The flight back to Northpoint hadn’t been a kind one. Though winter was fading, the northern winds never lost their energy. Today was no exception to the rule: Gales battered the two dragons as they fled from the Smaugus’ fortress, keeping their bags in tow. Sefonia managed to fly straight, but Blitzer struggled to keep his wings steady. The Charizard veered off course, and the left side of his body tipped downwards. Skal had beat him black and blue. His torso burned inside.

  ‘Skal. I can’t believe it, I really can’t.’ Blitzer squeezed his eyes, shielding them with a claw. He sucked in a breath, then shuddered. ‘I thought we were friends. That we respected each other, at least…’

  Though alive and without broken bones, Blitzer had something ripped out of him. Skal then tore it apart, with him having the best seat in the house. All that time spent listening to the Aggron’s lessons, laughing at his bad jokes, and all the great stories he had to tell of the hijinx he’d gotten up to. Not to mention, all the tales from the Rubyfolk he shared. Those couple of weeks weren’t enough to learn everything, but the Aggron sure tried back when he cared.

  Did he ever?

  Blitzer sighed his breath back out, before drawing in another. To some, this was water under the bridge. Of course those days were over. Just as the days of blue skies were; even the clouds had a purple tint these days. Not as dark as a clear sky, but it was there. The Charizard glanced up. You don’t notice these things until you reflect on them. You don’t mourn what was lost without reflecting, either.

  ‘I guess we’re enemies for real, aren’t we? All over his new faith. Renegade, Anomalies, Corruption, whatever you call ‘em. Skal’s not alive anymore. I mean, he is. Just not the Skal I knew.’ He exhaled, his face souring. ‘Was he ever alive to begin with?’

  In silent contemplation, he flew with Sefonia back to safety. For now, the Corrupted assault on Swablu’s Rest was over. But they would be back. Time and numbers weren’t in the Crest’s favor.

  It wasn’t until Blitzer and Sefonia had ridden the winds back to Northpoint that the latter said anything. “How are you feeling?” she asked, her voice masked by the wind. Blitzer raised a claw in a half shrug; he meant to point towards his ear holes.

  “I can’t hear you!”

  “Wait, we’ll land in town, then!”

  By in town, Sefonia meant outside. Northpoint lived under a strict wartime regime, and flight had been strictly regulated. No one flew straight in, and no one flew straight out. Either you’d land at the designated areas outside the walls, or some green scarves got to play target practice with you. After all, what didn’t identify itself wasn’t bound to be friendly.

  So they landed, and made their way through security with no issues. The Marowak and the Glaceon at the front recognised them, even though they didn’t wear scarves. The latter gave some lip as they headed in. Blitzer frowned as the gate closed behind them, limping his way into town.

  “Ugh. I don’t want to wear any scarf, let alone a green one,” he snapped. “Is that so hard to understand?”

  Sefonia folded her arms. “For them? Absolutely. Look at all the other Soldiers,” she said, pointing in two opposite directions with her antennae.

  Blitzer shook his head. “I know. It’s just-”

  “The history,” Sefonia filled in. “I understand. You’ve got a history with the Crest, and we’ve got no other options besides working with them.” She clicked her tongue, the claws on her feet clicking on the cobbles as they entered the market square. “But denial doesn’t help either, does it? Like it or not, we’re Soldiers now.”

  The Charizard shivered. “I- I know that,” he stammered. Lying to himself was even less in his interest. “I just… hope something good will come from all of this, that’s all.” ‘Finding my parents, fixing the world, finding George… If he’s even alive anymore. About as much chance as my parents.’

  The Dragonite turned her back, keeping her tail straight. “Survival’s good enough,” she said, then turned back. “How do you feel? Do you need a doctor?”

  “I-it can wait,” Blitzer groaned out, limping another step. The flame on his tail crackled in defiance of his body. “We need to report first, right? I have some Power Crystal pieces. We should bring them to Dritch.”

  “Mhm,” hummed Sefonia, tilting her head. “Why she needs to be the middle woman, I don’t know.”

