Leaf

  —

  My mom was up to something these days. She was too busy, even without a job.

  I knew she had been up to something lately. It wasn't hard to figure out, with how often Professor Oak came over during the evenings. Aside from inviting him over for lunch, that was. He very rarely showed up for lunch, usually being too busy, but his Charizard never missed one on the days Leto hunted a bit too much.

  She was the most intimidating Pokemon I had ever met in my life other than Leto, and I honestly think she was stronger than Leto, back in the day. Old she may be, but she still had a presence to her. Most lab techs found it hard to be around her. Most people in general, really.

  A Pokemon who had taken their body to the absolute limit and surpassed it just radiated danger. Professor Oak had more than a few papers with theories, but they all boiled down to aura. Everyone had aura, absolutely everyone, and when a Pokemon grew that powerful, its aura grew too great for the limits of its physical body. It spread.

  When people got nervous around Charizard, they were literally feeling her ability to burn them to death, to crush them to red paste, to throw them into the atmosphere. They felt her aura touch theirs and they instinctively knew the danger they were in, what could happen to them at any second. It was like standing under a giant blade, never knowing if it would fall, but certain that it would mean your death if it ever did.

  What did it say about me and mom that we barely noticed Charizard these days? Literally, I had forgotten she was next to me multiple times already. I had bounced off of her and not even noticed! We watched Pokemon Contests shoulder to shoulder leaning against Leto!

  We were desensitized for sure, no doubt about that.

  Leto may have been the Tyrant Queen of Galar, but Maddy was no slouch, either. Professor Oak had estimated her to be around eighth badge in strength, which was honestly lower than expected, but she hadn't submitted to actual tests. She could very well be a Champion level Pokemon. Master level Pokemon like Leto and like Charizard had been were still in an entirely different realm of strength and experience, aura aside, but the point was that Maddy was intensely powerful, too.

  You just rarely saw it, as the middle-aged Fearow was more inclined to relax most of the time.

  She was a big fan of daytime Poke-Dramas, actually, and had successfully convinced an Ekans, three Rattata, and Koffing to watch them with her inside. It was a tight squeeze for her to get inside, and most of our furniture in the path had been moved, but once she was actually inside Maddy nestled up snugly on the huge cushion mom had bought her. The rest of the Pokemon would come join her on the cushion, and they would sit there for hours watching Pokemon tearfully argue, kiss, play, dance, I even saw a quick fight at one point as I walked through the living room. Koffing didn't really speak or interact with anyone, still, but she would occasionally gasp as she got invested in the drama.

  It made me so happy to see her enjoy something. She still wouldn't let anyone touch her or groom her, but she did love anything baked. We had actually heard her giggle when she had her first bite of a Combee honey bun. It had broken our hearts for an entirely different reason a second later, because the instant she had giggled she had gotten terrified, eyes wide in fear. She collapsed a second later, and ten seconds after that she was running. She didn't leave, but she ran to the corner of the yard and hadn't moved the rest of the day. Other than to eat the rest of her honey bun that Seraphina brought her…

  We had tried to tell her it was fine, but she hadn't responded, just floated in the corner, eyes tightly closed. She knew that if she hadn't been bound, we would all be hurt or dead right now. She knew that we didn't blame her, but she blamed herself.

  She had been terrified to be happy, and that hurt the worst.

  Officer Jenny in Pewter had been reluctant to part with the transcripts the stations Alakazam had recorded during Erin's interviews, face full of worry as she looked at my mother over the phone, but my mom technically had every right to them as Erin's guardian, and with her in a coma, well… Officer Jenny also wanted to help, her Ekans happily draped around her shoulders as my mom spoke to her, so if there had been any red tape, it had been thoroughly destroyed.

  My mom didn't let me look at them, and I didn't want to. I mean, I did! I wanted to help these poor Pokemon, and understanding only helps, right? At the same time, I had seen my moms face collapse the instant she began to read. I had watched her bow her head, shoulders shaking. I had heard my sweet, calm, caring mother swear for minutes on end, and I had left the house after she began throwing things, unable to watch any further.

  She would know what to share and not.

  Koffing had been a Move Pokemon. Apparently, Team Rocket categorized their Pokemon based on their function. Move Pokemon were only used for a singular Move, a singular moment. Koffing had only been used to generate an Explosion. If she was outside of her Pokeball, and she didn't hear an order to eat as she was coming out, she was supposed to Explode.

