Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Akari is falling. She can’t see much, but there is no ground beneath her, and no sky above her. There’s something important in her hands. She is falling, falling, but slowly, as if the air itself is holding her. Something is bright in the distance. It watches her. She closes her eyes, because it’s really very bright, and she doesn’t think she’s meant to look at it, and she falls, holding her important thing tight, until-

Akari blinks open her eyes. She’s propped up against a tree in a quiet patch of forest, the familiar chirping of Starly filling the air. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep out here. Snatches of a half-remembered dream come back to her as she blinks again, and rubs the sleep from her eyes. She should get going, back to Jubilife. It might be getting late, and-

Something makes a strange buzzing noise. Akari jumps and looks around, but there are nothing but trees in sight. No Combee, or anything else that buzzes. Where on earth did she get to? This patch of forest is unfamiliar, and Akari knows her way around the woods near Jubilife.

The buzzing thing buzzes again, and with it something in her pocket moves. She fishes it out, cautiously, and inspects it. It’s heavy for its size, and decorated with blue motifs, the two tails of a lake guardian featuring towards the lower half of it. She definitely didn’t put this in her pocket.

She flips the thing over, and is met with a smooth, glowing surface, with a little box on it telling her that she has “2 new messages from Rei!” It looks… well, it looks like Rei’s Arc Phone, which is somewhat worrying, considering the way he came to own it. She cautiously taps on the little box and the glowing surface - no, it’s called the screen - moves about for a moment, before showing her the messages from Rei. Holding the phone a little closer to her face, she reads:

akari

where are you and why are you a contact on my arc phone

After a few experimental taps, Akari manages to bring up a panel of letters. It takes her a few tries, but she manages to tap out a message.

The message pops out in a little bubble, and the screen rearranges itself once again into a brightly coloured map, with a little arrow pointing to what she assumes is her location, close to the edge of an area coloured green. Not far from her are a group of grey squares labelled Jubilife City. She’s not far from home, then, but - Jubilife City? Akari recalls Rei mentioning offhandedly something about Jubilife being a sprawling city in the time he fell from, and not the growing village she knows and loves-

The sound of cracking twigs and laughing voices makes Akari look up. There are people coming her way. Something tells her her best course of action is to hide, so hide she does, scrambling up a sturdy tree as quickly and quietly as she can. From her vantage point, she watches as two people walk by. They’re dressed in strange clothing, but she recognises one of the garments as a t-shirt, because that’s what Rei was dressed in when he washed up on the shores of Prelude Beach.

Akari’s new phone buzzes again, and the messages Rei has sent her confirm her suspicions.

arceus sent you to my time

it says there’s someone in jubilife that needs your help with something

She sits back in her tree perch, watching the two people walk by. They’re following a path she hadn’t noticed before in her bleary state. Presumably, that’s the way to Jubilife. (She can’t get her head round it being a city, so she decides she isn’t going to call it that. Professor Laventon has shown her a photo of a city in Galar, and she remembers it looked dirty and crowded and the buildings were all squished up against each other. She hopes Jubilife isn’t like that now.)

Once they’re out of sight, she looks back at the phone’s screen. More messages from Rei have popped up in their bubbles.

it wants me to be your guide for this. it said to follow the path when you’re ready, and you’ll know the guy when you see him

and when you’re done it’s gonna put you back in hisui as long as that’s what you want

Akari breathes a sigh of relief. So she isn’t completely stranded out here.

you’ll find out when you meet him

apparently

i didn’t get clear instructions when it did this to me either

Alright, then. Her mission lies at the end of the path. She can still hear the people, laughing faintly. It might be best to follow them now, so as not to lose her way, and the sun is beginning to set.

She taps out a message saying goodbye-for-now to Rei, and asking him to let the people at the Galaxy Team know where she is, then tucks the phone back into its pocket, checks over her team - all accounted for, thank goodness - and makes her way back down the tree.

As she walks the path down to Jubilife, she thinks over her situation. She’s in Rei’s time, future Hisui - or, no, it’s called Sinnoh in this time, isn’t it? She’ll have to remember that. She’s in Sinnoh, where people wear strange clothing that doesn’t seem suitable for the cold, and carry around little machines in their pockets that let them talk to people who are very far away, although she doubts most people’s phones can talk to someone across time as well as space.

The well-trodden dirt path has turned to a smoothly paved road under her feet. She’s out of the forest now, and without the heavy leaf canopy over her head she can look up at the sky. A star or two are already twinkling above, but what she’s looking for doesn’t seem to be there. No rift in the sky. No obvious reason for her to be here, fallen from the past, and she has a feeling that she’ll need to keep that a secret, at least at first. The Galaxy Team leaders’ reactions to Rei come to mind. There’s no way of knowing how the people of this time would react, so a secret it will stay.

She turns back towards her route, and- there it is. Jubilife City, mapped out with smooth grey roads around towering buildings, and stretching so far into the distance that even walking down the wide, central road, she can barely see the distant green of the forest on the other side. Her home has grown so much, but she thinks, if she concentrates, she can feel the old path she knows under the smooth new roads, and see the ghosts of houses long gone in the shadows of the tall buildings.

It’s still Jubilife. That’s important, she thinks to herself. Her home lives still.

She wanders around for a while, taking in the sights. It’s nothing like the city in the picture from Laventon. It’s spacious and clean and full of people, but not crowded. The buildings are almost alarmingly tall, and she wonders how they were built to stand so solidly and tower so high above her. Some of them are smaller, though, with shiny glass windows and bright exteriors. The one she’s passing now has a bright red roof, with a sign depicting a pokéball over a pair of big glass doors. The setting sun reflects golden on them.

Akari stops in front of this building for a moment, half to see if she can sneak a look at the interior through those huge windows, and half to get her bearings. This seems like a good landmark, close to the centre of the city (as far as she can tell, at least, there might be more sky-scraping buildings round an unexpected corner) and brightly coloured. Inside, people sit and talk on puffy cushions, and someone in a uniform that looks a little like the Medical Corps’ clothes is stationed at a counter near the back. This could be some sort of place where Pokémon are looked after. Even better as a landmark, if that’s the case.

She considers going in, but in the middle of her consideration something starts to feel off. Is it just the lengthening shadows cast by the almost-set sun? No, more than that. Something or someone is watching her, obscured by the evening dark.

There’s a small street quite near her and her landmark, thin and lined with the tall buildings that make up so much of the city, and now that she’s looking a little closer she can see a silhouette of a person standing at the edge of it, obscured by shadows, and as she watches they step out from it and begin to approach her.

It takes everything Akari has not to freeze up, or bolt. She’s not prepared for someone to come up and talk to her, she has no idea what to say, she sticks out like a sore thumb in her practical-for-Hisui clothes, she might not even understand what they’re going to say to her, Rei’s told her the language in his Sinnoh was different to the language in Hisui-

“Excuse me, but are you lost?”

Akari thinks as quickly as she can to formulate an answer that will make her sound like someone who’s from this time and not several hundred years in the past. “Uh. Yes. A little.”

“Well, you are standing outside of a Pokémon Centre, which may not be your destination but it is a good place to ask for directions. I am going in myself. You may want to also, to see if someone inside knows of the way to the place you are trying to go.”

He turns to the glass doors and they open on their own, which startles Akari somewhat. There must be some sort of hidden mechanism that knows when a person is there..? She’ll have to ask Rei about that later. She follows him through into the building.

The inside of the Pokémon Centre is warm and well-lit, with shiny tiled floors and a cozy atmosphere. Akari takes a seat on one of the cushions. It’s very comfortable. There are flowers on the counter and a bookshelf in one of the corners, and calming music plays quietly. This must be at least part of why so many people are in here, she thinks. It’s a very nice place to be, especially when it’s getting cold outside as night falls.

In the bright light of the Pokémon Centre, the mysterious, shadowy figure looks distinctly less mysterious and not at all shadowy. He wears a long brown coat and a slightly worried expression, and holds his team’s pokéballs very carefully as he tucks them away, then makes his way to an adjacent cushion to Akari’s.

"I have not seen clothes like yours in Sinnoh before," he says, most likely trying to just make conversation, but hitting a point that Akari still hasn't quite figured out how to explain.

"This is, uh, a recreation of a historical Galaxy Team survey corps uniform,” she improvises. “It's very comfortable. And good for the cold weather. I wear it all the time." Most of that's true, even though the crucial part isn't.

"Perhaps bad timing for it, though? What with the current activities of the Team Galactic."

"Oh. I. Uh. I don't read the news." Akari pauses, and then remembers something. "Or watch it. On the television." Rei had mentioned people watched news more than they read it in this time, off-handedly once while on a walk. She has a feeling a lot of things like that will come in handy now she’s here.

The man nods, and glances rather surreptitiously around the Pokémon Centre before lowering his voice. "I will cut to the chase. I am a member of the International Police, a detective of sorts, and I have been needing assistance in a matter involving the Team Galactic for some time now. I must find out their actions, their motives, and their plans, but I am needing a second operative to help me with this mission."

Akari blinks. Ah. So that's what Arceus meant by "you'll know him when you see him." This is her mission. Part of her wishes it was something she’s more accustomed to, like catching Pokémon and documenting them, though likely this time has no need for that. But if this is what gets her back home, then…

“Alright. I’ll help you.”

The man brightens visibly. “Excellent! This is a matter of great importance, as I am sure you know the Team Galactic poses a great danger to this world. But it can wait one night, as we should both be well rested before beginning our investigations. First I will need to know what it is I should call you. I cannot know your real name in case I am captured, so you will need a codename.”

She considers for a moment. “Starlight. I’ll use the codename Starlight.”

He nods. “I am codenamed Looker. I will meet you here tomorrow, and I will explain the operation then.”

Looker stands, nods and leaves. Night has fallen, Akari notices as he goes, but you wouldn't know that from inside the Pokémon Centre, still lit up bright as day. She does her best to gather her courage before getting up from her comfy cushion seat and walking up to the desk.

The person at the counter is pleasant, and offers to heal her Pokémon before giving her directions and the key to her room. The room is just as bright and cozy as the main lobby of the Pokémon Centre, with a bed in one corner and a set of drawers in another, presumably to put her things in if she needed to. She unties her bag and lays it on top. She doesn’t really need all this space to store things, since she travelled light, though she wishes she’d been able to bring more with her. If she’d known she was going to be transported through space and time in advance, she would have made a packing list.

The lunch she packed and forgot to eat should still be good to eat. She intends to enjoy it as much as she can. It might be a while until she can get something like this again. The bed, she notes as she sits down on it, has a strange blanket over it. It feels a little like fur, but far too short, and definitely woven. Hm. Even the fabrics here are strange. Maybe she can ask about it sometime.

It’d probably be a good idea to check in with Rei. She clicks the phone’s screen on and manages to navigate to the place where she can send messages to him (and it didn’t take her very long, too, she’s getting better at working this thing).

It doesn’t take long before Rei’s reply arrives.

nice!! you doing alright?

that’s fair

cities can be a bit much. too many things happening all of the time

i forgot about automatic doors

but no it’s really just big cities that are like that there are plenty of places with, like, normal houses. you’ll probably get to see some while you’re doing your mission

speaking of

i wanna know what that is

oh yeah for sure. get your rest

sleep well!!

She turns off the screen, and falls back onto the pillow. It’s still an odd fabric, but it feels a little more like what she’s used to than the blanket. Everything here is different, but it’s best, she thinks, to focus on the things that remind her of home, rather than the overwhelming newness. She has her bag, and her Galaxy Team uniform. She has Rei, in a way, through her Arc Phone - though, perhaps that’s not quite the right word for it, since it’s decorated like a lake guardian. She can think of it as a Guardian Phone, if she wants. Her Guardian Phone.

Codename Starlight. Guardian Phone. Some of the new things aren’t so bad. They sound cool, at least, and parts remind her of home.

She really should sleep. She rolls over, and closes her eyes.

Chapter Text

The sunlight streaming through the curtains of her room awakens Akari, who, for a blissful moment, forgets where she is, and wonders what survey work she might do today. The brightly painted walls and the strange blanket she slept under bring her harshly back to reality. She’s in Sinnoh, not Hisui. She has a mission, and she has something to ask Rei about.

Her Guardian Phone is where she left it, and it takes a minute for her to adjust to how bright the screen is in her mostly-dark room - she’s used to being woken up by the sunrise, but this is an entirely different kind of light.

That’s good enough for now. She can clarify later, if she thinks of something. She clicks the screen off and sits up, stretching. Would it be against the rules to take out a pokémon in this place? She hasn’t seen anyone with a pokémon by their side in the Pokémon Center, but… if it is against the rules, she can just say she didn’t know. It’s not technically a lie.

Akari releases her Pikachu onto the bed. It looks up at her and squeaks, inquisitively. Gathering it close for a hug, she explains to it where they are, and what has happened, and what she must do, to the best of her ability. She’s in future-Hisui, which is called Sinnoh, and she has to make sure to call it that always. Her mission is to help a detective with his investigations. She doesn’t know exactly what she’ll be investigating, other than it being something to do with Team Galactic - that name still feels odd, and especially strange to say aloud.

She checks her phone again. Still no response from Rei. He must be busy, or maybe just still asleep. That’s fine. She can do without his guidance for a little while, and she needs to get going either way. Surely she can find breakfast for herself without exposing herself as an accidental time traveller.

She gathers up her things, coaxes Pikachu back into its pokéball, and makes her way downstairs.

Halfway out of the Pokémon Center lobby, it occurs to Akari that she has nothing to purchase breakfast with, and no idea where to purchase said breakfast even if she did have the money. This is not an ideal situation, but there have to be berries growing somewhere around here, right? She knows how to forage. Berries for breakfast will do just fine.

It doesn’t take her long to make her way out of Jubilife and into the forest surrounding it, and not long after that she finds what she was looking for. There are three kinds of berry bushes in this little patch, and plenty of berries to pick. She decides on pecha berries, and picks three - two for now, one for later.

Sitting in the forest for breakfast would be nice, but she’s meant to be meeting Looker at the Pokémon Center at some point. She wishes she’d had the forethought to ask him to specify a time. It’s probably best to head back. She can find a nice spot on the curb and sit outside to eat. That’ll still be nice.

About halfway through her first pecha berry, Akari’s phone buzzes.

slept in. my bad

where do i even start with team galactic???

oh. uh

so you remember volo right

Akari sets the phone down in her lap and buries her head in her hands.

Someone else trying to end the world? An entire team of people, even? How is she meant to battle an entire team of people? How big is Team Galactic? If it’s anything like the scale and skill of the Galaxy Team, how on earth is she going to stop them?

More messages have appeared on the screen. She takes the last bite of her first pecha berry, fishes out her second, and starts reading.

team galactic are masquerading as a group that wants to improve the world, first off, but they’re doing a pretty bad job of it

it’s fairly common knowledge their leader wants to remake the world nowadays. i always thought of him as just some weird guy who had a grand idea he’d never achieve, but the fact that arceus has sent you back there is

uh

worrying

you won’t be alone

“your role in this is quiet, but no less vital than any other. there will be others in the spotlight, but you will remain largely unseen.”

so i’m guessing if you’re doing detective stuff that’ll be sneaking around rather than battling people about it

i believe in you

i have to go for now but text me if you need anything ok?

Akari tucks her phone away, and starts on her second pecha berry. Hurried footsteps sound across the street from her.

“Agent Starlight!” Akari looks up. Looker is standing across from her, looking alarmed. "Are you alright? Did something poison you? Do you need medical attention?”

“What? Oh.” Akari looks down at the berry in her hands. “No, I'm not poisoned. This is just breakfast. It's fine.”

Looker blinks. “A pecha berry is not a good breakfast. It is not enough food to keep you going throughout the day, and breakfast is the most important of meals, I have heard.”

“I had another one before you got here. There's another in my bag, but I'm saving that for if I or one of my pokémon actually do get poisoned. I don't have any other food and I don't know how to get more.”

“There is a Pokémart quite near here, I can lead you in the direction of it.”

“I don't have any money to buy food.”

Looker makes a distressed noise. “This will not do. The very important mission I have for you cannot be done on an empty stomach. I will purchase you an actual breakfast.”

“Oh. That's very generous of you. Thank you.”

“I am not going to just leave you with two pecha berries as your first meal of the day. You are a child, that would be cruel to do.”

Akari remembers the reaction to Rei falling into her Jubilife Village once again, almost says something about it, but decides to keep it to herself. For one, it would definitely just alarm Looker more. For another, a free meal is a free meal. She’s not going to say no to that.

The Pokémart is not quite as big as the Pokémon Center, and much colder. The walls are lined with brightly lit shelves stocked mostly with things Akari has never seen before. There is food in little boxes with odd clear windows in, and bottles in different colours that, she learns when she gets close enough to read the label, contain potions.

She wanders around the shop for a few minutes, until she finds something she recognises.

“I know what this is! My friend told me about these. I’ve never had one before but he says they’re really good.” She picks up the box, labelled ‘Croissant.’ Laventon had told her about them once, on one of the rare occasions when his choice of conversation topic is something other than pokémon. “Can I have this?”

“A good choice. You can have it, yes.” Looker takes the box, and sets it on the counter with another box and some potions. Akari watches him as he pays. There are Pokéballs behind the counter, but they look odd. Too uniform and shiny. People must make them differently now.

Looker hands the box of croissant to her, and they leave. Outside, Akari opens it up and sits back down on the curb to eat. The croissant is a very flaky thing, with a texture she has never encountered before. It’s very good. Laventon has good taste in breakfasts.

Once she’s done eating, she looks up at Looker. “What now?”

“Ah. Yes, our objective today. I am currently masquerading as a member of the Team Galactic. A double agent, you could say. But there are things I do not know hidden in their buildings, and too many eyes on me to be able to find them out myself. It is an awkward position - I am trusted, but not with the secrets I need. I will need you to join me there, sneak into places I cannot, find out their plans and report back to me.”

Akari blinks. “That sounds both difficult and complicated.”

“It will not be simple. But I have a way in for you, and a disguise. They will not suspect you as a double agent, since you will be recommended by me, and they may even deem you too young to be able to double-cross them.”

“It’s a little silly of them to discount things like that. Anyone can double-cross people, even those you trust.”

It takes several seconds of Looker staring at Akari for her to realise that might not have been the right thing to say. “Uh. I can probably do that, then, yes. I agreed to help you, I’m not gonna go back on that now.”

Looker nods. “I have arranged a place for you at the Galactic Eterna Building. Someone will give you a tour there later today. This means, of course, we will have to go to Eterna City.”

“How far is that?”

“A little while away. We should start walking soon, so as to be there at the time that we are expected.”

Akari nods. “Alright. I’m ready to go whenever.”

The walk to Eterna City takes them all of the morning and a little of the afternoon. The route leads through flower fields, where they stop at a little town’s Pokémart to pick up lunch (where Akari, overwhelmed by how many things people have decided should be put between two slices of bread, gives up on attempting to pick between them and requests the same sandwich Looker decided on), deep woods (in which Akari discovers the sandwich is so good that even the nearby wild pokémon were interested, and has to fend off several Wurmple), and rocky terrain. They stray off the beaten path many times, with Looker leading her through shortcuts and doing his best to avoid the eyes of people waiting by the side of the road.

“They are pokémon trainers,” he explains after ducking out of sight of someone eagerly scanning the road with a pokéball in hand. “There is an established unwritten rule that if two trainers meet eyes, they must battle. But we are in rather a rush, and I am not particularly keen on battling.”

The sun is still high in the sky when they arrive at Eterna City. It seems to be a very different kind of city to Jubilife. The streets look older, well-preserved paving stones in a pretty pattern rather than smooth panels. It occurs to Akari that she’s from a time even older than this old city. She could very well live to see it built, if she finds her way back to Hisui.

Looker stops at a house close not too far from the entrance. “A friend of mine lives here. She has let me know we are allowed to use this space to disguise ourselves.” He unlocks the door, holding it open for Akari.

Inside, the house is small, but cozy rather than cramped. There are plenty of soft-looking seats and shaded lights. Bookshelves line the walls. “She is away right now, I will assume,” Looker muses. “Her coat is not hanging up where it would be if she was here. You can use her room to change, then. I have your disguise with me.”

He produces what looks to be a neatly folded set of clothes from his coat pocket. You could fit at least three sandwiches in each of those pockets, maybe more, Akari thinks to herself as she takes the disguise.

The uniform consists of a long-sleeved shirt, long trousers and a sleeveless garment over top with a strange high neck. The fabric is strangely textured and feels far too thin for the weather. The whole ensemble seems a little too big for her.

She glances up at Looker. “I’m going to freeze in this.”

He winces. “It is not the most practical of outfits, no, but I doubt the person who is in charge of authorising uniforms was particularly considering the comfort of the people wearing them. Unfortunately, there is no other way you can be disguised.”

“I think I can wear my normal layers under it, but it’s still bad quality.” She picks at a thread near the neck of the sleeveless shirt-thing. It seems to have some kind of structure in it to make it stand up, like the kind in Laventon’s fancy waistcoat he only ever wears on special occasions. “What’s it all made of, do you think?”

“Some sort of polyester, I would assume.”

Akari almost asks what that is, but resolves to ask Rei later, just in case this is something she should know already. “I hate it. This is evil fabric.”

Looker laughs. “I agree. I cannot understand why people wish to manufacture and wear clothes made of such a material, especially not when there are alternatives.”

“I’ll wear it if I have to, but if I get chilly I’m blaming the team leader.”

“An understandable response. We are going to have to make our way to the Eterna Building soon, however, so now is a good time to disguise ourselves.”

Akari nods, and goes through to the room Looker directs her to. This room is just as cozy as the last, with a neatly made bed and various places to sit. There is another door, across the room, and Akari tries the handle before remembering that that would be prying into others’ affairs and thus very rude. Either way, it’s locked.

The uniform is, in fact, a little big for her, but that leaves room for her to keep her underlayers on, protecting her from the odd texture of the uniform’s fabric. The trousers, regrettably, have no pockets at all. It takes her a little while to figure out the fastenings, but once she works them out, it doesn’t take long to get dressed into her new disguise.

She steps out of the room and immediately takes a startled step back into it. There is someone unfamiliar and unexpected in the room outside, wearing a uniform very similar to hers.

“Ah! Wait! Do not fret! It’s only me.” The person speaks in Looker’s voice. “I told you, I am very good at disguises.”

“When you said that, I wasn’t expecting you to look like a completely different person.” He really does look like someone else - different hair and clothes, yes, but a very different face, too. “How in the world did you manage that?”

“I have a lot of practice. Now, it is probably best if we do your hair in a different fashion to your usual style. A hairstyle can change how a person looks, and we do not want the Team Galactic recognising you outside of your disguise.”

Akari nods, and lets her hair down. Looker talks about how there was, up until recently, a standardised hairstyle among Team Galactic, but now that they’re pressed for members and time their rules have relaxed, so Akari won’t need to do anything too drastic to her hair. They settle on a neat bun, in an attempt to look somewhat futuristic and professional, which Looker helps her with. “I happen to be quite experienced with hairstyling.”

The final result is Akari not looking like herself at all, which would be alarming if it wasn’t the goal. Looker nods, satisfied. “Perfect. And just in time for us to go.”

The walk to the Galactic Eterna Building is short, and Akari barely has time to notice that people cross the street to avoid them. The building isn’t quite as tall as some of the buildings in Jubilife City, but it’s almost more impressive. It towers above the both of them, intimidatingly spiky, with a yellow ring slowly rotating around the spherical top floors. Akari’s head spins.

“How do they even make this stuff?” she whispers

“I could not tell you,” Looker whispers back. “Though I have heard a rumour that it was the leader of the Team Galactic himself that designed the mechanism.”

“I might ask about it. It’s pretty cool, I have to give them that.”

“It would be interesting to know. Now, I will have my pokémon clear a way through these trees while you watch our backs.”

Akari nods, and turns around. People seem to be giving them - or maybe the Galactic building, that could be more likely - a wide berth. She spots someone looking at them, who quickly looks away before they can make eye contact and disappears down the street. Behind her, there is a leafy sound as tree branches fall to the floor.

“All clear and done. Time for us to go in.”

Akari hops over the fallen branches, Looker following, and they make their way to the entrance of the building. The door slides open, and they step inside.

The lobby is spacious, with a few chairs and tables on the left and machines Akari doesn’t recognise scattered around. In the centre, there’s a counter, with someone leaning on it. Upon seeing them, she straightens up, waves, and starts to walk over to them.

Akari notes several things as she makes her way over. Firstly, she’s dressed a little differently than the disguises Akari and Looker are wearing, in a uniform with a short skirt and no silly collar. Secondly, she has bright red hair and a familiar smile.

Thirdly, and most alarmingly, she looks rather unnervingly like Arezu of the Diamond Clan.

Chapter Text

“Commander Mars.” Looker’s voice comes out sounding a little shaken. “I was not expecting you to be here.”

“Yeah, me neither. The guy who was meant to show the new recruit around ended up busy, so you get me instead. I’m meant to be on break right now.” Commander Mars glances between Looker and Akari. “You’d be our new recruit, I assume? Come on, then, let’s go.”

Looker holds up a hand. “Should I accompany you both? My friend may be nervous, if her first ever walk around the Eterna Building is with someone of such a high rank.”

“Oh, she’ll be fine.” She grins at Akari. “I’m not that scary, am I?”

“Not at all,” Akari lies.

“See? Nothing to be worried about. And I bet you’re busy,” Commander Mars adds, glancing at Looker. “Everyone’s busy these days.”

He nods. “I will take my leave in a moment, then.” Turning to Akari, he says “You must be very respectful to Commander Mars. She is a very important figure here.” He does not say it aloud, but the be careful, keep your guard up left unspoken hangs tangibly in the air.

“Got it.”

Looker nods once more, pats her on the shoulder, and leaves. The lobby of the building feels much emptier and more imposing all of a sudden.

“Wow. Okay.” Commander Mars is still watching the space where Looker was. “First rule: disregard everything he just said. I hate formalities. Just call me Mars, no need for the rank stuff.”

Akari nods. Holding both Looker’s and Mars’s instructions in her mind may prove difficult to keep track of.

“I’ll tell you the second rule when I think of it. Follow me. Cafeteria is first on the list, because this is supposed to be my break and I want a snack.”

Mars leads Akari over to an area with large tables and glass-fronted cabinets filled with unfamiliar foods. Akari keeps an eye on her surroundings as best she can. She doubts Team Galactic is keeping their secrets right out in the open on their ground floor, but it doesn’t hurt to pay attention, just in case.

The cabinets, on closer inspection, have a set of buttons on each one. Mars presses one and a mechanism activates, pushing something down off of its shelf. “You don’t have to pay for the snacks, to be clear,” she says, crouching to retrieve it from an opening on the lower half. “We’re not gonna make you spend your salary on stuff from our vending machines.”

Akari nods, and does her best to act like a person who knows what a vending machine is.

“Aha! Ok, here’s rule two. You’ve gotta carry one of these on you at all times.” Mars retrieves a folded piece of paper from a skirt pocket - the commanders’ uniforms have pockets, but the other employees’ don’t? That seems like an oversight - and unfolds it. “We’ve designed our buildings to be as mazelike as possible, to deter intruders, but it also deters people who work for us, which was not the goal. We’ve started printing these to help the new guys and the bad navigators find their way around.”

She hands it to Akari, who unfolds it. It’s a complex map of the Galactic Eterna Building’s many floors. At first glance, it is completely incomprehensible. Akari squints at it. It is also, it seems, incomprehensible at second glance.

Mars makes a face. “Yeah, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to read. You’ll get used to it eventually. I’ll get you your own copy later, that’s my personal copy.” She reaches over and takes the map off Akari as she’s about to take a third glance at it. “No time for map deciphering now. We have a lot of stairs ahead of us.”

The map, Akari learns after not long at all, is very necessary. Mars stops to check it many times, pointing out where they are and plotting the journey to make it to the next room. “This is why you’re getting this tour,” she explains on the fifth set of stairs. “Everyone gets lost. It’s way easier if you see the whole place first, then at least something sticks in your memory for when you start work here.”

While they aren’t plotting their next course through the maze of stairs and machines, Mars makes small talk, or what counts as small talk when the topic is a team of people with nefarious intentions, and Akari does her best to sound friendly and interested in her replies. It takes a little more effort to keep her guard up than she’d expected. She almost forgets she isn’t talking to Arezu, for a moment, and then the hem of her polyester sleeve brushes her hand and she remembers. She’s on a mission, an important one, and while Mars really isn’t as scary as she’d first thought, she has to keep in her mind that she’s talking to one of the ringleaders of the group she’s trying to stop.

Even so, keeping herself on Mars’s good side is probably a good plan, and it seems to be working. Akari cracks a joke about how the perfect garden for this building would be a hedge maze, and Mars laughs. Something about this bothers Akari, but she can’t quite tell what. It’s probably just that the laugh sounds like Arezu. Whatever it is, she doesn’t have time to analyse it. She doesn’t have time to think herself in circles until she’s dizzy, either, so she shakes her head and climbs the next set of stairs.

They come to the end of the tour. Akari hasn’t managed to memorise exactly where each room is, but with the map she’ll be fine. Nothing she’s seen has seemed like a secret, but she files each strange thing away in her mind, just in case. She just has to hold them there long enough to write them down.

Mars pauses halfway down a flight of stairs. “Wait. Your map. Hm.” She drums her finger on the stairway rail. “Y'know what? I cannot be bothered to walk you down to the lobby to wait and then deliver you the map. There’s only so many stairs one person can handle. You get the deluxe tour. My office is this way, c’mon.”

Akari follows her back up the flight of stairs. This is good. This is really good. This means she might be able to see something secret and report it back to Looker. She keeps herself as composed as she possibly can outwardly as Mars opens the door to the office.

She steps in, and stops in her tracks.

Surrounding them both is the night sky, glittering with stars. It’s daylight outside, Akari knows that, at most it’s close to sunset, and yet- It has to be fake, she concludes after a moment, but an awe-inspiring fake nonetheless.

“Pretty cool, huh?”

Akari turns to look at Mars, who grins. “Welcome to my office. Or, our office, technically, the other commanders and I share one in this building. Can’t complain, though, not when it looks like this.”

“It’s incredible.”

“It really is. It doesn’t get old, either. Right, I need to find you a map. I know they’re in here somewhere.” Mars steps away to one of the desks and begins to rifle through the drawers. “I’m usually organised, I promise, things have just been so rushed lately that I have no time to make sure everything goes in the right place.”

Akari does not entirely believe that, but that’s probably not best to comment on. She decides, instead, to have a quiet snoop. There’s a book open on one of the other desks. She can probably get away with taking a look at it and pretending she’s just admiring the starry walls.

She steps closer to the desk, keeping her footsteps as quiet as she can. She’s used to sneaking around, but not on these metal floors. Mars is muttering to herself as she searches her desk. She’s facing away. One little look at the book, and then turn to the walls and pretend to be amazed.

She’s close enough now to see that the book is open on two illustrations next to a page of dense text. One of them is a map, though she can’t quite make out of where, and the other is-

She frowns. That’s very definitely a drawing of something that’s meant to be a lake guardian.

Which is… not a particularly good sign. Akari has seen the lake guardians before, in that night of crisis with a warped sky above them and the ever-present rift in space and time hanging over their heads. Rei had spoken to them, and collected what he needed to make the Red Chain. If Team Galactic is messing with legendaries… She reaches out to turn the page, hoping desperately to see nothing of Giratina.

“Don’t do that.”

Akari jumps, and looks up from the book. Mars has crossed the room to this desk, and is now rifling through a desk drawer. “If you lose the page in that book, Jupiter’s gonna think it was me, and I’m already risking their wrath going through their desk.”

“I’m sorry, that was rude of me, I shouldn’t have been prying-”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It’s not anything you’d get anyway.” Mars slams the drawer closed and starts going through another. “We're looking into something to do with three legendary pokémon who live in lakes. It's complicated stuff, you don't have to know about it just yet, but we need them to make something important.”

“I know, the lake guardians, the r-” Akari stops short, and hopes Mars hasn’t picked that last part up.

Mars pauses in her search, then slowly and carefully shuts the drawer.

“Go on.”

Akari curses herself, silently. She was doing so well, and at the most crucial moment she failed to keep her mouth shut. “The red chain-?”

“I thought that was what you were going to say. How do you know about the red chain?”

Oh. Oh. That's not something she's supposed to know about at all.

Mars has turned around now, map forgotten. The look in her eyes is awfully sharp. "It took us months to find out that it even existed, and months more to figure out what it does. How do you just know that?"

Akari thinks as quickly as she can. “I'm interested in history. It came up in a book I was reading, but historically, it didn't work, so I don't think-”

“We're going to make it work.” Mars leans back against the desk, eyes still fixed on Akari. “Right. This- this is clearly the wrong placement for you. If you know enough about the red chain to know both what it's for and that it's failed in the past, we need you at HQ, with the other researchers.” She turns back around, pulling something up on her computer's screen. “Plus, you now know way more about what we're doing for you to stay here.”

Oh no.

“I'm putting together your referral now,” Mars adds over the clicking sound of typing. "This is equivalent to, like, five promotions. I don't think we've ever had someone go from new recruit to top-level historical researcher before.”

“It's an honour,” Akari says, and the words come out far too smoothly.

A machine starts whirring in the corner of the room. “Let’s hope this printer actually works. The printer at HQ is way better and I’m pretty sure it’s because Cyrus took the whole thing apart and put it back together over a weekend a couple months back. I feel like they make these things full of problems on purpose.”

Akari thinks for a moment and decides that the machine is most likely a strange futuristic printing press. “I’ve heard they can be hard to work with. I’ve never used one myself.”

“I wish I was you.” The printer starts making a slightly different whirring noise, and Mars grimaces. “There’s a digital copy sent off to HQ already, it’s just good to send you in with a hard copy too, just in case. It’s so we have verification that it’s definitely you, you know? We’re too close to reaching our goal to have someone else come in and pretend to be you and mess up our whole operation.”

Mars isn’t looking at Akari, so she doesn’t see her wince. Now is probably a good time to change the topic to something other than someone infiltrating their team, seeing as that is exactly what she is doing.

“Could I still get that map? Just in case I need to come back here for some reason, so I don’t get lost.”

Mars turns away from the printer and nods. “Good thinking. I think I saw it in the back of that drawer before I got distracted.”

Akari watches as she searches through the drawer again. The printer makes a third kind of whirring noise and then beeps.

“Aha! Got it.” Mars slams the drawer shut. “Jupiter keeps stuff in such weird places, I swear.” She hands over the map to Akari, who goes to put it in her bag before remembering she doesn’t have it with her, and goes over to the printer. “That’s legible enough. Here’s your copy of the referral, then.”

Akari nods and takes it. “Should we head back downstairs now?”

“Yeah, probably a good idea. It’s late, you’ll need your rest for the journey to HQ. Oh! And you should take some stuff to keep you going while you’re at it.” Mars crosses the room to a small, glass-fronted cupboard. This one seems like a different sort of thing to the vending machines. “We have energy drinks and that iced coffee Jupiter likes, but I would advise against the coffee. They don’t know what sugar is.”

Akari squints at the contents of the cupboard. The energy drinks are in containers where you cannot see the insides of them, and are painted bright colours in sharp shapes.

“I’m scared of those.”

“That’s so fair. We also have a bunch of jars of honey if you want one of those.” Mars moves the energy drinks to the side and brings out a small jar of honey. “Some guys stole a whole load of these and now we just have them. We didn’t need honey.” She hands the jar to Akari.

“Ah. That’s- hm. Why did they take them if you didn’t need them? That seems like a waste.”

“Exactly! You get it!” Mars opens the door for Akari, and closes it behind them both. “Like, at the end of it all it doesn’t really matter, but still. Waste of time, waste of resources, waste of mini-fridge space. There are things that need doing that aren’t stealing honey from some guy with a bunch of Combee.”

Mars continues to talk as she leads the way back down the stairs. Akari tries very hard to pay attention to any possible secrets she might let slip, and not to how sincere Mars sounded when she’d said “You get it!” From a purely practical standpoint, from the lens of a group that wants to remake the world, a few stolen jars of honey wouldn’t matter. From a purely practical standpoint, as someone who’s trying to stop the end of the world from the inside of the group, it’s good that Mars is so convinced by her, but even so. It leaves a sour taste.

She half-wishes she’d declined the honey. The jar is cold and heavy in her hands, and it’s distracting her. She has a job to do. She should be listening for details in Mars’s rambling.

They come to the end of the last staircase, and Mars waves at the person waiting by the desk. Right. Of course. Looker’s disguise, making him look entirely unlike himself. It’s still uncanny.

He and Mars discuss the tour, and Akari’s referral, and after urging them both to get plenty of rest for their journey, Mars waves at them both cheerfully and walks back towards the stairs. Looker gently takes the referral and map from Akari, and they walk out of the building, stepping over the tree branches still lying on the ground.

She does her best to keep her composure on the walk back to the house. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Looker glancing at her with what she thinks is a concerned expression. It’s hard to tell. She’s not the best at reading facial expressions, and the disguise makes it harder.

As soon as they’re inside, Akari crumples.

“That was awful.”

Looker frowns, sadly. “I thought as much. You are a good actor, so I do not think Commander Mars realised, but you seemed tense to me.”

“Tense doesn’t cut it. I don’t know if there’s a word that does.” Akari pulls at her sleeve. “I hated that. I only messed up once, and it worked out well, but I was terrified the entire time, and-” She shakes her head, and the strange stiff collar brushes against her face. “And I need to change out of this uniform. It’s awful.”

“That would be a very good idea, I agree.” Looker pauses. “Your first mission will always be difficult and stressful, but you have done very well. You have Commander Mars convinced you are on her side, which is very much an achievement.”

“It doesn’t feel good. I know it’s important, but the lying feels bad, even though I know it’s what I have to do.”

“I do not think anything I can say will help you feel better about this right now, but I have prepared food for us in the other room. You’ll feel better when you have eaten, even if that does not completely solve your problem.”

Akari nods. “That’s true. You always feel better when you’ve eaten, drank water and rested.” Cyllene had always insisted on that.

“Exactly!” Looker nods back. “Your things are in the room in which you changed into your disguise. Wearing your own clothes will make you feel better also.”

Once Akari has changed back into her Galaxy Team clothes - she’s never been so grateful for soft, simple fabrics and sturdy seams - she goes through into the kitchen to eat. Looker has made soup for them both. It’s deliciously warm and slightly spicy. While they eat, Looker tells Akari about a city she’d never heard of, in Kalos. It’s like Jubilife, he says, but much bigger, with a tall tower in the centre that’s covered in lights. She wonders if the city exists in her time yet. Maybe Laventon will know.

Looker sets his spoon down gently onto the table.

“My friend has let me know we can stay here as long as we need, and there is a spare room for you to sleep in. She thought she would be back by this evening, but something came up and she could not return. She did tell me to say hello to you on her behalf.”

“Tell her I say hello, too, and thank you for letting me stay here. It’s very generous of her.”

He nods. “And on that note, it is getting quite late, so I would recommend you rest soon.”

“I am very tired, yeah. Thank you for the soup. It was very good.”

“You are very welcome. Rest well.”

“You too.” Akari stands, and goes through the doorway Looker points to.

The room is small, but still well furnished. The bed takes up most of it, but there’s still space for a nightstand and an almost overstuffed bookshelf. A painting of a Garchomp hangs on the wall. Akari is reminded of Rei’s Garchomp (and someone else’s, but she steers her thoughts away from that. She doesn’t need the extra stress, not after everything that’s already happened today.)

She sits down on the bed. The cover is full and puffy, with a pretty floral pattern. It doesn’t feel like the polyester of the Team Galactic uniform, which is a relief. Her bag goes on the nightstand, along with the jar of stolen honey, positioned behind it so she doesn’t have to look at it.

