Cactuses: A Story That's Not About Cactuses

Spoiler

I'll write more of this when I feel like it and when I have the time. So, this will probably not update frequently at all. Don't expect amazing quality out of this, this is literally just here for shits and giggles.

22/2/16: Upped the rating from E+ to T

Current rating: T for cursing and dark content. Consistent dark content will be marked with a blue chapter title.

Warning: this is mostly silly.


Chapter 1: In which we totally have always had chapter titles, what are you talking about. No, this was not just now edited in. Move along.


Timothy walked out of the Pokémon laboratory, a joyful grin on his face. The starly were chirping, the shinx were mewling in the fields, and the bidoof were making absolutely horrific choking noises and running into trees. It was another beautiful day in the Sinnoh region, made even better by the significance of the day to little Timothy.

He brought out his Pokéball, tossing it excitedly. "Go, Twiggsy!" He cried, and a turtwig materialized in front of him. The boy and his Pokémon beamed brightly at each other before the boy leaned down and patted the turtwig on the head. "You and me are gonna be the greatest team ever, Twiggsy!"

Twiggsy happily cheered, and the pair walked into the tall grass. They walked along confidently, seeing all sorts of Pokémon happily frolicking in the grass. Eventually, they came across a small starly pecking at the ground. Timothy pointed at it confidently, and Twiggsy looked at Timothy nervously.

"Don't worry!" Timothy told Twiggy, "It's too low of a level to have learned a flying type move yet! You can defeat it and get stronger!"

Twiggy nodded back, now sharing his trainer's confidence. Twiggy cried a battle cry, before charging in a tackle at the starly.

Immediately the mother Staraptor that was watching her baby swooped down and executed a brave bird attack on Twiggy and Timothy, sending them both rocketing back into Twinleaf town.

Nearby, a zoroark burst out laughing. "Holy shit!" She guffawed. "Aria, Aria did you see that?"

Aria, the mega absol next to the zoroark, sighed, looking up from a map she was inspecting. "No, Greta. But I'm sure it was hilarious." She sighed, returning her focus to the map.

Greta, the zoroark, snorted. "Some idiot and his first Pokémon just got laid out by a staraptor." She chuckled. "Oh, that was good."

Aria frowned, looking to Greta with concern. "But that's terrible! Are they injured?" She asked.

Greta shrugged. "Does it matter? They're not main characters." She said dismissively.

Aria blinked, staring blankly at Greta. Greta shrugged. "What? I'm not wrong." She said defensively, earning herself a longer blank look.

Aria rolled up the map, gingerly picking it up in her teeth and putting it back in the bag strapped to her back. "Sure, okay. Let's move on now. What we're looking for isn't here anyways."

Greta raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? The locals say this Rowan guy knows a lot about evolution. Maybe he delved into... What we're looking for."

Aria sighed, her wings ruffling. "I'm sure. He never researched mega evolution. He wouldn't know how to help me." She looked down at the mega stone hung in a pendant around her neck, her expression wavering into a frown.

"Oh, okay." Greta said, her tone cheerful. "In which case, let's move on before you become even more of a downer!"

Aria shot Greta a glare. "Yes, let's." She mumbled grumpily, and the two set out across the fields. They walked in silence, calmly forging onwards.

Until Greta swiftly turned and punted a bidoof, the wailing creature shooting above the nearby forest canopy as its call got progressively quieter.

"Would you stop that?!" Aria roared.

 

I lied I had the motivation to update this again. Wheee!

Chapter 2: In which a lot of walking happens, most of which occurs outside of the actual scene, and a trainer gets really unlucky but it's mostly his own fault that he wouldn't just drop it.

Greta frowned. "Hey, we didn't have chapter titles before."

Aria stopped, shooting Greta a confused look. "Huh?"

"The chapter title." Greta said matter-of-factly. "We didn't have one in the first chapter."

"Yes we did." Aria argued. "We've always had chapter titles."

Greta frowned. "No, we really didn't."

Aria looked around conspiratorially. "Shh." She mumbled, picking up the pace.

They had made their way from the more open plain near Sandgem town into the Eterna Forest, and walked in the speckled sunlight shining down through the trees.

"So, what's our next destination?" Greta eventually asked, her tone bored.

"Celestic Town." Aria replied curtly. "I'm going to explain why, and you're probably not going to listen."

