Frontier Town Frontier Town Outskirts

[Weazel]

The Oshawott withdrew the berry, hesitantly. Certainly, if Wes was going to use his own, it made more sense for Nova’s to go to someone else, maybe Odette or Leaf. For some reason, the thought of eating it himself lacked any sort of appeal. His stomach felt raw, he didn’t think he’d manage to keep a second berry down.

Only, Wes didn’t pull out his own berry. Did he not have one after all? Archie held out the one he was holding again, about to insist on the Lycanroc taking it, only for Wes to stand, and limp away towards Nova and Seth. The Oshawott lacked the strength to give chase, seemed like he was destined to be useless. So, cupping the Oran in both paws, he let his paws drop into his lap, staring down at the round blue berry. Maybe he'd just hold onto it until the rest had been distributed, and hand it over to whoever was left in need?

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

--ven. Steven.

The voice came from the end of a long, tunnel.

Steven. Hey, Steven?

Something was wrapped around his body, holding him tight. It was warm. And he was so cold.

Steven?

He should open his eyes. Someone was calling for him. But it was hard.

"mhmWalllace?" he slurred, finally stirring. His eye cracked open and he looked up, only to bonk his head against something solid. The soft trickle of settling dust and rock greeted him as he recoiled from the rude awakening. Where was he? Why had he been asleep? Was he asleep?

And then it all came back. He was in Forlas. He was a Beldum. He was fighting against a shadow pokemon-- the Wolf. No... Wait. A spike of fear hit him at the same time as a shiver, rattling his battered body against the rocks of the alcove he'd shoved himself into when-- when--

But he was here, he was aware, he was alright. He shivered again.

"Betel?" he ventured, his voice hoarse despite the lack of vocal cords. "Is it over?" His request. Had it worked? Was Betel able to...? "Wes-- is Wes okay? ...Are you okay?"

But the faint response he heard wasn't from Betel:

"Steven? Steeeeveeeeen, you out there?"

Someone was calling for him.

"Here! I'm here!" he tried to call in return, but projecting his voice proved to be too strenuous. His weak chiming barely even echoed through the space. "I'm... I'm..."

His response petered out, and his head sunk back against the rocky floor with a small thunk. but it wasn't exhaustion that gave him pause. It was the realization that he well and truly didn't know how to answer. He had no recollection of what direction he fled, or how far. It couldn't have been too far, if he could still hear his companions.

"Betel? Uh, can you tell the others that I'm okay? And, um, maybe where I am?"

 

[HelloYellow17]

Wes glanced back at Archie and saw him looking a little more than dejected. He ached with regret, but…no, it was better this way, at least for now. To…keep his distance from the others, in case he lost control again.

Why did I lose control? Am I really that unstable? That easy to manipulate?

Well, he knew at least one person here who could give answers.

He curled his lip and stood over Seth, who looked for all the world like a Tyranitar had chewed him up and spit him out. Did I do that, too? Even as much as he hated this prick, Wes had to admit Seth was a sorry sight. He almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

“Get up,” he snapped as Seth groaned. “You have some explaining to do. What did you do to me?”

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova looked at Wes like he was speaking gibberish. Then, with a reluctant grunt, he stepped off Seth to let the lycanroc get to his feet. "One false move and I'll sit on you," Nova warned.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Everything was loud and hurt and shouting and then, after a few minutes that felt like a few years, it finally stopped happening so much. It still ached a little to breathe through the last of the fog, but only a little. Definitely only a little.

It looked like everyone was... mostly?... okay? Mostly standing, doing their best to pull themselves together. Sharing berries, checking in with each other. It was over. For real this time, even.

Nova was still pinning the Wolf to the ground, and the other wolf, the rockruff-lycanroc—he really had gone and evolved, huh?—was pressing the red lycanroc for answers. Answers. They could probably use a couple of those right about now. Just had to make sure everyone was here and awake enough to hear 'em. That was those two accounted for, and Koa, and Archie, Astrid, the mawile... the beldum. Steven, right? He'd been running off toward whatever was hidden in the valley. So was he still...?