As she goes to check her phone, it buzzes. The screen tells her she has a message from Rei.

hey akari you doing ok ?

oh man yeah that sounds like it’d be a lot

did it go alright?

wow

to be fair that sounds like progress

making your way up the ranks has gotta mean more secrets you can use to foil their plans

that’s a good point i had not thought of that

i have also had quite the day you’ll have to forgive me

oh yeah i’m all good just about to pass out

i’ll tell you about it tomorrow

trust me i’m so safe

never been safer

safest a guy could possibly be

yeah i should do that. goodnight !

And Akari should too. She tucks her phone away and cozies up under the covers.

It takes her a long while to get to sleep, but when she does, she sleeps soundly, and she dreams. She dreams of tall buildings and strange machines, faces that are familiar and new all at once. She sees herself from the outside, wearing the uniform of the people she’s trying so hard to stop and a practised smile that she’ll use against them, and the strange and towering shadow of something that, when she wakes up, she won’t quite be able to put a name to.

Chapter Text

Akari awakens with one, very certain thought in her mind.

She hops out of bed, takes a moment to organise her things into her bag (despite its size, the stolen honey fits neatly into an empty space) and then goes to find Looker. She locates him in the kitchen.

“Hello. I need to climb a tree today or I will die.”

It occurs to Akari, as she says this, that Looker does not know her nearly as well as Cyllene, who’s usually on the receiving end of this kind of statement, or Rei, the person she’d picked it up from, but to her relief, Looker simply nods.

“I understand the feeling. Please eat breakfast first, though.”

The breakfast Looker has set out is fresh bread and a choice of jams. Akari sits down and takes a slice of bread, considering her options.

“There is something I should tell you that I had forgotten about yesterday, and congratulate you on also. Your quick thinking at the Galactic Eterna Building has earned us a valuable advantage.”

Akari reaches for the pecha berry jam. “What sort?”

“You retrieved one map of the area. Another agent I am working with has plans to infiltrate the building in… a significantly less undercover manner. This map will keep her from getting lost.”

“I didn’t know there was another agent.”

“I had forgotten to mention her, yes. Her codename is Agent Sunrise, though arguably she does not need one.” Looker sighs. “Regrettably, she does not care for stealth. She will be a great help to us, she’s almost alarmingly proficient in pokémon battles, but…” He gestures at the air. “Brute force will not solve everything.”

Akari nods. “A plan can’t work if you don’t have enough information to make it in the first place. And that’s what I’m here for, right?”

“Exactly.”

Breakfast finishes largely in silence. Both Akari and Looker are too preoccupied with fresh bread and jam to talk much, though Looker does mention that his friend had made the jams herself, and Akari requests that he tell her that they’re very good jams.

“You will be able to tell her yourself, I believe. She is aiming to be home this afternoon.”

When Akari’s done, she hops down from her seat to fetch her bag. Looker insists she take money with her, “just in case you lose track of time in your tree and have to purchase something for lunch urgently.” She tucks it away and sets out on her journey.

The house she’s staying at is on the opposite side of Eterna City to the place they entered. She’s already noticed the area outside in that direction is largely rocky, with no visible trees, but the way they’d travelled to get here they’d passed through a forest, so her quest for a climbable tree will take her back through the city.

She takes a route that deliberately avoids the Galactic Eterna Building - she wants to be seen as little as possible by them in her everyday clothes, just in case someone makes the connection - and through a mix of what stuck in her memory from the original walk to Looker’s friend’s house and asking people for directions, she makes her way out of Eterna City on the opposite side.

It doesn’t take her long at all to locate a suitable tree. It’s a little way away from the woods, but it looks sturdy enough at a glance, and the leaves are a very pretty golden colour. Akari tests some branches, declares them sturdy enough, and clambers up.

Once she’s settled into a comfortable position, she sits and appreciates the view for a while. Through golden leaves she can see the rocky walls surrounding Eterna City, the forest, and the bridge connecting the two. There’s a battle happening there, between a fisherman and someone else. Akari watches that for a while, before feeling a buzz from the pocket where she keeps her phone.

goooood morning from hisui!

i slept in slightly less this time, be proud of me

i did! i am well rested and refreshed, as i hope you are too

are you sure? cause like, i can save it for later, i don't wanna stress you out or anything

oh yeah alright that's fair

right. so. you know how i'm meant to be seeking out all pokemon

i found the last one yesterday

i technically already battled it but like i had to document it properly and i didn't have a chance to do that while it was kicking my ass at the temple

yeah i am. honestly it's actually really sweet and it didn't try to kill me even a little bit. that's not the worrying part of yesterday

the worrying part is. uh

you'll never guess who i found with it

that. is fair

yeah it's volo

oh no he's just kind of sulking at the moment

actively against the idea of battling me

which leads me to. akari you've gotta tell me if this is weird but i really want to battle him again

he's really good!! he would have been such a fun opponent if it wasn't for the betrayal and the villainy

battling you and the others in the survey corps is fun but he and his team are a challenge and i like a challenge

so i think a friendly battle would be fun

well first i have to convince him it's not a death threat that's my main obstacle. he seems convinced i want him dead

he's terrified of me i don't get it

ok fair.

look, either way-

A chirping noise interrupts Akari in her reading. She looks down through the tree branches, holding her phone close to her chest so as not to drop it.

Looking up at her from the ground is a Heracross. It chirps at her, cheerfully.

Akari knows a few things about Heracross. For one, Kamado has one. They are very strong, capable of throwing a person quite far, and they have a sweet tooth. She's wanted one for a little while, but they always seemed too hard to catch.

Akari has a jar of honey in her bag, and one empty pokéball.

"Hello," she says, in the slightly softer tone she reserves for pokémon.

The Heracross chirps back. She wishes she had Rei with her to translate. He has an uncanny talent to understand a pokémon's cries. She'll have to hope this one is friendly.

"I think I have something you want. Is that right?"

The Heracross bounces up and down. That could be a yes. She's going to take it as a yes.

"It's in a very small jar. I'll have to find something to put it on. I don't want you to break it and hurt yourself."

There's a broad piece of bark on a branch of this tree that looks as if it was in danger of falling off. Akari reaches out, and it doesn't take much to pry it off the branch. It looks sturdy enough to at the very least hold the honey. She doesn't expect it to survive a Heracross.

She carefully climbs down to the lower branches and surveys her surroundings, just in case she's miscalculated and the Heracross is going to pose a danger to her. There's tall grass off to the left, and she can see the bridge to Eterna City not far away. Heracross are fast, but she's stealthy. She can hide in the grass and then make her escape if things go south.

...This is probably a terrible plan, but it's the only one she has.

Akari lets herself drop from the lowest branch, ready to run if she needs to, but the Heracross makes no move to attack, only watching her intently.

She nods at it. It chirps at her.

Having felt as if they've reached an understanding, she crouches down and opens the honey jar. It takes a couple of tries to get the jar open and the help of a clean-looking stick to coax the honey out, but after a minute she has in her possession one piece of honey-coated tree bark.

She sets it down in front of the Heracross, a little way away from her, for safety (although, arguably, none of what she's doing could be called safe). It wastes no time in descending on its newly acquired sweet treat.

As it eats, Akari fishes out the pokéball. She only has one chance at this. What's the best strategy? It's distracted, so maybe she could circle around, hide and catch it by surprise, but what if it's not distracted enough? Maybe she could initiate a battle, but what if her team isn't up to the task of taking it down? Maybe she should run to Eterna City and buy pokéballs at the Pokémart with her lunch money, but the strange futuristic ones they sell look like they'd feel wrong to hold-

Something bumps into her hand.

She'd been too lost in thought to notice the Heracross finish with the honey. It's staring at her quite intently, the bark discarded a few feet away.

Surprising it is out of the picture, then, and that was her safest bet. She runs through all her next best plans, and against her better judgement, decides against them all.

Akari holds out the pokéball.

"Would you like to come with me?"

The Heracross bounces up and down, chirping, and gently bumps into the pokéball with its head.

Akari gently tosses the pokéball in its direction, the Heracross neatly encapsulated. The latch clicks shut. She reaches down, picks it up, and holds it next to her heart.

None of that should have worked, but she's not going to complain. A Heracross! They aren't common to find. And she's caught it! Rei's going to lose it when he hears about-

Oh. She was in the middle of talking to Rei, wasn't she? She should get back to that.
look, either way, i think we should rematch for fun and profit

giratina included

which was still cheating on his part, swap out one of your team for your otherworldly legendary like an honourable person, but again. you know how i am. i like a challenge

(Akari remembers one of Rei’s main issues with his battle with Volo up at the Temple of Sinnoh being that he battled with an extra pokémon. Not that he had to battle the exiled and forgotten legendary Giratina, just that he hadn’t bothered to stick to the now widely accepted six-pokémon team format.)

NO WAY

that’s wild for real i remember an article on how hard they are to find in my time

It sounds a little fake now I type it out, but it really did happen. It was very polite.

to be fair that’s pretty much how i picked up my zoroark

true

either way !! cause for celebration

that’s a completed team for you too, right?

you gotta give it stealth training

secret agent bug

Akari bursts out laughing, and starts typing out a message to let Rei know. He’s no different over these little messages, always saying unexpected things that make her laugh louder than any proper joke. Some of the adults back home in Hisui seemed perpetually confused by Rei, his jokes and general demeanour both, but he and Akari had come to understand each other very quickly. They’re a similar kind of person, at the end of the day.

They talk for a while longer, until the sun is much higher in the sky, and Akari realises suddenly that she’s very hungry. She tells Rei she’ll talk to him later, and sets off in search of a sandwich.

She finds Eterna City’s Pokémart fairly easily, and locates the same sandwich as she’d had the day before. She could try another kind, but that seems like too big of a risk to take. She could do without unexpected textures in her food while she’s in the middle of a top secret mission, and who knows what they put in sandwiches these days.

Outside on the curb seems like a good place to eat it. She watches people go by, including a small group in Team Galactic uniforms who, luckily, don’t seem to notice her. They seem like they’re in a hurry, staring straight ahead and walking fast. Once they’ve passed, though, no more follow, and she’s able to finish her sandwich in peace.

When she’s done, she considers going back to her tree, but decides instead to return to Looker’s friend’s house. She might be needed there, and it would be nice to curl up in one of those cushiony chairs if she isn’t.

Her mind wanders to her newly caught Heracross. Akari doesn’t battle particularly often, she doesn’t enjoy it nearly as much as Rei does and largely battled for survival in the wilds of Hisui. She’s good at it, though, she has everything she needs to know memorised, and every one of her team has a strategy that comes into play as soon as they’re sent out. They’re a well-oiled machine. Heracross will be a new cog in it, but she’s sure it will fit right in. Her team is gentle with other pokémon, as long as they’re not opponents. They’ll get along fine.

She wonders what sort of moves it knows. What level of experience does it have? She likes to teach her teams moves of a variety of types, for better ability to combat difficult teams - or, rather, she likes to have Zisu teach them. Wild Heracross in Hisui often know a move that they’ve ended up calling Megahorn that she once watched Rei be on the wrong end of, but it’s easier to dodge than other moves of its type, which is why Rei was the one thrown into the air rather than Akari. Will this Heracross know that move? If it does, it might be better to teach it something more accurate, like Pin Missile, or-

Akari walks face first into a passerby.

She squeaks, and jumps back. The “Sorry!” dies in her throat as she looks up and sees exactly who she’s bumped into.

This is Volo.

No, not Volo, but someone very like him. Golden hair covering one eye, the other viewing her with an expression of concern. Tall. Too tall. Towering over her. Akari feels as if she might faint.

The person who isn’t Volo speaks. “I’m sorry, I should have been looking where I was going. Are you quite alright?”

She sounds like Volo. Akari tries desperately to draw some breath into her lungs, say something funny or clever or charmingly apologetic, but nothing comes out.

Not-Volo takes her arm, gently pulling her away from the roadside. “I think I might have injured you. Wait right here, I’ll fetch someone-”

“No! No. I’m fine.” Akari wishes she didn’t sound quite so terrified. “I just- you startled me. I’m fine. Not hurt.”

“That’s a relief.” Not-Volo smiles. “I hope I haven’t caused you to get turned around. Do you know where you’re going next?”

Akari nods, and points down the street. She doesn’t want to risk any more words.

“Oh! That’s a welcome coincidence, I’m going that way too. You do look rather like you might collapse, though, so maybe I should find you a place to sit and wait-”

“No. I’m fine. Honest.” It’s a bad lie. She knows Not-Volo won’t buy it before the words leave her mouth.

Not-Volo nods. “If you insist. Though I will insist on walking with you while our routes converge.”

They walk down the street in silence. Akari only needs to go a short distance down this road, before taking a turn left, so she’ll be free of Not-Volo soon, and then they’ll go separate ways and Not-Volo will forget this ever happened and Akari can go hide in the spare room, and-

And they take the same left turn.

Well, there’s a right turn after this, and then a stretch of road before she gets to Looker’s friend’s house. She won’t take the right turn, or she’ll take a turn to the left Akari passed on the way here, or she’ll keep walking down the street past Akari’s destination. It’s fine. She’s going to be fine. The gathering dread in the pit of her stomach is - they both take the turn right - completely unfounded, they have different destinations, it’s fine.

Halfway down the long stretch of street, Not-Volo pauses for a moment before continuing to walk.

“You know, it’s just occurred to me, I think we might be going to the same place.”

Akari’s breath catches in her throat.

“And I believe I know you, as it happens, my friend has told me about you, and mentioned you wear somewhat old-fashioned clothing. Would you happen to be-” she lowers her voice conspiratorially - “Agent Starlight?”

Akari nods, weakly, and says the only thing she can think of. “The jam you made is very nice. I had some at breakfast.”

“Oh, thank you! That’s very kind of you.” She’s smiling again. Akari can’t tell if it’s a real smile or not. “Most people don’t know about that hobby of mine, so it’s really lovely to see someone appreciate it. I’m just Champion Cynthia to most people.”

Cynthia. The name doesn’t make Akari feel any better. She’s still far too close to Volo for comfort.

“Ah, here we are.” Cynthia unlocks her door, and opens it, ushering Akari inside. “I still think you should sit down, so come in, come in. We should get you something to eat, too.”

Akari steps inside. She’s definitely panicking, but it’s the kind of panic that feels numb and cold, and thus, thankfully, easier to hide. She sits down on the seat Cynthia gestures to, and takes one of the cushions to hold and squeeze. The fabric is that sort of texture that’s soft and a little rough at the same time. She has a blanket like this, back home. She used to run it between her fingers to help her calm down. This isn’t her blanket, but it’s cold and rough-soft on her palms. It’ll do. She takes the deepest and most regular breaths she can.

When she looks up, several things have changed. A plate of fresh, buttered toast has been placed on a table nearby her, along with a mug of steaming tea. A blanket has been draped over the arm of her chair. Cynthia is sat across the room from her, watching her worriedly.

She smiles when she notices Akari’s eyes on her. “I hope you like the tea. I would have set out honey to go with it, but Looker mentioned you had some already.”

“Oh. No, I don’t have that anymore. I gave it to a Heracross.”

Cynthia nods. “An equally good use for honey. I’ll go and get something for you, then.” She leaves for the kitchen.

Akari is more hungry than she realised, and has eaten an entire slice of the toast and started on a second by the time Cynthia returns with a jar of honey and a spoon.

“It looks like you needed that.”

Akari nods, mouth full of toast.

“If there’s anything else you need,” Cynthia continues, “don’t hesitate to ask. I have blankets, more tea, books if you’d like to read something, if you just really need to hug something fluffy I’m sure my Togekiss wouldn’t mind-”

Togekiss?

Volo has a Togekiss. And a Garchomp, and Cynthia must have one of those judging from the painting in the spare room, this is far too similar, far too close for comfort-

Across the room, Cynthia’s face falls. “I- I’m sorry, did something I said upset-”

“I’m scared of Togekiss.” Bad lie. Akari’s been getting better at lying, why can’t she be good at it now? It matters now. She could take out a Togekiss. Her Pikachu is strong. People underestimate it because it’s small and cute, but a strong style electric move on a flying-type- no, it could get two hits in if she directed it to use an agile style move. How fast are Togekiss? Rei told her they’re big. She’s never seen one. She doesn’t want to.

Cynthia is talking.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear what you said.” Her voice isn’t shaky, thank the Sinnohs. It’s not a lie, and it sounds like the truth, so it’s fine. She’s fine.

“That’s alright. You don’t seem to be having a particularly good time, and I’d like to help, but I’m not sure my solutions are particularly helpful. My Togekiss is the member of my team most people are the least scared of - that and Gastrodon, though it’s generally a bad idea to cuddle those, what with the poisons.”

Gastrodon. Water/ground-type. Weak to grass-type moves. Her Lilligant and Torterra both could make short work of that. Gastrodon are slow, but hardy. Lilligant could get in two hits, maybe three, before it could move.

“I think,” Akari says, and the words come out heavy like a boot being pulled through mud, “I should go to the room I’m staying in, and lie down, and hold my Pikachu.”

Cynthia nods. “That sounds like a good idea. I hope the Garchomp painting in there doesn’t bother you.”

Garchomp. Dragon/ground. Weak to ice. Her Clefairy has that aspect covered. It learned Ice Beam from Zisu the day after Rei told her about Volo’s team. Just in case.

“I’m not scared of Garchomp.”

“Oh! That’s refreshing to hear. Most people are, and I really don’t understand why.”

Akari shrugs. “I think it’s all the sharp bits. And the fact that it’s a dragon-type. People are always scared of those.” She stands, putting the blanket she’s been offered over her arm, and picking up her tea tray. “I’d be more scared of the fact that it can learn Earthquake. Harder to dodge than most moves.”

Cynthia nods, stepping away from the doorway to let her through. “Especially if you’ve had your pokèmon use Dig. People forget that.”

“Mm.”

She opens the door for Akari. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to ask Looker to check on you in a little while, just to make sure you’re alright. I figure he’s less likely to scare you.”

Akari nods. “I know him. Thank you for the tea and the toast.”

The door clicks softly shut behind her.

Chapter Text

Akari is in a strange place. She’s floating, not falling, but there is no ground beneath her, and no sky above her - unless it’s all sky, this place? There’s something that looks like land off in the distance. Somewhere to her left, a waterfall flows upwards.

There’s something behind her.

She turns in the air with surprising ease, and surveys the thing watching her. It’s big, and all cloaked in shadows, and calls out something wordless to her. She calls back to it. That seems like the nice thing to do. No words come out, only an odd sound, but it seems to understand.

The shadowy thing coils around her, letting her rest against it, silent save for a low and rumbling purr. It’s warm, and at the same time cold. Warm like the embrace of a friend, cold like washing your face after you’ve cried for a while. She closes her eyes. She can rest here a moment. It’s safe.

She’s seen it before, this shadowy thing.

Where is she?

“Agent Starlight!”

Akari blinks her eyes open. Looker is standing over her, looking rather like he did when he found her eating a pecha berry on the roadside yesterday.

(That was only yesterday? It doesn’t feel like yesterday. It feels like much longer than that.)

“Mmf.” Speaking when she’s just woken up doesn’t tend to work very well.

“Agent Starlight, are you alright? Cynthia has sent me to check on you, said you were not doing very well, and here I find you unconscious! Entirely unresponsive to my shouts! I had almost convinced myself you were dead!”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I sleep very deeply.” Akari sits up, slowly. Her Pikachu squeaks indignantly upon being dislodged from its comfortable position nestled in her arms. “I was taking a nap,” she adds, placing it on her lap to get comfortable. “Mostly by accident.”

“It sounds as if you had needed it.” Looker leans against the wall, and wipes his brow a little more dramatically than probably necessary. “I am relieved it was nothing so serious as I had worried. I was also sent to let you know that dinner is almost ready, and so you should come through to eat as soon as you are able.”

Akari nods. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Dinner is uneventful. The food is good, and Looker and Cynthia spend the meal talking to each other about small things, and some not-so-small things. Akari is largely silent. She doesn’t have much to say, and there is much to listen to.

Cynthia, apparently, is the Champion of Sinnoh. This means, among other things, she is one of the most powerful, or even the most powerful pokémon trainer in the region. Many other trainers - there are enough people who battle with pokemon, in this time, for it to be many - battle against her, to see who is the most powerful, but they have to battle eight others first, called Gym Leaders, and then four more, called the Elite Four, in a gauntlet before you can reach the Champion. It seems like a complicated system, but an interesting one.

(“So you don’t have a League where you’re from?” Cynthia asks.

Akari shakes her head. “No. Not yet. I think it’ll be a while before anyone thinks about making one.”)

Back in her room afterwards, she curls up under the floral-print covers and checks her phone. She’d texted Rei earlier, but received no reply before going to sleep. The screen tells her she has 2 messages waiting to be read.

hi sorry for such a late response i was battling arceus

wow. normal sentence

it was an experience for sure

fun but also really weird. what else could it be though

every day i am so glad you taught me how to dodge i almost got hit by divine meteors so many times

Akari decides to not comment on how she feels about that.

wait hold on i’m just reading back now you met cynthia?? the cynthia???

wow

i guess she kinda does look like volo huh. i know i saw pictures of her back when i lived there and they’ve both got the hair over eye thing going on

probably related then

she’s super well esteemed though she’s been going up against team galactic since what they were trying to do came out

she’s working towards the same thing as you

It takes a long time for Rei to respond.

fuck

i wish i was there. i’d know if i was there

that’s fair

i hope she’s good. i hope she’s here to help you

she’d be a good ally in this

garchomp’s 1 weakness. the cold

Akari smiles. It’s sweet of Rei, to try to lighten the mood like this.

i think you’ll be alright

that’s not a i-know-too-much thing i just honestly think you’d give her a run for her money if it came down to it

They talk a little while longer, about the Pokémart sandwiches (“they have NO RIGHT to be as good as they are i swear”), about the Team Galactic uniforms (“if i never have to touch polyester again it’ll be too soon i am so sorry for your loss”), about Rei’s battle with Arceus.

it’s... weird. i can’t really put it into words how but it’s weird

i have a fragment of it in a pokéball. that’s just a thing that’s true

it feels like it should feel like a bigger deal but i just kind of ate dinner after and then came to talk to you

Eventually, they each convince the other to get some rest. Akari drifts off soon after.

She dreams again. She doesn’t remember much by the time she wakes up, only fabric under her hands and the ground under her feet, silk and cotton and grass and stone. She knows there was more, but decides not to press her memory. She has other things to do.

Looker has a map open on the dining table when she goes through for breakfast. She takes her seat at the place with the empty plate, and notes that the pecha berry jam has been placed conveniently close to her.

“Good morning! Today we will be making our way to Veilstone City. I am currently plotting our route, and I have a question that will affect the direction we go in to reach our destination.”

Akari nods, reaching for the jam. “Ask away.”

“Do you know how to ride a bicycle?”

“No.” Akari decides not to mention that she doesn’t know what a bicycle is.

Looker nods. “There is a route that is cycle-only south of here that would allow us to stop in a favoured city of mine for lunch. We could walk there, but that would be slower, and we would likely have to stop over in another place for the night and would only reach the city the following day. So rather than that-” he traces his finger over a route leading east, then south, then east - “we will be going this way, through tunnels in Mt. Coronet. If we leave soon, we will have plenty of time to reach Veilstone City before nightfall.”

“That sounds good.”

They finish breakfast, and agree to go gather their things and then meet in the front room to leave. Akari retreats to her room to pack. As she goes through her things, her phone buzzes. Early for Rei to be awake, she thinks, checking the screen.

diversity win i am awake at a normal time

very

i was battling all night it was great

FAIR POINT i have slept. i forgot to specify it was in my dreams

arceus set up a battle gauntlet for me

good enrichment

yes

probably not enough honestly i’ll go do that

understandable

is going up to the highlands to learn embroidery from melli normal cause i’ve been meaning to do that for a while

i also get to go in the basket

one of the best parts of going to the highlands for real. excuse to go in the basket

yes !!

ooh have fun

wait isn’t that through the highlands?

YEAH

same place across time!!

for sure

i think we should both get going it’s a long way to moonview from here

you too

Akari tucks her phone away in her pocket, checks over her bag one last time, and steps out to meet Looker.

“Are you all ready to leave?”

“Yes. I have all my things.”

Looker nods, and opens the door. “I will lead the way. I will warn you, though, that the routes we will be travelling will likely contain many trainers looking to battle with travellers, so we will be… taking some shortcuts, to avoid this issue. I hope you do not mind going off the beaten paths at some junctures. We may have to travel through wooded areas and tall grass.”

“That’s fine. I’m used to rough terrain.”

Their route takes them out of Eterna City and onto a rocky path, leading towards the tunnel they’ll be passing through. “It seems we are up early enough that nobody is here to challenge us, so we can take the easy path without fear. A good thing, too, as there are not many possible shortcuts to take. It is harder to hide in a rocky area.”

The tunnel is dark, and a little hard to navigate, but the darkness helps them avoid a hiker who seems to be looking for a battle. They slip past him unnoticed. The Zubat lining the walls of the cave don’t seem concerned with them particularly, which is a relief.

On the other side of the tunnel, the sun is higher in the sky and there are trainers waiting along the walkable areas. Looker leads Akari through a patch of tall grass nobody seems to have their eye on, and they stop for a moment next to a patch of small berry trees.

“I do enjoy travelling around Sinnoh for these berry patches. It is the done thing, I believe, to pick a few berries, and if there is space in the patch and you have the necessary items, to plant a berry of your own. They are like very small communal gardens spread across the regions.”

“I like that.” Akari fishes out the pecha berry she picked outside of Jubilife a few days ago from her bag. “I don’t think this is good to eat any more, but I could plant it.”

There’s enough space, and no pecha berry tree, so she plants it, with a little help from her Pikachu to dig out a suitable divot in the ground. They rest for a little longer after that, and then make their way to Celestic Town, where Looker has decided they will be stopping for lunch.

It’s a very small town, with only a few houses. It reminds Akari a little of Jubilife Village when it was first founded. They purchase some sandwiches at a shop - not a Pokémart, so their menu is unfamiliar, but the sandwiches are still good. The people running it greet Looker as a friend, and are delighted by Akari’s Survey Corps uniform. “It’s wonderful to see young people these days appreciating history,” the woman behind the counter remarks. Even if her being from another time wasn’t a secret, Akari wouldn’t have had the heart to tell her the truth.

When they’re done with their sandwiches, they say goodbye and set out once again. The way forward is mostly bridges, with no real options for shortcuts like cutting through trees or hiding behind well-placed rocks, but they manage to avoid the trainers lining the way forward. After the bridges, the path is winding and shrouded by dense forest. It’s a relief, after the bridges.

Looker finds a path through a small section of trees, and then through a patch of long grass. The way ahead is fairly clear, no trainers to be seen-

“A-ha!”

Akari turns on her heel, one hand going to her bag for a pokéball and the other held out to stop- well, Looker, in this instance, though usually it’s Rei - from getting any closer to the source of the noise. It’s instinctual. Too many times a quiet pokémon has snuck up behind them both and almost gravely injured them.

This is not a quiet pokémon. This is a child dressed in dark clothes and wearing a headband, grinning at her.

“You had no idea I was here, and now you have to battle me!”

“What?”

He withdraws a pokéball, one of the odd new ones. “Don’t you know the rules? If two trainers make eye contact, they’ve gotta battle.”

Akari lowers her arm. “That’s an odd system. How would you know if someone has pokémon or not? It sounds like you’re just going to end up threatening people.”

“You came here through the tall grass. There’s pokémon in there.” He points back the way they came. The patch of grass he’s referring to looks to be entirely devoid of pokémon. “You wouldn’t come through here if you didn’t have pokémon with you to protect you. Can it be a double battle? I have two pokémon, and there’s two of you.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Akari sees Looker freeze.

“No. He doesn’t have pokémon,” she lies. “I’m here to protect him.”

“Huh. Weird. Most people have at least a Wurmple or something. You still have to battle me, though!”

Akari nods, bringing out her Clefairy. Her opponent sends out a Stunky.

This isn’t ideal. Her Clefairy doesn’t do well with poison, and a poison/dark pokémon is almost guaranteed to know a poisonous move. Stunky are quick on their feet, too. Her best bet is to hope Clefairy withstands a hit, and then to hit back with its most powerful move.

“Stunky, Toxic!”

“Moonblast!”

The toxic spray from the Stunky reaches Clefairy before it can finish gathering its Moonblast. It shudders, but only a moment later manages to fire off the glittering attack. When the sparkles clear, the Stunky is flopped over on one side, clearly unconscious. The ninja boy squeaks, and withdraws it.

Clefairy shudders again. Akari withdraws it. She’ll cure it right after the battle.

“Go, Golbat!”

Flying type. Alright. Pikachu can take this down.

She lets it out, and her opponent grimaces. “Oh, c’mon! You’re not meant to counter me!”

Akari doesn’t respond. Golbat are fast, scarily so, but if she plays her cards right…

“Confuse Ray!”

“Volt Tackle, agile style!”

Her opponent’s Golbat hardly has time to blink before Pikachu slams into it, full speed, crackling with electricity. Akari jumps back. One day she won’t get startled by electric moves, but it seems today is not that day.

“Augh!” The boy jumps forward to catch the now-unconscious falling Golbat. “I’m out of pokémon. You win.”

Akari blinks. “Oh.”

“I can’t believe your Pikachu knows Volt Tackle of all things. That’s Ace Trainer stuff.” He withdraws Golbat back into its pokéball. “Are you an Ace Trainer in disguise or something?”

“No. I don’t know what that means.”

“They’re really good trainers. Too good, so they’ve gotta wear a uniform so you know what you’re up against. You should do that, actually, your Clefairy’s scary strong. What even is a Moonblast?”

“I mean, I do wear a uniform, just nobody here recognises it-”

“We should be going.” Looker sounds alarmed. “We have a destination to be at and if we continue to wait here we will not be there by nightfall. So, we are moving on now. Goodbye.”

“You’re not gonna tell me what a Moonblast is? Or agile style?”

“No. We are extremely busy and leaving now.”

“Ugh. Fine. Here.” He fishes some notes and coins out of his pocket and presses them into Akari’s hands. “There’s your prize. Now I gotta go heal my team. Bye!” He disappears into the trees.

Akari blinks. “What just happened?”

“A trainer battle. An unusual one, to be sure, but-” Looker sighs. “Agent Starlight, are you secretly a member of the International Police?”

“No.” Akari attempts to find a place in her bag for her new currency. “Why did he give me money? I wasn’t trying to extort him.”

“It is standard practice. If you are not from the International Police, how do you know about moves such as Moonblast?”

“My Clefairy just figured out how to do it one day. Am I not meant to know about it..?”

“Absolutely you are not.”

“Oh. Sorry. It wasn’t on purpose.”

“It is alright. You were not to know it is highly classified. Hopefully the child you battled will forget it was ever mentioned.”

She nods. “I need to look for a pecha berry bush. My Clefairy might still be poisoned.”

“I carry Antidotes on me. Here.” Looker retrieves a little yellow bottle from his pocket. “This should do.”

“Oh. Thank you.” She takes it, and turns it over in her hands. “How does it work?”

“It is a spray-type medicine. You apply it by pressing down on the little button here. I would offer to use it for you, but I find the mechanism fiddly.”

Akari nods, and fishes out Clefairy’s pokéball, letting it out gently onto the soft grass. It’s still shivering, and looks up at her sadly.

She crouches down so she’s level to it, with less chance of missing. “Close your eyes. I don’t want this to get in them. It should get rid of the poison.”

It beeps, and closes its eyes. Akari sprays the Antidote onto it, and waits a moment. “Is that better?”

It opens its eyes and beeps again, significantly more cheerfully.

“That’s a relief. I got worried.” She looks up at Looker. “What do I do with the empty bottle?”

“I will carry it. We can take it to a Pokémart to be cleaned and reused for another Antidote.”

“That’s clever. I like it.”

Looker nods, taking the bottle back. “I do my best to stay well stocked with Antidotes, even though we do not often battle. Croagunk - the only pokémon I carry with me - is a poison type, as I am sure you know, and some trainers forget to purchase the more specific healing items, so I give them out.” He pauses. “Thank you for stopping him from attempting to battle us. I appreciate it. We should continue walking now.”

Akari withdraws Clefairy, and stands. “Alright. And you’re welcome. I don’t like battles either, honestly, but I think you like them less than me.”

“Perhaps. It would be impossible to know for certain.”

She shrugs. “I just get stressed out. I’ve had too many battles with wild pokémon where the only thing between me and getting seriously hurt is the right move. Which way are we going?”

“This direction.” Looker points ahead of them, and they start walking. “I have never heard another trainer be concerned with wild pokémon as such a threat.”

“I guess it’s different here. Back home, a lot of people are only just figuring out pokémon aren’t all bad. Lots of people are scared of them. I get why, a bunch of people have had near death experiences with them, me included, but I’m glad things are changing. It’s not good to be scared all the time of something that’s right on your doorstep.”

“Indeed, it is not. I suppose the people of Sinnoh have that in common, though the threat is not the same.”

“That’s a good point. I hadn’t thought about that.”

They walk in silence for a while after that. Akari’s thinking about home. She wonders if the lady who likes Starly that she talks to sometimes has braved petting one yet. Starly are very sweet and soft-feathered. She herself used to be scared of the bigger evolutions, Staravia and Staraptor both, but that fear’s faded now that she has a Staraptor of her own. It’s just as sweet as it was when it was a little Starly, and there’s nothing like holding a bird that’s close to as big as you are, and softer than any fabric you’ve ever felt.

Looker is staring straight ahead, looking very much lost in thought. Akari wonders if he’s thinking about his home, too.

After a while, they come across an obstacle. Their path is blocked by several Psyduck, sat unmoving, holding their heads. “I will be able to find a way around them, but I will let Cynthia know they are here. The people in Celestic Town make a medicine that is capable of curing a Psyduck’s headache, and she will likely be able to get hold of some easier than we would. Here, there is an opening in the trees, and should lead us to the next route.”

After their forest shortcut, there are more bridges, and more trainers. Akari is, quite suddenly, glad that Looker is so good at finding paths through the dense trees.

“Do they expect everyone passing through to battle every one of them?” she asks, as quietly as she can.

“In my experience, that is the case, yes.” Looker breaks away a branch that was blocking their path. “Eye contact is seen as a direct challenge, but often this rule seems to be misinterpreted as if they see you at all, they challenge you.”

“That sounds exhausting.” Akari examines the branch stub as they walk past. It’s very cleanly broken off. “My team would be exhausted battling their way through there, even if they never got hurt.”

“It would be incredibly tiring. There is a way through here.”

A while more of walking and a couple of close calls later, they arrive at the gate to Veilstone City, and then Veilstone City itself.

The first thing Akari sees is the Galactic HQ. It’s on the other side of the city, but big enough to loom over every other building. In the rapidly fading light of the evening, it looks terrifying. Akari didn’t know a building could be terrifying.

The buildings here aren’t so tall as in Jubilife - she misses it badly, she realises, even the towering city of this time. What was wrong with Galaxy Hall? Why build this domed thing with spiked towers? What was wrong with what they had before? She shakes her head, hard.

“Are you alright, Agent Starlight?”

“No.” The response comes out far more bitter than she’d like. “No. But I’ll be fine. Where to now?”

Their accommodation here, Looker explains, has been secured for them by his organisation. They could, theoretically, stay within the Team Galactic building, but that would make hiding their true intentions much harder than it needed to be. “As much as the accommodation within the building is nice, from what I have heard, it is best to stay outside of the Headquarters as much as possible.”

Nice, is it? Akari’s hands curl into fists, her nails poking into her palms.

It’s a shorter walk to where they’re staying than it was in Eterna City, and Akari’s glad of that. As soon as they’re inside, she finds a place to sit - a sofa, not as nice as Cynthia’s, but comfortable enough, and grabs a cushion to worry at.

Looker sits down next to her. “I wish to help.”

“I don’t know if you can.”

“Will talking help?”

She can’t tell him the full truth, and telling a half-truth feels like lying, and she really doesn’t want to lie to Looker, but she is so angry and it’s that or she ruins the seams of this cushion from worrying at it too hard.

“The Team Galactic building. I hate it. The Galaxy Hall in Jubilife- Have you seen it?”

“I have. It is a very grand building.”

“That was the old Galaxy Team building. It’s beautiful. I’m glad they’re not using it, they’d ruin it, they’d take all its life away, but why build that? Why do all this under the name of the Galaxy Team? I hate it. I hate them.”

“I understand. I have not studied the history of the original Galaxy Team in as much detail as I believe you have, but in my research for this mission I did look into the Team Galactic’s history, before they became what they are today. From my understanding, the Galaxy Team was a very noble organisation. They wanted to make things better for people.”

“They did.” There are tears forming in Akari’s eyes.. Looker rests one hand on her shoulder, very gently. Somehow, that helps. “They wanted to help, and they did their best.” She shudders, and curls up, and cries.

Looker puts one arm around her, letting her lean on him. His coat is wool. Professor Laventon has a coat like this, cut differently, but the same fabric. He told her how it was made, once, how the Wooloo fleece is spun and woven into fabric, and then how the coat itself was constructed.

“How was your coat made?” Her voice comes out teary.

“Ah, this I can answer. A good friend of mine made it for me, when I expressed to her that I struggled to find garments that fit me comfortably in fabrics that are not detestable.”

“Evil fabric,” Akari says, quietly, and Looker nods.

“Precisely. We went to look for fabric together - I believe this fabric comes from a small and relatively unknown Wooloo farm somewhere in this region.”

“I didn’t think there were any Wooloo here.”

“They would have been brought over from the Galar region. When I had chosen the fabric, we worked out a pattern and made sure it would fit me in the manner I wished it to. And had suitably large pockets, of course.”

“That’s very important.”

“It is. My friend insisted on it. She has taken to wearing only long and full skirts, as you can place a much larger pocket in those as opposed to trousers. A coat also works for this purpose.”

“She sounds sensible.”

“That is certainly one way to describe her.” Looker laughs. “I say this with fondness, and the knowledge that I am hardly better. But she does know her way around garment construction.”

“Maybe I could talk to her about it. I’m interested in sewing. And pattern cutting. And fabric weaving.”

“She has a wealth of knowledge on those things, far more than I do. Perhaps we could arrange something, if we found the time to. Are you feeling better?”
Akari nods. “A lot better. Thank you.”

“You are welcome. I am sincerely glad I could assist.”

“We have to go in there, don’t we?”

“The Team Galactic Headquarters? Yes, unfortunately. Though I could go alone, report your arrival, and make excuses for you. It is late enough that you could conceivably be too tired from your journey to report in.”

She shakes her head. “I’d rather go today. I’m gonna have to go in either way, and this gives me longer to get used to it.” She sets her cushion down next to her on the sofa. “I also don’t want to be alone right now.”

“This is understandable.” Looker turns to face Akari properly. “You are very brave, Agent Starlight, and I am not saying this to be demeaning or patronising. I mean it.”

“Thank you. I- appreciate it. I appreciate it.”

“When all of this is over, and the Team Galactic has been stopped for good, the memory of the Galaxy Team can be restored. I think that is what is deserved. Their good deeds should not be forgotten in the wake of a copycat group with a terrible dream.”

Akari nods, firmly. “Yes. I’d like that.”

“Then that is what we are working towards, as well as the saving of the world.”

“That’ll help. I mean-” She fumbles for words. “Of course I want to save the world, but making sure the Galaxy Team is remembered- that’ll keep me going.”

“This is good. It is getting dark outside, so we should disguise ourselves and then make our way to the Headquarters. I can show you where your room is now.”

She nods, and they both stand.

Akari’s room is down a short hallway. It’s a little bigger than her room at Cynthia’s house, but not quite as cozy. The covers on the bed possess an unfortunate lack of pretty floral pattern. It’s still a nice room, though, and none of the fabric is evil.

It doesn’t take her long at all to get changed, now that she knows how the odd fastenings on her uniform work. Looker is waiting for her in the sitting room, in his impeccable disguise - it still seems impossible, that he can make himself look so different in no more than a few minutes. She almost asks again how he can manage that as he helps her style her hair into the style they’ve worked out to be Team Galactic-appropriate, but instead saves it as something to ask later, when they don’t have places to be.