  “Probably to keep the crystal research a secret,” Blitzer suggested, trying to pitch his head backwards, only to awaken a pain in his spine. “Ow…”

  Sefonia grimaced. “Probably. Alright, first Dritch, then we get you to a doctor. Yes?”

  “Good idea.”

  * * *

  Much like the last time Blitzer was in the cathedral, it was empty, sans a few other Pokemon. A handful of caretakers, some religious folk praying on the benches or straw piles lining the long yellow carpets, and one Metagross trapped in meditation… until the dragons approached. Her first instruction was to follow her to some place quieter.

  Deep inside the cathedral, away from the stained glass windows and solemn echoes, Dritch took them to a room big enough to fit all three, one lacking furniture besides a table; on said table lay an open book. They had to go down a slope to get there; Blitzer groaned on his way down. She wasn’t making it easy on them.

  Once in the room, Blitzer dug into his bag for the two shards. At least they had survived the journey: he presented them to Dritch with both claws, his tail flame dimming. Sefonia stared at the crystals without looking Dritch in the eyes. The Metagross gave them one good look over, before pulling her eyes back up.

  “Mediocre.”

  Blitzer’s nerves got the better of him; he bared his teeth, his heart skipping a beat afterwards. Any Metagross would know what a dragon baring his teeth meant, yet he couldn’t stop himself. “But we went to hell and back to get these.”

  Dritch blinked at him. “Indeed you have,” she said, raising a leg towards the Charizard’s legs; he was putting more of his weight on the right. “You did your best, I imagine. But our goals cannot be changed. We require far more Power Crystals, if we are to crack their code.”

  Sefonia exhaled uneasily, her gaze shifting towards the gray brick walls boxing them in. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

  The Metagross’ attention became divided. “Strange. You were aware of this already. But let us not dwell on it. How come you were not able to retrieve more?”

  “They had reinforcements,” Sefonia said. “Far too many for us two to handle. We did the best we could, we reached the crystal, but it wasn’t enough. And.” she gulped. “Their leader was there.”

  Dritch raised her body. “Aggron Skal, I take it?”

  “Mhm,” Blitzer nervously hummed, his feet jittery. “He… caught me off guard. I tried to fight back, but...” He fell quiet, and shook his head.

  Dritch interpreted the silence as her cue to speak. “So he is the cause of your injuries, I see. Understandable,” she answered, a mechanical whirring noise emanating from her body. “He is not to be underestimated. I had an unfortunate encounter with one of his strength, as you can see.”

  The cracks running down the Metagross’ face glowed for a second. Blitzer and Sefonia both recoiled. Knowing the damage she had healed from, they could count their lucky stars.

  “I don’t know how to beat him,” Blitzer admitted. “Neither of us do.”

  “Were you prepared to encounter him?” Dritch asked.

  “No,” Sefonia said. “We had split up when we got into their base.”

  “Why?”

  “We were worried about them trapping us inside. There were too many of them.”

  A flash of red passed through Dritch’s eyes, before she shook her body in disapproval. “Curious. For someone of your skills, Dragonite, I assumed you knew better than to split up. You are only making yourselves weaker against many.”

  Sefonia gritted her teeth. “T-there were too many of them,” she said, her tail flopping on the floor. “You can’t hold it against us.”

  Dritch raised her body. “Tell me about the structure of this base. How wide were its corridors?”

  The Dragonite hesitated; Blitzer grimaced. ‘Oh no.’ he thought. Sefonia had supplied Dritch with enough ammunition to blast both of them to pieces.

  “Two abreast?”

  “Understood. And the rooms?”

  “...Large enough to fit at least twenty Pokemon inside? Of our size, that is.”

  “And there you have it,” Dritch said, her voice deadpan as could be. “Thank you for your honesty. But I’m afraid these results were predictable from the beginning. Had you chosen to stay together, you would have had better odds against Aggron Skal, and all of his Corrupted henchmen. Perhaps you would have left with more of the Power Crystal.”

  Sefonia’s eyes twitched. “How could you know we wouldn’t have died?” she asked, fists clenched. She was brave enough to protest. But alas, throwing out everything including the kitchen sink blurred the message. She rebelled to rebel, in a sense.

