Malla had been born by the sea…

She recalled it rocking her to sleep during her most fitful nights… And she remembered being in awe of the stretching storms that covered the sky in dark clouds, and blotted everything else…

To this day… The cry of Wingulls and the soft lapping of water always managed to calm her, despite her typing… And now, she sat on a dock’s edge, so far out that she couldn’t see the land behind her… With her paws dangling mere inches from the rolling tides that could forever snuff her flame, she should have been more tense…

Instead, her somber eyes stared forward at the red sunset in front of her…

“...It wasn’t a deception…”

Mew floated next to her, in the placid, silent plane… She was massaging her belly softly, and seemed almost distracted… But her sympathetic eyes never wavered from Malla…

“It was never meant to be, anyway… Unless you want to blame me for being lax… But your abilities are simply…”

Too strong.

When she had developed them as a little kit, for a time her mind was expanded with wonder as all of her kind experienced… But as occasionally happens, as she grew to stand on two legs, she became convinced… one could say obsessed… with one particular sight of the future…

Now, after all she had said and done to prevent it, she stared at the memory of a sun she’d seen long ago, when her mother still had to carry her about by the nape…

“When you looked to the future… When you saw that ‘bloody sun’ that would scour the land with its heat…?” Mew explained again, patiently… “That is a fate this land will inevitably suffer, that cannot be avoided…”

The sound of the waves pattered gently against the wood of the dock…

“...But…”
Malla glanced up at her, and then sighed heavily, before repeating the explanation Mew had given her… It seemed heavier the more it sunk in…

“But it won’t come for hundreds of millions of years. Long after all Pokemon had died out naturally… or gone on to other worlds.”

“Indeed… It is the sun’s natural cycle as a star to grow old and burn away. I’ve seen it, actually… It’s breathtaking…”

Malla’s sunken eyes glanced up at Mew with frustration, but Mew’s cheeky grin softened to one far more reassuring…

“I’ll send you a dream of one sometime… The point is… You… Your daughter… Everyone is going to be fine… They’ll live out their lives just as you hoped…”

The Delphox looked forward again. Mew floated gently about her, unable to sit still for very long, but knowing that repeating her explanation of Malla’s vision would do little to tame the torrent in the fox’s soul… 

Now it was for her to decide whether this news was a curse that had taken away her life’s purpose and rendered her a fool… Or…

“...it could be a blessing to you, Malla… You’ve done much, I know… You’ve hurt many creatures in your attempts to prevent something that would never have happened in the first place… But… Don’t focus on the pain you caused…”

Malla’s jaw set in frustration and anger…

“...instead… On what this means… On all the knowledge you’ve gained… The power you’ve accumulated… The friends you’ve made, and cast aside in your pursuit… They’re still waiting with open arms… Now you have no reason not to return to them… Except…”

Except her own guilt. Her own sudden clarity to her madness…

“...Where is Noah?”

Mew’s ears perked as she heard the first words out of Malla that weren’t prompted...
“Noah? He came down too… So he’s here… Somewhere~ Don’t fret though… Darkrai is kind, as you’ve seen, and he won’t let him come to harm…”

Malla’s muzzle curled into a dry smirk… “Of course. That otter seems to worm his way out of the worst of situations just by praying hard enough…”

“Is that an accusation?” Mew asked, with a playful giggle, as she floated upside down in front of the other Pokemon. Malla merely shook her head…

“Only a bit of a stunned admission. After all, I was so prepared to devote myself to a vicious god of darkness to smother the light, and instead I found…”

“Found me cuddling~? We were actually talking about raising a family!”

Malla’s eyebrow raised and she cast a glance at Mew’s middle. Mew wore it proudly…

“You seem… fertile lately, then… What is that?”

“...eh?”

“Your belly. Who gave it to you?”

“Noah… Ah, and Dak, I think! A bit of you… I hope I didn’t get any of Purgis in there, ugh…”

“...pardon?”

“Ah, don’t worry! You’ll see… And speaking of…”

She turned and swirled once in a circle, opening a window in reality. Malla wasn’t sure if all of this was an illusion… or a dream… but either way, it was an incredible flex of power done casually as a flick of the wrist…

“I have somewhere I need to be. A mother’s work is never done, hehe. But I know you have a lot to process… So you can stay here if you like. Time works a little differently here… Don’t stay long, though…”

Malla stood and stared into the warping funhouse mirror that would transport her back to face reality...
“...well…” Mew chuckled… “When you’re ready… Walk back along the pier… You’ll get to where you need to be.”

With that, Mew twirled in the air and disappeared into her distortion, and it disappeared with her.

Malla turned to stare at the red sun once more. As it began to sink slowly towards the horizon, the fox stood and contemplated all she’d been told… The revelation had shook her to her very core, and left her mind reeling… But as she took it apart, and felt the full gravity of it all…

...in the growing darkness… Tears welled in her eyes… And she sunk to her knees, clutching her wand softly to her chest…

===

“Kya!”

Malla swiped her wand, a blazing wall of flames leaping up to defend her against the assailing Pokemon. She expertly flicked her wrist to send searing pain towards each foe, dancing with such grace that you could mistake her for another leaping mote of fire…

...but she was still young… Still prone to getting distracted… A Salazzle suddenly reared up behind, barreling through the flames to rend their foe… They never got that far.

An expertly aimed torrent of water slammed into the lizard’s face, and she fell back squealing. Malla spun to look, then grinned as her fires died down so that Noah could step forward, twirling his pristine and unmarked scallop…

“Cool your jets a little! You’re acting like you’ve already evolved into a Delphox…”

“So just think of how strong I’ll be when I do!” The Braxien proudly said, putting her fists on her hips and posing… “I’m not stopping til…”

“Til you’ve gone to bed properly?” Noah said with a flirty smirk. He leaned against a nearby wall, listening to the sound of the rest of their Guild battling various Pokemon with ease here in the Dungeon they’d been sent to explore...
“Oh! And you’ll help me into the sheets, no?”

“I wouldn’t have you anywhere else… ‘cept in a nest.” Noah said, leaning to kiss her firmly and tilt her until she was draped over his arm. Malla was immediately red in the face and flustered, her fur puffing with steam…

“Adorable…” Noah chuckled… “But you know, I was bringing that up for a reason…”

He glanced at the squirming Salazzle nearby, who seemed to be rallying to attack again. He twirled his scallop once and then flicked it sharply, pinging it off the lizard’s head and causing her to fall back in a faint before the sharp shell returned to Noah’s paw…

“The Malla I recruited wouldn’t have let a fellow Fire type out of her sight. She’d know that’s a blind spot in elemental effec… Are you listening?”

Malla was staring dreamily up into his eyes, her own mischievous grin spreading. Noah couldn’t keep his own from curling the edge of his muzzle…

“...alright… Look… I know you’ve been having trouble sleeping lately, is my point… And it’s starting to affect you. I just want you to be safe…”

Malla idly considered… After a moment, the flirtatious and almost bratty look faded from her eyes, and they flickered with a far more serious light…

...should she tell him? Trust him with what she’d been seeing…? The nightmare she’d been having so many weeks now that she knew it wasn’t just a dream…

She glanced away silently… No…

Too carefree… Too happy with where he was to envision the end of the world, given he was boasting about starting a family soon…And…

...worst of all, she knew that if she did succeed in convincing him… He’d throw himself into that sun just to save everyone else…

Ironically, she couldn’t imagine loving someone that deeply, as he seemed to her… But just as she opened her muzzle to speak…

“Noah.”

Noah glanced up casually. Ilianna strode around the corner, as Malla nervously attempted to make their positions look a little more innocent. The Dewott holding her did no such thing, and her squirming made him smirk again…

“What is it…?” he asked, his eyes drooping as he blatantly took in his ‘team’ mate…

“We’ve cleared most of this cave… It was low level, and the rest are going to be left as newbie practice. We’re off the clock now… Shall we go back to town? Have a bath… A meal… Perhaps find a way to…”

Her eyes moved unsubtly to Noah’s paw, which had been grasping Malla’s thigh this whole time…

“...entertain ourselves…” Ilianna finished, her voice lowering and becoming a bit more sultry…

Noah’s fangs clicked once, and his whiskers twitched. He turned and gingerly released Malla, so she could straighten. She was trembling badly enough that she dropped her wand with a clatter. Noah had picked it up before she could even stammer an apology…

“Ahh, I have her so in a tizzy, maybe she’s not quite ready yet…” he chuckled, inspected the wand, and then used his scallop to carefully chip away some damage to it, so it could regrow. He handed it back to her…

“Well, when you are… You know where to find me, eh?”

===

Malla nodded softly, as the sun in the distance set and left her in darkness…

Only the sounds of the lapping water kept her company...
“Ugh… Of course…! The world is coming down on our heads and where is Noah…?!”

Li dodged another rush of flame that threatened to incinerate her on the spot, Mua tightly clutched in her arms. The scene was made all the more intense, given the normally warm orange of the fire was replaced by a deep, icy blue…

“Probably in some dream dimension making more dream babies with Dream MEW!” snarled the Fighting type, as she slid expertly under another gout of fire, careful to ensure any of the licking tendrils of blue pain were absorbed by her, and not her trembling mate...

“He’s not a factor we need to worry about right now.” Ilianna said, landing and flinging a barrage of watery blades to diminish and repel the miniature sun attempting to slam into them. As it burst into embers that fluttered into the unnatural night above them like flaming butterflies, Tessa stepped forward, her eyes so intense that they cast their own overpowering light. Her cloak itself was aflame, but she either didn’t care or encouraged it, as she lifted her wand straight into the air. 

The flames all about began to rush into the tip of it, as the wand itself quivered and glowed with energy…

“T-That doesn’t look good… You said he’s a non factor…? As in, we should LEAVE?” Li asked, backing away as her fur bristled.Her words were a little harder to hear over the roaring flames, because Mua had stopped transmitting them into Ilianna’s mind, and was putting all of her effort into frantically attempting to put up a Light Screen…

“Yeah.” Ilianna said. She glanced at Li. Behind, though the fires were intense and the trees still writhed with smoke that appeared as howling, nightmarish faces… The path was far more clear… Everything was collapsing...

