A Champion’s Secret

by 1120_Cecille, Winter_Snow

Summary:

What if all the champions (current or former) of Blueberry Academy had secrets to keep? What if they shared the same secret–that they weren’t entirely human?

A mostly-canon-compliant mini-story (well, all until all hell gets loose) told through the eyes of the three students.

NOW WITH ART!!

Notes:

• For MistyMoth.
• Inspired by [Restricted Work] by Grimalkenkid (Log in to access.)

Thanks to MistyMoth for helping me expand on this AU!
Thanks to GrimalKenKid for giving me the idea of two or more students being Pokemon at the same time!
Thanks to slimeberry (Mayro) for helping me with fleshing out some parts of the fanfiction!

Feel free to DM or comment to ask about the AU!

Chapter 1: Tragedy | A Thousand Colours Gone

Summary:

Drayton wakes up to something different.

Notes:

There’s like 1 mention of vomit in chapter 1?

If you want to read in the order intended, read Iridescent Irises before this chapter.

…And you wake up. 

 

The faint yellow spots from artificial sunlight shine directly on your wooden desk, the pages of your homework fluttering on the desk, blown gently by the warm wind. You crawl up in your blanket, stretching lazily from a yawn. Surprisingly, you feel better. No more chest pains or tightness. You shuffle up in bed, stretching upwards.

 

Lowering your arms, you glance around the room. 

 

Dark blue wallpaper envelops the space, casting a calming hue over the room. The walls stand adorned with a tapestry of posters, vibrant against the deep backdrop. A Zekrom flyer lingers, stuck to the furthermost corner of your room. The soft hum of a desk lamp bathes the room in a warm glow, creating a cocoon-like atmosphere within the confines of your dormitory.

 

Left to your bed, the sturdy wooden desk stands. The wooden surface hosts a scattering of textbooks, notebooks, and the remnants of last night's homework. Your desktop computer, adorned with stickers of various Dragon types, stands as your faithful companion for late-night study sessions. In the half-open drawer rests Dragonite, Kingdra and Sceptile’s Pokeballs. You hope that they’re resting soundly just like you were before yesterday.

 

You look around, gently sweeping off the Tera shards that had gathered on your bed. They fall to the ground, gently clinking together. Ever since yesterday, the grey and purple crystals had dotted your skin, growing then falling out like shed scales. Everywhere you went, the crystals fluttered off your body, leaving a glimmering trail of colour. Of course, the crystals weren’t sharp enough to hurt you, but it was certainly uncomfortable sleeping in a nest of them.

 

Oh, that stupid Terapagos. After you got blasted in the chest by its Tera Starstorm in a battle with Juliana and almost saw Arceus, it poured an immense amount of energy into you, healing you from certain death. But you are sure that it was also responsible for your mysterious sickness, the one that almost made you lose your lunch in the middle of the canteen, the one that disoriented you until you almost fell unconscious, the one that put you on an IV drip indefinitely-

 

-or was it Kieran? The little guy had come back completely changed from Paldea, and you swear that he looked paler than before. After Terapagos poured its power into you, Kieran had rushed to your room and prepared a drink, which he claimed was from ground up Tera shards, of which he had collected of as many types as possible. He also mentioned that there was a bit of everstone dust in there too, to stabilise your condition. Maybe this was what caused your mysterious sickness? Some unknown liquid being fed to you?

But the liquid certainly made you feel better, right?

 

Whatever.

 

Your back no longer aches. Your purple cape drapes right in front of you, splaying out on top of your thick blankets. Despite its jagged edges, it holds surprisingly strong. Ever since your grandfather gave you your cape when you were sixteen, it’s never been stained, scratched or torn. It almost defined who you are, a descendant of a long line of Dragon tamers. To wear a symbol of honour of your ancestors on your back puts immense pressure on you, so you decided a while ago that you would tie it lower. You wore it almost every day, wrapping it around your waist and fastening it at the top, and yet it never seemed to weather. In your clouded mind, you couldn’t help but think that this was somewhat poetic, though you couldn’t pinpoint how.

 

In contrast, your black jacket hangs high on your shelf, its staggering black-and-yellow patterns bringing you comfort. The large Maschiff symbol on it was strangely endearing. As long as it remained, you were sure that you could push through any problem just by being your true self, free of any expectations and grand role. You remember that time Kieran handed you the jacket, telling you that he specifically bought it for you.

 

As you extend your arms, a peculiar lightness registers in your limbs. A subtle nuance you can't quite place in your groggy state. Maybe you slept too late yesterday again. Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed up making small talk to the League Club by text yesterday despite your condition. Nothing much , you think as you gaze outside, it’ll get better when I’m no longer sleepy. 

 

But something is just a little off. As you blink away the remnants of sleep, the room that had once been a canvas of vibrant hues now appears washed out, as if someone had muted the colours of your existence. The blue wallpaper that adorned the dormitory walls seems lacklustre, a pale imitation of the lively shade you once revelled in. It's as if a thousand colours have gone missing, leaving behind a world draped in monochrome melancholy.

 

You rub your eyes, hoping to dispel the illusion, but the dullness persists. The purple cape appears faded and worn, substantially less violet, losing the vivacity that once defined it, a subtle blue now taking over.  

As you move about the room, your eyes catch the open window again, inviting the outside world to spill its colours into your dreary sanctuary. However, the blue and yellow hues that infiltrate your vision offer little comfort. Instead of the lively spectrum you expected, the colours seem diluted, as if a veil of grey has settled over the once vibrant tapestry of reality. A thousand colours gone, leaving behind a world that feels like a faded memory, a dream slipping through your fingers. Didn’t you like blue and yellow?

 

Well, that was weird.

 

You stretch your limbs, or at least, you attempt to. A strange stiffness blankets your body. Disoriented, you try to sit up, only to realise that your movements are awkward and uncoordinated. Notably, only the tips of your fingers seem to meet the soft surface of the bed. Strange.

 

As you muster the strength to stand, your legs quiver beneath you, knees shaking uncontrollably. A wave of dizziness sweeps over you, and before you can comprehend the sensation, you find yourself tumbling off the bed, crashing onto the ground. The impact is harsh, sending shockwaves of pain through your body. Thousands of tiny specks of crystals drive their way into your forehead. Each shard shoves and pushes against your skin, trying to puncture its delicate surface despite being ever so blunt. 

 

It takes a moment for you to register the disorienting sensation of falling, as if your centre of gravity has shifted. Slowly, you push yourself up, noting the unusual feeling of your weight being put forward. One, two, three. Up, up, up. However, as you attempt to stand once more, the world tilts beneath you, and you find yourself toppling over yet again, this time landing on your back. The jarring impact sends a shock of pain radiating through your spine.

 

Confused and disoriented, you try to regain your composure. Your limbs feel foreign, uncoordinated, defiant. You attempt to stand once more, but your balance eludes you, and gravity grabs you by the arms and shoves you to the ground. Frustration and helplessness wash over you, the pain from your falls intensifying with each attempt. A puzzled frown creases your face as you glance down at yourself. 

 

Your hands. They were once familiar and human - these hands are no longer hands – they're teeny paws, small and covered in fluffy purple fur. At least, you think they’re purple. You flex them experimentally, seeing how your claws retract as you push your digits backwards. 

 

What the hell? Am I a Pokem-

 

No. I’m not.

 

Panicking, your breath quickens, and you cast a frantic gaze down at your feet, only to be met with disastrous news – they're not feet anymore. Instead, they're hind paws, adorned with delicate purple claws just like your former hands. Your legs, once familiar and reliable, are now short and sturdy, ending in paws on an elongated foot more suited for sprinting on all fours. No matter how you tried to stand upright with your whole foot on the ground, your knees still gave out to your weight. A fluffy white and blue tail, along with its billowing ghostly fur, sweeps out from behind you. 

 

Please, please let this be a dream. Hopefully I just gained weight instead of- Stop thinking! You’re human, and certainly not a Pokemon! I repeat, YOU ARE NOT A POKEMON!

 

Desperation sets in as you attempt to stand once more, hoping against hope that this is all just a bizarre dream, just a jarring illusion, just a peculiar fragment of your imagination. But reality remains stubbornly intact. Your body refuses to obey the commands ingrained in your human consciousness. With a futile effort, you try to use your hind legs, imagining yourself regaining a semblance of normalcy. Yet, it's an exercise in futility, and you fall into a quadrupedal stance yet again. You realise that this feels normal, like you were always a four-legged beast.

 

Examining your surroundings, you find the room larger than you remember. The desk looms overhead, and the bed, once a comfortable refuge, now seems like a towering structure. Panic sets in as you realise your size has changed. You're smaller, much smaller than before. The cord of the IV drip is no longer attached to your tiny paws, dangling from high above.

 

Breathe in, breathe out. breathe in, breathe out, breatheinbreathou-

 

Molten midnight feathers thrash against the boundaries of your ribcage. The room around you blurs in the frenzy of this panic, a cacophony of wings and desperate screams. As you confront your transformed self, the bird of fear soars higher, sending a revolting squawk resonating through your mind.

 

Please, oh PLEASE be a nightmare.  

In a desperate attempt to ground yourself in the realm of reality, you pinch yourself, hoping not for the sharp sting, but the comforting absence of it. Instead, the strange yet oddly cuddly sensation of fur beneath your paw pads only unsettled you more. 

The last thing etched in your memory is going to bed as a human – how did you end up like this? You desperately try to convince yourself that any moment now, you'll awaken in your familiar bed, human and intact.

 

Anyone… Kieran, Lacey, Carmine, my mom, whoever… What would they think of me?

 

Wait, fuck, wait-I could-I could, I could call them?- Once I hear their voices, I will know for sure that this is a DREAM! You run your paw-hands over your face, feeling the contours of your new form. This smooth curved shape of your nose, no, it cannot be- FUCK! And then you are sharply inhaling, so foreign in this transformed body.

 

Your clothes dangle high. Maybe you can change back if you wear them…?

 

You make a leap of faith, catching the cape in your sharp claws and raking across the jacket, tearing a hole through both. The cape drapes over your tiny fluffy body, and you try to fit your teeny arms in your jacket, yet nothing seems to change. 

 

What? Oh no, oh no, oh no nonono- 

Trying not to let the dread settle in, you run your paws across your teeth, inadvertently drawing blood from the sharpness that now defines your once-human features. A tiny prick easily cuts through your delicate paw pads, the red liquid trickling down your right wrist. The extremely sour sting of the wound was immediately covered with purplish crystals. The metallic taste of your own essence mingles with the sour and so, so extremely bitter tang of panic and fear. 

 

“Rrrrrow!”

Each attempt to form coherent words results in a series of off-putting sounds that echo in your room. You can’t even communicate in the language that you once took for granted now. 

 

No, no no no no no. This had to be a dream. There was NO WAY this is real. I have to talk to someone, just someone. The League Club, Lacey, Amarys, even that annoyance of a guy, Kieran. I HAVE to talk to someone to make sure that this isn’t real. This isn’t real this isn’t real THIS ISN’T REAL-

 

In a mixture of denial and desperation, you open your phone lying on the ground. You reach for your phone, intent on texting your friends, a desperate plea for confirmation that this is all just a dream. The vibrant blue of the phone case stood out so vibrantly, an isolated sign of hope amongst the dull sea of floor and carpet and papers and cape. The thrashing fear’s panicked fluttering sends waves of pain radiating through you, each beat of its wings a reminder that this is no ordinary dream. Isn’t Lacey in the same dorm level as me? Fumbling, you quickly flip the phone over with a quick swipe of your paws. Lacey, Lacey, come to my dorm right now, you script in your head. You yearn for the gaze of yourself, your white hair and fair complexion. Leaning forward, a rush of anticipation and relief bubbles up, and you peer at the screen-

 

Oh.

 

It’s not you.

 

Not the one you recognise.

 

You stare at the black screen, the reflection staring back at you. 

 

The canine-like face gazes back, a petite snout framed by predominantly grey-white fur. The ears, primarily grey with split cuts, catch your attention. Golden yellow irises peer out from the depths of the reflection's eyes, their intensity heightened by the subtle blue eyelids. 

 

You swear that this thing in the reflection is a Zorua, but its billowing ghostly fur, greyish coat and deep amber eyes practically scream otherwise. The only thing left of what you once were is your distinctive purple streak of hair. Your scars are gone, and only the bluish icy ones remain.

 

Your trembling hand reaches up to touch the reflection's face on the screen. The fur beneath your fingertips feels different, an alien texture that only makes things even more surreal. Your eyes trace the tuft of fur on its head, the ruff around its neck, and the tail—all white at their bases, with long wisps of fur that fade to light blue at the tips. It's as if you're touching the essence of a flame, the ethereal strands billowing and fading away like wisps of smoke. Your reflection follows your every act.

 

Now, you see through the limited colour vision of a Zorua, a creature that sees the world through the lens of only two colours. The visual tapestry that once unfolded before your eyes, a canvas painted with a thousand hues, is now stripped away, leaving you with a stark and jarring palette. In a sea of diamonds, you sink down and suffocate.

 

You had mentioned that you always wished for simplicity, but now that you bathe in a world formed by two basic colours, you pleaded to go back. The colour in your vision is torn away from you, a thousand colours gone, replaced by two, your favourite two, that you will now be all too familiar with.

 

You falter.

…

In the dormitories of Blueberry Academy, at the brink of dawn, a guttural scream rings through the halls.

Notes:

Kieran found him later on :)

Chapter 2: Retaliation | Your Reflection’s Gaze

Summary:

Kieran has a… not so good day in the club room.

Notes:

GORE, VIOLENCE AND SUICIDAL IDEATION MENTIONS! If you are not comfortable with seeing Kieran being almost killed, please click off

Kieran certainly had better days.

 

Sulking alone in the club room, he lazily played with his scarlet red pencil, the tips of his fingers feeling every gentle flick as the pencil spun around. Over and over, he stared down blankly into the slightly-crumpled sheet of paper on the table, before redirecting his gaze back at the writing instrument. His handwriting had melted into gibberish, just scribbles of black ink sprawling across the page, smudged and stained onto his palms. 

 

He traced the parabolas on his worksheet with his eyes, trying to focus, trying to make sense of the numbers and variables dancing before him. But his mind, like a restless Bunnelby, hopped and wandered off.

 

Juliana. She had come into his life like a whirlwind, turning everything upside down with her arrival. Ogerpon, his one true treasure, was torn from his grasp by her.

 

He knew that it wasn’t all her fault, and that she meant well. He mentally berated himself over and over it, but he just couldn’t… accept the truth. It seemed that after the scales and fur took over him, he had not only changed physically, but also mentally. Maybe correlation was not causation, and his attitude changes were simply from the events that had unfolded in the past few months, but maybe the crystallisation had jumbled up his nerves and he was no longer right in the head. 

 

And then there was Terapagos. The Legendary Pokémon he just KNEW he had to have, only to have it turn on him in a blaze of anger and resentment. The blast of energy, the crystallisation creeping up his arm like a creeping vine, threatening to consume him whole. Oh, and he almost died in the process and was no longer human now. 

 

He had tried to heal Drayton, to make things right, but his efforts had only made things worse. He was unsure of where to turn or what to do. He glanced at the door, half-expecting Juliana to burst in at any moment. But she didn't come, and he was left alone with his thoughts, a company he did not enjoy having. He knew he couldn't go on like this, couldn't continue to wallow in self-pity and despair, but the weight of his burdens was crushing him, threatening to drag him down deeper than the Area Zero Underdepths. 

 

Why, why did all this happen? Why can’t I just live life normally?

 

All this Legendary-Pokemon-related nonsense, all this school discourse, all these “not human” shenanigans, and the fact that his entire hometown almost got mind controlled by a rogue Pokemon? 

 

He just wanted a break. 

 

He looked down at his crystallised arm and sighed. The sight never failed to cause him to stir uneasily. It, sadly like many other things, was a constant reminder of everything that had gone wrong, the curses and consequences that he had suffered. Dwelling on it won’t change anything, he reminded himself. 

 

It’s all in the past, he thought, so I’ll leave it in the past, where it belongs.

 

For a moment, Kieran considered leaving the club room. Maybe a change of scenery would help clear his mind so he could finally finish his Arc-damned math homework. But as he glanced around the room, he felt… Slightly uneasy. It’s not anything big, don’t be a coward, he told himself. Mustering up all his strength, he pushed himself up from his seat–

 

A ding broke through the pin-drop silence, and the doors slid open.

 

Drayton. 

 

For a moment, Kieran expected a snarky remark from the Elite Four member, but only silence ensued. Turning around slowly, he met the taller one's gaze. Their eyes, both a vibrant, striking shade of citrine yellow, locked onto each other with an intensity that sent shivers down Kieran's spine. For the first time, Kieran noticed that Drayton's eyes had lost their usual sparkle, replaced instead by a hollow emptiness from where his soul had been. It was unmistakable, unfamiliar and unsettling, to say the least, to see the light drained from Drayton's gaze, leaving behind nothing but a cold, lifeless void. Drayton's usual lazy, carefree demeanour was nowhere to be seen. Worst of all, Drayton now resembled himself. Something was terribly off. 

 

His grip on the pencil in his hand slipped, the thin shaft tumbling to the floor with a soft clatter. Drayton took a few steps forward. Kieran knew that Drayton’s current form was simply an illusion, but even so, there was something about the way Drayton carried himself, the way he held himself... Why had he specifically chosen such a familiar yet unfamiliar appearance that sent shivers down Kieran’s spine?

A single bead of sweat slid down Kieran’s forehead.

 

“What do you think I'm here for, Kieran?” Drayton's voice was low and steady, cutting through the silence like a knife. Kieran felt everything slow down and freeze around him, all the colours fading into white until only he and Drayton remained in a sea of trepidation. His heartbeat rang in his head like a hammer striking against metal, the vibrations rocking his vision back and forth. He knew that whatever Drayton had come here to confront him about, it couldn't be good. 

 

“I, uh, don’t know…”

 

“So, Kieran,” Drayton began, his voice retaining its freezing cold tinge, “let's cut to the chase. You're the reason I'm like this, aren't you?”

 

Kieran's breath caught in his throat, his mind racing as he struggled to find the right words. “I... I don't know what you're talking about, Drayton,” he stammered, trying to process what Drayton just said. W-what did he mean by ‘you’re the reason I’m like this’? “I-I was just trying to help you, I swear! I genuinely don't know what you’re talking about!”

 

Drayton's eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing through Kieran like a dagger. “Don't play dumb with me, Kieran,” he snapped, “ I’ve spoken to Terapagos. I know what happened. Terapagos explained that your magic was correct initially, but my body currently radiates Normal and Ghost type energy.” 

 

“Normal levels for an average Pokemon who is Normal/Ghost type, but not normal levels for human-turned Pokemon. I have a suspicion that that wouldn't have happened if you had simply prepared the medicine correctly,” Drayton leaned forward, his voice growing softer, but just as frightening as before.

 

A lump formed in Kieran's throat. “I-I did everything Terapagos taught me,” he stuttered,”I-I fist stabilised you with my magic, then I put the Tera shards into the medicine, just like it said.”

 

Drayton's expression hardened. “And what types of Tera crystals did you use?”

 

Kieran's mind raced as he tried to recall the details, his dread mounting with each passing moment. “F-Fire, Water, Grass, Electric…” he began, his voice faltering as he struggled to remember. In a quick flash of memory, he found himself back in the hospital room, hastily digging through his yellow waist bag. He pulled out a handful of crystals, each one a different colour, and quickly scanned them before dumping them into a mortar. With a shaky hand, he grabbed a pestle and began grinding them together, his movements frantic as he tried to follow Terapagos' instructions, words he could only half understand.

 

“Psychic, Dark, Fairy, Stellar, Fighting…” Kieran muttered, his voice trailing off as he ran the colours through his mind.” 

 

There were only 17 shards.

 

Kieran froze as he remembered another flash of him frantically digging through his backpack, before hesitating and grabbing the pestle with both hands. And another flash of him shakily pouring the glowing, water-mixed medicine into Drayton’s IV drip.

 

"I-I forgot to put Normal and Ghost type shards into the medicine," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes squinted so tightly you’d swear they were shut.

 

…

 

Silence. Drayton’s expression was unreadable.

 

And then, with a voice filled with quiet fury, he spoke, looking straight into Kieran’s gaze, still like an eerie reflection,”So it's true? You did this to me...? YOU'RE the reason I'm like THIS?”

 

Crap. 

 

A cold feeling of dread crept up his legs, up his spine, into his throat. It snaked its way around his body, around his heart, coiling, constricting and threatening to suffocate him. With a quick breath, Kieran hastily shuffled off the right side of his seat to stand behind it, gripping the back of it like a lifeline, like a shield. He tried to keep his hands from shaking as he met Drayton’s gaze again.

 

“I was trying to help you…” he uttered, his voice nearly inaudible. His eyes flickered down to his own feet, unable to hold the other’s piercing, hollow stare any longer. That icy slither around his heart tightened, his shoulders hunching and muscles tensing as if bracing himself for a sudden attack. He shut his eyes tight, his voice rising desperately out of his throat. “I was trying to SAVE YOU!” 

 

Kieran's hands trembled as he raised them up, his eyes fixed on his palms. His left hand looked completely normal, but his right... It was dotted with deep indigo scales, shimmering iridescently under the gently humming light. So inhuman, yet now a part of his life… His heart pounded in his chest as he struggled to find the right words, his mouth dry.

 

"I had to do something, you would've died—" he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. 

 

"No."

 

Kieran felt his breath catch in his throat, the gasp lodged inside, forcing out a gasp. It pushed up against his vocal cords, still and stiff inside as he choked. It was as if the ground had been ripped out from beneath him, leaving him teetering on the edge of an abyss. A single shove, and he would be gone. He had expected anger, perhaps even hatred, but not this... not this cold, crushing rejection.

 

"I... I would rather have died than to live like THIS!" That was where Kieran heard the helplessness take over. Panic surged within him, his hands trembling uncontrollably as he struggled to grasp the depth of Drayton’s anguish. Palpable tension hung in the air. “Uh- Wait no! We can talk this out! Nice and calm-” he pleaded.

 

But Drayton's frustration erupted like a volcano. “You took away my body, my humanity, my EVERYTHING!” One of his hands firmly grasped Kieran’s right shoulder, his nails digging in through the fabric, stinging the skin beneath. “Do you know what you've done? I have NOTHING LEFT!” For a few seconds, all that was left in the room was the echoes of his voice.

 

As Kieran cowered, Drayton's form flickered in the corner of his eyes, momentarily revealing a pitiful creature, leagues smaller than Kieran. Its pointed visage looked… sad, like it was crying. But as quickly as it had appeared, Drayton's human form returned, now seething with an anger that Kieran had never seen before.

 

Oh no.

 

Kieran instinctively raised up his arms, and was glad he did.

 

He could have sworn that with a quick upwards spin, Drayton’s form morphed into the tiny creature. But before he could even register what was happening, the creature was upon him, its sharp claws slashing through the fabric of his red vest twice with alarming ease, the horrifying shredding sound ringing through the club room.

 

“W-what the—Argh!”

 

Every nerve in his body seemed to ignite with agony, sending waves of torment rippling through him. Holding back his tears, he clenched his teeth, willing himself to endure the excruciating torment that sent waves of paralysis through his form. He stumbled back, a small whine escaping from his mouth, his heart pounding in his chest as adrenaline surged through his veins. Wincing, he closed his eyes, squeezed out a tear and brought himself to start absorbing energy. For a moment, everything was still as the energy perforated his skin and swirled to his core. 

 

Wha-what am I doing?

 

It was a desperate measure, but it had to be done. Kieran felt the unfamiliar weight of his altered body settle around him, holding back the unease with the reins of fear. His fur bristled, his scales gleaming in the dim light of the club room. 

 

Why am I fighting?

 

Drayton, now back in human form, wasted no time in launching another attack. Swirling dark purple energy emanated from the air around him, swirling to his fingertips, which seemed to have grown claws. With a swift motion, he unleashed a Shadow Claw, his hand slashing through the air with lethal precision. But to Kieran's relief, the attack passed right through him, the ghostly energy passing right through his body and his clothes, fading out as it reached the floor, sinking into the carpet.

 

“Damn it… Normal type…” The whisper was barely caught on by the young boy.

 

H-help!

 

“No..No! Why?” Kieran cried. What had he done to Drayton to deserve such hatred? How could he ever make amends for the pain he had caused? It was his actions, his misguided attempts to help, that had led to Drayton's current predicament. He had unleashed forces beyond his control, and now, he had to face the music.

 

-It’s all my fault! I made him become like this, I made him suffer, so why shouldn’t I accept his payback? Why am I still trying? Why? I might as well just die to his hands!

 

An idea arose in Kieran’s mind. Perhaps a super effective attack could stun Drayton and leave him enough room to escape? As he disorientedly sidestepped another slash attack, a mental recollection of the type chart reappeared in his mind. Normal was only weak to Fighting, which Ghost is immune to… Ghost was weak to Ghost and Dark, the former of which was cancelled by Normal… He shut his eyes again, and the recollections of him trying out Dark Pulse came back to mind. Carrying out a quick Calm Mind to boost his stats, he couldn’t help but notice that the room had suddenly gone silent again.

 

With a shaky breath, he held out his trembling arms before him, cupping his hands, a swirl of dark shadow energy forming into a slowly growing orb. He opened his eyes, scanning across the league club room, but Drayton was nowhere to be seen—before he heard a sound behind him. As Kieran gathered his resolve, he attempted to send out the blast behind him, his heart pounding in his chest as he focused on his opponent. But before he could even turn around, he felt a searing heat at his back, followed by a powerful blast that sent him tumbling forward.

 

He cried out in pain as the fiery blast tore through his defences, leaving him scorched and reeling from the impact. The burn seared his skin, sizzling through his fur and scutes. Surprisingly, his clothes were fine, but that just meant that his jacket would be clinging to his first-degree burn for the rest of the battle. Did he have any Rawst or Lum berries? Looking aside, he thanked Arceus under his breath that he was a special attacker.

 

Oh, thank goodness Tera Shell activated, or it would have hurt like hell.

 

Amidst the chaos, Kieran's Pokédex tumbled from his waist bag, its screen flickering to life as it scanned the battlefield. WIth a quick glance, Terapagos and Zorua appeared on the display in pixelated sprites with their names above them, their status effects glaring back at him. Kieran's heart sank as he saw his own HP dwindling to 61%, then a little further as fiery sparks swirled from underneath  his clothes, followed by the searing pain that made him flinch.

 

“Terapagos was hurt from its burn!” 

 

As Drayton lunged forward, his outstretched hand reaching for Kieran's tail, Kieran quickly spun around. With a quick reflex, he utilised the scutes on his skin, making every one of them glow, channelling it into a dazzling display of light that erupted from every fibre of his being. The air crackled with energy as bright pink hues danced around him, forming a radiant aura that enveloped the battlefield for just a split second.

 

“Terapagos used Dazzling Gleam!”

 

The Dazzling Gleam burst forth in a blinding flash, catching Drayton off guard. The intensity of the attack was staggering, leaving him momentarily stunned as he quickly shut his eyes. With a startled cry, he stumbled backward, his fingers grasping at empty air as he struggled to regain his footing. As Drayton tumbled to the ground with a resounding thud, Kieran's heart pounded in his chest. 

 

“Zorua flinched and couldn’t move!”

 

With a quick glance, Kieran seized the opportunity to snatch up his fallen Pokédex, the device's screen flickering to life in his trembling hands. He clicked on the Zorua indicator, his eyes scanning the display for any sign of Drayton's moveset. Let’s see… Nature: Lax, Moves: Shadow Sneak, Burning Jealousy, Shadow Claw, C-

 

-A sharp pang tore through his body, causing the Pokédex to clatter to the floor again.

 

“Terapagos was hurt from its—”

 

“Crap!” He growled.

 

Undeterred, Kieran brought one of his hands high above his head, forming a barrier of pure energy, the energy crackling around him as he summoned forth the power of the stars. With a snap of his fingers, the white shield of energy in front of him disappeared into sparkles, before several star-shaped meteors brimming with energy crashed down onto Drayton’s form, knocking him down, tearing away his illusion and keeping him supine as he let out a yelp, writhing on the ground.

 

“–used Tera Blast (Stellar)! A critical hit!”

 

With another quick glance, Kieran caught hold of Drayton’s health. 2 HP.

 

YES! He’s down. One more Tera Blast just to be safe, and I can nope outta here.

 

“Terapagos’ Attack fell harshly! Terapagos’ Special Attack fell harshly!”

 

Even after the stat drop of the attack caught up to him, he knew that victory was within his grasp. With a determined gleam in his eyes, he summoned forth his power again, taking a step back. But in his haste, he failed to look behind him. With a sudden lurch, his foot slipped on a streak of scarlet, sending him crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

 

WAIT! Nononononono-

 

The pencil flew out from beneath his shoe.A wave of dread washed over Kieran as he lay sprawled on the ground, his heart pounding in his chest. He cursed his carelessness, berating himself for letting his guard down in the heat of battle. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest as he struggled to rise to his feet. 

 

“Zorua used Shadow Sneak! Zorua used–”

 

A shadow briefly slid behind him, almost too subtle to see…Before a strong orange glow casted a shadow of him, and everything struck him at once. Kieran’s breath caught in his throat as the streaks of orange flying from the ceiling crashed into him, just like the meteors that he had sent off, shadows encasing him and the counterforce slamming into his vulnerable body while his jacket was torn to shreds, tearing off his fur, shattering his scutes and digging into his flesh. One meteor went straight at Kieran’s Pokédex, shattering its screen. Each impact was like a dagger piercing deeper into his tissue, sending paroxysms straight into his torso. 

 

For a brief moment, a remarkable sight stirred up in the league club room, a blizzard of iridescent scutes, scales and fur that gleamed and sparkled as they flew in every direction.

 

“-Counter! It’s-iT’s s^P3r eff-t1ve! Ter#P4g0s f-int#d!”

 

For a moment, Kieran’s vision swirled with blood red circles that threatened to expand. He stumbled forward and staggered to his feet, his limbs heavy with exhaustion. Each step felt like an eternity as he fought to stay upright, his skin full of cuts and bruises that seemed to bleed out all at once. As crystals sprouted from his skin, pulsing with an energy that attempted to heal his tissue, he pushed himself up.

 

I don’t want to die.

 

With a shaky breath, Kieran stumbled towards the door, frantically trying to pry the doors open, smearing red all over the circuitry. The door was jammed, and it simply wouldn’t budge. Panic surged through him as he punched the door repeatedly, causing sparks of electricity to emanate from the circuitry. All the time, Drayton’s shadow seemed to loom closer, even as the taller teen stood still.

 

Kieran cast his gaze around the room, searching for anything that could possibly get him out. His eyes fell upon the table where his Pokeballs lay scattered.

 

Wait, I could–I could send out Hydrapple! Or Incineroar, whatever works, he’s at 2 HP! 

 

Summoning what little strength remained within him, Kieran lunged towards the table, his fingers closing around the nearest Pokeball. But before he could grasp it, he felt a sudden impact onto his chest, a forceful shove that sent him crashing to the ground with a cry of pain, as two large hands–human ones–fell onto his shoulders.

 

The Pokeballs tumbled to the ground, and yet none of them opened.

 

W-what? How can an illusion push me down like this?

 

As his vision focused, he noticed a silhouette–Drayton looming over him, his expression twisted with rage and contempt. Kieran's heart sank as he gazed up at his former friend, a sense of hunger looming in the senior’s eyes. He knew that he was in no condition to continue the fight. But even as fear gnawed at his insides, he refused to give up hope.

 

“Drayton, please,” Kieran pleaded as his voice strained, “We don’t have to do this! I’m sorry, I’m really sorry! I’ll do whatever I can to help you get out of this predicament! Please, please don’t end it all!”

 

No response. There was no reasoning with him, only blind fury and unbridled hatred. Drayton loomed high above, his skin also littered with shimmering crystals that flaked and fluttered onto the ground. An expression so full of anger, so full of determination, that Kieran knew he would sacrifice himself and all others to reach his goal, to prosper, to succeed. Citrine eyes that glowed with no shine.

 

Again, an eerie reflection of Kieran himself.

 

And as Drayton raised his hand to strike once more, Kieran braced himself for the inevitable blow.

“AARGH!”

 

Pain exploded in Kieran's face as Drayton's fist connected with brutal force, sending shockwaves of agony coursing through his skull. Stars danced behind his closed eyelids as he reeled from the impact, his senses overwhelmed by the searing pain. A metallic taste flooded his mouth as blood trickled from his nose, staining the aegean blue carpet beneath him plum purple and crimson. Every breath came in ragged gasps as he struggled to push himself upright, his vision swimming as he fought to stay conscious.

 

His head throbbed with each heartbeat, but he managed to muster a weak voice. “Drayton, please, just listen to me,” he implored, “I know things have gone horribly wrong, but we can still fix this! I promise! Just look at me! I didn’t want to become like this at all either!”

 

“Fix this?” The other spat, his voice brimming with contempt. “How can you even say that shit after what you've done to me? You've taken everything from me, Kieran. My humanity, my identity, my very essence. I’m nothing now! I would rather die heroically than have to suffer for the rest of eternity as a loser, a failure that isn’t even human anymore! Now I’m stuck like this, unable to age or die…”

 

Is he… crying?

 

“I- I never wanted any of this to happen,” Kieran stuttered, “I was only-only trying to help, to save you! Please, I… I really didn’t mean to bring you all this suffering! Can't you see that?”

 

“Save me?” The fox cried. “Is that what you call it? Turning me into a mere shadow of who I once was? I’ve already lost almost everything. You may have had good intentions, Kieran, but the road to hell is paved with them. And now, I am paying the price for your mistakes. Well, guess what! I figured out how to solidify an illusion, so I might as well just see you bleed out from my own hands.”

 

Another strike, this time square in the jaw. A blunt pain reverberated through Kieran’s head again, and the dam broke. All the tears began streaming out, rolling down the side of his face as a flurry of strikes hit his face and neck, followed by sluggish swipes that barely missed every time Kieran shifted, the sharp pain from being barely grazed being even worse than before. “Stop-STOP! PLEASE!”

“Save your breath, Kieran,” the senior spat in between a swipe, his tone laced with bitterness. “Your empty words mean nothing to me. You think you can just talk your way out of this mess, but you're sorely mistaken. I know the truth, Kieran. I know what you've done, and no amount of excuses will change that. If I can’t die, you may as well die instead. You will pay.” As his hand-claws tore through Kieran’s vest again, the sickly smell of iron staining them, the claws buried themselves deep within the cerulean fur, into the skin. It almost felt cool and pleasant… then Kieran screamed as loud as he could. He convulsed and sputtered, but every sudden action was met with another slash going right across the chest. This time, the older teen’s aim was true.

 

He wasn’t holding back anymore.

 

Suddenly swinging his arm right, Kieran broke his right arm out of the grasp. Attempting to swing it upwards, Kieran’s bloodied fist made contact with the other’s face… before it slipped right through the other’s form, like nothing was there. A second later, Kieran felt something drip onto his face… the other’s tears, sizzling on his blistered and bruised skin.

 

"Save me?" he repeated yet again, before letting out a maniacal laugh, almost like he had heard a joke. “Oh… What a good joke. You can be so funny sometimes. Trust me, I’ve tried to save myself, to release myself from this agony. I’ve tried many, many times. Nothing fucking works.”

 

It was clear now that his anger ran deeper than Kieran had ever imagined. 

 

“I never asked for your help, I never asked for shit,” the white-haired teen spat, “I never wanted to be a pawn in your twisted games. But you just had to add to the crushing pressure on my back, didn’t you? You had to play the hero, to swoop in and save the day. Well, congratulations, motherfucker. You've saved me all right. Saved me from ever living a normal life again.”

 

“Well, you are—you are the one being unreasonable for beating me up in—” Kieran’s protest was cut short by another punch, landing square in his right cheek, eliciting yet another whine.

 

“Unreasonable? I’m the one who’s unreasonable? I’ve never seen you this unfiltered and stupid before. You think your problems compare to mine?” The vulpine announced, choking on a sniffle. “Let me tell you something. You have no idea what it's like to live in my shoes. To be constantly compared to someone else, to feel like you're always falling short of expectations. You have no idea what it's like to carry the weight of your family's disappointment on your shoulders. You have fucking no idea how much I want to just end everything.”

 

“And now you have the sheer audacity to plead for forgiveness right below me?” The Elite Four scoffed, his voice laced with contempt. “Well, I'm sorry, Kieran, but forgiveness isn't something that can be bought with empty words. There’s nothing you can do to save myself or yourself from this shithole you’ve created for me.”

 

For the first time in five minutes, Kieran had a thought.

 

“You— you… think you're the only one who's suffered, Drayton?” Kieran weakly muttered. “You think turning into a Pokémon is the worst thing that could ever happen to someone? You may have lost your humanity, but at least you still have your parents. At least you still have people who care about you.”

 

The teen’s eyes flashed with anger as his hand met Kieran’s head again. “Don't you dare talk about my family,” he growled, “you have no idea what it's like to feel like you're constantly living in someone else's shadow. To feel like you'll never be good enough, no matter how hard you try. You…” 

 

Kieran was starting to black out. Words started to melt into each other as every part of his upper body ached, blood rolling down his fingertips.

 

“A w1l*d K0Raid-n ap%ar3d!”

 

A what? 

 

Through the glitchy sound of the Pokédex, Kieran began to stir again. Koraidon… The only one possibly allowed on the campus… is Ju-Juliana. Wait.

 

The door burst open with a deafening roar, sending Drayton stumbling back in surprise. In the blink of an eye, a giant red visage—Juliana—made its way through the remains of the doorframe. Kieran's eyes widened in shock as he watched Juliana’s deep umber eyes stare down at him, her fiery gaze locking onto him and Drayton with equal parts concern and determination.

 

“K*r4idOn us3d Dr4GoN cL#w!”

 

With a deep growl, Juliana's massive scarlet claws crackled with swirling blueish energy, pinning both Kieran and Drayton to the wall with a strength that left them powerless to resist. As the energy pulsed around her claws, Kieran could see the strain etched into Juliana's features, the furrow of her brow and the clench of her jaw as her eye twitched. 

 

"Enough!" she bellowed, her voice echoing through the room like thunder. Kieran winced at the sheer force of her words. 

 

As Juliana's umber eyes bore into his own citrine pair, Kieran could see the tears that beaded near her eyes. Wait, reptiles could cry? "Wh-why are you two doing this?" she pleaded, her voice cracking with emotion. "Please, please cut it out! I will not watch my best friends kill each other in front of me!"

 

Despite being pinned to the wall, Kieran shakily raised his hand, causing sparkling white energy to concentrate in his palms. Drayton sluggishly raised his arms, and tried to do the same. Kieran strained to summon the energy for a Tera Blast, his muscles trembling with effort, seeing a peek of orange coming from behind the reptile's body.

 

"Stop! Please, stop!" Juliana's voice cracked.

 

Taking a deep breath, Juliana looked at them. “Listen to me,” she began, “I know what it's like to feel like you’ve lost everything.”

 

Juliana's voice wavered. “I was ripped from my own timeline, forced to endure unspeakable experiments at the hands of a mad scientist. I thought I had found solace in the arms of a woman I saw as a mother figure, only to watch helplessly as she was taken from me by my own brethren, another stronger, more aggressive Koraidon. For months, I couldn’t battle.”

 

“I thought I had lost everything! I thought that there was no point in going on. But it was through the support of my friends, through their belief in me, that I found the strength to carry on, to defeat the other beast and finally start battling again. I believe you can do so too.”

 

With tears streaming down her face, Juliana spoke again, “Please, don’t let your pain destroy you.”

 

For a moment, there was silence as Kieran and Drayton processed Juliana's words.

Kieran felt a weight lift from his shoulders, the tension in his muscles slowly beginning to ebb away. As Kieran locked eyes with Juliana, he found himself drawn into the depths of her umber gaze. In those eyes, he saw not only fear and desperation, but also anguish. It was a familiar sensation, one that he had experienced firsthand in Area Zero, when Juliana was fighting an enraged Terapagos, while he thought he was helpless to do anything. It was like a reflection gazing back.

 

So he finally let go.

 

With a trembling breath, Kieran closed his eyes, allowing the energy for the Tera Blast to dissipate, trying to shakily put down his hands. Still, the energy refused to listen and continued to swell, its luminous pulse casting an eerie light across the room. "No, no, no," he muttered under his breath, his voice trembling with fear. But with each passing moment, the energy only grew more volatile, sparks flying out with an intensity that threatened to overwhelm him, rainbow jolts of energy sparkling around as it grew larger. “No! Nonononono—”

 

Across the room, Drayton's own efforts mirrored Kieran's, the orange glow of his attack radiating with increasing brilliance as his panic mounted. "I-I can't stop it," Drayton gasped. “Fuck! Juli—run!”

 

The light left Juliana’s eyes.

 

As the blasts reached their breaking point, Kieran's heart pounded in his chest, his breaths coming in short, ragged gasps as he braced himself for the inevitable collision. "We have to stop this!" he cried out, his voice barely audible over the deafening roar of energy that built up. 

 

“Z8r-A us3D C– t&r4PAgos *s3d Te^a–”

 

And finally, out it flew, meteors and sizzles—

 

—The explosion turned the entire room gold.

 

…

 

As the blinding light faded, leaving behind a haze of smoke and debris, Kieran found himself lying on the ground, every breath basically non-existent. Every heartbeat hurt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest, and his tears sizzled on his burning skin. He didn’t know when he started screaming, but he kept on trying to, his bruised vocal cords struggling to make even a single whimper.

 

The room was in shambles, littered with debris and scorched marks from the impact of the blasts. His ears rang with the echoes of the explosion, and he wasn’t sure if they would ever recover. In two other corners of the room, the other two laid supine, crimson dripping from various cuts on their bodies that mirrored his. Red flowed into his vision, blurring all he could see.

 

He tried to cry, but found his tear ducts completely drained.

 

Were those… footsteps?

 

“Z(%uA 7aiN1ed!”

 

As Kieran's strength ebbed away and the encroaching darkness threatened to engulf him, he felt an overwhelming weariness settle over his weary frame. His eyelids drooped heavily, weighed down by the burden of his injuries and the exhaustion that gnawed at his very core. Summoning the last vestiges of his fading strength, he attempted to cry out for help, but his voice faltered and faded into the encroaching void that encased his vision.

 

“K0R—doN f8intEd!”

 

Though a chilling fear gripped him, he clung to the faint assurance that death was not imminent. At least, he hoped not. If he was lucky, he’d wake up on a better day…

 

“T3r#pAGos F4In—”

 

And finally, he slipped into the dark.

Chapter 3: Antecedent | The Beast With Umber Eyes

Summary:

How our friendly neighbourhood bike lizard came to be.

Discombobulated, discordant and disoriented.

 

The beast blinked. Its eyes adjusted, taking in its new environment. Definitely not a jungle… Definitely not its den. The unfamiliar enclosed dimension loomed before it, a place of light and metal, strange scents and unfamiliar sounds assaulting its senses. The air crackled with an otherworldly energy, tinged with the faint scent of iron and the musty aroma of dust and dirt that clung to the rugged steel floor.

 

Where am I? Wh…Why don’t I remember anything?

Its gaze swept across the expanse of the room, taking in the towering walls lined with giant white hexagonal crystals. Each crystal gleamed with an ethereal luminescence, casting fractured patterns of light and shadow upon the sterile surfaces. Despite their imposing size, the crystals seemed to hum with a subdued energy, emitting a faint clinking sound that resonated through the chamber, though they remained eerily still.

Above her, three massive metal limbs protruded from the ceiling, their angular forms reaching towards the centre of the room where a glowing white ball of energy pulsed with a mesmerising intensity. It hovered like a beacon amidst the labyrinthine network of machinery, casting an iridescent glow that bathed the room.The air thrummed with the presence of power, emanating from the pulsating core of the ball of energy, bluish zaps of energy appearing beside the ball of energy every now and then.The room seemed to pulse with a life of its own.

As it took its first tentative steps across the rugged metal floor, the distant echoes of its own footfalls reverberated through the chamber, mingling with the faint hum of the crystalline walls. Its claws clicked softly against the metal surface.

Then it turned around.

 

Before the beast stood a figure unlike anything it had ever encountered—a bipedal creature with unusual features. The creature bore a slight resemblance to a primate, yet it lacked the dense fur that adorned the beasts of the wilderness. Instead, its peach-toned skin was adorned with a cascade of lush tan-grey locks that flowed down its head, clad in a strange orange garment overlaid by a pristine white coat, its eyes a sparkling shade of blue.

