represented a bird with their wings spread, crimson opera gloves with black fingers, and a red gemstone on her head. Her hair was also made longer, now resembling a Skorupi tail and ending in a pair of pincer-like growths. Finally, she raised her hand and summoned red powder that morphed into a hand fan, which she opened to reveal a flower pattern in it.

"Lady Sindooram!"

With that said, Chloe-sorry, Lady Sindooram-formed a small bird using her powder and faced Professor Fennel, saying:

"Ready to be put to the test?"

Professor Fennel looked shocked for a moment, then stretched and took a battle stance.

"Give me your best shot!"

Chapter Text

Okay! I thought up some more divergences for you lore fans out there! Here they are:

* Okay, this is more of a retcon, but Chloe does a little writing from time to time; it's just that, if it's not related to her writing classes, she doesn't have as much interest in it as, say, painting or drawing.

* I'm changing some animal motifs this time around: Chloe will be associated with the horse, for example. As for Professor Fennel, since she was nowhere to be seen in the original trilogy, I'm just gonna associate her with the tapir. Or the sheep. Or both. Maybe both. Probably both.

* The way the Kwamizens work is mostly the same as their counterparts: you put on the Miraculous, exclaim a specific transformation phrase or just "Transform Me!" if you don't have the time, and you get the enhanced strength, speed, and invulnerability. However, instead of being relegated to one superpower except for the Ladybug, the Train Miraculousesi grant multiple powers depending on the concept decided. However, each power can only be used up to three times if an adult, and once if you're younger than that, and after that you detransform. Simple, right?

* No Trip scene here because I don't wanna summon the wrath of Serperior fans by revealing who would win between Trip and Rosa's Serperiors. Spoiler alert: it would be one of them. ;)

* Hop, Paul, and Alain did not enter the Train. While the latter I feel could be taken, I think only Alain makes sense due to his former ties with Team Flare. An argument with a family member has already been done with Tulip, and given what a stubborn asshole Paul is, I feel like it would take more than that to get him on the Train. And Hop, NO. He's a pure innocent boy who doesn't deserve this.

* Mallow is also not a former Passenger. The only former Passenger in this story is going to be Lillie, for the sake of simplicity.

* We're NOT repeating the blame game that happened in Blossoming Trail. Honestly, there were way too many points where it felt like it was bloating the story and making it longer than it needed to be.

* Corginia and Azada will be encountered eventually. The former will probably be featured in the next chapter, while the latter... well, that's a surprise. ;)

* Since Alain didn't get on the Train, Sycamore is more mentally stable, happier, and not being put through another Seeker of Crocus incident.

* Elipzo doesn't exist in this continuity.

And now, to the chapter!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the Cerise Institute, Amanita finished pressing some buttons in some kind of machine, and rubbed her hands together as she took a few steps back, watching as them machine began to turn on.

"AMANITA!"

And then Parker appeared.

"Look what came out of the Poke Ball!"

The little scientist turned around and saw what the young boy had brought with him: a small fox-like creature with brown fur, looking sorta like a quadrupedal counterpart to Pikachu. They hopped around Parker as the boy chirped:

"It's an Eevee!"

"Color me shocked," Amanita dryly remarked.

"Did you know?"

"Why would I give you a Poke Ball if I didn't know what Pokemon was inside it?" Amanita sighed. "Listen, I'm happy you're happy with the Eevee, but could you please go train him elsewhere? I'm in the middle of something very important and I don't want anybody to mess with it."

It was then that Parker tilted to the side, and saw Amanita's project; a machine connected to an antenna that was going up the institute's roof.

"What's that?"

"It's a thingamajig that'll help stall the nightmares everybody's dealing with."

"Oh... but is that really necessary?" Parker asked, Eevee tilting his head in confusion. "You already sent the team with those machine things you mentioned, right?"

"Vermillion City is huge, Parker; even if the team separated and tackled the nightmares individually, which is not something I recommend 'cause some of these nightmares are tough, there would still be dozens of nightmares being left unaccounted for," Amanita explained. "And the longer the nightmares are left alone, the scarier they'll become, and thus the harder to break free from. And the harder they become-"

"The more they'll eventually become impossible to break from!"

"Precisely."

The trio turned around and saw Colress sitting on the ground, still with his hands tied, and with his legs crossed as he explained:

"The true purpose of these Nightmare Mist-derived nightmares is to show how strong someone can become in constant adversity; if they're not strong enough to break free at first, the nightmare will become tougher. And more and more, until, unless they grow stronger fast enough, they'll be unable to escape."

"That's sick!" Parker snapped.

"Perhaps, but if you wanna take your complaints to someone, take it to the girl's sister," Colress replied, briefly glancing at Amanita as he did. "She was a very big inspiration for me to get to this point."

Amanita raised an eyebrow... only to widen them in shock as he added:

"After all, it's like she always said... follow your dreams."

Amanita froze in disbelief... then clenched her fist and hissed:

"Parker, can you do me a favor?"

The boy gulped. "Uh, yeah?"

Amanita narrowed her eyes at Colress, her glasses' shining as she stated:

"Use Colress as target practice for your Eevee."

Parker winced in shock, but Amanita's stern glare convinced him not to defy her. And so, he exclaimed:

"Eevee, use Iron Tail!"

Eevee did nothing.

"Razor Leaf?"

Still nothing.

"Weather Ball?"

"His only damaging Move is currently Tackle," Amanita pointed out before adjusting her glasses. "Now, if you excuse me, I gotta get ready to start this little trinket of mine."

And so, Amanita walked away to focus on her machinery, leaving Parker to point at Colress and exclaim:

"Eevee, Tackle!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the Infinity Train, Grand Master Nooroo watched from the sidelines as Professor Fennel's heroic persona fought against Chloe-sorry, Lady Sindooram-who blew some powder into the air so that it would transform into an avian form.

"Go, Zhuque! Peck her to submission!"

The avian familiar flew to Professor Fennel's side and got on her head, shortly before pecking at her head at a speed and sound like one of those mythical animals known as... the woodpecker.

"Agh! Get off me, get off me!"

Professor Fennel flailed her arms for a moment before trying to smack the avian creature off, which eventually lead to her hands glowing and some particles to emit from them. The akumatized girl looked in confusion before Professor Fennel smacked the bird with the particles, completely by accident of course, and sent them clashing to the ground.

However, rather than stand back up, Zhuque began snoring and fell asleep, several "Z"'s coming out of their beak as everybody looked in disbelief.

"They fell asleep?" Chloe-sorry, Lady Sindooram-remarked as she recalled the creature, turning them back into powder as she faced the professor. "What did you do?"

The professor looked back at her hands, who stopped glowing, but now had the particles floating around them as Grand Master Nooroo explained:

"As the wielder of the power of Exhaustion, you control not only sands that put people to sleep, but possess powers that further advance your enemies towards an early slumber. Dreamcatcher, Sleeper Hit, Dream Flock, and who knows what other little abilities you may develop as you further go down your journey."

Hearing that, Professor Fennel formed a cloud of sand that she moved around leisurely, gaining a smile as the Kwamizen added:

"But before you test your powers, you must decide on a name for your new form. A name that will be remembered as the first of many who will wield the same Miraculous moving forward."

Professor Fennel faced the akumatized girl, who flashed an excited smile as the woman converged the sand into a spherical shape, and proclaimed:

"Call me... Dreamland Shepherd!"

The shape contorted and transformed into a circle that sported a hollow star in the center.

"Dreamcatcher!"

Dreamland Shepherd shot the Dreamcatcher at Lady Sindooram, who spread her arms and stood in place as she was struck by the power, being sent sliding back as the power absorbed some of her power, and began transforming. The duo turned around, and the symbol began to gain an equine figure, slowly but surely morphing into an equine creature with a white coat and a blue and pink, flowing mane, neighing as Lady Sindooram ran to them in joy.

"A Rapidash!"

Dreamland Shepherd stared in shock as the akumatized girl scanned the equine creature and petted them, just in time for her to realize:

"Wait, did I just give her an extra minion to fight with?"

Lady Sindooram hopped onto the back of the Rapidash, then gently smacked them, causing them to neigh and gallop towards Dreamland Shepherd at full speed, forming an aura around them as they aimed their horn towards her.

"Yeah, I just did!"

The superheroine jumped away, narrowly avoiding being skewered alive by the dream-formed equine before she noticed the particles floating around her hands. Then, she got an idea and cartwheeled back for a bit before raising her arms and shouting:

"Sandstorm!"

The particles around her rapidly multiplied, eventually causing a literal sandstorm to cover the entire location, Grand Master Nooroo summoning barriers around himself and his fellow Kwamizens to block the storm, while Lady Sindooram and her Rapidash were left to stand their ground in the middle of it.

"Nice little trick!" Lady Sindooram exclaimed as she looked around. "But you're not the only one who can cause a literal storm!"

Lady Sindooram raised a hand and sent a ton of powder into the sky, mixing it with the sandstorm to create a crimson sandstorm that made the duo equally visible to each other. Not that this helped her, since when Dreamland Shepherd became visible, she was about to swipe her as she exclaimed:

"Sleep dust!"

Lady Sindooram jumped away, leaving her Rapidash to be struck by the dust summoned by Dreamland Shepherd, causing them to fall into a slumber and turn into sand.

"No, Dasher!"

The akumatized girl summoned a pair of hand fans and spun around, releasing such intense bursts of winds that the sandstorm was dispelled immediately.

"I won't let their sacrifice be in vain!"

Using her powder, Lady Sindooram sent it to Dreamland Shepherd in intense bursts of winds, the wind causing the ground to crack as the superheroine dodged repeatedly. Then, she flew down to the woman and tackled her, causing them both to roll for a bit before the shepherd kicked her away, sending her rolling as the woman caught her breath and looked around.

She did this until she noticed a Kwamizen that resembled a monochromatic Mareep, which gave her yet another idea for a superpower.

"Insomniac Flock!"

The particles around her separated and morphed, transforming into an entire flock of small Mareep-like creatures, who promptly trotted to Lady Sindooram's side and... began harmlessly bumping into her, squeaking with every clash.

"Aw, they're so cute!" the akumatized girl cooed before petting one of the sheep. "Like a bunch of baby Mareep!"

*BITE!*

"Gah! They nibble! THEY NIBBLE HARD!"

And as the flock kept nibbling the girl, Dreamland Shepherd prepared her next attack...

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at Akemi's dreamscape, the Cerise team kept fighting their Insecurities, all while Cubeon stood by the sidelines, watching with unblinking eyes while Pikachu glared at them. And as they did, their Insecurities spoke:

"All that time spent on your research, and you couldn't spend some of that time with your daughter? Does she really mean so little to you?"

"Have you ever drawn something that isn't cheerful or happy? So much for telling your daughter to get out of her comfort zone!"

"Once you catch Mew, what's next? Going back to the girl you abandoned? The girl you can't even keep a promise to?!"

"Why are they all talking about Chloe?" Ash asked out loud. "I mean, I get her parents, and maybe Goh, but she's not the center of the world!"

"Typical words of an outsider," Cubeon shook their head. "If only you weren't so callously insensitive to a poor girl's problems, maybe you wouldn't be such a bad person. I mean, to meet a little girl like Chloe and not even try to befriend her?"

Hearing that, Ash tilted his cap and faced the creature, stating:

"Let me make something clear to you. Yes, I'm an outsider. Yes, I barely even know what happened before I got her. And yes, Chloe and I didn't exactly become friends before she disappeared. But I traveled across entire Regions. Fought dozens if not hundreds of Gyms and earning their badges. I fought in many tournaments and came close to victory, sometimes inches away from winning it outright, only to fail. This happened to me multiple times: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos. And only recently did I manage to become the Alola League Champion. My first league victory in what feels like years. And you think I'm going to throw it all away, fall into despair, shatter and become a shell of my former self, only because I didn't befriend one person?"

Cubeon tilted their head as Ash finished:

"I'm not some random chump who's going to take the word of someone else like the gospel. I'm Ash Ketchum! And one day, I will become a Pokemon Master!"

"Pikachu!"

Suddenly, the Insecurities turned to look at Ash, and as the rest of Team Cerise did the same, they howled in pain before dissipating into light, which Cubeon took to mean only one thing:

"Impossible! Your confidence, your belief in yourself... it's so strong it dispelled my Insecurities! But how?! How could somebody have so much confidence in themselves?!"

"I can tell you this much," Ash smiled. "It got stronger over time."

"Pikapi!"

"Cubeon!"

Everybody turned around to see the family of Renji, Chryssa, and Akemi appear in the scene, the woman pointing at the creature as she proclaimed dramatically:

"Your evil days of tricking young girls into becoming magical girls just to expose them to their harshest insecurities are over!"

Akemi clapped joyfully. "Wow, Mom! You haven't lost your touch for theatrics!"

"That better have been a compliment," Chryssa sighed.

"Do you really think you can defeat me, Akemi?" Cubeon asked bluntly. "Your insecurities overwhelm you. Insecurities overwhelm everyone. Even if you defeat me, you will never be satisfied with yourself! Always second guessing and doubting yourself!"

"That's only what you think, because I have something you don't," Akemi grabbed her parents' hands. "A mother and father who give me their full support!"

Talia and Professor Cerise smiled, the latter nodding in approval.

"Fools! All of you! Insecurities will overwhelm everyone eventually! And to prove it to you, you've left me no choice but to summon them! COME FORTH, SCHADENFREUDE!"

Several seconds passed... and nothing happened.

"Uh, Schadenfreude? Hello?"

And then they got smacked by Akemi's shields.

"Jokes on you, Cubeon!"

Akemi's shields split and trapped Cubeon inside a barrier.

"I haven't watched the last episode of Puella Magi Danika Magica!"

"No, my only weakness! A rushed anti climax!"

Everybody aimed their hands at the barrier, charged energy and shouted:

"Anti Climax Buster!"

Everybody's energy entered the barrier and consumed Cubeon, who screamed in pain:

"NO! MY OTHER WEAKNESS! DYING!"

The creature vanished from existence, and all the Insecurities left behind ceased to exist as the cloudy skies parted, revealing a peaceful, calm night. And with that done, everybody left the dreamscape and returned to the real world.

...

Once there, everybody took off the helmets and Akemi got up, yawning as she stretched.

"Man, that was rough, wasn't it?" Akemi asked. "How long did I sleep?"

"I'll go see what time it is outside," Goh said as he went to the window.

The research assistant couple sat by the sides of their daughter and wrapped their arms around her shoulders, before she hugged them back, a sight that warmed everybody's hearts...

"Uh, guys? You might wanna take a look at this."

Goh's statement prompted everybody to look outside the window, only to find all of Vermillion City surrounded by a pink and purple dome barrier, just see-through enough to show the world beyond it.

"There's a dome around Vermillion City?" Ash asked in disbelief. "How long were we in that dreamscape?"

Then, Ash's phone rang, and he answered it to get a message from Amanita:

"Ash, take everybody back to the institute. There's something I gotta explain to you."

...

"A Dream Mist barrier?"

Everybody sat down, with a beaten up Colress in the background, as Amanita nodded and explained what she meant:

"I managed to take the energy from some Dream Mist and convert it into a barrier that can cancel out the Nightmare Mist effects temporarily so long as it stays up. I did this in order to give you ample time to expel the Nightmare Mist from everybody in Vermillion City to ensure a city-wide catastrophe doesn't happen."

"Hmm, not a bad idea: Vermillion City is far too big for a small group like us to dispel all the Nightmare Mist from everybody in a short time," Professor Cerise stated. "But what if we want to request aid from somebody in the exterior?"

"I'll try to consider ways to ensure other people can enter without disrupting the barrier as a whole, but for now, Vermillion City is sealed," Amanita replied. "I suggest you keep this under wraps as long as possible. Let's not have everybody enter a pointless panic, and go to sleep for now."

"Ah dang it, I just remembered, tomorrow's test day!" Goh sighed and leaned back. "The worst kind of day."

"Amanita, just one more question," Ash blurted.

"Ask away."

"What, exactly, will happen if we don't expel the Nightmare Mist in time?"

The girl took a deep breath, grabbed a control remote and turned on a wide TV screen that was there. It showed a news report that, coincidentally, showed the deceased body of a familiar figure as the newsperson said:

"Breaking News! Former leader of Team Plasma, Ghetsis, has been found dead after being caught in a deep sleep that lasted weeks! Reports said that during that entire time, he did not eat, drink water, or even move, being perpetually stuck in a deep trance inside his heavy sleep. Reports also say that some people tried to wake him up, only for each attempt to end in failure-"

Amanita turned off the TV, and while everybody looked absolutely horrified by the revelation, Colress smiled smugly as the girl said:

"Does that answer your question?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Enough."

Dreamland Shepherd and Lady Sindooram stopped their fight, and the latter was surrounded by a purple mist before being turned back into Chloe, who looked slightly confused as the mist went back to the Kwamizen.

"I have seen enough," Grand Master Nooroo stated. "I believe you're acquainted with your powers enough to give you a decent idea on what you're doing."

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," Chloe said as she dusted herself.

"Yeah, I guess it was a nice change of pace. Not something I'd like to deal with often, though," Dreamland Shepherd answered. "Bakku, Good Night."

The Kwamizen emerged from the cape, which turned back into a blanket as the superheroine turned back into Professor Fennel. "Well, that was a nice workout. Gotta say, you did pretty well for it being your first time wielding a Miraculous."

"Yeah, the first time," Professor Fennel looked elsewhere. "And hopefully the only time."

"Now, to finish the Kwaminitiation, I will gift you the Miraculous after you answer a simple question," Grand Master Nooroo said as he grabbed the blanket. "What is your full name?"

Professor Fennel flinched and looked elsewhere. "I'm... not quite comfortable revealing that. Can I just be called Professor Fennel?"

"There's nothing to worry about," Chloe remarked, patting Professor Fennel's back. "It can't be that bad, right?"

"It's... embarrassing."

"We're surrounded by tiny pixies who give us superpowers; however weird your name is can't be any weirder than that."

Well, that was a pretty good argument. So, the woman took a deep breath and answered:

"My name is... Meridian Fennel."

"Understood. Professor Meridian Fennel, I grant you ownership of the Dream Miraculous, which holds the power of Exhaustion. You shall use its power to do good for the Train, and only good. Should you ever use it for evil, your ownership will be revoked, and you will have to hand back the Miraculous. Are we clear?"

Professor Fennel turned to Bakku, who nodded in agreement, then turned back to the Grand Master and stated:

"Yes, Grand Master Nooroo."

"Then the Miraculous is now in your possession," the small Kwamizen smiled. "Go forward through your journey, Professor Meridian Fennel. May the Train guide you to your enlightment."

The Kwamizen handed the blanket to Professor Fennel, who smiled as she tied it around her waist.

"Oh, I know! Wrap it around your back like the cape before!" Chloe suggested. "That way, you can transform outright without having to equip it first!"

"I can't do that, Chloe; it's a blanket!" Professor Fennel argued as she finished tying the Miraculous up. "Besides, there's something more important we need to discuss."

"She has a point," Bakku stated before facing the Kwamizen. "Grand Master Nooroo, back when I was just Baku, the kingdom of my Car suffered constant nightmares that always returned shortly after I ate them. We assume this to be the work of either a Passenger or Denizen with the power to control nightmares. Has somebody like that come here?"

"Hmm... I do remember a Passenger and Denizen hybrid with similar powers coming here once."

Chloe perked up. "You know who they were? Can you tell us where they went?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you; we have an unspoken vow of secrecy between those who becomes Miraculous Wielders and their Kwamizen partners. I can't tell you who they are straight up."

Chloe frowned. "Can you give us a hint?"

The grand master shook their head. Plain and simple.

"Well, we can't expect the journey to be that easy," Professor Fennel remarked. "We'll just have to look for clues on our own."

"A good statement, I wish you good luck in your endeavors," Grand Master Nooroo stated. "And now, you're free to go."

A portal door opened next to the trio, and they walked through it, Chloe waving goodbye with her arms wide while Professor Fennel, paused to look at the Kwamizens, then flashed a smile before walking through, at which point the door closed...

...

Grace Monroe was exhausted.

It had only been a short while since she had joined up with Simon alongside a purple gorilla Denizen and a little girl she thought was a Passenger with a broken number. But instead, she turned out to be a Denizen as well, and a creation of the former Conductor, whom she once idolized and convinced her to create the Apex.

And in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

Hazel left with the former Conductor. Simon straight up died thanks to some horrifying dog-cockroach thing. The Apex decided to turn over a new leaf and try to get their numbers down, but even so...

"Sorry, but we don't serve sub-humans."

Their actions and the chaos they brought had not been forgotten by the Denizens, it seemed.

"That's the seventh inn in this Infinity Train that rejects us!" one of the kids, a brown-haired boy, whined. "Isn't seven supposed to be a lucky number?! That should've been it!"

"Quit your whining, Alex," another kid, a girl with dark brown hair and an eyepatch, sighed in response. "You're only going to make yourself hungrier."

"Then let's find a stupid inn or restaurant or whatever to stay the night already! Or let's just go back to The Mall Car and stay there!"

"We can't: the new Conductor evicted us and said that if we ever set foot there again, the Stewards will shoot us dead," Grace pointed out with a weary tone. "Listen, I know it's been tough since Simon died, but we can't give up just yet. Let's keep looking and-"

"You need something?"

Grace and the group stopped and paused to look around, eventually finding out that they were in the middle of a giant library with several books flying around as if they were birds. And as if that wasn't enough, they were approached by a giant book, easily as tall as one of the bookshelves, and with a face on its cover.

"We, uh, are looking for a place to stay," Grace answered nervously. "And if possible, to eat as well."

"Well, you've come to the right place," the face on the book smiled. "I'm Titus, leader of this library known as Azada. Please relax, and enjoy your stay."

Chapter Text

Okay, so, before we begin, there's something I need to confess before we dive in. I originally wanted this to be a normal chapter rather than a brief interlude, but I used up some of the time I could use to work on this story to work on my other stories, primarily Crown of Thorns, Freezing Point, and One and the Same, and so I didn't have enough time to write a full chapter.

So, for the sake of not leaving you guys hanging because I'm taking a break after this one chapter to both rest from writing a weekly story, and also to try give my other stories some attention, because they haven't quite gotten enough attention lately... if I can.

Truth be told, I've been through a very psychologically tiring last few days, and I need to take some time to regain the energy and optimism I had before I dive into nihilism as a way to cope. So, I'm gonna stop writing for the meantime, but don't worry, I'm not giving up on this story. I just need to rest for a bit.

Therefore, here's a short chapter to begin the hiatus.

* We're not going to show what happens in the Pokemon World because, to be perfectly honest, I wanna try focus on the Train a little bit more. However, everybody goes to sleep calmly thanks to the barrier erected by Amanita, so there's nothing to worry about. Oh, and Musharna helps too, I guess.

* I'll eventually think of something to do in the Pokemon World, because while I have many things planned for the Train side, I don't think the Pokemon side should be left to rot.

* I'm thinking of bringing in some of Ash's former companions into this story, mostly the girls. Iris has already been kinda sorta mentioned by Rosa, but there's a chance the other girls might appear. Anybody you guys would like to see in particular?

* Tiffany Rose doesn't exist in this continuity. If anything, I prefer to think of Chairman Rose as someone who never married or had children.

* Amelia will appear, but she and Chloe won't develop a relationship. They certainly won't become like a mother and daughter like in the original story. And neither will Chloe and Professor Fennel, I think they'd be more like sisters or a niece and an aunt.

And now, to the chapter!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Night had come to the Infinity Train, and Professor Fennel, Chloe, and Bakku walked across a Car bathing in a blue night sky, hopping from lilypad to lilypad until they reached the other side.

"Okay, we've already gone through the Fishing Car, the Daycare Car, and the Opera Car," Chloe recapped while looking at a notebook she was writing on. "And none of the occupations in those Cars, or the Cars themselves, didn't quite catch my eye."

"I dunno," Professor Fennel hummed. "I kinda like the Opera Car."

"Only 'cause you weren't part of the stage," Chloe replied before rubbing her neck. "Seriously, I think I almost lost my voice there because of those opera singers. Anyway, how about we go to a Car where I can be a librarian next?"

Professor Fennel looked up and noticed the blue moon. "It's already pretty late, Chloe. We should start looking for a place to stay the night."

"I suggest we do that, too," Bakku added. "I regain my energy by sleeping, and the chaos at the Daycare Car left me utterly drained. We should go to sleep before we get caught up in another kaiju attack."

"Alright then, if you say so," Chloe shrugged. "So, where do we go?"

As if on cue, several petals flew past the trio, some of them hitting Professor Fennel and Chloe in the face before making them turn to the distance. Off in the horizon was a large building, style like an old building like the Fuchsia Gym, but with petals floating around it in a calming aura.

"Huh, convenient," Bakku quipped.

"Let's go take a look."

The trio walked into the building, which looked similarly old like the outside, and at the counter was a woman with a canine head, looking like both the maid and the owner of the place at the same time.

"Greetings and welcome to the Cherry Blossom Inn. Would you like to spend the night here?"

You know, talking animals is one thing, but a talking humanoid with an animal head is too dang weird. Professor Fennel thought, trying her hardest to maintain her composure. "Hello, we'd like to spend the night here if possible."

"Understood, ma'am," the lady at the counter replied, getting a confused look from Fennel. "Are you and your daughter planning to share the same room?"

"Da-?! S-She's not my daughter!" Professor Fennel replied. "She's just a girl I'm watching while we're on our train trips."

"Alrighty then, if you say so," the lady replied. "Are you and your friend going to share a room? You could sleep in separate rooms, but I'd require you to sign a file."

Professor Fennel turned to Chloe. "What do you think?"

When she asked that, Professor Fennel noticed Chloe hiding behind her, only peeking out to give her answer, all while avoiding looking at the counter lady.

"I don't have any money, but if I have to be honest, I've been sleeping on my own for a long time. I guess it wouldn't hurt to sleep alongside somebody, if only for one night."

"Alright then, I prefer to sleep with somebody as well anyway," Professor Fennel turned back to the lady. "We're going to share a room."

"Excellent, please wait here while I prepare your room."

And so the counter lady walked away, allowing Chloe to come out of her hiding spot.

"Phew, that was close."

"Yeah, I have to agree with you; people with Pokemon heads is a bit too much for me," Professor Fennel remarked before facing Bakku. "What about you, Bakku? Did you find that woman a little weird too?"

"I'm a mix and match of different creature parts who turned into a fairy who can fuse with a Passenger to turn them into a superhero."

"Yeah, when you put it like that, everything else is fairly normal by comparison," Professor Fennel chuckled before turning to Chloe. "So, while we wait?"

Professor Fennel extended a hand towards the redhead, saying with a smile:

"Wanna take a look around?"

...

The ceiling of the Azada library morphed to no longer resemble the cloudy sky as it once did, but now a dark night sky showering with stars and a wide moon. It did this while Titus looked at a distance as Grace wrapped some of the Apex kids in blankets, all while some mumbled in their sleep:

"I'm going timber..."

"Every party needs a pooper, that's why they invited you..."

"By the power of pitch perfect, I, Magical Idol Lindsay will beat you..."

"Curse you, Moby Dick. I'll kill you and avenge Lucy's eye, you dang null..."

The last one came from Alex, who was in pajamas that had images of whales printed all over them, and was hugging a small whale plushie. Grace took a moment to stare at the boy before tucking him in, at which point he hugged the whale plushie harder. And so, Grace left the children to sleep peacefully, and walked to the giant book with a human face.

"So, you've been through the Moby Dick Car already, I presume?" Titus asked.

"Yeah, and the kids have sometimes asked about it," Grace sighed. "How do you tell a kid what the "Dick" in "Moby Dick" is supposed to mean?"

Titus chuckled. "Truthfully, times were different back then," Titus shook his face... as in, the face inside his cover shook, while the rest of the book remained immobile. "No wonder the book is only called "The Whale" nowadays."

"Since when?" Grace raised an eyebrow. "Everybody back home called it Moby Dick."

The giant book paused. "Oh... awkward."

"Eh, it's not that bad as long as you don't think about it too long; just like a lot of things in real life."

Titus nodded. "Are the children asleep?"

"Yeah, they're sleeping soundly," Grace answered before looking back at the kids. "In fact, I think it's the first time sleep so calmly since Simon..."

Grace paused and lowered her head, sporting a worried expression before the giant book said:

"Well, if the kids are asleep, how about I show you to your room?"

Grace nodded and began following the giant book deeper into the library, sharing a little dialogue as they did:

"You know, it's actually kinda sad. Alex really likes whales in general, in case his pajamas didn't make it clear, but after we went through the Moby Dick Car and Lucy lost her eye in a harpoon accident, he began growing a livid hatred for the creature."

Titus raised an eyebrow. "Does he not like whales anymore?"

"No, he does. He just doesn't like Moby Dick anymore," Grace sighed. "He'll take any whale plushie or toy available, but anything that reminds him of the creature is going to drive him up a wall."

Titus hummed and paused. Eventually, he blurted:

"Have you heard about the legend of the Lily of the Valley? A Passenger from another world called Alola, who teamed up with the Kwamizen of Reformation and brought a new era to the Infinity Train."

"I've heard gossip and talk about her a few times, but I don't remember actually meeting her in person," Grace looked elsewhere. "Then again, I try to forget everything I did before I met Hazel."

"Hazel?"

"A little girl I thought was a Passenger, but she turned out to be some sort of Denizen hybrid created by the Conductor."

"..."

"It's a long story."

"We could exchange long stories if you want," Titus replied. "As a book, I don't really need to sleep, and you don't seem that tired either."

Grace shrugged. "Eh, if you want."

And so, the duo sat down at a part of the library and began telling each other's stories...

...

Back with Professor Fennel and Chloe, the duo now sat at their bedroom, wearing pajamas: Professor Fennel wore a purple sleeveless dress with Mareep-like creatures spread across it, while Chloe wore a pink onesie with the picture of a horse race on the stomach. Chloe was looking out the window, while Professor Fennel looked at the blanket that housed Bakku.

"So, could we use the Dream Miraculous to wrap ourselves?"

"I mean, it is a blanket, but it was created to also function as a cape. It's not very big, and it can't change sizes."

"Hmm, I guess we'll leave it on the side for now, then."

"And I'll start recharging energy now."

Bakku entered the Dream Miraculous, and Professor Fennel put it down as Chloe blurted:

"Professor Fennel... can I tell you something?"

"I mean, we just met today... sort of," Professor Fennel replied with a shrug. "If you feel like it's something too personal, we could spend some more time together to get to know each other. And then, when we feel more like friends, you can tell me what's bothering you-"

"It's just... this is something I need to tell somebody," Chloe frowned. "And I feel like if I don't do it now, the times I'll get the chance to do it will be too far and few in between for my comfort."

Professor Fennel looked back at the worried redhead, then smiled. "Alright then, tell me what's bothering you."

"I.... had a dream before the other dream about the three-eyed witch."

Professor Fennel raised an eyebrow as the redhead continued:

"In that dream, I was bullied by my classmates, Goh and I didn't get along that much, and I felt like I was trapped in the institute. But the truth is, what bothered was what I did next; I snapped at everybody, which was understandable... except I then entered the Train, and began doing horrible thing after horrible thing. I slandered my family and friends, disowned and cut my ties with them, left them to believe I was dead only to tell them a message that if nothing changed I would return and stay on the Train, before going radio silent."

Chloe lowered her eyelids.

"And the entire time, there were only two thoughts going through my head. The one on the Chloe of the dream was that she had to be special, because if she wasn't, then she was a nobody. And the other was mine, asking, begging my other self to stop being so cruel and vindinctive... but she never listened. All she cared about was being better than everybody else, and hurting those she thought had hurt her, no matter the consequences, and no matter how many lives she hurt."

Chloe sighed.

"I... fear I might turn into someone like that someday. Someone who'll hurt anything and anybody just to avoid having to confront their own pain. And also, the whole "if I'm not special, then I'm a nobody" debacle-"

"That's complete and utter rubbish," Professor Fennel responded. "Being special is overrated."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Overrated?"

"Yeah. I mean, what does being "special" get somebody in this life? Pressure put upon them to be the best, everyone's eyes staring at you, either with admiration that prompts you to never show yourself as anything but the best, or with envy and hatred that they're not the ones getting the attention, forcing you to keep your guard up at all times."

Chloe hummed. "When you put it like that... that sucks."

"Yeah, especially because being "special" is very rare," Professor Fennel looked through the window at the starry sky. "In contrast, normal people will the world. They make it feel more alive, make it feel like there's somebody out there worth protecting. If the world was only populated by "special" people, it would feel like a vast, desolate void. It wouldn't feel alive, but empty."

Professor Fennel sighed and turned back to the redhead. "Besides, you know what they say: too much of a good thing is a bad thing. If everybody was special... then nobody would be."

Chloe paused, and flashed a sincere smile. "Thanks, Professor Fennel. I feel a lot better now."

"No problem, Chloe," the woman answered before yawning. "Now, how about we go to sleep? We got a lot to do tomorrow."

Chloe nodded, and crawled up to the woman, resting over her shoulder as she said:

"You said you liked sleeping with people, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to sleep next to you. Or am I going too far?"

Professor Fennel stared at Chloe for a bit, then smiled and shook her head.

"No, it's okay."

Chloe returned the smile and wrapped a blanket-that wasn't the Dream Miraculous-over herself and the professor.

"Goodnight, Professor Fennel."

Chloe closed her eyes, and Professor Fennel lowered her eyelids, petting Chloe's head and saying as she closed her eyes and went into a slumber:

"Goodnight, Chloe."

Chapter Text

Okay, the hiatus is over, kinda, and since we started it with everyone going to sleep, why don't we end it with everyone waking up? Sure, it's a cliche idea, but I think it works decently fine.

Also, before we begin, I'll let you know that this story is no longer gonna update weekly. Doing so before put a lot of extra pressure on me, and since I got other stories to work on, I think it's for the best I change things up a little.

* While sleep and dreams are the main themes of this story, not all Cars featured on the Infinity Train will be all about them. I decided to do this not only to add some variety to this story, but because it's kinda ridiculous to expect only Cars that fit those themes in a place called... well, the INFINITY Train.

* The Infinet doesn't exist in this story. That said, the Infinity Train IS a rumor in the Pokemon World and several more, but there's no internet to facilitate the rumors.

* Kisaragi and the 400 Rabbits Car won't appear in this story. Nor will Solitaire or anything else. Not only is the plotline that features them inapplicable in this story, since this isn't an Apex-bashing fest, but Kisaragi's personality as a not-quite-stable person who seeks revenge over everything else is both too edgy and too all-over-the-place to make him interesting or at least tolerable. Like, seriously, count how many characters in the original trilogy not only have issues of their own but also focus on getting revenge over other things. I need way too many fingers to count them all.

* Paul London isn't gonna appear either. In fact, he quit the production of this story when he realized his groin sequins would need to be censored.

* There will be no Professor Cerise bashing. In fact, one of my goals for this story is to actually treat him as a character and not as a punching bag meant to use as my stress relieving toy. In fact, not only will I treat him like a character, but I'll stick to treating him like a character and giving him an arc, instead of having it look like I will go that way, only to backtrack at the last second to punch him in the teeth again.

* Talia will also get more focus. What's she gonna do, I won't reveal just yet, but I assure you it'll be something different.

* Franklin Borage isn't going to appear. As much as I'd like for there to be an Autistic character in here, Franklin simply would have no role to play because his sole purpose in the original work was to show how someone who isn't on the same wavelength as most people would fare in the logically screwed up and biased world of Blossoming Trail. With the world actually making sense now, he'd just be a background character at best.

* Chloe doesn't have any of her suicidal tendencies from canon. In fact, Suicide is utterly forbidden from being discussed in this story.

* Beyond Professor Juniper and Professor Fennel being an item, I don't think I'll have much, if any, other LGBTQ+ content in this story. I just don't think I have the writing expertise enough to write such content competently.

* I actually had a pair of ideas for two spinoffs for this universe: the first's a prequel involving Professor Fennel paying a visit to Alola for something involving the Aether Foundation, and the other involves her being sent to Hisui alongside Ash. I shelved both ideas for now, but what do you guys think?

* Mind control will not be featured in this story, and even if it is or has already been, I will NOT glorify or make it seem better than it actually is: it will be treated like the terrible thing it is in real life.

Anyhow, without further ado, let's go!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Trip wasn't sure what to expect when he woke up, but it was certainly not finding himself unable to move, his Serperior having wrapped his body around his Trainer with an affectionate smile. At the very least, Serperior wasn't squeezing him too hard.

"G-Good morning to you too, Serperior," Trip chuckled nervously. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Serperior!"

"Really? I'm glad! Say, could you please let me go?"

The Pokemon eventually noticed that his trainer was a bit uncomfortable, and carefully released him before hopping off the bed, smiling at Trip as the guy hopped off the item he was using as a bed: a couch.

"You know, I had my doubts when I was told the couch was as good as a bed, but I can now see I had nothing to worry about," Trip remarked as he looked back at the couch and smiled. "It's a good thing it was this good, too, I didn't wanna bother Rosa by sleeping in her bed."

"You wouldn't have."

It was then that another Human-Pokemon duo entered the scene: Rosa and Serperior, the former wearing a onesie with pink flowers splattered all across it.

"I told you I was perfectly fine sharing a bed with you," Rosa remarked as she walked to and sat next to the guy. "I sleep with my Pokemon all the time! What's wrong with sharing the bed with a human for once?"

"The fact that I'm a guy," Trip pointed out.

"And?" Rosa asked curiously.

"A guy that's around your age."

"And?"

"You live with your parents!"

"And they were perfectly okay with it too!" Rosa chirped. "Well, Mom was, I still haven't heard from Dad."

As if to hastily change the subject, Rosa's phone began to ring, and she quickly answered it to find a certain woman on the other end of the call.

"Professor Juniper? Why are you calling?" Rosa inquired as Trip scooped closer to her. "Did something happen?"

"Yes, I've come to inform you that things have changed in Vermillion City. It has been wrapped around a dome made of Dream Mist in order to ensure the Nightmare Mist in the city doesn't spread, and the people within can sleep more peacefully," the professor explained on the other end of the screen. "Amanita, the younger sister of Professor Fennel, called me today to inform me that, because of this change of events, there's no going in or out of Vermillion City for the time being."

"Professor Fennel's younger sister?" Trip turned to Rosa. "I didn't know she had a younger sister."

"Don't look at me, I didn't know about her either," Rosa folded her arms. "But more importantly, it seems like your plan to pay Vermillion City a visit has been cut short."

"And that's not all, something else also happened that's bound to cause a lot of buzz here in Unova," Professor Juniper lowered her eyelids. "I'd tell you myself, but seeing is believing. Turn on the TV, there should be a news report about it right now."

Trip's Serperior grabbed the remote and handed it to his Trainer, who turned the TV on… just in time to see Ghetsis dead body on screen, alongside a news report detailing his passing.

"Oh, drat," was all Rosa could say.

"So, Team Plasma's original leader dies in his sleep, just as a member of the team's using Dream Mist to concoct a plan…" Trip scratched his chin. "This can't be a coincidence."

"My thoughts exactly. Anyway, that's all I wanted to tell you. I'm gonna go back to try and communicate with Fennel; she hasn't called back since arriving at Vermillion City. I'll leave you for now, I'll let you know if anything new happens."

Professor Juniper hung up soon after, and while Rosa snatched the remote and tried to change the channel for something else, Trip hummed:

"Alright, this isn't good. Not in the slightest."

"I know, right? There's nothing else on TV right now except important breaking news segments regarding plot exposition and worldbuilding!" Rosa remarked, turning off the TV just as it showed a news report about something regarding Alola and "Ultra Beast Dream Mist" or something. "Boring!"

"No, Rosa, Ghetsis is dead! And he was the leader of Team Plasma!" Trip replied. "With him gone, there's a big spot held open for anybody to take over the team! Not to mention that one of their most important operatives, Colress, is still in Vermillion City, so he's out of question in regards to who'll take Ghetsis' spot."

"Is it really that difficult to replace him?" Rosa shrugged. "Just find another old bastard who raised a young boy to act like his son and become subservient to him so that he could help him with his ultimate goal of becoming the only person in the entire world who gets to use Pokemon while everybody else gets abandoned by them."

Trip and Serperior stared at Rosa in disbelief, exchanging looks before turning right back to the girl, who continued:

"Plus, we're forgetting something else: Team Plasma is led by the Seven Sages. Sure, Ghetsis was their leader, but there's still six more sages left to pick up his slack."

"And that's what I'm talking about: Ghetsis might've been a madman, but he kept both Team Plasma and the Seven Sages under control. With him gone, who knows what they're going to do next?"

"They'll get into an internal power struggle regarding what to do next."

It was then that the duo turned around, and saw a pair of women standing outside the window, one with Blonde hair and the other with pink hair.

The Serperiors wasted no time getting in between their Trainers and the women, hissing as they prepared to kick out the duo by force.

"Be at ease, we're not here to hurt you," the pink-haired woman stated, waving her hand as the blonde woman added, "In fact, we've come here to deliver an important message to both of you."

"Well, would you mind knocking first?" Rosa chided the women. "Seriously, if you appear out of nowhere like this, you're gonna scare someone!"

Rosa said that while hugging Trip, who was carrying her in a princess carry while she wrapped her arms around his neck for safety.

"Yeah, someone whose name begins with "R," Trip eyed the brunette. "And ends with "Osa."

"Forgive us," the women said in unison. "Allow us to introduce ourselves."

But first, they knocked the door, got actual permission to enter, then approached the duo said:

"I'm Anthea."

"I'm Concordia."

The women lowered their eyelids, just in time to adopt a serious tone and state:

"And Master N wishes to meet you at his castle."

…

Amanita took a deep breath as she finished putting on some casual clothing, then her lab coat over those clothes. She then posed to Hypno, who flashed a thumbs up and nodded.

"You look great, Amanita."

The scientist felt a chill go down her spine as she slowly turned around to see the person she had shared a bedroom with.

Parker Cerise.

"I guess I can accept a compliment from even the likes of you," Amanita groaned as she put on her glasses. "So, are you gonna tone down your attempts to flirt with me?"

"I could, but that'll have to wait," Parker sighed. "Today's a school day, so I'm gonna spend a good deal of the morning at kindergarten. We probably won't see each other until the evening."

"Well yes, but actually no," Amanita confessed. "I have to go to your school in order to install a system that can act as its own miniaturized barrier, similar to the one that's surrounding Vermillion City right now."

Parker raised an eyebrow. "Why would you need to do that?"

"The barrier protects all of Vermillion City, but its effect isn't as potent since it has to be spread across the entire city," Amanita explained, adjusting her glasses as she added. "So by installing a smaller barrier within the educational institution, any student who desires to regenerate their energy through momentary shut down of consciousness can engage in a brief moment of respite without having to worry about potential dreams gone wrong."

Parker paused, uttering "uh" in a drawn out tone as he went cross-eyed.

Excellent! My wordy and complicated explanation was too much for his primitive brain to handle! Amanita mentally chirped while rubbing her hands. Now's my chance to escape!

The bespectacled girl ran away, Hypno staying behind to block the door for when Parker regained consciousness.

Amanita tip-toed to the kitchen, eventually sitting down and having a sandwich alongside a certain redheaded, bespectacled adult Chloe clone.

"Good morning, Amanita," greeted Talia. "How did you sleep?"

"Not as well as I'd like, Miss Cerise," Amanita answered, feigning a tone of innocence while rubbing her forehead. "I had this horrible headache that just wouldn't go away!"

And that headache's name is Parker Cerise.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, darling," Talia flashed a reassuring smile. "I'll figure out a way to help you sleep more comfortably tonight."

"You promise?!" Amanita perked up before hastily calming down. "I mean, you promise?"

