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Chapter 77
Ember Hideout
Char kept the tournament rules simple: pin the opponent down for five seconds to win. Lose twice and you're eliminated. Grand prize was another guaranteed position on Team Ember. (Char still hadn't told anyone that he was probably just going to accept everybody, but he wanted to see how his new teammates performed when there were stakes on the line…)
And now, after an intense two-and-a-half hours of watching his new recruits showcase their agility beneath the hollow-yet-secure comfort of their new base, the final, decisive battle had commenced. And this would truly be the final battle; there was only enough sunlight left in the sky to make it back to the Gold Division if everyone left within the hour. Time was up; the tournament needed to end here.
Dragonbane and Gemstone.
"You. I can't believe my last opponent is you," Gemstone groaned, trying to hide her exhaustion from her previous four battles.
Dragonbane showed no exhaustion whatsoever. "I'm the only one who hasn't lost once," he boasted. "And meanwhile, you lost to a bug."
"Hey! He's a tough bug! Very twitchy, good at dodging!" Gemstone said, winking at Nincada. "Seriously, he'd make a good teammate."
"T-thank you," Nincada meekly buzzed. "I really tried my best…"
"By the way, whoever wrote the brackets needs to be lobotomized," Kerzek shouted at the Skitty. "You only beat me because of typing. You know that, right?"
The Skitty cast her an odd glance. "Why do you even care? You didn't even need to fight at all. You were already hired!"
"It's a matter of pride," Kerzek hissed, crossing her arms. "Ugh. And here I didn't think you actually knew any fairy attacks… you play pretty rough, kid."
He turned to the purple Nidoran. "Speaking of pride… if you want, you could forfeit and let me stand undefeated… and I wouldn't have to humiliate you. What'dya say, huh?"
"Not a chance," growled the Nidoran, scratching a claw on the floor. "If only one of us is going to be hired, it's going to be me."
"Suit yourself," Dragonbane sighed, playfully swishing his tail.
Dragonbane pounced, twisting in midair to deliver a nice energy-charged smack of the tail. Gemstone quickly projected a protective barrier and bounced him away, sending him tumbling to the side.
"Nobody else noticed you started all your battles with that move," Gemstone scoffed. "But I'm not everyone else."
"I'm gonna beat you like everyone else!" shouted the Skitty, scrambling back to his feet and charging forward to deliver a basic tackle-attack.
Gemstone stepped out of the way and Dragonbane went tumbling again.
"Not gonna beat me if you keep it up with the weak stuff like that," Gemstone teased.
The Nidoran's body flashed with energy, and she loosed a small stream of ice at her target. The attack connected, but Dragonbane shrugged it off. He once again pounced for another body slam attack, which Gemstone easily sidestepped again.
"Seriously? All those battles and you can only pounce at me?" said Gemstone. "You really don't know how to battle, do you? Where are your ranged attacks? Don't you know I how easily I could poison you if you touched one of my spikes?"
Gemstone was about to shout something else, but she widened her eyes stepped backwards. "Ohhhhh… I see what's going on here," she hummed. "You want me to poison you! Don't you! Because you know that one trick… the one where… Ugh, I forgot its name. But you know it, don't you?"
"It's called 'façade', and yep, you got me. Guilty as charged!" Dragonbane taunted. "Poison me, and I'll just turn it into more power! And not only that, but I know how to heal myself when I'm done, too!"
"Well… guess I can't paralyze you either, then," Gemstone grumbled. "And here I was going to finish you off with a nice thunderbolt, too."
"So you're giving up, then?" taunted her opponent.
Gemstone leapt forward to headbutt him, but he readily tumbled out of the way.
The rest of the crowd watched the battle from a comfortable distance. Though the tournament initially started with much excitement and uproar, the recruits eventually found themselves exhausted from a full day of construction work, battling, and an impromptu conspiracy. By the second hour, they mostly stayed quiet and waited to see the outcome of the last fight.
"Huh. Façade. I haven't seen that one in a long time," Scarlet mentioned to Char. "Not a lot of Pokémon practice that move."
"He—he uses new moves in every battle, I noticed," commented Zona. "Except for that tail thing he always does at the start."
"Yeah. I think his whole thing is a façade," said Zachel as she leaned against a Seviper at her side. "Always trying to make you think you can predict him… but you can't. Honestly I kind of like it."
The adorable scuffle lasted for two more minutes, with Dragonbane always pouncing with weak melee attacks, and Gemstone hilariously trying to fend him off while not poking him with her poison points.
"Hey, if your strategy is to slowly whittle down my patience until I make a mistake, you'll have to try something else," warned Gemstone, now sounding more concerned than competitive. "Remember, this battle is on a deadline. Sunlight's running out."
Dragonbane made an evil smirk at her.
"Sunlight's running out, you say?" he said, stepping back and crouching down to focus energy. "Well, it just so happens that I've saved some up for you! Hah-hah-hah!"
Gemstone rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother…"
Dragonbane closed his eyes, gathering a yellow light inside him. The thoroughly unimpressed Nidoran casually sauntered over to him.
"Solar beam? Really?" she squeaked. "Firstly, you really shouldn't call your attacks, only super-lame Pokémon do that. Why would you want to tell your opponent what you're doing? Secondly, I'm resistant to solar beams, and you're not a grass-type, so it won't do you much good even if you did hit me. Thirdly, you have to charge it up and it leaves you super open for attacks. More than enough time to me to pin you."
The Nidoran jumped up with her front paws and somewhat pinned down Dragonbane as he was still stuck in his prone state. "Honestly, kiddo, I think you should stick to slaying dragons. Count of one, count of two…"
Dragonbane lurched up and released his solar beam, striking Gemstone point-blank in the face. It flashed almost as brightly as a thunderbolt, and Char reflexively covered his eyes. A pained squeal came from Gemstone as she struck the ground some distance away, followed by a shocked gasp from the onlookers.