 

To the beast, the creature appeared diminutive, barely more than half its towering height. Yet, there was a sense of power emanating from the creature. Though the beast could not completely understand why, it recognized the creature as a human. A female human, in fact.

 

A flicker of confusion darted across the beast’s mind. Why isn’t the human fleeing from me?

 

The beast's instincts urged it to pounce forward, to assert dominance over this newfound prey. Yet, something about the human held its gaze captive, engulfing the beast with an emotion it had never felt before—curiosity.

 

Peeking behind, the beast noticed something. Behind the human stood another of its kind, larger and more imposing. The beast's muscles tensed as it sensed the palpable aura of power radiating from the creature. The second beast fixed its intense gaze upon the first beast. A low, menacing growl rumbled from deep within the second’s throat, reverberating through the chamber, causing the entire room to shake. The first beast recoiled.

 

Ducking behind the human, the first beast crouched low on all fours, trembling at the larger competitor. Tremors of fear coursed through its sinewy frame, its scarlet scales quivering with a mixture of apprehension and dread. Though it stood taller and stronger than the human, in the face of the Guardian's primal ferocity, it was but a mere shadow of its former self.

 

As the second’s piercing gaze bore down upon it, the beast felt a jolt of fear course through its arteries. 

 

Danger... The second one was stronger.

 

"So it’s true, they do exist! This must be the Winged King-no, a Koraidon! And two specimens, in fact! Ah, you're quite the interesting specimen, aren't you?" The human remarked, her voice tinged with a hint of amusement. In her right hand was a purple-and-white sphere, with a glyph carved on its front above a white button.

 

“Koraidon”? So is that what I am? The beast thought.

 

“Come back to your Master Ball!” The human shouted, lifting up her right arm and pressing the button on the strange sphere. A beam of red light shot onto the second beast, surrounding it and melting back into the sphere.

 

Even as the human returned the second Koraidon to the Master Ball, the first Koraidon refused to stop quivering. The woman’s voice, tinged with excitement and curiosity, reached her ears, though the words were foreign and incomprehensible for then. “What magnificent red scales! And a female? I would never have expected it!” she spoke to the first.

 

Turning to the second, she smiled, her eyes fixed on the ball. "She's a lot smarter than you, isn't she?" The woman mused to the second beast, her eyes gleaming with scientific fervour as she observed the beast. "And such magnificent umber eyes! A prime subject for my newest experiment, I'd say."

 

The first Koraidon tilted its head. …Experiment? What did that mean?

 

“Though you may not understand it now, I will tell you. I am professor Sada, the creator of the time machine that brought you here! You, the first Koraidon, will be my subject for my newest advancement on Tera energy. With you, if the experiment succeeds, I can create sapient Pokemon that can turn into any form they want! This breakthrough will be revolutionary–one step closer to building my paradise!” She raised her 

 

"And you, my stronger specimen, you'll be instrumental in strengthening the defences of my time machine. You’ll be known as the Guardian of Paradise. With your power, we'll weed out any intruders who dare to challenge us."

 

The Guardian of Paradise Koraidon growled from within its pokeball. The first Koraidon remained silent, its eyes darting nervously between Sada and the glowing white orb.

 

"Someday, my dear Winged King," Sada looked back to the first, "you shall become something extraordinary. A Pokemon capable of harnessing the power of Tera energy to shape itself into any form it chooses, to create the ultimate paradise. Come on, let’s go."

 

The beast looked straight into the eyes of the woman. It still didn’t understand what Sada’s words were, but it knew that the woman had just given it a proposal. Strangely, it felt a sense of warmth, one that it had never felt before. Even the harsh sunlight that it summoned from its ancient power had never felt the same way.

 

The beast decided to trust her. It blinked its umber eyes and followed.

Notes:

This was originally meant to be longer, but writer’s block hit me like a freight train

Chapter 4: Novel | Iridescent Irises

Summary:

Surely battling with a calmed-down Terapagos in front of the entire school would be fine… right?

Notes:

Blood and minor gore warning! (I say as someone suffers a near-fatal injury)

This chapter happens before all other chapters chronologically (except for The Beast With Umber Eyes).

“This is an official BB League announcement. An unranked match is about to begin at the battle court near the entrance, featuring Champion Juliana, Elite Four Drayton and a very special guest today—the Legendary Pokemon Terapagos! If you would like to watch the match, please make your way there.”

 

The announcement echoed through the crowded cafeteria of Blueberry Academy, instantly grabbing the attention of the students. 

 

“Did you hear that? Terapagos—”

“I thought it was just a rumour!”

“Since when did Blueberry Academy get Legendary Pokemon?”

 

In the brightly lit cafeteria, the excited sounds of chattering overshadowed the clatter of cutlery against plates. The cool blast of air conditioning, which circulated throughout the room, almost made Kieran shiver. Wooden walls adorned with intricate branch-like patterns in white streaks lined the room. People bustled about, their figures weaving through the maze of tables and chairs as they queued up for dinner. The scent of various dishes wafted through the air.

Among the bustling chatter, Kieran sat at a corner table, absently munching on a pack of fries as he listened to the murmurs around him. Listening, he paused mid-bite. His curiosity was piqued. 

 

Why would Briar expose us to such a powerful Pokemon in a school battle? Isn’t she worried about the potential dangers? Terapagos is—

 

All the memories came rushing back to him. He saw the angered Terapagos fire a beam of pure energy, zeroing right on him…

 

-forget it. Why would Drayton, of all people, agree to battle against Juliana and Terapagos? Does he not know the mess that happened or does he have some messed up evil plans? Why did they announce the battle? Do they want another disaster to happen again? What is Briar plotting this time? Why hasn’t she been ARRESTED?

 

Kieran simply couldn’t stop the stream of questions bursting out from his mind. He was sure Briar meant well, but the sole fact that she had brought three teenagers to a cave deep down underground, and not backed off when Terapagos revealed its true power, even basking in it, meant that she was probably not the best adult to be in charge. Who even let her arrange yet another battle with the dangerous magic turtle? 

Blueberry Academy’s education might be good, but the teachers certainly couldn’t deal with students’ social problems at all.

With a sigh, Kieran set aside his half-eaten fries. 

 

“Looks like your two friends are the stars of the show today, Kiki,” Carmine remarked teasingly. She had ordered an Oran Berry soda, and was chugging it down next to his right. She nudged him playfully with her elbow. “Why not go check up on Juli?”

 

Kieran rolled his eyes, “Shut up, sis.”

“Ohh, are you shy?” Carmine smiled.

 

With a resigned sigh, Kieran pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. Ignoring Carmine’s teasing, he cast a brief glance around the bustling cafeteria before weaving his way through the crowded tables and students, gently pushing his way through. Even as he waded through the crowd, an anchor weighed down his heart, clattering like the dishes around him.

 

“I’m going too! Wait for me!”

 

In the corner of his eye, he saw Carmine also getting up, still clutching her soda. In a split second decision, he decided to make a run for it, his footsteps thumping against the padded indigo carpets.

Jogging down the hall, Kieran glanced at the elevators. He eyed the right side elevator, staring at the dwindling level number. The hallway was bustling with activity, students darting to and fro, an excited buzz darting through the area. Dodging past clusters of students in animated conversations, he finally reached the elevator, the giant metallic doors sliding open with a soft hiss. “Kiki, wait!” his sister’s words fell on deaf ears as the quickening footsteps were abruptly silenced by the metal doors creaking shut.

Stepping into the crowded space along with a few of his peers, Kieran punched the button for the ground floor, the elevator humming to life as it began its ascent. Leaning back against the cool metal wall, he closed his eyes briefly, attempting to dispel the knot in his stomach.

 

Hopefully the battle will go well, hopefully I don’t reveal myself from anxiety. Hopefully Terapagos is fine. But what if everything goes wrong? What if someone in the crowd angers Terapagos and it starts firing at us all again? What if it attacks the school? What if it kills all of us again? What if it recognises me and attacks me again? What if—

Breathe in, breathe out. Terapagos has calmed down, you don’t have to worry. Don’t you remember Juliana showing it to you? If you’re nice to it, you'll be fine. Terapagos won’t attack anyone, and certainly won’t kill anyone.

 

As the elevator quickly reached a constant speed, Kieran slowly opened his eyes. Students of all heights and ages crowded the elevator, chittering with trepidation. He kept his gaze fixed on the flickering numbers of the display panel, each digit ticking upwards with agonising slowness.  He hesitated, his fingers absently twirling a lock of hair as he fought with the urge to retreat into silence.

“Hey, Kieran! Wasn’t Juliana the one that requested for this battle? Why didn’t you be her battle partner?” One of Kieran’s classmates piqued. 

“Um, some personal stuff,” Kieran finally murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. He averted his gaze and tried to figure out what shade of grey the ceiling of the elevator was.

 

Graphite grey, flint grey, coin grey? Kieran tried to calm down his nerves. He fixated on the monotonous hue of the elevator ceiling, hoping to anchor himself from the sea of emotions that crashed through his head in waves.

Slowly, the rhythmic hum of the machinery seemed to lull him into ease. As the elevator reached its end point, Kieran’s nerves finally quieted. Any moment now…

 

Ding!

 

The doors slid open.

 

____

 

As Kieran stepped out of the elevator, through the turnstile and into the battle court, he was greeted by a rush of cool evening air. The expansive space stretched out before him, bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun.  The giant blue curved LED screens showed the announcement, along with a silhouette of Terapagos’s Terastal form marked with a question mark. Navigating through the bustling crowd of students, Kieran made his way to the nearest row of curved blue seats that flanked the battle area. He chose a spot towards the middle of the left side, his gaze sweeping over the sea of faces that filled the amphitheatre-style seating. The chatter of excited voices filled the air, some students excited about the Legendary Pokemon that was going to be displayed. 

In a quick glance, he located the two competitors. Juliana sat poised and focused, her Alolan Ninetales by her side purring as she double-checked her phone’s Pokedex app for her mons’ EV spreads. Every once in a while, a student would pass by and pet the snowy white vulpine, eliciting a soft yip. Across from her, at the other side of the court, Drayton appeared engrossed in his phone, his expression unreadable as he scrolled through the screen with a casual nonchalance. Perhaps he was scrolling through Rotumblr again? No clue. Behind him, his League Club assistants sat chatting. A senior with black and blue hair was eagerly making all kinds of shapes with their hands, seemingly speculating on what the Legendary was going to look like to their peers.

Briar, that arcdammned teacher sat to his far left, writing something in her notebook. After all, she was the one who asked Juliana to start this battle, why wouldn’t she be here?

 

Scanning around the court, Kieran observed the diverse array of students gathered to witness the spectacle unfolding before them. Lacey and Amarys sat to his right, staring at a sheet of paper—meeting details? Kieran had no clue. Excitement shimmered in their eyes.

Where’s Cris-

“Oh, hello Kieran!” Juliana turned. “I’m just fixing my Ninetales’ EV spread so that it can tank an Iron Head with Aurora Veil set up. Though I made it into Tera Fire, I’m not gonna use that today so I can show everyone Stellar Form Terapagos. It’s gonna be a Blizzard and Dazzling Gleam spammer with Ogerpon—don’t tell Drayton that. Skeledirge is gonna be there too! And in case you’re asking, I’m only using four Pokemon so I can show off Terapagos.”

 

“...That’s cool,” Kieran smiled weakly. “Why Drayton though?”

“You know Briar wanted me to find someone to battle against, right?” Juliana responded. “Well, I decided that it probably wasn’t a good idea to ask you, because of your… condition and all, so I asked the Elite Four. I think Drayton honestly just wanted to battle to destress, and as he mentioned, ‘I wanna see that magic turtle thing up close’. So, why not?”

Kieran shrugged with a sheepish smile, “Why not, I guess?”

“The thing’s gonna start in like, three minutes. Gimme a second, I need to give my Ninetales a Kelpsy berry. When did I even give it Attack EVs anyways?” Juliana rummaged through her bag with her right hand, holding a few Genius Feathers in her left. 

He stared at the white creature, gave it a few pats on the head and then shuffled back to his seat. The vulpine turned towards him, and seemed to mutter a “thank you”. 

“Kiki!”

Startled by Carmine’s voice, he spun around to see Carmine’s citrine yellow pupils boring directly into his. She sat in the row directly behind him. Pushing his pack of fries into his hand, she unzipped his waist bag and took out a sweet, popping it into her mouth. “A snack for a snack”, her muffled voice echoed as she chewed on the strawberry flavoured candy. 

“Thanks, I guess?” Kieran shakily held up his pack of fries, chewing on the now soft strips. With his spare hand, he zipped his bag back up. “What are you doing here—”

“This is an official BB League announcement. An unranked match is starting at the battle court near the entrance, featuring Champion Juliana, Elite Four Drayton and the Legendary Pokemon Terapagos! The match is beginning right now! I repeat, the match is beginning right now!” The intercom almost blew out Kieran’s eardrums.

 

“Effing hell,” Kieran cursed under his breath.

 

To his left, he briefly caught a glimpse of Briar talking to Juliana. “Thanks for accepting my offer to host this battle with Terapagos! I have told the school staff that this battle was my idea so they could rearrange some class timings.” 

Juliana’s face simply read “I was forced into this”. She shrugged it off and responded with a customary “thank you” before getting up and recalling Ninetales. 

The crowd cheered. As the two competitors stood up and walked to the court, Kieran’s attention was immediately drawn to Drayton's determined face. The Elite Four member practically exuded confidence as he slowly strode towards the designated battle area. Kieran could barely catch a glimpse of his expression as he marched forward in wide steps.

 

“Hey!” Juliana’s voice resonated across the court. Though Kieran couldn’t see her face, he could sense the fierce determination radiating from her voice. There was a sense of quiet intensity in the air.

 

“Hey there, Champ,” he greeted, “Ready for this?”

 

“You bet,” she replied, “but don’t expect me to go easy on you just because you’re one of the Elite Four. In fact, I’m on a Pokemon handicap of four ‘mons instead of six, so I’ll go out.”

 

Drayton chuckled, “Wouldn't have it any other way, Champ. Plus, you’ve got that Legendary back there, I’m sure it’ll put up quite a fight. Let’s give everyone a battle they’ll never forget!”

 

The intercom crackled back to life. “Let’s see these two duel off! We’ll be saving the Legendary to the last!”

 

“Bring it on!” Juliana shouted as her arm reached into her pocket and swiped out two Pokeballs as fast as lightning. The battlefield was filled with a deluge of snow as Alolan Ninetales and Ogerpon hit the field with a thump, the two Pokemon roaring in unison.

 

Oh, Ogerpon… Kieran felt a pang in his heart.

 

Spinning a whole 180 degrees around, Drayton flung out his own two Pokeballs, Flygon and Dragonite popping out, flapping their wings and floating gently above the arena while Drayton landed from his spin in a hop.

 

The LED screens flashed white, before turning back to a display of all four Pokemon on the court, along with their HP values and a “snow” weather indicator.

 

“Ogerpon, Follow Me! Ninetales, Aurora—” “Flygon, Stone Edge, Dragonite, Tailwind!

 

In the snowy atmosphere, Ninetales braced itself and surrounded itself with energy as Ogerpon sped in front of Flygon, taking its Stone Edge as the ground burst open, a stream of rocks flying out from the cracks right onto Ogerpon. Just as Ninetales surrounded itself and Ogerpon with a magical swirling energy, Dragonite flew up and started blowing a strong current, making it more agile. The snow in the wind flew against Ninetales and Ogerpon, causing Ogerpon to shut its eyes, trying to shake away the flurry of white.

 

For a moment, Flygon seemed to twitch from the Life Orb it was holding, before lifting its head back up, its beady black eyes staring down the Ninetales through its red lenses.

 

“Off to a great start! Both teams set up their boosting abilities, be it A-Veil or Tailwind! Let’s see if Drayton’s Pokemon’s speed can overcome Juliana’s Pokemon’s tankiness!”

 

The LED screens flashed to show two new statuses: Tailwind and Aurora Veil.

 

“Blizzard! Play Rough!” Juliana rubbed the snow off her face as she shouted, blinking in the strong winds.

 

“Earthquake and Extreme Speed to Ninetales!”

Kieran blinked as he ducked down from the freezing air. Still, Drayton remained unfazed by the torrent of snow that blew onto his back and nape. Clearly, he was used to it.

 

“Ooh, a double up! Can Ninetales dodge in time?”

 

Ogerpon dove forward right after Dragonite, imbuing its vines with pinkish energy, but not before Dragonite sped forward right past Ogerpon at a blistering speed, streaking right onto Ninetales, sending it tumbling backwards with a whine, falling onto its back. Still, the white creature shifted onto its sides, spread out its front legs and shakily stood up. “Rrrow!” the Ninetales growled.

Stumbling backwards, Ogerpon quickly swung around and leapt onto Dragonite, latching onto its big yellow tail, before delivering a flurry of attacks. After being flung off, crashing onto the floor, the ground shook and cracked, blasting out streams of energy that caused Ogerpon to stumble back—but it caught itself and remained standing.

As the ground shook beneath Ninetales’ paws, it did a hop and skip backwards, backing itself against the wall as it released a blast of chilling air to both dragons. As it barely managed to skip from piece to piece of land, barely grazing its mane from the energy emanating from the cracks, Flygon fell to the ground with a wham, groggily pulling itself up. 

 

By now, Kieran was already leaning over the front of his seat, his yellow eyes fixated on Ogerpon.

 

Flygon’s health indicator on the LED fell down to red, a measly 21/272. “What a hit! Ninetales blasts Flygon to red and Dragonite to yellow, while remaining at yellow itself! Ogerpon is still green, this looks awesome for Juliana!”

 

Drayton gritted his teeth. “Extreme Speed into Ogerpon, Fire Punch into Ninetales!” He swung his arm forwards. 

“Spiky Shield, come back Ninetales!” Juliana responded.

 

“Dragonite, change targets!” Dragonite swerved around in the middle of its dash, disoriented, its big yellow head swerving around, before it righted itself and sped towards Ninetales… only to be intercepted by a protected Ogerpon, a glowing spiky green shield of energy swirling around its body. To Juliana’s surprise, Dragonite swerved to the left, gritting its teeth as the spikes ran through its right side, cutting off a steady stream of HP. Finally, it made its way to the surprised Ninetales—

 

—no, not a Ninetales. Instead, the Extreme Speed flew right though a newly-sent-out Skeledirge. As the Fire Punch landed, Skeledirge shrugged it off. 

 

“What a play! Predicting the Extreme Speed, Juliana sends out—” The intercom cut off for a second, before coming back up, “Hello school, it’s Crispin! I got the microphone, that’s such a blazingly good play from Juli! Let’s see how Drayton responds to this! What can he cook up?”

 

Kieran chuckled. So there he was. Of course it was Crispin who had snatched up the microphone, and knowing the League Club members commentating, they would probably leave the job to Crispin anyways, since he’s more experienced. I mean, rank 5 is already really stellar.

 

With a stumble and crash, the Flygon fell backwards, fainting from its Life Orb. “And one of Skelly’s main counters goes down! Things are a-cookin!” Crispin yelled into the intercom.

 

“Ow…” Kieran yelped. Crispin’s voice was so loud that it stung his ears, and clearly the two competitors shared this sentiment. “Crispin, if you can hear me, turn the sound down, please!” Drayton shouted.

 

“Okay!” The voice from the intercom was now a lot smaller as the laughter from the crowd was now audible. “I hope Lacey doesn’t hear this,” Crispin whispered in a voice that Lacey could obviously hear. “What do you mean?” Lacey shouted back.

 

More laughter. Kieran sighed with a gentle smile on his face. Poor Crispin. 

 

A blast of cold air hit Kieran directly in the face, triggering something lingering in his mind. His mind wandered off as Crispin continued talking, and his smile faded.

 

Wait. I can’t sit this close. What if someone else has a Pokedex? W-what if they find out? Kieran's thoughts raced as anxiety gripped him like a vice. How can I even continue if they find out I'm partially a Legendary Pokemon?

 

“And the Dragonite goes down to the chilly wind! Must’ve gotten a brain freeze!” Crispin’s voice was drowned out by Kieran’s thoughts.

 

The snowfall that had begun during the battle seemed to lock into an icy grip around his chest, constricting his breath. Will they treat me differently? Will they fear me, shun me, and ostracise me? I’m sure they will! I can't let them find out!

 

His heart hammered against his ribcage, each beat echoing in his ears like a drum of doom. Every breath felt laboured, as if he were suffocating beneath the weight of his own fear. In that moment, he felt utterly powerless, trapped in a whirlwind of anxiety that threatened to tear him apart from the inside out. I’m fine I’m fine I’mfineI’m-

 

“Kiki, are you okay?”

 

Carmine's concerned voice pulled Kieran from his spiralling thoughts, and he forced a tight-lipped smile in response. “I’m fine,” he muttered, his words barely audible over the din of the crowd. 

 

Stay calm. Focus on the battle.

 

“It’ll all be okay, I can tell you that they won’t know. Besides, you’ll always be my little brother, I’ll always love you. Even though your irises sparkle with changing colours, deep down they’re still the same yellow they always were. It’ll be okay.”

 

Willing himself to stare back at the scene, ignoring the scales and fur that dotted his face, he saw Haxorus staring down a greatly wounded Ninetales. Skeledirge was also on its last legs, its determined eyes fixed on the Sceptile at yellow. From the screen, he could faintly see that the Weakness Policy was consumed, and Unburden was activated. Oh boy.

 

“Can Torch Song take this veggie lizard down—or is this a sweep I see?” 

 

“Torch Song, you have the ability Unaware! Blizzard!”

 

“Protect for Sceptile and Earthquake!”

 

Juliana flinched. “Nine, come ba—” but it was too late. With the last bit of its health, Ninetales fired off another burst of icy wind, leaving Haxorus just barely alive—before Torch Song finally dwindled its HP to zero. Slowly—not at all gingerly, but slowly—Ninetales fell over, finally falling to the fiery breath, along with Haxorus, each letting out a weakened roar. Sceptile’s shield slowly melted away as it stared at Skeledirge, its determined yellow eyes staring down the other’s own. 

 

Skeledirge shrugged off the snow as the weather dissipated and the Tailwind petered out, but it knew that Aurora Veil was still up—the Light Clay was on Ninetales for a reason. Maybe it could take another hit after Leftovers healing—just not from Leaf Storm.

 

“Ooh, things are looking interesting! We’ve got two heavily injured ‘mons on Juliana’s side along with the unrevealed Legendary, and we’ve got Drayton with three mons, one on 13 HP! Things may seem dire for Drayton here, but remember—Rain is going to be set up, along with Electro Shot, and Juliana’s weather setter and main damage output just went down! What type do you think the Legendary is going to be?”

Kieran stilled himself as he directed his attention to the crowd. “Is it water type?” “-fire type? From what was hinted about rain?” “-maybe Psychic?” “It’s gotta be-” A flurry of responses emerged from the crowd, yet no one guessed correctly. Kieran shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his gaze darting around the amphitheatre as he strained to listen to the responses of the spectators. He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white as he desperately tried to focus on the other Terapagos, not him, anything other than himself. “R-rock?” Kieran said weakly, knowingly adding to the pool of incorrect answers.

 

“Nope, I don’t think any of you are correct! Fun fact, Juliana came up to me and told the Elite Four its typing, but none of us got to see it—until now! After Skeledirge faints, Terapagos will be out in its full glory! Also, I ate too many eggs today.”

 

The crowd started cheering “faint, faint” over and over again to Juliana’s Skeledirge, terribly confusing the poor girl. In the midst of everything, Kieran couldn’t help but gently crack a smile at the ridiculous situation. Even Drayton, all the way at the other side of the court, couldn’t stifle his laugh. 

 

“Alright, you know what? Drayton, I’m not gonna Follow Me this turn, you can attack the Skeledirge all you want. Hope your ‘mons are fine with a Will-O-Wisp. Yeah, I know they’re all special attackers, just let me have my moment.” Juliana sighed as she tossed out Ogerpon’s Pokeball. “Will-O-Wisp and Horn Leech to Kingdra.”

“You can be hilarious sometimes, Champ,” Drayton snickered as he released Kingdra. The blue aquatic creature let out a cry as it waited for instructions. “Rain Dance, Dragon Cheer.” He snickered. 

“Not this shit again,” Juliana whispered, a tinge of annoyance in her words.

 

Kieran loosened up. Perhaps this day wasn’t as bad as he thought.

 

Sceptile raised its head to the sky, to the setting sun, and let out a majestic roar that rippled with purple waves of energy. The energy swirled and condensed in vertical white strips around Kingdra, pumping it up as it concentrated, allowing grey clouds to form above the arena, raining down in a gentle drizzle. Just then, Ogerpon took a running start and imbued its horns with green energy, before ramming straight into Kingdra, knocking it back. A quick Will-O-Wisp followed, causing flames to surround Kingdra’s body that crackled despite the rain.

 

“Hurricane, Acrobatics. Try attacking twice if you can.” Drayton lifted up his tracksuit over his head briefly to shield himself from the rain. 

“Time to make this flamin’ ghost type even more dead!” Crispin interjected.

 

“Torch Song, Horn Leech to Kingdra!” Juliana shouted through the rain that was getting heavier. Weakly, Skeledirge opened its mouth and fired off a weak blast of sound, barely enough to cause Sceptile to faint and chipping Kingdra for around 1/16th of its HP. As the Hurricane hit Ogerpon, it barely managed to raise itself up before barely missing an Ice Beam. It was at red, and it was surprising that it had even survived that long.

 

Go, Ogerpon, you can do it!

 

As Drayton brought out his Archaludon, he snickered. “Time to bring out your Legendary, eh? Wanna show us that powerful magic turtle you mentioned?”

For a moment, Juliana hesitated, before taking out Terapagos’ Pokeball. The crowd held its breath in anticipation. 

 

Then, the Pokeball hit the ground, revealing the legendary—and it was small. Exceedingly small. All eyes were fixed on the small reptilian Pokemon as it emerged, its indigo tortoise-like form drawing murmurs. Its eyes sparkled and glistened with all the colours of the rainbow as it looked upwards in wonder. It was small, smaller than a Pidgey.

 

“Is that the Legendary-”

“-so small?”

“Is this fake?”

 

With each step it took, its cyan shell glinted what was left of the sunlight, the Terastal symbol emblazoned proudly upon its cyan shell. Clearly, it was nervous from the sheer amount of people that crowded around the arena.

 

As Terapagos glanced around in its Normal form, the crowd erupted into cheers, their enthusiasm echoing off the walls of the battle court. Its light blue eyes gleamed with a sense of curiosity, its gaze sweeping over the sea of faces that surrounded it. Then, with a sudden surge of energy, Terapagos rose into the air, its body enveloped in a radiant glow as it began to absorb Terastal energy.

 

“Hold your Tera Orbs out! That’ll help it charge faster!” Juliana’s voice rose over all others, and the few people that had Tera Orbs all raised them up as told. 

 

In an instant, Terapagos released a burst of energy, turning its arm-rings into fluffy iridescent fur, three tails extending backwards from its form. The crowd gasped in awe as the Pokemon’s body began to shift and change, crystalline energy swirling around it in a dazzling display. In a matter of moments, Terapagos had assumed its Terastal form, its frame now disk-like, adorned with voluminous fur that billowed in the breeze like waves on the ocean. The colourful type icons on its back morphed back and forth, and the gleam in its eyes intensified.

 

The crowd erupted into a cacophony of cheers and applause, their voices blending together in a symphony of excitement. “This is what I waited for!” one spectator exclaimed, their eyes wide with awe as they watched the Pokemon glance around again. “I can't believe this!” another shouted, their voice tinged with disbelief at the sight of Terapagos’ newfound power.

 

The students leaned forward in their seats, their faces illuminated by the glow of the battle court lights as they cheered on. “Go, Terapagos!” someone shouted, their voice carrying over the roar of the crowd. “You’ve got this!” 

 

In the corner of his eye, Kieran spotted Briar leaning over the railings, staring straight at Terapagos. Typical Briar.

 

“And the magic drug turtle takes the spotlight! No, I don’t care that I’m gonna get booked for saying that.” Crispin’s commentary was barely heard over the crowd’s chanting. “Okay, quiet! It’s a Normal type. Wanna know what this Pokemon’s ability is? It’s called Tera Shell. Take a guess what it does. In all honesty, I don’t know what it does either. Can Juliana take over and tell us?”

 

“You’ll see. Terapagos, Calm Mind, Ogerpon, Follow Me!”

 

“Well, I guess it’s time to Terastalise! Archaludon, let’s show them who’s in control!” 

 

With a determined gleam in his eyes, Drayton grasped the Tera orb tightly in his hand, feeling the crackling energy swirling within, his arms trembling at the hum. The crowd watched in anticipation as he raised the orb in front of him, the swirling energy casting a blinding light that caused Kieran to shield his eyes. With a swift motion, Drayton hurled the orb towards his Archaludon, the energy bursting forth in a dazzling display.

 

As the energy engulfed the Pokemon, its form began to shimmer, the crystalline structure encasing it in a radiant glow. Archaludon’s body took on a bluish tint, sparkling with the refracted light of the crystals that now adorned its form. Atop its head, a magnificent jewel emerged, taking the shape of a dragon's head and wings.

 

Archaludon looked back and nodded.

 

“Electro Shot, Ice Beam.” Drayton instructed. Ice Beam would hit first, then Electro Shot onto Terapagos…

 

As the freezing beam connected with Ogerpon’s form, it stumbled backwards, falling down as Juliana recalled it. “Down to one!” Crispin blurted out. As Archaludon charged up its energy, a red aura surrounding it, it surrounded its arches with yellowish sparkling energy, crashing it all into a bluish ball, crashing straight at Terapagos—except it didn’t hit. Terapagos was off to the side, closing its eyes as it raised its Special Attack and Special Defense with a rising red aura.

 

For a split second, it stared at Kieran with its iridescent irises, ones that eerily mirrored his. Kieran flinched.

 

It’s fine… that’s not you.

 

“Nice dodge!”

“Draco Meteor! Hydro Pump!

“Terapagos, Tera Starstorm!”

 

The crowd turned to a hushed whisper, tinged with curiosity. Was this a signature move that they had never heard of…?

 

Imbuing itself with bluish energy from its crown, Archaludon unleashed streaks of purple to the sky. As the shimmering blasts of the Draco Meteor descended from above, Terapagos stood firm. The meteors crashed down around it with thunderous force, but the Legendary Pokemon remained steadfast. 

 

“‘Not very effective?’ Wait, isn’t this a Normal type?”

“That’s the ability I was talking about!”

No, it couldn’t stand strong for so long… Was Juliana going to Terastalise it? Kieran clutched the front of his seat as Terapagos’ scales gleaned in the night air, under the rain.

“It turns every move to a Not very effective move at full HP!” Juliana shouted. “Why am I telling you this?”

 

In response to the onslaught, Terapagos began to draw sparkling energy into its crystalline shell, the air around it crackling with power. As the energy coalesced, a brilliant white pillar of light erupted from the centre of its shell, reaching towards the sky with an ethereal glow. Around the pillar, multiple meteor-shaped masses of energy materialised, each one pulsating with raw power and ready to be unleashed upon its target.

With a resounding cry, Terapagos released the pent-up energy, the meteor-shaped masses launching forth from around the central pillar with incredible speed and force. The sky above the battlefield erupted into a dazzling display of light and sound as the meteor-like projectiles streaked towards their target, leaving trails of sparkling energy in their wake. The star-shaped meteors crashed down onto Archaludon’s form, taking out… a third of its health in one hit.

 

With only a fraction of Archaludon's health depleted, Drayton let out a scoff of derision. “Is that the best you can do?” he taunted with a grin, “For a move that flashy, I expected a bit more range. Seems like your Terapagos isn’t as powerful as you thought.”

Juliana shot him a glare. “Well, Drayton, you wanna see this Pokemon’s true power? Something truly stellar?”

Gripping her Tera Orb firmly, she summoned the swirling energy without flinching, seeing as the energy flew into the orb. With a precise throw, she released the orb, watching intently as it collided with Terapagos, enveloping it in a brilliant burst of light.

As the radiant glow subsided, Terapagos emerged in its Stellar form, radiating power and majesty. The crowd gasped in awe. The gem atop its crown-like structure gleamed with a multitude of colours, resembling a tiny version of itself, while it stood on a giant indigo dome with hexagonal plates. With Terapagos now empowered, surrounded by swirling energy and adorned with the symbols of all eighteen types, Juliana smirked.

 

The crowd erupted into cheers as Terapagos emerged in its Stellar form, their excitement echoing throughout the battle court. Spectators leaped to their feet. Some gasped in amazement, while others cheered enthusiastically. With a quick blast, Terapagos unleashed a glimmering pulse of energy that stopped the rain.

 

“Tera Starstorm again!”

“That puny move? Flash Cannon and Hydro Pump.” Drayton took a few steps forward, strolling right between Kingdra and Archaludon. 

Wait. It’s a spread move now. Should I—

 

As Terapagos unleashed the Tera Starstorm once more, the dazzling pillar of light shot skyward from the centre of its shell. Around the central beam, the meteors reformed, now twice as much as before and crackling with energy.  

The range of the attack seemed to expand beyond expectation, catching both Archaludon and the Kingdra within its path. The crowd gasped in amazement as the meteors struck their targets with unerring accuracy, unleashing bursts of energy upon impact. Even as Kingdra tried to dodge, it was still pelted relentlessly by the streaks of light.

 

W-wait! Drayton is still standing there!

 

As Drayton seemed to realise his mistake, he froze. Time seemed to slow as Kieran witnessed Drayton's figure silhouetted against the radiant glow of the approaching meteor. His expression shifted from determination to one of sheer horror as he saw the star-shaped meteor hurtling directly toward him. 

Wait, crap, this can’t be good. Move away, move away, move away, moveawaymo-

“RUN!” Kieran choked out.

 

Too late.

 

The impact of the meteor was cataclysmic. With a deafening roar, it struck Drayton square in the chest, engulfing him in a blinding explosion of light and energy. The air crackled with electricity as the blast tore from the sky.

He shrieked and he sputtered. He screamed at the top of his lungs, through blood and through broken bones. As the iridescent glow enveloped his body, Kieran swore that he could see streaks of red flying out from the blast. As the dust settled, Drayton lay motionless on the ground, his body battered and broken from the force of the impact. Blood was quickly pooling from his torso, seeping through his tracksuit onto the patterned ground. The crowd erupted into panic, cries of alarm filling the air.

“Uh, guys, we have an emergency! Please return to your rooms—” the intercom cut off as the microphone hit the ground.

Panic coursed through Kieran’s veins, paralysing him with fear as his mind—his mind struggled to whirr on. FUCK! I couldn’t tell him! He’s dead, he’s dead because of me! WHAT HAVE I DONE?

The rising tension in his chest exploded, threatening to blow him into smithereens. Without a second thought, Kieran pushed his way through the panicked crowd, his heart pounding in his chest with each laboured breath. Students clamoured around him, their frantic cries ringing in his ears. He stumbled and staggered, his path obstructed by the crowd of people desperately trying to flee the scene. He finally reached his rival’s side, his chest heaving as he knelt down beside him. With trembling hands, he gently scooped Drayton's body into his arms, struggling under the weight of the unconscious teen.

The LED signs flickered off.

 

As he lifted Drayton's limp form, Kieran stole a glance at Terapagos, which slightly cowered as it saw him, letting out a tiny clattering noise like an apology. In a split second, Juliana recalled it into its ball. Kieran's heart clenched with worry, but he knew there was no time to dwell as red streamed down his chiffon white jacket. Desperate, he let out a gentle blue pulse of energy from his hands, swirling into Drayton’s chest. The white-haired teen’s expression softened, but the crimson continued running down. “Kiki! You okay?” His sister’s voice called out. “I recalled his Pokemon! Do you need me to call—”

Lowering the teen down, Kieran dug through his right pocket and retrieved the Pokéball containing his Dragonite. With a swift motion, he released the Pokémon, a brilliant stream of blue light erupting from the sphere as the creature appeared before him. “Dragonite, carry us to the ER!” He ordered. The yellow draconid nodded, its antennae twitching. With ease, it lowered its body and laid out its tail.

As Dragonite crouched down, Kieran wasted no time in hoisting Drayton’s unconscious form onto the Pokemon's back. With his rival secured, Kieran scrambled to climb onto Dragonite's back, and gripped onto the Pokemon’s neck, his fingernails digging deep into the scales, before it took off. Ignoring the hair fluttering in his face, Kieran leaned forward, his right arm straining to keep Drayton’s senseless form away from the scales, not wanting to come in contact with the injury. He had to keep his rival alive.

 

“Kieran, Terapagos wants to say something, it wants to tell you something!” Juliana’s voice faded as Kieran zoomed past her.

 

As Dragonite soared through the hallways, above the crowd of frantic students, tears started to well up in Kieran’s eyes. The shimmering pupils fixated themselves on the person below them as droplets started to stream down his face. Swirls of shimmering energy radiated from his fingertips as he held his rival close to him. While no one else seemed to notice, Kieran poured every ounce of his being, every last bit of his power to heal his rival. When his power finally ceased, and the magic stopped swirling, he looked down.

Not bleeding anymore, but just as horrifying of a sight as before. Trails of dried blood traced down Drayton’s chin, his face was as pale as snow, and his vest was simply a gorey mess. Crystals snaked on top of his body, shimmering from red to green to purple under the dimly lit hallway. Just like a Terastalised Pokemon, just like Terapagos’ eyes, just like his eyes. 

On Dragonite’s back, in the middle of his strained breaths, Kieran sniffled and bent down, smelling the fresh, sickly smell of iron. Sputtering, he finally mustered a few words:

 

“Please, Drayton, if you can hear me, please don’t die! Please stick with me through this in whatever shape or form! I will never let you die before I do! From the bottom of my heart! I’m sorry! I’M SORRY!!”

 

Notes:

Couldn’t resist that pun with the chapter title (In case you’re confused, check out what Drayton’s Japanese name means)

And yes, Briar does get arrested :)

Chapter 5: Salvation | Clouded Sight

Summary:

Where Drayton rethinks a lot of things that he’s been through, and saves himself from committing another big mistake.

Idk man his Flygon gets a cameo and also his grandpa gets mentioned

Notes:

WARNING: Suicidal mentions, coughing up blood, implied self harm

In the Polar Biome, amidst the drifting snow, a silhouette stands at the edge of a cliff.

 

The teen's figure, clad in a thin black tracksuit and his torn purple cape, marked out a clear outline in the relentless snowfall. The air was filled with an eerie stillness, broken only by the whoosh of the wind as it danced through the ice-covered terrain.

Below, the icy expanse stretched out to the central area, filling out its quadrant in the four seasons of the Terrarium. The towering mountains rose majestically from the frozen ground, their jagged peaks obscured by the swirling mist that hung in the air. In the distance, the faint outline of a frozen pond could be seen, right at the edge of the biome. Now and then, the snowdrift would get stronger, rattling against the black jacket, but nothing seemed to faze the teen. His white hair fluttered in the gentle artificial breeze while his gaze remained unmoving. His shoes sank gently into the white, soaking up bits of moisture from the melting snow. Looking upwards, the clouds swirled, covering up the dusk. He was lost, lost in the cold.

He had told Amarys that he would come here, and pressed five of his Pokeballs into her hands, to which she responded with worry. "What are you intending to do there?" she had asked. "You don't usually tell us when you go to train. Are you alright?"

"Just take care of my Pokemon, it's alright," he responded, "just going to have some time by myself. Flygon will get back to you soon enough." Before she could even respond, he had disappeared in a flash.

Standing at the edge, it felt… weird. Normally, he would be deterred by the torrent of snow, failing to stop himself from blinking as the relentless cold rained on him again and again, but this time- he left nothing. Perhaps it was the merit of being a Ghost-type Pokemon, he thought, to be immune to hot and cold.

Ever since that happened, he couldn't feel like himself anymore. Every time he tried to walk to the Polar biome to clear his mind, trying to feel the cold air whooshing on his face, all he felt was just wind. No refreshing cool breeze, just the feeling of air against his illusion of skin with no temperature. He checked; he didn't even have a pulse.

A stark reminder that he had changed, and he would be like this for what he thought to be forever. Forever stuck in a form with no warmth, stuck as a Pokemon masquerading as a human, forever stuck as the one that would outlive everyone he loved, who didn't love him back.

Drayton sighed. "Why am I even here?"

__

He was just eleven years old.

He had just glanced at the looming ship in the sky, covered by the clouds. He could feel the icy chill in the air, the frigid wind cutting through the darkness like a blade, as he barely--just barely--saw the head of the cannon pointing downwards. He leaned against the window, just about to open it-

-when it fired. A torrent of icy air exploded through the sky, sending shockwaves everywhere. And then, the cold. It was as if millions of tiny icicles drove themselves into his skin as the ice covered the closed window, blurring the view. Those icicles speared into his fat and muscle, into his core, causing every nerve to fire at once.

He couldn't remember when he started screaming. The sudden freeze seemed to run into every inch of his skin, slicing through and prying out heat. He was sure he fell onto the ground, but he had no recollection of it. All he remembered was the rushing in of exhaustion and the red that started pooling in his eyes. His lungs stung with the torrent of a thousand icy needles as he struggled to breathe.

The world around him seemed to screech to a halt as the wave of cold swept through the streets, crystallising everything it touched in a layer of unyielding ice. His Vibrava, trembling and weak, summoned all that was left of its energy into its limbs, where fiery energy emanated. For now, he would have to rely on what remained of the warmth, until someone could break him out of the building, until someone could get his family, until he saw his grandpa…

He choked, his tears and spit freezing in the air. "H-help! Please!"

_____

-It is over now.

Seven, seven whole years… Though the beast, Kyurem, was tamed, it remained too close to comfort for him, sealed in Iris' Pokeball. And of course, it had been given to the one he envied, the one that was always better than him, the one that showed that he simply wasn't enough for his family…

His breaths came in short, ragged gasps, his chest tightening with each inhalation. He struggled to regain control as he felt the snow below his hands. When had he crouched down?

Gradually, Drayton forced himself to take in deep, steadying breaths, the rhythm of his respiration gradually slowing as he fought to calm the storm raging within him. Breathe in, breathe out…

As the panic began to subside, Drayton turned his attention to his surroundings, the snowy expanse of the Polar Biome stretching out before him. Taking out Flygon's Pokeball, he gently tossed it against the ground. Out popped the green creature, who leaned forward.

 

"Master? Are we gonna battle?" It asked.

 

He ignored it.

 

"Master? What's wrong?"

 

No response but a chilling silence. He turned his head away from his draconic companion.

 

He had chosen to train here, amidst the biting cold and swirling snow, to get himself used to all this. All this pain and all this struggle…He tried to avoid them, one by one. He distanced himself from his family by remaining in school, only contacting them by phone, and he simply pushed away the crushing weight of his homework. Day by day, he was wasting away, failing his classes, trying to remain positive. But still, there was one thing that he would have to inevitably deal with-ice.

Anyone who had even remotely glanced at the Type effectiveness chart would know that Dragon Type only had three weaknesses: Dragon, which was risky to use against another 'mon of the same type, Fairy, which is the popular choice since it is immune to the type, and the hard-hitting but fragile Ice. If he were to fulfil his thirst for battles, he would inevitably stumble upon an Ice Type user trying to counter his team with its shared weakness. How embarrassing would it be to be immediately struck with fear by a single Ice Type move from the opponent?

So that was the reason why he had come here. He had fought for a spot in the Elite Four and even the Champion, and had taken the Polar Biome as his territory. And slowly, it worked. He had grown accustomed to the cold and even sought solace in the mountains full of white. Occasionally, he would head down, through Chargestone Cavern in the dimly-lit caverns filled with tinges of bluish electricity, to get to the Canyon Biome, where he would meet Amarys. Sometimes to do the Flying Time Trial, sometimes purely to annoy her. But still, most of the time, he would be roaming through the flurry of snow, finding a stray Vulpix or two to EV train with.

Over time, it worked. His Pokemon could easily shrug off an Ice Type attack or two, and he had adapted his strategies. Not even the greatest bulk could overcome his coverage and sheer power.

Well, at least until Kieran came.

 

_____

He couldn't help but recall the timid boy who had once entered Blueberry Academy, a lone figure with no friends to call his own. He was a shy kid who always hid behind his jet-black hair when he got embarrassed and was struggling with making friends. It was the Elite Four who had reached out to him, extending a hand of friendship and welcoming him into their midst. In return, Kieran had offered Drayton a simple gesture of gratitude-his iconic black tracksuit.