The buildings in Veilstone are raised off the level of the streets slightly, Akari notices as they walk, or maybe instead of them being raised up the streets themselves are dug into stone. It gives an interesting look to the city.

The Galactic HQ has three glass sliding doors in the front, which Akari thinks is too many. Looker directs her through the centre one.

The entrance hall is expansive, even bigger than the Eterna Building lobby. Directly in front of them, there’s a counter with someone behind it, leaning on it and looking bored. There’s a set of odd futuristic-looking doors to the left of that, and then further left still some tables and vending machines. Akari recognises some of the machines scattered around the room as the ones from the Eterna Building.

A loud exclamation calls her attention to the tables.

“Look, look, it says right here a Purugly can have little a salami, as a treat. We’ve been over this!”

“Yes, we have, but that was not ‘little a,’ that was like half your sandwich, Mars.”

“It’s a Purugly now, though! Big kitty! Not a little Glameow any more. ‘Little a’ is proportional to the size of the kitty and I will die on this hill.” The Purugly in question is curled up on the floor next to Mars, and while Akari’s not close enough to hear, she’s willing to bet it’s purring smugly.

The other person glances over at Akari. “No time for dying on hills. Your recruit’s here.”

“Oh!” Mars looks up, and waves her over. “Hey! How was the journey?”

“Fine, thank you.”

“No holdups or anything? That’s good.”

“Someone did try to battle me, but I won, so it was fine.”

Mars grins. “Multi-talented! I’ll have to keep that in mind.” She gestures to the person next to her. “This is Jupiter, a fellow commander of mine. They’ll be showing you around the day after tomorrow.”

Jupiter nods. “None of us are available for a tour tomorrow, and Mars is busy the day after, so you’ll be starting here the day after tomorrow with me showing you the ropes.”

“Alright. That’s fine by me.”

Mars claps her hands. “Nice! That’s settled then. There’s a desk all ready for you, lots of space for you to keep your stuff, with a window view and everything. You’ll love it, but you’ve gotta wait a bit before you can see it for the first time.”

“I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.”

“It will!” She grins. “You should go get some rest now. And take tomorrow easy too, alright? We want you in top form when you start work here.”

“Of course.” Akari smiles.

Mars turns back to arguing with Jupiter and petting her Purugly. That’s probably her cue to leave. Looker is waiting at the door for her.

She waits until they’re a little way away from the Headquarters to speak. “I’m being given a tour the day after tomorrow, and I start work then. They’ve told me to take tomorrow easy so I’m well rested. I suppose that’s one holdover from the Galaxy Team.”

“I dislike agreeing with the Team Galactic, but I do think you should rest. It is important to your health.”

“That’s the difference between you and them. You care about my health and well-being. They care about optimal productivity. ‘We want you in top form,’ they said.”

“At least they are letting you rest. I have known of organisations where they simply push you to keep going, no matter how exhausted you are.”

“I doubt Team Galactic can afford to do that. The Galaxy Team certainly couldn’t. If you were tired or sleep-deprived, you weren’t fit to go out and do survey work.” She shrugs. “That was just the Survey Corps, though, but it would’ve been similar for the other corps. You can’t afford to not be at your best when your work is as dangerous as it was back then.” It feels odd, referring to her time like this. It doesn’t sound quite as convincing as she’d like it to.

They arrive at their lodgings, and Looker laments the lack of homemade jam as he goes through the cupboards searching for ingredients. “I will have to go shopping for provisions tomorrow. The International Police thinks of most things, but not the importance of having a well-stocked kitchen, it seems.”

Dinner is makeshift sandwiches made with whatever they could find in the fridge (“Perhaps I am simply picky, but who made these preparations? I will have to have words with whoever was in charge here,”) and they both retire to their rooms soon after, wishing each other a good night’s sleep. At long last, Akari is able to check her phone for messages from Rei.

hi!!!

better than alright today’s been great

you?

AMAZING i know why you’re like that about garment construction now

my brain is full of secret sewing knowledge and i have a little square of fabric with pretty decorations on

dyou wanna hear about what i learned?

Akari turns off the overhead light and turns on her bedside lamp, and curls up under the covers. Reading Rei’s excited rambling about embroidery is just what she needs after such a long and tiring day.

Chapter Text

Akari is awoken by the sounds of an argument two rooms away.

She recognises the voice as Looker, but not any of the words he’s saying, and try as she might she can’t make out a second voice. It might be good to investigate.

She hops out of bed and tiptoes down the hallway. The door to the front room is open, and Looker is alone. He is staring at his phone, dejected.

“Hello.”

“Ah- Agent Starlight. I am sorry if I woke you up.”

“You did, but it’s okay. I’ve been woken up by worse. Are you alright?”

He sighs, despondently. “Truthfully, no. I had contacted my organisation with constructive criticism on how to stock a fridge with edible food, and accidentally let slip that I had hired an assistant agent. I am, apparently, endangering the operation, but what was I to do without another agent to do what I cannot? I have built up my reputation in the Team Galactic as a reliable but not particularly talented grunt. If I was to try to rise up the ranks now, or sneak into a forbidden area and be caught, I would be found highly suspicious, and we cannot let them scheme in secret any longer.”

“You needed me for that. And since I’ve been referred by someone reliable, they aren’t going to find me suspicious.”

“Precisely.” He nods. “To them you are simply a recently discovered treasure. But the International Police do not like that I have involved a civilian. They have requested that I pass on that they cannot pay you.”

Akari shrugs. “That’s fine. I’m not here for a salary. I’m getting paid by Team Galactic, too, right?”

“You are, yes, and likely quite well.”

“So money won’t be an issue, then. And if it is I can just go out and battle those route trainers for prize money.”

“I am sure that won’t be necessary.” Looker sounds alarmed. “I would not want you to stress yourself out.”

“I’ve had worse.”

“That is the second time today that you have stated this, Agent Starlight, and you are beginning to concern me.”

“Don’t worry about it. What’s for breakfast?”

“...I will ask again another time. I was thinking we could attempt to find a place to purchase breakfast. I would suggest a Pokémart croissant, but there are no Pokémarts in this city.”

“Oh. Why not?”

“There is a shopping centre here, so there is no need for one. Likely there will be a place to purchase breakfast in there, but it may not be as familiar as the Pokémart.”

Akari nods. “Alright. I’ll get my bag, then.” She turns to go back to her room, and pauses. “Y’know, most people don’t get worried about things being unfamiliar. Like with food.”

“I have noticed that you have been seeking out foods that are similar to what you have already had. You get the same sandwich in every Pokémart. I thought it would be worth it to warn you, and for what it’s worth, I also prefer not to experience an unexpected texture or taste when I am eating.”

She looks at him for a moment, considering, and nods again. “I appreciate the warning. Very much.”

Back in her room, she goes through her bag, unpacks what she doesn’t need into the set of drawers that double as a bedside table, and considers what Looker said a while longer. Looker is her friend, she’s decided. He’s strange, definitely, but all her friends are strange. Rei is strange. Laventon is strange. She gets along best with people who are a little odd in the same direction as her. And it’s nice to be around someone who understands the value of familiar food.

It’s also nice to be around someone who understands what will help when she’s curled up, crying, and asking about the way a coat was made.

That should be everything she needs. Time to go.

They meet in the front room, as has become their routine, and head out into Veilstone. The city looks quite different by the early morning light than how it did in the evening yesterday, and it makes it easier to see that the pattern-paved streets are dug into the rock below them, with the buildings resting on higher flat plateaus. Akari notes a few different buildings - one labelled as a “games corner” and another beside it advertising prizes, and a much larger building that she’s fairly sure, from the sign outside, is one of the gyms Cynthia had been talking about.

The shopping centre is almost the largest building in the city, and almost the largest building Akari’s ever seen. It’s mostly glass windows, but the bits that aren’t are brightly coloured, with hanging banners advertising various shops covering large parts of the building.

“Wow. I’ve never seen a shop this big. What do they sell, that they need all this space for?”

“Many things. I believe this is actually many different shops within one building, but all managed by the same group. There are areas to buy food, clothes, healing and battle items, I believe there is a stall selling fresh berries somewhere, and likely many other things. I will admit, I am hoping there is a place to buy fresh juice here. I am rather missing the one I used to visit sometimes.”

Inside, it looks somehow bigger than it did on the outside. Shops line the walls, and there are stalls along the centre of the huge entrance hall. The ceiling is high, so high that looking all the way up makes Akari feel dizzy, and absolutely everything - the walls, the floor, the glass fronts of the shops - is polished to an almost blinding sheen.

“Are you alright?” Looker sounds concerned.

“Uh. I’m not sure. It’s- it’s a lot.”

He nods. “Do you want to go back out? I can locate breakfast for us while you wait outside. I believe there are benches.”

“I want to pick out my own food. I think if I don’t look up, I’ll be fine. I’ve never been in a place like this.”

“Me neither, in all honesty, though I have visited places like it. Nothing quite so big, however. Ah, I see a stall that may have what we are looking for.”

Akari’s able to smell the stall before she properly sees which one they’re heading towards. It’s done up in mostly warm browns, and a warm, sweet, baked-goods smell radiates from it. There are many delicious looking treats on display.

“Ooh. Wow. Ok, I like it in here.”

She picks out something that seems very like a croissant but is filled with pecha berry jam, which she decides very quickly she likes more than a regular croissant. It’s warm and flakey and extra sweet at the centre where the jam is. She’s managed to eat half of it before they get out of the shopping centre, back into the open air.

It’s still early enough that there’s hardly anyone around, so it’s easy to find a place to sit and finish their respective breakfasts. After that, Looker takes out a notebook and flips to a page with a shopping list scrawled on it.

“Is there anything you think is missing from this list?”

She reads it through, and suggests more croissants, or ingredients with which to make more croissants. Looker agrees, and notes them down, then hands her some money (“for purchasing lunch”) and a map of Veilstone City (“so that you do not get lost, if you choose to explore”), and stands. “I will see if I can purchase all these items in the shopping centre. If you do plan on exploring, please come back to our accommodation by dinnertime. 8pm, or thereabouts. Although, it occurs to me, I should give you my contact information so you are able to let me know if you are in any danger.”

Akari nods, and takes out her phone. It opens all the right things for her to add a way to contact Looker. She sends him a test message, to make sure it all works correctly, and he goes on his way.

The streets of Veilstone City are beginning to fill up, now that it’s a little later in the morning. Akari people-watches from her bench for a while, then checks to see if Rei has sent her any messages. He has, as it turns out, and they talk for a while. Rei’s plans for the day include learning a little more about embroidery from Melli in the morning (he’d apparently stayed over at the camp next to Moonview Arena), and then going to Turnback Cave to visit Volo.

i’m gonna tell him about embroidery. i have supplies for him and everything

i think it could fix him

They talk a little while longer after that, before Rei has to go. Akari stares at the blank screen for a while, trying to think of what to do. She could go to see what the games corner is like, or maybe take a look at the gym. Maybe she could brave the shopping centre again later, if she wants another treat from the bakery stall.

Someone is being very loud very close to her, and it’s making her struggle to keep her thoughts in order.

“Dawn! Dawn! Earth to Dawn!”

Akari looks up to see what the fuss is about, and sees someone rapidly approaching her, calling someone else’s name. Ah. She seems to have been mistaken for someone else.

“I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong person.”

The stranger stops short a few feet away from her. “Wow, I really do, huh? That’s my bad. You look a lot like a friend of mine. You could be twins, honestly, if it wasn’t for the accent. Do you know a Dawn?”

“I don’t.”

“Man! Funny coincidence, then, to have you show up right where I’m meant to meet her.” She tilts her head, looking at Akari in a way that makes her feel rather like she’s being scrutinised. "Are you, by any chance, in the business of saving the world?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about or why you would think that."

The girl grins. "Got it. My friend I’m looking for definitely isn't either." She extends a hand. "You got anything to do this afternoon, or d'you wanna come hang out with us?"

She looks friendly, and Akari really doesn't have anything on her schedule, just a vague “take it easy”, and she's starting to miss talking to people about things other than Team Galactic and other such serious matters. Why shouldn’t she tag along? There's probably no harm in it.

"That would be nice."

"Yes! Alright, c'mon. My friends are just over there." She grabs Akari's hand and pulls her up from her seat. "I'm Kris, by the way."

“I’m Akari.”

“Pretty name! This way.”

Kris leads her across the path to the front of the shopping centre, where a group of girls are sat on a bench. They wave at Kris, and maybe also Akari. She’s not sure.

“Bad news: I didn’t find Dawn. Good news: I did find us a new friend. This is Akari, everyone!”

She gestures for her to sit down, between a girl in a white brimmed hat with a pokéball shaped red decoration on it and a girl in a red headband. “She’s hanging out with us today.”

The girl in the white brimmed hat squints at Akari. "Are you a ghost from the past here to haunt us?"

"Leaf! Be nice to her!"

Akari tries and fails to hold back a giggle. "No, it's okay. I know I dress the part. I'm definitely alive, though, I promise. I have a pulse and everything."

“Can I check?”

She nods, and holds out her wrist. The white-brimmed hat girl - Leaf? - takes it. The others in the group continue to pepper her with questions.

“Are you from around here?”

“No, I’m from quite far away.”

“Where are your clothes from? They’re so cute!”

“I made them myself.”

This produces a chorus of oooohs. Akari smiles, a little shyly.

“Alright, everyone calm down, we don’t want to overwhelm her.” Kris turns to Akari. “D’you mind if I introduce everyone?”

“That sounds good. I’d like to know people’s names.”

She grins. “So the one checking your pulse is Leaf, I promise she’s really nice, and this is May-” she points at the red headband girl, who smiles - “she’s super cool she went to space like last week-”

“Nine months ago, Kris, and I thought we weren’t bringing that up in front of strangers?”

“Yeah, but this is Akari, she’s our friend now. This is Lyra-” a girl with a giant red bow on her hat nods, smiling - “I’ve known her forever, and you know who I am because I told you already. We’re waiting on Dawn, who you’ll recognise because it’ll be like looking in a mirror except the mirror version of you wears pink.”

Akari nods, trying her best to hold all the names in her head and not mix up which belongs to who. “Thank you. I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”

“She’s probably battling someone,” Leaf suggests, gently placing Akari’s arm back onto her lap. “You definitely have a pulse, but it could be a pretend pulse. Some ghosts have those and it’s hard to tell the difference.”

“Leaf.”

“I’ll be nice to her! Even if she is a ghost. I don’t mind ghosts.”

Akari decides she quite likes Leaf.

“Hey, May, d’you wanna talk to Akari for a bit? I have something to ask Leaf.” Kris’s tone is purposeful and slightly worried. Ah. A distraction, then. Akari dutifully turns to May.

Behind them, Kris and Leaf start whispering.

“Alright, no trying to catch our new friend in a pokéball, ok?”

“Of course not! Why would I do that? That would be mean!”

“I- alright, sure. I’m just saying, that was the literal first thing you did when we first met.”

“Well, she’s a ghost, so she probably has unfinished business, and it would be mean to keep her from it. Also, you’re very brightly coloured.”

May is giving Akari an apologetic smile.

“I like your headband,” she offers.

“Oh! Thank you. I like your, uh…” She trails off, staring at Akari’s cloth tied over her hair.

“Nobody knows what to call it, don’t worry.”

“Fair enough. It’s pretty. Suits you.”

“Thank you. That’s very kind.”

(Faintly, Akari hears more whispering from behind her.

“And no trying that on Dawn either, right?”

“No, I think she might bite me if I did that, and I’m worried I’m weak to Dark-type damage.”)

“I feel like I’ve seen your clothes somewhere before. Not in real life, in a photo or something, but they’re definitely familiar.” May scans Akari’s outfit, before alighting on the Galaxy Team emblem on her sleeve. “Oh! Galaxy Team. The- Which one is the blue one? Not Security Corps, that one’s red, uhh-”

“The Survey Corps.”

“Yes! They came up in my history class a few weeks ago, I think I have an essay question on them in my finals. So do you do historical clothing reconstructions? That’s super cool.”

“You could say that. This is my only one, though. You’re the first person who’s recognised it.”

“Yeah, I think most people have their minds on the other one right now.” May glances upwards, behind Akari, presumably at the looming Galactic HQ. “It bothers me. Like, sure, there’s other things to worry about when it comes to Team Galactic that aren’t “hey, these guys ripped off a historical organisation that did a whole bunch of incredible things and are now ruining their good name,” but it bothers me.”

Akari decides she likes May very much.

“Dawn! There you are!” Kris exclaims from behind her.

Akari turns to see two people approaching them. One of them waves excitedly, and starts sprinting towards the group.

“Hello!! Hi!! I know I sorta wasn’t invited but I wanted to come say hi anyway!”

Kris hops up from her seat. “Barry! Unexpected friend! Hello!”

Barry manages to stop right before running directly into Kris. “Ha! I don’t care what Dawn says, I’m getting better at that. Oh, there are so many of you!! Can we battle? Tomorrow? Battle gauntlet just for me? As a treat?”

“All of us, one after the other? Even you would get tired doing that.”

“I never get tired. There’s only one-two-three-four-five and then six of you counting Dawn- Wait a second.” He looks at Akari and blinks. “You’re not Dawn ‘cause you’re not wearing the hat but you look like her. Dawn!” He turns to call out to her, and jumps. “Oh, you’re right there. Were you hiding a secret third twin from me this whole time!?”

“That’s called a triplet, and no- oh wow you look like me.”

It takes a few very long moments to properly take in the person now standing in front of her. She looks… Well, she looks like Akari, almost exactly. The only pinpointable differences are the clothes, and the hairstyle (though even that’s close to hers), and the look in her eyes. It reminds Akari distinctly of Rei.

“Hello,” she says, cautiously.

“Hi.”

Kris grins. “See, I told you! Like looking in a mirror except the mirror version wears pink. That’s such a cute coat by the way, is it new?”

“It is, yeah. I got it from that new boutique in Hearthome.”

“Ooh, I’ll have to check that out!”

Barry is bouncing up and down. “I didn’t get my answer. Can we all battle tomorrow? It’d be fun!!”

Lyra signs something in a language Akari doesn’t recognise.

“‘If you want to fight the Champion of Johto, I’m down,’” Kris interprets. “I am, too.”

“And me, if you do revision cards with me later,” May adds.

Barry nods. “Done.”

“I’m busy, probably, but you battle me at least once a week anyway.” Dawn kicks at some gravel. “Good thing too. Galactic grunts are never a challenge.”

“Aw. What about you?” He turns to Akari.

“I’m busy tomorrow, too. I’m sorry.”

“Man!! How come both the secret twins are both busy on the same day?”

“Ask me that later, and less loudly.” Dawn is still watching Akari in the same sort of way a wild Staraptor watches a Wurmple. Akari hasn't taken her eyes off her, either.

Barry’s eyes go wide, and he lowers his voice. “Oh, whoops. Sorry. I didn’t know it was the secrets kind of busy. Um.” He clears his throat. “Well I gotta go now anyway!! I’m also very busy with very important things that aren’t secret but I don’t have the time to explain. Bye!!” With that, he dashes off back down the path.

“We didn’t plan a time to meet up for the battle gauntlet.” May says, quietly.

“We can arrange that later. Dawn and I both have his number, we can just text him.” Kris turns to Dawn. “So how’ve you been? How’s the definitely not saving the world going?”

May winces. “Maybe not right now? We’re very much in public.”

Kris gestures dismissively. “It’s fine, we can just talk quietly. And if you’re worried about our guest, she’s not gonna tell anyone. Are you, Akari?”

Akari nods. “Not a soul.”

“See? She gets it.”

May shifts over to make room for Dawn, and she sits down between her and Akari. In a half-hushed voice, she begins telling the group about her infiltrating the Galactic Veilstone building.

“It’s a real maze in there, you know. None of the stairs lead to where you think they should. Luckily for me, though, someone had the foresight to get a map for me.” She glances at Akari, and smiles, conspiratorially. Akari nods back.

It seems she’s run into Agent Sunrise. What a coincidence, that they look so alike.

Dawn finishes her story by recounting her battle with Commander Jupiter. “They were battling with a Zubat and a Skuntank, which honestly raises more questions than it answers. Like, yeah, poison types for a villainous bunch, standard fare, but they’ve stolen a lot of pokémon. Would it kill them to get some type variation? Do they not have the budget for training a Zubat well enough that it can evolve? Ugh.” She sighs. “I shouldn’t be complaining. I’m glad what I’m doing isn’t hard. It’s just… monotonous. At least I can battle route trainers on the way back.”

“They need to get a little better so you can have better enrichment,” Leaf says, decisively. “Red was the same.”

“Are they all cocky about it? Everyone we fought was way more confident than they needed to be,” Kris adds. “Maybe that’s just a Team Rocket problem, though.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s another thing, they come at you like ‘turn back now or fall to my Stunky!’ and then my Shellos takes it down in one hit, and then the next one talks exactly as big and then sends out a Glameow like that’s gonna take me out. I think that wears me out more than the battles. I get mad at them.”

“Do you have a way of calming down afterwards?” Akari asks.

Dawn squints at her. “I mean, I guess? People tell you to take deep breaths and stuff. I do that. Doesn’t work particularly well but I do it.”

“You don’t have to do that, then. There’s other ways. Get something you can hold that’s nice and tactile, like something with moving parts or fabric with a good texture. Pet your pokémon. Think through lists of things you know about, or steps in a process. I usually do type matchups or garment construction.”

“Huh. Hadn’t thought about those.”

“It’s good to talk about it, too, or it builds up.”

“Yeah, I hadn’t really mentioned it to anyone apart from Lucas and Barry, and never properly talked about it. It’s just- they’re mean to me, y’know? And then I feel less bad about kicking their asses, but still. Mean to me.”

Akari nods. “They should stop being mean to you immediately. It’s as much of a crime as any of their myriad others.”

Dawn bursts out laughing. Akari smiles. Rei has taught her this brand of humour well.

“Man, I feel better now. Thanks, genuinely.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kris is quietly chanting. “Friends! Friends! Friends!” Everyone laughs at that, Dawn in particular so hard that she almost falls off the bench, and May has to pull her back. Akari is feeling a kind of warmth close to her heart that she’s been finding rare, here in Sinnoh.

Someone’s phone is ringing. Kris squeaks, and fishes in her pocket. “That’ll be Hilda, I hope!”

She taps the screen a few times, and a moving image appears. Akari silently thanks Rei for having already given her the fright of her life over a moving image of a Pikachu on his Arc Phone, otherwise she knows for sure she would have startled.

A slightly tinny voice emanates from the phone. “Woah, it’s bright out there. Timezone jumpscare. Hi!!”

“Hilda!” Everyone starts speaking over themselves at once, and waving at the phone. Akari waves too, feeling a little awkward, but the moving-image girl waves back.

“Hey!! Oh, did you find Dawn’s cousin? Should I have invited Rosa over?”

“No, no, this is Akari, they’re not related, we just kinda found her-”

“She’s my clone,” Dawn interrupts.
“...I’m, like, 90% sure you’re joking, but I know Team Galactic’s up to some weird shit over there.”

“That’s fair. No, she’s not for real my clone.” Dawn pauses, and squints at Akari. “That I know of, at least.”

“I’m not.”

Dawn nods. “She’s not.”

“How are things with you, Hilda?” Kris asks, possibly to steer the conversation away from clones.

“Good!! I officially get my first pokémon three months from now, so that’s super cool.”

“Ooh! I know you’ve been excited about that for a while.”

“Excited about it forever, you mean. I wanna go on an adventure so bad it’s unreal. So does Hilbert, but he’s being calm about it. Hilbert!” The camera changes angles briefly to someone else, who smiles and waves, before going back to Hilda. “He gets his starter on the same day as me, cause I campaigned for it even though he’s younger than me.”

Leaf pouts. “Wish someone campaigned for me when I didn’t get my starter at the same time as Red.”

“Like that stopped you for even a second.”

“Of course it didn’t! I’m glad Hilbert gets a real starter, though. That’s probably more sensible than going out into the woods and picking up a Vulpix.”

May buries her head in her hands. “I forgot you did that.”

“I love my Ninetales very much and regret absolutely nothing.”

“When you say ‘picked up,’” Akari asks, cautiously, “do you mean caught?”

“Nope. I picked it up and held it in my arms so very gently and it bit me so much but that’s ok.”

Akari attempts to say something in response to that, but all that comes out is a distressed noise not unlike the one Looker made when he found her eating a pecha berry for breakfast on the side of the road. Dawn bursts out laughing again - she has an explosive laugh, a little like Adaman’s, Akari thinks to herself - and Leaf starts hurriedly attempting to reassure Akari.

“It hasn’t bit me in forever, I promise! It’s so nice and fluffy and it’s very polite. Most of the time.”

The conversation moves on to other things, like what starter Hilda’s planning on choosing (“Really what it comes down to is which one wants to battle most, ‘cause I know I’ll be doing a lot of that,”) and how disorienting it is to be calling someone in an entirely different place because of the time difference. Hilda brings her phone camera to the window to show the quickly-fading sunset. Leaf declares that she’s decided timezones are evil. Akari comments, mostly jokingly, that they scare her. Dawn finds each of these statements hilarious, and her laugh is contagious enough that Akari finds herself laughing along with the rest of the group at her own joke.

They speak, briefly, about Team Galactic, and other villainous teams Akari previously had not known about. Hilda is more serious for a little while, and mentions what she worries to be the start of one based in her home region.

“They’re… weird about pokémon. Really weird. Saw them on the tv a couple times. It’s just nonsense arguments, but they’ve put a bunch of words around them that could make people feel really guilty about having pokémon around at all. I saw a guy in a uniform with the logo on last week, handing out pamphlets. He was mean to Bianca over her Lillipup. Like, that’s a service pokémon, my man! What the hell!” She sighs. “I’m hoping it blows over soon, but I have a gut feeling it won’t.”

“If they bother you, call us, we’ll come and kick their asses,” Kris offers.

“Nah, Hilbert and I can handle ‘em. Or, we’ll be able to, once we get our pokémon. And I know Cheren’s already planning something to make a counter-argument to them. He’s written to the Champion about it and everything.”

The group silently decides to move on, and talk about other, more lighthearted things. Akari notices Dawn has fallen rather silent, her eyes occasionally flicking up to the Galactic HQ building, visible over the rooves of the houses. She looks tense. Akari moves to gently pat her hand, to see if she can provide some quiet comfort, and Dawn grabs it and squeezes. She doesn’t let go until Leaf makes a joke she laughs at so hard she has to clutch at her sides.

Eventually, Hilda has to go. “It’s getting late, and I know I get loud on call, and most people in the house have normal bedtimes so far be it from me to disturb them. Call again tomorrow, maybe?” They agree to call again if they’re not too busy with the battle gauntlet, and say goodbye.

Kris tucks her phone back into her pocket. “Time for lunch, I think, and then I have an Activity planned.” Akari wonders how she managed to capitalise the A in Activity while speaking aloud.

“An activity, huh?” Dawn tilts her head. “Gee, I wonder if it’s the same thing you also roped me into when I came to Johto to meet up with you, that would be such a coincidence.”

“Hey-! It’s tradition! Besides, this shopping centre is bigger. Deluxe clothes shopping experience. It’ll be fun!”

Akari is very suddenly incredibly conscious of the fact that she does not have the funds for clothes shopping.

It must show in her face, because Dawn immediately adds “We’re buying the clothes for you. You’re not spending anything.”

“Oh, yeah, good point. It hadn’t occurred to me to clarify. But, yeah, that’s a tradition for this group, when we meet up with someone in the flesh for the first time everyone else bands together and buys them an outfit.” Kris pauses. “Not that you need fashion advice, obviously, I just love picking out clothes for people and everyone else goes along with it. We’ll ask you a bunch of questions on what stuff you want and check if you like what we’ve picked out first.”

“Dibs on picking out a scarf,” Leaf announces. “I’m good at scarves. I chose Dawn’s.”

Dawn nods. “It’s a really good scarf, for sure. Warm and comfy without being too heavy. I’m wearing the dress Kris and Lyra chose for me under this coat, too, by the way.”

Lyra grins, and Kris claps. “Oh, I’m so glad! We knew you’d love it.”

May clears her throat. “With all the love in the world, Kris, when you get started talking about things you cannot be stopped, and I want lunch now and not in half an hour. Can we talk about this on the way?”

“Fair point. Sure we can!” She hops up from her seat. “Dawn, you said you know a good place to get food?”

“I sure do. Let’s go.”

Everyone stands, Akari with them. Dawn is leading the way towards the shopping centre, but she seems to be making an effort to stay close to Akari. Akari isn’t entirely sure if this is for Dawn’s benefit or her own, but either way it’s a comfort.

“The food court is up a couple flights, but there’s a bakery stall on the first floor we should definitely get dessert at. Their pastries are unreal.”

“Oh! I got breakfast there, if we’re thinking of the same one. I got a pecha berry jam croissant.”

“Yeah! That’ll be the same one. Best item on the menu, for real.”

“Oh man, you two really are the same.” Kris sighs, dramatically. “Next you’ll say aspear berries are gross.”

Dawn bristles. “I say that because they are-”

The conversation turns to flavour preferences, and Kris and Dawn argue over berries - lightheartedly, Akari is assured - all the way up to the food court. Akari is reminded a little of Adaman and Irida, now that they argue over trivial things like what’s best to wear in the cold rather than whose god is false. She wonders, idly, if the people of this time are aware of both Dialga and Palkia, or if that knowledge became blurred over time once again.

“Alright, here we are.”

Kris points out a restaurant she’s been to before in a different place, and she and Lyra scurry off to it, followed closely by Leaf. May announces that she’s in search of sandwiches.

Dawn nods. “There’s a good sandwich place here, it’s this way. Akari, you coming, or d’you wanna go get pasta with Kris?”

“I’ll come with you.”

May seems tense, Akari notices as they walk.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. No. Sort of. I’ll be fine. I just get scared when I order food from people. I’m trying to get better with it, though, so I’m gonna do it. You don’t need to order for me, Dawn,” she adds, glancing over at her.

Dawn opens her mouth as if to speak, then closes it.

“The universe had to nerf me somehow,” May continues. “It knew I would be too powerful if I could stand unflinchingly in front of both legendary pokemon and sandwich shop employees.”

“Mean to you,” Akari says, quietly.

“Mean to her! Exactly!” Dawn nods. “If you have to step back, though, I don’t mind ordering for us. I’m so good at being normal in public.”

They get to the sandwich shop and successfully order their sandwiches. The only hiccup is with Akari’s order, which she has to repeat since she was too quiet on her first try. “I’m not used to speaking loudly,” she explains later, “but this is a very loud place, so that’s difficult for me.”

Dawn nods. “I have, like, negative volume control. I’m either loud or quiet, I don’t have any other setting. It comes from doing theatre classes, I think. I have my stage voice and sometimes I do it by accident and scare people.”

“I think the next time you run into Team Galactic you should just start monologuing at them. Full theatre mode, gestures and everything. Never let them know your next move.” May takes a bite of her sandwich.

“Oh, I should, that’d be really funny. Especially if the leader likes to monologue. They do their evil evil speech at me and I hit them with my own. Aha, there’s the others.”

Akari glances up from her sandwich. Kris is approaching at a somewhat less rapid and more cautious pace than earlier, due to the pasta. They shift over to make room for them on the bench.

“So, how’re the sandwiches?”

“Amazing. How’s the pasta?”

“Effervescent.”

“Nice. Hey, did you ever monologue at Giovanni?”

“No, he was the one who did that generally. Are you saying we should’ve done it back?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

There is reminiscing, for a while, over the elder four of the group’s journeys. Leaf, Kris and Lyra all have something to say about Team Rocket (“People look back at them nowadays and laugh, cause they got taken out by a bunch of kids both times,” Kris says, “but honestly, I think people need to start taking them more seriously as a threat”), and May reports on the two teams she had to deal with in Hoenn.

“Neither disbanded, but they’re both doing better things. They’re focused on conservation right now, which is honestly the best possible outcome for them, I think.” She shrugs. “The rivalry’s still there, though. Brendan’s been working with both teams in an attempt to help them get along, but I think it’s gonna take a while.”

Dawn’s gone silent again. Akari suggests a change of topic.

“Right, yeah, we’re going shopping, aren’t we? Is everyone done with their food?”

Everyone is, and Dawn leads them through the shopping centre to their next destination.

The clothes shop, when they arrive at it, stops Akari in her tracks. It’s rows upon rows upon rows of clothing, hung up neatly on racks, in a huge space. She’s never seen this much unworn fabric before. It makes her head spin.

“Akari?” Dawn’s tone is concerned. “You all good?”

“I- I don’t know. It’s a lot.”

“That’s fair. I don’t want you to get overwhelmed or anything, maybe we can figure out some other way of doing this?”

“No, I’ll be alright. It’s just… It’s a lot of clothes. It’s more clothes than I’ve ever seen in one place before. I just need a moment.”

Dawn nods. “We’ll wait as long as you need.”

A few minutes later, Akari’s processed the unreal-seeming amount of fabric in her general area. She recalls Rei talking about how in the time he’s from, there’s a very different attitude towards clothes - they’re cheaper, more mass-produced, hardly ever made-to-measure. This is normal. This is a normal amount of clothes to have in an area in this time.

“I’m ready to go.”

Inside the shop, it feels a little cozier than at first glance. There are still far, far too many clothes for her liking, but everyone else around her being so relaxed puts her at ease. The girls all scurry off to hunt for garments, apart from May, who stays with Akari. “Just to make sure you’re alright.”

It doesn’t take long before she hears her name from within the fabric maze.

“Akari! We found you something!”

Kris pokes her head out from behind a display of shirts. “There you are. We found something pretty for you.” She waves Akari closer, and Lyra holds up a green top. “I have no idea what your opinion on green is but I’ve been trying to get Dawn to wear something in this shade for ages, and I feel like you’d like these sleeves.”

“I do.” They’re a little like her own, but longer and taken in at the wrist. “I like the puff. And the dropped shoulder seams.”

“I didn’t even notice the shoulder seams. You really have an eye for detail. How’s the fabric?”

Kris hands it over. It's a very soft knit fabric, with a high neck, and it has a fade to a darker green in places. Professor Laventon has something like this he wears on extra cold days, minus the colour and extravagant sleeves.

“It’s good. I really like this. The colour is really nice, actually, I’d never pick something like this myself, but I really like it.”

“And that’s what we’re here for!” Kris and Lyra are both grinning.

“Oh, hey, hold on.” May disappears for a moment, and returns with a skirt. “This is a pretty good colour match, right? The fabric seems nice, too, and it’s a similar cut to yours.”

“Ooh. I do like that.” Akari is handed the skirt, and tests the feel of the fabric. “This is nice, yeah. I like it. I especially like it with the top.”

“Alright!” Kris claps her hands. “So that’s that sorted. Now we just need to get Leaf and Dawn to find you some accessories-”

“I found a scarf.”

Akari jumps. “Hello, Leaf. You're very good at sneaking up on people.”

Leaf beams. “I know. C'mon.”

She takes Akari's hand and leads her on a weaving path through the racks of clothing. Leaf glances around after a little while of walking.

“I think you're not a ghost. You're warm, and ghosts aren't warm unless you're a ghost yourself, and I know I'm not a ghost because I checked.”

An image of Rei and his Zoroark curled up asleep appears in Akari's mind. He always said it was very warm. She decides not to mention this.

“But the way you look at things is like you're going through a museum exhibit. You're alive and warm and have a pulse but you're not used to the things you're seeing, and you're wearing really old clothes.” Leaf pauses, possibly to think about her next sentence, possibly for dramatic effect. “I think you're a time traveller.”

They come to a stop in front of a little rack of scarves. Akari stays silent for a few moments, watching Leaf sort through them.

“You have to promise not to tell anyone.”

Leaf's eyes go wide, and she almost drops the scarf she's holding.

“It's true?”

“It is. But other people can't know. You're the only person who does, so you have to keep it a secret.”

She nods decisively. “I won't tell anyone. And they won't guess. You must be doing a really good job of it, if nobody else has guessed.”

“I think most people aren't thinking about the possibility. You seem like you're more willing to believe the unbelievable.”

“I have to be.” She holds out a yellow scarf. “This one.”

Akari takes it. It's made of soft material, with a very similar weave to her own red scarf, and it's light but sturdy-feeling.

“Do you like it?” Leaf is looking at her, expectantly.

“It's perfect. I love it.”

“Yes! Two for two. I'm so good at scarves.” She gently takes it from Akari, and begins leading her back through the shop.

When they get back to where they left Kris and the others, Dawn is waiting for her.

“Oh, good, you’re back. My turn to steal you. C’mon.”

She takes Akari’s arm and leads her the other way, through more racks of clothing - Akari spots what must be at least thirty garments all dyed black, and immediately does her best to forget about them, before coming to a stop in a corner of the shop.

“Ok, I will admit, I do not have clothes for you. I’m honestly not as good at picking stuff out as the others are, like this coat is the first thing I ever picked out for myself and it’s mostly because it was pink and I liked the buttons.” Dawn pauses. “That’s not what I wanted to talk about. Akari, are you okay?”

“I’m alright, yes. Are you?”

“No, we’re not doing that. I don’t mean right this second, I mean in general. I know what you’re doing. I know you’re-” she lowers her voice - “I know you’re Agent Starlight.”

“I’m glad we both know each other, then. You match the few things I’ve heard about Agent Sunrise perfectly.”

Dawn tilts her head. “What have you heard, then?”

“You’re good at battling. You’re not one for stealth.” Akari pauses. “Also, your name is Dawn. It’s a very nice codename, but it’s also very clearly yours. That’s just my own deduction, though.”

“You’re good at that. You’re good at detective stuff. Better than me, I’d wager.”

“Any operation needs proficiency in battle.”

“And I’ll bet you have that, too. The thing I’ve heard most about you as Agent Starlight, Akari, is that you’re good at lying.”

“...I don’t like that that’s what I’m known for.”

“I mean, you’ve gotta be good at it, right? Someone has to deceive Team Galactic, and it’s not going to be me. I don’t have the subtlety.” Dawn reaches out to feel the fabric of a pair of socks. “I’ll ask it again. Akari, are you okay? Because I know- I know if I was doing what you’re doing, I’d be so, so stressed.”

“You already are.”

“Yeah, well, it’d be worse. You’re in there. You’re having to gain their trust. A battle is simple. What you’re doing isn’t.”

“It’s stressful. That’s true. It makes me angry, too, which is just as bad as stress, if not worse. It scares me. But I know very well once people get the right opinions of me into their heads, they won’t stop to think about what else I could be doing. Most people aren’t thinking about betrayal every moment of their life. They won’t try and uncover my true motives, because they won’t be thinking I have them in the first place.”

“You’re speaking from experience.”

Akari glances away from Dawn for a moment. “Of course you can tell that. Yes, I am. This isn’t the first time I’ve been up against something like Team Galactic. This time there’s just more of them, and I have advance warning.”

“So, not ok, then.”

“Neither of us are, but we’ll be alright. You have your friends, and I guess I have them too, now, seeing as they’ve taken such a liking to me-”

“You have me.”

Dawn is looking at Akari, very intensely, very sadly, but the spark Akari recognises from Rei is still there. She nods, firmly, and takes Dawn’s hand.

“And you have me. It’ll work out. What they’re doing- It never works. It can’t work. And when all this is over, we can relax.”

Dawn nods. “Thanks. Yeah. I think you’re right.”

They’re silent for a little while longer. Dawn is leaning on Akari a little. The contact is comforting, both for Akari and for Dawn, presumably.

“Gah, I forgot. I have to give you clothes. I’m so bad at this. These socks are kind of like yours, right?” Dawn points to the display of the ones she’d been looking at earlier. “But they have a fun pink gradient. How do you feel about pink?”

“I like it. I don’t usually wear it, but I don’t usually wear things other than this and my other uniform.” Akari reaches out to feel the fabric. It’s thick and warm-feeling. Good for the cold. “I definitely like these. The pink gradient is fun. I think it’ll look nice with the green.”