  Always.

  They had… enforced that on her, and let the slow healing of a Pokeball do its… subpar, not-meant-for-that job after each time. That was all I knew, and all I wanted to know. It had broken my heart again, because I hadn't seen that happen before. She had done her best at the police station, even if she eventually… did it. She had hoped so hard she had managed to hold it off for a time.

  The Rattata and Ekans had been… Disposables. They were smaller, common species that reproduced quickly and in large batches. 'Training' was surviving to adulthood as Rocket 'trainers' would… motivate them. Those that survived were shown news reports of Victoria and told in no uncertain terms that the only option they had in life was in Team Rocket, because even defeat and 'rescue' would mean death. Most of the females were forced to breed a few times, before being added to the Disposables.

  Lily and Poochyena had been Killers. Their only job had been to intimidate others and to eliminate them as viciously as possible. Most were wild-caught, like Koffing and Poochyena had been, but Lily had been bred by Team Rocket. Apparently they loved to use Houndours after Victoria's story had broken.

  It was so easy to control them.

  I tried not to think about it, but it was hard every time I stepped into the backyard and found the Ekans curled up together, napping in the sun peacefully. When Lily would cuddle with Poochyena and the pile of Rattata. When Lucy would climb into my moms lap and just… melt into her, face content but rarely at peace.

  I had an idea of what my mom was planning, however, and I approved wholeheartedly.

  It would be hard not to, when she had specifically requested Clefairy one day, then gone to the Lab. When I looked out back and saw our large backyard more than half-full with tarps, a fire pit with Erin's meat spit, the deck, and the Golduck corpse hanging from an a-frame. It was very easy to figure it out when my mom casually mentioned she quit her job, and that after she had grilled me? Because Looker told her to ask me instead of him?

  It was dreadfully obvious when the surveyors came out, though.

  Apparently I was the only one to think that, however.

  That would explain why every time I went into town for groceries I kept getting questions. I mean, we just needed laundry detergent and some extra veggies and fruits!

  "Leaf, you can tell me, right dear? I've watched you grow up! It can't be such a big deal!"

  Mrs. Maple was a kindly old lady, and she was one of my favorite people around Pallet Town. That didn't mean I wasn't irritated at that moment, standing in front of a selection of detergent while my arm grew tired. I had pounds of fruits and veggies in my basket, not to mention some chocolate mom didn't need to know about, and I really just wanted to grab some Mrs. Comfey's Deepest Clean with StainEraser and go home!

  Blood was so hard to get out of fabric…

  "I mean, we've all heard that huge one running around, and that Alpha Fearow! Young lady, do you know the panic you almost caused when people saw a screaming young girl being picked up by a huge Fearow?!" I winced at that. It had probably looked pretty bad, yeah, but obviously they had seen her… return me to my house.

  "Mrs. Maple, I really can't. You can come over and ask my mom though, if you want?" My smiles had certainly grown sharper around Erin and Leto, and she jerked a tiny bit.

  "As for Maddy, the Fearow? She's moms Pokemon, actually. She loves moms baking, and they like to drink coffee and chat about their… 'troublesome chicks'. Maddy loves Poke-dramas, too." Her face grew amused even through the nervousness still on display.

  "Well! Ah, I might… What I mean is…" She gave me a serious look.

  "Is Charizard there right now? She's been seen flying there lately. I know she's a sweetheart, I really do, but she still scares me." I didn't grin. I didn't even let my eyes crinkle in amusement. My face was a flat mask as I replied to her truthfully.

  "No, Charizard already went back to the Lab for today."

  —

  Leto must have been gone or laying down, because I didn't see her huge form peeking over our fence. The tarps were rather obvious, and Mrs. Maple eyed them as we walked up. You couldn't see into the yard from the front, but we managed to make it to the front door before she stopped. As I unlocked the door, I turned to her with a carefully crafted inquisitive look.

  "Is there anything wrong, Mrs. Maple?" She shook her head distractedly and held the door open for me as I walked through, bags first. I smiled widely at the sight in front of me.

  "Hey, drama club!" The glare from Maddy didn't even register these days, and I smiled as the rest gave me hesitant greetings from their cushion in front of the TV. Koffing even turned my way briefly and bobbed up and down once! Aww!