However, everything changed when Kieran returned from his field trip, his hair now tied up, revealing its magenta tones, and his personality transformed by who knew what. Gone was the timid child, replaced by a competitive and driven..individual who seemed to care for nothing but training his Pokemon. He pushed away anyone who tried to intervene, including the rest of the Elite Four, becoming the school champion and setting rules that left a bitter taste in everyone's mouths. This was not the Kieran that Drayton had come to know and appreciate.

He remembered back then when Kieran's Dipplin had taken down the last bit of Archaludon's health in one fell swoop, sending the metallic Pokemon tumbling backwards and falling to the ground with a resounding crash as its Tera Jewel shattered into a million tiny fragments. He had looked back up at Kieran's eyes, just to be met with a cold unyielding gaze with no shine, with no life left in them. He had changed.

Even when Juliana managed to defeat Kieran in a Pokemon battle, Drayton couldn't quite shake the feeling of unease that lingered within him. Kieran's offer to join the expedition team to Area Zero… was in character, to say the least, but what could have possibly happened down there that made Kieran go all the way around? Back was the timid and friendly boy he had always known, but Kieran… He seemed a lot more pale than normal, fur had sprouted from his neck, and a long blue tail hung behind him. Human-Pokemon hybrids weren't completely unknown, but… what exactly had happened to him? Maybe the same thing that had happened to himself?

He only figured that out later. The last thing before the incident that he remembered was stars dancing through his reddening vision, as Kieran frantically scooped him up and placed him on something. From the corner of his eye, he spotted bluish energy emanating from Kieran's hands, which felt oddly… nice. That was the last thing he recalled before slipping into the dark from the growing pain in his chest.

___

The school had announced that he had made a full recovery within mere days. And yet, in a week, he fell ill once again, and Kieran was nowhere to be seen. It was just a simple unrelated injury, a tiny scratch that had somehow grown crystals-grey and purple crystals. He lost sleep, he lost his appetite, and his dreams were plagued with a tiny creature. A greyish little thing followed him around, with fluffy white and blue fur. He'd sworn that it was a Zorua, but its billowing white fur was practically impossible for a Zorua, even for a shiny one. Every time, it gazed into his eyes, its beady yellow pupils boring deep into his soul-and he would wake up in cold sweat.

On the seventh night, the creature leapt towards him in his dream, passing through him with an eerie sensation that sent shivers down his spine. Drayton watched in horror as his body contorted and transformed before his eyes, his arms sprouting greyish fur, a fluffy tail splaying out from underneath him and his form shrinking until he resembled the very creature that haunted his dreams. When everything stopped, he looked around and the creature was nowhere to be seen. It was nowhere-apart from himself.

 

"H-help! What is happening?"

 

The dream eventually faded away… into reality. When he woke up, he was just like the creature he had encountered, the creature he had become. He'd changed.

He couldn't remember how long he screamed for. All he knew was that Kieran managed to break open his door and escort his foxy form to the nurses, all while trying to suppress his cries. The boy scooped him up in his arms with ease, and darted down the hallway..The same poor boy who had fallen to his wrath just a week later. In a flash, he saw the blood and fur flying as they fought tooth and nail against each other. The League Club room had been reduced to rubble in a horrifying explosion.

_____

Quick… Get this done…

 

His fingers trembled as he tampered with the circuitry of the external buttons. The soft click of wires connecting echoed in his ears, each connection sending sparks through his solidified illusion form, causing him to twitch. Drayton quickly scanned the hallway, eyes darting for any signs of interruption. The coast was clear. He took a shaky breath, trying to steady himself, but the fury that burned in his chest was relentless. Kieran had booked the room all to himself. This was the perfect time.

Please… This can't be true, this can't be real… But maybe… maybe Kieran really didn't deserve this?

NO. His breathing started to quicken as he gripped his fists tightly. Am I kidding? It's all his fault. He destroyed me, he took away all I had left, and he didn't even leave a way out. My body was all I had! I can't-I can't live as a disappointment forever. If I'm gonna exist like this, I might as well be a nobody, I might as well just end it all. I'm a waste of a fucking soul. He took everything from me-I'm worthless. Why should I still live? Why am I alive? WHY DID HE RUIN ME? Is this EVEN REAL?

Closing the circuit panel of the button with a click, he took a shaky sigh. The door would lock behind him, sealing Kieran's fate. He clenched his fists, knuckles white, trying to channel his anger into something he could control. He… he must pay. If he took everything from me, I'll take everything from him.

Pressing the button on the panel, watching sparks fly from it, Drayton stepped inside, his gaze immediately locking onto Kieran. The room was dimly lit, shadows casting long, ominous shapes across the floor. As if recognising his footsteps, Kieran froze, before slowly turning around, eyes wide with surprise and a flicker of fear. For a brief moment, doubt tried to surface in Drayton's mind. Was this the right thing to do? 

But he was empty. Empty and unfeeling. Oblivious and undeterred by anything that could stand in his way. He was hurt, hurt so much that he was torn from his seams, stripped down to all that remained: his rage.

 

The sliding door slammed shut tightly before him. Unbeknownst to Kieran, that would be the last time he would see the outside. Anger resurfaced underneath his skin as his illusion rippled. Gazing right back down to the younger boy, he could see that those little yellow eyes were darting around, frantically trying to pick up a hint, just a hint that Drayton was still his normal self.

Drayton's voice was low, somewhat trembling. "What do you think I'm here for, Kieran?"

There was no sense of calm plastered on Kieran's face, only fear, like a hare with a greyhound breathing down its neck.

 

Perfect. This was the boy who had ruined him, and he would ruin him back.

_____

W-was I too harsh on Kieran?

With a strained gasp, Drayton opened his eyes again. Still the relentless torrent of ice and snow, and the fall of hundreds of metres just a few steps ahead of him.

No, he couldn't possibly have cared, he couldn't possibly have even THOUGHT of Drayton. Kieran didn't care for him, Juliana didn't care for him, no one cared for him!

I'm a failure! Who could ever care for me? Why would someone do that?

Blinking away the haze of his thoughts, he became acutely aware of the frigid ground beneath him. Confusion gnawed at him as he realised he was crouched on the ground, his legs trembling with exhaustion. How had he ended up here? Had he collapsed from the weight of his despair, or had nothingness overcome him?

Pushing himself up with a grunt, Drayton staggered to his feet, his muscles protesting with every movement. He glanced around, taking in the desolate landscape of the Polar Biome, the snow stretching endlessly in every direction. Something painful shot into his chest, causing him to lurch.

"Master! W-what's wrong?" Flygon's voice was unnaturally resonant, and it leaned down in front of him, staring worriedly through its two beady lenses.

 

Why are you like this? WHY DO YOU CARE?

 

A sense of dread bubbled up within him as he felt an acidic sensation rise from his throat, followed by the unmistakable taste of metal.

_____

"He… He did this to me?"

 

He stared down at the floor, then back at his paws, gently resting on the carpet. His grey visage lay gently on the floor of his dormitory room. His sobs came in choked gasps as he struggled to catch his breath. It wasn't like he needed air anyway, so why was he still clinging on, trying to breathe in?

Terapagos stood in front of him, its crystalline body glinting faintly in the dim light. "I think so" Its voice was like the sound of glittering crystals, and he clearly couldn't see any words being formed by that small blue mouth. A human should not have been able to understand it. Still, every word that the creature spoke came to him clearly and naturally. "The energy in your body...¦ it could only have appeared from mixing up the medicine wrongly. The Tera Crystals in the medicine should have gotten rid of the last of the energy, but... That's the only way this may have happened."

 

A flash of memory from the corner of his eye. Kieran counting some sparkly things-crystals? He had been digging through his sling bag frantically, before sighing and dumping the entire bag of crystals in a mortar.

 

He choked. How could he have done this? The medicine... Kieran must have done something. "He gave me that medicine to save me, but it wasn't… wasn't correct? The formula?" The words felt like acid on his tongue.

"Yes," Terapagos chattered. "Probably the Tera Crystals-the type. I think I only saw him take out 17 shards. 19 types, 17 shards…and you're a dual-type Pokemon. This cannot be an accident."

His gasp caught in his throat. "Then- then can you help me turn back? Please? I'll do anything you want! I promise!"

Terapagos looked aside. "I'm not very sure I can do that. I can make minor tweaks to magic, but I don't think I can change someone's species on demand. I'm not in control of all of my wishes."

Drayton faltered. Staring down at the ground, he dug his claws deep into the carpet below, onto the cold hardwood, marking down small scratches. "I can't be this... I can't live like this," he whimpered, burying his face in his paws. How could they ever see him the same way again?

He couldn't create a proper illusion if he thought of himself as human. If he stopped thinking of himself as human, he'd… he'd start forgetting what he looked like, and his illusion would fade.

Seeing his anguish, Terapagos stepped closer. It stared down, visibly worried but also confused. Clearly, it did not understand the severity of the situation. "You know… I could give you a crystal-powered illusion! How's that?"

 

He looked up. "A what?"

 

Terapagos cooed. "I put Tera energy into your human illusion. You see from the point of view of a human. Very easy to control. No need to concentrate to be tangible. Still broken by Pokemon attacks."

"Huh."

Drayton looked up, the tears still rolling down from his eyes. The offer was… tempting. At least, if he tried hard enough, he wouldn't have to tell others what he was now, did he? But he still felt devastated, his mind swirling with anger, betrayal, and sorrow. "I... I'll take it," he said, his voice quivering. "But it won't change what I am now, will it? I'm still a Pokemon... still a disappointment."

Seemingly ignoring him, the turtle-like creature lowered its small blue head, allowing a glowing white orb to coalesce before it, shimmering with all the colours of the rainbow. As it crackled and grew larger, it started floating towards the vulpine's visage. Staring at the orb, he noticed that it stopped growing. In a few seconds, with a slightly painful zap, the orb flew into his torso and disappeared, leaving behind white sparkles.

"Now try casting your human illusion again. Think of crystals."

Closing his eyes, he allowed the blue energy from his wispy mane to float up, turning white and shrouding him in a thin fog. His mind focused intently on the image of Tera crystals-the power that they held. He pictured them forming around him, swirling around his small body and transforming him into the human guise he so desperately wanted to reclaim. As the fog thickened, small crystals appeared within.

Then, with a small flash, the fog quickly enveloped his entire body, and he felt something change. He opened his eyes and looked down at himself, now as tall as before. His human form had returned, clothed in the familiar thin black jacket and school uniform. Trying to flex his paws like how he would always do to test an illusion, he saw his fingers flick in the same way. Clenching his right fist, he could see his fingers press against his soft skin.

For a brief moment, his sadness disappeared, replaced with an instant of wonder.

 

"Do you like it?"

He nodded.

 

"It's made of Tera energy, and I'm pretty sure you can cast your original illusion on top of it too, though that'll probably be hard. Plus, it can generate heat too, though you still can't sense it too well. As long as you don't get hit by a Pokemon attack, you're probably fine." Terapagos smiled. "I do have to tell you though, if you get your crystal illusion attacked, your actual Zorua form gets hurt too."

 

Wait. That meant-

 

"Cool, cool", he responded, "But… is this the best you can do?"

"I guess," Terapagos looked aside, slightly annoyed.

Drayton's heart sank at those words. He was still a Pokemon beneath the facade, still vulnerable. He clenched his fists again as something lurking within, something volatile threatened to bubble up within him again. How could he live like this, constantly on edge, knowing that even a simple injury could shatter his fragile disguise and expose the truth?

He sighed. He looked at Terapagos, feeling a mixture of gratitude and resentment. The creature had given him a way to hide, but it couldn't change what he had become. The thought of facing the world… facing his family… as this…But for now, he had a semblance of his old self back, even if it was only a thin, fragile illusion.

"Thank you," he muttered, his voice barely more than a whisper. The words felt hollow, but they were all he could muster. He would take what he could get.

The room was cloaked in shadows, the only light coming from the blue LED display on the fake windows. The artificial night outside pressed in through the window, the digital clouds floating slowly across his vision.

Drayton's fingers trembled as he reached for the Pokeball at his side. He hesitated for a moment, his thoughts a jumble of gratitude and bitterness. "It's late. You should sleep."

Terapagos tilted its head, its expression unchanged, before nodding. It seemed completely unbothered, and perhaps it couldn't understand the depth of his emotions. Or perhaps it simply didn't care. What mattered was that it had offered him yet another tool. With a final, weary sigh, He pressed the button on the Pokeball. "Return," he said, his voice barely steady. A beam of white light shot out, enveloping Terapagos and pulling it back into the confines of the ball. The room felt even emptier without the creature's presence.

 

He stood there for a moment, staring at the Pokeball in his hand, his thoughts a tangled mess. What had he become? What would his family think if they knew? The very thought made his stomach churn with dread. He shoved the Pokeball into his pocket, pushing those thoughts aside. He couldn't afford to dwell on them now.

He glanced around the dim room, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. The clock on his desk showed the time-well past 10 PM. For a moment, he wanted to go out of the room to check, but the last thing he needed was to be seen wandering the corridors in his current state. The illusion might hold, but he didn't want to risk it.

Drayton turned towards the door, his mind racing. He had to... he had to try something. But first, he needed to make sure the coast was clear. He couldn't afford any mistakes, not now. Not when everything was hanging by a thread.

He moved quietly to the door, pressing his ear against it, listening for any sounds of movement outside. Luckily, for one reason or another, the illusion still kept his enhanced sense of hearing. The hallway was silent, no footsteps, no voices.

 

No one is awake right now. Perfect.

Shuffling back down to his bed, his heart sank while his hand trembled, reaching under the bed. Closing around a small object, he slowly brought it out, feeling the residual liquid on it flowing down from his fingers. Slowly, he grasped it with his right hand, righting the blade.

Let's see if this works.

___

With a shuddering gasp, Drayton hunched over, a sharp pain seizing his chest. A low, guttural cough racked his body, and he tasted iron while something solid welled up in his mouth.

"MASTER! What happened? Are you sick?" Flygon leaned forward, trying to use its tiny arms to hold onto his body with all its strength.

No, this can't be happening. This isn't real, he thought, the words a desperate mantra in his head. "I'm not a Pokemon. I can't be," He growled, the illusion in his voice wavering as it took on a more raspy tone. His claws, faltering from the illusion, dug into the snow, the cold numbing his already unfeeling hands. He looked down at the ground, willing the illusion to hold, to keep him tethered to some semblance of his former self.

He remembered Kieran's shaky confession, the way his voice had trembled as he admitted his mistake. Kieran's words had echoed in his mind ever since. How could he have allowed this to happen? How could Kieran have done this to him?

Again, maybe good intentions? But why was he like this now?

"I'm still human," he whispered to himself through the acid, but the words sounded hollow, even to his sensitive ears. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the sight of his illusion tearing, revealing his tail and fluff. "This isn't happening. Please!"

___

 

“I'm… I’m…” Kieran stuttered.

“Drayton,” his voice was barely above a whisper, laden with a heavy burden of guilt. "I… I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen." His eyes were wide, shimmering with unshed tears. "When I was making that medicine, I was so scared of losing you. I didn't think…I didn't realise that the shards-"

Drayton's chest tightened, a knot of anger and sorrow coiling within him. He looked away, the words striking him deeper than he cared to admit. Part of him wanted to lash out, to blame Kieran for the nightmare his life had become. But another part, the part that still clung to their friendship, couldn't bear to see Kieran in such anguish.

Maybe he didn't mean it?

After being isolated in a room with only a few items, he had felt so, so lost. Due to their destruction of the League Club Room, the three had been ordered to be isolated in unused dormitories and to be brought food three times a day. In the words of Lacey, "...I'm sorry. There's not much I can do to help. The school thinks you guys can be dangerous, and they're not willing to risk it until you behave."

After the trio had finally been let out, Kieran had called him into a room, to apologise.

"I…I know you didn't mean for this to happen," Drayton said, his voice strained and uncertain. "But look at me now. I'm not- I'm not who I used to be. I'm…" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. "But," he added, his tone softening, "I shouldn't have- I shouldn't have hurt you like I did. I'm sorry for that."

Kieran's eyes widened, and a single tear slipped down his cheek. "I never wanted to hurt you either," he said, his voice breaking with emotion. "I was so scared when you got injured. I didn't know what to do, and I panicked. I thought I was saving you." He wiped at his eyes, his body shaking with silent sobs.

Strangely, Drayton felt nothing. Not even a pang of anger, not even a tinge of resentment. He forced himself to utter a "thank you".

Kieran nodded, his tears falling freely now, glistening like tiny stars in the dim light. "Yeah," he choked out, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm so sorry, Drayton. I'm so, so sorry." He collapsed into Drayton's arms, his body wracked with sobs, and for a moment, they held each other.

The silence stretched, filled only with the sound of Kieran's cries.

___

He spat out a splatter of crimson onto the pristine snow beneath him, followed by those same grey and purple crystals that he loathed. With each sputter, a bit more red dribbled down his chin, while those tiny, smoothened crystals, ones that desperately attempted to heal up the wound, followed suit. He couldn't bear to see it, but he was sure that whatever was below him wasn't a pretty sight. Something within him started to boil.

"How could he do this to me?" Drayton snarled, his breath coming out in ragged gasps that sent plumes of steam into the frigid air. "How could he ruin my life like this?"

He pounded the ground with his small, clawed fists, the snow beneath him scattering with each blow. "He destroyed all of my shit!" The sensation was burning hotter with every passing second. It was easier to be angry than to face the pain. "He didn't even have the decency to get it right!"

 

For a moment, Flygon tried to reach forward, trying to hold him up, but with a quick swipe, a ghostly energy imbued his hands and he slashed. With a pained whine, Flygon stumbled back.

Oh no. Oh fuck.

 

Turning around, he made a few more tentative steps towards the cliff, away from Flygon. He raised his hands to show that he meant no harm, and as soon as he turned back, the feelings returned in full force.

Tears of fury welled up in his eyes, freezing almost instantly as they spilt onto his fur. He thought of his family, his grandfather with his stern expectations, always pushing him to be the best, and his cousin, always a step ahead, always better. "They'll never accept this," he growled, his anger giving way to bitter resentment. "I'm disappointed now. A freak. A fucking failure."

His mind was swimming, he swore he saw his paws. He gritted his teeth, almost biting his tongue and nearly drawing blood from those sharp canines. He swore-he swore that his eyes started to glow, a blinding yellow light obscuring everything he could see.

 

Fuck! What do I do now? Calm down calm down calm down-

Juliana. Amarys. Lacey. Crispin. Drayden. Iris. Kieran-

"Stop!" He ordered his feelings, but they simply wouldn't retreat.

Please, I just want to go back. I'll do anything. I'd die a million times, I'd live a million years. 

 

He stared up at the sky, the displays of stars twinkling coldly above covered by all the clouds, offering no comfort. "I'll be better. Hell, I'll even graduate. Just make this go away." The desperation clawed at his head, tearing him apart to find even a semblance of comfort. "Maybe if I talk to Kieran, if I ask him to fix this…” But deep down, Drayton knew nothing could change now. The damage was done, and he was left to deal with the consequences. It wasn't even his fault, a small voice inside him whispered, but he quickly silenced it. "No, he's the one who did this. He paid the price."

Slowly, he felt the anger vaporise, leaving behind a trail of corroded feelings and memories. Without the rage and denial that had powered him, he felt empty. Just as empty as before.

 

Exhausted, beaten and broken, he collapsed into the snow, his body racked with silent sobs. "I'm a monster," he whispered to the night, his voice trembling with despair. "I'm nothing but a disappointment, a failure. There's no way they'll ever love me again. I'm worthless."

He curled into himself, trying to find some semblance of warmth or comfort in his body that couldn't feel the temperature. "They'll never look at me the same way again," he thought, picturing the faces of his family, Drayden's face... "Why go on?"

For what felt like an eternity, Drayton laid in the snow, consumed by a darkness that seemed to seep into his very soul. In that period, the background faded to a void. "I've lost everything," he thought, his mind replaying the moments of his dream, the look of fear and horror on Kieran's bruised face, the prison that he had been locked in. "I'm not even me anymore." His tear ducts were dry.

 

Kieran didn't mean it.

Wait. That was different.

 

Unlike before, he was willing to listen to his thoughts now. Washed clean of his despair, logic came rushing back in. Kieran… Kieran didn't mean it.

He cared for you. Yes. Kieran cares for you.

 

"He was scared too," Drayton realised, the thought cutting through the darkness like a beam of light. "He didn't want this any more than I did. He did this because he wanted to help me. But why? Why would someone want to help me?"

____

Juliana screamed. "Please, don't let your pain destroy you!"

A slight sparkle in her eyes caught his attention. As the red reptile pinned both boys to the walls, liquid welled in her eyes and flowed down her cheek. Her eerily human voice resonated through the busted room, out of the torn-down doors.

Pinned to the wall, his breath came in short, ragged gasps. He could feel all the air being forced out of his lungs through those massive claws pressing against them, and no sound came from his mouth. "I mean it. I can't bear for you guys to get hurt again." She uttered, so soft that Kieran couldn't hear it.

Get hurt?

Wait. that meant-

____

Drayton snapped back. Juliana-

 

Juliana cared for him too.

 

This can't be.

 

Allowing his illusion to ripple away partially, he stared at his paws. For the first time, he didn't look at them in disgust or horror at the marks he had carved upon them. For the first time, he accepted it. It was like dawn broke, shining warmth over him for the first time in weeks.

The world stilled, and the landscape returned. A beautiful night, albeit fluffed up with clouds.

"I'm not defined by this," he spoke, wiping away the blood from his mouth. "I'm still me, even if I look different."

As if on command, a streak of red flew over his eyes, high in the sky, breaking through the clouds. It soared higher and higher, before plunging again. He recognised it. Scarlet scales, umber eyes, a friend he recognised.

He thought of his family again, not with the usual knot of fear and shame that tightened in his chest, but with understanding and warmth. "They've always loved me, no matter what," he realised, his heart swelling with a tender ache. His grandfather, who had always been so stern, still genuinely loved him. Iris, always seemingly better at everything, who was the champion, had still always been there to support him, to cheer him on. "They won't stop now. They'll still love me, even like this. I'm sure."

Feeling a buzz at his side, he willed the illusion to gather on his right hand, before pulling out his phone. A message from Kieran. An apology. Something about wanting to meet up later at the rebuilt club room? The message was sent to both him and Juliana.

Kieran, with his genuine remorse and tears, had shown him that he wasn't alone in this struggle. Juliana, fierce and kind, had always believed in him, had always fought for him, willing to break her cover to save him, even when he lost control, giving into his instincts and pain. "They care for me," he uttered. "They see me for who I am, not what I am. Perhaps.. It isn't that bad."

Staring at the message, he was cut short by a call from Flygon. It had heard everything he said. Though it likely did not understand the heavy implications, it walked forward, stretching its arms out like a hug. Even though he had hurt it just now… it was willing to approach him.

 

It cared too.

 

The wind picked up, swirling the snow around him in a gentle dance, and as he looked up, he pounced forward into Flygon's embrace. Letting out a small laugh, or what was probably a small laugh, it wrapped its wings around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. The heat from Flygon's body seeped into his fur. Though he couldn't feel it, he was sure it was driving away the last remnants of chill from his body. To his surprise, tears welled up in his eyes, not from pain or anger, not anymore.

"I don't have to earn the right to be loved or wanted," he spoke, his tears spilling over and freezing in the cold air while rolling down Flygon's scales. "I don't need to worry about disappointing others. They love me for who I am, not for what I achieve." The realisation was like a balm to his wounded soul, soothing the scars left by years of self-doubt and fear. He didn't need to prove his worth to anyone; his existence, his presence, was enough. He could feel his Flygon's heart beating in a steady rhythm against his side.

 

I'm alive.

 

As he sank deeper into Flygon's embrace, the tears came faster, flowing freely down his cheeks. He buried his face in Flygon's side, letting the dragon's warmth envelop him, and protect him. "I-I'm not alone," he thought, his heart echoing with a newfound peace. "Thank y-you, Flygon. You're the best." It only chittered and tried to smile.

When the last of his sobs subsided, he lifted his head, his vision clearing. With a deep breath, he rose to his feet, the snow falling gently around him like a blanket of reassurance. Flygon's wings slowly unwrapped and fluttered softly.

"Master, do we fly back? It's late, this place is high and scary!"

"Oh… right." Drayton turned around. Eyeing the cliff, he suddenly saw the high drop that he had been standing above. Over a hundred metres high, nothing but snow and rock below.

"W-woah!"

He took a few frantic steps backwards, away from the edge of the cliff. It didn't look so tempting anymore. He had to tell Amarys, Juliana, Kieran, and everyone else, that he was alive.

Looking back at Flygon, he gestured at it to step forward. As Flygon waddled aside, it bent downwards, laying its wings out. At the same time, his eyes followed the clouds that had been swirling just above him. They slowly parted, revealing the beautiful night sky, all the wonders of the glittering stars.

It is over now, he reminded himself. It was a chapter of his past that he could never forget but must learn to live with. He finally decided--he wouldn't let go. Shuffling onto Flygon's back, it took off. "Flygon, let's fly to the terrarium entrance! I'll give you some poffins."

Plunging the cliff, he no longer felt fear. He narrowed his eyes as he felt the wind ripple through his hair. Willing himself to tear away his illusion, he felt his hand morph back into paws as he clung tightly to Flygon's neck. Sensing that, it grabbed him with its claws, holding him in its arms tightly as it zoomed down. Staring down, he marvelled at the view. All four quadrants of the Terrarium, with glowing cubes littered all around, a sight he had never experienced from midair. Now, even for a minute, he could see the world from a whole new perspective. His eyes widened.

This was excitement, this was joy. This was what it felt like to be alive.

 

No, he wouldn't let go. Not now, not ever.

 

Notes:

Finally, my boy is gonna get his rest :’)
(For real this time)

I actually got emotional writing the last part of this

Chapter 6: ART CHAPTER!!

Summary:

Yeah, the art chapter

#References!

Art:

Artfight icons!

Bonus:

Chapter 7: Fable | Windows To The Soul (Part 1)

Summary:

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. If you look into Juliana’s, what will you find inside?

Notes:

TW: blood, violence, death (in a nightmare scene), HEAVY self doubt

Thanks to Winter for the nightmare scene!

The full Windows To The Soul is Extremely Long (tm) and it would take me around another month to write so have this for now

≪ Prologue: Soar On Borrowed Wings ≫

---

Fly, fly, fly! Why won’t you?

 

The red beast galloped over the horizon, her powerful legs pounding against the earth, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air, racing across the giant ecosystem under the sea. The vast artificial dome enveloped her, its sky a deepening shade of indigo as the digital sun finally sank below, the clouds in the horizon starting to part.

 

K-Kieran… What do I do…

 

The wind rushed past her, tugging at the feathered wings curled up on her head like antennae. She could feel the raw power of her form, the strength that coiled in her muscles, the instinctual urge to fly. But every time she tried, every time she willed her wings to unfurl and lift her into the sky, something held her back. A weight pressed down on her chest, keeping her grounded, keeping her tethered to the earth.

 

What the fuck did that turtle say to me?!

 

She pushed harder, running faster and faster, as if she could leave her thoughts behind if she just moved fast enough. The world around her was just a blur of colours—greens, browns, blues, ultraviolets, the brilliance of the colours dulling as they blended together, all merging into a single, indistinguishable streak.

 

Fly! You have to fly!

 

The wings on her head twitched, beginning to unfurl, and with a surge of determination, Juliana leaped into the air. For a moment, she hung suspended, the ground falling away beneath her. Her vibrant wings unfurled, feathers catching the wind as she soared upward. The air rushed past her, cool and crisp, filling her with a sense of freedom she hadn’t felt in days-no, years.

 

But they still remained. She flew higher, faster, trying to leave its words behind, but they clung to her like a second skin. The feathers seemed to fall off at any moment, to barely cling to her head.

 

Kieran had come to her after crying his brains out when apologising to Drayton. That poor boy, the one who always gave too much and got nothing in return.

 

Damn it! Was everything simply my fault? Was everything just- Kieran’s like this because of me?

 

As she streaked across the sky, the Terrarium’s landscape scribbled out beneath her—forests, rivers, mountains, all bathed in the fading orange light. It was a world within a world, vast yet confined within the dome of the sea. And then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw it—a streak of purple, standing out sharply against the snow-covered cliff below in the Polar Biome.

 

She hesitated, her wings faltering for a moment. The figure was too far away to make out clearly, just a blob of colour against the white. But something about it tugged at her, pulling her attention away from her frantic flight. She circled once, then again. Could it be…?

 

No, she couldn’t let herself hope. Not yet. 

 

She banked sharply, diving down toward the cliff, her wings beating hard against the air. The wind howled in her ears as she descended, threatening to tear through her very form. 

 

As she drew closer, the figure on the cliff came into focus. It was still too distant to make out any details, but the colour was unmistakable. A blotch of black and purple, standing alone against the snowy backdrop. Her heart skipped a beat.

 

Drayton… Could it really be him?

 

But before she could get closer, something inside her wavered. The panic she had been trying so hard to escape came rushing back. She veered off course, her wings straining to regain altitude. She needed to clear her head, needed to calm down before she could face whatever—or whoever—was waiting on that cliff. 

 

Is he fine? Is he alive? Is he gone?

 

Fly, just fly…

 

For a split moment, she felt her phone in her held item slot buzz. A painful reminder that Kieran’s pendant was lost and no longer with her. She briefly contemplated reaching into the hammerspace to get it, but later decided that it could wait. This was more important. Her seemingly borrowed wings seemed to twitch and falter, and for a second, she almost thought she’d fall, but a quick flap brought her momentum back up.

 

She soared higher into the twilight sky, trying to push everything else from her mind. The air thinned as she climbed, the clouds finally parting as she saw countless stars dappling the blanket of the artificial sky. She really hoped she had just misinterpreted Terapagos’ words.

 

As the wind forced her eyes shut, she felt herself rise above the giant crystal orb, briefly stopping before gravity took hold. With one last mighty dive, she swerved below. The figure had vanished with a single spot of green soaring down the cliff. Was he- 

 

She couldn’t bear to know. She was running from her worries, running from the truth, but she couldn’t stop now. 

 

Not until she was ready.

 

≪•◦ Part 1: Crystal-clear Truth ◦•≫

---

She looked into its shimmering, sparkling eyes.

 

Not a sound could be heard apart from the steady, gentle hum of the LED displays. The artificial sunlight streamed through the wide windows of Juliana’s dormitory, casting a soft, muted cyan glow. The room was small but cosy, with clean, white walls adorned with the occasional poster of Pokémon and underwater scenes. The golden glow shone over the pictures taped onto the wall: her photo with Arven at the edge of the Zero Gate, an image of Kieran and Carmine smiling at the festival, and a picture of all her five friends at Kitakami enjoying themselves. How she wished she could go back.

 

Before, she had loathed the buzz from the artificial sky. Apparently, it was too gentle to be heard by any human or anyone that wasn’t full Pokemon, so it was never fixed. Hell, that frequency was probably only audible to a Koraidon. It stirred within her cranium, seemingly disrupting the electrical signals within, cancelling out all her thoughts. Too many times had she thought of filing a noise complaint, but she’d always end up dozing off to the irritating noise of digital static. Countless times she’d wish it would end.

 

But now, after five days of deafening silence in what was essentially a jail cell, she craved the noise. The only thing keeping her company.

 

The table beside the bed was cluttered with scattered schoolwork, textbooks, and notebooks. Some sheets were scribbled with notes and calculations, others strewn about haphazardly. The room was otherwise clean and tidy, save for the giant claw marks slashed across the walls, jagged and deep, denting the wooden tiles that neatly lined the room. Splinters stuck out of the marks, a few stray red scales embedded within. Here, she was surrounded by her belongings, the soft blue of her room offering just the tiniest bit of peace and quiet. At least it wasn’t that dull, muted room again. Before the fight, she had taken the pendant she wanted to give to Kieran with her, but now it was gone. Only the sandpaper remained on the table.

 

On her bed, Terapagos sat gently next to its Pokeball. The Pokémon was completely unbothered, its gentle hum just slightly showing over the static. The walls seemed to be etched with doubts, with the fear that this would repeat again. Carved into the claw marks she had made. Etched in stone. All that remained was the crushing weight of anxiety and burden.

 

“T-Tell me what you told him,” Juliana stuttered, her voice quivering. “Tell me why this all happened, tell me everything.”

 

Terapagos blinked, its eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief as it chittered softly, as if pondering something amusing.

 

Juliana couldn’t help but envy the little creature’s blissful ignorance. It looked around the room with innocent curiosity, its small nose twitching as it caught the faint scent of lavender from the blankets. How unburdened it was, how carefree it seemed, living its life like a playful child yet wielding the power of a deity. It seemed to care about Tera Energy and that only. Maybe eating. She wasn't sure.

 

Terapagos let out a gentle hum. “Sure! You mean the little fox and the turtle-boy, right?”

 

Communicating so directly with a Pokémon felt strange. Given the peculiar magic of this world, it seemed that most Pokemon could understand any other individual in their own species almost flawlessly regardless of dialect. She presumed that her Tera energy allowed her to extend that beyond species. Most Pokémon spoke in fragments, conveying simple ideas or emotions. She could tell when her Skeledirge was hungry, but figuring out the exact creation it wanted required interpreting bits and pieces—“brown,” “crunchy,” “sweet.”  Terapagos however… spoke in full sentences, but usually only when talking about its magic. She wasn’t sure why it chose to do that, or how it could speak in sentences at all…

 

…Well, if she could be a gigantic red motorcycle-like reptile torn from the past injected with human DNA, she guessed that a magical talking turtle wouldn’t be too far off.

 

“Yes, the two of them. The ones who fought last week. And for your information, the fox is called Drayton and the turtle is called Kieran,” She uttered, silently fearing for the worst.

 

“Ah yes, those. So… three weeks ago, I might have accidentally hit him. The fo—ahem, Drayton. That got Tera energy into his body. And also left a giant wound. Sorry about that.” Terapagos gave a weird gesture, its blue limbs pulling upwards in a gesture that vaguely resembled a human trying to shrug their shoulders. Everything about this situation was growing stranger by the moment.

 

Juliana closed her eyes, taking a deep, steadying breath. As she exhaled slowly, she fixed her gaze back on the small creature. “And?”

 

Terapagos blinked, its crystal-blue eyes shimmering in the dim light as it tilted its head, deep in thought. 

 

“So, as you may have noticed, turtle-Kieran cast some healing magic while trying to heal Drayton, right? This did stop the bleeding, but I could sense that he was practically brimming with Tera energy. That’s why I asked you to give me to Kieran so I could make some medicine. Tera energy overdose is not good. Crystallizes your lungs and stuff. Not a fun time,” the turtle blurted out.

 

Juliana’s heart clenched as the memory of the fight flashed before her eyes—Drayton, lying motionless on the ground, his vest covered with blood, his breaths shallow. She remembered the sheer panic that had overwhelmed her as she desperately called out to Terapagos to recall it. Her mind raced with fear and guilt, wondering if she had done enough, if she had called for help quickly enough. But here they were, weeks later, and she still didn’t have all the answers.

 

Being oblivious like usual, Terapagos continued,“I told Kieran how to make a medicine. All the Tera shards mixed into one bowl, ground down to a fine powder, topped with some everstone dust. Mixed in with water, then imbued with my energy, so it could expel Tera energy for every type of shard that was inside. I saw him pour it into an IV drip and hook it up to Drayton, and in around a day, he was basically back to normal. Alas…” The turtle’s eyes narrowed. “Well, Kieran messed up. No Ghost Tera Shard, no Normal Tera Shard. I didn’t even see or sense it at first. But I’m around three-fourths sure that that’s what went wrong. When I talked to Drayton… I sensed it. Overpowering levels of type-based energy for a normal Pokémon, much less a human-turned Pokémon. Yes, that’s definitely it. The shards should have expelled the energy, so no shards equals energy not expelled. Bad bad Kieran.”

 

Juliana leaned forward as she tried in a futile attempt to piece everything together. “..So that’s why he’s a Hisuian Zorua? A Normal/Ghost type?”

 

Terapagos gave a little chime of approval, its small claws scratching at its neck, the sound of scraping echoing lightly in the quiet room. 

 

“I-I see… But why did he say… he couldn’t die? Why a Pokémon? Should he not have just become a normal Pokémon?”

 

“Ah, but look at this!” Terapagos… smirked? Somehow, despite its lacking size and usually innocent expression, it managed to look almost smug. “The remaining energy allowed what Kieran casted to remain-a Tera Wish!”

 

Juliana blinked, the term completely foreign to her. “A what?”

 

Terapagos chittered excitedly. “So there’s this teeny little side effect of Tera Energy. It’s defensive, it’s meant to protect me, that’s why I make so much of it. However, it can apparently… grant wishes. They come with a great downside—they cannot be reversed, for all I know, and they’re rare. Like, really, really hard to trigger. I guess you got lucky getting it twice.”

 

“What do you mean twice?” Juliana’s mind reeled. Twice? She had barely wrapped her head around the first incident, and now there was another?

 

“The first time was Kieran, that’s why he looks kind of like me! The second time is your little fox friend here. And you… You’re supercharged with Tera Energy, but it doesn’t seem to have come from a wish… It’s like someone modified you with it. Huh. Never seen that before. We should talk more. Okay, but anyway, you basically say the wish or write it down. Doesn't matter what language—only intent matters. The words are gonna be twisted with loopholes and everything else. Your little turtle pal said something along the lines of ‘I’ll never die before you do’ and ‘please stay with me through whatever shape or form.’ So, thus, Drayton’s gonna be immortal till Kieran dies, and he got turned into another form, which is a Pokémon.”

 

“So… There’s a wish? And it made him sort of immortal…? …That’s a lot to take in.” Juliana’s voice wavered. Too much, too fast.

 

“You’ll get used to it. Hey, it could’ve been worse. Kieran could have died—”

 

“Okay, okay, I get it!” Juliana snapped, turning away for a moment to collect herself. Her head was spinning, her heart was pounding. “And the first time?” 

 

Terapagos tilted its head, the small creature’s gaze distant as if trying to recall a hazy memory. “Don’t remember exactly, but I think you said something along the lines of ‘please adapt to the energy’ when you were trying to help him. Apparently, the Tera wish decided that the easiest way to do that was to make Kieran into one of my own. It’s strange… even to me. The wishes, they’re an enigma—something beyond my understanding.​ They’re weird but they’re cool.”

 

Juliana’s breath caught in her throat. She had pleaded so desperately, hoping to save Kieran from the overwhelming force of Tera energy that was threatening to tear him apart and take over But she hadn’t expected this. To turn him into something else…?

 

Terapagos continued, its tone becoming more contemplative. “Anyways, apparently turning halfway was enough to increase his Tera energy tolerance to a high enough level that he wouldn’t be dying anymore. And trust me, that boy really struggled. Like, I was sitting next to his bed, and I could feel the stress emanating from him. His body was fighting against itself, trying to fight the new changes, like some kind of immune response. Like I said, there’s no vaccine for this, no safe reversal spell. Oh, well, at least Drayton’s a Hisuian Zorua. He can use illusions, you know? So I made a crystal-powered illusion for him to use.”

 

The room seemed to cave in, the walls inching closer with every word Terapagos spoke. 

 

So-so we were all victims to Tera Energy?

 

“Hmm… Yeah, it seems like you’re not as affected. The other two can’t seem to remember the events of the fight very well. Some Tera energy mental block, I suppose. Not sure how that got there…” 

 

Terapagos, now seemingly lost in its own thoughts, whispered to itself, “Huh… It’s not exactly correct to say Drayton is immortal… If Kieran had chosen another shard to forget, maybe Drayton wouldn’t have died…”

 

Her heart sank. She gripped the blankets nervously, her knuckles turning white, and sat up straight, her wide eyes fixed on the small creature before her. “WHAT? No, no, no, what did you just say?”

 

The room seemed to darken further, the atmosphere weighing even further down on her. The shadows crept closer, as if they were alive, wrapping around her like tendrils of fear. The walls pulsed with a life of their own, and the air became stifling. The warm light wasn’t warm anymore, and rather attacked her in quick, cold stings. Her breath quickened, each inhale shallow and desperate. It felt as if the ground beneath her was tilting, threatening to swallow her whole. 

 

Drayton’s dull, soulless eyes stared back at her. The memory of his anger, the way it siezed him when he attacked Kieran, flashed in her mind. His human form, the one she had known and cared for, was just an illusion—a facade masking the reality of what he had become.

 

“You haven’t figured it out already?” Terapagos questioned, its voice almost incredulous at Juliana’s shock. It remained oblivious to the turmoil raging within her. “He doesn’t need to eat or breathe anymore. What you’re seeing is his soul stuck in a ghost’s body that can’t fade until Kieran dies. He had a heart attack while sleeping during the last day of the transformation.”

 

Flashes of memories assaulted her: the way his citrine eyes had looked, empty and lost, his voice tinged with a bitterness that hadn’t been there before. The way he had attacked Kieran, driven by an anger that wasn’t his own. It was all starting to make a terrible, twisted kind of sense.

 

What if-what if he’s truly not there? He really did apologise, he did recognise his name… but what if?

This can’t be… He’s—he’s—

 

“His heart does not beat. He has no life signs. He’s dead.”

 

≪•◦ Part 2: Reddening, Deafening Silence ◦•≫

---

Red was a comforting colour.

 

It was the colour of her scales, beautiful in their shade that she had known far past anything else.

It was the colour of juicy red tomatoes that tasted so ripe and lovely as she munched on them to her heart's content.

It was the colour of the day time, the sun that shielded darkness and everything that might be lurking somewhere you couldn’t see.

It was the colour of warmth that she loved on her scales as she bathed in it and took it all in for as long as it was around. The heat that she took in every time she summoned her powers.

It was a colour that was nowhere to be found in this place.

 

…

 

The halls and ceiling plastered, illuminated with a deep rich Stygian blue that would make one believe they were actually sinking to the very bottom of an endless pool to suffocate. Suffocate in a sea of colours that filled their nose and lungs that washed away everything else.

 

Impossibly dark, impossibly blue.

 

A blue sky that should have been beautiful, but was horrifying to her as she plummeted to the earth below.

A blue sky that rose as she fell, forcing the air out from her lungs and the blood from her brain.

A blue sky that only got thicker and more hard to breathe with the more the light flickered and the longer the colour stayed in the hall, dimmer and dimmer. Down down down down spiralling down into something horrible as Juliana RAN like her life depended on it.

 

Like the blue really was going to kill her.

 

Blue was the opposite of red after all.

 

It was not bright- it was the colour of night and darkness and FALLING, it did not and never would light the way for any one to go anywhere or find a way out of. It only went on and on and on and on- So she did what one did in blue and kept going through what felt like an endless and silent Aegean hallway with only the flickering light to guide her.

 

Kieran-she needed to get to him. Math… He had math to deal with. Something more, maybe? She couldn’t remember. But she had to get to the end of the hallway, into the League Club room, where he was waiting. She had to escape this sea of monochrome and run back into multicolour.

 

No one was in the hallway apart from her. Alone and afraid in this geometric space that threatened to envelop her, so she had to keep on running. She couldn’t remember when, but her feet had been replaced with large purple claws, causing the ground to crack with every mighty stomp. Purple, not red.

 

Deep orange replaced by an eerie blue. The shade that the reptile remembered was gone with the wind.

 

The lights kept flickering.

 

Falling…

 

There were no twists of turns in this dreaded hall or even any doors for her to try to open- it was only the hall where everything looked mean and dark.

 

Strangely the only snippet of fear she felt was from that blue and not at all the strange situation- she couldn’t remember how she found herself in and in this place her mind didn’t let her ponder on it. Kieran? She was sure it had something to do with him, but nothing came to mind. Like a whiteboard, one squeak and her thoughts were gone.

 

There was no such thing as that in a place such as this. In a place so blue and no red.

 

To get out of it? No.. to find the other people trapped within it.

 

They were here somewhere!

 

Juliana knew it as much as she knew how to plummet.

 

Where were they?!

Where were they?!

 

Her gut twisted further, never running out of stamina in this place. There were no pauses or breathers. Anything remotely like that didn’t cross her mind either. It was hardly important with all this blue and the people so near and dear to her in it.

 

Kieran. Did she remember now?

 

No, she said as the thoughts were exterminated from the front of her mind again.

 

This felt familiar. She had experienced this before.

 

But where?