“Alright, then that’s sorted.” Dawn grabs a pair, and takes Akari’s arm again. “I cannot believe Kris is using you to fuel her ‘Dawn should try wearing other colours’ agenda, by the way. What if I want to wear pink forever, huh? What then?”

Akari laughs, and Dawn grins, and they make their way back to the others.

“Successful mission.” Dawn holds up the socks. “Socks. And don’t you dare say that’s not a real accessory, socks are important both aesthetically and for warmth and I will die on this hill.”

“Of course they are! Especially for a short skirt wearer like yourself and Akari in this climate.” Kris turns and points to a sign on the far wall of the shop advertising a dressing room. “Time to try it all on and see how you feel about it, Akari!”

In the dressing room, Akari is slightly puzzled by the number of mirrors, but discovers quickly they help greatly with seeing how everything looks on her from multiple angles. Nothing contains confusing fastenings like the Team Galactic uniform, and she manages to dress herself in all the chosen garments (plus a pair of white leggings May had picked off the shelf for her as they were walking to the dressing room) quite quickly.

It strikes her, once she’s fully dressed, that she looks rather like a Lilligant. She smiles. That’s a nice coincidence, and she’s definitely not opposed to it. She allows herself a little secret twirl in front of the mirrors, and then leaves to show the group.

All her new friends are very enthusiastic about the outfit. Kris hops up and down on the spot, Lyra smiles and nods approvingly, Dawn professes her delight for the outfit a little too loudly, attracting the attention of a nearby customer, and has to be shushed.

“I didn’t know if getting you the new outfit would work,” Leaf comments, “‘cause most ghosts can’t change their clothes. It’s nice that you can.”

“I’m very talented,” Akari responds. Leaf giggles at that, and Dawn bursts out laughing.

“Dawn! You’ll get us kicked out!”

Akari smiles. “They can’t kick us out, I’m wearing all these clothes. They’d lose money.” She pauses. “I hope it isn’t too much. It’s a lot of garments.”

Kris shakes her head. “Oh, shush, don’t worry about the money. We’re covering it all. You’re talking to one current champion of Johto-” she gestures at Lyra - “and one former and future champion of Johto-” she points to herself - “so we’re not exactly worrying for money.”

“Some rich kid challenged me to a battle yesterday and gave me a genuinely silly amount of prize money when I won,” Dawn adds. “I can cover a pair of socks easy.”

Everything is paid for at the counter, and Akari walks out holding two bags of new clothes and surrounded by friends. They stop for dessert at the bakery stall, and everyone other than Kris gets a pecha berry jam croissant. Kris and Dawn are still arguing over which berry is better by the time everyone’s finished their treats, and Akari doesn’t go a moment without someone’s arm around her or someone else holding her hand until the sun starts to set.

“We’d better get going, then,” Kris says, when the darkening sky is pointed out. “Leaf, Lyra and I are gonna camp out overnight, like we did back in Johto, and we’ve gotta get to our spot soon.”

“Also, we might see ghosts. I’d like it if we saw ghosts.” Leaf sounds significantly more excited than people usually do about the idea of seeing a ghost.

Dawn makes a distressed noise. “Please tell me you’re not going camping in Eterna Forest. That’s genuinely unsafe.”

“Oh, no, not there, that’s too far away. Just the forest outside of Veilstone City.” Leaf smiles. “I am gonna go there, though. I want to say hi to the ghosts there. They’ll be nice to me. I said hello to a Drifloon the night I got here, it was very polite.”

“Please don’t get yourself stolen away. Please. That’s definitely a thing that can happen. People have gone missing because of it.”

“I’ll be very careful, I promise. I’ll have my Gengar out to watch my back and everything.”

Dawn deems this acceptable, and everyone continues saying goodbye to each other. Many hugs are exchanged, and Akari finds herself being hugged by Leaf, a little unexpectedly.

“You’ll talk to us in the group chat, yeah?”

“Of course. We can let each other know we’re ok.”

Leaf, Kris and Lyra are waved goodbye, and Dawn, May and Akari set off in the other direction.

“We’re staying at the Pokécenter down here,” Dawn explains. “Camping is fun and all, but I like sleeping in a bed and having walls that are made of something more sturdy than fabric. Where are you staying?”

“In a house just a little further down from here, with a friend.”

“Oh! Yeah, of course you are, that makes sense. Gotta be close to your objective.” Dawn goes silent, and then audibly remembers May, who laughs, softly.

“Don’t worry, I’m better at keeping secrets than Kris.”

They idly discuss clothes and sandwiches and croissants for the rest of their sunset walk, and say their goodbyes to each other outside of the Pokécenter. Dawn hugs Akari tight.

“We’ll run into each other again, I bet, but just in case- give me your contact number, or I’ll give you mine, or something. I don’t wanna lose contact with you.”

They exchange contact details, Akari’s phone once again making it easier, and Dawn hugs Akari once more, and gets her to promise to keep her and the group updated. Akari agrees. She’s glad of her phone more than ever, today, because she’s going to be very busy from tomorrow onwards, and she very much wants to stay in contact with her new friends.

They say goodbye, and Akari walks down the short stretch of road to the house she’s staying at. It can be more than that, she thinks. It’s her home for a little while. She may as well think of it in kinder terms than “lodgings.” That’ll make it easier for it to feel like home.

She opens the door to the smell of something cheri-berry spiced, and smiles. Yes, this can be home. Things feel a little more hopeful now.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Akari makes her preparations for the day with the same steely determination she felt under the distorted sky in Hisui, in those awful days when Rei was gone and nobody knew if this day would be their last. She doesn’t have time to panic, she reasons. She doesn’t have time to waste indulging thoughts like what if she slips up? or what if they see right through her? She’s prepared as best she can. Her bag - a new one, bigger but made of flimsier fabric, with the Team Galactic logo printed onto it - is packed with everything she can think to put in it. She’s slept well after yesterday’s adventures and eaten a good breakfast. If something goes wrong, she improvises.

Looker walks her to the Galactic HQ, and remarks, quietly, on her expression and the set of her shoulders. “You would do best to adopt a slightly different demeanour. As you are, you look as if you are about to face someone in combat.”

“Good point. I can let myself show a little of my nerves. First day of a new job, it’s normal to get a bit nervous.” She uses her next few steps to slowly change a few little parts of how she’s holding herself - relax her jaw, frown a little less, readjust the tension in her shoulders to look less like grim determination and more like regular first-day-on-the-job anxiety. “How’s this?”

“Very convincing. As convincing of a disguise as any of mine.”

Akari smiles, and nods. “Thank you.”

They stay silent for the rest of the walk, as they approach the Headquarters. It’s a little less imposing in the daylight, but only a little. It’s bigger than the shopping centre, and that’s the second biggest building she’s ever been inside, second only to this. Why this obsession with huge spiked structures?

She shakes her head. Can’t get angry right now. Save it for later.

Inside, Jupiter is waiting at the desk for her. “You’re punctual. That’s good.”

“I wouldn’t want to be late on my first day.”

“I’m glad. We don’t have time to waste on unnecessary lateness.” They glance at Looker. “Thanks for bringing her over. I’ll take it from here.”

Looker nods, and bids Akari goodbye. Take care, keep your guard up, keep safe is left unspoken, but it’s what Akari takes from his words.

Jupiter’s tour of the Galactic HQ takes less time than Mars’s tour of the Veilstone Building, despite the latter being much smaller. They only have to check their map a few times, despite it being just as mazelike, if not more.

“I’ll get you one of these later. I don’t think we have any printed right now, we just had to move a bunch of people from Veilstone to here so we’re short on them, but I’ll get one printed and have it delivered to your desk.”

Akari is shown the various places to eat, the different departments (though she is told one of the research areas is off-limits to her, and notes that down in her mind as something to investigate when she can, or at the very least mention to Looker), and multiple rooms with the purpose of helping an employee of Team Galactic de-stress after a difficult meeting or a long period of work.

“We want you to take plenty of breaks, even though we’re in a time crunch right now.”

Akari nods. “Nothing gets done with an overworked and under-rested team.”

Jupiter looks at her approvingly. “Precisely.”

They don’t talk nearly as much as Mars did, which makes it easier on Akari. Less small talk means fewer chances to slip up, and with Jupiter, there’s hardly any of that at all. They’re very businesslike. Definitely the kind of person you want high up the ranks in this kind of organisation.

“Up here is my office, as well as Mars’s and Saturn’s. This-” They stop beside an imposing mechanical door - “is the boss’s office. This is important. If you need anything from one of us, ask a Commander. Do not go directly to him unless none of us are around and it is a dire emergency. Got it?”

Akari nods. “I’ll remember that.”

The signs on each of the ordinary office doors are pointed out to her, and Mars pops out of her office to say hello to her and Jupiter, but Akari’s mind is stuck on the mechanical door. The boss of Team Galactic’s office lies behind there. She wonders what sort of emergencies are considered dire enough to be allowed in. She wonders what she would find inside, if she was able to sneak or deceive her way in.

“Hey, you alright, kid?” Mars is looking at her quizzically.

Akari blinks. “Yes. I’m just- thinking. I’m curious about my desk, and my work. I’d like to get started.”

Mars glances at Jupiter. “See, I told you. She’s a little go-getter.”

“We can go look at your desk now, then. This was my last thing on my list of things I needed to show you.”

Her desk is in one of the research areas, sectioned off from a larger room lined with bookshelves and containing a long table and many chairs. “It’s not a full office, but you get a decent space to yourself to start with. Most of our historical researchers just use the meeting table, but Mars put in a special request for you.”

“That’s kind of her. I think I’ll be able to work well here.”

Jupiter nods. “The computer is yours to use, though we’ve provided pen and paper if you prefer that. It’s no issue for archiving as long as your handwriting’s neat enough. I picked out a couple of books for you to start with. The team’s already been through them, but I’d wager you’d be able to find something in them nobody else has.”

“I’d like to be able to.”

“Things to look out for: anything on space and/or time, and anything on the Pokémon of the lakes. A lot of the things on the latter are riddles or otherwise obscure, so maybe with the prior knowledge I’ve been told you have you’ll be able to decipher the ones we aren’t sure on.” Jupiter steps away. “I know you want to get going on this, so I’ll leave you to it for now. Feel free to get anything you need from the vending machines, as a primary researcher you are the pride of Team Galactic’s historical research team, et cetera. I’m looking forward to seeing what you uncover.”

Akari watches them leave, then turns to her desk. The seat is comfortable, and the desk itself, though made of odd materials, seems sturdy enough. She recognises neither of the books she’s been left and the computer intimidates her more than she cares to admit - a small phone that assists her in use of it is one thing, this alarmingly large and wide-screened machine built by Team Galactic is an entirely different story - but they’ve given her a good notebook, and a pen that works well enough for all it looks strange.

She’d better make good on her word. Building up trust is what she’s here for. Time to get started.

There’s an interesting balance she needs to keep, Akari learns, when doing work for Team Galactic. She has to do a convincing amount of work, to gain their trust and maintain their position, but not enough that would help them reach their goal faster. Inevitably, she’ll uncover something that will help them, but that comes with the territory, and could lead to her being invited into new parts of the organisation to investigate.

She gets through about two thirds of her first book by the end of day one, and returns to Looker at home with a list of things to tell him about. She explains their interest in the lake guardians, and the relation between them and the red chain.

“It was said to be used to bind the world, but the only time it was used that I know of, it didn’t work. And I don’t know how they expect to get it. The lake guardians aren’t exactly likely to side with people who ultimately aim to destroy them.”

On day two, she finishes her analysis of her first book, finalises her notes and submits her first report, and starts on book two. On day three, as she’s finalising her notes on book two, she receives a visit from Mars, who brings commendations on her first report and a new book for her to go through. “You write very professionally, and you clearly have an understanding of a lot of terms used in these books that some of the team doesn’t. I knew I was right to put in a request for you to have your own desk space.”

On day five, she’s approached during one of her breaks by another member of the team, who asks for her assistance in deciphering something. “We have half the team looking at the book right now and none of us get it, and Mars said you know more than us, so-”

“I’ll take a look at it.”

It takes her half an hour of poring over the page in question (a poem, written before her time) and pacing along the bookshelf-lined room to figure out the meaning behind it, and how to explain that without revealing she knows far more than she should. She only realises how many people were watching her when she returns to the book to explain, and feels herself watched until she turns the corner to her private desk space. People come to her for assistance every few days after that.

On day seven, it occurs to her that in all the books she’s looked over, there hasn’t been a single mention of Giratina. Come to think of it, she hadn’t been asked to look for anything relating to it, either. Surely there are records somewhere of what Volo did, and how he did it. Surely that’s not lost to time entirely.

She hopes, fervently, that any records that do still exist stay hidden to Team Galactic.

The next week passes without incident, and the week after that almost as calmly. Jupiter pays her a few visits at her desk, bringing new books and occasionally asking for clarification on parts of her reports. Nothing particularly notable happens until day nineteen, when Akari returns from her lunch break to find Mars perched on her desk.

“Ah, there you are! The historical research team’s shining star, just who I was looking for.”

“What do you need from me?”

She hops down from the desk. “How do you feel about a research trip?”

“What kind?” Akari’s voice betrays her excitement. “Research trip” sounds like it could resemble survey work, and as interesting as the texts she’s looking at are, she misses working outside.

“We’re planning on sending a team down to the Solaceon Ruins tomorrow. A few members of the historical research team, some battle grunts to stand guard in case anything goes wrong, and someone to lead the team, make sure we don’t miss anything important. I think you’re just the person we need to be at the head of this.”

“Isn’t Jupiter in charge of the research teams?”

“Technically, yeah, but she’s pretty busy at the moment, and a day trip to Solaceon doesn’t really fit into her schedule.”

Akari nods. “If you think I’m fit to lead the team, I’ll do my best. And I’m definitely up for a research trip.”

Mars grins. “Thought you might be. Now, we should sort you out some Pokémon, just in case you need to battle any intruders. Do you have battle experience, by the way?”

“I do. I have a team already.”

“Oh! That saves me a job, then. Come up to my office, I’d like to take a look at them. Or, are any particularly rowdy? ‘Cause if so, we should probably do that outside.”

“They’re all very well-behaved, your office will be fine. I just won’t send out my Torterra.”

“Fair enough.” Mars starts walking, leading the way to her office. “Y’know, most of our recruits never got one of the traditional starters. I think people who get given a Turtwig generally don’t end up working for us.”

Akari frowns. “I wasn’t given mine. I caught it as a Grotle.”

“Oh. Huh. Never heard of people doing that. What was your starter, then?”

“If by starter you mean first Pokémon, my Pikachu, but I caught that, so I’m not sure that counts as a traditional starter, since no one gave it to me.”

“How’d that happen? They’re super rare.”

She shrugs. “I got lucky, I guess. I thought it was a stuffed doll and went over to pick it up, and then it started moving, so I threw a pokéball at it and it worked.”

“Wow. That’s- wow. You truly are full of surprises.” Mars opens the door to her office. “You can sit down anywhere other than at my desk.”

Akari takes a seat on a comfortable-looking sofa, and sends out her team (minus her Torterra) individually for Mars to look at. Mars is mostly silent throughout, only commenting on her Lilligant (“it doesn’t look like what I’d expect from a Lilligant, but maybe I just don’t know what Lilligants look like”). Once Akari is done showing her her team, she spins around in her desk chair, a thoughtful expression on her face.

“They’re all a bit… cutesy.”

Akari waits, silently, for her to elaborate.

“We kind of have a unified aesthetic going for us here- lot of poison types and dark types, good for intimidation. You lead with your Clefairy, you said?”

“Yes, if I don’t know what I’m up against. It’s my best all-rounder.”

“It’s also…” Mars trails off. “It’s a Clefairy. It’s round and pink and cute. That’s not great for intimidation. You also have a very pink Lilligant and a Pikachu. Your Heracross is a little scary, because it’s a Heracross and that’s a beetle that can throw you, but everything else… Do you want a Skuntank, maybe? Or a Houndour? We could get you a Houndour, I bet, that’s a pretty intimidating Pokémon to lead with when it evolves.”

Akari bristles. “I have been training my team for a long time to be able to deal with every possible situation in battle. I carefully selected the moves to have them learn so they can be as versatile as possible, and I have raised them well enough that half the time, they know what I’m going to direct them to do before I can get the words out. I’m not benching any of them, and I’d like to see a Houndour take out a Garchomp in one hit.”

The room falls silent. Mars has stopped spinning on her desk chair. It occurs to Akari that she might have gone a little too far.

“I- I apologise, I shouldn’t have been so aggressive-”

“No, no, you’re good.” Mars shakes her head. “You made some fair points. And, actually, you made me think of something.” She leans forward in her chair. “People are going to underestimate you. They’ll be expecting a Crobat, and you hit them with a Clefairy. You’ll catch them off guard, and you can use that to your advantage.”

Akari smiles. “I do like doing that.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, considering, like, everything about you. You’re plenty intimidating without any poison types.”

“...Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” Mars stands. “That’s settled, then. You can go back to your desk now. Or, actually, take the rest of the day off, rest up for tomorrow. It’s a big day for you.”

Akari nods, and takes her leave.

Day twenty arrives with clear skies, and Looker had the foresight to purchase a breakfast of croissants from the bakery stall for the both of them.

“I cannot accompany you on this mission, Agent Starlight, though I wish I could. You should hopefully be able to contact me if anything goes awry, but please, be extra careful, just in case.”

“I’ll be alright. I know how they expect me to act now, I can keep it up out there.”

“Even so. You are excellent at what you do, but I worry for you.”

Akari nods. “I understand. I’ll be extra careful, I promise.”

She arrives at the Headquarters early, meeting Mars in the entrance hall, who spots her and waves.

“There’s the star of our historical research team! Ready and raring to go, I see.”

“I wanted to get here early, just in case.”

Mars nods. “The other team members you’ll be working with should be here soon, and then we’ll get you all over to Solaceon in the helicopter.”

It takes every ounce of restraint Akari has to not exclaim “The what?”

Rei has mentioned helicopters to her before. He has told her that they are flying machines, that hang in the sky by the power of spinning rotors. The Rotom they were researching, having modelled itself off the strange electric fan machine he had recently bought from the Ginkgo Guild, reminded him of them. The main point he’d made about them was that he was scared of them, because they made an awful noise and flew without wings (Akari distinctly remembers him saying he’d trust a Drifblim more), and he was very glad there were none in Hisui.

Mars presses a hand to her mouth. “I forgot to tell you about the helicopter, didn’t I?”

“You did. I didn’t know we had one of those.”

“Yeah, we have one, it’s usually on the landing pad out back. Your desk doesn’t have a view of that, does it?”

Akari shakes her head. “No, my view is of the city. Aren’t helicopters loud? How come I’ve never heard it?”

“I’m not sure. You’re probably just caught up in your research. Hey!” Mars raises her voice, waving to someone entering the building. “Over here for the Solaceon research trip!”

Very soon the group is gathered. It’s roughly a third of the historical research team, plus a couple of people Akari doesn’t recognise. “I figured we could rearrange schedules for a few of the science crew,” Mars explains. “They’ll probably be helpful to you.”

She leads them out to the back of the Headquarters, where there is indeed what Akari has to assume is a landing pad with a helicopter resting on it. It does, in part, look a little like a Fan Rotom. And this is going to go in the air? It’s not yet making any loud and horrible noises, but she’s already apprehensive.

“Are you alright?” Mars is looking at Akari, concerned. “If you’re scared of it, that’s okay, but it is properly safe. I’ve been on it a bunch of times.”

Akari sighs. “Is my fear that obvious?”

“A little. But, honestly-” Mars glances around a little theatrically, and lowers her voice - “I’m a bit scared of it too. But it’s never broken down or anything, like, I’m not dead, so you’ll be alright. Promise.”

“Alright. It’s not like I have any other option.”

“Yeah, walking’s not gonna exactly get you there fast.” She pats Akari on the shoulder reassuringly, and clears her throat, turning to the group as a whole. “Alright, everyone! The goal today is to do a quick sweep of the ruins. Historical research team: You’re to note down anything that seems interesting, sketch out what you see if that’s relevant. Scientific research team: Take samples of the rock and stone, if you find any chipped off. We can’t put anything heavy in the helicopter, so just take pebbles and dust and stuff, and then you can take that into the lab when you get back.”

The group nods, almost in unison. Mars smiles.

“I’ll meet you back here afterwards. Stay safe, find lots of interesting stuff, et cetera.”

The interior of the helicopter is done up quite nicely, if a little cold and metallic. It feels like something that isn’t going to fall to pieces in the air, which reassures Akari as she takes her seat. She follows the rest of the team’s example and buckles herself in, which only takes two tries, and then the blades atop the thing begin to whirr - ah, there’s the terrible noise - and they begin to rise into the air.

She spends the majority of the flight staring straight ahead and attempting to pretend she’s not Sinnohs-knows-how-many feet in the air in a flying machine with precisely zero wings. This seems to be the strategy of a few other members of the team, so at least she’s not alone in that. It takes surprisingly little time for the helicopter to come to a rest in a spacious forested clearing, and the grating horrible noise to subside.

Upon leaving the helicopter, a team member unfurls a map. “This way, I think.” They point ahead of them to an opening in the trees.

The path is overgrown, clearly disused. Akari picks her way through it, the rest of the research team following in her lead. She notes bugwort and medicinal leeks, caster ferns and sootfoot root, the occasional patch of mushrooms under the more shadowed parts…

Hold on. Caster ferns and sootfoot root.

“Everyone, stop for a moment.” Akari crouches, sending out her Pikachu and directing it to a cluster of sootfoot root, which it makes quick work of. It’s done by the time she’s plucked a decent few caster ferns, and hands them to her with a squeak. She thanks it quietly, and returns it to its pokéball. “Alright, we can keep moving now.”

A few research team members glance at each other, confused. Internally, Akari laments how using natural materials in your surroundings to craft what you need seems to be a strange thing to do nowadays, but decides not to voice this. She turns and continues on down the path.

Soon after, they make it out of the forest, and are able to rendezvous with the battle team grunts. There are significantly more of them than there are of the research team. Strength in numbers is the goal here, presumably, but it’s rather more people than Akari was expecting to lead.

“Oh, good, you’re here. Finally. We’ve been waiting all morning,” one particularly bored-looking grunt says, leaning against the rocky wall next to the entrance to the Solaceon Ruins. “Solaceon Town’s no fun. Everyone just gives you weird looks, nobody gets scared of you. Isn’t that, like, the point?”

Akari frowns. “Our mission today is to investigate the Solaceon Ruins. You’re here to guard the research team while we do that.”

“That’s not what I meant- ugh, never mind.” They roll their eyes. Akari can take a guess at their motive for joining Team Galactic. “So, what are we doing? Gonna steal a bunch of mythical stuff? My briefing said there’s inscriptions somewhere, are we taking those?”

“Absolutely not.” The iciness of her tone takes Akari by surprise, but she continues nonetheless. “You are not to remove any artifacts, inscriptions, wall carvings, nothing. This place is old. We don’t have the storage or equipment with which to handle such old objects with the care they need. You’ll break them, and we need them intact to study, which is why my team is here.”

The grunt, she notes, has gone from eye-rolling and obviously bored to wide-eyed and attentive. They nod at her, pushing themself away from the wall. “Ok. Yeah. Just- um- tell us what we’ve gotta do and we’ll do it.”

Huh. That tone definitely has an effect on people. She’ll have to puzzle that out later.

“Treat this like guarding one of the bases,” she instructs them, after thinking for a moment. “Station yourselves throughout. All research team members should be accompanied, even if they’re confident in battle. You’re here to watch our backs, essentially, in case of an ambush.”

The grunt nods. “Got it.”

The interior of the Solaceon Ruins is exactly how she remembers it - a huge entrance hall, with tunnels and smaller halls splitting off at the sides. She’s been here many times before, running errands for Warden Calaba. It pains Akari a little to not see her waiting in the hall.

At least the carving here has stood the test of time. It bears the marks of it, most notably the cracked edges of the piece the Miss Fortunes had stolen, but it’s still there, and that makes her feel a little better.

“All lives touch other lives to create something anew and alive.” It’s a saying that she holds close. Maybe that’s part of why she’s here, so her life and others’ can meet, and help each other. Even if it’s not the purpose, the saying holds true. She thinks of her meeting with Dawn and her friends, and the evening before, Looker gently explaining how his coat was made as she pulled herself back from panicky anger and despair.

Best not to linger here too long. Staring wistfully at a carving for minutes at a time could be seen as suspicious. Then again, Volo got away with more.

She turns away, and surveys the rest of the hall. A couple of research team members have already set up next to smaller carvings, with battle grunts guarding them, eyes on the entranceway. The rest of the group is waiting for her at the stairway down to the lower levels.

“Do you want someone to study that carving, miss?”

She shakes her head. “It’s already well-documented, there’s no need. Let’s go.”

Akari has only been into this part of the Solaceon Ruins once, under Calaba’s guidance. She remembers, faintly, how the paths split off, but only faintly. The group thins as more people take up shop in the rooms, examining carvings and delicately placing chips of old stone into containers with gloved hands. She’s called from room to room for a little while, assisting members of her teams with difficult translations and noting down interesting things to look into more. There’s a lull after that, as the team settles into a rhythm, and she finds a room to settle down in, with a half-crumbled stone structure in the centre that should do as something to craft on.

She has her crafting kit with her, of course. Even not carrying her usual bag, she brings it with her everywhere. You never know when you might need a tool or an item you can’t buy at any shop. It doesn’t take her long to lay out what she needs, and she can begin the process of carefully wrapping pieces of sootfoot root in caster ferns, tying them into neat parcels with the stems. The battle grunts that have assigned themselves as her guard watch her, perhaps curiously, perhaps sceptically, but say nothing.

She’s able to make six of them, and tucks her spare caster ferns back into her bag along with them, carefully, so as not to burst them. If she is discovered, or if something else goes awry, they’ll come in handy.

Hurried footsteps on stone sound somewhere below her, and a battle grunt bursts into the room, almost tripping over himself in his haste.

“Miss-! We’ve been discovered! There’s an intruder!”

“Is anyone hurt?”

“No, but-” He pauses, taking a breath. “Everyone who’s tried to stop her couldn’t. She’s too good. She’s the same one who raided Eterna.”

Oh. Well. This’ll be interesting.

Akari stands. “Evacuate everyone. If someone’s in the middle of something important, let them finish, but make sure everyone leaves. This place is a maze. Use that to your advantage.”

He nods. “I’ll tell everyone. We won’t let this research get stolen.”

Akari watches him dash off, and then carefully collects her materials off her makeshift crafting bench before sitting down, tucking her knees up onto the stone surface. Her self-appointed guards look at her, and then at each other, puzzled expressions on their faces.

“Shouldn’t you be evacuating? You gave the order yourself, you should get out of here.”

She shakes her head. “For everyone else to get out unnoticed, we need a distraction. You should go, though. I can handle this alone.”

The grunt on the left shakes her head, firmly. “Not a chance. I swore to Mars I’d give this mission my all. I’m not letting you get roughed up by some kid.”

There are shouts from below. One voice in particular is very, very familiar.

“She’s almost here. Stay if you must, but when I tell you to, follow my directions and run as fast as you can.”

The grunts nod. There are footsteps below once again, heavy boots on stone floors.

Dawn storms into the room, already preparing to shout a challenge, but the sight of Akari stops her in her tracks, whatever she was about to say dying in her throat. Her eyes go wide for a brief moment, and then she narrows them, taking a very deliberate step forward.

“Starlight.”

Oh, clever. Akari can work with this. She leans back in her seat, keeping her expression neutral, and summons up that icy tone.

“Sunrise.”

“Fancy seeing you here. I really should have expected you to throw your lot in with these people, huh? Of course you’d team up with Team Galactic.” Dawn hisses the words. The grunts at the entrance are watching with wide eyes.

“I’m not surprised to see you here. You’ve been bothering us for a while now.”

“Of fucking course I am! You- You-” She stamps on the floor, hard, and reaches for a pokéball. “Battle. Now.”

Akari stands, and retrieves Clefairy. “I’d expect nothing less.”

“Enough talk. Gastrodon!”

They send out their pokémon at the same moment. Clefairy glances around the room, taking in the situation. Dawn’s Gastrodon seems to be doing the same. Akari knows not to underestimate a Gastrodon. Many people write them off as simple and passive, but she’s very aware from her time studying them of how intelligent they can be.

“Water Pulse!”

“Ice Beam.”

Clefairy’s Ice Beam hits before the Gastrodon can gather its Water Pulse. It shudders, and slumps to the ground, unconscious. Dawn retrieves it, suddenly looking a little pale.

It occurs to Akari that Dawn’s team might not be as strong as her own. That’s bad. The way this has to work is Akari loses, and retreats. Dawn can’t lose. That doesn’t happen. There’s no precedent. And if Akari wins, she might be removed from the historical research team, relegated to battles, and that would cut off all her secrets.

Dawn grits her teeth, fishing in her bag for another pokéball. Akari watches her, expression as cold as she can make it, hoping desperately for some stroke of good luck on Dawn’s side or bad luck on her own side, a silent prayer to anything listening.

Dawn sends out an Empoleon. Water and steel. Akari can only hope she chooses to direct it to use a steel-type move. Her Clefairy has never been particularly resilient to those, and this loss needs to be convincing.

“Calm Mind.”

“Brine!”

The burst of water hits Clefairy as it finishes its Calm Mind, and it falls to the ground with a squeak. Akari reaches for its pokéball to retrieve it, and notices, as she does so, that it has one eye open, watching her.

Akari does her best to keep her delight contained. It knew. Extra berries for it later, without question.

What to send out now? Steel types are notoriously hardy. Her Pikachu would be what she would choose if she was aiming to win, but that’s not what she’s here for. Torterra is a convincing enough opponent. She releases it, stepping back.

“Leaf Blade.”

“Ice Beam!”

Dawn’s Empoleon braces itself for the Leaf Blade, wincing a little, but firing off the Ice Beam quickly in return. Torterra crumples. Dawn grins.

Akari considers Lilligant or Heracross, but sends out Pikachu instead. She can’t let Dawn win easily, or word will get back to Mars that her team isn’t good enough, and she refuses to let go of one of her team for a stolen Zubat.

“Volt Tackle.”

“Ice Beam-”

Dawn has barely finished her command when Pikachu crashes into Empoleon full force, sparks flying. It collapses, unmoving. Maybe sending out Pikachu was a bad idea, actually. It’s always been overzealous. There’s no way it’s going to do the same sort of trick as her Clefairy.

“You counter me, I counter you.” Dawn has sent out a Gabite. Akari very nearly sighs with relief, but keeps it in.

“Which one of us said ‘enough talk’ a minute ago? Pikachu, Iron Tail.”

“Gabite, Sand Tomb!”

Pikachu gets there first, its tail momentarily coated in a silver sheen. Gabite stumbles back, but a whirlwind of sand is already gathering. Pikachu lets out a piercing cry as it finds itself trapped within.

“Dragon Claw!”

“Iron Tail.”

Gabite meets Pikachu’s pounce with slashing claws, and knocks it back into the whirlwind of sand. It cries out once more, and keels over, the sand dissipating as Akari withdraws it.

She sends out Lilligant next. It bows politely to the Gabite, which bobs its head back. That’s sweet. Too bad they’re currently having to pretend to be mortal enemies, or Akari would let them play together awhile.

“Leaf Blade.”

“Dragon Claw, again!”

Gabite braces itself, but not well enough. It falls to the ground on the impact of Lilligant’s elegant Leaf Blade. Dawn withdraws it, and sends out a Houndoom.

“Fire Fang!”

“Drain Punch.”

Houndoom bursts forward, tackling Lilligant and biting it, flames erupting from its mouth. Lilligant trills, the kind it does when it’s taken a nasty hit, but stays conscious, hitting back with a solid Drain Punch. It shivers, even as it recovers a little. Burnt. That’ll work, for a convincing loss.

“Fire Fang, again!”

“Giga Impact.”

Incredibly, Lilligant is able to withstand another Fire Fang, and its Giga Impact takes Dawn’s Houndoom down. It twirls once, trills weakly, and sinks to the floor. Akari withdraws it. She hopes the burn hadn’t hurt too badly.

Akari and Dawn send out their pokémon at the same time. Heracross and Crobat. Dawn’s eyes light up. They’re both well aware that Heracross is weak to flying-type moves twice over.

“Aerial Ace.”

“Air Cutter!”

Heracross takes wing, and the two pokémon meet in the air. Crobat is knocked back a little, but its Air Cutter sends Heracross crashing down. Akari retrieves it before it hits the ground.

Dawn is grinning. “Not so confident now, huh?”

“You’re getting lucky.” Akari’s voice echoes off the stone walls. She thinks she can hear something other than her voice in the echo, something faint, but she can’t put her finger on it.

No matter. Staraptor is her last pokémon. Crobat will take it down, and then she can make her escape.

“Brave Bird.”

“Cross Poison!”

Staraptor tackles Crobat full force in an eruption of feathers, and Crobat falls out of the air. Akari hadn’t bargained for this. She forgets, sometimes, how hard Brave Bird can hit. She hopes, desperately, that Dawn’s last Pokemon is something that can take down a flying-type.

Dawn sends out a Togetic. That’s bad news. The only way she can lose this and make it look believable is if it knows-

“Ancient Power!”

Yes!

Akari calls for a Quick Attack, and Dawn’s Togetic takes the impact easily, then gathers up an Ancient Power and hits Staraptor full force, knocking it out of the air and onto the ground.

She withdraws it, stepping back, arm held up defensively.

"Hah. I knew I'd win. I never lose. And I have you backed into a corner." Dawn's triumphant expression falters a little as she says this. She does have Akari backed into a corner, as far as she knows.

"Too confident, Sunrise." Akari slips her hand into her bag, as subtly as she can. "Too confident by far-"

Her hand closes on a smoke bomb -

"And that-"

She brings it out, careful not to crush it prematurely -

"That will be your downfall."

Akari throws the smoke bomb onto the floor between herself and Dawn, who lets out a cry of surprise. She dodges to the side, and sprints past Dawn and the guards, making for the stairs.

"RUN!"

She can hear the footsteps of the grunts behind her as she dashes down the stairs, twisting and turning through the tunnels on her lead. Dawn calls something out to them, but it's lost in the echoes of the ruins. Akari's running on instinct and a half-remembered map from her visits to Calaba and what she's seen today, and almost miraculously, they make it to the entrance hall, and then outside.

"Don't stop here. Keep running, if you can. She might be following us."

The urgency in her tone spurs the grunts onwards, and they disappear into the treeline with only a few snapped twigs to betray their location.

"I don't think she'll find us now. We should find the helicopter, regroup with everyone else. Do either of you have a map?"

Both grunts shake their heads.

“That’s fine. I can find the way there, I’m sure.”

The path back to the helicopter isn’t far from where they’ve ended up, it turns out. Akari picks her way through the trees carefully, looking out for things she remembers from the walk to the ruins - familiar trees, patches of the right plants. When she finds a set of small neat holes in the ground by the side of a patch of sootfoot root, she knows for sure they’re in the right place.

They arrive at the helicopter within a few minutes. The grunt who ran to alert her of Dawn spots them first, and waves.

“You’re safe! We thought you’d been captured!”

“I’m sorry to have worried you. I had to provide a distraction to make sure everyone got away.”

“She almost won!” The grunt who’d refused to leave gestures widely. “It was incredible!”

“What, against the intruder? Nobody’s been able to get close to beating her.”

“Exactly!”

Akari is rapidly feeling more and more awkward standing around as others discuss her. She turns away and starts carefully storing away the research team’s notes and samples into the helicopter’s storage compartment.

“-and then she took something out of her bag and threw it on the ground and it made a dust cloud, just like that! I don’t even know what it was- hey!” The grunt calls out, and Akari turns around, a little reluctantly. “What was that? The thing that made the dust cloud?”

“It’s a smoke bomb. You watched me make it.”

“That’s what you were doing? Woah. I didn’t know you could make that kind of thing.”

“It’s a dry root that crumbles into powder wrapped in some leaves, that’s all.” She places the last box of stone chips into the storage area. “We should get going.”

“Of course. You have research to do and stuff. I think we’re just staying in Solaceon Town for the rest of the day, but you should go.” The grunt looks at Akari with shining eyes. “That was amazing, what you did back there. I was scared we were gonna get arrested or something, but you got us out of there safe. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Stay safe.”

“We’ll try.”

The helicopter ride back is uneventful, save for the noise. Akari closes her eyes tight shut the entire time. Some part of her is apprehensive, and she can’t quite place why. Mars will likely learn of her actions at some point, but it’s not like she’s going to be punished for them, or that she’ll be exposed as a double agent. It’s probably just the sound of the rotors that are making her feel uneasy. Nothing else. She has nothing to worry about.

She’s ready to go back to her desk, type up a report, and leave for the day, but as she’s stepping out of the helicopter, she sees Mars burst through the door leading to the landing pad.

“Hey!” she calls. “Eventful mission, huh, Starlight?”

Ah. No peace for her just yet, then.

“We have the notes and samples you requested in the helicopter’s storage unit.”

Mars shakes her head. “Forgive me, but I don’t care about that right now. You can leave that with your team. Come with me, we need you upstairs.”

An incredibly concerning statement, but there’s nothing Akari can do but follow her through the winding maze that is the halls of the Team Galactic HQ.

“I know I said this just yesterday, but you really are full of surprises. The things I’ve heard today! Leading the group with unshakeable confidence, making a smoke bomb out of local plants, standing up to the girl who’s been bothering us for weeks - and the two of you know each other? I didn’t know you had a nemesis!” Mars sounds genuinely delighted. “That’s so fun. You should have told me!”

“I wasn’t expecting it to come up.”

“Fair enough, fair enough. Even so. You’re an interesting one, that’s for sure.” Mars glances at her momentarily, that sharp look in her eyes again, before grinning and winking. “I think your full potential isn’t being brought out right now, even as a prominent member of the historical research team. And we’re here!”

They’ve come to a stop in front of the mechanical door that leads to the boss of Team Galactic’s office. Akari takes the steadiest breath she can. She wasn’t expecting to be let in here, not so soon. She’s not prepared in the slightest. She’ll just have to improvise.

Mars knocks on the door then presses some sort of card to part of it, and it slides open. The interior is sparse - a desk, a few machines, and not much else. And the man sitting at the desk, wearing a simple uniform, blue hair cropped practically short, watching them with no expression at all as they enter-

“Hey, Cyrus. This is the one I was telling you about, from the research team.”

Cyrus.

Mars had mentioned him in passing, that fateful afternoon when she let slip she knew too much about the red chain. She should have picked up on the similarity of the name.

“Have you explained the new role to her?”

He sounds like Cyllene, too. This is worse than meeting Cynthia, because instead of fear, Akari is having to contain boiling rage. This is the man who took the Galaxy Team and tore it to pieces to use for his own goals. It’s getting hard to keep her breathing steady.

“-so you’ll be at a higher security clearance, same as Charon - have you met Charon? He’s a real genius, you should definitely talk to him at some point, you two working together would be unstoppable - and a fun new office and a codename, but you’re still mostly working on the stuff you used to. You’re just more in charge if you take the promotion. How does that sound?”

Akari nods. She’d force a smile, but it wouldn’t be believable, not with how she’s feeling right now. “It would be an honour.”

Mars claps her hands, more softly than usual. “Excellent! I’ll see if I can get the construction guys to turn your little desk nook into something a little more spacious and private. That’s what we did for Charon, we just turned the corner of the lab he worked in into his own little space. We can get some bookshelves in there, maybe a coffee machine if you want that? But you can worry about that some other time. You’ve had quite the day. Let’s get you back downstairs.”

She leads Akari out of the room, waving goodbye to Cyrus. The last glimpse Akari gets of the office is Cyrus, head bent over a screen, paying no attention to them at all.

“That went well! We both figured he should meet you before your promotion. Isn’t this exciting?” Mars sounds as enthusiastic as ever. “A new office all to yourself, a fancy new codename - you can think about that over the next few days, I’ll draft a list up for you if you’d like. Unless you want to use Starlight? ‘Cause that’s a good one for you.”