  "Where's mom?" Tails, beaks, and whiskered snouts turned towards the backyard and I smiled.

  "Thanks! I've got some fruits and veggies here, if you all want some now to snack on?" One of the Rattata raised a paw, so I dug through the mass of bags cutting into my other hand before I found a bag of carrots. I tore one out and gently handed it to him, smiling as his cute little face lit up in happiness. I heard a gasp behind me.

  Mrs. Maple was raising her hands to her mouth in horror, eyes wide and panicked as she looked at Koffing. The poor Pokemon was still looking at the TV, thankfully, so I quickly slapped my hand over her mouth. She looked at me with wide eyes, but I glared and held a finger up to my lips. I let her go and dropped the groceries on the floor.

  "Maddy, can you make sure nobody gets into these? Not that any adorable little rodents would ever do something like get into a whole box of cabbage we had left out and eat the entire thing. I mean, who eats that much raw cabbage at once? I feel sorry for those theoretical rodents, though. That must have been a lot of… pressure. Theoretically, of course."

  Maddy gave me an amused nod as the Rattata pointedly ignored my look. There had never even been talk of punishment for ruining our plans to, you know, cook most or all of those eventually. The gas had been punishment enough. For everyone, but mostly them.

  I ushered Mrs. Maple outside, leading her down the street for a minute. There were some sensitive ears in there. I turned to her and raised a hand, cutting her off.

  "Mrs. Maple, I know what your question is. Yes, those are rescues." Her eyes got so wide, but I just kept going.

  "You need to understand something about those rescues, Mrs. Maple. They are literally incapable of accidentally hurting you. Some are incapable of harming anything. In many ways they are far safer than a regular Pokemon. Unfortunately." Her eyes grew confused.

  "I don't know how you got it into your head that they were safe, bu-" I cut her off.

  "No, you don't know. Are you aware of the existence of true contracts mediated by a fae?" Her eyes grew wide and fearful.

  "A fairy?! Why would you bring those horrible things up?!" I shook my head a little, maintaining my stare.

  "Have you ever heard of them?" She nodded, very slowly.

  "I've heard that they were the main reason behind the collapse of the Kalosian and Galarian monarchies. The contracts killed them when they were forced to rebel against Paldea over a century ago." I nodded at her seriously.

  "Yes, those are the most famous examples. These contracts, however, don't kill you. They're used as a… limiter. Like a guard rail. So a tragedy like Victoria can't happen. It's impossible for them to accidentally attack." She was so confused. Then she grew fearful.

  "Leaf, do you have a fairy?!" I smiled widely at her.

  "I do, actually! She's never mediated a contract before, but she can!" Her eyes were a little too scared, so I gently grabbed her hands.

  "Mrs. Maple, trust me, I know what fae are. Look at me." Her eyes met mine and she flinched at something she saw there.

  "I've seen a… a bad fae, Mrs. Maple. Clefairy isn't. She hasn't mediated a contract yet, but she wants to. My fairy wants to help." Her eyes were disbelieving, and I really couldn't blame her, so I released her hands, stepping back.

  "You know fae can't lie, right? Hey Clefairy, c'mere." She appeared above me, having been listening in of course, and I caught her as she fell, bringing her to my chest with a smile as Mrs. Maple's eyes boggled at her. My adorable little horror show.

  "Clefairy, do you want to help mediate helpful contracts like the ones the rescues inside received in the future?" She nodded, and Mrs. Maple actually gasped.

  "Do you want to do this of your own free will?" A nod. "Will you take anything from anyone?" A shake. "You are going to do this of your own free will, and take nothing, because you adored the look of hope Koffing had before the contract? Because you felt bad for her? Because it makes you feel good to help others?" She smiled widely and nodded as Mrs. Maple stood there stunned beyond words.

  I understood, really I did.

  I wasn't a complete fool, though. It may change in the future, as she… grew, but Clefairy cared in a very different way than the rest of us. There was absolutely no difference between her and that… horror, other than size and strength. They just found joy in different emotions. To them, the emotions themselves probably weren't that different. Some people loved apples, others loved oranges. Both were fruit. Some fae loved terror, some loved hope. Both were emotions. Luckily for me, my Clefairy liked the expression of hope, of happiness in someone's eyes more than she liked terror.