"Hit the nail right on the head, there." Greta yawned, stretching her arms before folding her claws behind her head, careful that the motion didn't disturb the cloth wrappings around her forearms.

"Great." Aria sighed. "Well, I want to see if any of the people there know about mega evolution in ancient times before we continue on to Kanto. It's an old town with a lot of history, so it's possible they know some old secrets that can help me get out of this form."

"Mmhmm." Greta mumbled, closing her eyes. "Just tell me when we get there."

Aria smirked. "Should I tell you when we get to the city, or when you run into the tree five feet in front of you?"

Greta snorted. "Very funny." She said. "But I have great spacial awarene-"

Greta was cut off when she hit the tree that had been five feet in front of her.

"Sure you do." Aria chuckled, ignoring her partner's curses as Greta rubbed her snout.

They continued walking, Greta with a sore frown and Aria wearing a smug grin. Eventually, the trees began to thin, and the pair slowed down.

"Hmm, the trees are thinning." Aria observed.

"Duh. The narrative just said that." Greta said sharply, still rubbing her snout.

Aria rolled her eyes. "Well thinning trees probably means humanity. You should get your disguise up."

"Bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh." Greta mumbled, sticking out her tounge at Aria before her appearance shimmered, morphing into that of a female ace trainer.

Aria simply rolled her eyes again. "You're such a child." She sighed.

"Your mom's a child." Greta muttered back.

Aria snorted. "Why do I even bother with you."

Greta was almost through formulating a response when she heard a yell of excitement from a short distance away. A young trainer with a bug catching net ran up to Greta, striking a pose.

"Hey, I'm a trainer and you're a trainer and you walked in front of me! Now you have to battle me!" The trainer shouted, throwing out a Pokéball and releasing a wirmple.

Greta looked at the trainer blankly. She looked to Aria, who shrugged, and to the tiny wirmple that was trying to strike a heroic pose with its trainer.

"You can't be serious." Greta blankly stated. "I have a mega evolved absol and you have a wirmple. A small wirmple. Do you even have any attack moves on that wirmple?"

"Hey!" The trainer shouted angrily. "Wirmps is the best Pokémon ever!" The wirmple, apparently named Wirmps, reared back, letting out a very quiet roar of anger.

"Right. Okay, this was a nice talk. Bye!" Greta waved, turning to walk off.

"Hey, you can't leave! It's against the rules! You can't run from a trainer battle!" The trainer shouted, stamping his foot.

Greta rubbed her ears, groaning at the trainer's constant shouting. "Okay then, how about this, I win. Now leave me alone."

The trainer stamped his foot again. "You can't win until my wirmple is knocked out!" He shouted.

At that moment, a faint choking noise could be heard from above. Aria looked up with a stunned expression as a bidoof dropped straight out of the sky and impacted Wirmpy, knocking the wirmple out cold.

The trainer stared at the bidoof. Aria stared at the bidoof. The bidoof stared into the void.

"Okay. You win." The trainer mumbled, stunned. Aria nodded, equally stunned.

Greta, however, picked up the bidoof and stared at it fondly. "I'm going to name you Brick." She told the bidoof.

Brick made a happy choking noise.

 

Chapter 3: In which a conversation is had and pretty much nothing of importance occurs.

Aria purposefully avoided looking at Greta as they walked down the main street of Eterna City, Greta carrying Brick beneath one arm. The mega absol sighed heavily.

"Why are we detouring in Eterna?" Aria asked, her tone tinged with annoyance.

"Well we need supplies if we're going to go through Mount Coronet." Greta replied cheerily, greeting people happily as they walked by.

"We have supplies." Aria nodded towards the bags on her back.

"But we don't have supplies for Brick!" Greta said, looking down at the bidoof and scratching him fondly on the head. "Isn't that right, Brick?"

Brick drooled slightly.

"See, Brick needs supplies." Greta waved back at Aria dismissively.

Aria cocked an eyebrow. "You just like pretending you're a Pokémon trainer, don't you?"

"Don't spoil my fun." Greta stuck out her tongue at Aria. Across the road, a trainer gave the three a suspicious look, walking over to them hesitantly.

"Oh, good. What does he want?" Aria muttered as Greta turned to smile at the trainer.

"Hello, fellow trainer!" Greta smiled. "How goes... Trainer-ing?"

"Wow. You are really good at this social interaction thing." Aria snarked.

"Shut the hell up." Greta shot back quietly.