Talia nodded. "You've already helped us figure out a way to confront the nightmares and help with the mist situation in Vermillion City, this is the least I can do."

"I'll keep you to your word, then," Amanita took a bite out of her food before recognizing Talia's suit. "By the way, you're dressed rather nicely today, what's the occasion?"

"Oh, well, I haven't had a lot of work as an illustrator lately, and I was advised to keep my mind occupied while Professor Fennel looked for Chloe," Talia clasped her hands together. "So, I decided to apply for a new job, and I'm starting today!"

"Good for you," Amanita replied casually. "What's this new job about?"

Talia hummed and scratched her chin. "I don't know if I should tell you, I wanna keep it a surprise for Parker when we go to school."

"I can keep a secret."

The duo exchanged looks, and seeing Amanita flash a trustworthy smile, Talia returned the smile and proudly proclaimed:

"Well, truth be told, I'm going to be Vermillion City's School's Kindergarten teacher starting today!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Professor Fennel slept peacefully on her futon, the daylight only slightly filtering through the window.

The woman snored slightly, moving a bit as Bakku materialized from the blanket and whispered:

"Psst, Professor Fennel. Wake up."

The woman groaned and waved her hand before rolling a bit, planting her face against her pillow as she went back to sleep.

Bakku nudged Fennel's waist a bit, but she just swung it hard enough to send them flying away.

Then, a pair of hands grabbed Fennel's side and pulled her to the side, stopping just in time for the figure to see Fennel's sleeping expression.

However, instead of the serene neutral look, Fennel now looked positively annoyed, slowly opening her eyes before seeing none other than Chloe Cerise standing in front of her, flashing a wide grin as she waved and chirped:

"Good morning!"

The woman flinched, but managed to keep her composure long enough to stand up and ask, "Good morning, Chloe, what time is it?"

"It's about 9 AM, basically," Chloe answered while looking at a wristwatch. "Sorry, it's just you looked really peaceful sleeping there, and I didn't have the heart to wake you up."

Professor Fennel played with her hair and looked elsewhere, blushing slightly as she did. This wasn't the first time someone told her that she looked pretty while asleep, but she still felt a bit flustered hearing it.

Then, once she took a moment to look at Chloe, she noticed she was wearing what looked like a maid's outfit: primarily a black long-sleeved dress with a white apron with the image of a cherry blossom on the center.

"What's with that outfit?"

"Oh, this? It looks good on me, doesn't it?" Chloe asked while doing a little twirl, right before she grabbed the edges of her dress and curtsied. "I woke up earlier today and asked the head maid if I could volunteer for today. Since I'm not really going anywhere until I figure out what I had to do with my life, and I had nothing better to do, I thought I'd volunteer as an inn worker for today!"

"Ah, I see. Wait, you saw the head maid?" Fennel raised an eyebrow. "Did she have a Yamper's head too?"

"No, a Delcatty's!"

"So, a feline head maid running a place with canine head maids... I feel like that would cause some hysteria," Professor Fennel chuckled. "But anyway, why didn't Bakku wake me up? You said you didn't because I looked pretty asleep, but he shouldn't have the same excuse..."

"I did try!" Bakku whined, flying to Fennel's side as she stood up. "I whispered to you and nudged you, but you swatted me away with your hips!"

"Wha-huh?!" Fennel gasped, blushing slightly as she faced Chloe. "Did I really do that?"

Chloe nodded, and with a tiny smile and a hand on her hips, she quipped, "You got some killer hips."

Professor Fennel blushed brightly and hastily stood up. "Okay, the sun's come up, so I think it's time to continue our train trips, right?"

"Not yet, I still need to work on some offscreen maid duties involving the other Passengers, but once I'm done with that we should be good to go," Chloe answered before clasping her hands and smiling widely. "So, you know where we're going next?"

Professor Fennel eyed Bakku, who shrugged with an amused smile, before she smiled herself and answered:

"I think I might have an idea…"

…

Grace had slept better. Not that she was ungrateful for the king of Azada deciding to give hospitality to her and her kids, but the floor was definitely the last thing she expected when she was shown her room.

It didn't help that some of the books were giving her the stink eye. The "Moby Dick" one looked rather worried, too.

Regardless, she stood up and yawned as she stretched, ready to take advantage of the rest of the day to prepare to continue her and the remnants of The Apex quest to figure out how to survive long enough to get their numbers down-

"Did you sleep well?"

Grace squeaked and jumped up, only calming down when she saw Titus standing nearby, looking at her with a friendly disposition.

"Okay, you're a giant book with a human's face that's the size of a small house; how did you get in without me noticing?!"

"I have my tricks," Titus answered, flashing a coy wink. "But again I ask, did you sleep well?"

"Well, sleeping on the floor isn't what I'd call the most comfortable bed in the world," Grace sighed. "But I do appreciate your kindness in letting me sleep here at all. Plus, given there's only books here, your perception of what a decent bed is might be different-"

"Wait, the floor?" Titus repeated in shock. "But I made a special makeshift bed for you on the ground! You even saw it yesterday!"

Grace raised an eyebrow. "I was on the floor when I woke up, though?"

Titus eyed some books in the corner with a disapproving glare, and the books scurried away in shame.

"Anyway, King Titus, why have you come to see me?" Grace asked as she stood up and dusted herself. "Did you check up on the kids that came with me?"

"That's the reason why I came to see you, actually," Titus answered. "I believe seeing you would leave the children much more at ease than the giant book with a human face they just met."

That was a bit of a matter of opinion, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Alright then, lead me to them."

Titus nodded, and waddled along as Grace followed him to the spot where the Apex children had gone to rest.

"I apologize for the sudden change of your bedding," Titus groaned. "Some of the books here don't know their place. Sorry if it inconvenienced you."

"Not at all, if anything, I don't really mind," Grace looked elsewhere. "I don't like bringing this up, since I feel like it's my problem alone, but… the Denizens haven't been exactly welcoming to us since the liberation of The Mall Car."

"Yes, I've heard," Titus sighed. "You willingly left the Car after having a change of heart, got pelted by food and other items, and have been looking around aimlessly for a new place to call home while you work on lowering your numbers."

"Huh, that's… pretty much the best way to describe it," Grace chuckled. "But wait, if you know about us and what happened before, why are you being so nice to us?"

"Hospitality is sacred here in Azada," Titus stated sternly. "To defy such a concept, even to the point of hurting our guests, is like defying and enraging a being like The Conductor, who can erase a Denizen's entire existence with a flick of his fingers. There's a reason the Numine and Goetias don't exist anymore, after all."

Grace tilted her head. "Who are the Numine and Goetias?"

"Exactly."

Grace gulped. She had no intention of confronting The Conductor again after her and Simon's original meeting with her… didn't quite end well.

But as if on cue, in the Train's way of a cosmic joke, Grace froze upon seeing the doors open in the distance, with a pair of people entering the library.

A pair of people that Grace easily recognized.

"Oh no…"

One was a girl with dark skin and blonde, messy hair, looking slightly troubled to be there.

And a woman in her sixties, with brown hair tied in a ponytail, and a stern expression on her face.

"They're here!"

Chapter Text

Okay, here's another chapter, and things are gonna be done a little bit differently with these author's notes moving forward.

By this I mean that, as suggested by a reviewer, instead of pointing out how everything is practically different, I could point out what stays the same… which is next to nothing, so this will be a bunch of trivia from now on instead. XD

So, let's begin!:

* Ash is staying at his house in Pallet Town when he's done working. Musharna is also staying with him, simply because out of everybody in the Cerise Institute team, he's the most experienced in taking care of a Pokémon… except maybe Professor Cerise.

* Amanita doesn't like affectionate gestures in general, unless it's from her sister, in which case she adores it. Trying to be affectionate around her will make her cringe, and trying to flirt with her, as shown with Parker, will only get you on her bad side.

* One of the inspirations of the story is Pokémon Adventures, a manga based on the Pokémon franchise, but mostly the games. From there, I decided to keep the fact that Professors Fennel, Juniper, and Burnet knew each other in college.

* Burnet is the current caretaker of both Lillie and Gladion, alongside Professor Kukui. The less we talk about what happened to Lusamine, the better.

* By the way, remember the "Orange Lily" and Hisui ideas I mentioned before? I wrote one of those stories, titled "Pokemon: Dreams of Hisui". Check it out if you want, and yes, you're fully free to call me out for blatant self-promotion there. XD

* I was going to have two extra bits at the beginning; one serving as the proper introduction to the other Black and White protagonists (and Hugh), which would then segway into the next bit involving the Apex at the library, which would then segway in the bit that starts this chapter off. However, I realized that doing so might cause the chapter to become longer than it needed to be, so I'm leaving that for later. And you will have to wait in suspense! MUAHAHAHA!

* Yeardley was also supposed to debut here, but again, doing so would make the chapter too long, so I'll leave that for next chapter.

* Finally, this story has a TV Tropes page now! It's on the description, so please contribute to it if you can or want.

And now, without further ado, to the chapter!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Goh stood uneasy in front of the gates of Vermillion City School.

He never had an aptitude for the same education everybody else did; he was much more comfortable studying by himself, or if not, then with a very small group of people he knew and trusted. But Vermillion City School believed that big groups were better, so he'd be stuck in the middle of a bunch of people he didn't know.

And worst of all, it was Test Day! One of the only days of the school year where he had no choice but to go! Could this day get any worse?!

"Well, hello there, Goh."

Curse him and his mental tempting of fate.

Approaching the boy was a man in his 30s, sporting a black suit with blonde hair and yellow eyes.

"Mr. Bradbury," Goh said, forcing an uneasy smile. "What a surprise to see you here."

"I'd say the same thing if it wasn't a Test Day," the man responded. "You know, one of the only days where you have to come to school? Not to mention also prove that your parents' homeschooling is actually as effective as they claim?"

Right, Mr. Bradbury was one of those people. The kind of people who'd look at traditional ways to do things and believe they were the one and only way to do it, and every alternative suggested was to be treated with distrust.

Granted, he was a little better than most people, in that he at least could be reasoned with and was willing to give these alternative methods a chance.

The problem was that he was very hard to convince that certain methods were equal or better than the traditional one, and a single mistake could cause him to take quite a few steps back.

Luckily, Goh had dealt with the man so often, he knew just what to do to get him to leave him alone.

"So, are you ready for today's exams?"

Step one, always be confident.

"Yeah, I believe I am," Goh folded his arms. "I spent a good deal of time studying for them."

"Really now? Are you absolutely certain you can take today's exams?" Mr. Bradbury lowered his eyelids. "Because I could convince the other teachers to let them let you take the exams at a later date… if you agree to do something for me, of course."

Step two, never fall for his bait.

"Why, thanks for the offer, Mr. Bradbury, but I think I'll be fine," Goh replied, his smile staying on his face. "Though speaking of asking for things…"

And step three…

"Could you tell me if Drake is still the Supreme Gym Leader of the Orange League?"

Mr. Bradbury flinched, breaking a cold sweat as Goh continued:

"You know, the Supreme Gym Leader? The title that used to be yours until-"

"STOP!" Mr. Bradbury yelled. "S… Stop. I get it."

Always bring up his greatest mistake back when he was a young Trainer.

"Fine, I'll leave you alone for today, but never forget the deal your parents made with the principal," Mr. Bradbury narrowed his eyes. "If your grades start to get lower than the rest of your classmates, you're to return to proper schooling immediately, and stay there. No ifs or buts, understood?"

Goh silently nodded, and the man finally left, with Goh taking the moment to catch his breath and relax from the rather tense interaction.

"That will never get old."

Goh turned around, and he was surprised at who he saw approaching him. She was a girl around his and Chloe's age, with blonde hair tied in a pair of… odango was the name of the hairstyle, right? It was a mix of that and a pair of bangs styled like pincers, which made her head look like a Paras.

She was wearing a school uniform similar to Chloe's, except the anchors were stylized to look like a pair of Dhelmise.

"You know, you keep using the same strategy every time that Bradbury decides to pester you. Normally, he'd wise up about it and either take a different approach or bug off, so it says a lot that he keeps going with his usual tactic."

"Hey, that's better than him adapting and finding a different way to mess with me," Goh sighed. "I swear, out of everybody in my classroom, he seems to have it the worst for me."

"You are the childhood friend of his "star student" Chloe Cerise," the girl pointed out, shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders. "That alone would make anybody a target for his ire."

"I guess…" Goh shrugged. "Say, I don't think I've seen you before. Do you come to this school?"

"Yup, I mean I'm wearing the uniform, don't I?" the girl answered before extending her hand for a handshake. "The name's Sara."

"The name's Goh," the guy looked at the girl's hand and scratched the back of his head. "And I don't really… do handshakes with people I just met."

Sara hummed and pocketed her hands. "Fair enough. I just wanted to see if you'd do it. Anyway, gotta get going, school's about to start."

And so the girl walked into the building, a groaning Goh following suit.

At the very least, Chloe wouldn't have to deal with school for now…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Screams echoed across the current Car visited by Professor Fennel and Chloe, the latter jumping into the former's arms as a small Yamper-like creature stared at them, tail wagging.

"Save me, Professor Fennel!" the redhead cried. "Take those horrible creatures away from me!"

"Chloe, relax, these creatures aren't dangerous," Professor Fennel stated as she put Chloe down, the redhead immediately hiding behind her as a puppy approached her. "I mean just look at how small they are! And they're wagging their tail, they must be so happy to see us!"

The puppy barked, but all this did was make Chloe jump right back into Professor Fennel's arms for safety.

"Stand down, young one!"

The puppy sat down and turned around, followed by Professor Fennel and Chloe doing the same. Once they did, they saw a bigger, yellow-and-white version of the puppy walking up to them, sporting a pleasant expression on his face and a neat crown on his head.

"Greetings, Passengers," the crowned canine greeted. "I, Atticus, humbly welcome you to my kingdom. The hometown of my humble corgi people, Corginia."

"Gasp! A talking Yamper!" Chloe exclaimed, pointing at the canine creature before facing Fennel. "Professor Fennel, it's a talking Yamper!"

"I noticed, Chloe," the woman giggled. "Though, I'm pretty sure he just said he and his "people" are actually corgis. Whatever those are. Now, could you please get off my arms?"

Chloe looked back at the puppy, who began waggling their tail again, prompting the redhead to hug the woman harder.

"I assure you, we Corginians are harmless," Atticus stated as the puppy walked to the king and rested next to him. "Unless you attempt to hurt one of our kind, you will not be harmed by one of us."

"You heard, Chloe? They're safe!" Professor Fennel chirped as she placed the redhead back on the ground. "Just give them a chance and you'll find them worth your time!"

"B-B-But I-"

"Chloe."

Professor Fennel put a hand on Chloe's shoulder and crouched down, facing the girl as she said:

"You're never gonna overcome your fear of creatures like them if you don't take the first step towards it. Right now, we're in a safe place, and these ones have already been confirmed to be harmless. Try to get used to them."

Chloe eyed the small puppies all around them. "That's easier said than done."

"Doesn't mean it's not worth a try," Professor Fennel smiled. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on you the whole stay here."

Chloe turned back to the professor, who winked at her with a tiny smile. And returning the smile, though with a visibly nervous one, Chloe walked-robotically-to the canine monarch, looked down at him and stammered:

"I-I-I-Is it… R-Really… S-S-Safe?"

"Of course," Atticus answered, using a tone of voice just quiet enough not to startle the girl. "In fact, I can guide you to the headquarters of the Corginian Cuddle Cadets!"

Chloe tilted her head. "Corginian Cuddle Cadets?"

"Oh yes, they're our version of scout girls who train to become the best cuddlers in all of Corginia!" Atticus answered with pride. "They're doing this to better prepare themselves in order to be ready to provide fluff therapy."

"Fluff therapy?" Chloe repeated, slightly worried.

"You know, rubbing and petting us Corginians so you can get a feel of our soft fur!" Atticus replied. "They say petting that feels soft is a good way to relieve stress and anxiety."

Chloe put a finger on her cheeks and hummed. "I do need something like that… but I dunno-"

"I'll stay by your side the whole time," Professor Fennel added.

Chloe paused, faced the woman, and sighed:

"It's worth a shot, then."

"Excellent! Follow me!"

The canine king lead the way while the duo followed suit, Chloe grabbing Professor Fennel's hand as they walked.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Why don't you like me?"

Amanita couldn't help but groan. He already asked the same stupid question over a dozen times; how many more times did she need to hear the little boy ask why she didn't immediately turn into his girlfriend?

She went to the school to install a barrier in it, not listen to some kindergartener's love issues!

"Alright, Parker, listen up," Amanita stated, putting her toolbox on the ground. "I'm going to be very blunt with you, so I want you to listen 'cause I won't repeat myself."

"Okay."

"And I don't want this to be something like you say you're listening to me, but my gorgeousness causes your mind to filter everything out I say," Amanita added, adjusting her glasses as she did. "No, I want you to well and truly listen to me, got it?!"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Parker answered nervously. "So, what's the problem?"

"Simply put, it comes down to two things: the first is the fact that my mind is just far more developed than yours," Amanita smirked. "Not to brag, but I'm practically a genius; and a consequences of my geniusness is that I'm smarter and more mature than most kids my age. So, for comparison's sake, mentally I'd be closer to being your mother's equal than one of yours."

"So, wait a minute," Parker winced. "Wouldn't that technically mean you're like a thirty-something woman inside a young girl's body?"

"Well, not really, it's not like one of those isekai stories where an actual adult reincarnates into the body of a child, but my intellect does make me closer to a woman than a little girl."

Hearing that, Parker visibly winced, which caused Amanita to smile smugly. "But wait, you said there's two reasons you don't like me and you just said one, what's the other one?"

"It's the fact you're useless to me."

Parker blinked. "What?"

"Parker, we're in the middle of a delicate situation; a madman from the evil Team Plasma has struck everybody in Vermillion City and trapped them in horrible nightmares, all to bring forth the true power of Pokemon and weed out the weak from the strong! And the only thing stopping this madman's power is a group of heroes who venture into the dreams of those affected to free them from the nightmares!" Amanita chirped dramatically, striking a pose before adopting a serious tone and adding. "And the only thing you've been doing since this happened is try to get in my pants."

"Why would I want your pants? I'm happy with my own!" Parker chirped. "They got zippers!"

"Wait, what?!"

Parker moved to the side, then grabbed and pulled the zippers on his pockets up and down, flashing a happy smile as he did.

"Hey, no fair!" Amanita whined. "I want zippers on my pants too!"

"Guess you're not as old as you claimed to be!"

"I'm still older than you!"

The pair kept walking until they saw a peculiar scene: one involving the man known as Mr. Bradbury and a woman that resulted very familiar to Parker…

"What's my Mom doing in school?"

"I dunno, but this seems like it's gonna get juicy," Amanita snickered. "Come on, back up!"

The duo hid behind the corner, then took a peek as they heard their conversation:

"Hey there, Talia! It's been a while, hasn't it?" Mr. Bradbury asked.

"Yeah, though if you ask me, it wasn't long enough," Talia folded her arms. "What exactly do you want, Bradbury?"

"I'm just a little curious," the man raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you originally a work-at-home mother?"

"I worked as an illustrator, yes, but I wasn't getting much work in that area," Talia answered, avoiding eye contact with the man as she did. "So I decided to explore other ventures for work."

"Ah, I see! That's good!" Mr. Bradbury put a hand on his hip. "Now you won't have to depend on Professor Cerise to put food on the table anymore!"

Talia stared at the man with a look of disgust, then turned around and hissed. "This conversation is over, Mr. Bradbury."

"But, we just met-"

"And we both have more important things to take care of," Talia faced the man with a vicious glare. "So I suggest you pay attention to your stuff and leave me alone!"

With her words spoken, Talia kept walking until she entered the kindergarten classroom, at which point Mr. Bradbury left in defeat and the child duo went to the classroom.

"Your mother was pretty cool back there, Parker," Amanita remarked with a sincere smile.

"Silly, Amanita, my Mom's cool all the time," Parker responded proudly. "Even so, why did she go into the classroom?"

The boy got his answer as soon as they entered the classroom, just in time for Talia to introduce herself:

"Good morning, children! I'm Talia Cerise, and I'll be your teacher for the rest of the school year!"

Parker gasped as his classmates all greeted the woman in unison, with Amanita patting his back as she scoffed:

"Well, better start working on creating the barriers, have fun having your mommy as your teacher."

And she thusly left, snickering to herself as Parker sat down next to a certain classmate of hers.

"So, looks like your Mom's gonna be our teacher, huh?"

"Don't remind me, Jinny," Parker whined. "How am I gonna deal with this?! Everybody knows that parents who are teachers are far more embarrassing than-"

Jinny let out a big yawn that, couple with the notable bags under her eyes, soon caught the boy's attention.

"Jinny, you look a bit more tired than usual," Parker frowned. "Did something happen?"

"I had a bad nightmare last night. And it's one that I've dealt with before, but it became even worse since the mist thingie happened," Jinny explained. "I wish there was a way to help me sleep better."

Parker lowered his eyelids in sympathy… then got an idea.

"Give me one second!"

The boy stood up and bolted straight to Amanita's side, just as the girl worked on a control panel nearby.

"Amanita!"

"I'm busy, Parker," the girl stated, not even bothering to look at the boy. "Back away before-"

"Give me a chance to prove myself!"

Hearing that, Amanita paused her tinkering and faced the boy. "What are you talking about?"

"You said one of the reasons you didn't like me was because I wasn't very useful for the current dream mission, right? This is the perfect chance to show you I can be useful!" Parker answered. "Listen, one of my classmates, Jinny, has had a bad nightmare regarding her Feebas and some poachers lately. You could send me into her dreams and help deal with her nightmare!"

Amanita hummed and scratched her chin, looking somewhat unconvinced as she did.

"You don't think her nightmare's related to the Nightmare Mist deal, do you?"

"No, that's honestly irrelevant; if the person already had nightmares before the Nightmare Mist thing happened, they will simply be amplified," Amanita replied. "The thing I'm more worried about is actually doing what you say and sending you into her dreams."

"Why?"

"Parker, I can't just send you into her dreams and monitor you from there like nothing, I need permission from both your parents and Jinny's parents," Amanita lowered her eyelids. "And even if your mother and father agree to this, who knows what it'll take to convince Jinny's."

"Let me handle that!" Parker stated. "Her parents know me! And if I tell them I found a way to help Jinny sleep better, they'll listen!"

Amanita narrowed her eyes, not quite convinced at the boy's words, but his puppy dog eyes soon made her sigh:

"I'll consider it. But until then, I have work to do, and you have classes to attend to. So I suggest we focus on our stuff for now."

"Yeah, got it!" Parker chirped. "Thanks, Amanita! I promise you won't regret it!"

And so the kids separated, ready to spend the rest of the day in their own devices.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"I'm not sure about this, Professor Fennel."

"Oh Chloe, don't act like that, you're doing great so far!" the woman answered in a calm, motherly tone. "Try to think more positive!"

"...I'm positive I'm not sure about this, Professor Fennel."

Currently, the duo stood in front of a tiny brown puppy corgi, Professor Fennel sticking to Chloe's side as the girl hesitantly reached her hand forward towards the creature.

Atticus stood nearby, watching the puppy and ensuring they didn't pull any moves.

Once she got close enough, the puppy began sniffing her hand.

"Professor Fennel, they're sniffing me…"

"They're probably just sniffing those strawberry cookies you had for dessert back at the inn."

Chloe pouted. "You grabbed a bag of those too."

Professor Fennel smiled. "Yeah, and you grabbed five."

Before the discussion could continue, however, the puppy rubbed their head against

"Alright, keep that up for a bit," Professor Fennel stated. "Don't back down now, Chloe, you're doing great."

"Y-You really think so?"

"That's it, cadet, don't rush it," Atticus told the puppy. "Let it happen, take it slow, don't pull any sudden movements. Easy and steady."

The puppy kept being petted… and eventually licked Chloe's palm, causing the redhead to squeak and jump into Professor Fennel so hard and fast, they both hit the ground, the woman laughing as Chloe got off her.

"Sorry, Professor Fennel, I was startled!" Chloe told the laughing woman. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Professor Fennel answered. "Not the first time I've fallen over while trying to catch someone."

"Bad cadet, bad!" Atticus chided the puppy. "You're not getting doggy treats for dessert tonight!"

The puppy whimpered and lowered their head before walking away, tail tucked between their legs.

"It hurts me to break the heart of a young one like this, but the job of a reigning monarch sometimes demands tough actions like these," Atticus stated while Chloe and Professor Fennel stood up. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Chloe rubbed her hands together. "But seriously, that lick startled me so hard! I thought they were gonna bite me next!"

"Still, you managed to not only touch the tiny creature, but even managed to pet them for a short while!" Professor Fennel ran her hand through Chloe's hair. "I'm proud of you, Chloe."

"Thanks, but really, I don't think I can do this anymore," the redhead replied. "C-Could we go to the next car now, please?"

"We can't leave just yet," Bakku stated, suddenly emerging from the Dream Miraculous. "There's a still a very important matter we have yet to discuss with the king. One related to the nightmare situation."

"Bakku has a point," Professor Fennel stated before looking at the canine monarch. "King Atticus, the Car where we first found our Kwamizen was victim to constant nightmares due to unknown sources. We believe there might be somebody on the Train who might be using nightmare powers to do that."

"I can believe that being the case," Atticus responded. "Unfortunately, despite the Train's good intentions, it's not picky over who it snatches. As a result, some very nasty Passengers have appeared before."

"Nasty how?" Chloe asked worriedly.

"Just like most human beings, it varies; some are nasty out of ignorance, like this group called The Apex, who wheeled Denizens and made their numbers rise because they believed that equated to strength. Other are nasty due to temperaments, like this Bakugou boy who was always angry and couldn't go one sentence without shouting swear words."

Atticus narrowed his eyes seriously. "But then, there are Passengers who are nasty due to being outright evil. Those who inflict pain because they like it. Who only cares about their needs and wants. Who know full well the scale of atrocities and the damage they cause, yet continue their disastrous rampage."

"You believe somebody like that might have a hold of nightmare powers?" Chloe asked Professor Fennel.

"If that were the case, I doubt they'd just stop at putting Denizens in constant nightmares, they'd probably make them as horrible as possible," Professor Fennel scratched her cheek. "Even so, we should be careful. Who knows who we'll end up facing off at the end of this mystery."

"In regards to potential suspects, I'm afraid I can't help you there," Atticus frowned. "I haven't seen anybody who might wield a Miraculous just like you. However, if I do see someone who might seem suspicious, I will let you know."

"That'd be helpful, thank you," Professor Fennel replied. "Now, if you excuse us, we should get going. And I think I know where to go next."

Chloe perked up and grabbed the woman's arm, eyes glimmering with excitement as she asked:

"Horsegirl Race Car?!"

Professor Fennel returned the smile and stated:

"Horsegirl Race Car."

Chapter Text

And now comes the next chapter! This is where we go into the Horsegirl Race Car at last, and meet the last few protagonists of the Unova section of the story!

Oh and The Apex might be featured here too, who knows?

* Sara's look is said to look like Sailor Moon, but it's actually supposed to resemble a Paras because unlike her BT self, who's associated with foxes, this Sara is associated with Bugs. Not even a specific bug, but all bugs in general.

* Speaking of Sara, she's not a native of neither Vermillion City nor Kanto in general. The Dhelmise on her uniform are because she had them customized when the class went to a trip to Alola sometime ago. And before anybody asks, yes, Chloe was at the trip; she didn't styled her uniform 'cause she didn't feel like it.

* Kricketina Kylie is gonna appear soon, and you should be excited for it.

* Chloe hasn't gotten over her fear of canines yet, but is taking steps towards it. This is gonna be a bit of an arc for her, so stay tuned.

* I'm gonna add the "Delia owns a restaurant" plot from… I don't remember where it was said, but it was mentioned in some Pokemon-related thing. And yes, Talia and Delia used to date.

And now, to the chapter!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"What do you mean I can't get involved?!"

Those were the words shouted by one young boy called Blake, who was snapping at a detective known as Looker-no, seriously-while standing in the middle of a police station. An empty one, thankfully."

"Blake, I'm sorry, but you need to understand that there's only so much cowboy tendencies that the International Police is willing to let slide," Looker replied. "And this particular case is too important to risk you ruining everything-"

"Looker, this is Team Plasma we're talking about! One that has lost its leader Ghetsis!" Blake pointed out. "This is the perfect time to strike at their fractured leadership and take them down once and for all!"

"Just because that's true doesn't mean you need to get involved, Blake," Looker replied. "We're still trying to figure out how to approach this; especially since Ghetsis' death was so recent-"

"We shouldn't stick to the sidelines and let them plan their next move! We need to strike now while they're weak and wipe them off the face of the Earth! That's something that needs to be dealt with as soon as-!"

"Blake, I know you're this desperate to get involved because of Whittney."

The boy winced, took a step back, and lowered his head as Looker continued:

"Listen, we're all upset and frustrated at how she helped Ghetsis escape, but we can't let those feelings get in the way of our work. Right now, we need to gather information about what Team Plasma is going to do next now that Ghetsis is dead, and act accordingly."

"But-!"

"Blake, you're not going to the mission, and that's final."

With his words spoken, Looker left the room and closed the door, leaving Blake alone long enough to think about what had been said. Then, once he got his thoughts together, he stood up, walked up to a computer and booted it on.

And who answered the call soon after? A certain Professor Juniper.

"So, what did Looker say?"

Blake took a deep breath… then smiled and answered:

"He said he's okay with me going on the mission."

…

Meanwhile, at the building of the BW Agency, a girl, Hilda White, and who looked like her mother stared at a Jigglypuff that was singing a song… all the while the duo tried their hardest to stay awake through the entire performance.

Fortunately, the song ended fairly soon, and the duo managed to snap awake and make a judgement:

"Well, that was a… beautiful melody you played, Jigglypuff," the older woman said. "I think you could make a decent replacement for our little Gigi. Not to say that's all you can be, however."

"I agree, though maybe learning how to play different songs might be necessary," Hilda said. "I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but why do you think your audience tends to fall asleep whenever you sing?"

The Jigglypuff hummed in thought… then nodded in agreement.

Hilda clasped her hands. "So, would you be up for singing classes?"

"Jigglypuff!"

"Great! We'll set you up with one of our Audinos and we'll check up on you after a few weeks of training!" Hilda's mother chirped. "Give it your all, and you might just get the role!"

The Jigglypuff nodded and rolled off cheerfully, leaving the pair to catch their breath.

"So, sweetie," the older woman turned to her daughter. "What do you think?"

"The Jigglypuff has potential, they really do," Hilda folded her arms. "But if they can't sing a song that doesn't cause sleepiness, then they might have to go home-"

"Is that the only reason?"

It's then that the duo turned around to see the arrival of a certain boy, the same one who brought them the Jigglypuff in the first place, in fact.

Hilbert Black.

"So, how did the audition with Jigglypuff go?"

"Well, I think if we can teach them how to play songs that won't make people fall asleep, they might have a chance of becoming the next mascot for BW Agency," Hilda answered. "But you know me, I have some… pretty high standards to be met-"

"Like being Gigi?"

Hilda turned back to Hilbert, who looked at her with a worried expression.

"Mom, can I talk alone with Hilbert for a moment?"

The woman looked surprised at the request, but decided to leave the room and let Hilbert take her seat, the boy sitting down just as Hilda took a deep breath and twiddled her fingers.

"I miss Gigi…" she started. "Ever since I lost her to that madman of N, I just… I can't stop thinking about her."

"I know, you told me all about that when you came back home," Hilbert sighed. "You and Gigi were pretty close. That… I can't say anything to change it, but I can tell you that no matter what we do, Gigi isn't really coming back."

Hilbert put a hand on Hilda's shoulder. "She made her choice, and whether we agree with it or not, we have to try and move on-"

Hilda, however, slapped his hand. "And how do we know she made the choice herself?! N's a bastard who'll manipulate anybody to get what he wants!"

"H-Hilda-"

"He must've tricked her into thinking going with him was the better choice!" Hilda clenched her fists and slammed them against the table. "That's gotta be it! There's no way Gigi would betray me like that!"

"Do you wanna verify that?"

The duo stood up and looked in the distance to see a trio of masked figures with white hair, covered in black clothing, and looking like a trio of ninjas. But not just any trio of ninjas, for they were…

"The Shadow Triad?!"

…

A guy with dark blue hair styled like a fireball sat on a house, eating some food alongside his Pokemon, right before a young girl, holding a dex, entered the room and shouted:

"Big brother! You got a call from Professor Juniper!"

Hugh grabbed the dex, nodded, and answered the call:

"Hi, Hugh! Hey, I wanna know if you'd be up to help me with something?"

The guy swallowed his food and shrugged. "Sure, I got nothing better to do."

…

Amanita didn't sleep that well last night.

Not because of Parker, he was actually nice enough to leave her alone last night.

No, the reason she couldn't sleep was because of Musharna.

More specifically, her absence.

Musharna was the last thing she had to remember her sister after she got taken by this Infinity Train thingie she was told about earlier, and not seeing her for an extended period of time left her… concerned.

Sure, she was allegedly either at Ash's house or Professor Oak's lab, but even so, given how Pokémon ranches or farms or whatever they're called weren't a foolproof solution, Amanita wasn't convinced everything was perfect.

So she went to speak with Ash.

"Hey, Professor Cerise? I'd like to apologize."

But found herself having to hide upon hearing that. She took a peek from behind the corner, and saw Ash, with Pikachu on his shoulder, standing next to Professor Cerise, who was checking some documents.

"Apologize for what, Ash?"

"For what I said in Akemi's dream," Ash said while Pikachu looked at him worriedly. "I was trying to stay confident and not fall prey to the insecurities, but I probably came off as… insensitive."

"Don't worry, Ash, you did nothing wrong," Professor Cerise answered. "If anything, I think you might've had a point in what you said."

"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked, slightly tilting his head.

"Talia and I have every reason to be worried for Chloe, Goh too since he's her childhood friend, and maybe Chryssa can be added since she and Chloe are rather close, but besides that, only those close to Chloe should be pretty concerned over her going missing," Professor Cerise explained calmly. "If everybody else began acting like Chloe not being around was the end of the world or something… well, that would just be absurd."

The professor paused and turned his chair to face the boy.

"Besides, you said it yourself: you have your own goals. Your ambitions. A dream you intend to fulfill. You can't throw all of that away just because you failed to befriend one person."

"Pika!" Pikachu chirped.

Ash stared at his fateful companion, then Professor Cerise, and Pikachu once more before flashing a smile…

And then someone knocked on the door.

"Ahem."

The trio turned around, and found Amanita staring at them, hands pocketed as she asked:

"Can I speak with Ash for a minute?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the library of Azada, Titus immediately rolled to the side of his new visitors, all while doing his best to obscure The Apex remnants as they hid.

"Greetings, visitors!" Titus chirped. "You must be the former Conductor of the Train, Amelia Hughes! And the girl next to you is…?"

The girl stared at the book, then looked away. "My name's Hazel-"

"Experiment 12-15-22-5-3-8-9 12-4," Amelia interjected, causing Hazel to flinch. "They're one of my creations."

"Wow, you must be good with numbers if you can remember such a long list of them," Titus quipped, but Amelia proved unamused. "And wait, if she's your creation, doesn't that mean she's your-?"

"They're not my daughter," Amelia bluntly responded. "They're a creation of mine that serves as a reminder of my old self and the thirty years of chaos I brought to the Train."

Titus raised an eyebrow. "Then why is she here?"

"They're here to help me deal with some loose ends," Amelia responded as she began looking around. "One of our number searchers discovered a very big number in this location, and we have reason to believe it's The Apex. Or at least, what remains of them."

Titus flinched, but quickly kept his composure. "And if you don't mind me asking, what are you planning to do when you find them? Assuming you do find them? I mean, their numbers are pretty high, they may need a few weeks at most to get them to zero-"

"That bridge will be crossed when we get to it," Amelia stated. "Right now, the main point is to find all of them, round them up, and ensure they can't hurt anyone ever again."

Titus frowned. "And how are you gonna do that?"

Amelia immediately flashed an intense glare at the leader of the flying books, one that caused the books flying around him to paralyze and fall to the ground out of sheer fear.

"We don't have time to play twenty questions, Titus. I suggest you either cooperate with us or failing that, don't get in our way. I'd hate to have to reset you like I did the last Denizen who became a nuisance."

And with that said, the leader of the library flinched and frowned as the duo began walking deeper into the place.

"Child, look over there and I'll look over here," Amelia ordered Hazel. "As soon as you find something strange, inform me at once, am I clear?"

Hazel lowered her eyelids. "Crystal."

And with that said, the pair separated and headed into different bookshelves. Hazel approached one where sandwiched between, hidden behind a bunch of books, a pair of kids known as Lindsay and Todd hid, sticking side to side as they heard the footsteps get closer and closer…

"Todd, if this is the end, there's something I need to tell you," Lindsay remarked. "It's very inappropriate considering the situation, but I need to get this off my chest!"

"I understand, Lindsay," the boy said before hugging the girl. "Speak freely."

"I always had a crush-"

"Yeah?"

"On Grace!"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you too?"

It was then that a small light appeared in their hiding spot, and they saw Hazel staring at them with a blank look, causing the pair to hug harder in terror.

"Have you found anything yet, experiment?" Amelia asked.

Hazel's gaze was glued to the children, who began to tear up as the girl kept staring silently at them…

"No, just a bunch of worms devouring some books."

Then, she placed the books back in their spot, and the children collapsed on the floor in disbelief.

"Bookworms? Unbelievable!" Titus exclaimed as he waddled to the duo. "I had the librarians clean the library yesterday and told them to get rid of all the bookworms around! I apologize for the incompetence of the librarian I left in charge of that task."

"Is that the one you're talking about?"

The leader of the library turned around, and to his shock, the librarian was one that he recognized as a disguised Grace, wearing a plain purple lavender dress with nerdy, circular glasses and a blonde wig that reached all the way down to her waist.

The librarian herself stopped right on her tracks and clasped her hands together, bowing down as Titus hastily answered:

"N-No, that's-that's a new librarian that came in just today, I was gonna show her the ropes of the job just when you arrived."

"A new librarian, huh?" Amelia hummed. "Experiment, come here a second!"

Hazel stared at some books, barely paying attention to Amelia's words.

"Experiment, come here!"

Hazel kept ignoring the woman, grabbing a book and checking its contents until the woman gave up:

"Ugh, fine. Hazel, please come here!"

The girl closed the book and put it back where she found it before walking to Amelia's side, flashing a joyful smile before Amelia's stern glare turned her smile into a frown.

"The librarians of Azada have magic powers, don't they?"

"According to what I read, yes," Hazel explained. "The librarians of Azada had them before your rule, lost them during it, but regained them after One-One returned to-"

"Yes, good, thank you, experiment," Amelia stated dismissively before facing the librarian with anger. "If that is the case, then we should verify none of them got left out, right?"

Amelia stomped towards the woman, who flinched and leaned back as the older woman growled:

"Well then, librarian, if that's really what you are. Show us a magic trick."

The woman nervously turned to Titus, who simply nodded in approval while gesturing her for good luck, clearly terrified of getting on the former Conductor's bad side.

So, the librarian did the only trick she could think of: she placed her hands together, seemingly reached for her thumb, then seemingly split it off before putting it back on.

"Are you for real-?"

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!" Amelia asked, sounding impressed beyond belief before she tried the trick herself, to no avail. "Your thumb was on your hand and then you took it off!"

"You can't possibly be that entranced by this one little trick," Hazel remarked. "It's like the oldest one in the book! Or if not, then it's one of the oldest tricks of all time!"

"Oh really now?" Amelia put her hands on her hips. "Well, if it's such a simple trick, then do it yourself!"

Hazel, without taking her eyes off Amelia, grabbed her thumb, split it off, then put it back on in the span of a few seconds.

"See? It's super simple!"

"Of course it's super simple for you; you're a Denizen," Amelia argued. "A human could never get away with ripping off one of their fingers without a broken finger and potential death by blood loss."

Hazel paused. "I'm not even gonna bother asking and just keep looking for any sighting of the Apex."

"Yes, let's do that. The longer we stall, the more time those ruffians get to walk unopposed."

And so, the duo bid farewell to the librarian and walked deeper into the library, a couple of flying books avoiding them as they did. Once they had left from view, Grace took a deep breath and put a hand over her chest.

"Looks like they're sticking around for a while."

"Unfortunately so," Titus sighed. "And as the False Conductor, with the backing of the real Conductor, she can overrule my commands whenever she wants."

Grace frowned. "So even with sacred hospitality being a thing here, she can just… ignore it?"

Titus nodded sadly. "Think of it like diplomatic immunity."

"Of course…"

"I'll try to distract them to the best of my ability, you and your kids have to be ready to leave Azada when they're distracted," Titus stated. "Now the question would be, how to hide them better than just behind bookshelves."

Grace hummed to herself in thought and scratched her chin, humming for a while until she snapped her fingers.

"I have an idea! You got any spare librarian outfits?"

Titus raised an eyebrow.

"It'll make sense soon, I promise!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Akemi Tsutsuji was feeling pretty well.

Having her nightmares dealt with helped her sleep like a baby last night, and she made sure to study for the tests, so she had little to worry about.

Now, if only the same was true for a certain pair of homeschooled kids she encountered on the way to the cafeteria…

"Geez, you two look terrible," Akemi told Goh and Sara, quickly getting their attention. "Were the tests that rough on you?"

"I tried studying all night, but I couldn't concentrate due to thinking about the whole dream situation we got going," Goh sighed while rubbing his forehead.

"And I had to volunteer at a Pokémon Breeding Center yesterday," Sara added, rubbing her eyes. "All the time I could've used to study was taken up helping Pokémon breed!"

Akemi frowned. "And we still have the evening tests to worry about-"

Goh and Sara groaned in unison and leaned against each other, bumping their heads and causing them to snap awake.

"Say… Goh, right?" Akemi tilted her head. "Who's this girl?"

"Oh right, you don't know her," Goh stood up. "Sara, this is Akemi Tsutsuji, the daughter of my boss' assistants whom we helped break out of her nightmare yesterday."

Sara smiled. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Sara?" Akemi scanned the Blonde and focused particularly on her hair. "As in, "Bug-Eyed" Sara?"

The blonde's smile slowly vanished, eventually replaced by a stern scowl as she took out her phone and began surfing through it.

"Goh, let's talk in private."

Akemi grabbed Goh's hand and dragged him to a nearby corner, upon which she released him and he asked:

"Why did you call her "Bug-Eyed" Sara? Her eyes aren't particularly bug-like-"

"Nono, people call her that because she really likes bugs," Akemi explained. "Bug Types, Bug Specialists, Bug Gym Leaders, she likes all of those things!"

"Well, good for her, I guess," Goh raised an eyebrow. "But what's the problem here?"

Akemi looked around before leaning towards Goh and whispering:

"How would you describe your relationship with Mr. Bradbury?"

"As far as I know, he doesn't like me," Goh responded with folded arms. "And the feeling is very much mutual."

"Well, this mutual dislike is only going to intensify," Akemi pointed at Sara. "If you keep hanging out with her."

"Why?" Goh bluntly asked. "Of all people that could make Mr. Bradbury dislike me more, why Sara?"

"Well, nobody knows why specifically, but Sara and Mr. Bradbury seem to really dislike each other," Akemi frowned. "And given how Mr. Bradbury already dislikes you due to your status as a homeschooled boy and relationship with Chloe, becoming friends with Sara might evolve his dislike into outright hatred of you!"

"... What does Chloe have to do with this?"

Akemi's eyes widened. "Didn't you know? Mr. Bradbury and Chloe are rather close; at least, from what I've heard-"

"She's his star student."