“I’ll have to think about it.” Being codenamed Starlight in two places at once might get confusing.

“I’ll draft up that list either way. Most importantly, you get to really help us progress towards our goal faster than ever before!”

A chilling thing to say, Akari thinks to herself, when your goal is to end the world.

Mars has moved on to talking about a possible new uniform. She rambles for a while about the possibilities, talking about skirt shapes and design inspirations. “Of course that all depends on if we have the time to make you something new, and the kind of thing you’d want. You seem like the kind of person who can appreciate a little dramatic flair.”

“I do like skirts. I’d need to be able to run in it, at least.”

“Of course, that’s essential for you.”

They arrive back at Akari’s desk, and Mars bids her goodbye (“I’d love to stay and chat, but I have so much to do, so I’ll leave you to your report”). Akari sinks down into her chair and sighs. Today has been exhausting, far more than any day of survey work. She can wind down writing her report, and then go home and sleep.

Her phone buzzes. She retrieves it from her bag, checking the screen. She has several messages from Rei, who is still typing, talking about a battle he’d had with Zisu, and a few have been sent in the little group she’d been invited to, from Dawn.

HEY AKARI?

A FUCKING SMOKE BOMB?

She clicks off the screen, and sets the phone down on her desk, satisfied with her response. Time to write that report.

Chapter Text

On Akari’s twenty-first day working at Team Galactic, she starts her day off as she usually would, by going through to the kitchen and seeing what there is for breakfast. Looker is waiting for her there, in the middle of buttering some toast.

“I have been told to inform you that you are to take today off from your work at the Team Galactic Headquarters, due to the work being currently done on what will be your office. And a good thing, too. I believe they are overworking you.”

Akari shrugs. “I-”

“Do not say that you have had worse. Please.” He pushes the plate of toast across the counter to her. “I have arranged to visit my friend in Hearthome City. She has extended an invitation to you.”

“Is that the friend who made your coat?”

“She is indeed.”

“Then yes, I want to go. Definitely.”

Looker smiles. “I had assumed that would be the case. Now eat that, before it gets cold. We should set off soon, as I am hoping that we will be there by lunchtime.”

They finish their breakfasts quickly, and Akari ducks into her room to get changed. It’s a relief to be able to wear her Galaxy Team uniform again, the well-worn fabric far more pleasant to the touch than the polyester of Team Galactic’s uniform. It doesn’t take her long to pack everything she needs into her old bag - that, too, is a relief, no worrying about the stitching giving out and spilling all of her belongings onto the ground. She steps out to meet Looker in the front room.

He shows her their route on his map of the region, which will take them through Solaceon Town, with a short walk after that to reach their destination. “I will attempt to keep to the paths this time, though we may have to duck into the trees to avoid people on occasion. I do not wish to tire you out, even more so after the day you have had yesterday.”

Their journey is uneventful. Neither of them talk much on their way, but the silence is comfortable, and they only have to avoid a few trainers on their way. In Solaceon Town, there is one brief and terrifying moment where a Team Galactic grunt who Akari had worked with yesterday looks right at her, but they don’t seem to recognise her, turning away after a moment to continue causing a ruckus outside of the Pokémart.

There’s not far to go after that, the journey made even shorter by an impromptu shortcut Looker finds through the trees, avoiding a group of trainers and cutting a corner in the path. They find themselves coming up on Hearthome City a little before midday, which Looker is pleased with. “More time spent with my friend is a very good thing, and I am sure you will enjoy each other’s company.”

Hearthome City, when they arrive there, is a very cozy place. Akari was expecting taller buildings and more shiny glass from a city, but most of the buildings are built from brick, stone and dark wood, with red rooves. The streets are bustling, but not crowded. There are shops selling fresh flowers and sweet treats. It seems, overall, a very pleasant place.

Something bumps into her, very gently. She turns to look at it.

There is a Drifloon hovering at her elbow, looking up at her politely. This is unexpected, since it’s very much around midday, and ghost pokémon much prefer hiding in the shadows at this time of day. This is an unusual and concerning sight.

It’s not trying to take her hand and pull her somewhere, or attack her, which is good. It seems to just be investigating her. Is this someone’s pokémon escaped from its pokéball?

“Agh! What have I told you about bothering strangers?”

A child, probably about her age, is running towards her. “I’m so sorry, it gets excited when it sees new people.” They gently pull the Drifloon away. “I hope it didn’t scare you. I’ve been trying to train it to only greet people we know, but…” They sigh.

“I’m sure it’ll listen to you more as time goes on,” Akari offers.

“That’s the hope. Thanks for not making a fuss.”

They wave and walk away, their Drifloon trailing behind them.

“I perhaps should have warned you about the ghosts.” Looker is watching them leave. “Hearthome City is a rather haunted place, and the people have adjusted well to this. This does mean you may turn a corner and run into a Dusknoir, however.”

Akari shrugs. “As long as they’re not going to hurt me, I’m fine with it. I’m about as scared of ghost pokémon as I am of any others. If it’s wild and attacking me, I’m running away. Otherwise, I’m fine.”

“A very sensible outlook.”

They keep walking. Several other children with Drifloon and other ghost pokémon pass them, as well as various unaccompanied ghosts.

“You weren’t kidding. This is more ghosts than I anticipated, even after you said there were a lot of ghosts.”

Looker nods. “It is a little alarming, on first visit, or at least it was to me. Hearthome City is definitely one of the safer places to be, though, when it comes to hauntings. There have been fewer incidents here regarding ghost-related disappearances than in many other cities. The people of Sunyshore have a significantly harder time, I have heard.”

“Sunyshore?”

“Sunyshore City. It is a seaside city to the east, supposed to be quite idyllic and very technologically advanced, but it has a ghost problem that has come to light recently.”

“Ah. Would it happen to be near a place called Deadwood Haunt? Because it’s very haunted there, and that would explain it, I think.”

“I have never heard of such a place.”

“Huh. Maybe they don’t call it that anymore.” Akari pauses. “I read about it in a history book. There were a lot of shipwrecks there.”

“You know a lot about history.”

“I read a lot of books.”

Looker nods, and falls silent.

A few minutes of walking later, they arrive at their destination: a very pretty red brick house with a front garden full of purple flowers. Looker approaches the door and knocks.

The first thing Akari notices about the person who opens the door is her dress. It’s floor-length, made of flowing fabric and layers of ruffles in deep purples and soft pinks. The sleeves are flared, and just as ruffled as the skirt. There are parts of it entirely made of lace. It’s by far the grandest dress she’s ever seen.

The second thing she notices is that this person is, undeniably, incredibly haunted.

The Mismagius peeking out from behind her gives that away a little, but even without that, it’s pretty obvious. There’s a certain look in the eyes people get when ghosts begin to follow them around, whether they know it or not. She’s spoken to Rei about it before, who says he has no idea what she’s talking about, but she’s seen it before, so she knows it’s real.

The person in the doorway smiles. “Looker! And your little friend! You are early!”

“Good morning, Fantina. We were able to take a small shortcut.” Akari can’t see Looker’s face right now, but she can tell from his voice he’s smiling.

“Come in, come in.” Fantina opens the door wider and steps out of the way, her Mismagius following suit, and they step inside. The interior is softly carpeted and wallpapered in rich purple florals, and all the windows are covered entirely with heavy silk curtains. At a guess, that’s for the benefits of the ghosts. Akari has spotted a pair of eyes watching them from a particularly shadowy corner, which is almost definitely a Gengar, and the Mismagius that greeted them at the door is currently busying itself dusting a side table with a levitating feather duster.

Looker and Fantina are talking to each other in a language Akari doesn’t understand. She thinks it’s the same one Looker uses on the phone to his employers, but they’re speaking so fast she can’t be sure.

She turns her attention to the ghosts, nodding politely at the Gengar, which blinks back at her. The Mismagius has moved onto a stairway rail, and seems to be having a little difficulty lifting a misplaced section of silk curtain off of it while keeping its duster in the air. Akari reaches out and carefully dislodges the fabric, doing her best to not let in any excess light. The Mismagius trills what she thinks is a thank you.

There’s something else watching her. She glances around, seeing nothing, and then feels something bump into her lightly. She looks down, and attempts to determine what it is in the low light.

It’s difficult to see most of it properly, but the pair of glowing red eyes and golden… teeth? She’s not entirely sure what exactly she’s looking at, but it’s placed where a mouth would be - those she’s able to discern even in the darkness. The eyes are looking up at her, quite soulfully.

“Hello.”

It headbutts her, and makes a soft noise that sounds a little like a Glameow’s mew.

Akari sits down on the floor, cross-legged. This is not a Glameow, but she’s cared for one - now a Purugly, and under the care of a Construction Corps member - that would ask to be held and pet by headbutting a person’s legs, so perhaps that’s what this mystery ghost wants. She holds out her arms to it, and it happily curls up in her lap as much as it’s able to as something closer in size to a Purugly than its smaller counterpart. It’s surprisingly light, and holding it she discovers it is not wispy like most ghosts, or fluffy. It seems to be made of fabric, and squishes a little where she’s holding it like a stuffed doll would.

…That’s what this is. A pokémon that’s a stuffed doll. Akari decides to take this as vindication for having mistaken her Pikachu for one.

Fantina exclaims something a room away, and appears in the hallway a moment later. “Ah! I am neglecting you! My apologies, I was so swept up in reuniting with my dear friend that I did not think to guide you through to the sitting room.”

“It’s ok. I got a bit distracted.” Akari gestures at the ghost-cat-doll.

“I see my Banette likes you. I was wondering where it had disappeared off to.” Fantina lifts it into the air, and it mews indignantly. “Please do come through to the sitting room. I have many more comfortable seats than the floor there.”

Akari follows her down the hallway, passing through a silk partition curtain into a somewhat more well-lit room. It’s lit with lamps rather than electric light, which Akari, who has spent most of her time recently under the somewhat overzealous lights of the Team Galactic HQ, appreciates. She takes a seat in the many-pillowed armchair next to Looker’s, sinking far further into it than she expects. This is somehow more luxurious than the plush armchairs at Cynthia’s house, when she stayed there.

Fantina places the Banette onto the floor, and it runs over to her, attempting to clamber up the side of her chair. She picks it up, letting it curl up in her lap again.

“Most people believe Banettes to be creatures of anger, powered entirely by a grudge, but I believe mine disproves this.” Fantina smiles, settling onto the sofa opposite them. “It’s said that loving a Banette enough will return it to its original plush form and cease to be a Banette, but this one lives to be held and loved.”

“I’ve never seen one before. I didn’t know they existed.”

“Oh! They are very common in cities and towns, are you perhaps from a smaller place?”

Akari nods. “It’s getting bigger, though. It’ll be a city one day.”

A little strain of music that Akari has learnt is the sound of Looker’s phone ringing plays.

“Augh. I am sorry, I will have to step out for a moment to take this.” He leaves, hurriedly.

Akari is silent for a minute, then looks over at Fantina. “I like your dress.”

“Oh, thank you very much!” Fantina smiles. “It is a design of mine, and handmade by myself. The lace was very difficult to source.”

“I can imagine. It’s beautiful. It must have been expensive.”

“Not the most pricey lace I have ever used, actually. But still not cheap.” She shrugs. “I would rather spend a little more on quality than less on quantity, even for my less grand pieces.”

“This is less grand? It’s the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen.”

Fantina laughs, leaning back on the sofa. “You flatter me. You must never have seen me on stage, then, that is where I wear my most elaborate and fanciful designs.”

“I would like to see them. I’m not sure if I’d be able to go to a stage show, though. I’m very busy.”

“Looker has told me about your involvement with his mission, yes. I am not strictly supposed to know, but he is not good at keeping secrets from me.” She presses a finger to her lips, conspiratorially. “The International Police will never know if we do not tell them.”

Akari nods. A moment later, Looker returns to the room, looking frustrated.

“Are you ok?” she asks.

“No. Or, yes, comparatively, just irritated. What part of “I am not in Kalos” do they not understand?” He sighs, sitting back down heavily. “They want someone investigating FlareTech, and someone has decided that since I am technically a part of the Kalos branch I should be able to just teleport there as if I was an Abra. Time and time again I say, I am in Sinnoh investigating the Team Galactic, which is arguably a more present threat than a tech company datamining. It’s bad, of course it is, but the CEO isn’t trying to end the world. They aren’t taking the threat over here seriously.”

“That is absurd. What do they expect you to do, abandon your investigations into a world-threatening problem to get on an aeroplane and start yet another investigation into a company the force already knows is up to something shady?” Fantina is shaking her head. “I do not envy you. You are stressed enough without an expectation to be in two places at once.”

“I am.” Looker sounds tired, far more tired than Akari’s heard him sound before, even late in the evening when she gets back from a particularly long day at the Headquarters to find him waiting in the front room, making sure she gets home safe. She reaches out to pat his hand, hoping to provide a little comfort, and touches fur.

Oh. He’s a Zoroark. That explains the disguises, then.

“Hm. I think I shall go and fetch us some tea and treats.” Fantina stands abruptly, and sweeps out of the room. Akari watches her go, and then glances at Looker.

“She does not want to intrude, I think.” Looker is not looking at Akari. She attempts to think of something to say.

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think it matters so much. The disguises make sense now, but that’s it.”

“That is good to hear. I worry that people will see me in a different light.”

“I don’t see why they would, but I might be an outlier in that. You’re still a good detective and a good friend.”

Looker smiles. He might be crying a little, but it could be a trick of the lamplight.

“Thank you. I appreciate this, truly. But I must confess - now you have learned my secret, I should tell you that I believe I know yours.”

Akari goes tense. “Tell me, then. What you think it is.” Her voice is tense, too.

Looker takes his paw out from under Akari’s hand and places it on top. A comfort, mirrored from her. “I believe you are one of what the International Police are calling Fallers. You are from some other place - or, I would guess from your clothes and the way you interact with the world around you, some other time, and you have been displaced, for reasons we do not understand.”

“...Almost right.” There’s no point trying to hide the truth, now, and it’s a relief to be able to tell him. “I didn’t fall. I was sent here with a purpose, and I’m not stranded, so if that’s what you’re worried about- It’s hard, but I’m ok. And you’ve helped a lot.”

He definitely is crying now, even if he wasn’t before. “That was my worry. I was afraid I had found a lost child from another time and unknowingly put her to work in a dangerous and unfamiliar place.”

“No, no- That’s why I’m here. I can’t properly explain it, but I was sent here to help you. I knew when I arrived I was here to help save the world. It’s okay.” Now Akari is crying. She’s worse at hiding it than Looker. Her voice has gone all wavery, but for once, she doesn’t try to push it down. “Do you need a hug? ‘Cause I need a hug, and we’re both crying.”

Looker nods, and they both stand, and hug each other tight, and cry. “It’s ok,” Akari says, over and over, and she believes it. She hopes Looker does too. Part of her is wondering how she didn’t notice him being a Zoroark before, the night they arrived in Veilstone and she cried into his coat, but then again, she’d been very busy crying, so she could easily not have noticed a paw on her shoulder through the fabric of her uniform.

“I think it’s really cool, what you do,” she manages, after a little while. “Using your illusions to help people. That’s a good thing to do.”

“Thank you. It gets difficult, sometimes, but I am new at it, so I’ll get better. Next time I am on a mission, I’ll be able to infiltrate the higher ranks, and not have to pick up a child off the street to help me.”

“It’s ok to need help. And I was there to help you, that’s the whole reason I was sent here.”

“Even so. I hope I can do more next time.” He pauses, and his voice becomes quieter. “I hope there is a next time. That is the other thing I am worried about.”

“There will be a next time.” Akari’s voice is firm, even through tears. “I’m gonna make sure of it.”

They fall silent for a while, the only noise in the room Akari’s quiet crying. She’s hoping Looker feels better, after this. It’s a good thing to get a weight off your shoulders, and she feels at least a little unburdened. She doesn’t like lying, not to people she cares about, not to her friends, and she has faith in him to keep her secret. To most people, at least. Fantina might find out, but that’s probably fine.

“Fantina, you do not need to hide outside of your own sitting room.”

Akari turns around, keeping hold of Looker’s arm, and watches as Fantina enters the room, carrying a tray containing a teapot, teacups and various snacks. There are, notably, croissants.

“I did not want to intrude! You were having an emotional moment!”

She sets down the tray, and settles in an armchair. “You can have the sofa, if you would like.”

Looker nods, not attempting to dislodge Akari. They sit down, Akari curling up amongst the many cushions, a croissant in hand.

Fantina and Looker talk for a long time, after that, sometimes in the language she can now assume is Kalosian, sometimes not. She doesn’t say much. She doesn’t want to. It’s enough to be here, comfortable and calm, knowing there’s one more person she doesn’t have to lie to anymore.

After a while, Fantina turns to her, and the conversation turns to garment construction, fabrics and sewing techniques. She has a lot to say, and talks about a host of dresses she’s designed, at one point rushing off to fetch a sketchbook to show Akari. Its pages are full of beautiful dresses, all long-skirted and most many-ruffled. Some of the more structured skirts remind her of an illustration Professor Laventon had done on the back of some field notes to show her what a particularly fashionable silhouette in Galar after she’d asked about the clothes there.

“People should start doing more interesting things with skirt shapes again, I think,” she says, and Fantina looks as if she might burst into tears.

“Yes! Absolutely, yes! You understand!”

A while after that, Fantina checks the time, and hurries off to get dressed to go out for lunch. Akari wonders to herself why she feels like she needs better clothes for outside, but it occurs to her the long lacy parts of her gown might trail on the pavement. When she returns, Akari’s theory is proven - she is dressed in the Gengar-inspired design she’d pointed out in the sketchbook as being based off “late victorian day-dresses,” a fashion that occurred, apparently, roughly a hundred years after Akari’s time (which she finds a little funny - a style of dress that’s considered historical in this time, but hasn’t happened yet where she’s from), and the skirt is not nearly as trailing.

The walk to their lunch destination is short, and the destination itself is a very beautiful restaurant. They decide to sit outside, and Looker helps Akari order her meal when the collection of syllables prove difficult for her to say without stuttering.

There’s a building across the street that catches Akari’s eye as she waits for her meal. Tall, built of pale grey stone, intricately carved with symbols she knows. She silently gets up from her seat, leaving Looker and Fantina to their conversation.

It’d be imposing, she thinks, if the stone it was built of wasn’t the same colour as the little shrine just past Galaxy Hall back in Jubilife City. As it is, it’s comforting, in a way. She starts examining the carvings - there are even more than she’d realised, close up to the building. There’s the symbol for Arceus, carved over the entrance and in many other places. She wonders if the people who carved it know what it means.

These two reference Dialga and Palkia, she thinks. There is nothing to reference Giratina, which pains her a little, and she pauses in her examination of the building to consider why. Rei has told her it’s far kinder than you would expect from something that willingly worked with a man who wanted to destroy the world. He’d not been sure on exactly why, whether it had never meant for Volo to get as far as he did, or if it had had a change of heart. Either way, it’s not as bad as one would think, apparently. It doesn’t deserve to have remained in obscurity, forgotten once again.

…Something about that last thought bothers Akari, and she can’t place why.

The lake guardians. There’ll be something here for the lake guardians, won’t there? A minute or two later of searching, she finds herself tracing her hand over an imprint of two tails. She stops to look at it, appreciate it properly. It’s a particularly beautiful carving. It seems to be meant to represent all three within one carving. Knowledge, emotion, will. It does a good job, even if the carving doesn’t really resemble any of the three, save for the two tails.

She hears soft, familiar footsteps behind her. Oh, that’s probably why Looker’s footsteps hardly make a sound, isn’t it? His heavy-soled boots aren’t real. That explains that.

“I do not wish to interrupt, but our food will be arriving soon, and Fantina has sent me to retrieve you.”

Akari nods. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Looker nods back, and makes to leave, but pauses. “I was not aware you were particularly religious.”

“Religious is one way to put it.” She traces a hand over a carving. How can she explain that she reveres these gods only because she knows for certain they exist? How can you tell someone in casual conversation that a pokéball to capture a frenzied god was crafted by her hand? “It’s probably the most concise way, though. I don’t think I could be anything else.”

“I see.” Looker pauses. “That is false, I do not understand what you mean, but I do not think I need to. It seems a very personal thing.”

“It is, yeah. I don’t fully understand it myself. I know I wouldn’t know how to explain it.”

They make their way back to the restaurant, where their food is arriving. Akari’s meal is very good, spicy and a little sour, but not overly so, with a touch of sweetness. She’s never experienced a combination of flavours exactly like this. Apparently one of the spices involved is from a far-off region called Paldea, which would probably explain it at least in part.

She’s just finishing her food when a familiar voice calls out.

“HEY!”

It makes sense that Dawn’s here, Akari thinks to herself as she takes her last bite and prepares to get up to greet her. She was in the area of the Solaceon Ruins just yesterday, and that’s not far from here. Barry and Leaf are with her, she notes, as well as someone she doesn’t recognise, and she lets Looker know she’s seen some of her friends and wants to go and say hello to them.

Dawn almost tackles her when she’s in reach, and doesn’t let go for a good ten seconds. Akari doesn’t protest. She’ll take any hug, even one where she feels as if she might have the life squeezed out of her.

“Hi, hey, I didn’t think I’d see you here, I thought you were pretending to be evil and stuff in Veilstone, I am so happy to see you because it means I get to hug you and also I can yell at you about the smoke bomb in person, what the fuck was that.”

Akari blinks. “Hello.”

“Dawn, you gotta slow down, she can’t take all that in at once!”

“Oh, as if you’re one to talk, Barry, you know I got this from you.”

“I was about to say that.”

Dawn laughs, and lets go of Akari for a brief moment, who almost falls over before she puts one arm back around her to steady her. “That’s my bad. I can be a little over-enthusiastic. You know how it is when you see a friend and you don’t have to pretend to be mortal enemies.”

“I do now. It’s a new experience.”

“Did you take theatre in school? ‘Cause you were really good back there, very convincing.”

“I didn’t, no. I didn’t really go to school, I mostly just learned stuff from home.” Survival skills taught to her by Kamado, the basics of battle learned from Zisu, knowledge of how to forage and cook and craft smoke bombs and stealth sprays imparted from Beni while she helped in the kitchen of the Wallflower. Rei’s told her about his school, and it wasn’t like that at all. Nothing on foraging or survival skills, which she thinks is sorely missed in the curriculum.

“Fair enough. Well, if you ever get the opportunity, you should totally do theatre. You’re great at acting. That voice you did was genuinely scary.”

Akari shrugs. “It’s just something I can do, and it gets people to listen. I don’t know why it works so well.”

“It’s terrifying! It’s-” Dawn lowers her voice - “very like how I’d imagine someone who’s in charge of stuff in Team Galactic would sound.”

“Our battle did get me a promotion, actually, so you’re sort of right in that respect.”

“Wow. That’s pretty good for us, huh?”

“I hope it is. I’m trying not to think about it.”

Leaf takes Akari’s hand. “Then let’s talk about something else. I saw you sitting with Fantina, are you friends?”

“She’s a friend of a friend.”

“Ooh. She’s really cool.” Leaf sounds more than a little starstruck. “I’ve only ever seen her in the televised versions of her contests. I want to see her and her ghosts on stage properly. That’s why Dawn invited me along.”

Dawn nods. “I’m here to challenge her gym. Later today, hopefully.”

“...I don’t think that’s a good idea. Not after yesterday.”

“Why not?”

Akari thinks, trying to find the right words. “Back home, there’s a friend of mine who you remind me of. He never took a moment to rest, and one day, it caught up with him. The dangers we face here aren’t the same as the ones where I’m from, so it’s not a perfect comparison, but he almost died, Dawn. Don’t do what he did. Take breaks, rest when you can, take time for yourself so you don’t burn out, because I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Dawn is silent for a long moment. Eventually, she nods.

“That’s fair enough. I- I can postpone until tomorrow. Get an early night and stuff beforehand. I have to think of my team, too, make sure they’re all ready to go and get some good rest.”

Akari nods. “That sounds like a better plan.”

The conversation moves on. Akari is introduced to Lucas, the unfamiliar face in the group and Dawn’s twin brother, before Dawn and Barry get into a loud and fast-paced argument about how best to face a ghost type gym, with Leaf occasionally interjecting. Lucas pulls Akari aside after a little while.

“Hey. Thanks for getting her to listen. I get worried.”

“You’re welcome. I do my best.”

He nods. “Also, I heard you have a Heracross. Can I see it?”

“Sure.”

She sends it out, and he crouches down a little to say hello to it, reaching out to pet it. It chitters at him. If you can read the tone of a large beetle’s chitters to tell how it’s feeling, this one is surely delighted.

“Do you mind if I take some notes on it? For the Pokédex.”

“The Pokédex?”

He nods. “Every few years Professor Rowan gets people to go and look at all the pokémon in the region, take notes on them and their habitats and how many there are, if there are any new ones, that kind of thing. Usually it’s a bigger team than this, but a lot of people are busy at the moment, so it’s just me this year.”

Akari feels like she might cry. The Survey Corps lives - maybe not in name, but in spirit.

“I don’t mind you taking notes at all. It’s- it’s a good thing you’re doing. I hope you know that.”

“Oh. Thank you.” He retrieves a little device with two screens, and begins to type something out on one of them. “It’s nice to hear that. Most people aren’t thinking about the Pokédex right now.”

“It’s an important thing, even if there are other things that would eclipse it.”

They sit quietly together after that for a little while, speaking only occasionally, about survey work and pokémon professors and the joy of finding out new things about the world around you. “I want to go to other regions one day,” Lucas says, after he’s done making notes on Heracross. “Like Alola. There’s a pokémon called Golisopod there. Do you know about Golisopod?”

Akari tells him she does not, and he talks about that for a while, and pulls up pictures to show her of it and what it’s like before evolution. “This one is a Wimpod. It’s my friend from Alola’s. He’s trying to help it evolve, but it’s slow, ‘cause Wimpod get scared really easily. He said he’s not gonna rush it, though, which I think is the kind thing to do.”

“I think so too. That’s good of him.”

Something occurs to Akari after a little while. They’re next to one of the exits to Hearthome City, and it’s likely that there’s all the right materials for smoke bombs growing close by. It would be good for Dawn, she thinks, and maybe they’d find it interesting to search for and identify the right plants, and learn to wrap the sootfoot root just right, so the caster ferns don’t stop the dust cloud from leaving the wrapping but don’t unravel just from carrying them around in your bag.

…Part of it is selfishness, she’ll admit that. She doesn’t want the craft to be forgotten.

“Would any of you like to go on a walk outside the city?”

Everyone says yes, after a few moments of consideration. She nods, and gets up to inform Looker of where she’s going, so he doesn’t worry. He and Fantina are having an animated conversation when she gets back to their table.

“-and I cannot believe the whole debacle occurred because he was at that damned sushi restaurant again. If you are in charge of an entire branch of an organisation such as mine where you will be needed in urgent situations and you are spending your time when you are supposed to be on duty at a sushi place, I do not care how good it is, if it is a matter as important as this one to the point where I am getting calls on my day off-” He spots Akari, and stops in the middle of his sentence. “My apologies. Do you need me?”

“My friends are going on a walk outside of the city, and I wanted to let you know. We won’t go far, and probably won’t be long.”

He nods. “We are planning to return to Fantina’s home very soon, so please meet me there when you come back, and not here. We will also be staying the night, if that is alright with you. There are spare rooms, and I am more tired from the walk here than I anticipated.”

“That sounds good. Thank you. I think I can get back there on my own.”

“If you have any difficulties finding your way, you can contact me.”

Fantina reaches out to pat Akari’s arm. “A little question, before you go - one of your friends, the one in the red skirt and white hat, I have seen her looking at me. Is she aware she is haunted?”

Akari nods. “I’m pretty sure it’s on purpose.”

She nods back, smiling. “Admirable. Well, then, do enjoy your walk!”

Akari thanks her, and returns to her group. As she approaches, she catches a little of Dawn speaking in a low, conspiratorial voice. “No way she doesn’t have some secret plan. You heard her. She only gets like that when she has something up her sleeve.”

“You’re really figuring me out, aren’t you?” Dawn jumps, and Akari laughs, quietly. “I promise it’s a nice secret plan. Let’s go.”

The group sets off, Akari keeping an eye out for sootfoot root and caster ferns. It does look like the kind of place that would grow it, so they’ll probably come across a patch soon, but she does want the others to try looking for it, too. She retrieves her Pokédex from her bag, flipping to one of the spare pages at the back where she’d illustrated the various plants she made use of as a field guide.

“Alright, everyone, this is what we’re looking for.”

The group gathers around her as she points out the right illustrations and explains not to just pick the leaves of the sootfoot root, but to dig up the whole plant to leave the root intact. “If you don’t feel like putting your hands in the dirt, that’s okay, my Pikachu is practised in digging things up and it’ll be happy to help you.”

Everyone nods, save for Barry, who tilts his head, looking at her. “Why do we need plants?”

“Just go with it.” Dawn’s already scouring the area. “Let her have her secret surprise moment.”

Leaf has released a Riolu from a pokéball, and is speaking to it in a whisper. It squeaks back at her, and she nods, glancing up at Akari.

“My Riolu says it wants to help.”

“Alright. As long as it’s careful digging up the root.”

The Riolu nods, very seriously, staring up at her with round eyes, and then scurries off on all fours, sniffing at the ground. Leaf looks pleased.

“A Riolu is a little like a Growlithe, I think, so I thought it might want to dig in the ground. I know Kris’s Arcanine likes that, and it liked it even more when it was littler.”

Akari nods approvingly, and surveys their little section of the path. Lucas is examining a piece of bark, seemingly testing its use as a shovel. Barry and Dawn are arguing, loudly, about who’s going to “win the race.” As long as they’re having fun, that’s alright, Akari decides. Generally she tries to be quiet when foraging, but the chances of being attacked by a wild pokémon in this time are much lower, as far as she can tell, so they can be as loud as they wish and not be in any particular danger.

She watches them for a while. Lucas has moved onto inspecting leaves, looking for the right shape and marks. Leaf’s Riolu has dug up something shiny. Barry and Dawn both have their hands in the dirt, their argument dissolved into laughter.

All lives touch other lives to create something anew and alive.

Tears prick at her eyes. No matter what else she does while she’s here, it’ll have been worth it for this.

Leaf’s Riolu is running over to her, its shiny discovery held firmly in its paws. It stops just in front of her, and holds it up, squeaking. It’s a Moon Stone, she realises.

“For my Clefairy?” she asks, softly.

It nods. Akari takes the stone in one hand, holding out the other. It pushes its face into her palm. She took care of a Riolu for an afternoon, once, while she was researching it, and that one did the same thing. It’s a special kind of honour, to be this trusted.

“Are these the right leaves?” Leaf is here now too, holding out a fan of pristine, glossy caster fern leaves. Akari nods.

“Those should do nicely.”

Across the path, Barry exclaims “I WIN!!” followed by a short yelp. Akari glances over to see a settling dust cloud around him and Dawn, who is looking at her very intensely.

“So that’s what we’re doing.”

Akari smiles. “Yes. I should have told you to be careful handling the roots, they’re liable to burst, which results in what you’ve just experienced.”

“Augh. I got too excited. Sorry, Akari.” Barry looks dejected.

“It’s alright. The last person I taught to do this did the same thing, so you don’t need to worry.”

After a little while, the group has enough roots, most of them gathered by Lucas and his makeshift bark shovel and Leaf’s Riolu, which seems very proud of its accomplishments. They sit down, and Akari takes out her crafting kit, so they can have a good surface to rest on.

“Lay out the caster fern leaf, like this, and then place the sootfoot root in the centre…”

She shows how to wrap the root, and how to tie a knot that will keep the parcel properly tied together. “That’ll keep it from falling apart in your bag. They don’t keep forever, but you’ll be able to make more of them. Both the plants are quite common, especially in this area.”

Following her example, everyone does their best to follow suit. Barry bursts another root in the process of his first try, but his second comes out well, with a very neat knot tying it together. “I learned to tie knots a while back,” he explains. “I’m a fidgety guy, I’ve gotta have something to do with my hands. I could probably tie this one in my sleep.”

Lucas has somewhat less success, at least at first. His main struggle is keeping the sootfoot root wrapped - caster ferns are springy, and don’t stay where you fold them to - while he figures out the knot. Akari shows him how she deals with particularly stubborn fern leaves, holding the parcel in one hand and having the stem half-ready to be knotted in the other. “You have to move somewhat quickly for it to work, but with practice it gets easier.” Her technique works, and even though he’s slower than the others, his smoke bombs are just as good.

Dawn makes twice as many smoke bombs as anyone else in the group, working as quickly as she can. The ones at the bottom of her pile are misshapen and some are unfurling, but the ones at the top are very well done. “I don’t get good at something by taking my time on each little thing. I have to try as many times as I can as quickly as I can, or I’ll start getting worried I’m bad at it forever, even when that’s not the case. Like, hey, look at this one.” She holds up her latest attempt, grinning. “This is pretty good, huh?”

“Very good, yes. You should be proud of yourself.”

“Aw, thanks. You’re so nice.”

All of Leaf’s smoke bombs are perfect. Akari asks her if she’s made them before, and she shakes her head no, staring into the distance. “You explained it well, but I think it’s more than that.” She’s silent for a long moment after that, before pausing to thank something unseen and opening up her bag to store the smoke bombs. Fantina was definitely right, then. Akari decides not to press.

The sun is beginning to set, and Barry is becoming increasingly eager to leave. “I am not scared of ghosts, quit looking at me like that, Dawn, I’m just saying we should leave because you wanted to get an early night.”

“Good point, actually. I am a bit tired. You wanna head back, Akari?”

She nods, standing. “I’m tired, too. I’m glad I got to teach you how to make smoke bombs. I think people have forgotten you can make things with plants you can find just by going a little way outside of towns and cities. Everyone just buys potions in shops now.” She shrugs. “If you have the right tools and something to put it in, you can make those with oran berries and medicinal leeks, and those are everywhere.”

“Huh. You know a lot about this. Maybe I can find something like that crafting kit online.” Dawn’s looking up at the sky as she walks. “I’d like to make more of my own things. It’d be fun.”

Akari can’t help but smile. “I’m glad. I’m really glad.”

The walk back to Hearthome isn’t long. Akari says goodbye to the group outside of the Pokécenter, where they’re staying. Dawn hugs her extra tight, “to make up for not being able to hug you yesterday. I wanted to so bad, you have no idea.”

Fantina’s home is only a street away. Outside there is a Dusknoir, which, upon seeing her, phases silently through the brick walls behind it. A moment later, Fantina opens the door.

“Ah, there you are! Was your walk nice?”

Akari nods. “Very nice. I’m very tired now, though.”

“Your room is prepared for you, so you can sleep right away if that is your wish.”

She thanks Fantina, and says goodnight to her. The Dusknoir that was waiting for her outside leads the way to her room, passing another room with the door half-open. Inside, there is a very non-ghostly-looking Zoroark, curled up on top of the bedcovers, wool coat draped over him. She smiles, and whispers a goodnight to Looker, just in case he’s still awake.

Her room is large, and taken up mostly by an almost equally large double bed. The duvet is plush, the pillows are huge and soft, and it takes Akari serious effort not to just collapse onto it without unpacking her bag and taking care of the other things one does before they sleep.

When she’s ready to rest, she curls up under the covers, and sleep washes over her in a matter of minutes.

And Akari dreams.

She’s in the strange place her dreams take her to sometimes. She’s here more often, now there’s more to do in the waking world. The shadowy thing that lives here greets her, curling up around her as it always does.

“Who are you?” she asks, reaching out to stroke its head. Her voice sounds warped, distorted, like three of her speaking at once. “Where are we? No matter how hard I try, I can never quite figure it out.”

It stares at her with unblinking red eyes, purring as softly as something so big can purr.

“I forget, every time. I wake up and I forget my dream. Do you know that? I think you do. I should know what you are.” She closes her eyes. “Will I remember soon?”

It’s saying something to her, but she doesn’t understand it. She feels like she should. She hopes it’s saying yes, she’ll remember, she’ll understand.

For now, she can rest. It’s what she’s here for.

Chapter Text

It’s difficult to tell if she’s woken up bright and early in a house so dedicated to blocking out the sunlight, but Akari feels refreshed either way. She struggles a little to extract herself from the bedcovers - they’re so soft and heavy, she feels as if she could just curl up under them and go right back to sleep.

Eventually, she’s able to get up, and gets ready for the day in the low light of her room’s lanterns. Packing her bag, she’s interrupted by Fantina’s Banette, which does its best to get her to drop what she’s doing and pet it instead, and almost succeeds. She lets it lean against her as she packs her things, and talks to it about the things she’ll be doing today.

“It’s quite a long walk back to Veilstone,” she tells it, “but I have good company, and long walks are never quite as tiring that way.”

She emerges from her room, the Banette trailing behind her, and goes to look for Looker, or Fantina, or some way to tell the time. Wandering the hallways takes her to the kitchen, where Fantina is in the middle of making something.

“Ah! Good morning!”

“Hello. What time is it?”

She leans over to glance at her oven’s clock. “8:30, or thereabouts.”

“Oh. I slept in a lot, then.” Akari is usually up at least an hour before that, and sometimes earlier.

“I am told people sleep very well in my home, and often wake up later than they mean to. It has never been a problem for me. I perform late into the evenings, and expect to wake up late in the mornings, so it is simply how I operate.” Fantina smiles. “I take it as a compliment, that I have created a welcoming enough home that everyone who stays the night rests well.”

“I think it’s the low light and the duvet. And the pillows. I was asleep in minutes.”

“I am glad you slept well. I hope your dreams were kind to you.”

“I-” Akari blinks, and shakes her head. “I think so. I don’t really remember.”

Fantina’s expression, for a moment, is concerned, but then she smiles, and the worry in her face fades. “Looker told me yesterday you had expressed interest in making croissants, but did not know how he would be able to teach you. He struggles with such things. Pastry is not an easy thing to make when you have claws. But I have some here, prepared yesterday and chilled overnight - you returned home too late to learn how to make it, but I can give you my recipe - and if you would like, you can assist me in shaping them.”

“Ooh. I would like to, actually.”

Fantina shows her how to cut the pastry into triangles, and how to add a filling so that it won’t fall right out of the pastry before you can bake it. “Then roll them, very carefully so as not to crush the layers in the pastry, and place them on the tray. Would you like to try?”

Akari is able to pick up the technique quickly enough. Her first croissant is not the prettiest, but the second looks nice enough, and the third resembles the croissants you can get at the bakery stall in the Veilstone shopping centre. Fantina is delighted.

“You are very good! Are you a baker?”

“Not really. I’ve helped people cook before, but never stuff like this. I’m good at making small things with my hands, though, so that’s probably why.”

“Whatever is the case, you are very skillful. These will turn out beautifully, I am sure.”

The two of them make quick work of the rest of the pastry, and Fantina sets them aside to rise. They sit in the kitchen and talk for a while, mostly about Fantina’s dress designs and raising ghost types. Akari has caught and studied many a ghost pokémon for the Pokédex, and even though she didn’t end up keeping any, she always found them interesting to research and quite charming.

Fantina shows her pictures of many she’s never seen before, from other regions - a pokémon resembling an ornate light fixture burning blue from Unova, a tall, tree-like pokémon from Kalos, a little pokémon hiding beneath a cloak made up to look like a Pikachu from Alola. “Mimikyu is likely a fairy type, too, the first one with ghost typing discovered! Is that not delightful?”

Akari frowns. “Fairy… type?”

“Looker has not mentioned such a thing to you?”

“He hasn’t, no.”

Fantina is silent for a long moment, and then shrugs. “Ah, well. There are worse people to have accidentally revealed highly classified Kalosian government secrets to.”

Akari makes a distressed noise, and Fantina laughs.

“Oh, don’t worry, I know you can keep a secret better than I can. And perhaps it is a good thing I have mentioned this, because dark types do not do well against fairy moves, and Looker did mention your Clefairy knows Moonblast, so now you know to warn him before you have it use such a move. Which you shouldn’t. Because it is highly classified.”

