Chapter 8: Lies and loyalties
"You've got Flutter on your mind as well, haven't you?" Kyan rhetorically asked the Trapinch at his side with one look at his teammate, not even needing Terack to verify it. He may not be a mind reader, but Kyan knew his hunch to be certain.
As usual, these two Pokémon were beating the dirt trail which led to Pokémon Square, and by extension, the base of Team Celeste, where Flutter resided. Trees were flanking the duo on both sides and the blue sky was clear and mostly free of clouds; one could never guess that the preceding night was another quake filled one, even if it was lighter than the night before. "Yeah, you got me. I'm really worried about how Flutter's been handling the news we got yesterday. She was awfully quiet on the way back." Terack recalled.
Indeed, Flutter hadn't spoke at all in the time it took the three of them to leave the Hill of the Ancients, nor was she particularly talkative when they all returned to the base and split up at the end of the day. This deeply unsettled Terack; he knew how vocal she could usually become when faced with real problems. After she'd established a mutual dislike towards Gengar of Team Meanies and talked back to Zapdos so forcefully, her silence was unnerving and off-putting. "I'm sure she's got a lot on her mind to process too, after how frustratingly roundabout Xatu was with his words." Kyan inserted.
It was a feeling he and Terack shared, both of them finished the day unsatisfied and upset over what they'd learned. "He said Flutter has some link to our natural disasters problem, but what is that link? I really hope she'll be ok. However Flutter's coping with this in private, I want to help her through it." Terack declared before they both arrived outside her house on the crossroads.
Terack's fears soon seemed to be justified when Flutter wasn't coming out to see them as usual. Concerned, he left the mailbox to Kyan and took the initiative, going indoors himself to see her standing up and looking very lost in thought. "Um, hey, are you ok there?" he gently asked her. Terack intended to approach this very carefully in light of yesterday evening's events; he also remembered with clarity how concerned she had been about the earthquakes before then, so he knew she wouldn't enjoy supposedly having something to do with them. "Oh? Hi, good morning. I didn't see you come in." Flutter spoke up.
Her uneasy face really bothered him. "I see... Do you need to talk to me about something? I'm here for you, you know it would be better than keeping everything to yourself." Terack responded, setting himself down right next to her. Flutter simply looked at him, at how ever willing he was to be her shoulder and rock, before deciding to confess to him what worried her most of all... on one condition. "Please don't panic when I tell you this, ok?" she quietly implored.
Terack's nod and expectant gaze gave her the all clear, though she continued to keep an eye on his expression to gauge his reactions. "Xatu's vague description of my connection with the disasters makes me worry that I'm causing them by just living here. I'm really scared, I like this world and I don't want to be the one behind everyone's problems..." she revealed with a quavering voice. As promised, Terack didn't lose his head, for he knew with full confidence that this wasn't true. "Don't worry, it's ok, just relax, I'm sure you aren't any danger to us..." he spoke in a soft and reassuring tone, brushing his body against hers.
"There's a lot I still don't know about you, pal, but I do know that you shouldn't blame yourself for anything bad here. These disasters have been happening a long while before I met you, so I don't think that's the connection he meant." Terack went on, attempting to reassure her. It also served double duty as an attempt to remedy his own shock, as he didn't expect his best friend to reach that self-destructive conclusion. For his credit, however, his words seemed to work. "Really?! Oh thank goodness, that's such a relief! Thanks for trying to cheer me up." she responded, feeling rather heartened by his deduction. "I'm ready to start the day." Flutter said after a set of deep breaths to calm herself down.
She and Terack then left the base and met with Kyan by the mailbox, who looked equally relieved to see her feeling better now. Plans were shortly made to collect a few jobs at the Pelipper Post Office and so the three of them began walking towards Pokémon Square. Seeing the small town and its shopkeepers bustling with life under the pleasant sky as per usual; green and pink Kecleon Brothers advertising their wares to a passing Androma; Wigglytuff selling a dungeon treasure map to Shiftry; Persian and Kangaskhan both helping some first-time customers whom Terack very vaguely recognized from his day in the Makuhita Dojo... it was all deeply therapeutic for the human-turned-Togepi after her mild bout of panic earlier.
If it weren't for a discussion taking place outside the post office between three residents, Lombre, Snubbull, and Bellsprout, Flutter might even have come to forget about her worries altogether...
"I tell you, I'm really surprised too..." Lombre spoke.
"I'd always thought that the Ninetales legend was exactly that. A legend." Snubbull replied.
"Of course, I wouldn't take stock in a single rumor..." Bellsprout noted.