Ah. There. It was faint, but at least these big ol' horse ears were good for listening picking out pretty subtle sounds. And Beetle was doing their best to nudge them in that direction, too. Doing their best to keep the team together. Poor guy.

So back into the cane thicket she went, ears on a swivel until she saw the glint of metal between some of the rocks. Really in between. He was in there pretty good, dang. "Hey," she said, peeking down into the little alcove he'd gotten wedged in. "You all right in there? I have a spare oran berry." She fished it out of her bag with a little mental effort. Ever-so-slightly bruised from being kicked around, but still good, right? "You're not stuck, are you?"

 

[Sinderella]

"Odette?" his voice cracked a bit in worry and he gently nudged her.

She jolted back to life with a startled gasp. Her abrupt inhale sent a wave of aches through her abdomen, and she rolled over onto her side to grab at her stomach, coughing and grimacing as she fruitlessly tried to massage the pain away.

"Yeah," she replied, her voice breaking over a wince. "I'm up. I'm up."

Odette wasn't sure how long she'd been unconscious. Judging by how little had changed when her eyes snapped open again, it probably wasn't more than a couple of minutes at most. This new body of hers just would not go down with a whole lot of kicking, screaming, and spikes of adrenaline. Even her glasses had managed to make it through with nothing more than a couple of dirt and blood splatters.

As she blinked the unconsciousness out of her eyes, she was initially happy to see that the fire had fizzled out to mere embers. She was even more happy to see Koa standing over her, and she couldn't help but smile, even if it only lasted a second.

"Hey, Koa," she said thinly. She hated how raspy she sounded, and coughed against a tickle in her throat. She then reached up and rubbed at her neck, cringing through it. "Is this the worst possible time to say that you look like hell?" The attempt at being lighthearted might have missed entirely, but she was far too exhausted and in far too much discomfort to care.

She turned her head and caught sight of the oran berry that was laying next to her. She gestured to it shyly, before looking back up at Koa. "Is...that for me?" she asked. When she got the approval, she grabbed it by its stem with a shaky hand and began to gnaw into it as if it were an apple. Gods, she would never take oran juice for granted ever again. It felt so good going down her throat. It might have been the best meal she'd had since she got to Forlas.

"You’re my hero right now. Holy fuck," she sighed.

Her pain immediately started to fade away, just enough for her to gain the strength to push herself up to sit. She still winced, and Jawile still flexed around as if trying to realign themselves, but it was a step in the right direction, compared to where she'd been just seconds before. Now that she was more awake, she was able to give the young electrike a better once over, and her brows knit together in concern.

"Jesus fucking...we need to," she grimaced and exhaled shakily as she adjusted her sitting position, "get you to Drungfields." As she spoke, she perked up and began to look around at the rest of their squad. Taking a mental headcount of everyone who had shown up. Everyone was there. Everyone was awake. Everyone needed to go to Drungfield's. Except...

Wes. He was different now. Much different. Standing over Seth, for a moment, she almost couldn't tell them apart. But...at least he was coherent now.

Forcing another breath into her lungs, she peered back at Koa with a less intense look on her face. "I know it's a dumb question, but are you okay? For the most part?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Why…am I here, Betel? Why did you bring me? I can only do more harm than good no matter where I go.

Why did I lose control? Am I really that unstable? That easy to manipulate?

Wes...
​

You were the hero your world chose to send to me.​

​

That does not mean you should expect to be immune to the effects of Shadows.

​

I do not believe anyone is.​

...I know that I am just as susceptible as you. ​

"Betel?" he ventured, his voice hoarse despite the lack of vocal cords. "Is it over?" His request. Had it worked? Was Betel able to...? "Wes-- is Wes okay? ...Are you okay?"

"Betel? Uh, can you tell the others that I'm okay? And, um, maybe where I am?"

Yes, Steven. I am alright. Wes is going to be okay.
​

I will let them know, Steven. Hold fast.​

​

Everyone, Steven is further south-east, not far from you.