“He told me that much when I had it use the move in a battle, but he never mentioned a fairy type. Are Zoroarks here dark type?”

“They are, yes.” Fantina tilts her head. “Do you come from a place where they are not?”

“Yes. Is Clefairy a fairy type, then? Are those weak to poison? Mine never did well against poison.” Akari is already getting ready to reshuffle her mental list of pokémon type weaknesses.

“It is, and they are, but I really do not think I should tell you any more-”

“There will come a time where I will need to defend myself to the absolute best of my and my team’s ability. If I’m misinformed about what is weak to what, that could lead to me losing a crucial battle.”

The room is silent for a moment. Akari glances up at Fantina, and sees her eyes have gone a little wide. Was she doing the voice again? She really needs to get a handle on that.

Fantina reaches out to take her hand. “A child as young as you, so worried about self-defense… It is a strange world we live in. You should not be worrying about such things, and yet here you are. This is what I cannot forgive organisations like Team Galactic for. They make it so that you must be so serious, when you should be playing.”

Akari rests her other hand over Fantina’s. “If it helps, I was serious before. It was a very different thing I was worried about, but I’ve always been like this. I think it’s in my nature, at least in part. But I learned how to take time for myself and stay hopeful when things get bad. So I’m alright, mostly. And I definitely will be when all this is over.”

Fantina nods, closing her eyes. “We can only hope.”

“In the meantime, we can do nice things to keep ourselves going. We can still talk about dresses, and make croissants.”

“Oh! Yes, the croissants!” She hops up from her seat and sweeps over to the counter. “They should be risen now, and ready to bake. I had almost forgotten them.”

With the croissants in the oven, Fantina sits back down. She looks just as carefree as she did before Akari had brought up battling as self-defense.

“Now, let me try to remember what the fairy type qualities are. I do not usually need to remember such things, seeing as I am not supposed to know they exist in the first place.”

They discuss battle strategy for a while as Fantina attempts to remember fairy type strengths and weaknesses. Akari learns that fairy type pokémon are entirely immune to dragon-type moves, which would explain why Rei’s Garchomp could never seem to land a hit on her Clefairy with Dragon Claw. Poison and steel pose issues for a fairy type, but it resists the fighting type - again, this would explain why those sorts of moves never posed a problem for Clefairy.

“You know,” Akari says after a while, “I always thought of Moonblast as “one of those strange normal-type moves that are super-effective on dragon pokémon.” I never once considered that there could be another type we hadn’t yet figured out.”

Fantina laughs long and loud at that, almost loud enough to hide the creak of floorboards as someone approaches the kitchen door. Akari glances over to see Looker poking his head around the door.

“Hello. Good morning.”

“Good morning, Agent Starlight, Fantina.” His eyes flicker to the oven. “Are there croissants in there?”

Akari nods. Fantina is holding her stomach, still breathless with laughter.

Looker frowns, very slightly. “What is quite so funny about my arrival? You cannot be laughing at me because I detected the smell of baking croissants.”

“Oh, no, she’s laughing at me because I thought Moonblast was normal type. Nothing about you.”

“...As opposed to what? Fantina, stop laughing! You are aware of the classified status of such things!”

“In my defense,” Fantina begins, and is interrupted by the oven’s alarm. “Ah, they are done! Now, leave me alone, the both of you. I must compose myself, and also find my oven gloves.”

“She thought you’d already told me,” Akari tells Looker as they watch her bustle around the kitchen. “And it’s alright, I’m not going to tell anyone. I’ll only get my Clefairy to use Moonblast if it’s a really serious situation.”

That reminds her. Her Clefairy has the means to become a Clefable, now that she owns a Moon Stone. That can wait until after breakfast, though.

Fantina has laid out the croissants to cool, and swats away Looker’s hand when he reaches for a croissant. “You will burn yourself! Every time, you do this!”

“You make the best croissants, Fantina! My impatience should be viewed as a compliment.”

“Your impatience will not protect you from a burnt tongue!”
Soon enough, the croissants are cool enough to eat, and breakfast is a very quick affair. “For how long these take to make,” Akari comments, “they’re gone awfully quickly. But at the same time, it’s nice to eat something you made yourself.” The others agree, through mouthfuls of pastry.

After breakfast, Looker goes to find the Croagunk that travels with him - “it is good friends with Fantina’s Gengar, and I have absolutely no clue where either of them are-” and Akari is left to make her final preparations and say her goodbyes to Fantina.

She grabs her bag from her room, and finds Fantina waiting for her outside. She crouches down to look at Akari properly, and takes her hands.

“Now, Agent Starlight. You and Looker take care of each other well. You must continue to do so, and I have told him the same. It is a horrible thing, to be alone in times such as these. Will you make this promise to me?”

Akari nods. “I promise. I’ll do whatever I can.”

Looker reappears not long after that, carrying the Croagunk and being shadowed by Fantina’s Gengar (Akari recognises the eyes, this is definitely the pokémon she saw in the hallway when she first arrived). He and Fantina embrace, and Fantina pats Akari gently on the head before waving them all goodbye at the door.

It’s very pleasant outside, sunny and clear with a brisk breeze. This is Akari’s preferred type of weather, perfect for walks without getting too cold or overheating. She is having such a pleasant time that her intention to let her Clefairy evolve almost slips her mind.

How to broach that topic, though? Would it be rude, in front of her companions? Croagunk, at the very least, shouldn’t be too worried by a fairy type, since it’s part poison, but Looker doesn’t have that advantage. It feels impolite, but he knows she wouldn’t mean any harm.

“Can we stop for a minute? I got a Moon Stone yesterday from my friend, and my Clefairy’s been wanting to evolve for a while now.”

Looker nods. “I think now is a good time to take a small rest, either way.”

He locates a log bench not too far away, and settles down on it. Akari crouches down a little distance away, and brings out her Clefairy. It beeps at her, cheerfully.

“This is a gift from my friend’s Riolu.” She withdraws the Moon Stone. With her Clefairy close by, it glows a little from within. Clefairy’s eyes go very wide, and it takes the stone very carefully from her hands, holding it close to its chest.

When the bright lights fade and the dust cloud has settled, Clefairy - no, Clefable - blinks at her and trills. It’s much taller now, and its wings are bigger. Akari reaches out a hand and lets it take it. Its fur is somehow even softer than before, too. She can’t hold it on her lap anymore, not when it’s almost as big as her, but that’s alright. It wanted to evolve. She’ll figure out a way to hug it.

Akari makes her way to the bench, Clefable following her, still holding the Moon Stone. It’s no longer glowing, but still sparkles prettily in the sunshine. They’ll keep it, along with Lilligant’s Sun Stone. The spent stones can’t really be used for anything, but they’re still pretty keepsakes. Akari has daydreamed idly about getting the Sun Stone made into a pendant, but she’s not sure how to do that herself, and she doesn’t really trust anyone else with something so precious.

She takes a seat next to Looker, and Clefable pulls itself up onto the bench next to her. It leans over her to trill at Looker and Croagunk. Looker nods, and Croagunk croaks politely. (Akari has never heard a Croagunk sound polite before, but then again, she’s only ever had contact with them while running from them or the Toxicroak accompanying them. Rei was the one who helped fill out their Pokédex entry.)

“How far are we from Solaceon Town, do you think?”

“Not far at all. Though I do think I saw someone looking for a battle up ahead, which means Croagunk will have to go back into hiding.” Looker sighs. “You likely think it is odd that I carry a pokémon in a pokéball with me.”

Akari shrugs. “I wasn’t going to question it. I figure you have your reasons.”

“We do. We are old friends, and neither of us wish to battle, or to be separated. And while I can disguise myself, Croagunk cannot, so this is our arrangement.”

“I think that’s fair enough. I wish trainers around here weren’t so overzealous about battling, because maybe then it wouldn’t be necessary, but if it works it works.”

“It would be nice, if that were the case.” Looker pauses. “Do you come from a time where people do not battle so much, then?”

Akari nods. “I do. People are getting more into battling now having pokémon is a more normal thing, but most people just have one or two that assist them in their day-to-day life, if they have any at all. It’s… kind of weird, to see that it turns into this.”

“Ah. I had not considered that.” Looker puts an arm around Akari. “So you are from here, then?”

“Yes. I live in Jubilife Village. None of the other towns and cities around here exist yet, in my time, unless you count the Ancient Retreat. I think that became Celestic Town, so it probably counts.”

“It must be very strange, to see your home look so different.”

“It is, but I don’t mind too much anymore. I’m making the best of being here. I’ve found a lot of people I care about, like you, and Dawn. I’m hoping my phone will let me keep contact with you once I’m home. It works across time one way, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work the other way.”

Looker nods. “There are many things about your situation that I do not understand. You said, yesterday, that you are not stranded. I am inclined to believe that is not just wishful thinking on your part, and that you know something I don’t.”

“I technically don’t know for certain, but it’s something I’m fairly certain of. Once my mission is complete, I’ll be allowed to go home.” That was how it had worked for Rei. He was given the choice to stay in Hisui, or return to his time. He told her, later, that it seemed an obvious choice. Why return to a place that had never felt like home?

Looker is silent for a long moment. “I will miss you. I cannot lie to you about this. But I want the best for you, and I hope for your safe return.”

“Thank you.” Akari shifts in her seat on the bench so she can put her arms around Looker.

They sit in silence on the bench for a little while longer, until they feel rested enough to continue. They can hear, around the corner of the path, the sounds of battling route trainers, so when they return to walking they choose to travel through the woods until they reach Solaceon. There, they get lunch, and the person running the counter at the Pokémart remarks how similar Akari looks to the girl who had driven Team Galactic out of the Solaceon Ruins the day before.

“Do you have a twin? If you do, she’s doing great things for Sinnoh.”

Akari smiles, and shakes her head. “I know who you mean, though, and you’re right. She is.”

The walk to Veilstone doesn’t take much longer, and even on parts of the route where travelling the beaten path isn’t an option, it’s an easy enough journey. They arrive at the city well before sunset.

“Commander Mars wants you to come in for a brief while to look at your new office,” Looker tells her, after checking his Team Galactic-issued communicator. “We can head home now, and I will help you get ready.”

He walks Akari to the doors of the HQ, and tells her he’ll be waiting at home for her. “If you are there a while, I may start on making us dinner before you return.”

She nods, and enters the building. The person at the counter nods at her as she walks briskly past to the stairs leading to the research department.

Her research department, it occurs to her. That feels weird. She doesn’t feel like a person who’s in charge of departments. She’s no Cyllene. But if people want her in charge, she’ll be in charge. It’s not like she’s telling the truth about anything else here.

There’s a very noticeable change at the top of the stairs, and it’s that her cubby has been blocked off by a wall and a door. This must be her new office, then.

Akari opens the door and takes in the room. The first thing she notices is that her desk has been replaced - it’s sturdier-looking, with more space to work, and a compartment underneath that looks to be used to store books. The second thing she notices is Mars is sitting on it.

“There you are! Did you have a nice day off?”

“I did, yes. Thank you.”

Mars hops down from Akari’s new desk. “So, this is your new office! I hope you like it. I know it’s not the biggest, but hey, better than no office, right?”

“I think it’s nice.” As well as the desk, there’s a small sitting area, some more bookshelves, and one of the small cabinets that Akari first saw in the commanders’ office in Eterna City and has since learned is called a mini-fridge. “It looks to have about everything I’d need.”

“That’s good, then. I have a couple more things to talk to you about before I leave you be. Mind if I sit down?” Mars gestures at the sitting area.

“No, I don’t mind.” Akari sits down with her, and watches as she produces a spiral-bound notebook.

“First thing on the agenda is uniform. I drew up a few sketches yesterday.” she flips open the notebook, and shows the page to Akari. “I actually looked into some older uniforms from back before Team Galactic was called Team Galactic as inspiration. Technically a different organisation, but whatever. Doesn’t matter too much.”

Akari grits her teeth, and says nothing.

“I know you said you wanted movability and you liked skirts, so this is what I came up with…”

They look over the sketches together. Akari rules out the very short, tight skirts first (probably based off of Cyllene’s uniform, judging from the silhouettes), and then the ones with a lot of structure in (“because I’ve never worn anything like that before, and I don’t want to risk discomfort in a uniform I’ll be wearing daily.”) She settles on a dress with a high neck and sleeves that resemble her Galaxy Team uniform, which comes with a pair of low-heeled boots.

“Nice, alright, I’ll send those off to have it made for you, then.” Mars flips the notebook to a fresh page. “Anything I should write down to mention?”

“I have a preference for natural fibres,” Akari begins, and when Mars purses her lips, she adds “at least on the layers touching my skin. The feel of synthetics bothers me.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s fair. I’ll see what I can do regarding that. Anything else?”

“Not that I can think of.”

Mars scribbles down her request. “Alright. That’s that, then. The other thing I’m here about is a codename for you. I made a list, like I said I would, and I hope you don’t mind, but there’s one that stands out to me that I’ve marked here.” She flips to another page in her notebook, and hands it to Akari.

It’s a list of names, presumably all stars - there are some she recognises, and some she doesn’t. Mars has circled one in bold red pen.

“Polaris,” Akari says, contemplatively.

“Also known as the north star. It used to be used for navigation, though I think people don’t do that much anymore. Still, it’s an important star. It’s very you, I think. And it sounds cool, which is also very important.”

Akari considers it for a few moments, and nods. “I like it.”

Mars claps her hands. “Excellent! I’ll get that made nice and official, then. That’s all I need from you right now, so I’ll leave you be.”

She exits, the door clicking softly shut behind her.

An important star, used for navigation. An honourable thing to be named, by people she’s planning to betray. Their hopes really do rest on her, don’t they? Akari knew that before, but this is what makes it sink in. Mars trusts her. Everyone she’s interacted with more than a few times trusts her. The whole team will trust the name Polaris, and it’s built on lies.

It doesn’t feel good. None of this feels good. But it’s what she has to do, she reminds herself. It’s for the good of the world. Maybe she’ll be able to apologise for all the lies before she leaves.

Akari sits down on her new desk chair. It’s nicer than the old one. It’s nowhere close to as plush as Fantina’s furniture, but it doesn’t need to be. It serves its purpose.

The report her team has put together about the Solaceon Ruins expedition lies in front of her, on her desk. She picks it up, and begins to read.

Days pass. Akari’s new office serves her well, her increased privacy letting her relax at least a little. She’s learning that if you’re a high enough rank, little strange habits like avoiding contact with technology and speaking in short, clipped sentences in a deadpan tone aren’t questioned particularly, so she can save her energy for only acting when she really needs to. Battle grunts duck out of her way in corridors, and even the scientific research team will step away and nod respectfully when they see her. Her own team doesn’t seem bothered by her, though.

Her uniform arrives about a week after her new office is completed. It’s surprisingly comfortable for something so fitted made by someone who’s never set eyes on her. The skirt twirls nicely, the sleeves are a comforting weight, and the boots - which she did not expect to like at all - click satisfyingly as she walks the halls of the Headquarters. Usually she values stealth over anything else in a shoe (bar comfort, of course), but she doesn’t have any particular need for that inside of the HQ.

She’s gathering an interesting reputation. Rumours fly in the corridors of the Galactic HQ, and she overhears many about herself. Nobody can quite decide what she is. Over the span of the next few weeks she overhears that she is a ninja, a ghost, and a clone of Dawn (who most of them call Sunrise, even after learning her real name). The rumours only get more fanciful as time goes on, and for a while the most popular one is that she’s something strange summoned from another realm by the three Commanders to aid them in their cause.

“I don’t really care what they think I am,” she tells Looker one evening, “unless they start thinking I’ll betray them. I doubt that’ll happen, though.”

Looker is a comforting presence to come home to after days spent in the HQ. Most days she returns to the smell of something warm and spiced drifting through the house. He’s getting better at cooking, actually, even though he was already very good. “I have had a lot of practice, lately,” he tells her after she compliments him on that day’s dinner. “I did not previously have the motivation of someone else to cook for, so at least in part I have you to thank.”

They talk to each other more, now that neither of them feel the need to lie to the other. Looker talks more about his life and his work for the International Police, and Akari tells him about life in Hisui in return. It’s good to talk about her home. She tells him that one day, and he responds in kind. She has begun to think of him as family, the same way Kamado and the others in the Galaxy Team are.

She talks to Rei every day. He’s busy these days, but he always makes time to talk to her. He tells her about what he’s doing whenever she asks - embroidery with Melli, studying medicine with Calaba, battles with anyone who’s willing. That last part doesn’t yet include Volo, but he hasn’t given up on coaxing him into a battle.

he’s more willing to talk to me nowadays, but i think he’s still scared of me

i haven’t mentioned arceus to him at all, but i can tell that’s what he thinks of when he sees me

can’t blame him, considering everything

The group chat she’s in with her new friends in this time is always abuzz. Kris and Lyra have returned to Johto, where Kris has taken the title of Champion, and Lyra is planning to reclaim it once their agreed upon month’s grace period has passed. May hosts telephone calls where she has the group quiz her on the history she’s studying. Leaf occasionally posts blurry pictures of indiscernible somethings shrouded in shadows with captions like “Made a new friend!”

Akari figures out how to use the camera on her own phone, and creates little sets of photos showing how to craft other things, to send to her friends in the group. She doesn’t have access to all the materials she wants, but there are still some things she can show them how to make, like pokéballs and potions. Dawn always replies with pictures of her attempts.

Hilda is normally very talkative, but at one point goes quiet for a week and returns with tales of an organisation calling itself Team Plasma, and a strange boy who seems to show up wherever they are. “Hilbert likes him,” she tells the group in a low voice over video call from a Pokécenter room, “but I don’t know how I feel about him. He says he wants to be our friend, and he seems genuine, but… I don’t know. Maybe I’m just antsy because of everything else going on.”

Akari’s dreams get stranger. She knows that, even if she can’t remember what happens in them. It’s starting to become more than disconcerting.

Today, she’s arrived at her desk to see a note written in Jupiter’s neat handwriting, a summons to their office for briefing on a new mission. She collects the note, and returns to climbing stairs until she reaches the commanders’ offices.

Jupiter is waiting for her inside. “You’re here. Good. We need you to go to Canalave City.”

“Where is that, and when do you need me there?”

“Across the region, but we can get you there. You’ll be dropped off a little way away by the helicopter, and we can’t wait around for you to get back, so you’ll have to either contact us to send the helicopter to meet you at its previous landing spot or make your own way back. No uniform, this is a discreet operation, so you need to wear civilian clothes-” Jupiter pauses. “You do have other clothes, right?”

“Yes.” She can use the outfit Dawn and the others bought her. She hasn’t had a chance to wear it yet.

“Alright. I’ve just never seen you in anything other than your uniform, is all. This is an information-gathering mission. We’re going to need you to take a look at any old books on myths that you can find at Canalave Library.” They turn to their desk and retrieve an odd-looking device from a drawer. “Take notes in the library and use this to scan them and send them to us once you’re in a private location. I know you’re unwilling to use technology, but we don’t have the time to wait for you to get back and have someone transcribe from your notebook, so you’ll have to make do.”

Akari gingerly takes the device. “When am I leaving?”

“As soon as possible. I’d give you longer to prepare, but-” They lean forward in their chair. “Polaris, we are so, so close to reaching our goal. We’re just missing a few key pieces of the puzzle, and Canalave Library is our best shot at finding them. We’ve been before, but we didn’t have you back then, and I think you can sniff out what we need.”

That’s not good. Akari keeps her breathing as steady as she can.

“I’ll have to go home to change.”

“Come back as soon as you’re ready.”

She nods, and makes to leave, but Jupiter calls after her.

“One more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Charon didn’t clone you from Dawn, right?”

Akari attempts to stifle her laugh, and fails. “Please tell me you don’t really believe that.”

“I don’t know what happens in that lab anymore!” Jupiter gestures widely. “It’s plausible!”

“It’s untrue.”

“Alright. I’ll take your word for it, then. Meet me at the helicopter pad when you’re ready to go. Use the side door, so nobody sees you out of uniform and puts two and two together.”

Akari makes her way back downstairs as quickly as she can, exits the building, and pulls out her phone as soon as she’s out of sight. Its screen flickers on, Looker’s contact information already on screen, with the button to call his phone front and centre. She silently thanks it, and calls him.

He picks up after an agonising ten seconds. “Agent Starlight?”

“Where are you?”

“On my way out of Veilstone City, but where do you need me? This sounds urgent.”

“Come home as quickly as you can. I have a mission from Jupiter, and I need to talk to you about it.”

“I am already on my way.”

The call ends, and Akari tucks away her phone. Thank the Sinnohs for that. She’d half expected him to already be with a group of battle grunts on a mission halfway across the region.

He’s not home by the time she arrives there, but she hears the sounds of the front door closing and soft footsteps in the hallway when she emerges from her room in her modern-day clothes.

“Agent Starlight? I am here- ah, there you are.”

“Hello. Can you help me with my hair?”

They sit down on the living room’s sofa as Looker does Akari’s hair up into the Team Galactic disguise bun for the second time today, and Akari explains to him what Jupiter briefed her with. “They said they’re close to reaching their goal, and they need me to find the last puzzle pieces, and that puts me in a bad situation. If I find what they want me to find, they’ll have everything they need, and if I deliberately sabotage this mission they’ll either send me out again or start to suspect something. I don’t know what to do.”

Looker is silent for a while, thinking. “It is a difficult position to have been placed in. I certainly do not envy you. But I do not think, even if you were to sabotage this mission, we can stall them for much longer. They are growing desperate. I hear many things, even at my low rank, and I believe that they could well proceed without their missing pieces. If I were to advise you, I would say to continue on your current course, and to keep me updated on your situation as often as you can.” He tucks a stray strand of hair back into Akari’s bun. “There.”

“Thank you. I have to go now.”

“Do you have money for food and supplies?”

“I should do. I haven’t spent much of what they’ve paid me.”

“Then I believe you are ready to go.”

They hug goodbye at the door, and Akari once again sets off to the Team Galactic HQ. She slips through the side door without being seen, and makes her way through the building to the helicopter pad, pausing only to thank a battle grunt for their nervous compliment on her outfit.

Jupiter, true to their word, is waiting for her there.

“You know where you’re going. Here’s a map, with directions.” They hand her a hand-drawn map with a list of directions written on the reverse side. “You know what we’re after overall - Dialga, Palkia, lake guardians - but more emphasis on the lake guardians this time. That should be all. Any questions?”

Akari shakes her head, tucks away her map, and steps into the helicopter.

It’s a longer ride this time - she’s being taken most of the way across the region, to the coast near Jubilife - but it still takes far less time than it would on foot. The urgency of her mission warrants it, she supposes. She’s able to hold in her fear of heights - or, fear of being in the air would be a more accurate description, since she’s fine up in the Coronet Highlands for the most part - for long enough to look out at some of the landscape below. She recognises a place or two as she passes them, and sees many others she doesn’t. She wonders when each of those towns and cities were built.

Her mind drifts to her mission. More emphasis on the lake guardians, Jupiter said. She supposes that’s about the red chain, but how they expect to use that for their goals she does not know. It’s supposed to bind the world, not break it. And how would Team Galactic of all people prove themselves to the lake guardians? The team’s goals go against keeping the world safe and balanced.

Akari has met a lake guardian. It appeared in her room while she was crying over Rei, thinking him lost and the world broken. She remembers looking up at it, seeing its closed eyes and hearing it speak in her mind, and covering her own eyes as quickly as she could, stumbling backwards until she met the wall and could go no further. She knows the myth about Uxie, the keeper of knowledge, the only one of the three always depicted with its eyes closed. “Look not into the Pokémon's eyes. In but an instant, you'll have no recollection of who you are.”

It did nothing but reassure her that Rei would be home soon, and tell her to prepare for his return, but she kept her eyes shielded until long after it was gone. Afterwards, she took an offering to the little shrine behind galaxy hall, a sweet made with dried berries that she’d marked with a pair of closed eyes. It seemed the least she could do. On her way back to her home, she’d watched Rei burst through the gates, run straight past the guards and right to her, latching on tight. She wept into his uniform, silently thanking Uxie and the others for his safe return over and over until he let go.

A muffled shout and a change in sound of the helicopter’s rotors bring her back to the present. Ah. They’re descending.

They land in a clearing, and the helicopter takes off almost the moment Akari touches the ground. No time for a “goodbye” or “good luck,” then. It’s a good thing she has a map.

It’s a while of walking until she arrives in Canalave City. This is a very different settlement from any of the others she’s seen up until now - it’s built right up against the shore, with huge ships anchored nearby. To get to the library, she passes by an area abuzz with people loading cargo onto ships and unloading cargo from them. It’s lively, and very loud.

The rest of the city is fairly peaceful. Not empty, but not crowded either, and crossing the bridge to get to the library she gets such a lovely sea view that she stops for a moment to watch. The air smells faintly salty. It reminds her of Prelude Beach.

If she has her mental map right, Prelude Beach shouldn’t be far from here, actually. Maybe she’ll get to stop by it on her way back to Veilstone.

The library is just across the bridge. She brushes off her clothes, checks her shoes to make sure she doesn’t track dirt inside, and opens the door.

The interior of the library feels very comfortable. It’s warmly lit, wallpapered in creamy yellow with a dark wooden floor. There’s a counter to her right, and the person at it greets her politely and requests that she make sure she’s quiet while within the library. She agrees, of course, and turns her attention to the shelves lining the walls.

Professor Laventon has many, many books, most of them in languages she can’t read. His collection was the biggest she’d seen before she was sent to this time. There must be about twice the amount of books in this section of the library alone, and there are stairs to her left that must lead to another level, and more books.

This is incredible. That people have managed to compile so much knowledge into one place, for anyone to read… There are definitely some very, very good things about the future, and this is one of them. It does mean she has a lot to scour through, though, so she’d better get started.

Akari isn’t entirely sure how long it takes her to look at all the titles of the books on this floor, and all the contents pages of the ones that look promising, but it’s not a short amount of time. There are a number of references to various legendary pokémon, but only references. She takes a moment to rest her eyes before heading up the stairs to the second level, where she’s greeted by a familiar face.

“Oh! Hey, Akari!”

May is keeping her voice quiet, but she’s still loud enough for Akari to hear from the stairs. She’s sat at a table a few steps away, next to someone else with their nose in a book. Akari takes a seat across from her.

“Hello. It’s nice to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too. What brings you here?”

A tough question, since she doesn’t want to lie to May, but she’s not exactly eager to talk about why she’s here, not in public. Akari glances around to see if anyone is within earshot. Nobody looks to be, so she turns back to May, keeping her voice low.

“I’m here on a mission.”

May’s eyes go wide. “Oh, whoops. Figures you would be, I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me. If anyone asks, I never saw you, don’t worry. And Courtney didn’t either. Courtney?”

She gently nudges the person next to her, who’s looked up from her book and fixed a very intense stare on Akari. It’s a little unnerving.

“Courtney, you’ve gotta stop doing that, it scares people.”

Courtney does not take her gaze off Akari. “What kind of mission?”

Akari blinks. This is not something she was prepared for.

May nudges Courtney again. “There are other people here, she can’t talk about a secret mission in public.”

“Oh. Well, that’s alright, then. You can tell me about it later.”

Akari is not often completely speechless. Frequently, she chooses not to say much, or to say anything at all. Other times, words stick in her throat and don’t want to come out, but usually she can at least think of something she’d like to say. This is not one of those times.

May clears her throat, quietly. “I should probably introduce you two. Courtney, this is Akari, she’s the one who sends us those crafting tutorials and makes her own clothes. Akari, this is Courtney, she’s here to help me revise and read about myths ‘cause I promised I’d bring her here if she helped me with revision.”

Courtney nods. “I’m technically a criminal, and not allowed out of Hoenn usually. But I wanted to visit. So, May took me here. We got special permission.” She smiles. “Sinnoh has interesting myths. I like them.”

“I like them too. It’s good that this library keeps a record of them.” Akari decides not to comment on the “criminal” part of what she’s responding to. She doesn’t want to push her luck and provoke a comment that confuses her even more.

“It is good. It’s very good.” Courtney pauses to glance at the page number of her book, before closing it and setting it neatly onto the table. “I like the lake guardians best. Even though most of the legends say they live underwater.”

Akari recalls May talking about working with members of the two former villainous groups of Hoenn to make sure they didn’t do any more evil acts or harm the environment. One of them hated the land, the other hated the water. The person she is talking to is, presumably, a former member of the latter. Right. That’s fine. She can navigate whatever this conversation is turning out to be.

“I think Uxie is the most interesting out of those,” Courtney continues. “I want to talk to it. I’m going to make a list of questions to ask it, and then when I’m sure I have everything I want to know on there… I’ll find it, and go down the list. And then I can know everything I want to.”

Akari is suddenly significantly less confident in her ability to navigate this conversation.

“I’m not sure that’s the best idea. It might not want to be bothered.”

“That’s fine. If it doesn’t want to be bothered, I’ll come back another day. I can wait a very long time.” She pauses. “If you’re worried I’d get hurt, I don’t think that would happen. If it knows everything, then it’d know I don’t want to hurt it. So I’d be alright.”

“It’ll probably ask you to prove yourself if you want to ask it questions. Something like asking you questions in return.”

Courtney tilts her head. “What myth is that from? I haven’t seen it written down.”

Oh, whoops. That might not be written down at all. Akari gets the feeling she can’t just make up a book. Courtney seems like the type of person who would spend a long time hunting it down, and eventually discover it was a lie, rather than give up on it.

“I’m not sure if it’s written down. It was told to me.”

“Ooh.” Courtney’s eyes light up. “Word-of-mouth myths are always the best ones. Can you tell me that one? Start from the beginning.”

And Akari does, leaving out the parts about the person who told her being the one who experienced it. She tells how Rei went to each lake guardian and underwent a trial, different for each one, and persevered until he won their favour and their treasures. Last-minute, she decides to include the part about Uxie visiting her to tell her of Rei’s safe return.

Courtney listens intensely for the entirety of her story, resting her chin in her hands. When Akari falls silent, she nods.

“Thank you. I’ll remember that. Do you mind if I write it down, so I can make sure I don’t forget?”

“Not at all.”

She nods again, and retrieves a notebook, writing Akari’s tale down and occasionally glancing up to ask for the repetition of a detail. Akari tells her gladly. The more of her time that is remembered, the better.

When Courtney’s done, she closes the notebook and clips the pen neatly to the spiral binding. “I can tell you a story in return. Would you like me to?”

Akari considers a moment. She is on a mission, but it would be nice to take a little more of a break from checking bookshelves, and Courtney looks very eager to tell her.

“I’d love to hear it.”

Courtney smiles. “I knew you would.”

She leans forward in her chair and, in a low tone, tells Akari of a myth of Hoenn. Two powerful pokémon, one of the land and one of water, clashing long ago, tearing the land to pieces and making waves big enough to drown whatever was left. A third descended from the skies and quelled their fury, and the two parted.

“They left destruction in their wake, and the land would never be the same, but people were able to return, and rebuild.” She pauses. “I hope I told that well.”

Akari nods. “You did.”

“Very well, actually.” May has set down her revision cards. “I didn’t know you did storytelling, Courtney.”

“Well… I didn’t, before. But I’m glad I could do it justice.”

They talk about other things for a while - pokémon contests (“Brendan’s super into them at the moment, but being on stage really isn’t for me,” May comments), and how teams Magma and Aqua are getting along.

“Maxie and Archie still won’t talk to each other, but us Admins are trying to bridge the gap,” Courtney says. “Tabitha and Shelly meet up once a week to get coffee and talk about books they’ve both read, and I’ve been talking to Matt sometimes. He’s not very scary when you get to know him, honestly. I think I could beat him in a fight if I tried really hard - a real fight, not a pokémon battle.”

May raises an eyebrow, and Courtney crosses her arms defiantly. Akari has a feeling she’s missing some context here, but she doesn’t mind particularly.

A couple of conversation topics after that, it occurs to her that she’s spent quite a bit of time here. She glances at the clock on the opposite wall. An hour, give or take.

“I should go. It’s nice to sit with you, but I have my mission.” She stands, pushing her chair back to the table as quietly as she can. “There are a lot of books in this library, and I have to go through all of them.”

“What are you looking for?”

“Information on myths and legends, coincidentally.”

“Oh, that’s all upstairs. I’ll show you.”

Courtney promises May she’ll be back in just a few moments, and leads Akari upstairs, where the bookshelves are particularly mazelike.

“This section here has most of the books, but there are a few just through there.” She points through an opening in the bookshelves. “They should be labelled. And here, you can have this one.” She holds out her book to Akari, smiling.

“Weren’t you in the middle of reading that?”

“I can come back tomorrow to finish it, and you have a mission.”

Akari nods and reaches out to take the book, but Courtney doesn’t let go.

“May told me about a secret agent. She said that secret agent’s gonna stop Team Galactic from ending the world.” Her voice drops to a very quiet murmur. “Find their weak points. Keep a note of everything. Use their loyalty to your advantage. That’s what worked on us.”

She smiles, lets go of the book, and steps back. “I should go help May with her revision. And make that list of things I want to know, so I can ask Uxie. Goodbye for now, Akari.” She turns away, and half-runs back down the stairs.

“Goodbye for now, Courtney,” Akari calls after her, softly.

There’s a few comfortable looking seats here, with tables next to them. She settles down into one, and flips open Courtney’s book.

It takes her a few hours, judging by the clock on the wall, to go through all the relevant books. Many of them are different editions of books already printed, kept for posterity, so that cuts down the time she needs, and she makes sure to take breaks when her eyes tire and go out to get lunch when she’s hungry. The sea breeze refreshes her as she watches ships be emptied and reloaded with cargo, and after that, she manages to keep her focus in the library until she’s done with the main section.

Her notebook almost overflowing with notes, she ventures out of her little bookshelf-maze room and into the next part. This area is larger, with fewer bookshelves and a large table in the centre. The books she needs should be labelled, Courtney said, so she begins to check each bookshelf to see what it’s categorised as. She stares wistfully at the “fashion history” section and makes a mental note to tell Looker about the wealth of cookbooks hidden away up here.

An open book on the long table catches her eye as she makes her rounds. She pauses to take a look. It’s not snooping if it’s a book anyone at the library can read, right?

The book is open to a page containing an illustration of a pokémon, a long, coiled form in grey and red, spiked at the tail and armoured in glinting gold. It’s painted in great detail. The spikes and golden crown seem to shine even on paper, and its red eyes seem to be looking at the viewer through the confines of the page.

She’s seen this before.

Not the illustration, the thing depicted within it. She’s been held by it, she’s heard its purr, she’s seen within its realm. It guards her in her dreams. It helps her rest. She knows it well.

“I forget, every time. I wake up and I forget my dream. Will I remember soon?”

The illustration is captioned “Giratina.”

Akari takes a sharp, shallow breath, and clutches the table as her head spins and her knees buckle. She remembers. This is why she was so pained at Hearthome’s place of worship, that nobody remembered Giratina. This is what’s been eating at her. She can see it now, curled up to rest, in the cave that makes its home in this world-

In Turnback Cave?

She’s never dreamed of Turnback Cave. Why can she see this? Why can she remember something that hasn’t happened yet?

There are more memories. She sees the twin Sinnohs, the prince of the sea and its little ones, Mesprit, Azelf, Uxie, those last three over and over and over. She can feel her nails digging into the soft wood of the table and her heavy, pounding heartbeat, but not the floor under her feet. Her head hurts. She feels as if she might be ill, or collapse, or-

“Do not read that.”

The urgency of the statement and the sound of the voice bring Akari sharply back to the present. She takes a shallow breath. She knows this voice, she knows who it belongs to, this is the last thing she needs right now-

“Step away. Now.” Cynthia’s voice is quiet, library-appropriate, but holds more weight than a half-whisper should. Akari slowly, slowly releases her grip on the table, and finds her legs do not buckle underneath her, to her relief. She’s able to turn, and look Cynthia in the face.

Sinnoh, she’s tall. A person shouldn’t be this tall. A person’s eyes shouldn’t be so cold.

“I saw the helicopter. I don’t know why you didn’t think people would notice a helicopter landing half a mile out from Canalave City, of all places.”

Oh, she doesn’t recognise her. Akari doesn’t know if that’s better or worse.

“You will not bring what you’ve seen in this book into the hands of your team. I cannot let you do that. You will-” Cynthia stops short in the middle of her sentence, and tilts her head, viewing Akari with more intensity. “Oh. Oh dear. It seems I’ve made a rather embarrassing mistake.”

Shit. No, being recognised is worse. Her heart is beating far too fast.

“I apologise, Agent Starlight, I didn’t mean to frighten you. This happens far too frequently, doesn’t it?” Cynthia’s cold expression has been replaced with a relieved smile, too friendly to be real, too good to be true, and she’s reaching out a hand to steady Akari with-

“Get away from me.” Akari snarls the words. It hurts her throat.

Cynthia steps back. An air of concern has settled on her now, the smile faded.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding-”

“Why do you have a book on Giratina?”

The silence that hangs in the room is heavy, and it lasts far longer than Akari wants it to. Cynthia looks from Akari, to the book open on the table, and back again, and shakes her head very slightly.

“It’s a good thing no-one else is here to hear you say that. Though I am glad you did, because it confirms my suspicions. I… I am not my ancestor, Akari. You don’t need to be afraid of me.”

Akari feels as if she might faint. She’s gripping the table again, but backwards, and thus with less efficacy. She’s quite sure she’s going to collapse, any moment now.

She knows. How can she know?

Cynthia isn’t standing in front of her anymore, and Akari’s breath hitches - no, no, she can’t let her get away, she has to do something - before her grip on the table finally fails, and someone catches her before she can fall to the ground.

“This must be quite the shock to you. I’m sorry this has gone so badly. I’m going to take you over there, to that sofa, is that alright? And then you can lie down, if you need to.”

“I don’t think I have a choice,” Akari says, voice wavering.

Cynthia half-carries her over to the sofa, and returns to the table once she’s sat down. Akari watches as she closes the book and produces a key from somewhere inside her coat, locking it shut. She wants, desperately, to dash past Cynthia while she’s distracted, make her escape and hide in the woods until the danger passes, but her knees still feel too weak to run.

There’d be no use in it, anyway. Cynthia knows Looker. She’d know exactly where to find her again. All she can do is watch her closely.

She’s returned to the sofa now, sitting down next to Akari and tucking the book away on the opposite sides. “Can you tell me what parts of that book you read before I got here? I’m concerned you’ve read something dangerous.”

“I didn’t have time to read anything. I saw the illustration and the caption for it, but that’s it.”

Cynthia sighs. “That’s a relief. It’s a dangerous book. I really shouldn’t leave it unattended, but I heard something through there-” she points into another section of bookshelf maze - “and I wanted to investigate. I didn’t think anyone else was up here. I didn’t hear your footsteps at all, but I suppose that makes sense.”

“How do you know who I am?”

“A number of things. Your clothes, your accent, the way you carry yourself. The main one was a photograph of you I noticed in a book I was rereading not long after we met. It looked uncannily similar to you, and even though you resemble Dawn, I know her family well, and knew you weren’t related to her. That photograph made the way you reacted to me when we bumped into each other in Eterna City click with everything else. You were afraid to an extent that it couldn’t have just been nerves from having encountered the Champion.”

“And then you had to explain pokémon battle leagues to me.”

She nods. “That I did. Because you hail from a time before them.”

Akari watches her, silent, for a long moment. Cynthia knows so much about Akari, and Akari herself knows barely anything about her. She needs to figure out if Cynthia can be trusted - Sinnoh, she hopes she can be trusted - before she can make a plan.

“I need to battle you.”

Cynthia frowns. “Battle..? Not when you’re in this condition, Akari. And I thought Looker said you found battles stressful?”

“No. I can’t just sit here not knowing what to do. The uncertainty will eat at me until I get rid of it. So I’m getting rid of it.” Akari stands, head clearer now that she’s decided on a course of action, and spins on her heel to face Cynthia, looking her dead in the eyes. “This is a formal challenge to a battle. Do you refuse me?”