"Urk… ow…" Gemstone groaned, laying on her side to rest for a moment. "That… that hurt much more than I was expecting…"
This time, it was Dragonbane's turn to saunter smugly over to his downed opponent, where he mockingly pinned her down for five seconds with just his tail.
"It's called 'I normalized the attack'. Maybe it's you who has a lot more to learn about fighting. Also…"
He stepped around to the front and whispered quietly into her ear: "You might not realize this, Gemstone, but even though you have the body of a little purple bunny… you are a dragon."
"What-?" croaked Gemstone. But the Skitty wasn't listening anymore. He hummed a little melody as he swaggered his way back to Char to receive his congratulations, and Ray rushed over to the Nidoran with a healing berry in paw.
"Well, now! We have our champion!" Char announced, extending a paw to the proud-standing fighter. "Awesome work, Dragonbane. I think you'll be great at defending our team out in the field-"
"Hire us both," Dragonbane demanded.
Char shut his mouth for a moment, taken off-guard by the forwardness of the Skitty's command. The Skitty only tilted his head, waiting interestedly for a response.
"What? You, and Gemstone both?" Char said after a moment.
The Skitty nodded. "It's both of us, or it's neither of us. That's my offer," he put forth with surprising confidence. "I know you think she's annoying and you weren't going to hire her. That's why I have to do this. So if you want me, you have to take her too."
Char and Eva exchanged some surprised looks. "Well? It's not an unreasonable demand," Eva admitted. "She was the runner up."
Even if she is a loudmouth brat, Eva added in telepathy. But that's an issue I will be happy to work on later.
The Skitty glanced back to see Ray still helping up the little Nidoran as she came to her senses. "I want her as a teammate," he stated. "I think we would work great together. I have a lot to learn and she knows what she's talking about. Even if it doesn't seem like it… there's something inside of her that will make our team stronger. I promise."
Char crossed his arms and pretended to consider the Skitty's proposal. He glanced around the room at all the recruits, particularly the ones who assumed they completely lost their chances. Evan and Asunder were already pawing at the supply bag, putting away the scarves and spare berries they'd used for the fight. Lyre was oddly staring out the front door, as though excited for the first glimpse of the Watchers.
It was getting more difficult to see everyone in the waning sunlight. Char only realized this when he noticed that he could see the flickering of his tail fire on Dragonbane's fur.
"Well," he finally said, "how about I just let everyone in? I don't see anyone here who's completely incompatible with the team. I'm pretty sure I have room for everyone, and I need all the help I can get."
"…Oh! Okay, that works too," Dragonbane chirped, turning and walking back to the Nidoran. "Hey! Gemstone, did you hear that? We're teammates now! For real! You're stuck with me!"
"…Lovely," Gemstone groaned.
On that note, Char went to go retrieve the Frozen Flame from the center of the room near the ghostly campfire. "Alright, everyone! Mission's over for the day!" he announced to all. "Yeah, I've decided I don't really need to let anyone go. So anybody who wasn't confirmed yet, if you're still interested in joining Team Ember, I'll give you two days to move in. You know where to find me; come by anytime you'd like and we'll have a room for you. That's it! Time to pack up and go home."
"Hey, did you hear that?" Zachel dryly said to the snake beside her. "Char never specified who he was talking to. That means you can join the team! Wanna share a room?"
Seviper responded by thwacking her on the back of the head with the side of his tail-blade. "Hah. Nice try, tiger. See you around." And he slithered back to the Croagunk and Dusknoir who awaited his return.
Everyone made one last round of clean-up, checking for loose supplies and handing them off to Zachel and Ray. Kerzek needed a few minutes to put out the ghost-fire. Char carefully and reverently set the frozen flame back into its pouch, before handing it off to Ray as well. It had served its purpose for the day, protecting the present fire-types from sustaining injuries during the renovation project. He wondered if he should bring it back for the next stage of the project, when they'd have to start furnishing and stocking the base for actual use.
"Hey. Humans," hissed Eva, discreetly approaching Char and the nearby Quilava. "I've come up with something, if you'll hear me out. Scarlet… I believe I know how you could best help out on this team."
Scarlet shivered for a brief moment. "Keep it down about the human thing, please. Char might like to flaunt it, but I don't."
"Understood," Eva affirmed, showing due humility in her voice. "But it's relevant to my idea. You mentioned once or twice that you are a teacher, is that right?"
"Occasionally, yes," Scarlet said.
"And the age ranges you prefer to teach?"
"Oh! Hatchlings, mainly," she said with a small grin. "I'm good with children."
"Perfect," Eva said. "Listen… Char at present faces a certain problem, and I think you might be the solution. He… needs to learn footprints, and he needs to learn them very fast. Because you profess yourself a teacher, and because you must have also endured the same process of learning the local language, you might be able to teach him more effectively than anyone else."
Scarlet looked halfway shocked. She blinked at Char. "Really? You don't know footprints yet? Huh, I never would have guessed."
"…Yeah," Char halfheartedly admitted. "I haven't had time to make a lot of progress. And you've been a Pokémon for much longer than I have…"
"Do have any literacy? Whatsoever?"
"Almost nothing," Char said, scratching the floor with his toe-claws. "I've been trying to study for a while, but nothing sticks. I only know how to write my own name! But… that's it. I can read Unown just fine, though, like… you know, normal humans."
"Um… how did you memorize the Resistance Creed, then?" Scarlet wondered.
"Saura and Ray read it to me," Char said. "But Eva is right. High Intelligence ordered me to learn footprint runes. And I haven't been doing a very good job of it. So if there's any chance… what do you think?"
A weird look of bewilderment passed across Scarlet's face, as though she still couldn't comprehend the idea that this renowned and accomplished Charmander was completely illiterate.
"Oh… well, yes, that's certainly something I can do," Scarlet said, letting her warm smile return. "Sure, Char. I'll be happy to teach you. But um… there's just one part I'm not so sure about. You said you're on some kind of a deadline? What… kind of time frame are we talking?"
