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Chapter Text

She yawned as the soft padding around her face brushed her nose. Dark green eyes opened and stared at the stoney, gray, cave wall. A squeak escaped the creature's maw and she scrambled around in the nest. The nest was three times her own size and made of moss, woven seaweed, and seashells. The smell of sea salt welcomed her as the thundering water drew the creature's attention.

She was in a spacious cave, a few glowing crystals littered the cave's walls, casting the place in a gentle blue glow. Her eyes wandered over to the rushing water. A big hole was carved into the wall and a part of what was a waterfall was pouring before it. She took a step and immediately tripped, face-planting into the nest. Cursing quietly under her breath, she moved her arms to push herself up.

She froze, breath stuck in her chest. Bright, silver wings greeted her. Next to the wings was a fuzzy silver tail with two small, navy blue spikes. The creature leaped to her feet and spun across, heart thumping in her chest. She was covered in bright, silver fuzz and navy blue spines. She was some kind of bird?

'No, no...this has to be a dream. I'm not some monster bird! I'm a human!'

Scrabbling through her mind, she couldn't remember anything. Her memory was blank. She remembered being a human. She had parents….a sibling? What was her name? A name came to mind. Her name.

Roxy squeezed her new wings against her flanks and looked around the cave again. Across the cave was a pile of shells and colorful stones. Roxy frowned and realized this cave was lived in. She glanced down at the nest. The sudden thought of whoever built this nest was huge. Bigger than her. Sinking into a crouch, Roxy took in her surroundings again. The cave was empty.

Stepping out of the nest, she wobbled on her new feet and made her way to a puddle of water caused by the roaring waterfall. Taking in a deep breath, Roxy tried to prepare herself for what her reflection will show. She peered into the water. An unrecognizable face stared back. The creature staring back looked like a wyvern. Soft, silver fuzz covered her new body except for her pale blue belly. Her face bore a ridged jaw or beak. Roxy sniffed and opened her mouth. Her reflection showed tiny teeth lining her jaws and lips pulled up forming a wacky looking snarl. That answered her question on if she had a beak or not. Roxy tilted her head and placed her attention on the navy blue crest that circled her emerald eyes. The navy blue was a beautiful contrast to the silver coating herself. It looked right, not too out of place. She strangely liked her new colors.

Done with looking with her new appearance, Roxy waddled around the cave poking at the glowing crystals. Suddenly, she remembered the pile of shells and stones. Curiosity getting the best of her, Roxy stopped in front of the pile and froze. She had wings not arms. The thoughts of this being a dream bloomed. It had to be a dream. Dragon-birds don't exist and she's a human.

Shaking her head, Roxy peered up at the wall next to her. Decorated across the rocky wall were drawings. In different spots were silver-white wyverns, six in total. The drawings looked like what she was now. Next to the drawings was a beautiful scene of the ocean. Now that she was actually looking, Roxy noticed different drawings of fish and birds.

The water from the waterfall suddenly burst forward. Fear skyrocketing up her spine, Roxy dove behind the nearest stalagmite. The little wyvern curled as tight as she could and held her breath. She only heard the thundering waterfall and her heart thumping in her head. While pressing closer to the stalagmite, Roxy took a look in the direction of the nest. A gasp almost made its way through her clenched jaws.

A purple creature was hovering above the nest. It was around 7 feet in height and had very thin fur. Its hindlegs appear longer than its front ones. No it was bipedal. Its face bore feline like features and small twitching ears. Light purple and violet fur coated its body. It looked like a kangaroo and cat was mashed together.

'A flying, purple, kangaroo cat….this has to be some intoxicated dream. It feels way too real.'

The giant cat creature shook its head and raised a single paw. Parts of the nest were lifted into the air. Roxy's eyes widened as the nest was torn apart by invisible hands. The cat hissed in frustration and threw parts of the nest down. It whirled around scanning the cave. Roxy pulled her head back and pushed harder against the stalagmite. Silence returned to the cave.

Roxy squeezed herself into a tight ball and tried to control her breathing. All the soft fuzz on her body prickled as the light dimmed around her. A pair of purple paws and a tail landed a foot from her snout. A surprised chirp mustered its way from her maw. The cat-like creature uttered a sigh and narrowed its dark purple eyes. It raised a single paw again. Thinking back to what the creature did to the nest, Roxy saw this gesture as a threat. She did the first thing that came to mind.

"Gaah! Mothe-" A pained scream came from the cat as Roxy sank her jaws into the creature's violet tail.

The purple cat jerked backwards, floating again, as Roxy released the tail. The silver wyvern darted around the cat and toward the waterfall. The cat was suddenly in front of her and Roxy slammed into its legs. She recovered as the creature raised it's paw again. Purple eyes narrowed as snapping jaws lunged forward.

'Stop biting me, you insolent pest.'

Roxy flinched as a voice echoed in her head. It was a deep male voice. The creature before her huffed and directed a cold glare towards her. 'Now that your little tantrum is over. I know you're confused, but it is important that you come with me, kid.”'

"Kid? I'm not a kid." Roxy reported under her breath, as she glared up at the cat.

The creature gave a disdainful sniff. "Come. We must leave. Stay close and follow."