“Then I would suggest… We exit… NOW.” Li gasped, watching Tessa exert her power and grow the flame on the end of her wand bigger and bigger…

“...she’ll hurt herself…” hissed Ilianna, who was attempting to gather water for a counter attack, but the air was dry and her reserves were low...
“We can’t stop something like that…!”

“T-There are other Pokemon nearby… Distressed ones! Tied to trees, they’ll burn if we don’t…” Mua whimpered, and looked up at the Mienshao holding her. Li looked back down, and for a moment, she was called back to the moment of their meeting…

Mua had been so sure that the bandit who had swooped in and taken down a pair of aggressive Guild thugs was doing it to cut her purse… And instead, the savage mink had gently helped her to her feet and asked if she was okay… From that moment on, the Abra had eyes for no one else… Now, closed as they were, they stared up at her desperately… Out of ideas, and in so much pain…

Li’s face hardened, and her mouth curled automatically into that intimidating smirk...

“Right.” she said, stomping her foot hard. A group of thick stones suddenly leapt up and slammed back down in a loose wall around Tessa, who snarled viciously…

“Come on… She won’t stay entombed for long!”

Already the rocks were starting to crack and burst, and her arm was still jutting from the top of it and absorbing more firey power with the lifted wand. Li turned and took a few strides towards the only path out of the flames, then paused and looked back to see Ilianna stood unmoving, still facing Tessa…

“Illy!”

Ilianna turned, her eyes narrowing…

“I’m not letting her hurt herself. And Noah isn’t back yet…”

“And if you are injured when he returns… or worse?!”

Ilianna’s expression fell briefly… But then her eyes hardened. The rocks surrounding Tessa were cracking more by the moment, and Li didn’t have time to argue…

“Don’t make me deliver him the bad news!” spat the bandit, before she spun and rushed away into the woods…

Ilianna gave a soft hum of thought, and then muttered gently to herself…

“No worries there…”

Tessa suddenly jammed a paw against the weakened rock. Her Psychic powers made it shatter outwards violently, and she glanced around for Team Wellspring. She took a few steps forward before she seemed to realize, and spun around, eyes wide…

Ilianna was crouched next to the pool of water behind. One hand was within it, obviously reabsorbing water to ready herself for the fight… And in her other hand, a rainbow glimmer shone…

“...you’re a fool… You, and all the rest, THRICE DAMNED FOOLS…” Tessa snarled, as she finally lowered her arm and pointed her wand at Ilianna. Its wooden exterior trembled, as azure power pulsed just below its surface, barely contained…

“That water is cursed… This is the domain of a creature of pure darkness… And you think you can use it like any other water? To defeat me?!”

Ilianna finished absorbing, then stood. As she did, she stood taller than seemed possible, and the rainbow of light in her palm flashing bright enough that Tessa briefly had to look away…

When she looked back, the shadowy silhouette of a Greninja was there, with the Mega Stone swaying from a chain around her neck, usually hidden in the seafoam she ‘wore’. She pulled her hood up and took a battle stance…

“I don’t need to defeat you. I just need to stop you from hurting anyone else with your tantrum, child.”

Tessa’s pupils narrowed to pinpricks. Her body shook furiously, and her claws embedded themselves in the wand. Where she pierced its exterior, thin jets of blue flame streaked out with such heat that even Tessa had to release it, and begin to direct it with her Psychic power…
She jerked her arm up suddenly, and pointed straight at Ilianna. A burst of flame and heat rushed forward in swirling torrents, while Ilianna’s powerful legs tensed, and she leapt forward…

CRASH!!!

Li spilled from a burning thicket, panting desperately for a bit of air as smoke filled her lungs instead. She kept focused, holding Mua tighter in her sleeves to keep her safe from the calamity about her…

“That way…” Mua whispered, and Li followed without hesitation. She dodged a falling branch, and then ducked through a withering corridor of vines…

She skidded to a halt and looked up, eyes wide, as she came to a new clearing. Behind, the flames still spread rapidly. In front of her were trees that had remained safe, for the moment. But upon many of them were Pokemon, in various stages of gravidity…

“Dak’s little harem, no doubt…” Li growled, and then wrinkled her nose. She moved quickly through the room, taking note of the alchemical supplies…

“And Purgis too… The poor things…” Mua whimpered, as Li looked…

“There has to be at least a dozen… Probably more… I couldn’t get them untied in time if I tried…!”

Mua flinched and attempted to focus on untying the knots. As she did, Li’s eyes narrowed, and her gaze snapped to something rushing in the woods. More than that, and to her horror, she realized that the flames around them were starting to change their colour...

“...We’re not alone… Don’t mean to rush you, but…”

“I kn-know, I know… It’s…”

Li prepared herself for some assault… She grit her fangs, tracking a flash of white as it zipped between the trees, barely able to be seen in the gloom for how quickly it was moving…

“...hang on a second!”

The Pokemon were freed one by one. Some dropped and simply had to sit, panting. Others were unburdened enough to turn and flee as fast as they could away from the raging flames…

“Farri!”

Farri skidded to a stop just in time, as Mua finally managed to focus enough to undo the Pokemon on the tree in front of them. They landed with a gentle ‘oof’ on Farri’s back, the Lopunny looking dazed…

“And as ever, it’s up to me to save the day, hm?” he said, with only a hint of sarcasm. He turned and became immediately far more serious when he saw what kind of state his teammates were in…

“Oh…! Mua, you’re hurt…”

“I-I’m fine… But Ilianna is still…”

With a crack, a tree collapsed behind them, scattering more burning embers across the branches and igniting the forest all around. The flames seemed almost malicious; crawling across the forest floor to grab at them like some half-dead predator…

“No time now… We need to go!” Farri said, dancing briefly on his paws before turning… “Help me carry at least two of these!”

Li groaned, but Mua put her arms tightly around her mate in an embrace, and a surge of energy was felt deep in her chest…

“...thanks… A little recovery is all I needed...”

“A-All I did was hug you…”

Li smirked, and took a brief moment to nuzzle her injured mate…

“Like I said, it’s all I needed. All I’ve ever needed...” Her gaze became focused. She rushed forward to pick up a fallen Wigglytuff, setting her in the sleeve opposite of Mua, and hefting a Kecleon onto her back...
Farri carried the rest of the laden victims who could not waddle themselves from this inferno. The heroes moved at Mua’s direction as quickly as they could, while the fires chased them… For the briefest of moments, it appeared as if they wouldn’t make it… The odious glow closed in around them, blotting out the sunbeams that guided them towards the glimmer… Towards safety…!

They burst suddenly from the treeline… Farri stumbled, and only just kept his balance long enough to let the ailing Pokemon he was carrying off of his back, before he slumped heavily...

They coughed and wheezed in the fresh air... The sunlight felt like cool water on their skin after the oppressive clouds of smoke that had threatened to choke them out...

“...hahhh… Hah… Is that everyone…?”

Li turned and looked around. Mua set her hands on her head to focus, then sighed before nodding…

“No one left in that forest but Tessa and Illy…”

Li set the Pokemon she had carried down and then collapsed to a sit herself, groaning…

“...I don’t need this. I’m having another litter.”

“Litter? You said it was one…”

“Yeah, but you know how Noah operates…!” Li shook her head and managed a weak chuckle, as Mua clung tighter. Farri stood with a wince, herding the Pokemon they’d saved like a sheep-dog would lead lambs…

“Ladies, ladies please… Calm and just line up here to be inspected for injuries…”

The gaggle of various Pokemon was complaining and whimpering, despite their rescue. A Dewott shyly stepped forward…

“I, erm, I think part of the problem is uh… Not all of us are used to the idea of being a mama? A-As in… I was… uh, male, before…”

‘Her’ voice trailed off, and her expression didn’t look upset… Just embarrassed to admit. Farri’s eyebrow raised lightly…

“...Hm! Malla must have been studying the Swap Stones… The crystal deposits filled with excess energy from Mew herself. No wonder she seems so powerful, if she’s using that to…”

“Farri!” Li snapped, as she slowly pushed herself to a stand… “Can we save the lectures for another time? We need to get back to the village and regroup, right?”

“My apologies! And not to worry, all of you. You’re lucky to be looking at the world’s foremost expert in Swap Stones!” Farri boasted. The group of tired female Pokemon merely looked at one another exasperatedly…

“...Er, well, let me guide you back to town and…”

The hound was interrupted by a feverish roar of flames from behind. Li stumbled back in surprise as the fire seemed to reach further than natural from the forest, and scatter itself as a carpet of burning grass just outside its boundaries…

The embers didn’t die… Instead, they flared brighter and brighter, turning a noxious green…

“...You there… Dewott…”

“H-Heh! From Noah’s first litter, in fact!”

“Then you know the way to town from here… Guide the others… Quickly!”

“I-I’ll try to send a message… To let the others know to meet you part-way…” Mua muttered, but her focus was on the growing flames…

The Dewott blinked, and the others in the group hovered nervously…

“Will we be safe…?”

Farri snarled softly, his fur bristling… The flames were starting to curl unnaturally around one another…

“Quite… I believe the danger is right here in front of us…!”
That was all the hound had to say to spook the Dewott and other victims into fleeing back down the path and towards Mew’s Nest. They did so just in time, as vast arms of fire roared into existence and gripped the soil below, cracking it violently where they sunk in. The arms shoved down, as if lifting themselves out of their deep, dark, firey pit…

“AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!”

Purgis burst forth, her back arched as she cackled madly. Then she turned to stare at the three Pokemon stood before her…

“Did you think a bit of sunlight could smother this flame for good…!? Fools! Fools one and all!” she laughed, as her fire flared brighter. The unnatural yawn of her jack o lantern midsection cast its odious, flickering light across them, even in broad sunlight. Li took a nervous step back. Farri bristled and snarled louder…

“Ohh, you think, ‘I have beaten the hag before’…!”

“Y-You cannot read my thoughts, witch!” Farri snapped back...

“Ha! But I can… And you think you will fend me off here… That you will deflect me from my task…!” she touched her chin in a sickeningly innocent pose… “Poor little me? When all I want is…”

Her face became terrifying, her pupil-less eyes huge and her grin unnaturally wide… The change from adorable to deplorable came in a flash, leaving the others stumbling back with hearts pounding…

“THE DESTRUCTION OF ALL YOU HOLD DEAR!”