Interested in this, Terack approached the three Pokémon. "Ninetales legend? What is that?" he asked, it being new on him. "You haven't heard? That old fable? My grandpa used to tell me it all the time." Snubbull told him. Following a few moments, some distant, relevant memories came to the fore within the team's third member. "Ohh, you mean that legend about how you'll be cursed for a thousand years if you ever grab one of Ninetales's tails?" Kyan recalled, to the surprise of his teammates. "I haven't heard it in a long while so I don't remember the whole story behind it. Why are you all discussing this?" he asked.
"Well, get this. There's been someone claiming that its events really did happen once upon a time. It's been making the rounds in the area." Snubbull revealed. Out of the three, Bellsprout looked and sounded the most skeptical. "I personally don't believe it, but this has made for some really interesting discussion... If you're wanting to hear the whole story then you should go and pay Whiscash, the square elder, a visit at his pond. You just go back to the square and he'll be to your right." Bellsprout told Kyan.
The directions weren't needed as Kyan already knew Whiscash from his Beldum days before joining Team Celeste, but he graciously thanked Bellsprout nonetheless, picked some jobs, and then led Flutter and Terack straight towards Whiscash's pond once they displayed their willingness to hear the tale, giving Caterpie and Metapod a warm greeting along the way. "Good morning, Whiscash, It's been a while. These are my friends Flutter and Terack." Kyan said, introducing them both to the old Pokémon. "We've been told about that recent rumor regarding the Ninetales legend and they'd like to hear the story." he went on.
Though this was their first time meeting the elder of Pokémon Square, Whiscash was no stranger to two of their rescues. "Hoho, good to finally meet you both. Caterpie and Metapod have told me about the times in the Tiny Woods and Sinister Woods. It's rather late but I must thank you for saving both children. Gather round and I shall recount the story." Whiscash replied. The three of them got comfortable upon the rock in the middle of the pond. A light breeze passed over the area, adding to its tranquility.
There once lived a powerful and vengeful Pokémon, known by all as Ninetales.
Ninetales had many tails, nine in all. They were covered, as is the rest of this Pokémon's body, in a golden fur. Furthermore, all nine of these tails were imbued with unspeakably powerful psychic energies.
However, Ninetales was a vindictive Pokémon, it is said that anyone foolish enough to dare set hand or paw on a tail would be cursed for a thousand years. Yet, someone was foolish enough to touch a tail. It was a human.
"A human? No way..." Kyan asked, briefly looking at Flutter. Had he remembered earlier that the Ninetales legend involved one of her former species, he never would have gone here. "Indeed so, a human." Whiscash answered, completely misinterpreting the cause of his surprised remark.
As one might expect, this human's folly resulted in a thousand year curse being unleashed upon them. However... The human's partner, a Pokémon called Gardevoir, quick and sudden, shielded this human from the curse, selflessly sacrificing herself for her partner...
"Oh no, Gardevoir..." Flutter said in a hushed voice. "She'd sacrifice herself like that to save a human?" she asked, immediately feeling sorry for the poor Pokémon who'd so freely take the curse for them. "Of course she would, youngster. Pokémon and humans, strong bonds can exist between the two, even in the case of a human with less desirable intentions." Whiscash replied, which really did get Flutter's attention. She herself felt a strong bond between herself and the two Pokémon sitting at either side.
She looked like a Pokémon now, but Flutter was still a human inside and saw herself that way.
Taking pity upon the Pokémon that took the curse intended for the human, Ninetales turned to address the human, asking them only this... "Do you wish to save Gardevoir, your loyal partner?"
The human then did something unthinkable that contrasted greatly with their partner... They abandoned Gardevoir and fled...
"That's absolutely horrible. Gardevoir threw her life away for the human and they just run?" Terack almost whispered in shock. He was glad to have found another human who he knew wouldn't run out on him like this.
Disenchanted and disillusioned with this human, Ninetales had but one prediction to make. "One day... That human... shall be reborn in the form of a Pokémon...-
Abject terror crashed into Flutter, one who was 'reborn in the form of a Pokémon', like a raging typhoon, threatening to consume her where she sat. As Terack and Kyan made fleeting glances towards her, it was a wonder that she managed to stay calm on the outside... for now, obviously.
-and when that time comes... the balance of the world shall be upset..."
As if to make things even worse for her, this was Xatu's exact terminology for the reason behind the many natural disasters... of which he perceived a link to Flutter. She now deeply regretted getting out of bed today.