He is in good health and not at all Fevered.​

---

“Get up,” he snapped as Seth groaned. “You have some explaining to do. What did you do to me?”

Seth rolled onto his shoulder, wincing. His muzzle contorted with feeling – frustration, pain, fear, anger. Still, the redness of his sclera was just his species' appearance, not a symptom of Shadow, for now.

"I gave you some of my Shadow," he growled, under his breath. "It wasn't hard. Your own Shadows are practically the same as mine."

The Midnight Lycanroc's grin was somehow utterly miserable, forced onto his face to mask a more authentic feeling.

"Wasn't expecting you to take it that hard. Figured you'd be much less fucked up than me, kid. But nah... You got the fuckin' deluxe suite of demons rattling around in your skull, don'tcha."

 

[Tetra]

The fear coiled him him unwound a bit as he saw Odette wake and rise. He once again found himself impossibly grateful pokemon bodies in this world were every bit as tough as back home, if not moreso.

"Hey, Koa," she said thinly. She hated how raspy she sounded, and coughed against a tickle in her throat. She then reached up and rubbed at her neck, cringing through it. "Is this the worst possible time to say that you look like hell?"

A wearied and joyless smiled tugged at his muzzle at her comment. At least she felt okay enough to try and joke. He almost replied, 'You should see the other guy'. But he kept his mouth shut before the reply could come out. Poor taste. And he couldn't find it in himself to mean it. Unconsciously, his gaze shifted to Wes for a moment before he cringed away. The sound of his own blows striking Wes's face still rang in his ears. Guilt and satisfaction battle in the recesses of his mind.

Ignoring them, he focused on Odette instead. Her question made him wince internally. Unable to help himself he scanned the area again, pretending to study the the battlefield like he was checking on everyone and making sure everyone was okay, and generally a believable level of unaffected. A look he'd had enough practice at to do well enough.

Wes was talking to himself. Seth. Whatever. Which meant he was just fine not going over there yet, although he kept an ear pricked to their conversation. Steven was unharmed. And Leaf had headed in his direction.

Finally he looked back to Odette and settled on a response. "Well I've been hurt worse here, so I'll live. Are you okay?" He paused before adding in a growl, "I want to know what exactly his deal is though." He shot a glare at Seth.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Southeast..." That was... the opposite direction Nova was facing. The path with the thickets. Seth had flown off the handle when a couple of them tried to go that way during the fight.

"We should go southeast to get Steven. Together." He stopped and looked around. "And, uh, Leaf?" Nova's brow furrowed beneath his mask. "Maybe she already went after him."

He nudged Seth with the edge of his mask. "That means you, too. What's back there that made you explode when some of us tried going back there, huh?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Seth looked up at Nova with malice dripping from his expression. Beaten as he was, there was no way he could keep fighting without sustaining serious injury... So he did not snarl or threaten.

"None of your fucking business," he said, flatly, knowing there was nothing more he could do to keep the Wayfarers away.

 

[Sinderella]

Finally he looked back to Odette and settled on a response. "Well I've been hurt worse here, so I'll live. Are you okay?" He paused before adding in a growl, "I want to know what exactly his deal is though." He shot a glare at Seth.

She wasn’t sure how certain he was that he was actually feeling alright, but she’d take it. It’s not like this was the time to psychoanalyze him.

She wasn’t ready for him to return the question. Physically, right now, she was as good as she was going to get until they made it back to the stupid fucking doctor’s office. Everyone needed a visit, and so did she. Thinking back to the last time she stayed the night, when she had to have those needles pulled out of her, made her shudder involuntarily. At least this time around all she needed was some more bandages and an ice pack. Hopefully.

Mentally though…her eyes flickered back to the embers. Images of the brush on fire flashed in her mind’s eye like stop-motion film, and she rapidly tried to blink it away along with the remnants of fear that were still lingering within her.