Her mad cackle bounded and echoed as her flames rushed forward to wash over them. Farri turned to dodge the worst of it, hissing in pain as he still managed to be lapped by the hungry fire…

“Damnation… Literally…! Who would have thought of needing Rawst Berries while fighting a Grass Type…!?”

He spun and saw Li, shuddering softly in pain. She had not dodged, instead taking the brunt of the damage… She’d used her body to shield Mua...
“...N-No… Li…”

Farri began to move, but a massive arm of wispy Ghostly fire slammed down to cut him off. He only just managed to dodge back and avoid it…

“You… You and your ugly little button nose are the reason I was defeated, eh?!”

Farri, despite usually being talkative, remained silent. He backed away quickly and bristled his fur as Purgis waddled slowly towards him. Somehow, the uneven gait unnerved Farri enough that he’d have barely been able to stomach a berry anyway…

“Well… I won’t make that mistake twice, will I…?”

Without any more theatrics, she swung her oversized arm and slammed it directly into Farri. The canine was caught off guard, and crashed into a nearby boulder with a yelp of pain. Li jerked her head up…

The bandit’s burned flesh was being healed slowly by Mua’s touch… The Psychic Type had been attempting to concentrate and heal herself since Tessa burned her, but as soon as her mate was in danger, her focus became uncannily sharp. Li’s body gradually repaired, and the sharp toothed mink hissed in frustration at not being able to do the same…

“Curse Noah. Curse them all. Curse me for thinking I’m too damned good to carry my supply bag in a ‘simple rescue mission’…”

“Curse you INDEED!”

Li gasped and turned again to defend Mua from the oncoming strike. She was horrified when she was sent flying… and felt the Abra slip from her grasp…

She crashed into a nearby tree and gasped as the wind was knocked clean out of her chest. She had to recover… And during that time, Purgis stepped up to stand in front of her…

Shadowed by unnatural Ghostly arms, empowered by fel flame, the witch grinned wickedly down at Li… Farri’s weakly struggling form was squeezed tight in one fist… And the other had Mua’s unconscious form on its palm...
“Seems I have my hands full…”

Despite being incapacitated, Li swiped a sleeve furiously. Her attack passed through Purgis’s spectral body, and the demonic jack o lantern merely grinned wider…

“...heh. Worthless thing… I suppose it’s all one could expect from a stray they took in out of pity… The illustrious Team Wellspring, composed of numerous Pokemon worthy of the title… and one low-life bandit who grew too fond of one of her marks…”

Purgis closed her fist around Mua. Her eyes glowed subtly, and Li could sense she was draining the strength from her mate. The mundane Farri was merely being squeezed and tormented for her amusement…

“You don’t interest me, dear… You’d be best advised to walk straight back into that forest and let it collapse atop you…!”

The devil’s grin grew wider, and she twirled once. Li turned her head away, still struggling for a breath, her eyes feeling damp around their edges. Purgis cackled loudly once more, as the flames roared and flared brightly… 

“Come along, my scholarly SQUEEZE TOY… We have a ritual we mustn’t be late for… And a whole village worth of victims to BURN...”

When the fire receded, the evil creature was gone…

Li curled her head and set it on her knees… For a long moment, she felt utterly without hope…

“…Illy is probably a crisp right now… Noah is Mew knows where… Farri is captured, the village is probably going to be attacked and… And…”

And where were you, Li…?

Li…
“Li-Kawa-Tani. LI!”

Li lifted her head and gave an annoyed stare at the Mightyena who stepped up and glared down at her…

“If you’re going anywhere, you need to return the scarf…”

She tugged it off her neck to look at it… The dull, faded red matched her dry eyes… She had obviously been crying…

“...really? You’re going to be so petty as to take a bit of cloth back?”

“It’s not about the material. It identifies you as part of our Guild. Can’t have you doing dumb things in our name.”

“Of course. Your precious name…” the young mink muttered, wringing it frustratedly in her paw… She was stood at the head of the path that would lead her down to the road… And from there?

“...guess it will just be my new home, hm?”

She handed back the scarf and turned to leave… But the Mightyena stepped up and stopped her…

“You’re… not really ready for all this, Li. You’re barely evolved… And after what happened…”

Li’s face hardened. Despite indeed being so fresh that her teeth weren’t quite as intimidating yet, her scowl was enough to make the Mightyena pull back in worry…

“...For what it’s worth? I’m sorry…”

 “Sorry doesn’t bring her back.” Li snapped, instantly...

The Mightyena grinned apologetically and shook his head softly. His expression had fallen from stern and managerial, to downright soft…

“...nothing will, you know… Nothing ever will.”

“Thanks.” Li muttered bitterly, hitching up her bag and continuing down the path. This time, the Mightyena didn’t stop her…
“...Li…”

Li turned her head to look back…

“...you should learn two lessons here… I’m sure you already know what they are…”

“’Don’t trust Guilds’, and ‘you’re better off alone’.”

 The Mightyena gave a light chuckle and shook his head…

“...’you should be there when your team needs you’…”

Li turned around fully, looking incensed… The offense written on her face made the hound across from her glance away quickly, their own gaze furious for a moment… But then it softened, and they looked back with a gentle grin…

“...and… ‘smile more’. Would get creatures to trust you if you did…”

The Mightyena turned and walked back into the small building that Li had been housed in just a night before… yet would never see again.

She turned to stomp away down the dusty trail… But as she did...

A smirk started at the edge of her muzzle… It lifted wider and wider, until she opened her eyes and shoved herself to a stand…

“Right… Enough self pity, girl… We have a gourd to squash.”

Li stretched her aching muscles and then began to sprint as quickly as she could back towards Mew’s Nest. The focus on her face was matched only by the precision of her movements, with each paw touching the ground and springing her forward with grace that matched her name…

She was moving quickly enough that when the trail curled around a hill near Wellspring’s home village, she nearly bumped into another Pokemon…!

“GAH! Watch where you’re going…!!!”

“O-Oh, sorry sorry! I’m in a bit of a hurry…”

“Yeah yeah… Stupid Jumpluff…”

“...hey wait a sec. LI!”

Li hadn’t paid attention enough to see who she bumped into… But as soon as that squeaky voice said her name, her ears perked. She might have been annoyed… Except…

She spun. Her eyes widened…

“Sayl!?”

“Li! Wow, you look awful. Your fur is gonna be patchy for W-WEEKS, OW!”

Despite herself, Li had stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around the puffball. The poor plant blinked in surprise and patted her back. They had expected to be socked in the jaw or tossed over the hill… And instead…

“Li? What’s going on…?”

“...a-a lot. A lot is going on. We gotta get back to Mew’s Nest, pronto…”

“W-Well, ah, it’s only a short walk from here… Obviously!”

“We need to gather Water Types. The forest is in flames and it might spread!”

“Aha~!” Sayl bounced happily and twirled, a few tufts of fluff scattering from their pom-poms...
“Way ahead of you! Farri sent me to get help… Purgis is… is gone, right?”

“Not in the slightest.” Li answered, impatiently. Sayl drooped heavily…

“Well…” the Grass Type muttered… “I still did my part!”

Li was about to ask what the smaller Pokemon was talking about, but from around the hill came a group of various Pokemon. They all wore the same Guild scarf, marking them as from the Explorers at the coastal Port Town… and Port Town tended to have a lot of Water types at any given time…

“Excellent. I need every creature that can spray a fluid to get down to that forest and contain the fire, immediately!”

The group began to organize and split up. Li turned back to Sayl, who bounced softly in the air…

“And what do we do…?”

Li grit her teeth and looked down the path, towards Mew’s Nest…

“...I told you, Purgis wasn’t defeated… So we’re stomping a jack ‘o lantern, Sayl…”

“...Me? What about Illy, Noah? Mua?”

Li bristled… Sayl’s expression became far more serious of a sudden…

“...Farri… Either one…!?”

“Farri female is still in town, where Purgis is headed… The other…”

She glanced, and her grim gaze told Sayl all they needed to know. They puffed themselves up firmly…

“Alright Li… Then let’s ROLL!”

Li’s smirk returned to her face...
“Smoke on the horizon! Smoke on the horizon! We have a potential Forest Fire in the Western region, all Water Types stand by, all Flying types stand by for transport! Alert!”

The Whismurr on top of the building cried out, its booming voice carrying across the city and drawing Guild Members quickly back towards the hall. It was usually bustling with activity, and now it was nearly impossible to cross it without being bumped, jostled, or moved out of the way by the rushing creatures who had sprung into action…

Nahna watched the many Pokemon come and go. She hugged herself softly in the presence of so many powerful Guild Members, seeming intimidated and… perhaps a little more than usual…

The Gardevoir put her hand on Nahna’s shoulder. The other was wrapped in a sling from their encounter with Dak, not to mention the patches and bandages all over her body otherwise. The Dewott, comparatively, didn’t have any real visible damage… But even the emotion sensing that the Gardevoir possessed couldn’t help her discern what her ward was feeling about their encounter on the road…

“...I’m fine, Gardy. You keep hovering, but I’m fine. Really! Promise…”

The Gardevoir frowned deeply, but removed her hand. Nahna nervously swayed, until a Skarmory flapped and landed nearby, their wings making sharp scissor noises as they did…

“Creeee CAW!” it shrieked, snapping its wings spread, before crouching and gesturing to the harness and seats that had been tied there…

“News-bearers, travel home to help the fire, yes? Crrraw… Dragonite says I must take you, sssskraw! Climb aboard, will take you, cccraw craw…”

The Gardevoir perked softly, trying to make it seem like she was determined to help her fellow Pokemon, and not that she was relieved and excited that they wouldn’t have to walk home. Nahan smirked and gestured gently…

“Go on Gardy. I need to check something first… Then we can go back and meet up with mama and papa, hm?”
The guardian Pokemon knelt and gently traced Nahna’s cheek. The Dewott’s whisker twitched when it was touched, and Nahna took the Gardevoir’s hand…

“...you need to stop worrying over me, just like my parents… I’m a grown girl… I can take care of myself, hm?”