"That's the end of the legend." Whiscash finished, looking over his horrified audience. "At a loss for words, I take it? Of course there's the rumor claiming of the tale's validity within our past but it is still today's ancient folklore. Hohoho..." Without any words, the three made it off of Whiscash's rock and wandered back towards the square.
While Terack and Kyan were disturbed by what this could mean for their already troubled friend, said troubled friend was walking as though under a trance of some sort, her face and eyes completely wiped of emotion. None of them spoke until they were back at the crossroads outside the base, when Flutter couldn't hold herself back any longer. "Guys...? Would it be ok if you do the rescue work by yourselves today? I want to go back to sleep, I'm just not feeling up to heading out now..." she asked, sounding so brittle and airy. The Ninetales legend had effectively ruined the reassurance she got from Terack earlier, putting them right back at level one.
That much, he did understand, but even he couldn't have immediately known the magnitude of what this had just done to her, because he'd yet to see how low she could get. As someone not afraid to stand up to adversity, Flutter could hide a lot of sadder emotions even when she didn't need to. "Ok, but you can tell us whatever, rememb-" Terack started, only to be stunned to the core by what he heard from her next.
"Yes, I know!" Flutter suddenly snapped, completely on her wits end right now and wanting some alone time so desperately. It took a couple of seconds before she fully comprehended who she briefly talked back to, upon which she turned her back on him... just to hide the tears that were welling up and dangerously close to streaming down in droves. This may well be the worst part of today; Flutter couldn't believe she spoke to her two best friends like that. "I'm... sorry. Terack, Kyan, you're both the greatest, but I-I need to be alone right now..." she choked shamefully, the moment of weakness having shattered her guard. With that, she ran back inside and closed the door, but Terack could distinctly hear the sound of sobbing behind it.
Neither of them could believe this. "Is she really crying back there? That's not like her at all..." Kyan wondered, while Terack still looked stunned. After the way she snapped him out of his terror from that winged monster legend and later talk back to this creature, he'd thought he would never see her get even more messed up than him with another story, nor did he expect to hear her cry over anything. "When you and I are done with today, we should definitely talk about things together. I don't care what that Ninetales legend says, I refuse to believe badly in her." Terack assured himself and Kyan.
The conversation in its entirety had been heard by a nearby Androma, whom also felt heavyhearted at what just went down between the three. She knew about the Ninetales legend; Rubix strongly suspected that it would be used as part of the other human's scheme to bring Flutter down, so she waited until Terack and Kyan reluctantly left to do their jobs before hiding herself within the trees behind the team base and sending a call to the Golduck. "It's Androma here. Looks like you were right; someone is making claims that the Ninetales legend is real. It can only be Gengar's doing." she stated. The Clefable didn't envy Flutter her predicament in the least.
Rubix's voice came through crisp and clear. "Good, good, now we wait for him to make his predictable move against our target. You make sure to inform me immediately when that happens, my girl. I'm entrusting you with this." he ordered, but not demanded. He would never talk to Androma in the same manner he'd used in his earlier dealings with Derkomai and Ignephra, as she was more than a colleague or ally. "Understood, I won't fail you." she assured him.
Now that he was talking with her, Rubix had something to address. "I'm glad for your commitment. On another tangent, I appreciate Gengar's timing, as my new communication device is very nearly ready for launch tonight. I will be sending Derkomai to meet you at a secure location shortly, in the Dragon Cave north of your present area. We must reconvene so I can distribute one for everyone, understood?" he summarized. Androma hated Gengar, but she had to agree with Rubix's quip on timing; this was good news. "Understood, I shall see you soon." she replied, upon which the call ended.
Before she began the trip to this designated meeting place however, Androma looked over at the base, from which her sensitive hearing could pick up a dry hiccough. "Dearie, if I could go in there and hug you and make it all better, then I would. Terack and Kyan should be able to cover for my lack of moral support." she decided.
Meanwhile, the Golduck on the other side of their ended call at an unknown location, in a spacious workshop filled with various gadgets and projects of his making, was booting up the new model of his communication device at last. It was in the shape of a small and handheld rectangular tablet, with small wings on the two longer sides in the style of a rescue team's badge. This was his magnum opus; he hoped that his work would benefit the group greatly. "Now, to see how it works..." he muttered.
With a call being sent to another Pokémon, Rubix began the final experiment. "Testing, testing. This is Dr. Rubix, Deuvide's inventor. Do you read me?" he spoke as a blue light came from the screen. Once the light managed to project a holographic visage of the Umbreon at the other end, Rubix grinned. The test was complete.
"This is Zeninthia, Deuvide's second-in-command, reading you loud and clear." she spoke to the Golduck projection emerging from her device, appearing equally triumphant.