"I see you talk with your Pokémon directly." The trainer began.

"Yeah. We, uh, we talk a lot." Greta said, just barely keeping a confident smile.

The trainer gave Greta a suspicious look for a second more, before a wide grin split his face.

"So you can understand Pokémon speech too!" He exclaimed. "It's so good to meet somebody else with this ability!"

Greta stared at the trainer for a moment. "You can understand Pokémon?"

He grinned. "Are you just as shocked as I was to meet somebody else who can do it too? My name's Trevor, by the way."

"Nice to meet you Trevor, I'm Greta." Greta said, shaking his hand. "This is my pal Aria."

"I am not her pal." Aria said bluntly.

Trevor blinked. "Nice to meet you." He eventually responded, before looking to Brick. "What about this little guy?"

"Oh, Brick?" Greta chuckled. "He's only ever made choking noises to me."

Trevor shrugged. "Have you tried asking him to speak?"

Greta shrugged in return. "I did not think of that one." She said, holding Brick out at arms length. "Well, go on Brick. Speak!"

Brick's eyes rolled slightly in different directions.

"Come on Brick, I know you can do it!" Greta encouraged.

Brick smacked his teeth together, before taking a deep breath.

"The sins of the unworthy shall be purged in the eternal fires of the Harbinger's wrath."

Greta continued smiling blankly, Aria and Trevor blinking in stunned concern. "Well, somebody landed on his head." Greta chuckled awkwardly, tucking Brick upside-down under her arm. "I swear he's never done that before."

"Uh. Alright then." Trevor smiled briefly, trying not to look at Brick. "Well while you're here you should challenge the gym. It's great for trainers. I'll, uh, I'll see you around."

Trevor walked away quickly, Greta waving after him. "Well he was nice." Greta said, Aria still staring at Brick behind her.

"In the days of torment, niceties shall be as an empty prayer of the pestilent earth." Brick agreed. Aria once again simply stared at Brick.

"Why can't I ever find normal partners." Aria eventually sighed.

 

Chapter 4: In which the chapter is rather long and there is a fight scene.

Aria padded along behind Greta, trying to focus on her mental checklist of supplies so that she wouldn't hear the conversation going on in front of her as much.

"So Brick, what's your favorite color?" Greta asked the still upside-down bidoof under her arm.

"The living fire that shall engulf all burns a deepest hue." Brick replied.

"Oh, cool, I like red too." Greta chuckled, turning to Aria. "Hey, I think I'm starting to figure out Brick's speech. Watch this."

Greta pointed to a vendor nearby selling three types of apples. "Which of those apples do you want?"

"The final day shall be the darkest, and the tormented shall weep in their thrice-damned despair." Brick wiggled his legs slightly as if he was excited.

Greta walked up to the vendor, grabbing the third kind of apple and setting some pokedollars on the counter. She set Brick down, giving him the apple.

He made a delighted choking noise, grabbing the apple in his tiny legs and gnawing on it.

"See, It makes sense now!" Greta proudly exclaimed to Aria.

"Actually it still makes no sense." Aria sighed, rubbing her head to try and ward off a growing headache. "You've just proven beyond any doubt that you also have brain damage."

"You're just no fun." Greta replied, looking at a vendor selling pastries. "Ohh, those look good. Brick says he needs a few of those."

"Uh huh." Aria deadpanned in response as Brick continued to happily gnaw at his apple. Greta fished around in her pockets, before frowning.

"Huh. I'm out of bucks. Can you lend me some money?" She held a hand out to Aria. Aria dug in her bag before placing one pokedollar in Greta's hand. Greta raised an eyebrow, and Aria scoffed.

"That's all we have left after you spent fifty pokedollars on a vintage monocle." Aria replied in frustration. She looked up from closing her bag, only to glare at the monocled bidoof being shoved in her face.

"He needed it. It makes him look cultured." Greta replied. Aria sighed wearily.

"Fine. But we need more money." Aria replied.

Immediately Greta found herself pulled to the side by a man in an eccentric green suit. "Hello trainer, do you need more money?"

"Oh man, this guy is good!" Greta gasped, ignoring Aria's groan in frustration.

"Well, how do you like the sound of ten thousand pokedollars?!" The man cheered.

Greta gasped. "That sounds amazing! What do I have to do?" She asked excitedly.

"All you have to do is beat one Pokémon in a battle!" The man cried, gesturing to a cleared area nearby and a trainer standing within it.