Cynthia looks up at her, her expression showing clearly that Akari has caught her off guard, then nods. “Of course not. It wouldn’t befit a Champion to refuse this kind of challenge. But, I insist, not in the library. It’s not an ideal arena for a battle.”

Akari nods. “The books could get damaged. How far is Prelude Beach from here?”

“Oh, that’s very fitting.” Cynthia stands. “Not far at all. It should be a ten minute walk at most.”

Together, they make their way downstairs. Akari’s body feels much less weak and liable to collapse, which she attributes to having something other than flashes of memories to focus on. A battle is a simple thing. She can break it down into parts. Types, moves, attack, defense, speed, evasion, accuracy. She can handle that.

Cynthia speaks to a few people on their way to Prelude Beach. The person running the entry counter for the library thanks them both for visiting, and she thanks them warmly for being there. A few people in the city seem to know her, and she greets all of them cordially. Someone flags her down and begs for an autograph, to which she replies “just this once” with a slight smile, signs the pad they’re holding out, and sends them off with a wave. The whole way out of the city, she handles herself with poise and grace.

Akari doesn’t take her eyes off of her. She remains silent throughout their walk through the city. Nobody seems to notice her, which is good. Cynthia is in the spotlight. That makes it that much easier for Akari to disappear, if she has to.

It doesn’t take them long to be out of the city’s bounds. From there, Cynthia leads the way quietly into the trees, hitching up the fur-trimmed hem of her coat so as not to catch it on brambles. Akari follows, silent still. The only sounds are the distant hubbub of the city and cracking twigs under their feet.

When they emerge, Akari is greeted with the most familiar sight she’s had this whole journey.

“There’s been a lot of effort to preserve the beaches on this side of Sinnoh, after people saw what happened to the ones near Sunyshore. We were worried about the health of the pokémon living here, and losing the serenity of it all.” Cynthia raises her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. “You might not know about Sunyshore, actually. Some of the beaches around there are very touristy these days. Lots of rides and attractions and people selling things.”

“The only thing I know about Sunyshore is that it’s haunted,” Akari replies. “Looker told me that. Why did they build a city next to Deadwood Haunt?”

“They didn’t know it was Deadwood Haunt. It’s not common knowledge, nowadays, so in the eyes of the city planners, their perfectly good city has a bad case of the ghosts for absolutely no reason.”

“Hm.” Akari thinks she can see Barboach playing in the waves, just off the coast. There are Gastrodon, too, a way off to their right. “Maybe they should look into the history of the place they’re building on before they build on it.”

“I agree completely.” Cynthia turns to look at Akari. “We’re not here to talk, though, are we? We’re here to battle. Since you issued the challenge, you may decide the ruleset.”

Akari blinks.

“...Ah. Right. Competitive battle rulesets haven’t really come around yet in your time, have they?”

“No. I mean, I know about double battles, and the clans have different battle rules ‘cause of how they keep their pokémon, but I’m guessing what you mean is different.”

Cynthia nods. “A little, yes. If I may provide suggestions, it might be worth limiting the amount of pokémon we may use in the battle, and limit the use of healing items, too. That way, things won’t drag on for too long. I’m sure you’re very busy.”

Akari thinks for a moment. “That sounds good. Three each, single battle, no potions or status healing items. That should be enough.”

“I agree to this ruleset.” Cynthia is looking at her a little more intensely now. It’s the same sort of look Rei gets to him before a battle, that she’s seen more recently in Dawn.

Idly, she wonders how she looks when she’s about to battle. Does she get that look in her eyes?

Silently, they both select their pokémon. Akari picks out Clefable to lead with, and deliberates over who else to choose. Lilligant, maybe? It’s fast, lethal, and knows moves with which it can revitalise itself. That’s useful in a situation where potions aren’t allowed.
Her hand hovers over Pikachu’s pokéball. It’s strong, definitely, and loves battle, but an unevolved pokémon up against someone who’s almost definitely going to go up against her with a Garchomp… Better safe than sorry. That leaves Torterra, Staraptor and Heracross. She rules out the latter - she’d rather battle with a pokémon she’s been training for close to a year rather than one she’s known for coming up on two months - and considers Staraptor’s speed against Torterra’s defensive abilities.

She has speed in Lilligant, and Torterra’s Headlong Rush has saved her life many a time. She selects Torterra’s pokéball, and turns back to Cynthia.

“Are you ready?” Cynthia is holding her selected pokéballs in one hand, dexterously.

Akari nods. It’s a lie. She is, very suddenly, terrified.

“Then we begin.”

They each release their leading pokémon. Clefable on Akari’s side. Spiritomb on Cynthia’s.

Oh.

Oh no.

That puts Akari between a rock and a hard place. Spiritomb has one weakness, and it’s the fairy type, the one type she’s not meant to know about, and that other people aren’t meant to know about. She can have Clefable use Ice Beam, maybe, but that won’t take it down, and she has no idea what kind of moveset this Spiritomb has. She can’t lose her lead on the first turn, but she can’t reveal the fairy type. She tries to think as quickly as she can.

Cynthia is watching her, frowning. Is she waiting for Akari to make the first move?

A moment longer, and she shakes her head. “Stop. Akari, you’re panicking.”

“I can’t- I have to battle you. I have to.”

“I know. I won’t stop you. But take a moment first, alright? You can’t battle at your best when you’re feeling like this. I want you to give it your all, okay? I think that’s the only way you can achieve what you’re trying to achieve with this battle.”

Give it your all.

Akari closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath in, and lets it out.

Throw caution to the wind, just this once.

She opens her eyes. “Alright. I’m ready.”

Cynthia nods approvingly. “We begin on three. One, Two-”

Akari braces herself.

“-Three! Spiritomb, Psychic!”

“Clefable, Moonblast, strong style!”

Spiritomb is a strong pokémon, but it’s not a fast one. Clefable’s Moonblast connects before Spiritomb’s Psychic materialises, and it shudders - it doesn’t faint, but her move has definitely done much needed damage. Clefable takes the Psychic, and stands strong.

Cynthia looks startled for a moment, and a smile spreads across her face. “So that’s why you were hesitating.” She nods. “That’s what I want to see from you. Now, keep going!”

Akari nods. This feels, somehow, like battling Rei.

“Shadow Ball!”

“Moonblast, again!”

Akari’s command for a strong style move has slowed Clefable, and Cynthia’s Spiritomb is able to get its Shadow Ball to hit before Moonblast is ready. It sinks to the ground, sighing gently.

It could be worse. She could have done barely any damage to Spiritomb. It leaves her vulnerable to losing to Cynthia’s Garchomp, though, now that her ice-type move user is down.

She sends out Lilligant. That will almost definitely outspeed Spiritomb.

“Silver Wind!”

“Leaf Blade!”

Lilligant twirls towards its target. It lands its hit before Spiritomb can move.

Cynthia nods, retrieving the unconscious pokémon, and sending out a Lucario. Akari wishes she’d sent out her Torterra to take out Spiritomb instead, but she can work with this.

“Lucario, Stone Edge!”

“Drain Punch!”

Rocks erupt from the ground under Lilligant. It dances elegantly out of the way of the first few, but a particularly jagged one catches it as the attack is about to end. It shakes off the dust, and then moves in for its Drain Punch, leaving petals in its wake. Lucario yelps, and recoils.

Cynthia raises a finger. “Is… Is that Lilligant a grass/fighting type, perchance?”

Akari finds herself grinning. “It sure is. Lilligant, Drain Punch, again!”

“Lucario, Aura Sphere!”

The exchange of fighting-type moves leaves both pokémon looking a little wobbly. Lilligant is outsped by Lucario, and likely won’t stand another hit, so this is another early loss of a pokémon for her, which isn’t good. Cynthia has the advantage.

Unless…

“Aura Sphere!”

“Drain Punch, agile style!”

Lilligant leaps forward as Lucario prepares its Aura Sphere, and almost - almost - gets to it first, but Lucario’s attack hits just as it’s about to deal its final blow. It stumbles back, and Akari readies its pokéball to retrieve it, but it doesn’t crumple like she expects it to. It delivers a decisive Drain Punch and twirls back to Akari, looking back at her with proud eyes. She nods to it, smiling, and it turns back to face Cynthia, who is about to send out her final pokémon.

Her Garchomp emerges from its pokéball. As expected. Akari isn’t as prepared as she’d like to be, but maybe she can still pull this off. She hasn’t felt this motivated to win a battle for any practical reason for a long time, she realises. This battle isn’t about winning, it’s about unearthing the truth, but she still wants to win, and she’s having fun.

Focus, Akari. Now isn’t the time for introspection.

“Garchomp, Flamethrower!”

“Leaf Blade, agile style!”

Miraculously, Lilligant is able to get in one last hit before it’s knocked across the battlefield by Garchomp’s Flamethrower. Akari retrieves it, cursing herself for picking two grass-type pokémon for this battle. Torterra is slow, a good attacker and incredibly defensive but still slow, and Garchomp is everything Torterra is but much, much faster. Cynthia’s advantage, once again.

She sends out Torterra. It eyes its opponent as Akari attempts to configure a strategy. It’s faster, so the tendency Iron Head has to make a pokémon flinch and miss its command isn’t viable here, and she doesn’t want to risk missing with Stone Edge. How many hits from a Garchomp’s Flamethrower can a determinedly defensive Torterra take?

She’ll have to find out.

“Flamethrower!”

“Leaf Blade!”

Torterra is unmoving in the face of the Flamethrower, taking it head-on, only moving to stomp once and let sharp leaves fly from its tree. Garchomp cries out, loudly, and stumbles back. A critical hit? Maybe. It’s hard to tell. She’ll have to hope.

“Flamethrower, again!”

“Headlong Rush, strong style!”

This is her final gambit. There’s no way even sturdy, reliable Torterra will be able to withstand three Flamethrowers, so it’s now or never. Garchomp goes down now, or she loses.

Garchomp lets out its Flamethrower, and for a moment Akari thinks Torterra is burnt, but it shakes away the few smouldering leaves as it gears up for its Headlong Rush. It crashes into Garchomp so hard Cynthia has to jump out of the way. When the dust settles, it’s clear that Garchomp has fainted.

Torterra tilts its head at Cynthia, stares for a moment, and then trudges back to Akari, nudging at her hand. She pets it, staring into the space in front of her.

Cynthia is clapping. “Well fought. Very well fought. It seems I’m going to have to brush up on my historical battle techniques. I haven’t ever fought someone using the strong and agile styles before.”

“I doubt most people know they exist.”

“That’s likely the case.” Cynthia fishes out a handful of revives from her bag, and holds out two to Akari. “I have potions for your Torterra, too, hold on. Does it need a burn heal?”

Akari takes the revives. “Thank you. And I don’t think so, no.”

They settle onto the grass just behind the beach and administer revives to their pokémon. Clefable locates Spiritomb and begins attempting to hug it. Garchomp and Torterra nod at each other, and settle down to rest. Lilligant is dancing with Lucario in the sand.

“It’s incredibly graceful. Your Lilligant, I mean. I cannot believe I forgot about this kind of Lilligant having the fighting type.” Cynthia laughs. “I’ve read Professor Laventon’s original pokédex cover to cover multiple times, so I really don’t have any excuse, do I?”

“I knew you had a Garchomp, and my Clefairy knows Ice Beam, but I led with it instead of saving it. It’s easy to forget stuff in battle.” Akari shrugs. “I also forgot that Garchomp could learn Flamethrower when I picked out my two grass types. It happens.”

“That critical hit Leaf Blade from your Torterra was very well timed.”

“I think it saved the battle for me.” She reaches over to pet it. “I’m proud of the moves I picked out for it. Leaf Blade and Stone Edge for critical hits, Iron Head for flinching, Headlong Rush for finishing blows.”

“It’s a good moveset, definitely. Headlong Rush isn’t a move I’ve ever seen before.”

“It opens up a pokémon to being hit much harder by an incoming move, so it’s not the most versatile. It does much more damage than many other moves, though.”

Cynthia nods. “It’s a shame it fell out of favour. I find this sort of thing very interesting. It’s not just the myths part of history I’m passionate about, it’s battle techniques too. Most things, really. But, speaking of that-” she turns to face Akari properly - “were you able to get what you wanted out of our battle?”

Akari considers for a moment. Cynthia’s eyes are serious, but hopeful.

“I did.” She nods. “I trust you.”

A smile spreads across Cynthia’s face, warm and sincere. “Oh, thank goodness for that. Now I don’t have to worry about frightening the life out of you.”

Akari laughs. “Not unless I bump into you again and scare myself.”

“That’s always a possibility. I don’t always look where I’m going. I really should get better at that, shouldn’t I? I have a reputation to uphold.” Cynthia pauses. “I want to extend an offer of help to you. Whatever you need, I’ll try and help you with it. I have connections in many places.”

“Thank you.” Akari’s head is starting to ache again. “There is something I need help with, actually. Maybe you’ll know what’s going on, because I don’t, and it’s starting to scare me.”

Cynthia nods. “Tell me everything you think I need to know.”

Akari explains her experience with the book, the snapshots of memories she hasn’t lived yet flooding into her mind, the shaking and the dizziness. “I was able to distract myself with the battle, but they’re coming back. Trying to hold them back is like trying to block water with a fishing net.”

Cynthia listens carefully as she explains, and is silent for a moment afterwards. When she speaks again, it’s in a soft, serious tone.

“Akari, when was the last time you saw a lake guardian?”

Chapter Text

“A lake guardian? That was in Hisui, when-” Akari pauses. “If you know about me and Volo, you know about everything that happened, right? You know about how the sky went strange.”

Cynthia nods. “I do, yes.”

“It was then. I was scared, but it came to reassure me.”

“And you haven’t seen one since?”

Akari shakes her head. “Do you think it’s something to do with them?”

“I- hm.” Cynthia turns her gaze away from Akari, looking out at the sea. “This is a difficult thing to figure out how to explain. I think no matter how I go about it, it’s going to be weird for the both of us.”

“I see,” Akari says, quietly. She’s starting to feel quite faint again. Cynthia puts an arm around her, cautiously, and Akari leans against her, closing her eyes. She definitely needs the support right now.

Cynthia is silent for a little while longer, then takes a deep breath that Akari can feel as her body shifts.

“It is to do with the lake guardians. More specifically, your connection with them. That combined with the way you’ve been taken forward in time is making you remember things that haven’t happened yet.”

“I was right about them being memories, then. They couldn’t- they couldn’t be anything else.”

“There are some things you just know instinctively. Maybe something more than instinct, in your case.”

Akari nods, very slightly. “Cynthia?”

“Yes, Akari?”

“What do you mean by connection with the lake guardians?”

Cynthia takes another deep breath, and lets it out with a soft sigh. “You know Adaman and Irida already, right?”

“Yes. We helped them with the noble pokémons’ frenzies.”

“Right, of course. And they were chosen by Dialga and Palkia.”

“That happened before I left. I remember it.”

“There were other cases of that. My ancestor probably falls under that umbrella, despite him summoning Giratina himself, and there’s very little documentation of this, but we believe around that time someone was chosen by Arceus itself. All we really know is that he was considered an unusual soul, reclusive and from some far-off place, but very well respected and beloved by everyone who ever wrote about him.”

Akari smiles. “That sounds about right. He’s a friend of mine.”

“So you’re familiar with the concept of a human being chosen by a pokémon of legends.”

“I am, yes. But-”

Something clicks in Akari’s mind. Three memories flash in her mind’s eye. Mesprit, Azelf, Uxie.

Her shoulders relax. She didn’t know she was holding tension in them. She opens her eyes, half-lidded, to look out at the ocean.

“Did my talking about it help, Akari?” Cynthia’s voice is very soft. Akari nods.

“It did. I know what you mean, now. Thank you for helping me.”

Her eyes slip shut again, and Cynthia’s soothing voice fades away.

“...and she isn't waking up, so I'm starting to get worried. Has she ever fainted around you?”

Cynthia's voice is panicky. What happened to her calm and composure? Is she alright? Akari tries to ask her, but all that comes out is a vague sound.

“Akari! Sinnoh, I was terrified, are you alright?”

Akari attempts to speak again, but all that comes out is “mmf”. She opens her eyes. Cynthia is standing over her, some kind of communication device in one hand, a tinny voice emanating from it. She nods, and raises it to her ear.

“She's awake, thank goodness. I'll call you again later.” She turns back to Akari. "That was Looker. I called him in case he knew anything I could do to help."

They’re not at the beach anymore, Akari realises. She’s lying on a soft bed in a sunset-lit room.

“Did I fall asleep?”

“I think it would be more appropriate to say you lost consciousness. I tried to wake you up, but I just couldn’t, so I had Garchomp carry you back into town, to the Pokécenter. That’s where we are now. I had to bundle you up in my coat and pretend it was just too warm a day for me to wear it, because if someone had seen you passed out, that would draw too much attention to you, and I know you wouldn’t want that.”

“And it could make people suspicious of you.”

Cynthia considers for a moment, and shakes her head. “Not so much that, no. If anyone brought it up I could just say you’d had a fainting spell, which is technically true. My reputation is good enough that nobody would think I’d knocked you out, or anything like that.”

“That’s good.” Now that she’s been awake for a moment, Akari’s head is beginning to feel clearer. The onrush of memories has settled, at least for now. “How much did you tell Looker?”

“Only that you’d fainted after a battle, and were under my care. For all I knew, this could be an entirely normal thing for you to experience, rather than… well, what I think it is.”

“The lake guardians again.” It’s a statement, not a question.

“Yes. It’s well-documented for people confronted with a legendary pokémon to lose consciousness, and even though this is a different sort of situation, I still think it’s probable.”

Akari nods, shifting herself up onto her elbows. Cynthia jumps to put an arm around her, and she leans on it gratefully. “I don’t see what else it could be. I don’t faint very often.”

“You have had quite a difficult afternoon, I’d say, even removing the memories-you-haven’t-lived thing from the equation, and that seems like it could make a person faint. I did almost scare the life out of you in the library, thinking you were a real Team Galactic grunt.”

“I do a good job of that, if I’m even able to fool you.”

“I wouldn’t have realised you were the one they sent if I hadn’t had a trail to follow.” Cynthia covers her face with one hand. “I am so embarrassed that I didn’t recognise you. I spend two weeks going after a clue to see if I could figure out the truth about you, and when I see you in the flesh, I have no idea who I’m speaking to.”

“This hairstyle changes how I look quite a lot,” Akari supplies. “That’s the point of it.”

“Well, it does a good job.” Cynthia pauses. “In fairness, you did scare me right back, even if you didn’t mean to. Your ferocity is unparalleled. It’s no wonder you were so adept in the wilds of Hisui.”

“You need more than ferocity for that. Supplies, plans, quick thinking for when those plans go awry… All those things have helped me here, too. I’m just using them for other things.”

“And it seems as if it’s working for you very well indeed. Now, tell me, how are you feeling?”

“Better. Less dizzy. I don’t think I’m going to faint again.”

“That’s very good news. Do you think you can walk?”

“Probably. Can you help me up?”

Cynthia nods, and gently lifts her up to standing. Akari walks, cautiously, towards the window. The sun setting over the sea is a beautiful sight. She feels… different, in a way she can’t quite place. Serene. Floaty, but not as if she’s going to drift off somewhere against her will. Focused.

“How did you know it was the lake guardians?”

“Hm?”

Akari turns to look at Cynthia, who seems to have been, until a second ago, staring into space, lost in thought. “You knew it was the lake guardians, causing these memories. You were right, I know that- I can’t tell how, exactly, but that’s probably part of the knowing. But how did you know?”

Cynthia glances away, worriedly, almost guiltily. “I… I don’t know if you want to know, I’ll be honest, Akari. I don’t want to tell you something about your life that you haven’t yet experienced.”

Akari blinks. “You read about me.”

“There’s no hiding anything from you, is there?”

“You’re a book person. You carry a book on-”

Cynthia hushes her, sharply. “Sorry. It’s too risky to talk about that here.”

“Alright. You carry a forbidden book on you everywhere, and you’re well-versed in history. It stands to reason that’s where you learned what’s happening.”

“I… suppose it does, yes.” Cynthia sighs. “I’m sorry, Akari, I wish I could be properly transparent with you, but I have to tread lightly. It’s for your sake, not because I want to hide things.”

Akari nods. “I understand.”

“What I read never made mention of you fainting, which is why I was so concerned.”

“I don’t see why it would make mention of that, since nobody else from my time is here to have seen it. They wouldn’t know.” She pauses, considering. “How would they know about the memories, though? That’s very specific, too. Does someone quiz me and write everything I say down in a book? I’m not sure I’d like that, and I don’t know anyone who would do something I wouldn’t like.”

Cynthia’s expression has gone from worried to downright distressed. “I don’t believe that happened- will happen-” She covers her face with her hands again. “Whichever one. It’s not something you need to worry about.”

Akari takes a breath, and frowns slightly. “I think I might have learned something from that that you didn’t want me to know. I’m sorry.”

Cynthia shakes her head. “You’re not doing it on purpose. I should warn you about that, actually, there’s that as well as the memories. You’re going to start picking up on things that were left unspoken that you shouldn’t know.”

“I did that before, a little. Thank you for warning me.” Akari walks back from the window back to the bed, sitting down next to Cynthia and leaning on her. Cynthia puts an arm around her. It’s not quite like sitting with Looker, but that’s alright.

“You know,” she says, quietly, “I’ve been wanting to write a book for a long time. Ever since Professor Laventon came to Jubilife Village, with the books he’d written about pokémon in different regions. He translated them all for me. The way he writes is really beautiful, even the plain things. He makes simple truths about where pokémon live and what they like to eat into something poetic, and I don’t think it’s on purpose. There’s love in the words. I want to write like he does. For a while, I didn’t think I’d get to, so I don’t mind knowing that I do.”

“That’s good,” Cynthia replies, matching her soft tone. “That’s a relief.”

They sit in silence for a while, watching the sunset. When the sun is almost past the horizon, Looker calls Cynthia’s communicator - it’s a Pokétch, Akari can see now, the same sort of thing Dawn has - and they talk for a while. Cynthia apologises profusely for not calling back, and Akari reassures Looker that she’s alright, though it takes some convincing.

“Things went a little weird, but I’m okay. And I’m not going to faint again. No, really, I’m not. I feel fine now, I promise.”

After that, Akari remembers that she’s meant to be sending her notes to Team Galactic. She sets up at a desk as Cynthia flicks through a book behind her on the bed, and starts to go over her notebook, page by page.

About a third of the way through, the device starts beeping.

“Polaris? Polaris, come in, where have you been?”

Akari spins in her chair to look at Cynthia and presses a finger to her lips. Cynthia nods and mimics the action, wide-eyed.

Jupiter’s voice continues to emanate through the device. “We were half convinced you’d been captured. One of our operatives saw Cynthia going into the library. Cynthia! Please tell me you didn’t run into her.”

Akari considers for a moment. “I did, briefly, but she didn’t bother me much. She mistook me for someone else, but that’s about all.” A little truth will make a lie that much more believable.

Jupiter’s heavy sigh echoes loudly around the room. “I don’t know how you do it. Your pilot said they’d spotted someone watching the helicopter. I was sure something had gone wrong-” Another sigh. “You’re sending the notes over now? I got an alert for that.”

“Yes. I have a few more pages to go.”

“I’ll have people looking at them first thing this morning, then. Right, I’m calling Mars to tell her you’re not dead and then packing up for the night. Wherever you’re staying, lock the fucking doors before you sleep, and hope a Garchomp doesn’t break them down.”

The device beeps once more, and Cynthia lets out the breath she’d been holding.

“I thought for sure my being here had cost you your cover for a moment there. You handled that well.”

“Thank you.” Akari returns to scanning notes. “You get good at stuff like that, if you do it for long enough.”

“I believe that.” Behind her, Cynthia turns a page, and sighs, softly.

“What are you reading?” Akari asks after a minute or two, to fill the tense silence.

“Nothing. It’s nothing.” She hears the book snap shut, and turns to look at Cynthia again.

“That’s a concerning response.” The book in Cynthia’s arms, held to her torso protectively, is the same book she’d driven Akari away from. “You told me that book was dangerous.”

“It is, to people who haven’t already read it cover to cover.”

“Oh.” Akari sets the scanning device down on the desk behind her. “Is it something you need help with?”

“No,” Cynthia responds, a little forcefully, then sighs again. “I’m sorry. It’s… a complicated matter, and I’m not sure that you would be able to help, but then again…” She trails off, her gaze resting on Akari. “I can’t know that for certain unless I tell you about it.”

“Then I think that’s what you should do.”

She nods. She looks very different right now, Akari notices, sat curled up around the book. Gone is her intimidating air, her stature irrelevant now that she’s sitting down, grey eyes losing their cold gleam in the low, warm light. She looks tired. More than tired, actually. Exhausted would be the better term.

“There is a curse upon my family,” she begins, and then pauses at Akari’s look of surprise. “I know, I know. It’s a very strange thing to start off a story with, but I promise you it’s true.”

“I believe you, don’t worry. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“That’s fair enough. But yes, there’s a curse, we know how to deal with it by now, or, most of us do. Some of us make worse decisions than others.” She laughs, quietly, and makes a sweeping gesture as if she’s taking a bow. “We are magnets for forbidden knowledge. That’s all the curse is, nothing else, we just accrue dangerous texts that shouldn’t be read. Most people in the family have a locked cabinet with a few old books tucked away, and everyone gets the lesson early on that if you find a book you’ve never seen before in your bag or your home, you are to lock it away and never, ever read it.”

“That must be difficult for you to deal with, then, since you frequent libraries.”

“Not really, honestly. After a while of living with it, I’ve become able to pick up on books that shouldn’t be on a library shelf. A friend of mine once called it a sixth sense, which is the best way it could be described, I think. No, this-” She holds up her book, bound in its dark fabric, its golden lock hanging open - “this was no accident. I was given it to take care of when I became Champion. I was seen as responsible enough to take care of it.” She glances away. “Poor judgement on their part. My curiosity was always going to get the better of me eventually. But I held onto the thing, since I saw it as my duty.”

“And something went wrong, when you read it?”

“Yes. Or, it’s hard to say it went wrong since it was always going to happen, but… When you read something like this, something that goes in the right amount of depth about a powerful pokémon of legends, the words take hold in your mind. They itch, and push you to do dangerous things so you can see what was recorded for yourself, and as far as I know there’s no way to undo it.” She sighs. “There have only been two recorded incidents of someone in the family letting their curiosity overtake their common sense. The first is Cogita, who was first to record the curse. Have you met her?”

Akari nods. “Twice. The first time we didn’t get to talk much, but the time after that we talked about dresses for at least an hour. She’s nice.”

“She’s very pleasant, even if her words can be a little cutting at times. I’m half convinced she knows what I’ve done, with some of the things she’ll say.”

“You’ve spoken to her?”

“Yes. She is… long-lived, and refuses to tell anyone why, or how long she’s been around for. My guess is it’s to do with the god of spring, which she befriended a long time ago. That was the first incident. She has told me she wouldn’t have read what she’d found if she’d known better, but she doesn’t regret it. Enamorus has become a friend to her.”

“That’s nice. I remember Rei saying he’d seen it take tea with her.”

“That’s an activity that’s stayed with them through time, then. That’s nice to know.” Cynthia shifts in her seat. “The second recorded incident was…” She glances away.

“I know who you mean. You can say his name.”

“Alright. The second one to read something he shouldn’t have was Volo. His was not an accident. I’ve never been clear on exactly what his motives were for what he did, even after having read his writing many times over, but one thing he mentions multiple times is he felt as if he had nothing left to lose. He wanted the power to achieve his goal, and so he acted recklessly. When he failed, Giratina took him in.”

She holds out the book again. “This is his writing. He believed in recording as much as he possibly could about the legends he lived through and his own acts. He included a warning at the start, explaining what would happen if you read about how he summoned Giratina. I didn’t heed the warning.”

Akari nods, silently. She can’t quite think of what to say to this. It certainly explained how Volo was so knowledgeable on so many different legends, if the knowledge appeared at his side of its own accord.

Cynthia takes a breath, and begins to speak again. “The third, unrecorded case is me. I have no ill intent, I promise, I am just… I’m fascinated by anything forbidden, forgotten, seen as dark and terrifying. Anything like that. It’s no wonder I did what I did.”

“I can understand it. It seems a difficult thing to resist.”

“To my credit, I managed it for a good few years.” She sighs. “I hope it knows it’s loved, even though so few people remember it. I talk into my mirror to it, sometimes, since a mirror can be its window into this world, but I doubt it hears me. The chances of it being in the right place to listen are slim.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I think you have a higher chance than most of being listened to. You carry a book written by Volo, and you’re a descendant of his. I wouldn’t rule it out.”

Cynthia is silent for a moment. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. You could be right.”

Akari turns back to her desk, and picks up the scanning device. “I need to finish this so I can sleep. It’s late, I’ve had a long day, I’m going to need more sleep than usual. And I can remember my dreams now, so I can tell Giratina I know what it is. I can pass along a message from you, too, if you want, as long as I remember to.”

“Hold on, go back. You… speak to Giratina, in your dreams?”

She nods. “Yes. I forgot I hadn’t mentioned that yet. I couldn’t remember them until I saw the illustration in your book, but I do now.” The scanner beeps, and she turns the page. “Thank you for that, even if it wasn’t intentional. I really wanted to remember.”

“You’re welcome.” Cynthia’s voice is soft. “It would be nice if you could make sure it knows I care for it. I’d like that, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

They settle back into silence, but a calmer one than before. Every so often, Akari hears the soft sound of a page being flipped.

It takes her only a quarter of an hour more to finish scanning the notes, and by then the sun has dipped below the horizon completely. “This room is yours,” Cynthia lets her know, flipping the switch to turn on the electric lights, “but I’ll be right next door if you need me. My room is to the right of you when you step outside.”

Akari thanks her, and they hug, before Cynthia leaves to get her much needed rest. Akari waves goodbye, and then closes the curtains. She hadn’t expected any part of her day to go the way it did, but it’s provided clarity she didn’t have before, and she’s glad of that. Plus, she’s made some friends. That’s always good.

Moments in time blur together a little as she gets herself ready to go to bed, and flickering memories press at her mind all the while. She hushes them aloud, instinctively, and that gives her just enough clarity to get beneath the warm, soft covers of the Pokécenter bed. It doesn’t take long for sleep to take her after that, curled up and comfortable, a slight smile resting on her lips.

Akari dreams, of course. It would be wrong for her not to. She can remember, now, and she has a message to deliver.

Giratina is here. The joy of knowing what it is, being able to speak its name, is overwhelming. She calls out to it, three times, and it sounds like singing. Her voice has taken on the quality of chiming bells.

“I have a message for you, Giratina. Cynthia wants you to know you are loved.”

It cries out, a low, wailing trill, undeniably joyful. Akari laughs, reaches out to stroke its head, nestles into the warmth of its body as it curls up to hold her.

“I remembered. I remembered my dreams. I know what you are, Giratina.”

It purrs, long and loud. Akari smiles wide, and closes her eyes. She needs her rest, even in dreams. She’s had a long and turbulent day, and it’s impossible to know what will happen tomorrow.

“Hm,” she muses, and her voice is triple-layered as she hums. “Maybe not impossible.”

When Akari awakens, her room is streaked with sunlight filtering through the curtains. She lets herself rest a few minutes longer, then sits up and stretches. She’s very well rested, and thanks Giratina for it silently. The joy of her dream still lingers on her, and she finds herself humming as she gets dressed and ready for the day. It takes her a little while to realise the song she’s humming is the gentle melody that a musician will often play in the main street of Jubilife Village.

With her bag packed, she exits her room and knocks on Cynthia’s door. She opens it promptly, smiling down at Akari.

“Good morning, Akari. Did you rest well?”

“Good morning. I did. Did you?”

“Very well. Do you want to come in, while I finish getting ready?”

Akari nods, and waits on a chair by the door as Cynthia goes over her things. “I delivered your message to Giratina.”

Cynthia pauses mid-action. “Oh. That’s… I’d half-convinced myself it couldn’t be done. That’s very nice to hear. Did it-” She hesitates for a moment. “Did it say anything in response?”

“It was happy. I don’t know if it speaks in words - if it does, I don’t understand them. But it was definitely happy to receive your message. I know that at least.”

“Well, that’s definitely something good.” She rocks back and forth on her heels as she finishes packing her bag, and when she turns back to Akari there’s a slight smile on her face that reminds her faintly of one of the few times she’d spoken to Volo directly. Akari wonders, silently, if she had caught him in an occasional moment of sincerity.

What would drive a man to do what he did? How could you wish to remake the world anew when there’s soft grass to walk on, and books to read, and fabric to hold and feel against your skin?

Cynthia is looking at her quizzically. How long was she distracted?

“Are you good to leave now, Akari?”

“Yes. I was just… lost in thought.”

On the way down from their rooms into the Pokécenter proper, Cynthia explains that she’d like to accompany Akari back to Veilstone City. “I just don’t like the thought of you having to walk back all on your own. We can take routes that aren’t often used, and fly for the parts of the route that’s not an option.”

“Fly?”

Cynthia blinks. “Yes, I have two pokémon with which- ah, wait. I’d forgotten that’s not so widespread in your time as it is in mine. There’s documentation of an honoured Braviary carrying a select few around the region around the time of the space-time rift, are you aware of that?”

“Oh. Yes, he carried me once because Rei wanted me to see what it was like, and that’s how I learned I’m scared of heights.”

“Ah. That could pose a problem for my plan of flying across the places we can’t really avoid people in.” Cynthia looks up at the sky, thinking. “Exactly how scared of heights are you?”

“Quite, but I’ll do what I need to do.”

Cynthia is silent for a moment, before nodding. “A response I should have expected. Still, I want to make this as painless as possible for you. Do you think you’d feel better with a flight that’s a little slower, but more stable, or a faster and slightly more turbulent flight? Both are perfectly safe, of course, or I wouldn’t offer you the option.”

“I think the less time I’m in the air, the better.”

“That makes sense. I’ll let you get acquainted with Garchomp before we need to take to the skies, then. For now, we can walk.”

Akari nods, and they begin their journey back to Veilstone.

Passing through Canalave City, Cynthia has to stop every few minutes to sign something or take a picture, though thankfully, once again, none of her fans notice Akari lurking just behind her. May and Courtney do spot her, and they talk for a few minutes. May tells her that they’re on the way to the library for a second day of revision and reading, and Courtney spends the whole conversation with her eyes fixed on Cynthia. Akari overhears a little of what she says to May as they walk away.

“Does she ever battle where other people can watch? I want to observe her more. She’s interesting.”

Akari glances up at Cynthia to see if she’d heard. She’s very clearly holding in a laugh.

Exiting Canalave City, they encounter a wide river. Cynthia surveys it. “It’s early enough in the morning that the only people here are dedicated fishers and not looking to battle, but I think we should start being careful here even so. There’s a bridge just south of here, which will save us from having to have my Milotic ferry us across. It’s not overkeen on strangers.”

Akari nods, and asks Cynthia what a Milotic is. They talk about that for a while as they walk down to the bridge. “It’s considered a very beautiful pokémon, but that’s not why I have one. It was a chance encounter, and I was taken by it even in its unevolved form, Feebas. I wanted to raise it, so I did. That was long before I had any ambitions to become Champion.”

“What did you want to do back then?”

“That was around the time I decided I wanted to become an archaeologist, actually. Travel the region, unearth lost things - there’s so much beautiful art that lives in ruins, and I want to see all of it, and to share it with others.” Cynthia points ahead. “There’s the bridge. It’s a walk through the woods after that, where we hopefully won’t be disturbed. I’m sure you’re alright with going off the beaten path, but just in case..?”

Akari smiles, tilting her head and looking up at Cynthia. “I can make my own routes.”

Cynthia nods. “Excellent.”

They talk about pokémon for a while after that. Cynthia expresses a fondness for ground types, and speaks lovingly of her Gastrodon. “I don’t have it on me right now, since it’s not in my current team rotation, but it’s a delight to be around, really. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pokémon savour berries with quite the amount of joy it does.”

Akari nods. “I like Gastrodon. Shellos, too. You can walk right up to them and they won’t attack you. It’s nice. I looked after a Shellos for a while when we were completing the Pokédex. I had an East Sea one, and Rei looked after the one we got from the West Sea. Professor Laventon wanted to write about both.”

“You’ve mentioned that name a few times.”

“Professor Laventon?”

“Rei.”

“Oh. Yes. He’s my friend.”

Cynthia nods. “His name has showed up in a few books, largely as an influence in the original Galaxy Team, but I have a theory - and, please tell me if I’m wrong here - that he’s the same person as the one rumoured to have been chosen by Arceus. The descriptions match well, even though Arceus’s chosen is never referred to by name.”

Akari quietly takes out her phone and pulls up Rei’s messages.

Rei, if you’re awake, I have a question.

hwuh

am now

what’s the question ?

I’m with Cynthia. She’s nice, by the way, I learned that yesterday. Am I allowed to tell her you’re the one Arceus chose?

what a question for too early in the morning o’clock

sure why not

can you also tell her i think she’s cool

That requires me to tell her you were taken from this time, and I’m not sure I want to get into that right now. It seems complicated to explain.

yknow what. fair enough

Akari clicks the phone screen off and holds it to her chest. “Rei is the one who was chosen by Arceus, yes. I had to ask him to make sure.”

Something in Cynthia’s posture changes, and she glances at Akari, her expression betraying her curiosity. “You have contact with him? Is he here too?”

“No. He’s still in my time. This phone is just capable of communicating with that time.”

“How does he have a phone, if he’s from your time?”

It’s looking more and more likely that Akari is going to have to explain Rei having been taken from this time. “I think Arceus gave it to him.”

“Hm. Interesting. Could you ask him if it’s alright if I ask him a few questions, through you?”

Akari clicks her phone screen back on.

Cynthia wants to ask you some questions, and wants to know if that’s alright.

no way

THE cynthia. THE champion. and she wants to talk to me ??? what an honour

Akari looks up to Cynthia and nods. “He says yes.”

“Let’s find somewhere to sit. This can be a nice break from walking.”

Akari suggests a nearby tree that looks easy enough to climb, which Cynthia appraises carefully. “I’m not wearing the most ideal tree-climbing footwear, but I think I can manage that.” Akari scrambles up the tree first, and then guides Cynthia on where to place her hands and feet as she climbs up after her.

“I need to get better at tree-climbing,” she says as she gets herself settled on the branch next to Akari. “It’s a part of my skillset that’s sorely lacking.”

With Cynthia’s arm around her to make sure she doesn’t fall, Akari acts as the across-time translator between her and Rei. Cynthia asks about Arceus, about him, and about the relation between the two. She asks about what it’s like to have been chosen by a legendary pokémon - “It’s more than legendary, really, but I think no matter how you try to categorise it it wouldn’t be enough,” - and Rei answers, in short halting sentences.

It’s never been an easy thing for him to talk about, what happened to him after he came to Hisui. Akari remembers distinctly the moment they both knew something had happened to him. She was watching from a little way away as he fought the Lady of the Ridge. It looked like a dance, but one that would become deadly if any misstep was made.

You could have blinked and missed the strike. Rei was cut across the torso, almost in half, and fell to the floor unmoving. Akari remembers screaming. She was trying to speak, to plead with Lady Lilligant, let me come close, let me help him, but no words would come out.

Through her tears, she glimpsed movement. Rei sat up, slowly, carefully, moving like something animated by clockwork, reached for the bag of balms, and set to work again. His movements were not his for the rest of the dance, and afterwards, with Lady Lilligant free of frenzy, he’d sank down to his knees, staring at the blood on his uniform. The wound was long gone, a stripe of scar tissue the only thing remaining of it. His eyes were glassy, and his breathing was hardly noticeable, if he was breathing at all.

They discovered, later, that the scar shines bright gold under lamplight, if you catch it at the right angle. They couldn’t salvage the uniform, but Rei refused to let it be taken away. Akari knows where he keeps it. Once, she approached him in his home a little too soundlessly, and saw him holding it to his chest with his head bowed low. As soon as she spoke, he stuffed it into the nearest drawer and pretended he hadn’t been holding it. She decided not to pry.