~
As they'd decided upon earlier, Terack and Kyan were holding their own impromptu meeting within an abandoned mine shaft in the Magnetic Quarry, where Kyan lived after hours. On a normal day, both of them would have been very happy with their hard work; Kyan had learned Brick Break over Confusion from that TM Terack found in the Great Canyon yesterday; Terack's Superpower and Dig were really opening doors for him; Team Celeste had advanced from Bronze Rank to Silver Rank, but the Ninetales legend baggage was still weighing them down.
"What do you think of all this? A human who became a Pokémon, whose rebirth has a connection to our world's upset balance... I hate to say it, but our Flutter does seem to be checking all the boxes so far." Kyan mused, which granted him a steely glare from Terack. "I respect that it does add up, but I refuse to believe Flutter would ever ditch Gardevoir. The Flutter I've come to know wouldn't do that. Besides, I told her earlier that the disasters have been going on before I met her." he stubbornly replied, clinging to this one ray of hope. "If Flutter really was that human and her transformation has affected our world so badly, then it wouldn't make sense for the signs to precede her being here." Terack theorized.
Though he understood Terack's point and cared for Flutter just as much, the Metang was struggling to dispel his feelings of unease. "Yeah, that does make sense. I just can't help but worry since we have so much signs. Flutter was right all along, we should have concentrated on our rescue missions instead of chasing down her lost past. Look what it's done to her. Maybe we should have left it buried and tried to build her a happy future instead." Kyan spoke.
"You might be right, but I know she wanted to learn where she came from. I don't believe she'd want to abandon it." Terack attempted to console him. "We don't know anything for certain about the kind of human Flutter was, but I know she would have been a good and caring one. No matter what happens next, no matter what we learn, I am going to stay by her side throughout it all!" the Trapinch declared powerfully, his resolve overflowing.
"Then that makes two of us! Let's make a pledge on it!" Kyan piped up, feeling reinvigorated at the very sight of Terack. He held out one of his clawed arms and Terack raised one of his four stubby feet as they both shook on it. "Whatever happens, the three of us will walk this path together. It's all for one and one for all." Kyan spoke, drawing up some memories of another legend he heard a while ago involving three swordsmen Pokémon.
Sometimes, the oldest of the team believed, he had enough memories to make up the difference for Flutter not having any at all.
At this point in the night, after finally managing to force herself into a restless slumber, the former human they'd just sworn to protect had awoken to a rippling green glow that she wasn't even aware she'd been missing. This was the lesser of two evils when compared to the earthquakes. "That dream... It's been a while..." Flutter sleepily murmured.
The same figure came into view again, but oddly enough without the accompanying mist. Flutter could thus pick out a lot more details she couldn't see in previous visits. They had green hair with green arms, seemed to be wearing a white dress, and bore a red protrusion in their chest which resembled a horn. This being attempted to telepathically communicate with her again... and this time they came through as clear as a whistle.
"At last... at last... We finally meet again..."
Flutter was astonished. She hadn't expected this much progress. "What do you mean, again? Who are you?" she asked, wanting to get to the bottom of that long-standing mystery once and for all.
"I am... Gardevoir..."
"What... What?!" Flutter exclaimed, shocked to the very core of her being. "You're Gardevoir? That Gardevoir from the Ninetales legend? Why are you here?" she questioned; this entire sequence was making her feel nauseous and frightened.
"I'm here because I am your-"
Gardevoir then vanished without a trace, to Flutter's absolute dismay. Though they could now talk candidly towards each other, their mental communications were still fragile and prone to disruption. "No! No, come back here! What were you saying?!" she cried out as much as she could before she felt herself losing consciousness, right when a heartbreaking and devastating thought pierced its way into her mind.
"Were you... my partner?"
~
"Hey, Flutter... Wake up, it's past noon, you can't sleep all day."
Flutter was woken up, much later than usual, by a very concerned sounding Terack. "Uh, I hear you..." she simply responded before getting up, feeling absolutely horrendous after that dream with Gardevoir and the many later nightmares about sets of nine golden tails whispering for her to grab them. There was no longer any way of convincing her otherwise; Flutter was now certain beyond any doubt that she was the human depicted within the Ninetales legend, a conclusion which absolutely destroyed her sense of self worth.