The little wyvern blinked as what was clearly a demand was uttered by the cat. "You want me to follow you?"

"Are you deaf? Yes, I said to follow!" Anger was seeping into it's mind voice.

"No! But I'm not going to go follow a mutant cat into the unknown. Even if you’re just a creation of my mind." Roxy scoffed and put some distance between her and the other being.

"...you think this is a dream."

"Yup."

The two creatures fell into a silence as the situation sunk in. Roxy pulled her wings in and narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t just going to go follow a stranger around, even if it was a dream. Stranger danger that’s what her mother always said, or at least she thinks that's what her mother said. Roxy straightened her back and noticed she only came up to the creature’s lower chest in height. It’s very short fur bristled and was soon crossing it’s arms. Slightly offended by said cat’s reaction, Roxy pulled her head back and took another step back.

“This isn’t a dream. We will talk about this later. This place isn’t safe.”

“I don’t even know you. Ever heard of ‘stranger danger’?”

“I go by Mewtwo. There you know me. Now come.” Quicker than lightning, Mewtwo hooked a single arm under Roxy’s wings and pulled her to his chest.

“Hey! No! This is kidnapping! I don’t want to go anywhere with you, cat! Let go!” The silver wyvern yelled as she wriggled in his grip.

Pushing off the ground, Mewtwo took flight and blasted through the waterfall. Roxy squeezed her eyes closed as water thundered upon her. They shot out of the water and entered a bigger cavern. The wyvern snorted water out of her nostrils and shivered as the freezing water soaked the silver fuzz coating her body. A grunt rumbled in Mewtwo’s chest as the giant cat adjusted his grip on the smaller being. Below them was a giant pool of water that the waterfall was pouring into. Roxy felt the shift in gravity as Mewtwo started diving, head first, to the pool of water.

“Stop! You crazy cat!” She screamed, kicking her legs.

Roxy gave up on trying to escape and clenched her eyes shut, bracing for the cold water’s embrace. She then noticed the lack of air blasting up against her face and the missing sound of the rushing waterfall. Roxy released the breath she had been holding and peered out. Both beings were in a dark violet bubble. Cold, clean air circulated through the bubble. Roxy furrowed her brow as she inspected the bubble. It was like a shield, for no water was getting past the transparent field. Suddenly the bubble moved forward and they were gaining speed, slicing through the water.

Roxy took notice of how Mewtwo's eyes glowed a vibrant purple. Questions filled her mind. Her kidnapper must have created this bubble shield and used telekinesis just a minute earlier. If the creature's appearance didn't already tell her that he wasn't natural then his use of what was clearly magic would have. Roxy shivered and stayed silent. It wasn't like she could do anything. The cat's grip was steel tight and she didn’t know if the force field bubble would break under her weight or not. Her safest bet was staying still and quiet as a statue.

After what had to be about five minutes of passing empty water and rocky walls, they shot out of the underwater tunnel. Roxy squeezed the arm supporting her and gasped in amazement. The vast ocean stretched around them. Strange fish swam the waters in the distance. A small school of crimson colored fish passed by the bubble. A select few drove by curiosity stayed and poked at the bubble, peering in at the two beings. The fish were startled by the bubble rising at a quick speed towards the surface.

The violet force field breached the surface and shot up in the air. The wyvern clung tighter onto the cat's arm as they climbed in height. Mewtwo huffed and shifted Roxy into his other arm while scanning the area. Her eyes widened in amazement as she took in her surroundings. They were in the center of four small islands. Fear rose in her stomach as Roxy took notice how high up they were. If she were to fall. The wyvern shivered at the thought. Tightening the grip on Roxy, Mewtwo seemed to nod in satisfaction and started flying in his desired direction.

With a huff Roxy kicked out her legs. "Let me down, cat! What did I ever do to you!"

"Shut up, brat. I'm helping you. So it's important for you to be quiet. I promise you will get some answers later. Kick me again and I'll drop you."

Roxy slumped in the purple cat's grip, glaring at the water below. A shadow was cast on the water directly behind them. Roxy quickly took notice and stretched her neck to peer around the flying cat's waist. Speeding behind them was a giant bird. It was coated in tawny and red feathers and it bore identical black stripes around its eyes streaking down the neck. With every flap of its giant tawny wings brought it even closer.

"That’s one big bird. Never seen one like that before." Roxy said to herself.

"Excuse me? Damn it!" Mewtwo turned and hissed the last two words.

As those words left her captors mouth, more birds appeared. Mewtwo suddenly went into a barrel roll as one of the birds darted towards them. Roxy shrieked in surprise as the whole world spun and the whipping air swooped by. The giant bird's talons missed Mewtwo by a couple of inches. Back-flipping and ducking under talons, a growl rumbled in Mewtwo’s throat. A violet glow ignited around Mewtwo’s paw. After another back-flip, Mewtwo threw a paw forward and a bright purple beam appeared and struck one of the birds. Soon one downed bird turned into three as more beams were sniping them left and right.

An angry snarl sounded above her head as Roxy noticed a beak clamped on the cat's tail. Unknown to them another bird dived down from above. It was bigger than the ones before it. Its wingspan could easily swallow Roxy and her captor up. Giant talons crashed into Mewtwo's back, slicing into the huge cat's shoulders. Surprised by the sudden attack and pain, Roxy was released from Mewtwo's grasp.