Akemi jumped and turned around, backing away as she saw a stern-looking Sara approach the duo, adding:

"For some reason, Mr. Bradbury took a liking to Chloe during his English class, at the expense of his other students, so he tends to dislike anybody whom he feels might jeopardize Chloe's chances of success. And right now, with you being her childhood friend, you're the biggest threat to what he believes to be his best student."

"Seriously?" Goh tilted his head. "So, he's basically jealous of me and Chloe?"

A snort escaped Sara, and she giggled a bit before assuming a kinder tone and saying:

"Anyway, Goh, there's something I wanted to ask you; you've caught some Bug types here in Kanto, right?"

"I don't really pay attention to what type are the Pokemon I catch, I just catch them and be done with it," Goh shrugged. "But I'm pretty sure I got a few Bug types in my collection."

Sara smiled. "Excellent, because there's something I'd like to ask you."

Akemi gestured Goh to "don't accept" repeatedly as Sara showed her a picture on her phone, one that showed a girl who looked like a humanoid Kricketune.

"This is Kricketina Kylie, an old friend of mine who's known as the Bug-type Queen of Sinnoh. She's caught all the Bug type Pokemon in Sinnoh, but has come up short when she extended her search to other Regions."

"Hey, I think I've heard about her," Akemi blurted. "Isn't she gonna participate in the World Coronation Series?"

"Oh yeah, Ash mentioned that too," Goh perked up. "Something about it being a competition to decide the strongest Trainer in the world! Ash plans to participate and-"

"-Anyway, back on topic," Sara interjected. "I talked with Kricketina about one of my classmates having a Bug type from Kanto, and she told me she'd be more than happy to do a trade off as long as the classmate in question doesn't mind trading, say, a Pinsir?"

Goh hummed and scratched his chin.

"It doesn't have to be a Pinsir, of course, she'll be happy with any Bug type," Sara clasped her hands. "What matters is this; would you like to make a trade with her?"

Akemi desperately gestured to Goh not to accept the offer, and the boy glanced between her frantic gesturing and Sara's pleading smile a couple times as he thought about it…

"Sure! I don't see a problem with that!"

Akemi could only facepalm in frustration as Sara perked up and clapped her hands a bit. "Awesome! I'll talk with her to setup a reunion for the trade! Will you be free in a particular day?"

"Hmm, I gotta work for the Cerise Institute…" Goh snapped her fingers. "I know! Why don't you tell her to come to the Cerise Institute tomorrow morning?"

"Isn't there a giant barrier around Vermillion City made to make sure nobody goes in or out?" Akemi pointed out.

"Kricketina's staying at my house, so it shouldn't be an issue," Sara replied, waving her hand dismissively. "It's official then. Would you like to exchange rotom phone numbers?"

It was then that the trio heard some groaning nearby, and when they turned to look at where it came from, they were stunned at seeing a certain boy with brown hair stumbling around, with very notable bags under his eyes and an unsteady movement.

"Yeardley!" Goh called before he and Akemi went to help the boy stand. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"

"I couldn't sleep at all last night," Yeardley sighed. "I was kept up by a horrible nightmare, so I tried to study for today's test and yet…"

"He looks very disheveled," Akemi remarked. "Maybe we could ask the teachers if they could let him go to sleep for now?"

"Mr. Bradbury won't allow it."

The trio turned to Sara, who held a stern glare.

"Why not?" Goh asked.

Sara narrowed her eyes…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Professor Fennel and Chloe came out of a Train Car covered in soot and leaves, hastily trying to close the door as a large boulder headed straight for them. And by the time they did, the boulder crashed on the door and made them jump forward, all while leaving a large bump on the door that quickly fixed itself.

"Well, that was quite an adventure," Professor Fennel sighed as Bakku emerged from the Dream Miraculous. "At least we came out of it alright."

"Why didn't you turn into Dreamland Shepherd to deal with those traps?!" Bakku chided. "You have a Miraculous with the power of Exhaustion! You're supposed to use it!"

"Yeah, for serious situations, like a world-destroying threat or a fellow Miraculous user," Professor Fennel explained. "Turning into Dreamland Shepherd to deal with a bunch of traps in an ancient tomb seems… a bit much."

"You say that, but you're covered in soot and leaves from trying to deal with those traps by yourself!" Bakku replied. "I mean it, master, you don't have to treat the Dream Miraculous as a last resort; if you ever find a situation that's difficult to deal with your own, use it."

"Alright, fine, I'll think about it," Professor Fennel sighed. "But for now, let's think positive. We're out of the gutter, and the next door should be-"

"HORSEGIRL RACE CAR!"

The duo turned around and saw Chloe open the door and squeal as she ran inside, Professor Fennel chasing after her as Bakku returned to the Dream Miraculous.

Once they walked inside, the woman saw a large racing track circling around a big field, with a big set of audiences looking down as a bunch of female humanoids with the ears and tails of creatures like Ponytas and Mudsdales ran inside said track.

"Whoa, are those supposed to be horsegirls?" Professor Fennel remarked as she took a closer look at the race. "They're like humanoid Ponytas, or Mudsdales, or… actually quite a few of them don't resemble anything from our world."

"This is awesome!"

Professor Fennel turned around, and gasped at seeing Chloe crouching down, hugging and rubbing the leg of a horsegirl with pink hair.

"Professor Fennel, come! This girl's legs are amazing!" Chloe chirped before genty feeling the pinkette's legs. "So very strong and capable! I bet they can run over a hundred mi-"

*SMACK!*

Chloe was sent flying right into Professor Fennel's side, toppling the woman and causing them both to hit the ground as the redhead giggled and rolled a bit.

"Chloe, are you okay?!" Professor Fennel asked.

"I am!" Chloe chirped before flashing a thumbs up. "And that was totally worth it!"

"How dare you do that to senpai's legs!"

The team stood up and dusted themselves as the source of the voice made herself present: a horsegirl standing a head shorter than the pinkette, sporting Brown hair with green highlights and green eyes.

"The only one who gets to feel the amazingness of senpai's legs is me!" the smaller horse girl snapped. "You want a taste, you gotta get past me!"

"Zippy, please stop, it's fine," the pinkette said as she walked to the smaller horse girl's side. "Let's try not to make a scene for once, okay?"

The smaller girl winced and flushed. "Yes, senpai."

"Great, now that that's over, why don't we introduce ourselves proper?" the pinkette bowed. "My name is Haru Urara."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Haru," Professor Fennel replied as she grabbed the edges of her labcoat and curtsied. "My name is Professor Fennel, and the girl next to me is Chloe Cerise."

"Your legs felt great!" Chloe chirped.

Professor Fennel winced. "We're sorry about that."

"It's okay, she's far from the first girl who does that to me; Zippy here does it all the time," Haru answered. "Speaking of which; Zippy, introduce yourself."

The girls looked down to see the brunette hugging Haru's leg, right before noticing she was being watched and hopping off, pulling a pose as she exclaimed:

"I'm Zippy Chippy! Successor and apprentice to the great Haru Urara!"

"The great Haru Urara? So she's very well known around here?" Professor Fennel asked. "Has she gotten any big victories in these races?"

"Even better!" Zippy Chippy shouted. "She hasn't won a single time!"

Everybody fell silent…

"Anyhow!" Haru interjected. "I see you have numbers on your hands, so you must be Passengers. I take it that must mean you're here for the races?"

Professor Fennel nodded. "We were hopping to sign up Chloe here to participate in one of the races."

"I wanna be a horsegirl!" Chloe exclaimed while waving her arms excitedly.

"Oof," Zippy said.

Chloe calmed down. "Oof? Why oof? We can't enter a race?"

"Nah, I'm sorry, but you're a little late for that," the horsegirl answered. "We just finished the last race for the day."

Chloe gasped, dropped to her knees, and raised her fists shouting:

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

"However, we have stables that also work as guest rooms where Passengers can stay day and night," Haru added. "You can request a room, and wait there until the next day so you can register for a new race."

Chloe perked up. "Can we share a room with a horsegirl?!"

The horsegirl just nodded, and Chloe repeated her previous motions, this time shouting:

"YEEEEEEEEES!"

"We'll gladly take you to the stables and even talk with an administrator to let you register for tomorrow's race," Zippy added before hugging Haru. "As long as you pick a room different from senpai's!"

"What?! But I wanna share a room with her!" Chloe whined. "She's cool!"

Haru blushed and smiled nervously while looking away.

"We can talk about that later," Professor Fennel butted in, waving her hand. "For now, can you show us to the stables? We kinda just went through a dangerous Car and we'd like to relax."

"Of course," Haru nodded. "Please follow us."

And so the professor and child duo followed the double horsegirl combo into the distance, walking a fair distance away before a portal door appeared.

Said door opened, and from within it emerged a figure in a green, full body concealing cloak, from which a Kwamizen emerged; this one resembled a pale, ghostly equine with snow white mane and purple, flowing, fiery mane.

"So, looks like we're here," the figure said.

"Indeed we are," the Kwamizen stated. "Now we just need to be prepared to do as The Icarus requested."

The figure lowered their head, and the Kwamizen soon noticed.

"What's wrong, master?"

"... Do we really have to do this, Screech?" the figure looked at their gloved hand nervously. "I feel like every time we do this, we just go further and further away from an exit home."

"We don't really have a choice, master, The Icarus was very clear in her words," the Kwamizen, Screech, answered. "We have to instill fear in the masses so the one called Chloe Cerise can become a hero, or we'll never get a chance to rescue him from the Vermillion Citadel's clutches."

The figure clenched their fist and lowered it.

"Understood."

Screech nodded, and returned to the cloak, the figure venturing towards the stables shortly after…

Chapter Text

Alright, here we have the next chapter. There's a lot to cover here so let's go.

* The Pokémon World bits are going to be mostly focused on the Unovan/N plots, partially to try to get those plots moving along, partially to put some focus on people outside of Vermillion City and Ash for once.

* That being said, we will return to the Ash and Amanita bit soon enough. They'll pay Pallet Town a visit, and that's all the spoilers I'm willing to give you.

* The cloaked figure from the last chapter is not an original character, but a canon one. Care to guess who they could be?

* In case you're wondering if we're coming close to the end of Act 1, given we're already ten chapters in, then nah, not even close. Didn't you know? Taking forever to get the plot going is the hip thing in the Blossomverse now! XD

* Sorry for the lack of focus on Renji and Chryssa… and Yeardley… and a lot of characters, actually; that's just what happens when you add a billion characters and try to make them all relevant. But don't worry, I'll figure something out soon enough.

* So this chapter was supposed to be longer, but I quickly realized that it was getting way too big compared to the average chapter, and this story had been dormant for far too long. So I cut out a bit near the end and translated it to chapter 11, which has some other work done to it. Does this mean the next one will be updated anytime soon?  ...

...

And now, to the chapter!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The moon rose high on the skies of Unova as Trip, Rosa, and their Serperiors followed Anthea and Concordia down a forest path, slight sounds being heard as Trip took out his camera and looked around.

“We assure you we’ll be there shortly,” Anthea said, followed by Concordia. “We just need to take a few more steps and we’ll reach the castle.”

*CLICK!*

The duo stole a brief glance at Trip taking a few pictures of the surrounding Pokemon, smiling as he snapped a few more shots, causing the Pokemon to flinch and run away.

“We suggest you’re careful with your camera,” Concordia said, followed by Anthea. “N’s Pokemon don’t like to be photographed.”

Hearing that, Trip stopped himself from taking a picture of a Happiny that was flashing a wide smile, said smile turning into a frown before she walked away dejected.

“I think the pictures you took were pretty neat,” Rosa told Trip while patting his back. "And the Happiny seemed happy to pose!"

“Yeah, I guess so,” Trip remarked as he pocketed his camera. “I’m just happy I get the chance to take some pictures. It’s been a while since I’ve done that.”

Rosa tilted her head. “But I thought you decided to become a photographer after what happened with Serperior.”

Trip rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t mean I had much chances to do so. Especially when every flash caused several Pokemon to flee at once.”

“Hmm, I see…”

The group kept walking silently for a moment…

“So, question: why are we walking around here?” Trip inquired, causing Rosa to flinch as he looked around. “I did hear N had a castle somewhere, but wasn’t it located somewhere else?”

“There was a castle close to Victory Road, but that one was destroyed and there’s nothing but ruins left,” Anthea stated before adding Concordia. “This is another castle that was built close to-”

“White Forest,” Rosa sighed. “I knew these trees were being familiar.”

“Have you been to White Forest before?” Trip asked.

“Have I been there?” Rosa chuckled. “I… my Mom and I used to live there.”

Trip winced. “Oh, really? I… since Professor Juniper took me to Aspertia City, I thought that was the place you were born at.”

“Well, we did move there after… stuff happened,” Rosa frowned for a second before regaining her smile. “But White Forest is the place where I was born and raised for a few years.”

Rosa looked around with a forlorn look, before she shook her head and said:

"But that was the past, and this is the present. Let's focus on what's important."

Trip nodded and turned back to the women. "So, why did these two come to your house, Rosa? You got any history with them?"

But there was no response from Rosa. Instead, there was nothing but silence.

"Rosa?"

The group stopped on their tracks and turned around, only to be shocked when they saw Rosa was nowhere to be found.

"Rosa?!"

…

The Unovan trainer rolled around wrapped in webs until she hit a tree, at which point she used one of its branches to break free.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Rosa gritted her teeth as the one responsible for her sticky situation made himself known: A certain Interpol agent. 

"Blake…" Rosa sighed. "You know, of all the people I could end up meeting on my way to N's castle, you're definitely the last one I wanted to see!"

"I'm not happy to see you either, Whitley-"

Rosa narrowed her eyes. "My name is Rosa…"

“But you’ve evaded justice for far too long,” Blake adjusted his hat. “It’s time to put you behind bars, right where you belong.”

Rosa scoffed and snapped her fingers, summoning Serperior to her side.

“You seriously think I’m going to give up without a fight?”

“No, I know you won’t go down that easily,” Blake took out a Poke Ball and smirked. “So I came prepared.”

He opened the Poke Ball, and a red light emerged from it. Said light hit the ground, and morphed into some sort of blue samurai otter.

“Samurott!”

Blake snapped his fingers. “Samurott, Dark Pulse!”

Samurott’s eyes glowed before it roared, sending an ominous purple aura towards Rosa, prompting Serperior to tackle her Trainer out of the way, causing her to be struck by the aura and drop to the ground, shivering as dark electricity surged through her.

"Serperior!" Rosa exclaimed as she ran to her Pokemon’s side.

“Wow, a single Dark Pulse was enough to make her flinch? Your Serperior has seriously lost her touch,” Blake remarked. “Of course, if I remember correctly, you once said thatperhaps it’s not the Pokemon, but the Trainer who’s the problem.”

Rosa gritted her teeth against Blake, but before she could summon another of her Pokemon, another Dark Pulse sent her way caused her to drop to the ground, showering in black electricity as well.

Not one to waste time, Blake stepped towards the paralyzed duo as he reached for his back…

“Serperior! Leaf Tornado!”

A swirling tornado covered in leaves was sent at Blake and Samurott, the former immediately leaping back as the tornado dissipated moments before hitting him or his Samurott, allowing the one responsible for it to appear soon after:

A certain trainer with his Serperior.

“Trip!” Rosa chirped.

"Stand back from that girl, citizen!" Blake snapped while his Samurott growled. "You're interfering with the duty of an interpol agent!"

"Tch, yeah, right!" Trip scoffed. "If you're an interpol agent, then I'm the son of the Santalune City Gym Leader!"

"The one with the big boobs, right?" Rosa asked innocently. "I knew your photography stuff sounded familiar!”

Trip rubbed his forehead. "Why is it whenever people talk about her, they always mention her breasts?"

"Dude, she's a woman; of course people are gonna talk about her boobs," Rosa snickered. "And in her defense, they are pretty big."

"How is that in her defense?!"

"... It'll help her self-esteem, I guess?"

"Okay, if you two are done fooling around," Blake took out a pair of cuffs. "I'll take the liberty of cuffing this criminal!"

Trip, however, stood his ground. "Listen, whatever your issue with her is, there's no need to cuff her! Or at least, explain what's going on first-"

"You're getting in the way of interpol business, that's what's going on," Blake responded sternly. "And if you still refuse to move aside, then I have no choice but to arrest you both: you for obstructing a police officer…"

Blake glared at Rosa.

"And her for helping Ghetsis escape when Team Plasma first fell!"

Rosa felt a shiver go down her spine, and she hastily avoided eye contact when Trip faced her and asked:

"Rosa, what's he talking about?"

"Rosa? That's the name she goes by now?" Blake shook his head. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but her real name's Whitley."

Trip raised an eyebrow. “Whitley? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Simple, it’s the name of a Team Plasma grunt,” Blake narrowed his eyes. “And not just any grunt, but the one responsible for helping Ghetsis escape justice during Team Plasma’s first defeat!”

Trip's eyes widened and he turned to look at Rosa, who looked equally shocked before looking at Trip and shaking her head.

Trip looked at Rosa for a bit… then faced Blake, asking:

"How do you know this is the girl you're looking for and not a lookalike?"

Rosa smiled with relief at the statement, only for both her and Trip to find themselves wrapped up in webs.

"You know, I was hoping things wouldn't have to go down like this."

The duo turned around to see an Ariados walk into view, crawling to Blake’s side as the guy took out a pair of cuffs.

"But it appears you've fallen for Whitley's womanly charms."

"Oh right, 'cause you'd know a thing or two about charming people," Rosa scoffed. "Especially given what a playboy you were back at school-"

Rosa couldn't finish before she found her mouth wrapped with web, Trip's own mouth being webbed soon after.

However, before the interpol agent could arrest the webbed pair, an intense gust of wind caused him and his Ariados to back away, with the sources soon being revealed to be a collection of multiple Starly and Pidgeys.

“Looks like I’m just in time.”

The gust of winds stopped abruptly and everybody looked up to see a green-haired man sitting on a tree branch, playing around with a cap as Blake and Rosa soon recognized who he was. Rosa’s eyes glimmered with relief while Blake gritted his teeth, hissing:

“Natural Harmonia Gropius!”

“The one and only!” the greenette responded calmly right before he put on his cap. “Although, please do call me N instead. It appears people have an easier time taking me seriously with that name.”

N stood up and jumped off the tree branch, landing safely on the ground before he snapped his fingers, summoning several male and female Nidorans that promptly used Fury Swipes on the webbed pair, releasing them and allowing them to stand up.

“You certainly did arrive just in time,” Trip said once he ripped off the web on his mouth. “But how did you know we needed help? Hell, how did you even know where to find us?”

“Anthea and Concordia are more awesome than you give them credit for,” Rosa whispered to Trip before shouting. “Now go, N! Kick his ass!”

N narrowed his eyes. “Rosa, did Anthea and Concordia teach you nothing about manners?”

Rosa winced, and twiddled her fingers as she backpedaled. “I-I mean, make him stop bothering us! Please?”

“Hmm, stop bothering you then?” N turned back to Blake. “Well, he was pretty rude in tying you up and trying to arrest you without proof.”

“Rude, schmude!” Blake stomped the ground. “All I’m doing is imparting justice on behalf of those who’d rather sit behind a desk and waste their time!”

"Ah, classic Blake, jumping the gun quite early," N chuckled. "Don't you know that the law itself states that everybody's innocent until proven guilty?"

“She is guilty! I was there when she helped the monster known as Ghetsis escape justice!” Blake pointed at N. “You were there too! There’s multiple witnesses that can attest to it!”

N took a deep breath and looked back at the duo. “I’m very sorry you had to deal with this, Rosa… and Rosa’s friend?”

“Oh, right, sorry! His name’s Trip!” Rosa chirped, patting Trip’s back as the guy awkwardly waved hello. “He’s a Pokemon Trainer who’s also a photographer and Professor Juniper sent him to me!”

“Very interesting,” N smiled. “A friend of Rosa is a friend of mine. Consider yourself safe under my protection.”

Trip raised an eyebrow and faced Rosa. “That’s a good thing, right?”

Rosa giggled a bit, only for her laughter to grow more awkward when Trip glared at her. Then, N noticed the black electricity around Rosa and her Serperior, and narrowed his eyes, right before he summoned Anthea and Concordia with a snap of his fingers.

“Take Rosa and her Serperior to the castle.”

“Yes, N.”

The duo grabbed Rosa and her Pokemon and jumped away as soon as they did, leaving a frustrated Blake behind.

“Hey, wait a minute-!”

Trip’s Serperior sent another Leaf Tornado at Blake and Samurott, the latter being struck by it as N said:

"Listen, as much as I wouldn't mind seeing some action today, I'm afraid I didn't ask Anthea and Concordia to bring those two here so they could beat up an interpol agent."

“Wait, that was the truth?!” Trip exclaimed.

"What makes you say that!?" Blake snapped. "Don't underestimate me just because I'm younger than you!"

"No, I asked them to bring you here because there's something important I want to discuss with you," N continued, barely registering Blake's presence. "For now, how about we go inside? There’s a lot to discuss.”

Trip raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

N smiled. “You’ll see soon.”

Before Blake could respond to that, N had the Pokemon around them send many Gusts at him and Samurott, causing them to close their eyes and cover themselves as dust flew around…

And by the time he opened his eyes again, N, Trip, and Serperior were already gone.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Professor Fennel and Chloe followed Zippy Chippy and Haru towards the stables, which resembled an odd cross between a hotel and an actual stable. Chloe, in particular, looked pretty excited to go, looking around at the other walking horsegirls with a wide smile as she barely contained her excitement.

"You look really happy, Chloe,” Professor Fennel spoke.

"You bet I am!" Chloe rubbed her hands together. "Ever since Dad took me to that petting zoo in Galar, I've always wanted to own an equine Pokémon! And even if I don't get that, getting to meet people with equine traits is more than enough for me! Just imagine how jealous everyone will be when I get home!"

Professor Fennel scratched her cheek. "I don't think people will believe you."

"Professor Fennel, we come from a world populated by tiny creatures we keep in mechanical balls," Chloe replied. "Is it really gonna be that hard to believe we got taken by an endless therapy train that tattooed a number on our palms and sent us on an adventure with humanoids with equine traits-you know what? I just answered my question, forget I said anything."

Chloe paused to catch her breath, inhaling and exhaling several times as Professor Fennel giggled and said:

"You sure talk a lot, huh?"

“Your friend seems pretty energetic, which is good if you’re planning to enter her on a race,” Haru remarked. “I would suggest keeping that energy in check, however; otherwise you may run out of it in the middle of the race.”

Chloe gasped and immediately pocketed her hands, trying her hardest to stay calm while sporting a serious, if goofy, expression.

“Now, you might be wondering where we’re taking you,” Zippy Chippy stated. “Obviously, we’re going to the stables, but first we need to show you a certain something that you’ll need to take into account, since you’re planning to enter the race tomorrow.”

Shortly after, the group reached a stand with several carrots laying on a table, each hovering above it like an item in a videogame.

"These are the carrots that you can eat in order to temporarily become a horsegirl," Haru explained. "Passengers who enter the race have to eat these carrots prior to the race, lest they be disqualified."

"Disqualified?" Professor Fennel blurted. "Why can't they just race like normal?"

"We horsegirls have greater leg strength and stamina compared to most people!" Zippy Chippy chirped while stretching her legs. "Eating the carrot will not only give you horse ears and a tail, but upgrade your lower body strength to match ours. Otherwise, you won't stand a chance and wind up in last place."

"Yeah, Professor Fennel, anybody who's seen a Ponyta or Rapidash can tell you how strong their legs are, and how fast they are," Chloe added with a proud tone. "Honestly, you'd have to be a fool to try outrun them on your own-"

And then, without warning, Professor Fennel grabbed and stretched Chloe's cheeks, growling with an annoyed smile:

"I got the message, okay? No need to brag about it. And don't take that tone with me again, got it?"

"Yes! I got it, I got it! Please spare my cheeks!"

Haru giggled. “Now, with that done, there’s another thing we have to show you. And this is the more important one of the two.”

The pair followed Haru and Zippy Chippy to a pedestal nearby, where a pair of golden boots rested on top of it.

“Ooooh! Those look like a really cool pair of boots!” Chloe chirped. “But why are they on a pedestal? And what do they have to do with the race? Are they important?”

“Well, dear Passenger, I’m glad you asked!” Zippy Cippy chirped. “You see, these aren’t just any ordinary boots, for they also function as a Miraculous! The Race Miraculous, to be exact!”

Chloe gasped. “You mean there are Miraculous beyond the Kwaminiziation Car or something?!”

“Yup! That Car’s just the one Denizens go to in order to become Kwamizens,” Haru explained. “The Miraculous themselves, once created, are sent all across the Infinity Train in order to be obtained by Passengers who happen to come across them. You still need to get past Grand Master Nooroo to actually legitimately own it, but that’s something easy to deal with.”

“And what’s it doing here?” Professor Fennel asked as she took a closer look at the pedestal. “Is it an object of sentimental value or something?”

“Nah, it’s the prize for tomorrow’s race,” Zippy Chippy answered while waving her hand. “We always put prizes on our races to try give our racers more motivation to give it their all, and next one’s just happens to be a Miraculous!”

“Wow!” Chloe exclaimed. “Wait, if that’s tomorrow’s prize, what was today’s prize?”

“The chance to take one of the Horsegirls as a Denizen partner.”

Chloe clenched her fist and punched the wall. “Curses! So close!”

Professor Fennel scratched her chin as Bakku emerged from the Dream Miraculous. 

"What's on your mind?"

"I'm just wondering," the woman faced the floating pixie. "Do Kwamizens not mind being used as prizes like these?"

“Most Kwamizens have insane, destructive power that makes them too dangerous on their own without a holder to help them hold back,” Bakku explained. “While putting a Miraculous as a prize might be seen as a little much by most people, it’s ultimately for everybody’s own good.”

Professor Fennel hummed while staring at the boots. “I dunno, I’m still a little worried for the Kwamizen inside the boots.”

It was then that Professor Fennel felt someone tug at her lab coat, and she looked down to see Chloe staring at her with a confident look.

“Don’t worry, Professor Fennel! I’ll win the race, and the boots, for both of us!”

Professor Fennel paused, then petted Chloe’s head as she answered. “Just focus on having fun for now, okay, Chloe?”

The redhead giggled.

“Well, if that’s all you’ve got to show us, maybe you could show us where our room is?” Professor Fennel asked the horsegirls before stretching. “We’re a little bit tired from, aren’t we, Bakku?”

“You and the redhead might be, but as a Kwamizen, I don’t get tired, or hungry, or sleepy, unless my Miraculous has been used,” Bakku answered before leaning closer to the woman and poking and stretching her cheek. “Which would be different had a certain someone decided to actually use it and not hold onto it until after we were out of danger!”

“You’re not gonna let me forget that, are you?” Professor Fennel asked as she rubbed her pinched cheek.

“I’m your Kwamizen partner,” Bakku shrugged. “It’s my job to ensure you learn from your mistakes.”

“You two can go ahead if you want,” Chloe clasped her hands and looked around. “I wanna bask in the horsegirl-filled goodness for a little while longer!”

Professor Fennel faced Haru and Zippy Chippy. “Is that okay with you?”

“I mean, she seems harmless enough,” Haru scratched her cheek. “So long as she promises not to fondle any of the girls or their legs, I think it should be okay.”

“And if she does, I’m calling the Horse Police,” Zippy Chippy stated. “It’s like regular police, but with horses.”

Chloe blinked twice. “Don’t you mean horsegirls?”

“No,” Zippy Chippy smirked. “Actual horses.”

The girl turned to the side, revealing a pair of horse cops standing nearby; and indeed, they looked like humanoids with horse heads, sending a shiver down Chloe’s spines.

“So wait, does this mean the females of this car look like humans with horse ears and tails, but the males look like humanoids with horse heads?” Professor Fennel raised an eyebrow. “How does that even work?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Haru said as she brought the woman with her. “See, when a horse and a horsegirl love each other very much…”

Haru, Zippy Chippy, Bakku and Professor Fennel’s talk eventually stopped being audible to Chloe, who stood shivering in place as she stared at the horse-headed police, right before she shook her head and turned to look at the horsegirls nearby for comfort.

“They’re quite shocking, aren’t they?”

Chloe winced and slowly turned around, only calming down when she saw the person talking to her was a normal human: she had short teal hair with amber eyes, a fair skin complexion, and while most of her body was covered by a cloak, she could notice dark green pants and green shoes underneath.

"The name is Angie," the tealette said.

"Hmm, you look similar to the people of my world," Chloe scratched her chin. "Would you happen to be from the same world?!"

Angie paused, then looked away and snickered. "From a certain point of view. Anyway, you’re here for the race, aren’t you?”

“Yeah! I was gonna eat a carrot and become a horsegirl and race with other horsegirls!” Chloe shouted excitedly, only to droop shortly after. “But me and my team arrived a little too late, so now we have to wait until tomorrow to do it. And that sucks!”

“I can imagine,” Angie chuckled. “I did intend to join a race, but I also arrived late-”

Angie barely got to finish before Chloe appeared right in front of her. “Do you like horsegirls?!”

“Um… I guess?” Angie chuckled and looked elsewhere. “i mean, I’m more of a canine lover myself-”

“You’re dead to me.” Chloe bluntly hissed with a wide eyed, dangerous glare.

Angie turned back to Chloe, who leaned back and turned back to normal. “Huh?”

“Nothing! So, you’re gonna go to the stables too?”

“Yeah, but before I do that, there’s something I wanna give you,” Angie reached for her back. “Truth be told, I was told by someone to come deliver a gift to someone who looks similar to you. Unless… are you Chloe Cerise?”

Chloe tilted her head. “Yeah?”

Angie smiled. “Then you’re definitely the person I’m looking for!”

The tealette promptly took out a dark red cloak with black highlights from her back, which she showed

“This is the Cloak of Marchosias. Consider it a gift from my bosses.”

“Huh, it looks pretty cool,” Chloe inspected the cloak. “is this a Miraculous or something?”

“Nope, it’s something even better!” Angie raised her index finger. “You see, this cloak was created by combining divine energy with that of a demon-”

Chloe immediately threw the cloak on the ground, stomping on it a pair of times for good measure before she noticed Angie’s stunned, shocked expression.

“Oh… sorry… that was-that was an involuntary reaction!” Chloe jumped back and allowed Angie to grab the cloak. “It’s just something that I do whenever demons are mentioned or I touch something demon-related!”

Angie stared at the cloak, and dusted it, her expression frozen in perpetual confusion.

“Well, looks like I made you mad, and Professor Fennel’s calling for me, so bye!”

The redhead immediately ran off, slightly brushing past Angie as the tealette finished dusting off the cloak… and a certain spectral Kwamizen by the name of Screech emerged from her cloak.

"Screech, you saw that, right?"

"The Vermillion Citadel said that no Chloe Cerise would ever let go of a chance to gain the Cloak of Marchosias," Screech answered. "And yet not only did she reject it, but seemed fearful of demons."

"And supposedly, all Chloe Cerises like demons…" Angie scratched her chin. “Could the Vermillion Citadel have been wrong about this particular Chloe?”

“Whatever the reason, we shouldn’t give up just yet,” Screech stated. “Let’s keep a close eye on her, and when the window of opportunity opens… you know what to do.”

The Kwamizen returned to the cloak, and Angie took a deep breath before following Chloe, ensuring to hide whenever possible so she wouldn’t be caught…

…

Meanwhile, at Azada, Grace took a peek from behind a bookshelf, looking both ways before whispering:

"Okay, they're not here, move!"

Grace gripped a moving cart and walked forward, followed by the Apex kids disguised as identical librarians.

"I can't believe we're doing this to escape potential doom by Former Conductor," Todd quietly whined. "Why is it that every time I put on a dress, my life gets put in danger?"

"Be quiet, Todd!" Lindsay chided. "We need to gather as little attention as possible!"

"Grace, what's the plan?" Lucy whispered to their leader.

"For now, we must focus on getting out of here as fast as possible," Grace whispered back. "This place isn't safe so long as the false Conductor and her helper stay here. We'll leave, and look for somewhere else to stay-"

"And how long is that gonna take?" Todd blurted. "We went through over a dozen Cars before we reached this one-”

*BOOM!*

The group bolted to a bookshelf and took a peak, where they saw Hazel, with a buster cannon for an arm, aiming at the destroyed remains of some sort of worm-like creature, while Amelia grabbed what looked like the living counterpart of the remains; a large white worm creature covered in words, who struggled as Amelia held it in place and snapped their neck.

“You realize the point of this extermination is to retrieve the information these Bookworms have eaten, right?” Amelia chided.

“What’s the problem? The information is on the database and the books can be reconstructed,” Hazel eyed Amelia. “Why don’t you do what you always do and simply create new books from scratch.”

“That was back during my thirty years of terror! I don’t do that anymore!” Amelia growled as she cut open the worm’s stomach, causing several books to fly out. “And speaking of terrors, why are there so many Bookworms here!?”

“I called for an exterminator sometime ago, but they never answered,” Titus blurted as he suddenly hopped to their side. “And no matter who else I called, they rejected my request for help.”

Titus briefly glanced at the disguised librarians and gestured to them to go away, which they quickly did as the giant book kept talking to the duo.

“Ugh, there’s so many Bookworms here that it’s gonna take us all night to clean them out!” Amelia yelled. “By the time we finish getting rid of them, the Apex will have long left the Car!”

Hazel rolled her eyes. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Because it is!” Amelia yelled. “They’re remnants of one of my greatest failures; the unintentional spread of my antipathic belief that the Train would give me what I wanted if I simply demanded it hard enough! To leave such people walking around the Train is a recipe for disaster!”

“Can’t be any worse than causing chaos for over thirty years,” Hazel shot at another Bookworm, causing it to blow up. “Or creating an artificial daughter you’re likely never going to have, only to treat her as a worker at best, and a tool at worst.”

Amelia rubbed her forehead. “Listen, experiment, we don’t have time for this; clearing out the Bookworms is going to take all night, and once that’s done we’re gonna need to gather as much sleep as we can. So for now, let’s just focus on getting the job done and continue the hunt for the Apex tomorrow, understood? Good, now let’s go.”

Amelia killed another Bookworm before stomping deeper into the library, all the while Hazel stared at her with annoyance.

“And once again, she changes the subject before disregarding my words.”

“I really don’t feel like I should get involved, but it seems you two don’t have the best relationship,” Titus blurted. “Why are you sticking to her? I heard you had a mother figure-”

“She’s dead,” Hazel stated sternly. “A certain prick named Simon Laurent decided to wheel her.”

Grace winced, while the kids’ eyes widened.

“I’m… very sorry to hear that,” Titus frowned. “You have my condolences.”

“Thanks. It’s the only thing I’ve gotten from everybody so far, but it’s better than nothing, I guess,” Hazel rubbed her forehead. “And the worst part is that Amelia could simply reconstruct her like she does the other Denizens, but she hasn’t even tried it! She’s just laser focused on “fixing old mistakes” or whatever!”

Hazel took a deep breath and morphed her buster cannon back to normal. “She created me to act like the daughter she wanted to have with Alrich. And yet, she treats me more like a worker drone.”

“The False Conductor has a history of not being the most empathetic person around,” Titus frowned. “But everybody can change. If you give her more time and try to prode her to the right direction, she might end up being the mother figure you want her to be.”

Hazel paused. “No, I’ve long since given up on the idea Amelia could ever be a motherly figure. She’s my boss. Nothing more, nothing less.”

The girl stretched a bit as Titus stared at her, and then faced the giant book shortly after, saying:

“Sorry for taking up your time, Head Librarian. Thanks for listening to my irrelevant rambling.”

Hazel forced a smile, and followed Amelia deeper into the library, at which point the disguised Apex were about to leave through the main door.

“So, Simon wheeled the mother figure of that girl?” Lindsay sighed. “Geez, and here I thought Simon couldn’t get any worse.”

“I’m more curious about Denizens having mother figures at all,” Todd shrugged. “They’re not born, so how does that work? And why didn’t the false Conductor just revive her?”

“Amelia isn’t as almighty as we once thought, and One-One isn’t the most emotional or compassionate person around,” Grace took a deep breath. “Let’s just… keep moving and get out of here already.”

The group walked out the door, and dropped their disguises as they walked into another Car; one filled with sheep surrounded by electricity.

“Well, that was a nice change of pace, but now’s the time to look for another place to stay,” Grace remarked as she pocketed the wig and glasses. “Or at the very least, something we can use to defend ourselves.”

“Maybe this book can help?”

Grace turned to see Lucy lifting a large book titled “Kwamizens of the Train” in bold letters. Seeing this, Grace grabbed the book and checked its content as Lucy explained:

“The giant book man gave it to me before we went into hiding.”

Lindsay snickered. “Interesting way of saying you stole it.”

“I didn’t steal it!” Lucy whined. “He did give it to me!”

And as the girls kept arguing, Grace noticed a passage down the corner of the first page:

“Consider this a farewell gift. Make good use of this book.”

Seeing that, Grace calmed down a bit, and took a deep breath. Then she closed the book, getting the kids’ attention.

“We’re not getting anywhere with petty bickering. First, we have to figure out a way to know where to go next,” Grace opened the book again and smiled. “And I think I know where we can find that.”

Grace then showed the contents of the book page she was on, and the kids smiled as they saw a tiny fairy-like creature with their name underneath in bold letters:

Hook, the Kwamizen of Navigation.

…

Back at the stables, Professor Fennel stared out the window while Chloe jumped up and down on her bed, which resembled a pile of hay in the shape of a bed.

"You heard about hitting the hay, but now it's time to bounce the hay!"

Professor Fennel, however, just kept staring out the window to see the bright moon and some horsegirls running outside, presumably training for tomorrow’s race. This eventually caused Bakku to emerge from the blanket and poke her.

“Something on your mind?”

The woman glanced at the creature, then shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“Listen, if you’re still upset over how I snapped at you over not using the Dream Miraculous in the previous car, don’t take it personally,” the chimeratic fairy stated. “It’s simply my job to ensure that you don’t just leave the Miraculous in the dust whenever you have the perfect chance to use it for good.”

“I know, and you’re absolutely right; I should’ve pulled out Dreamland Shepherd as soon as the traps were activated,” Professor Fennel sighed. “But… I don’t know, I guess I was a bit apprehensive about using it so soon?”

“So soon?” Bakku tilted their head. “You’ve had the Miraculous for a couple days.”

“That’s not what I mean. What I’m saying is that, while I do wish to use this Miraculous to do good, I simply don’t have experience being an actual superhero to think I’d do a good job,” Professor Fennel answered. “I’m not Blaziken Mask, or the Black Arachnid, or Gilgarman or Gligirl.”

“You’re correct; you’re none of those people,” Bakku stated. “You’re Professor Meridian Fennel, researcher of dreams and wielder of the Dream Miraculous. Instead of comparing yourself to them, you should be more focused on being your own superhero.”

“Perhaps, but still, I’m also not the type of person to jump into something like superheroics at the drop of a hat,” Professor Fennel added. “I prefer to see all options available and use them before using something like the Miraculous.”

Bakku took a deep breath. “Fine, I guess I can cut you some slack in that case. But if you’re not going to use the Dream Miraculous in a situation like that, who will?”

The woman hummed, then turned to see Chloe still jumping on the hay bed, at which point she got an idea and turned to Bakku.

“I definitely don’t like where this is going.”

Professor Fennel grabbed the blanket that was the Dream Miraculous. “Have some faith in Chloe, Bakku.”

“Me not having faith in her isn’t the problem,” Bakku stated. “This is a child who has never worn anything like this before, not to mention that she’s very hyperactive and the Miraculous isn’t as strong when wielded by a child. Plus, what if something happens to her? Are you ready to take responsibility in case something happens?”

Professor Fennel paused. “I already accepted responsibility when I joined her team. I think I can deal with this.”

Bakku rolled their eyes, and followed the woman to Chloe, who stopped jumping as she said:

“Hey, Chloe? Would you like to give the Dream Miraculous a shot?”

“Can I really?!” Chloe perked up.

Professor Fennel and Bakku exchanged looks, and the former showed the blanket to the redhead as she said:

“Chloe Cerise, this is the Dream Miraculous, which wields the power of Exhaustion. I entrust you this Miraculous under one condition; you will use its power for good, and only good. Once the job is done, you’ll return the Miraculous to me. Do you accept these terms?”

Chloe nodded and bowed down. "I gracefully swear to wield this Miraculous for the good of passengerkind!"

Professor Fennel nodded in approval, and handed the blanket to Chloe, who promptly wore it… and showed it covering her whole upper body.

"Huh, it looks more like a mantle when you wear it, Chloe," Professor Fennel commented.

"It was made for an adult, so naturally it's adult-sized," Bakku explained. "Anyway, kid, you know what to say."

Chloe turned to Professor Fennel, who nodded in approval, and the redhead promptly stated:

“Bakku! Good Morning!”

Bakku rolled their eyes and said "Here we go" before merging with the Dream Miraculous, causing it to assume its true form.

The first part of Chloe's outfit to transform was her skirt, which enveloped in light before stretching to cover her legs until they reached her ankles.

With that done, the light became puffier and became navy blue yoga pants, ending in golden rings that circled around her ankles in midair.

Then, her shirt transformed, being engulfed in light before her sleeves expanded to cover her arms, and turned into black sleeves. As for her shirt, it turned navy blue with star-shaped buttons to keep it together, and what seemed like a hood behind Chloe's head.

Speaking of Chloe's head, she grabbed and took off her scrunchie, allowing her long hair to flow as she moved her head left and right, her hair becoming lighter in color with each consecutive swing until it not only became pearly white, but turned puffier like a cloud in the sky.

It flowed down like a mass of marshmallows until Chloe grabbed her hood and did the impossible: contain her massive mess of hair inside the hood, which sprouted Mareep-like horns as Chloe covered her face with her hands.

She then raised her head and did a "peek-a-boo!" gesture, revealing she now had a dark blue domino mask with star-shaped pupils, shortly before winking and sticking out her tongue. 

She then tapped her hips, and a pair of energy balls materialized and transformed into a pair of bags. She put her hands in said bags, and threw some dust into the air, spreading her arms wide as she bathed in the dust cloud, sprinkling her costume with tiny, star-like symbols.

Finally, she swung her hips twice, creating a pair of rings that she then grabbed and lifted up high, smacking them with each other once to turn them into tambourines: one baring the image of a crescent moon, the other a shining sun. 

With her transformation finished, Chloe spun once and jumped high, flashing a wide smile while shaking her tambourines.

"Tambourines, huh?" Professor Fennel scratched her chin. "So not only the costume, but the weapon also changes with the user… well, assuming the dust I make is my weapon."

"And done!" Chloe chirped before waving her arms excitedly. "How do I look? How do I look?!"

Professor Fennel put her hands on Chloe's shoulders and took her to a mirror.

"Tell me yourself."

Chloe took a closer look at her reflection… and burst out laughing while pointing at it.

"I look like I'm wearing a onesie!"

Professor Fennel giggled. "The most powerful onesie in all of mankind!”

Chloe and Professor Fennel shared a hearty laugh, and once they finished, another important discussion began:

"Now, what's your name?"

"Chloe!"

"No, silly, your superhero name,” Professor Fennel smiled. “I take a different name while I’m transformed, it’s only fair you do it too.”

Chloe hummed and scratched her chin as she thought long and hard about it…

"Slumber Party!"

But not long enough.

"We can have one of those another day-"

"No, my hero name!"

“... I think it’s safe to say you should pick something that’s harder to mistake for something else.”

"Sleepover?"

"That's literally the exact same thing."

"Sleep Fest!"

Professor Fennel put her hands on Chloe’s shoulders. “Chloe, you need to think long and hard about this name. It’s not just going to be a name that’s gonna get picked up by whoever wields it next; this is something exclusive to you. So the name should also be something that’s exclusive as well. So please, think a little more.”