  Dritch’s eyes narrowed before she spoke.. “Hmpf. Pray do tell, did you believe splitting up would lead to a higher chance of survival? Unlikely. You know this yourself. You are trained. You are smarter than this. Do not take out your anger on me. You have plenty of yourself to be frustrated with.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Grr…” Sefonia retreated, looking as injured as Blitzer was.

  The Charizard busied himself by nursing an aching spot on his side; standing in his room was doing him no favours.

  Dritch’s eyes returned to their normal, expressionless stare. “Heed. One lecture on tactics would do wonders for the both of you. I suggest taking one before heading out again. Aggron Skal, and all the rest of our foes must be brought down. I will not accept them bringing you two down instead. And Blitzer?”

  “Y-yes?” The Charizard damn near jumped, before a stinging pain in his leg brought him back to Eravate. “Ow!”

  “May I suggest you head for the doctor? Disabilities help no one.”

  “Yeah,” he grumbled. ‘Thanks a lot, captain. I’d never have thought of that.’

  * * *

  So much for love and support. After handing the two shards of Power Crystal over, Blitzer and Sefonia limped their way out of the cathedral, and headed for the main clinic in town. A ‘hospital’, it was named. Blitzer hadn’t been too familiar with that word. Apparently, a previous Othersider had brought it to Eravate with them. Any talk of Othersiders was rough on the ears these days, alas.

  In the time the two dragons were inside the cathedral, a lost snowfall made its way down from the heavens. After all these months, Blitzer could puke. Most of it melted upon contact with the cobbles, but he’d seen more than enough white flakes to last a lifetime. Sefonia wasn’t bothered, even with Dragonite less resilient to the cold weather by nature. For Blitzer though, a long bath in a hot spring sounded just about dandy right now.

  But alas, injuries were injuries, and letting them fester wasn’t an option. Sefonia helped Blitzer hobble the last few steps towards the hospital, and brought him to sit before the first doctor that could see him; an Indeedee. Being a Soldier had its perks, a short waiting time at the hospital being one of them. You didn’t want injured fighters stranded in a lobby during wartime, after all.

  “Hm. A lot of bruises, but nothing internal, fortunately,” the Indeedee doctor concluded after a checkup. Blitzer’s reaction to the news was to grimace; Sefonia on the other hand, pumped her arms behind his back.

  “Yes!”

  “Err, what do you mean, nothing internal? I feel hurt.”

  The Charizard swallowed as the Indeedee stood up on his stool, making direct eye contact with their patient. He kept his tail curled around his side, careful not to take up too much floorspace; he was awfully self conscious about this sitting down.

  “Simple. No bleeding, no broken bones to speak of. You’ve taken quite the battering, my friend. But coming out of combat looking just a little roughed up? That is quite the fortunate outcome during wartime.”

  Blitzer breathed out in relief, his head dropping a little. “Phew… uh, but I can’t just go back out there, can I? Sure, they’re just bruises, but-”

  The doctor nodded, one eye raised. “Patience, I was getting to that. You’ve got no serious injuries, but I suggest taking a few days to recuperate. It shouldn’t take long for the pain to heal, as the marks are quite stable. No need to keep you bed bound, but do not strain yourself. It’s best to stay in Northpoint for a while.”

  “Yes. Err, understood, rather,” the Charizard stuttered, sucking in his belly lest that looked overexposed. Given the way the doctor now tilted his head, he felt right to assume the worst on that front. “So… thanks, doctor?”

  The Indeedee raised a hand. “No need to thank me, I’m only doing my job. Though, do you mind if I request something?”

  “N-not at all.”

  “Please, do come alone next time. It’s a little stressful to do my job when someone’s watching my every move.”

  Now it was the doctor’s time to gulp, as he pointed over Blitzer’s shoulder. From the corner of his eye, he could see Sefonia folding her arms in defiance, one antenna pitching up, the other pitching down. For a split second, Blitzer grimaced; it didn’t take long for both his claws to cover his teeth.