The Gardevoir frowned and withdrew…

“...that being said… Thanks for coming with me. You really didn’t have to… And it got you hurt…”

The Gardevoir flicked her wrist, discarding her own injuries in the face of getting to help ‘the princess’ of Mew’s Nest. Nahna smiled warmly…

“Go on and climb up. Get comfy.”

Nahna watched her companion bow low, and then the elegant Pokemon climbed up and sat in the harness, carefully pulling a strap along herself to ensure she wouldn’t slip off. She leaned back and closed her eyes with a heavy sigh…

They’d done it. They’d reached here, relatively in one piece, and warned the Guild. Dragonite’s eyes especially darkened on the mention of Malla, and a few dozen of their best were promised. Others had already gone with Sayl, who alone and with flight, had come and gone before Nahna ever made it there…

...the Gardevoir had heard her Dewott companion muttering… About how it was all a wild Swanna chase… How it wasn’t fair that her doting papa had sent her away just to keep her out of danger. The Gardevoir wasn’t sure if that was true, but…

The Skarmory under her lurched, spread its wings, and then with a sharp SNIKA SNIKA!, it leapt into the air…

The Gardevoir immediately opened her eyes and looked over…

...the other seat was empty.
She quickly leaned forward and rapidly tapped the Skarmory to get its attention as they climbed into the sky. The ground below shrunk away, and the Psychic Fairy could just glimpse a splash of blue, walking down the road… away from Mew’s Nest…

“...ssskkkrrrrrraw! Water Rat said she had importance to do! CrrrrNK! No time to waste on waiting, ccccrrraw…”

The Gardevoir stared down, briefly looking as if she might yank her restraint off and leap the impossible distance to the ground below… and then she merely slumped down, heavy with guilt and failure…

She lifted her hand to her face and felt her eyes sting. Luckily the tears were wicked away quickly in the rushing wind…

Nahna watched the silver gleam of the Gardevoir’s transport disappear into the distant skies… Then she turned with a heavy sigh and continued down the trail, a bag of supplies at her side and a look of determination on her face…

She paused… For a moment, the winds blew gently across her damp fur, back towards her home…

Then her jaw set, and her eyes narrowed as she continued forward… 

“...I’ll make you proud.”
With that, the Dewott disappeared down the trail. A pair of eyes in the shadows opened, and followed her movement. A lurid pink tongue dragged across rough, craggy teeth…

So intriguing was this little wet waif that Dak could barely contain himself. It was broad daylight, and she was on a well traveled road… But still the thoughts trickled in at the edges, the idea of snatching her up right now…

Her warm body was still pinned beneath his, in his mind’s eye… His tongue lolled from his mouth… His paw shamelessly drew itself along his erection…

“Mine… Mine… Mi-…”

Dak gasped in confusion as he was suddenly lifted, and then chucked deeper into the forest…

He landed with a snarl and a wheeze as the wind was half knocked out of him. He boiled with fury as he tried to lift himself, but felt a paw suddenly settle on his chest to pin him down firmly. His eyes snapped open to look…

...and they met the very annoyed gaze of a goddess.

“...oh.”

“Yeah. OH.”

Her voice was higher than he expected. She was also heavily pregnant. Dak’s life devoted to the darkness couldn’t suppress the fact that the swaying middle did no favours for the rock hard-on it hovered over…

“...so you ARE real…”

“Don’t give me that.” Mew huffed. Dak tried to move, but her paw ground there in his chest, her eyes narrowing. She didn’t have to say a word to intimidate him back into compliant shuddering…

“You’re a character, aren’t you, Dakarai? A trouble maker with only himself in mind. Or, rather, himself, Ilianna, and Noah… Or should I say… NOAH...”
She said it the second time in Dak’s own angry snarl. The lunatic wolf’s eyes widened. Mew smirked softly, but her usual bubbly, playful mood was not in evidence. It was clear that even her patience had run thin… Or that something was distracting her...

“Well, I like Noah. And all the rest.”

“They WORSHIP you, of course you like them…!”

“Uh huh.”

Mew suddenly flitted back and landed on the grass. She looked almost comical, with how small she was and how awkward her legs were… But the crossed arms and the sheer aura of confidence overcame all of that and made her a vast presence there in the clearing…

“You would know what this is like… Wanting to have others worship you. After all, it’s what you desire, isn’t it? Someone to adore you… Appreciate… Love!”

Dak sat up carefully, afraid to do something that would call down the goddess’s wrath again. It was a testament to his madness that he was able to string even the few words together, speaking to the creator of all things…

“I don’t need love… I just need warm holes…”

“Oh, really? Is that why you’re fumbling after Nahna right now?”

Dak tried to hide the shudder of excitement that the mere name brought. Mew rolled her eyes and then spun suddenly to become a feminine Quilava. She even kept the tummy in that form…

“Or…” she said, in a more coarse voice… “Perhaps you just wanna run home, hm?”

Dak didn’t hesitate to jerk his claw forward and slash at the firey creature now stood before him. His attack, (of course), bounced off a briefly visible pink barrier… The Quilava smirked…

“Oh, are you upset? Don’t like the reminder… Or is it just making your boner worse, bro…?”
“Who gave you permission to talk to me like that…!?”

“Permission…?” asked the Quilava, her voice suddenly low. Dak glanced nervously as the sun seemed to shine a little more intensely…

“I don’t need permission, Dak. You already gave it to me. Screwed me full… more than once, hm?”

“...Y-You… YOU!?”

“Shush. It wasn’t me every time. But it was the only way to make sure you didn’t just tie me up and leave me trapped… A disguise as someone you LOVED...”

“No…! NNARRHGHH!”

Dak shook his head sharply, as if trying to dislodge something from between his ears. He grit his fangs and smacked his paws against his skull a couple times…

...he’d been duped… tricked? For what… His seed…?!?

...was this what it felt like…?

“Why did… why did you…”

He looked up, and his eyes narrowed in shock. The Quilava was stood right there in front of him, with a wicked grin baring her gleaming fangs...

“To make sure I could FUCK you, Dak, what else?”

Dak’s expression flattened instantly. He looked pale. The Quilava grinned, hopped up into the air, and returned to her Mew form whilst massaging her belly idly…

“...heh. Yeah. And by the way? I don’t need permission for anything. I’m the one who gives permission OUT, remember?”

She floated closer, until her upside down glare was locked firmly on his confused, darting eyes…

“Remember… Dak? No? Well that’s partially my fault. But you’d do better to remember it from now on… Kay?”

The wayward Goddess in Pink twirled once, her tail forming a small spiral which, when it flicked, opened another distortion in reality…

“I’m going to leave you with a warning this time… Because of what I said earlier… I know what you’re really looking for, Dak… But if you don’t treat Nahna right… Well…”

She waved her little paw, and then floated backwards into the distortion. It disappeared… and then Mew’s voice seemed to echo all around...

“...I’ll be watching…”

Dak slowly stumbled backwards and fell once more to a heavy sit.

He appeared as if he’d just had a run in with a Rhydon… Like he had just been sent flying THROUGH a mountain… He shuddered and flexed his paws weakly. Nearby, an Emolga peered from the branches, unaware of all that had happened…

...Dak barely felt any urge to tear it in half right now. Not when he himself was so divided…

He could either chase after the prize he’d plundered from his enemy, go after Nahna… Or…

...or he’d have to go and find that Quilava… Ask her a few questions…

...go back ‘home’…

“...never again, right…? Nhhhrrrr… Never again… Never again.”

He repeated the words to himself over and over, repeating to his tormented psyche that the need for assurance wasn’t worth it. Mew was a nasty little Psychic type, likely had just read his mind and plucked out the thing that would rattle him most… 

...to take something that precious from him… His... His…! HIS!!!

He stopped at the treeline… stared after Nahna… And hesitated...
===

The Skarmory fluttered briefly and then landed with a sharp ‘CLANK’ that got the attention of the nearby Pokemon of Mew’s nest…

A few bearing the Guild scarf from the Port Town helped the Gardevoir down, and then began to check her bandages. The Gardevoir waved the assistance away…

“You’re not one of the injured? We had a whole group come back to the town not long ago, from the forest?”

The Gardevoir shook her head… Then she reached into her bag and showed the Wellspring Scarf she carried…

“Aha. Over there then, at the lake…”

The Gardevoir walked through the town, her pace slowing as she stopped to watch the larger Guild’s Pokemon moving about within her town… They seemed to be searching through the huts and shops, stopping Pokemon to question them...

“I’m sure I don’t know where ‘Purgis’ is, and I don’t need you badgering my patients either…” a huffy Jolteon said, as she warily defended the probing eyes of a foreign guild from bothering mothers in her ward that were in various stages of labour. There always were a few in need of the Eeveeon’s assistance…

The Gardevoir paused and lifted her fist, as if ready to toss the brutish Crawdaunt from Tsuki’s doorway herself. But the Jolteon puffed her fur as large as she could and even batted a paw at the approaching Water type…

“Go on, shoo. There’s no spy among my charges. Go on!”

The Gardevoir sighed, and relaxed. She nearly allowed herself to smile, as the Crawdaunt stumbled back and warily scuttled away…

No need to make things worse by taking out her frustration of their predicament out on a relatively well meaning ally, after all… She’d already learned that lesson in the past...
She hurried her pace once more, and climbed the hillside steps to look out upon the lake… Many Pokemon seemed to have gathered on its freshly decorated shore. The Gardevoir looked to the centre of the lake, on the tiny spit of land just large enough to host a small party of Pokemon. The Psychic-Fairy could spy Li, and the feminine Farri… Sayl flitted over their heads…

“No.” Li said, emphatically… “NO.”

“L-Look…” the feminine Farri growled back… “This isn’t up for debate… It’s what NEEDS to happen at this point…”

Sayl fluttered around Farri nervously, shedding fluff from their poms as they did. Given how sunken eyed and exhausted the feminine Farri looked over her ordeals, one could scarcely blame the Grass type for fretting over their companion…

“We have a pumpkin to chase, she has your… your ‘better half’, and MUA. And not only that, but Illy is potentially wounded and in a burning forest, while Noah is ‘not a factor’…!”

Li stamped her paw sharply enough to cause a few stones to skip up and into the water. Farri didn’t flinch…

“I’m well aware. But… This is important.”