A few days, Char wanted to say. But I can't tell her that. That's ludicrous.
Then don't, Eva suggested telepathically. If you can't force it, you can't force it. At this point, either you're going to learn some basics, or nothing at all. We'll just have to face that High Intelligence is going to be somewhat disappointed in you. But do your best. It's better than nothing.
"I… uh—" Char sputtered, looking at the floor, trying to decide on a good lie. Finally he settled with saying: "A year."
"Oh, that's just fine. No trouble at all!" Scarlet reassured him. "I bet I can get you to a basic level of literacy in half that time. That's about how long it took me when I… first learned. And besides, you know this isn't an uncommon problem, right? Adult illiteracy? What do you think happens when they civilize ferals? Wild Pokémon don't automatically learn how to read. So it's really nothing to be ashamed about."
Char sighed. "Ah, I guess that's true," he said. "Maybe I should have asked Otto how he learned to read so fast. Maybe I could have gone to the daycare and taken one of those civilizing programs… if I had the time for it."
Scarlet got down on all fours. "Hey. Here. Look at this," she invited.
With a foreclaw, the Quilava traced a small shape in the thin layer of construction-dust still covering the floor. Char squinted to see. It looked like a little tulip. Or maybe a badge.
"This is where it all begins," Scarlet said. "This is a Bulbasaur-print. The first glyph anyone learns. The first glyph in the footprint-set."
"I thought Rhydon was the first in the set," Eva cut in.
Scarlet scowled. "That's… a completely different set. A very old one," she replied. "What are you, four hundred years old, or something?"
"Why yes, as a matter of fact – Oh, forget it," Eva said indignantly, stomping off somewhere else.
There was a satisfied gleam in Scarlet's eye as she watched the Espeon walk away, which gave way to a quiet chuckle. But Scarlet soon enough turned her attention back to Char. "Anyway, here. A five-minute lesson. This Bulbasaur-print. This is like… the footprint version of a pronoun. When you draw it facing up, like this, it means 'I'. That's it. It indicates the writer. Understand?"
"Yeah, alright."
"And when you draw it upside-down, like this, it means 'you'. And when you draw it sideways, it means 'them'. Simple so far, right? So it's like the Pokémon version of a personal pronoun."
"Uh-huh…"
"Now, you can also compound it with other words, and then it becomes a possessive pronoun, too. Like this…"
Scarlet scribbled some other footprint. Next to it, she wrote something Char actually recognized – his own name, which he oddly enough noticed, contained the same footprint. "So… this word here is 'flame', okay? Now if I draw the Bulbasaur-print sideways between these two words, it means "The flame that belongs to Char."
Char looked for a prolonged moment at the scribbles, feeling like it might just be starting to make some sense.
"But… what if you drew the Bulbasaur-print pointed the other way?" Char wondered. "Would it mean… the Char that belongs to the flame?"
"Yes… but that's considered bad grammar," Scarlet said. "Usually you never write a backwards possessive like that, because the backwards Bulbasaur print is supposed to mean something else. It's complicated. But that doesn't stop a lot of Pokémon from writing like that anyway! It's a slang thing. But for now… think you can figure out how to write that sentence the correct way?"
Char thought for a moment, then reached down to scribble his own scratch-marks beneath the Quilava's. He copied the glyphs as precisely as he could, in the opposite order, with the forward-facing Bulbasaur-print between them.
"Hey! You got it!" Scarlet cheered. "Though, less spacing between the words next time. The possessive Bulbasaur-print is supposed to be like an apostrophe. They're supposed to all run together. But congratulations! Your first grammatically-coherent sentence fragment!"
"Heh. Yeah. I guess it is!" Char awkwardly laughed, somewhat proud of himself. "And I guess… if you write it with too much space in between and make them separate words… does it mean… 'Char, them, and the flame?'"
Scarlet was surprised. "That's absolutely right!" she laughed.
Char looked down at his own claws, wondering if they had the hidden power to write footprints the entire time. Deep in his fire, there came a strange sense of deep relief. "Yeah, I… I guess I just needed someone to start me out on the right foot. No pun intended."
Scarlet stood back up. "Keep that up, Char, and I'll have you reading entire storybooks by this time next year," she said, sounding very pleased. "Now let's get all these kiddos back to the base. Don't want to get caught by the Watchers and be putting Raon's lessons to the test quite this soon."
"…Thank you, Scarlet," Char simply said, not sure what else to add.
"Oh! Don't thank me yet. We've still got a long ways to go," Scarlet told Char.
There were a lot of things Char wanted to thank her for. For being so smart, for giving him confidence, for trusting him with her secret, and just… for offering a type of company he hadn't felt since his transformation, a type of company he never realized he wanted so badly. He just wanted to figure out how to say it in a way that didn't sound awkward.
But then, there was a commotion at the front door. A violent flapping of wings.
Char turned in surprise, expecting to see Tallie returning with her squadron, reporting in for the trip home. Instead, he saw the last Pokémon in the world he expected to see.
A Pidgeotto.
"Char. Where is Char." Otto squawked, scrambling to a landing and darting his eyes around the room. "I need Char. It's important."
"Wow! Otto, you're flying already?!" Ray cried.
"I was not ready to fly. But I needed to find Char," he gasped. "They ordered me. I knew where Team Ember went today. Nobody else."
Then Otto's gaze landed on the Charmander who still sat on the floor in front of the scribbles of footprints. Without so much as a friendly greeting, Otto flapped his wings and closed the distance.
"You are needed at the base," Otto informed him.
"Uh… yeah, we were about to head back!" Char said. "In fact, I think we were just ready to leave. We can leave right now!"
Otto shook his head. "No. You don't understand. By orders of High Intelligence. You are needed back at the base. With immediacy. You are already late."