 

She racked her mind, crouching down as a surge of thoughts overcame her head, like a windstorm of writing. She held on as she was pummelled by an endless torrent of paper and photographs of her friends, the wind threatening to tear her scales from her skin. At last, her trembling hand caught a single note, and she opened her eyes.

 

It was blank.

 

All the notes were blank. All the papers and photos were blank. There was no use in moving on.

 

She relented, allowing the wind to lift her from her feet as she flew away into oblivion.

 

…

Back again.

 

She ran and ran. The blue flooding over her senses and drowning out the fact that she was even in a hallway at all. That her feet were touching the floor. That she was here. That she was anywhere at all but immersed in the colour opposite of red to guide her way. Running blindly but thankfully not running into anything.

 

K-

Kieran…

 

How long and far she had gotten was a thing that was not possible for her to tell, but to her it felt like several eternities, when a different collared smudge became visible through the blue.

 

Doors.

 

A single pair of standing doors that in this place looked like it was floating and connecting to nothing at all. Bolted shut. Wired shut.

 

Only the door.

 

Only this way.

 

Mumbles..

 

“-don’t have to do this- I was trying to SAVE you!”

 

Yells to chilly and cold and adding to the shade all around her that wouldn’t seep, of familiar voices from the other side to it she couldn’t see which made her speed up so much so she almost stumbled over her own feet. Basically slamming into the door hard enough that would have left some kind of nasty mark that would need tending to if she was anywhere else.

 

It burst open with that nearly falling again doing so.

 

”Do you know what you’ve done?”

 

Silence. Purple knees buckling only slightly. 

 

…

Sparkles of purple. Sparkles of grey.

A deep blue snaking tail with cyan. Another blue and white one.

A white wooden table.

A tan locker.

Black chairs.

 

 

There was red inside.

Only a tiny sprinkle of red.

A smear of it in a way her scales would never appear, and never did shine of that kind of shimmer in any way for as long as she was alive.

 

Alive.

 

Alive?

 

This was red… It was red and not blue…  And yet the sight of it over…

 

For a moment she thought it was a monster, something white and even more cold and unfeeling than the blue she couldn’t escape from with a wide gaping maw and fangs stained with the opposite colour- No… it was far far worse than that.

 

Her friend she had come to save from this place was all in vain from the hands of another.

 

Kieran wasn’t moving.

 

Limp on the floor like a torn and discarded doll a child had broken in a tantrum, upset with the world for what it was doing to them in their own child's head. Inert. Immobile. Above was a figure she was all too familiar with. The figure that towered over her, with white hair-no, fur. The blue vulpine figure that stared coldly down at Kieran. The blue monster.

 

Dray-

 

Juliana didn’t know how her legs didn’t give in on her and make her plummet like she always seemed to plummet from the world that mattered. She never thought red would make her plummet like blue did.

She never thought it would.

It would.

 

The monster-he-it-

 

It crouched above the body. A black and purple silhouette, stained with just the tiniest bit of red.

 

On its hands and fangs.

 

Its tongue.

 

That was when she saw it; more red. Red snaking from the ground, seeping through the indigo. Flowing over his blue scales. Sprawling and struggling and splashing from the empty spot within his chest, like it was desperately trying to save him. 

 

There was something there before. It was gone.

 

The fox licked its lips.

 

She was too late,

-she had failed.

 

A shattering…

 

A crashing of another place in another time in a separate form of things falling.

 

Green grass and an impossibly bright sky. A woman, with tan-blonde locks and a sleek white coat, gently stroked her snout. She let out a purr, knowing she made her master happy. She had just learnt a new word: “me”. She knew it referred to herself, but why would others refer to themselves with it too? She was curious.

 

Another zap of Tera Energy. Multicoloured sparkles emerged and she concentrated, feeling the muscles in her claws shift, an uncomfortable sensation rippling across her entire body as her face caved in. When she opened her umber eyes, the claws were no longer claws. Instead, they were five-digit fleshy hands, just like her human mother. She remembered the excitement in her human mother’s eyes as she cheered “Yes!” She wasn’t sure why her mother was happy, but she knew she was becoming more like her mother. And that made her happy too.

 

A young boy with the same hair colour as her human mother. Her mother told her to never speak around the boy. The boy couldn’t know until they were ready, she said. She would nuzzle that boy’s legs and hear him giggle, and she would sniff the canine creature that always followed him— his “pet”, he said. Was she also his pet? She felt her mother’s hand gently run across her head.

 

Her mother screamed. The opposite of blue was there too, stained on the claws of her rival. They were dirty. They had to be. They couldn’t possibly be from-

 

Then a limp hand to the floor.

A weak body to the floor.

A desperate flap of her wings as her mother’s voice screeched to a halt.

 

She froze then.

She froze now.

 

Too

Late 

 

She thought it was a feral growl from a beast but really, it was just what remained of Drayton. Or maybe she was right. It was a beast. Trembling worse than she ever had as she looked over to Kieran.. what remained of him as well.

 

Only one heartbeat could be heard in this room. It was going to stop at any moment.

 

“Nothing left..” 

 

It was so nearly hard to understand, growled out in a hate so intense she nearly fell to the floor from it.

Bubbling and icy cold to make her not just plummet but freeze to death because of it.

To freeze everything.

 

The ice on his arms… the cyan, no, blue ice on his arms glowed glaringly, like it was about to glaciate her. Its bitter tone, unlike anything she’s ever heard before…

 

“I have nothing left.. nothing.. I have nothing left.. nothing.. nothing left… NOTHING LEFT BECAUSE OF YOU!! NOTHING,NOTHING-TAKEN FROM ME!!! TAKEN FROM ME!”

 

It wailed. It wailed like all its organs were gone, like it should have been dead, but it wasn't. 

He wasn’t allowed to.

 

“my BODY, my HUMANITY, my EVERYTHING!!!"

 

He now loomed over her, pale like snow. For a split second, a chill overcame her, and she saw a silhouette flash before her, a pale purplish white. A pointed snout, sharp teeth, and oh so terrifying beautiful eyes. They say yellow complements red and blue. It was true, right? Red splatters, yellow soulless eyes, and a blue world.  

 

His wail turned even louder. It was deafening.

 

It hurt her ears.

 

It hurt her heart.

 

Sound. Colours. Colours-

BLUE

 

The sound waves crashed upon her, exploding from her weak reptilian heart, shoving out against her ribs until they cracked and she shattered. Shattered like a glass vase.

 

Splashing at her with such a chilling shade of blue.

 

STOP

PLEASE STOP

 

“D-Drayton!” Her voice didn’t come out like she was trying to make it come out.

 

The mist around her changed again. A humanoid silhouette reformed with the same yellow glowing eyes.

 

Not strong and brave enough to pick up her friends and pull them out of any harm because…

 

What was there to save?

 

PLEASE NO

 

Her friend‘s gaze was down.

 

His eyes were only down at Kieran.

 

Oh Kieran…. Oh Kieran……

 

“HE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME-SO SO EVERYTHING FROM HIM!! everything… EVERYTHING!”

 

Yet everything was already gone. 

 

Both of them. She had failed to save both of them. A husk of one’s former self, a dead body. It was her destiny. She could never save anyone. She was always destined to lose. Even so limp.. with so much missing her beloved friend jumped for her dear friend again with a nearly mindless scream.

 

“NO!” She screamed back just as guttural her body finally letting her plummet to both of them into the cold blue and red that was no longer comforting.

 

Trying to save what?

What?

She was too late.

She was always too late.

 

Plummeting again and grabbing him-

 

Quick as a flash he snarled at her with so much hate.. hate all for her-

 

His eyes nearly glowing with an unsettling yellow hue that was far worse than this blue and red combined. Citrine. The colour of her friends’. A pair glowing with such brightness and brilliance, and another pair shut, the light from them gone. 

 

NO

 

Looking back at the figure, its human form was tearing away. Like wisps of flames, bits of it were being pried off. Like a chunk of flesh being ripped from its place, except bloodless, smokey and sparkly. This was it. She knew it. He was gone.

 

She was next to be lunged for-

 

In turn she had no chance either, her eyes filling with tears.

 

To hurt a friend?

 

She had failed. 

 

She laid down as the last of its illusion was torn away, leaving just the silhouette of a tiny vulpine. She braced.

 

Why was she still fighting? Why did she still feel pain?

 

It lunged and her umber eyes snapped open.

 

…

The red, the blue, the-the what?

 

Was it fine now?

 

The room was quiet. No sound but the gentle scratch of her claws against the sheets. No annoying whir, no muffled sobs, just the haunting echo of silence.

 

She sat up respiring profusely, and immediately noticed the familiar yet unsettling sensation of being a little off. Half-morphed. Her body felt too big, too powerful, but not nearly as big as she would usually be... She looked down at her arms, covered in red scales that, under the artificial blue light, took on a purple hue. Red. Warmth. But it was tainted. The colour that had once brought her solace now only deepened her unease.

 

And the blue—the blue was all wrong. It casted a beam on her, the sterile, artificial light seeping through the curtains from the small window, casting everything in that eerie, unnatural hue. It turned her scales into something they weren’t, something foreign. She hated it. She wanted to tear it away, to escape its cold, uncaring touch, but there was nowhere to go. She was trapped in this tiny dormitory room, surrounded by nothing but silence and shadows.

 

Only her own breath.

 

As if on demand, a wave of frustration hit her as she focused on her form, willing herself to turn back into a human. But nothing happened. She could feel the power coiled within her, the scales stubbornly clinging to her arms as she squeezed down on them, digging her claws into deep, deep flesh. Sparkles of crystals appeared around her arms, but they flew out like sparks, like a failing appliance.

 

The room was suffocating in its silence, the kind that pressed down on her chest, amplifying every shallow breath, every rapid beat of her heart. Juliana knew her friends—Drayton and Kieran—were just outside, probably dealing with their own guilt, trapped in the same situation as her. After the League Club room incident, the school had decided they were too dangerous to be allowed to roam freely. Why did it have to happen that way?

 

She had pleaded with them to reconsider, but it was no use.

 

For days now, all she’d done was stare blankly at her school-issued tablet, scrolling endlessly through chats from her friends, feeling more disconnected with each passing second. She’d created a group chat specifically for Drayton and Kieran, hoping to hear something, anything—but silence. Not a single word. All she could manage was a few messages to Carmine, asking for updates on the lessons she was missing. The only thing that gave her even a sliver of distraction was the bits of news Carmine shared: Carmine had seen security footage of the incident, the Elite Four were informed by Kieran, and Briar had been arrested. Yet, none of it made her feel any better. Not even close.

 

Drayton and Kieran couldn’t even fully recall what had happened. They knew something went horribly wrong, that Drayton had attacked Kieran, but the details eluded them. Maybe it was the protective Tera Energy locking those memories away. Maybe it was a good thing they didn’t see the camera footage—maybe it would be too much to handle.

 

The red… The dreaded red on Drayton’s claws, Kieran’s face…

 

Her fists clenched, her claws digging painfully into her pawpads, but she barely noticed. The nightmare wouldn’t leave her. Every thought, every memory, replayed itself over and over again, taunting her. 

 

And now, she was here. Alone. Isolated in this stifling room, bathed in an eerie blue glow that made everything feel wrong, like she didn’t belong in her own skin. She let out a low growl of frustration, her tail frustratedly thumping against the bed, the scales on her body catching the dim light—red, but now appearing a sickly purple under the cold blue hue. Just like her recurring nightmare.

 

You never would’ve succeeded. 

 

She squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to push away the flood of thoughts, the creeping sensations, the overwhelming wrongness that clung to her. But it was no use. It was always there, like her past self, still lurking in the shadows, refusing to let her go. The room wasn’t just quiet—it was a cage.

 

Her gaze crept to the blank, blue wallpaper on the wall opposite the left side of her bed. It was featureless, sterile, a dull shade that matched the cold atmosphere of the room. Worst of all, it was blue.

 

Her body felt heavy as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her bare feet-no, paws-hitting the cold floor with a soft thud. She stood, shaky at first, trying to ground herself in the moment. But the wave of emotions crashed back over her before she could even take a step. 

 

You couldn't save him. 

 

The fucking thoughts were back again. She hated them.

 

Drayton. She’d failed him. 

 

She could still see the hole in his chest from where the glittering meteor had struck… The night he cried out in pain before collapsing unconscious in the middle of the hallway… The dusk where he tore Kieran apart, trying to stifle the boy’s gagging and sputtering…

 

If only she had been speedier, smarter, stronger. If only she had something differently. Maybe then, they wouldn't have lost to the twisted turn of fate.

 

Maybe he wouldn’t have died.

 

She had tried. She’d given everything she had, but it wasn’t enough. It never was.

 

Why couldn’t I save him? Why couldn’t I save any of them?

 

Her tail swished as she eyed the wall before her. A blank, monotone shade. An endless void where there could be answers..?

 

But there was nothing. No answers. No way to fix what had been broken.

 

It was such a lifeless shade, the kind that reminded her of sterile hospital rooms—of Kieran lying still in one. 

 

A sharp pang hit her chest, and before she could stop it, the memory of that day came flooding back.

 

…

 

She blinked awake in a cold sweat, the harsh scent of chloroform stinging her nose. The sterile white walls, the dull hum of the heart monitor—it all felt too real, too suffocating. 

 

Her thoughts were sluggish, but a movement out of the corner of her eye snapped her back to full alertness.

 

A silhouette of a white-haired man was standing at the foot of the bed, his eyes blazing with a wild fury she had never seen before. His form flickered—an illusion breaking apart—and she saw the unmistakable shape of his foxy form emerging. Sparkles a mist swirled around him, trying to keep him stable. Some strange anger and helplessness burned within him.

 

Then her gaze shifted, and she saw Kieran. He was on the other side of the room, sitting up, weak and disoriented, but alive. Too alive for Drayton’s liking.

 

With a flash, he charged at Kieran.

 

“NO!”

 

She barely managed to throw herself between them, catching Drayton mid-leap with her powerful tail and slamming him back toward the wall. “Drayton, STOP!” her voice came out as a deep growl. “DID WE NOT TALK ABOUT THIS?”

 

Drayton, clearly not awake enough to be logical, refused to listen. His eyes, burning with grief and rage, fixed on Kieran again, and he prepared to strike once more.

 

“Use Psyshock!”

 

Before he could move, a series of bright lights filled the room. Psychic energy surged from every corner, and Juliana barely had time to brace herself before the beams struck them all. Laser-like streaks of pink energy darts struck her in the side.

 

Her body went rigid, the force overwhelming her. She saw Kieran slump against his bed, unconscious, and felt Drayton collapse next to her, the snarling stopped, but his expression still frozen in rage, as his illusion sparkled and fizzled away. With a quick glimpse, she spotted Cyrano, one of her teachers and Lacey standing in the doorway, along with a glittering pink Espeon, one that had a giant eye-shaped crown above its head. Then the black and red flowed in.

 

Everything went dark again.

 

…

She managed to video call Kieran, but he broke down crying several times, repeatedly scratching at his scales. Clearly, he thought this was all his fault.

 

If only you had saved him.

 

She had to make him not fear change… She had to make him see the good side… She had to make him realise that he was not alone. But how?

 

Juliana gritted her teeth, her jaw tight with frustration. The emptiness of the room seemed to collapse around her, suffocating her in her own failure. Her claws clenched into fists, shaking as that same voice whispered endlessly in her ears. As energy gathered around her claws, a sense of fury, previously foreign to her, arose from within.

 

FUCK IT

 

Without thinking, she lunged forward, slamming her glowing blue right claw into the wall.

 

Her claws dug deep into the wallpaper and plaster, the Tera energy crackling as it spread in jagged lines from the point of impact. The horrifying shredding sound of tearing fabric filled the room, along with the dented plaster.

 

For a brief moment, it felt nice. A sense of relief.

 

But-

 

Shit. Her claws were stuck.

 

She blinked, the rush of anger evaporating as quickly as it had come. She tried to pull her hand free, but the jagged edge of the wall held her fast. A sharp tug confirmed that, yes, a few scales would be torn off in the process.

 

Great. Just great.

 

She gritted her teeth, pulling harder, knowing full well what it would cost. With a final sharp tug, she wrenched her hand free.

 

Pain. Immediate and unmistakable.

 

Stifling a gasp, her balance shifted, rocketing her backwards as gravity brought her down. Her knees buckled and she landed with a crash. A small whimper escaped her lips. She glanced at her hand, trembling and bloodied, her scarlet scales torn and left behind in the wall, fragments of herself scattered and broken. Red dribbled down her fingertips, staining the floor beneath her.

 

Stop crying! You need to be strong!

 

Tears welled up in her eyes, gently rolling down her half-scaled cheeks as she painstakingly curled in on herself. The unbearable silence made it worse.

 

She couldn’t stop any of it.

 

She wasn’t strong enough.

 

Turn back, turn back, turn back! 

 

She curled up feeling crimson dribbling from her fingertips, her scarlet scales stuck in the wall. That vibrant shade of red.

 

Red and blue. 

 

Red-the colour of blood. The colour of anger.

 

Blue-the colour of coldness. The colour of death.

 

YOU’RE USELESS

 

Red. The colour of warmth.

 

Red. The colour of comfort.

 

Red. The colour she always loved.

 

YOU’RE HORRID YOU’RE AWFUL YOU’VE FAILED YOU’RE NOTHING YOU’VE

 

A single tear flowed down her cheek.

 

-LOST

…

They say peace and quiet can be maddening, deafening. She finally realised what they meant.

 

≪•◦ Part 3: Through Claws And Scales ◦•≫

---

“Huh… Where is he?”

 

Jogging through the empty hallway, Juliana held tightly onto the straps of her schoolbag, her fingers pressing into the worn fabric with a determined grip. The bag was filled to the brim with books and notes, yet she carried it effortlessly. The silence of the corridor was broken only by the tapping of her footsteps against the baby blue tiles. Soft, measured puffs of her breath resounded as she darted glances at the blue lockers that lined the walls.

 

The hallway stretched out before her, an expanse of muted blue and white. The late hour cast long shadows that stretched across the floor, merging and stretching as the last rays of artificial sunlight seeped through the narrow windows. She passed by the function rooms, their doors firmly shut, playing little attention to the golden glint of the rays. The usual hum of after-school activity was absent, and the emptiness pressed in on her from all sides.

 

Gradually, her pace slowed, her hurried jog easing into a cautious walk. Her thoughts kept drifting to Kieran, the distant look in his eyes, the way he had seemed so preoccupied lately. Perhaps she could cheer him up with some good food.

 

As she approached the end of the corridor, a sense of unease began to settle in her stomach, a twisting knot of anxiety that she couldn't quite shake. The hallway was eerily quiet, devoid of the usual chatter and laughter of students. There was no sign of Kieran, no hint of his presence. The silence was heavy, almost oppressive, the kind that made her feel like she was the only person left in the world. She paused for a moment, her hand resting on the cool metal of a locker, her eyes scanning the empty corridor. 

 

“He’s supposed to be here,” she thought, her brow furrowing with concern. She recalled their conversation earlier that day, Kieran mentioning something about booking the League Club Room to catch up on his math homework. He did mention how quadratics were tough to him. But now, standing in the dim hallway, she felt a prickle of anxiety, like something was amiss.

 

“Where are you, Kieran…?” She rumbled. “You have to come ou-”

 

“Stop-stop! Please!”

 

A muffled cry from behind the League Club room made her freeze. Her sensitive ears picked up the sound, but she still strained to listen, her heart pounding in her chest, each beat echoing louder than the last. The sound grew clearer, more distinct—a voice. Kieran’s voice. The words were garbled, but the tone was unmistakable. Frantic. Desperate.

 

Oh no. He’s in danger! What if he’s hurt? What if-

 

Her breath caught in her throat and her heart thundered against her ribs. The sound was one of fear, of someone in trouble. Her mind raced with a thousand thoughts, each one more dreadful than the last. Her chest tightened with a suffocating anxiety, a primal urge to protect and save her friend. What- what had he done?

 

Another muffled thump and a crash. Another pained shriek.

 

Someone had picked a fight with Kieran, and from the sounds of it, he was losing. Badly.

 

Without a second thought, she sprinted forward. As she drew closer to the door, the muffled voices became clearer. One was unmistakably Kieran’s, trembling with fear and to the point of tears. The other was deeper, laced with anger and menace.

 

“Save your breath, Kieran.” The voice sneered.

 

Oh. It was Drayton.

 

Her stomach lurched at the realization. What? Why would he-

 

Sure, he had been acting strange and sad ever since he turned into a… weird Zorua variant, but she didn’t want to believe the thing behind the door, a thing so violent, was her friend. No. This was not him. There was no reason, there was no way he would confront Kieran like that. Kieran never did anything wrong to him… She tried to help, she really did! Maybe, just maybe, the transformation… wasn’t just physical. Maybe she was about to lose not one, but two friends. 

 

Had none of her efforts to console him ever worked? Had she done it all for nothing? 

 

“You just had to play the hero, didn’t you?” Even with the muffling by the door, her ears picked up his sneer. “...And now, you’ll pay the price.”

 

Panic surged through her, driving her forward with an almost reckless abandon. She had to stop this. She had to get to Kieran.

 

Zooming forward, she latched onto the handles of the sliding doors, her fingers trembling with urgency. She pushed against the doors with all her might, expecting them to fly open. But to her dismay, they remained stubbornly shut, as if sealed by superglue. She tried again, throwing her weight against the doors, but they wouldn’t budge. 

 

The door emitted a few sporadic sparks. Its circuitry had definitely been tampered with. As she pulled against the doors, frustration and fear stormed in her mind. Her fingers slipped on the handle as she pounded on the door, shouting for help, but the heavy silence of the hallway swallowed all sound.

 

No, no, no! Drayton jammed it!

 

Desperation dug at her, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. Tears of frustration and fear pricked at the corners of her eyes as she glanced around, searching for anything that could help her. Kieran, Kieran, Kieran! PLEASE! 

 

In a frantic daze, she tried to recall if there was another way in, but her mind was a fog of panic. Kieran was in there, and he was in trouble. And she was the only one who could help him.

 

Desperately, she looked around the hallway, her eyes darting to the windows and the other doors. There had to be another way in. “Come on, think, Juliana!” she whispered to herself, trying to steady her racing heart. Willing herself to transform, she felt scales crawl up her arms. She didn’t care if anyone saw her. She had to save him-no, them. 

 

Her eyes fell on a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall. Without hesitation, she grabbed it, the cold metal heavy in her hands as her backpack slid off her back. She raced back to the door, lifting the extinguisher above her head. With a determined cry, she swung it down against the door, the metal crunching under the force of the impact. The door was dented, but it remained closed. Feeling the last of the red crawl up her hands, she saw the webs between her fingers fuse while white scales formed diamond patterns on her forearms. As she raised it again, her arms started bulking up, the muscles within growing in size. She swung again and again and again, each metallic slam echoing through the hallway as her arms began to sting. 

 

Gritting her teeth, she opened her eyes as she stumbled forward, seeing herself grow in size. Her shoes gradually faded, the Tera energy holding the magic clothing becoming unwoven as it flew in sparkles back into her body. Blinking, she could see that her feet were now powerful, robust claws. Letting the fire extinguisher clatter to the ground, she braced as she placed her hand-paws back on the door handles, ready to pry them open again. 

 

Sure, it was uncomfortable and borderline painful to transform so quickly, but she had no choice. As a dizzying headache shot through her cranium, she closed her eyes as her hair shot upwards, growing into feathers. Feeling the snout shoot out as sparkling energy surrounded her, her clothes started dissolving in pieces, the red scales underneath taking their place. Wincing from the pain, she felt the feathers sprout around the base of her lengthening tail. 

 

The door started trembling under her arms as an orange, powerful aura surrounded her claws. With one final surge of determination, Juliana braced herself and pushed against the door with all her might. The wood splintered, metal twisted, and hinges protested loudly. With a resounding crash, the door burst open, shattered remnants flying across the hallway. Dust and debris settled around her as she stood, panting heavily.

 

OH.

 

Kieran laid on the ground, practically covered in blood, his expression dazed and crying. Three large rips had been raked across on his vest, the white parts stained with growing patches of crimson. His form was fluffier than usual, the red dampening the teal fur and flowing down into the indigo floor. Worst of all, his face was a mix of bruises, tears and crimson, mixing and flowing down his cheeks. He seemed to struggle, but simply didn’t have the energy to bring himself up, with several slash wounds striking across his pale face. 

 

The white-haired man stood over him, fist raised, his sobbing demeanour plastered with rage. The sight struck Juliana like a physical blow. 

 

With a deafening roar, the beast sent shockwaves across the room, causing Drayton to flinch and topple. Seizing the opportunity, Kieran struggled to push himself away, gasping for breath.

 

Drayton, however, recovered quickly. His eyes, wild with confusion and fury, focused on Juliana. With a swift motion, he lashed out, his claws slashing through the air, briefly glowing purple. Juliana barely had time to react before she felt a sharp pain rip across her collarbone to her side, Drayton’s claws tearing through her scales and drawing blood. A few swipes quickly followed, striking across her left arm and right leg, each one with true aim, digging deep into flesh. 

 

Without a moment’s hesitation, Juliana summoned a surge of bluish energy into her claws, the aura crackling with raw power. With a growl, she lunged forward, pushing Drayton away from Kieran with all her might. Her claws gripped his shoulders, pinning him against the wall with a forceful slam. 

 

“-used Dragon Claw!”

 

“Stop it!” Juliana’s voice trembled, trying to ignore the growing, dizzying pain in her limbs. Tears welled up in her eyes as she glared at Drayton, her claws digging into the wall, holding both him and herself in place. “What are you doing? He's defenceless!”

 

What if I can’t save them? What if I’m not strong enough? 

 

“Listen to me,” her voice was but a whisper, “I know what it's like to feel like you've lost everything…”

 

The older’s eyes darted around the room as if trying to find a window to strike, an orangish energy congealing in his palms. The younger’s hands trembled weakly, a sparkling, rainbow energy swirling around them. The beast tightened her grip. 

 

She choked. “I was ripped from my own timeline, forced to endure unspeakable experiments at the hands of a mad scientist.”

 

I promised myself I’d protect them, but...what if I fail?

 

“I thought I had found solace in the arms of a woman I saw as a mother figure, only to watch helplessly as she was taken from me by my own brethren, another stronger, more aggressive Koraidon.”

 

Sada-Sada- Don’t THINK ABOUT IT! She told herself as images of the other beast standing over her lifeless body flashed across her vision. 

 

“For months, I couldn't battle.”

 

Kieran’s tearful expression, the desperation in his eyes, and Drayton’s anguished, angry face flashed before her. The pain they were in was unbearable, and she felt it too, deep in her soul. 

 

"I thought I had lost everything! I thought that there was no point in going on. But it was through the support of my friends, through their belief in me, that I found the strength to carry on, to defeat the other beast and finally start battling again.”

 

Staring into the two’s citrine eyes, she forced herself to blink, to hold back a tear.  

 

“I believe you can do so too.”

 

I can’t lose them. I can’t watch them tear each other apart.

 

Her voice cracked as it melted into a sob. “Please, don’t let your pain destroy you!”

 

She knew there wasn’t much she could do. She knew this was going to end badly. She knew one of them was going to die. She knew she could have stopped this, if they just-just SPOKE to each other- she knew what she feared most was about to come.

 

“I-I’m scared,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m scared of losing you both. Please...”

 

Notes:

The Juliana suffering continues :)

I WOULD LIKE YALL TO SEE THIS AMAZING COMMISSION I GOT !!

 

https://x.com/ArthurLiqur/status/1820347434457084010

 

Should I make Arven do a cameo in part 2?

Chapter 8: Fabrication | Windows To The Soul (Part 2)

Chapter by 1120_Cecille

Summary:

Deep in Juliana’s eyes, her stories unravel themselves.

Notes:

TW: detailed description of transformation if that applies to minor body horror or something

≪•◦ Part 4: A Wavering Voice ◦•≫

---

 

It was that day Juliana knew her life was about to change. 

 

Hunched over on her desk was a small silhouette, its tiny hands grasping a piece of sandpaper, scraping the rough surface over a crystal pendant. A chisel rested gingerly to the left along with a small wooden hammer, the tip of the chisel covered in a gently-glowing powder. Every time her fingers touched the surface, it would ripple with all the colours of the rainbow and make her skin shimmer.

 

She sat at her desk, fully awake, her hands steady as she carefully filed down a piece of iridescent Tera crystal. The digital morning light gently shone from behind the curtains. The rhythmic scraping of the sandpaper against the surface was soft and gentle, a way to direct herself away from her worries. Slowly, the crystal was taking on a hexagonal shape, resembling Terapagos' shell. It wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be—this was something personal, and all that it needed to do was convey her feelings.

 

To the side, a muted video played of a gym battle of her favourite gym leader. This man’s gimmick was that he was his own Pokemon, since he was secretly, but now publically, able to turn into a Zoroark, one uniquely large for its species. She was always pretty fond of the gym leaders that were able to spin their own afflictions into unique gimmicks to make their challenges interesting, and she silently hoped she would be able to challenge that man. The Unova League would have to wait. 

 

She silently hoped that she could be as brave as that man, to reveal she wasn’t truly human. Though the consequences if they found out what species she was, or how she was created… Judging from how some people had reacted to her hybrid friends, she knew very well there were people that weren't so kind.

 

Then, the reality of the situation started creeping in. She knew there was nothing she could do to Drayton. After recovering from the blast injury, he had suddenly fallen ill and collapsed again, covered in crystals? When questioned, the turtle merely expressed its concerns over the amount of Infinite Energy and Tera Energy that was present in his body, and could only express that “he will be better”. She really wished that she didn’t have another dead body in her hands. Knowing everything that turtle said before… That was not reassuring. Not in the slightest.

 

Her line of sight drifted momentarily to the dusty picture propped up against her desk, tucked into the corner of the frame. It was from Paldea, a snapshot of a happier time, after the gang had just walked out of Area Zero. They were all in a group hug, looking more joyous than ever.

 

Nemona—her dearest schoolmate and prefect, the one that was always so enthusiastic to battle. She enveloped the rest of the gang in a bear hug, grinning so wide you would swear she looked like the Cheshire Cat. Her gloved hand gripped tightly onto Juliana’s shoulder like it was digging into her clothes. Juliana didn’t mind.

 

Arven—her greatest pal and honorary brother, the one that was always so optimistic about things going on. He appeared to be taken by surprise by Nemona’s hug, being shoved to the left with an awkward expression. A few tears stained his face from the whole ordeal that had just happened. At least, a hug could distract him from the pain.

 

Penny—the one she could relate to oh so well, someone who tried but failed to save her friends from a misunderstanding. She shrank away in the corner of the picture, looking sort of stressed out by Nemona’s hug. Her glasses were slightly askew, and her Eevee ears were pressed downwards in a defensive manner. Juliana gave her space.

 

As for Juliana herself, she gently laid her arms across Nemona and Arven’s shoulders, gently hugging them. This was a moment that could never happen again, so they had to treasure it the best they could.

 

As if in response, the Umbreon beneath her desk purred gently, still in its deep slumber.

 

She ran her left hand across the shining pendant again as her thoughts drifted. Huh… So Mother told me that I had her genes, her coworker’s genes and… her son’s genes? Does that make me… Arven’s sister? Arven’s aunt? Her right hand gently tapped the table.

 

WHAM!

 

A loud thud.

 

Then a few more knocks.

 

Jolted from her line of thought, the sandpaper slipped from her fingers, landing softly onto the desk. She hesitated for only a split second before her hands flew to the pendant she had been working on, hurriedly shoving it into the nearest drawer. The faint shimmer of the iridescent Tera crystal disappeared as she slammed the drawer shut, the sound loud and jarring in the quiet room. If it was Kieran, he couldn’t possibly come and see the work she was doing. It had to remain a surprise.

 

She shot up from her chair, almost knocking it over in her haste. The cluttered floor underfoot slowed her only for a moment as she scrambled past discarded papers and half-read textbooks. The knocking continued, growing more insistent by the second. With a quick swerve, she spun up, made her way across the mess that was her carpeted floor, and made a sharp turn left. 

 

Is it something related to Drayton? Please don’t tell me he’s-

 

Almost flying into the door full-force, her hand snapped closed around the door handle, almost bending the metal. She twisted it sharply, flicking the locks free with a swift motion. The door flew open with a bang, slamming against the wall with a deafening crack.

 

And there stood Kieran.

 

Disheveled, wild-eyed, and gasping for breath, his small frame trembled. His normally neat purple-black hair was a mess, strands sticking out in every direction as if he'd run his hands through it repeatedly in frustration. Sweat matted the fringe to his forehead, and his wide, frantic yellow eyes searched hers. The red of his vest clung to his skin, soaked from either panic or the morning humidity.

 

Her gaze darted to his right arm, where claw marks marred his skin, fresh and angry. The red streaks of blood, smeared and uneven, told her the wounds were recent—too recent. Thankfully, a few rainbow crystals had already appeared on his arm, stopping the blood. In his trembling hand, he clutched a Great Ball so tightly his knuckles had turned white, as though it might slip from his grasp at any moment. 

 

“Kieran,” she breathed, her voice cracking slightly. “What happened? Are you okay?”

 

Her heart raced, and for a moment, Juliana braced herself. She watched Kieran closely, expecting him to spiral into one of his panic attacks like he had in the last few days. His tail swayed irregularly behind him. She could see it in his eyes—the way they darted and wavered. Her pulse quickened at the thought of needing to calm him down again, to allow him to breathe again.

 

But, to her surprise, he didn’t fall into it. His breathing steadied, albeit slowly, as if he were forcing himself to stay grounded, rooting himself deep into the carpeted floor. She could see the strain in his muscles, the way he clenched his jaw, forcing himself to speak. He was holding it together—barely—but enough to keep talking.

 

Juliana sighed in quiet relief, her own shoulders loosening. At least for now, he was okay. 

 

“About Drayton,” Kieran huffed between gasps, his voice strained. His eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that bore into her soul. “I have… good news… and bad news.”

 

Her heart sank. “…What’s the news?” 

 

“He’s um… not sick anymore. But… Uh… I think you’ve gotta see this for yourself,” Kieran mumbled, his clammy hands trembling as he slowly held out the Great Ball.

 

Her eyes darted to the ball, confusion clouding her thoughts. Kieran looked... hesitant, unsure of how to explain. She frowned, trying to make sense of what he wasn’t saying. How could Drayton just be better all of a sudden? 

 

Tera energy again? Better hope so.

 

“So… Uh… Drayton called me,” Kieran continued, his voice shaky. “I think he wanted me to come to his room, but all I heard were fox yapping noises… so I knew something was wrong. But when I got there… Well…” He looked down at the Great Ball in his hand, fumbling with it as he spoke. “At least he isn’t sick, I guess?”

 

“Fox… yapping?” Juliana’s voice was tipped with worry, her mind racing as she tried to process what Kieran was saying. “Wait, what do you mean? Is he okay? Did something happen? Kieran, just—what are you trying to say?”

 

Kieran grimaced, still fumbling with the ball. His hands were shaking worse now and he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else than dealing with this situation. To be fair, she was feeling the same thing.

 

“I think… I think it’s better if you see it for yourself,” he muttered, finally getting a grip on the ball.

 

Without another word, he tossed the Great Ball gently onto the floor. It cracked open with a flash of blue light, and a small creature appeared, dashing out in a blur of white and blue fluff. Juliana blinked in shock as the tiny creature bolted around the room at a terrifying speed, knocking over books and scattering her clothes, all the while yapping and yipping loudly. The creature stumbled as it ran, as if it wasn’t used to moving in its current form, skidding into a pile of papers and crashing into a wall before frantically continuing its chaotic run.

 

Juliana watched, wide-eyed, trying to make sense of what was happening. She followed it as it darted towards her bed. She knew this Pokemon—it was an ancient, ghostly form of Zorua she’d studied in textbooks, only recently repopulated in the wild and in the academy. But this one… it wasn’t white and red like the ones described. It was white and blue. A shiny Pokemon. It was a lot fluffier and more adapted to the cold than a normal Zorua, sporting a fluffy collar of fur around its neck. But what did that have to do with—

 

The loud yapping of the Pokemon rang in her ears, but there was something… off about the sound. It wasn’t just normal Pokemon vocalisations  or speech. No, there was something more to it. She concentrated, and the yaps turned into a discernible voice. A voice of a male teenager, a voice that spoke in full sentences, a voice that was currently yelling “get me out of here”. No, normal Pokemon didn’t speak in full sentences apart from the most intelligent ones. And a normal Zorua was nowhere intelligent enough for it. This voice… it belonged to something intelligent. Someone she had known long enough to recognise his laughs and cries.

 

A voice that was eerily, unmistakably Drayton’s.

 

The same ice-like scars as the teen’s dotted the vulpine’s body. A streak of purple fur stood out against its wispy white mane, the same shade as the Elite Four’s usual hairstyle. 

 

…

 

Her right eye twitched.

 

It all started to make sense now. Too much sense.

 

 

 

“Drayton”, she spoke the creature’s name, “Oh no. Oh no no no no.”

 

The creature-Drayton skidded to a stop, panting and wobbling as he struggled to regain his balance. The room was in disarray, books and papers scattered everywhere, and the little Hisuian Zorua, white fur streaked with blue, fixed its gaze on Juliana. 

 

“Wait. You can understand me?” Drayton’s voice, though now layered with animalistic yaps, was drenched in a layer of incredulity.

 

Juliana nodded, still processing the absurdity of the situation. How could things get weirder than this? “Yeah.”

 

Drayton’s yellow eyes blinked rapidly. “Okay, okay… then, hit me. Punch me or something. I need to snap out of this dream.”

 

Juliana hesitated, unsure if that was a good idea, but with how frantic Drayton seemed, there was no time to question it. She raised her right hand, letting it glow faintly with deep blue energy. With a sharp swipe, her claws lightly landed on his side. He yelped, the force knocking him back onto the floor. “Ow—what the—wait!” His voice was pitched with confusion as he shook himself off. “That wasn’t a normal attack! That was a move!”

 

Juliana tensed. He was starting to figure it out.

 

He stared, an unblinking gaze that focused on the girl as crystals formed over his wounds, closing them up. “...Dragon Claw…How the hell do you know how to use moves?” His eyes were as large as saucers. “And—you didn’t tell me you’re a Pokémon too?!”

 

She swallowed hard. 

 

Well, obviously, I’m not gonna tell the world that I’m some genetic abomination made in the basement of some crazy scientist! Holding herself back from saying those words, she stared back at the now-angry vulpine.

 

“No way this is fucking real.”

 

She leaned forward, trying to put her right hand on his back, stroking his fur forward. “Don’t worry, both me and Kieran have experience with this. You know, you could always say you’re a hybrid, righ-”

 

“B-but this is different!” Drayton’s voice cracked. “I’m absolutely not human at all! Even those damned hybrid bastards have a little bit of human in them—I have NONE LEFT! I’m… I’m not even close to Kieran, who at least is still half-human! And you… oh disgusting you… at least you have the ability to turn into a full human! And ME?”

 

The words hit Juliana like a punch to the gut. Drayton wasn’t just angry. 

 

He was terrified.

 

He’d been reduced to something else entirely. And that was something neither of them were prepared for. 

 

Drayton's trembling grew more pronounced as he swatted away her hand with his claws, a mixture of anger and fear swimming in his now-glassy eyes. "This isn't fair! I'm... I'm not even a… PERSON anymore!"

 

The girl winced but quickly composed herself, trying to stay calm. “Drayton, listen. Zoruas and Zoroarks can create illusions to make themselves look like anything. Even humans.” She stepped forward cautiously, keeping her voice steady. “A skilled Zorua could fool everything except the most advanced illusion detectors. And Hisuian Zoruas, like you, their illusions are more tangible, more... real than the ones from Unova. You…”

 

“Champ, that’s not a solution!” Drayton snapped, cutting her off, his voice sharp and bitter. “It doesn’t fix anything! It doesn’t change the fact that I’m not human anymore! What’s the use in appearing to be something you’re not?” His yellow eyes squeezed shut, and, almost on instinct, his wispy blue mane began to exude a thick fog. The bluish wisps began to swirl around him, wrapping him in a swirling substance as a desperate attempt at an illusion. 

 

The fog thickened, swirling in chaotic patterns, and for a moment, his human form flickered within it, a ghostly, flickering image of the boy he used to be. But as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, the fog dissipating back into nothing. Drayton’s breath hitched, and fury contorted his face. He gritted his fangs and tried again, more forcefully this time, letting the fog quickly thicken around him once more. The illusion flickered—just barely, a glimpse of what he wanted to be—but again, it dissolved, leaving him as the small, frantic Zorua.

 

Frustrated, he shoved Juliana back with the power of his illusion, nearly sending her stumbling. His breathing grew erratic, eyes wild. “LOOK AT ME!” he snarled, his voice shaking, hiding its helplessness. “At least Kieran can pass off as one of those ‘unknown’ hybrids! At least you can pretend to be a normal girl!" His voice cracked as he stepped forward, the fog once again failing to mask his form. "What about me? Am I expected to just live like this now? An abomination with a human’s soul trapped in a Pokémon’s body? FOREVER?”

 

Juliana stood frozen, her heart pounding as Drayton’s tirade continued. He sounded angry—furious even—but beneath that anger was something she recognised. Something that she had suspected that Drayton would eventually succumb to, but never expected it to explode:

 

“…Forever. I’m not human. Not anymore. And that’s all I had, Juliana. Being human, being something... that's what I was. It was all I was. Without that, I’m... I’m nothing." He took a shaky breath, voice lowering to almost a whisper. “If I can’t even be human anymore... what’s left of me? I’ve never told anyone else this, but… I’m scared. I really am.”

 

For a moment, silence occupied the room.

 

This was worse than she thought.

 

Cautiously and meticulously, she bent over, looking off the bed where the tiny creature sat. “Drayton, I—”

 

“RrrrOW!”

 

Suddenly, he lunged at her impetuously, his small form moving faster than she anticipated. His teeth sank into her hand with a feral growl, claws raking across her skin, sending tufts of blue and white fur flying in every direction, his yellow eyes glowing intensely. He swiped and slashed with a raging fury as violet energy covered his claws. She shot upwards into a standing position.

 

Before she could even scream, her hand shifted, and a thin layer of scales materialised atop her hand while her fingers merged, turning her hand into a claw. The place the vulpine had been biting was now covered with a shining layer of crystal, barely enough to stop his sharp teeth and claws from meeting flesh. The pressure from his bite was strong, and she felt his claws scrape, but there was no pain. The scream died in her throat, her eyes wide as she watched him, but she didn't flinch or pull away. 

 

Drayton continued to gnaw at her fingers, his fur bristling, lost in his panic. But then, slowly, he seemed to realise. His frantic chewing stopped, and he blinked in confusion. His gaze trailed down to where his teeth were still latched onto her now-scaled hand, crystals falling out of his mouth, and with a shudder, he released her, stumbling backward as if horrified by what he had done. His small body fell to the ground with a gentle thump, shaking.

 

A small growl, translated in her ears. “I… I don’t recognise that Pokemon.”

 

She exhaled softly, her hand transforming back into the five digits it was supposed to be as she flexed her fingers. Her gaze flickered down to the bits of fur that lay scattered around them. Among the white and blue strands, she noticed a lone streak of purple—the distinct patch of fur that mirrored Drayton's old hairstyle, now torn off and discarded on the floor.

 

She swallowed hard. Drayton was already unraveling, barely holding himself together. Telling him about the fur—the last remnant of his human self—would only push him further into despair. Not on her watch.

 

She knelt down slowly, placing her now-human hand on the ground, just in front of him, the movement deliberate and gentle. “I didn’t start out as a human. I was a Pokémon first… something pulled from time itself. That scientist at Area Zero changed me, made me into something else—a little girl. Honestly… I don’t think I was ever meant to exist here, in this world. But… I’m still here, no?” 

 

The fragile thread of her word hung still in the static air. A palpable stillness, by the faint hum of the dorm’s ventilation and the occasional creak of the floorboards. Suspended, held midair.

 

Glancing toward the empty space where he’d been standing earlier, she realised that Kieran was nowhere to be seen. No doubt he’d gone back to bed, too drained to stay up any longer. She couldn’t blame him. 

 

With a deep breath, Juliana gently scooped Drayton up, cradling his small, trembling body in her arms. He was light and soft, his once-bristling fur now lying limp against her. Assiduously, she adjusted his position while holding back against the flurry of strikes from his tiny paws batting her. She stood up carefully, walking to the door with slow, measured steps, mindful not to jostle him. With a gentle click, her finger slid over the locks, shutting them. 