“What could be more important right now…?!”

Yatzil decided at that moment to step from behind the singular tree that grew on this tiny lake isle. She leaned heavily against her staff, and draped her arm on her swollen middle…

Li turned and glared at her. But the priestess flicked her wrist to indicate the sun, as it crept lazily ever towards its apex…

“The sun, of course… Its beauteous rays will ensure this ritual is done properly. And after that, we shouldn’t have anything to fear…”

Yatzil closed her eyes and nodded once, as if in agreement with herself. Then she gasped in surprise and fear as she felt herself lifted sharply to face Li eye to eye… The mink’s gaze was hard as steel, but easily betrayed the anxiety beneath...
“WHAT ritual?! Is it the ritual of returning my mate!?”

“...nhh, it might be…”

Farri growled and nudged Li firmly enough that she got the message. She set Yatzil down, though the Heliolisk merely brushed herself off and looked up at the pacing Mienshao sympathetically…

“We will perform this ritual… And our Goddess will give us all we need. As she always has… You have faith, don’t you, sister…?”

Li had moved to stand on the shore of the little islet, and now turned her head to look back furiously once more. None of this mattered to her… All she wanted was to return to Mua’s side… The idea that the poor thing was shivering and suffering in the grasp of that witch…

“...well…” she muttered, as her gaze flicked back towards the sun… “You think this ritual will succeed… What happens if it rains?”

“...if… it… Rains?”

Yatzil turned to follow Li’s gaze, and her eyes narrowed in shock. Storm clouds had formed around Mew’s Nest, closing in around the sun slowly. With the way the billowing pillar of smoke in the distance disappeared into it, it almost appeared as if the forest fire itself was covering the sky in dark haze…

“...What…? No… It isn’t supposed to…” she muttered, as she lifted her staff and swayed it gently. She began to panic as her attempts to force the clouds back obviously failed…

“Nooo… no no no…! This isn’t a natural storm…!”

As if they needed any more reasons to be on guard, Yatzil’s words made Farri, Sayl, and Li especially tense. They didn’t have to wait long, as the dark clouds rapidly swirled around the sun… before it winked out entirely, covered by the thick obscurity the storm demanded…

It began to rain...
A soft patter at first, and then a bit harder. Sayl fluttered down and landed on Farri’s back, puffing up their top pom as much as possible to shield their others from being stripped naked by the driving rain…

By the time their fluff was knocked entirely clean, it was clear this was no mere rainfall… but a full on maelstrom…!

“Get ready…!” Li called. Farri grit her fangs and turned her muzzle towards the shore. She saw Orin and the Foo Crew quickly moving her basket of newborns back to safety and shelter. She huffed a sharp breath, mist pouring from her maw…

“I am…”

“Ready…” Yatzil said, gripping her staff hard…

“Or… not...~?” an ominous voice echoed all around… A sickeningly familiar cackle filled their ears…

“Here… I… COME!”

The islet erupted in green fire. Li and the others were forced to huddle tighter in the centre as its edges scorched instantly. Yatzil snarled…

“The sacred incense… It was meant for mother…!”

The cackle only became louder as a pillar of fire burst into the air from the centre of the isle, forcing the heroes to scatter once more. Despite the driving torrent, the unnatural flames didn’t even hiss with steam… They swirled and coalesced, and then dispersed violently to reveal Purgis stood there triumphantly…

“A fool and that which belongs to her are soon parted… And you worship quite the fool, don’t you!?”

“Wh-when did she get so… big?” Sayl stammered. Farri bared her fangs…

“...it must be some manner of… Of illusion…”

Li stomped again, taking a battle pose...
“She’s still holding Mua…”

“A-And the other Farri!” Sayl said, with uncharacteristic viciousness…

“And all of your hopes, dreams, and FEARS! They burn to keep me WARM!” laughed Purgis. Indeed, in her expanded, spectral fists, Mua’s trembling form could be seen… As could the male Farri, who was still weakly struggling even now…

“You have failed…” cooed the pumpkin Pokemon, as she casually swayed her arms as if she was conducting a symphony… The flames around obeyed, and barreled at Farri. The hound dodged and watched Li leap up and attack… harmlessly. The strike passed through Purgis entirely. The Ghost smirked wider and pounded Li against the ground, as if she was swatting a fly…

To add insult, she did it with the fist clenched around Mua…

“Your ritual is MINE now, and its power will be mine as well!” the witch was nearly singing her words with glee, as she twirled, knocking Yatzil down with one firey swipe…

“And there’s nothing you can do to stop it…!”

“KYAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!”

The situation looked grim... Li was only barely able to pull herself up, for all she’d gone through… Yatzil was struggling with her own weight…

Farri pulled herself up and shook her head clear of rain before looking up in quiet surprise…

“...Sayl…?” 

She spoke with genuine confusion, as the Jumpluff had hurled themselves through the rain… TOWARDS their foe.

“What are you doing…!?” Li began… But she stopped when she saw Sayl fling themselves straight through one of Purgis’ arms, tearing a hole clean through...
The Jumpluff flipped themselves around with more grace than Farri had ever witnessed from the stuttering puffball… Then they plunged down, punching yet another hole in Purgis’ arm…

“AAAHH!?” she snarled, spinning to swat at Sayl furiously… But the Jumpluff dodged and slammed into her arm one more time…

The ethereal thing quavered… then it fell from her body and burst into silky strands, ironically similar to the cotton puffs that Sayl would throw off…

Li, Farri, Yatzil… Even Purgis was stunned, as Sayl spiraled far less gracefully down through the rain and landed on the masculine Farri…

“H-Hey… Hey, Fifi… you okay?”

“...k… keh…” the Furfrou coughed… His eye opened, and fixed on Sayl. A soft smile spread across their muzzle…

“...right as rain, dear… right as ra-”

KA-THUD…

The feminine Farri shrieked as Purgis brought her fist down directly atop Sayl…

“Meddlesome pest…” she smirked… The Jumpluff and the masculine Farri were left in a shallow pit of mud… The hound was fainted entirely, but Sayl, somehow, was still conscious…

“...mnnhh… Mnhh… Farri…?”

“I-I’m… We’re here, Sayl…!”

Sayl blinked their eyes weakly, and then gave a soft smile…

“...good…”

With that, they fainted as well… But as they did, a puff of dark mist escaped their mouth...
Purgis turned, a dark chuckle shuddering the ground below her feet with its odious reverberation… Already, her arm was regrowing…

“Well, I believe by now I have learned my lesson… Don’t underestimate you fools… Even the smallest among you has the potential to be a THORN IN MY SIDE!”

The unnoticed puff of shadow floated up towards Purgis… It stopped near her head as she ranted to the rest of Team Wellspring, and with a soft ‘pop!’, it became a hazy silhouette of a Jumpluff…

It shook with a silent giggle before plunging itself into Purgis’ body…

“GAAAAAAH!?”

She spun and looked around, and then her eyes locked on Sayl’s unconscious form… Her unwieldy demonic power seemed to be dimming… The fire in her stomach’s cavity was guttering…

“Hah…” Yatzil grinned wide… “Sayl gave her something to remember them by… Now’s our chance…!”

Farri stepped forward. Li stepped up next to her, although the scholarly hound noticed her expression was less than confident…

“...Li…!”

Li snapped to look at Farri, who was grinning softly…

“You have trouble hitting her through her illusions… because you’re using your eyes…”

Li blinked softly, and then looked back up at the furious pumpkin. As the witch snarled and flared her fires as bright as she could… Li’s smirk slowly grew over her muzzle…

Her nose twitched… And suddenly, her gaze found its focus…

“There you are…” she growled, and took her battle stance once more. With the rain pouring harder than before, and their foe enraged, the two remaining Team Wellspring leapt up to attack...
===

“All I’m saying is… I’m sure the others are in trouble…”

“...hmph.”

“Look, in the grand scheme of things I actually haven’t known you long. I’m not demanding you suddenly change your ways and become a good guy or anything… I’m just asking you help.”

“Help… You? And the others? I was trying to destroy your town at one point, you know. And then your foolish Goddess shoved me here, to keep an eye on me. She CLAIMS I can leave, but the whole world is under her gaze. I wouldn’t be free… would I?”

“You would. Really. I mean, it’s her world anyway…”

“Ah, that makes me feel even better.”

“That’s not… Heh, not what I meant. I meant you’re looking at it wrong… You’re the one causing trouble for her.”

“Brilliant. So because some childish cat wills it I must be ‘good’ and go risk myself to help you…”

“I didn’t think, after everything that happened, you would be this stubborn about it.”

“Why wouldn’t I be stubborn… The great and illustrious Noah, the very one who managed to beat me, comes to beg my aid here in this quiet and endless ocean where he is lost…”

“I’m not lost! I’m… eh, just looking for someone who ‘works here’ so I can figure out the exit!”

“Mm…”

“And you know the exit, right? Mew gave it to you. I wouldn’t be surprised if she dropped me near you on purpose…”

“...ugh.”
“Hey, but that’s what I mean… She can see pretty far into the future… Knows how to avoid the worst ones, and all that… She knows what she’s doing. All she’s asking for is a bit of trust.”

“Don’t you mean ‘faith’…?”

“Nah. Faith is for things you can’t see. And I know you’ve seen her, after all…”

Silence… For a long time, silence, and the soft lapping of the waves…

“...how do you know your friends are in trouble?”

“Eheh… Well first of all, I didn’t exactly ‘fall’ down here with a plan… We were in the middle of a bit of a crisis… Maybe I should’ve stayed and put out the fire…”

“…”

“Don’t give me that look. Anyway… They’re Team Wellspring. You know well enough they’re not going to give up because their water-logged leader jumped into a dark pool and disappeared for four thousand years.”

“It has not been four thousand years…”

“Feels like it! Especially when your mate might be in danger…”

“…”

“...and your friends!”

“…”

“…and you know, my garden is-…”

“FINE. Fine, Noah… We’ll go.”

“Aw! You’re a doll, I knew you’d help me out…”

“Watch your disrespectful tone...”
The storm raged on…

Yatzil was forced to swing her staff and deflect an oncoming fireball. She was attempting to part the clouds and force the sun out once more… But Purgis had learned from her boldness before, and had assured the cloud cover was thick enough to dissuade her mortal enemy’s greatest weapon…

“I can’t… Get through!”