  She liked the sense of peaceful contentment in the rescues as they relaxed in the sun. She loved the way the group of Rattata slept in a huge hugging, looping chain. She absolutely adored the look in Koffing's eyes when she ate moms baked goods, the way Lucy would relax into mom, the way Noodles hung off Lily, the Ekans almost never separated from her friend.

  She also liked the tearful frustration of Fraxure as she went a bit too far in training, bullying him. She somewhat liked the looks of pain from anyone when training or sparring got too intense. She liked it the one time she had asked Leto to watch a hunt and seen a life end. She had been fascinated at the look in a beings eyes the moment they stopped, even if she had no desire to cause the stopping herself for no reason. It had disturbed Leto, quite badly, in fact.

  She had not been invited back.

  She also liked the glint of murder in my eyes as she had opened the bathroom door wide while I was busy, bouncing away to my trapped curses. She liked the annoying feeling of grass tickling her in the worst places, somehow. She liked the look in my eyes as I found myself occasionally overwhelmed by the horror that was her existence. She loved it when I looked at her fondly, and she would return the look.

  We both hated the look in our eyes thinking about that cavern.

  She was an alien being in so many ways, but our friendship had strengthened to the point that I think she was starting to understand, to know feelings, or at least be able to rationalize them more, to fit them into a framework she could understand. I didn't actually have to pantomime with her anymore, either. I still had to talk, she wasn't a telepath, but instead of watching her gestures I would just… suddenly know her responses. It wasn't like talking from my point of view, not yet at least, but more like saying 'Hi' and receiving a paragraph of text that I instantly understood. It was so… comprehensive.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I barely had to ask her anything these days. I just knew almost instantly.

  "Clefairy wants to help, Mrs. Maple, and none of those poor rescues are a danger to anyone. I can even demonstrate that fact, but we won't be talking about this around them, especially Koffing. She…" I trailed off, tears coming to my eyes. Even Clefairy drooped, and that seemed to really catch Mrs. Maple off guard.

  "That Koffing? Why?" I met her eyes and deliberated with myself. I exchanged glances with Clefairy, and she sent a positive impression into my head, so I told her the truth, eyes tightly closed.

  "Because Team Rocket made her life nothing more than eating and Exploding, through… force, after they caught her. She… I-I honestly believe she thinks she's dreaming." I felt Clefairy nod sadly against me.

  "That was her only escape from the pain and fear, through unconsciousness, and I have the horrible feeling she thinks this is all just one very long, extra-pleasant dream she'll painfully wake up from at any moment." I sniffed, earning myself an elbow as I did it right in Clefairies ear. I looked up and sadly met my elderly neighbor's horrified eyes.

  "That was my fault. I should have warned you, but please don't bring it up in there. Like I said, none of them could hurt you, even if they wanted to. None of them d-do!" I sniffed again, earning me another elbow as Clefairy tore herself from my arms. I used my suddenly free hands to wipe at my eyes.

  I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I found Mrs. Maple's eyes shining with tears as well.

  "I.. I'm sorry for my reaction as well, Leaf. I was just startled." I shook my head at her.

  "No, no, that was my fault. Your reaction was natural. I'd react that way if I found a Koffing somewhere unexpectedly, too. I just kind of forgot about their… status, you know?" She gave me a hug, and I gently returned it.

  This time I actually got to drop off the bags in the kitchen, finding the backyard Tyrantrum-free for the moment. Mrs. Maple followed me and gasped. What had startled her this time?

  I mean, it might have been Seraphina. She was practicing her fine control with fire, a video demonstration led by a Magmortar playing for her on Rotom as she held five fragile-looking Embers in a rotating circle around her, brilliant white scales glistening as she concentrated.

  It may have been Fraxure. He was just kind of standing there idly watching Seraphina and the video, but while he might have cooled his head a good bit these days, just the sight of the Pokemon brought to mind images of severed limbs. Probably because he would be terribly good at doing so, and in fact would certainly be delighted to. Calmer didn't mean not-murderous, not for him.

  It probably wasn't Cerberus. He was conked out at the moment, laying in his tarped-over corner on a pile of blankets, tongue hanging out. I mean, he was huge for his species, but still. Sleeping puppy.