 

Drayton’s head rested against her sleeve, and she could feel the faint dampness soaking into the fabric. Tears. He hadn’t lost the instinct to cry, even now. Juliana adjusted her arms, holding him more securely, gently rocking him as if comforting a child. 

 

Fluffy… Soft…

 

Drayton looked away, clearly embarrassed, his small body tensing ever so slightly. But strangely, he didn’t resist. He stayed there.

 

"I’m useless…” he mumbled. “I’m an adult… the pride of my family… and now I’m crying in the arms of a child. It’s so… embarrassing…"

 

Determined to ameliorate this, she held him closer. “You’re not useless. And you’re not alone,” she reassured him. He abruptly turned his head to the side, trying to avoid eye contact. By now, his eyes had stopped glowing. A soft rumble.

 

…Was that purring?

 

She smiled ever so slightly. Maybe things would get better.

 

Without a word, she subtly shifted again, her spine tingling as a long, sinuous tail began to materialise from her lower back. The scales shimmered faintly, catching the dim light of the room. Gently, her red-and-white tail reached out, curling around the handle of the nearby drawer and pulling it open with a soft creak. A quick tug brought the drawer out from its resting place.

 

Inside, nestled against the dark wood, was the pendant she had been working on—a hexagonal shard of Tera Crystal, softly glowing with iridescent light, like a distant star. Juliana stared at it for a moment, her heartbeat steadying as she let the gentle pulse of the crystal calm her. 

 

The fox stared at the pendant, seemingly captivated by the shimmering light or perhaps the energy. It did radiate a strange aura… 

 

“This,” her voice was surprisingly soft, “is something I’ve been working on. It’s… for Kieran. To help him regulate his powers.”

 

Drayton didn’t react, but his gaze shifted slightly, his yellow eyes following the tail and then the shimmering pendant on a black necklace as she carefully lifted it from the drawer. It barely fit in her palm and it glowed a pale blue underneath the rainbow shimmer.

 

“Terapagos suggested I make it,” she continued, opening her grasp and gently turning the pendant counter-clockwise. “It’s made of a Stellar Tera Crystal, one that can absorb excess Tera Energy if things get… unstable. You know how hard it’s been for Kieran to control his Tera Energy sometimes. Yes, he can’t transform apart from taking a battle form, but he sometimes leaves crystals in his trail and he does accidentally glow.” She paused, her eyes softening. “This would help him.”

 

The pendant’s glow seemed to hum faintly in the air, as if acknowledging her words. For a brief second, Drayton’s eyes blinked with interest, but he still said nothing.

 

“Yes, I know your relations might be a bit sour, with the uh, incidents imputed to him… but I promise, we will definitely fix this. Even if we can’t turn you back, we’ll do our best to make the best of this.”

 

Underneath the table, the Umbreon laid still, gently rumbling as its yellow rings pulsed, its eyes firmly shut.

 

“Terapagos also has something it wants to show you,” she added, her tone careful. “But it needs three days to prepare. It… thinks it might be able to help you too. Something relating to your illusion.”

 

Drayton’s expression didn’t change much, but there was a shift in the air—a slight easing of the tension in his shoulders. He wasn’t ready to respond, but he was listening. Gently setting him down on the bed into a sitting position, he let out a soft yelp in disappointment. A hand reached over behind his head seemingly in response, and its fingers gently landed behind his left ear, gently scratching. This seemed to quell his irritation.

 

She slowly set the pendant back into the drawer and let her tail quietly recede and shrink, her umber eyes slowly moving down as she knelt down beside him. She knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but Drayton needed to hear it. 

 

“Hey,” she began gently, “I know you’re scared. And I know this feels impossible right now, but… you’re still you. It doesn’t matter if you’re human or Zorua or anything in between. You’re still Drayton. And you’re okay.”

 

“But… I’d be…”

 

Juliana firmly cut him off. “You’re good enough.” 

 

Drayton didn’t respond, his yellow eyes unfocused as he stared at the floor, his body still tense. Juliana leaned in just a little closer, her voice soft but firm. “Look, I know it’s not the same, but Zoruas and Zoroarks… they’re masters of illusion, right? They can talk like humans if they want to, even without physically being one. Maybe it’s not perfect, but it’s something you can use. You can still live a life where you can communicate with other people!”

 

His ears twitched slightly, but he remained silent.

 

She gave a faint smile, trying to cut through the thick, tough tension in the air. “You could start practising now. I mean, I’ve heard Zoruas can mimic human speech with enough focus. It might take some time, but it’s something. And hey, you’re not alone in this. I’ll help you through it.”

 

He turned his head just a fraction, his eyes narrowing as if considering the idea. A small growl. His fur still bristled, his shoulders hunched in defiance, but there was a flicker of something softer—perhaps the smallest hint of reluctant acceptance. “You want me to… pretend I’m human by faking being human?” His voice was dry, but not hostile. More like he was processing the suggestion.

 

“It’s not pretending,” She replied gently. “It’s finding a way to adapt. And you’re still you. Your voice, your thoughts, they’re still yours. It’s just… a different form.”

 

He huffed, clearly reluctant, but after a moment, he gave a small nod and a purr. “Fine… I’ll try.”

 

At least that’s the first step, she guessed.

 

She smiled a little wider, hoping to lighten the mood just a bit. “See? I knew you’d come around. Besides, imagine the pranks you could pull once you get the hang of illusions. Zorua-style.”

 

For a split second, Drayton’s expression softened, his lips twitching like he might smile, though it faded as quickly as it appeared. “Yeah, sure. Whatever,” he muttered, but there was no venom in his words this time. The faint violet appeared on his claws again, but they quickly faded away. Still resentment, but that could be dealt with.

 

“You know,” she began, keeping her tone light but sincere, “there are hybrids and even human-turned Pokémon out there who live fulfilling lives. It’s not the end of the world, Drayton. I’ve seen it.”

 

His eyes remained staring at the blankets. She took it as permission to continue.

 

“There was this one hybrid I met a while back. He’s got white hair just like you, and he was a scientist that could turn into a Sylveon. People really… didn’t think well of him at first, but over time, he found his place in the world. He wasn’t human or Pokémon—just… himself. And I know that’s fine. If it’s enough for me, it’s enough for you.”

 

He scoffed, his yellow eyes flicking to her briefly. “That guy… I do have a faint recollection of him when he came to the family reunion. Good for him. What’s your point?” His growls distorted, audibly trying to follow his words. At the same time, she noticed some mist swirling. That was good.

 

She pursed her lips for a second, then kept going. “I get it. It’s not the same. But what I’m trying to say is… people adapt. Hybrids, Pokémon with human-level intelligence—They have a place in the world. They’re not alone.”

 

As if on cue, the whirring of the dormitory’s inner mechanisms died down.

 

His eyes narrowed with scepticism as his yap almost melted into the voice of a normal human-before warping back to a bark. “Sure. But none of them are trapped in a completely different body. I was human yesterday. Today, I’m not. Like… Where’s my humanity gone?” 

 

This was going to be difficult. “I was made in a lab, Drayton. Literally. Do you think I had a choice? My human form was created from the husk of a giant reptilian beast with its memories wiped. I’ve had to figure out what that means every day. And Kieran? He was blasted by Terapagos—one moment he’s normal, the next, he’s transforming in a hospital. He’s still him, though. We’re both still us, even if everything else has changed.”

 

Drayton’s ears twitched, but his expression remained dark. He didn’t want to listen, but she knew he was reluctantly absorbing her words.

 

“He’s fine,” Juliana continued, trying to sound reassuring. “Kieran figured out how to live with his new form. He’s not… any less than he was. You can too.”

 

Drayton finally turned to face her fully, his eyes full of confusion, doubt, and anger all at once. “And I’m supposed to just accept this? Just pretend that being stuck like this is fine? Pretend that I’m not going to be a disappointment to my family and my legacy for the rest of my life? I NEED to turn back, you don’t understand. My family, they’ll hate me for being a Zorua of all things! I… I’ve lost my worth, and if I can’t… get it back…”

 

“No,” She admitted. “I’m not saying that. But you’re not alone in this. Kieran and I will explain what happened to the school. I will make sure they understand. After all, you’ve said in one of your druthers that you prefer to take things slow.”

 

A small smile that quickly dissipated on the vulpine snout of the teen. There was a long pause as Drayton stared at her, his jaw clenched tightly. With his narrowed eyes, she could see that the tension in his body was still there, even though the fight had drained out of him. His yellow irises glowed again with a ferocity not previously seen, and the illusion mist swirled up again. 

 

Silence clouded the room. Juliana wondered if she had overstepped.

 

Then, after a long, heavy breath, Drayton muttered, “Fine. Whatever.”

 

She took his silence as agreement. “We’ll figure this out together. You’ll be okay. We’ve got your back.”

 

Drayton turned away. 

 

He must be thinking it through.

 

She stood by quietly, watching as the teen’s eyes squeezed shut in fierce concentration. Thin tendrils of fog coiled around his mane and claws, damp and cool as they swirled in the stillness of the room. The air felt heavy with the mist, a faint chill settling against her skin, but the tranquil blue walls seemed to soften its bite. Even in the calm of the space, she could sense the tension radiating from him—the effort it took to hold back his frustration as he fought for control. But at least he was trying.

 

A garbled noise broke the silence, emerging from his throat like something was stuck or half-formed. It resembled words but was just… straight up gibberish, like badly cut off yells. Drayton shot up at the sound, his tail flicking around out, causing the mist to stir slightly. After a few seconds, he slowly lowered himself back down, his ears pinned down.

 

“You’re doing really well,” she murmured softly.

 

She gave a small, encouraging smile. Maybe he's starting to come to terms with this.

 

And maybe he wasn’t ready to admit it yet, but she felt that he was beginning to accept the situation, slowly but surely. After all, why else would he keep trying? He was stubborn, but Drayton wasn’t the type to give up completely. Sure, he was lazy, but he had the wits to overcome any problem.

 

At least, that was what she told herself.

 

Deep down, she knew this was different. It wasn’t just about outsmarting someone or avoiding a tough situation. He was dealing with something that fundamentally changed who he was, or at least how he saw himself. And convincing him of that... Well, it wasn’t going to be as simple as pretending everything would be fine. 

 

“Cyrano… He’s got to know about this…”

 

She’d need Kieran’s help for sure. From the Ogerpon incident, she was sure he somehow had a way with words, and more importantly, he had that kind of awkward charm that somehow made people listen. Together, maybe they could explain what had happened without causing too much of a scene. Maybe they could hide it a bit longer as the health staff gets informed.

 

Another sound followed, like a sharp screech akin to claws across glass. After the bluish glow abruptly stopped—presumably because Drayton didn’t like hearing that sound either—and he made a sigh of indignation. The fog around his mane shimmered faintly again as he gathered his courage to try it again.

 

“It could… be a virus mutation?” she spoke underneath her breath. “We could maybe say he’s just a hybrid stuck in feral form?” 

 

She knew how Unovans treated Zoruas and Zoroarks. Whatever the story, they had to make sure Drayton wouldn’t face too much scrutiny, or worse—get kicked out. 

 

She glanced over at him, still struggling with his illusory voice. 

 

With a deep breath, she turned her attention toward the door, trying to pull herself out of the heavy thoughts. “Alright... Let’s figure out how to tell the principal without causing a disaster,” she muttered softly, almost talking to the door as if it would respond with an easy solution.

 

Mustering her confidence, she opened her eyes again, staring directly into the oak.

 

Her hand slid down the wooden surface onto the door handle-

 

“T-thank you.”

 

She turned around. 

 

A distinctly human voice. One from an illusion, but recognisable nonetheless. One from him. He stared down at his tiny paws, seemingly bewildered at his sudden progress. It was almost… cute.

 

He stood there. The air shifted.

 

She smiled.

 

That’s when she knew that, even for a split moment, things were going to be okay.

 

 

 

≪•◦ Part 5: Start Over Again ◦•≫

---

“Kieran... Please... I can’t let you…”  

 

Across the room, Carmine’s voice trembled, breaking the discomfort of silence. 

 

The echo of nothing. The air in the sterile, sickly chilly room was pungent with the lingering smell of antiseptic. There was a subtle buzz of machines surrounding them, and the walls were an eerie bleached white. Kieran's bed was encircled by wires and IVs that connected him to multiple equipment that tracked his vital signs. 

 

She didn't resemble her usual self at all. The younger girl across the room could see that Carmine’s tone had changed to one of desperation as she begged her unconscious brother to wake up. She knelt next to the bed, her gloved right palm grazing his crystallised arm, the antiseptic light overhead caught on the jagged edges of the iridescent blue crystals. Her left hand gripped one of the hospital bed’s handles with such force they looked like they were about to give in and shatter.

 

Juliana sat hunched over on a nearby hospital bed, her own arm tightly bandaged, throbbing with a dull ache that she told herself to ignore. Glancing over, she saw the crystals gingerly crawling over the skin, claiming more of his chest, inching toward his throat. His entire right arm had already been swallowed by the crystalline growth, shimmering with an unnatural light that pulsed like a heartbeat. 

 

But it wasn’t just his arm anymore—his shoulder, his chin, even parts of his chest had been taken over. The overwhelming aura that emanated from enveloped her brain, trying to choke it out of its thoughts.

 

She couldn’t tear her eyes from the sight. He hadn’t woken up since…

 

“Kieran, please, you have to wake up…” Carmine whispered, her voice cracking as she squinted her eyes, trying to hold back the dam. Her own crystallised hair swayed around as she leaned forward, desperately trying to shake her little brother so that maybe, just maybe, he would wake up.

 

The sight of her on the verge of breaking down made Juliana’s stomach twist. They couldn’t lose him. 

 

Her mind raced and her heart pounded in her chest. “W-what are we supposed to do?” she muttered under her breath frantically. The doctors had been trying everything, but the crystals—the concentrated Tera Energy—were unlike anything they had ever seen. The treatments they’d attempted had done nothing, the crystals continuing to spread, slow but steady, creeping toward his neck. This was just like the late stages of Tera Energy overdose-they could only hope they were in luck.

 

She glanced down at her bandaged arm, where the blast had grazed her. The pain was a reminder of how close she had come to suffering the same fate. Her arm throbbed, but compared to him… it was nothing. Nothing at all.

 

Carmine’s voice pulled her back to the present, shaky but determined. “My stupid little Kiki, you can’t let this thing take over! You’re stronger than this! You can do it…” she whispered, gripping his crystallised hand as tightly as she could without hurting herself on the jagged edges. The blue crystals sparkled, eerily beautiful and utterly terrifying.

 

Juliana could feel the panic clawing at her insides, but she tried to stay calm, for Carmine’s sake if nothing else. She had to believe that he would pull through. He always had before, hadn’t he? Even when everything seemed stacked against him, Kieran had always found a way. But now… Juliana didn’t know how he could fight this. 

 

Her eyes travelled to the doorway, where nurses and doctors had been rushing in and out all evening. None of what they said was comforting in the slightest.

 

“I… I know you were my little dummy, but… Please! Please be okay…”

 

There wasn’t anything she could do, she wanted to say something—anything—to comfort Carmine, but all sounds withered and wilted in her throat. Instead, she watched helplessly as Carmine whispered again, her voice barely audible over the steady beeping of the machines.

 

“Kieran… don’t leave me…”

 

Her fingers brushed against the remnants of her red tie, now torn to shreds and barely clinging to her shirt. And just like that, her thoughts instantly jolted back to that moment. That instant when everything changed.

 

……

The dark blue crystalline underdepths of Area Zero. 

 

The massive cavern glittering like the night sky, every inch of it shimmering with an eerie beauty. They had all been there, standing on the edge of something none of them could fully understand, but Kieran had been the one to make the first move. He had done it. He’d caught it. He’d terastalised it. Now, it was stronger than ever before. 

 

It all happened so fast. A singular beam struck out from the reptile, a ball of energy zeroing in on the teenager, like a bullet fired at the speed of sound.

 

“NO!”

 

And without hesitation, she had transformed. The shift was near instinctual as she dove forwards, raising up her arm as her clothes sunk back into her skin, forming her scales. Her large arm and claw took the brunt of the blast. 

 

Like a thousand needles sinking into the keratin. Like a million consecutive strikes against the armour covering her flesh, trying to push her back onto the ground. But she held on because Kieran was behind her. She could take the injury. He couldn’t. 

 

The pain was bad, but the pain didn’t matter. What mattered was Kieran—bewildered, standing frozen, just behind her. His eyes wide with disbelief as she loomed over him, shielding him. “You’re… you’re a-”

 

“Not a hybrid, doesn’t matter! I’m Juliana! Are you okay?!”

 

Clearly, his mind was currently malfunctioning as he struggled to unpack what had just happened in the last few seconds.

 

“Things are getting out of hand, Kiki!” Carmine’s voice rang out through the crystalline cave. “You should return Terapagos to its ball!”

 

Kieran, wincing, tried. His hand, clutching the Master Ball, extended toward Terapagos. But it wasn’t enough. Terapagos, with its unlimited supply of Tera Energy, had quickly summoned hexagonal barriers between them that she didn’t understand at first.

 

But it soon became clear. The shimmering light of the multicolour barrier reflected off the cavern walls, and before any of them could react, a tiny beam shot out towards his hand. The Master Ball shuddered, cracked in half, and clattered to the ground in smithereens as the energy enveloped his gloved palm.

 

A horrifying scream of pain, and a thump as he tried to stop himself from falling down to the ground. With his left hand, he pushed himself up, eyes firmly shut as his eyebrows twitched. A few tinges of harmless crystals dotted his hair, but what was worrying was his right hand-which was now completely crystallised. And they couldn’t stop it. 

 

…….

A shake of Terapagos’ ball.

 

In the present, Juliana blinked hard, as a sharp yank brought her back to reality. She’d taken the worst of it back in Area Zero, absorbing most of the blast, but she couldn’t save him from the second blast... Her own arm throbbed beneath the bandages, but at this point, she couldn’t feel it anymore. The staff at the hospital didn’t know about what truly happened. To them, she was just a girl, sitting here in worry and pain. They had no idea what she truly was.

 

She flexed her fingers under the bandage, her familiar old self still tinged under the skin. The instinct to protect and nurture. But in this cold, sterile room, she was human again, powerless to do anything but watch and wait.

 

Suddenly, another faint wobble came from the Pokéball resting near her other hand. Her head snapped toward it, eyes wide. Terapagos’ Pokéball. She hadn’t heard anything from it since she’d captured the Legendary Pokémon, but now, it moved.

 

Then, as if from the depths of a dream, a soft voice echoed faintly from inside the ball. “H-hello?” 

 

Juliana’s heart paused at the sound. It wasn’t angry. It was shaky, uncertain, and scared. It was alien and glittery, like crystals were trying to mimic a human voice. It was… in fear. Just like her. Something about hearing it—Terapagos’ voice for the first time—flooded her with panic.

 

Suddenly overwhelmed, she flung her legs off the bed and stood. Her feet barely even touched the floor before she rushed toward Kieran’s bedside. Carmine was still there, perched on the other side calling out to her brother, pleading for him to wake up. Kieran, still unconscious, laid pale and still. The shimmering iridescent crystals had spread up his arm and across his chest, making interesting tendrils across his cheek. 

 

Without thinking, Juliana crouched beside Kieran, opposite Carmine, and grabbed his crystallised hand with her unbandaged one. The cold, hard surface of the crystals felt so alien for the first time, but she didn’t care. It could infect her for all she cared, she just couldn’t let Kieran die alone.

 

“I’m sorry,” she choked, her voice trembling as her grip tightened. “Please… adapt to the Tera energy. Please don’t die! I will give anything for you to survive this!” Her words were half-shouted, half-pleaded.

 

“Please-please! PLEASE DON’T DIE!”

 

Hot tears welled up in her eyes, and before she could stop them, they began to fall, dripping onto his crystallised hand. Each tear sizzled against the shimmering surface, like acid burning through skin. 

 

Carmine leaned toward, trying to shake him awake as the crystals approached his nose. No response. 

 

The sound of silence. 

 

Then, a faint crack. 

 

Juliana’s breath hitched as she jerked her hand away from his. As if right on timing-the crystals—those impossibly hard, shimmering crystals—began to crack. Tiny fissures formed along his arm, snaking their way up toward his shoulder, growing wider and deeper with each passing second.

 

What… What’s happening?

 

Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she looked across the bed at Carmine, whose own expression mirrored her shock. She could clearly read the 17-year-old’s expression: “What the fuck is happening.”

 

Instantaneously, the crystals shattered. Pieces flew into the air, scattering across the room. Some of them clattered against the floor, while others disintegrated into fine dust before they even hit the ground.

 

Carmine didn’t know what to do. She froze in place, completely static apart from the darting of her yellow irises.

 

Juliana staggered back, struggling to comprehend what had just happened. A whirlwind of confusion stirred up in her. Was Kieran…?

 

She looked at him, expecting—hoping—to see his eyes flutter open. But the silence stretched on.

 

Her heart soared as Kieran’s vitals, once erratic and unstable, slowly evened out. The steady rhythm of the monitor next to him was a welcome change. She let out a shaky breath, her grip on the bed’s railing loosening as relief began to wash over her. Carmine, too, seemed to exhale, her tense posture softening ever so slightly.

 

“He’s… he’s stabilising,” Juliana whispered, almost not believing the words as they left her mouth. For the first time since their desperate escape from Area Zero, she allowed herself to think, Maybe he’s going to be okay.

 

But then, as the tension in her body began to release, he twitched. 

 

It was a subtle movement, barely more than a jerk of his fingers, but Juliana’s relief shattered instantly. Her eyes shot to his hand, still lying limply on the bed. His expression twisted into a grimace, and before Juliana could call out, she noticed something terrifying. His right hand—the same one that had been encased in crystal—was changing.

 

A deep blue hue spread across his fingertips, dark and shimmering like the very crystals that had nearly consumed him. But this wasn’t crystallisation. These were scales. Juliana’s breath caught in her throat as the scales crept up his fingers, merging with his skin. His nails began to lengthen, hardening and sharpening into claws, their edges gleaming under the dim hospital lights. The ultramarine scales rose up from skin, digging their way out of the flesh. Just like how she transformed.

 

Oh no. Oh no no no no.

 

“Kieran…?” Her voice was barely a whisper, thick with uncertainty and fear. She leaned closer. He was changing—transforming—into something. But what?

 

Panic surged through her veins. There was no time to think. The blue scales continued to crawl up Kieran’s hand, reaching his palm and moving slowly toward his wrist. They gleamed like polished stone, the texture almost identical to the Tera crystals that had once covered him, but more organic and alive. Just… like her own scales.

 

“Kieran!” Carmine cried out, finally noticing the change as well. The frozen edge of her voice…

 

Juliana stared at his hand, her heart pounding in her chest. There was no reason why this was happening… She had not many questions, but she knew one thing: this wasn’t over. 

 

She watched in horror as the blue scales continued to crawl up Kieran’s arm, their progress relentless. Her instincts kicked in, and she squeezed his arm tightly, desperate to stop the transformation in its tracks—as if her grip could somehow halt the impossible. But it was futile. Beneath her fingers, something even more terrifying began to happen. She felt something fluffy.

 

A soft, translucent cyan fur began to sprout, bristling up from his skin like an alien growth. The fur spread under her grasp, silky and faintly glowing, gently pulsing between paled turquoise and light sea green with every beat of his heart. She jerked her hand back in shock, staring at the fur that wasn’t there a moment ago. It was unmistakably unnatural. It was like nothing she’d seen—except…

 

An image of Terapagos’ fight flashed back into her mind. That creature… had the exact same fur colour.

 

“Hello? What’s happening out there? There’s… a LOT of Tera energy.”

 

She froze. It was Terapagos—its muffled voice. Carmine seemed to not hear. She didn’t respond right away. Her gaze darted to the foot of the bed, and the scene she saw made her stomach lurch. Kieran’s grey hospital socks were now shredded. In their place were three sharp blue claws—identical to those of Terapagos—tearing through the fabric. The scales started creeping in tendrils.

 

Shit.

 

Carmine, standing beside her brother’s bed, let out a string of expletives, her panic boiling over. “What the FUCK is happening to him?!” 

 

“I DON’T KNOW!” The little girl yelled back.

 

A horrifying realisation dawned on her, one that made her blood run cold. If Kieran was emanating Tera Energy, and Terapagos was the source of Tera Energy…?

 

She connected the dots, the pieces falling into place with a sickening clarity. The Tera energy wasn’t just lingering in him—it was reshaping him. Just like her. Another ring of fluff emanated on his other arm, thickening around the wrist.

 

She felt sick.

 

Juliana’s eyes darted back to his rapidly transforming body, her voice shaking as she muttered, “He’s turning into the damn turtle.”

 

Terapagos’ voice echoed in her mind, a disturbingly calm and detached response. “Interesting.”

 

Her line of sight travelled to his neck, where tufts of cyan fur were now sprouting, creeping up from beneath his red sleeveless vest. The fur fluffed up unnaturally, glistening faintly under the unnerving lights. The sickening sparkles that emanated from every progression didn’t help at all. 

 

Then, he jerked once more, his back bending slightly as though his body was attempting to adapt to the change. She gasped as she saw the brilliant, multicoloured scales that were developing across his back and shining in a variety of hues. In the dimly lighted chamber, they shimmered, each scale gleaming like a precious stone. It wasn't just the scales, though. Patches of the same unsettling fur spread across his skin like wildfire, down from his waist to his abdomen.

 

The scutes began to take form. Strange glowing marks designated them, one being the Fire-type, the other the Water-type, and so forth. The symbols took on a life of their own, changing from clear, distinct emblems to formless blobs and back again. The sight was eerily captivating.

 

And then, nonchalantly, Terapagos’ voice drifted back into her thoughts. “He deserved it.”

 

Juliana flinched at the completely-uncalled-for response. Her blood boiled.

 

“What?!” she hissed through gritted teeth, her voice trembling with rage. “Deserved it?!” She glared at the Pokeball in her bed, as if trying to kill Terapagos with her glare. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

 

Terapagos was silent for a moment, as if pondering her anger, but the silence only fueled Juliana’s fury. How could it be so indifferent to this horrifying thing?

 

…right. Terapagos was a Pokemon. It likely didn’t have the same emotions as a human. All she felt was an overwhelming wave of helplessness as his transformation continued. 

 

Juliana exhaled sharply. There was no use in trying to reason with it. 

 

“Who are you talking to?” The older sister asked.

 

“That damn turtle…”

 

Her attention shifted back to him, having changed even more. His dark hair, which had always fallen in chevron tufts, was beginning to shift. The tips of his strands started taking on a cyan hue, glimmering like the crystals. The colour spread from the ends, seeping further up his hair like a creeping frost, creeping up the mauve undersides. Some strands began to grow wilder, jutting out of his ponytail and the top of his head like messy uncombed fur. 

 

A tuft of fur started to emerge on his cheeks, soft at first, but thickening with each passing second. It was the same shimmering teal fur that now covered parts of his arm and neck. 

 

 

“Kieran, come on, wake up!” she whispered, voice weak with devastation. But the beeping of the monitor covered her pleas. 

 

Then, Carmine’s voice cut through the palpable atmosphere like a knife through butter. “I… Please! Please wake up!” 

 

No response.

 

Immediately, another crack. 

 

At first, it was subtle—a small bulge at the base of his spine—but then, the sound came. A sickening pop followed by a crack that made her wince in sympathy. Then she could see it. His vertebrae were popping and shifting, multiplying themselves and stretching, pulling the skin tight as blue scales dotted it.

 

More of that terrible popping filled the space, each sound like nails being driven into her nerves by a hammer. His tailbone stuck out farther, straining on the rear of his shorts as it fought valiantly against the material. His face twitched, his brow furrowing in unconscious discomfort as a low, guttural grunt escaped his throat.

 

The way the pressure was building up... He fought, but it was no use. The blue, reptilian tail finally slithered out from the confines of his clothing, pushing against the seams of his shorts until it found its way and finally slithered down his pant leg. A shimmering puff of cyan fur fluffed up at the tip, soft and delicate despite the grotesque way it had emerged.

 

The cyan fur glistened faintly, catching the light in a way that was beautiful. But the sight filled her with nothing but horror. 

 

The older teen’s voice suddenly erupted. Without warning, she grabbed Juliana by the shoulders, her fingers digging in tightly. The raw, searing panic tore through the room like a rift in spacetime as the teen’s right hand shot forward, lifting Juliana by the shirt collar.

 

“This is all your fault!” Carmine shouted, her voice breaking. “You should have blocked the other blast too! YOU DIDN’T SAVE HIM!”

 

Juliana froze, her breath hitching in her throat. Yes, she knew Carmine was merely overreacting, but the weight of those words still hit like a strike in the chest. She flinched.

 

She wondered what kind of reprimanding Briar was receiving right that instant outside.

 

She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. She couldn’t blame Carmine. Kieran was her beloved little brother, and this nightmare was happening to him right in front of her eyes. Carmine’s grip tightened, her knuckles turning white as her right hand trembled. “You should’ve known better! He trusted you!”

 

That simply wasn’t true, but she kept her mouth shut, trying to make sure that Carmine’s grip on her collar wasn’t suffocating her. Her eyes darted toward Kieran, trying to focus on him instead of the crushing guilt that would eventually catch up with her. Writing in pain, he grunted, his body shuddering. His teeth were clenched so tightly she could hear the faint grinding of enamel, and her stomach lurched as she watched his canines sharpen.

 

“Stop it, please…” she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. The last of the bits of her tie fell onto the ground in pieces.

 

Carmine’s hands loosened their hold, and slowly, her anger seemed to subside. A snarl boiled in her throat, but she pulled away from Juliana, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she stared at her brother. The accusation had lost its bite. Juliana’s gaze remained on Kieran. More fur had begun to sprout on his legs—thick, cyan rings wrapping around his ankles like shackles. Two pink spots appeared near his eyes, staining his skin like faint bruises. He looked so pained…

 

She watched with bated breath, waiting for the next shift, the next horrifying change.

 

…

 

But it didn’t come.

 

The transformation, as violent as it had been, suddenly… stopped. 

 

Kieran’s breathing, though strained, evened out slightly, though the tension in his body remained. He wasn’t fully human anymore, but he wasn’t fully… whatever he was turning into either. It was as if he’d been frozen in some kind of nightmarish halfway point, like a hybrid or something. 

 

At least, that was one problem solved? He could just pretend to be a normal hybrid or something? 

 

Terapagos’ voice echoed faintly from inside its Pokéball, barely audible to anyone but Juliana. “How disappointing,” it remarked, almost lazily. “He didn’t transform all the way.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

The Pokéball fell silent instantly, as if Terapagos had been scared stiff by her growl.

 

The faint beeping of the heart monitor began to stabilise, the erratic spikes finally smoothing down into an average steady rhythm. His vitals were finally returning to normal.

 

As if in response, faint sparkles of Tera energy shimmered around Kieran’s body, casting a soft glow over his pale skin. Slowly, the blue scales that had consumed his arm and legs began to recede. The thick cyan fur that had sprouted so unnaturally on his limbs was retreating, leaving behind patches of bluish scutes along his skin. His right arm, which had been fully covered in scales and fur before, was now mostly human again, though traces of the transformation lingered—a small ring of fur remained around his wrist and a bluish forearm. The clawed hands remained.

 

She stepped back, watching in silent awe as the fur on Kieran’s legs and back dissipated. But his feet—no longer fully human—retained their paw-like structure, scaled and sharpened. His hair, which had been unruly and cyan-tipped, began to settle back to its original shade, though a few streaks of blue remained. Stubbornly, the cheek fur still seemed to cling on for dear life, though the pink patches faded.

 

“Terapagos,” Juliana whispered at the Pokeball. “What’s happening to him?”

 

The faint voice of the Legendary Pokémon echoed from within its Pokéball. “He’s going out of his Terastal form and back into his normal state. I think.”

 

“Kiki!” Carmine shook her brother, her grip even tighter this time, as though she were terrified of losing him all over again. She didn’t let go until Kieran stirred, his eyelids fluttering as consciousness returned. For a brief moment, Juliana held her breath, unsure if he was really waking up or if this was just another fleeting moment of false hope. She really wished it was the former. After all, Terapagos had said so.

 

Right?

 

Just as another possible tragedy crossed her mind, his eyes fluttered open. She could see it clearly; streak of yellow. They quickly shut, but now she knew he was stirring.

 

“Kiki…” Carmine’s voice cracked as she leaned closer, her hand shaking as she brushed the hair away from his face. “You’re... You’re okay. Thank the gods! You stupid little brother, I thought I’d lost you! Don’t you ever do that again! YOU HEAR ME?”

 

“He probably needs some Stellar Tera crystals around him to control his energy,” the turtle murmured, “or else those mood swings would be BAD bad.”

 

His eyes slowly opened, unfocused and bleary, as if he was still trapped halfway between dreaming and waking. Barely registering anything, his left hand twitched as Carmine enveloped him in a bear hug. Resting his head on his sister’s shoulder, he laid there stunned and speechless, unresponsive but awake. He had seemingly noticed his bluish right hand, and stared at it with darting pupils. The last cutesy tuft of neck fur clung in place.

 

For the first time in several hours, a great weight was lifted off Juliana’s shoulders.

 

He blinked thrice.

 

“Sis? Juli?”

 

…

The sky above the sea was a deep, velvety blue, the stars still faintly visible as the world hovered in the liminal space between night and dawn. The white bridge stretched out before them, suspended over the dark waters below. The early morning air was cool and crisp, with only the soft sound of footsteps echoing as they made their way across.

 

In the distance, Blueberry Academy awaited. 

 

Briar was walking up ahead, her hands gesturing wildly as she rambled on about something only she seemed to understand. Carmine trailed behind her, walking more slowly, though it was clear she wasn’t paying attention either. She was looking at the school entrance, moving her head around when seeing her classmates.

 

At the back of the group, Juliana walked alongside Kieran. His tail swished from side to side with every tentative step, brushing against the white stone of the bridge. His eyes darted, trying to stay hidden behind his bangs with uncertainty.

 

Finally, breaking the silence between them, Kieran spoke.

 

“H-Hey! Juliana!” He hesitated for a moment, glancing nervously at her before looking away again. “I know I caused a lot of trouble for the League Club… and everyone…”

 

His gaze dropped to his blue hand, the shimmering scales flickering under the pre-dawn sky. “I wanted to give everyone a proper apology… Including you, Juli…”

 

Juliana’s expression softened as she looked at him. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it again, unsure how to respond. He was… back to his old self, at least. Things would only go upwards from now on.

 

Before she could gather her thoughts, Kieran continued.

 

“...It’s fine,” Juliana finally said. She hoped it sounded sincere.

 

His shoulders sagged with relief, but his hands fidgeted as he stared down at them very apprehensively. “I’m okay with you, I promise. I’m fine with you being my… big reptile friend.” He gave a shaky, nervous laugh, still avoiding her gaze. “I won’t tell anyone. Thank you for saving me. I really mean it.”

 

She felt a strange mix of emotions. It wasn’t just gratitude in his words—it was vulnerability, the first time he let anyone see it in months. Area Zero had permanently affected him, but she could see he was stronger than he thought. He was still pushing on.

 

“And uh… I guess what I’m trying to say is…”

 

Juliana stared at him, sensing that he was struggling to find the right words.

 

“I wanna make things right.”

 

Just as the words left his mouth, the first rays of daylight peeked over the horizon. The deep blue of the night time sky progressively softened, transitioning right into a smooth magenta hue that painted itself throughout the sky like watercolour. For a short moment, it felt just like the world was its breath, looking forward to what could come next. 

 

The warm temperature of the growing sun started to sweep towards her skin, and she couldn't help but sense that, no matter everything, there was hope. She gave Kieran a small, reassuring smile.

 

He stopped in his tracks, his back turned to the rising sun as it slowly peeked above the horizon. The gentle pink hues of the dawn sky painted everything in a warm glow, and for a moment, he stood there, bathed in the light. His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. “I know I’ve changed, and it’ll take some time for me to accept it… but I’m sure it will be fine eventually.”

 

“So do you think…” He hesitated, his eyes still closed as if summoning the courage to finish. With a trembling breath, he opened his eyes, revealing his beautiful yellow irises. “We could start over from zero and be friends again?”

 

She knew what she had to do. 

 

She gave a small nod, a smile tugging at her lips. “Yes. We’ll figure it out. Together.”

 

From up ahead, Carmine’s voice cut through the quiet moment. “Hey! We’re gonna leave you two behind if you don’t hurry up!”

 

Juliana and Kieran exchanged a look, and a giggle. With matching nods, they both broke into a run, racing to catch up with Carmine and Briar, the weight of their earlier tension lifting ever so slightly. His fur waved in the air as he ran, but he didn’t seem to care.

 

As they sprinted across the white bridge, the sky above them shifted yet again, the soft pinks deepening into a rich golden hue as the sun fully rose. A beautiful canvas of yellow with the run clearly visible from the right of the. They kept running, not running from their fears but running for closure.

 

In that moment, with the golden sun rising and the vast sea stretched out beside them, they knew they weren’t just moving forward—they were moving forward together.

 

Notes:

I scrapped a lil bit off here fun fact

I had no motivation to write the Paldea trio… please forgive me

I am currently in the middle of exam season so forgive me if the last chapter comes a bit slow

Chapter 9: Origin | The Villain In Your Eyes

Chapter by 1120_Cecille

Summary:

After finally finding a new lease in life, Drayton heads down to Chargestone Cavern. Here, he deals with a repressed part of his thoughts that has finally risen from the depths of his mind.

Notes:

BAM! Surprise chapter

Originally wanted to just keep this with the upcoming Kieran chapter but still

“…You’re fine.”

 

Drayton’s shoes crunched softly over the gravelly floor of Chargestone Cavern, the steady buzz of electric energy from the floating blue rocks echoing all around. In his crystal illusion, he strode towards his destination with a smile on his face for the first time in days. Tears still glistened on his cheeks, but they would dry soon. 

 

Silently, he was glad that Chargestone Cavern was blue and yellow. After his… adjustment to his vision a few weeks ago, he had a hard time viewing any other shade apart from those two colours. He could barely see hints of red and purple, but they were nowhere as saturated as before. He knew that it was possible for Zoruas and Zoroarks to match the actual colour of the objects they were trying to illusion, and it was also possible for them to be able to “sense” the colour of the objects without actually seeing them, like the inverse of blindsight. In fact, he was mostly successful in the second department, though that didn’t mean his vision was back to normal.

 

Flygon flapped its wings lightly behind him, hovering as close to the ground as possible, its body itching for the sky. He could feel Flygon’s impatience at not getting its poffins. The cavern crackled with life, the overwhelming aura of the electrically charged crystals buzzing at his senses, but it didn’t deter him. Instead, it seemed to energise him further. He was walking towards something, or rather, someone, who had waited long enough. Finally, as their eyes fixed on each other and he bent over, he stopped.

 

Sitting cross-legged on the ground was Amarys. With a backpack behind her and a pencil held in her hand, it was clear that she had been scribbling notes about the natural Electric-Type Pokemon in this cavern. The soft glow of the crystals around her bathed her in a gentle blue light, and the charged spiderwebs hung from the ceiling above her.

 

“Yes, I’m fine,” he smiled.

 

Slowly, she turned, her iron-bolt-shaped hair barely moving as her eyes locked onto Drayton. There was a flicker of something unreadable in her usually stoic gaze—surprise, relief, or perhaps disbelief. It was hard to tell through her glasses. Her lips remained set in their neutral line, through her eyes spoke volumes.

 

“You’re... alive,” Amarys stated in her usual calm, formal tone, though there was just a little tinge of emotion beneath the surface. “And you’re... smiling?”

 

Drayton’s smile widened, finally sincere. “Yeah. I guess I am.” He took a few steps closer, his aura brushing against the electric-charged rocks but not faltering. “Well, I’m a ghost, but… I’m alive in terms of ‘I haven’t lost myself’, which is a good thing. I’ve been thinking a lot... about everything. And I realised... life’s worth living, even when it doesn’t seem like it.”

 

She blinked, momentarily stunned. She stayed silent for a moment, as though processing the sight in front of her.

 

“What... what do you intend to do now?” she asked finally, her voice still professional, but her body language betraying her relief. He knew it wasn’t in her nature to express emotions overtly, but he could tell she was thankful. He crossed his arms lightly, eyes drifting to the cavern walls as he thought. “Well, first things first… I need my Pokeballs back.”

 

He could tell that this simple request meant a lot to her. She didn’t say anything, but she nodded slightly and reached into her school bag. One by one, she pulled out the Pokeballs she had been holding for him. 

 

When the last one was handed over, Drayton held them for a moment, feeling the weight of his team in his hands again. He opened his held item slot, a small rift in the air unzipping in front of him with a sparkly energy as he stowed them away. She watched closely, her eyes narrowing just slightly as her eyes fixed on the rift. He smiled at that—he knew she was always curious even if it almost never showed.

 

“That... is your held item slot?” she asked, tilting her head just enough to betray her interest.

 

Drayton nodded, placing Archaludon’s Pokeball inside the rift. ”Yeah. I guess, since I’m technically a Pokemon now, I can use it just like any other Pokemon would. ‘Cuz I can’t use items due to that Everstone in the medicine Kieran gave me, my held item slot is a bit more roomy, I’d say. My phone’s in there.”

 

Amarys gave a curt nod. “Interesting.”

 

Her eyes lingered on him, scanning his face. He could feel her studying him, searching for any signs of the broken person he had been. But he knew what she saw now—a version of himself that had found peace. 

 

For the first time in a long while, He felt calm.

 

She stood up slowly, brushing off the dust from her winter uniform. Her iron boots clinked softly against the stone floor as she adjusted her posture. “I’m... relieved to see you in this mood,” she said carefully. “You were lost for a time.”

 

He chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah… I guess I was.”

 

For a moment, they rested there in the charged atmosphere of the cavern, surrounded by the hum of the minerals. His gaze drifted to the giant floating rocks and the energy crackling between them. Though the overwhelming electricity of the sparks flew out, he didn’t care. His aura sensing abilities could go haywire for all he cared about. He just wanted closure.

 

“This place is something else,” he remarked, watching the electric arcs leap through the air.

 

“Yes,” She responded, slipping back into her usual professional tone. “Chargestone Cavern has unique properties. The Electric-type Pokemon here thrive due to the constant flow of energy from these formations. That is what the teacher informed us in the second year of school.”

 

Drayton smiled faintly, nodding. “I guess I just haven’t been paying attention to lessons, you know.”

 

Amarys didn’t respond right away, but he could sense her amusement and slight disappointment in the brief silence that followed. He glanced back at her, realising how much he had to thank her for—holding onto his team and having faith in him.

 

“Thanks, Amarys,” he said after a pause. “For keeping my team safe... and for not giving up on me.”

 

Her expression didn’t change much, but he saw the slightest softening in her eyes behind her fogged glasses. “You’re welcome.” 

 

With a final glance at Flygon, Drayton reached for its Pokeball. Flygon hovered nearby, still eager to take to the skies, but he knew this wasn’t the time. He pressed the button on the ball, and with a flash of red light, Flygon returned to its ball. Without hesitation, he placed it in his held item slot, allowing the rift to zip up and disappear.

 

Satisfied, he moved to sit down next to her, letting out a quiet sigh as he did. His muscles relaxed against the cold stone, the air still buzzing with energy around them. Amarys resumed scribbling down notes in her notebook, her hand moving with precision, but she didn’t stop talking. 

 

“Amarys… When I get back to my dorm later, can you send me some of your notes? If you’ve got them on paper, can you send me some pictures?”

 

She blinked, hesitating. Clearly, she wasn’t expecting this follow-up of all things. “Alright.”

 

He smiled sheepishly. “I’m… um… maybe going to actually try asking for some help with my homework… I know I’ll probably still fall asleep again, but still… First steps, and I right?”

 

She stared at him, as if inspecting if he was miraculously replaced with some stunt double. After a few seconds, she relaxed again, picking up her pen from the ground.

“It’s good that you’re back,” she said softly, her eyes still focused on her notes. “We all wondered if you’d return. Crispin was worried sick.”

 

He glanced at her, a faint sarcastic smirk tugging at his lips. “I wondered that too.”

 

A bit of an awkward silence, then broken by his laugh.

 

For a while, they sat there in a comfortable silence, the electric hum of the cavern filling the air around them. Even if she didn’t say it outright, he knew she was relieved. It wasn’t in her nature to show her emotions easily, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel them. He stared back up at the blue ceiling of the cavern.

 

“Do you plan to stay?” The 16-year-old asked after a moment, still not looking up from her notes.