"Awesome, let's do this!" Greta cheered, before she found herself halted by Aria yanking her ankle.

"Greta, think about this!" Aria growled. "It's obviously some kind of trick!"

"Yeah, but they aren't expecting real, experienced battlers." Greta countered. "They're expecting desperate trainers. Whatever he's got, we can take it."

"No, you're expecting me to do this. Don't you say 'we can do it' when you mean 'Aria go solve my problems for me.'" Aria snapped.

Greta raised her hands in a placating gesture. "Hey, I'm just trying to solve our money problem." She said.

"A problem we wouldn't have if you hadn't spent our funds on stupid things!" Aria responded, gesturing to Brick and his monocle.

"Look, it'll be fine!" Greta said, her tone annoyed. "Come on!"

Greta walked into the cleared space, Brick trailing just behind. Aria breathed deeply through her teeth, and followed after a moment.

Just keep calm it'll be fine just keep calm it'll be fine just keep- Aria mentally recited, coming to stand by Greta.

"Once you accept this challenge, you can't back out!" The opposing trainer warned. "If you do back out, or if I beat all of your Pokémon, then I get to keep all of your stuff."

The trainer pointed to the bags Aria was setting down outside the area. She immediately turned, glaring.

"That's it. No. This is a trick!" Aria growled.

"I accept your challenge!" Greta confidently replied.

Aria's eye twitched, and she shot Greta a death glare. Greta waved from outside the area, Brick beside her still eating his apple.

The opposing trainer smirked. "Go, Juggernaut!" He called, tossing a Pokéball. A red light burst in front of Aria, and she blinked, momentarily blinded.

When she opened her eyes again, they went as wide as dinner plates. A chestnaut towered above her, its body unnaturally large and muscular and its eyes almost seeming to glow. She took a step back, out if the chestnaut's shadow.

Greta gawked, before her expression shifted into rage. "Hey!" She shouted. "That Pokémon's obviously been given illegal training! You're cheating!"

The trainer laughed. "So you forfeit then? I really like the design of those bags you have there."

Aria gave Greta a look that could wither forests. "I. Told. You." She ground out. Greta shrunk under her glare, looking down in worry and guilt. Aria turned to look back at the chestnaut, her glare defiant.

"So I see why they call you Juggernaut." Aria began slowly. "Though I think I'm also going to find out why they don't call you intelligent."

Juggernaut growled deeply. "Or I'll just crush you flat, welp." He ground out.

Aria scoffed. "Go ahead and try." She growled, lowering into a crouch. Juggernaut roared, swinging his arm down at Aria. She easily dodged, sprinting around behind him and unleashing a stream of fire from her mouth.

Juggernaut roared, swinging his fist along the ground and at Aria's legs. Aria nimbly leapt his arm, twisting midair to breathe a stronger stream of fire at his chest. Juggernaut roared again, swinging both fists around and down to crush Aria. She once again leapt out of the way, quickly jumping up on top of his arms as he lifted them again. She inhaled sharply, and a river of flames blasted from her mouth and into his face.

Juggernaut howled in rage, smoke covering his body. Aria landed in front of him, a triumphant smirk on her muzzle.

She only had time to gasp when Juggernaut's fist swung out of the smoke and caught her in the side, launching her to the edge of the area.

Greta's eyes widened, and she stepped forwards only to be pulled back by the man in the green suit. "Ah ah, no interfering."

Aria stood shakily, looking back. She groaned as she saw Juggernaut waving away the smoke, entirely unscathed. Her eyes closed for a moment, before snapping open, purple sparks dancing across her irises.

"No." Greta turned to the man in the green suit. "I'm not letting her fight any more."

"Then just call her back." He replied, and Greta turned to the battle.

"Aria!" She yelled, trying to keep the edge of panic out of her voice. "Return!"

Aria ignored Greta, stalking slowly forwards with her eyes fixed on Juggernaut's arm.

"Aria get your ass back here!" Greta roared, her hands clenching. When Aria once again didn't respond, Greta simply ran onto the field.

"Hey!" The man in the green suit yelled, but she ignored him. She sprinted across the field, and simply tackled Aria to the side.

Aria rounded on Greta, fangs bared and eyes dilated. Greta flinched back, frozen for a moment in fear. She clung to Aria, though, keeping her from moving.

"You're going to get hurt." Greta growled. "Look, I'm sorry I got us into this. But I can't let you get hurt or worse because of me."