Chloe hummed as she thought about it, closing her eyes and scrunching her brow as she mustered all the focus she could muster…

"Twilight Sleepover!"

Professor Fennel held back a chuckle. "You insist on having "sleepover" as part of the name, don't you?"

"Mhm!"

“Fine,” Professor Fennel raised her hand. “By the power invested in me, because I totally have that power, I dub you Twilight Sleepover.”

“Yay!” Chloe, now Twilight Sleepover, perked up. “I’m gonna go help everyone have a goodnight sleep!”

And thus, with her arms extended out like an airplane, Twilight Sleepover bolted out of the room, running past a visiting Haru Urara.

“Uh, did I miss something?”

“Nah, just me briefly granting access to the Dream Miraculous to Chloe so she could act as a superhero for nothing,” Professor Fennel remarked while waving her hand dismissively. “You know, nothing big.”

“Alright,” Haru turned back to where Twilight Sleepover ran off. “If you say so…”

"So, Haru," Professor Fennel blurted as the horsegirl closed the door. "What brings you here?"

"I couldn't help but notice that you looked… troubled by something while Zippy Chippy and I took you and your friend to your room," Haru frowned sympathetically. "If you don't mind, I can listen, if it'd help you clear your mind?"

Professor Fennel grabbed her arm and looked elsewhere. "I don't want to bother you-"

"It's not a bother at all; I'm a Denizen, our main mission is to help Passengers like you work out your issues," Haru flashed a reassuring smile. "If there's any way I can help you, I'll do it. Just let me know."

Hearing those encouraging words, Professor Fennel turned back to the horsegirl and took a deep breath.

"The thing is-"

Haru put a finger on the woman's mouth, whispering:

"Not here. Somewhere more private."

Professor Fennel mumbled something that sounded "but where?" with a raised eyebrow.

Haru smiled. "Follow me…"

Chapter Text

Okay, time to continue this crazy little story, and to try to make it a bit more bearable, I'm only going to focus on one plot for each side of the story.

The Infinity Train side will focus on Professor Fennel and Chloe, and the Pokemon side will focus on a story I'm sure you're all excited to see move forward.

I'm of course talking about the Parker and Amanita story.

Yaaaaaaaaay.

Also, while I'm here, part of the ending of last chapter was transplanted here in order to not make it too freakishly big. I may have failed with this chapter, but eh, we’ll see soon.

And once again, I had to change things slightly to better fit my plan, but this time the reason’s more understandable: see, despite being the main antagonist of the story, we haven’t really seen much of Colress lately. So, I’m putting him in the spotlight for once.

On the bright side, I have an idea on what short arc to have after the Horsegirl Race Car is over, so that’s nice I guess.

But regardless, you’ve waited long enough! Let’s go!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Hilda and Blake struggled to break free from their restraints as they heard some footsteps come closer and closer. They had black bags over their heads, so they couldn’t see who it was, but they could hear well enough:

“Thanks for bringing them here, Shadow Triad.”

“You don’t need to thank us, Master N.”

“Master N?!” Hilda exclaimed, her words slightly muffled by the bag.

The Shadow Triad removed the bags, and Hilda and Blake were met by the sight of a familiar, green haired guy. He looked down at them as Hilda narrowed her eyes in disgust and Hilbert looked around… wherever they were.

"Ah, Hilda White," N hummed. "How long has it been since we last met?"

Hilda narrowed her eyes. "Not long enough, I’d say. Care to explain to me why we were kidnapped?”

“Obviously, I need both you and your friend to come to my castle to discuss something important,” N calmly answered. “But speaking of that friend…. remove his restraints.”

Anthea and Concordia nodded and obliged, removed Hilbert’s restraints and backing away alongside the Shadow Triad. Hilbert stood up and dusted himself before N took a step forward and said:

“So, Hilbert?”

“N.”

The guys stared at each other intensely, Hilda glancing between the two concerned a fight would break out, while Anthea and Concordia stared blankly at the two of them.

And then N raised his arms.

“Hilbert!”

And the guy returned the gesture.

“N!”

The boys laughed as they hugged each other, giving Anthea and Concordia a sense of relief, while baffling Hilda to no end.

“Dude, it’s been forever since I last heard from you!” Hilbert chirped before gently jamming N’s shoulder. “How have you been?!”

“Oh, not much, to be honest,” N answered while rubbing Hilbert’s head.

“Wait just a damn minute!” Hilda yelled. “You know each other!?”

“Well, yeah, N and I worked together to beat Ghetsis during the first defeat of Team Plasma!” Hilbert explained, scratching his cheek as he tried to remember what happened. “I’m pretty sure there was another guy over there. Some interpol jerk who kept going on about justice?”

“Ah yes, Blake, he’s here too,” N nonchalantly said as he snapped his fingers, prompting Anthea and Concordia to release Hilda. “And with a certain friend of mine also here, I’m sure that’s all the people I need in order to explain the current situation of Team Plasma. Are you two hungry?”

“Oh no, not really, I’m actually fine,” Hilda rolled her eyes. “It’s amazing how being kidnapped can actually help with a growling stomach.”

“Well then, you can have fun here with Anthea, Concordia, and the Shadow Triad,” N wrapped his arm around Hilbert’s shoulders. “Hilbert and I are going to go have dinner and see if he wants to help me with Team Plasma.”

“Sounds good to me!” Hilbert chirped. “I’m starving!”

N chuckled as he and Hilbert walked out of the room, leaving Hilda behind to be surrounded by Anthea, Concordia, and the Shadow Triad, who all stared at her blankly as she slowly, but surely, grew more and more uncomfortable…

“WAIT FOR ME!”

…

Meanwhile, at the Cerise Household, Professor Cerise and Talia sat at the table, eating dinner together.

"So, I was told you started your new job as a teacher today," Professor Cerise remarked. "How did it go?"

"Pretty well, all things considered," Talia answered. "The atmosphere was decent, the children were adorable, only nearly died of embarrassment instead of outright, and I finally managed to see the inside of a teacher's lounge!"

"I can see why you'd mention those things," Professor Cerise raised an eyebrow. "But why bring up the teacher's lounge?"

"Honey, you need to understand that anybody who's ever been a student has always wondered what's inside that room," Talia narrowed her eyes seriously. "It's one of the biggest mysteries of anybody's school life, next to whether teachers have lives outside of school or not!"

"Well, when you put it like that, I can see where you're coming from," Professor Cerise hummed. "So, what did you find inside?"

"Disappointment."

Professor Cerise released a hearty laughter before sipping his drink. “I can imagine.”

"Well, for the most part, there were two people who did catch my attention," Talia added. "There's Mrs. April, Chloe's homeroom teacher, who used to teach at a Ranger School before coming to Vermillion City. "

“Oh really? I think I’ve heard about rangers before,” Professor Cerise scratched his chin. “I think it was related to something that happened in… Almia, I think? Anyway, how is she like?”

“She’s a very nice woman, very calm, very supportive, she’s been a pretty big help in getting me adjusted to life as a schoolteacher,” Talia put her hand on her cheek and rolled her eyes. “She’s certainly more tolerable than the other person I met: Mr. Bradbury.”

Professor Cerise froze. “Wait a minute, Mr. Bradbury?”

“Yup.”

“ That Mr. Bradbury?”

Talia furrowed her brow. “Yup. And before you ask, he’s every bit as annoying as he used to be.”

“Oh my goodness,” Professor Cerise frowned. “Did he do anything this time?”

Talia paused. “Nothing he hadn’t tried before.”

Professor Cerise grew silent as the atmosphere became more and more quiet…

And then Ash and Amanita arrived.

“And now, every time I’m struck by an Electric attack, I don’t feel a thing!” Ash proudly boasted. “If that doesn’t show you how much Pikachu and I have been together, I don’t know what will!”

“I’m pretty sure that’s more of a sign that your biggest enemy in your journey might’ve been Pikachu,” Amanita pointed out. “No offense, Pikachu.”

The electric rodent waved his hand dismissively.

“Ah, Ash! Amanita! What a surprise!” Talia blurted, either oblivious or ignorant of her husband taking a deep breath of relief. “What brings you here? Wanna have dinner with us?”

“No thanks, Talia, we’re kinda busy. I was planning to go to Pallet Town with Ash to check up on Musharna but something else came up,” Amanita explained. “We’ve been holding off from interrogating Colress long enough, so we’re going to go see him and try to get some answers out of him. But before we go, there’s a favor I gotta ask you.”

“Ask us a favor?” Professor Cerise raised an eyebrow. “Well, what is it about?”

“It’s nothing too dangerous, I promise,” Amanita responded. “I just need you to go to the house of this kid named Yeardley and help him deal with his nightmares.”

“Yeardley? You mean Yeardley Yung?” Talia inquired. “I saw him earlier this morning. He looked like he hadn’t slept in a while.”

“That’s precisely why I have the feeling that he might be suffering from Nightmare Mist-induced insomnia, and the best way to deal with it is to repeat what we did with the Akemi girl’s dreams,” Amanita explained. “I need you to go to his house, enter his dreams, and destroy the source of his nightmares.”

“And why are you asking us to do it?” Professor Cerise inquired. “I mean, we’ll be happy to help, but were we really

“Absolutely not, I was gonna ask your assistants for help, but they decided to use the machine I left in their house to train their daughter in one of their dreams,” Amanita folded her arms and rolled her eyes. “I’m guessing they’re only going to have a tea party or something.”

…

Meanwhile, in a dreamscape that resembled a robotic city, a giant robot shaped like a Snorlax fought against another Snorlax, this one causing the robot Snorlax to tumble away.

“Alright, ladies, looks like we’re gonna have to go overdrive!” Renji, who sat at the head, stated. “It’s the only way to beat this monster!”

“Okay, before we do that, serious question,” Chryssa, who sat on the torso, said as a small screen sporting her face appeared on Renji’s screen. “Why are you the head?!”

“Because I’m the leader!”

Another screen appeared, this one showing Akemi, who controlled the lower body. “Why though?”

“Because this is my dream!”

Chryssa paused. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“No no, he’s got a point,” Akemi argued.

And then the giant Snorlax grabbed and threw the robot Snorlax away.

…

“Say, speaking of people now being around,” Amanita remarked. “Where is Parker? Not that I mind, I enjoy the peace and quiet his absence brings, but it’s odd that he’d just vanish.”

“Oh, he said he was going to go to Jinny’s house,” Ash answered. “Something about getting her to tell him about her dreams.”

“Right, I did tell him we needed to learn how dangerous her dreams were before we got to work,” Amanita sighed. “If that’s the case, though, poor Jinny; I can only imagine how badly she’s having it with that creep at her house.”

…

Parker and Jinny hit each other with pillows, giggling while Parker’s Eevee jumped all over the place, avoiding capture by Jinny’s Milotic. The kids kept hitting each other with their pillows until they hit the ground.

“Geez, Parker, this is the most fun I’ve had in years!” the girl chirped. “Thanks for coming to my house, it’s been lonely with me and Milotic since Dad stopped showing up.”

“Now that you mention him, where’s your father?” Parker blurted. “And where’s your mother? Where are your parents?!”

“I don’t know where mommy is, but for daddy, he told me he had to go to work… and then he never returned,” Jinny frowned. “I’ve been waiting for him to return, but nothing yet.”

The girl kept frowning as she lowered her head, Milotic wrapping their tail around her in sympathy until Parker blurted:

“Hey, you said you had troubles with your dreams, right? Why don’t you tell me about them?”

“Oh right, I did mention those!” Jinny perked up. “They’re kinda weird, though. You promise not to laugh?”

Parker did the “my lips are sealed” gesture, and smiling with relief, Jinny explained:

“I see myself as a Feebas mermaid surrounded by other mermaids based on different Pokemon. They look at me, call me ugly, and drive me away.”

She frowned.

“So I swim away to another place, one where I can be accepted, only to get captured by poachers!”

“Oh no!” Parker winced. “Wait, poachers work in the sea too?”

“I think so. Anyway, they capture me, take a look at me… and call me ugly and throw me back into the water.”

Jinny wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled them towards her.

“And so, with nobody to see me as pretty, I’m stuck all alone, an ugly little Feebas mermaid…”

Jinny placed her face down her joints, and Parker, feeling sympathetic, patted her back.

“I think that’s enough, Jinny. This should be enough to get Amanita to help us set things right.”

“You mean it, Parker?!” Jinny perked up and hugged the boy. “Thank you so much!”

Parker blushed and hugged back. 

“No problem, Jinny.”

Jinny then patted Parker in the back… all while staring at Milotic staring back at her, all the while Eevee circled around them.

…

Back with Ash and Amanita, the duo walked towards the Cerise Institute, whose entrance was being watched by Amanita’s Hypno.

“Okay, Ash, this is what we’re gonna do,” the small scientist stated. “I’m going to be the bad cop who’ll point fingers at Colress and put him on edge, while you’ll be the good cop who’ll regain his trust when it looks like my methods won’t work.”

“We won’t have to dress up as Officer Jenny to do this, right?” Ash asked with worry. “I had to do that last time I did the good cop and bad cop routine.”

Amanita turned to Pikachu, and the Pokemon just gave her a look that had “don’t ask” written all over it. So, they walked to the Cerise Institute, walked past the Hypno guarding the entrance, and turned on the lights to find the man himself sitting in place, legs crossed with a vacant expression on his face.

“Oh, would you look at that! I got visitors!” Colress chirped, suddenly returning to reality. “What a delightful surprise!”

Amanita and Ash exchanged looks and nodded as Pikachu hopped off, his cheeks releasing electricity as the trio approached the bound scientist.

“I’m sorry I didn’t prepare a table with some tea and biscuits for you, I totally would’ve prepared some if I was told I’d have visits,” Colress chuckled. “Then again, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, seeing as I’m a little… tied up at the moment.”

“Enough with the jokes, you psycho!” Amanita snapped. “We’re here for answers!”

“Of course you are,” Colress rolled his eyes. “It’s not like you people have the time to use your own brains to try and figure out what my plan is on your own.”

“Colress, this isn’t a joke,” Ash stated seriously. “What you’re doing could put an entire city of innocent people in danger!”

Colress lightheartedly laughed at the boy’s statement. “Ash, Team Plasma’s ultimate goal would’ve sent Unova into another ice age, giving all its residents, people and Pokemon alike, an icey death. I joined such a group without a second thought. You really think I’m gonna give a flying feather over a smaller city where people get lost in their dreams?”

“They could end up dying in them!” Ash pointed out. “You saw on the news report what happened to Ghetsis!”

“Let’s be frank here: he had it coming,” Colress shook his head in disapproval. “Adopted or not, the way he treated N made it clear that sooner or later, karma was going to catch up to him, and it would force him to pay quite the fee.”

“... N is adopted?” Ash asked, sounding genuinely confused.

“This is getting us nowhere!” Amanita snapped before stomping forward. “Listen here, you freak, either you tell us what your true plan’s about, or else-!”

“Or else what? You’re going to beat the stuffing out of me until I spill the beans? Drive me to my breaking point until I beg for mercy?” Colress interjected mockingly. “Oh no, please, anything but that! I will tell you everything you want!”

Colress smirked. “And then I’ll tell you the first nonsense I can bluff, and you’re going to buy it as long as it even vaguely sounds like what you want to hear, and not what you need to hear.”

Amanita gritted her teeth and growled, but Colress was unfazed by this reaction. 

“Why did you send a distress call to Professor Juniper?” Ash inquired suddenly. “If you wanted to force us to escape the nightmare on our own, why send a message to someone who can help us out?”

“Yeah, that’s a good question!” Amanita perked up. “How do you explain that?!”

“It’s simple: while you were being tested on your strength in the dream world, I decided to test those of the waking world as well.”

Amanita and Ash raised an eyebrow, while Pikachu kept his distance.

“It’s one thing to be able to awaken from nightmares on your own, but that only works on the dream world. Those in the waking world instead have to show their strength by helping those who are stuck in those nightmares,” Colress calmly explained. “And considering Professor Fennel was the one to show up, I think that says a lot about her strength, and Professor Juniper’s weakness.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “How are those two related?”

“Simple, Professor Fennel is a woman whose field of study is the dreams of Pokemon and Trainers. Theoretically speaking, she’s the single best person to come to for aid in dealing with something like this,” Colress shook his head and sighed. “Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to be around anymore. At the very least, she hasn’t come to pay me a visit in a while. I hope she’s okay.”

“She’ll be perfectly fine as long as she stays as far away from you as possible!” Amanita yelled, pointing at the man with notable fury. “Now stop messing around and tell us, what is your plan with the Nightmare Mist!?”

“My ambition with the Nightmare Mist is the exact same one as I had back when I used Team Plasma for my own means; have Pokemon show their full strength, which I’m sure I told you about already,” Colress lowered his eyelids. “Honestly, given how much you brag about being the smartest around, I’d figure you’d quickly get up to speed.”

Amanita’s face turned completely red as steam came out of her ears, the young girl raising her finger and becoming readier and readier to yell at the man-

*RIIIIIING!*

And then she deflated, taking a deep breath as she reached for her pocket and took out her phone.

“Who is it?” Ash asked worriedly.

Amanita took one look at her phone screen before facepalming. “It’s Parker.”

Colress laughed mockingly. “That boyfriend of yours sure has impeccable timing.”

“HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!” Amanita yelled at the bespectacled scientist before she answered the call. “Parker, we’re in the middle of something important, what do you want?”

And then the other end was followed by rapid fire statements from Parker, with Amanita trying her hardest to keep up with the kid.

“What?... Really?... I know I said that, but… Of course I can remember that but… Sure, but Parker… I know I’m the best but would you listen to me for one-!?”

*CLICK!*

“.... He hung up on me…” Amanita said as she closed her phone and pocketed it, hands shivering as her expression turned into one of rage. “He hung UP ON ME!”

Amanita pocketed her phone and turned to the Alola League Champion. “Alright, Ash, listen, I gotta go check up on Parker over at Jinny’s house, and I can’t keep you here for long, so I’ll have Hypno watch over this maniac while you get some shut eye.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay over and watch for him?” Ash suggested. “I’m used to staying up late at night-”

“Ash, you’re currently sleeping back in your old home, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, your mom’s there, and the longer you stay out of her house, the more she’s going to get worried and anxious and let me tell you something, Ash Ketchum: if there’s something I’ve learned in my half decade of life, it's that you don’t mess with mothers. Or sisters who act like mothers. Or motherly figures who are essentially your own mother-you know what, just don’t mess with mothers!”

And then, either because she was too angry or because she didn’t want to repeat herself, Amanita stomped out of the institute, leaving Ash and Pikachu to exchange looks and eventually decide to leave as well, but not before giving Colress the “I’ll be watching you” gesture.

And the man’s only response? A smug smirk as the doors opened and closed.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Chloe, now Twilight Sleepover, giggled to herself as she ran around the hotel, looking for something or someone to use her newly acquired abilities on. Of course, she was primarily looking for bad guys; she wasn’t going to just throw away her promise to

But speaking of promises, she stopped near a window and looked out at it to see the Miraculous on the pedestal outside, several horsegirls walking past it as she leaned closer and said to herself:

“Just be a little more patient, Kwamizen! I’ll win the race and earn the right to wear you!”

However, she also noticed a pair of people walking past the pedestal: these being Professor Fennel and Haru Urara. Though far away, she could tell that Professor Fennel looked a little worried, and that Haru was giving her a reassuring look, but this didn’t help with her concern.

So, she got an idea, and took a deep breath before yawning, summoning a large cloud from her breath.

“Haha! It worked!” Twilight Sleepover chirped before hopping on top of the cloud. “I was only going to give it a shot just to see if it works! I should let Professor Fennel know about this power when I get the chance.”

Once on top of the cloud, Twilight Sleepover yawned a little.

“Huh, weird, I feel more tired than usual… eh, it’s probably nothing to worry about! Off we go!”

The cloud flew the superhero out of the building and then sent her to the sky, just high enough to avoid detection but low enough to allow her to hear the people underneath her.

Her cloud promptly took her on top of a bench in the middle of a park, surrounded by a pond, trees, and inside some sort of small, open tower.

“Alright, here we are,” Haru said as she sat down the bench. “This is a pretty good spot for people to talk to one another. Try to get closer. Maybe even have one confide in another about their problems?”

“What’s a half-finished tower doing in the same car as a giant race track?” Professor Fennel pointed out. “I don’t see how both these things correlate together.”

Haru stared at Professor Fennel as she patted the spot next to her, ignoring the question in favor of telling the woman to sit down. Sighing in defeat, Professor Fennel obliged and sat down, the horsegirl putting a hand on her shoulder as she said:

“Now, tell me… what’s on your mind?”

The woman faced the horsegirl one more time before she explained herself, Haru and a hidden Chloe listening intently:

"I once used to say a particular phrase all the time, "Follow Your Dreams." I said this both as something I liked to say, but also as a little advice to people who were feeling down about whether they’d be able to do just that. The truth is, there are many dreams that, for many people’s situations, seemed farfetched to outright impossible. So, I was hoping that little phrase would help them get the encouragement they needed.”

Professor Fennel frowned. “So I said it repeatedly to whoever I found feeling down about their chances to achieve their goals. And for the most part, it seemed to work to an extent… but then, it happened.”

Haru raised an eyebrow. “What happened?”

Professor Fennel paused to take her breath, and she lowered her head as she answered:

“I… gave that advice to the last person who needed it…”

…

A younger Professor Fennel skipped across a grassfield, giggling to herself while enjoying just aimlessly moving around as the Seagulls flew above the sky.

But then, she stopped, noticing a person in the distance looking at a machine rather sadly. She approached them, and she soon recognized who they were: a man with blonde hair and a rather notable blue cowlick on his head.

“Hey, you look sad!” the younger professor exclaimed as she reached the man. “What’s wrong?”

The man briefly glanced at the girl and sighed. “I’ve been trying to achieve a breakthrough where Pokemon can achieve their full strength and potential, but nothing I’ve made has worked so far. Everything I’ve tried just caused the Pokemon to grow tired, showing no signs of improvement, physical or mental.”

“Well, just follow your dreams!” Professor Fennel chirped. “I’m sure if you keep going, you’ll be able to get it eventually!”

“I’ve already tried everything at my disposal, and nobody wants to give my ambitions a chance,” the man lowered his head. “I’m all alone in this, and I’m just about my limit. If I don’t get some sort of support soon, I might just have to quit altogether.”

Professor Fennel winced at the declaration, but just as soon as she did, she got an idea. 

“Why don’t I help you?”

The man looked at the girl and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m conducting research on the dreams of Pokemon and their Trainers! Maybe taking a look at the stuff of dreams can help you turn this into a reality?”

The man took a deep breath. “I don’t see how that might help me…”

After a while, he stood up.

“But I’m all out of options. I should at least give this a try.”

She faced the woman and asked bluntly, “Who are you?”

“I’m Meridian Fennel, but soon people will call me Professor Fennel!” the professor-in-making extended her hand forward. “And you are?”

The man glanced at the girl’s hand, then her excited face, and finally shook her hand as he answered:

“Colress.”

…

“Little did I know that this man… he didn’t have good intentions,” Professor Fennel lowered her eyelids. “Sure, wanting Pokemon to reach their absolute strength sounds good on paper, but the lengths he’d go to achieve it.”

Haru patted Professor Fennel’s back. “Was it the first time you came across something like that?”

“Everybody else I met took my words and were left just fine. At least, I think they were, I didn’t usually stick around long enough to see if my words hit a chord,” Professor Fennel sighed. “But when he told me that he was at his limit, a part of me was telling me that I had to help him. That I couldn’t just leave it there and go away.”

Professor Fennel shook her head. “I shouldn’t have listened to that part of me. Even now, Colress keeps going with his research and doing all the horrible things he does because I encouraged him to do it. Because I simply chose to help him without considering the consequences.”

Twilight Sleepover’s eyes widened, frowning with worry as Haru added: 

"You know, it's not really fair to blame yourself for what happened. I mean, it's just my opinion, but all you did was try to give someone advice, and then give them a helping hand when that wasn’t enough. They just happened to take it the wrong way."

"You have a point, and I can see why you'd think that," Professor Fennel lowered her eyelids. "But even when I think about it like that… I'm still shaken… I'm still… scared…"

Haru frowned. "Scared?"

“Colress wasn’t the only person I said those words to. I told them to many people,” Professor Fennel scratched her cheek and looked elsewhere. “Some probably ignored me, but what about the ones who did take my advice? What if Colress wasn’t the only person I said those words to who had bad intentions? What if, without even knowing it, I encouraged other horrible people to continue their horrible actions?”

The woman lowered her head. “That’s why I don’t say those words anymore. That’s why I don’t rush into things first, or exhaust all my options before going with the obvious thing. I just… don’t want to risk making things worse by being rash and hasty about it.”

“Those are just what-ifs, you don’t know if they’re real or not,” Haru argued. “Driving yourself crazy over what could’ve been isn’t going to help you.”

"Still… I don't want to make that mistake again," Professor Fennel took a deep breath. "I don't know how I'd be able to go on if my well intentioned advice caused another supervillain to go on with their plans."

Haru then asked an unexpected question:

"You haven't told Chloe, right?"

Professor Fennel felt a shiver go down her spine.

“You might not agree, but this sounds like something that would be useful to tell her. At the very least, it would ease her curiosity in case she wants to know at an inopportune moment.”

"Chloe's still a child,” Professor Fennel stated without hesitation. “One full of energy and joy for life. She should be learning stuff at school and enjoying her childhood while she can, not listening to a random woman's problems and helping her deal with her issues."

Twilight Sleepover clutched her chest, feeling a slight pain in her heart.

“Besides, even if I told her… she wouldn’t be able to help me. This is something I’ve been dealing with for years now, one girl’s help isn’t going to do much to change it,” Professor Fennel added. “Besides, I promised her parents that I’d help her get back home. Last thing I need to do is jeopardize that mission by making her worry about me.”

“It’s never such a good idea to focus on someone’s wellbeing over yours,” Haru pointed out.

Professor Fennel looked elsewhere and remained silent. 

Haru then stared at the woman sympathetically as she took a deep breath… then stretched and stood up.

“Thanks, Haru. This little talk… really did make me feel better. But before we go, can I ask you a favor?”

Haru nodded. “Anything you want.”

“Please keep this a secret from Chloe,” Professor Fennel stated. “Again, she’s my ward, and I need to get her out of here as fast as possible. She doesn’t need to worry about any more problems than she’s already dealing with.”

Haru stood up and did the “my lips are sealed” gesture, flashing a reassuring smile as she and Professor Fennel walked back to the stables…

All while a troubled Twilight Sleepover flew away from those same stables on her cloud, while Angie stared at her from a distance.

She did so while the wind blew, causing her cloak to flow and reveal a necklace connected to a circular hoop. 

She put her hand on the necklace, and Screech emerged, staring at her as the girl remembered…

…

Angie stood in the middle of a crimson ballroom, staring at a shadowy figure with golden eyes as several more shadowy figures, these ones with green eyes, stared at them.

The golden-eyed figure reached for her back, and took out the object, saying:

"Angie Morpheus, this is the Fear Miraculous, which holds the power of Intimidation."

Angie grabbed the object and put it on, summoning Screech from it as the girl continued:

"I shall grant you temporary ownership of this artifact to help the Vermillion Citadel's master plan. And once you've played your part, you are to return the Miraculous, no questions asked. Understood?"

Angie narrowed her eyes. "And Ash?"

"He will be released shortly after the job is done, as long as said job is performed as expected."

The girl smirked.

"His life depends on you now. Understood?"

Angie clenched her fists.

"Yes, Lady Destiny."

…

"Just hang on a little longer, Ash. I'll get you out of there soon!"

With her mind made up, Angie released the object and shouted:

"Screech! Call for help!"

The Kwamizen merged with the necklace, causing it to assume its true form: A necklace of black pearls, with the hoop connected to it gaining feathers at the sides, and a net of web wrapped inside to resemble a diamond-shaped eye.

As that happened, Twilight Sleepover kept flying, lost in thought.

"Poor Professor Fennel, I never would've thought she was dealing with something so heavy. I should do something to cheer her up. Maybe a plushie would do? Adults like plushies, right?"

As if to answer her question with a big fat no, an energy blast struck the cloud, destroying it and causing the girl in a onesie to start falling to the ground.

Twilight screamed while flailing her arms and legs in a panic, until suddenly…

"I can still use Dreamcatcher!"

The superhero grabbed her tambourines año formed a circle that she formed around herself.

"Dreamcatcher!"

Twilight sent the circle down, and was showered in energy, which split from her and transformed into a winged Rapidash that promptly grabbed and flew her safely to the ground.

"Not exactly what I was thinking, but I don't mind!" Twilight Sleepover chirped as she hopped off the creature. "Thanks a lot, little buddy!"

The winged Rapidash neighed as Twilight Sleepover hummed:

"Now the question is, who destroyed my cloud?"

"That would be me."

Twilight Sleepover turned around, and gasped as a newcomer stepped into the scene.

She resembled a girl not much older than her, sporting white hair that flowed like a fireball, a black full bodysuit with red highlights shaped in a way that made it seemed like she was covered in blood, and a black cloak that, when opened, showed what appear to be portal curtains to a space-like dimension covered in golden eyes.

Speaking of eyes, her pupils were a glowing shade of golden, with black sclera that leaked down from the corner of her eyes, forming a pair of tar black lines.

"Who…" Twilight Sleepover took a step back. "Who are you?"

The newcomer smirked, and proclaimed dramatically:

"You can call me Night Mare! And I will make the worst fears of everyone on this car come to life!"

Twilight Sleepover clenched her fists, her artificial winged equine companion standing ready to fight the nightmarish newcomer.

While, unbeknownst to both of them, a green portal opened in the sky, a winged humanoid flying out of it and watching the battle about to begin. And who was this humanoid, you may ask?

A Chloe Cerise, with wings resembling that of a Pidgeotto, wearing a copy of the Cloak of Marchosias over a black dress.

“Looks like we arrived just in time.”

The winged girl turned around and another figure came out of the portal before it closed: this was also a version of Chloe with the same black dress and Cloak of Marchosias, but the cloak had a pair of demonic wings sprouting on the back, flapping and keeping the girl in place as she looked down with a pair of exhausted, soulless eyes.

“ I arrived just in time. Angie… Night Mare… whatever we call her, I was given the assignment to watch over her,” the winged Chloe clarified. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, though, The Despair.”

“Please, just call me Despair, not like there’s another Chloe called that in the Vermillion City,” the other Chloe, The Despair, answered with a cocky smile. “And elementary, my dear Icarus, I’m here to act as garbage disposal.”

The winged Chloe, The Icarus, raised an eyebrow, prompting her fellow Chloe to explain:

“This Angie girl was given a mission: to help Chloe become a hero to fulfill Lady Destiny’s ambition. She already failed to do that with the Dream Forest Car, and this is her chance to redeem herself. Should she fail this time…” 

The Despair turned back to the fight, flashing a smug smile. 

“Then she’s proven herself to be a liability to the Citadel. And that cannot stand.”

Chapter Text

I can’t believe it took me this long to update this one story…

Anyhow, time to begin the climax of the Horsegirl Race Car! 

One of them.

Yeah, this little arc turned out to become a lot bigger than I intended, especially with my decision to not have the chapters be overly bloated. In fact, I had to split this chapter in half basically just to get it out before the end of the year!

But I assure you, once the next few chapters comes, this arc is over. No ifs, no buts, we’ll finally start moving on.

And before we move on, I have to sadly admit defeat; this chapter will definitely be super big by the time I post this. So, my plan to try and keep the chapters trimmed down has not worked, at least so far, but hopefully this massive chapter will be to your liking.

I took forever to upload it, so it’s gotta be good, right? XD

By the way, remember Hugh? The rival from Black and White 2 that was featured here sometime ago.

Me neither, apparently, 'cause he hasn't appeared in a while!

Why don't we change that?

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Hugh had left this issue unaddressed for far too long.

Ever since Professor Juniper requested his help for something, he gave a very clear answer. But a part of him felt… no, knew that the professor would rather have the answer told directly to her. So, once he had gotten some free time, he summoned his Bouffalant and rode them towards Nuvema Town, where Professor Juniper’s lab stood.

Once at the lab, the guy and his Pokemon stopped right in front of the door.

“Bouffalant, stay here."

The Pokemon nodded, and the trainer promptly entered the institute, where he saw a woman sitting on a chair and facing a giant screen. Once the door closed, the woman promptly turned around, revealing herself to be Professor Juniper.

“Ah, Hugh,” the woman said as she stood up and adjusted her labcoat. “I’ve been expecting you.”

The guy wasn’t impressed. “Did you seriously have to do a “chair reveal” like that?”

“Of course I had to!” Professor Juniper exclaimed, suddenly going up on Hugh’s face. “Facing away from a visitor only to turn around and greet them in a mysterious manner! I’ve always wanted to do it ever since I saw my father do it! It’s not fair that only he gets to enjoy that cliche and not me!”

Hugh blinked twice, returning the woman to reality and back away, taking a deep breath before saying:

"Anywho, for somebody who had nothing better to do, you sure took your time paying me a visit," Professor Juniper quipped. "Was there a lot of traffic?"

"I know what I said, Professor, but still…" Hugh paused. "I don't think I wanna get involved with Team Plasma anymore."

"Really now? But I remember you being so into the idea of stopping Team Plasma you'd jump at a chance to strike at them!" Professor Juniper remarked, sounding legitimately shocked. "What changed?"

"I did: I used to be brash, arrogant, thinking that being strong and stopping Team Plasma was the only thing worth investing time into," Hugh looked elsewhere. "And because of that stupid idea of mine, I wasted time I could've better spent elsewhere: taking care of Bouffalant, helping my class recover from Team Plasma's attack…"

Hugh lowered his eyelids. "Looking after my sister…"

Professor Juniper watched sympathetically as the guy turned around, saying:

"Bottom line is, I don't wanna devote any more of my time to those jerks. I'd rather spend it somewhere else."

Professor Juniper looked shocked. "I see. Well then, Hugh…"

Then, she flashed a smile. "You truly are perfect for the job."

Hugh winced. "How? I just told you I don't want anything to do with Team Plasma anymore!"

"Which is precisely what I need," Professor Juniper folded her arms. "See, something happened that has caused me to change tactics."

Hugh raised an eyebrow, prompting Professor Juniper to take out and show him a picture of a certain interpol agent.

"Remember this guy?"

"Right, Blake, the womanizing jerk from school who also happened to be an interpol agent," Hugh casually confirmed as he took a closer look. "What about him?"

"Well, I wanted him to help with the investigation on Team Plasma, but I can't exactly get a police officer involved without approval from his superiors, especially one as rowdy as Blake," Professor Juniper calmly explained. "So I asked him if his superiors approved… and he tried to get away with big fat lying."

"Wait, seriously?" Hugh narrowed his eyes. "Why would he do that? And how did you find out he was lying?"

"I asked Looker, an old friend of mine, about Blake's involvement in the mission, and he spilled everything right then and there," the woman looked elsewhere. "Apparently, he insisted he had to get involved in the mission because then he'd be able to catch an elusive grunt he holds a grudge against, long after Team Plasma's defeat."

Then, she turned back to Hugh with a coy smile. "Sound familiar?"

Hugh didn’t answer, simply lowering his head and lowering his eyelids.

"If anybody can stop Blake from letting his desire for revenge get to him, it's you."

Hugh took a deep breath and thought about it, scratching his chin as he thought deeply about it… then turned back to the woman.

“Where is he right now?”

…

Blake was frustrated.

It was one thing to fail not once, but twice in capturing the criminal known as Whitley. After helping Ghetsis escape and going undercover to continue whatever crimes she had planned, this was his chance to redeem himself, but alas, he failed.

It was another thing, however, to be invited over for dinner mere moments afterwards… and by “invited”, he meant he was kidnapped by a trio of ninjas and taken straight to the dining room, where he was forced to sit down at a table alongside everybody else.

Sitting by his side was a guy with a red cap, eating the food on his plate with delight.

On the other side there were three people: a girl with a ponytail who looked like she didn't want to be there, tapping her fingers on the table, and the other two were Trip and the criminal known as Whitley-NOT Rosa-the latter with the same delight as the boy next to him.

Then, a blonde girl and a pinkette appeared and placed a plate with food in front of him.

"Thanks, but I'm in no hurry to eat dinner," Blake replied, folding his arms. "I came here to do something, and once I'm finished, I'm leaving-"

"Word of advice, boy; don't bother resisting. They'll force feed you the food if they have to," the ponytailed girl said before shedding a single tear. "Speaking from experience."

Slightly worried about the girl’s reaction, Blake took a deep breath, took a bite out of his food… and began to feel delighted. “Hey, this isn’t actually that bad. It’s pretty decent.”

“We’re glad you enjoyed your meal,” Anthea said with a smile, allowing Concordia to add, “N was very strict in ensuring everybody’s meals would satiate their appetites.”

"Speaking of him, where's N?" Blake asked, taking another bite out of his food. "He's not gonna join us?"

"He said he had business to deal with a friend of his," the ponytailed girl rolled her eyes. "Not that I mind, since his face is the last thing I wanna see tonight."

“And before you ask, Blake, yes, N does have friends,” Rosa stated, pausing her food slaughter. “I mean, I don’t know any of those friends myself, but he always told me that he has them!”

“And you just blindly believed him?” Blake asked. “Listen, Whitley, just because N is undoubtedly a charismatic person doesn’t mean that everything he says is right; you have the right to believe he’s lying-”

“Can we just stop talking about N for one second!?” the ponytailed girl snapped, slamming her fist down the table. “We get it; some think he's a good guy, some think he’s a bad guy, let’s just… stop there and try to kill the time before he returns!”

“Word of advice, do as she says,” Hilbert stated, also pausing his food slaughter. “N’s kind of a sore point for her, so the more you talk about him, the more upset she gets.”

“Why?” Blake asked. “What did he do?”

Hilda glared at Blake for a moment… only for her glare to turn into a frown and for her to look elsewhere, sniffing a little.

“Right, it’s probably not something you’re comfortable sharing with a lot of people,” Blake said. “Sorry if I came off as butting in.”

“No, it’s… it’s fine.” the girl took a deep breath. “If anything, I’m happy you’re at least apologizing. Most people just try to learn about my past with N without so much as a sorry.”

“Who does?”

Everybody turned around to find N suddenly sitting on a table longside them, sporting a little smile.

“Let me know, and I’ll be more than happy to give them the answers they desire.”

“Don’t you dare!” the ponytailed girl yelled.

“Dude, I nearly choked on my food!” Hilbert coughed. “How did you do that?!”

“Trade secret,” N replied. “Anyway, I take it you’re all enjoying your dinner?”

“We were until you appeared out of nowhere!” Trip exclaimed as he patted a coughing Rosa’s back. “Please don’t do that again!”

“Yeah, you’re already pretty suspicious as is,” Blake pointed out. “If you want to make us think you’ve changed your ways, popping out of nowhere isn’t the best way to do it.”

“Oh please, Blake, have some faith in me,” N tented his fingers. “Or what, do you seriously think after all these years that I’m still a nasty piece of work?”

“Didn’t you know? Once a criminal, always a criminal,” Blake answered proudly. “It’s what I was constantly told over at the academy, so it’s gotta be the truth, right?”

Trip looked at Blake worriedly, followed by the interpol agent looking around to see everybody else staring with just as much concern, Rosa straight up diverting eye contact as soon as he turned to look at her.

“R-Right?”

“We can talk about that discussion another day,” N stated. “For now, there’s something important I gotta tell you. As you’ve probably learned by now, my adoptive father, Ghetsis, died in his sleep not too long ago-”

“Oh no, not Ghetsis,” Rosa with an extraordinarily dry tone. “So anyway, why are we here?”

“Yeah, I gotta agree with Whitley here,” Blake stated, earning a disapproving look from Rosa and Trip. “I mean, no offense, if that’s even possible, but Ghetsis was one of the worst criminals in the history of our world. I’m pretty sure him being dead is good news for everyone!”

“And you’d be correct, Ghetsis being dead is good news for everyone,” N paused. “Or should I say, almost everyone.”

N pressed another button, and this made the screen change to show a group of six people surrounding Ghetsis.

“These are the Seven Sages, a group consisting of the most powerful individuals of Team Plasma-”

“I only see six, though?” Hilda remarked.

“Ghetsis was one of them, I believe,” Blake pointed out. 

“I’ve heard about this group before in whispers,” Rosa remarked, scratching her chin in thought. “Something about them having the highest authority in all of Team Plasma. And Ghetsis was their leader… until his death.”

“I think I see what N’s implying,” Trip hummed. “With their leader dead, and Team Plasma fractured since their last defeat, the Seven Sages must’ve dispersed across Unova.”

“They did,” N casually confirmed. “And I’m afraid that’s not all.”

Another push of a button changed the monitor, now showing the symbol of Team Plasma fractured in two.

“With the first defeat of Team Plasma, the team was fractured into two opposing factions: Old Team Plasma, who have seen the error of their ways and truly wish to repent, all while showing genuine love of Pokemon-”

“Like ya girl!” Rosa chirped while pointing at herself with a wide smile.

Everybody stared at Rosa for a moment, until the brunette eventually shrank and went quiet as her face turned tomato red.

“And New Team Plasma, who not only continue to believe in Ghetsis’s worldview, but intend to keep it going despite his untimely demise.”

“So wait a minute, if Ghetsis is dead, and you claim not to want anything to do with New Team Plasma,” Hilbert blurted. “Who’s leading them?”

“That’s what I want you to figure out,” N answered. “More specifically, I want Rosa and Blake to find out; I’ve been told they have connections all over the

“Well, it does pay off to be one of the top interpol agents in Unova!” Blake proudly answered. “Because it’s true, I actually do have some contacts that could help us with this situation! There’s this Yancy girl I’ve been keeping in contact with-”

“Oh, you mean the girl with pink hair whom you broke up at the start of the school year?” Rosa blurted. “I thought you cut off all ties with her, though?”

“That was the plan, but once the higher ups realized she was a television personality, they told me to keep contact with her in order to be an informant or something,” Blake rolled his eyes. “She wasn’t happy at first, but I managed to convince her to cooperate.”

“Huh, okay then,” Rosa took a bite out of her food. “Well, I also have something of a contact myself; any of you know about a guy named Curtis?”

“Oh, I do!” Hilda chirped. “He was the guy who replaced some other guy at Pokestar Studios for Brycen-Man: Brycen for Impact!”

“I never watched that movie,” Trip confessed. “Is it any good?”

“Not at all,” Hilbert chuckled. “In my opinion, anyway.”

“Well, I got the leading role in that movie as Foongus Girl, and I and Curtis managed to hit it off during filming,” Rosa explained. “He gave me his contact number, and told me to call him if I ever needed information.”

Blake chuckled. “Now I gotta watch that movie-”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Good, looks like we got our contacts,” N interrupted. “Rosa, Blake, I want you to contact those two and ask them if they’ve seen any strange activity around wherever they are. Better if it’s Unova, but if they’ve seen some strange stuff elsewhere, we can investigate those places too.”

Once that was done, N turned off the screen, and turned back to the group.

“So, to summarize: Locate the Seven Sages, and find any information you can about New Team Plasma’s leader. Any questions?”

“How are you so sure they’ll have the info we’re looking for?” Trip inquired. “As far as we know, this could lead us absolutely nowhere.”

N paused, and took a deep breath. “I will admit, it’s a bit of a stretch to believe they will have the information, but the Seven Sages were Ghetsis’ more trusted allies and aides. They held secrets nobody else in Team Plasma knew, so if there’s the chance they’ll know anything about New Team Plasma, or even the old one, we should take it.”

N flashed a smile. “Now, enjoy your meal and think it over, okay? It’s already pretty late, so sleep here, and tomorrow morning you can tell me what you’ve decided.”