 

He leaned back slightly, gazing up at the floating blue crystals. “Yeah,” he said, voice soft but very certain. “I think I do.”

 

…

Around ten minutes had passed.

 

He wondered how strange life would be now. Sure, he could get his family to get him some special documents, but he wondered how being a tiny little creature would affect him day-to-day. He wasn’t human, but that didn’t really matter. He didn’t need to eat or drink, which he guessed was a bonus. His illusion was merely a shell reconstructed from the atoms of his Zorua body, held together with Tera energy and illusion magic. But he looked the same from the outside, no? 

 

On second thought, it was pretty funny and ironic to him how every scar on his body healed apart from the ice. Frostburn, they called it. The more severe stages carved themselves into the bodies of those unfortunate souls that just happened to be in Opelucid that fateful day. 

 

It was something he never tried to think too much about. It was a constant reminder of his near-death experience, the one moment where he was completely powerless. The split moment he felt the wrath of ice, the pain shooting through his body and making him certain he was going to die. Thankfully, the moment before he went unconscious, he saw a glimpse of blue grab onto him and soar away. 

 

It was something 11-year-old him should never have experienced. He didn’t deserve it. No one deserved it. 

 

And they were all stuck with permanent reminders of their pain, accompanied by empty pity from everyone they met. Moderate frostburn was not able to be removed in the slightest, and it stung like hell in cold environments. Everytime he went into the Polar Biome, a stinging pain would shoot through his spine and make him flinch.  

 

But he pushed on, because that’s what he always did. 

 

In a sense, nothing had changed, but everything had changed.

 

He rubbed the Frostburn on his right cheek, feeling the near-frictionless surface beneath his fingers. Even though he couldn’t “feel” the temperature anymore, he could still sense the aura emanating from the ice. He knew what places were supposed to be hot and what places were cold, but he couldn’t exactly be affected by the temperature itself. After all, he didn’t need to maintain his normal body temperature anymore.

 

Maybe it was a good thing Hisuian Zoruas couldn’t feel temperature, because apparently the Pokemon that can’t wouldn’t feel pain from being in the cold… 

 

A soft rustling broke the stillness of Chargestone Cavern as a few Pokémon wandered past them. Among them, a small Joltik hopped its way across the cavern floor, leaping up with streaks of electricity following closely behind. Drayton watched it curiously as it made its way past him, barely the size of his palm. The tiny arachnid creature seemed right at home here, bouncing until it reached one of its electric webs. He smiled slightly at the sight, admiring how cute it looked.

 

Amarys was still engrossed in her notes. The soft scribbling of her pen filled the space between them. Every now and then, she paused, her hand hovering over the page as if considering her next words, then resumed writing at her usual pace. Her handwriting was neat and tidy, just like he had expected. For a few minutes, they sat in gentle silence. 

 

Out of nowhere, Amarys spoke up. “By the way, Juliana received some flying supplements from me a few weeks ago.”

 

Drayton blinked, momentarily thrown off by the sudden shift in conversation. Amarys didn’t typically engage in small talk, especially not about something so oddly specific. “You know, I carry quite a few of them for my Skarmory. I give them regularly to make sure they can carry me when we fly—enhances their strength and endurance. I thought Juliana might appreciate them, seeing as she’s technically a Pokemon herself.”

 

He stifled a chuckle, already sensing where this was going. He had a feeling Juliana would have reacted in an unusual way. 

 

“Well, she took the entire container,” She continued. “I expected her to take a small amount, but contrary to my beliefs, she consumed the whole thing in one gulp.” She paused, glancing over at him. “Then she glowed. Brightly. For a brief moment.”

 

He couldn’t hold back his laugh this time. The image of Juliana devouring an entire container of supplements and then glowing as if she were evolving was too amusing. Just like how she stuffed her mouth with sandwiches. “That… sounds like her.”

 

She gave a curt nod. “Yes. And now, apparently, she can fly permanently. It’s… unexpected, but I suppose it worked out. Presumably due to the Pokemon in question, Agias, being more resilient than the average flying ‘Mon.” 

 

He grinned, the corners of his mouth twitching at the mistake. Of course she confused the noise with its actual name. No one had bothered to correct her, likely because no one had the heart to. “Yeah… Agias,” he echoed, chuckling to himself. 

 

Amarys, completely obvious to the humour behind the situation, merely nodded again, seemingly satisfied with her understanding. He smiled, thinking how Juliana had quite literally devoured an entire bottle of supplements and now, thanks to Amarys, had gained permanent flight. It was one of those rare moments where everything felt… kind of fine, surprisingly.

 

After a brief lull in conversation, she shifted slightly, turning the topic back to something more serious. “The Elite Four expressed sincere concern for your well-being, are you aware of that?” she said, her gaze still on her notes. The concern in her voice was subtle but noticeable, showing through her composed demeanour. “Earlier, Lacey made an effort to comfort Kieran, who was struggling to cope with the situation.”

 

Drayton’s smile faded. He knew Kieran was upset, but hearing it confirmed by Amarys stirred something inside him. 

 

“He really took it that hard?” He muttered, more to himself than to Amarys.

 

She continued, her pen still moving across the page. “Carmine approached me earlier as well, seeking information about her younger brother. She expressed her concern for his well-being, and I informed her that he was on his way to the League Club Room to meet you and Juliana. He appears to be slightly less unhappy after his conversation with Lacey.”

 

Drayton nodded slightly, running a hand through his weirdly shaped hair, having a low growl underneath his voice. He’d received Kieran’s text message not too long ago. He knew Kieran was eager to see him and Juliana and get their relations together, but something in Drayton resisted the urge to meet up with him right away. After everything that had happened, after everything he had put them through, he just needed a little more time to breathe. 

 

At least Kieran was slightly better… but that didn’t mean he could just skip the meeting.

 

“I got his message,” Drayton murmured more quietly. “But… I think I need a moment to myself before I meet up with him. With Juliana, too.” He glanced at Amarys as he said it, as if seeking her understanding.

 

She didn’t respond right away. He was certain the silence that followed was her way of giving him the space he needed. She wasn’t the type to push, nor was she the type to offer comforting words easily, but her presence had always been comforting to him. Despite how he would slack off in meetings, she genuinely expressed care for him, and he could see that clearly with her own two eyes.

 

Eventually, Amarys finished the last of her notes, her pen making one final stroke before she sat back and straightened her posture. “I am moving on to the next location to record my observations,” she spoke in her usual formal tone. She reached down, slipping her notebook into her school bag, pulling it up by its red straps. He admired how calm and calculated she always acted.

 

Drayton glanced at her but didn’t move to follow. He wasn’t ready to leave this place just yet. Something… something made him stay here. More than anything, he needed to be alone with his thoughts, to make sense of everything that had happened and everything that still lay ahead.

 

She seemed to sense that, offering him a brief nod as she rose to her feet. Her iron boots clinked softly against the cavern floor as she adjusted the straps of her bag and began to walk away. She didn’t offer any parting words—none were needed. 

 

That was the thing about Amarys; she always seemed to understand him in ways others didn’t, even if their connection wasn’t something they spoke of openly. 

 

So that’s why she’s good friends with Carmine, huh…

 

Drayton watched her go, the soft glow of the blue crystals casting long shadows in the cavern. When her figure finally disappeared from view, leaving him alone in the edge of the cavern, he let out a slow breath. The steady, rhythmic hum soothed his nerves, and for the first time in a while, he allowed himself to just sit there, undisturbed. Alone with his thoughts, with the quiet, and with the faint crackle of electricity in the air, he felt the weight of the world lift just a little. 

 

Here, at the edge of Chargestone Cavern, he could find peace. For now.

 

But not for very long.

 

The cavern had fallen into an eerie, deafening silence. 

 

He hadn’t noticed it at first—he had been too focused on Amarys and their conversation, but now, he was sure. There was no sound, no hum of electricity, no distant scuttling of Pokémon across the rocks. 

 

Just stillness. 

 

The air started descending, pressurising itself as it weighed down upon him. In the corner of his eye, he saw… some mist? The mist was faintly glowing, a soft blue hue that shimmered in the dim cavern light. 

 

His mind was swirling. He didn’t recognise it.

 

The mist, no, fog thickened. There was no one nearby—Amarys had already moved on, and the distant echoes of Chargestone Cavern had faded. As the fog crept up, a cold moisture clung to his skin, and something inside him began to stir and a faint prickle of doubt had arisen. His thoughts turned to Kieran.

 

Was Kieran really responsible for what had happened to him? Was his junior truly guilty of turning him into this? The thought felt wrong, somehow. Something inside him hesitated to believe it. But why? 

 

It was something he never addressed, but he had to now. He didn’t understand these feelings, not fully. He hadn’t yet empathised with Kieran. No, he hadn’t even taken this viewpoint seriously until the last hour or so. But the doubt was there now, whispering in his thoughts, making him feel unsteady, lost. 

 

His breath quickened despite the fact that, as a ghost, he didn’t need to breathe at all. 

 

And then, the memories crept in—memories he thought he had buried just moments ago. He couldn’t stop them. His mind flashed back to Kieran, to the boy who had been there when everything went wrong. Kieran had always been there, always watching, always apologising.

 

Why had Kieran even tried to save him that day?

 

It was hard for him to accept, but Kieran transformed him by accident, out of fear, trying to save his life. But why? Why did Kieran feel the need to step in? 

 

Was it guilt? Pity? Fear? 

 

No, Kieran couldn’t possibly have been nice to him. Just around six months ago, Kieran had sworn to overthrow everyone at the League Club. He reigned. Even after he apologised, he was still… distant. How could Kieran ever have had a good relationship with him after that?

 

And Kieran had looked at him like he was something terrifying, something dangerous. Drayton had seen the fear in his eyes, felt the hesitation in his words. But why? Drayton wasn’t a threat to him. Or was he?

 

He was.

 

Was he?

 

No, he couldn’t be.

 

And why had Kieran apologised? The boy had said sorry so many times—after everything had happened, after Drayton had lashed out. What was he apologising for? It didn’t make sense. Drayton had been the one to attack and yet Kieran had taken the blame! It was Kieran who had tried to make things right, even when Drayton himself didn’t understand what had gone wrong. Why?

 

The questions swirled in his mind, each one louder and more insistent than the last. Had he become something to fear? 

 

Surely not. Surely not.

 

His breathing grew quicker, his chest rising and falling as if he were drowning in the heavy, moist air. The fog felt like it was suffocating him, closing in tighter and tighter. He could feel the moisture settling on his skin, seeping into his lungs, filling them up with liquid. His breaths became even quicker. He gasped, his hands clawing at the air, but it didn’t help. He couldn’t think. His mind raced in circles, and suddenly, a suffocating, stinging sensation gripped him. He was drowning.

 

He took a deep breath in. A great mistake.

 

On command, the asphyxiating fog filled his lungs. His throat burned as though seared by invisible fire, his chest constricting with every laboured breath. Drayton dropped to his hands, the cavern floor cold and hard beneath his fingers. His vision swam in and out of focus, blurring the edges of reality until the once-familiar cavern began to warp around him. 

 

The hum of the cavern’s electricity, which had been a steady, background drone, now struck violently in his ears. It grew louder, buzzing and crackling through his skull. 

 

Stop. 

 

The sensation was overwhelming, flooding his mind with too much aura, too much energy. It twisted his thoughts, distorting the very air around him until reality itself seemed to fragment. 

 

Stop, please!

 

He could feel the electricity vibrating through the air, though he didn’t understand what was happening. His mind was too clouded. He had no idea that Chargestone Cavern’s charged atmosphere was affecting him, amplifying the doubt and panic already zapping within him. 

 

It felt like the walls themselves were alive, pressing in on him, choking him under their weight, closing in like a tight grip around his throat. It felt like they were crashing down with the freezing fog.

 

-Just, just like that day-

 

NO

NONONO

 

And then, the cold hit.

 

The temperature around him plummeted without warning, a sudden, biting chill that sank deep into his skin, freezing him from the inside out. He gasped, his ragged breath coming in icy bursts as the air around him turned to frost. He looked up, and the mist that had been swirling gently around him thickened, becoming a furious, howling blizzard. Snow whipped through the air, lashing at his skin with a biting, frozen edge. The cold was unbearable, and yet, it felt horribly familiar.

 

Then, through the storm, it appeared.

 

A giant grey figure, its distinct head crest jutting out as its two icy wings stretched, enveloping the sky in a stage curtain of grey.

 

Kyurem.

 

The massive, dragon-like figure materialised before him, its form towering over him. Its body was wreathed in freezing air, cold enough to make the very air crackle with frost. Behind its fangs, its eyes glowed with an eerie, unnatural YELLOW light, and its presence was suffocating, filling the cavern with a bone-chilling cold that seeped into every corner of Drayton’s being.

 

No.

No no no no no.

 

And the pain came back.

 

His scars—those bluish, icy marks left on his skin from years ago—began to throb, a deep, searing ache that arced through his body. He clutched at his arm and side, gasping as the pain intensified, stabbing into him like shards of glass.

 

The frost had scalded him, seared his skin with a cold so intense it felt like fire. His body had never fully recovered, and now, as he stared up at the ghostly image of Kyurem, the scars throbbed with renewed agony. 

 

This wasn’t Kyurem. It couldn’t be.

 

Drayton knew, rationally, that Kyurem wasn’t the one to blame. The Legendary Pokemon hadn’t attacked the city out of malice—it had been forced to. It was entirely Team Plasma’s fault. This had to be an apparition.

 

But at this moment, all reason fled. 

 

His mind couldn’t separate the past from the present. And in his panic, it didn’t matter. This was the real deal.

 

The ice, the cold, the pain—it was all real to him.

 

His breath caught in his throat, his chest constricting. His heart threatened to tear out of his chest–just like he wanted to tear Kieran’s out. The storm raged around him, the snowstorm growing fiercer with every second, and Kyurem loomed ever larger, leaning forward. He was confined, drowning in the suffocating cold, unable to escape the memories, the pain, the fear. This was death, this was certain death. He’d seen his friends perish in the cold before, and he knew he was going to be next.

 

And all the while, only one thing echoed in his mind:

 

Am I going to die?

 

Drayton didn’t have the answer. All he had was the cold.

 

No no no NO

 

The blizzard intensified around him, howling like a thousand icy voices. Kyurem loomed larger, its colossal form growing to a shadow that swallowed the cavern. He tried to move and pull himself up, but his body refused to listen. The cold had rooted him to the spot, and the weight of his fear kept him paralyzed.

 

Then, from the depths of the storm, Kyurem spoke.

 

“You… are nothing.”

 

A godlike rumble that seemed to shake the very stones of the cavern. It pierced through the wind, cutting straight into Drayton’s chest. 

 

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe.

 

The manifestation of balance in dragon form stepped closer, its icy breath chilling the air, the snowstorm curling around its massive form. Drayton tried to look away, but the blizzard forced his gaze upward, straight into the beast’s glowing eyes.

 

“What do you think you can do, boy, if I decide to end your miserable existence right here, right now?”

 

For a moment, he couldn’t answer. His throat tightened with fear, his mind freezing as surely as his body was under the crushing cold. The sickening cold air forced its way into his throat, causing him to gag. Kyurem’s eyes bored into him, waiting for anything.

 

Nothing. 

 

Kyurem’s form surged forward, closing the distance in an instant. Drayton felt the ground tremble beneath him as the dragon raised its head, cold energy crackling from its open mouth. Then, without warning, a beam of absolute zero shot toward him.

 

OUCH

 

His scream was drowned out by the storm. The ice pierced him, searing through his frostburn scars with an intensity he hadn’t felt since that fateful day in his hometown. His skin felt like it was splitting open, the icy scars glowing blue as they flared with excruciating pain, unwinding the surface of flesh he had on his illusion. He collapsed further, his tears instantly freezing.

 

“Pathetic,” Kyurem’s voice echoed through the cavern. “Look at you, writhing in pain. Do you think you’re worth saving?”

 

I’M SORRY

 

The questions the god asked—it was like the dragon was speaking directly into his soul, dredging up the deepest insecurities that had plagued him for years. How the fuck-?

 

His entire body twitched, and in his fog of pain, doubt trickled down.

 

“You can’t even face your own fears.” A mocking voice. “You attacked your so-called friends. You hurt them. You betrayed them. What mercy do you think you’re going to find in my heart? WHAT MERCY DO YOU THINK YOU’LL FIND??”

 

The faces of Kieran and Juliana flashed in his mind, providing a brief moment of calm, before the relentless storm surged back in.

 

“I didn’t—” Drayton tried to speak, but barely any sound came out. His non-existent vocal cords were frozen stiff.

 

“Didn’t what?” The god snarled. “Didn’t mean to? Didn’t realise? You attack your own friends, and now you think you deserve sympathy?”

 

The truth hit him like a wave—he was genuinely at fault here. Kieran, who had tried to help him. Kieran, who had tried to save him from himself. And Juliana, who had stood by him despite everything, despite his outbursts. 

 

He had hurt them both without even fully understanding why. And now, the guilt twisted his stomach, making a sickening feeling rise into his head like nothing ever before.

 

Another beam of ice shot toward him, striking his scars, sending searing agony through his body. Drayton gasped, collapsing completely as his body trembled uncontrollably. He felt the moisture of his illusionary fog swirling around him, the crystalline mist starting to flicker, to waver as his concentration faltered. His white-and-blue tail, which had been hidden within the fog, slid out as the illusion weakened. 

 

Kyurem’s glowing eyes locked onto the tail, a twisted smirk forming on its frozen lips. At least, that was the closest the draconic beast could do to a smile,

 

“Pitiful,” Kyurem sneered. “Look at you. Mimicking the appearance of someone who’s already dead. Do you think this will save you? Do you think this illusion of yours gives you power? Do you think this false image changes anything?”

 

Drayton’s eyes widened and he pushed himself up. He stared down at his own form, seeing his wispy tail trying to tuck itself between his legs to no avail due to the cape. It wasn’t just the illusion making him feel like this. It was everything. His entire sense of self-worth had been built around the idea of being strong, being capable, being… human. But he wasn’t human anymore, was he?

 

“You call yourself human?” Seemingly sensing his thoughts, the dragon laughed. “You think your worth lies in being biologically human? How ignorant. How self-centred. Look at you now, with your Pokemon body. What is your definition of humanity, Drayton? What does it mean to be human when your very genetics have become a lie?”

 

…His definition…

 

Something shattered.

 

He had clung to the idea that being human, biologically human, was what defined him.

 

But now… now he wasn’t. He wasn’t human anymore, and yet here he was, clinging to that illusion, chasing after a hollow sense of self-worth that had only led him to hurt the people he cared about most.

 

Just a few moments ago, he’d realised the truth. His worth didn’t lie in being human. No, not at all.

 

So… Why is humanity important?

 

What even is humanity?

 

“You think you're chasing something noble?” Kyurem continued. “Your pursuit of self-worth, of proving yourself to others, has done nothing but cause pain. You’ve hurt your puny little friends—Kieran, Juliana—do you even understand how much they mean to you? Do you even know how much you mean to them? Do you even realise how you’ve thrown their trust away, and yet they’re still–for some reason–willing to give you a second chance? Oh… Drayton. You don’t deserve them. At all. Why are you like this?”

 

His breath hitched. Kieran… Juliana… They really were important to him. They had been there for him, despite everything. Despite the anger, the fear, the confusion. They had stayed. And he… he had hurt them. He had lashed out in his pursuit of something he didn’t even fully understand. 

 

“I—”

 

Kyurem’s cold, burning eyes locked onto him, towering ever closer.

 

“Answer me, Drayton. What do you find the most important? Your self-worth? Or the people you’ve hurt along the way?”

 

His vision swam, the pain in his frostburn scars burning brighter and fiercer. He didn’t have an answer. Meanwhile, the doubt, the guilt, the truth—it was sinking in, crushing him beneath the weight of everything he had done.

 

And he was terrified of what he might find in himself.

 

He felt himself sinking, deeper into the cold abyss of despair as Kyurem’s icy words reverberated in his mind.

 

It was that same fear that had gripped him once before—back in Opelucid City. The memory slammed into him like a cold wind, freezing his thoughts. That day… trapped beneath the debris, frostburn eating away at his skin, his breath forming clouds in the freezing air as death loomed closer with every second. The sheer terror that had consumed him then felt identical to what was gnawing at him now. The fear of dying, of being nothing, of feeling his body give out to the cold. The fear of-

 

…losing himself.

 

But this time, he wasn’t alone in that fear. 

 

As Kyurem’s icy gaze burned into him, Drayton’s mind struggled back to Juliana. He remembered the pained look in her eyes whenever the other Koraidon was mentioned—the one that had torn her life apart. She had faced a near-death experience too, with Sada and the Guardian Of Paradise Koraidon. One of them didn’t make it out. It could have been her.

 

That same fear that had seized him in Opelucid had controlled her as well. She had felt the terror of facing something far more powerful, something that threatened to end her life. Something that ended her mother’s life.

 

But the connection didn’t stop there.

 

His mind flashed to Kieran. The boy’s contorted expression during the League Club confrontation surfaced in his memory. Kieran had been scared—not of something external, but of him. 

 

He had seen that look before, the wide-eyed terror, the frantic, desperate look of someone who feared for their life. Eerily similar to 11-year-old him.

 

Drayton had given Kieran that fear. 

 

He had become the source of Kieran’s nightmares, just as Team Plasma had been for him, just as the other Koraidon had been for Juliana.

 

He was the villain in Kieran’s eyes.

 

Just like Drayton, he was scared. Terrified. Perhaps even confused, just trying to make sense of it all. 

 

And Drayton… Drayton had made it worse. 

 

Fear. 

 

That was why.

 

The blizzard around him raged on, but Drayton’s thoughts were beginning to clear. He wiped the frost off his eyes, and realised he wasn’t shaking anymore. It all made sense now—how fear, the same fear that had pushed him to the brink, had destroyed Kieran’s perception of him. The fear that had driven them all into this mess. His heart jolted as the weight of his actions sank in. 

 

He had been the antagonist in their stories. He had lashed out, hurt them, terrified them… all because of his own misplaced fears, his own insecurities. He was truly at fault. He was a monster. A greater monster than Kyurem or the other Koraidon could ever be. Because while they did it out of instinct, he did it with the full intention of misplaced blame.

 

He thought of Kieran again, how the boy had looked at him with pleading eyes, the same look of dread and desperation as his young self. Kieran had believed he was going to die. He had genuinely believed that the Elite Four member, his friend, was going to kill him with a single strike to the heart. And if Juliana didn’t intervene, that would have been his fate.

 

He couldn’t let this continue. He had to make things right. He had to mend the damage he had caused. He couldn’t be the villain in their lives any longer.

 

He was sorry.

 

The blizzard around him seemed to pause. The air grew still as the immense form of Kyurem loomed closer. The massive dragon’s gaze locked onto him again, but softer this time.

 

“You’ve finally realised it, haven’t you?” Kyurem’s voice was monotonous and still. “You are the one they fear. You are the one who hurt them. And now, what will you do?”

 

Drayton’s body trembled, but this time, it wasn’t from the cold.

 

“Fear is a powerful thing,” Drayton whispered to himself. His voice, though quiet, carried a new understanding. He had seen how fear could turn people into monsters. He had felt it himself. And now… now he understood its power more than ever. “I will atone for my mistakes. I will swear to never hurt anyone like this ever again. I will treasure my second lease in life. Most of all, I will accept it if Kieran doesn’t accept my apology. He’s too good of a friend to be my friend. ‘Sorry’… that word is so weak. I wish there was something stronger…”

 

Kyurem’s gaze softened, almost amused. The storm began to wane, the snowstorm weakening as the figure of the dragon stepped back, lowering its wings.

 

“What mercy do you think you’ll find in my heart?” It repeated.

 

Drayton blinked. The question didn’t strike fear into him this time. He wasn’t seeking mercy from Kyurem—not anymore. Because this wasn’t the real Kyurem. This wasn’t the legendary dragon that his family worshipped. This… this was his own mind, manifesting as Kyurem.

 

This “Kyurem” was merely his own fear.

 

The realisation was like a switch flipping in his brain. Guess he wasn’t so familiar with fear after all.

 

“You’re not real,” Drayton stated. “You’re not Kyurem. You’re… me.”

 

Kyurem’s icy smirk grew wider, its glowing eyes gleaming with cold amusement.

 

“Very good,” it said, chuckling. “Took you long enough to figure it out.” The massive dragon’s form began to shimmer, the edges of its body fading into the surrounding mist. “I’m just a part of your mind, Drayton. I’m just all that you try to push away in your head. Did you really think the real Kyurem, a literal deity, would bother with someone like you? I’ve never seen a Zorua fall for its own illusion before. It’s quite… amusing.”

 

Drayton stood there, his breath coming easier now as the cold air no longer bit into his skin. The blizzard had calmed to nothing more than a soft, swirling mist. His illusion fog. That’s what it was. He’d breathed the smoke in-and it got to his mind.

 

“You needed this, didn’t you?” the hallucination dragon continued, now in a playful tone. “A little reminder of what you’ve become. Of the mistakes you’ve made. But hey, at least you’re finally realising it.”

 

He stared at the dragon, as if awaiting more words.

 

“...Thank you. I never had faith in myself, but… I guess now I do?”

 

The hallucination dragon merely chuckled as the last of its body disappeared.

 

Drayton watched as the figure of Kyurem turned into wisps, its massive form dissolving into the cavern air, the last remnants of the storm disappearing with it. The oppressive cold that had gripped him was gone. He was back in Chargestone Cavern, alone, surrounded by the soft hum of electricity.

 

But something inside him had changed.

 

He exhaled slowly, his mind clear for the first time in what felt like ages. He had a lot of mistakes to atone for.

 

The cavern was quieter now. Not even the electric aura could disturb him anymore.

 

“Fear is a powerful thing,” he whispered again. This time, it was a promise, not just to himself, but to Kieran, to Juliana—even to those who had stood by him through his struggles. He couldn’t undo the damage he had caused, but he could choose to be better. He couldn’t change the past, but he could change the future.

 

With a shaky hand, Drayton pulled out his phone. He stared at the blank screen for a moment. He thought of Kieran, of the fear he’d seen in his friend’s eyes. How could he apologise for that? How could he even begin?

 

His fingers hovered over the keypad before he finally opened the voice recording app. Maybe saying it out loud would help.

 

“Hey, Kieran…” His voice cracked almost immediately. He grimaced. “I... I’m sorry for everything. For hurting you, for—”

 

The words broke again. He laughed deliriously. His illusion voice, normally so well-controlled, was slipping from him now. His tail flickered into view for a brief second before he concentrated, making it disappear again. He’d never had this much trouble controlling his appearance before, but maybe it was because this time… he was trying to be real. Maybe it was because he could only embrace his true self if some of it showed.

 

He closed his eyes, breathing in slowly. 

 

It needed to be perfect, but maybe that was the problem. Maybe he was overthinking it, focusing too much on making it flawless, when what mattered was that it was true. 

 

One more time.

 

He tried again. “Kieran, I don’t expect you to forgive me. But I need you to know… I was wrong. I let my fears control me, and I ended up hurting you and Juliana—people I care about. I… I never wanted to be the kind of person who made someone else feel the way I did. I’m going to do better, and I hope one day you’ll believe me. I’m sorry. I will never hurt anyone or anything ever again. I promise…”

 

This time, the words felt right. His voice didn’t crack and his illusion stayed stable. He paused the recording and listened back. It wasn’t perfect, but it certainly didn’t need to be. 

 

Standing up, Drayton swiped out of the memos and called for a Flying Taxi to meet up with his friends. He could see the path forward now, lit not just by the glow of Chargestone’s magnificent blue crystals, but by the realisation that he wasn’t bound by his past mistakes. 

 

He would turn over a new leaf. Some things are meant to be left in the past. If Kieran didn’t accept his apology, then so be it. Kieran was not at fault.

 

So he would let it go.

 

Maybe life wasn’t so bad. Maybe he could change, and finally take on his schoolwork without a constant burnout. Maybe he could finally forgive Kieran, and hope that Kieran forgives him. He finally had the determination.

 

As he waited for the cab to arrive, he exhaled and let his thoughts drift back to Kieran—and to humanity. What had he thought of humanity before? He’d once believed it was tied to something biological, something physical. But now… now he realised it wasn’t about DNA or being “human” in a literal sense. 

 

It was about compassion. About caring for others, for Pokemon, for those who relied on you. It wasn’t a definition bound to species or biology—it was a virtue. Pokemon, in some ways, could have more humanity than humans themselves. They understood love, loyalty, and compassion in ways that many people struggled with. Most humans were bigger monsters than Pokemon.

 

And if that was what it meant to be human, then Drayton realised he had to strive for that—not to be human in body, but to embody the values of humanity in his actions. Maybe he was already halfway there.

 

He wasn’t going to be the villain in anyone’s story ever again.

 

The distant screech of a Skarmory reached his ears, and Drayton glanced up. The Flying Taxi was nearing, careening through the caverns. The driver waved at him and he waved back with a smirk.

 

As the cab landed, he took one last deep breath. He’d face Kieran, he’d face Juliana, and he’d face the mistakes he’d made head-on. Because fear didn’t control him anymore. He knew one thing with absolute certainty.

 

He was ready to be better.

Notes:

I have 2 exams tomorrow :’)

Chapter 10: Restore | Glimpse Of Change (Part 1)

Chapter by 1120_Cecille

Summary:

Kieran approaches Lacey to deal with some issues that had been long neglected. In the meantime, memories of painful and promising times arise.

Notes:

TW: mild violence

Kieran has a mild crush on Juliana if that’s anything

A sharp inhale.

 

The sound of a heart’s pause, hesitating just for a moment before speeding up again.

 

Scales dragged their way across the bed, the rough discarded bandages rustling across the turquoise fur.

 

Under the shining blue hour, Kieran sat gently on his bed.

 

Deep breaths. His hand trailed across the yellow fabric of his blankets, his room softly lit by the fading afternoon light filtering through his window. His blue-scaled fingers brushed against his cheek, feeling the fur ending on the edges. He couldn’t stop himself from dragging his hand across the strangely soft and velvety fluff, almost like it has become a routine every time his thoughts started spiralling out of control.. 

 

His beloved senior sat on the floor in front of him, her legs crossed, the pinkish-tan feathers on her head quivering slightly as she twirled one absentmindedly. Her rose-toned cardigan hung laxly around her shoulders, completely contrasting her worried expression.

 

“I… I don’t think I understand…” Kieran’s voice wavered as his eyes locked onto Lacey’s. “Why do I have to change? Why can’t things just… stay the way they are?”

 

She tilted her head, her gentle eyes locking onto his trembling hands. “Kieran, change is inevitable. We can do our best to make the most out of it, but we can’t avoid it altogether.” 

 

He looked away, eyes falling on the textbooks stacked haphazardly on his desk, long-forgotten assignments he hadn’t touched since a week ago where he had woken up in the empty room. He knew her words were kind, but not a single bit of him was moved. He wasn’t convinced. 

 

He’d seen a glimpse of what change could be, and now he was scared to try.

 

“Every time I’ve changed…” he began, his voice strained, “I’ve only hurt people.”

 

Lacey blinked. “Go on.”

 

“The first time—after Juliana took Ogerpon away from me—I changed for the worse. I was so angry.” He clenched his fists up into a tight ball, his gaze drifting to the replica of the Teal Mask he had. Lacey’s eyes followed his gaze. “Ogerpon… I knew it was mine. I… I thought I deserved it. But it didn’t choose me. It chose her. I just didn’t know why.”

 

She nodded.

 

“I wanted to beat her, to show her I was strong. I turned into… someone I didn’t even recognize.” He gritted his teeth “I became a bully. I pushed the League Club around, just because I wanted to prove I was stronger than her. I thought if I beat her, it would make everything right, but all I did was make things worse. I… I hurt the Elite Four. I hurt you. I’m sorry for pushing you around… I’m sorry for being so mean to the club… I’m sorry for everything.”

 

Lacey’s expression softened, but she remained silent, letting him continue. His fists trembled before abruptly pausing. 

 

Please… Please… Why am I like this…

 

“The second time…” Kieran hesitated, swallowing hard as his gaze dropped to his blue-scaled hands. “I wasn’t just angry. I literally changed. When I was… transformed into this,” he gestured to himself, his breath cutting off in his throat. “My body changed, Lacey. I really don’t know how to deal with that. How am I supposed to accept myself if every time I look in the mirror, I see something I don’t even want to be?”

 

His voice cracked, and her lips parted as if to speak, but she quickly stopped.

 

“And then Drayton,” he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, “I tried to save him. I thought my medicine could help him recover. I was trying to do the right thing. But of course, I never do anything right. I made him suffer the same thing as me. I ruined his life. I hurt him. Just like I’ve hurt everyone else.”

 

His breaths grew quicker, his panic bubbling as the memories tumbled out. He clenched his fists tighter, fighting the suffocating sensation crawling up his chest. A swirling and bubbling sensation melted his thoughts into indecipherable oozes in the cauldron that was his brain.

 

“That’s why I’m scared of changing,” he admitted with a low voice. “Every time I change, something bad happens. I just—what if I hurt someone else? What if I keep making things worse?”

 

She shifted, leaning closer, her hands reaching for him. He flinched, but she kept her touch light. He knew that she would never hurt him. 

 

“Kieran…” She gave a small, sad smile, her pink cardigan folding around her as she settled next to him on the bed. “Change isn’t easy, and yeah, sometimes it really can be pretty scary. But it doesn’t always have to be bad. You’re learning and growing, which means you’ll be bound to change. But this doesn’t mean you’ll become a walking bringer of destruction.”

 

He shook his head. “But what if I do? What if I can’t handle it? What if the next change is worse? What if I do something that pushes it over the edge and my life is ruined?”

 

Lacey gently squeezed his hand. “You know, we’re here for you. I’m here for you. Juliana’s here. Even Drayton—he knows you didn’t mean to hurt him. You have people who care about you, who believe in you, who love you.” She smiled softly, twirling one of the light pink feathers on her head again. “And if it helps, I can tutor you. We can go over all the schoolwork you’ve missed together. I know it feels overwhelming, but you don’t have to be alone on this.”

 

He wanted to believe her, he really did, but something in the back of his mind just didn’t want him to.

 

“I know you can do it,” Lacey said, her voice quiet but steady. She leaned in a little closer, her eyes never leaving his. “I know you’re strong enough to overcome your troubles.”

 

Kieran sighed, his voice barely a whisper. “I’m not…”

 

After an uncomfortable silence, she spoke up again. 

 

“You did mention the Ogerpon incident, right? You mentioned you were sorry that it affected you so much. If you don’t mind, can we talk about it?”

 

He sat there, stiff and still as stone as Lacey’s words hovered. 

 

“Why do you think it hurt you so much?”

 

Because… because…

 

Kieran bit the inside of his cheek, hesitating. “I just… I thought Ogerpon would be mine. I was so sure of it. I was the one who believed in it when no one else did. Everyone thought Ogerpon was some kind of brute, but I knew it wasn’t. I always had a feeling… And when I found out the truth—that it was only defending itself, that it wasn’t a monster—I was so happy. I thought everything would be different. I thought I could be the one to help it.”

 

Lacey listened quietly, nodding as he spoke. “But Juliana and Carmine went off to fight the ‘Lousy Three’, didn’t they? You stayed behind to talk to the villagers.”

 

“Yeah.” Kieran exhaled shakily. “I thought I was doing the right thing. That I’d prove I was worthy of Ogerpon by making everyone understand it wasn’t a threat. But by the time I went back… it had already chosen Juliana.” His voice cracked and he ran his claws across his other palm again. 

 

His voice cracked at the memory, and Lacey’s expression softened even more. “Kieran… did Juliana or Carmine ever tell you why they didn’t bring you along?”

 

“They said they didn’t see a thing. That they were just going to check out the mountain. But I know now that wasn’t true.”

 

Lacey hesitated, then asked again, looking into his gaze, “Do you know why they might have lied to you?”

 

Kieran’s brows furrowed. “I don’t… maybe because they didn’t think I could handle it.”

 

“They lied because they didn’t want you going up that mountain at night,” Lacey explained softly. “It was dangerous, Kieran. They were worried about you. They didn’t want you to get hurt. You know how dangerous it is for a 14-year-old to go up a treacherous mountain alone in pitch dark is, right?”

 

A pause.

 

That… that made sense.

 

He’d never thought of it like that before. They were just worried. His breath caught in his throat as he tried to process it. 

 

But… but that couldn’t be the case. Lacey didn’t understand. 

 

They never took him seriously. Carmine always undermined him and she never cared about her own little brother. She was always at fault.

 

Kieran’s fingers curled into the fabric of his shorts, his gaze plummeting to the floor as Lacey’s words Rang in his mind. It definitely wasn’t just about safety—Carmine never took him seriously. She always acted like she knew best and she always pushed him aside like he wasn’t worth listening to. And Juliana… She just showed up and took Ogerpon away from him. He was sure she didn’t mean it, but…

 

“But… They never cared about what I wanted,” Kieran muttered. “Sis always undermined me. She never thought I could handle anything. Like I’m some crybaby! And then Juliana just… she came in and took Ogerpon. I’m the one who understood it. I’m the one who saw that it wasn’t some monster. But they didn’t let me be the one to help. They never do.”

 

Lacey tilted her head, her pink feathers swaying gently as she absorbed his words. “Kieran, I understand why it feels that way. But do you really think Carmine and Juliana were trying to hurt you on purpose? Maybe they didn’t know how much this meant to you.”

 

“They knew,” Kieran said bitterly,  a glimpse of pain showing in his eyes. “They knew, and they didn’t care. They’ve never cared. Carmine has been like that for years—always making decisions for me, always acting like I’m just a kid who can’t do anything. And Juliana… Ogerpon liked her more because she was there. She got closer to it than I ever could, even though I’m the one who believed in it from the start. She’s always been better than me, no matter how hard I try…”

 

His chest tightened. “I thought Ogerpon was like me. An outcast. A poor and scared creature. I thought if I could be its friend, it would finally prove that I wasn’t weak, that I mattered at all. But in the end, it chose her. It didn’t want me. Just like everyone else, it didn’t take me seriously.”

 

THEY NEVER LISTENED! DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?

 

She moved closer, placing a gentle hand on his arm. “Kieran, you’re not weak. You’re not inconsequential. What happened with Ogerpon wasn’t because you didn’t matter. Sometimes… things don’t go the way we want them to, but that doesn’t mean we’re not importa-”

 

“No,” he shook his head, interrupting her. “But it does feel like that! It feels like I’m never enough. I tried so hard to be Ogerpon’s friend, to be there for it, but I wasn’t the one who got close. And now… now Carmine and Juliana have proven that I don’t matter. They went behind my back and became everything I couldn’t be.”

 

Lacey sighed softly. “I’ll talk to Carmine,” she promised. “I don’t think she was trying to make you feel like this, Kieran. I know she’s pretty rash a lot of the time. Maybe she didn’t realise how much her actions were hurting you. Sometimes people don’t see the whole picture, and they don’t realise the damage they’re causing. I’m sure she would be more than willing to change her ways once she realises. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

 

He appreciated that Lacey wanted to help, but it didn’t make the ache go away. 

 

“I stayed behind, thinking I was helping. I thought if I made the town understand Ogerpon, it would prove I was doing something right. But they just… they didn’t think I could handle it. Ogerpon liked Juliana more because she was the one who stuck by it, and I wasn’t there…” His voice faltered, the words heavy with self-doubt. “I wasn’t good enough.”

 

Lacey shook her head firmly. “No, Kieran. That’s not it at all. Ogerpon didn’t choose Juliana because you weren’t good enough. It chose her because it grew attached to her, and that happens sometimes. It wasn’t about you being weak. You were helping in your own way, trying to make the town understand Ogerpon’s true nature. That’s important too. Without you, it would not have been accepted back in! You did help!”

 

Still, he couldn’t accept it. He wasn’t sure whether he ever would.

 

“I just… I don’t know if I can believe that,” Kieran mumbled. “It still feels like I’m never going to be good.” 

 

Her eyes softened further, and she gave his arm a little pinch. “You are enough, Kieran. More than you know. It’s okay to feel like this right now, but I promise you, you’re stronger than you think. And I’ll be here to help you see that, no matter how long it takes. I’ll make sure Carmine and Juliana understand this, and I’ll make sure that everything goes alright. You can always count on me.”

 

For the first time in a long while, he didn’t feel completely alone in his struggle.

 

She took a deep breath. He watched her every move.

 

“And after that, you started changing, right? That’s when you became… well, the champion at school,” She continued. “You tried to make yourself stronger, and you showed everyone you were full of potential.”

 

“Yeah.” He shuddered. “I thought if I could beat Juliana, if I could show everyone how strong I was, it would make up for it. But I just ended up hurting everyone. The League Club… I was awful to you guys. I was awful to myself.”

 

Lacey reached out and touched his arm lightly, drawing his gaze to her. “The BB League has forgiven you, Kieran. The Elite Four understood what happened, that you were just… lost. You were hurting. And we know you’re not a bad person. You just… got caught up in it all. We won’t adulterate our friendship with you. We give you a second chance.”

 

Kieran’s chest convulsed, the shame rising in him again. He had been so angry that he hadn’t even seen the harm he was causing.

 

“Ogerpon not being with you doesn’t mean you’re weak, Kieran,” Lacey stated. “You have strengths of your own, some of which you haven’t even realised yet. You’re not meant to be the one who achieves greatness alone—you’re the one who works with others to achieve it. Look at how you tried to make the town see Ogerpon’s true nature. Look at how you’ve helped Juliana and Drayton, even if things didn’t turn out perfectly.”

 

Kieran stared at her, the weight of her words sinking in. Helping others… Was that really his strength? He had always wanted to prove himself, to be the one standing at the top. But maybe… maybe Lacey was right. Maybe his true strength wasn’t in being the strongest or the best, but in being the one who helped others reach their potential. Maybe… he WAS strong?

 

That couldn’t be it…

 

That couldn’t be true. That simply could not be true.

 

“I know you’re strong enough to overcome your troubles, Kieran,” Lacey remarked. “I’ve seen it. You just need to see it too.”

 

Kieran stared down at his lap. Words blurred together, and it felt like everything around him was spinning out of control. 

 

He knew something wasn’t right with him right now. But through his thoughts, he couldn’t hear anything. 

 

“Kieran?”

 

Through his racing mind, he took in a deep breath and stared at Lacey, taking a better glimpse of the feathers on her head. “Y-yes.”

 

Her grip didn’t loosen. She pointed to the tan-pink feathers on her head, gently tugging Kieran’s attention away from the chaos in his mind. “You’ve never noticed, have you?” she said gently, leaning forward a bit to show him. “There are pink feathers on my neck too. There’s a bunch under my cardigan too.”

 

Through the fog of his panic, Kieran glanced up, blinking through the blurry haze of his tears. He hadn’t noticed. He had never even thought about Lacey having feathers on her neck before.

 

She took a deep breath and continued, her voice calm, trying to soothe him. “I’ve never told you this, Kieran. When I was young, I was accidentally struck by an Oricorio during the virus outbreak. I felt sick one day and I woke up like this.”

 

“It’s a rare thing, you know. Guess I just happened to be one of the unlucky ones. Sometimes I feel the urge to eat birdseed whenever I see it. At first, I was unhappy about it. I didn’t like the changes, but over time, it got better for me. I realised I could make the most of it. You do see how I styled the feathers in the form of a bit of a tiara, did you? And when my daddy found out… he didn’t care that I was different. He still loved me the way I was.”

 

“I believe,” Lacey declared, “that people’s opinions of you haven’t changed either. You’re still Kieran, no matter what.”

 

But it didn’t feel like it. Something-something was wrong.

 

Wrong wrong wrong wrong.

 

“I can always teach you math and help you with your homework,” Lacey said gently. “Or I could show you how to use the school tablet if you’re having trouble—”

 

But it all hit him at once. Like a tidal wave, the vehement surge of emotions flooded in, pausing his thoughts. He couldn’t breathe. Tears welled up in his eyes as his mind screamed for an escape, for something—anything—to make it stop.

 

A ringing.

 

He couldn’t take it anymore.

 

“Lacey…” His voice cracked as he forced the words out, tears streaming down his face. “Can you… please leave? I just… I can’t…”

 

Lacey, seeing the panic in his eyes, quickly softened her tone. “Oh, I’m so sorry! Of course, Kieran…”

 

He watched as she moved.

 

As she took a step off, she spoke again. “If you need help, if you need someone to talk to… you can always call me. I’ll always be here.” 