“She’s feeding off of Mua…” Farri snarled… “Focus on freeing her!”

“But… The ritual… The sun’s apex is surely coming! I need to clear this weather…!!!”

Farri landed next to Yatzil and nearly snapped at her. The wet dog’s fur was bristling hard enough that her coat raised even against its waterlogged status…

“Do you think I care…!? We need to save my companion…!”

Yatzil was taken aback at being spoken to in such a way, and moreso by Farri, who was only recently defending her point of view for her…

Perhaps the view of the suffering Abra was enough to remind her, no matter what was at stake…

...You were there when your Team needed you.

Li came down sharply on Purgis’ arm, attempting to sever it like Sayl had. But the Jumpluff’s impressive display had worked mostly due to the surprise… Purgis was keeping a sharp eye on her three remaining foes, and dodged every time Li leapt up to attempt…

The Fighting type landed with a light splash next to Yatzil and Farri. She stared up at Purgis, who was backing away to gather the flames once more…

“...she’s up to something… We need to stop her, and now, before she hurts Mua further…!”

Yatzil glanced between them, and then sighed heavily… But a soft smile crept over her face...
“I suppose, in times where we cannot see the Sun… We must take its place…”

“Mmmhhh, Mew’s tenants don’t apply here, do they?!”

“Of course they do! They apply everywhere, my dear Farri… I have a plan… And I need you to help me with it.”

She nodded, and gestured. Li watched the gesture, then nodded in acknowledgment, and spun to sprint back towards Purgis…

The monstrous Ghost type hissed softly and swiped her arm, causing a wall of flame to erupt between her and the charging mink. She gasped when Li simply dove right through it, despite the burning patches it left on her fur…

Li rolled to a stand, flashed her smirk, and then reared her arm back before swinging it forward…

“Kya!” Purgis snarled, and moved her own arm to intercept it… But that was precisely what Li had been planning…

Her sleeve snapped, curling tightly around Purgis’ arm. Li gripped her sleeve firmly and pulled hard…

“What are you doing… You can’t sever my limb by tugging on it, you fool… STOP IT!” she growled, as she tried to keep herself steady. She wobbled on her unstable, rounded base of a body… And then shrieked as she was slammed into hard enough to tilt back…

Li groaned and dug her paws into the mud. She was dragged forward by the weight, but kept Purgis tilted back heavily with her grip. Farri kept her from straightening, perched there precariously where she’d impacted against the ghost’s chest…

“GET OFF OF ME! OVERGROWN LILIPUP!!!” she snarled, jerking and swaying to try and dislodge Farri… But the hound dug her claws in and watched Li run to Purgis’ side, forcing her arm to stretch firmly out…

Li could see Mua quivering there in her spectral cage… So close, yet so far…!

“Hang on, baby… Just a little bit longer…!” she whispered, then turned and put all her force into keeping Purgis still…

“You… Aren’t going to… P-Pull me in half with one arm…!”

Yatzil’s foot splashed into a puddle as she stepped forward, and took her stance…

“Then we will do so with the power of the sun…!”

Purgis’ eyes briefly lifted to the cloud covered skies, and then returned to Yatzil. She gasped and struggled even harder as the lizard planted her staff… and flared her frills…

“Do you think you can shine bright enough… Do you think yourself equal to your goddess…!?”

“I am not…” Yatzil said, the light getting brighter and brighter as she concentrated… Her frill shone like a spotlight… Then like a lighthouse’s beacon… And it only became brighter…

“...but you are not equal to her power either…!” she cried… Farri and Li both turned their heads as the attack charged brighter and brighter…

Purgis shrieked and braced herself as it fired…

Yatzil gripped her staff tightly to keep from toppling… Her other claw was on her midsection, and her words were whispered prayers for the strength enough to protect…

“AAAAAAA!!!”

Li gasped and fell forward as Purgis’ arm burned and snapped with a noise like a willow branch whipping. The mink tumbled in the mud and skidded to a stop, but lifted her head instantly once she had…

Purgis’ rapidly decaying fist laid nearby… It sloughed open, and Li stood to rush over and wrap her arms around Mua…

Her soft breaths still came, gentle and slow. Her heart beat weakly under Li’s paw… But it still beat, at least…

“...thank you…” Li muttered into the empty sky. Yatzil did as well, letting her frill collapse and leaning heavily on her staff…

Farri leapt back and walked over to Yatzil. They were trying to strut casually, but their shivering was clearly not just from the rain…

“A-Ah, yes yes, good… I’m glad your aim is, ehm, precise…”

“I would not have asked you to do something dangerous if I didn’t have confidence I wouldn’t hit you…”

Farri grinned shakily, and then turned back. Their expression fell as they saw Purgis lying half within the water…

“She’s still here…”

“The power of the sun is not wielded easily… I could not blot out all of her empowered form…”

“Then… What do we do?”

Yatzil chuckled softly and lifted her staff…

“We defeat her fully, or the ritual will be ended early without the glow of the sun above. Then there would be no reason to fight any longer…”

“A bit dramatic…” Farri muttered. She looked at Li, who walked up to them quickly. The hound was relieved to see Mua there, but…

She took stock of the situation quickly… She was exhausted from her labour, Li was clearly injured and only barely running on adrenaline. Yatzil couldn’t do this alone…

There was a sickening, fleshy noise… The others turned to see Purgis regrowing her arms, and then planting one after another against the sandy shallows she’d landed in…

She lifted herself… And then leapt into the air, before crashing down with a thundering SPLASH in front of them…

“I have tolerated more than enough from you… RUFFIANS…”

The fires flared brighter. Purgis’ dark grin grew manic once more, as she spread her new arms and sang an odious, awful note…

Farri flattened her ears. Li backed away quickly, as Yatzil grit her teeth...

There remained a few giggling shadows hiding among Mew’s Nest… At Purgis’ call, they flew up into the air as a dark blot against dark clouds, and then rushed towards the islet…

They drew themselves directly into her furnace of a midsection. She cackled darkly as they did, and the fires surrounding them ignited once more in a terrible roar…

“Now, all of this madness will CEASE… The sun has traveled far as we clashed! Aaaahaha, and when it is no longer aligned… All your preparations… Your rituals… All will mean nothing in the face of your utter failure!”

Yatzil held her staff forward… She glanced at Farri, who similarly glanced at her. Both of their faces fell when they realized they were looking to one another for guidance…

When they looked at Li, she looked just as concerned… Her arms were wrapped tightly and protectively around her mate, and all other thoughts were bent towards ensuring she would survive…

But trapped here on an island with an area barely matching a small house… With flames surrounding, and the water beating down, and their foe with seemingly endless tricks… How could she hope that Mua would be okay…?

...much less herself…

Li grit her fangs… She was no leader… But…

“...if we’re gonna go down… Whether it’s on this island or trying to bring the sun back from a world of eternal night…? Then we’re going to bite, claw, and take as many pounds of ghostflesh as we can in payment while we fall…”

Despite her protective stance… She stepped forward defiantly, glaring up at Purgis…

“So… Go on, you overgrown hagweed… Come and try to burn away TEAM WELLSPRING…!”

The rain was a cacophony around them, and yet it all seemed to fall silent. Purgis’ expression wavered with confusion…

“...Heh… A brave soul, and befitting your lineage… Brutish, stubborn…! But… brave… In the face of oblivion, still you spit in my eye…!”

She grinned once more, attempting to regain her menace…

“But I see no TEAM here… Only a pair of floundering fools and the priestess who guided them… To their DOOM!”

As she spoke the last world, she heard a sharp CRACK… She turned quickly…

“What NOW…!?”

A hole in reality opened… A distortion slowly swirled into existence, before abruptly warping to allow a traveler through…

“What do you mean you see no team, Purgey… Their leader is right here…!”

“...NOAH…”

Purgis’ voice was a low snarl of anger as she turned entirely to face him. The glare on her face lacked all of its usual playful whimsy… Funnily, it reminded Li of the expression Noah usually had when he decided to be serious…

At the moment, he was decidedly un-serious. Despite the driving rain and the potential danger, he stretched and put his arms behind his head casually…

“Me~! And you’re bigger than I recall… I guess I got here just in time, eh? I step away from a little bit and someone decides to vandalize my town…”

“YOUR town…?! Arrogant little water-rat, you may defeat me, but weakened as your cohorts are, my ultimate victory is assured!”

She leaned back to look at the storm clouds above…

“The sun ritual… It is nearly too late already…”

Noah rubbed his chin… Then he reached down as if to grab a scallop… and instead merely itched his side.

“Well that’s a real Enigma berry isn’t it? I’d better defeat you quick.”

Purgis’ grin became shaky and unsure. Why was he so damned confident…

“You… And what TEAM!?”

Noah stretched again and paced in front of the still open distortion. He paused and glanced at the lake, nostalgically…

“You remember how this lake was made, Li…?”

“How the hell could I forget?” she snapped, obviously frustrated with his attitude, just as much as Purgis… But in her chest, her heart pounded with excitement…

...they’d already won, hadn’t they? Noah was just grand-standing…

“Heh! Our beautiful town, saved from the brink… Y’know, we defeated that very powerful Pokemon back then… And as far as I can tell, you’ve always just been another Gourgeist…”

Noah shrugged in the face of Purgis’ furious trembling…

“I mean sure, you’re calling upon some weird cosmic power to win. You’re well traveled, well studied and all that… But the thing is, I’ve had adventures too…”

He stopped in front of the distortion once more and took his pose… Wide stance, paws on hips, and a confident, broad grin…

“And you’re not the only one who has allies from other worlds.”

The portal behind him rippled… And Deo slowly emerged from it… Her glare fixed on Purgis, whose eyes were wide with shock and horror…

The alien creature floated up, the rain visibly diverting before it hit her, leaving her gravid shape entirely dry. Her body shifted to its jagged Attack Forme, as she snapped her tendrils to point at the sky, then flung them wide…

The storm clouds above shuddered and rolled back… The sun pierced like the head of a spear, driving itself directly through the Ghostly witch’s body…

“HAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! NOT AGAIN!!! PLEASE NO!!!”