"Murder!" Roxy flinched as she could feel the raw fury in the alpha bird's shirek.

She went tumbling through the air, trying to flap her wings. They flapped uselessly and caused her to wrench a new muscle in a wing. What was she even doing? She didn’t know how to fly. She caught sight of the rapidly approaching water and rolled herself up in a tight ball. Roxy struggled to keep a gasp from escaping as cold water consumed her. Just as she hit the water, the wyvern kicked with her legs until her hit broke the water’s surface. Roxy coughed as she took in a breath of fresh air. She directed her gaze up to where she fell and only saw three blurs, one purple and two tawny. Sea water smacked her in the jaw causing Roxy to choke and sputtered. Peering through water filled eyes, she spied a decent sized boulder poking beneath the ocean. A safe place from the ocean’s water.

After a minute of a pathetic excuse of swimming, Roxy threw herself ontop of the rocky surface and scrawled out over the surface, breathing heavily. Her muscles burned and her whole body ached. The thought of this not being a dream started forming in the back of her mind. She never felt anything this real in a dream before. A cool breeze ruffled her soft feather fuzz, lifting her head, she spotted one of the birds only a couple of feet above her. Roxy reacted quickly and pulled herself up and fell into a crouch. The tawny bird clearly outmatched her in the size department. As if sensing her fear, the bird gently touched down and chirped.

“We’re not here to harm you, Lord Lugia. Now come quick, we must leave while my flock’s alpha is dealing with the murde-” The bird was cut off as Mewtwo appeared in a flash and launched a fist into the bird’s check. The big cat spun in the air and slammed his tail into the bird’s chest, slinging it off the rock. The bird caught itself before getting a face shot of another purple beam. Staggering and flapping it’s wings weakly, the bird screeches at Mewtwo before fleeing into the clouds.

“Damn Pidgeots.” Mewtwo muttered as he landed on the rock.

He turned and made eye contact with the young wyvern. “Are you okay?”

“...this doesn’t seem like a dream anymore.”

“Because it’s not, brat.” The big cat turned his back and scanned the sky. Suddenly a foot slammed into the back of his knee. He cried out as he tumbled off the rock and into the ocean.

“Stupid cat.”

Chapter Text

Roxy yawned as Mewtwo sat her down on the grass as they landed inland. After pushing the big cat into the water, he wasn’t quite happy with her. The long flight over the ocean was long and uncomfortable. Not to mention, she got air sick. Mewtwo wasn’t very sympathetic and told her to suck it up. To sum it up, the flight was horrible and Mewtwo is a jerk. The wyvern nestled herself into the grass and watched the cat from the corner of her eye. The memory of the attacking birds, Pidgeots, called her captor a murderer, a horrifying thought. Was she in the grasp of a killer? He hasn’t really hurt her, but being so close to someone who possibly killed someone unnerved her. Who was she kidding, he was definitely going to off her in this forest somewhere. She let loose a strangled cough.

“Are you still sick?”

“...yeah.” Roxy turned her head to avoid the cold purple eyes.

Mewtwo straightened his back and looked over his shoulder towards the setting sun. Roxy watched as the purple being stretched his shoulders and flicked his tail in thought. She turned her attention away from the potential murderer and started to look over her new body again. Everything she was experiencing felt real, perhaps Mewtwo is telling the truth about this not being a dream. If so, why couldn’t she remember anything before waking up in that cave. She was a human, not this thing. Roxy glared at her wings, she couldn’t grab things with these useless wings. Heck she couldn’t even use them to fly.

“Okay time to go, kid.” Roxy snapped her neck around and was quickly scooped back up into Mewtwo’s arms. The wyvern flinched in the cat’s grip before grumbling under her breath about being manhandled.

*****

The wind grew harsh as their flight ended at a rocky beach. Mewtwo landed gently on the sand and dropped his passenger. Roxy managed to land on her feet with a little wobble and squeezed her wings closer. Giant boulders litter the beach and in the distance a larger ragged mountain side cliff sat next to the ocean. If one were to fall down from that height, well Roxy didn’t want to think about that. Mewtwo paced around her and started lifting some of the bigger sized boulders with his telekinesis. Roxy watched in curiosity as the other being pushed the objects together and made a somewhat makeshift shelter.

Mewtwo admired his work for a few seconds then turned to face her. “Wait there until I get back.” The giant cat pushed her into the rock shelter with his foot and turned away.

“Hold on, are you ditching me? You kidnapped me, got us attacked by giant pigeons, and dropped me, however many feet we were in the sky, in the ocean. Now you’re ditching me.” Roxy growled.

“Kid, not now! I promise all will be explained later. Now sit your tail down and don’t move an inch. I mean it!” Mewtwo finished his response with a harsh swish of his tail.

He leaped into the air and flew into the dense forest. Roxy watched until his purple fur vanished from view. She huffed to herself and moved further back into the shelter. She barely had enough walking room in the shelter. It was small and cramped, clearly the cat did it on purpose. Suddenly it dawned on her, Mewtwo was gone. This would be the perfect chance to escape. She didn’t want to wait around to see if he really was some serial killer. Roxy poked her head out and checked the sky. No Pidgeots or Mewtwo in sight.