 

His unblinking gaze followed as she slowly shuffled down the bed, taking one last glance at him as she walked to the door. She hesitated for a moment, her eyes darting, locking onto his twitching ones before her hands finally closed around the door handle and the door creaked open. Not a slam, but a gentle closing sound.

 

Now alone, Kieran pulled his knees to his chest, huddled up against the cold silence of the room. What had happened? What went wrong during the attack? Why was it all so fuzzy?

 

Drayton. The name alone sent a shiver down his spine. A sudden, vivid flash of memory jolted him.

 

His pale, tear-streaked face loomed before him, eyes wide with a terrifying blend of anger and pain. The feeling of Drayton’s claws closing around his neck, squeezing tighter. The claws only dug deeper and his eyes burned with a sharp sour rage.

 

His memory wouldn’t budge. He tried to pry more information, but nothing came out. He had recalled the entire event just before he fainted that day, but even that… even that wasn’t the whole truth. If Terapagos’s energy tried to save him… It would have put a barrier on his memories too to prevent further pain.

 

Stupid Tera Energy.

 

Now, a glimpse of the truth plastered itself clearly in his vision as he felt his senior’s claws drawing blood from his neck, pressing down on his arteries, trying to make him fade into a world of black.

 

Red flooded his vision. Circles dances in his eyes. Pain. Pain, pain flooded in and he started slipping-

 

NO

 

Kieran gasped as the freezing reality hit him again, bringing his vision back into a world of blue. He wrapped his tail around himself, feeling the rough scales under his fingers as he tried to grab onto something real to make sure he wasn’t blown away in the wind of his thoughts.

 

His tail.

 

It was his tail, right? Why didn’t it feel like his?

 

The sensation of the scales under his fingers was oddly familiar, a strange comfort that made his heart slow, his breathing gradually evening out. The rough texture reminded him of something distant, something... safe. Something that he knew but couldn’t pinpoint. 

 

What? Wasn’t this just… a bad thing? His tail was supposed to be a bad thing. It was only a reminder that he wasn’t human. There was no way it could have been something good. No way no way no way.

 

And then, a memory floated to the surface—before everything with Ogerpon, back when things were simpler.

 

…

The night of the Kitakami festival was alive with vibrant energy, the streets bustling with excitement as colourful paper lanterns cast a warm glow over the village. Stalls lined the pathway, their bright red awnings fluttering in the zephyr, while the sweet scent of candy apples and freshly grilled treats drifted through the air. The sky above was a deep, endless blue, speckled with twinkling stars, as if the gods of the sky were joining the celebration too.

 

They sat side by side on a worn wooden bench near the centre of the festival. Kieran's was a soft white tinged with yellow, while Juliana’s was a deep green. He stole a glance at her as she twirled a strand of her hair around her finger, the confident smile she wore never wavering. For whatever reason, he couldn’t stop staring.

 

“You know, you can get a mask too!” Kieran offered, his voice quiet but hopeful. He gestured to the festival masks hanging on display just a few stalls away—the Loyal Three masks. “They’re kind of a big deal here.”

 

Juliana glanced at the masks and shrugged with a grin, spinning the candy apple stick between her fingers. “I think I’ll pass on the mask. They’d just mess up my hair,” she said playfully, shaking her head. “Besides, you look cuter in one than I do.”

 

Kieran’s cheeks flushed a light pink at the compliment, and he looked down at the ground, fiddling with the hem of his jinbei. Maybe it was just his teenage heart, but something in him stirred a little. His words lodged in his throat, and all he could muster was a shy, “Thanks…”

 

She noticed and nudged him with her elbow. “Lighten up, Kiki! It’s a festival! You don’t have to be all serious all the time.”

 

Kieran smiled weakly. He was tired. But he tried, at least for her. “Yeah, I guess… I just… I really like it here. It’s peaceful,” he mumbled, turning his gaze to the sea of festival-goers, some dressed in their finest yukatas and kimonos, others casually enjoying the games and food. He spotted his sister off in the distance, playing one of the carnival games with her usual intensity, a bowl of green-tipped shaved ice in one hand as she aimed at the targets with the other.

 

Juliana, on the other hand, was the opposite of calm. “I love it too! All these games, the lights, the energy—everything is so alive here. It’s awesome! Way better than the boring school events back home.” She leaned back against the bench, taking a large bite of the candy apple. The crunch echoed in the air as she broke through the hardened syrup, and Kieran watched, fascinated. 

 

He beamed. “…You know, the candy apples are kind of a delicacy here in Kitakami.”

 

Juliana perked up, turning towards him as if being surprised that he had spoken. “Interesting! They taste so good! What’s the secret?”

 

“They use this special syrup that is created from the sweetness of the apples, see, and they let it harden just enough to get that crunch. It’s the syrup that gives Dipplin its sticky ability. It’s... perfect, really.” 

 

She laughed lightly, wiping a bit of syrup from her chin. “Well, you’ve got good taste then! I’ve never had anything like this before. Guess Kitakami apples really are just sweeter than the rest!”

 

He felt warmth swell in his chest. 

 

Maybe it was the hormones talking, but he loved every aspect of her. She was always so… strong. So confident. She made everything look so easy—talking to people, battling with skill, making friends without a second thought. He admired her for it. 

 

Everyone loved her. Everyone recognised her skill.

 

I wish I could be like her, he thought, glancing down at his own jinbei. He wanted to be strong too, to be someone who was taken seriously and respected. But in moments like these, he felt so small next to her.

 

…those thoughts weren’t important. He hid behind his bangs.

 

The lanterns swung gently above them and the sounds of laughter and chatter filled the night air. He closed his eyes.

 

Then, something unexpected broke his thoughts.

 

A sensation—a light pressure wrapped around his legs. Kieran frowned in confusion, looking down to see something white and red, long and scaly coiling around his ankles. His heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened. 

 

“W-wha?”

 

Before he could say anything, Juliana quickly pulled it back, her face flashing with panic. The appendage unwrapped and seemingly disappeared. “Sorry!” she said quickly, laughing nervously as she tried to brush it off. “My jinbei’s too long, I think it touched you by mistake.” She flashed a sheepish grin.

 

That wasn’t her jinbei. It was white and red and long. He struggled to process what had just happened. 

 

He blinked. He didn’t question her explanation, though. Why would he? She was his friend, after all. So, he let out a small, awkward laugh, trying to shake off the confusion. “Yeah, maybe. I guess the wind blew it or something.”

 

Juliana smiled and leaned back again, her posture more relaxed. “Exactly. No biggie between us.”

 

But as they sat there, Kieran couldn’t help but glance down again, his mind nagging at the strange feeling he’d had just moments before. He felt a quiet curiosity begin to stir within him, something about the brief glimpse of something he saw just now. 

 

Maybe she wasn’t what she really seemed like?

 

Still, the warmth of the festival, the smell of the sweet syrup, and the company of Juliana made the moment too good to question further. For now, he let himself sink into the comfort of the night.

 

…

 

In the tranquillity of his dormitory, Kieran blinked as the pieces began to fall into place. The scaly sensation he had felt just now… it had been Juliana’s tail all along. He chuckled softly, the sound of it surprising him. It was strange to think back on that moment now, knowing what he knew. Six months ago, he would never have believed that Juliana was a strange beast that had come from another time. 

 

But somehow, it didn’t seem to matter. The warmth of that memory from the festival calmed his nerves, soothing the anxiety that had held him so tightly. She was a magic creature and a good friend, even if she wasn’t perfect. At least she was better than his sister. For the first time in what was minutes but felt like hours, the storm raging in his chest quieted, leaving only a faint, lingering smile on his face. He let himself drift into the embrace of more memories, back to simpler times, when everything felt right.

 

And then, everything else faded away.

 

 

 

….

 

 

Another memory surfaced, this one much more recent. He and Juliana stood side by side. It was just after they had defeated the strange peach-like creature in his hometown that strangely resembled the Lousy Three. It was scary in the moment, but he knew Juliana could handle the ‘mon.

 

Off to the side, Carmine was chatting with Juliana’s friends—Nemona, Arven, and Penny. Nemona was eagerly asking Carmine for yet another Pokémon battle. Kieran could hear her voice ringing out, “Come on, just one more! Please! We’ve only battled, like, fifteen times this week!” Carmine, arms crossed, looked exasperated but amused. “Fifteen? More like twenty. You’re insatiable.”

 

Arven, meanwhile, was engaged in his own heated conversation, insisting with a furrowed brow, “Juliana is my best friend! You don’t get it, she’s been through so much with me. I can’t let you hog her, Carmine!”

 

Penny, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to be anywhere else. She stood quietly, arms folded, long ears tugged down, her face etched in discomfort as she tried to avoid engaging in the conversation altogether.

 

Juliana stood apart from the group. She had pulled out a worn, crimson book from her bag—the Scarlet Book. Its red leather cover had faded from years of wear, but the golden adornishments on the front still shone brightly. The symbol of a roaring Koraidon was plastered in black, and she slightly laughed at it. She turned to Kieran.

 

“This is the Scarlet Book,” she explained, holding it up for Kieran to see. “It’s something an old explorer named Heath, our teacher Briar’s ancestor, wrote about in his journey into Area Zero. It’s more than just a record of his discoveries—it’s a gateway to the past, in a way. In more ways than just the Time Machine.

 

He furrowed his brow and she continued to speak. “The last time I was at the Crystal Pool, there was so much Tera energy in the air… huge crystals growing out of the water.” Her gaze turned distant, as if recalling a memory from a dream. “A gentle fog surrounded me, and out of nowhere, Terapagos popped out of its Pokeball. It used its power to bring a version of Professor Sada to the present… through time travel. Guess I know how the Time Machine works now.”

 

His eyes widened in disbelief, though he didn’t interrupt. He had seen enough in the past few months to know that time travel wasn’t as impossible as he’d once thought. “The… Time Machine? The thing you told me about after the incident? The thing you came from?”

 

“Yup. Something something Sada used an alleged Time Machine to either create or bring prehistoric Pokemon to the present. The same machine that got me here! It wiped my memories, but oh well. Honestly, I’m pretty amazed and horrified that she would do such a thing.”

 

Kieran was too stunned to speak. So… she wasn’t just a mutated Cyclizar made by Sada, but rather something that actually went through space-time? Different dimensions? What was this?

 

“Sada was shocked when she saw me,” Juliana continued more seriously now. “She said she couldn’t believe how much I’d grown since the last time she saw me—when I was just a child. It was then that I told her who… what I am. I told her that I was what her experiment would grow to be in the future.”

 

He glanced at her. “Wowzers… You told her?” he asked, his voice shaky.

 

Juliana nodded. “Yeah, I told her that I’m a Koraidon, like the ones she brought or would bring to Area Zero. At first, she called me the ‘Winged King,’ but then I corrected her.” She gave Kieran a small smile, her eyes filled with the weight of everything she had experienced. “She didn’t seem scared, just… fascinated. Before she disappeared again, she gave me the Scarlet Book, and I gave her a manuscript of Briar’s notes on the Area Zero Underdepths. It was like a trade.”

 

Kieran stood silently for a moment, trying to piece it all together. His mind was swimming with everything. 

 

“…Why are you telling me this now?” Kieran asked after a long pause.

 

Juliana’s gaze softened. “Because I need your help. I have to return the Scarlet Book to the past professor, or else we risk creating a time paradox. Terapagos has the power to send Sada back here one last time. I think it would be good if you were nearby just in case Terapagos’ energy can’t support a second trip.”

 

Kieran felt a surge of emotions swell inside him—confusion, fear, but also a sense of purpose. He had always admired Juliana’s strength, and now she was asking for his. He thought about Terapagos, about its seemingly limitless capabilities, and a bitter thought crossed his mind.

 

“If it has so much power,” he murmured, “why can’t it just turn me back into a human?”

 

Juliana said nothing. She didn’t have the answer, and neither did he. But despite the lingering sadness, Kieran found himself nodding, agreeing to help. 

 

At least, even if he was like this, he could do something.

 

“All right,” he said finally, his voice steadier than he expected. “Let’s go then.”

 

Juliana smiled, relieved. “Thank you, Kieran.”

 

And so, the two of them began their trek up the mountain, the path to the Crystal Pool laid out before them under the stars. 

 

 

…

For once, Kieran smiled. Just a little.

Notes:

I’m cooking the last chapter I promise

This shit was so long I had to split it into 2

Chapter 11: Remember | Glimpse Of Change (Part 2)

Chapter by 1120_Cecille

Summary:

Memories of more peaceful times come back to Kieran, and he realises change might not be as bad as he thought.

Notes:

TW: mention of vomit

This shit so long had to split it into 2 because I write like how I infodump

Sorry for the late updates, Parkour Civilisation has consumed me and my hyperfixation so it’s no longer on Pokemon but I will try to do Kieran justice

I’ve also been hit with quite a few rough things along the way with how some conflicts have happened which I am partially at fault. I hope that with writing this story, I can put the lessons I’ve learnt into my works to remind myself to change and be a better person just like Kieran, Drayton and Juliana.

But his smile didn’t last long. 

 

At first, it started as just a bubble of discomfort. 

 

He tapped his fingers nervously on his legs, forcing a small smile as he absentmindedly ran his hand through the soft, flowy fur at the tip of his tail. It was fluffy as much as it was scary.

 

-it was scary.

 

As his eyes travelled to his right hand, his thoughts swiveled back.

 

The bubble grew.

 

The festival. It felt so long ago now, but he would never forget it. His mind began to flow, slowly at first, but then the flood of images came all at once. He could still feel the sharp sting of shock when Ogerpon had chosen Juliana over him, accepting her as its trainer. It was like that incident had torn a large wound in his chest, crushing his sternum, still bleeding.

 

He remembered how he had reacted. The smooth, paint covered texture of the Teal Mask beneath his hands…

 

Kieran shook his head.

 

Acted on impulse, but necessary to him. He had to show everyone—Juliana, Carmine, and even Ogerpon—that he was someone to be taken seriously. But when Ogerpon rejected him in the end, accepting Juliana’s kindness and strength instead, the anger inside him released.

 

Like a fountain of fire. Like an explosion blowing his entire body into smithereens, causing the sides of the mountain to crumble, causing the glass in his school walls to shatter, letting the seawater rush inside. Like he had just drowned everyone he knew in a whirlpool of rage.

 

So he had shouted at Juliana, the person he admired most in the world. So he had demanded a battle and thrown every ounce of his power into his Pokémon team just to prove he was still good enough. And yet, even as he battled her, yelling commands at his Pokemon at a volume never before, something in him had started to crack. He wasn’t himself. He was becoming… something else. Something monstrous. Someone he didn’t recognize anymore.

 

That was when the change had begun. His tail, his hands, his mind—they were changed differently, but at the same time just like this.

 

The bubble grew dangerously big.

 

Another memory surfaced, one that made his stomach churn.

 

…

“You’re out. You don’t train daily, you’re gone.”

 

“…WHAT?” the student in front of him blurted, stunned and stumbling back. 

 

“I’ve already given you a gracious amount of chances. Leave and don’t come back.”

 

Kieran only watched with folded arms. The student’s shock quickly shifted into frustration and hurt, and they stormed out, muttering under their breath about how awful he’d become. But that comment barely made a dent in his resolve. He wasn’t here to play nice—he was here to get stronger, and anyone not fully committed had no place beside him. Kindness was for the weak, compassion was only a distraction, and he couldn’t afford distractions.

 

In the corner of his vision, he noticed a hand reaching out, soft and tentative, dressed in a familiar pink sleeve. Lacey. 

 

Her arm outstretched, that gentle expression on her face—one he’d long grown tired of seeing.

 

Without a thought, he slapped her hand away, a sharp crack resounding in the room as she gasped, recoiling. His eyes narrowed.“I said…”

 

“I just wanted to—”

 

“I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP!”

 

Lacey’s eyes widened with a shiver, but Kieran was unfazed. She should’ve understood by now—she should know better than to keep trying to reach him with this gentle nonsense. 

 

“You’re useless if you’re not doing League Club work,” he snapped, his voice low, harsh. “Just stay out of my way. Screw off.” 

 

Lacey’s hand dropped with an almost pleading look on her face, quickly masked with resignation. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but he cut her off before she could even start. 

 

“I said, SCREW OFF!”

 

For a split second, he caught the flash of pain in her eyes, her mouth forming silent words she never got to say. But any guilt that formed died painfully inside the boiling stew of his rage. He watched as she turned away, clutching the League Club papers tightly. His mind latched onto one thought: she had no right to pretend she understood.

 

As he walked toward the door, another pale-faced student crossed his path, which he ignored as usual. But then they spoke, seemingly to themselves. 

 

“I wish Kieran would be less self-absorbed…”

 

He stopped, turning slowly to glare at them. A spark of fury ignited.

 

Self-absorbed? They had no idea what he went through every day. The need to be the best wasn’t selfish—it was the duty of a champion. How DARE they?

 

And if they couldn’t see that, maybe they didn’t belong here either.

 

The student faltered under his glare, stammering and looking down. Kieran scoffed, taking a step closer, and they froze, the colour draining from their face.

 

“Do you have any idea what I’m trying to do here?” he hissed, his voice dangerously low. “If you can’t keep up, don’t even bother being here.”

 

The student’s face contorted, but they didn’t say anything. He walked past them, feeling his own heart beating with the familiar rush of anger mixed with vindication. Let them think he was self-absorbed; let them talk all they wanted. He knew the truth—strength was the only thing that mattered. And if no one else understood, then he’d just get there on his own.

 

His memory wavered just for a bit. But now, he could see that the student’s eyes glistened with tears as they stood petrified, almost unable to move.

 

Maybe they were unable to move. Whatever the cause, it was all his fault. He was sure.

 

He remembered walking down the hallway, trying to block out everything else. Carmine's voice echoed in his mind, though he had already tuned her out. 

 

"Kiki… Are you sure you should be training so hard? Stress and eating… don’t mix…”

 

He ignored her, refusing to let her concern touch him. There was no time for distractions from training, and eating was merely an unfortunate burden that he had to carry in order to survive. He just had to keep going.

 

But as he reached the cafeteria, something shifted. The smell of food hit him like a punch to the gut—what was normally comforting, warm, and familiar now felt overwhelming and suffocating. The savoury and sweet aromas swirled together into a sickening cocktail, making his stomach turn violently. It stung through his senses.

 

His grip on Incineroar’s Pokeball slipped, and it clattered to the floor. Kieran bent down to pick it up, but the motion made his head spin. A wave of nausea surged up, faster and stronger than he could hold. 

 

The pressure only got worse.

 

The panic hit next. His vision blurred, his legs felt weak. He could feel eyes on him—students were peering and whispering with voices he couldn't hear from the overwhelming sickening sensation in his stomach. They had to be talking about him. 

 

Kieran couldn’t take it anymore. He bolted. The pressure inside him was unbearable now, his body betraying him as the sickening rumble in his stomach grew louder. He barely made it to the bathroom, his heart pounding as his throat tightened. Saliva began to pool in his mouth, and for just a second, he hesitated, questioning whether all of this—pushing himself so hard—was even worth it.

 

But then something bitter rose up in his throat, and he didn’t have time to question anything anymore.

 

…

The memory was torn to shreds as he forced himself to open his eyes.

 

Kieran winced.

 

As he had emptied out the content of his stomach that day, the sense of revulsion and disgust had never been so strong. Not just to the mess he had made that a poor janitor had to deal with, but to himself. He… his actions were just as disgusting. Something about it made him curl up and wither inside.

 

It was an awful feeling. He never wanted to relive that day anymore, and if he was honest, it made him consider permanently quitting battling. But for one reason or another, he persevered. 

 

He had pushed people away all to maintain this false sense of control. To avoid feeling weak. To pretend that if he could just hold on tightly enough, everything would be fine. But it wasn’t. Change had ravaged him and left him feeling like something unrecognisable.

 

With some sick sense of humour, fate and change had turned him into something completely irredeemable, completely inhuman, physically and mentally. A monster. 

 

He despised it. Loathed every single way change had ruined him. The Ogerpon incident, the fights, his outbursts—it was all because of change. It had stolen everything from him, twisted his relationships, and turned him into a version of himself he could hardly stand to look at, someone that was arrogant and bossy, selfish and hateful, despicable and all-controlling. The blue scales on his skin just wouldn’t come off no matter what he tried to do to them. Not even the surgeries And medicine that Ms Briar had suggested had worked-the scales just grew right back. No, they clung to him like a parasite trying to take over his mind. He knew deep down that that simply wasn’t true-the energy was merely trying to heal and it hardly affected his brain. But if the Tera Energy could turn Drayton fully inhuman, who’s to say that it can’t take away what’s left of his human self?

 

Every change brought disaster, horror, and pain. So why on earth should he embrace it? Why should he try to move on when everything would be better if he just froze in this moment, never allowing himself to change again? 

 

To change is to cause disaster.

 

To never cause pain is to never change.

 

To never change is to pause everything he was right now, rot and to be forgotten. 

 

At least then, no one would have to worry about him anymore.

 

…

 

But then, Lacey’s face appeared in his mind again.

 

He didn’t deserve it. Not at all. But she still-

 

No no no. She didn’t do anything to help him. She must have thought he was some abhorrent scum, something that could not be saved. He couldn’t think about that. He didn’t need her help then. He didn’t need anyone. He clenched his fists, his claws digging into his palms and almost drawing blood as if he could push the thought of her away, and force it out of his mind. It had no place there.

 

It was like the acid had risen into his throat again, dribbling down his mouth.

 

Deep down, though, a tiny thought emerged. Lacey had always been there, waiting for him to reach back, maybe waiting to acknowledge that maybe he wasn’t as alone as he tried to make himself feel.

 

He Knew deep down it wasn’t true.

 

He thought about her face in that memory again—her expression when he had yelled at her, the look of hurt hidden behind a mask of neutrality. But there was something else there too, something he hadn’t noticed in the moment. Determination. Despite everything, she had still reached out to him.

 

And then, another memory surfaced.

 

It was on the bridge, just days after he had transformed. He had asked Juliana for a second chance, for them to start over, to be friends again. Her expression softened.

 

She smiled.

 

She smiled?!

 

“Yes. We’ll figure it out. Together.”

 

He remembered staring at her, barely able to meet her gaze, trying to hide behind his bangs. His crush on Juliana had faded by then, but Everytime he saw her smile, it always made him feel the same comfort as if he was eating his favourite apples. The sweetness and crispness of her laugh.

 

Kieran clenched his fists harder, trying to block out the warmth that surfaced with the memory. 

 

He didn’t want to feel it. He didn’t want to think that maybe, just maybe, change wasn’t always the enemy. That maybe, even with all the pain it brought, there was still a chance to be something better.

 

But it was too late now, wasn’t it? Even if he wanted to reach out, to fix things, the damage had already been done.

 

His thoughts were a tangled mess. 

 

There wasn’t a way he could salvage this, no?

 

Standing on the edge of a cliff of his actions, he spotted a bridge stretching out all the way to the land that was his regrets. But the bridge was so shaky and broken. It was as if a single step on those planks would cause him to plummet to his doom. SO he backed away.

 

Everytime he thought about what he had done, his actions would sear themselves into his retina, how he shouted and screamed and shoved. A mirror where his own doubts reflected back with a searing clarity. 

 

And then, there was Drayton.

 

Earlier that day, he’d seen Drayton—a boy who had nearly killed him twice—apologise, when he apologised to Drayton. Not perfectly, not even smoothly, but Drayton had made an effort. Kieran couldn’t understand why Drayton, of all people, could just… take that step. What right did Drayton have to feel remorse, to try for redemption, when he had been the one who had inflicted so much harm?

 

He had wronged Drayton, that was true… but why did he take action?

 

If Drayton could find it in himself to apologise, what was stopping him from doing the same for those he’d wronged? 

 

-no no no.

 

His anger and doubts surged. “But I never killed anyone”, he told himself, “I’m not like that b-”

 

Something struck right through his skull. Like the Tera Energy was desperately trying to prevent his memories from coming back.

 

”…I never did anything as bad as him.” A voice under his breath, clearly his but it felt like they merely rang in his mind.

 

And yet.

 

And yet... maybe he wasn’t so different. He realised that he’d dismissed Drayton’s family troubles as petty at the time, thinking them insignificant compared to his own pain. But hadn’t he, too, suffered under expectations, fear, and the endless need to be better? That drive to prove himself that had led him so astray, had rooted him in the same predicament he saw in Drayton.

 

Maybe he wasn’t so distant after all. An inkling of a thought in his mind swirled up.

 

For the first time, he felt something new—an urge to make things right.

 

Maybe he could admit to his faults and try to be a better version of himself. He had already tried to let go of the anger that had weighed him down, and as impossible as it had seemed, he’d felt himself letting go. Perhaps there was still hope.

 

He remembered, vividly, the time he had done just that.

 

…

His breath steadied as he took another step into the corner.

 

After returning to school, already transformed, he gathered the Elite Four—Crispin, Lacey, Amarys, and Drayton—in a quiet, sunlit corner of the academy. His heart hammered in his chest. As they all assembled, Kieran looked at each of them and took yet another breath.

 

“Thank you for coming,” Kieran spoke. “I…I owe each of you an apology. And honestly, I don’t know if I deserve your forgiveness.”

 

Crispin’s fiery, determined eyes softened a bit, though he crossed his arms and remained silent. Amarys put down her notebook, her gaze fixed on Kieran, listening intently. Lacey’s usual warm smile was gone; she was quiet, serious, watching him closely. Even Drayton, often too drowsy to show much emotion, looked more awake than usual, waiting for what Kieran had to say.

 

“What happened six months ago,” Kieran continued, “changed me. It started with an incident involving a Pokemon. Ogerpon,” he admitted, the name coming out raw, the memory heavy in his chest. “You all knew how much I adored it—the stories, the legends. I thought I understood it. But… me, my sis and Juli, we realised the truth. Ogerpon wasn’t evil. It was just defending itself. We saved it from the Loyal Three, who were the true bullies all along.”

 

Drayton seemed to pinch himself, trying to keep himself awake. But he listened.

 

He paused, struggling to find the right words. “But Ogerpon grew attached to Juliana. It chose her over me, and I…I couldn’t handle it. I fell into this pit of despair, and I convinced myself that getting stronger would fix everything. And I took that out on all of you. My desperation… I let them hurt you guys.”

 

Lacey’s fingers tapped on the table. Crispin now had an unblinking gaze.

 

Kieran took a shaky breath. “I know that ‘sorry’ is a weak word,” he admitted. “And I know that words don’t erase what I’ve done. Nothing can make up for what I’ve done.”

 

Amarys’ determined look never faded.

 

There was silence. He felt his heart pounding, each second stretching out unbearably long. And then, Lacey’s warm smile returned.

 

W-what?

 

She was forgiving him-no. She was just trying to pity him.

 

“It’s not weak, Kieran,” Lacey said softly. “Hearing you say that…means a lot. It’s not easy to admit when you’re wrong.”

 

“You demonstrate the willingness to change. That is sufficient for me,” Amarys added quietly.

 

Crispin uncrossed his arms, his expression softening. “I’m usually the first to blaze into things without thinking. I know how it is to act without seeing the consequences. You’re not alone there.”

 

And then Drayton, still blinking himself awake, gave him a look that was softer than Kieran had ever seen. “You’re forgiven, Kieran,” he said simply. “If you can see where you went wrong…then that’s enough for me too.”

 

No-no. What? Why?

 

Kieran blinked, feeling his throat tighten. He could barely believe it. “It…it can’t be…” His voice was barely a whisper, the weight of their acceptance sinking into him, deeper than he’d thought possible. 

 

He looked down, his hands shaking. He hadn’t expected this. 

 

Not relief. Not acceptance. Certainly not forgiveness!

 

What was there to forgive?

 

What was going on?

 

“R…really?”

 

No, that wasn’t the right response. Was he dreaming?

 

Drayton gave him his signature smirk. “Of course, ex-champ.”

 

This wasn’t real, right?

 

Crispin closed his eyes and gave him an excited nod.

 

RIGHT??

 

In the corner of his eyes, from his shocked expression, he saw Lacey’s reassuring smile.

 

 

…

The memories are really coming in strong today, huh.

 

His vision refocused, and he stared at the single pink feather that sat in front of him. Whether Lacey had left the peculiar object on purpose wasn’t important, though it was something he wondered. His hands reached forward to clutch the tiny tuft, gently twirling it in his palms. It was silky smooth.

 

It reminded him of Lacey’s smile.

 

His friends had accepted him—Lacey, Crispin, Amarys, and even Drayton. They had all forgiven him. They’d let him spill every frustration and every fear he’d kept inside without turning away afterwards. They hadn’t judged him or mocked him for the anger or the self-doubt. They said it was “just a part of life being a teen”, and that they would provide him the support he needed. No one had told him to stop being weak or to “man up.” They had…welcomed him back, something he never thought would happen. 

 

He was a monster that had only hurt people in the name of his own strength. And yet… They offered him a chance to be himself again?

 

Kieran figured that the Elite Four could be unwise sometimes.

 

His hands relaxed without him realising, forcing him to stare down. They were his hands but they were still unfamiliar. Staring down at his hand, he wished he could open up just like it. Could he let go of everything Drayton had done, though? Could he really forgive him, like they had forgiven him? Could he allow himself to open up the same way they’d opened up to him? 

 

His mind lingered on Drayton, and bitterness stirred. Those yellow eyes that had gone dull just like his. Drayton had tried to kill him, not once but twice. That was a wound that would never heal. He tried not to think too much about the details. And yet, he’d had reasons, too. 

 

Drayton had his own issues. His inferiority, his sense of overwhelming expectations till he crumbled into his current lazy self… It all looked too similar to himself. He’d crumbled from all that was his family’s ideology, and the incident had only pushed his deteriorating self worth over the edge. That was why he projected and took revenge.

 

How much, really, separated him from his senior? His rival?

 

His friend?

 

Kieran couldn’t believe it. He was calling the fox-the damned fox that had almost killed him his FRIEND?

 

Why?

 

Kieran shook his head, but the thought kept pressing on him. He’d hurt people, too. He’d put his friends through emotional turmoil, he’d yelled and shoved people away, he’d broken down over something so small. Even if he didn’t kill someone…

 

Had he really been any better? Had he been kinder or fairer? 

 

He wanted to say yes. He wanted to say he was better than that. 

 

But he couldn’t.

 

They were really one and the same. Two creatures that feared change because nothing would ever go their way. Two unfortunate souls burdened with the wrath of fate, with not even a glimpse of hope to spare.

 

And yet, hope was still there after all.

 

Before the thought took him deeper, he shifted to something brighter, something like the softest warmth reaching past the gloom in his mind. He thought about Ogerpon, and how the townsfolk had come to accept her, to see her not as a monster but as a friend, a powerful and kind creature they’d simply misunderstood. The day they’d opened their hearts—he’d helped bring that about. That was something he’d done. He, and Juliana, too. It hadn’t been all anger and fury and lost battles, no matter what he’d told himself in the darkest moments. He’d created change. Good change. Change that had brought hope, not fear. And Juliana had been there, providing him with kindness despite everything, helping him find a way forward, even if he’d been too angry to see it back then.

 

He’d made something good by changing.

 

Juliana hadn’t ever given up on him. 

 

And Carmine. His sister had stood by him when he’d thought she would never accept him. She’d helped, too, and not just by sticking up for him but by teaching him to stand up on his own. 

 

Okay, she did have her issues… but she did help. She did create change.

 

He took a glimpse at his palms again, looking at the slight curve of his claws on his right. These were monstrous, maybe, but not as terrifying as he’d once thought. His tail swished, the fur soft beneath his fingers as he brushed his hand through it. He loathed it like it was an infection creeping onto him, but… why didn’t he feel that way now?

 

He wondered—was it really as bad as he thought?

 

…

He was sulking again.

 

His head was on the ground. His chest felt hollow, drained of all the strength he’d once thought was unbreakable. 

 

He just couldn’t find the motivation to keep on going. He watched as the surgically implanted hand flexed, the scales slowly crawling back over it. It was a crushing sight to see. A sense of devastation had made itself a home in his mind and was now knocking over the furniture, shattering and contaminating all of his thoughts.

 

But Hydrapple didn’t see any of that. It only nudged him with encouragement, the syrupy body wobbling in its eagerness. He could see its five heads and their yellow eyes light up with excitement. 

 

”-battle?”

 

He sighed.

 

Without thinking much about it, he nodded. Maybe he didn’t have the energy to go out and spar with another trainer today, but his Pokemon needed to battle at least twice a week to be healthy. Hydrapple had been itching for one ever since he’d shrank back into his room sulking, so he guessed he had to do his duties. He was under the weather, but he wasn’t a bad trainer.

 

The other Pokemon in his party were all sleeping… 

 

“Ugh… I guess we have to do this…”

 

He offered himself as his Pokemon’s opponent, knowing Hydrapple would hold back. Or would it? Hydrapple’s happiness suggested otherwise. 

 

He reached for his Pokédex out of habit, switching it into its battle mode. With a quick scan, the device’s screen quickly loaded a pixelated version of the two Pokemon, along with the stats, moves and names. “Hydrapple” and “Terapagos”.

 

Terapagos. He winced at the sound of that name. He didn't want to think about it. He still wasn’t accepting that he had become… this, but he guessed he had to take in the mindset of a Pokemon if he had to battle with Hydrapple. This was more than labels, wasn’t it? This was about finding the thrill of fighting side by side with someone Or something who wanted to be there with him.

 

No judgement, no fear.

 

He took a deep breath and allowed his scutes to glow, feeling the sensation of fur overtaking his arm and neck, flowing down his torso. When he opened his eyes, his vision was filled with sparkles of energy-the largest sparkle emanating directly from Hydrapple.

 

“Hydrapple used Fickle Beam!” called the Pokédex, and he had just enough time to brace himself before the move struck him. The blazing yellow energy struck through his body, activating his ability as he shrugged it off, seeing the orange dissipate into the air in the form of wisps. He felt his own energy rise to his chest, and he pushed out his hands like he was shoving something.

 

Snapping his fingers, the energy erupted from his upper body out in a circular flash, before multicolour star-shaped meteors rained down, striking Hydrapple straight in the heads of its Syrpents. The Pokemon seemed to falter just a little, but once the sparkles dissipated, all five heads emerged, shaking off the residual dust while the main head readied another attack.

 

Kieran watched as the other four seemed to hesitate a little. And then, all five started charging. Within a few seconds, a giant glowing orb of energy had started forming. 

 

“Hydrapple is going all out for this attack!”

 

He barely had time to react before another Fickle Beam exploded in a blinding flash. The attack was massive, more intense than the last. He felt the sharp burn and fought to stay standing. And yet, a surge of adrenaline ran through him. The pain was raw, yet somehow it didn’t break him. 

 

“W-way to go!” He shouted, charging up another Tera Blast with his hand. But the burning sensation of the attack caused him to flinch, making his attack disappear. 

 

He wasn’t at 0 HP yet. He was still in this.

 

Without noticing, Kieran was suddenly struck in the chest with another attack, this time full of sticky, red syrup. It sizzled through his body and he felt a bluish aura emanating from him. Rushing to the side as Hydrapple readied another Fickle Beam, he wiped away the sticky liquid from the Syrup Bomb in one quick swipe of his arm.

 

With every ounce of power left, he channelled his energy, this time focusing on his scales. Feeling his scutes glow, building up into a brilliant light, he dashed forward and closed his eyes as it all erupted outwards and forwards into a flash. The room dimmed around him for a moment as he opened his eyes as the aftershock of the Dazzling Gleam still burned his retinas.

…

 

Hydrapple laid on the ground, worn down but content, purring softly from the main Syrpent head.

 

… Wait, what?

 

“Hydrapple fainted!” the Pokédex reported.

 

Kieran stared in shock as he glanced back at the Pokédex. Surely enough, the HP was at 0.

 

He’d won. He’d won the battle—against his own Hydrapple. 

 

This was-this was the second ever time he had battled.

 

The Pokemon in front of him cooed, contented.

 

He couldn’t believe it. After everything he’d been through, he hadn’t been sure he could win a fight. But he’d done it. He’d faced his own Pokémon, his own champion-level Hydrapple, and come out on top.

 

He was strong.

 

As the last of the syrup disintegrated into a sweet-smelling smoke, his trembling hand reached for the Pokeball. The fur started fading from his skin.

 

He barely registered recalling Hydrapple to its Pokeball, his fingers moving numbly as he opened the door, taking a step into the hallway. The air felt fresher somehow, the rush of it filling his lungs and clearing his head. 

 

Gotta heal…

 

He couldn’t think of anything else. In reality, he was merely just struggling to process his victory.

 

 

…

 

The feather rested in his fingertips.

 

He felt it, that unmistakable  proof of strength he’d been so desperate to find during his worst moments—the strength he had been so willing to abandon himself for, thinking he could only find it by becoming someone else.

 

The plume shone so brilliantly underneath the artificial sun.

 

But he didn’t have to be that angry, reckless person anymore. He’d always thought he was too weak to stand up to the world as himself, too soft. But he’d stood his ground against his own Pokémon who was tough enough to hold champion-level battles. He’d survived its attacks and come out victorious. He was strong. 

 

Not in that harsh, hollow way he had once been when he turned away from everyone who cared for him. No, he would never do that again.

 

There was always a next time. Whatever didn’t kill him would make him stronger.

 

He was young. He had his whole life ahead of him. 

 

He twirled the feather absently with his claws. He still felt that searing pain from the League Club incident, but somehow, the pain didn’t seem as insurmountable as before. Drayton was just acting like him. 

 

He knew how much it hurt when you lashed out. He knew how much resentment hid under the surface. It was too familiar. He knew how it felt to explode on someone purely because you’d think they could take it.

 

Just like how he struck Juliana. It was like looking in a mirror; Drayton’s hurt wasn’t unfamiliar, and Kieran couldn’t pretend he didn’t understand it.

 

He looked aside, staring at his wall. The wall that was full of notes of Pokemon battling, the wall that had Drayton’s Flygon and Archaludon circled thrice in deep red markers, as if he really just wanted to kill those Pokemon. The thought brought a strange comfort to him.

 

Couldn’t he have compassion for Drayton, if he’d managed to find it for himself? He didn’t want to be trapped by the past, and maybe Drayton didn’t either. If he, Kieran, had been able to overcome his worst, then there was hope for anyone—even for someone who had once nearly taken his life. People could change. Kieran could change. 

 

And he knew now, people could change in a good way.

 

He knew any setback could be overcome. Sometimes, opportunities are gone and some things are immutable. But all he could do was learn. All he could do was to understand. All he could do was to change for the better.

 

The idea settled into him, taking the place of all the panic he’d been holding. For the first time, he felt something like acceptance, that quiet, calm place he never thought he’d find for months.

 

Maybe he wasn’t a freak. Maybe he didn’t need to constantly fight against what he was becoming. His life was different now, but different didn’t mean worse. It could be better, even if he wasn’t sure what it would look like yet. He could use his powers for good. He could strive to be better. He could be the best friend there ever was. He glanced down at Lacey’s feather again, its surface glimmering in a soft blue light that seemed to radiate warmth. Maybe that light was something he could trust.

 

Maybe, just like Juliana, he could accept the change that had happened.

 

Kieran held the feather close, letting its glow remind him that he didn’t need to fear change. Her voice was genuine. It will get better. He would get better.

 

He took a long, shaky breath, letting the comforting school air fill his lungs the way Carmine had always reminded him, way back when things were so simple. Even though he had her flaws, she always cared. She guided him through all the mess in his mind, even back when he didn’t think anyone could really understand him. And about the bad parts, he was sure that Lacey could help her change for the better. Even at his lowest, when his anger contaminated and drowned him, she never gave up. And neither had Juliana, not on him and not on Drayton.

 

In a moment of resolve, the idea of forgiveness settled uncomfortably in his chest. He knew that if Drayton truly apologised, he could try to forgive him—maybe, deep down, his senior had kindness too, even if it was hidden under layers of anger and fear, even through the teasing.

 

But forgiveness didn’t erase everything; it wouldn’t take away the fear that still lingered from what Drayton had done. Murder wasn’t easy to get over. He’d keep his distance, even if just to protect the healing he’d managed to find for himself.

 

“Drayton…” He spoke to himself. “I believe you’re kind… And I forgive you… But I need time. I hope you can understand… that wounds take time to heal. I know you’re reasonable, and I hope that one day, maybe not today, but one day, we can be friends again…”

 

Silence. But even through the lack of sound, he could feel a sense of relief sink back into him, like the universe gave him a firm nod.

 

“It’s so scary… I feel so unsure…” he whispered, as if saying it out loud made it more real. There was a pang inside him and a longing for someone to hear him, to listen the way they had when he’d faced his own faults and asked for forgiveness. 

 

But he believed it would come soon.

 

He’d seen a glimpse of what change could be, and he knew it could set him free.

 

The memory of Lacey’s offer came back, and he reached for his tablet, his fingers brushing its screen. Looking for the answer to his quandary, he turned on the device with a tape, entering his password and swiping to his messages. He briefly remembered Juliana at Kitakami being thunderstruck at the fact he didn’t have a phone, and then deciding to teach him how to use the school tablet to send messages instead. He caught on pretty quickly, though she did sigh a couple of times when he couldn’t get it.

 

Okay, it was more like a dozen times, but whatever.

 

Just the thought of it made him smile. A small, fragile curve formed on his lips. 

 

Opportunities sometimes never come back. But change is ever present, and he believed he and Drayton could always learn. 

 

After all, if he could ask Lacey for help and decide to never fall back into his bad mindset again, why couldn’t Drayton get better?

 

He navigated to Lacey’s messages, his hand hovering over the “video call” button, feeling the weight of the silence around him. He took another breath, before moving his hand to the “voice message” button first. Then a tap.

 

He caught just a glimpse of silver. That comforting colour of Archaludon’s picture, the reminder of his dear old friend. He set down the feather.

 

“Hey, Lacey… I did some thinking… Could I please talk to you? I promise to listen this time.”

Chapter 12: Mend | Look To The Future

Chapter by 1120_Cecille

Summary:

And so finally, the three meet up one last time to hopefully become friends again.

Notes:

TW: implied suicide attempt (Drayton just tells it to his friends, don’t worry he’s not doing it anymore)

Conclusions are hard, and this is my first time writing a multi-chapter fic! I hope it has an ending that lives up to its quality!

Reminder to drink water!

Okay, okay.

 

No need to panic.

 

Juliana thought, her heart thudding in her chest as she forced herself to take a long, deep breath. 

 

In.

 

And out.

 

She could do this. She had faced Legendary Pokemon, she had saved her friends, she even saved an entire region—surely, a talk among friends couldn’t be harder than that. 

 

But as she glanced down at her phone again, reading over Kieran’s message for what felt like the hundredth time, her hands were still trembling.

 

Just some nerves. She was sure. 

 

Out of the blue, Kieran had messaged both of them in the group chat she had created. It was some message about meeting in the League Club, something to meet at around 9:30 p.m. so they could talk things out. 

 

And breathing in was all she could do to breathe and keep herself from falling apart before they’d even begun.

 

As she took in the room around her, she tried to focus on its appearance. It looked just like it had before, every trace of the disastrous fight erased as if nothing had happened. The indigo carpets shone bright as ever, and the wallpaper had not a trace of blast marks on it. Even all the tables looked pristine and good as new. Apparently, nothing in the lockers was damaged, which was a good thing since they belonged to quite a lot of people Juliana didn’t know. She couldn’t imagine having to explain… that to people.

 

Even the air was fresher than before.

 

The Elite Four had intervened with such speed, labelling it as just “a Pokemon fight gone wrong,” and somehow no one questioned it. They even went the extra mile to just label the three’s quarantine as “a temporary leave”. But she knew the truth. She owed so much to the art club and repair team who had worked tirelessly to restore every damaged inch of this place, turning a smoking crater back into a space that seemed pristine and innocent. 

 

Yet, the repaired walls didn’t fool her, nor did they untie the knots of tension that were still coiled in her chest. This room had scars, invisible ones, just like the three of them.

 

The door slid open, and she stared with trepidation as a visage with purple-and-black hair stepped inside. He moved cautiously, peering in before fully committing to enter, almost like he was afraid of whatever was inside. She couldn’t help but notice how his panicked little yellow eyes always darted towards hers but were hesitant to dart elsewhere whenever they made eye contact, as if he was looking for some reassurance. Crystals formed underneath his feet every few steps with a gentle crunch.