N stood up and walked away, leaving his temporary visitors to enjoy their dinner, though both Blake and Hilda didn’t take their eyes off him as his figure vanished in the distance…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back where we left off, Twilight Sleepover and Night Mare stood in place, engaging in a fierce stare fight as the superheroes' expressions were glued to each other…

And then, Night Mare closed her eyes and scoffed:

"You know, I didn't expect-"

"Ha! You lose!"

Night Mare flinched and opened her eyes to see Twilight Sleepover staring at her with a teasing expression.

"What?"

"You closed your eyes!" Twilight Sleepover pointed out. "You're not supposed to do that in a stare fight!"

Night Mare paused, and tilted her head. "What stare fight?"

"The one we were in just now!" Twilight Sleepover proclaimed while pointing at the supervillain. "What else would you call the long, unbroken staring between each other just now?!"

Night Mare just stared blankly at Twilight Sleepover before letting out a calm, subdued chuckle as she reached for her back. 

“I gotta admit, it is pretty refreshing to see a Chloe Cerise with a sense of humor.”

Then, she took out… a red rose, with several petals still attached to it.

“It is regretful, then, that I’ll have to replace this sense of humor with a sense of fear and dread .”

“ A Chloe Cerise?” Twilight Sleepover asked with a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?! And who told you about my real identity?!”

Night Mare paused. “Wait, you really are Chloe Cerise?”

Twilight Sleepover winced. “Wait, you didn’t know?!”

Yet another silent stare fight happened between the superbeings, except this time all seriousness was replaced by a feeling of utter confusion.

“I don’t have time for this!” Twilight Sleepover suddenly snapped. “Rapidash! Strike her!”

The winged Rapidash neighed before galloping straight towards Night Mare, flapping their wings as they got closer and closer to her.

“Hmph, you’re sending a winged horse for your first attack?” Night Mare smirked and closed her eyes. “Looks like I gotta teach you not to underestimate me.”

Suddenly, she opened her eyes, and yelled:

“Glare!”

Night Mare’s eyes glowed before unleashing an intense wave of energy, not only successfully striking the winged Rapidash but vaporizing it while also sending Twilight Sleepover straight to her knees.

However, Night Mare’s satisfaction was soon cut short, replaced with confusion at seeing Twilight Sleepover shivering in place, looking positively terrified.

“Y… You… you erased my Rapidash with just a glare!?”

This time, Night Mare was alone in her shock, staring silently at Twilight Sleepover in sheer disbelief at what she was seeing.

And her disbelief was shared by The Icarus and The Despair above.

"Something doesn't feel right here," The Despair narrowed her eyes. "Lady Destiny told us that being given a Miraculous should've awakened the inner warrior within Chloe Cerise. And yet, rather than stand tall and glare back at her assailant, she's trembling on her knees."

"She's in shock."

The Despair turned to The Icarus. "Shock?"

"This Chloe Cerise hasn't engaged in combat like her predecessors, so she's not used to getting her hands dirty," The Icarus explained. "Couple that with this being the first time she's using a Miraculous, and it's clear that she's just now getting a taste of what's to come."

"Then she better adapt to the taste fast," The Despair growled. "If Lady Destiny finds out that Chloe isn't growing as fast as she wanted, she will be very displeased."

"Patience, Despair," The Icarus responded. "The battle has just begun."

The Despair rolled her eyes and looked back down, just in time to see Night Mare shake her head and return to reality.

"Alright, enough fooling around."

She grabbed and ripped off one of the rose's petals just as Twilight Sleepover stood back up.

"Time to show me what you got, Chloe Cerise. Prepare to face your fears!"

The petal turned pitch black, and Twilight Sleepover immediately threw one of her tambourines at the villain's hand, causing the petal to fly away as the tambourine returned to the superheroine…

Decking her in the face in the process.

"Sorry, but I'm not gonna let you-"

Night Mare snapped her fingers and the petal stopped before flinging itself towards Twilight Sleepover at lightning fast speeds, striking her straight through the chest.

Twilight Sleepover wasn't gored though: rather, the petal went through her.

"Less talking, more confronting your fears!"

Night Mare snapped her fingers once more, and the petal stopped in midair and glowed as Twilight Sleepover slowly turned to face it.

And to her horror, the petal began transforming into a giant, quadrupedal creature that the superheroine soon recognized as:

"A dog?!"

But as if that wasn't enough, as the creature finished materializing, it became wrapped in flames and gained large fangs, Zubat-like wings, claws, and a gaze that could only be described as…

"A demon dog?!"

Once finished, the living nightmare roared hard enough to send Twilight Sleepover flying straight to Night Mare's side, the supervillain grabbing and pulling the onesie hero by the neck.

"Why did a demonic dog appear just now!? Aren't you supposed to like dogs!?"

"Who told you that slander?!" Twilight Sleepover cried. "I'm terrified of those things!"

Night Mare's eyes widened before she released Twilight Sleepover, both girls being confronted by the nightmare dog afterwards.

"Come on, Chloe, think!" Twilight Sleepover ruffled her hood. "What would Professor Fennel do?!"

"Who's Professor Fennel?" Night Mare asked bluntly.

Twilight Sleepover eventually got an idea, completely ignoring Night Mare as she whistled and shouted:

“Insomniac flock!”

Night Mare stared with confusion at the girl before she heard bleeting in the distance, followed by a horde of Mareep-like creatures flocking and standing at Twilight Sleepover’s side.

“Go, my flock of Mareep!” Twilight Sleepover commanded. “Nibble that demon dog to oblivion!”

“I don’t think that’s gonna work,” Night Mare sighed.

The villain’s words were ignored, and the flock of Mareeps ran straight for the demon dog, who stood unfazed as the Mareeps began to nibble at it. Eventually, the demonic entity grew tired and opened its powerful jaws, right before mowing down at one of the Mareeps, grabbing it with its jaws and trashing about before cracking it with a powerful bite.

Thank goodness no gore came out of the sheep, though it did crack like porcelain and dropped to the ground shortly after.

The rest of the flock followed shortly after, each being consumed more and more by the demonic dog while Twilight Sleepover and Night Mare simply stared; the former slackjawed in horror, while the latter was hardly surprised.

“Yeah, just what I expected,” Night Mare faced Twilight Sleepover. “So, when are you planning to start being a hero?”

“B-Being a hero? W-Why?” Twilight Sleepover stammered.

“Are you serious right now!? You’re donning a Miraculous, which I can tell by your ridiculous costume, and there’s a giant demon monster thing created from your fears!” Night Mare yelled at the top of her lungs. “This should be the point where you stand up to that monstrosity, defeat it, and kick my ass!”

“Dude, language,” Twilight Sleepover chided. “And besides, how would I even do that?! I barely began working on my fear of canines back in that kingdom of talking Yampers!”

Night Mare flinched. “Wait, wasn’t that a long time ago?!”

“I only got to visit it recently ,” Twilight Sleepover folded her arms. “And as nice as the king Yamper was, I’m not looking forward to going there again!”

Night Mare actually had to take a moment to process the revelation as she stepped back; she just arrived at Corginia recently? She was told that was the first Car all Chloes went to once they were Trainnapped!

Luckily for her, however, Chloe took this moment to unleash an ace up her sleeve:

“Sandstorm!”

An intense sandstorm happened in the spot, causing Night Mare to cover her eyes and stay put until the storm dissipated, allowing her to open her eyes again to see Twilight Sleepover running away from her.

And with the form of Twilight Sleepover running away in the distance, Night Mare could only stay in place, staring in shock at what had just happened. So far, everything she had been told about Chloe Cerise had proven to be wrong: no desire for a Cloak of Marchosias, a sheer hatred of demons, fear of dogs, not having been to Corginia at the start of her journey…

This was bad. This was real bad.

“Night Mare!”

The transformed supervillain turned around to see both the winged and dark-eyed Chloes floating down, eventually hitting the ground and shooting disapproving looks at the supervillain.

“T-The Icarus… and The Despair-?”

Before Night Mare could finish, The Despair stomped up to her and grabbed her by the throat, squeezing it hard enough to choke her as she snapped:

“What’s the meaning of this, Night Mare!? Your one damn job is to make sure Chloe Cerise comes out a hero so her name echoes across the Infinity Train, and yet you instead made her look like an utter fool!”

The Despair threw Night Mare to the side, causing her to hit a tree.

“Have you forgotten the consequences of failing to fulfill your one duty? Or have you just stopped caring about your precious little Ash Ketchum?”

“No, I do! It’s just… I’m just as stunned as you are!” Night Mare stated as she stood back up. “I mean, I was a little skeptical when she rejected the Cloak of Marchosias, but I didn’t think things would be this different!”

“She rejected the Cloak of Marchosias!?” The Despair snapped. “Why wouldn’t you report such a blatant divergence to Lady Destiny’s perfect narrative!?”

“One divergence is barely worth the attention,” The Icarus folded her arms. “When two or more begin popping out, that’s when the narrative is in danger. The fact that she hasn’t been to Corginia is a problem, but that can be easily fixed-”

“I… doubt it’ll be that easy,” Night Mare sighed. “When I mentioned being more of a dog person, she looked at me with an expression of sheer hatred. Either that, or disbelief.”

“So she doesn’t like dogs either?” The Despair rubbed her forehead. “This is getting more and more troublesome by the minute. Can’t you do something to fix this?”

Night Mare scratched her cheek and hummed as she got lost in thought… until eventually, she flashed a smile.

“I may have an idea…”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Meanwhile, back at Vermillion City, Talia and Professor Cerise knocked the door of the house of one Yeardley Yung, who opened the door soon after and yawned as he scanned the adults. “Who are you?”

“I’m Chloe’s mother, Talia!” the woman answered. “Listen, my husband and I were told you weren’t looking quite well, and I was wondering if there was something wrong happening at home?”

“Well, not to offend you or anything, Mrs. Cerise,” Yeardley frowned. “But should you really be snooping around stuff that’s none of your business? I’m not even one of your students.”

“No, but you’re one of my daughter’s classmates,” Talia replied. “Besides, one of the teachers said you looked like you hadn't slept well, and-"

Talia didn't get to finish before Yeardley closed the door. And when she tried to knock on it again, what she got was the sound of the door being locked instead.

"That was…" Talia scratched her cheek. "I didn't think he'd close the door that fast."

"I don't think we're gonna get anything out of him," Professor Cerise sighed as he took out how phone and called Amanita. "Hello, Amanita? Talia and I went to Yeardley's house, but he locked the door before we could explain what we were trying to do."

…

“It’s okay, professor, I didn’t really expect you to make any progress anyway,” Amanita answered. “For now, go back home and sleep. I’m gonna go check up on Parker and help him out with something. Talk to you later.”

With that done, Amanita hung up and pocketed her phone, walking towards another house where Parker and his Eevee stood at the entrance to the house, perking up once they saw Amanita approach them.

"Amanita, hi!" Parker chirped as the girl power walked to him. "Are you ready to-"

The boy didn't get to finish before Amanita kicked his shin, causing him to grab it and fall to the ground in pain.

“Wait a minute, a child, kicking another child’s shin?!” Parker exclaimed dramatically. “That’s the biggest betrayal of all childkind!”

“And that’s not the worst I can dish out, you know?!” Amanita snapped. “I was this close to getting some vital information out of Colress when you decided to call! You’re lucky that taking out the nightmares takes just as much priority as Colress, ‘cause otherwise-”

“Okay, I get it, I’m sorry,” Parker cried as he stood up. “Now, can we focus on helping Jinny deal with her nightmares?”

Amanita took a deep breath. "Fine, let's go."

Parker soon stood up as if he had never been kicked. “Alright, Eevee, let’s go!”

“What do you mean “Eevee, let’s go”? Eevee’s staying behind.”

“Wait, what?! You gave me Eevee to begin my Pokemon journey, right?!” Parker whined. “Why is he staying behind while we go on to Jinny’s dreams?!”

“I gave him to you to get you to leave me alone; that Eevee would require a lot of training in order to be able to be a decent fighter,” Amanita folded her arms. “Besides, let’s be honest here; you don’t want to go out and train Eevee like a proper trainer, you just wanna brag about the fact you have your own Pokemon to your classmates!”

“You do have a point there,” Parker cheerfully remarked, followed by his Eevee going “Eevee!” with equal excitement.

Amanita, however, was not amused. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Eevee nodded and Parker walked inside the house as the Pokemon stood guard.

Amanita, however, took a moment to stare at the house before heading inside, with a peculiar thought:

Something about it felt… off.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

“Thanks again for being willing to listen to my rambling, Haru.”

That was the first thing Professor Fennel told the horsegirl as they walked back to the former’s room, with Haru waving her hand as she answered:

“Don’t mention it, I’m just happy that I was able to help you get a weight off your shoulders! You feel better, right?”

“Absolutely!” Professor Fennel grabbed her arm and stretched. “It’s just as you said, I feel like I got a pretty big weight off my back.”

“And the best part is that you don’t need to worry,” Haru placed her index finger in front of her mouth. “This conversation will be our own little secret.”

Professor Fennel let out a little giggle, and remained silent as the duo reached the center of the car, with the stable hotel in the distance.

“Say, Haru? Sorry if this seems a little sudden, but there was something I would like to ask you.”

“Go right ahead.”

“Would you like to come with me and Chloe on our train journey?”

The horsegirl stopped walking, and it took Professor Fennel a few moments to notice before she turned around to see Haru staring at her with confusion.

“W-Wait… you… really want me to come with you?”

“Well, yeah,” Professor Fennel smiled and tilted her head. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Haru took a deep breath and scratched the back of her head. “Listen, Professor Fennel, I know I heard you out on what was troubling you, so you may think I can be a big help… but honestly, I can only really help you as a confidant.”

Haru tapped her legs. “I’m not really a fighter, and the Infinity Train is a very dangerous place. Heck, even if you bring along a Denizen who can defend themselves, that doesn’t guarantee safety. Only that whatever trouble comes for you will be dealt with easily.”

Haru lowered her head. “All I’m really good at is running… and even that isn’t much, given that I’ve lost over a hundred times. Most horsegirls would have at least a few losses before getting a victory, but I… I’ve never had that luxury. So, I’m not sure you’d find me all that useful in your adventure-”

“That’s complete nonsense.”

Haru raised her head, and she was surprised to see Professor Fennel standing in front of her, sporting a wide smile as she said:

“Haru, you literally just gave me the biggest help I needed in getting back on track since I got on the Train. The whole you-know-what thing caused me so much worry that I was aimless in how to deal with it. And like I told you, it’s something I couldn’t tell Chloe because of how complicated it is.”

Then, the woman put her hands on Haru’s shoulders, causing her to blush as the professor added:

“You not only noticed that something was bothering me, but even took me to another place to talk about it and let me vent! That’s normally my job!”

“I was… just trying to be nice,” Haru smiled a little. “Even if I had done nothing, you could’ve found somebody else to hear you out-”

“And when would I have done that?” Professor Fennel frowned. “You said it yourself; the Train’s a very dangerous place, and with those troubling thoughts bothering me, I wouldn’t have been able to be as focused as I’d need in order to keep Chloe and myself safe! Even if I had found someone else, those thoughts would’ve tired me out even more by then!”

“But… I’m not a fighter-”

“Neither am I! If I can help it, I want to avoid fighting anybody!” Professor Fennel released the horsegirl and shrugged. “That’s not what the Train’s about after all! It’s about working on our issues until the numbers on our palms are zero. And speaking of said numbers…”

Professor Fennel raised her palm, revealing the number on it had lowered into “ 78 ”.

“My number has gone down. And this only happened because I got to talk to you.”

The woman lowered her hand and smiled joyfully. “Because you took the time to listen to me.”

Haru’s eyes shined, and the horsegirl blushed and looked elsewhere, prompting Professor Fennel to giggle a little…

“AAAAAAAAAH!”

The sudden scream sent shivers down the duo’s spines, and they hastily ran to the source; this being Zippy Chippy, who was crawling across the floor as fast as she could.

"Zippy! What happened?!"

"I got hit by some sort of feather or petal or something, and before I knew it, I dropped to the ground!" Zippy Chippy whimpered. "Now I can't feel my legs!"

Professor Fennel checked the legs of the brunette horsegirl, and once she finished, she came to a disturbing conclusion:

"They've gone numb!"

“Numb?!” Zippy exclaimed. “What does that mean?! Am I gonna be okay?! WILL I HAVE TO LOSE MY LEGS?!”

“I don’t think it’s that bad; assuming no further damage is done, your legs should go back to normal once whatever’s causing them to be numb disappears,” Professor Fennel hummed and scratched her chin. “Now the question is, what’s the source of this…”

“GROAAAAAH!”

The trio looked around, and to their shock and horror, large monsters resembling corrupted animals prattled around the place, chasing after the Horse Girls and visiting passengers while they screamed and ran for their lives.

“What are these things?!” Haru asked, just in time for Professor Fennel to get an idea.

"Before coming to this Car, Chloe and I were looking for someone who might be giving people across the Train nightmares," Professor Fennel explained. "It might be a stretch to assume that this and that are related, but in case they are-"

“That means the nightmare user must’ve activated their power in order to bring nightmares to life!” Haru finished. “That would explain the weird creatures we saw not too long ago…”

“Um, excuse me?” Zippy blurted. “I don’t wanna interrupt your detective work, but I’m still kinda on the ground-”

Before Zippy could finish, Haru grabbed her back and lifted her, placing the younger horsegirl into a bridal carry as she blushed.

“H-Haru-senpai!”

“I’ll take you to the infirmary to rest, Zippy Chippy,” Haru told the horsegirl. “As for the nightmares, somebody needs to take care of them!”

Professor Fennel hummed. “If these were made by a Miraculous, I could’ve transformed into Dreamland Shepherd to take care of them, but the Dream Miraculous is with Chloe right now. Is there anything else we could use?”

Haru and Professor Fennel looked around, trying to find something they could use to take down the living nightmares. They darted their eyes everywhere until they spotted the Miraculous boots on the pedestal, which mysterious shined in an intriguing manner.

The duo stared for a bit… and Haru turned back to Professor Fennel with a knowing smile.

“We can’t do that! The Miraculous is meant to be worn by whoever wins the race tomorrow!” Professor Fennel pointed out. “If we take it, we’re gonna be in big trouble!”

“We already are in big trouble!” Haru stated. “The nightmare user needs to be stopped and a Miraculous is the best way to do it!”

Professor Fennel frowned. “Are there really no other options?”

“If there are, we don’t have time to take them,” Haru stated as she walked and handed Zippy to the woman. “Here, hold Zippy Chippy for a second.”

“Huh, she’s surprisingly light,” Professor Fennel remarked. “But what are you going to do, Haru? Can’t you just take off the thing covering the boots?”

“No can do; the pedestal is sealed tight until the winner of the race tomorrow is decided,” Haru explained as she walked towards the pedestal. “Therefore, there’s only one other option we can take.”

Professor Fennel raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”

Haru stretched her legs, put on a battle pose, then launched a kick at the glass container, causing it to shatter immediately. Shards exploded and went everywhere, luckily avoiding hitting any living beings.

“Well, that’s… one heck of an option,” a shocked Professor Fennel said.

“Huh, seeing senpai’s legs do their magic,” Zippy cooed while clasping her hands. “It never gets old!”

Haru grabbed the boots, and switched them for Zippy, with Professor Fennel eyeing the Miraculous before turning back to the horsegirls, with Haru nodding in agreement while Zippy flashed a pair of thumbs up.

The woman took off her shoes and placed the boots on it, summoning their Kwamizen: a tiny white creature with what looked like a helmet on top of their head, a black jacket, and equine features.

“Greetings, winner! My name is Zoom and-” the Kwamizen flinched. “Hey, wait a minute, what’s going on?!”

“A young girl is in danger and I need your power to save her, that’s what’s going on!” Professor Fennel exclaimed. “I’ll explain everything later, but for now, I need you to help me save her! So, how do I activate you?!”

The Kwamizen nodded. “You say “Full Speed” to activate and “Full Stop” to deactivate! Now let’s go!”

Professor Fennel nodded and stomped the ground.

“Zoom! Full Speed!”

Zoom nodded and merged with the boots, causing them to transform into their true Miraculous form: a pair of golden boots with tiny avian wings attached at the sides.

A brief flash of light emerged from the boots, engulfing Professor Fennel’s legs before working all the way up to her neck and arms, transforming into a pure white full bodysuit with white highlights shaped like lightning bolts. This was followed by her lab coat transforming as well, turning into a black, long-sleeved leather jacket with a fire motif.

Then, she clapped her hands together, and the energy that emerged from the clap covered her hands, the woman snapping her fingers to turn them into black gloves with golden fingers.

Next, she ran her gloved hands down her hair, somehow creating a silver helmet from thin air to cover her head, with an open space in the back to let her hair loose, said hair wrapping itself into a ponytail shortly after.

Finally, Professor Fennel pulled down a black visor that covered her eyes, and clenched her fists before kicking the air and striking a pose.

“Whoa!” Zippy chirped with glimmering eyes. “She’s like a female Speed Racer!”

Professor Fennel frowned. “I… don’t know what that is.”

“ROAAAAARRR!”

Suddenly, a giant Pyroar-like nightmare appeared behind Professor Fennel, causing the horsegirls to scream and back away, signaling the woman to turn around and shout:

“STOP MOTION!”

Professor Fennel’s hand glowed and the glow spread to the lion nightmare as soon as she touched it, causing the creature to stop in mid-air once the glow engulfed it. 

The woman looked shocked at this action, but she didn’t have time to think before she turned around to see something approaching her: it was like a gigantic houndoom wrapped in flames, who flashed a horrific grin upon seeing her.

The nightmare lunged towards her…

"Resume Motion!"

Professor Fennel dashed out of the way before the lion monster continued to move, causing both monsters to clash against each other and explode upon contact.

“The Tower!”

The ground shook as Professor Fennel turned around to see a girl with pink hair have a large rock tower emerge from beneath her, causing the nightmares to crash into it and dissipate… only for the tower to crumble and collapse shortly after, the girl screaming as she fell down.

"Slow Motion!"

A wave of blue energy was launched from Professor Fennel’s hands at the falling girl, who began to slow down until she was basically floating towards the ground, with her voice becoming deeper.

"What's… going… on…?!"

Professor Fennel leapt into the air and caught the girl, holding her in her arms as they landed on the ground safely.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked as she put the girl down.

"Yes!" the slow-voiced pinkette chirped. "Thank… You… Miss…!"

Professor Fennel chuckled and placed her index finger on the girl's forehead, saying:

"Cancel Motion."

With that, the girl's speed went back to normal, and she ran off to safety as Haru and Zippy reunited with the woman, who looked at her hands.

“Stop Motion… Reverse Motion… Fast Motion… Slow Motion…”

“Professor Fennel?” Haru blurted.

“I feel like I already know all the powers available to the this miraculous,” Professor Fennel answered. “But Zoom didn’t tell me anything since I transformed in a rush.”

“I’m guessing it’s the Kwamizen themselves imparting the knowledge to you,” Zippy suggested, raising her index finger as she did. “Since you were in a rush, Zoom must’ve synchronized with your mind during the transformation so that you’d already know every power available to you, and you wouldn’t need to waste extra time figuring that out.”

Professor Fennel faced the horsegirl. “Are you sure that’s what happened?”

Zippy lowered her eyelids. “You got a better explanation?”

“I do not, and neither do I have the time to banter,” Professor Fennel smiled and cracked her knuckles. “I got a nightmare weaver to defeat!”

Professor Fennel stretched, and her boots glowed before she shouted:

“Fast Motion!”

With those words spoken, electricity surged through Professor Fennel’s body before she bolted in the distance, ready to come to Chloe’s aid.

Chapter Text

So, hi. Kinda sudden for me to update this story not with a chapter but an announcement, right?

Well, I'm kinda stuck on a self-imposed challenge where I update a story for the entirety of November, kinda like NaNoWriMo. The story in question is "Half-a-Witch", a Boschlow ship fic… but that's not really important.

I came here to tell you what might happen to this story moving forward.

See, recently, I posted a story titled "The Chloe Respite Car", a collab of sorts with Crossoverpairinglover that details Chloe entering a Car where she meets various versions of herself.

So far, so good… but the longer the story went on, the more something became clear to me.

It's a vent fic. A story that lets Crossoverpairinglover vent about his frustrations regarding certain things about the Blossomverse, while jamming in as many references to his works and ideas as he wants, to the detriment of the story.

Now, I know, it's SUPER hypocritical of me to call this out, especially since I've written my own share of vent fics in the past, but I honestly think the situation has deteriorated to the point it's not funny anymore.

So I've been thinking how long am I willing to tolerate this pointless back and forth bickering… and I think I think I've reached my limit.

Am I cancelling this story? No, but I AM making this my final story in the Blossomverse. Once it's over, I'm done with this verse and it's inability to do anything without coating it in spite, double standards, or favoritism towards Chloe.

And I think it's only fitting for my final story to be the one where Canon Chloe, or one that's as close as can be, confronts the fractured Blossomverse Chloe after she has not only done everything in her power to hurt everyone to appease her own ego, but tainted both Chloe and the Infinity Train's reputation for some readers.

Oh, and Professor Fennel's there too, I guess.

Also, there's another story affected by this decision: Amour de Lis, the one starring Miette. I have two ways to go about it: reboot the story to remove everything Chloe and Blossomverse-related, or keep it as is but demote those elements as far into the background as possible. I'm still wondering what to do, so if you could give me your opinions, I'd appreciate it.

Anyhow, that's all I wanted to say. I need to get my mind back in order and focus on the challenge, so Wake Me Up won't update for a while. But if you can be patient, I assure you that I will do my absolute best to make the wait worth it.

Sure, I may fail, but better to try and fail than to never try at all.

Have a good day, everyone.

Chapter Text

Okay, time for the climax of this arc! We’ll deal with The Apex for a short bit, then we’ll focus on the Horsegirl Race Car and Pokemon World parts.

And once again, I’m splitting the chapters up. Because you don’t understand; the guilt of having a perfectly decent ending spot for your chapter right then and there, and then having to try and expand upon the chapter, to try and make it so the chapter doesn’t come across as too small or as a waste of time…

But then, no matter how hard you try… you don’t feel like continuing it does it justice. Or worse, that adding more stuff to the chapter would actually worsen it, because it could easily fall into the trap of being pure filler or just something added to make the chapter feel long and important.

That, and I wanted to give you guys an early Christmas gift. Just because.

By the way, Dawn's surname's not only Berlitz, but she's the twin sister of Platinum Berlitz of the Berlitz family of Sinnoh.

IT'S CANON NOW, BITCHES!

Anyway, I{ve rambled long enough, let’s try to redeem myself with this chapter.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Grace wasn’t a stranger to having trouble sleeping.

From the very first moment she arrived on the Infinity Train, there was never a time where she managed to have a good night’s rest. Between wondering just what she was supposed to do in order to get out of the Infinity Train, to the earful she was going to get from her parents, to the many, many Denizens who were more than ready to kill her, being able to sleep calmly wasn’t something she got often.

She didn’t even manage to get some decent shut eye after The Apex was formed, as having to take care of Simon and the kids proved a lot more stressful than she expected, even with the company they provided. And then the whole Hazel debacle happened and…

Well, she didn’t have the luxury of rambling about this to herself. Maybe looking at information on the book Lucy brought her would help her calm down?

So she stood up, grabbed the book, and walked to another spot in the car, ignoring the sheep with electricity surging through them as she opened the book on the page they left off last time.

“Let’s see… Hook, the Kwamizen of Navigation,” she began, yawning as she flipped the page. “The activation phrase is “Set sail”, and deactivation phrase is “Land ahoy”. Weapon is usually a… compass? Or an anchor. More often than not a compass, though.”

Grace paused her reading and raised her head. “How does someone use a compass as a weapon?”

“Grace?”

The woman flinched and turned to see Lucy standing nearby, staring at her with a worried look.

“Oh, Lucy,” the woman remarked. “What happened? Why are you awake?”

Grace stared at the younger girl for a moment, then looked elsewhere and sighed:

“Lucy, listen, I get what you’re trying to do, but it’s not going to work. An adult confiding and using a child as a confidant just doesn’t work out. You’re basically asking someone who already knows how the world works to depend on somebody who’s still very innocent and pure; that’s just… it won’t work.”

“Do you have anybody else to tell this to?” Lucy bluntly asked.

Grace’s ensuing silence spoke for itself.

“Grace, just tell me this once,” Lucy did the “my lips are sealed” gesture. “I promise I won’t tell anybody about it.”

Grace took a moment to think about the situation… then sighed and spilled the beans:

“It’s just… it’s been a while since the whole Mall Car eviction happened, and until Azada came along, not a single Denizen has been willing to lend us a hand. These are the same creatures meant to help Passengers work out their issues and go home, but after the rampage we’ve been on, nobody wants anything to do with us.”

Grace lowered her head. “The only real thing I have left to do here is try to help you guys go back home. And yet, because I was too dumb to ask for directions, nobody’s going to help us with that. We’re all alone.”

“Well, you can’t really take all of the blame for what happened,” Lucy pointed out. “Even before our rampage, there were many Denizens who were eager to try and kill us. Plus, it’s not like The Conductor gave us a hand either, right?”

“Finally, someone puts some damn weight on The Conductor’s ignorance.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Grace and Lucy winced and turned around to see Hazel walking out of a portal door, one which vanished into thin air as she added:

“You’d be surprised at how many people, denizen and passenger, completely ignore what the former conductor did in order to focus on blaming those they care about.”

Lucy immediately jumped in front of Grace, who began looking everywhere with worry.

“Relax, I came here alone,” Hazel stated, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. “If I had brought Amelia with me, you would’ve woken up in a dark, cold cell by your lonesome.”

“You… have a point…” Grace sighed as she grabbed and took a sip of the cup. “What about the kids?”

“They mean absolutely nothing; it’s you who Amelia wants.”

Grace choked on her drink and coughed, Lindsay and Lucy running up to help her cough while Todd and Alex walked up to the girl:

“But wait a minute, the woman clearly said she was looking for The Apex, right?” Lucy asked, taking a few steps forward. “Why would finding Grace and not us matter?”

“Because for all intents and purposes, the one who Amelia has a personal grudge against is Grace and Grace alone,” Hazel matter-of-factly stated. “The only reason she’d capture any of you is to use you as a trap in order to lure Grace directly to her.”

“That still doesn’t explain why Grace is so important to her, though?”.

“Grace was the one that Amelia unintentionally guided into becoming the leader of The Apex; her display of power at the Pumpkin Car over a decade ago awoke something within Grace, something that she felt she needed to imitate if she were to survive,” Hazel explained before facing the woman. “In Amelia’s eyes, you’re basically a reminder of both the apathy and callousness that governed the Train during her thirty year reign as The Conductor, and that’s a time of her life Amelia would rather never remember again.”

Hazel paused, looking at the ground with melancholy before she added:

“Amelia is the kind of person who will do anything to achieve what they want, and as such, she’s done something to ensure that The Apex will be destroyed once and for all.”

Grace grimaced. “What do you mean?”

“She has created a creature with the power and determination to hunt you down no matter what,” Hazel furrowed her brow. “A vile abomination that defies all the laws of the Infinity Train. A living weapon that can barely be considered sentient, existing just to fulfill Amelia’s desire to see The Apex extinguished.”

“Seriously?” Grace frowned. “I know she could be brutal, but would she really go that far?”

“What’s the creature’s name?” Lucy asked.

“What else? Apex Predator,” Hazel rolled her eyes. “If that’s no proof that Amelia’s got a sick sense of humor, I don’t know what is. Anyway, that’s all I wanted to tell you.”

“Wait, that’s it?”

“If I give you too much information, Amelia will upgrade from imprisoning you to killing you instead,” Hazel replied. “By the same token, if you give me too much information, and Amelia finds out, she’s going to put me through the wringer trying to squeeze every last bit of info out of me. Even if she doesn’t, I’ll have to live every day fearing that she’ll discover, and with everything else that’s happening between me and her, I’m not going to add onto that pile of stress.”

Hazel took a deep breath as a portal door opened. “Anyway, that was it, yeah. Have a goodnight and… good luck.”

With those words spoken, the artificial human began to walk through the portal door…

“Thanks, Hazel.”

The dark-skinned girl looked back to see Grace giving her a little smile.

“We really appreciate it.”

Hazel stared at the duo for a moment… then silently stepped through the portal door, taking her directly to the Engine Room. Once there, she stretched as she walked away from the vanishing portal door, ready to hit the hay as well…

“Did you manage to find The Apex?”

Hazel stopped and turned to look at Amelia, who was staring at her with stern eyes and her arms folded across her chest.

“I was just going out for a walk-”

“It’s 10 PM; children aren’t supposed to be out at night.”

“Well, I’m not a normal child now, am I?” Hazel rolled her eyes. 

“Don’t change the subject; children don’t go out at night like this often, especially alone, without a reason,” Amelia narrowed her eyes. “So if you weren’t looking for The Apex, then what were you doing?”

“I just told you: I was going out for a walk,” Hazel hissed. “We spent the entire day looking for that stupid Apex, and all I wanted was some alone time. I’m tired, and I bet you are too, so let’s end this conversation here and go to sleep already.”

With her mind spoken, Hazel stomped to her bed, all the while Amelia watched her with confusion.

“I’ll never understand children.”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at Jinny’s house, Amanita and Parker walked to the girl’s bedroom, where the girl herself laid on her bed reading a book with Milotic wrapped around her like a blanket.

“Jinny!”

The girl perked up hearing the sound of Parker’s voice and closed her book before throwing it away.

“Parker!”

Milotic released their owner, allowing her to jump off her bed and run to the boy, hugging him joyfully while Amanita flatly stared at them.

“Jinny, this is Amanita, the girl who’s going to help you overcome your nightmares!” Parker chirped as he and the girl separated. “She’s got some weird technology that lets us enter your dreams and beat up the cause of them!”

Amanita shrugged. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but it is the gist of it.”

“So you’re Amanita! It’s such a pleasure to meet you!” Jinny chirped as she walked to the redhead and extended a hand towards her. “Parker mentioned you a lot during the sleepover.”

“Jinny!” the boy whined, blushing brightly.

“Oh, I bet he has,” Amanita scoffed before walking past Jinny. “Now let’s get this over with, we don’t have all night.”

The small scientist started to setup the machine while Jinny stood in place, looking at her rejected hand with a forced smile and lowered eyelids. Seeing this, Parker approached Amanita and whispered:

“Hey, Amanita?”

“Parker, I’m working with heavy machinery here,” Amanita responded, focusing solely on her machine. “I may not like you, but even I don’t want you to get injured by a spark flying off.”

Parker blinked twice. “Why would a spark fly off for a small machine and some helmets?”

Amanita grabbed the cable connected to the machine and helmets and placed it on a power outlier, causing a brief spark that caused Parker to jump back and squeak like a Rattata. With that done, Amanita pushed a button and the machine turned on, with the helmets doing the same soon after.

“Okay, everybody come here,” Amanita stated as she grabbed one of the helmets. “I brought three helmets; these helmets will be connected to the machine over here that will allow us to enter a shared dream within one of us.”

Amanita walked to Jinny and handed her a helmet. “Here, I took the liberty of calibrating this helmet so that your dream will be the one Parker and I are going to travel to.”

“But wait a minute, Dad told me that when you went to that other girl’s dream, one of you had to stay behind in order to get everybody out,” Parker pointed out. “If the two of us are going into Jinny’s dream, how are we going to get out once the nightmare’s dealt with?”

Amanita patted Parker’s back and chuckled. “Silly Parker, did you really think I wouldn’t prepare for that?”

The bespectacled scientist walked to the machine and flipped a switch, activating a timer on the machine starting at five minutes.

“The machine is equipped with an instant release countdown that will automatically send anybody within the dream back into the real world after it reaches zero; I just activated it, so we got about five minutes to take care of Jinny’s nightmare before we’re pulled back to reality.”

“Okay,” Parker raised an eyebrow. “But what happens if the countdown isn’t setup beforehand? In fact, is five minutes going to be enough to deal with the nightmare?”

“The Cerise Institute team dealt with Akemi’s nightmare in about two minutes; I’m being generous here,” Amanita grabbed the remaining helmets and handed one to Parker. “Now come on, the timer just started, we don’t have time to waste.”

Amanita sat on the ground then rested on the floor before placing the helmet, going limp soon after.

“I’m very sorry for her attitude, Jinny,” Parker sighed as he and the girl sat down and prepared to enter the dream. “Amanita can be… kinda mean, but she’s a nice girl. I promise.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Jinny giggled. “I mean, you wouldn’t be friends with a bad person, would you?”

Parker paused, then smiled and shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“Good luck, Parker,” Jinny said. “See you in my dreams.”

The girl kissed the boy’s cheek just as he began to put on the helmet, causing him to freeze and the helmet to slide into his head, causing him to go limp and collapse.

With that done, Jinny eyed the two unconscious kids and took a deep breath before she eyed Milotic, winked at them, and placed the helmet as she rested on the floor.

And with their trainer going limp, Milotic promptly slithered out of the room…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the Horse Girl Race Car, Haru placed Zippy on a bed at the infirmary, the younger horsegirl taking a couple breaths to calm herself down.

"There you go, Zippy Chippy," the pinkette whispered as she rubbed Zippy's head. "Now stay calm; I’ll stay with you until your leg heals.”

“But what about Professor Fennel?” Zippy asked. “Are you really gonna leave her to fight those things alone?”

“Well, call it either intuition or a wild guess, but…” Haru smiled. “I get the feeling she has everything under control.”

…

As that happened, Night Mare and the dog demon scanned the car, looking for any sign for the whereabouts of Twilight Sleepover. Unfortunately, they failed to find anything; not a trace of sleeping dust, or anything that could point them to her location.

“Ugh, where did she go?!” Night Mare snapped. “She’s a star-eyed superhero wearing pajamas! How could she be so hard to spot!?”

As if that wasn’t enough, something rang in Night Mare’s pocket, and she took it out to see it was a glowing red crystal, which promptly floated up high before morphing into a screen, showing the same golden-eyed shadowy figure that handed her the Fear Miraculous in the first place.

"Lady Destiny-"

"Care to explain yourself, Night Mare?” Lady Destiny narrowed her eyes. “Why am I getting reports that Chloe Cerise, the one meant to help us bring a golden age to the Infinity Train, is running away like a puppy with her tail tucked between her legs?"

“Reports?” Night Mare looked behind her. “But when would The Icarus and The Despair-?”

“I called them back as soon as I sensed their discontent,” Lady Destiny explained. “Do you really believe I’d let them stay any longer in your side after proving how incompetent you are? The last thing I need is for any of the Chloes under my care to be corrupted by the incompetence of inferior beings such as yourself.”

Night Mare took a step back, doing her hardest to keep her cool as she gritted her teeth.

“Now, my time is valuable, so make it quick. What is going on?”

Night Mare took a deep breath and regained her composure before giving her explanation:

“Lady Destiny, this Chloe you chose as your chosen one is completely different from the other Chloes in the citadel. She doesn’t like dogs, for starters; in fact, she’s afraid of them, and prefers horses. I tried gifting her a Cloak of Marchosias, but as soon as I revealed its demonic origin, she rejected it, even stomped on it in rage. Not only that, but she’s willingly hanging out with another passenger, who happens to be a Pokemon Professor-”

“ENOUGH!”

The car shook at Lady Destiny’s thunderous roar, prompting Night Mare to keep her balance as the divine head of the citadel continued:

“First you fail to do the one job I give you, one so easy even a Goh could do it, and then you give me an explanation filled with nothing but blasphemy!? I chose this Chloe because she’s the perfect representation of what all Chloe Cerises should aspire to be! For me to miscalculate in choosing someone is inconceivable! Clearly, the only reason she responded the way she did is because you failed to convey her true destiny to her face! To try and blame anybody but yourself in your failure to recruit her would mean an immediate death sentence! If not to you, then to those you care about!”

Night Mare gasped, for she knew this meant her Ash would be in danger… but she soon realized something moments before Lady Destiny continued:

“But I will not do that. I will hurt neither you, nor the Ash that you chose to cling on to like a parasite. I simply can’t. I possess the same curse that all Chloe Cerises hold; an infinite benevolence that prevents me from putting “innocent” people like you and Ash on pain and misery. Even though you’ve done so many things that demand a heavy reprimand, I won’t lay a finger upon you and your friend.”

Night Mare held back a chuckle, trying to maintain a shocked front as the girl continued:

“Instead, I will give you one last chance to redeem yourself. One more chance to show you have the right to keep on living.”

Suddenly, a portal door opened in the sky, and from it dropped an equine creature with a white coat and blue and pink mane. The creature whimpered as it hit the ground, and forced itself to stand up.

“This is a Galarian Ponyta that has performed a grave sin repeatedly against all Chloekind.”

Night Mare ran to and helped the equine creature stand up, reaching for her back and taking out a Oran Berry she handed to the Pokemon as Lady Destiny continued:

“Several Chloes tried to approach it, hoping to pet it and be reward by its declaration that they were pure of heart, as all Chloes should be. Instead, it rebelled against its purpose in life, and rejected all Chloes who approached it.”

“It?” Night Mare repeated. “You don’t know their gender?”

“It would’ve had the right to have a gender, to be recognized as a living being, if it had accepted even one Chloe. But no, it rejected all Chloes who approached it. Therefore, it has no right to a gender, or a name, or even kindness from higher beings such as myself. It’s nothing more than a creature. A beast of burden. A tool to be used and discarded once their purpose has been fulfilled.”

Lady Destiny flashed a malicious grin.

“Quite a fitting partner for an inferior being such as you, wouldn’t you say?”

Night Mare shot a glare at Lady Destiny, who remained unfazed by the obvious threat.

“Regardless, I’ve wasted enough time with you today. You have your new partner in crime; use them to provide Chloe with the determination to kickstart her evolution into a hero. Succeed, and you’ll get to meet your Ash again. Fail…”

Lady Destiny narrowed her eyes, which glowed a bright shade of red as she hissed:

“And you will die on the spot should you ever show your disgusting face to the Vermillion Citadel ever again.”

With those words spoken, the screen vanished, leaving Night Mare alone with the dog demon and the Galarian Ponyta, who finished recovering enough to lick the supervillain’s cheek.

She smiled at the gesture, but Night Mare’s smile didn’t stay for long, for she soon realized what she had to do…

…

As for Twilight Sleepover, the superheroine stopped near a wall as she caught her breath, leaning against it before sliding down and shouting:

“Bakku, Good Night!”

With those words spoken, Twilight Sleepover turned back into Chloe, the girl removing and tuckering the blanket as Bakku materialized from it.

“Bakku,,, why am I,,, so out of breath,,,?” Chloe asked as she took several deep breaths. “I’m usually… more… energetic… than this…”

“It must be a side effect of the Miraculous,” Baku guessed. “It’s said that when worn by a teenager, the Miraculous can cause side effects once the user detransforms. In my case, since I’m the Kwamizen of Exhaustion, your energy leves must’ve rapidly depleted as a result of using the Dream Miraculous.”

“Seriously!?” Chloe exclaimed. “But Professor Fennel… is never exhausted… after she… detransforms!”

“The side effects only apply when worn by a youngster-”

“Oh, how convenient!” Chloe whined as she finally regained enough of her breath to speak properly. “Well, at least we’ve ran away from that villain and are now safe, right?”

Bakku stared blankly at Chloe, who grew progressively worried as the Kwamizen stayed silent.

“R-Right?”

“ROAAAAARRRR!”

Chloe and Bakku turned around to see a giant lion-like nightmare creature approaching them, putting down one of their paws hard enough to make the ground shake and the girl to jump up slightly.

The nightmare then bolted straight for the redhead, who closed her eyes as Bakku hopped in front of her…

“STOP MOTION!”