“Silence, useless little vegetable…” Deo said, in a tone that betrayed her excitement at having a target for her frustration… She lifted her arm casually, causing Purgis to fling into the air and float in front of her. The pumpkin writhed in the bright sunlight…

“...I’ve been told, were I to obliterate your body, you would be able to reform yourself after a time…”

“H-Hah, hah! Yes, I am a very powerful witch, I have muchtoteachyoupleaseNOOOOOO!!!”

She cried, as Deo began to float away with Purgis in tow. She glanced down briefly at Noah, who gave her a salute, before she shifted to her Speed Forme…

“NOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! YOU WILL HANG FOR THIS! AND I DON’T MEAN from your neck…!”

The voice of the witch receded into the distance, cursing the Dewott the whole way. Noah drew a finger along one of his whiskers and hummed lightly, before tapping its tip…

“Well. As they say, that’s that…”

The fires around the islet died quickly in the remaining rain. The rain itself cleared, and the sky was left only lightly smudged with what little was left of the black clouds...
Li turned and rushed away immediately. She was doubtless bringing Mua to Tsuki and the other healers. No one stopped her, and at the shore, the gathered crowds parted immediately…

“Is Mua going to be alright?” Noah asked, turning back. Yatzil sighed and nodded…

“She is indeed. She is a strong girl, though she had much of her power drained by that witch. She will recover in time…”

“Ah… Good…”

“What of Deo though?” Farri asked, raising her eyebrow… “Do you really trust her with Purgis? Do you trust her at all?”

She paused, as Noah nodded…

“...well, might I ask how you brought her here in the first place?!”

“Long story. Could fill quite a few chapters in whatever book eventually gets written by us…” Noah said, stretching casually… “You must be Yatzil, eh? I didn’t introduce myself properly…”

“You need no introduction to me.” sighed Yatzil… “I am proud to meet you, Noah… But there is much yet to do…”

“There’s always something else to do. That’s what makes life so grand~” he said, as he turned and looked out on the crowd… He studied the lines along the edge of the lake… The dye there had mixed with the mud and made the pattern even more vibrant and visible…

“So… What’s this ‘ritual’ Purgis seemed so intent on stopping?”

“Ah… It’s very important. I was given the instructions by Mew herself…”

She extended her staff and gestured…

“The paint’s colour. The pattern. Even the location… She said she wanted it to be done here, and at this time…”

“Yes… But do WHAT…?”
Before an answer could be given, the waters of the lake became tumultuous. Their waves peaked and splashed down, and then a pillar of water shot into the air. Mist sprinkled down over the scene, tinted a rainbow of colours… but mostly…

Pink.

“A long time ago…” Li’s voice spoke, as if from no where… It echoed loudly enough that even the crowd gathered on the shore, rapt with attention, could easily hear…

“The world was so empty… So barren and devoid of all but the simplest of creatures…!”

“And so…” Mua’s more gentle voice came… “The one who looked after them all, the one who had moulded this land, took pity… She came down, and she said to them;…”

In Ilianna’s voice… Suave, but strong…

“I will bear you offspring… And your offspring shall bear their own… And soon this land will be rich with them…”

“And so…!” Farri’s voice came, and it spoke in unison both the masculine and feminine… “The goddess descended to the world, in the cutest form she could create… A perfect shape, which her loyal followers adorned with their markings… Gratitude, for the sun’s warmth, the moon’s light, and the vastness of the sky above…”

The mist slowly gathered to a single point, in the centre of the islet…

“...and…” Noah’s voice finally came… “So she set to her task… And became the mother to us all…! She birthed the first Pokemon, and sent them into the world that she loved… And as she frolicked in her world, she was as a child… At ease, and at play nearly all of the day…”

Noah stepped up, listening to the uncanny tabor of his own voice, perfectly replicated. Farri hovered behind, but Yatzil leaned softly against the charred tree beside her, smirking…
The mist pressed tightly together… And then, with a poof… 

There she was…

“But she forgot her place…” spoke Mew, floating there with her body gently curled around her middle… “Her sacred duty. Though I gave birth to many more children in my play, that was all they were to me… Play... And I grew complacent. I considered myself simply another creature among you all…”

She smiled and floated down slowly, until she was in front of Noah. The Dewott didn’t hesitate to set his cheek happily against the painted middle now in front of him…

“I forgot my title…” she cooed, as she glanced at Farri. The hound glanced away with a deep blush, akin to one meeting their idol…

“...Goddess?”

“Heh… No.” she returned her gaze to Noah… To her precious tummy…

“...Mother.”

Farri perked, and looked around… Her grin widened further…

“...this is… A birthing ritual then… You’ve come to grace us with… With…?”

“A child… And I while I will be around, I expect you to take care of it… It is yours, after all?”

“...mine?” Noah asked, lifting his head again to tilt it quizzically…

“Mhm… And… Farri’s… both of them, actually… A bit of Li and Mua… A bit of Da-ahh, a few others…” she said, glancing away quickly. Noah blinked stupidly…

“Oh! You’ll see… I wanted a very special child… So I took a bit of a sample from each of you to create… Well, you’ll see…”

Farri chuckled and walked silently over to the corner of the isle where Sayl and the other Farri lay… She flopped down next to their unconscious forms, curling around them protectively…

“Well then, you’re in the right place… this Nest is a very maternal village, after all… We have followed a certain set of teachings…”

“To the letter.” Mew confirmed, happily looking out over the crowd of gathered Pokemon… A very large crowd, composed of quite a few younger mon… an equal spread between those stood on the grass and peering, and those still waiting in their mother’s midsections…

“And with the ritual about to commence… And everyone safe once more… I suppose it’s time to celebrate, eh?”

Mew twirled once, and then nudged her middle against Noah’s muzzle again, to illicit another gentle rub from his paw…

“I admit, I wasn’t sure that it would all work out… Heh. But as it appears… All is well!”

Yatzil glanced up at the sun’s position… It crept ever so slowly to its apex… The priestess smirked gently and picked her staff up again… moments before Mew gasped, and pushed her thighs together…

A soft splatter of fluid hit the ground at precisely noon…

“...ouh… Heh… Looks like the ‘celebration’ is going to have to wait…”
There was a slight panic in the crowd… Some rushed to deliver linens, herbs for pain relief… anything they could think of to help in a time like this…

Noah guided Mew carefully to the grass below, and sighed softly. Even with his experience, he seemed to be quivering… Was it with nervousness, or anticipation…?

“...Hnnhh… Oho… It’s been awhile since I’ve felt the burden this acutely… OH! Ouh… This might not be as fun as I thought…”

“You have every opportunity to back out, hm? You’re the one in control of everything…” Noah said, with a grin. He glanced up as Yatzil waddled to Mew’s side and knelt next to her…

“Ah, what is this blasphemy from my favoured follower?!” Mew said playfully. Then she winced and gripped her middle, breathing out hard. Yatzil felt over her centre…

“How long have you been feeling contractions, my goddess…?”

“Ah… Hng… A couple days now… They-They’ve obviously just built to… Ow… OW!”

She hissed sharply and arched her back. Noah took her paw on instinct to hold as she felt the contractions wrack her body. All of Mew’s Nest watched their goddess, their village’s very namesake, as the mythic creature they’d put so much faith into blessed their village with her womb’s waters…

A breathtaking thing… Utterly beautiful… And yet…

“OUH! OOH!” she arched. Yatzil quickly drew her claws over Mew’s middle, using sparks of electricity to relax muscles in danger of cramping…

“You shouldn’t delay this much… You’ve dropped weeks ago, I bet…”

“H-Hey, who invented this process… Y-You or me…?”

Yatzil gave her a sassy look, and was likely one of the only Pokemon in the world who could get away with it. She’d midwifed for so many Pokemon that she could sense were not who they said they were… She’d been the goddess’s assistant for years...
“Just…” Yatzil said, her smile returning… “Do what you were meant for, my dear Mew…”

The pink Pokemon quickly looked up at Noah, who nodded firmly…

“We got here in one piece… Everyone is okay, if barely… Now we can do the fun part…”

“The f-fun part was h-however long ago, when you… When you added your ‘sample’ to them…”

Noah flushed excitedly, and cleared his throat… “I don’t know what you mean by that, goddess… Really, none of us do…”

Mew grit her teeth, but forced them to a wide grin. She looked up at Noah through her fur, which was becoming slick and shiny with her sweat…

“I-It’s a ritual I learned from Darkrai of all creatures… A-Ah, he called it ‘corrupting’… But… I’ve f-figured out better ways to use it! You can thank Deo for that…”

Noah raised his eyebrow, but said nothing. He merely watched Mew struggle there for a time, her body wracked with pain… Yet the expression on her face was a blissful one…

She was a paragon of maternal strength… The apex, the original… And she wanted to give them all a good show of what a mother should be… 

“HNNNN!!!”

She curled into her middle and pushed. Noah reached down with a free paw and pulled her thigh wide, causing another gentle spurt of fluid as Mew bore down…

“Progress, progress miss…” Yatzil said, soothingly. She drew her paw over Mew’s middle again, admiring the markings she’d put there not so long ago. The mother of all things wanted to flaunt her ancient adornments for a time before… well...
“OUUHHH!”

“Come on, hun… Come on! You’re better than this…! You’ve done this before!” Noah encouraged. The sun above glittered gently, providing its warmth, comfort, and power. Mew concentrated on moving the pup inside her…

“It’s coming… It’s coming…!” she breathed, as she curled into her own middle again and strained painfully. Noah again gripped her thigh, but Yatzil moved and took over for him…

“Keep her other spread. And be ready to catch… She pushes hard.”

“Got it.” Noah said. He moved and positioned himself in his favourite place; a belly nearly blocking his view of everything else…

Mew lifted herself and panted… She looked down at Noah, and couldn’t help but grin… 

Did she truly need the energy the sun gave her? Yatzil’s gaze was suspicious and chiding… Had the goddess really orchestrated all of this just so she could birth here… This time… With Noah?

Perhaps she was still a bit of a childish thing after all, under all her growth… But no time to focus on that now...