  I doubted it was Artemis, either, considering she was cuddled up with Cerberus, maw also hanging open.

  It might have been Kallen, but the Alpha Skrelp was just hovering near Seraphina, ready to extinguish any fire that she lost control of. He looked half asleep, actually, idly bobbing in the air.

  It might possibly have been the rest of the rescues sitting on the deck in the shade, watching the show out there.

  It was probably my mom, though.

  She stood there in her 'butchering clothes', which considering the heat as summer took hold? My mom had on shorts and a short sleeveless shirt, rubber boots, gloves, and a rubber apron that had a series of sheathes sewn to it, hair back in a tight ponytail and hat. The sight of that alone probably hadn't made Mrs. Maple gasp, odd as it was to see my mom dressed so… un-mom like.

  It was probably the large Golduck corpse hanging from an a-frame that my mom was currently skinning, I would say.

  "Hey mom, Mrs. Maple is here!" I grinned as she whirled, bloody blade in hand, her face red. She wasn't filthy, Leto drained the corpses, now, but there was certainly blood on her. And around her. I saw the hose already on and propped up, ready to wash the worst off. We needed a foot pedal, really, because the handle was… Yeah. Not sanitary. It was just to get the… bits off, but still.

  "Leaf! Mrs. Maple?!" Her eyes met mine and I gave her a look and a nod.

  "I'm going to put the groceries away, mom! Have fun with that, I hate skinning bipeds…" She frowned at me. It was slightly more intimidating than usual, considering the knife and blood.

  "Well, maybe I should let you finish for me, young lady, that way I can talk to-" I was rushing inside before she could finish.

  "No! No, that's fine, have fun talking out here!" I rushed to the groceries.

  I despised skinning bipeds. I didn't enjoy any part of the process of processing corpses, but skinning in general was just the worst. Bipeds? Well, I wasn't eating one. That was just… Was it really that weird to be grossed out by the thought of eating one?

  Probably not… Right?

  It would be way too weird, yeah.

  If Erin ever tried to eat a Mankey we would fight.

  Wait, she ate Sneasels…

  —

  The weak attack fizzled out not five feet from where it was launched.

  "That one was better, but was still a little rough. Do you want me to go ask Clefai-" Hecate frowned at me and shook her head.

  "Okay, okay, sorry. Your Confusion looks perfect, based on the videos online, and your Psybeam is close, but your Disarming Voice takes a little long to build up. Dazzling Gleam challenges you to utilize fairy energy directly, without a directed medium like your voice, so… Sweetie, have you been practicing with your fairy energy as much as your psychic?" She pouted hard at me and didn't answer.

  "Hecate, I'm not your trainer." She drooped a bit and I crouched down lightly patting her head.

  "She'll pop up soon, you know that. When she does, wouldn't you like to show her the new Move you learned? Kallen's almost got Water Pulse down, and Cerberus is still having trouble with Scary Face, but he… he honestly scared me with how fast he perfected Crunch." Hecate rapidly nodded in agreement. It had taken him less than a day.

  That was terrifying!

  It wasn't like Artemis, who had finally been permitted to train. She seemed like a prodigy for certain Moves, but that was because they were bite Moves. Her other moves barely functioned, and were far from battle-ready. Her Dragon Tail was so pathetic that Seraphina actually acted as her practice dummy sometimes. It let her get more used to taking blows, and there was an almost total lack of type energy damage. Hecate barely had to heal her.

  Her Bite, though? Two days. It was insane, but expected for her evolutionary line.

  "Artemis learned Bite, but she's trying too hard to do everything now that her mom lets her train. She's my next stop, actually. I need to make her rest." Hecate gave me a sympathetic pat on the knee with her hair and I winced.

  Tyrunts, Tyrantrums, and prehistoric Pokemon in general did not like flimsy, weak humans telling them what to do, more than modern Pokemon, even. Especially when they weren't their trainer. She loved me to death, I had no doubt in my mind of that fact, but her love for me and her willingness to obey my commands were two very different things.

  Or her willingness to stop a tantrum.

  I had found that yes, Artemis would throw a tantrum when I told her to take a break, no, she wouldn't hurt me, and no, Leto wouldn't help me stop her. Ever. She never told her daughter anything, and I knew what she was doing. What better way to train a Dragon Tamer than to have her deal with a dragon child's tantrums? A child of a species known for them?