Waddling across the beach, the wyvern made her way into the forest. Every couple of seconds she would check behind her, expecting Mewtwo to appear. Feeling more at ease, Roxy skipped around the undergrowth and trees. The breeze gently ruffled the trees and soft sounds of birds singing filled the air. It was nice to finally be by herself. The wyvern bunched her muscles in her legs and leaped on top of a fallen log. She took a moment to balance herself and looked up. She wasn’t alone. Another creature stood a good ten feet away.

It was about the size of a large dog. It was covered in a gray, rock-like hide. It actually looked like a tiny rhino. Lifting its head in her direction, hazel eyes narrowed followed by a strong exhale through its nostrils. A low rumble came from the rhino and it rose in volume into a roar. Stubby claws tore through the grass and dirt as it raked its paws. The strange creature clearly didn’t want her here.

“Sorry! Sorry! I'm leaving.” Roxy jumped off the log and darted back where she came.

She took refuge behind the nearest tree and slumped against it. That was a close call. At least that informed her that more strange creatures existed and lived in this forest as well. Roxy shook herself out and looked around. The ground shook and she froze confused. The shaking increased and Roxy poked her head around the tree. The undergrowth brusted outwards as the rhino creature charged through. Roaring it rampaged in her direction. Roxy screamed and threw herself out of the rhino’s path. Its rocky head smashed into the trunk and soon the tree was falling on its side.

From her spot on the grass, Roxy gaped at the scene. The creature's horn was buried in the tree's truck. Ripping its horn from the bark, the rock rhino reared its head and bellowed. Roxy shrieked as the beast charged once more. She managed to dodge by a few centimeters and scrambled to her feet, but the creature was already charging her again. She didn't have time to dodge this one.

A mossy green blur phased in her vision as large jaws coated in a dark glow clamped shut on the rhino's back. A bark of surprise and pain came from it as it was dragged off the ground. Roxy's eyes widened as its attack slammed the rhino back onto the ground before rising again. The rhino's attacker was large. It made mewtwo look small in comparison. With a scaly green hide and black marking, it appeared reptilian in nature and also reminded her of a bipedal dinosaur. The saurian whirled around and flung the rhino through the air. The creature crashed into the ground a good distance away. A bellowing roar tore from the green beast’s maw as a pale orange glow emitted from said jaw. An orange beam ripped through the space between both beasts and slammed into the rock rhino. After the attack, said rhino beast was lying still on the ground, stuttering breaths could be heard.

Roxy shrunk in on herself at the destructive scene, it's not every day that you see someone being thrown like a ragdoll. A raspy snort stole her attention as the green reptile fixed its gaze on her. Bright, sky, blue eyes narrowed in confusion. "Jasper?"

The female voice shook her out of her shocked state, she just clamped her jaws shut and shook her head. The bigger creature sniffed the air and started stomping towards her. Roxy gulped as the jaws full of sharp fangs neared her head. She knew that she had no chance of running. This beast could clearly catch her in no time.

Something flashed in the reptile's eyes. "You're not Jasper...so may I ask your name?"

Roxy relaxed at the gentle tone. At least this creature wasn't intent on trying to kill her. "Roxy."

The large female settled in front of her and scanned over her form again. "Roxy. That's a beautiful name. Now Roxy can you tell me what you are?"

Roxy froze at the question not really expecting it. "I'm...human, but I woke up like this. So I guess I'm a dragon or some bird at the moment?"

The green creature just stared at her for a few quiet seconds and seemed to be mulling something over in her head. "Well this seems to be a problem…"

Roxy narrowed her eyes at the response. "I don't suppose you'll tell me what I am? Or how to get rid of it? The giant cat wasn't no help."

"Giant cat?"

"Yeah he kidnapped me earlier today. He calls himself Mewtwo. Weird name am I right?" Roxy grumbled at the thought of the grumpy cat.

Perking up, the reptile quickly asked. "Mewtwo's here?"

"Oh God. Are you in this whole kidnapping thing as well?"

The larger female furrowed her brow in confusion. "No. I'm not taking anyone anywhere unless they want to," she suddenly laughed, "oh I forgot to introduce myself. How rude of myself. I'm Skyfang, heir to the Ragged Edge Tyranitar pack." She offered a smile.

"I don't understand what any of that is."

"I'm a Tyranitar. This land is part of the Ragged Edge's territory." Skyfang glanced back to the unconscious rhino. "That Rhyhorn trespassed. I guess I'll have to tell my grandfather that other pokemon are trespassing in this part of the forest..."

Roxy grew confused at the tyranitar's muttering. "Pokemon?"

Skyfang snapped out of her self muttering and snorted in slight amusement. "We're both Pokemon. A kingdom of elemental beings. I'm a Tyranitar and well you're a Lugia."

Roxy furrowed her brow at the name. "Lugia?"

"Yes, that's what species you are." The green creature purred, wagging her tail.

Lugia. The thought settled into her mind. She was a Lugia? Roxy started to feel uncomfortable at the thought and pulled her gaze away from Skyfang. As if sensing her discomfort, Skyfang rose off her haunches and stretched her back. Roxy took a moment to admire the giant reptile's rock-like scales.