She’d managed to land the last blow to Seth, yes, but then everything was on fire. And she couldn’t move. She could not move. She just stood there like a useless, terrified toddler. It took her shitty second personality taking over for her to actually fight back, but Wes knocked her out like nothing. She’d been on her last legs anyway, but…

If you weren’t so easily scared you could have dodged that. You could have done anything different, but you fucking froze.

She kept blinking, hoping that would help ward off the thoughts. It was perfectly rational to have a fear of fire. It was perfectly rational to not like dogs fire fanging her arms.

You were scared of Pyrrin, and you were scared now.

She stifled a humorless laugh into a sharp exhale, shaking her head to herself. Something to mask the new dread she’d just uncovered.

“Seconded,” she said simply.

Following Koa’s gaze over to Seth, a sneer crinkled her face. She opened her mouth to respond, when suddenly Jawile whipped around to nuzzle her right cheek.

“̶W̸h̶a̶t̵e̸v̸e̷r̴ ̶t̷h̸e̸ ̸f̴u̵c̴k̵ ̵h̸e̸’̶s̸ ̴s̴i̷t̶t̷i̸n̴g̷ ̴o̶n̸ ̸b̴e̵t̴t̶e̸r̸ ̴b̴e̴ ̶w̷o̷r̴t̵h̷ ̵t̴h̷e̵s̴e̴ ̴b̸r̵u̸i̷s̶e̴s̸,̵ ̵o̸r̶ ̸I̷’̶m̸ ̶g̵o̸n̷n̵a̴ ̶t̵a̴k̸e̸ ̵h̵i̸s̷ ̴f̸u̷c̶k̸i̷n̵g̶ ̷h̵e̶a̴d̴ ̴o̷f̷f̷.̷”̵

Odette flinched, gasping through clenched teeth. She hastily reached up to wrap her arms around the jaws, ignoring the throbbing within them.

“I’m…sorry. I forgot they were still unchained.” She looked back over to the lycanrock altercation, breathing through the feelings of sheer anger and lingering apprehension while she rolled her shoulders defiantly.

“I’ll head over there with you when you’re ready.”

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova rolled his eyes under his mask. "Look. We're in Forlas, same as you. Shadows were coming to us before we even had an inkling about what your deal was." He leaned forward so his masked head was looming by Seth's shoulder. "Like it or not, you're not really shielding us from any danger by staying quiet. Fate's a harsh mistress like that.

He pulled his head back to better address the others. "If Leaf and Steven are over past the thicket, we should all go there. Have a quick look around."

Nova grabbed the spare berry and gave it to Koa. "Which means you gotta eat this."

 

[HelloYellow17]

"I gave you some of my Shadow," he growled, under his breath. "It wasn't hard. Your own Shadows are practically the same as mine."

“What?” Wes snapped. “The hell do you mean, you gave me your—?”

He stopped short, suddenly remembering Betel’s words when they first arrived, and meshing them with their new message he’d just received. Not immune to the effects of Shadows…

Shit. He was such an idiot.

It all clicked together in one horrible, icy revelation. Wes swayed a little, acutely aware of his own exhaustion and the taste of blood in his mouth. (Sands, he hoped it was only his.)

He’d been so damn stupid, dismissing Betel’s warning simply because Shadows didn’t work that way in his world. But for gods’ sakes, did anything in this world work the same way as it did in Orre? Why had he been so quick to dismiss such a crucial detail?

And now everybody has paid the price for your arrogance.

He steadied himself with a shaky breath and glowered down at Seth, though it was with an anger he didn’t truly feel. After all, who was more to blame here, between the two of them?

He snorted at Seth’s comment. “Shut up. Don’t act like you know me.”

But he does know you. He’s you and you are him.

No. I don’t want to be.

Wes raised his head and stared over Seth’s head in the direction of the thicket. “Of course you won’t talk. If you’re not gonna cooperate, then we’ll just uncover it ourselves.”

He stepped past him and into the Wolf’s hiding place, content to let Nova grill him. A tiny part of him feared what he might find, but he shoved it aside. He was going to do at least one helpful thing tonight, dammit.