"Um… what do you mean?" Char said. "I didn't have any kind of appointment today… I don't think?"
"They told me nothing else," Otto said, "but to bring you back as fast as possible. Tallie is waiting outside. She can fly you back faster than I. Go now."
Even as Otto began nudging and pushing Char along towards the door, Char tried to take one last look back at all the Pokémon he was being forced to leave behind. "Ray! Can you –"
"Yeah! We got this, don't worry!" Ray called to him. "And Raon will help with the Watchers if they come out! Go take care of whatever!"
Char let himself be ushered out the door, still trying to fathom what had gone wrong. What had he missed? Was there an appointment? Was there an emergency? Why did Otto say he was late? What did that even mean?
Whatever sense of relief that Scarlet's lesson had brought, it was gone. Now he felt the panic mounting with every heartbeat, every flicker of his rising flame. He tried to suppress his panic. That's what a good team leader was supposed to do: never panic, stand strong, be the bastion of strength and confidence in difficult times. But he found it a very difficult ideal to follow when he had absolutely no idea what was going on.
And because he seemed to be alone. There would be no team to inspire confidence into. He was leaving them behind.
"Get on," Tallie urged, poising herself to be mounted on the back. "And before you ask, I don't have any more of a clue than you do."
"Talle… will you come back to the hideout after you drop me off?" Char asked. "Help the team make it home safely?"
"Depends, is that an official order?" Tallie squawked. "I was hoping to see what the heck got Otto all ruffled up. But I'll do what you say. You're the leader."
"…Yeah. I think you should help bring the recruits home," Char decided, holding tightly to the Talonflame's shoulders and bracing himself to be airborne. "I'm worried for them, and It's getting a bit dark. Remember to make them split into groups, just like we came."
"Making me fly through the Watchers, I see how it is," Tallie hissed. "Alright, fine. I know my orders. Now let's go."
Division Base
Otto was right. Tallie flew pretty fast when she needed. Especially when she propelled herself with her fire-power. He began to realize just why Team Flamewheel had relied on her to fly to the Basin Canyon so frequently…
Unfortunately, Tallie made no effort to make the flight easy on Char's stomach. Tallie almost never carried riders on her back, but in her talons, and somehow Char found this experience to be even worse. The altitude-shifts and sudden lurches made Char sick to his ember. By the time he set foot on solid ground again, only six-or-so minutes later, he could barely stand.
"You didn't bring a Pecha berry with you, by chance…?" he groaned as he stumbled around, ultimately deciding to just walk on all fours… but by the time he turned back around, the Talonflame was already a speck against the sunset-colored sky.
Something felt wrong about this, so very wrong. Every step that Char made through the Cliffside Academy, down the tunnel, past the stationed guards who were all where they were supposed to be… everything made him feel like he was going in the wrong direction. Every fiber of his instincts told him to run away.
Something had shifted in the fatestream. Something was breaking. This felt like the Temporal Tower mission. He knew he was never meant to go to the Temporal Tower mission, according to his master plan… and this felt the same way. But he pressed onward, step after step, waiting any moment for some horrible to truth to be made clear.
He returned to a resistance base in a state he'd never quite seen before. At least, not from this perspective. The torches were blue. The floors were dead. The crowds were gone. Only a haunted stillness hung over the vast empty cavern and its surrounding halls, broken by the occasional sounds of faraway Pokémon shuffling quietly through the corridors. This was a kind of resistance base he was sure the nocturnal teams were used to, those who made a living off braving the Watcher swarms on a regular basis. (There weren't a lot of those, he always noticed… and he could think of several morbid reasons why…)
But worst of all… and, Char realized, the reason he felt so much dread… was the loneliness. His team was not beside him. He was about to dive headlong into some unplanned, unpredictable twist of fate… without Team Ember. And that felt so… wrong.
This is not something I would have put into my master plan, he told himself. There's no way I would have made myself do something totally alone. Is there?
Hesitantly, Char ducked into the stairwell that would take him quickly up to the level of his home base. He slowly climbed the steps, listening to his claws clacking against the stone, and the pulsing rumble of his ember within - his only remaining friend and ally.
He thought maybe if he walked slowly enough, it would give Team Ember a chance to catch up. Whatever the big rush was all about, surely it could wait a few minutes more… right?
But when he stopped at his normal floor and tried to leave the stairwell… a Pokémon stood in front of him, blocking his way. It took Char a moment to recognize the Pokémon's figure in the soft blue light of the torches: Xatu, of High Intelligence.
"No, not this way," Xatu said. "You are needed elsewhere. One floor more."
"T-Team Remorse? You mean?"
"Correct," Xatu said softly. "Now hurry."
Char hesitantly stepped back. "What… But I… Can't I stop by my hall to get some supplies?"
Xatu quietly shook her head. "No. You've run out of time."
"Time for what…?" Char squeaked, letting the bird usher him back onto the stairs. "What's going on, Xatu? Please tell me, I don't want to go into this blind. Whatever this is."
"You should know exactly what's going on, human," Xatu said quietly. "Tell me, though: have you learned to read and write in the footprint set, and fluently, as we've asked?"
"N-no! But! I… I'm going to! I promise!" Char sputtered. "I just found a way! I just found someone who will teach me! Things are going to be just fine!"
Xatu softly sighed. "Ah. I'm sorry to say… but that deadline has passed. It does not matter anymore."
"NO! Wait! WAIT! I thought I had… a few more days left!" Char cried, beginning to panic.
"Plans have changed," Xatu said. "The enemy has made its move, and now we must do the same. Because you have failed to fulfill the final condition set before you, there is only one way remaining to make right the course of fate: you must accompany our forces to Basin Canyon. As we speak, they are nearly ready to leave. Now, all that matters is that you must face your destiny, and come whatever may."
"Please!" Char tried. "Let me get something out of my room!"
"No. You cannot."
"Can I at least bring some teammates along?"
"You may not."