  "Seraphina got Sweet Scent and Nasty Plot combat-ready, but her Incinerate is… it needs work. She still did amazingly, learning Nasty Plot that fast!" Hecate nodded in agreement, smiling happily. Sweet Scent was practically Seraphina's birthright, no surprise she had picked that one up almost instantly.

  "They're all doing so well, aren't they?" She nodded happily, then frowned as she felt me tense a bit in preparation.

  "Sweetie, nobody has said anything, but I think I can guess close enough why you hate fairies." She shivered, but nodded at me. I sat down on the ground from my crouch, pulling her into my lap.

  "I don't need to know the story. I'm not going to tell you how to live, what to do. I know what Erin would say, though. I've heard her say it before." She looked up at me hopefully. I thought, no visible eyes made it hard to really tell.

  "She said that it's easier to accept who and what you are than to deny it. That she knew from experience." She looked down and I hugged her gently for a while. Eventually she hopped out of my arms and began slowly, carefully forming a Dazzling Gleam.

  I smiled happily at the sight. Hecate was normally the easiest of Erin's Pokemon to help train, but we had all seen this coming. I didn't need to know to see.

  I looked around the meadow we were training in, listening for the sounds of adorable roars. It didn't take me long to find Artemis.

  She was trying to multitask her Move training. It was more common than not, in fact, but generally you learn the beginnings of a Move first. Get it unleashing at least somewhat consistently before trying to mix it into training with something else.

  Artemis was trying to Roar as she ran around the edge of the large meadow we had traveled to. An extremely easy move to dual train, actually, even if Roar was completely untrained. It was just sound. She was also using Ancient Power. A complicated move all on its own, a powerful, versatile move with near-infinite variety and implementation. Certainly one best trained close to perfection alone before you even attempted to practice it with another Move.

  The Rock Throw's were so pitiful that she might truly have just been knocking a lot of rocks and dirt around and I was mistaken. I think she was also trying to combine Tail Whip with Dragon Tail as well, as normal and draconic energy flickered up and down its length.

  If I was being honest, her control over the dual energy was amazing, and I would have to figure out how to compliment her on that. Truly, it was… She might be some sort of multi-tasking prodigy, in fact. It was utterly insane that her control was that good while doing everything she was, especially at her age and experience.

  Unfortunately for her, Tail Whip only activated if the tail struck more than once in rapid succession. To do that, you sacrificed a lot of power for speed. Dragon Tail? You only got one strike before the energy was discharged. Her little combo Move was unfortunately worthless. Even if she used it, the Dragon Tail would have no power behind it, and the Tail Whip almost certainly wouldn't activate.

  "Artemis!" She stopped Roaring long enough to glare at me, never stopping her run. She knew what I was here for.

  "You will come over here, young lady! If you hurt yourself, I'll ban you from training tomorrow!" Her face grew furious and she charged at me. I had been given permission to discipline Artemis by Leto, but I had to enforce my own punishments, of course…

  I wasn't insane like Erin, though, and they both knew that. She didn't actually strike me, never would, but she did Bite less than an inch from my leg as she ran by, before starting to circle me like I was prey. There was never even the beginnings of a flinch, though. I had to stop the smile that wanted to form at her little display, actually. I needed to be firm.

  "That was a great Bite! You're still panting, though, and moving really slowly. I know you don't worry about hurting yourself-" She nodded rapidly, still glaring at me as she 'hunted' me. "-but what about hurting your training?" She actually skidded to a halt, her clawed feet tearing up soil and grass, and stared at me in disbelieving horror.

  Fuck yes! Go me!

  "I'll have Rotom show you the proof later, but if you train too much, instead of your muscles getting big and strong when you rest, they get all… torn up and weak. You don't see anyone else not taking a break, do you?" She shook her head at me sullenly, breathing hard.

  "That's because they listened to Erin." She drooped and I quickly crouched next to her, giving her a hug. She was finally fully grown, but I had the feeling she wasn't going to stop at a normal size. She was Erin's sister, and Erin didn't do normal.

  She rubbed her cheek against mine, probably causing some scratches, but I didn't care. Her big sister still hadn't woken up after she had… dealt with that horror. We could both use some comfort.