"My grandfather should be of more help in this situation than me. My pack's camp isn't that far from here. Can you fly?"

Roxy gave Skyfang a look of disbelief. "No…."

Skyfang snorted in amusement at the young wyvern's reply. "That’s okay. Just means the trip will be slower."

The two pokemon traveled through the quiet forest. Roxy took extra care to look out for other pokemon as Skyfang called them. The tyranitar had said that there should be no other non tyranitar pokemon in the area as her pack guarded their territory fiercely and that few will try to trespass. Roxy panted as Skyfang was clearing the walking path, the large pokemon was dragging a fallen tree from the path. With a soft hiss, Skyfang threw the tree to the side and lowered her head to the now newly made tree stump. Skyfang's blue eyes narrowed as she peered around the stump. Roxy padded up to the other to see what she had found.

"Rhyhorn tracks. Looks as if a herd of them had moved in. How foolish of them…" Skyfang growled to herself.

"Um, they're not still here, right?" Roxy scooted closer to the larger female.

"Nah, their scent is faint-" Skyfang snapped her head up.

The small lugia looked on in confusion before yelping as the other pokemon quickly slid in front of her. "Shush. There's another 'mon in the area."

Soon Roxy heard the snapping of tree branches. And she pushed herself up against Skyfang's leg, hoping that it wasn't another Ryhorn looking for revenge. A low growling call rang through the air. Roxy felt Skyfang relax as the lizard herself called back. Roxy peered around Skyfang's left as another tyranitar emerged from the trees. The tyranitar was a bit smaller than Skyfang, but had larger spines adoring his back. Dark chocolate eyes were glued to the larger female.

"Skyfang, you ditched me again." The other tyranitar grumbled in a male voice.

Skyfang laughed as the male walked closer. "Not my fault that you can't keep up."

The other tyranitar recoiled back and held a clawed hand to his chest. Skyfang snorted. "We both know that look doesn’t work on me, Rushtail."

Both tyranitar busted on in laughter. The lugia looked on awkwardly, but at least Skyfang knows this other tyranitar. Feeling a little better about the situation, Roxy padded out from behind Skyfang. Rushtail's immediately latched onto her. His chocolate eyes widened in surprise as he tilted his head.

"Lord Lugia had a kid? You should have told me that you were watching his kid." The male huffed, narrowing his eyes at Skyfang.

"I'm no-" The wyvern was interrupted as Skyfang crouched down on all fours.

"Ummm. I'll explain later, Rushtail. I promise, but right now we have to get her to my grandfather. Not to mention, Mewtwo will be looking for her soon. We don't want a pissed off Mewtwo," Skyfang said as she settled Roxy on her back, "keep hold of my spines, Roxy."

Rushtail exhaled and shrugged. "Okay, if you say so."

*****

To say Roxy liked Mewtwo would be kind of a lie. The giant cat kidnapped her against her will, had a bunch of giant birds go psycho on them, dropped her from a ridiculous height, and left her on a beach all alone. The cat's done enough traumatizing crap for today, but unfortunately the cat didn't get the message. Mewtwo’s eyes slightly glowed as his tail lashed furiously side to side and his fur was bristling. The cat was obviously pissed.

"I told you to do one thing! Can you not follow directions, brat?"

Roxy recoiled away from the angry pokemon. She could almost physically feel his anger. A loud cough sounded behind Mewtwo, the previously slumbering tyranitar alpha was rising out of his nest. Skyfang side eyed her grandfather as she curled her tail around the lugia. "Come on. Don't be too harsh on her. She's confused enough as she is."

Mewtwo gave Skyfang a sharp look as the other tyranitar came to a halt between them. Skyfang's grandfather, Stonetooth, stood at an even greater height than his granddaughter. Emerald rock-like scales coated his form and he held a x-shaped scar across his right shoulder. His eyes were a darker shade than Skyfang's. He seemed to be looking Roxy up and down. The young wyvern noticed the dark eye bags under his eyes and the way his shoulders slumped, but something shone in his eyes.

"...Jasper has passed." The older tyranitar finally spoke. It didn’t sound like a question, but more like an accepting comment.

"Yes. Jasper's dead. He died yesterday." Mewtwo crossed his arms, while avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room.

Stonetooth squeezed his eyes shut and uttered a soft rasp. Roxy looked on as the older tyranitar was silently grieving for this 'Jasper'. Did she have a connection with this Jasper? Earlier Skyfang called her Jasper. Since there seems to be multiple individuals of a pokemon species from what she saw so far. Maybe just maybe, Jasper is a lugia? Well he was a lugia. Was it possible that he was the only one that knew how to change her back to a human. She hoped that wasn't the case.

Stonetooth opened his eyes and looked beyond the other three in the cave towards the entrance. "Skyfang, can you guard the entrance. No one other than us should hear this conversation."

The blue eyed tyranitar gave a silent nod and lumbered towards the entrance and relaxed onto her haunches. Roxy flinched slightly as she felt the other female leave. Now that she didn’t have Skyfang's bulky tail to hide among, she felt her already high anxiety skyrocket. Stonetooth settled beside her as Mewtwo watched from his spot by the cave wall.

"You probably had a long day." The elder pokemon chuckled.