Again.

Aria hesitated, bowing her head. Her claws retracted, and Greta sighed in relief.

"... I'm sorry." Aria mumbled. "I need... To control my temper."

Greta smiled slightly. "Hey. It's okay."

They stood up, and Greta sighed. "And now for this guy." She muttered, before she was cut off by Juggernaut laughing.

"Are you so desperate that you send out a weak bidoof to face me?" He laughed.

Aria and Greta both froze. "Brick." They groaned in unison, whirling around to see the bidoof simply staring up at Juggernaut from barely a foot in front of him.

"Puny rat." Juggernaut scoffed, before swinging his fist down on top of Brick.

"No!" Greta yelled, before having to shield her eyes from the dust thrown up by the attack. She looked back in horror that swiftly melted into confusion.

Juggernaut's fist had shattered the ground with force, leaving a small crater, inside of which Brick stood entirely unharmed.

Aria's jaw dropped. Juggernaut looked down at the bidoof beneath his fist that stared blankly back at him.

"What's this?" Juggernaut roared, raising his fist again. He brought it down, enlarging the crater and sending cracks through the surrounding ground.

Brick squished slightly under his fist, popping back up unharmed when Juggernaut's fist raised again.

"What is the meaning of this?" Juggernaut roared, raising his fists to strike a third time.

Brick's eyes glowed slightly, his body unmoving as Juggernaut swung down on him with all his might.

The dust cleared upon a crater a few yards wide and deep enough to engulf both of Juggernaut's fists. He raised his arms triumphantly, but blanched when he saw Brick still unharmed within the crater.

"Brick?" Greta said, stunned. "What are you even doing?"

"The Harbinger waits for the strength of his enemies to be returned upon them thricefold." Brick spoke, his eyes glowing brightly. Juggernaut roared, swinging his fist down again.

A loud thrum filled the air, deep and powerful enough to make Greta's teeth chatter. Brick and Juggernaut were quickly engulfed in a cloud of dust that rapidly expanded outwards before being overtaken by an explosion of light. Brick glowed brightly, a dull smile on his face.

Juggernaut snarled, but there was a hint if worry in his tone. "You cannot fool me with this charade! I am undefeatable!"

"The Harbinger brings destruction to all." Brick replied calmly.

Juggernaut stepped back, but it was too late. Brick made a fearsome choaking noise, his eyes glowing ever brighter.

And he unleashed bide.

Light and sound exploded out once more from Brick, engulfing Juggernaut and forcing Greta and Aria to take cover. Debris was kicked up and over them, raining down outside the edge of the cleared area.

Greta stood up when the dust cleared, Aria looking with stunned disbelief at the center of the area. Juggernaut was on his back ten feet away, unconscious.

Brick slowly waddled off the field, returning to his apple and curling around it happily.

The opposing trainer was still gawking at the scene when Aria and Greta recovered from shock enough to walk over to him.

"We'll take that money now." Greta said, smirking. The trainer looked at Greta as if he was about to protest, before Brick's head swiveled around to face him, his expression blank. The trainer blanched, and quickly handed over what appeared to be a gift card. Greta looked at it suspiciously.

"It's all there, I swear!" He gulped, and after a moment of scrutiny, Greta nodded. She put it in one of their bags as Aria secured them to her back once more.

"Come on Brick, let's go." Greta picked up the bidoof and his apple and walked away, Aria padding after her.

They walked in silence for a moment before Greta chuckled. "See, I told you it would be fine."

Aria reared up on her hind legs and slapped Greta.

 

Chapter five: In which there is more walking and a detour must be made.

Aria watched Eterna city fade into the distance behind her and Mount Coronet grow ever more looming above. While she was grateful to be out of the city, mostly so that Greta would stop wasting money, the route ahead was a more than mildly frustrating one.

She heard Greta munching noisily behind her and turned to see Greta and Brick both eating apples. They stopped momentarily under Aria's glare, before Greta shrugged.

"What?" She asked through a mouthful of apple. "We have too much food anyways."

"It's always good to be prepared, Greta. Especially in Mount Coronet." Aria sighed. "We may be taking a shorter route, but it's still dangerous. That whole mountain is a maze."

"We literally just need to go forwards. How hard can it be?" Greta paused in thought. "I take that last part back. That question always jinxes us."