Suddenly, a wave of light struck the nightmare just as it lunged towards Chloe, freezing it in place. A white light then dashed past the monster and stopped right in front of Chloe, revealing herself to be a transformed woman who struck a pose before she raised her arm and said:

“Motionless.”

The figure snapped her fingers, and the nightmare’s eyes turned pitch black before it fell to the ground, dissolving into nothing shortly afterwards.

“Phew, looks like I was just in time!” the woman chirped before running a hand through her glowing hair. “And I did it with style, too! That’s a victory in my book!”

Then, the woman turned to look at Chloe, who was staring at her with shock alongside Bakku. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” Chloe answered with a little blush. “Thanks for saving me… um… what’s your name?”

“Huh, that’s a good question,” the woman looked elsewhere and scratched her chin. “I was in such a rush to get her that I didn’t think about that.”

After humming for a bit, the woman snapped her fingers and pointed at Chloe.

“I know, how about you give me a name?”

The redhead stared at the woman for a moment, eyes glimmering with amazement before she chirped:

“Speed-O!”

The woman immediately showed her palm to the girl. “Denied. Try again.”

“Um…” Chloe paused. “Fast Traveler?”

The woman snapped her fingers. “That’s the ticket! Now, how about we take you somewhere safe?”

“NOT SO FAST!”

A heavy stomp caught the trio’s attention, Chloe hiding behind Fast Traveler as the source of the voice appeared and revealed herself.

It was Night Mare, looking absolutely furious, taking several deep breaths as Fast Traveler returned her glare...

Chapter Text

Okay, after the last chapter was forever ago, I think it’s time I update this story once again.

Maybe, now that the new year is here, I can start working on making this story a more weekly one rather than basically a monthly one. Can’t make any promises, though, especially considering all the other stories I gotta work on.

Anyway, this will be the final climax for the Horsegirl Race Car. The next chapter will be the epilogue, and who knows, maybe there will be something else waiting us

But enough talk, have at you!

…

P.S.: So, I'm adding this next AN because the last one Is from the start of the year. So yeah, I've been sitting on this story for… quite too long, and my butt's starting to hurt.

I just wanted to let you guys know that the story… well, I've decided to try something different this year, and dedicate each week to different fan sites, one week for ffnet, one week for ao3, and so on. However, since this story's pretty big, I won't be able to update it every ao3 week.

So, I think either monthly or bi-monthly would be my best bet in updating this story. I got other stories to work on, some more popular than this one, and I gotta try and be realistic with what I can do. So, there's that, and I hope you can understand and forgive the tardiness.

Now, I'm done rambling, let's get into the story.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Once Parker opened his eyes, he found himself in Jinny’s dreamscape, which resembled a large, vast ocean with several aquatic pokemon swimming around, with the light of the sun shining above the ocean floor, illuminating the vast body of water.

“Whoa, this is so pretty!” Parker chirped, right before he noticed something odd. “Wait, how come I can speak so clearly? And why am I not drowning?”

“Because you’re breathing underwater, genius.”

Parker flinched and turned around to find Amanita standing-well, swimming-right next to him. And naturally, her looks had drastically changed:

While she still had a white lab coat across her person, it was unbuttoned, revealing a navy blue sleeveless shirt with a wavy pattern, and her skin had turned into a pearly white color. As for her hair, her brown pigtails had been replaced with blue hair with two pigtails on the side, and one on top of her head. As for her face, her teeth had become vastly sharper, and her eyes had red pupils and black sclera, with two lines on the sides.

And of course, the most notable change was her lower half: rather than having a pair of legs, she had a long tail ending on a three-pronged head, kinda like a trident.

“Whoa, is that you Amanita?” Parker asked in surprise. “You’re a Sharpedo mermaid?”

“Yeah, we transform into forms more befitting of the dreamscape when we enter it,” Amanita answered before scanning Parker with surprised eyes. “Speaking of which, you’ve turned into a merman…”

Parker promptly looked at himself, and he was surprised to find himself with pink skin and a red tail ending on a heart-shaped stump. Then he looked around until he found something to see his own reflection at, allowing him to see he had tiny black eyes with his red hair morphed to resemble a heart.

“Wait, with all this pink and heart stuff, did I become a Luvdisc merman? Cool!” Parker chirped. “I wonder what forms the others would get in this dream!”

“You can wonder another day,” Amanita responded while waving her hand in a dismissive manner. “For now, let’s go see what freak of nature Jinny turned into.”

Amanita began to swim away, but Parker quickly got in her way, saying:

“Amanita, wait, before we go, I need to ask you to do something for me: Jinny isn’t the kind of person who likes being insulted or being made to feel ugly, especially considering what her current situation here might be. So, I need you to promise me that no matter what, you won’t mock or ridicule her form.”

“Tsk, the only reason we’re here in the first place is because you wanted me to judge whether you’d be an asset or a liability in future ventures into the Dream Worlds,” Amanita pointed out, poking Parker’s chest for good measure. “You really think you’re in a position to ask anything of me?”

“Amanita, please,” Parker clasped his hands together. “I really want to prove myself, but I don’t want Jinny to think she can’t trust you. Just this once, try not to be mean, okay?”

Amanita folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, with Parker responding by pulling the biggest, widest puppy-dog eyed look he could muster.

The Sharpedo mermaid stood unfazed for a while… but eventually sighed and conceded:

“Alright, I promise I won’t mock her or make her feel bad or whatever.”

“Thank you. Now, let’s look for her!”

The Luvdisc merman swam ahead, leaving Amanita to follow him as she mused:

“I need to get better at combating that stupid tactic before I start going easy on him.”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the Horsegirl Race Car, Chloe and Fast Traveler stared down Night Mare, who gritted her teeth as she yelled at the woman:

“Who do you think you are?!”

“Glad you asked,” Fast Traveler smirked. “The name’s Fast Traveler. The girl over here just gave me the name.”

Night Mare was quick to turn her glare to Chloe. “Why are you letting her steal your thunder!? In fact, why did you even detransform!? You could’ve easily trounced the dog demon back then!”

“No I couldn’t!” Chloe snapped back. “I was wielding a Miraculous for the time and I hadn’t even trained with it before! After I tried using Insomniac Flock against it, there was nothing else I could do but run!”

Night Mare’s eye twitched. “Why would you pick an artifact that would give you the power to become a superhero and not use it to do some… superheroing? That’s not how it’s supposed to work! That’s not how you, as a Chloe, is supposed to act!”

Chloe narrowed her eyes, but Fast Traveler quickly took over before the discussion got worse:

“Just because she wore the Miraculous doesn't mean she has to be a hero; tell me, do you even know if she actually wants to be a hero?”

“She has to! It’s what all Chloe Cerises-”

But then, Night Mare stopped, and shook her head. “What am I doing? It’s obvious that no matter what I say, it’s not going to get through your head. Even if I tell you about her hardships, you’re not going to listen. That’s how all adults act. How people like you act: no matter how much you hear about her suffering, you will always focus on your own needs. You’ll never know what Chloe needs!”

“You don’t know what I need either!” Chloe spat.

“Yes I do: you need to become a hero, a beloved figure that will change both the Pokemon Worlds and the Infinity Train forever!” Night Mare snapped back. “And I know just what to do in order to do that.”

Night Mare snapped her fingers, and the demon dog stomped forward, bringing on its back the injured Ponyta. The demon then brought the equine Pokemon to the ground as Chloe and Fast Traveler watched and heard Night Mare speak:

“This Ponyta made the mistake of refusing to acknowledge the purity of your counterparts, and now I’ve been instructed to deal with it.”

Night mare summoned her fan and opened it to reveal it had a collection of purple feathers.

“And there’s only one way to do that while ensuring you turn into a hero.”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “W-What are you gonna do?”

Night Mare spun her fan and then threw it at the creatures, the Galarian Ponyta trying to stand up and run away before the feathers formed a circle around the duo and levitated them. Then, the Ponyta screamed as both it and the demon dog turned into light and had their forms grotesquely combined, with both Night Mare and Chloe wincing as the resulting beast emerged from the whirlwind soon after.

It looked like a centaur-ish creature, with the demon dog’s body serving as the lower half, while the top was humanoid, except ending in creature with hooves for hands, and sporting both the head of the Galarian Ponyta and the demon dog on their neck, each facing their sides.

“Well, that’s gonna keep us up all night,” Bakku remarked at the grotesque fusion, right before Chloe shouted, “What did you do to them?!”

“Simple; if the Galarian Ponyta refused to see the purity of a Chloe Cerise, it had to be impure as well. That’s just how things work around here,” Night Mare answered bluntly. “If it couldn’t be used as a denominator for the true purity of a Chloe Cerise, then it’s only purpose is to be a stepping stone to kickstart your legend.”

Chloe prepared to say something in return, but once she took a closer look at Night Mare, she could notice she was shaking slightly and sweating, almost as if she was forcing herself to act the way she was.

“Anyway, that’s enough talk!” Night Mare extended her hand forward. “Have at you!”

The beast roared as it began to approach the duo, with the superheroine taking a couple steps past Chloe as she said:

“I got this.”

Fast Traveler stared at the merged monstrosity and stood still as it dashed towards her, the woman flashing a cocky grin as the monster lunged towards her… and she extended a finger gun at them.

“Stop Motion!”

Fast Traveler’s finger glowed, and shot a small blast of white energy that struck the monster, causing them to stop in place, all while Chloe and Night Mare stared in shock.

“And now… Reverse Motion!”

Fast Traveler snapped her fingers and the monster twitched before it lunged backwards, trotting back to Night Mare’s side until the swirl of energy that merged them in the first place returned, and their form was slowly split apart.

Then, as soon as both creatures that had made it appeared turned back to their individual selves, Fast Traveler snapped her fingers while exclaiming:

“Cancel Motion!” 

Both creatures turned back to their original motion, with the Ponyta falling safely on the ground while the dog demon collapsed, poofing out of existence shortly afterwards.

With this done, Night Mare stood completely dumbfounded at what had just happened, shivering in shock and horror as Fast Traveler stated:

"Listen, girl, I don't know what's your deal with things being a certain way or people not acting the way they're supposed to. I only care about three things: One, the fact that you put the denizens of the Dream Forest Car through nightmares. Two, that you're clearly intending to force that Chloe girl into following a role she doesn't want to. And three…"

Fast Traveler bolted towards Night Mare in a flash of white light, the supervillain covering her eyes and getting ready to block the incoming attack, only to realize she was unhurt…

And that she was missing a certain eyecatcher.

"Ensuring that you don't use this for evil anymore."

Night Mare turned around to see Fast Traveler holding the Fear Miraculous, which turned back into its original form before Night Mare automatically turned back into Angie shortly afterwards.

"Angie?" Chloe blurted, taking a few steps forward. "You were Night Mare?"

Fast Traveler turned to the greenette before grabbing and lifting her by the back of her shirt. “You know this girl?”

“When Professor Fennel left to follow Haru Urara and Zippy Chippy to the hotel we were going to stay at, this girl suddenly approached me,” Chloe explained as the superheroine brought the greenette to her. “She tried to convince me to wear an object with demonic origins, and when I rejected it and left, we didn’t see each other again.”

“I see,” Fast Traveler turned to Angie. “So, care to explain yourself, young lady?”

“... I don’t have a choice,” Angie narrowed her eyes. “And I have nothing to tell you.”

Suddenly, the dreamcatcher glowed and the equine creature known as Screech emerged, floating next to Fast Traveler’s ear before taking a deep breath and unleashing a loud noise.

This caused the woman to release Angie and allow the greenette to escape, though she kept her grip on the dreamcatcher as she fell down one one knee and groaned.

“Fast Traveler! Are you okay?!” Chloe gasped and ran to the woman’s side.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little stunned is all,” Fast Traveler answered before handing the dreamcatcher to Chloe. “Where’s Angie?”

“Right here!”

Chloe and Fast Traveler turned around to see Angie standing nearby, gripping the Cloak of Marchosias tightly as the superheroine stood up.

“I’m going to get into a lot of trouble for this, but I can’t back down now!” Angie snapped as she clutched the cloak. “For the sake of Ash’s life, I need to turn you into a hero no matter what!”

Angie was engulfed in a red flame, and from it emerged a turquoise wolf donning the cloak, the creature snarling her teeth at the duo before she lunged towards Chloe and exclaimed:

“Prepare yourself!”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at Jinny’s dreamscape, the Sharpedo and Luvdisc mermaid duo kept swimming around the vast ocean, on the lookout for the elusive avatar of Jinny herself.

“So, Parking Lot,” Amanita blurted. “Do you have any plan on how to help the girl once we find her?”

Parker paused. “Parking Lot?”

“I’ve never been good with names before, so who better to practice my skills than somebody whom I don’t mind offending a little bit?” Amanita answered. “Anyway, back to my question: got any plans?”

“Hmm, well, if I’m to think about it in a certain way,” Parker hummed. “If Jinny’s being bullied, then dealing with the bullies should solve the problem, right?”

“That’s a good idea… if we were on a team,” Amanita argued. “However, we’re on our own, Parker, and even if Jinny can fight, I don’t think the three of us can deal with the bullies that have been pestering her.”

"Then what do we do?" Parker mused. "If we can't fight the bullies, then there's gotta be something else we can do for Jinny! If I can't help her with her issues..."

Amanita glanced at the Luvdisc mermaid and looked back in front of her as she said, "This girl really means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

"More than I can put into words," Parker sighed. "I mean, I know we don't seem much closer than friends, but at least on my end-"

"That's enough," Amanita interjected with a smile. "Remember that we’re on a mission here, Parker, and we need to make this count. Otherwise, the nightmares will get worse before they get any better.”

Parker took a deep breath and nodded. “Understood.”

“Kyaaaah!”

Startled by the cry of pain, the pair swam faster until they found the source; a light brown mermaid whose only discernible features were her tail and the blue top on it, who was being harassed by a group of mermaids who looked to be based on Carvanha.

“Come on, get outta there, you jerk!” one of the mermaids laughed as she tugged on the tail. “We just wanna get a closer look at your face!”

“That’s gotta be Jinny and the mermaid bullies!” Parker exclaimed. “We gotta do something! But, will we be able to-”

“Nah, they’re not gonna be a problem at all,” Amanita scratched her chin with a cocky grin. “They’re based on Carvanha, the pre-evolution of Sharpedo. I feel like it’ll be easier to scare them away than to fight, and I know just what to do for that.”

The Sharpedo mermaid placed her palms together and created a small sphere of dark purple energy, which began to expand until it was the size of a beach ball. With that done, she aimed it at the bullies and shouted:

“Shadow Ball!”

The ball was sent straight towards the bullies’ side, who noticed and dodged before the ball struck them, releasing the tail and allowing the hidden mermaid to get away.

“Wait, how can Shadow Ball work underwater?!” Parker asked in disbelief. “In fact, since when can a Sharpedo learn-”

“It’s a dream, Parker,” Amanita said, pinching the Luvdisc mermaid’s cheek with a grin. “Things are naturally not gonna make sense.”

“Hey, you!”

The duo turned around to see the mermaid bullies approaching them, baring their sharp fangs as the leader yelled, “We were just getting to the good part! You’re gonna pay for-!”

Before they could finish, Parker took a deep breath and unleashed a large wave of fire at the group, not only startling and sending them away, but even managing to burn the shoulder of the leader.

“Hold on a minute, Fire moves can’t work underwater!” Amanita snapped.

“It’s a dream, Amanita!” Parker echoed with a knowing smile, right before booping Amanita’s nose. “Things aren’t naturally not gonna make sense.”

“... Boop my nose again, and I’ll break your finger.”

“What the hell?! What is this?!” the leader gasped as she tried to remove the fire. “That thing… it did something to me! EVERYBODY RUN!”

And run, well, swim away the bullies did, with the duo looking victoriously at the retreating jerks before they swam to the spot where the other mermaid had hidden, with her tail once again peeking out.

“Hey, Jinny?” Parker asked. “Is that you?”

The tail twitched. “Parker? Are the bullies still there?”

“No, your boyfriend here blew them away with some fire breath,” Amanita answered. “Now, how about you come out of hiding

“Boyfriend?!” Parker gasped.

The tail twitched once again before retracting into the hiding spot, with the mermaid herself coming out shortly afterwards.

As expected, Jinny’s mermaid form was based on a Feebas: she had the pink lips common to all Feebas, with her skin being on the light brown side with several dark patches across, somewhat like freckles, and her hair was blue with an odd shape at the top.

Needless to say, the mermaid duo were stunned by what they saw; Amanita covered her mouth and desperately tried not to burst out laughing, while Parker’s eyes darted everywhere as he tried to formulate the best words to encourage the girl.

“Uh, hi Jinny, you look… interesting?”

“I’m ugly, I know,” Jinny put her hands on her cheeks. “This is the way I always look in my dreams, and no matter who I come across, they all pick on me because I’m not as pretty as everybody else. Carvanhas, Lapras, mermaids based on all things just pick on me no matter what I say or do!”

“Man, that sounds rough,” Amanita sighed. “Luckily, though, this is a problem with an easy fix.”

“Really?!” Jinny perked up. “What is it?”

“Yeah, what is it?” Parker asked.

“Feebas is a Pokemon capable of evolution, unlike the vast majority of fish-like Pokemon,” Amanita explained before raising her index finger. “And how does a Feebas evolve?”

Parker and Jinny stared at Amanita as the trio paused, the former two waiting for the latter to give her answer. They kept staring as Amanita became silent, until eventually the Sharpedo mermaid growled:

“Guys, this is the part where you answer me.”

“I don’t know a thing about Feebas’ evolution,” Parker confessed. “What about you, Jinny?”

“Nope, not a clue.”

“Wha-but you told us you liked Feebas, didn’t you?!”

“Just because I like it doesn’t mean I know everything about it,” Jinny argued. “I mean, I like berries, but there’s no way I’m gonna be able to name any berry when you ask me to name a specific one.”

Amanita took a deep breath. “Okay, to recap; the way to evolve a Feebas involves giving it a Prism Scale. Once this is done, it’ll evolve into a Milotic right then and there, no ifs or bots or strings attached. Got it?”

“Yup, but then the question becomes,” Parker scratched his chin. “Where do we find a Prism Scale for Jinny?”

As if on cue, the Feebas mermaid spoke up. “Actually, I know where we can find one.”

“Awesome!” Parker chirped. “Take us there and we’ll help you evolve with the scale!”

“There’s just one problem with your plan; the only Prism Scale I’ve managed to find in this realm has currently been snatched and is being protected by a group of evil fishermen.”

“What do you know about these fishermen?” Parker asked. “Do you have any idea where to find them? If we take them out, maybe we can help”

“They’re known as the Seven Wise Fishermen, and they always go around in the same boat,” Jinny explained. “They use a special fishing rod to catch several mermaids in one go. They typically use objects that the mermaids might find interesting… and I have reason to believe they might use the Prism Scale to do that.”

“Seven Wise Fishermen?” Amanita repeated with a tone of disbelief.

“Hmm, can you take us to where the fishermen are staying?” Parker requested. “Depending on what they’re doing, we might be able to get the Prism Scale without having to confront them directly!”

“I think I saw them somewhere near here,” Jinny hummed. “Follow me, and whatever you, don’t. Take. The bait.”

The Feebas mermaid swam ahead, with Parker following her before Amanita joined them, thinking:

“Seven Wise Fishermen… what a dumb name for a group.”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"GAOOOH!"

Angie's wolf form howled right before unleashing a barrage of fireballs at Fast Traveler, who sidestepped every incoming projectile with little issue.

This continued until Angie charged a big fireball, and shot it at the transformed woman, who flashed a grin before facing towards the ball.

She then tapped the ground with her winged boots, then kicked the fireball just as it reached her, causing it to be sent flying upwards. 

The fireball exploded soon after, with its pieces falling on several parts of the ground, including the spot where Chloe and Bakku had gone into hiding.

“Geez, they’re really going all out!” Chloe remarked as she looked at the ensuing battle. “I almost feel sorry for whoever tries to interrupt their fight.”

“Chloe, don’t come out of hiding,” Baku gently chastised. “There are still nightmares running around.”

The redhead hastily dived back into her hiding spot, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. “Sorry, It’s just I’m still trying to process everything; I get superpowers, I mess around with them, the girl I spoke to for about five seconds a moment ago turns out to have superpowers too and uses them for evil, and I find myself battling for life against giant monster creatures! I don’t even have a Pokemon with me!”

“That’s kinda how it goes here on the Infinity Train,” Bakku shrugged. “If it’s not one of the hurdles artificially created by the Train, it’s one of the many Passengers who have either misunderstood the purpose of the Train or willingly refuse to change in order to entertain themselves.”

Chloe lowered her head. “I wish Professor Fennel was here. She’d definitely know what to do.”

Bakku paused. "Chloe, I believe Fast Traveler is Professor Fennel."

"Wait, really?!" Chloe gasped. "That confident biker gang leader-looking woman is Professor Fennel?! But how could that be possible?"

"Certain Kwamizens bring a change not only to their wielder's form, but their personality, usually to better adjust to the power set they're given," Bakku explained. "In this case, Fennel's usual calm and shy nature would conflict heavily with this speed-based hero form, so she's made more energetic and confident for better synergy."

“Well, how do you even know Fast Traveler really is Professor Fennel, and not just a woman who happens to have a Miraculous?”

The Kwamizen of Dreams shrugged. “Call it a hunch.”

Hearing that, Chloe peeked out from hiding to see Fast Traveler dealing with everything Angie threw at her, all while Sporting a cocky smile on her face.

Chloe went back into hiding soon after, now looking visibly saddened.

“Hey, look at the bright side: You weren’t half bad using the Dream Miraculous either, I guess,” Bakku sighed. “At the very least, you showed more ingenuity than I expected.”

“Wait, you know what I did?” Chloe asked.

“Kwamizens make a mental link with their wielders whenever they transform; once a superhero is transformed, our minds become one, and memories get shared,” Bakku explained. “So whenever Professor Fennel and I become Dreamland Shepherd, I see her memories and what she does, and it’s the same thing with you as Twilight Sleepover.”

Chloe looked elsewhere and scratched her head with a sheepish smile. “So you saw me run away after failing to beat the dog demon?”

“Yeah, but that’s not as bad as you think it is,” the tiny fairy stated. “A good hero fights to the end, but a better hero knows their limits and when a fight is impossible for them to win. While you did try to fight the demon dog, when Insomniac Flock failed, you did the next best thing and ran away until another hero showed up and gave them the chance to defeat the villain.”

“Really? You think so?” Chloe turned back to the fairy. “You don’t think I’m a coward?”

“Oh no, you definitely are a coward. But a coward who knows their limitations and when to give up is better than a coward who runs away all the time.”

Hearing those words made Chloe smile and blush a little, turning her eyes away from the Kwamizen

“That being said, a good hero also knows when to activate their superpowers rather than trying to deal with whatever current issue they have at hand in their base form, so you can bet your backdoor that Professor Fennel has her own flaws too.”

“She wouldn’t be here on the Infinity Train otherwise, right?” Chloe asked.

The Kwamizen stared at the redhead for a moment, before the sound of a howl caught their attention, and they came out of their hiding spot to see a wolf-like nightmare demon growling at them.

The demon dashed towards the duo… and Haru immediately leapt into action, throwing the demon away with a powerful dive kick.

"Haru!" Chloe chirped.

"Zippy Chippy's resting at the hospital, and she told me to come help you!" the horsegirl explained. "How's everything going with you?!"

"Well, we got help from a superheroine I named Fast Traveler and she managed to take the miraculous of the one responsible for the nightmares," Chloe hastily explained. "But for some reason, the nightmares are still running amok!"

“I might have the answer for that.”

The group looked around until the dreamcatcher glowed, and a certain fairy-like creature emerged from it.

“Greetings, Chloe Cerise. My name is Screech

Chloe’s eyes widened. “How do you know my name?”

“How could I not know it? It gets mentioned so many times back in the citadel that it’s been drilled into my head,” Screech groaned. “Chloe this, Chloe that, seriously, it’s like you’re the only thing they ever talk about!”

Chloe felt tempted to ask more about the citadel the Kwamizen mentioned, but she kept her head straight on the main priority:

"Why haven't the nightmares vanished?!"

"When you wake up from your slumber, doesn't your dream cease to exist?" Screech pointed out. "The minions of the Fear Miraculous are the same; unless the wielder calls them back, they will exist until the wielder calls them back, or those they spun from them stop being afraid of them."

"And none of the Horsegirl Car denizens have the power to fight them right now…" 

The group turned around as they heard a wolf howl in pain, who turned out to be Angie as she laid on the floor before transforming back into her human form.

Angie weakly stood back up, before she was grabbed and lifted by the neck of the cloak by Fast Traveler, who kept her in place as the redhead was told by Screech:

“Repeat after me.”

Chloe nodded, and spoke:

"Those who’ve come from within the depths of our minds, meant to cause chaos in this car here, it’s time to cease and desist at once, return to the Miraculous of fear!”

The dreamcatcher glowed, and the ground shook as a pillar of light emerged from it. The nightmares that remained were all absorbed by the pillar, first being levitated above the ground before being sucked into the light, their forms dissipating into energy that got assimilated into the pillar shortly afterwards.

Once all nightmares were absorbed, the pillar disappeared into nothing, with the dreamcatcher turning back to normal as everybody surrounded Chloe, who stared at the inactive dreamcatcher with shock.

“I don’t believe it…” Angie remarked. “You… did it.”

“Yeah, I… I did…” Chloe paused. “Actually, what did I just do?”

“A heroic action.” 

As if on cue, a green portal opened nearby, and from there a collection of Chloes donning red armor marched out before forming a line, raising their spike-covered bats to welcome the final Chloe to come out.

She looked exactly like Chloe, but with a flowing white dress with fire-like symbolism, and a golden cape unlike the cloaks seen before.

Once outside, the Chloe’s eyes locked with the main Chloe, who took a step back as the golden-eyed doppelganger flashed an unnerving smile and said:

“As is befitting of the future hero of the Infinity Train.”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at Jinny's dreamscape, the mermaid trio swam to behind a rock, where they peeked at a large section of boats stuck together.

“There they are, the Seven Wise Fishermen," Jinny said. "In their conglomerate of boats."

"You know, dreams have a tendency of being weird and hard to take seriously," Amanita remarked. "But this feels a little much, even for me."

Shortly after, a connected fish hook slowly came down, with a peculiar stone attached to the hook itself.

"There it is! The Prism Scale!" Parker gasped. "Jinny was right, they're using it as bait to catch mermaids!"

"Or fish, but that's besides the point," Amanita scratched her chin. "I think I know how to get the scale, but I need you to do exactly as I say, got it?"

Jinny and Parker nodded, and the Sharpedo mermaid promptly explained:

"Parker, you and I are gonna swim up and jump several times to catch the fishermen's attention."

Then, Amanita turned to Jinny before pointing at the scale.

"Jinny, while we do that, you're gonna go grab the scale on the hook."

"But wait, what if the fishermen notice me grabbing the scale?" Jinny asked worriedly. "Won't they try to pull me up?"

"Not as long as Parker and I do our job right," Amanita stated. "Now, are you ready?"

"I am!" Parker chirped.

"I guess…" Jinny sighed.

And so, with the plan in motion, the Sharpedo and Luvdisc mermaids swam up to the top, while the Feebas mermaid swam towards the hook slowly and carefully.

Once high enough, Amanita and Parker jumped up.

"Hey, old farts!" Amanita called before falling on the water.

Parker jumped next. "Hey there!"

The duo kept jumping up and down until the fishermen paused and turned to look at them. As they stared, however, Amanita caught a glimpse of the fishermen's faces…

Wait, they look like…

Amanita didn't get to finish before she hit the water facefirst, stunning her and making her slowly submerge back into the water.

Parker kept jumping up and down, getting the fishermen's attention…

"Eh, it's just a Luvdisc mermaid," one of the fishermen said. "Leave her be, they're not worth a penny in the market."

Enraged by the comment, Parker jumped high enough to charge up and unleash a Hydro Pump, successfully hitting one of the men.

"Why you little-!"

And then, the water underneath the boats began to glow, which was all the warning the fishermen got before a torrent of water erupted, destroying their boats in the process.

The source emerged soon after, revealing herself to be Jinny, having evolved into a Milotic mermaid: the light brown in her body had become cream, and her tail was now a mix of red and blue with black lines spread across it. Her hair turned into two long red ponytails, with a spot of blonde hair in the middle.

Finally, her eyes got red sclera and black pupils, which she glared at the fishermen with right before shouting:

"Icy Wind!"

A chilling gale struck the fishermen moments later, slowly covering their bodies with small pieces of ice right before a large shadow loomed over them…

A shadow that turned out to be a giant tidal wave.

"Surf!"

The move struck the fishermen and their boats, successfully sending them flying far away from the body of water.

With that done, Jinny submerged back into the water and reunited with Parker and Amanita, the latter resting on a rock to recover from her headache while the former swam to Jinny's side.

"Jinny, that was amazing!"

"Thanks, Parker! It feels real good to send those guys away for once!" Jinny giggled before placing her arms behind her back. "So, how do I look?"

Parker smiled, blushing slightly. "Like the most beautiful Pokemon in the world!"

Jinny giggled as she blushed as well, with the little staring contest between the mermaids prompting Amanita to roll her eyes and return to the real world.

…

Moments later, Amanita woke up in the real world, taking a deep breath before removing her helmet to see Parker being hugged by Jinny.

"Thank you so much, Parker! I'm gonna be able to sleep soundly now!" the little girl chirped. "You're my hero!"

Jinny then kissed Parker's cheek, and the boy laughed a little while blushing, right before the duo took off their helmets.

"Well, I'd say that takes care of that," Amanita sighed as she stood up and dusted herself. "I wanted to interrogate Colress, but that little trio took everything out of me, so I'll have to leave it for tomorrow."

"Thanks for giving me a chance to prove myself, Amanita!" Parker said as she stood up. "So, how did I do?"

"Eh, you were fine, I guess," the little scientist shrugged. "I still need to discuss with your parents over whether you'll be allowed to go on missions anytime soon, but you're part of the team now. More or less."

"Yes!" Parker raised his fist victoriously. "You hear that, Jinny?! I'm gonna be a dream warrior soon!"

"That's great, Parker," Jinny yawned. "But anyway, it's pretty late. I'm gonna go to sleep, you should do that too. Your mom's not gonna be happy if you stay out late too much."

"Ugh, right, mom's my teacher now," Parker groaned. "I should go home before she starts getting worried."

"Thanks for paying me a visit, and for helping me with my nightmares," Jinny bowed slightly. "I greatly appreciate it."

"Anytime, Jinny!" the redhead flashed a thumbs up. "Right, Amanita?"

When he turned around, Parker saw Amanita place the equipment on her cart, with the bespectacled genius glancing at Jinny for one last time before walking away.

"Ehe, she's just a little cranky 'cause she's tired," Parker said nervously. "Anyway, I'm gonna go home too. See you tomorrow, Jinny!"

"Bye, Parker!"

Having bid their farewells, Jinny waved goodbye as she slowly closed the doors. Once closed, Jinny walked to her bed, clapping twice to turn off the lights as she got on her bed and tucked herself in.

Then, a slithering sound was heard, followed by her Milotic entering through the open window, which it closed before curling around their owner's side.

"Hey there, Milotic, glad you're back," Jinny said with a smile. "So, how did it go? Did you manage to get him?"

Milotic stared at their owner for a moment, until she yawned and said:

"Well, I'm exhausted. You can tell me tomorrow morning."

Then, as she closed her eyes and fell into a deep slumber, the brunette added:

"Goodnight, Milotic."

The Pokemon stared at the girl for a moment, their expression briefly gaining a hint of sadness and regret before they closed their eyes and rested their head next to their owner's.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the Horsegirl Race Car, Chloe, Fast Traveler, Bakku and Angie stood in shock as the group of Chloe lookalikes approached them, with their leader being the first to head to Chloe's side.

"Greetings, Chloe Cerise," the golden-eyed redhead said. "I have to say, it's an honor to get to witness firsthand your first step towards heroism."

"What step?" Chloe asked bluntly. "All I did was dissipate the nightmares running amok."

"Precisely: you put yourself in harm's way to give the denizens of the Horsegirl Race Car hope and a way out of their predicament. Had anybody else been in your shoes, they wouldn't have taken such a selfless and kindhearted approach to the problem."

Then, the golden-eyed lookalike looked around before getting a smile. "And it seems the professor you were saddled with isn't present. That's good. Very good."

Chloe immediately furrowed her brow with hostility. "What's wrong with getting Professor Fennel's help?"

"Isn't it obvious? She's a Pokemon Professor. The same type of cancerous parasite that all Chloe Cerises are left to deal with," the lookalike answered with a little smile. "An obstacle to be detached from and discarded in order for you to reach your truly divine heights-"

"You take back everything you said about Professor Fennel right now!" Chloe snapped, pointing at her golden-eyed doppleganger. "Just who do you think you are to say such things in the first place!?"

"Oh, silly me, I haven't even introduced myself, have I?" the lookalike grabbed the edges of her dress and curtsied. "My name is Lady Destiny. Leader of the Vermillion Citadel, one of the leaders of the Infinity Train in general, and the one who will bring the train and all the Chloe Cerises of the multiverse into a brand new era of peace and prosperity. A pleasure to meet you."

Lady Destiny extended a hand towards Chloe, who looked at it sternly before asking:

"What are you doing here?"

Noticing the tense atmosphere, Lady Destiny retracted her offer for a handshake and explained herself:

"As the leader of the Vermillion Citadel, It's my duty to watch over the development of all the Chloes housed within this endless locomotive. And if any of them show the makings of a great heroine, I have to ensure that they get to join said citadel in order to bring said potential to its fullest, away from all the parasites and creatures who serve only to make them feel lesser."

Not a single word of that sentence diminished Chloe's anger towards the doppleganger, but Lady Destiny continued speaking regardless:

"Once the first steps towards heroism have been taken, it Is then my duty to register that Chloe into the citadel's populace. You just took said step, so I'm here to offer you to join us-"

"I decline."

Everybody shook at the statement, with Lady Destiny looking the most surprised as Chloe looked at her with an expression of disapproval.

However, she quickly regained her composure. "You didn't let me finish-"

"Doesn't matter; whatever you have to say, or whatever suggestions you have to make, my answer isn't gonna change," Chloe answered bluntly. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

Lady Destiny paused, and took a deep breath. "Chloe, listen, I know you don't really mean those words. You've just been so downtrodden by your terrible life that you don't see yourself as being worthy of something greater. But you are , Chloe Cerise. You're worthy of being remembered. Of being celebrated. Of being a hero!"

"Well, guess what? That's not what I want at all," Chloe revealed her number to Lady Destiny. "I just want to get this number down to zero and head back home. Nothing more."

"You will achieve that goal if you come with us much faster than if you stuck to that parasitic woman's side, or really, anybody," Lady Destiny answered. "We'll even manage to help you reach new heights, and become famous across the train! Doesn't that sound good? You get to go home and leave the train a legend!"

"I don't want to become a legend," Chloe answered bluntly. "Heck, I don't even know what I want to be when I grow older!"

"No Chloe ever does, sweetie. Most just take a long time to find out amidst the sea of incompetence, abuse, and creatures that hurdle their path," Lady Destiny flashed a smile that was intended to be warm and welcoming. "The Vermillion Citadel will be more than happy to help you reach this revelation, but you must. Come. With us."

"And I. Decline," Chloe responded. "I'm going to focus on getting home with Professor Fennel's help and nothing's going to change that."

The two Chloes stared at each other for a moment, our Chloe's intense glare of defiance clashing with Lady Destiny's vivid expression of disapproval. And after a long set of silence…

"Very well, just doing one act of heroism has never been enough for Chloekind anyway. You must do several before the train will recognize your greatness."

With those words spoken, Lady Destiny turned around and began to walk away, saying:

"I will be watching you, Chloe Cerise, and periodically come back to give you the offer time and time again, until you finally decide to shed this false pretense of normality and accept the greatness that awaits you."

The other Chloes walked through the portal, with Lady Destiny being the last to leave, stopping to face Chloe one last time and state:

"I do this for your sake, Chloe. For the sake of all Chloekind. Keep that in mind."

Lady Destiny finally left, and the portal closed soon after, allowing the group to catch their breath at last…

And for Chloe to drop to her knees, utterly exhausted.

"Chloe!" Bakku exclaimed before floating to the redhead's side. "Are you okay?!"

"Y-Yeah… I-I think…" Chloe sighed as she clutched her chest. "That was… the most tense I've felt in my life…"

"It's understandable; you didn't defy just anybody, but the seemingly omnipotent leader of the Vermillion Citadel," Angie said. "You're lucky you're a Chloe; had anybody else tried to pull off what you did, they would've been vaporized on the spot!"

" Seemingly omnipotent?" Fast Traveler asked as she turned to Angie.

"Everything I know about her power mostly comes from word of mouth. Being the leader of the citadel, she mostly stays at the sidelines, watching everything happen while rarely getting involved," the greenette explained. "So her showing up at all is a big deal. Though given you’re a Chloe, I guess it’s not that surprising."

Fast Traveler promptly dropped Angie, who was apprehended by the horse police as the superheroine walked to Chloe’s side, making sure not to let her boots be spotted in the process.

“So, that’s the end of this, I hope,” Chloe took a deep breath before facing the super fast woman. “Thanks for all your help, Fast Traveler.”

“Anytime, Chloe, though you’re gonna have to call me something else from now on,” the woman answered as she tapped her helmet. “For you see, I’m actually… Zoom, Full Stop.”

A glowing light covered the woman as an equine Kwamizen emerged from the boots, followed shortly by the light vanishing to reveal…

“Professor Fennel!”

“Wait, what?! No way!” Haru proclaimed in the best fake shocked tone she could muster, which nearly made Chloe laugh. “Who could’ve possibly seen this plot twist coming?!”

“Bakku did,” Chloe confessed, a giggle escaping her mouth. “And they totally told me.”

“What? I never did that!” Bakku gasped, sounding equally forced. “How could you lie about something like this, Chloe? I thought you were better than this!”

Chloe giggled, then faced Haru, grabbing her hand as she said, “You were pretty cool too, Haru. You were a big help.”

“How do you know I even did that much?” the horsegirl asked.

“You kicked away that nightmare that was about to maul me and Bakku alive!” Chloe then hugged the horsegirl. “That’s all I need to see and hear to know you were a big help!”

“I think the same too, given our little… talk, a while ago.” Professor Fennel folded her arms. "And honestly after everything that’s happened, Haru Urara, I think it’s time you consider yourself officially admitted into…"

Professor Fennel fell silent, slowly growing more and more sheepish until she finally admitted while twiddling her fingers:

"Actually, I don't think we ever established a name for this team, hehe…"

“Well, what better time to do that than now?!” Chloe chirped. "Let’s call ourselves Sleepover Soldiers!"

"That doesn't sound very intimidating," Professor Fennel hummed.

Chloe pulled another pose excitedly. "Dream Slayers!"

"That sounds a little too intimidating."

Bakku eventually chimed in. "Dream Watchers?"

"That's gonna make us sound like perverts!"

"Well, if I can provide my own suggestion," Haru clasped her hands together. "Why don't we go with Dreamwalkers?"

The trio exchanged looks as they thought about the suggestion, eventually smiling as they each gave a response:

Chloe turned to Haru and flashed a pair of thumbs up. "I like it!"

Bakku shrugged. "No complaints here."

And finally, Professor Fennel said, "I think that's a great name, Haru. We'll go with that."

"Awesome! Now, It's been a really hectic night," Chloe yawned. "I'm ready to hit the hay. Literally in this case."

"You know what? Me too." Professor Fennel folded her arms. "What do you say we go back to the stables?"

“I say we go bring back the Race Miraculous to the pedestal and get it fixed,” Haru pointed out, bringing attention to Fennel’s footwear. “It’d be really bad if you got into trouble for taking the prize, given there’s a race tomorrow.”

“Oh… right,” Professor Fennel blushed. “Yeah, that sounds like something we should take care of.”

Chloe giggled, and Bakku returned to the Dream Miraculous as the trio went to put the boots back in their place, Chloe grabbing Fennel and Haru’s hands as she did.

“Hey, Professor Fennel?”

“Yes, Chloe?”

“You think Angie’s gonna be okay?” the redhead asked. “I mean, sure, she was responsible for the dream forest thing, and she attacked us and all, but I get the feeling she was forced to do it.”

“Well, Chloe, I’m afraid we can’t spend time thinking about that,” Professor Fennel sighed. “There’s a race tomorrow that we need to pay attention to. And besides, whether Angie meant to do what she did or not, she’s now under the mercy of the law system of the car. There’s nothing we can do about that.”

Chloe hummed and lowered her head, prompting a comment from Haru, “If it’s possible, we might be able to bring the Chloes we saw as potential reasons behind Angie’s behavior, and use them to appeal to release her under the pretense of having her help us defeat them.”

The Pokemon World duo faced the horsegirl, who briefly glanced at them before she looked away with a smile on her face.

“But that’s just a theory.”

The purplette and redhead exchanged surprised looks before smiling at each other, with the trio going to put the Race Miraculous back in place before going to sleep.

Tomorrow was a big day, after all.

Chapter Text

It was an interesting night at Vermillion City. With the large dome keeping the city safe was the same one keeping the nightmare mist, the corrupted dream mist unleashed by Colress’ forces, out of the rest of the surrounding area, and those unlucky to inhale it were left to deal with bad nightmares.

Talia Cerise wasn’t one of these people, however. She slept fairly peacefully, all things considered, and when the sunlight filtered through her window, she woke up with little hesitation.

She yawned, put on her glasses, and stretched as she got off her bed and prepared to begin another day at Vermillion City. 

Once she headed downstairs and onto the kitchen, she quicky made some breakfast for everyone and then headed to the Cerise Institute, expecting to find most, if not all the current tenants of the house, in there.

“Breakfast is ready, everyone!” she called.

“Thanks, honey!” Professor Cerise called. “We’ll be there in a minute!”

Curious about the response, Talia walked deeper into the institute, where she found her husband, Renji, Chryssa, and Amanita all checking Parker’s Eevee as the Pokemon sat on top of a pedestal, with his owner standing nearby with notable worry.

“What’s going on?” Talia asked as she walked to her husband’s side.

"Parker came up to me to check on his Eevee," Professor Cerise explained. "He says he's been acting weird since last night."

“Since last night?” Talia repeated as she walked closer to her husband. “In what way?”

“He gets sleepy at random moments,” Parker frowned. “And when he falls asleep, it takes a while for him to wake up! Just today, he fell asleep on top of Yamper’s food bowl!”

“Couldn’t he just be tired?” Talia inquired. “Last night was rather difficult for most of us to sleep through. Maybe Eevee just didn’t have a good night's sleep?”

“That would be one thing, but he falls asleep erratically!” Parker cried. “Sometimes he’s fine, and then he just drops asleep as if he had been knocked out or something!”

Just then, Renji finished checking the Eevee and turned to his boss. “Well, professor, you’re the expert on status effects. Going by what Parker said, what do you think is going on with Eevee?"

Professor Cerise hummed and scratched his chin. "Well, Pokémon tend to have a certain reaction after being afflicted with status effects and not being healed by their respective antidotes. A stunned Pokémon that's not healed with a Petra Berry, for example, might exhibit temporary stunted movement."

“But why does Eevee fall asleep at random?!” Parker cried. “If it’s a status effect, shouldn’t he have woken up by now?!”

"It depends on how powerful the attacking Pokémon is and the evolutionary level of the afflicted Pokémon," Professor Cerise turned back to Eevee. "Varied evolutions or not, an Eevee is still a base type Pokemon, so he's especially hurt by status effects. And the fact that he's been like this since last night leads me to believe an evolved Pokémon was the one who did it."