"I woke up in a strange body and was kidnapped by a giant cat." Roxy deadpanned.

Mewtwo glared holes into her head as Stonetooth burst into laughter. He scratched his chin as his laughter died down. Shaking his crowned head, the alpha adopted a more serious look. "Excuse me. It's been a while since I had a laugh. It's been very stressful now of days."

Roxy frowned at the others words and before she could stop herself, her own curiosity beat her. "Stressful? Is something wrong here?"

"Yes. Things have gone wrong in the world. I'm afraid this war is going to be getting worse soon."

Roxy blinked in surprise at the mention of war. So she was tossed into a world that had a war going on. Just another reason to leave as soon as possible. She knew from some unconscious feeling that back home it was safer. Curling her thick tail around her feet, Roxy replied softly. "That’s horrible news to hear. I wish I could say something else to help, but I've never been in a war. I wouldn't even be able to understand what you're going through."

Stonetooth closed his eyes and released a heavy sigh. "Yes. It's very tense at the moment..."

Roxy bit her tongue as she finally asked the question that had been weighing on her mind since she awoke this morning.

"So can you help turn me back into a human?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible, my dear." His voice became softer.

"W-why?" Roxy rose to her feet.

"You died, Roxy."

Chapter Text

Her new unfamiliar jaws clamped down on her tongue as the tyranitar alpha's words settled in. Died? They were telling her she died. As in she was dead. No that couldn't be possible. She felt alive…and even felt her heart beating.

"I'm literally alive and breathing right in front of you."

"I understand. It's confusing, I'm not even supposed to be that one telling you this. Normally it's… Lord Mew.

Roxy glanced between the two pokemon. Mewtwo twisted his head and smacked his tail against the cavern floor as Stonetooth gave him a glance. This whole discussion was just confusing. What is going on and why does it seem like something's wrong with this Lord Mew. She decided to voice her question.

"Lord Mew? Are they important?"

Stonetooth turned his gaze from the sulking cat and blinked as he readjusted his gaze. "Ah yes… Lord Mew. She is a being just like you. She normally handles the talks with the new reincarnations."

The wyvern's talons scraped the floor as the alpha's last comment sank it. Reincarnation. He couldn't be serious…he just couldn't. Roxy's stomach turned as she tried to find a logical reason behind this nightmare, but nothing made sense. Her face must have portrayed her thoughts, for the tyranitar gave a soft sigh and closed his eyes. The elder's actions were the last straw as Roxy felt her denial slipping. She couldn't find any other explanation for this mess she found herself in.

A sob escaped her maw and the wyvern hid herself in her wings. She died and was now a freaking monster. Why couldn't it be anything else? Did this mean she couldn't see her family again? She was so sure that she had a family. She remembers loving embraces and the laughter of little siblings. If she could even remember their names and appearances, would they even want her? What had she done to have this happen to her? How did she die?

Roxy flinched as she was pulled from her spot. Bringing her wings down, the wyvern looked up to see herself settled against the flank of the elder pokemon. His eyes were gentle and held a good amount of sorrow. His chest rose as he rumbled.

"It's okay to cry. I've never been in your position, but I know it has to be very overwhelming. I won't judge you."

Roxy squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered as she took slight comfort in the tyranitar's words.

A huff came from Mewtwo and the purple cat floated over. "It's important for you to know that in this world humans and pokemon live together. You and me though," Mewtwo finally met the wyvern's gaze, "are legendary pokemon. Legendary pokemon are different from the normal pokemon that roam this world. All my knowledge comes from…Lord Mew."

Mewtwo’s eyes narrowed and he flicked his ears, as if he was irritated. "There is only one single individual of each legendary species. There is never more than one. So when one dies. A new one is reborn from a 'fresh soul'."

"So you're like me?" Roxy whispered.

"...no."

Stonetooth shifted beside her and bellowed softly towards the entrance. Skyfang appeared in the entrance and approached the three. The younger tyranitar was curiously eyeing the others in the cave before nuzzling her grandfather. Mewtwo shifted and took his place by the wall. Roxy must have zone out as Stonetooth rose to his feet and Skyfang took his place. A soft grunt came from the reptile-like pokemon as he stretched out his back.

Stonetooth peered down at them and rumbled. "Remember, anything said in this cave doesn't leave. With how the world is right now…it's best to be cautious. For now, I must tell the pack about Jasper's passing."

Roxy caught the grief emerging in the older one's eyes as he turned and exited the cave, his shoulders slumped and tail slightly dragging behind him. Once the pack alpha was out of sight, Mewtwo quietly followed. Roxy finally broke her gaze with the cave's exit. Jasper must have been important to this place. She wondered what role he played here.

"You okay?"

Skyfang's soft question snapped her out of her thoughts. "I…no. This is all crazy."

Skyfang didn't respond. The large pokemon shifted and laid her spiked head on the rugged ground.

Roxy wasn't sure how much time passed as Skyfang started to rise off the ground. The sun's light was now gone from the sky, replaced by the moon's gentle glow. The lugia stood up with the tyranitar.

"Where are you going?"

Skyfang rolled her shoulders before answering. "It's about time to mourn for Jasper."

Roxy peered outside the cave and failed to see anything. "Now? What exactly is going to happen?"