"You look really pale, y'know, are you feeling alright?" Terack asked quietly. She nodded, not feeling up for discussion or even talking. Flutter had to wonder, what conclusions were Terack and Kyan drawing up about her now? Was Terack's concern genuine, or did he now privately abhor her for what she did? Deep down, in this pitiable pool of guilt and self loathing, Flutter believed it would be poetic justice if he and Kyan were planning to walk out today. "If you say so... Anyway, Kyan went on ahead to the square and he says there's some big commotion going on there. I think we should get going too." he simply said, not buying Flutter's silent gesture in the slightest but heading off anyway. With extreme reluctance, she followed him, having preferred to spend another day indoors and away from the eyes of others.
The atmosphere in the square was definitely... different today, she noticed. All of the comfort from yesterday was now gone, as none of the shopkeepers were present in their usual locations and the weather was somewhat questionable with the clouds obscuring the sun, in much the same way that the Ninetales legend was obscuring her happiness. Flutter and Terack joined Kyan at the gathering next to Caterpie. "Kyan, what's going on here?" Terack asked him in concern.
It was a large gathering, as everyone from the square appeared to be surrounding someone in the middle. Flutter could pick out Caterpie, Metapod the Beldum duo, Diglett, Bellsprout, Lombre, Snubbull, the Jumpluff duo, the Kecleon Brothers, Kangaskhan, Wigglytuff, Persian, Team A.C.T.'s trio, even Androma and Ice. "You're not going to like this... It looks like we weren't the only ones visiting the Hill of the Ancients for information that day..." Kyan quietly replied to them in an annoyed voice.
There, animatedly sharing a story to the entire square, was Gengar. Flutter could only glare furiously at him, her day was already going disastrously wrong without that guy getting involved...
"So, I was there, at the Hill of the Ancients. See? And that! That's where I saw it! I'm telling you, it completely blew me away!" Gengar continued speaking to his audience with the intent of grabbing their attention in a chokehold.
"What did?" Snubbull asked him. "I saw this! This certain Pokémon was seeking out Xatu for his sage advice... but this Pokémon wasn't an ordinary Pokémon, no, no..." Gengar said. Team Celeste's members were getting the impression that he'd spent all night rehearsing a dramatic script. "You see, everyone... this Pokémon was originally a human!"
"It... really exists? A human becoming a Pokémon? That can really happen?" one of the Kecleon asked. "Of course, but there's more! I heard Xatu telling this human that their transformation is the reason for this world's upset balance!"
"You're saying you willfully eavesdropped on this Pokémon?" Ice coolly wondered, not entirely convinced thanks to the nature of his last encounter with Gengar. He alone of the initial audience knew what this 'rescuer' did for a living, but his skepticism was unfortunately drowned out by the resident who'd been the most uncertain about a similar topic yesterday. "That's exactly like this Ninetales legend! It was true after all?!" Bellsprout called in utter shock.
"Kekeh, apparently so!" Gengar stated. He was delighted that his planted rumor of its validity had kept the legend fresh in the minds of the square's residents, as it was necessary for them to remember it if his plan was to get off the ground. "But there's more! Xatu also said that the world's upset balance is the direct cause of all these terrible, terrible natural disasters... Aaand if balance isn't restored soon then Xatu has forecasted that the unthinkable shall befall this world!" he called. Gengar truly was hamming and hyping this up, drawing upon every iota of Team Meanies's good name.
"Oh my goodness, I feel like I'm at a rowdy all night party in Spinda's Café overseas. This is a complete waste of my time." Ice exasperatedly muttered to himself over Gengar's dramatics. Almost everyone else was roused into a state of panic and Terack was absolutely beside himself with anger. "He's... deliberately... working... everyone... up...!" the Trapinch could barely manage. Meanwhile, Flutter deeply wished that she could melt into the ground and never be seen again.
Gengar looked around at the sheer chaos he had created, a delighted grin on his face briefly sprouting once he finally caught sight of Flutter in his audience. "Keh? Now, now, everyone. No reason to lose your heads with me, Gengar of the Gold Ranked Team Meanies, on the case! I've juuust come up with an foolproof solution to all our problems!" he revealed with a faux reassuring grin.
"What do you have in mind?" Lombre questioned him. "Well, if the world's balance has been upset by this human becoming a Pokémon living in this world, then things will surely return to normal if we reverse this! What should we do? Find this human and get rid of them! It's their fault we're in this mess!" Gengar decided.
A general murmur of acceptance swept across the crowd. Androma had heard enough. Although it truly pained her to admit it, Gengar was helping her and the rest with this plot. She slipped into a dark corner and activated Rubix's new communication device. "It's going exactly as you expected... Gengar is on the verge of having her branded as the responsible human and chased out of the square..." the Clefable reported with a tremor in her voice.