Aria shook her head. "And we'll need the food if we get stuck or if we accidentally disturb a lot of zubat and we need a distraction."

"Yeah, the zubat are as plentiful in that mountain as wirmples are in these forests." Greta nodded sagely.

Aria frowned, her brow furrowing, and she eventually turned to Greta with a curious look. "You do know it's spelled 'wurmple,' right?"

Greta shook her head. "No it isn't. It's totally wirmple."

Aria scoffed. "Yeah, right, sure."

"No, it's true!" Greta said defensively. "Look at chapter two, it's spelled 'wirmple' the entire time!"

"That doesn't mean it's not wrong." Aria countered.

"Yes it does." Greta muttered. "The story's never wrong."

Aria smirked. "Oh yeah?" She chuckled. "So you're telling me that Twiggsy's name randomly changing to Twiggy halfway through chapter one was also totally correct?"

"Oh shut up." Greta muttered, taking another bite of her apple.

Aria's smirk grew, and she was about to make a further remark when she noticed a group of people in the route in front of them. She thanked her for once good luck that Greta hadn't dropped her human illusion yet as the three walked up to the crowd.

"Hey, what's up?" Greta asked the nearest person, a younger looking trainer. He turned around, a nervous look on his face.

"This route through Mount Coronet is closed down due to 'unsafe conditions.'" He said, looking around and hushing his voice. "They say it's the work of Team Galactic! They're trying to catch more Pokémon to do their dirty work!"

Aria frowned, looking to Greta. Greta sighed. "Great, now how are we supposed to get to Celestic Town?"

The trainer shrugged. "You can always take the Cycling Road to Oreburgh City and go through the mountain there. It's a long way around, but I think it'll be better than waiting around here for the way through to be 'safe' again."

Greta frowned. "I don't have a bike though." She said.

"Oh, that's fine. You can just take the Wayward Path nearby." The trainer's voice dropped quieter. "Be careful though. Something happened there about a year ago. They say it's haunted now."

"Haunted." Aria snorted. "Yeah, sure. Come on Greta, the sooner we can get down this route the better." Aria had already walked a few yards when she noticed Greta wasn't with her. She turned around to see Greta's face was pale, and she gave the trainer a cold stare.

"Exactly how long ago?" Greta asked sharply. "And is that the route at the base of the mountain and lined with oaks?"

The trainer stepped back sharply, his hands up in a helpless gesture. "I... I don't know exactly how long ago! But yeah, that sounds like the route."

Greta shook her head. "Is there any other way around, any at all?" She asked, her tone almost desperate.

The trainer shook his head, walking into the crowd quickly and away from Greta, who sighed heavily. Aria walked up to her, a confused expression on her face.

"Hey, what was that about?" Aria asked, and Greta simply shook her head.

"I... If it's the fastest way." She sighed. "I just hope... Never mind."

Aria's expression changed to concern, but Greta was already walking away. "Let's just go." Greta said solemnly. "I don't want to be there when night falls."

Aria watched Greta walk away, warily following.

 

Chapter six: Memory

Aria and Greta walked in silence, Brick asleep in Greta's arms. The trees around the road swayed lightly in the breeze, the setting sun casting an orange glow across the world. Aria admired the scene, a soft smile on her face.

"Why didn't you want to take this route? It's beautiful." Aria asked softly. Greta didn't respond, moving forward with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

"I guess it is." Greta eventually sighed quietly. "I never knew. We only saw it at night, and I wasn't exactly focused on the trees."

Aria titled her head slightly in confusion. "What?" She asked. "I've never been here."

Greta didn't look back at Aria. "You were pretty out of it." She mumbled. "I'm not surprised you don't remember."

They walked on for a moment, until Greta heard Aria stop. Greta turned around, and it was only then that Aria noticed the tearmarks on Greta's fur.

Her blood froze as the pieces fell into place. "It... This is it, isn't it?" Aria whispered.

Greta simply turned and kept walking. Aria followed after a moment, her head hung low.

They kept on in silence, until they came across a small clearing by the road. In the center stood a single smooth stone, surrounded by fallen and broken oaks. The nearby trees were scored with claw marks and scorch patterns, and the clearing remained eerily silent.

Greta stopped, looking at the stone. She took a shaky breath, walking over to it. Aria followed quietly, the two standing together in front of the stone. Greta reached out, running her claws down the crude engraving on the front.