Parker’s eyes widened. “An evolved Pokemon?”

Just then, Amanita saw Parker’s expression sadden and the boy lower his head, which prompted her to get off her seat and approach the boy’s side, saying:

“Professor, please see if you can find anything else about Eevee. I’m gonna go talk with Parker elsewhere.”

“Sure,” Professor Cerise paused and petted his son’s head. “Don’t worry, Parker, this is only temporary. Eevee will be as good as new in no time, I promise.”

But the boy remained silent, even as Amanita grabbed his hand and took him to another part of the institute.

…

Once away from the main area, Amanita and Parker leaned against the back of the institute, with the latter being the first to ask:

“What did you want to talk about, Amanita?”

“You heard what your father said, right? For Eevee to have been affected the way he was, he must’ve been struck by an evolved Pokemon,” Amanita pointed out. “And we just visited a house of a friend of yours, who has an evolved Pokemon as her main partner, right?”

Parker blinked twice. “I don’t get it?”

“Parker, I’m gonna be blunt with you, because I know you’re too dumb to get it otherwise,” Amanita stated. “I get the feeling that Jinny is hiding something. You need to be careful around her.”

After hearing those words, Parker stared at Amanita’s serious expression before he finally responded:

“Amanita, are you jealous?" 

Amanita flinched and looked more than ready to tear the boy apart-

"Is what I wanna say, but…"

Then, she paused and raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"I mean, Jinny's Milotic was nowhere to be seen when we returned from Jinny's dreamscape, and I don't think anybody else would be able to put Eevee to sleep," Parker argued. "From what Dad told me, Wild Pokémon aren't exactly known for strategy; they'll just beat up the opposing force until it stops moving. Using status effects is mostly seen from tamed Pokémon."

Amanita's eyes widened. "Well, color me stunned, you actually managed to make the connection without having someone spell it out to you."

Parker nodded, visibly upset. "But a part of me doesn't want to believe it. Because if Jinny's Milotic did it, then that would mean…"

The boy lowered his head, looking elsewhere as Amanita stared at him... and blurted:

"Hey, if it helps, it's too early to declare Milotic as the culprit."

… Wait, what did I just say?

"You really think so?" Parker asked, cheering up a little. "But who else could it have been?"

“That’s the thing; we don’t know yet, but that’s why we need to take advantage of the time we have,” Amanita pocketed her hands. “You know, look for clues, ask people if they saw anything-”

“But it was night time, and we were at Jinny’s house,” Parker pointed out. “Who else could’ve done it?”

Amanita scratched her chin and hummed, but before she could mention anything else, Parker added:

“Anyway, I think I understand what you’re talking about, Amanita: before I think about how Jinny could be responsible, I need proof that she did it. So, I’m gonna go do that before doing anything else.”

“Sounds good, bringing Eevee with you might work too, get some experience battling with him if necessary,” Amanita nodded. “Speaking of which, you should probably look for something to help with Eevee’s sleepiness: there’s a berry that’s said to help a Pokemon wake up immediately, but I can’t remember if it’s the Chesto Berry or the Mint Berry that does it.”

“Why not just try both?” Parker shrugged. “If one doesn’t work, we try the other one. And if they both work, then great, right?”

Amanita silently nodded.

“I think I saw some berries over at the Poke Mart!” Parker chirped. “I’ll go ask Dad to give me some money to buy them!” 

“Good, I’ll come with you,” Amanita replied. “We might be able to get some clues about what happened last night, see if any other places had unwanted visitors.”

“Alright! Let’s go!”

Parker raised his fist excitedly and began to run off, only to stop and turn back to Amanita.

“Say, Amanita?”

“Yes, Parker?”

“Thanks!”

The bespectacled brunette was surprised by the exclamation, especially as Parker continued with a smile on his face:

“I was feeling really bummed out by the idea that Jinny’s Milotic had hurt Eevee, but  your words really reassured me! So thanks, I really appreciate it!”

Amanita stared at Parker for a moment, until she caught herself and adjusted her glasses to regain her composure.

“You can show your appreciation by heading to the Poke Mart, so come on, let’s go.”

“Aye aye, captain!”

Parker laughed as he dashed off, leaving Amanita alone to rub her forehead and ponder what just happened.

"Why did I feel compelled to cheer him up just now? Not drinking my morning coffee Is doing a number on me, I should fix that."

“Amanita, you coming?!”

The bespectacled genius rolled her eyes and ran after the boy, shouting:

“Wait for me!”

…

The sun rose high over the cars of the Infinity Train, but with the long and varied set of worlds stationed within the cars, the responses to all this sunlight was quite different.

For example, for the remnants of The Apex, Grace was the first to wake up, followed by the kids as the sunlight filtered through the car. The other kids woke up soon after, with only some slight nudging from the woman herself.

However, not even a minute later, they were surrounded by several sheep surrounded by electrical sparks.

"Don't make a move, Apex!"

Soon after being called out, the former Apex members were met with the leader of the electric sheep: a short humanoid Denizen sporting a blue dress, black shoes, long blonde hair styled as drills, and light blue eyes with fair skin. She also had a staff with a curved top.

And yet, her glaring daggers at the group heavily clashed with her cute apparel.

“You got nowhere else to run!” the girl snapped. “Surrender, or you’re gonna have a baaah’d time in here!”

“That sheep pun had to be intentional,” Lucy whispered to Todd, who nodded in agreement.

“We’re sorry for intruding into your car without notice,” Grace spoke, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. “We had just left a very tense situation in another car, and we needed a place to sleep in-”

“As expected of a member of the Apex, your first instinct is to try to bs a justification for your behavior, rather than take accountability for your actions,” the girl narrowed her eyes in disgust. “No wonder you and your kind are near extinct.”

Grace flinched, taking a step back as Lindsey stepped forward and hissed, “And who are you to say all that nasty stuff about us?!”

“My name is Mary Lamb, the leader of this car,” the shepherd girl stated. “And it’s quite laughable for you to say all I’m saying is “nasty” when you’ve said and done things way worse than this.”

“Look, we get it, you don’t want us here,” Todd said, taking a step forward. “We’ll leave without making a fuss, just give us a second to catch our breath and we’ll leave-”

“And what if I don’t want to give you a second? What if I want you to leave immediately?” Mary hissed. "What are you gonna do then, huh? Kill me? Throw me down to the wheels? Murder me like you've murdered all those other Denizens before me?!"

Hearing that scathing statement made Grace pause and consider her actions, something that Mary took advantage of:

“Everybody already knows what happened between you and the other leader: how you two had a falling out, how you chose to abandon the rest of the children under your care to be ruled with an iron fist, bringing another age of chaos while you skipped without a care in the world!”

Hearing that, Grace narrowed her eyes and snapped. “That’s not what happened at all! Simon-”

“Simon this, Simon that,” Mary groaned. “How much longer are you gonna keep blaming everybody else for your mistakes?”

Grace took a step back. “What?!”

“Yeah, if you’re not lying through your teeth over allegedly knowing everything there is to know about the Train, you’re blaming somebody else for your own mistakes!” Mary spat as she stood up. “You got taken away by an endless train? It’s your parents’ fault. You get stuck in a car with no idea what to do? It’s the Train’s fault. You gather a group of children under your rule and lie to them, keeping them away from their families? Also the train’s fault. And the Denizens you mercilessly kill going out for your blood after everything inevitably falls apart? The Conductor’s fault.”

Grace frowned. “How… Do you know all of that?”

“You’re nothing but a good-for-nothing liar who’d rather hide behind endless lies before admitting she’s made any mistakes!” Mary smirked. “You entered the train in that state, and you’re definitely going to die in the same one!”

“If Grace is really so terrible, why did we decide to stick by her side, then?!” Lucy snapped. “Don’t you think we’re smart enough to tell when Grace was a terrible person who’s not worth our time?!”

Mary smirked. “Are you? I mean, you got swept along pretty easily into her cause and her lies, which are about as paper thin as they come. If you were duped that easily, surely she can just dupe you again, right?”

As if on cue, a portal door opened near the remnants of The Apex, with the implication being quite clear to all of them.

With this, Grace took a deep breath and stated, “We’ll take our leave now.”

“Do, and never return,” Mary furrowed her brow. “Because if you ever set foot in this car again, I’ll feed you to my sheep. And they like to take their time eating their meals.”

One of the sheep stopped eating some grass and turned to look at their shepherd as if she had gone insane, then turned to the Apex as they walked through the door, with it vanishing as soon as they had all walked through it, with Mary smirking in satisfaction.

On the other end, however, the remnants’ sour mood was quickly changed for confusion when they found themselves in front of a tiny butterfly creature surrounded by other similar creatures.

“Greetings, Grace Monroe,” the tiny butterfly creature greeted. “I’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”

“... How do you know my name?” Grace blinked twice. “Who are you?”

“My name is Grand Master Nooroo. And I’ve been expecting you and your kids for quite some time now…”

…

As for another, slightly less tense sunrise, Professor Fennel and Chloe, having woken up at the sounds of the rooster signaled the sunrise, walked out of the hotel-stable they were staying at and headed to the registration for today's race…

Well, Professor Fennel was walking, Chloe always skipped ahead, stopping to wait for the woman while bouncing up and down.

“Come on, Professor Fennel, speed up!” the redhead chirped. “We’re gonna be late for the registration!”

“We literally just woke up, Chloe,” Professor Fennel giggled. “How come you have so much energy?”

“How can I not?!” Chloe clasped her hands together. “I’m this close to getting to race with a bunch of horsegirls! All the other horse loving students back in my school are gonna be so jealous!”

Fennel raised an eyebrow. “And how many such students are there?”

Chloe opened her mouth, but paused as she realized she didn’t have the proper answer. So she instead waved her hand and chirped “I’ll figure it out later, now come on!” before bolting ahead.

Professor Fennel giggled before chasing after Chloe, taking them right to the registration area for the race. And after a quick signing…

“Alright, you’ve been registered into today’s race, Chloe Cerise,” the horse receptionist stated. “It’ll begin in about ten minutes, so use the time before that wisely.”

The duo walked away to let another person enter the registration, and once they were far away enough, Chloe raised her fist and jumped. 

“Woohoo! Horsegirl racing, here I come!”

“Not yet, we still have some time before the race proper starts,” Professor Fennel pointed out. “What do you wanna do until then?”

Chloe calmed down slightly, then turned to look at Professor Fennel, specifically the Fear Miraculous placed on her chest, which she had kept there last night for security purposes. 

Seeing this caused Chloe’s smile to falter, and when Professor Fennel looked down at the miraculous, her smile faltered as well, realizing what Chloe’s frown meant…

…

A moment later, the duo headed for the car’s equivalent of a prison, with one of the horse-headed police officers being encountered by Chloe and Professor Fennel.

“Hello, is this the place where you keep the ones who broke the law?” Professor Fennel asked, getting the officer’s attention. “We came here looking for one such person. Her name’s Angie?”

“Right, we do have an Angie that we caught yesterday,” the officer said before looking at Chloe. “But you already came here to see her.”

Chloe flinched. “Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Yeah, you appeared here just a moment ago, saying you wanted to talk to someone named Angie,” the officer pointed out. “But you had wings.”

It didn’t take Chloe a long time to realize what this meant, and furrowing her brow in anger, she asked:

“Could you show us where her cell is?”

…

"Your purpose within the Vermillion Citadel has been fulfilled. At the bare minimum and with as little effort as possible, but still fulfilled."

Those were the words spoken to Angie by The Icarus, who looked down at her with disappointment while the greenette rolled her eyes and rested her cheek on her palm, barely paying attention.

“The citadel will recognize your efforts as a brave example of what a member of the citadel’s non-Chloe population should aspire to be,” The Icarus narrowed her eyes. “However, your mistakes will also be taken into account-”

“Could you cut to the chase, already?” Angie groaned. “How long will it take before Ash is released?”

The Icarus paused before regaining her composure. “Ash Ketchum will not be released from his imprisonment-”

“WHAT?!”

Angie’s voice echoed across the prison as she stood up and ran to the bars, clutching them with a furious glare as she yelled at the Icarus:

"Lady Destiny told me you were going to free Ash if I did your dirty work!”

"She said Ash Ketchum's freedom will be discussed if you perform your duties as expected," The Icarus stated. "After all, given all the sins he's done against Chloekind, we can't let him go and risk sending even more Chloes down the pits of despair."

Angie’s eyes widened. “T-That’s not what she told me-”

“Lady Destiny’s words are law in the citadel; not yours, not mine, hers and hers alone,” The Icarus furrowed her brow. “If she says that Ash Ketchum will not be released, then he will not be released. And it is your duty, inside or outside citadel space, to obey those rules, understood?”

“What’s going on here?"

The duo stopped and turned to see another duo enter the room, Chloe and Professor Fennel, the former sporting a furious expression that the Icarus failed to notice.

"Greetings, you can call me The Icarus," the winged Chloe greeted with a little curtsy. "And if I do say so myself, it's an honor to meet Lady Destiny's chosen in the flesh-"

"What are you doing?" Chloe asked sternly.

The Icarus, noticing Chloe's displeasure, composed herself before looking back at Angie.

"Lady Destiny is a very busy woman, what with leading a group of saviors of the Train into a brand new paradise, so she delegated me the role of ensuring this… girl had knowledge that her services will no longer be required. And that she’s expected to deliver the Fear Miraculous back to the citadel within a certain amount of time, which has yet to be decided.”

The Icarus turned back to Angie, who went back to her seat and sat down.

“But I believe I’ve said enough. Have a nice day, oh chosen of Lady Destiny.”

With those words spoken, the Icarus walked away, leaving the building before spreading her wings and flying away, leaving Angie alone with Chloe and the professor.

“Hey, are you okay?” the redhead inquired.

“To be perfectly honest, no,” Angie hissed. “First I fail my mission to satisfy the citadel to free my Ash, then I find out the Chloe the citadel’s so proud of is a coward and a fraud, then I lose the Miraculous I was given for my mission, and now I’m being told that everything I did was for nothing, because a certain Chloe named “Lady Destiny” decided it would be a waste of time to free my Ash after everything I did for them. I did horrible things in the name of turning YOU into a hero, and for nothing!”

“Your Ash?” Chloe repeated. “Why do you remark Ash in such a possessive way?”

“It’s not because I’m possessive,” Angie clarified. “It’s because I don’t wanna confuse him for your Ash.”

This statement only served to further confuse Chloe and Professor Fennel, who exchanged looks before the greenette bluntly explained herself:

“The truth is, I’m from another dimension. Everything is mostly the same: there’s Ash, there’s Pokemon, gyms, leagues, all that stuff, but things diverged at a certain point. At least, that’s the theory that Professor Ivy planted.”

“Professor Ivy?” Professor Fennel blurted.

“Okay, so you’re from another dimension,” Chloe tilted her head. “How does that explain how you got on the Train? Or even how your Ash got on the train? Is there more to it, or-”

“There is, but you think I’m gonna tell you more about that after everything that just happened to me,” Angie folded her arms and crossed her legs before looking elsewhere. “I’m in a bad mood, leave me alone.”

Chloe took a deep breath and turned to Professor Fennel, hoping that the woman would know what to do next. However, after exchanging looks with her, Professor Fennel smiled and stated:

“Very well.”

With that said, Professor Fennel turned around and began to leave, to Chloe and Angie’s shock.

“Wait, that’s it?!” Angie exclaimed, turning back to the pair. “You’re not going to probe me any further or try to get more answers?!”

“Angie has a point,” Chloe remarked, earning a shocked look from the greenette. “Shouldn’t we try to learn as much as we can about what she was doing, or why she had a Miraculous with her?”

“Chloe, believe me when I say I want to learn as much about what’s going as you do,” Professor Fennel answered, shrugging as she added. “But what else can we do? We asked Angie, and she doesn’t seem to be ready to tell us anything yet. We can’t force her to tell us what we want to know.”

“You don’t know that,” Chloe argued. “Maybe if we’re really persistent and determined, she’ll eventually tell us what she was doing here!”

Then, Professor Fennel stopped on her tracks and growled:

“Or we’ll either scare her or anger her enough for her to decide to tell us the first thing that comes to mind in a desperate attempt to get us off her back.”

Then, the woman shot a glare at Chloe, which sent a shiver down her spine as she lowered her head, and Angie looked with worry and concern. However, moments later, Professor Fennel

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, but I need to be firm and stern in this situation. I know you want to learn everything there is to know about Angie’s situation, but you also need to understand that people have boundaries, and sometimes, they won’t tell you everything you want to know.”

Chloe looked back at Angie, who flinched and looked elsewhere with a stern expression. However, just as she felt upset, she felt a little bit better when she saw Professor Fennel’s reassuring smile:

“We asked her at the very least. And sure, she said no, but that’s okay too; let’s give her some time and try again later.”

“And what if I don’t want to tell you anything ever?” Angie suggested, rolling her eyes. “What if I never feel comfortable enough to tell you about my trip, how I ended up with the Vermillion Citadel, or how I got my Ash entangled into this mess?”

“That’s fine.”

Once again, Angie was shocked, and after seeing Fennel’s reassuring smile, she sighed:

“You’re not giving me back the Fear Miraculous, are you?”

“Absolutely not,” Professor Fennel responded as she took a look at the necklace. “We have no idea who this Miraculous belonged to, but Grand Master Nooroo will probably know. Eitherway, this item is too dangerous to be left at the hands of just anyone, so for now, I’ll be safekeeping this.”

The woman hid the necklace once again, and reached her hand towards Chloe. “Now come on, Chloe, let’s go see what else we can do

Chloe eyed Fennel’s hand, then Angie’s expecting expression, and finally, she flashed a smile at the professor before grabbing her hand and nodding. And as they walked away, Angie sat back down in her cell, lost in thought:

Ever since I “joined” the Vermillion Citadel, I was always told that anybody who hung out with “Chloe of the Vermillion” and didn’t sing praises to her was a terrible person who wanted nothing more than to put her down.

Angie lowered her eyelids. And yet, when I see those two interacting, they seem to get along surprisingly well. And it’s not like there’s any precedent for this; that woman’s not her mother, or a relative, or a friend in any of the other universe. And she’s a Pokemon Professor to boot!

Then, she scratched her chin, musing about a certain fact delivered by the citadel:

There’s never been an universe where Chloe Cerise managed to get along with a Pokemon Professor while she was on the train. After it, sure, but not during it.

Until finally, she smiled.

If possible, I should try to keep an eye on them, just to see what Lady Destiny has planned for her…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back in the Pokemon World, at N’s castle, Trip walked around the forest nearby, using his camera to take pictures of the Pokemon in the surrounding area.

He took pictures of a Roselia, a Petilil, and a Cottonee, all which looked surprised before hopping away. However, just as he reached a Lilligant who noticed him and began to pose…

“Trip?”

The photographer flinched and nearly threw his camera to the sky before grabbing it. Then he turned around and saw N standing nearby, arms folded behind his back with a curious look on his face.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, uh…” Trip eyed his camera and hastily hid it. “Nothing! I definitely wasn’t taking pictures of the Pokemon around here!”

The Lilligant sulked and walked away. “Lilli….”

“Well, sorry if I disturbed you,” N remarked. “Truth be told, I’ve been meaning to ask you something since yesterday.”

Trip blinked twice. “And that is?”

N looked elsewhere. “Rosa mentioned something very interesting to me last night. She told me that your Serperior got hurt during an incident with a Zangoose and a Seviper.”

Trip flinched at the remark. “T-That-”

“And she went on to add that in response, you left your Serperior in your Poke Ball, where he was left there as you quit the business of Pokemon Training to instead focus on photography,” N continued before facing Trip, his expression unchanging. “And this is something that continued for several months until you met Rosa herself…”

Trip paused before he looked elsewhere with a look of regret. However, just as quickly, he turned back to N and stated with a look of confidence:

“I’ll admit I may not have been the best trainer for Serperior back then, but I managed to see what I’ve done wrong and I’m taking steps to make amends.”

N chuckled to himself, but then, with an ominous shadow on his eyes, he stated:

“You better.”

Trip’s confidence faltered as N continued:

“Rosa’s a very special girl to me. We were raised together under the same beliefs of Ghetsis. Most importantly, to make sure that all Pokemon are loved, and that all Pokemon are sacred and should be protected.”

Then, N took a step forward to Trip, looking down to him as he added:

“So I hope you understand my discomfort when it turns out that her latest “friend” is someone who has done something as reprehensible as leaving their own Pokemon trapped inside their Poke Ball for months to an end.”

Trip gulped as he tried to remain calm, even as N leaned closer to him.

“I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Trip. And if Rosa happens to be corrupted by your terrible behavior…”

“Hey guys!”

N immediately leaned back and turned around alongside Trip to see Rosa running towards them with her usual energy.

“Hi N! Hi Trip!” she greeted before sensing the atmosphere. “Did I arrive at a bad time?”

“Oh no, not at all,” N replied before patting Trip’s back. “I was just having a little talk with Trip. Right, Trip?”

The guy glanced at N, but he quickly diverted eye contact and nodded.

“Well, I’m glad, because I need N right now!” Rosa replied. “There’s somebody at the entrance to the castle wanting to talk to you!”

The duo exchanged looks, and with curiosity, they followed Rosa to the entrance to the castle, where they saw a certain guy with blue spiky hair sitting on top of a Bouffalant, arms folded with a serious expression.

“Hey, visitor!” Rosa chirped. “I brought him as you asked!”

The guy turned to look at Rosa’s trio, but once he looked at Trip, the pair paused for a moment before gasping:

“Trip?!”

“Hugh?!”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back at the racing track, Chloe and Professor Fennel arrived at the track, with the duo being separated by a taller horsegirl, sending Professor Fennel to the side of the audience, while Chloe was taken to the track itself.

Luckily, Fennel managed to stand at the small wall separating the racers from the audience, where she saw Chloe be approached with a carrot by one of the horsegirl denizens.

“Just take one bite of this, and you’ll be good to go.”

Chloe nodded, grabbed the carrot, and licked her lips before taking a bite out of it.

What came next could only be described as a magical girl transformation: Chloe was surrounded by rainbow energy as she floated up. Her hair then flowed before transforming into a puffy mass of pink and light blue colors, one extending way past her waist and ending in a ponytail, followed by Chloe growing an actual horse tail from her lower back, in similar colors to her hair.

Her uniform also transformed: while it retained its white color, the blue highlights turned into a mix of pink ahd light blue, with the shoes and sleeves becoming bigger and puffy.

Finally, Chloe opened her eyes to reveal that they had gained a pink color with a glimmering light, shortly before posing by raising her fist and wink with one eye.

Once that was done, Chloe noticed Professor Fennel staring at her, and she eagerly skipped to her.

“Professor Fennel, did you see?!” Chloe grabbed the edges of her dress and spun once. “I’m a horsegirl now!”

“I noticed Chloe,” Fennel laughed as she reached for her pockets. “Now, I’m curious about something…”

Eventually, the woman took out a certain item from her pocket; a rectangular contraption, which made Chloe tilt her head.

“You brought your Pokedex with you?”

“A good professor always brings their Pokedex with them, Chloe,” Professor Fennel answered. “Now stand still while I scan you.”

Chloe obliged as the object scanned her, though once it finished, she was quick to point out:

“Pokedexes are meant to be used on Pokemon, Professor Fennel; there’s no way it’s going to work on me!”

“Oh really?” the woman smiled slyly. “Then why did it manage to scan you successfully?”

“Really?!”

Professor Fennel nodded, then tapped her nose with her fingers before saying with a nasal voice:

"Galarian Chloe Cerise, the Horsegirl Pokemon."

"Stop," Chloe said with a wide smile.

"The evolved form of Chloe Cerise," Professor Fennel added, trying to hold back her laughter as she continued. "Once an ordinary schoolgirl, eating a Special carrot has given her the abilities of a Galarian Ponyta, including amazing leg strength and horsepower!"

The newly-made horsegirl gently smacked the woman. "Stop!"

The duo laughed a bit, Chloe smacking Fennel like a wimp repeatedly until a mechanical voice shouted:

“Attention all horsegirls, denizen and passengers, the race is about to begin! Please head to the appropriate seating section, and the starting line for the participants!”

“There’s my cue,” Chloe remarked with a little sigh.

Fennel, noticing a slight hint of worry in Chloe’s voice, grabbed the horsegirl’s hand and flashed a reassuring smile, saying:

“You’re gonna do great, Chloe.”

The horsegirl paused for a second, then, with a wide smile, she shook Fennel’s hand and stated:

“I sure will!”

And so, the duo released their hands and Chloe bolted to the starting line, while Fennel walked to a section in the audience seats that would give her the best view of the race up front.

“Mind if I sit here?”

Fennel turned to her side and saw the one asking the question had already sat down, this being a certain brunette horsegirl with green highlights.

“Oh, Zippy Chippy, hi,” Professor Fennel greeted, waving her hand. “You’re not going to participate?”

“I’m still recovering a little from the whole “can’t walk” thing last night, so I decided to drop out,” Zippy frowned. “However, my senpai didn’t, and she’s about to start the race alongside everybody else.”

Hearing those words, Fennel looked at the starting line, where Haru was stretching alongside every other horsegirl in the track.

“I see. But why are you worried?” Fennel raised an eyebrow. “Even if Haru loses, if she has fun then there’s nothing wrong, right?”

“It’s not the fact that senpai might not win, after a few dozen losses, you just lose the shock of it all,” Zippy lowered her eyelids. “It’s the fact that I don’t think she’s recovered yet.”

“Recovered?” Professor Fennel tilted her head. “From what?”

Zippy looked around to ensure nobody was watching them, and once she saw there were no monkeys on the coast, she leaned closer to Fennel’s ear and whispered:

“She told me about what she did to help with the nightmare situation. And the glass that covers the Race Miraculous is a pretty dang strong one. For senpai to be able to break it like she did, she must’ve used a significant amount of force to do it.”

Then, Zippy glanced back at Haru as she continued in whispers:

“She also kicked a monster to save your friend with the same leg she used to break the glass. That amount of pressure and force doesn’t heal overnight, especially for a horsegirl. I worry that if she makes a single wrong move…”

Fennel looked back at Haru, and noticed that the pink-haired horsegirl was a little slower other than the other horsegirls present, not just Chloe. 

Now understanding more about Zippy’s worry and concerns, Fennel grabbed her hand and held it as they waited for the race to begin…

…

“Hello and welcome to another rendition of the Horsegirl Race Car 300!” one of the announcers, a duck girl with a pink bow on her hair, shouted while waving her hand, revealing a green glowing number in it. “I’m Webby Vanderquack, from Duckburg!”

“And I’m Marie, from the Horse Girls of the Creek!” the other announcer, a girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail, added. “And we’re here to provide you with all the exciting information regarding today’s race, right, Webby?”

“You bet!” Webby stood up and looked down at the track. “And from the looks of it, we got quite the collection of colorful characters today!”

As the announcers began introducing the racers, Chloe stopped her stretching to approach Haru, who was taking a couple deep breaths.

“Haru!”

The horsegirl flinched and turned, smiling once she saw Chloe approach her. 

“Oh hi… do I know you?”

“It’s me, Chloe!” the transformed horsegirl answered. “Chloe Cerise! You know, Professor Fennel’s friend?”

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Haru replied, flashing a cheeky smile. “Chloe’s a fairly common name. I might need some proof that you’re that Chloe Cerise.”

Chloe flashed a sneaky smile and wasted no time hugging one of Haru’s legs, rubbing her cheek against it while the horsegirl chuckled:

“Oh yeah, that definitely feels like Chloe’s grip!”

Her laughter, however, was interrupted by a sudden wince of pain, which caused her to hastily sit down at a bench while Chloe released her grasp from her.

“Haru, are you okay?” Chloe frowned. “I didn’t grip you that hard, did I?”

“No, I’m fine, Chloe, I’m fine,” Haru replied, forcing a little smile. “I just practiced a little too hard for today’s race, and I’m feeling tired.”

“You practiced extra hard?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah, I mean, why wouldn’t I?” Haru shrugged. “This race… will be my last before I leave this car to join your team proper.”

“Oh…” Chloe scratched the back of her head. “I see… sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“Don’t worry about it, Chloe,” Haru replied, waving her hands in a dismissive manner. “Instead of offering an apology, why don’t you give it your all in the race?”

Haru smiled with confidence. “Just because I’ve lost over a hundred times before doesn’t mean I’m not gonna give it my all in this race.”

Chloe smiled at Haru’s confidence, and with a nod and a smile, she shook hands with the horsegirl and left to go to the starting line, with Haru following her once she felt her leg had healed enough.

“Alright everybody, we’re about to begin the race!” Webby exclaimed, catching everyone’s attention. “Our horsegirls are getting on the starting line and waiting for the signal!”

The girls got on the starting line, with Chloe waving to Professor Fennel before crouching down in position alongside the other horsegirls. With this done, the girls waited as Marie continued:

“Ready…”

Chloe furrowed her brow with an excited smile.

“Set…”

Haru, meanwhile, gritted her teeth as one of her legs shivered, first looking worried before taking a deep breath and adopting a determined expression.

“Go!”

With a blast, all the horsegirls ran forward, starting the race.

“And they run off!”

Chloe bolted forward as soon as she heard the bang, smiling with confidence as she sped forward as fast as she could.

“And Chloe Cerise from the Pokemon World takes the lead, followed by Annie from the It’s Pony World and Megan from the My Little Pony World!”

Chloe was joined by the two girls before the rest of the horsegirls separated, though most stayed close to one another.

“Outside of those three, it seems like most horsegirls are fighting neck-to-neck to enter the top 10!” Webby chirped. “Hey, Marie, you think any of our lovely contestants today might snatch the first place prize?!”

“I, in fact, do not,” Marie answered. “As part of my plea to be the best announcer that the car can have, I promise myself to have no strong opinions towards the racers. Whoever gets first or last place, I will treat them all equally.”

The duo turned back to see the horsegirls had mostly dashed ahead… except for Haru, who was far behind.

“And right in the last place is Haru Urara,” Webby stated without hesitation.

“Okay, nevermind,” Marie chuckled. “I totally believe she’ll be the last one.”

Webby laughed, and Haru did so too for a brief moment, but she quickly regained her composure as she tried to dash towards the other horsegirls, allowing her to spot one of them rapidly bolting past the other ones.

This mysterious horsegirl bolted way past Chloe, and once she was far away enough, she stopped, faced the other racers, and shouted:

“THE TOWER!”

Suddenly, a large tower emerged from the ground beneath the other pink-haired girl, causing all the other horsegirls to stop on their tracks before crashing into it. 

“Unbelievable! Contestant Touko Zaizen has created a giant tower from underneath her, forcing all other participants to stop on their tracks!” Webby gasped, before whispering to her fellow announcer, “By the way, is it Touko Zaizen or Victoria Vanguard? I always get confused.”

The other pinkette, Touko, smiled at this reaction, but it wasn’t long before her joy turned into shock as Haru dashed forward and lunged forward to the tower, kicking it with all her strength before jumping back.

The resulting force caused the tower to collapse forward, allowing Touko to jump and dash towards the finish line.

“Thanks for the boost! Haha!”

Chloe gritted her teeth and hopped onto the tower, followed by the rest of the horse girls running up it as well.

“What a surprising turn of events!” Webby chirped. “Haru Urara has kicked Touko Zaizen’s tower, causing it to timble forward, which every other horsegirl has started to climb in order to take back the advantage!”

“That seems really dangerous,” Marie frowned. “The paramedics better be ready to work overtime by the end of this.”

Everybody gasped, with Fennel and Zippy staring with concern as Chloe and the others got higher and higher on the tower.

Once at the top, Chloe was the first to jump, doing so with as much altitude as she could before diving right towards Touko, who sped ahead unaware of the incoming Chloe bomb.

When the duo clashed as the other horsegirls jumped off as well, Chloe crashed into Touko, causing them to roll for a bit before Touko kicked her off… straight forward towards the finish line, with Chloe spinning a moment again before regaining her balance.

“Thanks for the boost!” Chloe chirped while waving at Touko.

“What a comeback! After having a brief moment in the limelight, Touko Zaizen has been overtaken by Chloe Cerise, who’s now in first place!” Marie exclaimed. “But what about Haru Urara, the last place horsegirl who helped them get there in the first place?”

Everyone turned back to see Haru as the last one to climb the tower, with her quickly reaching the top as she began to breath heavily, before jumping off at the biggest point and preparing to hit the ground.

However, once she did, she did so in the foot she had used to kick the tower, causing her to flinch as she dropped to the ground, letting out a howl in pain.

“Oof, that’s gotta hurt!” Webby exclaimed.

“Haru Urara has fallen to the ground after jumping off the crumbling tower!” Marie added. “Who would’ve thought that such a selfless action as destroying the tower would cause such a kickback?!”

Hearing that, Fennel and Zippy looked at Haru on the ground, followed by Chloe looking back to confirm that the horsegirl had, indeed, hit the ground, grabbing her leg in pain as she took several deep breaths.

She looked back in front of her, with the finish line almost in front of her and with her being in first place, Chloe had the perfect opportunity to get first place and earn the Race Miraculous fair and square…

But then, Chloe stopped on her tracks and slid towards the finish line, eventually stopping mere inches away from crossing it. The resulting cloud from her slide soon dissipated, and as the transformed horsegirl stood there, the other horsegirls and horseboys dashed past her, each crossing the line as Chloe turned around and began to walk back to where Haru had fallen.

“Unbelievable! Contest Chloe Cerise has decided to not only stop right before crossing the finish line, but has decided to walk back!” 

“If I had a nickel for every time a contestant of this race decided to stop at the very last time and walk back, I’d have two nickels!” Marie stated. “Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it’s happened twice, right?”

The audience watched as Chloe kept walking back, eventually stopping right where Haru Urara had fallen. Then, she got on one knee and looked down as she asked:

“Hey, are you okay?”

The natural horsegirl looked up to see the artificial one giving her a look of genuine sympathy. Then, she looked back at her leg and laughed before standing up.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just… I must’ve tripped on something.”

Zippy grabbed Professor Fennel’s hand harder while the woman lowered her eyelids, knowing exactly why Haru’s leg had acted up. But then, she gained a smile as she saw what Chloe did next:

“Here, let me help you get to the finish line.”

Chloe not only helped Haru stand up, but wrapped her arm around her shoulder, helping her walk slowly but surely to the finish line as Webby gasped:

“I don’t believe it, everyone! Every time someone has decided to walk back, they throw in the towel at the last minute! But contestant Chloe Cerise has decided to go back to help one of the denizens of this car cross the finish line alongside her instead!”

“It’s so beautiful…” Marie said while shedding a single tear.

The duo kept walking towards the finish line, and once Haru realized what was happening, she couldn’t help but blurt:

“You could’ve crossed the line and helped me afterwards… but you stopped and helped me get there instead. Why?”

“It wouldn’t have felt right,” Chloe shook her head. “Not after everything you’ve done for us.”

“But you could’ve won ,” Haru pointed out. “And you would’ve gotten a Miraculous as a neat little gift, too.”

“That doesn’t matter to me that much; I joined the race just to have fun, not to win,” Chloe giggled. “Heck, the fact I not only got to race with other horsegirls, but even got to briefly become one? That’s all the victory I need!”

Haru stared at the girl with confusion before she noticed the finish line about to be crossed by them. With this in mind, she sighed:

“Chloe… thank you.”

The Pokemon World native smiled and nodded as the two crossed the line, stating with a wide smile:

“Your welcome, Haru.”

Chapter Text

The Vermillion Citadel.

This name wasn't that well known across the Infinity Train, certainly not as much as something like "The Conductor" or "The Apex". But those who had learned about it, also learned to fear it.

For in the colossal spiral surrounded by cherry blossom trees, the very top served as the room of one Lady Destiny, a being of infinite kindness, and endless cruelty. She was currently sitting on a chair, overlooking the entire car when the door to her office opened, with The Icarus walking inside.

“Greetings, Icarus,” Lady Destiny stated as she flipped her chair around. “I take it you’ve already delivered the news to the one known as Angie Morpheus?”

“Yes, Lady Destiny, the message was delivered without any issue,” The Icarus confirmed. “And, as you expected, she wasn’t exactly pleased with hearing the news.”

“Her satisfaction is none of our concern. Really, the fact that she was even allowed to work for us should be enough to make her happy,” Lady Destiny leaned back and sighed. “And yet, she’s proven herself to be the same as everyone. Someone who can’t be happy unless they obtain the very specific thing they want. In her case, the release of her Ash Ketchum.”

“Speaking of him,” The Icarus blurted. “I was hoping I could talk to you about the idea of his imprisonment here.”

Lady Destiny’s smile turned into a frown. “You still want to argue for getting rid of him?”

“Lady Destiny, it’s no secret to everyone that Ash Ketchum is one of the most corroding and corrupting forces in the life of a Chloe. You yourself said that all Ash Ketchums, without exception, are sentient black holes that take away all the support and goodwill that should’ve gone to Chloe Cerise, and leave her alone to be preyed upon by the people who hate her. With all that in mind, what’s the point in keeping him trapped here? Wouldn’t he just try to corrupt the Chloes in this divine setting?”

Lady Destiny tented her fingers. “We need to fix him first.”

The Icarus blinked twice. “Pardon me?”

Lady Destiny stood up and explained herself:

“It is true that Ash Ketchum and all his counterparts are sentient black holes that take away all the support and goodwill that a Chloe Cerise could get. All they need to do is set foot in the same location as a Chloe, and all attention will go to them, leaving her completely isolated. However, there’s a way to ensure that this doesn’t happen, that the Ash Ketchum can coexist alongside a Chloe without taking away attention from her.”

Then, the golden-eyed Chloe flashed a devious look at The Icarus. 

“He needs to be fixed.”

The Icarus paused. “Fixed how, Lady Destiny?”

“The source of this black hole-like existence is his charisma. His confidence. His natural charm that drives people towards him,” the leader of the citadel explained as she walked towards the winged redhead. “If these traits are downplayed, or taken away from him and replaced with obedience towards Chloekind, they will be freed from their cursed existence, and the people will be able to give Chloe Cerise all the attention and support that she deserves, without having to fear for someone else taking it away.”

Then, Lady Destiny put a hand on The Icarus’ shoulder.

“So, before we can even consider kicking him out, we have to make sure that those same traits that turned him into the antithesis to Chloe Cerise, are stripped away from him so that he is no longer a threat to her.”

The Icarus briefly looked nervous at her boss’ smirk, but she soon regained her composure with Lady Destiny’s next question:

“Tell me, has his Pikachu been separated from him yet?”

“Yes,” The Icarus nodded. “It took a lot of effort and several electrocutions, but we managed to separate them, and the Pikachu is currently being used to power up the citadel.”

“Good, good, that’s the first step,” Lady Destiny folded her arms behind her back and walked back to the window. “Now you have to break down his arrogance. His confidence. His belief that he will become the best one that no one ever was. Only then will he finally give up and abandon the same traits that make him into Chloe Cerise’s ultimate enemy.”

Then, after a little pause, The Icarus asked next: “And what about Chloe Cerise, ma’am? What do we do about her?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Chloe has been blinded. Her vision has been corrupted by the will of this “Professor Fennel” that she continues to hang out with. If she continues to hang out with her, her vision and purity will eventually be so tainted, that she’ll become too corrupt to fulfill her role as the savior of the Infinity Train.”

Lady Destiny smirked. “And I know just who to call for help in that regard.”

The girl clapped her hands twice, and declared:

“Come forth, the Cage of Flauros!”

The Icarus looked shocked, but before she could say anything, six crimson lights glowed in front of Lady Destiny’s desk. From those lights emerged six Chloes, who introduced themselves promptly:

“The Death, reporting.”

“The Despair, reporting.”

“The Dream, reporting.”

“The Desire, reporting.”

“The Destruction, reporting.”

“The Delight, reporting.”

“Cage of Flauros, you were created under my supervision to provide the quest that all Chloe Cerises require in order to achieve their best selves, to create conflict to be resolved by them and ensure that the Infinity Train recognizes them for the saintly, heroic figures that they truly are,” Lady Destiny proclaimed before flashing a smile. “And for that purpose, I have a request for you today.”

The six Chloes responded in unison: 

“Tell us, Lady Destiny, and we will not disappoint you.”

“Your job is to ensure that you guide Chloe Cerise down the path that she deserves. The path that will make her the savior of the Infinity Train, and have her forever be remembered as the divine figure who brought a new era of peace to it.”

Lady Destiny smirked.

“You must separate Chloe Cerise from Professor Fennel, and take her to the Vermillion Citadel, immediately.”

…

"And the winner of this year’s Horsegirl Race Car 300 is… Touko Zaizen!"

The audience cheered up and clapped wildly as the pink-haired girl walked up to the podium and was presented by the Race Miraculous. Among the audience were Professor Fennel, Chloe, Zippy Chippy and Haru Urara, who all clapped their hands at the delivery of the Miraculous.

“You know, Chloe, many people might disagree on this,” Professor Fennel remarked, getting the artificial horsegirl’s attention. “But I think you made the right choice by helping Haru cross the finish line.”

Chloe flashed a smile, and mere moments later, she morphed back into her human form, the redhead stretching before grabbing the professor’s hand, then turning to look at the horsegirl duo.

“I’ll come with you, but not right now,” Haru answered before looking down at her leg. “I was told that I need to stay here to rest until my leg is fully healed. Once I’m up, however, I’ll be sure to catch up to you.”

“We could also just return here to pick you up,” Chloe pondered out loud. “Though that might take a few tries if the train decides to be annoying.”

Professor Fennel chuckled at this statement, before waving at the horsegirl duo. “Well, we need to start going. Congratulations on your final race, Haru.”

Then, the woman leaned closer to the horsegirl and smiled. “And thanks for everything you did for us.”

Haru winked and flashed a thumbs up, prompting the confused Zippy Chippy to ask:

“You’re not going to stay to see what the winner turns into? That girl will get the chance to transform in a minute.”

“Nah, I already know what the Miraculous is capable of,” Professor Fennel turned to Chloe. “Besides… there’s something we need to do in another car...”

Zippy tilted her head and faced the redhead. “What do you need to do?”

Professor Fennel lowered her eyelids with a concerned expression…

…

A few moments later, Professor Fennel, Chloe, and Bakku found themselves at the Kwaminitiation Car, where they met the gaze of Grand Master Nooroo.

"Greetings, Grand Master Nooroo,” Professor Fennel said it's a pleasure to see you again."

“The pleasure is all mine,” Grand Master Nooroo stated. “Although, I’ve noticed that you appear to have a Miraculous in your possession. Not only that, but you appear to have used a Miraculous outside of your own.”

The woman’s eyes widened, prompting Chloe to gasp, “How did you-?!”

“I have connections to most Kwamizens in the car; if something happens to one of them, then I’ll know,” Grand Master Nooroo stated. “That, and I paid Zoom a visit after the whole Night Mare attack had been foiled.”

Chloe turned to Bakku. “I thought he would be asleep like you?”

“Kwamizens don’t need to sleep… or really, do anything,” Bakku shrugged. “Eating, sleeping, resting, most things that the average passenger requires to properly function aren’t really obligatory for Kwamizens unless their Miraculous requires it.”

“Well, that’s good to know.”

Professor Fennel turned back to the small Kwamizen. “Grand Master Nooroo, I can explain-”

“Zoom got way ahead of you; they told me that in a moment of desperation, you decided to wield their Miraculous after you had handed ownership of the Dream Miraculous to Chloe Cerise momentarily,” Grand Master Nooroo explained. “In other words, not only did you briefly give ownership of your Miraculous to someone who had no prior training with it, but then took another Miraculous that you hadn’t tried before, and which was supposed to be won fair and square in the car’s race.”

Professor Fennel rubbed her arm and looked elsewhere with an expression of regret, with the smaller Kwamizen staring at her for a while as Chloe glanced at the duo.