"Good, this will give us the best opportunity yet to be done with the girl." Rubix replied on the other end through the hologram, but she wasn't done with him yet. "P-please, I'm begging you, get me away from this place right now. I understand our objectives and the group's need to have someone within the square, but I can't bear to watch this anymore!" she pleaded, clearly trying hard to not flake out on him now. "Don't be upset with me. I've kept seeing my younger self in her during Gengar's meeting." Androma confessed.
Though Rubix was a cold and calculating sort of Pokémon, Androma's feelings were always of paramount importance to him. "I have already arranged for you to return here while Reishi takes over your role during this event. Derkomai will meet you outside the Echo Cave shortly." he quickly revealed, which surprised her. "Don't think I've forgotten what this... monster has already put you through. I would never force you into the same room as that horrible degenerate if I could avoid it in any way." Rubix stated firmly with a rather tender touch to his voice.
Though Androma was stunned to hear Rubix describing Gengar with words that sounded as though they came from Ignephra's own playbook, it was moments like these which made the Clefable know how much her teacher valued her. "Thank you, doctor. I'll see you soon." she spoke before ending the call.
Meanwhile, back at the square, Gengar's big moment had been continuing. "And that human? What would they think of this if they were here riiight now?!" he remarked, which made Flutter's whole body feel cold inside. She knew full well by now what he was building up to. "Keh, they should have thought about that before abandoning Gardevoir as fast as their legs could carry them! Their pudgy little legs."
Incidentally, she wanted to run right now, but her feet had long since gone numb before Gengar's eyes finally rested upon Flutter. Both of them had a moment of silent eye contact as he savoured this instant. He enjoyed the absence of that defiance she displayed last time they met. "...Isn't that right, Flutter? You despicable little coward." he finally stated. Gengar had made his move and placed her in check.
Now being aware of this Pokémon's intentions today, Ice threw Gengar a dirty look of pure and unfiltered hatred. As far as he was concerned, he was done attending this sham of a meeting. The cloaked and hooded solo rescuer slinked away from the crowd, towards the Makuhita Dojo, and then sped wordlessly through the trees on his left until the land gave way to an out of the way cliff, this quieter location giving him the chance to finally express how supremely disgusted he felt over that scene. "You... You piece of scum!! This is low, even for you!!" he practically roared, throwing a bright red glowing Dynamic Punch at the closest sturdy tree and actually felling it through the massive force put into his punch and knocking it into the waters below.
"Gengar... Now you've crossed the line, you vile... heinous... revolting...! I have never seen such a sickeningly loathsome act of revenge! Don't think I'll let you get away with this!" Ice growled, he himself having never been this furious before. After what he witnessed in the Sinister Woods, believing Gengar's public persecution of Flutter was the very last thing he was going to do.
Unfortunately, it was the first thing on the minds of almost everyone else back at the square. Disbelieving looks abound all fell upon Flutter, who had pretty much frozen up on the spot. "W-wha...? Wait, hold up now... There's a p-perfectly good explanation..." Terack started feebly before Gengar cut him off. "We don't need her accomplices to say anything. Flutter, you might think this is unfair-" he said with an evil glare. "-but you've got the chance to challenge my accusation here. I've said my piece. The stage is all yours, my dear." he went on, using this moment to belittle her further. "So, Flutter... Are you really the wretched human from the Ninetales legend? Or is it myself who's wrong?" Gengar posed the all important question to her.
"G-go on, tell him he's wrong... Kyan and I both know it's not you, this can't be true..." Terack nervously prompted her, expecting her to once again give him what for, but Flutter barely registered her friend at all throughout her consuming terror. After some moments of being paralyzed with fear, a set of crucial words finally came to her dry mouth. She voiced them out as though they were the absolute truth, since she really couldn't see it any other way now.
"No, Terack... I'm afraid he's right..." Flutter hollowly confessed on the spot, truly defeated and destroyed. It was checkmate time for her.
Terack looked at her in abject shock whilst her other supporters, Kyan, Caterpie, Metapod, Diglett, Beldum, and Jumpluff alike, all wore sympathetic looks. "There we have it! Straight from the perpetrator's mouth! Now, let's all be rid of her and take back our peace! Kekekekeh!" Gengar finished up before most of the crowd advanced upon the team. "Uh... Ahaha, she's totally not in her right mind, everyone. You don't need to do this..." Terack weakly begged to them all.
Lombre was the first to make a move, apologising before lunging out with the white glowing claws of Fury Swipes. Kyan immediately rushed in to block that move, shielding Flutter with his own body and making his allegiance perfectly clear to those involved. With Flutter completely crushed and Terack still unable to comprehend her actions, he believed it was all on him to get them out of this mess. "If you all want her, you'll need to go through Terack and I, understand!" he forcefully stated before he scooped both of them up in his arms and carried them away from the highly volatile scene.