"We're sending Jasper's spirit off. We will grieve and celebrate his life tonight. A Night to remember what Jasper has done for us." Skyfang paused and changed her tone. "Would you like to come? I know you never met Jasper, but he is your pre-successor. But…I understand if you don't want to."

Roxy stilled at the question. This whole thing still seemed unreal, but she didn't want to be alone and Skyfang has been a gentle figure so far. With a slow nod, Roxy followed the tyranitar out.

The warm evening heat was replaced by a cool breeze as the half moon peaked in the sky. The rocky clearing was now mostly empty except for a couple of tyranitars patrolling. After leaving the camp, the forest opened up to another rocky clearing. It resided beside a cliff, with a beautiful view of the ocean. Skyfang came to a stop and rested on her haunches. Settling next to her, Roxy looked ahead and her gaze roamed over the different tyranitars in the clearing. Near the center multiple tyranitars were stacking boulders and stones. The lugia spotted Stonetooth among them.

Something came to her. "Is that a cairn?"

Skyfang blinked in surprise and looked back to the half built cairn. "Yes. It's for Jasper. Like I said earlier, we're sending his spirit off. Jasper did a lot of things for my pack."

The tyranitar's claws dug into the rocky terrain below and blue eyes locked onto the cairn ahead. Roxy watched the stoic pokemon quietly. She wasn’t in her comfort zone at all. She wasn’t good at comforting people. Roxy never had to deal with a loved one dying…or at least she thinks so. Clearly Skyfang was close to Jasper or the other lugia was just a figure that she knew all her life.

Roxy wanted to at least try to say something comforting. "I didn't know Jasper, but I can tell he meant a lot to you and your grandfather. I'm sorry he passed."

After a moment of silence a thick tail curled around her. Skyfang sighed softly and gently knocked her maw against the smaller pokemon's head. "Thank you. Today hasn't been the best for either one of us, huh?"

A soft laugh came from Roxy. "I can agree with that."

Melancholic bellows caught their attention. The working tyranitar finished with the cairn and all the tyranitar in the clearing were bellowing to the starry sky. Next to her, Skyfang joined in. Roxy flinched slightly at the loud roars and chose to stay quiet. She felt out of place. The new lugia didn't know the previous lugia.

After a little while, the tyranitar sat in groups all around. Rushtail had joined a couple of minutes ago. The two tyranitars were speaking quietly to each other and Roxy lost interest and zoned out. She glanced around the clearing as she realized that she hadn't seen Mewtwo. The cat pokemon hasn't reappeared after the talk in Stonetooth's cave.

"Did Jasper teach her much?" Rushtail's question immediately captured her attention. "Since this happened. We'll have to teach her right? How old-"

Skyfang flicked the other lizard pokemon on the nose. "Always worrying and yes we'll teach her. Knowing my grandfather…he'll agree to it as well."

Rushtail looked flustered as he pushed his nose into Skyfang's shoulder. Roxy caught Skyfang's gaze and snickered. The tyranitar huffed and rested her head on Rushtail's. As the two lizards pulled away, Rushtail leaned towards the lugia.

"So what moves can you use?"

Roxy blinked at the question. Moves? She looked back to Skyfang. The said pokemon seemed to quiet down at Rushtail's question. Finally she sighed, "Well I guess we can teach her about the elements and mana first."

"But- Wait, she doesn't know any of that?" Rushtail frowned. The two tyranitars shared a look and Roxy was pretty sure she was missing more of the conversation as Rushtail exhaled through his nostrils loudly and Skyfang turned her gaze to Roxy.

"Roxy, as you know, we are pokemon. Every pokemon has an element designed to their species. Grass, fire, water, electric, ice, air, ground, ghost-"

"Poison, terra, steel, normal, dark, psychic, and dragon." Rushtail cut in over Skyfang's shoulder.

"So like magic?" Roxy responded.

Skyfang clamped her jaws shut as a snort escaped her. Rushtail rolled his eyes and gave Skyfang a light shove. The female tyranitar quickly composed herself before turning back to the lugia. "Sorry. It's just I have never heard it being called that before. It caught me off guard. And well I guess you can call it magic, if you want. Now to our next topic. Have you ever heard of mana?"

Roxy blinked at the question. Mana. Well she thinks she heard of it before. The memory was a little blurry, but she thinks she heard it being used in a card game, but that couldn't be the same as what Skyfang was trying to get at.

"I heard the word spoken before, but I don’t know what it means."

"It's okay, I don’t expect you to know everything-"

"Hey, look. Palescale just took a tumble. Tripping over her own kids." Rushtail chuckled.

"Wait! Where? Haha, serves her right. She needs to get those brats under control." Skyfang cackled. Roxy held back a laugh as another tyranitar across the clearing was lying on the ground with what Roxy assumed was her kids climbing on her.

"Sky! Be nice." Rushtail scolded.

"Sure, whatever." The tyranitar rolled her eyes and snorted. "Now, where were we? Mana! Well mana is energy. All of us have mana. It's what helps us forge a connection to our elemental moves."

Rushtail trailed a claw over the top of Skyfang's hand. "Us tyranitar are terra and dark type. Though some call terra types rock types. A lot of pokemon that live with humans do that."