Char knew his fire wanted to flare. Despite his best efforts to remain calm and contained, he chose to give in, to listen to his instincts telling him to stand up for himself and stay on the correct path.
"No," Char decided, standing two stairsteps ahead of Xatu and turning around. "No. I'm not doing this. Not without at least one of my teammates. Please don't make me do this alone. They're going to be here soon, I promise. Just… please, Xatu. I'm begging you."
Xatu closed her eyes and tilted her head downward, holding her wings closed.
"Char…" she whispered. "Understand something. I… I am on your side. I always have been. And I do not mean the side of the resistance. Not the side of Alakazam, Metagross, and Orde. But your side. Personally yours. I and my predecessors, we have protected your plan through the decades of the history of the resistance."
"…My plan?" Char gasped, feeling his legs shake at the realization.
"You visited me, in your human form," Xatu replied. "You've given me the title of Overseer. The one to oversee your development into a competent Pokémon. Into a warrior. But you must understand: everything comes down to tonight. Everything hinges on the events which are about to transpire. This is not Team Ember's, or Team Remorse's plan, or the Master's plan. This is your plan. You must go to Basin Canyon, and you must go there alone. No teammates. Just Team Remorse, their allies, and you. Tonight, Arceus willing… you will shape the very course of the future, so your grand plan may come to pass."
"What… what is my plan, Xatu?" Char breathed. "Please, if you know… I want to know, too…"
But Xatu only hummed, "You never told me. Nothing you've told me, or left for me, extends past tonight. This is the end of my involvement. And now that finally I stand and stare into the blinding rays of the great deadline you've set before me… I can only hope I that have served you well."
Even though Char began to understand that he could not waste a single moment more… he paused to breathe deep and collect himself. He looked down at the Xatu who guided him up the stairs, and who'd been there to guide him all along.
He began to fathom, just barely, the extent to which this Xatu, this 'Overseer', had played in it all. Sending him on missions, vouching for him in front of Alakazam, giving him the best of the resources the base had to offer… That all of it, and perhaps so much more, had been arranged so very far in advance by the nameless, faceless human he used to be.
But he didn't have the time, especially with his tiny Charmander brain, to meditate on what this meant. He didn't have the time to stop and realize all that Xatu had done for him, all the ways she intervened and mediated and built the culture of the resistance enough to suit his needs.
So instead he breathed deeply, looked down at her, and spoke as he imagined his human-self would speak: "I understand. Thank you for everything… Overseer. Whatever is about to happen… I hope it works."
"Go," Xatu ordered again, still with her eyes closed. "Go to Team Remorse. They will take you the rest of the way."
Xatu then vanished, and Char found himself once again alone.
He doubled his pace up the stairs, and burst out into the corridor one floor above his team's hall. This was a corridor he knew well and walked often, especially back when he was new and spent the nights with Scythe. It was a path he still walked whenever Team Ember needed to ask for help from Team Remorse. So familiar, and yet now, so unknown. With the silence and stillness of the hallway, he never would have guessed tonight would mark an important point in Ambera's destiny.
Alas, it was just him, a Charmander beneath the deep blue light of the torches, and nothing to stand in his way between him and the closed door to Team Remorse…
He kept thinking… Is it really that bad? What if I… what if I just rushed back downstairs right now? The ghosts never sleep. I could get something from storage. Or I could go back to our supply closet. There's some stuff in there too. It wouldn't take more than two minutes, and I could rush right back up here… that couldn't possibly be too bad, could it…?
"Char," whispered a sudden voice from beside him. It was not Xatu, but it was a voice he recognized.
Jerking back to attention, he turned to notice that one of the hallway doors had opened slightly. It was some team's hall, some high-level team that he never happened crossed paths with. A pair of eyes peeked at him through the crack.
"I know you're in a hurry," said the voice. "Get in, quick."
Char did so, as soon as he recognized the voice. It was an unexpected voice, for certain, and definitely not one that belonged to whatever team resided in that hall. But the voice was not an unwelcome one, given the circumstances…
"Eva!" Char gasped, ducking into the room. "H-how did you get back here so fast?"
"I ran," she said with a tilt of her head. "I know they're trying to separate you from your team. But I'm not leaving you. I don't care where they're taking you. I'm coming too."
"Eva… no, you can't," Char croaked with so much reluctance. "This is… look, I would really want you to come along, honest, but… you can't let them see you…"
"Master. Look me deep into the eyes," she bid to him. "Look at me when I say: I'm not leaving you. I am immortal. Nothing can stop me. Nothing will. Wherever they're taking you, I will come. I will be unseen. I can sneak in, and they'll never notice me. So whatever you're doing, you won't be doing it alone."
Char balked so painfully. How badly he wanted to thank Eva for coming, for being there for him when none of his other teammates could… but if Xatu had forbidden it, would it go against his master plan?
"Eva, I… I don't know if I can…" Char tried to say, looking nervously over his shoulder and back out the door. "Just don't… ruin anything, okay? I have no idea what's going on."
"I'll only ruin what you tell me I can ruin," Eva assured him with a little cocky smile. "Don't worry about me. I can fend for myself. But right now, if we act fast, I think I can do something for you. I could bring you something. If you could have any item in the base right now… what is it? I'll bring it to you before you leave. Somehow. Without anyone seeing."
The frozen flame. That was Char's first instinct. But that wasn't in the base. That was at the hideout, or on the way back from the hideout, tucked safely in Ray's bag. There was no way he was getting that in time.
Char thought about saying he wanted a reviver seed. Or maybe a sack of them. But those only worked in mystery dungeons, and he didn't know whether there would be a dungeon here he was going. Did Basin Canyon have a mystery dungeon? He vaguely remembered Scythe mentioning that once, but he wasn't completely sure.
The speed brace? Could he slow down time? Did he even still have that, or did Scythe take it with him?
Could he even afford to take something conspicuous? Would Team Remorse forbid it? Xatu said he couldn't bring anything… would she confiscate it?