"Ugh... That was scary." Terack panted after Kyan hid the three of them beside the bushes surrounding their base. "I-I never thought we'd actually get attacked by someone there. Flutter... What were you playing at? Why did you admit to it!? " he snapped, the stress suddenly overtaking him in a moment he instantly regretted once he saw her reaction.
"Please don't get angry at me..." she whimpered, close to her limit. What happened in the square just now was horrible, but Terack of all Pokémon losing it with her was the worst part of the day. "She's right, it's not helping." Kyan agreed, his comparatively more level head serving him very well in today's events. "Just take a deep breath. Tell us why you said it was you." he asked her. "...Ok, I'll tell you both. I had another one of those dreams again last night, and Gardevoir appeared in it. She's the figure who keeps visiting me." she explained. Terack couldn't believe what he'd heard. "You saw her?" he asked in surprise.
"She said that she'd met me before... I'm a former human whom this Gardevoir is familiar with. G-Gengar might be a horrible Pokémon who's doing this to get me back for standing up to him but he's actually right, because I really am that human who abandoned her!" Flutter confessed to their stunned faces, but the girl wasn't finished with her tangent of self hate. "I don't deserve you, Terack; I don't deserve you, Kyan; I don't deserve the kind support you've given me; I don't deserve to be a part of this team. Not when I'm... going to ruin this world!" she finished by sobbing and openly crying in front of them for the very first time.
By this point, she wasn't even thinking straight anymore, the only thing on her mind was to get away before she brought even more misery to these two. "Forget about me, I'm no good for you! Find someone else!" Flutter called out desperately before running off. She didn't know where she would be running off to, and she didn't have any plan, the only thing which mattered to her was getting as far away as possible from the two Pokémon who she believed could do so much better than the human from the Ninetales legend. Only after a few seconds of running at the crossroads did she notice that the horizon wasn't moving ever closer.
"You're not going anywhere without us, hear me? It's not up to you to decide your worth. That's our job!"
Kyan had seen and heard just about enough of this nonsense from her. He'd taken action and caught Flutter in the middle of her fleeing act with his Telekinesis, a green outline now surrounding her body as she stopped running to take in this new voice. "Come on, get it together! If you're really the human from the legend, then you should be proud! Proud of how much you've grown and developed since you arrived here!" the Metang called out, these powerfully cast words slicing straight whatever argument Flutter could have dished out. She looked back at them, feeling her demolished sense of worth starting to rise from its grave like a spectre from the past, better and stronger than before. "The Flutter I've come to care for and admire is the bravest, most kindhearted creature I've had the pleasure of knowing! You can't let this undo everything you've worked towards!" Kyan demanded. It was tough yet inciting, fierce yet motivational, and it managed to get through to her. As it turned out, she needed this raised voice.
While Kyan was verbally beating some sense back into Flutter, Terack had been watching this scene while recalling what his best friend claimed to have learned in her dream. It occurred to him at last; this surely must have been why she was so downcast earlier and what she'd declined to tell him. He now perfectly understood why she didn't deny it when someone confronted her, and it greatly upset him once he realized that his earlier angry reaction was possibly why she didn't tell him earlier. "Oh my goodness... Flutter, I'm so sorry. I failed to understand what had been going on in your head..." he muttered once the Telekinesis had worn off and they had joined Flutter on the path. "Well, no more. It doesn't matter to us if you're the human. Kyan and I both made a pledge last night that whatever happens, we would stay by your side." Terack spoke solemnly.
Flutter was struck deeply by the weight of their proclamations, such that they still reverberated within her mind and soul even after they left her ears. "I'm sorry too. I nearly threw away my two greatest friends and supporters..." she sniffled, sounding as though she had a head cold. "Alright, no more crying from me. I can tell you don't like that. I said it yesterday, but you two really are the greatest. Thank you for your continuing support." Flutter concluded, somewhat cheered even if she still hated what she did to Gardevoir.
It was in this position when Alakazam of Team A.C.T. approached them. "I thought I might find you three here." he started, getting their collective attention. "After that... scene in Pokémon Square... we held a meeting to have a discussion on what we should do next." Alakazam said to the group. All three of Team Celeste's members turned to face him, where he saw Flutter's tear stained face. "It came to a quick and decisive consensus... I'm afraid we must be rid of you, Flutter." he concluded.