“I-It’s… It’s crowning… What is it…?” muttered Noah worriedly. The goddess’s sacred portal was spreading with something that certainly didn’t look like a pink kitten, nor did it appear to be a Dewott’s children…

“You’ll… S-See…”

“Focus, goddess… You’re just about to go into the final push… Are you ready?”

Mew hesitated. She glanced over at Farri, who was laid with her head draped lovingly over her better half…

She glanced into the distance, her godly sight allowing her to see Li, sat next to Mua’s bed and doting on her in a way that would ruin her tough reputation instantly were it seen...
She cast her gaze over the village that had grown in her name… Over the loyal Pokemon waiting with bated breath for her to grant them their gift…

She looked up at Noah, who looked back down with a spark of sheer confidence and excitement… The same look he gave every mother…

“Come on, goddess… You’ve got this… It’s almost out…” he said. And when he did, Mew grinned wide and curled again to press her muzzle against Noah’s to give a deep kiss…

The crowd whooped. Some applauded and called out Noah’s name, as if he was doing something that would get him in trouble. He was surprised, but with a grin, he returned the kiss just as deeply…

“...PHAH!”

Mew pulled back after the kiss had gone on a little too long… She looked down at her belly… Noah pushed her legs wide and positioned his paws…

“Three… Two… Get ready goddess, and…”

CLENCH!

“PUSH!” Yatzil and Noah spoke in unison. Mew needed no encouragement…

She curled into herself… She squealed… She pushed as hard as her body could… She faced the maternal trial she herself put into motion so long ago…

She cried out, feeling a body slip through hers and spread her intimates so painfully… Every instinct in her was demanding she shut off her ability to feel pain, that she simply expel this baby or teleport it out… Anything!

...but no… She would not…

Mew screamed, and pushed her baby into the world…

“Woah!” Noah gasped, as the pup finally fell into his arms… “You weren’t kidding...”
“She is strong, no?” Yatzil sighed, as she looked down at Mew’s now limp form… The poor creature looked pitiful, but supremely content… Her eyes were closed, and she draped an arm over them before sitting up weakly. Yatzil tsked softly, but moved over to help her sit straight…

“...Tada…” she mumbled, spreading her arms to indicate the chimera child she’d birthed. Noah tilted his head and used his paw to clean away some of the afterbirth, to better study the whimpering little thing he now held…

“I grant it the name… Silvally.” she said, taking it gently from Noah. The strange mishmash of features curled and nibbled greedily at its mother’s teat, and Mew happily obliged before looking back up at Noah and Yatzil…

“It has pieces from each of you. From many, in fact… And… I gift it to you… A new species… And perhaps, the first of many…”

She breathed a heavy sigh. Noah moved to gently pick her up…

“...Silvally… Okay… Does it have a name…? Does… he… have a name?”

Mew’s eyes took on a subtle glow… For a moment, though she clearly wished only to be a proud mother, she gained a presence fit for a goddess… Noah was humbled to silence…

“His name is… Arai… Araisodarus…” she spoke, her voice lacking its usual adorable squeak in favour of the softest, purest tone that Noah had ever heard… He stared in awe as Mew drew her paw lovingly over the child’s head…

“He is of my blood… He will roam as I do, no doubt, doing my work… He will live a good life… And by his presence, all will know me… I foresee such great deeds from our little one, Noah…”

Noah nodded gently, and then smirked wide… It was an expression he didn’t often carry, yet was well known on his face… 

Pride… Sheer, unadulterated, paternal pride. 

He turned and carried Mew across the thin bridge and back to the mainland, to the crowd, frozen with anticipation…

He lifted Mew gently, to show her and the newborn off…

“Welcome… Our new species…! Child of Mew, and of all her Nest…!”

The crowd finally burst into excited cheers, and nothing seemed able to stop them…

At the back of the crowd, the Gardevoir slipped away. She tiredly returned to the empty headquarters of Team Wellspring, and found her room…

It was sparse, and undecorated. What little she’d been gifted by the others sat in precious perches on her little desk… An old shell from Noah, a small scroll from Illy…

She paused and picked up a small bag of candy. By now, it was old and hard… Too inedible to be enjoyed…

Yet she had kept them… She treasured the memory of the baby Oshawott sharing them more than she did the sugar…

She set it back down and slumped to a heavy sit next to the window. Her eyes wandered listlessly, staring unseeing into the horizon…

...in the direction Deo had fled with Purgis…
Off across the treetops, across the smoke filled sky and the grass plains, where the Dark Forest was being extinguished.

Now the rows of trees were withered, charred husks. The place was devastated by the fire that Malla had set, and Tessa had encouraged.

“I hate this place…”

Malla mumbled quietly, softly hugging herself as she took a few steps. She looked back nervously at Darkrai, who stood with his arms folded behind his back, watching passively.

They were in some clearing. Malla didn’t recognize it, which was a feat for one who had been studying this forest for so long. But she had walked back along the pier, and eventually found Darkrai meditating there quietly…

Now she was returned to her world to see bitter ash…

“...not that I burned it down for that reason…”

“I do not mind. I understand… My aura has caused you and yours a lot of pain. Many sleepless nights. Had I been more aware of what was going on… I would have stopped it long ago...”

Malla turned around and stared into the forest… Darkrai’s eye roved over her, trying to discern what anxiety was still infecting her mind...

“...I am not what you think I am. But you have studied my methods and powers much. You are a good follower, and…” 

Darkrai hesitated. Malla glanced back over her shoulder…

“...well. I have learned from Mew not to throw such things away…”

“What are you saying?”

“That I will relocate myself, perhaps somewhere more remote. If you still wish to study my power… Maybe even use it for good…?”

The implication lingered… And then Darkrai sunk into the ground and disappeared…

“I will be watching, Malla…”

The fox turned again and stepped on the trail in front of her. She walked unfamiliar halls of the burnt arcadia she had long been so obsessed with. The sun burned cheerfully above, and it no longer drew Malla’s furious eye…

She was listless… What could she do, now she had devoted her life to a lie?

What purpose did she have now…?

Her unfocused gaze quickly returned as she emerged unto a clearing. She finally recognized this one… But only because she’d just been there.

The dark pool had dried up. It was an incredibly shallow little pond after all…

The trees all about were entirely disintegrated, compared to the charred specimens throughout the rest of the forest…

Ilianna was there, crouched next to the pool… She stiffened when Malla appeared, and turned to look…

“...oh. You...”
Ilianna might have been more worried, but the broken expression on the fox’s face tempered her reaction. Not only that, but Ilianna was exhausted herself… And it seemed the last thing either of them wanted was a fight…

“I am here.” Malla said, spreading her arms gently… “For what it’s worth.”

“...what happened?”

“Noah was a fool, and the universe took pity on him. The same thing that always happens.” Malla answered with a fractured grin. Ilianna frowned deeply, so Malla continued… “He and I dove in. We were separated immediately. I found Darkrai, but he was not who I assumed he was. And…”

She glanced away…

“...Mew was already there. And after I spoke to her, Darkrai returned me here. He assured me that Noah was fine…”

Ilianna breathed out hard… A sigh of relief, a release of tension that had been building since Noah disappeared…

“Where… is Tessa?” Malla finally asked. Ilianna turned around once more, to pick up Tessa’s still form from the dust…

Malla gasped softly. She swiftly stepped forward to look down at her daughter. Ilianna sighed…

“...she was stubborn, like you… She saw you disappear, and thought the future she was fearing had come to pass…”

“...it… it had…” muttered Malla, her voice strained as she nervously reached up to touch… “...so… so still… I’ve never seen her so still… Is… is she…”

“Gone…?” Ilianna asked, quietly. Malla watched her subtly curl her arms a bit tighter around Tessa…

“...I would never do that to someone’s daughter… especially not one who was in so much pain already…”

Malla’s eyes snapped back to Tessa. They widened when she seemed to realize...
“...she’s… She’s sleeping…”

“Peacefully. She doesn’t seem to be having any nightmares anymore…”

Tessa was lifted and set gently in Malla’s arms… The fox slowly sank to her knees, clutching Tessa against her and trembling… She could feel the gentle heartbeat below her paws… The rise and fall of breath…

Ilianna smiled tenderly, and set her hand on Malla’s shoulder…

“I know you have done much you regret… But take comfort in this; you have at least two creatures in this world who love you…”

Malla’s eyes were welling with tears… She looked up at Ilianna…

“...two?”

“Well… Your daughter, and...”

Malla’s ears flattened instantly in worry, and Ilianna chuckled gently…

“Don’t fear my reprisal. If I was upset over his habits, we would have been at each other’s throats long ago… And I know that he thinks the world of you…”

Malla shook her head…

“...I… I-I’m not sure that...”

Ilianna lifted her hand, and waved it gently…

“No, don’t consider it an offer. Consider it as an option you may take, at any time. If you walk up the trail’s head to Mew’s Nest and ask for a home… you will have it…”

Malla said nothing then, merely clutching her daughter there, knelt on the heart of her destroyed ambitions. Illianna patted her shoulder gently once more and turned to leave…

“...Ilianna…?”

The Frogadier turned back to look...
“How…? How can you and he be so kind, after all I’ve done?”

Ilianna looked thoughtfully over her for a moment… And then she smiled tiredly…

“We have all been shunned for our beliefs, one way or another. The difference is, we merely wanted to spread love… While you wanted to smother it all.”

“I… I was doing it to protect her…”

“And now that you no longer need to… Where will you go, hm?”

Another agonizing period of silence, stretching on for far too long… Faintly in the distance, the firefighting crew that had been sent could be heard discussing, searching, and working…

Ilianna turned once more towards those voices, and disappeared along the ashen trail. Malla remained where she was, letting her tears fizzle into steam as they slid through the warm fur on her cheeks…

Her heart beat softly in her throat… Her shoulders shook, and her way forward seemed to be obscured… No amount of her flame could reveal the way to her…

“...m… mama…?”

Malla looked down, and saw Tessa slowly waking up in her arms. The Braxien stretched softly, and then slumped…

“...am I still… dreaming?”

Malla lifted her head and looked up through the burnt canopy at the golden sun…

“...no, dear…” she said, her voice soft and full of confidence once more… “We’re all awake… and it looks like a beautiful new day.”

--END--