  “Y-yes, my apologies, doctor.”

  Sefonia groaned. “Blitz…”

  * * *

  Sometime after being let go by the doctor, Blitzer and Sefonia walked from one end of the clinic to another. It took about a minute or so; several buildings had been stitched together, walkways having replaced the walls in between. Most of the signage in the parts adjacent to the main building had been tacked on, looking as ad hoc as the rest of the connection. Once the war was over, the hospital would either be expanded properly, or restored back to the old condition, Blitzer imagined. For now, the luxury to complain about poor rune writing wasn’t theirs.

  “Creator almighty, how can you let him push you over like that?” Sefonia grumbled, patting her fellow down across the arm. “I have the right to keep an eye on you, damn it!”

  Blitzer licked at his gums, his tail flame dimming. “Well, you do, yes, but… I also don’t want to make the doctor uncomfortable. They didn’t ask to have to deal with us, and we’re the ones barging in demanding their help. And uh,” he fiddled with his words, “they did say they were under pressure, right? What if those nerves made them do a sloppy job?”

  Sefonia shook her head, her tail brushing up against Blitzer’s. “Nonsense. If he can’t handle having me around, maybe he shouldn’t be a doctor. Simple as! What, does he believe we’re going to eat him? We’re dragons, not ferals.”

  The Charizard reeled from hertouch. “I don’t think we’re doing ourselves any favours with unnecessary drama. It’s not even about us being intimidating.” He bit his tongue, but drew no blood. ‘But I don’t blame them if they are…‘ “It’s a hard job. We should be grateful, and not complicate things.”

  The Dragonite breathed in deep. “I don’t think I was complicating things. I really don’t,” she said, staring at the spruce panelling covering the walls.

  “But everyone sees things differently,” Blitzer said. “You yourself don’t like it when high expectations are on your shoulders, right? Like the Smaugus always did. So why are you doing it here?”

  “I-” Sefonia raised a digit to respond, but stopped before the claws on her feet clicked against the floor. She lowered her head, and sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just… it’s not fun, hearing you’re not wanted nearby. Or heck, being told to leave when my best friend’s hurt.”

  “Mhm,” Blitzer said. They passed a couple just before stopping at a door, the Sneasel supporting the Zorua as they walked, for as much as a biped could help a quadruped walk.

  “The Smaugus were really bad on that front, weren’t they?”

  “Pretty much,” Sefonia said, biting her tongue. “So… you said Speedy’s in the hospital right now, isn’t he?”

  Blitzer nodded. “Should be right here. Room 37. Apparently, he’s got a broken foot, and they’re keeping him here so he can heal.”

  Sefonia bared her teeth. “Ouch. That doesn’t sound fun. Shall we say hi?”

  The Charizard shrugged, before reaching for the door’s handle. “That’s the whole reason we’re here. Let’s go,” he said, winking while pulling the door towards him. He had to take a step back to get it fully open, their frames unsuitable to slip in discretely.

  For a brief moment, their wings touched alongside their tails; a warm flush went up to Blitzer’s head.

  ‘Gah! Focus! don’t let him see you like this!’

  Given the creaking door and weight of their footfalls, the two Pokemon in the room turned to face them as they entered. One was Speedy, resting on a bed of straws with the tip of his tail beside his head. The second was a Pikachu standing over him, a shocked look on his face. Blitzer’s eyes went wide open.

  ‘Is that-’

  “Blitzer! Come on in!”

  Speedy waved at the two dragons with a smile on his face. He looked cozy, half buried under a cloth sheet.

  The Pikachu, on the other hand? His jaw had fallen open, like a ghost had just come through the door.“Wait, Blitzer? That is Blitzer?!”

  “It sure is!” the Dragonite behind him replied. “And his pal, too! Pal means friend, right?”

  “Y-yeah?”

  Speaking of ghosts, Junior now resembled one himself, from where Blitzer was standing at least. Heck, all that’s missing was the fur turning solid white… or a dark gray. One toe out of line, and he’d start zapping. Blitzer gulped.