"You can't be serious? Even you want her out now?!" Terack quickly retorted in shock, quite fed up with the anti-Flutter sentiments that burst out today now that he understood her inner turmoil. "Come on now, Gengar's had it out for her and us since the day we started our team! You can't possibly believe what he's just said, right?!"
Though Alakazam took this on board, under the present circ*mstances... "I disapproved of this conclusion, but he's the one offering everyone a quick solution out of our problems. These Pokémon want the unthinkable to vanish... and the only foreseeable way to do is to strike her down. If you have another way that doesn't involve this continent's rescuers turning on one of their own, Terack, then I'm all ears." he replied, almost as though it were a challenge in and of itself.
Though he would have loved to tell Alakazam that he did have an idea, the young Trapinch knew it would be futile to invent another solution on the fly. Terack saw no other option besides taking the long haul... together. "I don't have any other way... but...! Let us go! Let us run away from here and I promise that we can try to find another way out of this! Please give us some time to escape! he pleaded desperately, understanding Alakazam's stance in the debacle.
Their loyalties towards one another, even in these most trying of circ*mstances, were a wonder for him to behold. "Very well, you will have the rest of the day." Alakazam decided, to the relief and gratitude of Flutter's team. "Pack all of your supplies, run, and don't look back. Get out of here while you still can. First thing tomorrow, rescuers from all over, including my team, will be part of a hunting party with the express aim of removing her from this world. I implore you, don't concern yourself with any individual faces; each and every one of us are hungry for peace. I'm afraid they won't spare her companions." Alakazam explained, the last part doused in deep regret. If he'd had his way earlier, Terack and Kyan would have been allowed to live.
"I understand." Kyan spoke. "Alakazam, although I have great respect for you and your rescue work, I'll defend Flutter against anyone while we're out there looking for another solution. Should it really come down to this, should worst come to worst, I'll even defend her from you. That's a promise." he unflinchingly declared, with no signs of hesitation or fear whatsoever.
It was that bold and loyal statement that became deeply ingrained within Flutter's head, as she recognized that Kyan was saying all of it to his rescuer idol. This also got her thinking... what about the Black Ice, her own rescuer idol? Would he believe her, she wondered? Though Flutter knew she and the others were told to pay no attention to faces; Ice had no clear face to not pay attention to...
~
"Oh man, what a mad day... I still can't believe it came to this barbaric end..." a cool voice spoke, words tipped with uncertainty.
Much later on, at his secret hideaway concealed within a nearby mountain range, the Black Ice was putting the finishing touches upon his own preparations for tomorrow. He had calmed down significantly by now but was still highly affronted by Gengar's accusations and also deeply concerned by a sudden spike in negative sentiments for Flutter, however unwilling or regretful, that he witnessed in the subsequent meeting.
Like Alakazam, he too had been against the idea of going after the entire team, but the many Pokémon who attended this event, rescuers or otherwise, had overruled them both. There would be two innocents running for their lives, but for his own reason, Ice preferred to see it as two more innocents. Another thing was also weighing heavily on his mind too... "Flutter, you... I wouldn't have guessed that you were apparently human. Talk about a real shocker, that came right out of nowhere." he thought to himself.
For the first time in a long, long while, Ice was at a complete loss of what to do. He didn't know how best to handle this delicate situation without it erupting even further. "Perhaps..." he started to wonder, retrieving the map he intended to anonymously place in Flutter's hands tomorrow via one of her scant few supporters and smoothing it out over his desk to scan it by candlelight. "Yes, perhaps... Going east from the square would give Flutter's team the most room to run, significantly more than would be offered by the other cardinal directions... and then they could either bide their time the Frozen Reaches or book it towards the Southwestern Peninsula and safety in that southern continent beyond..." Ice mused as he visualized which route these fugitives would take. If he were seriously wanting them out, his keen tracking abilities and know-how regarding the lay of the land would have been their undoing.
More and more, this plan of his was looking to be feasible. "I see, no matter whichever way they go on that split path from the Lapis Cave, following the hunt up to this dungeon would get me that much closer to my old mentor and her advice without arousing anyone's suspicions... Yes, I'll do that!" he finally decided before getting some paper. He had just one more thing to do tonight, and that would be to ensure Team Celeste's runaways knew they had his unconditional support.
As he wrote out a message, Ice prayed that this would all somehow work out for the newly titled fugitive and the two travelling companions who would share her strife. "Flutter, I just know you're innocent. Please persevere and prove me right..."
No matter what 'evidence' came his way, no matter how many Pokémon thought otherwise, Ice knew that Flutter wasn't the human who encountered Ninetales.