It’s not easy to talk about, but the screen makes it easier, he tells her. He doesn’t have to put a brave face on, pretend it doesn’t bother him. He can just speak the truth, and there’s nothing attached to it.

not like putting a brave face on ever works with you

you know how to read me. i’d never fool you and i don’t want to

Cynthia suggests they keep walking while she thinks of any other questions, and Akari has to pull her out of the way of a fair few low-hanging tree branches as they walk.

They purchase lunch in Jubilife City, Akari hiding in Cynthia’s shadow once again, and eat sat on the curb in a more secluded street. Cynthia gets spotted a few times by aspiring professional battlers, and gives them snippets of advice on developing new strategies. Their eyes never fall on Akari.

“It’s impressive how well you can stay out of sight,” Cynthia comments afterwards. “I know I’m a good distraction, but even so.”

Akari shrugs. “I’m good at not calling attention to myself. I’ve had enough practice that it’s second nature at this point. I can do even better if you give me a patch of tall grass or a smoke bomb.”

After that, Cynthia brings out Togekiss and Garchomp, explaining gently to the latter that she’ll need it to carry Akari. It sniffs Akari’s hand when she holds it out, and bobs its head up and down with a low rumbling sound that reminds her very much of Rei’s Garchomp.

“It’s willing to carry you. That’s good. Now, you’ll be going a decent amount faster than me and Togekiss, but we can plot a destination to make sure we don’t lose each other.”

Cynthia unfolds her map, and the four look over it together and decide to stop at Eterna City. “I know a quiet route from there to Celestic Town, and I’d like to make a stop there. It shouldn’t be too long of a flight.” She helps Akari up onto Garchomp, and instructs her on where to sit and how to hold on safely.

As soon as she’s situated, Garchomp launches itself up into the sky, and Akari has to close her eyes against the wind. For a minute or a few - it’s hard to gauge time when you’re going very fast and feeling very scared - she wishes she’d chosen Togekiss, but after not very long at all the flight starts to become less terrifying and more exhilarating. A Garchomp is a sturdy thing, solid and reassuring, and though the flight is turbulent she feels much safer right now than she ever felt in the Team Galactic helicopter.

They land in a clearing a little way away from Eterna City. Akari spends the time waiting for Cynthia to arrive curled up petting Garchomp, thanking it quietly for carrying her. It rumbles back at her as she speaks to it.

It’s not long until Cynthia and Togekiss glide down into the clearing. Cynthia slides off Togekiss’s feathered back and ruffles its head feathers in thanks. “Are you alright, Akari? I hope the flight wasn’t too bad.”

“It was good.” Akari leans her head on Garchomp. “I liked it better than the helicopter. And Lord Braviary, but he doesn’t have to know that.”

Cynthia claps her hands, beaming. “Oh, that’s wonderful to hear!”

Akari nods, smiling. “The wind in my hair and the speed of the flight distracted me from how scared I was.”

“I’m glad of that.” Cynthia offers a hand to Akari, who takes it, hauling herself up from the floor. “Eterna City is close by. Shall we walk?”

They follow the short path down to Eterna City, and take a route through the centre of the city. Cynthia suggests they stop by the statue of Dialga and Palkia (“people are aware they’re different deities in this time, in case you were wondering, but the statue combines the two to symbolise how this world could not exist without the both of them”), but when they enter the square, it’s empty but for one distinctive figure in an even more distinctive grey uniform, looking up at the statue with an expression of grave seriousness. Akari feels Cynthia freeze up next to her, so she takes her hand and gently tugs her in the right direction. Cyrus does not look away from the statue, and they pass through the square without incident.

From there, it’s a relatively short walk to Celestic Town, comprised mostly of desire paths through the forest that Cynthia knows well. “I take a lot of walks around here. I grew up in Celestic Town, so I’ve spent a lot of time in these woods.”

When they arrive, people rush up to Cynthia even more than usual, but for a different reason, Akari quickly learns. Cynthia knows all of these people by name, and they greet her familiarly, not like the aspiring professional battlers of earlier in the day.

“And who is this with you?” one asks, looking over to Akari, smiling. Cynthia hesitates, glancing down at Akari.

“Oh! I remember her!” someone else pipes up. Akari recognises her as one of the people running the shop she and Looker had bought sandwiches from when they had passed through on their way to Veilstone city, during Akari’s first days in this time. “The little one who came through with the detective! Are you well?”

A few townspeople turn their attention to Akari, fussing over her and asking after Looker. She’s startled by the attention, but Cynthia comes to her rescue.

“Is Cogita still here? If she is, I’d like to take my friend to visit her.”

“Oh, yes, she is! In the same house as usual.”

The group scurries off, snippets of a conversation about making a care package floating behind them. Cynthia leads Akari towards a house on the very edge of the small town. As they get closer, Akari can make out a familiar figure, sat in the garden at a wrought iron table, sipping a cup of tea.

Cogita still dresses the same, even after all these years. Long black dress, geometric capelet, wide-brimmed hat, long white gloves styled after camellia flowers. She nods at Cynthia and then at Akari, her familiar slight smile on her lips.

“I didn’t know I’d be having visitors. Hello, Cynthia, Akari.”

Akari nods. “Hello. It’s nice to see you.”

Cogita glances back up at Cynthia. “I see you’ve found yourself in the company of yet another irresponsible myth-hunter. How are you dealing with the consequences of your actions, dear granddaughter?”

“Hey-!”

Cogita takes a sip of her tea. “It’s good to see the both of you, nevertheless. Tea?”

They both accept, and follow her inside, waiting in the kitchen as she boils the kettle and pours them their respective cups. She makes the occasional quip towards Cynthia, who responds with theatrical indignance, crossing her arms and huffing.

“You are terribly mean to me, Nana, and I won’t stand for it. Akari, back me up here.”

Akari glances at Cynthia, then Cogita, then back at Cynthia. “She has a point, you know.”

“Augh! Everyone turns against me!”

Akari giggles, which causes Cynthia to break her impromptu character and laugh, and Cogita laughs along with them. The time after that passes easily as they drink their tea and talk about little things - good books, garment construction, different ways to take one’s tea. Cynthia is pulled away a few times by one person or another, but always returns after a minute or two with a smile. Akari lets herself forget about the pressing urgency of Team Galactic’s actions, just for a moment. Sharing tea with an old friend and a new one should be enjoyed without the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Eventually, it comes time for them to leave, and Akari is presented with a bundle of food, supplies and trinkets by the shop owner who recognised her. She thanks her profusely, and has her hair ruffled by many a townsperson. She and Cynthia are wished luck and waved off as they set off on the final leg of their journey.

The sun is beginning to sink below the horizon now, so the roads are sparsely populated, and they’re able to make their way to Veilstone City without incident. Akari’s legs begin to tire after a little while, and Cynthia’s Garchomp lets her perch atop it for the final portion of the walk. She leans on it, whispering her thanks.

Cynthia drops Akari off at Looker’s door, and envelops her in a warm parting hug.

“Rest up, alright? It’s been a long day for you. You need as much sleep as you can get.”

Akari nods. “You rest too. You’ve been walking even more than me.”

“I know for sure I’ll be asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow tonight.” Cynthia waves, smiling. “See you, Akari.”

“See you tomorrow, Cynthia.”

Cynthia pauses, half-turned away. “Tomorrow?”

Akari blinks. “I’m not sure why I said that. But- no, I’m right. Tomorrow. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“...Alright, well, I’d better stay in the area. Cogita won’t mind me sleeping over a night, I’m sure. See you tomorrow, then.”

Akari watches her leave, coat flying behind her in the night air as she walks briskly down the street. Tomorrow. Something is going to happen tomorrow. She doesn’t know what, but she knows there’s something, with the same surety that she knows her own name.

The air is getting colder now that the sun has set. She’d better go inside and tell Looker she’s home.

She can barely set foot in the house before Looker rushes up to her. “Agent Starlight! Are you alright? Cynthia told me you would not faint again, but just in case- you have been on your feet all day walking here, have you not? You must sit down.”

Akari lets him guide her to the sofa. “I’m fine, I promise. The fainting was…” She pauses. “I’m gonna have to think for a bit before I can properly explain that, actually. But it’s not going to happen again.”

He nods. “I am glad of this. Dinner is almost ready, I will bring it through in just a moment.”

Akari curls up on the sofa and unpacks her Celestic Town care package as she waits for Looker. There are jars of jam, soft bread, potions and a variety of antidotes for things like poison and paralysis, a pretty cloth headband, a roll of lace… Who in the world gives a whole roll of lace to someone they’ve met twice? Rei says he thinks most lace is machine-made nowadays, but even so… There’s probably enough here to decorate a dress and have a little left over for some kind of accessory. She tucks it away carefully.

There’s even more below all that, two things, one glowing faintly. She fishes it out, and squeaks. This is undeniably a Thunder Stone. How did they know? Had Cynthia told them? Pikachu will be so happy, it’s been wanting to evolve for so long.

The other is a squarish shape, dark red and carved intricately. She’s held this before. Rei had given it to her to translate when he first received it. The lake guardians had given it to him after he completed their second set of trials, to gain permission to study them for the Pokédex. It looks just as it did then, kept carefully, the carving still perfectly legible. “Three beings were born to bind time and space.” Why give this to her? Celestic Town’s people value history, do they not? Why give away something like this to a stranger?

The living room door creaks open, and Looker emerges, holding two bowls of steaming stew. He sets them down on the table, and Akari brings out the loaf from the care package and suggests they have it with their dinner. He agrees, and they settle down to eat.

It takes Akari a slice of bread and half a bowl of stew to figure out that she’s never going to be able to think up the right words to explain the past two days to Looker. This is one of those occasions where she has to just start talking and hope for the best.

“Something’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Looker sets his spoon down. “You have information?”

“No. It’s… It’s not a gut feeling, but it’s close. Something’s going to happen tomorrow, and it’s going to be big, and I’m a part of it. You are, too. And Cynthia. And Dawn.” This isn’t what she meant to talk about. Dawn’s going to be there?

“I see. I trust this… not-gut-feeling. I have met people with psychic abilities before, Agent Starlight, and what you are speaking of sounds similar to what I have heard from then. Though, that sort of thing is usually picked up from the pokémon one trains, and you do not train any psychic types, as far as I am aware.”

“It’s the lake guardians.” Akari takes a bite of bread.

“The lake guardians..? Have you had contact with them?”

“I don’t know, honestly. It’s a complicated thing. I know I met Uxie once, before I was sent here.”

“That is something I believe I am missing context for. You told me, at Fantina’s home, that you were sent here to help me, and now you say it again. For you to be sent and not have fallen means that someone or something was behind this. Who sent you here?”

Akari hesitates. It doesn’t feel right to say Arceus’s name aloud, but leaving out details won’t help either of them.

“Arceus.”

“Ah.”

The room is silent for a long moment.

“Looker?”

“Yes?”

“I think I’m going home tomorrow.”

Looker takes a halting breath. “I see.”

Akari puts her bread down, and leans against him, tucking her legs up onto the sofa. He puts an arm around her. Just like always. Sinnoh, she’s going to miss this.

“It would make sense,” Looker continues. “If your mission here is to prevent ending the world, and I am correct about the event that will come to pass tomorrow, your mission will be over then. I am glad-” He scrubs at his eyes with his sleeve. “I am glad you are able to return home, but I will miss you.”

Akari nods. She’s crying too. “I will too. I think my phone will still work to contact you through time, so there’s that. It works from here to talk to my friend from my own time, I don’t see why it’d be the other way round.”

“That would be a significant relief. It would not replace this, but still. I do not wish to be cut off from you completely.”

“Me neither. You’re family to me. I don’t want to lose that.”

Looker turns so as to be able to put his other arm around her and pull her into a proper hug. He’s warm, and the familiar texture of the fabric of his coat is a comfort. She feels a little bad crying into his fur, but she doesn’t think he’ll mind.

“I think,” she says after a while, voice muffled by fur, “we’ll be alright. We’ll still be able to talk to each other. Arceus wouldn’t cut us off from each other, not after this long. It isn’t cruel.”

“It is the least it could do, I think, to allow us to speak over the phone.” Looker sniffs, tearily. “I am not a particularly religious man, generally speaking, but in this case I feel as though I could be. I do not want to lose you. But we should finish our food now, before it is cold. I will try not to cry into my stew.”

They stay huddled together on the sofa for a long time after they finish their food. Akari only gets up once before going to sleep, to offer Pikachu its Thunder Stone. Looker watches from the sofa as it all but tackles Akari trying to get the stone from her, and congratulates it on its evolution.

Akari holds it up in the air. “If I call you Pikachu by accident, you can’t get mad at me, ok? I did that with Clefable a lot.”

Raichu squeaks at her, loudly. It seems pleased with itself.

They both return to the sofa, Raichu curled up with Croagunk, who had emerged from upstairs. They don’t talk much, and at least on Akari’s end she doesn’t have much to say. Eventually, she finds herself struggling to keep her eyes open, and Looker hurries her to her room to sleep.

She thinks of one thing she does want to say before she sleeps, and turns back to Looker at the door.

“My name is Akari. I want you to know me as my name, even if the codename does still mean a lot to me.”

Looker nods. “It is a very nice name. It suits you well. I would give you mine in return, but truth be told, I do not exactly have one. I have been procrastinating on coming up with a human name that does not serve as a codename for several years, as embarrassing as it is to admit.”

“I think that’s fair enough. Coming up with a name can take a long time.”

They hug again, and say goodnight. Akari is only just able to turn the light off and get under the covers of her bed before sleep overtakes her.

In her dreams, Giratina curls up around her, a barrier protecting her from the worries of the waking hours. It’s peaceful here, and she can sleep easily. For a precious few hours, she rests, asleep in dreams as well as outside of them.

But tomorrow will always come, and it’s here now.

“Agent Starlight! Akari! Please, wake up!”

Akari blinks her eyes open. Looker is standing over her, eyes wide, his illusion only half-there. She knows, just from his expression, or perhaps from the not-gut feelings that are setting off every alarm in her mind, that she was right, yesterday. The event she knew in that implacable part of her mind would come to pass has been set into motion, and it’s time for her to play her part.

She pushes herself up and swings her legs over the side of the bed. “It’s time, then. Can you help me get ready?”

Chapter Text

Where to start?

Akari taps at the side of the bed with her nails. “Tell me everything you know.”

Looker nods, and begins to explain. “I received word of a series of explosions taking place, at the lakes where Guardian Pokémon are said to live-”

And at this, shivers wrack Akari’s body, and she grips the side of the bed, white-knuckled. Looker pauses. “Are you alright?”

“No. Keep going.”

He nods again, a little uneasily. “There were sightings of Team Galactic personnel in all three areas, leading us to believe this act was committed by them. Shortly afterwards, I received a summons to the Team Galactic Headquarters. I believe you will have received one, too. This, plus their communications with you about them reaching the end of their mission and your premonitions that something big would happen today, leads me to conclude that they are about to-” he takes a sharp breath - “they are about to attempt remaking the world.”

Akari takes Looker’s hand. He’s shaking. “I won’t let them do it.”

“I have faith in you. Cynthia is on her way, and of course, you have me to assist you.”

Something about that gives Akari pause. She was sent here to help Looker, but in reality, they have spent this whole time helping each other. Such is the way of things, she supposes.

“I wouldn’t have got this far without you, you know,” she says, quietly.

“And I would not have without you.”

Akari nods. She wishes there was time to reminisce, but there is none. “Jupiter gave me a communicator. I’ll check that, and then we can go from there.”

She retrieves it from her bag, and presses buttons until the screen turns on. It reads “1 recorded message from Commander Jupiter.” Looker helps her get to where they can listen to it, and the message begins to play.

“Polaris,” Jupiter begins, in a tone of voice utterly unlike their usual one. “It’s now. We’re doing it now. We have the lake guardians, we’re making the red chains, it’s all so close to ready- Get to HQ as soon as you can. If we can’t get you transport to Spear Pillar, find Saturn, you can watch with him, we have aerial cameras and a video feed set up.” They sound frantic, breathless. “But come here if you can. I don’t want you to miss the fruit of all your hard work.”

The message ends with a beep. Akari and Looker are silent for a moment, staring at the screen.

“We have the lake guardians.”

She has to save them, and she has to go now.

She turns to Looker. “I need to get dressed. Will you help me with my hair when I’m done?”

“Of course.”

He leaves, and Akari is alone. She wants to rake her nails across the wood of her bed as if they were claws, gouge deep lines within it, tear something to pieces, but she doesn’t. She takes out her Team Galactic uniform - this will be the last time she puts it on, won’t it? - and slips it on, her practiced hands no longer fumbling at zips and clasps as they did when she’d first arrived here. It feels like a very long time since then.

She packs her Team Galactic bag, silently thanking Bagin for his lessons in making the most of storage space. If she slots this in here and that in there, she has enough space to fit all her usual equipment, plus two outfits and her old bag, packed flat with everything else. She’s looking forward to being able to wear that regularly again. Nothing beats it.

She takes a moment to say goodbye to her bedroom. It’s been good to her. The bed is comfortable, and the walls have sheltered her. She likely will not sleep here again.

Looker is waiting for her in the living room, like always. She sits down, and he pulls her hair up into its neat bun. “Do you have a plan?”

“Barely. I need to get to wherever they’re keeping the lake guardians, free them, and then go to the Temple. After that, I don’t know. Do whatever I have to do to stop Team Galactic, I guess.”

“Do you know where they are keeping the lake guardians?”

“No. But I can try and find out.”

“How will you get into where they are? I am assuming they will be kept in a secure location.”

“I’ll do what I always do. Lie.” She stands, and takes a look at herself in the mirror. Perfect. Her expression is that of grim determination, and she shifts it until it becomes ever-so-slightly haughty grim determination. “People know who I am. They’ll get out of my way.”

“You do have a reputation, within the organisation. It is a good thing you have managed to win yourself such a high ranking position. I could not lie and say I am authorised to enter anywhere remotely high-security.”

“That definitely worked out for us.” Akari slings her bag onto her back. “I think you should go to the Temple. Spear Pillar. Scout things out. They won’t notice one grunt out of place.”

Looker nods. “That is an excellent idea. I will depart now. Hopefully I will reach the area in time to give you valuable information.”

They hug each other tightly at the doorway, wish each other luck, and depart their separate ways. Akari begins the walk down to the Team Galactic HQ.

The streets are empty. The explosions are probably why, she reasons. People are scared. She understands that. The sky isn’t red, but it may as well be. There’s something of it in the air, tangible, like static on her skin. She marches forward, counting her steps, one, two, one, two, feeling the cobblestones under her heels. It feels good, walking like this. Purposeful. It gives her something to focus on that isn’t her pounding heart.

The Headquarters lobby is crowded, full of Team Galactic personnel, sat on every available surface and pacing around the entranceway, some seeming confused, some almost audibly buzzing with excitement. They still dart out of the way when they see her coming, so she’s able to get to the front desk with ease. The person manning jumps a little when they see her.

“Oh- Miss Polaris. I thought you were at Spear Pillar?”

“I have orders to speak with Commander Saturn. Where is he?”

“Down in the lab, with Charon, but you might have to wait, I don’t know if you’re authorised to be there-”

“I am.” Akari keeps her tone assured, perfectly confident that of course she’s authorised to enter the lab, why wouldn’t she be?

“Oh, ok. Then you know the way, I guess. Through the warehouse is probably quicker.”

Akari nods, turns on her heel, and marches back out of the lobby, turning right towards the warehouse. She’s only been in there once, to oversee some grunts retrieve a box of old books for the research team, but she remembers the way, and knows how to get in.

Inside is the bigger hurdle. There is a nervous grunt guarding the door, which is large and metallic, the kind you need a key card for, and she’s pretty sure hers won’t work for this one.

She stops in front of the door, looks at it for a moment, and then glances at the Grunt. “Let me in, please.”

“I- uh- what?”

“I need you to let me in. I need to speak with Commander Saturn in the laboratory.”

“If you’re, um, authorised to enter the laboratory, you should be able to let yourself in with your key card-”

Akari lets out a sharp sigh. “I am fully aware. Due to the rush we’ve been in these past few days, I never received my updated key card. I need you to let me in, and I do not have time to spend arguing with you. I should be down there already.”

The grunt nods, wide-eyed. “Just a second.”

She watches him open the door, and nods briskly at him when he steps back. “Thank you.”

The door opens, and Akari sweeps through it and down the staircase that’s revealed. Her heels click on the tiled metal floor. She doesn’t stop to acknowledge any of the people she passes, and they don’t stop to question why she’s down here.

The corridor leading to her destination is long and she’s not paying much attention to the little rooms that branch off of it. Worried whispers come from them, but she can’t tell what they’re saying. She has to get to the end of the corridor. One, two, one, two.

There’s a grunt guarding the door. She requests access, the impatience in her tone that was previously artificial now real. The pressing need to get into this laboratory is overwhelming, but she keeps her act together long enough to convince this second guard. They let her in without questioning her. It’s a very good thing she’s such a high rank.

The doors slide shut behind her with a soft hiss, and she breaks into a sprint. She barely takes in her surroundings - green glass containers, metallic machines, a few puzzled scientists - as she dashes for the place she knows she has to be. It’s just around this corner, through this open door. She’s almost there. Almost there.

Akari takes two steps into the room, and stops dead.

They trapped the lake guardians. She can see all three of them, locked in some kind of containment, and they’re hurting. She can feel it. It’s a full-body, pulsing pain, like some sort of slow, controlled electric shock combined with nausea. Akari is convinced, for a moment, that she’s either going to collapse or vomit. Maybe both.

But she stays on her feet, composure not quite intact but not shattered, the awful nausea remaining simply nausea. There are people watching her, she realises. These are the people who trapped the lake guardians.

Saturn, the commander. Charon, the head of the scientific research team.

Cyrus.

Akari tries to speak, tell them of what they’ve done, tell them how much the lake guardians are hurting, but all that comes out is a piercing, wordless scream. It hurts her throat. Saturn takes a pace back, and Charon flinches, but Cyrus doesn’t move a muscle.

“Look not into the Pokémon's eyes,” she finds herself saying. “In but an instant, you'll have no recollection of who you are. Return home, but how? When there is nothing to remember?”

“I have read of that myth,” Cyrus responds.

“Dare not touch the Pokémon's body. In but three short days, all emotions will drain away.” She takes a breath. “Above all, above all, harm not the Pokémon. In a scant five days, the offender will grow immobile in entirety. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“I know perfectly well. I did not undertake this on a whim.”

“That isn’t what I meant. You’re hurting them. Do you know how much you’re hurting them?”

“That will not matter soon.”

Akari shakes her head, hard, and another scream erupts from her throat. “Do you not understand how selfish you are? You took the Galaxy Team, my Galaxy Team, and you turned it into this. You trap the lake guardians, you hurt them, and all you can do is say it won’t matter. It matters now, Cyrus, and it will matter as long as they live.”

“That will not be long.” The machine behind the group makes a harsh mechanical sound, and Charon turns, retrieving something red and glinting from it and handing it to Cyrus. “You need not worry. Their suffering will end soon.”

A door slides open, hidden in the wall next to wear he stands, and he walks briskly through it.

“NO!” Akari screams, lunging forward as the door closes. “Come back here and answer for what you’ve done!” But the door is shut, seamlessly blending into the wall once again, and she can barely hear his muffled footsteps as he walks away with the red chain.

She did not come here to scream at the man who she’s been trying to stop, though. She came here to save the lake guardians, and her anger will not sway her from this course.

“Well, well. I never thought we’d have a mole among our little group, but if I’d had to guess, it certainly wouldn’t have been you, Polaris.” Charon’s tone is smug, infuriatingly so. “It’s a shame you’re too late to stop us.”

“You think I am working alone?” Akari sinks her hand into her bag, searching by touch for pokéballs.

“Alone or not, you’re out of time. We don’t even have to bother taking you into custody.”

Akari laughs. It feels wrong to laugh at a time like this, but she can’t stop herself. “You are very confident. Release the lake guardians.”

“Release them? Is that an order, Polaris?” He’s taunting her. It makes her blood boil.

She pulls out the handful of pokéballs, and releases Clefable, Heracross and Raichu into the laboratory. “Release the lake guardians. I will not ask again.”

“Empty threats won’t get you anywhere.”

“This is not an empty threat.”

The room goes silent, save for Akari’s tense and heavy breathing. Her team is looking at her, waiting for an order. She is watching Charon, and Charon is watching her. Some of the colour has drained from his face. Saturn has backed away as far as he can, back against the machine, staring at her wide-eyed.

At last, Charon speaks. “No, you’re bluffing. You wouldn’t possibly-”

“Heracross, Megahorn.”

It is not the done thing, to order a pokémon to attack a human. It is a detestable thing. Even in an organised battle, a pokémon is not supposed to cause another pokémon excessive pain. But, at the same time, it is not the done thing to lock pokémon in boxes that cause them pain and take parts of themselves from them.

Charon does not get the chance to scream.

Saturn winces as he slumps to the floor. Akari turns her gaze to him, and he nods, turning to the machine. She turns her attention to Heracross.

“I am sorry that you had to do that. I hope I will never have to ask you to do something like it ever again.”

It chirps at her, holding its hands out to her. She takes them. “Thank you,” she says, softly.

With a click, the pain and nausea dissipate.

For a moment, she is somewhere else, alone with the lake guardians. They swirl around her, whispering, thanking her in soft voices. She reaches out, instinctively, and Uxie settles into her hands.

Once again, you aid us. We will guide you on the path ahead. You have our thanks.

“You’re welcome. Stay safe.”

And you, North Star, Akari.

Then they are gone, and Akari is once again within the Team Galactic Laboratory, with her team by her side, and an unconscious man crumpled in the corner. Saturn is watching her, wide-eyed and wary.

“Clefable, would you check-” She can’t bring herself to say her sudden worry aloud. “Would you make sure he’s alright?”

“He’s not dead.” Saturn’s voice is wavery. “I checked his pulse. I didn’t think you’d use lethal force on him.”

“Neither did I. I have seen too many die from the attacks of wild pokémon not to fear the worst, though.”

“You-” He steps back, and then shakes his head. “No. No time to pursue that line of enquiry. I think- Maybe you can stop him. We’re in too deep. I was convinced, Cyrus is very convincing, but I don’t think I want the world to end, Polaris. It just hit me that that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Akari nods. “It doesn’t feel real until the end begins, does it?”

“No. It doesn’t.”

They are silent, for a moment.

“You’ll have to go now, if you’re going to stop him. He’ll be on his way there now.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Stay in here until Charon wakes up. Pray, probably.” Saturn laughs. There’s no mirth in it. “It’s not like I’d be able to do much to help. The two of you have a far better chance.”

The two of them..?

Akari turns around. Ah. Dawn is stood in the doorway.

“We’ll do our best,” she says, and Dawn nods.

“Yeah. We will. Thanks for doing the right thing there, Saturn, and letting the Lake Guardians go. I’m gonna pretend you weren’t under threat of a Heracross slamming into the wall when that happened, because it makes me feel better.”

“I think I would have done it anyway. Now go.”

“I suppose we gotta, huh?” Dawn looks at Akari, and grins, half-heartedly. “World isn’t gonna save itself.”

Akari nods, retrieves her team, and walks towards the door, taking Dawn’s hand as she passes. Dawn squeezes it. She squeezes back.

“We’ll have each others’ backs. I know we can do this.”

“We won’t fail,” Akari says. “We cannot fail.”

The tense silence after that is broken by nothing other than Akari’s clicking soles as the two make their way through the corridors as quickly as they can. If only Team Galactic hadn’t decided making every floor a maze was the best possible design for their bases! If only they could have followed Cyrus directly! Akari can feel Dawn’s impatience, and it’s rubbing off on her. They need to get out fast, if not for the sake of the world then for the sake of Dawn staying calm, or as calm as it’s possible for her to be.

Akari’s train of thought is rudely interrupted when they turn a corner and are met by a wall of battle grunts, standing shoulder to shoulder, glaring.

“We aren’t letting you through. Especially not you, poser,” the leader of the pack says. “Our teams are healed up, and we have every potion in the building to ourselves. We could go ‘til the end of the world if we had to.”

The last time someone had said that in Akari’s vicinity, the only thing that had stopped them was the frenzy of the new Lord Arcanine. He isn’t here. Dawn is already reaching for a pokéball, eyes narrowed.

Akari will have to do, then. She sighs, stretches, takes the leader by his ridiculous shirt collar, and with as much force as she can throws him down the corridor.

The other grunts scream, scattering. The leader scrambles after them, half running, half on all fours from where he’d been thrown. Akari whispers a thank-you to Kamado, and grabs Dawn’s hand again.

“Dude,” she whispers. “That was wild. You could rival a Heracross.”

“Perhaps a very small one. The man who taught me that certainly could, though.”

Dawn whistles. “He must be really good.”

“I’ll pass that on to him when I get home.”

There’s the exit. Dawn breaks into a sprint, tugging Akari behind her. It’s unguarded, presumably because the grunts guarding it had seen the rest of their numbers barrelling away from them and decided to follow suit-

Or, perhaps, the Garchomp that had caused the gaping hole in the door beyond had scared them off.

“Cynthia. Hello. Good timing.” Dawn leans against the part of the door that still exists.

“I thought I might be needed here. Looker contacted me, told me it was happening. Akari, what do we need to do?”

Cynthia is looking at Akari, expression gentle but steely. It reminds her very strongly of Cyllene in the days where the sky was red. A little more hope finds its way into her heart.

“We go to the Temple of Sinnoh. Your Spear Pillar. We go now, and we go as fast as we can.”

“Alright. My Crobat will get me there in no time. I’ll stand in their way. Unless-” Dawn looks up at Cynthia. “Maybe you should do that instead. You’re the champion. You know how to deal with this stuff.”

Cynthia shakes her head. “I think you’re more capable than me, in that respect. I hate to send a child to do my work for me, but…” She glances at Akari. Her hand is resting on her bag. “I can explain later. We’ll have more time then.”

Dawn nods. “Affirmative. It means a lot that you trust me with this, Cynthia. So I’ll take off now.” She squeezes Akari’s hand one more time, then dashes outside, calling Crobat’s name. “Take me to Spear Pillar,” she whispers to it, just loud enough that Akari can hear. “We’re gonna save the world.”

Akari watches her swoop into the air and disappear. Cynthia’s Garchomp nudges her gently.

“Yes. I should go, too. And you, Cynthia.”

“I don’t know if I should. It’s my duty, but there’s a chance… I might cause something to go wrong. I don’t want that.”

“No.” Akari reaches out a hand, slips it into Cynthia’s. “You’re needed. Necessary. Dawn will arrive first, then me, then you, and we all take the next step forward together.”

“The next step forward..?”

“I don’t know what that is yet. But I know it happens.”

Cynthia nods. “Alright. I trust that. I trust you.”

Akari squeezes her hand, and she squeezes back.

A moment later, Akari is soaring through the sky with Garchomp. She can feel the wind part as it cuts the air like a knife. It’s exhilarating, and somehow also serene. This is the least afraid she’s ever felt, this high up in the air. She knows she isn’t going to fall.

They’re approaching the Temple of Sinnoh now. It’s strange to see it like this, even after this long. She can see why it’s been named Spear Pillar in this time, even if she doesn’t like it.

As she gets closer, figures become clearer. The teal and grey monotony of Galactic grunts, a familiar pink-clad figure fighting her way through them, the distinctive silhouettes of the remaining Commanders. There is one very singular figure she notices as Garchomp prepares to swoop down, hidden behind a pillar, wearing the posture of another man.

“There,” she whispers. “Looker. Can you take me to him?”

Garchomp nods, and hurtles into a descent. Her heart races as she plummets down through the air, but Garchomp is skilled, and glides smoothly to a stop. She strokes its head gently as she climbs down from its back, and as soon as her feet touch the floor she realises that this is the last time she will set foot on Sinnoh’s land.

She does not have time to linger on that thought, however, because Looker has scooped her up into a smothering hug.

“Akari! I was worried some terrible fate had befallen you.”

“I’m ok. I’m alright.” She holds him as tight as she can. He’s wearing his coat, hidden under his illusion. She cannot tell if the feel of the fabric is making her cry less or more.

“This-” Looker sounds as if he is choking back tears himself. “This is the last time I can hug you, I think.”

“It is. I’m sorry.”

“Do not be. You want to go home, do you not?”

“Yes.”

“Then I am happy for you. I will miss you, but I am happy for you.”

“I’ll miss you too. Thank you for everything, Looker.”

“And thank you, Akari.” He pauses. “The carving in the Solaceon Ruins - I saw it for myself for the first time not too long ago. It made me think of you. You make me think of it now.”

“All lives touch other lives to create something anew and alive.”

“Yes. You have done that for me.”

“And you for me.” Akari pulls back from the hug, only a little, enough to look him in the eyes. “I think that’s the other reason I’m here. To save the world, and to touch other lives. I’m glad I did that part well.”

Looker smiles. “Very well indeed. I do not like saying goodbye, but I think our agent Sunrise’s battle is drawing to a close, and then I believe it is your turn to step in.” The cries of a fallen Purugly and a hiss of breath from Mars affirm that, and Akari nods.

“It’s not a full goodbye. I can still text you. I’m sure the phone will still work.”

“I hope that is the case.” Behind them, a Skuntank cries out along with Jupiter. “But- Stay a moment longer, if you can. Dawn will stall, I am sure.”

Akari nods, and buries her face in his fur once again. They cry, silently, but there’s a little joy in it. Akari will never forget Looker. Looker will never forget Akari. They are family. Space and time cannot take that from them.

A heavy, strange stillness fills the air.

Akari turns to watch what happens next. She has seen it before, but it would be wrong to ignore it this time.

Dialga and Palkia have already emerged. Both unfrenzied, both watching Cyrus.

He is holding the red chain out, and it floats into the air - no, two red chains. He has manufactured another, to hold the two of them at the same time, no, no, no- Akari screams as the chains take hold, because she knows now that this time they work, but no sound comes out. Everything is silent, even the cries of space and time as they thrash and flail and try to break free. The Commanders and Dawn are frozen, side by side. Cynthia sprints up the temple steps, but stops short once she can see it all. Looker is holding Akari’s hand very tightly.

Something else is here.

It’s interrupting the stillness and the silence, seeping through the cracks of the stone floor, building up and up and up until it towers above Cyrus, above even the stone pillars, wings spreading out behind it, dripping shadow, dense and liquid. Akari can hear her own breathing again, and Looker’s pounding heart. It pulls the silence, the stillness, the wrongness in towards itself, and the chains shatter.

Dialga and Palkia disappear with the chains, back to wherever they were summoned from. All that the temple is left with is Giratina.

It is watching the onlookers. All of them. Its gaze passes through each grunt, the Commanders, Dawn, Cynthia, Looker, Akari. For a moment, when it is looking at her, it feels as if the world is unwinding, or something inside her is unravelling, and then it looks away and the feeling is gone.

It settles its gaze on Cyrus. He is looking up at it, motionless, expressionless.

Giratina rises from the temple, hanging in the air, and the spearlike pillars warp around it, its heavy gravity distorting them. It stays there, watching, waiting, for an eternal moment, and then it dives.

When the shadows clear, it is gone. Cyrus is, too. All that is left of them is a pool of darkness.

Behind them, Mars falls to her knees and screams.

That breaks the spell. The crowd of grunts begin to back away, then turn almost as one, running down the stairs of the temple, parting around Cynthia like a river parts around a rock. Jupiter is shaking. Dawn is still, clutching a pokéball to her chest. Mars is weeping. Cynthia is staring straight ahead.

This is the next step.

“I have to go now, Looker,” she says. His illusion is gone completely, his true form plainly visible. “I need to make sure Dawn and Cynthia do what needs to be done. I’ll send you a message when I’m home. I promise.”

He nods. Akari squeezes his paw, gently. He squeezes back. Keep safe, I love you, I’ll miss you, my friend hangs in the air, unspoken.

She wishes she could linger, but she cannot. She has a duty to fulfil.

Dawn first, then Cynthia. She steps out from behind the pillar, and begins the walk over to Dawn. It feels much longer than it actually is, with everyone’s eyes on her, to cross this section of temple floor. She tries to ignore it.

She fails.

“Polaris, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Jupiter. There’s pain in their voice, hidden under the hatred, and Mars is still curled up on the ground, weeping into the stone. She can spare a little time to tend to them.

“Hello. I’m sorry, Jupiter.”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it. That- Look at you. You’re calm. You don’t care. You were hiding behind that pillar- I should have known. I should have figured you out.”

“Don’t blame yourself. You wanted to trust me. That made it easier.”

“Shut up. Cyrus is dead, and it’s your fault.”

She’s right, Akari realises. If she hadn’t freed the lake guardians, Giratina would not have arrived in time. They went to warn it. Jupiter thinks she orchestrated it all, but she was just a piece of the puzzle.

“All of this was set in motion long ago,” she finds herself saying. “Cyrus was the first catalyst. I was the last.” She kneels, reaching out to take Mars’s hands. “And he is not dead. Displaced, yes, but alive. I know Giratina would not kill him.”

Mars looks up at her, teary-eyed. “Please don’t be lying. Please.”

“I’m not. I promise. Do you want a hug? I understand if you don’t. I betrayed you. I’m sorry I did that.”

“You had to, didn’t you? You were following orders.”

Akari nods. “I was. I was sent here by Arceus to aid in preventing Cyrus from ending the world. I did what I had to. I wish it hurt you less.”

Mars watches her for a moment, then reaches out and buries her head in Akari’s shoulder. Akari holds her tight, letting her cry.

“Y’know,” she says, after a minute or so, “all those rumours about you, and nobody got it right. ‘Cause you’re telling the truth this time. I don’t know how I know, but I do.”

“There’s no point in lying to you anymore.”

“And now you’ve stopped him, so you’re leaving.”

“Yes.”

Mars sniffs. “Don’t wanna lose two friends in one day. Can you- is it possible to bring him back?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll try.”

“Thanks. Mmf.” She pries herself from Akari’s grip, and smiles a smile much like the one Rei wore after the battle with Lady Lilligant. “Should get going, before someone tries to arrest me. You stay safe out there, wherever you’re going, alright?”

“I will. I hope you do too.”

They both stand. Mars links arms with Jupiter, who is still glaring at Akari, but they don’t seem to have their heart in it anymore. “C’mon, let’s get outta here. Saturn’s probably waiting at the base for us. Cyrus’ll be alright. We got Polaris on our side for real this time, so it’ll-” she wipes her eyes with her sleeve - “It’ll all be fine.”

Jupiter nods, and the two set off. Akari catches a glimpse of Looker following them silently, before all three disappear.

Her heart hurts. This is too many goodbyes all at once, and there are more to go still.

She turns to Dawn, who is already looking at her.

“We have to go in there, don’t we?” she says, very quietly.

“Yes.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Do you think holding my hand would help?”

“Probably.” She slips her hand into Akari’s, closing her eyes. “D’you know what that was? The pokémon that- that took Cyrus away?”

“Its name is Giratina. It’s a kind pokémon, even if it looks scary. We’ll see it again when we go in, so I want you to know it doesn’t want to hurt you.”

“Alright. That helps a little. Where’s Cynthia?”

“Here.” Cynthia’s heels click on the stone floor as she half-runs towards them. “I was- lost in thought. We’ll call it lost in thought. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck no. But I’ll do what I have to.”

Cynthia pats Dawn on the shoulder. “I’d tell you to mind your language if we hadn’t just witnessed three legendary pokémon at the same time. Akari, you should lead, I think.”

Akari nods. Dawn clings onto her hand tightly, shaking her head.

“Nuh-uh. I’m going in at the same time as her. No way am I risking whatever that is closing behind her, cause then she’d be alone, and I made a promise.”

“In that case-” Cynthia scoops Dawn’s hand into hers - “we’ll all go together. Is that better?”

Dawn nods. “Yeah. Thanks, Cynthia. I’m glad you’re here with us.”

“I am too.”

“It’s time to go,” Akari says, softly, in a voice that’s only half hers. The other two nod.

Together, they step into the darkness.