  “S-say, I know this is weird and all, but it’s just me- ack!”

  Sefonia seized Blitzer by the elbow before he could finish. So much for a careful approach; two seconds later, they had joined Speedy by the bed, his son pinning himself against a wall, much to the Charizard’s discomfort. The Raichu chuckled watching it all unfold.

  “Now, now! Don’t get all jumpy like that, Junior.” He said, his tail patting the straws. “It’s okay! You know him, they’re both good people.”

  Junior folded his ears backwards. “O-Okay… um, hello?” he said, waving a half-raised paw. “I-It’s uh, it’s me. I’m Junior. Hi.”

  “Hi there, Junior!” Sefonia got onto a knee, smiling. “Nice to meet you, I’m Sefonia! Your dad’s told me a lot about you. Says you’re quite the rascal, right?” She winked at Speedy.

  “N-no,” the Pikachu stammered, glancing towards the bed. “Dad?”

  Speedy rolled onto his side, having jammed a paw between his head and the straws. “Hahaha. Junior, she’s just playin’. Of course I like to rib a little, you know that. Well, she does too! And you know I can’t just lie to folks, right?”

  The Pikachu’s cheeks sparked. “Dad!”

  “Whoa, easy there, buddy!” Speedy shifted back a little. “It’s only a joke, that’s al!. Why don’t you tell them about yourself?”

  Junior idled for a while, his eyes going back and forth between the dragons while he fidgeted around with both paws, twiddling tiny strands of fur together. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, some encouragement from Speedy aside.

  Blitzer kept his mouth behind lock and key; with Sefonia distracted, he slowly shuffled backwards to the other side of the room, lest he’d make a mess of things. Junior hadn’t been the easiest to get along with growing up. But that didn’t give him any rights to get some payback. He felt sick thinking about it. What could he even say to him?

  The Pikachu looked like he wanted to run. “Dad?” he whispered, voice low in his throat.

  “Yes, son?”

  “Can I go?”

  Speedy tapped the side of his cheek a few times, before nodding. “If that’s what you want, sure. Don’t feel pressured, alright?”

  Junior frowned. “Thanks, dad…” he muttered, heading towards the door with his eyes fixed to the floor. When the Pikachu reached for the lowest handle, however, he turned back for a moment. “Um… you’re Blitzer, right?”

  The Charizard in question jolted upwards, his heart having skipped a beat. “Y-yes, that’s me. It’s… been a while, hasn’t it?” he said, trying to keep his mouth from moving as he talked.

  “Um, do you, do you want to meet outside? B-by the tree, behind the building,” the Pikachu asked, his voice as meek as his stature. Blitzer nodded, slow and steady.

  “Sure?” ‘I hope he’s not scared of me, after everything’

  “S-see you soon, then.”

  The Pikachu opened the door and sidestepped out, shutting it behind him. Once he was gone, Sefonia turned her head away from the door. “I didn’t say anything bad, did I?”

  Speedy reached out to touch her on the arm, groaning as he pushed himself upright. “Ngh, not at all. My boy’s always been rather shy, even before the Corrupted started taking over. You can imagine what it’s like for him now.” He shook his head, his ears flicking backwards. “Who thought that one little arrest would take us here, huh.”

  “Arrest?” Blitzer tilted his head. ‘Does he mean what I think he means?’

  “We can talk about that later, if you want to.” The Raichu laid himself back down. “Personally though? I’d rather not ramble about the hand we’ve been dealt while stuck in bed. Heck, this foot’s bad enough as is,” he chuckled. “Speaking of feet, what happened to yours, big boy?”

  “Eh?” Blitzer glanced down. All the tension had made him lean on his right leg, again. “Oh, uh, long story.”

  The Raichu’s ears perked up. “Well, go on! Don’t keep me waiting! You’re not the waiting kind, are you?” he quipped, much to Sefonia’s amusement.

  “Yep, you do the honors, Blitz!”