 

[Tetra]

Nova grabbed the spare berry and gave it to Koa. "Which means you gotta eat this."

Koa blinked and stared at the offered berry. He wasn't hungry but his body hurt like Rascal had stepped on him. "Thanks," he mumbled. For a second, he wondered where Nova had gotten it from, he swore he'd given Nova's berry to Odette... Maybe Nova just had an extra. The instant the berry touched his tongue he realized he was actually extremely hungry and he nearly swallowed it whole before turning back to Odette.

Not okay. He kept his mouth shut. Prying always invited prying, and he wasn't at all in the mood. No matter how hard it was to ignore the prickling sympathy in his chest. Instead he compressed the angry storm of thoughts into a neat ball and crammed them away. The mission, the fight, and whatever else Seth was hiding was more important.

“̶W̸h̶a̶t̵e̸v̸e̷r̴ ̶t̷h̸e̸ ̸f̴u̵c̴k̵ ̵h̸e̸’̶s̸ ̴s̴i̷t̶t̷i̸n̴g̷ ̴o̶n̸ ̸b̴e̵t̴t̶e̸r̸ ̴b̴e̴ ̶w̷o̷r̴t̵h̷ ̵t̴h̷e̵s̴e̴ ̴b̸r̵u̸i̷s̶e̴s̸,̵ ̵o̸r̶ ̸I̷’̶m̸ ̶g̵o̸n̷n̵a̴ ̶t̵a̴k̸e̸ ̵h̵i̸s̷ ̴f̸u̷c̶k̸i̷n̵g̶ ̷h̵e̶a̴d̴ ̴o̷f̷f̷.̷”̵

Odette flinched, gasping through clenched teeth. She hastily reached up to wrap her arms around the jaws, ignoring the throbbing within them.

“I’m…sorry. I forgot they were still unchained.” She looked back over to the lycanrock altercation, breathing through the feelings of sheer anger and lingering apprehension while she rolled her shoulders defiantly.

“I’ll head over there with you when you’re ready.”

Koa couldn't find the energy to feel anything more than dull surprise at hearing her jaws speak of their own accord. "You're not wrong," he said in dull agreement. A sense of gratitude for Odette's offer to go with him rose in him. He was about to suggest heading over when he spotted Wes turning away from Seth and heading towards the thicket.

Grimacing he glanced toward Odette. "We should follow," he said uneasily. He wasn't sure if he didn't trust Wes, or if... Shaking his head, he started after him as Odette did, being careful to give Wes a wide berth. Pausing, he looked toward Archie. He wanted to say something more, but eventually settled on what he hoped was an encouraging nod before continuing to follow Wes.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven's eye slipped closed at Betel's reply. Their words were a wash of relief against the remnants of the shadow's malaise. After everything that happened, everyone was going to be okay.

He rested like that for a good while, until the vibration of footfalls across the valley floor caught his attention. Or were those hoof-falls? Steven didn't have to wait long for an answer, as the pastel color of a familiar Ponyta came into view of his little alcove.

"You all right in there? I have a spare oran berry. You're not stuck, are you?"

The blue berry in question rolled to a stop in front of his face.

"Ah, Leaf, right? I'm okay, but I admit, the berry is a welcome sight. As are you," he added, eye winking into a tired smile. Using what little room he had, Steven scooted forward over the berry, and when he backed up again, it was gone. Some of the small dents and scratches on his steel skin began to fade.

While the berry did its work, his eye swiveled to acknowledge Leaf's other question. "Stuck? I'm not sure. I can probably-- wiggle-- a little--" His last few words were punctuated with scuffling and scraping as he tried to squeeze himself out. But then the sounds came to a halt and a sheepish eye looked up at Leaf.

"Ah, it seems I might be."

 

[Phoenixsong]

"Leaf, yeah," she said, nodding. Well, he could move enough to roomba up the berry, at least—that was good. "Glad we didn't lose track of you! Everything oughta be..." Hm. "Fine" probably wasn't the right word. "...calmer now, I think," she settled on after a beat or two.