  "She's going to be fine, you know that. She's probably in there hunting down the personified representation of her coma right now. She'll beat its head in with a dream rock, eat it, and wake up holding its bloody skin. You know that as well as I do." She laughed, a horribly disconcerting sound from her wide jaws an inch from my face, but I barely noticed. I had gotten used to a lot recently.

  "I know you want to be powerful. You want to help, to do things, right?" She nodded against me.

  "I know, and trust me, I feel the same way. You know me!" She nodded again and I laughed. "Trust us when we say these things, sweetie. We're going to help you out as much as possible, you know that, but you can't just rush around trying every Move all at once. I will say though, the way you're combining normal and draconic energy while doing all that other stuff is… insane, little girl." She perked up and pulled away from me, looking into my eyes.

  "I'm serious! You might be gifted at combining energies, or just multitasking in general! We'll do some tests, okay?" She nodded at me, so happy and eager. I hated that I had to do this.

  "Your combination will cancel each other out, though. If you don't believe me, try it out on a tree or something." Here it comes…

  Yep, the tantrum. It was a short one, and she just stomped her feet a few times before rushing to a tree, but still. I don't know if I should feel proud it was so short, or disappointed it happened at all. Probably proud. She was a Tyrunt, she honestly had amazing self control for her age. She had gotten worse for a few days after… Erin, but now she was back to normal.

  I watched her move fizzle out and do no damage, and then the real tantrum began, and her jaws began to radiate a dark aura. Nope, tantrums don't get to use Moves!

  "Artemis! You will not use Moves during a tantrum! Do you understand me, young lady?!" The dark snarl that turned my way would have terrified me two weeks ago. After that thing, after Erin, after Fraxure and Leto and Maddy and Charizard?

  I folded my arms and scowled at her, causing her to pause. It took her a moment, but the energy dissipated from her jaws, and she lowered her raised foot slowly. I smiled at her.

  "Good job, sweetheart. I know that wasn't easy." She nodded at me tightly before she darted away. I held my tongue, though. She was heading for the basket, and her giant mother who was even now watching. I met Leto's eyes and she nodded at me.

  It was hard to describe the feeling when a notorious, literal maneater was proud of you, but that was the look in her staring, approving eyes.

  It felt really good, though.

  —

  I really hoped that Raihan's birthday gift he had been not-so-subtly hinting about was one of those huge tents. Maybe a really nice travel pavilion. Those could come with AC too, right? It wasn't that hot yet, but in another week it would be too warm to sleep comfortably outside, before it rapidly turned miserable. We weren't Hoenn or Alola, but Kanto got hot, too.

  It was rapidly becoming too warm to sleep with Leto and the others without AC. Blankets? You mean oven fabric? Sheets? Foil to cook my body? Leto? My heating pad?

  I refused to let her sleep alone, though.

  She had been the quietest after the cavern out of everyone. I knew she had felt so powerless there, in the seat of that horror's power, surrounded by its aura. She had been so deathly quiet as she watched her daughter break herself over and over again for total strangers. She hadn't fought being returned. She hadn't… done anything. She acted normal, but when she was idle her eyes always drifted towards my bedroom window.

  So that first night, when I had brought my pillow up to her in the backyard, she hadn't really looked at me. Her eyes barely moved, but she had shifted to let me snuggle into her. She had actually hugged me briefly before I fell asleep. She hadn't said anything, but I knew she was grateful.

  Erin's team wasn't happy they couldn't all sleep with her, but Nurse Joy's orders were firm. Kallen, Hecate and Seraphina were generally the only ones able to sleep with Erin, Kallen because he floated, Hecate and Seraphina because they were so light. They took turns so it didn't cause too much jealousy with the others. The others, and those not 'on duty', had all taken to sleeping with me as well, but Clefairy fought them all for the cuddling spot in front of me.

  Well, she had. It was way too hot for that, now. Only Seraphina was fine, but she slept on Leto's snout usually. She didn't want to be crushed in her sleep in the usual pile.

  I groaned and rolled off of Leto's stomach, letting myself flop to the ground. I did my best Slugma impression, inching my way across the ground, before I felt minor relief from the heat as I escaped the tarps and got a minor breeze all the way down here.