  The Charizard grumbled. ‘Some honor this is…’

  Over the next few minutes, Blitzer and Speedy traded injuries with each other, Sefonia chiming in on a few things for context. She added Skal to Blitzer’s story, as he’d left the Aggron out altogether. He preferred not overcomplicating things, given their history, but that would be leaving the whole story on the table. Explaining it anyway was annoying at first, but worthwhile halfway through. Who was he, hiding things from his neighbor? That’s no village spirit.

  Speedy, meanwhile, explained the story behind his broken foot. It wasn’t spectacular; he got a little too excited chasing after a grunt during a battle, and ended up sticking his foot into a ditch, bending it like a twig. He said he’d experienced worse. Still wasn’t fun, of course, but at least. Blitzer could breathe easily.

  ‘At least he didn’t get chewed up. Plenty of Anomalies who’d gladly do that to him out there. Though “been through worse”? Guess I’ll have to ask him about that someday. When he’s not in the hospital, that is.’

  “So yeah, there you have it. Been a rough week, I’ll say that much!” Speedy chuckled to himself. “So how’s your time on the front been? Do you work together? Got anyone else helpin’ you?” he asked rapid fire.

  Sefonia tucked her wings in, then folded her arms. “Just the two of us, sad to say.”

  The Raichu raised an eyebrow. “Just the two of you? What about the Marshadow girl. Sisu?”

  Upon hearing the name, Blitzer bared his upper teeth for a second. “She… uh, she’s been busy? We haven’t seen her in a while.”

  The Dragonite rose back to her feet. “Don’t ask us how she works,” she said, nodding at Blitzer. “She’s got all sorts of obligations she never tells us about. Or something. She’ll just disappear for long stretches of time. Actually, we were wondering if you’d seen her.”

  Speedy shook his head. “Nah. You’ll have to ask Dritch, or somethin’... don’t know where the heck she’s been, either. Think I did spot her a few times ‘round the front, though. Not sure what she was up to, never got the chance to ask.”

  Sefonia blew air out of her nose. “Blegh. Rotten luck, is what you call that… actually no, that’s not rotten luck! What’s her whole deal, even? Having someone else we can count on would help us. A lot.”

  “Couldn’t you ask some of the other Soldiers?” Speedy said, then whistled, his tail flicking sideways. “Fellow Soldiers! Didn’t think I’d ever say that one again, hah.”

  Blitzer grimaced. ‘Yeah… you too, huh.’

  “I don’t know who we can trust,” Sefonia said. “Between the two of us? Most Soldiers are stubborn. Or too weak. It’s too dangerous to get them involved.”

  The Raichu hummed. “Mhm. Gotcha. Just askin’. But it’s either the Marshadow, or no one. Am I hearing that right?”

  “Pretty much.” The Dragonite bit her tongue. “Her being one of the mythical ones is interesting enough, but I’ve seen what she’s capable of… but ugh! Can’t believe someone like that is also that much of a brat. You’ve heard how she talks, right?”

  “Mhm!” Speedy nodded along. “Sounds like something you two should sort out one day, eh.”

  “I guess so,” Blitzer half growled, his facial expression souring halfway through. ‘Can I just stop. Growling already!’

  The Raichu then relaxed on the straws, looking straight at the ceiling for a while before picking the conversation back up. In the interlude, Blitzer finally placed the smell hanging in the room. A little old, a little funky, the typical Pikachu and Raichu smell too, of course. But it was all drowned out by something familiar, which he finally remembered.

  Old bread and baked eggs.

  “Phew! What a mouthful, eh. Say, since we’re all here, why don’t we chat for a while longer, eh? Got plenty of fun stories from ages ago, you don’t wanna miss em!” Speedy said, poking Sefonia on the back of her claw. The Dragonite’s antennae perked up.

  “Sure! Got nothing better to do, after all.”

  Speedy went on to tell stories that Blitzer had long heard from him. They were no less exciting nowadays than years before, casual as they were. Young or old, the Raichu had a knack for storytelling. The issue was, Blitzer struggled to show much enthusiasm for it this time around. He did his best, and Sefonia being an attentive listener helped him hide that.

  But he’d promised his time to a different ‘chu. And he was waiting for him.