"Alright, I think I know," Char whispered back. "Get me a mobile scarf. We have two. They should be in the supply closet where Ray keeps the reviver seeds and valuable things."
Eva nodded. "It will be done. I promise. Now go to them… I feel their restless mind-waves tugging at me from here."
Char peered nervously through the crack in the door. Still nothing to be seen, nothing to be heard. No commotion. Nothing except for the eerie blue light that meant Char was up way past his bedtime.
"It's okay. Go," Eva whispered. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. And I'll get you that scarf, but you've got to let me go right now, or I might not make it back in time."
"…Alright," Char sighed, creeping back out the door, constantly casting his glance back at the Espeon hiding in the shadows. "Alright, I'll go. I'll see you."
Soon, Master, she promised in his mind. You'll be seeing me soon.
Every step of the way to the door of Team Remorse, Char found nothing to convince himself that tonight was anything unordinary. There was nothing to indicate that the fate-threads were shifting, that time was running out. That behind the closed door, a dozen of the Division's best Pokémon were running around in an uproar and preparing for the most dangerous night of the decade.
It made him afraid to set his claw to the door, knowing that everything would change in unforeseen ways the moment he would knock.
Here it goes, Char told himself. If this is what I came for… if this is why I came to Ambera as a Charmander… I can't be afraid of this.
To think that Team Remorse is where I would always go when I felt confused or hopeless, and needed true heroes to help back me up. Team Remorse is always where I went when I needed the most help.
To think that tonight, knocking on this door is making me feel so helpless and alone.
Despite his best effort to fortify his courage, Char cringed and grit his teeth as he knocked.
For ten seconds, the door gave no indication that anyone had detected a visitor. Char held his breath as the anticipation burned at his innards.
The door opened. On the other side stood a very angry hellhound.
"Char…" growled the imposing Houndoom, "You've picked a very bad time to visit."
"I was… told… to come here…" Char said, standing upright and not letting Daemon intimidate him. "I was told… I'm coming on the mission with you. To Basin Canyon."
Daemon looked so appalled that he actually snorted fire out of his nose. "Absolutely not," he growled. "Our orders were to keep you safe, not to bring you on a suicide mission to die. While I would certainly like to have a word with whomever told you such ludicrous things, there's no time. We are heading out within minutes from now. I suggest you get out of our way."
"Orders are from High Intelligence," Char insisted, standing his ground. "Xatu herself told me to come."
"In that case, you may invoke rule six-twenty-two, and follow my orders instead of hers," Daemon returned with a growl. "I refuse to let a little child run around underneath our noses and ruin our plans. You are not coming."
"Oh? And why can't he come, exactly?" said a sudden voice from behind Char.
Daemon, somehow, looked even angrier than before. "Scythe. You were supposed to remain at the canyon and await us!" he growled in so much mounting frustration. "Why have you returned at this hour?!"
Char turned to look behind him, and surely enough found a familiar Scyther standing over his head, with a strange, uncharacteristic smile of glee upon his face.
"Because I decided I wanted to come back for you myself!" Scythe said. "And if you'd ask me, I think it's an excellent idea for Char to come along with us! He is our apprentice, after all! What better way to teach him how the professional teams operate than to let him witness a real operation?"
"Scythe, you know I cannot allow this to happen," Daemon argued, walking right past Char and getting in his leader's face. "All the attendees, the sub-teams, they've all been long-since accounted for. You've said so yourself. We can't afford to protect him. We can't afford to have any of our sub-squadrons distracted from their assignments because a little salamander is running around and setting everything on fire."
But Scythe didn't look one bit fazed by the confrontation. "I appreciate your concerns, but! I really must insist we do things my way. I'm the team leader! It's my word that's final!" Scythe returned.
A heated moment of silence passed between the two warriors, both of whom seemed to completely forget Char was standing right beside them.
"You. Cannot. Be serious." Daemon growled. "Scythe. Even for you, this is an unreasonable deviation from our plans."
"Oh, but I am the team leader, am I not?" Scythe laughed. "Aren't I?"
"Yes… but…"
"And have I ever given you a reason not to trust me? Hmm?"
For a moment, Daemon didn't even know how to answer that question. After sputtering out a few attempts at a response, Daemon said, "Right now, I believe you are giving me one."
"Nonsense! You know I'm always right!" Scythe chuckled. "C'mon in, Char! Welcome to the party! We're going to have a lot of fun and show you how real warriors fight! It'll be a blast! Team Remorse never makes any mistakes, everybody knows that! We'll win the fight and be celebrating in no time! Won't we, you old grumpy dog, you?"
Char nervously tiptoed away from the seething, mind-broken hellhound and hid beneath Scythe's protection, where he received a few gentle prods from Scythe's blades encouraging him to enter the room.
When Char entered the old familiar hall, he found himself face-to-face with a formidable group of some of the Gold Division's finest warriors, all gathering their supplies, packing their bags, and outfitting themselves with their favored enchanted items. But their usual proud and confident disposition seemed to be missing, replaced by something tense and fearful. As though none of them were entirely confident in the outcome of this effort.
A stoic-looking Gabite fit no more than four metal bands around his front arms. A giant Ursaring counted seeds into a tiny pouch. A Crawdaunt and Breloom had a quiet chat with one another. All Team Remorse members he knew well. They all seemed to stop what they were doing and glare at Char in surprise, making Char really feel like the most misfit Pokémon in the room.
A moment later, once Char noticed a Luxray and an Arcanine chatting farther in the back, Char realized he wasn't only looking at Team Remorse, but several of the Division's best teams. All teams that Scythe had hired to help him with the Basin Canyon project. All of them apparently were banding together tonight, ready to finish whatever it was they started.
"Char! You're here!" came a comforting voice from one of the sleeping rooms. "I heard rumors you were coming, but I wasn't actually expecting to see you."