 

Her gaze softened; she wanted to tell him it was okay, that she was here with him no matter what. But she knew nothing would come out of her mouth for now. He was clearly being defensive. Maybe it was his instincts, maybe it was because of what had happened. She figured it was both. He hurried forward, careful to keep his tail clear of the doors as they closed behind him, and there was a sadness in watching him trying to fit in when he had always believed he couldn’t.

 

“…Hi.”

 

He shuffled in, standing awkwardly. She wanted to respond, but another noise came from the doors.

 

And then, a few moments later, Drayton slid in. She hadn’t been sure if he’d come at all. After everything, she wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d… she didn’t want to think about it. But here he was, albeit moving slower than his usual confident stride, shoulders slumped in a tired way, slightly different from his normal lazy stance. 

 

His face looked exhausted, as if he’d been fighting a battle that had nothing to do with the one they’d been through days ago. She figured that that was probably the case. After all, why else would he have come here?

 

She noticed his illusion was starting to slip; the blue and white of his true form was visible in wisps from his neck, his fluffy tail trailing openly behind him. It was like all three were defenceless. 

 

For a moment, the three of them just stood there, awkwardly, staring at each other without quite meeting one another’s eyes. The silence that filled the room felt as thick as smoke, making her mind swirl. This was supposed to be a step toward healing, but she wasn’t so sure anymore. 

 

“Thanks for coming,” she finally tried to speak, but she couldn’t hear her voice. Clearly, the other two couldn’t hear it either. Her heart raced.

 

The taller senior stood a bit apart from the others, visibly uncomfortable, his eyes flicking around the room as if he’d rather be anywhere else. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, one hand rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at Juliana, then away, like he was uncertain whether he’d made the right choice by coming at all. Juliana noticed, and despite her own nervousness, she forced herself to break the silence, even if she had no idea what to say.

 

“So… uh, how’s everyone doing?” she said, her voice a little too bright and cheery. “It’s kinda cold.”

 

There was a beat of silence, and then a snicker broke out between the three of them. Juliana felt herself blush, but thankfully it also melted a bit of the tension.

 

“It’s like… room temperature.” Drayton responded.

 

That… wasn’t what I meant to say, but I guess we can do that, she thought to herself, relieved at least to see a small smile on Kieran’s face.

 

“Well… I guess things can get better.” 

 

They broke into some awkward small talk. Drayton glanced at Kieran as if he wanted to take a step forward, but he hesitated, stopping himself before he got too close. There was a flash of something like regret on his face, and he took a step back, giving Kieran the room he clearly needed.

 

After another beat, Drayton took a deep breath and spoke gingerly. “So, um… You asked about this whole crystal illusion thing I have, right? It’s… different.” He struck himself with a punch, seeing the centre of the impact ripple with a glimmering sparkle. “Turns out, it’s basically… like reconstructing my body into a thin shell. Like… hollow, nothing inside. Just… a black void. If you puncture it or something, you can see the inside. I can still bleed and perspire like usual, but the blood and sweat seems like it just comes out of nowhere.”

 

Juliana’s brow furrowed, concerned. “How do you know that?” 

 

Drayton scratched his head, pausing, his eyes darting away. “Uh… Let’s just say… I’d rather not explain that,” he muttered, blatantly trying to sidestep the question.

 

Kieran raised an eyebrow but decided not to press. “Wowzers… So does that mean the Zoroark illusion detectors don’t go off anymore?” 

 

“Yeah,” the Elite Four seemed almost relieved to change the topic. “They pick up on the natural energy of Zoroark illusions, and, well… this isn’t quite the same. They don’t react as much because of Tera Energy. And illusion-cancelling devices don’t work on it either. Mind you, this doesn’t mean I can create horrifying things and trap y’all in rooms. The crystal illusion is just for my own body and I physically cannot create things with it. I can barely even use my normal illusion abilities when it’s active.”

 

Kieran’s eyes lit up with a flicker of amusement. “Well, at least you’ve got that going for you. I mean… I’m over here with a tail now, so I guess I could start pulling some tricks with it. Maybe I could juggle stuff,” he joked, giving the fluffy tip of his tail a flick.

 

Juliana chuckled, watching the tension ease ever so slightly.

 

Her face softened as a thought crossed her mind, and she spoke up with a small smile, “You know, this reminds me of something Arven did once. He’s one of my closest friends—maybe even like a brother, actually.” 

 

…

Fidgeting her fingers, she chewed down the last of the sandwich, holding back the glowing energy that emanated from her chest.

 

As Juliana sat beside Arven in the quiet cave, she felt a deep mixture of excitement and dread. They’d done everything they could—hunted down every Titan Pokémon, gathered all the Herba Mystica, and prepared what Arven hoped would be a miraculous meal for Mabostiff. 

 

She glanced over at Arven, who, instead of looking relieved, sat against the wall, arms crossed, his eyes fixed downward, refusing to meet hers.

 

“It’s… it’s supposed to work, right?” his voice was tense.

 

Juliana nodded, though her heart was pounding. “Yeah. I mean, it should.” She wished something more reassuring would come out of her mouth, but even she wasn’t sure it would work. She could only watch as the canine companion weakly gnawed at the bread.

 

Only time would tell.

 

They remained in quietude until, unexpectedly, Juliana noticed a faint glint of movement out of the corner of her eye. Mabostiff’s Pokeball had rolled down a small rock, coming to a stop beside the Pokemon itself. She froze, eyes locked onto Mabostiff’s body. 

 

And then, miraculously, the old, weary Pokemon opened its eyes.

 

“Arven… look,” she whispered, breath catching in her throat. 

 

“Ruff..!” The Pokemon barked.

 

Arven’s head snapped up, spinning around in an instant. “Mabostiff?” His voice wavered, and he pushed himself off the wall, blinking in shock as Mabostiff let out another bark. Shakily, it pushed upwards, its paws trying to get it to stand.

 

“Oh, no way…” Juliana whispered, her hands flying to her mouth as she watched in awe. 

 

Was this it?

 

She felt tears prick her eyes as she looked at Arven, who stood frozen, his mouth open in disbelief.

 

Yes, yes, yes!

 

Mabostiff’s eyes shone with a light that Juliana had only vaguely remembered from when Arven was a little boy, and its tail wagged weakly, making its way over to his Pokeball. He picked it up in his mouth like it was a, well, ball, its grey tail wagging harder, and slowly trotted toward Arven with steps wobbly but full of spirit.

 

The older boy took a step forward with joy and shock plastered on his face. “M-Mabostiff… You… You’re really…” His voice cracked, and then, unable to hold himself back, he stumbled forward so quickly he nearly tripped. Falling to his knees, he found himself at eye level with his beloved companion, who dropped the ball at its feet with a wag of its tail.

 

Juliana bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears. Clearly overcome with emotion as well, the boy let out a breathless, tearful laugh and threw his arms around Mabostiff, pressing his face into the Pokemon’s fur. “I know, bud. Me too,” he whispered shakily, letting the tears flow.

 

She stepped back to give them space, watching in silence as Arven murmured gentle words to Mabostiff, holding it close. She felt a warmth unlike anything she’d felt before. At that moment, she seemed to understand something.

 

She felt a soft smile spread across her face as she watched them. She’d never forget the way her friend held onto his companion like his whole world was right there and the unspoken gratitude in his expression as he finally got his wish.

 

…

 

Back in the present, she let that warmth settle, feeling a soft smile come to her lips. 

 

“So that dude was technically your biological brother or something? With the DNA tampering and stuff? How did he react to you being the creature that the professor fixated on instead of him?” Drayton questioned.

 

“Well… He didn’t take the news especially well, you know? But we had to sort it out the best we could. He’s an… unfortunate case. I haven’t really seen a lot of kids get treated like THAT. Maybe I should invite him here next time.”

 

Glancing at Kieran and Drayton, she found the courage to ask, “Hey, would you mind if I told you more about my own adventures back in Paldea?”

 

The two boys looked at each other, then back at her, and with a nod, they signalled their approval, leaning in to listen.

 

…

She was a champion now.

 

She remembered that moment she stood on the school battlefield, her heart still pounding from the match with her closest rival and schoolmate. 

 

“There’s finally someone on the same level as me!” Nemona cheered. Of course, Juliana couldn’t resist the battle. She’d readied her team against any potential counter, and the younger girl was sure she wouldn’t hold back now. 

 

Her Umbreon stood its ground against all of Lycanroc’s attacks, leaping away and biting it while dodging the flurry of stone. It retaliated by biting into the fur of the opposing canine before being launched upwards by the rocketing shards of rock. Before it fell, it casted a move upwards, the energy forming into a twinkling starry shape before it fell with another strike. 

 

Shifting onto all fours, her Baxcalibur gathered purple energy into its spines, eyeing its opponent. The dragon Pokemon stood its ground, charging up its attack against the opposing Goodra, the gooey tail barely grazing the glowing back spike, before it had flung itself forward, crashing into the Goodra with a devastating explosion. 

 

The Tinkaton under her command barely even flinched as Nemona’s Pawmot unleashed a flurry of strikes onto it in two orange swipes, managing to stand still, though heavily worn down, as steel energy swirled into the head of its massive hammer. The massive weapon crashed down in a deafening strike, seemingly pulverising the poor rodent. Thankfully, when the hammer was lifted, it was still in one piece, but it had fainted.

 

Still, though she was winning, the battle was close, and Nemona’s moves were more intense than the last.

 

When they were down to the wire, Nemona had called out her Meowscarada. “Shine blazingly bright, my greatest treasure!” Nemona’s shout could be heard as she held her Tera Orb, engulfing her Pokemon in magnificent green crystals. But it too fell after being subjected to an onslaught of flame.

 

For a moment, the battlefield was quiet, save for the gentle rustling of the wind. 

 

 The Paldea Elite Four were standing off to the side, gazes fixed in awe. Nemona stood, head bowed, her arm hiding her expression, clutching her Pokeball. For a split second, Juliana wondered if she had done something wrong.

 

But then, her arms dropped, and she broke into a huge, unrestrained grin, practically glowing with excitement. “You…DID IT! This is legit incredible! You’re the strongest out there, Juliana!” she cheered, her joy contagious. “I mean, you knocked me flat, and I was giving you absolutely everything!” She sprang forward, nearly colliding with Juliana, who leaned back slightly with a surprised laugh. And though the next few moments were a blur of cheers and hugs, Juliana felt that Nemona’s excitement and admiration were as heartfelt as ever.

 

Then, Nemona extended a hand, her face still flushed with exhilaration. “Thank you for an incredible match!” she said. Juliana smiled in satisfaction. She was finally a Champion, and even more, She’d just become Nemona’s greatest treasure, and they both earned a valuable memory that day, something that Juliana would never forget. She’d been strong and she helped her friend find an equal that she could cherish for the rest of time.

 

Just as quickly, Nemona was chattering about new strategies and ideas for her next team, completely undeterred by anything. The academy staff watching from afar sighed, shaking their heads and facepalming. Classic Nemona. Juliana could only smile awkwardly, thinking, Some things really don’t change with her. 

 

Gosh… If she realised the truth with Juliana… How would Juliana have to hold Nemona back from battling every day?

 

She decided to laugh it off.

 

…

 

Another memory surfaced—a moment that was sort of different. 

 

The truth was finally revealed. Team Star weren’t the bullies—no, they were the victims.

 

She stood at the edge of the battle court, a respectful distance from Cassiopeia-Penny, Director Clavell, and the squad bosses of Team Star. In their outlandish outfits that looked like gym leader fits and their varying heights, they really stood out as misfits. Of course they looked like that. Wasn’t that the entire thing with Team Star?

 

After revealing his poorly-made disguise, Director Clavell had taken a step out to them to face them. Penny took in a deep breath, and everything seemed to slow to a stop as the world held its breath with her.

 

“You all have… my sincerest apologies.” His voice was clear.

 

A pause again.

 

Penny looked up, her anxious tail wagging slowing to a stop as confusion appeared in her eyes and she asked, “Come again?”

 

The director stared back, addressing them with a seriousness Juliana hadn’t seen before. “As the director of the academy, I let you down. My handling of your situation was a dismal failure…” 

 

Sure, Juliana’s memory couldn’t pick up everything, but she could get the gist of it. He’d admitted something along the lines of believing the academy to be a safe, bullying-free place, when it had been a peace built upon their pain and courage to fight back. They had endured so much—and in the end, they had been misunderstood.

 

Clavell’s gaze softened as he continued, “As such, I revoke the order to disband Team Star and expel those who did not obey.”

 

Almost all the squad bosses flinched or froze at that sentence. Giacomo looked up with an expression like he had just seen a Legendary Pokemon. “Wha… really?”

 

Clavell gave a small nod just as confirmation. “Team Star will remain.”

 

And all of a sudden, the mood started to ease, like the universe let out a collective sigh. “This is the first time I’ve met you in real life, boss!” 

 

The squad bosses approached Penny, forming a supportive circle around her. Their smiles were warm, and for once, they all spoke openly with camaraderie, remarking on Penny’s appearance in a joking manner. Penny looked up at each of them and Juliana could see her eyes glisten and brighten with everything they told her. They had so many things to tell each other.

 

Though usually pretty shy, she couldn’t help but give a small, grateful smile in return. The squad bosses—her friends—were here for her, embracing her with open hearts. For the first time since Team Star’s formation, she’d finally revealed her true self. It was like she was enveloped in a sense of belonging that she never had before. 

 

As the heartwarming reunion played out, Director Clavell stepped forward, clearing his throat gently to catch everyone’s attention. Abruptly, he announced something about the school resources and uniforms that Juliana couldn’t remember. Well, it elicited a defeated sigh from everyone involved. Penny tugged at her long ears and her eyes darted aside.

 

At least, what happened next wasn’t so bad. Their ‘punishment,’ as he called it, would be to give back to the school community. Team Star would be responsible for setting up training centres throughout the region to help in Pokemon training. 

 

In unimpressed silence, the bosses listened, nodding along as they absorbed the news. A few of them looked very unwilling but silent, clearly resigned to the task. The idea of community service didn’t exactly thrill them, but they all knew it was a small price to pay compared to other potential punishments. Despite the mild disappointment, they accepted the consequence without a single complaint. 

 

As the meeting came to an end, the squad bosses began to disperse, but not without a final look back. Penny lingered a moment longer, glancing at Juliana with a thankful gaze behind her glasses through her deep licorice eyes. Her gaze was soft like cotton and her eyes were full of gratitude that she didn’t need words to convey. In that one look, Juliana felt something deep within her stir. She returned it with a gentle smile and a nod.

 

Finally seeing her friend turn away, Juliana smiled to herself, knowing she had made a difference. They had taken their second chance. She watched them walk away, feeling that something deeply important had been set right. These weren’t just people she’d helped; they were her friends and her treasure.

 

In the end, Juliana knew she’d done more than help them. She had seen them for who they truly were and helped them create a better road of fate. And underneath the deep indigo sky, she knew one thing:

 

They all, in some way, belonged.

…

 

“You done yet?” Drayton let out a long yawn.

 

“Oop! Uh… sorry.” Juliana spoke sheepishly.

 

Kieran was still staring with that childlike wonder he had at Kitakami, before everything had gone downhill.

 

Drayton leaned back, chuckling as he listened to Juliana’s story with visible amusement. “Juli, you’ve been through so much, you could be the protagonist of some kind of epic adventure,” he teased, grinning. 

 

Juliana laughed, rolling her eyes. “I’ve still got so many things to tell you guys! If I’m a protagonist, then I must be my creator’s favourite pincushion for all the trauma they’ve thrown at me! I mean, seeing your mom get mauled in front of you is just normal protagonist things, right?” 

 

Her joke landed in discomfort, with both boys exchanging glances, clearly unsure how to respond. But a moment later, they all laughed, shaking off the awkwardness.

 

“Well, look at us—all champions, current or former, of the BB League,” Drayton said, stretching and glancing at Kieran with a mischievous glint. “Or, should I say, ex-champions.”

 

Kieran sighed, shooting him a look. “Shut it,” he muttered timorously, though his expression was visibly better. “…With our luck, there’s probably some kind of curse on Blueberry Academy champions, given all the stuff we go through,” he joked. “Haven’t seen our principal get cursed though!”

 

Drayton nodded, looking playfully conspiratorial. “Wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest,” he said, laughing. “In my experience, curses on champions are more common than you’d think! Maybe we should curse our principal or something-”

 

“No.” Both 14-year-olds spoke simultaneously.

 

Drayton blinked twice. “Oops. Not gonna jinx Cyrano then.”

 

“Hah… you probably shouldn’t. Oh! I forgot to tell you a thing…” 

 

Juliana hesitated, then said, “I actually meant to give you something, Kieran… but, well, it’s embarrassing—I lost it. It was supposed to be a surprise,” she admitted, sulking. “Terapagos even suggested I make it, but now it’s gone. I lost it in… that fight. You know which one.”

 

Kieran’s curiosity piqued. “What was the thing?” 

 

“It was a Tera Crystal necklace,” Juliana explained. “Terapagos made it out of thin air, saying it could absorb excess Tera energy, and it asked me to give it to you.” She glanced at Kieran and his crystal trail. “I thought it might help with, well… that.” she added, gesturing toward the shimmering trail.

 

For a few seconds, Kieran stared back down, seeing the few residual crystals that had formed behind him. “Oh… I guess that's fine then. I mean, Terapagos could make another one?”

 

Drayton’s face broke into a sly grin.

 

With a quick swipe, he extended his hand, and in a small flash of light, a small hexagonal crystal attached to a string appeared, holding all colours in the rainbow.

 

He held it out to Kieran. “Looking for this by any chance?”

 

The pendant fit neatly in the palm, its smooth, sanded edges polished to a soft sheen that glowed in a rippling radiant rainbow. On its back side, Kieran’s initials were carved into it. It shone in every colour—even ultraviolet, though she doubted Kieran could see it. Maybe he could see infrared, but she’d never asked him yet. Every facet sparkled in iridescent shades as the white-haired fellow held the powerful artifact in his hands, turning it around on his fingertips.

 

Juliana’s eyes widened in surprise. “You… had it all along?”

 

Drayton chuckled. “Don’t worry,” he said, leaning back with a smirk. “I was listening to you when I was sulking in your room from the fox thing. And you know, the fight where I, uh… mauled Kieran, you stopped me, and we blew the room up?” He shrugged. “I swiped it then. Originally, I thought about smashing it, but… I figured Kieran deserves it more than I need my revenge. So, I kept it safe,” he said, nodding as he handed the pendant over. “Here.”

 

The young boy took the pendant, threading its black string over his head and letting the crystal settle against his chest. Gently, he rested both hands on the pendant, Feeling a gentle hum. “It’s doing something!”

 

“Go on,” The girl encouraged. “Walk around.”

 

To his stagger, the usual trail of crystals that would appear after a few steps or so was gone, which meant his Tera energy was now contained. “It works!”

 

The fox grinned, crossing his arms with a chuckle. “Say your thanks to lizard girl. Well, that’ll definitely cut down on cleanup.”

 

Then, rummaging through her bag, she took out something red—a neatly folded bandana. She smiled while trying to hide her eyes behind her ponytail and explained, “I, uh… made this for you, Drayton. I love the colour red, so I cut a piece of fabric and stitched the edges myself.” She turned the bandana around in her hands to show the intricate red stitching. “It’s actually from a student project at Naranja Academy. They were working on ghost-proof fabric that could help Ghost-type Pokemon and hybrids dress more comfortably or cover up if they want to, so this should help keep the wisps around your neck contained. Hopefully.”

 

Drayton stared at the bandana in awe, blinking a few times before a slow grin spread across his face. “Are you serious?” he asked with a giggle, reaching for it. 

 

His expression softened as he took the bandana and fumbled, trying to tie it around his neck. Sure enough, no more wisps came out. The first attempt ended in a loose knot and a laugh, but on his second try, he managed to secure it comfortably. “Perfect,” he said, adjusting it with a satisfied nod.

 

Juliana giggled a bit.

 

“Pretty easy to take off too! The Drayster’s gonna love this.”

 

Then, she noticed Kieran standing to the side. “Dang… I didn’t bring anything for you, Juliana.” 

 

He paused, rummaging through his yellow fanny pack until he pulled out a few pieces of candy and a red tie, pristine and neatly folded. “I know it’s not much, but I thought you’d like this. Your red tie got wrecked during the Terapagos fight, and I think I saw how you liked it,” he said as he stretched out his hand. 

 

Her eyes sparkled as she took the tie. “This is perfect, Kieran! I love it. And you remembered that red’s my favourite colour!” She quickly unwrapped one of the candies, tossing it into her mouth and savouring the flavour before biting down with a quick crunch.

 

Drayton raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Seriously, Juliana? Do you even taste candy or do you just destroy it on sight?” he teased, folding his arms. “You’re a fucking beast, girl.”

 

She laughed, then paused, lifting up one eyebrow as she noticed something in Kieran’s pack. “Wait a minute, Kieran… are those Tera Shards in the same pocket as your candy?” She raised an eyebrow.

 

The young teen’s cheeks went pink as he scratched the back of his head, glancing away. “Uh… yeah,” he mumbled, rubbing his neck. “It’s kinda weird, but… I found out that they, uh, melt like rock candy if I just leave them in my mouth. They’re pretty sweet too. Maybe it’s… you know… a side effect of this whole half-Terapagos thing.” 

 

The older boy snickered, shaking his head with an amused grin. “So you’re telling me that your obsession with sweets saved my life?” he said, leaning in to give the turtle boy a playful nudge, but stopping just before they met contact, opting for an air nudge instead. “Without those Tera Shards, who knows what kind of mess I’d be now—probably a very grumpy ghost.”

 

Kieran chuckled, still a little pink. “Guess my sweet tooth finally paid off, huh?”

 

The three friends shared a look of realisation  and warmth. Juliana realised how the two got along.

 

Juliana leaned back with a grin. “Y’know, it might just be a general Pokemon thing. My Umbreon loves chomping on Dark Tera shards. Though those need to be grinded down first. And speaking of the Umbreon…” She gave Drayton a mischievous look. ”I’m assigning it as your babysitter for those checkups. The school still has no idea how our biology works for the most part and how long we can live. So they said all three of us need to go weekly, but I know you’ll find every excuse to skip. So! If you don’t go, the Umbreon will scruff you and drag you there itself.”

 

Drayton gave her an exaggerated pout with crossed arms, tilting his head aside. “You can’t be serious. You’re really sending your Umbreon to be my personal bodyguard?”

 

“Hey, consider it a free service,” Juliana shot back, laughing. “Or maybe call it payback for how lazy you are.”

 

After a laugh, she looked at the two of them. “Anyway, what’ve you guys been up to? First thing I did after the whole school-ordered quarantine was catch up with the rest of the BB Elite Four and pick up all three of our homework. I think the teachers were…” she pinched her fingers together, “this close to questioning where I’d been all this time, but they let it slide.” She paused, a more serious look taking over. “Then, at night, I talked to Terapagos to try to figure out what happened to you two. Got more questions than answers, but at least I learned about ‘Tera Wishes.’”

 

The purple haired boy tilted his head. “Huh?”

 

“Tera wishes. Apparently they’re rarely triggered, but if someone writes or speaks a wish near a big Tera Energy source, it comes true—with a twist.” She chuckled, almost sheepishly. “Like, I think I phrased mine to help you adapt to Tera Energy, Kieran. So, naturally, it gave you Terapagos traits. I think.”

 

He laughed nervously. “Naturally…”

 

Juliana smirked, then turned to Kieran. “So… what exactly did you say to Drayton?”

 

Kieran’s face went slightly pale as he recalled, mumbling, “I think I said, ‘Please stick with me through this in whatever shape or form! I will never let you die before I do!’ Something like that.”

 

Drayton gave a low whistle. “Well… that’s specific.”

 

Kieran winced, trying to interpret the words. “I, uh… guess the ‘whatever shape or form’ got interpreted into, well… this. Juliana, stand back.” With a flash, a small beam of stars shot in Drayton’s general direction. Drayton flinched and one of the stars weakly dissipated on his jacket, but that was enough to break his illusion. The crystalline structure crumbled with a poof of mist, and there he was in his vulpine form, a tiny little blue creature sitting on the ground.

 

“Uh. Oops.” Kieran said.

 

Drayton was not amused as he slowly summoned the mist again, swirling back with sparkles and he returned back to his crystal illusion. “Out of all the attacks, why the one that looks like stars??” He gasped.

 

Kieran looked aside. “Sorry, I’ll keep that in mind next time. No more Tera Blasts.” He hesitated, adding, “And the other part… maybe that’s why Drayton’s currently, um, immortal.” 

 

They shared a knowing look, each coming to the same unspoken, uncomfortable conclusion of what “before I do” meant. Thankfully, Drayton didn’t look like he wanted to kill Kieran just yet.

 

Noticing the tense silence, Juliana made a quick decision not to mention the part Terapagos had let slip about Drayton’s soul and physical state. Instead, she cleared her throat and quickly shifted the topic. “Anyway! After that, I went for a quick run around the Terrarium in my Pokemon form to blow off some steam. Then I came straight here for our little reunion.” She looked at Kieran, a gentle smile spreading across her face. “What about you? What have you been up to?”

 

He seemed to look around the brightly lit room, trying to find something he could stare at. “I, um, talked to Lacey and… well, thought some stuff through,” he admitted, "I realised… change isn’t always bad. But if… things do go wrong, Juliana, will you—c-can you help me handle it? Please?”

 

Juliana nodded instantly. “Of course.”

 

They shared a warm glance before Juliana turned to Drayton, noticing he hadn’t said a word. She frowned. But when Drayton stayed silent, a sudden realisation hit her: something was wrong. His eyes were a bit distant and he looked slightly frustrated and worried. 

 

“Drayton,” she started carefully, taking a small step closer, “you don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready—”

 

He interrupted with a tone that was especially uncharacteristically still for him. “No, it’s okay. I’ve already made my peace with it.”

 

He hesitated, avoiding their eyes as he awkwardly explained. “When I first heard Kieran’s apology, I… didn’t know how to respond. It felt like I’d never be able to make sense of everything going on inside And I’d never be able to get myself out of this state of ‘constant disappointment’. So, I… I went to the tallest cliff in the Polar Biome,” he admitted quietly. “I’d given all my Pokeballs to Amarys… except Flygon’s. I thought… they would have to be with her… for the rest of time.”

 

He trailed off, fumbling to find words without saying too much, but both caught his meaning. He stood there now looking at his faintly trembling hands. “I heard rumours that some ghost types could perish if they fell or were buried in freezing snow. I knew it wouldn’t have worked anyways because I’d survived even worse, but something in my mind just wanted me to try it.  I didn’t want either of you two to know…”

 

He’d been…

 

Her heart twisted. How could I have missed this again?

 

But after what felt like an eternity, he glanced up. “The thing that made me stop, that made me realise life might still be worth it… was-was you, Juliana. When I saw you try to save me from myself. When I saw you fly across the Terrarium like a shooting star. You were fearless and… it made me remember that people actually care, even if I look like this. And that maybe my worth is more than this.”

 

The girl fumbled, trying to find the right words, but this was uncharted territory for her. She’d never dealt with anything like this. 

 

But eventually, she managed, “Drayton, I… I’m glad you’re here. And I’ll be here too, okay? If you need me, I’ll be wherever you are.”

 

Kieran, holding himself rigidly, seemed close to breaking again, and with a faint shimmer, the fur on his neck and arms grew like a defence mechanism. Juliana quickly put a comforting hand on his arm. Drayton moved as though to help too, but something held him back, and he slowly lowered his hand.

 

Instead, he began, “There’s something else you should know… about the incident that happened next.” He took a deep breath as his eyes fixed onto Kieran’s. “After I left that cliff, something in me finally broke. I met up with Amarys at Chargestone Cavern. She looked… relieved to see me alive. She handed back my Pokeballs, and we talked for a while.” His eyes twitched. “Then, suddenly, I felt like I was suffocating—like I couldn’t even think. And then I saw it! Kyurem.”

 

Juliana’s eyes widened. She leaned in, but he shook his head.

 

“You both know what it is. Physical form of the deity of balance and the absence of truth and ideals, yada yada. The remnant of the singular most powerful Dragon-type Pokemon. And it was here.”

 

“At first, I thought it was there to punish me. It attacked with this blinding, freezing ice, and it seared through every bit of frostburn on my skin. Or fur. I thought I was being flayed to death!” His gaze turned to the left.

 

“But halfway through when it started speaking to me… I started seeing things clearly. I was horrified at myself—realising I’d been no better than a monster. I saw how I’d treated you,”— he looked towards Kieran’s general direction—“like something less than human. I’d hurt you just as Team Plasma had hurt me. And I’d only become… more monstrous. It hit me that humanity isn’t just being biologically human. It’s more about understanding wrong from right and about compassion. It was something I’d buried under layers of my own pain that I was in denial about for so long.”

 

“Eventually, I understood that Kyurem… it was just a manifestation of my own fear and guilt. It was an illusion that I put up. And I couldn’t let it define me anymore. I had to set things right.”

 

His gaze held a bubbling solution of guilt and regret as he finally met Kieran’s eyes. 

 

“Kieran… I owe you more than I can ever repay you. You stood with me through thick and thin, and I let you down in every possible way. I was paralyzed by the fear of losing everything. Instead of confronting that fear, I let it twist me, allowing it to consume my thoughts, and ultimately… I unleashed it all on you.” 

 

His voice thickened. “But I need you to know… I was wrong. I allowed my fears to turn me into someone I desperately tried not to be, someone who inflicts pain on those they cherish the most. I ended up doing the very thing I promised myself I wouldn’t do—I hurt you, and I hurt Juliana—two people I hold dear. I-I mean it.” 

 

He swallowed hard and it was like the weight of the confession made his shoulders droop. “The-the truth is, I.. never wanted to make anyone feel the way I did when I was at my lowest. I became the monster I thought I could escape, and I’m so so sorry.”

 

For the first time in weeks, his eyes seemed to glimmer in a similar way to his old self, perhaps even more brightly than before. And still, no tears fell from his eyes.

 

And finally, words that Juliana could tell were truly from the depths of his heart. “All I can say is… that I will take the time to reflect, and grow. I’m going to become someone who deserves the people around him, and I hope that, one day, you’ll see that I’ve… changed. I don’t expect anything from you, but… I’m sorry. I will never hurt anyone or anything again-” He paused, shaking his head. “You may never find it in your heart to forgive me, and that is completely… fair. 

 

His voice sped up and he held himself from moving forward. “I’ve deceived you, I’ve shattered every promise I ever made, and I tried to kill you! You deserve to not accept my apology, I swear-”

 

An abrupt stop like he’d just done something wrong.

 

“But if you’re still listening…” He slowed down and stared back up, and Kieran was indeed listening. “I think I have something I want you to hear.”

 

”For what it’s worth… despite everything… you’re the truest friend I’ve ever had.”

 

…

 

Kieran stayed silent, staring at the ground.

 

Finally, he looked up, finally at ease, his gaze softened by something bittersweet. She stared, awaiting the boy’s response.

 

He shifted slightly, his left hand holding onto his tail, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice as he spoke, though the words came out a little softer than he intended. “Uhh…”

 

“Drayton,” He finally exhaled. 

 

 

 

“It took me a long time to really understand my own pain. I’ve been carrying around so much anger, and, well, I… I just felt broken by things that… I never asked for. And, uh, I’ve do-done things I can’t take back either. To everyone and especially to you.” 

 

He paused before returning the stare with the same intensity and stuttered. “It’s hard, you know? To-to forgive you, even though deep down I kind of… want to. I just… can’t forget what happened, like it didn’t leave its… mark on me, because it-” he trailed off, “really did.” 

 

“I don’t think I can trust you, Drayton. Trust is… something we’ll have to rebuild. From scratch, maybe. But I’ve realised that holding onto all this pain… it’s-it’s not going to help me. It’s just going to keep me stuck, and I don’t want that. You’ve done something wrong, but there’s no point just dwelling on that. For the first time, I want to move forward.”

 

Kieran took a deep breath, forcing himself to sound more certain. “So, yeah, you have my forgiveness… but not my trust. That’s something you’ll have to earn back, step by step. I think you can do it. And, um, I really hope you mean what you say. I hope you’ll try to change. But, just… don’t expect me to make it easy for you.” He said it with as much confidence as he could muster, though she could see how heavy the words felt on his tongue. 

 

“So, I forgive you.”

 

 

 

For a moment, it seemed that the senior was frozen in ice. But then, his eye twitched.

 

“I… I don’t deserve your forgiveness, Kieran. But somehow… you’ve given me more than I ever could have asked for. I don’t know why I deserve a friend like you, but…” He took a deep breath in. “Thank you. I’ll do everything I can to prove that I’m worthy of your forgiveness.”

 

It was almost like he wanted to leap forward to hug Kieran, but he stopped himself again, squeezing his eyelids tight like he was trying his hardest not to cry.

 

Another deep breath in. Another deep breath out.

 

The two turned to her like they expected something. She guessed she had to say something that was on her mind.

 

Well, here I go.

 

“I guess… I have my issues too. I’ve always felt this pressure, like I have to be perfect and to hold everything together. Like, if I don’t have all the answers, I’m failing everyone.” She paused, looking down at the tie in her hand. 

 

“And, sometimes, I’m so focused on making sure everything is perfect and safe that I forget to see what we already have, how much we’ve already done just to stay together. I’ve always thought I needed to keep an eye out and worry about what’s next… but maybe that’s not it. Maybe we’re just supposed to make the best of what we’ve got.”

 

“And don’t you think, maybe that’s what life is supposed to be?” She looked at them feebly. “I was given a second chance, a life that I could experience with the intelligence of a human and the understanding of one. Maybe, even if I’ve lost my previous life and I’ve lost my mom, I can still help you guys and seek out my treasure on my own.”

 

She closed her eyes and laughed softly. So she did have the strength of her friends after all. They’d all been through so much, but weren’t they still here? “I don’t need to worry so much about what I can’t control. I know you’re both stronger than you think. And maybe… maybe I am too.”

 

Kieran, standing beside her, murmured just loud enough to be heard, “You know, Juliana, you’re kind of… my role model.” His cheeks tinted faintly. 

 

A moment later, Drayton added quietly, “Mine too.” 

 

As he said it, Juliana felt something shift around him, a soft glow of mist clearing, sparkling in the air as his form rippled.

 

A tinge of resolve as she beamed. They’d come this far, after all. And here, in this space where they could finally be themselves, she knew they didn’t need to hide anymore.

 

Slowly, Juliana let herself embrace her old self, her form shifting as scales began to creep up her skin. Her clothes faded, replaced by shimmering Tera Energy, and her face elongated into a reptilian snout. With a flash, the red tie disappeared somewhere into her held item slot. Her friends watched in awe as she transformed into her original form before them for the first time, breathing in what felt like fresh air for the first time in days.

 

She felt her tail touch something-her foxy friend. Slowly, she turned around, placing her large red palm on the ground, letting him climb up. The four digits closed around his torso, lifting him up into the air. With a bit of concentration, the red bandana around his neck disappeared.

 

She knelt down, wrapping Kieran protectively around his shoulders. Bringing them close, she held both of them, yet kept just enough space for them to breathe without any more burdens or worries weighing them down.

 

And in Juliana’s embrace, she knew they knew they were finally home.

 

…

 

She allowed her mind to drift back to that day for the first time in months.

 

She was standing there again, surrounded by the cold, metallic buzz of the Time Machine room. The Paradise Protection Protocol had activated, overriding the robotic replica of her mother’s control and unleashing the creature that she feared the most-the other Koraidon. 

 

The same beast that had taken her mother figure from her was now charging toward her and her friends.

 

A jolt of panic streaked through her as her friends behind her just couldn't open their Pokeballs. The protocol had locked them! Now they were defenceless!

 

And if it was charging at them like how it charged at her mother, she didn’t have much time to spare.

 

She was their only hope.

 

But she could do this.

 

If she didn’t act, no one would make it out. 

 

Every beastly aspect of her mind yelled at her to flee at the sight of a stronger opponent, but she simply couldn’t. Her friends needed her more than never. Despite the fear that raged through her chest, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let herself go.

 

She felt herself rise into the air.

 

For the first time in years, she managed to take on her Ultimate Form. It was slightly painful, but in the adrenaline, it barely even hurt at all. Crashing onto the ground in her stance, her head feathers unfurled in the shape of a massive crest. The bright orange glow of her energy flared around her, and when it finally faded, she opened her umber eyes. 

 

She remembered fear, and then suddenly no more.

 

She would face the past and she would face her past. And in the future, she would win.

 

But now, she had to focus on the present. 

 

A deafening roar.

 

She remembered charging.

 

…

 

She had saved Kieran from Drayton’s rage.

 

She had helped her friends confront their own weaknesses, pushing them toward change they might never have faced on their own. 

 

And they had both come out of it stronger. They didn’t need her constant protection anymore; they had each found their own path forward.

 

“I think… I get it now.” Kieran spoke through his tears.

 

They both knew what he was going to say: Change isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes, it’s just what they needed.

 

“I never thought I’d say this, but I finally understand what it means to have something worth living for,” Drayton spoke, his illusion voice being the only thing undeterred by the tears. “I’ll never try to let go again. And whatever challenges come my way… I know I can handle them.”

 

She hadn’t noticed, but her vision had gone blurry too.

 

“You know…” the white haired fox noted.

 

“Both of you have brought something into my life that I didn’t even know I was missing. ” He hesitated, glancing at each of them before finally settling on Juliana. “I’m not sure what I’d do if I lost either of you.”

 

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Kieran’s mouth as he glanced down with a tone that he’d never allowed anyone else to hear. “Yeah, I guess… I guess I feel the same way.”

 

In that moment, something seemed to envelop them, like even the universe was giving them a hug. Like a thundering waterfall swishing over rocks, a stream of hope gushed in, foaming at the bottom with colourful bubbles. 

 

A reassuring expression. “You two… you’re great friends to me,” a resolution floated in her voice. “No matter what, let’s keep moving forward. We’ve got so much waiting for us.”

 

Their tears spoke all they needed to speak.

 

As if her words had woven a spell of calm around them, they each went more and more human, yet none let go. Drayton’s feet slowly touched the ground and he nudged behind Juliana, making sure to not hold onto Kieran apart from at the hands. A soft, enveloping mist began to coil around them, weaving them together into an embrace. The air swirled with a sense of peace, carrying a thousand colours and the faintest glimmers of memories.

 

In one scene, she glimpsed herself walking side by side with Kieran at the Kitakami festival, a soft glow from hanging lanterns being the only thing illuminating the ground under the painted sky. She heard them laugh and giggle as the both of them stood away from the rest of the crowd, standing on the highest cliff top they could find that was safe and looking at the stars.

 

The mist shifted, and through glittering umber eyes, Juliana saw another scene unfold: she and Kieran again, this time racing across a narrow bridge back to school under an animated, brightening sky. His eyes were full of conviction as he vowed to make things right. And she nodded to him, fully believing in him.

 

Then, the image slipped away, replaced by another—this time with Drayton. They were on top of the Polar Biome, the artificial sky vast and unbroken above them as they laid on mats on the snow, kept warm by Juliana’s Skeledirge. She could feel the chill of the air on her skin and the gentle snowfall, but she didn’t care too much. He blinked and those iridescent irises seemed to light up the entire sky. They laughed as she saw Drayton doze off into his dreams.

 

These moments were keepsakes pulled from the heart. Juliana closed her eyes, the images lingering even as they slowly faded. The two boys gazed at each other like they were reflections, but not like that twisted time where the light had left their eyes. And if the windows to their soul were finally clear, couldn’t they see through unclouded lenses to find their future?

 

Battered and broken, but alive.

 

Gradually, the mist dissolved, and the familiar surroundings of the League Club room took shape once more, yet everything felt somehow different. There was no villain anymore. It’s all changed.

 

The senior broke the silence again. “Well, looks like I’ve got another one of those lovely Elite Four meetings coming up,” he groaned with exaggerated exasperation. “They always schedule them at these ridiculous hours—probably to see if we’ll still be functional on no sleep.” He smirked, raising a brow. “Or maybe just to test my patience.”

 

The younger boy hesitated, then let out a soft chuckle, the corners of his mouth lifting just a little. “I think they’re testing you specifically, Drayton. You always sleep when you’re not supposed to.”

 

Drayton grinned, chuckling as he playfully nudged Kieran’s shoulder. “Eh, that makes sense,” he said, a lightness returning to his voice. “Anyway, I’ve been meaning to get some new decor for my room, maybe a Reshiram poster to match that Zekrom one I’ve already got. You know, keep things balanced. Real sophisticated vibe.”

 

The three of them broke out of their hug at last like they’ve just left a part of themselves in each other. Kieran stretched, then ran a hand through his hair, a glint of exhaustion in his eyes. “I think it’s time I crash,” he announced, glancing at Drayton. They shared a final look. The older teen didn’t step any closer, choosing instead to stay where he was.

 

And for the first time that day, in recognition, Kieran’s face broke into a bright, unguarded smile.

 

As they each prepared to go their separate ways, Drayton attempted one last joke, his voice softer but still holding that familiar mischievous edge. “Alright, this is the part where we all swear to keep our, uh, ‘unique conditions’ from the alleged champion’s curse to ourselves, right? You know… a champion’s… secret. Wouldn’t want the public freaking out over me being a fox Pokemon or something. Don’t think they even know what Pokemon you are, Juli.”

 

She chuckled. “Here’s to keeping our ‘champion’s secret.’”

 

“Suppose so,” Drayton weakly chuckled, wiping a tear off his eye. “Can’t believe all this fuss happened. A secret between us three champions. Or should I say-”

 

“Don’t mention it,” the younger teen sighed, a tinge of disappointment appearing on his face. “So we’re back to normal, huh?”

 

“Suppose so, my lil champ.” The white haired teen spoke. Kieran’s expression visibly softened with just a hint of surprise. “Well… Not quite. I mean… We still have a lot of things to fix with ourselves. Just look at what happened. But I’m sure we can do it. We should look to the future and start here. A little realisation can’t exactly undo the lasting damage that I’ve gotten, but I’m sure it’s just gonna take some therapy, some friends and a more fulfilling life to get over it.”

 

The three shared a final unspoken promise in the form of a nod. “Deal. You?”

 

At that moment, Kieran stood a little straighter, his hand holding the new pendant at his neck. 

 

They had all been victims of a tragedy, a story written by pain and signed with the ink of refusal. Drayton’s own retaliation had hurt more than he could ever heal and achieve. And yet, without the origin and antecedent that was Juliana, Kieran might never have survived at all. Each of them bore wounds, yet here they were, standing side by side.

 

Juliana inspired and expired.

 

Could they restore what was broken? She was sure they could. They might just be characters in a novel, weaving their fable in a world that sometimes felt like a fabrication, yet they’d found a way to their own salvation. 

 

Even if nothing could bring them back to their original selves, they could still create something new.

 

Drayton was once a young man that she now knew was shackled by heritage. And with such hidden self doubt and shame, he feared the worst—failing his family. He’d lashed out only because he’d seen himself as a monster and a shadow of the man he’d hoped to be. But he had learned through them, these people who cared for him despite his flaws. 

 

Kieran, meanwhile, had always dreaded one thing above all: losing himself. In his search to grow stronger, he’d struggled with the feeling that he could never escape others’ shadows, that he would always be seen as less. But she could see him change for the better. Slowly, he realised that change could empower him rather than diminish him, that his new form could be a tool, not a trap. Juliana heard him swear quietly that he would be braver, that he’d welcome the unknown with open arms.

 

As for herself, she had spent so long haunted by her own deep fear: the nightmare of being unable to save those she loved. She had lost her mother and watched her world fracture in an instant. Yet as she stood here, she understood just how resilient she had grown to be. Her friends looked up to her as a role model and a shoulder to cry on—and now, at last, she could believe in that strength too.

 

Scarred with claw marks, glazed with tears, Kieran’s face twitched. She could see all his thoughts swirling through his mind, how he clutched his gift with apprehension, how something massive had just gone through his mind and maybe it was finally at peace.

 

Maybe, they would finally get their closure.

 

And just maybe, they could transform into something new.

 

Finally, his expression softened into a smile. 

 

“Deal.”

Notes:

THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING WITH ME FOR THIS ENTIRE JOURNEY! MY HANDLES ARE @1120_Cecille AND @CecilleCK63 ON EVERY SITE THAT HAS THOSE NAMES!

It’s been a tough year school-wise, and this fanfic has accompanied me the entire way. I am so thankful for all the support I’ve gotten!

Maybe I should work on Minecraft yaoi after this /j

Peace out!

(I’m also taking some recommendations for my ACS playlist, feel free to drop some songs that you think fit the characters)

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of A Champion’s Secret AU