She bent down to get a closer look at Steven's predicament. Enough room to move, yeah, but not quite enough to push himself back out. She could probably pull him, though, yeah? Didn't even have to worry about finding a good grip or getting her fingers trapped or anything like that if she could do it just by thinking about it. So she did that! Thought about it good and hard. Focused on his shape, on the direction she wanted him to move, on willing him out of that little hole. Focused so hard that her focus gave out and a dull throb drummed at the base of her horn and perhaps she ought to sit down for a minute and let the canes stop spinning, maybe. "Sorry, g-gimme a sec," she said, shaking her head to clear it. It wasn't like this when she was trying to move other stuff. She'd gotten real handy (ha-ha) with a pencil, finally. What gave?

...beldum weighed like two hundred pounds or something, didn't they. That would be a pretty big pencil.

The others were approaching now, sounded like, giving the Swearwolf a few more parting words before rattling on through the stalks. Leaf's ears involuntarily went back a little as the blue lycanroc moved toward them, but she gave her head one more good shake and straightened up. "We're over here," she called, waving her tail like a pastel-colored signal flag. "I found Steven; he's safe! Maybe, uh, a little too safe." She gave Steven a sheepish look. "Could probably use some help getting him out..."

 

[Weazel]

The longer he sat, the more the feeling of ice faded away to nothingness, and the more his strength returned. So, thankfully, by the time everyone else was ready to get a move on and see just what it was that brought Seth all the way out here, the Oshawott was able to shakily push himself back to his feet. He returned Koa’s nod with a weak smile of his own, pocketed Nova’s last Oran berry – who knew, someone might need it at some point – and followed along after the others.

It was good to hear Steven was alright, even if the circumstances weren’t, exactly, ideal. Archie made his way over to Leaf once he’d arrived in the valley, crouching down to look into the hole Steven had wedged himself into. How on earth were they going to get him out of there? How’d he get in in the first place? Could he chip at the rock some with his Razor Shell? Probably not, and even if he could, he could very well accidentally cut the Beldum. Instead, his eyes drifted to the blue Lycanroc.

“… Hey Wes?” he began, carefully, “Do you think you could dig him out?”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven felt Leaf's psychic grip on him, and he tried to position himself juuust right when her strength began to flag.

"Ah, no worries. You were doing great. Almost there," he said with earnest encouragement. Surely she was just as exhausted, if not more.

The sound of more approaching footsteps, though, made the situation slightly more embarrassing than it already was. And then he heard Archie's voice calling out to Wes. Wes.

Two bloodred eyes flashed across Steven's mind, and he couldn't suppress the jolt of fear that came with it. No, Wes was okay now. But that still didn't make it any more inviting to see him while wedged in a crevasse with no way out.

Steven's eye darted back to Leaf, a bit more desperate.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to rush you, but if we both push at the same time, I think we can get it."

More scraping and shuffling, and then a determined chime of, "Okay, on the count of three. One. Two. Three!"

 

[Ambyssin]

The others seemed to have freeing Steven under control. Nova took the opportunity to scan his surroundings and look for whatever it was made Seth so angry when Leaf and Archie tried to run off in this direction before.

 

[HelloYellow17]

Archie’s voice startled Wes slightly. He looked over his shoulder to see—oh. He’d followed him. They had all followed. Some hung farther back, and yet they were all here in the thicket, so close together—so close to him. Too close.

Stay away from me.

Wes blinked down at Archie, slowly registering his request, then turned in the direction of Steven’s voice. He was…stuck? But how? A few steps in their direction showed Steven deeply wedged into a rock face, with Leaf pacing around him.

For one brief second, Steven looked up and met Wes’s eyes, and the fear in the Beldum’s gaze made Wes’s lungs freeze over.

Steven was terrified of him.

He abruptly turned away. “No,” he said quietly. “Can’t do it.”

Then he limped away, searching further into the thicket for Seth’s secret.