Char had never been more thankful to see Prince in his entire life. (Well, except maybe for that time he found Prince laying unconscious in the snows of Zerferia… but this was a close second.) Ignoring all the other Pokémon in the room, Char scampered over to Prince and clung to his leg in a short moment of childishness.
"Prince, what is going on?!" Char quietly begged. "Xatu said I had to come with you guys tonight. I couldn't even bring my team. What's wrong? Why are we leaving for Basin Canyon already?"
The great Infernape lifted Char into his arms, bringing Char the same feeling of security it brought him back in the Temporal Tower mission. Char instinctively hung onto Prince's shoulder like an infant child. "Because Cepheus has made his move," Prince quietly hummed so that only Char could hear. "He was two steps ahead of us. We still don't know how he intends to break our guard at the canyon, but he's on his way there now, and we need to be the first to get there and set up guard."
"Oh… he surprised us?" Char said. "Is it really that bad?"
"He always does," Prince said direly. "Somehow, he always does. But unless there is some vulnerability in our defenses that we haven't noticed… we'll probably fight him off. I hope."
"Fine! Whatever! You want your little pet lizard to die? Fine, he can die. But that's all on you," barked Daemon, so loudly that everyone in the team hall could hear. Preceded by his mighty shout, the Houndoom marched back through the door to address all the Pokémon within. "We're moving out. Now."
"Well, wait. Who's going to stay and guard the rooms?" asked Ursa.
"We already established Raon would stay back," Daemon replied gruffly. "But he should have been back by now, and we can't afford to wait for him. Leave the door unlocked, then."
"Wait! I have an idea. Why don't I stay back and watch the room?" Scythe offered.
The whole room went silent. Nobody could believe what they'd just heard. Everyone looked about just as mind-broken as Daemon had been moments before.
"Hah. I envy your sense of humor in times like these," Raptor chuckled awkwardly. "Truly an inspiration to us all."
"Who's joking? I'm not joking!" Scythe insisted, as though he'd said something perfectly reasonable. "It's a great idea! I stay back here in the base, and all of you can go to Basin Canyon! What's wrong with that?"
Daemon was starting to look absolutely furious now. Smoke seeped from between his teeth as he confronted the Scyther a second time.
"Because this is your project," Daemon said threateningly. "You accepted the terms. You made the plans. You will be the one to carry them out. Nobody else here can react to a changing battlefield the way you can. We need you there."
"Aww, I'm sure you'll do just fine!" Scythe said dismissively. "And Adarc is there, remember? He's just as good at battle tactics as I am!"
"Hey, uh. Boss?" said the Crawdaunt from across the room. "You do realize that if you stay behind… there's a good chance that… I mean… none of us will come back? That you'll… really… be the last real hero standing in the Division?"
Char took a moment to let the possibility sink in. He imagined a Gold Division without Team Remorse, Teem Flamewheel, Team Absolution… and from the looks of everyone's faces, Char figured the other Pokémon of the room were having the same morbid visions of the future.
But Scythe just scoffed at it. "Nah. Nonsense. You are all overthinking this. Come on! We're Team Remorse! We win everything all the time! What could possibly go wrong?"
A certain one-handed Smeargle spoke up from next to Prince. "I'm sure you're well aware of this, Char, but Scythe usually isn't this bad at giving pep talks," he grumbled. "Really don't know what angle he's going for, here."
"Alright, ALRIGHT, FINE!" Daemon shouted, burning everyone's ears. "I don't know what delusional nonsense has wormed its way inside of your head, and in our greatest hour of need, but you're making something very clear to me: you are not in any shape to be leading this mission. So fine, our fearless leader. Have things your way. You stay back and relax as you send us all out to die, you abandon all the plans you promised us that you had, and we'll even take your stupid lizard to die along with us. ARE YOU HAPPY?"
"Hey, Daemon, old pal!" Scythe returned, looking strangely offended. "How do you know this isn't all part of my plan? Hm? My plans don't always make sense at first, do they? But it always comes together in the end, right? So I'll ask again: do you trust me?"
Daemon seethed. And seethed. And seethed so hard that the smoke pouring from his nostrils turned a thicker black than Char had ever seen from his own smokescreens.
"It seems like you leave me no choice," Daemon threatened slowly and deeply, "but to hope, upon the hooves of Arceus, that I can still trust you."
No more than one minute later, a great procession of heroes led by a thoroughly disgruntled hellhound somberly marched their way out from the halls of Team Remorse. Char thought they would have looked like a magnificent and fearsome team, had there been any Pokémon awake at this hour to even witness them leaving.
Char hung close to Prince, and found that he couldn't keep his attention focused on staying in line. He kept nervously glancing around the base, anywhere he could, for any signs of someone he recognized. Maybe Team Ember would finally arrive back and they would cross paths. Maybe he could spot Xatu silently watching them from somewhere afar. Maybe…
Eva. He realized Eva still hadn't returned.
Char started to fidget with his front claws, deeply unsettled that they weren't holding a mobile scarf. He wanted that scarf more than ever. One thing, maybe the only thing, that could possibly bring him a certain sense of security on such a dire journey. Just the thought that he could hide inside of a wall if he wanted, even if only for a few minutes, or the thought that he could escape from capture or imprisonment, would make him feel many times more confident…
But Eva was nowhere to be seen.
Eva! We're leaving now! Where are you? Char called out in telepathy. There was no answer.
But there was still hope. It was a long walk. It would still take about ten minutes for them to make it all the way down to the Cliffside Academy and leave the base. Char grasped at his neck, hoping that somehow his scarf would miraculously materialize there, and put some of his worries to rest.
Eva. I hope you'll make it. Please make it, he thought hard at her.
As he was calling to Eva, he took a turn and nearly made the Gabite trip over him. "Whoa! Wrong direction buddy!" Raptor hissed at him. "Where do you think you're going?"