Beloved trainer and dear friend

Greta's ear twitched as a sound broke the almost mystic silence of the clearing, and she looked down to find that the sound had been Aria.

Aria lay in front of the stone with her nose pressed against it, tears running down her face. She sniffled, the sound of her breathing becoming more and more broken as her tears ran faster.

Greta kneeled down, scooping Aria into a hug. The two stayed there as the sun set, until Aria found that she couldn't cry any longer. She shakily looked up at Greta.

"I just want our journey to be over. I just want everything to be normal again." She whispered, and Greta hugged her tighter, Brick nestled in between them.

"We're going to set all this back the way it should be." Greta mumbled, her eyes fixed on the gravestone. "Everything's going to be alright again."

Greta closed her eyes. She didn't like saying things she didn't believe in.

 

Chapter seven: In which a fair bit of trouble is had and a mountain is traveled beneath.

Greta smiled as the entrance to Mount Coronet came into view, letting out a whooping cheer and pumping a paw in the air as her illusionary disguise faded.

"We finally got here!" She cheered. "Jeeze, how long were we even on that path?"

"Texhnically it's been thirteen days, four hours and approximately twenty three minutes. Though it's probably only been about three hours for us." Aria snappily replied. Greta's arm dropped back down, her expression bored as she ran a paw through her mane.

"Do you have to logic-ify everything?"

Aria smiled wearily, admiring the craggy face of Mount Coronet crowned with a brilliant array of stars, the moon seeming to hover over its peak. "If I didn't, no one would. And we're not done walking yet. We can rest in Hearthome."

Greta groaned. "Can't we camp out here?" She mumbled, looking down at the bidoof snuggled in her arms. "Brick is already asleep."

Aria shook her head. "It'd be better to go now since it's a straight shot through this passage, and to rest on the other side. Especially if this 'Team Galactic' is causing trouble on this side of the mountain."

Greta sighed, the two trudging along through the quiet of the night as Mount Coronet grew to seemingly impossible heights in the sky above them. A small, dark space appeared against the distant rock of the mountain, yawning larger as they finally approached the sheer wall of the great rising stone.

They entered the cave without breaking stride, Aria occasionally looking back to see the starry night being ever further engulfed by dark rock behind her. She gulped, moving slightly faster.

Greta raised an eyebrow at her, the zoroark's muzzle pulled slightly in a mischievous smile as the world steadily blackened around them. "Aria, are you afraid of the dark?"

"No." Aria snapped back. "I just... I don't like confined spaces."

"A dark type afraid of the dark? Who'da thunk it!" Greta gasped dramatically.

Aria snorted in irritation. "Says the illusionist who's afraid of mirrors." She shot back.

The cave went immediately silent, and Aria felt the distance between Greta and her suddenly increase. Aria held a frustrated glare for a moment, before signing tensely.

"If you can't take it, don't dish it out." She said bluntly, and received an angry snort in return.

"How about you just learn to take a jo-umph!"

Aria whirled around to see Greta stumble with one of her arms wrapped around her stomach, coughing. "Gah!" She spat. "Come on, really?!"

"Hey, I'm not even near you!" Aria shot back into the darkness. She futilely looked into the nearly pitch black cave around her before she heard a quiet, hollow whistling noise.

"Hey. Do you hear tha-agh!"

Aria felt a force like a semi truck crash into her shoulder, sending her skidding across the stone with the grating sound of her claws scrabbling against the loose rocks on the floor. She lashed out with her horn, but she couldn't hear or see anything.

"I think we're being attacked!" Aria called out. There was a brief swell of silence, and Aria groaned quietly.

"Noooooooo." Greta's voice, absolutely dripping with taunting sarcasm, rang out from near her right. "Reeeaaaaaaly? I thought we were being invited to teeeaaaa?"

"Shut the hell up and help me find a way to fend this thing off." Aria snapped, making her way carefully to where Greta's voice had been. She walked slowly, straining to hear Greta's footsteps. After a moment she paused in confusion.

"Uh, Greta?" She called. "Where did you go? I said help me, not mphhh!"

Aria reared back to attempt to bite the limb over her mouth, but stopped when she saw Greta's head beside hers. Aria glared and was about to shove Greta's paw off of her mouth when Greta signaled to be quiet.

They both stood still, listening to the sound of distant occasionally dripping water, their quiet breathing, the slowly growing whistling noise...