  I opened my eyes and stared up at the stars overhead as I felt sweat run down my back, my neck, my face. I would have to go inside. I couldn't do this when there was an option, Leto or no Leto. Even mom had closed the windows this afternoon.

  I didn't do that yet, though. Instead, I tried my best not to think. Not to remember, as I stared up at the stars and tried desperately not to compare them to that stunningly beautiful walk into that den of horrors, that tunnel of stars we had so casually journeyed through.

  I know that something had happened in that terrifying instant of time between the lights, the fake lights, going out, and the sudden harsh glare of light impossibly everywhere. I somehow doubted there had been a shadow in my nose, it had been so all-encompassing. Not that it had been real. It had been like that thing turned darkness itself to light. Fake light.

  I knew something had happened, because you didn't lose that much blood from your facial orifices in an instant, and I had known by the look on my moms face she had witnessed it, somehow. I didn't know what it had done to her in that endless instant, just the results.

  I had seen what it had done after, though.

  It let me see. It had showed me, let me sense it through my mind, like a filter over reality that showed me what was actually there, what was actually happening before our eyes. I wish I'd been strong enough not to look. It hadn't forced me, that would go against something, likely Erin's mysterious bargain, but it knew I would be curious. Most life was. It had been as subtle as a box propped up with a stick, the invitation to see. To watch.

  To understand what was happening to my otherworldly mentor, to my friend, right before my eyes.

  I knew I shouldn't have, but I'd been so worried about her… And then I couldn't stop watching.

  My mom hadn't seen what I had seen. She had only seen the blood.

  When a fae communed with someone it was an invasion. Even Clefairy, who I had developed a real friendship with and trust of, was an invader in my mind and always would be. Our first interactions had been the equivalent of her breaking down the gates to my mind with a battering ram. After? The gates had been down, and even after I rebuilt them, she knew how to bypass the gates now. She wasn't… allowed in and never would be, not in such terms even if I didn't care when she entered these days, or when she just hung out in there, but my mind had stopped reacting to her. She wasn't trying to cause pain when we first communed, it had just been a byproduct until my minds 'walls' adapted to the pressure.

  That Clefable hadn't just broken down the gates of Erin's mind. It had thoroughly demolished the walls of her mind themselves section by careful section, piece by piece, brick by brick, shattering the foundations when it had finally finished. Then it had enveloped her body and mind completely with its mind.

  Then it had squeezed her.

  That was all. Just squeezed.

  It had squeezed her like a fruit, just hard enough to the point she began to burst from her skin, literal and mental, and then it had held her there the entire time I had been conscious. Right over the brink, mentally and physically, but forced to endure it.

  It had tormented her mentally and physically the whole time she was there, not just the pain of communion, and somehow she hadn't been screaming the entire time, likely due to her bargain so that she could function. Every time I heard her groan it was another blade of communion straight into her unprotected, vice-gripped, crumbling mind. Every surge of blood from her nose was her body desperately, frantically telling her that it was dying, and that she needed to flee.

  It had ensured she survived the experience, I assumed due to the mysterious bargain they had made. Instead of killing her, it had literally pushed her past what the human body could handle, should be capable of handling, and held her together only through its power to manipulate reality. It had extracted as much pain from her as was possible before we had left, sent in an instant to one of the few places where Erin would survive her experience.

  She had somehow made a deal with it. One that nobody knew, but my mom certainly suspected some things. I had seen her return from calling Looker and Raihan. She had been too pale to not have some idea.

  My Clefairy could now mediate true contracts. Somehow. Even if that was supposed to be a power found only in the leaders of a region's fae species. I doubted there was another of the Clefairy line in the entirety of Indigo that could do it. My fae was poised to be a helper, and she looked forward to it.

  Erin… Erin wanted to matter. She wanted to have an impact beyond 'strong trainer'. She wanted so desperately to be a force for good, and as I laid there under the stars I found myself praying she woke up soon. Again. We still hadn't even talked, not after I had… been abandoned. Except, I had abandoned her too, hadn't I? Leto had as well.

  I don't think I would ever be able to truly forgive her for leaving me that night, nor would I ever get the image of their backs fading into the darkness to go away, but I had forgiven as much as I possibly could. That was just who Erin was, and who she would continue to be. Me and mom would give her as much assistance as we could, though.

  She didn't have to do it alone, even if she acted like it.

  I just wished we could tell her that.