"And you, as a lugia, are psychic and air." Skyfang responded.

Psychic and air? What is she psychic now? Like tell the future? And air? This was really hard to believe, but she did see Mewtwo do some pretty unbelievable things. Skyfang as well. Roxy frowned and sent the female tyranitar a look.

"You shot some kind of beam out of your mouth earlier. And something weird happened with your teeth."

Skyfang blinked in confusion before nodding. "Oh yeah. I was using my moves Crunch and Hyper Beam-"

"Skyfang. Your grandfather needs you."

The three pokemon turned their attention to the new tyranitar. An older female tyranitar with yellow eyes came to a halt and threw a look over to Stonetooth. "I think he needs someone right now."

Skyfang fixed her gaze on the tyranitar alpha, before sighing. "Thank you, Sungaze."

The yellow eyed lizard flicked her tail in response and turned to walk away, but not without giving Roxy a curious look over. Skyfang huffed and her shoulders slumped. "Grandfather isn't going to take this well. He and Jasper were close friends. I don't even know how to soften this blow for him."

Guilt stirred in the bottom of Roxy’s stomach, as she didn’t have any advice to give to the other. She as well didn't have any experience in dealing with grief. Not to mention she didn't know any of the people- wait no, pokemon here. Luckily, Rushtail swooped in.

"I'm sure all your grandfather wants is a shoulder to lean on. You're his last family member. If anyone can help him through this, it's you, love." Rushtail murmured gently and nosed Skyfang's cheek with his snout.

Skyfang smiled and gave Rushtail's snout a soft touch with her own. The female tyranitar rose to her feet and shook her body out. "Rushtail watch Roxy until I come back okay?"

"Yes, dear."

Roxy snorted at the exchange. That answered her question. These two were definitely a couple. As Skyfang left, Roxy was left to listen to Rushtail talk about elemental moves and different pokemon. Seeing it as something she would need to know. Roxy settles down and gives her full attention to the chocolate eyed rock lizard.

*****

The lugia awoke between the two tyranitars. The morning sun was barely lit by the rising sun. Roxy yawned and rose to her feet, shaking out her wings. Running her tongue over her teeth, she immediately felt how dry her mouth was. She didn't really drink anything yesterday. Carefully stepping over the lizards' tails, she tried to remember her way to the small creek Skyfang had shown her earlier.

Roxy spotted the small stream at the beginning of the tree line. Coming to a stop at the bank, the silver wyvern took in her reflection again. Dread filled her stomach, the hope of this whole experience being a horrible nightmare was quickly diminishing. Sighing, she leaned down and took a drink. The sound of crumbling rocks and rustling grass grabbed her attention. Looking over her shoulder, Roxy watched as Stonetooth closed the distance and settled beside her. The old alpha grunted in discomfort as he finally settled on his haunches.

“How are you this morning, Roxy?”

“I’m okay. I guess.”

Stonetooth rumbled softly next to her. She took another look at the other. It was clear from the eye bags and droopy head, that Stonetooth hadn’t slept a wink last night. As if sensing her thoughts the older lizard met the younger one’s gaze and smiled.

“Don’t worry. It’s not my first sleepless night.” Stonetooth rolled his shoulders, bones creaking. “Now may I ask you a question, dear?”

“Um…okay.”

“What do you plan to do now?” Stonetooth gazed down at her.

Roxy blinked in surprise as she registered the question. What was she going to do? She honestly had no clue. She still had no idea where she was and her knowledge of this world was very well non-existence. She still couldn’t believe the situation she was now in. It was scary.

“You are welcome to stay here with my pack.”

“Really?”

Stonetooth responded. “Of course. Normally Lord Mew is contacted to help the new reincarnations, but that is something that is impossible at the moment. You will be safer staying with my pack. Not to mention I will make sure you are taught everything that we can teach you. It should go along smoothly with Mewtwo here. He is a very talented psychic type.”

“The cat.” Roxy snorted.

“Yes, Mewtwo has an interesting personality doesn’t he? But he is very talented. You’ll get your bearings in no time.”

“I'm afraid I’ll have to decline teaching her.” The two pokemon slightly jumped as they turned to see Mewtwo hovering a foot above the ground behind them.

“Mewtwo! Giving an old ‘mon a heart attack are you?” Stonetooth huffed.

The purple cat slightly narrowed his eyes. “I have only come to inform you of my leave.”

Stonetooth frowned in confusion and lifted a scaly brown. “You’re leaving? But what about young Roxy?”

“I have done what was required of me. She’s at a safe place. I have other things to do.”

Roxy shuttered a bit after watching the two other pokemon share an intense staring match. Stonetooth was the first to break the silence.

“Fine. But before you run off. Who killed Jasper?”

Mewtwo stared at the two with indifference. “You wouldn’t want to know.”

Then he was gone. Roxy tried tracking the cat as he flew, but soon he vanished into the clouds. Stonetooth grumbled multiple curses under his breath as Roxy remained gazing at the spot Mewtwo was last seen. She shivered as she thought back on Mewtwo’s last words and the pidgeot’s as well. Why didn’t Mewtwo tell them who killed the previous lugia? Was that pidgeot telling the truth? Dread settled into her stomach as she watched the sunrise with the elder tyranitar.