Aria's eyes widened, and she noticed Greta's ears twitch rapidly as she tried to pinpoint the sound. A second later, she pulled her paw sharply back and off of Aria's muzzle, aiming her to the left with a nudge from her knee.

"There!" Greta shouted and Aria wasted no time breathing out a sharp, crackling trail of flames. The world lit up harshly around them, illuminating the figure of a now rapidly fleeing crobat.

It screeched loudly in anger, and Aria heard the air whistle dully to signal it diving back at them again. Flames trickled out of her snarling mouth, illuminating the cave in flickering bursts.

"I got it." Aria heard behind her, and turned around slightly to see Greta running at her. Aria barely had a moment to be confused before Greta jumped up and vaulted straight over her and into the air, flying at the swooping crobat.

"Close your eyes!" Greta shouted, and the darkness of the cave immediately erupted into twisting and writhing patterns like a pit of sevipers. The small flames Aria was still exhaling threw broken glints of light around, some breaking through the twisting darkness while some simply seemed to be swallowed by the dancing shadows.

Aria locked her legs as vertigo bore down on her. She clenched her teeth, snapping her eyes closed as the world spun violently around her even beneath her eyelids. She heard the crobat screech once more in confusion, before the harsh thud of a it hitting the ground rang through the cave.

A moment passed until she felt Greta tap her on the shoulder. "Hey. It's clear and gro-hoss you're sweaty."

Aria opened her eyes to find the world still moving wildly and growled. "An... Earlier warning... Would be... Nice..."

Greta shrugged, before realizing Aria probably couldn't see that. "Sorry."

Aria groaned, folding her legs to lay on the cold stone below her, her eyes shut. She huffed irritatedly, before her ears tilted in a questioning motion. "Wait, Brick wasn't in your arms. Where's... Where's the fuzzball?"

A mildly confused choking noise echoed through the cave, seeming to come from nearby.

"He's fine." Greta waved a paw dismissively. "How are you doing?"

"I feel like I'm going to puke." Aria responded, crossing her paws over her head and further matting her sweaty fur. "And like I need a long shower. And like I need some sleep."

Greta felt her arms, noting the rock dust and grime over the wrappings. "Heh, I sympathize with that last part." She chuckled, shaking pebbles out of her hair. "But we kinda can't do any of that in this cave."

Aria sighed, and was about to respond when she felt herself being lifted up and draped over Greta's shoulder. "H-hey! Woah-ugh..." She began to protest before the movement made her close her mouth and groan as nausea caught up with her.

"Just don't puke on me. Come'ere Brick." Greta called, and Aria heard a soft padding noise as Brick waddled up to them, and then a light pressure and warmth on her back. A contented choking noise gurgled out from directly above her ears, and Aria sighed.

"So... 'M I just a bed now?" She felt Brick nestle into the fur around her wings, and she sighed again.

They walked in silence for a while, light slowly growing around and ahead of them. Aria felt her nausea slowly fading, being replaced with exhaustion. She was just drifting into sleep when she felt Greta slow, shifting awkwardly.

"... I don't really like confined spaces either." Greta said quietly.

Aria cracked her eyes open, turning slightly to look at Greta. Aria smiled briefly.

"I've never been a fan of mirrors, myself." She mumbled, lowering her head so that her dizziness wouldn't return.

Greta smiled, walking out of the mountain pass and into the moonlight.






"Hey."

From a rocky perch slightly up the mountain, a pair of eyes gleamed. They tracked a figure below moving out of the mountain pass, and a smile stretched their face.

"Hey, wake up, you lazy moron." The Pokémon growled, slapping a human beside him awake. The human flailed for a second before sitting up tiredly.

"What is it, my shift isn't 'till sunrise." The human mumbled. The Pokémon sighed, stepping a bit further from the edge and into the moonlight. The Pokémon pulled his partner over, pointing a paw down at the figure stopping outside the cavern, setting two other figures down before simply laying in the grass beside them.

"Uh, you found some travelers." Sighed the trainer under the Pokémon's arm, rubbing her eyes. The Pokémon shook his head, getting a raised eyebrow from his trainer.

"They aren't just travelers." He growled. "They're shadies."

The trainer blinked, looking closer and seeing exactly what was lying below them. She blanched, her mouth drawing into a thin frown.

"Report it first." She said, the Pokémon nodding and closing his eyes beside her. She grabbed her bag from where she was sleeping, hoisting it onto her back. "Then get ready for a fight."