“However…”

The group turned back to Grand Master Nooroo, who flashed a little smile as they added:

“They were quick to clarify that your reasons for using their Miraculous were pure in nature; you simply wished to save Chloe Cerise from the nightmares that plagued the car, and you did use your power to defeat the one responsible and bring peace to the car once more. With this in mind, I’m willing to cut you some slack, and not punish you for this blatant breach of contract.”

Professor Fennel flashed a relieved smile, with Chloe pulling her sleeve with excitement as Bakku sighed in relief.

“However, I will request that you don’t pull the same stunt you did again.”

Grand Master Nooroo smiled. “Especially since you’ll have multiple choices for Miraculous moving forward.”

The trio raised a perplexed eyebrow, which prompted Grand Master Nooroo to whistle, summoning a certain group composed of one black woman and a bunch of children.

“Professor Fennel, I’d like you to meet Grace Monroe… and the remnants of The Apex.”

The woman winced at the introduction, but she sheepishly waved her hand as Bakku’s eyes widened:

“The Apex? You mean that infamous group of passengers who killed denizens by shoving them into the wheels?”

“Calling them infamous is a little much; they were known and feared in a few cars, but that’s about it,” Grand Master Nooroo stated. “With the endless nature of the infinity train, it’s impossible for most groups to become infamous or famous, let alone well known outside of their respective cars.”

“Okay, so they’re not that famous,” Chloe tilted her head. “How come there’s only five?”

“There used to be more members, but recent events caused most of them to quit and go their separate ways,” Lucy explained, taking a step forward. “We’re the only ones who decided to stick with Grace’s side. My name’s Lucy, by the way.”

“And why are you showing us this group?” Bakku asked bluntly. “What do they have to do with Professor Fennel having multiple Miraculous?”

Grand Master Nooroo smiled. “I want both groups to work together.”

Fennel and Grace turned to the tiny Kwamizen in shock. “What?!”

“The Apex, to the few people who know who they are, are utterly detested and hated. Not only that, but I’ve come to be informed that there’s someone, or something, hunting them down in an attempt to get rid of them forever,” Grand Master Nooroo explained before facing Professor Fennel. “One look at you tells me that you’re not the kind of person who judges people by their past, Professor Fennel. And although there could be many others who could help them instead of you, I fear they may let their perceptions of what they once did cloud them to what needs to be done.”

Grand Master Nooroo raised their mittens-like hands and proclaimed:

“You two will have partial ownership of the Miraculous that all members of this group will possess. Including both the ones you’ve obtain before, and will obtain in the future. In exchange, you will help each other lower your numbers to earn an exit back to your homeworlds.”

Professor Fennel then remembered the Fear Miraculous, and took it out. “W-Wait, Grand Master Nooroo-!”

“I’m ahead of that, Professor Fennel: until I discover who was the original owner of the Fear Miraculous, you will be granted ownership of it,” the tiny butterfly creature answered. “Once the original owner is uncovered, I expect you to hand over the miraculous without fuss. Understood?”

Professor Fennel clutched the miraculous and nodded with a determined smile. “Yes, Grand Master Nooroo.”

“Excellent, now, I need to do some preparations in order to begin the Guardianship ceremony,” the tiny butterfly smiled. “Until then, I suggest you two get to know each other a little better. You will spend a lot of time together, after all.”

With that said, the kwamizen flew away, leaving both groups alone.

“So…” Grace blurted. “Looks like we’re gonna work together, huh?”

Grace laughed nervously as she scratched the back of her head, though she stopped when she saw Professor Fennel extending a hand towards her.

“The name’s Professor Fennel. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Grace stared at the offer in surprise, until the remnant kids pushed her and edged her to accept it. And after looking back at Professor Fennel’s reassuring smile, Grace smiled back and shook her hand.

“Name’s Grace Monroe. The pleasure is all mine…”

…

“CURSES!”

Amelia slammed her fist against the motherboard, watching with utter shock and rage as Professor Fennel and Grace Monroe sealed the deal, to the shock of a nearby One-One and a mildly amused Hazel.

“Amelia, language!” One-One gasped. “There’s children in here!”

“Yeah, and I’m here too,” Hazel quipped.

“Don’t try to act like I have no reason to react this way, One!” Amelia snapped before looking back at the screen. “I’ve been looking for that group of delinquents for days, months even! And yet, despite searching for so long, not only did I never find them, but now they’ve joined forces with another group of passengers! Like… how did this happen!?”

“How did the same group you accidentally created and left alone for nearly a decade in your thirty years of willful ignorance and solitude manage to evade your gaze long enough to get some actual support?” Hazel mockingly inquired, earning a look from Amelia. “Yeah, I can’t imagine how something like that could ever happen.”

“Well, maybe if you had actually helped me out, those criminals would’ve been apprehended immediately!” Amelia snapped at the younger girl. “If you had only focused on that job instead of… what are you even doing right now!?”

“Filing my nails,” Hazel answered before checking her nails. “And in case you’re wondering, then yes, I’m using the nail file from your office. I figured you wouldn’t mind since you seem to have found a… unique way to file your own nails.”

Amelia then looked at her own nails, which looked like they had been partially eaten, potentially out of stress.

“Doesn’t matter, we can’t stay here any longer!” Amelia stated as she looked back at the screen. “Those criminals have been allowed free roam of the infinity train for far too long! Now that we at least know where they are right now, we can strike against them!”

“And how exactly are you gonna do that?” Hazel pointed out as she stood up. “Even with the Apex Predator at your beck and call, there’s no way that they’ll be able to defeat the Kwamizens, especially if they’re not bound to their Miraculous.”

Amelia gritted her teeth and turned back to the screen as Hazel added:

“Just face reality, Amelia: you’re gonna need a miracle if you want to keep going with your silly crusade against the Apex.”

“And I can most definitely provide it.”

Hearing that, the group turned around to see a certain golden-eyed redhead float into the Engine Room, floating above the ground as she introduced herself:

“Greetings, Conductor and former Conductor. My name is Lady Destiny, from the Vermillion Citadel. It’s quite an honor to finally meet you in person.”

Amelia and Hazel exchanged looks, which was followed by Amelia walking towards the girl and stating:

“What do you want?”

“I’m not here to cause any trouble, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Lady Destiny folded her arms behind her back. “I simply felt that a passenger who’s been through so much already was in dire need of help, and I thought I could be of help.”

“And how exactly are you gonna do that?” Hazel asked bluntly.

Lady Destiny immediately turned to Hazel, eyes glowing as she hissed, “Speak when spoken to, child!”

Hazel rolled her eyes at the statement, and the redhead turned back to Amelia and explained:

“The Vermillion Citadel has access to several resources that could help you achieve the goal you desperately seek. We have agents all across the infinity train, and we have the added benefit of being trusted by most denizens and passengers! After all, we Chloe Cerises have a reputation for being saviors of the Infinity Train.”

Amelia folded her arms, not entirely convinced. So, the girl continued:

“But even if that wasn’t the case, that’s not what matters to you, right? You want to catch those Apex people, correct? Then it’s a simple trade; you’ll help us ascend a certain passenger into the role of a hero, and we’ll pull several strings and scenarios to ensure that this Apex entity you wanna find cannot evade your grasp any longer.”

Amelia hummed and scratched her chin, looking elsewhere as Lady Destiny smiled deviously.

“You’re not actually considering her offer, are you?” Hazel gently chided. “Amelia, don’t you think there’s something fishy about this? I mean, a girl who floats shows up saying she’s a member of a group we’ve never seen before, asking to help you in exchange for elevating someone else into hero status!”

“I’m aware that this sounds suspicious,” Amelia responded. “But the more I think about it, the more it seems like our best shot at getting rid of the Apex once and for all-”

“Are you kidding me!?” Hazel snapped, stomping the ground. “First you cry and whine about your dead husband for thirty years while the train’s in chaos, then you decide to sit back and watch as a group you created causes ruckus for nearly a decade, and now you’re so desperate to get rid of them you’re gonna join forces with a fishy floating redhead to do it!?”

Amelia narrowed her eyes. “Experiment, that’s enough.”

“What is it gonna take for you to understand that this chase is completely pointless!?” Hazel yelled. “Most of the Apex has already dispersed, if not left the train already! Those five members you see there are all that’s left! And they’re not even a threat! They don’t have weapons, they don’t have plans or schemes, they’re just ordinary passengers who are trying to get their numbers down to go home!”

The former Conductor turned to Hazel, flashing a stern glare. “Lower your voice, child!”

“And for what?! What are you even going to gain from getting rid of what remains of the Apex, huh!?” Hazel squinted her eyes. “You think that just because you get rid of one of your mistakes that you’ll get to go home!? Open your eyes, Amelia! The world you once knew is long gone!”

Amelia clenched her fists. “Do not go there, experiment.”

“It’s been thirty years, Amelia, you really think anybody from your time is still around? That your friends and family haven’t accepted the fact you’re pretty much gone?!” Hazel folded her arms. “To anyone who could’ve cared back then, you’re pretty much dead! Even if you get out of this train, they’d only see a ghost of a person they once knew! Not that that’s ever gonna happen, because guess what?!”

“What?!” Amelia hissed through gritted teeth.

“Your number’s so big that you’re gonna die on the Infinity Train!” Hazel spat. “You could spend the rest of your life trying to get it down to zero and it would never happen! Even if you get rid of the Apex, the Train has already decided your fate: you’re gonna be stuck here for whatever remains of your miserable little life, and all because you chose to be a pathetic excuse for a conductor for THIRTY DAMN YEARS!”

*BZZT!*

Amelia winced as she saw Hazel squeak in pain and jump back, electricity surging through her starting from her neck as Amelia looked down to see she had her finger on top of a button, with One-One staring in shock while Lady Destiny had an expression of quiet amusement.

Shortly after, Hazel rubbed her neck, and any feeling of anger had evaporated, replaced by shock and horror as she raised her head and looked directly at Amelia’s face.

“You did not just do that…” Hazel shook her head, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “You did not…”

Amelia looked utterly stunned at the expression… but her heart grew cold as she lowered her eyelids and responded:

“On the contrary, I totally did.”

Then, the woman leaned closer to Hazel, causing the girl to fall to the ground and crawl away, shivering as Amelia stated:

“And if you raise your voice or cross the line again, the next one will be much more painful. Am I clear?”

Hazel said nothing, quaking in her boots as she looked away from Amelia, who responded:

“That’s what I thought.”

With those words spoken, Amelia turned back to the floating redhead, who held back a chuckle as she spoke:

“I apologize for the attitude of my assistant.” Amelia turned back to Hazel. “She’s a failed experiment.”

This statement caused Lady Destiny to laugh out loud, causing Amelia to jump and take a step back, looking at the girl with utter astonishment.

“Ah, Amelia, something tells me we’re going to get along just fine!” Lady Destiny giggled, wiping a tear off her eye. “But enough talk. I take it we have a deal?”

Lady Destiny extended a hand towards Amelia, without consulting either One-One or Hazel, looked at the hand… then shook it.

“We have a deal.”

With the alliance established, the duo turned around to look at the screen, depicting Professor Fennel and Grace having a little enjoyable chat.

Seeing this, the pair narrowed their eyes: Lady Destiny flashing a malicious smirk, while Amelia narrowed her eyes with a look of pure determination, ready to do everything she’d need to do in order to get rid of the Apex at all costs.

~ End of Introduction Arc ~

Chapter Text

The citizens of the Pokemon World continued to live their daily lives, acting like everything was fine.

In particular, in one small location simply known as Pallet Town, a trainer by the name of Ash Ketchum woke up and had breakfast alongside his faithful partner Pikachu, with the two of them sitting down

“Good morning, Ash,” Ash’s mother, Delia, said as she sat at the table. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yeah, I did,” Ash answered as he ate some bread. “And from what I’ve heard, people at Professor Oak’s laboratory have slept well too. Apparently, ever since Musharna entered the laboratory, she’s used her dream mist ability to help everybody sleep, isn’t she nice?”

Delia hummed, frowning a little as she did.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, do you think Professor Fennel would want Musharna to use her powers like that?” Delia pondered out loud. “I mean, didn’t your group just come out of a situation regarding corrupted dream mist? I figured Musharna would be told to keep her dream mist usage at bay.”

“I had that thought too, but Musharna herself volunteered to do it,” Ash answered. “In fact, she seemed pretty happy to help. And from what I’ve been told regarding her stay at Oak’s lab, she’s been treated well too.”

“Really? That’s a relief,” Delia folded her arms. “I still can’t help but worry for her. I mean, she’s a Pokemon who creates Dream Mist, and Team Plasma’s scheme involves using a corrupted version of just that. If that Colress ends up being freed…”

“Mom, there’s nothing to worry about, the Cerise Institute is a very safe place led by very trustworthy people,” Ash answered, with Pikachu nodding in agreement. “Besides, it’s currently covered in a dome that prevents anybody from going in or out. Even if Colress got out, he’s not going anywhere.”

“Well, if you say so,” Delia scratched her chin. “Although, do you think that dome’s going to help the people inside to sleep better?”

“I don’t see why not; Amanita’s told me that the group is working hard to neutralize the Nightmare Mist around them,” Ash took a bite out of his food. “I’m pretty sure that at this point, everybody must’ve managed to sleep better.”

…

"Yaaaaawn."

The one who said that-not did it, but actually said it-was Akemi Tsutsuji, a student at Vermillion City school, who was walking alongside a few students as they approached the school itself.

"Geez, Akemi, you need to stop saying something out loud," one of her classmates, Patricia, remarked. "Just yawn like normal."

"Sorry, I can't help it, yawn," Akemi answered. "Last night was pretty rough. Mom and Dad kept me up for some extra rigorous training."

"But aren't they just research assistants for that institute thingie?" Patricia pointed out. "What could they possibly have you do that leaves you utterly exhausted?"

Akemi then began to remember the training session yesterday, which besides a giant battle against a robot Snorlax, also involved an ugly ducklett-like story involving Psyducks. 

Lots and lots of Psyducks.

"You'd be surprised."

"Hey, wait a minute, could it be?!" Patricia gasped before stopping Akemi on her tracks. "Are your parents gonna set you on a Pokemon Journey?!"

Akemi blinked twice. "Uh, what?"

"Eeeeeh! I'm so jealous!" Patricia put her hands on Akemi's shoulders. "I knew with only a bit of motivation you could get out of your weak nerd phase and take on the world with your own Poke Balls!"

"N-No, that's not-"

"Who's getting ready to take on the world?"

The girls turned around and saw Goh approaching them, with Patricia seemingly teleporting from Akemi's side to Goh's in the blink of an eye.

"Akemi's gonna go off on her own Pokemon Journey!"

“Whoa, really?” Goh smiled. “That’s good to know-”

“I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!”

The duo stopped and turned to look at Akemi, who stared at them in disapproval as she explained herself:

"I’m not leaving the school: I joined it because I wanted to!" Akemi stated with utmost confidence. "I want to pass my studies and graduate so that I can become a productive member of society, with or without a Pokemon by my side."

"Huh, lame," Goh and Patricia said in unison.

"It's not lame!" Akemi cried.

"But wait, if people can just go on journeys as soon as they turn ten," Goh faced Patricia. "How come you're studying here instead of walking around the world?"

"Well, school wasn't my first option, really, I wanted to be a Trainer," Patricia answered before shrugging. "But I could never manage to wake up early enough to get a Pokemon of my own, so eventually my parents decided to shove me in here instead."

Patricia let out a hearty laugh shortly after, with Goh and Akemi staring blankly at her as the former said:

"Patricia, that's not funny, it's just sad."

Patricia shrugged. "Well, I should better get going, don't wanna have Miss April running her mouth on me being late again. See ya!"

The girl walked away, leaving the duo behind just in time for Goh’s phone to ring. So, he checked it, and gained a little smile as he looked at who was calling.

“Who’s calling you?”

"It's Sara," Goh answered. "She's messaging me about meeting someone named Kricketina today after school. Something about her wanting to see me-"

"Are you really going to humor her?"

Goh paused and turned to look at Akemi, who was looking at him with an expression of disapproval.

"She's just asking me if I wanna do this or not," Goh answered. "I'll just tell her to let me think about it and see if I'm available for later."

"Goh, Sara's a troublemaker who's gotten the ire of both students and teachers alike," Akemi pointed out. "If you willingly start hanging out with someone like that, there's gonna be rumors, and people are gonna see you with distrust."

"But Sarah isn't even that bad a person," Goh answered while simultaneously typing a response to Sarah's message. "Sure, she's a little weird with that Paras-like haircut, but besides that, she seems like a nice girl."

"Goh, if a person has a bad reputation, that's most likely because they did something to earn it," Akemi stated, putting her hands on her hips. "I mean, do you really think that people would just randomly slander and demonize a person without hard evidence that they're horrible enough to deserve it?!"

Goh stared at Akemi for a moment, then raised an eyebrow at the reader, then paused before going back to his message.

"Goh, I'm telling you this for your own good: tell Sara that you won't do anything with her! If you accept, you're gonna regret it!"

"Well, we can regret it together, at least."

Akemi paused. "Come again?"

Goh showed his phone to Akemi, revealing that he had mentioned her in the conversation.

"I asked Sara if you could accompany me to check out whatever she wants to do after school, and she said yes."

Akemi turned pale, and she immediately tried to steal Goh's phone, only for the guy to keep her at bay with just his arm.

"Delete that message! Delete that message! Delete that message! Or at least tell her that you were just kidding!"

"No can do," Goh shook his head. "I already told Sara

"Why would you do that, you fool?! Now I have no choice but to go!" Akemi cried. "And that'll only be the start! When people find out about what happened-not if, but when-that's when they'll start looking at us with weird eyes! Sara's bad girl reputation will soon engulf us, and people will start avoiding us, thinking we're some sort of no good delinquent no-lifes without a future-!"

"AKEMI!"

The bespectacled schoolgirl stopped her rambling only to find herself facing Goh’s stern, disapproving glare.

“Look, I get it; you’ve heard bad things about Sara and that makes you wary of her, but judging people just by their reputation alone isn’t always the way to go, especially when Sara acts like a normal girl.”

“She could be tricking you into lowering your guard so she can drag you down when you least expect it!” Akemi pointed out. “Sure, judging people by reputation is bad, but blindly trusting them isn’t any better!”

Goh folded his arms. “And you’re not even interested in at least confirming if her reputation is deserved before judging her?”

Akemi clenched her fists and shivered in frustration, shortly before shouting, "People don't get bad reputations for a reason!"

Goh lowered his eyelids. "So you don't know."

The bespectacled student stomped the ground. “Okay, fine! I’ll come with you to check up on Sara or whatever! But once it turns out that she wanted to screw with you this whole time, you better be ready to eat your words!”

With those words spoken, Akemi stomped ahead towards the school, leaving Goh behind to close his phone and pocket it before going inside as well.

…

And at the kindergarten class, Parker sat down and prepared to get his stuff ready for today's class.

"Hey, Parker."

The boy stopped unpacking and turned around to see none other than Jinny standing next to him, arms behind her back and flashing a tiny smile.

"Oh, hi, Jinny!" the boy chirped. "What's up? Did you have trouble sleeping last night?"

"No, I slept pretty well," Jinny answered before hugging the boy and rubbing her cheeks against him. "And all thanks to you."

Parker laughed sheepishly as Jinny did that, only to remember something. "Wait, I can't take all the credit for helping you! Amanita also helped take care of the nightmare!"

"Oh, right," Jinny separated from Parker, rolling her eyes as she sat down. "I guess she was there, too."

Parker looked at Jinny with confusion, but he quickly turned to look at the blackboard once Talia clapped her hands, getting everyone’s attention.

“Alright, students, listen up! We have an announcement to make today!” Talia clasped her hands. “So, you’re most likely aware of the dome around Vermillion City, which was created to ensure the Nightmare Mist around us did not spread to other cities, correct?”

“Yeah, we do,” Jinny tilted her head. “What about it?”

“Elementary, my dear kindergartener,” Amanita smiled while adjusting her glasses. “Sooner, rather than later, the dome will go down and Vermillion City will be free once again.”

Murmurs and whispers spread across the classroom, with most of the students showing themselves to be excited at the prospect of the dome going down.

“Indeed, by sacrificing some of my precious beauty sleep, Hypno and I managed to work together in order to neutralize the nightmare mist surrounding Vermillion City, and we’ve managed to neutralize them together!”

~WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED~

Amanita snored loudly while Hypno carried her, sucking up the surrounding mist with his trunk like a vacuum, up to and including making actual vacuum noises as he did.

Then, he heard Amanita trash a little on his back, and he remembered he was supposed to be taking his trainer back to sleep. So, he paused his sucking to take Amanita back to Parker’s bedroom, where he gently placed her on her mattress on the floor before petting her hair and leaving the room.

And then he went back to sucking as soon as he was outside.

~BACK TO THE PRESENT~

“Wait, does that mean we’ll be able to go outside?!” Parker perked up.

The other students began to cheer up as well, which perfectly led to Talia and Amanita exchanging looks before the older woman confirmed:

“Yes, that’s precisely what that means.”

The classroom exploded into a cacophony of joy and excitement, with only Jinny staying calm and clapping her hands with a neutral expression.

“Now, now, little brats, settle down,” Amanita stated, ignoring one of the students going “you’re not much older than us!” as she added. “Now, while it’s true that there won’t be any need to keep Vermillion City trapped inside a dome anymore, that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet; Team Plasma is still around, and they’ll be more than ready to strike again with their nightmare mist! You must all be prepared for when that happens, got it?!”

The classroom went silent.

“Anyway, to help you get a bit more accustomed to going outdoors, we’re going to have you do a fun little activity to get things started!” Talia clasped her hands together as Hypno walked in with something underneath a white sheet. “Now, you’re all too young to officially own a Pokemon. However…”

Amanita removed the white sheet, revealing a set of Pokemon eggs on a large container.

“Nothing prevents you from taking care of an egg!”

The students went “oooooh!” in unison, with some of them leaning forward as Talia explained:

“So, for today’s activity, I’m going to have you take care of a Pokemon egg until it hatches. Now, everybody knows that physical exercise helps the egg develop and mature faster than if it was left to its own devices, so, I want you to take your eggs with you and walk as much as you can. You don’t need to get the eggs to hatch by tomorrow, but don’t slack off, okay?”

“Yes, Mrs Talia!”

And so, the students ran to the eggs and eagerly grabbed one, with the sight of the children and the eggs bringing a smile to Talia’s face. Not just her, though, since when she turned around, she saw Amanita and Hypno smiling as well, the latter even attempting to pet the former before she slapped his hand away and pouted.

Talia giggled, and turned back to the children, relieved that things seemed to be looking up for them…

…

Meanwhile, at N’s Castle, the group of Unova natives were surprised to see Trip sharing a hug with the newest visitor to the castle, a guy by the name of Hugh.

“Dude, it’s been forever since I last saw you!” Hugh chuckled. “How have you been?!”

“Eh, I’ve been doing alright,” Trip replied. “I just recently got back into Pokemon training, in fact!”

“No way, really?!” Hugh folded his arms. “What’s next, you’re gonna be the Unova Champion?”

Both guys laughed out loud at Hugh’s joke, and as they did, the rest of the team watched with utter confusion, except for N, who scratched his chin in thought.

“I’m sorry…” Hilda rubbed her forehead. “Do you know this guy?!”

“Yeah, this is Hugh,” Trip replied as he faced the team, wrapping an arm around Hugh as he did. “We were classmates back in school, before I decided to go out on my Pokemon Journey!”

“Oh, so you went to school together,” Rosa remarked. “Reminds me of a certain someone who also went to school with me, except it was as part of an undercover operation to find a criminal, and the part involved acting like a womanizer.”

“Really? Wow, that sounds like a convoluted way to get the job done,” Hilbert commented. “Especially the womanizer part; whoever that guy was must’ve been unbea-”

Then, Hilbert noticed Blake glaring at him with disapproval, which was enough for him to connect the dots.

“Oh…”

“So what are you doing here… Hugh?” N asked calmly. “This isn’t a place most people visit on a daily basis.”

“Well, that’s very simple,” Hugh turned to look at Blake. “I’m here to look after him.”

Everybody turned to look at Blake, who looked befuddled by the statement. “I’m sorry, look after me? What’s that even supposed to… wait, did Looker send you here?!”

“Uh, is this something we should be aware of?” Hilbert inquired.

“The guy has a good point,” Hugh said. “If you’d be okay with it, Blake, I’d prefer to discuss it in private.”

“But of course I’ll agree to talk about it in private,” Blake stated. “Private life and work should be separated after all.”

And so, the boys walked deeper into the castle, leaving just as Rosa asked Trip:

“So, what was Hugh like back when you were at school?” 

….

“I don’t know how many times I’ve told Looker that I didn’t need him to watch me over all the time, that I had everything under control,” Blake groaned. “And yet he thinks it’s a good idea to send a random civilian to come pick me up, like I was some kid lost in the mall!”

“I wasn’t sent here by Looker, but by one of his friends,” Hugh stated. “A woman by the name of Professor Aurea Juniper.”

Blake stopped his pacing and turned back to the guy, staring strictly at him as he continued:

“They were worried about you going off the rails in your quest for “justice” and sent me here, believing that I could help rein you and restrain you from doing something you might come to regret.”

Blake took a deep breath. “Those two still act like complete worrywarts. There’s nothing to worry about! I’m a perfectly competent agent of the International Police who knows when to dial it back when dealing with civilians and criminals alike. I don’t need a babysitter!”

“I know, and that’s why I’m not here as a babysitter, but as a handler,” Hugh stated. “I’m going to ensure that no matter how hard you desire to go after this “justice” you seek off, you don’t end up hurting yourself or other people in the process. After all, you’re not exactly alone in this castle.”

“Yeah, I’m well aware of that,” Blake shrugged. “There’s also N, the adoptive son of the leader of Team Plasma, and Whitley, the traitorous grunt who allowed said leader to escape arrest in the first place!”

“Alongside at least three civilians: the daughter of the president of the BW Agency, one of their more competent workers, and a former friend of mine from school,” Hugh pointed out. “Now, I might be overthinking it, but wouldn’t it reflect badly on you if any of those three wound up getting hurt in your quest for justice?”

Blake stared at Hugh for a moment, then looked elsewhere while scratching the back of his head. Hugh, however, continued to speak:

“I can understand wanting to take down Team Plasma, but you’re supposed to do it without endangering innocent lives; if you rush head first without considering the consequences, you could end up hurting too many people in an attempt to arrest just one person.”

Then, the navy blue-haired guy put a hand on Blake’s shoulder.

“I’m not asking you to put your trust in them, or to forgive and forget everything that Team Plasma did. Just please, make a plan before jumping into action.”

“You think it’s something that’s easy to do?!” Blake snapped, slapping Hugh’s hand away. “I’m all alone in this stupid castle with just my Pokemon! I can make plans, but with the current situation, I need somebody to help me with the planning, and from what I’m seeing, I’m alone in this: I can’t trust Whitley or N, and the others are just civilians.”

Hugh folded his arms. “From what I’ve been told, you didn’t seem to have a problem using Pokemon as bait and other things. Yet you draw the line at potentially endangering humans?”

“I don’t endanger them because I want to; sometimes I have to cross a line or two in order to ensure the bad guys don’t escape,” Blake clarified. “Besides, it’s not that I don’t draw the line at using humans, it’s just that civilians are almost never useful in an investigation; they’re usually just ordinary people minding their own business, most don’t even have the training necessary in either combat or Pokemon training to take on a criminal organization, let alone one of their grunts!”

Hugh paused. “You do realize most of these “criminal organizations” have been toppled down by ten year olds?”

“Most of those “Ten year olds” were eithe lead or entirely one person: Ash Ketchum, and he doesn’t count because he’s ASH KETCHUM!” Blake argued. “He could sneeze and topple such an organization with ease, but nobody else has that luxury!”

Hugh took a deep breath. “Look, I understand, okay? You’re not exactly happy to see me here, or the idea that Looker and Professor Juniper wouldn’t trust you to take care of this yourself, but you said it yourself: you’re right now alone in this. And do you really think you’ll be enough to stop the criminal activities of the remnants of Team Plasma?”

Blake flinched and scratched the back of his head, his eyes darting around as Hugh continued:

“Even you, with all your arrogance and lone wolf attitude, has to be aware that taking down villains like that is next to impossible on your own. I can promise to help you, but I also need you to accept that I’m going to stand in your way if I feel like you’re about to jump the gun regarding something, whether that is proof of Rosa’s-”

“Whitley!” Blake snapped.

“Guilt, or anything else,” Hugh continued. “And I’m also not planning to go back either, so from now on, I need you to cooperate with me, okay?”

Hugh extended a hand towards Blake, and the Interpol agent glanced between the offer and the guy before he groaned:

“First I’m invited to dinner at the castle of my enemy, and now Looker has sent a babysitter to ensure I don’t do anything too weird. What’s next? An evil Pokemon from the future travels back in time to give us more problems?!”

…

Meanwhile, in a secluded area of Lumiose City, a sphere of rainbow energy glowed before bursting with electricity, allowing two entities to emerge from it. The first was a Pokemon resembling a bipedal squid-like entity, with golden eyes and black sclera that they used to scan their surroundings as they hummed and the other figure dusted themselves.

“Halt, evildoer! Your wicked ways are over!”

The Pokemon turned around, and to their shock, they saw a girl wearing a mostly black and dark grey armor hop off a building, and land as she took out a Poke Ball and threw it, releasing a purple, bat-like Pokemon with two sets of wings and golden eyes.

“For I am Essentia, protector of Lumiose City!” the girl shouted as she struck a pose. “And by the will of Arceus, I won’t let anyone attack Lumiose City!”

“Crobat!” shouted Essentia’s companion.

The other Pokemon looked surprised for a moment… before they narrowed their eyes and smirked.

“Well, this worked out better than I expected!”

Essentia and the Crobat flinched. “Did… Did you just talk? As in, talk-talk?”

“Indeed I just talk-talked,” the Pokemon smirked. “But that’s the least of your worries right now. Because now that you’re here, we can verify how the prototype does against the upgrade!”

The Pokemon began to laugh in a “Malamalamalamar!” manner, which was about as annoying as you’d expect, as the other figure turned to look at Essentia, revealing herself to be an adult version of her, with the exact same armor to match, with one key difference:

The E-shaped visor that Essentia had was not orange, but rainbow, and glowing…

~ Start of [REDACTED] Essentia Arc ~

Chapter Text

Back at the Infinity Train, the Dreamwalkers and Apex Remnants entered a car that resembled a large forest with several settlements around, with a camp or two clearly visible among them.

“Alright, so this has to be the Campfire Car,” Professor Fennel remarked as she looked around. “I think this will do just fine. I can already feel the calming atmosphere just by looking at the trees.”

“Huh, it’s a pretty… peaceful car,” Grace remarked as she looked around. “Although, given what happened in the last car we went to, I don’t think we should stay around here for long. One of the Denizens might recognize us and drive us away.”

“Why’s that?” Chloe inquired. “Have you been in this car before?”

Grace opened her mouth, only to slowly close it before she explained herself:

“The Apex went through several cars back when it was still active. We normally did it in order to gather resources, and wheel a Denizen or two along the way. This was a daily thing, and we’d do several raids in just one day, so many Cars were visited. However, we didn’t really keep track of which cars we were visiting at a time.”

“What she means is that we’ve been to so many cars that we don’t even remember which ones we raided and which we left alone,” Lucy explained. “That means that any car we visit could be filled with Denizens who either don’t know who we are, or who remember our previous visit and want nothing to do with us.”

“Well, for now, let’s hope that this is one of those cars you didn’t visit,” Professor Fennel remarked. “For now, we’re gonna need some wood to make the campfire tonight, and also something to light it up.”

“Maybe we could use a Pokemon to do it!” Chloe suggested.

“I mean, that could work, but I don’t have any Fire Type Pokemon in my team,” Professor Fennel remarked. “Unless you’d just so happen to have a Pokemon with you, Chloe?”

“Nope!” Chloe chirped. “I don’t have any Pokemon on me, in fact!”

“Yeah, I figured,” the professor sighed while the redhead laughed cheerfully. “So, how about we do the next best thing, and go look for wood and something for the fire?”

“That’s a good idea, but I don’t think the kids are going to be strong enough to carry the wood,” Grace remarked as she scanned the Apex kids. “Maybe you and I could get the wood while they stay here and-”

“No, the kids are coming with us.”

Grace flinched at the sudden statement, and turned around to see Professor Fennel staring at her and the Apex kids with a deceptively calm smile and a neutral expression. After a few seconds in silence, Grace added:

“Well, they could come, but again, depending on how heavy the wood is, they might not be able to-”

“They’re coming with us,” Professor Fennel repeated, narrowing her eyes slightly while her smile stayed the same.

Chloe looked at the professor with a worried look before she looked back at the Apex remnants, who soon got the message and sighed:

“Okay, sure, they’ll come as well.”

“Excellent!” Professor Fennel chirped while clasping her hands together. “Then why don’t we start looking for some firewood while the sun’s still up?”

The remnants of the Apex exchanged looks with Grace before the woman nodded in uneasy agreement and walked ahead, followed by the Apex kids and Chloe, with Professor Fennel rubbing her hands before heading to them…

“Professor Fennel.”

The woman stopped on her tracks and looked around before Bakku emerged from her blanket-cape and floated right in front of her.

“I believe we need to have a little talk.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to wait,” Professor Fennel stated, walking past the Kwamizen. “The rest of my team and I need to go gather firewood for tonight’s campfire-”

But before Fennel could go any further, Bakku grabbed her labcoat and pulled her back.

“Sorry, Fennel, but this can’t wait.”

The Kwamizen pulled their owner until they reached a tree, with the Kwamizen gently placing the woman against it before checking if anybody was looking at them. Once they verified they were alone, they spoke:

“You want those kids to come along because of what happened with Chloe, don’t you?”

Professor Fennel stared at her Kwamizen partner before she looked elsewhere, visibly troubled.

“Listen, you made a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes once in a while. However, you can’t let a single mistake that happened due to unforeseen circumstances cause you to haphazardly act to prevent it from happening again.”

“It’s not as simple as that, Bakku,” the woman sighed before looking back at the Kwamizen. “I trusted Chloe with a Miraculous that she had no idea how to use. I simply wanted her to have a little fun while I talked with Haru, but I didn’t expect her to end up facing off against literal nightmare demons!”

“Neither did she. Neither did anybody else, I believe,” Bakku argued, folding their arms. “The nightmare attack at the Horsegirl Race Car was an unexpected chain of events that nobody could’ve foreseen. You can’t blame yourself for Angie or Night Mare or whatever deciding to turn everyone’s nightmares into a reality.”

“Maybe, but you know what I can be blamed for? Chloe getting hurt, especially because I handed her something that she never trained for,” Professor Fennel rubbed her forehead. “And now I have four other kids and a younger adult to take care of now! I already made a mistake with Chloe that could’ve easily ended with her being seriously injured if Haru wasn’t there to help! What am I supposed to do if they get hurt under my watch?”

Bakku stared at Professor Fennel sympathetically, taking a deep breath as the woman dusted herself and walked past them.

“What about your number?”

The woman stopped and turned to look at Bakku, who looked pretty disheartened as they spoke:

“Every passenger who enters the Train has the same basic goal: get the numbers on their palms to zero in order to earn their ticket back home. Do you really believe that worrying about Chloe and those other people is going to help you get your number down to zero?”

Professor Fennel folded her arms. “Maybe, or maybe not, but I’m not the kind of person who can just turn a blind eye when somebody needs help, even if it’s a pretty minor thing-”

“And that’s fine, it’s a noble trait, I’m not telling you to close yourself off and stop caring about other people,” Baku floated closer to Professor Fennel. “All I’m saying is that maybe, just maybe, there’s no point in helping other people if you’re always going to put their needs over your own? If worrying about them all the time ends up making your number bigger and bigger? Have you even checked it since you got here?”

Professor Fennel was quick to realize that no, she hadn’t actually checked on it, and she opened her glowing hand to take a look as Bakku floated closer to her… right before she shot a look at them and whispered:

“No peeking!”

The Kwamizen looked flabbergasted as their owner before they rolled their eyes and turned around, closing their eyes just in case. With that done, the woman looked at the number on her hand… and what she saw made her gasp.

It was at “100” .

“Well, have you seen the number yet?” Bakku asked, keeping their eyes closed as they turned to the woman. “Has it gotten any lower?”

“Uh, yeah! Yeah, it has!” Professor Fennel lied, taking a step back while she closed her glowing fist and flashed a sheepish smile. “But, uh, it hasn’t gone

Bakku paused, raised an eyebrow… then shrugged. “Well, that’s to be expected. Every passengers deals with their problems in a different way, which means that numbers tend to go down at different paces as well.”

“Yeah, good to know, thanks for being so understanding, Bakku,” the woman nervously replied. “Now, could we stop this discussion here and focus on getting the firewood?”

“Sure, just keep in mind that should something come to pass and you need to fight, you better be ready to use your Miraculous, understood?”

Professor Fennel nodded rapidly.

“My eyes are still covered, so I can’t tell if you’re nodding or shaking your head.”

Professor Fennel sighed. “Yes, I understand.”

Bakku nodded back, and returned to the Dream Miraculous, leaving the woman alone to look back at her number before she clenched her fist, and joined the rest of the group. This wasn’t something she was gonna have to worry about, right?

… Right?

“Okay, so, why don’t we talk while we look around the site?” Chloe suggested to the Apex kids. “I’ll start: My name’s Chloe Cerise. I’m a normal girl from Vermillion City in a world filled with fantastical creatures known as Pokemon.”

“Pokemon?” Lindsay blurted before bumping into Alex. “Hey, Alex, isn’t that a word from one of those games you played in your… what was it called again?”

“Yeah, it’s a word from there,” Alex rolled his eyes. “And a game too. And a show. And a set of movies. I think there’s even a theme park-”

“Wow, that’s a lot of stuff! It’s quite interesting and…” Chloe looked elsewhere. “Existentially concerning. That’s the word, right?”

“Yeah, and we probably should end that conversation there,” Professor Fennel interjected. “Instead, why don’t we talk about something else? How are your homes like? Or at least, do you have full names?”

“Full names?” Lucy repeated.

“Yeah, a first name and a family name,” Professor Fennel explained. “Most people in our world only have a single name and full ones are rare, so I’m curious if the same applies to your world or not.”

The kids exchanged looks between each other, before they all turned to Grace, looking visibly uncomfortable.

“They don’t have last names,” Grace sighed. “Or, at the very least, every time I asked them, they’d change the subject or go silent.”

“Yeah, so drop it,” Lindsay hissed. “If we’re not willing to tell Grace, there’s no way we’re gonna tell you!”

“Hey!” Chloe snapped as she reached for Lindsay.

However, Professor Fennel stopped Chloe and pulled her back, keeping a smile as she told the redhead:

“It’s okay, Chloe; when it comes to young kids like these, they’re not gonna open up to people so easily. I have a sister who’s about their age, and she’s a tough nut to crack, and an even tougher cookie to bite. It takes a while for her to open up to people, and trying to rush it always makes her close herself off.”

Professor Fennel flashed a smile, and Chloe nodded in agreement before the woman turned back to the remnants.

“So, let us know if there are any other questions that are off-limits for your comfort. Chloe and I will make sure to wait until you feel comfortable enough to tell us on your own, right, Chloe?”

“No!” the redhead chirped with a wide smile.

Professor Fennel shot a disapproving glare at the girl.

“I was just kidding!” Chloe pouted. “Yes, I promise to take my time.”

Fennel patted Chloe’s head. “Good girl.”

Chloe blushed while neighing like a horse, and this sight made the Apex kids chuckle slightly, while Grace smiled with a look of relief.

“By the way, Professor Fennel?” Grace blurted. “You seemed a bit excited to go get firewood for a campfire. Any particular reason why?”

“Well, when I was younger, my mother once told me that the best way to get to know people, and get some fresh air while you’re at it, was to go outside and have a campfire under the moon,” Professor Fennel sighed with satisfaction. “Those were the good old days.”

“It’s still daytime, though,” Lindsay pointed out. “Should we really be looking for wood so early?”

“Well, if we try to look for wood during the night, not only will we have to deal with less visibility due to being nighttime,” Professor Fennel raised her hands like claws. “But we may end up encountering some terrifying ghost or wood spirits who wouldn’t like it for people to travel in the moonlight!”

“Oh, so like that one time when we went down the Heebie Jeebies Car!” Todd chirped. “But in a forest and not an ever-changing nightmare realm! Would we be able to deal with that?”

“We barely came out of that car without having a heart attack, so I highly doubt it,” Grace sighed. “Anyway, I think I see some wood nearby.”

“Wait! What if the firewood belongs to another set of passengers?!” Lucy asked. “They might get angry at someone taking their firewood and try to hunt us down with torches and pitchforks!”

“That sounds a little bit old-fashioned, if you ask me,” Professor Fennel remarked. “Even then, firewood doesn’t normally just show up in the middle of nowhere. This could probably be a trap.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Lindsay turned to Todd and Alex. “Boys, you know what to do.”

The duo exchanged looks before they rolled their eyes and walked ahead, leaving Lindsay to explain:

“Those two are the sneakist, most stealthy members of The Apex. They’ll manage to grab anything without arising suspicions!”

The woman turned to look at Grace, who nodded with a reassuring smile, and so the group stayed behind as the boys walked ahead, with Fennel clutching the Dream Miraculous in case it was ever needed…

…

Meanwhile, at the Engine Room, Hazel sat on a table and played with a yo-yo when Amelia entered the room.

“I have returned, child.”

Hazel turned around, and hopped off the table just as another character joined Amelia: she looked like a copy of the Lady Destiny that visited them a while ago, but wearing a white dress with red highlights, a pair of glasses, and a belt with books in them, with the girl herself holding one in her hand. She also had green eyes instead of Lady Destiny’s golden ones.

“Amelia, you made me a sister?!” Hazel gasped before clasping her hands. “D-aw, you didn’t have to!”

“Experiment, this is a member of the Vermillion Citadel, Lady Destiny’s group,” Amelia stated. “Her name is The Narrator, and she believes she has a way to destroy the Apex once and for all.”

“Okay, that’s cool and all, but why doesn’t Lady Destiny go take care of them herself?” Hazel bluntly pointed out. “If she’s as omnipotent as she claims, it shouldn’t be any harder than just showing up, snapping her fingers, and bam, problem solved.”

“Tsk, typical Denizen, thinking that Lady Destiny has time for such trivial matters,” The Narrator scoffed. “She’s the most powerful being on the Train, yes, but she’s also the most important, and is far too busy with her own work to meddle with the lives of inferior beings such as yourselves.”

Hazel immediately summoned her buster and aimed it at The Narrator, who jumped and hid behind an unfazed Amelia.

“Stand down, Experiment: we need her help in order to defeat the Apex’s brand new group.”

“And how exactly is she supposed to do that?” Hazel asked as she retracted the buster. “From how she looks, she only seems to have books. And those hurt when you get hit by them, but they don’t have much trapping potential.”

“Instead of telling you what I do, how about I just show you instead?” The Narrator suggested, coming out of hiding with a confident smile. “Send me to where The Apex and Lady Destiny’s Chosen resides, and I’ll bring them both with ease!”

Hazel stared at the copycat with skepticism, but she eventually extended her hand to a wall and summoned a green portal through it, one that would send the copycat straight to the group’s location.

“You must bring me all the members of The Apex right here so they can be properly punished,” Amelia instructed the redhead. “If even a single one of them is left, I won’t allow you to return to this room, understood?”

“Believe me, I don’t intend to come back empty-handed: that would be failing Lady Destiny herself,” The Narrator narrowed her eyes. “And that is tantamount to death in the Vermillion Citadel.”