"That's… that's the way downstairs, isn't it? To the exit?" Char nervously replied, pointing at the stairwell where he'd encountered Xatu.
"One of the exits," Raptor reminded him. "This base has four exits, remember? And the Iron Town exit isn't the one we take to the canyon. Nah. We're taking the waterfall exit."
The waterfall exit, Char remembered with dread. That's… much closer.
No. We'll be gone in just three minutes… please come back…
Aster…
Prince noticed how Char kept incessantly fidgeting with his front claws, and offered a hand down to him. Char took hold, and trusted Prince to guide his footsteps.
I can't let this happen to me, Char realized. I'm losing myself. I just started learning how to be mature, how to control my fire, how to be a team leader… and now that I'm without my team, I'm just slipping back into being a child, a weak little candle-flame, all over again.
But no. I can't let that happen. Especially not now when I need my courage so badly.
I'm still a team leader. I'm still the leader of Team Ember. Just because I don't have my team with me doesn't change that. In fact, they're counting on me to make it back safe. They trust me.
I'm not going to break down. I need my fire.
So I'm not going to panic. I'm going to trust.
I'm going to trust Xatu that she's been a good Overseer.
I'm going to trust Scythe, that he knows what he's doing, even when he sounds crazy. Maybe this is all part of a plan of his.
I'm going to trust Eva. No… Aster. I'm going to trust Aster to bring me the scarf before it's too late.
And most importantly… I'm going to trust myself. My human self. The one who set all this up for me before I even got here.
All of that is out of my hands. Panicking over it will do me no good. But what I can do is keep my fire under control. It's my greatest weapon, and I need to make sure it's ready when I have to use it.
A minute passed, and then another minute, and so did the length of the Gold Division base. Char was still empty-handed as he came footsteps away from the upper gate.
"May all the gods and legends be with you," said a Sableye who guarded the entryway that night. "Get our evolution stones back, alright? I know I don't need them, but half of Team Cog has been complaining about it for the past year."
"I can promise nothing, but that is certainly the plan," Daemon said plainly.
Oh no… we're already there… Char realized. There's no way Eva can bring me the scarf now. She's too late. Just ten more steps and we'll be outside the gate and headed toward the waterfall. The guards would catch her. Or Team Remorse would see her.
No. No panicking. It's fine. Maybe she'll still do it. I have to trust. I have to. Maybe I can slow down…? Give her a few more seconds to get here?
But as Char still held to Prince's hand, there was no slowing down. Just five more steps until they reached the gate.
Five, four, three…
Char looked down at his free hand, accepting the fact that it would remain empty. He would have to brave the horrors of Basin Canyon alone, with no friends, and not even a single one of his supplies…
Two steps, one step… and…
Char couldn't believe it.
There it was. The mobile scarf he'd asked for. Right there in his hand. Appeared out of nowhere, neatly folded into a little triangle. Completely inconspicuous. Nobody would have noticed that it just appeared there.
He felt a stinging in his tail flame. He noticed the evaporating, sizzling water-droplets all across his arms. He looked up and noticed the wide open night sky above him, filled with stars and Watchers, who all seemed to be leaving the processing team well enough alone.
Char realized what had happened. That clever little kitten-fox. She'd done it. She gave him the scarf before the memory wipe happened. Even if she had come out in plain sight in front of Daemon and all of Team Remorse… nobody would even remember her being there. Char had the only physical evidence of it ever happening.
Thank you, Aster, he called telepathically, hoping she would hear, as he clutched that precious piece of fabric close to his chest…
Grayleaf Reserve
As darkness again fell over Grayleaf's den, Saura stared out the front door as the Watchers resumed their haunting of the forest.
But it was strange. Day and night were starting to feel the same. Sleep came suddenly and randomly whenever Saura had gotten weary enough to faint. The last few days had been filled with nothing but ceaseless work, setting dozens and dozens of boobie-traps around the outer gardens and the woods beyond. Even worse, Saura had lately found himself having trouble telling dreams from reality. More than once, he'd suddenly wake up from one reality into another, wondering just how much time he'd missed…
"What are you thinking about now, brother?" Saurvor said from beside him. "Do you think this will be enough?"
Saura smiled. His faithful siblings truly had stayed by his side through it all. His Team Grayleaf. Tonight, the Ivysaur and the small Bulbasaur girl were both staying awake with him, just because he couldn't sleep.
"We have one day left," Saura replied, staring blankly out at the stars in the sky. "That's when the deadline is. That's when we're supposed to be dead. So however else we can prepare… we need to do it tomorrow."
"Alright… so what do you want to do?" Saurvor asked.
"Well… the only thing we can do," Saura decided. "There's only one kind of trap we haven't set up yet."
"The ghost-traps, right?" Saurlee said. "Those sound hard to make."
From how his father described them, Saura had a vague idea of how the ghost-traps worked. They were specially-charged glass spheres, the kind used to make the magical orbs which explorers always used in mystery dungeons. The trap was designed to acted as kind of a bug-zapper, zapping any ghost unfortunate enough to float by.
But Saura's dad didn't tell them how to make the spell, or the chemical reaction, or whatever it was, to put inside of the orbs yet. They would need to go into town and buy a bunch of empty glass orbs, turn them into the ghost-traps, then hang them from the trees all around the den.
"Yeah. They do sound pretty hard to make," Saura sighed. "But tomorrow, we need to ask dad how to make them. We need to go into town and get the supplies, then set as many of those up as we can. After that, well… There's nothing else to do but to wait and see whether or not we'll survive."
"Hey. Remember our pact, brother," Saurvor reassured him, twisting a vine around his bulb and pulling him close. "We three survive, no matter what. Even if nobody else does. We can try to save everyone else, but if dad is so stubborn that he won't leave the den, there's nothing we can do about that. So if worse comes to shove…"
"Yeah," Saura said half-heartedly. "If the worst happens, we get out of here alive. I just… really hope the worst doesn't happen."